Review of EMILIA PEREZ: Tale of Total Transformation

February 28, 2025

Juan “Manitas” Del Monte  (Karla Sofia Gascon) was a notorious druglord in the ganglands of Mexico. Unknown to everyone, including his wife Jessi (Selena Gomez) and sons, he had long harbored a desire to become a woman. One day, he hired the services of a lawyer Rita Mora Castro (Zoe Saldana) to arrange for Manitas to "die," undergo gender reconstruction surgery and emerge as a woman, who called herself Emilia Perez. 

This film (described as a "musical crime comedy") was mainly in the Spanish language, but it is a French production, written and directed by acclaimed French filmmaker Jacques Audiard. It had already won were the Jury Prize at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival where it premiered, and the Best Film Musical or Comedy and Best Foreign Language Film at the Golden Globe awards earlier this month. It is the entry of France at the Oscars as well.

"Emilia Perez" will be remembered for the unique joint victory as Cannes Best Actress of its four main actresses -- Gascon, Saldana, Gomez and Adriana Paz (as grieving mother Epifania). Even more remarkable is the fact that Karla Sophia Gascon is the first transgender actress to win this prize. She also makes history as the first transgender to be nominated for Best Actress at the Golden Globes, SAG, and likely, the Oscars.

Karla Sophia Gascon portrayed Emilia before and after surgery. Having undergone this transition herself in real life, her performance is likely guided by her personal experiences. Selena Gomez felt out of place as the betrayed wife Jessi, in both her young looks and uncomfortable delivery of Spanglish lines. Zoe Saldana was solid as resourceful lawyer Rita, who also sang the most critical song "El Mal" about political corruption.

While the decision of a male crime boss to transform into a trans-female philanthropist makes an interesting story, it seemed too simplistic in its portrayal of the complex process. Audiard's decision to make this story a musical was very bizarre. The breathy singing was not very good, the songs and tunes were not particularly memorable. The best song for me was the simplest  --innocent "Papa" sung by Emilia's son about how she smelled like his late father. 6/10

Review of SEPSIS: Pernicious Parental Plight

February 27, 2025

Piggery employee Presencio (Romm Burlat) lived with his blind wife Dolores (Leonora Carinaga) in the slums of the city. Kids are frightened of him as they usually see him walking around at night carrying a big sack. In the mornings, he would hire the services of a young neighbor Otep (Ron Macapagal), who owned a cart to carry his loads. Otep only knew about the slop to feed pigs, but Otep never knew what was inside the other heavy sack. 

Otep had a prostitute sister Clara (Faye Tangonan) who was psychologically cruel with him. She went around with her pimp Mamu (Malayang Alagad) and fellow whores, Roda (Marinel San Pedro) and newbie Magda (Mika Mijares). Her frequent customer was Badong (Tonz Are), who was physically cruel with his gay brother Iking (uncredited). There was also another neighbor Mitoy (James Marco), who was more compassionate to Presencio.

Writer-director-cinematographer-editor Marvin Gabas opened this film with random shots of bloody items, dead insects and bizarre closeups of an eye. These eerie shots were accompanied by a soundtrack of spine-tingling grunts, creepy moans, banging doors and clattering metal. This was a strong opening sequence that effectively set up the unsettling mood for the rest of this film. Scenes of food and eating were made to feel disgusting.  

Act 1 already revealed what kind of horror Presencio perpetrated, and that his religious wife Dolores was compelled to abet it. However, we never really know the reason why they were doing these unsavory dastardly acts, until it was revealed almost at the very end.  In between, we see another kind of horror -- that of cruelty that existed in human communities against disadvantaged groups, like the misfits, the mentally-challenged and the LGBTQ. 

Like many indies, the film quality was grainy, production design was crude and some slow scenes need streamlining. The acting was uneven, tending to either be too over-the-top, or too self-conscious. About the story, questions range from "How an adult corpse can fit into that plastic sack?" to "What disease had that unique dietary requirement?"  The budget constraints are obvious, but Gabas tried his best with some innovative camera angles and sound design.  

