Review of THUNDERBOLTS*: Unintended Union

April 29, 2025

CIA Director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfuss) was being impeached by the US Congress. In order to eliminate all evidence of her shenanigans, she separately ordered her hired mercenaries -- Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), John Walker (Wyatt Russell) and Antonia Dreykov (Olga Kurilenko) -- to proceed to one place for a mission. It dawned on them that Valentina wanted them to kill each other. 

The characters of this film were anti-heroes. They were flawed entities all had super-abilities but were laden with sad backstories and heavy mental health issues. They were lonely loners who were ready to kill or be killed. They certainly did not consider themselves to be heroic. Yet here they are, thrown together by cruel circumstance and forced to work with each other, using each others' strengths in order to get out of a situation that meant sure death. 

Later, there were two more characters who share the same anti-hero storyline who will join them. Yelena's father figure Alexei Shostakov (David Harbour) had been reduced to driving a limousine for a living, missing the action he once had as the Red Guardian. Former Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) was now a congressman of the United States, a political position he was able to gain despite his shady violent past brainwashed by Hydra. 

And then there was the mysterious Bob (Lewis Pullman). He just suddenly showed up at the same place with the others, dressed only in pajamas, seemingly just an ordinary chap. No one knew who he was, not even Valentina herself.  Who Bob was and how he gained the impressive superpowers was one of the major storylines of this film. He fit right into this misfit group with his innate negativity which would evolve into a terrifying Void. 

Except for Bob, the others had been side-characters in prior MCU films and series. Of course, Bucky Barnes was the most well-known, as Steve Rogers' best friend in "Captain America: The First Avenger" (2011). Yelena, Alexei and Antonia were introduced in "Black Widow" (2021). Ghost was first seen in "Ant-Man and the Wasp" (2018). John Walker and Valentina Allegria de Fontaine debuted in Disney+ series "Falcon and the Winter Soldier" (2021). While not really that essential, your viewing would be better if you were familiar to you.

The overall mood was sad and dark, but writers Eric Pearson and Joanna Calo incorporate much wit and humor in the lines to balance things out. Director Jack Schreier's last feature film was "Paper Towns" (2015) and this is his first MCU project (and third film overall), but he felt like a seasoned veteran the way he handled the delicate subject matter of mental health and integrated this into the action-packed superhero genre.  There were fun energetic CGI-heavy sequences, but the emotional connection with broken characters remain felt and potent. 8/10

P.S. Stay to the end to see what that asterisk in the title is really all about. There is one mid-credits scene and another one at the very end of the closing credits. 

Review of SINNERS: Mesmerizing Musicality

 April 20, 2025

In 1932, Sammie (Miles Caton), nicknamed "Preacher Boy" because his father was the pastor of the local church, joined his older cousins, a pair of twin brothers nicknamed Smoke and Stack (Michael B. Jordan). They had just come back to their Mississipi hometown with a stash of cash they gained after working for gangsters in Chicago. They wanted to open the best juke joint in their area, and Sammie was going to be their guitar-player and singer. 

They recruited liquor-loving Delta Slim (Delroy Lindo) to play piano, Chinese shopkeepers Bo and Grace (Yao and Li Jun Li) for the supplies, and big guy Cornbread (Omar Benson Miller) to be their doorman. Smoke's estranged wife Annie (Wunmi Mosaku) was the cook. Stack's ex-girlfriend Mary (Hailee Steinfeld) was still sore for being abandoned. Sammie met a sultry blues singer Pearline (Jaymie Lawson) on whom he had a big crush. 

Writer-director Ryan Coogler certainly took his time in telling his story. The entire first hour was spent on building this world of the Moore twins Smoke and Stack, introducing them and all the characters around them, so that we will care about what happens to them in the second half of the film.  At first, we needed clues to distinguish the twins -- Smoke wore a blue beret, while Stack wore a red fedora. Later, Jordan made sure we could tell which twin was who.

From the very beginning, we already knew that music was going to play an important role in this movie. The narrator tells us how cultures all over the world all believed that music could have supernatural powers. When Sammie told his pastor father that he was going to play blues music, he was warned how this music could bring him towards danger. Blues music is laden with sensual melancholy as derived from Afro-American work songs and spirituals.

