Tag: movie review

MMFF 2025 Review: Shake, Rattle & Roll: Evil Origins

The Shake, Rattle & Roll has become a sort of MMFF tradition – the staple horror film of the season – and it makes its return to the festival with its 17th installment Shake, Rattle & Roll: Evil Origins. As per usual, the film is divided into three shorter films, an anthology of horror films, usually by three different filmmakers (some earlier installments were directed by only one or a pair of filmmakers). But this time, there’s a twist. For the first time ever, the three stories are sort of interconnected; telling stories from three different timelines but with a narrative link.

The first film, set in 1775, is set in a cloister, where a mysterious crate arrives and holds a dark evil within. If the darkness within isn’t terrible enough, the nuns have their own issues to deal with, including the harsh, rigid leadership of Madre Juana (Janice De Belen).

Shake, Rattle & Roll: Evil Origins

A lot of the nuns and novitiates have a dark past, and even one is held captive (Carla Abellana) for her prophetic visions. Director Shugo Praico amps up the claustrophobia, keeping the scares in tight spaces and in the darkness of candlelight and lamplights. What makes this segment unwieldy is how the dramatic set-up feels better suited for a full-length.

Shake, Rattle & Roll: Evil Origins

The film is probably less than an hour but there are so many characters – played by Loisa Andalio, Ysabel Ortega, Ashley Ortega, Elijah Alejo, Arlene Muhlach, and Ara Mina – and each with their backstory, the film gives us all this narrative material but never really gets to explore these before the evil is released and begins wrecking havoc.

Shake, Rattle & Roll: Evil Origins

There are some really frightful scenes and its share of jump scares but the narrative is too bogged down by all its characters. It doesn’t help that the nun’s habit only gives us the faces of the actors that it’s quite difficult to tell them apart in some scenes. The dramatic set-up and each novitiate’s backstory is really something that they could have explored more and could fill up a full 90 minutes.

The second segment, set in 2025, is the strongest of the three and is a lot of fun to watch. Historically, the second segment of ‘Shake, Rattle & Roll’ is usually a comedy horror, and while ‘2025’ does have its share of laughs, it operates more in the realm of the thriller and the slasher film.

Set during a Halloween masquerade ball in the basement of some unidentified structure, teens have to survive when they are attacked by a vicious cult, who need human blood and sacrifices for a demonic ritual. DirectorJoey De Guzman stylizes his scenes for a hypnotic aesthetic amplified by the excellent score by Mikhail Ali Hooshmand but still manages to take the time to really allow us to get to know our protagonists – Faye (Francine Diaz) and Sky (Sassa Gurl) – who are gatecrashing the party so they can steal from the rich kids at the rave.

But Faye catches the eye of Sean (Seth Fedelin), a rich kid with some issues with his father who is a politician. Along with DJ Elle (Fyang Smith) and James (JM Ibarra) and a few others, the survivors of the initial attack must now play a deadly game of hide and seek all over the underground complex to find the elevator to get them out of this death trap.

Joining them is Faye’s parents, Malena (Manilyn Reynes) and Bano (Alex Calleja), who are catering for the party, who have access to the other parts of that complex.

‘2025’ is a fun, slasher film with Diaz and Fedelin showing strong chemistry and handling the genre very well. As actors, they hold your attention and get you to care. Reynes is always a strong actress and elevates the piece by giving Faye and Sky someone to really care for but it’s Sassa Gurl who really stands out and elicits the strongest laughs.

Sassa Gurl’s Sky becomes more than just a comic relief and her interactions with Francine Diaz’s Faye also helps the audience to invest in these characters – which is so important in a slasher film.

The final segment, directed by Ian Lorenos, is set in the future. Entitled ‘2050,’ the film is set in a post-apocalyptic Manila where aswangs have ruled the earth and the remaining humans are in hiding.

Edris (Ivana Alawi) is in search of a woman who may have the key to stopping the aswangs for good and comes across a small community of survivors: Rosdan (Richard Gutierrez), his brother Riel (Dustin Yu), Dong (Matt Lozano), Dong’s younger sister Drea (Celyn David), and Rosdan and Riel’s aunt Malena (Manilyn Reynes).

‘2050’ relies heavily on CGI to reimagine a ruined Manila while the film takes on the action and horror genre. While the film serves well as the finale for this trilogy, this film can also be adapted for a full-length but the screenplay by Noreen Capili and Gina Marissa Tagasa keeps it simple so that it can hold on its own at its shortened length. What burdens the film is that the action sequences can be quite messy and chaotic, that we don’t get to feel the full force of the spills and thrills.

Shake, Rattle & Roll: Evil Origins

While Gutierrez is very comfortable in the action genre from his previous work, the others don’t do as well so it sometimes feels that Lorenos is directing around the limited capabilities of some of his cast.

Shake, Rattle & Roll: Evil Origins

It could hit harder, could be shot with a little more clarity of the choreography so we can enjoy the full range of action that the film offers. There are enough moments to get the audience to scream but this could have been tighter and more stronger.

Shake, Rattle & Roll: Evil Origins

Surprisingly, Shake, Rattle & Roll: Evil Origins is a lot more gory and brutal than I remember the franchise to be – probably an influence over our times – but it has the DNA of a proper Pinoy horror flick.

My Rating: 2.5 Stars

Check showtimes now and catch Shake, Rattle & Roll: Evil Origins on the big screen. This MMFF horror staple is best experienced where the screams are loudest.

December 29, 2025
MMFF 2025 Review: Bar Boys: After School

There’s something warm and fuzzy about Bar Boys: After School. A direct sequel of director Kip Oebanda’s Bar Boys, which came out in 2017, the film follows the characters from the first movie almost a decade later, as as they face new challenges and witness a whole new batch of law students preparing to take the bar exams. Bar Boys: After School, directed once again by Kip Oebanda and written by Oebanda, Carlo Catu, and Zig Dulay, feels like a tight hug in what some would describe as a really tough year. The movie leans into sentimentality and even being corny at times, but as the film unfolds, I found myself asking, “Why not?”

