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More MIFF Intrigyes

The awards night was long gone ... pero hindi pa rin natapos ang mga intriga. Pakinggan ninyo:

#And the Winner Is ... showing pa rin in more than 232 cinemas nationwide.  Yong Green Bones naman showing sa 54 cinemas (110 na raw as of this writing). Intriga dito yong sinabi ni Dennis Trillo questioning kung may ABS- CBN pa ba? Ngayon ganti ng mga fans na pasaring - May Dennis Trillo pa ba? 

#Green Bones star Dennis Trillo denies any involvement in a viral comment "May ABS CBN pa ba?" Whether true or not ang palusot niya " may gumagawa lang ng intriga sa kanya: ... and this happened at the time when his cellphone was hacked.

#Sa mga fans daw "Huwag daw maging praning kung yong ibang fans post ng post at pinagmalaki pa ang dami ng sinihan na pinalabasan ng mga pelikula ng mga idol nila. Depensa nila: Hindi namin kasalanan kung limited ang mga sinihan na binibigay sa kanila .... at patuloy pang binabawasan araw-araw".

#One reporter complained about why Zig Dulay did not win the Best Director award. "Nanalong Best Picture ang Green Bones ... pero hindi ang direktor nito? Paano kayo nasarapan sa karekare ... pero ang nagluto ng kaldereta ang pinuri ninyo?

#On the awards night ... fans were making a big fuss about the reaction of Sue Ramirez and Christine Reyes when Ruru Madrid was announced as Best Supporting Actor. Huwag na raw pabalikin si Christine Reyes sa GMA dahil wala man lang loyalty sa company that made her.

#Cristine Reyes supporters quickly destroy the narrative: Bakit taga ABS CBN ba si Christine ... hindi naman ah. The fans accused that the two were rooting for Sid Lucero nominated in Topakk and The Kingdom. The fans fored back: Bakit hindi ba taga GMA si Sid? Has he made more soap in GMA than ABS?

#The fans didn't mind Meme losing to Dennis Trillo in the Best Actor derby. "Sa kanila na ang mga awards ... mas gusto namin ang Top Grosser award. Bakit maipang-grocery mo ba ang mga trophy?" sarkastiko nilang sagot.

#Kung naka-back-to-back ang GMA ng Best Picture awards ... hindi magpatalo ang mga fans at-back-to-back-to-back-to-back din daw ang ABS CBN sa Top Grosser award. Punch line nila "may tatak imprimatur na yata na pag gawa nang ABS CBN Top Grosser ito?

#May resibo daw sila sa kanilang claim at ito ang long list of films na tumabo talaga sa takilya making them number 1 sa kita: And The Winner Is, Rewind, Fantastica, The Avengers, Parental Guidance, Beauty and The Beastie, Praybeyt Benjamin, Girl Boy Bakla Tomboy, Sisterakas, Feng Shui atbp.

#Sagot naman ng fans sa kabilang kampo - hindi kikita ang Rewind kung hindi hiniram ng Star Cinema ang Dong-Yan. Akala mo ba palampasin ng mga fans ang pasaring na ito: "Oo kikita ang Dong-Yan ... pero hindi aabot ng bilyon ito kung hindi tatak ABS. Next year subukan nga ng GMA ang gumawa ng pelikula eyeing the number 1 spot.

#May award ka pero hindi mo alam ang ibig sabihin? Yong ang mga nangyari sa mga special citations that was awarded to VG, Topakk at Himala. At least kay Meme naitanong niya kaya abot tenga ang ngiti at sinabi nilang para sa performace yon. Yong sa Himala ba ... ang citation ba ay tungkol sa acting or singing ... eh musical yon? At yong sa Topakk naman ... citation ba ito na palaging masama ang timpla ni Arjo Atayde ... may toyo ... at may topak?

#Tagos to the bulalo ang punchline ng Green Bones: "IKUKULONG ka sa iyong NAKARAAN ... PALALAYAIN ka ng KATOTOHANAN.  Hanep! Kung sino man ang nakaisip niyan ... knows how to fashion WORDS into LINES ... and LINES into RHYMES.

#Uninvited is the only entry this year na nabokya sa awards. They were totally SNUBBED to think that Vilma, Aga and Nadine were acting giants. May pagka-NEGA kasi ang title na UNINVITED ... hindi ka na nga inimbita (uninvited)... nang-gatecrash pa sila (no pun intended?)

