Mini-Reviews of A-List Series Presents: FDCP WORLD CINEMA 2023

 August 30, 2023

AFTERSUN

Written and Directed by Charlotte Wells

One summer, 11-year-old Sophie (Frankie Corio) went to visit Turkey with her 30-year-old father Calum (Paul Mescal). She recorded their time together on her MiniDV camera. Sophie was friendly with other British teenagers in the resort, including a boy her age named Michael (Brooklyn Toulson). Calum, now living in London apart from Sophie and her mom, was trying his best to put up a happy front, keeping to himself the problems he was having.

Having read all this effusive praise for Charlotte Well's directorial debut, as well as Paul Mescal's Oscar nomination for Best Actor, must have given me very lofty expectations which were too much for this humble indie film to fulfill. For me, it felt so much like watching a random stranger's home video from her vacation that I hardly felt any connection to. Temper your expectations before you watch, and you will probably get to appreciate it more. 4/10. 

CLOSE

Written and Directed by Lukas Dhont

In rural Belgium, two 13-year-old boys, Léo and Rémi were the best of friends and were very close to one another. They spent a lot of time playing together at the flower farm of Leo's parents. When their classmates began teasing them about being gay, Leo did not like the innuendo and began to distance himself away from Remi. When Remi confronted him about it, Leo became very defensive, and they had a physical fight about it. 

The intimate way director Lukas Dhont showed us the break down of a very close friendship between two boys was a very uncomfortable cinematic experience for us in the audience. The climactic twist was one of extreme sadness that no one saw forthcoming, and because of Dhont's excellent build-up, the emotional effects were devastating. Dhont decided not to spoon-fed us the correct answers, challenging us to think hard. 8/10. 

CORSAGE

Written and Directed by Marie Kreutzer

With all her ceremonial duties, Empress Elisabeth (Vicky Krieps) was unhappy as the wife of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria (Florian Teichtmeister). Her constraints were represented by the tightness of the corsets she needs to wear, and she rebelled against them. She only confided with her trusted friend Countess Marie Festetics (Katharina Lorenz), and enjoyed activities with her cousin King Ludwig II of Bavaria (Manuel Rubey).

Director Marie Kreutzer used a lot of innovative techniques to set this apart from the usual period biopic. There was technical surprises in the cinematography and musical score. There were inserted black-and-white scenes from the newly-invented motion picture camera by Louie Le Prince (Finnegan Oldfield). There were a couple of scenes featuring modern pop songs ("Help Me Make It Through the Night," "As Tears Go By"). 7/10

RETURN TO SEOUL

Written and Directed by Davy Chou 

Freddie Benoit was a Korean who was adopted by a French family when she was still a baby. Now a young woman of 25, Freddie decided to fly to Seoul, Korea when her trip to Japan did not push through. While in Seoul, Freddie tried to look for her birth parents from the adoption agency who facilitated it. She was met with varied reactions -- one parent was over-apologetic, while the other one did not seem to care to see her.

As played by Park Ji-min, Freddie was not exactly a likable person. Her headstrong, rude attitude is not easy to watch or sympathize with. She had some relationships along the way, strangest being with a middle-aged French arms dealer. The belated reunion scene of Freddie and her birth mother was very unsatisfactory. The whole final scene of older Freddie at a remote hotel was a puzzling conclusion. 4/10

Review of PAST LIVES: Instilled on Inyeon

 August 30, 2023

As children growing up in Seoul, South Korea, Na Young (Seung Ah-moon) and Hae Sung (Seung Min-yim) were classmates in school, competitors for top honors, and good friends who walked home together everyday. One day, Na Young's parents (Ji Hye Yoon and Choi Won-young) decided to migrate to Toronto, Canada. Her mother told Hae Sung's mother (Min Young-ahn) their plans, as the kids played together at the park.

