-
MOVIE REVIEW: Tomb Raider (2018)
Roar Uthaug’s reboot of Tomb Raider is definitely better than the past Angelina Jolie films, but in the slew of action films, this version feels bland. Alicia Vikander, with her immense upper body strength, mightily carries the film, flaws and all. Here’s the thing: If you have high hopes for films based on video games,…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: Citizen Jake (2018)
Brilliant, riveting and unapologetic, Mike De Leon’s Citizen Jake proves everyone why he is a master storyteller. It’s a film that is worth the wait. He who shares the oppression shares the crime.- Desiderius Erasmus The message of Mike de Leon’s Citizen Jake is as clear as glass. We have to decipher what is rightful…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: Black Panther (2018)
Ryan Coogler’s superhero film Black Panther tells a socially-relevant story and breaks barriers at the same time. Black Panther currently sits as the most critically-acclaimed superhero film of all time on the review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes with 97% (roughly tied with 2004’s The Incredibles) as of writing. Not to mention its current dominion on…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: Peter Rabbit (2018)
The titular character Peter Rabbit, voiced by James Corden, is one mischievous and rebellious fur. Along with his triplet siblings, Mopsy (voiced by Elizabeth Debicki), Flopsy (voiced by Margot Robbiel), and Cottontail (voiced by Daisy Ridley), he scavenges from his family’s former abode– now their human neighbor McGregor’s (Sam Neill). But when McGregor bites the…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: Meet Me in St. Gallen (2018)
Stripped down of unnecessary subplots, Irene Villamor’s Meet Me in St. Gallen trusts its audience to fill-in the gaps (sometimes to a fault) and is anchored by natural acting, profound direction and a consistently improving cinematography. Meet Me in St. Gallen is a story of kindred souls meeting at three different points in their lives.…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: Ang Larawan (2017)
Athanasius of Alexandria was a bishop in early Christianity. Among others, he is known for his efforts to combat the teachings of Arianism, a popular school of Christian thought which was gaining ground as its teachings appealed to the son of the late Emperor Constantine. Despite this endorsement by the Emperor’s son, Athanasius held his…
-
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…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: Coco (2017)
Written by Paolo and Marie Barazon Memory—both the act of remembering someone, and the moments associated with that person—is integral to the plot of many Pixar films, a crucial element that drives the story and anchors the emotional connection between the audience and the film. Among others: Some of the toys in Toy Story 2…
-
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)…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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.…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: The Beguiled (2017)
Sofia Coppola’s new thriller The Beguiled is one of the year’s finest—a biting slice of smart entertainment powered by a brilliant ensemble. If you’re in the mood to be surprised, to a shocking extent that has you simultaneously squealing in laughter, and quivering in fear over an inexplicably unsettling presence, then The Beguiled is a…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: The Beguiled (2017) [1 of 2]
Sofia Coppola’s new thriller The Beguiled is one of the year’s finest—a biting slice of smart entertainment powered by a brilliant ensemble. If you’re in the mood to be surprised, to a shocking extent that has you simultaneously squealing in laughter, and quivering in fear over an inexplicably unsettling presence, then The Beguiled is a…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
![MOVIE REVIEW: 100 Tula para kay Stella (2017) [2 of 2]](https://cinemabravo.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/100-tula-para-kay-stella-movie.png?w=1024)
MOVIE REVIEW: 100 Tula para kay Stella (2017) [2 of 2]
Never seek to tell thy love, Love that never told can be; For the gentle wind does move Silently, invisibly. I told my love, I told my love I told her all my heart; Trembling, cold, in ghastly fears, Ah! she doth depart. Soon as she was gone from me, A traveller came by; Silently,…
-
![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…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: Kita Kita (2017)
Kita Kita is the story between Lea (Alessandra de Rossi), a Pinay tour guide based in Japan who is recovering from an inexplicably long “temporary” blindness that was caused by a heartbreak; and Tonyo (Empoy Marquez), the kabayan who lives across her house and pursues her patiently. Together, they explore tourist spots in and around Sapporo, places…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017)
