Vivamax: Review of GIRL FRIDAY: Political Pervert Partners

September 30, 2022

Congressman Freddie Ibasco (Jay Manalo) was running for Governor of the province of Ilaya. Freddie is a serial womanizer, and so when his second wife Amor (Angeli Khang) threatened to leave him for his philandering, he was more than willing to file for annulment, like he did with his first wife Minerva (Christine Escalante).

Jojo Raymundo (Massimo Scofield), a ranch hand of Rancho Ibasco, was arrested for stealing cattle. His abused wife Carmela (Jela Cuenca) requested Freddie's second wife Amor for help to get her husband out of jail. However, Amor had the idea that Carmela should first get Freddie's trust by satisfying his addiction to carnal pleasures. 

The sequence of scenes was an editing mess. At the start, there were already posters and parades of Freddie running for governor, when it turned out later that he had not even filed his candidacy yet. Amor was fuming mad when Freddie had her served annulment papers in one scene, then she engaged Freddie a threesome romp in the next. 

The acting was campy all around, reflective of the subpar writing. Angeli Khang looked taller and classier than all her past films, but her acting choices were inconsistent. Jela Cuenca looked uncomfortable with the awkward things Carmela was made to do. Stephanie Raz was terribly amateurish with her line delivery in the role of Freddie's secretary Karen. 

Jay Manalo can really emanate perverted dirty-old-man vibes effortlessly, and he can wing even the most tacky scenes. After being just an anonymous stud in his previous Vivamax outings, Massimo Scofield finally gets his shot at a bigger role, yet he elected to play it in such a comic childish way, inconsistent with the wife-beating brute that his character was. 

Director Joel Lamangan's best visual metaphor in this capital B-rate movie were camera angles to remind us that Amor was a level higher than Carmela. There was no attempt to make the sex scenes artistic, all dry and mechanical. It may be disappointing for her fans, but I take it a sign of progress for Khang that she only had to do one nude sex scene here. 1/10. 

 

Netflix: Mini-Reviews of ATHENA, LOU and I USED TO BE FAMOUS

September 29, 2022

ATHENA

Director: Romain Gavras

A 13 year old boy named Idir, who lived in the immigrant community of Athena in Paris, was killed by men wearing police uniforms. His eldest brother Abdel (Dali Benssalah) was a soldier, calmly working to solve the case by peaceful means. Another brother Karim (Sami Slimane) was a rebel, boldly leading an incendiary revolution of the youth against the authorities. Yet another brother Moktar (Oassini Embarek) was a selfish man who was angry at Karim's mob because it was bad for his underground businesses. 

This film starts with an impressive 10 minute-long tracking shot of a press conference disrupted by a Molotov cocktail, then followed Karim and his men violently clashing with the authorities. Midway, there was another long continuous shot of a bold police operation which ended badly, then followed young officer Jerome (Anthony Bajon) in its aftermath. These complicated tracking shots of choreographed crowd chaos showcased the camera skills of director Romain Gavras and his cinematographer Matias Boucard in their fullest grandeur. 9/10

LOU

Director: Anna Forrester

Single mother Hannah Dawson (Jurnee Smollett) lived with her young daughter Vee (Ridley Bateman) on a remote island community. Their landlord and next door neighbor was the rude and cantankerous old woman Lou Adell (Allison Janney), who lived alone with her dog Jax. One night, during a strong thunderstorm, Vee was kidnapped from their home. Hannah suspected that it was her husband whom they thought was dead, special forces soldier Phillip (Logan Marshall-Green) was the culprit.

Allison Janney had long been known to be a dependable character actress, from her days in "The West Wing" (1999-2006) to her Oscar-winning turn in "I, Tonya" (2017). As Lou, Janney showed us yet another facet of her acting talent, this time as a full-on action star at age 62 (Liam Neeson was a younger 58 when he did "Taken" in 2008). There were plot holes galore on how Lou managed to do what she was still able to do everything she did with all the major-looking injuries she incurred, but that surprising little twist revealed in the second act was a nice touch. 6/10. 

I USED TO BE FAMOUS

Director: Eddie Sternberg

Vince (Ed Skrein) was a member of the popular 2000s boyband Stereo Dream who is now desperately trying to recover his lost career. The eventual success of his band mate Austin (Eoin Macken) made him feel worse about himself. One day, while busking in the market, he was joined by Stevie (Leon Long), an autistic drummer who complemented his song with his percussive talent. However, Stevie's mom Amber (Eleanor Matsuura) could not help but be protective over her son and was hesitant to encourage Vince's plans for Stevie.

You can see the ending from the start, but there were some nifty twists and turns before you get there. Scenes of the two guys together and in the music therapy sessions were quite touching. In the end, Vince had to make a very important decision, and the director did not show us directly what it was. Realistic, maybe not, but there was really an emotional connection in that final sequence that will make tears well up. Fans who only knew Ed Skrein as the first Daario Naharis on "Game of Thrones" will be pleasantly surprised to see him singing and playing the keyboard (he did start his career in 2004 with a three-track EP). 6/10.

Review of DON'T WORRY DARLING: Vacant Victory

September 29, 2022

It was the 1950s in Victory, California, a town founded by an enigmatic gentleman named Frank (Chris Pine) who also own the company where all the husbands were employed. Everyday, all the husbands drive off to work, while the wives hang around together in the swimming pool or the dance studio. One such couple was tech engineer Jack Chambers (Harry Styles) and his ideal homemaker wife Alice (Florence Pugh). 

One day, Alice witnessed a small plane crash in the desert and she went off to offer her help. However, she instead found herself in front of the Victory Headquarters, a mysterious domed building on top of a hill. When she touched the glass doors, she had hallucinations and lost consciousness. When she woke up, it was night time. she was back in her bedroom, and Jack was preparing dinner as if nothing happened.

