KC and Richard — whose genius idea was that?

Evidence of Intelligent life… Interesting video of how KC and Richard got together for “For the First Time”.  It seems that they figured it out themselves. Smart Kids…

Edit! — There seems to be a rift between the parents, and the other GMA7 pair (at least their management). Dingdong and Marian. This is unfortunate, because i think this sort of synergy, free trade between the assets of these networks, is wealth creating. Or, it may in fact be fortunate, coz any publicity is good publicity, which in showbusiness is also wealth creating.

Sex and the City

NYTimes has a great article on series creator Michael Patrick King.

An interesting excerpt:

Mr. King’s mother is also a practicing Roman Catholic, and his history has left him with a vexed relationship to his own faith. “I’m happiest in an empty church,” he said. “I love the smell of a church.” In the opinion of his closest friend, the novelist Adriana Trigiani (with whom he shares a brownstone in the West Village), his Catholicism is also a constant presence.

“He loves the pageantry and the drama,” Ms. Trigiani said. “He took the structure and holiness of the Mass, and I think it’s informed anything he’s done.” She noted that her friend writes with a sharp eye toward consequence.

Pursuing this meme, if you watch the show, you’ll see how most episodes are built as a parable that conveniently wraps up in less than 30 minutes. This is what i like best about the series. Its also what will surely be lost the movie version. But i’m sure Mr. King knows whats he’s doing.

Maid of Honor

This is surely a sign of the times. The movie Made of Honor features a man as a comic lead, in the kind of role usually alloted for women. The first time i’ve seen such a thing. Its quite revolutionary actually. Women now have shown that they can invade traditionally male roles (action/fantasy/adventure hero). Now its the the men’s turn to take over as a lead in a romantic comedy, typically the bastion of women. In fact, he’s more than the lead, he is tasked to carry this movie as everyone else in this movie has a lesser profile. Basically Patrick Dempsy plays a ‘Julia Roberts’ kind of role; an otherwise successful person driven to desperation by love.

What has made this possible? Well, Grey’s Anatomy is one obvious factor. But this isn’t the first time there has been a breakaway leading man from TV. I think its Judd Apatow — he’s shown more than anyone that the male point of view of relationships is every bit as interesting as the female’s.

Why “The Return of Jezebel James” isn’t good

“The Return of Jezebel James” premiered last week. I saw it, and i thought it was bad. I checked the interwebs; reviews are mostly bad. Metacritic aggregates reviews and gives it a 29, one of the worst reviewed TV show in the Fall 2007/2008 midseason, beat only by the super-short lived “Cavemen”. There are many complaints. Alot of people, myself included, hate the laughtrack. But i believe that the uncomfortable laugh track is only a symptom of the true problem with the show.

Why can’t we have more movies like Juno?

I saw Juno today and it was very good. The writing was fun and easy. The direction, acting  and music were all great. Its not a movie that costs much. We should have more movies like this. Specifically: 1) an straightforward plot, 2) an engaging hero/heroine, 3) smart writing, 4) an actual character arc. It made me think about the Juno’s journey in understanding what love is between a guy and a girl, and how sex and pregnancy is this complicated thing that makes things better and/or ruins things. The funny scenes are too numerous to mention, but i have two favorite heartwarming scenes. The first is when Vanessa touches Juno’s stomach and says thank you. It teaches Juno that being a mom is this wonderful thing, that while she’s not ready now, one day she might want it for herself. Second is when Juno asks her dad, whether its possible for two people to be happy together forever, and her dad tells her what to look for in a guy. On the face of it, its standard love story stuff. But here, it exists in a context (which i won’t share here for fear of ruining the movie to the three people who read this blog!).

Also, somewhat beside the point i’m making here, they kept using what now is my word of the month -shenanigans. Such a funny word!

I think that the vast majority of Filipino movies rely on fantastic scenarios (i’m looking at you GMA films!), complicated-stereotypical relationships between family, and by-the-numbers romances.

