Review of COCAINE BEAR: Ursine Urgency

March 23, 2023

In 1985, a drug smuggler was throwing duffel bags full of cocaine packages out from a plane. However when it was his turn to jump out of the plane, he had a freak accident when he was about to jump out and fell to his death in Tennessee. Meanwhile, the bags of cocaine he threw out landed in Chattahoochie National Forest in Georgia state, and drug lord Syd White (Ray Liotta, in his final screen role) wanted them back.  

A female adult black bear in the forest happened to ingest some of the cocaine from these bags, and began to exhibit unexpected behavior. That same day, little girl Dee Dee and her best friend Henry decided to skip school and go into the forest. En route, the two friends saw the bags of cocaine on the forest floor and a little later, the bear appeared and chased them. Soon after, Dee Dee's mother Sari (Keri Russell) went out there too to look for the kids. 

From the get go, the film tells us that this crazy situation was actually based on a true story that happened in Georgia state in 1985. However, in real life, the bear ingested a huge amount of cocaine and died without killing any human victims. The locals stuffed that bear, put him on display and dubbed it as "Cocaine Bear." This year, writer Jimmy Warden imagined what would happened if the bear did not die, and just got high. 

Director Elizabeth Banks told her story tongue-in-cheek, in a darkly comic style with gory innovative kill scenes of the bear attacking its victims like a sort of serial killer, like it was done in similar spirit as "Scream." The way park ranger Liz (Margo Martindale) met her painful end after a grueling ambulance chase with the bear was quite memorable. The way wildlife advocate Peter (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) on the tree was also quite grisly, yet oddly funny.  

The CG bear looked good enough for its slapstick comedic routines, but not really to the realistic level of the bear that attacked Leonardo di Caprio in "The Revenant" (2015). The rest of the film screamed low-brow in its inane dialogue and amateurish acting of its characters, mostly redneck local folks and stupid drug crooks. Don't expect too much and it can still be quite entertaining in the shallowest way. 4/10. 

Disney+: Review of BOSTON STRANGLER: Feministic Focus

March 19, 2023

Loretta McLaughlin (Keira Knightley) was a writer for the Boston Record American newspaper. She longed to write about serious news about the police beat, but these were only assigned to men, while women like her were limited to writing about light features only. When she heard from her mother about a series of murders with old women who lived alone as the victims, she convinced her boss Jack McLaine (Chris Cooper) that she could take this case on. 

While the Boston police was mum about any developments about the murders, Loretta wrote an article about the murders might be linked because they all had stockings tied around their necks in a grisly "decorative" manner. The police protested about the paper assigning a woman to spread baseless gossip. However, when the series of murders continued, another woman Jean Cole (Carrie Coon) was assigned to be Loretta's partner.

The Boston Strangler, who killed 13 women ranging in age from 19-85 from 1962 to 1964 in the Boston area, had always been among the higher-profile serial killers in the United States. There had actually been a 1968 film "The Boston Strangler" starring Tony Curtis as Albert de Salvo, the man sentenced for the murders in 1967. That film told the story from the point of view of the policemen on his case, led by John S. Bottomly (Henry Fonda). 

This new film told the story from the point of view of the two women who went against prevailing journalistic conventions and social norms to investigate and write headline news about the most sensational crime story during that time, even criticizing the Boston police and accusing them of sleeping on the job. That two women fought the male establishment to uncover the truth about the men who killed women had unique pathos about it. 

Writer-director Matt Ruskin was able to tell his story in a fast, engaging pace, with a tense atmosphere of dread despite the absence of gore. He also went beyond just naming Albert de Salvo as the Strangler, but went on to present a couple more people who could be implicated in the case which was very interesting. Knightley, Coon and Cooper, as well as Alessandro Nivola as Loretta's cop contact, all give nuanced performances.  7/10. 

Vivamax: Review of DOMME: Deadly Deviancy

March 18, 2023

Cholo (Ali Asistio) just moved to Manila to escape his controlling mother. He worked from his condominium as a call center agent. However, he was very bothered by the grunting noises of someone in pain coming from the room beside his. His neighbor was Raymond (Mark Anthony Fernandez), head chef of a fancy restaurant that served exotic dishes. At work, he was a strict boss over his staff, a perfectionist at his craft. 

Raymond's frequent visitor was a mysterious woman named Estelle (Ava Mendez). Upon further investigation, Cholo learned that Estelle was a dominatrix who provided her masochistic clients sexual arousal by pain and humiliation. Tony (Marco Gomez) was Raymond's nephew. As his accountant, Tony noted that his uncle regularly transferred thousands of pesos to one account, Estelle's. 

