Review of LAKAMBINI: GREGORIA DE JESUS: Oriang's Options

November 6, 2025

May 9, 1897 was the 22nd birthday of Gregoria "Oriang" de Jesus. She went to the house of President Emilio Aguinaldo to beg him to stop the planned execution of her husband Andres Bonifacio (Rocco Nacino) and his brother Procopio. However, Aguinaldo did not meet her himself. Instead, another official rebuffed her request, even telling her that she's lucky that was not arrested herself. After these rude words, Oriang was roughly driven out of the house. 

This was the first scene of this stylized biopic about the life of the strong woman behind the Supremo of the Katipunan, a nationalistic organization launched in 1892 aiming to win independence of the Philippines from her Spanish conquerors via an armed revolution. She had married Andres in 1893, defying her parents' objections. She was initiated into the women's chapter of the Katipunan in 1894, choosing Lakambini as her code name. 

Of course, the story about Andres Bonifacio and the Katipunan had been told and retold in many films before. The infamous Tejeros convention was reenacted in detail, with the hateful actions of Daniel Tirona (Allan Paule) highlighted. The controversial issue about Oriang's rape vs. molestation by Agapito Bonzon (James Lomohan) was also tackled. On a more personal note, we learned that she was a good cook, able to identify ingredients of a dish by smell.

The lesser-known story of Oriang after Andres's death was also given screen time. We learn about the harrowing 30 days Oriang spent looking for her husband's body in the mountains. We also learn about her marriage to Julio Nakpil (Paulo Avelino), a musician who became a trusted officer of Bonifacio, using the code name Giliw. In Nakpil's senior years, he was played by Spanky Manikan, who had already passed away in 2018. 

Several scenes were interpretations of various writings of Oriang in her own memoirs written in 1928. They dramatized the letter of Oriang to the Gobernadorcillo requesting for rescue because her parents confined her in a house in Binundok to hide her from Andres. Even the romantic letter of Andres to Oriang which went viral 10 years ago was featured, but it was quickly declared as fictional by writer Eljay Castro Deldoc. 

There was likewise a scene accompanied by the song "Pag-ibig sa Tinubuang Lupa," with lyrics from a poem written by Andres Bonifacio. There was a party scene where Hen. Luciano San Miguel (Pepe Herrera) was singing the patriotic song "Katipunan," written by Julio Nakpil. 

Aside from telling Oriang's story, this film was also a documentary of sorts about the circuitous path it took to be created. The initial stage of its creation was in 2015 under director Jeffrey Jeturian, but shooting stopped after only nine days because the sponsors pulled out.  Finally, the film was completed this year, coincidentally and fortuitously exactly the 150th birth anniversary of Oriang, under the direction of Arjanmar Rebeta. 

It began with a birthday, and ended with a birthday -- full circle. But because its shooting had been interrupted into small parts over 10 years, there was sometimes inconsistent continuity in the locations, props and costumes. Also, that was the reason why three actresses played Oriang in this final film -- Lovi Poe, Elora Espano, and Gina Pareno. They used this as a metaphor about how any Filipino woman can be Oriang. 6/10

Review of BUGONIA: Abducting an Alien

November 5, 2025

Teddy (Jesse Plemons) believed that Michelle Fuller (Emma Stone), the CEO of giant pharmaceutical company Auxolith, was an alien of the Andromedan species which was out to destroy the Earth. He was able to convince his autistic cousin Don (Aidan Delbis) to help him abduct Michelle and hold her hostage in the basement of his house. Teddy believed that the Andromedans will be entering Earth in four days during a lunar eclipse. 

"Bugonia" was a hard-hitting dark satirical comedy film by director Yorgos Lanthimos, in the vein of "The Favourite" (2018) and "Poor Things" (2023). I was surprised to learn that this new film was actually a remake of a South Korean film entitled "Save the Green Planet" (2003). The original screenplay written by director Jang Joon-hwan was adapted into the American setting by Will Tracy, who wrote "The Menu" (2022) and TV series "Succession," satires both.

This was a very uncomfortable watch from beginning to end, as it involved taking advantage of a mentally-challenged individual and acts of violence against a woman, all in the name of apparently delusional conspiracy theories of one very emotionally-disturbed individual. Teddy and Michelle were both unlikable characters as written, and as twistedly portrayed by Jesse Plemons and Emma Stone (who really had her hair shaved off). As both of them played off each other wickedly at full blast, award noms are surely forthcoming. 

