BY the end of this week, it will already be December. And we all know how this is like in the Philippines.
We certainly know what we are looking forward to in this most festive month of the year. The horrendous traffic that becomes not only unimaginable but also intolerable is certainly not included in the things we’re anticipating. We’re just glad that we can always condition our minds and focus on the things that will bring us joy and entertainment.
There will be a lot of balikbayan relatives, friends and acquaintances coming home to reconnect and experience what is touted as the longest Christmas celebration in the whole world.
I just wish the airport officials can improve the long lines that these travelers will have to endure to get through immigration because it will certainly give them a negative first impression of the warm holiday welcome they expect.
There will be a lot of pre-holiday sales going on where a lot of our bonus money will go to. There will be company year-end parties that will require a new or themed outfit. There will also be an exodus of families and friends to great vacation spots during the Christmas break.
Most hotels in the Metro will offer “holiday staycations” and these won’t be cheap either because Christmas time is peak season, and prices go up.
FROM NOVEN TO SCREEN
It’s good that we have movies that we can watch in December. And we’ve got a few good ones to choose from before Christmas.
We look forward to the screen adaptation of Smaller and Smaller Circles, based on the popular novel of F.H. Batacan. Considered the first Filipino crime novel, it won the grand prize at the 1999 Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature. Three years after, the University of the Philippines Press published it as a novella, and in 2015 the New York-based Soho Press published an expanded international edition.
Directed by Raya Martin from a screenplay of Ria Limjap and Moira Lang, the film is about two Jesuit priests who help solve the mysterious murder of pubescent boys near a garbage dump in Manila.
Adding prestige to the film is the casting of acclaimed actors whose talent and love for their craft are beyond question.
Taking on the lead roles are Nonie Buencamino and Sid Lucero, and they are ably supported by veterans and promising young actors alike. Just take these names: Bembol Roco, Ricky Davao, Christopher de Leon, Jess Mendoza, Jun-Jun Quintana, TJ Trinidad, Tessie Tomas, Madeleine Nicolas and Alex Medina. Carla Humphries, born of a Filipino mother and an Italian-American father, gets to play the biggest role of her young acting career, that of a brave investigative journalist.
Smaller and Smaller Circles, produced by TBA Studios, opens on December 6.
ENTERTAINMENT OVERLOAD
THEN there are movies that are meant to purely entertain.
Unexpectedly Yours is the title of the reunion movie of local superstars Sharon Cuneta and Robin Padilla, and it will open in a few days. Now both in their 50s, the lead stars will have the young love team of Joshua Garcia and Julia Barretto to add sweetness and spice to the romantic comedy movie of the season. We are certainly excited to see Cuneta and Padilla doing what they do best in this movie directed by Cathy Molina.
For the fans and followers of Star Wars, the much-awaited Episode VIII will open in mid-December. The movie, officially titled Star Wars: The Last Jedi, wrapped up its production before Carrie Fisher died in December 2016, and the producers have announced that she will be given an “amazing send-off” in this movie.
This early, talks have it that Star Wars: Episode IX is already in the drawing boards.
See you at the movies.