The Aegis Malaysia Ad that singles out the Philippines

There was much furor yesterday in Social Media when an alleged ad from Aegis Malaysia circulated.  The video commented on the Philippines's business environment, inadequate infrastructure, less security and lack of government support.  According to the video, "...to make things worse, the place could be falling in the Ring of Fire", citing typhoons and cyclones while visibly showing the location of the Philippines on the map.

In my 20 years in the IT industry, I have never seen anything like this.  Not even close.  What the video does is attempt to promote one company country location over another, by practically trashing the latter.  Something you would see in a US softdrink commercial in the 80's.

In 2010, it has been reported the the Philippines overtook India in terms of call center employees.  Late 2013, the Philippines also overtook India in terms of "employee numbers for shared services and Business Process Outsourcing."
http://www.spi-global.com/blog/think-tank/factors-philippines-overtook-india-world-call-center/

In the Overall Outsourcing Destinations ranking published by Tholons in 2013, Bangalore and Mumbai are at #1 and #2, while Manila dislodged Delhi for the #3 spot.  Cebu City also moved up 1 place to #8.  Kuala Lumpur, while at #19 was the outsourcing city destination with the biggest ranking jump.  It moved up 9 spots from #28 in 2012.  Another outsourcing city in Malaysia is Penang at #73.    On the other hand, the Philippines has 8 cities in the Top 100 list.  Apart from Manila and Cebu, Davao is at number #70, Laguna is at #84, IloIlo at #93, and new entrants to list Bacolod and Baguio at #94 and #99 respectively.

http://www.tholons.com/TholonsTop100/pdf/Tholons%20Top%20100%202013_Rankings%20and%20Report%20Overview.pdf

Clearly, there is currently no contest within the South East Asian region in terms of Outsourcing destination.  While it is expected that countries or locations on the #2 and #3 spots will fight for the top spot, Aegis Malaysia's video leaves much to be desired.

The video was point blank in terms of painting a grim picture of the Philippines.  It did not even attempt to mask the name of the country.  One can break down all the items in the video against the Philippines and could find out that some of it may actually be true.  No one can deny that the country indeed falls in the Pacific Rim of Fire, and that really strong typhoons and cyclones hit the country in the last years.

But the criticism on the video is not about whether facts are straight or not.  It it about the intent and the integrity of the video.  It is outright unprofessional for a company to malign not only another company nor a city, but an entire country.  The video said a lot about the Philippines but it said a lot more about Aegis as a company, willing to trash an entire country's outsourcing capability just to promote itself.  Interestingly, Business Mirror reported in 2012, that Aegis has more than 14,000 in the Philippines.  So it is odd that the company may be cannibalizing its presence in the region.

We are expecting that the Call Center Association of the Philippines(CCAP) or the Business Process Association of the Philippines will issue out a statement soon.   And of course, we are expecting that Aegis Malaysia will be speaking soon.  Nevertheless, the video does a lot of damage not to the Philippines, not on Malaysia, but on Aegis as a company whether in Malaysia or in the Philippines.

The video has been removed from the original Aegis link.  But newsgra.ph got a hold of the video and posted it on you tube, it is embedded below.   We feel the link may disappear soon.

What is the Next Hot Game? 2014 version

Back in 2012, we wrote this:
http://darwinstheoryrocks.blogspot.com/search?q=what+is+next+hot+game

We thought that Temple Run would be the next hot game.  Well, we were right and wrong.  Temple Run did enjoy immense popularity.  Actually, up to now, people still play.  But it never reached the levels of PvZ or Angry Birds.

We never thought that it would be Candy Crush which would take over in 2012 and 2013.  Primarily because we thought, we saw both aesthetics and movements in other games, like Bejewelled for example, a PopCap game first made available early 2000.

We also found ourselves addicted to Candy Crush, even reaching level 250+, and sometimes still play.  We attribute it to Candy Crush's innovation and reinvention.  There is always something new.  Plus some levels are really challenging, some taking a week or 2 to finish.  We theorized before that Candy Crush would not be the favorite of Millenials.  It requires a lot of patience, repetition, and resiliency.   Early 2013, it was not surprising that the entire row of a night PAL flight from Cebu to Manila would have almost everyone playing Candy Crush.  It must have appealed to GenXers.


Late 2012, we also saw the emergence of Clash of Clans, at least in iOS.  Clash of Clans(CoC) is an MMO strategy game developed by SuperCell.  MMO stands for Massively Multiplayer Online Game.  We are not sure whether they coined that term or before the reported 8Million daily players.  Without a doubt, CoC is the hot game.  From a business perspective, SuperCell reported earnings of $892 Million, for 2013.  That is more than 2Million dollars a day of revenue!

We will write a separate (special??) blogpost on ClashofClans, as we already started to become addicted to it (now level 71).

Which leads us to our title question, what is the next hot game after Angry Birds, PvZ, Temple Run, Candy Crush, Clash of Clans?   Our answer is we don't know.  lol.

We actually predict (or maybe wish) that CoC would continue until 2015.  And the next Hot Game would start to surface in May/June 2015, which will peak in 2016.

Norte, Hangganan ng Kasaysayan by Lav Diaz showing on Sept 10

Without a doubt, the best film we've seen this year, maybe the past 10 years, actually the past 20 years.  Finally, it will have its regular cinema run.

