Pirates of Carriedo

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Enjoy the serach for pirated DVDs!!!

In Memoriam: Alexis Tioseco (1981-2009) and Nika Bohinc (1979-2009)

In Memoriam: Alexis Tioseco (1981-2009) and Nika Bohinc (1979-2009)

http://criticafterdark.blogspot.com/2009/09/alexis-tioseco-1981-2009.html


Wishful Thinking for Philippine Cinema
March 15, 2009, 3:57 am
By Alexis A. Tioseco

http://alexistioseco.wordpress.com/

(Shorter version originally published as an addendum to an article in Rogue Magazine, extended final version which appears below published in Philippines Free Press week of December 13, 2008).

I wish that the Film Development Council of the Philippines would understand the value of the money they’re given and consider going to Paris and spending P5 million of their P25 million allotment for a showcase given by a young festival an investment, and not just a vacation.

They support filmmakers with finished films to go abroad to festivals for the pride they bring their country—I wish instead they would support their films locally, and help them get seen by a larger Filipino audience.

I cry for the loss of Manuel Conde’s Juan Tamad films.

I cry for a country that can’t convince that one Filipino-American who owns the only known print of Conde’s Genghis Khan in its original language to return (i.e. sell) the film back to his mother country.

I cry for the generations of Filipinos, myself included, that can no longer see Gerry De Leon’s Daigdig ng Mga Api, and instead have scans of movie ads to admire on the internet (with sincere thanks to Simon Santos and James De la Rosa).

I mourn a heritage that has allowed through neglect the prints of Mario O’Hara’s Tatlong Taong Walang Diyos and Peque Gallaga’s Oro, Plata, Mata to turn flush sepia.

I cry for a Union Bank and University of the Philippines that conspire in apathy to let the master negatives of treasures produced by Bancom Audiovision rot in rooms only air-conditioned half the day and in cans untouched for years and years.

I pray for a city government or even enterprising and concerned theater owners to consider setting aside 50 centavos or a peso of a ticket for the preservation of our national audiovisual heritage. There have been flood taxes siphoned from movie tickets for crying out loud—this should be easy!

I wish Cinemalaya, which, thanks to the media and the government’s press mileage behind it, has a great festive excitement, would actually put their efforts in the service of Philippine cinema, and not their own self-involved attempt to start a micro-industry.

I wish filmmakers would stop listening to Robbie Tan.

I wish Cinema One, which takes more risks, gives more money and often produces better films than Cinemalaya, would actually give filmmakers some rights to their work and stop swindling them.

I wish Cinemanila, which has introduced to the country more great films than any other institution, doesn’t stop showing them on 35mm.

I wish Cinemanila would publish their full schedule in advance: it’s difficult to plot what films to watch when you don’t know which ones will show again.

I wish the Goethe- initiated Silent Film Festival, with live scores by Filipino musicians, would continue annually, and that one year they get to show a Chaplin, a Griffith, a Dreyer, and maybe a Vertov or Medvedkin.

I wish Lav Diaz would have larger budgets to maneuver and shoot with. And would work with the ace production designer Cesar Hernando once again.

I wish more people saw Lav Diaz’s films rather than just respecting his stance, and using him as a symbol.

I wish Raymond Red would get to make Makapili and/or return to making fantastic shorts in the experimental mode.

I wish Raymond Red would still get to shoot on celluloid.

I wish John Torres would sacrifice the image quality of his HDV camera for the special intimacy and spontaneity he is able to achieve with his 1ccd camera. Or get a smaller HDV camera.

I wish Mike De Leon would make another movie… please.

I wish Roxlee would get enough money to buy the time necessary to make an animated feature.

I wish everyone would buy a copy of Nicanor Tiongson and Cesar Hernando’s richly illustrated The Cinema of Manuel Conde.

I wish there were more books on Philippine cinema.

I wish a book series was started that published classic screenplays.

I hope Noel Vera gets to write his book on Mario O’Hara.

I wish a close study of the entire oeuvre of Ishmael Bernal were made.

I wish older commentators would understand: Lino Brocka is dead.

I wish younger filmmakers would understand: Lino Brocka compromised when he had to because he had to, and perhaps even, at times, too much. You are living in a different time. The excuse that Brocka made more than 60 films therefore you can afford your own mediocre ones does not hold water.

I wish we had less tourist cinema.

I wish we had less formula cinema—“real-time” anyone?

I wish Cinefilipino had put out Maalaala Mo Kaya with the reels in the proper order.

I wish Cinefilipino would have put our their Brocka titles with just a little bit of care and affection, providing some writing on the film or special features to contextualize them rather than just throw them out their bare to earn.

I wish Nestor Torre would open his eyes…

I wish the Manunuri books on Philippine cinema in the’70s and’80s would go back in print.

I wish the Manunuri actually cared about Philippine cinema today.

I wish more of the Manunuri actually reviewed films instead of just giving out awards.

I wish the Young Critics Circle were actually young.

I wish the Young Critics Circle were actually critics.

I wish Francis ‘Oggs’ Cruz, Richard Bolisay, and Dodo Dayao would get space in the broadsheets, because they’re far more interesting than anyone writing there regularly.

