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‘A Star is Born’ review [2 of 2]: The musical era is officially back!
Bradley Cooper brings back a contemporary remake of a beloved Hollywood classic in ‘A Star is Born,’ with less glitter and more realistic textures, showcasing the dark pits of dreams and stardom. Led by his raw and poetic direction, Cooper shows the movie from the artist’s perspective — camera angles from the back of the…
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MOVIE REVIEW: Avengers: Infinity War (2018) [2 of 2]
Avengers: Infinity War soars through a galaxy of big stars that the world has fallen in love with over the last 10 years. A decade-long of brewing momentum that spews generosity on its loud visual effects, and unprecedented humor injects, are only but a couple of reasons why Marvel is at the top of their…
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Are horror movies never scary enough?
If you’re watching a horror movie just for you to be scared, you’re watching it with your eyes half closed. I’ve been reading a lot of blogs and other social media posts (mostly reviews) about how horror movies nowadays aren’t as terrifying as they used to be. Yes, these blogs are mostly by millennials, who…
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MOVIE REVIEW: A Quiet Place (2018)
Anchored by exponentially gripping performances, and a direction that navigates the audience to untouched paradigms of horror, A Quiet Place is a cathartic genre-film that welcomes John Krasinski to a lineup of masterful contemporary directors. The film uses its chilling silence to draw the audience in, and it grips you so tightly with its eerie…
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MOVIE REVIEW: Annihilation
A visceral thriller proving that Ex Machina was not a one hit wonder, Annihilation is a continuation of that commentary to Alex Garland’s universe of unapologetic, contemporary sci-fi machine that kept on spewing unorthodox flares to the world of cinema. Natalie Portman plays Lena, a cellular biologist and former Army soldier whose husband Kane (Oscar…
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LIST: Top 40 best films of 2017
There are no rules in filmmaking. Only sins. And the cardinal sin is dullness. – Frank Capra Welcome to my annual year-ender list of cinema! I’ve been a fan of the cinema since 1998, and I’ve been an official cinephile since 2005. I’ve been doing this year after year because why not? It’s fun, it’s…
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LIST: Top 15 best male film performances of 2017
Considering the socio-political climate of Hollywood over the last six months, male actors seem to be in boiling water, even more so when people start to confuse politics and social statements with art as a form. Needless to say, a handful of actors have proven their worth, giving female actors (who, in my opinion, dominated…
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LIST: Top 15 best female film performances of 2017
The end of the Oscars marks another cinematic year of film excellence. Perhaps, more than ever, we could all agree that 2017 was a dynamite year for women in the biz. I initially wanted to make a gender-neutral list, but there are just so many female performances, both leading and supporting combined, that need due…
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Oscar Prediction 2018: Who should win at the 90th Academy Awards?
