Happy Gilmore 2 — Movie Review

After winning his first Tour Championship in 1996, Happy Gilmore (Adam Sandler) continued to dominate the golf scene and build a fulfilling life. Over the years, he secured five more championships and had five children with his wife, Virginia Venit (Julie Bowen).

But everything changed when tragedy struck. During one of his games, Happy’s powerful drive accidentally killed Virginia. Devastated by guilt and grief, he quit golf to focus on raising their five children. The loss also pushed him into alcoholism.

For a long time, Happy disappeared from the spotlight. He lost their home, ran out of money, and now works in a supermarket just to get by. His four sons take on jobs to help support him and their younger sister, Vienna (Sunny Sandler). Vienna dreams of studying ballet, but the tuition is far more than Happy can afford.

One day, Happy is approached by Frank Manatee (Benny Safdie), the flashy CEO of Maxi Energy Drink and the new golf league called Maxi Golf. Frank invites him to play in an upcoming tournament. Happy declines and their meetup ends with Frank swimming with fishes.

But still, the encounter sparks something in him. With support from his kids and encouragement from his tenant, John Daly, he picks up a golf club again for the first time in years.

As Happy returns to the green, he discovers that he still got the powerful drive in his arsenal. But one the major problem keeping him down is his alcoholism. He must find the strength to overcome his addiction and confront his grief head-on if he wants any chance of making a real comeback.

Uninvited — Movie Review

Lilia Capistrano (Vilma Santos) has a plan. She is going to kill billionaire Guilly Vega (Aga Muhlach) at his mansion during his 55th birthday party.

Why? Well, there’s a lot of reasons.

The Vega family is powerful, but they are also heartless, entitled, and dangerous. Guilly’s wife, Katrina (Mylene Dizon), is simply apathetic. She couldn't care less about her constituents. Their daughter, Nicole (Nadine Lustre), is a troubled young woman with drug addiction. 

But Guilly Vega is the worst of them all. He’s a corrupt politician with a long history of wrongdoings and crimes. One of the most horrific of it is the random abduction of Lilia’s daughter (Gabby Padilla) and her boyfriend (Elijah Canlas).

Lilia knows justice will not be served through the legal system. The Vega family has influence, money, and deep political connections. Even if she takes them to court, the outcome is almost certain. She will lose.

That leaves her with only one choice.

She must take justice into her own hands.

Espantaho — Movie Review

Pabling (Emil Sandoval) is dead.

His daughter, Monet (Judy Ann Santos), prepares for the traditional pasiyam, a nine-day mourning ritual meant to honor the dead and guide the soul into the afterlife.

Things take a turn when Pabling’s legal wife, Adele (Chanda Romero), arrives. She comes with her two children, Andie (Janice de Belen) and Roy (Mon Confiado), and they are determined to sell the family’s old ancestral house along with all remaining properties. Their plan will surely evict Monet’s family, including her son Keith (Kian Co), her mother Rosa (Lorna Tolentino), and her partner Jack (JC Santos), who are all currently living in the house.

As the family conflict unravels and intensifies, a mysterious entity which is seemingly tied to a strange painting of a scarecrow starts terrorizing the home.

My Future You — Movie Review

Karen (Francine Diaz) and Lex (Seth Fedelin) weren’t really looking for love.

Karen is more concerned about her mom’s relationship with her stepdad. It’s not that they’re a bad match, but Karen still longs for her real dad. Deep down, she wishes her parents would get back together.

Lex, on the other hand, is still processing the loss of his family, who died in a tragic boat accident. His adoptive parents treat him well, and he lives a comfortable life, but things just feel different. There’s a part of him that still feels disconnected with them.

So no, they weren’t searching for love. But somehow, they meet on an online dating app.

As they get to know each other, they begin to unpack their emotions and share pieces of their past. Then, they realize one huge thing.

They are living in two different timelines.

