Lechon,Kape at Ang Layang Bilanggo

Bej texted at around 7:00AM yesterday. She wanted me to jump out bed to meet her and Precy in Legaspi Sunday (Organic) Market. Yawning, I asked myself...di ba 7am is too early to be in a crowded place on a supposed to be lazy Sunday morning?"Not at all… if the reward includes a mouthwatering lechon for breakfast" was the prompt reply of those voices inside my head.  Please understand that I do not have control or influence over them. They're just too many and so i was easily outnumbered!

Bej and Precy both have Fresh Chinese Lumpia while I was salivating over my lechon meal! Ahaha. Takaw!

My Sunday breakfast

Gerry Villena’s  Z.E.N. (Zestful, Energetic,Natural) is a usual stop when I am in Legaspi Sunday Market. It’s my source of all organic personal care products. I bought some organic soap for my friend Cassandra. I have been using organic soaps, moisturizer, body scrubs and shampoo since Cassandra introduced ZEN to me a couple of years ago. Unlike Lush products with very overpowering scents ( nakakahikang  bango)  ZEN’s are mildly scented. 

Phtoto is from http://youwerewatched.livejournal.com

After breakfast, we went to Shangri-La Mall to catch the 11:30 screening of Layang Bilanggo which is another entry to Cinema One Originals Digital Film Festival.  I wish Metro’s everyday traffic would be as light as yesterday’s….thanks to Pacquiao vs Margarito!  

I had my  "I belong" moment yesterday...inside the cab!

 We arrived at Shang with a just a few people inside the mall. We went to Starbucks for coffee (and stickers) while waiting for the film screening.  No one was in Starbucks! I mean there was a few...but isn’t it an unusual sight on a family day morning. I would normally see bunch of parents reading the morning paper with their favorite lattes and kids with their frappes! Thanks to the Pacquiao vs Margarito fight we didn’t have any trouble finding a good area to seat!

Bej and Precy

I wasn’t expecting much from Layang Bilanggo. I wanted to watch the film merely because Pen Medina is the main lead. And Miriam Quimbao being one of the lead stars is just an extravagant bonus. 

Layang Bilanggo is a must-see film! Everyone was great down to the support roles. This is how Pinoy movie should be. The lines were fantastically natural, something that we hear in real life. Intense drama with no hysterics and no flooding of tears is such a winner. As the story unfolds with loads of  human drama, you will be amazed to get a good laugh along the way!  

Here’s the screening schedule:  festival will end tomorrow, Tuesday (11-16-20100

    15 November, 2010 (Monday)

    11:30  -  Astro Mayabang

    01:30  -  Dagim

   03:30  -  Layang Bilanggo

   05:30  -  Ang Damgo

   07:30  -  Tsardyer

   09:30  -  Ishmael

   16 November, 2010 (Tuesday)

 12:00  -  Layang Bilanggo

  02:00  -  Ang Damgo

  04:00  -  Third World Happy

  06:00  -  Tsardyer

  08:00  -  Dagim

  10:00  -  Astro Mayabang

Ishmael at Tsardyer

I went to Shang last Friday for the 2pm screening of Dagim which is one of the entries in Cinema One Originals Digital Film Festival. Before heading to Ortigas, I have to meet a nice Jedi in Enterprise Bldg in Ayala as we both are watching the film.  I did insist that we catch a few ORIGINALS films, saying “let’s go Pinoy this time!” Unfortunately, the traffic was awfully bad! We got there past 3PM.  We waited for the 5PM screening for the next film Ishmael.

 If am an expert then maybe I can elaborately write on how good  or how bad the movie was but then I am not, and so I am not going that way. What was very evident to me was the bad audio from time to time. We enjoyed the film and the Actors were all good! How can you be disappointed when you have Ronnie Lazaro, Mark Gil and Pen Medina in one film? The brutal and bloody scenes towards the end was strangely good.

