My Yearend Roundup: The 25 BEST FILIPINO FILMS of 2022 That I Have Seen

December 30, 2022

In 2022, the stringent quarantine precautions for Covid 19 have been lifted, so more and more Filipino movies have been opening in cinemas. This was on top of those being showed in streaming apps like Vivamax and Amazon Prime. In June 2022, "Ngayon Kaya" became the first Filipino film to open in wide release since the pandemic shut cinemas down in March 2020. After that, red carpet premieres were again being held, for mainstream film releases like "Expensive Candy" and "Always". In August, the Cinemalaya film festival was all live again at the CCP with 11 full-length films. By Christmas Day, the Metro Manila film festival was back in cinemas in full force with 8 entries. 

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

25. HABANGBUHAY by Real S. Florido (My Full Review)

24. MAY-DECEMBER-JANUARY by Mac Alejandre (My Full Review)

23. GREED by Yam Laranas (My Full Review)

22. NANAHIMIK ANG GABI by Shugo Praico (My Full Review)

21. AN INCONVENIENT LOVE by Petersen Vargas (My Full Review) 

20. DOLL HOUSE by Marla Ancheta (My Full Review) 

19. 366 by Bela Padilla (My Full Review) 

18. KAPAG WALA NANG MGA ALON by Lav Diaz (My Full Review) 

17. CONNECTED by Theodore Boborol (My Full Review) 

16. EXPENSIVE CANDY by Jason Paul Laxamana (My Full Review) 

15. BULA SA LANGIT by Sheenly Gener (My Full Review) 

14. ALWAYS by Dado Lumibao (My Full Review) 

13. SIKLO by Roman Perez Jr. (My Full Review)

12. MAMASAPANO by Lester Dimaranan (My Full Review) 

11. RELYEBO by Crisanto Aquino (My Full Review) 

These are Top 10 best Filipino movies I had seen and written about in 2022:

10. NGAYON KAYA by Prime Cruz (My Full Review)

This film really needed the charisma of its attractive lead stars Janine Gutierrez and Paolo Avelino and potent musical soundtrack (with two classic songs by band Mayonnaise -- "Jopay" and "Bakit Part 2") to beef up its very simple plot of unspoken sentiments, missed opportunities and what ifs. Director Prime Cruz alternated scenes of present and past to give his familiar story a stylistic edge. 

9. REROUTE by Law Fajardo (My Full Review) 

Director Law Fajardo told this suspenseful story (with screenplay by Byron Bryant) in elegant black and white, with director of photography Joshua A. Reyles. Scenes in dark cramped places or those shrouded with fog were lit so well that we can always see what was going on. Those dramatic long range shots and overhead drone shots had excellent cinematic aesthetic sense. John Arcilla automatically evoked a palpable sense of danger from his first scene.

8. DELETER by Mikhail Red (My Full Review) 

Mikhail Red was able to create a totally eerie atmosphere in that building where Nadine Lustre's Lyra worked, with all the dim lights, red lights, flickering lights, cramped quarters, dark corridors, shadows behind frosted glass door windows. This is probably unlike any real office building we've seen, but for the purposes of this film, it works, especially with the frenetic film editing with the dissonant chords at work in the eerie musical score.

7. 12 WEEKS by Anna Isabelle Matutina (My Full Review) 

With the story of Max Eigenmann's Alice, Anna Isabelle “Shine” Matutina aimed to tell modern Filipinas that they and they alone should decide about their bodies, certainly not the men in their lives. Matutina told her unsettling story with gritty camera work and raw down-to-earth honesty. The initial abortion clinic interview scene may have been reminiscent of "Never Rarely Sometimes Always" (2020), but Matutina's story went well beyond that. 

6. MAHAL KITA, BEKSMAN by Perci Intalan (My Full Review)

Director Perci Intalan had plenty of fun celebrating stereotypically gay activities with Christian Bables's swishy friends, like fashion, cosmetology, volleyball, while also poking fun at stereotypically male activities with Angel's macho brothers, like cars, gym, basketball. It also came up with memorably well-written (by Fatrick Tabada) scenes with thought-provoking insights about being straight and the essence of being a man.

5. HOW TO LOVE MR. HEARTLESS by Jason Paul Laxamana (My Full Review) 

Add this to that list of Jason Paul Laxamana's best romance films, to join "100 Tula Para Kay Stella" and "Between Maybes". His story was deceptively simple, yet so complex in substance. His eloquent script delivered everything from biting sarcasm, supreme sacrifice and heartfelt romance. His beautiful camerawork, effective motivation of actors (Diego Loyzaga and Sue Ramirez) and excellent emotional crescendo deserve awards.  

4. THE BASEBALL PLAYER by Carlo Obispo (My Full Review) 

Writer-director Carlo Obispo told an affecting story of two Muslim children (played by JM Bautista and Tommy Alejandrino) growing up in the traumatic shadow cast by a civil war of indefinite duration. The scene juxtaposing a child's cries with gunfire was so powerful, you'd wish that the credits did not roll up yet at that time. Don't expect too much or you might overthink it. There is indeed a beating heart in its simple but solid narrative.

3. FAMILY MATTERS by Nuel Naval (My Full Review) 

This film by Nuel Naval was an old-fashioned family melodrama as expected, but done quite well, written with sensitivity to include problems experienced in all generations within a family from a senior father's point of view. The grandparents played by Noel Trinidad and Liza Lorena here may be infirm, ill-tempered or uncooperative, but were both still of sound mind here, ultimately proactive about what they wanted.

