PAGKATAPOS ng kanyang pananahimik, nagsalita na rin si Awra Briguela tungkol sa kinasangkutan niyang gulo noon sa isang bar sa Poblacion, Makati.”
Ang Diyaryong Pinagkakatiwalaan
PAGKATAPOS ng kanyang pananahimik, nagsalita na rin si Awra Briguela tungkol sa kinasangkutan niyang gulo noon sa isang bar sa Poblacion, Makati.”
DEV Patel got into impeccable shape and trained rigorously for his passion project, the action thriller “Monkey Man,” which the Oscar® nominated actor (“Lion,” ”Slumdog Millionaire”) also wrote and stars in.
“Dev is one of the hardest working filmmakers I ever worked with,” says fight coordinator Brahim Chab (“The Foreigner”). “He would come to practice with me and the stunt team once in the morning and again in the afternoon. He embraced the choreography I created for the film but also brought his own suggestions that always made a lot of sense for me to adjust the fights to the story.”
Inspired by the legend of the Hindu deity Hanuman, a symbol of wisdom, strength, courage, devotion and self-discipline, “Monkey Man” is an action thriller about one man’s quest for vengeance against the corrupt leaders who murdered his mother and continue to systemically victimize the poor and powerless. Patel plays Kid, an anonymous young man who ekes out a meager living in an underground fight club where, night after night, wearing a gorilla mask, he is beaten bloody by more popular fighters for cash. After years of suppressed rage, Kid discovers a way to infiltrate the enclave of the city’s sinister elite. As his childhood trauma boils over, his mysteriously scarred hands unleash an explosive campaign of retribution to settle the score with the men who took everything from him.
Watch the trailer: https://youtu.be/L-Sc3Hzw_a4?si=gFIOLaZR4o3j5cvb
Besides the legend of Hanuman, cult-favorite action films also inspired “Monkey Man,” including Korean revenge-action (Patel is a big fan of this genre in Korean cinema which, for him, “took the revenge genre to a whole new level”) like “The Man from Nowhere” and “Oldboy,” alongside groundbreaking film series such as “John Wick.” In fact, some of the producers of “Monkey Man” were also producers for the “John Wick” film series.
“Some of my favorite movies are ‘Man from Nowhere’ and ‘Oldboy,’ also a wonderful film from Indonesia, ‘The Raid,’” says Patel. “We had a number of ‘The Raid’ team working on this. As well as the ‘John Wick’ team, who happen to be producers with Thunder Road. We put all of these in a blender, added some masala from India.”
The epic fight between Patel’s character, Kid, and his mother’s killer, Rana (Sikandar Kher), is a no-holds-barred fight to the death. “The final showdown with Rana was one of my favorites to create,” Chab says. “We got them both ready separately, so that when they meet… there are fireworks. The result we got out of both was beyond anything I imagined. They performed the whole fight by themselves without any doubles or camera tricks. I am certain that this fight will satisfy the audience.”
Kid’s final battle in Kings Club is a cinematic tour-de-force that is sure to leave audiences breathless. “When we rehearsed the fights with Dev, I realized that Dev was truly not only a gifted actor, but also one hell of a martial artist,” Chab says. “He was able to remember long chunks of choreography and knew how to sell that for the camera. Instead of having smaller cuts we went, at Dev’s suggestion, with longer pieces of choreography.”
One particular fight in the club elevator is certain to be a favorite with action aficionados. “The limited space in the elevator makes it very claustrophobic,” Chab says, “and I am sure it will be one that the audience will truly enjoy.”
No one was more impressed by the stunts that Dev Patel’s crew fashioned than producer Jordan Peele (“Get Out,” “Us,” “Nope”). “I walked in thinking perhaps the action would be what a first-time director’s action might look like,” Peele says. Instead, he was stunned by it. “The action topped the best action films around. Dev was able to act in these sequences that were so well choreographed, had such fluidity, had so much character to the action. I know that, as an action and a revenge film, this is going to be huge.”
Get ready for insane and intense action from actor Dev Patel’s directorial debut, the action thriller “Monkey Man,” in cinemas May 15. #MonkeyManMoviePH
(ROHN ROMULO)
SA Nagoya ang isa sa may pinaka-maraming Pilipino sa Japan, kaya naman isinali ng award-winning director na si Direk Njel de Mesa ang kanyang pelikula sa Jinseo Arigato International Film Festival.
Pero nagulat pa rin si Direk Njel nang pagkakaguluhan ang kanyang mga obra doon.
“Tila nagustuhan ng mga Pilipino at Nihonjin ang mga kakaibang kwento—na hindi lang confined sa rom-com or horror—merong quirky elements, wordplay, at magic realism”, banggit niya, patungkol sa kanyang obserbasyon.
Nagsimulang mag-produce ng pelikula si Direk Njel de Mesa sa kanyang suspense-thriller na “Coronaphobia” noong panahon pa ng pandemya ngunit natigil rin ito dahil sa kanyang pagsisilbi bilang Vice Chairman ng MTRCB.
Pero nang magkaroon siya nang panahon at pagkakataon, rumatsada na ang direktor sa paggawa ng makabuluhang mga pelikula kasama ang “Muse of Philippine Cinema” na si Arci Muñoz.
Ngayong taon, maipapalabas na sa mga international film festivals ang kanilang mga kolaborasyon. Anim na pelikula nila ang magkakaroon ng Japan Premiere sa Jinseo Arigato International Film Festival sa Nagoya, Japan.
