Review of AN INCONVENIENT LOVE: Extending the Expiration

November 29, 2022

Ayef (Belle Mariano) was a plucky girl who worked at the 24-Ever convenience store with her friends Jobert (Adrian Lindayag) and Kookie (Iana Bernardez). She was an aspiring animation artist who was hoping she could get accepted into an internship with a Singaporean firm. She lived with her stressed-out hotel manager mother Terry (Matet de Leon) and her meek henpecked father Filemon (Epy Quizon). 

Manny (Donnie Pangilinan) was a rich boy who just opened his own plant shop he called "Halamanny" with his minions Ben 1 (Chino Liu) and Ben 2 (Brian Sy). His tyrannical tycoon father Wilfredo Siena (Tirso Cruz III) had separated from Manny's mother Meryl (Teresa Loyzaga), and brought his former cook, now mistress Agnes (Precious Lara Quigaman) and their autistic son Dobs (JC Alcantara) to live in his mansion. 

This was yet another reiteration of the very old rich boy-poor girl romance trope. Writers Daisy Cayanan and Enrico Santos gave it a twist by having Ayef and Manny give their relationship an "expiration date" -- the day Ayef would be flying off to Singapore. As things usually went in romance films like this, of course Ayef and Manny eventually fall in love with each other, throwing an expected wrench into their convenient arrangement.

This movie worked mainly because of the irresistible chemistry between lead stars Belle Mariano and Donnie Pangilinan, and director Petersen Vargas wisely played it up. Both stars did very well in their delightful comic scenes like that funny sequence of Manny buying items that totaled P143 with Ayef at the cash register; as well as their tearful dramatic moments, like that bitter confrontation after a disastrous birthday dinner. 

Veteran character actresses Matet de Leon and Teresa Loyzaga stood out with their riveting but painfully caustic portrayals of imperfect motherhood.  Epy Quizon proved again that he can do gentle roles as well as those weird quirky roles he is more known for. Tirso Cruz III was just being a one-dimensional villain the whole time. JC Alcantara was sadly underused in his ultimately challenging, yet ultimately inconsequential supporting role. 6/10

Review of STRANGE WORLD: Willfully Woke

November 28, 2022

When Searcher (Jake Gyllenhaal) was still a young man, he went with his famous explorer father Jaeger Clade (Dennis Quaid) on an expedition to cross one of mountains surrounding their land of Avalonia. Midway, Jaeger wanted to study a new energy-generating plant he called Pando. However, his father insisted to go further into the wilderness and forged on ahead in anger. He never made it back home again since then. 

Twenty five years later, Searcher is now a farmer of Pando, which has since been used as the energy source of Avalonia. He is married to pilot Meredith (Gabrielle Union) and had a gay teenage son named Ethan (Jaboukie Young-White), who would rather go on adventures than to stay in the farm. One day, the president of Avalonia Callisto Mai (Lucy Liu) recruited Searcher to join her on a mission to save Pando's root system from attack.

I have to admit that the trailer they released earlier this year did not make me want the movie. No one among the human characters popped out that would encourage audiences to follow his story. None of the alien-looking gelatinous creatures looked particularly interesting to know more about, nor were they cute enough in the typical sense for little kids to clamor for. It was a trailer that did not exactly catch anyone's attention. 

As you watch the prologue, you already get a sense that a father-son disagreement will underpin the whole story, a plot device which had been tackled so many times before. The introduction of Avalonia and Pando took so long, really dragging down the pace of the film at the very start, something the film could not recover from anymore even as the "adventure" proper was already underway. Most of its supposed "comedy" parts were not funny at all.

As wokeness is the trend in films these days, there was much representation going on here in the cast of characters. Searcher and Meredith were a mixed-race couple, and they had a gay son. Ethan Cade is the first openly gay lead character in a Disney film. Not because he was gay, but as written, Ethan was not exactly a likable character. With the sassy way he talked back to his father, it was not easy to sympathize with what he was going through.

I did like how they came up a major unexpected 11th hour twist in the story about the true nature of Pando and the creatures attacking it. Admittedly, it was rather a big stretch about how the humans finally figure out what had been happening all along just by seeing one single giant eye. For Ethan in particular to arrive at the correct deduction came out of nowhere. Anyhow, it was good, but by then, it was already too late to save the film. 5/10. 

QCinema: Review of NOCEBO: Expatriate Exigencies 1

 November 26, 2022

Christine (Eva Green) was a famous designer of children's clothing. During one fashion show, a mysterious dog covered with ticks appeared before Christine. When the dog shook, one of its ticks landed on her nape. Since then, Christine began suffering from episodes of nervousness and shaking that negatively affected her ability to work, and her relationship with her husband Felix (Mark Strong) and daughter Roberta (Billie Gadsdon). 

One day, a Filipino woman named Diana (Chai Fonacier) appeared at Christine's door offering her housekeeping services. Despite having no memory at all of hiring anyone, Christine welcomed Diana in to work for them, something Felix and Roberta did not like. Aside from cooking good food, Diana also knew how folk medicinal techniques which actually improved the unusual symptoms Christine had been experiencing all this time.

A nocebo is the opposite of a placebo. A nocebo is supposed to be a neutral substance that gives a worsening effect to how a patient feels because he thought very negatively of it. I am not entirely sure there was a nocebo at work in this story because Christine actually trusted Diana's rituals and she apparently recovered because of them, and this was despite the negative opinions of her husband and daughter. 

The production went over-the-top with the voodoo, but totally sold it because of Chai Fonacier's eerie portrayal of Diana's insidious manipulation with that unnerving Visayan accent. As she did in her previous roles, Eva Green can really push complex eccentric characters like Christine to their breaking point. The reliable Mark Strong lends his support as the skeptical husband Felix, who kept getting in the way of Diana's plans.

The film took us back to the reason of how and why Diana specifically went to work at Christine's house, and this exposed some unfortunate socio-economic realities. One wonders though if this film did any favors at all to the reputation of Filipino housekeepers and nannies working all over the world right now by showing what otherworldly things Diana was capable of doing. However, as a psychological horror film, this actually worked very well. 7/10.

QCinema 2022: Review of TO THE NORTH: Expatriate Exigencies 2

 November 26, 2022

Dumitru (Nikolai Becker) was a 24-year old young man from Romania. At the port of Algeciras in the southern part of Spain, he was able to sneak onto a Taiwanese cargo vessel under Capt. Tsai (Alexandre Nguyen) destined for Canada. He was discovered by a group of Filipino crew members, namely the bosun Joel (Soliman Cruz) and his friends Allan (Bartholome "Bart" Guingona) and Bernardo (Emmanuel "Noel" Sto. Domingo). 

