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

  

Review of MEG 2: THE TRENCH: More Massive Monsters in the Marianas

August 15, 2023

It has been five years after the events of the last movie, Dr. Suyin Zhang had passed away and her teenage daughter Meiying (Shuya Sophia Cai) is being raised by her husband Jonas Taylor (Jason Statham). Her brother Jiuming (Wu Jing) has taken over her leadership of underwater research facility Mana One. Jiuming had actually raised a young female Meg he called Haiqi, and believed he had trained it to follow his commands via sonic signals. 

One day, Jonas and Jiuming led a team to explore the Mariana Trench, and Meiying stowed away on their craft. At an underwater station, they discovered that there had been illegal mining activities being undertaken by traitors from within Mana One. A reckless undersea explosion set off by the bad guys released not only the Megs, but more killer monsters from the trench, like the carnivorous dinosaur-like Snappers, and a tentacled giant Kraken.

This sequel basically followed the same formula of the first film. During scientific explorations into the deeper parts of the Marianas Trench, a breach of the thermocline caused the release of deadly prehistoric monsters to attack a popular beach resort. From only 2 Megs in the first film. we now have more voracious killers, not only Megs and Kraken from the sea, but also Snappers on land -- a mix of "Jaws," "Tentacles" and "Jurassic Park."  

The acting is very tongue-in-cheek from everyone in the cast, especially from Chinese actors. Wu Jing (also known as Jacky Wu) tends to have a comical expression on his face in his action scenes, coming off like a younger Jackie Chan. In contrast, Jason Statham is always in all-action hero mode as expected from him. The other actor who catches attention is Page Kennedy as Mana One engineer DJ, because of his wisecracks and emergency bag.  

There really is not much to expect in this movie except for shallow action entertainment. There were many people killed left and right by the Megs and the other creatures, and those can be a lot of morbid fun to watch for a film like this.  The situations with the Kraken and Snappers were all quite preposterous and over-the-top, done with a comic flavor. Of course, Statham can certainly pull off those impossible jetski and Meg-harpooning stunts very credibly. 5/10. 

RANKING THE 9 NARRATIVE FEATURE-LENGTH FILMS IN COMPETITION OF CINEMALAYA 2023

August 13, 2023

I have seen 9 out of the 10 feature length films in competition for this year's Cinemalaya film festival. The 10th film was a documentary entitled "Maria" by Sheryl Rose Andes, the first documentary film to compete against narrative feature films in Cinemalaya history, which I was not able to see. 

Here is how I ranked the 9 narrative feature-length films of Cinemalaya 2023 that I have seen:

9. TETHER (MY FULL REVIEW)

The production values of the film were not so polished, with dull colors, erratic sound and awkward costumes, likely because of budget limitations. The original songs did well to liven up the drab atmosphere. Ultimately, it was all up to lead actors Jorybelle Agoto and especially Mikoy Morales, who gave performances so strong, they lifted the film up another level, not allowing the stiff acting of their amateur supporting actors to completely sink key scenes. 

8. HULING PALABAS (MY FULL REVIEW)

First-time feature film writer and director Ryan Machado told the story of a teenage boy who was discovering and processing his sexual identity in one summer. This was not exactly a new topic in local indie films. However, Machado's secret ingredients clearly reflected in this film were his sentimental affection for his hometown of Looc; its unique tongue, Onhan (a variation of the Western Bisayan language), and its folklore about cursed beasts and encantos.

7. WHEN THIS IS ALL OVER (MY FULL REVIEW)

Many movies about drug-induced trips are shallow, but this first feature by Kevin Mayuga was actually quite multilayered. It tackled the contrasting pandemic lifestyles and behaviors of the penthouse rich and basement poor, in some sort of a local iteration of "Downton Abbey" in a condo. The friendship of The Guy and Rosemarie was established, but was not pursued much further because of circumstances, leaving us curious to see where this would lead.

6. BULAWAN NGA USA (MY FULL REVIEW)

This charming, unassuming Ilonggo film by Kenneth de la Cruz was one of the rare films which bravely goes against the usual down, dark and depressing road commonly taken by various Cinemalaya movies. Even if there are some serious issues of child abandonment along the way, most of the film had a light, childlike air about it as it followed Makoy's quest for an elusive enchanted element from his childhood. 

