CINEMALAYA 2019: Review of BELLE DOULEUR: Romantic Release

August 6, 2019

Ever since "Glorious" heated up the iWant screens last year with the trysts of Angel Aquino and Tony Labrusca, more May-December affair movies where the woman is much older than the man seems are coming up this year. In this Cinemalaya 2019 alone, there are two of them: this one "Belle Douleur" (with Mylene Dizon and Kit Thompson) and "Malamaya" (with Sunshine Cruz and Enzo Pineda). Next week, there will be a mainstream film "Just a Stranger" (with Anne Curtis and Marco Gumabao). 

The main gist of the stories will probably all be similar. The older woman is alone, lonely or neglected, meets this good-looking younger guy and gets swept up with his sweet words and sexual prowess. The main difference will probably be about the conflicts they will face as a couple and whether the affair will end up a success or a failure. I even feel that even these two relationship issues may actually be similar as well. There seems to be too little room to navigate with this particular trope. Let us see how they do.

Liz was a 45-year old single woman who lived with her mother, who was a retired anthropology professor. She worked as a clinical psychologist working with children with special needs. When her mother died, Liz's friends decide to post the antiques in her house up for sale on the internet. Josh, an attractive antique shop owner / rock musician 20 years Liz's junior, was her first customer. What started as cute exchanges of text message later between the two of them later escalated into a full-on YOLO love affair. 

The conflicts Liz and Josh experience were not so much from other people, but from themselves. While no one actually had snide comments about their age difference, it was Josh himself threw tantrums to rebuke Liz she was acting like his mother. It was the ending that set this particular film apart, an ending you'd never actually think of, which was good. However, the set-up going towards that ending felt a bit random and rushed.

Mylene Dizon is as usual faultless in her acting, which was mostly internal. It was her face which was revealing her varied emotions, especially the titular "beautiful pain," rather than her words. A Best Actress nomination for Ms. Dizon is inevitable. Kit Thompson was just fresh off "Momol Nights," another film where he was also the object of a woman's desires. The women in the audience were actually cheering during his sexy scenes. He was very natural in his scenes with the children. Dizon and Thompson actually had effective chemistry together, and this kept the whole film together despite the limitations of the story. 

Long-time film producer Atty. Joji Alonso finally took the plunge to direct her first feature-length film. She confessed that this film was inspired by a viral video of a French woman talking about her affair with a much younger man (LINK). This film basically just expanded on the story told in this 7-minute video which was why you can feel the awkward stretch in the second act. The man problems of Liz's BFFs Carlo (Marlon Rivera) and Lauren (Jenny Jamora), and frustrations of parents with special children, were fitted in to try to beef up the sagging middle, but were not directly contributory to the main plot. 6/10. 

CINEMALAYA 2019: Review of EDWARD: Cruelly Cornered

August 5, 2019

Last 2017, young writer-director Thop Nazareno made his Cinemalaya and feature film debut with "Kiko Boksingero." For the festival, it won best actor for then 12-year old Noel Comia, Jr., best supporting actress for Yayo Aguila and best original score for Pepe Manikan. The rest of the year, it was also consistently nominated in various award-giving bodies. This year, Nazareno continues to explore the development of a young man's psyche, this time a boy in his mid-teens "Edward."

Happy-go-lucky teenager Edward (Louise Abuel) was left by his older half-brother Renato (Manuel Chua) to take care of their ill father Mario (Dido dela Paz) at a busy public hospital. He spent his days with his rascal friend Renz (Elijah Canlas), treating the hospital premises as their playground. 

One day, nurse Daisy (Sarah Pacaliwagan-Brakensiek) asked Edward to watch over Agnes (Ella Cruz), an accident victim admitted without without a watcher. When he was in her company, Edward's days in the hospital brightened up considerably, even as his father's condition did not seem to be improving.

Just like he did with Noel Comia, Jr. two years ago, director Nazareno had discovered another goldmine in 15 year-old Louise Abuel (yes, he's male despite the spelling of his name). He began as a child actor (in the popular soap "100 Days to Heaven") but was inactive for some time during the awkward interim years, until he auditioned for and bagged this meaty lead role for his very first feature film. 

