Tag: movie review

Review — Made Only for the MOAs, ‘Tomorrow X Together: Hyperfocus’ Doesn’t Quite Reach All Audiences

There is something to be said about a full immersive cinema experience. I’m a purist about cinema and trying to simulate what is happening on screen for the audience seated in the theater feels like a novelty more suited to a theme park than the world of film and movies. The power of books and movies and music is that the connection is made by the imagination that links our lives with what we experience on the page or the screen or what we hear in our ears. The history of film has shown us that just what we see and hear, projected on to that screen, can take us to different times and worlds and situations and allow us to truly experience a lifetime. Wind machines, scented spritzers, and a moving chair does not bring me closer into the world of the film, it takes me away from it and that’s one of the many barriers that got in the way for me to enjoy ‘Tomorrow X Together: Hyperfocus in Cinemas.’

The film is less than an hour long and it’s a showcase of the K-pop idol group TXT as they sing six songs from their discography in a wide range of virtual sets and caps off with a behind-the-scenes look at the shoot with the virtual reality studio. It’s not a concert video. It feels more like a showcase that’s akin to an extended Studio Choom dance video (if you’re a K-pop fan, you know what Studio Choom; if not, take a look at it on YouTube). As a K-pop fan myself, I can see that this release is intended specifically for TXT’s fandom, called MOAs. It’s a nice way for someone who is not familiar with them, like myself, to get to know them and their music – I for one took note of the second and the fourth song that they sang, ‘Magic Island’ and ‘Tinnitus (I Want to Be a Rock)’ and added them to my own playlist – see them dance and get to know their faces (as the camera comes in really close to the absolute delight of the fans in the audience with me). But there were many barriers of the release that got in the way.

First off, ‘Tomorrow X Together: Hyperfocus’ is a virtual augmented release. I think you are supposed to watch this with special VR goggles that can help you see the added effects to the scene. There are no goggles for this VR enhancement so what we see is a green screen CGI background behind the boys that looks fake and flat. Without the VR goggles, the intended effect doesn’t jump out.

Next, there are no subtitles and there are two spiels that happen between every two songs and then the finale. If you’re familiar with K-pop concerts, you know when to cheer and when to scream and the boys even react accordingly as if the audience does (in the cinema I was in, only one fourth of the audience knew when to make noise and did so obediently). Surprisingly, the five boys – Soobin, Yeonjun, Beomgyu, Taehyun, and Hueningkai – don’t have enough space for their personalities to really shine. They are relating to a camera and without the audience and the energy from a live crowd coming their way, they can only do so much to let their presence be felt. The fans in the cinema were enjoying it but as a newbie, I still didn’t get to see who they were.

And then the 4DX experience made it even harder to enjoy as the seats shook and jolted along with the choreography while the bass manifested as a pulsing vibration right at your back. This would actually take me out of the moment rather than immerse me into that world because my energy was being dictated for me. I’ve been to K-pop concerts and the joy and rush of energy from seeing my idols would force me from my seat and to stand up and cheer and dance along the beat. Here, I do not have that option. I’ll fall off, for sure.

Not exactly a concert film but not exactly a documentary that allows for new audiences to find their way into the fandom, ‘Tomorrow X Together: Hyperfocus’ is a peculiar release, especially without the subtitles and the virtual reality augmentation that would probably only serve to interest the true-blue MOAs of the country.

My Rating:

Tomorrow X Together: Hyperfocus is now showing in cinemas. Check showtimes and buy your tickets here.

January 15, 2025
MMFF Movie Review: Though the First Two Acts Are Messy, ‘And the Breadwinner Is…’ Lands Its Ending

There’s a whole landscape of Filipino movies about the OFW experience as this is a phenomenon that has struck our society so deep. At some point, they have been called our present-day heroes. Films like ‘Anak’ and ‘Transit’ and ‘Hello Love Goodbye’ and the documentary ‘Sunday Beauty Queens’ are just some examples of films that tackle the emotional landscape of this set of people. So when director Jun Lana (co-writing with Daisy G Cayanan and Jumbo A. Albano) and Vice Ganda team up to tackle this narrative in an MMFF entry, it’s bound to get a lot of attention.

This is my first Vice Ganda movie (I know, this is something I plan to fix by watching the rest of his filmography soon) so I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect. I’ve seen snippets of Vice on ‘It’s Showtime’ when it shows up on social media or when I’m on a bus and am familiar with his quick wit and razor sharp delivery of jokes. But to see it in action in a film is something else. The way the audience reacts to every punchline shows his mastery of comedy and that is unquestionable.

‘And the Breadwinner is…’ is the story of Bambi Salvador (Vice Ganda), an OFW working in Taiwan to help support her family in Pampanga. She works multiple jobs and has sacrificed their identity to build a house back at home that she and her family can truly call home. But the sudden death of one of her co-workers encourages her to return home early to be with the people that she loves only to find that her home has not been built and her family has wasted away all her money on failed businesses and frivolous things. In frustration and anger, she leaves home and is mistaken for dead. They discover that her life insurance would give the family ten million pesos and Bambi and her family decide that to pay off all their debt and start anew, Bambi would continue to pretend she’s dead.