And the Breadwinner Is… — Movie Review

When OFWs return, they are often excited, with huge smiles on their faces. No more lonely days. No more video calls. No more packing of balikbayan boxes. 

Finally. Home.

But when Bambi Salvador (Vice Ganda) first steps back into her hometown of Pampanga, her face reflects confusion and frustration. For years, she worked tirelessly, doing odd jobs, from being a masseuse to drag, just to earn money to renovate their family house. Yet, the house remains the same, only older.

Apparently, the money for the renovation went elsewhere.

Bambi is understandably furious. Her brother, Biboy (Jhong Hilario), admits he mishandled the money. Although Biboy’s wife, Mayet (Gladys Reyes), insists that it was spent on efforts to earn more, it’s the feeling of betrayal that hurts Bambi the most. Her other two siblings, Buneng (Maris Racal) and Boying (Kokoy de Santos), also lied to her about the supposed renovation.

To make matters worse, Baby (Eugene Domingo), her estranged older sister, mysteriously returns from Italy, further complicating Bambi’s situation.

Despite being back to square one, tired, angry, and disappointed, Bambi, as the breadwinner of the Salvador family, picks herself up. She must do whatever it takes to save her family. 

KPop Demon Hunter — Movie Review

Rumi (Arden Cho), Mira (May Hong), and Zoey (Ji-young Yoo) are the stars of Huntrix, a wildly popular Korean girl group. Fans around the world adore them. Their songs, style, and energy can easily light up every stage.

But behind all the fame and glamor, the world doesn’t know their biggest secret.

They’re not just pop stars. They’re demon hunters.

For a long time, demons have roamed the Earth. They hide in the shadows and steal souls to feed their king, Gwi-Ma (Byung-hun Lee). Rumi, Mira, and Zoey were born with voices that carry a special power. When they sing, their music fills people with hope and courage. And when people are feeling fulfilled, the energy they give strengthens an ancient force called the Honmoon.

The Honmoon is what protects the world from Gwi-Ma’s evil. The more people believe in Huntrix and feel inspired by their songs, the stronger the Honmoon becomes. If enough hearts are awakened, they can create the Golden Honmoon, a shield so powerful that no darkness can break through it.

Meanwhile, in the demon world, Gwi-Ma is growing restless. His attacks have all failed and Huntrix is stronger than ever. That’s when a clever demon named Jinu (Ahn Hyo-seop) comes up with a new idea. Instead of fighting the group directly, why not destroy their fanbase?

Jinu believes that if people stop listening, the Honmoon will grow weak. Perhaps, it will fade away.

As pressure builds for Huntrix to unlock the Golden Honmoon, Rumi faces a personal struggle. She is hiding a terrible secret to her group.

Rumi is part demon.

Every day, it gets harder to keep the truth from Mira and Zoey. She’s afraid that if they find out, it will break their bond and weaken the group’s power.

Rumi’s fear grows as Gwi-Ma and Jinu draw closer to victory. If she loses her friends’ trust, Huntrix might fall apart. And if they do, the world could fall with them.

Lost in Starlight — Movie Review

In the not-so-distant future, humans have achieved what was once only dreamed of: travelling to Mars.

Nan-young’s mother was one of the early astronauts sent to the red planet on a pioneering mission. But something went terribly wrong. Her father, unable to cope with the grief, lost his grip on reality.

Years later, Nan-young (Kim Tae-ri) follows in her mother’s footsteps. Now an astronaut herself, she carries the burden of legacy and longing. Her mission is to continue her mother’s work by cultivating life on Mars using a flower known as Amur Adonis, a symbol of hope and survival in even the harshest environments.

Despite her intelligence and training, Nan-young struggles with grief herself. Flashbacks of her mother paralyze her in crucial moments, raising concerns among her superiors about her mental readiness for such a high-stakes mission. Still, no door is ever truly closed. She may still have a shot if she can gather herself. A short break back in Korea might be just what she needs.