#Totally snubbed din daw and SB19 at hindi daw pinansin ng MIFF ang Nyebe (original soundtrack sa Green Bones ) at Mapa (original soundtrack sa And The Winner Is.  Ang totoo daw diyan hindi daw qualified yong mga kanta nila dahil daw hindi ito intended para magiging theme song. FYI, the original soundtrack is definitely not the movie's theme song.

#Sa mall sa mga probinsya lahat ng entrees ang admission price ay hindi lumalampas sa P350 more or less. Pero ang Green Bones lumampas ng tumaginting na P550. Does it mean hindi pa nito nakuha ang mumber 5 sa ranking kung hindi ginawang mahal ang ticket price?

#Some people were asking kung nainsulto ba ni Meme ang pamunuan ng MIFF dahil inusisa niya kung para saan yong award niya? Aba kasalanan nila yon ... they should know better. Dapat ang tanong is: Nainsulto ba ng MIFF si VG at iba pang artista sa mga awards nila?

#Malaking mortal sin daw ang pagappoint ng award presenter na may nominadong mga pelikula din. Ang pinatamaan dito ay sina Francine Diaz at Seth Fedelin. Dapat SOP ito sa MIFF dahil may mga precedence na ... na may mga presenters na nagbabasa ng maling winners like the infamous 1994 Manila Film Festival incident na muntik nang nauwi sa demandahan.

Metro Manila Film Festival Winners

The awards night for the Metro Manila Festival 2024 took place 2 days ago ... and it is customary that we focus the SPOTLIGHT on the  HIGHLIGHTS and LOWLIGHTS of the annual affair.

-When Vice Ganda was given the Jury Citation Award I didn't blame him when he asked: Ano ba tong award na ito? While he was walking towards the steps to accept the award, kami rin nagtatanong ... isa na naman itong pampalubag award? Special Jury Citation award ... para saan? Napakavague naman kasi eh.

-Pareho pala ang iniisip namin at ang recipient ng award. He had no clear idea what the award was for ... and thanks to him he did not mince a word questioning what the award is all about. Nagtawanan tuloy ang lahat akala nila ay kasama sa spiel at nagkokomedya lang ang actor. It was a valid question.

#"Pagtayo ko, tinatanong ko si Direk Jun at si Uge, 'ano ba tong award na to?'" "Special Jury Citation for what? For being Best Dressed for tonight? Special Jury Citation for Best Hairstyle? Best Outfit? Best Performance? Seriously, hindi ko talaga alam. Nagtatanga-tangahan ako, ayoko namang magpasalamat na hindi ko naiintindihan yung award." 

#The comment placed the organizing committee on the spot. This led them to ask the presenters to read the descriptive account highlighting the salient points and features of the award.

#Akala ninyo It's Showtime lang ang kayang laruin ni Meme? Ginawa rin niya sa MMFF: "Hahabaan ko na ang speech na ito ... at baka ibig sabihin nito ay hindi na ako maging Best Actor. Baka ito ang award sa mga First Runner Up. Yon bang sayang naman ang outfit ... o sigi na paakyatin na natin siya."

#May ganun ding mga award earlier in the show. May Special Jury Citation din ang Topakk at Isang Himala.  Too bad the beneficiary of the said awards was not as assertive as VG - they go home confused and bewildered about the nature of the honors bestowed on them.

#It was funny that the Third Best Picture presenters were Seth and Francine. They could not hold their kilig when they opened the envelope and voila ... "My Future You."

#Tama ang hinala ng lahat: DARKHORSE ang My Future You at SINIPA niya lahat ang kalaban: seaHORSE, RED HORSE you name it. Akala mo nag-HORSEplay lang sina Seth and Francine ... but they are Kapamilya WORKHORSES that has their HORSESHOE on.

#Sid Lucero may have lost the Best Supporting Award to Ruru Madrid but he had a twin nomination for the same category: Sid Lucero for the Kingdom ... and Sid Lucero for Topakk. That is more than enough.

#GMA made history by making two back-to-back wins at MMFF - Firefly in 2023 and Green Bones in 2024. Ironically both movies were directed by two-peat director Zig Dulay. He won in 2023 and for his effort in the Best Picture Green Bones, he lost to the directors of the second and Third Best Picture director-Crisanto Aquino and Michael Tuviera.