The highlight of the second act was that auditory spectacle of hearing Sammie sing and play guitar in the juke joint. Hearing a preview of Miles Caton's rich singing voice for the first time in the car was already so great. However, his spellbinding performance on that stage on opening night, that was truly breathtaking. You simply need to hear it to believe how this music was able to summon spirits from the future and the past, and the supernatural.

Winmi Mosaku's Annie may not fit in the mold of a typical Michael B. Jordan leading lady, but she was way more woman than any other -- a strong and sultry earth mother. Hailee Steinfeld stood out not because of her light skin color, but likewise for the maturity of the Mary role, so far from how we knew her from "True Grit" (2010) or the "Hawkeye" Disney+ series (2021). Jayme Lawson was a sensually-charged Pearline, especially in her song "Pale Pale Moon." 

The third act began abruptly with a sudden appearance of an Irish guy named Remmick (Jack O'Connell) who had escaped from an Indian tribe. From that time on, the film took on a totally different atmosphere of dread and horror, a jarring turnaround from the socio-cultural flavor of the first two acts. These new monsters were deadly, but still retained their original personality before they turned. The mid-credit scene must definitely not be missed. 9/10  

Review of FATHERLAND: Finding a Father

April 22, 2025

After his mother Amparo (Max Eigenmann) passed away in San Francisco USA, Alex (Inigo Pascual) decided to come back to the Philippines to search for his long-estranged father Ipe (Allen Dizon). Bringing along his girlfriend Janet (Ara Davao), his first stop was their hometown in Arayat, Pampanga, where he met his father's brother Yoyong (Jim Pebanco), who suffered a stroke after being pressured by a real estate company to sell their farm.

Further clues brought Alex to the house of Yasmin (Angel Aquino) in Mindanao, who knew Ipe as Fayez, a man who converted to Islam to marry her. Fayez took a second wife Farida (Ara Mina). Thanks to his social media post, Alex's next destination was the town of San Sebastian, where an aide of the Vice Mayor Gwen Gueco (Mercedes Cabral) named Riza (Karel Kinouchi) recognized Ipe as Teban, a gay unstable vagrant-turned-janitor. 

With "Fatherland," director Joel Lamangan was attempting to do an epic film, with a story of a family that would span decades of time and the whole country. Despite budget limitations, it was very ambitious, aspiring to be another "Aguila" (Eddie Romero, 1980) or "Hindi Mo Ako Kayang Tapakan" (Maryo delos Reyes, 1984). Lamangan got Roy Iglesias (who also wrote his "Mano Po" films) and gathered a big cast of veterans and newcomers to bring his characters to life.

There was a major detour involving Mayor Rose Chen (Cherrie Pie Picache), who abetted illegal immigrants to settle and get work in San Sebastian by bribing police, the BIR and the Immigration. Picache played Chen with tongue-in-cheek campiness, obviously a parody of a certain mayor who was raised in a farm and homeschooled. Richard Yap and Rebecca Chuaunsu led Chinoy actors who had roles in this part of the film.

Allen Dizon played three characters, although the first two were both hotheaded guys. His highlight was this one scene where he would transition from one persona to another in close succession, with Ipe speaking Kapampangan, Fayez Arabic, and Teban swardspeak. Inigo Pascual's Alex was mostly a passive bystander, but he got his big emotional moment in the climax of the third act, which he pulled off well despite distracting medical inaccuracies.

A distinctive directorial decision was placing Alex right in thick of the flashbacks as a silent witness to the tumultuous events in his father's life, which may look awkward. Lamangan and Iglesia tried to tie it all up in the final act with a polarizing explanation, but tackling too many side topics like land grabbing, suicide bombing, Chinese mafia and even female genital mutilation, tended to make the whole movie feel overstuffed and unfocused. 6/10

Review of SAMAHAN NG MGA MAKASALAN: A Dedicated Deacon

April 19, 2025

Reverend Sam (David Licauco) was the new deacon assigned to the parish church of Santo Kristo. Before he was welcomed by parish priest Father Danny (Joel Torre) and his all-around assistant Pester (David Shouder), Sam already witnessed a husband and wife, philanderer Kanor (Jun Sabayton) and gossip Olive (Chariz Solomon) having a violent quarrel on the steps of the church. Sam immediately felt that there was something wrong with his parish. 

