Sept 19, 2013 | Vol. 1 | Issue no. 1 | starcinema.com.ph
Sarah Torres
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Editor-In-Chief
Jovianne Figueroa Art Director
Writers
Andrea Rivera Angerica Hainto Ana Clarissa Ilagan
Editorial Star Cinema Board and its newest legacies
1993 Star Cinema’s first movie
in collaboration with Regal Films, “Adan Ronquillo”
1995 “Eskapo: The Serge
Osmena-Geny Lopez Story”, Star Cinema’s first movie shot entirely in live sound
1996
“Madrasta”, the first film to be aired in international cable movie channel Cinemax
1997
“Flames”, the first full synergy movie of Star Cinema that crosses over several media platforms (music recording, television)
2012
1996 “Isusumbong Kita sa Tatay ko”, first
in local history to have reached and exceeded P100 million in the box office.
2000
Star Television, the television unit of Star Cinema, was founded. It produced the highest rating soap opera in Philippine television, “Pangako Sa’yo”, which also became successful abroad.
2004 “Milan”, film set in various foreign places
2007
Skylight Films, the independent film division of Star Cinema, was introduced to the public debuting with “My Cactus Heart” and “Corazon: Ang Unang Aswang”
“One More Chance”, one of the most popular films in Philippine History.
2008 Star Television’s most expensive television
production “Lobo”, received the Banff World Media Festival for best telenovela program; “Kahit Isang Saglit” became a finalist in the 37th International Emmy Awards
2013
2011
“Budoy” became a finalist in the 2013 New York Festivals International Television & Film Awards.
“It Takes a Man and a Woman”, highest grossing local film of all time with 400 million in sales
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GOING BEYOND THE T YPICAL CANDY POP:
A REVIEW OF
ON THE C JOB
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By: Angerica Hainto
O
n the Job tackles the complexity of politics in Philippine Society. It openly portrays how warlordism’s murky tradition adapted and reiterated itself in modern society. Corruption, poverty and power play in the country are the prevalent themes in the Erik Matti film. It portrayed reality that average Filipino citizens will usually ignore until news explodes another national scandal, which often dies down with time.
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Matti definitely went beyond the typical candy pop Star Cinema often shows in the big screen. Instead, it explored the darker theme of Philippine reality without sensationalizing the scenarios. Matti’s movie stings little by little like a mosquito until the audience’s heart is captured to realize that what they are seeing is a mirror of the country’s reality. It dared to show the disparity of power between the elites, and the poor, and even delved on the politics between seniority inside the government itself. From the viewpoint of the gunmen (Joel Torre and Gerald
Anderson), the film brought parallelism by bringing the audience to the perspective from prison to a government office. Sprinkled with action with a bit of gunshots here and there, Matti pulls the audience in for a wild ride of humor and shock. Men dominated the main cast but they surely gave memorable performances, from Piolo Pascual as a torn NBI agent between job and family, Joel Torre and Gerald Anderson as a veteran and trainee gunmen, and Joey Marquez, an honest yet humor-laden cop who helps Pascual during the investigation. However, the women in
the film including Angel Aquino, Shaina Magdayao and others just played minor roles as spouses and supported the continuity of the conflict within and beyond the main characters themselves. But for all that it’s worth, the setbacks can be forgiven especially with the clever twisting action plot that goes beyond the typical protagonists and antagonists roles in traditional cinema. OTJ is one of the best Star Cinema films to date.
hito Rono’s Dekada ‘70 was adapted from Lualhati Bautista’s novel with the same title. The film talks about how the Bartolome family discussed, explored, and acted upon the political turmoil of the 70s. Vilma Santos took the role of Amanda, the conservative mother of five sons, while Christopher de Leon played the role of a disciplinarian but passive father. Their five sons— played by Piolo Pascual,
Looking back at
Dekada ‘70
Carlos Agassi, Marvin Agustin, Danilo Barrios, and John Wayne Sace --all have different characters and took in different fates by the end of the film. For the powerhouse cast and great director, the acting and cinematography are of no question. However, if this film deserves all the praise for two specific things: the depiction of societal ills and the narrative script per se. The characters played their roles well that their own microstories intersect and create another microcosm of the Philippine society. Piolo, as the eldest in the family, became an activist and later on, a guerrilla. Carlos, on the other hand, was the sex symbol of the broth-
ers and portrayed the typical apathetic young man. Chito Rono, however, did not forget to enrich the story of the Bartolome family. Afterall, Dekada 70s is still a narrative about a mother’s love for her family. In the end, Amanda (Vilma Santos) was able to muster her courage and make decisions that will change and protect her family. Chito Rono successfully depicted how a simple middle-class family struggled against the backdrop of political chaos but eventually, was able to accept and understand one another.
