A Pilgrimage to Cinema

I stopped watching " X-Men " after the very first one, helmed by " The Usual Suspects' " Bryan Singer. And this was a little over than a decade ago! In fact, I'm not really a big fan of comic-book superhero movie adaptation of any kind - be it from Marvel or DC or whatever syndicated publishing company. Whether it's because of "high-brow" snobbery or lack of fanboy "genes", I'm not just into it. Thus, I have no pretension whatsoever of being a comic-book superhero geek when I write about " X-Men:Days of Future Past ", the latest (but certainly not the last) installment in a long-standing film franchise and Bryan Singer's comeback to a movie that he undeniably "originated". But with all the unfettered enthusiasm of a restless cinephile, I declare that the film is one heck of a fun ride. Awesome and thrilling, this is a truly entertaining summer blockbuster fare. It was like the director is saying "Hey,...

As early as February of this year, I already had a glimpse of the teaser poster, saw the teaser trailer and read a little bit about " Godzilla ", Gareth Edwards' take on Japanese cinema's most iconic giant monster. Three months after, the film finally makes its way to our local screens. And now the big question:Is it worth the wait and the hype? It's a hit-and-miss affair. The film is maybe not the most definitive and awesome version, but it's still a fantastic entertainment. Compared to the Roland Emmerich version back in 1998 (starring Matthew Broderick, Sarah Jessica Parker and Jean Reno), which turned Godzilla into a rampaging beast-on-the-loose ala-T-Rex in " Jurassic Park ", Gareth Edwards' film is the more superior one.  It's said that the latest "Godzilla" is a true fanboy output. That would lead us to expect that the film would not just be a mere popcorn, mindless entertainment. All noise, but no sensibility, the kind ...

Strange as this may sound, but at some point whenever I was watching Ron Woodroof in Jean-Marc Vallée's " Dallas Buyers Club ", Larry Flynt in Milos Forman's " The People vs. Larry Flynt " would come to mind. Both are not entirely likeable characters - anti-heroes, as one may put it - who are utterly steadfast in espousing and putting into realization their unconventional and not-so-popular advocacy, a brash purpose that they have made upon themselves to be a major guiding light in their lives. For the latter, it is the art and legitimacy of porn publications;for the former, it is the medication or, at least, prevention of AIDS by means of "non-approved" drugs. AIDS - the stories of those afflicted, the stigma, the awareness and literacy efforts - is a sensitive subject-matter and there is no lack of feature films and documentaries that have already dealt with it, whether for better or for worse. There are two things though that may give "Dall...

So far, there are still no major film festivals happening in town, which would make devoted cineastes up and running. Thus, aside from the occasional visits to moviehouses, this film urchin spends most of his movietime as a couch potato, surfing among various cable movie channels in hopes of being able to chance upon some film gems or, at least, those that are worthy of note (whether homegrown or international). The effort was not entirely in futile.  On Cinema One (channel 56, Sky):Jerrold Tarog's " Confessional " (2008) It is just as astonishing if a filmmaker is able to tell a whole lot of meaningful things in such a short span of time. It is simply a testament to the director's prodigious skill as a storyteller. Jerrold Tarog is one such filmmaker, as displayed in "Confessional", shown on Cinema One channel a couple of Sundays ago. The film is the first installment in his " Camera " trilogy, the last of which, " Sana Dati " (...