The first two acts of the film is messy, firing at all directions. There’s a feeling that each scene is more a skit, a gag, before moving to the next. The narrative’s flow is broken by these moments of humor. Each family member – from the younger brother Biboy (Jhong Hilario) and his wife Mayet (Gladys Reyes), to her even younger siblings Boy (Kokoy De Santos) and Buneng (Maris Racal), and her eldest sister Baby (Eugene Domingo), who had abandoned the family to live and work in Italy – gets to have their own story and while it’s an ensemble piece, at 123 minutes, it makes the film seem bloated as each one has just the same amount of story time to play out. Adding upon this is the deception plot regarding the insurance money as an inspector, Anton (Anthony Jennings), is trying to find out whether Bambi is truly dead or not.

It’s a hodge-podge of scenes and gags that range from slapstick to witty comedy, bringing back characters from Vica Ganda’s filmography, and situational comedy that can hit or miss depending on the range of one’s taste. While the delivery is outstanding, there are jokes that make fun of fat people or ridiculing someone’s appearance and hurtful physical comedy that’s just not my cup of tea. But these elicit the most laughs because of Vice’s impeccable timing.

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When the film slows down to become tender, especially when it’s geared towards the queer stories in the film; is when it gets touching. Joel Torre’s Popsie, the deceased patriarch of the family, has the most touching scenes in flashbacks. The way by which he adores Bambi is truly beautiful to see. The acceptance is something we need to see in films more to help normalize this. And the way by which Bambi returns that acceptance to Boy, who comes out to him creates a chain of kindness directed towards the community. It’s one of the more moving parts of this film handled expertly by Vice, Torre, and De Santos.

But as messy as the first two acts are, the final act is when all that chaos is channeled into the film’s shift into drama. All the gags and the jokes, all of the misunderstandings and snide comments against each other, funnel into a confrontation of the whole family and Bambi ends up delivering an almost ten-minute monologue that embodies a whole lot of unsaid resentments from the OFW community. It’s a litany of the things that, as a culture, we are afraid to say out loud because we put family first before our own selves. It’s a magnificent space for Vice Ganda to show his acting chops as he throws out every emotion that feels like it has been trapped there forever, for the fifteen years that Bambi had suffered alone in another country. It’s visceral. It’s explosive. It’s done in a one-shot that puts Vice’s acting front and center. The whole movie was pushing towards this confrontation and it’s the reason why you should see this film.

My Rating:

And the Breadwinner Is… is now showing in cinemas. Check showtimes and buy your tickets here.

December 29, 2024
MMFF Movie Review: The Parts of ‘Isang Himala’ Are Stronger Than the Whole

I was scared coming into ‘Isang Himala.’ I love the original film by Ishmael Bernal and Ricky Lee. I teach in my classes in Philippine Film History, and it is truly a groundbreaking work that still holds the test of time. I’m also in love with the stage adaptation by The Sandbox Collective, directed by Ed Lacson Jr. and music and lyrics by Vincent De Jesus. That production turned the whole stage, including the audience, into the town of Cupang and it was filled with incredible performances by its incredible cast. While the same cast is brought into the film adaptation of the musical, I feared that what made the stage play so magnificent – the way by which the whole town of Cupang comes alive and all the audience immerses themselves into the longing and desperation of that place – would be lost as it moves into the screen. How does a camera make the audience part of that world?

But knowing that Pepe Diokno was coming in to direct gave me a little hope. After all, his ‘Gomburza’ was excellent. To differentiate his world from the stage play and the original film, Diokno shot the whole film on a studio, which allowed for full control of lighting and sound design and they could control the massive crowd scenes that inhabit this film. It gives the feeling of old school Hollywood musicals from MGM where the sets look too perfect, too manufactured and they bring this charming aesthetic to the narrative. I’m talking about ‘The Wizard of Oz’ or ‘Singing in the Rain’ or even ‘Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.’ There’s a leaning into the formalist tradition of cinema with Carlo Mendoza’s stunning cinematography turning the town of Cupang into the brilliant ochre shades that matches the film’s heavy tones and themes.

‘Isang Himala’ is about the town of Cupang, a town in need, ravaged by a drought, and the townsfolk believe that they are cursed. When Elsa (Aicelle Santos) proclaims she is having visions of the Virgin Mary and is seen healing a sick child, the town enters into a frenzy of religious fervor and zeal. A cult is quickly formed around her, tourists come from all over to receive Elsa’s blessings and healing, and the once-poor town suddenly gains a resurgence in economic growth. Factions are formed, as Elsa’s followers don’t take kindly to Nimia (Kakki Teodoro), who returns from Manila to open a cabaret while a documentary filmmaker, Orly (David Ezra), records Elsa’s movements, selling the footage and the photos he takes to newspapers in the city, while hoping to build a film about her. Elsa’s mother, Aling Saling (Bituin Escalante) is caught in the middle, a hapless observer as the town and her daughter are caught up in the madness of it all.

There are so much great things happening in this movie. Diokno’s ability to really move that camera through that madness is riveting. He creates these large set pieces as the two transforms over the course of a song from impoverished to booming in minutes. The crowds come in and make the whole set come to life. The singing is exceptional. With performers like Santos, Escalante, Ezra, and Teodoro in the cast, there’s no question that we’ve got incredible vocals to go with Vincent De Jesus’ score.

