Category: Movies

Surprising at every turn, ‘Decision to Leave’ masterfully merges the genres of the crime thriller and romance

The way that director Park Chan-wook plays around with genre conventions in his latest movie, ‘Decision to Leave’ shows off his mastery of the medium of film. The film is equal parts a crime thriller as it is also a stunning romantic drama but is also loaded with a certain dead-pan, dry sense of humour that is filled with irony and even cynicism. With great use of brisk and flashy editing techniques that makes the 138-minute running time fly by unnoticed, stunning cinematography that plays with your head with its unusual framing and gorgeous lighting, and a script never fails to twist and turn in surprising ways, Park Chan-wook delivers another mind-blowing experience at the cinema.

While other critics have said this is not on the same level as his previous works like ‘The Handmaiden’ or ‘Oldboy’ and while I can see where they are coming from, even his lesser work is better than most filmmakers at their best.

‘Decision to Leave’ is a crime thriller about a police detective who falls in love with the widow of a man who fell off a mountain while mountain climbing. As Hae-joon (Park Hae Il), the police detective, investigates the cause of death, he begins to obsess over Seo-rae (Tang Wei), the Chinese widow of the fallen mountain climber as he discovers that she was a victim of domestic abuse and her marriage to the victim may have been one of convenience. From widow to prime suspect, Hae-joon finds himself attracted to Seo-rae, even though he’s married.

Photo: Decision to Leave trailer

At every turn, the film jumps back and forth between a murder mystery and a dark love story. Director Park Chan-wook masterfully uses match cuts and jump cuts to play with time as Hae-joon’s affections for her builds up and gets stronger through the investigation. There’s a terrific scene where the detective is watching the widow with a pair of binoculars as she is working and in a sudden cut, he is in the room with her, unseen, and is close enough to touch. Through Park’s direction, Hae-joon is present in Seo-rae’s day-to-day affairs through his imagination, or maybe it’s Seo-rae who is present in all of Hae-joon’s thoughts.

What’s interesting about this film is that, while mixing the genre of crime thriller and romance, the film never attempts to pass judgment on its characters. Yes, Hae-joon is committing some level of infidelity, though they never consummate it. In fact, his wife Jung-an (Lee Jung-hyun) is aware that they are not in love but she’s committed to the marriage nonetheless.

Photo: Decision to Leave trailer

What it paints is a picture of a policeman who is only passionate about his work – he has a wall filled with photos of the cases he has yet to solve, which may be the cause of his insomnia – and maybe that’s also the reason why he seems infatuated with Seo-rae. She’s the job. Is she a killer or is she a victim herself? And what will happen now that Seo-rae seems very much open to the affections of the detective?

As the story unfolds, we become witnesses to a dark and dangerous aspect of love – of its capacity to blur the lines between what is right and wrong and to muddle our priorities and our own well-being – and that when framed within the context of crime and murder, love leaves no space for justice. Like this movie and story beats that push it forward, love is merciless in how it makes demands from us all.

Photo: Decision to Leave trailer

The film’s tone is dark and foreboding – there’s very little joy in this love story – but it is also oddly comedic when taken as a whole. The ending is ironic, which is the natural state of the world, according to screenwriting guru Robert McKee, and it’s why I find that there’s a dark humour to this film. The way with which Seo-rae (through the wonderfully layered and nuanced performance by Tang Wei) is so resolute in her choices, her total dedication to the decisions that she makes and the way by which Park Hae-il embodies the stoic Hae-joon, where he almost seems like an involuntary agent in this farce, that I couldn’t help but smile at the end of the film. I didn’t like these characters and it was such a sordid and strange situation to dramatize but I couldn’t stop watching. The acting was impeccable, the direction was so masterful, and by the end of it, I was just swept away by all these thoughts about how merciless and demanding love can be.

It’s not as explosive as ‘The Handmaiden’ nor is it as shocking as ‘Oldboy’ but ‘Decision to Leave’ will stay in my head for a very long time.

My Rating:

.

