Flesh + Blood (1985), Rutger Hauer

RIP Rutger Hauer

This is medieval soft-core way before Game of Thrones made medieval soft-core porn an essential ingredient for your TV viewing experience. That is, medieval setting with enough boobs and sex to draw more viewers. By the way, that above is Rutger Hauer and Jennifer Jason Leigh, the movie’s called Flesh & Blood and it’s from Paul Verhoeven, director of Showgirls and Basic Instinct. Robocop and Total Recall as well.

Oh, one thing though, Flesh and Blood doesn’t have the lavishly beautiful sets of Game of Thrones. In that regard, it’s more like Terry Gilliam’s Jabberwocky. And no fantasy elements either. It’s more like, grimy and muddy. And lots of blood, too. And mostly unlikable characters. Like there’s no real protagonists in this movie, no heroes to root for. And that’s the one most people complain about in this movie. It’s maybe a little too cynical for some people’s taste. Well, taking it as it is, it’s probably my favorite serious film set in medieval times. My other favorite movies set in the Middle Ages? Uhm, that would be Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Sam Raimi’s Army of Darkness.

Flesh & Blood is about a band of mercenaries, led by Martin (Rutger Hauer) who takes revenge on feudal lord Arnolfini after he betrayed them. Martin’s group of undesirables got their revenge and then kidnaps Agnes (Jennifer Jason Leigh) who’s engaged to Arnolfini’s son Steven (Tom Burlinson). The rest of the movie has Steven trying to rescue Agnes, while Agnes tries to have her way with Martin and the rebels.

Needless to say, Rutger Hauer is great in this one. As one reviewer puts it, “Hauer is the only guy who could have found a way to make you root for Martin even at his worst, and loathe him even at his best.” I think this movie made me check his other movies like Blind Fury, Soldier of Orange, and Turkish Fruit. And he’s also in Hobo with a Shotgun, which is a blast. Well, this movie, too.

Day of the Dead, Dellamorte Dellamore

The first of November is hardly about the saints. Even in this largely Christian Catholic Asian country. Even if the government and the church still call it All Saints’ Day. It has always been Day of the Dead, like that centuries-old tradition in Mexico, only we don’t have those colorful outfits and beautifully decorated skulls.

27 Movie Questions

1. Favorite action film?
There are too many. But if it has to be a recent one, I’d pick Pedring Lopez’s Maria, with Cristine Reyes.

2. Favorite comedy film?
Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Kung Fu Hustle.

11 Favorite Moments In ‘Avengers: Endgame’

1. Justine Bieber. That moment when Rocket joked about Captain Marvel’s ever changing haircut. Yup, Captain Marvel is Disney’s attempt at a lesbian superhero. And they still couldn’t spell it out. Where’s your balls Kevin Feige Mickey Mouse? Also, Deadpool did it first. And she has a very cool name: Negasonic Teenage Warhead.

Ranking All MCU Movies from Iron Man to Avengers: Endgame

Endgame is over now. Thank you, Tony Stark, you’re the one who started it all. In a cave. In Afghanistan. Back in 2008. It was that long ago. If you could still remember, there were two big comic book movies in 2008. and if I have to pick between the two, for me, Iron Man is 2008’s comic book movie of the year.

Captain America goes back to the ’70s to save Nick Fury

Everyone’s into time travel now, thanks to Avengers: Endgame. It’s an interesting concept—time travel. In the MCU, it was first hinted at in Doctor Strange. Then, in Infinity War. Below’s an old post of mine, which I came up with after binge-watching Tarantino movies, Scorsese’s gangster films, and exploitation movies from the ’70s.

Avengers: Endgame Leaks, Spoilers, Fan Theories

We’re in the Endgame now. Avengers: Endgame is now showing in theaters. In Manila. And probably in malls in some other cities. Don’t have a firm plan yet. Don’t want to wait in long cues but I don’t want to wait until two weeks either. Not really afraid about someone spoiling it to me because I’ve been reading plot leaks, potential spoilers and fan theories for quite some time now.

