Join Star-Lord and the crew as they embark on their final quest to save one of their own in Marvel Studios’ “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” now playing in Philippine cinemas! In this highly anticipated finale, our favorite misfit heroes find themselves settling into their new home on planet Knowhere, only for the ghosts of Rocket’s past to come knocking. With the team still reeling from Gamora’s loss, Peter Quill must rally the Guardians for a dangerous mission that could either save Rocket or spell doom for the Guardians as we know them.
The star-studded cast of “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” includes Chris Pratt (Peter Quill/Star-Lord), Zoe Saldana (Gamora), Dave Bautista (Drax), Karen Gillan (Nebula), Pom Klementieff (Mantis), Vin Diesel (Groot), Bradley Cooper (Rocket), Sean Gunn (Kraglin), Chukwudi Iwuji (High Evolutionary), Will Poulter (Adam Warlock), and Maria Bakalova (Cosmo the Spacedog). The film is directed by James Gunn and produced by Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Nikolas Korda, Simon Hatt, and Sara Smith.
Guests at the “Party with the Guardians” booth at SM Megamall Fashion Hall
To fully immerse yourself in the Guardians’ universe, don’t miss the The Official Guardians of the Galaxy Soundtrack on Spotify. The Guardians of the Galaxy: The Official Mixtape boasts iconic artists such as Radiohead, Florence + The Machine, Beastie Boys, Bruce Springsteen, and more! Check out the full soundtrack on Spotify here.
Guests at the “Party with the Guardians” booth at SM Megamall Fashion Hall
Join the Guardians on their “last ride” together in cinemas now. Explore all available showtimes of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and book your tickets today!
Stay updated with the latest news and promos by following Marvel Studios Philippines on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. Join the conversations online using #GotGVol3PH.
It is in the merging of so many different genres – coming-of-age, horror, romance, and the road trip movie – that ‘Bones and All’ manages to find a space where its frightening premise can find solid ground. After all, this is essentially a love story about two cannibals and director Luca Guadignino treats them as ordinary and as complex as any other human being. He treats their love and their love story with just as much tenderness and care as if they weren’t troubled by the fact that they have to eat human flesh every now and then.
Based on the novel of the same name by Camille DeAngelis and from a script by David Kaiganich, ‘Bones and All’ never tries to explain our two lead characters’ dietary proclivities. There is a whole world and mythology that surrounds them but the film never makes it about them being – what our lead character later learns – what are known as “eaters.” We follow the story of Maren (played by Taylor Russell) as another incident causes her father and herself to leave town once again. As she is abandoned by her father and left with a cassette tape (the film is set in the 80s in rural America) narrating what he knows about her and “her condition,” she sets out to find her missing mother in a road trip of self-discovery and love.
She meets another eater called Sully, played by Mark Rylance, and then later Timothee Chalamet’s Lee, who Maren finds attractive. Through these two interactions (and a few more as the movie progresses) Maren begins to understand what it means to be an eater and must now navigate growing up alone and different from everyone else.
Except she’s not alone, because Lee has asked her to stay and the two go cross-country to find Maren’s mom. In the dark, lonely, and scary world of being an eater, Maren and Lee find solace and comfort in each other.
Beautifully shot by Arseni Khachaturan and with a dynamic score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, ‘Bones and All’ manages to shift between tender moments of vulnerability and the frightening brutality of their hunger. Guadagnino is completely unafraid to present a confessional scene about eating someone as a tender and fragile moment for Lee, with Reznor and Ross’ musical score playing it as a sweet romantic moment for Lee and Maren to become more deeply bonded. There are scenes of utter tenderness where both Russell and Chalamet are drenched in blood. It’s incredible the dynamics that are going on in this movie. Guadagnino proves that love is so universal that we can relate to a young couple finding safety and comfort in each other even if they are man-eating cannibals. We even end up rooting for them somehow.
Symbolically, you could take this eater couple as a metaphor for any sort of othering: the fact that they are a mixed race couple, outliers or misfits, you can even turn it into a metaphor for queer relationships, or any sort of undesirable coupling (based on the majority) and the film can be a discussion point about the humanity that can be found between any two people who have genuinely found love. It can be a metaphor for children and teens that are abandoned by their parents who have to fend for themselves and must navigate the world alone with no real moral compass to tell them what is right or wrong.