The only sympathetic character here was the impressionable, neurodivergent young man Don. Aidan Delbis, who describes himself as autistic, was only a 17-year old high school student when he was cast for his first major feature film role, based on the audition tape he submitted. The way he was being talked down to and manipulated was very painful to watch. This connection we felt with Don made what happens to him in this film so sad as it was shocking.

The mysterious title was not explained, nor even mentioned, in the film. The Ancient Greek word "bugonia" refers to the belief that bees can develop out of a cow carcass. Bees and their colony collapse disorders was a recurring theme in the film. Teddy, being a beekeeper, believed that Michelle was behind the dwindling population of bees. Bees was a metaphor for the fragile state of Earth's environment as a result of human irresponsibility. 

The ending is really the biggest gamble of the story, especially for those who have not seen the original film yet. Lanthimos was able to spring the twist on his audience effectively, even as the film became even more bizarre in terms of production and costume design. Then comes a final five-minute montage of human mortality set to the tune of "Where Have All the Flowers Gone" sung by Marlene Dietrich. When will we ever learn, indeed? 8/10 

Netflix: Review of BALLAD OF A SMALL PLAYER: Gauging a Gambler

October 31, 2025

Lord Freddy Doyle (Colin Farrell) was a British aristocrat who had been gambling in a high-class casino in Macau. He had been on an unfortunate losing streak, so he had already incurred a huge debt. He went to try his luck at the Rainbow Room, the only casino where he can play on credit. He lost to ruthless card shark Grandma (Deanie Ip) at baccarat. Casino employee Dao Ming (Fala Chen) offered him a loan so he can still continue playing. 

It was uncomfortable to watch Lord Doyle unable to control his gambling addiction even if he was already sinking into pathetic depths. We have seen countless gambling addicts go down the same way in other films before, from "The Gambler" (1974) to "Uncut Gems" (2019). Addiction is never a pretty picture, even if you looked like Colin Farrell and wore Doyle's scarlet jacket and yellow gloves made in Saville Row. 

The movie takes a mysterious turn when Doyle encounters Dao Ming again after one of the gamblers she lent credit to committed suicide. It was the Festival of the Hungry Ghost, so he went with Dao to a temple so she can pray away her guilt, feeling that she has run out of chances. They talked on a bench near the sea that whole night. The next morning, Doyle woke up alone on the bench, noting that some numbers had been written on his hand. 

His next encounter with private investigator Betty Grayson (Tilda Swinton) who was stalking Doyle to recover the money he had stolen from an old client of hers. With her quirky glasses and frumpy dresses, Swinton was a delightful sweetheart even as she looked like a fish out of water in the casino. As Betty was always dead serious about her work, Doyle tried to lighten her up by inviting her to dance. In that regard, don't you miss the mid-credit scenes.

Just when you thought that Doyle's story was going to have a typical ending, along comes a sudden twist in the final act that you never saw coming, challenging viewers to make the surprise revelation make sense.  Director Edward Berger was consistent with his beautiful, artistic camera work, with Oscar-winning cinematographer James Friend.  Colin Farrell likely knew many of his lines were cliche, but he still managed to spin acting gold from them.  7/10

Review of NO OTHER CHOICE: Cutting the Competition

October 31, 2025

Yoo Man-soo (Lee Byung-hun) had been working in a paper-making factory for the past 25 years. He was able to buy back his childhood home where he now lived happily and comfortably with his wife Mi-ri (Son Ye-jin) and two children. One day, their factory closed down and everybody lost their jobs. Man-soo struggled to manage the sudden drastic drop in his financial capabilities, so they had to give up their hobbies, their dogs and their house. 

This latest film by one of the masters of Korean cinema -- Park Chan-wook, the same director who crafted classics like "Joint Security Area" (2000), "Oldboy" (2003), "The Handmaiden" (2016) and "Decision to Leave" (2022), among others. it had its world premiere last August in the Venice International Filmfest. It had already been announced to be the submission of South Korea for consideration in the race for the Oscar for Best International Film.

Park did masterful work here as director, telling this story (based on a 1997 American novel "The Ax" by Donald E. Westlake) about a jobless family man whose difficulty of finding a new job then pushed him to do unthinkable things. There were some pretty innovative camera angles to shoot scenes ranging from utter chaos (three people grappling for a pistol), to musical virtuosity (a mother finally getting to hear her special child playing cello). 

