Friday, December 08, 2006

Hail!

Photo Courtesy of pji.com

When Cesar Montano was asked if audiences would feel alienated with his artsy-type poster for his new movie 'Ligalig', this is what he told his shallow-minded inquirers: "I really want to uplift the taste of our viewers. I owe it to them. Kung hindi natin ngayon iaangat ang taste nila, kailan pa?"

Hails and praises to you, Cesar. Finally after all these years, a Filipino actor/director gets the courage to present a statement as hopeful as this. Too long have waited for an actor to actually say something as profound as this sentence.

Now the question remains: When will the other moron actors and actresses follow?

Thursday, November 09, 2006

The Kapuso Proactive files: Kicking away the telenovela format


I was a part of this group blog last year called Kapuso Proactive, a branded blog but very much with the same mission as this blog, about ideas on how to improve the Filipino TV viewing experience... only I had the opportunity to break away from the passive stance of the said page and become a bit more spicy. Still, Kapuso Proactive (now inactive, pun intended) was full of interesting ideas and debates. This entry is one of my favourites because it contains a heated argument about Soap Operas.

Kicking away the TELENOVELA format

Philippine television seemed to have caught the telenovela format from it's Latino predeccesors... Filipinos now fully-embrace the 30-minutes a night format for almost all of its primetime programs: from drama series to the fantaserye fad. Networks have adapted the format, solely to create a continuum; as the 30-minute show ends with a cliffhanger, viewers are forced to watch the next episodes for the next few days... keeping their ratings high intact for the whole week.

Of course, this is brought about by the fact that the networks think that the Filipino audience has low attention span, and the usual once-a-week TV show cannot maintain the curiousity and interests of the viewer.

In comparison, in the U.S., the best and most popular and legendary TV shows are the once-a-week shows like 'The West Wing', 'CSI', '24', among others. Daily thirty-minute shows are contained in daytime soaps, which majority of viewers think is 'cornball'.

Here in the Philippines, fond memories of 'John en Marsha', 'TODAS', 'Plaza 1899' and the like come back, informing us that the golden age of television may have passed years and years ago.

The questions are: has the telenovela format destroyed the once-a-week format? Will the destruction (pardon the expression) of the soap opera format eventually bring about a development in viewing habits?

5:11 PM | Read Entry

21 Comments:
varga29 said...
Right there, innocentyears...

I'm likewise wishing-and-washing that we Filipino tele-consumers "kick the habit" of telenovel-izing our daily lives. Major networks can't even stick to evening primetime schedules any longer - it is just labeled as a block (e.g. KiliTV, TeleFantasya somethin' block). What if we as viewers express our disatisfaction in thunderous volume and intensity to the networks. What if we tell them that life isn't telenovelish any longer; that the present pace of Philippine life and progress as we want to see and feel it does not suit the pace they are setting for us. What if we start telling them that we deserve intelligent Entertainment. What if we demand creative, up-to-standard television programming. What if we say we're not amused with their Hollywood copycat tv programs. What if we stop gawking in awe at these unwatchable, unfit, unreliable and sorry excuses for noontime/morning/game/showbiz/news/"lifestyle" hosts and personalities, and absolutely+irrepressably let out all their nationwide tv blunders and stupidities.

Point: We've become a nation entertained by a sorry excuse for television entertainment. We just don't want to try harder! We don't want to excel and be different - both of which can be achieved simultaneously. We just prefer to sit there laughing at the sorriest jokes, crying a tear for the most inept acting, empathizing with characterless personalities...

Suggestion: Why don't we just scrap the data (i.e. demographics, market research, etc) for once and be brave enough to put out there a good show with good topics, with good treatments, with good concepts, with good hosts...and then we can start being excellent.

5/20/2005 12:05 PM
South Rock said...
Yes, foreign shows are like that. I think we should adopt it, but I wonder if it'll work or "click" like the daily soap. A daily soap is easy to get hooked on to, and easier to remember. But a 1 hour per week schedule would give more time the cast and crew to polish, edit and even re-shoot the episodes. It would be less expensive too.

5/20/2005 5:48 PM
varga29 said...
I guess the main motivation for the telenovela craze is advertising income.

I wonder if late night tv can still make a comeback. These shows just suddenly disappeared. There are no more late night talk shows. I guess there are no hosts to do the job also (ngeek!)

I'm not really looking for a throwback to the 70s (Ms.Cellaneous, - tama ba spelling? - Penthouse7, Two for the road, etc.) or 80s (Open Forum with Randy David (?), Tell the People with Julie Yap Daza, etc.) These types of shows can mostly be seen only on ANC21. Kaya lang I really miss the talk, be it more about content, intellect, or the simple, laid back charms of those shows hosts.

It's a simple reflection that even showbiz has given up on trying. That's the story of our media alter egos: showbiz/media powerplayers get all excited about a craze, and when the energy & interest dies down our typical Filipino letdown attitudes come to fore. We just allow our very own creations die torturous deaths - without dignity, without respect.

5/21/2005 12:14 AM
cynically hopeful said...
in the US, they have most of their soaps in daytime slots (targeting stay-at-home market). philippine networks are placing the teledramas at night to maximize viewer exposure, but unknowingly contributing to pinoys' fatigue. imagine coming from a long day's work, to only see more drama and hardships on the tv. then it's every single day of the week pa! how draining!

we need something that would boost us up intellectually (not emotionally) and weekly format shows ARE a good solution. while they haven't been entirely scrapped over teleseryes, they're limited to one-story segments (yes, blame it on pinoy's short-attention span), like comedies or mini-teledrama movies.

notes with weekly shows:
- ..actors get to rest. then rehearse more to really get into their characters
- ..other artists, writers, et al can be given more exposure with the inclusion of more shows
- ..production not only has more time to polish, but also to view viewer reactions form aired episodes, and make the appropriate changes
- actually, teleserye shows (like encantadia) are good candidates for weekly formats.

5/21/2005 1:05 AM
varga29 said...
Pinoys (and our future permutations) will consistenly desire to see anything that's colorful and lively on tv. If not, tv shows must just as well carry that emotional weight for present and future Filipinos to take a bite out of it/ or 'para kagatin'.

We will successfully move forward just as long as we carefully ride on this formula while introducing stronger+newer formulas for younger, more imaginative viewers to appreciate. The reality bug wouldn't have caught on easily if say this was introduced in the 90s - it would just seem so out-of-this-world back then, even offensive perhaps, just too strong for pinoy viewership.

Morning soaps don't really attract that many Pinoy stay-at-homes because our house chores aren't fully aided by technological devices compared to more progressive countries. Morning programs are dominated by the C/D/E-30somethings upward market who do not necessarily have the comparative luxury of doing all chores simultaneously with the help of machines and devices. Kapag medyo pa-inin na ang sinaing at malambot na ang baboy, doon pa lang ako makakaupo at magtutuon ng pansin sa telebisyon. Sayang naman ang kuryente kung pagsasabay-sabayin ko at di naman ako makapanood ng mabuti. Kaya nga siguro ang unang graphics ng EatBulaga ay palayok na umuusok na tv show title ang laman. Parang ito ang reward mo sa kalahating araw mong pagwawalis, pagpupunas, pagdilig, pagluluto, pagkukula, paglalaba, pamamalengke, etc.

Ang dasal ko ay magkaroon ng morning show na may katuturan at hindi puro traffic report, showbiz tsismis, krimen, katiwalian, at mga problemang 'Pinas na walang patutunguhan. Hindi nakakaganang panuurin sa umaga, especially if the hosts editorialize the news and give their unwanted commentaries on minor events as they seek to destroy what could have been positive mornings to wake up to.

I'd like a morning show for a chnage that would give - within reach of a wide range of viewers - a feel of what a more positive, balanced, organized life can be without being too Today Show/Lifestyle-y/Un-Filipino about it. I dunno if it can be done, but I'd like to see that morning show where hosts dress well, host well, speak well and basically come prepared...just like their viewers.

A morning show that sets you off right each morning that it becomes a HEALTHY habit. It doesn't tell you the current trends & practices, instead it keeps Filipino viewers ahead of everyone in the region. The hosts are accessible in that they can dish out showbiz news without being dishy, and afterwards still deliver views on topics ranging from parenting to wellness to baking to office politics. It doesn't hardsell the ideas of balance, organization, fitness, wellness, etc, kasi we all know that we cannot perform budgeting, taming your in-laws and baking a buko pie all in one sitting, di ba?
But the message is there, it simply imparts a can-do mindset kahit na nagpapatayan na sila sa konggreso. Kasi if we all get dragged into the national mess without first looking deep within ourselves to create our little wonders, then talo ang lahat.

We were planning on this format/concept/treatment for a morning show on another tv station kaya lang higher forces intervened to choose safer options.

And that is the story of our collective lives ...

Pwede kaya iyon na mabubuo ang umaga ng Pinoy tv viewer

5/21/2005 2:36 AM
borgy187 said...
I think the main problem on Philippine TV right now is that the networks are dying to get the #1 slot... (read: ratings!). It's kinda ironic because TV won't survive without advertisers, and advertisers won't survive without the Pinoy viewers. So in short, tayong mga manonood ang dapat gumawa ng aksyon.

This is beyond the ongoing Kapuso vs. Kapamilya war.

If the show sucks, just don't watch it. It doesn't--or should i say--shouldn't matter if it's from 7 or 2 or even channel 4.

Although we have to admit that we have our own personal biases for our beloved network, it's a good thing that we air our sentiments. :)

For example, I am a certified Kapuso since I was a kid no doubt about that, but now I don't like their show "Sis", because it had become a carnival TV.