As Edward, Abuel was as if just being himself, not obviously acting at all. Everything about this guy felt sincere, very natural and unpretentious, quite impressive for a new actor. His face was very expressive -- the discomfort of lying under his father's bed, the naughtiness of his hospital shenanigans with Renz, or that unmistakable twinkle in his eye whenever he was with Agnes. Being a minor, Edward was cruelly and helplessly trapped in a situation not of his making and beyond his control, and Abuel was able to reflect the unfairness of it all on his face.  

22-year old actress Ella Cruz was playing against her usual sweet roles as the frank and street-smart mystery girl Agnes. Nazareno decided not to give us any details about her life, nor even about the accident which brought her into the hospital in the first place. Having no backstory, it was up to the audience to build up her story based on how the charming Cruz interpreted her character. Cruz and Abuel had a effective chemistry between each other, despite their squalid setting and situation (with the song "Dapithapon" featuring the unique vocals of Yan Abelardo playing in the background). 

Dido de la Paz was hardly out out of a bed for the whole film, coughing badly most of the time. But when it came to his dramatic moments, he can still deliver even if his lines were short and breathlessly delivered because of his pulmonary condition. Sarah Brakensiek was a scene-stealing riot every time she was onscreen as the loud and cheerful Nurse Daisy. She was so fun to watch, I wished she had more screen time. 16 year-old indie film actor Elijah Canlas was also quite entertaining as Edward's bad influence friend Renz.

This film holds a special significance for me as someone who had trained in a tertiary public hospital. The continuous long tracking shots Nazareno used to show the sorry situation in the emergency room, and later in the wards, were so accurate in portraying the chaos which really existed in those places, based my own personal experience there. It was amazing to learn afterwards how they recreated the whole hospital from scratch with all those extras they needed to keep in line -- all this with a limited budget and 11 days of shooting.

The research that went to achieving documentary-like accuracy in those scenes made this film an effective statement against the state of public hospitals in our country now, and how our indigent countrymen have to put up with the less than ideal health care services. Imagine the frustration of waiting for three whole weeks in that humid crowded ward for the result of a single outsourced lab exam upon which your diagnosis and management depended on. It is sad, but it is the how it is now. 

As of now, nominations for Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, Actor, Supporting Actor, Production Design and Musical Score are inevitable, and it is certainly bound to bring home more than one major awards. 9/10. 

Review of HOBBS & SHAW: Founded on Family

August 4, 2019

A deadly virus called Snowflake had been developed which can be programmed to weed out the weak in the world. Cyborg Brixton Lore from Eteon terrorist organization hijacked a MI6 mission carrying the virus, but a female MI6 agent named Hattie was able to get the virus away in time. Against their wills, US DSS agent Luke Hobbs and ex-British Special Forces agent Deckard Shaw were recruited to work together to go after Hattie and retrieve the virus before Brixton gets to her first.

The character of Luke Hobbs entered the Fast and Furious cast in "Fast Five" when as a DSS agent, he was assigned to track down Vince Toretto and gang in Rio de Janeiro. The character of Deckard Shaw was first seen as a cameo in "Fast & Furious 6" when a scene from "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift" was revisited. In "Furious 7"  Dobbs and Shaw first meet and immediate kindle antagonistic feelings against the other. Their animosity escalate further in "Fate of the Furious" and persist at the start of this present spin-off film. 

It might seem odd that a Fast and Furious spin-off were not members of the original Toretto gang, but side characters from latter sequels, but of course Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham were both headlining stars of their own films already, and were the best bets to pull this off box-office wise. The acrimonious chemistry between Johnson and Statham was amazingly vital from beginning to end, and the feuding between these two men was very entertaining to watch. It is expected that these two stars would be awesome in their action scenes, but their comic chops were also top-notch. 

As the target agent Hattie, British multi-awarded actress Vanessa Kirby not only matched the two veteran actors in their witty repartee, but also held her own in some pretty fearless fight scenes, among them a scene wrestling with Hobbs himself. Playing against his usual type, the usually heroic Idris Elba played the main antagonist Brixton Lore in this one. With Johnson and Statham on one side, the main bad guy could not be any less alpha. It could not have been anybody less than Idris Elba. 

I enjoyed the surprise appearances of some big stars in entertaining cameo roles, like Helen Mirren as Deckard's incarcerated mother Madeleine "Queenie" Shaw (taking off from her cameo in "Fate of the Furious"), Kevin Hart as a helpful air marshal named Dinkley and Ryan Reynolds as wacky Hobb's CIA contact Agent Locke. There were also a lot of fun references to contemporary pop culture, particularly "Game of Thrones," for which the filmmakers seem to have some words to say about the final season. 

