Review of PRISCILLA: Enamored by Elvis

January 31, 2024

In 1959, Priscilla Beaulieu (Cailee Spaeny) was only 14-year-old 9th grade schoolgirl living with her parents at a military base in West Germany where her father was stationed. At one party, Priscilla was introduced to popular rock and roll star Elvis Presley (Jacob Elordi) who was in the US Army at that time. They would meet more often, much to the concern of her parents, especially given her tender age, and the 10-year age difference between them. 

From there, writer-director Sofia Coppola told the story of this controversial celebrity relationship based on Priscilla Presley's own 1985 memoir "Elvis and Me."   We see the events from Priscilla's point of view, and hear her try to justify the indignities she went through. We knew it was most likely not a fairytale relationship, but to actually watch this teenager being treated like a personal toy doll was very uncomfortable.  

She was only 17 when she moved to Graceland, and still had to finish her senior year in high school. However, the relationship problems she face would challenge even women way older than her. She was always expected to follow his choices of her dresses, makeup and activities. She had to believe his side about the nasty rumors about him and his sexy co-stars. She also had to endure his unusual behavior in the bed they shared until they got married. 

Unlike the recent Baz Luhrmann spectacle "Elvis" (2022), Coppola's work was more intimate and subdued. She juxtaposed a 6'5" Elordi against a 4"11" Spaeny to emphasize their physical difference and represent their age difference (even if they were both born in 1997, just a month apart). Elordi got to play more private Elvis, with only one televised performance clip. Spaeny was so remarkably childlike, this was an uncomfortable watch on purpose. 7/10. 

Netflix: Review of INSTANT DADDY: Caring to Commit

January 28, 2024

Valentin Roxas (Alexander Lucas Martin) was raised by his Tatay Lito (Jao Mapa) alone, when his mother left them to work abroad when he was seven. To maintain a sense of normalcy, Lito wrote young Val letters supposedly from his mother promising that she would come back. However, as a teenager, Val (Kurt delos Santos) knew she was never going to come back, and told his father that he wanted to go to Manila with his friend Winston (Rabin Angeles). 

Years later, Val (Jerald Napoles) worked as a taxi driver in a fleet operated by Winston, who was now a transwoman named Whitney (MC Muah) with her boyfriend Rico (Nikko Natividad). Val was a playboy who had quickie affairs with several women. One night, an ex-lover Julie (Danita Paner) left her baby girl in Val's taxi, and never came back to get her. After his initial reluctance, Val accepted the girl as his daughter, naming her Marisol (Althea Ruedas). 

This film was an adaptation of the hit Mexican comedy-drama film "Instructions Not Included" (2013), co-written and directed by its lead star Eugenio Derbez. After Julie left the baby at Val's bachelor pad, Val had to illegally cross the Tijuana border all the way to Los Angeles where Julie last worked as an aerobics instructor. Because his daring rescue of the baby about to fall into the pool was witnessed by a film director, Val was hired as a stuntman.

Aside from these details, the basic story of Val, Julie and their daughter (named Maggie in the original) was the same. In addition, in this Filipino adaptation written by Penzer Baterna, Val was given a coterie of loyal friends around him to help him raise Mira. Aside from Whitney, Rico and fellow taxi drivers (reminiscent of "Miracle in Cell No. 7"), Val also had a childhood crush, Kate (Ryza Cenon), who liked him back, but he did not want to commit.  

Comparing the two versions I've seen, the performances of Napoles and Ruedas felt more sincere, their chemistry more heartwarming, as built up by director Crisanto Aquino, making the final twist even more heart-wrenching. In both films, the medical aspect of the story was purposefully unclear, but the Filipino version had the better approach. However, the disease entity chosen in the Filipino version was less convincing than the one in the original, because there seemed to have been no indication to do the imaging required to diagnose it. 7/10.

Review of GG: A Gamer's Gambit

January 27, 2024

When the grandmother (Boots Anson-Roa) who raised him passed away, Seth (Donny Pangilinan) was reunited with his estranged mother Iya (Maricel Laxa). She brought him to live in her house with her husband Dennis (Christian Vasquez) and their young son Mau (Hadi Hegazy). Iya's father Francis (Ronaldo Valdez) decided to transfer Seth to an exclusive college. However, school is furthest from Seth's mind now.

Seth's secret preoccupation was Requiem, a multiplayer first-person shooter game where he was codenamed Eskape, the lead player of his team called "Tokwa't Bad Bois." His coach was Kurt (Baron Geisler), and his teammates were Joseph/ Xtra Rice (Igi Boy Flores), Patrick/ Trickz (Gold Aceron), Kevin/ Kev (Johannes Rissler) and Santino/ Ace (Kaleb Ong). They were deep into their training to win the National Finals of Requiem. 

Director Prime Cruz made a daring move trying to tell a story built around the world of e-sports to the big screen. With some e-games teams already getting noticed in the international sports arena, it may be a good time to introduce these virtual sports to the mainstream audience.  It was a big risk because these games were really not really spectator sports. The "athletes" here were all just sitting in front of their monitors, with their fingers frantically clacking on their keyboards.  

Cruz created excitement with excellent editing of game play action with player reactions, backed with a suspenseful musical score and play-by-play by the sportscasters.  Sometimes, the older people in the audience may occasionally get lost in the jargon of the game play, but they just need to go along with the flow of the story. A mystery aspect was introduced in a substitute player named Iceberg, who mysteriously wore a mask during games. 

Behind the games, there was melodrama as Seth struggled to fit into his new family and to blend into his new team. At home, Seth was withdrawn, evasive and rebellious. At play, Seth was intense, competitive and hypercritical. Donny Pangilinan did not have a loveteam partner here, but his family was around. He got to do a tearful dramatic scene with his mother, his dad had a cameo as an emcee, and his sister Hannah co-wrote the script with Cruz. 7/10 

Vivamax: Review of PANTASYA NI TAMI: Corruption of Cosplay

January 26, 2024

Tami (Azi Acosta) was an introvert college girl who loved her anime and had a hobby of writing sex-flavored fan fiction about her favorite anime characters. To improve Tami's social life, her best friend Jhona (Zia Zamora) invited Tami to attend an anime convention in cosplay costume in order to meet more boys with similar interests. The cute Cammy Lee costume Jhona designed won Tami the Best Costume first prize that night.

