Review of IN HIS MOTHER'S EYES: Secrets and Sacrifices

November 29, 2023

Tim (LA Santos) was an autistic young man who lived with his gay Uncle Bibs (Roderick Paulate) who ran an embroidery business in his house. When Tim was a still a child, his mother Lucy (Maricel Soriano) had to go back to Japan to work as a cultural dancer. Since then, Tim did not allow their gate and doors to be closed in the hope his mother will return. However, for the next 13 years, they didn't hear any news from Lucy at all. 

One day, a taxi stopped at their gate and out came Lucy. She tried her best to reconnect with Tim, but she could not get through to him, upsetting him with things she did for him with all good intentions. Bibs gave her the cold shoulder, going out everyday for secret errands, and avoiding her when she wanted to talk. She couldn't voice out her opinions, even when Bibs contradicted with what she wanted to advise Tim.

The acting prowess of Ms. Maricel Soriano is a given, and her Lucy was given a lot to suffer from. Here, she was made to look humbled to the point of being pathetic, tearfully swallowing all insults thrown at her. You knew she was going to explode sometime before the film ended, but when it happened, it was unfortunately staged as a loud scandalous public spectacle, which did not look like it benefitted Tim at all.

Roderick Paulate always had good onscreen chemistry with Soriano, especially in their flamboyant gay comedies in the 1980s. It was good to see them together on the big screen again, but too bad, this script did not bring out the best in their partnership. While we understood the bitter grudge he had against Lucy, his Bibs was made to sound very petty, especially when Paulate delivered his lines with his signature petulance. 

Singer LA Santos gave a remarkable performance as troubled autistic young man, confused by the family drama going on at home, as well as the duplicitous shenanigans going on at school. He did well in those scenes when Tim displayed his encyclopedic knowledge, and sang his own songs with a guitar. He held his own ground with dignity, unfazed by the two clashing veterans he shared the screen with.

This uber melodramatic Filipino movie was clearly intended to be a tearjerker, so all the classic tropes were thrown in the mix. However, if only Lucy and Bibs did not keep major secrets between them, all this unnecessary fuss could have been avoided. Face-slapping confrontation scene aside, a rather desperate 11th hour twist had to be tacked on at the end, to squeeze out ever more tears before the reconciliatory finale. 4/10. 

Review of ASIAN PERSUASION: Avoiding Alimony

 November 28, 2023

Mickey delos Santos (Dante Bascon) owned a small nondescript Filipino coffee shop in Queens, although his long-time dream had been to own his own Michelin-star Filipino restaurant. He is currently in the process of divorcing his fashion designer wife Avery (KC Concepcion), so their 10-year old daughter Sam (Scarlett Sher) had to shuttle between the two of them on specified days in a week.

One night, Mickey brainstormed with his bartender best friend Caspian (Kevin Kreider) about how he can avoid the alimony payments. So in a haze of alcohol and weed, he registered Avery on an online dating app so she can meet a good man whom she can re-marry. When they saw Avery matched up with Wall Street finance guy named Lee (Paolo Montalban), Mickey thought this was the right guy for her. 

The main screwball comedy story this film about arranging for an ex-wife to have a new husband had could honestly have been conceptualized to accommodate any nationality. But since the filmmakers were both Filipino-American (director Jhett Tolentino and writer Mike Ang), of course, there will be a lot of uniquely Filipino pop references and melodrama here and there, so Filipino viewers will definitely appreciate this more.

KC Concepcion was positively radiant and likable as Avery. With her classy ensembles and winsome smile, Tolentino made her look so perfectly in contrast with the drab, homely Mickey. Even if they did have a short segment about how the two of them met, the contrast between their looks and personality was so stark, you'd wonder how they got to be married in the first place, and how he could let her go so carelessly.  

The first time I saw Dante Basco in action, it was in his 2021 film entitled "The Fabulous Filipino Brothers." He does not have his brothers to support him now, but he did well to hold the fort in the lead role, even if Mickey kept making the worst decisions. Everybody remembers Paolo Montalban as the Prince of Brandy's "Cinderella" (1997). His Lee was a man who easily lost his nerve around women, so he needed to be coached real-time, so cartoonishly unrealistic. 

Child actress Scarlett Sher was such a delightful presence as little Sam. She connected very well with Basco and Concepcion even if there did not seem to be any Filipino blood in her. Korean-American actor Kevin Kreider had a very charismatic screen presence, it was too bad he wasn't on that much by the third act. It was fun to see Fe delos Reyes as Avery's mom, as were the cameos by Rex Navarrette, Maya Encila and Tony Labrusca. 5/10. 

Netflix: Review of LEO: A Tuatara's Teachings

November 26, 2023

Leo the Tuatara (Adam Sandler) had been a class pet of a 5th grade classroom of an elementary school in Florida. He remembered that his first year in the school was in 1949, which meant that he was already 74 years old. When he learned from his fellow class pet Squirtle the Turtle (Bill Burr) that the typical lifespan of tuataras is 75 years, Leo felt that he needed to achieve something in his life before he passed on. 