And I don’t think Endgame is the type of movie that can be spoiled by major spoilers (i.e., character deaths). They’re not like M. Night Shyamalan movies. Yes, it takes away some of the shock factor by the time you actually see it on screen but you’d be lying to yourself if you’d say you didn’t think that either Tony or Cap might die this whole time.

Like it said in the title, this is about the plot leaks, potential spoilers and fan theories I found on the web after watching those Endgame’s TV spots and trailers, and what I think about them. If the TV spots and trailers are like strip tease without revealing anything, the online leaks and theories is like you imagining you actually saw something. And if you’re wary about reading potential spoilers and want to go in blind, you’ve got to stop now. Right here.

Despite all those leaks, one big question remains: Just how are they going to beat Thanos this time? Are they going to undo the snap with a new Gauntlet? Or are they going to go back in time, go to Wakanda to change the ending of the previous movie? Are they going to kill Thanos before he could do the snap?

According to one of the leaks, there’s going to be a big battle in Nova. Does this mean they’re going to undo all those events after Thanos gets the power stone?

Wait, someone’s knocking on my door. And it’s… it’s Thanos. So, I guess thathjdjd it. See yksjdjfn.

5 Reasons Why You Should See ‘Maria’

Come May 17, Maria will start streaming on Netflix. If you live overseas or you missed it during its theatrical run, here’s your chance to see it. And below are five reasons why you shouldn’t miss.

1) It’s R-rated, not whiny PG-13. This is not comic book kiddie stuff, which means there’s sex and violence. Uhm, okay, not exactly—there’s no sex; sexy, yes, but there’s violence for sure. There are few painfully detailed scenes of torture and gore. And KC Montero excels as one of the sadistic villains.

2) Filipino martial arts. Maria isn’t a full-on martial arts film like The Raid or The Night Comes For Us. It’s an action movie with fights that features FMA (Filipino martial arts). Where have we seen that before? Have you heard of Jason Bourne? Yes, FMA is one of the techniques used in those Bourne movies. The more recent BuyBust also features FMA. What more? The movie also features bladed weapons such as karambit (a curved knife) and balisong (butterfly knife).

3) Impressive fight scenes. FMA and fight choreography alone doesn’t guarantee an engrossing action sequence. Put in a little dose of shaky cam and you ruin the whole thing. Good thing there are no shaky cams in Maria. (Hello, The Bourne Supremacy!) There are no 12 cuts every 4 seconds. (Fuck you, The Winter Soldier!) And there are few inventive fight sequence in the movie. There’s a bathroom fight between two femme fatales that would probably fit in No Other Woman; there’s a tense chase sequence in a public market; and, probably my favorite, the part where Maria attacks a warehouse that segues into a great hallway fight. And there’s a bloody shower scene after one of those bloody fights. But this particular scene’s not sexual, just sexy.

4) The one and only Ronnie Lazaro. I first saw Ronnie Lazaro in the telenovela Ezperanza (with Judy Ann Santos), where he played the evil stepfather. And when he did a 180-degree turn in another telenovela, Kay Tagal Kitang Hinintay, where he played the adoptive father of John Lloyd Cruz’s character, that’s when I said to myself (what a wonderful world!), this guy’s the shit. Turns out he’s already been in films like Oro Plata Mata and Boatman before. Anyways, he really needs no introduction. He is THE Ronnie Lazaro. And in Maria, he plays assassin, mentor, friend and fairy godmother. Yep, you read that right.

5) Cristine Reyes as Maria. Forget about comic book movies, forget about Captain Marvel, if you really want memorable portrayal of a strong female character. Alita? She’s OK, she kicks ass, but if you want something not limited by PG-13 rating, then you should definitely go see Cristine Reyes kick some butts. She excels in action as well as in the dramatic scenes. Aside from those kick ass fight scenes mentioned above, there’s a fun back and forth between Maria and Sir Greg (Ronnie Lazaro) in the movie’s few quiet moments.