—

Decision to Leave is now in cinemas nationwide. Buy your tickets here.
Homestream image from the TIFF website.

September 29, 2022
Frightening by Overindulgence: a review of ‘Smile’

Everything scary about director Parker Finn’s ‘Smile’ is in excess: the camera work, the musical score, and sound design, the jump scares, the slow-burn exposition. Considering this is Finn’s directorial debut, he shows a lot of promise in his understanding of how to frame a sequence and how to create tension and to elicit dread and fear but what he now needs to learn is restraint.

‘Smile’ is about a psychiatrist, Dr. Rose Cotter, who meets a patient suffering from a paranoid delusion about a sinister entity that plays tricks on her mind and threatens her with her own death. During their first session, Rose witnesses the patient kill herself, and what she diagnosed as a paranoid delusion turns out to be very true and now this being is haunting her. In the midst of determining what’s real and what’s fantasy, Rose begins to unravel and her own past traumas return.

Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures

The film is long, running at almost two hours, and while there’s a lot of story to cover – Rose’s past traumas and how it has affected her present-day life, how the hauntings of this entity are affecting her relationships, the formulaic story point of her uncovering the history of this malevolent spirit – it still could have been shorter if the director, who also wrote the screenplay, didn’t draw out all the scary moments of the film.

Oftentimes, the point has been made but instead of moving further into the story, he’ll add another scary moment, as if he’s trying to reach a quota. It’s relentless and it gets exhausting at some point as it starts to feel repetitive.

Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures

And it’s a shame because there’s a lot of good filmmaking involved in ‘Smile.’ There’s a really good use of extreme close-ups on the face of Sosie Bacon, who plays Rose, and we get a very intimate view of her character’s unraveling. It creates a sense of claustrophobia, where, as the audience, you want the medium shot or a long shot just so that you can see the extent of the danger that she’s in. There’s a good interplay of silence and sudden loud noises, of a vibrant musical score that really amps up the tension of the scenes. If these elements were used sparingly, it would have a stronger effect on the movie as it paces us along with the narrative.

Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Instead, as it keeps coming over and over again, we stop focusing on the story and just psych ourselves up for another scary moment.

Interestingly enough, the film uses trauma and mental health as the fulcrum by which the whole story operates on. While a lot of psychological thrillers or even psychological horror films used mental health as a reason for the death and destruction, in ‘Smile’ it becomes both a weapon and, maybe, a path to salvation. Discussions about mental health are always welcomed, especially when it’s done correctly, but to use it in this horror film, and in such a blatant way, somehow reduces the supernatural aspect of the film by quite a bit.

Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures

What makes the supernatural so scary is how mysterious and unscientific it is and can be, and by framing this creature’s motives and processes through mental health makes it feel less believable and more made up than it already is.

There are a lot of good things in the film – use of close-ups, use of crazy camera angles to show the growing deterioration of Rose’s mental health, excellent mix of quiet moments and loud scoring and sound design to amplify a mood – but all these individual elements don’t really add up to a strong horror film. It’s fun to watch with friends for a laugh but it’s not going to stay with you like other horror movies.

My Rating:

.

—

Smile is now in cinemas nationwide. Buy your tickets here.

September 28, 2022
WATCH: Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine to Return in ‘Deadpool 3’, Ryan Reynolds Confirmed

Ryan Reynolds officially announced the return of Hugh Jackman as Wolverine in his upcoming film Deadpool 3.

In a video, Reynolds made a simple announcement video– one in stark contrast to Deadpool‘s outrageous plots and sequences– where the actor teased his first film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And as Jackman walks by behind the actor, Reynolds asks him if he’d want to play Wolverine one more time. Watch the rest of their interaction below:

Further details on the plot of the film are still under wraps, because as Reynolds jokingly said about writing the film: “I have nothing.” But fans are sure to get yet another wild ride with Deadpool and Wolverine being in the same film together in an MCU film.

Directed by Shawn Levy, Deadpool 3 is set for a US release in theaters on September 6, 2024. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to get the latest news on film, TV, and more updates around the city!

