Author: Wanggo Gallaga

THEATER REVIEW: Scene Change’s ‘Ang Linangan,’ Directed by Guelan Varela-Luarca, Is a Deceptively Complex Study of Sibling Bonds

Scene Change is doing really groundbreaking work in theater, creating productions in alternative theater spaces to keep the tone intimate and compact. This approach allows itself to work on plays where the spectacle and theatricality are found in the nuances that thrive in such close proximity. Last year’s 3 Upuan does exactly this and Guelan Varela-Luarca does it again, directing Ang Linangan, a translation of The Farm by New York-based playwright Davis Alianiello. The production transforms the Joselito and Olivia Campos Interactive Room at the third floor of Ateneo’s Areté into a space seating roughly 30 to 40 people. The stage is just one tiny corner of the room with only a table, two chairs arranged to resemble a car’s driver and passenger side, along with a backdrop of photos with red thread, resembling that of detective boards in a police movie or series. With the ceiling removed to expose the plumbing above, the design is simple yet filled with texture as we watch two actors, playing siblings, skirt around difficult subject matters.

Brian Sy and J-mee Katanyag play siblings Tyler and Sasha. The play begins in the middle of winter as Sasha picks up Tyler in her car. Tyler has been away for a long time in a place called “Linangan,” which we realise, as they converse, is a cult. Tyler appears to be the troubled sibling, lost and without direction, while Sasha is the older, more serious type who seemingly has her life together. Running for approximately 90 to 100 minutes in a single act without intermission, the majority of this is just the two siblings catching up. They are avoiding difficult subject matters (but they do get into it), and being exactly like brother and sister.

PHOTO CREDIT: MAY CELESTE

At its heart, the play is simply just two people talking, yet the dramatic situation of the play is so interesting that you are caught up in the story. Sy and Katanyag manage to fully embody the sibling relationship so fully that I was brought back to my own exchanges with my own siblings. The shorthand way by which we speak, having a history together so that certain talking points can go by so quickly. There’s a lot of love and fear on that stage, and the two leads deliver the emotional weight of this play’s story in such a satisfactory way.

PHOTO CREDIT: MAY CELESTE

They are completely alone in that car, vulnerable and isolated and it is so interesting to watch because what has happened to Tyler is not something we encounter all the time. Sasha serves as our entry point into the narrative: do we react the way she does? How kind should we be? How badly do we want to call our sibling “stupid” for doing something so silly? But you know you can’t because there’s a deep emptiness there if your sibling thought joining a cult would be the best way to fill it.

PHOTO CREDIT: MAY CELESTE

The play is never loud or grand and Varela-Luarca is excellent at amplifying the little things that make this play pop. First, the way he had directed his actors to mine the scene for all its worth emotionally and theatrically. During their conversation, while Sasha is driving, Tyler would get up and stretch and walk around the car, yet we know he is still in it, telling his story, but as the audience we know he is finally relaxing. He is finally feeling comfortable and safe being alone in this space with his sister. The table and the chair that approximates the front half of the car suddenly becomes the whole stage; Varela-Luarca understands that when two people are on a drive and it’s just them, it’s a whole entire world there with just the two of them. D Cortezano’s lighting design punctuates these shifts, marking transitions as the characters go into flashbacks or imagined moments, while the symbolic yet grounded stage design further anchors the characters’ reality.

PHOTO CREDIT: MAY CELESTE

Even the sound design, when the two actors mime putting on their seatbelts, the recorded clicking of the buckle is timed perfectly with the actor’s movements. The first fifteen minutes transports you from the Joselito and Olivia Campos Interactive Room and into Tyler and Sasha’s private world, and the rest of the time, you are just transfixed in that moment with them. The play is dense, heady, and complex yet it’s also funny, touching and moving. While Sy is always a reliable actor, Katanyag is a total powerhouse, delivering a bravura performance that is unforgettable. In her, I saw flashes of myself, my sister, in other moments, and in some snippets of dialogue, she is my two older brothers. She just captures it.

I’m glad someone is doing these plays that are left-of-center and are creating full Filipino translations of Western plays that don’t adapt the material; it just makes it accessible to a wider audience. There are moments when I forgot that these characters weren’t originally written as Filipino at all. The naturalism of the language confused me, but they could very much well have been our own. This is the universality of a great theatrical production.

I am so excited to see what else Scene Change has in store for us this year.

My Rating: 5 Stars

Ang Linangan was an unforgettable study of sibling bonds that set a high bar for Philippine theater this year. Although the run concluded this past March, its impact remains. Support local, “left-of-center” theater by keeping Scene Change on your radar for the rest of the 2026 season.

April 3, 2026
THEATER REVIEW: Dulaang UP’s “Ang Kaliitan ng Kasalukuyan” As an OFW Story That Never Arrives Home

From the moment you take your seats at the IBG-KAL Theater in UP Diliman, you will be intrigued by the stage design for Ang Kaliitan ng Kasalukuyan. Aaron Misayah’s scene design features an impressively large white ramp that serves as a traverse stage, with the audience seated on opposite sides. One colleague described it as a skateboard ramp and my first impression was that of a water slide. Later, I’d realise that my first impression rang true but more on that later. At the very end of the stage are seats that were meant to resemble a waiting area in an airport. Some cast members are already seated, in costume, waiting, as the audience trickles in. Hanging above is a tiled platform that opens up to bring down certain set design elements like a door. The amount of stage elements were actually quite commendable except that as the play unfolds, there’s just too much that it starts to feel comical.

Dulaang UP Ang Kaliitan ng Kasalukuyan | Photo by Marga Cerbolles

Written and directed by Dulaang UP’s new artistic director, Palanca winner Arlo De Guzman, Ang Kaliitan ng Kasalukuyan explores the story about OFW experience. Lead by Sandino Martin (playing Bulan), an OFW working in Dubai and the son of two former OFWs. In the first act, Bulan returns home and is surrounded (maybe even suffocated) by the love of his family who hail him as a hero. They rely on him for his remittances to help the family build a home and a business. As Bulan interacts with family members and old friends in his hometown, he longs to be able to return for good. But in the second act, he returns to Dubai and struggles with the burden of responsibility. He does not want this life that was handed down to him by his parents, he wants to break free from the Filipino custom that the child must repay the sacrifice of the parents.