The movie is meant to inspire, to appeal to the kindness of the Filipino people, and to take lawyers to task in preserving the law and fighting for justice. There’s an ambiguity surrounding the role of lawyers in the first film – a discussion that was made about whether criminals have a right to a strong legal defense – and while it was discussed, was never really given a definitive answer. In the sequel, we see through one of the main characters, Erik Vicencio (Carlo Aquino), that he has taken this to heart and works at a law firm that helps underprivileged people, sometimes accepting crops as payment instead of cash, as that is what his clients can afford.

Bar Boys: After School

Torran Garcia (Rocco Nacino) questions his role as a corporate lawyer, finding more meaning and value in teaching law at a school.

Bar Boys: After School

It’s his story that connects us to the younger cast, which includes Trisha Perez (Sassa Gurl), a trans woman vying to graduate with honors, and Arvin Asuncion (Will Ashley), struggling working part-time to pay for his studies.

All of this unfolds while Justice Hernandez (Odette Khan), the mentor to the four main characters, lies in the hospital with a terminal illness.

Gone are the neutrality and bare-faced facts of the first film (though it had a lot of heart). Now, Bar Boys: After School is presenting to us the ideal. As each character goes through personal challenges – additionally, among the main cast, Christian Carlson (Enzo Pineda) returns home from America as he is coming to terms with the breakup of his marriage, while Joshua Zuniga (Kean Cipriano) is now a has-been actor who is going to law school himself – the film takes the most heartwarming road toward a positive resolution. It doesn’t shy away from the hardship, we get to see it firsthand, but it is always aiming for something that will uplift your spirits.

Bar Boys: After School

I found myself resisting the film at the beginning, but as the film continued, I found myself warming up to the warm embrace of its goodness. For the Christmas season – and for all the tough times that may come in 2026 – this movie feels like the warm hug I mentioned earlier. Oebanda painstakingly creates a fiction that inspires and motivates us to be better. It’s so sincere, and that sincerity, in all honesty, is refreshing. I’m happy for it.

Unfortunately, the film is weighed down by its large cast and the need to give each character a moment and a storyline. The strongest storyline here is that of Erik Vicencio and his battle for justice for some farmers, Toran Garcia and his role as a teacher, and Justice Hernandez and what she means to people. Aligned with this, all of Toran’s students, Trisha and Arvin and CJ (Therese Malvar), help solidify the film’s thematic core. Sadly, the storylines of Christian Carlson and Joshua Zuniga don’t necessarily fit squarely into the film and seem like they are only there for the purpose of continuing the stories of their characters. I honestly wouldn’t have minded if they took more of a supporting role, as the film is strongest when it works with the three storylines of Erik, Toran, and Justice Hernandez.

The whole cast, though, is very strong. There are fantastic performances all around, with Odette Khan and Sassa Gurl standing out with such strong performances, but the ones that stood out most for me are those of Rocco Nacino, Will Ashley, and Sheila Francisco, who plays a lawyer representing the landowners at odds with Erik’s clients. Francisco embodies the antithesis of Justice Hernandez and relishes the role, without ever turning her into a caricature. It’s a role with little screen time but with great impact on the entire film. If the movie is meant to inspire goodness and kindness, Francisco is ably allowing a contrast.

Rocco Nacino is effortless in his portrayal of Toran. He is the moment, in his character’s skin, that everything he says and does feels spontaneous and right in the pocket. He comes off so naturally that it never feels like acting.

Will Ashley, meanwhile, is a powerhouse. He draws you into Arvin Asuncion and makes it real, making his character’s struggles palpable, tangible. There is a scene (as seen in the trailer) where he talks about his hardships that had me completely attentive and I just started crying. He musters a vulnerability that grabs you and, and having seen his other MMFF film Love You So Bad, I can see he has incredible range. He’s going to be a star

Bar Boys: After School is a refreshing, feel-good movie that doesn’t resort to escapism but instead appeals to our best nature, inspiring us to do good and be good. It feels like a film from another time, yet it is so well-suited for the era we’re in. It’s the perfect film for the MMFF.

My Rating: 3.5 Stars

Catch Bar Boys: After School this MMFF and feel the warmth, inspiration, and heart that only this film can deliver, don’t miss it! Get showtimes here.

December 28, 2025
MMFF 2025 Review: Love You So Bad

‘Love You So Bad’ is a refreshing, high-spirited romantic comedy that plays out as a farce, a love triangle complicated by a lie rooted in a truth. Director Mae Cruz-Alviar does an amazing job at keeping the energy high, playing right for a heartstrings, and utilizing her actors’ strengths to deliver the thrills, while pivoting last minute to deliver something more.

The movie follows Savannah (Bianca De Vera), LA (Dustin Yu), and Vic (Will Ashley), who are caught up in a love triangle that forces each of them to face their own inner demons. At the beginning of the film, Savannah is drinking and partying, trying to forget her boyfriend, LA, who has just ghosted her. In a drunken state, she inadvertently asks for help from her thesis mate and school president, Vic, who comes to her rescue.

Things get complicated when a misleading video makes it appear that Savannah and Vic hooked up, and LA officially drops Savannah in front of the entire school. To spare Savannah from embarrassment, Vic declares his love for her. In private, the two agree to play the part of a couple so that Savannah can show LA she’s doing fine without him (and hopefully to make him jealous), while Vic its as a way to motivate Savannah to take their thesis more seriously.