Being a spin-off of the "Fast and Furious" franchise, "Hobbs & Shaw" of course had to have those laws-of-physics-defying stunts involving motor vehicles, accompanied by a dope musical soundtrack. The highlight of these vehicular stunts was particularly crazy one that involved five trailer trucks and a helicopter, with chains and cliffs. Former stuntman now director David Leitch carried on his winning touch for action films after his uncredited directorial debut in "John Wick" (2014), then "Atomic Blonde" (2017) and "Deadpool 2" (2018). 

Aside from these stunts though, another hallmark of a "Fast and Furious" film was its foundations based on family. Because of their work, Hobbs & Shaw both get estranged from their respective families, but here they swallow their pride and go back to their kinsmen for help.  As proudly brash, macho and cocksure the two stars and the action scenes were, heart was again very much in the equation here as in every Fast & Furious film before it. 7/10. 

CINEMALAYA 2019: Review of CHILDREN OF THE RIVER: Subtle, Sincere and Sensitive

August 3, 2019

The landscape of recent local cinema, be it mainstream or indie, is dominated by adult themes with a preponderance of sex or violence, usually with foul language. There is a challenge to come up with quality films for teenagers which tackle their issues of growing up, without having to resort to easy standby tropes like cliche puppy romances or silly slapstick comedy. Written and directed by Maricel Cariaga, "Children of the River" precisely answered that pressing need. 

This was a story about four friends. Elias was the smart responsible son. Pepsy was the bossy tomboy. Agol was the gentle giant. Robin was the frustrated lover boy. They were all children in their early teens who lived in an isolated community for soldiers, while their fathers were away fighting in the Marawi siege. While they lived in constant fear that each day could be their fathers' last, but they were still were very much teens enjoying growing up and discovering themselves. 

The four young actors playing the four friends were all very natural in their performances. 

Even at 14 years of age, Noel Comia Jr. is already quite the veteran actor. He had in fact already won the Best Actor award in Cinemalaya 2017 for portraying the title role of "Kiko Boksingero." Comia bravely played the tricky role of Elias with such subtle sensitivity that we never saw it coming. This role could have been played all sorts of wrong by amateurs, but Comia played it just right. We also get to see Comia's guitar-plucking skills and hear him sing the films two original songs "Ikaw Na" and "Maghihintay," both composed and arranged by no less than the multi-talented writer-director Maricel Cariaga herself.

I had seen Junyka Santarin before as a stage actress tackling the daring role of child abuse victim in Red Turnips' "The Nether" (2017, MY REVIEW). She had maturity beyond her years even back then, and the same was true this time as Pepsy, who acted as the elder sister of their gang. Ricky Oriarte and Dave Francis were both in their first film roles here, but they showed no awkwardness nor nervousness in their very disarming portrayals of the ever-hungry Agol and the rascally Robin. Their "talado" scene at the faith healer with the standing egg and the new names was hilarious.

Juancho Trivino played Ted, an attractive college guy who stayed over with the kids for a few weeks, triggering some significant reactions. Rich Asuncion played Elvy, the steadfast mother of Elias. Jay Manalo only appeared towards the end as Capt. Manabat, but he was such a powerful presence on that screen. I am sure there was not a single dry eye in the theater during his emotional monologue in front of the families. I bet he could be up for Best Supporting Actor for that single scene alone.

In this age when shock and scandal rule mass and social media, Ms. Maricel Cabrera-Cariaga has crafted a rare gem -- a coming of age tale of military children told in a most straightforward, sincerely real, positively uplifting way, with no cheap sentimentality or sappy melodrama. With the refreshing river scenery of Quirino province as backdrop, "Children of the River" proved to us that an indie film need not have to be bloody, noisy, dark, dirty, perverse or profane to be current, interesting and outstanding. 9/10. 

CINEMALAYA 2019 OPENING FILM: My Review of ANG HUPA: Chilling Caricature

August 3, 2019

Cinemalaya 2019 opened on a day when strong monsoon rains were causing floods in several areas in Metro Manila. The opening film this year is Lav Diaz' "Ang Hupa" (English title: "The Halt") in its Philippine premiere, even as it had its world premiere in no less than the Cannes Filmfest Director's Fortnight in May earlier this year. Everybody was praying that the floods would subside (or "hupa" in the vernacular) so they could go to the CCP and watch, and thankfully they did.