Florence Pugh was practically reliving her role from her breakthrough movie "Midsommar" (2019) as her character slowly realized the bizarre goings-on inside a seemingly perfect  community. There was no doubt that the integrity of this film lay squarely on her shoulders and she gave it her all. This exhausting role had a marked physical demand on Pugh on top of all its stressful mental and emotional demands.

Harry Styles was actually not as bad as critics made him out to be, but I still had no idea why he had to do that prolonged dance number. Did not expect usual good boy Chris Pine to be a good villain but he emanated toxic vibes every time he was onscreen, even without uttering a word. Director Olivia Wilde took on a secondary role as Alice's next door neighbor and best friend Bunny. She had made a good decision to switch roles with Pugh. 

The production design and costume design made utopian Victory reminiscent of "The Stepford Wives" or "Pleasantville." The musical score by John Powell was stark and very unsettling. Wilde decided to leave so many details left unseen and unexplained, like why the plane crash happened or the most basic, what's inside the Victory Headquarters. These nagging questions, and the abrupt ending, made the storytelling feel incomplete. 6/10. 

Netflix: Review of BLONDE: Tangible Tragedy

September 29, 2022

Up to when she was seven years old, Norma Jeane (Lily Fisher) lived with her psychologically-imbalanced mother Gladys (Julianne Nicholson). However, after an unfortunate incident of serious child endangerment, Gladys was sent to a mental institution, leaving Norma to grow up in an orphanage and foster families. Ten years later, Norma (Ana de Armas) became a pin-up model, which later led to a career in film acting.

Norma never met her real father, knowing him only from a single photograph. She would call the men she became romantically involved with, like the Ex-Athlete (Bobby Cannavale) and the Playwright (Adrien Brody), as "Daddy."  However, throughout her life, she still held on to the dream of meeting her father, especially since she received a regular series of letters from her "tearful father" who also expressed a desire to meet her. 

Because of her popularity as a celebrity and her death at age 36 from a drug overdose, Marilyn Monroe remains to be a pop icon. People had such a long-held fascination about her life and loves, there had been several documentary films and biopics produced about her. Actresses who have played her include Mira Sorvino (Emmy nominee for "Norma Jean and Marilyn" 1996) and Michelle Williams (Oscar nominee for "My Week with Marilyn" 2011).

This latest biopic was much talked about from the get-go when Cuban actress Ana de Armas was cast to portray her.  De Armas proved naysayers wrong as she totally disappeared into her iconic role with a mesmerizing and heartbreaking performance. The voice, the mannerisms, the smile -- it was as if De Armas was actually Marilyn Monroe. De Armas captured Monroe's vulnerability so well which made the sad outcome even more tragic.

Based on Joyce Carole Oates 2000 fictional biography, writer-director Andrew Dominik blurred the lines between Norma Jeane's person and Marilyn's celebrity, shifting from color to black and white, seamlessly morphing scenes of reality with her movies, then with her nightmares. Hearing her conversations with her unborn children was as distressing as seeing her suffer sexual and physical abuse almost all her unhappy life. 

There was much controversy when this Netflix production was slapped with a notorious NC-17 rating. However, those sexually-charged scenes were not as graphic as may be expected, even when the scene was as scandalous as a threesome with Charlie "Cass" Chaplin, Jr. (Xavier Samuel) and Edward G. Robinson Jr. (Evan Williams), or as shocking as Marilyn's encounter with a certain US President (Caspar Phillipson). 7/10. 

Review of ALWAYS: KimXi as the Keystone

September 27, 2022

Lino Alabin (Xian Lim) is bitter young man who lived alone with his pet tortoise. He used to be a champion boxer, an Asia-Pacific title contender, but has since retired. He now juggled two menial jobs to make ends meet as water delivery boy and a parking cashier of a building. One day, he agreed to take over an older man's duty at the cashier's booth. Little did he know that this decision of his would change how his sad life had run so far. 

That night, Lino met a sweet optimistic girl named Anna Alfonso (Kim Chiu), who worked as a clerk at the OFW recruitment agency in the building. After work, she would visit the older parking cashier to share food and watch soap operas with him on his phone. Since three years ago, Anna had a condition that rendered her practically blind. Aside from her kindness, Lino was fascinated with Anna's independence even with her visual impairment.

This film directed by Dado C. Lumibao had been adapted by writer Mel Mendoza-Del Rosario from a 2011 Korean film of the same title co-written and directed by Song Il-go. Viva Films had been busy mining Korean cinema for stories that they can adapt into the Filipino setting. Just last year, they had done "More Than Blue," "The Housemaid" and their biggest success so far, the award-winning Metro Manila Filmfest entry "A Hard Day." 

The love story that developed between the two orphans Lino and Anna may seem simple and straightforward at the start.  Anna's relentless positive attitude in life despite her blindness was eventually able to draw a pessimistic miserable Lino from out of the dark shadow cast on his life. However, being an adaptation from a Korean film, there would of course be a major complicating twist to elevate the story up another level of emotional punch. 

I had not seen the original film, but on its own, this Filipino version, despite some errors in continuity, medical inaccuracies and a rather overlong ending melodrama, succeeds because of star power and dramatic chops of the two lead stars Kim Chiu and Xian Lim. Their irresistible chemistry sweeps absorbs the audience into their bittersweet love story. Chiu is effortlessly delightful. Lim is impressive in the way he took on grueling physicality of his role. 