5. ROOKIE (MY FULL REVIEW)

Of all the films that I had watched in this year's Cinemalaya festival, this was one with the most audience impact. This was so far the only one where the audience, particularly the Gen Z and Gen A girls, were actually shrieking with delight as romance developed between Ace and Jana This film also took time to mention problems experienced by female athletes, like playing during her period, shaving armpits, wearing short shorts and sexual harassment. 

4. GITLING (MY FULL REVIEW)

Of all the films I had seen in this year's Cinemalaya, this was the one that is the most "arthouse" in impact. The camera work and angles while following the two lead characters, the subtleties in lighting of the scenes, the dramatic sweep of the musical score. It felt as if celebrated Chinese director Wong Kar Wai may be one of the cinematic heroes of first-time feature film director Jopy Arnaldo in the way he executed his ambitious script. 

3. AS IF IT'S TRUE (MY FULL REVIEW)

Like several movies in the last decade, this film, written and directed by John Rogers, also dealt with a relationship where online social media played a very big part. This was a complicated affair with a very thin and tenuous line dividing their genuine emotions from things which they only manufactured for online content. We see one thing now, but later turned out to be something else. The audience is teased back and forth this way up to the end.

2. ITI MAPUKPUKAW (MY FULL REVIEW)

Writer-director Carl Joseph Papa astutely decided that this complex, multi-layered tale dealing with a triggering subject matter can best be told by way of an animated film. Despite being overlain by animated computer graphics, we still see and feel the acting prowess of tried-and-true actors Carlo Aquino (a truly internalized acting performance), Dolly de Leon (for sweet maternal interaction in Ilocano language) and Gio Gahol (for a supportive BL angle) shining through. 

1. ANG DUYAN NG MAGITING (MY FULL REVIEW)

Two 17 year-old college students, Jose Santos (Miggy Jimenez) and Simon Manuel (Dylan Ray Taleon), had been picked up by policemen when they were found hanging around a church where a bomb just exploded. They were there because they wanted to immerse themselves with the plight of disenfranchised farmers. However, the policemen who arrested them were accusing them of being terrorists. 

The quality of the writing was astoundingly astute and hard-hitting as writer-director Dustin Celestino presented both sides of the arguments in scathing and acerbic, yet eloquently- and elegantly-constructed, statements. Despite the seriousness of the topics, Celestino was still able to inject welcome elements of dark humor into each episode, all succeeding to elicit uncomfortable but welcome laughter from the audience to break the extreme tension.    

Vivamax: Review of KAMADORA: Escaping Exploitation

August 12, 2023

For the past five years, Ica (Tiffany Grey) had been living in the boarding house of school teacher Aling Adeng (Angie Castrence) and her teenage nephew Abner (Itan Rosales). She worked as a salesgirl at the Davidson Mall, the biggest mall in the Camanava area, with her friends Melai (Armina Alegre) and Inday (Hurry Up Tingson). She was very hardworking and dedicated to her job, but would not hesitate to answer back to rude customers. 

Pretty and feisty, Ica had three men pursuing her. First was her predator boss Sir Galvez (Karl Medina) who kept calling her into his office for "reprimands." Second was a crooked policeman Roman (Jun Jun Quintana) who forced her to be his mistress by withholding information about her missing father. Third was her true love Dave (Victor Relosa), heir apparent to Don David Tantengco (Emmanuel dela Cruz), owner of the mall where she worked. 

With all the plot threads and characters that cult director Roman Perez, Jr. juggled in this film, he could have made his complicated story into a mini-series. However, he still tried to cram everything into its one hour and 44 minutes running time. Of course, he also had to stuff in various permutations of sexual couplings along the way, involving even minor side characters, leaving a very limited time for the meat of the story to be dramatized in full.

Because of this, Perez had to resort to a very detailed narration by Ica, relating her traumatic experiences from her childhood growing up with her mother Selya (Sue Prado) and her common-law husband Ruel (Raffy Tejada) who was engaged in criminal activity. She also had to narrate how she eventually got involved with Roman, then Dave. These were sordid melodramatic tales of abuse, rape and exploitation, signature Vivamax.

