Don't Look Up

Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence are astronomers out to save the world in Adam McKay’s satirical sci-fi film.

"Don't Look Up" begins by introducing the two low-level astronomers, Dr. Randall Mindy (DiCaprio) and PhD candidate Kate Dibiasky (Lawrence), who discovered a mountain-sized comet, and Dr. Teddy Oglethrope (Rob Morgan), chief of the Planetary Defense Coordination Office from NASA.

They quickly meet with President Janie Orlean (Meryl Streep) and her Chief of Staff Jason Orlean (Jonah Hill) to discuss plans of diverting the comet’s trajectory to avoid total human extinction. They were disappointed, however, when President Orlean received their news with apathy.

Obviously, in a reasonable world, stopping a disaster like this should be at the top of any government’s priority list. However in this reality, the authorities couldn't care less about what astronomers discovered in space. They downplayed their threat, even mocked it. But, like any good politician, President Orlean ended the conversation by telling them what they wanted to hear: 

“I’m taking it very seriously. I’m taking it straight to the heart.” 

She wasn't.

Love is Color Blind: Movie Review

The blossoming love team, DonBelle, stars in this colorful and cheesy rom-com film directed by John Leo D. Garcia.

Ino (Donny Pangilinan) was a promising artist who was following in the footsteps of his mother (Eula Valdez). However, after a car accident, he loses his ability to see colors other than black, grey, and white.

Meanwhile, Cara (Belle Mariano), his best friend, returns from a trip to Hong Kong to see her family and Ino. Her undying love for him motivates her to find a solution to his color blindness. That's when she meets Iris (Angelina Cruz), a gallery curator.

But this causes Cara problems as Iris gradually becomes a potential rival to her love for Ino and an old classmate (Jeremiah Lisbo) enters the picture to win her back.

Arisaka

In Mikhail Red's "Arisaka," Maja Salvador plays a cop who must retrace the route of the Bataan Death March to escape a group of crooked cops.

Policewoman Mariano (Maja Salvador) is a member of a team tasked with escorting a key witness (Archi Adamos) of a major drug bust. However, a bunch of corrupt cops ambushed their car midway down the isolated country road in Bataan, killing all of the passengers except her after pretending to be dead.

Officer Torejon (Art Acua) and his colleagues arrive not long after to wipe up any evidence left. That's when they discovered Mariano was still alive. The policewoman manages to flee after a few gunfire exchanges but not without bruises and wounds. Her escape forces Torejon to contact Sonny (Mon Confiado), the violent gang boss and cop.

The Matrix

The Wachowskis 1999’s genre-bending film is a three-way marriage between action, science fiction and conspiracy thriller.

According to the Oracle (Gloria Foster), Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) is destined to find the one that will save the world from intelligent machines that use humans to harness energy. Using some sort of device inside an abandoned ship called Nebuchadnezzar, Morpheus, and the rest of the team are able to jump from the real world to the Matrix, a world created by Artificial Intelligence to keep people's consciousness. Inside this synthetic reality is a computer programmer named Thomas Anderson (Keanu Reeves) or Neo, the presumed Messiah that will save the world. 

But pulling him out of the Matrix will not be easy. Standing in front of their way are sentient computer programs they call Agent Smiths (Hugo Weaving). Their objective is to erase anomalies in the system like Morpheus and extract the Nebuchadnezzar’s code to find and destroy it. 

With the help of Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss), they were able to locate Neo and after explaining the Matrix to him, Morpheus presented him with two pills, a blue one and a red one. The former will let him stay in this artificial world, while the latter will set him free from it. Neo must make a choice.

The Power of the Dog

Academy Award and Palme d'Or winner Jane Campion returns to filmmaking to helm one of this year’s favorite Best Picture frontrunners, “The Power of the Dog”.

Rich ranch owners Phil (Benedict Cumberbatch) and George Burbank (Jesse Plemons) meet the widow and innkeeper Rose Gordon (Kirsten Dunst) and her son Peter (Kodi Smit-Peter McPhee) on a cattle drive in Montana.

During their stay at the mother-son’s eatery, the fiery Phil, influenced by his late mentor Bronco Henry, makes fun of her son's lisp and effeminate demeanor. To the amusement of his herders, he even burnt Peter's handcrafted flowers. George was ashamed of this, so before they left he apologized to Rose for the trouble. She cried and George found himself falling for her beauty.

Their ranch was not far away from Rose’s, so George travels everyday to meet her. Phil was suspicious, he dislikes her because he believes that she’s only after his brother’s money. But alas, George and Rose soon married and they even moved in in their farmhouse. Not only that, Peter will stay with them during the summer. It feels like nothing would stop them in infiltrating his peaceful life, so he decided to let it be known his detestment towards them.

QCShorts Competition

The QCinema International Film Festival, now in its ninth year, returns with a hybrid edition from Nov. 26 to Dec. 5, featuring theatrical screenings at Gateway Cineplex 10 and online streaming via KTX.ph.

QCinema will feature two Shorts programs this year: QCShorts and Asian Shorts.

Here is my capsule reviews on the 6 short films competing in this year's QCShorts Competition:

A Quiet Place Part II

The Abbott family's story continues in their fight for survival in John Krasinski's s horror film sequel.

After a bizarre cloud-like object hurtling towards Earth carrying blind and savage monsters with hypersensitive hearing murdered much of the Earth's population, the only way to survive is to remain quiet.

Days after Evelyn (Emily Blunt) lost her husband Lee (Krasinski), the Abbott family decided to find survivors in this dystopian world. 

