News: Remembering Forever
I’m really getting biased here, and hopefully, people won’t bash me or throw torches on my house. I’ll give a one liner to sum up this post: “Magpakailanman” (“Forever” in English) sucks big time compared to ever masterful and classic “Maalaala Mo Kaya”. And I really can’t figure why the earlier got higher ratings than the latter.
Warning: This is the part that I’m getting biased.
First off, choice of actors. Though other people could say stations don’t have any choice but to show of their station’s home talents, it’s pretty weird how actors in MMK turn out to be at their best whenever they tape for the show. I remember an interview in Homeboy before when I saw Maja Salvador (the cute niece of Philp Salvador) with eyes glittering when she found out she’s having an episode of MMK with eyes glittering. The show really made these teen stars to professional actors, unlike the other one, which practically recycles the acting skills they show in their respective soaps.
I watched the Lovi Poe episode yesterday, and I ended up switching channels, until I watched the basketball tourny at ABC 5 (we don’t have cable now, one of our “cost-saving measures”). When I went back to the show, I watched a few minutes and ended up switching channels again. I understand Marky Cielo should be that harsh on the first part of the movie, but he doesn’t feel believable. His acting was flying all over the camera’s view, and Lovi was plain bland. I am watching MMK right now, and it’s pretty weird that I find the Rounin guy (I’ll search for his name later) very believable for the role. He felt like a natural, not overacting the scenes. It was actually scary because in MMK they are expected to be highly emotional (which he had on a storm scene), and mild acting might just not work when the big scene comes in. It was a big sigh of relief when he already showed good acting in front of the camera. Not to mention veterans Sylvia Sanchez and John Arcilla, the entire cast was an ensemble (except for the younger brother who always show off his thin body… which made me kinda conscious of my own flabs).
Third is technical achievement. MMK looked much like an indie film, and it seems like they’re doing digital for every scene. It was scary because digital had a reputation of looking ugly, but with the right angle and the right production design, everything turned out right in the MMK episode. I saw the Pagoda tragedy episode last week because it caught my attention of a crane scene, and felt masterful. It was a pity because the sink splash was too much, it felt awkward for me (it felt like a fireman was blowing water from underneath). Though the guy was really a good actor. Anyway, I tried watching Magpakailanman yesterday (the Lovi Poe episode), and felt awkward with the camera angles, close ups, and editing. It was so soapish. And I really think they’re overusing the crane-like cam movements. For anthologies, I prefer minimalist cinematography over spinning visuals. It captures more of the emotions from actors.
Lastly, both are into the narration-style, and the accent of Mel Tiangco felt irritating. It felt like news. Or was it just me?
Anyway. I’m really looking forward for more MMK episodes in the future. As for Magpakailanman, I suggest doing a workshop for their actors first, and minimize the narration part.
