ALL FILM REVIEWS
'Mean Girls (2024)’ REVIEW: More is more and meaner
Mean Girls is not just a mere copy or another adaptation to avoid; it takes everything from the original and amplifies it all into a louder and more “fetch” movie with catchy tunes to boot.
‘GG (Good Game)’ REVIEW: A visually exciting, albeit buggy, local esports film
As the first esports film in the Philippines, GG (Good Game) exposes the often misunderstood and belittled burgeoning industry with visual flair, adrenaline rush, and typical melodrama.
‘The Boy and the Heron’ REVIEW: Miyazaki at his most contemplative and sublime
After 60 years of raising the standards for animation, Studio Ghibli auteur Hayao Miyazaki continues to up the ante with his visionary and expansive storytelling. As an iconic film maestro, he not only creates yet another mesmerizing world on screen but also confronts the profound legacy he has woven throughout his illustrious career.
'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.
‘Rewind’ REVIEW: DongYan can't save this ill-conceived redemption arc
For a film that tries to come off as having Christian values and even haphazardly throws in a silly portrayal of Jesus for extra points, its message is shockingly nihilistic.
'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.
'Mallari' REVIEW: Still Clings to Cliché Tropes But Impresses with Ambitious Storytelling
Instead of opting for a straightforward depiction of the infamous case of the Philippines’ first documented serial killer, Mallari chooses a wild, albeit frustratingly complex, yet enjoyably ambitious approach that may or may not impress you.
‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’ REVIEW: Sympathy for the Abyss
James Wan’s Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is the last breath of a sinking ship. A haze of ideas flashing before one’s eyes without understanding and empathizing with their significance.
'Wonka’ REVIEW: Chalamet, chocolates and childlike wonder
Like the previous movies, ‘Wonka’ plays out as a musical interspersed with magical scenes of chocolate and hope, a constant reminder that everyone with a drive to share their craft with the world gets a golden ticket in life sooner or later.
'Shake, Rattle & Roll Extreme' REVIEW: A dark, blood-soaked, and delicious comeback
A weapon-wielding Iza Calzado, a scene-stealing Esnyr, and a blood-soaked Jane de Leon are some of the features you need to watch out for in the latest Shake, Rattle & Roll installment. After a nine-year hiatus, the horror franchise is now making its comeback, delivering a stacked ensemble, intensified scares, and heightened entertainment.
‘Bernadette’ REVIEW: An offbeat biopic of a politician's wife
‘Bernadette’ has nothing new nor subversive to offer in the genre. Still, the film knows how to have fun and it does just that.
‘Nowhere Near’ REVIEW: Traces of Home in a Foreign Land
Miko Revereza's Nowhere Near shows how colonialism erases entire people and structures, even lineages and histories. There's something so potent and human in this memoir about the fear of statelessness and colonial trauma. It is something so spiritual and metaphysical.
‘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.
‘Love is a Gun’ REVIEW: Poetic in its ambience but confused in the path that it draws for itself
Even though Love is a Gun is by far from redefining the neo-noir genre, there is still something enthralling about a forlorn man desperately in pursuit of rewriting his fate.
'All of Us Strangers’ REVIEW: Not just a ghost/love story
‘All of Us Strangers’ is a hymn for the lonesome, a saving grace that comes knocking at your door in the middle of the night. It is very personal, modern, and queer, tackling the long and winding road of grief but focusing more on its first stage—denial.
‘Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell’ REVIEW: On Devoting Oneself to Faith and Slow Cinema
For a film about faith and questioning, I think it’s quite ingenious to use the medium of slow cinema to convey its themes because, in a way, there are a lot of commonality with each other in the sense that you have to be ready to embrace both, and you are willing to listen. And one can’t really force either, you have to devote yourself to it.
'Tiger Stripes' REVIEW: The monstrous phase that is puberty
Amanda Nell Eu's attempts to explore these themes of puberty and womanhood while fusing body horror and adolescence are admirable because ‘Tiger Stripes’ deftly maintains a balance between realism and mythology.
‘Cobweb (2023)' REVIEW: Art interweaves life
Kim Jee-woon's 'Cobweb' entangled multiple layers of fiction and reality that will leave you questioning what actually happened during its conclusion.
‘Bottoms’ REVIEW: Revenge of the Lesbians
In a film filled with excessive violence and horniness, director Emma Seligman says, "To hell with it.” Men have dominated this genre; now it's queer women's turn to get a slice of the cake, and eat it too.
'Barbie' REVIEW: The Beautiful Gaps in Barbie's Mother-Daughter Subplot
Barbie underutilized a beautiful paradox: the younger Sasha outgrows Barbie, while the older Gloria finds solace in her. In this odd ballet of circumstances, Barbie is the cord connecting generations.