I wish we didn’t have a cinema of the press (more on this soon).

I wish Noel Vera would move back.

I wish Hammy Sotto were still alive.

I wish Hammy Sotto’s manuscripts would get published.

I wish film preservation activist Jo Atienza was still in Manila.

I wish we had a fully supported Film Museum.

I wish we had a Cinematheque.

I wish the UP Film Center had better seats, and more important, showed better films.

I wish more non-filmmakers from the Philippines would get to travel to festivals.

I wish film were taught in high schools.

I wish we had more film lovers and less bureaucrats in important positions in the field of cinema.

I wish Teddy Co would get the recognition that he deserves for his selfless work.

I wish Teddy Co would write more as his ideas deserve to be recorded.

I wish co-ops would co-operate.

I wish Khavn De La Cruz would get to make his musical EDSA XXX.

I wish the Max Santiago feature would get made, and that shorts would finally come to my hands on DVD (Hi Marla!).

I hope Tad Ermitano never stops writing and playing in his cave.

I wish Lourd De Veyra would continue writing on actors and cinema.

I wish Raymond Lee’s UFO success.

I wish Albert Banzon would get more credit.

I wish we had more regional feature films, and more support for regional filmmakers.

I wish everyone would watch When Timawa Meets Delgado.

I wish someone would lower MTRCB rates for screening fees, especially for festivals.

I wish someone, anyone, would make a good, thought-provoking film about the Philippine upper class.

I wish Ketchup Eusebio would get more leading roles.

I wish Elijah Castillo would appear in a lot more films. Soon.

I wish Cesar Hernando would get to make a video transfer of his experimental short Botika, Bituka.

I wish filmmakers had some integrity and told Viva to screw themselves when offered another exploitation film.

I wish more people could see the film Bontoc Eulogy by Marlon Fuentes.

I wish Vic Del Rosario wasn’t presidential adviser on Entertainment, given the shlock they produce, and yes, that includes the films that starred First-Son Mikey Arroyo.

I wish Star Cinema would stop—just stop.

I wish there was a film library that people could go to in order to read books on cinema.

I wish the MMFF were not in the hands of the same people who install public urinals (admittedly useful).

I wish the MMDA didn’t call those circles and boxes Art.

I wish that MMDA Art wasn’t so much better than every MMFF film.

I wish a certain festival in December didn’t consider box office as a criteria for its main prize (which comes with rewards). We don’t give cultural awards to Wowowee, do we? Well, not yet…

I wish I could see how “commercial viability” was computed.

I wish Mother Lily didn’t have a monopoly on the Metro Manila Film Festival.

I wish Mother Lily took better care, or rather took care at all, of the good films she unwittingly produced in the past.

I wish Mother Lily would get to see Raya’s Long Live Philippine Cinema! …or maybe not.

I wish the Hammy Sotto-led Philippine Cinema in the ’90s book, with excellent interviews and a complete filmography of the decade, and which has been completed for several years, would finally get printed.

I wish all the old Mowelfund shorts—including the works of Regiben Romana, the Alcazaren Brothers, Louie Quirino and Donna Sales, Raymond Red and Noel Lim—would come out on DVD.

I wish a book would be written about all the Mowelfund shorts.

I wish a book on Philippine poster art would be released.

I always look forward to the rest of Nick Deocampo’s projected four-to-five volume history on Philippine cinema—at least someone is writing it.

I wish there were a pure film studies course available in the Philippines.

I wish that venues that are censorship (and therefore MTRCB fee) exempt would understand the vital role they play and take more responsibility.

I wish we had a regular film journal. Why don’t we? We have enough critics groups and awarding bodies.

I wish more film teachers were approaching cinema from cinema.

I wish R.A. Rivera would get to make his first feature soon.

I wish Quark Henares refrains from selling out again, because if he doesn’t, he has the potential to be one of the important ones.

I wish more people would get to see In Da Red Korner. It deserves to be reconsidered.

I wish Rogue Magazine would cut down their featuring of foreign films in the gallery section when there is so much to write about locally that doesn’t get covered in other media beyond sloppy journalism.

I wish the government would sponsor DVD releases of the surviving films of Lamberto Avellana, Gerardo De Leon and all other classics that still exist.

I wish FPJ Productions would again screen the footage of Gerry De Leon’s unfinished Juan de la Cruz (the icon, by the way, that was invented by this magazine).

I wish less filmmakers compromised.

I wish more filmmakers admitted when they did.

I wish we focused our attention more on audience education, development and literacy, than on dumbing down films to pander to them.

I wish Philippine cinema all the success in the world. . .

IP Address Alone Insufficient To Identify Pirate, Court Rules

IP Address Alone Insufficient To Identify Pirate, Court Rules
Written by enigmax on June 15, 2009

Anti-piracy groups and lawyers across Europe are unmovable - they say that since they logged a copyright infringement from a particular IP address, the bill payer is responsible. Now a court in Rome has decided that on the contrary, an IP address does not identify an infringer, only a particular connection.

