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1917 (2019)
Even if this means additional less deserving war movies will be nominated in the future
1917 should've won Best Picture at the 92nd Academy Awards. How's that as opening? But seriously, not to take away from Parasite's deserved success, and politics aside, 1917 in my opinion was the best movie of the group, this coming from someone who is a) not into war movies and b) feels that war movies automatically gets a nomination even if there were more deserving movies instead (I'm talking to you, Hacksaw Ridge and American Sniper.) It is just unfortunate that 1917 and Parasite were released in the same year, otherwise they would've easily won the award if they were nominated in different editions of the Oscars.
1917 is based on director Sir Sam Mendes's grandfather's experience as a messenger during World War I and because of this you can feel his investment in the storytelling. There's a 11 minute featurette available online where you can see the massive undertaking that went into making the movie. In it they talk about the 6-month rehearsal needed in order to get everything perfectly timed because they wanted to give the impression that everything was done in just one take. The concept of doing the movie in one shot and real-time allows for an immersive experience, letting you to go through the story along with the protagonists. The choreography of the shots were impressive as not one second is wasted because there are details to keep you glued in while waiting to see the actors again. Cinematography was impressive as well for a movie that kept going forward and no location was repeated. Cinematographer Sir Roger Deakins has won 20 awards for this movie alone, including the Oscars.
You will root for George MacKay, you will get annoyed at Dean-Charles Chapman's naivete (as we also did when he was in Game of Thrones.) Cameos from Colin Firth, Andrew Scott (you just knew he was going to play that kind of officer) Richard Madden and Benedict Cumberbatch (again, you just knew he was going to play that kind of officer) did not distract as they all seamlessly made their way in the movie.
Godzilla (2014)
Decent start for a franchise that at best could've ended like a Jurassic Park rip-off.
Godzilla 2014 is the first installment of the so-called MonsterVerse, which would eventually setup Kong: Skull Island, Godzilla King of Monsters and more recently Godzilla vs. King Kong. I first came across Kong: Skull Island and while it was okay, it didn't seem like the franchise would last that long (but at least it already was on movie #2, the Dark Universe already bombed on its first try, the Mummy reboot with Tom Cruise.) So I came in for this with low expectations, but with special interest as it will lead up to Godzilla vs King Kong.
Starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen who we more famously know as the wonder siblings Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. So it was a bit disconcerting seeing them as a couple after adoring them as brother and sister. Having seen what Olsen can do, this movie was a waste of her talent, she can do what she did here in her sleep. But it was still a joy to see her in something outside of the MCU. The other great choice for acting is Juliette Binoche. Same with Tarantino, that scene with her was the longest since I have been affected like that. You do not do that to a Juliette Binoche!
As for the story, it was decent considering it's been in development hell for years. There were too many loopholes to the point I've lost count and as someone who has personal experience with evacuation, you do not find someone that easily amidst the panic and chaos. Also it's weird I felt shorted even though apparently this has the longest exposure for Godzilla. I get the reference to Jaws, where we were being teased but maybe the pivotal scene was done in the dark that's why it felt lacking. It did not feel like I was there with them, it felt like I was watching and I can't see a damn thing. Which might be an indirect criticism to the human element of the film, it did not draw us in as much as they were supposed to. I barely cared if the protagonists found each other again, I was more invested in seeing the monsters go at it.
Black Widow (2021)
We can only hope Yelena got her vest back after Endgame
Admittedly, I was one of those that questioned the need for a standalone Black Widow movie but that's why I'm just a viewer and Kevin Feige is the boss. Logic dictates that after missing the boat when Wonder Woman came out, Captain Marvel's decent output and traditionally super-powered male leads getting their own spin-offs, it's hard to picture where a "basic" character like Black Window will fit in. She doesn't have a shield, a suit, a hammer nor magic to keep us entertained with for at least 120 minutes. But we have been bombarded with all these enhanced beings left and right that maybe we needed someone to ground us back again. And Black Widow fits the bill.
We get a super spy action movie at a time when James Bond or Ethan Hunt have been awol for a while now. In a review for Hobbs and Shaw I floated the idea of a dysfunctional family of spies and we get that here. We get Florence Pugh (we love her in Midsommar) who was a big help in carrying the movie, David Harbour (we love him in Stranger Things,) Rachel Weisz (we love her in the Mummy films) and Scarlett Johansson finally gets the spotlight she deserve (if only to pay her back for having to endure all the sexist questions she had to maneuver her way out of for suiting up as Black Widow for the past decade.)
While obviously not the strongest MCU installment in the 24 movies released so far, the fact that Black Widow was even made (Johansson also serves as an executive producer,) released, in the middle of a pandemic at that, earn some money and bring up talks of a future installment (Pugh to take over unless they do a prequel) is too much of a win for a movie that so many people (me included) doubted in the first place. Black Widow can now rest in peace knowing she wiped clean all the red in her ledger, and then some.
No Strings Attached (2011)
If you've weathered through some Adam Sandler classics, you should be able to handle this.
No Strings Attached is a 2011 romantic comedy starring Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher. It explores the dynamics of two consenting adults who are just friends who have sex, but later on find themselves at a crossroads: do they want to exchange the simplicity of their arrangement for something more complicated i.e. Be in a relationship?
Being a Natalie Portman stan way before the term was invented, it took a decade for me to come up with the courage to watch this movie simply because it was too different from what we are used to seeing her in, like Beautiful Girls, Closer and Black Swan where she won an Oscar for Best Actress just a year before this was released. I'm so used to sexy actresses making the transition to being serious that it seemed off-key for someone to do it the other way around. Much less with Ashton Kutcher who I remember from 'Dude Where's my Car?' (whether that's a good or bad thing is still up for debate, I mean I could just say Demi Moore's ex-husband you know.)