Dulaang UP Ang Kaliitan ng Kasalukuyan | Photo by Pia Suarez

There’s a whole lot of theater going on in Ang Kaliitan ng Kasalakuyan that both the play and performances are weighed down by all the stagecraft involved. The first act has a chorus, cast members all in white, narrating the story, providing the exposition before exiting and returning as other characters. This chorus does not return until the finale when they come back to moralize against Bulan’s own interrogation about his family obligations. There’s puppetry, a story told to Bulan as a child by his grandmother and the younger Bulan is portrayed as a puppet.

Dulaang UP Ang Kaliitan ng Kasalukuyan | Photo by Marga Cerbolles

Later, in act two, another puppet appears, a sort of like “Jiminy Cricket” character in Disney’s “Pinocchio,” who is about a foot and a half high and sits on Bulan’s shoulder and gives him someone to vent and rant to. As Bulan is picked up from the airport by his father, the cast members go on a ride on chairs meant to look like a car but a remote-control car precedes them. It’s a theatrical element that is used for only two minutes and does nothing really but distract us from the conversation Bulan has with his family. Later, a huge puppet made, the size of a truck maybe, with arms that grasps Bulan as a symbol of the Middle East’s hold over him. And the water slide design of the stage? At some point, water begins to flow, turning the stage into a little creek.

Also, it’s sort of a musical with three or four songs sung in the first act and then no more in the second act until the finale.

Aside from the remote-control car, all the theatrical devices are actually quite impressive if they were not mashed up together in one play that never really feels cohesive. A lot of the inner world of the characters are said out loud, giving nothing for the audience to stew on. The play, as written, feels so literal that the theatrical devices feel utilized to make the play seem more like a play than a weekend television movie. It’s because of how on-the-nose the writing is that I can’t really comment on the performances because there was no real subtext for the actors to really play out. The way the play was written, what you see and hear is exactly what you get. And these are OFW stories that are familiar to us; we have a lot of this already in film and television and in theater. The big theatrical devices made the play seem bigger but not necessarily weightier or meatier.

Dulaang UP Ang Kaliitan ng Kasalukuyan | Photo by Pia Suarez

And all throughout the second act, we are presented with Bulan’s struggle. How his identity has been stripped away by family obligations, trapped in a foreign land that discriminates against him, away from home. Yet, the final song is a big, epic song that talks about how OFWs will continue to sacrifice their own happiness for their loved ones, for their country. These two ideological principles never feel settled by the play, and I left the IBG-KAL Theater a little perplexed rather than inspired.

My Rating: 2 Stars

While its run concluded in March, follow Dulaang UP‘s official social media channels to stay updated on future productions and the continued evolution of Philippine university theater.

April 1, 2026
MOVIE REVIEW: Drama in Search of a Story — Sinag Maynila’s “Desperada”

Directed by Luisito Lagdameo Ignacio and written by Dennis C. Evangelista, Desperada is a film that feels more focused with melodrama than it is about fleshing out its characters and capturing striking images for impact rather than illumination. While the film tackles rather complex social issues, it often relies on transgressiveness to get a reaction rather than to subvert our biases.

The film opens in a cemetery, where Brenda (Robb Guinto) wanders naked through the darkness, confused and lost. She is found by a woman (played by Sue Prado) who runs a shelter and invites Brenda to stay until she recovers. There, she meets others on the fringes of society, each grappling with their own psychosis and disorders. While this setting offers ample opportunity to talk about how the system has failed the most vulnerable, yet the film chooses to zero in on their fleeting joys and breakdowns. Brenda soon becomes the object of another ward, Hesus (Mhack Morales) while later, Brenda sees a childhood friend and her ex-boyfriend, Lucio (Yasser Marta), who eventually joins them at the shelter. But Lucio is a chaotic force that tests Brenda’s resolve to heal. He’s an addict and is constantly thinking about sex and his presence breaks the relative harmony of the shelter.

Desperada

While there’s plenty of opportunity to get real character work done in this film, Desperada doesn’t do any of the hard work required to flesh out the wards’ dysfunctions or psychoses. Funnily enough, the three characters who enter the shelter – Brenda, Lucio, and a character played by Jorge Guda – arrive broken, screaming, or listless, only to become instantly lucid after a single bath. Hesus is quick to fall in love with Brenda and maintains this affection throughout the film though the movie never really gives us any indication what it is in Brenda that caught his attention.

Brenda’s journey is the only one among the wards that resembles an arc, yet it is so rushed that it lacks the necessary narrative beats to feel fully realized. At the beginning, we her brought into the shelter, plagued by panic attacks; we see Hesus shower her with affection, and then the arrival of Lucio. Her physical desires are manifested, only for her to pull away from Lucio’s destructive force. Eventually, she finds her mother, who has been literally caged like an animal in the slums. She resolves her past quickly with one interaction from her one-dimensionally evil father but yet she can’t seem to let Lucio go. And while all these narrative beats are shown, it’s the steps that happen in-between that would ground this story but all we get is the highlight reel.

Desperada

Aside from Brenda, it is the relationship between Sue Prado’s character and her lover (played by Mercedes Cabral) that really feels the most real. They are given moments to show their character’s good moments and weak moments. They get to have quiet moments to discuss the challenges they face running the shelter out of the kindness of their hearts, with Cabral’s character playing a former nun and Prado an orphan. Because most of their scenes unfod without explosive drama, we are able to truly see their humanity rather than just a mere spectacle of emotions.

At times, Robb Guinto and Mhack Morales have moments when they clearly articulate their character’s reality. Outside of the more seasoned Prado and Cabral, Guinto and Morales show a vulnerability, especially in their less dramatic scenes. In contrast, Yasser Marta and Jorge Guda are always performing at a constant “level 10,” almost at the level of camp. Guinto and Morales show better range and I feel that if the material was more nuanced, more fleshed-out, they would be able to give more in future roles.

Desperada

Despite the screenplay’s weaknesses, the film is rather gorgeous to look at. Cinematographer TM Malones delivers gorgeous shots, especially when playing with darkness. He has a few cemetery scenes, which includes Guinto’s striking opening naked scene, that are visually stunning and the way he lights all of Brenda’s mother caged in a shanty creates an emotional effect which elevates the material away from camp.