Right across Europe, many countries are being targeted by anti-piracy evidence gathered by outfits such as Swiss-based Logistep. After tracking alleged infringers, legal action is taken to force ISPs to hand over the identities of the person who pays the bill on the particular account linked to the allegedly infringing IP address. Lawyers operating in tandem with companies like Logistep, such as ACS:Law in the UK, insist that since they have an IP address, this automatically means that the bill payer is the copyright infringer or at least liable for the infringement.

Italy, which has seen its fair share of misery inflicted by Logistep and its partners Peppermint Jam, now has reason to be optimistic that these cynical, profit-motivated operations can be dampened down.

Although anyone with a basic knowledge of the Internet could come to the same conclusion given 30 seconds in a quiet room, the Tribunale Ordinario di Roma has now ruled that an IP address alone does not identify an infringer. According to a Punto Informatico report, on this basis the court kicked out a complaint against an individual accused of copyright infringement.

The District Attorney and judge said that the mere ownership of a connection from where an infringement took place is not sufficient to establish the identity of an infringer or liability of a defendant, especially since other people could have committed the alleged infringement.

In the UK right now, as many as 5,000 or more Internet bill payers are receiving letters through their doors from lawyers ACS:Law claiming that their Internet connection has been used to commit copyright infringement. TorrentFreak is in contact with many letter recipients and we are convinced that many people are being wrongfully accused for a multitude of reasons. Interestingly ACS:Law say that they do not necessarily claim that the bill payer committed the infringement, yet they still make threats and demand settlements for around £600 from that very individual.

They do this because they do not know and cannot prove who carried out the infringement, and simply hope that the bill payer feels responsible for what has happened and pays the settlement.

If it wasn’t clear before to some, it should be pretty clear now. As far as evidence goes, an IP address alone does not identify an infringer, merely a connection, and in the absence of additional evidence - such as that collected following an examination of the alleged infringer’s PC - it means little on its own.

Thank you Italy for your common sense.


http://torrentfreak.com/court-rules-that-ip-address-alone-insufficient-to-identify-infringer-090615/

Open Letter to a Young Director

Dear Raya,

Your tita has to get these things off her chest before she risks those unhealthy things that happen when one “holds a fart in,” as the expression goes.

Yesterday morning , maybe at the hour you just arrived from Europe, I left Pasig City for Bataan on a community outreach project and made sure I could hitch a ride back to Mandaluyong City so I had enough lead time to line up for the 8 p.m. screening of your much-lauded Independencia.

I arrived at the Shangri-La Plaza Mall at a little after 4 p.m. There was a reasonably long queue already for your film for which I felt immediately happy for you. I asked a fellow to save my space for me while I ordered something to eat at a snack bar.

The long and short of it is I totally lost it at some point during those four hours that I and a couple of hundreds of others did who patiently expected we could get in because we were there bright and early.

My understanding of independent cinema—forgive me if the definitions have changed during the past months, I’ve not managed to keep up being situated most of the time in Baguio where we are not as privileged as Metro Manilans and, yeah, Europeans to catch indie films—is that it is an alternative to the kababuyan and superficiality of flicks churned out by the mainstream. What is more, indie filmmakers are supposedly respectful of their audience. And to produce and direct one, you just need a handful of committed staff and crew members, say 20 or 50 max (?), who share your vision.

Imagine my surprise when Martin Macalintal, who helped organize the French film festival still ongoing at the Shang, told us les girls seated by a coffee bar that 200 of the 290-something seats in the theater where Independencia was going to be shown were already reserved by the producer, Arleen Cuevas. And that these reservations were all confirmed. He had hoped that your producer would at least give due notice if even half of those seats would not be used so these could be freed and more people could be let in. I couldn’t help muttering aloud, “Is that producer Chinese?” No racial slur intended, but those were the first words that came out of my mouth.

Two hundred seats, Raya? She might as well have rented the entire cinema and called for a private screening. Why announce in the papers that there would be this screening of Independencia open to the public at that hour?

When finally the ticket booth opened at 6 p.m., only 20 people were allowed in. There was audible booing. Others just shrugged and called it a day. But there were still a sizable number of people who complained. The more enterprising others decided to contact whoever they felt malakas to in order to get in.

Soon there was this woman in black with shoulder-length hair accompanied by a man with a bullhorn who introduced her as “the producer.” As I quietly fumed on my seat—couldn’t get up because of tender left ankle from a slowly healing sprain and an arthritic right knee—my friends overhead her or her male companion say that sorry lang ang masasabi nila.

An angry mob was forming. Some threatened to blockade the entrance to Cinema 3. Before long, the lady in black announced that she had decided to free, perhaps from the goodness of her heart, those 200 tickets. People, who earlier dispersed, formed another queue which moved rapidly enough towards the girl at the ticket booth until again the tickets available ran out.

The lady in black, who was getting all the flack from outraged people like myself, should have seen that there was a huge hopeful crowd wanting to see a fulsomely praised film by the Philippines’ latest wunderkind. And since money at the box office is not an issue here, she should have quickly made an executive decision with approval from the Shang’s management that an extra screening be allowed.

Which apparently was what happened—another show time that same night was announced through SMS messaging with the tentative words “baka magka 2nd screening arnd 930. 1 hr 20 min lang ang film.”

