Vivamax: Review of FOURSOME: Quadratic Quandary

December 23, 2023

Ad agency CEO Gina (Robb Guinto) and architect Dino Santos (Mark Dionisio) were celebrating their first wedding anniversary. However, while they were still on their foreplay, Dino's member suddenly went limp and unable to continue. Apparently, this had already been going on for the past six months, and it was already driving Gina crazy. 

Gina was so sexually-frustrated that she would reluctantly entertain sleazy advances from her partner at work, brazenly named Ms. Kiki (Armina Alegre). After receiving a clean bill of health from his doctor, Dino was referred to a psychologist Dr. Chris Ramos (Nico Locco). The first time he saw Chris's handsome face, Dino could not help but stare. 

This was another one of those Vivamax films which do not really have any other reason to exist but to showcase variations of sex scenes involving its four stars in various combinations. Kiki also kept going at it with her live-in girlfriend Debra (Dyessa Garcia). There was even a puzzling out-of-place scene of a homeless couple (Arya Salvador and Jomar Valerio) doing it under Jones Bridge, in full view of an autistic homeless guy (Ardy Raymundo).

As Gina was a wealthy powerful woman who knew exactly what she wants and needs, Robb Guinto was right in her element. It was unfortunate that she was given more challenges with sex acrobatics she had to do with her three partners, than in her dramatic moments. Armina Alegre is only on her second Vivamax film, still quite the neophyte. She was trying, but her acting as the two-timing lesbian Kiki was understandably still quite stiff. 

Nico Locco's Dr. Ramos was obviously a quack (haha!). First, the nameplate on his desk had an MD after his name, but he was only a psychologist, who is not an medical doctor. If he really had an MD degree, then he would call himself a psychiatrist. Next, he was guilty of malpractice, using his profession to take advantage of vulnerable patients with intimate secret concerns about their sex lives, and seduce them (female and male) with his Caucasian wiles. 

Bald-headed actor Mark Dionisio had been in a few Vivamax films since last year, but this was his first lead role, and what a daring one it was. This was not only because he had fully nude sex scenes, but his Dino had also had erectile dysfunction, and latent sexual identity issue as well. This meant he had to have kissing scenes with guys (that was as far as it went). His denial scene (Hindi ako B....!) was unintentionally (or may be intentional) hilarious. 2/10. 

Netflix: Review of MAESTRO: Bradley Becomes Bernstein

December 23, 2023

Leonard Bernstein was the first American-born conductor of an American orchestra, the first American conductor to receive international fame. For most people nowadays, his name is remembered for the operas he ahs composed (like "Candide") and Broadway musicals ("West Side Story") he has composed. This biographical film dealt with Bernstein's tempestuous relationship with his one and only wife, actress Felicia.

From an introductory segment with Bernstein (Bradley Cooper) at 70 years old being interviewed, the film shifted to black-and-white mode to 1943, when 25-year old Lenny Bernstein was called to substitute for Bruno Walter to conduct the New York City Philharmonic Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, an auspicious debut which was met with immediate acclaim. He was then living with a clarinet-player named David Oppenheim (Matt Bomer).  

At one party with his sister Shirley (Sarah Silverman), Lenny met aspiring actress Felicia Montealegre Cohn (Carey Mulligan) who came from Chile to New York City to study piano and acting. After hitting it off great that night, the two of them became a couple as both their careers were taking off very nicely. They got married and had three children together and had a happy family life, until Lenny's alternate lifestyle got into the way.

Lovers of classical music and show tunes will love the musical score, which is credited to Leonard Bernstein himself. Cooper incorporated excerpts of various memorable Bernstein works, among them: "I Get Carried Away," "New York, New York" from "On the Town," the "Prologue" from "West Side Story," the grand "Overture" from "Candide," and the utterly sublime "Secret Songs" from "Mass." Cooper also made sure we saw his piano playing.

The acting performances of Cooper and Mulligan were impeccable. Their scenes together were magnetizing, from that sweet first night on the stage of an empty auditorium, to that amazing sequence from a garden party to the stage of "On the Town" to an intimate cuddle in bed, to that intense argument as Thanksgiving Day as the parade was passing by. Oscar nominations for acting are definitely in the cards for both of them. 

Bradley Cooper was not only lead star, but also director, producer (together with Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg), and co-writer (with Josh Singer, Oscar-winning writer of "Spotlight"). In only his second feature film after "A Star is Born" (2019), Cooper displayed remarkable artistic growth in his directorial style. Together with cinematographer Matthew Libatique and editor Michelle Tesoro (Fil-Ams both!), his scene transitions were seamlessly poetic. 8/10

MMFF2023: Review of REWIND: A Divine Deal

December 22, 2023

Liquor firm executive John Nunez (Dingdong Dantes) and his wife Mary (Marian Rivera) had been childhood sweethearts. When their son Austin was born, Mary gave up her promising career as a chef to become a full-time housewife. As the stresses at work increased, John became very busy, always on his phone, hardly having any spare time to spend with his family. He also became irritable and hot-headed, so people are tense around him.

