Sunshine — Movie Review

Sunshine (Maris Racal) has one dream. She wants to compete in the Olympics as a gymnast. She’s talented, determined, and supported by a dedicated coach (Meryll Soriano). Her family, especially her sister (Jennica Garcia), is also behind her every step of the way.

Everything seems to be falling into place for Sunshine and she is just one step away from entering her next big tournament. 

Then she discovers she’s pregnant.

She turns to her partner, Miggy (Elijah Canlas), hoping for support. But instead of helping her, he gaslights her. He dismisses her fears and avoids responsibility. From that moment, Sunshine’s world begins to fall apart.

In the Philippines, abortion is illegal and heavily frowned upon. Society judges women harshly for even considering it and Doctors are more likely to refuse to help you since they are putting their license at risks. The public sees abortion as shameful. That leaves women like Sunshine with few options. One of them are underground abortion pills. They are dangerous and unregulated, but it feels like the only choice she has left.

During this painful journey, Sunshine meets people who challenge her perspective on pregnancy and motherhood. One of them is a mysterious little girl (Annika Co) who appears out of nowhere. She is not real, but she feels real. She represents the unborn child growing inside Sunshine and she speaks frequently to her, sometimes convincing her to not to go through with the abortion. Sunshine also meets a young pregnant child who was sexually abused by her uncle.

All of these encounters build toward one powerful question for Sunshine.

Will she still go through with the abortion? Or will these encounters change her mind?

Jurassic World Rebirth — Movie Review

Martin Krebs (Rupert Friend) is a high-ranking executive at a powerful pharmaceutical company. One of their most ambitious projects is to find a cure for a deadly heart disease. To make progress, they need rare biomaterial samples from three specific dinosaurs. These dinosaurs are located on a remote and heavily restricted island near the equator.

To retrieve the samples, Krebs hires Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson), a covert operations expert known for her experience with high-risk missions. Zora puts together a team for the job. She brings in Duncan Kincaid (Mahershala Ali), a friend and a seasoned field leader, along with LeClerc (Bechir Sylvain), Nina (Philippine Velge), and Bobby Atwater (Ed Skrein). Also joining them is Dr. Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey), a paleontologist brought in for his knowledge of dinosaur behavior and biology.

Meanwhile, sailing nearby is Reuben Delgado (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) with her daughters, Isabella (Audrina Miranda) and Teresa (Luna Blaise), and Teresa’s boyfriend, Xavier (David Iacono). When their boat drifts too close to the island, they are attacked by a Mosasaurus. Their vessel is destroyed and they become stranded in open water.

Zora and Kincaid’s team finds the shipwrecked family and rescues them. But with no way to send them back to safety, the team takes the family with them as they move forward with the mission.

Once they set foot on the island, they realize the difficulty of this mission. The island is crawling with more aggressive and terrifying creatures. Among them is a monstrous, genetically altered dinosaur called the Distortus rex. It is probably the most brutal creature on the island.

Superman — Movie Review

After stopping a war between Boravia and Jarhanpur, Superman (David Corenswet) finds himself in hot water. Though he ended the conflict, he is now under scrutiny for entering a foreign country and interfering with political affairs. One of his most vocal critics is none other than tech billionaire Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult).

Lex claims that Superman might be a global threat because of his involvement in the Boravia-Jarhanpur situation. He proposes a solution to the U.S. government, a special task force he calls Planet Watch. This unit includes his most powerful assets: the Engineer (María Gabriela de Faría), Ultra Man, and a fleet of flying armored soldiers. However, the government is reluctant to approve his plan unless he can present solid evidence that Superman poses a serious danger.

While Lex looks for a way to bring Superman down, Superman continues doing what he does best. He saves lives. Whether it is stopping an enormous kaiju or going toe-to-toe with a mysterious iron suit, he shows up. He is not alone either. Sometimes, he gets help from his loyal dog, Krypto. Other times, the Justice Gang steps in. The team includes Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion), Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced), and Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi). But their support is limited. They are under Maxwell Lord and his company, so their involvement depends on the situation.