12 years later, Na Young (Greta Lee) had moved to New York City to work as a playwright, taking on the name of Nora. Her mother told her that Hae Sung (Teo Yoo) had posted on her father's Facebook page that he was trying to get in touch with Na Young. The two friends reconnected via daily online video calls but no one could commit to visiting the other. When Nora took a break to attend a writer's retreat, she met fellow writer Arthur (John Magaro).

This romantic film is the directorial debut of South Korean-Canadian playwright and filmmaker Celine Song. The story began familiarly, two close childhood friends were separated by distance and time. 12 years later, they reconnect and expressed how much they missed each other. By this time, Song has drawn us in to see if their past inyeon (connection) will allow this couple to get back together or not, even if it would take 12 more years for us to know.

The way Song approached her story was very slow burn, and that is not only because it took more than two decades to unfold. The events in each of three segments of their relationship were told in a most restrained and controlled manner. Despite a clear conflict, there were absolutely no moments of heightened emotions, no anger, no melodrama. Even when not much words are said, we feel what they want to say in subtle visual clues Song provides.

There was that chemistry between lead actors Greta Lee and Teo Yoo which made you want to root for Na Young and Hae Sung's friendship to go up the next level. However, John Magaro played unenviable role of the man who, through no fault of his own, stood in their way. Because of the elegantly understated mood Song built up, these actors only had their facial expressions and vocal inflections to reflect the nuances of their characters. 9/10. 

Netflix: Mini-Reviews of HEART OF STONE and HIDDEN STRIKE

August 29, 2023

HEART OF STONE

Directed by Tom Harper

Screenplay by Greg Rucka and Allison Schroeder

In the snowy Italian Alps, technician Rachel Stone (Gal Gadot) stayed in their van as backup, while MI6 field agents Parker (Jamie Dornan), Yang (Jing Lusi), and Bailey (Paul Ready) were extracting an arms dealer. The mission went completely wrong. Surprisingly instead of taking cover, Stone contacted her other bosses in the secret coalition called the Charter, to get into the action as their field agent "Nine of Hearts." 

The very concept of this film was very much like other spy franchises and their complex missions. Here, there were two groups of agents going after a target called "The Heart", a powerful AI program capable of hacking into any computer in the world -- which is basically the same plot as the recent "Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One". Aside from double agents with self-interests, there was also a misguided tech genius (Alia Bhatt). 

Gal Gadot's acting chops are admittedly quite limited, but her beauty and a powerful star presence going for her here. Of course, you knew it was not her doing all those wild stunts on the snowy action sequence in the first act, or that brutal fight scene with a man twice her weight in the final act. However, she can still sell them with her smile and charisma, even if the suspension of disbelief could be quite a bit of a stretch. 5/10

HIDDEN STRIKE

Directed by Scott Waugh

Written by Arash Amel

Terrorist Owen Paddock (Pilou Asbæk) took over a Chinese-owned oil refinery in Iraq. The chief of security of that firm was "Dragon" Luo Feng (Jackie Chan) and he was tasked to evacuate the civilian employees to safety. Meanwhile, ex-Marine Chris Van Horne (John Cena) reluctantly joined a mission of his mercenary brother to raid that convoy. Luo Feng and Chris end up joining forces to rescue the hostages and the plant. 

The story of this action-comedy was paper-thin so this only depended on the charisma of its two lead stars to save it from total oblivion. Jackie Chan played his typical heroic bit, plus overprotective father schtick once again. His action sequences are still the highlight of this movie, as it always had been in all his movies. The best action here was in that frenetic fight scene among the gas tanks with the yellow pipes. 