Here's the thing though, it wasn't as disastrous as I thought it was going to be. Kutcher cleans up nicely, Portman has comic timing, Mindy Kaling and Greta Gerwig were great as supporting characters and the movie has its funny moments. And not just your typical blue comedy but some actual good writing in between if you'll just be patient enough. While this is not Portman's strongest performance (Cameron Diaz would've been better a choice,) she does somehow make the character her own if you can just stop picturing her as Queen Amidala for one minute.
Trese (2021)
Good enough as a stepping stone for greater things to come
Trese by all means is an achievement for Filipino talent. What started out as a passion project eventually turned into an award-winning comics and now it's the first anime in Southeast Asia streaming on a global platform. With six episodes and a running time of 25 to 33 minutes, even a person with a short attention span (me!) will be able to finish everything in one sitting mainly because of this fascinating world created by writer Budjette Tan and illustrator Kajo Baldisimo where we follow Alexandra Trese, a detective who deals in the supernatural. As mentioned by Tan in the Netflix special Trese After Dark, he cites Batman and John Constantine as influence and at the last minute flipped the character due to the lack of strong female leads at that time. Points for progressive thinking as early as 2005.
As Atom Araullo also mentioned in Trese After Dark, it's really something to finally see the setting and situations of an anime in places you may have found yourself in: MRT breaking down in Guadalupe, the dimly lit eskinitas, a police officer playing solitaire during working hours, etc. When you merge that with the different folklore and mythologies we've heard of in different permutations, it gives the show that extra hold on you to keep watching in anticipation of what else is next to come.
If there are a couple of things one can be hypercritical about, and emphasis on hyper because these are small details that does not in any way make the show any less spectacular, is that the animation is a little clunky but I'm not a hardcore anime consumer so this might be nothing at all, or maybe they wanted to keep the feel of reading a comic, or it could be due to a limited budget, etc. The other is while Liza Soberano did okay, one does wonder if it made a difference if it was say Glaiza De Castro was cast instead. I won't go as far as gatekeeping because we must understand the need to use as much clout as they possibly can if it means guaranteed success for an independent material that has been on the sidelines for many years. This does not only ensure possible additional seasons but as well as influence to look at other unknown local creators to share their art to the world. But for now, enjoy Trese on Netflix and maybe check out a local bookstore for the comic book after.
The Bling Ring (2013)
At best, it can be liken to a Netflix crime documentary and for someone that gave us The Virgin Suicides and Lost In Translation, that's not a compliment.
In the late 2000s, obsession with celebrities went on full swing, with paparazzis following them left and right, capturing them doing the most mundane things which will end up on gossip sites such as Perez Hilton's (often with drawings of smileys or something else that would make it look like the site is run by a 5yr old) which in turn fueled the obsession of the sites's most vulnerable market, female teenagers, who wanted to live the same life that Paris, Britney and Lindsay had: the jetset lifestyle, getting free stuff from luxury brands, the exclusive clubs, premiers and all the other things they can get away with and not hearing the word NO.
Five teenagers from normal to affluent families wanted to get it on this kind of life and unknowingly pulled off one of the most buzzed about heist in recent history: spanning for almost a year, with almost $3 million worth of stolen goods and cash from celebrities like Paris, Lindsay, Orlando Bloom, Rachel Bilson and Audrina Patridge to name a few. They all did it just by checking on the internet if the target is out of town, walked up to their secluded homes, checked for unlocked doors or windows, and walked away with travel bags full of expensive watches, jewelries, clothes and shoes. Some they kept for themselves, the others they sold on the street for $50 or less.
Emma Watson leads a good-looking ensemble that closely resembles the people their characters were based on. Sofia Coppola wrote and directed the film and while it masterfully captured the goings-on of that time (the break-in scene of Patridge's house was the highlight, good thing she was persuaded to keep it,) without any deeper context as to why they did it, the movie comes off as shallow and run of the mill. At best, it can be liken to a Netflix crime documentary and for someone that gave us The Virgin Suicides and Lost In Translation, that's not a compliment. The book from which it took notes from at least gave us the perspective from two of the teenagers, Nick and Alexis, and during that time it sounded like Nick was remorseful and will move on from this and Alexis was in denial and will go on to a destructive path. Fast forward to today and Nick had a couple of charges filed against him for stalking while Alexis, having recovered from addiction and has started a family, is adamant to this day that the book and movie are full of lies. Maybe it's true that you can move away from Hollywood, but you never really move on from it.
Fathers (2016)
If you want to take a break from BL shows geared mostly toward teens, here's one for the older set.
Fathers is a Thai movie that tackles the intricacies of same sex union that is currently not recognized in the country. While the message is still the same, tolerance is cool and all but we want the legal rights that come with it, it is also a slap in the face of same sex couples thinking that the recognition their union is the endgame. It is not. It's only half of the battle. The other half lies in acceptance by society. What is the worth of a piece of paper if society, both people you know and don't, keeps putting you down? These small wars are what one of half of the couple Phoon battles with, the biological father of their son, who must contend with what society recognizes as a family unit. His partner Yuki meanwhile is all guns blazing, damn those who gets in his way until it he comes head to head with Phoon himself. Will their relationship survive, or will they crumble under the pressure of society?
Phoon is played by Utt Panichkul, you may remember him as VJ Utt from MTV Asia in the 90s, who's further proof that men age like wine. He did okay for his first lead role in a movie. While acting isn't necessarily the strongest suit of Fathers, you stay for the story because if you are gay, you want to know how it will turn out for them (as well as for you in the near future) and if you are straight, you stay because want to know how to be a better human being. The movie is great in that it's not preachy, and it doesn't force you to pick a side; it will just show you the world we live in now and let you decide what role you can play in it. One message does hold true for everyone: however you identify, you can never go wrong with compassion. While as a society we still have a long way to go, we will eventually get there with one LGBT+ movie or tv show at a time.
Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019)
Movie first, book and/or documentary later.
Based on experience, it's better to watch the movie first before reading the book it's based on, that way you don't spend most of the time nitpicking what the movie changed or dropped from the source material. While Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile is based on the memoir by Ted Bundy's former girlfriend Elizabeth Kendall, the same unfulfilling experience can be derived if you watch a documentary of the subject before the movie version, in this case Netflix's Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes.
