Echoing John Carpenter’s seminal slasher, Jimmy Huston’s almost-forgotten Halloween wannabe Final Exam (then an unconscious subversion of the slasher genre), is an audaciously soiled exercise yet comes to dissatisfying fruition. The film may also be viewed as a gesture to boycott what is to come upon the release of Friday the 13th, the
Author: Armando Dela Cruz
Genre apologist. Coffee enthusiast. All-around good guy.
Trailer: You can’t get rid of ‘The Babadook’
Fresh from its recent festival runs (where it is showered with much critical love; Indiewire’s Sam Adams calls it “a flat-out masterpiece”), Jennifer Kent’s fest-fave Aussie horror The Babadook has made a new trailer available online, which should just about draw in a bigger audience to terrify. The film’s set-up is simple: it revolves
True to B-Movie Form, MTV’s ‘Scream’ Casts Hot Teacher and All-American B-Baller
Wes Craven’s clever postmodern-slasher Scream dwindled onto its trilogy (with the fourth film somewhat redeeming the franchise); yet the following it has cultivated is enough for a big-to-small screen transition. Because unless it hasn’t sunk in, American television is eternally obsessed with serial killers (only currently a quintuple times more, think: Hannibal, Bates Motel, True
Overtime
There are a lot of things going for Overtime — Wincy Aquino Ong’s ‘big pharma is bad’-commentary slapstick-actioner — although a lot of things also aren’t. Firstly, it is genre-bending; rarely is it that we see an awkward tech-whiz (whom we meet no earlier than halfway through the film) not only
Millenium Films’ ‘Leatherface’ Prequel is Happening; Further Messes-Up Franchise Mythos
Tobe Hooper’s seminal The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is being stretched one film longer — reports per entertainment site The Wrap — with Millenium Films’ prequel titled Leatherface planned for release. No one is officially involved with the film except Seth M. Sherwood who is to pen the script. The film is said to make a much
No Adele…Will Sam Smith Sing The “Bond 24” Theme Song?!
With an ominously turbulent orchestration and apropriately brassy, soulful vibe, Adele’s Oscar-winning Skyfall proves a righteous victor. “This is the end,” she warns. “Hold your breath and count to ten.” It is then a sensible and conscious decision on the part of the makers to rehire talent. But, as an anonymous MGM employee tips
Giveaway: Win a “Rurouni Kenshin” DVD!
Rurouni Kenshin 2: Kyoto Taika-hen (Kyoto Inferno), the sequel to Keishi Otomo’s widely successful adaptation of Rurouni Kenshin, based on Nobuhiro Watsuki’s same-name manga series, is coming to Philippine theaters this week. Those who haven’t watched the film yet, here’s your chance. We are giving away a DVD of the film in preparation
Dagitab
There is not much to do but surrender to Giancarlo Abrahan’s Dagitab (alternatively titled The Sparks), a film that holds captive its audience. It radiates in visual and textual opulence that only the deftest of hands can achieve. One scene in particular makes a perfect summation of the film as a fine work
Nora Aunor on Cinemalaya Posting Films on YouTube: “I think it’s like stealing.”
As predicted, the Awards Night for Philippine independent film festival Cinemalaya was, to sum up in two terms, very awkward. Winning Best Actress for Joel Lamangan’s Hustisya, Nora Aunor expressed her thoughts on the issue of Cinemalaya uploading previous years’ full-length entries to YouTube for free, saying it is tantamount to stealing.