But I felt so disconnected from the piece – a narrative that I’m in love with from its original film and its stage adaptation – and I realised that I find the adaptation of the stage musical into a film needed space and width. Cupang’s design is enclosed in canyon, everything is bunched up together and claustrophobic. Everyone is in everyone’s business. There’s a mass of people entering and exiting the scenes and the camera can come in close for the close-ups to capture the drama that is unfolding in this story. But the script does not illuminate the characters and their motivations clearly enough for us to warrant these close ups. The stage adaptation makes the whole town the central character and the audience is witnessing the transformation that it takes from the distance of spectator. We can’t really know these characters because of that distance. Here, the camera can come close. It gets intimate, but the script never really explores these characters inner worlds. I am left with no real clue on who Elsa is aside from the push and pull of people’s desires for her benediction nor do I really, truly understand what motivates Orly’s interest in her. If these are done through the songs (as most of the film is sung-through), it can get lost in the production of the music.

The only character who truly shines and creates the film’s contrast is Nimia. While everyone is great, Kakki Teodoro fully embodies Nimia’s practicality and sense. Unlike everybody else, she believes in herself and is unafraid to stand up to her former friend. Teodoro brings this to the performance and sings the hell out of one of the best songs in the musical. Of all the characters in the film, hers is the clearest of what she wants and what she believes in. As I’m writing this, I heard that Teodoro won Best Actress at the MMFF Awarding and it is so well-deserved. Shes the one everyone is talking about when I left the cinema.

At two hours and forty minutes, I felt exhausted. The film is an intense roller-coaster of powerful songs that lean more towards opera than it does to musicals. A lot of the songs aren’t melodic, which is fitting because there’s no real rhythm or melody to suffering. In the play, on just a piano, it is haunting. Here, it’s loud and aggressive. Played by a full band that makes each song feel like a finale. It’s big and the film never gets quiet enough to process all of the madness that happens within this town.

The claustrophobia and the lack of true character moments makes this world feel small. Whereas Ishmael Bernal’s use of wide empty spaces and long shots help creates that distance for the viewers so what we see is the town. Here, I see Elsa. I see Orly. I see Nimia. I see Aling Sepang. I see the characters but except for Nimia, I don’t really get to know them fully. So, I’m impressed by the performances, by the aesthetics and the filmmaking behind ‘Isang Himala’ but I’m left struggling with what I’m supposed to feel afterwards. It’s a heavy movie to take in but wonderfully made.

My Rating:

Isang Himala is now showing in cinemas. Check showtimes and buy your tickets here.

December 29, 2024
MMFF MOVIE REVIEW: Julia Barretto and Carlo Aquino Can’t Save ‘Hold Me Close’ From Its Shallow Characters and Flimsy Premise

It’s fortunate that Jason Paul Laxamana’s ‘Hold Me Close’ has the combined star power of Carlo Aquino and Julia Barretto because they are working hard to try and make this movie, with its thin premise, work. Set in Karatsu, Japan, the magical romance teams up Aquino and Barretto two people with respective traumas who find each other and set the journey towards healing. The catch? Barretto’s Lynlyn has the ability to tell if a person is “positive” or “negative” (whether they will be the cause of joy or pain) by simply touching them.

Aquino plays Woody, a man searching for a place to call home. He seems to be independently wealthy, not having a job but taking on a lovely house in Karatsu. In the morning market, he meets Barretto’s Lynlyn, who sells squid at the market with her two brothers Tantan (Jairus Aquino) and Botbot (Migo Valid). It’s love at first sight. Woody ends up helping Lynlyn and her brothers after her power discovers one customer is a “negative” and sparks a strong reaction that causes a stir. For Lynlyn, she feels that Woody is safe because he is neither “positive” or “negative.” He begins to visit her every day and she tags along because he will not cause her harm. Woody is persistent and consistent and eventually Lynlyn is charmed and what seals the deal is that Woody is now a positive. They begin to date until, on a date, Woody suddenly becomes a negative. The two protective brothers try to keep them apart but Lynlyn, overcome with her feelings for Woody, gives him three chances to turn into a positive. She then helps him evaluate his life and his choice, delving into his past and encouraging him to fix his relationship with his family. In the process, she will soon discover that she must also face her own demons.

Image Source: Viva Films FB

What makes the film a frustrating watch is that Laxamana builds the thinnest characters here. Unlike the characters of his previous films, Woody and Lynlyn end up appearing one-dimensional no matter how much work Aquino and Barretto put into them. Woody arrives in the city, and he seems to not do anything except chase after Lynlyn. He has no job, no passions or goals. He’s just a man running away from his issues and no matter how charming Aquino can be, there’s not much there to root for. At some point, he laments that no one loves him, but we don’t actually see him being a part of the world in any meaningful way. Lynlyn, on the other hand, is completely defined by her ability. She panics when she’s electrified by a negative reading of a person but every customer she has, she holds on to them trying to find out if they are good for her or bad. She also seems to not have any other dream or goal than to sell squid with her brothers in the market. Not much is said about her background: why she and her brothers are there and what is their goal in life. It seems these characters are only there to exist for the purpose of this movie.

