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YEARNING AND DEPENDENCE
Few films have never been as visually enthralling as Lawrence Fajardo’s latest. Everything from camera angles to scene transitions exudes longing. Sugapa (Viva Films, 2023) is an ill-fated...
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RESOUNDINGLY EFFECTIVE
Ishmael Bernal builds and reinforces a mood with unexpected techniques that are simple, personal and resoundingly effective from the movie's opening moments. There are no suffocating close-ups in...
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STIRRINGLY LOVELY
Shaking off the solemnity that smothers many well-meaning, high-minded family film, Sarah... Ang Munting Prinsesa (Star Cinema, 1995) revels in an exuberant sense of play, drawing its viewers into...
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SURREPTITIOUS ILLUMINATION
McArthur C. Alejandre's Call Me Alma (Viva Films, 2023) has the energy and almost surreptitious illumination of the best improvised work. Daniel “Toto” Uy’s cinematography gives the film an...
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ROLLICKINGLY FUN
Peque Gallaga and Lore Reyes'Magic Temple (Star Cinema Productions, Inc., 1996) is a glitzy, glamorous and rollickingly fun fantasy film that doesn't match for story their other well-known fantasy...
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FEISTY AND ADORABLE
Miss Granny (Viva Films, CJ Entertainment, 2018), Bb. Joyce Bernal's Filipino adaptation of the hit South Korean comic-fantasy film, begins with the recollection of seventy-year-old widow, Fely...
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FULL CIRCLE
Carlos Siguion-Reyna's feature film debut Misis Mo, Misis Ko (Viva Films, 1988) mediates on the value of sincerity and honesty in relationship. Amado (Edu Manzano) and Rebecca (Dina Bonnevie) are...
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UNREMITTINGLY DEPRESSING
Miss Rita Gomez, with an angry mouth and the steeliest of gazes brings so much energy to Gamitin Mo Ako (V.H. Films, Inc., 1985) because the movie badly needs a center of gravity. As directed by...
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INCREDIBLE PROMISE
The function of remembrance is an enigma in Yung Libro sa Napanood Ko (Viva Films, Whiskey Marmalade, 2023) which is small and domestic. Bela Padilla (credited as Bela) wisely expands the themes...
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LESS ENJOYABLE
When Darna (Viva Films, 1991) goes for campy laughs, it falls flat on its face. That's a shame, because there's a place, I think, for a female superhero and Nanette Medved, who plays Darna, has...
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SHARPLY SIMPLE
In Jay Altarejos' sharply simple The Last Resort (Goblin FIlms, 2023), Oliver Aquino and Erin Ocampo star as Robert and Emily, a struggling couple recovering from infidelity, whose marriage...
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BRAVERY AND WARMTH
Once upon a time long, long ago, fairytales were more than just imaginative flights of fancy. They weren't cute or cuddly, aligned with strategic marketing to create excellent cross promotion...
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FAMILIAR TRAPPINGS
Lino Brocka's Pasan Ko ang Daigdig (Viva Films, 1987) is a remake of an already-terrific film, the 1956 Sampaguita picture Gilda with Lolita Rodriguez and Eddie Arenas, is one of the finest...
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PROFOUND COMPASSION
Lawrence Fajardo is a subtle filmmaker reveling in the depiction of everyday life acted out amongst traditional activities meant to reflect the changing cultural landscape that often place its...
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BEAUTIFUL AND WORTHY
Elwood Perez finds the right tone in Diborsyada (Regal Films, Inc., 1979). And it’s not always very easy to find because he wants to make his film both true and funny, not sacrificing laughs for...
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SUCCESSFUL DUPLICITY
Kung Kasalanan Man (Viva Films, 1989) is a movie where morality is grey and whether a character is likable is beside the point. But almost immediately, the film makes it clear whom we’re supposed...
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GROUNDING FORCE
It can be said that filmmaker Petersen Vargas came to A Very Good Girl (ABS-CBN Film Productions Inc., Star Cinema, 2023) with an impressive self-assuredness that could be mistaken for that of a...
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REALISTIC YET CHARMING
To characterize Monday First Screening (Net 25 Films, Lonewolf Films, 2023) as just another product of the rom-com assembly line is to ignore the depth of feeling Gina Alajar and Ricky Davao bring...
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DRAMATIC AND COMPELLING
Not many films would start with such a bold beginning, but Adolfo Borinaga Alix, Jr. sets the tone of Kontrabida (Godfather Productions, Ovation Productions, 2022) with such a striking opening...
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PAINFUL AND INTIMATE
Filmmaker Joselito Altarejos, whose artistry has not been channelled toward making a new movie for quite a while, is instead turning back to tinker with his earlier film. He went back and reworked...
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