Adapted from a biopic by Laura Hillenbrand on Olympian and World War II hero Louis Zamperini, Unbroken comes off as unique but uneven. It is unique that compared to recent biopics like The Imitation Game or American Sniper, Unbroken shows not one but three seemingly disconnected stories in the protagonist’s
Category: Theatrical Release
Paddington
If you watched Paddington as an animation near the end of the 90’s, you would probably remember the charming little bear full of heart in a Britain fileld with yellows, blues and browns. The 2014 live action adaptation with a computer-generated Paddington is memorable in a similar delectable way. Paddington,
Liwanag sa Dilim
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 in lieu of the common task of slaying the monster under the bed. And although the film is elusive to the delineation as a children’s
The Imitation Game
In evolutionary biology, mimicry is a survival mechanism employed by some species. The Imitation Game is about the battle for humanity, in population terms and to one single being, a British pioneer of computer science, Alan Turing. More than a biopic, it is a lesson on perspective, of how simple
Halik sa Hangin
Halik sa Hangin. Kiss the wind. Try doing that. Turn on your electric fan. Let it rotate its head 180° side-to-side. Face the oscillating blades and feel the cool wind blow against and pass by. Now, close your eyes. Move your lips. Do the thing. It isn’t fun. What makes
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance). Good vs Evil. Substance over Style. In-N-Out. Truth or Dare. Rise and Fall. Extant/Extinct. Fight or Flight. The universe started with binaries beginning with light encroaching against its absence. We grew up on dualities starting from me to you, from the collective troughs
Edsa Woolworth
The Woolworth family is composed of three Filipino siblings, the titular Edsa Woolworth, played by Pokwang who is not terrible in drama for someone well-versed in self-deprecating stand-up comedy; Boni, enlivened by the reliable Ricci Chan; Paco, with Prince Saruhan providing enough angst; and their American stepfather, who is endearingly
American Sniper
If there’s one word to describe the film American Sniper, it is ‘enough‘. It is just enough as a Middle East war film in the eyes of an American soldier. The justification for the war on terror was enough to keep both the endless sieges to go on in real
Annie
Annie is the organ transplantation of a young healthy cardiac pump from a golden girl to a lively hopeful kiddo, without pre-operative planning needed to address the intricacies of the organ recipient. The new blood pumped by this transplanted heart is different with the form of its red blood cells
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 note from the minimalist flair of Robert Wise‘s The Haunting (1960), whilst remaining cautious to service the modern spectator’s customary jolts, the film and its often wobbly framework may
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 which people savagely gorge, and with which few and certain people make corporate enterprises. G.M. Coronel, the author of the same-name novel Tragic Theater published some years
Boyhood
When does fiction end and reality begin in Boyhood? Or are we the fictional ones instead? In this daunting film, auteur Richard Linklater documents a story close to our hearts, and close to our time. Much of the merit this feature has reaped is in its effort to capture its
English Only, Please
English Only, Please is a romantic-comedy film rooted on a typical premise but fashioned differently yet relevant in our age: A meets B, falls in love, and lives happily ever after. This is the dreamy innocent romance. A meets B, falls in love, and wham! Deus ex machina. Two possible
Magnum Muslim .357
Clocking in less than two and a half hours, Magnum Muslim .357 displays a principled hero saving a damsel-in-distress from a villain working in the shadows. One of the seven basic plots in the world could work had there been a compelling script, convincing acting, focused cinematography, and a consistent
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).
Bonifacio: Ang Unang Pangulo
Bonifacio: Ang Unang Pangulo, a historical drama full of passion, plays differently against other films from different genres for there must be painstaking research involved to portray a realistic depiction of the grand narrative to the minute details of set design and character mannerisms. Thankfully, the movie does its job
Maratabat
Finding a voice that will be sincerely listened to in the age of young democracy is a great concern in the local setting. Searching for this against a number of barriers set up by tradition and by intrinsic fear of falling to the grim unknown is the aim of Maratabat:
M. (Mother’s Maiden Name)
M. (Mother’s Maiden Name) tries to respond to two questions: (1) What does your mother’s maiden name mean to you? (2) What do you do when dealt with an illness on its terminal phase? For the first, the dramedy explicitly responds through a direct answer coming from the icy, meticulous, career-driven
Grace of Monaco
According to the crimson text that opens it, Oliver Dahan’s Grace of Monaco is “a fictional tale inspired by real events,” and in sitting through what pompous catastrophe that it precedes, you finally arrive at the purpose that it serves. Dahan, who previously made La Vie en Rose, expressed his
Nightcrawler
It is interesting that when Rick (Riz Ahmed) nervily assesses his employer—“your problem is you don’t understand people,” he notes—Louis Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal), the employer in question, would only feign him a bug-eyed sympathetic look while coating a condescending grin. Rick has not a lick of sense how Bloom, at
The Book of Life
The pleasures of The Book of Life is found both in and outside the brackets. The story [within the story (within its story)] may be easily dismissed derivative—and it is—replete with archetypal tropes and often unreliable characterization. Yet it remains characteristic, not strictly in its distinct visual identity but as
The Trial
Chino S. Roño’s The Trial is a welcome enlightenment to our native mainstream cinema—the kind that pushes boundaries and rediscovers for its audience elements other than what they have long since grown accustomed to; the kind that tries to push through somewhat fresher material; the kind that will not conform
Whiplash
Every frame of Whiplash is about rushing head-on past the fringe. It is about insanity. That is why the title could not be more apt. Whether it is the tragedy of mediocrity, the Great American Opium or one’s deceitful narcissism, filmmaker Damien Chazelle never settles by one conclusive end. And he
Gone Girl
Amy Elliott Dunne is many different things. The woman is of relentless nature whether in filling the epitomized role brought about by her parents’ well-meant perfectionism and their children quiz-books called ‘Amazing Amy;’ in relishing her dominion over personal relations when she has it and insisting on it when she has not;
The Boxtrolls
Like its titular tinkerers, The Boxtrolls is drawn to a familiar patchwork of a story, collecting ‘scraps’ from other works of animation that are attuned to the subliminal works of its animation house, Laika Studios. Yet, this should not stand as discouragement for the viewer who seeks the political in
