Vivamax: Review of SILA AY AKIN: Sincerely Supportive

 October 28, 2023

Aling Celing (Angie Castrence) lived in a small house with her elder son Pau (Vince Rillon) and his common-law wife Josie (Angeli Khang). She also had an adopted daughter Queenie (Cess Garcia), who experienced a trauma that left her mute. Celing ran a food stall in the market, with Queenie helping her. Pau was a veteran macho dancer and prostitute, whose career his employer Mama Chester (Roni Bertubin) described to be on its sunset. 

One day, Celing's younger son JC (Victor Relosa) came back home to her, bringing along his girlfriend Maritess (Azi Acosta). JC was basically a good guy, but was a hothead who could not control his emotions. He had been living in with Maritess for three years, while working as a horse trainer at Wright Park. When he got involved in a friend's troubles with a local gang, he was forced to flee Baguio with his wife and seek shelter with his mother. 

Vivamax queens Angeli Khang and Azi Acosta both played virtuous wives who patiently and steadfastly stood by their flawed husbands no matter what. Khang's Josie faced the dilemma of Pau's secret plans. Acosta's Maritess had to deal with the serious consequences borne out of JC's violent temper. Their best scene was that one where they were walking together while discussing their husbands, in lines only National Artist Ricky Lee can craft.

The unconditional kindness of Angie Castrence's Celing was the heart upon which her family gathered. The story of Rillon's Pau provided the film's more interesting conflict, involving his generous gay benefactor Allan (Gerald Madrid). However, the story of Relosa's JC ran very predictably, from his seduction by whore-next-door Liza (an effortlessly natural performance by Andrea Garcia) up to his encounter with heartless goon Natan (Vino Gonzales). 

This latest collaboration between director Mac Alejandre and his esteemed writer Ricky Lee was in essence a family melodrama which was, as expected from Vivamax, spiced with gratuitous sex scenes. What set this apart was its unusually positive depiction of the dynamics of a poor Filipino family. All the members of Aling Celing's family were sincerely mutually supportive of one another. The way it ended opens up the possibility of a sequel. 6/10. 

Review of TAYLOR SWIFT: THE ERAS TOUR: Enchanting Evolution

October 27, 2023

Taylor Swift was only 16 years old when she released her first self-titled album in 2006, led off by the single "Tim McGraw," which hit #40 on the Billboard 100 chart. 17 years, 10 albums and 9 #1 hit singles later, Swift has moved leaps and bounds from her humble country roots to become one of the biggest and most influential pop stars in the world now.  

"The Eras Tour" is her sixth and biggest all-stadium concert tour to date, with a setlist of 44 songs in 10 distinct acts representing her albums. It has more than 140 dates scheduled, to be played on five continents for almost two years, from March 2023 to November 2024. Needless to say, the tour is critically-acclaimed and a massive box-office phenomenon. 

This film version of the concert brings to tour to many of her fans who would not be able to watch the concert live, be it because of distance or financial constraints. Directed by Sam Wrench, it runs for 169 minutes, trimmed down from the usual 3-1/2 hours of the actual concert. Song numbers which were cut out from the set list included 'The Archer,' 'No Body, No Crime,' 'Long Live,' 'Cardigan,' and 'Wildest Dreams.'

The show opened with the "Lover" (her 7th album, 2019) era. Dancers walked the stage with huge silk sails behind them, At one point, the sails converge on the diamond mid-catwalk stage, and Swift appeared from under them, wearing a shiny silver leotard with blue and pink trimmings, and knee-high white boots. Set included: "Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince," current #1 hit "Cruel Summer," the feministic "The Man" set in an office structure, #2 hit "You Need to Calm Down" and #10 hit "Lover" had a house with colorful rooms behind her.

With a shower of sparks, the "Fearless" (her 2nd album, 2008) era began. Taylor skips in wearing a shimmering gold dress with multi-level fringe, playing her guitar and singing the title song. The whole catwalk stage was lit up to look like a giant guitar. She then invited her fans to go back to high school with her with "You Belong With Me," sung on raised platforms in the central diamond, and finally "Love Story," sung on the smaller rectangular stage at the end. 

With a pine forest backdrop, the mood on the stage turned mysterious with the "Evermore" (her 9th album, 2020) era. In the #1 hit "Willow," Taylor entered wearing dark yellow floor-length dress with a dark green cloak, as her dancers carried orange spherical lanterns. This was followed by "Marjorie," then "Champagne Problems," which she playing on a moss-covered piano. She ended the set with "Tolerate It," while acting out an argument with her male partner on opposite ends of a long dinner table.

The image of giant snake slithering around and squeezing the whole catwalk opened the "Reputation" (her 6th album, 2017) era. Taylor came in singing the #4 hit "... Ready for It?" wearing in a black full body suit with red snake designs, with her left arm and leg left bare. The next songs were the #12 hit "Delicate," "Don't Blame Me" and finally, the syncopated beats of #1 hit "Look What You Made Me Do" (with the dancers inside boxes on the stage behind her).

