Author: Wanggo Gallaga

MMFF Review: ‘Kampon’ and its issues with restraint

There are a lot of things that I liked about director King Palisoc’s ‘Kampon.’ It’s a cerebral horror that is unafraid to get weird and strange or even silly. It’s highly stylized with a generous use of wide-angle lenses to distort the imagery and amplified with a discordant musical score to underline its horror genre roots. It’s a complex story in a world that is rich with lore and a hidden, unexplained world that shrouds the film in mystery. What is unfortunate is that it takes an artful approach to horror, choosing to hold back, to be restrained when the film is in need of sentimentality and emotion.

For some reason, as the film unfolds, I felt that this film was better suited for Cinemalaya or QCinema than the MMFF. While all the narrative elements that were needed to create an unapologetic horror film was present, it was never delivered and instead it presented us with a film that fell more into the independent film mode and required more from its audience than what they might be expecting from a film in this particular festival.

‘Kampon’ is the story of a childless couple, Clark (Derek Ramsay) and Eileen (Beauty Gonzalez), who are plagued by society’s demands of completing a family unit with children. The societal pressure that comes from all fronts is a touchy subject for the couple. One rainy evening, a child knocks on their door looking for Clark, the former police colonel, and asks him to help her. She claims that he’s her father and this sends the couple into a tailspin.

Images from Quantum Films FB

Images from Quantum Films FB

Clark is on a quest to uncover the truth – after all, how can he have a child, he’s sterile – while Eileen’s own desires for motherhood are triggered and activated by the young girl, Jade (Erin Rose Espiritu). But as these films go, the child is not what she seems to be and as she entrenches herself into the lives of the couple, she brings with her sinister and dark forces at play.

Palisoc, with writer Dodo Dayao, create a world that is dark and full of terrible, horrible things. Clark is consumed by a memory from his police days that haunts him so much that he sleeps with a loaded gun by his bedside and has installed multiple CCTV cameras all over his house that he checks constantly. Echoing Jade’s own past, her mother (Zeinab Harake) was subjected to a dark ritual after she was hurt by some unexplained tragedy. What makes these two events so striking is that they don’t occupy the same space in the narrative. They are too separate stories that come crashing together in Clark. This is a bigger world, with a bigger lore behind it and one that is fascinating to explore.

Images from Quantum Films FB

Images from Quantum Films FB

It is in the filmmaking that the film finds uneasy ground. Pushing more for style and a cerebral tone, the film keeps its distance from its characters, We never get too close to them to truly empathize or feel with them. The film keeps the energy and tonal strength at a steady level that we never feel drawn into these characters and their problems. While I’m usually a champion of restraint, I would have liked a few moments of tenderness between the couple, a moment for me to fall for them, to care for them, and for me to cheer them on. I think it’s telling that when Jade tells the couple that her father is Clark, the audience’s reaction to my screening was that of laughter and “bro, you got caught!” rather than shock, surprise, and “oh no! Did he cheat?” There’s a clinical way in which the dialogue is delivered, a tonal issue, where there are pauses and gaps between lines that makes it sound scripted. It works for films like ‘Killing of a Sacred Deer’ that feels off-kilter, but other than the visual representation with the wide-angled lenses on certain parts, the film feels leaning more into that of realism than formalism.

Images from Quantum Films FB

There’s actually a lot about ‘Kampon’ that I really liked. I liked when it got weird – and it does – where it presents a frightening substory that is never fully explained just for the sake of the frightening imagery it creates. I love that level of confidence. I love how it takes a nightmare sequence and fills it with the prophetic warnings of present and deceased characters in the film all shouting their calls for caution and they are accompanied by an animal mascot that showed in an earlier scene. The magic of the world is unexplained, and I love that about this movie. But the core of this film is that of Clark and Eileen and because it keeps a distance from its main characters, I feel that I was distant from the story itself. I was more interested in the world the film created than the story that runs through it. This makes for an interesting film for one of the independent film festivals, like Cinemalaya or QCinema, but for an MMFF film, it feels out of place.

My Rating:

Kampon is now showingCheck screening times and buy tickets here.

December 28, 2023
MMFF REVIEW: The tender beating heart of Zig Dulay’s ‘Firefly’

While ‘Firefly’ plays out like a quintessential MMFF movie – it is family-friendly, idealistic, optimistic, and full of heart and tenderness – it never leans too hard into its sentimentality and grounds itself with strong performances, especially by Alessandra De Rossi, Epy Quizon, and Dingdong Dantes. The film showcases impressive CGI animation and a touching story about the powerful bond between a mother and her child and how this relationship seeps into the people around them and creates something beautiful out of something dark and tragic.

The movie begins with a journalist, played by Max Collins, who is interviewing a children’s book author and artist, Anthony “Tonton” Alvaro, played by Dingdong Dantes. The journalist is suspicious, even unnecessarily accusatory, about the origins and the authenticity of Anthony Alvaro’s authorship of his bestselling book. Dantes plays it cool, unaffected. There’s a story here that he seems interested to tell. This opening exchange is the only misfire in the whole movie – the journalist’s aggressive approach feels out of place, under-developed (why is she so sure he stole the work from someone else) while Alvaro feels secure and sure about the ownership, he is neither threatened nor offended – but what it does is it leads us into the story of Alvaro and his mother and a beautiful little modern fairy tale that takes us from Manila to Bicol.

The bulk of the story revolves around the past, as told to the journalist by Anthony Alvaro. The younger Tonton (with a strong performance by Euwenn Mikaell) lives in Tondo with his single mother, Elay (a fantastic Alessandra De Rossi) and while he is bullied by his classmates, his world is also filled with a lot of love from his mom and his aunt, Tita Linda (Cherry Pie Picache). Much of their bond is expressed by the stories that Elay narrates to her child that comes to life in vivid CGI animated moments that depict a magical world parallel to our own.

