Orient Cable has been ordered by the Optic Media Board or OMB (the national government’s arm on regulating the production, use and distribution of recording media) to explain to them why they should not be charged over the piracy of the mega blockbuster film Avengers: Endgame.
According to a report by Philippines News Agency (PNA), a “show-cause order” was served by the regulator to the Dipolog City-based company on May 6. The action was the result of a formal complaint issued by Teatro de Dapitan, a movie house that was authorized to show Avengers: Endgame to paying customers.
Atty. Hywel Vergara of the OMB’s legal division was assisted by police officers when the order was served to Orient Cable. It was reported that the company’s officials were reluctant to receive the order.
“With it is an order for the owners (of Orient Cable) to attend hearings at OMB in Manila on May 7 and 14,” said Vergara, referring to the show-cause directive.
For his part, OMB Chairman Ansel Adriano warned establishments and individuals to respect the intellectual rights of the film industry, especially local productions.
The movie opened around the Philippines on April 24 along with many other countries that same day. There were people who claimed to have seen the illegal airing of Avengers: Endgame on April 25 through Orient Cable. Subsequently Teatro de Dapitan complained to the local police the same day the airing happened.
As of this writing, the management of the cable firm is still silent over the issue.
Whatever questions the OMB has for them, it would be nice for the cable TV operator to answer the following questions:
Who within Orient Cable had the capability (or connections) of getting a pirated copy of the movie and make adjustments to show it publicly?
Where did the pirated copy come from?
What could the company gain from showing Avengers: Endgame in pirated form?
How is the financial health of Orient Cable and just how many paid subscribers do they have now?
I’ll just say it straight and clear – Avengers: Endgame is an epic superhero movie that, like its predecessor, is great to watch again and again although there are some noticeable differences.
For starters, the creative led by the Russo Brothers came up with a story that somewhat defied most people’s expectations in relation to the ending of Avengers: Infinity War. Considering what happened in the previous film, it’s too easy for moviegoers to anticipate another uniting of remaining superheroes to defeat the omnipotent Thanos who wields the Infinity Gauntlet.
Quite daringly, the filmmakers came up with a story that focused more on time travel and time paradox. Since Endgame is still a new film, I won’t spoil the plot details and will focus on the technical aspects as to why the film is great.
On time travel and time paradox, Endgame felt somewhat self-aware by referencing other popular movies that had time travel concepts. The inevitable time machine gets set up obviously and when the superheroes went their own ways through time, Endgame suddenly felt like The Empire Strikes Back mixed with elements of Back to the Future. What do I mean? What I’m saying is that character development ramps up when the superheroes go their separate ways (not individually but by pairs or small teams) and their time travel exploits brought moviegoers back to the past, especially the unexplored segments of what we saw in previous movies of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The good news here is that the Russo Brothers did a great job telling the story even though the concepts of time travel and time paradox were so challenging to execute on-screen. Clearly the co-directors did their research to ensure that the story still made sense. Of course, there is the expository dialogue designed to explain to readers the film’s time travel concept.
When it comes to performances, just about each member of the cast performed nicely on bringing to life their respective characters. I felt Robert Downey, Jr.’s performance as Tony Stark/Iron Man is his best since Iron Man 3. Still, I think the standout performer of them all was Mark Ruffalo who proved to be creative not only with his smart Hulk but also managed to deliver the solid performance the movie script required from him. Personally, this cinematic Hulk is the best one yet and we can forget about the mindless, rampaging Hulk of years ago.
Josh Brolin returned as Thanos and his performance was great (as expected) but in order to understand this film’s version of his character, you need to watch the previous appearances of Thanos from the past years especially with 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy.
When it comes to superhero spectacle, Endgame delivered the fun stuff – the flying, the energy blasts, powerful strikes, collateral damage, cosmic powers, futuristic sci-fi technology and the like. However, I felt that Infinity War was much more loaded with action, stunts, special effects and superhero spectacle. This is understandable because the first 30-45 minutes of Endgame was more about story build-up, heavy dialogue and character development delivered with little action. The good news is that the pace of the film ran faster when the time travel sequences started. Of course, there is also the anticipated giant battle near the end of the film. A very action-packed final battle indeed although I felt the darkness (lack of light on the setting) somewhat lessened the impact.
Overall, Avengers: Endgame is an epic superhero movie that must be seen and it also justifies replaying Infinity War. While both Endgame and its predecessor are epic movies heavily loaded with spectacle as well as a lot of heart in the story and character development, the major differences go like this – Infinity War carried more shock value while this new movie was more about the pleasant surprises related to time travel.