Image Source: Viva Films FB

It doesn’t help that the film takes a moment to showcase all the tourist spots of Karatsu, which ends up taking us away from the film to become a sort of travelogue. Yes, it’s part of the scenes when Woody and Lynlyn are falling in love. But the place doesn’t feel integral to the story. You can replace it with any location, whether local or abroad, and the story can still stand.

Image Source: Viva Films FB

Also, the film doesn’t seem to have a clear representation of what positive or negative means. At one point, Woody is a positive and then another moment he becomes a negative. The film doesn’t quite handle this properly. At one moment, even Tantan becomes negative and then only to turn positive again the next. The whole film’s conceit centers around Lynlyn’s gift but as Woody tries to make himself positive for her, one wonders why Lynlyn gets to determine one person’s worth based on a feeling that she cannot explain. It could be a great metaphor for red flags and green flags, but the film never brings it there. It feels literal in its presentation and that sort of brings down the film’s potential.

My Rating:

Hold Me Close is now showing in cinemas. Check showtimes and buy your tickets here.

December 29, 2024
MMFF MOVIE REVIEW: Defying All Expectations, ‘Green Bones’ Casts a Hopeful Light in the Dark

A story about redemption and hope, ‘Green Bones’ plays out like a sort of dark fairy tale through the filmmaking choices of everyone involved, which allows the movie to play with form and structure in inventive ways that helps take us on an emotional journey about justice and redemption and really exploring the role of prisons in our society. Written by Ricky Lee and Anj Atienza (from a story by JC Rubio) and directed by Zig Dulay, the movie quickly recalls the film ‘Shawshank Redemption’ with Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman but this film carries its own magic. Despite its subject matter, Dulay and Director of Photography Neil Daza manages to create an almost mythical world for this story about the penal system in the country to take place.

Lee and Atienza also manage to play with structure and form by telling two very different stories, though essential the same narrative, by spending the first act in seeing the world through one of its leads, the young officer Xavier Gonzaga (Ruru Madrid), who enters the prison as a new warden in the island of San Fabian. Gonzaga has lost his sister to murder, and he carries his bias with him. The prison colony in San Fabian is a more humane place where the prisoners are given more freedom than what we expect. They are allowed to stay outside to garden and cook and, in the afternoons, are allowed to leave the prison to work in the farm or the fisheries and sell their wood carving projects to locals and tourists. The idea behind this system is to encourage them to repent and get back to their lives. Unfortunately, Gonzaga does not believe that murderers can be rehabilitated, and he has his sights set on Dominic Zamora (Dennis Trillo), a man who does not speak and is incarcerated for murdering his sister and his niece. Gonzaga watches Zamora closely, knowing he’s about to finish his sentence early for good conduct, and when he sees Zamora and the other inmates planning something, he decides to step in and ensure Zamora never makes it out.

Image Source: GMA Pictures FB

The film then shifts focus on act two, as we see the story through Zamora’s perspective and details his world view and the story of how he killed his sister and his niece and how his life has changed since then. The story is quite different from Gonzaga’s take and the film manages to shift the way we look at the people that are in prison now knowing what we know about the systems that are in place in our country.

Image Source: GMA Pictures FB

There are multiple stories here: stories about the other inmates, the friends that Zamora had cultivated; the story of the NGO worker who is constantly visiting Zamora (Alessanda de Rossi), and the story of Zamora and his sister (Iza Calzado) and his niece (Sienna Stevens in the flashbacks and Sofia Pablo at present time). Dulay is able to manage exploring multiple themes through the careful interweaving of these characters and as we know more and more about Zamora and his past, we become just like Gonzaga that our eyes are suddenly opened to our own prejudices and misconceptions.

Image Source: GMA Pictures FB

Trillo and Madrid give out exquisite performances here. Trillo brings such a deep humanity to the character of Dominic Zamora. He is fearsome as Gonzaga imagines him to be, but he is also soft and warm and kind as we see his story play out in the second act. He is the foundation of this narrative, and he carries it so competently that the film succeeds because it has such a strong anchor holding it together. If Trillo is the foundation, then Madrid is the narrative’s driving force. Madrid embodies Gonzaga’s tunnel vision but roots it in his character’s past hurts and trauma. This is not a one-dimensional witch hunt. This is a person that’s hurting, and Madrid is able to layer his character with these stories that allows us to empathize with him even if we suspect he’s not holding all the cards. The rest of the cast is magnificent, from De Rossi and Calzado, to Michael De Mesa and Wendell Ramos (who play the other policemen in the prison) and the inmates played by Ronnie Lazaro, Royce Cabrera, Mikoy Morales, and two others whose names I wasn’t able to find.

Image Source: GMA Pictures FB

The heart and warmth that Dulay was able to deliver in last year’s ‘Firefly’ is in full display in ‘Green Bones.’ It’s a masterful work that plays with your expectations and takes a hard look at how we think of rehabilitation and how humane are we in treating those who have strayed. The film can get dark, but it has to, because the film shines a light of hope to those who seek redemption. By the end of the film, I caught myself crying along with other members of the audience.

My Rating:

Green Bones is now showing in cinemas. Check showtimes and buy your tickets here.