John Cena has been developing his own style of action-comedy since his pro-wrestling days in the WWE, and so far his whole filmography is practically in that subgenre. Like Chan, Cena is an amiable funny guy, even silly, but is well-worth his action cred. Chan and Cena had an awkward chemistry at first, but that was the intention. To take full advantage of his partnership with Chan, Cena even flexed his ability to deliver lines in Mandarin. 5/10 

Review of RETRIBUTION: Explosive Encumbrance

 August 29, 2023

Matt Turner (Liam Neeson) was a very busy fund manager who had very strained relations with his wife Heather (Embeth Davidtz) and their two children, teenager Zach (Jack Champion) and preteen Emily (Lilly Aspell). One morning, he reluctantly accepted a request from Heather that he be the one to bring the kids to school. Along the way, an unfamiliar ring tone began to ring from inside the armrest. 

When Matt answered the phone, a strange male voice on the other line told him that their car had been booby-trapped with bombs. These bombs were weight-sensitive, all activated when they took their seats. The minute it detects that Matt or the kids had gotten out of their seats, the car would explode. Matt was threatened that he should follow all the orders given to him, that is, if he wanted his family to live.

Since his sleeper box-office hit "Taken" (2008) at age 56, nary a year passed by that Liam Neeson did not have action-thriller in the can. These were usually B-grade and forgettable, but Neeson just kept on doing them even up to now, doing physical stunts even with his advancing age. Mercifully, "Retribution" had no running and fighting for 71-year old Neeson, just keeping him in the driver's seat of his car the whole time. 

This movie was practically all Neeson's show in close-up as he kept a conversation running with the unknown entity on the phone. There were some interactions with the annoying kids at the back of the car, and his unhappy wife Heather with her issues. There would be some high-stress encounters with a couple of Matt's co-workers along the way, his boss Anders Muller (Matthew Modine) and colleague Sylvain (Arian Moayed). 

The trailer reminded me of another film about a bomb in a moving vehicle, "Speed" (1994), but the full film did not exactly turn out that way. Of course, this whole scheme would also be about money, but the bomber this time was demanding a much, much higher monetary settlement than the $3.5M in "Speed." Like other recent Neeson thrillers, it was good for a quickie thrill, but hardly anything will register afterwards. 5/10. 

Vivamax: Review of SUGAPA: Beastly Betrayal

August 25, 2023

Ben (Aljur Abrenica) and Ana (AJ Raval) lost their home in La Union when their uncle Arturo (Archie Adamos) outbid Ana's mother Rita (Ana Abad Santos) at the bank.  Arturo asked for P500,000 for them to buy the land back from him. Ben decided that they go try their luck in Angeles, Pampanga, where his friend Mando (Lander Vera Perez) could help them find jobs. While Ben worked in a restaurant, Ana worked at a nightclub. 

However, with the move to the big city, it was inevitable that trouble finds its way into their lives. Ben became addicted to online cockfighting, and getting into big debts with the bookie (Mark Dionisio). In his desperation to raise quick cash, Ben did an unthinkable deed that drove a humiliated Ana away from him, and right into the arms of her benefactor, ex-cop Sarge Teodoro (Art Acuna), who made her his mistress and the manager of his bar. 

It has been sometime since the last Vivamax project of director Law Fajardo, which was "Nightbird" released in January 2023. This time, he brings back the so-called original Vivamax A-lister, AJ Raval, whose last film had been "Us X Her" released November 2022. This is her first film after her much-publicized removal of her breast implants last March, reportedly in order to focus on becoming a better actress. 

And true to her promise, AJ Raval delivered and proved here that she was serious about improving her acting craft. "Sugapa" features her AJ's best acting performance since her celebrated Vivamax debut in "Paglaki Ko, Gusto Kong Maging Pornstar."  Gone were all her self-conscious mannerisms of the past, she has genuinely transformed into Ana. Her emotional breakdown scene while confronting Ben was gut-wrenching. 

Unfortunately, Aljur Abrenica, despite his much longer experience as an actor, gave a relatively wan, lifeless performance as Ben. This was made even more evident in contrast with AJ's burning passion as Ana. His face constantly had that blank, sad sack expression that did not come across too well onscreen. This was disappointing especially as this film is the first that paired these two real-life lovers as onscreen partners. 