Ava Mendez had shown her acting talent in a number of her previous Vivamax outings, outdoing the lead actresses in films like "#DoYouThinkIAmSexy?" and "Laruan." She was inconsistent here as Estelle. She was still good in her quiet scenes, but there are scenes which came off as odd or unnatural, like that scene where she was banging on Cholo's door for the first time, or that spiteful spitting scene with Tony towards the end. 

Ali Asistio toned down his usual over-the-top acting style to play nerdy Cholo, and it was a promising change of pace for him. Marco Gomez's Tony was a practically unnecessary side character whose gambling debt we don't care much about. Mark Anthony Fernandez's hammy, exaggerated delivery of lines was so lousy and amateurish for a veteran actor like him, totally devoid of the class required of his character -- his worst performance ever. 

These deviant BDSM activities may be a curiosity for some, but are certainly not everyone's cup of tea, like that disgusting golden shower scene. Cult director Roman Perez Jr. seemed inspired by Stanley Kubrick's "Eyes Wide Shut" here, even including operatic arias like Debiles' "Flower Duet" and Puccini's "O mio babbino caro" in the soundtrack. The story offered a final surprise twist, but its medical accuracy seems questionable.  3/10. 

Review of KUNWARI MAHAL KITA: Proposal with Pretense

March 17, 2023

One night, Greg Soriano (Joseph Marco) saw his wife Cindy (Nathalie Hart) happily flirting with her boss. He confronted her when she got home, and this exploded into a major exchange of painful words between the couple, the worst one they ever had in their seven years of marriage. This argument reached a peak when Cindy announced with finality that she's had it with Greg's lack of ambition and was going to file for an annulment.  

The next day, a despondent Greg drove over to his cousin Gab's (Josh Colet) beach resort in Bolinao, Pangasinan to cool off. On the final turn of the road going to the resort, Greg unknowingly splattered mud all over Heidi "Hayds" Bolisay (Ryza Cenon), who happened to be the tour guide of Gab's resort. While Hayds and Greg did not have a smooth start, on Gab's instructions, they were going to be spending a lot of time together. 

Ryza Cenon does not exactly fit the mode of the typical leading lady in a romance film in the physical sense. However, she was able to delightfully balance Hayds's tough and feisty exterior with the unexplored romantic inside her. Joseph Marco was a charming and sympathetic Greg, a free artistic soul trapped in a demanding marriage. Its just that Greg's titular sudden impulsive announcement seemed totally out of his personality. 

Nathalie Hart's character Cindy was little confusing as written. Was she really a selfish woman, or was she just reacting defensively? Whatever it was, slipping sleeping powder in Greg's drink is as old as it gets. As Hayds' best gay friend Shine, Thou Reyes was a bit too annoying, shrill and loud to be funny. Josh Colet was just chill as the owner and manager of Chill Beach Resort, but his character was quickly written off and never mentioned again. 

The whole film was a compilation of interrelated melodramatic romance storylines we have all seen before. The main story of a naive young woman falling in love with a married man was hardly a new one.  Similarly old is the subplot of an overprotective mother (Yayo Aguila), who had her own sad experience with a married man. Only the charm and chemistry of Cenon and Marco and the scenic beauty of Bolinao elevate this one from the usual. 5/10. 

Review of SHAZAM: FURY OF THE GODS: Siege of the Spiteful Sisters

March 15, 2023

Two years after the events of the first movie, Billy Batson (Asher Angel) and his five foster siblings were all still living with their foster parents Victor and Rosa Vasquez (Cooper Andrews and Marta Milans). As the Marvel Family, they were still doing their best to save the city of Philadelphia from various emergencies. Despite their good deeds, there were those who felt that they were doing more harm than good, giving them the nickname of "Philly Fiascos."  

One day, the city museum was attacked by two angry goddesses, Hespera (Helen Mirren) and Kalypso (Lucy Liu), who were a broken magical staff on display. Upon grasping the staff, they recovered their lost powers and were determined to wreak their revenge on humankind for destroying their world.  Meanwhile, Freddy (Jack Dylan Grazer) was very excited because a pretty newcomer in school named Anne (Rachel Zegler) was very friendly with him. 

The first "Shazam!" (2019) was a very pleasant surprise because of its entertaining combination of family dynamics, childish comedy and Rated-PG superhero action.  There was certainly more of this same tried-and-true formula in this winsome sequel. The juvenile comedy may have teetered on the edge of corny, however, the charm and goodwill of the actors, both regular and adult superhero forms, made everything come together just right.

