Review of FOOD DELIVERY: Survival and Sovereignty

August 19, 2024

In March 2025, "Food Delivery" made a lot of noise and hit headlines when it was suddenly pulled out of the 2nd CinePanalo Film Festival sponsored by supermarket chain, Puregold.  This happened only two days prior to the opening night of the festival, so its withdrawal raised a ruckus. The exact reasons were not explicitly revealed, but of course, the prickly international geopolitical nature of this documentary film was a probable reason.  

This controversial documentary is directed by Baby Ruth Villarama, who has been involved in documentary filmmaking since 2010. Her big breakthrough came in 2016 when "Sunday Beauty Queen," about Filipina house helpers working in Hong Kong joining their own beauty pageants. When it unexpectedly won the Best Picture at the Metro Manila Filmfest of 2016, that victory cemented Villarama's reputation as a documentarist to watch out for.

"Food Delivery: Fresh from the West Philippine Sea" is about the socio-economic issues in that hotly-contested marine-rich body of water. Villarama chose to approach this contentious topic by telling three stories of human interest. She and her cinematographers actually joined her subjects on their boats as they traversed the choppy open waters, areas where they could encounter the imposing white vessel with water cannons belonging to the adversary. 

The first story was about a RORE (rotation and reprovisioning) mission by the Philippine Navy and Marines to replenish the food and supplies of the soldiers manning the Naval Detachment in Patag and in Lawak. They travel 162 nautical miles left of Palawan, making their critical drops fast and undetected. Soldiers talk about their sacrifices of lonely isolation and impending danger, and hoped that their services be appreciated by their countrymen.

The second story was about Arnel Satam, a 55 year-old fisherman from Calapandayan, Subic, Zambales. One day, he tried to enter the fertile Scarborough Shoal. His little fishing boat of light materials was met by two speedboats of the Chinese Coast Guard who chased him off. This action was witnessed by Agence France-Presse (AFP) journalists and reported by mass media. His sons just laughed when the reporters asked them how they felt  

The third story was about four fishermen from Subic who had been missing since November 27, 2024 near the Scarborough Shoal. There is a 30-mile limit around the shoal which is under strict Chinese control, so locals cannot go search. The Philippines invoked the 2016 UNCLOS arbitral award of an exclusive economic zone, which China viewed as illegal and invalid -- resulting in an impasse that made it impossible for local fisherman to make a living.

We hear soundbites of politicians talking about the WPS issue (yes, including that "jetski" quote). We hear the actual announcement issued by the Chinese Coast Guard ship when it encountered the Philippine Coast Guard ship. However, Villarama never dwelt on political intrigue nor did she dissect international laws. She wanted to give relatable faces to issues we only hear about in the news, and inspire patriotism along the way -- she succeeds in that aspect. 6/10

Review of NOBODY 2: Amusement of an Assassin

August 19, 2025

Much to dismay of his family, Hutch Mansell (Bob Odenkirk) had to go back to being an assassin full-time to pay off his financial obligations to the criminal organization of the Barber (Colin Salmon). To appease them, Hutch brought his wife Becca (Connie Nielsen), their kids Brady (Gage Munroe) and Sammy (Paisley Cadorath), and his father David (Christopher Lloyd) to an old theme park in small town Plummerville. 

While playing games at the arcade, Brady was challenged to a fight by local tough boy Max (Lucius Hoyos), son of the oily theme park owner Wyatt Martin (John Ortiz). When Hutch intervened, he got the goat of the local sheriff Abel (Colin Hanks). All these shady town characters were connected with mobster queen Lendina (Sharon Stone) who was using the town in her massive bootlegging operations. 

Indonesian director Timo Tjahjanto makes his English-language debut with this film. Tjahjanto is noted for his direction of the bloody action thriller "The Night Comes for Us" (2018), the first Netflix original production from Indonesia. His skill in executing violence in his action scenes was quite evident here.  Brutal as they were, a cartoonish streak of humor was also integrated in these action scenes in the spirit of the first "Nobody,"

Bob Odenkirk embodied Hutch's unremarkable loser look so well, which made Nobody's explosive action scenes more exciting. He was basically the only central cog that was holding this sequel together. The bad guys like Abel and his minions were one-dimensional entities who were predictably going to die various forms of violent deaths to delight the adrenaline junkie audiences who love watching films like this.

Sharon Stone may have been caricaturish in her look and portrayal of the evil Lendina, but she was such a hoot to watch on the big screen. Christopher Lloyd is already 86 years old this year, but he is still quite a joy to watch, you wish he had more to do as a retired ex-FBI agent. The chemistry between Odenkirk and Connie Nielsen as husband and wife felt rather weak in this sequel, negatively affecting that fight climax, albeit predictable. 6/10

Review of TOGETHER: Sticky but Smart

August 14, 2025

When she got accepted to teach English in an elementary school in a rural area Fullton County, Millie (Alison Brie) and her musician Tim (Dave Franco) left the city and their friends.  During their send-off party, Tim changed outfits when friends said they looked good in matching jackets. When Millie sprung an unexpected public wedding proposal on him, Tim hesitated with his answer. Millie could not help feeling that Tim become distant from her lately.

One day, while hiking in the woods near their new house, they got lost in a sudden rainstorm. While looking around, Tim fell into a hole in the ground, and Millie fell in after him. They decided to build a fire and wait the rain out inside. When they got thirsty, they drank from a pool of water inside the cave. When they woke up from sleeping, their legs were stuck together. It was painful to pull them apart, but eventually they were able to.  

This psychological and body horror film was written and directed by Australian filmmaker Michael Shanks, his first full-length feature film. Like other horror films by Australian directors, the pace of the storytelling took its time, slowly but surely letting the horror build up. Tim had trauma as a young boy and still did not have a driver's license even at age 30, making him more susceptible to whatever "curse" that was they got from the cave. 

The body horror part ensued when their bodies began becoming literally stuck to each other when they came into contact. That episode of the stuck legs was just the beginning for more incidences to come, from hair swallowing to seeming vaginismus. This would later escalate to a degree that their bodies were literally being pulled towards each other, their bodies contorting unnaturally as they desperately fought the irresistible magnetism to stick togehter. 

Franco and Brie both give intense, unsettling performances. The cinematography by Germain McMicking, film editing by Sean Lahiff and musical score by Cornel Wilczek all helped to build up the uncomfortable suspense. The cave itself with its symbolic bell and rumors of a New Age cult as told by helpful neighbor Jamie McCabe (Damon Herriman) further add to the puzzling mystery. That choice of a Spice Girls pop song during the climax was genius. 7/10  

Review of THE NAKED GUN (2025): Drebin's Dry Drollery

August 13, 2025

Sergeant Frank Drebin Jr. (Liam Neeson) was a Detective Lieutenant of Police Squad, a special division of the LAPD. The day after he stopped a gang of bank robbers while disguised as a schoolgirl, his chief (CCH Pounder) reassigned him and his partner Ed Hocken Jr. (Paul Walter Hauser) to the case of a crashed Edentech electric car in Malibu that claimed the life of software engineer Simon Davenport.

Drebin received a visit from Simon's sexy sister Beth (Pamela Anderson), who was a writer of true-crime stories based on fictional stories she made up. She believed that Simon's boss Edentech owner Richard Cane (Danny Huston) was involved in her brother's death. While questioning a bank robbers, Drebin discovered that the safety deposit box stolen in the robbery also belonged to Simon Davenport. 