Will Arnett Confirms Fifth-Season Renewal for “Arrested Development” is a Go
Arrested Development‘s return with its fifth season is no ‘would-they-or-wouldn’t-they?’ drama, but as fans we want things locked in and sealed with confirmed announcements. So rejoice now, fellow fanatics: the Bluths will be back! Of all it comes from Gob Bluth, portrayed by actor Will Arnett who recently sat down with The
1st Ko Si 3rd
In Real S. Florido’s 1st Ko si 3rd time plays two roles: one that creates a void and another that fills it. The case of Cory, an ageing woman compelled to rekindling an old flame, is curious and endearing, yet touches something deep and true: time is an eternal debt
Previous Cinemalaya Entries ‘Mistakenly’ Uploaded to YouTube
A YouTube account — belonging to one Janssen Agbada, a ‘technical personnel’ of Cinemalaya — had been host to ‘mistakenly’ uploaded videos of full-length, previous entries from the festival since yesterday. The account, in fest’s resolution, has already been taken down, but had made available online for a whole day
Children’s Show
Only a few frames from completely wallowing in its relentless, almost-stifling realism, director Roderick Cabrido’s debut feature Children’s Show swivels to the truly weird and beams us out of the film, where it is most necessary. Knowing when to retreat back a step shows calculation in his film’s ultra-violent madness;
Extended “Gotham” Trailer Lands Online; Teases Joker
There is a new extended trailer for Gotham arriving online; and to see the series — meant presumably to build a superhero universe from the ground-up — play many of its cards in hand is a welcome if fundamentally questionable move. Early in the universe (Bruce Wayne, note, is a young
Chris Pratt Makes Own Impromptu ‘Awesome Mixtape’; and it’s awesome indeed!
Portraying the role of Walkman-wielding space outlaw Peter Quill, a.k.a. Star-Lord might just be the best thing to happen in Chris Pratt’s long-spanning career. The Guardians of the Galaxy star is committing to a long line-up of future projects, including the upcoming Jurrasic Park sequel/reboot. In promoting the gargantuan blockbuster, Pratt unconsciously
#Y (Hashtag Y)
Gino M. Santos’s follow-up to his exuberant if shrouded debut The Animals is set once again within a circle of upper-class, party-‘till-drop youth (here, a quartet of twenty-somethings) frequenting night bars as if they were their sacred intersections, flush in neon lights and pumped with skittering beats and booming synths. The
Wes Craven Won’t Direct Pilot for MTV’s “Scream”; Full Cast Announced
Contrary to previous reports, Scream-creator Wes Craven will not direct the pilot for MTV’s television series — news coming in from Variety. The directing chair, instead, is handed over to For a Good Time, Cal… director Jamie Travis, who have made a handful of highly-acclaimed short films and a few episodes of Faking
8 Good Writing Practices from Neil Gaiman
The Sandman author Neil Gaiman built his enormous following (he has a Twitter empire, too, unless you aren’t a follower yet) thru his fantastical works for readers of popular literature. Yet, this shouldn’t be the point of ingesting the ahead writing practices he shares with his fans.Aside from having a ‘fathomless’
Mariquina
Jerrold Tarog’s ingenious work in last year’s Cinemalaya-entry Sana Dati distinguishes him as a man of fine, filmic talent: his film, closing the famed Camera Trilogy (sided with Confessional and Mangatyanan), is about acceptance and closure; yet it goes in all sorts of direction, transforming a simple romantic tale into
“Community” Might Parody “Game of Thrones,” Says DEAN-aerys
Jim Rash could just be the Mother of Dragons, or at least dress up as. In an interview at TV Line, the Community actor indulged on the possibility of a Game of Thrones being parodied in the show. We all know what a game of Dungeons & Dragons can do to Greendale’s favorite
K’na, the Dreamweaver
“When Kana, a young T’boli woman, becomes a dreamweaver, she has the chance to weave together her village’s warring clans. But, will she give up true love to do so?”
Asintado
“In the middle of the preparation for Taong Putik Festival, a young man penniless and in love, takes on a drug courier job that goes terribly wrong. To save him, his mother now makes the most difficult decision of her life.”
Guardians of the Galaxy
Our fifteen-year-old selves, as I am confident is the same for most, live in an era in which we are most willing to plunge and spike into the nerdiest depths and heights of cinematic exploration in our lifetime. By close and objective inspection, this is the most awesome! The 80’s
Legendary’s “Skull Island” Trails Deeper Into King Kong’s Perch
After the gargantuan success of Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla remake, it was only time until the Other Monster is brought back to screen, King Kong. Legendary Picture takes to Twitter their announcement on plans for said film, titled Skull Island, sounding excited and official. Here are the tweets, in full: @Legendary confirmed: feature film based