The screenplay by John Bedia tread familiar ground with the misguided decisions in life men make in order to pay off a big debt. The means Bedia thought about for Ben to escape his obligation was particularly despicable. I wished that the events after that act of betrayal could have been less melodramatic in development. Anyhow, the direction, editing, and production design was done very well by Law Fajardo, back in fine form, with lush camera work by DP Joshua Reyles. 6/10. 

Review of TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: MUTANT MAYHEM: Out from the Ooze

August 24, 2023

Because he disagreed with how the Techno Cosmic Research Institute head Cynthia Utrom (Maya Utrom (Maya Rudolph) wanted to use his mutant-creating technology, scientist Baxter Stockman (Giancarlo Esposito) went into hiding. One night, TCRI agents caused an explosion in Stockman's lab that killed him and his family of mutant animals, while one vial of his green ooze rolled down into the maze-like sewers of New York City. 

Fifteen years later, there were four teenage humanoid turtles -- improv comedian in orange Michaelangelo (Shamon Brown Jr.), big burly in red Raphael (Brady Noon), bespectacled geek in purple Donatello (Micah Abbey), and their anxious leader in blue Leonardo (Nicholas Cantu) -- who lived in the sewers, The brothers were raised by their over-protective father, an old rat named Splinter (Jackie Chan), who taught them martial arts. 

Their first human friend April O'Neil (Ayo Edebiri of "The Bear") was also still a dorky teenager in high school here. She wanted to be a reporter but the camera made her extremely nervous and notoriously so.  The antagonist here is a sociopathic mutant fly named Superfly (Ice Cube), who led a squad of other mutant creatures, including warthog Bebop (Seth Rogan), rhino Rocksteady (John Cena) and Mondo Gecko (Paul Rudd), among others.

The main story here was how the turtles wanted to mingle in the human society above, something Splinter always warned them against. The turtles thought that stopping Superfly and gang can make them into heroes whom the humans will love. However, when they meet the other animal mutants, they also felt a bond with them because of their common origins, hence tough decisions needed to be made. 

This script took Seth Rogan and four more people to write. It was set in the present day, with numerous fun references to pop singers like Beyonce and Adele, and movies like "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," "Avengers Endgame" and "Attack on Titan." The musical soundtrack included a couple of 90s earworm hits -- Blackstreet's "No Diggity" during an "OldBoy"-inspired fight scene, and 4 Non Blondes' "What's Up" during a crazy car chase scene. 

Director Jeff Rowe was just nominated for an Oscar for his last project "Mitchells and the Machines" (2021) even with its anti-Disney style artwork. The artwork of this new film is even bolder, with raw, rough "sketches" with thick lines and bold colors done using pastel crayons. It is this novel-looking, deliberately unrefined artwork style that gave this film its unique quality that makes it more memorable than if the original art style was retained. 7/10. 

Review of WISH YOU WERE THE ONE: Daring Destiny

 August 23, 2023

Astrud Estrellado (Bela Padilla) had a successful business making curtains and uniforms. One night, she wanted to surprise her chef boyfriend Jordan (Kean Cipriano) with a birthday cake, but walked in on him making out with a pretty cook in his kitchen. They broke up. That same night, geeky landscaper Ellis Perry Sumilang (JC Santos) was rejected by his high-society girlfriend Zoey (Franki Russell) when he proposed to her with a diamond ring. They broke up. 

Four months later, Astrud learned that Jordan was the chef of a gay wedding reception in Tagaytay. She decided she needed to go in and talk with him there. By coincidence, Ellis was also in that party but his date stood him up. Desperate, Astrud walked up to Ellis and asked him if he could name her as his date so she can enter the venue. Ellis agreed, on the condition that he can introduce her to Zoey and her friends as his new girlfriend. 

