Brillante Mendoza weaves brilliance in the award-winning MMFF entry ‘Mindanao’

The cast and crew of Mindanao led by award-winning director Brillante Mendoza and one of the best actresses of her generation Judy Ann Santos.  

Whenever people talk about director Brillante Mendoza, his work would often be described as thought-provoking, moving, socially relevant and award-winning.

Who can forget Mendoza’s first film Masahista in 2005 where a newcomer Coco Martin portrays the role of young man offering massage service to gay men and touches the harsh realities of life?  Four years later, Coco was again tapped by Mendoza for the movie Kinatay where the later won the best director plum at the 62^nd Cannes Film Festival, the first Filipino to achieve such milestone.

Mendoza has also worked with the Superstar of Philippine Cinema Nora Aunor in the movie Thy Womb (2012), his first movie set in Mindanao, and Cannes Best Actress Jacklyn Jose for the 2016 drama Ma’ Rosa.

In this year’s Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF), Mendoza is bringing his winning ways with the much-acclaimed movie Mindanao to compete in the box-office with other entries:  The Mall, The Merrier (Vice Ganda/ Anne Curtis); Mission Unstapabol: The Don Identity (Vic Sotto/ Maine Mendoza); Sunod (Carmina Villarroel/ Mylene Dizon); 3POL Trobol: Huli Ka Balbon! (Coco Martin/ Ai-Ai Delas Alas/ Jennylyn Mercado); Miracle in Cell No. 7 (Aga Muhlach/ Xia Vigor); Write About Love (Roco Nacino/ Miles Ocampo); and Culion (Iza Calzado/ Jasmine Curtis-Smith / Meryll Soriano).

Mindanao does not lack star power with Judy Ann Santos leading the cast of this movie graded A by the Cinema Evaluation Board. Juday won the Best Actress award for this film at the 41st Cairo International Film Festival while the full-length feature was also recognized as Best in Artistic Contribution.

If you need a good cry this holiday season, Mindanao is a certified tearjerker. Make sure that along with your popcorn, you have a lot of tissues on hand because things can be messy when you started to sob with Juday. Another good news is that you can now tag along your kids watching a Brillante Mendoza film because the multi award-winning director used animation in his feature for the first time to incorporate the epic tale of Rajah and Sulayman in this action drama film about Saima (Judy Ann) who spent the final days of her daughter Aisa (Yuna Tangog)who was battling cancer at the House of Hope in Davao City while his husband Malang (Allen Dizon) dodges bullets as a medic in the military operation in Maguindanao.

My personal takeaways after watching Mindanao is that, regardless of religion, beliefs and social status, we are all equal when we see death waving at us. Whether its cancer or a loaded gun that is slowly killing you, it doesn’t even matter because the bottom line is if you don’t survive, you’re dead. Plus, it was quite an experience even just through this film to witness how our Muslim brothers and sisters pay their last respect to their loved ones who passed away.

But the movie is not really that gloomy because Mendoza was able to weave scenes of hopes and colourful moments to balance the heavy premise of the story. Watch out for the heart-warming grocery store scene and you might whisper, “Faith in humanity restored.”

Indeed, the brilliance of Mendoza is flying and spewing fire like Ginto and Pula from the popular folktale from the South, in this yet another eye-opener and one of the front-runners for the Best Picture at the MMFF award ceremonies.

Transformers: The book that comes to life

One of the best feelings every father can experience is when he is able to transform a childhood memory into a present bonding moment with his child.

I grew up in the 80s as a boy who is so amazed with giant talking robots that can turn themselves into zooming cars going against enemy droids changing into terror planes. I am pretty sure that you know what I am talking about. Yes, it’s the never-ending saga of the battle between the Autobots and Decepticons in the Transformers franchise that evolve from a popular TV program to a blockbuster movie series and tons of merchandises which includes books.

My 8-year old son, who is a fan of the Transformer films (the fifth installment to be released in theaters this month), was just so happy to get his hands with the Scholastic book Transformers Robots in Disguise: Where Crown City Comes to Life. 

