OLD MOVIE 'WILLOW' (1988)

I watched this movie when I was in grade school. Well I'm 29 and it's been a long time. Remember when VHS was still on its popularity in house holds? I can't exactly recall the title of this movie but what made me remember this movie is the name of the child "Elora." I can hardly forget her name. 

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Willow is a 1988 American fantasy film directed by Ron Howard, produced and with a story by George Lucas, and starring Warwick Davis, Val Kilmer, Joanne Whalley, Jean Marsh, and Billy Barty. Davis plays the eponymous lead character and hero: a reluctant farmer who plays a critical role in protecting a special baby from a tyrannical queen in a sword and sorcery setting.

Lucas conceived the idea for Willow in 1972, approaching Howard to direct during the post-production phase of Cocoon in 1985. Lucas believed he and Howard shared a relationship similar to the one Lucas enjoyed with Steven Spielberg. Bob Dolman was brought in to write the screenplay, coming up with seven drafts before finishing in late 1986. Willow was then set up at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and principal photography began in April 1987, finishing the following October.

The majority of filming took place at Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire, England, as well as Wales and New Zealand. Industrial Light & Magic created the visual effects sequences, which led to a revolutionary breakthrough with digital morphing technology. Willow was released in May 1988 to mixed reviews from critics, but was a modest financial success and received two Academy Award nominations.

Plot

Fearful of a prophecy stating that a girl child will be born to bring about her downfall, the evil Queen Bavmorda (Jean Marsh) imprisons all pregnant women within her realm, the formidable stronghold of Nockmaar. The child, Elora Danan, is born in the Nockmaar dungeons and identified as the prophesied child by a birthmark on her arm.

Before the black sorceress arrives to claim the child, Elora's mother convinces her reluctant midwife to escape with the baby. Bavmorda sends her daughter Sorsha (Joanne Whalley) and General Kael (Pat Roach), the leader of her army, after the midwife to retrieve Elora. After a long pursuit, Nockmaar hounds finally catch up with the midwife. Knowing she can't escape, she puts the baby on a makeshift raft and sends it downstream, trusting fate to run its course, just before she is caught and torn apart by the hounds. The child washes up on shore near a village inhabited by a race of dwarf-like people called Nelwyns (derisively called "pecks" by humans) and is found by the children of Willow Ufgood (Warwick Davis), a farmer and amateur conjurer. Willow is at first reluctant to take in the baby, but eventually comes to care for her.

The next day, Willow and his children attend a celebration in their village and Willow takes part in a 'test of magic' to become the apprentice to the village's wizard. During the celebration, a Nockmaar hound that was tracking the baby attacks the village. Once the cause of the attack is found, Willow is chosen by the town council to return the child to the world of the "large people," or Daikini (humans). The first Daikini that

Willow comes upon is a boastful warrior named Madmartigan (Val Kilmer), being held captive in a "crow's cage" by the side of the road for theft. Seeing a way to escape his cage, Madmartigan offers to take care of the baby. During their interaction, they meet the retreating army of the kingdom of Galladoorn, which was recently destroyed by Bavmorda, under the leadership of Madmartigan's old friend Airk Thaughbaer, an officer in the army. Willow entrusts the baby to Madmartigan, but on his way home, Willow is attacked by a clan of brownies, who stole the baby from Madmartigan. Willow is taken to the fairy queen of the forest, Cherlindrea (Maria Holvöe), who tells him that the baby, Elora Danan, has chosen Willow to be her guardian. She gives Willow her magic wand and commissions him to find the sorceress Fin Raziel, with two of her brownies, Franjean and Rool, acting as his guides. Along the way, they bump into Madmartigan again, who helps them escape from Sorsha.

Willow and the rest of the group finally meet Fin Raziel (Patricia Hayes), only to find that the sorceress has been turned into a possum by Bavmorda. Soon afterwards Sorsha captures Willow and the others, and they start the long trek to Nockmaar castle. In a mountain camp, Willow attempts to use magic to turn Fin Raziel back into her human form, but transforms her into a Rookinstead. Franjean and Rool cause further mayhem when they accidentally expose Madmartigan to a fairy love dust they are carrying, which makes him become infatuated with Sorsha, but eventually they manage to escape.