This current incarnation of "The Naked Gun" is a reboot of a trilogy of "The Naked Gun" films released in 1988, 1991 and 1994, starring Leslie Nielsen as Detective Frank Drebin. The first two of these films were directed and co-written by David Zucker. The character of Drebin actually made its debut earlier in a short-lived 1982 television series entitled "Police Squad," co-created and written by David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker.

This present film also used the same silly slapstick comedy style that "Police Squad" and the original "The Naked Gun" films were known for. Aside from outrageous sight gags (like those of Drebin and Beth in the kitchen as seen through infrared glasses), the script was chock-full of naughty or dry jokes of various degrees of cleverness (like how Drebin pronounced the word "manslaughter" or how some lines frustratingly wound up as non-sequiturs).  

Seeing 73-year old Liam Neeson as Detective Drebin Jr. is already comedy enough in its anachronistic senselessness in relation to the original films. Ever since "Taken" (2008), Neeson has been in several dead serious action B-movies. So seeing deadpan Neeson here in idiotic scenes wearing a short schoolgirl skirt with underpants showing or getting caught upside down with his pants pulled off, will make even the toughest nut chuckle.

Pamela Anderson played a perfect femme fatale as the elegant but clumsy Beth Davenport. Her comic chemistry with Neeson was electric (although that animated snowman bit did not exactly fly), and she even had a surprising jazz scatting song number. Hauser's character was the son of George Kennedy's character, but he was underused here. Weird Al Yankovic has his fourth cameo in four films. Great to see Priscilla Presley in a cameo, but it was too short.  7/10

Review of LASTING MOMENTS: Forgetting to Feel

August 12, 2025

Aki Orteza (JM de Guzman) and Sophia "Pia" Suarez (Sue Ramirez) are very much in love and have been living together for some time now. Aki worked as a teacher of Philippine history, while Pia worked as a marketing executive under her boss Carlo (Victor Silayan.) Aki and Pia are saving up for their upcoming wedding next year, followed by a honeymoon in Singapore. They have also started to make payments on their dream house.

One day, Aki was made to realize that he had been missing a lot of his classes. He had also been forgetting a lot of important dates, prior commitments, and pending bills. These issues soon made Pia feel very stressed and unhappy. On the day that Pia was promoted to senior account manager, Aki was fired from his job because of his irresponsible lapses. Carlo's offer of a job position in Singapore had now become very tempting to Pia. 

Many Filipino films released on Wednesdays do not even reach the weekend anymore and get pulled out prematurely. However, starting with "Sunshine" on July 23, the three local films released July 30 -- "How to Get Away from My Toxic Family," "P77" and "Lasting Moments" -- all made to a second week. Of these three, "Lasting Moments" picked up the most momentum, even doing better than the releases of August 6 -- "Meg & Ryan" and "Lola Barang."  

"Lasting Moments" is a weepy melodrama with a capital M (and apparently this is what Filipino moviegoing audiences want?) The problem with Aki seemed pretty obvious already early on. However, writer-director Fifth Solomon chose to stretch out the length of the drama to its bursting limit. The second hour felt interminable in its repetitiveness. Also we really did not need to be spoonfed a montage of everything Aki had been forgetting in the first half. 

The lead actors were very committed to their flawed characters, making their love feel so genuine so that their separation felt so painful. JM de Guzman portrayed the confusion of Aki well, but his sudden outbursts can get very jarring. Julianne Moore's more controlled Oscar-winning portrayal of this condition in "Still Alice" (2014) was more sympathetic.  Sue Ramirez once again proved here that any character of hers is likable by virtue of her winsome screen presence and acting versatility. Pia may have been too self-absorbed not to recognize Aki's real problem early on, but because she was played by Sue Ramirez, we forgive her. 6/10

Review of FREAKIER FRIDAY: Complicated Change-ups

August 11, 2025

Anna Coleman (Lindsay Lohan) is a music producer who is raising her daughter Harper (Julia Butters) as a single mom after her husband passed away. Harper was a rebellious teenager who loved to go surfing before going to school in the morning, much to Anna's distress. Anna's mother was Dr. Tess Coleman (Jamie Lee Curtis), a noted therapist and best-selling author, still happily married to her husband Ryan (Mark Harmon). 

One day, Harper and her new British lab partner Lily (Sophia Hammons) had an accident in chemistry class, so both their parents were called to school. Anna was swept off her feet when she met Lily's father Eric (Manny Jacinto), who was also a single parent like her. There was a whirlwind romance and the two were engaged in six months. Harper and Lily did not get along, especially when the issue of moving was brought up. 

This new film is the sequel of "Freaky Friday" (2003). The central plot of that original film involved the switching of personalities of Anna and Tess in the first film. To make this sequel twice as exciting, of course they had to up the ante by switching the personalities of four people -- Anna and Tess switching with Harper and Lily. This four-way mix-up caused a more complex comedy of errors as they pretend to be each other. 

In the first film, there was also a coming wedding between Tess and Ryan, with Anna was rebelling against it. There was also an element of the occult that caused the earthquake that caused the switcheroo --  the fortune cookies of Grandma Chang (Lucille Soong) in the Chinese restaurant of Pei-pei (Rosalind Chao) the first film, and a palm-reading fortune teller Madame Jen (Vanessa Bayer) in the sequel. 

Aside from the cameos of Soong and Chao, there were many other callbacks from the first film which loyal fans will enjoy. Mr. Elton Bates (Stephen Tobolowsky) is back as the insufferable detention teacher. Anna's band Pink Slip with Maddie (Christina Vidal Mitchell) and Peg (Haley Hudson) performed. Anna's love interest in the first film Jake (Chad Michael Murray) also returns, with references to his short-lived but intense crush on Tess. Anna's younger brother Harry (Ryan Malgarini, now 33) had a short cameo at the rehearsal lunch. 

While it was fun to watch Lohan and Curtis play Anna and Tess again, Butters and Hammons as Harper and Lily were rather hit or miss in their scenes. Of interest for Filipino viewers is the definitely the casting of Philippine-born Canadian actor Manny Jacinto as Eric Reyes, Lohan's leading man. When Eric's family came over, Manila and Tagalog were mentioned in the dialog, and the Filipino gesture of respect called the "mano" was highlighted. Jacinto also got to show off his dancing skills during the rehearsal scenes of the wedding dance.  7/10

Review of MEG & RYAN: Crazy Challenges

August 7, 2025

Architect Ryan Canete (JC Santos) had been a "good boy" all his life. He never smoked, never drank. After his father suddenly passed away from a heart attack when he was a teenager, Ryan was raised in conservative traditions by his loving mother (Ces Quesada), a die-hard romantic and fan of K-dramas on Netflix. Therefore, Ryan never had a serious girlfriend up to his present age of 35, so he was still very much a virgin. 

Meg Zamonte (Rhian Ramos) grew up hating her rich philandering father (Cris Villanueva). This hatred grew more especially after the death of her beloved mother two years ago. She found solace in getting drunk with her girlfriends who shared her destructive vice. When her gang got together, they engaged in reckless challenges, like one called "Kisslock," or kissing the first cute guy they see in the hotel corridor.  

So the Kisslock challenge was Meg and Ryan's first physical encounter with each other. However, they would not know each other's names until a full year later because of another chance encounter which brought them together again. These coincidences would then suggest that they are fated for each other, as what usually happened in K-dramas, perhaps those that inspired writer Gina Marissa Tagasa to come up with this formulaic story. 