While in Korea, Nan-young meets Jay (Hong Kyung), a former band member who once wrote a song he assumed would never be heard again. One day, Nan-young plays the song, to his surprise. Nan-young reveals it is one of her favorites, a track close to her heart.

As they spend more time together, they begin to help each other face their deepest fears. Nan-young finds comfort and calm in Jay. Jay, on the other hand, finds a new reason to revisit his career as a musician. Their bond becomes healing.

Eventually, everything comes down to a single decision. Nan-young must choose between staying with the person who helped her find herself or returning to the stars to chase the dream that has shaped her entire life.

Mars is dangerous. And it is far, far from Earth. Far from Jay. But it is also her and her mother’s dream.

Can Nan-young leave behind the person she now loves to pursue the dream that defines her?

Society of the Snow: Movie Review

If there was a director who gets lowkey attention but can make big action and emotional scenes work, it's J. A. Bayona. One look at his filmography shows that he loves large-scale stories: A Monster Calls, The Impossible, and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. His latest is about the Uruguayan 1972 Andes flight disaster, titled Society of the Snow. It's Spain's entry for Best International Feature Film at this year's Oscars.

Society of the Snow is the unbelievable true story of the Uruguayan rugby team called the Old Christians. After departing from Uruguay, the plane carrying 40 passengers and five crew members crashed in the snowy Andes mountains. The Chilean Air Search and Rescue Service (SARS) launched a rescue mission afterwards. But they stopped after 8 days, believing that everyone on board was dead.

By some miracle, half of the passengers actually survived the crash. As they wait for rescue, their numbers dwindle down from 45 to 33 to 16. They managed to survive the unforgivable cold, hunger, and avalanches for 72 days by being resourceful and doing most of the things we would consider taboo: cannibalism.

Bayona's skill at telling big stories is clear from the very beginning until the very end. He first made sure that we understood the vastness of the Andes by showing its big mountains covered in snow. The sight let us know that what they've gone through was nothing short of a miracle. A little while later, there's a great plane crash sequence. The sounds stand out here, as he combines the unsettling sounds of metal and wind with great effect. The movie then focuses on the survivors, showing all the terrible things that can happen to them while they're stranded in the middle of nowhere. He ended it all with a heartfelt goodbye and reunion, which is something he seems to have mastered since his debut film, The Orphanage.

A young man named Numa Turcatti (Enzo Vogrincic Roldán) takes us through all these ups and downs in the mountains. The decision to focus on him and his role in the whole crash is both a mystery. His name isn't as well-known as that of Nando (Agustín Pardella) and Roberto (Matías Recalt). Nando Parrado lost two-thirds of his family members in the crash. Meanwhile, Roberto Canessa is the interim doctor for the survivors. They're the two people tasked with hiking the western rim to Chile. It makes a lot more sense to center the story on them.

Even so, many things about Society of the Snow are great, from the make-up to the script. But a big disaster movie like this can always feel so small on film. There's no justification for the scale of this tragedy. The longevity of their stay feels all too short, and the decision to eat their dead friend and family isn't as convincing. Despite all that, I guess the level of realism put into it makes the whole thing so interesting and good.

4/5

The Killer: Movie Review

The Killer (Michael Fassbender) is the definition of a cold-blooded killer. His secret to his effectiveness and forbearance in the trade of contract killing is to have a set of credos: Stick to your plan. Anticipate; don't improvise. Trust no one. Never yield an advantage. Fight only the battle you're paid to fight. Forbid empathy.

On top of these rules, contract killing requires the utmost patience. The wait for the perfect timing to strike is long and physically taxing. Hence, one must always practice keeping himself calm. The Killer does yoga; he keeps a heart rate monitor watch and an iPod full of The Smiths songs to make sure that he’s focused on the tasks at hand.