Outside of saving the world, Superman lives a quieter life as Clark Kent. He works as a journalist for The Daily Planet alongside his best friend Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gisondo) and his girlfriend, Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan). Lois knows the truth about Clark and Superman, and they’re secretly dating. Though, it’s not working out perfectly as both would've want to.

But despite everything, from relationship issue to world-ending problems, one thing remains clear. The world needs Superman. So when Lex finally makes his move and begins to carry out his plan to eliminate him, Superman must find the strength to face his biggest challenge yet.

Elio — Movie Review

When a boy named Elio Solis (Yonas Kibreab) discovers the Voyager Golden Record at a space exhibit, a wild idea occurs to him: maybe aliens exist.

Elio is a sad and lonely boy. His parents have died, and he now lives with his Aunt Olga (Zoe Saldaña). But she doesn’t seem to want him around. She is always busy, always scolding him, and worst of all, she is sending him to a youth camp.

Elio just wants to belong somewhere. Somewhere he is needed or wanted. He believes that place might be far from Earth. That is why he dreams of being abducted by aliens.

Then, one day, it actually happens.

Because of the Golden Record and a signal sent from Earth, a group of aliens arrives and abducts Elio. The problem is, they mistake him for the leader of the planet.

The aliens want Elio to represent Earth in the Communiverse, a council of alien civilizations. But first, he has to prove himself. Afraid of going back to his old life, Elio plays along. He must now convince Lord Grigon (Brad Garrett), one of the most powerful creatures in the universe, not to destroy the Communiverse just because they rejected him.

Along the way, Elio meets Glordon (Remy Edgerly), Lord Grigon’s son. Glordon is cheerful and carefree. He is nothing like his father, who is obsessed with blasters, power, and destruction. Glordon does not want to hurt anyone, but he is scared to stand up to his father.

Elio and Glordon form an unlikely friendship, a friendship that could change the future of the universe and both of their lives forever.

28 Years Later — Movie Review

The film is set 28 years after the Rage virus. While the virus has almost completely died out across continental Europe, as most of the infected have perished from starvation, Great Britain remains under indefinite quarantine.

On an island separated from the mainland by a causeway lives Jaime (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), one of the community's most skilled scavengers. He resides with his wife Isla (Jodie Comer), who is battling a mysterious illness, and their 12-year-old son, Spike (Alfie Williams). As part of the community’s coming-of-age ritual, Jaime takes Spike into the forest to teach him the art of survival and scavenging.

During their trip, they encounter different types of infected, from a fat one to a child. But the most terrifying of them all is an Alpha, a rare variant that is faster, stronger, and smarter than the typical infected. These Alphas are nearly impossible to outrun or outfight, making them a threat to be avoided at all costs.

While staying at an abandoned house, Spike spots a fire in the distance. Jaime mentions that it is probably Ian Kelson (Ralph Fiennes), a former survivor who now lives in isolation. According to locals, Kelson has lost his mind, and most people are afraid of him. However, Spike later discovers that Kelson is actually a doctor. With hope building inside him, he wonders if Kelson might be able to help treat his ailing mother.

Everything changes when Spike witnesses his father having an affair. The betrayal shakes him to the core and becomes the turning point of the story.

Spike decides to break the community’s rules to bring Isla to Kelson, risking everything to save her. With infected still roaming the land and the threat of Alphas making every step more perilous, Spike traverses the dangerous land with courage, love, and a bow in hand.

Only We Know — Movie Review

Only We Know opens with a professor named Betty (Charo Santos-Concio) giving a lecture on existentialism, absurdism, and the play Waiting for Godot.

A few years later, Betty is now retired. She spends her days doing ordinary things like painting, grocery shopping, and cooking for herself. Occasionally, her best friend Cora (Shamaine Buencamino) and Cora’s husband, Bert (Joel Saracho), visits her. During these visits, Cora often tries to set Betty up on dates. Unfortunately, none of them work out. The men she introduces to her are either perverts or too old.

Betty used to be married; his name is William (Al Tantay). No, he’s not dead. He simply left her for someone younger. Despite this, Betty and William remain in contact. Their relationship now feels more like a polite friendship. There’s no drama and you can just sense that there's acceptance on what happened between them.

