Movie Review: What You Did

Arvin and Ace, haunted by past traumas and dreams shattered by the pandemic, collide as they chase online fame, forcing them to confront buried secrets and redefine their identities.

 

Movie Review: Talahib

A series of killings in the fields of talahib grasses in an abandoned subdivision sends PO2 Bong and PInsp Roman into a criminal investigation. They are aided by a group of friends, led by Joyce, caught loitering in the talahiban, along with a mysterious character in Stephen who holds the key to the possible origin story of the killer.

 

Movie Review: Her Locket

Jewel Ouyang, a senior Chinese woman, has lost everything - her youth, beauty, popularity, and fortune.

 

Now with dementia, she lives with her lawyer son, Kyle, and a young caregiver, Teresa, who seems more ambitious than caring.

 

She finds an old locket that contains her old photo with her parents, and her brother, Magnus.

 

The locket removes the cloud of forgetfulness and frees her memories of her tenuous relationship with her family.

This includes their opposition to her career and love life; of a happy marriage to her husband which was cut short by his untimely death; of achieving success as an actress which enabled her to solely raise their son; and that Magnus tampered her father's will and robbed her of her inheritance.

 

Seeking vengeance, Jewel faces her brother in court to claim what is rightfully hers. Still inflicted with dementia, will she choose to forgive... and forget?

 

Movie Review: Gulay Lang, Manong!

A struggling farmer joins forces with a local policeman to rescue his grandson and take down a marijuana cartel, triggering a deeply personal journey that tests their beliefs and integrity.

Struggling farmer Pilo Sabado finds himself entangled in a complex web of circumstances when his grandson Ricky gets caught up in the cannabis trade with his friend Razer. As tensions rise in the region’s drug war, Ricky is apprehended by determined policeman SPO3 Ariel Lacson, who strikes a deal with Pilo: help catch Razer, and Ricky goes free. As the unlikely duo navigates the murky waters of alliances and revelations within the cartel, Pilo and Ariel uncover a startling truth: the cannabis trade, linked to a powerful senator, isn't just recreational, but a crucial lifeline for medical relief for the Senator’s epileptic daughter. This discovery shakes Pilo and Ariel to their core, challenging their moral compasses. Amidst betrayals and unexpected alliances, they face a pivotal choice: succumb to temptation and secure their future or uphold their principles, risking everything in a battle that tests their souls.

Movie Review: Love Child

A young couple navigates the challenges of raising their autistic son in an increasingly unforgiving world, testing their love and resilience.

College sweethearts Ayla and Paolo decide to drop out of school to start a family after a whirlwind romance leads to an unplanned pregnancy. Four years later, they are devastated to learn that their son, Kali, is diagnosed with autism. As they navigate the complexities of raising a child with special needs, they confront an increasingly unsupportive environment. Their journey challenges their relationship and the dream of a complete, harmonious family, forcing them to find strength and resilience in the face of adversity.

Movie Review: The Hearing

 

Embroiled in a legal battle against a powerful figure, a deaf boy, with the support of his parents, crosses paths with a court sign language interpreter who can speak but is voiceless in her own home.

Lucas, a deaf boy from a small fishing village, is sexually abused by Fr. Mejor, an influential priest. After his parents Madonna and Dante discover the truth, they decide to file a court case against the priest despite the obstacles in their way. In their pursuit of justice, they cross paths with sign language interpreter Maya, who has also witnessed powerful people manipulate the results of cases. In a society where few choose to listen, how can they win against forces that silence those who cannot speak and break the souls of those who can?

Movie Review: Kantil

The discovery of a mysterious alien shell in a trench transforms the lives of two star crossed lovers – Paleng and Eliong – and their threatened coastal village in Davao City, unearthing secrets deeper than the surrounding perilous waters.

Star-crossed lovers Paleng and Eliong bid farewell as their love is threatened by the imminent demolition of Paleng’s coastal village. However, when a fisherman discovers a mysterious alien shell lurking in a trench, the community is confronted with a wave of hope and intrigue, jealousy and fear. As tensions surge like an incoming tide, their tangled lives unravel secrets on how to navigate the turbulent waters ahead, their ultimate survival depends on hidden truths that need to be retrieved from the depths of the trench.

Movie Review: Kono Basho

As two estranged half-sisters reunite at their father’s funeral, they mend their differences, find solace in shared grief, and become instrumental in the city’s ongoing recovery.

Ella, a 28-year-old Filipina anthropologist, travels to Rikuzentakata City for her estranged father Emman's funeral, where she navigates the cultural and emotional complexities of his second family, including her Japanese half-sister, Reina. As they confront their intertwined histories, Ella and Reina find solace and connection, each reevaluating their perceptions of their father. Their journey of self-discovery intersects with Rikuzentakata's post-2011 earthquake and tsunami recovery. Discovering their father's photographs propels them on a path of rediscovery, exploring their relationships and individual identities. This poignant narrative explores themes of family, loss, identity, and renewal, reflecting deeply on the Filipino diaspora amid a backdrop of historical trauma.

Movie Review: Alipato at Muog

A filmmaker uncovers the hard truths surrounding the enforced disappearance of his older brother.