Ultimately, Desperada is meant more to be more shocking and entertaining than it is groundbreaking. This is evident with the amount of sex scenes that feel unnecessary, the reliance on coarse language, and the way it uses a queer character for comedy. Lucky that Guinto is an arresting protagonist and Prado and Cabral give the film a grounding element that shows the film has way more potential that it allowed itself to explore.

My Rating: 2 Stars

Today marks the last day of Sinag Maynila Festival. While Desperada remains a provocative addition to Luisito Lagdameo Ignacio’s filmography, it stands as a testament to the festival’s commitment to showcasing bold, local cinema that isn’t afraid to push boundaries. Check the official Sinag Maynila social media pages for today’s final screening schedules and theater locations.

April 1, 2026
MOVIE REVIEW: A Very Bloody Sister-Bonding in “Ready or Not 2: Here I Come”

I wasn’t entirely sure if I wanted a sequel to the enjoyable Ready or Not. Starring Samara Weaving and directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, the original was fun and brutal, and it just seemed like a pleasant, refreshing surprise when it came out during the relatively peaceful times (in comparison to today) before the pandemic. It was a wonderful “little” movie that ended with a punch that left everything to the wild imagination of the audience to play with in their heads. Why, then, do a sequel?

In this updated version, I can’t help but see similarities and parallelisms with these elite families and the real-world discourse surrounding the Epstein Files. The film doesn’t shy away from comparisons to how the rich rule the world – evidenced by a hilarious scene that establishes the Danforth’s control over media and global politics in an earlier scene – and how they own everything, down to the police.

From L to R: Nestor Carbonell, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Shawn Hatosy, Elijah Wood, and Nadeem Umar-Khitab in READY OR NOT 2: HERE I COME. Photo by Searchlight Pictures/Pief Weyman, Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2026 Searchlight Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

Luckily, Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett return alongside with screenwriters Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy to expand on the world and to really explore the cult that Samara Weaving’s Grace’s in-laws were a part of. To raise the stakes and to really get down into Grace’s character, the sequel introduces her estranged sister Faith (Kathryn Newton) along for the ride. The story picks up exactly where we left off in the first movie: the Le Domas mansion is on fire, and Grace is having a cigarette as the paramedics and police come to the rescue. However, her injuries send her into unconsciousness. She wakes up in a hospital, not a victim, but as a suspect for arson and murder. When her emergency contact, which is Faith arrives, it reopens old wounds. There is a palpable friction between them, a huge rift caused by unsaid words and broken promises. Yet, they don’t get to hash this out properly, as members of the Council, the cult the Le Domas family were part of, arrive to take Grace.

Samara Weaving in READY OR NOT 2: HERE I COME. Photo by Searchlight Pictures/Pief Weyman, Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2025 Searchlight Pictures.
All Rights Reserved.

Once again, Ready or Not 2: Here I Come pits the ordinary folks against the elite class; the obscenely wealthy families who run the world and who can get away with anything. Due to a complex set of rules, which adds dark humor while giving Grace a sort of fighting chance. Grace and Faith must survive until dawn as representatives from the five of the six families (the Le Domas line are now gone) try to bring her down as a means to wrestle control for the seat of power. Leading this ruthless charge are Ursula and Titus Danforth (Sarah Michelle Gellar and Shawn Hatosy), the current titleholders for the seat of power.

Daniel Beirne, David Cronenberg (portrait) Shawn Hatosy, and Sarah Michelle Gellar in READY OR NOT 2: HERE I COME. Photo by Searchlight Pictures/Pief Weyman, Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2026 Searchlight Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

Their vast wealth makes them inhuman, portrayed by their lack of respect for any other human being other than those of the family and their idiosyncrasies and individual indulgences. Strangely enough, they only abide by the Council’s rules because a supernatural force holds them at bay. They only respond to a higher power.

Kathryn Newton and Samara Weaving in READY OR NOT 2: HERE I COME. Photo courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2026 Searchlight Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

But the film is never political. It’s there in the imagery and in the drama of Grace and Faith, two orphans from the foster system, trying to stay alive as the elite hunt them down like sport. Instead, the film is centers on whether Grace and Faith can resolve their rift long enough to see the dawn. It is a film focused on brutal and bloody fight scenes, massive explosions, and darkly humorous takedowns. One hilarious fight scene between Grace and Francesca (Maia Jae), the daughter of a rival family and was the fiancee of the Le Domas son whom Grace married instead. Both dressed in wedding gowns – Grace wearing hers for practicality’s sake while Francesca wore hers as a symbol of her rage – they go at it in full force at an empty ballroom, using anything they can get their hands on, and with a handicap (I won’t spoil it here but it’s hilarious).

Kathryn Newton and Samara Weaving in READY OR NOT 2: HERE I COME. Photo by Searchlight Pictures/Pief Weyman, Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2026 Searchlight Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

Samara Weaving is in fine form as Grace. Exhausted and frustrated, yet emboldened by her previous survival, she is unafraid to be brutal, delivering a performance with her entire body. She gives it enough seriousness to make the world believable, while simultaneously camps it up to match the film’s overall tone. Kathryn Newton serves as a great counterpoint to Weaving, allowing Faith to be completely overwhelmed by the proceedings but quickly matches her sister’s ferocity at a believable pace.

Elijah Wood in READY OR NOT 2: HERE I COME. Photo by Searchlight Pictures/Pief Weyman, Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2026 Searchlight Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

Meanwhile, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Shawn Hatosy offer an interesting brother-sister dynamic. With Hatosy going full-on rich boy psychopath, while Gellar, as expected, finds a nuanced approach. Allowing Ursula a little more texture and layers that makes her interesting, even if the script never digs too deep into it. Gellar truly makes fantastic work of the limited material she’s been given.

Samara Weaving and Kathryn Newton in READY OR NOT 2: HERE I COME. Photo by Searchlight Pictures/Pief Weyman, Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2026 Searchlight Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

Ready or Not 2: Here I Come doesn’t necessarily do anything different from the first movie; instead, it expands the world, makes the enemies tougher and crazier, and provides Grace someone who brings out more of her character. The film is hard rebuke of a world where billionaires can get away with anything and everything, yet it does it by having a lot of bloody, brutal violent fun in the process. It is a riotous survival story that remains funny all the way.

