Author: Wanggo Gallaga

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
MOVIE REVIEW: Highlighting the real-world fears at the heart of South Korean suspense thriller ‘Target’

Terrifying and brutal, South Korean suspense/thriller ‘Target’ is at its most scary when it’s focused on how vulnerable we are once our private information is no longer private. There’s an ingenious way by which director Park Hee-kon manages to highlight how interconnected the whole world has become through the internet. It opens with SMS exchanges over shots of the city, showing the constant contact people have with strangers for a variety of things. In this movie, the highlight is on the buying and selling of second-hand goods.

Soo-hyun (Shin Hae-sun) is at a difficult time in her life. She’s being harassed by her boss and she’s balancing an architectural project while moving to a new place simultaneously. When a washing machine she buys second-hand through an online market ends up being defective, she takes her anger out on the seller and informs all his other potential customers to not buy anything from the scammer. A heated exchange on text with the said buyer sends Soo-hyun into a scary, crazy world of internet violence.

The scammer is no ordinary scammer, and he tracks down Soo-hyun’s information and begins to terrorize her. First, he sends food delivery to her doorstep repeatedly from various restaurants. Then from these frustrating and time-consuming pranks, it gets more sinister and insidious as time goes by. The helplessness of Soo-hyun is on full display here and the inability of the police to trace down and track this sort of criminals is also put into the spotlight.

‘Target’ is actual thin on story. A lot of what happens in the film is just to showcase the relentless barrage of the scammer on Soo-hyun’s world. He threatens her work, her sanity, and even her own physical safety. At the beginning, we see her strong and fighting back but as the terror increases in size, frequency, and scope, we even see her whittle down to a broken mess. This is where Shin Hae-sun shines. In Korean dramas like ‘Mr. Queen’ and ‘See You in my 19th Life,’ we’ve seen her tackle complex roles with ease. She has excellent comedic timing and can carry off improbably characterizations so well. To see her play a character working in primordial emotional states – fear and anger – is a different thing altogether. She is so committed to each scene and each moment that is enhances the fear factor of the dramatic situation.

Rounding out the narrative is that of the police detective (Kim Sung-kyung of ‘Moving’ and ‘Reply 1988’) who feels powerless in being unable to help Soo-hyun. The number of cases that are on his lap and lack of resources bears down on him. He wants to do things by the book but as he sees the growing danger that Soo-hyun is in, you can see how it affects him by the increase in violence he takes on suspects and the like.

Everything here is interconnected and by doing so, the film really highlights are interdependence on each other. It is filled with, “If only this character did this…” or “if that character did not do that…” and it escalates all because of it. The film reminds us about how much we live on our phones and on the internet and the full range of dangers that could happen if ever this information goes to the wrong hands.

On the onset, just knowing your name, phone number, and address can already present a lot of problems, but as the film shows, so much more is available for abuse with a person who is a little more skilled in the areas of cyber security. The situations that are present in the film are based on actual police cases and when all of these are placed within the confines of one movie, it can be a little over-the-top and unrealistic (but it does create a very enjoyable yet terrifying time in the cinema). It’s even brough into the extreme as murder is added along for the ride.

Unlike other South Korean crime and suspense/thriller films that I’ve seen, ‘Target’ takes a more Hollywood approach to the story. It manages to navigate the story breaking down all of Soo-hyun’s strength, bringing her to her most fragile, and then reclaiming that strength back to attempt to fight back. It’s a very commercial approach to the movie and marks the filmmaker’s own judgment on people such as the scammer in his film. By doing so, the film loses a bit of its own teeth but it’s frightening, nonetheless.

This will be a great date movie with friends or a partner. The tension would be a great bonding experience and there were even some emphatic screams and shouts in the cinema when I saw it. It’s a great conversation starter and will really make you think twice about your cyber security.

My Rating:

Target is now showing. Get your screening times and tickets here.