A very strict substitute teacher Mrs. Malkin (Cicely Strong) took over the class from the pregnant Mrs. Salinas (Alison Strong). She assigned one child to take Leo home with them over the weekend. First up was the talkative girl Summer, followed by overprotected boy Eli, popular girl Jayda, clingy girl Mia, bully boy Anthony, and the others. After an initial shock that Leo can talk, each kid got to discuss with Leo about their personal problems.

When I saw the Happy Madison name in the opening credits, I was prepping myself for another raunchy comedy by Adam Sandler and his gang. However, this animated feature turned out to be anything but. Of course, there were naughty jokes and juvenile humor here and there, but the heart of this film was something you'd least expect from a Sandler film -- the sharing of wisdom from a senior to children, and this one delivered.

The children's problems may be over-the-top as presented, but they are very real -- learning to communicate properly, learning to express their emotions, learning to deal with physical changes of adolescence, among others. When the kids were able to work out their personal problems, they were able to work out their problems with their classmates, their school work and even their substitute teacher.  All this child psychology in Sandler's inimitable style.

If there were anything totally silly about this film, it would be when the action shifted to the Everglades. The twist that made these events happen was not comfortable to watch, and may be misunderstood by young audiences, especially that a teacher was the perpetrator. This part  did not really have any life lessons, only foolishness about Leo and alligators, swamp creatures and ex-party animals. This is the Sandler we knew after all. 8/10. 

  

Review of WISH: Hostaged Hopes

 November 26, 2023

The Mediterranean island kingdom of Rosas was led by a powerful sorcerer king Magnifico and his wife Amaya. Magnifico fancied himself as the protector of his people's dreams, which he kept sealed off in little blue balls floating in a secret room in his castle. Every month, Magnifico held a wishing ceremony when he would grant one of these wishes, one that he deemed to be good enough, based on his standards of public safety.  

On the day her grandfather Sabino celebrated his 100th birthday, 17 year-old Asha was scheduled to have an audience with King Magnifico for the possibility of being his apprentice. During her interview, Asha realized that their King was not as benevolent as everyone thought he was. Dreams which he thought were a threat to his power, he had no intention of granting. Frustrated, Asha looked skyward and made a wish on a Star. 

Asha (voiced by Ariana DeBose) joins the list of headstrong female Disney protagonists, from Ariel to Mulan to Moana, who dared to go against authority and tradition. She was so disappointed and disillusioned with what she found out about the King real attitudes, such that she was willing to defy him and expose his dark side. With this new original story, Disney implicitly promoted political whistle-blowing, despite the risk of danger to self and family.

In the character of Magnifico (voiced by Chris Pine), Disney also exposed children to the insidious evolution of a dictator. He started his political career with good intentions, and made himself beloved with his constituents by his good deeds. However with time, he became increasingly insecure and paranoid, treating ambition as threats to his power. With his use of forbidden black magic to further his selfish evil desires, he was a scary precautionary tale. 

The independent spirit displayed by the character of Amaya (voiced by Angelique Cabral) is something new in the Disney universe. She was initially content to only standing by her husband's side and supporting his policies. However, she was not shown to be blind when her husband turned into the dark side. She took a brave stand to throw her support behind someone whom her husband considered as his enemy. This is progressive feminism.

Cute and comic side characters balance the darkness. The design of the bright yellow Star seemed out of place in the general scheme, but that is what made it stand out. Asha's goat Valentino gained Allan Tudyk's voice from Star's glittering dust, and was responsible for a number of funny one-liners. Asha's seven friends were obviously inspired by the Seven Dwarves, with Doc-like Dahlia, sneezy Safi and grumpy Gabo as the most evident ones.  

With its theme of manifesting wishes and making them come true, this was supposed to be the film that celebrated Disney's 100th year. However, in the illustrious history of Disney animation, "Wish" is unfortunately only mid-tier at best. Aside from the Star, nothing much stood out among the character designs. Aside from the main song "This Wish," none of the other songs by Julia Michaels and Jeremy Rice made much of a instant impression. 6/10. 

Vivamax: Review of SUGAR BABY: Trite and Tiresome

November 24, 2023

High school valedictorian Jennifer "Jen" (Azi Acosta) was a very religious girl who can quote Biblical verses. However she got involved with a good-for-nothing classmate Spencer (Mon Mendoza) who got her pregnant, and disowned by her strict parents. Their son Alex (Kian Co) was a good little boy, but was frequently sick. While Spencer was saddled with a gambling vice, Jen worked hard as a sales clerk in a jewelry store.

One day, Jen's good friend Rica (Robb Guinto) spent a fortune on several pieces of jewelry. Jen learned that Rica is the kept woman of a certain Mr. Santos (Jeffrey Hidalgo), who ran an exclusive club of sugar daddies, supplying them with sexy ladies who willingly became their sugar babies in exchange for a rich lifestyle. When Alex was diagnosed with leukemia, Jen accepted Rica's invitation to be a sugar baby at her club.  

This is yet another Vivamax film about a poor person being forced into prostitution because of financial constraints. It did not even try to create new reasons for it. Sick child with leukemia -- check. Gambler husband with huge debts and goons after him -- check. It tried to distinguish sugar dating from prostitution, but the way it was presented in the film, there really isn't any difference. There is nothing new about this film at all in terms of its subject matter. 