Does Endgame deserve its massive commercial success? Absolutely! More than that, this film is also the undeniable climax of the 11-year buildup of the Marvel Cinematic Universe that started with Iron Man.
Where the Marvel Cinematic Universe will go next after Endgame will most likely be another uncharted territory of superhero cinema.
Note: When watching Endgame, I highly recommend viewing it on an IMAX screen as it was filmed entirely with IMAX cameras. Go for it if you can afford it!
Thank you for reading. If you find this movie review engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. Also my fantasy book The World of Havenoris still available in paperback and e-book format. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrascoand follow me at HavenorFantasy@twitter.com
According to the CNN Philippines report, the Optic Media Board announced on May 2 that it has ordered the cable TV company in Dipolog City, Zamboanga Del Norte to explain why it should not be charged over the alleged acts of piracy. In that particular province, movie house Teatro de Dapitan complained about Orient Cable’s illegal showing of the Marvel Studios film even as it was still playing in cinemas nationwide. Teatro de Dapitan is the lone theater licensed to show the movie to paying customers in the province.
The OMB added that Orient Cable could face administrative and criminal raps for violating Republic Act 9239 (the Optical Media Act of 2003), which carries a penalty of up to six years of imprisonment and a fine of up to ₱1.5 million.
According to Teatro de Dapitan owner Lovely Nice Custodio, Avengers: Endgame was played on channels 10 and 18 on Orient Cable.
As of this writing, Orient Cable still has yet to issue an official reaction to the charges and accusations of piracy.
It would be nice for the cable TV operator to answer the following questions:
Who within Orient Cable had the capability (or connections) of getting a pirated copy of the movie and make adjustments to show it publicly?
Where did the pirated copy come from?
What could the company gain from showing Avengers: Endgame in pirated form?
How is the financial health of Orient Cable and just how many paid subscribers do they have now?
As far as the Philippine government is concerned, piracy is a crime.
Avengers: Endgame is all over the news and social media. It is breaking multiple box office records. Its high level of anticipation compelled many movie theater operators to adjust themselves to accommodate the moviegoers. Of course, there are these people who, for some reason, found it enjoyable to spoil the plot and surprise of the movie online.
And then there was another type of news about Endgame that caught my attention lately…..the piracy of the movie allegedly done by a cable TV company in Dipolog City.
According to a news release by Philippine News Agency (PNA), the company Orient Cable and Telecommunications, Inc. showed the Marvel Cinematic Universe movie which made a certain movie house to complain to the local police. Orient Cable stopped the showing of Endgame after the legal representatives of the movie house went to the police.
Even so, the movie house pushed through with filing a case against the cable TV company.
Apparently Orient Cable is liable for violating three Philippine laws. Republic Act Number 10088 (Anti-Camcording Act of 2010), Republic Act Number 8293 (Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines) and Republic Act Number 10175 (Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012).
To put things clearly, showing the movie locally is clearly illegal given that Endgame is still brand new in cinemas. I doubt that the Walt Disney Company (parent company of Marvel Studios) gave Orient Cable special authority to show it. At the same time, showing the movie via cable TV is itself a way of spoiling the movie to members of the public.
This, of course, leads to questions…
Who within Orient Cable had the capability (or connections) of getting a pirated copy of the movie and make adjustments to show it publicly?
Where did the pirated copy come from?
What could the company gain from showing Avengers: Endgame in pirated form?
How is the financial health of Orient Cable and just how many paid subscribers do they have now?
According to the PNA report, Orient Cable remained silent about the issue as of April 26.
If any breakthrough happens, I’ll keep you readers updated.
For now, if you have not seen the movie yet and you really want to watch it, go for it while you still can! Spoilers are constantly spreading online and there are still many people who believe that spoiling the movie is a good thing (in fact, it is not).
If you want to prevent yourselves or your loved ones from becoming victims, then you should read what I encountered today (March 18, 2019).
This morning, coming from the direction of Festival Mall in Filinvest City, Muntinlupa City, I was about to enter the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) branch at the ground floor of the Insular Life Corporate Center along Commerce Avenue.
As I was preparing myself, a thin, dark-skinned young man wearing dark shorts, dark t-shirt and slippers called my attention from behind. He carried a light bag on his back.
So I looked back carefully and then he said “Sir, patulong po.” (meaning he needs my help) and showed me a noticeable handy sign (like a card) with words written on it emphasizing that he needs money to solve his problem. From that moment on, I figured out he was a beggar trying to manipulate me discreetly (he did not even open his palm to show begging).