Sam visited the main street called Sinners' Alley. He met the corrupt Mayor Damonyo and his scammer twin (Betong Sumaya), prostitutes (Liezel Lopez, Jade Tecson), pimps (David "Abdul" Domanais, Christian "Marsy" Kimp-Atip), thieves (Buboy Villar, Jay Ortega), drug addicts (Yian Gabriel), rival gang leaders (Shernan Gaite, Jerome "Batmanunulat" Esguerra), underworld kingpin Boss Luis (Soliman Cruz), and "town mistress" Mila (Sanya Lopez). 

The film was shot in picturesque Ilocos Sur, with the stately Sta. Maria Church and historic Calle Crisologo prominently featured. The title refers to an organization formed by Rev Sam aiming to reform the wayward residents of Santo Kristo. He would help each one by diverting his talent into something good. His mantra (repeated over and over in the film) was: "As long as there is faith, there is hope. As long as one believes, he can start again." 

Being mainly a comedy, director and co-writer Benedict Mique kept things light, idealistic and optimistically positive. After the Boy Nakaw example, you can somehow foresee already what will happen to the lives of the others, based on their abilities. Of course, that these hard-core decadents could totally reform themselves seemingly overnight demanded a lot of suspension of disbelief. But given the film's overall Lenten theme, we could grant them that. 

There were a couple of more serious situations that challenged Rev Sam (and David Licauco as an actor) the most. One involved Boss Luis and a pistol, and another involved Mila and a decision (I wish we could've heard Sam's side first though). While almost everyone else around him was over-the-top, Licauco played Sam calmly and restrained (even in the rapping and dancing scenes, hehe), in line with Sam's nobility of intention.  6/10

Review of DROP: Dating Distress

April 19, 2025

Violet (Meghann Fahy) decided that she was ready to start dating again after the death of her husband Blake (Michael Shea). She set a blind dinner date with a photographer named Henry (Brandon Sklenar) whom she met on a dating app, at a fancy restaurant called Palate. located at the penthouse of a high-rise building. She left her young son Toby (Jacob Robinson) with her sister Jen (Violett Beane) who agreed to babysit. 

Henry and Violet were seated at a table beside the window with a grand bird's-eye view of the whole city. Violet began receiving a series of threatening "digi-drops" on her mobile phone from an unknown entity who seemed to be able to see everything she was doing. The mysterious sender ordered Violet to follow all his instructions, or else her son and sister will be terminated by a killer he sent to her home. 

Since Violet was being terrorized by an unseen tormentor only through messages on her phone, Meghann Fahy to act up a storm to portray Violet's increasing stress, panic and paranoia. She had to figure out how to do the risky illegal tasks in that very public place, while monitoring the condition of her family in her house. Through all of that, she should still be able to convince Henry that she was interested in their date. 

To make things more interesting, there were also a number of characters within Palate, anyone of whom could be potential suspects. There was the friendly bartender Cara (Gabrielle Ryan), the drunk pianist Phil (Ed Weeks), the hyper waiter Matt (Jeffery Self).  She also go to chat with other customers, like Connor (Travis Nelson) whom she bumped into coming in, and Richard (Reed Diamond), who was having his own blind date. 

With such a limited space for him to work with, it was up to director Christopher Landon had to create an effective atmosphere of suspense, with the help of his editor Ben Baudhuin and musical scorer Bear McCreary. Landon wrote all the "Paranormal Activity" films since #2 (2010) and directed #4 (2014), then wrote and directed the "Happy Death Day" films (2017, 2019), his skills for this genre has surely been sharpened with deadly precision. 7/10.   