The was a brief segue into the "Speak Now" (her 3rd album, 2010) era, with Taylor wearing a lavender ballgown singing singing "Enchanted" with a field of flowers on the big screen. 

Then the lights turned red to announce the "Red" (the 4th album, 2012) era. Taylor sang a rousing set that included the #20 hit "22," the #2 hit "I Knew You Were Trouble" and her very first #1 hit "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together." Throwing on a red-black overcoat over her red sleeveless top and short black shorts, she sang the 10 minute version of "All Too Well (10 Minute re-recorded Taylor's Version of which reached #1 in 2021) to end this set.

The mood turned somber again in the "Folklore" (her 8th album, 2020) era. Taylor in a long white dress flowy sleeves and skirt, singing "The 1" on the mossy roof of a cabin with a smoking chimney. She then told the story of a teenage love triangle in "Betty." The screen showed a running train in "The Last American Dynasty," autumn colors in "August," and dark swirling clouds in "Illicit Affairs." In pitch dark and the lone spotlight on her, the atmosphere turned ghostly in her final song of this set, "My Tears Ricochet."

The tempo turned upbeat again in the "1989" (her 5th album, 2014) era. Wearing a hot pink crop top and skirt, Taylor sang the #6 hit "Style" strutting up and down the catwalk like models. Then she sang #1 hit "Blank Space" on the raised stage in the diamond stage, with her dancers riding glowing bicycles and Taylor wielding a glowing hockey stick. The light show and party atmosphere became more pulsating and spellbinding in the last two songs of the set, both very popular #1 hits, "Shake It Off" and "Bad Blood."

There was another interlude where Taylor would sing a couple of "Surprise Songs" which change with each concert date. She came out in a red long gown and guitar, and dedicated her first song to fans "who liked me when I was a little teenager writing songs for my 9th grade family show." This was her first Country #1 hit "Our Song," the only song from her very first album "Taylor Swift" (2006) on this setlist. For her second song, she transferred to an old wooden piano with flowers painted on it, and performed the seemingly autobiographical song "You’re on Your Own, Kid" from the Midnight album. 

After this, it looked as if Taylor "dove into water" on one end of the stage and "swam" to the other end, rose out of the water and climbed onto a cloud. This began the "Midnights" (10th album, 2022) era. It started with #2 hit "Lavender Haze" with giant cotton clouds wheeled around by the dancers. The next song was the #1 hit "Anti-Hero" which had a giant Taylor on the big screen walking across a cityscape. She then performed "Midnight Rain," "Vigilante Shit," "Bejeweled" and "Mastermind" before her grand finale song, the #2 hit "Karma."

While seeing the spectacularly huge stage requirements of this concert tour, it was clear why there was no venue in this country which can support a show like this. Taylor Swift came across as friendly, accommodating, and very sincere. Personally, my favorite eras were the older ones "Fearless," "Red" and "1989." I only knew one song each from "Folklore," "Evermore" and "Midnights," which had songs that tended to be very moody and melancholy, but Taylor certainly made up for this unfamiliarity with her awesome showmanship.  8/10

Netflix: Mini-Reviews of REPTILE, FAIR PLAY, NOWHERE, ZOM100:

October 12, 2023

REPTILE

Directed by Grant Singer

Screenplay by Grant Singer, Benjamin Brewer, Benicio del Toro

Real estate agent Summer Elswick (Lutz) was found dead in a Scarborough, Maine house she was trying to sell. Policemen Tom Nichols (Del Toro) and his partner Dan Cleary (Essandoh) investigate the case, by interviewing Summer's current boyfriend Will Grady (Justin Timberlake), Summer's druggie estranged husband Sam Gifford (Karl Glusman) and disgruntled victim realty scam victim Eli Phillips (Michael Pitt) as suspects. 

Simply having Benicio del Toro in the lead already spelled the big difference for this film, elevating the intensity and class of this detective thriller.  While the pace was admittedly slowburn and may bore impatient viewers, most will appreciate how the investigation process was told very well. With that smirk of his, Justin Timberlake played the wealthy heir suspect effortlessly. Great to see Alicia Silverstone back, playing Tom's helpful wife Judy. 7/10

FAIR PLAY

Directed by Chloe Domont

Written by Chloe Domont

Emily Meyers (Phoebe Dynevor) and Luke Edmunds (Alden Ehrenreich) were lovers and were planning to get married, but they needed to keep their relationship a secret because they both worked at a hedge fund company that prohibited office romances. When the position of portfolio manager opened up, Luke was expecting their boss Campbell (Eddie Marsan) to promote him to this position, but it was Emily who got the promotion instead. 

