Author Topic: Filipino films  (Read 493408 times)

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Offline Noel_Vera

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Re: Filipino films
« Reply #3000 on: May 07, 2018 at 10:54 PM »


Tribute to Maryo J. De Los Reyes (1952 - 2018): thoughts on arguably his best film, an erotic slum noir.

 Available online

Not subtitled and difficult to find--you have to go look at every thumbprint of every page, working backwards, and he's adding titles all the time. Which is why they let him I suppose. Despite all that it's a treasure trove of Filipino films--nothing else like it anywhere else online.

Offline halvert

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Re: Filipino films
« Reply #3001 on: May 24, 2018 at 08:29 PM »
Citizen jake whoa, walang takot sa libel. Talagang tinira ang mga Marcos, no holds barred. Well-made film that will stay with you long after you leave the cinema. Medyo nakulangan lang ako kay atom. But everyone was amazing.

Offline Noel_Vera

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Re: Filipino films
« Reply #3002 on: Jun 04, 2018 at 08:39 PM »


Shots fired across Duterte's brow: thoughts on Lav Diaz's four-hour musical.

Offline viper

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Re: Filipino films
« Reply #3003 on: Jun 21, 2018 at 09:31 AM »
Citizen jake whoa, walang takot sa libel. Talagang tinira ang mga Marcos, no holds barred. Well-made film that will stay with you long after you leave the cinema. Medyo nakulangan lang ako kay atom. But everyone was amazing.

It is sad that it wasn't able to pull in the box office numbers. Hope this film would raise awareness to the rising threat of a Marcos comeback and re-write our history for the last 40+ years.

All of these blamed on putting a 'criminal' at the top.

Offline viper

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Re: Filipino films
« Reply #3004 on: Jun 21, 2018 at 09:32 AM »
It quite difficult to put forward a thought without sounding libelous.  ::) ::)

Offline Noel_Vera

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Re: Filipino films
« Reply #3005 on: Jun 22, 2018 at 11:01 PM »


Thoughts on Mike de Leon's latest film

Offline Klaus Weasley

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Re: Filipino films
« Reply #3006 on: Jun 24, 2018 at 11:23 PM »
Sid & Aya: Not a Love Story (Irene Villamayor) **1/2 - First off, the title is a total lie. Secondly, I've heard good things about this film. I don't usually go for movies like this but it got good enough reviews and it's been out for so long, it's just begging for me to see it. So I saw it. It's about an insomniac stock broker who pays a young woman who's a waitress at a 24-hour coffee shop he frequents to hang out with him in his sleepless nights. Their friendship and love blossom. I have to say, the first half or so is very promising. It seems like they're doing something interesting here that makes it standout but sadly, the second half pretty much follows the same romantic dramedy formula that's expected of it. It's not awful but I wasn't blown away.

Offline Noel_Vera

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Re: Filipino films
« Reply #3007 on: Jul 13, 2018 at 12:44 AM »


Thoughts on Mike De Leon's Bilanggo sa Dilim (Prisoner in the Dark), his adaptation of John Fowles' The Collector

Film itself found online in six parts with English subtitles

Offline jas

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Offline Noel_Vera

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Re: Filipino films
« Reply #3009 on: Aug 16, 2018 at 04:55 PM »


Thoughts on Denise O'Hara's Mamang

Offline Noel_Vera

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Re: Filipino films
« Reply #3010 on: Aug 18, 2018 at 01:09 AM »


This is Not an Open Letter to the Cinema Evaluation Board (on their decision to give Balangiga: Howling Wilderness a zero rating)

Offline Klaus Weasley

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Re: Filipino films
« Reply #3011 on: Sep 16, 2018 at 11:39 PM »
Tanabata's Wife (Choy Pangilinan/Lito Casaje/Charlson Ong) *** - I saw this on something called the ToFarm Film Festival, a Filipino film festival. It's about a Japanese man who's living as a farmer in the Philippines, in the hilly northern provinces of the Benguet/Baguio area. He takes a younger Filipina (a Bontoc woman, to be exact) wife but she desires another man. I don't think I've ever seen this type of story told in Philippine cinema before. Combining a Japanese immigrant to the Philippines and the specific culture of the natives in that particular region of the Philippines. It's slow, contemplative (kind of reminds me of an Ozu film...and what do you know, he was name-checked as an inspiration in the credits!) and one-of-a-kind. Although it's the kind that I respect more than I actually like. But it's worth checking out, definitely.