Deadpool 2 Is The Super Duper $@%!#& Superhero Movie of the Year

13 Reasons Why Deadpool 2 Is The Super Duper $@%!#& Superhero Movie of the Year

Not really a big comic book guy, but if you’d ask me who my favorite comic book characters are, top five would be, in no particular order: Spider-Man, Hulk, Punisher, Cable and Deadpool. That’s right, one from MCU’s Avengers team but not Iron Man, Thor or Cap and none from Fox’s X-Men. Wolverine? I like Wolverine, but not Hugh Jackman’s Polverine.

Favorite Movies of 2018

I started this list and wrote the draft in early September, feared that Jose Mari Chan’s cool as breeze and soothing voice would soon invade the airwaves and mind-erase the best movies I’ve seen this year. The original list was longer and includes flicks I don’t think so highly about (i.e., Black Panther) but I like to keep it short this time and include only my favorite films.

‘Banayad Whiskey’ & Other Funny Movie Scenes

Kingpin. If you’re familiar with the Insidious movies, you probably know who Lynn Shane is. She’s the psychic in the series and the main protagonist in the last movie. In Kingpin, she plays the landlady of Woody Harrelson’s character. And she’s responsible for the movie’s most horrifying scene. More horrifying than anything in the Insidious movies.

Before Jose Mari Chan Invades the Airwaves

Drafted this days before Jose Mari Chan starts invading the airwaves again. Well, it’s the time of the year again. And I could already smell the cool breeze even when it’s 32 deg C outside, imagine people “giving gifts exchanging cards” and believe that “Christmas is truly in their hearts.” Which means, it’s almost-but-not-yet-really near the end of the year again and it’s time for the usual year-end lists. It’s also high time for me to catch up, which means, there won’t be enough time for me to get.

Thor’s New Hammer, Iron Man’s Gundam Suit and Other Great Things In ‘Avengers: Infinity War’

Avengers: Infinity War is far from perfect. But then it could have been worse, like The Matrix: Revolutions or Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest. Good thing it’s more like Back to the Future II. Someone said it should have been a three-part movie. Well, dude’s got a point. Because the storytelling felt rushed. Me, I only wished it was longer.

Stoked to Infinity? Deadpool 2’s Final Trailer Is Just So Rad

Random Thoughts: Videodrome, The Terminator, Fight Club and Other Favorite Movies

Just randomly picked movies that either blew me away one way or another, or movies that somehow stayed with me. Without thinking really hard. Movies I wouldn’t hesitate to give another go around if I can afford the time. Movies I’ll recommend to friends.

Here we go, in no specific order.

Are You Team ‘Infinity War’ Or Are You Team ‘Deadpool’?

Couldn’t we just like them both? Be excited for both? Eggsactly. But where’s the fun in that? Also, these are two very different superhero movies. Two movies that operate on very different levels. So let’s contrast and compare.

10 Films

Jolens tagged me in a post, some kind of chain letter. She said “list 10 books that stayed with you in some way. Don’t take more than a few minutes and don’t think too hard. They don’t have to be ‘right’ or ‘great’ works.” I did the list, but I cheated—couldn’t make a list of 10 in just few minutes. She suggested that I do movies instead. I said okay, but I made three sets instead of one—in less than five minutes.

2017: Movies & Music Year-end List

Movies

I missed some pretty big movies this year. Just like the previous year. And the year before that. And the year before the year before that. And the year before the year before… Oh, this could go on forever. By “pretty big”, I mean movies like Blade Runner 2049 and Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk. Or the last Star Wars movie.

13 Reasons Why I’m (Not) So Excited About Avengers: Infinity War

 

 

Can’t say I’m not the least bit excited about Avengers: Infinity War. It is after all an Avengers movie. Something I have always looked forward to more than any other series or sub-franchise in the ongoing Marvel universe. Outside of the Guardians of the Galaxy, of course.

One reason I’m not too excited about Infinity War is that the Russos are directing it. And the writers of Captain America trilogy are the guys behind the script (Edit: They also wrote The Dark World, which I actually liked, but y’know Joss Whedon also had a hand on it). Sure, Civil War had some funny, sometimes witty back and forths, but it’s not the same as when Joss Whedon was still Marvel’s go to guy. Of course, Age of Ultron was a massive let down but so was Civil War.