As typical romance stories went -- boy meets girl, they fall in love, someone does something foolish, they have a major disagreement. Then, the audience just waits for the ending to see whether they end up together or not.  Actually the first two acts of this movie were actually not so bad. However, that final challenge went too far in its craziness, I simply cannot suspend my disbelief enough to accept that someone can actually do something that stupid.

I felt that the title being based on the actual name of a real Hollywood actress was contrived and corny. JC Santos and Rhian Ramos may be good actors individually, but their romantic chemistry together did not crackle. Meg and Ryan's personalities were too contrasting with each other to be believable that they even clicked as a couple. The ending was also executed and wrapped up in too much of a rush, a letdown given all the buildup.   5/10

Review of MATERIALISTS: Luxury of Love

August 6, 2025

Lucy (Dakota Johnson) was the star achiever of New York City-based matchmaking company Adore. In her job, she had met a lot of women and heard all sorts of standards they've set for their ideal man. One day, while attending the wedding of one of her successful clients, she was drawn to the groom's smart and wealthy brother Harry (Pedro Pascal). Unexpectedly, she also bumped into her ex-boyfriend John (Chris Evans), who was a waiter at the wedding. 

Upon reading the synopsis, the plot of this film seems to be a run-of-the-mill love triangle scenario. However, the main reason for watching this film is exactly the the simplicity of the story nor its all-star cast. The significance of this unassuming little film is that this is the second film written and directed by Celine Song after her impressive debut last year with "Past Lives" (2023), Oscar Best Picture nominee and Best Original Screenplay winner.  

Here, Lucy was a relationship expert, someone who possessed the uncanny instinct of matching compatible people together. However, she cannot seem to apply her matching principles on herself when she was caught between two men on opposite sides of the financial spectrum. Going with Harry promised her a life of sure luxury, but how come she still kept on thinking of her ex John, whom she already dumped years ago because he was poor?

Again, Song's eloquent screenplay manages to charm and mesmerize as her words were brought to life by her impossibly attractive actors. On  paper, the occupation of being a professional New York City matchmaker may feel contrived and risky, but Johnson's portrayal of Lucy was winsome despite her obvious materialism. Between him and Pascal one-dimensional rich guy Harry, it was Evans's underdog John who was easier one to root for.   

It has long been accepted in our society that diamonds are a girl's best friend and that we are living in a material world. Lucy was already living on top of the world, with rich suitor at her beck and call. Not considering that he looked like Chris Evans, does a poor guy like John realistically have any chance of getting this girl whom he loved despite being way out of her league? Now, you will need to go watch this film to find out. 7/10 

Review of WEAPONS: Disappeared into the Dark

August 5, 2025

One morning, Ms. Justine Gandy (Julia Garner) entered her classroom in Maybrook Elementary School as usual. However today, she was taken aback when she the room was practically empty. Out of the 18 students in her class, only one was present -- a shy little boy seated at the back row, named Alex Lilly (Cary Christopher). When none of the other children showed up anymore, the police were called in to investigate their disturbing disappearance. 

School principal Andrew Marcus (Benedict Wong) tried his best to protect Justine, but some parents still think that she was responsible for the children going missing. The most aggressive among them was like Archer Graff (Josh Brolin), who was very distraught over the loss of his son Matthew (Luke Speakman). The police investigation also involved interviewing Alex, along with his father (Whitmer Thomas) and his visiting old aunt Gladys (Amy Madigan). 

This is the second horror film written and directed by Zach Cregger. His first one was "Barbarian" (2022), a low-budget film about an AirBnb in Detroit with a very dark past which had just been double-booked. The film earned a 92% score on Rotten Tomatoes (RT) with 207 reviews, and was a commercial hit as well. Hence, this sophomore project of Cregger is very highly anticipated. Thus far, the film had already earned a 100% on RT with 19 reviews.

Instead of the typical linear style, Cregger told his story from the points of view of different people -- from Justine, Archer, police officer Paul (Alden Ehrenreich), drug junkie James (Austin Abrams), Marcus, and finally Alex. Therefore, we get the finer details of the story served in small installments, allowing the audience to just piece and solve the whole mystery together in our heads, leading up to one ultra-violent, yet very satisfying, climax.

Cregger played with several types of horror tropes within this 128 minute-long film, from jerky jump scares to suspenseful tracking shots, to creepy nightmare scenarios. Body horror played a significant part in the fear factor with grotesque facial appearances, with mutilation scenes of escalating violence and gore. The build-up may have been a slowburn at first, but the finale sequence had everyone at the edge of their seats, while having fun along the way. 8/10

Review of SUNSHINE: Advocating for Agency

 July 23, 2025

19-year old Sunshine Francisco (Maris Racal) had been a serious rhythmic gymnast for 9 years already.  She had been successful in local and international tournaments, so she had a legion of admirers. She had daily training sessions with her coach (Merylle Soriano), as the Olympic team qualifying competition was coming up in three months.  One afternoon, she collapsed in the middle of her ribbon routine. Her worst fear was confirmed by a test kit.

A Filipino film about a woman contemplating abortion for an unexpected pregnancy is bound to be controversial. During the 18th Cinemalaya Filmfest, "12 Weeks" (2022) by Anna Isabelle Matutina told the story of Alice (Max Eigenmann), a 40 year-old journalist whose unexpected pregnancy in middle age shook her self-confidence, so she thought of aborting it. (I'm not sure if Matutina's nickname Sunshine somehow inspired the title of this new film.)

Now if that film raised eyebrows, what more this new film? Here, veteran director Antonette Jadaone that told the story of Sunshine, a teenager who naively engaged in unprotected sex with her boyfriend Miggy (Elijah Canlas). He was the first person she told about her predicament, and the creep just hastily ordered her to get rid of it, with no remorse nor compassion, leaving her all alone to solve her problem herself, in the streets of Quiapo.

Sunshine lived in a small house in a poor neighborhood, with her elder sister (Jennica Garcia) who was struggling to raise an infant on her own. The circumstances why their situation was like this was never even brought up. It was enough to know that Sunshine knew how much sacrifice it entailed to be a young mother without a responsible partner. Sunshine certainly knew she did not want this baby, and missing the Olympics team was not the only reason.   

If her coach (Meryll Soriano) knew the truth, Sunshine knew she would be out of the national team outright. Her BFF Thea (Xyriel Manabat) chose to obey her mother's close-minded instructions to abandon her friend. However, Sunshine did have someone playing devil's advocate and external conscience for her. There was this mysterious unnamed little girl (Annika Co) who randomly appeared to argue against Sunshine's decisions. 

This film did not shirk from showing the harrowing consequences of attempting an abortion. It showed how desperate girls blindly trust shady pills bought from a street vendor, or a neighborhood "hilot" with questionable unsterile techniques, not knowing how it could cause severe complications that could bring them to the brink of death. Then, they have to face judgmental and sanctimonious doctors (like Dra. Asuncion played by Madeleine Nicolas) who deride them for being rash and immoral.

It all boils down to a woman's right to have agency over her own body, not anyone else. And as long as abortion remained illegal, women with unwanted pregnancies have to resort to medically-unsafe ways of getting rid of the fetus, putting their lives in danger. However, no matter how this film ends, abortion will always be a contentious issue that will probably not gain much traction in ultra-conservative, predominantly Catholic Philippine society any time soon. It certainly took chutzpah for these filmmakers to produce a film like this. 