September 28, 2022
‘Ticket to Paradise’ Brings Back Big-Screen Romcom Feels

“Ticket to Paradise” is Directed by Ol Parker, George Clooney and Julia Roberts have reunited on-screen as David and Georgia, a divorced couple who seemingly only agree on one thing: their love for their daughter Lily (Dever). So, when Lily meets and falls in love with a seaweed farmer named Gede (Bouttier) on her graduation trip to Bali and tells her parents that she’s going to marry him, there’s only one thing they can do: team up to stop her from making the same mistake they made all those years ago.

Kaitlyn Dever & Maxime Bouttier

With the audience eager for a romcom rebirth, here are 5 reasons why Ticket to Paradise is this year’s cinematic romcom date movie for the family.

·      George and Julia’s warring couple would make one yearn for second chances. Clooney says. “In all the years since he and Georgia divorced, the fire is still there for him, but he’s convinced that Georgia has moved on and that he needs to make peace with that. She has a new boyfriend and a new life without him, and he doesn’t want to risk the hurt of being shut down or making things more complicated than they already are, and more than anything, he doesn’t want to compromise his relationship with his daughter Lily.”

George Clooney & Kaitlyn Dever

·      George and Julia’s parenting mission is boundless, flying miles and miles while forgetting for a moment they are exes to team up for their daughter’s happiness. “We’re in a space in the world right now where people want to see something funny and comforting. “The unexpected thing about this movie is that there are various relationships within the family and emotions within the family that audiences will find themselves being moved by,” shares producer Bevan.

·      The scenery, set in Bali (but filmed in Australia due to the pandemic), makes us want to pack our bags for a beach getaway.  Bouttier hopes it will serve as a reminder to tourists about the beauty of Balinese culture. “It’s a very lighthearted script, something we’ve been needing in the world,” Bouttier says. “Ever since COVID hit, Bali’s tourism has faded to a complete halt. Even now, Bali is still struggling to get tourism back, so a movie like this that’s set in Bali in a romcom format will hopefully invite the world back into Bali.”

Julia Roberts & Kaitlyn Dever

·      You’d love the movie’s take on giving the global audience a glimpse of Balinese culture. “It was extremely important to us that we got not only the Balinese characters absolutely right, but the Balinese background, local culture and rituals absolutely right,” producer Tim Bevan says.

·      Casting Indonesian actor Maxime Bouttier for the role of Gede is on-point. Bouttier, in his Hollywood movie debut appreciated that the character was both open-minded and culturally connected to his customs. “Gede works as a seaweed farmer because he knows that it’s a give-and-take deal with nature, and I feel that’s a very Balinese way of life,” Bouttier says.

Kaitlyn Dever & Maxime Bouttier

Ticket To Paradise is from Universal Pictures International that will open nationwide in local cinemas on October 5.

September 27, 2022
MOVIE REVIEW: ‘Don’t Worry Darling’ is telling us to worry and that nothing is what it seems

From its opening scene, Don’t Worry Darling is already telling you something is wrong with this picture. And it’s a happy moment: the film begins with a wild, drunken revelry between three couples in what seems to be an image of the ideal 60s American life. They are drinking, dancing, teasing each other. They are young and beautiful and seemingly madly in love with their respective partners. In fact, our leads Alice and Jack (Florence Pugh and Harry Styles) can’t seem to get enough of each other, kissing and having sex at every opportunity. But something is off and Alice is beginning to take notice.

The filmmaking, with Olivia Wilde in the director’s chair, is visceral and luscious – from its cinematography, blocking, choice of musical score, and the performances of the majority of the cast – and gives you a building momentum of dread. Something is very wrong in this picture-perfect representation of the American dream. Every so often, there’s an earthquake and the women react almost by reflex in ensuring their drinks stay stable and nothing falls to the floor. The men leave for work in an almost synchronised exit in their shiny Cadillacs or whatever fancy car model they have in that era. The musical score of John Powell is intricate as it is eerie. Its haunting melodies are created by vocals and even rhythmic breaths, sometimes a drone sound of fuzzed bass or a sudden explosion of violent strings. It’s intrusive. It punctures the visuals and it really gets you going. Oftentimes, the score is designed so that you think it’s diegetic, that it is part of the scene and then you realise it isn’t and it adds to the atmosphere.

Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Wilde does an amazing job at instilling a sense of dread and danger in every moment of ‘Don’t Worry Darling,’ subverting the whole idea of the ideal 60s concept of Americana – the white picket fences, suburbia, the glamorous 60s – but Wilde ends up showing how hollow it really was; that it is nothing more than a frightening veneer covering up something dark and twisted and horrible.

Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

The narrative unfolds like a slow-burn horror film, with moments of genuine weirdness that remind you something is amiss. From the get-go, you know this film is centered around the issues of women. This time frame positions women as the support system of the men as they go through their daily work. We know this is sexist, that this world is sexist, and just like Alice, we start to question the very fabric of this world’s reality. What is this Victory Project that the men are working on? Who is Frank (played by Chris Pine), this charming figure who leads this community and everyone seems to be so enamored with? What will happen to this couple as Alice becomes more and more certain something is wrong as Jack seems to be climbing the ladder to success?

Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

The feminist themes are apparent. The film explores and dramatizes the idea of control, of gaslighting, and questioning the role of women in a marriage and in society. It can feel heavy-handed as the film is centered mainly through Alice’s point-of-view and this is all that she sees but it’s interwoven so intricately into the entire concept of the movie that I don’t mind it. These are issues that are still relevant to this very day and age.

Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Florence Pugh channels her character from ‘Midsommar’ and then takes it to a different level in ‘Don’t Worry Darling.’ She’s a wonderful anchor for this movie as she can make this sense of paranoia into something so palpable and it makes her reactions so believable. In a way, she plays off so well with Olivia Wilde, who plays an exuberant neighbour, someone who is completely sold into this world; and also with Gemma Chan, who plays the wife of Frank, who contrasts the two women through stillness and silence. These three women show off a range of layers in various ways that it’s great to see them work. It layers the movie wonderfully by showing off a dynamic range of women characters.

Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

And for the men, it’s Chris Pine who steals the show. As mentioned above, he’s magnetic and charming, maintaining a hint of the sinister behind an easy smile while expertly delivering stirring monologues that, when you really think about it, says nothing specific or substantial at all. This adds to the mystery that the film is working towards.

Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

And the big reveal is my only real gripe in ‘Don’t Worry Darling.’ Once uncovered, there’s an element of it not being equivalent to the build-up that happened. It’s a bit mundane, maybe even a little cliche. The big revelation is not as clever as it could have been. The experience that you get through only to find out that it’s that is a bit of a letdown for me. There’s so much creativity and imagination in the first hour and a half that the ending feels like they ran out of steam.

But it’s a tiny gripe since the overall experience of watching this film is so good that I can forgive the banality of its ending.

My Rating:

.

—

Don’t Worry Darling arrives in cinemas nationwide this September 28. Buy your tickets here.

September 27, 2022
John Boyega Ascends to the Throne as King Ghezo in ‘The Woman King’

“He walks as though the earth were honored by its burden.” When John Boyega (Star Wars franchise) read that line for Columbia Pictures’ epic action adventure “The Woman King”, he knew he would accept the role of King Ghezo.

Trailer Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

The Woman King is the remarkable story of the Agojie, the all-female unit of warriors who protected the African Kingdom of Dahomey in the 1800s with skills and a fierceness unlike anything the world has ever seen. Inspired by true events, The Woman King follows the emotionally epic journey of General Nanisca (Oscar®-winner Viola Davis) as she trains the next generation of recruits and readies them for battle against an enemy determined to destroy their way of life. Some things are worth fighting for…

“It is one of the first lines that [director] Gina Prince-Bythewood quoted to me in her letter about taking the part,” he says. “It thoroughly describes him. And it gives me the opportunity to show a versatility in acting that would be quite exciting for the role.”