I prefer to take it exactly for what it is: it’s a love story about two people who eat people. A new race of beings, maybe an evolutionary step, who knows? And the film is the tragic love story of these young eaters, who want to build a life together despite their difference in appetite from the rest of society. It’s strange and weird and even grotesque at some point but in the way that it is shot and presented and performed, it’s just so beautiful and strangely touching and moving.
Russell, Chalamet, and Rylance all deliver such textured and nuanced work. These characters feel lived-in and never feel hokey. There are even scene-stealing moments from Michael Stuhlbarg and Chloe Sevigny.
There’s so much to digest (pun intended) in ‘Bones and All.’ There are so many ways to interpret it but for some reason, I feel most comfortable taking it for face value. The sheer confidence of Guadagnino and his cast and crew to present this film without any sentimentality or camp makes it brimming with humanity that runs counter to dark and brutal imagery. It’s a cinematic feast that you can chew on for days and still find something to ruminate on and feel through.
My Rating:
.
— Bones and Allis now showing in cinemas nationwide. Buy your tickets here.
‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ is a movie about loss and grieving. The loss of Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa feels, in the movie’s reality, like the loss of a certain sense of nobility and grace that lit up this corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Wakanda is grieving. This movie is grieving and it is ambitious in how it takes all that grief and turns it into this epic movie about moving forward from loss, a movie about leaders and rulers of superpowered nations during this dark and turbulent era of human civilization.
Make no mistake, ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ still continues its dialogue about imperialism and the threat of colonialism but this time pushes it forward about discussing the concept of retaliation.
Running at 161 minutes, almost three hours long, the film’s first two hours is an exploration of the fictional kingdom of Wakanda at a state of loss. T’Challa has passed and his mother Queen Ramonda (played with such a commanding presence by Angela Basset) has reclaimed the throne in the absence of a ruler. His sister Shuri (played by Letitia Wright) is dealing with her grief by turning towards her technology. As Queen, Ramonda must push back against other countries, who want access to Vibranium, the precious resource that has made Wakanda into the advanced nation that it is in that world. Shuri, on the other hand, must rationalize how all her intelligence and affinity to science were not able to save her brother’s life.
Photo: Marvel Studios
In the middle of all of this, the search for Vibranium outside of Wakanda goes into full swing and what it uncovers is another nation altogether with access to the precious mineral, one that is just beneath the surface and equal to (or maybe even more powerful) than Wakanda in strength. This is the nation of Talocan, under the rule of Namor (played with great duality by Tenoch Huerta) and he has kept his underwater nation secret for hundreds of years and this sudden global interest in Vibranium has forced Namor’s hand.
In 161 minutes, the film must deal with the state of Wakanda without a Black Panther and the pressure from other nations to gain access to Vibranium, but it also introduces us to the enigmatic Namor and the nation of Talocan and how they deal with Wakanda, the only country that shares their fears and anxieties. The film also has to introduce a new character, Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne), a brilliant young scientist who is a parallel to Shuri’s story in every way, and Shuri’s own way of reconciling her loss.
Photo: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever trailer
What unfolds is an epic-scale story about rulers and superpowered nations and how the choices of one person can lead to the ruin of so many. As seen in the trailer, the film leads up to a battle (let me say this: it’s not just a battle, it’s a war) that shapes and molds the return of a new Black Panther and what it means to protect a powerful nation.
Pervading through every scene is a commentary on imperialist states like America and France, bringing to mind their imperialist history and the pressure that they (and other world leaders) are pressing on Ramonda, Wakanda, and inadvertently Talocan, the dialogue regarding colonialism returns. What are other nations to do in the face of such pressure?
Photo: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever trailer
This is not just a superhero movie. Just like the previous film before this sequel, this is an image of fighting back against colonial power (it’s no accident that Talocan, which was called Atlantis in the comics, was inspired and based on Meso-American culture; they speak the Mayan language and interpolate Meso-American design and culture) and it is also a character study. Shuri, Ramonda, M’Baku (Winston Duke, who does an amazing job of adding more layers into his character), Okoye (Danai Gurira, who is given enough screen time and narrative elements to add new dimensions to Okoye), and Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o, whose presence adds a profound depth to the story) all must deal with their grief and use the superhero narrative as a means to channel that anger somewhere.
It’s when the film reverts back to its comic book genre that it slows down and unravels. There is a mighty battle scene at the end that feels like it is a necessary item on a checklist for MCU movies that can undermine the heaviness of the themes of the film. It would have worked better had the film been PG-13 (or even R-13) so that the violence can be justified by how much stronger it could amplify the geopolitical ramifications of these two nations coming to war.
