Pain – whether physical or emotional – is unpleasant, and many of us understandably spend our entire lives trying to avoid it. Lynlyn (Julia Barretto) has an ability that makes this easier – when she touches a person, she can determine if that person will have a positive or negative
Category: Reviews
MMFF 2024 Review: Uninvited
There are some people that don’t deserve redemption, their evil so pervasive and unchecked that the normal mechanisms of justice simply don’t work anymore. Dan Villegas’ Uninvited is one of the best of the year, a thrilling, engaging tale of taking matters into your own hands. More than any other horror film
MMFF 2024 Review: Green Bones
Whenever you watch a video of a person getting their just desserts or receiving the karma that they deserve, do you ever wonder what drove them to do the things that they did? Or do you feel that whatever the circumstances may be, they got what’s coming to them? The
MMFF 2024 Review: Strange Frequencies: Taiwan Killer Hospital
There are certain aspects of streaming culture that disturb me. “Content” is a word that properly describes what is created from this activity; a word that implies a soulless, artless product made to be consumed. In the process, many have created their content in ways that are unethical and disrespectful, and
MMFF 2024 Review: And the Breadwinner Is…
Bambi (Vice Ganda) works as an OFW in Taiwan. She’s been working multiple jobs for many years in order to renovate their large family house. After not renewing a work contract, Bambi decides to return home to start a business. Unfortunately, Bambi finds the family house no better than it
MMFF 2024 Review: The Kingdom
Fairytales don’t often concern themselves with the details: once it’s happily ever after, that’s it. Anything else is in the domain of speculation (and fanmade fiction). One could see Michael Tuviera’s The Kingdom as an example of that, a modern day fairytale built on one of the rarer subgenres of
Ang Pagsasa-Dokumentaryo Ng Isang Ulat: Rebyu ng “Lost Sabungeros”
Ang “Lost Sabungeros” ay ipinalabas noong Nobyembre sa QCinema International Film Festival 2024. Nitong nakaraang Agosto, naging kontrobersyal ang pag-kansela ng Cinemalaya sa pagpapalabas ng dokumentaryong Lost Sabungeros. “For security reason” ang tanging iniwang dahilan ng nabanggit na film festival kaya hindi natuloy ang screening ng dokyu. Makalipas ang ilang
Gladiator II: Are We Not Entertained (With Nostalgia)?
Why do we have a sequel to Gladiator? Nostalgia. The film industry has been riding the tremendous rise of nostalgia since the start of the post-pandemic world. From reviving the early 2000s fashion trend to electing questionable but charismatic populist leaders, people are now clinging to the ideal picture of
Film Review: “Simon of the Mountain”
Simon of the Mountain, what is the point of all this? Winner of the Cannes 2024 Critics’ Week Grand Prize premiered as part of this year’s QCinema – Screen International. This is a film that raises more questions as to how we see the people with disability, and how we
Review: ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’ (1996)
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) is an animated film directed by Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise. Review by our first-ever Senior High contributor, Stephen So. During class earlier today, me and my classmates had a videoke session of Disney songs, where Hunchback of Notre Dame’s “Hellfire” came on. One of
Film Review: ‘Outside’ (2024)
Ang dami kong naririnig na hindi nila nagustuhan ang Outside dahil kulang daw sa zombies at puro drama lang. Unfair naman ‘yun. May ambisyon si Carlo Ledesma na gamitin ang zombies sa pag-highlight ng generational trauma, machismo, at toxic loyalty sa kultura ng mga Pilipinong pamilya. Kung titignan natin ang
‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ Review: Filipinos to find charm in sequel of American cinema classic
The story of Betelgeuse and the Deetz family is so foreign to the usual Filipinos, including me. I had never heard of Beetlejuice until I looked for recommended horror films on Google. Upon watching, however, a Filipino viewer would find commonalities and comfort in the American-centric story: afterlife, ghosts, slapstick
Sinag Maynila 2024: Reviews of All Seven Full-Length Films
Gospel of the Beast: Molded by Darkness Mateo (Jansen Magpusao) is an ordinary schoolboy who messes around in class. During one particular instance, he accidentally kills a classmate in a fit of anger. Desperate to hide his crime, he turns to his godfather (Ronnie Lazaro), who works as a hitman
A Review of Look Back: Searching for Completeness
I’ve always liked making stuff – drawing, writing, what have you – even though I’m not exactly the best at it. There have been so many times in my life where I wanted to share that process of making things with someone else, as I think sharing one’s art is
‘And So It Begins’ Review: What do we do next?