But despite his meticulous mental and physical preparation, The Killer failed a mission given to him by his handler, Hodge (Charles Parnell). His client is obviously unhappy about it. So Hodge instructed a group of assassins (Tilda Swinton and Sala Baker) to dispatch The Killer and his girlfriend (Sophie Charlotte) to tie up loose ends.

Fair Play: Movie Review

Chloe Domont's erotic-thriller slash romantic-drama film is about the connection between female empowerment and male fragility.

Emily (Phoebe Dynevor) and Luke (Alden Ehrenreich) are deeply in love with each other. However, they need to hide the fact that they're getting married soon. They both work for a hedge fund company that prohibits having romantic relationships with coworkers. Since Luke is also in the running for a big promotion and Emily doesn't want to lose her job, they’ve lied to people to keep their engagement a secret.

One night, Emily meets with Campbell (Eddie Marsan), the hedge fund company’s CEO. It turns out that she’s getting the promotion, not Luke. Emily is both elated and shocked by this turn of events.  Luke, on the other hand, is confused and dismayed. So Emily made a promise that she would help him rise in position as well. But something about their relationship changed that night, and it will never be the same again.

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar: Movie Review

Wes Anderson's second feature in 2023 is about a gambler finding a greater purpose in life after developing the ability to not see with his eyes.

While the extremely wealthy and compulsive gambler Henry Sugar (Benedict Cumberbatch) waits for his friend Sir William W., he ambles aimlessly around his room looking for a book he can read. He then discovered a small exercise book by Dr. Chatterjee (Dev Patel) on the life of Imhrat Khan (Ben Kingsley), a performer who can see without his eyes.

Henry Sugar thinks that Khan’s ability will help him win games in casinos. So he goes through the same training described in the book to also gain the same power. After three years and three months of concentrated work, Henry Sugar can now read the back of a card in five seconds.

He quickly amassed a huge amount of wealth from gambling because of it. But despite his great success, Henry Sugar was puzzled by the little satisfaction he felt. There was no thrill, no suspense, and no danger of losing anymore. Could it be that his newfound ability somewhat altered him inside?

Enola Holmes 2: Movie Review

After helping the young Viscount Tewkesbury (Louis Partridge) inherit his father's land and titles and become a progressive reformer, Enola Holmes (Millie Bobby Brown) opens her own agency to be a detective in her own right. However, she still does not have the kind of respect that her brother Sherlock (Henry Cavill) has. People still belittle her skills and capabilities, until a penniless little matchstick girl finally enlists her help. Her name is Bessie (Serrana Su-Ling Bliss), and she’s looking for Sarah (Hannah Dodd), her sister, who seems to have disappeared without a trace.

The game is afoot.

Enola starts her investigation in a match factory run by business moguls Henry Lyon (David Westhead) and Charles McIntyre (Tim McMullan). She found out that Sarah had discovered something in the workshop, forcing her to hide from the authorities headed by Superintendent Grail (David Thewlis). Whatever it is, it’s huge.

Soon enough, Enola begins to uncover more vexing mysteries behind Sarah’s disappearance. Her snooping around and finding clues got the attention of Sarah’s friend and co-worker, Mae (Abbie Hern). Much to her displeasure for her determination and taking the job, Mae threatened Enola to let go of the case. But the young detective can smell that something is already burning and that it’s getting bigger. She must figure it all out before they capture Sarah and before it’s too late. To do that though, she will need some help from the great Sherlock Holmes.

Wendell & Wild: Movie Review

Kat Elliot (Lyric Ross) is a green-haired juvenile delinquent who lost her parents in a terrible car accident. Five years passed after this mishap, and she still beats and blames herself for their deaths. If only she hadn’t screamed, they would still be alive. Due to the trauma, she builds her own wall. Now she’s always mean, bitter, and angry. She starts to believe that anyone close to her will die, so she stops considering anyone as her friend and pushes them away.