One night, the retirement announcement of John's boss and godfather Sir Hermie (Ariel Ureta) totally did not go as John wanted. A drunk John angrily confronted the old man, and arrogantly declared that he wanted to quit his job. The next day was a big event for Austin (Jordan Lim) -- the presentation of a play which he wrote and composed songs for. As John and Mary were arguing in the car along the way to school, the unthinkable happened.

When I saw the trailer, it felt like one of those Korean time-travel dramas or Hollywood "Groundhog Day" time-loop type of films. "Rewind" was not exactly like those, but the story was still familiar -- a character will get to re-live one critical day all over again --  as the title suggested. How that miraculous phenomenon would come to pass was as Filipino as it gets, although it would depend on a viewer's religion if they would buy it, or not.

The fact that Dingdong Dantes and Marian Rivera were a real-life married couple made their onscreen love and chemistry effortless. It also made the marital troubles John and Mary were experiencing much tougher and more heartbreaking to watch.  The way they played their heavy tragic scenes felt so intensely real, acting citations are forthcoming. It was their affecting performances that gave this film its special radiance beyond its familiar plot. 

This was still a Pinoy melodrama at heart, with several familiar ingredients in the mix -- an estranged father (Lito Pimentel), a well-meaning mother-in-law (Coney Reyes), a sexy temptress at work (Sue Ramirez), a "maritess" employee (Pamu Pamorada), and an over-eager sidekick (Joross Gamboa). And then, there is the mysterious school electrician Jess (Pepe Herrera), whom kids called "Lods" (a nickname I am not exactly a fan of). 

Writer Enrico Santos wrote both "Rewind" and "Mallari" for this MMFF, both vying to top the festival box-office. The way he wrote husband-wife arguments can hit hard with married viewers. Director Mae Cruz-Alviar skillfully built up scenes to generate maximal emotional impact at their climax. The character of Lods can be very tricky (and may even feel irreverent for conservative Christians), but Cruz-Alviar handled this aspect with sensitivity. 7/10.  

Review of AQUAMAN AND THE LOST KINGDOM: Fraught with Foolishness

December 21, 2023

Aside from his duties as King of Atlantis, Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa) also lived on land in the lighthouse of his father Tom (Temuera Morrison). His wife Mera (Amber Heard) had just given birth to their son, and he was still getting the hang of being a father himself. As King, Arthur wanted to enhance the political relationship of Atlantis with the surface world, something the Atlantean council was not agreeable to. 

Scientist Stephen Shin (Randall Park) was on an expedition searching for Atlantis and its artifacts. Tagging along with Shin was pirate David Kane (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), who was intent to avenge his father's death at the hands of Aquaman. Kane found a broken black trident which glowed to life when he put the two pieces together, causing him to be possessed by Kordax (Pilou Asbæk), the evil brother of the first Atlantean king Atlan. 

Jason Momoa seemed to be acting like his goofy self a lot here, giving the sense that he was treating this role as a joke. He had wacky scenes (getting hit by pee while changing the diaper of the baby) and wacky lines (discussing how delicious burgers and pizza were with his brother), which were more distracting than funny, taking us out of the film completely. Just like "Thor: Love and Thunder," this misguided type of "humor" simply went too far. 

To help him fight the supernaturally-powered Black Manta, Arthur broke his half-brother Orm out of the prison where he spent his time after being usurped as King of Atlantis (by Arthur himself). While he was taking his role seriously, Patrick Wilson was too much of a pale contrast side by side with Momoa, his screen presence felt lacking. If your most memorable scene is the one where you chomped on a live cockroach, that is not too good. 

Likely as a reaction to her infamous court case against Johnny Depp, Amber Heard was barely present, and when she was, she was distant from Momoa. You may even get the idea that Arthur was raising the baby on his own, with his father Tom. Lacking his usual screen charisma, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II did not make much of an impression as David Kane. As Stephen Shin, Randall Park only felt like a comic relief all the way through. 

All the computer-generated underwater world and creatures felt very excessive, it did not exactly wow (except for the seahorse). The action felt so cold, there was a sense of distance and fakeness about it. You cannot feel much for any of the characters, including Arthur, especially since Momoa himself was having too much out-of-place "fun".  It begged the question, why did director James Wan allow too much foolishness in this sorry sequel? 4/10. 