Bela Padilla and JC Santos played screen partners four times before: "100 Tula ni Stella" (Jason Paul Laxamana, 2017), "The Day After Valentines" (Laxamana, 2018), "Vodka, Beers and Regrets" (Emma Villamor, 2020) and "366" (Bela Padilla, 2022). Despite the potent chemistry between the two stars, things did not exactly go too well for their onscreen relationships in all of these movies. Will things go any better between them in this new one?

Because of marital issues between her parents (Romnick Sarmenta and Che Ramos), Astrud grew up promising herself that she would never be the one to be left high and dry by her partner. As before, Padilla played bitter Astrud in her usual winsome style, such that it was inevitable for us to like her and root for her. It also helped that Padilla, in her copper (or was that gold?) cocktail dress and long wavy hair, looked positively stunning. 

As Ellis, JC Santos kept pace with the effusive energy of Padilla's Astrud all throughout. Ellis was a young man who dared to court Zoey, an upper-class girl clearly out of his league, despite ridicule he received from her snobbish friends Louisiana (Kaladkaren), Georgina (Peach Caparas) and Rowan (Itan Magnaye). Santos can play this familiar underdog character like the back of his hand by now, but his Ellis still had secrets to spare. 

Writer Enrico C. Santos came up with a refreshing scenario of how romance can bloom between two people with chips on their shoulders. He intertwined their paths three times before without them knowing it, making a strong argument for how destiny worked for them. Director Derick Cabrido told the story with a dreamy filter, which heightened the emotional connection with his audience, many of whom may be left teary-eyed by the finale. 8/10. 

Review of GRAN TURISMO: Intent on Immortality

 August 21, 2023

Marketing executive Danny Moore (Orlando Bloom) pitched an idea to his bosses in Nissan his idea to recruit the best players of Gran Turismo, a motorcar racing simulator game by Playstation, to become real-life competitive racecar drivers. Cognizant of the dangers this seemingly foolhardy plan involved, Moore had a hard time hiring a trainer, until ex-racecar driver, now mechanic, Jack Salter (David Harbour) agreed to take on the job.  

One of the top scoring Gran Turismo players of the world invited to participate was Jann Mardenborough (Archie Madekwe), a university dropout from Cardiff, Wales. His father Steve (Djimon Hounsou) was particularly critical about Jann's obsession with Gran Turismo. He thought that this game could never help Jann achieve his dreams of becoming a real race car driver. However, Jann won his race and was admitted to the GT Academy to train. 

Before anything else, the film paid tribute to Kazunori Yamauchi, the creator of Gran Turismo, and regaled on how the meticulous details of this game perfectly captured the experience of being racecar drivers. It was this conceit that led Danny Moore to come up with this wild idea aiming to boost the sales of Nissan cars. The Nissan bosses did not lose time agreeing to Moore's plan, and the film settled this backstory within the first five minutes. 

The racing scenes edited together actual racecar footage with overhead scenes as from a Gran Turismo game. The rank of Jann's car was always labeled while it was running so we know how he was doing. If not that way, there were also labels in big letters that tell what lap it was already. It was also looked very good when images of racecars were being constructed and deconstructed around Jann in his bedroom or arcade playing his video game. 

Archie Mardekwe may be a relatively new face, but his 6'4" height makes his Jann stand out from the crowd. From "Stranger Things" and "Black Widow," David Harbour can really portray these father figure characters like Jack Salter very well. Orlando Bloom looked much older since we last saw him in the last "Pirates of the Caribbean" film (2017). Djimon Hounsou portrayal was Jann's Dad was the film's emotional core. If you thought Jann's Mum looked familiar, she is none other than Ginger Spice herself, Geri Halliwell!