This film got the tense atmosphere within a New York city finance office with all their cutthroat dealings and insider information. It also exposed the sexual politics at work in such toxic workplaces, how women who get promoted were immediately accused of sleeping their way up. However, Emily and Luke were very unlikable characters, there is absolutely no one to root for. The initial premise was interesting, but the endgame went way over-the-top. 6/10. 

NOWHERE

Directed by Albert Pintó

Written by Ernest Riera, Miguel Ruz, Indiana Lista, Seanne Winslow, Teresa Rosendoy

Spain was in the middle of massive economic crisis, such that they were already executing pregnant women and children. Nico (Tamar Novas)and his pregnant wife Mia (Anna Castillo) decide to flee their country by paying to be stowed away in a metal cargo container. Midway though, the couple get separated, and Mia was left alone in the container when it got loaded on the ocean liner to Ireland. During rough weather, that container fell into the sea.

This is an intense film about a woman's survival against the worst of odds. There has been many films done about being lost at sea, but surely nothing quite this one -- a pregnant woman who can birth anytime already, trapped in a metal container floating at sea. Its okay, but it demanded too much suspension of disbelief, not only the miraculous phone signal, to the incredible physical tenacity of mother and baby against the elements. 6/10. 

ZOM 100: BUCKET LIST OF THE DEAD

Directed by Yusuke Ishida

Written by Tatsuro Mishima

Akira Tendo (Eiji Akaso) was trapped in an unhappy daily grind at his office job under a slave-driver boss. One day, while on his way to work,  the whole city had been overrun by a zombie apocalypse. While he was running away from the horde of the undead, Tendo only had one thing in mind-- that he was happy that he did not have to go to work that day. To keep himself motivated to live, he began writing a bucket list of things he needed to do before died.

Despite the presence of zombies and their gory killing spree, this film kept things lighthearted and funny, a very entertaining watch. It also told of Tendo's road trip with his best friend Kencho (Shuntaro Yanagi) and a smart resourceful girl Shizuka (Mai Shiraishi) -- which also provided more laughs and heartwarming insights. The guys fighting that zombie great white shark at the aquarium was the peak of its over-the-top silliness. 7/10. 

Vivamax: Review of HALIPAROT: A Flirt's Folly

October 20, 2023

Libay (Maui Taylor) was the owner of a pottery business. and a single mother to her daughter Abigail "Ging" (Aiko Garcia), who was a senior high student. One day, while Ging was waiting for tricycle driver Gabo (Aerol Carmelo) to take her home, she met a handsome older man in the waiting shed on whom she had an instant crush. That friendly man was Jeric (Matthew Francisco), a missionary, who just so happened to be her mother's new boyfriend.  

Direk Bobby Bonifacio has had several projects under Vivamax before, of varying quality. The best so far had been dark comedy "Bula" (2022) (MY REVIEW) and bizarre horror "Kahalili" (2023) (MY REVIEW). With a brazen title like "Haliparot," I was ready to dismiss this new film as just another forgettable one. However, it surprised me a lot.  I cannot deny that the look and feel of this movie was of prime quality for Vivamax standards, one of its best. 

Bonifacio took this project very seriously and its showed. The cinematography was clean and classy-looking, as with the editing, even of the sex scenes. The musical direction was also excellent, with moans of ecstasy mixed into the instrumental soundtrack.  The use of the 2019 song "Delikado" by Marion Aunor to accompany one critical sex scene between Ging and Gabo on a tree trunk (seriously!) was quite apt. 

There were two remarkably prolonged sex scenes here. One was a 7-minute-long scene of Ging fantasizing in bed about the charming stranger she met and the handkerchief he lent her. Another was a 6-minute suspenseful sex scene with Ging and Jeric were going at it in the bathroom, just when Libay came home unexpectedly from her trip. The editing and musical scoring work in these two scenes deserve commendation.

As Libay, Maui Taylor is the veteran here and she proved that she can still live up to her 20-year-old title of "pantasya ng bayan" (or "national fantasy") even up to now. In her first lead role, Aiko Garcia was able to perfect that ideal mix of schoolgirl naivete and unsuspecting seductress in Ging. Even if she is 23 in real life, she is playing a 17-year old realistically, making her intimate scenes with older Jeric very uncomfortable. 

Fresh from his praised performance in "Patikim-tikim" (2023), Aerol Carmelo is a promising young actor to watch. During Gabo's confession scene, Carmelo was able to squeeze out tears and emotion never seen from him before. In his first major film role as Jeric, Matthew Francisco was able to subtly transition convincingly from a kind, bible-toting minister to a despicable sexual predator, which was no mean feat for a neophyte actor.