Offline jas

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Re: Filipino films
« Reply #3012 on: Oct 06, 2018 at 11:20 AM »
New cut of “Liway,” to Screen in Cinemas Nationwide Beginning Oct. 10

A new cut of “Liway” will be presented to viewers when it commences its nationwide run on October 10. Audiences have been awaiting this theatrical release ever since the movie premiered at the Cinemalaya Film Festival where it emerged as the highest-grossing film of the filmfest’s 14-year history.

Based on director Kip Oebanda’s childhood experiences, it stars Glaiza de Castro as Liway/Inday, a young mom raising her child as normal as possible in a makeshift prison camp for dissidents during Martial Law. Using stories and songs, she tries to find joy even in their difficult life.  As the reality of the outside world starts creeping into the prison, she must confront the difficult reality that the best interest of the child might be living outside the prison camp, away from her.  It is ultimately a story of mother’s great love for her son and the incorruptible light of truth amid dark hopelessness.

Excellent reviews and strong word-of-mouth have catapulted “Liway” to be the Martial Law film of this generation. Aside from being the Cinemalaya 2018 Audience Choice, it also won Special Jury Commendation and Special Jury Citation for child actor Kenken Nuyad. At its full-house Cinemalaya gala night, “Liway” received more than seven minutes of thunderous applause.

https://www.clickthecity.com/movies/a/35718/new-cut-of-liway-to-screen-in-cinemas-nationwide-beginning-oct-10

Offline jas

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Re: Filipino films
« Reply #3013 on: Oct 06, 2018 at 11:25 AM »
LIWAY - Official Wide Release Trailer

https://youtu.be/E_Q4rbAL9k0

Offline jas

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Re: Filipino films
« Reply #3014 on: Oct 06, 2018 at 01:23 PM »
Due to 'creative differences,' Erik Matti bows out of new 'Darna' movie

Filmmaker Erik Matti will no longer direct the much-awaited movie of Star Cinema "Darna."

Matti bowing out of the project was a mutual understanding between the network, Star Cinema and the director, due to "creative differences," said Kane Choa, head of ABS-CBN Corporate Communications in a statement.

"ABS-CBN, Star Cinema, and director Erik Matti have mutually decided to part ways in the filming of "Darna" because of creative differences and to allow the filmmaker to work on his other projects under his own production company Reality Entertainment," the statement read.

The Kapamilya network and Star Cinema are committed to continue doing the new "Darna" film with its newest director, it added.

A new "Darna" director will be named soon, it added.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/10/04/18/due-to-creative-differences-erik-matti-bows-out-of-new-darna-movie

After ‘Darna’ exit, Erik Matti has message for Liza Soberano

Erik Matti confirmed on Thursday that he has resigned as the director of the highly anticipated “Darna” movie, in a statement that also included a message to its lead star, Liza Soberano.

“As it has been announced, I have officially resigned from the movie Darna. It’s been 5 years and how I wish I could have finished it after all the hard work that went into preparing and putting it together. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out ideally for both parties, Darna is personal to me. My first project in the industry was as continuity supervisor for Peque Gallaga’s Darna with Anjanette Abayari. And doing this modern reboot of the classic superhero, I feel that I have come full circle in this industry. I would like to thank my staff and crew who have toiled through the process bringing forth brilliant design and execution ideas as to how we can bring to life a uniquely modern take of our iconic Filipino superhero that can be relevant to the times. To Liza Soberano, thank you for the dedication and commitment. I’m sure you’ll be a kickass Darna. To Star Cinema, ABS-CBN, and the next director, I wish you all the best for this project,”

https://news.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/10/04/18/after-darna-exit-erik-matti-has-message-for-liza-soberano

Offline Noel_Vera

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Re: Filipino films
« Reply #3015 on: Oct 08, 2018 at 05:12 PM »


Oct. 13 Saturday 3 p.m. at CCP Tanghalang Manuel Conde: Mario O'Hara's Babae sa Bubungang Lata (Woman on a Tin Roof, 1998)--arguably the Philippines' finest film about the art and industry of filmmaking.

