ALL FILM REVIEWS
‘Cu Li Never Cries’ REVIEW: Gripping Personal Histories
The film’s elegance cannot be disregarded, with how the ghosts of history loom by and large around its characters. ‘Cu Li Never Cries’ is almost like a faded memory, a transformed picture difficult to fully remember.
‘Don't Cry Butterfly’ REVIEW: Where Chaos Reigns
One may just be impressed to think how for a debut feature, ‘Don’t Cry Butterfly’ just seamlessly flows through everything so nicely. It’s an experience that leaves plenty to think about, whether it be in the creative decisions or the story.
‘Pierce’ REVIEW: A Flurry of Light Blows
‘Pierce’ hits with a flurry of blows for a story about a tense brotherhood. Its soul is laid bare, framed so disgustingly sharp that one can’t help but be glued to its madness.
‘The End’ REVIEW: The Weirdest Sisyphean Musical
‘The End’ wasn’t made to create sympathy for the ultra-rich anyway, but its direction is quite muddled and meaninglessly repetitive. It’s richly detached to a fault.
‘When Fall is Coming’ REVIEW: A Meaningless Mystery
‘When Fall is Coming’ only finds itself to be treated with some care, ending up another vapid attempt in one of Ozon's many to demystify the stable French countryside.
‘Moneyslapper’ REVIEW: A Convincing Display of Wealth
‘Moneyslapper’s’ brand of violence gets disgusting without ever firing a bullet. It is methodical, yet reckless; straightforward, yet deep.
‘Dayang Asu’ REVIEW: A Hostile Pampanga
In satiating my curiosity about Bor Ocampo through ‘Dayang Asu,’ I’ve found a filmmaker who playfully mixes social realities with a comical and gruesome take. It’s the type of film that validates any excitement for ‘Moneyslapper.’
‘An Errand’ REVIEW: From An Ivory Tower
‘An Errand’ is not constructed kindly. It chooses to luxuriate in a loose and unbounded form with polarizing results... It is the type of film more appropriately found in the MUBI catalog, because it isn't the friendliest for most moviegoers.
‘Your Mother’s Son’ REVIEW: Good Ass Bomba
In Jun Lana’s struggle to make sense of past political conditions, Your Mother’s Son becomes his definitive bomba film: mired deeply in sex, and politically dense in its delirious and lustful desires.
‘Pushcart Tales’ REVIEW: Sigrid’s Best
Pushcart Tales is the type of film that could only be possible in a film festival hosted by a supermarket chain, and it unexpectedly provides the conditions for what is Sigrid Bernardo’s best
'Angry Son' REVIEW: Intimacy strewn all over the place
So much of Angry Son is defined by its breadth and sincerity, and yet, the film falters for it.
'Firefly' REVIEW: Made with Care
What Firefly speaks well to its audience is a form of sincere storytelling that fully evokes the ageless feeling of adventure.
'GomBurZa' REVIEW: Boldly written, convincing in form
For a piece of history that, outside of the academe, is not discussed in depth, the film treats its audience to a story accentuated by convincing production design and great performances from its ensemble cast, titular trio aside.
‘Essential Truths of the Lake’ REVIEW: Murkier and murkier truths
Essential Truths of the Lake finds Lav Diaz revisiting moments that are undoubtedly familiar. It’s a story that has been previously presented in more striking fashion, but its present iteration is still an adventure worth diving into.
‘12 Weeks’ REVIEW: Defining Control
Though unrefined in some aspects, 12 Weeks still finds itself to be a fascinating debut from Anna Matutina.
‘Plan 75’ REVIEW: A Slow, Tender Burn
Even if one finds difficulty in the film’s individual plotlines, Plan 75 snakes around these at least with frames and shots that outline the loss of personal grief and humanity that come with the titular program.
‘When The Waves Are Gone’ REVIEW: Lav’s Return to Film
Lav Diaz’s return to film sees one of his grimiest, darkest creations in When The Waves Are Gone, an absurdist presentation of the decay of man and masculinity early in the Duterte regime.
‘Ajoomma’ REVIEW: One Warm Adventure
If anything, Ajoomma works in the same way most other K-dramas work: family. Every plot point in this film revolves around the importance of it and the ways it changes dynamically, yet always having love remain in spite of everything.