Even if I would include this film among Bonifacio's "best-of" list technical-wise, I would have to take exception to his topic of corruption of minors, which was quite deplorable. It was most unsettling, and felt absolutely dirty to watch, as it even escalated to outright rape at the end. That Jeric had to be a missionary, made him even more heinous, as he hypocritically took the Lord's name in vain repeatedly, all in the name of Bonifacio's idea of black comedy. 7/10 

Review of FIVE BREAKUPS AND A ROMANCE: Credit for Changes

October 19, 2023

Justine Ramos (Julia Montes) was working as a fashion brand manager in Singapore. One night while at a concert, she met Lance Sandoval (Alden Richards), a medical student who was there as a tourist. The attraction between them was instant and electric, so they got away from their friends to get to know each other better. Before long, their conversation led to a passionate kiss, and then all the way to a romp in the sheets.

It was supposed to have been a one-night stand, but Lance felt it was more and pursued Justine at her place of work the next day, even if he was already had tickets to return home for the next day.  From their meeting in 2014 as the first chapter, the film would go up to five chapters, taking the audience on the rollercoaster ride of their love story, as it resumed in the Philippines, rose up, dipped down, and went through a pandemic. 

The filmography of writer-director Irene Emma Villamor consists of love stories about a couple whose relationship went through a wringer. If you have seen "Meet Me at St. Gallen" and "Sid & Aya: Not a Love Story" (2018), "Ulan" (2019), "Of Vodka, Beers and Regret" (2020), and "Ikaw, Ako at ang Ending" (2021), you'd probably be able to venture a guess about how "Five Breakups" will turn out, and you'd likely be right. 

As she had done so in all her previous films, Villamor can still conjure up a script with lines that hit home, that connect and ring true to any audience member in a romantic relationship, either good or bad, middle class or elitist. She seems to possess the same sensitivity about how men would talk and feel as she did about women.  This writing talent was evident especially during that bitter argument of Chapter 2, or those reflective confessions of Chapter 5.

Villamor's visuals were lush and stunning, from cosmopolitan Singapore in the Prologue to idyllic Batangas in Chapter 3. It does not hurt that her camera loved her two lead actors, Richards and Montes, both without a bad angle and looked great together. Beyond looks, they both imbued their characters with passion so palpable that you feel the exuberance of their thrill, pain of their regret and weight of their emotions. 8/10.  

Review of KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON: Ordeal of the Osage

October 12, 2023

In the 1920s, families of the Osage tribe in Oklahoma were granted headrights by the court to a share of the profits from oil deposits found on their land, and this made them quite wealthy. Not long after that white folks also settled in the area and started their own families after marrying Osage women. The most influential and respectable of these white settlers was William Hale (Robert de Niro) who owned a sprawling cattle ranch.

One day, Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio) came home after being injured in the war and stayed at the ranch of his uncle William. Ernest became a driver for hire to earn money, and his first customer was Osage woman Mollie (Lily Gladstone) who later became his wife. During that time, there was a series of murders of Osage tribespeople, all unresolved. One day, Mollie's sister Anna Brown (Cada Jade Myers) was found murdered. 

This film has brought to light a lesser-known, but no-less dark and despicable episode of racial oppression in American history, beyond the slavery of the blacks. It showed how the Native Americans, the original inhabitants of the USA, were being raped of their culture, cheated out of their fortune, up to the point of being actually being physically murdered -- all borne out of wanton greed of unscrupulous white interlopers. 

Leonardo DiCaprio eschews his usual leading man persona to play a vile example of such a repugnant beast, a pathetic excuse of a white man. His Ernest Burkhart was painted as a gullible fool who blindly followed orders of others, regardless of who he was going to hurt -- totally heartless and detestable. For the whole third act, I daresay I had never seen DiCaprio contort his handsome face into an irritating mask of abject blank cluelessness, ever.

As the dignified Osage lady Mollie, Lily Gladstone is a mesmerizing screen presence. She proudly wore her native Osage garb and looked absolutely elegant in these colorful printed dresses. She played a woman and a Native American, so she was expectedly at the receiving end of insults, commands, and injustice, but Mollie still kept her honor and dignity intact. She was the beating heart of this story as she represented the sorry plight of her people. 

Robert de Niro was right in his comfort zone with his rather predictable role -- we've definitely seen him do such roles of nebulous character before.  In the final hour or so, a surprising series of name actors showed up to play small roles, including Jesse Plemons as Tom White, the agent sent to investigate the Osage murders; John Lithgow as the public prosecutor of the case; and Brendan Fraser as the oily defense attorney of the rich accused. 

Martin Scorsese is already 80 years old this year and he can really tell a complex multilayered story about true-to-life racial abuse. He led a formidable artistic team to achieve his epic vision --cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto, editor Thelma Schoonmaker, musician Robbie Robertson -- all of whom are sure shots for Oscar nominations. It took 3-1/2 hours to tell because he wanted to immerse us in the rich Osage culture before laying out the reprehensible crimes committed against them. 