Across the street from Betty lives Ryan (Dingdong Dantes), a middle-aged man who lost his wife a year ago. He’s still grieving and unwilling to move on. He refuses to date anyone and spends most of his evenings drinking alone. Though they live near each other, Ryan and Betty rarely interact.

That changes one day when Betty asks Ryan to host dinner for the two of them after he helps her with something around the house. Ryan hesitates but agrees. What starts as a simple gesture becomes the beginning of an unexpected and intimate friendship.

As they spend more time together, Betty and Ryan discover that they share more than just proximity. Both carry emotional wounds and unspoken sadness. Through long talks, quiet dinners, and everyday companionship, their bond grows stronger.

Together, they create something undefined. A relationship only they know.

How to Train Your Dragon — Movie Review

If other islands worry about pests like rats or insects, the island of Berk worries about something much bigger: dragons.

Dragons are vicious creatures. They steal sheep for food and destroy homes and crops with their fire. Every attack is a reminder that life in Berk is dangerous and unpredictable.

But Berk is home to the toughest and meanest Vikings. They don’t back down from anything, not even fire-breathing, high-flying dragons. The people of Berk are fearless. When a dragon appears, they fight it, capture it, punch it, or kill it.

Hiccup (Mason Thames) is the son of the Viking chief, Stoick the Vast (Gerard Butler). As the chief's son, everyone expects great things from him. But Hiccup doesn’t fit the Viking mold. He’s thin, weak, clumsy, and far from fearless. He often ruins whatever he touches, much to the disappointment of his father.

His peers don’t see much value in him either. Snotlout (Gabriel Howell), Fishlegs (Julian Dennison), Ruffnut (Bronwyn James), and Tuffnut (Harry Trevaldwyn) each have unique strengths and bravery that makes them useful in battle. Even Astrid (Nico Parker), Hiccup’s crush, is a fierce and skilled warrior. She’s easily the best Viking of their generation.

Still, not everyone has given up on him. Gobber (Nick Frost), Hiccup’s mentor, sees potential in the boy. He believes that maybe Hiccup doesn’t need to be a typical Viking. Maybe he just needs to stop pretending to be someone he’s not and start embracing who he really is: a thinker, a builder, a problem-solver. Someone who sharpens swords, creates strange gadgets, and invents new things.

Then one day, everything changes.

Hiccup encounters a trapped dragon. Not an ordinary dragon, but a Night Fury. Night Furies are known to be incredibly fast, dangerously powerful, and extremely rare. According to Viking law, if you see one, you must kill it on sight.

But Hiccup can’t do it. He raises his knife, then lowers it. Instead of killing the Night Fury, he sets it free.

The dragon, however, can’t fly away. Hiccup soon realizes that the Night Fury’s tail fin is damaged, making flight impossible. Hiccup decides to do something crazy, he builds the dragon a prosthetic tail fin.

Before he can test it, though, he must first do the impossible: earn the dragon’s trust.

As Hiccup spends more time with the dragon he named Toothless, he realizes something that could change everything: dragons might not be the enemy after all. They’re not mindless beasts. In actuality, they’re intelligent and emotional creatures.

This revelation forces Hiccup to question everything his father and his entire community believe. Maybe they’ve been wrong about dragons after all.

Ballerina — Movie Review

Ballerina (2025)

When Eve Macarro (Ana de Armas) was a young girl, she witnessed the murder of her father by a man known as the Chancellor (Gabriel Byrne). From that moment on, she swore to track him down and avenge her father's death.

Following the tragedy, Winston (Ian McShane), the owner of the New York Continental, brings Eve to the Ruska Roma. There, she meets the Director (Anjelica Huston), who takes her in. In Ruska Roma, Eve trains as a ballerina and a deadly assassin, becoming one of their most capable operatives.

Years later, during one of her assignments, Eve encounters a cultist bearing a distinct mark that resembles one she saw on her father's attackers. The mark reignites her thirst for revenge. Ignoring direct orders from the Director not to meddle with them, due to a longstanding truce between the Ruska Roma and the Chancellor’s faction, Eve turns to Winston for help in tracking the cult down.