Yes the movie runs for 4 hours, but
- sometimes we wait for our flights at the airport for more than 4 hours
- watch TV longer than 4 hours
- play video games straight for more than 4 hours
- real Paella cooking takes more than 4 hours
- tambay and do nothing for more than 4 hours

This is 4 hours, well-spent.  We were fortunate to catch it on a special screening at Glorietta a few months ago.  We were first intrigued, mesmerized, confused and enthralled.  At the very end, we were smitten.  There is no other director like Lav Diaz, and there is nothing like Norte, Hangganan ng Kasaysayan.  See Schedule below.

  

Maple @ Sanctuario de San Antonio, Makati

After a meeting at the Manila Polo Club ended late, we said we'll find somewhere close to eat.  A friend suggested Maple, which is at the 2nd floor of the San Antonio Plaza in Forbes Park.  So we went.

The ambience was really nice.  Very warm and cozy, very suitable for the good old reliable pancake.  So we ordered their specialty, Maple Buttermilk Pancakes, because it was our first time there.  It was priced 275 pesos.  We also ordered Hueves Rancheros, which according to the description was a Mexican breakfast of tortillas, beans, chicken, eggs and cheese.  That was 340 pesos.

10minutes after, the lovely but distracted waitress arrived with the Huevos Rancheros and Waffles.  We told her that we did not order Waffles, but Pancakes.   She was surprised, which honestly even surprised us.  She said was it OK for us to wait for 16 minutes for our pancake?  We said, "16 minutes for a pancake?".  But we were really hungry, so we said OK, we will wait.

After a few minutes, the waitress came back saying the pancake would be ready in 5 minutes.  Of course, we were chuckling.  In fairness, our pancakes arrived in 5 minutes.

Huevos Rancheros were a literal hodge podge of ingredients, and the flavor became really confusing.  We said, we probably did not know how to eat it - as it really tasted nothing like cheese, nor chicken.  Maybe beans, with tons of unrecognizable spices.  

But it was the pancakes which were the biggest letdown.  They were fluffy, yes, thin, yes.  But rather dry.  And it was unbelievably bland.  I really had high hopes, given this was their specialty plus we were really hungry.  We were very disappointed.  Later on, we were told that Maple share the same owners with Pancake House, this was our biggest surprise 

When the bill came, of course we were charged with the waffles we did not order.  We called the attention of the waiter who of course dealt with it without much fuzz.  Intentional?  We don't know.

Food Quality: 2/10

Service: 2/10

Ambience: 8/10

Price: 2/10

Value for Money: 2/10

Verdict:  After lunch, we ran by a friend who at Starbucks who saw us coming from Maple and said, "why did you eat there, food is not good there".  We rest our case.

If it is any consolation, this is the nice view from Maple.

Films in 2014 So Far

2013 was referred to as the start of Golden Age of Philippine Cinema.  The only way for it to continue is for films in 2014 and even 2015 to be brilliant.  But, 2013 was really an extra-special year, with filmfests after filmfests, sometimes overlapping and churning out some of the best in Philippine Cinema.

For the rest of 2014, we look forward to Dementia,  the Nora Aunor starrer directed by Perci Intalan for Regal Films.  We are intrigued by Pepe Diokno's Above the Clouds/Alapaap, which hopefully will find a screening date this year.  The December filmfest is no different from the previous ones.  6 out of 8 films are sequels or remakes.  At least in the past, there was 1 decent film entry like Thy Womb.  This year we are afraid there is none.  The only good thing about the new MMFF is the introduction of their New Wave Section.  Remember that this gave us Haruo by Alix in 2011, In Nomine Matris in 2012, and Dukit by Lao in 2013.  And according to a press release, the New Wave Section this year promises to be bigger.

Another hope is the CinemaOne Filmfest happening in November.  And of course the CineManila International filmfest.  So there is still a strong chance that film quality will be sustained.

So far, we have seen a little over 20 Filipino films this year.  Here are some of our favorites so far:

1.  Norte, Hangganan ng Kasaysayan by Lav Diaz (released in 2013)
2.  Dagitab by Giancarlo Abrahan
3.  Barber's Tale by Jun Lana
4.  Children's Show by Derick Cabrido
5. #Y by Gino Santos
6. Sundalong Kanin by Janice O'Hara
7. Bwaya by Francis Pasion
8. K'Na the Dreamweaver by Ina Anita del Mundo

Hopefully, our list gets longer.

Random Food Pics

Just of thought of posting and reviewing random food pics.

CHEF MEZZE @ Gilak, Greenbelt Makati

A full plate of appetizers - hummus, moutabal, tzatziki, samosas and tabouleh with 2 pieces of freshly cooked pita bread.  We said, we do not prefer samosas, and asked the chef to change it to something else.  Just taking our chance.  Voila!!!  the waiter and the chef replaced the samosas with salad.  Talk about flexible good service.

Price:  990 Pesos

Rating:

Quality:  10/10

Service: 10/10

Price: 7/10

Value for Money: 8/10 

Overall: 9/10

Final Verdict:  Really very good.  Even their regular pita is fantastic.  if you have extra money try it.  

***

 TWG Lasagna @ TWG, Greenbelt Makati

The description just sounded really appetizing:  Bolognaise Ragout with Signature Homemade Tomato and Fresh Basil Sauce Infused with Moroccan Mint Tea

So we said we will try, as it was already too late for their brunch.  