I do have to take a little exception to the avant-garde way Scorsese wrapped things up at the end. Traditionally, a courtroom drama would end in the climactic revelation of the verdict and how the characters react to it. Instead, Scorsese cut off from the action right before the reading of the verdict and abruptly brought the scene somewhere else. He tried something innovative there and even snuck in another cameo, but I am not sure this was the best way to do it. 8/10. 

Prime Video: Review of IN MY MOTHER'S SKIN: A Dominant Darkness

October 16, 2023

The country was in the throes of World War 2. Merchant Romualdo (Arnold Reyes), his wife Ligaya (Beauty Gonzalez) and his children, Tala (Felicity Kyle Napuli) and Bayani (James Mavie Estrella), together with their housekeeper Amor (Angeli Bayani) lived in a mansion in a remote wooded area. Local Japanese collaborator Antonio (Ronnie Lazaro) accused Aldo of stealing gold bars and was demanding him to surrender them. 

One day, Aldo had to leave for town, leaving his family alone to fend for themselves. Ligaya's cough was steadily getting worse but she was confident that Aldo was coming back home as he said. When the food supply was dwindling, the two children went out into the surrounding forest against their mother's advice. Tala met a beautiful Fairy (Jasmin Curtis-Smith) who promised the child that she can always call on her for help for anything.

This horror film was written and directed by Kenneth Dagatan. This is only Dagatan's second feature film as director after his auspicious debut in 2018 with "Ma." There were several notable similarities between these two films, aside from the outline of a crow on their posters. Both were atmospheric horror films that involved a sick mother and her traumatized children, and an enchantment in the forest as a main plot point. Both films had remarkable technical aspects, especially in cinematography, production design, and sound effects editing.

As the beleaguered Tala upon whom the story revolved, theater child actress Felicity Kyle Napuli makes an astounding film debut, deserving of awards consideration. Child actor James Mavie Estrellas likewise had a strong screen presence, and his character Bayani was a victim of extreme violence, for which hopefully he would be properly debriefed. As the possessed mother Ligaya, Beauty Gonzalez had to endure harrowing acting challenges, and make-up sessions. Ethereal beauty Jasmin Curtis-Smith was aptly cast as the mysterious Fairy.  

Dagatan purposefully shrouded majority of this whole film in darkness. The lighting in several scenes were very dim, such that we could barely see what was going on. Some were even in total darkness, running as long as five minutes or longer, where we see practically nothing, only depending on the soundtrack to deduce what was happening. I see its need for the eerie atmosphere, the oppressive chiaroscuro can feel really excessive. Can't help but smile in one scene when one character actually said that they needed light. 6/10. 

Vivamax: Review of AHASSS: Insidious Infidelity

 October 13, 2023

Crooked cop Lt. Agusto (Jao Mapa) interceded for the illegal activities of American businessman Sam Stonehill (Ian Curtis) and his cohorts. While Sam may be generous with his money, he was also coarse, hot-headed, violent and sexually-abusive to his Filipina wife Adelyn (Angela Morena) and their housekeeper Jenny (Janelle Tee). One day, Agusto brought teenager Jake (Gold Aceron) to be Sam's houseboy. 

With that synopsis, you can probably already guess which character was going to fall in love with whom, despite the very obvious danger involved. Countless movies, local and foreign, usually of the B kind, have been made about this topic of reckless infidelity against all odds. In all these other films, the outcome is invariably going to be bad, even violent most of the time. There is no surprise anymore, so boring, yet here comes yet another one. 

Angela Morena's last film was about a young woman who fought back against the man who raped her in "BJJ: Woman on Top" (2023). Here she is again with basically the same role, but this time as the abused wife of an American scoundrel who longed to be able to fight back and get free from his dirty clutches. However, it was with her character Adelyn that writer-director Ato Bautista injected a plot twist that he thought would set this apart from other films like it.

I do not know how Gold Aceron could keep a straight face while mouthing those unnaturally naive and foolishly idealistic things Jake kept on saying to Adelyn supposedly to keep her spirits up. These were definitely trite, cringe-worthy lines, but then again Jake was an eighteen year old in lust, so he just said whatever his juvenile mild thought this lonely older woman wants to hear in order to get her into bed -- or so he thought. 

Ian Curtis went all-out to play Sam Stonehill as this crazy and scary American gangster boss. Just watching the lascivious way he'd have his way on Morena or Tee can make you recoil in disgust. In those scenes Sam had with his similarly-foul-mouthed drinking buddies Bobby (Erick Horn) and Billy Boy (Staycey Michelle), the degree of lecherousness was multiplied by three, as well as the sense of imminent danger. 

Janelle Tee is back again after a long hiatus from Vivamax feature film projects. She had four lead roles in a row in 2022 with "Putahe," "Secrets," "Pusoy" and "The Escort Wife," then a long absence, until now. Even if she performed quite well in her smallish role of the housekeeper Jenny, Tee, unfortunately, was very miscast. Tall, elegant,with undeniable beauty queen carriage, Tee certainly did not look like a maid at all. 