My point is, WE have to be critical and objective when it comes to watching TV.

Anyway, miss ko na `yung one-hour per week ang mga shows...dapat kasi matanggal na talaga sa ating mga pinoy ang "Soap Mentality" na `yan eh...

5/21/2005 9:38 PM
South Rock said...
Please just fix the author block on the side so everyone can see that innocentyears wrote this (good) article and not me. :)

5/22/2005 12:36 PM
Splash said...
That is automatically done. innocentyears must not leave blank his display name so the code will work properly.

That's my guess at least. :)

5/22/2005 12:53 PM
binang said...
i guess we must not stick to foreign formats...but i think the 'different show per day' is better...to develop talents, to gain export quality and to make tv realistic...TV is not a habit, it's a lifestyle...like, you don't read books only at 7pm to 7:30pm...it's d viewer's choice...or switch to cable, which i'm doing ryt now...

6/04/2005 1:36 AM
etxetera said...
This post has been removed by the author.

6/20/2005 3:34 PM
etxetera said...
I miss those days wherein one can watch sitcoms at an earlier timeslot and variety of shows are offered every night... but I don't think that would ever happen again since soaps are here to stay and as long as the 2 largest tv network will keep on fighting in the No.1 position...

6/20/2005 3:38 PM
varga29 said...
GOING BACK

Let us look back on innocentyears' original posting...

Low Attention Span of the Filipino Audience:

Perhaps there are studies into this widely-known phenom on the Filipino media psyche...or there aren't. Nonetheless, the problem is with the networks - as originally argued - for assuming and asserting that Filipinos deserve a Telenovela/Teleseyre format for tv entertainment.

Has The Telenovela Format Destroyed the Once-A-Week Format?

Or 'has the teleserye format weakened the writing and content of our television programs'. Yes. It unwittingly reflects our 'fear' for creating excellent & intelligent entertainment. In layman's words, TV found it's easy way out.

Perhaps our "short-attention span" will also wean us away very, very soon from this habit.

6/24/2005 1:54 PM
varga29 said...
THE TELENOVELA OF OUR LIVES

It seems like we are witnessing our telenovela alter egos/stereotypes realized in our daily political lives.

Unless our TV viewers can still manage to differentiate the telenovela from actual day-to-day happenings, the presscon of a former candidate's widow will have a devastating effect on Philippine mass movements. All the decided elements of a successful telenovela are fulfilled in recent settings, characters and events. A grieving widow. An injustice. A mass following. A powerful voice. A disgraced figure. A family's downfall. Anger, tears, pity, indignance. A young boy with budding beliefs. A charismatic figure. All the required elements, except for the one which is most fundamental in reality -- real time. The most elemental of all ingredients, emotions & injustices aside, may just have been conveniently 'tele-novelized' (and thus made irrelevant). Conveniently undermining the weight of history and all relevant political realities, the widow may still be viewing the world through a pixelized screen.

Mass movements rely much on charismatic figures and their every pronouncement. The widow may have wisely used every opportunity to guide her flock with clearer counsel & direction, instead of appealing only to their base emotions. Instead of personalizing the pain of accepting the chief’s apology, she may have raised the experience to one of noble temperance and active contemplation of the country’s future. But like the telenovela, don’t we just wish our lives moved forward faster and with greater direction? Again, the main character in this telenovela grieves and dwells until she is browbeaten to culminate in a tumultuous crescendo. Thus leaving the yoked masses with nothing but empty, hollow anger.

So what will happen next once the telenovela ends and reality sets in . . .
Let’s wait till the director comes back from his vacation.

6/30/2005 11:17 AM
matthew76_ph said...
ey, i think ur all missing the point.

first, telenovela format is not the prob. i've been doing research on this tagal na e.

analyze muna natin why the bulk of the audience likes soap operas:

1) audience can identify with the chars. if it's a melodrama..nakaka-identify ang masa sa bidang inaapi. why? e api din ang masang pinoy e (natanggal sa trabaho, napilitang magnakaw, mag prosti, nakulong. ang totoong buhay ng masa-- parang soap).

the diff is: ang bidang inaapi sa soap...paaapi muna sa simula then lalaban sa dulo. yun ang inaabangan. yung paglaban. why? kasi in real life, ang masang pinoy, di niya kayang lumaban (inaapi na siya ng amo niya..liit sweldo etc.. pero di siya makaimik. di makalaban. takot siya mawalan ng work e. so tiis na lang siya). so lahat ng galit niya..lahat ng sama ng loob niya...pag uwi niya sa bahay..iiyak niya while watching soap. soap ang excuse para umiyak.
para maisip niya na may mga taong mas api sa kanya.

the abc audience and those so called "educated" kuno na audience.. di nila maintindihan why click sa masa ang soap e. they looked down on the masa audience. talagang di nila maiintindihan (sarap buhay nila e. me choice sila e. me decent life sila kaya ludicrous sa kanila ang fantastic na pangyayari sa soap e/g. nasunog na nabuhay pa etc etc) kaya tingin nila bobo ang masa. tsk. tsk. hindi ito usapin ng taste or intelligence. mas malalim ang dahilan.

2. cultural. most pinoy's naghahanap ng hero figure e. kahit saang aspeto ha. political, personal, etc. gusto natin me "idol" tayo who will inspire us, who will fight for us. soaps has this formula of "bida" na against all odds e. a "bida" who is very moral, me good virtues, etc. kasi in real life, wala nun e. our leaders our corrupt, etc. parang ang soap..me psychiatric effect e. hahaha. tanggalin mo iyan, baka marami ang mabaliw.

====

funny thing is, more and more people are watching soaps now.

dati, soaps are considered pang female lang. now, males are also watching soaps na.

mula noon, hanggang ngayon, soap opera is the most misunderstood format or genre. why? though it is the most popular...it is also the most hated genre. macho remarks such as "pang babae lang ang soap" to the very snobbish comment such as "pang bobo" lang ang soaps... yan yung binabatikos sa kanya.

if you think that way.. then i think ur all missing the point.

tandaan: soap opera is most popular sa mga bansa na mahirap.

they say it is an "escapist" format. but for me, i see it as pang "catharsis" ng mga tao.

pinoy pa? ika nga ni rizal, tumatawa tayo para wag tayong umiyak.

sa soap, me excuse tayong umiyak para hindi malaman ng lahat na ang totoong iniiyakan mo ay ang sarili mo. iyan ang reason kaya daming masanag nanonood nito.

that's just my take on this whole thing.

--

7/09/2005 3:03 PM
Splash said...
Lumalalim..

Ako gusto ko rin na may primetime show na hindi Monday to Friday. Nakakapagod eh.

Enca, walang masyadong iyak-iyak, pero pinapanood.

While TV is stuck in its own limitations, pwede pa rin namang lampasan yan, eh. Pakonti-konti. Gaya nga ng sabi mo matthew, grade 1, grade 2.. :)

7/09/2005 3:19 PM
innocentyears said...
In reaction to matthew's... My best friend for life.

E di kung ganun din lang naman, itigil na natin itong 'Kapuso Proactive' na ito. Let's just accept the fact that we can't develop the viewing of the so-called 'masa'. Let's just stop this nonsense of thinking about how to improve the television experience and just accept all of this. Yes?

Ang hirap kasi, without going through the explanation of how our culture is damaged beyond repair brouhaha, is that the producers think that the 'masa' will stay 'masa' forever.

I can sense somehow that the producers think that "if it works, don't change it". Although there's nothing wrong with this belief, I think it does not leave enough room for improvement. Diba? What varga was saying is that the telenovela format is done quickly in order to cope up with the daily schedule; and, in the process, good narrative and dialogue is sacrificed. Dahil nga sa bilis, di na sila nakakapag-isip ng mabuti.

just a reminder, the object of this blog is how to improve the TV viewing experience, and that's what we're doing.

audience can identify with the chars. if it's a melodrama..nakaka-identify ang masa sa bidang inaapi. why? e api din ang masang pinoy e (natanggal sa trabaho, napilitang magnakaw, mag prosti, nakulong. ang totoong buhay ng masa-- parang soap).

your research is well recieved, though alam na natin lahat ito na the biggest audience share belong to the CD ek-ek audience. What they want to watch on TV is that how other people are more miserable than them...

kasi in real life, ang masang pinoy, di niya kayang lumaban (inaapi na siya ng amo niya..liit sweldo etc.. pero di siya makaimik. di makalaban. takot siya mawalan ng work e. so tiis na lang siya). so lahat ng galit niya..lahat ng sama ng loob niya...pag uwi niya sa bahay..iiyak niya while watching soap. soap ang excuse para umiyak.
para maisip niya na may mga taong mas api sa kanya.

the above comment by you... Isn't this a bit negative for someone like you who's defending present TV? Ako naman, i'm defending these same people that you think are weak. I beg to disagree. With the proper knowledge, they can think of a way to better their lives. TV can do that. And while TV in its present state is not intelligent, how can we use it as a powerful tool to better the lives of people?

Ang hirap kasi sa TV ngayon, puro ratings! ratings! Commercials! Pera! Diba? Once again, education and development is sacrificed.

the abc audience and those so called "educated" kuno na audience.. di nila maintindihan why click sa masa ang soap e. they looked down on the masa audience. talagang di nila maiintindihan (sarap buhay nila e. me choice sila e. me decent life sila kaya ludicrous sa kanila ang fantastic na pangyayari sa soap e/g. nasunog na nabuhay pa etc etc) kaya tingin nila bobo ang masa. tsk. tsk. hindi ito usapin ng taste or intelligence. mas malalim ang dahilan.

