Clik here to view.
‘Engkwentro’: Like most Pinoy indie films, it is about poverty; unlike most...
Review: Engkwentro (dir. Pepe Diokno, 2009) Eulalio R. Guieb III I consider Engkwentro one of the most significant Filipino films of the first decade of the 21st century, particularly in the context of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
No Respite
Review: Last Supper No. 3 (dir. Veronica Velasco, 2009) Eileen Legaspi Ramirez Beinte Singko Mil Productions’s Last Supper No. 3 lines up alongside the plethora of Filipino films that frame social...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Staying Alive, Barely
Review: Last Viewing (dir. Roni Bertubin, 2009) Flaudette May V. Datuin On the surface, Laura Estrellado is stoic, pragmatic, sensible, at times even heartless, and emotion-less (pusong bato, pusong...
View ArticleClik here to view.
AGAM-AGAM | rebyu ng A SECRET AFFAIR
Aristotle J. Atienza Nasaan na ang masayang katapusan ng pag-iibigan? Paano kung tinuturuan tayong tanggapin ang malungkot na pagtatapos dahil “pinag-isipan” naman? Pagninilayan ng pangunahing...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Capsule Review: Pureza, The Story of Negros Sugar
Tessa Maria Guazon Pureza, The Story of Negros Sugar (Bonfire Productions) Directed by Jay Abello A well-researched documentary on the history of the sugar industry in Negros Province, with interviews...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Capsule Review: Jingle Lang ang Pahina
Tessa Maria Guazon Jingle Lang ang Pahina (Film Development Council of the Philippines) Directed by Chuck Escasa Engaging, well-told and tightly edited, this documentary never once sagged. Interest is...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Capsule Review: Diablo
Tessa Maria Guazon Diablo (Cinemalaya, Sampay Bakod Productions, Cartagina Productions) Directed by Mes de Guzman Diablo unleashes a spell. Exploring the anxiety and anticipation of waiting, de Guzman...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Capsule Review: Aparisyon
Tessa Maria Guazon Aparisyon (Cinemalaya Foundation and Autodidact Productions) Directed by Vincent Sandoval Aparisyon is taut and limber- a film that marries restraint with vibrant energy. While the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Capsule Review: The Animals
Tessa Maria Guazon The Animals (The Cinemalaya Foundation, Stained Glass Productions and Lunar Saints) Directed by Gino Santos A flagrant, gripping picture of indulgent, aimless youth, The Animals...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Vacuous Thrill
Review: One More Try Directed by Ruel S. Bayani (Star Cinema) by Tessa Maria Guazon One More Try attempts to revive the formula of beleaguered love by imbuing it moral choice. It failed disastrously....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Mga Pangil ng Pahinga, Paghinga, at Pagpaparaos: Rebyu sa Dokumentaryong...
ni Dr. Jema Pamintuan Mainam ang talab ng dokumentaryong “Jingle Lang ang Pahina.” Una sa lahat, dahil may tangka itong hulihin ang kabuluhan ng masisteng pahayag ng isang nagrereklamong indibidwal...
View ArticleClik here to view.
YCC names Qiyamah best film of 2012; Nora Aunor bags fifth performance award
The Young Critics Circle chose Qiyamah, Gutierrez Mangansakan II’s poetic depiction of a rural village haunted by the specter of the apocalypse (Qiyamah in Islam) as best film of 2012, while veteran...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A movie you don’t really Juana C.
Skilty Labastilla The opening shot of Juana C. The Movie finds Juana (Mae Paner) falling down a very tall building, which is apropos for a movie that starts out with such great promise but gradually...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Timely Distraction
Tessa Maria Guazon The third segment of a romantic comedy series, It Takes a Man and a Woman raked gross earnings of 300-million pesos in just about two-week screenings across the country. The first...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Connecting Lives
A review of Tuhog (Veronica Velasco, 2013) Skilty Labastilla Tuhog is an engaging, if uneven, triptych that could have used a little more daring storytelling, a little more nuanced characterization,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Love That Knows No Boundaries
A review of Jazz in Love (Babyruth Villarama-Gutierrez) Skilty Labastilla Jazz in Love, thedocumentary film that opened this year’s Cinemalaya Film Festival, triumphs not in spite, but because, of its...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Aged and the Restless
Nonoy L. Lauzon A dose of strange goings-on is found in Mes de Guzman’s Diablo. What should have been a tranquil life for a strong-willed and self-reliant widow living on her own in the family abode in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Aural Fixation
J. Pilapil Jacobo Kalayaan situates the allure that by turns confirms and disavows the estranging demeanor of the tropics within the sheer negativity of silence. Julian Macaraig is the soldier marooned...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ang Matutuklasan
Aristotle J. Atienza May nakikita sa pananalamin. Ikaw na tumitingin ay maaaring hindi ikaw na tumitingin. Dahil kung nananalamin, bumabalik din ang tingin. Sa piling ng kadiliman ng sinehan,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Danas ng Digma, Digmaan ng Pagnanasa
JPaul S. Manzanilla Naglalakbay sa mga lupain ng Jolo, Sulu ang dalawang babaeng kasama sa himagsikang Muslim sa Mindanao. Sina Amrayda at Fatima ang tinakbuhan ng batang si Faidal matapos itong...
View Article