Review of THE CARETAKERS: Encroaching on Elementals

February 27, 2025

Audrey (Iza Calzado) brought her daughters Ali (Ashley Sarmiento) and Agatha (Erin Espiritu) to an old house located in a remote forested area near a spring. This was a property that her husband Ed had inherited from his family. Ed spent months on his business trips to Baltimore, and Ali blamed her mother for driving him away from them.  Audrey had invited her friends James (Jake Taylor) and Liv (Inka Magnaye) to check the property out with her that day.

Since Ed's relatives who used to live there were all dead, the property was being maintained by caretaker Lydia (Dimples Romana). She was a widow with three children -- Gani (Marco Masa), Pepin (Erika Clemente) and the autistic youngest child Nita (Althea Ruedas). When Audrey noted several talismans hanging at the windows, Lydia told her how the whole property was being inhabited by "ancient beings" which they needed to respect. 

The last film Shugo Praico wrote and directed was the MMFF thriller "Nanahimik ang Gabi" (2022) for which he earned good reviews. Praico was better known for being a writer - especially for TV dramas involving children as lead character, like "May Bukas Pa" (2009), "100 Days to Heaven" (2011) and "Nathaniel" (2015). Praico co-wrote "The Caretakers" with John Carlo Pacala, who also co-wrote the acclaimed "Bagman" series (2019) with him.

The premise of "The Caretakers" was actually quite interesting, and its advocacy for humans to respect and care for Mother Earth was loud and clear. The way Praico interwove aspects of local folk beliefs and recognition of indigenous traditional grounds to the cold urban lifestyle of millennials and the melodramatic twists of Audrey's family issues was compelling, in their jarring contrast when laid out side by side with each other. 

Iza Calzado and Dimples Romana, being the reliable veterans that they are, played off each other very well as Audrey and Lydia face off with their conflicting intentions. There were some illogicalities which were easy to forgive, like how seemingly unschooled Lydia and kids were able to understand the English of Audrey and kids. But the main problem for me was the confusing ending -- what exactly was the final message of Earth mother Mayang there? 7/10

Review of A COMPLETE UNKNOWN: Dylan's Deliverance

February 27, 2025

In 1961, 19 year-old Bob Dylan (Timothee Chalamet) from Hibbing, Minnesota arrived in Greenwich Village, New York City to meet his musical idol Woody Guthrie (Scoot McNairy) who was then confined in Greystone Hospital. A fellow folk musician Pete Seeger (Edward Norton) was also visiting his close friend by the time Dylan arrived that night. After he heard Bob sing "Song to Woody," Seeger took him in and introduced him around town.

As he slowly made his name in the big city, Bob met a rising female folk singer Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro) and her manager Albert Grossman (Dan Folger), who also became his manager. Bob met Sylvie Russo (Elle Fanning) at a church concert. They enjoyed interesting discussions ranging from movies to politics, until they moved in together as a couple. However, she was annoyed that Bob was hesitant to reveal anything about his past.

Confession: I did not know anything about Bob Dylan until he was one of the featured singers on "We are the World" in 1985. Even then, I was not a fan of his style of singing so I never really delved further into his past discography. I still do not know much about him and his career up to now. If it wasn't for the multiple awards (Picture, Director, 3 Actors) for which it was nominated for at the Oscars, I may not even go out of my way to watch this movie. 

Now that I have seen for myself what the buzz was all about, I consider myself a fan of this film's star -- its musical soundtrack. This was specially true when I read that Chalamet, Norton, Barbaro, and Boyd Holbrook (as Johnny Cash) all recorded their songs live (not pre-recorded). Since I've seen the film yesterday, I have already streamed the soundtrack album on Spotify at least two times already and enjoying the whole 60s folk vibe.

Coming from "Dune 2" and "Wonka," Chalamet displayed more range as an actor here as Bob Dylan. Aside from nailing the dramatic moments, it was doubly amazing how he got Bob's spoken voice, distinctive speak-sing style, even his frenetic guitar playing. His versions of classics "The Times They Are a-Changing" and "Like a Rolling Stone" (where the title phrase came from) were impeccable. He actually has a good chance of winning the Best Actor Oscar.