And what is the deeper reason, may I ask? We in here believe that by sharing ideas such as these can help develop Philippine TV viewing... I believe that TV can be used as a powerful tool not just to entertain, but to educate people. Unfortunately, majority of the shows are just not at par with this kind of enlightenment.

Oh, and those same people you call "mayayamang ignorante na tingin nila bobo ang masa" are the same people who create these TV shows.

cultural. most pinoy's naghahanap ng hero figure e. kahit saang aspeto ha. political, personal, etc. gusto natin me "idol" tayo who will inspire us, who will fight for us. soaps has this formula of "bida" na against all odds e. a "bida" who is very moral, me good virtues, etc. kasi in real life, wala nun e. our leaders our corrupt, etc. parang ang soap..me psychiatric effect e. hahaha. tanggalin mo iyan, baka marami ang mabaliw.

Hmmm... interesting belief. Do you think that many people are now dependent to the point of hypnotized by these shows, if the networks remove them the audiences will go psycho? This TV problem is a lot deeper than I thought.

I think the masa male watches soap opera because he does not have a choice. Nasan na yung mga cop shows? Yung Calvento Files?

mula noon, hanggang ngayon, soap opera is the most misunderstood format or genre. why? though it is the most popular...it is also the most hated genre. macho remarks such as "pang babae lang ang soap" to the very snobbish comment such as "pang bobo" lang ang soaps... yan yung binabatikos sa kanya.

I don't think it's misunderstood. Otherwise, this soap opera thing couldn't have gone on this long. In the simplest explanation, I agree with Varga, that this format is just too speedily done, the good storyline and meaningful dialogue is sacrificed.

We didn't miss your point. We just think there's a better alternative to your soap opera.

tandaan: soap opera is most popular sa mga bansa na mahirap.

"Mahirap lang ako. Palibhasa mahirap lang ako." Battlecry of the loser. Dapat "Kaya ko ito! Kaya natin ito!" wouldn't you agree?

sa soap, me excuse tayong umiyak para hindi malaman ng lahat na ang totoong iniiyakan mo ay ang sarili mo. iyan ang reason kaya daming masanag nanonood nito.

Deep! Wouldn't you agree that it's time to change this?

that's just my take on this whole thing.

And, well said. Once again you've proven yourself to be a worthy adversary!

7/10/2005 4:17 PM
matthew76_ph said...
ayayayay. pls dont put words into my mouth.

i am for the improvement of phil tv. what i hate lang is when we play "messiah". when we put ourselves as the saviour. yung para bang - ay wawa naman ang masa...gawin natin silang matalino etc etc.

i hate it din when some people gives this attitute na "oh i don't watch soaps coz it's too masa, it's so bobo etc etc"

(as ive said nga, soap opera is the most maligned genre - anti female and anti lower class ang mga critics abt soap e. samantalang it is the most popular.. and i bet the people who are making bira sa soap are the very people who don't understand anything about soap except sa "biased" opinion nila na ito ay pang-bobo).

for me, this so called "saviors" are the real bobo. kasi hindi niya maintindihan WHY THE MASA LIKES SOAP.

i didnt says let's stick with the present formula. ang sinabi ko ay pagpapaliwanag lang Why the masa likes soap opera.

ika nga, bago mo baguhin ang isang mundo..kailangan maintindihan mo muna ito.

i also don't like how some people view the soap opera's. ako i always believed that soap opera is the most powerul medium... why? kasi it so popular with the masses.
hence, we must understand whyyyy muna. before we say oh let's change it.

iba ang pananaw sa soap ng isang taong nakapag-aral, may decent life at may choices sa buhay (hindi siya makaka-identify sa bidang api kasi me pera siya--hindi siya magpapa-api. pero ang taong walang pera..like 60 percent ng tao sa pinas..napaka-vulnerable nito). iba ang rin pananaw ng masa. love niya ang soap. pero yung me choices sa buhay, hate niya ang soap.

again, di ko sinabi na wag nating baguhin. ang gusto ko lang iparating..bago nyo
baguhin..kilalanin nyo muna ng husto.

but, do u really think mawawala ang soap? no. hindi siya mawawala hangga't me mahirap.

gusto nyong mawala ang soap? hindi introduction ng new genre ang sagot. ang sagot... tanggalin mo ang dahilan ng kahirapan.

gawin nyong mayaman ang
pinas..bigyan nyo ng tsansa ang mahihirap for a decent life...bigyan nyo siya ng choices sa buhay..e-elevate ang knyang lot...

aba tignan natin kung manood pa yan ng soap...kasi pag magbago na ang kanyang pamumuhay...hindi na rin siya maniniwala na may taong "api" hence di na siya makaka-relate sa soap.

that's just my opinion.

7/10/2005 8:37 PM
varga29 said...
GAMBLES ON THE FUTURE

Cheers to all bloggers! Hey, isn't it nice that we're all revived by this discussion. LOL. Anyways, all points of view are appreciated. We cannot ignore the passion & thought of several posts.

May I just share my five centavos worth of reflection . . .

First, the title of the post 'kicking away the telnovela format' may not actually have meant to 'kill the format'. It was more a result of viewing fatigue & format weariness. It was borne out of the redundant effect the application of the format had on TV programming. I believe the topic was posted to stimulate ideas for program development.

Second, the telenovela format has led program content to formulaic traps. The format effortlessly lends itself to hyper-reality that actually distorts values and creeds. It stretches daily life into a collection of artificial plots, schemes and scenarios. And this is beyond contest. This discussion on format was meant to be beyond any class, strata, or economic debate. To my understanding, the simple issue here is the mindtrap. I agree with most bloggers in their intended point, and that is any monolithic viewpoint on culture, lifestyle & convictions is likewise unhealthy. The format is simply a medium through which we creatively mold Filipino minds and lives into something which we envision is ‘better’ in terms of values and intended futures.

Lastly, the medium can obviously override its present condition. Kapuso Proactive justifiably persuades us to ‘Transform the Idiot Box’. So we can transcend and weave through several issues presently inundating or stagnating television programming. Honestly, we cannot wait for the arrival of the overall solution to poverty, and for this to concurrently solve TV’s programming crisis. Matthew76_ph is likewise correct in affirming our belief that the telenovela format should stay. It should be reflective of Filipino lives, beliefs and realities. It should excel when compared to the Korea telenovela, for example. It should not impose limitations on what the Filipino can be. It should also help us collectively move forward to the next stage – whatever form it will take – with much less abrasion and much more consistency.

7/11/2005 10:29 AM
innocentyears said...
Amen.

In a nutshell, the soap opera genre is just too limiting. Yes, it may be too popular, but what we want to see such as universal themes, epic sequences, and deep storylines are sacrificed.

Imagine, comparing the 'one hour a week' format to 'thirty minutes daily' format: the soap opera thing is equivalent to TWO HOURS AND THIRTY MINUTES a week of tape. That means longer hours of shoot, longer hours of pre-production, make up, and longer hours of writing. Right? Comparing it to the ONE HOUR a week of tape which transforms to shorter pre-production, writing, etc. Which means that there will be a lot more time for thinking about better ideas before production.

Nakakapanghinayang lang kasi, diba? It could've been a lot better, pulling not only the 'masa' audiences but also the AB audiences. Sayang talaga.

And I didn't put words in your mouth, man. You did that yourself.

Cheers!

7/11/2005 11:07 AM
matthew76_ph said...
I beg to disagree.

u said: the soap opera genre is just too limiting. Yes, it may be too popular, but what we want to see such as universal themes, epic sequences, and deep storylines are sacrificed.

sa tingin ko lang naman yung pagtingin mo sa soap ang limiting. hindi yung soap. napaka-dynamic at expansive ng soap. in fact, pwede kang maglaro. lahat itong universal themes, epic sequences and deep storylines ay DAPAT o PWEDE ngang ipasok sa soap.

u said: Nakakapanghinayang lang kasi, diba? It could've been a lot better, pulling not only the 'masa' audiences but also the AB audiences. Sayang talaga.

my opinion: hehe to be honest, i have no faith in the majority of the ab market (but some do watch ha). most of them hate anything pinoy. kapag magka-gyera dito..they'll be the first one to leave.

i like the cd (middle class) crowd. they like to experiment with their viewing habits e. they have more to lose hence they'll react agad (re:political, o kahit sa pinapanood). these are the people who likes changes.

the e crowd...this is the masa crowd. madali silang i-please.
but that doesnt mean hindi sila open sa changes.

para sa akin..nevermind the ab crowd (kahit anong gawin mo walang effect. they have to much money and so many places to go to kesa manood ng tv at pinoy tv pa)

the cde market are the real viewers. tap them..get their interest and you'll be tapping more than 85% of our population. so why bother with the 15? when you can have the 85?
kapag nasa iyo na ang 85..hehe the 15 will pay attn. wanna bet?

7/12/2005 1:15 PM
innocentyears said...
sa tingin ko lang naman yung pagtingin mo sa soap ang limiting. hindi yung soap. napaka-dynamic at expansive ng soap. in fact, pwede kang maglaro. lahat itong universal themes, epic sequences and deep storylines ay DAPAT o PWEDE ngang ipasok sa soap.

Hmmm... Ok. So, kung pwede na ipasok yung mga universal themes, epic sequences, at deep storylines, where is it? Give me one that will stick forever in the minds of people, one that will create a big fanbase inspiring artisans and creators, then I will agree with you.