Because her father Noli (Rey PJ Abellana) and stepmother Ellen (Shirley Fuentes) thought that there was no money in cosplay, Tami asked advise from popular cosplayer Coleen (Shiena Yu) and her photographer Ken (Jiad Arroyo) for tips. Ken convinced Tami to try being a gravure photography model for him and earn extra cash by selling her sexy photographs. Tami soon became very popular with anime fans, like nerdy Gelo (Ali Asistio). 

Azi Acosta had some good dramatic moments, but she can really do much better than this. Her best erotic scene was her first photoshoot, and she was not nude there. Yu, Zamora and Erica Balagtas (as Tami's fantasy persona Chibi Tami) turned in shallow performances. With that resting wicked smirk, Arroyo was a natural movie villain. Asistio fared better playing his role restrained. Meanwhile, seniors Abellana and Fuentes were lividly overacting. 

The screenplay of Don Ramirez Santella gave only a cursory introduction of the anime and cosplay which can be interesting for those who have no prior knowledge of these colorful activities borne out of Japanese pop culture. There is a difference between Japanese pornography and Japanese gravure photography (with its implied sensuality), but here, that distinction is practically obliterated without due respect to the culture it appropriates.

As merely the backdrop of a Vivamax film directed jointly by Topel Lee and Easy Ferrer, this rich cosplay subculture became secondary to interminable poorly-staged nude sex scenes, and this was unfortunate. It was even more unfortunate when in reality, most of the members of these cosplay communities are minors. Their parents may now be worried about their children engaging in the various unsavory activities depicted in this film. 2/10. 

Review of ITUTUMBA KA NG TATAY KO: Conquering Cowardice

January 25, 2024

Xia Vigor (Tintin) loved her father Teteng (Janno Gibbs), but she was very annoyed that he was a big coward. He was very meek in front of their landlady Aling Bebang (Juliana Parizcova Segovia) and the drunks at the corner store. He could not defend her against her bully at school Ethan (Robbie Wachtel) and his macho dad (Prince de Guzman). He could not even tell her Teacher Mylene (Louise delos Reyes) that he had a crush on her. 

Teteng worked as the personal assistant of an abusive movie director (Ronnie Henares) who worked him to the bone, but was not paying him right. He took out his frustrations at a local nightclub where the bartender was his best friend Tikboy (Anjo Yllana). Because he was having severe headaches, Teteng went to consult a neurologist Doc Thor (James Lomahan), discovering things that made him reconsider the way he had been living his life.

This film was the feature film directorial debut of Janno Gibbs, and he also co-wrote it and starred in it. Gibbs performed the two contrasting aspects of lead character Teteng channeling both Dolphy and Fernando Poe Jr. You can see Dolphy in Gibbs' slapstick routines and comic facial expressions. FPJ clearly inspired Gibbs' action star outfits, manner of speaking, fighting techniques, and appeal with the ladies (delos Reyes and Vivamax siren Robb Guinto).

The flow of the story was rather predictable. In fact the first half of the film was practically a repetitive loop of Teteng being harassed by his landlady, the drunks, his school bully, his boss. Then add to that those annoying incidents at the coffee shop, with the guy who kept cutting in line and the cashier who kept misspelling his name. Okay, we get it, he's a doormat, but we do we really need to see him being stepped on over and over in the name of "comedy"?

It was not really surprising that there would be flashbacks to see child and teen Teteng and his relationship with his father Totoy (Mark Anthony Fernandez). However, Gibbs did surprise us by suddenly breaking the fourth wall occasionally. Even delos Reyes got to do this. Gibbs also reminded us that he was a very good singer, with his acoustic rendition of "Pangako" as a duet with Xia Vigor. Again, delos Reyes had a funny comic moment after this song number.

Only 13, pretty Xia Vigor is still at that awkward early teen phase. She's got the drama parts down pat, but her comic timing and delivery still needs improvement.  The appearance of the late Ronaldo Valdez in the third act gave this film a deeper emotional value that Gibbs never would have foreseen while making this film. Telling a story about fatherhood, Gibbs's dedication of his first film to the memory of his father was bittersweet serendipity. 6/10.  

Joint Reviews of CHICKEN RUN: DAWN OF THE NUGGET and MIGRATION: Fowl Family Fables

January 22, 2024

I watched these two animated films almost one after one another, and they certainly had a lot in common. They both had a family of fowl as its lead characters. In both films, the parents were very protective of their children, such that they would rather not set foot outside the idyllic homes. They both had a spirited eldest child whose reckless impulsiveness put their whole family into danger. Of course, in the end, family and friends get together to fight the bad guys, who are invariably humans who eat them. 

CHICKEN RUN: DAWN OF THE NUGGET

Directed by Sam Fell

Since they escaped from the oppressive conditions in the farm of Mrs. Tweedy (Miranda Richardson), Ginger (Thandiwe Newton), Rocky (Zachary Levi) and all of their chicken friends set up a community on an island in the center of a lake. Because of their past trauma, Ginger and Rocky were very protective about 11 year-old daughter Molly (Bella Ramsey), but she was a headstrong and very curious sort.  One day, Molly snuck out of their island.

This is the second "Chicken Run" film, the sequel of the 2000 original hit acclaimed stop-motion animated film. Grossing almost US$230M, this first film set, and still holds, the record for the highest-grossing stop-motion films of all time, earning more than "Wallace and Grommit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit" (2005) and "Coraline" (2009), which ranked #2 and #3, earning US$198M and US$132M respectively. 

Stop-motion clay animation is the signature style of Aardman Studios since they started in 1972. Aardman actually won Academy Awards for 3 shorts and one feature film with Wallace and Grommit,.This style of animation may not immediately appeal to younger kids, who may not also fully understand the dry British humor. For adults however, this sequel still had much of the visual charm and wry wit they enjoyed in the first "Chicken Run." 7/10. 

MIGRATION

Directed by Benjamin Renner

Living in a tranquil pond in New England were a family of mallard ducks led by Mack (Kumail Nanjiani) and Pam (Elizabeth Banks). They had two young children -- Dax (Caspar Jennings) and Gwen (Treci Gazal), who were both very fond of their eccentric uncle Dan (Danny de Vito). Mack was very protective of his family, and turned down an invitation to go migrate to Jamaica for the winter. However, after giving it much thought, he changed his mind.