2. LEONOR WILL NEVER DIE by Martika Ramirez Escobar (My Full Review) 

This film by Martika Ramirez Escobar (her debut feature) starring Sheila Francisco as a retired screenwriter living out her script was delightful, wistful and very entertaining. From a melodramatic start, it became a film within a film right at the opening credits, and that's where the fun began.  We knew the parallel contents were bound to intersect at some point, but when that absurd moment came, it was totally out-of-the-box (in a manner of speaking).

1. BLUE ROOM by Ma-an Asuncion Dagnalan (My Full Review)

One fateful night, Troy Rodriguez (Elijah Canlas) and his up-and-coming indie band Rebel Rebel were joined by former band member Anton Lorenzana (juan karlos), who just came back home from a long vacation. Things were not particularly going well for them that night, but things were about to take even darker turn when their drive home was interrupted by policemen manning a checkpoint.

In a remarkably auspicious directorial debut, Ma-an Asuncion-Dagñalan developed her story with an escalating sense of unsettling suspense and simmering Gen Z angst.The screenplay, co-written by Dagñalan with Siege Ledesma, was well-plotted, tautly streamlined, with pointed, pertinent social commentary. She made us feel the liberating spirit of the indie music scene, as well as stuffy claustrophobia of corruption. 

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Here are my Yearend Roundups for Filipino films in previous years:

My Yearend Roundup 2021 is posted HERE. 

My Yearend Roundup 2020 is posted HERE.

My Yearend Roundup 2019 is posted HERE.

My Yearend Roundup 2018 is posted HERE. 

My Yearend Roundup 2017 is posted HERE.

My Yearend Roundup 2016 is posted HERE. 

My Yearend Roundup 2015 is posted HERE.

My Yearend Roundup 2014 is posted HERE.

Vivamax: Review of BUGSO: Sex Scene Surplus

December 30, 2022

Live-in partners Stella (Ayanna Misola) and Dado (Sid Lucero) were also partners in the skin trade. They work for a mysterious man they call the Boss, who set them up with various customers from their online brothel. One day, they helped a teenage free-lance prostitute Baby (Hershie de Leon) who being harassed by her customer. When Baby told her about her sad backstory, Stella took pity on her and invited her to stay in their home with them. 

This basic story is as generic as it gets for a Vivamax film just so that it can fulfill the expected formula of sex and violence and director Adolfo Alix Jr knew that. Since they were prostitutes, that opened the floodgates for any random combinations of partners of any gender in its numerous sex scenes.  With their powerful and dangerous Boss character remaining unseen for the first two acts, you knew this was setting up for a bloody reveal in the final act. 

Ayanna Misola was introduced in the first Vivamax film of 2022 Roman Perez Jr.'s "Siklo" as the young wife of Vince Rillon. She ends the year as a senior prostitute, being called "Ate" (or elder sister) by Baby in her every sentence. Her best work was in the sex-comedy film Bobby Bonifacio Jr.'s "Bula." But in dramas like Roman Perez Jr.'s "Ang Babaeng Nawawala sa Sarili" and this one, her delivery of lines still tended to be mechanical and monotonous.

Veteran actor Sid Lucero also debuted in Vivamax this year in Law Fajardo's "Reroute" and has since been involved in some of the channel's steamiest films like Mac Alejandre's "Silip sa Apoy" and Brillante Mendoza's "Virgin Forest" (where he literally let it all hang out). As expected Lucero (with his penetrating gaze) was the best actor in this ensemble, even if he was given those awkward scenes when he was caught with his pants down. 

Ever since Vivamax invested on prosthetic members, they have been used more frequently and more brazenly. There was a surplus of sex scenes here, with more than 10 of them! The film opened with one, seguing to another right after, then went from one after the other with just a minimum of story and dialogue in between, until it got tiresome. I seriously hope this shallowness is not the direction Vivamax intends to take in the coming year. 3/10. 

MMFF 2022: Review of NANAHIMIK ANG GABI: Missteps of a Mistress

December 30, 2022

Me-ann (Heaven Peralejo) was the kept woman of a policeman she called Chief (Ian Veneracion). One day, she was picked up by Chief's driver Mang Boy (Jan Urbano) and driven out of town for a secret rendezvous at a remote mansion up north. She was made aware of where the house was located. She was not allowed to take any selfies (but she did). Phone signal was spotty so calls kept getting dropped. 

That night, their tryst was interrupted by a middle-aged male intruder (Mon Confiado) who seemed to be out of his right mind. After killing Mang Boy, he tied Chief and Me-ann up and held them hostage at gunpoint. The man, who introduced himself as Soliman, was claiming that Chief was holding his two kidnapped daughters Love and Joy somewhere in the house, and demanded them back or else.

Writer-director Shugo Praico put together a taut and tense crime-thriller set inside the confines of single big house with many rooms, doors and windows. To make the situation feel even more closed-in, this particular house had to have chains and locks on its doors and even its front gate. However, as things would unfold in this film, there seemed to be no logical reason to have these excessive security measures at all.

The contrived story actually followed the Vivamax formula to a T only with sleeker production values. It starts with pleasurable sex romps in the first act, which eventually turn into violent bloodbaths at the final act. However, the main difference here is that the sex part was very tame despite the lurid sugar daddy scenario. Peralejo's skimpiest was a 2-piece bikini, while Veneracion kept long-sleeved shirt and pants on at all times. 

Ian Veneracion playing against type as a character with a sinister streak, a feat that already won him the Best Actor award. Mon Confiado can play a mad hostage taker with his eyes blindfolded, but his character flitted in and out of sanity illogically. Heaven Peralejo was convincing as a shallow money-grubbing mistress even as her Me-ann made some of the most foolish and head-scratching decisions. 6/10. 

