It is a marvel how 20th Century Fox, despite (or because of) its limited ownership, have recently conjured a more well-realized oeuvre, raging against its saturated but more financially successful counterpart, Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe. Beginning with 2011’s X-Men: First Class, the production company brought in year after year
Author: DJ Villeza
Likes his movies administered in full dose.
It
There is a certain kick in watching gushes of blood, split-second glimpses of monsters, and jump scares accompanied by irreverent denotations of sound and music – as it is the collective appeal of horror films. It also allows us a breather, whether in a scene or two following a scare,
Spider-Man: Homecoming
The struggle of a new beginning is evident in Spider-Man: Homecoming. It cannot be ignored that there have already been five movies preceding it (or four, as I would like to remember), and two beloved Peter Parkers under their tow. We have seen our friendly neighborhood web-slinger struggle numerous times
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword
Guy Ritchie must have been so excited with the idea of adapting a classic tale of knights and kings that he did not know exactly what to do when he finally laid his hands on it. King Arthur: Legend of the Sword was an origin story of some sort, but
Beauty and the Beast: Why Disney Will Commodify Nostalgia While It (Still) Lasts
The excitement was too palpable among the moviegoers I was with, queued up to be among the first in the country to watch a remake of another Disney classic. Twenty- to thirty-somethings hummed and sang along the well-known tunes of Alan Menken blasting off from the cinema lobby’s speakers, while
Die Beautiful (2016)
We are welcomed by Die Beautiful with a montage of home videos featuring a fabulous adolescent, practicing as he would in a beauty pageant, adorned with the necessary accessories, improvised and all, complete with a question-and-answer portion. It was a delightful scene to watch: of such wide-eyed optimism and freedom
Seklusyon
A take on battling one’s inner demons, Seklusyon is Erik Matti‘s return to cinema’s most difficult genre to pull off: horror. It requires the utilization of its various resources – sound, editing, cinematography, and most of all, story – with utmost precision. In this regard, it follows that any attempt
Doctor Strange
Doctor Strange is deliciously exotic: a fresh aberration from Marvel’s line-up of calculated brawn and brawl. Directed by Scott Derrickson, the film delves into a mystical multiverse, of space-time continuums, and magic wielded from ancient mythos – quite an unlikely sojourn for neurosurgeon Dr. Stephen Strange, the movie’s titular man
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children
[dropcap size=big]W[/dropcap]hen I first encountered a Tim Burton film, The Nightmare Before Christmas, wonder and unease stayed with me as the credits rolled. As a kid who only knew the world in dichotomies, watching a film that blended darkness and humor and spectacular peculiarities was an experience. Later did I found
Suicide Squad
It’s all crazy pretty,” remarks one of the armed men. Harley Quinn smiles ominously nearby, trapped inside her cell. And this writer wonders whether the same can be said for the entirety of Suicide Squad, directed by David Ayer, and D.C.’s latest theatrical effort to outdo the ever-expanding Marvel Cinematic
Independence Day: Resurgence
It has been 20 years since the first Independence Day, a movie that I fondly remember as a kid as something that pushed the boundaries of visual effects. I also had a blast with its humorous antics, and campy scenes, earning a nostalgic spot in the 90’s zeitgeist. Fast
Finding Dory
Thirteen years since Pixar’s Finding Nemo made a splash on the big screen, the studio takes another dive into marine life, and revisits the characters we fell in love with in Finding Dory. This time around, the story focuses on its adorable but memory-challenged blue tang, Dory (Ellen Degeneres), and
The Conjuring 2
Director James Wan, who is slowly becoming a household name, ups the ante with another haunted house fright fest in The Conjuring 2, following the sleeper hit that started it all three years ago. Stylish and experimental, the sequel keeps afresh the franchise-in-the-making, despite being subdued. We catch up on Ed
10 Cloverfield Lane
Solving jigsaw puzzles begin by picking a piece out of a scattered mess. Each individual piece is conformed to a different shape, each edge retrofitted for another. Making sense of the mind-bender lies both in the making and unmaking of it. Such is the case of Dan Trachtenberg’s feature film
Kung Fu Panda 3
The lovable panda, Po Ping (voiced by Jack Black) comes back to the big screen as the Dragon Warrior in the third installment of Dreamworks’ well-loved franchise. As in any franchise, it has been primed that in its succeeding sequels the stakes must be higher, especially in displaying the heroics
The Boy
It is curious how the creepy-doll-story has become a sub-genre of horror films. We have Chucky from Child’s Play, Billy from Dead Silence, or the more recent (but disdainful) Annabelle, to only name a few. Either from the frozen smile or the piercing stare, the fear from these inanimate marionettes has sparked
Beasts of No Nation
Sun, why are you shining in this world? I am wanting to catch you in my hands, to squeeze you until you cannot shine no more. That way, everything is always dark, and nobody’s ever having to see all the terrible things that are happening here. ~ These lines are
Inside Out
Inside Out opens in Philippine cinemas this August 19 nationwide.
Pusong Bato
When you are told that the premise of the film you are about to watch revolves around a has-been starlet who falls in love with a rock – yes, that unassuming, solidified piece of merged minerals you find everywhere – you can either cringe at its ridiculousness, or be excited
Cinemalaya 2015 broadens horizon with Asian Showcase section
Cinemalaya 2015 reels in new, award-winning selections from different parts of the ASEAN region in its INDEPENDENTS: ASIAN SHOWCASE section. Some are winning entries from the NETPAC (Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema), while others have garnered recognition from other film festivals in Asia. READ MORE: Complete screening schedules
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation
After nearly three years since its stellar Ghost Protocol, the Mission: Impossible franchise comes back with its latest, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, and the stakes are never the higher, both for the franchise, and its lead super agent, Ethan Hunt, played by the indefatigable and unstoppable Tom Cruise. For
Ode to My Father
Every war has never found its absolution; its damages lifelong. We hear stories from the past generations of their harrowing experiences, and we can only vicariously grasp them. Ode to My Father also seeks to make its audiences understand what it was like in the perspective of an everyday man,
Jurassic World
Nothing is ever enough. This is the recurrent theme that stealthily preys and camouflages within the greenery of Isla Nublar’s revamped premises in Costa Rica, successfully housing its engineered Triassic-Cretaceous inhabitants into a high-tech amusement park called “Jurassic World,” a twenty-two-year far cry from the tragedy that happened in
Insurgent
An attempt to make a faithful adaptation while still making a mark against the influx of recent dystopian YA adaptations proves unsuccessful for Insurgent.
The Theory of Everything
The Theory of Everything is exclusively showing at Ayala Mall Cinemas starting Feb. 25.