   

This 32-page hardbound book for Transformer fans of all ages has a 5-star rating from goodreads.com. Well, if you ask my son he’ll probably give six because of the new and exciting reading experience he got. Aside from the full-color all-action world of Crown City that he discovered, he was able to bring to life his favorite Autobots Optimus Prime and Bumblebee going head-to-head against the evileforces of the Decepticons through incredible 3D augmented-reality animations by using our smartphones and tablets.

If there is a Transformers book for the boys and there is also a My Little Pony AR book for girls from Scholastics.

In single-user mode, anyone can bring to life Grimlock, Steeljaw and the rest of the crew in the palm of his hand then switch to life-size mode, watch his favorite Transformer grow to real size, and just sit in awe watching them move. Another great feature is you can take photos of the moment and share them with your friends and family!

In dual-user mode, just connect your device to a friend’s unit, and battle Underbite against an Autobot of your choice. Plus, you can also customize your very own Transformer by choosing  the color, look and strength of your robot to make it the ultimate Transformer.

There is an easy-to-follow guide in the book that will give you all the things you need to know including how to download the free app for both iOS and Android devices that will be used to get all the fun elements of the book.

Here's a video guide on how to fully enjoy this one-of-a-kind reading experience:

Life is sweet at Linden Suites

The face of my 7-year old son Charles lit up when I told him that we’ll spend Father’s Day in a hotel. He has always associated hotel with vacation, fun, family bonding, and a huge soft bed. 

My wife and I both have full-time jobs so we make sure that our weekends are spent with our one and only child. We usually do food trips, go to the mall, or watch movies together on our day-offs.   Hotel staycation is something we do during special occasions.

Every time we book an overnight stay in a hotel, we have a number of things to consider. More than what we adults want, it’s what will make our kid enjoy the moment that matters more. Is there a near mall, toy store or play/ activity area? Does the hotel accepts deliveries from fastfood shops? How big is the “huge soft bed?”

Many hotels definitely fits the bill but there is something in Linden Suites in Ortigas that made us decide that it’s the perfect place to spend Dad’s day this year. Well, this catchy meme that I saw on Facebook has something to do with it in a way.

And so on the afternoon of June 18, Saturday, I found myself inside the very comfortable and big 2-bedroom suites at Linden with the company of my brother-in-law, his wife and their son Nico. There was a big dining table at the middle of the room, two sofas, a CD component, a kitchen (with a ref, microwave oven and electric stoves) and still, we can ask 15 more people to join us and we have enough space to play tag. I’m not kidding.

One of the room has a queen-size bed with a comfort room featuring a bath tub (yay!) while the other one has twin beds with its own bathroom which has a shower cubicle.    

Of course, how can we miss the covered swimming pool of Linden Suites? It’s kid-friendly because it’s just 4-feet deep plus a hawk-eyed lifeguard on standby anytime of the day.  By the way, there’s Jacuzzi on the side of the big pool (yay again).

The pool is located on the 9^th floor of Tower 1 of Linden where the gym is also situated. If you’re a health buff or someone who just want to do some lifting and stretching, you can stay at the gym where helpful assistants are on duty. The pool and gym are both open from 6:00 am to 10:00 pm every day.

While booked in Linden, our family decided to go out for a walk. We did not find it as a hassle to stroll along the busy street of Ortigas at night time because there are a lot of things to see.  It is the home to shopping malls, office buildings, bars and restaurants, and hotels. We even have a harder time choosing where to shop: SM Megamall, Podium or St. Francis Square. In the end, we picked SM, or should I say our kids want it to be there because of Toy Kingdom.

After our dinner at the mall, we went back to our hotel room and had a movie night. Actually two different movie sessions: Disney movie for the children and we adults got to own the remote and go for HBO. Thank God we have two LED screens in the room.

When we woke up in the morning, we marvelled on the great view of Ortigas in a fine Sunday morning. Since the kids stayed wide awake last night, we agreed to just go by couple. A breakfast buffet was waiting for us at Mesclun restaurant at the 2^nd floor of Linden. We definitely enjoyed international buffet and new dishes that were whipped up in the kitchen. I had a blast, especially my stomach, feasting on the Asian, European, and Mediterranean fusion cuisine that were served.

The staff members of Mesclun were also accommodating and understanding. When we informed them that we have kids in the room, they allowed us to bring a plateful of bread and jam and a glass of orange juice so we don’t need to go down again for their meals.

