It pays to remember that sci-fi is Bong Joon-Ho’s forte, even with Parasite still in our collective memory. In fact, it was The Host which first earned the South Korean filmmaker global attention in 2006. That, in turn, paved the … Continue reading “Mickey 17” Misunderstands Itself
Maria Callas was 53 when she died in Paris. It was a sad end to the opera legend, whose career never fell short of mystery and intrigue. Even before then, she was already destined to become a myth. Yet, outside … Continue reading Angelina Jolie Keeps “Maria” On-Key
Oh, you bet Donald Trump hated this movie. Not long after its release, he lashed out in his socials, calling the film a “cheap, defamatory, and politically disgusting hatchet job” and the people behind it “scum”. Of course, he still … Continue reading Escape From Near-Parody: A Review of Ali Abbasi’s “The Apprentice”
Without reading the synopsis, some might assume it’s a musical. It’s a valid assumption, seeing how it opens with Colman Domingo hamming it up with a monologue, dressed like royalty and bathed in lights. As the curtain closes, though, we … Continue reading “Sing Sing”: A Prison Drama with Soul Soul
It missed the original’s centennial by two years, which is curious, given how development took almost a decade. Some might say Robert Eggers missed a shot at a timely release. Then again, it probably wasn’t his point. Maybe, he really … Continue reading “Nosferatu”: A Nifty Take Nine Years in the Making
It’s not that movie epics ever disappeared. It’s just that, since the turn of the century, only The Lord of the Rings franchise made a mark at more than three hours per installment. Compare that to say, 1965, when The … Continue reading Built to Endure: A Review of Brady Corbet’s “The Brutalist”
I was almost going to miss the live streaming of this year’s Academy Awards, but thanks to certain sudden adjustments, I was able to stay at home for the entirety of the show. Fortunately, the Disney+ streaming didn’t encounter difficulties … Continue reading Anora’s Ascendance and Other 97th Oscar Highlights
It’s been said that awards are losing their luster, if not their significance altogether. The consensus has to do with the results reflecting that of a biased elite, rather than the general public. For me, it’s just a matter of … Continue reading Picks for the 97th Oscars
The praise was never universal from the get-go, notwithstanding the initial accolades and the fact it’s now the most Oscar-nominated non-English film in history. For one, it angered the trans community, the very group it wanted to champion, by depicting … Continue reading From Acclaim to Atrocity: The Curious Trajectory of “Emilia Pérez”
When it comes to commonly-tackled subjects, there’s always the question of what sets one apart. There was never a shortage of Bob Dylan films. In fact, they’ve been churning out documentaries since the start of his fabled career. The earliest … Continue reading “A Complete Unknown”: Not Completely A Fresh Dylan Story, But Still Works
Come to think of it, Osgood Perkins II has always been low-key horror royalty. His father, Anthony Perkins, is forever etched in memory as Norman Bates from Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960). In fact, Oz’s first role was in the 1983 … Continue reading “The Monkey” Sustains Perkins’ Scare Streak
At 75, Pedro Almodóvar just keeps outdoing himself, and to think he already managed to film Parallel Mothers at the thick of COVID-19. In late 2024, he released his first book, a short story anthology entitled “The Last Dream”. The … Continue reading Mundane Mortality in “The Room Next Door”
Avengers: End Game already made it clear that Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) was due to take over. It even took the entirety of 2021’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier to provide further build-up. That’s where we met Joaquin Torres … Continue reading Captain America: Brave New World, Ambivalent New Lead
It’s not a Bollywood production, but a co-production among five countries. India’s on board, of course. It joined forces with France, with Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands also chipping in. Yet, despite all the acclaim and the splash it made … Continue reading The Luminescence of “All We Imagine as Light”
You’d think you’re up for another Odd Couple reboot once the airport banter begins. But, truth be told, Jesse Eisenberg’s sophomore turn is anything but. He was always a multi-hyphenate. Since his widely-panned turn as Lex Luthor, the actor has … Continue reading “A Real Pain” is a Real, Low-Key Tearjerker
As a filmmaker, Sean Baker always had a knack for the unthinkable. 10 years ago, he shot the entirety of Tangerine with three smartphones, a creative decision which surely raised purist eyebrows then. But, nevertheless, it was revolutionary, despite the … Continue reading Disillusioned Damsel: A Review of Sean Baker’s “Anora”
Creator Nick Park hinted that he was done with full length. In 2008, the British animator shared the challenges of making the first Wallace and Gromit feature, 2005’s The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. The most glaring, perhaps, was being told … Continue reading Stop Motion Vindication (A Review of “Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl”)
I wasn’t exactly the most immersed in MMFF (Metro Manila Film Festival) before. That changed in 2018, when I landed that social media manager stint in Solar Pictures. Two entries were under their distributorship then. There was the RC de … Continue reading My MMFF Re-Immersion (Part 1)
It’s not a remake of the 1972 John Boorman caper, as one might be led to believe, though it does aims to scare just the same. Yet apart from the gratuitous addition of the article “The”, there’s really a world … Continue reading The (Non-)Deliverance of Scares
It might as well be narrative; with how it poetically pinpoints every nuance and gently basks in the emotional highs and lows. We don’t always see this in documentaries. But rest assured, nobody’s acting. Everything you see here is real. … Continue reading Reunited Behind Bars: A Review of “Daughters”
Planet Chuckie 