This story of "Always" has been tried and true, audience-tested several times over already. It had been remade in Turkish, Kannada (India), Hindu, Japanese and now, Filipino. However, I am still hopeful that a Filipino film can also come up with an all-original story that will sweep us off our feet and tug at our heartstrings as much as previous box-office hit Filipino adaptations of Korean films "Miss Granny" or "Miracle in Cell No. 7" did. 7/10.  

Vivamax: Review of 5 In 1: Quirky Quintet

September 23, 2022

5-in-1 Coffee CEO and certified lover boy Johnny "Dick" Jordi (Wilbert Ross) has just passed away at the prime age of 34. At his wake, his sister Sister Teresa (Giselle Sanchez) wanted all the ex-girlfriends he had be juggling in a single year to speak at the eulogy. She wanted them to share their experiences with Dick and the lessons they learned from him. This was help her decide who deserved the one great treasure Dick had left behind. 

Five beautiful women stood up to give their testimonies: working-student coffee shop clerk Lana  Rose (Jela Cuenca), outspoken labor union leader Mia Kalisa (Debbie Garcia), smart business woman / Yakuza daughter Maria Osaka (Ava Mendez), suicidal runaway virgin Lexie Laurice (Rose Van Ginkel), and beauty contest wannabe Riley Red (Angela Morena). Apparently, Dick gave these ladies more than what he gave them in bed.  

Vivamax has been building Wilbert Ross up as its young sex comedy star (an heir apparent to 90s horny bros Andrew E, Dennis Padilla and Janno Gibbs) since his introduction in "Shoot, Shoot," his subsequent solo-starrers "Crush Kong Curly" and "Boy Bastos" and even in the series "High on Sex." In all of these projects, Ross has been cavorting with various sexy ladies which he charms with his raunchy sense of humor. 

The five sexy actresses who shared the title with Ross actually had very good acting skills. Cuenca ("Palitan"), Mendez ("#DoYouThinkIAmSexy?"), Van Ginkel ("Kitty K7") and Morena ("X-Deal 2") already proved their talents in previous films. This film gave Debbie Garcia more screen time and lines than before, and she gave it her all. Hopefully, they would be able to do their next films without having to take off all their clothes and act so lasciviously.  

Several Vivamax actors also show up in smaller roles and cameos to lend support to this project like Chad Kinis, MC Muah, Lassy, Marissa Sanchez, Kier Legaspi, Aurora Sevilla, Raquel Montesa, Carlene Aguilar, Bob Jbelli, Manu Respall, and current heartthrob Gab Lagman. Pio Balbuena stole all the scenes he was in as Dick's aide Bernie. Giselle Sanchez also had funny moments as a naughty nun (what is it about Sanchez and nuns?). 5/10.

KTX: Review of RESBAK: A Crook's Circumstance

September 22, 2022

Rene Martinez (Jay Manalo) was running for barangay chairman of District 128 in Manila. His nephew Jepoy (Albie Casino), son of a former congressman (Carlos Siguion-Reyna), was running for as SK (youth council) chair. Jepoy's mother Corazon (Bibeth Orteza) was running their campaign like clockwork, getting all their allies together with their generous "donations" to the police, the teachers and the church, all to ensure their win. 

Isaac de Jesus (Vince Rillon) was one of Jepoy's extensive network of motorcycle thieves who operate under the protection of the local police. He had committed to serve Jepoy because he had to pay back his father's debts to the family.  During a riot in a rap battle concert, Isaac stole a motorcycle which belonged to Richard (Khalil Ramos), leader of a rival gang. This caused their conflict to escalate into a deadly full-blown rumble.  

After seeing him dabble in Vivamax erotica, it was very good to see director Brillante Mendoza back on the gritty streets of the city where we knew him best.  "Resbak" (2021) revisited the rough streets of Manila which Mendoza's camera had explored before in films like "Ma'Rosa" (2016), "Alpha: The Right to Kill" (2018) and TV series "Amo" (2017). Mendoza's production design showed his meticulous eye for detail, down to how Jepoy's piranhas were fed. 

We already saw Vince Rillon's motorcycle riding skills before in Roman Perez's "Siklo" (2022) where he played a motorcycle delivery boy. It turned out that he had more intense motorcycle riding stunts here in "Resbak" (which was shot back in 2019) as Isaac weaved in and out of vehicular traffic. His raw, restrained, sensitive performance as Isaac won Rillon the Best Actor award at the 19th Asian Film Festival in Rome, Italy earlier this year. 

The rap culture of restless youth dominated the energetic musical soundtrack by Diwa de Leon. The cinematography of Joshua A. Reyles and editing of Diego Max Dobles both deserve commendation. Troy Espiritu's screenplay was best how he incorporated all the crooked political machinations behind winning local elections. Bibeth Orteza's ruthless portrayal of a political kingmaker behind the men in her family was chilling. 7/10

Review of DECISION TO LEAVE: Fascination and Frustration

September 21, 2022

Hae-jun (Park Hae-il) was a police detective working in Busan. His wife Jung-an (Lee Jung-hyun) was a scientist working in a nuclear power plant outside the city in the foggy town of Lipo. Under that strain, their marriage was not working out too well. He had very bad insomnia and have had near accidents on the road because of his severe sleep deprivation. He needed eye drops for his dry eyes, and a breathing machine to help him sleep.

One day, a rich hiking enthusiast was found dead at the foot of a mountain. His Chinese widow Seo-rae (Tang Wei) came under investigation by Hae-jun. She said that she was caring for an elderly female patient in the nursing home at the time of her husband's death. Captivated by Seo-rae's beauty, Hae-jun was in denial that she could ever be guilty of murder, even if the evidence coming in seemed to incriminate her.  

