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Gayuma (Cesar Hernando, 2015)
Written and directed by Cesar Hernando Cast: Benjamin Alves, Elora Españo, Phoebe Walker Over the weeklong run of the QCinema International Film Festival, a strong opinion among many festival goers,...
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Water Lemon (Lemuel Lorca, 2015)
Written by Lilit Reyes Directed by Lemuel Lorca Cast: Jun-jun Quintana, Tessie Tomas, Lou Veloso, Alessandra de Rossi, Meryll Soriano The charm of Water Lemon, Lemuel Lorca’s fourth film and so far...
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Matangtubig (Jet Leyco, 2015)
Written by Brian Gonzales Directed by Jet Leyco Cast: Amante Pulido, Lance Raymundo, Mailes Kanapi The original script of Matangtubig is heavy on the procedural, following a series of events after the...
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NETPAC Festival Report — QCinema 2015: Third Time’s a Charm
QCinema, or the Quezon City Film Festival, had produced only three films in its inaugural year in 2013. It ran for three days in two cinemas, and since three films didn’t seem enough to conduct a...
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Cinema One Originals 2015 (Part 1)
HONOR THY FATHER (Erik Matti) A number of good things can be said about Erik Matti’s latest film, Honor Thy Father, but what clearly deserves the strongest highlight is its subject. Part of the thrill...
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Cinema One Originals 2015 (Part 2)
BUKOD KANG PINAGPALA (Sheron Dayoc) There are only two settings in Bukod Kang Pinagpala: a house and a forest. In these two places Sheron Dayoc situates his story of a paralytic mother who suddenly...
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Cinema One Originals 2015 (Part 3)
RAMS (Grímur Hákonarson) A film set in Iceland, specifically in a secluded valley where the lives and interaction of town folk depend so much on their sheep, is bound to be cold, through and through....
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Don’t Believe Me Just Watch: Top Filipino Films of 2015
Over the years, it has been fairly instinctive to preface year-end lists with an apology, as though this admission of shortcoming in the face of supposed responsibility could give more credence to...
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Film Log: January 2016
Wenn Deramas has built an empire. Not everyone is happy about it, but it’s futile to deny its existence and power, considering that five of the top ten highest grossing Filipino films of all time are...
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CineFilipino 2016 (Part 1)
A LOTTO LIKE LOVE (Carla Baful) It’s hard to say good things about A Lotto Like Love — the fact that it got made is quite a feat in itself, but even admitting that leaves a bad taste in the mouth....
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Sinag Maynila 2016: A Minority Report
“Five films don’t make a festival,” a friend remarked, jokingly. “Savage,” I said. Then I laughed because it’s practically true: like last year, the highlight of Sinag Maynila 2016 is its five...
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Dispatches from Cinemalaya 2016 (Part 1)
1-2-3 (Carlo Obispo) The heartbreak of 1-2-3 comes from its lead characters: a young girl, driven by her dream to be a singer, who leaves her small fishing town to escape violence and poverty, and her...
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Dispatches from Cinemalaya 2016 (Part 2)
Ang Bagong Pamilya ni Ponching (Inna Miren Salazar Acuña and Dos Ocampo) For a light comedy, a genre which is always a welcome addition to a festival that usually leans towards serious and heavy...
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Dispatches from Cinemalaya 2016 (Part 3)
Dagsin (Atom Magadia) It’s understandable to frown upon Dagsin. It is the kind of drama that makes it a point to explain, piling details on the already heavy background of its lead character. It is...
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Dispatches from ToFarm Film Festival 2017 (Part 1)
INSTALADO (Jason Paul Laxamana) One can’t help but admire the dogged efforts of Instalado to make its setting believable, introducing a time in the future when knowledge is “installed” on people’s...
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Dispatches from ToFarm Film Festival (Part 2)
HIGH TIDE (Tara Illenberger) High Tide seems to be the only film from the lineup that shows the least struggle in submitting to the festival’s thematic requirement. The story is rooted in the place,...
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Dispatches from Cinemalaya 2017 (Part 1)
ANG PAMILYANG HINDI LUMULUHA (Mes de Guzman) Even for non-Sharonians, there is palpable excitement in the prospect of seeing Sharon Cuneta in a small, independent movie at a festival whose major asset...
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Dispatches from Cinemalaya 2017 (Part 2)
SA GABING NANAHIMIK ANG MGA KULIGLIG (Iar Lionel Arondaing) It’s not as awful as those bad films that deserve to be crucified for making nearly two hours of one’s life a total misery, but Sa Gabing...
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Dispatches from Cinemalaya 2017 (Part 3)
NABUBULOK (Sonny Calvento) Nabubulok works best when it is depicting its small provincial setting and emphasizing the people’s natural tendency to gossip, their keen investment in the lives of others,...
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Breaking It to You Gently
Dear friends, It’s been a while. You have probably forgotten about this blog. We have all moved on. We have carried on with the more important aspects of our lives. I formally closed Lilok Pelikula in...
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