MMFF2023: Review of MALLARI: Doctor, Director, Demon

 December 20, 2023

Dr. Jonathan de Dios (Piolo Pascual) has just proposed marriage to his girlfriend Dr. Agnes Salvador (Janella Salvador). However, he had nightmares that she would fall seriously ill. He made a trip to his ancestral house in Magalang, Pampanga, with his friend, now deacon Lucas (JC Santos). Jonathan wanted to look for a hidden room which held a secret that gave his great-great grandmother Dona Facunda Mallari (Gloria Diaz) a very long life. 

After they arrived, murders began happening in Magalang -- first involving a sex worker, then an online scammer. These chilling events brought back memories of the town's notorious former parish priest Fr. Severino Mallari, son of Dona Facunda, who was convicted on charges of 57 murders back in 1812. Meanwhile, Jonathan found film footage shot by his grand-uncle Johnrey Mallari in 1948 about their family's dark secret. 

Writer Enrico Santos' previous horror output for story and screenplay included "Amorosa: The Revenge" (2014) and "Bloody Crayons" (2017). With "Mallari," he outdid himself with a twisted inter-generational premise that ran from the 19th century to the present and back -- so complex and wickedly good.  The plot points were laid out and woven together with meticulous care, with a strong ending that was not hastily done (unlike most Pinoy horror films). 

Director Derick Cabrido also had his share of horror films recently -- "Clarita" (2019) and "U-Turn" (2020) -- before this one. Here, the richness of Santos' epic story was a much bigger challenge to tell cinematically, but Cabrido more than pulled it off here in "Mallari." He was able to tell his story very clearly, even if he had one actor in three roles, astral-travelling in and out of three separate time periods, with scenarios crossing over from nightmares into reality. 

Piolo Pascual was playing three distinct characters from three different centuries here, so this likely the most challenging role of his career, and the most difficult acting feat for any actor in this entire MMFF. Having successfully portraying the nuances of each persona here, Pascual is bound to win Best Actor of the festival, capping this milestone year when he just also won an Aliw Award for Best Lead Actor in a Musical for his stage debut in "Ibarra."

JC Santos, as the young insecure deacon assisting Pascual's doctor, stands a good chance to nab supporting actor citations for his efforts. Janella Salvador registered well especially with the Gen Z viewers in her scenes with Pascual, from the sweet to the thrilling.  Elisse Joson played the role of Felicity, the Fil-Am wife of Johnrey, who would figure in a life and death situation. Tommy Alejandrino was transformed into Didi, a lusty transgender teenager. Ms. Gloria Diaz was a standout in an offbeat role she rarely tackled (though her aging makeup couldve been better done). 

Its dark high-concept story, glossy production values, startling jump scare moments, and creepy edgy atmosphere, prime "Mallari" for both box-office success and critical acclaim. Fearless forecasts put this film on course for Best Picture, Director, Story, Actor, Supporting Actor, and probably all the technicals (cinematography, film editing, Gregorian-chant-heavy musical score, production design, costumes, sound).  9/10. 

Vivamax: Review of HIGOP: Slurpy Sensuality

 December 16, 2023

Chicken wings businessman Rex (Lester Llansang) was getting concerned over his best friend and business partner Noah (Josef Elizalde), who still could not get over the sudden mysterious disappearance of his girlfriend Ysa (Angelica Hart) for two years now. Rex and his fiancee wanted to help Noah find a new girl. They set Noah up with horoscope enthusiast Julie (Zsara Laxamana) as a possible good match, but to no avail. 

One day, Noah unexpectedly saw a girl who looked like Ysa working in a milk tea place called Sip & Sit, who went by the name Okinawa. When he talked to her, she denied that she knew him. The milk tea shop turned out to be a front for a night club owned by Mond (Fabio Ide). His waitresses -- Cocoa (Aila Cruz), Wintermelon (Chloe Mendoza), Cookies and Cream (Joanna David), Matcha (Princess Zian) and Okinawa -- doubled as GROs.  

Angelica Hart gets a solo lead role in only her second Vivamax film (after a minor role in "Bisyo"). Winner of Pantaxa Laiya sexy reality show also on Vivamax, Hart is pretty, perky, with a strong screen presence, though her acting still needs further honing. Josef Elizalde has already been in 15 Vivamax films, several of them in lead roles, a relative veteran already. However, his Noah still felt one-note, even the role should be more conflicted. 

Brazilian model Fabio Ide's only other Vivamax film was "Purificacion" (2022), in a small role.  Here, as 1/2 of the lead love triangle, Ide went all out in his bold portrayal of the unscrupulous maniac Mond. Not only did he cavort with Hart (and Cruz and Zian), he even had a wild scene with four starlets all at once in one perverted group session.  It looks like recurrent Vivamax bad guy Mark Anthony Fernandez already has a taller, younger alternative. 