It was the year 2034. Massive volcanic eruptions had plunged the whole Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, in perpetual darkness. The Philippine president that time was the mentally-unstable megalomaniac Pres. Nirvano Reyes Navarra (Joel Lamangan), who ran the country as a murderous dictator. The bloodthirsty Lt. Col. Martha Oficio (Hazel Orencio) headed his Special Forces and her intelligence officer Lt. Marissa Ventura (Mara Lopez) were at Navarra's every beck and call to carry out his random executions.

Meanwhile, the film followed the stories of some people who survived and lost their whole families to the Dark Killer flu epidemic three years before. Hook Torollo Sr. (Piolo Pascual) was an anosognostic ex-soldier, ex-band musician, now working for an underground movement against the Navarra government. Memory expert Jean Hadoro (Pinky Amador), who wrote a book "A Nation Without Memory" about historical revisionism, was helping former history professor turned high-class callgirl Hammy Rios (Shania Magdayao) cope with her personal tragedies by forgetting them. 

This film was relatively short for Lav Diaz standards at 279 minutes, but still a staggering 4 hours and 39 minutes. The screening started at around 7:15 pm and closing credits started to roll at about midnight already. It was always an experience to sit through a Lav Diaz film. It was acquired taste to appreciate all signature protracted Lav Diaz scenes (those stagnant shots with nothing happening, or those slowly progressing quiet scenes which eventually lead to nothing significant) without giving up and walking out. These types of scenes were still there in "Ang Hupa," but maybe the maximum linger was about only five minutes each this time around. 

Still, Shaina Magdayao shot several different scenes simply walking in the pouring rain carrying some stuff in one hand and her umbrella in the other. There were some nude lesbian sex scenes which lasted longer than they needed to. There were long sequence of presidential boytoy Mennen Reyes (Philip Heremans) diving, swimming in the rain and taking a steamy shower, while the president was watching. This was the 6th Lav Diaz film I had seen since "Norte" (2013), and I still can't claim that I completely saw the necessity for scenes like these. I did enjoy that psychedelic musical interlude featuring a full song number by local rock icon Ely Buendia, who played Django, Hook's friend from their old band the Blind Bougainvilleas. 

However, there were some scenes which were so powerful in impact that caused the audience to burst into spontaneous cheering. The first such scene was the scene when the resigned Secretary of Defense Lorenzo Inakay (Bart Guingona) was being convinced by Col. Oficio to take a vial of poison, and they will reward him by burying him in the Libingan ng mga Bayani. Inakay's indignant answer brought the house down. A second scene was when the the men of Col. Oficio arrested activist priest Fr. Romero (Noel Miralles) for trumped-up sedition charges. Fr. Romero's passionate tirade about the president also merited a big round of applause. 

While in his previous films Diaz made use of a lot of metaphors, he was quite direct to the point here. Joel Lamangan's over-the-top portrayal of Pres. Nirvano Reyes Navarra was obviously a comical caricature of a certain real-life president. Navarra believed he was a pre-destined to be president ever since he was a child. He did not like big English words in his speeches. He hated the Westerners and their condescension against Asia. He was a fan of the late President Marcos. He was devoted to his mother (Susan Africa). He was not averse to summary killings of his perceived enemies, even entire communities of suspects.

To make Navarra even more of an exaggerated fool, Diaz gave him some out-of-this-world hobbies. He had a secret garden where he kept exotic animals like an ostrich we would converse with, and a crocodile he would feed with chopped up pieces of his enemies. At home, he would don a house dress and worked on some weird quilt-like sewing project, all the while having an imagined conversation with his absent mother. He went out on the streets wearing a t-shirt offering kids on the street to play ball with him. Lamangan went to town playing all these psycho scenes with relish. 

It was audacious of Diaz to envision a Philippines 15 years into the future. The national ID system was already in full operation, but apparently there were still ways to have a fake ID. What we see onscreen was basically the same Manila we have now, no progress in architecture, transport nor fashion. The only futuristic aspect of the production design were a horde of flying drones to keep a Big Brother watch on the citizenry. From such a grand high concept, Diaz goes the other way at the end to offer a solution which was smaller and closer to the ground. Verisimilitude, or concentrating on the smaller details, Diaz proposed, was the next step in our country's healing. 7/10.

