This is my sacrifice for the Filipino film industry - to spend my Christmas Day watching three entries to the Metro Manila Film Festival.
I started my movie marathon with Jose Javier Reyes' latest psycho-thriller Kutob. Reyes seems to be borrowing a lot from Alfred Hitchcock nowadays. I remember his first foray to the psycho-thriller genre Malikmata had several Hitchcock elements which he borrowed and in turn churned out a standard film that I initially thought was okay but upon second watching turned out to be utter crap. Now, here comes Kutob which borrows a lot from Psycho and well, I Know What You Did Last Summer - not a healthy combination I think. The acting is pretty bad. Marvin Agustin plays his psychotic character by the book complete with the annoying accentuations and whatever cliche that comes from playing psychotic minds. Reyes seems to be banking on plot twists nowadays forgeting that nowadays, plot twists are already cliche. Moreover, his plot twist is nothing more but a rip-off from Psycho, thus the plot twist doesn't twist at all but merely establishes the fact that Reyes should start rethinking his stay in the Filipino film industry, lest he be overrun by younger and better directors. Come on, Joey, you can write better than that. *1/2/*****
Next is Mulawin: The Movie which was rated A by the cinema review board. I'm not sure what Rated-A means but this reviewer would think that A means Asswipe after seeing this piece of sticky crap. Mulawin the television series probably worked because of the commercials because being entreated to bad CGI, bad sets, bad acting, and bad scripting for two hours straight is mindnumbing torture. Mulawin: The Movie is one bloated television episode. The music is a lot louder and hence, more jarring. The special effects is a lot more special and hence, eyestraining. The storyline is a lot more complex hence, convulated. The acting is the same - television-trained acting which simply does not work in the big screen. This film is just too bad and unless you are a fan of the show or you're one of those groupies who think everything that GMA makes is pure gold, then go for it. Don't say I didn't warn you. */*****
Last of the bunch is Erik Matti's Tales from the Enchanted Kingdom: Exodus. The film starts with a bunch of kids being told a story by the purple wizard from the theme park in Sta. Rosa, Laguna. Now that spells much trouble for the film because the film's insistence to being a film for children builds a disability for the filmmakers. Dwight Gaston made a fantastic script for Pa-Siyam but here he falters as his script lacks depth and sincere emotions. It seems that Gaston forgot that characterization is a prime element to any story. Halfway through the film, I didn't feel anything for any of the characters, not even the hero Exodus (surprisingly played with dignity by Senator Bong Revilla Jr. despite the obvious physical unsuitability of the role). Matti's direction is suitable. The cinematography is okay. The music is beautiful and unobtrusive. The special effects is a lot better than most Filipino films but is still far from the best. What strikes me as a saving grace for the film is the design and the concept which makes me annoyed how such concept was put to waste by the misconception that children need to be fed mindless entertainment. This film could've had a more interesting story if Matti, Gaston and the stupid producers (who probably forced Matti and his crew to be on the safe side) were more daring (well, not exactly daring since telling good stories is probably human nature). Miyazaki knew that children love great, emotional stories. Why are our filmmakers underestimating our children. Give them an Exodus with a lot more oomph than computer bitmaps. Althougn this is the best film I've seen in the festival so far, this is also the one that got me most annoyed because this film had actual potential - a simple story that could've gone far if the filmmakers just took a lot more risks. **1/2/*****
