Richard Somes’s Liwanag sa Dilim enacts a battle between good and evil, the timeless adventure of friends joined in defeating a villainous being, tykes assembled
Author: Armando Dela Cruz
Genre apologist. Coffee enthusiast. All-around good guy.
The Virtue of Naivety: the romantic dramedies of Antoinette Jadaone
Antoinette Jadaone is on the crusade of deciphering love—the great mystery she synonymizes to “katangahan” or naivety, so indulgently she chews in and spits out,
Before Midnight
Time is a consistent fascination for Richard Linklater. Friend or foe, time in his films is always depicted for being the most humanizing aspect of
The Taking of Deborah Logan
The collective torment in The Taking of Deborah Logan creeps back to an unenviable happenstance, one that does not enter Adam Robitel’s frames but reverberates
The ABCs of Death 2
The ABCs of Death anthologies do not necessarily invite to winnow of treasures on a proverbial pile of manure; they encourage its viewers, instead (for
Yam Laranas announces new thriller Abomination
Yam Laranas have had quite a space of time to bring in his next picture following the widely successful The Road (’12)—a generation-leaping horror-thriller following a young man’s unbecoming. If
The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death
The well-oiled mechanics of James Watkins‘ The Woman in Black (’12) see an unintentional “advent” of the so-called “modern tactics” in ghost stories of markedly classicist forms. Taking
American Sniper, Blackhat, M open this week in Philippine theaters
This week finds the release of American Sniper and Blackhat—two films I have already watched during the Awards, a.k.a. screener season. The former is a Clint Eastwood film perfectly
Tragic Theater
Rape is a difficult subject of conversation, but demonic possession is not. In fact there is a glut of stories and accounts concerning the occult on
Shake, Rattle & Roll XV
Of the annual Metro Manila Film Festival, since the film series’ awakening from its lengthy dormancy until ‘05, Shake, Rattle & Roll is bestowed upon
The Year in Horror: 15+ Best Films of 2014
Time has struck into the annual season of lists, where selectionis spontaneously divorced from apt and valid criterion; where unjust remarks are made; and people
Kubot: The Aswang Chronicles 2
A modest slice of entertainment, “Kubot: The Aswang Chronicles 2” is a return to the communal fun of adventures like Gagamboy (’03) and Magic Temple (1996).
The stylistic cunning of Magkakabaung
If you are not fond of spoilers but seek a considerably insightful piece on the film, I’d redirect you to Jonell Estillore‘s review here; the
Jason Paul Laxamana on his film Magkakabaung, Hanoi, and local cinema
Babagwa (eng title. The Spider’s Lair) is a modest triumph for Jason Paul Laxamana, a marked leap from his debut feature Astro Mayabang. But both
This year’s Sineng Pambansa has been reissued ‘Frightfest,’ playing right now in select Ayala Cinemas
This year’s government-backed film festival has not been particularly good. In my report of the fest, I expressed my contempt for three-quarters of the whole
6 films released this year that are inspired by John Carpenter
I still hold that his latest film The Ward (2010) is not a John Carpenter film; he is not involved in both the script-work and
Watch: Trailer for Terrence Malick’s new film Knight of Cups, starring Christian Bale
Terrence Malick’s new film Knight of Cups, starring Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett and Natalie Portman, has a first-trailer released, and, as most Malick trailers do,
Five on five—MMFF 2014 New Wave entries
Aside from the primary—essentially mainstream—line-up of films, the annual Metro Manila Film Festival has also committed to an “indie” section called New Wave, which
Watch: Cinemalaya 2014 award-winning short film Lola debuts online
Kevin Ang’s entry about a disillusioned grandmother (portrayed by Erlinda Villalobos) won all Best Director, Best Screenplay and Audience Choice awards at the recent Cinemalaya Film
Starry Eyes
Starry Eyes begins with a deceptively auspicious start—an obsessed starlet (played by Alex Essoe) stumbles to her first acting job—relying on studious atmospherics that evoke
WATCH: “Too scary” — MTRCB bans trailer for Tragic Theater
The above trailer for the new film by Tikoy Aguiluz (director of Segurista) is banned, for some reason, and was given an “X rating” by the
Watch: The trailer for David Robert Mitchell’s It Follows is genuinely unsettling
David Robert Mitchell launched It Follows at Cannes to thunderous raves, with critics already honouring it one of the best horror films of recent. We have
We are spilling details on the upcoming J.J. Abrams sci-fi feature—it’s top-secret!
The modest success of lo-fi found-footage Cloverfield has launched Matt Reeves to the world as an able storyteller, succeeding with much bigger projects such as
Watch: This Wes Anderson cut of the Star Wars VII teaser-trailer is c’est drôle
Remember the first three Star Wars parody trailers we shared? Well apparently the internet simply could not move past them because someone has made a Wes Anderson