From her very first film "Pamasahe," Azi Acosta has played variations of this woman forced to provide sexual favors in exchange for money that she desperately needed. With her classic beauty and tall stature, Robb Guinto was also right in her comfort zone as a high-class seductress. In another familiar Vivamax trope, Acosta and Guinto were made to do lesbian sex scenes to stir up more excitement for their viewers.

By Act 2, Jen met a couple of people at the club to perk the story up a bit. Eric (Josef Elizalde) was a young widower who was not yet ready for commitments. Mara (Zsara Laxamana) was a young woman working in London who was conscious that she did not have much time left in her life. However, everything still concluded with a predictable, inevitable ending that we've seen in all prior Vivamax films that dealt with prostitution.  2/10. 

QCinema2023: Review of ESSENTIAL TRUTHS OF THE LAKE: Onerous Obsession

 November 23, 2023

In 2005, beautiful model and artist Esmeralda Stuart (Shaina Magdayao) was a popular personality in the lakeside town of Talisay in Batangas province. She was enigmatic, no one knew exactly what she did for a living. Her friend's called her a child genius for her multiple talents. Her last known project was a performance art and advocacy piece about the Philippine Eagle, before she disappeared without a trace, never to be seen again.

15 years later, police Lt. Hermes Papauran (John Lloyd Cruz) requested from his police academy classmate and now superior officer, the Colonel (Agot Isidro), to reopen the investigation to Stuart's case for him. Among those he interviewed were those close to her, like businessman Jack Barquero (Bart Guingona), documentary filmmaker Jane Liway (Hazel Orencio) and Melchora Taytay (Susan Africa), in whose guest room he stayed.

We first knew about the character of Lt. Hermes Papauran in Lav Diaz's last film "Kapag Wala Nang Mga Alon" (2022), where he was introduced as "the greatest police investigator in the country." In this second adventure of his, he went to the shores of Taal Lake to reinvestigate a case which had been left unsolved. After he shot a drug suspect in cold blood in the name of Operation Tokhang, Papauran's obsession with the Stuart case was revived.

Running for 3hrs 45 minutes, this film is of modest length by Lav Diaz standards. Cinephiles who have had prior experience with Diaz's long-winded style of cinematic storytelling will find this film oddly comfortable and relatively easy to watch. However, like previous Diaz films, there were some confusing scenes that seemed so random, or those that seemed totally unnecessary, or those that were never mentioned again. The ending felt abrupt, as if the investment of our time frustrating led to nothing conclusive.

There were puzzling scenes about a cassava cake (balinghoy) seller Ramoncito (Romark Barrion) and his poor mother Perlita Pura (Juanita Carnero). There were tedious scenes about how scavenger boy Achilles (Reynan Abcede) learned the Homerian tale behind his name, then spent a night pasting posters on walls. There was two protracted scenes where we saw a seemingly interminable procession of women praying the Rosary.

Like "Historya ni Ha" (2021), John Lloyd Cruz was front, center and all over "Essential Truths". Despite the time and physicality involved in making a Diaz film, Cruz considers it his "cultural duty" to be part of one. He gamely did the most absurd scenes, such as those where he walked around town wearing Stuart's Phil. Eagle costume, and that truly bizarre scene of a fully-naked Cruz on all fours, with a leash being pulled by his real-life son Elias. 7/10. 

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Here are my reviews of the other Lav Diaz films I had seen before:

KAPAG WALA NANG ALON (MY REVIEW)

HISTORYA NI HA (MY REVIEW)

PAN, GENUS (MY REVIEW)

ANG HUPA (MY REVIEW)

ANG PANAHON NG HALIMAW (MY REVIEW)

ANG BABAENG HUMAYO (MY REVIEW)

HELE SA HIWAGANG HAPIS (MY REVIEW)

MULA SA KUNG ANO ANG NOON (MY REVIEW)

NORTE: HANGGANAN NG KASAYSAYAN (MY REVIEW)

FLORENTINA HUBALDO, CTE (MY REVIEW)

MELANCHOLIA (MY REVIEW)

EVOLUTION OF A FILIPINO FAMILY (MY REVIEW)

Review of MARITA: Diabolical Diva

November 22, 2023

Dean Francisco (Tess Dumpit-Michelina) decided to revive Sinag-Diwa, the long-dormant theater group of her college, with Miss Sandra Gimeno (Louise delos Reyes) as project coordinator. Among the initial group of students to apply were: sensitive Cristina (Ashtine Olviga), hyperactive Ellie (Yumi Garcia), introvert Dianne (Sara Joe), responsible Lee (JD Axie) and pranksters Mark (Ethan David) and Joey (Taneo Sebastian).

However, their rehearsals inside the old college theater Socorro Hall were never peaceful. Someone would always have an eerie experience inside, whether on the stage, or backstage, or in the seats. Elderly school janitor Selmo (Neil Tolentino) told an old story about a dangerous malevolent spirit within named Marita (Rhen Escano), and warned them not to enter Socorro alone, but the Dean merely dismissed this as an urban legend.

This new horror film produced by Viva Films, comes just four months after the sleeper success of "Mary Cherry Chua" last July.  They were both named for the angry ghost of a former student haunting an old school with her sinister shenanigans. Both films were written and directed by Roni Benaid, who certainly struck while his iron was hot, and came up with an immediate follow-up with relatively the same formula in a little over four months.