The best aspect of this film was its location, which was a modern mansion in remote mountainous area. However, even if the living room, dining room, the open bedroom and the swimming pool area looked so high-class, I wondered why the bathroom, so small, dim and dingy,  did not look like part of the house at all. Those gratuitous sex scenes shot in that bathroom looked terribly off, they should have edited them out of the film altogether. 

For those who watch this film waiting for a real snake to appear during a sex scene, they will be disappointed. The titular "snake" was merely symbolic. The final two additional S's were mere gimmick, nothing more. 2/10. 

Review of MONSTER (Kaibutsu) : Verification Via Various Versions

October 12, 2023

Since the death of her husband, Mugino Saori (Sakura Andō) had been raising her son Minato (Sōya Kurokawa) on her own as a single mother. Lately, she had been noticing that her son had been behaving strangely when he came home from school. At first it was just asking odd question. Then, he cut off the curls of his hair. Worst of all, he was found in a dark roadside tunnel, with a wounded ear, then he even jumped out of his mom's running car. 

Upon further questioning, Minato finally confessed that he was being bullied by his homeroom teacher Michitoshi Hori (Eita Nagayama). Saori went to school to report to the extremely polite school principal, Makiko Fushimi (Yūko Tanaka). The administration and Mr. Hori expressed their profuse apologies repeatedly. However, Saori was not satisfied at all, very frustrated that the erring teacher had not been given a more severe punishment. 

This is the latest film from director Hirokazu Kore-eda, a Japanese filmmaker whose every new work is highly anticipated by his fans the world over. This particular film "Monster" won the Best Screenplay prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival for writer Yuji Sakamoto. This was also one of the rare films that Kore-eda did NOT write himself, the only previous one being the acclaimed "Maborosi" (1995) written by Yoshihisa Ogita.

In the first act told was the mother's version of things, we felt much anger for Mr. Hori. In the second act, the events were retold from Mr. Hori's view, as well as the principal's view, shaking our initial opinions. In the third act, Minato tells his own complete story himself, which finally got to fill in all the blanks left out earlier. This was very much an adaptation of the storytelling style famously employed in Akira Kurosawa's classic "Rashomon" (1951). 

Weaved within this mystery story was a second story about the friendship that developed between Minato and his classmate Hoshikawa Yori (Hinata Hiiragi). Yori was a gentle kid bullied by his classmates at school and his father (Shidō Nakamura) at home. He found sanctuary in an abandoned train in the forest, and he welcomed Minato in. This conflict is very reminiscent of Belgian film "Close" (2022), but this turned out in its own way. 8/10

PS: One remarkable element of this film was its musical score composed by Academy Award-winning musician (for "The Last Emperor" in 1986), Ryuichi Sakamoto. The emotional score of "Monster" was the master's final musical work for a film before he succumbed to cancer just last March this year. 

Vivamax: Review of LANGITNGIT: The Rapture of Ruby Ruiz

October 9, 2023

Layla Lejandro (Manang Medina) got accepted to work at a firm whose office was far away from their house. To avoid the stress of daily commute, she decided to look for a room for rent in the vicinity. A janitor directed her to inquire at "The Spanish House," a big old house owned by Floresca "Flor" Aranda (Ms. Ruby Ruiz), a religious elderly retired school teacher, who now mainly sewed clothes for statues of saints in the churches. 

When she accepted the rental terms, Layla was shown around by Manay's hunchback housekeeper Doreng (Aurora Yumul). Manay lived with her 20-year old grandson Patricio "Popoy" (Itan Rosales) whom she wanted to be a priest. However, the young man would bring home his girlfriend Cheena (Zia Zamora) for nights of carnal pleasure. Just next door to his room, Layla could hear the titular creaking noises made by his bed all night long.

Being the Vivamax film that it is, there were more graphic nude and sex scenes than the story really needed.  While Popoy's bed scenes were necessary in the story, these did not really have to be too repetitive. It was not necessary to see Layla bathing using a dipper at her house or using a shower at the Aranda house, nor see her lusty supervisor Jeffrey (Mon Morales) having sex with a co-worker in the office bathroom -- but there they were.  

Manang Medina was not a conventional fair-skinned and voluptuous Vivamax siren, probably chosen to cater to Vivamax viewers who prefer a different type of female lead. This is her second lead role after "Lagaslas" (2023) (MY REVIEW), and she gets to show off more acting range here. Fortunately, this new one had a more substantive script by Byron Bryant and more aesthetic direction by Christopher Novabos. Let's see if there is going to be a third Manang Medina starrer by them to complete a trilogy. 

After a host of minor roles in several past Vivamax films, Itan Rosales finally gets his chance to be the lead stud. His Popoy had a big confrontation scene with his grandmother which betrayed the current limitations in his acting skills, but this would probably not be his last lead role. On the other hand, Mon Morales looks like he has the annoying sexual predator role down pat, though as of now, it is not clear yet if he can do much more.  