Mini-Reviews of THE AMATEUR and A WORKING MAN: Vigilante Valor

April 10, 2025

THE AMATEUR

Director: James Hawes

Writer: Ken Nolan, Gary Spinelli 

Charlie Heller (Rami Malek) worked at the CIA in the Division of Decryption and Analysis. One day, his wife Sarah (Rachel Brosnahan) was killed in cold blood in a bloody terrorist situation in London. Using the tools at his disposal, Charlie was able to identify her killers as: Sean Schiller (Michael Stuhlbarg), Mishka Blazhic (Marc Rissmann) and Gretchen Frank (Barbara Probst). However, CIA Dep. Director Moore (Holt McCallany) won't budge. 

So far, it is a typical tale of corruption among the black-ops top brass of the CIA. These illegal operations were unknown to the new Director O'Brien (Julianne Nicholson), and apparently, tolerated by the previous directors before her. It was here that the story sprung its big surprise -- good ole computer-nerd Charlie wanted to kill the three terrorists by himself! So, Heller mustered enough bravado to blackmail his bosses to get him trained for the job, under Col. Henderson (Laurence Fishburne). 

The filmmakers ask us to suspend our disbelief, and boy, did they push it. Charlie was able to track his targets to an allergy clinic in Paris, a suspended swimming pool in Madrid, and a Russian boat in Primorsk. He was even able to track down his online source of intel, codenamed Inquiline (Caitriona Balfe) in Instanbul. Malek managed to hold my attention. Fishburne was as cool as ever.  However, the 123-minute running time did feel long. 7/10

A WORKING MAN

Director: David Ayer

Writers: Sylvester Stallone, David Ayer

Levon Cade (Jason Statham) is the leader of the construction workers hired by the company owned by Joe and Carla Garcia (Michael Pena and Neomi Gonzalez). One day, their daughter Jenny (Arianna Rivas) was kidnapped by goons while she was out partying with friends. Levon used his extraordinary skills as a former Royal Marine to infiltrate the organization run by Russian gangster Symon (Andrej Kaminsky) who had abducted her.

For additional emotional connection, Ayers also gave Levon family issues to worry about. He had to share custody of his daughter Meredith (Isla Gie) with his father-in-law Dr. Jordan Roth (Richard Heap) when his daughter, Meredith's mother, passed away. With 30 minutes of the film to go, we still meet Levon's blind old friend Gunny (David Harbour) who supplied him with his weapons and agreed to babysit Meredith while her dad went after the bad guys.

The rescue plot was actually quite simple, but to prolong the running time Ayer made Levon Cade jump through several hoops of Russian mafia sons and henchmen before he actually found Jenny. This is the second project in a row for writer-director Ayer with star Jason Statham after their box-office hit "The Beekeeper" released in January 2024. "Beekeeper" already has a sequel in the works, and "Working Man" looks like it is following suit. 6/10

Review of UN-EX YOU: Desperately Determined

April 9, 2025

Zuri Yolanda Soriano (Kim Molina) was now 35 years old but still single. She the owner of her own courier service called Movex, which she ran with her best friend Greg (Bob Jbelli) and her techie nephew Brian (Kyosu Guinto).  One day, her OB-GYN Dr. Josie Anne Pudayana (Marnie Lapus) discovered from her lab results that Zuri had a diminished ovarian reserve, so her biological clock to have a child of her own was fast winding down. 

She was not keen on adoption or in-vitro options, preferring to get pregnant by natural means. Zuri went to the remote town of Sitio Halupi to reconnect with her ex-boyfriend Andy (Jerald Napoles), who was living with his aunt Manang Mameng (Candy Pangilinan) and her daughter Baybeh (Vladia Disuanco). However, Andy had been suffering from amnesia for some time already, following a bad vehicular accident he had while working abroad.

Real-life couple Kim Molina and Jerald Napoles had three films together as loveteam in 2021 -- "Ang Babaing Walang Pakiramdam," "Ikaw at Ako at ang Ending," and "Sa Haba ng Gabi." (2021). These were followed by "Girlfriend Na Puwede Na" (2023), "Seoulmeyt" (2024), and now this new one. These two are very good in both comedy and drama, and are obviously very comfortable working together, even in rather naughty, suggestive scenes.