What is wonderful about director Zig Dulay’s approach to this film is that it puts the focus on the magic and the wonder of this story. He captures the beauty of the seaside landscape of Tondo and while we know this family unit belongs to the underprivileged, he never presents it as dramatic poverty. There is dignity in these characters, in all the characters of this film, regardless of their individual backstory or dark history. Screenwriter Angeli Atienza infuses so much heart in the screenplay that it never veers towards the maudlin or the dramatic.

The push and the momentum of the story is based on that of tragedy but the film revels in the beauty of hope and dreams and wishes. The foundation of the film is loss but what propels the story forward is love. As the younger Tonton takes a trip to his mother’s hometown to fulfill a promise, he meets three people on the way to help him in his journey – Epy Quizon’s Mang Louie, a man with a dark past who understands the ways of the world; Billy, played by Miguel Tanfelix, who is a young man who is suspicious about everything; and the street-smart and clever Erika, played by Ysabel Ortega – and the four create an unlikely group who help perpetuate the film’s presentation of the importance of a community.

‘Firefly’ is not without its dangers and its dark side. The group is not instantaneously formed – there are collisions amongst the personalities within – and the same mystical wolf that threatens the stories Elay shares with Tonton has managed to manifest itself in the journey as it chases after Tonton but this creates a space for the characters to grow and for revelations to spring forth from.

While Mikaell has the unenviable task of carrying this movie on his little shoulders, which he does effectively, what creates the most powerful emotional punches are those from Epy Quizon’s very naturalistic portrayal of a man who just wants to go home but is also duty-bound to do the right thing and he plays that tension with great precision and Dingdong Dantes, who has to narrate this whole story with conviction and authenticity. There’s a sparkle in his eyes as he serves as a chapter break for the narrative and it is filled with longing and experience and even joy. The world and the narrative are made real by his performance. It’s quite revelatory.

But the actor who really makes the film fly is Alessandra De Rossi. She fills the screen with this beating, tender heart that really pushes this story forward. Even when she’s not on screen, her presence is felt, and it permeates throughout the entire narrative. She is the push and the pull of the film and it’s an amazing quality of an actress who can do this.

Full of heart and hope and love, ‘Firefly’ is the perfect MMFF movie for the family.

My Rating:

Firefly is showing in cinemas on December 25. Check screening times and buy tickets here.

December 20, 2023
MOVIE REVIEW: A Problem with Prequels; how ‘Wonka’ plays it safe

There’s a trend in the Hollywood that has been going on for decades now; focusing on prequels of villains and attempting to give them nuance. There’s Angelina Jolie’s turn as ‘Maleficent,’ it reimagines the story as if it were told incorrectly. Or like Emma Stone’s turn as ‘Cruella,’ who does not shy away from her evil tendencies but paints her as an anti-hero to an even more nefarious enemy in that story. Just recently, ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ presents us with the origin story of President Snow, the main antagonist of ‘The Hunger Games’ trilogy. While it does not shy away from his deeds, it does try to paint him as a sympathetic character.

While Willy Wonka from Roald Dahl’s book ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,’ is not necessarily evil, there is a sinister flair to him. I’m more familiar with the 1971 movie ‘Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory’ directed by Mel Stuart and starred Gene Wilder. Willy Wonka is an eccentric, to put it mildly. Children have been hurt or even perished in his factory on the day of the visit and he remains emotionally unaffected by these – as if the children’s weaknesses and moral failings made them deserving of such punishment.

© 2023 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved

It’s this characterisation of the title character – which I was told, that sinister quality, is taken to the extreme in th 2005 movie adaptation by Tim Burton with Johnny Depp – that creates a disconnect with the newly released prequel ‘Wonka’ directed by Paul King and starring Timothee Chalamet. Whereas all previous materials on Willy Wonka creates a dark and mysterious character, Chalamet’s ‘Wonka’ is very light-hearted and friendly. There is a touch of whimsy on all versions but while the Wonka of ‘Wonka’ leans towards the cutesy and relatable, all other versions are shifting closer towards dark or sinister.

There is nothing about Willy Wonka in ‘Wonka’ that even closely hints at the person he will become in ‘Charlie and the Cholate Factory’ or any of its movie adaptations. And that becomes emblematic of this growing trend. In order to milk any franchise or IP of its monetary value, they will extend any character’s narrative, both for prequels and sequels with the hopes that the familiarity of the character would ensure box office success. Throw in a huge star into the mix and they are hoping for a healthy returns in ticket sales.

What this does, though, is that it removes the mystery from that of the audience. A lot of the magic of these narratives – especially from the dark, twisted minds of a children’s book author like Roald Dahl – comes from the stories that don’t make it to the books. What caused Willy Wonka to become the eccentric, anti-social chocolatier that he is, who doesn’t mind punishing children in severe ways for having the worst qualities of being a child.

It is the parts that are not shown and not talked about that activates the imagination, that allows us to wonder and dream. But an exercise like ‘Wonka’ or any of the other films I mentioned at the start of this critique is not interested in wonder or mystery. They want everything explained because it is what they think the audience wants, and so it will sell.

So ‘Wonka’ is about how Willy Wonka got his start in the chocolate business. From the onset, he’s already whimsical and flighty as a character. He already also has magic – though unexplained – and instead it becomes a story about how he beats a chocolate monopoly run by a cartel. It’s about breaking oppressive systems by being just as sneaky – bending the rules because those in power don’t play fair. It sets itself as an underdog story complete with an orphan girl, Noodle (played by Calah Lane) and ragtag of other people were cheated out of their freedom by a sinister proprietress of a bed and breakfast (played by Olivia Colman).