Photo Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

Having recently staged a successful coup – with the help of the Agojie warriors – which deposed his brother from his reign, Ghezo is new to the throne. “He is a conflicted young king who is dealing with the variance of decisions,” says Boyega. “This is a very complicated time in his history. After a controversial rise to the throne, he’s at a point where leadership and decision-making is going to mean everything for the future of the Dahomey people.”

The judgments he will have to make could not be more important or far-reaching. “He is confronted with a decision Nanisca has put in the forefront of his mind about the impact of a human atrocity in their society: whether or not to have such substantial involvement in the slave trade as much as other kings,” notes Boyega. “The slave trade is going through a transition in that time. I’d call Ghezo as conflicted as anything else, and a young man dealing with the struggles of power on his neck.”

Photo Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

“When I finished reading the script, the first person that came to my mind for Ghezo was John Boyega. I was like, ‘It’s gotta be John!’,” recalls Prince-Bythewood. “When John walks on set, people stop – you feel his power and his presence. What he’s bringing to this character is even more than we could have imagined. He literally is our king.”

King Ghezo was a real historical figure, and much of his story in The Woman King is drawn from true events. “It makes it an interesting process to explore a character who actually existed,” says Boyega. “I had historical texts as well as several books that Gina recommended. He did some things I agree with, and some I disagree with, but in the end, you have to separate yourself from the research. I’m here to show the lived experience and create a character around the research that we did.”

In cinemas across the Philippines October 5, The Woman King is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International. Connect with the hashtag #TheWomanKing

September 27, 2022
For “Smile” Star Sosie Bacon, Horror Genre Runs in the Family

Trailer Courtesy of Paramount Pictures International

In Smile, after witnessing a bizarre, traumatic incident involving a patient, Dr. Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon) starts experiencing frightening occurrences that she can’t explain. As an overwhelming terror begins taking over her life, Rose must confront her troubling past in order to survive and escape her horrifying new reality.

Photo Courtesy of Paramount Pictures International

Bacon’s innate warmth and her natural gift for connecting with people struck director-writer Parker Finn as essential traits to portray an empathetic clinical psychiatrist. Just as importantly, she had the acting skill to capture the emotion and anxiety of someone on a perilous downward spiral. “I believe Sosie’s given one of the most astounding debut lead performances in recent years,” Finn says. “She’s in almost every scene, and she’s operating at extreme levels of stress, fear, and panic for most of the movie. Maintaining those emotions can really take a toll on an actor, but she’s deeply committed to her craft and just knocked it out of the park.”

Photo Courtesy of Paramount Pictures International

Bacon describes Smile as an intense psychological horror film told through the eyes of a character that you can’t help but root for. “I play a woman who’s been coping with a lot of pain in her life, and after witnessing a violent incident at work, she’s forced to confront a supernatural threat that fixates on her,” she says. “It’s visually striking and it will absolutely freak you out!”

Photo Courtesy of Paramount Pictures International

Although Bacon has been acclaimed for her nuanced supporting performances in film and television series including “Mare of Easttown” and “13 Reasons Why,” Smile represents the biggest role of her career so far, and she admits it affected her emotionally and physically. “Truthfully, I wasn’t fully aware of how much this part would wear on me when I began the movie,” she says. “It’s physically demanding, because your body doesn’t understand the difference between acting and real life. But honestly, I don’t know that anything can prepare you for an experience like Smile.”

In cinemas across the Philippines September 28, Smile is distributed in the Philippines by Paramount Pictures through Columbia Pictures. Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/paramountpicsph/; Instagram at www.instagram.com/paramountpicsph/ and YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsZ7igjHZB-5k8DDM7ilVJw. Connect with #SmileMovie and tag @paramountpicsph

September 26, 2022
Film Facts: 5 Things to Know About ‘Don’t Worry Darling’

This week, Olivia Wilde’s psychological thriller Don’t Worry Darling is dropping in Philippine cinemas!

