Marupok AF (Where Is The Lie) comes from a sincere place of wanting to raise awareness on the struggles and difficulties that Trans people go through in our modern society, but the film doesn’t really do it justice by having Quark Henares tell the story and going with a dark comedic treatment.

Oras de Peligro has good intentions of reminding the local audiences about the country's dark history, and reigniting the flames that will prompt people into action, but Lamangan's overstuffed screenplay and rushed production eventually leads to its downfall.

Suzume is a sincere and poignant exploration of humanity's collective grief amid a tragedy. Despite some shortcomings on its story, there’s just something incredibly moving about a young teenage girl making an effort to stop a major tragedy and the deaths of others when she has already suffered the worst tragedy of her life. For once, a Makoto Shinkai film that feels cathartic and soulful.

Between the decent action and humor, overloaded visual effects, underdeveloped characters, and somewhat half-baked storyline, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is a perfectly serviceable film that doesn’t quite reach the zany heights of its predecessors, while offering a tease of what’s to come in the MCU’s Multiverse Saga.

Not even Fraser’s comeback as a main lead can save Aronofsky’s “The Whale”, harpooning more on emotionally manipulating its audience to a pitiful lead with a surface-level analysis on obesity, religion, and homophobia.

Celebrate February 15, a.K.a the Valentines’ Day of the Mistresses by watching a murder-mystery comedy kabetpelikula, Jun Lana’s “Ten Little Mistresses,” exclusively on Prime Video PH!

A story about trust and company, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish highlights chosen families, and although blood is thicker than water, the movie is a testament to the beauty of friendship that can stand the test of time.

Arnold is a Model Student shows rallying students and activists side by side to make everyone realize how oppression exists in all forms, a subtle jab at the current Thai administration that curtails its people’s basic right to free speech. The school is indeed a microcosm of the community, where the principal and the head of the country both boil down to a single, authoritarian evil.

Though unrefined in some aspects, 12 Weeks still finds itself to be a fascinating debut from Anna Matutina.

Autobiography is very much a product of its home country. Due to similarities in customs and social issues presented in the film, other Southeast Asian audiences might find the film hitting close to home. Its structure feels familiar but what makes it stand out in this year's releases is its coherency and brilliance in all areas.

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.

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.

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.

Having grown up in a Jehovah Witness community, Sarah Watts definitely succeeded in achieving her main purpose of making this. With the help of her co-director Mark Slutsky, You Can Live Forever turned out to be a sweet and tender sapphic drama that was made with such passion and care for its subject material.

This year’s Asian Shorts film program for QCinema features a diverse selection of socially relevant films from filmmakers from China, Nepal, Indonesia, and the Philippines. In their own ways they each deal with issues that afflict their local communities and continue to exemplify the unbridled power of cinema as a tool for reflection on the state of human society today.

At its core, Itim bedazzles its audience with an ethereal approach to storytelling. Much of it is quite moody and even beautiful in spite of its darkness. The way it couples together elements to examine the forsaken and the damned, the horrifying and sometimes disturbing treatment of different imagery, they all manifest a film that proves how excellent and seminal Itim is as a debut film in a legendary filmmaker’s catalogue.

‘She Said’ is a compelling narrative storytelling of the months-long journey of Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor as they write an article that helped in taking Weinstein down and starting a conversation about workplace harassment.

This year’s QCShorts certainly felt refreshing, in that the range of creativity espoused across all films in question reveals a creative pool of talent that is clearly present in today’s Philippine cinema. Ideas fresh and familiar, unique and exciting, they all come to play for this year’s roster of short films.

Despite the array of searing performances from its cast, Elehiya does nothing to stem the confusion that comes from vaguely dissecting a spiritually-charged island and its colonially-subdued inhabitants.

Amirpour's unwavering commitment to her vision of a stylistic neon pulp movie makes up for the lack of narrative, making the watching experience quite a vibe.