Price: 380P

Rating:

Quality:  7/10

Service: 8/10

Price: 4/10

Value for Money: 4/10 

Overall: 4/10

Final Verdict:  Food is just OK.  Well I guess that's a problem, considering it costs 380 pesos.  We could hardly taste the mint tea.  Actually we could hardly taste the basil either. Maybe the pasta was a little too thick.  Skip this and try brunch.

 EBI FURAI SET MEAL, Santouka, Glorietta Makati

We seldom crave for Ramen.  So we said we will find a ramen place that serve more than ramen.  We ordered the Shrimp Set Meal, and was delighted to see so many things on our tray.

Price: 490

Rating:

Quality:  6/10

Service: 6/10

Price: 8/10

Value for Money: 8/10

Overall: 5/10 

Final Verdict:  It felt like it was soft opening when we got there.  Only to find out the place had been open for a while.  Here is a case of "There were too many servers, yet when you need one, you can't find one".   The food was OK, with the Ramen as their superstar of course.  I am biased towards perfectly cooked eggs, so that is a plus for me.  I hope their service gets better, because I thought the food was value for money.

  

For Dessert: HALO-HALO CAKE @ UCC Cafe, Newport Mall, Pasay City

Lesson no.1 - I should learn better food photography.  We were scanning their dessert freezer and was delightly surprised with Halo-Halo Cake.  We had to order one right away.

Price: 189 per slice

Rating:

Quality:  10/10

Service: 10/10

Price: 7/10

Value for Money: 9/10 

Final Verdict:  It was really really good.  It is a cake, but it sure tastes like Halo-Halo.  You can taste the ube, the leche flan, the monggo and of course the langka in almost every bite.  Really wow.  Everything is expensive at UCC :(, so to no surprise it is expensive.  But it really is a must try for everyone who likes Halo-Halo.

Salamat Marcial Bonifacio

Marcial definitely because of Martial Law.  Bonifacio, can either be because of Andres Bonifacio, the Philippine revolutionary hero.  Or, from Fort Bonifacio, where he was imprisoned in a 20sq m cell for treason.

The year was 1983.  The Philippine government would not issue him a passport.  So he had to use an alias, "Marcial Bonifacio" on his flight from the US back to Manila on that fateful day, August 21.  This year, we commemorate the 21st anniversary of the assassination of Ninoy Aquino, an event that forever changed Philippine history.

Thank you Marcial Bonifacio.  Salamat Ninoy.

Quotes from Ninoy Aquino:

I will never be able to forgive myself if I will have to live with the knowledge that I could have done something and I did not do anything.

 

The Filipino is worth dying for.

What can one man do if the Filipino people love their slavery, if the Filipino people have lost their voice and would not say no to a tyrant, what can one man do. I have not army, I have no following, I have no money, and I only have my indomitable spirit.

I believe that the Filipino will respond to the call to greatness not by coercion but by persuasion, not by intimidation but through the ways of freedom.


I do not hold the key to our liberation, I do not know all the solutions to our many problem all I know is that if the situation continues in the Philippines, then blood will flow, and when blood flows, there will be no victor and there will be no vanquished because all of us will be victim of our folly

First we must return the freedom so that all segments of our community whether from left or from the right will have the right to speak and then in that open debate in that clash of debate in the marketplace we will produce the clash between the thesis and the anti-thesis and then we will have synthesis for the Filipino people.

We should not depend on one man; we should depend on all of us.

We must not only preserve yesterday's heritage fight for today's ephemeral interests, but die if need be, for tomorrow's hopes.

A time comes in a man's life when he must prefer a meaningful death to a meaningless life.

Strip at Solaire

Got the chance to eat at Strip Steakhouse.  On our way to another restaurant at Solaire, we saw Celebrity Master Chef Rick Moonen inside Strip, so we said we will have to try Strip when we get the chance.

On a Tuesday night, there was no need for reservations.

Consistency.  All the decors in all the restaurants of Solaire are simply spectacular.  I like the ambience of Finestra better, but Strip is also nice.  Looks really expensive.

We were given 3 types of bread with 3 types of butter.

For starters, we tried their Blue Crab Cake.  There was a hint of cucumber and grapefruit.  We liked it.  It was one of the cheaper options for appetizers, costing 780 pesos.

We ordered Top Sirloin (250 g.).  For sides, we went with Potato Gratin and Creamed Spinach.

The steak came with 3 different sauces: Brandy&Peppercorn, Mushroom Truffle and Bearnaise

Yes, the steak actually went with Bone Marrow.  This is starting to become a fad - Bone Marrow in everything.  Of course it was superb.  Like Bacon, Bone Marrow in anything is just sinfully good.

The steak was 1,930.  The sides 220 each.  

Our verdict:  Ambience was good, Food was superb.  But we thought that it was too expensive.  We were deliberate in choosing items that were not most expensive, yet still spent a total of 6,500 pesos for food and drinks.  So we say, if you have extra money, worth the try.  Otherwise, there are a lot of other steak houses which offer a less expensive menu.

Strip is at Solaire Resort & Casino

Entertainment City, Aseana Ave. 

Paranaque City

http://solaireresort.com/dine/strip/

#ChickenSad saga, now #BurgerSad

Finally, a news article actually naming the IT company.   Below is an article from newsbytes.ph.  Actually, the company is not little known.  Within the IT industry, the company is actually well-known often a serious contender for major IT projects whether offshore or for Philippine companies.  In fact, in the past few years, the company has been increasing its headcount in the Philippines.