I didn’t stick around anymore. That afternoon, a dear friend had just gifted me with CDs of Art Garfunkel, Julie Andrews and Carly Simon singing standards, and the rest of what looked like a wasted evening at the mall could still be redeemed. I went home and plugged in a pair of earphones.

Later, friends called up to report that there were three lines that formed outside Cinema 3 for your 8 p.m. screening: one line for those with reserved seats like family members, family friends, including a National Artist, actors like Alessandra de Rossi, etc. The second line was for those lucky to get the tickets let go by the lady in black. The third was for the waitlisted—if there were still vacant seats after the people in the first two lines were accommodated, the rest of those not privileged to be anak ng Diyos would be let in.

Again I point out a vital issue here, Raya. Are we living in a democracy, or are you or your producer condoning another permutation of elitism? This had to happen on the country's 111st Independence Day, an independence gained after the waging of a revolution whose ideals were guided by the French Revolution. But let us not even get into that.

I’m still hoping to catch Independencia at some other venue, and since I have only reviews from foreigners to guide me, I’m also hoping that it is as good as they say it is. As a friend, who’s a master of irony and sarcasm combined, said, “The film can’t be as great as a Mayakovsky poem, can it? Or even an Ishmael Bernal oevre?”

Yon lang naman.

From your concerned tita

Babeth Lolarga
June 13, 2009

Original post here:
http://brooksidebaby.blogspot.com/2009/06/open-letter-to-young-director.html

Torrent Link: Serbis (2008)

Serbis (2008)

http://www.mininova.org/tor/2674153 french release (subs FR)



A drama that follows the travails of the Pineda family in the Filipino city of Angeles. Bigamy, unwanted pregnancy, possible incest and bothersome skin irritations are all part of their daily challenges, but the real "star" of the show is an enormous, dilapidated movie theater that doubles as family business and living space. At one time a prestige establishment, the theater now runs porn double bills and serves as a meeting ground for hustlers of every conceivable persuasion. The film captures the sordid, fetid atmosphere, interweaving various family subplots with the comings and goings of customers, thieves and even a runaway goat while enveloping the viewer in a maelstrom of sound, noise and continuous motion.

Torrent Link: Let The Right One In (2008) Full DVD

Let the Right One In (2008)

Torrent Link:

http://www.mininova.org/tor/2448147

Synopsis:

Oskar, a bullied 12-year old, dreams of revenge. He falls in love with Eli, a peculiar girl. She can't stand the sun or food and to come into a room she needs to be invited. Eli gives Oskar the strength to hit back but when he realizes that Eli needs to drink other people's blood to live he's faced with a choice. How much can love forgive? Let The Right One In is a story both violent and highly romantic, set in the Stockholm suburb of Blackeberg in 1982.

Although this Swedish film is based on a best-selling novel of the same name, "Let the Right One In" is cut from a different cloth than most vampire tales.

Director : Tomas Alfredson
Writers: John Ajvide Lindqvist
Cast : Kare Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson, Per Ragnar, Henrik Dahl, Karin Bergquist
Genre: Drama, Horror,Romance,Thriller
Language: English 5.1, English 2.0, Swedish 5.1, Swedish 2.0
Subtitle: English, Spanish Lat.
Special Features: Yes
Country: Sweden
NTSC

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1139797/

NOT an April Fool's Joke : The X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE movie, soon in Q!!!

Download "The X-Men Origins: Wolverine" movie from your favorite torrent sites NOW...

'Wolverine' leak: Hollywood's mixed response

Apr 1, 2009, 06:08 PM | by Christine Spines

Categories: Movie Biz

When a high-quality, full-length work print of X-Men Origins: Wolverine surfaced on Internet bittorrent sites last night, early speculation was that this was a doomsday scenario for Fox and the filmmakers behind the tentpole, which is not due to be released until May 1. The response today from competing producers and studio execs, however, has been more measured. One producer behind another major summer franchise insists that while piracy is a serious problem that needs a "focused and visionary response" from the movie industry, a leak like this may not actually cut that deeply into Wolverine's ticket sales.

"People who are going to download and watch it on their computer were either never going to pay to see it anyway or they're the type of super-fan who was going to go 10 times in the first week," he says, citing a leaked version of Iron Man that circulated a week before its blockbuster opening. "Seeing a spectacle movie like this one on your computer is not the same as seeing with a communal audience, and I don't think this is going to hurt them that much."

On the other hand, a high-ranking theater exhibitor sees much more dire consequences for the franchise. "This is a disaster," he says, referring both to the free downloads resulting from the leak and to the subsequent bad reviews making their way around the Web. "It's tens of millions of dollars lost."

It's certainly a sign of our digital file swapping times, and many in Hollywood are viewing it as a chilling cautionary tale. "If there's been a tutor in my life about this stuff, it's Steven Spielberg," says director Brad Silberling, whose Land of the Lost is due to hit theaters June 5. "There's a reason why directors are control freaks. Between marketing and publicity and all the other areas that get their hands on a film, you have to monitor it. You never like hearing about something like this happening an inch away from a movie being released."