"Migration" is the latest film of Illumination Studios, which is still best known for the "Despicable Me" franchise. "Minions" and "Despicable Me 3" both grossed over $1B, and the Minions, the Illumination company mascot, actually hums the Universal Pictures theme here. However its biggest box office hit was "The Super Mario Brothers Movie" which grossed nearly $1.4B. 

The animation style of this one looked more old-school and traditional. The Mallards go through a series of adventures with a creepy heron Erin (Carol Kane), a hotshot pigeon Chump (Awkwafina) and a scarlet macaw Delroy (Keegan-Michael Key) in NYC, and finally in a flock of spoiled white ducks led by their yoga teacher GooGoo (David Mitchell) in a farm designed like an amusement park. 

By coincidence, this last stopover of the Mallards family was practically similar to the concept of Funland Farms where Molly and her family were trapped in "Chicken Run Dawn of the Nugget." These farms were so generous with the food and the fun activities so that the fowl become lazy and complacent until they are fattened enough ready for slaughter. So this was yet another common aspect between the two films. 7/10. 

Vivamax: Review of PALIPAT-LIPAT, PAPALIT-PALIT: Mussels Melodrama

January 20, 2024

Larry (Victor Relosa) and his wife Edna (Denise Esteban) gathered and sold mussels for a living. Despite living in a simple hut with their limited means, the two were very happy with their life together. One day, they saw a young woman unconscious on the sand. They brought her home and cared for her until she woke up and introduced herself as Amy (Aiko Garcia). 

Edna took a liking to Amy, and treated her as a friend and sister, despite the warnings of her best friend dress shop owner Tanya (Amabella de Leon). Greg (Chester Grecia), the boyfriend of the local prostitute Alona (Rain Luna), kept trying to strike up a friendship with Amy. However, it seemed that Amy wanted to reserve her fresh mussels to someone else.

As the wife willing to sacrifice her own dignity for love, Denise Esteban showed why is was constantly considered one of the best actresses in the Vivamax fold. As the snake in the grass Amy, Aiko Garcia builds on her success from "Haliparot" (my #1 Vivamax film of 2023). As the husband caught between the desires of two women, Victor Relosa's face reflected the weakness of men to temptations of the flesh, so his role was quite evident from his first scene.  

The basic story of a happy marriage ruined by treacherous third party is in itself a very old and common plot in local movies. Writer Ronald Batallones's odd choice of setting may presumably be because the Tagalog term for mussels ("tahong") had a naughtier second meaning related with a certain delicate part of the female anatomy. At one point, there was even a reference to "Raise the Red Lantern" (1991) using a white towel instead.

Like his other Vivamax output, cult director Roman Perez, Jr. never settled for the bare minimum when it came to choosing his shots for his films. The main setting of a seaside village may sound drab, but Perez and his cinematographer Rommel Andreo Sales employed a lot of artistic camera angles for aesthetic enhancement --  with views from the top, in mirror reflections, or through windows where the warm sun was beaming in. 

The title "Palipat-lipat, Papalit-palit" was also the title of a Lino Brocka movie back in 1982 with a totally different topic. Here, how that title applied to the story was not that clear until an additional revelatory scene after the title came out at the end, which cleared up exactly who was moving around and changing. I would have liked another flashback scene to explain how Amy ended up unconscious on the beach at the start of the film. 6/10. 

Review of ANYONE BUT YOU: Ample Ado

January 19, 2024

After a chance meeting in a coffee shop, Ben (Glen Powell) and Bea (Sydney Sweeney) hit it off great right away. However, they never met up again because of what Bea overheard Ben say to his best friend Pete (GaTa). Only when they were both invited to the wedding of Pete's sister Claudia (Alexandra Shipp) and Bea's sister Halle (Hadley Robinson) in Sydney. Australia did the paths of Ben and Bea cross again.  And it was not pretty.

Everyone in the bridal party, including Claudia's parents (Bryan Brown and Michelle Hurd) and Halle's parents (Rachelle Griffiths and Dermot Mulroney) felt the tension in the air when Ben and Bea were together in Sydney, so they try to arrange things so that they would patch up their differences. Things get more complicated with Ben's ex-girlfriend Margaret (Charlee Fraser) and Bea's ex-boyfriend Jonathan (Darren Barnett) get into the picture.

"Anyone But You" follows the formula that all rom-coms have followed since the time of William Shakespeare and "Much Ado About Nothing." Leading man and leading lady meet each other and liked each other, only to be separated by a series of silly misunderstandings, only to get back together again for a happy ending. This one basically stayed right on the old course, but just with wilder complicating circumstances delaying the inevitable. 

In this one, like all other rom-coms over the years, the misunderstandings could have been easily discussed and cleared up right away. But as this was a comedy movie, they let the misunderstanding fester to absurd extents in the name of so-called "fun," doing more things to confuse issues more than to clarify them. These gags also get physically raunchy though not really funny, like the prolonged butt groping scene, and the wayward spider scene. 

Glen Powell gained mainstream attention as Tom Cruise's nemesis in "Top Gun Maverick" (2022). He went all out here in the name of sex comedy, getting shirtless a lot more times than it seemed necessary, and even going all the way awkward nude at one point. Sweeney is very pretty, but not always successful being funny. The romantic chemistry between Powell and Sweeney was inconsistent, as it came and went depending on the scene.  5/10. 

Vivamax: Review of ROOM SERVICE: Peep and Pry

January 18, 2024

At home, Carol Santos (Shiena Yu) was very frustrated with her husband Arvin (Nathan Cajucom) because he could not satisfy her demand for long-lasting intercourse. She was hired as a housekeeper of a small hotel. She had a snooty supervisor (Mark Ranel Grabador) who caught her watching porn, so he was on her case ever since. She also had a co-employee Benjo (Anthony Dabao) who won't stop harassing her. 

At work, her attention was drawn to a mystery guest (Angelo Ilagan), whom she noticed had been bringing different nameless girls (Athena Moran, Xera Bailey, Bo Ivan Lo) into his room. They would spend the night tumbling in the sheets, with taking pills and taking videos involved in the action.  Soon, the man began to notice Carol's apparent attraction to him, so one day, he invited her to render him some room service.

This short Vivamax film (only 46 minutes long) was directed by Bobby Bonifacio, Jr. There were two people credited for writing -- Rijel Reyes as Episode Writer and John Carlo Pacala as Head Writer. I am not sure if this was a separate feature film, or was this just an episode of an anthology series that did not fully materialize. Unlike other new Vivamax films which was released on Fridays, this was released on a Tuesday. 

