Sirfaro11

I am happy that the writers did not stick to the beaten script of good vs bad in this version of Pedro Penduko. Guidecilli portrayed a flawed character, not wanting his father's legacy and even resorting to violence to get his revenge. Thanks also that they didn't play the love angle with Liway (Kylie Verzoza) to painful predictability. I appreciate the efforts to put local folklore mystical creatures, magic potions and create a world of sorcery, but NOT imitating Harry Potter. Also putting layers in the story kept it interesting with a dash of social commentary on land grabbing and greed for money.

Some acting scenes and dialogues are cringy, but Guidecilli played Penduko well and I do hope he gets a second outing on the next MMFF like Panday. The villain here is not the typical monstrous Romy Diaz and he was given good motive in doing his bad deeds but maybe he could have done more given his 'superpowers'. Some CGI effects still feel like the 90s but forgivable. The ending is a little duh but overall, a good watch. Guidecilli is a good choice for the main character, he can still hone his acting skills for (hopefully) part 2.

I watched this on iwanttv thinking it was a movie about martial law. Turned out it is about sexual abuse happening in ROTC. An adaption from a play by the director, Auraeus Solito, he was able to come up with an entertaining movie. Having had training in college, the snappy salute, the parts of the gun, the toxic commandant are all too familiar. Fortunately, I didn't aspire to become an officer, I don't know how rampant this kind of treatment is in ROTC.

But this could very well be other forms of abuse, which should not be tolerated. There's also the discussion about abuse in the Catholic Church that is usually swept under the rug. The lead actors here were all good, especially Sandino Martin, who is convincing as a neophyte aspiring to become an officer. There are some frontal nudity, so not for kids.

I hesitated to watch this because I don't like Agot Isidro, turned out she is the only distraction in this otherwise gem of a movie. This was directed by Dan Villegas (English Only Please) so I decided to give it a go.

The movie starts with a typical relationship between Alex and Cris, with their problems typical of a May December love affair. But then the characters start singing ... It was here when I got curious especially when the characters changed faces, shifting to four different scenarios, not only dealing with May December love affair but also looking at gay relationships. This is a Palanca winning play turned into a movie and Villegas was masterful in bringing the characters to the screen. Alex being played by Jojit Lorenzo brought the laughs while Sandino Martin and Anna Luna as Cris were really outstanding. My only complain is that the other Alex character should have been played by somebody else.