The identity of the company was not that difficult to identify.  Just google search Jollibee and SAP, and you get their name, even their top honchos.  What you don't get is what really happened.  Was it purely an IT fiasco?

http://newsbytes.ph/2014/08/15/little-known-tech-firm-in-middle-of-jollibee-it-migration-fiasco/

Yesterday, we dropped by Jollibee Greenbelt 1.  To our surprise, there were a good number of items that had the "Unavailable" sticker plastered across it.  There was no soup, no Jolly Hotdog, no corn, and a shocker, there was no burger.  Jollibee with no Burgers available!  Really unbelievable.  Because there were no burgers, the Burger Steak and the Burger Steak meals were obviously unavailable.

If it's a consolation, there was Chicken Joy.

So now, we begin to really wonder, is this really primarily an IT issue?  It had been 2 weeks already, you would think a company as big as Jollibee Foods Corporation would be able to solve this already.  They could always go back to manual processing if they really wanted to.  But it seems the problem is much more complex, and we are left to wonder and ponder what happens next.  And what long term impact this fiasco will have on the Jollibee brand for a long time.

Barber's Tales

Review of Barber's Tales

Barber's Tale, also known as Ang Kwentong Barbero was first shown in international festivals before being shown in the Philippines.  Winner of the Best Director award in the Madrid filmfest, and Best Actress award for Eugene Domingo at the Tokyo International filmfest, the film received a unanimous 'A' rating from the local MTRCB.

Highlights:
- film set in the Martial Law era offers a multi-layered commentary on the role of women, friendship, politics in a period of rising armed struggle
- film invested in production design creating a believable setting that transports the audience to a small rural town in 1975, where rebellion against the Marcos dictatorship is starting to rise.  A place where people know everyone, and where it is an effort to travel to the "bayan" (major city).  In a time when women play subjects to their husbands.
- a slow start that seem to depict the unhurried rural life starts to embrace a faster cadence the same time Marilou starts to discover herself and her new role
- solid screenplay with sporadic humor that is intelligent.  The ending was thankfully realistic!  otherwise, it would have been a disaster.  It offered a creative but believable resolution that actually ties the theme of solidarity and the role of women during in a period where men governs the country, the village and the home
- musical score that added depth
- some shots were spectacular.  Like the bridge scene, where the shot was taken from the bottom.  It established the bridge as a central meeting point in the film.  It is where secrets are shared, confrontation made and forgiveness extended.  The scene atop the rock formation where Marilou talks to the Mayor's wife was beautifully shot
- brilliant performance from Eugene Domingo, which could very well be the best performance of her career
- sterling supporting cast that includes Eddie Garcia, Nonie Buencamino and Sharmaine Buencamino.  Nicco Manalo's portrayal was intense.  But the most surprising was Gladys Reyes, who turned in a charming and sincere performance of Susan

Lowlights:
- did not like the sepia feel of the movie.  the production design is already good, we did not think there was a need for this
- while Iza Calzado's wardrobe choices looked good on screen, her emotions did not.  She was lonely, yet we found it difficult to empathize with her character
- somewhere between an open-ended and an explicit finale, the film opted for a multiple choice.  Do you think the film ended a, b or c?  Was it a cop-out?

Nevertheless, the film's merits completely outweighs the negatives.  The storyline, the daring theme, the exceptional direction and the thoughtful screenplay, what other reasons do we need.  It is a story of women empowerment.  And also a commentary on the sordid state of military rule during the Marcos dictatorship.  Outside Cinemalaya, this is the film the Pinoy's had been waiting for.  Please please watch.

Rating: 9/10

#Chicken Sad, so it was an IT problem

Much has been said about Jollibee having to close down 72 stores because chicken was not available.  My mother was surprised when I told her it was an IT problem, and not entirely a chicken supply issue.  My mother together with many others thought it was something else - delayed in cargo because of the Manila truck ban, shortage of chicken supply, part of rising increase in prices of rice and basic commodities.  Many would not think (or maybe understand), that this is really an IT problem.

In an article by Calen Martin Legaspi, CEO of Orange and Bronze Software Labs (link below), he mentioned Jollibee Foods Corp migrating from Oracle to SAP.  And that "the change impacted the fastfood giant's inventory and delivery system."


http://www.rappler.com/business/features/66087-jollibee-chickensad-costly-it-problem



It was reported that some $4 million in revenues are lost daily because of the problem.  But what's really amazing here is the news blackout on who the Business Integrator is.  There had been many clues:  a global SAP integrator, "a large multinational service provider", someone who is relatively small in the Philippines.

I remember a few years ago when GSIS quickly went out on media citing problems with IBM.  For IT practitioners, the complaint by GSIS in 2009 was somewhat vague as it was merely pointing to DB2 issues, rather than a bug in a software.  In fact, IBM also said that they played no role in the supply, installation and even support of the IT system of GSIS.  I do not know what happened to that case, but it seems the legal battle between GSIS and IBM was been legally settled, as in the yahoo news below.

So now, in the age of social media, it is interesting why the name of the Jollibee Food's System Integrator has not been named.  Have they learned the lesson from GSIS?  Or is too big of a multinational company that can actually blackout news about its identity.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/business/06/03/09/gsis-ibm-sue-each-other-over-defective-software
https://ph.news.yahoo.com/gsis-settle-legal-battle-ibm-corp-20101219-101356-162.html

#Y, the afterthought

- Reviewing #Y is giving your own interpretation of the film.  Here was a multi-dimensional film that can attack the viewer from various angles and at different levels.

