acid reflects

That’s entertainment

October 8, 2017

That’s entertainment
Review by VIves Anunciacion
Published 9.13.2017 Inquirer Libre, PH

Who knew I would enjoy a Sophia Coppola corseted drama and a Tom Cruise comedy? International stars Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise both back at peak acting form.

American Made
Directed by Doug Liman
Biographical based on the life of Barry Seal
Rated R13

American Made trailer

Action-comedy American Made is based on the real life of former Trans World Airlines pilot Barry Seal (played by Tom Cruise) who became a smuggler for the CIA and the Medellin drug cartel of Colombia in the 1980s.

In the movie, talented but bored commercial pilot Barry Seal is caught by CIA operative Schafer (played by Domhnall Gleeson, previously seen in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and The Revenant) smuggling contraband Cuban cigars from Canada to US borders. Schafer recruits Seal for the CIA initially to take reconnaissance (“spy”) photography over communist rebels in Central America. Barry is successful, so he is promoted to buying commie intelligence from then-unknown Colonel Manuel Noriega (Alberto Ospino.)

His operations catch the eye of the Medellin drug cartel led by Jorge Ochoa (Alejandro Edda) and Pablo Escobar (Mauricio Mejia) who then recruit him to smuggle hundreds of kilos of cocaine to the US mainland. Within a year, Barry is operating a small fleet of airplanes from his own airport in Mena, Arkansas and is literally swimming in money.

Of course, everything has a price.

I had no expectations coming in the screening except that I remember the last Liman-Cruise tandem (Edge of Tomorrow, 2014) was quite entertaining. American Made us humorous, sometimes thrilling, politically scandalous but most of all satisfyingly entertaining. Most notably, Tom Cruise seems to have had a lot of fun making the film, he glows in it – so rarely seen in the last movies he made that it is frankly refreshing to see the worldwide superstar enjoying himself.

Also, I won’t be surprised if I see this movie’s screenplay (by Gary Spinelli) land a nomination somewhere.

Grab lots of popcorn when you see this one, it’s a hoot.

The Beguiled
Directed by Sophia Coppola
Based on the novel by Thomas P. Cullinan
Rated R13
Exclusive in Ayala Trinoma and Greenbelt Cinemas only

The Beguiled trailer

Also surprisingly enjoyable is this drama-turned-comedy from a director who hid her comedy in subtext (Lost in Translation, Marie Antoinette, The Virgin Suicides.)

In the middle of the American Civil War, wounded Union soldier John McBurney (Colin Farrell) hides in the woods near an all-girls boarding school in Virginia. Young Amy (Oona Laurence) finds the soldier and decides to bring him to the school, despite being an enemy of the Confederate State. The schoolmistress, Miss Martha (Nicole Kidman) decides to take care of the wounded soldier until such time that he can leave on his own and surrender to the Confederate Army.

During his stay, the girls of the school are affected one way or the other by the presence of the handsome soldier – ultimately becoming their own poison.

Handsome Farrell may be, but there’s nothing more handsome in The Beguiled than the lush, delicious silhouettes by French cinematographer Philippe Le Sourd and designed by Anne Ross.

Coppola’s version s a more refined, corseted, pinky-finger version of the novel that was previously translated by Don Siegel in 1971 starring Clint Eastwood as a more visceral, hysterical, sex-and-hormones-charged thriller.

Coppola adorns her dialogue with modern-day overt Feminism which I think is how this period drama inadvertently, tongue-in-cheekily becomes hilariously funny. While each character seems to have her womanhood (and emerging womanhood) checked under the surface, the effect becomes comedic when their true intentions are revealed. It’s not at all wrong because this is tonal inconsistency – the effect becomes a juicy romp as each female (girl, woman) tries to outdo each other in capturing the soldier’s own beguiling ways. Great ensemble. Nicole Kidman at the dinner table is at her savage best.
Que horror

October 8, 2017

Que horror
Review by Vives Anunciacion

It
Directed by Andy Muschietti
Based on the Stephen King best-selling novel
Rated R13
Published 9.8.2017 Inquirer Libre, PH

It trailer

-For Raymart, Kian, Carl, Reynaldo – who probably would have wanted to see this movie just like regular movie-loving Pinoys-

There’s an 80s kids renaissance in TV and movies and the latest adaptation of It is 80s scary and fun, minus a song and dance number. The new take on a classic Stephen King tale has all sorts of feels – demonic scares, coming-of-age wonder, the horrors of growing up, puppy love and bravery. It’s so Pinoy.

One rainy afternoon in the summer of 1989, six-year-old Georgie (Jackson Robert Scott) disappears in the sewers – the first victim in a string of mysterious disappearances in the small town of Derry, Maine.

Determined to find out what happened to his younger brother Georgie, Bill (Jaeden Lieberher) and his pre-teen, bike-riding barkada attempt to investigate in the town’s drainage and in the process befriend a few more recruits to The Losers Club – new kid Ben (Jeremy Ray Taylor,) Beverly (Sophia Lillis,) and Mike (Chosen Jacobs.)

