Check out the official trailer below and watch the film exclusively in cinemas across the Philippines very soon.
About The Pope’s Exorcist
Inspired by the actual files of Father Gabriele Amorth, Chief Exorcist of the Vatican (Academy Award®-winner Russell Crowe), The Pope’s Exorcist follows Amorth as he investigates a young boy’s terrifying possession and ends up uncovering a centuries-old conspiracy the Vatican has desperately tried to keep hidden.
The film is directed by Julius Avery, screenplay by Michael Petroni and Evan Spiliotopoulos, screen story by Michael Petroni and R. Dean McCreary & Chester Hastings, based on the books “An Exorcist Tells His Story” and “An Exorcist: More Stories” by Fr. Gabriele Amorth.
The cast is led by Russell Crowe, Daniel Zovatto, Alex Essoe and Franco Nero
The Pope’s Exorcist is distributed in the Philippines by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International. Connect with the hashtag #ThePopesExorcist
Based on the play by Samuel D. Hunter, The Whale is the story of an extremely overweight gay man, whose condition has put his life at risk and he hopes to reconcile with his estranged daughter before he passes on. I haven’t seen the play myself, but watching director Darren Aronofsky’s film adaptation, I can already imagine it on stage. It is a story told within a single setting and the main character, Charlie, is so overweight that he struggles to move around his own home. I can even imagine that Charlie wouldn’t have to leave his couch (though a review I’ve read states that the play does involve Charlie getting up from the couch and showing the difficulties and challenges his massive frame sets before him). Even the narrative and the way by which it unfolds is very theatrical: characters come to visit Charlie and when they interact, more and more of the backstory is revealed – how Charlie got this big, why is his relationship with his daughter so fractured, and so on – and the information begins to collide and push us towards a climax.
I can imagine how powerful this would be on stage. Charlie’s story involves a past lover, his thoughts on religion and faith, his dedication as an English teacher, and his messy relationships with his ex-wife and daughter. It’s a powerful character study and it’s quite riveting to watch the different characters engage with each other. ‘The Whale’ has excellent actors on deck, which creates electricity in every scene. Brendan Fraser is incredible as Charlie. It’s a very physical role where every movement causes discomfort or pain. He is very aware of his condition – and the danger his body is in shutting down at any moment – and it fuels his need for some form of reconciliation with Ellie, played by Sadie Sink. Sink is a far better actor than she shows here in this film. She’s playing Ellie a little too big and too dramatic and isn’t giving us a range of emotions that she’s shown us she could do in her work in ‘Stranger Things.’ It’s not a nuanced performance that we’ve come to know of her. That nuance is delivered by Fraser, Hong Chau, and Samantha Morton.
Chau plays Liz, Charlie’s only friend and a nurse, whose tough exterior and overprotective attitude regarding her friend creates some very powerful warm moments. Chau balances the concern and the love that a best friend carries and we can see all the history of these two characters in the way she deals with Fraser. As the story unfolds and we understand the full extent of their relationship, we see the brilliant tapestry of emotions Hong Chau weaves into her character and it’s no wonder she was nominated for the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. Samantha Morton, on the other hand, plays Mary, Charlie’s ex-wife. She’s got one long scene but the emotional peaks and valleys she crosses also betrays her character’s long history with Fraser’s Charlie. Things are said for the first time ever and it feels so spontaneous and real.
It’s the performances that really elevate the movie. Watching Fraser and Chau and Morton and Sink (and Ty Simpkins as Thomas, a missionary from the New Life Church) play out these pivotal moments in Charlie’s life at this period in time allows it to reach a crescendo that had me in tears. I was crying and I was shocked because there was so many things I was resisting against in this movie.
My first resistance was in the way by which Aronofsky captured Charlie’s obesity. There was no space for compassion in his camera work. We were made sure that we would see all of Charlie’s folds and layers. We were meant to ogle at every part of his body. There was no dignity at all and it felt very uncomfortable. The first few times was enough but the fact that the film does this throughout the 117 minute running time felt like we were meant to cast judgment on his obesity. As a play, there’s a distance that is created by the stage and the audience, but in film, the camera can get close and Aronofsky brings that camera really close and instead of being compassionate, I felt I was made to feel pity for Charlie.