10 Filipino Horror Films To Watch Before the Sigbin Gets You

Better late than never. Listed in no particular order.

Yanggaw / Director: Richard Somes / Year: 2008

Ranking All MCU Movies from Iron Man to Ragnarok

With the release of Thor: Ragnarok, Marvel has now churned out seventeen movies. Yep, that’s right. Seventeen fuckin’ Marvel movies and almost all of them widely popular with both critics and fans, almost all of them hit big at the box office. But not all of them are great or good. There are few stinkers and there are a few gold. The list below starts with the stinkers with the movies listed in descending order.

Is ‘Logan’ The Best X-Men Movie?

The Last of Wolverine

No, I don’t think Logan is the greatest comic-book movie since The Dark Knight (which isn’t even great to begin with). But it’s probably the best X-Men movie yet. I used to agree with the general consensus that X2 was the best of the lot, but Logan is also a remarkable movie and it gets Wolverine right. And that for me, says a lot.

What if Marvel gets Tarantino to do a Captain America spin-off?

Here’s what—should Marvel hire Quentin Tarantino and give him 100% free rein:

It would be set in the near future where the world is enslaved by Loki and the formation of Avengers never happened. Why? Because a deadly assassin killed Nick Fury in the ’70s. Doctor Strange would send Captain America back in time to stop the assassination.

Fury would be portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson in Jheri curl. He still has two good eyes, but he’ll lost one by the end of the movie. Cap would have few but important lines; Samuel L. Jackson would do most of the talking.

To get to Fury, Cap would need to hook up with hookers, nuns with guns, and sexy spies. Expect lots of T&A and few glimpses of untrimmed hair because this is the ’70s! Cap’s magic shield wouldn’t work in this movie; he has to do a lot of heavy action scenes and sweaty bed scenes without CGI, green-screen, shaky cam and frantic editing.

There would be a scene where SHIELD’s Agent Skye shows Cap her voluptuous… vinyl collection. And Cap would unsheathe and play her delicate… Delfonics LP. Off-screen, she’d be heard whispering OMG’s ever so softly.

The assassin’s identity would be revealed as Cap, Fury, and Skye find themselves on the wrong end of a brutal fight. Cap would do the ultimate sacrifice to save Fury. (Cap dies during climax.) The assassin would escape through a time portal created by Doctor Strange.

---

Epilogue: Present day. Bucky opens the door and enters his apartment, groceries on both hands. He finds Fury waiting inside with gun aimed at him.

Bang! Bucky’s hit between the eyes and falls on the floor.

A rodent crawls across the window.

Roy Buchanan’s “Sweet Dreams” fades in. Black screen. Credits.

Top 10 Superhero Movies

Spider-Man 2 (2004). In the comics, later in the story, it is revealed that Aunt May knew all along that Peter is Spider-Man. That she secretly knew his secret. That this is hinted at in the movie, is one of those little things that made this adaptation great. That Aunt May is given her own kick-ass moment, teaming up with Spidey to beat Doc Ock, is another. Of course, there’s the great train sequence, the bank heist, Doc Ock’s Evil Dead moment, and don’t forget, J.K. Simmons as the blustering  J. Jonah Jameson.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008). This is one visually stunning film. The troll market is a hoot. The fate of the last forest god is both tragic and beautiful. On top of that, the film’s main conflict isn’t just simplistic good vs. evil—Prince Nuada has good reasons to break the truce. Remember the part where they drink beer and sing along to Barry Manilow? Yeah, this movie’s quite funny too.

Guardians Of The Galaxy (2014). It’s a good mix of action, comedy and drama—not over serious but not just mindless fun either. From the opening song and dance number down to the other song and dance numbers before and mid-credits, this movie about a band of misfits saving the world is a winner! And probably the danciest superhero movie of all. The best MCU movie? Yes—beats The Avengers by a hair and way way better than Civil War.