That said, the film was very well-made, with excellent camera work by cinematographer by Pao Orendain and that suspenseful musical score by Rico Blanco.  In the titular role, Maris Racal gives a performance with grit and honesty well outside her usual comfort zone. Her ribbon routines look very authentic, thanks to editor Benjamin Tolentino. Garcia, Co and Rhed Bustamante (as pregnant 13 year-old Mary Grace) gave strong supporting turns.  8/10

 

Review of THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS: Fighting as a Family

July 22, 2025

On the alternate reality world of 828 Earth, the Fantastic Four were celebrating their anniversary as a team of protectors of the planet. They were astronauts who gained their superpowers from an exposure to cosmic rays during an interstellar mission. Upon their return, they used their super-human abilities to fight various nefarious villains, earning them the love and admiration of humans. They even had their own Saturday morning cartoon show on TV.

At this time, Sue was pregnant with her first baby after several years of trying. Husband Reed was very concerned about if their baby would inherit any of their superpowers, while their other two teammates / housemates were excited to be the best uncles to this special child. Meanwhile, the Silver Surfer (Julia Garder) appeared on Times Square as a herald to a planet-eating entity named Galactus (Ralph Ineson) who had Earth next in line to destroy.  

The Fantastic Four were led by Reed Richards or Mr. Fantastic (Pedro Pascal) who can stretch his body like rubber; his wife Sue Storm or Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby) who can generate force shields and turn invisible; Sue's younger brother Johnny Storm or the Human Torch (Joseph Quinn) who can turn himself into a flying rocket of flames; and Reed's best friend Ben Grimm or The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) whose skin was made of rock.  

The first film about Marvel's First Family was "Fantastic Four" (2005) starring Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Michael Chiklis, and Chris Evans in his Marvel debut. Despite the mixed reviews, it had a sequel "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer" (2007), which also had middling to bad reviews. A forgettable reboot "Fantastic Four" (2015) starring Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Jamie Bell and Michael B. Jordan in his Marvel debut, was a critical and commercial disaster.

Directed by Matt Shakman, the look was totally different, as the new production design, pastel color palette and retro costumes had a classic vibe, reflecting how the first FF comics by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee came out in the early 1960s, with futuristic elements like a flying car and a delightful robot butler H.E.R.B.I.E.  As a reboot of a franchise that struggled to be portrayed on the big screen before, this one had a totally fresh vibe, a clean start and re-introduction.

It tackled the same Silver Surfer and Galactus storyline from the 2007 film, but it incorporated the birth of Reed and Sue's son Franklin into the mix. This made the stakes more personal for the FF team than ever, as this baby became the bargaining chip upon which the salvation of planet Earth hinged on. As a result, the final showdown between FF and Galactus became a showcase for the emotional dynamics of this team as a family with heartfelt sincerity. 

The personalities of the four members of FF felt different from how they were portrayed in films before. Pascal's Reed Richards was a ball of insecurities beside the cool confidence of Kirby's Sue Storm. Quinn's Johnny Storm was a funny guy, but his reputation as a ladies' man was played down here. The pure loyalty Moss-Bachrach's Grimm came across solidly, as his budding crush for teacher Rachel (Natasha Lyonne) was only hinted at, so far.  

The throwback feel may slow at the start, especially as the FF's origin story was summarized as a flashback narration for a TV special of talk show host Ted Gilbert (Matt Gatiss). However, the film really came alive whenever the bad guys were on the screen. The production's decision to gender-switch the Silver Surfer and to represent Galactus as a solid armored colossus proved to be astute, tweaking their portrayal in the 2007 film for the better. 7/10

Review of BRING HER BACK: Foster with Fear

July 17, 2025

17 year-old Andy (Billy Barratt) was a good elder brother to his visually-impaired step-sister Piper (Sora Wong). When their father suddenly died, they had to be taken to stay with a foster parent. They were assigned to veteran counselor Laura (Sally Hawkins) to take care of them. Laura seemed friendly even as she was still mourning the death of her blind daughter Cathy (Mischa Heywood) and was also raising a deaf-mute boy Ollie (Jonah Wren Phillips).  

In the last decade or so, Australian horror movies have been picking up momentum, and being appreciated all over the world for its unusual take on the usual horror tropes. The first Australian horror I've seen was of the disturbing, psychological kind. "Dead Calm" (1989), starring Sam Neill with pre-famous Nicole Kidman and Billy Zane, was about a couple sailing on their yacht who picked up a marooned stranger who may be a killer .

However, the current attention with Australian horror was revived with "The Babadook" (2014), about a widow raising her disturbed young son, who believed the monster in his bedtime storybook is alive. Following that, there was "Killing Ground" (2016) about a family vacation gone grisly wrong, "Hounds of Love" (2016) about a couple on a serial killing spree, and the depressing "Relic" (2020) about an elderly widow dealing with dementia. 

In 2022, twin brothers and YouTubers Danny and Michael Philippou made their directorial debut with "Talk to Me." This was about a group of teenagers playing with a ceramic hand, which allowed the holder to communicate and be possessed by spirits.  "Talk to Me" was co-produced by Causeway Films, which also produced "The Babadook." This film now ranks among the biggest worldwide box-office hit films distributed by A24. 

"Bring Her Back" is the much-anticipated second film of the Philippou twins, also co-produced by Causeway Films and distributed by A24. The centerpiece of its horror is the completely unhinged performance of Sally Hawkins as Laura, a woman driven to murderous psychosis by the death of her daughter. From the start, Laura exuded an air of weirdness, which Hawkins expertly escalated into full psycho-biddy mayhem with measured skill.

Barratt's Andy was abused and gaslighted, but he would still do what he can to protect his sister. Wong, really visually- impaired with her inborn coloboma and microphthalmia, was naturally vulnerable in her film debut. Wren Phillips's Ollie had the most disgusting scenes here, including a knife-chewing stunt sure to make you flinch.  Child abuse is true horror, never easy to swallow, especially now when disturbingly magnified on the big screen like this. 7/10

Review of SUPERMAN (2025): Concerning Clark and his Choices

July 7, 2025

After gaining access to files from the Fortress of Solitude, Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) has accused Superman (David Corenswet) of being sent to Earth to subdue it in the name of Krypton. With his powerful henchmen -- the nanotechnology-charged Engineer (María Gabriela de Faría) and the mysterious masked fighter Hammer of Boravia -- Luthor was able to bring Superman down on his knees and incarcerate him in a pocket dimension. 

Writer-director James Gunn began the film with an intro recounting events from 3 centuries ago, 3 decades ago, 3 years ago, 3 days ago, 3 hours ago, up to 3 minutes ago until we see a severely injured Superman hurtling down from the sky into the snows of Antarctica. He was involved in an armed conflict between two countries -- Boravia and Jarhanpur. Of course, Luthor was behind the scenes manipulating the strings of the war, and the Hammer.

As we have previously seen in his previous Marvel films -- the "Guardians of the Galaxy" series (2014, 2017 and 2023) and the reboot of "The Suicide Squad" (2021) -- Gunn's signature brand of action and humor and pop rock music are also all over his version of "Superman." With this heartful story that made Superman the unexpected underdog, Gunn was able to restore our emotional connection to this beloved superhero from planet Krypton. 

A major factor for this film's success was the casting of David Corenswet as the Man of Steel. Aside from his relatively unfamiliar and unwieldy name, Corenswet is coming in with the disadvantage of taking over the role many fans think should have stayed with Henry Cavill of the Zack Snyder DC films. However, Corenswet brought to his Superman a winsome charm, as well as a tangible sense of human vulnerability that makes us care for him.