In one of And So It Begins subplots, historian, columnist, and former president Noynoy Aquino’s official Manolo Quezon III was talking to singer and anti-Marcos activist Leah Navarro about the rise of the Marcoses in a restaurant that looks like it sells Filipino food that costs thrice the price of
Review: Deadpool and Wolverine
When Marvel Comics neared bankruptcy in the late nineties, it sold the movie rights to some of its characters in order to stay afloat. While that would save the company from going under, it would then undergo massive success by establishing a cinematic universe of its own. The problem now
Filmic Duration and Liberatory Memory Work: Analyzing Lav Diaz’s ‘Evolution of a Filipino Family’ (2004)
Introduction To introduce Lav Diaz and his cinema, the simplest approach is to emphasize his distinctive use of long cinematic duration, which is not merely an aesthetic choice but a result of complex historical, material, and political transformations. For Diaz, it is his praxis—a foundational aspect of his cinematic philosophy
Daisy Ridley stars as the ‘Young Woman and the Sea’, premieres this July 19 on Disney +
Young Woman and the Sea is the extraordinary true story of the first woman to successfully swim the English channel. The inspirational drama, which was released in theaters May 31, 2024, was warmly received by critics, as was Daisy Ridley’s performance. Katie Walsh from the Los Angeles Times said, “This
Inside Out 2: Isa Pa, With More Feelings
Contains minor spoilers. “Holy sh*t. Is this really for kids?” I thought while watching Anxiety (Maya Hawke in a captivating voiceover performance) spins out of control, forming a chaotic orange whirlpool while desperately ensuring that Riley (Kensington Tallman) will make a good impression at a crucial game at the hockey
Review: Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024)
Whether you’re a huge fan of the Planet of the Apes franchise or a casual moviegoer, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is a good, safe choice to watch in the cinema. It ticks all the boxes of a good, escapist American blockbuster film while continuing the excitement and
‘Anak Ka Ng Ina Mo’ (Your Mother’s Son Review): Political Intrigue and Personal Turmoil in Jun Lana’s Erotic Thriller
Jun Lana’s latest sexy, disturbing, and cunning film Anak Ka ng Ina Mo (Your Mother’s Son) is a series of tug of war: son versus visitor, love versus taboo, individualism versus collectivism, and the director’s intention of establishing a subtle yet sharp political commentary versus his tendency to focus on
The Seen and the Unseen review: An Indonesian Gem about Rediscovering Our Magical Childhood
Kamila Andini’s The Seen and the Unseen (2017) navigates the depths of a child’s subconscious, as seen through her cultural heritage. It recounts the story of fraternal twins, Tantri and Tantra. One fateful day, Tantra stole an egg from the gods’ altar, and Tantri subsequently prepared and consumed it. Tantri ingested the
Safe Havens or Stifled Stories? Examining ‘Rewind’ and Filipino Film Conventions | Opinion
With Rewind being the highest-grossing Filipino film of all time now, what does that say about the Filipino audience? First, we are still hooked on loveteams and romantic films. Second, Star Cinema has a firm grasp of the audience’s emotional needs in watching films. Third, Filipinos will spend their hard-earned
‘Priscilla’ review: An intimate journey in achieving agency
In almost two hours of Sofia Coppola’s latest film Priscilla, the titular character (Cailee Spaeney) had a visually and emotionally intricate journey in looking and establishing her agency, seeking her identity beyond being the woman placed and living in the shadow of the King of Rock and Roll, husband Elvis
‘Rewind’ review: the Divine twist is a flawed redemption
John (Dingdong Dantes) is a businessman who is always on the go, to the detriment of his relationships with his loving wife Mary (Marian Rivera) and his son Austin (Jordan Lim.) It all comes to a head when several unfortunate events befall John, leading to a car accident that takes
