OSCARS 2009 PREVIEW: Danny Boyle's "SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE"

We know how gameshows can change someone's life...but have you ever imagined how someone's life can change a gameshow?

When Jamal (a super poor slumdog) got the final question in India's "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire", I thought the movie will shoot forward to show his "rags to riches" story. But no. Instead of going forward, the film went backwards...showing how his life scars were converted into material and immaterial "fortunes".

His wounds were his clue to the million "rupee" question, and the million "rupee" question was his door to the love which he valued more.

SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE is all about survival. It is a film that teaches us how to live by the moment...one "gameshow question" at a time. It shows how mistakes from the past can be the "correct answer" in the future. It shares the idea of how life's "hard questions" can unfold into big rewards.

The film redefined what "street smart" means by literally putting a street beggar in the smartest gameshow ever conceived.

SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE is a very humbling film. It preaches a lot without posing like a teacher or a guru. It carries a message of hope. And most especially, it grounds our future dreams to our distant past.

This may be the reason why SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE stands out amongst this year's "best film" contenders. Of all the films I've watched, this is the only one that stirs not much of your intellect, but more of your emotions. Expect to be "transformed" after finishing the film.

SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE showed the power of story telling. It is not so technically polished like FROST/NIXON or BENJAMIN BUTTON. But it was compensated by the excellent layered story of Jamal...which is thick and rich, yet easy to swallow and to comprehend.

To let you undestand how thick the plot is, take this example: In the film "Who Wants To Be A Millionare" was viewed in three perspectives at the same time: by Jamal during the show, by Jamal after the show and by whole of India through the television. Danny Boyle was able to orchestrate the film brilliantly, turning those thick layers into thin chapatis. :-)

SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE is a winner! This film can make you feel human again. One may just put SLUMDOG's technical execution on the side, but you will definitely not be able to put aside the message of the film: that life is a tough gameshow...and you will never win if you've never played it before.

PS. By the way...expect some Bollywood dancing at the end, which I find very very very cute! :-)

OSCARS 2009 PREVIEW: "The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button"

*Thank you ABS-CBN for inviting me to your special advanced screening

THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON is a film which you will either hate or like. As for me...uhm...(pause)...uhm...(pause)...ok...LIKE!

It was a well crafted film. But since it got the most number of Golben Globe nominations (tied with FROST/NIXON), I was expecting an award winning, stellar execution which, unfortunately, I wasn't able to see.

BENJAMIN BUTTON is like watching a patchy version of FORREST GUMP, plus a bit of ENGLISH PATIENT (minus the plum), plus a bit of Joel Lamangan's 2006 MMFF entry (yup, yup) BLUE MOON. Throw in a bit of MOULIN ROUGE as well, for those cool funny lightning snippets. I.e. Expect to see a lot of flashbacks, historical interstitials, diary reading, sick patients, twists and surprises (especially for the diary reader)

The film has a super solid backbone: a very unique story - a man aging backwards. But if you disect the film further, you will realize that the "story" is the only thing that is holding the film. Everything is else is typical, normal, plain and bland.

Thanks to good story telling, the film was able to stand on its own.

The lack of tension dragged the film. The only tension I can recall was when Benjamin had a child, which made him more of a playmate to his daughter than a father. Aside from that, it would just be a story a man looking for love. For me, 3-hours was just too long to see a man love and fail, then love and fail again. Sometimes I need to pinch myself to stay awake.

BENJAMIN BUTTON had difficulties in closing the itself - the downside of a "predictable" story (you know Benjamin will go younger and younger...then die). I think they had around 5 attempts to end the story...and it didn't help in extending my patience after 2 and a half hours. But the film was able to redeem itself through a dramatic montage before the credits. That sequence was a winner!

But there were several brilliant moments in the film worthy to be applauded: the Paris accident flashback, the reverse clock unveiling, the diary "discovery" (which part made me a bit teary) and the nice ending that closed all hanging stories properly. But because of the length of the film, they were not able to extend these "pockets of brilliance" throughout the 3-hours.

The acting was superb. Cate Blanchett is an expert (Oscars? Possible). Suprisingly, Brad Pit was great in the film.