To emphasize Yuri's reproductive urgency, Candy Pangilinan's silly Manang Mameng was a midwife, so there was a noisy birthing scene in there. Her funniest scene though was a quiet one about a loose garter. They are building up a young love team with Kyosu Guinto and Vladia Disuanco, but they are still very raw in the acting department. Marnie Lapus stole her scenes as an over-the-top obstetrician who hated bushes, and channeled Maleficent. 

The premise of writer Danno Kristoffer Mariquit was sort of reminiscent of Kim Molina's breakout film "#Jowable" (2019), about a woman getting along in age who was desperate to get laid.  Director RC delos Reyes surprised us by building up the story with little cute comic moments between Zuri and Andy, only to climax with a peak moment of desperate confession and confrontation that was more serious than we imagined it to be. 6/10

 

Review of A MINECRAFT MOVIE: Cubic Creativity

April 6, 2025

One day, Steve (Jack Black) was tired of working in his dead-end desk job. He got his pick axe and went into a nearby mine as he always wanted to do since he was a child. Inside, he saw two "thingies" which turned out to be the Orb of Dominance and the Earth Crystal. When he put these two cubes together, Steve was swept through a portal that brought him to another dimension called the Overworld, where everything was built out of cubes. 

Discovering a new-found ability to build his own houses, Steve decided to stay in Overworld. He tamed a wolf with a discarded femur and named him Dennis. Steve stumbled upon some interesting ruins which he tried to restore. It turned out to be another portal that brought him into the Nether, a hell-like dimension where brutal pigs led by Malgosha ruled. Steve got caught, but he was able to send Dennis back to the real world with the "thingies." 

Such was the totally random and convenient shortcut backstory of "A Minecraft Movie," a fantasy-comedy film that integrated live actors into an animated world based on the 2011 video game called Minecraft, developed by Mojang Studios. If you are not aware of this video game at all, then you will probably not get it nor like it.  This film was directed by Jared Hess, creator of quirky films like "Napoleon Dynamite" (2004) and "Nacho Libre" (2006). Despite the shallowness of the plot, five writers were credited for its screenplay, quite a red flag.

Joining Steve in this silly topsy-turvy adventure were a group of other misfits from Chuglass, Idaho who also found their way into the Overworld. They were: has-been video game champ Garrett (Jason Momoa), orphan siblings Natalie and Henry (Emma Myers and Sebastian Hansen), and animal-loving real estate agent Dawn (Danielle Brooks). The humans needed to protect the blue Orb from the wicked Malgosha and her piglin minions. 

We know that Jack Black is at ease playing singing nerds like Steve, who could have been written with Black in mind. We had a blast laughing at a rollicking slapstick version of Jason Momoa who was doing one stupid pratfall after the other as muscle-bound doofus Garrett. This was a total departure from his Khal Drogo or his Aquaman personas, but Momoa did not hold back from the foolishness of his physical comedy, all in the name of juvenile fun. 

6/10 for me, but kids familiar with the video game and the Easter eggs in the film would probably rate it much higher. 

 

VMX: Mini-Reviews of DELUSYON, CELESTINA: BURLESK DANCER, HABAL

April 4, 2025

DELUSYON

Director: Carby Salvador

Headwriter: Maya Diaz

Writers: George Bryan Pablo, Zane Mendoza

Lovers Esme (Apple Dy) and Noli (Ardy Raymundo) were partners-in-crime. Esme distracted the victim, while Noli snatched their gadget or wallet. Noli was usually very loving to Esme, except when he was reminded of Esme's ex Francis (GBoy Pablo), who was now the captain of their barangay. One day, Noli was stabbed by his double-crossing friend Notnot (Mondi Lopez) and had to hospitalized. Out of cash, Esme reluctantly sought help from Kap Francis. 