Through all the going back and forth in time and all the multiple characters involved, the film was not that easy to follow. By the end, however, I recognized that the idea of the story was actually good in substance, but sadly, those extraneous sex scenes really got in the way of good storytelling. A "kamador" was a henchman responsible for getting rid of murdered bodies. You need to wait up to the very last scene to see how the title fits into all this. 4/10. 

CINEMALAYA 2023: Review of HULING PALABAS: Rustic Realizations

August 11, 2023

It was 2001 in Looc, Romblon. Dominador "Andoy" Alejandro (Shun Mark Gomez) was 16 years old, about to turn 17. He never met his father and his mother was working out of town, so he lived with his aunt Fe (Senanda) and her husband Julio (Jay Gonzaga). Andoy and his best friend Pido (Bon Andrew Lentejas) loved watching movies at neighbors with VHS machines, and browsing at VHS rental stores even if they did not have money. 

As his graduation from high school approached, Andoy met a couple of people who fascinated him. One was Ariel (Serena Magiliw), the transwoman beautician who befriended Andoy after she saw him in tears at the waiting shed. The other was Isidro (Cedrick Juan), a tall, long-haired, fair-skinned fellow who had just returned home from the big city, whom Andoy espied sunbathing in the nude at the abandoned water reservoir. 

First-time feature film writer and director Ryan Machado told the story of a teenage boy who was discovering and processing his sexual identity in one summer. This was not exactly a new topic in local indie films. However, Machado's secret ingredients clearly reflected in this film were his sentimental affection for his hometown of Looc; its unique tongue, Onhan (a variation of the Western Bisayan language), and its folklore about cursed beasts and encantos.   

The pace of the first two acts was quite languid and relaxed, much like the laidback rural lifestyle of the small town depicted. However, the third act felt so hurried and jarring. There were scenes which are reminiscent of other gay coming-of-age films.  The scene of Andoy humiliating his uncle was like one similar scene in "2 Cool 2 Be 4gotten" (2016). Andoy's fascination with an older newcomer in town was akin to "Call Me By Your Name" (2017). 

Appreciation of this film would depend on one's world view about LGBT topics. Were Ariel and Isidro helpful friends in the liberation of Andoy's identity? Or were they bad influences who led Andoy astray? What was that red-lit bacchanalian party held by Isidro with Ariel and Andoy all about?  While it had rustic charm, that final scene showing what Andoy was up to after that fateful summer was anticlimactic, given his academic achievements. 5/10. 

CINEMALAYA 2023: Review of ITI MAPUKPUKAW: The Missing Mouth

August 10, 2023

Eric (Carlo Aquino) had not said a word since he was a child. He communicated by means of writing on a whiteboard which was hanging around his neck.  One night, his mother Rosalinda (Dolly de Leon) called him to check on his Uncle Rogelio, who had been missing for a few days already. From the animation studio where they worked overtime, Eric and his co-worker and new friend Carlo (Gio Gahol) went to his uncle's last known address.  

When we first see Eric, you immediately notice that he had no mouth, which coincided with his inability to speak (although we never see how he ingested food or water). After the events at his Uncle's house, Eric was revisited by a giant green alien which terrorized his nightmares as a child. With his every encounter with this alien, we would see Eric lose other organs from his body. Will he be able to beat this monster before he loses his whole self?

Writer-director Carl Joseph Papa astutely decided that this complex, multi-layered tale dealing with a triggering subject matter can best be told by way of an animated film. Like his previous triumph "Manang Biring" which won Best Picture in the CinemaOne Filmfest of 2015, Papa once again used rotoscopic animation style of having computer-generated images super-imposed on the actual actors acting out the scene, but this one is in full color realism.

Interspersed among the present day scenes were also animated scenes using a more childish style of artwork to tell the flashbacks of Eric's childhood. Instead of reducing the triggering effect, these moving kindergarten crayon drawings with that black doodle drawn to obscure the face of the bad person narrated by a child's voice made these events look and even feel more traumatic than they inherently were. This felt more mature than its R13 rating. 

Despite being overlain by animated computer graphics, we still see and feel the acting prowess of tried-and-true actors Carlo Aquino (a truly internalized acting performance), Dolly de Leon (for sweet maternal interaction in Ilocano language) and Gio Gahol (for a supportive BL angle) shining through. All three deserve acting nominations to recognize the challenge and difficulty of acting with a greenscreen in the manner they did. 8/10. 