Overall, good film. The material is fresh and the execution was ok. But with the Oscar buzz going around, the expectations for the film was lifted so high and in a sudden....it appeared mediocre.

FROST/NIXON will beat BENJAMIN BUTTON.

OSCARS 2009 PREVIEW: Ron Howard's "FROST/NIXON"

Ron Howard's FROST/NIXON made a typical one-on-one interview as exciting as an early morning boxing main event!

In the red corner, Ex-US President Richard Nixon. In the blue corner, "novice journalist" David Frost.

Here's the "tale" of the tape:

Nixon was the first US president to resign from office. But since Ford immediately pardoned him, America was denied of a trial that would prove (or disprove) Nixon's abuse of power.

To redeem himself, Nixon looked for a "novice" journalist he could manipulate. He chose a British talkshow host, David Frost, to do a no holds barred interview...then he realized, he made the worng choice.

Here's a blow by blow account of the match:

Round 1 - "Nixon The Man". Round to Nixon, 1-0

Round 2 - "Vietnam War". Round to Nixon, 2-0

Round 3 - "Foreign Policies". Round to Nixon, 3-0

Round 4 - "Watergate Scandal". A KNOCKOUT BY FROST!

Just like any Ron Howard movie, FROST/NIXON will stir your mind. But Ron Howard is not selfish with the answers, and that makes thinking in his movie really fun!

In A BEAUTIFUL MIND, he taught us Math. In DA VINCI CODE, he taught us "history". In APOLLO 13, he made us part of mission control. In FROST/NIXON, he made us TV producers and asked us to balance sensationalism and journalism.

Ron Howard has a way of putting us in different seats to experience something out of our realm.

Ron's experience as a director was evident in his vision for FROST/NIXON...he did mocumentary style (a trend we have seen in Hollywood this 2008, e.g. The Office and Milk). But he did it as pure as possible, no humour...no drama. FROST/NIXON is more of a reenactment. It went for realism. The showbiz life of David Frost was scrapped in the film, and the focus all went to the controversial one-on-one interview. Nothing more than that...and nothing less as well. And it worked perfectly for the film. A very fresh approach

But in spite of the medium, Ron didn't forget to turn those cameras around to show the story "behind-the-scenes", ie:

• How Frost prepared for the interview
• How Frost risked his career and money just to have that Nixon interview
• How Nixon planned to manipulate Frost
• And how Nixon made the mistake of creating an emotional bond with the person who will grill him later.

Ron was able to develop his character in a slow but sure way.

Intellectual Oscar voters will go ga-ga over this film...but those looking for more entertainment will certainly settle for MILK

FROST/NIXON has the most number of nominations in the upcoming 2009 Golden Globe Awards.

OSCARS 2009 PREVIEW: Gus Van Sant's "Milk"

When I learned that they will show Gus Van Sant's MILK in the Manila this April, i said I'll just pay for a ripped DVD. It turned to be the most "sulit" 40 pesos I paid to a pirate! And I'm not exaggerating.

If I'm a film maker...this is the film I want to do!!

Sean Penn's delivery, and the power of Van Sant's storytelling technique is as deadly as Manny Pacquiao's lethal combo.

I can say that the film is perfectly balanced:

• Reality and "Fiction" - balance through news interstitials and canned footage of the San Francisco gay movement
  
• Cause and Sensation - the message the film carries is very relevant now - gay rights. The beauty with MILK is that it was able to balance the cause Harvey Milk is fighting for, and his sensational/controversial gay life
  
• Narration and Documentation - Harvey Milk's life is well known, but the film was able to present it in a way that it tells the story like you never know Harvey at all

Gus Van Sant proved again that he is a master of this craft. Watching the film gave me goose bumps in the beginning and middle, then tears at the end. Gus was able to move my emotions with every pan, tilt and slide of his camera.

Gus was also able to play in the film. It is not as stiff as Good Will Hunting, or as straight Finding Forrester. In MILK I see the Gus in Cannes. The Gus of Paris Je 'Taime and Elephant. You can see some creative indie touches to it, like the scene where they were calling each other for a "gay riot" (which eventually became the first Gay Pride Parade). The approach is Hollywood...but also experimental.