While obviously a 1hr and 50m movie will not be as comprehensive as a 4hour documentary, it will make you ask what the point was in doing so. One can say for money reasons, since there has been a recent upswing in the interest in serial killers, most notably Ted Bundy. The other, it's specifically the so-called glorification of these serial killers that's why this version from someone who lived with one was made, to take back control of the narrative: they may be charming and good looking, and it will be hard to get them out of your system, but you have to, for your own sake (this applies also to us, as consumers of all things serial killers.)
It is understandable that most will find this derivative, if only because it feels like it just took some parts of the memoir, but the real story still is Ted Bundy. Which is a shame because the costumes and sets really transports us back into that time. Lilly Collins was great, and Zac Efron was really impressive. He could've gotten lost in it seeing how larger than life Bundy was, but he carried it well. This probably won't be the last material we've seen about Bundy, and it will get lost in the mix eventually, but if you want to see a serial killer aside from his perspective, this movie fulfills some of it.
Fan Girl (2020)
It's an expectation versus reality meme made into a movie but you won't be laughing in the end.
Fan girl won Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Editing and Best Sound in the recently concluded 2020 Metro Manila Film Festival Awards Night. Charlie Dizon plays an obsessed fan of a "deconstructed" version of Paulo Avelino, who after spending a day together finds out what it's like to be in the presence of her idol.
So, does the movie deserve all the awards it received? It seems like a runaway winner based on what you can read about it out there, but if we're being honest the MMFF really isn't the barometer of good movies (I mean the comedy trio of Janno Gibbs, Dennis Padilla and Andrew E has an entry, peak proof how crazy 2020 was,) but Tonette Jadaone has enough success under her belt to deserve the win for Director and Screenplay. Was Fan Girl the strongest in the MMFF? Probably. Was it the strongest among her body of work? Not necessarily. Cinematography was good, the meadow created detachment from the world and was scary at night, but full of life at light. Sound was uninspired, although it did the trick to stir up the emotions needed per scene.
Dizon did well as the obsessed fan Jane, and it helped that they picked a relatively unknown actress to add to the mystery. We have seen many crazy fans, but she made Jane her own. It also worked in their favor that she wasn't treated like a star (she didn't have her own tent) and spent most of the time with the people behind the scenes as most extras and fans would. As for Avelino, the Hollywood formula of making yourself ugly to get an award worked for him and he's believable for the most part but there were some scenes where he breaks character and we see him acting. I get why there was an enormous amount of cuss words uttered but it was too excessive that it became a crutch for him, where he had to say bad words so he can become "mean." A scene that also did not seem organic was when they were exchanging their personal stories. It felt forced and lacked synergy, it didn't feel like they were working together, it felt like they had to read their lines at each other.
We're only being critical because Fan Girl deserve the high expectations we've set. It's still a good watch and if you are to take away anything from the movie, it's that you can put your idols on a pedestal but learn when to bring them down. Because the saying is true: Never meet your Heroes. You'll only end up disappointed. In addition, if you noticed the subtle hints in the movie, maybe don't make them your President as well.
Ang henerasyong sumuko sa love (2019)
Putting it into context, this is good enough considering the movies Regal Films put out in 2019.
There's something about Regal Films' Ang Henerasyong Sumuko Sa Love that you want to like but can't find quite the reason to. Written and directed by Jason Paul Laxamana (2 Cool 2 B Forgotten, Between Maybes) and starring a bevy of cute looking actors namely Tony Labrusca, Jerome Ponce, Albie Casino, Jane Oneiza and Myrtle Sarrosa, watching it is akin to getting the expectation versus reality experience: it just does not live up to its potential.
We follow a group of youngins who made a pact to see each other once a year after being absorbed into the real world. One year later, we already see them failing miserably at life and can't even be bothered to root for them. Oneiza is a newly minted social media influencer who can't seem to find satisfaction with the ever-moving yardstick of success in the online world; Ponce is a successful gay entrepreneur who gets what he wants, until he doesn't; Sarrosa and Casino are a couple with no label, one trying to lock down the other who wants to escape; Labrusca is a hardworking freelancer burdened by life and even though he's okay by normal standards, there's a nagging feeling that something isn't right.
The problem is that there's barely any context for their issues to stand on and maybe that's why it's hard to feel bad for them. So many agendas are being pushed in one movie that all of them were stunted to make room for each other and you might not necessarily care for all of them. This would've been better if it was a multi-part series for a streaming service as each character deserved their own time in the limelight. The actors were decent, but a couple of them could've been easily replaced and you wouldn't see a difference. The title is cool but didn't really fit the bill. The movie is not a waste of time per se, but it's not memorable as well.
Ke zai ni xin di de ming zi (2020)
If you enjoyed Call Me By Your Name, you will love Your Name Engraved Herein as well.
Your Name Engraved Herein is Taiwan's most successful LGBTQ-themed movie to date and it's hard not to see why that is. What started out as a personal project for its director Kuang-Hui Liu, became so much more as it tells a story about unrequited love that resonates with everyone, and especially more so for those who are only starting to find the voice to speak up and say so.
Set in 1987 just after Martial Law was lifted, the movie starts with a quote from Song of Solomon 8:7 "Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it." This means no force can overcome the love of one for another. Even though the passage is gender-neutral, people, based on years of teaching from the past (which we're starting to slowly realize are not always accurate) immediately assume the line is just for heterosexual couples and anything outside of that is deemed unacceptable. There's a powerful scene in the movie where A-han asks who has the authority to judge his love for Birdy is unacceptable, and all the priest can do is stare and say nothing. This reaction, along with discrimination and violence from institutions that promised to look after everyone forces people like A-han to find love and acceptance from someplace else, even if that means going to Hell because at least there he'll be among people who understands him. If that line does not break your heart, I do not know what will.