Beautiful Chinese actress Tang Wei's Seo-rae was a literal femme fatale. Tang is still best remembered for her courageous screen debut in Ang Lee's controversial "Lust, Caution" (2007) with Tony Leung. Tang's ageless beauty is perfect for her role here, striking and mesmerizing, irresistible to all men lying on points along the spectrum of virtue.  Despite the intense story of forbidden love here, Tang did not show as much skin as she did in "Lust." 

Park Hae-il's first gained attention when he played the third prime suspect with soft hands in Bong Joon-ho's certified classic "Memories of Murder" (1990). His Hae-jun is an everyman we can all empathize with. We feel his subtle fascination with the attractive femme fatale, so much as to defend her innocence against all odds. We feel his frustrations when this mysterious woman seemingly kept taunting him as much she taunted fate. 

Director Park Chan-wook is responsible for some of South Korea's most memorable films. He is most famous for his perverted and violent opus "Oldboy" (2003), the centerpiece of his so-called "Vengeance Trilogy" which also included "Sympathy of Mr. Vengeance" (2002) and "Lady Vengeance" (2005). His other noted masterpieces include "Joint Security Area" (2000), "Thirst" (2009) and most recently, the bold and provocative "The Handmaiden" (2016). 

"Decision to Leave" is Park Chan-wook's first film in five years which makes it a major event for South Korean and international film fans alike. Park's telling of this crime-mystery was very compelling, giving focus on an uncomfortable romance while everything else was left rather cloudy. We appreciate his innovative camera technique to capture the characters and scenery in a most aesthetic, riveting manner, even as it may not be at the level of his previous films. 

"Decision to Leave" premiered in Cannes competing for the Palme D'or earlier this year. By the end of the festival, Park Chan-wook emerged victorious in the race for Best Director. This film had so much going for it, it was simply impossible not to expect a lot from it. However, these very high expectations may prove difficult for this moody film to satisfy fully. It never really became as complex or as rich as it was promised in its first act. 8/10

Netflix: Mini-Reviews of DO REVENGE, END OF THE ROAD and SEOUL VIBE: Crazy Capers

September 20, 2022

DO REVENGE

Drea Torres (Camila Mendes) was aghast when her boyfriend Max Broussard (Austin Abrams) leaked a sex video of hers on the internet, which ruined her reputation and put her dream of going into Yale in danger. One day, Drea met Eleanor Levetan (Maya Hawke), who was shunned by her schoolmates because she was outed as a predator lesbian in summer camp. The two connive together to exact revenge on each others' enemies.

This film had all the "high school mean girls" tropes in teen films like "Heathers," "Cruel Intentions," "Clueless" and yes, "Mean Girls" -- but updated for today's social media generation. The mean streaks in Drea and Eleanor's revenge plans were so ruthless, it was not easy to be on their side the whole time. However, the story took some nifty twists in the third act just when you thought it was going the typical way. Overall, a fun watch, especially with some surprise guest stars, like Sophie Turner as nasty gossip girl Erica, and Sarah Michelle Gellar as the Headmaster of Rosehill. 7/10

END OF THE ROAD

Director: Millicent Shelton

Single mom Brenda (Queen Latifah) was taking her two kids out of LA to move to Houston following some financial constraints. Her slacker brother Reggie (Chris Bridges a.k.a. rapper Ludacris) went along for the big move. When they stayed overnight at a roadside motel, there was someone shot to death in the room beside them. They then become targets of a drug lord code-named Mr. Cross when a bag of his money wound up with them.

Queen Latifah does heavy duty lifting to keep this familiar scenario of a black family caught up in white folk country and getting involved with white criminal elements. However, the director went too far when Brenda was able to take on an entire tribe of violent rednecks with her hands tied. Ludacris's role was written very badly, you will get very annoyed with his Reggie. Beau Bridges does well as the helpful sheriff Hammers, who also had some surprises of his own along the way. 4/10

SEOUL VIBE 

Director: Moon Hyun-sung

Just before the 1988 Olympics, a group of car-buff friends with shady pasts, led by their cocky driver Dong-wook (Yoo Ah-in) were conscripted by a government agent Mr. Ahn (Oh Jung-se) to be mules inside a major money laundering syndicate led by crime boss Kang In-sook (Moon So-ri). If they were able to obtain evidence to convict the perpetrators, their criminal records will be wiped clean and they would be given visas to migrate to the US.  

The car-racing action is "Fast and Furious"-lite at best, but the whole thing was still fun nevertheless because of the bravado and craziness of the young guys. There was a lot of 80s references that Gen X'ers will enjoy, like then new fastfood craze McDonalds or illin' Run-DMC rap songs. Having Go Kyung-pyo as one of Dong-wook's gang brought back memories of the sentimental drama series "Reply 1988" which was also set around the same time as this film. 5/10.

Vivamax: Review of THE ESCORT WIFE: Scorned and Shamed

September 16, 2022

Patricia (Janelle Tee) had been confined in their big house while recovering from a miscarriage. Her Orthopedic surgeon husband Roy (Raymond Bagatsing) had been working overtime at the hospital, and was always tired when he came home. Patricia found herself initiating intimate moments, only to be ignored. She felt very neglected and depressed. 

One day, Patricia discovered that with her binoculars she could see into bedroom window of her neighbor Chrissy (Ava Mendez) from her kitchen window. Crissy would have different men there with her every night, engaged in various sexual activities, and Patricia would just watch and join in vicariously. One night, Patricia saw Roy in Crissy's room. 

In "Putahe" and "Secrets," Janelle Tee was given challenging characters to play. While she was fearless in the sexy scene department, she still lacked the maturity and the skill to nail the dramatic aspects of her character. But here in the title role of "The Escort Wife," Tee finally gives a performance of bitterness, depression and vengeance that deserves praise. 