Zachary Levi may already be 42 years old this year, but he's really got that man-child character down pat with perfect comic timing. Among the kids, it was Jack Dylan Grazer who had a longer, more highlighted role as Freddie, who dared take off by himself to seek adventure solo, and was given a love interest to boot. Dame Helen Mirren must have had a tough shoot given her armor and fight scenes, but she can rock any role. 

This sequel gave us major action sequences (the suspension bridge collapsing, the city attacked by manticores, harpies, cyclopses and minotaurs, the charge of the unicorn brigade), as well as silly comic moments (Hespera reading the letter magic pen Steve wrote, the wizard Djimon Hounsou usurping Billy's romantic dream). It had a thrilling star-striking superhero cameo towards the end, even before the mid and post-credit extra scenes. 8/10. 

Review of 65: Prehistoric Preposterousness

March 12, 2023

In the planet of Somaris, there lived a space pilot named Mills with his wife Ayla (Nika King) and a teenage daughter Nevine (Chloe Coleman). He had just accepted a mission to lead an expedition which would take him away from his family for two years, very much longer than usual. He would be paid three times his usual salary, funds they desperately needed to find a cure for a serious ailment which was slowly killing Nevine. 

During his voyage, Mills' spacecraft ran into an area with unexpected meteor activity that caused severe damage. He had to make an emergency landing into an uncharted planet which was well off his planned course, but fortunately had a breathable atmosphere.  He thought he was the only survivor, until he found out that the passenger in one of the sleeping pods was alive -- a teenage girl named Koa (Ariana Greenblatt).

Like "Star Wars," this movie starts with some text that told us that this story happened "prior to the advent of mankind" when there were already civilizations which existed that explored the far reaches of space. They really had to make that clarification because that first scene really looked like it was set on Earth. The ocean and landscape of Somaris looked like those on Earth, and Mills, Ayla and Nevine looked and spoke English like regular humans. 

15 minutes into the film, only after Mills lifted Koa out of her pod and saw a giant dinosaur footprint in the mud, did the title "65" appear on the screen. Then quickly under it flashed the words "Million Years Ago," then immediately below, "A Visitor Crash Landed on Earth." Apparently the filmmakers doubted that their audience will figure that out themselves, so they had to spell out the whole situation in black and white before proceeding any further.

As written and directed by the writers of "A Quiet Place" Scott Beck and Brian Woods,  the whole premise was absurd and execution was worse. Driver must be so embarrassed to see himself in those foolish-looking scenes of prehistoric preposterousness. That Koa had to be speaking a non-English language certainly did not help. The dinosaur visual effects here did not seem to progress much from those of the first "Jurassic Park" (1993).  1/10. 

Review of SUZUME: Thwarting Tremors

March 12, 2023

17 year old high school student Suzume lived with her aunt Tamaki in Miyazaki town. Suzume was still a little girl when she lost her mother, a memory that haunted her dreams up to now. One day on her way to school, she met a handsome young man Sota looking for any ruins in their area. She directed him to an abandoned onsen resort in the mountains. However later, her curiosity got the better of her so turned back to go to the old resort too.  

There, she saw a door which remained standing in the middle of a pool of water. When she opened the door, she saw a mysterious ethereal place on the other side, but could not actually enter it. In her attempts to enter, she tripped on a small stone statue which turned into a white cat when she pulled it out of the ground.  Later that day after an earthquake, she saw a pillar of red smoke coming from the door, and Sota was trying to close it.

This was just the beginning of Suzume's road trip adventure which will take her all over Japan accompanied by her enchanted three-legged chair chasing a cute white cat around. She met new friends along the way, like school girl Chika and karaoke hostess Rumi, who helped her achieve her formidable task to help Sota close mystic portals where "worms" can come out to cause destructive earthquakes to the surrounding towns.   

This is already writer-director-animator Makoto Shinkai's latest animated masterpiece following his two recent box-office hits "Your Name" (2016) and "Weathering with You" (2019). He continued to follow his prior themes connecting natural phenomena to human lives (a comet in "Your Name", rain in "Weathering", now earthquakes here in "Suzume"). As before, Shinkai also incorporated new moody, energetic music by the RADWIMPS here.

The graceful pastel artwork and the voice acting were all on point like in the "Name" and "Weathering". Aside from Suzume and Sota's supernatural mission, Shinkai also managed to work in a budding romance, interesting details of Japanese life and myths, viral exposure on social media, as well as the stress and sacrifice of an adoptive parent. I just cannot figure out why the smoking of Sota's friend Serizawa had to be unduly highlighted. 8/10. 

