In celebration of our National Artist for Cinema Ishmael Bernal’s birth month, the CCP Arthouse Cinema presents one of his masterpieces, a film that serves as a social commentary and a bold reflection on the existing realities of the struggles of the Filipino. Ishmael Bernal’s “Pagdating Sa Dulo” is a storytelling of the life of a bourgeois filmmaker who sought out a stripper to act in his film, subsequently catalyzing her career as an actress. It is a journey on how stardom, glamor, and wealth can contribute to the corruption of one’s soul becoming morally conflicted and wounded by the on screen façade of their love and selves.
Watch one of Philippine Cinema’s classic gems, “PAGDATING SA DULO” by Ishmael Bernal at the CCP Tanghalang Manuel Conde on September 30, 2022 at 2 PM Manila Time.
The film screening is FREE to the public.
Due to the ongoing pandemic, the new normal protocol of the CCP will still be implemented. Everyone is advised to wear a facemask upon entering the premises and bring a vaccination card/certificate (e-copies are allowed). Find out more about CCP’s new normal protocol here: https://bit.ly/CCPNewNormalProtocol2022
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.
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.
The sweetest cookie deal is happening today and only until the weekend! Twenty Four Bakeshop is celebrating their 3rd year anniversary with a Php 3 Chocolate Chip cookie promo. Yes, you read that right. It’s just 3 pesos for a palm size cookie!
Anniversary promo: • Avail of a Chocolate Chip cookie for only Php 3 for every purcahse of any 2 items (pastry or merchandise)
Head over to any of their branches today until October 2 to avail: • 4/F East Wing, Ortigas Cinemas, Estancia Mall at Capitol Commons • L5, The Podium • 3/F One Bonifacio High Street Mall, BGC • P1 level, Baker’s Dozen, Power Plant Mall (Friday to Sunday only) • My Street, High Street at 5th Ave., BGC (Saturday to Sunday only)
You can also have your pastries delivered straight to your doorstep. Just visit www.twentyfourbakeshop.com.
Get updates fresh from the oven on Facebook (www.facebook.com/twentyfourbakeshop) and Instagram (www.instagram.com/twentyfourbakeshop).
This month, catch the premiere of the critically acclaimed film Everything Everywhere All at Once starring Michelle Yeoh, the 2022 instalment of Scream, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore and the second season of sci-fi comedy series Avenue 5 on HBO GO. Meet the crime-fighting vehicles of Batwheels and celebrate Wonder Woman Day on Cartoon Network and HBO GO. Also on Warner TV, catch The Winchesters Season 1 and Kung Fu Season 3.
In this third instalment of the Fantastic Beasts series, Professor Albus Dumbledore entrusts Magizoologist Newt Scamander to lead an intrepid team of wizards, witches and one brave Muggle baker on a dangerous mission, where they encounter old and new beasts and clash with Dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald’s growing legion of followers. But with the stakes so high, how long can Dumbledore remain on the side-lines? Stars Eddie Redmayne, Jude Law and Mads Mikkelsen.
Directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, the film is an irreverent and big-hearted sci-fi action adventure about Evelyn Wang, a flustered Chinese American mother who is contacted from a parallel universe and told that only she can save the world. The unlikely hero learns to channel her new-found powers and fight through the splintering timelines of the multiverse to save her home, family and herself. Stars Michelle Yeoh, Stephanie Hsu, Ke Huy Quan, Jenny Slate, Harry Shum Jr., James Hong and Jamie Lee Curtis.
Avenue 5 Season 2 Premieres Tuesday, October 11 at 10am on HBO and HBO GO
Created by Armando Iannucci (Veep), this HBO Original comedy series is set 40 years in the future when travelling the solar system is a booming, multibillion-dollar business. Season 2 follows the crew as they struggle to lead, calm, control, and, if need be, hide from increasingly unruly passengers. Stars Hugh Laurie, Josh Gad, Zach Woods, Rebecca Front, Suzy Nakamura, Lenora Crichlow, Nikki Amuka-Bird and Ethan Phillips.
Scream (2022) Premieres Saturday, October 29 at 10pm on HBO and HBO GO
Twenty-five years after a streak of brutal murders shocked the quiet town of Woodsboro, a terrifying new killer resurrects the Ghostface mask and begins targeting a group of teenagers to resurrect secrets from the town’s deadly past. Now, only Sidney Prescott, former sheriff Dewey Riley, and reporter Gale Weathers can find a way to stop the killer when everyone is a suspect. Stars Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox and David Arquette.