Review of PARASITE: Insidious Infiltration

August 2, 2019

Usually, we need to wait for an indie film fest to be able to see the winner of the Palm d'Or in the Cannes film festival. However, this year's winner is actually showing exclusively in selected SM Cinemas and that is a pleasant surprise. It is certainly not common that the Palm d'Or winner can be engaging and enjoyable to both artsy and mainstream audiences alike, like Bong Joon Ho's "Parasite."

Out of work, driver Kim Ki-taek lived with his wife Choong Sook and two college-age children in a dirty sub-basement apartment in abject poverty. However, when his son Ki-woo was accepted as an English tutor for the daughter of a super-wealthy family, the Parks, he somehow managed to get his whole resourceful family employed as well. However, their wholesale underhanded subterfuge was not going to stay undiscovered for long.

I had seen most of South Korean writer-director Bong Joon-ho's filmography, from "Barking Dogs Never Bite" (2000), "Memories of Murder" (2003), "The Host" (2006), "Mother" (2009), to his international breakthrough "Snowpiercer" (2013) and his Netflix opus "Okja" (2017). His works were audacious, darkly comic affairs yet they are still grounded with family sentiments and heart. His latest work "Parasite" did not deviate far from his winning formula, and has in fact won him the Palm d'Or.

Popular multi-awarded Korean lead actor Song Kang-ho was Bong's star in "Memories of Murder," "The Host," "Snowpiercer" and how again in "Parasite." As the patriarch Kim Ki-taek, Song again drew on his uncanny ability to subtly mix humor in with the dramatic situations his character got into, making audiences connect and care with him, no matter how flawed this character was. Kim was a man who believed that life is best lived unplanned, and Song convinces us of this mantra.

As Kim's lower-class family Jang Hye-jin (as Choong-sook), Choi Woo-shik (as Ki-woo) and Park So-dam (as Kim Ki-jung) were all at their "jologs" best, Korean style. Ms. Park was especially remarkable for her portrayal of pseudo art psychotherapist Jessica, very convincing. On the other end, Lee Sun-kyun and Cho Yeo-jeong played the elegant but clueless millionaires Mr. and Mrs. Park, who could not pinpoint something right in front of their noses. Lee Jung-eun was a bipolar delight as the Park's housekeeper Gook, who fell from grace because of the Kim's shenanigans.

Last year's Palm d'Or winner "Shoplifters" from Japan also tackled the topic of poverty and the dishonestly that arose from it. "Parasite" goes beyond that and juxtaposes the poverty of a family living in a dirty sub-basement in stark contrast with a family living in a posh hilltop mansion. Aside from dark comedy and family drama, this was also a sharp social commentary. This film also touched on several other genres in passing -- from edge-of seat suspense, to violent crime thriller, going even sexy at one point. All in all, this one has something for everyone in one thoroughly entertaining and thought-provoking package. 9/10.

Review of HELLO, LOVE, GOODBYE: Cherishing Choice

August 1, 2019

Joy worked as a domestic helper in Hong Kong. To augment her earnings, Joy also actively engaged in her buy-and-sell business every Sunday, and even took on a second job at night as a waitress. She desperately needed funds, not only to send back home, but also to finance her dream of flying off to Canada to practice nursing, her original course. When she met and fell in love with the charismatic bartender Ethan, Joy was faced with a critical choice whether to stay for love, or leave to follow her dreams. 

Kathryn Bernardo again worked with the same intensity of acting which won her the Best Actress award last year for "The Hows of Us" to portray Joy. Because of her extreme dedication to her family, Joy was a joyless person focused only on her fulfilling her dreams of bringing her family back together again. Even if she was in the company of her kooky fellow DH friends Joy barely smiled as a no-nonsense workaholic whose every minute of the day was spent in the pursuit of earning money.

I only knew Alden Richards before as the male half of the AlDub loveteam, where he really  did not do too much aside from looking cute. Richards as Ethan was actually deglamorized in a way he did not exactly look like the Alden of AlDub. Even then though, the camera loves his face so much that there wasn't any bad angles to him however simple his clothes or windswept his hair. Based on the screams his handsome closeups elicited among the ladies as he delivered his pick-up lines, he was doing very well in getting them thrilled and excited. 