As much as we want to stay longer at Linden, we need to go home by 12 noon because of a lunch treat that we prepared for my father-in-law. While driving home, we never got tired discussing about our great hotel experience which we also shared to other family members. Definitely, we’ll be coming back soon. Indeed, life is sweet at Linden Suites.

The Linden Suites is located at 37 San Miguel Avenue, Ortigas Center, Pasig City. You may contact them via tel. no.  +63 (02) 638.7878 or you may visit their official website www.lindensuites.com or like their Facebook fanpage www.facebook.com/LindenSuites.

6 reasons to watch “VIY: The Spirit of Evil” aside from a chance to win an iPhone 6

Halloween is just a couple of weeks from now and for sure you are already thinking of a scary movie where you’ll have a chance to hug or cling on your date especially during creepy scenes. Well, I have one “astig” recommendation which I saw last night at My Cinema, Greenbelt 3 during a special screening by Futuretainment, Inc.

I have six reasons for you to watch VIY: The Spirit of Evil and on top of them is a hair-raising news that you might end up owning a brand new iPhone 6 by just watching the film which will be shown in 3D in select theatres in Metro Manila, and in in 2D nationwide starting October 22.

1.  “VIY: The Spirit of Evil” is a hit dark fantasy film loosely based the story “Viy” by Nikolai Gogol, a legendary Russian poet. Gogol has been featured many times on Russian and Soviet postage stamps; he is also well represented on stamps worldwide. Several commemorative coins have been issued from Russia and the USSR. In 2009, the National Bank of Ukraine issued a commemorative coin dedicated to Gogol.  At least ten streets have been named after Gogol in various towns and cities and Russia.

2.  If you’re a big fan of the worldwide monster HBO hit series “Game of Thrones” and deeply missed just about everything about the said TV show, you’ll have at least Charles Dance who plays Tywin Lannister in GOT in an important role in VIY. Plus, shades of special effects, gore and brutality of GOT can be felt in the movie.  VIY was shot in Prague at the Gatteo, Barrandov, and Letnyany studios, world-renowned locations that are also called the "European Hollywood" and home to the production of many blockbusters such as Van Helsing, The Brothers Grimm, The Chronicles of Narnia, Casino Royale, Hellboy, and Blade.

  

3.  VIY is produced by Russian Film Group and Marins Group and is distributed internationally by Universal Pictures, one of Hollywood so-called “Big Six” film studios. Lead star Jason Flemyng, who played the role of “Master Scientist” Jonathan Green, has also appeared in some of recent Hollywood box-office hits like Transporter 2; Case of Benjamin Button; Clash of the Titans; Kick-Ass; and X-Men: First Class.  

4.  VIY is the name of the dark and notorious monster responsible for the deaths of many village people in a sleepy 17th century Ukrainian village. It’s most terrifying ability is to murder and cut through the soul of any one with just the gaze of his many eyes. There is one very creepy sequence in the film where a number of terrifying monsters of all shapes and sizes appeared that made me blurt, “This is nightmare!”

5.  Jason Flemyng on VIY: “It's a classic story of redemption and of love and of adventure. “The special effects and the 3D is as good if not better as I've ever seen it, so the potential is limitless. I've made a hundred films now and five of them I love, and Viy is one of those five.”

6. The film became a certified hit when it was first released in Russia earlier this year. The first weekend take was $17 million, an all-time record for a Russian movie. 

Now if I happen to convince you to watch VIY, hold on dearly to the tickets that you’ll purchase because they might be your only chance ever of owning an iPhone 6. Here’s how:

a. All viewers of the movie are qualified to join the promo.

b. Participants must write their name and signature on their movie ticket (the side where the movie title is visible), and then take a selfie with their movie ticket.

c.  Go to the movie’s official Facebook page at www.facebook.com/futuretainmentinc and they must like th page and click the Watch and Win iPhone 6 promo logo for the next step and complete details.

d. There will be 3 winners of an iPhone 6 unit each, which will be drawn on October 25, 28, and 31.

e. Winners will be announced via Futuretainment FB account, Instagram account (@futureupdate) and the registered mail. Participants can only win once during the entire promo.