My Yearend Roundup: RANKING THE BEST VIVAMAX FILMS OF 2022

December 30, 2022

Since it debuted in January 2021 up to the whole of this year, streaming app Vivamax practically kept the Filipino film industry active by coming up with one new Filipino film every Friday. Most of them may be silly comedies or exploitative erotica, but we have to give Vivamax credit for its efforts of keeping Filipino actors, directors, writers and film crews active. Now that theatrical films are making a comeback, looking forward for Vivamax to come up with and tell better quality, more substantial stories in their films.  

I've seen all the Vivamax films released this year (from "Siklo" to "Bugso") and this is how I would rank them according to my impressions and ratings upon viewing. 

HONORABLE MENTIONS

15. SECRETS by Jose Javier Reyes (My Full Review) 

14. SELINA'S GOLD by Mac Alejandre (My Full Review) 

13. BULA by Bobby Bonifacio (My Full Review) 

12. THE ESCORT WIFE by Paul Alexei Basinillo (My Full Review) 

11. SITIO DIABLO by Roman Perez, Jr. (My Full Review) 

HERE ARE MY 10 HIGHEST-RATED VIVAMAX FILMS OF 2022

10. ADARNA GANG by Jon Red (My Full Review) 

Director John Red took the story of "Ibong Adarna" out from the classical royal courts of Berbania and transported it to the world of a modern-day drug gang. It was an interesting concept to be sure, and his cast was impressive. As Adriana, Colleen Garcia went from sweet and loving to vengeful and angry. . As Valeriana, Shamaine Centenera-Buencamino dominated the screen as she does the stage. 

9. LAMPAS LANGIT by Jeffrey Hidalgo (My Full Review) 

This film directed by Jeffrey Hidalgo was about two writers. Veteran screenwriter Racquel Villavicencio filled it up with pithy lines about writing as a career. Senior writer Arman Fuentes-Diaz is easily the most interesting character in this film, and Ricky Davao certainly squeezed the most out of his role, and even brought the best out of his co-stars Baron Geisler, Chloe Jenna and Christine Bermas.

8. IKAW LANG ANG MAHAL by Richard Somes (My Full Review) 

The film by Richard Somes gave viewers an immersive experience of what it is like to be involved in a vibrant art community, especially with veteran actors Joel Torre and Ronnie Lazaro there with all the quirks of artist personalities. Zanjoe Marudo further proved his dependability in dramatic roles, and he clicked with Kylie Versoza as a romantic couple. As she was sensitively convincing as a fragile serious artist, this was Versoza's best performance as an actress to date.

7. KITTY K7 by Joy Aquino (My Full Review) 

It may sound ironic, but this Vivamax film starring Rose Van Ginkel as a camgirl actually delivers a strong female empowerment message about loving herself first, before worrying about how others think. It was no wonder that the creative team behind this well-made film is also confidently female, led by director Joy Aquino, writer Pam Miras, DP Kara Moreno, editor Chrisel Desuasido, and production designers Rochelle Jan Crisostomo and Carmela Danao.

6. HABANGBUHAY by Real S. Florido (My Full Review) 

Running for almost two hours, director Real S. Florido took his time to tell a familiar story, with writers Jon Versoza and Paolo Valconcha including all the usual twists. Cinematographer Lee Briones-Meily did some great work with those beautifully-shot scenes about their camping trip on Mt. Tala. Those scenes when Elise Joson and McCoy de Leon were seen together even though there were apart in reality were very well-done.

5. GREED by Yam Laranas (My Full Review) 

With its over-the-top climax and bizarre ending, writer-director Yam Laranas showed how even just the mere prospect of gaining a huge amount of money in a lottery can pit even the best of friends against each other, and transform the kindest and most religious of people into monsters. Nadine Lustre and Epi Quizon can look forward to acting nominations for their impassioned performances.

4. 366 by Bela Padilla (My Full Review) 

Bela Padilla makes her debut as a feature film director with this film. Her vision was very artistic and poetic, and, with the help of cinematographer Pao Orendain, she was able to execute some memorable scenes. The most remarkable one for me was that with the camera rotating around a static June in the foreground while the blurred background was moving in blurred fast-forward behind her.  

3. SIKLO by Roman Perez Jr. (My Full Review)

This film directed by Roman Perez Jr. actually had a strong story and a well-thought-out screenplay with wicked and twisted plotting by Ronald Perez. Having one of ubiquitous motorcycle delivery boys as a protagonist was an inspired idea. When Vince Rillon friskily frolicked with those sexy women onscreen, this was fantasy-fulfillment for all the ordinary Joes in the audience who thought they'd never get a chance. 

2. RELYEBO by Crisanto Aquino (My Full Review)  

The way director Crisanto Aquino set up, blocked and shot the conversations between Sean de Guzman and Christine Bermas was remarkably filled with dramatic tension and emotional connection. Their best scene together happened at the very end of the movie, beautifully shot in a verdant field at the foot of Mt. Makiling. In that tear-jerking scene, you can clearly see that they had really become very good actors. 

1. REROUTE by Law Fajardo (My Full Review) 

Musician Dan (Sid Lucero) and his girlfriend bank manager Trina (Cindy Miranda) were on their way to visit Dan's hometown town of Morinda. However, there was a roadblock on the main highway because of a military operation, so they were forced to take a long detour and got lost. Desperate, they asked help from a former soldier Gemo (John Arcilla) who walked out from the woods.

Director Law Fajardo told this suspenseful story (with screenplay by his "Mahjong Nights" collaborator Byron Bryant) in elegant black and white, with director of photography Joshua A. Reyles. Scenes in dark cramped places or those shrouded with fog were lit so well that we can always see what was going on. Those dramatic long range shots and overhead drone shots had excellent cinematic aesthetic sense.