Shiena Yu had been in a number of Vivamax films since 2022, but this was the first time she was the headliner. She still did not appear to act confident enough, but maybe it was done on purpose to confuse the viewer about the character of Carol. She was not very subtle when she spied on the activities of Michael, with her constant hanging around his room, casting longing looks at him, and even blatantly attempting to shoot videos of him.

Angelo Ilagan had been in show business for almost 20 years now since his first film "Sarong Banggi" (Emmanuel de la Cruz, 2005) where he played a teenager initiated into sex by no less than Jaclyn Jose. Now he's back via Vivamax. Here, his character (named Michael in the closing credits) was a man of few words, so basically, all Ilagan had to do was to smolder on camera, look seductive and irresistible to women, and act like a master stud in bed.  2/10. 

Review of ROADTRIP: Fractured Female Friendship

January 18, 2024

Four women had been close friends since their college days. Sophia (Candy Pangilinan) was the bossy type who made plans and decisions for the group. Chiqui (Carmina Villaruel) was a popular actress who was a paranoid clean freak. Maricar (Gelli de Belen) was always frank and blunt, which got her into frequent conflicts with the other girls. Gigi (Janice de Belen) was the serious and quiet one of the group, who did not join in their fun too much.  

When a common college friend of theirs passed away, the four finally got back together after years of frustrated reunions. They decided to go on the hike of Mt. Pulag that they had all been wanting to do since their school days, but never got to do. With Sophia at the wheel and controlling their trip itinerary, the ladies reminisced about the old times, opened up about their current situations, and why they had not been together again all these years. 

We only get one short scene where we meet the girls as college students and see their past interaction -- Yumi Garcia as young Sophia, Heart Ryan as young Chiqui, Ashtine Olviga as young Maricar, Abby Bautista as young Gigi and a fifth member of their friend group, Jastine Lim as young Frances. I felt this one scene was not enough for us to know each girl better and how close as friends they actually were. This scene ironically ended in an argument.   

The rest of the film we just watch the ladies in their middle age already, whining and arguing practically all the way from Manila to Benguet. At first, it was fun to see the four veteran stars having fun together on the big screen, and, in fairness, they actually hiked up Mt. Pulag. However, all the noisy, over-the-top, perimenopausal bickering they were doing was frankly not to much fun to watch anymore in the long run.

The screenplay was written by Candy Pangilinan (her first) for herself and real-life close friends (the two De Belen sisters and Villaruel), so the naturalness of the banter was there. This could have been told as a straightforward story, but Pangilinan instead employed a twist in the third act to raise the emotion impact of the ending. However, there were a couple of red herrings purposefully shown which rendered this twist rather unfair.  6/10.

SPOLERS FOLLOW (Stop here if you have not yet watched the film.)

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From the very start, you can already feel that one friend is always separate from the other friends, that she was not included in the conversations. As the film progressed, there was a scene where she was actually having a normal-look one-on-one conversation with someone else. A little later, one of the friends actually addressed her by her name, asking her why she was crying. This only meant that they actually saw her there with them.

   

Review of RAGING GRACE: Horrors of Hiding

January 17, 2024

Joy (Max Eigenmann) was a Filipina working as a caregiver and housekeeper in the United Kingdom for several years without a valid working visa. She was trying to pay a fixer to help her get her papers in order, so she needed a good job as soon as possible. One day, she accepted the generous offer of a woman named Katherine (Leanne Best), who hired her to take care of her barely-conscious grand-uncle Mr. Garrett (David Hayman). 

While working at the Garrett mansion, Joy had to hide keep her pre-teen daughter Grace (Jaeden Paige Boadilla) out of sight, lest she lose her high-paying job.  However, the spirited Joy was impatient and simply could not keep still. Joy suspected that the condition Mr. Garrett was being worsened by his meds. So, when Katherine left for a trip for a few days, Joy decided to give Garrett a Filipino folk concoction to purge his system of toxins.

The talent of Max Eigenmann as an actress is well-known to Filipinos, given her award-winning performances in films like "Verdict" (2019) and "12 Weeks" (2022). Here, as the embattled Joy, Eigenmann had that resting intense face throughout the film, reflecting the constant uncertainty bugging her life those days. Eigenmann's face and eyes said volumes in that scene when Katherine was teaching Joy how to administer Garrett's pills. 

Jaeden Boadilla's Grace was such a pain to watch as a parent. Having a child should be comfort for a mother, but a daughter as insolent as Grace added more stress. Leanne Best's Katherine was so mysterious, you never really understand what she was about until the very end. David Hayman is a veteran British character actor whose career dated back since the 1970s. His nuanced portrayal of Mr. Garrett proved that there were no small parts for him.  

This film is a very odd entity. At its most basic, this was a drama of a Filipina mother trying to keep her goal of employment in the UK alive by all means, legal or not.  However, because of the cinematic choices used by director Paris Zarcilla to tell this story with his odd camera angles and terrifying musical score, it wound up feeling like a horror film as he was intending. Zarcilla's "horror" styling underscored the horror of reality for people like Joy. 7/10

 

RANKING THE 10 METRO MANILA FILMFEST 2023 ENTRIES

January 15, 2024

(source: Kuya So FB Page)

Excitement about the 49th Metro Manila Film Festival started in July, when the first four entries, accepted based on scripts alone, were announced -- "Penduko," "Family of Two," "Kampon," and "Rewind." Six more films, judged based on finished film submissions, were revealed on October 17, 2023, to complete a list of 10. 

I was fortunate to have been invited to four press previews prior to the first day on December 25 -- all of which turned out to be the top 4 most popular films. I was away during the final week of 2023, so i wasn't able to watch anything more until we came back New Year. Box office numbers were much much better than recent years. 

By the last day, January 7, 2024, movie houses were selling out and lines were still snaking around the cinema multiplexes. This prompted the MMDA to declare that the festival was going to be extended for one more week. This extension gave me the opportunity to watch up all 10 entries, and this is how I will rank them based on the ratings I gave each of them:

10. BROKEN HEARTS TRIP by Lemuel Lorca (MY FULL REVIEW)

If some of other MMFF entries were accused of copying the plots of foreign films, this one copied the mechanics of two popular foreign TV reality shows -- "The Amazing Race" and "Survivor." However the contests they formulated in each of the stops were shallow and rather haphazardly executed. Instead, they injected some sort of classic US TV show "This is Your Life," when they brought back people from contestant's past to generate drama. The way director Lemuel Lorca staged that final episode was so rushed, it was anti-climactic. 