Review of SCREAM VI: Ghostface Gallery

March 11, 2023

After their harrowing experience surviving the so-called Woodsboro Legacy murders recently, sisters Sam (Melissa Barrera) and Tara (Jenna Ortega) Carpenter, along with twins Chad (Mason Gooding) and Mindy (Jasmin Savoy Brown) Meeks-Martin, now live in New York City with new roommates Quinn Bailey (Liana Liberato), Ethan Landry (Jack Champion) and Mindy's girlfriend Annika (Devyn Nekoda). 

Sam was undergoing psychological therapy brought about by the stress of a viral conspiracy theory online blaming her for the latest Woodsboro killings and then framed Richie (Jack Quaid) for it. When the Ghostface mask used by Richie turned up at the scene of the bloody murder of film student Jason Carvey (Tony Revolori), Sam was called in for questioning by Detective Wayne Bailey (Dermot Mulroney). 

This latest installment begins as usual, with pretty Laura (Samara Weaving) being lured out by a voice over a phone call discussing horror movie tropes, right into a trap that would lead to her gory death, being stabbed over and over by a killer wearing a Ghostface mask. However, there was a twist in this one, because the identity of Laura's killer would be revealed right away, only for that killer to be killed by another Ghostface killer. 

Jenna Ortega, fresh from her recent success as Wednesday Addams in the Netflix series, dominated this sequel with her striking screen presence as Tara and her chemistry with Mason Gooding's Chad. As Ethan, Jack Champion had a head of dark curls here to distinguish him from his blonde feral character Spider in "Avatar: The Way of Water," but his annoying acting tics unfortunately remained. 

Courtney Cox is back as reporter Gale Weathers, with her plastic-surgery-stretched lips now more distracting than ever. Since Neve Campbell did not return as original Ghostface survivor Sidney Prescott this time (the only "Scream" movie without her), fans had to settle for Hayden Panatierre's return as Kirby Reed, a survivor of the 2011 Ghostface murder spree. As campily portrayed by Panatierre, Kirby is now, incredulously, an FBI agent. 

The directorial team of Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett executed the script of James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick with the same tightly-edited imaginative kill scenes and wicked sense of fun that made the 2022 "requel" (reboot-sequel) a critical and box-office success. The witty meta-commentary about horror films and creepy sense of nostalgia (with a whole museum of Ghostface memorabilia on display here) will make fans happy.   7/10.

Vivamax: Review of SALAMAT DAKS: Preposterous Plasticity

March 10, 2023

Maricar (Alma Moreno) was a 52-year old spinster who lived in Baguio City. She currently worked as a medical transcriptionist for a doctor from Texas. Maricar had spent her whole life caring for her ailing mother Fides (Marissa Delgado). When Fides passed away a few months ago, Maricar's best friend Jessica (Marissa Sanchez) encouraged her to take advantage of her new-found freedom to finally go out and enjoy her life.  

Maricar discovered celebrity vlogger Mikko (Nikko Natividad) on the internet, and became obsessed with him. She went all the way to La Union to meet him at a beach event. Sensing that her age was the major obstacle to getting closer with Mikko, Maricar spent her life savings on miraculous youthening procedures of Dra. Trisha (Giselle Sanchez), which were able to turn her into 23-year old-looking Carrie (Ayanna Misola).

Like in "Pornstar" (2020), Alma Moreno was quite delightful here as Maricar rediscovering the joys of youth. Lately, Moreno has found her groove in her comedies than in her dramas, like "Virgin Forest." Ayanna Misola continues to be director Bobby Bonifacio's sex-comedy muse after the success of "Bula" (2022). Nikko Natividad totally shed his wholesome TV image here and went all-out naked, which will shock his teenage Hashtag fans. 

Controversial director Darryl Yap already tackled the story of a menopausal woman in her midlife crisis having a rejuvenating affair with a virile young man in his Vivamax film "Revirginized" (2021) starring Sharon Cuneta and Marco Gumabao. However here, director Bobby Bonifacio Jr. went on to stretch the story (and our suspension of disbelief) further to transform the 50-something woman into a 20-something nymphet.

However, Maricar did not really become younger here by magic, unlike age-swap films like "17 Again" (2009). Instead, it was extensive plastic surgery which caused her extreme physical transformation, but the physiological limits of her real age remained. This was of course preposterous, but all done in the name of silly comedy, so we do not need to wonder how and why this plastic surgery did not have any pain or why it had an expiration date. 4/10. 

Ranking This Year's OSCAR BEST PICTURE NOMINEES (2023) & MY OSCAR BETS

March 9, 2023

With the Oscar Awards coming on March 12, 2023, Monday morning (Manila time), it is time for me now to make my fearless Oscar predictions.  (My Oscar predictions of previous years were posted on these links: 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013).