- We saw the film without know much about it except the synopsis from the Cinemalaya guide.  The trailer looked like an Avicii MTV, so we got nothing from that too.

- One can read Gino Santos's #Y in many ways.  First, it could be an analysis of Miles, diagnosed with schizophrenia and mild bipolar disorder.  Manifestations in the film were not explicit. In fact, many missed the omnipresent Big Brother Mike, who was there in the hospital, in his room, in all the parties, and even when Miles was on the ledge.  Mike, almost similarly clad with "brother" Miles in most of his scenes, was both caring and carefree, admitting in one scene that he was also high.  Apart from Miles, no one really paid attention to Mike.  His parents did not even acknowledge him on the dinner table.  And, wow, what must yaya be thinking when she was cleaning the room of Miles, and he was talking to Mike.

- Secondly, it could be a statement on the impact of the fast-paced lives to Generation Y.  The upper class Millenials depicted in the film were living in YOLO mode.  Their access to practically anything and everything allows them to do whatever they want, now.  Maybe that includes suicide.

- Regardless of how you interpret the film, it was brilliantly crafted.  The screenplay was smart. Many criticized the film for romanticizing the suicide.  Maybe they are right, but maybe they also miss the point.  The first sequence about Miles's 5 encounter with death was darkly hilarious, especially his thought process on how to execute his suicide.

- The 1-liner social commentaries on society, fads, and trends were incredibly witty rather than preachy

- Many of the film's themes were not specific to Millenials. There had been a lot of films about sex, drugs, and rock and roll.  But the glaring difference here is social media, and how information can spread like wild fire instantaneously.  Most importantly, we particularly liked how their "Social Media Image" was depicted as very important to this generation.  "Ano na lang ang sasabihin nila (What will others say?)?", has a wider meaning in the age of social media.  So we appreciated the presentation of the GenY psychology in terms of how they greatly value their image.

- Editing and camera work were complimentary and were critical elements in a film that depicts the fast paced millenial generation.  They always seem "busy", of important things or non-important things, who is to judge?

- Commendable Ensemble.   And we said this, before the 5-some of Miles, Janna, Lia, Ping and Abby were given a special citation by Cinemalaya.  We were surprised that Elmo Magalona could carry a complex film with a perfect balance of youth and maturity with his portrayal.  Colleen Garcia was a revelation.  Chynna Ortaleza was the conscience of the movie through her endearing portrayal.

Rating: 9/10.

We just learned that #Y will have regular screening in October.

Dagitab, filling the void

image from cinemalaya.org

We loved Dagitab.  We thought it was the Best Film in CinemalayaX, in any category.  We were mesmerized by the script and fascinated by the direction.

The screenplay was poetry, and so were the visuals.  We wanted to collate all the quotes from the film.  We wish we could get a copy of Gab's short story.

Can you help us please construct the quotes?   What did we miss?  What did we misquote?

**************************************


“I won't ruin you.  I love you… Pero frankly wala akong pake. You’re just another void… Soon you’ll be irrelevant.”

"They leave a void.  And you carry that void with you."  

“You don’t move on. You just become a bigger person until the void doesn’t feel as big.

“Alam mo, kung pagod ka na, hindi mo naman kailangang umalis. Kailangan mo lang magpahinga.”

"She was somewhere between family and stranger"

"...We might live more extraordinarily if we were more normal."

"I imagine we had to meet halfway between April and June. As if we had to dance between rainfall and summer."

"To the new blood, may you feed us old vampires with new life."

"Some things you love and they're yours forever.  It is not about letting go or moving on, because they never really leave."

"Maybe we have failed because we have dropped out of life"

(written on the board) DEADLINES
"Sometimes we just need someone to tell us.  Game Over"

"Minsan may mga bagay kang hinihintay na hindi mo alam kung may hinihintay ka pa.  Pero naghihintay ka pa rin."



Here is Tuloy Pa Rin by Labuyo

Cinemalaya X Separation AnXiety, Luyong restaurant, Mariquina OST

We were having CinemalayaX Separation Anxiety so decided to watch Mariquina the 2nd time.  As expected, the GB3 screening was packed.  Here are our observations:

1. We like this audience.  They clapped when Madame Imelda Marcos appeared on screen.    And clapped again at the Shoemart scene as the shoebox was being lowered from the ceiling hole.

2.  Ricky Davao was eating Lumpiang Shanghai, right before his Mariquina river jump.  At their graduation celebration at Luyong restaurant, they ordered Lumpiang Shanghai, Fried Rice and Fried Chicken.   During the scene where Leonor was about to leave her family, (again at the same Chinese restaurant), it was the teenage Imelda who ordered the food - Lumpiang Shanghai, Fried Rice, and ChopSuey.

3.  There is a Luyong restaurant in Mariquina!   here is the link:

http://www.luyong.ph/

4.  The OST of Mariquina is brilliant.  It took us a while to find a link, so are quite happy when we found it.  Here it is ...but please do not download (we are not sure if you can download from soundcloud, but if you can please do not)

https://soundcloud.com/jerrold-tarog/sets/music-from-the-film-mariquina

5.  Here is Best Supporting Actress Barbie from the infamous SM Shoemart Scene.  This is the only award won by Mariquina

image from entertainment.inquirer.net

Cinemalaya X Winners, Prediction, Reaction

Usually, the anxiety is about the nominees, not in Cinemalaya X.  In a tension-filled awards night, the filmmakers did not stay silent over the recent furor on the Youtube upload of 2012 & 2013 Cinemalaya films.   But the awards night has to go on.  Here are the winners, our reaction and how well we did against our prediction.