Their investigation reveals that It (Bill Skarsgård) – a monster disguised as Pennywise the Dancing Clown – is behind the disappearances and every member of the club has had horrific encounters with the clown. With summer winding down, the group devises a plan to end the menace in Derry. Meanwhile, school bully Henry (Nicholas Hamilton) is increasingly becoming maniacal no thanks to Pennywise, literally threatening to kill the Losers Club. The kids of Derry have more than just school to worry about.

Part bittersweet coming-of-age film like Stand By Me (also based on a Stephen King novella;) part 80s teen movie with young crushes, bicycles and walkie-talkies; and part 80s horror movie – It feels like it has three narratives just barely stuck together, thanks to an incredibly talented and charming set of stars and smartly-layered script. My favorite kids have to be foul-speaking motor-mouth Eddie (Jack Dylan Grazer) and the always misappropriating Richie (Finn Wolfhard.) If Richie and the movie remind you of Stranger Things, it is because Finn is Mike Wheeler in the Netflix show.

The movie portrays two forms of horror that The Losers must overcome. The supernatural horror involves Pennywise and is presented with just enough set-up and mood for effective scare tactics. It’s scary and it’s over in just a few seconds. There are moments when the imagery is the stuff of nightmares.

The second horror is portrayed in the many forms of abuse that these kids are subjected to – bullying, verbal, sexual, emotional – which is as effectively portrayed as the scary scenes. It is in these scenes that I am reminded of our current context – how our teens and pre-teens struggle daily in their immediate social circle and in the larger context of what is happening around us. This movie may be set in the 1980s, but I was surprised at how currently relevant its message is, particularly in the Philippine context.

Social context aside, It covers a lot of plot and character pieces with enough nostalgia feels for batang 80s people that overall make a satisfying whole – even if the end tends to be a corny effects-driven retribution.

For fans of the book and the 1990 TV miniseries, we all know that the young Losers only cover Chapter One. Bring a friend when you watch.
Nakapagpapabagabag

October 8, 2017

Nakapagpapabagabag
Review ni Vives Anunciacion

THIS REVIEW IS IN FILIPINO

An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power
Directed by Bonnie Cohen, John Shenk
Documentary narrated by Al Gore
Rated PG
Exclusive in Ayala Cinemas
Published 9.1.2017 Inquirer Libre, PH

An Inconvenient Sequel trailer

Iba na talaga ang panahon ngayon. Kapag hindi umuulan, parang summer pa rin sa init. Kapag umuulan naman, parang ayaw tumigil. At ang mga bagyo, mas madalas na sa Mindanao kaysa pa-Luzon.

Sampung taon matapos ipakita ni former US Vice President Al Gore ang mga nakakatakot na scenario dala ng climate change at global warming sa dokumentaryong An Inconvenient Truth (2006,) muli nanaman niyang kinakalampag ang mga konsensya ng sankatauhan upang paalalahanan na hindi pa huli ang lahat.

Sa sequel na ito, sinusundan si Al Gore sa walang-tigil nitong pakikipag-usap sa iba’t ibang sektor sa USA, sa Europa at sa Asya upang magawan ng paraan ang solusyon sa climate change. Kung sa unang dokumentaryo ay pinapaliwanag ni Gore ang epekto ng global warming at climate change sa pamamagitan ng mga Keynote slide shows, mas nakatuon ang Sequel sa mga pangyayari sa likod ng camera, tulad ng mga pag-uusap sa mga polisiya ng mga pamahalaan hinggil sa climate action, pagpunta ni Gore sa mga climate leadership training seminars na sinimulan ng kaniyang foundation, at pagbisita ni Gore sa mga lugar na nagpapakita sa epekto ng climate change na hinulaan ng unang dokumentaryo.

Kung noong 2006 ay ipinakita ni Gore ang epekto ng hurricane Katrina sa USA, sa Sequel naman ay binabanggit ni Gore na halimbawa ang epekto ng superbagyong Yolanda sa Pilipinas kung paano nagiging mas malakas ang mga bagyo at nagiging malubha at tagtuyot at pagbaha dahil sa global warming.

Pero isa sa mahalagang segment ng Inconvenient Sequel ay nang makarating na sa Paris ang mga negosasyon ng 196 na representante ng iba’t ibang bansa kung saan ipinapakita ang kaibahan ng perspektibo ng Developing countries versus sa mayayamang bansa patungkol sa kung sino ang magbabayad sa gastusin upang labanan ang climate change – kung nauna namang nanghasik sa kalikasan ang development ng mayayamang bansa kaysa sa mga bansang ngayon lang nagdedevelop gaya ng India at Pilipinas.

Samantalang nagaganap ito ay sinisingit ipakita ang mga interview kay Donald Trump, na bago pa man nanalo bilang bagong presidente ng US ay isa sa pinakamaingay na tumatanggi sa science ng climate change at nangakong babaligtarin ang pagsunod ng US sa Paris Climate Agreement.

