TWO PROMISING PRIMETIME SERIES PREMIERED TONIGHT IN ABS-CBN January 28, 2008

Two new primetime series premiered tonight, January 28 in ABS-CBN. After TV Patrol the shaolin movie inspired children’s action-comedy series “Kung Fu Kids” momentarily grabbed the television airwaves which was continued by “Lobo”, a werewolf inspired tragic romance story which stars former GMA prized talent, Angel Locsin and ABS-CBN perennial heartthrob Piolo Pascual.

There were actually three shows that were launched successively tonight. However I cannot stay long to watch “Palos” which topbills Cesar Montano and Jake Cuenca because the story was quite predictable and hackneyed. It also had the same aura as GMA 7’s Richard Gutierrez starrer, “Lupin” which made it a little unoriginal. Also, the cheap promotion it had to create over Cesar Montano and Sunshine Cruz’s (both stars of the series) alleged separation to generate ratings for the show was exaggerated and disappointing. That’s why I just opted to watch “Kung Fu Kids” and “Lobo”.

Charming

If there was one word to describe “Kung Fu Kids” pilot episode it will be appropriate to say that it is charming. Kids are really attractive centerpieces of attention and this has been proven last time in Makisig Morales’ “Super Inggo”. Although Inggo’s second installment was short-lived and not quite successful as the first book still the characters on that series was unforgettable.

Thanks to the success of “Super Inggo” that “Kung Fu Kids” was conceptualized. No doubt that the inspiration for this children’s action-comedy series was Inggo’s good performance in the primetime ratings game.

But more thankful should Jairus Aquino be who earned the title Pambansang Bestfriend in “Super Inggo” for being given a break as big as this one. ABS-CBN was very confident with his charm and talent that they chose Morales’ sidekick to topbill this show. The network would not regret this decision since Aquino holds a lot of promise than Morales. Aquino has more natural acting ability and charm than Morales in the first place. But Morales is in a league of his own. He has his own share of skills to be proud of like singing and performing live. I wouldn’t even be surprised if one day Morales ventures to theater.

Going back to “Kung Fu Kids” it was a delight once again to see this children’s wits acting up on screen. Although the plot is still predictable you will get glued to watching the series because of its innocent charm and pitiful dramatic scenes due to constant beating of the protagonist’s father played by former UMD frontman Wowie de Guzman.

The show’s supporting cast is also a wonder. It’s good to see Mickey Ferriols back to work again and fresh faces from the talent pool of ABS-CBN just makes this show enticing to watch.

Although not the type of show that I would root for everyday and religiously this series was able to pinch my heart with its non-overrated treatment of the characters and story. I just hope that the succeeding episodes will be better and more engrossing. If this happens for sure “Kung Fu Kids” will be a hit to all kids and kids at heart.

Tragic, dramatic and excellent cinematography

“Lobo” is definitely one of the network’s most ambitious projects. It has the makings of “Pangako Sa ‘Yo” and “Maging Sino Ka Man” two of the most sought after soap operas in Philippine TV history.

This is another show that ABS-CBN has carefully thought of. It only proves the network’s expertise in staging large scale dramas to the television. It’s like a movie broken down into pieces yet wonderfully stitched together to create the magical effect it brings when being viewed through the boob tube.

If there is one thing that the pilot episode is successful for it would be the organized retelling of how taong lobos came into existence and how unfortunate their lives are. The attack of the story makes it almost believable although some parts are overly acted on by the soap’s supporting cast like Sheryl Cruz. The transition form Angel Aquino to Susan Africa as Agot Isidro’s mother in two different time periods was also questionable. Africa didn’t have any resemblance at all to Aquino. It would have been better if Aquino continued the role until old age anyway there are make-ups and visual effects to do the job to make her look more elderly.

Surprisingly, it was not Angel Locsin who made this pilot episode promising nor Piolo Pascual but the story itself. If this concept was not inspired by any other foreign drama or old Filipino masterpiece then it presents itself as original, something new in Philippine primetime programming. The story is gripping and each scene was almost well acted on except for Isidro’s sometimes overacting attack on the role. Diether Ocampo was notable as Angel Aquino’s lobo turning husband and Irma Adlawan is as credible as she can be. Adlawan was able to tone down her powerful image from “Maging Sino Ka Man’ to a native provincial powerless lass in this soap. She is really worth watching acting wise.