Batman Returns (1992). Tim Burton isn’t much about inventive fight scenes than he is about texture, the elaborate Gothic sets, the quirky and oftentimes grotesque characters. What it does lack in action, it makes up with style and wit (i.e., Penguin’s weaponized umbrella, Selina Kyle’s taser-kiss). Add to that the deliciously insane script and the great cast—Danny De Vito, Christopher Walken, Michelle Pfieffer—and you got the best adaptation of the Caped Crusader’s plight.

Spider-Man (2002). Compared to more recent movies, this may seem a little too straightforward now—more like a comic book primer, a one-shot. But that’s only because it is the prototype, which others would later try to improve on. Some movies upped the action (Kick-Ass), some, the comedy (Deadpool) but Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man, where Peter Parker learns that “with great power comes great responsibility”, remains the all around better origin movie.

The Avengers (2012). After two Hulk movies that were just okay, here’s that Hulk movie we all really need. I remember not being so excited about this before it came out. That all the movies that lead to this movie were just okay—the talky Iron Man sequel, Cap’s WWII origin and Thor‘s uneventful Asgard—was enough for me to lower my expectations. Thus, seeing the Earth’s mightiest in one awesome movie—thanks to Joss Whedon—was such a huge marvelous surprise.

Deadpool (2016). Merc with a Mouth’s origin story is part Spider-Man redux, part corrective to the atrocious Wolverine origin and the closest a comic-book movie comes to approximating Monty Python and the Holy Grail-type of craziness (though it’s not even close). Green Lantern is quite good as Deadpool and he’s got Serenity‘s feisty muse as his girl next door.

Kick-Ass (2010). Also known as Big Daddy’s Revenge (With A Little Help From Kick-Ass). Because. It’s all about revenge. And Matthew Vaughn’s stylish action sequence. Never mind the premise; or the first half; or Dave Lizewski’s thought balloons about being a superhero. You’ll forget about them anyway, once you see Hit-Girl (Chloe Grace Moretz) take on Big Boss Frank D’Amico in a brutal hand-to-hand combat in the movie’s kick-ass finale.

Super (2010). The genre deconstruction that Kick-Ass hardly was—James Gunn’s pre-MCU superhero black comedy features the pipe-wrench wielding vigilante who calls himself The Crimson Bolt and his far more unhinged side-kick Boltie. It’s dark, funny and gritty. Tired of the family-friendly and passable entertainment from Disney? Or the trying hard to be dark and edgy DC movies? This one’s for you.

Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back (2001). I was one movie short of making this a top ten list. So I thought of another movie which I really like. Then, I remembered this—Kevin Smith’s movie about Jay and Silent Bob going to Hollywood to stop the adaptation of Bluntman and Chronic into the big screen. It’s trashy and amateurish, which is typical of Smith’s movies. A must-see if you’re a fan of Smith’s.

Rants/Raves: Christopher Nolan’s Films

Batman’s upside-down smooch.

Batman Begins (2005). Details, lots of details. As if Nolan has written a book, a manual on how to be Batman. It’s a good comic book origin story, but still, it’s got nothing on my favorite origin movies—Spider-Man and Guardians of the Galaxy.

Irreversible (2002). A friend once told me of a movie about an amnesiac, in which the story was told in reverse—or something like that. I forgot what the title was and so when I saw this movie with the woman from Malena standing nude on the cover, I thought this was the movie he was referring to. I was wrong. He was talking about Christopher Nolan’s Memento; and this is by Gaspar Noe, a guy who surely knows how to shock.

Memento (2000). Not sure whether this or Batman Begins was first Nolan movie I saw. Here, Nolan cuts his story in the middle, then cut it further into pieces and spliced them like a puzzle. Only that, after all the pieces were in place, it kinda feels pointless. That’s it? It didn’t blew me away.

If you want something that’s really hard to follow, try Shane Carruth’s Primer—now that is one mindfuck movie!