Evelyn is on her own caring for two young teenagers and a newborn infant. However, not all hope was lost as they found a way to defeat the creatures.

Regan (Millicent Simmonds) discovers that high-frequency audio feedback renders the monsters susceptible, so she devises a rudimentary method of transferring the sounds from her cochlear implant via a handheld microphone.

Carrying this knowledge, the family decided to search for survivors. But when they enter a restricted area, Marcus (Noah Jupe) steps into a bear trap, severely wounding his foot and attracting the creature's attention. That's when they ran into Evelyn and Lee's old pal Emmett (Cillian Murphy), who had been sheltering in an underground refuge. Though unlike the Abbott’s, he is uninterested in having any company.

Red Notice

Rawson Marshall Thurber star-studded action film is exactly what you expected it to be, or maybe worse.

Many years ago, Marcus Antonius gave Cleopatra three bejeweled eggs as a wedding gift two thousand years ago to symbolize his love for her. However, as time went by, history eventually forgot these offerings until two of them were discovered by a farmer in 1907, with the third remaining undiscovered.

In the present day, FBI criminal profiler Special Agent John Hartley (Dwayne Johnson) is assigned to assist Interpol agent Urvashi Das (Ritu Arya) in the investigation on one of the eggs displayed at the Museo Nazionale di Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome. They found out that it was fake so Das immediately ordered for a lockdown in the museum. But before the room is sealed shut, Nolan Booth (Ryan Reynolds), an international art thief, manages to flee. 

Hartley and Das eventually apprehended Booth in his home in Bali, and the egg is taken into custody only for another thief named Sarah Black AKA "The Bishop" (Gal Gadot) to take it away and frame Hartley. 

Das confronts Hartley the next day, believing he is the one who stole the egg. As a result, she has him imprisoned in the same cell as Booth in a remote Russian prison. Fueled by their interest to defeat the Bishop, the two must now work together to escape and find the elusive thief.

Army of Thieves

Actor-director Matthias Schweighöfer stole the show in this prequel to Zack Snyder’s zombie flick.

"Army of Thieves" opens with the awkward Sebastian Schlencht-Wöhnert (Matthias Schweighöfer), a Potsdam bank cashier. Despite reports of a growing zombie epidemic in Nevada, Sebastian spends his time creating safecracking videos for YouTube. His passion and love for the craft captured the eye of an anonymous user who invited him to compete in an underground safecracking competition.

Sebastian has been developing his skills since he was a child. He even forgoes playing with other youngsters in order to study safes, turn knobs, and crack open various locks.

Sebastian easily won the tournament, as expected. And what is his price? He really doesn’t care. All he wants is attention, especially from Gwedoline (Nathalie Emmanuel), a brilliant jewel thief with a grander purpose for him.

Squid Game

In this Netflix thriller, hundreds of cash-strapped contestants compete in a series of children’s games for a hefty prize and price.

Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-Jae)  is desperate. He is in neck-deep debt because of his compulsive gambling, his mother is old and sick, and his wife and daughter are about to leave him for good.

One day, Gi-hun encounters a mysterious man (Gong Yoo) who challenges him with a game of ddakji in exchange for money. The man then hands Gi-hun a card, inviting him to play more children's games but with larger stakes. He reluctantly agreed. 

Gi-hun joined 455 other players, all of them saddled with similar massive debts. The games are overseen by the so-called Front Man, who is surrounded by masked guards dressed in bright pink jumpsuits.

They quickly discovered that losing one of the games meant death.

So to survive the games' physical and psychological twists, Gi-hun creates a team with other players, which includes his childhood friend Cho Sang-woo (Park Hae-soo). But when lives are on the line can you really trust anyone?

The Guilty

Jake Gyllenhaal is a troubled 911 dispatcher in this thriller from the “Training Day” director, Antoine Fuqua.

LAPD officer Joe Baylor (Jake Gyllenhaal) works the night shift at a 911 call center while awaiting a court hearing for an incident that occurred while he was on duty months ago.

Despite the city of Los Angeles currently burning to the ground, the asthmatic police feel bored and indifferent with taking in calls after calls of absurd requests. 

Until he receives a call from Emily Lighton (Riley Keough), who informs him that she has been kidnapped. Joe is drawn to the case for some reason, but the problem is that the details of her captor, their car, and their destination are unknown. And with the raging fire, there aren't enough people to find them.

Joe is well aware that there is not enough time. So, even though it's wrong, he tries to pull some strings in order to help the woman.

Nightbooks

Adapted from J.A White's horror book, this new Netflix family-centric film holds many twists and surprises to keep everyone entertained.

Alex Mosher (Winslow Fegley) enjoys writing horror stories, but those around him, such as his parents and friends, are perplexed by his unusual obsession with scary movies and books. Alex feels humiliated as a result of that. So he decided that writing was not for him and that it was time to burn all of the stories he had created.

As he heads down to the burner to destroy his so-called Night Book, the elevator mysteriously stops on a strange floor where he discovers a creepy apartment. He enters it. But it turns out that the room was cursed, and that anyone who stepped inside would be trapped with a wicked witch.

Natacha (Krysten Ritter), the witch, enjoys reading and listening to scary stories. She had lived inside the apartment for so long that she had read all of the published horror stories in its vast library.

According to her servant, Yasmin (Lidya Jewett), Natacha is extremely cruel to children who are unable to entertain her with their stories. Alex is now forced to create compelling horror stories every day to survive. Luckily, he discovers something that may help him escape.

Taipei Suicide Story

KEFF’s moving drama is about a lonely receptionist and a hotel guest’s unusual friendship.