Fast forward to present times when society is more accepting, and they run into each other. Will they continue where they left off or will they call it a day and make the most of their lives ruined by ignorance imposed on them by society. I'm reminded of the last few chapters of the novel Call Me By Your Name which will be explored in the follow-up movie, how one of the protagonists try to move on, dutifully fulfilling what was required of him as a man, while the other holds on to what they once had, knowing full well that nothing else will come close to it. We're just starting to see the effects of society's ignorant impositions and the casualties of war against the LGBTQ community, with the hopes that we learn and better ourselves for the next generation. Hopefully by then they'll have more to show for than just calling or engraving their lover's names.
Alone/Together (2019)
Let's charge this to mainstream cinema slowly embracing character-driven movies
Alone/Together is my first Liza Soberano-Enrique Gil movie and I really wanted to like it but I didn't as much and maybe because it's a Tonette Jadaone/Black Sheep productions that my expectation was set high and with good reasons: Never Not Love You for Jadaone and Exes Baggage for Black Sheep. It's surprising I've never seen a comparison between Never Not Love You and Alone/Together because they pretty much resemble each other: the girl who's struggling to find herself compromised by being there for her partner and the boy who was a failure at first but became a success after. Both were written and directed by Jadaone and released less than a year apart, NNLY in 2018 and A/T in 2019. I was wondering if I saw it in reverse, would I like A/T as much as NNLY (for reference I rated NNLY a rare 4 of 5) but I reckon I wouldn't primarily because I feel both actors fell short of what was required of them. Soberano had to be 27 yo and although she did look the part, she still resonated 22 yo (her actual age.) As for Gil, he was supposed to be a doctor, cum laude to boot, but there wasn't any wisdom or maturity displayed in his acting. All I could do was watch them drown scene after scene and while it wasn't bad per se, it just didn't provide me the escape I'm looking for whenever I watch a movie.
Now while A/T seems like a knock-off of NNLY (actually even that last confrontation scene reminded me of One More Chance), it's not a waste of time because it had its own strengths, particularly the beginning when we see Soberano's character and her promising trajectory as an overachieving Arts major headed for the big leagues. She was believable whenever she spewed knowledge about the arts, and she looked good to boot. In fact, she looked so good the only way we could root for her after the wrong decisions she made in her life was for Gil to be paired with the equally gorgeous Jasmine Curtis Smith who appeared a little under 5mins with barely anything to say. Meanwhile, all Gil had to do was go out of a hospital wearing a lab gown and we're supposed to believe this made him a doctor. The most interesting part aside from the Met Museum tour is the conversation they have about how Soberano's character's life turned out was due to cowardice or bravery: her decisions can be interpreted as cowardice by the person looking from the outside, but it was bravery for her who had to live it.
It would've made more sense if A/T was marketed as a Soberano standalone movie instead of a LizQuen Valentine's day offering. It was just about her character with some guest appearances. In essence, A/T was brave to put Soberano out there, but it was cowardly to leave her hang out to dry. It would've been better if we could've seen both Soberano and Gil feeling Alone in their respective relationships, and in stark contrast how happy they were when Together. They might not have gotten it right this time, but hopefully they will all be brave enough to try again.
Between Maybes (2019)
Alexa, play Lost In Japan by Shawn Mendes
I don't remember anymore whether 'Between Maybes' came out first then the intrigues or if it was the other way around because whenever I think of this movie the first thing that comes to mind is the fallout caused by rumors that Julia Barretto and Gerald Anderson got together which is quite unfortunate because it's a good movie and it should make its mark beyond the shadow of its lead actors. Helmed by Jason Paul Laxamana (100 Tula Para Kay Stella, The Third Party) and released by Black Sheep productions (Exes Baggage, Isa Pa With Feelings,) Between Maybes is on brand and is definitely worth a second look if you abruptly dismissed it the first time.
Maybe it's being quarantined for 9 months and counting but my fatigue for movies about finding yourself while lost in travel did not manifest and it was only halfway through it that I noticed Between Maybes falls under that category. Barretto plays Hazel, a has-been actress forced to look deeper into herself when the possibility of not being an actress anymore stares right back at her. She does what any sane person would do which is to run away to a faraway land, specifically to Saga in Japan and comes across Anderson who while himself has been living there for almost all his life, seems lost at what to do with himself now that what he's been working for no longer exists.
Julia Barretto is at her strongest here, shedding away her default colegiala acting (but not entirely) and she seems comfortable and uninhibited this time around. Maybe the notion that she's no longer in a teenybopper love team forced her to grow, or the story resonated with her (her character was told she only has her looks going for her in the most brutal way) but whatever it is this movie is where her potential was realized. Not fully though as she's still leagues away from best actress material but if she keeps working hard for it, she might stay in the business longer than we expect her to. Meanwhile Gerald Anderson did okay, but he didn't really bring much to the character and it seemed like it was just another day at the office for him. Laxamana's writing is on point, the story is engaging even though it's the millionth permutation of something we've seen before. There were a couple of kinks that could've been improved on but they're not glaring enough to argue over. Between Maybes could've dragged but it didn't and that should be enough to turn your Maybe if you should watch it to a Yes.
Love You to the Stars and Back (2017)
There are some tough pills to swallow (pun intended) but you will be rewarded if you stick it out.
After the success of Vince & Kath & James comes Love You To The Stars And Back starring Julia Barretto and Joshua Garcia. The pair proved to be a success the second time around in this Antoinette Jadaone vehicle, about a girl that feels so out of place she'd rather be abducted by aliens, who along the way meets a boy who'd rather join her than go back to his family because he feels like a burden to them. Will they leave everything behind and start anew or stay and realize that all they need is already right in front of them?
You cannot be faulted if initially you compared this to A Walk to Remember or The Fault in our Stars, about starstruck lovers trying to defy the odds as Caloy played by Garcia has only 12 months to live due to being diagnosed with leukemia. Although the movie has its weak spots (wondering if it's due to LYTTSAB being moved up earlier due to complications with their supposed to be second movie Unexpectedly Yours,) you will find that you can hold a conversation about this movie on its own and that's a sign of good writing.