I see soap opera as limiting because IT IS LIMITING. So where is it?

para sa akin..nevermind the ab crowd (kahit anong gawin mo walang effect. they have to much money and so many places to go to kesa manood ng tv at pinoy tv pa)

O! Now that's what I call stereotyping. You assume that these people do not watch TV because they have too much money to burn. I beg to disagree. They do not watch TV because they do not have a choice; not with all the garbage on TV now. I don't believe that these people (who you loathe too much as I have read in your posts) are really this ignorant. Unless you've got proof, of course.

And like I've said, these same people are the ones who create these soap opera shows that you love so much.

the cde market are the real viewers. tap them..get their interest and you'll be tapping more than 85% of our population. so why bother with the 15? when you can have the 85?
kapag nasa iyo na ang 85..hehe the 15 will pay attn. wanna bet?

I can't. I'm just a poor and hungry writer with no money to bet. And like how youve stereotyped the 15, I would guess they will be too 'arrogant' to really care about your 85.

And I don't fight for the 15 or the 85 alone; I try to fight for all viewers in the Philippines.

And I'm interested in this little 'study' of yours. Do you have a link to a site somewhere?

7/13/2005 2:28 PM

Monday, October 30, 2006

Halloween Television Pinoy Style

Photo Courtesy of geekus.org

As I write this article, I am currently watching GMA’s Halloween episode of SIS, that quirky talk-cum-variety show that grins its way on brunch; last night I was also able to catch some more celebrity talk shows observing their Halloween specials with interviews from ham actors and actresses with supposed “third eyes”, singers and dancers talking about creepy dreams that come true, hosts and hostesses going on “spirit quests”, and so on.The said talk shows invite these movie and telly celebrities all of them describing some sort of a personal supernatural story; how they saw a headless lady floating in the air, how a lost spirit of a dead child cried to them for help every night, or how they were possessed by that elemental spirit who fell in love with them. Jeez.

And the madness does not stop there; believe it or not, the nightly newscast--our last foundation of truth--also carried some sort of a ghost story, may it be an apparition in a picture (even if it is obviously a double exposure, some professional photographers do this deliberately), or some spirit caught on film; all play around on the ignorant minds of Filipino viewers nationwide.

As I watch the clueless female hosts go on their so-called “Cemetery Tour” wherein they apparently walk aqround in a public cemetery hoping to come in contact with “spirits” of the dead, I cannot help but laugh, scoff, and ridicule at these TV shows which glorify such silliness and inanity. Now, does anybody ever wonder why the Filipino mindset is still trapped in the dark ages? All the while I thought that witch hunts were exclusively 16th century just as believing in ghosts were a fad in the 19th and early 20th century. I thought that interest in the supernatural came and went like puberty; a stage of curiosity in the life of a child. I remeber I became interested in ghosts when I was in third grade; my classmates and I bravely stalked kindergarten classrooms after hours with a flashlight in hand. When I reached High School, I became quite sure that ghosts, spirits, vampires, and such were made up by parents to scare their naughty children into submission.

And that was it. I grew up and left my beliefs in spirits and monsters within the forgotten pages of my childhood. I wonder though, why many of them celebrities never outgrew them. The pursuit of high ratings can be the only reason for this, and we all know the networks’ willingness to lower the aptitude level of audiences everywhere for the sake of it; to Hell with social responsibilty. This goes to show that the Filipino logic never really reached maturity at all.

Isn’t it finally time to leave the darkness of the Middle Ages? When can we finally put to rest those poor ‘souls’ of the dead that we use for the sake of high ratings and profit? If some people find these ghosts and monsters fascinatingly real, I sure do hope that there are more people who find it all insultingly painful to their intelligence.

Let us all hope that these spirits remain unreal. If by chance all the mumbo-jumbo these TV shows play around with were true, I pray to your holy high heavens guy up there that they do not seek revenge on all of those who used them for profit.

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Review of "Now & Forever presents Dangal": Purely sadistic

Photo courtesy of INQ7.net

Ignorance makes their world go 'round, and this much is true in GMA's new old-school season of Now & Forever with an episode entitled "Dangal" which means "Honor" when loosely translated. Since N&F's single word titles are a practical giveaway on what the show is about, one can expect that "Dangal" would be something about taking away one's honor and getting it back again.

The story is almost identical to all the other soap operas that came before it; except that it's a riches-to-rags-to-riches story where the snatching of honor comes. Alta (played by Jennylyn Mercado) is a nice girl born to a well-to-do family, but as we all expect, greed and revenge takes over courtesy of the villains. The enemies sadistically manipulate and destroy the life of our poor, helpless Alta to the point of confusion and madness, all because she had no idea whatsoever about the shadowy underworld that creeps the land; yes, it's the heroine's ignorance that did her in.

This soap is a particular waste on the talents of dramatic greats Cherie Gil (who plays yet another demoniacal antagonist) and Matt Ranillo III (who's character gets killed on the second week; thank God). Dangal's story quality seemed as if it was a big excuse to employ the services of those who are from 'the other network', probably just to show off that their enemy is jumping ship; the storyline is chock-full of soap opera clichés, one cannot help but slap forehead.

"Dangal", by the looks of it, will have a very hard time catching up with it's more subtle predecessor "Linlang" simply because writers are assigned to this particular soap opera are too lazy to think of original concepts. The producers gets equal blame for green-lighting such a clichéd, unoriginal, and sadistic soap opera.

Monday, October 02, 2006

Learn to write the ultimate Pinoy soap opera!

This is it, writer wannabes! Do you want to break into the soap opera scene in the Philippines? It’s true: the soap opera is the way to go break into show-business today. It is full of clichés, bad acting and dialogue, and is effective in giving headaches, but still. Soap opera writers follow a strict list of guidelines in their stories, and only the themes change may it be a real world or magical setting; however, the following steps remain the same. Here are the most important elements that should be in your soap opera story:

1. Weak heroine – a Pinoy soap trademark would be the weak heroine, and that means having your heroine experience the most traumatic life possible: have her parents die of an accident, have her work for a wicked matriarch of a rich family. Having her cry all the time and crawling on all fours is a plus. One might think that all of the tragedies in her life she was able to establish a strong personality, but this is not the case in a soap. Nowadays, writers tend to put in some sort of courageous elements to the female lead, like a driving desire to follow a dream; however, the fragile and pathetic element of the leading lady will always be there. Always remember that reality is not significant.
2. Evil twin sibling – No matter what the reason is, may it be that the writer may have run out of ideas for a plot twist or the producers of the show wanted to overexpose their lead star, no plot device is as handy as an evil twin sister/brother coming out of nowhere to make things more complicated. It also does not matter where the evil twin came from, may he/she be a legitimate sibling or just some nameless character that underwent a surgery; by entering the new antagonist into the fray, you open up new possibilities for the characters.
3. Romeo & Juliet plotline – Yes, it’s not a Pinoy soap if the respective families of the star-crossed lovers are not quarreling; and also, consider a class struggle by making one family poor and the other extremely rich. Parents also do not matter; the teenage lovers should disrespect them and always oppose their mom and dad’s hopes and dreams for them. The lovers should always glorify juvenile delinquency. Have the lovers run away from home and try to live life on their own; they will botch it up eventually, and have second thoughts on whether or not they made the right decision. The rest of us intelligent viewers know that they are both morons from the start, but it does not matter; this is an important rule of writing a Filipino soap opera, so grin and bear it.
4. Cherie Gil archetype antagonist – Yup, Cherie Gil’s Lavinia character from the movie (not the sucky soap opera) “Bituing Walang Ningning” is the prototype for the vilest, meanest, and baddest enemy of them all; and now, this antagonist archetype has evolved from a selfish baddass who wanted everything, to some matron from Hell who’s just there to make things hard for the weak heroine. She’s been portrayed by every soap opera enemy known, and it does not matter where she came from, what her driving force is, or whether she’s a realistic character or not, just make her a murderous, chain-smoking, Machiavellian adulterer and that’s the key.
5. Baby switching – Ever since the soap opera Mara Clara began using baby switching as a handy tool for a plot twist, it has been used by almost every other soap opera to ever come out of the small screen. Useful most especially if the two babies switched lives, growing up and discovering that the lives they are living were not meant for them. While chaos ensues, watch your characters fight and scheme their way out of the measly lives you’ve set up for them. This may also be used in conjunction with Evil Twin Sibling.
6. Clueless leading man – It’s enough that the leading man is a brooding, rebel-type model who does not have acting skills; just show him in a pensive mood all the time, and have him keep on asking questions. Usually, the leading man is the one guy who gets informed last.
7. Everybody loves her – Believe it or not, all of the hunky, brainless, model-type men who’s somebody in the show is almost always in love with the poor heroine. This girl who washes dishes, cleans the floors, and forced to eat pig feces by her evil stepmother and stepsisters still manages to exude oozing sex appeal. The handsome pool cleaner, the matron’s goon leader, the clueless leading man, the boy best friend, and everybody else that’s testosterone-dripping on the show should be in love with the lady; it makes for great men brawls.
8. Rags-to-riches – As the story goes along, some lawyer (cast some unknown in this role; balot or taho vendor with a commanding voice but no acting abilities whatsoever) appears in the villa to shake things up a bit. Guess what? He informs everyone that our inferior heroine is the lost daughter of a dying magnate, and due to some unfortunate event like baby-switching (a-ha!), his beloved daughter was lost to her. However now that he is dying, he wishes to transfer everything worth a $hit to his long lost daughter. This plot-twist is particularly useful especially if the show is going nowhere and the ratings are crashing.
9. Revenge and scheming – In past soaps, the scheming was limited to the evil characters. Now, everybody is doing it; the antagonist for greed, and the protagonists usually for revenge. The former crying queen: our heroine who was once a dirty maidservant, eating garbage and crawling on the pigsty is now suddenly rich (due to her recent self-discovery as an heir to a generous fortune), powerful, and can command people to follow her whim. She will now use all of her authority to seek vengeance to those who did her wrong when she was but a wee maidservant—and all that crap.
10. Amnesia! – The amnesia plot twist is so darn convenient it can be inserted on anytime to any character in a soap opera. Anytime a character gets too complicated and if suddenly the world rested upon his/her shoulders, device an accident in which he/she gets bumped on the head. Presto! The memories of the character gets wiped out and it will be easy to insert new characters and new story developments when the amnesia victim is out of the way.