October 18, 2023
MOVIE REVIEW: All that glitters is black gold: a review of ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’

Epic in scale and scope, ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ is another sweeping story from legendary director Martin Scorsese that highlights the relationship of crime and American history. Much like his earlier masterworks like ‘Gangs of New York,’ ‘The Irishman,’ ‘Casino,’ ‘Goodfellas,’ ‘’The Irishman,’ and the like, ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ is a study of the inner worlds of the people who’ve turned crime into their lifeblood. Based on the nonfiction book of the same name by David Grann, Scorsese takes his time to build a world at the turn of the century in America when the Native American tribe of Osage found oil in their lands and made them extremely wealthy overnight. It changed the landscape of that part of America, but it also brought in the white people who did everything they could to take that money for themselves.

At 206 minutes, Scorsese takes his time to introduce us into a world that we never get to see on cinema – a world where Native Americans were rich and powerful, wearing expensive clothes and jewelry while being served by white people – by putting into film, he cements this actual occurrence in history into an image we can carry with us after seeing the movie. By taking this narrative and putting it on the big screen, he highlights how in the 1920s, the white people were envious at the richness and power of the Native Americans. He introduces us to Ernest Burkhart (played by Leonardo DiCaprio), a war veteran, who seems like he is never the smartest man in the room. He returns home to the ranch of his uncle, William King Hale (Robert De Niro), who takes him in and helps him get a job as a driver.

Within the first hour of the movie, Scorsese drills into us this universe. On one hand, the Osage people are wealthy but due to government policy, they need guardians to access their wealth and stigma and discrimination just hovers over the boundaries. William King Hale sells himself as a friend of the Osage people, but he likes to set up his men to marry the Osage women with the hopes of becoming a part of the will so that they can take the land if anything happens to their wives. It just so happens, Osage people are dying left and right and oftentimes, with no investigation.

And in the middle of all of this, Ernest falls in love with one of his regular clients, Mollie (Lily Gladstone). Mollie, with her sisters and aging mother, owns a huge property with a lot of oil and is one of Hale’s targets to acquire that land. He leverages Ernest’s and Mollie’s feelings to get his hands on the property and this is the crux of the film.

On one hand, this movie is exposing the lengths by which the white people have come to take what belongs to the Osage people and how it was protected by members of the government as it became a battle of the whites versus the Native Americans. On the other hand, it is also a cruel and brutal love story between a dumb, impressionable white man and his Native American wife, whom he doesn’t really realise he’s hurting in a huge, huge way.

Scorsese uses the film’s epic running time to really lay the groundwork to show the complex relationship between his three lead characters: DiCaprio, De Niro, and Gladstone. The push and pull of these characters against one another is what makes this movie so powerful because in the backdrop of it all is the metaphor of America’s history left bare for us to criticise and challenge.

This is immense work from DiCaprio and De Niro. They are in fine form and working the multiple layers of their characters with ease. Gladstone is also luminescent. Mollie is silent but strong and oftentimes her character is still, taking it all in, and in later scenes, feels very strongly as tragedy hits her again and again. She stands on her own with her two Oscar winning co-stars and will probably deservedly earn an Oscar nomination herself.

Unfortunately, Scorsese finds more interest in telling the story through the eyes of Ernest and leaves Mollie as the least developed character amongst the three. By choosing Ernest as the film’s point-of-view, he highlights the witless and unconscious act of destruction of the lives of the Osage people and makes this the point of the story. If it were Mollie’s movie, it would highlight the struggle against that destruction.

But I feel that Scorsese is out here to judge and criticize. He does not romanticize or glorify Hale or Burkhart’s actions. They are as reprehensible as they appear to be on the film. Scorsese doesn’t shy away from that. By doing so, he questions the idea of America’s greatness by amplifying the narrative of how this greatness was built on the robbing of the land and culture of the Native Americans.As a director, Scorsese has done a wide range of incredible films from ‘Age of Innocence,’ to his love letter to cinema in ‘Hugo,’ to his meditations on religion and faith in movies like ‘Silence’ and ‘The Passion of Christ.’ But it’s his films that delve into the dark soul of America like ‘Gangs of New York,’ ‘The Wolf of Wall Street,’ ‘The Irishman,’ ‘Casino,’ and even ‘The Departed’ that I feel is also an area of expertise on his part. The way by which he chronicles those lives and times and explores the factors that made America the way that it is. ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ joins that pantheon of films and will be one of his many, many accomplishments when one decides to look at his filmography.