9. PENDUKO by Jason Paul Laxamana (MY FULL REVIEW)

In this incarnation, Penduko was played by Matteo Guidicelli. His Pedro Penduko seemed to be a regular, chill, laid-back guy, but he was also shown to have a very violent temper when he got triggered.  While Guidicelli possessed the physicality (fit toned body and martial arts skills) required of this role, he was awkward when attempting to be cute (in some silly anime-like exclamations), and was too over-the-top when erupting into explosive rage. 

8. BECKY AND BADETTE by Jun Lana (MY FULL REVIEW)

Getting "inspiration" (euphemism for "copying") from Hollywood movies is a very big issue in this year's MMFF. This film took on the most famous film of the three being accused. The whole first half of this film was practically a rehash of "Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion" (1997). All the main characters were there at their high school reunion with the same conflicts, where a major lie was said in public and perpetuated as truth until it could not. 

7. WHEN I MET YOU IN TOKYO  by Rommel Penesa and Conrado Peru (MY FULL REVIEW)

So indeed, the two senior protagonists meet under unpleasant circumstances, to the point of calling each other "bru" (short for "bruha" or witch). However, as expected, they began to like each other when they got to know each other better, then eventually fall in love.  Despite being the overdone romance cliches that they were, these scenes were the best parts -- so sweet and heartwarming. I was smiling, laughing and actually tearing up in spite of myself.   

6. KAMPON by King Palisoc (MY FULL REVIEW)

King Palisoc directed this film, certainly a long-overdue follow-up to his auspicious debut, "Tandem" (2015). Unlike most local horror films, this one did not go much for jump scares (until those shocking "Scanners" via "Poltergeist" explosions in the final act), instead opting for more subdued scare techniques. Having a little girl Jade in the center of nightmarish demonic events made the proceedings even more intense and unsettling.

5. FAMILY OF TWO  by Nuel Naval (MY FULL REVIEW)

There had already been several films about the lengths mothers go for their children, from childhood up to adulthood. This is a mother's happiness to be of service to their children at whatever age and condition in their lives. What made this Nuel Naval film particularly heartwarming and tearjerking was the natural chemistry and real rapport between Cuneta and Richards as mother and son, which made audiences deeply feel whatever their characters felt. 

4. REWIND by Mae Cruz-Alviar (MY FULL REVIEW)

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. 

3. GOMBURZA by Pepe Diokno (MY FULL REVIEW)

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.

2. MALLARI  by Derrick Cabrido (MY FULL REVIEW)

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. 

1. FIREFLY by Zig Dulay (MY FULL REVIEW)

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 on his road-trip across Bicol -- the fairy with the wide green skirt, the sleeping giant who sneezed, and the stone man with a big mouth. 

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.

MMFF2023: Review of PENDUKO: Folkloric Fighter

January 15, 2024

One night, a young man named Pedro Penduko (Matteo Guidicelli) was visited by a mysterious woman named Wendy (Phoebe Walker). She told him that she knew that he possessed special gifts for seeing spirits, sorcery and healing. She invited him to work with other young people like him in an underground organization called Midnight, founded by a respectable gentleman named Gat Blanco (Albert Martinez). 

Pedro was thrilled at the opportunity of learning from mentors like Dayang Esther (Marissa Sanchez) to develop his gift of sight, Gat Nimuel (Gene Padilla) to learn about amulets and charms, and Dayang Aurora (Candy Pangilinan) for supernatural healing. After graduation, Pedro was paired up with his classmate Liway (Kylie Versoza) as Team Buot (or Cloud Rat), which would become the most successful healing team in Midnight.

Pedro Penduko was a classic Filipino comic book character created by National Artist Francisco Coching in 1954 for Liwayway magazine. This ordinary boy possessed an amulet which was able to help him fight the dark forces of evil.  He had been featured in a number of feature films and TV shows over the years, portrayed by actors like Efren Reyes, Sr. (1954), Ramon Zamora (1973), Janno Gibbs (1994) and Matt Evans (2006).

In this incarnation, Penduko was played by Matteo Guidicelli. His Pedro Penduko seemed to be a regular, chill, laid-back guy, but he was also shown to have a very violent temper when he got triggered.  While Guidicelli possessed the physicality (fit toned body and martial arts skills) required of this role, he was awkward when attempting to be cute (in some silly anime-like exclamations), and was too over-the-top when erupting into explosive rage. 

Along with the scenes of action and fantasy, writer-director Jason Paul Laxamana taught the audience several aspects of Philippine folklore via Pedro's "Harry Potter"-like training and lessons by his father Apo Tisot (John Arcilla). The was a deeper focus on the battle between "panggagaway" (witchcraft) and "pananambal" (healing). He introduced us to "hukluban" who can kill by mere raising his hand, and the different color types of the "aghoy" (or elves). 

"Penduko" was one of only two films that the MTRCB generously rated G (the other being "Family of Two"), but there were certainly scenes of violence involving the hero Penduko himself, which need parental guidance. While the way this film ended opened it up for a possible sequel, it is not ideally tailored for the kiddie demographic that it targets, who would have preferred something more inspirational or heartwarming. 5/10.  

Vivamax: Review of KARINYO BRUTAL: Mired in the Mundane

January 12, 2024

Ariel (Armani Hector) just arrived in Manila after graduating from college in Davao. He had applied to work in Singapore, and needed to get his papers ready. While waiting, he stayed in the house of his cousin Quito (Ghion Espinosa), who had the luxury of a maid named Marissa (April Anne Aguila Dolot). Quito's foul-mouthed girlfriend Lilibeth (Maebelle "Manang" Medina) was a frequent visitor and bedmate. 

Across the street, Ariel noted a pretty girl entering her house carrying her groceries. Quito told him that she was Christine (Apple Dy), but warned Ariel to keep away from her because she was the kept woman of a powerful man, Edmund (Benz Sangalang). Christine endured the brutish, sexual abuse of Edmund because she depended on him for money to support her sickly family. Of course, Ariel did not heed.

This Vivamax film bore the pedigree of being written and directed by acclaimed director Jose Javier Reyes. However, there was nothing new or remarkable about this story at all. Surely there had been plenty of films about the allure of a mistress of dangerous man, and here was yet another one. Reyes did not add anything different to the usual story, except for the gratuitous sex scenes. If that ending was supposed to be a twist, we already saw it much earlier on.

