Author Topic: Filipino films (Read 496306 times)

Klaus Weasley · « **Reply #2910 on:** Oct 30, 2016 at 01:48 AM »

Apocalypse Child (Mario Cornejo) **** - A young man named Ford works as a surf instructor in his provincial town of Baler where he is believed to be the love child of director Francis Ford Coppola who impregnated his mom when she was a teenage while shooting Apocalypse Now. With his Filipino-American girlfriend and his childhood best friend, he confronts his past, present and future. I finally caught this acclaimed film after missing it in the film festivals last year. It is fantastic. Though the film tackles some serious themes, it is heavily peppered by humor and is shot beautifully. The film's narrative feels loose and breezy but as the film goes on and certain revelations are revealed, the film does not resort to cheap emotions and still keeps things subtle and humorous. It's held together by natural performances by the cast and great direction. It feels like if Baumbach, or Linklater or Truffaut made a surfing film.

Noel_Vera · « **Reply #2911 on:** Nov 01, 2016 at 01:39 AM »

Thoughts on Francis Ford Coppola's bast*rd offspring (Apocalypse Child, Mario Cornejo)

rse · « **Reply #2912 on:** Nov 01, 2016 at 10:53 PM »

Camp Sawi. Lovely beach location, but the movie is all surface, unfocused, predictable & a bit exhausting to watch. That said, the cast really tried their best to work on the material that they'd been given, and I'm always partial to Arci Muñoz.

rse · « **Reply #2913 on:** Nov 05, 2016 at 01:03 AM »

Two Films by Lino Brocka: Manila in the Claws of Light and Insiang

Two films from the great Philippines director Lino Brocka
£29.99
This title will be released on 20th March 2017

http://shop.bfi.org.uk/new-releases/new-dvds/http-shop-bfi-org-uk-dvd-blu-ray-lino-brocka-two-films.html#.WBy-CHeZORs

Verbl Kint · « **Reply #2914 on:** Nov 05, 2016 at 09:52 AM »

Quote from: Klaus Weasley on Oct 30, 2016 at 01:48 AM

Apocalypse Child (Mario Cornejo) **** - A young man named Ford works as a surf instructor in his provincial town of Baler where he is believed to be the love child of director Francis Ford Coppola who impregnated his mom when she was a teenage while shooting Apocalypse Now. With his Filipino-American girlfriend and his childhood best friend, he confronts his past, present and future. I finally caught this acclaimed film after missing it in the film festivals last year. It is fantastic. Though the film tackles some serious themes, it is heavily peppered by humor and is shot beautifully. The film's narrative feels loose and breezy but as the film goes on and certain revelations are revealed, the film does not resort to cheap emotions and still keeps things subtle and humorous. It's held together by natural performances by the cast and great direction. It feels like if Baumbach, or Linklater or Truffaut made a surfing film.

Finally saw this in Gateway last night. The film didn't feel indie at all and the acting was very natural. The plot didn't seem organic, though, but thank goodness the Deus Ex Machina I was expecting didn't happen. Probably the best pinoy film I've seen this year.

I hope I can grab this on blu ray in the future so I can watch it without the distracting subtitles.

Sent using Tapatalk

Noel_Vera · « **Reply #2915 on:** Nov 17, 2016 at 11:02 PM »

Does Mario O'Hara's WW2 masterpiece still speak to us, forty years later? My thoughts on the digitally restored Tatlong Taong Walang Diyos (Three Years Without God, 1976)

Noel_Vera · « **Reply #2916 on:** Dec 02, 2016 at 01:58 AM »

Rodrigo Duterte on former president Ferdinand Marcos (italics mine): "President Marcos was a president for so long and he was a soldier. So that’s about it. Whether or not he performed worse or better, there is no study, there is no movie about it. It’s just the challenges and allegations of the other side which [are] not enough"

Well then!

In ascending order, my incomplete unobjective totally off-the-cuff list of titles that do in fact deal with the Martial Law era

jas · « **Reply #2917 on:** Dec 02, 2016 at 10:05 AM »

Brillante Mendoza's Ma' Rosa has been nominated for a Satellite Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

JeromeA · « **Reply #2918 on:** Dec 07, 2016 at 11:24 AM »

Metro Manila - is this considered as filipino films? dba american ang gumawa nito? one of the best tong napanood ko na filipino.

jas · « **Reply #2919 on:** Dec 07, 2016 at 11:31 AM »

Quote from: Emorej2015 on Dec 07, 2016 at 11:24 AM

Metro Manila - is this considered as filipino films? dba american ang gumawa nito? one of the best tong napanood ko na filipino.