Photo: Marvel Studios
This is a dark film with dark themes and it could have really dug itself into that mold more (and there would have been an appropriate space for it) if it didn’t have to be so family-friendly.
Its ties to the MCU is what holds back Ryan Coogler’s vision and ambition of channeling the loss of such a figure like the fictional T’Challa (or the real-life Chadwick Boseman) into a commentary about how dark and greedy this world has become and how one moves forward from it.
Nevertheless, as MCU films go, ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ is another testimony that superhero films can, every now and then, feel important and relevant. It is proof that you can step out of the formula and still deliver something that is mainstream and enjoyable.
As a person who grew up in the 80s and 90s watching Hollywood movies, there’s something magical and powerful about watching a film set in Africa, whose lead characters are African women, who command so much respect and admiration. Growing up, my idea of Africa had been shaped by the news and by Hollywood and it wasn’t until ‘Black Panther’ that I began to allow myself to think of Africa in a different light. The fact that it took producers Maria Bello, Cathy Schulman, and Viola Davis five years to get the movie greenlit by a major studio and only after the success of the MCU movie changed the way Hollywood would tell stories about Africa in a mainstream setting.
The story, about a general of an elite army of women warriors, is based on true accounts. The Agojie served as the inspiration for the women warriors the Dora Milaje of ‘Black Panther’ and were the elite forces of the king of the kingdom of Dahomey, which really existed for around 300 years. The fictional general, Nanisca (played by Viola Davis) must train a new generation of Agojie warriors while observing how the war between African kingdoms was fueled by the slave trade brought in by the Europeans. As Nanisca discusses geopolitics with her king, King Ghezo (a real-life figure and played with great charisma by John Boyega), Nawi (a new recruit and played with great depth and power by Thuso Mbedu) learns the ways of the Agojie.
Photo: Columbia Pictures
If anything, ‘The Woman King’ is a straight-up epic action film, which many critics have likened to films like ‘Gladiator’ or ‘The Last of the Mohicans’ except with black women. There is ample time spent to establish the setting of this story – West Africa in 1823 – and impressing upon us the complex relationships between Nanisca and King Ghezo and Nanisca and the Agojie, most notably her closest friend Amenza (played by Sheila Atim). Nawi befriends her other new recruits as well as the veteran warrior Izogie (played by a scene-stealing Lashana Lynch) as they prepare for war with the Oyo Empire, who has been capturing the Dahomey people to sell as slaves to the Europeans.
Photo: Columbia Pictures
There’s a good mix of story, action sequences, and just a general feast of the visual imagery of a prosperous African kingdom and a band of highly respected and feared warrior women. Honestly, I’ve never seen anything like it before on the big screen and I was just sitting in my seat in the movie theater transfixed to the screen and enjoying every minute of it.
The film never strays away from the issues of women – sexual assault, oppression, forced marriages – and it’s great to see the women fight back in such a ruthless and brutal manner that was so befitting of its time period. Director Gina Prince-Bythewood, who had directed ‘Old Guard,’ does an amazing job at balancing both the emotional elements of the story (that Davis, Mbedu, and Lynch have moments that can really pull at the heartstrings even if this is an action film through and through) and does splendid coverage of the battle sequences. You see the power and the speed of the movements. It’s beautiful in its ferocity.
Photo: Columbia Pictures
What it also manages to put into perspective is how the Europeans and the Americans have pit the African nations against each other by trading guns and wealth in exchange for African lives in the form of slaves. While there are historical inaccuracies depicted in the film regarding King Ghezo’s thoughts about slavery, what the film positions is that what has happened in the past was a travesty with unimaginable consequences. It resonates even until the present day as we see the sort of racial discrimination that is still happening in the US and for the mere fact that depictions of Africans like it has in the films ‘Black Panther’ and ‘The Woman King’ are very few and far between (and if there are, not as commercially available).
Photo: Columbia Pictures
Representation matters because what we see in the cinema (or on the news) really becomes our only window to imagine what the rest of the world would look like or feel like. Without films like this, we’d always think of Africa as a struggling continent that needs “the white man’s help” even though history has told us that the west came and turned the continent over its head for its resources. While ‘Black Panther’ can help us imagine what an Africa undisturbed by Western imperialism could look like, ‘The Woman King’ can help us imagine what Africa may have been like before France colonized the Dahomey kingdom in 1863.