Apple Dy was one of the breakout Vivamax starlets of 2023, playing a lead role in all her films -- "Punit na Langit," "Patikim-tikim," "Tuhog". In her previous films, Dy had proven that she can act, on top of baring skin. However, in this new one, the role was so ordinary and shallow, she looked bored and was just phoning it in. She knew she could not add anything more to it, and it did not look like she was trying to.

Benz Sangalang's Edmund may act like a ruthless brute, but he did not look like one. The costume department just allowed him to wear regular nondescript polo-shirts which made him look very ordinary, merely like a PA of a rich man.  In his first lead role, fair and clean-cut Armani Hector did not look like a typical Vivamax bad boy.  He did represent another category of Vivamax audience, proving that the wholesome-looking boy-next-door can also have something boiling inside them. 2/10. 

MMFF2023: Review of KAMPON: Seeking a Surrogate

January 11, 2024

Police Col. Clark Martinez (Derek Ramsay) had been discharged from the police force after a botched mission gone tragic. He now ran his own business to earn money to comfortably support his wife Eileen (Beauty Gonzalez). They were still childless after eight years of being together, something that their insensitive family and friends never failed to remind them about, which caused understandable distress between the infertile couple. 

One stormy night, Clark went to check the front door when he heard the doorbell ring. Outside, a small girl was standing in the rain. She had a piece of paper identifying her as Jade Bitangcol (Erin Espiritu). While Eileen tended to the child, Clark was being very suspicious about their unexpected visitor. Asked where her mother was, the child cryptically said, "she cannot come back." Asked where her father was, Jade pointed to Clark.

Most of the films by writer Dodo Dayao had been horror films, like "Violator" (2014) and "Midnight in a Perfect World" (2020), which he also directed himself. His script alone earned "Kampon" one of the four outright slots of MMFF 2023. The evil child is a common trope in horror films, but Dayao wasted no time to put a scene of Filipino black magic rites by Na Almira (Lui Manansala) right at the start to get the creeps going early.

King Palisoc directed this film, certainly a long-overdue follow-up to his auspicious debut, "Tandem" (2015). Unlike most local horror films, this one did not go much for jump scares (until those shocking "Scanners" via "Poltergeist" explosions in the final act), instead opting for more subdued scare techniques. Having a little girl Jade in the center of nightmarish demonic events made the proceedings even more intense and unsettling.

After seeing "Kampon" get a number of 0/5 ratings from critics, I went in expecting the worst. However, it turned out that it was a solid horror movie, with a complex sick storyline told clearly, nifty visual effects and remarkably vulnerable acting performances from its leads. The "Caged Man" (Christian Gabanan) was a creepy mysterious entity, but a bit too reminiscent of "The X-Files." I would have wanted to know how much time lapsed between Loretta's (Zeinab Harake) revival and the events in the Marinduque nightclub in 2017. 6/10. 

Review of MY ZOMBABE: Compulsively Clingy

January 10, 2024

Pong (Empoy Marquez) and his gay younger brother Gohan (Yanyan de Jesus) lived in a seaside village, where they operate their own family resort called "Sa Puso Ko." Their community had been ravaged by a virus that turned people into zombies, which would be spread by biting. Their barangay captain Kap Ben (Anjo Yllana) was very strict in monitoring the health condition of his constituents, so that the spread of the virus could be stemmed.  

At that time, Pong was missing his lady love Yasmine (Kim Molina), who had left town without him. Suddenly, he thought of digging a hole in the sand, and found that Yasmine was buried alive, with signs that she had already turned into a zombie. Pong refused to believe that he had lost Yasmine, and tried his best to snap her memory back to normal by telling her stories about their time together, singing the song he wrote for her, seemingly to no avail.

Bobby Bonifacio Jr. is one of those directors who had made Vivamax their home in the past two years. To his credit, he was able to go beyond the soft-porn reputation, and directed critically-praised films like "Bula" (2022) and "Haliparot" (2023). His auspicious feature film directorial debut in 2006 had been in a serious horror, "Numbalikdiwa" (MY REVIEW), starring no less than Maricel Soriano. Now, he returns back to the genre where he started.

With Empoy Marquez in the lead, of course there will be elements of comedy in this film. He plays a simpleton who fell head over heels in love with a tourist, so got to do a lot of foolish things to win her over. However, the louder and campier comedy was care of Yanyan de Jesus, who played Gohan as a shrill and screamy scaredy-cat gay guy who nevertheless remained on Pong's side despite his crazy decisions. 

As in her other films, Kim Molina is winsome whatever her role. Even here, when half of a time she was a killer zombie, and the other half seemingly a shameless user, she can still manage to get you to sympathize with her. It is easy to see why Pong loved her at first sight, despite not knowing anything about her, except that she sang well and tried hard to speak in French; and even after he already knew the whole truth about her. 

To keep the proceedings interesting, director Bonifacio shifted the scenes back and forth from present (dark gloomy palette) to the past (bright sunshiny colors), with erratic effect. Bonifacio never tried to explain how zombification started, nor how there was an antidote. He also forgot to explain how, since she already left town earlier, how did the zombie Yasmine still end up buried under Pong's part of the beach for him to dig up? I think he may have missed one more flashback. 5/10. 

MMFF2023: Review of BROKEN HEARTS TRIP: Race for Relationship Recovery

January 9, 2024

TV director Alfred (Christian Bables) conceptualized a reality show where contestants can win one million pesos by winning a series of competitive events set in various tourist sites around the country. To qualify, the contestant has to be gay, with a good sad story of heartbreak that viewers can relate with. He gathered two other celebrity "judgers", Ate Gurl (Ms. Jaclyn Jose) and Tita Evs (Tart Carlos), to be on the interview panel with him to screen applicants.

Online seller Mark Gatchon (Petite) was left behind by his married partner Poli (Arnold Reyes). Chef Ali Macapagal (Marvin Yap) was left behind by his foreigner boyfriend Sean (Luke  Selby). Ad exec Alex Valdez (Andoy Ranay) was left behind by his philandering boyfriend Bennie (Jay Gonzaga). Dressmaker Bernie Varga (Iyah Mina) was left behind by his addict boyfriend Jack (Argel Sayson). Unceremoniously outed teen idol Jason James (Teejay Marquez) was added as a surprise contestant.

