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

Prime Video: Review of NOKTURNO: Death at the Door

October 31, 2024

One night, Joana (Bea Binene) made her way to a nearby motel where she was going to meet up with her boyfriend Manu (Wilbert Ross). They were planning to go to Manila to get away from her mother Lilet's (Eula Valdez) oppressive superstitious beliefs about mysterious beings who came knocking at doors and cause death when allowed to enter. When Manu left her alone to buy some food, Joana began to hear someone knocking on her room's door. 

This is the second horror film that acclaimed director Mikhail Red did with popular actress Nadine Lustre after "Deleter" (2022), the top box office hit and Best Picture of the Metro Manila Film Festival that year. Oddly, their second project together was released direct to streaming on Amazon Prime Video, on October 31, just in time for Halloween, when many Filipinos look for scary movies to watch. By 9 pm, it already hit #1 on the local charts.

Lustre played Lilet's eldest daughter Jamie, who defied her mother's efforts to keep her family together and instead went abroad to work. When she came home after something untoward happened to her sister Joana, she was still at odds with her mother's beliefs about this curse on their family. Youngest sibling Julius (JJ Quilantang) was loyal to his mother and believed everything she said, yet he also agreed to go visit Manila when Jamie invited him.

Lustre's acting talent has not lost its luster even though she had been inactive on the big screen since "Deleter." Eula Valdez remains to be a powerful screen presence even when her time onscreen was relatively short. Veteran character actor Ku Aquino gave a sincere portrayal of Lilet's brother Jun. Young Quilantang held his own among his senior co-stars. Even Wilbert Ross overcame his usual comic persona to give a creditable dramatic turn. 

The technical aspects of this film were topnotch as with other Mikhail Red works. The clean and crisp cinematography of Ian Alexander Guevara, the eerie production design of Ana Lou Sanchez, the musical scoring of Myka Magsaysay and Paul Sigua -- all deserve commendation for creating the unnerving atmosphere. The design of the "Kumakatok" with his tall height, flowing black cloak and gnarly hands, also worked well in this regard.

However, despite all of this high production values, I felt a problem in the storytelling -- from the screenplay by Nikolai Red and Rae Red to the overall direction of Mikhail Red. In spite of the fact that the movie ran only for 1 hour and 20 minutes, it felt much longer than that. The reason why Lilet's family was targeted by the Kumakatok was not even clear to me. The pace was too slow, building up to nothing much, until that abrupt let-down of an ending. 6/10. 

 

Review of NANAY, TATAY: A Daughter's Death

October 31, 2024

One year ago, Malena Imperial (Elia Ilano), a sweet girl who loved the color pink and played the piano very well, suddenly collapsed and died during her 13th birthday party.  Her parents, Lino (Jeffrey Hidalgo) and Amanda (Andrea del Rosario), had been mourning the death of their only daughter ever since. Retired physician Amanda was especially affected, as memories of her dear departed Malena still haunted her everyday. 

One night, the couple encountered three young ladies on the street, running away from  someone. The girls --  Bettina (Aubrey Caraan), Paula (Heart Ryan) and Olive (Xia Vigor) -- claimed that just escaped from a criminal syndicate. Taking pity on them, Amanda offered the three to go home with them, which the three accepted right away. The next morning, Amanda asked them if they would like to stay and become their daughters.  

This new Filipino horror film was written and directed by Roni S. Benaid. All of Benaid's previous feature films were in the horror genre -- "Poon" (2018), "Mary Cherry Chua" (2023) and "Marita" (2023). Like in his last two films which I watched, Benaid relied mainly on loud blasts of creepy music and sudden startling sound effects to cause jump scares. But he did have some good scares, like Paula's shower scene where the audience reacted most.

Benaid's screenplay actually had a number of good twists, not just one, and this kept the story interesting and unpredictable. A questionable plot point, like why did the three girls automatically agree to go home with the Imperials that first night, was actually explained by one of the twists.  A plot twist which they spoiled with dialog, like why did Lino cremate Malena first before bringing her home to Amanda, was actually a red herring for a bigger twist.

Acting-wise, Caraan tended to be too chill, Ryan tended to overact, Vigor tended to be too cutesy. Del Rosario and Hidalgo did well giving their roles enough air of uncertain mystery so as not to give the whole plot away. Elia Ilano was such a brave child actress to portray a role like Malena which required her to go into Linda Blair territory and beyond. I hope she was properly debriefed by a child psychiatrist after shooting those gnarly scenes.  6/10

Review of PASAHERO: Injustice to the Ignored

October 30, 2024

One night, there were eight people riding on the last trip of the MMR train. They were: popular IG artist Angel (Bea Binene), whitening soap sales agent Tina (Katya Santos) and her daughter Belle (Dani Zee), boxing coach Tom (Mark Anthony Fernandez), film students Alvin (Keann Johnson), his girlfriend Drea (Yumi Garcia) and his best friend Martin (Andre Yllana), and department store salesgirl Michelle (Louise delos Reyes).

A creepy guy came on the train at one stop and sat beside Michelle. When she got nervous and moved to the next train car, the guy stood up and followed her. Seeing that that car was completely empty, the guy accosted Michelle and sexually assaulted her. The poor girl was screaming for help the whole time, but everyone in the next car were paralyzed with fear. No one dared to step up and rescue Michelle from her dire plight.

This was one of the eight horror films (only two Filipino films) included in the Halloween-themed "Sine Sindak" film festival in various SM mall cinemas. Each film in the festival only costs P150 per ticket, but a viewer can watch more than one film with a day pass that costs only P300 each. The only disadvantage is that each film only gets shown once a day, so the film you want to see may not be showing when you have the free time.  