CINEMALAYA 2023: Review of GITLING: Subtitling the Silent

August 10, 2023

Japanese filmmaker Makoto Kanno (Ken Yamamura) was invited to grace a film festival in Bacolod City which will feature one of his most famous films, noted for its last twenty minutes which was completely without dialogue. A Filipina translator, Jamie Lazaro (Gabby Padilla), had been hired by the festival director (Emmanuel dela Cruz) to help Makoto in his daily communications and also to write the subtitles for the film to be shown. 

Of all the films I had seen in this year's Cinemalaya, this was the one that is the most "arthouse" in impact. The camera work and angles while following the two lead characters, the subtleties in lighting of the scenes, the dramatic sweep of the musical score. It felt as if celebrated Chinese director Wong Kar Wai may be one of the cinematic heroes of first-time feature film director Jopy Arnaldo in the way he executed his ambitious script. 

There was hardly any action in this film, only intimate conversations between a Japanese film director and his Filipino interpreter for a good 100 or so minutes of its run time. You have to pay attention intently because these conversations would be conducted in five languages -- English, Tagalog, Hiligaynon, Nihonggo and Jamie's own invented language. The color-coded subtitles will be your friend here (although they were typed in a rather tiny, thin font).

One of the key plot moments was Makoto's decision to put subtitles in the silent third act of his masterpiece. This would be the highlight of the final night of the festival, as a special midnight screening to be held at the picturesque, exquisitely-lit Ruins. In a unique and remarkable innovation, Arnaldo himself would do this in "Gitling," as his wordless scenes would also be given subtitles to bring us into the unspoken thoughts of the two main characters. 

Veteran Japanese actor Ken Yamamura was so remarkable in its restraint. Despite the very subdued introversion of his character, Yamamura can draw audience sympathy to his problematic situation. One cannot help but be impressed with the way Gabby Padilla shifted seamlessly in all the five languages of the script, English with an affected accent notwithstanding. Padilla was certainly able to hold her own in this deep two-hander.  7/10. 

CINEMALAYA 2023: Review of ROOKIE: A Sapphic Sports Story

August 9, 2023

Maria Isabel Pilar "Ace" Asuncion (Pat Tingjuy) was a boyish teenager who loved to play basketball. Her dad just passed away and her mom's job brought them to a new neighborhood. So in her junior year, Ace had to transfer into a new school called San Lorenzo, a Catholic all-girls school without a basketball team. Instead, tall and athletic Ace was immediately recruited by the volleyball Coach Jules (Agot Isidro), who trained the school varsity team called the Angels.

Ace had a crush on the star player of the Angels, the pretty but intense Jana Ramos (Aya Fernandez). Her mother, a star volleyball player in her youth, had passed away, and her father pressured Jana to get recruited by a prestigious college volleyball team. Jana was very serious about winning games so she was very annoyed when Ace was suddenly included in the varsity team even if she did not know even the basics of volleyball.  

Of all the films that I had watched in this year's Cinemalaya festival, this was one with the most audience impact. This was so far the only one where the audience, particularly the Gen Z and Gen A girls, were actually shrieking with delight at each and every scene as romance developed between Ace and Jana -- from Ace's furtive glances from afar at first, to the bed arrangement at the training camp, to the prom night invitation and dance, and more. 

This film also took time to mention problems experienced by female athletes in high school, like playing during her period, shaving armpits, or wearing short shorts. However, it spent significant time recounting Ace's unfortunate experience with the predatory physical therapist of the team, Coach Kel (Mikoy Morales). The girls in the audience audibly expressed their disgust over this disturbing scene with loud gasps and murmurs.

There were also scenes of commentary about the attitude of the Catholic Church about the issues where Ace were involved.  During prom night, the nun at the entrance raised a problem about the outfit that Ace wore to the event. While discussing the issue of sexual harassment on campus, the oily father rector (Joel Saracho) cared more about the effect of the scandal on the school, and even cited the Bible.  Again, the girls loudly expressed their disdain. 

