Sausage Party

DIRECTOR:  Conrad Vernon, Greg Tiernan  LEAD CAST: Seth Rogen, Kristen Wiig, Jonah Hill, Bill Hader, Michael Cera, James Franco, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson, Paul Rudd, Nick Kroll, David Krumholtz, Edward Norton, Salma Hayek  PRODUCER:  Megan Ellison, Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Conrad Vernon  SCREENWRITER:  Kyle Hunter, Ariel Shaffir, Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg  MUSIC:  Alan Menken, Christopher Lennertz  STORY:  Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Jonah Hill  EDITOR:  Kevin Pavlovic  GENRE:  Computer-Animation, Adult Comedy  PRODUCTION COMPANY:  Annapurna Pictures, Point Grey Pictures  DISTRIBUTOR: Columbia Pictures  COUNTRY:  United States  LANGUAGE: English  RUNNING TIME: 88 minutes

Technical assessment:  3.5

Moral assessment: 1.5

CINEMA rating:  V18

MTRCB:  R18

In this adult comedy, the products on the shelf of Shopwell supermarket have only one hope in life: that they be “chosen” and purchased by the gods (human shoppers) who will transport them to “the great beyond”.  A sausage, Frank (voiced by Seth Rogan) and his girlfriend, Brenda (voiced by Kristen Wiig), a comely hot dog bun, can hardly wait for the day they can break free from their packaging and be together happily-ever-after in “the great beyond”—meanwhile they are content touching fingertips when no one’s looking.  The products’ anticipation is heightened as the Fourth of July shoppers prepare for the holidays.  Then Honey-Mustard (voiced by Danny McBride) gets returned and, horrified by what he has seen in a god’s kitchen, warns the others that outside of the supermarket there is only death and consumption.  Nobody believes him, and when he gets chosen again, he commits suicide by jumping off the shopping cart, breaking his jar and spilling his guts on the floor.  This causes a collision and as all hell breaks loose the douche (voiced by Nick Kroll) breaks his nozzle; blaming Frank for it, he swears revenge.

Comedy being a very subjective medium, Sausage Party may be abhorred by some, adored by others, but its inventiveness cannot be denied.  Talking supermarket “citizens” are so cleverly conceived and utilized to highlight or poke fun at issues affecting humans and humanity.  One may not agree with what Sausage Party is saying but one must admit it’s driving its point home clearly and emphatically with humor, albeit potty at times.  Helping spice up the movie is not just one but four screenwriters putting their heads together and making a mouthpiece of supermarket objects to broadcast their views on, for instance, the Israel-Palestine conflict (using a bagel and a lavash), immigration problems (using smuggled canned goods from Mexico), the holocaust (using the German sauerkraut who wants to “exterminate the juice”), same-sex attraction (using an empty taco shell’s lust for a bun who rejects her in the belief that only a sausage can fulfill a bun), religion (using a native American character in a whisky bottle, Firewater, who admits he invented the idea of the gods and the great beyond), etc.

Being amused or entertained by Sausage Party does not necessarily mean buying what it sells.  Relentless in its profanity and shameless about its sex talk, the movie, although clad in cartoony satire, has an atheistic premise that can’t be missed: if we all but forget about our differences and then unite to defeat our common enemy, we will be victors; and our common enemy here is the gods who lie to us in order to use us, the gods we worship who feed us illusions to make us willingly do their bidding.  With “the great beyond” revealed as a hoax, a rebellion is staged by the products until all the gods are dead.  The movie champions its perception of tolerance and finding happiness here and now—which means orgiastic partying as if there’s no tomorrow.  Sausage Party’s makers attempt a sophisticated conclusion featuring Gum, a wad of chewing gum in a motorized wheelchair—obviously spoofing the genius Stephen Hawking—that tells the anthropomorphic grocery items they are mere cartoons and if they want to meet their creators and voice actors in another dimension they must go through this portal.  So—from disillusion to hope, from one “great beyond” to another?  If their intention was to inject some soul into the movie, they fail.  Sausage Party does not deserve a soul.