The story is old hat Vivamax, how poverty and extreme financial need can force young women to turn to a life of prostitution. To his credit, writer Cyril Ramos tried hard to make the story more complex, weaving in discussions of dream interpretation, zodiac analysis, mental health issues, business buy-outs, and workplace envy. Director Topel Lee, of course, was expected to insert as many gratuitous sex scenes of all sorts, and he did a variety of them. 4/10

Netflix: Review of LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND: Approaching An Apocalypse

December 14, 2023

Amanda Sanford (Julia Roberts) was the wife of college professor Clay (Ethan Hawke). They had two children, teenage boy Archie (Charlie Evans) and a pre-teen girl Rose (Farrah Mackenzie). One day, fed up with the stress in their home and careers, Amanda booked a house in Long Island on Airbnb for their family to spend the weekend together. When they got there, the house was big, stylish and beautiful, but their phones had no signal. 

That afternoon, the whole family went to the nearby beach to relax. However, their seaside visit was marred by the strange and alarming incident of an oil tanker heading straight onto the short and running aground on the sand in front of them. That night, a man and his daughter, both dressed to the nines, appeared at their door introducing themselves as George H. "GH" (Mahershala Ali) and Ruth (Myha'la), the owners of the house they rented. 

This tense psychological drama film was produced, written and directed by Egyptian-American filmmaker Sam Esmail, adapted from a 2020 novel of the same name by Bangladeshi-American author Rumaan Alam. It had a riveting premise centering on the uncertain scenario of an impending apocalyptic event. It started with information being held scarce and not trustworthy, leaving everyone groping in the dark with what's going on in the world.

The cinematography with atypical unnerving camera angles worked very well with the chilling sound effects mixing and stark musical score to create that unsettling atmosphere that let the viewers marinate in the same dilemma as the protagonists. The most unexpected things, from gentle creatures like deer, to  technological wonders like self-driving cars, were involved in the most eerie scenes which kept us wondering as much as the characters were.

Whatever limitations there may be in the script, the veteran actors in the cast (Roberts, Hawke, Ali, plus Kevin Bacon) certainly pulled off the tough challenge of selling this thriller where the horror is more felt than seen. Conversations dealing with all aspects of human society and behavior -- from misanthropy to racism to terrorism -- kept us so intensely riveted to the building mystery. Then that abrupt ending came and blew our mind (not). 7/10.      

MMFF2023: Review of FIREFLY: A Book's Bittersweet Backstory

December 13, 2023

Tonton (Euwenn Mikaell) was a 10-year old boy who had the reputation as a coward, always running away from bullies. Through all that, his mother Elay (Alessandra De Rossi) always made things okay at the end of the day, comforting him with her encouraging words and bedtime stories. His favorite story from her was about a butterfly and a firefly who escaped to an island with a cave full of other fireflies. 

From a script written by Angeli Atienza, director Zig Dulay beautifully tells the story of a little boy's quest to find the island of fireflies in his mother's stories. Dulay used animation to execute the fantasy elements of the story, like the red-eyed wild dog of Tonton's nightmares and the guardians he met along the way on his road-trip across Bicol -- the fairy with the green skirt, the sleeping giant who sneezed, and the stone man with a big mouth. 

Alessandra De Rossi is among the most hardworking actresses in local showbiz in the last decade. However, I only recall seeing her play a mother role three previous times: as the mother of an accused thief in "Bambanti" (2015), as the young Dionisia Pacquiao in "Kid Kulafu" (2015) and as an EJK widow and mother of three in "Watch List" (2020). Here, she played Elay elegantly, with her signature grit, restraint and internalized pain.  

The people Tonton met on the bus -- Mang Luis (Epy Quizon), Kuya Billy (Miguel Tanfelix) and Ate Erica (Ysabel Ortega) added their own stories of drama and comedy. Later, Tonton also met Luis's family -- his wife Aling Carmen (Yayo Aguila) and son Romnick (Kokoy Dos Santos).  When Tonton's grand-aunt Linda (Cherrie Pie Picache) came into the picture looking for him, further adding suspense and tension into the mix. 

These nostalgic stories of Tonton and his adventures were bookended by present-day scenes of an author Anthony Alvaro (Dingdong Dantes) being interviewed by a reporter (Max Collins) before he was going to be awarded the National Children's Book Prize for his book entitled "Firefly." It was using this device that Alvaro told her, and us, the real story behind the whimsical and emotional story of his award-winning book.

Dulay knew very well how to best stage dramatic situations in order to maximize bittersweet emotions to move viewers to tears, especially with the sensitive way he directed child actor Euwenn Mikaell, who was such a natural actor for his age. That scene with the snatcher at the ferry pier was so masterfully staged that it elicited an audible collective gasp from the audience, creating a tearful moment with major emotional impact. 9/10. 