© 2023 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved

Like any material based on a Roald Dahl book, the villains are dastardly and cruel, and they don’t play fair. But without any real struggle, Willy Wonka and his ragtag band of misfits go toe to toe with both Colman’s Mrs Scrubbs and the chocolate cartel. What adds to the disconnect of the whole story on Willy Wonka is that this is a musical with only one really good, proper song. There’s even a song that attempts to rhyme different words with chocolate and instead of coming off as charming, it sounds annoying instead; and other than that, the chocolate is not symbolic of anything other than that of childhood dreams. Wonka is dead set on making it big as a chocolatier because of that connection with his mom but the film fails to create any real connection with the symbol (chocolates and chocolate-making) with the people around him.

The chocolates themselves are just a means to an end. What the film manages to establish is his connection with his band in the same struggles that they share but it has nothing to do with the chocolate itself. For a film as magical and whimsical as this, it would be nice if the chocolate actually meant something other than a setting or any interchangeable McGuffin. ‘Wonka’ is big and loud and wears its heart on its sleeve. It is tailor-made as a movie made for the entire family. It has not set out to tell us anything new nor is it in any danger of upsetting anyone or offending anyone’s sensibilities and as such, it carries very little mystery or wonder or any real sense of magic.

My Rating:

Wonka is now showing. Check screening times and buy tickets here.

December 8, 2023
MOVIE REVIEW: They Chose Violence: a review of ‘Shake, Rattle, and Roll: Extreme’

On the return of the popular horror franchise, it seems that this latest installment is more violent than ever. I’ve been an on and off fan of this series and I don’t ever remember it being this bloody and this violent (though I have missed a few of the more recent additions to this series). All three short films that make up ‘Shake, Rattle and Roll: Extreme’ are gory, action-packed, and very bloody. There’s a self-awareness and a campy aspect to the amount of blood that’s getting splattered on each of the films but it’s all in good fun and part and parcel of the movie as it continues to explore those fears of the modern Filipino, though unevenly.

The first installment, ‘Glitch’ by director Richard Somes and written by Anton Santamaria has a classic horror set up: a single mom living in a big house with her two children and a nanny. It’s a singular location that happens within the span of two or three days and as the family is falling apart, a supernatural entity insinuates itself into the family through corrupting the youngest daughter, Lyka, via the Internet.

In its appearances, ‘Glitch’ proposes that evil – even the devil – is now capable of spreading itself through media, and now digitally by online means. There’s a colonial tone that hangs above this film as the devil disguises itself as an American children’s show called Gary the Goat and that’s such a nice touch. The devil is an American construct that makes its way here to terrorize this family.

But what makes ‘Glitch’ so strong is that it is grounded in real-world situation. Iza Calzado plays Ingrid, a single mother of two children who have different fathers. The older child, Patrick (played by Migs Cuaderno) treats Lyka (Jewel Phiona Milag) with disdain, calls her a “demon” and always stresses that she’s his half-sister. A single mom and a widower, Calzado’s Ingrid seems like a woman at the end of her rope. She’s exhausted, obviously working so hard to keep their wealthy lifestyle going but has no time for either child. She’s an imperfect mother but she loves her children. This is Calzado working her magic and creating so much depth and history with a character with such short running time.

Rounding out the cast is Donna Cariaga as the nanny, who gives Calzado a chance to really impress upon us the cracks of this family. It’s Cariaga and Calzao’s interactions that gives the film its heart and soul. So, when Gary the Goat begins to haunt this family (and in such violent ways), we are rooting for this family even if Patrick and Lyka can be quite annoying as children.

Somes has some excellent visuals, including an attack in the yard with an unusual number of white blankets hanging out to dry. It’s bloody and gruesome but it’s lovely to view. The devil is violent and there’s a lot of action here – sometimes even to a hilariously unrealistic level. The editing could use less busy-ness and give us time to see what’s happening rather than cutting so quickly as to hide the movements.

As scary and as violent as ‘Glitch’ can be, the film is grounded by its roots in family tragedy – it is the plight of the modern family, so busy with their individual lives that they are no longer communicating and thus becoming vulnerable to outside influences as represented by the internet. It’s a strong piece.

But as poignant as ‘Glitch’ can be, the second film is the deliciously funny ‘Mukbang’ by Jerrold Tarog and written by Tarog and Onay Sales-Camero. Bloggers and influences are the main characters in this piece as they all arrive at a secluded mansion for a massive collab. This is equal parts horror and comedy and while we know Tarog can do horror via his film ‘Bliss,’ his comedic touches are such a welcome tool in his arsenal as a director.

As the film’s title suggests, ‘Mukbang’ is going to involve eating. Of course, the question will always be what will be eaten and by whom. That I will leave to the audience to enjoy but what makes ‘Mukbang’ the most enjoyable installment of ‘Shake Rattle and Roll: Extreme’ is that the jokes are organic to the situation and blends in perfectly with the horror elements of the narrative. Never does Tarog make fun or ridicule the bloggers and influencers for what they do. Let’s face it: there are too many shows and movies that make fun of them for being bloggers and influencers. Here, it’s used for its comedic potential: at the height of a life-threatening situation, two bloggers decide to go live as almost a reflex. On another scene, two influencers who are known as a couple online have a fight about the status of their relationship. They continue their argument while running for their lives. It’s so funny because, in this instance, it’s emblematic of this generation’s ability to multi-task.

‘Mukbang’ is funny because it’s witty and clever. It never goes for cheap laughs, nor does it go out of its way to ridicule its characters. It treats their characters with such affection, and it shows with how the performances really push the total effect to meet its full potential. Standouts in this episode are RK Bagatsing, Esnyr Ranolo, AC Bonifacio, Phi Palmos, and Ninong Ry.

Unfortunately, the last episode of ‘Shake Rattle and Roll: Extreme’ is the weakest of the three. ‘Rage’ is about a group of friends who are caught in what appears to be an extra-terrestrial attack that sends people into a blind rage. This episode, directed by Joey De Guzman and written by Trisha Mae Delez, suffers from a lack of context and underdeveloped characters. The film is more interested in its huge set pieces and post-apocalyptic action sequences than hunkering down and laying out a proper story.