MMFF 2022: Review of MAMASAPANO: Integrity Intact

December 28, 2022

In the wee hours of January 25, 2015, the 84th Seaborne special action company, under Supt. Raymond Train (Paolo Gumabao), initiated Oplan Exodus. They infiltrated rebel territory on a mission to capture terrorist leaders Marwan and Usman. Their backup unit, the 85th, led by Col. Pabalinas (Ray PJ Abellana), was running 2 hours late because their truck had broken down multiple times. 

Train and his crew were able to kill Marwan, mission accomplished. However, on their way back, both the 84th and the 85th encountered Muslim rebels who surrounded them and began shooting them down. Their superior Gen. Getulio Napenas (Allan Paule) tried his best to request for military artillery reinforcement, but several hours passed with no help forthcoming. 

At first, we see the story unfold from the point of view of the policemen on the field, and their officers directing the operations in their headquarters. More details were revealed as his controversy was being investigated by the CIDG panel led by Gen. Benjamin Magalong (Edu Manzano). Writer Eric Ramos told the story by shifting back and forth in time to build up the drama. 

Director Lester Dimaranan (who also directed "Nelia" from MMFF 2021) may not have been the original choice to direct this ambitious film, but he was able to deliver this controversial story in a most engaging manner. The battle action scenes were well-shot and edited together with effective dramatic tension, smoothly transitioning into the investigation scenes. 

The acting of the almost all-male cast was proficient, although some may occasionally dip into hammy territory. Aside from Gumabao, Abellana, Paule and Manzano, the cast also included Aljur Abrenica and Gerald Santos as embattled SAF policemen, Rez Cortez as suspended Gen. Allan Purisima, and Juan Rodrigo as then DILG secretary Mar Roxas. Ritz Azul and Myrtle Sarrosa play rival TV journalists, and Claudine Barretto had one emotional scene as a SAF widow. 

The most bitter sentiment of this film was reflected in the way former President Benigno Simeon Aquino was portrayed. He was played by an unknown actor Jervic Cajarop, who wore a lousy Barong Tagalog and a foolish expression on his face. The filmmakers laid it on very thick at the end, with SAFs pointedly accusing the late President of command negligence for choosing to uphold the peace talks over sending help, and admonishing him for blaming dead SAFs instead of accepting responsibility. 

The cinematic merit of this film was solid, 7/10. However, ultimately it will be the viewer's political views which will determine whether he liked it or not.

MMFF 2022: Review of FAMILY MATTERS: A Senior's Solution

December 27, 2022

Francisco and Eleonor Florencio (Noel Trinidad and Liza Lorena) have been married for 55 years now. Their eldest child is Kiko (Nonie Buencamino), an engineer married to baker Odette (Agot Isidro). Second child is Fortune (Mylene Dizon), who owned a dog spa with her husband Nelson (James Blanco). Third child is Ellen (Nikki Valdez), a spinster who stayed at home to take care of her parents. Youngest child is "menopause baby" Enrico (JC Santos), separated from Glenda (Ina Feleo), now living in with Irene (Anna Luna).

One day, Francisco had a health scare but was soon discharged. Ellen left to take a vacation in the US to meet up with a man she met online. The other three siblings decided to take their parents into their respective homes to watch over them in Ellen's absence. However, during this time, despite all of the efforts taken by the children to make them comfortable, various things happened that made Francisco and Eleonor feel like that they were losing control of their independence, as well as becoming burdens for their kids. 

This film was a breath of fresh air in this current year largely dominated by films with dark and adult themes. As the title clearly states, this film dealt with various matters that happen within any family, therefore it will connect with all its viewers and make them reflect about their own families and the problems they have within. This generally wholesome film is Rated G, which makes it one of the very rare films released lately which did not include ANY mention of common indie film topics such as LGBTQ issues, adultery or drug abuse. 

The cast gathered for this film was an excellent ensemble who related emotionally to each other like real family. Noel Trinidad gave the performance of his career here as the cantankerous Francisco. Liza Lorena played his ever-supportive wife Eleonor, but with her own strength of character. Nonie Buencamino again proved his dramatic skills as the arrogant and stressed out Kiko, who had some of the heaviest scenes. Screen veterans Mylene Dizon, Nikki Valdez and JC Santos also had their own memorable scenes. 

This was an old-fashioned family melodrama as expected, but done quite well, written with sensitivity to include problems experienced in all generations within a family from a senior father's point of view. The grandparents here may be infirm, ill-tempered or uncooperative, but were both still of sound mind here, ultimately proactive about what they wanted . It admittedly ran a tad long (2 hrs 14 min), with cliches here and there, and an ending viewed through rose-colored glasses, but entertaining viewing for the holidays nonetheless. 8/10.

PS: The reason why I watched this film first was because there was an online buzz that this film will sweep the awards night. However, in the awards last night, "Family Matters" did not figure prominently at all, and surprisingly not even a single cast member won for acting. This was an interesting development especially since the head of the MMFF Jurors this year was Laurice Guillen, whose own family drama "Tanging Yaman" won big in MMFF 2000. Did they feel that "Family Matters" was too similar to "Tanging Yaman" in terms of its story elements? 

MMFF 2022: Review of DELETER: Controlling Content

December 25, 2022

Under their boss Simon (Jeffrey Hidalgo), Lyra (Nadine Lustre) worked with a team of so-called content moderators in a mysterious office on the 22nd floor of a building. They are people whose job it was to decide which videos posted on social media should stay online or be deleted. Because of this, they get to witness of sorts of violence and perversity people post everyday, and all these disturbing images invade their nightmares.

One day, one of Lyra's co-workers Aileen (Louise delos Reyes) broke down at work, screaming uncontrollably. Soon after, Aileen shocked everyone when she jumped off the rooftop of their building to her death. Lyra was one of those bystanders who saw Aileen's bloody corpse on the ground, and from then on, her dead co-worker began to haunt her. Lyra's usually cool and collected demeanor began to break down.