Because Bernardo was always in serious heavy drama mode practically throughout the film, it was up to Richards to stir up the romance part of the equation. This movie was actually more of a vehicle for Richards to display his versatility in acting to a new set of Kapamilya fans who were not too familiar with him and his talents before. He was the one who lightened up the mood of the heavy scenes with his comic antics. On the other end, he was also very effective in those touching dramatic scenes with his family, as well as those scenes where Ethan was trying to convince Joy to stay in HK with him. 

Kakai Bautista, Lovely Abella and Maymay Entrata played Joy's funny friends, Sally, Gina and Mary Dale. Joross Gamboa and Jeffrey Tam played Ethan's funny friends Jhim and Carlo. Maricel Laxa-Pangilinan returns to the big screen as Joy's mother Lita, who worked as a DH in HK before Joy did, while William Lorenzo played her father Celso left back home. Lito Pimentel played Ethan's invalid father Mario, while Jameson Blake played his disillusioned younger brother Edward. Cantonese actress Pang Mei Sheung stole her scenes playing Mrs. Chung, a delightful grandmother with dementia Joy took care of. 

Travelling to Hong Kong may not exactly be the best idea now because of its current political turmoil, but this film reminded us why this was a favorite honeymoon destination care of the beautiful cinematography. As with other Filipino romcoms, the romantic musical soundtrack also set the proper mood of their scenes. Director Cathy Garcia-Molina is really a master on how to elicit romantic thrills between her stars. No matter how cheesy the lines may seem on paper, when you hear them spoken in the actual scene, they work. 

The title alone already pretty much gave us a gist of the story, but we stay on to enjoy the chemistry of Kathryn and Alden as a new romantic pairing, as well as to find out what Joy's final decision was going to be regarding her dilemma. However, the script also brought to life the various real problems OFWs experience in Hong Kong, especially with regards to sacrificing family unity and risking illegal activities for their dreams of material wealth. This was a movie tells us that tough choices need to be made, and these choices need to be respected in the name of love. 8/10. 

Review of MIDSOMMAR: Bizarre Bacchanalia

July 25, 2019

Anthropology major Pelle invited his fellow grad students Josh, Mark and Christian to his home community of Hårga, in Hälsingland, Sweden. Christian's emotionally-fragile girlfriend Dani, who was just recovering from a devastating family tragedy, tagged along with the boys to witness special midsummer celebrations which took place only every 900 years. However, their excitement quickly turned into horror with each passing day as the cult rituals become more and more bizarre and even deadly. 

Florence Pugh carried the film well playing the vulnerable central character of Dani. She had a vibe of a young Kate Winslet, and with the talent she showed here, her career promises to go the distance of Winslet's as well. Jack Reynor displayed a lot of chutzpah to play the bold role of Christian, Dani's cold detached jerk of a boyfriend. Of the supporting cast, I only recognized Will Poulter playing the raunchy friend Mark, but the rest were all new actors and actresses. This casting decision further contributed to the authentic eerieness of the film. 

It was such a different sort of horror movie because it was mostly set outdoors in broad bright daylight. It was also remarkable that unlike the other horror movies, the inhabitants of Harga were all so friendly and smiling, and furthermore, they were also seen wearing immaculately white clothes most of the time. Nothing was lurking in dark shadows as everything was in plain sight under the midnight sun. There was just this very slow build up of suspense which led up to most outrageous and unsettling scenes. 

This film which reminded me in some way of "The Wicker Man" a British horror starring Edward Woodward (Robin Hardy, 1973) involving an isolated community of people who had heathen May Day celebrations with beliefs of reincarnation and free sex. It contained several elements seen in "Midsommar" such as the remote location, pagan ceremonies, weird costumes and ritualistic bonfire.  It was notoriously remade in Hollywood starring Nicolas Cage (Neil LaBute, 2006). It had scenes of Cage disguised as a bear, an animal which also seen in "Midsommar."

The R-18 rating of this film was fully deserved. The use of hallucinogenic drugs was rampant throughout the film, and the audience also gets a dose of psychedelic effects reflected in the unusual camera work and visual effects. Despite the peaceful rustic setting of flowery meadows, extreme gore was shown up close and bloody. Its very first scene of splattering anatomy was a guaranteed shocker. 