While it could be difficult to deliver the expectations of fans of the Arthurian Legend, this new incarnation gives a unique tone that has the potential to appear fresh to those unfamiliar with the classic tale of King Arthur. Director Guy Ritchie gives his take an upbeat feel with a unique atmosphere thanks to a…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: Arrival (2017)
I must admit, I’m such a big fan of La La Land even before it hit local scenes, that I almost forgot that there are other interesting movies coming to theaters thereon. When Damien Chazelle’s followup to Whiplash was finally shown in the cinemas just last month, I managed to watch it 11 times as if…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: The LEGO Batman Movie
Coming from someone who is not a fan of any superhero character, I could immediately give my thumbs-up to The LEGO Batman Movie for making me more curious about the world of the Caped Crusader (whose only movie I’ve seen is Batman v. Superman plus some cartoons). It’s quite nostalgic to watch this spin-off with The…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: Split (2017)
There is much to rediscover with the return of director M. Night Shyamalan who has gained such attention with supernatural horror-thriller The Sixth Sense. Long before his latest film Split began its production, the anticipation is high enough to increase hype over the movie—how much more with the introduction of versatile actor James McAvoy as its…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: Mana (2014)
(Reviewed and delivered in the forum for Mana at Cine Europa Film Festival 2016.) Most of the time, stories with a lot of characters tend to be confusing with distracting details here and there. But in the case of Gabriel Fernandez’ Mana, there is enough exposure given to each character who comes from the same root—the matriarch…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: Morgan (2016)
In the new sci-fi horror film Morgan, there is more action sequences to speak of than any further voyage to the core idea, that it pushes itself on the verge of being generic and mostly uneven. Lee Weather (Kate Mara) works as a corporate risk assessment consultant who is sent to the middle of god-knows-where…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: Don’t Breathe (2016)
Horror films oftentimes validate itself by letting its audiences root for its characters—whether the story dwells in the miseries of the protagonist (a group of friends, a bunch of strangers, lovers in troubles) or the personal issues of the antagonist (a mad man, a person with a dark past, a spiteful soul). Amidst the characters is…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: The Shallows (2016)
As if all the promotional materials are not enough to stress out the horror that is The Shallows, the film begins with a flash-forward where a young boy finds a GoPro camera on the beach and learns a terrifying shark attack through the latest footage. It’s a good cold open that follows the usual scenes…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: Mercury is Mine (2016)
Jason Paul Laxamana’s Mercury is Mine follows the story of Carmen (Pokwang), a fifty-year old cook who runs an eatery at the foot of Mt. Arayat, and a white American sixteen-year old boy named Mercury who knocks at her door one night to beg for shelter. The relationship grows from there with both characters realizing the…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: Ignacio de Loyola (2016)
For years, the Jesuit Communication Foundation (Jescom) based in the Ateneo de Manila University has built a name as the leading Catholic multimedia ministry in the Philippines. Founded by the legendary Fr. James B. Reuter, Jescom first gained a reputation as a leading publisher of liturgical music by Fr Eduardo Hontiveros and his associates. It…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: Suicide Squad (2016)
Suicide Squad is practically every petty thing you have seen before—what else but a whirlwind of debris and yet another omen of failure. Following the events of “Batman v Superman,” the worst of the worst criminals are enlisted by merciless government agent Amanda Waller, played by Viola Davis whose character seems to have been perfectly…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: Iadya Mo Kami (2016)
There have been many moments in my life when I felt disappointed. For instance, when I received a clear envelope for a Christmas exchange gift back when I was a kid; or when Alex Turner cut his hair and started pretending like a British Elvis; or when The Hobbit movie came out and it was…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: Curiosity, Adventure and Love (2016)