Director Mikhail Red had dabbled in ghostly horror before with films like "Eerie" (2019) which was set in an old school for girls run by nuns. This time around, Red set his urban supernatural thriller in the dark realm of the internet technology. Focusing on videos in particular, Red populated this film with a collection of cruel, ghastly and disgusting material, thereby multiplying its unsettling effect for his audience. 

Nadine Lustre again proved her mettle as a serious actress here. As Lyra, she projected an insouciance expected of a jaded veteran in her psychologically-traumatizing job. She may be the epitome of icy cool when she would spend her break time vaping on the rooftop. However, when the spirit's haunting became relentlessly targeted at her specifically, her tough facade eventually crumbled into fear. 

Louise delos Reyes was pitiful as the weak Aileen who could not stand the heat demanded of her job. Jeffery Hidalgo played a creepy boss who was supportive and encouraging on one side, but was a willing supplier of "calming" pills to his employees. McCoy de Leon projected a natural confidence as the curious I.T. technician who befriended Lyra despite her aloofness.  

Red was able to create a totally eerie atmosphere in that building with all the dim lights, red lights, flickering lights, cramped quarters, dark corridors, shadows behind frosted glass door windows. This is probably unlike any real office building we've seen, but for the purposes of this film, it works, especially with the frenetic film editing, accompanied by the dissonant chords at work in the eerie musical score. 

My main problem with this film came at the end when the real reason for the hauntings was revealed. It turn out to be an offense commonly-used in movies as the motive of avenging spirits. It's rather disappointing that while the ghost used videos to scare Lyra, but these shocking video clips did not actually have anything to do with why the ghost was doing what it was doing. 7/10.  

Netflix: Review of GLASS ONION: Game Goes Grim

December 24, 2022

Miles Bron (Edward Norton), CEO of tech company Alpha, sent his old friends an invitation to join him for a murder mystery weekend on his luxurious estate called the Glass Onion, in a private island in Greece. The group included Alpha head scientist Lionel Toussaint (Leslie Odom, Jr.), Connecticut governor Claire Debella (Kathryn Hahn), fashion designer Birdie Jay (Kate Hudson), and men's rights vlogger Duke Cody (Dave Bautista). 

Despite a history of bad blood between them, Bron also sent deposed former Alpha CEO Cassandra "Andi" Brand (Janelle Monae) an invitation, and she unexpectedly attended much to the surprise of the other guests. An invitation also made its way to ace detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) whose presence stirred the interest of the group because this was his first time to be invited to one of Bron's elaborate parties.

The set-up of this particular murder mystery was reminiscent of some famous Agatha Christie classic novels, like "Murder on the Orient Express" and "Death on the Nile." In these, a group of people were gathered together in one isolated place where a murder would later take place. Further investigation would then reveal that all of these people had a motive to kill the murder victim. The detective would then figure out the complex solution.

Writer-director Rian Johnson brings back the flamboyant detective hero of his first "Knives Out" film, Benoit Blanc, back for another adventure. On top of the Agatha Christie formula, Johnson gave this new story his own interesting twists. The fictional murder mystery Miles had planned for his guests was solved within the first hour, with still another hour for Blanc to go on to solve the real murder mystery that really transpired. 

To add further fun, Johnson also had several celebrities to make cameos, like Angela Lansbury, Stephen Sondheim, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Yo-Yo Ma, Serena Williams, Ethan Hawke and Hugh Grant. There were also plenty of celebrity namedrops, like "Gone Girl" author Gillian Flynn (who wrote Bron's murder mystery), Jared Leto (who contributed his signature Kombucha) and Jeremy Renner (who had his own brand of hot sauce).  

This new adventure had a very different feel from "Knives Out" with the comedy more over-the-top and out-there (especially with Kate Hudson and Dave Bautista's crazy characters). Daniel Craig is really making his Benoit Blanc as far from his James Bond as possible. Janelle Monae deserves her awards buzz for her turn as the femme fatale. The climax was one big Grand Guignol mess of glass and fire, with the Mona Lisa caught in its midst.  8/10. 

Vivamax: Review of AN AFFAIR TO FORGET: Emasculated Egos

December 23, 2022

Atty. Rowena Ramos (Sunshine Cruz) was a successful lawyer, a very respected woman of power in her field. Even if she was still beautiful and glamorous at age 45, she was still very insecure about her artist husband Oscar Ramos (Allen Dizon), who had been keeping his distance from her lately.  She was also having trouble connecting with her teenage son Charles (Karl Aquino) who was constantly getting involved in fights.

As he was preparing for his coming exhibit, Oscar was constantly in his studio with nude female models who pose for his paintings. Meanwhile, Atty. Ramos got to know former escort Beth delos Reyes (Angelica Cervantes), who was the mistress of one of her clients. The distressed wife in the good lawyer got the idea of hiring Beth to seduce her husband, in order to find out if Oscar would actually bite her bait. 

The screenplay was again written by Vivamax star Quinn Carrillo. This is her fourth script produced this year alone, so that is very good for her. This time around, she only had a cameo role as a bartender. Her Atty. Ramos delivered a strong feministic message. She will not lower herself to satisfy the fragile egos of the men around her, her husband included. However, you will also feel conflicting sentiments about strong women in other scenes.

The men here were all shown to be cheaters, liars, lusty, irresponsible, prone to violence. Carrillo gave them stereotypical chauvinistic statements about what women should or should not do. We hear them first from their brutally-frank friend Ryan Castro (Mark Dionisio), whose wife did not seem to mind, even if it triggered Rowena to say her piece and walk out. Of course inevitably, Rowena would also hear these words straight from Oscar himself.