The White Lotus Season 2 Premieres Monday, October 31 at 9am on HBO and HBO GO
HBO’s Emmy®-winning social satire series from creator Mike White leaves Hawaii behind and follows the exploits of various guests and employees over the span of a week at The White Lotus resort in picturesque Sicily. Stars F. Murray Abraham, Jennifer Coolidge, Adam DiMarco, Beatrice Grannò, Meghann Fahy, Jon Gries, Tom Hollander, Sabrina Impacciatore, Michael Imperioli, Theo James, Aubrey Plaza, Haley Lu Richardson, Will Sharpe, Simona Tabasco, and Leo Woodall.
Fighting evil on Warner TV
Kung Fu Season 3 Premieres Thursday, October 6 at 9.50pm on Warner TV
Armed with martial arts skills and Shaolin values, San Francisco native Nicky Shen continues to protect her family and community with the help of her siblings, ex-boyfriend and new love interest, while searching for the ruthless assassin who killed her Shaolin mentor and is now targeting her. Stars Olivia Liang, Tzi Ma, Shannon Dang, Eddie Liu and Singaporean actress Kheng Hua Tan.
The Winchesters Season 1 Premieres Wednesday, October 12 at 9pm on Warner TV
In this prequel of the hit series Supernatural, Dean Winchester narrates the epic, untold love story of John Winchester and Mary Campbell, who put it all on the line to not only save their love, but the entire world. They join forces with young hunter in training Latika and easy-going hunter Carlos to uncover the hidden truths about their families. Stars Jensen Ackles, Drake Rodger, Meg Donnelly, Nida Khurshid, Jonathan “Jojo” Fleites, Demetria McKinney and Bianca Kajlich.
Secret Origin of the Batwheels Premieres Sunday, October 16 at 8:30am on Cartoon Network and HBO GO
DC’s first-ever Batman preschool series, Secret Origin of the Batwheels tells the story of how a group of young super-powered vehicles ‑ Bam (the Batmobile), Bibi (the Batgirl Cycle), Redbird (Robin’s Sports Car), Batwing (the Batwing Jet Plane), and Buff (the Bat Truck) – formed their super heroic team.
Batwheels Season 1 Premieres Saturday, October 22 at 8:30am on Cartoon Network and HBO GO
Produced by Warner Bros. Animation, Batwheelsmarks DC’s first-ever Batman preschool series, offering young viewers a high-speed, vibrant CGI-animated iteration of the Caped Crusader. The series follows an amazing team of super-vehicles as they help Batman, Batgirl, and Robin keep the streets of Gotham City safe. The all-star voice cast includes Ethan Hawke, AJ Hudson, Leah Lewis, Jacob Bertrand, Jordan Reed, Madigan Kacmar, Noah Bentley, Lilimar, Kimberly D. Brooks and Mick Wingert.
Wonder Woman Day On Friday, October 21 on HBO GO and from 5:45pm on Cartoon Network
Celebrate Wonder Woman Day and honour the epic accomplishments of Diana Prince as Wonder Woman in Wonder Woman, Wonder Woman 1984, Zack Synder’s Justice League and Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice, allon HBO GO. More fun and action continue on Cartoon Network as Wonder Woman fights for justice in Lego DC Super Hero Girls: Brain Drain and Lego DC Super Hero Girls: Super-Villain High!
Pennyworth: The Origin of Batman’s Butler Season 3
HBO GO – Pennyworth S3 – Ben Aldridge
Premieres Thursday, October 6 on HBO GO This Max Original DC origin series follows Alfred Pennyworth, a former British SAS soldier, who forms a security company in 1960s London and goes to work with young billionaire Thomas Wayne, who will later become Bruce Wayne’s father. Season 3 will begin after a five-year time jump: the civil war is over, and a cultural revolution has changed the world for better or worse, ushering in a new age of Super Heroes and Supervillains. Stars Jack Bannon, Ben Aldridge, Emma Paetz, Paloma Faith, Ryan Fletcher, Dorothy Atkinson, Ramon Tikaram, Harriet Slater and Simon Manyonda.
Vampire Academy
VAMPIRE ACADEMY — “Pilot” Episode 101 — Pictured: Daniela Nieves as Lissa Dragomir — (Photo by: Jose Haro/Peacock)
Premieres Wednesday, October 26 on HBO GO In a world of privilege and glamour, two young women’s friendship transcends their strikingly different classes as they prepare to complete their education and enter royal vampire society. Stars Sisi Stringer, Daniela Nieves, Kieron Moore, Andrew Liner, Andre Dae Kim J. August Richards, Anita-Joy Uwajeh, Mia McKenna-Bruce, Rhian Blundell and Jonetta Kaiser.
Jellystone! Season 2
HBO GO – Jellystone! Season 2
Premieres Monday, October 31 on HBO GO Set in the charming town of the same name, Jellystone, follows an ensemble of Hanna-Barbera characters as they live, work, play, and (as is often the case), destroy the town in some silly way together. Huckleberry Hound proudly serves as the town’s mayor; Cindy, Boo Boo and Yogi are the town’s medical staff; Jabberjaw works at Magilla’s clothing store where they supply all the bow ties and hats to the town’s citizens; and every character has a specific role in the community. Their paths cross in fun and ridiculous ways, turning everyday activities into hilarious pandemonium.