On the other end of the R spectrum, the climactic highlight was a prolonged and graphic copulation scene with unabashed frank nudity. This wild sick scene was totally disturbing and deranged, not easily forgettable for sure. When a naked little old woman joined in the action, the scene turned all the way more psychotic. The women of Harga shared their emotions seriously as they moaned and writhed in unison during the whole rite. 

Writer-director Ari Aster gained accolades for his feature film debut "Hereditary" last year. "Midsommar" proved that his prior success had not been a fluke.  He knew exactly what he was going for and he audaciously went all the way and more to achieve his vision. "Midsommar" lasts for more than 2-1/2 hours, but the audience gets hooked in from the get-go and held in rapt attention the whole time up to its outlandish conclusion. 8/10.  

Review of YESTERDAY: Bluffing Beatle

July 24, 2019

Jack Malik was a frustrated musician who had just accepted that he was not going anywhere with his singing career. This was despite the loyal support of his best friend and manager Ellie Appleton, who was always optimistic for him. One fateful night, there was a momentary worldwide electrical blackout, and Jack was hit by a bus. 

When he recovered from his accident, he realized that apparently the whole world never knew about the Beatles nor their music, except for him. When Jack restarts his music career performing Beatles songs, he eventually generated a frenzy in the pop music world where people believed that Jack was churning out all this incredible music by himself. 

"Yesterday" follows the footsteps of recent musical films featuring the discography of iconic musicians like "Bohemian Rhapsody" for Freddie Mercury and "Rocketman" for Elton John. However, the main difference was the Beatles were not in the consciousness of the world of "Yesterday" at all, well at least except for Jack Malik. We hear actor Himesh Patel singing of all those classic songs. While Patel's singing voice had a rather unpolished quality, the songs indeed had that lyrical quality about them we love.

I felt like singing along to every Beatles hit I heard Jack sing.  "Yesterday" was sung in a picnic after he was discharged from the hospital. "Let It Be" was sung in their living room in front of his disinterested parents.  "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" was sung during his first recording gig and Ellie sang backup. "In My Life" was sung on his first TV show appearance. "The Long and Winding Road"  was sung when a musical superstar challenged him to an "impromtu" sing-off. "Help" was sung during his launching concert on a building rooftop. "All You Need is Love" was sung as a guest artist at a fully-packed Wembley Stadium concert. 

At the heart of this interesting sci-fi-ish premise (where not only the Beatles, but also cigarettes, Coca Cola and Harry Potter were lost from human history) and all the wry dry British humor is the relationship between Jack and Ellie. With Ellie played by the beautiful Lily James, any viewer would wonder why this loser Jack never felt any romantic feelings for her at all until it was too late. James literally lit up the screen whenever she was in it. That scene with her radiant face on the big screen at Wembley was simply moving.

I enjoyed all the little references about the Beatles throughout the film. It was funny that titles of actual hit Beatles albums like "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" and song lyrics like "Hey Jude" were being ridiculed for being corny. The "Abbey Road" album cover was referenced when the feet of Paul McCartney was shown without footwear. I enjoyed Jack's side trip to Liverpool to visit places that inspired hits like "Penny Lane" and "Eleanor Rigby." I immediately caught the dig that Oasis also did not exist because their main influence was the Beatles. I'm sure there would be more, maybe even Ed Sheeran himself. 

Writer Richard Curtis (of "Four Weddings and a Funeral," "Notting Hill," "Bridget Jones's Diary," and "Love Actually" fame) and director Danny Boyle (of "Trainspotting," "The Beach," "28 Days Later," and "Slumdog Millionaire" fame) whipped up a charming little flick rife with wry British humor. Being a big fan of Beatles music and their lore, I enjoyed watching every moment of this jukebox film. The ethical issues about plagiarism could be very disturbing, but Boyle gave it a light touch which served the film well. 8/10. 

Review of DRAGGED ACROSS CONCRETE: Ironically Introspective

July 21, 2019

Brett Ridgeman and Anthony Lurasetti were policemen who were suspended without pay because they committed abusive acts against suspects during an operation. The two desperate cops use their contacts in the criminal world to look for a job to support their families while they were out of work. They were tasked to tail a gold bullion heist by ruthless bank robbers led by Lorentz Vogelmann, with ex-cons Henry and Biscuit as getaway drivers.