Love You So Bad

It’s a classic romantic comedy trope, and we know that Vic will fall for Savannah as they play the part of a couple. The movie expertly uses every cinematic element to push for these characters to collide because we also know that LA is harboring a secret and that he still loves Savannah.

Love You So Bad | Image Source: ABS-CBN Film Productions Inc. (Star Cinema) FB

Despite its classic formula, Cruz-Alviar’s direction is filled with youthful energy and plays up the romance angle expertly creating loud responses from the packed theater I was in. What surprised all of us, though, was how easily the film pivots to introduce heavier topics, like Savannah’s living conditions – she lives with her aunt who is a mistress, and LA’s family background – he’s the child of an affair of his mom and is mistreated by his mother’s husband – and, later on, the reasons behind why Vic is such an over-achiever.

Love You So Bad | Image Source: ABS-CBN Film Productions Inc. (Star Cinema) FB

While the film remains fully in romantic comedy mode, some of these subplots are either left unresolved or wrapped up too quickly. That’s not necessarily a bad thing because it creates a textured world and leaves some aspects messy, something that ultimately feels more real.

Love You So Bad | Image Source: ABS-CBN Film Productions Inc. (Star Cinema) FB

Bianca De Vera manages to hold her ground and carry this movie that revolves around her character. She’s a generous actor who shines when working in a scene with others, though she can sometimes lose that sparkle when having to perform alone. I think with more experience, she’s going to blossom wonderfully.

Love You So Bad | Image Source: ABS-CBN Film Productions Inc. (Star Cinema) FB

It seems that Dustin Yu has to fight his strong features. He doesn’t have the most expressive face which means he needs to work more on conveying his character’s internal world through his eyes or gestures. While he possesses a strong screen presence, he has a tendency to get swallowed by his co-actors. Sometimes, Yu can tap into his vulnerability, but it isn’t always consistent. I think he needs more experience and must rely less on his good looks, he could deliver more fully rounded performance.

Love You So Bad | Image Source: ABS-CBN Film Productions Inc. (Star Cinema) FB

But Will Ashley is a force. The film, inadvertently, really favors Vic not only because he comes across as Savannah’s savior, but also because Ashley has loads of charm and an everyman quality that he knows how to use. And he can really dig into his vulnerability and bring it out. You see what his character is going through even if Vic is trying to hold things close to his chest. It plays so well onscreen, and having seen him also in ‘Bar Boys: After School,’ his range is really impressive.

The film dares to push boundaries and subvert the genre, but in this case, I really wanted the film to have a full-on romantic comedy ending. It’s so well-crafted in the lines of the genre that it should finish in that same mold. But I still agree with the overall messaging and how it does it. It’s an unapologetic rom-com and I’m all for it.

Love You So Bad | Image Source: ABS-CBN Film Productions Inc. (Star Cinema) FB

I love a good romantic comedy, and this one has all the right stuff going for it but I am conflicted about the ending. Trying not to spoil anything, I love the message of the ending and what the film is trying to say. In fact, the film is subtly leading us up to it from the very start. I love how it never judges Savannah for her choices and for who she is, and I think that’s very strong.

My Rating: 4 Stars

Don’t miss Love You So Bad, check showtimes and grab your tickets now. Join Savannah, Vic, and LA on this rollercoaster of laughs, love, and unexpected heart.

December 27, 2025
MMFF 2025 Review: Manila’s Finest

Gorgeously shot and resembling old pictures brought to life, director Raymond Red’s Manila’s Finest is a quiet period thriller that follows a policeman in the late 1960s as he observes how the city he loves is slowly changing. Gangs, corrupt politicians, and businessmen are turning Manila into a dark, unsafe city.

With lush production design by Digo Ricio, aided by visual effects to bring the full image to Manila circa late 1960s and the sharp and detailed cinematography by director Raymond Red, Manila’s Finest is a visually arresting look at a moment when things changed for our country.

The film follows Captain Homer Magtibay (Piolo Pascual), a police officer with principles, who leads by example. He is good to his team – 1st Lieutenant Billy Ojeda (Enrique Gil), Severino Meneses (Romnick Sarmienta), and Rogelio Liwanag (Joey Marquez) – and well as his loving wife, Yoly (Rica Paralejo) and their children, and his daughter from another relationship, Agnes (Ashtine Olviga).

Yes, Homer is far from a perfect man. While he does good for his community and even maintains a having some sort of working relationship with Manila’s gang heads. But he’s not some fictional hero without faults. He’s painted as human, and this includes his relationship with a sex worker, Janette (Jasmine Curtis-Smith).

As the number of murder cases begin to rise at the same rate as the slums are growing, evidence points to a bloody feud between rival gangs. But Homer and his Station Chief, Major Conrado Belarmino (Ariel Rivera), dig deeper to find that men in power are pulling the strings. It doesn’t help that the Philippine Constabulary, through orders of the president, have started to interfere with the work of the police. Student rallies decrying the corruption that has equally risen, and Homer and his team are caught in the middle of all these changes, not just in the Manila, and invariably, across the entire country.

There’s a remarkable restraint in the screenplay by Moira Lang, Michiko Yamamoto, and Sherad Sanchez and it is so well executed by Director Raymond Red. Everything is just bubbling under the surface. The world is changing, but it’s not explosive. It’s just an accumulation of little things that puts pressure on each character’s principles and beliefs.

While the film does have a major plot to follow – Homer’s investigation into the brutal murders in the city – the film feels almost like a slice of life as it seamlessly shifts from character to character to create a feeling of what that period was like, what change can look like, and how quietly it can creep up on us, that we are all caught unaware.