My Rating: 3.5 Stars

The hunt is back on. Ready or Not 2: Here I Come is currently slashing through theaters nationwide. don’t miss Samara Weaving and Sarah Michelle Gellar in this year’s most wickedly fun thriller, horror-comedy. Check showtimes here.

March 27, 2026
THEATER REVIEW: Emmy Winner Karla Puno Garcia Directs Theater Group Asia’s “A Chorus Line” into a Triumphant Love Letter to the Ensemble

A Chorus Line has won nine Tony Awards and a Pulitzer Prize for Drama, is set at a high-stakes audition for a Broadway show. It is intimate and personal, staged against a bare stage where seventeen actors are interviewed by a director searching for four men and four women to be a part of a powerhouse dancing chorus for his latest show. Conceived in 1975 by writer, director, and choreographer Michael Bennett with music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Edward Kleban, and book by James Kirkwood Jr. and Nicholas Dante, the musical was famously workshopped using the real-life stories of real members of the chorus to breathe life into the characters of “A Chorus Line.”

Many of them get the chance to do monologues or perform based on real stories and the overall effect is incredible. Almost stripped of the usual grandiose staging typical of many musicals, we are left with the bare bones of a play and somehow, when executed well, it resonates stronger than ever as we get to see the interiority of many of these performers.

Theater Group Asia’s staging of A Chorus Line is a magnificent production, fueled by a cast of extremely committed performers who lay themselves bare, for us to experience their strengths and weaknesses, both their guardedness and their vulnerabilities. During a recent press event, a cast member described the show’s appeal as universal, suggesting that one does not need to be a performer to relate to the narrative. Anyone who has ever desired to be a part of something can connect to these stories, in some shape or form.

Under the direction and choreography of Emmy award winner Karla Puno Garcia, she material is revitalized; she pays homage to the movements of the original production while injecting her own spin on things. By playing to her casts’ unique strength, Garcia creates a show that really gets down and dirty with all the hopes and fears of its performers. The opening number, “I Hope I Get It” is a huge dance number with the cast trying to learn the steps, each one adding their own personal flourishes based on their personality and skill. Some are better, some are lagging. We see the nerves; we see the determination. On stage, it’s absolute joy to watch these movements occupy the stage with the mirror right behind them creating a feeling of an even larger number of dancers than what is already on stage. The show, from its opening number, already sets you in the mood for things to come.

What is truly remarkable about this piece is that it’s an audition for a chorus – for members of an ensemble that have to blend in and work as a unit so as to not steal focus from the star of whatever show they are going to be on – but the play itself, the interview that the director holds for each one brings to light each person’s individuality. The director, Zach, is searching for a team player but he needs to know who they are, as a unique person, to see if they fit together as a whole. By the end of the show, we get to see one big number where, despite having witnessed each actor’s personal story, they all blend in together, with no one outshining anyone else. They sing one of the show’s popular songs, ‘One,’ and it becomes a showstopper like no other.

The cast is incredible. Conrad Ricamora plays Zach, the director. Despite not having a song of his own, he propels the narrative forward, asking questions and breaking down each actors’ walls to try and get to see who they are inside. Ricamora is rarely on stage, instead goes down to the audience, reaches even up to the balcony seats. He’s acting primarily through his voice and it’s a commanding one. A powerful one. We can hear his frustrations and his interest. We can feel it when he cares and when he is calling out BS. It’s an incredible performance even when he is out of sight, his presence is always felt.

There are so many great performances here but I’d like to call out the standouts. One song, “At the Ballet,” performed by Sheila (Mikaela Regis), Bebe (Michaela Marfori), and Maggie (Iya Villanueva), an early favourite. Marfori and Villanueva possess powerful, evocative voices, while Regis is acting through the piece and the way they harmonize together creates a strong imprint at the beginning. As Diana Morales, Christina Glur sings some of my favourite songs from the musical: “Nothing” and “What I Did For Love” and I’m so in love with the original Broadway cast recording but Glur makes these songs her own, finding ways to emphasize particular words in a song that adds layers and tension, which makes her Morales such a grounding force for the production. Universe Ramos, as Paul San Marco, delivers strong monologue that leaves him alone on stage, sharing a beautiful, intimate, and very personal story. All alone on that stage, he fills it up with his character’s story and it’s a high point of the show.

What would constitute a lead in this show is Cassie, played by Lissa De Guzman. De Guzman is a powerhouse. She sings “Music and the Mirror,” which allows her to showcase her singing, acting, and dancing skills. There are so much presence and confidence that we cannot stop looking at her. She’s in full control of her body and her instrument that you can fully connect with Cassie’s struggle. What a truly exceptional performance.

Theater Group Asia’s production of A Chorus Line is a fully realised show. The lighting design by Cha See is nothing short of exquisite, the use of mirrors is exciting – on some numbers, it moves around on stage as if it were dancing too and helps tell the story of that number – and a strong orchestra, led by musical director Farley Asuncion.

The play was written in 1976, so there are certain aspects of it which don’t land just as well. The first act concludes with “Hello Twelve, Hello Thirteen, Hello Love,” a number about their different experiences reaching puberty. It is a hilarious song (featuring a great vocal moment from Rapah Manalo), though it didn’t seem to hit the audience as it did me. But I knew the songs by heart, and I knew the things that they were talking about (having grown up just a decade after the musical’s release). Another song that isn’t as strong as it was back in the 80s is “Dance Ten, Looks Three,” a song about one actor’s need for cosmetic surgery to stay competitive. Performed with a lot of personality by Brie Chappell, the song isn’t as shocking or surprising in 2026 with everyone so accustomed to cosmetic surgery. That song used to raise eyebrows and elicit gasps but now all it manages is a couple of chuckles, considering how well Chappell performed it.

But despite the show’s dated language and colloquialisms, it still is a lovely letter to everyone who has a dream, who faces challenges day-in and day-out to make that dream come true. Karla Puno Garcia’s direction brings this to the forefront, and the cast takes it home.