I first knew of Monica Barbaro from "Top Gun Maverick" (2022). Her nomination as Best Supporting Actress was said to be a surprise, but it was totally well-deserved. Her portrayal of Joan Baez was earthy and sultry, no wonder Bob was entranced and Sylvie was driven mad with jealousy. Her cover of "House of the Rising Sun" had me under her spell. The harmonies they had in duets "Blowin' in the Wind" and "It Ain't Me Babe" blended so well. 

Edward Norton already had 3 Oscar nominations before this one -- for his film debut "Primal Fear" (1996), "American History X" (1998), and "Birdman" (2015). Norton embodied Seeger's kindness, generosity, and his conflict between traditional and electric folk music. He surprised me with his high tenor when he sang "Wimoweh" (the chant in "The Lion Sleeps Tonight") and well as harmonizing skills in his duet with Bob "When the Ship Comes In." 

The film followed a traditional biopic formula so I am not sure James Mangold's nominations for Direction and Adapted Screenplay (with Jay Cocks) has a chance to win. Instead of the nomination for Costume Design, I would have nominated it in Production Design, for its meticulous recreation of the 1960s Greenwich Village scene. It best chances to win an Oscar would be in the Sound category, but "Dune 2" and "Wicked" are too strong. 9/10

Review of THE BRUTALIST: Architectural Abuse

February 25, 2025

Separated from his wife Erzebet (Felicity Jones) and niece Zsofia (Raffey Cassidy) during World War II in Hungary, Jewish Holocaust survivor László Tóth (Adrien Brody) was able to board a ship bound for the United States. He connected with his cousin Attila (Alessandro Nivola), and helped out with his furniture business in Philadelphia, Miller and Sons, by designing his own unique style of furniture with metallic supports. 

This led him to be commissioned by Harry (Joe Alwyn) to renovate his father's study into a library as a surprise. However, when the father -- industrialist Harrison Lee Van Buren (Guy Pearce) -- came home earlier than expected and saw them working, the elder man was incensed at them for "tearing up" his house. Laszlo was fired and ordered to leave at once, without being paid the $2000 agreed upon for materials and services.

This 215-minute epic biographical film is the third feature film directed by former actor Brady Corbet. It told about the roller-coaster life experiences of noted Hungarian architect Laszlo Toth and how this immigrant rose from nothing to achieve his American dream -- a story that spanned 33 years. The film started with an Overture, then was told into two parts ("The Enigma of Arrival" and "The Hard Core of Beauty"), plus an Epilogue. There was even a 15-minute intermission, like other epic films of Hollywood's Golden Age.

Adrien Brody's László Tóth really went through a gamut of mental torment and drug abuse, the stuff Best Actor awards are made of. Felicity Jones was practically a co-lead in the second half as Toth's strong-willed supportive wife. Their strong accents and prideful psyches may occasionally be off-putting, but Brody and Jones fully embodied their talents and flaws. Guy Pearce finally gets nominated for an Oscar as Harrison Van Buren, a handsome and charming Anglo-Saxon aristocrat with a shocking perversion of superiority within. 

The title word "Brutalist" refers to the architectural style that Toth espoused. This style was no-frills and non-nostalgic, with simple straight lines, angular shapes, minimalist constructions, unpainted or monochrome colors. This likely also referred to the brutality Toth had experienced during World War 2 and in America, worse at the hands of people whom he thought were his friends and benefactors. The Vista Vision cinematography, musical score, and production design of this film also reflected this imposing and heavy spirit. 7/10

Review of THE ROOM NEXT DOOR: Mission of Mercy

February 20, 2025

While on a book signing event, best-selling novelist Ingrid (Julianne Moore) learned some bad news about her friend Martha (Tilda Swinton), with whom she had not had contact for a long time. Ingrid visited Martha at the hospital right away and learned that she was suffering from terminal stage cervical cancer and was about to undergo some experimental treatment options. Since that first visit, Ingrid rekindled her closeness with her old friend. 