Metro Manila is a British production. It was even chosen as the British entry for Foreign Language Film at the Oscars, but eventually was not nominated.

jas · « **Reply #2920 on:** Dec 26, 2016 at 08:01 AM »

Filipino director Mikhail Red recently took home the Best Film prize in the Asian Future competition at the Tokyo International Film Festival with his new thriller BIRDSHOT. Here's the full trailer:

http://screenanarchy.com/2016/12/birdshot-watch-the-gripping-trailer-for-mikhail-reds-award-winning-thriller.html

rse · « **Reply #2921 on:** Dec 28, 2016 at 04:26 PM »

The Whistleblower (2016, Adolfo Alix Jr.). This is a sole Alix's film that I like. It's his most coherent to date. It's a well-made political thriller; like a lesser cousin to On The Job. That said,it's still lacking details to make it great and last part was a bit confusing. One of the other things that bothered me was that the main evidence was in a USB drive at one point and then became optical discs in the end. The use of b&w photography for flashbacks was a weird creative choice for me and also this is one of the most star-studded indie films that I've seen so far which was a bit distracting at times since they're mostly cameos. Still it's a solid effort, and very well acted by the main cast. ★★★ / ★★★★

JeromeA · « **Reply #2922 on:** Dec 28, 2016 at 07:38 PM »

oro plata mata.. one of the best filipino film i've watched.

Klaus Weasley · « **Reply #2923 on:** Jan 23, 2017 at 12:34 AM »

Ilawod (Dan Villegas) ***1/2 - This is kind of officially the first 2017 film for me. And it's a Filipino film. If this is any indication, then 2017 Philippine cinema is starting off in the right foot. This neat, little horror flick is about a middle-class Filipino family tormented by an evil water demon who hitched a ride with the dad, a journalist who covers paranormal stories for his paper. This is from director Dan Villegas who is known for making romantic comedies and this is his first foray into horror and I hope it won't be the last. It is often genuinely spooky and scary without even resorting to jump scares. It frightens you and creeps you out in some other way. The third act was kind of faulty but overall an exemplary, smart horror film that's probably one of the better demonic possession movies of recent years.

rse · « **Reply #2924 on:** Feb 15, 2017 at 07:24 PM »

First review of Maynila/Insiang bluray boxset:
http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film6/blu-ray_reviews_75/lino_brocka_2_films_blu-ray.htm

Klaus Weasley · « **Reply #2925 on:** Feb 16, 2017 at 09:30 AM »

Insiang is being released by the Criterion Collection as part of the second volume of Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Project box-set.

jas · « **Reply #2926 on:** Feb 16, 2017 at 09:48 AM »

Quote from: Klaus Weasley on Feb 16, 2017 at 09:30 AM

Insiang is being released by the Criterion Collection as part of the second volume of Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Project box-set.

Link as posted in the "Pinoy DVD" section.....

Quote from: khu64 on Feb 16, 2017 at 07:33 AM

Insiang is being released by the Criterion Collection as one of the six films in Martin Scorcese's World Cinema Project No. 2.

https://www.criterion.com/boxsets/1258-martin-scorsese-s-world-cinema-project-no-2

It will not be released individually pala.....

Noel_Vera · « **Reply #2927 on:** Apr 29, 2017 at 12:23 AM »

Thoughts on one of the best erotic films ever made

Klaus Weasley · « **Reply #2928 on:** Apr 30, 2017 at 08:21 PM »

1st Sem (Dexter Hemedez/Allen Ibanez) **1/2 - The eldest son of a family in the provinces goes to Manila to attend college. His mother finds him back home after less than a day, refusing to go back due to homesickness. When I first saw the trailer, I was intrigued by the premise. How are they gonna stretch this to a feature length? Well, the first act or so is pretty strong. It promised to be funny, wacky look into Filipino family dynamics but when it becomes serious, it becomes rather predictable and standard. Lotlot de Leon's strong performance holds the film together and makes it watchable.