The story of “Taipei Suicide Story” is fairly straightforward.

In a suicide hotel, a receptionist named Zhi-Hao (Tender Huang) works all by himself, day and night. And every day, he encounters hopeless people checking in the place, as well as workers in protective suits transporting corpses out of the rooms.

One of the workers informed him one day that a girl staying in room 602 violated their company policy for staying more than a day. When the receptionist confronts Jun-Ting (Vivian Sung), the girl in the room, she tells him that she, too, intends to die like others. But staying at the hotel makes her feel less lonely. Now she is conflicted if she even wants to die. Zhi-Hao responds, "If you can't kill yourself tonight, then please leave tomorrow morning. Or I'll call the police."

Later that day, the two ran into each other again. Zhi-Hao apologized for his harshness, but Jun-Ting said it was fine. At that point, it is clear that the two are starting to form a fleeting bond. However, as they spend the rest of the day together, the gravity of Jun-Ting’s decision becomes heavier and heavier.

Prey

A mysterious killer chase down a group of men hiking in the woods in this thriller from Thomas Sieben, director of "Kidnapping Stella."

Roman (David Kross), his brother Albert (Hanno Koffler), and his pals Stefan (Klaus Steinbacher), Vincent (Yung Ngo), and Peter (Robert Finster) started their day innocently enough. They kayak down the river to the woods, fool around like teenagers, trek up to a castle ruin, and talk about their families and jobs. They heard gunshots in the distance, but it's probably nothing to worry about. Right?

When Vincent is shot in the arm by an unknown hunter, their seemingly serene and fun day suddenly turns chaotic. They assumed it was a mistake at first until the gunner began shooting their car, leaving them stranded. Whoever this person is, it's evident that he or she wants them dead.

Now to survive, they must make their way through the dense forest in search of assistance. But, of course, that will not be easy.

Cinderella

Camila Cabello stars as Ella in this retelling of a fairytale classic, directed by Kay Cannon.

Once upon a time, there was a girl named Ella (Cabello). Her parents died when she was young, so she now lives with her cruel stepmother, Vivian (Idina Menzel), and two stepsisters, Malvolia (Maddie Baillio) and Narissa (Charlotte Spencer), who treat her like a servant. Because of the cinder that always gets on her face, they mock her by calling her Cinderella.

Despite their viciousness, the young girl is adamant about opening her own shop. So she makes gorgeous outfits in her basement room with her three adorable companion rats.

One day, during the guard-changing ritual, Prince Robert (Nicholas Galitzine) noticed Ella's beauty and fell in love with her right away.

The next day, dressed as a commoner, the Prince goes to the market and finds Ella trying to sell her dress, which he buys from her. He then invites her to an upcoming party, promising to introduce her to people from all over the world to whom she might sell her dresses.

However, by the time Ella is ready to attend the ball, her stepmother has destroyed her dress. With no suitable clothes left to wear, a magical butterfly (Billy Porter) arrives out of nowhere to assist her.

Nobody

Bob Odenkirk plays as a passive father with a secret past in this high octane action film written by “John Wick” writer, Derek Kolstad.

Hutch Mansell (Odenkirk) is your usual family guy. Two children, a loving wife (Connie Nielsen), and a mundane day-to-day job.

Until one night, armed robbers break into his house. Hutch’s hesitation to confront the criminals leads to his son’s, Blake (Gage Munroe), injury. Now, everyone thinks he's a failure.

On a secret radio in his office, Hutch phones his half-brother Harry (RZA) and explains that he held back because the burglars were desperate, afraid, and using an unloaded gun.

At home, his daughter, Sammy (Paisley Cadorath), asks for help in finding her misplaced kitty cat bracelet. Hutch suspects that the criminals may have taken them by accident. So he goes to see his father, David (Christopher Lloyd), to get his old FBI badge and revolver in order to track them down. He found them, but he instantly leaves after learning that they have a sick child.

Hutch was frustrated. He directed his rage onto some goons who were harassing a young girl on a bus. However, he soon discover that those thugs are members of a brutal Russian mafia.

The Old Ways

Christopher Alender’s second feature film is all about the tragic consequences of cultural disconnection and ignorance.

Cristina Lopez (Brigitte Kali Canales), a Mexican/American reporter, returns to her ancestral home of Veracruz in search of a story on witchcraft and faith healers, only to be kidnapped by the locals.

Her captors are her cousin Miranda (Andrea Cortés), the “bruja” Luce (Julia Vera) and her son Javi (Sal Lopez). The reason for her abduction is both mind-boggling and terrifying: they believe she has a demon inside her, and they will not let her go until they exorcise the malevolent force.

When Cristina was young, the demon known as Postehki (the death god of broken things) killed her mother. And now it wants to take over her body. As a skeptic, she doesn't believe all this nonsense. But as she tries to find ways to flee, she begins to suspect that they might be telling the truth all along.

He's All That

Laney and Zack return as Cameron and Padgett in this gender-swap remake of the classic rom-com film from the 1990s.

Padgett Sawyer (Addison Rae) is not only the most famous student at her high school, but she is also an Instagram star promoting business mogul Jessica Miles Torres’s (Kourtney Kardashian) beauty products. However, even if she is a successful influencer, she lies about living in a luxurious apartment when she actually lives in a modest Los Angeles home with her divorced mother (Rachael Leigh Cook).

Padgett is in a relationship with Jordan Van Draanen (Peyton Meyer), a rising musician. But they split up after she caught him cheating which seriously harmed both her reputation and sponsorship.