One day, Martha confessed to Ingrid that she wanted to take charge of her life and she has decided to end it. She was able to secure euthanasia pills from a shady online source. She was not afraid of death, but like the other times she faced death as a wartime journalist, she did not want to be alone.  She wanted Ingrid to keep her company in a house in the countryside which she had rented, until she felt ready to do the deed. Will Ingrid do it?

This film is the very first full-length film written and directed by Spanish auteur Pedro Almodovar in the English language. It is adapted from the 2020 novel of American author Sigrid Nunez entitled "What Are You Going Through." Almodovar likes to paint vivid portraits of complex female characters in his films, and he did so again with this new one. People who have followed Almodovar's filmography will definitely feel the lack of dark comedy here.

 The topic of assisted suicide is not a topic that will go down easy with everyone, particularly audiences in Catholic countries. In fact, the film acknowledged this taboo against one character and his religion when he considered this act to be of a criminal nature. With the tender sentimentality with which this sensitive topic was broached in the film, Almodovar makes his position about this controversy clearly understood. 

Julianne Moore was believable as caring good friend Ingrid, radiating sincerity in her open-mindedness, compassion and courage.  Martha, with all her detailed stories, philosophical reflections and meticulous instructions, was a bit of a departure from the usually stoic and mysterious Tilda Swinton character in her other movies. That final casting twist for Martha's estranged daughter Michelle was terribly awkward bad idea.  7/10. 

Review of MANANAMBAL: Ritualistic Revenge

February 19, 2025

Lucia (Nora Aunor) was an elderly traditional healer who resided in Sitio Cambugahay, located in the mystical island province of Siquijor. She lived with her daughter Alma (Bianca Umali), who was expected to inherit her mother's practice, but she never told anyone else that she had other dreams in mind. One day, a video showing Lucia healing a possessed young man was posted online on social media which soon became viral. 

Meanwhile, back in Metro Manila, a group of party-boy vloggers were watching Lucia's video while drinking in a bar. Hungry for more followers, they went to Siquijor to interview Lucia for their #WitchHunt project. They were: former basketball player Riley (Edgar Allen Guzman), wealthy playboy Wade (Jeric Gonzales), their moody video editor Liam (Kelvin Miranda) and their effeminate cameraman Ethan (Martin Escudero).   

Of course, National Artist for Film Nora Aunor is main reason why people are going to watch this film. Her face had been deglamorized with dark blemishes on her right forehead and eyelids. Lucia was a stoic person of few words, so Aunor's expressive eyes were as intense and captivating as ever as they conveyed her inner turmoil. She did not even need to utter a single word when she banished the evil spirit in that first scene.  

Sharing the lead with Aunor was Bianca Umali, whom I am seeing onscreen for the first time. Her Alma also kept her thoughts and aspirations to herself, mostly just silently watching her mother at work or swimming by herself at the waterfalls. As a wide-eyed province girl, Alma wanted to see the world beyond the island, only to suffer for her naive curiosity. Umali held her own acting-wise, especially in that final scene of Alma with Lucia.

As for the vloggers, they were portrayed as worldly, selfish, irresponsible and rude. EA Guzman and Jeric Gonzales had that "player" energy on full blast as Riley and Wade. Martin Escudero's Ethan felt out of place in that gang. It was Kelvin Miranda who was given bigger acting moments as the more sensitive Liam. He was stuck editing videos for the other more popular boys only because he needed a free place to live in the city. 

This was a very familiar story about revenge with a supernatural twist, which was also really not new.  The way director Adolfo Alix told this story was messy and disorganized, with several scenes that either went nowhere, or just came out from out of the blue. There were red herring scenes to obfuscate who was doing the revenge, then Alix had to repeat the kill scenes all over to spoon-feed the audience as if they were not smart enough to figure it out. 

I would have preferred if Alix had focused on the conflict between Lucia and Alma.  When Alma experienced pain as Lucia was healing the voodooed boy, I thought that final showdown would be a battle between mother and daughter -- the power of benevolent healing against the power of wrathful revenge. Unfortunately, it did not happen that way, and instead we get an illogical shock ending. Alix wasted the elegant tragedy of that charged situation, and the talents of his actresses as well. 5/10. 

VMX: Mini-Reviews of HIRAM NA SANDALI, SPONSOR, BELYAS

February 13, 2025

HIRAM NA SANDALI

Director: GB Sampedro

Writer: Marvic Kevin Reyes

It has been seven years since exes Ester (Dyessa Garcia) and Kris (Vince Rillon) had parted ways. Ester is now the owner of her own laundry shop and married to Charles (Aerol Carmelo). Kris is now a licensed engineer and married to Anne (Denise Estrada). However, every year Ester and Kris would meet at the grave of their late favorite pet dog, Pochi, where they caught up on each other's lives, and continue their reunion in a hotel room. 

The whole premise of this film about ex-partners still meeting annually to celebrate their late pet's death anniversary is rather silly and frivolous, but at the same time, it was also rather a sweet idea. Dyessa Garcia is pretty of face and a capable actress. It was odd why Denise Estrada's Anne seemed so strong yet gave up so easily. Whenever Vince Rillon or Aerol Carmelo plays someone's husband, you just knew he could not control himself from having a sideline.  5/10

SPONSOR

Director: Albert S. Langitan

Writer: Albert S. Langitan

Model / bit actress Jasmine (Angela Morena) and topnotch student Elise (Micaella Raz) were sisters who took care of their invalid father Narding (Bobby Martino). When their father had to be rushed to the hospital, her friend Danna (Krista Miller) introduced Jasmine to a sponsor. When Elise ran short of tuition money, her classmate Allaine (Jem Milton) also introduced her to a sponsor. They had the same sponsor -- Marcus (Mon Confiado). 

Veteran character actor Mon Confiado makes a daring debut as a VMX stud as a wealthy playboy who cannot get his fill of pretty girls. He seemed to have no qualms about baring it all, just like any of the much younger guys, like co-star Van Allen Ong (who played Jasmine's suitor Aries). Real-life sisters Angela Morena and Micaella Raz deliver on their characters well, despite how badly contrived their stories were written.  5/10

BELYAS

Director: GB Sampedro

Writer: Marvic Kevin Reyes

Ever since pastry chef Josefa (Audrey Avila) married public school teacher Ian (Matthew Francisco), he never allowed her to go out of the house or practice her profession. He mocked her deficient intellect, and only trusting her to manage the house next door which they rented out. The latest tenants were partner physical therapists, Vilma (Denise Esteban) and Ara (Dani Yoshida), who advised Josefa not to allow herself to be abused by her husband. 

Audrey Avila's portrayal of abused housewife Josefa was limited to looking haggard and acting like a limp rag. Matthew Francisco's Ian was one of those ultraconservative men who still thought that a woman's place is only at home, quite one-dimensionally antagonistic though.  As the concerned tenants, Esteban and Yoshida represent feministic values of independence and empowerment among women, an advocacy VMX frequently promotes, even if it can feel ironic. 5/10

VMX: Mini-Reviews of TEACHER'S PET, LAS ILUSYUNADAS, HALIMUYAK

February 13, 2025

TEACHER'S PET

Director: Sigrid Polon 

Writer: Sigrid Polon

Our Lady of Victory high school student Robin Castro (Gold Aceron) had a serious crush on his favorite, ever-smiling Teacher Tanya (Alice Dy), who politely rebuffed his bold advances. One night, he stumbled upon Ms. Tanya making out with the class president and potential valedictorian Kyla Marie Sanchez (Micaella Raz). He took a video of their lovemaking, and blackmailed her into inviting him into her house to pay up. 

Again, Gold Aceron plays yet another horny teenager here, a role he has likely mastered from his repeated portrayals in various VMX films before this. Alice Dy looked very pretty, but her acting was too stiff. It would have been educational to see how teachers can discourage unwanted attraction from their students, but instead Polon chose to send the wrong message and allowed Tanya to accept and therefore fall victim to Robin's blackmail ploy.  2/10

LAS ILUSYUNADAS

Director: Roman Perez, Jr. 

