Confessions of a Dangerous Hand

Monday, December 05, 2005

Movies and DVDs


A few minutes ago, I was watching a special feature on Philippine movies. I have never watched a lot of Pinoy movies since I became sort of addicted to watching movies in theaters, vhs and now, DVDs. Reason is, I never found them to be stimulating, impressive or exciting. I watched some of them, especially during Film Festivals since there’re no foreign films to se seen. I remember some of them, Dekada ’70, Crying Ladies, Feng Shui, and a couple of Montano pics, but none really stood out. One gripe I have with Pinoy movies is the sound mix. Almost all of them are still in MONO… that’s why most of them are hard on the ears and incomprehensible. Dekada ’70 from what I remember was in stereo or surround, I noticed, and some Revilla pics (that I haven’t seen). Another thing, they try to be super artsy with their shots (this blame is now being passed to independent DIGITAL film directors), this is quite evident in Pinoy music videos (exception is Kjwan’s DALIRI). And what’s the big deal with digital filmmaking?! A lot of people seem to have created a new movie genre which is digital filmmaking… but for me, it’s just a tool, a means to making your movies. I don’t think in other countries, they made a big deal out of digital filmmaking, Americans use it, Koreans and other Asian movies use it and we never hear anything about it. Here, it seems traditional film producers are just bitter with digital movies that actually earn more money than their products. The secret is the content. That’s where they should be focusing their funds, talents, etc. I agree with what Director Jose Javier Reyes said, the producers here are utak-biskwet (biscuit-minded), they make films for the country only, not expanding their market abroad. That’s why they don’t put out a lot of money for the films because the target market is small… well; the term utak-biskwet really was lost to me. I actually didn’t get the connection of the term… but it sure was funny. These are just my thoughts… I know I can’t do a better movie than them, watching the special features on my DVDs made me realize how hard it is to make a good movie, a lot of planning and stuff, but these are just my thoughts as a moviegoer. So just relax… MAKE a movie!

Anyway, earlier I got these DVDs. House of Flying Daggers (in Plexiglas packaging from Korea), Batman Begins Deluxe Edition. Last week I bought Saving Private Ryan 60th Anniversary D-day Edition (Korea also) from the same seller. Cool! HOFD wasn’t as good as Hero but it was pure eye candy for me. The way they threw those daggers was uber-stylish and dramatic. Having Zhang Ziyi really sold this movie for me. Hehe! SPvtR, in DVD is indeed filled with great sound effects that it gives your home theater its much needed exercise. And Batman Begins DE… oh, how long have I waited for this. I had the 2-disc edition but luckily, I found someone who sells DE for a cheap price. Again, happy bunny I am! This could be an addiction.

5 Comments:

  • hallo mr. 2ngaw,
    sasabihin ko pa naman sa yo to watch ang pagdadalaga ni maximo oliveros. office mates ko kasi ang gumagawa ng free PR for them. the movie will be the first pinoy film to be screened at the sundance film festival.
    anyway, sana magbaliktambalan kayo ni aldin para naman maipackage deal kayo sa pagbenta tuwing anime conventions. :)

    By Blogger The Accidental Reviewer, at 10:43 AM  

  • Ung Maximo Olivares, interesting sya actually... pero isip ko, like the others, baka when I watch it, madisappoint ako. Maybe I will, Ms. Cherry! Thanks for dropping by!

    By Blogger 2ngaw, at 10:52 AM  

  • i'm also curious about maximo oliveros pero wala na ata sya sa theaters by now, baka may lumabas na banketa dvd, yun na lang. tsaka iniisip ko baka mandiri si papa pag sinama ko dito. wawa naman.
    some recent movies i liked (technical-wise, may word bang ganyan?, and story-wise)... crying ladies, santa santita and saan ka man naroroon.
    btw, i also watched that feature last night. depressing how, like evrything else in this country, na-laos na din tayo sa film industry when before, it was other countries and hollywood itself that approached us for our expertise.
    mayor vi hit it on the head when she said it's because hindi natin mahal ang pagka-pilipino natin. as a whole, i think ito ang root ng lahat ng problema ng bansa. wala nang nagmamahal sa pilipinas at sa pilipino. (mabuhay ka ate vi, you are so astute! mabuhay!)

    By Blogger meowok, at 5:01 PM  

  • I dont know if they mentioned it last night but they should also consider ung hindi pag-show ng SM cinemas ng mga adult-themed movies. Kaya naging lalong konti ang gumawa ng Pinoy movies dahil they know they'll have few theaters to show it on. Haay! I wanted to like Panday nga pala... but was sadly disappointed with it's quality. Encntadia still is number 1 in terms of production... kahit di ako kapuso.

    By Blogger 2ngaw, at 12:02 AM  

  • production-wise, mas magaling talaga ang gma kasi they pay more attention to details.
    yung panday, sinusubaybayan ko kahit na katawa-tawa ang effects, kasi - besides jericho rosales - ok naman yung mga back stories. like yung pag explain nila sa curse ng ketong, etc. i like how they use local folklore with the, er, stuff they rip off of lord of the rings, etc.
    shrug... it's a start. :D

    By Blogger meowok, at 10:10 AM  

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