Disheartened, Padgett quickly lost all hope of having a better life for her family. 

Unless she does something her fans will love.

So when her best friend Alden (Madison Pettis) bets that she can't turn the most "failure" student she can find into prom king, she immediately accepted the challenge. That's where she met Cameron Kweller (Tanner Buchanan), a social media hater and generally grumpy student. The guy for her project to regain her followers' trust.

A Faraway Land

Yen Santos and Paolo Contis star in this bumpy romantic drama set in the beautiful Faroe Island.

Nico Mendoza (Paolo Contis), a Filipino journalist, travels to the Faroe Islands to film a documentary about successful Filipinos living in the Arctic Circle. There he meets Mahjoy Garðalið (Yen Santos), a successful Filipino expatriate who runs a food catering business. She is married to Faroese Sigmund Garðalið (Hans Tórgar), with whom she has a daughter named Lena.

Mahjoy accompanied Nico all over Faroe, detailing her life there and back in the Philippines as part of their agreement. And throughout their journey, Nico gained a better understanding of Faroese culture.

But as the two spent more quality time together traveling, eating, and meeting people, Nico developed feelings toward Mahjoy, which complicated both of their lives.

Sweet Girl

This generic action film stars Jason Momoa as a man seeking vengeance for the death of his wife.

Ray Cooper (Momoa) and his daughter Rachel (Isabela Merced) mourn the death of Ray’s beloved wife, Amanda (Adria Arjona), who succumbs to cancer.

His wife was supposedly in line to receive a life-saving drug before she died. However, BioPrime CEO Simon Keeley yanked the drug from the market indefinitely. Ray savagely calls Simon after learning of this business decision and threatens to kill him if he does not change his mind.

BioPrime's decision was never overturned, and Ray now seeks retribution.

One day, he receives a call from Martin Bennett (Nelson Franklin), a journalist. He claims he has a story that will put powerful people in prison, however, he needs Ray’s story to do so.

Ray reluctantly agrees, but he soon finds himself in more trouble than he anticipated.

The Kissing Booth 3

Vince Marcello's wild teen rom-com/drama finally comes to a close after 3 long years.

The second installment of "The Kissing Booth" ended on a cliffhanger, teasing viewers that Elle (Joey King) must choose between Berkley and Harvard, her best friend Lee's (Joel Courtney), and boyfriend Noah's (Jacob Elordi) respective schools.

In “The Kissing Booth 3” she finally decided to go to Harvard, which devastated Lee. To make amends, she devised a comprehensive bucket list for them to enjoy during their final summer together.

As the two best friends do all the crazy stuff on the list like organizing a flash mob, skydiving, and playing real-life Mario Kart, Marco (Taylor Zakhar Perez) and Chloe (Maisie Richardson-Sellers) re-enter Elle and Noah’s life. Shaking their relationship to its core, one more time.

Vivo

Lin-Manuel Miranda plays an exotic animal in this Disney-like animated musical.

Andres (Juan de Marcos) is enthralled when he receives an invitation letter from his old companion, Marta Sandoval (Gloria Estefan), to perform in her farewell tour. He will finally be able to confess his affections for her through a song he created a long time ago. Unfortunately, a tragedy occurs. Forcing Vivo (Miranda), his kinkajou partner, to deliver the letter from Cuba to Miami.

Meanwhile, Vivo meets Gabi (Ynairaly Simo), Andres' grandniece. Gabi is a rowdy 10-year-old girl who "marches to the beat of her own drum." She has no friends because of her outgoing personality. That is why, when she learns that Vivo is embarking on a grand adventure to deliver a love letter to Marta, she jumps at the chance to assist him.

Cinemalaya Shorts B

Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival has been at the forefront of Philippine independent filmmaking for over a decade and a half, discovering new cinematic voices while cultivating and developing a rising audience for independent cinema.

Cinemalaya continues to banner Philippines cinema with its 17th edition. For this year, 13 Short Films will compete for the Balanghai trophy.

Here is my review of Cinemalaya Shorts B:

Cinemalaya Shorts A

Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival has been at the forefront of Philippine independent filmmaking for over a decade and a half, discovering new cinematic voices while cultivating and developing a rising audience for independent cinema.

Cinemalaya continues to banner Philippines cinema with its 17th edition. For this year, 13 Short Films will compete for the Balanghai trophy.

Here is my review of Cinemalaya Shorts A:

The Last Letter From Your Lover

A young journalist, uninterested in romance, becomes obsessed with finding the authors of old love letters in this adaptation of a Jojo Moyes book.

“The Last Letter from Your Lover” follows two different central characters, Ellie Haworth (Felicity Jones) and Jennifer Stirling (Shailene Woodley), struggling to abide by their emotions for the sake of belonging. But as the film progress, not all love stories are the same. There are people that are meant to be together, and there are others that are only meant to fall in love with each other.

Ellie Haworth is a young journalist living in present day London. She is a woman disinterested with romance until she discovers a letter from a certain “J” and “Boot” (or “B”). With the help of the archivist, Rory (Nabhaan Rizwan), they tracked down the star-crossed lovers leading them to a woman named Jennifer Stirling.

Back in mid-1960s, Mrs. Stirling is a wealthy socialite who got herself into an illicit affair with the journalist Anthony O’Hare (Callum Turner). Besides spending time together while Mrs. Stirling’s frosty husband is away, the two exchange love letters. But even though they loved each other, she was afraid to run away with him. Then one day, Mrs. Stirling was caught in a car accident giving her partial amnesia.