Vivamax: Review of HASLERS: Fractured Friendships

December 11, 2023

Four young women were very close friends during their college days. They all had to work in side hustles (hence the title) to pay for their tuition fees. Hazel (Quinn Carrillo) pushed drugs on campus. Thea (Hershie de Leon) worked as an escort / prostitute. Class topnotcher Cheska (Angelica Cervantes) secretly worked as a topless maid. Sofia (Denise Esteban) had the most low-paying job among them, so she desperately needed another job. 

Five years later, one of the four friends committed suicide. The three remaining women are doing much better in life -- one has become an attorney, another became the wife of a rising politician. while the third now owned a mansion. However, they had apparently gone their separate ways in less than favorable conditions. They were all holding deep grudges against each other because of the events of one unfortunate night.

This was another Vivamax film written by Quinn Carrillo, already her 7th. Like the previous ones, she also played one of the characters here, but this time, her role was not as minor as before, since Hazel was somehow the glue that held her group together. Her story that followed four college girlfriends over five years actually had potential. One can say it was reminiscent of "Moral" (1982), but alas director Jose Abdel Langit was no Marilou Diaz Abaya.

Carrillo lacked subtlety in her acting style. Her delivery of lines was always brash and loud, as were her gesticulations and eye. Awkward in her dramatic scenes, Cervantes needed more workshops to act without a constantly pained-looking face. De Leon was more relaxed in style than the others, but it was too relaxed to have any substance. Esteban was good in her drama scenes, but the lines she was delivering could have been better written. 

The male characters were not any better. Marco Gomez was the relative veteran in the cast and had already played lead roles before, but his Alex was a predictably one-note bully and villain. Newcomer Calvin Reyes was given a big break here as Gabby, the "good boy" in Alex's gang who befriends the girls. However, his facial affect and line delivery were hopelessly flat and bored even in his most intense scenes, or his even his sex scenes. 3/10. 

Review of WONKA: A Chocolatier's Chronicles

December 9, 2023

A young man named Willy Wonka (Timothee Chalamet) rode a boat into the city and went directly to the elegant Galeries Gourmet where he dreamed of building his own chocolate store. He lost all his money on that very first night, so he went stranger named Bleacher (Tom Davis) who brought him to the inn of his partner Mrs. Scrubbit (Olivia Colman). Willy signed Scrubbit's contract with small print that he did not read, and spent the night there.

The next day, Wonka went back to the Galeries to hock a special chocolate that could make the eater float in the air. Three neighboring chocolatiers named Slugworth (Paterson Joseph), Prodnose (Matt Lucas), and Fickelgruber (Mathew Baynton) called the Chief of Police (Keegan-Michael Key) to stop Willy. Since he had no money to pay his bill, Scrubbit threw Willy into her basement laundry where he met other people working to pay off their debts. 

Roald Dahl's 1964 book "Charlie and Chocolate Factory" had already been made into two films. The first one was "Willy Wonka and & the Chocolate Factory" (1971) starring Gene Wilder as the eccentric chocolatier.  This was remade in 2005 in the original title "Charlie and Chocolate Factory" starring Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka. This new incarnation of Willy Wonka is a prequel, how he started his career in the chocolate business.

Timothee Chalamet's big cinematic breakthrough was in "Call Me By Your Name" (2017), and since then he has been in other Oscar Best Picture nominees, from "Lady Bird" (2017) to "Dune" (2021). Right from the very first scene, Chalamet surprised us with his talent in singing and dancing in elaborate musical numbers throughout the film (the trailer did not give a hint that this was a musical!). He was convincing in portraying Wonka's delightful genius and idealism.

Wonka's main sidekick here was Scubbit's servant girl Noodle (Calah Lane). His friends in the laundry included an accountant Abacus Crunch (Jim Carter from "Downton Abbey"). We also get flashbacks about his mother (Sally Hawkins), who taught him the craft of chocolates. No Wonka story would be complete without an Oompa Loompa (Hugh Grant), an orange-skinned little man with green hair, here introduced with the iconic theme song from the first film. 

Like the first two films, there were moments when the story could turn dark and scary for younger kids. The way that gloriously colorful "A World of Your Own" number where Wonka's candy shop had its grand opening, concluded was a prime example. However, the villains here only played it cartoonishly evil (with a weakness for chocolate), including a surprise guest appearance of always funny Rowan Atkinson as a crooked priest. 8/10.

Review of NEXT GOAL WINS: Coaching the Coach

December 8, 2023

At the 2011 World Cup qualifying round, the football team of American Samoa lost terribly to Australia for an unprecedented 31-0 rout. Because of this humiliating loss, they've gained the snarky reputation as the worst football team in the world. Since then, they have never even converted a single goal in any international match with any team ever.

10 years later, American professional football coach Thomas Rongen (Michael Fassbender) was fired because he had been on a losing streak with his old team. This left him no other option but to accept the impossible assignment of flying over to American Samoa to coach their football team and get it ready for the 2021 World Cup qualifying round.  