There are no white saviours in this story. And while this is a story about slavery, it’s not finding entertainment in the victimization of the African people but celebrating their fight against it. This is Africa – and African women – put front and center and if this is the trend of the kind of movies we will have moving forward then I’m so excited to see what other films we will get to see after this.
Jo Koy has made his name in stand-up comedy for his hilarious routines rooted in his Filipino-American heritage and experiences growing up. But beyond his relatable jokes about Vicks VapoRub, lost lunchboxes, and munggo, Jo Koy is now making Hollywood history with his film Easter Sunday.
Now showing in Philippine cinemas nationwide, Easter Sunday is the first film with an all-Filipino lead cast to be produced by a major Hollywood studio. And it was Amblin’s Steven Spielberg himself, who wanted to put Jo Koy and his movie pitch on the big screen after seeing his Netflix special Comin’ In Hot.
The film follows the struggling comedian Joe Valencia who joins his Filipino family for Easter Sunday, but with his quarreling mother and tita, a TV show opportunity at bay, a son he can’t seem to make time for, and a cousin caught up with dangerous gangsters, Joe is up for a chaotic holiday.
Last Tuesday, August 30, Jo Koy joined the Philippine media at the press conference for Easter Sunday. Here, Jo Koy talked about his journey as a stand-up comedian, from getting into Netflix to turning his dream film into a reality in Hollywood which has long snubbed specificity in Asian characters. Here are some highlights of the press conference.
A rough road of rejections
Jo Koy may all be smiles and funny faces whenever we see him on stage, but the comedian’s rise to fame wasn’t an easy one, as he revealed during the press conference. The Comedy Central channel really kicked off his career as a comedian on TV, but Jo Koy also shared one of his most discouraging moments when he performed for the network.
“[It was like 2009], it was a long time ago, and I thought personally it was an incredible routine and I was hurt because they didn’t even air it,” shared Jo Koy. “And I was just like, ‘Hey, what’s going on right now?’ Like, they shot all of these specials and for some reason, mine just got buried. I was like, ‘Why is it not being played?’ There were times when I just wanted to quit, like ‘Why am I even doing this?’”
But the comedian kept going, citing his love for the art form of stand-up comedy. “I just love what it takes to get in front of people and make them laugh and tell a story,” he said. Of course, all of this paid off.
Jo Koy gained even more popularity when his comedy specials dropped on streaming platforms, most especially on Netflix. But getting that Netflix fame wasn’t easy either, because he was faced with multiple rejections before he finally got that spot on the streaming platform.
“My first special, Live From Seattle, they turned that down like eight times. They kept saying no to me, to the point where I was like, ‘Okay I’ll fund it myself and I’ll shoot it myself’ and I paid for that special and I sold it to Netflix,” explained the comedian. “If that didn’t happen, then Steven Spielberg would have never seen the second one, and that’s the one that Steven brought me in and asked me if I had a movie idea. You know what I mean? I was gonna do it no matter what.”
The comedian further shared that he also had to pull money from his own pockets for his second and third specials, just so he could produce them at the venues that he wanted but Netflix wouldn’t approve of. Jo Koy persisted and we got Comin’ In Hot which was shot in Hawaii and In His Elements shot right here in the Philippines.
“I wanted to showcase Filipinos. I wanted to show what the islands look like. I wanted to show what our people look like. I wanted to show how talented we are. I wanted to show Filipinos that are in the Philippines and give them a chance to shine on a platform like Netflix, and then have Filipinos from America and bring them to the Motherland and let them perform in front of Filipinos,” shared Jo Koy about making In His Elements.
Darren Espanto and more Filipino talents were showcased at the Philippine red carpet premiere of ‘Easter Sunday’.
But Jo Koy also noted that he now has a beautiful relationship with Netflix and the new people from the platform who he gets to make deals with. He even announced his fourth Netflix special shot at the Great Western Forum, which will be released this September 13.
An opportunity from Amblin
While it was a rough road getting his routines into Netflix, it seemed like Jo Koy finally caught a break when he was called in to pitch a film to Amblin. As it would appear, he just charmed the Steven Spielberg with his humor. According to Jo Koy, he thought it would just be another opportunity where he would give a pitch and nothing happens, because “that’s what happens in Hollywood,” but nope– Spielberg was intent on getting Jo Koy’s idea out there.
Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures PH
“What happened was I walked into Amblin and everybody’s like ‘Oh Steven loves you, Steven thinks you’re very funny, Steven this, Steven that,’ and you hear that and you’re like ‘Are you talking about Steven from accounting? [laughs] Like this can’t be Steven Spielberg, there’s just no way!”