The group arrives at the castle of Tir Asleen, which has been put under Bavmorda's spell; all its inhabitants are frozen in ice. Madmartigan, refusing to give up hope, prepares for Sorsha's attack while Willow once again fails to transform Raziel into human form, this time turning her into a goat. Sorsha, Kael, and their army arrive and give battle. Willow encounters a few trolls, and after a botched magic spell, transforms one into a giant two-headed monster (the "Eborsisk"). Luckily, the remnants of the Army of Galladoorn arrive just in time to help their friends. Amidst the melee, Sorsha finally realizes her love for Madmartigan. Kael, however, seizes Elora and takes her to Nockmaar.

The heroes set up camp at Nockmaar, preparing to storm the castle in a final attempt to rescue Elora. Bavmorda turns most of the soldiers (including Madmartigan) into pigs, but Raziel teaches Willow how to protect himself from the spell. Willow finally returns Raziel to human form, and the sorceress is able to transform the soldiers back to people. Since Nockmaar's walls seem impenetrable, all despair until Willow proposes a trick to get them inside. In the morning, Raziel and Willow alone provoke the Nockmaar army into attacking them. As the Nockmaar army abandons the security of the castle, Airk's army comes out of hiding from under tents and pits, ambushing them and gaining access to the castle.

While Madmartigan, Airk, and his soldiers battle Kael and the Nockmaar army in the courtyard, Willow, Raziel and Sorsha ascend the castle's main tower trying to locate Elora. They find Bavmorda in the process of initiating an evil ritual that will banish Elora's body and soul to a nether-realm. Below, Kael kills Airk, then engages Madmartigan in a lengthy battle, which ends with Madmartigan killing the General. After a lengthy magical battle between Raziel and Bavmorda, Willow, using his sleight-of-hand trick, saves Elora and causes Bavmorda to get caught in her own ritual, banishing her own body and soul. Willow leaves the baby in the care of Madmartigan and Sorsha at the castle of Tir Asleen and returns home to his beloved family with a special gift: a spellbook from Raziel, which helps him develop his own magical abilities.

Cast

• Warwick Davis as Willow Ufgood: A reluctant Nelwyn dwarf and aspiring sorcerer who plays a critical role in protecting infant Elora Danan from the evil queen Bavmorda.
• Val Kilmer as Madmartigan: A boasting mercenary swordsman who helps Willow on his quest. In the film (further explained in the film's novelization) it is partly revealed that he is a disgraced knight from the kingdom of Galladoorn.
• Kate and Ruth Greenfield and Kristen Lang as Elora Danan: An infant princess that prophecy says will bring about Queen Bavmorda's downfall.
• Joanne Whalley as Sorsha: Warrior daughter of Bavmorda. In the film's novelization, her father is revealed as the king of Tir Asleen, which becomes a further factor for Sorsha to turn against her mother.
• Jean Marsh as Queen Bavmorda: Villainous ruler of Nockmaar and mother of Sorsha.
• Patricia Hayes as Fin Raziel: Aging sorceress who is turned into a possum^[2][3] due to a curse by Bavmorda.
• Billy Barty as The High Aldwin: Nelwyn wizard who commissions Willow to go on his journey.
• Pat Roach as General Kael: Villainous associate to Queen Bavmorda and high commander of her army.
• Gavan O'Herlihy as Airk Thaughbaer: Military commander of the (destroyed) kingdom of Galladoorn who shares a mixed friendship with Madmartigan.
• Maria Holvöe as Cherlindrea: Fairy queen who resides in the forest and updates Willow on the importance of his quest.
• Kevin Pollak and Rick Overton as Rool and Franjean: Brownie duo who also serve as comic reliefs in Willow's journey.
• David J. Steinberg as Meegosh: Willow's closest friend who accompanies Willow partway on his journey.
• Mark Northover as Burglekutt: Leader of the Nelwyn village council who maintains a running enmity with Willow.
• Phil Fondacaro as Vohnkar: Nelwyn warrior who also accompanies Willow on his journey.
• Julie Peters as Kaiya Ufgood: Wife of Willow. Kaiya is a loving mother and enthusiastic in caring for Elora.
• Tony Cox as a Nelwyn warrior.