#Nangamoy politika ang gabi. Nagkalat ang mga pulitiko sa bulwagan ... na ang tanging layunin lang ay makatikim man lang ng konting exposure bago rumatsada ang kampanya next year.

#Which bring to mind what my friend had said: Itong mga pulitikong ito attend ng attend ng mga showbiz functions ... pero sa kapalaran ng ABS CBN na hindi narenew ang kanilang prankisa ... wala kang maasahan sa kanila.

#At the end of this contest ...Green Bones makes me reflect on JUSTICE and HUMANITY ... while And The Winner Is gave me a somber look at FAMILY and the often overlooked role of BREADWINNERS in our society.

#Here is the complete list of the winners:

-Best Actor -Dennis Trillo 0 Green Bones

-Best Actress - Judy Ann Santos - Espantaho

-Best Supporting Actor - Ruru Madrid - Green Bones

-Best Supporting Actress - Kaki Teodoro

-Breakthrough Performance - Seth Fedelin - My Future You

-Special Jury Citation - Vice Ganda - And The Winner Is

-Best Child Performer - Sienna Stevens

-Best Screenplay - Ricky Lee - Green Bones

-Best Directors: Crisanto Aquino - My Future You and Michael Tiviera - The Kingdom

#And here are the rankings at the box office 1. And The Winner Is 2. The Kingdom 3. Espantaho 4. Uninvited. Conventional wisdom dictates the rankings may change after the awards night.

PARA SA MGA NAKAKARAMDAM NG TAKOT O LUNGKOT MAG-ISA | Compilation Homily...

War On Drugs and Ninos Inocentes

Today is December 28 ... and we are celebrating the feast of Ninos Inocentes. 

As part of the celebration of Christmas, we can't just ignore another feast honoring the innocent victims of the massacre that happened a long time ago - children who were considered "collateral damage" when King Herod ordered the killing of the blameless male newborn kids.

He lusted for power ... and because he was threatened by the birth of Jesus - the new anointed King of Kings (the news spread virally even though computers are yet to be discovered.)  Civilian casualties or not ... incidental damage some may call it ... but there is no denying the act was barbarous, bloodthirsty, and has no respect for any person's right to life.

Fast forward tayo ... to any incident in the immediate past with parallelism to Ninos Inocentes - the War On Drugs has all the trimmings of being one. The government has encouraged random killings in its battle with shabu and illicit substances and unintended casualties fall prey and can happen to anyone. Here ... innocent victims are easy targets ... and that includes Ninos Inocentes who happened not to be in the right place ... and at the right time. 

Sanino Butucan, Danica Mae Garcia, Francisco Manosca Althea Fe Barbon, Reynaldo de Guzman, Charlie Jean Du. Kian Lloyd de los Santos and Carl Arnaiz to name a few ... are living testimony (no pun intended) and their carnage will forever be etched in our memory bank as mga batang pinaslang na walang kalaban-laban.

Sana sa lahat na pagdiriwang ng Ninos Inocentes ... maalala natin sila ... at patuloy na ipagdasal ang eternal peace that they deserved.

And to the candidates seeking reelection ... mukhang fixated na kayo sa mga addict. If your platform zeroes down to the war on drugs the second time around ... obsessed na po kayo.

Ang daming problema sa Pilipinas, ganito na naman ba ang focus nila ... at wala ng iba? Kailangan natin ng  mga kandidatong Jack of all trades ... yon bang kahit among problema ... aasahan mong sasabak.

Gising na mga botante!

One Liners

 

Expensive Preparation For His Coming?

If Paris is the City of Lights ... Ilonggos hope they don't mind if Iloilo City borrows this sobriquet only this Christmas - for how else could you describe a city whose ostentatious display of lights exceeded one's expectations.  A friend who has a penchant for hyperbole and exaggeration fired back to him the preparation had reached a blasphemous degree ... (or was it sacrilegious?)  To him, it was almost disrespectful and obscene because it was not in synch with humbleness ... the very first teaching Jesus wants us to imbibe this Christmas.

I don't blame his rhetorics ... because of his viewpoint and mindset that Jesus was teaching humanity humility and modesty... why Jesus Christ had to be born in a manger ... why his first visitors were shepherds ... why he was surrounded by lambs and animals, etc.

We just let him ... but the lights and sounds were just so breathless ... it is plain idiocy to ignore what was going around ... whether the NOW generation chooses extravagance over being economical ... wasteful and indulgent over frugality ... is beside the point.

Here are the photos: