Cinemalaya 2023 films are in for special screenings across the country through FDCP’s Cinematheques. Check out the schedule for your local cinematheque here. As If It’s TrueSocial media has irrevocably changed the idea of privacy, whether it still exists as we add more and more of ourselves to a curated
Tag: Your Take
Cinemalaya 2020: Main Competition reviews (Part 1)
It’s Cinemalaya 2020! You’ve heard from us for a long time since the pandemic began. Despite me and the rest of the guys being busy talking about films through the podcast , we miss writing about reviews too! It is only timely to find one of our favorite film festivals reinvent themselves
Film Review: EMA
Pablo Larraín has been out and about for quite some time now, yet he became a household name in 2016 after the creation of two films–Jackie and Neruda, both of which are biopics that have been deconstructed into audiovisual poetry, made even more introspective by its elements of fiction that
SOFI (State of the Film Industry): “The New Normal”
Day x of quarantine. The outside world is not safe. Every space that can be stepped foot on is a death march waiting to happen, a genocide at the hands of the assassins lurking in the streets, one tangible and another the exact opposite. People are inside their houses, looking
Ip Man 4 review: Where the light meets darkness
Let me be honest about two things: I have only seen a few Kung Fu films in my life, and that I have enjoyed every bit of this cleaned-up version of the legendary Wing Chun master in all three films (I have yet to see the third one completely, but I guess
Film Review: 1917
History repeats itself. Everyone must have been made aware of this idea at least once in their entire lifetime. And it’s true. Historic recurrence is a common ideology that happens in every single part of the world not because we have not learned our lessons in history classes, but because
Film Review: ON VODKA, BEERS, AND REGRETS
“Tara, shot tayo.” “Pre, gusto kong mag-inom.” “Let’s drink till we drop.” Have you ever been asked by your peer, co-worker or even your best friend to join them in drinking alcohol? It doesn’t matter if it’s for a single bottle of San Miguel Pale Pilsen or a couple of Emperador Light brandy bottles,
Film Review: BLOCK Z
At 28, Mikhail Red is at the height of his career. Imagine, he showed off his directing chops to the whole nation when he became a part of the 9th Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival at age 21, releasing his debut film under the “New Breed” category called Rekorder — a voyeuristic
Film Review: BOMBSHELL
The #MeToo movement started blowing up sometime 3 years ago, when executive producer Harvey Weinstein received backlash from many women in the film industry who had been sexually abused and raped by the man. The allegations against Weinstein were so strong it created an epidemic (or better yet, a trend) so
Film Review: JUST MERCY
A filmmaker’s debut comes with a hefty price, especially when you make something that would later on be heralded as “a classic” or “a revelation” or whatever clichéd tag you can think of. After all, the biggest tendency that people do is to compare every other follow-up of the director
Film Review: JOJO RABBIT
If you’re a fan of Taika Waititi pre-Thor: Ragnarok, then you know very well how the New Zealander’s film-making style works, how he plays with the genre of comedy by adding layers of originality to them and turning them into a pleasurable watch. He makes satires for a living and
The Best Filipino Films of 2019 (Part 3)
5. Edward Director: Thop Nazareno A good Bildungsroman knows the importance of change and discovery. As we reach certain milestones in our lives, we grow and realize, we understand and act, we create and break. But most of all, we become. Thop Nazareno held a post-screening Q&A of his Special Jury
The Best Filipino Films of 2019 (Part 2)
11. Sila-Sila (The Same People) Director: Giancarlo Abrahan There’s something beyond the intimacy and truthfulness of Giancarlo Abrahan’s films that you just can’t quite put a finger on. Maybe it’s the frankness of the characters that pull us into their small universes. Maybe it’s the created conflicts that feel natural
Film Review: RICHARD JEWELL
We’ve all seen Lady Justice have her eyes covered with blindfold while carrying the scale of fairness and the sword of truth. The biggest question that can be asked there is “why does she have a blindfold on?” Some would say that it’s to eliminate all forms of bias that
The Best Filipino Films of 2019 (Part 1)
What has our national cinema achieved in the past decade? It’s 2020 now. This means that everything new is coming our way. This also means that expectations continue to be set at a high bar, as Philippine cinema continues to push the envelope and explore the many realms of our
Film Review: CATS
I’ve grown accustomed to iconic songs being played on repeat every single time either on the radio or in your neighborhood, sometimes even when people would belt their lungs out at a karaoke. Once a song reaches a point wherein people regardless of race, gender or social status sings your
Film Review: JESUS IS KING
Kanye Omari West is a walking paradox, a living proof of how a man who has been at the forefront of controversy and backlash still manages to dominate the charts and the hearts of many. He’s the face of the music industry for a reason and that is because of
Cinema One Originals 2019 Review: Metamorphosis
Metamorphosis review: Engelbert Rafferty dissects J.E. Tiglao’s debut film, nearly an out-of-body experience as it is. Another very effective treatment for erectile dysfunction but it is not considered as a cure. viagra without side effects Today, almost 58% ED patients in the UK prefer to buy kamagra online. online ordering
Cinema One Originals 2019 Review: Misteryo sa Tuwa (Restored Version)
What happens when a plane crashes in a peaceful barrio, and a band of unknowing accomplices find a suitcase filled with money? This conundrum bewilders a group of men in Abbo dela Cruz’s “Misteryo sa Tuwa”, dutifully restored by the ABS-CBN Film Restoration team. Read more of our review here:
Where did all the critics go?
I wrote this for an hour, but this may take about two to three minutes to read. And I propose this question to the wind, to you, and to everyone else reading this: Where did all the critics go? When I ‘started’ out on this industry as a member of
WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KYLO: Regarding that Star Wars Trailer
Unless you’ve been living in a galaxy far, far away, you’ve no doubt heard about The Last Jedi trailer that dropped earlier this week. There’s also an overwhelming chance that you’ve seen it. Multiple times. Despite the director’s warnings not to. You scruffy-looking nerfherder. To your potential disappointment, this isn’t
Respeto: The Futility of Resignation
Warning: Full spoilers below. There’s a mislead inherent to Treb Monterras II’s Respeto. By its sheer inclusion of the rap battle subculture — one whose foundation in itself is competition — there’s the immediate perception that it falls under the underdog sports movie genre. But instead of following tropes akin
Birdshot: An Allegory of Paradise Lost
Warning: Full spoilers below. For the past three days I’ve been thinking about what part of Birdshot leaves me so unsettled, restless with a feeling of dread hovering above. Just like a gumshoe with an inkling he’s obsessesing over, I’ve been thinking, re-watching the film, trying to get a hold of
And He Too Was 2cool 2 Be 4gotten
By now, thousands of people may already have seen 2 Cool 2 Be Forgotten, a gay coming of age story set in the aftermath of Mt. Pinatubo’s explosion in the 90s. The film was lauded by critics and audiences alike that it nabbed the Best Film Award in the 2016
Philippines’ bet for Academy’s Best Foreign Language
Granted that Filipino indie films can now easily sneak into the mainstream, several films this year got recognition whether in the local box office or in the international arena. Still, that won’ an assurance to be our entry at the Academy Awards. As we get closer to the Oscars season,