December 27, 2024
MMFF MOVIE REVIEW: Revenge Made Sweet: A Review of ‘Uninvited’

It’s only through fiction, be it literature or theater or film, that one can find true joy in brutal, eye-for-an-eye type of revenge. By all means, the world is such a complex place where there are no real shades of black and white. Everything is gray and we are all interconnected in some way or another. Other films tell us that. But in fiction, events and people can be black and white, and this is where Dan Villegas (with a script by Dodo Dayao) leans into the fantasy and manages to exact some level of catharsis for all the viewers of his latest film, ‘Uninvited.’

The story takes place in one night during the party of a wealthy criminal, Guilly Vega (Aga Muhlach) as he and his crew are the target of Eva Candelaria (Vilma Santos), a gatecrasher to the party who plans to take her revenge for the rape and murder of her daughter, Lily (Gabby Padilla).

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The story builds by use of clever flashbacks to help establish motives and blurs the moral lines and help us see the full range of Guilly’s transgressions; and not just to Eva Candelaria but also to his wife, Katrina (Mylene Dizon), and his daughter Nicole (Nadine Lustre).

Image Source: Mentorque FB

Everything about this film is slick and glossy from Paolo Orendain’s crisp cinematography to Mica Tatad-King’s exquisite production design. The film borders on camp but not as much as I originally thought from watching the trailer. There is a feeling of the hyper-real here so that the characters can exist as symbols of larger themes. Muhlach’s Gully Vega is downright evil, and he knows it and he is unafraid to posture and grandstand because he knows his money and power will protect him as they have this whole time. Dayao’s script and Villegas’ direction gives Muhlach a chance to really play and inhabit a dark and scary place for his character and as much as he comes off as a one-dimensional evil villain; there’s some truth to this character when one is aware of what’s happening all over the world with very rich men getting away with very awful crimes.

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The hyper-reality of the film allows us to fully support Eva Candelaria in her quest to exact vengeance on all who had ruined and killed her daughter and her boyfriend, Tofy (Elijah Canlas). That includes Vega’s right-hand man Jigger Zulueta (RK Bagatsing), bodyguard Batac (Cholo Barretto), his connection to the police, Randall (Gio Alvarez), and his recruiter, Jomar (Ketchup Eusebio). Vilma Santos is the only character who is allowed to settle into the gray areas of this dark fable. She’s resolute with her quest for retribution but she’s no cold-hearted killer. She is able to convey the range of emotions one feels in the middle of the birthday party of your daughter’s killer. She is angry and scared and the feeling of loss is so palpable in her every movements while she is trying her best to keep it together.

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As a suspense/thriller, the film takes a whole hour to really build the tension. Most of the brutal violence are committed through the flashbacks and early on, we are already on Eva’s side and everyone in the cinema with me, including myself, were waiting for Eva to make her first kill. But Villegas continues to juggle all the moving pieces of his film – the weary right-hand man, the sly wife, the daughter who hates her father, and many others – preparing us for a third act when all of the pent-up tension finally explodes, and it is as delicious as the film’s visuals and excellent casting choices. It’s a long wait but it feels worth it.

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The danger here is that as extreme as this story is, it’s not far off from the many real-world crimes that are committed by people in power today. And just like in the movie, these people are untouchable by the law. Much like the current new storm of the Health Insurance CEO killing in the United States by an ordinary citizen who has had enough, the fact that this film can create sympathy and empathy with Eva Candelaria and what she’s about to do is a powerful political statement about the current systems of the world today. Much like one lady behind me in the cinema said rather loudly in Tagalog, “I can’t wait for her to kill them already.”

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Aside from the savvy filmmaking involved, the performances by Muhlach and Santos and by the rest of the cast including Lotlot De Leon as Tofy’s mother really help make this world shine. It’s a dark and twisted story to tell but it does in a way that makes it fun and thrilling.

My Rating:

Uninvited is now showing in cinemas. Check showtimes and buy your tickets here.

December 27, 2024
MMFF MOVIE REVIEW: A Triumphant Reimagining: A Review of ‘The Kingdom’

I applaud Michael Tuviera (and screenwriter Michelle Ngu-Nario) for their vision and care to reimagine our country if it was never colonized. The writing and the world building of the film truly inspires and sparks the imagination and even if the film was bad, I’d be rooting for it just for its sheer vision and bravado. But the thing is, the film is not bad. Far from it. ‘The Kingdom’ is thrilling and filled with interesting characters and a world worth exploring. It’s what makes for good speculative fiction: an image of our country that could have been and by doing so creates a commentary about our country as it is today.

‘The Kingdom’ reimagines the Philippines as The Kingdom of Kalayaan. It is ruled by a succession of Lakandulas (or Lakambini, if it were a woman) and the royal family follows the belief that their line comes from Bathala. In the contemporary world, Kalayaan is besieged by political strife. There are citizens who are calling out the family for their greed and corruption while the current Lakandula, Lakan Makisig (Vic Sotto) has yet to choose between his three children who would succeed him in the throne. His only son, Magat Bagwis (Sid Lucero) is presented as a hot-tempered man more inclined to the finer things in life and is not that interested to lead. His eldest daughter, Dayang Matimyas (Cristine Reyes), shows political savvy and will, but there is tension between her and her father. The youngest, Dayang Lualhati (Sue Ramirez) is a loving child and is set to marry a prince from Thailand, which has the people divided.