And maybe the play had more of a story involved but Charlie has an obsession of “the truth” in the essays of his students of his persuasive writing class. There is a running thread about how there’s so much “b#llsh!t in the world right now” and “no one says the truth” but never does this adaptation ever explain his attachment to honesty. It’s such a powerful story point at the end but it never really feels connected to all the other parts of the film – not it’s underdeveloped thoughts on religion and faith, nor its discussion on grief and depression, nor on forgiveness and redemption – so when the finale hits, I’m crying because the performances are so strong but it feels sort of empty.
On the surface, ‘The Whale’ can seem like it broaches so many important themes such as mental health, grief, discrimination and homophobia, and so on and you can be brought in by the strength of the performances of the cast, but when it is all said and done, it never really gets to say anything conclusive about the themes it opens up. Fraser could win the Oscar, and he would deserve it, but it’s quite clear why the film was only nominated for its two performances and make-up and hairstyling; because those are the only aspects of the film that really stick.
My Rating:
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The Whale is now showing in cinemas nationwide. Buy your tickets here.
He states, “I had a clear vision of what I wanted the story to be, where I wanted the Creed family to go. The challenge of directing helped motivate me—I wanted to see if I had what it takes to act in and direct something that had been kicking around in my head for a long time. “Creed III” is very personal to me and, thankfully, all those things added up to the perfect situation for this movie.”
In the film, after dominating the boxing world, Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) has been thriving in both his career and family life. When a childhood friend and former boxing prodigy, Damian (Jonathan Majors), resurfaces after serving a long sentence in prison, he is eager to prove that he deserves his shot in the ring. The face-off between former friends is more than just a fight. To settle the score, Adonis must put his future on the line to battle Damian – a fighter who has nothing to lose.
“This is an origin story, a sequel, and a trilogy all in one,” says Jordan. “We’ve seen Adonis at a young age in the earlier films, but we never had the chance to really see how he was in and out of juvie, what really shaped him to be the Adonis Creed that we know, before he was adopted and brought into a life of wealth, opportunity and legacy. I felt it would result in a kind of identity crisis for him.”
Jordan feels a kinship with the character of Adonis. Before Jordan ascended to global superstar with his performance in Ryan Coogler’s “Black Panther,” it was the director’s 2015 “Creed” that introduced Jordan to the power of not just admiring, but being part of, a cinematic legacy.
“I grew up along with Adonis Creed,” says Jordan. “I created him with Ryan and got a chance to play him at pivotal times during my own personal life. So now, in the third film in the series, to be able to tell the story of where I am now, and where Adonis is on his journey, feels extremely personal.
“I was excited to see Adonis through to wherever he needed to go next,” Jordan adds. “How does he stay hungry? How does he find motivation now? The answer was, through a reminder about who he was before fame, and before he got everything that he dreamed of. As an actor and a director, that’s what I was most interested in exploring.”
Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures Presents A Chartoff-Winkler Production, “Creed III” is distributed internationally by Warner Bros. Pictures including the Philippines.
Join the conversation online and use the hashtag #Creed3
The character one-sheets spotlight all the major players in the new movie, from returning icons such as Courteney Cox and Hayden Panettiere to recent new favorites Jenna Ortega, Melissa Barrera, Jasmin Savoy Brown and Mason Gooding. There are also some brand new faces in the mix, including Samara Weaving and Tony Revolori.
Check out the posters below and watch Scream VI in cinemas across the Philippines starting March 8.
About Scream VI
Following the latest Ghostface killings, the four survivors leave Woodsboro behind and start a fresh chapter. In Scream VI, Melissa Barrera (“Sam Carpenter”), Jasmin Savoy Brown (“Mindy Meeks-Martin”), Mason Gooding (“Chad Meeks-Martin”), Jenna Ortega (“Tara Carpenter”), Hayden Panettiere (“Kirby Reed”) and Courteney Cox (“Gale Weathers”) return to their roles in the franchise alongside Jack Champion, Henry Czerny, Liana Liberato, Dermot Mulroney, Devyn Nekoda, Tony Revolori, Josh Segarra, and Samara Weaving.
Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Media Group Present A Project X Entertainment Production, A Radio Silence Film, Scream VI.
Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett, produced by William Sherak, James Vanderbilt, Paul Neinstein, written by James Vanderbilt & Guy Busick, based on characters created by Kevin Williamson.
Scream VI is distributed in the Philippines by Paramount Pictures through Columbia Pictures. Connect with #Scream6 and tag @paramountpicsph
Photo & Video Credit: “Paramount Pictures International”
Starring Academy Award-nominee Adam Driver (Marriage Story, Star Wars: The Force Awakens), “65” has also unveiled a brand new spot which may be viewed below.
About 65
After a catastrophic crash on an unknown planet, pilot Mills (Adam Driver) quickly discovers he’s actually stranded on Earth…65 million years ago. Now, with only one chance at rescue, Mills and the only other survivor, Koa (Ariana Greenblatt), must make their way across an unknown terrain riddled with dangerous prehistoric creatures in an epic fight to survive.
From the writers of A Quiet Place and producer Sam Raimi comes 65, a sci-fi thriller starring Adam Driver, Ariana Greenblatt, and Chloe Coleman. Written and directed by Scott Beck & Bryan Woods and produced by Sam Raimi, Deborah Liebling and Zainab Azizi. Also produced by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods.
65 is distributed in the Philippines by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International. Connect with the hashtag #65Movie
CELEBRATING the Love Month and the National Arts Month, the Cultural Center of the Philippines presents three film programs – Cine Icons, Cinema Under the Stars, and the CCP Arthouse Cinema – this February.
CINE ICONS, is a new program by the CCP Film, Broadcast, and New Media Division highlighting the cinematic masterpieces of film masters, including the National Artists of the Philippines for Film and Broadcast. On its soft launch, Cine Icons will feature National Artist Marilou Diaz-Abaya’s Brutal, written by another National Artist, Ricky Lee. Brutal is about a woman who after killing her husband and his friends goes into post-traumatic shock and withdraws from any form of communication. A feminist journalist becomes interested in the case and resolves to unravel the truth behind the murders.
Another film to screen alongside the film classic is a Gawad Alternatibo 2022 winner entitled, Lingkis by Yvonne Elizabeth Salazar and Isabel Margarita Valenzuela. The film mixes mythology, animation, and documentary to tell the story of a country plunged into darkness by repressive regimes visually depicted by a mythological serpent.
The Cine Icons soft launch screening will be held on February 17, starting at 1pm, at the PUP Theater, located inside the PUP Campus in Sta. Mesa, Manila, to be followed by a talkback by National Artist Ricky Lee. The event is made possible in partnership with the Polytechnic University of the Philippines and Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP).
Cinema Under the Stars (CUTS) returns for its first screening for 2023, featuring Real Florido’s Ist Ko Si Third on February 24, 5:00PM, at the CCP Annex Parking area.
A 2014 Cinemalaya Finalist under the New Breed Category, 1st Ko Si Third rediscovers the joy and pain of first love through the story of a 65-year-old retiree Cory who bumps into her first love named Third. When their first date is about to happen, Cory brings with her a handful of love letters she never gave to Third. She is now ready to give them to her first love. Will she discover that first love truly never dies?
The CCP Arthouse Cinema: Of Love and Revolutions presents the screening of Lingkis on February 24, 1-4pm, via Zoom. This online screening is specifically offered primarily for students and educators who continue conducting online courses.
All screenings are free to the public, on a first-come-first-served basis. For more information, call the CCP FBNM Division at 8832-1125 loc. 1705 or follow the official CCP social media accounts in Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Tiktok for updates.
