"Here at SM, we got it all for you... except for cinema seats, fool!"
Christmas time – my mother, Bet, and I went to SM Fairview to watch Segunda Mano, a film created by Joyce Bernal, starring Kris Aquino, Dingdong Dantes, and Angelica Panganiban. The series might have gotten downhill over the past decades (and believe me, it really has), but we primarily planned on watching Shake, Rattle, and Roll 13, which is believed to be the last installment of the SR&R succession and supposedly the most daunting. But after seeing trailers and after reading summarized articles of said movie on the newspaper, we thought it wise to refrain from the idea and to move on to better things.
So there we were at the long snack bar, with Segunda Mano tickets in hand, and me wearing short shorts to the mall for the first time since I was eight (so breezy down there), looking to an empty Cinema 3 and the reason for this is there is no line at the entrance. No line, in all seriousness. Were we early? That’d be great.
We entered Cinema 3 with our hopes and dreams in tact, holiday spirits elevated to the roof, minds wandering what kind of fucked up monstrosity we were going to get into when – BAM! – the cinema was full! Jam-packed. Around a hundred or more people with countless others searching for vacant seats, but the horrifying part was that THERE WERE NO MORE SEATS LEFT. And we did search that entire theatre, even shamelessly asked if anyone sat at the empty seats (yes was the constant answer), but there really was nothing left. We even got a “Ma’am wala na pong seats sa taas, sa baba nalang kayo” from the usher, who, by the way, disappeared without a trace after that! I didn’t think I saw him again the entire movie. NOBODY was in charge of the cinemas before the movie began and when people started giving out complaints. And by the way, usher, no thanks for the useless suggestion because if you were doing your job like you were supposed to, you might as well have figured out that there weren’t any seats anywhere – top or bottom balcony, you moot!
We had no other choice. We had to watch this thing standing up. There were at east seventy others or more who, like us, didn’t have seats, wondering why we even wasted good money on tickets and why the guard still keeps on letting everyone in for the 3PM screening, when clearly, there were no screening times after all – just a first-come-first-serve basis! And what was even fucked-up about the system is that we never got the convenience of monoblock chairs, I mean surely there has to be some.
I couldn’t concentrate on the first parts of the film. I couldn’t stand not having a seat and getting this banged-up “privilege” of seeing these other people with seats just texting. One little kid was even playing a game on the cell phone – what, did he already watch this film that’s why he’s so bored about it?! And I am a hundred percent positive that these people right in front of us with seats had already watched the 12PM screening but just decided to stay! One of them even had a blanket on already – and her feet were even on top of one of the chair in front of her, blatantly displaying them for the world to see! It was disgusting. And to think that my mother was even worried of putting her drink on the wall barricade lest it might fall on top of Foot Girl.
Anyway, the movie was okay. I’d give a 3 out of 5. I figured it couldn’t be any worse than the last Filipino horror flick I watched, which, by the way, was a Shake, Rattle, and Roll installment. I think Kris Aquino only gets to have one role in all her horror films. Minus the bagua and the superstition, along with Mabel Domingo, I actually saw Joy Ramirez and Sandy (and I’m sure Stella was there too) – all in one movie! Ha ha! The scariest part, in my opinion was the first time we saw Dingdong Dantes go nuts, sputtering again and again, “Nandoon ako, nakita ko…!” with matching visions from his tragic past. And anyway, what’s with this thing with Mari/Mariela anyway? So *spoiler alert* she’s Mabel’s long-lost, assumed-dead sister. Surprise, surprise, she’s alive all those years, then why didn’t she come searching for her family? Also, I really thought that this film was more about a haunted handbag. Obviously I was very wrong when the dress and the car came into the film.
At first I couldn’t believe that the writers actually made it that everyone in the film believed in ghosts – except for the killer, who we had no idea was the killer up until this one scene when he had his hair parted to one side as he sported this bandage on his head. Funny how no one questioned him about that scar. There were also a lot of very random scenes that I guess the writers put up just for thrills, like *spoiler alert*, the hand that had somehow managed to fit inside the bag to grab the thieving beggar, or the part when Marie/Mariela hugged her family. Trust me, those did send goosebumps – especially to those who were sitting front row, who kept on squealing overreacting cries.
Anyway, it wasn’t all bad. And just because I like horror films, and just because a ghost isn’t the killer for once, and just because Dingdong Dantes was actually harrowing on this one, as I said, I give it a three. I think it’s fair enough. And you know what else? I slept soundly last night, which is a big deal to me. I know for one that I could never sleep for after every time I watch Feng Shui. And I’ll tell you right now that I haven’t watched that for a long time, and that maybe if I did again this moment, I wouldn’t be able to bear it. But then again, all movies are different. I guess I’m just hyped about it because I’m a huge horror fan. But whatever.
What’s amusing was that because of all the commotion, those in charge of the cinemas (if there were even any) actually forgot to switch off the lights! Ha-ha, that was banged-up because you just can’t miss Lights-Out, that’s like, the best part in the theatres! So we got a good twenty minutes with lights on, seeing all those sitting, texting people in clear view. Oh, I remember now that the usher, in all actuality, returned, only to tell those girls sitting on the wall barricade that they’re definitely NOT allowed to sit up there. Just imagine how pissed those seat-less girls were! It was highly-entertaining.
Anyway, Christmas was hectic. I managed to get a new pair of shoes, a new bottle of Banana Republic, this awesome neon yellow nail polish, and a VCD (I didn’t want the DVD, believe me) of It, the movie, which I plan on watching right about now. I know they all won’t compare to the CM Punk merchandise and memorabilia that my Twitter friends received for their Christmas. But I like these gifts and they are all that matter now.
By the way, I also set up another blog called “The Before-the-World-Ends Project!“, which posts photos for 366 days beginning from December 21, 2011 to December 21, 2012. I don’t believe in the world ending in 2012, but I set up that blog for the fun of it. I’ve always wanted a photoblog and thought I might get something done for 2012. Although it started out as a joke, the idea of the blog’s birth sort of clicked and I went with it. Check it out here.
That is all.
Oh, according to my timeline, this is my 140th blog entry. Hashtag Siiiiiick.
Happy after Christmas.
bobsbigbeerbelly.wordpress.com 