Writer Juvy Galamiton chose to go the common "vengeful ghost" route here, as the wrathful spirit of Michelle haunted the seven people to failed to come to her aid that night. Like the usual trope, the cowardly seven were picked off to die one by one. It was not clear why Michelle was punishing some people more severely than others. It was not clear why the most shocking and gory death scene was given to the least guilty of them all. 

To add more horror scenes, Angel was given a terrifying experience in her past which can ruin anybody's childhood. Presently, she was also battling her fears if she should help a neighbor girl Abi (Tep Tep Pineda) being abused by her parents. Tom was too permissive on his spoiled son Nico (CJ Barinaga) and his addict boxer Raymond (RS Magtaan), both of which led to violent outcomes, but he was not given much of a backstory to flesh out his personality.

Bea Binene did her best to liven up her scenes as the lead character Angel. Katya Santos played comic relief at first, but what Tina was doing was not really funny. Yumi Garcia and Keann Johnson were effectively over-the-top as Drea and Alvin, which begged the question why the one left behind to help Angel had to be Andre Yllana's Martin. Yllana's unfortunate portrayal of Miguel was boring and lifeless, with his face remaining numbingly flat.

Cult director Roman Perez, Jr. had shots on the train where the background looked as if there were evil eyes, creating an atmosphere of eerie excitement.  Perez was very imaginative in how he composed his shots during the climactic third act, but those familiar with the Caloocan City Hall complex will recognize where those scenes were shot. To evoke real-life horror of its premise, Perez mixed in CCTV footage of ongoing crimes where no one helped. 6/10. 

Netflix: Review of WOMAN OF THE HOUR: Kendrick's Keenness

October 25, 2024

Cheryl Bradshaw (Anna Kendrick) was an aspiring actress who was having a hard time to get a break in Hollywood. One day in 1978, she accepted a gig to be a contestant on the TV game show "The Dating Game" hosted by Ed Burke (Tony Hale). Cheryl thought the scripted questions were beneath her intelligence, so she decided to go off script. Bachelor 3 gave the best answers, so Cheryl chose him to win. His name was Rodney Alcala (Daniel Zovatto).

One remarkable fact about "Woman of the Hour" was that this was Anna Kendrick's debut as a feature film director. Over the years since we first saw her in "Twilight" (2008) as one of Bella's friends, Kendrick stood out among the young actresses of her generation. She earned an Oscar nomination for her acting in "Up in the Air" (2009). She impressed us with her singing in "Pitch Perfect" (2012) and even had a #6 hit on the Hot 100 with "Cups" in 2013.

This was a solid directorial debut for Kendrick. She chose to tell the story of notorious 1970s serial killer Rodney Alcala in a non-linear order. From the first scene, we already see Rodney charm a girl by taking photos of her, before killing her in cold blood.  Since we already knew his face and slick deceptive modus, Kendrick made it very unnerving for us to watch him make his move of various vulnerable girls, knowing how these encounters would end.

Anna Kendrick's acting turn as Cheryl was very much in the familiar vein of smart and sassy characters we know and like her for.  Cheryl could have been an older version of Jessica from "Twilight" or Beca from "Pitch Perfect" as she rattled her bachelors and the emcee with her rapid-fire questions and off-the-cuff rebuttals. Thanks to Kendrick's directorial eye, that scene of Cheryl and Rodney walking in the parking lot was a intense highlight of suspense.

Daniel Zovatto pulled off playing both a cool guy with a gift of gab and name-dropping, and a creepy guy who made your hair stand on end.  Tony Hale's Ed Burke seemed to be based on the way TV host Jim Lange looked, dressed, and probably behaved. Nicolette Robinson's Laura could've been a key witness if only police took her seriously. Denalda Williams's makeup artist Marilyn secretly supported Cheryl for going against the misogynistic grain. 7/10

 

Review of FRIENDLY FIRE: Trash-Talk Tilt Tactics

October 24, 2024

E-sport Project Xandata, is about to have its Grand Prix in Hong Kong soon. However, the Philippine's leading team, Team Isla, had just lost its star player Adrian Go aka Reaper (Jan Silverio). Isla's Team manager Sonya Wilson (Coleen Garcia-Crawford) was impressed with the game play of Hazel Sales aka Kaya (Loisa Andalio) and recruited her. At first, she had a hard time gelling with teammates Von (Yves Flores) and Ryan (Harvey Bautista).

Ever since she graduated from high school, Hazel had been working at the internet cafe called Clicktopia, where she also honed her skills playing Xandata. She was first introduced to the game by her elder brother Aero (Jon Lucas), who was currently in prison. Her mother Emma (Liza Dino) depended on Kaya for cash, which she spent on her drinking vice. One night, she scored a one-shot, double-kill in a game against Team Isla, which Sonya happened to see.

Earlier this year in January, there had already been a local film about e-sports, Prime Cruz's "GG (Good Game)," and now we have another one. Like the first film, despite the fact that the players were all just sitting on their PCs and clacking on their keyboard and clicking on their mouse, this Mikhail Red film was exciting and fun, with excellent editing and music of its game play, and energetic commenting by the players and announcers. 

This may not have a big star like Donny Pangilinan in the lead role like "GG," however, this one was not any less engaging to watch. One of the housemates of Pinoy Big Brother in 2014, Loisa Andalio finally plays the lead in a feature film again since "Hospicio" (2018). Andalio gave this one her all acting-wise, playing frank and sassy Hazel with a lot of heart. We do root for her and her team, even if you already have an idea who will win from the start. 