This year the Oscar Best Picture is a wide open game as there is no clear front-runner like last year. First, "The Fabelmans" and "The Banshees of Inisherin" won the Golden Globes. "All Quiet on the Western Front" won the BAFTA for Best Picture in a major curve ball. Then in the homestretch, "Everything Everywhere All At Once" won the DGA for Best Director and PGA for Best Picture, and made itself the one to beat. (Last year, dark horse "CODA" won the SAG for Best Ensemble" and the PGA nod for Best Picture, and went on to overtake favorite "Power of the Dog" to win the Oscar for Best Picture.) 

Here is how I would rank this year's 10 nominees for Oscar Best Picture based on my own personal opinions when I first saw them (not based on probability that I think they will win):

1. ELVIS (MY FULL REVIEW)

Directed by: Baz Luhrman

Nominations (8): Picture, Actor, Cinematography, Production Design, Costume Design, Makeup and Hairstyling, Film Editing, Sound

This 2 hour- 39 minute biographical film began to follow the life of Elvis Presley as a young white boy who grew up in a poor black neighborhood, which exposed him to sultry blues and rousing gospel music. When he was a young man, he took these musical influences and created his own brand of country music with a touch of the blues. His unique look and electric live performance style took his screaming female fans, and later the whole country, by storm. 

This is the first film this year that is a clear contender during the awards season next year, including the Oscars. Aside from imminent acting nominations for Butler and Hanks, Baz Luhrmann's scintillating direction will likely be cited as well, along with technical nods for cinematography, film editing, costume design, hair and make-up, and most especially sound. Its wall of meticulously-edited sounds needs to be heard in a Dolby theater. 9/10

2. ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT (MY FULL REVIEW)

Directed by: Edgar Berger

Nominations (9): Picture, International Feature Film, Adapted Screenplay, Visual Effects, Cinematography, Production Design, Original Score, Makeup and Hairstyling, Sound

The destructive violence and senseless tragedy in the battlefields were caught by the beautiful cinematography of James Friend, especially those magnificent long shots of soldiers marching, running and dying across the desolate landscape. The details of the widespread carnage, with the unique injuries of each dead soldier so meticulously recreated with make-up and prosthetics, were realistic and very difficult to look at. Its strong message about the absurdity, pointlessness and stupidity of war was loud and clear. 9/10

3. TOP GUN: MAVERICK (MY FULL REVIEW)

Directed by: Joseph Kosinski

Nominations (5): Picture, Adapted Screenplay, Visual Effects, Film Editing, Sound

The best parts of this film are the breathtakingly-fast and exhilarating flying scenes, all said to be done without the benefit of computer-generated effects. We see Maverick flying an experimental Mach 10 jet, an F-18 Super Hornet and even a F-14 Tomcat (for a nice throwback to the first film). The superb cinematography and editing made it all look like Cruise was actually flying those planes. 9/10

4. TáR (MY FULL REVIEW)

Directed by: Todd Field

Nominations (5): Picture, Actress, Director, Original Screenplay, Cinematography, Film Editing

Blanchett's Tár felt so much like a real person, the audience will despise her overbearing attitude and power-tripping ways of dealing with people who are closest to her, those with whom she shared her confidences. Despite, as Tár's personal life and career careened into a downward spiral, Blanchett still held us all in the palm of her hand through every dark and uncomfortable moment of personal hell she went through. 8/10

5. AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER (MY FULL REVIEW)

Directed by: James Cameron

Nominations (4): Picture, Visual Effects, Production Design, Sound

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

6. EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE (MY FULL REVIEW) 

Directed by: The Daniels

Nominations (10): Picture, Actress, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress (2), Director, Original Screenplay, Original Score, Costume Design, Film Editing

Like they did in "Swiss Army Man" before, Daniels again attempts to take on the meaning of life in their own silly absurdist way. We face several forks everyday in our path of life, and the choices we make decide how our life would turn out. This existentialist concept of the Multiverse, chaotic as it may seem in this film, posits that there exist different versions of you living another version of life. The life you are living now may not be your best life at all. 8/10

7. THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN (MY FULL REVIEW)

Directed by: Martin O'Donagh

Nominations (9): Picture, Actor, Supporting Actor, Director, Original Screenplay, Supporting Actor (2), Original Score, Film Editing

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

8. THE FABELMANS (MY FULL REVIEW)

Directed by: Steven Spielberg

Nominations (7): Picture, Actress, Supporting Actor, Director, Original Screenplay, Original Score, Production Design