Lee Byung-hun is the probably the most ubiquitous Korean actor these days -- with recent credits for "Squid Game" (2021) and "K-Pop Demon Hunters" (2025). Man-soo went about eliminating his competition literally, and Lee portrayed this with restrained ruthlessness.  It was good to see "CLOY" actress Son Ye-jin as the wife, but sadly she was underused. Lee Sung-min and Yeom Hye-ran memorably played Man-soo's primary rival and his manic wife. 

The buzz is very strong that this film might just replicate the historic feat of Bong Joon-ho's "Parasite" (2019) at the Oscars, winning Best Picture, Best International Film and Best Director. The similarities are there, both being very dark comedies about the societal classes. However, don't let all that hype make you expect too much. It's good, but to be honest, I am not exactly raving for this one all that much as mucg I did for "Parasite" before. 7/10

Sine Sindak 2025: Review of NEAR DEATH: Attacks from the Afterlife

October 30, 2025

Professional photographer Julia (Charlie Dizon) jumped from the roof of their apartment in a suicide attempt. She landed on the hood of a car, so she was able to survive the fall. She was discharged from the hospital after six months under the care of her younger sister Mia (Xyriel Manabat). However, even if she looked okay from the outside, Julia was haunted by visions of malevolent spirits speaking an unknown language, but they all want to possess her body. 

Her doctor advised Julia to join a support group for suicide survivors called "The Guardians." There, she befriended neckerchief-wearing Lucas (RK Bagatsing), a man who tried to commit suicide because he had terminal cancer. Meanwhile, the spirits who bothered Julia were becoming increasingly aggressive and violent, such that even her nosy neighbor Salve (Lotlot de Leon) and the security guard Celso (Soliman Cruz) were physically assaulted by them. 

Before he directed action films like "We Will Not Die Tonight" (2018) and "Topakk" (2023), writer-director Richard Somes began his filmmaking career in horror. His debut work was a segment in "Shake, Rattle & Roll 2K5" (2005), and this was followed by full-length "Yanggaw" (2008). More recently, he returned to horror with a segment in "Shake, Rattle & Roll Extreme" (2023), and now, he is back with his latest full-length horror film. 

Somes still relied on cliche tropes of Pinoy horror films, like multiple jump scares, pitch black darkness, or destructive fire.  Julia's apartment building just had to be very old with long dimly-lit empty hallways, just right for a horror movie. For some body horror, Salve suffered from a progressive skin disease she caught from her pet dog. As for the main topic of suicide, it was unfortunate that Somes did not seem to offer a more satisfying final resolution for Julia. 

Charlie Dizon and RK Bagatsing try their best, but the main problem was precisely that tiresome screenplay, with the repetitive cycles of Julia's activities during the day, followed by the scary spirits when she got home at night.  There were stories brought up that led nowhere. Owing to crude effects, the spirits would be scarier if we never saw them clearly. The ending was so drab and low-key I don't recall what it was anymore when I got home. 4/10

Cinesilip 2025: Review of DREAMBOI: Trans Tenacity

October 29, 2025

Diwa (EJ Jallorina) is a transwoman who was a victim of trans hate at her workplace. A senior lawyer of their firm, Atty. Sylvia Quiambao (Meann Espinosa) complains to their HR about Diwa's using the women's restroom. The transphobic security guard (Tads Obach) abuses his authority to the point of humiliating Diwa every time she needs to go. Following a tip, Diwa had to go all the way down to Basement 6 to use the restroom there.

Because of a recent break-up, Diwa spurned the romantic overtures of her photographer workmate Maki (Migs Almendras). Instead, she turned to compact discs containing digital porn audio recordings by an artist named Dreamboi (Tony Labrusca). One night, while she was in the Basement 6 restroom, she overheard sounds of sexual ecstasy from the other cubicle. She realized it was actually her mysterious Dreamboi himself, in the flesh.  

The new Cinesilip Film Festival, featuring 7 new erotic films, all rated R-18, ran from October 22-28, 2025 in four Ayala Malls cinemas -- Trinoma, Market Market, Circuit Makati and Manila Bay. The one with the loudest buzz was "Dreamboi" because the MTRCB rated it X two times, and only after some cuts was it approved for commercial screening with an R-18.  It went on to dominate the festival awards, winning Best Picture, Best Director for Rodina Singh, and the Audience Choice awards. 