Coleen Garcia's Sonya stood out, but not exactly in a good way. With her glamourous look, aloof personality and English-speaking ways, she did not look like she belonged in the e-sports arena at all. A flashback montage about her past could have helped us understand Sonya more as a character. While her advocacy to get government support for e-sports as a legitimate sport is admirable, her cliched motherhood statements don't motivate much. 

The film espouses three rules for team-play in e-sports: trust your teammates, never get tilted, and play to win. The second one contains a word that may be new to Gen X'ers or those not into gaming. Tilting means getting too angry or emotionally-frustrated during a game, such that you lose focus on the goal. Getting the opponent tilted is the aim of trash-talking. These are valuable life lessons that apply to all situations where we need to work with a group. 7/10. 

Review of VENOM: THE LAST DANCE:

October 22, 2024

On planet Klyntar, powerful Knull sent out his symbiote army all over the universe to search for a key needed to set him free -- the Codex. Meanwhile, fugitive duo Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) and his symbiote partner Venom wind up in Area 51 a few days before it is decommissioned by the US government. Army General Rex Strickland (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and scientist Dr. Payne (Juno Temple) now have them where they want them. 

Ever since struggling journalist Eddie became the host of symbiote Venom, the two of them developed a love-hate relationship that eventually evolved into a close but chaotic friendship.  When the boisterous Venom took over Eddie's body, he not only gets superhuman strength, but also a wacky personality with all his hilarious zingers and insults. Their hilarious repartee was what made the Venom films a lot of fun, even if they were messy to watch. 

Tom Hardy's Eddie Brock looks much older and quite grizzled already this time around.  Hardy spent a lot of energy portraying this exhausting double role of host and symbiote physically and voice-wise, but it looks like he had a great time doing it and his infectious enthusiasm affects us all who are watching him. He made Brock and Venom a very likable team, and is the main reason why this trilogy remained so popular despite middling reviews from film critics. 

Kelly Marcel debuted as a screenwriter with "Saving Mr. Banks" (2013), and followed that up with the adaptation of "Fifty Shades of Grey" (2015). She had risen from the ranks in the Venom film franchise, from co-writer of "Venom" (Ruben Fleischer, 2018), to solo writer of "Venom: Let There Be Carnage" (Andy Serkis, 2021). In this third film of the trilogy, Marcel not only wrote the screenplay, but she also directs it -- her directorial debut. 

There were the funny action scenes we love them for, from fighting Mexican dognappers to surviving an attack on an airplane in flight. There was the requisite silly scene with Mrs. Chen (Peggy Lu), but not in her store this time. However, the big climactic fight scene in Area 51 had full-on destructive force, but Marcel still managed to imbue the scene with much heart. Extra scenes mid-credits and end-credits promise bigger adventures ahead of our manic alien friend. 7/10

Review of SMILE 2: Grimmer Grinning

October 21, 2024

Pop singer Skye Riley (Naomi Scott) was making a comeback in the concert scene months after a traumatic vehicular accident that also killed her boyfriend. Unbeknownst to her mother/manager Elizabeth (Rosemarie DeWitt), Skye was secretly still taking Vicodin for her back pains. She went to her drug addict friend Lewis (Lukas Gage) to buy her stash. However, Lewis was acting all crazy, until he killed himself with a barbell weight in front of Skye. 

This new film is a direct sequel of the 2022 sleeper horror hit about a deadly curse (marked by a crazy smile on his face) passed from one victim to the next one who witnesses his death. At the end of the first "Smile," policeman Joel witnessed the suicide of her cursed girlfriend Rose, so he got the curse. At the start of this "Smile 2," Joel was able to pass the curse before he died, which was how Lewis had the curse that he then passed on to Skye. 

This sequel was again written and directed by Parker Finn, which was why everything stayed true to the original. Finn also brought back basically the same creative team who worked on the first film with him. so the eerie atmosphere was recreated to a T. Cinematography was also by Charlie Sarroff and the suspenseful editing by Elliot Greenberg. Musician Cristobal Tapia de Veer also had to come up with Skye's concert songs with pretty good beats. 

Naomi Scott had quite a challenge playing a pop superstar struggling to recover from a dark episode of her life. Now that the curse was passed unto Skye, Scott had to undergo the whole ordeal of this mercurial entertainer slowly beginning to lose her grasp of what was real and what was illusion. Scott's portrayals of hysteria and paranoia were so convincingly real, which added much to the dramatic and fear quotients of this film. 

The gore level of this sequel was more intense than the first film, although I am not really a fan of extreme gore. Among the best scenes for me include the one when the teleprompter malfunctioned when Skye was speaking onstage at a charity event, and the one when Skye was terrorized by her backup dancers all with sinister smiles on their faces. The "Little Shop of Horrors"-like ending has given this franchise a potentially more epic future ahead. 7/10. 

Review of THE APPRENTICE: Trump's Transactional Talents

October 19, 2024

In 1973, a young Donald Trump (Sebastian Stan) met big-time attorney Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong) in a swanky restaurant in New York City. Donald was an ambitious son of real-estate developer Fred Trump (Martin Donovan), who was currently involved in a tough court case against the federal government. Cohn was known for getting his clients off the hook by whatever means, ethics be damned, and Donald wanted to hire him for his dad. 

Cohn took a liking on Donald and took him under his wing. He taught the ambitious young man about his recipe for success, from fashion advice to media relations. He shared his three rules for winning in life:  fight back and attack, deny all accusations, and to never ever admit defeat.  Despite discovering Cohn's dark secrets, Donald used Cohn's underhanded legal talents to build his dream Trump Tower against impossible odds. 

