Terror like no other

I can’t stand slasher films and I was never a fan of Jamie Lee Curtis and the Halloween series. But I do have a long list of favorite horror films. Some of these are The Innocents, The Shining, Poltergeist, Interview With the Vampire and The Sixth Sense. Now, you can add to that the currently showing film, The Others.

Set in 1945 in the Island of Jersey in the English Channel, the film casts Nicole Kidman as a lonely wife whose husband (Christopher Eccleston) had gone to war. In their huge home, she has to take care of their two children who are both suffering from a rare disease that makes them allergic to sunlight. Helping her run the house is a new batch of servants (the old set – according to Kidman – practically "just vanished into thin air") who claim to have previously worked in that home.

Kidman’s daughter, Alakina Marie, insists that she sees other people in their house. Kidman, however, isn’t sure if the daughter is only weaving such tales to frighten the younger child, James Bentley – until (Kidman) herself begins to feel the presence of "intruders" in that huge dark house."

I have to pause at this point for I can no longer tell you what happens during the latter part of the film. But I assure you, whatever unfolds toward the end is sure mind-blowing. It has shades of The Sixth Sense – and more … oh, much, much more.

I therefore plead to you not to go inside the theater in the middle of the film – and certainly not toward the end or else you’ll spoil everything and probably won’t enjoy the movie any longer. Please see to it that you watch the movie from the beginning – which is really how films should be seen. (I think it’s only here in the Philippines where we have that bad habit of watching movies from the middle part.)

The Others is really a must-see film. It’s engaging from the first frame to the last. The dialogues are well-written and excellently delivered (even those said in whispers). Its director, the Spaniard Alejandro Amenavar, succeeds in creating an eerie atmosphere (through sound, music, lighting and inventive camera work) that is perfect for a horror film.

Nicole Kidman is also magnificent in this film. Not only is she at her most beautiful, she’s also at her best as an actress. Every contortion of muscle on her face and even her body movements reflect the terror she’s going through in that awfully big and frightening house.

The Others isn’t really the type of horror film that would give you nightmares and sleepless nights. (No, you hardly see grotesque figures of ghosts in this horror movie.) What you’ll remember of it is that it is intelligently made – so different from those cheap slasher flicks of Jamie Lee Curtis.

The twists and turns of Corky Romano

In Corky Romano, Chris Kattan (of Saturday Night Live fame) plays a clumsy, but kindhearted and caring veterinarian ostracized by his family of gang members – led by his father (Peter Falk) and ably supported by his two brothers (Chris Penn and Peter Berg). His family members actually spit at his very existence because they think he is effeminate and because he chooses to hang on to a regular and honest profession.

One day, he is summoned back to their house. No, his father and brothers are not ready to take him back. It turns out that his father will be facing trial for his criminal acts and needs to get rid of the evidence against him. His only way out is to send a family member to infiltrate the FBI and get rid of the file there. The best candidate is Corky because the cops do not know him – unlike his two brothers who are already both identified as police characters.

Luckily for the family, they succeed in getting him into the FBI on the strength of a tampered resume. Now it’s up to him to act like a tough and rugged FBI agent and perform the limb-breaking duties of one.

The first half of Corky Romano is a total waste of time. It tries so hard to be funny that it only succeeds in annoying viewers. Even Chris Kattan is so irritating in the movie’s early parts.

Toward the end, however, the film begins to pick up as we see a new twist to the story. The whole thing in fact, becomes feel-good at this point.

Corky Romano is really a very short film (slightly a little over an hour). If you have to suffer through the bad parts, the whole process would just take around 40 minutes at the most. Eventually, you will be rewarded with bits and pieces of comical scenes – that is, if you haven’t walked out of the movie.

Celebrity couples in Millionaire

After a month-long break, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire with host Christopher de Leon is finally airing its first season for 2002 starting Feb. 10. During the first week of its new season, the show will feature celebrity couples as contestants. (As usual, they’ll be playing for their favorite charities.)

Here’s a schedule of when your favorite celebrity contestants would be playing in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire:

Feb. 10 – Tonton Gutierrez and Glydel Mercado, Johnny Revilla and Janet Basco, Emil Buencamino and Giselle Sanchez, Ricardo Cepeda and Snooky Serna and Dingdong Avanzado and Jessa Zaragoza.

Feb. 14 – Eddie Gutierrez and Annabelle Rama, Tito Molina and Rosanna Roces and Bernard Palanca and Rica Peralejo.

Feb. 15 – EJ and Tess Litton, Lance and Mary Joyce Gokongwei and Dennis Valdes and Tessa Prieto-Valdes.

Feb. 16 – Nino and Edith Muhlach, Ian and Pam Veneracion, Earl Ignacio and Cookie Chua, Alex Alvarez and Maritoni Fernandez and Tirso Cruz III and Lyn Ynchausti.