Being a very religious man, Joel took pity on the young man, hid him in one of the empty rooms near the engine, and would bring him food and drink that he could sneak out. However, as Dumitru's impatience and panic inside his pitch-dark solitary confinement grew in intensity, paranoia was also boiling up on board as the Filipino crewmen began suspect that their Taiwanese ship officers are already onto their big secret. 

Romanian writer-director Mihai Mincan used a variety of languages -- English, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, Tagalog and Romanian -- to deliver this story dealing with international issues that was based on real-life events. Joel and Dumitru understood and spoke English and Spanish, but occasionally they delivered lines in their native language and this can get confusing whether the other party understood what was said or not.

The manner Mincan told his story was very intense, suffused with a constant feeling of claustrophobia whether in the darkness below deck or in the maze of containers on deck. This was achieved with all the extreme closeups by cinematographer George Chiper-Lillemark, enhanced by the film editing by Dragos Apetri. The heavy atmosphere of uncertain danger was further achieved with the suspenseful musical score of Marius Leftarache. 

The tension in those scenes of Capt. Tsai with Joel and Allan was so thick, it was suffocating -- whether it was in the young captain's sterile office, or in that rowdy karaoke night party.  Nikolai Becker's desperate Dumitru can elicit conflicting emotions from anger to pity. Soliman Cruz absolutely gave it his everything in that outstanding final sequence, with his extreme inner turmoil reflected on his weathered face, wet with tears, snot and drool.  8/10. 

Vivamax: Review of US X HER: Tiresome Threesome

November 25, 2022

Dave (Kiko Estrada) was a basketball star who had been sidelined from action because of repeated injuries. He met Mari (AJ Raval) as a new photographer at one of his photoshoots and they soon got married. However, four years later and they were still childless. When the pandemic hit, Dave's sausage business began to tank. 

Lila (Angeli Khang) was one of Dave's biggest fans back in his basketball days. One day, she called Dave to order sausages, and then invited him to cook them for her. It was not only Dave's spicy Hungarian sausage that Lila tasted that night. However, it turned out that their sneaky tryst was just a one-off thing for Dave, and that did not make Lila happy at all.

AJ Raval seemed to have matured considerably in her acting skills with her role here as Mari. She was confident here and was in control of what she wanted in her life. Unfortunately for Angeli Khang, she was saddled with a weaker, pathetic and more illogical role, that of a victim of sex abuse who also used sex to get back at her abuser. 

Kiko Estrada's Dave was such a loser it was difficult to understand why these two beautiful women are so obsessed with him. He was a klutz in sports. He was bad in business.He was an adulterous husband. And to top things all off, he was even a remorseless drug addict. Likely his skills in bed were also not enough, so the two girls went for each other. 

Writer-director Jules Katanyag did try to spice things up by incorporating some scenes staged like a play. This could have been an interesting touch, if only if the three actors were not so self-conscious during these theatrical interludes. Contrary to the sophistication which he probably hoped to achieve, these scenes turned out awkward and unintentionally comical.

This was supposed to be THE ideal combo in the Vivamax universe -- their supreme sirens AJ Raval and Angeli Khang in one movie. Unfortunately, this casting coup was totally wasted in this trite and tiresome triangle story. Vivamax must have had a whole pool of scripts at hand and they had to choose this insipid one to showcase their two top draws. What a waste. 1/10.

QCinema 2022: Mini-Reviews of SIX BEST INTERNATIONAL FILMS OSCAR SUBMISSIONS

November 24, 2022

RETURN TO SEOUL

Director: Davy Chou 

Submission of CAMBODIA (Languages: French, Korean, English)

Freddie Benoit was a Korean who was adopted by a French family when she was still a baby. Now a young woman of 25, Freddie decided to fly to Seoul, Korea when her trip to Japan did not push through. While in Seoul, Freddie tried to look for her birth parents from the adoption agency who facilitated it. She was met with varied reactions -- one parent was over-apologetic, while the other one did not seem to care to see her.

As played by Park Ji-min, Freddie was not exactly a likable person. Her headstrong, rude attitude is not easy to watch or sympathize with. She had some relationships along the way, strangest being with a middle-aged French arms dealer. The belated reunion scene of Freddie and her birth mother was very unsatisfactory. The whole final scene of older Freddie at a remote hotel was a puzzling conclusion. 4/10

SAINT OMER

Director: Alice Diop

Submission of FRANCE (Language: French)

In line with the new book she was writing adapting the classic story of Medea, novelist Rama (Kayije Kagame) went on a trip to Saint Omer witness the trial of Laurence Coly (Kayije Kagame), a young woman who was accused of killing her 15-month old baby girl Elise.

Laurence's story was only told within the confines of the courtroom, via the testimonies of the suspect and witnesses, the questions of the judge (Valérie Dréville) and the emotionally-charged summation of her defense lawyer (Aurélia Petit).

This film is a reflective study about motherhood. Very very slow burn. The flashbacks were about Rama and her strained relationship with her own mother. Meanwhile, it would seem that Laurence also had a strained relationship with her mother. 7/10

PLAN 75

Director: Chie Hayakawa

Submission of JAPAN (Languages: Japanese, Tagalog)

There were three main characters around which the story revolved. Michi (Chieko Baisho) was a 78-year old lady who lived alone and had just been retired from her job. Himoru Okabe (Hayato Isomura) was a young man actively recruiting for Plan 75 until he saw his own uncle (Taka Takao) applying. Maria (Stefanie Arianne) was a young Filipina mother working among elders in Japan to raise money for her daughter's heart surgery.

Plan 75 is about a fictional new law passed in Japan allowing senior citizens aged 75 and above to plan their own euthanized death. With a morbid topic like this, it was no surprise that the pace of the film was glacially slow, the lighting dim and the mood morosely sad. However, there will be an emotional connection to the lonely characters involved, and it will make you reflect on your own life and mortality. 6/10

UTAMA

Director: Alejandro Loayza Grisi

Submission of BOLIVIA (Languages: Quechua, Spanish)

Elderly llama farmer Virginio (Jose Calcina) and his wife Sisa (Luisa Quispe) persist with their daily routines despite the shortage of water following a year-long drought in their remote village in the Andes. One day, their grandson, city boy Clever (Santos Choque) visited to convince them to go back with him to live in the city. However, Virgilio was being a curmudgeon about any of Clever's suggestions.