Like him or not, Donald Trump is admittedly one of the most famous, most powerful men in the world -- as billionaire real-estate mogul, as reality television show personality, and eventually, the 45th President of the United States of America from 2017 to 2021.  He is still very much in the news now as he is running again as the Republican candidate in the upcoming US Presidential elections set for November 5, 2024. 

This film tells us how he honed his natural killer instinct in business to ruthless perfection. Director Ali Abbasi and screenwriter Gabriel Sherman did not exactly paint a flattering portrait of the man. Aside from Cohn, we learn about his relationship with his parents Fred and Mary Anne (Catherine MacNally) and especially his elder brother airline pilot Freddie (Charlie Carrick). We also see how he met, wooed and abused his first wife Ivana (Maria Balakova).

Sebastian Stan is best known as Marvel super-soldier Bucky Barnes a.k.a. Winter Soldier. Trim, fit and athletic, Stan was the last actor anyone would think of who could play Donald Trump, but here he is. Stan went the full method way to transform his body and soul into Trump, with the signature poufy hairstyle, the distinct speech patterns, and his aggressive public personality. Chances of an Oscar nomination for Best Actor is not far behind. 8/10.

Vivamax: Mini-Reviews of TATSULOK, UNDERGRADS, HALINGHING

October 18, 2024

TATSULOK

Director; JJ Nadera

Writer: Miles Mendoza

Roland (Jhon Mark Marcia) and Iza (Marian Saint) had been married for seven years, but they had not yet been blessed with a child. Iza allowed her photographer best friend Raquel (Skye Gonzaga) to stay in their house while she had several jobs to do in the city. Raquel and Iza began to have carnal relations. One day, in an impulsive moment of weakness, Roland and Raquel also succumbed to temptation of the flesh. 

The plot of this film was so predictable, you just want to fast-forward through to the end. The moment Raquel came to stay in their house, viewers already knew she would have sex with Iza and Roland. When we learn that the couple was having difficulty conceiving a child, it already suggested that someone else will get pregnant and this baby will have an impact on the final outcome. That decision at the end saved the story from total boredom. 2/10

UNDERGRADS

Director: Sigrid Polon

Writer: Sigrid Polon

Nerdy Aly (Rica Gonzales) and party girl Sophia (Athena Red) were best of friends. Aly harbored carnal desires on Sophia, but was too shy to confess. To learn the ways of lovemaking, Aly got lessons in sex from a boy she met in a party, Mario (Van Allen Ong), but she always imagined Sophia in his place. Meanwhile, Sophia carried on an illicit affair with a predatorial professor Sir Gino Torres (Emil Sandoval). 

Rica Gonzales and Athena Red had no chemistry going on between them as friends nor as lovers, so their scenes together felt forced and were very boring. For a second time since "Tahong" just recently, Emil Sandoval played another predator in position who gets a teenager in trouble, and he was quite realistic playing this type of pervert. Like his previous films, Van Allen Ong had a good screen presence, too bad his role here went nowhere.   2/10

HALINGHING

Director: Jaq

Writer: J Laspuna

Photographer Randie (Aiko Garcia) has been assigned by her boss Tasha (Marinella Sheen), to a handle a confidential book project about actress Faith Sanders (Jenn Rosa), which was due in one month. Faith had been involved in the death of her band guitarist Mark Antonio (Josef Elizalde). Randie was tasked to get close to Faith so that she would open up to her. It just so happened that Randie was lesbian and Faith was bisexual. 

This could have been a interesting story, since there was a murder mystery in the mix. However, director Jaq spent more time on developing the relationship between Randie and Faith, that the story of Mark's death seemed to have been lost in the shuffle. Instead, we see the same rape scene of Faith's GF (Millana Ross) repeated three times. A saving grace was Randie's potty-mouthed housemate Candy (Patani) who was quite funny. 3/10.  

Netflix: Review of OUTSIDE: Freaked Father

October 17, 2024

It was in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. Francis (Sid Lucero) was driving his nurse wife Iris (Beauty Gonzalez) and their two boys Josh (Marco Masa) and Lucas (Aiden Tyler Patdu) towards his ancestral house beside a sugar cane farm. There, Francis found that his parents had already fallen victim to the zombie horde. Francis wanted to stay in the house, while Iris wanted to go further north to safety. 

This Netflix original Filipino film was written and directed by Carlo Ledesma, whose past filmography included horror thrillers like "Tunnel" (2011) and "Sunod" (2019). This was marketed as a zombie film, and to be sure there were some pretty nifty zombie effects. For me, the best one was when Francis saw his zombified mother (Bing PImentel) break apart at her waist. You soon realize, however, that the zombies are not the main source of horror. 

This was really more of an intense psychological drama that involved one nuclear family. The father Francis was disturbed by traumatic memories of his childhood under a sadistic father (Joel Torre). He had always lived under the shadow of his elder brother Diego (James Blanco), the golden boy of the family. He and Iris had also been experiencing a very rough patch in their marriage, with issues of fidelity casting an oppressive pall on their family. 

As he had shown in several sinister characters he had portrayed in the past, Sid Lucero can really play a demented psycho very well. Lucero is really the heir apparent to excellent character actors like Vic Silayan and John Arcilla, who can portray all sorts of crazy from the most subtle to violently explosive. That "Christmas dinner" scene, with Lucero wearing a Christmas sweater serenely lording it over his cowering family, showcased this all too well.