And finally: do not forget to tie up all lose ends on the final two minutes of the final episode. That way, the audience will stick to the show until the final frame of your soap. This is how it was years ago, and this is how it is still. Write your own soap opera today!

Friday, September 08, 2006

Learn to act... NOW! (Male Edition)

Aaaah... Nothing can take away the diehard fan from his/her favourite TV show. As soon as the watcher is set, he sits on his favourite couch, opens that familiar bag of chips and sits back and enjoys the opening sequence of the show.

But wait... As soon as the leading man steps into camera view, Oh, the horror! The dialogue is good, the storyline is fair; but that good-looking bloke in front of the camera is either reading his lines from an idiot board or he's an idiot acting like a board for all the world to see. Suddenly, what could have been a perfect way to end an evening viewing turned out to be a Mystery Science Theater 3K session, heckling your way through the show/movie; Not that it's not a good thing, but you swear to high Heavens that you would never let yourself be immersed in such a badly-acted program ever again. All thanks to that moron who can't act, even though he's been in front of the camera almost all his life.

I now present you a list of names of some actors (the females, we heckle next time!) who badly needs to attend a nazi boot camp acting workshop; you know, a real terrible place where the attendants' fingers get cut off if they fail an acting test. Here's the list:

1. Jericho Rosales - Oh God. How many years has this boy been in the business? He's not exactly monotone, but as far as I remember, a crying scene was supposed to give the impression that the actor was hurting and there was no other way he can express it; and by george, does he express! He expresses it all too much, he goes into this overacting cry-baby BS as though the world is ending right before his eyes.

2. Mark Herras - If Jericho is the christ of overacting, Mark is the god of no-acting. All of his facial expressions are basically the same: thick eyebrows down, eyes squinting, and lips semi-pouting. Just add a few rolling tears for additional dramatic effect.

3. Richard Gutierrez - Captain Barbell himself Richard Gutierrez caught his father's dashing good looks, but never his character actor genes. Why does it seem that Richard Gutierrez looks so cute all the time as though he is always trying to make the ladies swoon? It may look good for them, but certainly not good for us real men. Also, if you're already good looking, there's no need for you to pose cute.

4. Jeremy Marquez - We're cutting him a bit of slack because he has not been in the business long enough; but please, at least try to win the hearts of the viewers and not scowl on the screen all the time.

5. Dion Ignacio - Dion, do you know what your batchmate Tyrone Perez did? It's called courage, man. It's been a long time since you were always a step ahead of him; and now his new movie has not come out yet and everybody's talking about him. If nothing is happening with your acting career, it means that you're on the wrong track.

6. Jordan Herrera - jordan is another kid who poses too much for the camera. Aside from the terrible acting, he looks and dresses as though he's ready to make the next little old lady happy for money; giggolo style.

7. Bernard Palanca - Truly a shame on his family name. A guy who came from a family of classic actors and actresses, Bernard seemed to have been left out when the acting genes of his family decided to distribute among its members. Full tatoos and slurry dialogue style, Bernard must think he's a Mickey Rourke.

8. Rainier Castillo - He's still young and has a lot more to learn, I'll give him that; but have you ever wondered why his parent network never gave him that much projects? Killer smile, check. Funny but cute dance moves, check. Acting abilities? One big, fat zero. Rainier never cries on camera; the scene begins with tears in his eyes, and that probably meant that he squeezed eye drops into his eyes before the director even yelled "action!" to give himself that artificial crying effect.

9. Oyo Boy Sotto - There's something about these monotone guys that we love to hate. Oyo Boy uses the age old acting style that all the great ones use; but that's not a compliment. Oyo Boy, in his most pensive and emotional moods, acts as though he aged watching drama actors of the 80's: outdated and boring. His dialogue style and facial expressions are also monotone. At least we found his acting to be a cure for insomnia.

10. Vhong Navarro - Ok, he's a comedian, but even that, he cannot do properly. Because of his penchant for imitating Jim Carrey, he became exactly that: a poor comedian imitating Jim Carrey. Suggestion, dawg: get your own style. Even Carrey's washed up already.

And the list goes on and on. There are a lot more, and I'm sure you have your own ideas of horrible acting. Make your own list and we'll see.

Friday, August 25, 2006

Review of "A Date With Jao Mapa": There is a light that never goes out

Photo Courtesy of azntv.com

For many, many years, the usual Filipino comedy consists of a streetwise hero,a bumbling sidekick, lots of slapstick, and a production number on a Batangas beach at the end. For decades, audiences were forced to swallow this animal crap in the name of profit. For many years it was this way; hundreds and hundreds of cliché comedy movies, all of them the same; talk about clockwork orange torture. Now, if there ever was a choice between 10 full length movies by any Filipino director and the dark comedy "A date with Jao Mapa" to take with me on a deserted island, I will choose the latter short film by maverick director Quark Henares; at least Henares delivers a fresh new vision unseen in any other old Filipino comedy movie before.

The story of "A Date" may be old by Hollywood standards, but it is high time that Filipinos come up with their own version; it stars Jao Mapa and Marnie Arcilla who play the two leads, taking the audience into a wild indie caterpillar ride of life, love, and obsession. The visuals and mediums used to tell the short story are relatively new to Filipino comedy and create interest. Marnie Arcilla glitters on screen, proving that she still has certain charm even after that cheesy kids show AngTV. The dialogue is quirky though but daring and Director Quark proves his richly streetwise vision through this film, which is courageous and never afraid to turn the story around.

"A Date With Jao Mapa" may be mediocre by well-known Hollywood standards, but in the Philippines it does not only stand on it's own but soars over all the stupid clichéd comedy musicals the country has been producing all these years. The hope of intelligence in this movie is truly a light that will never go off; it will always convey the message that not all comedies are beach-singing at the end of it.

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Review of "Now & Forever: Linlang": Best of the lot but still soap operatic

Photo Courtesy of filipinoexpress.com
First, the good: Nothing is what it seems.

The latest season of "Now & Forever" proves this saying true as the writers of this story cleverly applies the element of deception to effectiveness. "Linlang" stars Diana Zubiri, Polo Ravales, Chynna Ortaleza, and a cast of others who, in my opinion, are giving the best performances of their lives so far in their career. The exception to this is Ms. Lorna Tolentino who was not given a chance to shine because of the short role she was given, and Alessandra de Rossi who is clearly overacting her angry scenes.

A supernatural-inspired story theme kicks off as the rest of the story is kept interesting because of the hidden roles and interests of the characters as instances weave their stories together. Surprisingly, each character has a valid driving force; unlike in other shows wherein the characters whose interests seemed to have spurted out of nowhere.

Now, the bad news, folks: COnsidering all good things, this is still soap opera. Yes, the scheming villains are all here, the cliché Soap Opera movements are here, and the story are still mostly clichés woven together. The storytelling talents of the writers are wasted on an afternoon soap. Now, only if they can employ their clever twist-techniques to all their shows...

Friday, August 11, 2006

Review of "I Luv NY": Leave the Mark/Jennylyn story arc entirely on the cutting room floor

Photo Courtesy of Philstar.com

Another TV program gets a hit-and-miss treatment in the soap opera "I Luv NY", a supposed-to-be bubbly soap opera destroyed by executive interests. ILNY is a feel-good love story about Filipino couples and their trials on the other side of the world; particularly New York City. There are two story arcs: the Marvin Agustin-Jolina Magdangal story for older audiences and the Mark Herras-Jennylyn Mercado story for the teenybopper audience; unfortunately, the two stories are very different and gives opposing effects on the whole show.

The Marvin-Jolina love story mainly focused on the two leads' enjoyable changes and exchanges in the city that never sleeps. Jolina's innocence and playfulness worked well with Marvin's serious character-type and most of the time almost pleasurable to watch. Enter the colorful characters played by Isabel Oli (who, admittedly, develops a better acting performance than in her previous work), Arnel Ignacio (who mimics a Cherie Gil-type antagonist to effective perfection), and others for more crazy plot turns.

Regrettably, the worst part of the whole series is the story that focused on Mark and Jennylyn. The story was ultimately uninteresting from the beginning, and the cement-block acting of Mark and the false drama of Jennylyn just made their screen time even worse. The entrance of unseasoned support characters (with the exception of Carmi Martin and Tirso Cruz III ) does no improvement. This devolution, this giant step backwards can be traced to network executives' financial interests; what should have ended early with a perfect ending story was extended (reminiscent of the "Encantadia" brouhaha) because the show was a hit and raking in the money.