After Ishmael we had Bibingkinitan , Starbucks Coffee (3 more stickers for the planner!) and juicy stories to feed us.   We both decided to watch the next film, Tsardyer which lucky for us was having the gala premier. Here are some celebs we saw in the cinema lobby: Tsardyer lead stars Dimples Romana and Mon Confiado, Jennica Garcia was there to watch the film too, “hey that face looks familiar, taga GMA ba yan? “, “kilala ko yan eh…di ko lang matandaan pangalan…pero lumalabas sa TV yan”and sino nga ba yan..galing Starstruck yan diba?” were all there to support the film. I apologize to have such limited knowledge on local celebs as I don’t have TV so long now. And the only time I watch Pinoy movies in theater is during the December Filmfest and it’s always Bong Revilla’s entry and Vic Sotto’s  Enteng movie! And why not? Vic’s Enteng is so corny it makes me laugh. Bong Revilla spend so much money doing better films and that’s enough reason for me to support his filmfest entry. Jedi and I, we don’t really have the urge to take pictures of celebs or have our picture taken with them. Unless it’s with Johnny Depp for Jedi and it’s with Jude law and Morgan Freeman for me then we will gladly strike a pose!  Oppss..I should be talking about Tsardyer right?  Let me just sum up our Tsardyer experience with one simple word courtesy of Jedi: Headache.

I may watch another one today and it’s a choice between Layang Bilanggo, starring Pen Medina, Miriam Quiambao, Jaime Fabregas, Sue Prado and Archie Adamos  at 11:30AM or Dagim with stars Martin Del Rosario, Samuel Quintana, Bembol Roco, Rita Iringan, and Marc Abaya 9:30PM.

Screening Schedule is here.

Did I mentioned that all of the films working budget was just 1M?

I know a friend who is submitting an entry for next year’s festival.  Congratulations to you my friend for the courage. Goodluck!

Cinema One Originals Digital Film Festival

After the blockbuster Korean horror Movie Film Festival here comes another one! It’s the 2010 Cinema One Originals Digital Film Festival. This will run starting today, November 10 up until November 16, 2010.

Now, unlike the previous international film festivals in  Shangri-La Mall’s Cineplex, we DON’T get to watch pinoy films for FREE . Tickets are priced at Php150.00 each. Would this mean that it will be a yey-konti-pila-may bayad-kasi  festival moment?

Awards Night will be held on November 14 at ABS-CBN's Dolphy Theater.It will surely be a tight competition between the 7 finalists selected out from over 100 entries.

 ISHMAEL

Written and Directed by Richard Somes
Starring Ronnie Lazaro, Mark Gil, Pen Medina, and Ria Garcia
The Gist: An ex-convict returns to his hometown seeking peace, but gets drawn in a battle for justice that will have him drawing from his violent past.

ANG DAMGO NI ELEUTERIA KIRCHBAUM Directed by Remton Siega Zuasola
Written by Maria Victoria Beltran
Starring Donna Gimeno, Suzette Ranillo and Alex Uypuanco
The Gist: A young Cebuana, envious of her cousin’s fortunes after marrying a foreigner, signs up to become a mail-order bride.

DAGIM Directed by Joaquin Pedro Valdes
Written by Jheremy Sandico and Joaquin Pedro Valdes
Starring Martin Del Rosario, Samuel Quintana, Bembol Roco, Rita Iringan, and Marc Abaya
The Gist: Two brothers looking for their father discover a seemingly idyllic tribal community hiding a dark secret. 

LAYANG BILANGGO Directed by Michael Angelo Dagñalan
Written by Ma-an Asuncion, Michael Angelo Dagñalan, and Melchor Escarcha
Starring Pen Medina, Miriam Quiambao, Jaime Fabregas, Sue Prado and Archie Adamos
The Gist: An aging hitman tries to get close to a daughter he abandoned years ago. But his past isn’t easy to shake.

 ASTRO MAYABANG Written and Directed by Jason Paul Laxamana
Starring Aaron Villaflor, Megan Young, John Lapus, Marco Morales, Hermes Bautista and Crystal Herrera
The Gist: A young man who flaunts his supposed patriotism is made to see the irony in his ways.  

TSARDYER Written and Directed by Siegfried Barros-Sanchez
Starring Martin delos Santos, Neil Ryan Sese, Dimples Romana, Pipo Alfad III and Mon Confiado
The Gist: A woman journalist is kidnapped by a rebel group, and she befriends a young boy whose job is to keep the rebels’ cellphones charged.