Beauty Gonzalez is becoming the go-to actress for horror flicks, with "Hellcome Home" (2019), "In My Mother's Skin" (2023) and "Kampon" (2023) just before this one. As Iris, Gonzalez was really pushed to dramatic and horrific extremes way past what we have seen from her before. That scene when Iris saw Lucas with a bleeding arm showcased Beauty Gonzalez at her hysterical best, yet you know she was still fully aware and in full control of her wits. 

Director Carlo Ledesma and his cinematographer Cheung Shing-Fung created a lot of beautiful images, with excellent blocking, framing and camera angle choices and gorgeous overhead drone shots. The jump scares were well-executed, the best one being that shock scene of the wounded soldier (Enchong Dee) at the breakfast table. However, those very prolonged scenes of toxic family dynamics dragged the momentum down as a whole. 7/10

Review of GUILTY PLEASURE: Legal Loopholes

October 17, 2024

Atty. Adam Lucero (JM de Guzman) and Atty. Alexis Miranda (Lovi Poe) were colleagues in the Atticus Law Firm headed by Atty. Rodrigo Guevarra (Johnny Revilla). They worked closely at work as teammates and were also intimate outside work as lovers. One day, when they were celebrating the victory of a major case won and promotions were announced, a surprising news was announced that shocked Alexis and broke up their relationship.

Six years later, Alexis was already the owner of her own law firm and had a perfect record of winning all her cases. One day, her services were hired by a rude and impertinent client Zachary Chua (Dustin Uy) who had been accused of rape by his "unofficial" girlfriend Madison Valencia. The plaintiff was being represented by a young lawyer from Atticus, Atty. Matthew Caliente (Jameson Blake), who once trained as an intern under Alexis.

This new film is directed by Connie Macatuno, whose recent films had all been steamy, sexy dramas like "Wild and Free" (2018), "Glorious" (2018), and "Malaya" (2020) which also starred Lovi Poe. Sex is also very much in the menu of "Guilty Pleasure," not much in the context of romance, but more in the realm of abuse, harassment, perversion, as well as sexual politics at work. There were two disturbing, potentially triggering scenes of rape shown.

A significant percentage of this film's 2-hour run time was spent inside a courtroom presided over by a female judge.  Understood that Alexis was trying to discredit the testimony of the victim, but it was not realistic knowing how her past history that practically mirrored Madison's. The verdict scene was too abrupt and unsatisfying. These scenes again could be very triggering to victims who have had this harrowing experience of reliving their rape in court.

The unprofessional decorum of the prosecution and defense lawyers outside the courtroom after the hearing was very upsetting to watch. How could a defense lawyer allow a litigant to talk to her after the trial, once even resulting in a hair-pulling incident? How could it happen that lawyers from opposing sides have blatant public displays of affection there in the corridors of the courthouse, in full view of everyone who even found this PDA cute and "kilig"?

As usual, Lovi Poe looked beautiful, statuesque and smart, such great screen presence. Her wardrobe she was made to wear was proudly Filipiniana, but those butterfly sleeves and huge puffed sleeves tended to be distracting and over-the-top, very unrealistic for the courtroom setting or the law office. Her side plot concerning her father Renante (Soliman Cruz) was not really necessary, except to show off more facets of her dramatic skills. 6/10. 

  

Review of THE WILD ROBOT: Mechanical Mother

October 10, 2024

Roz was the sole survivor after their cargo ship capsized on an uninhabited island. She was a robot programmed to obey and finish the task asked by its owner. She tried talking to the animals living on the island but to no avail. One day, she angered a grizzly bear who began to chase her. She stumbled down the mountain and landed on a nest of geese, breaking all but one egg. When the egg hatched, the gosling thought that Roz was its mother. 

This is not the first time that a film, live action or animated, tackled the topic about a mechanical robot with artificial intelligence who gained the ability to feel emotions.  Among the titles of animated films that come to mind include: "The Iron Giant" (1999), "Wall-E" (2008) and just last year, "Robot Dreams" (2023). All of these films had gained critical acclaim and a loyal fandom for their innovative and emotionally-sensitive treatment of the subject matter. 

The animation style was described to be a cross between classic Disney (particularly "Bambi") and Miyazaki (particularly "My Neighbor Totoro"), and this was quite evident. The color palette was deep and rich. The animal designs were very cute, from the sea otters who turned Roz on first, Fink the fox, mommy Pinktail and her baby opossums, peaking in that Noah's Ark situation with all the wildlife gathered together under one roof during a destructive storm. 

The roster of voice talents was stellar, led by Lupita N'yongo as the cool and calming maternal voice of Roz, Kit Connor as the "rebellious teen" voice Brightbill and Pedro Pascal as the cunning fox Fink, Roz's tormentor at first meeting who later turned out to be her closest friend. Other famous names like Catherine O'Hara, Bill Nighy, Mark Hamill, Vhing Rhames and Stephanie Hsu voice the more minor characters. 

This latest, and reportedly final, entirely-inhouse film of Dreamworks Animation was written and directed by Chris Sanders based on the 2016-2017 book series of the same title written by Peter Brown. The story may not exactly be completely new, but it had a heartwarming storytelling approach to how Roz developed what seemed to be "maternal instincts" towards Brightbill, and how he eventually recognized and acknowledged this as "love." 9/10. 

Review of MUJIGAE: Kopino Kismet

October 10, 2024

Rainalyn (Anna Luna) raised her daughter Mujigae (Ryrie Sophia) alone when she was abandoned by her Korean husband Ji-sung (Kim Ji-soo). When Rainalyn passed away, 5 year-old Mujigae was brought back to the Philippines by her grandfather Emong (Richard Quan) to live with him. His other daughter Sunny (Alexa Ilacad) had bitter memories about how her mother and sister left her behind years ago, found it difficult to accept her. 