I liked the theater setting of the story, and the reason why Marita became a ghost there was quite original. However, there were plot holes which were carelessly explained away with shallow illogical reasons, such as drunkenness or fear of being fired. The dictatorial order of the Dean in this film was totally unexplained. There should have been a good reason why she was so insistent for the show to go on, despite the obvious dangers to her students.

Like in "Mary Cherry," there was also only one main hostile ghost here. (While there were plenty other spirits around, they had no sinister actions).  The jumpscares were mainly variations of how "Marita" ugly white visage would suddenly appear beside the face of an unsuspecting victim accompanied by loud blare of scary music -- then hoping to startle and shock at least one jumpy audience member to get the screaming fun started. 

Rhen Escano looked like she had a great time playing the titular ghost scaring all the nervous youngsters, but she also did the flashbacks of Marita's past very well. Louise delos Reyes tended to be over-the-top with her acting, with some dense dialogue, but then again her character Sandra called herself out on her theatricality. The rest of young actors are still quite raw and callow, still needing more workshops to hone their acting skills. 4/10. 

Netflix: Review of RUSTIN: Fuss and Flaws in Fighting for Freedom

November 20, 2023

Even as the Supreme Court already declared segregation unconstitutional in 1954, black Americans still suffered severe discrimination from the white majority. In 1960, while planning for a 5,000-man black rights protest in Los Angeles, civil rights activist Bayard Rustin (Colman Domingo) got into an unexpected conflict with their star speaker Martin Luther King, Jr. (Aml Ameen), which led to their estrangement for the next 3 years.

In 1963, with encouragement from  Rustin thought up of a massive two-day demonstration with 100,000 people composed of delegates from the church, labor, civil rights in Washington, D.C.  NAACP Executive Secretary Roy Wilkins (Chris Rock) did not support his plans. So Rustin's backer, esteemed union organizer A. Philip Randolph (Glynn Turman), advised him to seek King's help again, to restore their powerful partnership to lead the march.

This film was not only about Rustin's signature tooth gap and political activities, but also about his homosexuality, which was held against him by his enemies, like black congressman Adam Clayton Powell (Jeffrey Wright).  There were two men Rustin dallied with here: the white activist Tom (Gus Halper) whom he invited to be his assistant, and an ambitious pastor Elias Taylor (Johnny Ramey) who was just inherited an entire parish from his father-in-law. 

Front and center in this cast is Colman Domingo, who is already getting buzz for an Oscar nomination for Best Actor. Bayard Rustin was a remarkable man who mainly worked behind-the-scenes, gifted with mad organizational skills and acerbic wit in his language. Domingo brought him to life with such a nuanced verve and boldness that would engage people to listen to his every word and more importantly, to follow his directives. 

As Randolph, Glynn Turman, with his steely eyes and robust voice, commanded authority when he spoke, a man whom Rustin had the good fortune to be his main backer. As Cong. Powell, Jeffrey Wright had a screen presence so strong, you knew that his underhanded trove of gossip can upend the best of plans. Chris Rock plays against type as Roy Wilkins, the NAACP leader who thought ill of all of Rustin's plans.  

As Ella Baker, Audra McDonald had a motherly presence where Rustin can be himself, yet in the same scene, also projected her wisdom and fortitude as a civil rights pioneer. Under unrecognizable makeup, CCH Pounder played Dr. Anna Hedgeman, who volunteered to coordinate with all religious organizations during the march. Da'Vine Joy Randolph sang a hymn as Mahalia Jackson, as did Carra Patterson as Coretta Scott King. 

This follows the footsteps of civil rights films like "Selma" (Ava DuVernay, 2014), which was nominated for Oscar Best Picture. This new one by George C. Wolfe was produced by former Pres. Barack (and Michelle) Obama, who awarded Rustin a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom 25 years after his death, 50 years after the March. Its final song, Lenny Kravitz's "Road to Freedom," seems to also be a shoo-in nominee for Best Original Song. 8/10. 

Vivamax: Review of SALAKAB: Sidelining a Suitor's Sacrifice

November 18, 2023

Living on an island three hours away from the mainland, fisherman Arthur (Benz Sangalang) was a very devoted boyfriend to ambitious Lena (Angeli Khang). When she was accepted on a scholarship program in a university in Manila, her parents Maring and Lito (Gilleth Sandico and Arrian Labios) were not in favor. However, Arthur was supportive all the way, going out of his comfort zone just so that Lena had enough money to graduate.

The title word "salakab" referred to a traditional equipment used in catching fish, a basket-shaped fish trap, wider at the bottom than at the top. Aside from being a reference to the lead character's occupation as a fisherman, it was also a metaphor for the situation we see at the very beginning of the film where someone was being held captive in a cage made of bamboo, and perhaps also a clue as to who was behind it.  

Writer Ruel Montanez crafted his script around a story by cult director Roman Perez, Jr. The story of someone corrupted by the temptations of the city is not new, but this one had a twist, which was revealed at the very start of the film. So, we started with the twist and then watched how and why the situation reached that level. Not sure if that was the best way to tell the story, but it gave the audience a chance to play detective.     

