Grandpa Is Dead

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Audience Member Mirrors the true wit and drama of every Filipino home. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/30/23 Full Review Audience Member Very funny, yet very touching. I especially love Roderick Paulate in this, he's perfect for the part. Ded na si Lolo takes us into a overview of common Filipino superstitions, and takes them into a funny and sad roller coaster ride. Another great Filipino Indi. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Audience Member One of the best Pinoy Indie films that I saw... Galing. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/26/23 Full Review Audience Member Watched it via DVD last weekend. It was ok naman although there are some dialogues I can barely understand because 2 or more characters are speaking/shouting at the same time. I liked the sarcasm of Roderick Paulate when he's asking the reason behind Pinoy's 'pamahiins" :) Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/13/23 Full Review Audience Member nakakatawa..nakakatuwa!! ^^ Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/05/23 Full Review Audience Member <img src="http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm180/rayld/dnsl2.jpg" width="300"> Soxie H. Topacio's "Ded na si Lolo" is a sardonic comedy film delighted by a fine line-up of capable actors. It has a super-cast consisting of some of the Philippines' premium actors like Elizabeth Oropesa, Gina Alajar, Manilyn, Reynes, and Dick Israel. The film also stars Roderick Paulate as "Junie", a funny gay who has lots of funny antics. <img src="http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm180/rayld/dnsl.jpg" width="300"> It has never a single scene of boredom in this film. Although it seems that it was made for the younger generation, the theme has more to present generally. The older generation of actors like those included above has proven that Philippine cinema has not yet fallen into damage. Filipino films have molded the Philippine pop culture and continue to exhibit lives of those especially in greater population. More than half of the Philippine population is in or below the poverty line when it comes to social classes. Mostly are poor, but the culture is rich and has been shaped diversely through hundred years of heritage. The Philippines has been the fruit basket of most Western and Eastern civilizations centuries ago. That is why it is not surprising that each had left some common practices to the Filipino natives. "Ded na si Lolo" is a film transpiring Philippines and the Filipino through buoying most known popular superstitious beliefs when someone dies in a family. The theme chosen needed be taken seriously but writer / director Soxie H. Topacio has put colors to it. Conspicuously, he just made the use of the black motif of death to exhibit the richness of the culture we long have been into. "Ded na si Lolo" tells a story of a dysfunctional family having Dick Israel, Elizabeth Oropesa, Gina Alajar, Roderick Paulate, and Manilyn Reynes to play as five siblings with different and sometimes conflicting characteristics. The story started when their father (played by Tony Cruz) died due to some sort of accident. The main plot started when the five siblings gathered together to talk about their father's burial and what their plans were having both of their parents deceased. There, conflicts arose at certain levels of anguish because of hidden past hatred. Firstly, Gina Alajar and Elizabeth Oropesa have long been having a sibling gap that was made known not until the death of their father. This was a common scene in families especially those children in the middle. Another was Roderick Paulate being a gay has put the family's name to unavoidable scandals. <img src="http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm180/rayld/dnsl4.jpg" width="300"> The title was uttered from the beginning of the film by one of Manilyn Reynes' children named "Lukring" when they have received the bad news. One of the most important roles in the film was played by the young BJ Forbes who has exposed the superstitious beliefs known to older generation by curious queries of "whys" and "whats". If observed carefully, the film was very gay. Literally gay that it was fun. And obviously gay that there appeared some of the gay people that added extra hue and saturation to the film. Cameo appearances include Direk Manny Castañeda, Phil & Diego, and Pekto and Bellie who were in the "saklaan" together with Direk Cesar Cosme of GMA. Cross dresser gays in local films have long been existing in Philippine cinema since it was revolutionized by the great Lino Brocka. Remember his 1978 film "Ang Tatay Kong Nanay" which stars Dolphy playing a gay father to Niño Muhlach when Philip Salvador gave the child to him. Director Soxie Topacio was in that film too being one of the cross dresser gays and a friend of Dolphy. Another was Jerry O'Hara as a discreet gay, a call boy at the same time who was recruiting Bembol Roco to become one in 1975 "Maynila: Sa mag Kuko ng Liwanag". Roderick Paulate has always been a gay in most of his acting career and people don't get tired of his roles because he is fun to watch and very entertaining. Same with this film. I think all the actors have made extravagant success in making scenes seem to be what they are supposed to be. And the director must be given praise for the well putting together of of good comedy and quality drama in balance. The most powerful part of the film probably I think is that when Elizabeth Oropesa and Gina Alajar were having a catfight and the remaining siblings were stopping them. Roderick Paulate was fainting and shouting, "Ang gulo-gulo! Ang gulo-gulo!" That which i think is the highest point in the film and the turning point of the whole drama. The screenplay was well-written and has well organized the events. The music scoring was done by Noel Cabangon who appeared in one part of the film singing with his guitar. The scoring throughout the film was terrific, especially the ones with acoustic guitar changing the feel of scenes from cut to cut. i did not like much the editing because there are those scenes that are not well ended. <img src="http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm180/rayld/dnsl3.jpg" width="300"> "Ded na si Lolo" is the second offer of SineDirek, a project consisting of six films by members of the DGPI (Directors Guild of the Philippines, Inc.). The films included are: Fuchsia (Joel Lamangan) Ded na si Lolo (Soxie Topacio) Litsonero (Lore Reyes) Agaton & Mindy (Peque Gallaga) Bente (Mel Chionglo) Kamoteng Kahoy (Maryo J. de los Reyes) Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Grandpa Is Dead

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