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'WALANG HANGGAN' FINALE

'Walang Hanggan'

The Phenomenal Finale

October 26, 2012

Click the photo to watch the episode.

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PHILIPPINES CELEBRATES THE SECOND SAINT

MANILA, Philippines - Church bells pealed across the Catholic Philippines Sunday as millions attended special masses to celebrate the naming of the country's second saint, a young missionary killed over 340 years ago.

President Benigno Aquino declared Sunday a "national day of celebration" in Asia's bastion of Catholicism and sent his vice president, Jejomar Binay, to lead a big congregation to the rites in the Vatican.

In the capital Manila, people from all walks of life congregated at the Sto. Nino de Tondo parish to watch the ceremonies naming Pedro Calungsod as one of seven new saints in the Catholic faith.

"The canonization of Saint Pedro Calungsod is a major and historic event for the Catholic Church and our predominantly Catholic nation," Binay said in a statement from Rome.

"The event fills us with pride as Catholics, yet it calls on us to exercise humility and reflect on the supreme sacrifice made by Saint Calungsod in defense of his faith."

Thousands from all walks of life holding small replicas of Calungsod, many of them teary-eyed, trooped to at least three different venues in Manila where the government had set up giant screens on which to show the solemn proceedings in Rome.

As Pope Benedict XVI read the names of the seven new saints, church bells across the Philippine rang out for a few minutes to welcome Calungsod's sainthood.

"I am filled with joy. We now have two saints to intercede for our many problems," said Nanang Linda Petra, a 54-year-old mother of 12, who took a day off from her work as a laundry woman to watch the ceremonies.

Leony Mercado, a 65-year-old retired engineer and a grandmother of five, openly wept as Calungsod's name was called out.

"These are tears of joy. I cannot help but be overwhelmed," she said, adding that when one of her children, a 35-year-old woman, died due to an aneurysm in January, prayers to Calungsod helped to ease her suffering.

"I have asked Saint Pedro Calungsod to help bring her to heaven," she said, while clutching a small banner with a likeness of the saint.

Calungsod is only the second Filipino to become a saint, after Lorenzo Ruiz, a missionary who was killed in Japan in 1637 and canonized in 1987.

Six others were also canonized Sunday, including Kateri Tekakwitha, the first native American to become a saint.

Calungsod is the new patron saint for the youth, in recognition of his age -- believed to be just 17 -- when he was killed in Guam in 1672 while attempting to convert natives.

He qualified for sainthood last year after the Vatican officially recognized a 2003 "miracle" in which a 49-year-old Filipina woman declared dead from a heart attack was revived after a doctor prayed to Calungsod for help.

In 2011, the Vatican said the incident could not be explained scientifically, and Pope Benedict subsequently acknowledged the incident as a miracle by Calungsod.

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WHO IS SAINT PEDRO CALUNGSOD?

Pedro Calungsod

Saint Pedro Calungsod also known as Pedro Calonsor (born: 1654 – died: 2 April 1672) was a young Roman Catholic Filipino saint, migrant,sacristan and missionary catechist, who along with Blessed Diego Luis de San Vitores, suffered religious persecution and martyrdom in Guam for their missionary work in 1672.

While in Guam, Calungsod preached Christianity to the Chamorro people through catechism, while baptizing both infants, children and adults at the risk and expense of being persecuted and eventually murdered. Through Calungsod and San Vitores' missionary efforts, many native Chamorrosconverted to Roman Catholicism.

Calungsod was formally beatified on 5 March 2000 by Blessed Pope John Paul II. Calungsod was officially canonized by Pope Benedict XVI at Saint Peter's Basilica in Vatican City on 21 October 2012.