The true beauty of this soap is also presented in its cinematography. Location, lighting and production design was near excellent. It really captures the mood of the story. The theme song sung by Martin Nievera is absolutely moving.

I hope “Lobo” would get away from unimportant subplots and characters add on which is typical to most Filipino drama series. If the production staff and writers of “Lobo” stick to its original concept and stylistic directing Angel Locsin’s career will be again propelled to new heights and ABS-CBN will again earn its reputation in creating quality dramas enough to make its rival network feel threatened.

ATONEMENT: TO WISH THAT YOU COULD REDO EVERYTHING January 23, 2008

(A movie review for “Atonement”, Best Picture contender for this year’s Oscar and winner of the Golden Globes’ Best Picture prize for Motion Picture-Drama. The film is based on Ian McEwan’s bestselling novel of the same title and is executed on the screen by “Pride&Prejudice” director, Jon Wright. The drama topbills Keira Knightley and James McAvoy with excellent support from Saoirse Ronan.)

Have you ever felt guilty? Or simply wished to correct yourself because of your uncalculated prejudgments to a person you are negatively biased to?

What if you had the chance to correct the one greatest mistake in life but it’s already too late? How will you find yourself in this haunting situation? Will you ever be at peace with life?

These are the questions I started asking after watching and pretending to be in Briony Tallis’ shoes whose character was consistently tackled and magnificently portrayed by Saoirse Ronan (Briony at age 13), Romola Garai (Briony at age 18) and Vanessa Redgrave (older Briony).

Briony plays a central character in this Jon Wright film being the cause of tragedies experienced by her sister, Cecilia Tallis played by Academy Award nominee Keira Knightley and her illicit lover, Robbie Turner whose character is essayed by Scottish actor James McAvoy (“The Chronicles of Narnia”, “Last King of Scotland”).

At age 13 and gifted with creativity in writing Briony is at the height of developing her imagination in the summer of 1935. She constantly wanders around the family mansion and its surroundings to find sources of inspiration for her craft. However her sense of imagination will be tested after reading a sexually explicit letter from Robbie meant for her sister Cecilia. Confused by the letters and emotion she felt after reading Robbie’s letter she instantly jumped to conclusion judging Robbie as a sex maniac. But the letter still reached Cecilia’s hands only after knowing that this was not the letter meant for her sister but another one instead. The letters were carelessly mismatched by Robbie but it was too late for him to correct what was expected of in Briony’s adolescent mind.

In a welcome dinner hosted by the Tallis’ family for Briony and Cecilia’s brother Robbie Turner was among the guests. In this eventful night things are to change for a lifetime for the Tallis family and star-crossed lovers Cecilia and Robbie. Briony and Cecilia’s grade school aged twin cousins ran away and needed to be located urgently. As Briony was doing her part searching for her cousins she witnessed her cousins’ sister, Lola Quincey being raped and in the vague darkness she concluded that the criminal was Robbie Turner.

This unfateful event led to Robbie’s imprisonment and service to the French army during World War I. Miles of distance and events separated Cecilia and Robbie.

Years passed and Briony was accepted as a nursing intern in a London-based hospital catering to wounded soldiers. During her internship she’ll clearly remember the true events that occurred during that summer night of 1935. She’ll find herself in guilt and will long for her sister and Robbie’s mercy.

The film presents itself as a magically crafted piece of literature in its first few hours. It had the same mysterious feeling of watching “Pan’s Labyrinth” turned English setting. The production design and cinematography during the first few parts of the film was carefully executed to capture the feel of intense heat caused by the summer of 1935 in England.

To fully understand the story one should not blink his eyes during the movie’s first 30 minutes and focus should be on digesting Briony’s 13 year old character. If you are able to immerse yourself into Briony’s adolescent character you’ll be immersed in the film and will be hesitant to leave your seats and miss a single part.

But the movie suddenly hangs the suspense and exciting pace during its middle part as 13 year old Briony is temporarily absent from the screen and focus shifts to Cecilia and Robbie. More important here is Robbie’s character.

In the middle part of the film you’ll fall in love with Robbie’s sufferings and adversities until he crosses path with Cecilia and asks him to “come back” constantly. This is also the part wherein you’ll hate Briony’s character. You’ll suddenly realize the destructive impact of Briony’s impish misgivings and miscalculated judgments on Cecilia and Robbie’s supposedly happy ending.