Lead by Jane De Leon, we never get to see De Leon’s Trina and her friends establish their bonds of friendship. Trina is supposed to be in a relationship with Moze (Paolo Gumabao) but we never get to see this relationship at play. The interactions between characters are never more than the need to survive as the zombie-like creatures begin to take center stage.

We don’t know who these characters are. Trina is supposed to be a med student waiting for word on whether she passed the board exam or not, but we never get to see her use this so it’s not even an important story element that could have been in a dramatic situation such as this. We don’t know where they were going, nor does it create any urgency to do so other than that Trina wants to see her mom.

Without any development of its characters, ‘Rage’ just becomes action scene after action scene where I don’t feel invested in any of the character’s survival. The film manages to showcase Jane De Leon’s capability of being a solid action actress, but ‘Rage’ gives her very little to do in terms of character work that I can’t tell the range she can bring to a project.

‘Shake Rattle and Roll: Extreme’ is a worthy continuation of the classic, legacy series that is ‘Shake Rattle and Roll.’ There’re some very good moments here, some genuine scares, and the first two films really make full use of the genre to talk about some serious issues that we are scared of. If Regal Films can continue this level of quality for the series, they should keep doing it for more years to come.

My Rating:

Shake, Rattle & Roll: Extreme is now showing. Check screening times and buy tickets here.

November 29, 2023
MOVIE REVIEW: Ridley Scott’s ‘Napoleon’ celebrates the myth rather than the man

You could always trust director Ridley Scott to fill that screen with incredible visuals and very clear storytelling. From his previous movies like ‘Alien,’ ‘Blade Runner,’ ‘Thelma and Louise,’ ‘Gladiator,’ ‘Black Hawk Down,’ ‘The Counselor,’ and many others, Scott is a master filmmaker who understands the craft and can tell engaging stories through the medium. This time round he takes his vision to tell the story of Napoleon Bonaparte, the French leader who held the world captive at some point in history.

The most interesting thing about this depiction of Napoleon is how director Scott and his screenwriter David Scarpa feel more inclined to just take snapshots of Napoleon’s life – a highlight reel, so to speak – rather than try to paint a fully formed human being. Reading further online, it seems that Scott and Scarpa are also more akin to telling the story of the French leader based on impressions of Napoleon’s life leading to a whole lot of historical inaccuracies (that angered quite a lot of French critics and historians). They were more interested in the spectacle of his military leadership and the scope of what he was able to do for France but not bother to contextualize in the manners of a man with a goal.

Like one reviewer says, the film never really goes out of its way to tell us why Napoleon did what he did. On a personal note, I found that the film spends just as much time depicting Napoleon’s love for Empress Josephine but doesn’t bother to explain why or show why he loves her. His feelings for her drive motivates half his actions in the movie but we don’t see the root cause of it so it’s hard for us to grasp his character. The rest of the time, he is taking over the world around him, laying siege to Austria and firing canons at the pyramids of Egypt (which apparently didn’t happen).

So, while the film unfolds like to show us some of Napoleon’s greatest hits, you never really get to understand or feel the struggle of this enigmatic character. Instead, we get wonderfully staged battle sequences with incredible fight scenes and war choreography. It’s massive in scope and scale and it’s brutal. It looks amazing on the big screen. If anything, Ridley Scott knows how to give us a cinematic spectacle.

He leaves the humanizing to his incredible actors. Joaquin Phoenix plays Napoleon and Vanessa Kirby plays Empress Josephine and while we have no real understanding of their relationship or the source of all their emotions – their love story is very passionate and intense – it’s still a marvel to watch because of how committed these two actors are to their roles.

Phoenix instills so much brute force into his Napoleon, playing him as a sort of petulant child who also happens to be a military genius. He does not shy away from veering towards quirky representation, playing him almost child-like and childish when in front of Josephine but then switches it up to a frightening scowl of great depths when he studies a battlefield and is eager to win. Kirby meets him head-on, a woman who understands her effect on the French leader but also in fear of it. It’s a fantastic balancing act that works wonders onscreen. Their chemistry together is amazing.

But that’s what makes the film such an interesting artifact. It’s a wonderful cinematic work that’s enjoyable to watch onscreen. The action is clearly defined, and you can easily follow through the emotions – it’s an old school sort of camera use and editing that allows the narrative flow so freely – but at the same time, the film feels so alien as a biopic because instead of humanizing its subject, it keeps him at a distance. He wants us to marvel at the myth of the person but does nothing to get us to know him or understand him.

It’s an interesting approach to filmmaking in the modern age that is geared more towards authenticity and nuance. There’s none here and it feels refreshing and new and even a little rebellious. And the fact that it’s coming from a legendary filmmaker who debut in 1977 with ‘The Duellists.’

I’m all for it.

My Rating:

Napoleon is now showing. Check screening times and buy tickets here.

November 29, 2023
MOVIE REVIEW: A Revolutionary Direction for Disney: a review of ‘Wish’

To celebrate its 100th year, Disney releases the new animated feature ‘Wish,’ which oddly enough stumbles and flounders at its beginning, weighted down by a muddled world building exercise before it finds its stride. While a lot of the movie doesn’t explore new territory, what does feel fresh is how the movie double downs on Disney’s continuous attempt to cater to a more progressive audience and how ‘Wish’ seems to champion the voices of dissent. There is a strong sense of a revolutionary tone that is pervasive throughout the film that feels new and surprising. It manages to find its magic at its finale that managed to send shivers down my spine and got me genuinely teary-eyed.

The film, directed by Chris Buck and Fawn Veerasunthorn and written by Jennifer Lee and Allison Moore, is about the fictional city of Rosas, on an island “deep in the Mediterranean Sea,” whose king is a sorcerer who can grant wishes. There is a mix and mash of different cultures at play here as the mystical nature of Rosas has made it a melting pot of various cultures that seems to just blend and mix so unnaturally well. The sorcerer king, Magnifico, and his wife, Queen Amaya, have made a haven for its people. Magnifico asks everyone for their wishes, and he keeps them safe and protects them while he grants some of them and makes them true.