Walang duda na mahalaga pa rin ang mensahe ng An Inconvenient Sequel tulad ng naunang dokumentaryo ni Gore, at kabilib-bilib ang pagsisikap ni Gore at ng kaniyang team upang magawan ng paraan na ma-operationalize sa mga pamahalaan at mga maliliit na bayan kung paano tutugunan ang pagsubok na ito. Higit sa lahat at ipinapakita ang positibong mensahe ng pagtutulungan ng mga apektado kahit na magkaiba ang pinanggagalingan na grupo. Maging balakid man sa ibang banda ang pamumulitika at pagkakalat ng maling paniniwala tungkol sa climate change, ipinapakita rin dito na maaari itong malampasan, gaya ng binisita ni Gore na Republican mayor na nanguna sa pagpapatupad ng 100% renewable energy sa isang maliit na bayan sa Texas.

Mas matapang man ang mga salita na gamit dito kumpara sa unang Inconvenient documentary, hindi maikakaila na kailangan na itong aksyunan ng mga pamahalaan.

Maliit na pagpuna lang – sa dulo ng pelikula ay may magagandang mensahe si Gore na parang recruitment video para sa kanilang ahensya ang dating. Wala namang mali dito, lalu na’t morally correct at urgent ang causang ito. May impression lang na gayon kahit hindi sinasadya.
Sindakan

October 8, 2017

Sindakan
Rebyu ni Vives Anunciacion
Published 8.25.2017 Inquirer Libre, PH

THIS REVIEW IS IN FILIPNO

Sindakan ang labanan sa magkaibang palabas na ito – ang una’y dala ng sinumpang manyika, at ang ikalawa naman ay bukambibig ng isang madiskarteng empleyado.

Annabelle: Creation
Directed by David F. Sandberg
Rated R13

Annabelle: Creation trailer

As if kulang pa sa pananakot itong manyikang dilat ang mga mata, nagbabalik si Annabelle ngayong ghost month para sa kwento ng kaniyang pinagmulan, na extension ng kwento ng mag-asawa sa Annabelle (2014) na kadugtong naman sa naunang The Conjuring (2013.)

Sa “Creation,” taong 1943 ipinakita ang pinagmulan ng manyika sa maliit na pagawaan ng mag-asawang Samuel at Esther Mullins (Anthony LaPaglia at Miranda Otto, respectively.) Sa isang road accident mamamatay ang kanilang nag-iisang anak na Bee (Samara Lee) – dahilan upang maging desperado ang mag-asawa at humingi ng tulong sa kahit na anong kapangyarihang kayang ibalik ang anak. Hashtag #alamnathis.

Pagkaraan ng ilang taon, ipahihiram ng mag-asawa ang kanilang nangungulilang bahay sa isang ampunan na nawalan ng tahanan. Hindi magtatagal ay magpaparamdam si Annabelle sa mga bago niyang kalaro, lalu na sa kawawang lumpong Janice (Talitha Eliana Bateman.) Lumpo = mabagal sa takbuhan. Hashtag #alamniyona.

Parang itong short film na ini-stretch ang kwento mabigyan lang ng karagdagang kwento ang pinagmulan ni Annabelle, puno naman ito ng mga classic na katatakutan kaugnay ng dinemonyong manyika. Masterful ang build-up ng mga katatakutan at tension lalu na iyong formula kung saan gagawin ng karakter ang bagay na hindi gusto ng audience. Gaya ito ng, “huwag mong buksan ang pinto” at bubuksan nga ang pinto. “Huwag pakialaman ang gamit ni Annabelle” at pakikialaman nga ang mga gamit. “Huwag pumunta sa balon” at ayun, andun si Sadako ang kulit mo kasi. Naiintindihan ng filmmakers na mas may suspense nang nabibigay ang matagal na babad closeup sa mukha ng manyika kumpara halimbawa sa hyper-editing ng ilang Asian horror films ng mga baguhang filmmaker.

Kung katatakutan lang naman ang punto ng horror film di bale na ang manipis ang kwento, sulit na ang Annabelle: Creation sa sindakan.

Pakatandaan lang na kabilang ang kwentong ito sa nabubuong Conjuring “universe” at may eksena sa bandang gitna at sa credits patungkol naman sa isang demonyang madre na may makapal na make-up.

A Family Man
Directed by Mark Williams
Rated PG

Family Man trailer

Tungkol ito sa isang career-obsessed na ama na magkakaroon ng krisis pamilya nang magkasakit ang panganay na anak ng malubhang cancer.

Si Gerard Butler bilang Dane Jensen, ay isang maangas na “headhunter” o taga-match ng trabaho at trabahador ng isang recruitment agency sa Chicago. Dinadala ni Dane sa sindakan ang pakikipag-ayusan sa mga kompanyang naghahanap ng partikular na empleyado, kaya madalas ay nakukuha niya ang gusto niya. Mahusay siya sa kaniyang ginagawa at naghahabol ng promotion bilang kasunod sa may-ari ng kompanya (Willem Dafoe) kung mahihigitan niya sa komisyon ang kanyang kasamahan (Alison Brie.)