But at the near end of the film Briony will resurface as an old woman played by Vanessa Redgrave talking about her 21st and last novel with feelings of grief and repentance for the sins she committed yet convincingly redeemed herself. This is where Briony will shed light on the true events that occurred for the past three decades. This is also the part where your heart will drop and persuade you to wonder with the questions I have used as a lead in this article.

After watching the film in its entirety the Oscars decision to nominate this film as Best Picture contender was justified (at least in my own opinion). I wouldn’t even be surprised if it gets the prize. The film deserves it and Jon Wright deserves an applause for magnificently turning McEwan’s literary masterpiece into a classic film masterpiece.

To say that the adaptation of the novel was properly executed would be an understatement. It has managed to weave the screenplay in a manner that will be beautiful on the big screen comparable to the feelings it forces you to burst out when you are reading the book.

Jon Wright’s direction was organized yet artistic. He was able to lift the plot and transfer it to film without completely destroying the novel’s feel. A story plot as complex as “Atonement” might appear mixed up and illogical if not for the careful handling of the piece by its director. The novel was well-written therefore it should also be well-directed. In this line, Wright did not miss the point of adapting this excellent book.

Musical scoring was engrossing. It had proper timing that shall scar your heart with the emotion the screen is trying to communicate to you. I even had to wait for the credits to finish just to completely listen to its theme and contemplate on the film.

Also noteworthy was its appropriate production design and cinematography. The summer of 1935 was presented as classic and elegant as it can be with commendable costumes, environment sketches and even items inside the mansion. Every detail to make the setting believable was properly thought of. However the war period scenes were presented in a very predictable manner. It’s as if scenes from “Pearl Harbor” were inserted into the movie especially everytime Cecilia and Robbie are together.

Dialogues between Robbie and Briony when they had a chance encounter was very powerful which made Keira Knightley’s dramatic acting pale in comparison with the intense performances delivered by Romola Garai and James McAvoy. The only cheesy line in the film’s script was Knightley’s constant bickering to McAvoy with the line “Come back to me” which actually sounded unoriginal because of the classic piece “Somewhere In Time” where this line was popularly known for.

If there is one thing that this film should be given credit for it will be its excellent acting ensemble. The strongest performance of all was from Saoirse Ronan whose portrayal was responsible for making the film believable and exciting. She was most responsible for being able to set the movie’s tone and up the viewer’s expectation of an exciting story underlying beneath the movie’s subplots. I simply could wish that she had more exposures in the film which could have brought more range to the story and increase her chances of winning an Oscar for the Best Supporting Actress category.

Most impressive of all was the consistency in acting of the actresses who played Briony’s character. Garai and Redgrave were able to justify Ronan’s foundation of the character and able to deliver it convincingly until the end of the film. Redgrave’s appearance can be considered as a cameo but it was the most emotional one. She delivered a line that not only summarized the film but also her character’s actions and plead for mercy.

Personally, I consider “Atonement” as one of the best films for 2008. It’s the first film I’ve watched for the year that I never got disappointed. I’ll be crossing my fingers for it to win the Oscar.

But I really would like to leave you with one question after watching the film. If you were in Briony’s situation will reliving and rewriting Cecilia and Robbie’s character in her last novel be considered enough atonement?

HAPPY NEW YOU! January 21, 2008

Happy New Year to each and one of us!

We are now again ushered to a new year. So what are our plans?

Every time a new year comes in I always come to a point where I reflect upon things. Events that happened to me during the past year comeback to my mind and helps me assess whether the past year has been lived well or not. A lot of things happened in 2007. For me it was a very significant year in highlighting what I really want from life. Although I haven’t achieved much of my goals for 2007 it made my welcoming for 2008 more exciting and driven.

Here we are now beaming for 2008…

New year. New beginnings. Renewed hope and faith. Another chance. Another taste of life. A most opportune time to reflect… a time to regain pure strength, draw new inspirations and build enthusiasm to find a reason to celebrate the zest of living a colorful life.

May 2008 be a chance for all of us to continue and double our efforts to rejoice life’s beauty so we may all be reborn to a new self… A NEW YOU!

More glory and bountiful blessings to us all!