Nerisa

Ricky Lee and Lawrence Fajardo teamed up to create a compelling drama about a mysterious woman and the island that both desires and resents her.

Obet (Aljur Abrenica) and Nerisa (Cindy Miranda) are two newly wed couples, so in love with each other. In flashbacks, it is revealed that their meeting can be compared to a fairy tale. Obet found her below the sea. She has no recollection of where she came from and who she was thus people believe that she might be a nymph, specifically a mermaid.

Mermaids are usually signs of bad luck. They can bring depravity and even death to a community. But Nerisa couldn’t care less of what they think. She is happy.

Until one day, Obet and a few local fishermen got into a sea accident. The townspeople quickly accuse Nerisa for this misfortune. Thrusting her into becoming the village’s pariah.

Blood Red Sky

In this German thriller, an ill mother reveals her horrible secret to protect her child against terrorists who hijacked their transatlantic aircraft.

Not long after Nadja (Peri Baumeister), a widow suffering from leukemia boarded the Transatlantic Aircraft 473 with her son, Elias (Carl Anton Koch), a group of men seized control of the plane forcing everyone to remain still until a ransom was paid.

However, when the terrorist group starts to get violent towards her son and the distraught passengers, Nadja is left with no choice but to unleash her supernatural secret.

Kingdom: Ashin of the North

This prequel to a popular Korean series combines vengeance, horror, and politics, into an epic and heart-pounding period drama.

“Kingdom: Ashin of the North” explores the history of the infamous resurrection plant and the tragedy that happened to the north side of the Joseon empire that instigated the events of the first and second season of “Kingdom.”

The film follows a girl named Ashin (Kim Shi-a/Jun Ji-hyun) who belongs to a tribal village located in the northern part of the Joseon kingdom. They were dubbed "Seongjeoyain" because they were innately Jurchens living in Joseon. However, both Jurchens and Joseon do not acknowledge them

The southern part of the Joseon kingdom is recovering from the Japanese invasion, rendering the northern part of the empire vulnerable to invaders. Reports said that Jurchens have consolidated their powerful group called the Pajeowi near the area, forcing the Joseon kingdom to stay on their toes.

Meanwhile, a group of Pajeowi men searching for ginseng are found dead inside the forbidden Pyesa-Gun forest. Deputy Commander Min Chi-rok (Park Byung-eun) fears that this tragedy might spark a war between them and the Pajeowi; so he tasked Ta Hab (Kim Roe-ha), Ashin’s father and the head of the Seongjeoyain settlement, to spy on them and spread false rumors about their death in exchange for their tribe’s governmental representation from Joseon.

As Ta Hab travels to Pajeowi, Ashin sneaks off to the forbidden Pyesa-Gun forest to retrieve the resurrection plant that will heal her ailing mother.

Little did she know that while she was away, the Pajeowi attacked their village and massacred everyone without mercy.

Distraught and alone, Ashin vows to take revenge on the people that wiped out her tribe.

My Amanda

Alessandra de Rossi’s debut film subverts the romantic-comedy formula to create a compelling tale of platonic love.

“My Amanda” is about two unusually close friends who share everything about their lives.

Amanda (de Rossi) is a jolly and playful girl who has an on-again, off-again relationship with her fiancé. During those times of crisis and pain, she seeks the presence of her best friend, TJ (or his pet name, Fuffy).

TJ (Piolo Pascual) is a ladies' man but a sensitive guy who drives around expensive cars. Unlike Amanda (or her pet name, Fream), he is not committed to anybody yet. Although he has a long list of failed relationships and heartbreaks.

Fuffy and Fream share a very close and warm relationship. But even though they are comfortable flirting with each other, partying all night, joking about sex, sharing a bed together, and getting matching tattoos, they refuse to date or get romantically involved. They see each other as brothers and sisters. Nothing more, nothing less.

However, is that even possible? Can two people be this close and not fall in love?

Little Forest

Yim Soon-rye’s masterpiece is a story of emancipation from the hustle and bustle of city life and an earnest study on relationships.

“Little Forest” follows the journey of Song Hye-won, a 20-something-year-old woman who moves to Seoul to become a teacher. But after failing her certification, she returns to her childhood home in the countryside leaving behind her boyfriend and her part-time job.

In her rural hometown, she reconnects with her long-time friends, Lee Jae-ha (Ryu Jun-yeol) and Joo Eun-sook (Jin Ki-joo).

Jae-ha is a fruit and vegetable farmer. He used to work in the big city, as well. But eventually, he decided to leave after finding no purpose in his job.

On the other hand, Eun-sook never got a chance to work outside of their small town. Unlike Hye-won and Jae-ha, she longs to live in the big city. She is currently working as a bank teller, even if she’s already dissatisfied and bored with it.

Hye-won is the only one without a job, so she passes the time by tending to her mother’s plantation and preparing the foods she usually makes for her.

Hye-won’s enigmatic mother uncannily left her after graduating from High School, straining their relationship together. But through flashbacks, her mother is truly a kind and loving woman. That is why Hye-won can’t really bring herself to resent her.

As the seasons change, Hye-won quietly contemplates the pain she harbors from her mother, the disappointments she suffered in Seoul, and the peace and comfort she seeks for herself. For the meantime, she retreats to her little forest until the time she is ready for renewal.

Fear Street Part Three: 1666

In 1666, a colonial town instigated a witch hunt to deter the devil. Little do they know that their actions will have devastating ramifications for the centuries to come.

“Fear Street Part Three: 1666” is here. The final installment of the RL Stine “Fear Street” trilogy and it’s a satisfying closure to an excellent series.