There was not really much of a story, but it was a rare chance to see a slice of what life was in that part of the world, their daily routines, religion, culture and family. The actors who played the elderly couple were possibly non-professional actors, but their bond as husband and wife is convincing and admirable, and connected emotionally with the audience. The llamas were adorable. The scene with the condor was haunting. 7/10

CORSAGE

Director: Marie Kreutzer

Submission by AUSTRIA (Languages: German, French, English, Hungarian)

With all her ceremonial duties, Empress Elisabeth (Vicky Krieps) was unhappy as the wife of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria (Florian Teichtmeister). Her constraints were represented by the tightness of the corsets she needs to wear, and she rebelled against them. She only confided with her trusted friend Countess Marie Festetics (Katharina Lorenz), and enjoyed activities with her cousin King Ludwig II of Bavaria (Manuel Rubey).

Director Marie Kreutzer used a lot of innovative techniques to set this apart from the usual period biopic. There was technical surprises in the cinematography and musical score. There were inserted black-and-white scenes from the newly-invented motion picture camera by Louie Le Prince (Finnegan Oldfield). There were a couple of scenes featuring modern pop songs ("Help Me Make It Through the Night," "As Tears Go By"). 7/10

EO

Director: Jerzy Skolimowski

Submission by POLAND (Languages: Polish, Italian, English, French)

Eo is a gray donkey who was born in a circus and was in an act with his master Kassandra (Sandra Drzymalska). One day, the circus was closed down because of bankruptcy and public protests of animal cruelty. From there, Eo was moved from place to place -- from a horse stable, to a donkey farm for special children, to the woods, to a soccer game, to an animal hospital, on a delivery truck, and in the estate of a mansion in Italy.

Since the main protagonist is a donkey, Eo is silent. There won't be any Disney-like voice-overs here. It would depend on the director's creativity with his camera angles and musical score to evoke the proper emotion for each story. The violence can be very shocking and jarring. The ending set in Italy was disappointing despite the presence of Isabelle Huppert, because it was strange and had nothing to do with Eo at all. 5/10. 

QCinema 2022: Review of KAPAG WALA NANG MGA ALON: Corroded by Corruption

November 23, 2022

Lieutenant Hermes Papauran (John Lloyd Cruz) was recognized as the best police investigator in the country. He also shared his knowledge and skills as a professor in the police academy. However, he was no saint. He supposedly beat up his wife, and anyone else who dared to go against him. After he saw the Pieta EJK photo in the newspaper, it triggered an itchy psoriasis to develop on his face, which later spread all over his body.

A convict named Supremo "Primo" Macabantay (Ronnie Lazaro) was just released after a 10 year incarceration. He had apparently found God in prison, so he went around baptizing random people in his God's name. However despite this new-found faith, he was also out for revenge for the policeman who investigated his case and found the evidence which sent him to prison -- Lt. Hermes Papauran.

At 187 minutes, this was a relatively short Lav Diaz film. The main plot was actually quite simple and straightforward when compared to his other more complex opuses. There were basically only two main characters here, Hermes and Primo, who have a clear history of conflict in the past and were headed for a final showdown. But of course, Diaz would give them their own idiosyncratic individual stories.

Hermes' photojournalist friend Raffy Lerma (DMs Boongaling) gave us an idea of who Hermes' (and Lav Diaz's) politics. They believed how fascists rule by instilling fear among the people, which was the way of cowards -- a direct criticism of the previous regime and its reign of terror. Hermes' scenes with his elder sister Nerissa (Sharmaine Centenera-Buencamino) gave us a view of Hermes as a person outside the police force. 

Like all previous Lav Diaz, there were some scenes which boggle the viewer. There was a scene of a shirtless Ronnie Lazaro daddy-dancing by himself for a full five minutes, with some lewd interludes in between. Much later, we would also see a shirtless John Lloyd Cruz (with some pretty convincing psoriasis body make-up) do his own five minute solo crazy dancing on the street. What were these scenes for and why did they take so much time? 

There was also a very strange scene of Primo's encounter with a prostitute named Ricarda Lim (Ronaliza Jinatalan) whom he brought to his hotel to convert her. His attempt to baptize her in a basin of water went awry in a most unconvincing way which was comical, unsure if this was deliberate or inadvertent. The subsequent scenes followed Primo's attempt to improbably cover up the snafu, but this whole episode was never brought up again. 

A most striking scene was the final confrontation scene of Hermes and Primo at the pier, expertly composed, lit and shot by cinematographer Larry Manda. Only the sea wall and the two characters were visible in stark contrast against a pitch black background. However, it suddenly shifted to a scene on the same pier with the same two characters (seemingly blocked differently) shot in the natural light of dawn -- a very awkward transition. 

Aside from Diaz's pointed statement against EJK and the president behind it, the intrinsic message of this whole film for me was the sad state of corruption in the police force. Even the outstanding policemen, like Hermes (and yes, even Primo), could eventually go bad given the warped system they worked in. As symbolized by Hermes' friend's reaction to his psoriasis, people regard all policemen with fear even when they approach to help them. 6/10.

Netflix: Review of SLUMBERLAND: Dream Decisions

November 21, 2022

11-year old girl Nemo (Marlow Barkley) grew up only with her father Peter (Kyle Chandler) in the lighthouse which he kept. Peter homeschooled Nemo, taught her about lighthouse operations, and told her fantastic stories before she went to bed. However, one stormy night Peter went out to answer a distress call and never came back home. His father's estranged brother, doorknob salesman Philip (Chris O'Dowd) picked Nemo up and brought her to live with him in the city. Being single and a loner, Philip had a difficult time connecting with Nemo. 

One night, Nemo had a bizarre dream where her plush toy Pig was up and about, snorting and walking, and her bed grew legs and carried her off back to the lighthouse where she grew up. In her father's room, she met Flip (Jason Momoa), a huge man with long hair, curved horns, sharp teeth, wearing a pink jacket with golden epaulettes. Flip promised Nemo that she can be reunited with her father if she can help him find a missing map that would lead them to the Sea of Nightmares, where there are the pearls that can make any wish come true.

This fantasy-adventure film produced by Netflix was based on a vintage comic strip by Winsor McCay called "Little Nemo in Slumberland" which ran in the New York Herald from 1905 to 1911. Each story ran daily for a week with Nemo dreaming himself in various adventures until he woke up in the last panel. There was an anti-hero character named Flip in the strip too, a green-faced clown whose mission was to disrupt Nemo's sleep. In its adaptation, Netflix gender-switched the main protagonist and turned Flip into a bombastic satyr-like creature. 

