Tag: movie review

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).

Image Source: Mentorque FB

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.

Image Source: Mentorque FB

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.

Image Source: Mentorque FB

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.

Image Source: Mentorque FB

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.”

Image Source: Mentorque FB

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.

Image Source: APT Entertainment, Inc. FB

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.

Image Source: APT Entertainment, Inc. FB

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
MOVIE REVIEW: Bigger and Better Than the Musical, ‘Wicked’ Hits All the Right Notes

I’ll be honest and say that I was not expecting to like ‘Wicked.’ As I kept hearing news after news about it – the film being part one of two, the total running time of the film is longer than the stage musical (roughly two hours and forty minutes), and others – I was becoming more and more apprehensive about it. The only thing that I was excited about was the casting of Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba. Erivo is a fantastic actress and a damn good singer. If anyone can bring that character to the screen, it’s her. It doesn’t help that other than ‘Defying Gravity’ and ‘Good,’ I’m not a fan of the musical as well.

So it was to my utter surprise that as ‘Wicked’ part 1 ended, I found myself in tears.

Cynthia Erivo is Elphaba in WICKED, directed by Jon M. Chu

L to R: Cynthia Erivo is Elphaba and Ariana Grande is Glinda in WICKED, directed by Jon M. Chu

With director Jon M. Chu at the helm, ‘Wicked’ manages to find its heart despite the overindulgent (not a bad thing) design of the world that leans a lot towards the psychedelic and the absurd. By not being grounded visually, it allows for the film to take very whimsical approaches to character reactions and makes it believable. In a world as colorful and extraordinary as Oz, how is a baby being born green such an affront to everyone’s taste? But it works because the world in itself feels off-kilter and kooky.

L to R: Cynthia Erivo is Elphaba and Ariana Grande is Glinda in WICKED, directed by Jon M. Chu

‘Wicked’ follows the first act of the musical of the same name (which is based on the book by Gregory Maguire). With an extended running time, the film takes it time to really establish the characters and their complex dynamic, which is the heart and soul of the film. It’s the story of Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), a woman who was born with green skin. Shunned by her family and society, she has lived quietly, taking it all in and never letting any of it out. Deep within her is a power that she cannot understand, and it gets her a seat at Shiz University where her sister is enrolled. There she meets Galinda (Ariana Grande), and they quickly become enemies but as they get to know each other better, they become the best of friends.

L to R: Cynthia Erivo is Elphaba and Ariana Grande is Glinda in WICKED, directed by Jon M. Chu

The bulk of ‘Wicked’ comes from the shift in the dynamic of Elphaba and Galinda’s (who later becomes Glinda) relationship. Gravitating around their friendship are stories about how the talking animals are slowly being persecuted and a handsome prince, Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) also comes into the picture to become the love interest of both women. These subplots serve to push and pull on the two girls as they begin to realise something about each other and themselves that forces them to make massive decisions by the end of the film that will change the course of their lives forever.

Ariana Granda is Glinda in WICKED, directed by Jon M. Chu

At the heart of it, ‘Wicked’ is a story about discrimination. Elphaba is shunned and ridiculed for the color of the skin and Cynthia Erivo embodies this so magnificently. Unlike iterations of this I’ve seen on YouTube or when I saw the play at the CCP by the Australian touring cast, Erivo’s Elphaba is a young woman who is forced to be mature by her oppression. She is wound up and tense. She’s guarded. But deep inside that hard exterior, is a young girl looking for acceptance and belonging.

Peter Dinklage voices Dr. Dillamond in WICKED, directed by Jon M. Chu

It’s why when she becomes close with one of her professors who is a talking goat (Peter Dinklage), she softens, and the effect is palpable on screen. When her and Galinda’s relationship turns towards friendship, that vulnerability suddenly becomes visible. And when the plot brings her to a point when she discovers the power that is deep within her, leading up to the showstopping ‘Defying Gravity,’ Erivo becomes a raging storm. The performance is one-of-a-kind, and it helps that she can really sing like the best of them.