Disney has dropped a short trailer for their upcoming live-action adaptation of The Little Mermaid. In the new 30-second teaser, we get a better look at Ariel’s underwater world, Prince Eric, and a glimpse of Ursula. Check out The Little Mermaid‘s Wish trailer below:
The Little Mermaid is the next Disney movie classic to get a live-action adaptation, joining titles such as Pinocchio, Mulan, and Aladdin. The iconic story follows the mermaid Ariel who has always been fascinated by life on land. Despite being forbidden by her father, King Triton, Ariel make occasional visits to the surface, where she falls for a human prince. To be with him, she makes a dangerous deal with the sea witch Ursula to become a human for three days.
Halle Bailey stars as Ariel alongside Jonah Hauer-King, who plays Prince Eric, and Melissa McCarthy as Ursula. The film also stars Daveed Diggs, Jacob Tremblay, Awkwafina, Art Malik, Noma Dumezweni, and Javier Bardem. The Little Mermaid is directed by Rob Marshall and will arrive in US cinemas this May 26.
Explore a secret world that goes beyond time and space, and meet a dangerous new multiversal threat in Marvel Studios’ “Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania,” now showing in cinemas nationwide. The moviekicks off Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with a fast-paced big-screen adventure that features all the heart and humor that fans and more will love!
In the film, Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) and Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) continue to explore life as a superhero couple. They now live with their reunited family, which includes Hope’s parents Janet Van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer) and Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), as well as Scott’s daughter Cassie (Kathryn Newton).
Cassie’s curiosity leads to an unexpected one-way trip to the mysterious Quantum Realm. They encounter strange new creatures, a stricken society, and a major new foe: a master of time whose nefarious mission has only just begun. With Scott and Cassie pulled away from Hope, Janet, and Hank, they must find their way back to each other and home again from a world of utter chaos.
Don’t miss a chance to catch the must-watch Marvel film of the season and witness the beginning of a new era in the MCU. Check the available showtimes here and book your tickets now!
For the latest news and promos, follow Marvel Studios Philippines on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. Join the conversations online using #AntManandTheWaspPH and #QuantumaniaPH.
“AIR,” directed by Ben Affleck, from Amazon Studios, Skydance Sports, Mandalay Pictures, and the first project from Affleck and Matt Damon’s Artists Equity, will receive a wide theatrical release in the Philippines through Warner Bros. Pictures starting April 19, 2023.
Watch the trailer of “AIR”below:
In a first of its kind arrangement, Warner Bros. Pictures is handling the international rollout of “AIR” as part of its distribution pact with Amazon’s MGM.
“Ben, Matt, and this all-star cast have delivered a fantastic film that will move, inspire, and entertain audiences around the globe,” said Jennifer Salke, Head of Amazon and MGM Studios. “With Ben’s incredible direction, the film delivers a nostalgic look back at a culture-defining moment that absolutely lends itself to a global theatrical event.”
Said director Ben Affleck: “Matt and I are very excited for audiences to see `AIR’ and proud that it’s the first release from Artists Equity. The movie was an extraordinary experience where we had the honor of working with some of the best cast and crew in the business, all of whom brought passion, persistence, and creativity to a collective effort at recreating a remarkable and aspirational story. I appreciate and value Jen Salke’s faith in our ability to execute on and deliver a movie we are proud of, as well as her and Sue Kroll’s incredible ongoing support of the film. Amazon Studios, Skydance,and Mandalay were all critical to getting this done, and the film couldn’t have been made without them. We value the steps it took on each of their parts to make it happen and want to thank them. This was the best creative and personal experience of our lives and we look forward to many more like it.”
From award-winning director Ben Affleck, “AIR” reveals the unbelievable game-changing partnership between a then rookie Michael Jordan and Nike’s fledgling basketball division which revolutionized the world of sports and contemporary culture with the Air Jordan brand. This moving story follows the career-defining gamble of an unconventional team with everything on the line, the uncompromising vision of a mother who knows the worth of her son’s immense talent, and the basketball phenom who would become the greatest of all time.