It was clearly apparent why "Dreamboi" dominated the technical awards, namely Cinematography by Malay Javier, Editing by Arnex Nicolas, Production Design by Chips Day Abando, and most especially, Sound by Immanuel Verona and John Buquid. From the very first scene and throughout, that loud reverberating bass sound and the percolating musical score (I can't believe that did not win!) can literally shake you to your very core. 

Tony Labrusca's Dreamboi may have been the title character, and his face was the only one in the poster. He and his soft porn scenes -- be they fantasy or reality -- may have taken up a lot of screen time, but really, he was not really the main point of the film. Nevertheless, Labrusca definitely gave his 100% in terms of smoldering looks and macho sexuality here. He projected this sexy attitude at all times, never letting go even if he was only in the background. 

This film highlighted a number of discriminatory practices that transwomen face everyday from narrow-minded conservatives around them. Diwa actually confronted Atty. Sylvia, albeit only in her mind, accusing her of being jealous of transwomen being free of menstruation and pregnancy. The bathroom issue is actually just minor as far as their problems go, as this trans hate can escalate to frank assault (that intense jeepney scene!) and even murder. 

Lead actress EJ Jallorina did very well in her breakthrough role, as Diwa was a challenging character with various subtle nuances. Aside from her, there were also a number of transwomen actresses in the cast, the most prominent being Iyah Mina as their mother hen of their boarding house -- Mama Guada. Her one main scene addressing her wards about their plight as transwomen being killed or erased was the heart and soul of the whole film. 6/10

Netflix: Review of THE DELIVERY RIDER: Autism in Action

October 29, 2025

Santo (Baron Geisler) is an autistic man who worked as a motorcycle delivery man for Ondamove. He kept pretty much to his usual routines, like taking photos of his deliveries once they reach their destination. He lived at home with his childhood friend, now a nurse and single mother Nichelle (Jennica Garcia). Her son Miro (Euwenn Mikaell) already considered Santo as his father, since his real father Bernardo (Joem Bascon) left them to live and work abroad.

This was a potent set-up for a dramatic film about an atypical family. It informed us about what high-functioning autistic people can do and how they could be employed in certain jobs. Honestly, I have yet to meet a delivery rider who obviously was on the spectrum like Santo. But in theory, as long as they knew how to ride a motorcycle, work the GPS and could engage with customers, they should be able to do the job, barring any major breaks in routines.

However, writer Henry King Quitain and director Lester Pimentel (in his feature film directorial debut) went beyond family drama and unexpectedly made a sharp turn to become a violent action film instead.  Santo and Miro inadvertently witnessed a murder during one of his deliveries, so the bad guys led by Roden (Jake Cuenca) went after them. Fortunately, Santo had inherited fighting skills from his late MMA champ father Jowell (Christian Vasquez). 

It was good to see a little more of Jennica Garcia, after her affecting supporting turn in "Sunshine" (2025), but she should be ready for the lead soon enough. Euwenn Mikaell is striking the iron while he is still the hottest male child actor after his major roles in "Firefly" (2023) and "Lolo and the Kid" (2024). Jake Cuenca was basically a one-dimensional crime kingpin here, but they did give him a bit of humanity before the end of the film.

The main highlight of this film was Baron Geisler, who showed off more versatility as a dramatic actor here, following "Doll House" (2022) and "Dearly Beloved" (2024). His action chops were still well-honed from TV series like "Iron Heart" (2022) and "Incognito" (2025). His portrayal of Santo's autism was consistent and empathetic, apparent from his facial tics, hand gestures and speech patterns. Santo's ability to fight off armed goons may be too unrealistic, but this committed performance will garner due acclaim. 5/10

Review of TRON: ARES: Projected Permanence

October 28, 2025

ENCOM and Dillinger Systems are in a race to figure out how to make digital constructs last more than their 29-minute limit before they disintegrate. Current Dillinger CEO Julian (Evan Peters) was pitching a perfect expendable soldier named Ares (Jared Leto) to his investors. Meanwhile, ENCOM CEO Eve Kim (Greta Lee) was in Julian Flynn's old station in Alaska looking through his floppy discs until she finally find the elusive "Permanence Code."

A story about a digital construct or AI in a humanoid form getting self-aware and going rouge against his programmer is not exactly a new story. In this case, Ares seemed to getting self-aware from his very introduction, showing interest in events happening in real life. When he was sent to hack into the ENCOM grid to search for Flynn's code, Ares gets distracted with memories about Eve Kim, her achievements and her family. 