By: Sarah Torres
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T STAR Th rough th e years
CINEMA F
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rom Got 2 Believe to On The Job, Star Cinema does not know where to stop – its legacy lives in the hearts of Filipinos everywhere. Its beginnings were already fruitful with its 1993 hit debut Adan Ronquillo. Star Cinema eventually gave the public box office hits further establishing its place as a major movie production juggernaut. Star Cinema now has three divisions, a television unit, a music recording division, and a merchandising unit. The production giant continues to prove itself as something that will encompass generations of Filipinos anywhere in the world. Star Cinema’s early years saw the era of drama and the occasional classic comedy. In 1993, the classic comedy film “Home Along Da Riles” was released. In 1994, dramas named after songs like “Maalaala Mo Kaya” and “Minsan Lang Kita Iibigin” were also released. Star Cinema took a shot with the whole TV-turned-movie trend. It was in 1996 when they released “Ang TV The Movie: The Adarna Adventure” starring the late Nida Blanca and a bunch of kids named Jolina Magdangal, Paolo Contis, Camille Prats, Patrick Garcia and Angelica Panganiban. Olivia Lamasan’s “Madrasta”
starring Sharon Cuneta, Zsa Zsa Padilla and Christopher De Leon set a milestone for Star Cinema. US-based cable movie channel Cinemax acquired and aired the movie, making the first in the Philippine film industry. Movies like “Ang Lalaki Sa Buhay Ni Selya” (1999), “Bata, Bata…Paano Ka Ginawa?” (2000), and “Anak” (2001) followed suit. The demand for quality mass-oriented films kept on getting stronger, and this demand for drama and comedy reached out to television. In 2000, Star Television was founded. The highest rating Filipino soap opera of that time, “Pangako sa’Yo” with Jericho Rosales and Kristine Hermosa, was aired that year. Star Cinema got edgier with the release of “Dekada ‘70” starring Vilma Santos. The film, set during the era of the Marcos dictatorship, was based on a Lualhati Bautista novel of the same name. Movies about Filipinos overseas became popular with the masses. In 2004, “Milan” starring Claudine Barretto and Piolo Pascual was released. This was followed by “Dubai” in 2005 and “Caregiver” in 2008. In a culture where working overseas is a popular option, it could be that Star Cinema and the Philippine film industry in general have started
By: Andrea Rivera
to get closer to mirroring the realities of Filipino citizens. By 2006, romantic films such as “Don’t Give Up on Us”,” Close to You”, “All About Love”, “You Are the One” and “Kasal, Kasali, Kasalo” earned more than 100 million pesos. The horror film “sukob” earned more than 186 million pesos. Star Cinema also caught on with the trend of “querida” or “secret affair” films such as “No Other Woman” and “The Mistress”, each earning 278.39 million pesos and 262.82 million pesos, respectively. Star Cinema then ventured into the indie route with “Tuhog” and Erik Matti’s “On The Job (OTJ)”, both under Star Cinema’s independent film division Skylight Productions. The recent popularity of independent films became one of the driving forces that made Star Cinema promote independent filmmaking to the mainstream film industry. Aside from keeping up with the times, Star Cinema recognized its duty as a beacon for quality Filipino films therefore opening its arms to all kinds of quality films.
uhog tackles the story of three different individuals who once were strangers to each other, until they met an accident while on a bus ride that unfortunately caused them to literally be ‘connected’ with a pipe that strung them together. Who should die and who deserves to live then becomes the main conflict of the story, knowing that the three of them all have reasons to continue living their lives. Veronica Velasco, director of the film, successfully pulled off the dark comedy plot which could have been impossible to achieve if not
for the actors who portrayed the roles of the three main characters and the supporting ones, as well. As expected, Eugene Domingo’s performance is remarkable. Her role of being a terror conductor who fell in love with her married-but-separated bus driver played by Jake Cuenca gave justice to her being a flexible actress who can play roles beyond her home genre which is comedy. Moreover, other actors who played major characters like Leo Martinez and Enchong Dee carried out their roles well enough to contribute to the film’s success in general. The tricky sequence of events
became an effective technique to make the film more effective and interesting. It required greater attention more than one would normally offer while watching a movie, and even intellect to follow what was happening on screen. Basically, a passive type of audience won’t fully understand and may not even appreciate the film because of this. But even though it can be regarded as a problem, this kind of manipulation to the usual sequence of events undeniably adds more spice to an already flavorful story. Velasco served her audience with a wake-up call that seemingly got into everyone’s
GIVE OR TAKE?
heart. With a blink of an eye, a snap, a head-turn, or a sudden loss of attention, things change and suddenly, you have to choose whose life has to be given up and who has enough reasons to go on. Tuhog is indeed another breakthrough in Philippine cinema, especially that it falls under the mainstream category. More than those typical love stories that dominate our movie houses today, films that explore socially relevant plots such as Tuhog, will surely make more sense and be more worth the price that we pay.
A PERSPECTIVE ON TUHOG By: Clang Ilagan
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“She loved me at my worst. You had me at my best, butbinalewala mo lang ang lahat… And you chose to break my heart.” -One More Chance
Star Cinema The Best of
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“Ang hirap sayo ang akala mo lahat nabibili ng pera... hindi mo nga ako maintindihan…kasi buong buhay ko nanay lang ako! Hindi naman ako mahusay na ina ah! Alam ko nababasa ko sa’yo!” -Dekada ‘70
“Kung hindi mo ako kayang ituring bilang isang ina, respetuhin mo man lang ako bilang isang tao.” -Anak
“Mahal mo ba ako dahil kailangan mo ako? O kailangan mo ako kaya mahal mo ako?” -Milan
“Kung may uulitin ako sa buhay ko, gusto kong ulitin yung araw na nakilala kita. Kahit paulit-ulit. Kahit arawaraw.” -My Amnesia Girl
“Ganun pala pag ina ka. Kapag naninimbang ka, ang laging mananaig ay ang kapakanan ng mga anak mo.” -A Mother’s Story
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