Her investigation leads her to the Prague Continental, where a man named Daniel Pine (Norman Reedus) is staying with a young boy. It isn’t long before she discovers the hotel is filled with cultists and assassins, all hunting Daniel.

When the situation spirals out of control, Eve agrees to honor Daniel’s wish to protect the boy at all costs, all the while continuing her pursuit of the Chancellor.

Meanwhile, because Eve disobeyed the Director’s orders, the Director sends her most formidable enforcer to stop her: none other than the Baba Yaga, John Wick (Keanu Reeves).

Karate Kid: Legends — Movie Review

4 decades, 3 karate kids. Now, we have a new one!

Li Fong (Ben Wang), a teenager from Beijing, moves to New York after his mother (Ming-Na Wen) lands a new job in the city. He brings with him a deep knowledge of kung fu, having trained under his great-uncle, Mr. Han (Jackie Chan). However, as Li moves to a new place, he makes a vow to leave martial arts behind. This promise is in respect for the tragic loss of his older brother, who was stabbed by a vengeful opponent following a tournament match.

Life in New York proves to be challenging. Li struggles to connect with others and feels like an outsider in his new environment. Things begin to change when he meets Mia Lipani (Sadie Stanley), the daughter of a pizza shop owner and the only child of Victor Lipani (Joshua Jackson), a former local boxing champion. Mia is kind, outspoken, and welcoming, and the two quickly form a close friendship. As they grow closer, Li begins to develop feelings for her.

However, not everyone is happy about this new bond. Mia’s ex-boyfriend, Connor Day (Aramis Knight), takes issue with it. Connor is a local karate champion known for his aggressive attitude. Jealous and threatened, Connor targets Li, looking for an opportunity to bully and humiliate him. Eventually, he challenges Li to settle things in a local martial arts tournament.

Li finds himself torn. His promise to never fight again weighs heavily on him, especially with the memory of his brother’s death still fresh. But if he declines, it's an invitation for Connor to bully him more. Plus, the prize money could help Mia and Victor with their pizza shop. Seeing his student’s internal conflict, Mr. Han reaches out to someone who might be able to guide Li in a different way. So he enlists the Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio), a former karate champion and longtime student and friend of the late Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita).

Daniel introduces Li to Miyagi-Do Karate and helps him rediscover what martial arts are truly about. It’s not about revenge or proving strength, but about finding balance, peace, and the courage to face life’s challenges.

Mission: Impossible: The Final Reckoning — Movie Review

Tom Cruise is back as Ethan Hunt in another explosive Mission: Impossible. But this time, he’s not facing a terrorist leader, a contract killer, or a rogue double agent. This time, the enemy is far more dangerous, unpredictable, and unrelenting, an artificial intelligence known only as the Entity.

Ethan’s mission, should he choose to accept it, is to stop the Entity from unleashing global destruction, erasing all of humanity. The only way to stop it is to retrieve its source code, which lies at the bottom of the ocean in a sunken Russian submarine called the Sevastopol.

There are just some problems: Ethan doesn’t know where the Sevastopol is, how to reach it, or what to do with the source code once he finds it. And time is running out. With every passing minute, the Entity grows smarter and more powerful, slipping deeper into the world’s nuclear systems and becoming nearly impossible to contain.

To make matters worse, an old enemy is after him. Gabriel (Esai Morales) is back. And he will stop for nothing to gain control of the source code before Ethan can.

As always, Ethan assembles his loyal, tight-knit team. Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg), the ever-reliable tech field agent. Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames), a veteran hacker. And Grace (Hayley Atwell), a skilled thief turned IMF operative.

Together, they devise a high-stakes plan to outmaneuver both Gabriel and the Entity. It’s not perfect, and unexpected problems always seem to find them, but if there’s one thing this team knows, it’s to find a way.

Lilo and Stitch: Movie Review

Who would’ve thought that after 23 years, Lilo & Stitch would rocket back into theaters? Not for a sequel, but for a live-action remake.

Naturally, some fans are nervous (including me!). The original Lilo & Stitch is a beloved Disney classic. And let’s be honest, Disney doesn't exactly have the strongest track record when it comes to translating animated films into live-action. Their latest, which is Snow White, was received pretty badly.