This film was co-written and directed by Samantha Lee, whose filmography mainly dealt with lesbian relationships among young ladies, like "Baka Bukas" (2017) and "Billie and Emma" (2018). This is the feature film debut for both Fernandez and Tingjuy, and they did a very good job portraying their respective characters. The two had good chemistry, and that was heard in the enthusiastic reaction of the audience rooting them on. 7/10. 

CINEMALAYA 2023: Review of TETHER: Cursed Connection

August 8, 2023

Eric (Mikoy Morales) was an smooth-talking playboy who can easily charm his way into bed with any girl. Kate (Jorybelle Agoto) was a timid loner who could not speak up against people who take advantage of her. One day, Eric, ever on the prowl, saw Kate by herself at the bar and struck up a conversation with her, which would eventually lead to a romp in the bedroom. The next morning, an extraordinary connection happened between them. 

You have to give it up for writer-director Gian Arre to come up with such a bizarre concept for his very first feature film. When two people fall in love, it is said that the have found a perfect connection with one another. However, in this film, the connection was so complete, in that one partner can totally feel what the other partner is feeling. This connection was so total such that both partners literally share their every sensation with each other.

I doubt if there is such a pathological condition that can affect two people, especially when it came to feeling pleasure or pain even when the two partners are not in the same place. When Arre upped the ante by showing that even real bleeding wounds can be inflicted on each other from a distance, this is already clearly in the realm of fantasy. It is practically voodoo, using one's own body as the voodoo doll against the partner.

In this type of story, it was tough for the writer-director-editor Arre to not have biases between his two characters. While it was Eric who was clearly the delinquent and unfaithful partner, it was Kate who used their mysterious connection to manipulate and hold Eric hostage against his will.  It was Kate who was shown to be the mentally-unstable, overbearing and actually terrifying partner, while Eric was shown as her trapped helpless victim. Is the ending 

While Mikoy Morales channeled Michael Douglas's charming, philandering male in "Fatal Attraction," while Jorybelle Agoto channeled Glenn Close's unhinged female who was not going to be ignored. Perhaps unjustly, the transformation of Morales's Eric from a cheerful free spirit into a dulled down zombie can gain audience sympathy, while Agoto's crazy mood swings and loud irrational arguments make her the bad guy.

The production values of the film were not so polished, with dull colors, erratic sound and awkward costumes, likely because of budget limitations. The original songs did well to liven up the depressing atmosphere. Ultimately, it was all up to Morales and Agoto who gave performances so strong, they lifted the film up another level, not allowing the stiff acting of their neophyte supporting actors to sink some key scenes. 5/10. 

CINEMALAYA 2023: Review of WHEN THIS IS ALL OVER: Tumultuous Trips

August 7, 2023

The Guy (Juan Karlos Labajo) worked for his Uncle to supply recreational drugs to his classy clientele. When the pandemic hit, a couple of rich girls from the penthouse of the building, Tanya (Nourijune Hooshmand) and Taylor (Chaye Mogg), called him for an order of weed edibles.  Later, they asked him to help them organize a rave party for their friends. When he learned that Taylor could help him get a US visa, The Guy was all in.

Frequently, The Guy would sneak up to the roofdeck of his condo building to smoke. He was always caught and asked to stop by the roofdeck caretaker Rosemarie (Jorybelle Agoto), who cited that smoking was against building policy. With a secret they agreed to keep between the two of them, The Guy and Rosemarie eventually become friends despite their differences. The Guy now realized he had the perfect venue for the girls' big party. 

The Guy was a drug pusher who would also be asked to take the drugs himself to convince his buyers that his products are good. Therefore, a good percentage of the film were The Guy's drug-induced trips with the psychedelic colors, imagery and musical score drawing the audience to immerse in it. His ultimate trip was the so-called "ego death" induced by a 'shroom concoction by his perpetually high neighbor Neeks (Jiro Umali).

Many movies about drug-induced trips are shallow, but this first feature by Kevin Mayuga was actually quite multilayered. It tackled the contrasting pandemic lifestyles and behaviors of the penthouse rich and basement poor, in some sort of a local iteration of "Downton Abbey" in a condo. The friendship of The Guy and Rosemarie was established, but was not pursued much further because of circumstances, leaving us curious to see where this would lead.