Fox and the filmmakers have released an official response, vowing to track down whoever is behind the leak, while competing studio execs seem to be engaging in some wishful prognosticating about whether audiences will still show up for the big theater experience, regardless of other cheaper options. "That movie is a spectacle and the audience wants spectacle," says the exec with his own tentpoles due for release this summer. "I predict it still opens with a seven in front of it."-- Additional reporting by Nicole Sperling and Josh Rottenberg

On Hiatus

Pirates of Carriedo will be on hiatus from April 6 to April 24, 2009.

Orders will still be accepted but orders which will come after the 6th will be processed on th 24th onwards. Thank you so much for patronizing Pirates of Carriedo!

Enjoy the beach and the sun! Wear sunscreen... Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth! (...sabi nga sa song ni Baz Luhrmann)

Updated DVD Movie List

Here's an updated DVD movie list with corresponding prices in Excel file. We are sure that you will find something that would definitely interest you.

Kindly send email to piratesofcarriedo@gmail.com for your orders. Thanks!

Torrent Link: Cronos (1993) Guillermo del Toro

Torrent Link: http://www.mininova.org/tor/1293058

CRONOS

Cronos was made in 1993 and still represents one of the most original takes on the vampire genre in recent years.

The film, Guillermo Del Toro’s third film, tells the story of Jesus Gris, an antique seller, who happens upon a golden scarab hidden in the base of a statue of an archangel. When the scarab, an invention of a 15th century alchemist, pierces his hand, Jesus finds himself changing: he has more energy, appears younger and begins to have problems with the brightness of the sun. Also he can’t stop himself allowing the scarab to pierce him.

Throughout he is visited by a non-made up Ron Perlman (Hell Boy). Perlman plays the nephew of a dying millionaire who has managed to track down the scarab and wants it for himself thus beginning a game of cat and mouse that provides much of the film’s tension.

That the film is an earlier example of Del Toro’s work is evident. In 1993 he has yet to win the critical acclaim and independence he fought so hard for after the disaster that was Mimic. Yet you can see his trademark craft in putting Cronos together, the layers of subtext, the idea that humanity is the monster - the real villains in this film are all humans - and the use of mythology to explore human themes of addiction, family and death. For such a short film (only ninety minutes) it really does pack in a whole lot of story.

The visual effects do date the film slightly as does the quality of the film print from which the DVD was mastered but this doesn’t really distract from what’s going on. Del Toro’s skill as a make up designer (his early career was spent doing this) are overall what keeps the effects in the game and more than makes up for the absence of CGI or modern prosthetics.

The cast was and is largely unknown to me. However the performances from the entire cast were very good but two deserve mention in particular. Tamara Shanath, who plays Aurora, turns in a wonderfully nuanced performance for such a young actress and provides the film with it’s heart as the film’s protagonist, Jesus, attempts to hide his addiction from her. The other is that of Perlman who delivers a brilliantly three dimensional performance as the vain, long suffering, nephew of millionaire De la Guardia. A chilling and intelligent performance.

There’s a lot to like here. This is smart horror delivered in a slick movie that’s not afraid to make you laugh, cry or scream. Most likely all three. I recommend it without reservation.

Dangerous Living: Coming Out in the Developing World (2003)

Dangerous Living: Coming Out in the Developing World (2003)

Dangerous Living: Coming Out in the Developing World is the first documentary to deeply explore the lives of gay and lesbian people in non-western cultures. Traveling to five different continents, we hear the heartbreaking and triumphant stories of gays and lesbians from Egypt, Honduras, Kenya, Thailand and elsewhere, where most occurrences of oppression receive no media coverage at all. By sharing the personal stories coming out of developing nations, Dangerous Living sheds light on an emerging global movement striving to end discrimination and violence against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people.

Format: DVD5
Year:2003
Runtime: 62 minutes
Country: USA
Disc: 1
Price: PhP 60.00

IMDB Review

After two viewings, I've concluded that DANGEROUS LIVING is one of the finest documentaries focusing upon the global LGBT human rights struggle that I've seen; it's lone major flaw is that it left me wanting more.

The film is structured around the well-publicized and much-protested persecutions and torture of a number of gay men arrested in what was presumed to be a comparatively safe environment in Cairo, and the incident is used as a touchstone to explore what gay, lesbian and trans-gender activists in a number of other countries have had to endure. Activists from Brazil, Honduras, Namibia, Uganda, Egypt, Pakistan, India, Malaysia, Vietnam, Fiji and The Philippines are interviewed, and in every instance I wanted less voice-over, and more 'in their own words' discussion. I also would have liked to hear more about where conditions have improved, and how those improvements were obtained. DANGEROUS LIVING does also manage to hint at the link between the LGBT rights struggle, and the broader fight for human rights around the globe, and likewise suggests (an opinion I share) that state-sponsored homophobia has been heavily shaped by Western influences. Both of these issues still await further cinematic exploration.

I'm of the opinion that the fight for LGBT rights is global, and that we are overdue a documentary that would make that plainly clear to Western LGBT communities who may take certain freedoms for granted, and - in relying so heavily upon voice overs, I'm not certain that this film does that effectively in its' comparatively brief running time. Still, this is both a moving and an infuriating film, and it does work as an inspiration to further research; to paraphrase the late writer and activist Paul Monette, a difficult life can take you to the core of your being; teaching you what has to be fought for and how - DANGEROUS LIVING does this often, with moving reality.

