The Toronto International Film Festival, a.k.a. TIFF, with the theme “Infinite Views” kicks off from September 8 to 18, 2016. The impressive lineup of films includes previously-crowned Cannes entries and buzzed-about films speculated to get an Oscar nod. For those of you who are in Canada that time, it goes
Category: Features
Korean Film Festival 2016
From September 8 to October 16, 2016, you’ll get the chance to immerse yourself with some of the greatest Korean films in the 2016 Korean Film Festival. Spearheaded by the Korean Cultural Center and Embassy of the Republic of Korea in the Philippines, with the theme “Strong Hearts,” this film
9 Arf-solutely Paw-some Dog Films to Binge Watch
We don’t want to spark a debate here but dogs are by far the most desirable pets on this planet. They are simple-minded, loyal and obedient beasts (compared to those scheming cats who explicitly expressed their intentions to rule the world). “A dog is the only thing on earth that
Staff Picks: Our favorite Steven Spielberg films
Steven Spielberg’s new film The B.F.G. came out in theaters last week, and giving our due respects to the great director, we’re dedicating this week’s F.P.R. Picks to celebrate his greatest films. But before that, a bit of introduction to Spielberg and his work: Entering the frame with amassed directing
The 2017 ‘The Mummy’ is actually sounding fun
We are ways away from the 2017 film The Mummy, but things are starting to get a little too exciting. Our guest contributor Eric Shaw lets out his excitement for the upcoming Tom Cruise and Russell Crowe-starring franchise reboot. [dropcap size=small]T[/dropcap]he concept of Alex Kurtzman’s The Mummy has been through the ringer.
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
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
Staff Picks: Our favorite found-footage films
The best way to describe the found-footage film is that it’s a cinematic anomaly, which isn’t to say that its existence is a bad thing. What is cinema, after all, if not for accidents and serendipities, right? It’s neither a style nor a subgenre because, as it is, it’s unable
‘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
The Spoiler Zone: ‘Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice’ (Ultimate Edition)
Undeniably, Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice is one of the most polarized films of 2016. A lot of people — critics and fanboys alike — were disappointed by Zack Snyder’s attempt to build a cinematic universe where two of the greatest, most beloved superheroes try to break one another.
Staff Picks: Our favorite one-shot films
Alfred Hitchcock’s 1948 film Rope is an early work indicative of the filmmaker’s blossoming mastery. It is flirting with suspense; it understands that, in making an audience gasp in shock, suspension is paramount. Hitchcock recognizes that the stretched moments before the jump off a cliff bears the most resemblance to
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
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
Staff Picks: Our favorite LGBTQ films
In celebration of the LGBTQ Pride Month, we at F.P.R. share some of our favorite LGBTQ films. Describing the history of queer cinema as “rich” and “vibrant” is flirting with understatement. This is perhaps due in part to the equally colorful history that the LGBTQ community has, of which key
Here’s How You Can Shoot on Super 8 Film in the 21st Century
The discussion of shooting in negatives vs. shooting digital is a futile exercise; let’s face it, the latter is the more convenient and more economical way to shoot films. There is, however, a sense of discipline completely lost with favoring bits of memory over rolls of celluloid. With film being
Lynch’s ‘Mulholland Dr.’: Using manipulation to cinematic effect
It has been more than ten years since the release of famed director David Lynch’s Mulholland Dr. The film has since sparked insightful conversations aplenty among cinephiles and critics. What makes it such an effective, mind-boggling film? The Nerdwriter’s Evan Puschak dissects Lynch’s technique in utilizing expectation to manipulate his
How films dictate how we feel through editing
What is your actual editing process? This is the question that Tony Zhou attempts to answer in his and Taylor Ramos’ new video essay over at Every Frame A Painting. Titled “How Does an Editor Think and Feel,” the video describes, or at least tries to, the process that an editor goes
Rebelde Film Camp: 5 Reasons why we’re excited (and why you should, too!)
Summer film camps are fun. This is why we love partnering with such events, including the buzzworthy, 5-day event, the Rebelde Film Camp. The workshop is promised to be Rebelde’s grandest edition yet, featuring key industry figures such as director Kidlat Tahimik (Perfumed Nightmare), cinematographer Larry Manda (Hele Sa Hiwagang
The Ultimate Guide to the 2016 Sinag Maynila Independent Film Festival
Sinag Maynila is back in its second year, with five hard-edged indies by young Filipino filmmakers Adolf Alix Jr., Ato Bautista, Gino Santos, Jay Altarejos, and Mes de Guzman. The independent film festival is the brainchild of Wilson Tieng (of Solar Entertainment Corporation) and renowned filmmaker Brillante Mendoza (Kinatay), who,
The Hitchcockian Scene: ‘Vertigo’ and Hitchcock’s masterful blocking
The Hitchcockian scene is as hard to find these days as it is hard to define. Rare is that scene that bears a propensity for detail, for rhythm, and for distinct aspects of careful attention and intricacy. The famous scene in Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo, in which an unsuspecting detective falls
The Cinephile’s Guide To: The Internet
The cinephile’s life is exhaustiveㅡgrueling. Even for one whose cinephilia is his livelihood, it is less a vocation than a way of life; in the same way that reading is the way of life for a bibliophile, a writer, or a literary critic. You carry it wherever you go. You
Tarkovsky’s ‘Solaris’: Science fiction celebrating the human life
The best films come to our lives at the perfect time. Not my first Tarkovsky experience (transcendence!) in the film Stalker nor the words of one of my favorite directors Ingmar Bergman―“Tarkovsky for me is the greatest [director], the one who invented a new language, true to the nature of
Cinematic Influences that Shaped the Cinema of Quentin Tarantino
Cinematic references have both made and challenged Quentin Tarantino’s filmmaking stature. The indictments span from qualms as tame as reddit threads to accusations as overblown as copyright lawsuits. Like many great filmmakers Q.T. is first a cinephile, and it shows rather vividly throughout his body of work. We’re aware that
The Full List of Every Film Award Winner in 2016
The film awards season has recently reached its close. Like any other year, the season wouldn’t close without fire. The Oscars, more notably, trudged through its most controversial and awkward edition yet. That night viewed less than a night for film recognition but a platform for Chris Rock’s no-B.S. zone
The Art Of Fading In and Out: 7 Cinematic Examples Of The Dissolve
A “dissolve” is a cinematic device used by filmmakers to gradually transition from one image to another. Plenty of filmmakers use it to great effect, at times serving even beyond its original purpose of transition. Taking from a video essay created by Kevin B. Lee (rather pun-illy for the dearly