The abduction of Jonas Burgos in 2007 was brazen – done at noontime in a crowded mall. As his family launched their search, a car plate brought them face to face with powerful forces. Despite insurmountable barriers, anonymous informants have dropped leads and even provided the last known photo of Jonas in captivity. Edita, the 80-year old mother, and her filmmaker son lead the long and arduous fight for justice. Presented through testimonials of their lawyer, a reporter, a former Justice Secretary and Human Rights Commission Chair, and witnesses who agreed to appear on condition of anonymity, combined with animation and never-before-seen footage of the family’s relentless search, the documentary film weaves the stories together to uncover the truths, however painful, about the brother’s disappearance.

Movie Review: Tumandok

Unveil the untold saga of the Ati, a courageous Negrito ethnic group living in Boracay, Guimaras, Panay, and Negros islands in the Philippines. For the first time on screen, witness their impassioned battle to reclaim their ancestral lands in this groundbreaking docu-fiction film.

Despite contentions from historians, legend has it that in ancient times, an Ati chieftain traded their land to Bornean datus for a golden necklace and a wide-brimmed hat. The mountains were left to the Atis, while the plains and rivers went to the Malays. Today, even the mountains are under threat, sometimes violently taken from the Atis. Featuring an all-Ati non-professional acting ensemble, speaking in their own language, Inati, the film reveals the relentless struggle of these indigenous people to reclaim their land. As one Ati once said, “Tell us where the end of the earth is, and we will go there to live in peace, untouched.”

Movie Review: Balota

A teacher pays an increasingly steep price for defending the democratic process of the election.

During the 2007 elections, a former sexy star and a land-grabbing tycoon are in a tight race for mayor. Emmy, a strict yet popular teacher in a small town, is assigned to the Board of Election Inspectors for her local precinct. When violence erupts, she runs into the forest with a ballot box containing the last copy of the election results. Armed only with her resourcefulness, courage and wit, she tries to outmaneuver the goons who want the elections to fail. Her loved ones and community are caught in the crossfire as she pays an increasingly steep price for defending the democratic process.

Movie Review: The Wedding Dance

The love between a Kalinga couple is torn asunder by their patriarchal warrior community, whose harsh judgment falls on a woman’s infertility.

Following the Japanese invasion in the 1940s, Awiyao comes home to his wife Lumnay to ask her to attend the wedding dance, an invitation that stirs memories of joy, pain, and emptiness. It is an invitation to celebrate his new wedding dance.

Movie Review: An Errand

As a driver travels from Baguio to Manila on an absurd errand from his boss, his car transforms into an echo chamber of memories, spanning the chasms of time, class, and character.

Moroy, a driver, is jolted awake in the dead of night by an urgent call from SIR, his middle-aged boss, demanding he fetch his Viagra. Speeding off from Baguio to Manila, Moroy's mind drifts between reality and fantasy, unveiling SIR's secrets and reflecting on his interactions with fellow drivers and Brenda, SIR's office mistress. As the long journey unfolds, Moroy undergoes a profound transformation. Upon his return, Moroy finds himself forever changed.

Movie Review: Pushcart Tales

A dramedy that takes place entirely within the walls of a grocery store. The story revolves around six individuals, a diverse group of employees and customers, who find themselves unexpectedly trapped due to a severe storm.

 

Movie Review: Yours Truly, Shirley

Yours Truly Shirley marks the return of Regine Velasquez to the big screen playing the eponymous widow of the title who hasn’t quite moved on from the untimely death of her husband in a motorcycle accident and her grief is making her do funny things, like imagining the newest pop sensation sweeping the country is the reincarnation of her dead husband. But is it really all in her head? And just how far will she go to prove it isn’t?

Movie Review: Lucid

Alessandra De Rossi plays a young woman who leads a lonely, mundane existence in the real world but who has the perfect life in her lucid dreams which she can somehow control, meets a mysterious stranger, played by JM De Guzman, who challenges her to turn her dream life into something a bit more adventurous. Then her dreams become more real than her reality and the line between the two starts to blur.

Movie Review: Metamorphosis

Born with both male and female genitals, but raised like a boy by his conservative family, Adam goes through all the things prepubescent boys go through, including a fascination with strange animals he takes for pets and being smitten by a lovely girl. His bucolic world turns upside down when he gets his first menstrual period setting him off on a journey that tests the spiritual and physical limits of sexual identity and into a new world of ambiguity and desire.
 

Movie Review: Utopia

Wrong place, wrong time. This is the fundamental itinerary of any noir. The throwing in of disparate lives into a chaos of circumstance. A freelance videographer, a rookie police office, an undercover PDEA agent, and a crime in progress. Only tonight, a comet flies over Manila and the cosmic disturbances turns everything on its head for one night. Everything that could go wrong suddenly foes right.

Movie Review: Tayo Muna Habang Hindi Pa Tayo

A soft boy. A strong girl. Tayo Muna Habang Hindi Pa Tayo is a love story that comes close but not far enough. “Why are there so many love stories? Because it feels good to watch how two people out of billions, find each other and connect.” Denise O Hara, who made her debut last year with the acclaimed Mamang moves to a different genre for her sophomore feature which, despite her seeming optimism, is a love story grounded by anxiety and uncertainty. “It’s all about that moment when one says “I love you” and all the assumptions, repercussions and yes, even traumas that those words carry.”

Movie Review: Tia Madre

Tia Madre is a horror story told through the eyes of a child: a clingy, hyper- imaginative and slightly twisted ten year old girl named Camille whose mother Emilia inexplicably changes into something else, something more sinister, something more violent, something more distant, something that isn’t her mother anymore and quite possibly isn’t human.