The locations for this fictional reality show did not really follow a logical sequence, as it jumped from Kawasan Falls in Cebu, to the rapids of Magdalena, Laguna, then all the way to Pagudpud in Ilocos Norte. After that, they made a sharp U-turn back down to Lobo, Batangas, before shooting the concluding segment on Mt. Banahaw at the Laguna / Quezon border. Lucky Alfred had generous "sponsors", namely LCL Travel & Tours and Air Filipinas. 

If some of other MMFF entries were accused of copying the plots of foreign films, this one copied the mechanics of two popular foreign TV reality shows -- "The Amazing Race" and "Survivor." However the contests they formulated in each of the stops were shallow and rather haphazardly executed. Instead, they injected some sort of classic US TV show "This is Your Life," when they brought back people from contestant's past to generate drama. The way director Lemuel Lorca staged that final episode was so rushed, it was anti-climactic. 

Again playing a flamboyant gay man, Christian Bables was mainly just being the director and emcee of the show most of the time. At the 11th hour, he was given a revelatory back story, which was his big dramatic moment. The actors playing the five contestants were all given the opportunity to shine in their own spot stories. The colorful poster may suggest an bright over-the-top comedy, but this mix actually had a lot more of bitter than the sweet. 5/10.   

MMFF2023: Review of FAMILY OF TWO: A Mother's Mission

January 7, 2024

Maricar de Dios (Sharon Cuneta) has been a widow for 23 years. When her husband died, she had to stop college in order to work and earn money to raise their son. Mateo or "Matty" (Alden Richards) was now working for an advertising firm. Aside from the plants in her garden, Maricar did not have any activities on her own. She had built her whole life around taking care of her son, cooking his meals, preparing his packed lunches daily. 

At work, Matty had a serious crush on the workaholic Czarina or "Zari" (Miles Ocampo), but he could not get the right timing to tell her. One day, their boss Mr. Ong (Chris Tan) assigned the two of them to prepare and pitch a marketing plan for an important client. Zari and Matty had more time together, and got to know each other better. When the opportunity of working abroad came to Matty, he worried about who will take care of his mother.

Sharon Cuneta's mettle as a dramatic actress is well-known. However, since 2010, she has not been doing as many movies as she used to. Since 2017, she's only had five films before this one, playing mother to a teenager. This time, Cuneta has agreed to play mother to a 28-year old character. She played Maricar with an effusive kind of love that we can feel emanating from the screen, so we also feel her warmth. She may come off as cloying on TV shows, but here, she felt as sincere as it gets.

I've only seen two previous films with Alden Richards -- "Hello Love Goodbye" (2019) and "Five Breakups and a Romance" (2023). In both, he had proven to be a dashing leading man and a very sensitive actor. As Matty, Richards found the sweet spot of his "mama's boy" character, playing him to be lovable to every mother in the audience. You'd be a rock if you weren't moved by his tearful apology scene with Cuneta. He also ably represented us adult children, reminding us of our own mothers and how much they loved and cared for us. 

Miles Ocampo won Best Supporting Actress of the festival for playing the aggressive, no-nonsense Zari, although her romantic chemistry with Richards was rather iffy. Jackie Lou Blanco played Odette, Maricar's ditzy neighbor, mainly as comic relief, along with Pepe Herrera and Donna Cariaga as Matty's gossipy co-workers. Soliman Cruz, Raul Montesa, Bart Guingona, Floyd Tena and Tonton Gutierrez played the men whom Maricar went on dates with.

There had already been several films about the lengths mothers go for their children, from childhood up to adulthood. This is a mother's happiness to be of service to their children at whatever age and condition in their lives. What made this Nuel Naval film particularly heartwarming and tearjerking was the natural chemistry and real rapport between Cuneta and Richards as mother and son, which made audiences deeply feel whatever their characters felt. 7/10. 

Vivamax: Review of BEDSPACER: Cryptic Climax

January 7, 2024

Janice (Christine Bermas) was a girl who figured in a viral video where she was seen stabbing her teacher with a pair of scissors. This notoriety led to her being gossiped about and ostracized in her new school. Ryan (JD Aguas) was a boy who was attracted to Janice, but he was discouraged by bully lesbians, Sasha (Aila Cruz) and Andrea (Aira Bench). 

One day, a pretty girl with red hair wearing a red dress named Lexi (Micaella Raz) stepped up to defend Janice from Sasha's harassment. Lexi became Janice's roommate, generously teaching her shy friend how to dress up and how to give pleasure to men (without losing her precious virginity). However, with time, Janice began to notice odd things about Lexi. 

Christine Bermas has consistently been a good actress ever since her first lead role in Vivamax's "Siklo" (2022). However, she had lately been saddled with roles in less than stellar Vivamax films like "Sapul" (2023) which just wasted her beauty and talent. Her Janice here was a very confusing character as written, so Bermas was made to do several strange things. By the third act, Janice's behavior was too strange for Bermas to save.

Micaella Raz biggest break into the Vivamax scene was in December 2022, playing the lead role in "Bata Pa Si Sabel." After 2 quick follow-ups, it took almost a year before this new film of hers came out.  Whenever Lexi was in the scene with Janice, Raz actually stole the scene from Bermas with her natural verve and appeal.  Unfortunately, Lexi would have a puzzling change of character midway that felt like Raz herself did not understand it.

Matthew Francisco (as a security guard) proved that his good acting in "Haliparot" (2023) was no fluke. JD Aguas (as jock Ryan) can be excused because he is a neophyte, but veteran Rash Flores (as Lexi's abusive ex Gio) still can't get the level of his acting up.  Cruz and Bench does a midnight coupling on the rooftop to start the film, but Bermas and Raz upped that with their acrobatic copulation outdoors in broad daylight at the film's climax. 4/10. 

MMFF2023: Review of WHEN I MET YOU IN TOKYO: Seasoned Soulmates

January 5, 2024

Azon (Vilma Santos) worked as a housekeeper at a hotel in Chiba Prefecture. Even if she was unmarried, she still sent money home to her brother Marlon (Gabby Eigenmann), whom she trusted to build her house in Manila. She was also supporting the education of her niece Hannah (Cassy Legaspi) and Drew (John Gabriel). On Azon's birthday, she was brought by her co-workers Sonia (Kakai Bautista) and Anita (Lynn Cruz) for a night of fun. 