Like the first "Tron" (1982) and its much-delayed sequel "Tron: Legacy" (2010), the main reason to watch this new film on the big screen are its artfully-futuristic neon-lit special effects. Dillinger was red, for authoritarianism and absolute control. ENRON was blue, for purity, freedom and choice. Those chase scenes around busy city streets were great to watch because of these coded lights and the roaring musical score by the Nine Inch Nails. 

I only knew Greta Lee from Celine Song's super-serene "Past Lives" (2023), so seeing her here in extreme action as Eve rode big motorcycles was quite a thrilling surprise. Evan Peter's Dillinger was quite the one-dimensional villain from the start, but he did have the honor of having Gillian Anderson play his mother Elisabeth (but she was criminally underused). Jodie Turner-Smith's Athena was an Amazon warrior in the Dora Milaje mode. 

Ever since he won his Oscar in 2014, it seemed like Jared Leto never got a positively-reviewed performance at all, as he was bashed for "Suicide Squad," "Justice League," and "Morbius." Not that this role as Ares was anywhere as challenging, but Leto was likable here with his thoughtful and restrained portrayal. The quiet scenes he shared with Jeff Bridges (as Kevin Flynn) bound his new character to the foundation of the franchise. 7/10

Netflix: Review of A HOUSE OF DYNAMITE: Inbound Insanity

October 26, 2025

One morning, an intercontinental ballistic missile of unknown origin was detected to be airborne and bound to hit the continental USA. Based on its trajectory, it was projected to directly hit the city of Chicago in the next 16 minutes. Their first response was to launch two ground-based interceptors at it from Fort Greely, Alaska. When those failed to engage, the alert level was elevated further up and the issue of preemptive retaliatory attacks comes up. 

This story was told in the point of view of three people at various levels of responsibility in such politico-military crisis. First was Capt. Olivia Walker (Rebecca Ferguson), the oversight officer for the White House Situation Room. Second was STRATCOM commander Gen. Anthony Brady (Tracy Letts) based in Nebraska. Finally, at the very top of the chain of command was the POTUS (Idris Elba) himself, who needed to give the final decision. 

This film was directed by Kathryn Bigelow (after a 7-year hiatus), from an original screenplay by former NBC News president Noel Oppenheim. Bigelow will always be remembered as the first woman to win the Oscar for Best Director. This was for directing the tense Iraq War drama "The Hurt Locker" (2008), which also won Best Picture. Her next film was "Zero Dark Thirty" (2012) about the manhunt for Osama Bin Laden, which was also nominated for Oscars.

With this new film, Bigelow returns to this common theme of international conflict that she excelled in before. This time, the action is confined to US bases and Zoom meetings, as key American officials only had 16 minutes to make key decisions that will affect the whole world. Bigelow built up suspense as she showed these same 16 minutes from three vantage points, revealing more strategic details and personal drama as the story unfolded. 

Therefore, for each of the three chapters of this film, we are left in a cliffhanger as to what the final decision of the POTUS was. This was quite the major build up in the final chapter as Lt Comm Robert Reeves (Jonah Hauer-King) quickly briefed the POTUS (and us) about his three options, all of which will entail a major casualty count. Then after all that suspenseful triple build-up came a ending that will polarize viewers. Was that astute brilliance? or a frustrating cop-out? 8/10 

Mini-Reviews of ROOFMAN and GOOD FORTUNE: Inherent Integrity

October 24, 2025

ROOFMAN

Director: Derek Cianfrance

Writer: Derek Cianfrance, Kirt Gunn

To buy gifts for his daughter, Jeffrey Manchester (Channing Tatum) broke into MacDonald's stores through the roof for two years, before he was finally caught and incarcerated. He eventually used his smarts to break out of jail, but still could not see his kids. Meantime, he hid himself in the premises of a Toys R Us store in Charlotte. While bunking there, he noted the plight of single mother employee Leigh (Kirsten Dunst) under her strict manager Mitch (Peter Dinklage).

It was amazing to find out that this new film was loosely based on the criminal activity of a real-life convicted robber named Jeffrey Manchester who escaped prison and actually hid out in a toy store. Throughout its 126 minute run time, writer-director Derek Cianfrance brought us from tearful family drama to violent crime action, which can be jarring. All the while, he still kept things light with an overall comedy flavor, given the toy store setting, the holiday motif, and Peter Dinklage playing Grumpy.

