High caliber acting, a stunning background and a solid plot. These are a few of the things that you can expect in watching the directorial debut of Perci Intalan.
Mara (Nora Aunor) who suffers with dementia is brought to her ancestral home in the beautiful islands of Batanes. Her family is hoping that being in a familiar environment would bring back her memories. However, during their stay, Rachel (Jasmine Curtis-Smith) begins to sense things that are unexplainably shared with her sick aunt Mara.
Catch Dementia in still showing in selected cinemas. Watch it now before it’s gone!
Mananayaw (Directed by Rafael Froilan) travels on a path taken by few yet strong and passionate individuals. A profession that is stigmatized by social mirrors still unfortunately haunting our beloved country. It tiptoes on highs and the lows of the lives of Filipino male ballet dancers. One of which is the director’s very own father Nonoy Froilan, arguably the most successful danseur in the Philippines.
This is the Philippines’ annual songwriting contest that started in 2012. It is open to both amateur and professional songwriters and composers. Judging by this Top 12, it’s evident that the professional writers seem to be at an advantage to qualify.
Anyway, my favorite would have to be Love on a Broken Stringwritten by Jude Gitamondoc and Therese Marie Villarante as it is the most current-sounding of all the entries, and the one with the most decent lyrics (seriously, listen [or not] to Qrush on You for product placement, or Hangout Lang for a booty call in song form and references to one of the most unproductive showbiz issues of the year). The only negative is the weak middle eight relative to the very strong chorus. (Jungee Marcelo’s Salbabidahas the best middle eight.)
I also like Toto Sorioso’s Awit Mo’y Nandito Pawhich sounds like a pleasant inspirational, hopeful hymn. I also love the syncopation in the chorus — if you listen closely there’s an extra beat that throws you off at first, but then falls back into place. I have to note though: I think I’ve heard this melody before, it’s super familiar.
My least favorite would have to be Hangout Lang penned by Allan Feliciano and Isaac Joseph Garcia. According to their biography on the website, they wrote the song in half an hour… and it shows. Production is dated, and the lyrics, no comment na lang.
Generally, there still isn’t much diversity to the songs in the final. This year is filled with a lot of R&B/urban artists (to list: Kyla [though she sings a power ballad here], Jay-R, Kris, Thor, Q-York), so is R&B up for a comeback in the Philippine music scene? Honestly, I don’t think so, but at least these artists are getting experience and exposure.
The grand finals night will be held on July 26, Saturday. Who do you think will win this year? What do you think about the entries?
There was a scientific study on the Makahiya suggesting that the plant could store memories and actually learn.
Known to us all, the Makahiya folds its leaves when it is “touched”.
In the experiment, water was repeatedly dropped on the plant. Naturally, at first, it closed its leaves but after a few seconds, it realized that the water was no real danger and stopped folding its leaves.
The idea that plants could learn might need further research to prove but somehow, this could be a lesson to us all.That even plants have the capability to think. That plants also have lives. That our duty in this world is not only to consume but to preserve nature before it is too late.