If this stuff still can’t charm you to watch VIY, don’t let the monsters in the film (watch the trailer below) make you.

Growing up with Robin Williams

Image credit: fanpop.com

I was sipping coffee for breakfast when a breaking news flashed on the TV screen: Hollywood actor Robin Williams dead at 63.

I felt a jolt of hot liquid inside my throat because a hurriedly finish my cup, not minding if my tonsils will get 3^rd degree burns, so I can reach out the remote control and increase the volume of the boob tube.

While listening to the confirmation of the authorities that the great funny one was indeed dead after committing suicide inside his home in California, I shed tears not because of a sore larynx but probably the connection I had with Williams growing up watching his films.

Call me a sentimental fool or what but he and his films for me are some of the best things that Hollywood gave to the world. I can still remember in the 80’s the amazement to see Popeye (1980) in a live action film; the contagious Good Morning, Vietnam (1987) spiel of the cool DJ Adrian Cronauer; and who can forget the wisdom of professor John Keating in Dead Poets Society (1989).          

In the 90’s, Williams again proved that laughter is the best medicine in his remarkable performances as Dr. Malcolm Sayer in Awakenings (1990) and real-life Dr. Hunter "Patch" Adams in Patch Adams (1998).  To some, he’ll be best remembered as the Genie in the animated film Aladdin (1992) or the android Andrew in Bicentennial Man (1999) or his Oscar-winning performance as Sean Maguire in Good Will Hunting (1997) but for me, he will always be Daniel Hillard aka Mrs. Euphegenia Doubtfire from what I considered my most favorite Robin Williams movie Mrs. Doubtfire (1993).

I was just a college freshman when I saw Robin William’s movie about a father who would do anything just to be with his kids.  Doing anything would mean disguising himself as an old lady to apply as a housekeeper to his ex-wife and three children.  With this simple premise, Mrs. Doubtfire became a box-office hit and was included in the American Film Institute’s list of 100 funniest movies of the 20^th century. Last week, I was able to see the movie again over cable TV.

Incidentally, Marsha Garces, a Filipino American philanthropist and a former movie producer became Williams real-life wife while she's working as a nanny in the 80’s. It’s no surprise that Williams starred in all the three films she produced (Mrs. Doubtfire; Patch Adams; 1999’s Jakob the Liar).

Mrs. Doubtfire is very funny but heart-warming in so many ways.  The story evolves in the life of Daniel Hillard (Williams), an out-of-work voice actor.  His wife Miranda, played by the versatile actress Sally Field, has reached the end of her patience and decided to leave his irresponsible husband.  Since Daniel has no steady job, Miranda was forced to be the main breadwinner of the family.   Miranda gets primary custody of their three children while the court granted Daniel visitation rights limited to Saturday evenings because they find him unfit to be a father (which I think is one of the greatest insults one can hurl to any man)

When Daniel founds out that Miranda was looking for a housekeeper, he moved heaven and earth just to get the job.  With the help of his brother who is a professional make-up artist, Daniel was transformed into the 60-year old widow from England Mrs. Doubtfire who got the name from the news headline "Police Doubt Fire Was Accidental". 

The moment Mrs. Doubtfire set foot to the house of Miranda and the kids, it was the beginning of mischievous adventures of the family.  To add a little more spice to Mrs. Doubtfire’s dilemma, Miranda introduces her new boyfriend (Pierce Brosnan) to the family.  At this stage, Daniel would not only fight for quality time for his children but also for the right to be the person to whom the kids will look up to.  

In the end, Mrs. Doubtfire’s true identity was discovered.  This would lead to the tear-jearker court scenes where Daniel acts as his own attorney as he confessed why he disguised as Mrs. Doubtfire.  The judge, although feeling sympathy for Daniel, finds his behavior somewhat disturbing and awarded sole custody of their children to Miranda.  Daniel's visitation rights were also further restricted as the judge only allows him to see his kids with supervision from a court liaison.  Williams is one great comedian but in this movie, he proves to everyone that he can also make us cry.  You can feel his pain as a father trapped in his worst nightmare in this sequence in the film.