The rich characters like Tanya, Taylor, Nicole (Renee Dominique), and particularly the flamboyant character of Aaron (Aaron Maniego), were negatively portrayed as over-the-top bossy and selfish. Meanwhile the service staff like Rosemarie, Likha (Zara Loayon), Lottie (Lottie Bie) and Kuya Ruel (Jonathan Tadioan), were mostly friendly, meek and subservient, with the distinct exception of strict building manager Ms. Kate (Lotlot Bustamante). 

Juan Karlos had already proved his acting mettle in films like "Blue Room" (2022) and "Ako si Ninoy" (2023). His The Guy was practically onscreen for the whole film going through all kinds of emotions. We rode this roller coaster along with him from the blinding lights and throbbing club music, through his freaky, mind-bending psychogenic trips, until he came crashing down head first back into real world where he finally realized his true place. 

The film chose to devote more screen time to the relationship of The Guy with his estranged mother Lanie (Ana Abad Santos). She had married an American and soon immigrated to the States to build a new family, leaving The Guy to fend for himself on regular allowances that she sent over.  As much as this was where the main heart of the film lay, psychological studies of abandoned children are already a familiar topic in past Cinemalaya films. 5/10. 

Cinemalaya 2023: ANG DUYAN NG MAGITING: Aggressive Arguments

August 6, 2023

Two 17 year-old college students, Jose Santos (Miggy Jimenez) and Simon Manuel (Dylan Ray Taleon), had been picked up by policemen when they were found hanging around a church where a bomb just exploded. They were there because they wanted to immerse themselves with the plight of disenfranchised farmers. However, the policemen who arrested them were accusing them of being terrorists. 

The rest of the film followed other characters who were involved with the case of the two boys. Political science professor Victor Angeles (Jojit Lorenzo) was notorious for being an instigator for student activism. Social worker Jill Sebastian (Dolly de Leon) advocated for the boys against the biased police chief Gabriel Ventura (Paolo O'Hara). Helen Santos (Agot Isidro) brought Jose up by herself after her husband was killed in a political event.  

Also featured in their own episodes were: senior professor Michael Sy (Joel Saracho), whom the university administration had tasked to have a heart-to-heart talk with Victor about his radical views and their proposed punishment; Ventura's wife Cora (Frances Makil-Ignacio) who has yet to move on from the death of her own son; and Atty. Emy Gonzales (Bituin Escalante) who had a serious tête-à-tête with Ventura about the boys' case. 

Director Dustin Celestino had adapted his own Palanca-award winning full-length play to write the screenplay of this film, and the theatrical style of the writing cannot be denied. The structure of the play (and film) was somewhat like a chain, and felt like a series of powerfully-written one act plays playing one after the other. The scene most theater-like in execution was when as Cora got a sexual thrill as the torture of Jose played out in front of her. 

The ensemble is composed of veteran stage actors, and everyone delivered topnotch acting work. Lorenzo's Victor was a conundrum as he taught things he'd never done himself. De Leon's Jill may look timid, but she dared stand her ground. O'Hara's Gabriel was chilling as Makil-Ignacio's Cora was unhinged. Escalante's lawyer expertly played both sides. Isidro's Helen was absolutely earth-shattering with her intense maternal passion. 

Young actor Miggy Jimenez gets his biggest acting challenge of his career here, and he was able to hold his own. He played Jose as a typical well-to-do kid whose political awareness was naive and idealistic. His mestizo looks provided effective contrast with Dylan Ray Taleon's Simon who was from the lower income bracket. The effect of socio-economic status on the treatment of arrested suspects provided another level of thought-provoking discussion. 

The quality of the writing was astoundingly astute and hard-hitting as Celestino presented both sides of the arguments in scathing and acerbic, yet eloquently- and elegantly-constructed, statements. Despite the seriousness of the topics, Celestino was still able to inject welcome elements of dark humor into each episode, all succeeding to elicit uncomfortable but welcome laughter from the audience to break the extreme tension.    

The soundtrack only consisted of the dialogue, rightfully the main highlight of the film. The absence of any musical score made the proceedings feel more stark and tense. Practically each and every line will make you assess your own beliefs and attitudes about the various ethically-controversial topics brought up. The final scene left the door open for audiences to decide on the ending and process everything that they have just witnessed and heard. 9/10