With a lurid title like "Dragged Across Concrete," I was almost afraid of the extreme bloody gore which it may be showing in its violent action scenes. However, in a supreme case of irony, this turned out to be a very slow-moving and talky one instead. The glacial pace stretched out over 2 and a half hours of lengthy, many times seemingly off-tangent, conversations in households, during stakeouts or while driving around. 

With his real-life notoriety and involvement in cases of bigotry and misogyny, Mel Gibson is a very bold choice to play the lead role of Ridgeman. The gritty role fit him like a glove, so jaded and cynical, it was all so realistic, as if these were actually his own words he was saying. If you do patiently listen to his lines in his various conversations, there was wry humor and warped wisdom in there to appreciate. 

Vince Vaughn played the younger partner Lurasetti unwillingly and unwittingly carried along the wave of unprofessionalism initiated by Ridgeman. Don Johnson played Lt. Calvert, Ridgeman's ex-partner, now his superior officer. Tory Kittles played the recently-released convict Henry Jones, who had no options but to take another crime-related job. Michael Jai White played his best buddy and partner-in-crime Biscuit. Jennifer Carpenter played an anxious banker on her first back from maternity leave in an incredulously useless detour.

There were occasional scenes of unadulterated violence, but these were too few and far between for action junkies who come to watch. When you think the action will pick up (like in the bank, or in the warehouse), the momentum just dies down right away and dissolves into more contrived conversations. The starkly violent scene in the convenience store committed by a masked criminal which was truly terrifying, but it was unconnected to the main story. 

I think there was an effort by writer-director S. Craig Zahler to be introspective here, so that the audience will get to see deeper into the psyches of the cops and the crooks involved in this caper. While this intellectual approach may impress thinking critics, these scenes come across as needless, meandering self-indulgence for the average mainstream viewer expecting more John Wick types of action entertainment. 5/10. 

My Review of MY LETTERS TO HAPPY: Dealing with Depression

July 19, 2019

Albert Tantoco is a serious, joyless advertising executive. Driven to depression by the death of a loved one, Albert only found his spark again when he started chatting online with a cheerful HR recruiter named Maria Jasmin Pantaleon, who called herself Happy. When they eventually met up, they hit it off mainly because of Happy's relentless energy and generosity revived Albert's joy in living. However, behind her infectious smiles, Happy was also experiencing psychological issues of her own.

TJ Trinidad is already for being a good actor and he proves it again here as Albert. When he met Happy, we see his gradual transformation from a bitter ruthless man into someone so much more open and unselfish. He had problems of his own, but when he realized the girl he loved had more serious problems than he did, he decided to man up, face the challenge head on and fully support her along her tougher journey. Trinidad's voice-over reading his titular letters to Happy was sincere with his longing.

I only got to know Glaiza de Castro after her stellar turn as the Martial Law rebel mother Liway, one of the best acting performances in film last year. Despite that unflattering hairstyle given Happy in the first half of the film, de Castro shone through with her genuine sense of euphoria for life. It was not difficult for Albert to fall in love with Happy so deeply that by the time her difficult down phase came to fore, we completely feel why Albert decided to see Happy through it all.

Volleyball star Alyssa Valdez had her acting debut as Albert's protege Cindy. She was still a bit self-conscious in her scenes, but the character was not entirely necessary in the story. Odette Khan appeared as Albert's mother, to whom he was totally devoted after they were abandoned by his father (played by Chris Perriz). Benj Manalo and Sarah Facuri played Albert's friends, while Teetin Villanueva and Juan Miguel Severo played Happy's friends. Anne Feo played Happy's strict boss Jenny.

I get dizzy easily with shaky camera work, so I wished there was not too much of that throughout the film as there was.There may be occasional problems in the pace of the storytelling. It felt a bit jerky at the start, while it tended to drag towards an uncertain ending.

Overall, this was a film sensitively written (by director Pertee Brinas) to expound on the challenges mental health problems bring to the person who has them and their significant others around him. The plot may just a simple story of a two lonely people falling in love, but here depression comes in to disrupt the bliss. This is no fairy tale ride and the film does not sugarcoat the pain and difficulties involved. We really still do not know what is best to do in cases like this, but we know we need to hang on in there and hold their hands all the way. 7/10.