The best scenes were those of young Sammy creating and screening his masterpieces -- the train robbery, the camping trip, the "Ditch Day" film. We see his passionate directorial process, painstaking camera and film editing work, motivating the acting of his sisters and friends, innovating his own special effects. While the family turmoil and anti-Semitism scenes added uncomfortable melodrama, Spielberg's skill in handling sentimentality remains assured. 8/10

9. TRIANGLE OF SADNESS (MY FULL REVIEW)

Directed by: Ruben Ostlund

Nominations (3): Picture, Director, Original Screenplay

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

10. WOMEN TALKING (MY FULL REVIEW)

Directed by Sarah Polley

Nominations (2): Picture, Adapted Screenplay

The color palette was washed-out. The main set was confined to a barn loft. The topic was how women should respond to toxic masculinity. With these elements, writer-director Sarah Polley was able to craft a very thought-provoking film that felt like an intimate and riveting theater piece. Her pacing was just right and the script was eloquent. You'd want to rewind or pause some scenes to better hear and reflect on Polley's pithy and sobering lines. 7/10

***** My bets to win for each of each categories:

Best Picture: "Everything Everywhere All At Once" Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert and Jonathan Wang, Producers

Nominees: “All Quiet on the Western Front,” “Avatar: The Way of Water,” “The Banshees of Inisherin,” “Elvis,” “The Fabelmans,”“Tár,”“Top Gun: Maverick," “Triangle of Sadness,” “Women Talking”

Best Director: Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) 

Nominees: Martin McDonagh (“The Banshees of Inisherin”), Steven Spielberg (“The Fabelmans”), Todd Field (“Tár”), Ruben Östlund (“Triangle of Sadness”)

Best Lead Actor: Brendan Fraser (“The Whale”) (MY FULL REVIEW)

Nominees: Austin Butler (“Elvis”), Colin Farrell (“The Banshees of Inisherin”), Paul Mescal (“Aftersun”), Bill Nighy (“Living”) 

Best Lead Actress: Michelle Yeoh (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”)

Nominees: Cate Blanchett (“Tár”), Ana de Armas (“Blonde”), Andrea Riseborough (“To Leslie”), Michelle Williams (“The Fabelmans”) 

Best Supporting Actor: Ke Huy Quan (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) 

Nominees: Brendan Gleeson (“The Banshees of Inisherin”), Brian Tyree Henry (“Causeway”), Judd Hirsch (“The Fabelmans”), Barry Keoghan (“The Banshees of Inisherin”) 

Best Supporting Actress: Jamie Lee Curtis (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”)

Nominees: Angela Bassett (“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”), Hong Chau (“The Whale”), Kerry Condon (“The Banshees of Inisherin”), , Stephanie Hsu (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”)

Best Adapted Screenplay: "Women Talking,” Screenplay by Sarah Polley

Nominees: “All Quiet on the Western Front,” Screenplay by Edward Berger, Lesley Paterson & Ian Stokell, “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,” Written by Rian Johnson, “Living,” Written by Kazuo Ishiguro, “Top Gun: Maverick,” Screenplay by Ehren Kruger and Eric Warren Singer and Christopher McQuarrie; Story by Peter Craig and Justin Marks

Best Original Screenplay: “The Banshees of Inisherin,” Written by Martin McDonagh

Nominees: “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” Written by Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert, “The Fabelmans,” Written by Steven Spielberg & Tony Kushner, “Tár,” Written by Todd Field, “Triangle of Sadness,” Written by Ruben Östlund

Best Cinematography: “Elvis,” Mandy Walker

Nominees: “All Quiet on the Western Front”, James Friend, “Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths,” Darius Khondji, “Empire of Light,” Roger Deakins, “Tár,” Florian Hoffmeister

Best Documentary Feature Film: “Navalny,” Daniel Roher, Odessa Rae, Diane Becker, Melanie Miller and Shane Boris

Nominees: “All That Breathes,” Shaunak Sen, Aman Mann and Teddy Leifer, “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed,” Laura Poitras, Howard Gertler, John Lyons, Nan Goldin and Yoni Golijov, “Fire of Love,” Sara Dosa, Shane Boris and Ina Fichman, “A House Made of Splinters,” Simon Lereng Wilmont and Monica Hellström

Best Documentary Short Film: “Stranger at the Gate,” Joshua Seftel and Conall Jones

Nominees: “The Elephant Whisperers,” Kartiki Gonsalves and Guneet Monga, “How Do You Measure a Year?” Jay Rosenblatt, “The Martha Mitchell Effect,” Anne Alvergue and Beth Levine, "Haulout" 

Best Film Editing: “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” Paul Rogers