Aurora Yumul had been in movies since the 1980s, but this turn as Doreng may be the one that finally gets her noticed for her acting. On the surface, the character was written as a stereotypical trope of the blindly loyal sidekick, down to her hunched back, shades of Dr. Frankenstein's Igor. Yumul was able to imbue the role with some sense of humor and heart, and was even given a chance to tell her own story in the epilogue.  

Overall, this whole film was really an acting showcase for character actress Ruby Ruiz. Her breakthrough came when she won a Cinemalaya Best Supporting Acting award in "Ekstra" (2013), which then led to a Cinemalaya Best Actress award for "Iska" (2019). From prayerful fanatic to wrathful madonna, Ruiz as Manay Flor dominated this movie with a nuanced, creepy and totally psychotic performance that Kathy Bates herself would kill for. 6/10. 

Review of THE EXORCIST: BELIEVER: Paired Possessions

October 8, 2023

After his wife Sorenne (Tracey Graves) died during a violent earthquake in Haiti, photographer Victor Fielding (Leslie Odom Jr.) raised their daughter Angela (Lidya Jewett) on his own. One day, Angela and her best friend Katherine (Olivia Marcum) failed to go home from school, only to reappear three days later. Soon after being medically cleared by the doctors, the two girls began to exhibit extremely bizarre behavioral changes. 

From there begins the harrowing nightmare which will keep Victor, as well as Katherine's parents, Tony and Miranda West (Norbert Leo Butz and Jennifer Nettles), on edge for the next days. Their "symptoms" become worse and worse with time, like Angela's violent episode with her mother's scarf and Katherine's shocking outburst during a church service. Victor had lost faith in religion since his wife's death, while the Wests were staunch Christians. 

The main conceit of this new film (first of a planned trilogy) was that it bore the title of the most revered classic film about demonic possession -- "The Exorcist" (William Friedkin, 1973), based on the popular 1971 novel by William Peter Blatty. This groundbreaking film has since spawned two sequels (1977 and 1990) and two prequels (2004 and 2005). none of which could match the iconic stature and 10 Academy Award nominations of the original. 

This reboot innovates from the original story by having two girls simultaneously possessed by the demon instead of just one. During the climactic exorcism rite, director-co-writer David Gordon Green went all-inclusive, with nurse and ex-nun Ann (Ann Dowd), a traditional voodoo healer (Okwui Okpokwasili), two Protestant pastors (Raphael Sbarge, Danny McCarthy) and a Catholic priest Maddox (EJ Bonilla) all having their turn to pray over the girls.  

This film had its own moment of nostalgia by casting Ms. Ellen Burstyn, who reprised her Oscar-nominated role of Chris MacNeill, the mother of demonically-possessed girl Regan (Linda Blair) in the first movie. Chris then wrote a best-selling book about her harrowing experiences that Victor would come across.  Still with an imposing screen presence, Burstyn's first scenes were very strong. It was just too bad that Chris was not made to contribute more significantly to the plot. 5/10. 

Review of COBWEB (Geomijip): Overseeing an Overblown Opus

October 5, 2023

Kim Yeol (Song Kang-ho) was a film director whose last projects have failed to live up to the excellence of his first film. He had just wrapped up on his latest film entitled "Cobweb," but he was having disturbing nightmares on how it could be done better. Wanting to reshoot the whole ending over in two days, Kim convinced production executive Mido (Jeon Yeo-been), who took over from her aunt Chairman Baek (Jang Young-nam) who was on leave. 

All the main actors returned to the set -- playboy lead actor Kang Ho-se (Oh Jung-se) as the wealthy heir, and actresses Lee Min-mi (Im Soo-jung) as his wife, Han Yu-rim (Krystal Jung) as his mistress and Mrs. Oh (Park Jung-soo) as his imperious mother. However, while the shoot was going on, the censors bosses also visited the set that day to check if this film was indeed still shooting despite their disapproval of its controversial topic.  

As a movie buff, it was very interesting to watch the behind-the-screen processes by which a film was shot. Since this movie was set in the 1970s, there were no computerized digital effects yet, so every scene and every stunt had to be shot the traditional way. Since Kim shot his incendiary ending as a long continuous shot, we witness this perfectly blocked and executed scene that involved actual fire also shot as a long continuous shot itself. 

It was fun to watch the relationship of writer-director Kim with his producers, his staff, and his temperamental actors, especially Ho-se and Yu-rim who were keeping secrets from him. Fresh from his Best Actor award at Cannes last year for "Broker," Song Kang-ho played Kim and his eccentricities so naturally and credibly, even if he had not actually directed a film himself. The supporting actors all played their roles in a lurid, over-the-top style, which was very funny.