The Prestige (2006). Based on Christopher Priest’s novel about two magicians engaged in a stiff one-upmanship. Some critics bemoaned the lack of showy flourish, but I like it nonetheless, it’s my favorite among Nolan’s films. The story employs multiple flashbacks, shuffling the sequence of events. Yet, unlike in his other films, the non-linear storytelling is fluid and doesn’t feel like a gimmick. Also, it’s got David Bowie as the great Nikola Tesla and that Thom Yorke song at the end credits is just perfect. While the secret to Angier’s final magic act was pretty much given, I didn’t realize Borden’s trick until it was revealed. It was also quite obvious though, if one carefully pays attention. But maybe Cutter (Michael Caine) was right, I wanted to be fooled.

The Dark Knight (2008). A friend once defended this film by saying that critics nitpick on things Nolan wasn’t particularly good at—like staging good fight scenes—that it wasn’t his forte, and that the movie was great nonetheless. Well, I don’t know. Aren’t well staged fight scenes of primary importance in movies like this? Hellboy 2, Spider-Man, Kick-Ass, and Blade 2 all have memorable fight scenes. Heck, even the third X-Men movie has at least one memorable action sequence. And despite all the detailed upgrades on the Batsuit, both looks and functionality, Christian Bale doesn’t improve much on Michael Keaton’s Bat-Stiff.

Inception (2010). Despite its multilayered narrative, some people find Nolan’s dream within a dream movie, linear and literal. And I tend to agree with them. Aside from the arresting visuals and one inspired sequence, this was just as problematic as Memento. Unlike Satoshi Kon’s Paprika, Inception is hardly “dream-like”. Near the end of this quite long movie, when it looks like Dom Cobb will succeed anyway, no matter what the odds are, I thought that it was probably more meaningful to snuggle, take a nap and dream for real; instead of the two plus hours I just spent, inside Nolan’s shared world of daydreaming.

…

I saw a tree

It fell

Then, I saw her.

#lovestory #romcom #haiku

CinepleXX

Sunud-sunod na putok ng baril ang umalingawngaw. Sagutan ng putok. Habulan at barilan sa gubat. May mga humahabol kay Ben-Hur. Gumanti sya ng putok. Tumingin sa camera, nakangiwi ng bahagya. Sa harap naman ay may lumang sofa na bahagyang tumatabing sa ibabang bahagi ng telon. Medyo malabo din ang pelikulang nakasalang, at tila baligtad ang mga imaheng lumalabas dito. Sa harap ng telon, sa ibabaw ng sofa, umahon ang imahe ng isang babae.

Ganito ko naalala ang isang eksena sa isang pelikula ni Erik Matti. Isa lang sa mga tagpo sa mga pelikula nya na pag napanood mo, mahirap nang makalimutan. Merong din syang pelikula kung saan yung eksena naganap naman sa loob isang aparador. Pero balik tayo dun sa nauna. Sa pelikulang iyon, napaisip ako kung meron ba talagang mga iskwater na ginagawang bahay ang likod ng telon sa loob ng sinehan.  Nasa pelikula eh, kaya malamang, nangyayari din sa tunay na buhay. Pwede rin na pinapaupahan ng management ng sinehan. Pero teka, ano nga bang klase ng sinehan ang tinutukoy ko? Meron pa bang mga tulad nito sa ngayon? Tingin ko meron pa, pero mangilan-ngilan na lang. Ito yung mga sinaunang sinehan. Wala sa loob ng mall at hindi rin nakakabit sa anumang establisemento. Ang sinehan, sinehan lang. Sa ganitong sinehan ako unang nakapanood ng sine, yung Magnum .357 ni FPJ. Sa probinsya meron din mga ganito, tulad nung sinehan sa isang pelikula ni Brilliante Mendoza na naipalabas sa Cannes. May napanooran pa nga ako dati nung bata pa ako, sinehan na wala pang aircon. Blower at air freshener lang. Pero mas gusto ko ang yari ng mga sinehan noon. Yung tipong makakapanood ka nang maayos kahit hindi ka nakaupo sa last row. Hindi naman siguro lahat ganun, pero tingin ko iyon ang standard noon. May balcony at may orchestra. Medyo mahal ng konti sa balcony. Pero mas kita mo naman nang buong-buo ang pelikula.