This film was directed by Randolph Longjas, whom I've known previously from "Ang Turkey Man ay Pabo Rin" (2013) and "Star Na Si Van Damme Stallone" (2017). "Mujigae" actually had elements from these two films -- inter-cultural marriage from the first film, and ideals of motherhood from the second. Longjas had proven before that he had a knack for telling family stories effectively mixing comedy and sentimentality, and he does it again here.

Longjas and screenwriter Mark Raywin Tome wisely addressed and resolved Sunny's abandonment issues early on, giving more time for the relationship between auntie and niece to develop more fruitfully. He was able to raise the common problem of husbands and wives separating from each other in order to earn more money for a brighter future overseas, and present the long-standing effects of this break-up on the children they left behind.   

Alexa Ilacad's Sunny may have a damaged relationship with her father, but she had plenty of support from her elders Lola Lina (Peewee O'Hara), Lola Chayong (Lui Manansala) and Lolo Ipe (Rolando Inocencio) and friends at work, Marla (Kate Alejandrino) and Sushmita (Donna Cariaga). Ilacad worked very well in the ensemble, creating an authentic communal atmosphere which made Sunny's emotions connect with the audience more effectively. 

Ryrie Sophia gave a very delightful lead performance as Mujigae, you'd never think this was her first feature film, and a title role at that. She was very fluent in delivering her lines in both Korean and Filipino, confidently trading lines with her veteran co-stars. Longjas was able to keep her from overdoing the cute routine, so that she never came across as annoying. She deserves more movie projects so that her promising acting talent can be further honed.

Kim Ji-soo (or simply Ji Soo) was a popular K-drama actor, best known in series like "Strong Woman Bong Soon" (2017). In 2021, he got involved in a bullying scandal which led to a derailment of his career. Lately, he has been picking up the pieces by guesting on Filipino TV series like "Black Rider," and now this film. He has not lost his touch in acting. His portrayal of the repentant absentee father Park Ji-sung was very sincere and touching. 

Overall, I liked the flow of the story, its cross-cultural focus and its well-timed emotional swell at the climax. I liked its generally positive and heartwarming tone, and how the characters were likable despite their flaws. A disappointing aspect of this film was its very dim lighting, particularly in the scenes shot inside Sunny's room and Emong's workshop. These scenes were so dark, we barely even saw the actors' faces, which was quite a shame.  7/10

Vivamax: Mini-Reviews of KISKISAN, SALSA NI L, TAHONG

October 9, 2024

KISKISAN

Director: Bobby Bonifacio, Jr.

Writer: Byron Bryant

After her father died, Adelle (Rob Guinto) lived on their rice farm and mill with her Auntie Luring (Tabs Sumulong). One morning over breakfast, she announced that she was planning to get married to her boyfriend Rener (Juan Paolo Calma), the guy who operated the mill (the titular "kiskisan"). Her sister Bea (Apple Dy) came home from the city for a vacation and brought her friend Cheska (Skye Gonzaga) along. Things get busy from there. 

Bobby Bonifacio had directed a number of good Vivamax films, like "Bula" (2022) and "Haliparot" (2023). Byron Bryant had written a number of good Vivamax films, like "Reroute" (2022) and "Langitngit" (2023). However, this particular Bonifacio-Bryant collaboration was utterly beyond disappointing. This was practically a hollow shell, with no meaningful story to tell, just a series of boring sex scenes strung together.  1/10

SALSA NI L

Director: Rodante Y. Pajemna, Jr. 

Writer: ER Astrologo

Lovely Cruz a.k.a. L (Christine Bermas) operated a dance school on the promenade beside the Jones Bridge along the Pasig River with her friend Zinia (Jonica Lazo). To earn more money, she also joined dance competitions with her favorite dance partner Lucas (Sean de Guzman), a friend she kept on the friendzone. One day, L began receiving expensive gifts of jewelry from a wealthy secret admirer, who turned out to be Allan (Jeffrey Hidalgo).

Christine Bermas and Sean de Guzman are both among the more talented actors in the Vivamax pool. Unfortunately, this shallow story they collaborated on was so pitifully beneath their dramatic abilities. Their sex scenes felt cheap and exploitative, especially for Bermas. Their ballroom dancing was dull and unimpressive, certainly not the type people will pay for to watch or get lessons from.  Jeffrey Hidalgo went all-out here as middle-aged stud. 2/10

TAHONG

Director: Christopher Novabos

Headwriter: Maya Diaz

Writers: Philip Doria, Melnar Arquillo

18 year-old Mira (Candy Veloso) and her father Moises (James Lomahan) earned a living farming mussels in their small seaside village. She had a boyfriend Goyo (John Mark Marcia) who helped her do her work, among other things. Their settlement was to be demolished for land reclamation. Then, her father had a stroke. Desperate, Mira went to the center to ask help from lusty barangay captain Douglas (Emil Sandoval) and his kagawad Talia (Salome Salvi).

The story aimed to have social and environmental significance by tackling the issue of unjust demolition of homes to give way to reclamation of land from the sea. However, these political issues just fell on the wayside when the narrative took a sharp turn and became of story of exploitation and rape. Veloso did try her best to portray the poor Mira, but she was still too new and raw an actress to take on the role with more conviction. 3/10. 