Despite the light general mood, playing Jeffrey Manchester was a tough vehicle for Channing Tatum as an actor, both physically and emotionally. Despite the illegal activities he had perpetrated, Tatum's Jeff remained likable enough that we may even hope he can get away with his crimes and live happily ever after with Leigh. Tatum channeled the vibes of Leonardo di Caprio's Frank Abagnale in "Catch Me If You Can" (2002), but with less sophistication. 7/10

GOOD FORTUNE

Director: Aziz Ansari

Writer: Aziz Ansari

Gabriel (Keanu Reeves) was a lowly angel with small wings, only assigned to alert people who text while driving to prevent accidents. One day, he saves the life of Arj (Aziz Ansari) and was drawn to monitor his unlucky life, taking in any odd jobs just to earn a living. Arj was down and out when lost his PA job with wealthy IT guy Jeff (Seth Rogan). Gabriel sincerely wanted to help Arj work find his own worth, so he broke the angel rules and revealed himself.

Frankly, when I first saw Keanu Reeves with tiny angel wings at the back, I thought this would be childishly corny. However, once I got into its groove in the first act, I was surely get hooked in by Reeve's disarming and delightful aw-shucks innocent charm. Even if he sported the same grim John Wick facial hair here, Reeves' performance as Gabriel was truly endearing, especially in those scenes where he was like a little boy being reprimanded by his superior Martha (Sandra Oh). 

Writer-director Aziz Aznari also stars as Arj in an underdog role that we can all identify with, yet this character definitely also had flaws. Arj may have been a victim at first, but turned out to be quite a jerk himself when the tables were turned. Seth Rogan's Jeff could easily had been the typical heartless rich guy here, but we could see that he was also a good man within. Keke Palmer was charming as labor advocate Elena, Arj's inspiration. 7/10

Review of WALONG LIBONG PISO: A Prickly Price to Pay

October 23, 2025

In 2007, Dante Balboa (Paolo Gumabao) was an up-and-coming actor starring in sexy films produced by Seiko Films with titles like "Karelasyon" and "Kasiping."  He had already received an award for his acting for his very first film. He was regularly being interviewed in TV talk shows. He regularly interacted with his fans online on Friendster. One night, while resting in his room after coming home from a guesting in a TV dance show, Dante received a call on his mobile phone from a fan, a lawyer named Rommel (Edward Solon). 

This film was basically a performance of the original play first staged just last August, caught on camera -- only one actor in one room for an hour and a half straight. Before we reached the main point of the story, first, we had to endure Dante's preening for his mirror, taking a cold shower, macho dancing, watching TV, chatting with his manager, or shouting to his mother. Several scenes were gratuitously sexualized, a queasy watch, definitely not for everyone. Anyhow, the nostalgic references to 2007 -- the bar phones, Friendster, The Buzz, etc. -- were fun to watch. 

Paolo Gumabao was the first actor to play Dante in the stage version, so he should already this part like the back of his hand. But since Dr. Balboa decided to shoot his debut feature in a single long continuous shot, Gumabao also had to get his blockings perfect, especially with his daring scenes. Kudos should also go to Edward Solon, the actor playing Atty. Rommel Gonzaga over the phone, as it was his good-natured and engaging voice that drew Dante in and got his trust. Despite the call being interrupted several times, Dante simply got hooked.

This film began with a disclaimer that any similarities between the characters and events of this film in real life are purely coincidental. However, exactly like the "fictional" Dante, Dr. Dante Balboa (2 PhD degrees -- one in Philippine Literature and one for Tourism and Hospitality) was also actually a professor at FEU in 2007 under his real name Elmer Anisco while also starring in sexy films in the aughts, thus earning him the nickname "The Educated Hunk." We see three movie posters of the real Dante Balboa on the walls of this bedroom. 

Because of this association, it would be fair to surmise that this "fictional" experience of Dante could likely be a real-life experience of Dr. Balboa as a young bold actor caught in the glare of the klieg lights, ripe to be victimized by unscrupulous predators. With his script, Balboa was basically criticizing the superficiality and hypocrisy that was rampant in Philippine showbiz, at least during his time at the turn of the millennium. He also took aim at his own foolishness and carelessness in order to give aspiring actors a fair warning about the blinding lure of fame. 4/10