The documentary is perhaps the hardest genre of cinema. Here, when we talk of it, we’re not talking about the TV-style documentary which we regularly see on the National Geographic Channel—the type that almost always does not go beyond the layer of being merely factual. But when we talk of documentary for film, we’re talking…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: Ringgo: The Dog-Shooter (2016)
One of my favorite poems is “Ode to Clothes” by the great Pablo Neruda. I like the poem precisely because of its use of a peculiar subject matter to convey a larger and more profound meaning. Its genius lies in the fact that it violates the conventions of writing odes–that it always has to be…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: Ku’te (2016)
To be honest, I genuinely don’t like saying bad things about any topic even if I find it absolutely undesirable. Of course, there are some exceptions when it is for the common good that you would say something distasteful, but it’s just that I believe that the world is already full of negativity and I…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: EDSA (2016)
(Disclaimer: This is not a political article, this is a film review!) In recent times there has been a false dichotomy setup by the lesser informed that if you say you are anti-Martial Law then logically you would fall into the category of someone supporting the yellow family–this, in truth, is quite a terrible analysis.…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: Blue Bustamante (2013)
Miko Livelo’s comedy film Blue Bustamante tells the story of OFW George Bustamante’s (Joem Bascon) travails in Japan where he is accompanied by his sleazy friend Roger (Jun Sabayton) in his quest to find the perfect job. Because of a lack of opportunity, eventually George settles for a stuntman job for a children’s TV show…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: Memory Channel (2016)
Existentialism is perhaps the most appealing subject to young artists. It’s quite a tempting habit to get into, and it may lead to abuse when you realize how easily you could make yourself appear intelligent with very little effort simply by asking “Why do I exist?” In saying this I think I speak from experience,…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: The Legend of Tarzan (2016)
The Legend of Tarzan (2016) Review Directed by David Yates The Legend of Tarzan is yet again one of those movies that try to recreate an age-old tale about a character who’s been around in children’s literature since forever. The most recent remarkable rendition in living millennial memory is none other than the 1999 Walt…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: Anino sa Likod ng Buwan (2015)
A search for the truth behind mere surfaces—the subject matter presented to us by director Jun Lana’s 2015 masterpiece, Anino sa Likod ng Buwan (Shadow Behind the Moon). I had the chance to see the one-shot-one sequence film when it was screened recently at Fully Booked Bonifacio Global City’s U View theater, an event organized…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: The Conjuring 2 (2016)
“The Conjuring 2” Review Written and Directed by James Wan Three years after the first film’s inception, The Conjuring 2 arrives with a fresh new face. A Marilyn Manson, demon general kind of face. And if you think the first one was scary… Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga reprises their roles as professional demonologists Ed and Lorraine…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: Finding Dory (2016)
“Finding Dory” Review Written and Directed by Andrew Stanton and Angus MacLane One of the most anticipated sequels of the 2016, Finding Dory takes us back to the lives of beloved characters Dory (Ellen DeGeneres), Marlin (Albert Brooks), and Nemo (Hayden Rolence), a year after they crossed the ocean to rescue Nemo from a horrid and mundane…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: A Hologram for the King (2016)
“A Hologram for the King” Review Written and Directed by Tom Tykwer Based on the 2012 novel of the same name by Dave Eggers. Uniting Hanks and Tykwer once again four years after Cloud Atlas, A Hologram for the King comes forth as another attempt at interpreting into film a book brimming with existentialism. The film lack depth and gravitas, but Hanks’ acting and…
-
FESTIVAL REPORT: Likha Adarna (2nd Sem, A.Y. 2015-2016), Day 1
The first day of Likha Adarna (2nd Semester, A.Y. 2015-2016) showcased a total of 18 of the 28 thesis films of the UP Film Institute undergraduate students at Cine Adarna, UPFI, University of the Philippines Diliman. SUNDO Bittersweet in its tone, it has a worthy tinge of nostalgia on the surface. Interesting to note that it…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: Mother’s Day (2016)
