Randy Santiago: Back to the ’80s

It’s heart-wrenching. It‘s bloody. I could not look at the screen at some point. Go watch The Passion of the Christ. Whether you will like it or not, you will be affected. It’s a movie whose storyline we know. It doesn’t need subtitles even if Jesus speaks in Aramaic – we know what happened in the Garden of of Gethsemane and in Pilate’s court but I haven’t seen anything like the Scourging at the Pillar, the way Mel Gibson does it in this movie.

Caleb Deschanel’s photography is brilliant. It captures the pain, the violence, the blood like you are witnessing a carnage a foot away from where you’re eating lunch. And spurts of blood actually fall on your plate. Either you vomit or you kneel and repent for your sins. It’s a movie that hurts you physically and emotionally because you realize you have taken for granted Christ’s suffering for your sins.

James Caviezel is a brilliant actor. After The Passion of the Christ, it is a mortal sin to desire him. He is Christ, period. If this is good for his career – this remains to be seen. He is so effective in the movie, he should be a promiscuous transvestite in his next film outing so people will actually realize he is just an actor. He needs a miracle to make people forget He is Christ.

Maia Morgenstern, who plays Mary, should be beatified; she who has very few lines in the movie but who portrays Jesus’ mother so effectively that every time she was onscreen, I would pray the Hail Mary. In the crucifixion, she expressed pain, love, anger, acceptance just by her face. I cried in a single second.

Monica Bellucci is splendid. She plays Magdalene quietly yet she arrests you and you don’t resist.

I don’t know the other actors. But even the ensemble is so good the movie looks like some events you are actually seeing live in front of you.

Gibson, I’m sure will not go to hell.

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Meanwhile, it’s back to the hits of the ’80s as Randy Santiago topbills Entertainment Plus Ventures’ first lavish production this year, Rewind at 8 tonight at the Araneta Coliseum.

A former member of the defunct Cicada Band, Randy rose to fame with his first single, You’ve Got The Power, which he sang with Gino Padilla. He is best remembered for hits like Hindi Magbabago and Babaero.

Soon after, he conquered the concert scene with his first major concert, Private Eyes at the ULTRA in 1987. This was followed by a series of Eyes concerts like Soulful Eyes, Wild Eyes, Virtual Eyes and his Naked Eyes concert at the Araneta Coliseum.

He also became an instant sensation when he joined the noontime show Lunch Date and Salu-Salo Together (SST) and made a number of hit films like No Retreat No Surrender, Paikut-Ikot and Si Taray at Si Teroy.

Aside from the preparations he is doing for his return to the concert scene, Randy is busy preparing for a concert series abroad and a new album.

"I am very excited with this concert because the ’80s is my decade. It‘s a trip down memory lane and I am grateful to my producers for being supportive. I am very confident the audience will enjoy the show," Randy exclaims.

Joining Randy in this musical event are Pops Fernandez, Raymond Lauchengco, Gino Padilla, Juan Miguel Salvador, Jett Pangan and Louie Heredia, Arnee Hidalgo. Soul siren Nina will also in the fun.

Ticket buyers of Rewind can also join E Plus’ raffle promo, Rewind Plus Doble Revo-Doble Papremyo, where lucky ticket holders will have the chance to take home a brand-new Toyota Revo and other cash prizes.

Special Premiere Of The Bullet

The Vitorino Mapa High School Batch ’76 will sponsor a premiere of The Bullet at 7 tonight at the Teatro Aguinaldo at the AFP Headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.

A project of the V. Mapa Alumni Association Class ’76 Inc., the movie premiere hopes to raise funds for the class’ various projects. It also aims to assist members on endeavors that will foster a better relationship among classmates.

Class President Felipe Tan, Jr. urges his fellow Mapans to support the premiere showing of The Bullet, the first project the class has initiated.

The Bullet or Le Boulet in France is an action-comedy depicting the story of two guys, Moltes, a big shot in the city and Reggio, a prison guard. The two clash over the disappearance of a 15-million franc lotto prize ticket which triggers the dramatic escape of Moltes, a known underworld leader in a city in France. His escape, however, becomes a running rampage after Moltes’ rival group gets interested in the missing lotto ticket.

The loss is blamed on Reggio’s wife, who has gone to Africa to work as a nurse, not knowing that the missing ticket is with her. The thrilling action begins in Africa.