HOW DID THE WISHING STAR, UPON WHICH SO MANY CHARACTERS WISHED, COME TO BE? — Walt Disney Animation Studios’ original fairytale adventure “Wish” is an all-new story is set in the magical kingdom of Rosas, where Asha, an optimist with a sharp wit and a deep caring for her community, turns to the sky in a moment of need, and makes a wish. Asha’s plea is answered by a cosmic force, a little ball of boundless energy, Star. Together, they will face the most formidable of foes to save her community and prove that when the will of one courageous human connects with the magic of the stars – wondrous things can happen. The voice cast includes Ariana DeBose as Asha and Alan Tudyk as the pajama-wearing goat, Valentino. Featuring original songs by Julia Michaels, “Wish” is helmed by Chris Buck and Fawn Veerasunthorn, and produced by Peter Del Vecho and Juan Pablo Reyes. The feature film releases Fall 2023.

But a young girl, Asha, discovers a dark secret. Not all the wishes that Magnifico keeps and protects will ever be granted. This utopian city is nothing more but a falsehood, buying into a veneer of niceties. It’s an autocracy in disguise and everyone is a willing victim, with their wishes held hostage for their compliance.

In a fit of rage and disgust, Asha wishes upon a star and the star magically appears before her and starts to make enchant the world around her.

EVERYONE HAS A WISH – In Walt Disney Animation Studios’ “Wish,” Asha’s pet goat, Valentino, is among the first to experience the magic of Star, a little ball of boundless energy inadvertently summoned by Asha. Featuring the voices of Academy Award®-winning actress Ariana DeBose as Asha and Alan Tudyk as Valentino, the epic animated musical “Wish” hits the big screen on Nov. 22, 2023. © 2023 Disney. All Rights Reserved.

Essentially, ‘Wish’ is an exploration on the nature and importance of wishes into our lives. The movie sells it hard, and it does not go unnoticed that it’s definitely part and parcel of a propaganda to continue to entrench Disney into our lives, what with all the easter eggs of various Disney cartoons and stories placed generously around the film. It can even serve as a sort of origin story for many of Disney’s animated feature if you catch the motifs at play.

In trying to explain this new world and how it operates, the first half of ‘Wish’ comes across as long and drawn-out exposition. There’s so much talking, not much showing. There’s just so much explaining. It slows everything down and it made the kids in the audience disengage at the start. The moment Asha sings the title song, ‘This Wish,’ and the star comes down and starts to stir trouble, then the film starts to find its footing.

And this when the magic really starts to happen. There’s an interesting new perspective offered in the song ‘I’m a Star’ that becomes a fulcrum to the film’s extraordinary message that is later compounded by more songs and story points that pushes the film to take a revolutionary tone. The film actually incites the viewers to dissent against any sort of mind-control or oppression. The extremely charming (and rather media savvy King Magnifico) starts to show his spots and while all of this is sort of on-the-nose, it effectively sells the idea that the world we live in is not that far behind.

IT’S GOOD TO BE KING – In Walt Disney Animation Studios’ “Wish,” King Magnifico is the most powerful person in the kingdom of Rosas, where wishes really do come true. People come from everywhere to give their wishes to Magnifico, a charming and confident king who promises to grant their deepest desires—someday. But the king isn’t entirely altruistic; he alone decides whose wish will be granted, and he relishes the control. Featuring the voice of Chris Pine as King Magnifico, the epic animated musical “Wish” hits the big screen on Nov. 22, 2023. © 2023 Disney. All Rights Reserved.

Chris Pine is excellent and charming as Magnifico, singing and acting his way through the character with his voice that it helps create a person we want to be brought down. Pine’s Magnifico is every gaslighting, overprotective, and narcissist leader who charms us out of our ability to choose for ourselves. He is an excellent counterpoint to a very solid performance from Arianna DeBose, who kills it as Asha. She sings with such fervor that it helps sell the Disney magic so much more.

When the film fully pushes for a revolution against the autocracy, it’s akin to a ‘Les Misérables’ chorus that can be infectious. Surprisingly, despite all of the things I didn’t like about the film at the beginning, I began to see the beauty of its message and its stance. Yes, ‘Wish’ is as much a celebration of Disney and all its capitalist stance but, at the same time, ‘Wish’ is also a call to find it within us to fight for what we love and what we believe in.

And it does this in a way that Disney has perfected over its 100 years – through spectacle and song. ‘Wish’ is not the best Disney movie but it is wonderfully idealistic and unabashedly progressive and during these times of severe conflict and strife, it is a welcome message of hope. There’s something right in the timing of this movie and as I held back tears at the reprise of its titular song, I was actually excited to see where Disney will continue bringing their stories in the future.

My Rating:

Wish is now showing. Check screening times and buy tickets here.

November 23, 2023
MOVIE REVIEW: The Wrong Hero: a review of ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’

Despite my own disbelief in the need for a prequel of ‘The Hunger Games’ franchise, there’s actually a lot of strong story points that is made in the origin story of Coriolanus Snow, the villain and main antagonist of the original trilogy. ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes’ manages to highlight the importance of media and spectacle in any autocracy and oppressive government. As a prequel, the film is set during the period of the tenth Hunger Games (for reference, the movie was set during the 74th Hunger Games, 64 years later) and the games were much more crude and primitive in comparison. Televising the games was a new concept and through it, the film showcases elements of media theory that come into play. It’s a riveting examination of how intrinsically linked media and public perception is to government control.

What also elevates the film are spectacular (and rather surprising) performances from Viola Davis and Rachel Zegler, giving us two characters to really dig into. It’s surprising coming from material as commercial as this but a good actor knows how to make most of the parts that their given.

