Ang Mga Engkanto ng T2

I watched T2 by Chito Rono on its opening night in SM Megamall. Pinilit ko pa ang asawa ko na manood, though ang gusto na lang sana nya eh ulitin ang Fast and Furious or Slumdog Millionaire na lang, pero mapilit talaga ako, nagmaganda pa ko, sabi ko, "Sige okay lang, uwi ka na? Akala mo ba di ko kaya manood ng mag-isa?" Walang nagawa ang kawawang hubby, pasok kami sa T2, lipad ang 320 ko, at least may paguusapan tayo today, my dear readers.


It was interesting, yet hardly scary. In this movie we find Claire (Maricel Soriano), a woman struggling with her marriage, who also works as a volunteer in an orphanage (being an orphan herself). On her way coming back from Samar, she and another volunteer Elias (Eric Fructuoso) started witnessing bizarre situations that led to her meeting Angeli, an odd, awkward little orphan who needs to be transported back to her surviving relatives in Manila. Little did they know, Angeli, a daughter of a man and an enkanto, is about to be taken by her engkanto mom before her 9th birthday, which is 2 days from when the movie begins. Watching T2 brought back memories of a previous trip to Sorsogon.

Medyo nadisappoint ako sa T2, for a couple of reasons. I didn't find it as scary as the initial Chito 'Rono scary movies. Not because mas matanda na ko as compared to when I watched Feng Sui and Sukob, because Sukob is fairly recent movie of 2 years past, and I was 21 at the time na. I mean I was too old to get scared but boy that movie got me screaming to my wits. I came to the movie house prepared to scream, hahaha! Kinulang talaga sa panakot factor tong T2.

Ang bagal ng pacing ng movie, super nag aantay ako na matakot, wala pa din. Parang big-screen version lang ng midnight DJ or ng kakakabakaba. Savior talaga ang Diamond Star Maricel Soriano otherwise, the movie would have sucked. Nag-iisa talaga si Maricel Soriano sa pag eemote and perfection ng realistic acting nyo on top of all the trivial, supernatural events happening to her, as in parang part na ng buhay natin ang maengkanto paminsan-minsan. She clutched at cellphone like it's the only thing that would rescue her back to reality, perfect ka talaga Maria!

Hm, I think I'm being too harsh. In fairness, na-entertain naman ako ng husto sa movie, it was freaking hilarious. Nagsitilian ang mga tao hindi dahil sa engkanto, kundi naengkanto sila ni John Lloyd Cruz. Si Papa Lloydie ang gumanap na papa ni Angeli sa movie na inasawa ng engkanto na si Carmen Soo. Nagsitilian ang mga puday ng makita si John Lloyd. Kaya naman ako natawa is because John Lloyd pulled a Willie Garte look, bulag and with a mess of a wig (man, can't the costumes people do any better?) Anyways Papa Lloydie I love you...

And speaking of Carmen Soo, on the way to the moviehouse my husband and I passed by her Petit Monde ad and nasabi ko lang out of the blue, "Ang ganda talaga ng face ni Carmen Soo, noh?" To which my husband asked, "Nasan na kaya sya ngayon, nandito pa ba sya sa Pinas?" and I said, "Oo nga eh, medyo konti lang projects nya ngayon, baka bumalik na ng Malaysia..." And there she was, on the silver screen, nakaputi, maputla at mahaba ang buhok. Parang kami ang inengkanto ni Carmen Soo kasi pinaguusapan lang namin sya kanina, kaya heto in your face I'm still alive and kicking, you guys!

Making a comeback is Camille Pratts na hindi ko na-gets ang costume (again calling the costume designer) na ang makeup nya eh super flawless na parang may photoshoot, and naturally bata pa siya, I just don't get bakit kailangang patandain ang kawawang Camille! Sabihin man nating dapat matanda ang role ni Camille, kaya sya pinagsuot ng baro't saya na hanggang sakong at pinagsuot ng super thick eyeglasses. Wala talagang makakajustify nito, Camille Pratts, nabiktima ka talaga. And ang role nya is modista, hello, modista sya sa FTI Tenement, hindi sa probinsya. Asar! Anyways I'm happy you're back Camille, keep it up!

Also making a comeback is Tetchie Agbayani, who is less glamourous in this movie, playing the role of an old neighbor in Tenement 2, who herself gave birth to a half-mortal, half-enkanto, ngunit sumama sa hindi natin kauri. Isa ring nagbabalik ay si Eric Fructuoso, na effective sa role nya as a less-fortunate grown-up orphan, in short, gagong loser. Though medyo masakit lang sa tenga ang repeating expression nya na "nakamput" (as in I had a headache) eh naaliw naman ako sa line nya na "Kahit gago ako, marunong naman ako mag-alala sa mga tao sa paligid ko." Winner!

At hindi din nagpahuli si Derek Ramsay, in fairness juicy pa rin sya at kung ako ang nasa role ng asawa nya siguro may sarili na kaming orphanage sa dami ng anak namin dahil ang juicy juicy nya! Yum!

The little girl who played the role of Angeli doesn't seem to have this genuine shock in her, babaw pa rin ng acting, but with time I think she'd make a fine young actress... Commendable naman ang skill nya to tell her lines clearly and convincingly. I'm sure sikat na sikat sya sa school nila ngayon at pinagmamalaki sya ng buong kamag-anakan nila, thanks to T2.

At ang ever-present na hindi talaga mawawala sa Chito Rono sequels ay si Mon Confiado. Nagtransform sya into a CGI Gollum-like entity, na after pumasok as a night crawler, naging baboy and then Max Payne humanoid with wings. Patili na sana ako nung susunggaban na sana si Maria, kaso bakit hindi nyo pinasunggaban si Maria! Mukhang ayaw nyo talaga madungisan ang beauty ng diamond star!

Anyways after this post I realized na regardless if I watched Slumdog or whathaveyou that day, I'd still come back and watch T2, hanggang mawala na ang curiousity ko. So kahit balikan ko pa ang mga nagyari, I think ganun din ang ending.