THIRD WORLD HAPPY Written and Directed by EJ Salcedo
Starring Sam Milby, Jodi Sta. Maria, Richard Quan, Melissa Mendez and Archie Adamos
The Gist: An artist who has lived most of his life abroad returns home for a funeral and slowly rediscovers a connection to his home.

We also get to watch these films from the previous years' festival!

*Jerrold Tarog’s postmodern political satire Confessional, 

*Richard Somes’ aswang family drama Yanggaw, 

*Richard Legaspi’s romantic comedy set in the world of the hearing-impaired   Paano Ko Sasabihin,

*Ray Gibraltar’s grim black comedy Wanted: Border. 

*Ron Bryant’s excellent documentary The Cinema of Celso Ad Castillo.

Screening Schedule:
                                                                      

10 November, 2010 (Wednesday)

12:00  -  Wanted:Border

02:00  -  Paano Ko Sasabihin

04:00  -  The Cinema of Celso Ad Castillo

07:00  -  Confessional

09:00  -  Ishmael

11 November, 2010 (Thursday)

12:00  -  Ishmael

02:00  -  The Cinema of Celso Ad Castillo

04:00  -  Yanggaw

07:00  -  Third World Happy

09:00  -  Dagim

12 November, 2010 (Friday)

12:00  -  Third World Happy

02:00  -  Dagim

04:00  -  Ishmael

07:00  -  Astro Mayabang

09:00  -  Tsardyer

13 November, 2010 (Saturday)

12:00  -  Astro Mayabang

02:00  -  Tsardyer

04:00  -  Ishmael

06:00  -  Third World Happy

08:00  -  Layang Bilanggo

10:00  -  Ang Damgo

14 November, 2010 (Sunday)

11:30  -  Layang Bilanggo

01:30  -  Ang Damgo

03:30  -  Third World Happy

05:30  -  Astro Mayabang

07:30  -  Tsardyer

09:30  -  Dagim

15 November, 2010 (Monday)

11:30  -  Astro Mayabang

01:30  -  Dagim

03:30  -  Layang Bilanggo

05:30  -  Ang Damgo

07:30  -  Tsardyer

09:30  -  Ishmael

16 November, 2010 (Tuesday)

12:00  -  Layang Bilanggo

02:00  -  Ang Damgo

04:00  -  Third World Happy

06:00  -  Tsardyer

08:00  -  Dagim

10:00  -  Astro Mayabang

See you at the movies!

"Softest and Moistest Bibingka" at Libreng Sine Sa Shangri-La!

I love going to Shangri-La Mall in Ortigas!

It’s worth P20.00 for a one-way bus ride from where I live or  P100.00, give or take a few, if I take a cab. It is totally easy, convenient and cheap!

Another reason is my addiction to Bibingkinitan!-Freshly baked Mini Bibingka. And true to what is printed outside of its take-away box, it’s the  Softest and Moistest Bibingka. Oh yeah... I get to eat mini bibingkas at Shang’s foodcourt! I can easily finish a box with 6 mini bibingkas in one sitting. Their kiosk also serve brewed coffee. There is no better marriage than between coffee and bibingka. It is like how good tuyo is with your champorado or bagoong with your green mangoes.  In my case there’s no substitute for soy sauce to go with my singkamas and sweetened condensed milk with my Vietnam coffee.  Sadly though, bibingkinitan’s brewed coffee is “not my cup of coffee”. But of course that doesn’t stop me from buying those little Bs. Their Calamsi Juice with Honey can be a healthy substitute.

  Shangri-La Mall’s Cineplex being home to almost all of the international film festivals in the Metro is another reason why I like this mall. Another BIG Plus is the FREE ADMISSION to many great films in those festivals.

My cousin Daryl

The recently concluded 2010 Korean Horror Movie Festival (Oct. 26-November 4) was such a big hit!

Daryl, Christian and Mon

 And before the festival has ended, I was able to convince my two cousins to line-up for like 4 hours for the complimentary movie tickets. I am glad they enjoyed the film and the experience. 

My cousin Mon

Some of my Teka Teka friends (and friends of friends) from Aegis PeopleSupport were there too for the Korean horror experience! Mostly came from from their graveyard shifts.