At the risk of cheer leading, I would strongly encourage others to seek this film out.

Torrent Link: Maynila Sa Kuko Ng Liwanag (1975)

Maynila Sa Kuko Ng Liwanag (1975)



Released 1975
Director Lino Brocka
Starring Bembol Roco, Hilda Koronel, Lou Salvador Jr., Princess Reymundo, Tommy Abuel


Maynila: Sa Mga Kuko ng Liwanag is structured into episodes. After the episode with the construction site, homeless Julian is wooed into becoming a street hustler for a chance for quick cash. He sells his body, his dignity, his manhood for the original promises of a bright future by the neon lights that tempt everyone to enter the city. Maynila: Sa Mga Kuko ng Liwanag is basically a film that threads together snippets of melodramatized chunks of reality. It's a huge cake to chew on and one might actually consider the film a bit too painful to watch, much too depressing and too tragic. The tale of Orpheus is subjected to the test of modern reality where hell is not another world, but a city where sweat, blood, and tears are commodified, and those who are ignorant enough to get enchanted by its grandiose promises are oppressed and forever trapped in its clutches.

Download Torrent HERE:

http://www.mininova.org/com/1564828

Torrent Link: Galawgaw (1982)

Galawgaw (1982)

Download Torrent HERE: http://isohunt.com/torrent_details/53485965/galawgaw?tab=summary

DVDRip, Recoded to 685MB, English Softsub
Video: DivX, 624x464, Watermarked
Audio: MP3

Director: Ishmael Bernal
Cast: Maricel Soriano, William Martinez

Love always comes as a surprise.

Maricel Soriano plays the role of Olga, a sharp-witted and feisty tricycle driver who seems to have finally met her match – a match in love. When the rich and charming Truman (William Martinez) accidentally bumps into Olga’s tricycle, love sparks instantly flew upon his first sight of her. What follows next is a series of hilarious and romantically charged events as Truman moonlights as a taho vendor in order to win Olga’s heart.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0474690/

Bishonen (1998)

Bishonen (1998)

Jet (Stephen Fung) is a handsome gay hustler whose sex appeal seems to know no bounds. Everyone wants to make love to him, but he is in love with no one but himself.

Things change drastically when he notices what seems like a young couple in a shop, Sam (Daniel Wu) and Kana (Shu Qi). At first sight, he falls in love with Sam and begins following the two around.

Jet's friend Ching, who is also a hustler, runs a personal in a gay magazine for Jet, imploring Sam to contact Jet.

At first, Jet is angry with Ching for not asking him, but his wrath subsides quickly when indeed he meets Sam again in what seems like a chance encounter, but actually is an outcome of the personal.

Sam turns out to be a police officer and Jet starts to befriend Sam, hoping this will turn into a relationship. But Sam does not seem to notice Jet's intentions towards him.

Unbeknownst to Jet, Sam had a homosexual affair with pop star K.S.(Terence Yin) five years earlier. At the same time, Ching had been in unrequited love with Sam (then calling himself Fai) when the two were still office workers.

Format: Dual Layer/DVD9
Year: 1998
Runtime: 101 minutes
Country: Hong Kong
Disc: 1
Price: PhP 80.00

IMDB Review Inspired by a scandal in the Happy Valley area of Hong Kong, in which a wealthy playboy was found to have taken thousands of photographs of police officers posed in various states of undress, BISHONEN is nothing less than a romantic homage to male beauty: Stephen Fung plays a handsome prostitute whose vanity is breached after he falls in love with an equally attractive young cop (Daniel Wu) who is closeted from his old-fashioned parents (Kenneth Tsang and Chiao Chiao) and wary of forming new relationships due to events in his recent past, events which finally catch up with him in the worst possible way.

Directed by photographer-turned-filmmaker Yonfan (BUGIS STREET, PEONY PAVILION), this unusual film was actually promoted as a spectacle for *female* viewers, though the narrative is defiantly Queer in tone and construction, and unfolds with all the melodramatic excess of a 'Harlequin' romance. While Yonfan's script and direction may seem hopelessly naive to some Western viewers, his painterly eye uncovers the beauty in HK's urban sprawl, as well as the physical attributes of the actors themselves, and some of the images of languid young men are genuinely intoxicating. Terence Yin (HOT WAR) plays an aspiring pop singer who leads Wu astray from an old boyfriend (Jason Tsang) during a long flashback sequence explaining Wu's melancholy demeanor, prompting a number of oblique references to actor-singer Leslie Cheung, whose suicide in 2003 ended the long career of one of HK's most beloved gay icons. In fact, Yonfan uses the milieu of HK's sexual 'underworld' to comment on the former colony's clandestine gay scene, and the ways in which it has been downplayed (or hideously stereotyped) by an overtly conservative media. Gay fans of HK cinema have always relished the voluptuous splendor of Asian film stars (Bruce Lee, Alexander Fu Sheng, Andy Lau, Nicholas Tse, countless others) and the homoerotic undercurrents which fuel hundreds of tough guy action movies and sensitive dramas (despite what some blinkered western critics would have you believe); BISHONEN drags the implication out of its closet and exposes it to the clear light of day.