In my initial review for Barretto on Vince & Kath & James, you can't deny she is beautiful but needs to improve her acting. She did okay here, but the way she talks is distracting and affects the impact of the delivery of her lines. For Garcia, I mentioned V&K&J was his breakout movie but he cemented here that he is his own actor, shed away some of the John Lloyd school of acting and we can't fault him that he overshadowed Barretto. I mean the guy owned almost every scene that he was in. With their partnership combusting earlier than expected, here's hoping we see more great things from him in the future.
Kalel, 15 (2019)
We're so busy surviving, sometimes we forget to look out for each other.
At first glance it's easy to dismiss that Kalel, 15 will be just another movie that takes on poverty in the Philippines and how it affects the lives of many. That this kind of story has been done many times over but winning Best Screenplay at the Gawad Urian should be enough to make you take a second deserving look. The storytelling is relevant and not dated, it avoids the clichés and just lets the characters do what they need to do. The movie shows how it is to be a teenager infected with HIV in the Philippines. It talks about the struggles, the stigma, the fear of not knowing, and then the fear of knowing, that life hard enough as it is, will only get harder moving forward. The question is how will Kalel fare, will he fight or flee?
Winning also in Gawad Urian is Elijah Canlas for Best Actor, having won the same in the Asian Film Festival in Italy. Along with his hit web series Gameboys, Canlas is one of the breakout stars of 2020, often lauded by critics and his co-actors for his acting skills and ability to convey different characters with depth and precision. Joining him is Gabby Padilla (Dead Kids), Jaclyn Jose (our very own Helena Bonham Carter, you get Jaclyn Jose because you need a Jaclyn Jose in your movie) and featuring the late Eddie Garcia.
If you're a parent, imagine how your teenager would fare given Kalel's circumstance. If you're a teenager, imagine how same or different your outcome would be to his. It is heartbreaking to imagine that one person is living Kalel's life, and this might be fiction to us but to someone else it's real life. With the pandemic hurting the economy, the youth are one of the vulnerable sectors to be hit and if they only have themselves to rely on, how confident are we that they will make the right decisions? At 15, I'm thankful I led a boring life.
Up in the Air (2009)
Low-key version of Jerry Maguire
Due to travel restrictions (or withdrawals,) finally found the time to watch Up In The Air starring George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, and Anna Kendrick. Clooney plays Ryan Bingham, an outsourced corporation "downsizer": he is hired by different companies all over the country to lay off people in their office. This requires him to be traveling for the most part of the year and he comes across Alex (Farmiga) in one of his layovers. Natalie (Kendrick) joins him in one of his outings to get a feel of the business, being the new kid on the block. His interactions with both alongside a couple of personal stuff makes him rethink his philosophy in life that you need to have less In order to move more. More importantly, will his newfound direction in life stick?
This is a great movie, the adapted screenplay is filled with many quotable quotes, enough to make you want to look for the novel by Walter Kirn. The characters were well-formed, they had their own personalities and they stick to their beliefs because that's who they are and not because that's how they want to be perceived. It's rare to see adults precisely portrayed as blunt and detached as Ryan and Alex and in that aspect Clooney's Best Actor and Farmiga's Best Supporting Actress nods were well-deserved. As for Best Picture, it's a little out of the league when compared to Up and Avatar, but then again The Blind Side also made it that year.
An added point of interest for wanderlusts is the movie offers a peek into the world of frequent flyer miles and honorary memberships of hotels and car rentals. The perks, the incentives, the convenience, and personalized service offered when traveling is almost enough to make one become green with envy. With the pandemic grounding a lot of people, the only thing we can do for now is to live vicariously through Ryan and maybe learn a thing or two about how life, in general, is all very up in the air.
Little Women (2019)
Remember, the real enemy is Fragile Masculinity.
Little Women, directed by Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird) flaunts an all-star cast featuring Saoirse Ronan (Lady Bird), Florence Pugh (Midsommar), Emily Watson (Harry Potter franchise), Eliza Scanlen (The Devil All The Time), Timothee Chalamet (Call Me By Your Name), Laura Dern (Marriage Story) and the Meryl Streep (too many to mention.) In comparison, the 1994 version featured Winona Ryder, Kirsten Dunst, Claire Danes, Susan Sarandon, and Christian Bale.
Period movies can be a drag to others but this 5th theatrical version was consumable mainly because of the cast, and the bits and pieces about the movie such as the clothes of Jo (Ronan) and Teddy (Chalamet) showing some similarities to display their closeness, and how each sister had a distinguished color palette (which might've contributed to it's Best Costume Design win), as well as the March house, looking dull from the outside but very homely and alive inside. This attention to detail can sometimes spell the difference and is appreciated for a production that was in development hell since 2013.
Ronan and Pugh were standouts (garnering Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress nods respectively.) Ronan has been nominated for Best Actress at the Oscars every other year since 2016. Let's see if she makes it back in 2022 and be in the running as this generation's Meryl Streep. Speaking of, Streep was the one that suggested there'd be a speech about how discriminated against women were back then. Women have come a long way since then (mainly marriage has become a personal choice as opposed to an economic one) and should be the first ones to recognize other forms of discrimination and offer their support to each other (it's still baffling how misogynists world leaders are popular right now.) Maybe that's the reason we have a fifth version of this movie. We need to be reminded of how long we've come and how far we still need to go. Hopefully, when we get the sixth version, it's not because we need it anymore, but because we want it.
Enola Holmes (2020)
Come for the story, stay for the cast.
Enola Holmes is about the younger Holmes sister portrayed by Millie Bobby Brown (Stranger Things) as she goes on a mission to look for her mother who disappears right on her 16th birthday. She receives a gift that sends her on a quest, along the way bumping into a boy that needs her help. Will she finish her mission, or will she get distracted?
