Marvin's Place

Start:	Apr 20, '08 08:00a
End:	Jun 20, '08

First Round starts this Sunday. Let the real games begin!!

It may not be an Oscar nominated film for Best Picture, but this first-rate drama surely has some room in my list. Enough for me to say that Ben Affleck is a lot better behind the camera than starring on it. This easily proves his excellence in writing and directing. The story and performances packs some serious punch. I know Im watching a very good film when I am shaking my head as a sign of approval. And what shook my head was the moral dilemma the film serves right at you. If you were Casey Affleck's character in the movie, what would you do? And till now, Im shaking my head.....

Terrible news.  A hollywood star dead at 28.   And everyone's question was not how he died.   It was....  "Did he finish filming The Dark Knight?"

EASTERN PROMISES (Dir. David Cronenberg)
review by PETER TRAVERS, Rolling Stones

How like David Cronenberg -- the master of body horror as a path to the soul -- to begin his mesmerizing power-punch of a thriller with a hemorrhage. The bloody fetus that we watch a fourteen-year-old Russian girl’s uterus struggle to expel is a child of rape. But in Cronenberg, be it the exploding heads of Scanners or the imploding ids of The Fly, brutality and beauty are inextricably linked. The baby becomes a promise and a threat in the eyes of the film’s central characters. Anna Khitrova (Naomi Watts), a midwife at a London hospital, tries to unite the baby with its Russian family from clues she finds in the dead mother’s diary. Her path leads to Nikolai Luzhin (Viggo Mortensen), a driver and butcher for a Russian crime ring, led by Semyon (a magisterially scary Armin Mueller-Stahl), the owner of a chic trans-Siberian restaurant in London. Semyon, exuding grandfatherly charm to mask his sex trafficking for the Vory V Zakone syndicate, is a monster even to his psycho son, Kirill (Vincent Cassel excels). For Anna and Nikolai, Semyon will unlock secrets neither wants to face.

Brilliant film. Brilliant director. But you’re probably thinking it’s a linear plot for Cronenberg, who confounded audiences in Naked Lunch, Crash and eXistenZ. No worries. As in 2005’s incendiary A History of Violence, Cronenberg subverts formula at every turn. Unlike Hollywood products that, in the words of David Lynch, “pop and evaporate,” Cronenberg’s films pop and resonate. For more than three decades, this innovator from Canada has been quietly breaking new ground. If you still don’t see The Brood, The Dead Zone, The Fly and Dead Ringers as landmarks, accept the fact that you are just not paying attention.

The potent script for Eastern Promises is by Steve Knight, whose Dirty Pretty Things shockingly detailed the London black market in human organs. Cronenberg is too much of a visionary to take a documentary approach to Eastern European criminals in the U.K. His appeal is to the unconscious. What motivates Anna (Watts is extraordinary) to risk her life for someone’s else’s baby? Her mother (Sinead Cusack) offers clues. And her racist, Russian-born uncle (a sly turn from Polish director Jerzy Skolimowski) tells her that fornicating with a black man caused her own baby to die inside her belly. Watts uncovers a woman fighting her way out of a tragic trap by digging into her Russian heritage.

If anything, Nikolai is in a tighter spot. This driver has been to hell and has the scars to prove it. Or, in Nikolai’s case, tattoos. In the Vory underworld, tattoos are your resume. Standing before a crime tribunal, Nikolai need not speak; his markings reveal the story of his life. Mortensen uses the accent, the posture, the eerie stillness to devastating effect. The bathhouse fight between Nikolai and two knife-wielding thugs is a balls-out showstopper. But the blood-freezer comes when Kirill tests Nikolai’s manhood by forcing him to fuck a young girl while he watches. Nikolai takes the girl from behind so he can’t see her face. But we can see his. And in that moment, when Nikolai’s squint loses its hard focus, Mortensen reveals a haunted man. There is immense skill in his performance. It’s a Mortensen tour de force.

