Updates

For new reviews, please go to my blog at www.lifetranslated.blogspot.com. Thank you for the visits, guys! c",)

Ang Batang Si Maxie

I got this from Jessica Zafra's Blog...

Just got word from Raymond Lee at the Berlin Film Festival. The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros won three awards: the Teddy Bear for best gay film, the Kinderfilmfest international jury prize for best children's picture, and special mention from the children's jury.

Best Gay Film and Best Children's Film.

That's bizarre.

Never mind Best Gay Film but Best Children's Film?! Wtf?! It certainly has a child for its lead character but definitely, it isn't a child's film!

Flash Reviews

Since I don't feel like writing full movie reviews (I think you've noticed that these past few months, eh?), I'd do do some quick reviews on the movies I've seen lately.



Not as funny and romantic as I thought it would be. But it has its moments. Entertaining enough to pass the time away. Great lines from the movie, though:
Jen: If you'd close the door on me, I'd understand. But I wish that you wouldn't... / I won't say that I can't live without you because I can. I just don't want to...


All I could say is that Jen never looked this hot on screen! Who wouldn't want to get derailed with her?! As for the movie, good enough! I'd rather want it to be a moral dilemma kind of story ala Before & After.


This isn't as exciting and nerve-wracking as the first one. But twisted enough to keep you glued to your seats! I'd say, though, that there's no need for a sequel to a movie as original as Saw!

Little Manhattan (2005)

Out of all the films I saw these past few months (and remained unreviewed by yours truly), I fell in love with this one! This is a rare gem in Hollywood! Try to see it while you still can in cinemas! If not, go BUY a DVD! You won't regret it!

The 26th Annual Razzie Awards

I haven't made any postings for a while so I'll start with this one. Hope I could make updates often...

The nominees are:

Worst Picture
* Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo (Sony/Columbia)
* Dirty Love (First Look Pictures)
* The Dukes of Hazzard (Warner Bros./Village Roadshow)
* House of Wax (Warner Bros.)
* Son of the Mask (New Line Cinema)

Worst Actor
* Tom Cruise for War of the Worlds
* Will Ferrell for Bewitched and Kicking & Screaming
* Jamie Kennedy for Son of the Mask
* The Rock for Doom
* Rob Schneider for Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo

Worst Actress
* Jessica Alba for Fantastic Four and Into the Blue
* Hilary Duff for Cheaper by the Dozen 2 and The Perfect Man
* Jennifer Lopez for Monster in Law
* Jenny McCarthy for Dirty Love
* Tara Reid for Alone in the Dark

Worst Supporting Actor
* Hayden Christensen for Star Wars III
* Alan Cumming for Son of the Mask
* Bob Hoskins for Son of the Mask
* Eugene Levy for Cheaper by the Dozen 2 and The Man
* Burt Reynolds for The Dukes of Hazzard and The Longest Yard

Worst Supporting Actress
* Carmen Electra for Dirty Love
* Paris Hilton for House of Wax
* Katie Holmes for Batman Begins
* Ashlee Simpson for Undiscovered
* Jessica Simpson for The Dukes of Hazzard

Worst Screen Couple
* Will Ferrell & Nicole Kidman in Bewitched
* Jamie Kennedy & anybody Stuck Sharing the Screen with Him in Son of the Mask
* Jenny McCarthy & anyone Dumb Enough to Befriend or Date Her in Dirty Love
* Rob Schneider & His Diapers in Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo
* Jessica Simpson & Her Daisy Dukes in The Dukes of Hazzard

Worst Remake/Sequel
* Bewitched by Sony/Columbia
* Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo by Sony/Columbia
* Dukes of Hazzard by Warner Bros/Village Roadshow
* House of Wax by Warner Bros.
* Son of the Mask by New Line Cinema

Worst Director
* John Asher for Dirty Love
* Ewe Boll for Alone in the Dark
* Jay Chandrasekhar for The Dukes of Hazzard
* Nora Ephron for Bewitched
* Lawrence Gutterman for Son of the Mask

Worst Screenplay
* Bewitched by Nora Ephron, Delia Ephron and Adam McKay
* Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo by Rob Schneider, David Garrett and Jason Ward
* Dirty Love by Jenny McCarthy
* The Dukes of Hazzard by John O'Brien
* Son of the Mask by Lance Khazei

Most Tiresome Tabloid Targets
* Tom Cruise & His Anti-Psychiatry Rant
* Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, Oprah Winfrey’s Couch, The Eiffel Tower & “Tom’s Baby"
* Paris Hilton and…Who-EVER!
* Mr. & Mrs. Britney, Their Baby & Their Camcorder
* The Simpsons: Ashlee, Jessica & Nick

Hats off to every nomination received by Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo! It rightfully deserves them! Hope it wins! *wink wink*

The Best and the Worst of 2005

These are the films that have been shown (and released) here in our country this year. I have classified them according to what I feel and think about them. You may agree or disagree with me but they are my choices. This is in random order.

*Best Films 2005*

Ang Pagdadalaga in Maximo Oliveros

Cinderella Man

Crash

-- *Outstanding* No exact words could describe this one!

The 40-Year Old Virgin

Mga Pusang Gala

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Nobody Knows

Closer

Million Dollar Baby

Must Love Dogs

Spanglish

Kung Fu Hustle

3-Iron

Old Boy

The Exorcism of Emily Rose

La Visa Loca

*Good (to Average) Films 2005*

The Family Stone

Just Like Heaven

The Sisterhood of Traveling Pants

War of the Worlds

Mr. & Mrs. Smith

The Fantastic Four

Masahista

Dubai

Lovestruck

Batman Begins

Hitch

Meet the Fockers

The Phantom of the Opera

Red Eye

In Good Company

The Wedding Crashers

Sideways

Star Wars Ep. 3: The Revenge of the Sith

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

The Eye Infinity

Constantine

Shall We Dance?