ILNY should have lined itself along Asian dramas such as "A Harvard Love Story", "Attic Cat", and "Lovers in Paris", if not for the terrible turn of the Mark/Jennylyn story arc. Cut off the stinky Mark-Jennylyn story out of the show and you have a perfect Asian drama right there.

Friday, August 04, 2006

Review of "Majika":Most shallow show on TV---congratulations

Photo Courtesy of iGMA.tv

GMA is a multi-awarded station, and I have another title to add to their long list list: Most shallow show on Philippine TV. I always thought that nothing can sink lower than the titanic production of Mars Ravelo's "Darna" the soap opera, but I was proved wrong with the release of "Majika", the network's most seizure-inducing, second childhood-generating soap opera ever.

And just what is this "Majika" all about? It's about spell slinging lady magicians in skimpy and colorful costumes battling it out in a badly-dressed fantasy set. Obviously, it was created with children in mind and it stars "Darna" herself Angel Locsin with Dennis Trillo, supported by Katrina Halili, Eddie Garcia, Jean Garcia, and Carmina Villaroel among others.

I have serious reasons to call this one shallow; there are absolutely no redeeming factors to save this one from damnation. The costumes and set design are absolutely meaningless and are so colorful it might induce seizures; the story is stereotypically soap operatic that each moment is a passing of never-ending clichés of love and mistaken identity; the premise is obviously a ripoff of various Disney films and Harry Potter---the show might actually trigger retardation because of its dumbed-down plot line.

What makes the show pathetic is that in order to save their sinking ratings (the rival show is slowly creeping up on the ratings game), they made the ladies' costumes a lot shorter in order to show more skin and attract the older, hot-blooded male audience. However, even the combined forces of Ms. Halili's fantastic body and the supple skin of Ms. Locsin cannot save this disaster of a TV show.

And what do passengers do when the ship is sinking? Jump ship before it takes the whole network down with it.

Friday, July 28, 2006

Review of "Bituing Walang Ningning": Second rate, trying hard... you know the rest

Photo Courtesy of titikpilipino.com

A highly-legendary quotation from a movie has never been so ironically uttered by someone so self-described. The soap opera "Bituing Walang Ningning" is exactly what "second rate, trying hard, copycat" meant and much more.

"Bituin" is the remake of the classic rags-to-riches movie of the same title starring Sharon Cuneta as the heroine and the incomparable Cherie Gil as the villain everybody loved. The TV incarnate's characters were ineffectively portrayed by Sarah Geronimo in the Sharon role and Angelika dela Cruz as an embarrassing and pitiful version of the Cherie Gil character. To make matters worse, the writers inserts tiring soap opera elements into the story to make it interesting, with disastrous results.

"Bituin" would have been a mediocre enough soap opera with its mediocre story and mediocre characters if it were not for Angelika dela Cruz' horrible impersonation of Lavinia. Angelika could have made the character her own if she inserted personal acting touches and originality to the role; however, she begins to emulate Cherie Gil's Lavinia, copying every batted eyelash and swagger that the classic character did. The result: a second-rate, trying-hard, Cherie Gil copycat.

ABS-CBN has successfully degraded themselves as the TV fad-makers to the eventual fad-followers as they erringly assumed that remaking classic Filipino movies into soap operas was the "in" thing to do. After the embarrassing turns of "Kampanerang Kuba" and "Panday", one might think that the producers, writers and directors have learned a valuable lesson. However, knowing the hard heads at the network, these lessons went into one ear but out the other.

Monday, July 24, 2006

Review of "Captain Barbell": Hit and miss

Photo Courtesy of journal.com.ph

Rarely do I give positive reactions to prime time soaps nowadays, and one of those lucky TV programs that gets some sort of praise is "Captain Barbell", the latest superhero soap to hit GMA prime time after the highly-embarrassing "Darna" (whose creators spawned another moronic fantasy soap opera entitled "Majika", but that is another article).

Surprisingly, the lead character of Teng is effectively portrayed by Richard Gutierrez, the current network's prime time superstar. This is in contrast to his previous work in "Sugo" wherein he plays enigmatic but uninteresting characters.

CB is the creation of the Philippines' top comic book creator Mars Ravelo, the same guy who made "Darna" and "Dyesebel". Captain Barbell's original story was about Tengteng, the urban poor boy who transforms into a superhero to save the day. CB's soap TV reincarnation gets a highly science-fictionalized face-lift by inserting various Marvel and DC Comics story lines into the picture; and this is where the show goes horribly wrong.

Firstly, it was perfectly obvious that certain story elements were shamelessly copied from well-known comic book/movie stories such as Superman, Spider-man, and even the time-traveling elements of the "Terminator" movies. The reason for this is that the writers probably thought that the kids who watch the show might relate to the story better if they find some of the story elements familiar; however, to us adults we find this laughable.

As the story goes along, we find ourselves immersed into the trials and tribulations of Clark... Er, Teng, the boy who would eventually become the country's greatest superhero. However, later on, as if adjusting to amazing powers were not enough, fate (or the writers) decided to add the stereotypical soap opera antagonist in the person of Sunshine Dizon, the greedy and jealous relative.

Afterwards, we root for the hero again as the writers use the characterizations to effectiveness. The entrance of wildly fun villains such as Rufa Mae Quinto make the story delightful to watch. This writing creativity, in turn , is contradictory to CB past enemies in the show such as Bubog (who is the Filipino version of a villainous Wolverine) and Adobe (who is an obvious amalgam of Absorbing Man and Colossus) who were stereotypical and tiring.

All in all, CB is a hit and miss show; sometimes it is effective and entertaining, most times it is tedious and laughable. So far, it is still in its enjoyable phase; and I am keeping my expectations low that it will get better anytime soon.

Thursday, July 20, 2006

Review of "Agawin Mo Man Ang Lahat": Get ready for an afternoon of depressing TV

Photo Courtesy of Abante.com.ph

TAPE Inc, the makers of "Agawin Mo Man Ang Lahat" and "Saang Sulok Ng Langit" must have a penchant for ultra-depressing story lines. Although "Agawin" takes off a bit more than "Saang" wherein the heroes and heroines of the soap get their second wind early on by becoming stronger than the usual soap opera protagonists, the sadistic writers of the show make sure that the fighting heroes get double the pain and anguish.

"Agawin" has the same premise of all the Filipino soap operas that came before it: heroine lives normal life, gets messed up by ultra-evil antagonist because of money, heroine gets second wind and gets revenge. Rosanna Roces lookalike Marian Rivera stars as Almira, the heroine whose life gets messed up because of money, and Oyo Boy Sotto, the rising leading male as the boy. The rest of the cast includes Cheska Garcia, Matthew Mendoza, Wendell Ramos, and Mylene Dizon in the role of your stereotypical cold-blooded antagonist out to get everyone and anyone who stands for righteousness.

The story is formulaic enough for afternoon soaps, just throw in your usual good twin versus evil twin, dashing leading man, shadowy goons in eye-patches, the greedy antagonist, a juicy fight for some guy's riches, and you've got your afternoon soap right there. Of course, the show is creamed with TAPE Incoporated's trademark depressing circumstances.

I can bet that the next soap opera lined up by TAPE will be just as depressing as the others. Watch this, and make sure you keep the rope and poison far away from you.

Wednesday, May 31, 2006

One year old and what have we achieved?

Today we celebrate our first year anniversary; and every year gained in the real world, the celebrant, amidst the fatty foods and diabetes-inducing cake eaten on the day of celebration, almost always looks back at the year that was in nostalgia: What the heck did I do this year that I let it pass?

So what have we done aside from the insulting and name-calling? Is there really such an effect as to bring about a gigantic development in the current state of the entertainment industry? After a year, has anything changed?

In the year that went, I was able to review/insult a few duds: the horrible soap opera remake of Kampanerang Kuba, the witless reality shows Qpids and Pinoy Big Brother, the ultra-paradox-confusing Etheria, the kiddie-karate show Sugo, and the ho-hum movies Ako Legal Wife and Mourning Girls. Where are the positive reviews?

I slugged it out with a reader this year regarding my offensive critiques. Some of them claimed that I was too negative and was only looking at the bad factors of the production. Others, on the other hand, agreed with my views. I mirror the ideals of one Simon Cowell (of American Idol fame) when he was asked if he felt guilty about what he says to the contestants, he said, "What I am doing is kind by telling people who are useless 'Do something that you're good at'. So I would only feel guilt if I misled somebody who was terrible."

Then this 'Wowowee Tragedy' occured. This incident, I believe is the penultimate judgment to those who play poker with the lives of those who are in need. Now because of their greed and stupidity, the dead will forever haunt the memories of those who are responsible.

People tend to quit while they are on top; when they realize that they have reached their pinnacle, they subconsiously weaken their effort thinking that their lives could not get any better than what they have. I believe that this industry needs a really painful wake-up call from its fantastic sleep, and the only way to do this is to push it to the limits and make their mistakes known to them by shoving it in their faces. As long as they make these very same mistakes over and over again, then there will be no steps forward; the industry will be eating the same problems again and again.

They cry of piracy. They cry of bankruptcy. However, if they look honestly within their minds they will realize that their stupidity has gone full-circle. Ang basurang itinapon mo (pito-pito movies and cliche plotlines) ay babalik din sa iyo. This is a lesson waiting to be learned by all concerned.

One question left: will we still be around for another year? HELL YEAH. It is a beautiful thing to play devil to an industry such as this.