Early years and Missionary work

Calungsod (spelled Calonsor in Spanish records) was born ca. 1654. Historical records never mentioned his exact place of origin and merely identified him as "Pedro Calonsor, El Visayo". Historical research identifiesGinatilan in Cebu, Hinunangan and Hinundayan in Southern Leyte, and Molo district in Iloilo as probable places of origin. Loboc in Bohol also makes a claim. These locations were parts of the "Diocese of Cebu" during the time of Calungsod's martyrdom.

Few details of his early life prior to missionary work and death are known. It is probable that he received basic education at a Jesuit boarding school, mastering the Catechism and learning to communicate inSpanish. He likely honed his skills in drawing, painting, singing, acting, and carpentry as these were necessary in missionary work. Calungsod would have been expected to have some aptitude in serving in the Tridentine Mass (now known as the Extraordinary form of the Roman Rite).

Calungsod, then around 14, was among the exemplary young catechists chosen to accompany the Jesuits in their mission to the Ladrones Islands (Islas de los Ladrones or “Isles of Thieves”). In 1668, Calungsod travelled with Spanish Jesuit missionaries to these islands, renamed the Mariana Islands (Las Islas de Mariana) the year before in honour of both the Blessed Virgin Mary and of the Queen Regent of Spain,María Ana of Austria, who funded their voyage. Calungsod and San Vitores went to Guam to catechise the native Chamorros.

Missionary life was difficult as provisions did not arrive regularly, the jungles and terrain was difficult to traverse, and the islands were frequently devastated by typhoons. Despite all these, the mission persevered, and was able to convert a significant number of locals.

Martyrdom

A Chinese named Choco, a criminal from Manila who was exiled in Guam began spreading rumours that the baptismal water used by missionaries was poisonous. As some sickly Chamorro infants who were baptized eventually died, many believed the story and held the missionaries responsible. Choco was readily supported by the macanjas (medicine men) and the urritaos (young males) who despised the missionaries.

In their search for a runaway companion named Esteban, Calungsod and San Vitores came to the village of Tumon, Guam on 2 April 1672. There they learnt that the wife of the village chief Matapang gave birth to a daughter, and they immediately went to baptise the child. Influenced by the calumnies of Choco, the chief strongly opposed; to give Mata'pang some time to calm down, the missionaries gathered the children and some adults of the village at the nearby shore and started chanting with them the tenets of the Catholic religion. They invited Mata'pang to join them, but he shouted back that he was angry with God and was fed up with Christian teachings.

Determined to kill the missionaries, Mata'pang went away and tried to enlist another villager, named Hirao, who was not a Christian. Hirao initially refused, mindful of the missionaries' kindness towards the natives, but when Mata'pang branded him a coward, he became piqued and capitulated. Meanwhile, during that brief absence of Mata'pang from his hut, San Vitores and Calungsod baptised the baby girl, with the consent of her Christian mother.

When Mata'pang learnt of his daughter's baptism, he became even more furious. He violently hurled spears first at Pedro, who was able to dodge the spears. Witnesses claim that Calungsod could have escaped the attack, but did not want to leave San Vitores alone. Those who knew Calungsod personally meanwhile believed that he could have defeated the aggressors with weapons; San Vitores however banned his companions to carry arms. Calungsod was hit in the chest by a spear and he fell to the ground, then Hirao immediately charged towards him and finished him off with machete blow to the head. San Vitores absolved Calungsod before he too was killed.

Mata'pang took San Vitores' crucifix and pounded it with a stone whilst blaspheming God. Both assassins then denuded the corpses of Calungsod and San Vitroes, tied large stones to their feet, brought them out to sea on their proas and threw them into the water.

The Catholic Church considers Calungsod's martyrdom as committed In Odium Fidei ('In Hatred of the Faith'), referring to the religious persecution endured by the person in evangelisation.

Beatification

A month after the martyrdom of San Vitores and Calungsod, a process for beatification was initiated but only for San Vitores. Political and religious turmoil, however, delayed and halted the process. When Hagåtña was preparing for its 20th anniversary as a diocese in 1981, the 1673 beatification cause of Padre Diego Luís de San Vitores was rediscovered in old manuscripts and revived until San Vitores was finally beatified on 6 October 1985. This gave recognition to Calungsod, paving the way for his own beatification.