Best Poster Design: Justin Besana for Asintado

We actually classified this in our "Crazy awards", together with Best Hero, Best Villain, Best Diva - you know those type of fun awards.  So we were surprised that there really was Best Poster.  We actually chose the poster for Short Film Lola, and Asintado was our   runner-up.  A little bit disappointed that Short Films were excluded from this category.  Nevertheless, we are OK with the Asintado win.  

SHORT FILM

Best Screenplay - Kevin Ang Tan, Lola

Our prediction was Paolo O'Hara for Nakabibinging Katahimikan.  But we also love Lola, so we are totally fine with this win.

Best Director - Kevin Ang Tan, Lola

Yes, we got this right.

Best Film - Asan si Lolo Me

We predicted Nakabibinging Katahimikan, as this is usually the type of short film that wins Cinemalaya.  But we are find with Asan si Lolo Me, a film which the whole family can watch and could get different insights.  This does not happen very often.  

Special Jury Prize - The Ordinary Things We Do

How we got this right, nobody knows.  But we are really happy that we did.

Audience Choice – Lola

We also got this one right, primarily based on the audience reaction when the movie was shown at GB3.

Our score for SHORTS:  3/5.  Not bad.  

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NEW BREED CATEGORY

Best Sound - Children's Show

We got this right.  In our minds, nothing comes even close.  Maybe Bwaya, but a distant 2nd place.

Best Musical Score - Erwin Fajardo, Bwaya

This was a shocker for us.  We thought either Dagitab's mystical music or K'Na the Dreamweaver's indigenous music would win.  Or maybe even Mariquina.  We actually could not remember the score for Bwaya, so we might need to watch this again to appreciate.

Best Editing - Gerone Centena, Children's Show

We got this right.  We were impressed by Children's Show's fast pace and how the fights become more interesting and not exploiting.

Best Production Design - Toym Imao, K'na, the Dreamweaver

There was no doubt in this category, so we got this one too.  Maybe the easiest to predict.

Best Cinematography - Neil Daza, Bwaya

We are happy that we correctly predicted this, and we are happy that Neil Daza received a well-deserved recognition.  To us, the script is not fully-developed, but the shots were purely majestic.  Our favorite scene was the aerial shot where 3 boats converged to the place where Rowena's body was found.

Best Screenplay - Giancarlo Abrahan, Dagitab

With intelligent lines, brilliant settings, we loved Dagitab's screenplay and correctly picked this Giancarlo Abrahan masterpiece.  We will work to compile all of the quotable quotes from the films - there are just so many!

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role - Miggs Cuaderno, Children's Show

Whoever got this right, must be the ballsiest prediction!  We loved Miggs Cuaderno in Children's Show.  Our only problem is that we were smitten by Dante Rivero's restrained performance in 1st ko si 3rd.  We would have never thought that his Alejandro was the lead role in the film.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role - Barbie Forteza, Mariquina

We loved Barbie's performance as the teenage Imelda in Mariquina.  We should have followed our gut in predicting her, given it was Jasmine Curtis Smith last year for Transit.  We were just obsessed with Bing Pimentel's Tita Tess.

Best Performance by a Lead Actor - Dante Rivero, 1st Ko Si 3rd

Wow.  This was a shocker for us.  We loved Dante Rivero's Alejandro as we discussed above.  We thought his portrayal was intelligent. Does he know about 3rd? Is he really happy with his marriage? 

However, we thought Ricky Davao was a lock in this category.  Our question, had we known Dante Rivero will be classified as Lead Actor, would we have unanimously picked Ricky Davao?  We don't know the answer, especially now that the awardee has been named.

Best Performance by a Lead Actress -Eula Valdez, Dagitab

Yes Yes Yes!  We picked Eula Valdez's Issey despite the strong challenge from Angeli Bayani's Divina, Nova Villa's Corazon and Mylene Dizon's Imelda.  

Special citation for Ensemble Acting - #Y

We were pleasantly surprised on how the 5 major stars in the film delivered.  So we are fine with this special citation for Miles, Janna, Lia, Ping, and Abby.

Special Jury Prize - K'na, the Dreamweaver

We got this one right too.

Best Director - Giancarlo Abrahan, Dagitab

Abrahan deserved the award, and we deserve our correct prediction.

NETPAC Award: Bwaya

We did not have a prediction for this award.  But we were surprised that this award was not given to K'Na the Dreamweaver.

Audience Choice Award: Sundalong Kanin

We did not have a prediction for this award.  But this was a surprise.  When we saw Sundalong Kanin, we were impressed but pleasantly surprised with the turnout.  Equally surprised with the audience reaction after the film.  We loved the film, and thought that the final scenes must have left very strong connections with the audience, inspiring them to vote for this film.

Best Film - Bwaya

What?!?  We also loved Bwaya, but not that much.  At least not for Best Film.  We were impressed by the cinematograpy, the acting and maybe 70% of the script.  But we thought the film was unsure on how to pursue the documentary aspect, so we found it short.