Writer-director Frank G. Rivera (who has a supporting role) will introduce the screening; lead actress Aya Rechie Medel will be attending.

Some thoughts on the picture

Offline Klaus Weasley

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Re: Filipino films
« Reply #3016 on: Oct 13, 2018 at 12:12 AM »
Liway (Kip Oebanda) ***1/2 - This is an autobiographical film about a young boy whose parents were political activists who were imprisoned during the Martial Law era. He was born and grew up in the detention compound where his mother tells him stories of an enchantress called "Liway". This film came at the right time with dictatorship and historical revisionism creeping into government. This is a sobering reminder of the truth. The film can be harrowing but it is tempered by a sense of goodness and innocence which I found quite moving and the thing that sets it apart from other Martial Law films. Again, this is essential viewing for all Filipinos at the this day and age.

Offline Klaus Weasley

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Re: Filipino films
« Reply #3017 on: Oct 14, 2018 at 08:32 PM »
Fisting: Never Tear Us Apart (Whammy Alcarazen) ***1/2 - Holy crap! That's the only thing I can say after watching this film which was forced to drop its main title but I still refer to it as "Fisting" so whatever. How to describe the film? Hmm. There's some sort of a narrative about a spy named Q trying to track down a serial killer called the Shadow....and he has a wife and a son who has lots of (graphic) sex with his boyfriend. What follows is a crazy, audience-testing, weird and daring piece of work...shot entirely on an iPhone X. I would say this is probably the longest, most bizarre and artistic Instagram story I've ever seen. If Jean-Luc Godard had been a gay millenial, he'd probably make something like this. That being said, it is not for everyone (a bunch of walkouts within the first 30 minutes in my screening) and I can understand how someone can hate this. But it's really something to see.

Offline syoti

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Re: Filipino films
« Reply #3018 on: Oct 17, 2018 at 05:44 PM »
Liway (Kip Oebanda) ***1/2 - This is an autobiographical film about a young boy whose parents were political activists who were imprisoned during the Martial Law era. He was born and grew up in the detention compound where his mother tells him stories of an enchantress called "Liway". This film came at the right time with dictatorship and historical revisionism creeping into government. This is a sobering reminder of the truth. The film can be harrowing but it is tempered by a sense of goodness and innocence which I found quite moving and the thing that sets it apart from other Martial Law films. Again, this is essential viewing for all Filipinos at the this day and age.

the one released in cinems is uncut verion dw. do you know any difference from the one shown in cinemalaya?

Offline rse

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Re: Filipino films
« Reply #3019 on: Oct 19, 2018 at 05:46 PM »
Erik Matti's Buybust

It was technically brilliant! At least for a Filipino film. The sound design was good, although I didn't fully buy the production design as there were plenty of times when I was aware that most of the "slum area" was a set. So the look was more polished than gritty. It was well cast, although the story was bare minimum so there was no emotional hook. So even though there was a lot of body count, the deaths didn't really have an impact on me. Also, the movie had a comic book feel to it so when it went to its serious political commentaries, they felt forced and awkward. But my major problem with this movie being an action movie was that I found the fight sequences to be repetitive, to a point of exhausting. Also, the fight choreography was sloppy in places. And was it just me, but how come ordinary slum dwellers knew martial arts?