Monday, May 29, 2006

Review of "Blue Moon": Historical inaccuracies, painful unrealism, and laughable absurdity destroys viewing experience

Photo Courtesy of cbcpworld.com

How can producers go far into a story in order to make a sure-fire blockbuster chick-flick? How much absurdity and inaccuracy can one take in one movie-viewing? All These questions and more will (or will not) be answered by watching the Metro Manila Film Festival Entry entitled 'Blue Moon', a Danielle Steel-esquire romantic epic starring Mark Herras, Jennylyn Mercado, Eddie Garcia, Christopher de Leon and Dennis Trillo.

The story revolves around an aging Manuel (Eddie Garcia) and his search for his lost love named Corazon. What follows are is a series of plot twists which involve decades of family relationships straight out of a Danielle Steel novel. After all of the trials and hardships thrown upon the main characters, they triumph over impossible the odds; never mind the historically inaccurate portrayal of World War II Philippines and the absurdity of certain circumstances, all that matters in the movie is that it made the audience cry.

It was not hard to feel for the characters in the movie, most effective portrayals include Christopher de Leon and Dennis Trillo, the only actors who carried the movie all the way. The only hindrance for a total enjoyment of the film was the World War II sequences of Mark Herras and Jennylyn Mercado, whose bland-to-overacting acting can easily be noticed, which utterly destroyed the viewing experience. The flashback scenes are creamed with over-the-top impossible and historically inaccurate scenes such as the pre-Air Force Filipino pilots, unbelievable training scenes, stinky CGI of aerial dogfights, and laughable teenybopper scenes obviously written in to attract a younger audience. In my humble opinion, I believe that the movie could have been a lot better without the cheesy flashbacks and the full concentration was centralized on the present time, through the character portrayals of Eddie Garcia, de Leon, and Trillo.

All in all, the makers of the film could have made "Blue Moon" a great film, almost in the same level of Abaya's "Jose Rizal" if they had only avoided the clichés of the common romance epics and instead focused on character and plausible plot development.

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Review of 'The Mourning Girls': Confusing and ridiculous

Photo Courtesy of tfc-online.com

'Mourning Girls' is exactly what would happen if a movie outfit attempted to emulate a Mano Po-type movie while dumbing the story down and inserting some unfunny comedic scenes into it. Please bear with this critique if it suddenly parallels the review for 'Mano Po' because the resemblances with this one and the other is quite uncanny.

'Mourning Girls', like 'Mano Po 2' before it, is the story of a family's patriarch Fernando (Ricky Davao) dying of a heart attack, and three wives emerging (Glydel Mercado, Chin-Chin Gutierrez, Assunta de Rossi) to claim his fortunes. The only difference is that Fernando goes around the funeral wake as a roving spirit, for reasons very unclear. The difference between MG and MP3 is that there is a weak attempt at a comedy, which audiences will find slightly amusing to utter ridicule.

'Mourning Girls' was created obviously without effort, with the actors sleepily walking through the dialogue without any sweat; obviously the curiosity built up during the beginning of the movie will be stepped on and destroyed during the viewing process. The same can be said of the story and script, which felt as if it was written while playing chess; the writers just tapped a few words onto the keyboard, printed it, and submitted in to the producers without a care on whether or not the story would work or suck. The story, which counts as the greatest element of any movie, was just utterly confusing. The plot revolved mercilessly at the premise of the three wives' fighting against each other with the occasional boring twist every now and then.

It was not anymore a surprise why 'Mourning Girls' flopped at the box office; though I believe the failure of this movie did not affect the producers and actors in any way. It was obviously made with a small budget and only an inclusion to a film festival in mind. It is quite amusing how producers beg Filipinos to save the movie industry by going back to the movies when they produce filth such as this.

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Long-time-no-update


I am terribly sorry for not updating the page for quite a while. A lot of things got in the way. I do promise, however, to update immediately; as you can see I've changed my profile photo which means that I will be delivering more critiques in the next few days. Here is a list of critiques:

1. Bituing Walang Ningning (the ABS-CBN soap)
2. I Luv New York
3. Mourning Girls
4. Dubai
5. Majika

... And a few more still in the works. I'm definitely back, folks. So don't be sad.

Monday, March 13, 2006

Review of "Ako Legal Wife": And the series finally comes to a destructive end


Photo Courtesy of Filipinoexpress.com

Five years, two drama sequels and one comedy sequel later, nothing has changed on the status of the overrated Mano Po franchise; the story is still simple but expounded upon too much, the acting deliveries were still futile, and the producers again (and again) raised expectation all too high for the audiences only to find a humdrum of a movie.

The story of 'Ako Legal Wife' is centered on the story of Zsa Zsa Padilla's character named Chona Chong, the 'martyr' wife of serial womanizer Elton Chong (played by Jay Manalo) and her exploits to grab the attention of her husband from his mistresses, played by Cherrie Pie Picache and Rufa Mae Quinto. The other cast of characters were played by Pinky Amador, Bianca King, Julianne Lee, John Prats, Ella Guevarra, among others.

With the exception of John Prats' so-so performance as a closet homosexual, the rest of the cast of 'Ako Legal Wife' delivered a non-comedic, partly pitiful performances as their respective characters. The talents of promising dramatic actors Jay Manalo and Cherrie Pie Picache are wasted on ultra-clichéd dialogues and sequences already overdone by Bubble Gang. The Mano Po series is also notorious for casting big-named actors in five-second scenes, and Pinky Amdaor is the victim this time around, after Angel Locsin and others in the previous movies. The same could probably be said of child drama star Ella Guevarra, whose character could've been played by any other child actor in the industry today.

The movie is a complete waste of the actors talents, the producer's money, and the audiences' precious time. A lot of things had gone wrong in the movie, and not one element could save another; the storyline was too dull and the acting too ordinary.

I never thought I would say it, but I think we've had enough of Chinoys on the silver screen after five years.

Monday, February 13, 2006

Review of "Sugo": Thank Heavens it's over

Photo Courtesy of Jobsdb.com

There has not been a soap opera plot on Philippine television as messy as the one 'Sugo' had. Supposedly, the story of 'Sugo' revolved around a centuries-old battle between two warring factions amidst the rise of the 'master of all evil' and the birth of a pair of twins will usher in coming of the 'Sugo' or 'Savior' which will ultimately decide the fate of mankind. sound interesting? If you think it does, then you've got another thing coming. Richard Gutierrez starred as both the rival twins Amante and Miguel, plus a whole cast of great and not-so-great actors and actresses. Examples of great: Lorna Tolentino and Amy Austria. Examples of not-so-great: Isabel Oli and Dion Ignacio.

Now, where did 'Sugo' go wrong? Firstly, the makers obviously wrote the storyline as a sort of 'homage' to Hong Kong movies; they hired a superstar Hong Kong stuntman to teach action sequences. While incorporating Chinese-style action into the show, the writers obviously did not put into consideration the clashing effect of the Chinese culture to the ancient Filipino culture which clearly made their plot machine run.

Secondly, the muddle of confusion between Chinese and Filipino cultures brought about a great muddle of confusion in the storyline. Supposedly this is how a soap opera is supposed to work; a plot twist reveals and is resolved. Another one opened, and closed again. Two twists open, one will be closed, one will run for the duration, etc. This machination ushered in the entrance of new characters, death of old characters, resurrection of dead characters, new enchanted weapons, etcetera, for added confusion.

And still on plot devices, the events that shook up the world of 'Sugo' lacked originality. The merging of Amante/Miguel into a powerful being is reminiscent of similar plot devices for Dragon Ball Z, Ghost Fighter, and other Japanese anime.

The acting: obviously, the great ones like Lorna Tolentino and Amy Austria were obviously sleepy and one can easily realize that they are walking through their drama scenes easily as eating peanuts. Unfortunately, their superb skills were rendered inane by the shallow storyline. Acting-wise, I hope I can say the same for the rest of the newbies on the show like Isabel Oli, Chynna Ortaleza, and Dion Ignacio who were obviously having a hard time catching up with the performances of their senior counterparts.

Finally, the cause of all the mischief is the resurrection of the 'Lord of all Evil' himself, the 'Sauronic' Apo Abukay. It has been built up from the start that the character of Apo Abukay was supposedly the incarnation of all things evil; murderous, blasphemous, incestuous, and apparently made Satan and his horde of criminals and politicos blush in shame. SO, anybody can expect the fans' disappointment when the great evil known as Apo Abukay turned out to be the return of a laughable evil incarnate of 'Machete': Gardo Verzosa's endless 'evil-laugh-and-arms-crossed-while-face-is-on-close-up' overacting was not enough to put a face on the villain. As soon as he was alive, fans already wanted him dead. It was all the better that Apo Abukay remained faceless; continually inciting fear even without his presence.

Gardo Versoza was not Apo Abukay; he was a sexy actor in costume.

All in all, 'Sugo' might have taught us a few lessons on how good triumphed over evil; however, the show never ended without the occasional cornball dialogue and love angles us shallow Filipinos love with shows like this.

Final words: Thank God its over.

Sunday, February 05, 2006

Convenience on pinning blame


Photo Courtesy of INQ7.net

During yesterday's brouhaha on the 'Wowowee Tragedy' where about 70 people died due to a stampede, there was not a shortage in saying that 'nobody wanted this to happen', or 'we did not want any of this to happen'. bad news, folks: IT DID.

By this time, the government task force to investigate this tragedy is in action, asking anyone and everyone who might be responsible for the man-made disaster. ABS-CBN, the producing network of the program, claimed responsibility and promised to pay for hospital and funeral bills; and they should, because in the first place, this sad event should never have happened if it were not for the inanity, stupidity, and incompetence of all those involved in the production and planning of the event.