In 1980, then-Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal asked permission from the Vatican to initiate the beatification and canonisation cause of Pedro Calungsod. In March 1997, the Sacred Congregation for the Causes of Saints approved the acta of the diocesan beatification process. That same year, Cardinal Vidal appointed Fr Ildebrando Leyson as vice-postulator for the cause, tasked with compiling a Positio Super Martyrio (position regarding the martyrdom) to be scrutinised by the Congregation. The positio, which relied heavily on the documentation of San Vitores' beatification, was completed in 1999.

Wanting to include young Asian laypersons in his first beatification for the Jubilee Year 2000, John Paul II paid particular attention to the cause of Calungsod. In January 2000, he approved the decree super martyrio (concerning the martyrdom) of Calungsod, setting his beatification for 5 March 2000 at Saint Peter's Square in Rome.

Regarding Calungsod's charitable works and virtuous deeds, Pope John Paul II declared:

“

...From his childhood, Pedro Calungsod declared himself unwaveringly for Christ and responded generously to his call. Young people today can draw encouragement and strength from the example of Pedro, whose love of Jesus inspired him to devote his teenage years to teaching the faith as a lay catechist. Leaving family and friends behind, Pedro willingly accepted the challenge put to him by Fr. Diego de San Vitores to join him on the Mission to the Chamorros. In a spirit of faith, marked by strong Eucharistic and Marian devotion, Pedro undertook the demanding work asked of him and bravely faced the many obstacles and difficulties he met. In the face of imminent danger, Pedro would not forsake Fr. Diego, but as a "good soldier of Christ" preferred to die at the missionary's side.

”

Shortly before his scheduled canonisation, a Triduum of masses in honour of Calungsod were celebrated in the Basilica of Saint Augustine, the Church of the Gesù and the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major from 18-20 October. A wooden image of Calungsod approved by and flown in from the Archdiocese of Cebu was displayed for public veneration. Archbishop Emeritus of Manila, Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales presided over the 20 October mass, while Philippine Vice-President Jejomar Binay led the Philippine delegation along with Ambassador to the Holy See, Mercedes Arrastia Tuason. Filipino Cardinal Ricardo Jamin Vidal concelebrated with Pope Benedict XVI at the official canonisation Mass for Calungsod and other beatified candidates at Saint Peter's Square.

Sainthood

On 19 December 2011, the Holy See officially approved the miracle qualifying Calungsod for sainthood by the Roman Catholic Church. The recognised miracle dates from 26 March 2003, when a woman from Leyte who was pronounced clinically dead by accredited physicians two hours after a heart attack was revived when an attending physician invoked Calungsod's intercession.

Cardinal Angelo Amato presided over the declaration ceremony on behalf of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. He later revealed that Pope Benedict XVI approved and signed the official promulgation decrees recognising the miracles as authentic and worthy of belief. The College of Cardinals were then sent a dossier on the new saints, and they were asked to indicate their approval. On 18 February 2012, after the Consistory for the Creation of Cardinals, Cardinal Amato formally petitioned Pope Benedict XVI to announce the canonization of the new saints.The Pope set the date for the canonisation on 21 October 2012 (World Mission Sunday), 340 years after Calungsod's death.

On 21 October 2012, Pope Benedict XVI canonized Calungsod along with Saints Kateri Tekakwitha, Marianne Cope, Anna Schaffer, Giovanni Battista Piamartaa, Jacques Berthieu and Carmen Salles y Barangueras. Of note is that among the seven new saints canonised, Calungsod was the only one without a first class relic exposed for veneration since his body was disposed of at sea. After Saint Lorenzo Ruiz, Calungsod is the second Filipino to be declared a saint by the Roman Catholic Church. The Roman Martyrology celebrates Calungsod's feast along with Blessed Diego Luis de San Vitores every 2 April.