Davis can do wonders with any role thrown at her and she makes her portrayal of Dr. Gaul, the head game maker of The Hunger Games an exploration of jadedness and cruelty. This is a woman who has seen the worst of humankind and is just mirroring it in her life. It’s quite a performance. It is wonderful counterpoint to that of Zegler’s Lucy Gray Baird, the female tribute of District 12. Zegler’s carefree and no-non-sense balladeer who is fighting for her life truly brings you in to the film. While Dr. Gaul seems to find no joy in life (other than taking it in surprising ways in the Hunger Games), Zegler’s Lucy Gray is full of life and is adamant in staying that way.

And this is my main issue with the film. ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ is a film that narrates the rise of Coriolanus Snow (played by Tom Blyth), the future enemy of Katniss Everdeen, a man who will be ruthless and sadistic and evil. The film is wrapped around in a dystopian world that is suffering from the oppression of a tyrannical regime. Snow is but collateral damage, his once wealthy-family has lost all of its political capital and Snow must exceed all expectations at University if he is to save his grandmother and cousin from starvation and being kicked out into the streets. In an effort to survive and thrive, he has to do well as a mentor to Lucy Gray and get noticed by those in power to receive the grand prize that will change his fortune.

As the film challenges autocratic states and gives a rather spirited argument on the value and price of human lives, the film puts front and center the desires of a man who would choose to sacrifice friends and principles to succeed. Yes, the blossoming love story between Snow and Lucy Gray creates the necessary tension that underlines what Snow lost in order for him to become the man he will become but is that really the best protagonist for this story?

As compelling a performance as Blyth can deliver, he is completely overshadowed by the nuanced and vital role Zegler infuses her portrayal of Lucy Gray. From the desperation and willingness, she has to live and survive her ordeal as a tribute, to the way she empowers every song number she has in the film with anger and rebellion, Zegler creates a character that is larger than life – a character that is in full defiance of everything the world of The Hunger Games calls for. I wouldn’t mind if the film began with Coriolanus but I would have wanted it to have finished with Lucy Gray. There’s so much more to the character than what we get to see in the film, and when we see the complex decisions the character makes at the final act of the film – that’s when you realise Zegler’s portrayal is far more layered and nuanced than you expect.

The film and its story, directed by Francis Lawrence (who directed the ‘Catching Fire’ and ‘The Mockingjay: Part One’ and ‘The Mockingjay: Part Two’), feels more in tune to humanizing and empathizing with Coriolanus Snow but to what end? For all its arguments about the loss of humanity in something brutal and cruel as the Hunger Games, to the importance of breaking free from that oppressive state, we continue to follow the story of a man who will only serve to make this world even harsher and crueller.

By following Snow’s story from his challenging beginnings to how he beats all odds to become the person he will be, from his complex relationship with his tribute Lucy Gray, and such, we are meant to empathize with him, feel sorry for him, maybe even root for him and I feel that this goes against everything that the film is trying to convey against this sort of oppressive system.

Maybe ten or fifteen years ago, we could find value in the humanizing of anti-heros such as Snow. But in this current political climate and in this day and age where real life monsters exist and control governments, I am very wary of Hollywood’s continued representation of villains and humanizing them and giving them nuance and texture. In a film as political as any of ‘The Hunger Games’ franchise, in its dystopian view of a future that is grappling with its humanity, I would very much prefer a film that was less in favour of its villains.

I agree with the stance of its characters like Lucy Gray. I wish it was more of her movie than that of Snow.

My Rating:

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes is now showing. Check screening times and buy tickets here.

November 22, 2023
MOVIE REVIEW: As fun as it is, ‘The Marvels’ shows MCU’s inability to tell a compelling story of a powerful woman

I have a feeling that the Marvel Cinematic Universe does not know how to write a story for a powerful woman character like Captain Marvel. In her first movie, the box office hit ‘Captain Marvel,’ I felt that the film was too keen on showing off Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers (played by Brie Larson) power level and displaying her competence and strength that it did not give her much of a character arc to explore, which made me feel very detached from her story. She was powerful from the beginning and the film unfolded to reveal her hidden past and the lies that were told to her to keep her in check. There was no real internal struggle for her character to overcome. She finally just let her power go and was able to direct it at the right opponent. It’s wonderful to see a woman character so powerful but, cinematically, I do want to see a character’s growth. There was none needed for Captain Marvel. She was already there with very little to grow into a better version of herself.

In ‘The Marvels,’ they team her up with two other superpowered women: Monica Rambeau (played by Teyonah Parris), who was introduced to us through the Disney+ show ‘WandaVision’ and then Kamala Khan (played by Iman Vellani), who we first met in her own Disney+ series ‘Ms. Marvel.’ There’s hope that with this interaction of two other women, we could explore other facets of Captain Marvel’s personality, but they don’t do that. What we get instead is a pretty big movie that is filled with a lot of plot and hardly any real attention or focus on the emotional core of the film.

Iman Vellani as Ms. Marvel/Kamala Khan in Marvel Studios’ THE MARVELS. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2023 MARVEL.

In ‘The Marvels,’ the three lead characters are suddenly linked by their powers when the new Kree leader, Dar-Benn (played by Zawe Ashton) links her bangle (the set that would complete the bangle worn by Kamala Khan when she’s Ms. Marvel) with her cosmic hammer. Every time any of the three women uses their powers, they switch locations in space. This forces the three to band together to investigate what is happening and to find out what Dar-Benn is planning.

(Center, L-R): Zawe Ashton as Dar-Benn and Daniel Ings as Ty-Rone in Marvel Studios’ THE MARVELS. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2023 MARVEL.

There’s a lot of areas here for interesting character work to build a story. Carol Danvers and Monica Rambeau have a history together but, as the film’s first act shows us, there’s tension here. The two haven’t spoken despite the fact that Carol was best friends with Monica’s mother. At the same time, Kamala Khan practically hero worships Carol. She’s based her costume and her name on Captain Marvel. This sort of dynamic is rife for a really interesting character dynamics.