Brown is very charming as Enola, although there are times when you can tell she's acting through a scene. Not that she's not capable, maybe she did not get the push she needed from the director because she's also one of the producers? Sam Claflin (Charlie's Angels 2019, yeah any excuse to promote the movie) made the most of the role he's given and Henry Cavill (The Witcher) was criminally underused, and the only explanation I can think of is there will be a sequel and expanded screen time. Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Holmes was a delight to watch. Come to think of it, you cast Carter not because you need her to fill a role, you cast her because you need a Helena Bonham Carter in your movie.
The movie is entertaining enough, although they could've shortened the 2-hour runtime a bit. There were scenes they could've done away with because they did not necessarily move the story along. Maybe I'm being hypercritical because I just recently watched the Sherlock UK TV series and Cumberbatch, Freeman, and the rest of the crew really upped the ante in terms of portraying the world's foremost super sleuths. I also found Enola addressing the audience excessive and distracting, but I'd like to give the benefit of the doubt that they're trying something new and it's not due to lazy writing.
The Open House (2018)
Have an open mind to watch the Open House.
I was minding my own business, trying to fill a quota of things to watch when Netflix suggested this movie. I figured, "ooh, a scary movie on a Saturday night, starring Dylan Minette (13 Reasons Why), 'Don't Breathe' was good, let's go!"
The trailer says, "You can't lock out what's already inside." Maybe we'll get lucky and this will be sort of like the iconic 'Scream' franchise. We follow Logan and his mother as they are forced to move to his aunt's big house in a very secluded location. The only catch is they have to leave for the most part of every Sunday because there's an open house where potential buyers come in and out inspecting the place. Big house, out every Sunday, seems harmless enough, right?
When they get back, strange things start to happen like doors closing, things getting moved, and noises from places where there shouldn't be. At this point, everyone becomes a suspect, the kooky neighbor, the over-friendly store attendant, the plumber, the cops, and even Logan himself. Halfway through the movie I confidently said I've got the invader figured out and was just riding it out until the movie ends.
Boy was I wrong.
I won't spoil it for you but you have to wait until the end credits to figure out who the invader is. Like literally, you have to read the cast credits. Then it's up to you as to how you will react. A Forbes review got pissed off, it has a 3.2/10 rating in IMDB, while I just laughed and figured to just charge it to Netflix's aggressive expansion for content in 2017-18 (see The Ritual, 1922, Gerald's Game and Hush.) As long as you don't have a lot of expectations and you have 90 minutes to waste, you might actually enjoy it.
Jojo Rabbit (2019)
If it will take two kids to show us Kindness, then so be it
Jojo Rabbit is about a German boy named Jojo who at an early age already has blind fanaticism towards Adolf Hitler. He joins the youth branch of Hitler's army but succumbs to an injury that basically renders him unfit in their eyes. He later finds out that a Jewish girl named Elsa lives secretly in their house and tries to make her talk about her kind so he can write a book exposing them which will gain him favor once again from the youth army so he can stop being relegated to meager so he can be at the forefront of the war along with his second-best friend Yorki (because Hitler deserves the top spot.) In the process he falls in love with Elsa and becomes torn between blindly serving his country and his own realization that someone isn't necessarily evil because you were led to believe that they were. We know how World War II ended but how will it be for Elsa who wants freedom and Jojo who doesn't want to lose her?
While watching, I had my reservations whether this should've been nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars this year. I have to admit that I initially rated it as an okay film midway through. But when that pivotal scene when Jojo was looking at Johannson's shoes, it sent shivers to my spine. It's non-stop rollercoaster from then on and for me it sealed its well-deserved nomination. Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok) helmed the screenplay as well as direction and acted as Hitler. I love his decision to show how colorful Germany was in the WWII (which is backed up by research) as opposed to what we're used to, seeing it dreary in gray and black. Scarlett Johannson as Jojo's mother was likable but I failed to see the nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Sam Rockwell channeling Bill Murray was inspired, Rebel Wilson had the most memorable line, and Alfie Allen I felt was underused but I don't blame him if he wanted to be in on this. Thomasin McKenzie as Elsa was a picture of strength and elegance. But the movie really belonged to its child actors, Archie Yates as Yorki and Roman Griffin Davies as Jojo. Initially I did not like Davies but warmed up to him by the end and I realized it's because he convincingly played a loyal Hitler fan in the beginning that had a change of heart. Yates and Davies have good comic timing considering this is the first acting gig for both.
Waititi said one of the reasons he made this is because of the behavior of some who's forgotten how evil and ugly WWII was and he wanted this to serve as one of the reminders. It's true that historical revision is on the rise, Nazis being adored, Marcoses are back in power despite multiple references available to how they plundered the Philippines during Martial Law and many others. The saying we are bound to repeat history if we don't learn from it holds so much weight right now. While it is almost next to impossible to talk about opposing views without hurting each other's feelings, Jojo Rabbit reminds us to ask ourselves one question each time you're engaged in a debate: WERE YOU KIND? Because at the end of the day you may be wrong about your philosophy which others will forget eventually, but how you treated them will leave an impression that will last a lifetime. Hitler in the movie said it is up to you if you want to be remembered. He failed to say it's also important HOW and WHAT you will be remembered for.
Yuyeolui eumagaelbeom (2019)
Tune in for love, tune out thereafter.
Tune in for Love stars Kim Go-eun (Goblin) and Jung Hae-in (he was also in Goblin as the baseball player, wow, I'm getting good at this, lol.) The movie revolves around their love story spanning from the early 90s when one of the few sources of entertainment included the radio (remember dedicating a song for your crush?), then came the email era in the late 90s, until the early 2000s that ushered in the mobile phones. Hyun-woo (Jung) always seems to have wrong timing with all his personal stuff contributing to them failing to keep in touch. They eventually reconnect and when Mi-soo finds out about Hyun-woo's past, it placed a question mark on whether their relationship that stood the test of time can survive what Hyun-woo did before he met her.