But it was indeed Spielberg, and they agreed on producing a film that will have a global theatrical release. The comedian also noted that the renowned filmmaker only made two movies from that meeting, Easter Sunday and Jurassic World.
Filling in the Filipino representation in Hollywood
Easter Sunday isn’t just borne out of Jo Koy’s struggles, he makes this clear. The long journey to have Filipinos really represented on the big screen was also the struggle of many Hollywood actors and artists from the Motherland. This is why Jo Koy was certain that he wanted the veteran Hollywood actors Lou Diamond Phillips and Tia Carrere to be part of Easter Sunday.
“Back in the day, if you’re Filipino– it doesn’t even matter if you’re Filipino– if you’re just Asian, they’ll [round] you up in a group. That’s how racist Hollywood was,” said Jo Koy. “One thing [Tia Carrere] said to me, she said ‘You know I used to go out for roles? And the description would be Asian with a thick accent…’ That’s the kind of characters that she has to go in for, and [Easter Sunday] was the first movie where she got to play a Filipino, in her 42 years in Hollywood.”
It was these actors that had to go “to the trenches” so that a film like Easter Sunday would become a reality today. “They were there before anybody, they had to go through the hard Hollywood,” said Jo Koy.
Tia Carrere and Lydia Gaston. Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures PH
Jo Koy on future film prospects
Easter Sunday gives Filipinos a first in Hollywood history, and we can’t help but wonder, what’s next? For Jo Koy, he wants to make more opportunities for everyone in terms of representation in Hollywood, not just as an actor but also from behind the scenes.
“Most importantly, for me, I want to also have my hand not only in front of the camera but behind the camera. I also want to open doors, to not just specific roles,” explained Jo Koy, also citing how the Filipino stereotypes he would often joke about remain prominent in Hollywood. “‘Oh, that’s a nurse, that has to be a Filipino,’ I don’t want that anymore. I want it to be anybody, a CEO of a business– Filipino; a cop, a singer, I don’t care. Let’s just have these roles for everybody, and I just don’t want to open doors for Filipinos, I want to open doors for everybody. So yes, I want to create more, I want to produce more.”
Eugene Cordero and Jo Koy with Lou Diamond Philips. Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures PH.
So besides his comedy specials, Filipinos can also expect Jo Koy’s further foray into the film industry. As Jo Koy’s journey had proven, getting there was no joke, but we can expect that the comedian will continue to persevere.
“Don’t close the door on anybody, if you have the light, share it. If you have the stage, open it up and let other people on it. There’s enough light for everybody, just remember that,” Jo Koy tells everyone in the room as the program ended.
Easter Sundayis directed by Jay Chandrasekhar. Also part of the cast are Lydia Gaston, Brandon Wardell, Eva Noblezada, Elena Juatco, Rodney To, Eugene Cordero, Melody Butui, Joey Guila, Tiffany Hadish, and Jimmy O. Yang. The film is now showing in cinemas nationwide, buy your tickets here.
If anything, Jordan Peele’s ‘Nope’ is a love letter to the origins of cinema and how important seeing – and the gaze – is to the experience of life. The film is a contemporary take on the science fiction creature feature. It is a dissection of modern civilization’s fascination and obsession with spectacles and the capitalist instinct to monetize these spectacles, no matter how traumatic they may be for the people involved. Conceptually, it’s not as refined as Peele’s earlier work like ‘Get Out’ or ‘Us’ but ‘Nope’ is executed wonderfully, with breathtaking filmmaking that truly maximizes the medium of cinema for some striking moments of pure movie magic.
Set primarily in a horse ranch and the neighboring Western-themed theme park, the movie follows two siblings, who are struggling to keep their ranch from going bankrupt. Otis Jr. (called OJ and played by Daniel Kaluuya) and his sister Emerald (called Em and played by Keke Palmer) are polar opposites. OJ is stoic, more at home dealing with horses than with people, while the vivacious and exuberant Em is loud and boisterous but she feels less connected to the ranch than her brother. Stalling for time, they sell their horses to Ricky “Jupe” Park (played by Steven Yeun), who runs Star Lasso ranch and is a former child star who has survived a traumatic encounter on a television show in his youth.
All of these narrative pieces come together when OJ and Em have a frightening experience one evening when one of their horses disappears in the dead night in the most frightening way and they suspect it was taken by something that is not of this planet. The pair then get the help of Angel (played by Brandon Perea), a technician at an appliance store, to set up cameras to try and capture the UFO.