Nga lang, hindi madadala ng galing niya sa trabaho ang pagpapagaling sa sakit ng anak na Ryan (Max Jenkins) na nangungulila sa ama.

Kung aakalain niyong kwento ito ng isang amang iiwan ang trabaho para maalagaan lang ang may sakit na anak, hindi rin. Kung aakalain niyong tulad ito ng Lorenzo’s Oil (1992) kung saan sinuuong ng mag-asawa ang langit at lupa mahanap lang ang gamot sa sakit ng anak, hindi rin. Kung aakalain itong heavy drama tungkol sa legal ethics ng medicine at buhay tulad ng My Sister’s Keeper (2009) hindi rin.

Light on drama at light on acting itong pelikula kung saan parang hindi seryoso sa kanilang karakter ang mga aktor bilang kasamahan ni Dane sa trabaho, at trying hard naman si misis Elise (Gretchen Mol) na may Alice Dixon vibe. “Meh” lang ang masasabi ko sa kwento at sa produksyon na pinaabot pa sa ending bago mag-improve ang relasyon ng mag-ama.
Cinemalaya 2017

October 8, 2017

Iniwan, iniwan
Rebyu ni Vives Anunciacion

THIS REVIEW IS IN FILIPINO

Published 8.11.2017 Inquirer Libre, PH

“See the Big Picture” and tema ng 2017 Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival na kasalukuyang ginaganap sa Cultural Center of the Philippines at sa Ayala Malls Cinemas na Greenbelt 1, Glorietta 4, UP Town Center, TriNoma, Fairview Terraces at Marquee Mall sa Pampanga hanggang itong linggo.

Sampung full-length films at labindalawang short features ang naglalaban para sa mga parangal.

Ito ang mga full-length films na kasapi sa ika-13 edisyon ng pista: Ang Guro Kong Di Marunong Magbasa ni Perry Escaño; Ang Pamilyang Hindi Lumuluha ni Mes de Guzman; Baconaua ni Joseph Israel Laban; Bagahe ni Zig Dulay; Nabubulok ni Sonny Calvento; Kiko Boksingero ni Thop Nazareno; Requited ni Nerissa Picadizo; Respeto ni Treb Monteras II; at Sa Gabing Nanahimik ang mga Kuliglig ni Iar Lionel Benjamin Arondaing.

Kiko Boksingero
Directed by Thop Nazareno
Rated PG

Kiko Boksingero trailer

Sa malamig na klima ng Baguio ganap ang kwento ng labing-isang taong gulang na Kiko (Noel Comia, Jr.) na iniwan ng mga magulang sa pangangalaga ng yaya nitong si Diday (Yayo Aguila) habang hinihitay ang desisyon ng tiyahin ng bata kung aampunin ito sa Amerika.

Sa saglit na pagbabalik sa bayan ang ama nitong dating boksingero na si George (Yul Servo), pansamantalang magbabalik ang ugnayan ng mag-ama tuwing uuwi si Kiko mula sa paaralan. Ngunit sa huli’y sa maaalalahaning yaya nito pa rin ang uwi ng bata.

Maliban sa isang linya kung bakit ayaw ni Kikong maging tulad ni Pacquiao paglaki niya, simple, swabe at walang pabigat sa sanaysay ng Kiko Boksingero, na magaang panoorin dahil sa pagganap nina Comia at Aguila. Nakatulong din ang tanawin sa Baguio. Feel-good ang pelikula.

Bagahe
Directed by Zig Dulay
Rated PG

Bagahe trailer

Istoryang hango sa laman ng mga balita, isang sanggol ang matatagpuang iniwan sa CR ng isang eroplanong mula sa Gitnang Silangan, at pinaghinalaan ng NBI si Mercy (Angeli Bayani), isang OFW na kababalik lang sa bayan ng Benguet. Susundan ng kwento ang imbestigasyon kay Mercy kung tutoong siya nga ang nanganak sa eroplano.

Intruiguing ang kwento nito at talentado ang buong cast. May unting build-up ng tension habang unti-unting nasisiwalat ang kataotohanan, samantalang nagpapatuloy pananahimik ni Mercy.

Lamang, ang tunay na bagahe ng pelikulang ito ay ang paraan ng paglalahad ng naratibo, kung saan naging “procedural” ito a) kung ano ang nangyayari kapag iniimbistigahan ng NBI ang isang tao; b) kung ano ang nangyayari kapag dinadala ang isang babae sa pangangalaga ng DSWD; c) kung ano ang nangyayari sa medico-legal. Masyado rin naparami ang characters nang hindi kinakailangan kaya mukhang naubos ang budget ng pelikula sa cast pa lang. Pero magaling si Bayani rito bilang biktima ng mga pangyayari.