Let me talk about romances a bit more. The movies are only vehicles for love teams, so the story is basically maximizes the romantic interactions between the pair (one might call this: mining the ‘kilig factor’). The Plot is basically variations on the same theme: a couple, then something happens, they drift apart, then they end up together. the end.

A recent example is One more Chance. The premise was a promising one — a couple that has been together for ages splits up to ‘find themselves’. Even the first scene was golden — john lloyd’s character is so insecure, that it takes a gastric event (wink!) from Bea Alonzo to allay his fears.

Great start — but the characters don’t grow. At the end of the movie, we just know that they MUST: 1) be different somehow, 2) split up from their respective partners, 3) get back together. But we don’t know HOW they get to this point. The film makers don’t want to tell a STORY. All they want, is a beginning/premise, and then an ending. The most interesting part (potentially) of the movie — the middle — is never shown on film!

Not all pinoy movies are like this. I recall, Kasal, Kasali, Kasalo wanted/tried to tell a middle part. Alot of the movie is how real couples get their act together and make mistakes along  the way. Indeed, i came out of that movie thinking: when is it okay to forgive your husband for his infidelity? Ultimately, how they resolved this issue was unsatisfying to me;  but at least it made me think.  

No Big Loss

Rose Byrne doesn’t win this year’s Golden Globes. No big deal; the award lost much of its bite this year because of the continuing writer’s strike. On the other hand, they rewarded what the show i thought deserved to win — Mad Men, which i referenced in a previous post on microeconomics.

At least the DVD of Sunshine, her very interesting sci-fi movie, is finally out.

No Golden Globes

Its official. Darn it. Rose will have to be nominated again, post-strike.

Damages most nominated TV Drama at the Golden Globes!

And hurray for Rose for her Best Supporting Actress Nomination! (see here )

Above is one of the few times when she is actually smiling on the show.

3:10 to Yuma

I’m no fan of westerns, but i was fortunate enough to open myself up (and make a rational mistake?) to seeing 3:10 to Yuma. To be fair, the excellent reviews tipped the balance. But from J Zafra, i learn that 3:10 to Yuma is available (probably via illegal DVD) back home. The interaction between Bale and Crowe makes this movie a must see. I also failed to see the ending. I realized that this was only because of my lack of experience with the western. In addition to what the many critics have said, i’m interested in contrasting Crowe here with Crowe in American Ganster.  In Slate, i read that 3:10 to Yuma was given the short end of the marketing stick, in deference to American Ganster, which Crowe considered more Oscar worthy than his performance in 3:10 to Yuma. He’s probably correct — which makes make want to see Gangster just to understand what exactly he means. 

Riding the Wave

In an earlier post on Rose Byrne, i said that deliberately taking a break from an acting ‘wave’ can be extremely costly. Looks like my armchair theorizing was right on the money:

RIDING THE WAVE: “Damages” star Rose Byrne reports the series’ company is down to four more episodes to shoot of the hit Glenn Close-Ted Danson legal thriller for the season, and “right now I’m so immersed I can’t quite see the light. I might spend some time in L.A. and try to get a film gig. I might take a break. If we go back for a second season, that wouldn’t be till January. I haven’t had a break since before we shot ‘28 Weeks Later’” last year, says the beautiful Australian actress. “This kind of a run is incredible for an actor. I don’t want to stop because I’d be terrified that would be the end. You have to go with momentum in acting careers.”

I’m pleased that Rose is having a great run. Also, a few words on fandom. Its strange yet comforting to find a strong international community of Rose Byrne fans on the web. We all think she’s beautiful, has great style, charming, and imbued with talent. Also, for most, we seem to have been introduced to her after having seen her in ‘Wicker Park’ and ‘Troy’ in 2004. Well, for me it was more like 2005 (the Philippines gets these movies a little later than the US and other countries).

I still remember the first time i saw her. It was her guest appearance in Late Night with Conan O’Brien to promote Wicker Park. I thought to myself, ‘Who is this girl?’ She was smart and charmed the pants off of Conan and myself. The very next day, i went to the mall to rent a copy of Wicker Park.