Her unruly behavior instigated her transfer to Rust Bank's all-girls Catholic school, where she will be "reformed" according to the wicked priest who runs it, Father Bests (James Hong). Kat knows that there’s more to his intentions, but that’s not her problem.

Her problem is the school’s trio of determined it-girls, Siobhan (Tamara Smart), Sloane (Seema Virdi), and Sweetie (Ramona Young), who pester her. Sister Helly (Angela Bassett) and Raúl (Sam Zelaya) want to help her and be her friend, but that itself is a botheration. Her greatest dilemma turns out to be the marking on her hand resembling a skull as it connects her to two demon brothers, Wendell (Keegan-Michael Key) and Wild (Jordan Peele).

Wendell and Wild live in a prison inside the nose of the monstrous demon, Buffalo Belzer (Ving Rhames). They spend most of their time putting rejuvenating hair cream on Belzer’s head, but their true desire is to build and manage their own amusement park. Since they couldn't make it in the underworld, they tricked the unsuspecting Kat into summoning them in the real world. In exchange, they will bring her dead parents back to life.

As expected, things didn’t turn out as Kat wanted. Wendell and Wild cannot "really" bring the dead back to life, and everything they said to her is a lie. Now she must stop them before they join forces with Father Bests and make a deal with corrupt politicians to carry out their plan at the expense of the whole town.

Stranger Things Season 4: Series Review

It all started in a lab run by Dr. Martin Brenner (Matthew Modine). There, children of various ages participate in a series of tests and experiments to unlock their psychic power. One of Brenner’s subjects, named Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), learned to use his full power with the help of the kind yet enigmatic Henry Creel (Jamie Campbell Bower). But it turns out that Henry has plans of his own and a vile reason to help the child.

Fast forward to the present time. It’s March 1986, eight months after the Starcourt Mall incident. Eleven now lives with the Byers in California and is currently attending high school after losing her power and her foster dad, Jim Hopper (David Harbour). 

However, a powerful child like Eleven can not simply outrun her past as easily as that. Soon enough, Dr. Brenner and Dr. Owens (Paul Reiser) show up on her doorstep to convince her to regain her power to fight a new evil brewing at Hawkins. She agrees, and they take her to a super secret facility at the heart of a barren desert.

After Eleven’s departure, Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard), Jonathan (Charlie Heaton), and Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) got themselves entangled with the cops. But with the help of Jonathan’s friend Argyle (Eduardo Franco), they managed to work their way around the authorities to come after Eleven. With no clue where to go, they detour to Dustin Henderson’s girlfriend, Suzie (Gabriella Pizzolo), to find El’s location. As they race against time and the police, the evil lurking gets more powerful by the moment. 

Back at Hawkins, Max Mayfield (Sadie Sink) struggles to move on from the death of her brother. Nightmares, headaches, and nosebleeds. Max seems like she’s experiencing signs of trauma or prolonged guilt and grief. But when a group of teenagers, experiencing the same things, end up dead, something is definitely afoot. Even though the authorities suspect that it was the eccentric student Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn) who killed them, the manner of their death is very unnatural. Max knew it was far more wicked than a high schooler. So she enlisted the help of Steve Harrington (Joe Keery), Nancy Wheeler (Natalia Dyer), Robin Buckley (Maya Hawke), Dustin Henderson (Gaten Matarazzo), Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin), and Erica Sinclair (Priah Ferguson) to help her identify what it is.

Meanwhile, Jim Hopper, the hero of the Starmall incident, was presumed dead by Hawkins authorities. But it was revealed that the Russians kidnapped and tortured him, partly because of his involvement in their experiment on the Upside Down. During his time in prison, he got a little help from one of the guards, Enzo (Tom Wlaschiha), to send a message to Joyce (Winona Ryder). Upon learning that Jim was alive, she asked her friend Murray (Brett Gelman) to join her and save him in Russia. They traveled to Kamchatka only to discover the Russians' sinister plans for the Demogorgons and the Upside Down.