In Eastern Promises, shot to envelop by the great Peter Suschitzky, Cronenberg brings us face to face with the horror of self. The film’s bristling invention and biting with can’t stave off the dread. Sure, it's hard to take. Consolation isn’t Cronenberg’s business. But art as a response to the terrors of modern life should be yours. --
PETER TRAVERS, Rolling Stones

Toshiba and HD DVD were shot on the back after Warner's surprise announcement of Blu-ray exclusivity.   Rumored pay-offs were all over the news, $500 million for Warner to let go of its format agnostic status, and FOX also rumored to have received the same amount just to stay on the Blu side.   Wow!!   Thats a billion dollars for you.  Thats a lot of money.   I just hope now that the format war is ending, they wouldnt pass that amount on to consumers.  tsk, tsk...

Format war is good in some ways; Hardware prices are fast to go down.   Titles are being offered with BOGO (buy 1 get 1) schemes on both sides.   But will these promotions end as well?  Seriously hoping it will not.....coz....

Blu-ray has slayed HD DVD, but must challenge the biggest of them all....DVD.    For a decade now, DVD reigns supreme, but showed its achilles heel this year.  For the first time since its inception, sales went down from the year before, by 4 percent.   And HD DVD/Blu-ray werent even the culprit.......its internet video downloads, legal or illegal.  

And in our part of the world, where VCDs still rule in Astrovision stores, where you can get 12 in 1 DVD movies around palengke,  Blu-ray and HD DVD (r.i.p.) will remain a niche market.

And there will always be "Par, pwede pa burn?". 

First week of school in UPSF (nevermind what year).   I was with Jess (the one with the other Nike shirt), one of the first friends I met in school, having a friendly banter involving our alma maters.   I was from Chevalier school.  He was from RCC.

Me:  Pare, nabaduyan ako sa intermission song number ng school nyo nung nag attend kami ng Pautakan sa Holy.  Kinanta ba naman eh, ANDREW FORD MEDINA!! 

Jess:  Ok neman ita ah...

Me:  Tapos, yung nag beatbox, Im sure puno ng laway yung mic.  Kadiri ne....

Jess:  PARE, AKU ITA EH!!!



OK na kami ngayon, Im Ninong to his first born.

1. CLOVERFIELD-- Have you seen the trailers? What the hell is it? Let us see this January.

2. RAMBO-- Grandpa Sly still showed he can still kick ass in Rocky Balboa, and got critics' approval to boot. Can he still hold a gatling gun and fire away?

3. INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF CRYSTAL SKULL-- The last Harrison Ford movie I saw was Firewall. Not quite good. At least he got Spielberg and 2007 breakthrough star Shia LeBouf on his back in this sequel.

4. IRONMAN-- Ive seen the teaser trailer. And it is a blast!! Early bold prognosis? Maybe the first Superhero movie to receive some Oscar nod. NOT!!

5. INCREDIBLE HULK 2-- Where's Eric Bana? But maybe Edward Norton can cut it.....ala Daniel Craig in Casino Royale. Oh did I forget that Liv's Tyler in it?? Hehe

6. VALKYRIE-- Tom Cruise? A Nazi?

7. WALL-E-- I didnt quite like Cars. But loved Ratatouille. Its still Pixar. And thats what matters most.

8. JAMES BOND 22-- I like the James Bond reboot in Casino Royale. Surprise me again, Daniel Craig.

9. THE DARK KNIGHT-- I am a fan of Christopher Nolan. Memento. Imsonia. Batman Begins. The Prestige. Great work all. And Heath Ledger might be the best Joker ever. Who's Jack? (Could be the year's biggest box-office draw)

10. HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF BLOOD PRINCE-- No brainer for me.

11. THE HAPPENING-- M Night fumbled and stumbled in The Lady in the Water. I see him bounce back on this one. I hope.

12. THE PINEAPPLE EXPRESS-- Became a fan of Seth Rogen and Judd Apatow. The 40 year old Virgin, Knocked Up, and Superbad are all critically acclaimed comedies. Technique, just keep the expectations low, have fun, and youll be surprised!!

13. VANTAGE POINT-- Ive always love political action thrillers and conspiracy movies.

14. CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON-- David Fincher reunites with Brad Pitt (Se7en and Fight Club). Not-to-miss combo.

15. SEX AND THE CITY: THE MOVIE-- A relief from too much testosterone for me. And this is for my wifey.

Start:	Dec 29, '07 6:00p
End:	Dec 30, '07 12:00a
Location:	Marvin's Place

Post Christmas party of the ABC boys of UPSF. With their missus of course....