Ariana Granda is Glinda in WICKED, directed by Jon M. Chu

Grande is a natural comedienne. She has great timing and a sincerity that makes her Galinda feel as genuine as she is oblivious to the larger things that are at play. It’s her chemistry with Erivo that helps secure the film’s narrative into stable ground that allows the film to take flight at its finale. But while Grande’s performance is strong and a definite crowd-pleaser, it really feels like a reverent interpretation of Kristen Chenoweth’s portrayal of Galinda. It’s no secret that Grande has been in love with this show since she first saw it at ten years old. I feel that her attack on the character was to do the best version of Chenoweth’s Galinda rather than doing something uniquely her own. It’s not a fault, really, because she did a great job, but I was hoping for something different.

Bailey is obviously having a lot of fun, showing off his range and managing to turn his Prince Fiyero into a bisexual sex symbol. He brings a wave of teen-filled desire into this PG-13 movie and makes it a little dangerous, which is always fun. Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, and Peter Dinklage are always reliable and help create a fully realised psychedelic world that has a great big heart and a strong message to finding your own voice and taking a stand.

L to R: Bronwyn James is Shenshen and Bowen Yang is Pfannee in WICKED, directed by Jon M. Chu

WICKED, directed by Jon M. Chu

The almost-three hour running time goes by so fast and you never really feel it. I am absolutely shocked that ‘Wicked’ is as good as it is with my only fear that Part Two will not be able to match the narrative highs that this film manages to attain.

My Rating:

Wicked is now casting its spell in cinemas! Check showtimes and buy your tickets here for a magical movie experience.

November 23, 2024
Movie Review: An Unmagical Christmas Tale: A Review of ‘Red One’

There is something frustratingly commercial about the holiday action adventure ‘Red One.’ The film imagines that mythical creatures do exist – from witches and trolls and even Santa Claus – but a hi-tech organization watches over them and ensures that there is a semblance of peace between the mythological world and the human world. For this film, Santa Claus is given the code name of Red One by his team of bodyguards and assistants and he lives in the center of a vast cosmopolitan city in the North Pole, hidden by a force field and a cloaking mechanism.

Right at the onset, ‘Red One’ attempt to rationalize the mystical and the fantastical by creating shadow organizations that are leaning heavily more towards science and technology than they are, to what is essentially, the realm of magic and wonder and imagination. Red One’s sleigh is a hi-tech vessel run by his gigantic reindeer but let’s put a lot of levers and buttons on the sleigh just to make it look technological.

It’s an approach that feels unimaginative and wholly capitalist-driven.

In ‘Red One,’ Santa Claus (JK Simmons) is kidnapped and the head of his security detail, Callum Drift (Dwayne Johnson) must work together with the man responsible for getting Santa caught in the first place: the hacker and fixer Jack O’Malley (Chris Evans). Jack doesn’t believe in Christmas. In fact, he doesn’t believe in anything. He’s an absentee father who uses his know-how to work high scale jobs for anonymous clients for big money. His latest job got Santa Claus kidnapped and now he’s the only lead to tracking down his client.

The film takes on the buddy-cop formula, Callum and Jack can’t stand each other and are morally opposite of each other, and as their search for Santa leads them to the witch Gryla (Kiernan Shipka), they discover her sinister plan to punish everyone who has ever been naughty, which will include Jack’s own son.

Despite all of Chris Evans’ charms, even he seems to struggle finding a sweet spot for Jack. As written, he’s an awful person and an awful dad and while the film attempts to redeem him (as a mainstream movie would do), Callum is also hoping to retire because he does not see the good in people anymore. Naturally, the film attempts to change his mind.

Throughout the film, the two battle it out against Gryla’s assortment of lackeys for some big special effect fights with explosive choreography that doesn’t really mean anything if you don’t particularly like anybody. The only time that the film touches upon something that feels really magical and special is when it brings them to Germany to visit Krampus (Kristofer Hivju) and everything about Krampus and his world feels the most authentic because it doesn’t rely on the hi-tech world that feels so odd in this story.