While this is Pascual’s and Gil’s movie, every member of the cast delivers exceptional work, making it a true ensemble effort. Everyone contributed greatly to the mood, to bringing to life Red and the writing team’s exploration of when the dictatorship began to erode the very moral fabric of the country. What we see in the film is an ideal police force; one that cares about the people they are out to protect. People who believed in justice. But as the Philippine Constabulary begins to overlaps in their duties with the cops, and for the most nefarious of reasons for the top brass in the government, we see the deterioration of that moral center. We are given a first-hand look of how the police lost their power and their way.

Manila’s Finest is a gripping thriller and drama that explores humanity on the edge of change. It’s a look into our history from the points-of-view of people who were caught unaware by shifts in our society and it’s an important film to catch.

My Rating: 4.5 Stars

Step back into 1960s Manila and witness a city on the edge. Check showtimes and watch Manila Finest in theaters today.

December 25, 2025
MMFF 2025 Review: Unmarry

I’m a huge fan of director Jeffrey Jeturian’s work. From his earlier films like Pila Balde and Tuhog, which I teach in my class, to his gritty, award-winning film Kubrador and the hilarious satire Ekstra, Jeturian has a keen eye for detail, bringing them out to the forefront in his stories while using cinematic techniques to make these narratives touch upon universal themes. So, naturally, I was excited to see his return to the MMFF with Unmarry, a film that tackles annulment but, with screenwriters Chris Martinez and Therese Cayaba, approaches it in a very human, very Pinoy way.

At the law office of Attorney Jacqueline Lambridas (Eugene Domingo), Celine (Angelica Panganiban) and Ivan (Zanjoe Marudo) meet in a full rom-com set-up.

Unmarry | Attorney Jacqueline Lambridas (Eugene Domingo)

Unmarry | Celine (Angelica Panganiban)

Unmarry | Ivan (Zanjoe Marudo)

Celine is filing for an annulment from her controlling, misogynistic husband, Stephen (Tom Rodriguez), while Ivan needs a lawyer as his wife, Maya (Solenn Heussaff), is filing one for their marriage.

The two end up bonding over their shared predicament, though they’re on the opposite sides of the case, Celine wants to separate while Ivan wants to fight the annulment, as both find kindred spirits in each other.

The film goes through each step of the annulment process, with Celine and Ivan find themselves leaning on one another as their whole lives are laid bare out into the open: all their mistakes, their vulnerabilities, and their weaknesses come into the foreground.

But as Celine and Ivan prepare for a serious legal battle, sparks begin to fly, and the possibility of a new romantic beginning starts to sprout between the two.

What initially surprised me in the first twenty minutes was the utter simplicity of Jeturian’s direction and the script of Martinez and Cayaba. It wasn’t what I was expecting. The mise-en-scene is quite conventional, with no complicated camera work or playful visual setups. The script could be very straight-forward, though funny at all the right moments. At first, I was disappointed, anticipating something bigger and grander.

But as the film unfolds, I realised that the simplicity of it felt deliberate. Through its clean, neat, and no-frills direction, Unmarry ends up highlighting the themes of the story, allowing the characters to be seen as human beings going through a very difficult challenge in their lives. While it has the pacing and the tempo of a commercial film, it never feels like it exploits these characters’ drama for entertainment. We see them as people, and we witness the very struggles of wives and husbands who are going through the annulment process.

Even the acting is deliberately downplayed. Panganiban and Marudo are consistently so powerful and reliable in the work that they do. This could easily sway into the realm of the melodrama, but they play it so light and so naturally that the emotions feel real. It’s very human and it’s such a delicate performance, it’s wonderful to watch.

This is also one of my favourite Eugene Domingo performances in a long time. This feels like early-era Eugene Domingo where she just played the scene as is, letting the humor come out with just the smallest of gestures and expressions, impeccable timing, and need to dig in deep. And when she has to get serious, she shifts seamlessly so that she helps the film to pivot tonally when it needs to in key moments.

Heussaff delivers such an honest performance, with none of her lines ever feeling scripted. She’s always such a strong screen presence, but in this film, she allows herself to get vulnerable without having to perform it, staying in tune with the rest of the cast.

My only issue, though, is with Tom Rodriguez’s Stephen. Rodriguez is a good actor, but his choice to play Stephen as a one-dimensional narcissist feels off-putting in a film that is otherwise so restrained. He is the film’s primary antagonist but since everything about this film feels grounded, his singular attack on a narcissism feels cartoon-y here and out of sync with the grounded tone of the rest of the movie.

Someone very close to me has gone through what Celine has gone through, so watching this movie really hit home for me. All the emotions, the struggle, the self-doubt felt very familiar to me. I found myself recalling all the late-night talks with this person as I was watching the film and I cannot stress how wonderful it is to see this movie present these issues in a restrained and non-judgmental way.

The way the whole cast and crew juggle the tonal shifts, jumping seamlessly back and forth between comic and tragic, amplifies the human aspect of these events. The film makes no prescription about marriages that are falling apart. Some characters are for it and some characters are against it; the aftermath of which are the character’s own rewards or consequences that they have to face. It’s up to the audience to make their own decisions. And while this is a work of fiction, the authentic human experience is there for us to discuss.

I really do hope people see this film.

My Rating: 4.5 Stars

Don’t miss this charming, human take on love and annulment and authenticity of Unmarry. Check showtimes here.

December 24, 2025
Movie Review: Despite Its Weak Script, “Avatar: Fire and Ash” Is Still an Event Movie, a Visual Spectacle Made for the Big Screen

There’s no question that director James Cameron knows how to direct an event movie, a blockbuster film that uses sound and imagery to their full potential. He has delivered masterpieces like Aliens, the first two Terminator films, The Abyss, and, of course, Titanic. With Avatar, he developed groundbreaking filmmaking technology innovations to create a truly magnificent alien world for us to be immersed in, best experienced in 3D IMAX cinemas, regaling us with an epic adventure in a foreign world. The first two films in the franchise opened our eyes to how cinema can transport us to new places and make us feel them, all while sitting comfortably in a movie theater with popcorn and a cold drink in hand.

