Don't hack it till you've seen it: MMFF 2012
Movies watched: Shake, Rattle, and Roll: The Invasion, Thy Womb, and Sisterakas.
There are many things wrong with the Philippine movie industry, but it’s not fair to dismiss ANY and ALL Pinoy films as exceptionally awful. I am personally not a big fan of the concept of the Metro Manila Filmfest but I appreciate the attempt. Let’s just hope that the reforms currently explored by small and big film companies alike make way so we won’t need an MMFF to get Pinoys to watch their own.
The lesson learned with MMFF 2012: sometimes, there’s a good reason why ticket sales soar with some titles, but don’t with others. Big studios may smudge the numbers for the press, but audience lines don’t lie. It’s not always artistically founded but it represents a need that moviemakers may want to consider when taking on their next project.
Reviews after the cut.
Continue reading “Don't hack it till you've seen it: MMFF 2012”
Don’t hack it till you’ve seen it: MMFF 2012
Movies watched: Shake, Rattle, and Roll: The Invasion, Thy Womb, and Sisterakas.
There are many things wrong with the Philippine movie industry, but it’s not fair to dismiss ANY and ALL Pinoy films as exceptionally awful. I am personally not a big fan of the concept of the Metro Manila Filmfest but I appreciate the attempt. Let’s just hope that the reforms currently explored by small and big film companies alike make way so we won’t need an MMFF to get Pinoys to watch their own.
The lesson learned with MMFF 2012: sometimes, there’s a good reason why ticket sales soar with some titles, but don’t with others. Big studios may smudge the numbers for the press, but audience lines don’t lie. It’s not always artistically founded but it represents a need that moviemakers may want to consider when taking on their next project.
Reviews after the cut.
Continue reading “Don’t hack it till you’ve seen it: MMFF 2012”
12 for 2012
I’ve been going to Church Simplified for a year and a half now, and rekindled my faith as a Christian. Each end of the year, they send the congregation off with a glass filled with marbles – 52, one for each week of the year. The idea is that as each week passes, a marble is taken out of the glass to signify the week that we never get back.
So how were my marbles in 2012?
2011-2012 was a matter of self-preservation. Last year, especially, was the case of the terrible twos where things I never thought would fall apart, did.
But the miracle of 2012 was how love came in from the most unlikely places: through art that I thought I’d never be a part of, re-igniting friendships, places I never thought I’d visit again, and having someone stick by me through thick or thin.
Here’s my 12 for 2012:
1) A new love who shared the best and worst times with me.
2) A new job with fantastic people and exciting prospects.
3) Travel! Up mountains, down mountains, and even to far-off beaches.
4) Old-new friends in unlikely places.
5) Pitch Perfect.
6) Battalia Royale.
7) The tears and triumphs of a first web-docu.
8) Moving to a new city.
9) BB Cream, which led to a whole new morning grooming routine.
10) Being a guest at my first wedding – of an officemate.
11) New friends.
12) A new way to pray: by calling on God to have me fulfill His plans for me. That is life-changing.
I make no promises for 2013. I just open myself to all its possibilities, all its lessons, misadventures, laughter, and tears.
Happy 2012 everyone. Good vibes and prosperity to everyone.
We need a little Christmas: Mia's Christmas Playlist
I live in the country with the longest Christmas season, and that gets damn tiring. I’m a humbug (I’d rather that term than ‘Scrooge’, indulge my frivolous wordplay) as soon as mid-October when the most bizarre Christmas mash-ups start blaring on public speakers.
I like the spirit of Christmas: ever since Mom died, and my sister and I have been distant, it’s deeply touching when almost everyone, no matter how short a time you’ve known them, opens their doors to you. I like the tradition of gathering. I want to do the same when time and space finally allows me to. For now, I humbly give offerings of feeling witty cards and sweets. It’s the very least I could do, though I wish that I could do more.
There are also the carols. Some carols, even at my crankiest anti-Christmas moods, gets me singing and smiling. It sometimes sees me through hellish traffic and terribly cramped MRT rides during the season.
1) We Need a Little Christmas – New Directions (Glee)
2) Last Christmas – New Directions (Glee)
3) Santa Can You Hear Me – Britney Spears
4) What Christmas Means To Me – Hanson
5) Snow Miser/Heat Miser from ‘The Year Without Santa Class’
6) Ateneo Chamber Singers Christmas performances
Youtube and tracks after the cut.
Continue reading “We need a little Christmas: Mia's Christmas Playlist”
We need a little Christmas: Mia’s Christmas Playlist
I live in the country with the longest Christmas season, and that gets damn tiring. I’m a humbug (I’d rather that term than ‘Scrooge’, indulge my frivolous wordplay) as soon as mid-October when the most bizarre Christmas mash-ups start blaring on public speakers.
I like the spirit of Christmas: ever since Mom died, and my sister and I have been distant, it’s deeply touching when almost everyone, no matter how short a time you’ve known them, opens their doors to you. I like the tradition of gathering. I want to do the same when time and space finally allows me to. For now, I humbly give offerings of feeling witty cards and sweets. It’s the very least I could do, though I wish that I could do more.
There are also the carols. Some carols, even at my crankiest anti-Christmas moods, gets me singing and smiling. It sometimes sees me through hellish traffic and terribly cramped MRT rides during the season.
1) We Need a Little Christmas – New Directions (Glee)
2) Last Christmas – New Directions (Glee)
3) Santa Can You Hear Me – Britney Spears
4) What Christmas Means To Me – Hanson
5) Snow Miser/Heat Miser from ‘The Year Without Santa Class’
6) Ateneo Chamber Singers Christmas performances
Youtube and tracks after the cut.
Continue reading “We need a little Christmas: Mia’s Christmas Playlist”