The Amityville Horror

Jenny, Juno

Bikini Open

Nasaan Ka Man

Say That You Love Me

Fever Pitch

*Bad (to Worst) Films 2005*

Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo

The Fog

Bewitched

Elektra

Flight Plan

Boogeyman

The Exorcist: The Beginning

The Exorcist: Dominion

The Skeleton Key

The Wedding Date

Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous

House of Wax

The Pacifier

Can This Be Love?

Boso

I know that I have forgot some movies so I'll just update this from time to time...

Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros

The joys and pains of first love. That is the exact statement that one would get upon seeing the film.

Maximo Oliveros (Nathan Lopez) is a twelve-year old gay boy who attends to his family's house needs. He lives with his father (Soliman Cruz) and two older brothers, Kuya Boy (Neil Ryan Sese) and Kuya Bogs (Ping Medina). Their family's main livelihood is the money they get from selling stolen cellular phones. Maximo's life revolves around them and his friends. In the afternoon, he would go to a neighbor's house to watch movies.

One night, while going home from a friend's house, an incident happened. A policeman named Victor (JR Valentin) saved him. From then on, they became friends until he becomes infatuated with him. Things got complicated when his family's lives where threatened because of Victor's occupation. Maximo suddenly became caught between his commitment to his family and his loyalty to his first love.

What may keep people from seeing this movie is the fact that the main character is a gay boy. It may be characterized as a "gay film". By being characterized as such, some people might stay away from it. But I'd tell them that they shouldn't miss the opportunity of seeing a woukd-be classic! Amongst other things, Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros tackles a universal theme: first love. Each and everone of us has gone through such stage in our lives and it just so happened that Maximo is a gay boy. But each experience, whatever gender you may be, is almost the same for all of us: it is exciting, happy, confusing at times, and/or sad.

Maxi's being gay wasn't questioned in the entire film. He was as normal as everybody else. He is the center of attention of his family and takes care of him like he is a their little girl. Even Victor, his policeman first love, never judged his sexuality. What matters to him is the friendship built between them.

The movie depicted a family lifestyle that is out of the social norms yet it isn't judgmental nor preachy about it. It merely shows how life unfolds in its day to day situation. The crimes, though, aren't the ones that are disturbing but how the law tends to be manipulated. The law sometimes favor not just the innocent but the ones who have money - whether their status quo belong to the rich or the "poor".

Great performances from the lead cast particularly the head of the Oliveros clan portrayed by Soliman Cruz. Nathan Lopez's strenght is acting naturally as a gay boy and his weakness are the dramatic scenes. But he outdid himself during the scene where he felt he'd become an orphan anytime soon. The silent tears would just break someone's heart into pieces!

The praises wouldn't mean, though, that Maximo is lacking in faults. In fact, it has several like some awkward delivery of lines (or maybe it is the script itself), editing and the irritating guitar plucking which serves as its soundtrack. But they wouldn't matter because you'd leave the cinema with a smile on your face and a happy heart.

Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros is a must-see movie for everyone! It is about love, family, friendship, values, and redemption. This is one movie that we could call "proudly Pinoy!"

Note: To Mother Lily, give chances to independent film makers such as Aureaus Tolentino (or Ellen Ongkeko-Marfil - I may be biased but, imho, she still did an excellent job with her work!). In their hands, the Philippine movie industry would have a better and bigger chances in recuperating to its healthy state!

To Pinoy film snubs who, for sure, would have a say in the upcoming MMFF movies even if they won't see even a single film in the lot, if there's one Pinoy film you gotta see, this is it! You won't regret it!

Visit: Maximo's Blog (Akalain n'yo 'yun! Sosi na sin Maxi! Pa-blog-blog na rin!)

On Video: Dubai

Dubai is about Raffy, Faye, and Andrew who went to the city of Dubai for different reasons. Raffy (Aga Muhlach) worked there to support his brother, Andrew. Faye (Claudine Barretto) wanted independence from her mother. While Andrew (John Lloyd Cruz), after 8 years of separation, was asked by his brother, Raffy, to join him.

Raffy and Faye's lives got complicated the moment Andrew came into the picture. They were having an open relationship until Andrew fell in love with Faye. Faye and Andrew had a relationship till she realized that Andrew isn't the one in her heart but Raffy. When they broke-up, she managed to not only break Andrew's heart but also broke the bond that the two brothers had.

Knowing the plot, you'd think that Dubai is your typical love story re-told over and over again. And I must say that you have thought it correctly! I'd like to say that there's something more that this movie had to offer but there's none. It is very typical except that it is done in the city of Dubai. Take out Dubai and bring it anywhere else, it still wouldn't matter. Nothing will change. The city served just as the location for the film and did not do anything much to change the lives of the characters involved, as far as the story goes.

The problem with the film is that it boasts of the OFW's in Dubai yet we don't get to see them much in action. We neither see any struggles in the characters (except their love problems) nor interact with the people of U.A.E. All we saw was Pinoys mingling with Pinoys in a different country. So how could we take a glimpse of what life is all about in that foreign country when we didn't see any? Raffy's speech in a wedding was even quite patronizing that it lacked conviction. It is quite a kiss-ass kind of speech.

In terms of performances, this film is very much a John Lloyd Cruz movie. His character is meaty and he was able to deliver it well. Sad to say for Aga and Claudine, this movie didn't give them new characterizations. Not only that, both of them looked physically tired the whole time and not on their best performing selves. With Claudine's character, there wasn't much of an impact. Take her out and use another actress (or even a starlet!) and it won't make a difference!

Over Dubai, I'd take Milan, Anak, or Sana Maulit Muli anytime! This one just doesn't cut it above the rest!