Firstly, it is fully laughable that a giant network like ABS-CBN would be responsible for a negligent act such as this. They're the almighty ABS-CBN, for chrissakes! This sort of thing never happened to giant networks like them. Probably to NBN and IBC, yes, but ABS? Never! My point is that if the production had the correct system, cooperation, and coordination with their people involved, the tragedy should never have happened.

Next, let me just state that the unruly audience which suffered the commotion does not share the blame here. Our countrymen are already suffering because of poverty, and nobody can ever blame them if they wish to win a million pesos within the blink of an eye; for they will never ever earn even half of that million in their whole lives even if they tried.

Negligence. Greed. Inanity. Incompetence. Stupidity. All in one morning.

Here we have a case of 71 people sacrificed needlessly for the sake of profit and TV ratings; and ABS-CBN is claiming reponsibility. AS well they should. They are the ones responsible here more than anyone else.

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

IMDb: Philippine Movie Industry "Now Clinically Dead," Says Director



This article was posted on the IMDb's studio briefing page, and frankly, it is not something to be proud of, is it?

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Philippine Movie Industry "Now Clinically Dead," Says Director
The Filipino film industry which only recently turned out more than 200 films a year, will produce only about 25 in 2006 and faces extinction without government support, a top director said Saturday. As reported by the Philippine Star, director Joel Lamangan told a forum in Quezon City, "The movie industry is now clinically dead." He warned that unless film producers receive government backing, foreigners will eventually produce movies depicting Filipinos, and "the country will lose its soul." He demonstrated the lack of government support by noting that at international film festivals in which Filipino films compete, producers have to pay for the meals of Philippine embassy officials in attendance.

---------------------------

There are a few blog readers out there who sent me e-mails (you know who you are) telling me off. Some of them are asking me why I say things on my blog, why I criticize Filipino movies, why I say awful things about their favorite programs.

There's your answer. Need I say more? This precious entertainment industry of began her descent began in the 1990's when those profit-hungry directors and producers began to make those sleazy seven-day softcore pornography movies starring Ynez Veneracion, Angela Velez, Rosanna Roces, and all the other brainless boldies that came and went without any name at all.

Nextly, the already suffering industry received another blow from the growth of the CD and DVD pirates. The emergence of these illegal vendors sealed the fate of the industry.

Then it got worse with these Film festival garbage when everybody involved cried foul.

So how can anybody expect this dead industry to rise up? It should start with the ordinary people like us. We should make it known that we, the audience, are sick and tired of seeing the same kind of garbage on our television and silver screens. These producers need our money, and money is hard to come by nowadays; so the movie makers should give us proper reasons for us to give them our money.

Let's face it. All of these shows and movies they're coming up with is just not enough. Don't just aim for the money, kids... AIM FOR THE WORLD.

If you want our money, DO BETTER.

Thursday, January 12, 2006

PBB Fanatics strike again!


I posted my review of 'Pinoy Big Brother' at the IMDb website a few months ago (September 10 to be exact) much to the dismay of the diehard PBB fanatics.

http://innocentyears.blogspot.com/2005_09_01_innocentyears_archive.html

I remember that this review was not in favor of PBB. However, it was not offensive either. Well, guess what? I saw this message pop up on my personal IMDb page:

"Pinoy Big Brother" (2005)
Foreign garbage in our midst, 19 September 2005

(This comment was deleted by IMDb based on an abuse report filed by another user)


Yes. The review was apparently 'reported' by some PBB fanatic who cannot stand my criticism. Well, what can I say? The truth hurts; and some of them blind fanboys will do anything to protect their beloved PBB no matter what the cost. I do not blame IMDb because most of the actions done on the website is mainly electronic response. The report was probably done by some lonely lunatic-stalker with multiple e-mail addresses who cannot stand criticisms, most especially against his beloved TV show.

Honestly, I pity these people who are blindly taken in by a TV show.

And finally, this proves that what i am doing may be quite effective in some way.

Wednesday, January 11, 2006

Review of 'Mulawin'


the long-running soap opera squeezed into 2 hours, 4 January 2006

Author: pope_innocentyears (innocentyears@yahoo.co.uk) from Philippines


So what will happen if an epic story which should take about many months to be presented properly is squeezed into two hours? Enter 'Mulawin: The Movie', GMA films latest fantasy motion picture to date. 'Mulawin: the Movie' continues the story where 'Mulawin the Soap Opera' left off, and that is the continuing adventures of Alwina and Aguiluz after their 're-discovery' of their bird-people ancestry which leads them back to a battle against an old enemy.

Remembering 'Mulawin' the soap opera, it is a well known fact that the storyline of the said show was fleshed out slowly and tediously for a couple of months; and even then the story went no place! Now, the same guys who did the show will be creating a movie version.

The finished product? a months-long soap opera squeezed into two hours. The editing and cutting of scenes resulted into sudden event changes, making the watchers go, "What the heck? What happened?" If the viewer blinks for even just half a second, he will never notice the plot twist that just unfolded before his eyes. character appear and disappear for no apparent reason, and even if there were any explanations, expect it to come as a single sentence from one of the characters, and then move on. By half the film I was so confused, I never even bothered to try and understand the rest of the story.

The special effects, again, just like the soap opera, lacks 'speciality'. Again, the 'flying' effects are poorly done, the actors are seen as obviously hanging from a thread with a harness. The creators seemed to have forgotten how special effects should not look like special effect; it should look like the real thing.

Blame it on the marketing strategy, but Mulawin was made to look like a great movie when in fact it is not. High expectations ultimately destroy a mediocre movie, and that is exactly what happened to Mulawin. I guess karma came in the form of 'Enteng Kabisote 2'.

Watching Mulawin with high or low expectations does not make any difference. It is still a poorly done movie with flaws clearly defined. Can we expect the same weaknesses and flaws when they come up with an 'Encantadia' movie then? Let us hope not.

Wednesday, January 04, 2006

Film festival and what not

Once again, the Metro Manila Film Festival is upon us. It is that time again when local fim producers get to showcase their talents amidst the escalating problems of piracy and bootlegging. Does anybody have anything to be happy about aside from the bravado of our local producers? Again and again we keep hearing the good news of how movies like 'Enteng Kabisote', 'Exodus', and 'Mulawin' are topping the box office; we keep on hearing about how much is spent on production and how much profit the particular movie made.

Now correct me if I am wrong, but was not the currently-showing Hollywood movies were removed from the moviehouses to give way to the Filmfest entries? Shades of genius, but it only proves the fact that local movies are no match to the sheer strength of Hollywood. And I do not blame audiences; who would rather watch the ultra chop-chop movie 'Mulawin' than 'Chronicles of Narnia'? Who would prefer watching the special effects of 'Exodus' rather than that of Peter Jackson's 'King Kong'?

It is a sad fact that anybody would turn to Hollywood for their entertainment rather than turn to local movies for the same. For the price of 100.00 pesos, the viewer gets to choose between a foreign movie and a local movie; a choice between a certified quality foreign film versus a locally produced try-hardest fantasy film with no other pull but star power.

Thinking practically, for a hundred bucks I would rather get my money's worth; cinema is way too expensive nowadays. I am pretty sure many people would do the same, but since they were left with no other options, the local movies would do just fine.

Enough about that, now here are the entires for the 2005 MMFF and my personal first impressions:

1. Ako Legal Wife - Supposedly, this one is the fourth installment of the much abhorred Mano Po sequels, but thankfully Mother Lily decided that the Philippines have had enough of these over-acting Filipino-Chinese and turn this latest one into a comedy instead; much like a parody of her Mano Po movies.

2. Blue Moon - As far as the trailer goes, this movie seems like a mixture of Pearl Harbor, Aishte Imasu, and all other mushy Filipino lovey-dovey movies whose market is obviously the teenyboppers who cannot get enough of the artificial love-team of Jennylyn Mercado and Mark Herras.

3. Enteng Kabisote 2 - The only logical and honest-made movie that is currently reaping the benefits. The creators of this movie knew they cannot create a serious fantasy movie that can compete with the try-hard fantasy wannabe movies, so they decided to make this one a comedy instead. Like 'Ako Legal Wife', nothing beats a comedy to make one laugh the hard times away.

4. Exodus - Supposedly, this one is a serious fantasy movie, but I have received reports that director Erik Matti chopped up this movie; a great beginning, a muddled middle and a so-so ending. However, I still reserve my comments after I watch it.

5. Kutob - One of the two entries in the MMFF which is in the horror genre. So far, I am not hearing any bad comments about this one, but I am not hearing any good ones either. To be perfectly honest I have not even seen a trailer. So should we care?

6. Lagot Ka sa Kuya Ko - One of two entries in the action genre.

7. Mourning Girls - No news on this.

8. Mulawin - So far everybody's been complaining about how this movie was hacked and slashed by the editors. Watch out for my review on this page.

9. Terrorist Hunters - Dennis Roldan as a bad guy. Reel and Real? Sorry Dennis, but I just had to take a shot.

10. Shake Rattle and Roll 2K5 - As if we have not had enough of the ultra-corny SRR mobvie back in the 80's and early 90's, here it is again; and take note: they changed the title from the cliched SRR part 1, part 2, etc. to SRR 2k5. This means there will be movies for the years 2K6, 2K7, 2K8, and so forth. Oh, the humanity.

Relax and See a Movie? Sure! Right after they bring back 'King Kong' back to the moviehouses.