Ava Mendez already made a positive impression in her last film "#DoYouThinkIAmSexy?" even if she stayed completely clothed. Here she showed off more of her feminine wiles, as a prostitute who kept notes about her tricks in a journal as leverage. Mendez showed a relaxed and natural range in acting that did not feel forced or tacky.

Even he is the veteran in the cast, Raymond Bagatsing was rather one note here as Dr. Roy, playing it predictably as the cold, neglectful, insensitive and unapologetic husband. To be fair, his role as an unfaithful husband was not given any significant arc to develop by writer Yam Laranas, just staying true to its lousy stereotype.

Paul Basinillo is more known as concert director for artists and this is only his second feature. He was able to show off skills in creating some beautifully blocked shots of his actors and the locations. The way he was telling the story, I was hoping for an unconventional ending. But alas, it still stuck with the typical Vivamax violent ending which was unfortunate. 6/10. 

Review of THREE THOUSAND YEARS OF LONGING: Wisdom in Wishes

September 15, 2022

British scholar Alithea Binnie (Tilda Swinton) was in Istanbul, Turkey to deliver a talk about telling stories in a conference. For a souvenir, she bought an antique blue bottle from a shop in the market. When she unplugged the bottle, she released a Djinn (Idris Elba). The magical being offered to grant Alithea three wishes, anything her heart truly desired. Aware of prior stories of wishes gone wrong, Alithea hesitated about making a wish.

To help her decide, the Djinn told her three of his most memorable stories. The first story was about how King Solomon (Nicolas Mouawad) cast the spell to imprison him in a bottle. His second story was about Gulten (Ece Yüksel), a maid who wished to be the lover of Mustafa (Matteo Bocelli), son of Suleiman the Magnificent. His third story was about an intellectually-gifted woman Zefir (Burcu Gölgedar) with whom he fell in love. 

This latest film by written and directed by George Miller, the celebrated writer and director of the "Mad Max" franchise, from his feature film debut that made Mel Gibson a star (1979) to its critically-acclaimed, multiple Oscar-winning fourth installment subtitled "Fury Road" (2015). He was also wrote and directed other memorable films, like "Lorenzo's Oil" (1992), "Babe: Pig in the City" (1998), "Happy Feet" (2006) and its sequel (2011).

This was was inspired by A.S. Byatt's 1994 short story "The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye" first published in the Paris Review literary magazine. The first line of Alithea's fairy tale narration "Once upon a time, when (humans) hurtled through the air on metal wings, when they wore webbed feet and walked on the bottom of the sea ..." was from the opening line of the short story, but the rest of it was Miller's all the way, written with a charm of his own.

The main bulk of this movie are the stories told by the Djinn to seduce the woman who released him to make her wishes. Being the reliable actors they are, Tilda Swinton and Idris Elba both gave their characters a distinct idiosyncratic likability which make the viewers empathize with them. The Djinn's weird tales themselves may not always be as engaging in themselves, but Miller's compelling visuals always held our attention rapt. 7/10. 

Review of WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING: Maid of the Marsh

September 6, 2022

Popular rich boy Chase Andrews (Harris Dickinson), was found dead at the foot of a tall view tower in the forest outside Barkley Cove, North Carolina. Gossip around town laid the blame on a poor reclusive young woman who lived on the marsh, Catherine Danielle "Kya" Clark (Daisy Edgar-Jones), derisively called "Marsh Girl," who was then arrested for his murder. Local lawyer Tom Milton (David Strathairn), volunteered his services to defend Kya.  

Kya had to fend for herself since she was seven, when she was abandoned by all the other members of her family. Fortunately, a friendly African-American couple Jumpin and Mabel Madison (Sterling Macer Jr. and Michael Hyatt) helped her along the way. When she grew up to be a teenager, she was befriended by Tate Walker (Taylor John Smith), who taught her to read, encouraged her nature drawings, and introduced to the joy of young love.

Upon the framework of a murder case, the story of Kya Clark's difficult life was told. The strength of the movie lay in the two actresses who played Kya in two earlier stages of her life. Kya as a precocious seven year old was played by 11-year old Jojo Regina in her impressive feature film debut. The child Kya went through a miserable childhood, marred by abuse, abandonment, and bullying, and Regina gave a fierce portrayal of this. 

Kya as an adult was played by the ethereally beautiful Daisy Edgar-Jones, best known for the 2020 Irish miniseries "Normal People." Edgar-Jones looked so fresh and fashionable, it sometimes did not make sense why the townspeople mocked her so. Edgar-Jones imbued young adult Kya with a sense of pride and dignity despite her traumatic experiences. Her voice-over narrations were delivered with a soothing calm that fit Della Owens's poetic words.

The two men Kya was involved with were both not without flaws. Harris Dickinson's Chase Andrews was a rascal of the first degree, someone who haunted Kya even after his death. Taylor John Smith's Tate Walker was a gentleman, a friend who patiently taught Kya how to read, to write and to love. However, when Tate was faced with a crossroads in life with a tough decision to make, he would also hurt Kya deeply. 

Oscar-nominated character actor David Strathairn (for George Clooney's "Good Night and Good Luck" in 2005) played the elderly lawyer Tom Milton, who steadfastly defended Kya in the face of the prejudice against her. His calm demeanor and kind empathy for Kya's plight can bring back memories of Gregory Peck's beloved character Atticus Finch defending a black man falsely accused of rape in "To Kill a Mockingbird" (1962).