My annual tradition. Since Oscar season will always be my Super Bowl, I take this prediction game quite seriously. No, it’s not necessarily evaluating what’s and who’s the best (but I’ll also be giving my personal favorites though) — it’s about knowing how Oscars work. I’ve been an avid follower and spectator of the Oscars since…
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MOVIE REVIEW: Call Me By Your Name (2017)
Combining elements of an independent film’s rawness and the influence of European cinema’s laid back tone, Luca Guadagnino’s Call Me By Your Name is a melancholic vision of a coming of age/coming out/first love/forbidden love narrative, all together, wrapped in an excellent storytelling, powered by perfectly tuned performances by Timothée Chalamet, Armie Hammer and Michael…
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MOVIE REVIEW: The Shape of Water (2017)
An allegorical tale of the co-existence between human and monster, The Shape of Water confirms that director Guillermo Del Toro’s hands on magic realism is masterful, and his breakthrough with 2006’s Pan’s Labyrinth was not a fluke. Set in the outbreak of the Cold War, The Shape of Water follows the life of Elisa Esposito…
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MOVIE REVIEW: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)
Led by a powerhouse ensemble of somber yet sharp performances, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is a testament that a masterful screenplay, heartfelt performances and a director who respects the simplistic veracity of the narrative’s premise is all that it takes to produce a classic. The film follows the story of Mildred Hayes (McDormand) who…
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MOVIE REVIEW: Lady Bird (2017)
A cliché-free exploration on the emotional expedition called adolescence, Lady Bird is a tender, colorful and intimate coming-of-age film from the directorial debut of Greta Gerwig. The 1980s had The Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles; the 1990s had Dead Poets Society; the 2000s had Juno; 2010s had The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Boyhood, and…
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MOVIE REVIEW: I, Tonya (2017)
Dark, stylish and quirky — Craig Gillespie’s I, Tonya is perhaps the biggest and most pleasant surprise of 2017. Based on a true story, I Tonya follows the story of Olympic figure skater Tonya Harding (Margot Robbie) whose career as an athlete collided with the biggest scandal in the world of figure skating, as her…
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MOVIE REVIEW: Deadma Walking (2017)
Led by the powerhouse performances of Joross Gamboa and Edgar Allan Guzman, Deadma Walking (Julius Alfonso, 2017) is a campy feast of a well-arched gag-laughter/tear-jerker that embraces its B-movie elements, producing a very original comedy classic. Based on the 2016 Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature winning screenplay, and hemmed by the directorial debut…
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MOVIE REVIEW: Murder on the Orient Express (2017)
Boasting an all-star international cast, Murder on the Orient Express (Branagh, 2017) slays with a luminous and stylish production, but somehow gets derailed away from the audience due to its wobbly writing, lackluster direction and haphazard editing. Based on the Agatha Christie a.k.a. Queen of Mystery’s famous novel of the same name, Murder on the…
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MOVIE REVIEW: Justice League (2017)
Despite faring as one of the weaker superhero films of the year, Zack Snyder’s Justice League proves to be one of the better films of the DC franchise after the ill-stricken Suicide Squad (Ayer, 2016) and underwhelming Batman v Superman (Snyder, 2016). Shortly after the death of Clark Kent/Superman (Henry Cavill), Bruce Wayne/Batman (Ben Affleck)…
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MOVIE REVIEW: 4 Days (2017)
Adolfo Alix Jr.’s LGBT-themed 4 Days may be imperfect, but it’s exactly the reason why it reflects the authenticity of a flawed and complicated relationship between two lovers whose love screams for the need to be freed. Set in the campus of the University of the Philippines – Diliman, 4 Days follows the story of…
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SPOTLIGHT: An inside look at actor-singer Mikoy Morales
For the past few years of trying out different forms of acting, every part is added to my perspective. It’s one big craft, and it adjusts to its medium. For me, acting should be expressed in all forms you can. — Mikoy Morales He might be one of those new faces we’re just starting to…
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MOVIE REVIEW: Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
Denis Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049 (2017) perfectly captures the mood and atmosphere of a post-apocalyptic, dystopian environment — including the fact that dystopia is as tedious, mundane and trepid as the film is. Blade Runner 2049 is a collision of its underwhelming narrative, and its gorgeous production design — perhaps, a practical vision on what…
