Our friends at Spring Films are celebrating its 10th year anniversary by showcasing some of the best from its roster in a series of special screenings at the Cine Adarna theater in UPFI. Spring Films is the film outfit behind beloved titles such as “Kimmy Dora: Kambal sa Kiyeme” and
Author: Armando Dela Cruz
Genre apologist. Coffee enthusiast. All-around good guy.
Cinema One Originals 2018 Festival Guide
Cinema One Originals 2018 is just a few days away. This year, with the theme “I Am Original”, the long-running fest is slated to serve nine new feature films, twelve shorts, and premieres for the restored versions of two of the most iconic movies in Philippine history. || Related: Cinema One
Call Me By Your Name
In “The Heptaméron”, Marguerite of Navarre asks the question: is it better to speak or to die? It’s a question that cradles us back to that thrilling, self-destructive, sweat-leaking-out-of-our-palms moment of professing our yearning for someone. Nevermind that it was merely a “special friendship”, which means everything and nothing at the same time.
Jason Paul Laxamana on filmmaking in the Philippines
The director of The Third Party, the newest Star Cinema offering starring Angel Locsin, Sam Milby, and Zanjoe Marudo, has agreed to do a sit-down with yours truly to talk about filmmaking in the Philippines. [dropcap size=big]T[/dropcap]he cynicism in Jason Paul Laxamana’s films, scathing as they may, are far too doting
Brillante Mendoza: Capturing spontaneity of moments in film
Avoid telling your characters their future; let them discover it on their own. [dropcap size=big]B[/dropcap]rillante Mendoza has a new featurette playing at the 2016 Tokyo International Film Festival; the featurette, titled “Shiniuma (Dead Horse)”, follows an old immigrant (Lou Veloso) who returns to the Philippines decades after being deported from
‘Ang Babae Sa Septic Tank 2’: Wacky first teaser is here!
Guess who’s back? [dropcap size=big]Q[/dropcap]uantum Films just released the teaser for the much-anticipated meta-comedy, Ang Babae Sa Septic Tank 2 (#ForeverIsNotEnough). Written by Chris Martinez and directed by Marlon Rivera, the film follows Eugene Domingo (who, in the film, plays a parodical version of herself), a bigger film and television star
Here’s the IMAX trailer for Tom Cruise actioner ‘Jack Reacher: Never Go Back’
I’m the guy you didn’t count on. [dropcap size=big]T[/dropcap]hat’s among a whole slew of lines that Tom Cruise—the Dorian Gray of Hollywood action films—spews in the IMAX trailer for his new film, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back. The film, which follows Reacher as a now-on-the-run fugitive, looks like it will play host
Viola Davis to star in Steve McQueen’s female heist thriller ‘Widows’
Viola Davis has been tapped to topbill Steve McQueen’s new film Widows. The acclaimed The Help-actress also stars in Fences, the latest from actor-filmmaker Denzel Washington. [dropcap size=big]A[/dropcap]cclaimed filmmaker Steve McQueen is working on a new heist thriller called Widows directing a screenplay written by Gone Girl-author/screenwriter, Gillian Flynn. The story follows a quartet of widows
Filipino filmmakers to get travel assistance from FDCP
Yeshua listens. [dropcap size=big]V[/dropcap]ia Inquirer.net, the Film Development Council of the Philippines (F.D.C.P.) has announced a travel assistance program that promises a standardized incentive scheme for filmmakers who require financial aid to attend international, outside-the-country film festivals that their films are competing in. The timing of this news—while doubtless welcome—to me,
Poster art for (movie about movie posters) ’24 x 36′ debuts
As film nerds, films like 24 x 36 enamor us. There is a whole culture that lives beyond the four nooks of a frame, and one that has always been fascinating, at least to me, is film posters. In what some consider an art long passed, filmmaker Kevin Burke finds the
M.M.F.F. unveils new ‘official’ logo
The Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) has subjected itself to quite a drastic change. To those who are not up to speed, the festival, infamous for its hiccups and controversies of the past, is promising its patrons a game-changing year for its 42nd edition. Perhaps the most welcome change is
‘Mercury Is Mine’ gets extended screenings at Ayala Cinemas
Jason Paul Laxamana’s Cinemalaya award-winning film, Mercury Is Mine, is getting a handful of extended screenings in select theaters at Ayala Malls. I’ve written a review on it, in which I talked in brief about its “forthright craziness”, which, to those familiar with his 2013 film Babagwa and liked it, is for certain something
‘Pamilya Ordinaryo’ to have its commercial run on August 31
Cinephiles, I come bearing good news. Fresh from its Cinemalaya win, Eduardo Roy Jr.’s award-winning drama Pamilya Ordinaryo is going to have a run at commercial theaters later this month. The film, which follows Ronwaldo Martin and Hasmine Killip as teenage vagabonds whose infant child gets kidnapped, is easily one of the