The film further explores the history of Shadyside. More specifically, Sarah Fier. A denounced witch, hanged by the first villagers and buried under the infamous town.

People said that before Sarah Fier died, she sold her soul to the devil and placed a curse on the village. Hence the neverending grisly violence and murder.

At first Deena (Kiana Madeira) believes that the curse is a bunch of nonsense. Shadysiders are going insane because life is just terrible. She is sure of it. There is no curse or spell, only sadness, loneliness and misery.

But it turns out, she is wrong. The curse is real. And she is now its new target.

To break the generational curse, she teams up with a fellow survivor, her brother and her ex-girlfriend to uncover the truth about the vile witch. However, in order to do that, she must travel back to 1666, the year Sarah Fier died.

Fear Street Part Two: 1978

When a killer terrorizes Camp Nightwing, a supposedly fun summer turns into a gruesome fight for survival.

“Fear Street Part Two: 1978” continues the adventure of Deena (Kiana Madeira), Josh (Benjamin Flores Jr) and Sam (Olivia Scott Welch).

After the tragic supermarket massacre, Deena firmly believes that Sarah Fier’s curse is real. It killed her friends and it almost killed her brother and girlfriend.

But its all over now. Right?

Later that night, C. Berman (Gillian Jacobs) phones Deena to inform her that there is no escaping the witch’s curse. And in that moment, Sarah Fier possessed Sam and turned her into a killer.

Josh and Deena subdued Sam. They travelled to C. Berman’s house who reluctantly helped them.

C. Berman is one of the few survivors in the infamous Camp Nightwing massacre.

It happened in 1978, Ziggy (Saddie Sink) and Cindy Berman (Emily Rudd) attended Camp Nightwing, a summer camp for Shadyside and Sunnyvale teens. It’s supposed to be a fun-filled day until Cindy’s boyfriend, Tommy Slater, starts to brutally butcher the kids there. Including Berman’s own sister.

Fear Street Part One: 1994

In this horror-slasher film, Five teenagers band together to fend off the evil entity that has afflicted their town for ages.

“Fear Street Part One: 1994” is a film adaptation of Fear Street books by R. L. Stine (Goosebumps). It is the first part of the “Fear Street” trilogy, all dropping to Netflix in a few weeks.

Directed by Leigh Janiak, this teen-slasher film packs in all the fun, the nostalgia, the thrill, the style and the gore, horror movie fans will surely love.

“Fear Street” is about the town of Shadyside. A town so famously known for its numerous murders and mysteries that people start to dubbed it as “the murder capital of the United States."

Meanwhile, a neighboring town called Sunnyvale is known for its long history of zero murder or crime. It is basically the safest (and richest) city in the country. Shadyside’s complete antithesis.

But why so? What makes Sunnyvale so perfect, and Shadyside (the locals even call it “Shittyside”) so terrible?

Many Shadyside teenagers think that this is the result of a curse placed on the town by a one-handed witch, Sarah Fier. An evil woman hanged and buried in 1666.

Deena Johnson does not believe in all this nonsense. Even though her brother Josh spends all of his time talking about it; all the bad things that happen in the town are the effect of people having a bad life.

Deena, herself, knows it because that is what has been happening in a long time.

Her father is a drunk. Her two best friends, Kate and Simon, are drug pushers. And, Sam, her ex-girlfriend moved to Sunnyvale. Deena still loves her, but it is so difficult to connect with her, not with her jerk boyfriend always lurking around.

Even though these all sound terrible, the worst has yet to come for Deena.

People are starting to commit horrendous murders again. And their next target is none other than Deena’s old flame.

The Tomorrow War

Chris Pratt gets drafted to fight in a future battle in which his capacity to confront his past will determine humanity's fate.

Chris McKay (The LEGO Batman Movie) marks his live action directorial debut with this high concept science-fiction film starring Chris Pratt.

“The Tomorrow War” follows the family-man Dan Forester (Chris Pratt), a former Green Beret who is now a Biology teacher.

One day, while watching the World Cup, soldiers from the year 2051 appeared from nowhere to warn the people about an incoming alien invasion. They said that in their time, humanity is on the verge of extinction due to some species they call "Whitespikes". An aggressive tentacled creature that likes to eat human flesh.

As a result, all the world's forces unite to help the people of the future. However, all the armies they dispatched were annihilated in weeks, triggering a worldwide draft.

Shortly afterward, Dan receives a notification that he has been drafted to fight the war. But in a major twist, his involvement in the war is not a coincidence. It actually means more than what he expects.

Wild Little Love

He was a poor boy. She was a rich girl. Can love blossoms between them?

Teen stars Andrea Brillantes and Seth Fedelin leave their marks as the up and coming loveteam to look out for.

“Wild Little Love” follows the story of Sam (Andrea Brillantes), a wild child from a prestigious academy. Despite her popularity and beauty, she is a renown prankster and bully.

One day, her father, Luis (Alfred Vargas), decided to discipline his daughter by sending her to a public school. The deal is simple. She only needs to stay for a year there. And if she shows signs of humility, she can go back to her old life.

However, it won’t be easy. Not for a certified rich girl like her.

Good for her that the poor yet hard working ladies man, Jake (Seth Fedelin), is there to help her adjust to the new world.

It is a classic rich girl meets poor boy affair. And like any great love stories, their love is forbidden as their world cannot meet.

Wish Dragon

When Din meets a wish-granting dragon who shows him the magic of possibilities, he goes on a journey to meet his childhood friend.

Yet another Netflix China-based movie that is, in some ways or another, a riff-off of fan favorites Disney movies.