Overall, this film is, in essence, a typical sports movie, where an underdog candidate defied the odds to achieve his dreams. From the trailer alone, we practically know the whole story already. Nevertheless, there were still some shocking events that happen in between that kept things exciting. Its musical soundtrack, featuring Kenny G and Enya, provided some amusing moments. An additional plus was that this film by Neill Blomkamp was based on the story of the real Jann Mardenborough, the youngest GT Academy champ in 2011. 7/10

Review of THIRD WORLD ROMANCE: Poor and Pragmatic

August 19, 2023

One day, while people lining up for ayuda at the center during the pandemic, there was a sudden strong downpour. Getting drenched, Britney (Charlie Dizon) hurriedly ducked under the umbrella of the guy next to her, Alvin (Carlo Aquino). From there developed a friendship that led to Alvin helping Britney get a job as a cashier at the Wynn Grocery where he worked as a bagger. Eventually, the two got to know each other better and fell in love.

Being an indie romance between two young people in Class D (lower middle class), their days of bliss were expectedly not going last too long, even if they promised to keep each other happy every day.  There were issues arising from Britney's OFW single mother Ging (Ana Abad Santos) whose employer abandoned her in Oman. There would also be problems arising from the way grocery supervisor Sir Dodong (Archi Adamos) ran his store.

As twentysomethings in the workforce, they would rather keep their mouths shut in the face of unfair labor practices, like running extra errands outside their job description, or not receiving their overtime pay for several months. Newcomers may have idealistic mindsets about how they should be treated fairly as employees by their bosses. However, when the time comes that fighting back could mean losing their jobs, can they still walk their talk?

Carlo Aquino again plays romantic lead here, a hot streak that began from "Meet Me in St. Gallen" (2018) up to "Seasons" (2023) then this one, playing consorts to beauties from Bela Padilla to Lovi Poe, and now, Charlie Diaz. Even at age 37, Aquino can still pull off the youthful energy of a guy supposedly the son of Iyah Mina, just 10 years his senior. As expected, he had both the rom-com and the romantic drama down pat as second nature.

Since breaking into showbiz big time in 2020 with "Fan Girl" and "Four Sisters Before the Wedding," Charlie Dizon only returns to the big screen now.  In three years, she looked quite different, more mature, like a different person. As she played a blue-collar worker, Dizon was deglamorized here with shorter hair and pimply forehead. Her Britney was plucky, street-smart and knew how to stand up for her rights, until she didn't. 

The production design of this Dwein Baltazar film was a bit problematic. The residences of Britney and Alvin were very spacious, not like those where a real bagger or cashier could afford to live in. Britney's bedroom even had a lampshade and capiz windows that opened out on a roof.  Alvin's motorcycle also did not look like it was the cheapest model. Alvin's family, while unconventional with LGBT dynamics, did not seem to be lacking means for him to be stuck in a menial job.  6/10. 

Vivamax: Review of KAHALILI: Bizarre Boldness

 August 19, 2023

Martha (Stephanie Raz) was sent by her agency to the mansion of Rod (Sid Lucero) and Isabel (Millen Gal) to be their housemaid. Isabel was a conservative religious woman who often quoted Biblical verses. When the couple found out that Martha was still a virgin, Isabel offered her a million pesos to be the surrogate mother of their child. However, as Isabel was a devotee of the divine, she wanted Martha to conceive her a baby the natural way. 

This particular Vivamax film directed by Bobby Bonifacio Jr. has the most ambitious concept that I have seen in recent memory. This is Bonifacio's fourth feature film for Vivamax, after intense drama "Tahan" (2022) and a couple of comedies "Bula" (2022) and "Salamat Daks" (2023). For his newest project, Bonifacio goes back to horror, the genre of his first film of note "Numbalikdiwa" (2008) and his comeback project "Hospicio" (2016). 

It is interesting to note that Bonifacio brought back some elements from "Hospicio" into the story of "Kahalili," like sisterhood and drug addiction. By the end, it would be evident that the title "Kahallili" (or "replacement") would mean more than its more apparent reference to surrogate motherhood. The style of horror in "Kahalili" was ritualistic and hedonistic, reminiscent of Dario Argento's "Suspiria" (1977) and Ari Aster's "Midsommar" (2019).