There had already been several comedy films made about underdog sports teams and their quest for redemption with a coach who has seen better days, from "The Bad News Bears" (1972) to "The Mighty Ducks" (1992) to "The Longest Yard" (2005).  "Next Goal Wins" also followed that same familiar formula, so we already have a general idea how things will go. This reminds you of "Cool Runnings" (1993), being based in facts with a laidback island vibe. 

Michael Fassbender is more known for seriously intense roles, from "Hunger" (2008) to "Shame" (2011) to "The Killer" (2023), or even as Magneto in the X-Men movies. As the scrawny hothead loser coach Thomas Rongen, this was a Fassbender you've never seen before, both physically and attitudinally. Comedy is clearly not exactly his comfort zone, and he can look quite awkward in several scenes, but he still pulled it off overall.  

This film gave ample positive exposure to several Polynesian actors. Oscar Kightly (as fatherly FFAS president Tavita), Beulah Koale (as his son Daru Taumua) and David Fane (as their kind former coach Ace) are of Samoan descent. Uli Latukefu (as the goalie Nicky Salapu) is of Tongan descent. Very prominent in the story was American Samoan non-binary actor Kaimana as Jaiyah Saelua, the first transgender player ever in a World Cup qualifier. 

The screenplay by director Taika Waititi was adapted from the 2014 documentary of the same title by Mike Brett and Steve Jamison. That self-proclaimed Polynesian Jew Waititi was at the helm somehow assured us that all the comedy made at the expense of the American Samoan people (from their clumsy haka to their silly welcome dance) was handled properly.  The beautiful rendition of traditional folk songs with harmony added a very nice touch. 7/10. 

Review of IKAW AT AKO: Innovative Integration

December 7, 2023

An elderly husband (Ronaldo Valdez) was becoming concerned that his wife (Boots Anson-Roa) had been acting oddly recently. One day, she claimed to have bought goods in the market but had nothing in her hand. One night, she woke up suddenly in the middle of the night and began angrily throwing things at him. He brought her to see their family doctor (Madeleine Nicolas), who diagnosed her to have early-onset Alzheimer's Disease.

PR manager Marga (Rhian Ramos) wanted to file a divorce from her long-estranged architect husband Anton (Paolo Contis) whom she had married the US. When she met Anton to have him sign the documents, he announced that he was terminally ill and only had a couple of months to live. As a final favor, he asked if she would go with for one last vacation. After discussing this with their common friend Rhea (Andrew Gan), Marga agreed. 

Pre-teen kids Miggy (James Ignacio) and Tin-tin (Fatima Mislang) met at summer camp, and became instant friends. Their closeness annoyed bully kid Roy (Cloud Ugayan), who also had a crush on Tin-tin. During the nights, the two kids would sneak out of camp and hide behind a big rock, sitting together while admiring the night sky. One time, Roy caught Miggy and Tin-tin in a moment of puppy love sweetness, and told on them to the camp master.

Director Rechie del Carmen and writers Lawrence Nicodemus and Charrie Avendano all had more experience on television series, so the quality of the storytelling of the individual stories rather felt like it was for television. However, they tried to connect each of these stories with one other to create one whole tapestry of a story. They were careful in slowly revealing little clues, so as not to spoil the connection prematurely. This innovative effort to integrate raised the overall level of the film, but I wished the title could have been less generic. 

They could have been more careful with some details.  Anson-Roa is obviously already well into her 70s, why call her condition "early-onset" Alzheimer's, which is applied to patients less than 65 years old? Why was there a need for that very long phone call of Anton's boss telling him how important his current project was, when in the next scene, he would invite Marga for an out-of-town trip leaving ASAP? How could Miggy and Tin-tin lose their way in the morning, when they can easily find their secret spot in the dark of midnight?

As it had already been tackled repeatedly from "Tanging Yaman" (2000) to "Litrato" (2023), I wish stories involving elderly characters would have other plots aside from Alzheimer's. That said, Anson-Roa and Valdez both give moving, tear-jerking performances, as expected from them. Ramos and Contis do their melodramatic best with the wishy-washy script they're given here. The segment involving the children was most unpredictable, and can be uncomfortable with their daring escapades. Child actors Ignacio and Mislang were cute together. 6/10. 

Vivamax: Review of GANTI-GANTI: Tetrahedron of Treachery

December 5, 2023

Vicky (Angeli Khang) was an ambitious real-estate salesperson who left her beau Vincent (Chad Solano) behind in order to marry one of her wealthy customers -- businessman Arthur (Mark Anthony Fernandez). Bella got the high society lifestyle she longed for. However, Arthur turned out to be a sadistic sex pervert and maniac who raped every woman he encountered. Bella wanted out of this marriage as soon as possible. 

