Twist after twist after twist. Pass me the Advil.
Rating: ★★★★☆
Category: Foreign – 2017
A GHOST STORY (David Lowery, 2017)
SPOILER ALERT!!
Lakas ng tawa ko nung biglang bumangon si Casey Affleck at nagliwaliw sa ospital habang nakatalukbong ng kumot (with eye holes para hindi sya matapilok).
Meron pa eksena na kumakain si Rooney Mara ng pie tapos subo lang siya nang subo so inisip ko baka uubusin niya kaya nag-check muna ako ng Twitter. Aba after five minutes, kumakain pa rin sya at di man lang nag-alok! (Ayun sa kadamutan niya, sinuka din nya lahat.)
This supposedly profound tale of a time-travelling ghost was roughly ninety minutes, but felt longer than a typical Terrence Malick feature. Watching this was the perfect penance for Good Friday.
Rating: ★☆☆☆☆
(Originally published March 30, 2018.)
THE FLORIDA PROJECT (Sean Baker, 2017)
SPOILER ALERT!!
I missed the days when my only problem was how to fake an afternoon nap (the worst childhood punishment) and wonder whether my neighbors’ moms would allow my friends to come out and play Langit Lupa.
Loved the stark contrasts between the colorful pastels and poverty porn, the childhood fantasies and adult realities, the joyous Celebration opening and the bittersweet Magic Kingdom ending.
Brooklynn Prince’s tearful goodbye completely broke my heart (I sobbed like there was no tomorrow). What a fantastic child performance! The rest of the cast (especially Willem Dafoe and Bria Vinaite) were great as well.
“You know why this is my favorite tree? ‘Cause it’s tipped over and it’s still growing.” The meaning of life filtered through the magical eyes of a child.
Rating: ★★★★★
(Originally published March 24, 2018.)
STRONGER (David Gordon Green, 2017)
Based on the true story of Jeff Bauman (a double amputee victim of the Boston Marathon bombing), this biopic was meant to be inspirational but it didn’t go beyond its generic message of “What doesn’t kill you makes you…”.
Rating: ★★☆☆☆
(Originally published March 24, 2018.)
INGRID GOES WEST (Matt Spicer, 2017)
If you only have enough money to buy either a pack of bathroom tissues or a case of Corona Lights and your no-brainer’s choice is the beer, then this one’s for you.
If you wake up in a hospital bed one day and the very first thing that you’ll ask is, “Where’s my phone?”, then this one’s for you.
Scarier than Single White Female and funnier than the picture of an influencer with an SM Advantage Card in the North Pole, this film is the perfect companion piece to Black Mirror’s Nosedive.
Watch it now (while scrolling through your Instagram feed, of course).
Rating: ★★★★☆
(Originally published March 22, 2018.)
WONDER WHEEL (Woody Allen, 2017)
High camp soap opera about a married woman and her stepdaughter fighting over the love of one man (wink, wink). Ang kapal lang ni Allen, but I always end up liking even his most mediocre work.
In a less political year, (Drama) Queen Kate Winslet who has mastered the role of a lonely/bored/trapped/desperate housewife would have been nominated for an Oscar. And this was also Allen’s best-looking film to date, no?
Rating: ★★★☆☆
(Originally published March 22, 2018.)
GOD’S OWN COUNTRY (Francis Lee, 2017)
One star for Gemma Jones who played another parent that easily stole an entire queer film with a single heartbreaking scene.
One star for that lovely bus moment.
And one star for not holding back on all the glorious mud. (Looking at you, Luca.)
Rating: ★★★☆☆
(Originally published March 22, 2018.)
A BAD MOMS CHRISTMAS (Scott Moore, Jon Lucas, 2017)
How did Peter Gallagher who played Sandra Bullock’s dream guy in a coma in While You Were Sleeping end up as the wrinkled doormat husband of Christine Baranski in this movie?
More importantly, was this sequel filled with twice as many obnoxious women supposed to be funny?
Rating: ★☆☆☆☆
(Originally published March 16, 2018.)
BEACH RATS (Eliza Hittman, 2017)
“In gay men, the pointer finger is almost always longer than the ring finger. And in straight men, the ring finger is almost always longer than the pointer finger.”
(You just checked yours, didn’t you?)
Rating: ★★★☆☆
(Originally published March 12, 2019.)
THE CURED (David Freyne, 2017)
Watch In the Flesh instead.
Rating: ★☆☆☆☆
(Originally published February 28, 2018.)