The two lead stars Khang and Sangalang carried the film creditably. Director of photography Albert Banzon had a field day with them in the beautiful beach and giant rocks of Tingloy, Batangas. Sahara Bernales and Horace Mendoza earned "introducing" credits by having their own outdoor tumble in the sand, but unnecessary and forgettable. Gilleth Sandico got her chance to stretch some acting muscle in a scandalous public maternal breakdown.

As Arthur, Sangalang got to play another meaty role after "Hugot" just earlier this year. His Arthur was noble and generous to a fault, disregarding the advice of his father and friends to take it easy on his gallantry. His story could have, and maybe, for me, should have, gone another way instead of the way it did. Didn't think I'd see the day director Perez would have a gay sex scene, but here it was, between Arthur and an exploitative gay tourist.  5/10

QCinema2023: Review of POOR THINGS: Reincarnation and Re-education

November 18, 2023

A young woman killed herself by jumping into the river. She was successfully brought back to life by scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe), by incorporating the brain of an unborn infant into her skull and renamed as Bella (Emma Stone). Oozing with childlike curiosity, Bella went on a journey of self-discovery, at first with Baxter's assistant Max McCandles (Ramy Youssef), and later with globe-trotting lawyer Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo).  

This bizarre, dark comedy film was directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, adapted by Tony McNamara from the 1992 novel of the same title written by Alasdair Gray. It employed the sci-fi set-up used in Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" of a mad scientist bringing a dead body back to life. However, unlike "Frankenstein," Bella was not a frightful monster here, and she was fond of Dr. Baxter, whom she called "God" for short. 

As this film tackled Bella's sexual explorations, this role required Emma Stone to go beyond her usual sweet roles.  Here she had to play a young woman with an infant's brain, so she was filled with the spirit of childlike wonder and a frank tongue not yet controlled by societal conventions. When Bella discovered the joys of sex, she could not get enough of it, which meant that Stone had scenes where she was in various degrees of undress.

Willem Dafoe, with his Dr. Baxter's face with scars and deep creases, actually looked more like a monster, but with a positive heart. Energetic Mark Ruffalo stole all his scenes as the bad influence in Bella's innocent second life.  That ballroom dance duet of Wedderburn and Bella was classic grand old Hollywood, elegantly and delightfully hilarious. Youssef made for a clueless McCandles, while look-alike Christopher Abbott was a despicable Alfie Blessington.

Because of its out-of-this-world topic and out-of-the-box execution, this film looked and felt too weird, likely not to fit everyone's taste or sense of humor. However, there would be no arguments for the merits of its technical aspects -- lively shifting cinematography by Robbie Ryan, 19th century steam-punk production design by Shona Heath and the Victorian haute couture by costume designer Holly Waddington. 8/10. 

Review of THE HUNGER GAMES: THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS AND SNAKES: Snow's Stinging Story

November 16, 2023

When Coriolanus "Corio" Snow (Tom Blyth) was 18 years-old, top student of the elitist Academy in the Capitol, he and his schoolmates were assigned to be mentors of the tributes from each of the districts competing at the 10th Hunger Games. Snow's tribute was Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler), from District 12. She immediately caught attention of everyone watching because she defiantly sang a song of protest on the day of her reaping.

With such a premise begins the prequel of the very popular "The Hunger Games" film franchise which ran from 2012 to 2015 and made Jennifer Lawrence a household name.  As a review, the first film was about the 74th Hunger Games, and old Coriolanus Snow (Donald Sutherland) was the President of Panem. And just like villains of other popular films, like Darth Vader or Maleficent, it was decided that Snow should also get an origin story.

Tigris, a minor character who helped hide Katniss in "Mockingjay Pt. 2," was revealed to be Corio's cousin (Hunter Schafer). The dean of the Academy and author of the Hunger Games was Cas Highbottom (Peter Dinklage), who had a beef with Corio's father. The sadistic Gamemaker was Dr. Volumnia Gaul (Viola Davis). Emcee Lucky Flickeman (Jason Schwatzmann) is likely an ancestor of Caesar Flickerman, emcee of Katniss's games. 

This new film is about 2-1/2 hours long. The first two thirds was about how the idealistic Corio began to be exposed to the behind-the-scenes corruption during the 10th Hunger Games, which may lead most to think that it will end with the declaration of a victor. However, there was still a final one-third which would recount Corio's exposure outside the Capitol that led to the cynicism and hard-heartedness that we knew Snow for in the original films.

Tom Blyth gives a strong performance as Snow, especially in the film's last third, when his fancy red uniform was replaced by slate blue military duds and his golden curls shorn very short. Rachel Zegler's Lucy Gray connected emotionally when she was singing her songs, including her own version of "The Hanging Tree" (which Jennifer Lawrence took to #12 in the Hot 100 in 2014). However, Zegler tended to act a bit too earnestly. 

The crudeness of the mechanics of the 10th Hunger Games and the speed at which the speed at which the tributes were being whittled down were very far from the elaborate games we knew in the original films, and so were much more brutal to watch. As with the previous films, the art direction and costume designs were commendable, but the direction was unfocused. Overall, it was still the nostalgia factor of the Katniss films that held its charm. 7/10. 