New Episodes
Rick and Morty S6The Handmaid’s Tale S5- Yvonne StrahovskiQUANTUM LEAP – Raymond Lee as Dr. Ben Song
Stay up to date with the story of life in Gilead with new episodes of the award-winning series The Handmaid’s Tale Season 5. Follow the ordeals of the Harris family in La Brea Season 2 and delve into the mysteries of Quantum Leap. Travel across the cosmos with Rick and Morty Season 6, all available on HBO GO.
HBO GO – House of the Dragon Ep 6 – Emma D’Arcy and John MacMillan
Catch the highly anticipated finale of House of the Dragon Season 1 on Monday, October 24, starring Paddy Considine, Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, Emma D’Arcy, Steve Toussaint, Eve Best, Fabien Frankel, Sonoya Mizuno, and Rhys Ifans.
HBO GO – Drag Race Philippines
Don’t miss the final episode of Drag Race Philippines on Wednesday, October 12, to see the last of 12 finalists crowned as the next drag superstar.
If you feel like spending some of your free time this month of October on the couch, watching films, PBO Channel has you covered with their lineup of Pinoy movies. And to make it even easier for you, we’ve rounded up eight movies from their lineup that you might want to catch on your TV!
Check them out below:
Aurora
Schedule: October 4, 11:30 PM | October 13, 3:30 PM | October 17, 5:30 AM | October 30, 7:30 PM
The passenger ship Aurora mysteriously collides into the rocky sea threatening an entire island. A young woman and her sister must both survive by finding the missing dead for a bounty.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5tlmpF_Fco
Ang Pagsanib kay Leah Dela Cruz
Schedule: October 7, 11:30 PM | October 11, 11:30 AM | October 21, 3:30 PM | October 30, 9:30 PM
A lady cop who moves into a small town gets drawn to a case that involves a girl that’s possessed by an evil spirit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xwZlUbiDx0&t
12
Schedule: October 9, 7:30 PM | October 19, 9 AM | October 27, 3:30 PM
Anton and Erika have been a couple for 12 years already. While he’s not yet ready to get married, Erika waits until he is and lovingly devotes her time to him.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhjN8jizjcU
More Than Blue
Schedule: October 3, 1:15 PM | October 9, 11:15 PM | October 28, 9:30 PM
K (JC Santos) and Cream (Yassi Pressman) believe they’re soulmates. When K finds out that he’s dying, he thinks setting her free would be best for her.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBNE4wI1cXY
Elemento
Schedule: October 5, 3:30 PM | October 13, 5:30 AM | October 17, 7:30 AM | October 30, 5:30 PM
The story is about Cristine (Kara) and her struggle when her son Lucas (Albert Silos) returned from school field trip, with a different soul.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JweQbMgYjXk&t
Nightshift
Schedule: October 16, 9:30 PM
A young woman is stuck in the morgue – on her first day – working as an assistant to a pathologist when the dead begin to manifest signs of resurrection.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrnVV-cVrq0&t
Tragic Theater
Schedule: October 9, 9:30 PM | October 14, 5:30 AM | October 17, 1:30 AM | October 27, 11:30 PM
A team of exorcists are sent into an old theater that is rumored to have been the site of a great tragedy during its construction.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8yFuTnQTc4
Suarez: The Healing Priest
Schedule: October 20, 5:30 AM | October 25, 7 AM | October 9, 2 AM
When Fernando Suarez (John Arcilla) was given the gift of healing at 16, he hid it for many years until he became a priest only to find himself in scandals and squabbles with the Catholic Church.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgUfqqtT9iA
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For more Movies on PBO Channel this October and for the daily schedules of PBO, click here.
[Note: schedules are subject to change without prior notice]
Ayala Malls Manila Bay sets a wave of new openings to service more patrons with the best lifestyle essentials including storage, fashion, food, and leisure.
Soon completing the mall experience is the opening of Landmark Supermarket and Department Store. The first branch in the bay area, Landmark, is set to open in Ayala Malls Manila Bay in 2023 and shoppers can expect a four-story haven that houses various grocery items and affordable home, clothing, and kitchen finds—all in one place.
One Storage, a storage unit facility, is now open at B1 Transport Terminal of Ayala Malls Manila Bay! Featuring world-class storage units typically seen abroad, the system has 24/7 storage access, top-notch security, and free insurance. What’s more, new customers can enjoy free rental for two months when they apply for a unit on or before December 31, 2022.