Many scenes are unscripted and/or shot guerrilla-style on the streets of HK, and while some of these vignettes are rendered inconsequential by unskilled actors, the script's emphasis on the redeeming power of love is both heartfelt and charming. However, the closing scenes - in which a leading character makes a tragic error of judgment - will strike some viewers as regressive and unnecessary, though the situation is entirely believable in the context of Eastern sensibilities. Shu Qi (SKYLINE CRUISERS, THE EYE 2) plays the only significant female role in the movie, a lesbian who acts as a go-between for Fung and Wu, and the movie is narrated by Brigitte Lin (famous for the sexually fluid roles she has played in countless movies); HK film critic Paul Fonoroff also appears, in a brief cameo role. Along with Wong Kar-wai's HAPPY TOGETHER (1997), this was one of the first HK films to depict gay sex in an explicit manner, though some of the supporting players are clearly uncomfortable during moments of supposed intimacy. However, Wu has no such inhibitions: He's stripped to his underwear on numerous occasions (revealing a beautiful, gym-toned body) and shares a couple of detailed sexual encounters - a memorable shower scene with Yin, followed by a climactic make-out with Fung - which represent milestones in HK Queer Cinema.

In a country where careers are often made and unmade overnight, Fung and Wu have since become major players on the HK movie scene. Both were educated in America (Wu had only a rudimentary grasp of Cantonese when cast in BISHONEN, his first movie), and while both were selected by Yonfan primarily for their looks, they give strong performances in complex, difficult roles (Fung's character remains sympathetic despite his narcissism, while Wu is a haunted, tragic figure). Fung - the son of former Shaw Brothers actress Sek Yin - is quite simply *gorgeous beyond belief*, and his subsequent films (including blockbusters GEN-X COPS, THE AVENGING FIST and MY SCHOOLMATE, THE BARBARIAN) have assured him a place in the pantheon of HK teen idols, though his cool, insouciant beauty was never captured with more grace or allure than here. He turned director in 2001, co-helming the multi-episode HEROES IN LOVE before going solo on the well-received comedy-drama ENTER THE PHOENIX (2004), in which he cast Wu as the gay son of a dying Triad who resists his father's criminal legacy. Of the two, however, Wu is the more accomplished actor, another teen sensation whose career has encompassed everything from commercial juggernauts (PURPLE STORM, NEW POLICE STORY) to intimate 'Art-house' entries (BEIJING ROCKS, NIGHT CORRIDOR), and he's gained a reputation for playing sexual outsiders in unconventional films, earning him a sizeable gay following throughout SE Asia.

Paupahan (2008)

Paupahan 2008
(Crossroads)

Download Torrent File HERE: http://isohunt.com/torrent_details/52751809/paupahan?tab=summary



DVDRip, Recoded to 740MB, Softsub
Video: DivX, 640x352, Watermarked
Audio: MP3

Three unrelated but interwining stories of characters-all seemingly ‘living dead’-unfold in this anthology of lives of have-nots who have become commodities that are either for sale or for hire,in a most unlikely milieu:a public cemetery just a stone’s throw from a squatter’s area( Kalye Sangandaan) in the city near the lake.

Gloria ( GLORIA ROMERO),a 73 year-old caretaker of a rich family’s mausoleum,has a simple wish:to be buried beside the tomb of her husband Donato who has long been dead.But the same mistress,ETANG ( LUI MANANZALA),with whom Gloria shared her infidel husband,continues making life miserable for Gloria.
DADENG ( GERMAN MORENO),Gloria’s 65 year-old gay neighbor who sells flowers for the dead in funeral parlor,is burdened by the child ( of a dead love-of-his-life) now a teen gay Byuti ( KIRBY DE JESUS ),an incurable romantic who is head-over-heels in love with Topher ( JOSEPH BITANGCOL) ,a 19-year old “user-friendly” bum,later revealed to be a closet “gay”.

Estrella Kerubin or Star ( KRISTA RANILLO ),21,is a trying-hard bit-player who has not stopped dreaming,believing and surviving in a dying showbiz. She’d do anything for her ambition,even use her body to please the powers-that-be,including a caterer/caretaker( MON CONFIADO) who claims connections with the production staff. Star has a ‘silent war’ with mother Lucinda ( SNOOKY SERNA),48,whom Star blames for the death of her father/stuntman).One common thing,though in this feuding mother-daughter tandem is their compulsion to work and earn.Lucinda brokers for neighbors who sell their kidneys and other vital parts for a fee.Ironically,she’s a chain-smoker who tries to survive despite her cancer-stricken lungs. While ,Tonio Torres ( ALLEN DIZON ),29,is a male starlet-member of an all-male group called “Wild Boys”.He has seen better days as a bold starlet-now-a pimp to new aspirants. Star calls him a showbiz “kuya”.Despite his misgivings, TONIO’S a resourceful breadwinner who uses his income for expanding his humble abode by building adjoining rooms he rents out for added income. He is also fighting for the custody of his daughter.