The special visual effects department of this film really went very far out of the box to create the most spectacular dreamscapes. A standout scene was the car and truck chase scene in the city streets lined with skyscrapers made of glass that could easily shatter into smithereens. Another memorable scene was that of Nemo, Flip and the Canadian dreamer riding on giant Canada geese. Every scene with Pig was a cute visual delight. However, there were still scenes which were obviously used greenscreen and some CGI not smoothly rendered.

Despite the outrageously over-the-top performance of Jason Momoa as Flip (he seemed to be improvising more than he should), this film still had a beating heart that underpinned all the loud noise and garish colors. The way director Francis Lawrence revealed the connection of Nemo's dream world and her real world was executed with impeccable subtlety. The tearjerking scene of Uncle Philip telling Nemo about his relationship with his brother Peter as children would touch the heart of even the most jaded viewer. 7/10. 

Netflix: Review of THE WONDER: Sainted or Starved?

November 20, 2022

In 1862, British nurse Elizabeth Wright (Florence Pugh) was hired for an unusual job in a remote Irish village. She was told that she had to watch an 11-year old girl named Anna O'Donnell (Kila Lord Cassidy), who was reported to have not been eating anything for the past four months. She was to report her professional objective findings to a council of elders which included a doctor (Toby Jones) and the parish priest (Ciaran Hinds).

Elizabeth was initially very skeptical about the whole assignment and was suspicious of the family, especially Anna's very religious and superstitious mother Rosaleen (Elaine Cassidy). Anna claimed that her health was being sustained by something she called "manna from heaven" and did not need any other form of human food. As Elizabeth got closer and earned Anna's confidence, she eventually drew her conclusions. 

The way Florence Pugh is getting cast in all of these challenging roles she's in lately, she is really the present day equivalent of what Kate Winslet was two decades ago. Pugh's Mrs. Wright was aloof and no-nonsense. She carried a heavy emotional load herself, which would later lead to her letting down her guard. Pugh embodied Mrs. Wright's strength of character, ever steadfast to her professional code. 

Kila Lord Cassidy struck me as a young Saoirse Ronan when she was starting out. Her sensitive and consistent portrayal of "fasting girl" Anna was remarkable for an actress her age, especially in those scenes when Anna was in physical difficulty. She held her own in her scenes with Pugh, as they developed an effective chemistry between them. Maybe it helped that her mother, actress Elaine Cassidy, was also there playing Anna's mother.

That it was Chilean director Sebastian Lelio (Oscar winner for "A Fantastic Woman" in 2017) who directed this film is impressive, as he perfectly captured the stifling atmosphere of Catholic fanaticism in 19th century rural Ireland as described in Emma Donoghue's book and screenplay. The technical aspects were likewise faultless, from the cinematography, editing, costume design and that unnerving musical score by Matthew Herbert. 8/10.

Vivamax: Review of ALAPAAP (2022): Frivolities of Filmmakers

November 19, 2022

Erik (Josef Elizalde) dropped out of med school to study filmmaking, now working on his thesis. His girlfriend Tonette (Katrina Dovey) was a fellow film student, still reeling from the suicide of her father. Their friend Orius (Ali Asistio) is a spoiled son of a anti-drug policeman. His bi girlfriend Cathy (Andrea Garcia) was also hooking up with lesbian Joyce (Chesca Paredes). His visiting cousin Adolf (Luke Selby) was a willing accomplice on their trips. 

One day, they took a trip to a remote area in Mindoro to shoot Erik's thesis, which was a documentary about an indigenous tribe called the Banyan.  When they reached their destination, they were brought to the Banyan village by  Manang Adela (Isadora) who introduced them to their elder Nana Azon (Erlinda Villalobos). The young people were disappointed when the tribal people there did not match their initial research. 

This film, not a remake of the Tata Esteban 1984 horror film of the same title, had the name of Brillante Mendoza as creator but the director was someone else, as it was with "Kaliwaan" and "Pusoy". This time the lucky protege to get his big break is Freidric Macapagal Cortez, who had been Mendoza's cinematographer and camera operator for several previous projects since 2017, now making his debut as a full-fledged feature film director. 

The film was about problematic millennials who had major issues with their parents, who were either too controlling, too negligent or too permissive with them. This led them to hang out with their friends and engage in high risk activities like illegal drugs or promiscuous sex. But to be fair, this film also tackled disturbing aspects of young filmmakers and their attitudes towards their craft, whether authenticity is important in their work or not.  

At the very beginning, there was scene set in the class of a film professor (Carlitos Siguion Reyna) where students were critiquing "Kinatay" (2009), poking fun at Brillante Mendoza himself for the film for which he won Best Director at Cannes. To further push the point that the main story was about filmmakers, the students were named after real directors (Matti, Jadaone, Solito, Garcia-Molina, Jimenez and Alix). 

Vivamax films had always pushed the envelope on decency, but this one must be raciest one of all. This one had multiple protracted scenes of graphic love making orgies that already bordered precariously on pornography. Like Mendoza himself did in his other Cannes entry "Serbis" (2008), Cortez did not bother to hide aroused members anymore, probably the only reason British actor Selby was even cast. This is as explicit as it gets (or maybe not). 4/10. 

Review of MAHAL KITA, BEKSMAN: Substantiating Straightness

November 19, 2022

For everyone, Dali (Christian Bables) is gay. He wore his hair red, had a stylish fashion sense, followed a strict facial care routine. He designed gowns for the boutique of his mom Gemma (Katya Santos). He does hair and makeup in Out of the Baks, the salon of his gay father Jaime (Keempee de Leon). Along with BFFs Marga (J-mee Katanyag) and Romy (Lei Ramos), he dressed up their friend Analyn (Donna Cariaso) for local pageants. 

While backstage during a beauty contest, Dali bumped into Angel (Iana Bernardez), and spilled his drink on her evening gown. When he caught a glimpse of Angel's face, it was instant love at first sight. To make up for staining her dress, he transformed it from plain white to flamboyant colorful right there on the spot. The next day, Dali surprised his friends and family when he declared that he was in love, and was actually straight.  

For this month of November 2022, there were two films by director Perci Intalan released, and they could not any further apart in theme and treatment. While "Livescream" was dark, violent and perverse, this one "Mahal Kita Beksman" was bright, cheerful and well, gay. Intalan had the same technical team behind him in both films, Emerzon Texzon for music, Carmela Danao for production design and Moises Zee for cinematography -- versatile artists all.

Fatrick Tabada (best known for writing the riotous 2016 family road trip movie "Patay Na Si Hesus") came up with an insightful script that tries to untangle the frequently confusing threads of the LGBTQ spectrum. His character of Dali is an interesting study of this intricacy, and Christian Bables (already acclaimed for his gay roles in "Die Beautiful" and "Big Night") gives another delightfully winning yet distinctly sensitive portrayal here.