Sa probinsya namin, nung nasa college na ako, may isang sinehan na malaki, state-of-the-art ika nga. Fully air-conditioned na, digital surround sound pa. Ito na siguro ang pinakamagandang sinehang napasok ko. Ang kaibahan nya sa mga bagong mall ngayon, hindi sya sinehan sa loob ng mall. Isa syang sinehan, na may iba’t iba pang klaseng tindahan sa loob. Sinehan ang main attraction. Pero may mga side bet din tulad ng bar, mga kainan at ilang mga boutique. Pero olats mamili dun, kasi madalas, mas mahal ang mga bilihin. At wala syang grocery at department store. Pero kung panonood ng sine ang pakay mo, dun ka dapat pumunta. Isa syang paraiso, sa mga mahihilig…sa pelikula. Tatlo ang sinehan sa loob. Sa isang linggo, lagi akong may tatlong pagpipilian. Kung lahat gusto kong panoorin, kailangan kung iplano nang mabuti ang schedule ng panonood. Tinitimbang din kung aling subject ang pwede kong libanan, at kung magkakaroon ba ng exam o hindi. Mahalaga ring i-consider ang oras ng palabas. At itanong sa sarili kung aabot ba ako last trip pauwi, pagkatapos ng pelikula.

Dati, hindi pa uso ang mga malls sa probinsya namin. May isang malaking shopping center, pero hindi sya tinatawag na mall. Kung tutuusin, maituturing mo na rin syang mall. Meron lahat – food court, supermarket, grocery, arcade – lahat ng basic features ng isang mall, meron din sya. Meron din itong sinehan. Dalawa. Pero di tulad ng mga sinehan sa mga malls ngayon, malaki din ang sinehan dito.

Ano nga bang nangyari sa mga sinehan ngayon? Bakit paliit nang paliit ang mga sinehan.  Dahil ba kahit marami lagi ang tao sa mga mall, ay kakaunti naman ang pumapasok sa sinehan? At di na ba kayang punuin ng manood kung ang sinehan mo ay may espasyo na kasing laki nung sa luma? Hindi na ba uso ang sinehan na parang nasa balcony ka? Kung maliit ang sinehan bakit kailangan pagkalaki-laki ng screen nito? Ang hirap tuloy manood.

Naalala ko nung minsan manood ako ng pelikula ni Lav Diaz sa isang high-end na mall. Dahil high-end ang mall at ito ay nasa isang high-end na lugar, umasa ako na maayos ang sinehan dito. Pero hindi, tulad din mga sinehan sa ibang mall na kapareho ng pangalan nito, hindi sulit ang panonood. Hindi ko alam yung ibang nanonood kung napapansin ba nila ito. Na sobrang laki ng screen pero hindi sapat ang layo ng upuan mo para makita mo ng lubos ang pelikula. Walang tamang anggulo at hindi kayang saklawin ng paningin mo ang kabuuan ng telon. May mga detalya na hindi mo mapapansin. Pamaya-maya kailangan mo rin i-scan ang buong tabing para makita ang lahat nang nangyayari sa loob nito.

Bilang isang taong may kaunting nalalaman sa desenyo, naisip ko tuloy iyong mga propesyonal na nag-dedesenyo ng mga buildings tulad ng mall. Pasok ba sa standard ang sukat ng sinehan sa mall na ito? Makakalabas ba agad ang mga tao kung sakaling magkaroon ng sunog? Una hindi ko alam kung meron ngang standard na sukat, pero malamang meron. Eh ano ngayon? Alin ba ang mas mahalaga, makatipid at kumita ng maayos ang mga malls o ang pagsunod sa standard?

Pero hindi naman talaga ito malaking problema. Manonood na lang ako sa bahay. Magsasalang ng DVD at magbubukas ng malamig na beer. Sarap.

(Taxi Driver screenshot taken from http://cinemajam.com; Serbis screenshot taken from https://www.cineplex.com.)