Review of JOKER: FOLIE À DEUX: Pernicious Partners

October 6, 2024

While awaiting trial for the murders he had been accused of committing two years ago, Arthur Fleck was incarcerated in Arkham State Hospital, where he was bullied by guards like Jackie Sullivan (Brendan Gleeson). While his attorney Maryanne Stewart (Catherine Keener) hoped to get him acquitted by reason of split personality, the district attorney Harvey Dent (Harry Lawtey) argued that he was completely sane when he killed his victims. 

One day, Fleck met Lee Quinzel (Lady Gaga). She introduced herself as a girl who grew up in Arthur's community who got locked up at Arkham after she burned down a building of her abusive father.  She confessed her fascination with Arthur, while Arthur's fantasies all featured Lee duetting with him in various music video scenarios, with songs ranging from "If My Friends Could See Me Now" to "(They Long to Be) Close to You."  

Tood Philips' first "Joker" (2019) was both critically-acclaimed (won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival) and a massive box office success (the first R-rated film to earn $1B). It was the first DC film ever to be nominated for the Oscar for Best Picture. Its star Joaquin Phoenix bagged the Oscar for Best Actor.  Because of this massive success, the hype and excitement for its sequel was very high, which is not always a good thing.

Joaquin Phoenix still had his bizarre Arthur Fleck / Joker dual personae all there. He was totally immersed into this character, transformed in both physical and psychological aspects. Even his singing voice had that weird timbre. Lady Gaga was an effortless fit for the role of Lee Quinzel, a character she seemed born to portray. Gaga's versatile singing voice saved the song numbers, but the concepts of these vignettes were too deranged.  

It was not difficult to see why this film was not as liked by critics and audiences than the first one. The musical genre was not a good fit with the psychological drama being told, as the "clown-themed" song choices felt random and forced.  The dour and depressing story of this pernicious partnership just plodded on and on, until the ending ended all doubts whether Arthur Fleck was actually the nemesis of Batman we thought he was or not.  6/10. 

Review of MEGALOPOLIS: Coppola's Cornucopia

September 26, 2024

Architect Cesar Catilina (Adam Driver) was undertaking an ambitious project of recreating the city of New Rome with Megalon, a revolutionary versatile material which he himself invented, and turning it into a sprawling Megalopolis. The incumbent Mayor Franklyn Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito) totally hated Cesar for destroying the old city, but his daughter Julia (Nathalie Emmanuel) had fallen in love with her father's nemesis. 

More than the story or the stars, there is a significant buzz surrounding "Megalopolis" because of the filmmaker who wrote and directed it -- Francis Ford Coppola. While "The Godfather" (1972) and its sequel (1974) had already elevated Coppola's name on the Hollywood firmament, his filmography also included "The Conversation" (1974), and "Apocalypse Now" (1979). He was active up to the 1990s, but since then, he had nothing of note anymore.

After a hiatus of 13 years, Coppola finally decided to release this passion project of his this year, which started as an idea that had been percolating in his head since 1977. The story had a grand scale of a Roman epic. The characters had names derived from Roman history, like Catiline, a soldier who staged a coup against Cicero in 63 AD, and Hamilton Crassus, Cesar's wealthy uncle, named after Crassus, once "the wealthiest man in Rome."

For the positives, Coppola went all out in the technical aspects -- the lush and brilliant cinematography by Mihai Mălaimare Jr., the opulent and ostentatious production design by Beth Mickle and Bradley Rubin, the costumes by Milena Canonero that had both retro and futuristic vibes, and special visual effects to complete the illusion Coppola was going for. The rich and vibrant aural backdrop was provided by musical scorer Osvaldo Golijov.

For the negatives, Coppola wanted so much to happen such that the whole thing did not flow like a logical narrative. Characters show up, events happened, yet they were dropped just like that. Adam Driver brooded too much to play Cesar, and his chemistry with Julia was flat. Old man Crassus (Jon Voight) and his bride Wow Platinum (Audrey Plaza) were more interesting. Vengeful cousin Clodio gave Shia La Beouf many outrageous moments to play. 6/10. 

Review of THE SUBSTANCE: Bargain for Beauty

September 25, 2024

Award-winning actress turned television fitness guru Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore) just turned fifty.  She heard that her slimy boss Harvey (Dennis Quaid) wanted to replace her with someone fresher. Desperate, Elisabeth accepted a mysterious offer to buy a chemical called the Substance which can bring out the most perfect version of herself. Right after Elisabeth injected the single-use Activator into her vein, Sue (Margaret Qualley) was born. 

The Substance could really make dreams of youth and beauty come true albeit with a twist. However, it came with very strict rules to make sure that balance was kept between the new self and the old self. The instructions emphasized that there was only one being, even if new self and old self were practically doing things to destroy each other out of selfishness and jealousy, respectively. This made for a gripping internal tug-of-war of taking control. 

This audaciously shocking body-horror film was written and directed by French filmmaker Coralie Fargeat, in only her second feature film after her acclaimed debut in 2017 with "Revenge." Fargeat did not shirk from showing exaggeratedly disgusting scenes of graphic gore and grotesque deformity to drive home her satiric points against ageism in show business and the extremes aging stars resort to in order to maintain their beauty and fame.

Demi Moore gave a brave fearless portrayal of fading star Elisabeth, in a role so wild and out of  her comfort zone. Elisabeth was a physically-tough and emotionally-taxing character which can earn Moore an Oscar nomination for Best Actress (and even win, like Elisabeth did).  This role of Sue will most likely be Margaret Qualley's star-making breakthrough. Her sexy Sue was akin to a Frankenstein's monster who got caught up and blinded by her fame. 