The marriage of science fiction and hi-technology and magic has been done before. You have television shows like ‘Dr. Who’ and ‘Torchwood’ who have made it work. The idea of Thor and Dr. Strange seems to fit well in the MCU but ‘Red One’ takes such pride in their gadgetry and tries to make Santa hip and cool rather than see that there is some level of coolness to the whimsy of an old man delivering gifts all by himself. The bombs and the explosions, the hi-tech gear, and flying cars all seem to undermine the whole spirit of the symbol that Santa brings. It’s not the toys but the good cheer and the generosity of spirit that makes Christmas so great.

Even with Lucy Liu, Bonnie Hunt, and a hilarious Nick Kroll can breathe some humanity in a film that imagines Santa Claus as a Mission Impossible agent and that Christmas is just job that he does every year. They say it’s for the kids, but the only real kid in the whole movie is that of Jack’s and he doesn’t really play a part until three-fourths of the movie.

My Rating:

Red One is now showing! Check showtimes and buy your tickets here.

November 15, 2024
Movie Review: ‘Balota’ is a Wake-Up Call, Caught in the Middle of Its Mainstream Sensibilities with Indie Aesthetics

Immensely relevant, ‘Kip Oebanda’s ‘Balota’ is a timely call for the people to wake up and take charge of the nation’s future by being savvier about our elections and our politics. The film takes a dark, satirical tone to give voice to what the film expresses as something we all are aware of – corruption, dirty politics, election fraud and theft – but seem incapable of stopping. With a brilliant cast, ‘Balota’ is spread thin by the film’s two-pronged approach: mainstream sensibilities and an independent filmmaking style. The film is successful at what it sets out to do in its messaging but struggles to fully utilize either of its approaches to make something that really stands out.

‘Balota’ is set in 2007, in an unnamed, small rural town during its mayoral elections. On one hand is the incumbent mayor (Mae Paner), a land grabbing politico who is well-known for her affairs and policies on work and employment that have caused casualties while her opponent is a former sexy-star-turned-politician (Gardo Versoza) who promises a change of guard. Caught in the middle is Emmy (Marian Rivera), a tough, well-loved teacher who is assigned as a poll watcher and as she must deliver the ballot box to the governor’s office for counting, she escapes with her life from an armed attempt to steal the ballot. Alone in the woods and with no one to trust, she has to figure out what to do with the ballot box that is handcuffed to her hand while fearing for the safety of her son (Will Ashley).

Oebanda creates a vivid world. He dramatizes for us, in simple terms, the way these things work during elections. He shows us how votes are bought, how goons shake down the people, and how even the police are involved. The town is a living, breathing entity with its own thoughts and agency. Emmy’s son, Enzo carry a superficial discussion on politics with his cousin Jimbo (Raheel Bhyria) that shows us how the youth have interest but still need to dig deeper into the layers of politics outside of image and branding. The cops, through the characters played by Joel Saracho and Royce Cabrera, show different aspects of people all just caught up in the crossfire. At one point, the film even takes time to focus on two members of the queer community – played by Sassa Gurl and Esnyr Ranollo – and how a job can be opposite of your own political views while Donna Cariaga plays a woman leading a protest for worker’s rights and justice for her dead husband against Mae Paner’s incumbent mayor.

Image from Marian Rivera FB Page

It’s a wonderful interweaving of real-life issues and characters with different motivations and value systems and it’s so interesting to watch as the film shifts from a satire to political thriller as Emmy has to literally fight for her life. As the film unfolds, it builds up on the campier aspects of satire, moving more and more towards the absurd. At the film’s third act, Emmy faces off with the main antagonist and they have a back-and-forth that is straight out of a teleserye only elevated by Marian Rivera and her co-star’s (won’t reveal to spare you of a spoiler) magnificent acting.

Image from Marian Rivera FB Page

But it’s this aspect that I find the weakest in the film. The film carries mainstream sensibilities – this is a film Oebanda needs people to see and so he casts Marian Rivera and creates a plot that is thrilling and exciting but carries with it an idealistic ending (but still with a sharp ending commentary) and a mainstream tone – but it’s shot and filmed like an indie movie. There’s a lot of holding back to try and keep the film grounded in its aesthetics and pacing. It’s not quick in its narrative rhythm as it likes to linger to try and evoke thought. There’s still a feel and an aesthetic that keeps it feeling like an indie film when the foundation of the story feels better suited for a mainstream film. It saddles uncomfortably in the middle and I feel the film would benefit more if it leaned in more to any other two sides.