Teyonah Parris as Captain Monica Rambeau in Marvel Studios’ THE MARVELS. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2023 MARVEL.

But they don’t capitalize on it. Sure, they let Kamala mine her idol-worship of Captain Marvel for all its comedy gold. Iman Vellani sells this perfectly and she really captures the fangirl experience with great precision. She ends up providing the movie with its charm and its heart and its warmth because as they discover Dar-Benn’s sinister plans, things get real and Kamala has to witness her idol make tough choices while she has to make tough choices as well, it’s a great space for Vellani to show off her range. It really helps push Kamala Khan into the spotlight.

But she’s a young girl, still trying to prove herself in the superhero industry. There’s still so much for her to grow. She’s powerful. She’s fully realised but there’s still room for growth.

On the other hand, Captain Marvel feels completely underdeveloped in her own movie. She talks about having been lonely and her own relationship with the Kree is held back until much later in the film that we don’t even realise that it was a driving force for her in such a grounded and essential way. The Kree hate her, they call her “The Annihilator” but we don’t know why until much later and when it does, it feels like such a wasted opportunity because it’s a place where we can build Captain Marvel’s character from somewhere dark to something better. But we don’t see it. Instead, we see her show off her powers, which is great. A powerful woman. And then there’s the friction between her and Monica, but that’s solved in two scenes via a dialogue. We never get to really explore those emotions, we never see the ramifications of that tension to the relationship in a concrete and tangible way.

Brie Larson as Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers in Marvel Studios’ THE MARVELS. Photo by Laura Radford. © 2023 MARVEL.

It’s not the story of ‘The Marvels.’

Instead, ‘The Marvels’ is more centered on the three heroines battle against Dar-Benn, as she tries to ravage other planets using the power of the bangle to revive her own dying planet. There’s a lot of fake science past around and a lot of explanation to what it is that Dar-Benn is actually planning (and this is important later on). So, the film gives more attention to the plot (where Dar-Benn is, what is she doing, how is she doing it) then it is in working out Captain Marvel’s own character arc.

What this structure gives us, though, is some pretty fun sequences. It has two great action sequences with the character switching when the powers are used. One where it is absolute chaos and a second one where the girls have figured it out. They figured out because they train with it and this a great scene as well. It’s when the film stays light and fun that it actually flies and finds it footing.

In fact, director and co-writer Nia DaCosta goes out on a limb and provides two more sequences in the film that is absolutely crazy, irreverent, and silly that it feels wrong that it’s in a movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, yet I am so happy that these scenes are in the MCU. One scene involves the Flerken, and another scene involves the planet of Aladna, where the citizens of the planet can only communicate by singing. These two sequences are so out-of-the-box and unexpected that it really pushes ‘The Marvels’ to somewhere different and I wish the whole movie could have been this irreverent.

Instead, it is held back by its plot because, what you will discover by the end of the film, is that this movie is a set up for a larger piece of the MCU that’s coming. The MCU’s supposed fourth or fifth phase (I’m not even sure where we are at this point) has been floundering narratively over the larger scheme of things but ‘The Marvels’ seems like it was written to connect this to the larger MCU plan.

And this is what makes it disappointing. Due to the importance and significance of what Dar-Benn is doing for the MCU as a whole, a lot of the 105-minute running time was given to detail the plot instead of working at making Captain Marvel’s character deeper, richer, and more profound. Her strongest emotional moments – her connection with Monica Rambeau and her connection with the Kree – was left as a passing dialogue without any real ramification of who she is as person. We don’t get to see specific scenes that show this off and thus leaves her character feeling undeveloped. She still feels like the same character that we saw at the start of the movie.Why doesn’t the MCU know how to effectively showcase a powerful woman and give her more to do emotionally? The last time they did this was with Wanda but they turned her evil in the process. Lucky for us, Ms. Marvel was there. Vellani’s charm and warmth was able to ground the show and give us someone to follow emotionally through this story. You know something’s up when the audience was reacting mostly to her and the three cameos that showed up in the film and not with Captain Marvel. It’s her movie. I wish the film gave her the center stage.

My Rating:

The Marvels is now showing. Check screening times here.

November 10, 2023
MOVIE REVIEW: More Comedy than Rom-com, ‘Love Reset’ is full of great laughs

It takes ‘Love Reset’ a full half-hour before it’s premise sinks in. Director and screenwriter Nam Dae-jung (with co-writing credit to Bang Gicheol) spend the first 30 minutes of the film to present us with a hilarious set-up. Kang Ha Neul and Jung So Min are in extremely fine form as they portray a couple who get married after some challenges and then find themselves completely hating each other after. Nam Dae-jung is relentless in delivering funny moments to really emphasize how the relationship of Na Jeong-yeol (Kang Ha Neul) and Hong Na-ra (Jung So Min) turned sour and how they cannot stand each other.

This is really a showcase of the pair’s fantastic comedic timing and their ability to sync into the film’s hyper-real dramatic situation. Na-ra is a problematic, spoiled rich girl. She’s confrontational, has a problem with holding her alcohol, and has some questionable hygiene issues. Jeong-yeol comes from a more modest background and has become annoyingly frugal, and it took him a while to pass the bar exam, so he was supported by his richer wife. There issues got into the relationship and the way by which they have turned homicidal against each other is the source of the comedy.

Kang Ha Neul and Jung So Min play it up so well that you can’t stop laughing at how they can’t stand each other and it’s part of the charm of the film. Then, as the title suggests, the couple lose their memory during the 30-day period before a divorce is made official. Both sets of parents, especially the mothers, don’t want them back together but it is to the couple’s benefit that they stay at home as this might help them recover their memories. So now, they have to live together, try to remember who they are, and not fall in love.