The humanity of this Superman are obvious in his various personal relationships. Corenswet's Clark Kent has an electric chemistry with Rachel Brosnahan's Lois Lane, certainly more than Cavill and Adams did. The scenes he shared with his Earth parents Jonathan and Martha Kent (Pruitt Taylor Vince and Neva Howell) creates a wave of filial nostalgia. Even how Superman treated the robots of the Fortress, like Greg (Alan Tudyk), evoked pure kindness.

Particularly delightful among Superman's relationships was the one he had with the super-dog Krypto.  It is a Kryptonian breed, but it looked furrier and more terrier-like than the cartoon Krypto.  This naughty canine would just do whatever chaotic activity it set its mind on doing, while poor Supes helplessly tried to order him to stop, to no avail, resulting in some of this film's most unpredictable and unruly scenes. Dog owners will identify, and smile. 

Superman also interacts with a new group of heroes called the Justice Gang. Their Green Lantern  (Nathan Fillion) with a weird streak and who sported a blond bowl haircut. Their Hawkgirl (Isabel Merced) was a fearsome flying fighter, but had a grumpy attitude about her.  The coolest of these new heroes was Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi), whose extraordinary techie action scenes elicited spontaneous applause. Metamorpho (Anthony Carrigan), a metahuman who can convert his body into any element, is introduced with a conflict of dramatic heft. 

And then there is the classic genius villain -- Lex Luthor. Nicholas Hoult gave him an air of angry pride we did not see from previous actors. The way this Luthor was "personally" fighting Superman virtually by calling out every punch and kick delivered by the Hammer was ingeniously executed. This Luthor evil was borne out of extreme envy, the intensity of which Hoult conveyed with such remarkable restraint, which may make him Oscar-bound.

There were several callbacks to the original 1977 "Superman" film by Richard Donner from which Gunn gained his inspiration for this version. Of course, the iconic theme music by John Williams was heard many times, evoking memories of younger days past. The singular silver font and presentation of the closing credits was met with cheers. Christopher Reeve's son Will Reeve even has a cameo appearance as a news reporter. 

The Daily Planet crew were all there, led by their gruff editor-in-chief Perry White (Wendell Pierce). For serious DC fans in the know, there were cameos by government agent Rick Flag, Jr. (Frank Grillo), and tech billionaire Maxwell Lord (Sean Gunn), who was the corporate sponsor behind the Justice Gang. Before the film ended, there was also a sneak preview of a certain Super relative who is set to have a movie of her own in 2026. 

Overall, Gunn's vision of Superman was old-fashioned and sentimental, but updated with complex science fiction with innovative technology. How Lois Lane can pilot a new-fangled air craft or how Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gisondo) could be an irresistible ladies' man may seem silly, but chalk those up to Gunn's campy sense of comedy. I have high hopes this film could give the struggling DC film universe the boost it needs to reach new heights it deserves. 9/10

Review of JURASSIC WORLD: REBIRTH: Misguided Mutants

July 3, 2025

A giant pharmaceutical company, Parker Genix, is planning to develop a cardiology wonder drug from the DNA of dinosaurs.  Company agent Martin Krebs (Rupert Friend) recruited covert operations expert Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson) and paleontologist Dr. Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey) to lead an expedition to acquire blood samples from three massive dinosaurs from sea (the Mosasaurus), land (the Titanosaurus) and air (the Quetzalcoatalis). 

To get to the Ile Saint-Hubert in the Atlantic Ocean, they hire the boat and team of Duncan Kincaid (Mahershala Ali). However, before they reached their destination, Duncan's radio picked up a distress call sent by a father Reuben Delgado (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), when the sailboat carrying him, his daughters Teresa (Luna Blaise) and Isabella (Audrina Miranda), and Teresa's spaced-out boyfriend Xavier (David Iacono), capsized. 

The "Jurassic Park" franchise was born in 1993, when the first film directed by Steven Spielberg was released, enthralling the whole world with its life-like resurrection of three-dimensional dinosaurs on the big screen. Sequels were released in 1997 and 2001. The series was rebooted with another trilogy retitled "Jurassic World," shown in 2015, 2018 and 2022. To be honest, none of the sequels ever matched the magical quality of the original. 

This present film is yet another attempt to revive interest in the franchise. For the screenplay, they brought back David Koepp, who co-wrote the first film along with Michael Crichton. The mood of the story reflected real life issues. Set 32 years after the dinosaurs were revived, public interest about them has already waned, a concern which pushed Dr. Loomis to accept the project. I suspect this revival of interest was also what this reboot wants to achieve. 

We know that people watch these Jurassic Park / World films more for the dinosaurs, not the annoying human characters. You can easily predict who among the humans will survive to the end -- just look at the cast list. Characters played by the lesser-known actors will die first (except the children, of course). As expected, the most evil character will die in the most grisly way (though nothing tops the way Dennis Nedry died in the first film).  

The absolute best action sequence in this new film was the one that featured a gigantic T-Rex chasing Reuben's family as they rode a sturdy rubber emergency raft down a raging river. The scene of a tearful Dr. Loomis during a close encounter with titanosauruses in the cornfield was awe-inspiring, though not as much as awesome as the initial brachiosaurus sighting in the first film. They teased about a velociraptor but it turned out to only be a short cameo. 

In the grounds of the abandoned lab, Zora, Loomis and company were attacked dino-mutants, tragic freaks born out of failed genetic experiments in the past. Seeing these hideous man-made creatures were not my cup of tea at all. We watch Jurassic Park to see dinosaurs that really existed come to life, not to see ugly deformed monsters, sorry.  I hope future installments of the coming trilogy will not dwell on these mutants anymore. 6/10

Netflix: Review of K-POP DEMON HUNTERS: Shielding with Song

July 1, 2025

Demons have been stealing the souls of poor unsuspecting humans and channeling them to strengthen their leader, Gwi-Ma. A group of three enchanted women came together to hunt and fight these demons. With their gift of song, these women united the souls of the people to created a shield called the Honmoon to protect the human world. Succeeding generations of Hunters used their singing voices to maintain the Honmoon.

The present day Demon Hunters were in the form of K-pop girl group called Huntr/x, namely lead singer Rumi, dancer MIra and rapper Zoey. They were under the tutelage of Celine, a former demon hunter who raised Rumi, whose late mom was also a hunter. One day after their world tour, Rumi lost her voice as mysterious marks were appearing on her skin. Meanwhile, a boy band of demons called Saja Boys were fast gaining in popularity.

Co-writer and co-director Maggie Kang came up with main story, mixing in elements of Korean mythology and K-pop to create her dream culturally-focused animated movie. The principle of demon hunters and the impenetrable Honmoon created by their songs that kept humankind safe were fascinating. Just as interesting was the idea that gaining a bigger fandom was the be-all and end-all solution to the critical problem

K-pop is so ubiquitous nowadays, every song in the film is so catchy. Huntr/x had songs like "How It's Done," "Golden" and "What It Sounds Like." They even had a song Rumi did not like called "Takedown," but it wasn't any less poppy. The Saja Boys were winsomeright off the bat with the irresistibly sing-along-able fiest hit, "Soda Pop." Their second song "Your Idol" could  be a metaphor of how the public can easily be brainwashed by their hypnotically powerful music.