In Avatar: Fire and Ash, we continue to see Cameron pull us further and deeper into the world of Pandora and the adventures of Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and his family with the Na’vi, Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña).

(L-R) Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) and Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) in 20th Century Studios’ AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2025 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

He once again brings us to through the skies and beneath the water, deep into the forests (or is it jungles) of Pandora, and shows us the natural habitats of various Na’vi tribes as well as the antiseptic, metallic human settlement in the planet. The humans, through its enforcer Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang) continue to hunt down Jake and his family for leading the Na’vi against them in the previous movie, while helping the rest of the human settlement try to mine and exploit the planet’s resources for their own gain.

Quaritch (Stephen Lang) in 20th Century Studios’ AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2025 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

A lot of what is happening in this movie is merely echoing what has happened in the previous installments. Similar themes continue to be explored though it doesn’t say anything really new. Where it expands is tracking the emotional struggles that Jake’s family is going through as they are grieving after the loss of one of their child, Neteyam, in Avatar: The Way of Water. Jake and Neytiri aren’t the inseparable couple they once were in the first two films, and Jake’s human way of dealing with grief goes counter that with the Na’vi way. He estranges himself with his children, especially Lo’ak (Britain Dalton), who he cannot bring himself to believe that he blames for Neteyam’s death. At the same time, their adopted child Spider (Jack Champion), the only human born and raised in Pandora, living off an oxygen mask, has become a source of anger and frustration for Neytiri. She wants to see all humans destroyed, and despite raising Spider as one of her own, he has become a stark reminder of how they’ve taken everything from her.

A scene from 20th Century Studios’ AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2025 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

The first hour of the three-hour-and-seventeen-minute epic adventure finds the main characters acting out of character. They’ve taken the loss to heart, making reckless choices – especially the Na’vi children – and are on the verge of completely unraveling as a family. It isn’t easy to watch, but luckily, the visual world of Pandora is still quite an exquisite view from Cameron’s lens. He now opens up for us the idea of Na’vi traders, traveling by air ships pulled by flying whalelike creatures. Aside from traders, Cameron also introduces to us the Mangkwan clan, a fierce tribe of Na’vi who have cut their ties with Eywa and are deadset in turning other Na’vi tribes into ash. The only character who seems collected enough to root for from start to finish is Spider, who seems to act rationally in the face of all this emotional turmoil. Consequently, his continued relationship with the Na’vi, particularly with Kiri (Sigourney Weaver), brings him to a dramatic event that turns everything over its head and puts the focus onto him.

Kiri (Sigourney Weaver) in 20th Century Studios’ AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2025 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

Once again, Cameron proves he knows how to fill a screen. On 3D IMAX, the film is a stunning spectacle from start to finish. He plays with frame rates so that in dramatic moments, intimate moments, the film looks like a movie, but it shifts to a higher frame rate during action sequences and air or underwater sequences to try and become more immersive. At first, it can feel jarring, but after a while your vision adjusts, and you take it as normal. Cameron is a classic filmmaker, so the direction is clear and flows easily. You know where everything is and there’s an order to the action sequences, making them thrilling and interconnected – especially the massive battle sequences toward the end.

Zoe Saldaña as Neytiri in 20th Century Studios’ AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2025 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

For three hours and seventeen minutes, the film, as one reviewer puts it, “is never boring.” But the script by Cameron, Rick Jaffa, and Amanda Silver (with story credits going to Cameron, Jaffa, Silver, and Josh Friedman, and Shane Salerno) is the weakest part of the movie.

Oona Chaplin as Varang in 20th Century Studios’ AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2025 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

While the film adds layers and textures of racism (this time from Neytiri’s side as she lets her grief get in the way of her relationship with Spider) and makes surprising character dimensions with Quaritch, the film doubles down on themes they’ve already presented in prior installments. Its portrayal of teen angst and rebellion is overplayed and has been done so many times before that it never really feels fresh and new.

Varang (Oona Chaplin) in 20th Century Studios’ AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2025 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

The most interesting new dimension, the Mangkwan clan and their fierce and impressive leader Varang (Oona Chaplin), doesn’t get the full attention it deserves because it’s a shared antagonist role with Quaritch and the humans. Varang and the Mangkwan feel like they should have their own film in the series, not sharing it with Quaritch and the rest of the corporate, greedy humans.

Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) in 20th Century Studios’ AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2025 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

Despite my extreme resistance to the script, I find that Avatar: Fire and Ash is still a fun film to watch, especially with a packed audience because it’s old-school event filmmaking at its core. There are scenes that got the whole audience clapping and cheering. It was meant to be awe-inspiring and to be marveled at, a real event on the big screen.

My Rating: 3.5 Stars

Ready to return to Pandora? Check showtimes and catch Avatar: Fire and Ash on the biggest screen near you to see the world come alive in all its epic glory.

December 22, 2025
MOVIE REVIEW: Great World Building Makes ‘Zootopia 2’ Enjoyable

The strongest element in Zootopia 2 is its world-building and how it connects the expansion of the Zootopia geography and politics with an allegory of our current global condition. Zootopia was already a rich world from the first movie but the second one dives deeper into its history and is unafraid of relating it to real-world issues like erasure, discrimination, and xenophobia (in this case, amongst other species). When the movie revolves around this, it really finds its center and shines. However, the film can get pretty chaotic, and the character dynamics, which thrusts the narrative forward, is a disjointed discussion that favours one character’s flaws over another that can be misinterpreted in many ways.