From the moment I saw the news about this remake, it felt unnecessary. In fact, I feel like most of Disney’s live-action remakes are unnecessary. There’s rarely a compelling reason to retell the same story, especially when the original is already outstanding, if not perfect.

For those unfamiliar, Lilo & Stitch tells the story of a spirited Hawaiian girl named Lilo (Maia Kealoha). After the tragic loss of their parents, her older sister Nani (Sydney Elizabeth Agudong) steps up to raise her, even though she's barely an adult herself.

Nani juggles the pressures of work and caring for Lilo, all while under the watchful eye of child welfare services. If she fails to keep up with her responsibilities, she risks losing custody of her little sister.

Lilo eventually adopts a strange blue "dog" from an animal shelter; she names him Stitch. Stitch (or Experiment 626) is an alien creature genetically engineered for destruction. He has escaped from a galactic prison and landed on Earth, prompting the Grand Councilwoman (Hannah Waddingham) to order his immediate capture. To retrieve Stitch, she sends down Dr. Jumba Jookiba (Zach Galifianakis), the evil genius who created him, along with Pleakley (Billy Magnussen), an expert on Earth.

Naturally, things spiral into chaos because of Stitch. But despite it, Lilo refuses to let Stitch go. To her, he’s Ohana. And Ohana means family, and family means no one gets left behind or forgotten.

Now, this live-action version does make a few changes that set it apart from the animated film.

The first change lies in its interpretation of Ohana. In the original, Ohana basically meant sticking together through tough times. But in the remake, it takes a more grounded approach, suggesting that sometimes, Ohana also means letting go or walking separate paths in order to grow. While it’s a thoughtful revision, it’s also a challenging concept to communicate clearly to younger audiences. And unfortunately, at least for me, the film doesn’t quite manage to explain it in a way that lands emotionally.

Second, the focus of the story leans more heavily toward Nani. The emotional core becomes her struggle to hold everything together like her job, her relationship with Lilo, and her role as a young guardian. This angle gives Nani more depth, something the original only briefly explored. However, this shift also sidelines Stitch’s own journey of self-discovery and finding a home. So key moments like Stitch running away with the Ugly Duckling book, symbolizing his longing for belonging, are missing. That’s a big loss. Stitch’s arc of finding his own family was what gave the original its emotional pull.

Furthermore, some bold choices in this version may not sit well with fans. For instance, this version recasts Jumba as a villain. Cobra Bubbles, one of the most unique and memorable characters in the original, plays a much smaller role. And David is more of a comic relief. These changes strip the film of some of its original charm and personality.

Still, the remake isn’t without its strengths. One welcome addition is the character of Tūtū, a warm, quick-witted elder who brings both humor and wisdom to the Pelekai sisters. She adds a new dynamic that feels natural and heartwarming.

The casting also deserves praise. Maia Kealoha and Sydney Elizabeth Agudong are excellent as Lilo and Nani. They truly embody their characters and bring an authenticity that honors the original. And of course, Chris Sanders returning as the voice of Stitch! Sanders is unrivaled. No other actor could voice Stitch than Sanders.

So, which version is better? That’s hardly a debate. The animated film wins, hands down. Nothing can replicate the beautiful watercolor backgrounds, the straightforward emotional storytelling, or the perfectly cast voice actors.

This live-action version can stay, though. I don't really hate it. Even if it has a lot of misses, you can still feel that its heart is in the right place. It’s the same story, mostly, with a few creative changes. But those decisions, as odd as they are, do give it a slightly fresher perspective.

3/5

Migration: Movie Review

It feels like 2023 is a year of breakthroughs in animation. There were so many good animated movies released last year, like TMNT: Mutant Mayhem and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Both of which defied the boundaries of the genre. But while everyone is pushing the envelope of what animation can do, we get movies like Illumination’s Migration, which is content just to be part of the flock.

Migration is about the Mallard family and their first migration from New England to Jamaica. The head of the family is the always-anxious Mack Mallard (Kumail Nanjiani), who loathes the idea of ever leaving their home. But he decided to migrate anyway after his always optimistic wife, Pam (Elizabeth Banks), and his always dopey uncle, Grand Dan (Danny DeVito), convinced him.