I’m definitely watching this again.

My Rating: 4.5 Stars

Theater Group Asia’s A Chorus Line is a masterclass in ensemble storytelling that proves some dreams never go out of style. The production runs until March 29, 2026, at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater. Secure your seats at TicketWorld and see why this Pulitzer Prize winner remains a “singular sensation.”

March 23, 2026
MOVIE REVIEW: Hilda Koronel’s Ever-Powerful Presence is Out in Full Force in “Sisa”

There is a theatricality in Jun Lana’s filmmaking for his film Sisa that heightens the film’s themes, emphasizing the tyranny of colonialism and “colonial mentality” while underscoring the vulnerability of women, not just during war, but at all times. The film opens with a tighter aspect ratio, a box frame reminiscent of classic cinema with stunning cinematography by Carlo Mendoza.

Set during the tail end of the Philippine-American War, the story focuses on one of the concentration camps established to force the insurgents to surrender by holding entire villages hostage by American soldiers. Throughout the film, Lana and Mendoza utilize uncomfortably tight shots, crazy angles, shifting aspect ratios, and vibrant tracking shots to really emphasize the tension and emotional weight of these characters within this narrative. Oftentimes, the mise-en-scene pushes the actors to move towards a gorgeous tableau, creating singular images that emphasize the film’s core theme.

Sisa | Photos courtesy of The IdeaFirst Company

This stylistic treatment allows Sisa to sidestep realism and focus on delivering its message. The film is not so much as a complete narrative, but more of a rallying cry. It’s an illustration of the horrors of war and how much worse it is for women.

Sisa | Photos courtesy of The IdeaFirst Company

The story of Sisa unfolds in one of these concentration camps, where a seemingly crazy woman enters and attacks a guard. When brought to his commanding officers, they take pity on her and allow the villagers to take care of her. Not knowing her name or where she’s from, the village children call her “Sisa,” after the woman in Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere.

Sisa | Photos courtesy of The IdeaFirst Company

There, Sisa becomes part of the community, living under Delia’s home, doing chores and visiting every nook and cranny of the camp. Within the first ten minutes, it becomes clear that Sisa is not the “crazy woman” she appears to be. By the end of the first act, we discover that she’s a spy working with the insurgents planning a take over of the camp.

Sisa | Photos courtesy of The IdeaFirst Company

However, nothing is ever that easy as the town is primarily left with the women, most of the men are either dead, imprisoned, or have fled to join the insurrection. But then again, women are fiercer and stronger than anyone ever thinks they are, and Sisa must work quickly to turn this village of women into members of the revolution.

Sisa | Photos courtesy of The IdeaFirst Company

While the film contains elements of a spy film or a caper, Sisa doesn’t fully operate within those genres. Instead, Lana focuses his attention on the manner by which women are oppressed by both patriarchy and colonialism. He focuses on the way the Americans utilize education and the teaching of English to sway the youth, seen in the way Delia’s daughter, Nena, begins to feel connected with them. For others, like Leonor, who is courted by the camp commander, Eddie Harrison. She is treated better, granted better rations, and because of this, she is shunned by the rest of the community.

Sisa | Photos courtesy of The IdeaFirst Company

Sisa, as both outsider and informant, becomes our eyes and ears. Through her observations, we process, we watch as the patriarchy and colonialism tear away at identity and the will to resist, forcing the colonized into subservient roles to please their oppressors.

Sisa | Photos courtesy of The IdeaFirst Company

After a thirteen-year hiatus, Hilda Koronel returns to the screen to bring Sisa to life. Even with very little backstory, Koronel manages to infuse the role with a history and layers underneath her character’s charade. This is a multi-faceted role that she carries effortlessly, while leading the ensemble forward.

Sisa | Photos courtesy of The IdeaFirst Company

Adding more talents into the production is Eugene Domingo as Delia, who is a force of nature. Completely removed from her comedic persona, Domingo reveals a totally different side of her and the effect is strong. Also delivering a standout performance is Jennica Garcia, whose Leonor is swept up in the confusion of her situation. She feels safe and protected by the commander that she has forgotten how the Americans have turned her into a widow. Her character’s eventual spiral in the film when she discovers the full extent of what the war has done to her and the people around her is arresting, a performance well worth watching.

Sisa | Photos courtesy of The IdeaFirst Company

Sisa is a gorgeous film, designed to push images and themes rather than to unfold a cohesive story. By looking at our past and allowing us to fully grasp what our country had to go through during the transfer of power from one colonial empire to another, we begin to understand how difficult it is for us to unite like other countries have. The sins of these oppressions is part of our lineage which we have yet to shake off. Like many characters in the film, we’d be happy to take scraps and morsels from our tyrants and be genuinely grateful to them while they work us to the bone and treat us less than human. Much like Sisa, we must look beyond the surface and start rousing ourselves to push back and unshackle ourselves from this idea that whatever is foreign is good for us. This movie couldn’t have come at a better time, with more and more stories about women fighting back taking center stage and in the world of politics, America has shown that their public image of being a benevolent protector of democracy is a complete lie. Sisa pulls no punches in delivering this message, clear as day, emboldening us to finally follow suit.

My Rating: 4 Stars

From Hilda Koronel’s haunting presence and Eugene Domingo’s dramatic revelation to Jennica Garcia’s arresting performance, Sisa is a true masterclass in acting. Don’t miss this gorgeous, thematic powerhouse while it’s still in cinemas. Check showtimes here.

March 22, 2026
MOVIE REVIEW: “Project Hail Mary”: An Untimely Fantasy

There’s something about Project Hail Mary that makes it feel better suited for a different time. Based on the novel by Andy Weir, the same novelist who also wrote the book for Ridley Scott’s 2015 hit The Martian was based on, there are many similarities between both films. It’s a science fiction movie where the science is made fun and comprehensible for the average viewer, maintaining a tone that’s light-hearted, feel-good, and inspiring. With directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller and a screenplay by Drew Goddard, the film is really in good hands. With Ryan Gosling as the lead, there is simply no reason for this film to fail.