Review of TROLLS BAND TOGETHER: Sibling Symbiosis

November 15, 2023

When he was still a baby, Branch (Justin Timberlake) was in a pop boyband with his four elder brothers called BroZone. However, eldest brother John Dory (Eric Andre) became obsessed with performance perfection, and became unbearably bossy. After one disastrous performance, the three other brothers all decided to call it quits, and everyone left town, leaving little Branch behind. This made Branch harbor ill feelings against them.  

In the present, John Dory came back to convince Branch to go with him on a rescue mission. Their brother Floyd (Troye Sivan) was held hostage by unscrupulous twins Velvet (Amy Schumer) and Veneer (Andrew Rannells), using his troll essence to give them musical talent. Together with Poppy (Anna Kendricks), they went to find Spruce (Daveed Diggs) and Clay (Kid Cudi) so they can achieve the perfect harmony needed to break Floyd free.

The first "Trolls" (MY REVIEW) was one of my Top 10 films of 2016. With its dazzling color palette and infectious covers of pop hits, it had that overwhelming optimism rarely seen lately, even in children's animated films. There was a second film, "Trolls World Tour," which had the trolls going from one musical genre to another. Unfortunately, that film fell victim to the worldwide pandemic that year, so I was not able to see it in cinemas. 

Bergen King Gristle Jr. (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) and Bridget (Zooey Deschanel) are still in, as this new adventure began at their wedding ceremony. Tracing Clay's location in a secret troll oasis introduced a vivacious new character Viva (Camila Cabello), who turned to have deeper ties with our lead trolls than we initially thought. Another interesting character was a clump of frizzy hair named Crimp (Zosia Mamet), Velvet's engineering-genius assistant. 

The songs were still the best parts for me, especially medleys, like the royal wedding prep medley (with bits of "Keep It Comin' Love," "We are Family," "Push It," "Good as Hell," "Hello"), and that boyband medley (with bits of "ABC," "The Right Stuff," "I Want You Back," "Motownphilly," "Stayin' Alive"). Of the original songs, the centerpiece is still N'Sync reunion single "The Right Place," which had their signature infectious dance groove.  7/10. 

Netflix: Review of THE KILLER: An Assassin's Arrangements

November 12, 2023

As an unnamed professional Killer (Michael Fassbender) waited for his target to check into a hotel room in the line of his sniper rifle's sight, he contemplated on the routines of his job, psyching himself up with his pre-kill mantra, accompanied by the music of the Smiths. Unexpectedly, his target arrived accompanied by a female sex worker. When the assassin pulled on his trigger, however, the bullet missed its mark.

When the Killer's girlfriend Magdala (Sophie Charlotte) was mauled in their hideout in the Dominican Republic, he then methodically tracked all the people responsible for the assault -- a taxi driver Leo (Gabriel Polanco), his lawyer boss Hodges (Charles Parnell), Hodges's secretary (Kerry O'Malley), the brutish goon from Florida (Sala Baker), the woman who looked like a Q-Tip (Tilda Swinton) and the Client (Arliss Howard).  

The anticipation for this film is mainly because of its director David Fincher. His body of work consisted of popular and acclaimed thrillers like "Se7en" (1995), "Fight Club" (1999), "Zodiac" (2007), and Oscar fare like "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (2008), "The Social Network" (2010) and "Mank" (2020).  News of Fincher's interest in the source graphic novel came out as early as 2007, only for the film to come to pass now.

The film began with a 30-minute long voice-over monologue by Michael Fassbender, narrating his process and his thoughts as he went about his systematic procedures, while waiting for his target to arrive until he actually fired the bullet. We would hear more of these internal monologues later as he took out more names on his hit list. Fassbender's Killer was cool and heartless, as he repeatedly convinced himself that empathy was a sign of weakness.

Action junkies may complain that violent scenes may be few and far-between here. However, these scenes were satisfyingly cold and brutal in execution, and with tension and suspense slowly built up as only Fincher can deliver.  As an additional perk for fans of classic American TV sitcoms, recognizing the various aliases the Killer used on his plane tickets and bank accounts (like Archibald Bunker, Lou Grant, Sam Malone) was rather fun. 6/10.

 

Vivamax: Review of JAPINO: Tired Typical Tropes

November 10, 2023

Ayu (Angela Morena) was working as a sexy dancer in Hokkaido in Japan. Her boyfriend Yuko (Ali Asistio) worked as a bartender in the same bar where she danced. After work, Ayu was obsessed in finding her Japanese father Tanaka (Tora Hara), who had abandoned her mother (Isadora) when she was still a baby. After she received a tip, she would ask around in a certain section of town, even at the risk of being reported as an illegal alien.

Aki (Denise Esteban) worked as a masseuse whose service would invariably lead to sexual favors. Her boyfriend Taka (Vince Rillon) was a hotel worker, and was very insecure with Aki's dalliances with her Japanese customers. The couple would often have arguments about this issue, which would invariably left unresolved every time. One day, while entertaining her favorite customer Taku (Takumei Kaneko) in the pool, Aki had an attack of vomiting. 

Less than six months ago in June, Vivamax just released "Hosto," which was also a film about Filipino sex workers in Japan, shot in Japan. Since they both starred the same four lead actors Rillon, Esteban, Morena and Asistio, you'd have a feeling of uncanny deja vu while watching this new one. I guess it would be practical to film more than one film with the same cast and crew while they were already there in a remote foreign location.  