Upon their arrival in New York City, the film immediately shows us the impact of modernity on animals. They almost hit a crane, a car, a building, and a billboard. Their journey was impeded by this so-called progress, and now they're lost.

The Mallard family then meets a pigeon named Chump (Awkwafina). Chump shows them around the city and introduces them to Delroy (Keegan-Michael Key), a Jamaican-accented parrot. Delroy knows the way to Jamaica, but they must free him first from the clutches of an evil chef so he can help them out.

From there, it feels like we're at an impasse with the story. With no grand message about the human-animal relationship, the story heads nowhere. The overall message about family lacks the genuineness to make an everlasting impact. The only good thing that remains in the end is the voice work of Caspar Jennings, who played Dax Mallard, and Tresi Gazal, who played Gwen Mallard, and their funny banter with each other.

Migration never turns into the movie that director Benjamin Renner wants it to be. It awfully still feels like an Illumination comedy that relies on zaniness over emotions, story, and relevance.

It also didn't bring anything new to the table. The movie is a typical animated family movie meant to entertain kids and amuse adults. It's not even smart or fab. It has no splash. It's happy to just float along the ocean as the waves of bigger and better animated movies keep coming along.

2/5

The Beekeeper: Movie Review

When you watch Jason Statham movies, you can always count on him to wear a jacket and a cap and punch some bad guys in the face. He beat up hired guns in Expendables 4 last year. A few years before that, he beat up thieves in Wrath of Man. In The Beekeeper, he fights a global scamming agency and white-collar crooks led by an asshole Josh Hutcherson.

Statham plays Adam Clay, a beekeeper. The film opens with him talking to a kind woman named Eloise Parker (Phylicia Rashad). Eloise is the owner of the bee farm where he works; she also handles the finances of some charities on the side. Clay thanks Eloise for taking care of him. We'll never find out what that means, but things then become quite dumb. Eloise lost all her savings and the money from the charities to a group of swindlers. But instead of calling the police, she took her own life. The film never establishes that Eloise is suicidal or depressed. Hence, her death feels a bit crass and a total cheap move by David Ayer to give Adam some kind of motivation.

Like a true justified action hero, Adam didn't waste any time going to work to find the scammers. Apparently, he's a former agent for a secret group called Beekeepers. And with his connections, he managed to find the scammers location and burn it down to the ground, much to the chagrin of the company's president, Derek Danforth (Josh Hutcherson), and his security slash advisor, Wallace Westwyld (Jeremy Irons). He then warns them that they're next. 

Adam's violent ways also caught the attention of Eloise's daughter, FBI Agent Verona Parker (Emmy Raver-Lampman), who disapproves of his method. But this plot has zero effect on where things are going. It never developed into something exciting or important.

The whole movie feels so half-baked. It feels like there's still a lot about it that's left unsaid. It also didn't help that the script was terrible. But Jason Statham's effort to make it work is admirable. He does everything here. He gets into some hand-to-hand combat. He gets into loads of gunfights. He gets into a knife fight. He even got to say some bee puns. He's basically like John Wick, minus the sophistication of Keanu Reeves.

The Beekeeper is formulaic, but it works in a way since the people involved in it kind of accepted its silliness. While I'm not sure if this movie fits in the "so bad that it's good" tier, I believe it comes pretty close.

2.5/5

Next Goal Wins: Movie Review

Taika Waititi must’ve found something humorous about the determination of the Football Federation of American Samoa. Even when they disgustingly lost 31-0 to Australia and never scored a goal in the next 10 years, they still played the game.

It’s not a secret that a lot of people think the American Samoa national football team stinks. Even their own players think they stink. Well, it is all because no one really ever taught them the game of football properly. So maybe, with a new coach, they’ll get to play the game the right way and hopefully end their scoring drought.

It is bad enough that they cannot win even if their lives depend on it, but somehow it got a lot worse when the alcoholic Thomas Rongen (Michael Fassbender) got assigned to be their head coach. He coached national teams before but got such a bad reputation in games for his anger issues that the U.S. Soccer Federation President, Alex Magnussen (Will Arnett), and his ex-wife, Gail (Elisabeth Moss), had to expel him to American Samoa.

