[ greyweed ] -- and the bored shall inherit the earth...

Two posts a month. Now that's a low. Not that I've been gone for months, but this is a lowest I've gone following a blog overhaul. But of course, there's nothing new in my life and I've pretty much gotten stagnant since February, so naturally there's nothing new to blog about.

I did, however got out of the house and met up with Donna last Saturday to watch a movie. Kudos to her for successfully getting me out of my hermit state!

We had planned this three days ahead and I was prepared to see some gory scenes with the horror flick The Hills Have Eyes but when we got to Glorietta, we both agreed that we were not up to it. So instead, we trooped over to the Greenbelt Cinema and paid to see Rent, a decision we made because 1) we seriously doubt we'd get to go to New York and see the original Broadway musical within the foreseeable future, 2) I wanted to see what Teza has been raving about since college, 3) as Donna would put it, "we need some culture" and of course 3) Rosario Dawson's in it.


With tickets in hand, we stared at the poster in the lobby, and noticed a sign declaring that "During the last full show, singing will be allowed." I admit I'm not exactly a silent viewer most of the time, but I would probably be raving mad if someone seated next to me is a Broadway nut and keeps on pointing out the difference between the play and the film in a condescending tone, or worse, he is part of a group and they break into song and dance numbers during the movie.

I looked at my wristwatch. Our showing's gonna be at 6:15, and that can't be the last full show. At least I hoped it isn't. And unlike most of the things I had hoped for in life, I was right.

Unfortunately, I cannot write a decent movie review right now. In fact I haven't written anything in months. But I have to say the film was absolutely terrific. Maybe there are songs and entire scenes part of the original work that were deleted for the film, but still Chris Columbus did a swell job of repainting it into film with his direction and Stephen Chbosky with his screenplay.

It's basically a story about friends living in New York's East Village at the end of the 80s, dealing with their foray into everyday life in the city as they face poverty, creative difference, AIDS and firmly standing up for what you believe in. And it rocks!

Playing narrator is the nerdy filmmaker Mark Cohen (Anthony Rapp), he lives in an unpaid apartment with his musician
roommate Roger Davis (Adam Pascal), their seasonal roomie and MIT hacker supreme Tom Collins (Jesse L. Martin). Living in the apartment below is stripper and junkie Mimi Marquez(Rosario Dawson) who falls for Roger. On Christmas Eve, Collins is mugged in an alleyway as he is getting in the apartment, and is cleaned up and taken cared of by Angel Dumott Schunard (Wilson Heredia) and the two become lovers. They are hounded mostly by Benny Coffin III -Mark and Roger's former roommate who married for money and now serves as their landlord- for the apartment's rent. Incidentally he used to date Mimi. Meanwhile, a protest is at hand, lead by Mark's ex, Maureen Johnson and her new lover Joanne Jefferson (Tracie Thoms). And to top it all off, half of the these people have AIDS.


My favorite scene has got to be the after-protest celebration dinner at the restaurant. They did this extravagantly fun number title "La Vie Boheme" as a mock funeral of Bohemia. It's been a week since I've seen the film and I am still singing that song in my head. It starts with Mark, likened to a priest officiating a funeral mass. It's fun when a song keeps on dropping names with neither product placements nor apologies, au contraire the songs is one big salute to everything and everyone Bohemian.

Another great song here is "I'll Cover You" sang by Angel and Collins. It's one of the most sincere and honest, but simple and humble, love songs that I've heard so far. The lyrics are straightforward but sweet, and their voices are splendid and soulful. Collins is black and Angel is Latino. Figures! No white guy can convey such compassion in his voice. Only problem is -and this really throws me off- that this is a song sung by two gay guys for each other and right after the song they share a very intimate kiss. Eyng???

And shockingly enough, I dunno about Jesse L. Martin, but Wilson Heredia is not even gay. So Donna was right.

Also a constant cranial soundtrack is "Seasons of Love" and the opening scene where all eight characters are singing in onstage in an empty theater is very memorable. A line from that song that very well describes the scene, "celebrate, remember a year in the life of friends." It's like, here they are standing here for everyone to see, examine and judge; and they have opinions to prove, ideas to convey, stories to tell, strenghts to show and weakneses to confess.

DEAD THOUGHTS on RENT

With a musical as successful as RENT, how come it took more than 10 years for it to be translated into cinema?

I love Rosario Dawson.

Wilson Heredia has an uncanny resemblance to a fag back in college. I don't know him enough to even know his name, though.

To Hollywood: MORE MUSICALS and none of the Steven Seagal/Vin Diesel crap they keep on coming out with!