Klaus Weasley · « **Reply #2929 on:** May 03, 2017 at 09:26 AM »

Badjao (Lamberto Avellana) *** - This is one of the handful of pre-1960's Filipino feature films that still exists in its entirety. This tells the story of the rivalry between two Filipino indigenous tribes, the Badjaos and the Tausugs. Things get complicated between them when a Badjao man and a Tausug woman fall in love. The story, acting and the dialogue is a bit too hokey for my taste but the filmmaking is impeccable. The cinematography and the world built by director Lamberto Avellana feels lived-in and authentic. Also stealing the show is Vic Silayan in a supporting role. He stands out and he's one of those supporting performances where you wish the movie was about them. Overall, it's a fascinating film even though I wasn't completely bowled over by it.

Noel_Vera · « **Reply #2930 on:** May 07, 2017 at 03:36 PM »

On this May the Fourth, my thoughts on a great fantasy

Noel_Vera · « **Reply #2931 on:** May 25, 2017 at 11:18 PM »

Thoughts on MNL 143 (Emerson Reyes, 2012)

Available @ Cinetropa

Verbl Kint · « **Reply #2932 on:** May 30, 2017 at 03:47 AM »

I heard Sleepless (Prime Cruz, 2015) had another theatrical run recently. Hope I can still catch it this weekend.

https://www.facebook.com/filmsleepless/

syoti · « **Reply #2933 on:** May 30, 2017 at 09:36 PM »

Quote from: Verbl Kint on May 30, 2017 at 03:47 AM

I heard Sleepless (Prime Cruz, 2015) had another theatrical run recently. Hope I can still catch it this weekend.

https://www.facebook.com/filmsleepless/

Til tom nlng ata showing in selected sm cinemas via cinelokal. Friday nagshow last week e. Planning to watch it dn sana.. Hopefully tom..

Noel_Vera · « **Reply #2934 on:** Jun 04, 2017 at 07:40 PM »

Eighteen Filipino films from thirteen Filipinos, now showing at the MoMA in New York.

So what are you waiting for?

Noel_Vera · « **Reply #2935 on:** Jun 05, 2017 at 06:47 PM »

My thoughts on the 'Third Golden Age' of Philippine Cinema -- eighteen examples of which are screening at New York City's MoMA

rse · « **Reply #2936 on:** Jun 16, 2017 at 03:09 PM »

Ma' Rosa (Brillante Mendoza)
I think that last sequence of this movie will be remembered in Philippine cinema history the same way as Truffaut's 400 Blows. Jacklyn Jose gave a natural and impactful performance. The rest of the cast were also very strong and gave the needed “as-is-where-is” performances. The movie itself is very loose and the story seems a bit thin, which is a characteristic of Brillante's movies. I think it has less dramatic impact than for example his “Tirador”, but the magic that was captured in the few frames of this movie well made up for this.

rse · « **Reply #2937 on:** Jun 18, 2017 at 04:17 AM »

Taklub (Brillante Mendoza)
I like this better than M’ Rosa. It is a quiet, well observed and respectful movie. It could have easily been a propaganda but it plays more like a documentary of the a community of people who are trying to move on, or just simply live their lives and persevere, after the aftermath of a major tragedy amidst the continuing hardships, recurring threats and bureaucracy.

Klaus Weasley · « **Reply #2938 on:** Jul 16, 2017 at 02:08 AM »

High Tide (Tara Illenberger) **1/2 - Set in a poor seaside community, this is about a young boy who is rendered selectively mute after his parents perish in a typhoon. He comes to live with aunt and befriends the next door neighbor's kids as they gather clams and seafood during low tide to sell as extra income. I have to admit, I wasn't a fan of the first two-thirds of this film. It's the same old poverty porn (or as I like to call it "poorsploitation") drama that dominate the Filipino indie scene. It's almost a parody at this point. It's different milieu and at least they tried to sprinkle in SOME humor. But the film only really comes alive in its third act which I won't give away here. I was like, so THIS is why this film is made. It's still worth a look.

Klaus Weasley · « **Reply #2939 on:** Jul 16, 2017 at 10:51 PM »

Bloody Crayons (Topel Lee) *** - It's been a while since the Philippine cinema has produced a true blue slasher horror film (I think I wrote the last one, HAHA). This is about a group of friends who go to an isolated island to finish a film project for college. Then after a particularly contentious game of Bloody Crayons (a sort of a more elaborate form of Truth or Dare), they start getting picked off one by one. Much of the ensemble here is filled with starlets and current hunky matinee idols so I found their performances to be hit and miss. Plus the director made a couple of weird directorial choices. However, all in all, this is a pretty darn solid slasher flick that plays as a sort of a teen version of And Then There Were None.