Keempee de Leon went all-out flashy in his portrayal of Dali's unapologetically-gay father, who lived with his wife Gemma and his partner Boyet. Iana Bernardez, who had played an elusive muse before in "Gusto Kita with All My Hypothalamus" (2018), was beautiful, but had iffy romantic chemistry with Bables, who even looked prettier than her in some scenes. J-mee Katanyag made the most of Marga's confession scene, one of the best scenes in the film.

The film had plenty of fun celebrating stereotypically gay activities with Dali's swishy friends, like fashion, cosmetology, volleyball, while also poking fun at stereotypically male activities with Angel's macho brothers, like cars, gym, basketball. However, to also provide balance, it also came up with some memorable, well-written scenes with thought-provoking insights about being straight and the essence of being a man. 8/10. 

QCinema 2022: Review of TRIANGLE OF SADNESS: Rank Reversals

November 17, 2022

The QCinema Film Festival was born 10 years ago, with only 3 films in its maiden lineup. This year, there are no less than 58 films in 7 sections -- including several films nominated by their countries to the Best International Film category of the Oscars, as well as international films where Filipino actors made a mark this year. Also part of the line up is the final film by Ms. Cherie Gil, the latest Lav Diaz), digitally-restored classics like Mike de Leon's "Itim"). 

The opening film is "Triangle of Sadness" by acclaimed Swedish filmmaker Ruben Östlund. This black comedy premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May this year, and walked away with the coveted Palme d'Or (already Östlund's second after "The Square" in 2017). For Filipinos though, the main selling point of this film is the strong Oscar buzz around a possible Oscar nomination for Filipina actress Dolly de Leon, making it even more of a must-watch.

Östlund told the story of "Triangle" in three parts. In Part 1, models Carl and Yaya as they argue about paying for dinner, money and gender stereotypes. Part 2 was about Carl and Yaya's free cruise onboard a luxury yacht, the uber-wealthy passengers they met, all their quirks and idiosyncrasies. Part 3 was about Carl and Yaya and their fellow survivors on a deserted island after a stormy night of seasickness and pirates

Part 1 poked fun at the shallowness of the modeling industry and the pettiness of the people in it. While it seemed out of sync with the rest of the film, it did prepare us for the darkly comic mood this movie was going for. The main satiric meat of the film was in the over-the-top Part 2 particularly with the graphic dinner scene which will get everyone sick in the stomach (they gave out a barf bag at the door), yet still be rollicking fun to watch. The twist of Part 3 hits hard, whatever social stratum you're in.

Harris Dickinson and the late Charlbi Dean make a good attractive lead couple Carl and Yaya, both well-aware of the irony in their characters. Zlatko Burić and Sunnyi Melles as Russian fertilizer magnates Dimitry and Vera, who figure in some of the film's most memorably disturbing scenes. Hollywood star Woody Harrelson played the drunkard captain, while Vicki Berlin played Paula, the by-the-book chief of the service crew.

Of course, there is Dolly de Leon. As Abigail, the toilet manager of the yacht, we do not see her in most of the film, but in Part 3, de Leon is front and center. With a dominating screen presence despite her petite physical stature, there is no way she could be ignored. Her transformation from a lowly housekeeper on the yacht to a no-nonsense big shot among billionaires was loaded with brutally honest social commentary. 8/10. 

Review of SHE SAID: Systematic Sexism

November 13, 2022

In 2016, New York Times journalist Megan Twohey (Carey Mulligan) released as expose about candidate Donald Trump's sexual misbehavior against women. Meanwhile, fellow NYT journalist Jodi Cantor (Zoe Kazan) was working on a separate story about Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, and how he had been sexually harassing actresses who were up for roles in films produced by his company -- Miramax Films.

After Trump won the election, Twohey worked together with Cantor on her story. Actresses like Rose McGowan, Ashley Judd and Gwyneth Paltrow told their stories, but were not willing to go on the record. They then began to turn their focus to interviewing women behind the scenes, like Zelda Perkins (Samantha Morton), Rowena Chiu (Angela Yeoh) and Laura Madden (Jennifer Ehle), who also fell victim to Weinstein's perversions. 

Films inspired by the investigation process of real-life journalists in order to uncover the truth about a controversial crime usually attract Oscar attention. Good examples of these films which were nominated for Oscars were: "All the President's Men" (1976) about the Watergate scandal, "The Post" (2017) about the Pentagon Papers, and the one that won Best Picture "Spotlight" (2015) about sexual misconduct in the Catholic clergy. 

The #MeToo movement was begun in 2006 by activist Tarana Burke to provide victims of sexual abuse a venue to vent the internal turmoil. #MeToo reemerged into public consciousness in 2017 and that was because of the story told here in "She Said." The momentum of that rebirth enabled several movies about real-life #MeToo stories to come out since then, including "Bombshell" (2019) and "Athlete A" (2020).

This year, there are three true-to-life films with a #MeToo theme vying for awards attention. These are:"Tar" by Todd Fields (where Cate Blanchett is touted to win her third acting Oscar), "Women Talking" by Sarah Polley (where Claire Foy and Jessie Buckley are up for supporting actress consideration), and this one "She Said" by Maria Schrader (where Zoe Kazan is up for Best Actress and co-star Carey Mulligan for Supporting).

While Kazan seemed to be onscreen longer, her character Jodi Cantor seemed to be more reactive than proactive. It always felt that each of her scenes -- with Mulligan, Morton, Yeoh, Ehle, and Patricia Clarkson (as her editor Rebecca Corbett) -- were memorable because of the other person she was with in the scene, not really her. I do not know the real personality of the real Cantor, but Kazan played her as low-key in spite of her inner strength.  

Carey Mulligan was nominated for Best Actress for the second time last year for a #MeToo adjacent role, playing a woman avenging her friend who committed suicide in "Promising Young Woman." This time she is again gaining Oscar buzz for her impactful performance here as Megan Twohey, a reporter who worked on both the stressful stories of Trump and Weinstein while going through her personal journey of first-time motherhood. 

Director Maria Schrader told the stories very matter-of-factly, as hard-hitting as the evening news. No names nor sordid details were spared when it came to the descriptions of impropriety, which fortunately were not given a visual flashback to spare us from disgusting images. The article was published, so the ending was not really a surprise. But the main point was the difficulty and suspense Cantor and Twohey went through to reach that point. 8/10. 