With her patrician beauty, Sunshine Cruz can do these classy powerful women easily. However, it would be better if she reined in her exaggerated theatrical reactions that did not fit her ice queen persona. Allen Dizon was better when he was playing Oscar as artist, the characterization felt genuine, than he was as erring husband or permissive father. Angelica Cervantes's acting improved over her first lead role in "Biyak."

Just a couple of months ago, Mac Alejandre's "Selina's Gold" came out with a twist reminiscent of Park Chang-wook's "Oldboy" (2003). This time around, Carrillo and director Louis Ignacio also came up with their own variation of the "Oldboy" twist here. The revelation here actually had triple the repercussions of "Oldboy," but this was sadly wasted because it was too dependent of pure chance and coincidence, not smarter plotting. 4/10. 

Amazon Prime: Review of ULTIMATE OPPA: Korean Karma

December 20, 2022

Yana Reyes (Bela Padilla) was the manager of a chicken restaurant in Manila, but she longed to write a screenplay for her favorite Korean actor Moon Sin-woo (Cho Tae-kwan). One day, she sent in a story proposal on Moon's Facebook page, and immediately received an warm reply of encouragement from him. The engaging style of his manager Jay (Kim Gun-woo) to make Sin-woo closer to his fans was working very well.

One day, Sin-woo responded angrily to online trolls, so his staff had to do some damage control. They launched an international promotion inviting his fans to vie for a chance to be Sin-woo's "First Lady on the Moon." Among the entries who got a perfect score on their online quiz, ten girls were picked out on a live raffle streamed online to participate in a survival game in Korea. Yana was one of the lucky contestants.

Even though this film was practically 50% in the Filipino language (aside from Korean and English), it was produced, directed and written by Koreans. Writers Hong Eun-hee, BJ Song, An Su-jin and director Whang In-roi wrote their script based on an original script with the same title written by Filipinos Jade Francis Castro and Denise Mae P. Sison. I wish I knew how similar or different the original Filipino script was from the Korean adaptation.

Jasper Cho Tae-kwan is best known for playing Dr. Daniel Spencer in hit 2016 K-drama series "Descendants of the Sun." While he delivered Sin-woo's English lines clearly, his comedic timing in his English "jokes" tended to be awkward. Kim Gun-woo is best known as the antagonistic superstar actor Park Do-ha in 2020 K-drama series "Record of Youth." Kim actually had the meatier role as Jay was the one experiencing significant conflicts.

Aside from the talented and ever-charismatic Bela Padilla (as main protagonist Yana), there were two other Filipinas in major roles here. Kat Galang was Yana's cheerful co-worker and fellow K-drama fan Cha. Janeena Chan was the bubbly and friendly Korean-Filipina contestant Thea. I don't know how they did it but Chan's Korean and Kim Gun-woo's accented but straight Tagalog (complete with a curse phrase!) were actually quite well-done.  

Once you meet all the characters, you can easily see the love-triangle form. If you predict with whom the girl will end up with, you'll likely be right. Despite the simple plot, the film took a bit too long to tell its story at 109 minutes, with lengthy "cute" scenes in the snow and a one-dimensional villain (Lucy Baik) causing trouble. However, Bela's chemistry with her two Korean leading men remains as the spark that kept this predictable rom-com afloat. 5/10. 

Vivamax: Review of LARUAN: Artistic Affairs

December 16, 2022

Camille (Franki Russell) is a successful interior designer for the rich and famous. She is married to a renowned artist Rene Manalang (Jay Manalo), but is actively involved in a steamy affair with her high-school sweetheart and current co-worker Geoff (Kiko Estrada). One night, Geoff brought along a budding artist Thea (Ava Mendez) to keep Rene pre-occupied while he had his tryst with Camille in her room. 

Writer, cinematographer and director Yam Laranas is most well-know for his usual forte of horror, with films like "Sigaw" (2004), "The Road" (2011), and "Aurora" (2018). This time around, he returned to the sex drama genre he started with, in films like "Balahibong Pusa" (2001) starring Joyce Jimenez, Jay Manalo and Rica Peralejo, and "Hibla" (2002) starring Maui Taylor, Antonio Aquitania and again, Rica Peralejo. 

There was nothing new in this story of adultery and obsession in this new Vivamax film. With someone wrapped up in bandages in the opening scene, it was obvious that it will still follow the usual formula of sex with violence, and it did. With someone in bandages in the opening scene, it was obvious that it will still follow the usual Vivamax formula of sex with violence, it did. At least, Laranas tried to innovate with his camera work, but it can get too shaky.

Franki Russell is very attractive, but her mentally-unstable character Camille was very mechanically played. Kiko Estrada had nothing much to do than be the handsome lover who kept a revolving door of women. Jay Manalo made the most of his good role here as an older man trapped in a loveless marriage out of a sense of gratitude. However, it was Ava Mendez who gave the best performance in the cast with her vulnerable portrayal of Thea. 

It was interesting that the story was set among artists, and it featured some beautiful art pieces by local artists, like Franklin Cana Valencia (the painter behind Rene's million-peso masterpieces), Neil Alvarez (the painter behind Thea's portrait, which drove Camille crazy), and Eric Cabillo (the sculptor who made Rene's ballerina statuette). However, it was disturbing to portray young female artists like Thea with a desperate side-racket. 2/10.

 

Disney+: Review of THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN: Friends and Feckin' Fingers

December 14, 2022

Padraig Súilleabháin (Colin Farrell) and his spinster sister Siobhan (Kerry Condon) lived on Iniserin, a remote island off the coast of Ireland. One day, his best friend Colm Doherty (Brendan Gleeson) suddenly began avoiding him and did not want to talk with him anymore. Padraig kept pressed Colm for a reasonable explanation. Exasperated, Colm threatened to cut off a finger from his left hand for every time Padraig talked to him.