My Rating:

Killers of the Flower Moon is now showing. Get your screening times and tickets here.

October 18, 2023
MOVIE REVIEW: The Crazy World of Movie Making: a review of ‘Cobweb’

The crazy and quirky ‘Cobweb’ is a movie within a movie, a period black comedy about the movie of the same title as it is being reshot by its director Kim Yeol (played by Song Kang-ho of ‘Parasite’ and ‘Snowpiercer’ fame). Kim Yeol is a director known for his “trashy dramas” and who is driven to redo the ending of his film to turn it into a masterpiece. Known as an apprentice to great filmmaker, Director Shin, critics and other industry insiders feel that Director Shin wrote the screenplay of Kim Yeol’s debut feature, which is why it is so good, and this has plagued Kim Yeol’s career ever since. Even on his continued insistence that his debut film was written by him, his works after his debut has been less than stellar. Plagued by dreams, he has returned to the studio and called back his cast and crew to re-shoot a few scenes.

Except Kim Yeol’s producer doesn’t want him to reshoot the film. Set in South Korea in the 70s, they would need to submit the script to the censorship board for approval (to ensure there wasn’t any anti-government rhetoric in the story) while many of his actors are also busy with other projects, most notably the starlet Han Yu-rim (played with delicious fervor by Krystal Jung). But after the niece of the producer, Shin Mi-do (played by a surprisingly plucky Jeon Yeo-been of ‘Vincenzo’) reads the new script and takes it upon herself to push through with the reshoots, ‘Cobweb’ then takes a turn to the crazy world of filmmaking.

Alternating between the movie that is being shot – the multi-genre and almost campy black and white suspense drama ‘Cobweb’ – and the making of that movie, the film becomes a hilarious presentation of the crazy world of filmmaking. It’s a satire about the industry poking fun at the crazy antics on the set that includes everything from the intrigue between actors, the means of playing circles around the censors, the battle between producers and actors and producers and directors, and everything that Mi-do and Yeol must do to keep the cameras rolling. Everything including locking everyone in the studio.

While the movie being shot is very old school in tone and feel. It plays out like a campy old movie with exaggerated acting and overly dramatic music and set ups, it becomes an interesting counterpoint to the lives of the people within the studios and it becomes a showcase of the intricate web of personalities that intersect in the making of a movie.

The literal spider and cobwebs in the film come in much later in the movie and in the most unconventional and hilarious way. It comes completely left and center and becomes the final punchline to a very long and crazy joke about the world of making movies. What does come out is that no matter how crazy the world of it gets, the movie keeps going, they never stop. The passion of making movies, of making a name for yourself, of putting out a work is really highlighted in this film. It’s as if Kim Yeol is the spider making a cobweb and everybody else is just trapped in the weave, unable to get out.

Or maybe the spider is moviemaking and even Kim Yeol is stuck in the spider’s web as more truths about his past and his relationship with Director Shin is revealed in a fiery moment that is absolutely awe-inspiring (it shows off an incredible one-shot take involving fire). Director Kim Jae-woon first shows us how the scene is done and then shows us the finished shot within the film itself and ‘Cobwebs’ just lays out this incredible movie-making moment for us to marvel at.

With great performances across the board, most especially from Krystal Jung and Jeon Yeo-been, ‘Cobweb’ is a madcap comedy about the joys and craziness that it takes to making movies. It is definitely a love letter to the medium but also an exploration and rumination of what an artist fears the most – grappling with the ideas of their own capacities and talents. ‘Cobweb’ isn’t particularly deep or profound on the onset, but it is very, very enjoyable.

My Rating:

Cobweb is now showing. Get your screening times and tickets here.

October 5, 2023