Vivamax Plus: Review of LIVE SCREAM: Payback for Pranks

November 12, 2022

Exo (Elijah Canlas) and his girlfriend Amanda (Pheobe Walker) are the hosts and content creators of EXAM, a prank video channel on the internet. Despite their popularity, Exo became bored with their usual gigs, and began experimenting on solo projects behind Amanda's back. He consulted a fan Barry (Lucky Mercado) about his own website, and hooked up with vlogger Raiza (Katrina Dovey) for a sexy collaboration

One night, Exo answered a knock on his door and was abducted. He woke up confined in a dark unfamiliar room. There was a laptop computer beside him with a video from man dressed in black, wearing a leather hood mask adorned with metal studs. There was a wall behind him with various holes, chains and straps. Thinking it was just a prank, Exo played along at first. But soon he would realize that this situation he was in was not a joke at all. 

The subgenre of horror films called 'torture porn" gained wider attention in the year 2004 with a little film by James Wan called "Saw". It was about two men who were kidnapped, trapped in a basement and forced to play deadly games by a masked man named Jigsaw. This film may have earned mixed reviews from critics, but ended up as a bonafide box office hit, launched its own franchise and influenced more copycats of its concept. "Escape Room" is a recent innovative variation of this theme. 

Even if the story of "Livescream" was basically an adaptation of "Saw" and "Escape Room," this macabre, sadistic horror movie was something new for the local film industry. Even if we have seen violent torture scenes in Filipino movies before, they were usually in the context of war ("Oro, Plata, Mata"), Martial Law ("ML," "Katips"), or more recently, Vivamax ("Kaliwaan"). However, "Livescream" brings punishment torture into the realm in the digital age, while also highlighting man's instinctive struggle to survive against all odds. 

We first saw Elijah Canlas as a 16-year old street kid in "Edward." He may already be 23 years old now, but it was still rather uneasy to see this boyish-looking actor in a long, totally gratuitous nude sex scene with a very daring 21 year-old Katrina Dovey, right off the bat in the opening credits. Canlas carried the rest of the film with his harrowing portrayal of this unlikable jerk's ordeal. His Exo suffered increasing intensities of disgust and humiliation and Canlas went all out, even it felt like director Perci Intalan held back a bit on execution. 

Even so, the film still looked pretty slick with Moises Zee's cinematography. The music of Emerzon Texon was unsettling and creepy. The production design of Carmela Danao was disturbing and perverse. Anthony Falcon's deep voice gave Mr. Nice a palpable gravitas of dread and danger. Writer Dominic Lim sends a message against cruel and insensitive content creators who are willing to hurt real people just to look "cool" online. This is not for everybody, but those in need of a torture fix will get a kick out of it. 5/10. 

Vivamax: Review of SHOWROOM: Sinful Secrets in Sales

November 11, 2022

Liezel Fernando (Quinn Carrillo) decided to leave her parents' store in Cebu to spread her wings in the city. She worked as a sales agent for the Candi Realty company selling condominiums. Driven and ambitious, even became their top agent. She used her paycheck to buy the signature brand luxury items she always longed for. However, she has lost her sales magic, is currently on a slump and was about to lose her job. 

One day, a new girl, Susan Rivera (Rob Guinto), was hired as sales agent. Shy and unassuming, even admitting difficulty in speaking in English, Susan surprised everyone by attracting several male buyers and selling them condos one after the other in no time. Intrigued and annoyed by Susan's immediate success, Liezel stalked her and soon discovered Susan's secret brand of "sales talk."

Quinn Carrillo adds another Vivamax erotic film under her belt as screen writer, after "Biyak," "Tahan" and "The Influencer," all produced and shown this year. While she was also in the cast of all these films she wrote, "Showroom" is the first one in which she took on the lead role. With all the seven capital sins in her seriously-flawed persona, her Liezel was as anti-hero as it gets. Carrillo could have attacked this role with more depth than camp.

Rob Guinto played down her glamorous look and came off credibly as a single mother down on her luck. Her Susan was a desperate woman offering irresistible freebies to her customers in order to close deals and raise funds for the surgery of her "sickly" daughter (played by a very healthy-looking child actress). A clean-cut Kit Thompson was miscast as Liezel's loyal friend and was almost inconsequential, until he later fell for her nemesis. 

Susan actually asked Liezel in two scenes (with almost exactly the same dialog) why Liezel simply won't get off her case and was doggedly determined to push her under the bus. Carrillo should not assume that audiences of this film only care about the sex scenes (Carrillo and Guinto certainly had a revolving door of male partners here) and won't care about the logic of her character's nefarious yet nebulous motivation. (Ok, they probably won't.)

Director Carlo Obispo built his career crafting sensitive films about children, like "Purok 7" (2013), "Gasping for Air" (2016) and just recently, the Cinemalaya 2022 Best Picture "The Baseball Player" (2022). It boggles the mind why Obispo would even consider to include a film like "Showroom" in his filmography. Whether it was to expand his repertoire or just for a quickie paycheck, it will always stick out like a sore thumb.  1/10. 

Review of BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER: Willful and Worthy Women

November 9, 2022

Wakanda was still mourning a major unexpected death when Ramonda returned to the throne as the Queen. As the other countries of the world learned about the powers of Vibranium, they are scouring the planet for any ores found outside Wakanda. One day, the Queen received a visit from Namor, the godlike leader of the Talokan, who can absorb oxygen via his skin underwater and fly with his winged feet.

Learning that it was a US-based scientist who had invented a metal detector for Vibranium, Ramonda sent Dora Milaje general Okoye and scientific genius Princess Shuri to go rescue 19-year old tech whiz named Riri Williams from imminent harm. This adventure led to a cascade of events that included a violent abduction, a daring rescue, a destructive invasion, a successful resurrection with a twist, and a spectacular battle in the mid-Atlantic.

Immediately prominent in this sequel are the strong stories given to its cast of talented black actresses. Angela Bassett as Ramonda, Letitia Wright as Shuri, Danai Gurira as Okoye, and Lupita Nyong'o as Nakia all give powerful performances as their roles were expanded from the original movie. Two new actresses joined their ranks -- Michaela Coel as Aneka, and Dominique Thorne as Riri, both stepping up in their hero game.

The new anti-hero Namor is played by charismatic Mexican actor Tenoch Huerta. The film gave him the full backstory dating back to the 16th century, telling the origin of his incredible abilities, and even how he got his name. Even if Namor was the main antagonist of the film, Huerta played him as a passionate protector of his undersea city of Talokan and the Vibranium that sustained it. His comics name Submariner has yet to come up.