Having been exposed mostly to the fairy tale qualities of most K-dramas as one local director puts it, it's always nice to see the "normal" side of Korea. Minus the trench coats, bright lights, and extravagant cars, you can even mistake old Seoul (I'm assuming that's the setting) for Manila. The story was grounded, featuring two normal teenagers trying to make their way to adulthood. The cause of delays in their relationship seemed natural and not forced. While it was still too coincidental that they ran into each other again on multiple occasions (meantime I've barely seen my crush in PayMaya and we work in the same building), it's forgivable and let's charge it to "life has a funny way of helping you out." The conflict also seemed shallow and could've been easily avoided. If there was more to what happened in Hyun-woo's past which prevents him from sharing, we'll never know as we're left on our own to guess as we weren't given much to go on. Overall, you get the feeling that the writer wanted to flaunt more the musings the radio DJ is spewing (and they should because they're good, like how your mobile phone is like carrying around everyday a photo album of the people we love) but the overall story didn't hold up quite as well. You will still get what you came for but you might just feel a little underwhelmed.
Skip below if you haven't seen it, includes minor spoilers
Some of the notable takeaways and thoughts to ponder on include:
Sometimes stupidity can lead to something romantic - like failing to give the password for the email account you created for your significant other so you can keep in contact. Mi-soo kept sending emails to the unopened account in the hopes that someday Hyun-woo would figure it out. You can feel the ecstasy on both sides when he did finally figure it out and saw the numerous messages waiting for him, and when Mi-soo finally got a reply.
When Hyun-woo said he has pictures of times he considered as good memories and he only had a few hanging on his wall, it was the sweetest thing when he saw Mi-soo again after their fight and instead of rushing out to be with her, the first thing he does is take a picture of her.
Since everything now is instant, it removes the thrill of waiting. Waiting for him to call, waiting for his SMS or email, waiting, and thinking of how wonderful the next time will be when you're together. On the flipside, with everything instant, there is no wasted time and you're able to make the most of the time you have together. Both with pros and cons, but people now probably will never experience how it was to wait by your mailbox for the next love letter to arrive.
The Third Party (2016)
It's a party but you'll have to clean up after.
We follow Andi's (Locsin) struggles, always left behind by the people in her life. Her mother abandoned her as a kid. Her first love Max (Milby) moved to the US to purse his studies. Her last boyfriend scammed her and left the country. Then finding out she's pregnant and with mounting financial issues, she turns to her ex Max having just come back and is now a full-fledged doctor. Madness ensues when she finds out he's now with a fellow doctor named Christian who has been looking at adopting for him and Max, having been together for three years already. With her back against the wall, they come to an arrangement where they will take care of her in exchange for her baby, a much better compromise instead of what she originally approached them for which was to get an abortion.
The performance of the three main stars are good enough for a romcom, with just some minor observations. Sam Milby was the weakest of the bunch, as we can barely get anything from him for the most part. He's a competent actor but his acting was uninspired. Angel Locsin was reliable but you get the feeling that the material was below her acting prowess. She's not necessarily overreacting, but there were scenes where a simple stare or a pensive look would've sufficed instead of laughing hysterically or crying on autopilot. If that's an acting, writing or directing issue, we'll never know. The surprise of the group is Zanjoe Marudo. I'm sure I've seen a couple of his works before and they've been decent but nothing was memorable enough. Here, he stole almost every scene he was in and he really was acting as the controlling boyfriend. I tried to analyze if he was good because he was acting as a straight guy pretending to be gay, but I didn't get that from his performance. I've always wondered why he has lasted this long in the showbusiness. He showed me in this movie why.
When one thinks of a Star Cinema movie, the common description comes to mind: tired, formulaic, predictable and many others, all pointing to the fact that when you've seen one movie from them, there's a feeling you've seen it all. Surprisingly, The Third Party was fun although some of the jokes fell flat, some seemed inappropriate and others were cliché. There were a couple of times where it could've helped bridge the gap and gain more understanding to the needs of the LGBTQIA+ community but failed to take advantage. I can imagine the uneasiness and the awkward reaction of the audience whenever Milby's and Marudo's characters were PDA-ing. Maybe that's asking for too much already from a material that surprisingly even got greenlit, coming from a conservative movie studio, much less get an Angel Locsin signed on. This movie will not change the world, but for the most part it's not a waste of time either.
Ready or Not (2019)
A movie about appreciating the in-laws you have.
Ready Or Not reminded me of a favorite movie from my childhood, Clue, a black comedy-mystery that was based on a very popular board game of the same name. The first thing that you will probably notice with Ready Or Not is that it has a personality. The mansion, the lighting, even the cast of kooky characters. Props to the casting director as everyone was well-casted, with Samara Weaving leading the charge and it was nice to see Adam Brody again. We should see more of him, I think he has shaken off THE OC dust bunnies at this point.
There was no plan for me to watch Ready Or Not anytime soon but it kept popping up in different lists of movies to watch and there must be something to it if it keeps showing up way past its promotion period. Speaking of which, the trailer did not do the movie justice. The impression I got from watching the trailer was that it was a B-movie, and with a budget of $6million maybe it was. But being able to recuperate its budget on its first day of showing should be enough to change your mind.
The movie for me felt short even with a running time of 1h and 35m. You know what they say when you're doing something and time flies by: "You're having fun." They could've stretched the movie a little more if they showed the drawing of cards of the other outsiders, Becky, Charity, and Fitch during their time. It could've added to the comic relief (I wonder how disappointed they were when Fitch drew a normal card) or trepidation when we pan back to Grace's turn. Now the denouement is where it gets tricky. While the movie received mostly positive reviews, there are those with mixed reactions because they felt the ending was kinda campy and somewhat a letdown. I mean I was glued to the screen from the beginning until the last 10 minutes because everything was hinged on the possibility of it happening in real life, then the ending came. I won't ruin it for you, but it's not for everyone. Some will like it, others might not. My proposed alternate ending would've been: they paid her a huge sum amount of money, sign an NDA and let her go. Then the rest died mysteriously based on the concept of the numerous board games the family dominion came up with. Sort of like a Final Destination montage. Then we go back to her reading of the family's misfortune all the way in Boracay, the sipping from her buco juice. Here's hoping we get a prequel.