But as they say, time heals all wounds.  Miranda forgave Daniel of all his wrongdoings and decided to give him what a father longs and truly deserve--- the warm hugs and kisses of his children.  The film concludes with Daniel picking up his kids while Miranda is watching a TV show featuring advices to children of divorced parents, saying that no matter what type of family living arrangement children have, love will maintain the bond.

I just feel blessed that I have a loving wife and a adorable child in my life now that I vowed not to be in the situation that I’ll be forced to wear high heels just to see my son.  Let all fathers learn from Mrs. Doubtfire.  

And as the movie world is mourning to the loss of one of the greatest funny man who was able to conquer television, theatre and the silver screen with his wit, charm and humor, let us all be forever reminded that life must go one with a famous line delivered by Mrs. Doubtfire, “But if there's love, dear, those are the ties that bind. And you'll have a family in your heart forever. All my love to you, poppet. You're going to be all right. Bye-bye.”

It’s hip, it’s hop: The Kogi Ssam Wrap

Korea will forever have a special spot in my heart.

It’s one of the three countries my passport got stamped during my first ever overseas trip a decade ago. In that month-long away from home experience, I was able to embraced things that I just see on TV and magazines then. Well, it’s one cool experience to be a foreigner.

I became an instant fan of Kimchi, I had a big crush with Sandara Park before, I like the beat of K-Pop music, and their movies and TV series (Tagalog-dubbed or with English subtitle) bring fresh air in the commercially-polluted local films offered all year round.

A couple of days ago, I was able to taste again, literally and figuratively, Korea during the Kogi Bulgogi’s bloggers event held at their Gateway Mall branch. (They also have branches at Greenhills Promenade, Eastwood Mall and Lucky China Town Mall.

Bloggers were treated to an afternoon of Korean munching and gulping. Among the many yummy delicacies, I spent savouring the plates of Kogi Ssam Wrap.     

Just a little backgrounder:  Ssam, literally meaning "wrapped", refers to a dish in Korean cuisine in which, usually, leafy vegetables are used to wrap a piece of meat such as pork or other filling. It is often accompanied by a condiment known as ssamjang or gochujang and can also be topped with raw or cooked garlic, onion, green pepper, or a banchan (small side dish) such as kimchi. Ssam is usually bite-sized to avoid spilling out the fillings.

In the past, it is believed that on full moon days, people wrapped rice in leaves of cabbage or dried seaweeds. Back then, when rice was often not readily available, it was the precious commodity for commoners. Eating clumps of rice wrapped with fresh greens have been regarded as “eating wrapped luck”. Since then, it has been a culinary custom of eating ssam as a kind of ritual appeal for good fortune. Even today, in terms of its nutritional value, having a meal of ssam can be seen as an act of “eating luck”.

Upon eating, the meat and sides are often wrapped in vegetable leaves such as lettuce (which is a good source of vitamin a, vitamin k and potassium) or sesame (that is rich in dietary fiber and has vitamin a, vitamin c and riboflavin), hence the literal meaning of ssam: "wrapped" or "packaged."

Personally, I find Kogi Ssam Wrap as hip and hop. Hip because it’s like “styling” your wrap with filling, condiments, and raw and/ or cooked veggies before you gobbled it. Well, food taste better when they are good-looking, you know. It is also Hop because you can make it as spicy as you can that it can kick your taste buds to jump a bit with that delicious fiery taste. Plus, it’s like a hop closer to Korea with every wrap.  

 

There are 4 types of Kogi Ssam Wrap. Each serving/ order are good for sharing:

1. Bo Ssam (with pork, boiled in spices and thinly sliced) – P365

2. Dak Gui ( Dak means chicken in korean while Gui means grilled dishes in Korean cuisine; and Grilled chicken in a chili sauce) - P385

3. Suygogi Gui (Grilled beef) - P420

4. Black Angus (Korean steak. Available at Promenade only) - P795

Try now! Eat any of Kogi Bulgogi’s Ssam Wrap choices and still have a healthy balanced meal as you explore the flavors of Korea!

The experience even gets better if you get to try Kogi Ssam Wrap beside a Korean-looking head-turner.

Wrap battle with with Hana Abello of Dollhana.com. Photo credit: Ryan San Juan of AnakngPasig.com