Image Source: APT Entertainment, Inc. FB

But on her wedding day, Dayang Lualhati is kidnapped and Lakan Makisig must figure out if this is the work of the rebel forces or, as the babaylan suggests, someone from within the palace. Unbeknownst to him, Dayang Lualhati is rescued by Sulo (Piolo Pascual), a farmer with a past that connects him to the family and with his own opposition views regarding the monarchy.

Image Source: APT Entertainment, Inc. FB

The film plays out like a political thriller. It has action scenes to help play with the pacing and to heighten the sense of danger. But it is at its strongest with the way it lays out the systems of this world and the intricacies of the character’s relationships and the social dynamics of this reimagined country.

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The first thing I noticed was the beautiful usage of fabrics and designs from the indigenous people of the country. Without colonial rule, there’s amplification of our own local and traditional attire. Guiding the royal family are babaylans and there is an air of spirituality and mysticism that surrounds this government, and it feels so fitting and true. The second thing I noticed was the language of the script. I picked it up almost immediately that the Tagalog that was used was deeper and more unfamiliar. I realised that they were avoiding any Filipino word with Spanish origins (I did catch one, where a character references the grandmother and calls her “lola” but I wasn’t able to catch anything else). The people are marked by tattoos that help align them with a clan or tribe, which calls out to our Filipino value of family.

Image Source: APT Entertainment, Inc. FB

And what a family! Vic Sotto gives a restrained performance, showing off what carrying the weight of a whole country on your shoulder feels like on the body. He’s stiff and cold but manages a loss of that control when he’s around his children, especially Dayan Lualhati. His humanity steps out in key moments that keeps his character from being one note. Sid Lucero and Sue Ramirez is always great, though Ramirez is doing the best she can with a tired character, the naive princess. Piolo Pascual is great during the quiet parts, when he is allowed to channel the character’s anger and rage but holding it in because he’s a good person through-and-through, but he doesn’t bring that rage to his fight scenes. Iza Calzado shines in a brief role, carrying the weight of an entire backstory that is never revealed in every look and small gesture. She’s reacting to something that we are not aware of, and it implies a whole backstory in a character that is so well-written despite having such a short screentime.

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But the true star here is Cristine Reyes. Her Dayang Matimyas is competent, tough, and fearless but she softens when she’s around her siblings. She’s commanding without losing any bit of her femininity and the strain of her character’s relationship with her father is evident in her longing stares and quiet moments. She also has the most convincing fight scenes in the whole movie showing off a range we all know she has.

Image Source: APT Entertainment, Inc. FB

While the performances were strong and the music by Jessie Lasaten elevates the movie into an epic scale, the action scenes could be cleaner (except for the one in the bridge, that was really good and thrilling) and I think it could have been 20 minutes longer. I just wanted to be in that world for a lot longer. ‘The Kingdom’ showcases the true power of movies: it can reinvent the world and show us perspectives and possibilities through its carefully laid out fiction, and in the process, allow us to criticize and question how things are today. Even in this fictional world, the country is torn apart by class and tribalism and the film asks us to revisit the things that we believe define us and our country: the people who govern us, the things that separate us and keep us from being united, and the laws that we hold on to that allows the powerful to abuse the weak. All of this and more are tackled in the 133-minute film, and seriously, it was so well-done that it could have gone much, much longer.

My Rating:

The Kingdom is now showing in cinemas. Check showtimes and buy your tickets here.

December 26, 2024
MMFF MOVIE REVIEW: Mainstream Magic: A Review of ‘My Future You’

There’s something magical about director and screenwriter Crisanto B. Aquino’s ‘My Future You.’ It’s a film about the complexities of family but disguised as a magical romance story about a boy and a girl who are matched through a dating app despite their difference in time. There are elements here of the Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock film ‘Lake House’ or other films with similar conceits like ‘Frequency’ and the Korean supernatural thriller ‘The Call.’ But Aquino’s film is deeply rooted in its Filipino setting and characters and redefines our understanding of what defines a family through the perspective of the two leads.

Lex (Seth Fedelin) and Karen (Francine Diaz) are both fresh out of college with their lives ready to be conquered. As they both watch a rare twin comet sighting in the night sky one evening, they suddenly receive a dating app on their phones and laptops and are instantly matched. They talk, they flirt, they connect. It comes to a point that they decide to meet each other in Manila at kilometer zero at Luneta Park. On the given time, Lex discovers that Karen isn’t there. He waits for three hours but she never arrives. The next morning, he gets an angry call from Karen who tells him that he stood her up. Soon, they discover that they both were there at the agreed date and time. What they did not expect was the revelation that they live 15 years apart from each other. Lex is from 2009 while Karen is from 2024.

Image from Regal Entertainment Inc. FB

Aquino masterfully handles the first 20 minutes of the film to set up Lex and Karen’s meet-cute and the bonding that happens over time. The whole first act makes us fall in love with these two young people – performed with such verve from Fedelin and Diaz – that you get caught up in the whole romance. As someone who knew nothing about the film coming in, I was suspicious but still taken by surprise by the magical twist of the time difference that forms the barrier to the couple coming together. What’s even more clever is that during this time, the film had already begun to lay the foundations of the real goal of the film, which is to push the two youths into reimagining their family structure.

