1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Don't take it seriously or else you'll miss a few laughs, September 3, 2009
This review is from: ZsaZsa Zaturnnah - Philippines Filipino Tagalog DVD Movie (DVD)
Compared to the other Filipino movies I've watched (which is very limited to what I've seen when I was young), the production and choreography of this should be given a higher rating. Granted there were some parts that dragged the movie a bit and would have been better off being removed. The effects could have been better and the costumes not so Sailor Moon-ish (although I understand that bright colors are the staple of lots of superheroes).
The comedic timing of every snide comment or unlikely situation was great.
The pros that got my attention about this movie were the musical numbers - all the actors/actresses had very good singing voices, especially Rustom Padilla (when he wasn't over-acting, especially the duet with Alfred Vargas) and Zsa Zsa Padilla. Speaking of which, those two plus Chokoleit actually made the movie a little easier to bear.
Yes, it was cheesy, but I didn't notice since I was laughing throughout the whole movie.
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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
ZsaZsa Voom!, February 24, 2010
This review is from: ZsaZsa Zaturnnah - Philippines Filipino Tagalog DVD Movie (DVD)
Wow.
Sometimes that's just all you can say. Wow.
You know there are some films that simply leave you sitting there in stunned silence with a goofy grin on your face and ZSAZSA ZATURNNAH ZE MOVEEH is definitely one of them, take my word for it. Or better yet if you are a lover of really wacky (and I Do mean wacky) flix, then by all means find yourself a copy of this little Filipino gem at once if not sooner! This is the kind of stuff I live for.
In modern day Manila demure transvestite hairdresser Adrian ( Rustam Padilla) has just been abandoned by his latest lover--after having put him through college first, of course, and the very heavens open up and weep with him/her as we learn that this film is also a MUSICAL. Yep. Get used to it. People are going to break into song and dance from time to time. Heartbroken, Adrian (Ada for short) decides to pull up stakes and move to a small village with her little sister and her equally gay friend and fellow hair dresser DiDi (Chokoleit) where they quickly set up shop, and just as quickly Ada falls head over high heels for hunky Dodong (Alfred Vargas) who works across the street. But alas she is far too shy and damaged by her previous bad experiences with men to even speak with the object of her affections, so she spends her time mooning and working, and working and mooning, until one night while singing in the shower a strange pink rock hurtles first through space and then through her corrugated tin roof right into the shower Ada is currently occupying.
Ada shows the strange rock (which has the word "Zaturnnah" written on it) to DiDi who instantly concludes that the correct course of action would be for Ada to swallow the rock--which is about the shape of a brick and slightly larger! (It's amazing how little encouragement Ada needs.) And once the rock is swallowed sweet, shy, mousy, gay male Adrian instantly transforms into a sexy, flashy, 100% transgender female with bright orange hair whom DiDi KNOWS must have Super Powers. And sure enough she does--although she can't fly, she does otherwise have pretty much the standard range of Super Powers. It's at this point that ZsaZsa Zaturnnah(as DiDi has dubbed Ada's alter-ego) encounters her her first immodest Super Hero costume, and her first heroic challenge!
What that challenge is would be telling, and I don't want to ruin everything for you. All good movies (for me at least) are about surprises--the unexpected, the outrageous even, and when you're dealing with drag queens, space aliens, transgender Super Heroines, and the Catholic religion there have got to be some surprises in there somewhere. But I will tell tell you that the two best scenes in this flick involve 1) a battle between our transgender Super Heroine and sword wielding pirate skeletons INSIDE the belly of a giant money frog and 2) a tearful encounter set to music between a gay man ( who's a Super Heroine) and his homophobic father (who's dead) while a chorus of floating zombies sing back up! But I strongly suspect that some of you guys out there may enjoy the aliens who are Amazonistas from the Planet XXX led by the evil Queen Femina! Out of the 5 of these babes 2 are actually female! Can you spot them?
ZSAZSA ZATURNNAH (played in the film by Zsa Zsa Padilla) evolved from a graphic novel created by Carlo Vergara who served as writer and art director on the film, and the character's comic book origins are obvious--the whole look and feel of the film scream comic book. (I'd die for an English language copy of this book.) The special effects weren't all that special, pretty basic in fact, but that only added to the enjoyment of the film. Anything more sophisticated would have seemed out of place in a flick like this. It seems silly to even comment on things such as acting and technical merits--suffice it to say the film is very watchable and EXCRUTIATINGLY entertaining. But I will add that there is absolutely nothing of an offensive sexual nature going on here--not so much as a kiss. And unless you find the simple existence of homosexuals to be an abomination, you would have a hard time being offended by this film.
Again all I can say is, wow. =)
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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
No superhero, this one, April 7, 2009
This review is from: ZsaZsa Zaturnnah - Philippines Filipino Tagalog DVD Movie (DVD)
The premise of the story is promising, especially in an era where sexual preference is becoming a personal choice and homosexuality is gaining social acceptance. Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah is a superheroine who emerges from a goodhearted but runty homosexual after he swallowed a meteorite which landed in his bathroom. Good so far? This fulfills his wishes to become not only strong, but a woman at that. She then goes through various adventures, including destroying a murderous monster frog, and taking on 3 female supervillains from another planet, as well as trying to win the heart of the man of his dreams!
The possibilities for adventure of a homosexual turned superheroine are potentially spectacular, especially to an audience willing to suspend rationality. Unfortunately the premise is severely bogged down by poor special effects, inane script, very lame acting -- all in all, a generally incompetent production. Even the shallowest fan enamoured with superheroines with nice legs should stick to Xena or WonderWoman. I gave this dvd one star in support of Philippine filmmakers, but that may have been overly generous.
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