But despite my observations, I love the performances in the film. Rivera manages to truly be in the moment and really captures all the layers that makes Emmy such an interesting character. She’s tough but loving and the way every character reacts to her as written is supported by the way Rivera realizes the character. She has a strong moral center but never makes it corny or fictional. She is vulnerable when her character is pushed to the limits, but you can also see her gather her strength when her character needs it. It’s a magnificent display of Rivera’s range. Everybody else manages to elevate the material with Royce Cabrera, Joel Saracho, and Gardo Versoza also showing off their immense range.

My Rating:

Balota is now showing! Check showtimes and buy your tickets here.

November 12, 2024
Movie Review: New Characters, Same Story, Same Tricks: ‘Smile 2’ Is Your Standard Horror Film

I don’t remember much from the first movie, ‘Smile,’ except its dramatic ending confrontation where the demon finally reveals itself and I thought the imagery of that was quite gruesome and original. But I don’t remember much about the story or the main character and what happened to the demon after the film. Luckily, the sequel, ‘Smile 2’ takes none of that story and just presents the demon and how it is victimizing new characters.

Unfortunately, this means that writer/director Parker Finn must establish his new protagonist and the world that she lives in and how the demon fits in all of this. Going over my review of the first film, I commented that Finn has an issue with drawing out scenes and overextending his moments and storytelling and he’s still at it. The film is a little over two hours and it gets exhausting. Finn has a good sense for creating tension with his camera but as a storyteller, he is constantly trying to scare you and after a while, we forget the story, we can’t invest in the characters, and we are just preparing for the scares.

Naomi Scott stars in Paramount Pictures Presents A Temple Hill Production A Parker Finn FIlm “SMILE 2”

In the sequel, the demon finds its way to haunt Skye Riley (Naomi Scott), a pop star who just got back from serious car accident. At the top of her game, she succumbed to the lure of drugs, and she is attempting a redemption tour, trying to stay sober while the death of her boyfriend who perished during the same car accident is still fresh in her mind. She has a new album and is preparing a tour and it’s the worst time ever for someone to be making a comeback but there is pressure from her management, who is also her mother (Rosemarie DeWitt).

Lukas Gage stars in Paramount Pictures Presents A Temple Hill Production A Parker Finn FIlm “SMILE 2”

So now Skye must rehearse, make appearances, fit for costumes, and psych herself up for her concert in just ten days while the demon begins to plant delusions in her head. What follows is a slow descent into madness for Skye and because the film never really takes the time to humanize her, it’s hard to be on her side and root for her to survive.

Naomi Scott does not have the most expressive face, and it creates a resistance to trying to connect with her. She comes off as cold and unfeeling and it may be part of the character but it’s a performance that doesn’t help us want to be on her side. When she’s performing as Skye – singing and dancing – you can see that she’s made for it, and she’s prepared. She looks amazing. But it’s a horror film. I have to root for her, and I don’t. Later on, when the hauntings escalate, she begins to really express her fear and frustrations; she really works double time to show us she’s going mad. It’s a committed portrayal but she needed a softer approach early on and that is a point against the film.

What Finn creates are some gruesome and twisted imagery, playing off Skye’s own hurts and insecurities. He brings in the pain and the trauma from the car accident for some really strong visuals that can elicit horror. He also isn’t’ afraid to get silly, with a choreographed tableau that is equal parts frightening and funny. He keeps pushing and pushing for Skye to lose her mind and hoping that we’d all have fun seeing her break and at some point, I felt that the film may have gone far away from where it is set up to be, but it manages to turn back and deliver the ending that was needed for a film like this.

