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on June 01, 2011

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REVIEW | Walang Forever (2015)

WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS Screenwriter Mia Nolasco (Jennylyn Mercado) is the Nancy Meyers of Philippine cinema. And she has a big problem—a dry spell. No love life, no pain, no nothing, and so she is unable to write a follow-up to her previous big-screen romantic-comedy successes. Her producers, naturally, are disappointed with her creative impotence and threaten to fire her if she cannot save her poorly written script. But the arrival of her ex-boyfriend, Ethan (Jericho Rosales), just might save Mia’s career at the last minute. Penned by Paul Sta. Ana ( My Husband’s Lover ), with additional lines by Antoinette Jadaone ( That Thing Called Tadhana ), and directed by Dan Villegas ( English Only, Please ), Walang Forever has an appealing concept but fumbles through its execution. Like the sentiments of Mia’s producers, the film evokes a sense of struggle in the script-writing process, with illogical details, less effective storytelling techniques, a rough flow, and also...

REVIEW | Anino sa Likod ng Buwan / Shadow Behind the Moon (2015)

The trailer of Jun Robles Lana's Anino sa Likod ng Buwan , which is dark, grainy, somewhat static and capturing the humdrum of a domestic life, doesn't reveal much. Yet proceeding to watch the full movie will reveal a tense, exciting, and riveting chamber piece, making this one of the best films in recent history. Set in the early 1990's, during an armed conflict between the military and the rebels in the remote province of Marag Valley, we are taken to the dilapidated house of an internal refugee couple, Emma (LJ Reyes) and Nando (Anthony Falcon), entertaining their kindly soldier friend, Joel (Luis Alandy). The story takes place only one night, during a rare lunar eclipse, and like the earth's shadow covering the moon, the three characters are shadowing secrets of their own. Shot in one continuous take, in a boxed 4:3 aspect ratio in low light, it feels like watching an old VHS home-video from 1993, or acquiring access into the CIA video archive, complete wi...

REVIEW | Bonifacio: Ang Unang Pangulo (2014)

Andres Bonifacio's colorful character is exciting material for cinema. A passionate and compulsive revolutionist who met a tragic end, a brave man who fought for the Filipino freedom but ultimately suffered from the hands of his own race, Bonifacio is a national hero whose history and legacy continue to captivate us. After Richard Somes' visually pleasing but utterly passionless Bonifacio in 2012's Supremo ( read my frustration here ), we are, with great relief, presented with a passionate fighter in Bonifacio: Ang Unang Pangulo , with action star Robin Padilla in the titular role. Directed by Enzo Williams, and screenplay penned by him, Carlo Obispo, and Keiko Aquino, the film delivers a solid, clear, and compact retelling of the story of the founder of Katipunan, which would engage Filipinos of all ages and background—from the most hardcore historical nut down to your regular high school student. With the opening scene of the horrific death sentence of the ...

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