Following directly after the events of the first film, Zootopia 2 continues the story of Judy Hopps (voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin) and Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman), who are now partners in the Zootopia Police Department. Having saved the city, all eyes are on them but their personalities constantly clash, and Judy’s overbearing need to prove herself constantly puts her in the ire of the police chief and the rest of the department.

After a smuggling bust goes awry, Judy finds evidence that a snake may have entered Zootopia. Snakes, and other reptiles, have not been allowed in Zootopia for a hundred years. But after the mishap in the smuggling case, Judy and Nick are sent to partner therapy, but Judy goes on the case anyway to discover a snake (Ke Huy Quan) has gotten into Zootopia and he wants to steal a journal from the Lynxley family, a rich and powerful family in the city.

Throughout the film, Judy and Nick are constantly bickering. Judy is deadset in solving the case, while Nick is more than willing to let it go so as to not get into any more hot water with the chief. Throughout the film, Nick is constantly being led into trouble and danger because Judy is sure that something wrong is happening and she will save the day no matter what the cost. Considering the film is talking about partnership and trust, the film feels skewed towards favouring Judy over Nick. We are led to believe early on that Judy is right, so the film absolves her when she puts herself, Nick, and others in danger just to assuage her sense of right and wrong. It favours her gung-ho, no holds barred approach and never seems to take into account that Nick is doing everything in his power to keep Judy from getting into more trouble than she already is. The film talks about equal partnership but throughout the movie, it seems like Judy keeps taking and Nick has no choice but to follow along. It doesn’t feel equal to me, and it feels off considering this is a movie that is also pushing for cooperation, consideration, and true partnership.

(L-R): Bloats and Higgins (voiced by Stephanie Beatriz and Wilmer Valderrama) in Walt Disney Animation Studios’ “Zootopia 2.” From the Oscar®-winning team of Disney Animation chief creative officer Jared Bush and Byron Howard (directors) and Yvett Merino (producer), “Zootopia 2” opens in theaters Nov. 26. © 2025 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

I also find the film’s opening, Judy going against orders, to be such an overplayed trope that really needs reconsideration. The maverick stereotype, who is never truly humbled, is not an ideal example to show children.

Aside from that, Zootopia 2 really hits hard with its metaphor about racism and oppression; how the ruling class can rewrite or erase history while maintaining power, all in the guide of polite society. The movie also takes us down to Marsh Market, a district occupied primarily by marine mammals and that world is so interesting and such a fine contrast to the cosmopolitan allure of Zootopia. It feels rural or provincial and less elitist and when we see the world of the reptiles, the symbol becomes quite clear. While it is easy to relate Zootopia and its push back against reptiles as America versus minority races, this can be compared to any such sort of prejudice or divide, be it gender identity or preference, race, religion, or other divides.

The animation is beautifully rendered, allowing the world to truly come alive and engaging both kids and adults alike. There are quite a bit of action and a lot of gags, some are good and evoke laugh out loud responses while the others can get gimmicky. Regardless of my misgivings about the central dynamic between Judy and Nick, Zootopia 2 still has its charms and if they can continue to explore the other areas of Zootopia with the same way they did in Marsh Market, a third installment would be warranted.

My Rating:

Don’t miss the adventure, Zootopia 2 is still in theaters! Get your tickets today and join Judy, Nick, and the rest of Zootopia for an unforgettable adventure full of laughs, action, and stunning animation.

December 11, 2025
MOVIE REVIEW: Wicked: For Good Is Ariana Grande’s Movie and a Showcase of Her Acting Range

With the first film, Wicked, primarily tracking Elphaba’s (Cynthia Erivo) narrative arc, growing from a wide-eyed girl who admires the Wizard into an empowered woman willing to battle for truth and to stop oppression at the cost of her own reputation, the second film shifts the focus to Glinda (Ariana Grande). Glinda awakens from her privileged life in an unjust world that caters to and protects her and people like her. The shift in protagonists is a smart move, as there’s little new to do with Elphaba’s character. Unfortunately, in order to keep Elphaba’s presence on equal terms with Glinda, Wicked: For Good suffers from a messy plot that tends to meander before reaching its finale.

Set five years after the first film, Wicked: For Good finds Elphaba demonized as the Wicked Witch of the West, despite her efforts to free the animals from slavery and from losing their voices. Glinda, on the other hand, has become a sort of symbol for all that is good in Oz, a ruse perpetrated by the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum) and Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh).

To continue distracting the people of Oz from the growing tyranny of the Wizard and Morrible, they announce Glinda’s engagement to Prince Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey), who is now the Captain of the Wizard’s Guard. While he is determined to let Glinda find happiness, he knows he is still in love with Elphaba. Elphaba must muster her newfound magic and rally any allies in the land to help battle the Wizard and his propaganda, but her greatest ally could also be her most terrible foe: Glinda.

Michelle Yeoh is Madame Morrible in WICKED FOR GOOD, directed by Jon M. Chu.

Lucky for Wicked: For Good, the film nails its landing. It is at its best when Erivo and Grande share scenes together. Their friendship – both onscreen and off – is what really sells the whole movie. It’s the heart and soul of the piece. We follow the awakening of these two powerful women to an unjust society and how they strive to make things better as two different people from two very different backgrounds. While the first film was able to fully realise the devastating force of oppression by showing it through the character of Dr. Dillamond.

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

In Wicked: For Good, this aspect is not given as much emphasis and so the struggle that Elphaba takes – freedom for the animals – and what Glinda will eventually discover on her own.

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

This is where the film gets messy. The whole first hour of the film is set up to work on Easter eggs for the film, connecting it to TheWizard of Oz, the film the book is inspired from. Instead of showing us more of the oppression, to remind us exactly what Elphaba is fighting for, the film takes more time to introduce to us to the Cowardly Lion (voiced by Colman Domingo), showing us the origin of the Tin Man, bring in Dorothy, and tidying up the stories of Nessarose (Marissa Bode) and Boq (Ethan Slater), two characters whose presence lacks any sort of nuance or layer that would make them interesting outside of their being plot devices for Elphaba.