Birthplace issue

Various areas in the Visayan islands make the claim from which Pedro Calungsod was born and raised. An extensive research provided by the census research of Ginatilan, Cebu provided a longstanding record of Calonsor and Calungsod natives from their area, from which a strong claim had the most Calungsod natives originating since Filipino-Spanish era since the late 1700's. According to the Parish Pastoral Council William Pancho of Ginatilan, Cebu, there is a strong claim that in the mid 1600's, there were three Calungsod brothers:

• Valerio Calungsor who migrated to Iloilo
• Casimiro Calungsor who migrated to Bohol
• Pablo Calungsor who remained in Ginatilan, Cebu and was the father of Pedro Calungsod.

In a pubic televised interview with ABS-CBN chief correspondent and newscaster Korina Sanchez, Cardinal Ricardo Jamin Vidal emphasized his dismay that when the original beatification of Pedro Calungsod began in 1980's, no province except for Ginatilan, Cebu wanted to make a claim on his place of birth. Consequently, when the canonization was approved, Catholic bishops from the provinces of Cebu, Bohol, Leyte, Samar, and Iloilo and various Mindanao provinces wanted to claim Calungsod's official birthplace.

As a result, Cardinal Vidal ruled that he will not establish a definitive judgment on his birthplace, since Spanish records only indicate the words "Pedro Calonsor, El Visayo" as his native description. Furthermore, he stated that all Visayan provinces were under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Cebu during the Filipino-Spanish era.

Iconography

It is not known exactly what Calungsod looked like, as no contemporary depictions survive. The writer Alcina, who was a contemporary of Pedro Calungsod, described the male Visayan indios of his time as usually more corpulent, better built and somewhat taller than the Tagalogs in Luzon; that their skin was light brown in color; that their faces were usually round and of fine proportions; that their noses were flat; that their eyes and hair were black; that they— especially the youth—wore their hair a little bit long; and that they already started to wear camisas (shirts) and calzones (knee-breeches). Pedro Chirino, S.J., who also worked in the Visayas in the 1590s, similarly described the Visayans as well-built, of pleasing countenance and light-skinned.

Calungsod is often depicted as a teenaged young man wearing a camisa de chino that is sometimes bloodied, and usually dark loose trousers. His most popular attributes are the martyr's palm pressed to his chest and the Doctrina Christiana. To indicate his missionary status, he is depicted in mid-stride, occasionally also bearing a rosary or crucifix. In some early statues, Calungsod is sometimes shown with a spear and catana (cutlass), the instruments of his death.

In art

The first portraits of Pedro Calungsod were drawings done by award-winning artist, sculptor, and designer Eduardo Castrillo in 1994 for the Heritage of Cebu Monument in Parian. A bronze statue of Calungsod was made and now forms part of the monument. Sculptors Francisco dela Victoria and Vicente Gulane of Cebu and Justino Cagayat Jr. of Paete, Laguna, created statues of Calungsod in 1997 and 1999 respectively.

When the Archdiocese of Manila in 1998 published the pamphlet Pedro Calungsod: Young Visayan "Proto-Martyr" by Jesuit theologian Catalino Arevalo, the 17-year old Ronald Tubid of Oton, Iloilo, was chosen to model for a portrait of Calungsod. This then became the basis for Rafael del Casal's painting in 1999, which was chosen as the official portrait for Calungsod. The Del Casal portrait is the first to feature a Christogram, the seal of theSociety of Jesus with which he was affiliated. The original painting is now enshrined at the Archdiocesan Shrine of Blessed Pedro Calungsod in Cebu City.

Several statues of Calungsod were also commissioned for the beatification, with one brought to Rome and blessed by John Paul II. This became the "Pilgrim Image", now enshrined at the Archdiocesan Shrine of Nuestro Padré Jesús de Nazareno of the Society of the Angel of Peace in Cansojong, Talisay City, Cebu. Another image is permanently enshrined at the Archdiocesan Shrine of Blessed Pedro Calungsod in Cebu City. Both images also depict Calungsod wearing a white camisa and trousers, with his characteristic palm, a rosary, and a crucifix pressed to his breast. During the novena before his feast day, a replica of the catana used to kill him is set into the arm of the statue.

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