Set in the ’50s, the film stars Florence Pugh and Harry Styles as the couple Alice and Jack who live in the idealized community of Victory, which is owned by a mysterious company.

Home to the families of the men who work for the company’s top-secret project, Victory is a tight-knit utopia where the people’s daily lives are influenced by the CEO, Frank (Chris Pine), who also serves as a life coach for the community. But when Alice begins to see cracks in their idyllic life, she sets out to discover the truth behind Victory and its sinister secrets.

Before Don’t Worry Darling hits theaters this week, we’ve rounded up a few facts about the movie from behind the scenes. Check them out below.

1. Olivia Wilde is back in the director’s chair.

Before being credited as a director, Olivia Wilde is an actress who starred in movies like The Lazarus Effect and TRON: Legacy. She made her directorial debut in 2019 with the teen comedy flick Booksmart, making Don’t Worry Darling her second feature film as the director. Wilde also stars in the thriller as Bunny, Alice’s best friend.

Photo: ‘Don’t Worry Darling’ trailer

2. There were multiple bidders for Wilde’s script.

According to Deadline, there were 15 to 18 bidders who wanted to secure Wilde’s script with budgets of around $20M. Included in the lineup of studios that joined the bidding war were Netflix, MGM, Village Roadshow Pictures, Apple, and Universal-based Blumhouse. In the end, New Line Cinema, known for The Conjuring, IT, and the Final Destination franchises secured the rights for the film.

3. Shia Labeouf almost starred as Jack.

Harry Styles was initially meant to play Jack, but due to conflicts with his touring schedule, the role almost landed on Shia Labeouf of Transformers fame. But in an interview with Variety, Wilde said she let go of Labeouf because his process “seems to require a combative energy, and I don’t personally believe that is conducive to the best performances.”

Meanwhile, Labeouf denied this in an email to Variety, saying the reason was the lack of rehearsal time. In the end, Styles was cast again to play the lead role opposite Pugh.

Photo: ‘Don’t Worry Darling’ Dinner Clip

4. Florence Pugh on her sex scenes with Harry Styles in the trailer.

In the same interview, director Wilde had been vocal about the importance of depicting female pleasure in sex scenes between a heterosexual couple, because “in hetero sex scenes in film, the focus on men as the recipients of pleasure is almost ubiquitous.”

But with the crowd’s attention being directed to the sex scenes between Pugh and Styles when the trailer dropped, Pugh has this to say in an interview with Harper’s Bazaar: “When it’s reduced to your sex scenes, or to watch the most famous man in the world go down on someone, it’s not why we do it. It’s not why I’m in this industry. Obviously, the nature of hiring the most famous pop star in the world, you’re going to have conversations like that. That’s just not what I’m going to be discussing because [this movie is] bigger and better than that. And the people who made it are bigger and better than that.”

5. Harry Styles created Alice’s “trigger song” in just 5 minutes.

In the same interview between Variety and director Wilde, the latter revealed that the seemingly romantic yet creepy song featured in the film was written by Harry Styles. In the script, it was only referred to as Alice’s “trigger song” and when the singer and actor asked about it, Wilde revealed to him that there was no specific song yet. Styles then offered to pen it himself.

“Five minutes later, he sent me a demo from his piano, and it was what ended up in the film. He called me and said, ‘What about this?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, that’s it. That’s it. And that’s really insane that you did that in five minutes’,” said Wilde.

Photo: ‘Don’t Worry Darling’ trailer

—

Don’t Worry Darling opens in cinemas nationwide this Wednesday, September 28. Book your seats in advance and buy your tickets here.

September 26, 2022
CCP MET Opera in HD Season 7 is Back at Greenbelt

After two years of silence due to the pandemic, operatic arias will once more resound in at the theater this September as the Cultural Center of the Philippines relaunches the MET Opera in HD Season 7 series in cooperation with the Metropolitan Opera of New York, Filipinas Opera Society Foundation Inc., and Ayala Cinemas.