Offline Klaus Weasley

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Re: Filipino films
« Reply #3020 on: Oct 20, 2018 at 11:33 PM »
Patayin Mo Sa Sindak si Barbara (Celso Ad. Castillo) *** - After her sister dies under strange circumstances, a nurse returns from the U.S. back to the Philippines to care for her niece and brother-in-law only to be haunted by the vengeful, jealous ghost of her dead sister. This is the classic Filipino horror film from the 1970's. It mixes melodrama and soap opera elements with horror quite effectively. It's as if a Douglas Sirk and Dario Argento's scripts got all mixed up (I'm serious). The film is largely effective even with the cheesy effects and soapy acting but one thing I truly disliked was the ending. I was like, "Oh, come on!" I won't spoil it here but you'll get it when you see it. Overall, it's still worth a look. Yet another entry in my #13HorrorFilms for October!

A Short History of a Few Bad Things (Keith Deligero) ***1/2 - A Tagalog police detective investigate a series of killings in the Southern Philippine city of Cebu. This is a really effective piece of neo-noir police procedural which grips you from the start and never lets you go and keep guessing where it's going until it lays out all its cards. In many ways, we've seen it before but not a lot in Philippine cinema and certainly not a lot in the Cebuano language. I also appreciated the fact that it sprinkles in quite a bit of humor and it's not a preachy dead serious film about the country's political situation although it's also effective in that arena too. This is one you need to check out.
« Last Edit: Oct 20, 2018 at 11:45 PM by Klaus Weasley »

Offline Klaus Weasley

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Re: Filipino films
« Reply #3021 on: Oct 23, 2018 at 01:05 AM »
From QCinema:

Ave (Masla a Papanok) (Gutierrez Manangsakan II) **1/2 - During the Spanish colonial period in the Philippines, a young princess from a native Filipino village escapes to a Catholic convent. At the same time, a mysterious giant bird re-appears that appears to be a harbinger of doom. First off, when I read the synopsis, I had high hopes for it. I've always felt that there aren't quite enough Filipino films made set during the Spanish colonial period. The problem with this is the execution. The film seems to suffer from some amateurish acting and directing that took me out of it. I saw that Lav Diaz was involved with the script. I could definitely see how his touch would have made this film sing (of course it would be 4 times longer.)

Offline Klaus Weasley

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Re: Filipino films
« Reply #3022 on: Oct 24, 2018 at 01:14 AM »
Dog Days (Timmy Harn) ***1/2 - This is a Filipino independent film about a half-black, half-Filipino guy named Michael Jordan who has dreams and ambitions to become a professional basketball player for the NBA and he may get that if it weren't for his bum knee. Now, this may sound like your run-of-the-mill sports me but trust me when I say it isn't. It really, really isn't. It pretty much takes all the sports movie tropes (and also that of the "chosen one"/"special kid"/underdog-making-it-inspite-the-odds movies) beats them up, spits on them and gives them the finger. It gets quite dark, twisted and often absurdly funny as well. It truly has to be seen to be believed. It is a trip and may not be for all tastes. Probably one of the more stranger sports movies ever made.

Offline rse

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Re: Filipino films
« Reply #3023 on: Oct 27, 2018 at 03:39 AM »
Citizen Jake

Rant. Politics.  Family drama, Baguio. Rich people problems. Meta.  More rants.

I don’t know.  This movie is too angry.  It feels like an endless string of rants.  It’s so unfocused and for some reason, either intentional or not, the camera work feels amateurish in places.  The acting in general is awful.  Most of the actors are so stiff saved for a few of the veterans.  I don’t know. The meta elements are confusing, the politics feel like sermons, and the rants...it feels as if the director is holding a megaphone while shouting at you in front of the screen.   To top it all,  the characters and the main story are just not that interesting.

For the curious only.  Others, beware.

BTW, this movie is available for rent on Vimeo for those who are interested.