It makes one wonder why it would take three writers to come up with this very common story of a desperate woman giving up her dignity to save the man she loved. Anyhow, they included a mental health thing into the mix which was supposed to have been an acting showcase for the actor who played Noli. Unfortunately, neophyte Ardy Raymundo was not yet up to the task, and resorted to bulging his eyes out to convey jealous Noli's descent into madness. 2/10

CELESTINA: BURLESK DANCER

Director: McArthur Alejandre

Writer: Ricky Lee, McArthur Alejandre

It was the Japanese occupation in the early 1940s. Celestina (Yen Durano) escaped from her abusive husband Cornelio (Sid Lucero), bringing with her their son Joaquin (Kian Co). Desperate for money, she accepted the job to be a burlesque dancer in the troupe of Estong (Allan Paule), trained by his ex-star Rosalinda (Christine Bermas). A young man Leandro (Arron Villaflor) wooed Celestina, but would later revealed his real intentions.   

Being the second VMX film released in cinemas, this had much better cinematography (by DP Daniel Toto Uy) and production design (by Ericson Navarro). The script by National Artist Ricky Lee held so much possibilities for tension and drama, but the needless sex scenes and the lackluster burlesque dancing distracted from a better telling of the story. Special mention to Angie Castrence for her portrayal of Ingga, Rosalinda's mom. 6/10

HABAL

Director: Bobby Bonifacio, Jr.

Writer: Jong Garcia

Danilo (JD Aguas) was a shy young man unexperienced in matters of sex, who lived in an apartment with his cousin Marco (Ivan Ponce) and two other lusty guys Tyrone (Jhon Mark Marcia) and Alvin (Basti Flores). He earned a living by accepting passengers on his motorcycle. One day, he had Erika (Athena Red) as a passenger, who took a liking to him, and introduced him to her friend and lover Lara (Karen Lopez). 

Like "Rita" (2024) and "Malagkit" (2025) before it, this film was another VMX feature that went beyond its usual fare of boy-girl and girl-on-girl action.  Why would VMX show scenes which are considered outright objectionable for their majority heterosexual male demographic? Could it be that VMX has noted an upswing of homosexual male viewers among their subscribers, hence the brazen inclusion of man-on-man scenes? 2/10

Review of SINAGTALA: Bandmates in a Bind

April 3, 2025

Back in 2012, Sinagtala was a very popular band on stage and on the radio. It had five members. Reggie (Rayver Cruz) was lead vocals. Paola (Glaiza de Castro), Carla (Arci Munoz) and Isko (Matt Lozano) were on guitars. June (Rhian Ramos) played the drums. When a serious misfortune befell Reggie, soon the whole band folded and the members barely had contact. One day in the present time, they all received an unexpected video message.

Last year, we had at least two local films which told a story about estranged friends who got together again when something happened to one of them. Similarly in this film, we see this very same scenario. The members of the band all experienced tough times when their band broke up. Writer-director Mike Sandejas used the device of a psychiatrist whom all the members consulted (not clear why), to tell us about what their respective problems were. 

Rayver Cruz's Reggie was an arrogant hothead and addict who later found himself behind bars and separated from his wife and daughter. Rhian Ramos's rebellious June was an adopted daughter of a Chinoy businessman Mr. Chua (Robert Sena) who was looking for her biological father, rock singer Primo Estrella (Ricky Davao). Cruz and Ramos had one memorable duet "Forever Blue" together which showcased their melodious blending skills. 

Arci Munoz's Carla was a heavy role and she gave it her all, even doing what looked like a very precarious scene. Carla could have chosen to change her red hair color prior to shooting their music video, which she could've been better lipsync-ed. Matt Lozano's closeted Isko wondered how to come out to his macho father (Benjie Paras). This comical stereotype treatment of this story may not sit well for those facing the same problem for real. 

From an early scene, Glaiza de Castro's Paola was already seen to be a religious person who led the prayers before their gigs. Throughout the film, it was through her scenes that the main messages about purpose in life and achieving one's destiny. Lest viewers only expect a musical concert film, maybe it's best to know going in that this film was built on a framework of Christian religion and inspiration -- a Lenten movie for millennials and Gen Z.  7/10 

P.S. When i watched this film yesterday afternoon, there were many small kids in the audience. The MTRCB rated this film a PG (for parental guidance) as there were several very mature themes in this film that parents should explain to their kids. There were scenes of smoking, vaping, drinking alcohol, allusions to drug intake, all the way to scenes about driving under the influence, sex work, pregnancies outside wedlock, and suicides.