Lex is an only child of senior parents in Cebu. They are wealthy and while he wants for nothing and is loved by both and his yaya, his past has left a missing piece in his heart. Karen, on the other hand, is unhappy that her parents have split up and that their mom had moved her and her younger brother to live with her new boyfriend. The 15 years difference between Karen and Lex means that both can help each other with their issues of their family.

The romance aspect of the film is easy. The two characters have fallen for each other and it’s believable by the way Aquino directs their interactions using split screens and shooting them with match cuts to show that they are completely in synch even if they are 15 years away from each other. Vanessa De Leon’s editing is precise and on the mark allowing the two to be in the same moment despite their distance. The music by Decky Jazer Margaja is just perfect as it sets the mood from romantic to drama when the scene calls for it. The family drama opens up organically within the romance story and surprisingly takes center stage and the whole second act of the film as they two learn some valuable lessons about love and family and happiness.

Diaz is absolutely charming and she has a screen presence that calls for your attention. There are moments when she can sometimes over dramatize a feeling but when she uses restraint, there’s magic there. With more experience, she has the makings of a star. Fedelin, on the other hand, is a natural actor. Everything he does feel spontaneous and unscripted. He has a warmth that translates through the screen and he can easily shift from comedy to serious drama when needed. The two are electric together.

The supporting cast of Bodjie Pascua, Peewee O’Hara, Christian Vasquez, and Almira Muhlach help make this world so believable and authentic despite its magical realism setting. There are no out of place dramatics. It’s just simple and natural performances that makes these characters come alive.

‘My Future You’ is a lovely mainstream movie that is filled with the magic of love and warmth. It’s a perfect movie for the MMFF that really fits in with the Christmas spirit and, more importantly, I love the way that it normalizes non-traditional family structures.

My Rating:

My Future You is now showing in cinemas. Check showtimes and buy your tickets here.

December 26, 2024
MOVIE REVIEW: Though an Interesting Idea, ‘The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim’ Fails to Be Fresh or Unique

While I’m not an avid audience for anime – as my anime-watching years ended in the early 2000s – the idea of using anime to tell stories from the ‘Lord of the Rings’ source material may be an interesting choice. It’s such a stark contrast to the visual tone and mood that was set forth by Peter Jackson in his successful trilogy of films that adapted J.R.R. Tolkien’s books and then later reimagined by the Amazon Prime series ‘Rings of Power.’ So, while I’m not a staunch fan of anime, I was interested to see how ‘Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim’ would play out. Afterall, I felt that everything I needed to see about the source material is completed in the trilogy ‘Lord of the Rings’ and I felt that the trilogy of ‘The Hobbit’ was a letdown after the first movie. I’m not a fan of the ‘Rings of Power’ either so I wondered whether ‘Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim’ would be a welcome expansion to the franchise or if it leans more towards just trying to cash in on those who love the world and the world-building of it and is another example of Hollywood being afraid of creating something new and unique and refreshing.

First of all, director Kenji Kamiyama has an animation style that looks flat and awkward. It makes plenty of uses of photo-realistic backgrounds and landscapes but then layers the moving anime characters unto that doesn’t always feel like a cohesive integration. On the opening scene, the protagonist, Hera, chases after one of the giant Eagles on horseback and rides up a mountain. The mountain face looks and feels two-dimensional so when the animated horse climbs up the mountain, the sound tells us its hooves are landing on the rocks but the visual doesn’t really match. There are quite a lot of moments like this but then are other moments where it works, like a brutal battle at Helm’s Deep during a harsh snowstorm.

On the visual level, there’s a lot of tension happening whether it’s gorgeous until the action starts moving or it’s just awkward from beginning to end. And with the live action world of Middle Earth so strong in my head – from the imagination of Peter Jackson – the disconnect with seeing the very Japanese-infused imagery of anime doesn’t quite blend well here. My experience with anime has prepared me for the shift of extremes: from the very serious to the hilariously silly – and ‘Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim’ never gets silly. It’s so serious and bleak that it feels alien to see it in anime form. Even when I saw ‘Evangelion’ so many years back, as dark and as bleak as that show can be, I remember it still having light and silly moments.

The story is definitely a call out to the horrors of war and the dangers of pride. The film is focused on the reign of King Helm Hammerhand of Rohan and how an accidental killing started a war that his only daughter, Hera, had to finish as those around her fell. The film takes a feminist approach by giving Hera a name (in the appendices of Tolkien’s books, she is unnamed) and a personality that has her wild and rebellious but unseen for her true worth by her father. The main antagonist, Wulf, was set on marrying her but after the death of his father, is now set to humbling her. Wulf is portrayed with the worst traits of toxic masculinity, which completes the feminist approach.

But the story feels stunted and a little too straightforward. It picks up and then slows down and then picks up again. There are characters, like Hera’s brothers, who have so much potential, but their stories end before they can be fully explored, and it seems that the material might have better suited a series than a movie. Halfway through the film, I realized I didn’t connect nor feel invested in any of the characters nor the outcome of this war as I felt that the film created these characters to point out a theme but forgot to make them unique or fresh. They all seem very much like characters from other films that talks about the horrors of war and of women who must rise to their potential despite being unrecognized and acknowledged by every man around them.