What unfolds is a rather terrifying exploration of the unknown. This film works completely at its own pace and rhythm. It opens with a scene of violence, though completely hidden by furniture, and all we get are impressions of the brutality before jumping into an extended first act that establishes all the characters and sets up the lore of this movie. It’s a long exposition that sets up the emotional ties of the characters to the dangers of this extraterrestrial encounter later on and while nothing exciting is happening yet, it’s filmed with so much dread and doom just under the surface. You know something is up but you don’t know what it is exactly.
And then when the first sighting happens, the film’s second act moves into full gear and Jordan Peele gives us a full master class in setting up tension and anxiety through sound design and expert camerawork. By playing with what we can see and a proper establishing shot to understand the geography of each scene, we feel fear because we know something is up but we don’t see anything.
This is best experienced in a barn scene that midway through the film it’s really the highlight of this movie. Peele understands that oftentimes it is what we imagine that is far scarier than seeing anything that is CGI-created or even done through prosthetics.
Seeing is such an important aspect of this movie, both within the narrative and in the filmmaking. Story-wise, the need to capture evidence of this extraterrestrial horse-thief brings the whole idea of cameras, of different kinds, into the narrative. Later, we discover that the ranch is also connected and when that is uncovered and what we get is a commentary on our relationship with our cameras and the media and how we treat these spectacles in our lives. ‘Nope’ opens a discussion on how our society treats these moments captured on film and how almost instinctive it is to monetize this first before even treating them with any sense of consideration or sensitivity.
At the same time, it’s also a love letter to filmmaking, referencing the first-ever motion picture of a man, a black jockey riding a horse, and this imagery is so strong within this film. ‘Nope’ pushes back against the erasure of black people’s contributions to the origins of film by reminding us that the first ever “actor” on film was a black man. In fact, it’s quite striking that the four leads of this film are people of color.
Kaluuya and Palmer are fantastic as the energy of their characters are totally opposite of each other and while Palmer’s exuberance can fill the screen, Kaluuya manages to fill the screen with his silence. Perea is a standout as his Angel balances out OJ’s and Em’s opposing energies with his mix of panic and wonder. Yeun is absolutely oozing with charisma, creating a believable former child actor, who is hiding a history of trauma through his practiced showbiz smile.
Though the film isn’t as conceptually strong as Peele’s first two films, ‘Nope’ is such a thrilling experience in the cinema. If you can, watch it on IMAX, as the film was shot on IMAX cameras and the visuals are stunning in that format. In ‘Get Out’ and ‘Us,’ he really digs in and dwells in the concepts that he proposes in both films whereas ‘Nope’ dramatizes it but doesn’t linger there. More experiential than thought-provoking, this film is a fun ride but won’t really mess with your head as much.
The 18th Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival has awarded its much-revered Balanghai trophies to the winning entries in a program held at the CCP Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo last August 14.
The Baseball Player by Carlo Obispo was named Best Film, Best Screenplay for Obispo, Best Editing for Zig Dulay, and Best Actor for Tommy Alejandrino, who starred as a Moro child soldier dreaming to become a baseball player.
Meanwhile, the box office hit Blue Room by Ma-an Asuncion-Dagñalan took home the Special Jury Prize, as well as the Best Direction for Dagñalan, Best Cinematography for Neil Daza, Best Supporting Actor for Soliman Cruz, and Best Production Design for Marxie Maolen Fadul. Blue Room follows the members of the indie rock band Rebel Rebel who are arrested for drug possession and must decide if they would use their privilege to get away with it.
Other winners of this year’s Cinemalaya include Max Eigenmann who won the Best Actress award for her performance in 12 Weeksby Anna Isabella Matutina, which also won the NETPAC Award; Ruby Ruiz winning the Best Supporting Actress award for her role in Christian Paolo Lat’s Ginhawa; Kargo by TM Malones won the Audience Choice Award; Pepe Manikan for Best Sound in Bula Sa Langit; and Isha Abubakar of Retirada for Best Musical Score.
Meanwhile, here is the list of winners for the Short Film Category:
Best Short Film & NETPAC Award – Zig Dulay’s Black Rainbow
Best Direction & Special Jury Prize – Gabriella Serrano’s Dikit
Audience Choice Award – Mga Handum nga Nasulat sa Baras (The Dreams That Are Written On The Sand) by Arlie Sweet Sumagaysay and Richard Jeroui Salvadico
After two years of streaming online due to the pandemic, Cinemalaya officially returned to onsite screening this year. Twelve finalists from the pool of 2020 and 2021 Cinemalaya entries competed for the full-length category and 12 films also competed for the Short film category.