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MOVIE REVIEW: A Ghost Story (2017)
David Lowery’s A Ghost Story shows us a role reversal of grief from the perspective of the dead in a hybrid of metaphysical caricature, proving to be a fine and fresh addition to the world of auteur cinema. More often than not, movies about grief only show the counter-reactions of the physical world of humans.…
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LIST: Ranking Darren Aronofsky’s films from best to worst
From the critically acclaimed Requiem for a Dream (2000) to the divisive and controversial mother! (2017), it has always been safe to say that Darren Aronofsky’s films indulge to the psychological torments of his protagonists who strive for greatness through the drive for perfection, but tend to crash and burn in a downward spiral of…
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MOVIE REVIEW: mother! (2017)
mother! is an amalgamation of Darren Aronofsky’s loud universe of allegory, muddled with a circus of nightmarish events, and a powerful, committed performance by Jennifer Lawrence. To say that the film is thought-provoking is an understatement. mother! is Aronofsky’s artistic cry as to what the true role of a film director is: to start a…
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LIST: Top 6 films of Sofia Coppola, ranked
From being the third woman to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director in 2003 (Lost in Translation); the first American woman and third American filmmaker to win the Golden Lion, the top prize at the Venice Film Festival in 2010 (Somewhere); up to her most recent milestone, as the first American woman…
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MOVIE REVIEW: The Beguiled (2017) [2 of 2]
A re-imagining of Don Siegel’s 1971 classic through the reversal of gender perspective, Sofia Coppola’s The Beguiled delivers a chilling retelling of the blistering collision of the sexes through the female persona in a period thriller that’s so reserved, so quiet, but so powerfully effective. The Beguiled is set a couple of years into the Civil…
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MOVIE REVIEW: It (2017)
Shot with meticulous craftsmanship, boasting with camp classic 80’s horror scare tactics that never get old, Andrés Muschietti’s It (2017) proves that adaptations and horror films are still in the game for cinematic marvel. Set in the late 1980s, It follows the story of a quiet suburban town haunted by an eerie entity in a form…
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MOVIE REVIEW: Love You to the Stars and Back (2017)
Romantic comedies involving two different fates colliding could easily go astray to the cliché route; not with the masterful hands of Antoinette Jadaone whose treatment to Love You to the Stars and Back is rich and heartfelt, it’s an instant classic. Love You to the Stars and Back follows the road trip romance of Mika…
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MOVIE REVIEW: Patay Na si Hesus (2017)
Filled with a dynamic ensemble of quirky, off-beat characters and an unapologetic screenplay possessing subtle hints of satire and over the top humor, Victor Villanueva’s Patay na si Hesus proves to be one of the year’s revelations. Set in Cebu, heavily written in the laid-back, homey diphthongs of the Visayan language, the film follows the…
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MOVIE REVIEW: Bar Boys (2017)
A film that tackles the dynamics of friendship and family towards the pursuit of one’s ambition, Kip Oebanda’s Bar Boys stirs both humor and curiosity in bringing forth the works of a courtroom drama in a behind-the-scenes black comedy. Bar Boys follows the journey of a barkada — Torran (Rocco Nacino), Chris (Enzo Pineda), Erik…
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![MOVIE REVIEW: 100 Tula para kay Stella (2017) [1 of 2]](https://cinemabravo.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/100-tula-para-kay-stella-movie.jpg?w=1024)
MOVIE REVIEW: 100 Tula para kay Stella (2017) [1 of 2]
Jason Paul Laxamana’s 100 Tula Para kay Stella offers a pragmatic approach to a tale of unrequited love in an ethereal synthesis of time, poetry and music whilst wrapped in the grounded, hard edges of life’s reality. The film starts with the introduction of the typical nerdy, stuttering wallflower Fidel (JC Santos) and the typical…
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MOVIE REVIEW: Dunkirk (2017)
An icy, chilling war film plucking threads of an avant garde, art house feature with sharp elements of impressionism, Dunkirk proves to be a new and different addition to Christopher Nolan’s filmography of grandiose epics. “All we did was survive.” “That’s enough.” Survival as a form of heroism: a very prominent theme of Dunkirk that…