And for the most part, it doesn’t. Project Hail Mary’ tells the story of Dr. Ryland Grace (Gosling), who wakes up on a spaceship en route to the star Tau Ceti. He initially doesn’t remember who he is nor why he is the only crew member on the ship to survive. As his memories start to return, we discover that a cosmic event has brought an alien organism – dubbed “Astrophage” – through space, which has begun to “eat the sun.” Dr. Grace is part of a global team of scientists who try to understand Astrophage and how to stop it before it destroys all life on Earth. Only one star doesn’t seem to be affected by Astrophage and that’s the star Tau Ceti. On his way to complete his mission – investigate Tau Ceti and why it isn’t being consumed by the cosmic microorganism, Grace discovers another alien species also trying to investigate Tau Ceti. Despite the language barrier, the two figure out how to communicate, and Grace and “Rocky” join forces to save both their planets.

Ryan Gosling stars as Ryland Grace in PROJECT HAIL MARY, from Amazon MGM Studios.
Photo credit: Jonathan Olley
© 2026 Amazon Content Services LLC. All Rights Reserved.

The film is a lengthy 156 minutes, with the first forty minutes detailing the specifics of the mission and how Grace – a disgraced molecular biologist, who is teaching in middle school – becomes part of the space mission. There, he interacts with the project commander, Eva Stratt (a magnificent Sandra Huller), as he tries to understand the science to get them into space.

Ryan Gosling stars as Ryland Grace and Sandra Hüller as Eva Stratt in PROJECT HAIL MARY, from Amazon MGM Studios. Photo credit: Jonathan Olley © 2026 Amazon Content Services LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Then the following act focuses on how Grace and Rocky (voiced and lead puppeteer James Ortiz) establish first contact and form their bond. Finally, the last forty minutes or so bring the mission to its conclusion. It’s a very loaded film, but the pacing is extremely quick and a lot of things are happening that it never feels boring.

Ryan Gosling stars as Ryland Grace in PROJECT HAIL MARY, from Amazon MGM Studios.
Photo credit: Jonathan Olley

The film bombards you with nostalgia as they play very familiar songs, mostly from the ’90s and early 2000s (though I did catch a few older songs as well), while finding heart and humor in the interactions between Gosling’s Grace and Rocky. Their shared need to save their planets has turned two very, very different personalities into great friends. It’s so refreshing, though, to see a world so quick to cooperate; even the idea that the whole world stopped fighting each other to gather their resources and talents to form this project, which they called Hail Mary. For some reason, I find it easier to believe in an alien such as Rocky exists but I am having such a hard time believing in a world coming together to stop ourselves from becoming extinct.

Ryan Gosling stars as Ryland Grace in PROJECT HAIL MARY, from Amazon MGM Studios. Photo credit: Jonathan Olley © 2026 Amazon Content Services LLC. All Rights Reserved.

This is where I feel the film seems to be lost in time. It has fantastic visual effects, creating gorgeous cosmic and interplanetary imagery for Grace and Rocky to inhabit. The action sequences on the spaceship are deeply engaging, and Daniel Pemberton’s score lends a grand, epic scale to the proceedings trying to make it feel as big as it is. In all honesty, every individual part of this film works so beautifully. It is an enjoyable film; I even found myself gasping and holding back tears during two sections because of how well the story unfolds and allows us to really invest in its characters. Gosling is at his most charming, considering the scene partner he spends most time with is an alien puppet and, in flashbacks, the cold and guarded Eva Stratt. Yet, there’s a kindness and hope to the film that feels so tone deaf in a world currently in the throes of World War III.

Ryan Gosling stars as Ryland Grace in PROJECT HAIL MARY, from Amazon MGM Studios.
© 2026 Amazon Content Services LLC. All Rights Reserved.

It doesn’t help that, later on in the film, we discover some very unsavory truths that really begs the question: is the human race really worth saving? Perhaps the film’s ending is Lord and Miller’s way of injecting a bit of cynicism and commentary into the proceedings. By all respects, Project Hail Mary is a really good film. I just wished it had been released earlier, before this global mess we currently find ourselves in. The timing undermines the film’s good intentions. I laughed, I was moved, and I held back tears, but it was the moment I left the cinema, that the film started to feel empty. Instead of being hopeful and inspiring, the film ended up feeling like an escapist fantasy.

My Rating: 3.5 Stars

Is Project Hail Mary the hopeful escape we need right now, or is it just too far-fetched for 2026? Catch it while it’s still on the big screen and let us know: are you team “Science” or team “Cynicism”?

March 21, 2026
THEATER REVIEW: Grappling with AI and Grief in Barefoot Theatre Collaborative’s “anthropology”

I’m not the biggest fan of AI – though I prefer to call it LLM, or Large Language Model, because it’s not really intelligent – and everything I read about it just makes me more and more angry and frustrated. The idea that Lauren Gunderson, a playwright I really admire, wrote a play about AI and grief is compelling: a story about a woman grieving her sister, who has been missing for over a year, and uploads all of her sister’s data and information into an algorithm, and invariably recreates her through a program. Gunderson, being an intelligent yet still emotionally accessible playwright, mines this dramatic situation for all it’s worth and presents the strengths and weaknesses, the rewards and consequences, of this technology.

The play is called anthropology, and it is staged by Barefoot Theater Collaborative under the direction of Caisa Borromeo. The all-women cast is led by Jenny Jamora, who plays Merril. Merril is highly skilled with computers and coding, and she uses her skills to create an AI program that resembles her missing sister, Angie, played by Maronne Cruz.

