Review of WICKED: A Witch Wakens

November 25, 2024

After her face-off with Dorothy and posse, the Wicked Witch of the West died. Glinda the Good Witch (Ariana Grande) went to celebrate with the residents of Munchkinland. Before she left, a curious Munchkin asked Glinda if it was true that the Wicked Witch had once been her friend. Glinda told them the sad life story of Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), a girl born with green skin -- a curse that caused her to be shunned by her parents and bullied by her peers. 

"Wicked" was adapted from the 2003 Tony Award-wining stage musical by by Stephen Schwartz (music and lyrics) and Winnie Holzman (book), which in turn had been adapted from the 1995 novel "Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West," written by Gregory Maguire.  With Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenowitz as the original leads, this show had since achieved iconic status, hence the massive anticipation for this film adaptation. 

I had already watched the musical two times before -- the first one in Sydney in 2009, and the second one in Manila in 2014. While I enjoyed the show both times, only the most popular songs really stuck with me. Before I watched this film, I have to admit that I do not recall every detail of the story, particularly about their teachers Dr. Dillamond (voice of Peter Dinklage) and Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh). I do not think I'll forget them anymore after this.

This film is already 160 minutes long, yet it only covered Act I of the musical. "Defying Gravity" was the show-stopper number before the break, as it was impossible to follow without being anticlimactic. More time had been devoted to developing the dynamics between Elphaba and Glinda, very vital. Also expanded were the roles of Elphaba's wheelchair-bound sister Nessarose (Marissa Bode) and lovestruck Munchkin Boq (Ethan Slater). 

Ever since her casting was announced, we totally see Ariana Grande as Galinda, and she certainly did not disappoint. Grande's Galinda stereotypically snobbish, privileged rich girl with lines like "The asparagus is steaming," yet she remains cute and likable even when her sincerity is in question. Fan-art poster issues aside, Cynthia Erivo knocked the role of Elphaba out of the park, in both singing and acting-wise. Oscar nominations are in the cards for them.

Similarly, Oscar nominations are expected for the technical aspects of this film, led by the inspired direction of Jon M. Chu, who grasped the ambitious scale of this production by the horns and succeeding with flying colors.  Nods in production design, costume design, hair and makeup, visual effects and sound are in the bag -- as exemplified in complex numbers like "Dancing Through Life," "Popular" and the grand finale "Defying Gravity." 9/10. 

QCinema 2024: Review of PHANTOSMIA: Smelling the Stench

November 10, 2024

On the remote island of Pulo, there was a penal colony overseen by Major Ramon Lukas (Paul Jake Paule). Not even 500 meters outside its rear gate, Narda (Hazel Orencio) had set up a store and restaurant which she ran together with her simpleton son Setong (Arjay Babon). She had a daughter Reyna (Janine Gutierrez) whom she adopted from a friend impregnated by an American. Soon, the unscrupulous Narda also sold Reyna as well.

Master Sergeant Hilarion Zabala (Ronnie Lazaro) had been a scout ranger and champion marksman all his life. One day, after witnessing a massacred village, he began to smell a very bad odor in his nose, even without anything causing it. This offensive odor soon also negatively affected his appetite. Dr. Valle (Lhorvie Nuevo), the patient counselor at the Army Hospital, diagnosed his condition as an olfactory hallucination, or phantosmia.

This latest film by slow-cinema auteur Lav Diaz is 246 minutes long, rather compact for his standard. His signature style is all there -- shot in black and white to avoid the distractions of color, very prolonged tracking shots of people walking in or out of a scene, scenes of fires burning in pitch darkness. The connection between the two disparate stories of Reyna and Zabala was clear and logical, even as their first scene together was only in the last hour.

Like his previous films, there was also a touch of the mystical in this one. In this case, it was the Haring Musang, the elusive king of the civet cats for which hunters gather yearly to hunt down. One of his devotees was the quirky poet Marlo (Dong Abay). He went to Pulo during hunting season, not to hunt, but to gain inspiration for his epic poem to the Haring Musang. Abay stole his every scene with his out-of-place outfits and passionate poetry recitations. 

Ronnie Lazaro is very much at home in the Lav Diaz milieu, effortlessly portraying this man who never realized he was traumatized by his past until he smelled its stench within himself. Not sure that hanky covering the nose was any help, but it was effective as a visual symbol. Hazel Orencio went strong to play heartless businesswoman Narda. Major Lukas is Paul Jake Paule's longest role in a Lav Diaz film, and he went all out perverse, corrupt and violent. 