“Wish Dragon” draws close similarities to Aladdin, but director Chris Appelhans seems unconcerned about this. Besides, there are “differences” like the dragon and the jade teapot.

Din (Jimmy Wong) is a college student who hopes to reconcile with Li Na (Natasha Liu Bordizzo), his childhood buddy who has since moved away from his neighborhood. She is now a member of society's upper crust.

One day, while delivering food around the city, Din meets an old man who handed him a teapot. Inside it is a wish-granting dragon named Long (John Cho).

Long informs Din that in order to enter the Spirit world, every dragon must serve ten masters by granting them three wishes. Din is his tenth master.

Obviously, Din intends to use his wishes to reunite with Li Na. But a group of nasty gangsters led by Pockets (Aaron Yoo) were on his tail to steal the teapot.

Trese

Alexandra Trese must keep the peace in Manila, where dark supernatural energies pervade, however there is something bigger lurking.

“Trese” was based on the first three issues of its comic book series, written by Budjette Tan and illustrated by Kajo Baldisimo. It is a supernatural horror-drama story that combines Filipino tradition and a crime-thriller backdrop.

The series follows Alexandra Trese (Liza Soberano), a healer-warrior who protects humanity against supernatural beings. She is most known as the present-day “lakan” or the keeper of  peace between humanity and the supernatural world.

Acting as her sidekicks are Crispin and Basilio (Simon dela Cruz). Two dashing demigods with the ability of flight and to conjure magical masks and pistons. Hank  Sparrow (Christopher Carlo Caling), a bartender and a close ally of the Trese family. And Santelmo (R.J. Celdran), a fire spirit living inside a Nokia 3210 cellphone.

Trese’s day-to-day job is to assist Kapitan Guerrero (Apollo Abraham) with cases involving the supernatural. Although, majority of the cases are procedural, Trese's tactics are more unconventional, involving rituals and the usage of mystical items. She often consults the underworld for insights, such as the Nuno sa Manhole, the Wind Tribes, and tikbalang clan leaders.

But despite her best effort to maintain the balance between worlds, someone is determined to disrupt it. His name is Datu Talagbusao, the god of war. He only wants one thing, to destroy the world and create a new one. And to do that, he needs Alexandra Trese.

Friends: The Reunion

Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, and David Schwimmer reunite after 17 years to talk about their experiences, memories, and love for the classic TV show "Friends".

"Friends: The Reunion" premieres at HBO Max (HBO Go in the Philippines) after a series of delays, and it was awesome, surreal, beautiful, sad, and disappointing.

"Friends: The Reunion" is not another episode of Friends. It is no sitcom. Instead, it is more like a documentary-slash-roundtable-slash-interview with the casts.

The film opens with the six actors revisiting the show's set. The production team built a studio replica for the reunion, complete with Joey and Chandler's chair, Monica's cookie jar, and the awkward beam back in season one. Seeing all the actors in one room is bizarre and touching.

As the six friends start to reminiscence their time with the show, director Ben Winston throws in a surprise. The screen fades out, and The Rembrandts's "I'll Be There for You" starts to play. And it was the best bit of the entire film!

Four Sisters Before the Wedding

Mae Cruz-Alviar brings back the beloved Salazar sisters to tell the story of what happens ten years before the 2013 dramedy film.

After the events of “Four Sisters and a Wedding”, the Salazar sisters return to help their younger brother with his love-related issue. As they think of a way to help him, they recall what happened ten years ago.

When Bobbie (Alexa Ilacad) and Alex Salazar (Gillian Vicencio) are on their way to see Chad (Joao Constancia), they overheard the conversation between their parents about their failing marriage.

So they immediately let their sisters, Teddie (Charlie Dizon) and Gabbie (Belle Mariano), know about it. And together, they made a plan.

They will lead an investigation to find out if their parents are really cheating on each other. If it is true, they will confront their paramours to drive them away.

Then they will be able to keep their family together, and it's happy ever after. Or so they think.

Steal

Bona Fajardo’s formulaic and quirky caper follows a trio of brave Filipinas in an impossible mission to steal cash from a dangerous crime lord.

Three Filipinas bond over their dilemmas and needs to earn cash in the city of Kitakyushu in Fukuoka, Japan.

Hiyasmin Macaraig (Meg Imperial) is saving for the kidney transplant of his father. So she works on different odd jobs, after the restaurant she works in decided to close.

Cynthia Mae Valdes or CM (Ella Cruz) provides for her jobless live-in partner and their kid. She is an English tutor coming to Japan, but she now works as a bartender.

Mitch Sarmiento (Jennifer Lee) is a bright student from Kitakyushu. However, she developed an addiction to Pachinko due to the stress of studying. She is now trying to pay back the hundreds of Yen she owes to the loan shark, Ayumi.

After helping a woman named Platinum (Nathalie Hart) fight off her abusive but rich husband, the three girls decided to join her intention for revenge.

The plan is to steal a bag full of cash inside a billiards place. At first, they are hesitant. Going against a notorious crime lord could potentially kill them.

But their determination for freedom and for family weighs more than fear of death or capture.

Thunder Force

Melissa McCarthy and Octavia Spencer are unlikely superheroes determined to defeat an evil politician in this comedy film directed by Ben Falcone.

Emily Stanton (Octavia Spencer) is not a nerd; she is smart. There's a difference.

She is actually so smart that she was able to establish her own company/laboratory. She also developed a process that will give her superpowers to defeat miscreants.