The Cinemalaya finalists will continue to screen in select partner cinemas nationwide until August 16. The festival will also go to Dapitan in Zamboanga del Norte on September 9 to 15, followed by its online run in October via the CCP Vimeo Account.
For more information, visit the CCP and Cinemalaya websites.
There is a nostalgic appeal to Prime Cruz’s latest film ‘Ngayon Kaya’ starring Paulo Avelino and Janine Gutierrez. From its moody cinematography to its soundtrack of familiar OPM songs, from the way the story delves into the past to the vibrancy of pre-pandemic Philippines (the film was shot before the pandemic), ‘Ngayon Kaya’ is a film that is rich in its sentimentality. It reminds me of romantic films from five years ago.
It’s a story of what-ifs and how two friends, Harold and AM (played by Avelino and Gutierrez, respectively), reconnect at a mutual friend’s wedding and the weight of past choices weigh heavily on them. Both have arrived late to the church wedding and it’s the first time they have seen each other since Harold has moved to Canada and so they decide to head to the reception together. The awkwardness triggers memories of the past and the tight bonds of friendship that they once had unfolded before us through these flashbacks.
The story plays out in two timelines – the past and the present – and we see two friends who bond over trivial things like being late to the same class at the start but as they get closer, they become each other’s anchors. They share similar interests, after all, both are into music, but they come from different worlds.
Harold and his family are struggling financially and his goal is to move to Canada to earn a lot of money to help support his mother, his two younger siblings, and their struggling fish pond. AM is an only child of parents, who are both doctors, and while she’s on a pre-med course, her dream is to make music and sing in a band. AM immediately latches on to Harold and brings him with her in her dreams of making it big in the music industry but as the story unfolds, it seems that their priorities and their intentions were not aligned.
Reality kicks in and kicks them hard and we see and understand why the present-day relationship between the two reunited friends is so strained.
But this is also a love story but one that is bogged down by the hesitation of its principal characters.
Screenwriter Jen Chuaunsu infuses Harold’s and AM’s conversations as youths with the realistic unconscious meanderings of that age, of dreams and ideals, and then shifts it to this awkward mess in the present day as the two are unable to connect, their past serving as a wall to rebuild their relationship. This is another way in which the film feels like a throwback, it has the same verbose dialogue as films like ‘Meet Me in St. Gallen’ and ‘Mr. and Mrs. Reyes.’ The first half of this film is centered around these conversations and the contrast between the past and the present.
What’s amazing about these contrasts is that the problem is still present, it persists: Harold and AM talk a lot, but they aren’t saying what it is they really want to say, which is how they feel about each other.
This is the magic of the second half when the slow, languid pace of the film picks up as the present-day Harold and AM find an opportunity to reclaim the energy and vibrancy of their youth and the possibilities open up for these two.
‘Ngayon Kaya’ is a delicate film that is built carefully around the nuances of the characters. While Paulo Avelino takes a completely understated approach to Harold, which diminishes the character’s strength (oftentimes, I want him to do more, give more as he does at the end of the film), it is Janine Gutierrez who really steals the show. Gutierrez’s AM is so un-self-conscious, so naive of her effect on people, and breathes life into the film. It is her dreams and passion that push the story forward and Gutierrez manages to make this film hers.
‘Ngayon Kaya’ is more reserved and withdrawn as a romance film, focusing more on the mood and the nostalgia than it does on the drama of an unrealised relationship. The pace and energy is unlike director Prime Cruz’s other works like ‘Isa Pa With Feelings’ and ‘Can We Still Be Friends.’ He takes his time, sometimes even dwelling on a feeling, which is a brave move for a Filipino romance movie but it feels apt for this film.
I wish that the dialogue was more conversational, instead of the dialogue-pause-dialogue delivery that happens between Avelino and Gutierrez. That staccato works in the present day but didn’t in the flashback scenes. It’s as if the couple can’t seem to fully connect because of the things not said, while the world behind them is so rich and full of life. But everything comes together in the final act, an extended scene set to the music of the band Mayonnaise is the catharsis that the film is pushing towards. I just hope the audience has the patience for it.
My Rating:
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‘Ngayon Kaya‘ is now showing in cinemas nationwide. Buy your tickets here.