Nominees: “The Banshees of Inisherin,” Mikkel E.G. Nielsen, “Elvis,” Matt Villa and Jonathan Redmond, “Tár,” Monika Willi, “Top Gun: Maverick,” Eddie Hamilton

Best International Feature Film: “All Quiet on the Western Front” (Germany) 

Nominees: “Argentina, 1985” (Argentina), “Close” (Belgium), “EO” (Poland), “The Quiet Girl” (Ireland) 

Best Original Song: “Naatu Naatu” from “RRR,” Music by M.M. Keeravaani; Lyric by Chandrabose  (MY FULL REVIEW)

Nominees: “Applause” from “Tell It Like a Woman,” Music and Lyric by Diane Warren, “Hold My Hand” from “Top Gun: Maverick,” Music and Lyric by Lady Gaga and BloodPop, “Lift Me Up” from “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” Music by Tems, Rihanna, Ryan Coogler and Ludwig Goransson; Lyric by Tems and Ryan Coogler, “This Is a Life” from “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” Music by Ryan Lott, David Byrne and Mitski; Lyric by Ryan Lott and David Byrne 

Best Production Design: “Elvis,” Production Design: Catherine Martin and Karen Murphy

Nominees: “All Quiet on the Western Front,” Production Design: Christian M. Goldbeck; Set Decoration: Ernestine Hipper, “Babylon,” Production Design: Florencia Martin; Set Decoration: Anthony Carlino, ; Set Decoration: Bev Dunn, “The Fabelmans,” Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Karen O’Hara,  “Avatar: The Way of Water,” Production Design: Dylan Cole and Ben Procter; Set Decoration: Vanessa Cole

Best Visual Effects: “Avatar: The Way of Water,” Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon and Daniel Barrett

Nominees: “All Quiet on the Western Front,” Frank Petzold, Viktor Müller, Markus Frank and Kamil Jafar, “The Batman,” Dan Lemmon, Russell Earl, Anders Langlands and Dominic Tuohy, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” Geoffrey Baumann, Craig Hammack, R. Christopher White and Dan Sudick, “Top Gun: Maverick,” Ryan Tudhope, Seth Hill, Bryan Litson and Scott R. Fisher

Best Animated Feature Film: “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio,” Guillermo del Toro, Mark Gustafson, Gary Ungar and Alex Bulkley (MY FULL REVIEW)

Nominees: “Marcel the Shell With Shoes On,” Dean Fleischer Camp, Elisabeth Holm, Andrew Goldman, Caroline Kaplan and Paul Mezey, “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish,” Joel Crawford and Mark Swift, “The Sea Beast,” Chris Williams and Jed Schlanger, “Turning Red,” Domee Shi and Lindsey Collins

Best Animated Short Film: “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse,” Charlie Mackesy and Matthew Freud

Nominees: “The Flying Sailor,” Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby, “Ice Merchants,” João Gonzalez and Bruno Caetano, “My Year of Dicks,” Sara Gunnarsdóttir and Pamela Ribon, “An Ostrich Told Me the World Is Fake and I Think I Believe It,” Lachlan Pendragon

Best Costume Design: Catherine Martin, “Elvis”

Nominees: “Babylon,” Mary Zophres, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” Ruth Carter, “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” Shirley Kurata, “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris,” Jenny Beavan

Best Live Action Short: "An Irish Goodbye,” Tom Berkeley and Ross White

Nominees: “Ivalu,” Anders Walter and Rebecca Pruzan, “Night Ride,” Eirik Tveiten and Gaute Lid Larssen, “The Red Suitcase,” Cyrus Neshvad,  “Le Pupille,” Alice Rohrwacher and Alfonso Cuarón

Best Makeup and Hairstyling: “The Whale,” Adrien Morot, Judy Chin and Anne Marie Bradley

Nominees: “All Quiet on the Western Front,” Heike Merker and Linda Eisenhamerová, “The Batman,” Naomi Donne, Mike Marino and Mike Fontaine, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” Camille Friend and Joel Harlow, “Elvis,” Mark Coulier, Jason Baird and Aldo Signoretti

Best Original Score: “The Fabelmans,” John Williams

Nominees: “All Quiet on the Western Front,” Volker Bertelmann, “Babylon,” Justin Hurwitz, “The Banshees of Inisherin,” Carter Burwell, “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” Son Lux

Best Sound: “Top Gun: Maverick,” Mark Weingarten, James H. Mather, Al Nelson, Chris Burdon and Mark Taylor