Roberto San Pedro ( JAY MANALO ),32,an ex-convict,gets paroled by a powerful armed group who uses him as an assassin.A man of few words whose eyes reveal personal tragedies and utter bitterness,he’s a reluctant hitman married to a nervous wreck,Angela San Pedro ( ANGELU DE LEON),29,a good former public school teacher who has lost job after cracking due to extreme pressure.

Almost all of the above stories are resolved.Others are open-ended ‘coz that’s reality.Being treated as a commodity is a hurting truth we have to live by.

The Spirit of the Beehive (1973)

The Spirit of the Beehive (1973)
El Espíritu de la Colmena

In the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, Ana, a sensitive seven-year-old girl in a rural Spanish hamlet is traumatized after a traveling projectionist screens a print of James Whale's 1931 "Frankenstein" for the village. The youngster is profoundly disturbed by the scenes in which the monster murders the little girl and is later killed himself by the villagers. She questions her sister about the profundities of life and death and believes her older sibling when she tells her that the monster is not dead, but exists as a spirit inhabiting a nearby barn. When a Loyalist soldier, a fugitive from Franco's victorious army, hides out in the barn, Ana crosses from reality into a fantasy world of her own.

Format: DVD5
Year: 1973
Runtime: 97 minutes
Country: Spain
Disc: 1
Price: PhP 60.00

Shaun the Sheep

Shaun the Sheep
Seasons One and Two
Episodes 1-40


Shaun is a sheep who doesn't follow the flock - in fact, he leads them into all sorts of scrapes and scraps, turning peace in the valley into mayhem in the meadow. Shaun and his pals run rings around their poor sheepdog Bitzer, as he tries to stop the Farmer finding out what's going on behind his back. Every day brings a new adventure for Shaun.

Format: DVD5 (Data DVD/avi files)
Year: 2007
Available Episodes: 1-40
Runtime: variable
Country: UK
Disc: 20 episodes per disc
Price: PhP 60.00 per disc

Bleach

Bleach
Episodes 1-140


The story opens with the sudden appearance of Soul Reaper Rukia Kuchiki in Ichigo Kurosaki's bedroom. She is surprised at his ability to see her, but their resulting conversation is interrupted by the appearance of a "hollow", an evil spirit. After Rukia is severely wounded while trying to protect Ichigo, she attempts to transfer half her powers to Ichigo in order to let him face the hollow on equal footing. Ichigo instead unintentionally absorbs almost all her energy, allowing him to defeat the hollow with ease. The next day Rukia appears in Ichigo's classroom as a seemingly normal human, and informs Ichigo that his absorption of her powers has left her stranded in the human world until she recovers her strength. In the meantime Ichigo shelters Rukia in his home and takes over her job as a Soul Reaper, battling hollows and guiding lost souls to Soul Society.

After a few months of this arrangement, Rukia's Soul Reaper superiors interpret her disappearance as desertion, send a detachment to arrest her, and sentence her to death. Ichigo is unable to stop Rukia's capture, but with the help of several of his classmates who also possess spiritual abilities and ex-Soul Reaper Urahara Kisuke, he sets off for the Soul Reaper base, located in the afterlife realm known as Soul Society. Once there, Ichigo and company battle against the elites of the Soul Reaper military, and are ultimately successful in halting Rukia's execution.

It is then revealed that Rukia's execution and Ichigo's rescue attempt were both manipulated by Sosuke Aizen, a high ranking Soul Reaper previously believed to be murdered, as part of a far-reaching plot to take control of Soul Society. Aizen betrays his fellow Soul Reapers and allies himself with the hollows, becoming the primary antagonist of the series, and Ichigo teams up with his former enemies in Soul Society after learning that the next step in Aizen's plan involves the destruction of his hometown. At this point, Bleach chronicles the war between Aizen and the Soul Society, a plotline which has not yet been resolved. According to Tite Kubo, the ending of the series is not yet planned out or written.

The anime version of Bleach is produced by Studio Pierrot and directed by Noriyuki Abe. It began broadcasting in Japan on October 5, 2004, on TV Tokyo. Episodes 1-167 were made and broadcast in 4:3, with episodes 168+ made and broadcast in 16:9 wide screen.

Format: DVD5 (Data DVD/avi files)
Year: 2004-2008
Available Episodes: 1-140
Runtime: variable
Country: Japan
Disc: 20 episodes per disc
Price: PhP 60.00 per disc

Torrent Link: Evangelion 1.0 (2007 movie) and Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995)

Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995) - all 26 episodes

http://www.mininova.org/tor/70051

Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone aka Rebuild of Evangelion (2007)

http://www.mininova.org/tor/1742079

Torrent Link: Il Mare (2000) [Korean]

Il Mare (Siworae)
(2000)



Download torrent here: http://www.mininova.org/tor/1916870

Eun-joo moves out of her house "Il Mare", leaving behind a Christmas card for the eventual new owner of the house in 1999. In it she asks him/her to forward any mail of hers to her new address in the city. It is 1997 and Sung-hyun, the first owner of "Il Mare" is moving in and finds in his mailbox the Christmas card from Eun-joo. Thinking it was a joke, Sung-hyun leaves her a letter telling her so and reminds her that its 1997 not 1999. Eventually the two realize that they are separated by two years of time but can somehow communicate through the mailbox and begin to form a friendship through their letters.