The handsome rendition of Saja leader Jinu and his romantic interactions with Rumi will thrill fans, especially the young female kind.  The Ru-Jinu love team had great chemistry together, as evidenced by their duet "Free." There were also other aspects of Korean life shown here, like relaxing in bath houses, medicinal tonics that can be fake, wacky TV game shows with celebrities, the cute tiger and the cuter bird with the hat. 8/10

 

Review of F1 THE MOVIE: A Racer's Redemption

July 1, 2025

Back in the 1990s, Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt) was considered a promising prodigy in Formula One (or F1) car racing. However, in 1993, he experienced a bad car crash during the Spanish Grand Prix. He  sustained serious back injuries and had to prematurely drop out of the F1 circuit for good. In the years following this accident, Sonny continued a racer-for-hire in minor races as he battled gambling addiction and failed marriages. 

One day, Sonny was approached by his former teammate Ruben Cervantes (Javier Bardem), who was now the owner of the APXGP F1 Team. Ruben's team had not been doing well in the current season, finishing last in the previous championship. Investors have threatened to withdraw support if APX fails to win any of the remaining GP races that year. Ruben wanted Sonny to drive for his team, together with rookie Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris).

As an actor, Brad Pitt has consistently done well both commercially and critically. He had one Oscar for Acting (Supporting for "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood"), nominated for 3 more.  He is also very active as a film producer in his own production outfit Plan B entertainment, which he owned on his own since 2005. Plan B had won three Oscars for Best Picture ("The Departed," "12 Years a Slave" and "Moonlight"), nominated for eight more.  

F1 is the latest project released by Plan B, and it does not seem farfetched that it will attract Academy Award attention as well. The story is simple and frankly, quite familiar, so may find yourself predicting what will happen next in the strained relationship between Sonny and Joshua, and likely guess a lot of things right. The star power of Brad Pitt was a big factor to make the dramatic redemption story of Sonny Hayes pop out on the big screen, enhanced by awesome production design by Ben Munro and cool costumes by Julian Day. 

Ehren Kruger's screenplay put Sonny and Joshua into all kinds of tight situations and perilous accidents in Grand Prixes in Britain, Belgium, Italy, Las Vegas, Abu Dhabi. Director Joseph Kosinki upped the danger and suspense of these racing scenes with intense cinematography by Claudio MIranda, rapid editing by Stephen Mirrione and heart-pounding music by Hans Zimmer. After this, Kosinki's plan for a sequel featuring Pitt's Sonny and Tom Cruise's Cole from "Days of Thunder" (Tony Scott, 1990) is a certainly a very exciting idea. 8/10

Review of 28 YEARS LATER: Persistence of a Plague

June 24, 2025

28 years after the second outbreak of the Rage Virus, the British Isles remained to the only place in Europe still overrun by the infected. There was an isolated group of survivors living in Lindisfarne island. One day, scavenger Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) brought his 12 year old son Spike (Alfie Williams) across the tidal causeway to the mainland for a coming-of-age ritual of hunting down infecteds, some of whom had mutated into giant Alphas. 

Spike had a different mission in mind -- to find a doctor for his mother Isla (Jodie Comer) who had been mysteriously ill for some time. Upon his successful return to their island with his father, Spike brought his mother to the mainland himself to search for the reclusive survivor Dr. Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) for a possible treatment. Along the way, they encountered a Swedish soldier Erik (Edvin Ryding) and helped a pregnant infected (Celi Crossland) give birth. 

This new sequel comes 18 years after the first sequel "28 Weeks Later" (2007). The first film "28 Days Later" (2002) is now considered a horror classic that revived interest for zombie films in the new millennium. The original creators of this first film -- director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland -- are both back on board to continue the tale they first told. Garland wrote this to be the first film of a new trilogy, with a sequel already set for release by January 2026.

Of course, there were still the blood-splattering scenes of our heroes Jamie and Spike shooting arrows into the heads or hearts of attacking infecteds. We are also introduced to the mutant infecteds called Alphas, physically bigger and supposedly more intelligent variants. In particular, there was one Alpha called Samson (Chi Lewis-Parry) with his imposing size (and appendage), whose kill style was ripping off his victim's head and spine. 

When Spike and Isla finally meet Dr. Kesler, the tone shifted radically to a more sober, contemplative tone. We see the grisly tower of skulls seen in the posters, and learn of its significance. For those wondering what that 2002 flashback prologue about vicar's son Jimmy was all about, the answer would only be revealed at the very end when Spike met grown-up Jimmy (Jack O'Connell), whom I guess we'll see more of in the coming sequels.  7/10

Review of UNCONDITIONAL: Transman Trials

June 22, 2025

Anna (Rhian Ramos) was a professional social media marketing manager. She had already broken up with her toxic boyfriend Mark (Paulo Gumabao), but the guy still kept calling her to ask if she would accept his politician father's offer to work for him. Her best friend Uly (Rico Barrera) invited Anna to go with him to spend a few weeks in beautiful Siargao to get her mind off the negative thoughts which were bothering her. 

Several years ago, Greg (Allen Dizon) brought his mother Dolores (Elizabeth Oropesa) from their hometown in Batangas to Siargao where his elder sister Terry (Lotlot de Leon) had set up a business selling island souvenirs. He worked at the coffee shop of his good friend Liam (Brandon Ramirez) as a barista. One day, when Uly needed to go back to Manila earlier than expected, he dutifully endorsed Anna to Greg's care. 

On the surface, it would seem like this was just another love story set in the backdrop of a picturesque island paradise. However, in that first sequence where we meet Greg, we are immediately shown that he had a couple of big scars located in his chest under his two nipples. We are shown that he was injecting the contents of a medicinal ampule trans-dermally into a fold of skin he had pinched on the inner aspect of his thigh. 

We see his mother suffering from dementia, and she always called him by the name of Regina. So, when we put all these introductory clues together, we come to the conclusion that Greg was actually a transgender man. So this was the big twist of this romance, and director Adolfo Alix Jr. decided to reveal it from the start. This way we can effectively feel his fear and reluctance to declare the feelings of love he had for Anna. 

This is certainly a new acting challenge for Allen Dizon as he is playing a female character who had already transitioned into a male. As Greg, Dizon was mainly acting manly, but he was also able to project Regina's femininity long repressed within him.  While some may prefer a real trans man actor to play Greg, Dizon's restrained performance was brave and admirable, especially in that unprecedented nude gender reveal scene. 

Rhian Ramos's Anna was a woman working out various inner conflicts: tolerating demanding calls from an ex, wondering why this new man kept on keeping away. This portrayal of fluid lover Uly was Rico Barrera's most natural performance recently. Elizabeth Oropesa's Dolores was a mother battling with dementia, whose love for her children still shone through.  Comebacking Brandon Ramirez had an acting moment as Liam opened up to Greg. 7/10

Review of ELIO: Aspiring to be Abducted by Aliens

June 23, 2025

After both his parents passed away, the care of Elio Solis (Yonas Kibreab) was turned over to the guardianship of his aunt Olga (Zoe Saldana). She was an officer in the Air Force, but she had to give up her dreams of being an astronaut when Elio came into her life. Because of this, Elio never connected emotionally with her, try as she might. Elio believed that she lost her chance to achieve her dream because of him, so Olga did not want him in her life. 

In lieu of the loneliness he felt at home and at school (where he was picked on by bullies), Elio turned his attention to outer space. He actually wished he could be abducted by aliens. When an opportunity came up, he left a message for the aliens to come and get him. One day, Elio's wish actually came true, and an alien ship picked him up and brought to a place called Communiverse. They offered Elio to be the ambassador of Earth, and he accepted.

