Aklasan! (Sine Patryotiko, 2004)

November 16, 2008
Filed Under Film Reviews, Philippine Cinema | Leave a Comment

Aklasan! (2004)
dir. Sine Patryotiko Kollective
20 min
Philippines (Tagalog w/ English subtitles) 

It’s been four years since the Hacienda Luisita massacre (November 16, 2004), but the memory of it hasn’t faded. There was the “official” version: the workers provoked it, the police fired back. Actual video footage of the massacre, as seen in Aklasan (2004), said contrary. Presenting rather persuading, this 20-minute documentary truly allows the footage, raw and barely edited, to speak for itself. Shortly after the incident, we acquired a burned DVD copy, which proved very effective in its ability to make fenceriders finally pick a side. The camera becomes a weapon of self-defense in the hands of Sine Patryotiko (Sipat), a progressive film collective in the Philippines that wants not just to document, but also affect, history. 

Read Sinewaya’s Review: Violence in 35mm

Millionaire Slummers

November 14, 2008
Filed Under Upcoming | 1 Comment

Hype is building for Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire, which is being marketed as the “little film that could” and “the next Juno” months before its wide release. I’m not so much interested in the movie itself as I am in Fox Searchlight’s big-budget-disguised-as-an-indie marketing model, shying away from traditional in-your-face publicity and visibility in favor of a gradual build-up that makes everyone who jumps the bandwagon feel like they discovered the movie themselves. First: stack awards and buzz from the big important film festivals. Then, milk the power of word-of-mouth and the blogosphere from limited-run free screenings to those in the know (go find em here), and, finally a wide release that parlays all the hype into landing on many end-of-the-year Best Of lists, annual movie awards, and, six months later, DVD sales. Millions (maybe billions) made without millions spent. Review forthcoming, hoping that the 700am screening this Thursday doesn’t fuck me up too bad.

Role Models (David Wain, 2008)

November 13, 2008
Filed Under Film Reviews | Leave a Comment

Role Models (2008)
dir. David Wain
wr. Paul Rudd
92 min

Like most mass-marketed comedies these days, Role Models takes a few eye-rolling jabs at mass-marketing, such as Paul Rudd’s rant at a coffee shop’s use of Venti instead of Large or the energy drink he and Scott William Scott work for - The Minotaur - which they market in school visits as the ultimate anti-drug. If you can overlook this, along with Scott’s dudebro-lowbrow and the tired angry black thug stereotypes embodied in a little kid (Bobb’e J. Thompson), you’ll find a funny movie somewhere under that unoriginal adult-idiots-mentoring-young-children storyline. Read more

A Salute to Filipino WW2 Veterans

November 11, 2008
Filed Under Music Videos | 5 Comments

A bittersweet Veteran’s Day for our Filipino WWII veterans, who are are still seeking their due recognition and equity from the US government after Senate Republicans blocked approval of a recent lump-sum bill that passed earlier this year (fucking racists, these people). Hopefully Obama will make good on his word and finally bring this sad chapter in America’s history to a close. Until then, we salute them on this day, and every day, as we continue pressing for no less than the full equity and recognition they deserve. Check Black Eyed Peas “Apl Song” music video, which gets points for riding for this issue and featuring one of the many aging veteranos.

An interview by iLL-Literacy homie Ruby Veridiano-Ching with a veterano, Filemon Mordeno, who spoke on this ongoing struggle, and why he chose to vote for Barack Obama:

On another note, the same production crew behind the aforementioned BEP video, Xylophone Films, is prepping their latest project, a music video for my dude Bambu’s track “Crooks and Rooks” off the Exact Change album. Check the teaser here:


Bambu “Crooks & Rooks” Teaser from Xylophone Films on Vimeo.

 

Mama Afrika: Rest in Power

November 10, 2008
Filed Under MISC | 3 Comments

A few minutes after our performance in Carrboro, NC I found out that Miriam Makeba aka Mama Afrika passed away a last night just a few minutes after one of her performances, at the age of 76. Gonna go track down a copy of Sarafina! (1992) and Amandla! (2002), both memorably inspiring films documenting the South African struggle against apartheid, a struggle which she played a large role in, in her memory.

Mama Afrika, rest in power. 
1932 - 2008 

 

Black Presidents in Film/Television

November 10, 2008
Filed Under Films | 1 Comment

Hollywood, for all its bullshit, was ready for a Black president long before America was (unless you count the African blood in Thomas Jefferson and a few others). At times, the improbability of it all has been the source of racial (Dave Chappelle’s Black Bush), and often racist (see Idiocracy), humor. Other times, its fulfilled a liberal fantasy of a post-racial America where the Noble Negro guides a disaster-stricken America with a cool, calm steady-handed leadership (sound familiar?). No doubt, for better or worse, the very idea of a Black president in the eyes of America (as in, most white people) has been shaped by these roles.
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SDAFF: Ping Pong Playa (Jessica Yu, 2008)

November 9, 2008
Filed Under Film Reviews, SDAFF 2008 | 6 Comments

Ping Pong Playa (2008)
directed by Jessica Yu
written by Jimmy Tsai and Jessica Yu
95 min

The Debut (2000) and Better Luck Tomorrow (2002) answered young Asian America’s desire to see ourselves on the big screen on our own terms. One completely independent, the other picked up by MTV films, we all thought these films would herald a wave of Asian American directors filming movies with Asian American actors based on Asian American lives. Years later, same stereotypes abound, Hollywood still miscasting us, and we’re still waiting. 
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Changeling (Clint Eastwood, 2008)

November 8, 2008
Filed Under Film Reviews | 3 Comments

Changeling (2008)
dir. Clint Eastwood
wr. J. Michael Strasczynski
141 min

What’s memorable about Changeling (2008) isn’t its strange-but-true story, its faithful 1930s-era-Los Angeles vibe (including opening with a vintage Universal logo), or Angelina Jolie’s big red lips and Oscar-baiting tears. Or that some famous director’s name is on it. It’s the quiet, helpless horror of facing/fighting institutions religiously committed to maintaining order/authority at your expense. Worse, they do it by convincing themselves and others that what is a lie is the truth. Then, they try to convince you that your truth is a lie (kinda like trying to tell us that there were no Filipinos and Mexicans in LA in the 1930s).
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