10 Cinemalaya Films You Can Stream Now on iFlix
I’m quite certain there’s such a thing as a “festival hangover”, the frisson that is watching new films buoyed by the steady stream of tweets and reasonably late writings. It happens all the time, with almost all film festivals I’d say. What we have now, though, is the ability to
Watch Ai Ai Delas Alas portray an aging prostitute in trailer for ‘Area’
I.C.Y.M.I.: The official trailer for Louie Ignacio’s new film Area just debuted online. The film, which stars Ai Ai Delas Alas, is set on a whorehouse in Pampanga dubbed an “area” in which aging prostitutes either wither away or limp to finally escape prostitution. There’s not much I can say about the
Mercury Is Mine
The defining trait of Jason Paul Laxamana’s Mercury Is Mine is its forthright craziness. Never has madness been beckoned with this much vigor; it’s reckless, relentless, and completely unsound of mind. The film opens with the title character, played by Bret Jackson, a young American, who, in the scene, finally
I America
I America, the new film from Ivan Payawal, is by no means a completely redemptive work. It is, instead, a hand-holding piece that argues the unfortunate failure of last year’s The Comeback is merely an unfortunate setback. And with his new film, the young director, at the very least, makes
Why do you go to film festivals?
One reason I hear from many is “for the experience”; one that, though I’m still at a loss of what it actually means, seems sensible. There’s a communal feeling to the entire experience of it: a plethora of purists; the proper showcase of films; the stretched discussions of films in
‘Smaller and Smaller Circles’ co-writer Ria Limjap on the book, the film, and everything in between
[et_pb_section admin_label=”Section” fullwidth=”off” specialty=”off”][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row”][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section admin_label=”Section” fullwidth=”on” specialty=”off”][et_pb_fullwidth_image admin_label=”Fullwidth Image” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” animation=”off” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” src=”https://www.filmpolicereviews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/JOANNA-2.jpg”] [/et_pb_fullwidth_image][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section admin_label=”section”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”2_3″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Intro Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” text_font=”Crimson Text||||” text_font_size=”20″ use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”] Lino Brocka famously said: “life in the Philippines is cheap”. These words seem to echo in Raya Martin’s
Lav Diaz’s ‘Ang Babaeng Humayo’ competes at Venice Film Fest
This year’s edition of the Venice Film Festival, its seventy-third, has listed a most exciting lineup, featuring works from Francois Ozon, Wim Wenders, Derek Cianfrance, Andrei Konchalovsky, Ana Lily Amirpour, and other great filmmakers. But of course, I’m here to report on one particular film: Lav Diaz’s Ang Babaeng Humayo
‘T2: Trainspotting’ teases the original cast’s return
This is going to be quick. We have nothing to share in the way of plot or story of the long-anticipated sequel to Danny Boyle’s 1999 classic, T2: Trainspotting, but we wanted to get your attention, anyway, because a teaser has just been released (thanks to Columbia Pictures for spotting
What Makes Japanese Horror Films Terrifying?
The Film Theorists’ has just uploaded a video essay built around the question of which element do Japanese horror films make them effective. The answer, gathers “Frame by Frame,” is with how these films make intelligent use of sound design and engineering. It’s an agreeable diagnosis, what with the wave
Adam Wingard’s ‘The Woods’ is actually a secret ‘Blair Witch’ project
It was right under our noses, but as it trails a widely beloved territory, will the new Adam Wingard film be out of the woods or did it just walk into a wildly treacherous one? Not much in the way of story has been made available for the new Adam
Giveaway Blitz: Free iFlix Subscriptions!
Film Police Reviews is turning two this August, and as our way of expressing our gratitude, we’re doing a giveaway blitz throughout the whole month. First on the roster is a handful of free subscriptions on iFlix, which, for what it’s worth, is I think an incredible prize to win.
Do Ratings in Film Reviews Ruin Criticism?
Film reviews are usually appended with some form of rating system, a scale designed to enable readers to identify how much or little the critic recommends a film. It comes in different shapes and forms aplenty, but its service—which is that to surmise, at the instance of a glance, the critic
