exciting opening...... not!

Deym! past 9 am na wala pa akong tulog.  Yeyyyssss, binantayan ko ng buo ang opening ceremonies ng London Olympics na mabuti naman at kahit wala sa ESPN at Star Sports (I wonder why) ay pinalabas ng TV5 ng halos walang interruption compared to Solar Sports na sinisingitan ng santambak na TVCs (mas mayaman talaga si Manny Pangilinan kesa kay Wilson Tieng!)

And was it worth the puyat? A big NOOO!!!  Para sa akin, after being wowed by the Beijing edition and even the Athens and Sydney versions before that, London’s offering pales in comparison.

Overall, Boring with a capital B ang program na directed pa naman daw ng Slumdog Millionaire director na si Danny Boyle.  The program started with a production called Isle of Man where the stadium turned from a rural to industrial setting complete with ponies to sweat-breaking blacksmiths.  Yes may kwento.  Yes, gusto nilang ipakita ang culture nila.  But the visuals, aside from being crowded and cluttered, is so damn dowdy I felt depressed and at times, confused. There's just too much goin' on on stage!

At parang nanadya, ang sunod na eksena ay mga kama na may mga batang nagtatalunan hanggang matulog! Sus gusto ko na ring tulugan ang kahunghangan ng palabas na ito!  And what’s those kids in bed for?  Para pala ma-introduce si JK Rowling na nagbabasa ng bedtime story kuno.  Enter frame ang mga mala-Harry Potter na creatures.  Tapos eto na nagliliparan na, bumaba galing sa langit ang dose-dosenang Mary Poppins para protektahan ang mga bata.  

Dark JK Rowling critters, Nannies in all-black...  even Kenneth Branagh is in black suit with matching top hat! Why do I get the feeling that I'm watching Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and Van Helsing altogether in one screen? Isn’t this supposed to be festive?  Why do I feel damn dreary instead?

There was an attempt for comedy pero para sa akin, bokya. Bad taste pa nga sa akin yong drama na sinundo kunwari ni Daniel Craig (as James Bond of course) si Queen Elizabeth, nag-chopper papunta sa Olympic stadium at nag-parachute instead na i-land ang chopper.  Seriously, what’s funny about that? Ok, Rowan Atkinson has made me laugh many times before pero luma na at sobrang gasgas na yong eksenang sumakay sya ng cab to get ahead of the other runners in the Chariots of Fire number.  Jeezz... are fresh ideas really hard to come by these days?

As if hindi pa nakuntento sa pagka-boring ang mga hunghang, nilagyan pa ng isang interpretative dance starring a boy and (supposedly?) his father with a celtic song in the background.  Come on! I love Enya's music but it's best to soothe the soul, not to excite spectators!

The only saving grace in this segment is the drama of the five Olympic rings na kunwari ay pinanday nong mga blacksmiths, lifted separately at medyo sumabog-sabog ang fireworks na kunwari ay talsik ng apoy ng nagbabagang bakal.  Because of that, hindi ko na tinuloy ang tulog ko. Baka naman kako may maganda pang kasunod.

But after that, walang kwenta ang sumunod na sayawan na may concept pa ng web connectivity to honor the inventor of the internet (Timothy Berners Lee).  Doon na dapat mag-upbeat ang tempo ng program but still napa-"walang kwenta" ako.  They should watch ASAP or Party Pilipinas para malaman nila how to create a party atmosphere.

Then came the parade of athletes.  Buti naman at yong anchors ng TV5 (Chiqui Roa –  if i remember it correctly - and Dennis Principe- not sure with the spelling) ay medyo informative, obvious na pinaghandaan ang coverage because of their trivia for each country kaya na-enjoy ko rin yong pagkahaba-habang parade.  Kaso towards the end medyo napagod na yata kaya yong ibang countries sa bandang dulo hinayaan na lang dumaan sa screen, wala ng kwento kung saang lupalop yon, kailan sumali sa Olympics at naka-ilang medals na like what they did earlier on.

Although I share their observation na hindi lang parade of athletes ang nangyayari dahil sa dami ng nag-gagandahan (at nag-guguwapuhan na rin) na mga athletes na flag-bearer, para din daw beauty pageant ang pinapanood mo.  Good thing our contingent looked good (Rajo Laurel pa raw ang nag-design ng national costumes nila?) at gandang Pinay naman ang ating flag-bearer na si Hidilyn Diaz (mind you she’s a weightlifter!).

Now back to the program itself...

After makumpleto ang mga athletes, may kaunting intermission ang isang banda saka lumabas ang mga naka-bike na may luminescent wings.  At hindi ako nagkamali dahil isa sa kanila, pinalipad na naman sa ere.  Stunning?  Naaahhh! Tanggalin mo yong pakpak at walang pinag-iba sa eksena sa ET ni Steven Spielberg! Haaayyysss!

Buti naman at very short lang ang opening speech ni Sebastian Coe at Jack Rogue (Philippine politicians should learn from them).  Pero kung maigsi ang speech nila, mas laconic si Queen Elizabeth dahil isang linya lang ang sinabi – I now declare the London 2012 Olympics officially open!  Hahaha...  pagod na siguro ang matanda (but seriously ganon lang talaga ang role ng head of state ng host country, walang epal --- and again, our politicians should learn from this)

Now the highlight I was waiting for – yong lighting ng Olympic flame.  