International ang magiging red carpet premiere ng mga pelikulang: “Malditas In Maldives”, “Must Give Us Pause”, “Mama ‘San?”, “Coronaphobia”, “Creepy Shorts Anthology”, at “Subtext”.
Ang apat na nalalabing pelikula ng NDMstudios ay itatampok naman sa mga film festivals sa Singapore, Hongkong, Taiwan, Canada, Switzerland, at Dubai.
Ngunit ng tanungin si Direk Njel kung kailan mapapanuod sa Pilipinas ang mga obra niya, kakaiba ang sagot niya: “Iikot muna kami sa mga film festivals abroad. Kapag malakas na ang boses ng panawagan na maipalabas dito sa Pilipinas, saka kami magpapalabas.” Kasunod nito ay ilulunsad na rin ni Direk Njel ang kanyang NDM animation studios sa Japan.
Una na sa listahan ang “Malditas in Maldives” na pinagbibidahan ni Arci Muñoz, Kiray Celis at Janelle Tee. Isang nakakatawang pelikula tungkol sa mga matapobreng vloggers na nababaliw sa isang paulit-ulit na araw sa Maldives. Ang “Must Give Us Pause” at “Mama, ‘San?” ay nagtatampok kay Shaneley Santos na isa sa mga homegrown NDMstudios baby.
Ang “Coronaphobia” ay isang suspense-thriller kasama si Daiana Menezes at Will Devaughn tungkol sa mga turistang naubusan ng pera nung panahon ng pandemya na pinagpapatay ng isang praning na janitor.
Ang “Subtext” ay nagwagi ng 1st Prize Don Carlos Palanca Awards at ipalalabas ng libre sa JAIFF2024 na nagtatampok kay Paolo Contis, Ciara Sotto, Ely Cellan at marami pang iba.
Ang “Creepy Shorts Anthology” ay koleksyon ng maiikling kwento na nakakatakot na tampok ang mga artista ni Direk sa NDMstudios Japan.
Maaring mapanuod ang kanilang mga trailer, teaser at clips sa www.facebook.com/NDMstudios, www.youtube.com/NjeldeMesa, www.instagram.com/NjeldeMesa
(ROHN ROMULO)
MAHIGIT P6 milyong halaga ng shabu ang nasamsam sa tatlong sa drug suspects, kabilang ang 35-anyos na security guard matapos maaresto ng pulisya sa magkahiwalay na buy bust operation sa Caloocan City.
TINIYAK ni Pangulong Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. na makatutulong ng malaki ang ni-remit na P88.56 billion dividends ng Government-Owned or -Controlled Corporations (GOCCs) para mapabuti ang buhay ng mga Filipino.
Nito lamang kasing May 3, nag-remit ang GOCCs ng nasabing halaga sa kaban ng bayan.
Kumpiyansa naman ang Pangulo na ang remittance nang mahigit sa P100 billion noong 2023 ay malalampasan ngayong taon.
“Since those dividends also come from the people, let me assure you, that they will be carefully spent like the precious taxes that come from the sweat of their brow. It will be plowed back to them through projects and programs that will improve their lives today, and also create a better tomorrow for our children,” ayon kay Pangulong Marcos s kanyang naging talumpati sa GOCCs’ Day sa Philippine International Convention Center sa Pasay City, araw ng Lunes.
“It will be invested back to growth-inducing activities that create jobs and harness opportunities,” dagdag na pahayag nito.
Sa ilalim ng Republic Act 7656, ang lahat ng GOCCs ay required na mag-remit ng kahit papano ay 50% ng kanilang annual net earnings maging ito man ay “cash, stock o property dividends” sa national government.
Tinuran pa ni Pangulong Marcos na ang ni-remit na dividends ay “will yield more dividends, unleashing a virtual cycle that lifts up those we serve to a higher standard of living.”
Ikinagalak naman ng Pangulo ang invaluable contributions ng GOCCs hindi lamang para sa kaban ng estado kundi maging sa patuloy na progreso ng Pilipinas na isinaisip sa ilalim ng “Bagong Pilipinas” (New Philippines) campaign ng administrasyon.
Samantala ang top 10 contributing GOCCs ay ang:
NAIS ni Pangulong Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. na ibalik ang old school calendar ‘as early as next school year’ (2024-2025) para maiwasan ang kanselasyon ng klase dahil sa matinding init ng panahon na dala ng El Niño phenomenon.
Sa isang panayam sa sidelines ng Government-Owned or -Controlled Corporations (GOCCs) Day sa Pasay City, araw ng Lunes, sinabi ng Pangulo na hiniling na niya kay Vice President at Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Sara Duterte na maghanda ng konkretong plano ukol sa paglipat sa old school calendar.
“Well, of course, hiningi ko ‘yan sa DepEd and asked Inday Sara to give me already a concrete plan because mukha naman hindi na tayo kailangan maghintay pa. At mukha naman kailangan na at I don’t see any objections really from anyone,” ayon kay Pangulong Marcos.
“Especially, with the El Niño being what it is. Every day you turn on the news, F2F classes are cancelled, F2F classes have been postponed, etcetera. So, talagang kailangan na kailangan na. So, yes. That’s part of the plan that we are trying to do to bring back already the old schedule,” dagdag na pahayag nito.
May ilang eskuwelahan sa malaking bahagi ng bansa ang tumalon na sa online classes para protektahan ang mga kabataan mul sa matinding init ng panahon.
Samantala, sinabi ng Pangulo na ang pagbabalik sa old school calendar days “will be better for the kids.” (Daris Jose)
PATULOY na makararanas ng mataas na heat index ang maraming lugar sa bansa.