“Mother’s Day” Review Directed by Gary Marshall Written by Tom Hines, Lily Hollander, Anya Kochoff, and Matthew Walker From the creators of Pretty Woman and Valentine’s Day comes another movie about another bloody holiday, since their writers must be having trouble with creativity these days, and holidays seem to be an easy enough material to…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: Captain America: Civil War (2016)
Just a couple of months after the release of the lackluster Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice comes the emergence of yet another superhero movie that puts into test the essence of such genre as a character piece. We’ve seen the worst in Batman v Superman after expecting too much from DC Comics’ attempt to at least…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: Unlucky Plaza (2016)
“Unlucky Plaza” Review Written and Directed by Ken Kwek In Unlucky Plaza, debt-ridden restaurateur Onassis Hernandez (Jeffrey Quizon) struggles with his finances after a salmonella scandal caused by a disgruntled cook ruined his once prominent Filipino restaurant’s reputation. With eviction from his apartment as an added burden, and with no assistance from his estranged wife,…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: Criminal (2016)
“Criminal” Review Directed by Ariel Vromen Written by Douglas Cook and David Weisber What with the already saturated market for mind-altering/wiping/reading, memory-recovering movies, Criminal gets on the bandwagon to amuse us once again with the premise of making something unfeasible possible. The film is director Ariel Vromen’s first venture into big-budget films after dabbling in a number of music videos, short films, and…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: Demolition (2015)
“Demolition” Review Directed by Jean-Marc Vallée Written by Bryan Sipe A man who lives in absolute privilege, Davis Mitchell (Jake Gyllenhaal) comes to terms with the sudden death of his wife Julia (Heather Lind). While other people normally mourn the death of a loved one, he ends up feeling nothing; in fact, he has never even shed…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)
It would not be hard to revisit the 2008 found-footage disaster movie Cloverfield just to recall the kind of terror it offers. Back then, with the growing popularity of the subgenre, the world has just consequently become saturated with this technique. Among the lot are the good titles like Afflicted, The Sacrement, and the V/H/S installments. Cloverfield may not be flawless…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: Punla (2016, CineFilipino)
“Punla” Review Written and Directed by Kenneth Mandrilla Cinefilipino Film Festival 2016 Bugoy and Mikko are two friends who barely have any similarities between them; Mikko is chubby and clumsy, while Bugoy is slender and agile. Despite their differences, the two friends make things work and make sure to meet in their favorite playground every…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: Aki (2016, CineFilipino)
“Aki” Review Written and Directed by Rommel Tolentino Cinefilipino Film Festival 2016 Aki (Japanese for autumn) is gone. Her mourning lover, Haruo, wanders around Japan trying to cope with her loss. And then it all goes black. In the Philippines, a woman named Myla is brutally raped by her own husband. She eventually dies but miraculously…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: Hele sa Hiwagang Hapis (2016)
“Hele sa Hiwagang Hapis” (A Lullaby to the Sorrowful Mystery) Review Written and directed by Lav Diaz May kung anong hiwaga sa loob ng bagong pelikula ni Lav Diaz na sa unang eksena pa lang ay mararamdaman na. May kung anong pagtagos mula sa halos kwadradong litrato patungo sa pandama ng manonood. Mananatili ito sa…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: XXX (2016, CineFilipino)
“XXX” Review Written and Directed by Allison Barretto CineFilipino Film Festival 2016 XXX relays the story of Lucia Versoza, a seamstress from Angeles City, Pampanga. Working her way to the top of the regional beauty pageants, she simultaneously calls attention to her own dress shop by showcasing the gowns she makes for herself. What makes…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: Chicboy (2016, CineFilipino)
“Chicboy” Review Directed by Jasper Ramon Tulabot Written by Jasper Ramon Tulabot and Rona Mae Lallana Cinefilipino Film Festival 2016 A man wakes up hung over and goes straight to the loo to relieve himself. When he comes out, he sees a beautiful woman he doesn’t recognize in bed, implying that they shared an intimate moment…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: Sina Dino at ang Kanilang Sikreto (2016, CineFilipino)