Para sa akin tops pa rin yong ginawa sa Barcelona (the precision arrow, remember?) so I was curious if London can come up with something spectacular.  And no, David Beckham on a speedboat carrying the torch isn’t my concept of spectacular.

Did it beat Barcelona?  Hmmm... yes and no. Iba eh. Yong sa Barcelona kasi, is the manner of lighting that is  impressive.  The cauldron is just that – a cauldron.  Dito sa London, walang drama or magic yong lighting but instead, they came up with a bright idea that finally made me go “oh wow”!  Buti na lang ganon ang nakita ko or else it could have easily been a 4-hour waste of napakamahal pa namang kuryente! 

If you haven’t seen it, panoorin nyo na lang sa mga reruns ng TV5 (o ayan Mr Pangilinan ha, dapat may royalty ako from you!)

After the lighting, there was a brief display of fireworks which, again, fails miserably kung ikukumpara sa mga fireworks na nakita na natin sa previous Olympic events.  Nagmukha lang itong kiskis ng posporo kung nakita mo yong fireworks na ginawa nong opening ng Burj Khalifa sa Dubai.  Oh well, budget constraints siguro, nagtipid.  Mahirap nga naman ang buhay. (Trivia galing sa TV5 anchors: US$ 42 million lang daw ang budget dito compared to Beijing's US$ 100 million kaya tama ako, nagtipid!)

Kumanta saglit si Paul McCartney – na traditionally ay umpisa ng party mode ng mga athletes where they will mingle and exchange pleasantries bago sumabak sa competition.  Pero hindi na yon pinakita at kung ano pa man ang sumunod dahil doon na pinutol ng TV5 ang broadcast.  

And yes, pasado alas-nwebe na pero hindi pa ako natutulog.  Nalipasan na ng antok kaya naisipang mag-blog.  At mailabas ang mga comments na hindi pwedeng hindi ko i-share sa inyo.  Para que pa at naging Dante speaks ang blog na to! 

marvelous mongol

You know me.  Whenever I find something awesome, I just don’t share it. I rave about it! Haha...

Mongol.  Hindi ito yong lapis na kinakagat-kagat natin while we were listening to our teachers back in grade school.  It’s one epic movie which is Kazakhstan’s entry to the 2008 Oscar Awards for Best Foreign Language Film.  I haven’t seen the other nominees, much more the winner (The Counterfeiters from Austria) but based on how I reacted to this film, Mongol is gonna be one of my newest faves.  Ito yong pelikulang pwede ko namang i-pause ang player para kumuha ng inumin o mag-cr and yet I didn’t.  I was so wrapped up in the story I just can’t leave the screen for one second.

I’ll put it up right within the league of monumental epics of recent years like Gladiator and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon – both in my top ten best films (see my previous posts in 2 parts under label: my top tens).  And now that I found this film, kailangan ko nang i-revamp yong list na yon.  Coz I just can’t let this film fall on the wayside.  It just has to be in my top ten faves. 

Paano naman hindi ako bibilib dito eh sa cinematography pa lang panalong-panalo na.  Think of the Mongolian landscape – golden sand dunes, lush green hills, pristine white snow-capped mountains, gorgeous winding streams and everything you could ever imagine in a land so blessed by nature. All these mesmerizing beauty serving as a picturesque backdrop while a highly compelling story is being told. 

And what a beautiful story it was.  It’s about Temujin, how at 9 he lost his father, found his bride, found a blood brother who later on became his enemy, how he rose from being a slave, fought so many battles  and in the end became the revered Genghis Khan to the Mongols. Yes, the Genghis Khan we read about in our textbooks. It might not be a factual biopic.  But it sure is one hell of a story only brilliant minds can present to us in such a sweeping, dramatic and epic manner.

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Sergei Bodrov, a Russian-American director is the guy I’d thank for such a wonderful piece of work. He was ably supported by Dashi Namdakov whose production design gave us an authentic insight to the nomadic life of the 1100’s Mongolians. And, as I mentioned before, the poignant cinematography by Sergey Trofimov and Rogier Stoffers completing the visual feast this movie so bountifully offers.

And of course, the actors did their part.  Tadanobu Asano, a Japanese actor (you’ve probably seen him in Thor), played the adult Temujin with conviction.  He was gentle in the company of loved ones yet brutal in the battlefield.  He was wise and crafty at times but follows what his heart dictates.  He exudes power, strength, wisdom, compassion and all the characteristics Genghis Khan is supposed to have.

Not to be overshadowed, Sun Honglei, a Chinese actor, played Jamukha to perfection.  Good thing Tadanobu played Temujin so strongly.  Otherwise Sun’s character, villain as it maybe, could have stolen your sympathy so easily.

This film may have not been a box office hit (maybe because of very limited release) but it won wide critical acclaim.  Nominated in so many international films, won major awards in some and even the notorious and merciless Rotten Tomatoes site gave this film an 86% approval rating.  This, once again, proves my point that Hollywood doesn’t have the monopoly of great films. Kaya alam nyo na ang kasunod, it’s my prodding for you to watch it coz it’s worth the 120 minutes of your life.

happy 76th

since july started naiisip ko na sya... 

it's his birth month kasi

kanina, i went to bed at 4 am (nagbabad sa HBO haha)

and there he was in my dreams, 

with his pilyo at pa-playboy na smile

alam mo naman hindi ko nakakalimutan ang araw na to

it should've been your 76th

at kahit 17 years ka nang wala

thanks for always making me feel 

that you're always by my side

miss po kita tay