The Carver's House

Epiphany from Manay Po (Part 1) The last premiere I attended was The Da Vinci Code (courtesy of the lovely Camille ) and, as with all the premieres I've attended, it was a by-the-numbers affair. People queued at the theater entrance, swarmed in, submitted their ears to a few minutes of sponsor messages, and often got the chance to bag a few goodies, all before the lights dimmed and the projector rattled to life. Standard movie premiere fare. So I expected pretty much the same ritual when I was invited by the Regal camp to attend the red carpet premiere of Joel Lamangan's latest film and Regal's "Mother's Gay" presentation Manay Po! I asked Gwyn to accompany me to the event and we managed to leave work early since there wasn't anything urgent to do. When we arrived at the SM Megamall Cinemas just before 7:30pm, there were about a dozen guards and a milling crowd in front of the Cinema 7-12 lobby. A large, circular red doorway, reminiscent of those sci-fi ...

Need for X-tension Suffice to say, I liked X-Men: The Last Stand , though I wish the running time could've been a little longer so that character relationships and dynamics could be threshed out more. While Brett Ratner's X3 has those moments that fulfill the comic-book action to-do list, I missed Bryan Singer's little dramatic touches. The third movie is about 20 minutes shorter than its predecessor, so there should've been a lot more room to work in the emotions department, an aspect that many consider to be the X-Men's ace in the superhero world. I'd joke to friends that Brett Ratner must be straight with all the testosterone curdling in the film. That steamy scene between Jean Grey and Wolverine was a surprise, plus how the camera lingered a bit in that shot of the transformed Mystique on the floor. Oh, and Wolvie's pants never get shredded in the climax. (Heheh.) But when it came to what could have been charged exchanges about the mutant cure, the conf...

Sony buys US rights to Iranian comic-book 'Persepolis' CANNES, France -- Sony Pictures has bought the North American film rights to Persepolis, a comic book about growing up in Iran during its Islamic revolution, the British movie magazine Screen International reported on Wednesday. The production, to be co-directed by the comic's author, Marjane Satrapi, will be voiced by Chiara Mastroianni, Catherine Deneuve and Simon Abkarian in the French version. An English-language version is also to be recorded. Persepolis was a hit in France - where Satrapi now lives - when it was first published, with many critics praising the artistry of its black-and-white images. The book tells the story of Satrapi's childhood in Tehran during the overthrow of the Shah, the Islamic revolution and the Iran-Iraq war through strips that recounted episodes in her life and her changing society. Lifted from the Middle East Times The Faith of Heroes (Superhero Religious Trivia) What do Havok, Pola...

My Height I'm 5 feet, 9.5 inches tall. According to Size Matcher , I'm as tall as... Casper Van Dien, Colin Farrell, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Jimmy Carter, Lenny Kravitz, Robert De Niro, Stephen Baldwin, Charlie Sheen, DMX, Gary Sinise, Gerard Depardieu, Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, Kenneth Branagh, M. Night Shyamalan, Mase, Meat Loaf, Michael Landon, Richard Burton, Slash, Steven Tyler Something to check out yourself if you're bored. :-)

I took my niece out this afternoon for some bonding time. After shopping for multivitamins and a few veggies, having a quick dinner at Star Carrots and burning money in Timezone, we caught Dreamworks Animation's Over the Hedge , a really satisfying piece despite its ho-hum trailer. While a lot of current computer-generated flicks screamed of merchandising opportunities, Over the Hedge can be forgiven with its decent story, interesting characters, and a balance of sequences that kids and adults would enjoy. There are moments I found truly touching, and the climactic sequence involving the hyper Hammie the squirrel is a stroke of genius. Avril Lavigne lends her voice here, perhaps as a way to attract her demographic. After the movie, I checked my phone for messages. I got five, and all of them referred to the Rated K segment that featured Eula Valdez and Zsazsa Zaturnnah. The show even flashed my picture, the messages said. First thing on my mind was...which picture, and how did th...

Da Vinci Cold So I got a free ticket to a screening of Ron Howard's The Da Vinci Code . (Thanks much, Cams!) The film isn't very impressive--though it's got a very few interesting qualities--so I suggest you wait for the cable release. The Roman Catholic higher-ups may be delighted to note that most critics had lukewarm to outright negative reviews of the film. For sure, box office returns will surely spike during the first couple of weeks because of the controversy surrounding this Tom Hanks starrer, but I'd like to think that thereafter ticket buyers will quickly go for more engaging fare. (Especially with X-Men: The Last Stand around the corner...Yay!!) The Da Vinci Code combines elements of a conspiracy thriller, a murder mystery, and a family drama, with loads of "religious history" iced on. The irony of it all, in my book, is that you have all these elements coming at you over the span of two-and-a-half hours, and none ever reach a satisfying level. Th...

Regal Films submits seven entries to the Executive Committee of the Metro Manila Film Festival for consideration: 1) Mano Po 5 2) Shake, Rattle & Roll 6 3) Kahapon Lamang 4) No Other Love 5) Magic Kamison 6) Zsazsa Zaturnnah 7) White Lady To quote Nitz Mirallez of the Journal, "Abangan na lang natin kung alin sa pito ang mapipili at kung sino ang mga magrereklamo sa rami ng entries na isinabmit ng Regal." 'Nuff said.