The Carver's House

The speeding motorcycle almost hit the rear of the jeep I was riding tonight. I was sitting at the far end of the full vehicle which had stopped behind another jeep that was unloading passengers, and I was only able to catch a quick glimpse of the two men on the bike before they disappeared from view. A crash sounded a split-second later, and the passengers opposite me turned as gasps filled the air. From where I was, I caught sight of a large truck that had stopped from the traffic, and a few men rushing toward its front end. As the jeep moved on to my destination, with its driver shaking his head over what happened, I looked back and saw the motorcycle leaning against the grey truck. Below it, two bodies lay motionless on the street. The other passengers beside me agreed--whoever was on that motorcycle didn't stand a chance. My chest was tight and heavy for the rest of the trip.

The Horror! Last week, the lesbian vampire flick Eternal opened surreptitiously in one U.S. theater, taking in a measly US$4,100 despite a rather titillating trailer. I guess the horror that befell New Orleans proved to be a bigger draw for U.S. currency. On the other end of the spectrum, the gay slasher flick Hellbent will see release on the 16th this month, hoping to scare up some receipts before the big Hollywood frightfests, whatever those may be, hog the Halloween season. Here at home, about the only Filipino film that's been making its presence felt is Star Cinema's Dubai, complete with a "world premiere" tag at the end of its trailer. If this film succeeds, following the footsteps of Milan , who knows what'll come next? Hongkong ? Taiwan ? Brunei ? (This reminds me of that time back when television had such monumental soap hits as Boracay , Cebu , and Davao. ) But overall, the movie industry's lifeline has been reduced to a cat's whisker, and &q

Uproar So you may have heard that bit of news where a New York art exhibit was ordered closed--or else face legal action--by DC Comics, undoubtedly upset over the artist Mark Chamberlain's depiction of Batman and Robin in homoerotic acts. As that bit of controversy just about fizzled out, here comes another one. Several religious leaders in Australia are protesting the controversial piece called Crusci-fiction, which consists of a roomful of 25 replicas of robot C3P0 hanging on crosses. This is part of the False Idols exhibition, which opens soon at Fitzroy's Intrude Gallery. Artist Jud Wimhurst defends his work by saying, "We're talking about products and the fact that everything's for sale. Both technology and religion are for sale today." - - - - - - - - I saw Kobayashi Masaki's Kwaidan with my boss at the Shangri-La theater last night. The film is part of the Eiga Sai 2005 exhibition of Japanese horror films. I heard that Kwaidan was released in hte