Because the script was so well-plotted, it was not difficult to see why Fargeat won the Best Screenplay award at the Cannes Film Festival where it made its world premiere. Since then, it had also won a number of audience choice awards in the film festivals, despite being dark and disturbing. Audiences appreciated how Fargeat really went all out crazy for this, in the process also paying tribute to horror classics, like "Freaks," "The Shining," and "Carrie."

The version we watched during the commercial run is shorter by about 3 minutes from the original version. This means that a number of scenes had been deleted in order to satisfy the criteria of the MTRCB for R-16. Whatever those supposedly objectionable scenes were, we may never see them anymore and that's a shame.  However, Fargeat's dark message against Hollywood's superficial bias for youth and beauty still hits its target very hard. 8/10

Review of NEVER LET GO: Survival Situations

September 24, 2024

Nolan (Percy Daggs IV) and Samuel (Anthony B. Jenkins) lived in an isolated old cabin in the woods with their protective Momma (Halle Berry). They believed that they were the only survivors of an apocalypse, so they had to keep themselves safe from an unseen being she called the Evil. She made sure that the three of them were always connected to each other with rope. While Samuel steadfastly believed his mother, Nolan began to have doubts.

The isolating situation that trapped Momma and her boys in their house started four years ago. It seems that the filmmakers meant to create a scenario that will resonate with an audience who just emerged from a crippling pandemic with quarantine precautions meant to keep households apart from each other. This film delivered an all-too-familiar atmosphere of suffocating anxiety we all shared recently, given our common experience as a planet. 

The far-reaching influence of a mother on her sons is also given much emphasis in this film. As children, our mother is our very first teacher. Everything our mother said was gospel truth to us as we were growing up. We would never dream about going against our mother's lessons and her wishes. Here, the two boys believed all the stories their mother told and all the rituals their mother taught them to do. At least, until critical thinking eventually sank in.

When I started to watch this movie, it gave me the apocalyptic vibe of "Bird Box" (2018) where a mother was trying her best to keep her children safe from the monsters that threatened to kill them all. It briefly became a horror thriller, as the music turned creepy and a grotesque monster was made show its face. Later, it settled into a tense and stressful psychological thriller, when a character's deteriorating mental health became more and more apparent.   

Halle Berry can really portray these women in harrowing situations very well, and the two child actors who play her sons also step up to an impressive level of acting performance. Director Alexandre Aja allowed the story to twist around itself, but never really revealed the real score in the end, which can be interesting, but also quite frustrating. Anyhow, the scene most viewers remember surely had more people looking away than those with a human victim. 6/10

Vivamax: Mini--Reviews of UHAW, PALUWAGAN, PILYA

September 20, 2023

UHAW

Director: Bobby Bonifacio, Jr. 

Writer: Bobby Bonifacio, Jr. 

Rejoice (Ataska) was a lounge singer in a bar, where she performed her original songs. She was married to tattoo artist Marcus (Itan Rosales), who owned the Gemini Link tattoo parlor. One day, after a steamy session of lovemaking, Marcus suddenly collapsed with a severe headache and fell into a coma. When Rejoice checked his mobile phone, she discovered that Marcus had another woman in his life -- Astrid (Angeli Khang).

Bonifacio was able to craft a serious, well-written Vivamax-style love story of devotion and sacrifice. The star of this feature is Ataska, not only in drama acting, as well as in singing, guitar, and songwriting. Her emotional songs gave the film its beating heart. Fans of Rosales need not worry that his Marcus being comatose practically the whole film. He still had a lot of action going on in flashback scenes.  Despite being top-billed in the poster, Khang generously lent her star power in a significant supporting role. 6/10

PALUWAGAN

Director: Roman Perez Jr. 

Writer: Ronald Perez Jr.

Marites (Shiena Yu) introduced a "paluwagan" system to the women of a remote mountain village. They all invest P20 a day for a week, and one brought home the pot of P1000 on Saturday. For a twist, the woman with P1000 could choose to buy the carnal services of the hunk Hector (Victor Relosa) for 2 nights and a day. This week, it was turn of Julia (Micaella Raz), who was unsatisfied by her husband Itong (Chad Solano).

The plot was quite complex for Vivamax standards, even needing a helicopter wreck in one scene. Director Perez and his DP Albert Banzon was able to bring out the lushness of the green mountain forest setting, with some impressive-looking overhead drone shots.  The atmospheric musical score by Dek Margaja for the sex scenes was very lush as well. On the debit side, the acting of the female ensemble was garish, and Relosa's wig was ugly. 5/10

PILYA

Director: Dustin Celestino

Head Writer: Maya Diaz

Writer: Steve Sanchez, Matt Teves

Lively Dahlia (Dyessa Garcia) and stuck-up Jules (Cess Garcia) were best of friends. When a liberated foreign student Nessa (Dani Yoshida) transferred to their class, she quickly became close with Dahlia, much to Jules's annoyance. Professor Mr. Lopez (Chester Grecia) was the object of schoolgirl fantasies. One day, when Nessa was asked by Mr. Lopez to stay behind to discuss her failing marks, a nasty rumor about them began to spread around the school. 

Cess Garcia did quite well in her recent films "Kapalit" and "Linya," and she does fairly well here as well, but as the mousy Jules, the make-up crew made her look plain and sullen. Chester Grecia gave his best to play a dignified English-speaking professor and somehow pulls it off. The story about how malicious rumors spread was a serious one, but unfortunately, Celestino had a quota of sex scenes to fulfill, and rushed the ending.  5/10