It was my birthday. The kids were
urging and begging me for a treat.
My two daughters, my niece, and my nephew ages 11, 8 , 7 and 6 respectively want
to watch the movie Si Agimat, Si Enteng at Si Ako in the still ongoing
MMFF. Fortunately for me , they had seen this
year MMFF top grosser Sisterakas just
after Christmas with their aunt (they enjoyed that film very much). With Sisterakas crossed out, they will be bugging me
only with one movie and predictably so, it’s Si Agimat, Si Enteng at Si
AKo. Well actually, Sossy Problems was also mentioned but I
immediately shot it down using
“inappropriate for your age” as an excuse.
The
kids love the Enteng character. We have VCD copies of Enteng 1-4.
I had also viewed both Enteng Kabisote
4 and Si Agimat at Si Enteng with the family when it was shown during previous MMFF. Admittedly,
those movies have many moments of fun and laughter especially for kids but overall for an adult like me, it is tiring and really burdensome to watch. I can’t remember what alibi
I made not to watch last year's Enteng rehash, Enteng Ng Ina Mo but for this year,I have the perfect excuse...
"That
movie is just like the previous Entengs.
It may be funny but it doesn’t really have a story to tell; or I can tell you the story
myself even without watching it; and anyway six months or so from now it will be
shown in T.V," were among my excuses. But the clincher was, “ we will watch instead Shake,
Rattle, and Roll 14 or nothing, ” as I
pretended to be firm. ( But at the same time sincere knowing it is a better quality film.) It was directed by Chito Rono. The man who directed, Feng Shui, Sukob and The Healing. All those are good films. My daughters and niece have seen and like Feng Shui and Sukob and so, reluctantly they relented. “Sige na nga,” they said.
We
watched the 5:20 P.M. showing at S.M. Cinema 4 in Calamba,
Laguna. The first of only two screenings of the movie
that day. It actually shared the venue with El Presidente which only had
a single viewing schedule, opening the cinema at around 2 . The venue was perhaps 90
percent full with only the front seats unoccupied...
I entered the venue with high expectations
because of the name Chito Rono. After mostly disappointing episodes since the Shake,
Rattle and Roll franchise was revived in 2005, I
was thinking this one would give some credibility
to this long running series or it would be satisfying at the least.
However, the moment the lights went back as The Unwanted, the last of the movie trilogy ended, the venue was filled with cries ,sighs, and whispers of disappointments. Many immediately stood up and hurriedly walked towards the exit. I felt shortchanged. For me, the saving grace among the trilogy was the first episode Pamana which was very entertaining, with memorable performances by Arlene Muhlach and (especially) Janice De Belen, until it went kaput towards the end.
However, the moment the lights went back as The Unwanted, the last of the movie trilogy ended, the venue was filled with cries ,sighs, and whispers of disappointments. Many immediately stood up and hurriedly walked towards the exit. I felt shortchanged. For me, the saving grace among the trilogy was the first episode Pamana which was very entertaining, with memorable performances by Arlene Muhlach and (especially) Janice De Belen, until it went kaput towards the end.
“Sinabi ko na na
nga Enteng nalang dapat ang pinanuod natin,” was what my 7 year old niece said. Referring to The Unwanted episode, my 8 year old daughter told me, " Ano ba yan ang weird. Biglang me alien tapos the end of the world.
“ “Even a brilliant director at the helm cannot save a movie with a bad script, ” I have read.
Feeling somewhat guilty, I contemplated and came close to telling them that we will watch Si Agimat, Si Enteng at Si Ako...but-- one thing I am certain though is, I will no longer entertain the idea of watching El Presidente just to satsify my curiosity or just to support the MMFF. Judging from the reviews I've read, I don’t want to subject myself with another disappointing MMFF movie experience.
Feeling somewhat guilty, I contemplated and came close to telling them that we will watch Si Agimat, Si Enteng at Si Ako...but-- one thing I am certain though is, I will no longer entertain the idea of watching El Presidente just to satsify my curiosity or just to support the MMFF. Judging from the reviews I've read, I don’t want to subject myself with another disappointing MMFF movie experience.