From the director that brought us ‘Moulin Rouge!’ and ‘Gatsby’, Baz Luhrmann lends his unmistakable genius of cinematic spectacle to the life of American rock and roll legend Elvis Presley in the musical biopic ‘Elvis.’
Luhrmann (with a screenplay by Luhrmann, Sam Bromell, Craig Pearce, and Jeremy Doner) takes broad strokes and focuses on the phenomenon of Elvis – how his persona and music changed the fabric of America – and his relationship with his manager Colonel Tom Parker. Told in the point-of-view of Parker, as he is recalling the rise and fall of Elvis in a delirious state of a morphine high near his death, Parker narrates the story completely aware of the audience, with Tom Hanks (playing Parker) looking straight at the camera at some point and even referring to us as ‘you.’
The self-awareness of the film’s approach creates a space for Luhrmann to go all-out with his filmmaking techniques. He splices live footage with his film, uses multiple frames, jumps back and forth through time in a dazzling fury, and even infuses contemporary music production techniques when Elvis sings to seamlessly jump from scene to scene on a song number while amplifying what it was in Elvis Presley’s music that was so charged and moving.
Told from the villain’s point-of-view (because Colonel Tom Parker was revealed to be as such) it pushes Elvis into the space of a mythical being. His rags to riches story and how his life is the quintessential American dream (including the reality of being consumed by the same industry he found his mark in due to his naivete) is rendered like a fable or a fairytale except all this really happened.
More than Hanks, who delivers a rather unsurprising villain (complete with full prosthetics and a fat suit), it is Austin Butler who truly grounds this movie with an embodiment of a character that is full of charisma and passion and sexual energy.
While I’m familiar with a lot of Elvis Presley’s songs (more than I realised after watching this film) I’m not that familiar with the singer himself nor his actual career so I don’t feel comfortable talking about Butler’s portrayal of Presley. But what he does accomplish is to imbue Elvis with so much energy that when the women start screaming at his onstage gyrations and primal stage presence, I feel like I understand what the whole phenomenon of Elvis is about.
And while the film, even at 159 minutes, only really scratches the surface of Elvis’ life and career, what I do enjoy about the movie is how it really manages to show his connection to black music – gospel and rhythm and blues – and really amps up how Elvis Presley found his roots in these genres of music.
His connection to the black community of Memphis and Beale Street, with legends like B. B. King and Mahalia Jackson in tow, really brings to light why people like Al Green and Little Richard credit Presley for “opening the doors to black music.” This is well-executed through Luhrmann’s editing where he splices three timelines in one song, allowing us to see how Presley’s youth and listening to gospel choir influences his music in his early years until the later part of his career. The effect is dazzling.
With the intercutting of the scenes and sounds, it even appears that the primarily white audience of Elvis are applauding and cheering for the black singers and musicians of Elvis Presley’s past. The effect is spell-binding.
Baz Luhrmann is a director of grand spectacle. He barely has any quiet moments in his film and his character’s most introspective moments are amped up by a soaring musical score and high drama. Subtlety is not Luhrmann’s strength and we don’t go and watch a Baz Luhrmann film for that. What he delivers in turn is a high-energy rock musical, sometimes even playing contemporary rap music in selected scenes, to underscore how timeless this story is and how relevant Elvis Presley’s legacy to American (and global) music is.
While the film really explores the villainy of Colonel Tom Parker and his hand at both the rise and fall of the rock and roll legend, at over two hours, I would’ve wanted just a little bit more of his life with Priscilla, his wife. Played by Olivia DeJonge, Priscilla is set up as a counterpoint for Parker’s manipulations but she hardly gets to do anything much in the narrative.
What we get instead are some amazing performances by Butler, singing some songs I’ve forgotten and some songs I love that I didn’t even realize were Presley’s that truly showcased the power of his stage presence and his voice. Butler sings the songs in his early years but they interpolated recordings of Presley in his later years into Butler’s voice to mark the lowering of his tonal register. The music of this film, like any Baz Luhrmann film, is absolutely fantastic and I can’t wait for the album to be out on streaming (it isn’t out yet on Spotify as I’m writing this).
‘Elvis’ is a big, grand rock and roll musical with high energy and a brilliant performance by Austin Butler. And while it never really manages to get to a genuinely soft and tender moment due to its scale, it manages to contextualize the legend that is Elvis Presley. It’s definitely something to watch in a cinema with really good sound.
My Rating:
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‘Elvis‘ is now showing in cinemas nationwide. Buy your tickets here.