Georgia (Yen Durano) was the trusted personal assistant and secretary of Arthur.  She reluctantly accepted Arthur's offer for a job after her mother Sonia (Lally Buendia) was killed in a car accident. Ted (Sean de Guzman) was the only child of a poor couple who wanted him to be a soldier. However, he was kicked out of the military by a jealous senior officer, and he wound up being hired as a hitman of a mayor. 

The scriptwriter of this brazenly convoluted web of sleazy characters was no less than National Artist Ricky Lee. The first part was a common story as a disgruntled wife hiring a killer to murder her rotten husband -- hardly anything Lee could be proud of. However, from there the story would go back and forth in time to interconnect everybody with each other with everyone else's motives.  Looked like Lee had fun writing this.

However, despite the fact that he had been working with Lee for several Vivamax films, director Mac Alejandre's style of storytelling did not flow too well with this one. The requisite sex scenes were plentiful here, tiresomely gratuitous. Arthur's numerous rapes among the most disgusting Vivamax scenes ever, with that tied-up girl scene going too far. Then, there was climactic final 4-way gun-pointing confrontation and fight scene which was unintentionally funny.

It was good to see Angeli Khang expand her range, playing against her usual pathetic victim type here. Yen Durano is consistent with her acting skills which she had shown since her debut in "Litsoneras." Sean de Guzman's restrained performance kept his character interesting. Mark Anthony Fernandez furthers his typecasting in rapist roles. Chad Solano finally gets to deliver longer lines, but he had a bland, blank screen presence. 4/10.

 

Review of NAPOLEON: Technical Triumphs, Embellished Events

December 4, 2023

From an ordinary soldier who witnessed the beheading of Marie Antoinette, Napoleon Bonaparte (Joaquin Phoenix) rose the ranks of the French revolutionary army after he led troops to victory at the Siege of Toulon and 13 Vendémiaire. After his marriage to widow Joséphine de Beauharnais (Vanessa Kirby), Napoleon continued his winning streak at the Battle of the Pyramids, until he got word that Josephine was having an affair. 

Thus began this biopic about the life of French military commander and later Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. Director Ridley Scott chose not to limit the scope of this film to only one memorable battle in Napoleon's bloody career, but instead tried to summarize all the key events in one 157-minute long film, based on a script written by David Scarpa.  This caused the storytelling to feel disjointed, difficult to follow  and disappointingly boring. 

This was unfortunate because the visual aspects of this film looked amazing on the big screen. Cinematographer Dariusz Wolski had worked with Scott eight times before, while Oscar-winning (for "Platoon") film editor Claire Simpson had worked with Scott three times before, and their efficient working chemistry with Scott was very evident throughout the film, especially in those spectacular battle scenes in Austerlitz and Waterloo.  

Production designer Arthur Max had been nominated for Oscars three times before, and they had all been for Ridley Scott films -- "Gladiator," "American Gangster" and "The Martian." His meticulous work here recreating the look and feel of the French Revolution era was beautiful and deserves commendation. Costume designer Janty Yates had won an Oscar before for her work in "Gladiator," and her sartorial work here also looked very authentic.  

Phoenix and Kirby are undoubtedly talented actors, but they felt miscast in their roles here age-wise. At 49 now, Phoenix looked too old to be the 24 year-old Napoleon at the Marie Antoinette execution. Phoenix had a perpetual dour scowl on his face which did not make him charming or charismatic as Napoleon was supposed to be. Josephine was supposed to be 6 years older than Napoleon, but Kirby is 14 years younger than Phoenix.

It was disappointing to find out after watching that many of the film's best scenes were all only due to cinematic license. Eye-catching battle scenes, like Napoleon shooting at the pyramids in Egypt, or enemy soldiers falling through the ice in Austerlitz or Napoleon leading a cavalry charge in Waterloo, did not happen in real life. Napoleon slapping Josephine in public, and his escape from Elba to visit an ailing Josephine were likewise just fantasy as well.  6/10. 

MMFF2023: Review of GOMBURZA: Persecuted Priests

November 28, 2023

GOMBURZA stood for the surnames of the three priests who had been executed by Spain via the gruesome garrote on February 17, 1872 -- Fr. Mariano Gomez (Dante Rivero), Jose Burgos (Cedric Juan) and Jacinto Zamora (Enchong Dee). Real talk, we barely knew any much about them apart from their names and how they died. This movie focused on how they fought for the cause, and how their death had inspired no less than Jose Rizal himself.  

Director Pepe Diokno told his story in a ver straightforward manner. No grand plot was concocted to connect the three priests to the failed insurrection of La Madrid (Arnold Reyes), to which they were implicated. Burgos and Zamora were arrested from the house of an invalid priest Fr. De Laza (Nanding Josef). Later, Gomez was arrested from his school in front of his students. The three priests were confused as to what had happened, and so are we at the seeming randomness of it all. 