Writer: Ronald Batallones

It was the early 1980s and the military was engaged in a never-ending armed conflict with the NPA rebels. One day, two widows Emma (Jenn Rosa) and Sandra (Angeline Aril) met each other in the cemetery and became friends as they mourn their lost loves. Emma was visiting the grave of her husband Roy Martinez (JC Tan), who was a former rebel.  Sandra was visiting the grave of her husband Lito Santos (JD Aguas), who was a soldier. 

Ever since I first saw her, I thought that Jenn Rosa was one of the prettier VMX girls who knew how to act. However, that huge tattoo on her entire left upper arm was just too dark and distracting. Since this was a period film, and she was playing an NPA rebel, Rosa had to wear a prosthetic burn scar (not too nice-looking) on her to cover that tattoo. Interesting non-linear storytelling by cult director Roman Perez, with good cinematography and musical score. 6/10

HALIMUYAK

Director: Bobby Bonifacio, Jr. 

Writer: Mariane D. Maddawat and Shaira Santiago

Divine (Skye Gonzaga) owned Heaven Scent, a boutique selling perfumes that she formulated herself. She was an independent woman who only wanted her male friend Nathan (Carlo Lacana) for sex, but not for a serious relationship. One day, Mikee (Christy Imperial), a young girl from a nearby condo wandered into her shop, and they soon became close friends. Mikee shared that she was not in good terms with her father Jerry (Chester Grecia). 

There was a lesbian theme that ran through all the films in this set. Skye Gonzaga looked  classy, just right for the perfumer - businessman that Divine was. It was not too clear how or why she fell for Christy Imperial's Mikee, who seemed like a bratty and aloof teenager, certainly not to the level of Divine's sophistication. Anyhow, that little twist that Maddawat and Santiago squeezed in the third act was a satisfying surprise. 5/10

VMX: Mini-Reviews of SECRET SESSIONS, BOY KALDAG, MAMA'S BOY

February 13, 2025

SECRET SESSIONS

Director: Joel Ferrer

Writer: Joel Ferrer

Therapist Eric (Nico Locco) was having a thriving career. He was also about to get married to his girlfriend Kate (Alona Navarro).  Eric's best friend Aaron (JC Tan) was very excited preparing for the bachelor's party, even if he knew that Eric was a recovering sex addict. One day, Kate referred her new officemate Cara (Athena Red) new hire, who was having a hard time coping with her recent breakup with her old boss. 

I thought this film features Nico Locco's best acting performance in a VMX film. His past performances had not been good. Here, Locco was more subtle, letting his eyes do a lot of the acting. Athena Red surprisingly did quite well in her restrained first seduction scene with Locco. Unfortunately, she eventually betrayed her thespic limitations in her wretched final confrontation scene across a gun-toting Alona Navarro. 5/10

BOY KALDAG

Director: Roman Perez, Jr. 

Screenplay: Ronald Perez

For her podcast "Sssshhh!," porno actress Salome Salvi interviewed Kaldag King, Dax Dakila (Benz Sangalang), renowned for his giant package. He talked about his childhood raised by his Tia Dolor (Rubi Rubi) and the problems he experienced with teacher Paloma (Angeli Khang), neighbor Amanda (Aya Alfonso), bus passenger Lineth (Azi Acosta), classmate Alexa (Lea Bernabe), and his biggest crush Bettina (Dyessa Garcia).

In a departure from his usual dramas, this latest project of cult director Roman Perez was a silly sex comedy.  He got plenty of VMX stars (notably Khang, Garcia, and even Ayanna Misola) to play women Dax got involved with. It was a cute idea to crossover to Acosta's Lineth in Perez's own "Pamasahe," in some sort of multiverse. Funny how Chad Solano and Jero Flores played sidekicks Scottie and Rodman (Direk is likely a Bulls fan).  6/10

MAMA'S BOY

Director: Piem Acero

Headwriter: Jessi Lopez

Writer Gelo Catanio

Glenn (Victor Relosa) hated his father Mauro (Josh Ivan Morales) because he blamed him for causing his mother's suicide. Mauro came home from Riyadh to stay with them for three weeks and his Lola Naty (Marijoy Cacho) advised him to try to get along with his father. Mauro brought with him his new wife Lorraine (Sahara Bernales), which annoyed Glenn. One day, she brought in her sister Leilani (Stephanie Raz) to stay with her, annoying Glenn more. 