The director is Olivia Newman, only on her sophomore project. The writer is Lucy Alibar (Oscar nominee for adapted screenplay for "Beasts of the Southern Wild"), based on the best-selling 2018 novel by Della Owens (which I had not read yet, but I now want to).  Reese Witherspoon and Lauren Neustadter produced it under their Hello Sunshine Media. Taylor Swift wrote and sang the original theme song "Carolina." With its heady romantic tone, the feminine sensibilities of the film were quite palpable. 7/10. 

Review of JANE: Oppressive Obsession

September 11, 2022

On her senior year of high school, Olivia (Madelaine Petsch) is very determined to get into Stanford for college. She was very active in her debate club in order to add more distinction to her application. However, the sudden death of her good friend Jane (Chloe Yu) made her feel distraught and disoriented. When she got news that her application to Stanford had been deferred, she became even more disturbed.

Olivia reconnected with her other friend Izzy (Chloe Bailey) after Jane's death. They began to confide with each other about problems encountered in school. The two of them decide to make an account in Jane's name on social media, and began to post anonymous videos about classmates and teachers who annoyed them. However, there began to be nasty posts that would appear on Jane's account that neither of them posted. 

In films, we usually see cyber-bullying from the point of view of the victims. However for a change, "Jane" decided to tell the story from the point of view of the offending bully. In this her debut feature film, writer-director Sabrina Jaglom warns us of the fact that because of the anonymity online social media afforded, any kind of identity can be assumed to spread malicious information, and you can never guess who could do such a thing.

Madelaine Petsch gained mainstream fame from the TV series "Riverdale" for the role of Cheryl Blossom, a troubled character which she still plays up to the present. Even if Petsch is already 28 years old in real life now, she could still pass for a precocious, ambitious, smart and manipulative teenager Olivia. Her subtle portrayal of Olivia's obsessive behavior and ghostly vision kept the proceedings tense and uncertain right up to the climax. 

Chloe Bailey is half of the Grammy-nominated musical duo Chloe x Halle, together with her sister Halle (now more known for being cast as Ariel in the upcoming live-action version of Disney's "The Little Mermaid"). Bailey had a strong presence which was quite effective in adding confusion to the turn of events in the film. Oscar-winning actress Melissa Leo played the principal in the school, a very minor role in the scheme of thing. 

The concluding sequence ended the whole film on a very disturbing and uncomfortable note. Some people are desperate enough to go all the way to reach their high goals, no matter who they hurt or destroy along the way. Mental health issues of envy, insecurity and pressure can push someone to do things no one could ever suspect them of being capable of. With single-minded focus and presence of mind, they can get away with anything.   6/10. 

Vivamax: Review of #DOYOUTHINKIAMSEXY?: Academic Abuse

September 9, 2022

Charlize Concepcion (Cloe Barreto) was a regular college student taking up computer science by day. At night, she took on the sexy persona of Elle online, dancing, disrobing and enticing subscribers on a webpage to visit her private site for an extra fee. She did this because she was expected by her mother to regularly send money to support her family's financial needs. 

Mr. Trystan Roberto (Marco Gomez) was a professor teaching a course on "Science, Technology and Society." He recognized that one of his students in that class Charlize was the same girl Elle that he took a fancy on his favorite camgirl website. He had a fetish on school girls, and even had an affair with a student Harriet (Chloe Jenna) before.

Regular Vivamax viewers will immediately feel that this film is a mishmash of plotlines from previous Vivamax films stitched together to make a "new" one. The camgirl had already been the occupation of a Vivamax lead character for "Kitty K7" and "Scorpio Nights 3." School girl temptresses in uniforms had been the subject of "Kinsenas, Katapusan" and "Doblado." All of these films were just shown within this year, all still within easy recall. 

This film also followed the usual Vivamax film third act when the story would take a violent turn. In fact, this ending was practically a remake of "Silab" (2021) which coincidentally also starred Cloe Barreto and Marco Gomez, both in their Vivamax debuts at that time. In both films, Marco's character was knocked out by Cloe's character (by poison in the first, and by taser in the second) before she proceeded to do an extreme act of emasculation. 

It was unfortunate that Cloe Barreto's face was in a perpetual scowl for most of this film because of her character's sorry situation. We need to see her wholesome smile more next time, hopefully in a happier context. Marco Gomez was credible as a perverted predator, but not really as a professor.  Ava Mendez caught attention as Charlize's smart and confident ex-roommate, only friend and camgirl-advocate Freya, even if she kept her clothes on. 

Respected theater director Dennis Marasigan wrote and directed this film. Sadly, this one is no "Sa North Diversion Road" (2005), still his most critically-acclaimed work in film so far. However, his tense scene where the dean (Jojit Lorenzo) was presiding on a case involving an accusation of rape of a student by a professor stood out for its grim portrayal of misogyny in the academe and Dolly de Leon's stellar performance in her very small role. 3/10. 

Review of FANNY: THE RIGHT TO ROCK: Pioneering Pride

September 7, 2022

Fanny was an all-female band formed by Filipino-American sisters June and Jean Millington with fellow Fil-Am drummer Brie Brandt. By the time they were signed by Reprise Records by producer Richard Perry in 1969, the Millington sisters were joined by drummer Alice de Buhr and keyboardist Nickey Barclay. In the first five years of the 1970s, they released five studio albums, and had two top 40 hits, "Charity Ball" (#40, 1971) and "Butter Boy" (#29, 1975).

Fanny boldly defied all popular conventions from the late 1960s when they were starting out, until they became more famous in the 1970s. In those times, female musicians playing instruments as a band were a very rare breed, and met much resistance from the male-dominated music industry. Unfortunately, even before "Butter Boy" peaked at #29 in April 1975, Fanny broke up as a band just when they were at the cusp of hitting it bigger. 