There’s even a lovely little scene between the Wizard and Glinda, featuring the lovely song number Wonderful, where they try to convince Elphaba to work with them. But it sort of drags on much too long within the story as the focus should be more on Grande as Glinda.

L to R: Cynthia Erivo is Elphaba and Jonathan Bailey is Fiyero in WICKED FOR GOOD, directed by Jon M. Chu.

While Erivo and Bailey are terrific as Elphaba and Fiyero, it is Grande who truly shines, showcasing the full spectrum of her acting range in this movie. From her choices in singing to the way she delicately telegraphs her character’s shifts and discoveries through tiny gestures and looks, Grande elevates the character and really adds so much depth and soul to Glinda. The film is anchored by her transformation and it’s what drives the film forward. Without a strong emphasis on the oppression of the animals and the freedom the Elphaba is fighting for and Glinda is waking up to, the whole of Wicked: For Good rests upon the dynamics between the two protagonists’ relationship. That’s what is most enjoyable here.

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

So that when they finally sing For Good, which we all know is coming, it hits with all the emotional resonance the film can provide, fulfilling a promise that was made as far back as the first movie. This is how the film nails its landing, despite its messy first two acts. While Wicked and Wicked: For Good do great work in showing how fascism and autocracy work, with the second film highlighting the importance and power of public imagery and propaganda in swaying the minds of the people – the true heart and soul of both films lies in the relationship between two very unlikely friends. It’s the reason why I can forgive Wicked: For Good for its adherence to the source material – both the musical and the throwbacks to the original film and book – because I was truly touched and moved by the friendship Erivo and Grande has breathed into Elphaba and Glinda.

My Rating:

Experience the magic yourself, catch Wicked: For Good in theaters now! Check showtimes and watch Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande light up the screen.

November 22, 2025
MOVIE REVIEW: You Can’t Make a Rock Legend Human: A Review of ‘Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere’

I grew up listening to Bruce Springsteen’s music, so a biopic about the musician and the emotional struggles he had gone through while putting together one of his more famous albums, ‘Nebraska,’ was an intriguing prospect. Jeremy Allen White, whom I’m familiar with since his work on ‘Shameless,’ portrays the musician affectionately known as “The Boss,” adding another layer of interest as I know he’s grown as an actor with his critically acclaimed performance in the hit show ‘The Bear.’

Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere centers on 1981, right after one of Bruce Springsteen’s sold-out tours. Portrayed as an artist wary of commercial success and stardom, he appears exhausted and in need of a break. His manager, Jon Landau (Jeremy Strong), rents him a house near his New Jersey hometown where he can lie low and write new songs. There, Bruce ends up confronting his troubled childhood, his difficult relationship with his father (Stephen Graham), and his nurturing mother (Gabby Hoffman).

There, he begins writing songs, cutting demos and recording demos on a low-tech four-track recorder with Mike Batlan (Paul Walter Hauser) and develops a romance with Faye Romano (Odessa Young), the sister of an old high school friend. The songs become a way through for him to reconcile his past and his fears of the future. He begins to get irritable and frustrated as he records the songs in the studio with his band, finding that the purity of the demos should be kept. His relationship with Faye gets serious, which prompts him to distance himself as he is afraid of hurting her. There’s pressure from the studio who wants to cash in on his recent hit tour and force him to go commercial. All the while, Jon is protecting Bruce through all of this as Bruce must face what’s really troubling him inside.

Director and screenwriter Scott Cooper takes an intimate approach in portraying the American rock legend. Far from the big concerts and the magazine covers, he situates Jeremy Allen White in mundane settings – as mundane as a rock star can afford – like a large house in Colts Neck, playing as a session guitarist in small-town bar with a home grown band, the diner where Faye works, a rural amusement park, and driving long stretches of highway sandwiched by New Jersey forests.

The film is introspective and quiet. Playing out most of the narrative in New Jersey, there’s a rustic, provincial feel to it that contrasts Bruce’s blossoming fame. The film works hard to try and paint Bruce Springsteen as a regular person even though we know he’s about to become an even bigger musical star after this album. The contrast between the settings in New Jersey to the ones in New York when he records and when the executives are previewing the material. At this point in his life, the film seems to say, he’s still an ordinary man on the precipice of rock stardom.

White is magnificent as Springsteen. He performs all his own songs (as noted in the credits) and appears to play his own instruments. He has the deep voice and the drawl I’ve come to remember from Springsteen’s interviews. But more than that, Jeremy Allen White embodies an everyman quality to the character, someone so unaware of his own aura.

Jeremy Strong is equally a standout here as Jon Landau, portraying a man who understands Springsteen completely. Without fanfare or loud moments, his presence is a quiet strength that is dead set on protecting his talent. There’s a concern that never becomes imposing, that hovers just below the surface that the camera picks up, which he is able to let out when he’s talking to his wife (Grace Gummer). Together, White and Strong amplify their scenes and present the ideal dynamic between manager/artist relationship.

The film talks about depression and the struggles of a famous artist as he is putting together a landmark album, and I found the film engrossing and insightful. I love seeing how songs and albums are put together – both as demos and studio cuts – but also in the business sense, when record executives start talking about marketing and sales. So, this was interesting to me, on a personal level. How interesting it would be to others, I’m not so sure. When the film enters the musical numbers, it’s great as this is music that I love listening to.

But when the film ended, I felt at a loss about what it really was trying to say. While it tells us that even big rock legends are suffering from depression, it feels somewhat distant from the everyday occurrences of people suffering from this mental condition. At this point in his life, Springsteen had Landau and his own success to fall back on. He made a great album, for sure, but what do I do with his? By working so hard trying to make Springsteen appear normal and human, it inadvertently reminds us of how great an artist he is and how privileged he was at the time of this story.

