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MOVIE REVIEW: Magkakabaung (2014)
After unknowingly administering the wrong medication to his sick child, should a father be held morally or legally responsible for his action and inaction? Jason Paul Laxamana’s latest full-length feature Magkakabaung (The Coffin Maker) explores a single father’s way of living and the decisions he makes for her daughter even right after the accident. The…
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MOVIE REVIEW: Tandem (2015)
Tandem begins with a man ready to shoot a dog point blank. He dons a fierce look which makes the tension tighter and lets the audience anticipate the thriller that is yet to unfold. As another man approaches, it gives a first look at the main characters: two men who wear mask, hides guns in their pockets,…
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MOVIE REVIEW: Angela Markado (2015)
Angela Markado is a confused, lowly incompetent if not entirely, disrespectful remake of a Lino Brocka classic. Its marketing boasts the name of the National Artist, together with the Hilda Koronel-starrer having received the prestigious grand prix award in France at the Nantes Film Festival in 1983, only to appear as a misleading note on the invites to the premiere…
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MOVIE REVIEW: A Second Chance (2015)
A Second Chance is that realization of an eight-year frustration of many to have a follow-up for the blockbuster hit romantic movie One More Chance. There are those who oppose the slightest idea, noting that the original piece would suffice on its own since, as it has turned out, it has become a classic film—something that…
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MOVIE REVIEW: Manang Biring (2015)
If there is just a single aspect that Carl Joseph Papa’s Manang Biring could take pride in, it has to be its brilliance in transporting its audience to a relatable landscape by means of a well-crafted story. It bagged the Best Film award at the recently concluded Cinema One Originals film festival most likely for its innovative response to…
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MOVIE REVIEW: Wang Fam (2015)
Wang Fam stars Pokwang and Benjie Paras as Malou and Boo who fall for each other when the latter has gone to an uncharted forest to find “unique” plants only to meet a problematic woman in black to the tune of a remix of Regine Velasquez’s Dadalhin. Right then, the story delivers nothing but silliness–something that…
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MOVIE REVIEW: No Boyfriend Since Birth (2015)
In Jose Javier Reyes’s No Boyfriend Since Birth, Carla Abellana’s Karina Miranda, better known as Carrie, works as an executive assistant in a bridal shop. We get the usual snappy boss in Mylene Dizon’s Mimi. The clash is always pro-boss with Carrie bowing down with her mouth shut. She is questioned by her parents if she…
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MOVIE REVIEW: Lisyun Qng Geografia (2014)
“But for now, let’s wait for the rain to stop.” – Claren Torres It is but fitting for young director Petersen Vargas to start his debut film with a quote from an important person in his life–something that encapsulates the overall mood of what is to follow, and to its extent, works as a tribute…
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MOVIE REVIEW: Everyday I Love You (2015)
Everyday I Love You serves as the second time Liza Soberano and Enrique Gil are paired in a movie. ABS-CBN and Star Cinema very well know how to strike whilst the iron is hot but this one is just too soon given that its release is just a few months after two projects: their successful TV…
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MOVIE REVIEW: Black Mass (2015)
Black Mass is triumphant in presenting yet another Johnny Depp persona–this time sans the misfires that could just continue to stereotype him for being unaware of what is beyond the fluorishes and costumes and funny accents. It has been a while since he is last seen play an actual human being. And so comes the opportunity…
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MOVIE REVIEW: Crimson Peak (2015)
CRIMSON PEAK (2015, US) Starring Tom Hiddleston, Jessica Chastain, Charlie Hunnam, and Jim Beaver Directed by Guillermo del Toro Written by Guillermo del Toro and Matthew Robbins Guillermo del Toro’s Crimson Peak is a watchable gothic fantasy romance teeming with marvelous production design and a strikingly self-aware tale that laughs at its own tropes while making sure…
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MOVIE REVIEW: The PreNup (2015)
THE PRENUP by Jun Robles Lana Starring Jennylyn Mercado and Sam Milby Reviewed at the red carpet premiere at SM Megamall The PreNup follows an expected love story that blossoms when Jennylyn Mercado’s Wendy and Sam Milby’s Sean meet on an airplane en route to New York (by the way, this is not That Thing Called…
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MOVIE REVIEW: Felix Manalo (2015)
Without a doubt, Felix Manalo is a gigantic movie. It boasts of a grand production design that merits commendation–from its nostalgic color and look to its glamorous costumes to affecting musical scoring to set decorations to the very idea that it has come into fruition. Not to mention, it is able to cast a great number…
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MOVIE REVIEW: The Walk: An IMAX 3D Experience (2015)
THE WALK by Robert Zemeckis Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ben Kingsley, Charlotte Le Bon, James Badge Dale, Ben Schwartz, Steve Valentine Reviewed at the advance screening at the IMAX Theater of SM Megamall In 1974, Frenchman Philippe Petit strung a tightrope rigged between the twin towers of what used to be the tallest skyscraper, the World Trade Center, for a morning…
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MOVIE REVIEW: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (2015)
The part where an awkward guy meets a lovely girl diagnosed with cancer. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl could be a love story but this is rather a story of mismatched friendship. The premise could simply sound familiar until one finally sees the beauty, wit and charm in watching through and through. Apologies to…
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MOVIE REVIEW: Everest (2015)
In Everest, it is all throughout about the concept of “man versus nature”. The competition is not between people; the last word always belongs to the mountain. And so as the story unfolds and we take a good look at the tragic reality of the May 1996 expedition in which eight climbers died, the experience is dizzyingly…
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