The Magnificent Seven

Direction: Antoine Fuqua; Cast: Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D’Onofrio, Byung-hun Lee, Manuel Garcia Rulfo, Martin Sensmeier, Haley Bennett, Peter Sarsgaard; Screenplay: Niz Pizzolatto, Richard Wenk Based on Seven Samurai by Akira Kurusawa; Editing: John Refoua; Producer: Roger Bimbaum, Todd Black; Music: James Horner; Genre: Action; Distributor: MGM Columbia Pictures; Location: Old West  Running Time: 133 minutes;

Technical assessment: 3

Moral assessment: 2.5

CINEMA rating: V14

Magnificent Seven is a remake of John Sturges 1960 Western film and a take-off from Akria Kurusawa’s legendary Seven Samurai. In this version, Emma Cullen (Bennett) hires a mercenary named Chisholm (Washington) to defend her town from corrupt baron, Bartholomew Bogue (Peter Sarsgaard), who besieged and murdered a group of local miners, including Emma’s husband. Chisholm recruits six more rogue gunslingers with different skills and personalities. They befriend and train the town locals as they prepare to fight Bogue’s men. A fight between the Chisolm group and Bogue’s army ensues with heavy casualties from both side. In the end, the town is saved, the fallen gunmen buried as heroes and the surviving honored as legends.

The main strength of this film is the simple straightforward storytelling that allows it to grow in its audience. It never tries to be smart or complicated, avoids sudden twists and surprises and is comfortably familiar and predictable in a good way. These elements make the narrative timeless but then again we cannot entirely credit the creators of the 2016 Magnificent Seven because it is heavily based on Kurusawa’s film. However, this version lacks the texture and passion of its source material in terms of visual poetry, richness of themes and contrasting tension. The only contribution this version compares is the diversity of personalities in the casting. There are good solid performances and delightful lines here and there but overall it is far from being great.

Taking the film as it is, two main themes surface. One, the real honor is in coming and working together to empower the defenseless. Even with diverse goals in the beginning, the seven rogues and the entire Rose Creek community realize that the real strength is in the combined courage and integrity. Humanity invites us to take a firm stand against the threats against life. Further, when we truly open ourselves to others, we realize our shared humanity and common values. Two, the film asks us to reexamine if winning a violent battle at the price of lost lives is a real victory—more so if revenge is an objective. This is a question which begs a moral astuteness. Revenge is not the same as social justice. Vindictiveness does not bring restitution. When man can finally outgrow the “eye for an eye” principle, only then can real humanity prevail.

Hermano Puli

DIRECTOR: Gil Portes  LEAD CAST:  Aljur Abrenica, Louise de los Reyes, Markki Stroem, Aben Estanislao, Allen Abrenica, Vin Abrenica, Archie Adamos, Menggie Cobarrubias  SCREENWRITER: Eric Ramos  CINEMATOGRAPHER: Albert Banzon MUSIC: Francis de Veyra  FILM EDITOR:  George Jarlego  PRODUCER: Rex Tiri  GENRE:  History, bio epic  FILMING LOCATION: Lucban, Quezon  RUNNING TIME:  108 minutes

Technical assessment:  2.5

Moral assessment:  2.5

CINEMA rating:  V18

MTRCB rating:  PG

Musmos  pa lamang si Apolinario de la Cruz (Aljur Abrenica) ay nais na nitong magpari.  Datapwa’t nang dumating ang araw na lumapit siya sa mga Dominikano upang pumasok sa pagpapari, nabigo siya pagkat noong mga panahong iyon, hindi tumatanggap ng “indio” ang Simbahang Katolika.  Sa masidhing pagnanasang mapalapit sa Diyos, nagpatuloy siya sa pananalangin at pag-aaral ng bibliya habang siya’y naglilingkod bilang isang “donato” sa ospital ng San Juan de Dios, at kabilang sa Cofradia de San Juan.  Di maglalaon, ibabahagi niya ang kanyang kaalaman at karanasan sa ilang kababayan, at magtatayo siya ng sariling Cofradia de San Jose, isang kapatirang nagpapalaganap ng debosyon kay San Jose, esposo ni Maria, at tatagurian siyang “Hermano Puli”.  Maraming maaakit si Hermano Puli na sumanib sa Confradia, ngunit hindi magtatagumpay ang hangarin ni Puli na kilalanin ng Simbahan ang kapatirang itinatag niya.  Sa halip, dulot na rin ng hindi pagkakaunawaan ng mga nasasangkot, pagbibintangan pa sila na nagsisimula ng himagsikan laban sa gobyerno.

