Namtab Pots and his partner Paul From The Future have done the unthinkable and watched a movie in the cinema. It was originally unthinkable because they are some of the most cautious people I know, having obsessively protected themselves from COVID for the past year and a half (but surprise, Aedes Aegypti managed to sneak in to wreak a different kind of havoc last month!). But I guess the recent data, and the vaccine, have managed to convince them to leave their underground bunker and eat something more than canned pork and beans. And for what movie did they risk their lives? The Eternals.

“It’s crap,” Namtab Pots said. “It’s super boring. And there are a million characters.” We tried to think of movies to compare it to. It boasts of a diverse all-star cast. An award-winning director. Expensive sets. It’s unlike any Marvel movie we have seen before, we decided. It is, in fact, more like that 2003 Metro Manila Film Festival frontrunner, Filipinas!

Back in the days we used to “treat ourselves” to MMMF movies every December, because if you couldn’t see Lord Of The Rings just yet, might as well check out if there were hidden gems among the entries. One such hidden gem was Filipinas, which we used to call Filipinas Fuckers, because it features so many big stars, and in every scene these big stars were always bickering and almost bursting an aneurysm! And fighting! And bickering! And dredging up past hurts! But of course, we were very young then, and our perspectives must have been radically altered by the drama and tragedy of our own lives. Maybe it’s time to re-watch… Filipinas!

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Speaking of climbing out of a bunker, I managed to do that myself today. Omicron is slowly closing in, and what better way to deal with this anxiety than by eating two pans of paella in Barcino. We had some yellow paella with chorizo, and some brown paella with lechon on top. Couldn’t even document their names properly. But they’re good! Although the servings seem much smaller now.

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