Aside from being all-female, having Asian-American and lesbians in the band made things more difficult for Fanny to break through in the early 1970s, yet they did albeit shortlived. 40 years after their break up, Fil-Ams June, Jean and Brie, undeterred by age and illness, are carrying forth the legacy of Fanny with their spin-off band called "Fanny Walked the Earth." Their ethnic pride had inspires a new breed of Fil-Am female musicians, and will surely make this film more resonant with Filipino audiences. 

Rock and Roll Hall of Famers like Bonnie Raitt and Joe Elliott (of Def Leppard), as well as John Sebastian (of the Lovin' Spoonfuls), Kate Pierson (of the B-52s), Kathy Valentine (of the Go-Go's), Cherie Currie (of the Runaways), Earl Slick (of David Bowie's band) among others, all paid their tributes to Fanny. Their presence certainly added more credibility to the film, about the genuineness of Fanny's pioneering influence in rock and roll in general.

I admit that at first I did not plan to watch this documentary made by American-Canadian filmmaker Bobby Jo Hart since I never heard about Fanny nor their music at all. Fortunately the music history buff in me prevailed and I gave this film a chance, and thankfully so. Hart had told Fanny's story in a most engaging manner, enough to hook even those who did not know anything them. After watching it, I became an instant fan, promptly downloading their music catalog on my Spotify. 8/10. 

Review of EXPENSIVE CANDY: A Pragmatic Prostitute

September 6, 2022

Mr. Renato "Toto" Camaya (Carlo Aquino) was a history teacher in a high school in Pampanga. He was very serious with his job, but he only took home a measly salary of P7500 per payday, which he still dutifully turned over to his mother Yolly (Marnie Lapus). He was already turning 30 and still very much single, so his virginity was a topic of curiosity among his students, led by resident bully Gopez (Francis Magundayao). 

One day, Toto wandered into Area, a notorious place frequented by men who wanted a quick romp in the hay. The moment he laid eyes on Candy (Julia Barretto), the most expensive girl there at P700 a session, Toto was so smitten by her allure that he just had to have her even if he only had P500 in his pocket. After that first encounter with her, Toto was obsessed to be with her, even if he had to resort to demeaning or unethical sidelines to afford her fees.

Carlo Aquino already turned 37 years old this week, but he still looked quite young here as Toto. He actually needed to dial down his strong screen presence a bit to be credible as an introvert who made papier-mache figurines as a hobby and made ice candy to sell to his students. At this point in his career, he does not have to prove anything anymore when it came to acting prowess. He played Toto with restraint to give way to the real star of the show. 

This movie was mainly Julia Barretto's showcase to further push her forth as the "Drama Princess" of local cinema. The shock value is immediate from the daring poster and trailer alone. Julia Barretto at 25 has shed off her sweet image and all inhibitions to play a pragmatic prostitute. Her Candy wore skimpy silky lingerie to slinky swimwear, as she walked the neon-lit streets of Fields, gyrated in the pit of the Dollhouse or cavorted on a luxurious hotel bed. 

Writer-director Jason Paul Laxamana is coming back after a long break during this pandemic which interrupted his prolific streak of films from 2016 to 2019. He has not lost his touch in getting the best out of his actors in these bittersweet love stories in which the characters need to make major life-changing decisions. He was already able to guide Julia Barretto to a remarkable performance in "Between Maybes" (2019), and now he upped her bar some more.

Part of us wished that Julia Barretto did not have to take on a brazenly provocative role like this. We could not help but feel protective of her in a way. However, Barretto is of age and there are indeed smart independent young women her age who really make their living this way. So Barretto in essence is just reflecting reality as an actress who had matured in her career, ready to take on roles beyond her comfort zone, and for that we respect her decision.

There's plenty of skin exposure and scenes of intimacy, but Laxamana never went all-out Vivamax-level graphic in the depiction of Candy's salacious occupation. When the price is right, Candy gave her customers a free hand to do whatever they want to do with her body, but Laxamana wisely left what happens next to the imagination of his viewers. With Laxamana judiciously deciding the limits of what his camera showed, the mystique that is Julia Barretto still remains intact. 6/10

Review of HUNT: Debatable Duality

 September 3, 2022

In the 1980s, South Korea was under an oppressive military dictatorship. When the South Korean president visited Washington DC, there were two gunmen waiting to shoot him inside an auditorium where he was supposed to deliver a speech. The Korean security detail, headed by KCIA Foreign Unit chief Park Pyong-ho (Lee Jung-jae) and Domestic Unit chief Kim Jung-do (Jung Woo-sung), was able to foil the plot.

Because of this failed assassination attempt, the KCIA was assigned to expose a North Korean spy codenamed Donglim in their ranks, who was leaking intel so that their enemies knew the activities of the President ahead of time. The crafty new KCIA Director Ahn (Kim Jong-soo) soon had the idea of pitting Park and Kim against each other, suspecting that one of them could actually be the mole.   

This action-packed film of non-stop double crossing was amazingly the work of a first-time feature film director, none other than lead actor Lee Jung-jae himself. Lee is a veteran leading man since the mid-90s, in acclaimed films like "The Affair" (1998), "Il Mare" (2000), "The Housemaid" (2010), "The Thieves" (2012), and "Along with the Gods" (2017, 2018). The hit Netflix series "Squid Game" (2021) made him a household name worldwide.

Lee was able to maneuver the complexity of this script (which he also co-wrote) like a pro. The story also went back and forth in time for both of the two lead characters to further elucidate (or maybe confuse) their relationship with other supporting characters (like Park's protectiveness for a certain college student) or their motivations for present actions (like Kim's experience as a soldier during the Gwangju massacre).