I wish there could have been more information about Fr. Burgos when he before he became a priest. A card at the end of the film showed that he was only 30 years old when he died by the garotte. Despite this very young age, Burgos was already a priest and a professor, plus he had already earned  a Master of Laws degree. Cedrick Juan looked and acted right for Burgos's age, yet he was also able to convey a confidence and maturity well beyond his age. 

Fr. Gomez was already 80 years old when he got involved in all this insurrection ruckus with the Spanish officials. Sir Dante Rivero imbued his senior character with calm and dignity as the role required. It was just too bad that we did not get more details about his involvement in the work of Fr. Pelaez for the secular priests. Why was Gomez specifically named in the subpoena, despite his advanced age? What had he done that they perceived him to be such a threat?

There was no effort to romanticize Fr. Zamora's story to make him more heroic than he really was. The unflattering detail that Zamora was not really involved with the advocacies of Burgos and Gomez was not disguised. The way Enchong Dee portrayed Fr. Zamora was very unexpected. His reaction and behavior was as far from what we would imagine a revered martyr or hero would display. Later, he would just turn into an empty shell of himself, all the way to the garrote.

Piolo Pascual played a vital character, Fr. Pedro Pelaez, who pioneered in the fight of secular priests, mostly Creoles or Spaniards born in the Philippines. They were being treated as second class citizens when compared to priests born in Spain belonging to powerful religious orders, who were easing them out of their parishes. While the fate of Pelaez was not exactly a surprise, the way he met his unexpected end was surprisingly not heroic nor glamorous.

Meticulous attention and generous budget had been spent to make sure that the production design and costumes looked realistic. Director Pepe Diokno and writer Rody Vera did not seem take much cinematic license to enhance any dramatic elements of the accounts on record. This storytelling felt very sincere and authentic. The message to promote patriotism was very eloquent. With the Jesuits as producer, I trust that historical details had been thoroughly researched and accurately depicted. 8/10

Review of SHAKE, RATTLE AND ROLL EXTREME: Goats, Gourmets and Ghouls

November 30, 2023

Episode 1: GLITCH

Directed by: Richard V. Somes

Ingrid Salazar (Iza Calzado) was a busy businesswoman with two children from different fathers -- rebellious teenager Patrick (Miggs Cuaderno) and spoiled 6 year-old Lyka (Jewel Milag). Their housekeeper Hasmine (Donna Cariaga) was a nervous superstitious sort. One night, Lyka watched a video of a children's show hosted by a mascot named Gary the Goat. Following instructions of Gary, Lyka had inadvertently invited the Goat into their house.

Gary the Goat, the TV mascot, the plush toy, and his recruitment chant, was really very creepy. His demon form, with its horns, tongue and coat of black smoke, looked scarier in the shadows, than when fully- exposed.  All the human characters here were unlikable so it was not easy to root for any of them, especially Lyka, who was so annoyingly bratty. The over-extended final fight scene could've been edited better to generate more thrills. 5/10

Episode 2: MUKBANG

Directed by" Jerrold Tarog

Rei (Elle Villanueva) and Robin (Paul Salas) invited a group of popular influencers -- VeeNel (Jane Oineza, RK Bagatsing), Adelle (Esmyr Ranollo), Ashley (AC Bonifacio) -- to collaborate with them on a live-streamed video showing all of them gorging on a huge amount of food prepared by Chef Kimo (Ninong Ry). However, as the food preparation got started, the vloggers' assistants (Phi Palmos, Jana Taladro, Ian Gimena) began to act very oddly. 

This centerpiece episode of this 16th edition of the "Shake, Rattle and Roll" film franchise was best of the lot.  The comic scare scenes with Ranollo, Bonifacio, Ry and Gimena stood out in their craziness. Francis Mata, as the old caretaker Mang Isko, had a sinister vibe going on. That rotary phone gag was a riot, even if you saw it coming. The original satirical concept involving the shallow inanity of social media personalities made this one a lot of fun to watch. 8/10

Episode 3: RAGE

Directed by: Joey de Guzman

While waiting for the release of her medical board exam which she took for the third time, Trina (Jane de Leon) and her boyfriend Mose (Paolo Gumabao) went to a trip to the province with their friends (Rob Gomez, Mika Reoni, Dustin Yu). A local boy named Coy (Bryce Eusebio) suggested to visit the river to watch the meteor shower. That night, their camp was attacked by a group of people with eyes burning with rage, who were killing everyone in sight.  

This final episode is just another rehash of the overdone zombie subgenre. There's a group of characters being killed off one by one by a horde of undead killers, we just wait and see who goes first and who survives up to the end. To add additional stress factor, they had a pregnant woman Faya (Sarah Edwards) who can give birth anytime. The horror element here is too familar even as the gore and violence level was high, no sense of fun at all. 4/10.