Maingay rin ngayon ang rap battle drama Respeto ng music video director Treb Montreras, starring Abra, Dido dela Paz and Chai Fonacier. Paumanhin pong hindi ko ito maaaring irebyu ito dahil kabilang ako sa kumpanyang gumawa nito.

Maaari pang habulin ang mga pelikulang ito hanggang linggo, Agosto 13.
Piyesta

October 8, 2017

Piyesta
Rebyu ni Vives Anunciacion
Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino
Published 8.16.2017 Inquirer Libre, PH

THIS REVIEW IS IN FILIPINO

Masuwerte na yung makakapanood nang higit sa isang kalahok sa gaganaping Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino, na handog ng Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) simula nitong Miyerkules.

Sa unang pagkakataon labas ng Metro Manila Film Fest, labindalawang pelikulang Filipino lang ang ipalalabas sa mga sinehan hanggang sa susunod na Martes. Maganda na itong hakbang sa pagpapalaganap ng sarili nating akda. Sa hiwalay na usapan na lang kung maigi nga ba na 12 pelikula ang mag-aagawan sa sa atensyon ng manonood.

Maaaring tignan ang mga detalye ng mga pelikulang kalahok sa Facebook page na pistangpelikulangpilipino facebook.com.ph/fdcpph

Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino
Agosto 16-22, 2017
Nationwide

• 100 Tula Para Kay Stella, ni Jason Paul Laxamana
• Ang Manananggal sa Unit 23B, ni Prime Crisologo Cruz
• AWOL movie, ni Enzo Williams
• Bar Boys, ni Kip Oebanda
• Birdshot, ni Mikhail Red
• Hamog, ni Ralston Jover
• Paglipay, ni Zig Dulay
• Patay na si Hesus, ni Victor Kaiba Villanueva
• Pauwi Na, ni Paolo Villaluna
• Salvage, ni Sherad Anthony Sanchez
• Star na si Van Damme Stallone, ni Randolph Longjas
• Triptiko, ni Miguel Franco Michelena

Sa isang banda, maganda na ang mga kalahok na pelikula ay may kadikit na representasyon ng mga probinsya ng Pilipinas. Nakakatulong na subtitled in English ang mga palabas para sa ikaiintindi ng nakararami.

Patay na si Hesus
Direksyon ni Victor Villanueva

Patay na si Hesus trailer

Road trip comedy in Bisaya ito, tungkol kay single-mother Iyay (Jaclyn Jose) na kailangang dumalo sa burol at libing ng hiniwalayang asawa sa Dumagete. Papunta sa lamay habang sakay sa kanilang minivan, magkakaroon ng kakaibang bonding ang pamilya.

Hindi balakid sa katatawanan ang binisaya nito, salamat sa mga walang pakundangang (irreverent) situations kasama ang makukulay na mga anak ni Iyay – mula sa special child na Hubert (Vincent Viado), hayahay na Jay (Melde Montañez) at trans son Jude (Chai Fonacier.) May saktong screen time naman ang bawat karakter kaya nadaragdag ang sari-sarili nilang isyu sa kabuuang kalokohan.

100 Tula Para Kay Stella
Direksyon ni Jason Paul Laxamana

100 Tula Para Kay Stella trailer

Blockmate freshies si Fidel (JC Santos) na may speech impediment, at ang rocker na Stella (Bela Padilla) sa isang agricultural college sa Pampanga. Agad na mahuhulog ang loob ng binata sa pasaway na kaibigan, na pag-iipunan niya ng sandaang tula bago niya maihayag ang damdamin sa dalaga.

Mahusay ang chemistry ng dalawang bida dito, at maraming magical moments ang pelikula in terms of acting (pati na sa isang propesor nila na ginagampanan ni Ana Abad Santos.) Maayos ang produksyon at malinis ang pagkakagawa.

Iyun lang ay hindi yata nadevelop ang paggamit ng tula, at halos lahat ay rhyming verses lamang (di tulad, sabihin natin, kung may iba’t ibang uri sana ng tula gaya ng sonnet or haiku.) Malabnaw rin ang romance nina Fidel at Stella, kung kaya’t (kahit na mahusay at maramdamin ang mga huling eksena nila) tatanggapin na lang ang nangyari. Sa tutoo lang, kung ano ang problema ni Fidel sa simula ay halos ganun pa rin sa ending.

Ang Manananggal sa Unit 23B
Direksyon ni Prime Cruz

Ang Manananggal sa Unit 23B trailer

Isa rin sa mga nagwagi sa huling QCinema Film Fest gaya ng Hesus, tungkol ito sa urban myth na may nagtatagong mananaggal o aswang sa lungsod. Si Jewel (Ryza Cenon) ang bagong lipat sa tenement na tinitirahan din ni Nico (Martin del Rosario.) Sa pagitan ng mga nagaganap na patayan sa ibang bayan, magkakaigihan damdamin ng dalawa.