Seeing a glamorous mainstream movie star Janine Gutierrez playing an abused character is jarring, and made her Reyna lot more pitiful. Toni Go played Zabala's daughter Aling who help her father despite being abandoned in the past. Her jump rope scene was cute and funny. Lhorvie Nuevo played the doctor (MD and PhD!) who came up with a radical management approach to put the traumatized man back into potentially traumatic situations. 

Lav Diaz tells about the insidious effects of violence when this was done in the line of duty -- in Zabala's case, as a scout ranger against rebels, or as a policeman against activists. Zabala was old-school, a stickler for rules, and he believed what he was doing was the right thing. It was his own mind who made him recognize how damaged a man he was. Unfortunately, he also realized that violence may only rely on more violence to achieve liberation. 8/10

QCinema 2024: Opening Film: Review of DIRECTORS FACTORY PHILIPPINES: Drama in Dapitan

November 9, 2024 

The QCinema International Film Festival is already on its 12th year this year. With "The Gaze" as its theme, it wants audiences to look at the human experience from different points of view, all captured and expressed through the medium of film. Running from November 8 to 17 at cinemas in Gateway, Trinoma, Shangri-la Plaza, and Powerplant Mall, this current edition has 55 full-length films and 22 short films, classified into 11 sections. 

In contrast with previous inceptions, the opening film this year is not a feature-length film. The organizers have decided to showcase a collection of four short films released under the collective title of "Directors Factory Philippines." The Directors Factory is an initiative of the Cannes Directors Fortnight that began in Taiwan in 2013, working with a chosen partner country to mentor 8 promising directors with their dream projects. 

The Philippines was chosen to be the partner country last November 2023. Four young Filipino filmmakers were chosen and partnered with fellow young filmmakers from other Asian countries (Malaysia, India, Cambodia, Singapore) to collaborate on writing and directing their short films, all set in Dapitan City. Their works had their world premiere at the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight last May 2024, and now they just had their Philippine premiere.

"Cold Cut" was by Don Josephus Raphael Eblahan (Philippines) and Siyou Tan (Singapore). Joy (Claire Recososa Guantero) was falling in line to audition for a talent show being held in their neighborhood. However, she kept seeing a mysterious guy she knew as the Butcher (Noriel Tome Obnimaga) seemingly stalking her. This was the most abstract of the four shorts, as the viewer can give it whatever meaning. Personally, not to my liking. 4/10.

"Silig," by Arvin Belarmino (Philippines) and Lomorpich Rithy a.k.a. YoKi (Cambodia), is easily the easiest to connect with emotionally. Mamang (Sylvia Sanchez) was dying of cancer, so she asked her friend Sabina (Angel Aquino) to help her plan her cremation. It had two acclaimed actresses in the leads roles, and they knock the ball out of the park with their charming, bittersweet portrayals of two friends facing the inevitability of death. 8/10. 

"Nightbirds." by Maria Estela Paiso (Philippines) and Ashiok Vish (India), stood out because it had animated images of birds integrated with the live images. Ivy (Pokwang) was frustrated that her husband Rody (Arsenio Dagyawan) was losing money at cockfighting. A bird god known as the Tigmamanukan (Bob Jbeili) came down in human form to give Ivy her wings. The message of female empowerment was somewhere in there, but not too clear. 6/10.

"Walay Balay," by Eve Baswel (Philippines) and Gogularaajan Rajendran (Malaysia), had outstanding cinematography by Pao Orendain and music by Bullet Dumas. Yahaira (Shaina Magdayao) and her mother Norayda (Ruby Ruiz) had been displaced out of their homes by the Marawi conflict. Very arthouse in its look and storytelling style, the whole film felt cold and distant. The faces of Magdayao and Ruiz convey their characters' restrained anguish.  6/10

Review of WE LIVE IN TIME: Challenging Choices

November 6, 2024

Tobias Durand (Andrew Garfield) went to the store to buy a pen to sign divorce papers, but was struck by a car on his way back. The driver of the car was Almut Brühl (Florence Pugh), an acclaimed Michelin-rated chef. The two of them hit it off right away and they soon lived with each other. They had to contend a difficult problem before they had their daughter Ella (Grace Delaney), but this was going to haunt them back again later.