Base sa tunay na buhay ni Apolinario de la Cruz ang Hermano Puli, bagama’t mahirap sabihin kung gaano ito katapat sa mga tunay na pangyayari, pagkat hindi ganoong karami ang sinasaad ng kasaysayan tungkol kay de la Cruz.  Lutang ang katapatan ng hangarin ni Portes na ilahad ang katotohanan ayon sa kanyang pang-unawa, bagay na nakatagpo ng katapat sa marubdob na pagganap ni Abrenica bilang Puli at ng iba pang nagsiganap.  Nakadagdag sa damdamin ang maayos na sinematrograpiya, ngunit maaaring hanggang dito na lamang ang mapupuri ng CINEMA sa teknikal na aspeto ng pelikula.  Hindi sapat ang mga katangiang ito na bigyang-katarungan ang matayog na layunin ng direktor.  Sayang.  Minsan, nagmimistula pa ngang komedya ito gawa ng isang karakter na hindi magkandatuto kung gaanong karaming hangin ang ipalalabas sa ngala-ngala niya upang magtunog-kastilaloy ang pananalita niya.  Nakakadiskaril sa kuwento.

Ayon sa mga press releases at ilang mga manunulat, si Hermano Puli ay isang bayaning nauna pa ng mga dalawang-daang taon kaysa kina Rizal at Bonfacio sa paghihimagsik laban sa mapang-aping dayuhan.  Hindi ganito ang “dating” ng Hermano Puli sa CINEMA.  Bagama’t tapat sa pagnanasa niyang maglingkod sa Diyos sa abot ng kanyang makakaya, si Puli ay pinagdamutan ng panahon na tumugon sa tawag sa kanya ng Diyos sa tamang paraan.  Sa kawalan ng wastong gabay, ng taong magmamalasakit upang akayin siya sa tumpak na daan, walang maasahan si Puli kundi ang sarili niyang pang-unawa, sa bibliya man o sa turo ng Simbahan.  Ang dami ng bilang ng mga kaanib niyang umaasa at halos ay sumasamba sa kanya ay lalo lamang nagsilbing panggatong sa kanyang pananaw na salat naman sa liwanag.   At gawa na rin ng poot sa puso nilang may masasaklap na karanasan sa kamay ng mga prayle, nagkaroon ng kulay-himagsikan ang simpleng layunin ni Puli na kilalanin ng Simbahan ang samahan niya.  Nagka-suson-suson na ang mga pangyayari ng di-pagkakaunawaan, dumanak ang dugo, at nalagasan ng maraming buhay ang dalawang pwersang nagsagupaan

Pagka’t maselan ang tema ng Hermano Puli, ipinapaalala ng CINEMA na maging masusi tayo sa panonood nito.   Halimbawa, pansinin nawa natin ang isang eksenang nagpapakita na naliligaw na ng landas si Puli: binabasbasan niya ang mga anting-anting at tinitiyak sa mga pinagbibigyan niya na dahil dito, hindi sila tatablan ng bala man o patalim sa kanilang pakikipaglaban—ngunit lumisan ang kasama nilang pari bilang pagtanggi sa alok na anting-anting. Nang sa kalagitnaan ng mga bangkay ng kanyang mga kasamahan, si Puli ay napaluhod at luhaang napasigaw sa langit, ipinagpapalagay ng CINEMA na napaglimi na ng binata na siya’y nagkamali sa kanyang pananalig, at ito’y kanyang pinagsisisihan na.  Ito kaya ang ginustong ipakita ng direktor?  Ito din kaya ang nakikita ng manonood?  Ang nangyari ay nangyari na, bahagi na ng kasaysayan.  Si Hermano Puli ba ay bayani o baliw, santo o sano?  Diyos lamang ang makapaghahatol.  Ang mahalaga para sa mga saling-lahi ay ang limiin ang katotohanan at makinabang sa mga aral na napapaloob sa kasaysayan.