YAM LARANAS' OPUS

A hospital under siege from a gang of aswang. That in short is what “Patient X” is all about. The co-production of Viva Films, GMA Fil7ms and RGUTZ Production (Richard Gutierrez’s outfit) started its run last Wednesday in time for All Saints Day. But will viewers get a big scare out of it?

The film is by all accounts a Yam Laranas opus. Not only did he write the story and screenplay, he was also the director and cinematographer. There’s an upside and downside to this kind of set-up. The upside is that Laranas wields practically full control of the vital aspects of the creative process. The downside is that because he wears too many hats that certain critical details were overlooked.

Patient X exudes both the benefits and flaws of such a set-up. The film is plausible enough, sustained by the right doses of shock and suspense at the right moments. But there are rough patches in the story, some questions about plausibility and the cinematography suffers as well.

Laranas does away with niceties of backgrounding and goes directly to the meat of the story. The wife of an aswang, played by Cristine Reyes, is locked up in a hospital basement after being arrested for the gory murder of the family of a police official. Her husband descends with his cohorts on the hospital to rescue her. Barricaded inside the facility are a visiting doctor (Richard), police officers and hospital staff. They have to hold off the ghoulish attackers, but have no idea how to kill them. Richard, who had previous encounters with aswang, wins the trust of Cristine, who tells him the most vulnerable part of the ghoul. By this time, however, the aswang gang has killed off everyone in the hospital except Richard, Cristine and a young patient.

The final confrontation between Richard and the aswang leader takes place in the rain. We all know that Richard is too handsome to be mutilated by a fiendish creature, but how did he vanquish his foe?

Watch Patient X and find out.

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“This Is It” did not disappoint the fans of Michael Jackson. The movie began its worldwide screening last week, raking in $20.1 million on its first day. That made it a strong contender for the No.1 spot by the weekend.

The movie earned $7.4 million in the US and Canada alone.

While it may not break box-office records, This Is It may still end up as the top-grossing music documentary. “As a genre, concert movies and even documentaries aren't usually the type of films to bring in big box-office bucks, but because of his name and also the timing of it, I think it's a winner,” explained a box-office analyst for Hollywood.com.

“This Is It” gave the viewers a rare glimpse into the pop icon’s life backstage and off-camera.

According to the Associated Press, some fans were “surprised at how precise and hands-on the soft-spoken Jackson was as he developed the musical numbers with his backup dancers and musicians.”

“He was very, very much into every detail of his work,” gushed one fan quoted by AP. “I always thought that he was so quiet and shy, but he was very authoritative, very detail-orientated.”

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Move over, Oprah, make way for Angelina.

According to Forbes magazine, Angelina Jolie has ended Oprah Winfrey’s reign as the world’s most powerful celebrity.

In the magazine’s Celebrity 100 list, the actress/mother/goodwill ambassador took over the top spot from the talk show diva in terms of media exposure and career earnings in the past year.

Angelina was No. 3 last year, but her earnings of $27 million plus high-profile exposure from such hit films as “Wanted” and “Kung Fu Panda,” pushed her past Oprah.

The dislodged Oprah however is still the biggest earner – $275 million.

Madonna, Beyonce, Tiger Woods, Bruce Springsteen and Steven Spielberg, Jennifer Aniston, Brad Pitt and basketball superstar Kobe Bryant complete the top 10.