In the landscape of horror, ‘Smile 2’ has some vivid imagery that may find longevity as a meme but outside of its thrills in the cinema, it might just get lost in the shuffle of all the other horror films coming out this October for the month of Halloween. It’s a fun watch with a date or your barkada but it’s not something you need to rush to see.

My Rating:

Smile 2 is now showing! Check showtimes and buy tickets here.

October 18, 2024
Movie Review: An Unlikely Modern Family: A Review of ‘The Wild Robot’

The trailer of ‘The Wild Robot’ was enough to send shivers down my spine. I got goosebumps from the exquisite visuals and the soaring musical score. I was very much excited to watch this new animated full-length feature from Dreamworks studios; the same studio who gave us such lovely films like ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ and ‘Bad Guys’ and directed and written by Chris Sanders, who co-directed and co-wrote ‘Lilo & Stitch’ and ‘How to Train Your Dragon.’ I was so sure this was going to be an event film.

The film opens with a crash; much like the trailer suggests, a hi-tech flying ship crashes into an uninhabited island and a robot, ROZZUM unit no 7134, is accidentally activated by otters who were inspecting the crash site. The robot is a servant robot who is programmed to follow orders but with no humans around to give it orders, it finds itself without purpose. It manages to frighten all the animals in the island and decides that if it can’t find a human to give it orders, it will take orders from any other living thing. It studies the languages of the animals so that it can talk to them.

(center) Roz (Lupita Nyong’o) in DreamWorks Animation’s The Wild Robot, directed by Chris Sanders.

This is where I got surprised. I only saw the teaser, and not the trailer, and I didn’t realise the film had dialogue. After ROZZUM 7134 learns the language of the animals, it now speaks to everyone, and they don’t stop talking. I was a little annoyed by this change in tone. In an uninhabited island, the animals all spoke so western-like and operated with such modern language. It felt off to me, despite its fantastic cast like Pedro Pascal as a conniving fox, Catherine O’ Hara as a possum mother, and Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong’o as ROZZUM 7134.

Roz (Lupita Nyong’o) in DreamWorks Animation’s The Wild Robot, directed by Chris Sanders.

In the attempt to find a task to perform, ROZZUM 7134 has a tussle with a bear and accidentally destroys a nest of goose eggs, except for one. The goose egg hatches and imprints itself on the robot, who it now identifies as its mother. The fox, Fink, who at first was trying to eat the egg, now assigns the robot its first task: it now must care for the goose. Fink plans to use ROZZUM 7134 for his own purposes but as time goes by, the three make an unlikely family.

I was resistant to the film as I found the anthropomorphication of the animals to be against my expectations. There’s so much beauty in the imagery (I read that Hayao Miyazaki was one of the inspirations of the visual design of the film) and the trailer was able to elicit so much emotion from me. I thought the film would be doing that here.

What I did not expect was how I was going to react by the second act of the movie. ‘The Wild Robot’ takes its time to build the family of the robot, now called Roz, Fink, and the young orphan gosling, Brightbill (voiced by Kit Connor). Roz must help Brightbill learn to eat, swim and fly on his own if he will survive as a goose.

By halfway through the film, I started crying at every major scene. All the beauty and warmth and heart that was featured in the teaser I saw came out in full force in the second and third act of ‘The Wild Robot.’ Through its wonderful characters and how it establishes the ecosystem of that island, the film is able to highlight the power of community, of a family, and the joys of kindness and generosity. Despite my resistance, the film won me over. Through its depiction of a very modern family: Roz and Fink and Brightbill; it shows us what adoption looks like and feels like and how it is just like any other family. Through the film, it shows that family can also be a choice that you make.

Roz (Lupita Nyong’o) in DreamWorks Animation’s The Wild Robot, directed by Chris Sanders.

It’s a story of motherhood, of family, and community. It also manages to make jabs and digs at the corporate world – because of course, the company that made Roz is going to want her back – and creates a lovely contrast between the world of men and the uninhabited world of the island. Lush imagery, unforgettable characters, and gorgeous musical score, ‘The Wild Robot’ is another stellar film out of Dreamworks.

My Rating:

The Wild Robot is now showing! Check showtimes and buy tickets here.

October 15, 2024