Lee also proved to be very adept in directing his major action scenes.  Beginning from that  fracas chasing the gunmen down in an American auditorium, the frenetic car chase and shootout in the streets of Tokyo after failing to secure a North Korean asset, and the climactic explosive showdown of assassins in a Bangkok palace.  The way Lee executed the various scenes of violent interrogations and outright torture was realistically disturbing.

Lee Jung-jae and Jung Woo-sung have been very good friends since they were both cast in "City of the Rising Sun" in 1998. Therefore, even if they portrayed bitter rival KCIA operatives who hated each others guts, the two charismatic actors have a powerful screen chemistry together. It would seem that Director Lee allowed Jung to play the showier role of Kim. Lee made sure that even if both lead roles were flawed, you will empathize with both. You will keep hanging on undecided who the real good guy or bad guy was until the gripping finale. 

Go Yoon-jung ("Law School" and "Alchemy of Souls") in her film debut played Park's ward Jo Yoo-jeong. Heo Sung-tae (villain in "Squid Game") played Kim's violent right-hand man Jang. A number of big name actors to make guest appearances. Ju Ji-hoon (of "Kingdom" and "Jirisan") played a Tokyo branch agent. Hyu Jae-Myung (of "Reply 1988" and "Itaewon Class") played a suspect CEO. Hwang Jung-min (of "Ode to My Father" and "The Wailing") played a North Korean soldier seeking asylum. 8/10. 

Vivamax: Review of BULA: Laundering Libido

September 2, 2022

Meldie (Ayanna Misola) worked as an employee at a busy laundry business managed by Gloria (Ana Abad Santos). Her favorite secret activity was to try on the clothes of her customers and fantasize about being in their respective occupations. She would even bring these clothes home and engage in playing dress-up sex games with her aphasic and invalid partner at home, Manny (Mon Confiado). 

One of her frequent customers was the beautiful fashion model Celine (Rob Guinto) and her dashing policeman boyfriend Jacob (Gab Lagman). They live in the same building so Meldie would frequently deliver their laundry to them in person. She observed that Celine was having an affair with her manager Gino (Alvaro Oteyza), as Jacob was pre-occupied with investigating a series of grisly murders in their neighborhood.

This is yet another Vivamax film that goes the way of sex and violence, as per their formula for success. It had just been a few weeks ago that director Bobby Bonifacio Jr. explored similar themes of mental disturbance, sexual abuse, serial murder and psychotic misandry in his film "Tahan."  There was a dash of dark comedy in this one, as Meldie acted out her weird fantasies while wearing her customers's dirty clothes to the tune of amusing songs. 

There were a number of naughty songs in the musical soundtrack, like "Kahit Gaano Kalaki" (Alynna) and "Malaking Lalaki" (Viva Hot Babes). Director Bobby Bonifacio Jr. himself composed songs like "Miss na Labandera" (Alvin Castro), "Puti at De Kolor" and "Balutin ng Pag-ibig" (Jackie Lyn Barcebal) to fit the laundry motif of his film. A big surprise was a cover version of Willy Cruz's "Pangarap na Bituin" (Ataska) played at a climactic moment. 

For some reason, Ayanna Misola had been playing mentally-disturbed, sexually aggressive characters since her first solo starrer "Kinsenas, Katapusan" and her last film, "Ang Babaeng Nawawala sa Sarili." Here in "Bula," she went further even further with the nuances of her character, as Meldie shifted from sanity to insanity ever so discreetly, which is to Misola's credit. Thankfully, there were no hysterical breakdowns that shout "crazy" here. 

Gab Lagman is a handsome debonair young actor in the mold of Diether Ocampo. He could give the other Vivamax studs a run for their money if he worked harder to improve his acting skills. Rob Guinto's classy looks and natural acting style can take her far in this industry. On the other hand, with his swarthy, bearded and badly pimple-scarred face, Gino Oteyza may not escape the stereotype of sleazy or villain roles. 5/10. 

Netflix: Review of ME TIME: Horrible Hart

September 1, 2022

Sonny Fisher (Kevin Hart) is a stay-at-home father to his two children Dash and Ava, while his wife Maya (Regina King) is working as a successful architect. Sonny is the one who preps the kids for school and is very active in school activities, like the talent show where he is the chief coordinator. He is pushing his son Dash to practice playing the piano for the show, even though the boy would rather watch stand-up comedy videos. 

One day, Sonny's best friend Huck Dembo (Mark Wahlberg) called to invite him to attend his big 44th birthday celebration. When Maya decided to bring the kids to visit her parents that same weekend, Sonny decided that this would be the best time for him to get some "me time." However, Huck's birthday celebration turned out a roughing-it excursion in the middle of the desert, not exactly the relaxing vacation Sonny was hoping for.

This so-called comedy is certainly one of the worst films Kevin Hart has ever starred in. Kevin Hart almost always plays the same annoying characters in all his films, but he managed to even outdo himself with this one. Hart's character here must have been so boring, that the writer needed him to resort to disgusting gags that involved pooping and vomiting, and not just once. Not even his big speech at the end was any good.

We've seen Mark Wahlberg play irresponsible characters before, but this Huck was beyond any semblance of logic nor redemptive value whatsoever. You cannot understand how and why he was throwing away money for a senseless birthday celebration like this when he did not have a source of income, and yes (like many other films about losers), owed a big amount of money from loan shark Stan Berman (Jimmy O. Yang). 

There is very little to like about his film. The toilet humor was unbearable. The hyperactive gags between Hart and Wahlberg were very exhausting. All the supporting characters were just additional sources of annoyance. The gags that involved animals like the mountain lion and the tortoise were not the least bit funny. The only positive thing I can say about this was the surprise guest appearance of Seal and there was no comedy in that one. 1/10.