But Thomas is so wrapped up in his own mad world that he fails to connect with his new team. He disrespected their traditions. He disrespected their laws. He disrespected their team captain, Jaiyah Saelua (Kaimana). Despite the best efforts of the manager of the American Samoa team, Tavita Taumua (Oscar Kightley), they can’t seem to get along with him.

But over the next few weeks, Thomas could no longer ignore the perseverance of such a losing squad to play the game. They’re not competitive. They’re not fit. Yet, they show up for practice and work multiple jobs to keep the team alive.

Thomas eventually feels that the team needs him, and they’re not really asking him that much. All they want is for him to help them score a goal. Not to win. But to score a single goal.

Five Nights at Freddy's: Movie Review

Emma Tammi's long-awaited movie based on a popular video game series is a plot-heavy snoozefest about facing your biggest regret and becoming an adult.

Mike Schmidt (Josh Hutcherson) was a security guard in a quiet shopping center.

‘Was’ because he was fired shortly after for assaulting a man in front of his child after he mistook him for a kidnapper. A normal person would choose to confront rather than attack a person suspected of being an abductor or a criminal for many reasons. But Mike is livid.

A long time ago, someone kidnapped Mike's younger brother during a family picnic. He's been obsessed with this memory ever since. He’s so obsessed that he can lucidly dream about it and investigate it and talk to the five children who saw it.

Unemployment and past trauma are not his only problems; Mike also has to deal with his sleazy aunt (Mary Stuart Masterson). She has been hounding him for years to relinquish guardianship of his younger sister, Abby (Piper Rubio). Mike knows that she only wants Abby’s monthly support money, and she's just waiting for him to mess up so she can have her. So he tries his best not to mess up.

With his stacking insubordination cases, he’s left with virtually no other choice but to accept a job as a night-shift security guard for a dilapidated and abandoned pizzeria from career counselor Steve Raglan (Matthew Lillard). The pay isn't great, and the hours are worse, but all he has to do is keep trespassers away.

Unbeknownst to Mike, though, the place is not entirely abandoned. The dingy animatronics of the restaurant spring to life at night, and despite their cute and friendly appearance, they are extremely hostile to humans.

Triangle of Sadness: Movie Review

"Triangle of Sadness" is divided into three acts.

The first act focuses on two model couples, Carl (Harris Dickinson) and Yaya (Charlbi Dean). The two are engaged in a "transactional" relationship to increase their respective social media influence. Although both of them admit that they liked each other for real, it is not smooth sailing. They still fight over petty things such as their dinner bill, which quickly spirals into heated discussions about gender roles.

The next act sees Carl and Yaya aboard a fancy ship with an always drunk shipmaster (Woody Harrelson). Along with them are an uber-rich yet dysfunctional group of entrepreneurs. Paula (Vicky Berlin), the strict head of staff of the mega yacht, wants to make a good impression and maybe get paid more, so she tells her people to always do whatever the guests ask. They were cruising through a heavy storm, and after a series of unfortunate events, the boat immediately fell into chaos until it capsized.

The last act happens on an unidentified island. The story now follows a ship worker named Abigail (Dolly De Leon) as she tends to the needs of the surviving guests, including Carl and Yaya. After realizing that she was the only person capable of living on the deserted island, she decided to reverse the tide and leverage her power over them.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever: Movie Review

King T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) is dead.

Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett) is now in charge, while Shuri (Letitia Wright) works hard to make a synthetic version of the heart-shaped herb to keep her mind off the death of her brother.

Without a protector and a king, Wakanda is under pressure from other nations over its rare metallic vibranium. Much to the dismay of powerful countries, Wakanda stopped sharing its precious metal out of fear of misuse. Queen Ramonda knows the power of the ore, and potentially using it for mass destruction is dangerous.