Over the years, there had been plenty of films that tackled a romantic relationship which was affected by a difficult and terminal disease. One of the most popular movies in the 1970s was "Love Story," also one of the highest-grossing films of all time adjusted for inflation. Despite its lead stars, this new one, directed by John Crowley, director of Oscar Best Picture nominee "Brooklyn" (2015), may likely not reach pop culture icon status like the former. 

"We Live in Time" is different because it told its love story in a non-linear manner. It shows episodic highlights of their relationship in a seemingly random order. While this may be an interesting concept on paper, the build-up of the story to its inevitable conclusion felt diminished. The pace is slow, with only one scene with heightened emotion.  If not for the talent and charisma of its lead stars, Crowley risked losing some of his viewers midway.  

Andrew Garfield played the goofy salesman Tobias, who had a generally positive outlook in life. He had a great sense of humor, not even averse to running to a store across the bridge only dressed in bathrobe. Once the two of them were living together, Tobias is more of a reactive character to what was happening to Almut. He let his wife make important decisions about her body and life even if he thought otherwise, and supported her all the way. 

Florence Pugh played the plucky chef Almut, who, like her rare Germanic name implied, had a "noble spirit." She chose the treatment option that will still allow her to have a child, at great risk for her own recovery. She chose to pursue one last stab at glory in her career, unbeknownst to her family, despite her deteriorating health. Pugh's method-acting highlight was that moving scene when Tobias and Ella were cutting Almut's hair for real. 7/10

VMX: Mini-Reviews of KRISTA, DONSELYA, BALIGTARAN

November 1, 2024

DONSELYA

Director: Christopher Novabos

Writer: Byron Bryant

Joaquin (Arnold Reyes) had a flat tire on a remote provincial road near the house of Benicio (Allan Paule) and Rosa (Tanya Gomez). While Benicio helped fix the tire, 50-year old Joaquin noted their beautiful 18-year old daughter Iris (Dyessa Garcia) and fell in love at first sight. Joaquin was so smitten that he was willing to pay up to P10M in order to marry her. His only condition was that Iris had to be a virgin. 

This film was notable for its well-blocked and well-photographed scenes. care of director Novabos and his cinematographer Alex Espartero. The storyline was predictable. The ending was too rushed, over-the-top, and inexplicable in the legal context, which was unfortunate. Dyessa Garcia did well in her first starring role. Arnold Reyes had a strong screen presence. Tanya Gomez stole the show with her hilarious portrayal of mommy Rosa's greed. 6/10

BALIGTARAN

Director: Aya Topacio

Writer: Quinn Carrillo

Kat (Apple Dy) was the star DJ of "The Pink Room," a club owned by Ace (Calvin Reyes). Denise (Skye Gonzaga) was Ace's friend with benefits, who was also getting attracted to Kat's looks and talent. One night, Denise defended Kat from a drunk guy who was getting fresh. When Denise asked Kat why she froze up when the guy harassed her, Kat admitted a traumatic experience that made her afraid of men. 

Director Aya Topacio made her feature film directorial debut in 2024, with "Mahal Ko and Mahal Mo,' followed by "Throuple," now this one. A clear central theme in all three of her movies was a lesbian love affair between the two lead female stars.  There is always a male character in between them, but he was just the cog that made the girls realize what they really wanted. Dy and Gonzaga portrayed their parts well, as Reyes was weak, expectedly. 3/10

KRISTA

Director: Sid T. Pascua

Writer: Quinn Carrillo

Makoy (Karl Aquino) worked as one of the men of cockpit owner Samuel (Elmo Elarmo). His wife Krista (Cess Garcia) earned extra cash selling snacks during cockfights. One day, Makoy lost a lot of money by making a huge losing bet, so he stole one of Samuel's prize fighting cocks. Fellow employee Diego (JD Aguas) witnessed this theft, and, wanting to gain favor from his boss for past misdeeds, ratted on Makoy. 

Cess Garcia did not play this title character well, likely a direction issue. Her face was constantly in a scowl, not a good look for her. She had a crying scene where she went full-on hysterical, too over-the-top. Aquino is another plus-sized leading man (after Josef Elizalde), but acting-wise he was not ready yet for this lead role. In contrast, Zsara Laxamana only had a minor role of a prostitute Mikay, but her natural acting was a stand-out. 2/10