Into the filmfest
Christmas time is automatically the Metro Manila Film Festival time.
So my SO and I grabbed this chance to watch a few films we deemed worth catching.
First up was Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah. The real reason we watched this film was because we were supporting an animator who worked on some of its visual effects. Anyway, I haven’t really read the comic nor have I watched the musical, so I can’t really compare. But judging from its opening, the script was based on the musical. Think Sound of Music with a lot of drag. And speaking of drag, it was kinda funny for me because it’s like the women act a lot more like a gay than the real gays of the story.
Plus I vividly recall covering my SO’s eyes with my hands during the last part of the movie. Well, he was actually closing his eyes for fear of seeing Ada and Dodong kiss each other. Not that he has anything against gays; it’s just that there are things some people don’t need to see to understand. Good thing it was only a smack on the forehead.
Next up was the SRO Enteng Kabisote 3. Same action-fantasy-comedy genre without the Bollywood effect (read: sing and dance). Though half of the movie was devoted to product placement (try to count all the brands that were seen or mentioned), this movie had more fun moments and funnier lines. Problem is, the build-up took much of the time that there were scenes that one could consider as trash. Remove all the unnecessary shots and the movie would last for about an hour.
But what Enteng Kabisote has that Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah lacks is the chemistry between the actors that makes the jokes and punchlines more effective. Or maybe it’s because most of the cast in the former were Vic Sotto’s relatives and co-workers at the noon-time show.
My SO and I observed some hits and misses in the 3D animation, which now makes me a lot more tempted to watch Tatlong Baraha just to see why it won the Best Visual Effects.
Maybe Lito Lapid’s signature move "bullet-sliced-by-a-knife-killing-two-opponents" in slow-mo did the trick.