Mahusay ang cinematography at visual effects, kapansin-pansin na impluwensiya ng HongKong at Taiwan cinema sa direktor. Maayos naman ang pagtimpla ng salita at Pinoy soundtrack upang bigyan ng romance ang dalawang bida – ngunit ang kahinaan ng palabas ay ay kakulangan ng chemistry ng dalawa na hindi sapat para paniwalaan ang kanilang hawak-kamay na pagtakas sa huli.

Napapanahon ring may mga pahaging sa war on drugs ng administrasyon ang mga pelikulang lumalabas ngayon. Sa Mananaggal, itinahi ang mga balita sa tokhang ang mga nagiging biktima ng halimaw; sa Patay na si Hesus, isang punchline ang tokhang at isang habulan na may kinalaman sa isang tulak; at para sa 100 Tula, pinahahalagahan ang rehabilitation dahil dapat pinagbibigyan ang lahat sa pagbabago.

Kung maaari ay panoorin agad ang napupusuang palabas, dahil walang garantiya na mapapalabas sa sinehan ang lahat ng 12 titles hanggang Miyerkules.
Puso at saging

October 8, 2017

Puso at saging
Rebyu ni Vives Anunciacion
THIS REVIEW IS IN FILIPINO

Kita Kita
Written and Directed by Sigrid Andrea Bernardo
Rated PG
Published 8.2.2017 Inquirer Libre, PH

Kita Kita trailer

Huli man daw at magaling, huli pa rin. Ika nga ni Tonyo (Empoy Marquez,) “It’s now, it’s never.” Ngayon ko lang marerebyu ang Kita Kita ni Sigrid Andrea Bernardo. Dalawang linggo matapos lumabas sa mga sinehan, patuloy pa rin itong pinupusuan ng mga manonood dahil sa hitik sa hugot lines at pasok sa henerasyong hokage.

Sa Sapporo sa Hokkaido, Japan magtatagpo ang mga landas ng kapwa Pilipinong sina Lea (Alessandra de Rossi) at Tonyo (Empoy) sa panahong tinamaan ng temporary blindness ang tourist guide na si Lea dahil sa kaniyang mga pinagdaraanan.

Sa pangungulit ni Tonyo, papayag si Lea na maging tour guide niya.

Lea: Nakikita mo bang bulag ako?
Tonyo: Eh ano kung bulag ka? Ako naman ang magsisilbing mga mata mo.

Sabe.

Magiging magkaibigan ang dalawa, magpapalitan ng hugot lines, at hindi magtatagal ay magkakaigihan. Sa puntong iyon ay dapat papasok ang awiting Two Less Lonely People na version ni KZ Tandingan, pero hindi pa. Sa bandang ending ito ipapatugtog, sa medyo hindi inaasahang pagkakataon.

There’s no other way to describe the film except that it’s charming as hell. May magic sa tambalang Alempoy (Alex + Empoy) na ramdam na umaapaw sa screen. Eto na siguro ang pelikula kung saan pinakanakatatawa ang komedyanteng si Empoy, dahlian para lalong mabenta ang mga hugot na walang poknat na pinagbabato nila ni Alex.

Alex and Empoy represent everyday Filipinos – hindi tulad ng ibang rom-com na may isang mayaman at isang api, o kaya’y isang gwapong prinsipe na sasagip sa habag na dalagita. Wala na sigurong mas oordinaryo pa kay Empoy sa itsura at dating; at ang paghahanap nila Tonyo at Lea ng paghihilom mula sa kasawian ay hindi naiiba sa pangaraw-araw na pinagdaraanan ng Pinoy. At wala itong pinipilit na malalim na problema ng lipunan (maliban siguro sa maraming matatanda sa Japan) kaya tutok ka lang sa dalawa.

Sa ilang aspeto pinaalalahanan ako ng pelikulang ito sa That Thing Called Tadhana (2014) na tumatak din sa hopelessy romantic na mga Pinoy. Palitan mo lang ang Sagada ng picturesque na Sapporo, at ilipat ang mga hugot kay Empoy. Pero yung happy hugot – tipong galawang breezy. May puso at damdamin man ang ibang local rom-com, Kita Kita lang ang natatanging puso na may saging.

Nakatulong sa pagka-charming ng palabas ang magandang tanawin sa Sapporo, capital ng northern island ng Japan na Hokkaido na sikat sa kanilang beer at Snow Festival. Whatever element of fantasy sa tradisyunal na rom-com ang nawala sa casting ni Empoy bilang male love interest, naibabalik naman ito ng mga tourist spots ng Sapporo samantalang nagliligawan ang Alempoy.

Sa ganitong banda, Kita Kita is not a revolutionary concept altogether. Maaaring kakaiba ang pagpili kay Empoy sa role, pero iyon ang kailangan sa kwento at ang pelikula ay romantic comedy pa rin. Maaaring hindi nilagyan ng theme song ang bawat eksena, pero isa lang naman na theme song ay sapat na. Maaaring sa una ay walang defined na escalation ang plotting ng kwento nina Lea at Tonyo, pero para magkaroon ng standard conflict ay nilagay sa third act.