Director Ryan Coogler's production design, costume design and hair and makeup teams outdid themselves in this sequel as they did not only designed Wakanda, but also Talokan. In the comics, Namor's underwater kingdom was called Atlantis, inspired by Greek mythology. However in this new film, Atlantis was given a decidedly Mesoamerican civilzation, from its architecture, costumes, language and culture.

Even though lead actor and original Black Panther Chadwick Boseman had already passed away two years, Marvel made this sequel a beautiful tribute to his memory. From the specially altered opening credits all the way up to the emotionally-rich mid-credits scene, and all the scenes in between with lines that looked back on the life and extolled the nobility of T'Challa, Boseman's spirit was still very much part of this new film. 9/10. 

Amazon Prime: Review of MY POLICEMAN: A Tangled Triangle

November 8, 2022

After they met at the beach in the year 1957, policeman Tom Burgess (Harry Styles) hit if off very well with school teacher Marion Taylor (Emma Corrin). To satisfy Marion's cultural interests, Tom sought the help of his friend, museum director Patrick Hazlewood (David Dawson), who brought them to art exhibits and musical recitals. Even after they were married, Patrick was still very much a part of their lives, which Marion got concerned about.

We first meet the three main characters in their old age in the year 1999. Tom (Linus Roache) and Marion (Gina McKee) had been married for several years. One day, Marion brought their old friend Patrick (Rupert Everett) into their home to nurse him after a stroke left him invalid. Tom did not agree with this, and avoided Patrick the whole time. Marion got to read Patrick's diary and learned more than what she bargained for.

This film is getting a lot of attention because of pop superstar Harry Styles being cast in the lead role as the titular policeman. He did not do badly, as he captured Tom's boyish charms and innocent curiosity down pat. However, his inadequacy in the acting department was rather apparent when he was side by side with his two more critically-acclaimed co-stars, Corrin and Dawson, whose portrayals clearly had more depth than Styles'. 

This film tackled the topic of male homosexuality in the 1950s, when it was considered endangerment of public morals and a crime. The gay love scenes between Tom and Patrick, while blocked with artistic care by director Michael Grandage, seemed to go on longer than necessary, as if that was the only aspect in their relationship. Even in the more permissive present, these scenes may not be an easy watch for more conservative viewers. 

The elderly versions of Tom and Patrick (played by Roache and Everett) did not coincide too well with how they were portrayed as younger men (by Styles and Dawson). They looked and felt like two totally different people. The 1999 scenes were very sad, no doubt, but the emotional connection of those scenes with those of 1957 felt forced and unstable. Ultimately, it was really the character of Marion that held the whole story together.  6/10. 

Netflix: Review of ENOLA HOLMES 2: Fighting for Fairness

November 5, 2022

Because the public during Victorian England was apparently not yet ready to accept a young female detective, Enola Holmes (Millie Bobby Brown) was about to give up on her chosen career. However, one day, a little girl named Bessie (Serranna Su-Ling Bliss) hired Enola to help her find her missing sister Sarah (Hannah Dodd). To start getting evidence, Bessie brought Enola to work in the match factory where she and Sarah worked.

In the factory, Enola found a list of girls who have passed away in the past two years while working in the factory, allegedly victims of typhus. Enola found another match girl Mae (Abbie Hern) dying with knife stuck in her belly in an address she figured out from the words in a love poem she found in Sarah's room. The ruthless Superintendent Grail (David Thewlis) accused Enola of murder and was relentless in his efforts to apprehend her at all costs.

This was the much-awaited sequel of the successful first film about Sherlock Holmes' spirited baby sister Enola which came out on Netflix in 2020. In my review (LINK), I expressed my wish that hopefully the sequel will have more interaction between Enola and Sherlock and this wish was definitely fulfilled, as it would turn out that the two challenging cases Holmes and Holmes were working on would involve the same people. 

Millie Bobby Brown was winsome and feisty as ever in the title role, with all the fourth-wall-breaking that she did to involve the audience in her thought processes. There were scenes here when she would go through how she figured out the meaning of puzzling clues left behind, although admittedly her logic can be rather overreaching. Enola and Tewkesbury trade lessons in fistfighting and waltzing in a romance which Brown's fans will find delightful. 

The setting up of the case actually felt too lengthy, with nothing much happening for the first thirty minutes or so. It was only when we saw familiar characters like brother Sherlock (Henry Cavill) and love interest Tewkesbury (Lewis Partridge) that the pace and energy eventually picked up. Holmes matriarch Eudoria (Helena Bonham-Carter) also got involved in an action-packed prison break scene, along with the loyal Edith (Susie Wokoma).

As with several current Netflix, there was woke casting again in this one, this time involving major characters, which promise to show up more in future installments. Like the previous episode, there was also feminism and political activism once again in this one. This was not only about Enola's independent streak, but also in the character of Sarah Chapman, who turned out to be based on a real-life pioneer of gender and labor equality.  7/10. 

Vivamax: Review of KARA KRUS: Doubling Down and Deadly

November 4, 2022

Adela (Denise Esteban) was the sweet, loving wife of Atty. Marvin Alejandro (Adrian Alandy). She was suffering from post-partum depression and was under medication. However, in secret, she harbored a split persona -- promiscuous party girl Lena. It was by a toss of an old coin that decided who will take over her body. This was a ritual the "sisters" did since their sad childhood (Lhian Gimeno), living with an abusive father (Manu Respall). 

One day, one of Lena's obsessed boytoys, Ramil (Ali Asistio), went to her house disguised as a delivery boy, hoping for a quickie. She was in her Adela mode at first, but in her panic, the Lena mode took over and ended the tryst in violence. Afterwards, Lena wanted to declare her freedom from their arrangement and run off with her boyfriend Jacob (Felix Roco). But this time, Adela fought back to regain control.

Writer Luigi Perez conjured up an insipid theory on how Adela had the Lena persona in her, a story that started in the womb of their mother. Lena started to assert her presence when Adela was in her early teens, and even came up with that preposterous coin toss thing to decide. It was a wonder of time management how Lena can do all her shenanigans when Adela had a husband, infant daughter and her mother (Raquel Montesa) living in the house with her. 

Director GB Sampedro chose a house with several mirrors so that Adela and Lena could have their "conversations." Even in the flashback scenes, their girls first talked with each other via shards of broken glass. However, there can sometimes be confusion on who was talking to who, Adela or Lena, not sure whether this was because of Geoffrey William's unimaginative editing or Garcia's indistinct portrayal of the two. 

This is another Vivamax film that followed its usual sex and violence formula. Once again, there is a mysterious woman who killed men after they have sex, this time dubbed as the "Carino Brutal" serial killer. Once again, the lead character had a split personality disorder, although her psychiatrist (Mickey Ferriols) did not exactly diagnose her as such. It was yet another variation of the overused "Ang Babaeng Nawawala sa Sarili" trope. 1/10. 