Through the initial interactions between Merril and the AI of Angie, we discover that Angie is quite a powder keg. She has a big personality, and because the AI is programmed to help Merril find some level of closure, she isn’t as mean as the real Angie. In fact, she insists on encouraging Merril to reconnect with her ex, Raquel, played by Mikkie Bradshaw-Volante, and insists on talking with Brie, their mother, played by Jackie Lou Blanco. From the conversations, we learn that Brie has caused much pain for the two sisters.

anthropology | Photo by CJ Ochoa

Performed in one straight act for roughly around 90 to 100 minutes, anthropology is a roller-coaster of emotions. Lauren Gunderson’s characters are clever, eloquent, and articulate, allowing Merril and Angie to go at it for a while, revealing so much about their past and what the sisters mean to each other. Eventually, Angie persuades Raquel to come to Merril’s home in the hope of rekindling their relationship, even though Raquel remembers that the real Angie never really liked her. Things take a more dramatic turn when Angie insists on speaking with their mother, and old wounds are torn open as the software reignites the hurt and the pain of Angie’s initial disappearance.

anthropology | Photo by May Celeste

Caisa Borromeo does a great job of managing the dynamics of these characters. The play is staged in the round, with the audience completely surrounding the circular stage. The platform has two benches mounted on tracks, allowing it to revolve around the stage which allows the actors to sort of shift their positions. Funnily enough, it resembles the power button found on most machines.

anthropology | Photo by May Celeste

But production designer Sarah Facuri sets a circular disc right above the platform that ascends and descends depending on the current tension in the unfolding story. At some point, it feels as though the characters are under a microscope.

anthropology | Photo by CJ Ochoa

Maronne Cruz delivers the entire first 20 minutes of the play through voice-over offstage. Later, she appears on four screens for Jamora and the others to interact with. This is a difficult feat for any actor – to have to perform offstage – and Cruz manages to excellently portray the AI’s adaptation to its environment as it gathers more and more information about the person it is meant to represent.

anthropology | Photo by CJ Ochoa

Everyone is so good. Jenny Jamora never plays for sympathy, despite carrying the show’s entire dramatic premise on her shoulders. Instead, she plays Merril as tough, stubborn, and almost charmless person. This becomes evident in her interactions with the AI version of her sister, and later when Raquel shows up, and we see Merril’s inability to keep her cool.

anthropology | Photo by May Celeste

Mikkie Bradshaw-Volante is such a strong presence on stage. It’s great to see her in a non-musical role, as she delivers her dialogue like it’s the most spontaneous and most natural thing in the world. Her character’s inner world is read off of the way she delivers her lines.

anthropology | Photo by CJ Ochoa

Jackie Lou Blanco, on the other hand, delivers her lines in the most natural of ways, and the accent added texture to her portrayal of Brie. With the accent, she sounded like an immigrant, adding nuance and depth to her character. This creates a tension, as the person we see is not the person from how Merril and Angie describe her, and that untold history expands a bigger world outside what’s already in the play.

But it is Maronne Cruz who truly steals the show. At some point, she gets to perform as the real Angie, and the differences between her portrayals are so subtle yet very clear that it’s a great reminder of how versatile and precise Cruz is as an actress. The glaring contrast between her two performances – the real Angie and the AI version of the character – further elevates this already good production into something that is so arresting.

anthropology | Photo by May Celeste

But more than that, I’m also amazed by the way Lauren Gunderson explores the dangers of how we imagine AI as a tool for the future. The devil is in the details, and Gunderson manages to capture that within the tight 100-minute play. This is not just a play about AI; it is also about family and relationships. It’s a mystery that exposes our vulnerabilities – both real and virtual. It’s a powerful work of theater, and I hope more people get to see this.

My Rating: 4.5 Stars

Don’t miss the final 10 shows of anthropology. Experience this gripping, thought-provoking production before it closes on March 29 at the Doreen Black Box, Areté in Quezon City. Secure your seats now via ticket2me.

March 19, 2026
MOVIE REVIEW: Hoppers

I love it when Disney and Pixar bring a chaotic energy into some of their animated films. One of my favourites that never really had a chance, having been released at the height of the pandemic was Turning Red. There was a boundless youthful energy to that movie that I really, really loved. Monsters, Inc. also had that spark, and if I go further back, though not with Pixar — The Emperor’s New Groove continues to land all its punchlines even today while still having that lovely, warm beating heart that Disney is known for. I feel that their latest outing, Hoppers, falls into this category. Its premise is deceptive and may seem small and contained, but director Daniel Chong and screenwriter Jesse Andrews (with a story by Chong and Andrews) capture the universality of their protagonist’s love and passion and amplify it until it becomes epic.

Hoppers follows Mabel Tanaka (voiced by Piper Curda), a precocious teen who has been trying to save animals since she was a little girl. A fierce advocate for animal rights and welfare, she is currently in conflict with Jerry Generazzo (Jon Hamm), the mayor of Beaverton, who is running for re-election. The origin of their conflict?

Jerry from Disney and Pixar’s HOPPERS. Photo courtesy of Pixar. © 2026 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

Jerry is tearing down a glade to build a highway — the very same glade that Mabel has loved and watched over since she was a young girl.

(L-R): Mabel and Grandma Tanaka in Disney and Pixar’s HOPPERS. Photo courtesy of Pixar. © 2026 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

That glade holds a special space in Mabel’s heart, as it is where she and her grandmother often bonded. When Mabel discovers a machine that can put her consciousness on a robot beaver – created by her college professor, Dr. Sam (Kathy Najimy) – Mabel steals the technology, uses it on herself, and enters the animal world in order to help save the glade.

(L-R) Dr. Sam and Nisha in Pixar’s HOPPERS. Photo courtesy of Pixar. © 2025 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

From the get-go, Hoppers pushes the boundaries of reality so that we can easily accept the technology that allows the premise to take shape, as well as the way the animal kingdom operates. By allowing the animals to talk, Daniel Chong and Jesse Andrews create a funny world built on cooperation and peaceful cohabitation. As seen in the trailer, they have “pond rules,” which allows for the coexistence of carnivores and herbivores that follow a realistic precept. Outside of feeding, everyone pretty much gets along, with a big focus on beavers and how essential they are to any woodland ecosystem.

A scene from Disney and Pixar’s HOPPERS. Photo courtesy of Pixar. © 2026 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

Mabel meets the beaver king, King George (Bobby Moynihan), and a friendship sparks between them. For the first time, the fierce animal activism that has made Mabel isolated and lonely gives way to a feeling of belonging.

(L-R): Ellen Bear, Dragonfly, Loaf, Mabel Beaver, Tom Lizard, King George, Lucy Deer, and Barbara Duck in Disney and Pixar’s HOPPERS. Photo courtesy of Pixar. © 2026 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

In her over-zealousness to save the glade, Mabel accidentally rallies the other kings of the animal kingdom (as seen in the trailers), and she must now stop the animal kingdom from taking revenge on Jerry.