Both films had the imprimatur of acclaimed director Brillante Mendoza, who took on the tasks of executive producer and production designer. "Hosto" was directed by DP Jao Elamparo, who was 2nd Cam in this new film. "Japino" was directed by DP Freidric Macapagal Cortez, who was 2nd Cam in the former film. Both films were written by Rocky Christopher Fajardo, edited by Peter Arian Vito and scored by Jake Abella. 

While you can say positive things about the technical aspects of this film in terms of adventurous camera work, the main problem about this movie is the unimaginative stories and lackluster script. The conflict about a prostitute's jealous boyfriend is too unremarkable and commonplace already. That you'd feel like an incomplete person if you never met an absentee parent whom you did not grow up with sounds just too absurd.  

No matter the efforts of Morena and Esteban to give a good dramatic performance, complete with convincing line deliveries in Nihonggo, the lameness of their stories and script made everything so boring and uninteresting to watch. Rillon's hotheaded boyfriend and Asistio's supportive boyfriend were such predictable tropes, they basically sleepwalk through them. Things only liven up a tad in the third acts of both stories, but by then it was too late. 4/10. 

Review of THE MARVELS: Ladies of Light

November 8, 2023

Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton) was a Kree revolutionary warrior who was leading her people's fight to build back their old homeland which had been destroyed by a powerful entity called the Annihilator. Her main weapon was a powerful mallet-like cosmo-rod. In one of her expeditions, she found an ancient bangle which allowed her to generate power enough to create and manipulate jump points into different areas of time and space. 

At one moment in time, Captain Marvel Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) was on a remote planet, investigating a cosmic disturbance. Monica Rambeau (Teyonnah Parris) was working in a space station run by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). Ms. Marvel Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) was in their Jersey City home, working on her Capt. Marvel fan scrapbook. When they all used their respective powers at the same time, they all switched positions. 

When the trailers came out for this new Marvel film earlier this year, the chemistry among the three leads felt quite lame, so my expectations about this were pretty low. However, now that I have finally seen the whole film on IMAX, I have to say that I was proven wrong. "The Marvels" turned out to be very funny and entertaining, overall. This would be true for fans who had been following the MCU miniseries released on Disney+ recently. 

This new film incorporated together very well various threads Marvel had been laying down in their different MCU Disney+ series. While the film does give capsulized recaps of the origin stories of Monica and Kamala, I feel that those who have never seen "WandaVision" (2021) or "Ms. Marvel" (2022) before may not really fully appreciate these new characters and their superpowers as much as those who have. 

We first knew Monica Rambeau as a little girl in the first "Captain Marvel" (2019), the daughter of Carol's best friend Maria. We then met the adult Monica as a S.W.O.R.D. agent working for Nick Fury in "WandaVision". This was also where we saw her gained her superpowers to manipulate the whole spectra of the electromagnetic spectrum when she passed through a magical hex field. We get to see more range of her powers here.

We first knew about lovable teenager Kamala Khan and her wacky family -- mother Muneeba (Zenobia Shroff), father Yusuf (Mohan Kapur) and older brother Aamir (Saagar Shaikh) from "Ms. Marvel". This series showed us the origins of Ms. Marvel when an inherited bangle woke up Kamala's dormant mutant gene that enabled her to solidify light. It also showed slices of life in a Pakistani-American family and community.

Carol Danvers was still pretty much the stoic, serious superhero we met in the "Avengers" and her first feature film. Brie Larson gets to explore more aspects of Carol here, but unfortunately, she still felt like the weakest link in the lead triumvirate. I felt that Teyonnah Parris (so strong and commanding) and Iman Vellani (so cheerful and ) actually upstaged the generally dry and awkward Larson, who can't seem to get Carol's personality right.

The entanglement situation of their three light-related superpowers made for very frenetic fight scenes, be they located in different dimensions, or in the same place.  The two most memorable scenes were the musical welcome by the singing people of planet Aladna and their dashing prince Yan (Park Seo-joon), and the topsy-turvy evacuation scene involving a horde of cats set to the maudlin ballad "Memory" (from the musical "Cats", get it?) 

This film had a number of guest cameos of other MCU superhero characters for the fans. Midway in the film, Carol would call on a surprise someone to help ferry the Skrulls to safety. At the final scene of the film, another character from a Disney+ miniseries appeared to tease a future team collaboration. Then there's that unexpected guest in the awesome mid-credits scene that elicited a collective gasp and spontaneous cheers.  7/10

Netflix: Review of NYAD: Surviving a Swim

November 5, 2023

When American marathon swimmer Diana Nyad was 28 years old, she attempted to swim the 180km stretch of sea from Havana to Key West. She did not make it. For the next 30 years, she stopped swimming, and worked as a TV sports commentator. When Diana (Annette Bening) turned 60, she started swimming again. Once she got her rhythm and drive back, she decided she could finally complete her long-elusive dream, against all odds.

With her best friend Bonnie (Jodie Foster) as her coach and trainer, Diana got herself back into optimum physical condition. She hired veteran John Bartlett (Rhys Ifans) as her chief navigator.  More experts joined her team as the need arose -- medic Jon Rose (Garland Scott), shark expert Luke Tipple (Luke Cosgrove), a box jellyfish expert Angel Yanagihara (Jeena Yi), and boat captain of the Voyager Dee Brady (Karly Rothenberg).

