Bulong (Star Cinema): Movie Review

Star Cinema opens this year with Bulong (Directed by Chito S. Roño), a film that claims to be a horror-comedy movie. After its premier night, stars like Pokwang and Vice Ganda posted on their Twitter accounts how wonderful the movie was. This immediately raised my expectations from this movie. Can Chito Roño make another epic horror film like Feng Shui and Sukob? Read after the jump.

Synopsis:
Conan (Vhong Navarro) is a hospital staff who's madly in love with Ellen (Bangs Garcia), a nurse who has a secret affair with a doctor (Jon Avilla) in the hospital. Conan wants to make Ellen fall for him at all costs so he resorts to Bulong sa Patay, an old belief that whispering your wish to a dead person would make your wish come true. So Conan tries his luck whispering to dead people but to no avail due to some reasons until he meets an old witch who dies in a car accident. He whispers his wish to the old witch. The spirit of the old witch grants his wish but asks for something in return. Together with Oprah (Angelica Panganiban), Conan tries to figure out what the witch is asking for them to do to end the series of haunting and apparition.

Review:
Bulong screams "Drag me to Hell" all over with several scenes ripped off from the blockbuster Hollywood horror film. But I must admit that this movie was entertaining. Vhong Navarro was more comical than ever and Angelica Panganiban proved to us how versatile she can be as an actress. Bangs Garcia needs more acting workshops and Jon Avilla was lousy as usual. Before going to the cinema, I was expecting this movie to be more of a horror movie (given that Horror is the forte of the director) than a comedy but to my disappointment, it was otherwise. There was too much comedy than horror that makes the movie not scary at all.  I felt that it was a bad idea mixing horror with comedy because at the middle part of the movie, Roño's  scare tactics were not working anymore. Fans of horror flicks (like me) will surely get disappointed with the movie. And another thing, the shoddy CGI effects diminished the total movie experience. This is not the kind of movie that I will recommend to all, but it's not a waste of time either because in fairness to Bulong, it made me laugh big time!

Rating: 2/5

RPG Metanoia: Movie Review

Upon hearing that the Philippines will have its first ever 3D animated film, I got so excited that I wanted to watch it right away. I was supposed to watch it during Christmas but too bad it wasn't shown here in our city yet so I waited for another week. Finally, I was able to watch it today. Was it worth the wait? Read to find out. 

Synopsis (from http://movienews.me):

 The RPG Metanoia 3D movie story revolves around an avid online game fan named Nico, an eleven year old boy who lives a normal child's life. But when he is playing the MMORPG (Massively Multi-players Online Role Playing Game) called Metanoia, he is an unpredictable vagabond armed with a magic yoyo and with uncanny speed and agility in his skill set.

Nico got low self-esteem and is only getting his guts from playing Metanoia. That is why when he and his friends were faced with an adversity from the local boys, he felt his world shattered. But they found a saving grace from a new friend which inspired them to continue their online endeavor. 

However, the Metanoia network was infected with a virus affecting the whole internet, most computers and the minds of gamers all over the world. It's up to Nico, his friends and the other remaining Metanoia players to stop the virus from taking control of the online and offline world. But to do that, Nico must muster his courage, and discover the true hero that he really is.

Review:

The Cinema Evaluation Board didn't rate RPG Metanoia for nothing and the film will not win third best picture in the MMFF for nothing (though I believe it deserves more than that). The plot is very fresh and very interesting that it will really grab your attention. It's highly original and it is even better than other 3D films produced by giants such as Pixar and Walt Disney.  The voice dubbing was also great particularly that of Eugene Domingo and Aga Mulach. The musical scoring was superb that when you close your eyes, it will sound like you're watching a Hollywood Animated film. The action scenes were well conceptualized and it will really keep you thrilled. What I love most about the movie is its inclusion of Larong Pambata, Longsilog, Tricycle and electric fan that really made it very Filipino. The scene where the kids are playing tumbang preso, taguan, and sipa was so nostalgic that I can't help but smile. It reminded me of my childhood days. What I didn't like about the movie is its slow frame rate but it's considerable given that it has a low budget and it's still watchable anyway. 

Overall, the movie is a must-see and so far, RPG Metanoia is the best movie in the MMFF that I've seen. There's no reason for you not to watch this very important milestone in the history of the Philippine movie industry. 

Rating: 5/5

Ang Tanging Ina Mo Last na 'To: Movie Review

To start the year right, I decided to give myself a dose of laughter so I went to the theaters to watch the last installment (as its title suggests) of the Ang Tanging Ina series. The first Tanging Ina movie was a blockbuster hit eight years ago and it was followed by a comedy sitcom on a primetime television and a sequel movie.  Now on its last, will Ang Tanging Ina Mo Last na 'To make the audience crave for more of the franchise? Read after the jump.

Synopsis:
Former President Ina Montecillo (Ai-Ai Delas Alas) still enjoys her prominence after her term. A single mother of twelve, Ina personifies perseverance, patience and love. Everything is doing well, until she discovers that she's suffering from brain tumor after falling off from a staircase during her friend's wedding. She has a few more months to live, and must ready her family for her upcoming death.