Food Wanderer by the Philippine Amusement and Entertainment Corporation recently opened doors to give guests unforgettable multi-sensory immersive experiences. Designed as the country’s biggest food art display museum, it previews Filipino heritage through gastronomic delights.
There’s a lot more to look forward to at the biggest Ayala Mall yet! Opening in Ayala Malls Manila Bay by the end of 2022 is Uniqlo, the go-to Japanese global apparel retailer for quality everyday clothing. Fans of the brand now have more access to LifeWear items that support their everyday needs and lifestyle.
Capping off the travel and staycation experience is the multi-awarded Seda hotel, also rising by 2023. Set to rise beside Ayala Malls Manila Bay in Paranaque along Diosdado Macapagal Avenue, guests can book relaxing staycations with its state-of-the-art amenities and exceptional hospitality, as well as discover Ayala Malls’ largest shopping mall to date.
Stay tuned for more information when you visit Ayala Malls Manila Bay on Instagram @ayalamalls.manilabay and Facebook at /ayalamallsmanilabay.
New World Makati Hotel’s buffet restaurant, Café 1228, reopens on Mondays to Thursdays for dinner starting October, officially offering all-you-can-eat breakfast, lunch and dinner on all days of the week. Diners get 50% off at only PHP1,500 (from PHP3,000) on weekdays and PHP1,700 (from PHP3,400) on weekends for lunch and dinner when they sign up for free to the hotel’s Club Epicure loyalty program. A 5+1 offer is also offered for group reservations. Daily breakfast is at PHP1,200. Prices are nett.
Weekday Lunch and Dinner
Now open daily serving weekday lunch and dinner, Café 1228 features an array of grilled meats, fresh seafood, decadent desserts, and much more, starting with the popular carving station – with barbecue beef brisket or rump, sausages, chicken and pork spareribs. Must-have buffet favorites include a fresh seafood section cooked a la minute and topped with a variety of sauces, and a Japanese station with seven kinds of sushi, miso soup, as well as fish and vegetable tempura. Adding more Asian selections are the five dim sum dishes paired well with a choice of steamed noodles, a combination of Filipino and Southeast Asian items, a Western station with European and Mediterranean cuisine, the charcuterie and cheese section, and the fresh salad bar. For desserts, a crepe station offers three ice cream flavors and one sorbet, as well as an assortment of fillings and toppings, while treats such as halo-halo, cheesecakes, pies, cookies, and fresh fruits complete the pastry selections.
Weekend Lunch and Dinner
Succulent roasted ribeye, hand-tossed pizzas and freshly made pasta dishes, salmon and tuna sashimi, as well as crunchy shrimp tempura, are among the highlights during weekends. These and more complement the already enticing lineup of buffet selections offered on weekdays. Best-selling items are always on rotation, as well as new, can’t-be-missed options, to keep the restaurant’s offerings always fresh, seasonal, and something to look forward to.
Daily Breakfast
Café 1228 likewise opens its doors to walk-ins and reservations for its breakfast buffet, with a curated mix of international and local staples such as bacon, chicken and pork sausages, hashbrowns, and baked beans, to name a few, as well as forest ham at the carving station paired with grilled vegetables. Omelettes or egg dishes made a la minute also go well with the protein selections, as well as Filipino favorites beef tapa, chicken tocino, daing nab angus, traditional pork adobo, pancit canton, and of course, garlic fried rice.
Essential Japanese breakfast items are also offered daily such as miso soup, grilled salmon or white fish in teriyaki sauce, tamago with teriyaki sauce and bonito flakes, grilled shimeji, shiitake and button mushrooms, as well as Japanese steamed rice. Other Asian dishes are beef and chicken noodles soup as well as congee with a variety of toppings such as pork, chicken and fish.
An array of charcuterie and cheeses including shaved Parma ham, coppa ham, salami Milano and bresaola, as well as brie, cheddar, Emmental, Manchego and blue cheese are also available, which go nicely with the various nuts, fresh and dried fruits, freshly-baked breads, jams and spreads.
As a special promo, diners get 50% off at only PHP1,500 (from PHP3,000) on weekdays and PHP1,700 (from PHP3,400) on weekends for lunch and dinner when they sign up for free to the hotel’s Club Epicure loyalty program or present their BDO or RCBC Bankard credit card. A 5+1 offer is also offered for group reservations. Daily breakfast is at PHP1,200. Prices are nett. For online reservations, guests can book via: https://bit.ly/NWCafe1228Reservation. To inquire, they can call +63288116888 ext. 3679, e-mail fbreservations.manila@newworldhotels.com, or send a mobile message on Viber or Whatsapp via +639178884194. More news and promos are available on the hotel’s official Facebook and Instagram accounts as well as on the website https://manila.newworldhotels.com/en/.
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.
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!