Just like another recent Disney film "Strange World," the story of "Elio" gave the Disney Pixar artists free rein to create their own alien world and creatures. The design of the villain character Lord Grigon (Brad Garrett) looked based on Zurg from the Toy Story films. The most memorable thing about him was that his imposing metallic armor housed a fat worm-like creature with gelatinous limbs, fireproof skin and multi-layered sharp teeth.  

Like many other Disney films before it, this film was also about a headstrong child lead character who took it upon themselves to embark on a big adventure in their lives, even if this went against the wishes of their elders. Elio was given a deeper psychological backstory given that he was adopted by his aunt in an unexpected manner. While this situation gave Elio a feeling of being unwanted, his Aunt Olga's point of view was not fully explored. 

Elio's first alien friend Glordon (Remy Edgerly) had another common problem faced by young people. Being of a gentler, more friendly nature, he did not want to be the war machine that his father Grigon wanted him to be.  Even then, Glordon was ready to accept his fate than face his father's fearsome wrath. It is to Pixar's credit that it dares to push and tackle these emotional issues which real children face, even if the final resolution tended to be too clean.

This film began with the vision of Adrian Molina (co-director and co-writer of "Coco"), but was later turned over to two other directors, Domee Shi (director of "Bao" and "Turning Red") and Madeline Sharafian (director of "Burrow"). The final screenplay was written by Julia Cho (co-writer of "Turning Red"), Mike Jones (co-writer of "Luca") and Mark Hammer. Perhaps this complicated production history would explain why the film can feel rather disjointed. 7/10 

Review of HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON (2025): The Dilemma with Dragons

June 16, 2025

Hiccup (Mason Thames) was the son of Stoick the Vast (Gerard Butler), the heroic chieftain of their Viking village of Berk. Unlike other villages, the big pest problem of Berk did not ordinary bugs. Instead, they are dragons who fly into their fields grabbing their sheep and burning down their homes. Hiccup was told that his mother had died because of a dragon. He grew up wanting to be able to kill dragons. However, he was physically incapable of doing so. 

In 2010, Dreamworks released "How to Train Your Dragon," an animated feature about the friendship between a Viking boy and a Night Fury dragon, based on the 2003 novel and book series of the same title by Cressida Cowell. A commercial and critical success, this film launched its own franchise, including two sequels (2014 and 2019). This year, Dreamworks followed Disney's lead and produced its own live action remake of this modern classic.

The first film was written and directed by Chris Sanders and Will Deblois. Deblois alone wrote and directed this remake. (Meanwhile, Sanders worked on and released the live-action remake of his 2002 animated film "Lilo and Stitch" for Disney.)  Also back from the original films was Gerald Butler. He once voiced the character of Stoick the Vast, an important source of dramatic conflict in the story. Now, we see Butler himself perform on the big screen. 

Having live actors led to more emotional engagement between characters. Scenes of dorky Hiccup (Thames in a winsome performance) and his stern father had a lot more depth, especially in the third act. Astrid (a pretty, badass Nico Parker) was given more screen action, including a scene in a dragon's mouth. Snoutlout (Gabriel Howell) even had a subplot with his father not in the original. A mystic Elder Gothi (Naomi Wirthner) was prominently featured. 

This live action remake followed the animated original loyally -- practically scene for scene and line for line. This new version ran for 125 minutes, while the original ran for only 98 minutes. The major difference that caused this difference in running time was that the human versus dragon action sequences were much more prolonged. All the 3D CGI dragons now look a lot larger, more menacing, less cartoonish-looking than the original animated dragons. 8/10

Review of ONLY WE KNOW: Finding a Fulfilling Friendship

June 14, 2025

Betty (Charo Santos) had been married to her husband William (Al Tantay) for 33 years when they separated 12 years ago. They did not have any children.  Betty dedicated all her time to being a college professor since then. When time came for her to retire from teaching, Betty had more free time to pursue her passion for painting still life, and working on her gardening. Betty's best friends were couple Cora (Shamaine Buencamino) and Bert (Joel Saracho).

Living across the street from Betty's house in the same private village was Ryan (Dingdong Dantes). He is a structural engineer whose life had been dealt with a cruel blow with the sudden death of his wife Sofia (Max Collins). It has now been one year since Sofia passed away, but Ryan is still haunted by her memory. One day, Ryan saw Betty struggling with her heavy shopping bags. He promptly went over to offer her assistance. 

And from there, a fulfilling friendship would develop between these two neighbors, who did not know yet at that time that they were lonely. Based on her past work like "Meet Me in St. Gallen" (2018), "Sid and Aya: Not a Love Story" (2018), "On Vodka, Beers and Regrets" (2020), and "Five Breakups and a Romance" (2023), writer-director Irene Villamor is truly a master of bittersweet romance films.  She weaves her magic again here. 

Ever since the beginning of her career with "Itim" (1976), Ms. Charo Santos possessed that unmistakably radiant screen presence that illuminated any scene that she was in. She can effortlessly draw us to Betty's side and root for her to get through any challenge she faced. Santos was always classy in her portrayal of Betty, no sleazy cougar vibes at all despite Dingdong Dantes being 25 years younger than her.    

Dantes yielded centerstage to Santos for most of the film. But as he was helping Betty, Ryan was being healed as well without him realizing it.  Dantes was given an intense acting moment in that scene when Ryan read Betty's lab results. This sent him reeling on a prolonged anxiety attack haunted by the day of Sofia's death.  Villamor, with Pao Orendain's camera, worked dizzying wonders in that scene, bringing us all inside Ryan's traumatic experience. 

Villamor kept the relationship between Betty and Ryan very subtle. We were kept guessing whether there was indeed a romance brewing between them or not. We all felt like Cora when she first saw Betty and Ryan together -- intrigued by the mystery, yet there was an breathtaking thrill about them. It was sheer directorial skill how Villaflor kept this uncertainty going for the whole final act, and still keep us guessing all the way up to the ending. 9/10

Review of BALLERINA: Fighting as a Female

June 5. 2025

When Eve was still a little girl (Victoria Comte), their house was attacked by a band of assassins attempting to kill her father Javier (David Castaneda). The killers were led by the Chancellor (Gabriel Byrne), who was angry with Javier because he went rogue against their organization. The Chancellor gave Javier a pistol with a single bullet and offered him the choice to shoot himself so his daughter lives, or to shoot him and both of them will die.

12 years later, Eve (Ana de Armas) was training as a ballerina under the Director (Anjelica Huston). The Director was also the head of the Roma Ruska, an underground organization of assassins, and Eve was also training in their deadly trade. Eve was taught by her trainer Nogi (Sharon Duncan-Brewster) to "fight like a girl," meaning to take advantage of her femaleness in order to get the upper hand over her bigger, stronger opponents. 

The title "Ballerina" is preceded by "From the World of John Wick," as it is the fifth film of that franchise. In "John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum," when Wick first met the Director (also played by Huston),  a ballerina named Rooney was on the stage failing her pirouettes. Rooney was played by Unity Phelan before, but now, she is named Eve and played by de Armas. Scenes of Wick walking down the stairs and being branded at the back in that film were revisited here.

