Musings: Midnight in Paris (2011)

Midnight in Paris (USA), 2011
Directed by Woody Allen
Cast: Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Marion Cotillard, Carla Bruni, Kathy Bates, Adrien Brody

Beguiling. Bewitching. Enthralling.

I went out of our movie room, with a smile (on my face) and a few thoughts in my head after watching Midnight in Paris. First, it made me love the City of Love all the more. And it had reinforced my desire to embrace literature further. It was a joy to watch Gil (Owen Wilson), a distracted screenwriter  who, one late night, treads in the bewildering streets of Paris to ponder about his writing job, when, at the stroke of midnight,  finds himself meeting literary greats such as F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein and Ernest Hemingway, and acclaimed painter Pablo Picasso and his mistress Adriana (Marion Cotillard), to name a few. Alas, the witching hour begins!

Really, how fun would that be? That's like the wildest dream, which can ever come true for a writer trapped in his/her literary reverie! Which of course, makes this fantasy flick a sure comfort, (even to non-writers). It poses an enthralling question: how wild can your imagination be? Even then, it is slightly whimsical yet insightful. The twists and turns of the story can very well unfold a poetry in its own right: romanticising the musings of a daydreamer, putting life to nostalgia, sharing love across time difference.

Once again, Woody Allen let us into his beguiling realms of imagination and he surely knows how to cast his magic spell on us. And true enough, I was bathe in the refreshing magic only found in Midnight in Paris. 

Musings: Ang Sayaw ng Dalawang Kaliwang Paa (2011)

Ang Sayaw ng Dalawang Kaliwang Paa, Philippines (2011)
Directed by Alvin Yapan
Cast: Jean Garcia, Rocco Nacino, Paulo Avelino

A love triangle. Three characters, all entangled in a complicated yet beautiful web of dance, poetry and love.

To put it simply, Ang Sayaw ng Dalawang Kaliwang Paa is a delight to watch. Its simple yet intricate attack on the subject of identity and homosexuality is refreshing. For one thing, it does not boasts to be an art film, nor does it claim to be a pink film. In fact, it does not need to claim anything at all, just watch it, and the answer is laid out to you but the challenge is to come up with the right one, as the story is fluidly juxtaposed with dance and poetry. You need to carefully pay attention to the details, the dialogues, the poetry, among others and then perhaps, gradually, you'll figure out both the physical and metaphorical meanings. (e.g. teardrop, sword, epic battle)

Rarely do we see a movie that is uplifted with subtlety.
Where each look, dance and word would entail a huge impact to its entirety.
Beautiful dialogues are carved out from poetry;
Amour, desire, pain and pleasure contained in a complicated sweet, euphonious melody.

--
What do you think? A picture paints a thousand words.

Musings: Phantom of the Opera 25th Anniversary Concert (2011)

Phantom of the Opera: 25th Anniversary Concert, UK, (2011)
Directed by Harold Prince
Cast: Sierra Boggess and Ramin Karimloo

Spectacular. Thrilling. Compelling.

It was one cathartic night. After seeing The Phantom 25th anniversary concert, and when I got out of the theater, I felt so alive. It's one of those inexplicable moments when certain things such as motion picture + music give you a certain high. Indeed, there was no drug needed; it was overwhelmingly uplifting.

I have to admit, I am not a child who grew up adoring musicals or stage plays to begin with. But you don't have to be accustomed to such things to enjoy and relish a feeling that's common among all of us- momentary bliss or euphoria, perhaps- when you've come across something as grandiose and lavish as this. The cast was enormous. The company listing on the show's official website cited that there were 138 cast members: 99 ensemble members, 20 dancers and 19 principles. The costumes and the props were vibrant, detailed and embellished with various adornments. The choreography was equally enthralling and eye-catching. Moreover, instead of using the customary set design of the stage play, gigantic LED monitors projected the appropriate backdrops to change the mood and to easily swap intended locations/settings.

Having LED is useful in stage productions. You can easily project anything in a touch of a finger or swiftly vary a mood in a just a blink of an eye. But unless it's 3d, the employment of actual props is unparalleled. Well, to give it a second thought, even if it's 3d, nothing beats decorating the stage with the actual materials. It gives you a more realistic, and true to its description, three-dimensional feel.