There you go, the winners and our reaction.  Our saddest concern, after everything that's happened and one camp calling each other names, will there be a Cinemalaya next year?

Cinemalaya X Awards Prediction

Despite the current furor over the YouTube upload of past Cinemalaya films, we are still excited about the awards night tonight.

Here is a summary of our predictions in the Short Film and New Breed Category:


SHORT FILM CATEGORY

Best Screenplay
Our Prediction: Nakabibinging Katahimikan

Best Director
Our Prediction: Kevin Ang for Lola

Best Short Film
Our Prediction: Nakabibinging Katahimikan

Best Short Film Special Jury Prize
Our Prediction:  Indayog ng Nayatamak

Best Short Film Audience Award
Our Prediction: Lola


NEW BREED CATEGORY

Supporting Actor
OUR PREDICTION: Marc Abaya - Sundalong Kanin

Supporting Actress
OUR PREDICTION: Bing Pimentel - Mariquina

Actor
OUR PREDICTION: Ricky Davao - Mariquina

Actress
OUR PREDICTION: Angeli Bayani - Bwaya

Best Screenplay
OUR PREDICTION: Mariquina

Best Cinematography
OUR PREDICTION: Bwaya

Best Sound
OUR PREDICTION: Children's Show

Best Musical Score
OUR PREDICTION: Dagitab

Best Editing
OUR PREDICTION: Mariquina

Best Production Design
OUR PREDICTION: K'Na the Dreamweaver

Best Director
OUR PREDICTION: Mariquina

Best Film
OUR PREDICTION: Mariquina

Just based on the hype and feedback from the audience, we are predicting a big win for Mariquina tonight.  By now, you know we are not big fans of Mariquina, so instead we are also handing out our own Cinemalaya X awards lol.


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If we were to choose the winners...


OUR OWN AWARDS SHORT FILM CATEGORY

Best Screenplay
Our Pick: Nakabibinging Katahimikan

Best Director
Our Pick: Paolo O'Hara for Nakabibinging Katahimikan

Best Short Film
Our Pick:  Nakabibinging Katahimikan

Best Short Film Special Jury Prize
Our Pick: The Ordinary Things We Do

Best Short Film Audience Award
Our Pick:  Lola


OUR OWN AWARDS NEW BREED CATEGORY

Supporting Actor
OUR PICK: Dante Rivero - 1st ko si 3rd

Supporting Actress
OUR PICK:  Bing Pimentel - Mariquina

Actor
OUR PICK:  Ricky Davao - Mariquina

Actress
OUR PICK:  Eula Valdez - Dagitab

Best Screenplay
OUR PICK:  Dagitab

Best Cinematography
OUR PICK:  Bwaya

Best Sound
OUR PICK:  Children's Show

Best Musical Score
OUR PICK: K'Na the Dreamweaver

Best Editing
OUR PICK: Children's Show

Best Production Design
OUR PICK: K'Na the Dreamweaver

Best Director
OUR PICK: Dagitab

Best Film
OUR PICK: Dagitab

We loved many films in this year's Cinemalaya X, but Dagitab stands out the most for us.  The only we wish we are wrong about our predictions is of course when Cinemalaya conforms to our picks.

Tomorrow, we will check our predictions against the winners.

Cinemalaya X - Shorts, Acting Picks and Predictions

Tomorrow, Sunday August 10 is the Cinemalaya X Awards Night.  Last Year, Sana Dati and Ekstra were Best Film winners.  Ate Vi was a shoo-in for the Best Acress award in the Director's Showcase category.  The biggest surprise last year in the Director's Showcase categories is that none was chosen for Best Actor.  The New Breed Category has always been a very tight race for every award.  Will there be surprises this year again?

We only saw 3 of the 5 entries in the Director's Showcase, so we can't pick our winners.  But based on news, it sounds like it would be Nora Aunor and Dennis Trillo.  For the Supporting Categories, I had been hearing Rosanna Roces and Dante Rivero.  Again I have not seen The Janitor, so I don't know.

Here are our picks and predictions for the Short Film and Acting Categories

SHORT FILM CATEGORY

Best Screenplay
Our Pick: Nakabibinging Katahimikan
Our Prediction: Nakabibinging Katahimikan

Best Director
Our Pick: Paolo O'Hara for Nakabibinging Katahimikan
Our Prediction: Kevin Ang for Lola
Note:  Cinemalaya seems to have a socialist view in the Short Film Category.  The past 3 years, they have not awarded the director of the winning Short Film. They tend to spread the wealth so to speak.

Best Short Film
Our Pick:  Nakabibinging Katahimikan
Our Prediction: Nakabibinging Katahimikan

Best Short Film Special Jury Prize
Our Pick: The Ordinary Things We Do
Our Prediction:  Indayog ng Nayatamak

Best Short Film Audience Award
Our Pick:  Lola
Our Prediction: Lola


NEW BREED CATEGORY
Cinemalaya does not traditionally list down nominees for each categories.  What we did was list down all the performances we liked from the 10 films in the New Breed Category:  #Y, 1st ko si 3rd, Bwaya, Children's Show, Dagitab, K'Na the Dreamweaver, Mariquina,  Ronda, S6parados, Sundalong Kanin.  From there, deliberate on who we thought deserved the awards the most.