My Rating:

Experience the story behind the legend! Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere is now showing in cinemas, don’t miss Jeremy Allen White’s stunning portrayal of Bruce Springsteen. Check showtimes and buy your tickets now

November 14, 2025
MOVIE REVIEW: The Predator Takes Center Stage in “Predator: Badlands” and Opens Up the World in Exciting New Ways

Director Dan Trachtenberg proves he’s the man for the job when it comes to expanding the Predator universe, originally created by Jim and John Thomas. After doing an amazing job with the animated film Predator: Killer of Killers, he returns with the live-action feature length Predator: Badlands, the ninth installment in the franchise, which proves that he knows how to expand the universe. This time, the Predator takes center stage as the main character and exploring their world and culture.

Predator: Badlands follows Dek, a Yautja runt sentence to execution by his own father for being “disgrace” to their own clan. After a narrow escape, Dek flees to the planet Genna, home to a powerful beast known as the Kalisk.

(L-R) Kwei (Mike Homik) and Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) in 20th Century Studios’ PREDATOR: BADLANDS film. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2025 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

It is implied that the Kalisk is the only creature that has not been taken as prey by the Yautja race and has caused the death of many Yautja who tries to take its head as a trophy. But Genna itself is a dangerous place where every plant and creature is a predator on its own. The flora and fauna are all deadly and Dek must survive without his full gear in order to even have a chance at taking on the Kalisk.

Thia (Elle Fanning) in 20th Century Studios’ PREDATOR: BADLANDS film. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2025 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

On his adventure, he encounters Thia, a damaged synthetic from the Weyland-Yutani Corporation (famously of the Alien franchise and mentioned in the Blade Runner universe). Missing her lower half, Thia is part of an all-synthetic research team, who are studying the biodiversity of Genna.

(L-R) Thia (Elle Fanning) and Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) in 20th Century Studios’ PREDATOR: BADLANDS film. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2025 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

It’s an expedition composed completely of synthetics as humans would probably not survive the planet. Together, they face multiple dangers and form an unlikely bond.

Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi on the set of 20th Century Studios’ PREDATOR: BADLANDS film. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2025 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

Its premise is relatively simple. As a sci-fi action-adventure film, Predator: Badlands already delivers with exciting fight sequences, strange and lethal opponents from animals to vegetation, and the Kalisk is a sight to behold.

Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi as Dek in 20th Century Studios’ PREDATOR: BADLANDS film. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2025 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

The fight choreography feels fresh and unique, and it uses anything and everything within the arsenal of the future, both familiar and alien, to make the film feel exciting and different.

(L-R) Thia (Elle Fanning) and Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) in 20th Century Studios’ PREDATOR: BADLANDS film. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2025 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

The bonus of all of this is the interesting story that builds from Dek and Thia’s dynamic. As a Yautja, Dek was raised to believe that relying on others is a weakness and that every hunt must be faced alone. Thia, on the other hand, was programmed with heightened empathy and curiousity – a quality that the Yautja dismisses and looks down upon – as her work involves studying the living organisms. Thia has a wide-eyed, enthusiastic exuberance for life, a quirk in her programming. Together, they argue but also end up relying on each other and learning from each other’s perspectives.

Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) in 20th Century Studios’ PREDATOR: BADLANDS film. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2025 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi plays Dek. A stuntman, Schuster-Koloamatangi has the incredible physical presence (despite being a “runt” of the species) to convey a strong warrior and ably perform the stunts.

Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) in 20th Century Studios’ PREDATOR: BADLANDS film. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2025 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

He wore a suit to help form the physicality while motion-capture CGI was used to transform his head into a Yautja, allowing him to act with the CGI registering his emotions and allowing the multiple features of the Yautja to move accordingly – from the gaping jaws to eye movements, and such. Dek speaks entirely in the Yautja language, which really hems in the alien-ness of the character and is much appreciated.

(L-R) Elle Fanning as Tessa and Ella Fanning as Thia in 20th Century Studios’ PREDATOR: BADLANDS film. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2025 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

Elle Fanning plays a double role as the synths Thia and her counterpart Tessa, who seem to lead the expedition and oversee studying the wildlife of Genna. Thia and Tessa are contrasting characters, with Thia showing the bubblier side of heightened programmed sensitivity, while Tessa shows the darker, angrier side of it.

(L-R) Elle Fanning as Thia and Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi as Dek in 20th Century Studios’ PREDATOR: BADLANDS film. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2025 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

It’s Fanning’s exuberance that creates the texture that keeps Predator: Badlands from being such a dark affair. It keeps it spritely and helps evoke a playfulness in Dek that allows the film more dynamics in tone.

Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) in 20th Century Studios’ PREDATOR: BADLANDS film. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2025 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

What could have been just a straight-up action-adventure then becomes a little tale about the power of community and found family. It’s a little bonus that Predator: Badlands has a grounded story outside of all the thrills and spills. At the same time, the film is not shy in presenting the company as an evil entity that uses “the good of humanity” as an excuse for wanton destruction and planetary exploitation. This seems to be a running theme in any film that features Weyland-Yutani Corporation from the Alien franchise, the two Blade Runner films, and now the Predator universe.

Dan Trachtenberg on the set of 20th Century Studios’ PREDATOR: BADLANDS film. Photo by Nicola Dove. © 2024 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

Dan Trachtenberg has hit two home runs with his Predator films, and I hope he does more. I’d love to see more of these characters and this world.

My Rating:

Predator: Badlands is now showing in cinemas. Check showtimes and buy your tickets now to experience the action, adventure, and alien mayhem on the big screen!

November 11, 2025