Stephanie Raz has been featured in several Vivamax films since her debut in "Pornstar 2" (2021), mostly in supporting and antagonist roles. Her two more conventionally beautiful sisters, Micaela Raz ("Bata Pa si Sabel") and Angela Morena ("La Querida"), both had their solo breakout films already much earlier, and now it is Stephanie's turn. Stephanie may seem miscast at first, but as the story turned out, her casting as Martha was actually astute. 

Sid Lucero underplayed his part Rod here, but his eyes can project intensity. After low key roles in several Vivamax films since Virgin Forest (2022), Millen Gal makes a grand bid for stardom as the barren desperate, and deranged wife Isabel. This is stud du jour Victor Relosa's third consecutive Vivamax film in three weeks, playing Martha's no-good boyfriend Carlos.  Mercedes Cabral lent her indie cred here in a smaller but significant role as Martha's sister. 

The screenplay by Juvy Galamiton was bold, bitter and bizarre. The technical elements, above average for a Vivamax film, all deserve commendation: the eerie sound design by Armand de Guzman, the atmospheric musical score by Emerzon Texon, the mind-boggling jump cuts by editors Nelson Villamayor and Noah Tonga, the eclectic production design of Sigrid T. Polon and Junebert Cantila, and the moody cinematography by Michael Henree J. Bautista. 6/10. 

Review of BLUE BEETLE: Mexican Might

August 16, 2023

After graduating pre-law from Gotham College, Jaime Reyes (Xolo Maridueña) went back to his home in Palmera City. His family was composed of his parents Alberto and Rocio (Damián Alcázar and Elpidia Carrillo), his sister Milagro (Belissa Escobedo), grandmother Nana (Adriana Barraza) and Uncle Rudy (George Lopez). The happy homecoming was marred by many financial and health problems which forced Jaime to find a job at once. 

Jenny Kord (Bruna Marquezine) is the daughter of Kord Industries CEO Ted Kord. Her aunt Victoria (Susan Sarandon) took over their family's multi-million business after Ted's death. When Jaime visited Jenny to ask for a job, she asked him to safekeep a box, which turned out to contain the Scarab, an ancient alien artifact. When Jaime held the Scarab, it integrated its way inside his body and gave him a bulletproof exoskeleton and awesome abilities.

I went to watch this film without knowing anything about the Blue Beetle. When the opening credits were rolling and there were no familiar names in the mostly Latino cast except for Susan Sarandon and George Lopez, so I did not expect too much. However, Jaime and the Reyes family are easy to love and we rooted for them to overcome their difficult situation, especially as the bad guys came after them to give up the Scarab.

The name of lead actor Xolo Maridueña may be unfamiliar, but fans of the Netflix nostalgia series "Cobra Kai" will recognize him as the young karate apprentice Miguel Diaz. He gives a likable and charismatic performance as the reluctant superhero Jaime Reyes. He had great chemistry with his screen family, particularly veteran comedian Lopez (as his loud, resourceful Uncle Rudy) and Oscar nominee Barraza (as his unexpectedly empowered Nana). 

The structure of the story was very similar, almost exactly, with the humor and heartwarming family dynamics of another superhero DC franchise -- "Shazam." A young man gets other-worldly superpowers to fight bad guys. When he gets into a tangle later on, his family also gets into the action with their own super-weapons. Of course, this one had a strong Mexican flavor, some dark scary transformation moments and Jaime had a love interest here. 

As a bonus for Filipino fans, the alien inside the Scarab Khaji-da (originally voiced by Mexican-American pop singer Becky G.) was voiced by Filipina voice artist Inka Magnaye, the voice of Philippine Airlines' pre-flight safety instructional video. She would surprise us now and then by injecting some Filipino phrases into her lines.

There was an extra midcredits scene that opens up a possibility of a sequel. There were also random references to Superman, Batman and the Flash, which confirms that they exist in this universe, hinting on a possibility to integrate the Blue Beetle with the Justice League. 7/10