The second act of the film surprisingly is more directed towards the couple remembering their past and director Nam Dae-jung manages to use this to continue emphasizing all the horrible things that they’ve done to each other. The backgrounds of the couple are further explored and mined for their comedic potential. Na-ra and Jeong-yeol are shocked to discover the kinds of people that they were but also are seeing each other with a completely new set of eyes.

The romance part comes in just beneath the surface, just underneath the laughs, and propelled completely by Kang Ha Neul and Jung So Min’s performances. Never does Nam Dae-jung really worked hard towards absolving his character’s past mistakes. Instead, he’s here to have a good time and is not above alluding to the film as a film by his own characters. At the later part of the movie, even the characters are comparing the current situation as if it were a film.

As a rom-com, ‘Love Reset’ doesn’t quite get the romance part all the well. The film is more focused on the comedic aspects, which it captures excellently. I was laughing along with the rest of the theater for every little thing that they did. The lines, the situations, and even the slapstick parts. There are all kinds of comedy at work here and the whole cast is up to the task at making each joke work.

Interestingly enough, the film also shows how divorce is handled in South Korea and it seems so logical and sensible that it is a point of envy for us non-South Koreans watching the movie. The film makes no moral assessment of these proceedings. Sometimes, love dies. But also on the flipside, sometimes it takes amnesia to realise what is important after all. It’s a hilarious film led by two very strong comedic performances. If it was equal parts romance and comedy, then it would have been perfect. Otherwise, it’s just a great comedy.

My Rating:

Love Reset is now showing. Check screening times here.

October 24, 2023
MOVIE REVIEW: Where Is the Love: a review of ‘Five Breakups and a Romance’

Director and writer Irene Emma Villamor takes an interesting approach to the romantic drama in her latest film ‘Five Breakups and a Romance.’ Villamor fills up her 102-minute movie with only certain key points during the tumultuous relationship of her two main characters, Lance and Justine. The chosen moments? The film chronicles their union and their breakups. It never shows us the relationship of the two. We always witness them at the point when they get together (or get back together) and the point when they break up. It is a theatrical structure that is interesting to use in a film, but it has its own advantages and disadvantages.

The film opens in Singapore in 2015, when Lance and Justine meet for the first time. He’s visiting with his friends to watch a concert and he meets Justine, who is a friend of a friend who has been living in Singapore for 3 years. It’s love at first sight as Lance can’t get let Justine leave without making his move. One thing leads to another and the two make a go for it. Lance extends his stay for an extra day and the two get to know each other more. When we get back to them again for scene number two, it is two years later, they are now a couple, but the cracks are already there. They are on the verge of splitting up.

The movie continues on in this manner. Each scene is either of them coming back together or breaking up (hence the title). The advantages of this is that Villamor can focus her narrative on just the highly emotional parts of her character’s world. She can situate her character and these emotions in particular locations for full use of any symbolic meaning whether it be the streets of Singapore at night, a mansion in Alabang during a barkada Christmas party, a beach-side celebration of Justine’s parent’s renewal of vows, or the claustrophobic hallways of a hospital during the height of the Covid pandemic. This is a space for nuanced and detailed filmmaking. It is an arena for capturing human behavior and passion and longing in confined spaces.

The disadvantage here is that the film favors telling over showing, a risky endeavor for any filmmaker. David Fincher does it well in his series ‘Mindhunter.’ Ridley Scott also manages this well in his film ‘The Counselor.’ There are great moments in both where the story is told rather than shown but it works because of the actors involved. This structure puts the whole burden of director and writer Irene Emma Villamor’s film on the shoulders of its leads, Alden Richards and Julia Montes. We never get to see the relationship in action so all of each other’s joyous moments together and the growing resentments are not for us to see. We need to see it when Richards and Montes go through these raw, emotional moments in the respective scenes.

And this is where the film doesn’t find its footing. There is a missing chemistry between the two that happens as early as the first scene and they never quite pick it up as the film progresses. At the beginning, Montes struggles with Justine’s cold and dismissive attitude towards the forward Lance. Montes doesn’t seem comfortable being mean or cruel and you can see this later on because when she has to play Justine as warm and loving, she does it so well. She seems more comfortable with Justine’s vulnerable side than she is with her strong moments. Montes gets better as the film unfolds. I can’t say the same for Richards.

Richards has never looked better than in this movie. He has the looks and the presence of a leading man. Unfortunately, he has a tendency to push out a rehearsed smile and that sparkle in his eye that I see in his commercials. I feel that he is afraid to get ugly for the scenes that requires it. The scenes Villamor wrote and directed requires a rawness of emotion that Richards doesn’t quite get. He is always poised, always pretty, I needed him to get real.

‘Five Breakups and a Romance’ does not have Irene Emma Villamor’s usual masterful navigation of the intricacies of the economic factors that affect a relationship. Here, Lance is supposed to be privileged and rich and it is supposed to inform on some of his choices (and mistakes) while Justine is from a simple, middle-class family from Batangas. But Justine’s first appearance is that of a professional in the cosmopolitan Singapore and that never actually leaves her. And Richards never seem to carry the posture or the air of the upper class, which he is supposed to be from. And as much as the film tries to bring these issues up as important ones to the story, there are no real implications of it to the characters and their relationship because we never get to see it at play.

Both actors needed to really live out their character’s whole lives in each other their scenes with their posture, line delivery, their physicality. The film doesn’t allow us to really get to know them, so they have to completely inhabit these characters in those five or six scenes that they are given. It’s a great demand for any actor and unfortunately, these two can’t seem to bridge it together.

The chemistry isn’t there. There are scenes where I truly wonder what it is that they see in each other, other than physical attraction. This is something both deliver well. When they kiss, there’s magic. But when they talk to each other, something is missing. Richards comes off as stiff in comparison to Montes’ outpouring of pain and affection. The love that is at the center of this film is missing and doesn’t allow the film to fully realise its risky cinematic structure.

My Rating:

Five Breakups and a Romance is now showing. Check screening times and buy tickets here.

October 20, 2023