Crafting black comedies is the expertise of Irish writer-director Martin McDonagh. He had already won awards for this past films like "In Bruges" (2008), "Seven Psychopaths" (2012) and Oscar Best Picture nominee "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" (2017) -- black comedies all. Compared to the others which involved crimes, the premise of his latest film was relatively so simple, and that was what made it so strikingly intimate and ironic.

Friendship is a topic that everyone can identify with. How will you react if a lifelong friend suddenly declared that he wanted nothing to do with you anymore? Is this news something you could easily accept? Or would this development bother you no end, such that no reason he gave ever seemed to be good enough for you? Being a black comedy, the situation between Padraig and Colm went to absurd extremes, but we can all feel the sting.

This screen partnership of Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson was also the centerpiece of McDonagh's feature film debut "In Bruges" as it was here in "Banshees." As they both play stoic menfolk in a remote Irish village, there were no big explosive emotional fireworks here. As men were wont to do in real life, Farrell and Gleeson held everything in restraint within their characters, relying on subtle nuances and wit to get their feelings through to the other. 

The charm of rural life in a bleak but picturesque Irish village in 1920s was fully captured here. Padraig's donkey and Colm's dog played important roles as their quirky pub denizens or the town gossip. Kerry Condon was very good as Padraig's sister and sounding board, until she felt she needed room to breathe herself. Sheila Flitton was mystical as the old woman who saw the future, perhaps a personification of the legendary creatures of the title. 8/10.

Review of AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER: Colonizer Cruelty 2

December 13, 2022

Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) got married and now had two teenage sons Neteyam (James Flatters) and Lo'ak (Britain Dalton), and a daughter Tuk (Trinity Jo-Li Bliss). They had also adopted Dr. Grace Augustine's daughter Kiri (also played by Sigourney Weaver). A human boy left behind on Pandora nicknamed Spider (Jack Champion) also grew up with the Sully family.

One day, a new troop of avatars from Earth returned to Pandora to claim and conquer it once again. The leader of the recombinant avatars was given the memories of the late Col. Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang), who still held a big grudge against the Sullys. To keep his family alive, Jake decided to leave the forest and move to live with the Metkayena reef Navi, led by their leader Tonowari (Chris Curtis) and Ronal (Kate Winslet).

The setting was shifted from the lush rainforest to the open seas, introducing different cultures and different creatures. However, the story of this sequel was pretty much a rehash of the story of the 2009 film -- about the abuse and destruction of colonization. It was the story of Pocahontas all over again, for which the first one was already roundly criticized before. As they were in the first film, these unsettling scenes were painful and maddening to watch.

Furthermore, they added a prolonged, sadistic and harrowing scene of men ganging down on and killing a giant sea creature. The whole scene was dismal and disgusting in its graphic display of methodical cruelty to animals, reminding viewers of all the unnecessary and wasteful hunting of elephants and rhinoceroses that happens to this day. Seeing the nasty head poacher get his deserved (albeit grisly) comeuppance was a satisfying thrill. 

There is now a rich aspect of family relationships and adolescent psychology involved in the story giving this more dramatic weight. about the struggles experienced by the middle child, the adopted child, the different child, a child who does not know who his father was, a child whose father people despised, a child pressured with too much expectations. It was a familial conflict that would figure in the climactic confrontation.  

James Cameron's estimated budget of the whole film passed USD350M, and all the spectacular special effects all that money went to can clearly be seen onscreen. This film is practically an animated film already, with all the motion-capture Na'vi characters there instead of the actual actors. Aside from Edie Falco as the General, the only real human characters we see were those nameless soldiers who get killed in the battles. 

The biggest innovation in this film was the technology for motion capture for underwater scenes, something that has never been done before. Cameron really went all the way in creating a CGI marine biosphere for these Na'vi creatures to interact with water creatures big and small, sacred and mystical. Seeing the callous ways humans invade and destroy such natural beauty and balance sent out a potent pro-environment message. 8/10. 

Apple TV+: Review of EMANCIPATION: Scars of a Slave

December 11, 2022

Peter (Will Smith), his wife Dodienne (Charmaine Bingwa) and their children lived and worked as slaves at a cotton plantation in Louisiana under very harsh conditions. Peter was forced to leave his family behind to work on the railroad construction. He overheard his masters say that Lincoln had already set all slaves free. He decided to run off into the marshes to seek out his liberation. However, slave driver Fassel (Ben Foster) was hot on his trail.

This is another film about slavery in the American South, so you sort of already expect that there will be graphic depictions of cruelty of the white masters, treating their black slaves worse than their farm animals. From "Uncle Tom's Cabin (1927) to "12 Years a Slave" (2013), "Roots" (1977) to "Underground Railroad" (2021), these acts of inhumanity against African-Americans have been shown and re-shown on both the big screen and on television. 

Brutal scenes of torture and abuse in slavery were never comfortable to watch. Nowadays, with advances in makeup and special effects, these scenes have become more life-like, more painful and more disturbing than ever. The same is true about scenes that bring audiences right in the middle of the violence and death as a band of soldiers charge against the enemy head-on in a battlefield. This film has both of these types of scenes. 

The main focus of director Antoine Fuqua in this film was Peter's escape and survival in the wild. So, this actually felt more like an action film set in the mid-19th century. Here, Peter was able to cheat death so many times from knife wounds, wild animals, and even gunfire on the battlefield. A couple of times, he was already staring death in the eye with a revolver pointing at his head, yet still he managed to narrowly escape. Too lucky to be realistic.