Miscreants is the term given to people with superpowers who use it for bad purposes. Emily's parents died at the hands of a miscreant when she was younger and what she got left from them is their research about giving normal people superpowers. It is why she is so determined to finish her parents' work.

She is successful, though. She can even make herself invisible, now. But she still needs a lot of training and maintenance to do before she can defeat a miscreant.

One day, Emily's estranged best friend Lydia (Melissa McCarthy) visited her to invite her to their school reunion.

Back when they were kids, Lydia is the only person that stood up by Emily's side when she was getting bullied for being smart. Even if they have opposite characteristics, they got along so fast. But their different priorities in life put an end to their friendship.

Lydia now works as a forklift operator, but that hardly matters anymore. Because Lydia accidentally injected herself with a superpower serum that will give her super-strength.

With no way of undoing the process, Emily decided to team up with Lydia to defeat Miscreants. They call themselves Thunder Force, and it is up to them now to defeat the supervillain who calls himself, The King (Bobby Cannavale).

A Week Away

A delinquent kid falls in love with a religious girl in this Christian "Camp Rock" directed by Roman White.

Will Hawkins (Kevin Quinn) is a foster kid that has been through seven schools and 22 homes already. He is a troubled teenager with a long list of misdeeds. So basically, he is not the type of guy you will see in Christian camps. 

But his recent arrest for attempting to steal a police car forces him to join one, or else it means juvenile detention. 

Camp volunteer and her son, Kristin (Sherri Shepherd) and George (Jahbril Cook), help him know the mainstays at Camp Aweegaway. There is Presley (Kat Conner Sterling), George's crush. Sean (Iain Tucker), a camp tribe leader. David (David Koechner), the camp's administrator. And then there is Avery (Bailee Madison), the adorable daughter of the camp's director.

Will falls for Avery on the very first day at the camp. But to know her, he must get closer to her. 

So Will pretended to be George's cousin and fabricated some stories about himself to look cool and fab. 

But as the two get closer, the gravity of Will's lies and secrets starts to weigh in. What will Avery say if she finds out the truth about him?

Zack Snyder's Justice League

Zack Snyder returns to finish an unfinished business with this new cut of a beloved superhero team.

Many years ago, a tyrannical ruler named Darkseid (Ray Porter), with his legions of enhanced species called Parademons, tried to conquer Earth using three powerful devices they call the Mother Box. These boxes hold tremendous power and combining them into one means destruction.

But his attempt was unsuccessful as the Olympian Gods, Amazons, Atlanteans, the humans, and a Green Lantern joined forces to drive him off. The boxes were then separated and hidden in secret locations around the planet. 

Fast forward to the present time. 

The world is mourning the death of Superman (Henry Cavill), and without him, the Earth is defenseless against otherworldly beings. So Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck), or The Batman, plans to build a superhero team consisting of metahumans.

Diana Prince (Gal Gadot), or Wonder Woman, is the first to join the team. Barry Allen (Ezra Miller), Victor Stone (Ray Fisher), and Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa) follow afterward. 

Together they are called the Justice League.

Meanwhile, a powerful being visits Earth to find the three Mother Boxes. His name is Steppenwolf (Ciarán Hinds), and he wants to offer the devices to his master, Darkseid.

Bruce Wayne knows that Steppenwolf will do anything to complete his mission. Although he has a team now, it turns out that the enemy is far more powerful than they expected. And there seems to be only one person that can defeat him, Superman.

Yes Day

Miguel Arteta’s latest Netflix film is a family comedy about a mom and dad who decided to say yes to their kids’ wildest requests.

Saying yes to everything is the theme of Carlos and Allison's relationship. That is why their lives are always fun and exciting.

But when the two married and got three kids, everything changed.

Katie, Nando, and Ellie are as adventurous as they were back in the days. However, as parents, they feel like they need to say ‘no’ to protect their innocent little children. They don’t want to be mean; it is their weird way of saying that they love them. It’s called parenting, by the way.

But It turns out the kids are taking the whole ‘no’ thing negatively.  In a parent-teacher conference, Katie’s teacher reads her haiku about a prisoner in a birdcage. Whereas Nando’s teacher presented a film montage portraying Allison as a controlling dictator. 

Things are quickly going out-of-hand, and they don’t know what to do about it.

So one school employee, who is a father of six, shares his solution – ‘Yes Day’. It means that they will say ‘yes’ to every request their children ask within 24 hours. It is the perfect fix to their problem, one fun day everyone will enjoy. That will show them, right? 

Moxie

Directed by Amy Poehler, this adaptation of a book with the same name sends an empowering message to the young girls of this generation: crush patriarchy!

Vivian (Hadley Robinson) is the most obedient person in her school. According to the unofficial list that some boys started. 

Though it holds a little truth, she is not just the type of person that would cause any trouble with anyone. She believes that if someone is annoying, just let him be. He will get tired of it eventually, right?

It works all the time for Vivian; she keeps her head low, and no one notices her. 

But not for the other girls, though. 

It turns out, the boys in her school can be more than just annoying. They are jerks, sexists, and offensive. Its absurd no one is even taking a stand against them. They rank girls based on their bodies and how they perceived them, and they make inappropriate gestures towards them.

After witnessing their star athlete (Patrick Schwarzenegger) harass a new girl (Alycia Pascual-Peña), Vivian starts to see this maltreatment more clearly. And she wants to change it.

Inspired by her mom's (Amy Poehler) rebellious past, she begins to publish anonymous zine calling out these indecencies towards women.

This one-time, one-girl revolution becomes an instant hit. It earns Vivian allies and friends, but without many enemies, of course.