Nominees: “All Quiet on the Western Front,” Viktor Prášil, Frank Kruse, Markus Stemler, Lars Ginzel and Stefan Korte, “Avatar: The Way of Water,” Julian Howarth, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Dick Bernstein, Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers and Michael Hedges, “The Batman,” Stuart Wilson, William Files, Douglas Murray and Andy Nelson, “Elvis,” David Lee, Wayne Pashley, Andy Nelson and Michael Keller

Vivamax: Review of LAWA: A Pervert's Paradise

March 3, 2023

Peter (Sean de Guzman) was a videographer for weddings and events. However, on his free time (which is a lot lately), he hung out in a remote picturesque lakeside camping area where couples came to do their coupling in open air. Peter would stalk these couples and sneakily take videos of their lovemaking while getting himself off. He would then post these sex videos on an online porn site to make money out of them. 

One day, Peter was stalking a young woman Mia (Cara Gonzales) and videoed her while she was taking a shower. Instead of getting angry, Mia was friendly to him. However, she had a gruff and sinister-looking boyfriend RJ (Josef Elizalde) with her, who did not appreciate Peter hanging around with his girlfriend. The next time Peter was surreptitiously videoing Mia and RJ having sex, he witnessed Mia suddenly slash RJ in the neck.

The first thing you will admire about this film was the cinematography of Richmond Cadsawan who brought out the best in their beautiful chosen location in San Marcelino, Zambales. The surface of the titular lake (which looked like the placidly mysterious Lake Mapanuepe, created by the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo) was serene and calm, while the pine-like agoho trees stood tall and graceful to dominate the skyline of the shores around it.

Cinephiles will recognize that a majority of the plot to be inspired by the Cannes Film Festival 2013 Un Certain Regard entry "Stranger on the Lake" which won the Best Director prize for Alain Guiraudie. This controversial LGBT-themed erotic thriller was about a serial killer who chose his victims from among the gay men cruising in a nude beach. Writer-director Phil Giordano took this main scenario and spun his own twists to enhance the story. 

Sean de Guzman has really improved as an actor in his restrained and subtly-nuanced portrayal of the pernicious pervert Peter. Cara Gonzales was inconsistent in her portrayal of the knife-wielding sexpot Mia. Ivan Padilla was miscast and awkward as the detective Jonell. This is already Giordano's third film for Vivamax after "Pusoy" and "Pabuya." Despite only running 1 hour and 13 minutes, this one had the most coherent plot of the three. 6/10. 

Review of CREED III: Painful Payback

March 2, 2023

Adonis "Donnie" Creed (Michael B. Jordan) had already retired from professional boxing as a champion. Aside from taking care of his musical producer wife Bianca (Tessa Thompson) and deaf daughter Amara (Mila Davis-Kent), his time was mostly spent running his boxing gym with coach Tony "Little Duke" Evers (Wood Harris). Their latest protege was current champion Felix Chavez (Jose Benavidez), who was of Mexican descent.

One day, Donnie unexpectedly met an old friend Damian "Dame" Anderson (Jonathan Majors) outside his gym. Donnie and Dame go way back when they were teens, but were since estranged when Dame went to prison, where he was incarcerated for 20 years. Dame wanted to ask Donnie's help to get him back on his track to be a champion boxer. He was pressuring Donnie to get him a title fight, even if he had not fought professionally before.

This is already the third film of the "Creed." Original director Ryan Coogler is still involved as a producer, but like the second installment, this one was directed by star Michael B. Jordan himself. This is the first time that Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa would not appear on camera, nor merit a mention in the script. However, the tried-and-true boxing melodrama formula Stallone originated in the first Rocky film was still very much followed. 

Like before, there would be one significant defeat in the middle of the film which would push the hero to train harder (the requisite training montage is still there, of course) for the second (and final) showdown. However, here the story was a little more complex as it involved an incident in the past when Dame and Donnie were only ages 18 and 15 respectively -- an event that changed the course the lives of both boys.

The family interactions between Donnie, Bianca, Amara and his mother Mary Anne (Phylicia Rashad) were all very natural and sincere. Jonathan Majors is really exploding onto the scene, after his major role in "Ant-Man and the Wasp" as Kang, a powerful antagonist who will dominate the entire Phase 5 of the MCU. Likely, he will also have a recurrent role in this "Creed" franchise as well, as Florian Munteneau again played Viktor Drago in this one.

The boxing scenes are of course the main highlights of a film like this. The first one was Donnie's final championship match with closeups of vicious hits to the flanks. In the second match, Dame used rough brawl techniques he picked up in prison to secure his own victory. The finale was of course Creed v Dame, but instead the usual round per round, Jordan chose to use a surreal style to summarize rounds 3 to 11, losing some drama points. 6/10.