I found myself dozing off a lot in the beginning due to the film’s pacing and had a hard time feeling like I was seeing something new. It was an interesting idea, for sure, but one that did not take flight from development.

My Rating:

Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim is now showing in cinemas. Check showtimes and buy your tickets here.

December 13, 2024
MOVIE REVIEW: The Rome of ‘Gladiator II’ is just an allegory for America in crisis

24 years after the first film, ‘Gladiator II’ follows the story of the son of the protagonist of the first film played by Russell Crowe, who was sent away to save his life from those who wish to kill him as he is sole heir to the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius after Marcus Aurelius has passed on. Sixteen years after the death of the emperor, twin brothers have taken rule, Geta and Caracalla, and they do so with debauchery, violence, and corruption. Hidden away in the African city of Numidia, Lucius Verus Aurelius, now called Hanno, lives a peaceful life with his wife. But the emperor twins have spread Rome’s influence and they have sent their general Acacius to take Numidia. During the siege, Hanno loses his wife and is taken as a slave where he is bought by the gladiator stable owner Macrinus. Macrinus sees Hanno’s potential due to his rage and uses him as a weapon against Rome while all Hanno wants is revenge against Acacius. What Hanno doesn’t know is that his mother, Lucilla is now married to Acacius and is secretly plotting to overthrow the emperor twins and return Rome to its former glory.

It’s a huge complicated plot with so many moving parts and yet, none of it feels terribly important. The whole film’s story runs through in less than a week and most of the big ideas about Rome and righteousness are left as lines of dialogue and never really given their due. Instead, the camera is focused on the brutality of this era of Rome and the debauchery of its rulers and the complacency of its senate. It speaks of ideals that never really takes a concrete form in any scene. They are all just stories the characters tell each other before they have to fight again in the arena.

Paul Mescal plays Lucius and Pedro Pascal plays Marcus Acacius in Gladiator II from Paramount Pictures.

It’s the fight scenes that director Ridley Scott really takes his time to put together. The siege of Numidia has a rhythm and an imagery that’s just enjoyable to watch on the big screen. It’s the epic, historical war scenes that can ignite the imaginations of those who love these big spectacles of violence. And then he pares it down in the arena but since he’s already done that in the first movie, he spices things up this time with a gladiator riding a rhinoceros and a naval battle, which is recorded fact. Yes, they used to fill the Coliseum with water and reenact naval battles for entertainment. Of course, Scott had to put it here.

Gladiator II from Paramount Pictures.

Funnily enough, I found no lasting joy in any of it. This is a world that is suffering from imperial forces the way Numidia suffered at the start of ‘Gladiator II.’ This a world that is rife with war and people dying for some stupid notion of other governments and to see it on screen in this manner, regardless of any sort of historical authenticity felt very strange to me, a person living in a developing country whose nation is constantly in the crossfires of larger countries own ambitions. The film talks about the “dream of Rome” that is supposed to be a beacon of civility and a way forward but not at all cognizant that this is the same rhetoric that the United States have used to attack Middle Eastern states in the name of world order. The emperor twins became an obvious symbolism of the decadent reign of that countries former president, who is returning to the seat of power and the film is a call to bring him down. It’s hard to find empathy with the big concepts the film tries to juggle, especially when it seems more inclined to find joy in the brutality of the film’s title.

Denzel Washington plays Macrinus, Pedro Pascal plays General Acacius and Connie Nielsen plays Lucilla in Gladiator II from Paramount Pictures.

It doesn’t help that Hanno is not the most interesting of characters. Even with Paul Mescal at the helm, Hanno is written without any warmth or charm. After his wife dies, he embraces any chance at death (so he can be with her) but also revels in the violence to come because he’s promised by Macrinus that he’ll get a chance to go toe-to-toe with Acacius if he does well. That’s all there is to his character and it’s kind of hard to latch on to, especially when Lucilla (Connie Nielsen) and Acacius (Pedro Pascal) are talking about reinvigorating Rome’s classical ideals. When the film does try to redeem him by the third act, the script of David Scarpa has spent no time in preparing him for that shift. He has one moment with Acacius and then he dramatically becomes Lucius just like that.

Denzel Washington plays Macrinus in Gladiator II from Paramount Pictures.

The only character that’s actually fun to watch is Denzel Washington’s Macrinus and Denzel obviously was having a lot of fun with him too. Washington plays the full range of Macrinus’ character, manipulating senators and even the emperor twins, luring Hanno into a partnership, and reveling in the character’s bisexuality; every move Washington does is fun to watch. And when he talks about why he wants Rome to fall, it actually makes more sense than any of the sanctimonious allegories the film makes with America’s own ideas of itself.

Sure, there are big fight scenes (not all of the same consistency) but some of the CGI effects are distracting (especially the sharks) while any attempt at making a rallying cry for “courage and honour” feels shallow or empty. This film feels like it came out ten years too late.

My Rating:

Gladiator II is now in cinemas! Check showtimes and buy your tickets here.

December 6, 2024