The grainy, low-fi finish of its cinematography doesn't just give the 70's era effect, it makes you feel the characters and issue au naturelle. It's like watching them in a news footage, making them real to you.

The nice thing about MILK - it didn't focus on the iconic activist of the 70's, but on the thousands of people, gay or straight, he touched.

A review said: "Once in a while, a film arrives at such a perfect moment, its message and meaning so finely tuned to the current zeitgeist, that it seems less a cinematic event, and more of a once-in-a-lifetime moment needed to seized in the silverscreen"...and that film is MILK!

My name is Dennis...and I'm here to recruit you (to watch MILK!). :-)

2008 ACADEMY AWARD WINNERS

UPSET! No Country for Old Men won over There Will Be Blood in this year's Oscars.

No Country for Old Men - 4 Oscars

There Will Be Blood - 2 Oscars

Juno - 1 Oscar

Atonement - 1 Oscar

Bourne Ultimatum - 3 Oscars (big winner in the technical category)

La Vie En Rose - 2 Oscars

Michael Clayton - 1 Oscar

Sweeny Todd - 1 Oscar

Golden Compass - 1 Oscar

Ratatouille - 1 Oscar

Elizabeth: The Golden Age - 1 Oscar

Best Motion Picture of the Year
Winner: No Country for Old Men - Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, Scott Rudin

Best Achievement in Directing
Winner: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen for No Country for Old Men

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Winner: Daniel Day-Lewis for There Will Be Blood

Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
Winner: Juno - Diablo Cody

Best Documentary, Features
Winner: Taxi to the Dark Side - Alex Gibney, Eva Orner

Best Documentary, Short Subjects
Winner: Freeheld - Cynthia Wade, Vanessa Roth

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score
Winner: Atonement - Dario Marianelli

Best Achievement in Cinematography
Winner: There Will Be Blood - Robert Elswit

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song
Winner: Once - Glen Hansard, Markéta Irglová(“Falling Slowly” )

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
Winner: Fälscher, Die (Austria)

Best Achievement in Editing
Winner: The Bourne Ultimatum - Christopher Rouse

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Winner: Marion Cotillard for Môme, La (La Vie En Rose)

Best Achievement in Sound
Winner: The Bourne Ultimatum - Scott Millan, David Parker, Kirk Francis

Best Achievement in Sound Editing
Winner: The Bourne Ultimatum - Karen M. Baker, Per Hallberg

Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published
Winner: No Country for Old Men - Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Winner: Tilda Swinton for Michael Clayton

Best Short Film, Animated
Winner: Peter & the Wolf - Suzie Templeton, Hugh Welchman

Best Short Film, Live Action
Winner: Mozart des pickpockets, Le - Philippe Pollet-Villard

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Winner: Javier Bardem for No Country for Old Men

Best Achievement in Art Direction
Winner: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street - Dante Ferretti, Francesca Lo Schiavo

Best Achievement in Visual Effects
Winner: The Golden Compass - Michael L. Fink, Bill Westenhofer, Ben Morris, Trevor Wood

Best Achievement in Makeup
Winner: Môme, La (La Vie En Rose) - Didier Lavergne, Jan Archibald

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year
Winner: Ratatouille - Brad Bird

Best Achievement in Costume Design
Winner: Elizabeth: The Golden Age - Alexandra Byrne

THERE WILL BE BLOOD: This Is How An Epic Should Be Made

Cinemanyak Rating: 9.0/10
IMDB Rating: 8.8/10
Tomatometer: 91%
Rotten Tomatoes Critics' Rating: 8.3/10
What's your rating? Post a comment below.

Awards and Accomplishments:
Nominated for Best Picture, 2008 Oscar Awards
Nominated for Best Direction, 2008 Oscar Awards
Best Actor (Daniel Day Lewis), 2008 Oscar Awards
Best Cinematography, 2008 Oscar Awards
Nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay, 2008 Oscar Awards
Nominated for Best Picture, Berlin Film Festival
Nominated for Best Picture, 2008 Golden Globes
Best Actor, 2008 Golden Globes
Best Actor, 2008 Screen Actors Guild Awards

2 hours and 45 minutes. Extreme production design. Heavy screenplay. Eye candy cinematography. World class acting -- all the ingredients for an epic are in There Will Be Blood. The great thing with the movie is that they have just put in the right amount of each: not too sweet yet not to sour.