Director Kim Jee-woon is well-known for directing the bloody classic "A Tale of Two Sisters" (2003), the gruesome action thriller "I Saw the Devil" (2010) and the dignified historical drama "The Age of Shadows" (2016). In "Cobweb," Kim was not averse to going hyperbolic with the dark comedy which made this film-within-a-film very entertaining to watch, with all its purposefully absurd exaggerations that the cast all pulled off with gusto.  8/10

Netflix: Review of KEYS TO THE HEART: Maternal and Musical Melodrama

October 5, 2023

Joma Hermano (Zanjoe Marudo) was a 39-year old down-and-out ex-boxer who had lost his license. One day, he lost his job as a sparrer in a boxing gym, and was bumped by a car on his way out. His long-estranged mother Sylvia (Dolly de Leon) took him in despite his contempt for her for abandoning him in the past. She now had a younger 21-year old son Joselito "Jayjay," who had high-functioning autism, and a virtuosic talent for playing the piano.

After a rough start, Joma and Jayjay eventually got along. Sylvia requested Joma to take care of Jayjay while she needed to be away in Batangas for her work. She also asked Joma to help Jayjay enter a prestigious piano playing competition sponsored by the elite Batiquin Conservatory. When Joma found out that Jayjay was a fan of retired pianist Annette Labayen (Michelle Marquez Dee), they sought her out to get a recommendation.

If the plot sounds familiar, it was probable that you may have seen its original 2018 Korean film of the same title. That film starred superstar Lee Byung-hun in the elder brother role, and Academy Award winner (for "Minari") Youn Yuh-jung in the mother role. In that original film, as with this Filipino adaptation, it was the emotionally-moving acting performances of the three lead actors that elevated the familiarity and predictability of the plot. 

For me, the movie came alive when Jayjay played on the old abandoned piano in the Labayen mansion. From then on, every time Jayjay played the piano, be it Chopin or Rimsky-Korsakov or Tchaikovsky, Elijah Canlas's realistic performance in those scenes made me teary-eyed. Dolly de Leon played a mother directly opposite to the one she played in her current theatrical hit "A Very Good Girl."  Her sad kindly eyes and face convey much more than she says.

Statuesque current Ms. Philippines Universe Michelle Dee struck an elegant silhouette as Annette Labayen, although her acting still needs further honing. Tirso Cruz III as her father Don Roldan Labayen, only had one scene with dialogue, when he confronted the snooty snob Cesar, the director of the Batiquin conservatory, played by Bart Guingona. Althea Pinzon was a delightful presence as Jayjay's friend Apple, while Katya Santos played her coquettish mother Eva.

From the very first act of this film, all the typical tropes of family melodrama were already very evident. A loser in life estranged from his mother, who is now saddled with a special child, who just so happened to be a musical prodigy. We've seen so many permutations of these stories already in past dramas, such that we can somehow predict what was going to happen. When the mother began exhibiting a worsening cough, the clearer the plot became. 7/10. 

Review of THE CREATOR: AI Annihilation

October 3, 2023

In the future, AI was already part and parcel of human society. In 2055, a tragic deadly accidental explosion of a nuclear warhead in Los Angeles was blamed on AI, so since then the West had been taking steps to eradicate AI altogether by gathering them up and destroying them all. However, a country called New Asia did not support this extreme Western initiative, and still lived with their AI simulants in defiant resistance to Western powers. 

In 2065, the US Army inaugurated their NOMAD system, which could destroy AI beings it detected with missiles launched from a space station. US Army Sgt. Joshua Taylor (John David Washington) was there at that time of the first surprise attack which claimed the life of pregnant wife, AI engineer Maya (Gemma Chan). Later, Taylor was assigned by his superior Col. Howell (Allison Janney) to track down a new weapon Maya supposedly invented.

British director Gareth Edwards only had three films before this new one, which he also co-wrote and produced. As with his last two films, which were both epic sci-fi franchise films, namely "Godzilla" (2014) and "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" (2016), Edwards had a flair for telling complex stories, effectively imbuing them with a beating heart. The AI simulants in this story were very human-like, with emotional issues that we can all connect with. 

We knew John David Washington playing very cool guys in "BlacKkKlansman" (2018), "Tenet" (2020) and "Amsterdam" (2022). Here as Joshua, we see a new Washington playing probably his most emotional character ever. He may not have had romantic chemistry with Gemma Chan's Maya, but he certainly had chemistry with 9-year old first-time child actress Madeleine Yuna Voyles, who displayed such a precious talent playing the prodigious AI Alphie. 

The main story would become very familiar once the resistance of the AI were violently attacked by the US Army, tempting you to make real-life parallels in world history and even current events. It was not a flattering portrait of the US Army, who was painted as the main antagonist with its heartless homeland defense policies which did not care about collateral human casualties sustained by their military actions against foreign countries.  8/10.