“SiNa Dino at ang Kanilang Sikreto” Review Written and Directed by Miller E. Ursolino CineFilipino Film Festival 2016 (Best Documentary) Filipinos as a whole have the tendency to view seafarers and Overseas Filipino Workers as lucky individuals, living the high life abroad while earning substantially more than those who stayed. They get to travel, experience…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: Not Applicable (2016, CineFilipino)
“Not Applicable” Review Written and Directed by Carl Adrian Chavez CineFilipino Film Festival 2016 Elsa, an overweight and highly unattractive call centre agent, gets a surprise visit from someone she’d rather not see ever: her half-sister Anna. Anna comes bearing gifts, replacing the wilted flowers from Elsa’s vase with fresh ones from a bouquet she brought…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: Katok (2016, CineFilipino)
“Katok” Review Written and directed by Bob Guarina CineFilipino Film Festival 2016 Jepoy, a first time beggar for a syndicate, is dropped off in a part of the city unfamiliar to him. He henceforth goes ahead to rap his knuckles on car windows, asking for spare change. Some give him a few coins, one drivergive him…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: Luna (2016, CineFilipino)
“Luna” Review Written and directed by Rae Red CineFilipino Film Festival 2016 Luna, an eleven-year old girl, has to contend with society’s expectations of what a proper young girl should be. Her school nemesis, Jeff Flestedo, makes fun of her fashion sense. The school prevents her from wearing the boys’ uniform, which she questions since…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: Intruders (2015)
“Intruders [Shut In]” Review Directed by Adam Schindler Written by T.J. Cimfel and David White Intruders is an independent film that was called Shut In when it was still going through its rounds in the fest circuit. It started out quite promising until it deteriorates midway through the end of the film. Anna (Beth Riesgraf) is a single…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: Buhay Habangbuhay (2016, CineFilipino)
“Buhay Habangbuhay” Review Written and directed by Paolo Herras CineFilipino Film Festival 2016 Based on the graphic novel by Paolo Herras and Tepai Pascual, Buhay Habangbuhay presents itself as a refreshing look at how powerful an adaptation could be as long as done effectively through the advantages of both mediums. The film begins all too sudden…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: Kung ang Ulan ay Gawa sa Tsokolate (2016, CineFilipino)
“Kung ang Ulan ay Gawa sa Tsokolate” Review Written and directed by Prime Cruz and Galileo Te CineFilipino Film Festival 2016 In the not-so-distant future, the Philippines has become a global labour force due to the fact that Filipinos are now being literally exported overseas in the same way goods and produce are being exported today. Filipino…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: Saan Man Ngunit Dito (2016, CineFilipino)
“Saan Man Ngunit Dito” Review Directed by Cheska Salangsang Written by Cheska Salangsang and Renard Torres CineFilipino Film Festival 2016 Carol and Pido are a married couple in the habit of mountaineering, and on this particular climb in Saan Man Ngunit Dito, opens with the couple having to cross a river, with Carol having difficulty doing…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: Digpan Ning Alti (2016, CineFilipino)
“DigpaN Ning Alti” Review Written and directed by Bor Ocampo A series of unfortunate events—this short film might be the epitome of just that. In Digpan Ning Alti, the lives of two families intertwine in a ghastly manner after a neighbor’s dog steals the chicken a man is preparing for dinner. Rage-filled, the man gets…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: Oktopus (2016, CineFilipino)
“Oktopus” Review Written and directed by JP Habac CineFilipino Film Festival 2016 When you grow old, do you look forward to waking up to another morning? Or are you simply waiting to expire? Oktopus opens with elderly Kurding and Hermie fooling around while on a cheap merry-go-round of sorts in a rural amusement park. Krding…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: Norm of the North (2016)
“Norm of the North” Review Directed by Trevor Wall Written by Daniel Altiere, Steven Altiere, Malcolm T. Goldman, and Jamie Lissow Pixar is a company that produces animated flicks that not only entertain the whole family regardless of age or gender, but also excels in exemplary writing and opens you up to a level of…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: The Program (2015)
An Irish sports journalist becomes convinced that Lance Armstrong’s performances during the Tour de France victories are fueled by banned substances. With this conviction, he starts hunting for evidence that will expose Armstrong.