Touching a very timely and sensitive topic -- Oil -- the film brilliantly showed how people fight for black gold in the 19th century. Paul Thomas Anderson intriguingly held information during the film that it keeps you guessing and awake the whole time. "How will this film end?". This is how an epic should be done. Dramatic, yet interesting. Heavy, yet fulfilling at the end. Critics say that this is the best film of the year, or even a decade. I seem to agree, by not abosolutely.

Daniel Day Lewis is amazing! He was able to hold his character from beginning til end, and was able to manage the drastic tansformations of "Daniel Plainview" in the middle -- from the charismatic oil-man to a repentant christian, from a good father to a cold-hearted dad, from a businessman in the right mind to a tycoon murderer.

"Set in the early 20th century, the film follows the rise to power of Daniel Plainview -- a charismatic and ruthless oil prospector, driven to succeed by his intense hatred of others and psychological need to see any and all competitors fail. When he learns of oil-rich land in California that can be bought cheaply, he moves his operation there and begins manipulating and exploiting the local landowners into selling him their property. Using his young adopted son H.W. to project the image of a caring family man, Plainview gains the cooperation of almost all the locals with lofty promises to build schools and cultivate the land to make their community flourish. Over time, Plainview's gradual accumulation of wealth and power causes his true self to surface, and he begins to slowly alienate himself from everyone in his life." (written by Denny Gibbons)

An Oscar favourite, There Will Be Blood got the most nominations this year.

JUNO: MY BEST PICTURE PICK

Cinemanyak Rating: 9.0/10
IMDB Rating: 8.2/10
Tomatometer: 93%
Rotten Tomatoes Critics' Rating: 8.0/10
What's your rating? Post a comment below.

Awards and Accomplishments:
Nominated for Best Picture, 2008 Oscar Awards
Nominated for Best Direction, 2008 Oscar Awards
Nominated for Best Actress, 2008 Oscar Awards
Best Original Screenplay, 2008 Oscar Awards
Nominated for Best Picture, 2008 Golden Globes
Nominated for Best Actress, 2008 Golden Globes
Nominated for Best Original Screenplay, 2008 Golden Globes
Best Actress, 2008 Screen Actors Guild Awards

JUNO started with a chair...and from there, everything was just brilliant.

Juno MacGuff (played Ellen Page), finds herself pregnant, knocked up by her best friend Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera) on their first attempt at sex. Juno, with the help of her best friend Leah (Olivia Thirlby), takes it upon herself to find some adoptive parents. Courtesy of the local Penny Saver, she soon finds childless couple Mark and Vanessa (Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner).

The power of this teenage pregnancy feature is just overwhelming. The story is very clever. The screenplay is not pretentious. The emotions were real. It definitely placed a spin on how pregnancy is presented in movies. Aside from the well-awarded screenplay. Ellen Page's acting kept us glued to the movie. It's like she's telling you "Watch what will happen to me". And true indeed, she held our hands as we go through the flat but very colorful life of a confused pregnant teenager. She would definitely be a force to face in tomorrow's Oscars.

The director, Jason Reitman, knows how to treat black comedy with respect. He was able to make people laugh in the theater without destroying the somber mood of the whole film. He deserves his Oscar nomination, yet he's too weak to compete with the epic experts in the race.

But all-in-all, JUNO has the elements of what a great movie should have. With that, I wouldn't be surprised if I see Jason with an Oscar tomorrow for Best Picture.

DONSOL: Philippines' entry to next year's Oscars

Aldolfo Alix's entry to the 2006 Cinemalaya Indie Film Festival was chosen to represent the Philippines in the next Oscar Awards. DONSOL got the awards for best cinematograpy and best actress (Angel Aquino) in the CCP-housed festival.

This is another success of Philipine Indie.

Last year, another indie film was chosen to represent the Philippines in the Oscars (Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros).