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ONE
Saturday afternoon, when I found myself with nothing to
do—which is very rare nowadays because there’s always a
something here and there even on a weekend—I drove
myself to the mall to pick up a few things I desperately
needed...like the new album of Madonna, Hard Candy
(it’s been critically acclaimed universally, so I don’t
think I need to give another glowing review of this
fabulous album, but trust me, this album is sweeeet!).
Now,
adjacent to the mall was a bunch of pirated DVD hawkers,
and with shame, I admit that I bought a number of them.
I’ve been so busy the past weeks that I was unable to
catch a number of movies that I’d been dying to see, so
I splurged thousands (OK, hundreds) of pesos for those
titles I missed and declared a movie marathon with me,
myself and I.
Anyway,
here are a number of movies you should add to your DVD
collection:
For the
acting: These films you should watch because they boast
of superb performances. There Will Be Blood with
Daniel Day-Lewis, who as an actor has had four Oscar
nods for his last nine films including two wins for
My Left Foot and There Will Be Blood. Also in
this film, watch out for Paul Dano. Yup, the nonspeaking
guy in Little Miss Sunshine, but in this movie,
he’s got speeches aplenty as a hellfire preacher. Denzel
Washington in American Gangster is one you should
also catch. As you already know, playing the bad guy has
given him an Oscar (Training Day) and his take on
a gangster badass is one for the ages. And, of course,
you have to watch Javier Bardem in No Country For Old
Men. A well-deserved best supporting actor Oscar.
His portrayal of a killer is frightening, mysterious
and, most shocking of all, funny.
Then
there’s Elizabeth: The Golden Age. While the
movie was poorly received, Cate Blanchett is again
luminous here. Check her out, too, in I’m Not There.
Of course, there’s Marion Coutillard in La Vie En
Rose.
For the
director: Of course, No Country For Old Men
should be in your list but I’m also going to give props
to Ridley Scott in American Gangster and Paul
Thomas Anderson in There Will Be Blood. I also
like Marc Foster’s adaptation of The Kite Runner
and Sean Penn’s Into The Wild.
For the
movie as a whole: these movies you should get because
each has it all—great acting, direction and script. The
obvious ones are the Oscar winners/nominees such as
No Country For Old Men, but also check Into The
Wild, Michael Clayton,
3:10 to Yuma and my
favorite movie for 2007, Hairspray.
****
STAR
Magic recently celebrated its 16th anniversary with a
two-episode special on ASAP. The Star Magic artists led
by Piolo Pascual and Claudine Barretto and the rest of
the Star Magic Jewels, Heartthrobs, Cover Boys, Koolchx,
Astigs, loveteams and reality-show winners sang, danced
and even modeled to highlight their talents to the
public.
Meanwhile, the artist management company will party the
night away in Edsa Shangri-La for the 2nd Star Magic
Grand Ball on June 29.
More
events are scheduled from Star Magic this year. A new
batch featuring fresh faces and talent will be
introduced third quarter, more concerts are in store,
and a major charity event is in the offing. The latest
Star Magic catalogue will also be available within the
year.
Star
Magic has truly gone a long way from the time when then
ABS-CBN president and chief operating officer Freddie
Garcia and Johnny Manahan hatched the idea of creating a
stable of new stars exclusively for ABS-CBN. It was in
1992 that ABS-CBN Talent Management and Development
Center was given life. October that same year, Ang
TV, the hit youth afternoon show that spawned many
mall shows, live concerts and record albums, was
launched. Ang TV was also the door that opened
for the likes of the young Claudine Barretto, Angelica
Panganiban, Rica Peralejo, Kaye Abad, John Prats, Angelu
de Leon, Victor Neri and many more. In November 1995,
Star Circle Batch 1 was launched, led by the late Rico
Yan. Sixteen years, 16 batches of stars...for sure, ABS-CBN
Star Magic shall be around in the next 16 years.
The
magic continues! |