Boy Erased (2018)
If it makes you ask the right questions, it's a good one.
Boy Erased is based on the memoir of Garrard Conley with the same name. We follow his journey from when he started questioning his sexuality, to his time in conversion therapy and what comes next thereafter. It stars Lucas Hedges (the poster boy for the suburban teenager, e.g. Lady Bird, Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri), singer-actor Troye Sivan, Joe Alwyn (The Favourite, but more famously known for now as Taylor Swift's beau) and good friends Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe who both needs no introduction.
Author Conley declined to convert his memoir to the film because he felt ill-equipped to do so, and Joel Edgerton, for the most part, did an okay job. I'm curious if the movie did justice to the book because while it was good, it wasn't as hard-hitting as one is inclined to expect from an LGBTQIA+-themed movie. Maybe it doesn't have to be, maybe we're just wired to expect controversy then engage in long-hours' worth of debate, trying to raise consciousness and empathy for this sector of society that continues to ask for it. This movie just quietly slips by, just enough to make you ask questions on where you are on the kindness spectrum. Whatever the effect is, the hope is that we all become like that doctor that helped our main character in her own little way. She explained she held religion, on one hand, and science on the other. Religion (the organization, not to be confused with God) does not have the answer to everything, nor does Science. You can't deny one over the other. You can't say a sweeping statement about how God works in mysterious ways, letting someone die of illness when there is a cure that can be given by Science.
There's a scene in the movie where it says one is being selfish by continuing to sin just because you're gay. We were raised by a society that did not know how to look at the LGBTQIA+. We followed what was the first one to talk about it which was the Bible. The question is, how come we keep clinging to one or two sentences in the Old Testament that looks down upon them when there are hundreds of statements in the New Testament about loving unconditionally. So, imagine someone confused, looking for understanding and acceptance from the outside world because he hasn't found it in himself yet, and the world's response is to disown, to harass and to become violent towards them. Did we really expect those negative responses to change a person for the BETTER? Did we forget that violence, begets violence? So instead of making the world a better place, the Bible by way of how people interpreted it, contributed to the damaged society that we now live in. The only hope is that we're becoming better as each new generation comes in. Whether we're in the right direction is still up for debate. For years we have tried discrimination that has led to suicide, depression, abuse and many more. Let's see where love and understanding will take us.
Charlie's Angels (2019)
Fun, fearless females doing it for themselves.
Too Doo Doo, Duh Dii Duh, Too Doo Doo...
Did I get the iconic Charlie's Angels' theme song? No? That's okay because the latest movie adaptation kinda somewhat also didn't, BUT! - it doesn't mean you should easily dismiss it for what it was trying to accomplish. You know how the recent Star Wars movie also didn't measure up to its forefathers aside from the fact that the writers messed up the storyline? It's because they were trying to move away from the original that the hardcore fans were having abandonment issues. It's the same here. I haven't seen the TV show so the comparison would be to the epochal trio that started the film franchise, Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu. The 2000 and 2003 installments (there were speculations of a third one but failed to materialize due to massive salary jumps and other alleged issues on the set) are now considered classics and highly revered, but also problematic. They were fun, the ladies had real chemistry and the visuals were insane at the time of their release, but it probably won't fly in today's hypercritical atmosphere.
In most of her interviews, Elizabeth Banks, the director-writer-producer-actress shared how she envisioned the reboot to be: a franchise of Charlie's Angels movies in a MCU setup and the idea of getting different Angels in other countries is very bold and exciting. This is very evident when in one scene we see a lot of Bosleys in different shapes and sizes. The idea of Angels helping the Bonds and the Hunts of the world is big and imposing - coming from a female writer/director. She defended her movie's less than stellar box-office numbers compared to Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel, as in her opinion they are female-led movies within a male universe (DCEU and MCU) so some guys watched it because they have to, not necessarily because they wanted to. She has a point. Her jump-off point was 17 years ago. While the world was her oyster, people were still expecting the girls from 2000 to show up (and there were talks but Banks said it didn't feel right but it's certainly something they want to do in the future, if there will be any) and when they didn't, they lost that set of the audience. They also lost some women audience when they did not agree how all the male roles were dumbed down to uplift the women in the story. I mean one major villain only had one speaking line: B*tch. The rest of the audience didn't bite because A.) Kristen Stewart has not been generally liked since after Twilight mostly because she couldn't care less of what people think of her. There's also that she's openly bisexual which doesn't necessarily fit the mold of how Angels usually look like. She also revealed she was told to not be out in public if she ever wants a role in the MCU. B.) It was okay to star the movie with relatively unknows but Ella Balinska was a suitable fill-in for the leggy Cameron Diaz minus the charm. Naomi Scott was an okay choice but if compared to Lucy Liu, she did not stand out. Kristen was kooky, her comic timing is off and she is not necessarily as funny as Drew. There will be comparisons and the new cast did not measure up, I did not make this rule.
Oh the movie, how was it you ask? All things said notwithstanding, it's a good movie if you're looking for an enjoyable time. You have costumes, riveting action sequences, male eye-candy (hello Noah Centineo and Jonathan Tucker, minus points for lack of shirtless scenes), cool soundtrack (executive produced by Arianna Grande) and a dancefloor scene! I mean what else can you ask for? It was just unfortunate that Banks had the right ideas at the wrong time. For a movie that was already struggling to mark its own identity, Banks came on too strong which drowned her decent output. I really hope there'll be another one soon, maybe go with a UK or an Asian chapter and incorporate Banks' ideas, alongside reading the moviegoers' temperament. I'd rather she slowly moves the needle instead of being replaced with someone else who will most likely give us your usual blow-by-numbers (hello Michael Bay school of cinema) action movies.