I just ignored him and went inside BPI Insular Life branch to do my transaction at one of the ATMs (automatic teller machines). As the ATM I used was processing my transaction, I took a few peaks outside and noticed that the guy was still standing outside on the lookout for other people he could approach.
Right after I completed my ATM transaction, I took it upon myself to photograph him for this very article. I also figured out it was a rare chance of mine to find out if he was trying to scam people given his very discreet approach on asking for money.
So I walked outside with my smartphone and its camera ready. As he noticed me nearing him, he showed me again that sign and asked for money. Then as I pulled out my smartphone to photograph him, he quickly put his sign away and faced the other direction trying to hide his face.
This is the first shot I managed to take as he hid himself when he noticed my smartphone. The thing he is holding with his left hand is the sign/card with a written message to convince people to give him money for his “problem”. At this moment, he knew his discreet begging was exposed.
After taking the first photograph (the one right above), I still aimed my smartphone camera at him and I asked him to face me and challenged him to beg while being seen. He refused to do it and kept hiding himself by facing away from me.
Check out the pictures below.
By the time I took this picture, he was resisting and decided to keep facing away and hide the beggar’s sign. He refused to face me and beg knowing that he was exposed. His earlier courage of discreetly begging for money was gone.The discreet beggar walking away.
As the discreet beggar walked away, I went back inside BPI Insular Life branch and alerted the security guard about the beggar.
The guard said he remembered seeing that beggar a few times from before begging within the Filinvest City spots. He also remembered that from time to time, adults like the one pictured would beg discreetly for money just outside their bank.
More notably, the security guard said that it is illegal for anyone to commit begging within Filinvest City. He added that the discreet beggar I encountered was very lucky that there was no Filinvest City security guard present otherwise he would have been apprehended for committing a violation.
The guard also warned that such beggars who use signs and words (to convince people to give money) might be members of local crime syndicates.
By the time my short talk with the bank security guard ended, the discreet beggar was several meters away heading towards the direction of South Supermarket.
Out of curiosity, I decided to follow him temporarily to determine if I could spot him trying to find a new spot to beg at others.
I walked some meters towards the discreet beggar and after a minute, I guessed he could have decided to go home. I took one last picture of him walking away before deciding to let him go.
The final picture I took of the discreet beggar walking to the distance.
This incident I am writing about was NOT the first time I encountered a beggar along the roads of Filinvest City. What makes this different is that the beggar used a handy sign while saying only a few words to beg.
I have a strong mental defense and I always practice caution (including awareness of my surrounding). It’s natural for me to resist the manipulation attempts of street beggars.
If I were to give out money to help people who really need help, I would not give to beggars roaming around and I certainly discourage you from giving to them especially if the begging constitutes a local violation. Surely you would not want to give your money to a beggar who happens to be a member of a crime gang!
Going back to encountering the beggars who roam around and near you, better have a defensive mindset and be ready to protect not only your money but also yourselves. Also be ready to call the local police or the nearest security guard if ever the beggar victimizes you.
Thank you for reading. If you find this article to be engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. Also my fantasy book The World of Havenoris still available in paperback and e-book format. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco.
From my own experience in life, I know what it is like to be mobbed and get hurt by bullies. I know what it is like to be outnumbered by many others who could not control themselves.
A mob of people from a page of an old EC Comics story from the 1950s.
Mobbingis defined as an act of bullying against an individual committed by a group of people (referred to as the mob). It is an act that happens in schools, the workplace, the family, online and in communities.
Usually a mob acts with its members united by the pursuit to hurt or even destroy the individual in varied ways like using physical violence, picketing, becoming rowdy and causing a disturbance while pointing at their target. Sometimes the mob can abuse the legal system to bring down their target.
Examples of acts of mobbing:
1) Spreading rumors or propaganda or organizing a smear campaign against the individual target.
2) Gate-crashing or deliberate trespassing into someone else’s territory.
3) Isolating the target to make him/her look undesirable in front of others.
4) Filing cases in court versus the target even though they don’t have solid evidence to win.
5) Beating up the individual physically.
6) Protesting in public and trying to fool members of the public into supporting their cause.
7) Lying to local authorities and telling them exaggerations just to fool them into supporting their cause against the individual target.
Why do mobs keep on mobbing? I have my own theories.
1) They really have nothing better to do in life and the temptation of organizing to “win” (hurting or destroying their target) is too irresistible to them.
2) Hate versus their target is so strong in their minds, they are too blinded to think rationally.
3) They are cowards deep inside and because they don’t have the law on their side, mobbing is their option.
