I am NOT a critic. I'm merely an observer. (Books, movies, plays, musicals etc.)

From Google images For non-Filipino speakers, there are English Subtitles # contramundum   # defytheworld   # showlarawansomelove The 1965 movie was in full English with some Spanish and it left a deep mark in my heart.  Even if I was never deprived of love lives through the years, right now, I am over the hill and considered a spinster by a lot of condescending and "caring" people alike, so I really found Tony Javier's character deplorable.  In the musical movie that almost was not shown during the Metro Manila Film Festival 2017 even if it was critically acclaimed elsewhere, Tony Javier is still an a-hole, and that same a-hole was personified by Paulo Avelino. The Late National Artist Rolando S. Tinio's Screenplay makes the audience feel that every scene is real, so what if a character breaks into song once in a while?  There were funny and witty lines too.  Even if it was faithful to the National Artist, Nick Joaquin's origi...

Sinag Maynila's Balut Country Where a tragedy becomes a blessing in disguise BALUT COUNTRY is a movie about family, relationships, decisions and realizations revolving around the Duck/Goose industry and the lives of Jun and Dado. I learned a lot of things while watching this film...things that I probably took for granted while growing up. I know I was fond of mallards and geese(I played with them without hurting them) when I was in my formative years in the US of A and I guess I was one of the few who came from there  that love to eat balut  the moment I tasted it(not knowing it was the embryo of the duck).  I was not scared to eat it and I loved to sip the soup from the shell. I didn't realize that for me to enjoy balut , lots of people are involved and the process is long and hard...probably even tedious.  One of the things among many that I've learned via this movie is that ducks and geese eat snails  and for me, that is a very interesting ...

When I first saw the trailer above, I told myself I would definitely watch this.  I thought to myself, I needed a good laugh...something to take the blues away.  What I didn't realize was that this was more than a comedy.  It's a movie with direct and hidden messages...a movie that hits several soft spots...a movie that a lot of people, if not all, could relate to. It's the first time, I think, that I've encountered Antoinette Jadaone, and I must say that she's a very good raconteur and director.  I haven't checked who the casting director is, but I must say that he or she chose the actors well.  From the bit players, to the sorta kinda villains, to the best friends, to the in-laws(future in-laws), families to the main characters, the characters were tailor-made for them.   It was great to see familiar faces that I didn't expect to see. I also was amused that Empress Schuck agreed to play a bitchy version of herself.   Everyone did a good ...