Willowy Ana de Armas may seem like an unlikely assassin of deadly skill. But, as this is the John Wick universe, so we need to suspend our disbelief big time in order to enjoy watching her plow through one horde of pro assassins after another. In the third act, all the residents of an entire town were all after her, and still she prevailed. The way Eve survived being bodily hurled and slammed here, she might as well be made of steel. Her fighting style did not really reflect her ballet training though, not sure why she had to be one. 

Aside from the non-stop bone-crushing fights, fans of the John Wick franchise will enjoy seeing the New York Continental Hotel again, along with its owner Winston Scott (Ian McShane) and concierge Charon (the late Lance Reddick in his final movie appearance). Of course, the highlight was seeing the baba yaga John Wick himself in a fight in the final fiery half-hour, though ever the gentleman, Reeves never stole de Armas's thunder. There are three more John Wick films in production after this, and yes, we are excited about them! 7/10

Review of KARATE KID: LEGENDS: Synergistic Styles

June 1, 2025

Mr. Han (Jackie Chan) ran a big kung fu school in Beijing. One of his best students was his grand-nephew Li (Ben Wang), a young man troubled by memories of his elder brother's death. One day, Li's physician mother Dr. Fong (Ming-Na Wen) brought a reluctant Li to New York City where she had been accepted to work. One of Li's first friends was Mia (Sadie Stanley), daughter of Victor Lipani (Joshua Jackson), a former boxer who now owned a pizza parlor. 

This film continues the story of the "Karate Kid" franchise -- a spin-off sequel. It started with a story which Mr. Miyagi told Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) back in 1986. Apparently, Miyagi's ancestor was a fisherman whose boat got washed away by a storm all the way to China. There, the Han family rescued him, and later taught him the Chinese martial art of kung-fu.  When Miyagi went back to his home in Okinawa, Japan, he developed the fighting techniques further and called it Karate.  

Ralph Macchio was Daniel in the first three films (1984, 1986 and 1989), but not in the 1994 "The Next Karate Kid" (with Hilary Swank) nor the 2010 reboot "The Karate Kid" (with Jaden Smith). In the last film, Jackie Chan played the kung-fu master of bullied boy Dre (played by an 11 year old Jaden Smith) in Beijing. Macchio would return to play Daniel vis-a-vis his old rival Johnny (William Zabka) in the series "Cobra Kai" streaming on Netflix from 2021 to 2025. 

Macchio is now a young-looking 63 year old, and playing Daniel LaRusso remains to be what he is best known for. Chan is still youthfully energetic now at 71 years old, and it had always been a pleasure watching him kung-fu fighting on the big screen. Mr. Han flew to L.A. to request LaRusso to teach his ward Li the Miyagi-style of karate, in order make Li ready to face the upcoming underground fight competition -- Five Borough's Tournament.  

The original story about a boy taught by his mentors to get ready for a big fight was still very much there. Ben Wang's Li was a capable kung-fu fighter who already had a spectacular dragon kick move from the start, but he had to learn new techniques from Han and LaRusso ("two branches, one tree") before he can face his big bully Conor Day (Aramis Knight). Even if the final outcome was obvious, the fight scenes were still very much worth the watch. 6/10. 

Review of LILO AND STITCH (2025): Accepting an Alien

May 23, 2025

The United Galactic Federation had convicted Dr. Jumba Jookiba for his illegal genetic experiments which had resulted in the creation of a violent, indestructible creature whom he called Experiment 626 (Chris Sanders). Sentenced for exile 626 carnapped a red police cruiser that brought him to planet Earth. However, instead of landing in water (which was fatal for him given his high molecular density), his cruiser landed on one island in Hawaii. 

When both their parents passed away one day, teenager Nani (Sydney Elizebeth Agudong) had to forego her plans for going to the university to study marine biology. However, she had her hands full keeping her 6-year old sister Lilo (Maia Kealoha) in control, especially under the watchful eyes of social worker Mrs. Kekoa (Tia Carrere, the original voice of Nani). Motherly next-door neighbor Tutu (Any Hill) and her surfer son David (Kaipo Dudoit) tried their best to help her babysit. 

As the 2002 animated original film told us before, Lilo would adopt Stitch as her ugly pet dog leading to hilarious chaos, and heartwarming sentiment. Despite the unwieldy mixture of alien sci-fi and Hawaiian culture, it won critical acclaim and box-office success.  It famously taught us the Hawaiian concept of "ohana" that meant "family," that meant "nobody gets left behind or forgotten," a line of enduring appeal and impact, much like "Hakuna matata" before it.

Aside from giving David a mother, this reboot gave Nani a backstory out for more dramatic impact. The social worker Cobra Bubbles character had been split into two for this remake -- social worker Mrs. Kekoa and CIA agent Cobra (Courtney Vance). For them to be able to blend in better, the aliens going after 626, Dr. Jumba and bumbling "Earth expert" Agent Pleakley, were made to inhabit human forms of Zach Galifianakis and Billy Magnussen.  Jason Scott Lee, the original voice of David, also has a cameo appearance.

This new 2025 version was again a live-action adaptation, following all the previous ones that Disney had been releasing recently. This one was rather uneven for me. The animatronic character design of Stitch was very cute, but the scenes of him and the aliens was being destructive felt scarier and more dangerous. I understand why they chose to scrap the whole Gantu spacecraft battle in the third act as its too violent for a live action kids film. However, having live actors trumped the animated version when it came to the emotionally-affecting family scenes. 7/10

Review of CONMOM: Forcing the Funny

May 22, 2025

Pinky (Kaye Abad) retired from being a theater actress when she got married to wealthy Anton Gonzales (Kit Thompson) and became a mother to Yana (Valerie Talion), now 7 years old. She still kept in touch with her theater colleagues Benok (Paolo Contis), Jetboy (Empoy Marquez) and her cousin director Oyet (Patrick Garcia), who all became Yana's godparents. They remained to be Pinky's best friends and shoulders for her to cry on. 

One day, Pinky saw Anton walking with his mistress Rachel (Kiel Canoza), who was even pregnant. When she confronted him and told him that she is tired of her chronic womanizing. Exasperatedly, she told him that she wants out of their marriage. Instead of being apologetic, Anton shocked her by throwing her out of the house and proceeded to cut off all contact with her daughter. Pinky had to resort to stealthy ploys (the titular "con") just to see Yana. 

This film was two hours long, but the plot about a marriage on the rocks and the child caught in between was a commonly-told tale in Filipino films. Director Noel Tonga just padded the main story core of the film with long, loving shots of picturesque Boljoon, Cebu (that magnificent old church just across the street from the wide open sea was so inviting, you'd want to go visit this place right away), and silly uneven comedy routines by Pinky's three friends (these lame attempts at "humor" felt forced than truly funny). 

The various "cons" Pinky and her friends did to see Yana -- supposedly the point of this movie -- were not planned or executed well, with terrible masks and ugly wigs. The one involving a "merman" on the beach was very corny. The part where their gang tried to recreate the film shoot rescue plot from Oscar Best Picture winner "Argo" (2012) during the girl's birthday in her school was wasted with that seemingly endless run to get from her classroom to the front gate. The climactic airport con was so clunky obvious, it surely could have been done better.  

While Kaye Abad really played Pinky in the most sympathetic way, one could not help but wonder why it felt as if this script had thrown all the progress of the women's movement over the years all out of the window. Pinky not only let abusive Anton walk all over her, and she had to resort to playing fools in order to talk to Yana. When her desperation reached her peak, she actually tearfully knelt on the floor before him, begging him to let her back into the house. Abad went all out for this scene, but honestly it was just so painful to watch. 2/10