Mabel in Pixar’s HOPPERS. Photo courtesy of Pixar. © 2025 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

In a way, Hoppers is also a coming-of-age story, as Mabel must discover the consequences of her actions — that good intentions are not always enough — and learn that there are other ways to solve a problem.

(L-R): Mabel Beaver (voice of Piper Curda), King George (voice of Bobby Moynihan), Tom Lizard (voice of Tom Law), and Loaf (voice of Eduardo Franco) in Disney and Pixar’s “Hoppers,” releasing in U.S. theaters March 6, 2026. Photo courtesy of Disney/Pixar. © 2026 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

There’s a beautiful heart that fuels this movie. Aside from the surprising friendships and the value that it puts on these relationships, Hoppers also examines the way humans interact with the rest of nature. It never eases up on its humor, action, or fun, yet it manages to ask serious questions about the cost of urbanization.

King George from Disney and Pixar’s HOPPERS. Photo courtesy of Pixar. © 2026 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

It manages to bring up these issues while making you laugh so hard. There’s a scene in the council that had everyone in the movie theater gasp and then erupt into boisterous laughter. This is a film to watch with friends and allow yourself to fully suspend your disbelief as the film takes extreme and dramatic twists and turns, while still leaving you that warm Disney hug by the end of the movie.

My Rating: 4.5 Stars

Don’t miss the wild ride! Watch Hoppers now in theaters and join Mabel on her unforgettable adventure to protect nature, forge friendships, and discover the power of doing what’s right. Check showtimes here.

March 9, 2026
MOVIE REVIEW: The Bride!

From the moment the film starts, writer and director Maggie Gyllenhaal already lets us know that The Bride! is going to be an unhinged, out-of-the-box movie experience. The prologue, shot in black and white, has Jessie Buckley as Mary Shelley, speaking to us like a spectre, fully aware of her legacy as the creator and writer of Frankenstein and how she would want to continue this story.

This dense, articulate monologue, amplified by stylized language allows us to get a sense of Mary Shelley as a person. This is important as Shelley then possesses the body of Ida (also played by Buckley), a woman in 1930s Chicago (the film now shifts to color) with connections to the mob.

The Bride! Christian Bale, Jessie Buckley, and Maggie Gyllenhaal | Photo Courtesy of Warner Bros.

With Shelley inside her, she goes on a verbal rampage that leads to ruffling a mobster’s feathers. She is then killed.

Frankenstein’s Monster (Christian Bale), who is later called Frank, visits Dr. Euphronious (Annette Bening) because she is a leading scientist in “invigoration,” or bringing people back to life using the techniques that Dr. Frankenstein employed a hundred years ago.

Frank is lonely, and he convinces Dr. Euphronious to reanimate the body of Ida.

When she is revived, Ida’s mind is fuzzy and weak, making it easier for Mary Shelley to take control. Frank is smitten with her, and with Shelley mostly in control of Ida’s reanimated body, she causes havoc and chaos wherever she goes. As Shelley, having been in the afterlife, knows things, she calls out men’s behaviour while acting freely and loosely in public.

At a club, she is attacked by three men, whom Frank kills to protect her. Their monstrous appearance leads the press to call them “The Monster Killers,” and Frank and Ida/Mary Shelley make a run for it, causing chaos, creating a movement that empowers women to fight back, while being chased by police detective Jake Wiles (Peter Sarsgaard) and his secretary Myrna Mallow (Penelope Cruz), who is actually a brilliant detective herself.

I use the word “unhinged” when I talk about this movie, and I mean it in the best way possible. Maggie Gyllenhaal, along with cinematographer Lawrence Sher and production designer Karen Murphy, turns 1930s Chicago into a gothic, punk fever dream that sometimes leans into a nightmare. Gyllenhaal is not afraid to get gross, gruesome, and brutal.

The performances are all heavily stylized – Penelope Cruz delivers a magnificent 1930s pulp-fiction persona – and Christian Bale is incredible at tempering Frank’s soft, and vulnerable side with moments of tempestuous fury.

Annette Bening shows off her talents, creating a woman and scientist who seems more interested in the science than the people involved, until something inside her stirs. Her reactions to the amazing, impossible things she witnesses feel spontaneous and grounded.

But the true star here is Jessie Buckley. As Mary Shelley, she is an overwhelming persona, erupting with an explosive vocabulary that she flings like weapons in every scene. When she shifts to Ida, she is caught in a hazy mental fog that denies her full autonomy over her body and senses.

Buckley shifts between these two characters with remarkable ease, and the effect onscreen is mesmerizing. Honestly, if she doesn’t win the Academy Award for her role in Hamnet she could easily win it for her role in The Bride!.

What’s deceptive about this film is how it feels focused on the story, allowing the film to go everywhere – Frank’s obsession with a Hollywood musical star (played by Jake Gyllenhaal), the mobster (Zlatko Buric) chasing after Ida to finish her off, and the surprising connection Ida has with Jake – even providing a spectacular dance number that pays tribute to the 1974 comedy film Young Frankenstein by Mel Brooks.

The number evolves into a madcap performance that makes no real sense but is entirely welcomed into this fray. Meanwhile, on the periphery, a story about women galvanized to fight back against the oppression of men lingers on the outskirts of the narrative. There’s genuine anger here and frustration, and Buckley’s Ida/Mary Shelley becomes the metaphor for this, with her unintended reactions to what is happening to her manifesting in the social change that is happening out in the boundaries of this story’s reality. It also makes sense that Dr. Euphronious is also complicit in the domination and control of women’s bodies, since there are some women who do end up serving the patriarchy as well.

This anger and frustration are wrapped in a gorgeously imagined film that is unafraid to be self-aware, off-kilter, brutal and grotesque, and irreverent. Maggie Gyllenhaal’s sophomore effort is a powerful statement, and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.

My Rating: 4.5 Stars

Don’t miss The Bride! in theaters now. Witness Jessie Buckley’s mesmerizing performance, Maggie Gyllenhaal’s daring vision, and a story that’s as wild as it is unforgettable. Check showtimes and experience the chaos and brilliance on the big screen!

March 6, 2026