Apparently, I've also read that the Company had to adjust to some limitations because The Royal Albert Hall stage was small, especially if adorned with enormous and extravagant props intended for this production. Obviously, they managed this constraint well (e.g. use of LED, the strategic placement of gantry, orchestra, among others) They may even have used it to their advantage. But one thing disappointed the live audience - (and in the cinema, me too), the Chandelier scene! Obviously, it dangled above the audience but it did not fall down and crash, which was supposedly a highlight in the show.

Aside from the timeless musical masterpieces of Andrew Lloyd Webber that are showcased in Phantom, the real revelation are the actors. It's good to note that I'm not familiar with any of the members of the cast, so I may have probably pushed my biases aside, easier. But with that, I digress. Sierra Boggess as Christine is utterly mesmerizing. Oh those eyes! Those killer eyes and captivating voice. Usually, the beauty outshines the talent, that's what they say, but in here, Sierra exudes an enchanting vibe that treads the fine line of a mysterious charmer as well as childlike innocence. She's a wonderful thing to look at- ogle at (? anyone?) And even an endearing voice to listen to. Ramin Karimloo's Phantom is a joy to watch. One minute he's fierce and intense, the next he's fragile and vulnerable. It's that seemingly effortless way to switch masks and body language to exude a variety of emotions- all in one show, mind you- which differentiates a great actor from a good one. And Ramin may have probably been the former.

I had an epiphany about television/ taped-as-live productions while seeing this. It made me all the more appreciate the value of hard work, effort and practice as well as craftsmanship, teamwork and attentiveness during these times. When I was at school - in college specifically- it was more of a hearsay/ assumption kind of thing when it comes to the overview of television production. It's not that people were pretending to know or merely guessing about it, I guess everyone had a general idea of it but they never really got the chance to see it, and experience it for themselves. And 'presuming', 'imagining' and actually 'experiencing' are not exactly the same thing. Well, I guess, it has to do with the fact that you'll never really know until you get there.

Just like the Phantom.

You might have probably listened to his voice, heard what the company said about him, or read his story in the paper. Alas, you think you know, but actually, you have no idea.

It must have been the Angel of Music, after all.



Notes:
Great to watch the documentary part before the production proper.
Please do watch this in a 'surround-sound' method
Glad to have seen it in Trinoma.

Food Trip!: Sbarro

Sbarro, Glorietta 5

October 7, 2011

Great and sumptuous food paired with great and sumptuous company.

Had a Chicken Macaroni Salad and Lemonade. Very delicious indeed. I was thinking of a Caesar's salad, incorporated with a bunch of lettuce and a creamy dressing but instead, I pronounced macaroni and thus, Caesar was defeated! :))

They had: Chicago White and this 'red' Pasta... while my friend argued that I had the white one.

Nice ambiance but the place is small. Service was great. Crew were accommodating and attentive.

Musings: After Dark (2004)

After Dark, Japan (2004)
Author: Haruki Murakami

Eerie. Strange. Creepy. Gripping. Imaginative.

Undoubtedly, these are some of the best words to describe Haruki Murakami's 2004 novel, After Dark. 

I have to say that the book is a good read during the witching hour, or perhaps even better before the break of the day. As the night gets deeper and you get more engrossed reading this, you can apparently feel or imagine the eerie dream world ambiance that is fluidly and wonderfully described. True to his words, Murukami's novel will immerse you into "the secret entries into darkness in the interval between midnight and the time the sky grows light", a period when "no one can predict when or where such abysses will swallow people, or when or where they will split them out."

What's exciting to note about After Dark is that it effortlessly juxtaposes reality and fantasy altogether; one moment there's a vivid landscape of the real world and then in a sudden twist of exposition, you will be introduced into far uncertain alternative cosmos. And that's fluidly done, which is one thing I really appreciate when I read written works that has a surrealism theme/ touch. Murukami's writing has a sly way of sucking us into the black hole, hence, transporting us into another galaxy- the world After Dark.


Just when we think that we've already been consumed by and into the world of make-believe, Murakami would shift the gear and wickedly drive our train of thought to make us realize that indeed, reality may even be stranger than fiction. And that's a really big imaginative tease which is better experienced After Dark!