This yearend release features the best acting performance of Victor Relosa. He sported a neater, more clean-cut look here, different from his usual grungy look. Relosa already showed off a broader acting range earlier this year in "Rita" and "Maharot," and he continues his hot streak here. The writer of "Mama's Boy" saved a good 11th hour twist, a scene which Relosa absolutely nailed down to cap his best movie of the year.  6/10

Review of EX EX LOVERS: Of Malta and Marriage

February 13, 2025

Ten years ago, bank employee Joy was left behind by her husband Cedric (Marvin Agustin) to work abroad and he never came back. Since then, she had to raise their only daughter SC (Loisa Andalio) by herself. One Valentine's Day, SC's boyfriend Joey (Juan Karlos) proposed marriage to her and she accepted, much to Joy's shock and dismay. To make things worse, SC told Joy that she wanted Cedric to come home and walk her down the aisle. 

Cedric just so happened to be working in Valetta, the capital city of the European island nation of Malta, so that was where director JP Habac took us for a short tour around this new unique location. Aside from the scenic natural beauty and its rich aristocratic architecture, Habac also showed us how OFWs worked their hands to the bone over there, juggling one menial housekeeping job after the other, much like OFWs do any other country in the world. 

As expected, there were a lot of cutesy jokes between Jolina Magdangal and Marvin Agustin for their fans' thrill and entertainment. The delightful chemistry between the two stars was effortless, genuine and sincere, even if the circumstances between their characters were less than ideal. However, the waterworks are turned on in the final act when they showcase their dramatic chops in full gear in serious scenes so well-written by Antoinette Jadaone. 

Figuring prominently in Jadaone's script is a streak of woman empowerment, addressing important issues among the female millennial and Gen Z part of their audience. Repeatedly mentioned was how women were disadvantaged in broken marriages -- how they are trapped with the surname, and how there was no divorce as a way out. This point was made quite emphatically in that dinner scene with antagonistic ultraconservatives. 

This film is also a reunion for their co-stars in the teen series "Gimik" which ran every Saturday afternoon from June 1996 to February 1999 -- namely Judy Ann Santos and Mylene Dizon (who played Joy's best friends), as well as Dominic Ochoa and G Toengi (who played Joey's wealthy parents). Clearly, fans of this show are this film's target audience for its nostalgia. I haven't seen a single episode of Gimik, but I still enjoyed watching this. 8/10

Review of CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD: Sense of Secondariness

February 12, 2025

The new Captain America Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) and the new Falcon Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez) were able to thwart Sidewinder (Giancarlo Esposito) from selling a metal sample to an unknown buyer. They were invited to the White House by new US President Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford) to be recognized. Sam asked his friend Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly) to come along. An assassination attempt just happened from out of nowhere.

This is the first Captain America film not starring Chris Evans as Captain America. Casual viewers may be surprised to see Anthony Mackie as Captain America here. "Avengers: End Game" (2019) ended with a scene of an elderly Steve Rogers passing on his shield to Sam Wilson. Wilson's transition from Falcon into Captain America was further detailed in a six-episode series on Disney+ series called "Falcon and the Winter Soldier" (2021).

This latest Marvel film brings back characters from "The Incredible Hulk" (2008). Thaddeus Ross (then played by William Hurt) was a US Army general who wanted to weaponize the Hulk, the gamma-radiation induced form of Dr. Bruce Banner (then played by Edward Norton), the boyfriend of Ross's daughter Betty (Liv Tyler). Dr. Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson) was a cell biologist contaminated by Banner's blood, mutating him into a deformed genius.

We met Ross again in "Captain America: Civil War" (2016) when he was the US Secretary of State who was then pushing for the signing of the Sokovia Accords, an issue about superhero regulation that divided the Avengers. Sam Wilson was then the Falcon, who allied himself behind Captain America Steve Rogers, who was against regulation. Ross was the one who incarcerated team Cap in the Raft, a prison that also makes an appearance in this sequel. 