Supporting Actor
Dante Rivero - 1st ko si 3rd
Miggs Cuaderno - Children's Show
Martin del Rosario- Dagitab
Marc Abaya - Sundalong Kanin

OUR PICK: Dante Rivero - 1st ko si 3rd
OUR PREDICTION: Marc Abaya - Sundalong Kanin
DARK HORSE: Allen Dizon - Children's Show

Note:  we do not mind Marc Abaya winning this year.  His usual over the top performance actually made sense in Sundalong Kanin, but we appreciated the intelligent restrained acting of Dante Rivero.  He made his presence felt in the limited scene that he appeared.  His characterization made  it difficult for the audience to dislike him, even if technically he is the villain in the movie.  We did not like Allen Dizon in Children's Show.  We thought it was one-dimensional.  But we have a feeling that if Cinemalaya would not choose Marc, they would pick Allen.


Supporting Actress
Coleen Garcia - #Y
Gloria Sevilla - Children's Show
Bing Pimentel - Mariquina
Barbie Forteza - Mariquina
Perla Bautista - Ronda
Melissa Mendez - S6parados

OUR PICK:  Bing Pimentel - Mariquina
OUR PREDICTION: Bing Pimentel - Mariquina
DARK HORSE: Barbie Forteza - Mariquina

This category is always interesting every year.  This year, based on how we read it, it seems the 3 ladies of Mariquina are in for the tightest race.  Many critics already hailed Che Ramos as their pick for Best Supporting Actress.  We did not like her performance, it was too subtle for us.  It was too subtle, we actually forgot about her.  We could not remember her performance, and we did not care about her character, either.  On the other hand, we are in the Bing Pimentel bandwagon.  We liked Tita Tess when she was in her 40's and meddling with the family business.  We also liked her when she was in her 60's attending the wake of Romeo Guevarra.  It will be a shocker if Barbie Forteza wins, but we also liked her performance.

Actor
Elmo Magalona - #Y
Karl Medina - Bwaya
Buboy Villar - Children's Show
Nonie Buencamino - Dagitab
Ricky Davao - Mariquina
Victor Neri - S6parados

OUR PICK:  Ricky Davao - Mariquina
OUR PREDICTION: Ricky Davao - Mariquina
DARK HORSE:  Nonie Buencamino - Dagitab

Based on either of those 2 scenes from Mariquina, we thought Ricky Davao would be the winner - 1) at the Chinese restaurant, while eating fried rice and lumpiang shanghai, Romeo Guevarra tells her daughter not to ask about her mother anymore and just continue eating or 2) while eavesdropping on the phone conversation between the young Imelda and her mother in Hawaii.  Yes, we were also impressed by Elmo of #Y and Buboy of Children's Show, both practically carrying the whole film with their asserting presence.  However, apart from Nonie Buencamino's scintillating performance in Dagitab, we don't see anyone pulling an upset over Ricky.

Actress
Nova Villa - 1st ko si 3rd
Angeli Bayani - Bwaya
Eula Valdez - Dagitab
Mara Lopez - K'Na the Dreamweaver
Mylene Dizon - Mariquina
AiAi delas Alas - Ronda

OUR PICK:  Eula Valdez - Dagitab
OUR PREDICTION: Angeli Bayani - Bwaya
DARK HORSE:  Mylene Dizon - Mariquina

In an ideal world, Nova Villa will win all the awards.  Can we give her a special award this year?  Indie Goddess, Star of the Filmfest or anything please?  We love Nova Villa and we love her 100x after watching 1st ko si 3rd.

Eula Valdez's Issey was very complex.  She was strong but fragile at the same time.  There are internal struggles you can sense when she rides a vehicle or when she smokes a cigarette.  Her line reading were compelling especially during the scene when she was explaining being bigger than the void.  And the scene where she was all-white having her picture taken in the studio.  Brilliant!

However, we think Angeli Bayani will win.  She is on a roll, winning Urian not 2 months ago, plus multiple international accolades from indie films.  She is likewise brilliant in Bwaya.  The scene when she learned of what happened to her daughter, wow, an acting master class.

We also loved Mylene Dizon.  I am not sure if Judy Ann was able to pull that kind of acting.  One can argue that portraying despair, or hatred, or shock.  Those are relatively easy.  Mylene's Imelda had to portray apathy.  Very tough indeed.

Usual cliche, we will be happy whoever among the four wins.  But this time we really mean it.  Any of the 4 could win.

Who is your pick?

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NEW BREED CATEGORY Technical Awards

Best Screenplay
OUR PICK:  Dagitab
OUR PREDICTION: Mariquina
DARK HORSE:  Sundalong Kanin


Best Cinematography
OUR PICK:  Bwaya
OUR PREDICTION: Bwaya
DARK HORSE:  Children's Show


Best Sound
OUR PICK:  Children's Show
OUR PREDICTION: Children's Show
DARK HORSE: Bwaya

Best Musical Score
OUR PICK: K'Na the Dreamweaver
OUR PREDICTION: Dagitab
DARK HORSE:  Children's Show

Best Editing
OUR PICK: Children's Show
OUR PREDICTION: Mariquina
DARK HORSE: #Y

Best Production Design
OUR PICK: K'Na the Dreamweaver
OUR PREDICTION: K'Na the Dreamweaver
DARK HORSE: Mariquina

Best Director
OUR PICK: Dagitab
OUR PREDICTION: Mariquina
DARK HORSE: Children's Show


Best Film
OUR PICK: Dagitab
OUR PREDICTION: Mariquina
DARK HORSE: Sundalong Kanin