The CCP MET Opera in HD Season 7 will open on September 27, 7:30 PM at the Greenbelt 3 Cinema 1 with Georges Bizet’s Carmen.

In this celebrated production mezzo-soprano Clémentine Margaine is opera’s ultimate seductress, opposite tenor Roberto Alagna, who captivated Live in HD audiences as Don José in 2010. Soprano Aleksandra Kurzak sings Micaëla, alongside bass Alexander Vinogradov as the swaggering bullfighter Escamillo. Louis Langrée conducts Sir Richard Eyre’s lively production, a favorite in the Met’s repertoire. Carmen will have a second screening on October 4, 6:30 PM.

CCP MET Opera in HD Season 7 will feature one MET Opera in HD production every month until February 2023 at Greenbelt 3 in Makati.

Forthcoming are:

·         LA TRAVIATA by Giuseppe Verdi on November 15, 6:30 PM. In his first Live in HD appearance as the Met’s Jeanette Lerman-Neubauer Music Director, Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts Michael Mayer’s richly textured new production, featuring a dazzling 18th-century setting that changes with the seasons. Soprano Diana Damrau plays the tragic heroine, Violetta, and tenor Juan Diego Flórez returns to the Met for the first time in five seasons to sing Alfredo, Violetta’s hapless lover. Baritone Quinn Kelsey is Alfredo’s father, Germont, who destroys their love.

·         DIALOGUES DES CARMÉLITES by Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc on December 6, 6:30 PM. The Met’s Jeanette Lerman-Neubauer Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin leads an accomplished ensemble in Poulenc’s devastating modern masterpiece of faith and martyrdom. Mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard is the young Blanche de La Force, opposite Met legend Karita Mattila as the First Prioress.

·         LA FILLE DU RÉGIMENT by Gaetano Donizetti on January 10, 2023, 6:30 PM.  Bel canto stars Pretty Yende and Javier Camarena team up for a feast of vocal fireworks on the Met stage. Baritone Maurizio Muraro is Sergeant Sulplice, with mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe as the outlandish Marquise of Berkenfield. Enrique Mazzola conducts.

·         SAMSON ET DALILA by Camille Saint-Saëns on February 7, 2023, 6:30 PM. Saint-Saëns’s biblical epic stars mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča and tenor Roberto Alagna in the title roles; Live in HD audiences last saw the pair together in the acclaimed 2010 transmission of Bizet’s Carmen. Bass-baritone Laurent Naouri co-stars as the High Priest, with baritone Elchin Azizov as the Philistine king Abimélech and bass Dmitry Belosselskiy as the Old Hebrew. Darko Tresnjak, the Tony Award–winning director of A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder, makes his debut directing the first new Met production of the opera in 20 years. Sir Mark Elder conducts.

For more information, visit the CCP website (www.culturalcenter.gov.ph) and follow the official CCP social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for the latest updates.

September 23, 2022
WATCH: Dave Bautista, Rupert Grint, & More Terrify in New Shyamalan Film ‘Knock at the Cabin’

After the 2021 film Old, M. Night Shyamalan is back with a new thriller that turns yet another quiet vacation into a horrific nightmare.

Titled Knock at the Cabin, this film will pit a family against heretics who believe that the innocent vacationers will bring the apocalypse upon the Earth unless they make the impossible choice. Watch the trailer for Knock at the Cabin below:

The trailer begins with a young girl and her parents enjoying their vacation at a remote cabin in the woods. But soon enough, suspicious figures begin to stalk them, and the peaceful respite takes a totally dark turn when these people give their door a knock. These four people take the family hostage, claiming that they must make a horrible choice or the world will end.

Based on the bestselling book The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay, the film stars Dave Bautista, Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Kristen Cui, Abby Quinn, and Rupert Grint. The film is directed by Shyamalan who also co-wrote the screenplay with Steve Desmond and Michael Sherman.

The film is set for a US release on February 3, 2023. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to get the latest news on film, TV, and more updates around the city!

September 23, 2022