Outside the Philippines:
https://vimeo.com/ondemand/citizenjakeinternational?fbclid=IwAR1_uvVzfmBs61tlR3bVbVJZF8J4eq43qwoPLfca8mw1LggaP3WGvy1KNAI

In the Philippines:
https://vimeo.com/ondemand/citizenjake?fbclid=IwAR3TIHRlZdX7qFEwycjPF5rWZAe17SsY8dzgFQunqiYewe2DAz3AFwE5WHI


Offline Klaus Weasley

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Re: Filipino films
« Reply #3024 on: Oct 29, 2018 at 01:55 AM »
Ode to Nothing (Dwein Balthazar) ****- A middle-aged spinster taking care of both her elderly father and running a struggling funeral home is swimming in debt. Then an unidentified corpse of an elderly woman shows up at her doorstep. She starts to talk to it and befriend it. Yes, it is as strange as it sounds but the magic of this wonderful film is that you totally buy into it. It deftly mixes gallows humor, compelling drama, surrealism/magic realism into a cohesive film. It features a fantastic central performance by Marietta Subong (known in the Filipino mainstream as comedienne Pokwang) that balances all that beautifully. This is my favorite Filipino film of 2018 (so far).

Offline Klaus Weasley

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Re: Filipino films
« Reply #3025 on: Nov 11, 2018 at 11:51 PM »
ML (Benedict Mique) ***1/2 - A millennial, woefully ignorant/nostalgic of the Martial Law era, gets a wake up call when he tries to interview a former soldier/torturer during that era when the latter suddenly has an attack of nostalgia himself.  The film is pretty much exactly what we need right now. This is a pretty harrowing horror film with an explicit political statement delivered with the subtlety of golf club to the foot. But I would argue sometimes you need that. Veteran Filipino actor Eddie Garcia is fantastic in the role of the Colonel. It's an uncomfortable film that yells at you but I'm guessing it's also necessary.

Offline Klaus Weasley

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Re: Filipino films
« Reply #3026 on: Nov 18, 2018 at 12:19 AM »
Kung Paano Siya Nawala (Joel Ruiz) ***1/2 - A young man with face blindness meets and falls in love with a young woman with a troubled past. I can't believe face blindness isn't used in movies more often. So many possibilities. Oh, well. I have to say the concept has so many potential pitfalls but this film very wisely avoids most of them. It doesn't dwell too much on its quirky premise for comedy or even easy tears but instead uses it to mine some thoughtful, substantive themes which gives this romantic drama more depth and resonance. Romance is a favorite genre in mainstream Filipino movies. This one stands out and deserves your attention.

Offline Klaus Weasley

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Re: Filipino films
« Reply #3027 on: Nov 26, 2018 at 01:07 AM »
Hintayan sa Langit (Dan Villegas) *** - An elderly man dies and goes to a Purgatory type place. While there, he meets up with a former flame and rekindle their romance. Finally caught up with this one after missing it at the QCinema Film Festival. Personally, I wasn't a complete fan of the pay off/ending. However, the film works primarily because of the chemistry between veteran Filipino actors Eddie Garcia and Gina Pareno who are simply funny and lovely together. The film's concept of the afterlife is also pretty unique and the film does tackle some heady existential issues on death and grieving and it's also refreshingly ecumenical.

Offline puffalan84

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Re: Filipino films
« Reply #3028 on: Jan 04, 2019 at 11:03 AM »
Kasal, 80's movie like this makes me stay up late.. 
The Pats way...

Offline Klaus Weasley

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Re: Filipino films
« Reply #3029 on: Jan 12, 2019 at 02:06 AM »
Butterflies Have No Memories (Lav Diaz) *** - People living in a dying mining town lament what happened to their town. Then a Canadian immigrant who hasn't been there since her childhood returns. I don't usually write my reviews of short film but calling this a "short" is a tad misleading since it clocks in at only an hour. But it's directed by Lav Diaz so this is definitely a short film by his standards. He can in fact tell a complete story, in his voice and in his style in just an hour. But even in this brief period, it's a bit dense. You have to be a Filipino or know a little bit about Filipino history, culture and society to completely get what he was going for. That said, as someone who is both, this isn't his best work but it's still worth watching regardless.