Netflix: Review of TO RUSSIA WITH LOVE: Cross-Cultural Clashes

November 2, 2022

Dennis (Gerald Anderson) was the eldest and only single son of Thelma Mercado (Isay Alvarez), the owner of a cocoa farm and restaurant in Dipolog City. One time, their employee Blessie (Malou Crisologo) hosted a pretty Russian tourist Oksana (Elena Kozlova) who used to be her ward when she used to work in Russia as a nanny. When Dennis met Oksana, there was instant attraction as he became her tour guide before she went home.

Upon the prodding of his mother, Dennis surprised Oksana by visiting her in Moscow. Oksana brought her to her opulent family home to meet her father Fyodor (Scott Alexander Young) who turned out to be a wealthy owner of a distillery of a popular vodka brand. As expected, Dennis was on a constant struggle to get on the good side of Fyodor, who was fond of activities Dennis was unfamiliar with, like wrestling, fishing and bear hunting. 

This is the latest film by director Veronica Velasco that brings us to a European destination, after Iceland ("Through Night and Day"), Greenland ("Nuuk") and Faeroe Islands ("A Faraway Land"). Unlike these previous films where the protagonists were both Filipino, this escapade to Russia told love story is a cross-cultural affair. Too bad though that Velasco was not able to make the most of her picturesque locations, as most scenes were shot indoors. 

Comedy was not exactly Anderson's strong point, so his supposedly funny scenes tended to be awkward and guarded. This was evident when he was trying to play "nervous" in front of the intimidating Fyodor and his hulking henchman Maximoff (Simon Szabo). It was also apparent when he tried to in vain to match the effortlessly outrageous comedic style of Kakai Bautista as Georgina, the "gorgeous" Filipina wife of a handsome Russian guy

Manila-based Siberian model Elena Kozlova was still quite obviously a greenhorn in the acting game, still very self-conscious when her acting. Anderson's skills in drama still made their romantic scenes together look very natural. She seemed sincere and earnest in her efforts to gel with her more experienced co-stars and this was delightful of her. She was able to deliver some Filipino lines here, hopefully to hear more in her next movie projects. 

As written by Biboy Calleja, these intra-cultural conflicts were rather predictable, especially when they were in Russia. Fyodor and Maximoff were played as stereotypical Russian men -- unsmiling, unfriendly, aggressive, intimidating. It was only towards the end that a rather comedic surprise about them was revealed. The only thing that was totally unexpected was Anderson's wrestling scene with a wild animal which was executed with realistic danger. 6/10.

Netflix: Mini-Reviews of CABINET OF CURIOSITIES, THE WATCHER, THE MIDNIGHT CLUB: Series for Scares

November 1, 2022

GUILLERMO DEL TORO'S CABINET OF CURIOSITIES

Created by: Guillermo del Toro

This 8-episode horror anthology series was created by Oscar-award winning director Guillermo del Toro for Netflix. Each 1-hour episode was introduced by del Toro himself while taking an item out of the ornate titular cabinet. "Lot 36" and "The Murmuring" were based on short stories written by del Toro himself. The episodes were directed by various filmmakers, most notable among them were Jennifer Kent ("The Babadook"), Ana Lily Amirpour ("A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night") and Catherine Hardwicke ("Twilight'). 

The three best episodes for me were: 1. Ep. 3 "The Autopsy" (by David Prior): F. Murray Abraham played a doctor performing an autopsy on a man parasitized by an alien being.  2. Ep. 2 "The Graveyard Rats" (by Vincenzo Natali): David Hewlett played a grave robber who got deep in debt when rats invaded his territory. 3. Ep. 8 "The Murmuring" (by Jennifer Kent): Essie Davis and Andrew Lincoln play a couple of ornithologists in a strained marriage who stayed in an old haunted house while studying birds in a lonely island. 

The other episodes also had interesting casting choices, like Tim Blake Nelson (in Ep. 1 "Lot 36), Dan Stevens (in Ep. 4 "The Outside), Ben Barnes and Crispin Glover (in Ep. 5 Pickman's Model), Rupert Grint (in Ep. 6 "Dreams in the Witch House"), Peter Weller and Sofia Boutella (in Ep. 7 "The Viewing"). Almost every episode featured a grotesque "monster" (from tentacled demons, to giant rodents, to lotion humanoids, to ugly witches, to meteor creatures), all of which are very typical of projects by del Toro. 7/10. 

THE WATCHER

Created by: Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan

Dean and Nora Brannock (Ben Cannavale and Naomi Watts) decided to leave their home in New York City to move to a beautiful house on 657 Boulevard in suburban Westfield, New Jersey together with their two children. They did not get along with their eccentric neighbors like Pearl (Mia Farrow) and Mo (Margo Martindale) who disagreed with Brannock's modern renovations of the old house. Later, they began receiving a disturbing series of threatening letters from a mysterious person called "The Watcher."

While this was a fascinating 7-episode series to follow because we would all like to know who "The Watcher" was, it was not easy to watch because ALL the characters were unlikable. You could not feel any compassion for the Brannocks's predicament because they were so brash and quarrelsome. Even the local police chief Chamberland (Christopher MacDonald) and particularly realty agent Karen (Jennifer Coolidge) had annoyingly suspicious behavior. After all of the heightened suspense and multiple suspects, to say that the final episode was disappointing is an understatement. 6/10.

THE MIDNIGHT CLUB

Created by: Mike Flanagan and Leah Fong 

Ilonka (Iman Benson) was about to start college when she discovered that she had papillary thyroid carcinoma with lung metastasis. When she was declared terminal despite surgery, radiation and chemo, she decided to spend her final days in a hospice called Brightcliffe Home run by Dr. Georgina Stanton (Heather Langenkamp). There, she joined a group of seven other terminally-ill young adults who gathered to share disturbing stories every midnight. They took a pact that whoever went first should give a sign to the others about the beyond.

With the story of Ilonka and her search for Julia Jayne (a former patient at Brightcliffe who got totally well), each of the 10 episodes included a macabre story being told by the kids to each other. Anya (Ruth Codd) and Natsuki (Aya Furukawa) told very riveting stories which clearly reflected their own experiences of depression. It was interesting to see all the actors also portraying the bizarre characters in the stories. Ilonka's meetings with holistic medicine entrepreneur Shasta (Samantha Sloyan) in the woods led to occult rituals which eventually resulted in predictable outcomes. 7/10.