Cinematographer Robert Richardson (3-time Oscar winner for "JFK," "The Aviator" and "Hugo") gave this film a washed-out color palate, practically black and white, only to be with the appearance of bright color in some scenes, like those where there are flames. One particularly remarkable scene was that of haunting scene of Peter wandering in pitch black night, and then a horse on fire galloped past him. 

The story of the film was inspired by a famous photograph of a shirtless slave showing off his back criss-crossed with scars of past whippings. This photograph was distributed around the world to highlight the cruelty of slavery in the United States. However in this film, the key scene of the photographers meeting Peter happened too randomly, not given too much due importance. It was not even explained clearly how they knew the condition of his back. 

The main reason people are watching (or maybe NOT watching) this film is because of its star, Will Smith. Before his controversial slap earlier this year, best actor nods would have been inevitable. His portrayal of Peter was powerful in his stoic dignity, with a final scene so emotionally moving even if you saw it coming. He will need more time and good films for him to repair his marred reputation and woo his fans back.  7/10. 

  

Netflix: Review of GUILLERMO DEL TORO'S PINOCCHIO: Perils of a Pine Puppet

December 10, 2022

Wood sculptor Gepetto lost his beloved 10-year old son Carlo when a bomb fell on their town from a passing war plane. Twenty years later, Gepetto still could not move on from this loss, so he built a wooden puppet out of the pine tree which grew on Carlo's grave. That night, the blue wood sprite visited the workshop and made the puppet come to life, calling him Pinocchio. She also appointed wise old Sebastian J. Cricket to be the boy's conscience.

Having difficulty adjusting to his new life, Pinocchio disappointed Gepetto who called him a burden out of exasperation. Pinocchio ran away from home to join the puppet show of Count Volpe and his pet monkey Spazzatura. He was then taken into a camp which trained boys to become soldiers, where he became friends with the Podesta's son Candlewick. Meanwhile, Gepetto went out looking for Pinocchio and wound up in the belly of a monster fish.

The main points of the story may be familiar, but this is not the Disney version we knew in the 1940 animated classic and its 2022 live action remake. Guillermo del Toro made it a much darker tale, with his signature style in every aspect. We get a more fleshed out back story of Gepetto's son Carlo, and saw how senseless his death had been. Instead of Pleasure Island where boys turned into donkeys, we see a World War II training camp where boys turn into killing soldiers. There was even a cameo appearance of Benito Mussolini himself.

Child actor Gregory Mann gave Pinocchio a very British accent, one of innocent wonderment and mischief. The voice actors behind each character all did excellent work: David Bradley as Gepetto, Ewan McGregor as Cricket, Christoph Waltz as Volpe, Ron Perlman as the Podesta, Finn Wolfhard as Candlewick, Tim Blake Nelson as the Black Rabbits, and Tilda Swinton as the Wood Sprite. It was surprising to find out that it was no less than Cate Blanchett who was doing all the animal sounds of Spazzatura the monkey! 

The most memorable aspect of this film is its meticulously-crafted stop motion animation, a product of 15 years of work. It was amazing how it looked so effortless like this was a live action film with all those little body movements, hand gestures and facial expressions. The camera angles, editing, production design, the music and songs of Alexandre Desplat were all very expertly done. This looks like a sure win at the Oscars for Best Animated Feature Film. However, a nomination for Best Picture is very likely as well. 9/10. 

Vivamax: Review of PAMASAHE: Flesh for Fare

December 9, 2022

Lineth (Azi Acosta) was one of the people who lost their homes when Typhoon Odette devastated Roxas City in Capiz province. With her newborn daughter with her, she decided to stowaway on a RORO ferry on its way to Manila. She was planning to go to Segovia in Pampanga province to seek shelter in the house of her brother Toto (Felix Roco) and his wife Shiony (Shiena Yu) to get her bearings back. 

On the bus, a seaman named Rod (Mark Anthony Fernandez) helped her when she was being harassed by ruffians who saw her breastfeeding. Rod paid for her bus fare and patiently listened to Lineth tell him about the ordeal she went through in the hands of the ship captain Ramos (Julio Diaz) and his minions (Rash Flores, Chad Solano and Alvaro Oteyza), and about the old woman (Erlinda Villalobos) who took pity on her.  

The simple title once again has a double meaning here. Being about a stowaway, "pamasahe" first refers to the "ticket fare," which Lineth did not have. Lineth just so happened to have skills in massage, so that was what the Captain requested in return for letting her stay on board, with "pamasahe" meaning a "request for a massage." Being a Vivamax film, you can probably guess what more Lineth had to give the men instead for her fare, or after the massage.

The scenes of rape, and other perversions like incest and adultery, were also given so much screen time than it was necessary. This poor young woman Lineth suffered the most degrading, humiliating and disgusting abuse at the hands of various men her whole life to date. We did not really need to repeatedly see every repulsive detail of these sick, degenerate acts. These scenes tended to bog down the momentum of the storytelling than enhance it.

For a neophyte, Azi Acosta was able to more than adequately portray the miserably melodramatic life story of her chronically-victimized character. Mark Anthony Fernandez tried his best to play against type as a helpful co-passenger, but always with a nagging sense of suspicion about him. Diaz, Flores, Solano and Oteyza can already do lecherous and lascivious blindfolded, as they've done many times before.

Vivamax viewers will not be surprised anymore that there will be a violent turn of events after all of the sex scenes have been shown. The moment they focused on someone's pistol at the beginning, you knew this gun will figure significantly later on. However, just when we thought we've predicted exactly how Lineth's story was going to end, cult-director Roman Perez, Jr. came up with an 11th hour twist to mess with our minds at the very end. 5/10.