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MOVIE REVIEW: Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Spider-Man: Homecoming provides a reimagining that’s as vibrant, as colorful and as current as Peter Parker’s new Spidey suit. This is an incarnation we’ve never seen before, and it delivers without restraining itself from the strings of the previous films — exactly what a reboot should do. The strength of Spider-Man: Homecoming is how it…
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MOVIE REVIEW: Wonder Woman (2017)
Let’s face it: DC Films had a rough couple of years. From the lackluster Batman V Superman, to the highly appalling Suicide Squad. Director Patty Jenkins had the biggest task of resurrecting the DC Universe back to its greatness. The best of her effort skyrockets Wonder Woman as, undeniably, the best DC film adaptation to…
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MOVIE REVIEW: Colossal (2017)
Colossal (Nacho Vigalondo, 2017) is a film that embraces its weirdness, and knows exactly what it wants without getting tangled in the loops of confusion, offering the audience a very smart and original approach to contemporary filmmaking. Whenever Gloria (Anne Hathaway) gets drunk, a monster attacks Seoul, South Korea — perhaps, the most random, peculiar…
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MOVIE REVIEW: Alien: Covenant (2017)
Alien: Covenant is a carnage of visual and aesthetic feast with a freakshow production and uncanny elements from Prometheus and the previous Alien films, all wrapped in a signature Ridley Scott bow of chills and unabashed action. The goal of Alien: Covenant is for the audience to recognize familiar themes of interplanetary expeditions and Frankenstein-ish…
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MOVIE REVIEW: Bliss (2017)
A provocative art-house feature that juggles surrealist and post-modernist elements of David Lynch and Ingmar Bergman, Bliss (Jerrold Tarog, 2017) is a leap of freedom from the portals of Philippine Cinema, introducing a genre that shows intelligence, allegory and flawless mastery. The film follows the psyche of Jane (Iza Calzado), an actress who conquered show…
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MOVIE REVIEW: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (James Gunn, 2017) proves that its predecessor’s critical and commercial success was not a fluke. Grander, funnier, wilder – Vol. 2 is an extreme level-up in all ways it could. The movie boasts everything you could ever hope for in a comic book adaptation: non-stop action, unprecedented humor, a committed…
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MOVIE REVIEW: Noah (2014)
In spite of being in the hands of a capable artist, Darren Aronofsky’s Noah (2014) proves to be a misfire in terms of its purpose, creating a miscalculated conversation between the uncalled-for tension of faith and intellect. It’s hard to put a rationale in a tale that’s based on a parable driven by fantasy and…
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MOVIE REVIEW: Miracles from Heaven (2016)
Miracles from Heaven (Riggen, 2016) suffers from overwhelming melodrama, one dimensional characters, a preachy screenplay and tonal inconsistencies – yet, you’d find yourself grabbing a box of tissues and sobbing your eyes out, endlessly relating to a universal story about faith, despair, tragedy and hope. Now, how does a predictable, average film do that? Quite…
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MOVIE REVIEW: Silence (2016)
After The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) and Kundun (1997), Silence (2016) is a glorious ending to Martin Scorsese’s religious trilogy of epic and biblical proportions, provoking thoughts on the conflict of faith and flesh, leaving one contemplative and reflective to the power of spirituality. Silence is an enigmatic discussion about a man’s unprecedented hold…
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MOVIE REVIEW: Lion (2017)
Lion is a reminder of what storytelling is all about: capturing a man’s soul, and letting the audience experience his journey first-hand, as narrated in Garth Davis’ film about loss, hope and survival. In a nutshell, Lion isn’t necessarily a monumental achievement in terms of cinematic technicalities, but what this film has is a genuine and heartfelt purpose…
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MOVIE REVIEW: Life (2017)
Life (Daniel Espinosa, 2017) ends the brilliant streak of epic space-extra-terrestrial conversations that Gravity, Interstellar, The Martian and Arrival have stirred from the last 4 years. A group of multinational scientists tests a sample soil from Mars, successfully proving that it contains the first proof of extraterrestrial life through single cell extraction. This leads to…
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MOVIE REVIEW: Beauty and the Beast (2017)
Beauty and the Beast is far from perfection but still proves to hit the right spot in our hearts, the same way the animated feature did way back in 1991. Bill Condon’s Beauty and the Beast had huge shoes to fill as it’ll be marking a pinnacle in bringing the beloved animated Disney film faithfully…
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