Halata ang formula na ito sa huling bahagi ng palabas kung saan (without spoiling the plot) ipinatugtog ang theme song sa isang montage – insert Studio network here. Pero in fairness, nakaaantig yung pagpiring ni Lea sa mga mata niya. Comparatively, mas revolutionary pa ang lesbian love story ng Ang Huling chacha ni Anita (2013) na sinulat at dinerehe rin ni Bernardo kung saan isang batang babae ang nainlove sa isang mas matandang babae sa isang makatradisyunal na setting. Gayunpaman, matagumpay ang pagkakabuo ng Kita Kita as a conceptual rom-com. Something finally went right, sabi nga ng kanta.

Huwag lang kalimutan na ang susi sa kaligayahan (happiness) ay repolyo.
Auto-tuned

October 8, 2017

Auto-tuned
Review by Vives Anunciacion

Playlist your joy ride.

Baby Driver
Written and Directed by Edgar Wright
Rated PG
Published 7.26.2017 Inquirer Libre, PH

Baby Driver trailer

Edgar Wright (of Shaun of the Dead, 2004 and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, 2010) directs the playlist of your crimes with a stylish crime caper choreographed to killer music. Volume up.

Young getaway driver-for-hire Baby (Ansel Egort) wants to quit the crime syndicate with one last heist, but alpha-jerk Bats (Jamie Foxx) hijacks the caper, to disastrous results. Syndicate boss Doc (Kevin Spacey) doesn’t want to let Baby go, but there’s pretty waitress Deborah (Lily James) in the way. Basta driver, sweet lover; only Hudas not pay – diba.

Listen closely to the song lyrics and you’ll hear that the soundtrack plays according to what’s happening onscreen. Baby has tinnitus (ringing in the ears) and the only way he can cancel the noise is to listen to his funky iPod compilations.

The narrative has similarities with the edgier and more violent Drive (2011) by Nicolas Winding-Refn and a direct reference to the 1978 getaway-driver-for-criminals movie The Driver by Walter Hill.

It’s Footloose by way of Fast & Furious, Bonnie & Clyde by way of Broadway. A musical non-musical with the colors of the rainbow. I was waiting for a song-and-dance number for no apparent reason, instead we get a lip-synch mime from Egort and that sashaying-on-the-street to the tune of Harlem Shuffle.

There’s Spacey showing off as an actor during a fast monologue on how he met Baby while actually drawing the heist plans on a blackboard. And there’s Hamm doing a Pinoy 1990s action star – all macho with the worst lines. Egort may be correctly cast as an innocent-looking criminal, but he has the slightest of chemistries with Jones. And there’s not enough Jones to actually say she’s criminally oriented, too.

It’s a cheesecake movie that’s closer to Grease (1978) than Reservoir Dogs (1992.) Certainly much more enjoyable than car heist Gone in 60 Seconds (2000.) It has fun and entertaining written all over the film – and surely less social bite than Mean Girls. Almost none, actually.

All said, the central plot moves around criminals, and that any movie that resorts to violence and gunfight, no matter how glamorized, is still about criminals. Let’s just not forget that crime should pay. In the case of Baby Driver, it’s a good thing that he does. Cheese.

Cars 3
Directed by Brian Fee
Third in the Cars series by Disney-Pixar
Rated G

Cars 3 trailer

Owen Wilson’s third outing as Lightning McQueen is really getting old, since the first Cars back in 2006.

Lightning wants to prove that he’s still king of the racetrack, but the arrival of technically superior machines like Jackson Storm (Armie Hammer) is getting Lightning sidetracked. Under new sponsorship, Lightning returns to old-school training with the help of old friends and a young trainer Cruz Ramirez (Cristela Alonzo) to get him back on track for another Piston Cup.

I’m glad to see Pixar make awesome animation again, but it’s a little sad to say that the studio has had better days especially with the reputation that they have built making emotionally engaging top animation.

Thematically – about Lightning’s retirement – Cars 3 should have been Cars 2 three years ago and the story should have ended there. While poignant and charming (with Cruz), one can really feel that the tires are running thin.

The attached short animation Lou about lost playthings is freakishly weird and forgettable.
Monumental

October 8, 2017

Monumental
Review by Vives Anunciacion

Dunkirk
Written and Directed by Christopher Nolan
Rated PG
Published 7.21.2017 Inquirer Libre, PH

Dunkirk trailer

In 1940, a few months into World War II, Allied forces of Belgium, the United Kingdom and France were surrounded by the advancing units of Germany on the beaches of Dunkirk. Christopher Nolan’s latest masterpiece is the retelling of the ambitious rescue of 400,000 Allied soldiers in sweeping, gripping suspense and drama.