-
MOVIE REVIEW: Zoolander 2 (2016)
“ZOOLANDER 2” Review Co-written and directed by Ben Stiller Zoolander 2 is the disaster sequel that should not have been. Dressed as the sequel to the 2001 film Zoolander, it offers nothing fresh as it ridiculously tries to exude the same wackiness of the original’s satirical inspection of the fashion industry and fails all the time.…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: Triple 9 (2016)
“TRIPLE 9” Review Directed by John Hillcoat and written by Matt Cook Triple 9 starts out with a question: What is a Triple 9? For the uninitiated, a Triple 9 is police code for “officer down,” and essentially diverts the majority of the force from any other activity so they can rush to the scene. And…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: Always Be My Maybe (2016)
ALWAYS BE MY MAYBE never veers away from the cinematic universe of familiar hugot where Arci Muñoz is that exploding star that lives. “Always Be My Maybe” Review Starring Gerald Anderson and Arci Muñoz Directed by Dan Villegas As Star Cinema’s latest offering, released just four weeks after Everything About Her (which stars Vilma Santos,…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: Room (2015)
Room can be perceived in countless ways. One, it could be anything but a claustrophobic look at the lives of a mother and her five year-old son who has been living in a ten-by-ten feet enclosed, windowless, sound-proof space for several years—a harrowing idea of imprisonment and deprivation liberty and sanity. In another hand, it…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: Zootopia (2016)
In a city of anthropomorphic animals, a fugitive con artist fox and a rookie bunny cop must work together to uncover a conspiracy.
-
MOVIE REVIEW: Everything About Her (2016)
Everything About Her Movie Review 2016, Philippines – Directed by Bb. Joyce Bernal A successful mother who learns she has cancer, an estranged son who returns with his memories of feeling abandoned, and a career-driven girl who will serve as their bridge to patch things up. Sounds familiar? Everything About Her follows this set of characters but it sure manages…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: Lumayo Ka Nga Sa Akin (2016)
More than just an anthology filled with sketches that are meant to be funny and entertaining, Lumayo Ka Nga Sa Akin is a relevant presentation of the shockingly bad qualities of mass media that Filipinos continue to patronize. The absurdities of life are indispensable and so is the grueling need to be more thoughtful in…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: Honor Thy Father (2015)
Honor Thy Father (2015) Review Directed by Erik Matti Written by Michiko Yamamoto It is an ordinary day for Edgar (John Lloyd Cruz) that after attending to his plants, he hops into his car with a sunken face. While waiting for his daughter Angel (Krystal Brimner) to join him, he throws food out of the window…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: All You Need is Pag-ibig (2015)
In the Q&A of one screening of her first film Six Separation from Lilia Cuntapay early this year, Antoinette Jadaone mentioned that she will not get tired of doing romantic comedy projects because she knows she is meant for this genre. True enough, the energy never falters for the young director who knows how to tug…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: My Bebe Love: #KiligPaMore (2015)
My Bebe Love: Kilig Pa More serves as the reunion project of Vic Sotto and Ai-Ai Delas Alas, comedy royalties who share reputation in the industry as they have both proven themselves as reliable actors in their genre. Initially submitted to the Metro Manila Film Festival as “Romcom-in Mo Ako,” it is first noted with…
-
MOVIE REVIEW: Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)
The force is truly awakened in the latest addition to the widely successful epic space opera saga set a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. Star Wars: The Force Awakens is nostalgic with its refined take on the classic elements that have long since made the franchise memorable and beloved. The overall vibe resonates with…
CinemaBravo 