Joey (Christopher de Leon) owned his own flower and vegetable farm, also in Chiba, which he ran with his best friend Akira (Jackie Woo). His marriage from his wife Susan (Gina Alajar) had been annulled for several years. His daughter Charlene (Lotlot de Leon) already had a teenage son Jomar (Darren Espanto). On Joey's birthday, Akira treated Joey out to the same nightclub, where he saw Azon and friends making a scene with their noisy drunk dancing.

Honestly, based on the trailer, this film was not exactly among my priorities. I thought the plot would just take the usual obvious rom-com route. However, during the MMFF Awards Night, this film pulled a big surprise by bagging an unprecedented accolade for "4th Best Picture," while Vilma Santos won Best Actress from out of the blue. Because of this, I became very curious about this film directed by duo Rommel Penesa and Conrado Peru.

So indeed, the two senior protagonists meet under unpleasant circumstances, to the point of calling each other "bru" (short for "bruha" or witch). However, as expected, they began to like each other when they got to know each other better, then eventually fall in love.  Despite being the overdone romance cliches that they were, these scenes were the best parts -- so sweet and heartwarming. I was smiling, laughing and actually tearing up in spite of myself.   

I would have wanted the film to end when Azon and Joey got married dressed in kimonos. The story already felt perfect told as it was at that point. However, there turned out to be another hour worth of story left to tell. The delightful senior-citizen romantic comedy turned into a totally different movie, albeit also a familiar Pinoy film story -- a melodrama about illnesses. Predictable and sappy, this part of the movie was not my cup of tea anymore.

Vilma Santos and Christopher de Leon had done more than 20 films together, the last one being "Mano Po 3" (2004). Santos at 70 and de Leon at 67 looked very good, still able to elicit romantic thrills with their killer onscreen chemistry. Santos was as winsome as ever, so cute, always a contender for Best Actress. De Leon was very dashing, so cool and relaxed. His acoustic guitar version of Apo Hiking's "When I Met You" can still make titas swoon. 6/10. 

Review of THE BOY AND THE HERON: Melancholy, Meditative Miyazaki

January 4, 2024

During World War II, the hospital where Mahito's mother Hisako was confined caught on fire and collapsed, killing everyone inside. Not long after, Mahito's father Shoichi got engaged with Hisako's younger sister Natsuko, and she was expecting a child. They picked Mahito up and brought him to the countryside to live in Natsuko's big house built by his architect grand-uncle who went missing under mysterious circumstances years back.  

There, a graceful grey heron spoke to Mahito, claiming that that his mother was not really dead, but was living inside an odd-looking old tower in the estate. One day, Natsuko suddenly disappeared in the forest. A wizard caused Mahito, an old servant Kiriko and the heron (who became an ugly big-nosed Bird-man who cannot fly after Mahito injured his beak) magically sank through the tower floor into a fantastic world underneath to go look for her.

The venerable Japanese animator - filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki had already announced his retirement back in 2013. However, after that, he still came up with a short film "Boro the Caterpillar" in 2018, and now this one, another feature-length film he both wrote and directed. Released in Japan last year when he was 82 years old, the master has proven then again that he had certainly not lost his magic touch in profound storytelling.

Movie fans surely know at least one of Miyazaki's works, likely "My Neighbor Totoro" (1988) and "Spirited Away" (2001). If not, most of them are on Netflix to enjoy and cherish, from his earlier works "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind" (1984) or "The Castle in the Sky" (1986) to his more recent works "Ponyo" (2008) and "The Wind Rises" (2013). It would be advisable to familiarize yourself with his older works, to be able to fully appreciate this newest one.

Like Miyazaki films before, the young protagonist gets drawn into a wonderland of unusual creatures, who may be cute (like the pre-birth warawara), or insidious, (like the giant parakeets). Miyazaki's stories are never clear-cut, but this one felt more deeper and complex than usual. As the granduncle was talking to Mahito, we could not help but hear that the great director's valedictory speech, exhorting us to build a better world. 8/10

MMFF2023: Review of BECKY & BADETTE: Reunion Repercussions

January 2, 2024

Becky Naman (Eugene Domingo) and Badette Imaculada (Pokwang) had been best of friends since their high school days. While Badette was the theater club, Becky was the choir (not a typo, you'll get it when you watch it). They both had a crush on then campus hottie Pepe Feniz (Romnick Sarmenta), which did not go well. Their tormentor back then had been rich and pretty bully, Nirvana Batungbakal (Agot Isidro). 

Despite being named most likely to succeed, Becky and Badette were not able to do much with their lives after graduation. They lived on the second floor of a house where there was a gay bar downstairs. At present, they were working as janitresses at an office building, and had to sell Becky's "Fingah-Lickin" fried chicken to the office girls as a side hustle. One day, they received invitations to their high school reunion. 

Getting "inspiration" (euphemism for "copying") from Hollywood movies is a very big issue in this year's MMFF. This film took on the most famous film of the three being accused. The whole first half of this film was practically a rehash of "Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion" (1997). All the main characters were there at their high school reunion with the same conflicts, where a major lie was said in public and perpetuated as truth until it could not. 

However, the nature of this lie was where the main difference of this film and its "inspiration" lay. In this day and age, I cannot imagine how a video confession like what Becky and Badette did (without context) could still go viral and have the miraculous effects it had on their lives. This was such a huge leap of suspension of disbelief. If you can't buy this premise, then you may not appreciate the rest of the film, as writer-director Jun Lana expected.

The best aspect of this movie is the chemistry and comic timing of Eugene Domingo and Pokwang. B&B were devoted Vilma Santos fans, so we see clips of her films, like "Relasyon," "Sister Stella L" or most notably "T-Bird at Ako." B&B could weave in entire lines of dialog from Vilma movies into their daily conversations, which was quite a riot. There was even a joke about Vilma's latest film "When I Met You in Tokyo" squeezed in. 

Seeing Isidro and Sarmenta going all-out comedy outside their drama comfort zone was a big treat. Peewee O'Hara and Angie Castrence also spring their own surprise as B&B's mothers. It was also fun to see the numerous cameo guest appearances of stars, like Iza Calzado, Karylle, Moira dela Torre, Christian Bables, Janice de Belen, Empoy Marquez, Joross Gamboa, Gladys Reyes, director Sigrid Bernardo and Ice Seguerra. 6/10.