Matt Damon plays maverick Nike executive Sonny Vaccaro and Affleck plays Nike co-founder Phil Knight with Jason Bateman as Rob Strasser, Chris Messina as David Falk, Matthew Maher as Peter Moore, Marlon Wayans as George Raveling, Chris Tucker as Howard White, Viola Davis as Deloris Jordan, Gustaf Skarsgård as Horst Dassler, and Julius Tennon as James Jordan – among others.
This marks the first time Affleck is directing a feature film starring Damon. With a script penned by Alex Convery, AIR is produced by David Ellison, Jesse Sisgold, Jon Weinbach, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Madison Ainley, Jeff Robinov, Peter Guber, and Jason Michael Berman. Executive producers include Dana Goldberg, Don Granger, Kevin Halloran, Michael Joe, Drew Vinton, John Graham, Peter E. Strauss, and Jordan Moldo.
Join the conversation online and use the hashtag #AIRMovie
There’s a line in the film Empire of Light that talks about how shooting films on film cameras work. That a movie, made in this older format, is basically 24 still shots in a frame, and in between each frame is a dark gap, a “darkness” as the character Norman (played by Toby Jones) calls it. He says, “there’s a little flaw in our optic nerve so if I run the film at 24 frames per second you don’t see the darkness… viewing static images in succession creates an illusion of motion, an illusion of life…” This line encapsulates exactly the entirety of this whole movie’s atmosphere and structure.
It’s an illusion, really. The whole movie is just snapshots of these characters’ lives through a particular moment in time and while it never really gets deep down and dirty in the particulars, it merely leaves us with impressions of their troubles and life challenges. What we are left with is the illusion of motion and of life.
Director Sam Mendes takes the magnificently versatile and dynamic Olivia Colman and a very charming and impressive Michael Ward into a narrative set in a cinema in 1981 Margate, England. Colman plays Hillary, the duty manager of the Empire cinema, who is suffering from mental health issues and Ward plays Stephen, a young man who can’t get into college and must battle racism every day in a Margaret Thatcher-era Britain. The two find themselves at a particularly unstable time in both of their lives and keep each other from going under. Their love story is just one of many little themes that play out in ‘Empire of Light’ that gives the story something to move it forward but it’s not really the whole gist of it.
Because the movie is also about mental health and the way Hillary seems to lack any real support from the government but it’s also about the racism that Stephen experiences on a daily basis during this time. The film is also a love story to movies and the glory of watching in the cinema and it’s about the changing landscape of society as the world moves forward. It’s not just a love story but a lot of little things that don’t really amount to any sort of bigger meaning except that life is really just a mix and match of different little challenges that we face. It’s never as clear-cut and precise as a movie, which is why we love the medium so much. Movies make sense out of the randomness of life and, interestingly enough, ‘Empire of Light’ prefers to remain distant and cold from all the things that would have made the story the stuff of cinema.
While Colman and Ward deliver strong performances, the movie is also amplified by Director of Photography Roger Deakin’s masterful use of light and composition. The way each moment is punctuated by a change in the lighting, whether the day shifts into dusk, or when lighting fixtures are switched on and create a radiance that fills up the screen, it’s a showcase of the genius of Deakins and is reason to watch the film.
Also doing a lot of heavy lifting is the tender musical score of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. While Colman and Ward are bringing life to the scenes and Deakins frames it beautifully as an image, Reznor and Ross allow the scenes to breathe. The melodies they build upon each scene just highlight the humanity in these moments.
What Sam Mendes puts together may not be enjoyable to most. In fact, a lot of critics have remarked on the lack of narrative depth to the piece by failing to really go deep into his character’s inner worlds and struggles. I, on the other hand, enjoyed the distance that he takes and how less like a movie it is and more like viewing someone from outside their realm of experience. Instead, the movies in ‘Empire of Light’ will have that sort of effect on people (and even the characters of the film) but the movie itself will be the opposite of it. It’s an illusion and I appreciate the poetry of that.
My Rating:
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Empire of Light is now showing in cinemas nationwide. Buy your tickets here.