Now Ross is the new president of the United States and his first priority was to push for the approval of a treaty between Japan, India and France about a special newly-discovered metal. Since original actor William Hurt passed away in 2022, Harrison Ford has taken over the role of Ross for this latest film that brought the arc of this character in full circle. The general who once hunted the Hulk has now become a Hulk himself, albeit a Red one.

The first two acts of this film felt very much like a continuation of the "Falcon and the Winter Soldier" TV series because of its tone of political intrigue. A controversial US President faced scrutiny abroad, while Sam was trying to deduce who the mastermind was. Things only blew up to full cinematic scale in Act 3 when the Red Hulk made his appearance and threw a major destructive tantrum that destroyed landmarks of Washington D.C. 

Anthony Mackie may be adequate to star in a TV series, but on the big screen, he did not seem to have enough charisma to become Captain America following Chris Evans' iconic and beloved portrayal. Viewers not familiar of these secondary Marvel characters may not really find the story too interesting. There was no mid-credits scene, but there was a post-credit scene, but that felt disappointing as it had no explosive hints to drop. 6/10. 

Review of CELLS AT WORK (2025): Heartwarming Hematology

February 6, 2025

AE3803 (Mei Nagano) is a newly-commissioned Red Blood Cell, whose duty was to carry oxygen from the lungs to bring to different parts of the body. Since she was still a newbie, she still had difficulty following the complex map around the blood vessels of the body, and frequently got lost in her delivery routes. Fortunately, a White Blood Cell Neutrophil U-1146 (Takeru Satoh) was always around to defend her from potential harm.

AE3803 and U-1146 were blood cells in the body of Niko Urushizaki (Mana Ashida), a high school student who was planning to take up medicine in the future. She had a crush on a senior student Shin (Seishirô Katô). Since her mother passed away since she was a child, she had been taking care of her father Shigeru (Sadao Abe), a truck driver who was careless with his diet and his vices, like drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes. 

"Cells at Work" was originally a manga series written and illustrated by Akane Shimizu which ran from 2015 to 2021. It was then adapted into an anime series with two seasons (21 episodes) which ran from 2018 to 2021. This anime series is currently streaming on Netflix Philippines now. It had a spinoff manga and anime series called "Cells at Work: Code Black," whose storyline was also incorporated in this live action movie version. 

Viewers with a background in the health and medical sciences will enjoy watching the blood cells they learned about in their hematology lectures come to vibrant life in this movie. Aside from the RBC and the neutrophil WBC, we also meet Macrophage (Wakana Matsumoto), Helper T-cell (Shôta Sometani), Killer T-Cell (Wataru Ichinose), Natural Killer Cell (Riisa Naka), and all those cute delightful little girls representing the Platelets. 

With these blood cells, we see how the pathophysiology of how the body sneezes, repairs wounds, responds to radio- and chemo- therapy, etc. We also see how our body defenses fight their bacterial enemies, like Streptococcus pyogenes (Shinya Niiro),  Staphylococcus aureus (Maju Ozawa), and Pneumococcus (Ainosuke Kataoka). There were also more calamitous situations caused by viruses and by abnormal WBCs with maturation arrest. 

The segment with the most darkly comic tension was that one when Shigeru suddenly felt the urge to go to the toilet while driving. Practically everyone has had this very uncomfortable situation happen to them in real life, so watching this whole scenario unfold onscreen from the point of view of Shigeru in traffic, the cells in the anal sphincter, the RBC caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, and even the corn kernels he just ate, was such a hilarious riot. 

"Cells at Work" was not only fun to watch, but at the same time, it was educational as it described key bodily processes in the most imaginative ways. Charismatic lead actors Nagano and Satoh (the lead actor in "Ruoroni Kenshin") captured their animated characters to a T.  Adding Ashida and Abe as the persons in whom the cells resided was a great idea, as it gave this film a more heart-warming and emotionally-richer dimension. 8/10