Three converging points of view are told: first on land, with a young soldier Tommy (newcomer Fionn Whitehead) who dodges bullet and bomb to wiggle his way onto any possible ship that can take him away from the madness of inevitable death; second on water, with civilians Mr. Dawson (Mark Rylance) and his son Peter (Tom Glynn-Carney) as they race their private yacht towards Dunkirk hoping to save as many men as they can; and finally on air, with British Spitfire pilot Farrier (Tom Hardy) who bravely tries to down as many enemy fighters and bombers as he can while his air fuel lasts.

One Direction star Harry Styles makes a film debut as a soldier, Kenneth Branagh is British Commander Bolton who oversees the rescue on the shores of Dunkirk, and Cilian Murphy appears as a traumatized soldier on board Mr. Dawson’s yacht.

Few war epics are able to balance scale and intimacy onscreen at such a short length as Warner Brothers’ and Nolan’s Dunkirk, fewer as audacious as a production given the relatively less famous historical event and non-superstar status of its performers (in film terms, One-D fans.) The triptych plot also runs on a complex time differential – one starts a week away and another just an hour away from the time the story converges.

Somehow, Christopher Nolan’s imagination has managed to mix these converging plots with emotionally engaging characters who, by all means, are unknown stakeholders of the war just trying to save as many souls as they can. And this feat is told with so short dialogue that half of the film plays out like an old silent film. On one hand it is without a doubt a big movie, on another it is so engaging with the main characters that it feels small.

It also feels like you’re watching several classic war films put together – Wolfgang Petersen’s 1981 U-Boat thriller Das Boot, Steven Spielberg’s 1998 Normandy epic Saving Private Ryan and even the old-school dogfighting in William Wellman’s 1927 milestone Wings .

It’s already amazing to think about how the production went about filming everything that happened on the beach, on water, and on air – more so when you catch the moments when the story merges.

The film’s suspense wouldn’t build as great without Hans ZImmer’s intense musical scoring, mixed with that unnerving ticking of a clock, the heart-stopping zing of a rifle bullet and deafening explosion of bombs.

This is monumental filmmaking at its finest, when technical mastery of all elements of film synchronize with the human elements of gripping performance and drama, maximized on large-format screens that no home cinema can possibly match even with a 100-inch projection.

See this on the biggest screen you can find (preferably IMAX), just make sure you go see it.
Apes together strong

October 8, 2017

Apes together strong
Review by Vives Anunciacion

War for the Planet of the Apes
Directed by Matt Reeves
Third in the Planet of the Apes reboot series
Rated PG
Possible spoilers ahead
Published 7.11.2017 Inquirer Libre, PH

War for Planet of the Apes trailer

If there’s anything to learn from the 1968 original Planet of the Apes, it is that “man understands nothing.” Nearly fifty years since and we’re still on the brink of destroying the planet.

War for the Planet of the Apes is a stunning, poetic, emotional and fitting closure to Ceasar’s cinematic legacy. Its gloom and doom make for a dark and unhappy blockbuster film, but that’s the magic of it – it has stayed true to its core of creating the back story as to how Earth became ruled by apes.

Nearly fifteen years since the Simian flu decimated the human population in the franchise reboot Rise of the Planet of the Apes, the deadly conflict between humans and apes continue in the third chapter War for the Planet of the Apes.

Ceasar (Andy Serkis) and his colony of apes are fortified in the forests of northern California, while an army of humans led by a rogue Colonel (Woody Harrelson) slowly closes in, determined to destroy the colony.

Ceasar battles against his own conscience when he decides to challenge the Colonel, avenge those he lost and take back the remainder of his ape kin from the “zoo.’ However, the colonel believes that the earth only belongs to either ape or human.

The series has quite a resonant message on the self-destructive nature of humans, even after the second installment, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, explored that self-destructiveness may come with the added intelligence from the likes of Koba (Toby Kebbel.) WFTPOTA takes this to a new level when the supposedly evolved and more intelligent apes exhibit the full range of human experience from Ceasar’s benevolence to Maurice’s (Karin Konoval) nurturing of the human orphan Nova (Amiah Miller) to the scene-stealing Bad Ape’s (Steve Zahn) neurosis.

Much of the magic onscreen comes from the computer-captured emotions from Serkis et al, the stunningly realistic render of water, fur and snow and ape face by WETA Digital, to the haunting shades of light and dark by cinematographer Michael Seresin and the otherworldly music by Michael Giacchino. It is two and a half hours of almost unbelievable fusion of human and digitally-created images and sound.

For a blockbuster movie about war, it would have been easier and clichéd if the film explored a more explosive exchange between Ceasar and the Colonel. WAR cleverly focuses on the conflict within Ceasar himself, digging deeper into his consciousness rather than showing an endless stream of bullets – reminiscent of classic war films (such as Apocalypse Now and Schindler’s List) that are about its characters rather than the plot.

It may not be your usual superhero summer blockbuster, but it is one with a lot of meaning, made riveting by compelling storytelling, performances and state-of-the-art film technology. It still ends on a Hollywood formula, though – one that keeps this smart film away from Best Picture territory.

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