Meanwhile, in the Atlantic Ocean, the CIA and U.S. Navy SEALs used a vibranium-detecting machine to locate a potential vibranium deposit underwater. The expedition captured the attention of the superhuman, Namor (Tenoch Huerta Meja). Namor comes from Talokan, an underwater nation built on vibranium, and he’s pissed off that humans are mining in his kingdom. So he attacked and killed them all, inadvertently putting Wakanda in hot water.

Namor then meets with Queen Ramonda and Shuri. He explained that Wakanda's decision to reveal itself to the world has put his kingdom in great peril. As a way to help him and the Talokan continue their existence in secret, he asks the Queen to bring the scientist who created the vibranium-detecting device to him with the intent of killing her. If they fail to do so, he will wage war against them.

Queen Ramonda thinks over Namor’s request and threat. But after learning that the scientist is a young teenage girl named Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne), she decided to protect her.

Namor is displeased. So with his extraordinary army of submariners, he leads his nation to war against a country that’s still recovering from the loss of their sole protector, the Black Panther.

Barbarian: Movie Review

Zach Cregger’s "Barbarian" opens with a shot of a house, an AirBnB that’s isolated from any houses in the neighborhood. This will be Tess’s (Georgina Campbell) new home for a few days. But to her surprise, someone was already inside. His name is Keith (Bill Skarsgård). He books the same lodge as her with a different app. It must’ve been a scam, a confusion or a lapse in the system. Whatever it is, they have no choice but to live together. He can’t go anywhere, and she needs to stay for the night for a job interview tomorrow. Also, there’s a storm and all the hotels nearby are already occupied.

Obviously, staying with a stranger is uncomfortable. Tess keeps her guards up by always observing her surroundings and locking every door she enters. Keith understands her fear and frustrations. So he tries his best to make her comfortable by offering her tea and starting small talk. After a while, the awkwardness disappeared, and they laughed the night off. Everything seems alright, after all.

But something is still off and she can feel it. Maybe with Keith? Maybe with the house? Tess would soon find out the answer after she discovers a hidden room in their AirBnB’s basement.

Leonor Will Never Die: Movie Review

Leonor (Sheila Francisco) loves action movies. She loves to watch it, write it, and direct it. She’s so obsessed with it that she would rather buy pirated DVDs than pay their electric bill. Of course, it is an odd obsession for an old woman. But this craze for actioners might’ve cultivated from the death of her eldest son Ronwaldo (Anthony Falcon) who died in an on-set accident. His death has affected her relationship with her family especially with her second son, Rudie (Bong Cabrera). 

In Leonor’s mundane life, nothing can give her the adrenaline and the serotonin like a good story of a macho man fist-fighting goons and saving a damsel in distress. So one day, she decided to enter a film competition. She pulls out an old chest, and inside it is an unfinished screenplay entitled "Ang Pagbabalik ng Kwago" (The Return of the Owl). It is about a man named Ronwaldo (Rocky Salumbides) and his pursuit to find the killer of his brother. Along the way, the brawny hero meets and falls in love with Isabella (Rea Molina). A young woman working in a bar and the romantic partner of the town’s vicious mayor.

As the old woman works on her screenplay, a television suddenly falls on her head, putting her into a coma. During her deep sleep, she is sent into the film she’s working on, meeting the characters she created and becoming an interloper in her own story.

Unable to come to terms with her mother’s state, Rudie decided to finish the screenplay Leonor was writing in the hopes that it would help her wake up.

Fall: Movie Review

"Fall" opens with BFFs Hunter (Virginia Gardner) and Becky (Grace Caroline Currey), with her husband Dan (Mason Gooding), mountain climbing. Everything seems to be going fine, until Dan loses his grip, falls and dies. Leaving the two girls distraught and fearful of climbing ever again.

A few years passed, and Becky relied on alcohol to drown out the pain of losing her husband. This concerns his father, James (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), so he contacted her best friend for help.

Hunter, who is now an Instagram celebrity, proposes that they climb an abandoned 2,000-foot TV tower in the middle of nowhere. Becky reluctantly agrees.

As they start to climb the old tower, things start to go awry immediately after they reach the top. The only ladder in the tower collapsed because of rust and age. Now they’re thousands of feet up in the air with nowhere to go and no one in sight to help them. They must rely on the few resources they have to climb down and ask for help.