Writer Julia Cox based her script from Nyad's 2015 autobiography "Find a Way." This is the feature film directorial debut for team Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, who had been acclaimed documentary film directors for 20 years. They won the Oscars in 2019 for Best Documentary Feature for "Free Solo" about a young man who did the first free solo climb of a 3,000-foot vertical rock face at Yosemite National Park called "El Capitan".

Vasarhelyi and Chin also tackles basically the same story of human triumph against nature here in "Nyad." They had a very documentary storytelling style in here bringing us in the water with a spirited sexagenarian woman who was trying to do the very first swim across the Florida Strait with no shark cage, exposing us to all the perils of sea -- unpredictable weather, treacherous currents, deadly sea creatures -- that she had to face and overcome.

Annette Bening and Jodie Foster will likely both earn Oscar nominations for their natural performances here. Both had been nominated for Oscars four times before, Bening with no wins, Foster with two. Bening totally immersed herself into the challenging role of a real-life person who strove to do the impossible -- Oscar-bait for sure. Bonnie is the prime definition of a supporting character, and Foster delivered with so much heart and delight. 7/10. 

Vivamax: Review of TUHOG (2023): Father as Foe

November 3, 2023

Michael (Arron Villaflor) was a soldier who just proposed marriage to his caregiver girlfriend Abie (Apple Dy). One day, he received a call that his estranged father Roldan (Joko Diaz) had suffered a heart attack and was rushed to the hospital. Despite harboring a deep hatred for his negligent father, Michael was persuaded by Abie to move back into his childhood home so they can take care of the ailing older man. 

With this sequence of events, director GB Sampedro and writer Marvic Kevin Reyes set up the sticky scenario for the forbidden love triangle that the title suggested. In Filipino, "tuhog" means "to string together," usually used for flowers in a lei, or pieces of meat on a barbecue stick. So in this story by Sampedro and Reyes, Abie had strung together both her boyfriend Michael, and his father Roldan on her string of lovers. 

There had been two previous movies with this same provocative title, both of them critically acclaimed. The first one was by Jeffrey Jeturian in 2001 satire about filmmakers retelling the real-life story of a farmer who raped his daughter and his granddaughter. The second one was a black dramedy by Veronica B. Velasco  in 2013, about three passengers who were all impaled together on a metal rod that pierced through their bus. 

While the previous two Tuhog" movies were intelligently-written, this Vivamax film had a very weak and awkward script, which led to uncharacteristically bad acting performances from the lead cast. Villaflor was over-playing the mentally-disturbed Michael, while Dy and Diaz were severely underplaying. They had all given more than satisfactory acting turns before, but in this one, they were given embarrassing things to do and lousy lines to say.

As expected, the newer actors mostly gave amateurish performances: Dyessa Garcia as Roldan's skanky business partner Therese (with two inconsequential sex scenes), Andrea Barbierra as Rheng, Abie's BFF at the home for the aged and Billy Jake as Darwin, the co-worker who had a crush on Abie. However, there was one newbie who actually gave a very natural performance despite limited screen time -- Bo Ivann Lo as the prostitute Anne.  2/10

Review of FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDIE'S: Animatronics Alive!

November 1, 2023

Mike Schmidt (Josh Hutcherson) just lost his job as a mall guard. At first, he was reluctant to accept a new offer as night-shift security guard of the abandoned Freddy Fazbear;s Pizza restaurant and entertainment center, because he did not want to leave his much younger sister Abby (Piper Rubio) home alone at night. But when their aunt Jane (Mary Stuart Masterson) wanted to took over custody of Abby, Mike took the job anyway.  

On his first night of duty, Mike had a dream of that fateful day in the woods when he witnessed his younger brother Garrett being abducted, and saw five other kids in the area who avoided him. On night two, Mike met police officer Vanessa (Elizabeth Lail), who introduced him to the old animatronic characters still in there. The next night, when the babysitter Max (Kat Conner Sterling) was unavailable, Mike had to bring Abby to work, as mysteries escalate. 

This latest Blumhouse movie was based on a video game series "Five Nights at Freddie's" (FNaF), created by Scott Cawthon, first released in 2014. The player assumed the character of a security guard watching over the abandoned Freddy Fazbear's Pizza store, and use available materials as weapons to survive the night of terror wreaked by murderous animatronic characters -- bear Freddy, bunny Bonnie, chicken Chica and fox Foxy. 

The animatronic characters of this live-action version of FNaF were actual puppets created by Jim Henson's Creature Shop, instead of the easier way out, CGI. Their old-fashioned and bulky forms made them all the more sinister-looking.  Since fans of this video game were Gen Z or younger, Blumhouse decided to aim for a rating of PG-13. This meant that there would be no blatant gore spilling out or bloody spraying around to be seen here.

Admittedly, my knowledge of FNaF were limited to the stories about it that my sons were told me at the height of its popularity. I am glad that I went to watch this movie with actual fanboys, or else, everything would totally fallen flat. It was more fun to see my sons' excited reactions to the various side characters that show up, or YouTubers affiliated with FNaF who did cameos. If I watched this by myself, all these would have meant nothing.

My Rating: 4/10. My sons' rating: 7/10.