4) They want to grab power or feed their own pride as a united group. They may even have some vanity in their minds that they don’t even realize.
5) They are driven by a political or sociological ideology.
6) Their group leaders are mentally unstable and the “follow the leader” approach still gets executed.
7) They believe that being united gives them the freedom to take the law into their own hands, to trespass into any territory and misinform people who discover their group. They may as well have adapted the culture of impunity.
8) They simply enjoy violence and want their target to suffer.
9) They don’t give a damn about right and wrong.
How to protect yourself from mobbing
1) Know your rights and study the law extensively. Get a very credible and experienced lawyer.
2) Prepare your own pieces of evidence that will discredit the mob.
3) If you can afford it, hire security personnel when you know the mob will resort to physical violence against you. Also consider a more protective location you will be staying at.
4) Observe how the mob thinks and acts. You should be able to analyze their flaws and use them to your advantage.
5) Avoid following their tactics and prove you are more civil than they are. You can influence members of the public when you discredit the mob successfully.
6) Research each member of the mob, especially their leaders. Also take a look at their personal interests that could explain their agenda in mobbing you.
7) While researching the mob members, observe how they act in front of others. Some mob members pretend to have been victimized (by the target individual) when in fact they are the ones on the offense. It’s too easy for mob members to pretend to be victims and blame the individual they want to destroy. It’s also easy for bullies to lie about the facts.
8) Wherever mobbing happens, do not hesitate to call for help from the immediate authorities. If you get mobbed in school, call the principal or a faculty member. At work, call the supervisor or the nearest security personnel.
Mobbing can also result serious injuries or even death. As such make sure the place you live in is highly protective and very secure. Bullies have a tendency to gate crash or trespass.
Mobbing is simply wrong and in a way it is considered uncivilized. The mere act of a group bullying an individual person is just despicable especially when he/she is innocent.
I myself experienced being targeted by a mob of grade school students back in 1983 and it was a very difficult experience to overcome. It took me some time to recover from and, thanks to the Lord, I survived and got to live to tell about it. I certainly don’t want to see such a tragic experience happen to others who did not commit anything wrong.
If you, the reader, want to make a big difference in local society in a positive way then I urge you to learn why mobbing is wrong and why mobs are more destructive than their worth. If you get mobbed, fight back using civil and legal tactics!
More importantly, do not ever forget to pray to the Lord Jesus Christ for He will protect you and never abandon you. Also as a Christian, you will have to forgive the people who bullied you and that includes their most violent member or the gang leader. Remember that unforgiveness or the unwillingness to forgive will only lead you to more pain, more regret and put some darkness into your life. Everyone living in the flesh is flawed and that means looking up to the Lord for forgiveness. Learn from the Holy Bible.
“And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.”
Mark 11: 25 (NKJV)
For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Matthew 6: 14-15 (NKJV)
Let all the bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
Ephesians 4: 31-32 (NKJV)
With the Lord on your side, the mob will eventually fall down no matter how violent and persistent they are and no matter how bad your situation looks. All you must do is be faithful to the Lord and eventually you will win over the bullies. You and your household will be saved too.
Let them be confounded and dismayed forever; Yes, let them be put to shame and perish, That they may know that You, whose name alone is the Lord, Are the Most High over all the earth.
Psalm 83: 17-18 (NKJV)
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.
Acts 16: 31 (NKJV)
Never lose faith in the Lord!
Thank you for reading. If you found this article to be engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. Also my fantasy book The World of Havenor is still available in paperback and e-book format. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well.
Author’s Note: This article was originally published at my old Geeks and Villagers blog. What you read on this website was an updated and expanded version. In other words, this newest version you just read is the most definitive version.
In my life, I was fortunate to have visited the City of New York not once but twice. The first in 1997 and the last in 2011. Already the city was highly modernized and Times Square was often filled with people enjoying the place without worrying about criminals pouncing on them.
What I never got to discover was New York City during its dark, old days when it had a lot more crime and a depressing social atmosphere as seen through the history books of the city. This alone makes watching John Carpenter’s 1981 flick Escape from New York a more interesting experience for me personally. Anyway, here is my review of Escape From New York.
Kurt Russell as Snake.
The movie begins with information that in the then-future of 1988, crime in America skyrocketed by 400% which compelled the Federal Government to convert Manhattan of New York into a maximum-security prison zone which is eventually surrounded by very high walls (complete with armed guards), mines on the routes out of Manhattan and armed security personnel patrolling the water (by helicopter). Those who were sentenced to imprisonment at Manhattan really have no hope escaping.