Review:
I must say that I have never laughed so hard in a very long time until I watched Ang Tanging Ina last na 'To! The tandem of Eugene Domingo and Ai-Ai Delas Alas has proven to us once again that they haven't lost their steam yet amidst the entry of new comedians. However, I felt that the movie didn't make a lot of sense. The plot was generic, nothing's so special with it. There were a lot of unnecessary scenes such as, if I may spoil you a bit, the appearances of her ex-husbands. There were a lot of things going on in the movie that made me think "where the hell is this going?". If you are looking for a great laugh, then this movie is a must-see but if you want to entertain yourself with a magnificent story-line, then save your money for another movie.

Rating: 2.5/5

Shake, Rattle and Roll 12 (2010): Movie review

I remember growing up with Shake, Rattle and Roll. I remember hiding under my blanket when I go to sleep. I remember the fear I had when I was still a kid because of the monsters of SRR. Will the 12th installment of SRR renew the fear that I got over with a long time ago? Read to find out.

Synopsis:
As usual, SRR is composed of three episodes. The First episode, Mamanyika, is about a little girl who finds a doll when she visits their dead mother in the cemetery. She takes the doll home and calls the doll mama, little did she know that what thrives inside the doll is an evil spirit. Her elder sister (Shaina Magdyao) discovers what the doll can do and must do everything to destroy the doll. The second episode, Isla, is about a heartbroken girl (Andi Eigenmann) who goes into an island with her friends. The island is home to engkantos called "Lambana" who target virgin tourists. The king of the Lambanas gets attracted to Andi Eigenman and her friends must do everything to protect her before the engkantos will take her to their kingdom. The third episode, Punerarya, is about a private tutor (Carla Abellana) who encounters a weird family who lives in a funeral parlor. She later finds out what the family is hiding and tries to escape, but the family won't let her.

Review:
The first episode focused on surprising the audience instead of scaring them. Originality and creativity is the weakness of the first episode as it is a rehash of  many other movies about evil dolls. We don't need to make more of them. It actually became a laughing stock with the absurdity of the scenes. The second episode is actually worse. Lousy acting from the leads and a very boring, unoriginal plot. The first two episodes are forgettable and not worth an hour of our lives. The movie was saved by the third episode. The story presented was something we're not familiar with and the twist in the end made a lot of sense. It introduced a new type of thrill (you have to watch it for you to know what it is). Kudos to Carla Abellana's very convincing acting. I could have given SRR a perfect rating had they presented a plot as brilliant as Punerarya.

Rating: 2.5/5

DALAW (2010): Movie Review

Being a sucker for horror flicks, I chose Dalaw over other MMFF entries as the first movie to watch. My expectations were high given that the movie's top-billed by none other than the Queen of all Media and the Horror Queen Kris Aquino. I admit I had a little doubt with how the movie's going to turn out with a rookie director (director Dondon Santos) on its helm. Was the movie worth my bucks? Read to find out.

Synopsis (from http://dalaw.starcinema.com.ph)
For the sake of her own son, Paolo (Maliksi Morales), Stella (Kris Aquino) is re-married to to another man, Anton (Diether Ocampo), in the hopes of having a whole and peaceful family life. However, after the wedding, she experiences major haunting that endangers her life and the people around her. All of the clues are pointing to her dead husband. Feeling guilty of her ex-husband's death, Stella tries to save her family from the ghost's wrath. Along the way, secrets start to unravel and Stella is now unsure of who is haunting her and why she's being haunted.

Review:
The first half of the movie will keep you gripping on your seats with its full-throttle horror and very effective acting. Credits to Gina Pareño who brought in the comic relief. As expected, her acting was brilliant. I felt Kris' portrayal to the role's no different from her roles in her previous horror films. I felt like i was watching Feng Shui or Sukob with how she delivered her role (you know, calling out of names, worried look, constant running and stumbling). Diether's portrayal was okay. I didn't expect much from him anyway. Karylle's acting was a revelation. She was very convincing and you can feel her pain in the early part of the movie. I think the formula for our local horror flicks have been exhausted too much that the story becomes predictable. The twist was predictable knowing Star Cinema and how it does its movies. The writers could have thought of a better twist. Another thing, the climax should be the point of great intensity to propel a movie to greatness but ironically, Dalaw's climax was the biggest mistake of the movie. How could you explain a ghost who is as powerful as the devil, who can control the weather, be in two places at once and the most hilarious, a ghost that is solid? Yes, a tangible ghost that you can kick and scratch if you want to. Also, how the problem in the movie was resolved is a BIG JOKE! No kidding, I was like "Huh? Ganun Lang?". Although the movie is a horror flick, the writers could have grounded it on reality (does it make any sense? anyway, you'll get my point) to make it believable.

Overall, the movie is not that good. You know the feeling leaving out of the cinema asking yourself what the hell happened? You'll surely have that kind of feeling after watching Dalaw. The second half of the movie reduced the horror film into a cheap, slapstick comedy. Too bad main stream, "bakya" formula got into Star Cinema already.

Rating: 2/5