NOTE: It’s assumed that the previous movies in this series have been seen by the readers (must I expound?). Anyhoo, light spoilers from the previous films follow. What I like about good war movies is not the spectacle of seeing big sweeping, epic shots of a battlefield — bullets and
Category: Reviews
Spider-Man: Homecoming
The struggle of a new beginning is evident in Spider-Man: Homecoming. It cannot be ignored that there have already been five movies preceding it (or four, as I would like to remember), and two beloved Peter Parkers under their tow. We have seen our friendly neighborhood web-slinger struggle numerous times
Wonder Woman
Growing up, I loved superheroes. I’d spend my Friday nights all cuddled up in front of the TV excited for the weekly episode of Batman: The Animated Series. In grade school, I’d beg my parents to bring me to the then monumental Spider-man 1. I’d also buy TV Guides just
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword
Guy Ritchie must have been so excited with the idea of adapting a classic tale of knights and kings that he did not know exactly what to do when he finally laid his hands on it. King Arthur: Legend of the Sword was an origin story of some sort, but
Guardians of The Galaxy Vol. 2
Whoever said “Nothing lasts forever” didn’t live long enough to see the Marvel Cinematic Universe. For better or worse, this lean, mean, money-makin’ machine is gonna be churning out sequel after sequel long after Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, and Chris Evans’ muscles hang up their capes — figuratively speaking.
Ghost in the Shell
Ghost in the Shell is basically what’s wrong with big Hollywood adaptations. In its attempt to distill the original’s heady concepts into forms that are more palatable and, in their heads, more enjoyable to the general audience, what we get is something that is The arteries carrying blood into ordering
Get Out
An addition to the many great horror films with socially conscious themes, Get Out is a film worthy of everyone’s viewing. Rich with thrills, a budding mystery, and a sharp script, this intense debut feature from writer-director Jordan Peele has all its hype well-deserved and its enormous success duly-earned. The
Beauty and the Beast: Why Disney Will Commodify Nostalgia While It (Still) Lasts
The excitement was too palpable among the moviegoers I was with, queued up to be among the first in the country to watch a remake of another Disney classic. Twenty- to thirty-somethings hummed and sang along the well-known tunes of Alan Menken blasting off from the cinema lobby’s speakers, while
Kong: Skull Island
If Kong: Skull Island is the next step in creating an expanded Marvel-esque universe for King Kong, Godzilla, and the rest of the Toho characters, then sign me up. Kong: Skull Island knows what it is doing. It doesn’t seek to be a gritty reboot, nor does it try to make itself overly serious — say
Logan
“Fuck.” Those are the first words that come out of Hugh Jackman’s mouth in Logan. He then proceeds to slice, dice, and brutalize every last vato trying to jack his ride. This is the Wolverine you’ve always dreamt of seeing on screen. All previous X-Men film have had this veneer of cleanliness whenever they’ve
T2 Trainspotting
Aside from the travesty that T2 Trainspotting reappropriated the title of arguably the greatest sequel in the history of cinema, it is a pretty satisfying follow-up to the 1996 cult hit, a natural progression. Though it may not be as frenetic as its predecessor, what is has now is maturity natural to
Arrival
Arrival, in a way, is the anti-thesis of your standard, run-of-the-mill, alien invasion movie. The extraterrestrials here don’t enter earth’s atmosphere with a bang — there are no explosions to herald their (pun not intended) arrival— they do so with a whimper and that’s just what makes their presence all
Seklusyon
A take on battling one’s inner demons, Seklusyon is Erik Matti‘s return to cinema’s most difficult genre to pull off: horror. It requires the utilization of its various resources – sound, editing, cinematography, and most of all, story – with utmost precision. In this regard, it follows that any attempt
A Monster Calls
A Monster Calls or as I’d like to call it “Me, Groot, and the Dying Girl.” A simple story told in a poignant manner; A Monster Calls affects you. Even without a personal reference to a dearly beloved succumbing to illness, I assure you that tears will be shed and hearts will
Doctor Strange
Doctor Strange is deliciously exotic: a fresh aberration from Marvel’s line-up of calculated brawn and brawl. Directed by Scott Derrickson, the film delves into a mystical multiverse, of space-time continuums, and magic wielded from ancient mythos – quite an unlikely sojourn for neurosurgeon Dr. Stephen Strange, the movie’s titular man
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children
[dropcap size=big]W[/dropcap]hen I first encountered a Tim Burton film, The Nightmare Before Christmas, wonder and unease stayed with me as the credits rolled. As a kid who only knew the world in dichotomies, watching a film that blended darkness and humor and spectacular peculiarities was an experience. Later did I found
Here’s our review coverage of the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival
Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) 2016 kicked off last September 8th and ran for 11 days thru the 18th. The largest film festival in North America hosted more than 1,200 screenings of the 296 films and attracted over hundred thousands of audiences in the busy festival village. It was an
Blair Witch
Man’s search for the unknown is a journey of risks in unraveling shapeless mysteries, but ultimately is a conquest directed to the self. Disclaimer: At the tail end of this review is a minor spoiler-cum-interpretation. Many of world’s literature source from this need for discovery. Likewise, many artists want to
Sully
Sully opens with Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger (Tom Hanks) having a PTSD-induced, 9/11-reminiscent vision of a plane crashing into a Manhattan skyscraper. This is the “what-if” scenario that haunts the titular hero after successfully landing the engine-blown Flight 1549 on the chilly Hudson River, and miraculously saving all 155 souls
Tuos
Derick Cabrido’s ‘Tuos’ evinces an awe-inspiring tension between its weighty subject; the emotional manipulation of accepting and rejecting the responsibility of a ‘binukot’ practice and the sophisticated animation of ‘Sugidanon: Tikum Kadlum,’ this creative fissure works in the film’s favor which strengthens its artistic qualities. Drawing from its cultural aspect
Mechanic: Resurrection
Watching this film without having seen the trailer made me ask these following questions: Is this the film where Statham is a no-questions-asked transporter of precarious things? Or maybe this is the crazy Statham film where he needs to constantly keep his adrenaline flowing either by getting into fights or
Train to Busan
Nothing turns me off more than when zombie films gradually derail from character development and fall into the trap of gorefests and amusement killing just for the sake of it. Train to Busan, however, restores my faith in the sub-genre as director Yeon Sang-ho does not treat his characters as
The Secret Life of Pets
A Toy Story for pets. There, I’ve gotten it out of the way – the classic Disney film that every critic will mention in reviewing Yarrow Cheney’s and Chris Renaud’s The Secret Life of Pets. Perhaps cracking early the plot resemblance spoiled my high hopes for this film. We have
Ben-Hur
Concept-wise, this strangely-refreshing interweave of Ben-Hur’s story to Jesus’ life has the potential to work out just fine. Director Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter) acknowledges the pressure of living up to the 1959 Academy-Award winning classic by starting the film with a flash-forward of the iconic chariot scene,
The BFG
The odd sight of BFG’s “frobscottle” – a green fizzy drink where the bubbles go down instead of up, speaks to the tonal dissonance that normally shouldn’t work in this feature film. From the get go, The BFG begins like a classic, possibly dark, tale set in the cobbled streets