In the then-future of 1997, Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell) is captured by the authorities for a Federal Reserve robbery attempt and eventually he gets offered a deal: if he rescues the captured President of the United States (Donald Pleasence) in New York and recovers a sensitive audio tape, a presidential pardon will be arranged for him. Before going to New York, Snake is injected with micro explosives which will blow up in less than 24 hours and they can only be neutralized if he succeeds with his mission. Snake flies into New York but his mission starts roughly.
The gang and its leader.
That’s enough with the plot. Now I’ll talk about the quality of the film.
For a movie with a low budget of $6 million, Escape from New York looks pretty grand in certain parts specifically with the physical presentation of the streets of the city looking very deserted (note: location filming took place at the isolated and decayed sections of East St. Louis, IL), the on-location shooting at Liberty Island and the gladiator fight at the St. Louis Union Station’s grand hall. Furthermore, the filmmakers managed to stretch whatever Dollars they had to making the New York prisoners looking undesirable and dangerous.
The visual effects, believe it or not, were the result of the film crew having very talented specialists who made the photo-realistic shots. The matte paintings looked very convincing and so did the wire-frame animation sequence which was done with the use black light and special tape (which are visually visible as lighted wire frames). Not to be outdone is the use of miniatures to emphasize New York City with the flying shots. Definitely no computer-generated images here!
James Cameron doing a matte painting for the movie.
In terms of storytelling, the film remains engaging to watch and along the way you do get to feel and relate with Snake Plissken who does not really care about the affairs of the President nor the Federal Government. He is one of those individuals who only wants to be left alone although his crime of robbery shows his desperation. Snake by the way reflects the anti-authoritarian views of director John Carpenter who in turn wrote this movie’s script after the Watergate Scandal happened.
On face value, Escape from New York looks like an action film but if you’re expecting mind-blowing stuff, intense explosions and lots of hard action, you will be disappointed. The best way to look at this movie is that its presentation of action is moderate. There is the firing of guns but don’t expect a war. There is some hard action here and there, but don’t expect extensive choreographed hand-to-hand fight sequences. What defines the action big time, however, is Snake’s “gladiatorial” battle with the big guy who overdid himself and gave Kurt Russell a truly hard time on shooting the action scenes. Snake’s struggle in the ring was truly Russell’s hard struggle. He was not acting at all during those action scenes.
Ironically, the lack of action and explosions did result the incidental acts of the many extras hired to play New York’s prisoners which really made the film’s concept of a metropolitan prison convincing. Snake’s escape from a run-down building being chased by many bad guys was fun to watch. The scene in which the good guys rode a vehicle only to be hit by debris thrown by many bad guys was intense.
With regards to performance, Kurt Russell’s Snake is truly iconic. He captures the character’s tough guy mentality and the good and honorable guy deep in the character’s heart. Donald Pleasence as the US President was pretty engaging even though he did not have the same amount of screen time as Russell. Pleasence is a very skilled actor and his handling of showing the US President as a scared and desperate person in captivity and as a cold-hearted man with power in safety is very memorable.
The other players like Lee Van Cleef (the hard authority figure), Ernest Borgnine (clearly the comic relief), Isaac Hayes (The Duke), Harry Dean Stanton, Adrienne Barbeau and Tom Atkins all had nice performances and they contributed well into the film’s quality.
With regards to weak spots, I could only wish the opening explanation (that crime accelerated by 400%) was accompanied with staged or archived footage of city crime to emphasize society’s downfall and make the film’s concept of turning New York into a prison more convincing. Also there was the missed opportunity by the filmmakers to use archived news footage of New York City’s history of high crime and police corruption. Lastly the final conflict between Snake and the Duke lacked impact and was underwhelming.
Snake, his companions and the US President (rightmost).
Overall Escape from New York is not only one of John Carpenter’s best films…it is truly a Hollywood action-adventure classic with a very intriguing concept (New York City as a prison) that deserves your attention. Unlike Carpenter’s Halloween (1978), Escape from New York is timeless and remains fun and relevant to watch. Just don’t expect to see bombastic action and stunts.
If you intend to watch the movie, I suggest buying the movie’s collector’s edition Blu-ray disc release while it is still available. Good luck finding a copy of it.
Thank you for reading. If you enjoyed this article, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. Also my fantasy book The World of Havenor is still available in paperback and e-book format. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your project or business, check out my services.
Author’s Note: This article was originally published at my old Geeks and Villagers blog. What you read on this website was an updated and expanded version. In other words, this newest version you just read is the most definitive version.