Jackass Forever: Movie Review

Johnny Knoxville and his ragtag crew are back for another movie of pure mayhem. But this time, with a few key additions.

Joining the usual gang of Knoxville, Steve-O, Preston Lacy, Chris Pontius, Dave England, Wee Man, and Danger Ehren are young and crazy admirers of the art. Throughout the film, Sean "Poopies" McInerney, Zach Holmes, Jasper Dolphin, and Eric Manaka go through the same antics as the original crew, with the exception of Rachel Wolfson, who acts as a color commentator for the group.

Guest members include Jeff Tremaine, Eric André and Spike Jonze.

Together they up the ante on pranks and stunts like sky-jumping and human-elephant hunting, all the way to exploding portalets. All just for fun.

A Perfect Pairing: Movie Review

Lola Alvarez (Victoria Justice) is a successful wine saleswoman who works for a mean boss named Calder (Craig Horner). But after getting into a fight with him and her coworker Audra (Lucy Durack) over a big client from Australia, she decided to quit and start her own business.

But it is not easy to start a business that imports wine. There is a lot of competition. So if Lola wants to stand out, she needs a big client. This is when she thinks of Vaughn Family Wine. The same big client in Australia that Calder and Audra are going after.

So she immediately went to the Land Down Under to meet the winery’s owner, Hazel Vaughn (Samantha Cain). Her goal was to get her to be her importer. But because she didn't have a proper business license, she turned down her proposal right away. 

All hope was not lost, though. Lola heard that they were looking for a jackaroo, so she jumped at the chance to strike a deal with Hazel. She will work as their new newbie cowboy, in exchange for a discussion with her.

She agrees. Hazel’s right-hand man, Max (Adam Demos), takes her under his wing. The two spend most of their days working on the farm. And as they spend more time together, they start to fall for each other.

But unbeknownst to Lola, Max is hiding a secret about his own identity.

Choose or Die: Movie Review

Toby Meakins's latest sci-fi horror film is about a cursed video game that puts the life of the player on the line.

"Choose or Die" opens with a married man (Eddie Marsan) inadvertently hurting his family by playing a cursed 1980s text-based adventure game that seems to bend reality.

Fast forward three months later, and the cursed game falls into the hands of Kayla (Iola Evans) and her best friend, Isaac (Asa Butterfield).

Kayla is a working student who struggles to pay for her studies. It didn't help that her mother (Angela Griffin) became a drug addict after her brother (Kaylenn Aires Fonseca) died, and their landlord (Ryan Gage) coercing her into not evicting them from their apartment. So, upon learning that the curse game has a $125,000 cash prize, she decided to play it.

But it turns out that this is a huge mistake, as the cost of it is death.

The Adam Project: Movie Review

Shawn Levy’s sci-fi film is about a time traveling pilot who finds himself both literally and figuratively trapped in the past.

“The Adam Project” opens with a chase scene between two time jets. One of them aboard the wounded pilot, Adam Reed (Ryan Reynolds). Adam then projects a wormhole in space transporting him to the year 2022 (28 years ago), crash landing near his old house.

Young Adam (Walker Scobell) grieves the death of his father Louis (Mark Ruffalo). His only means of coping with his sadness and anger is to express himself honestly and bitterly towards others.  As a result, he is frequently targeted by bullies at school. Despite this, his mother (Julia Garner) remains loving and protective towards him despite his misdeeds.

Anyway, future Adam travels to the past to find his wife Laura (Zoe Saldana) who went missing during a mission in 2018. But since he accidentally traveled back to 2022, he needs to get his ship repaired first before he can rescue her. In order to accomplish this, he enlisted the assistance of young Adam.

Unfortunately, the existence of a future Adam has the potential to significantly alter the timeline and cause irreversible damage to time and space. The longer he continues to live in the past, the more serious the consequences will become. Furthermore, the dystopian leader Maya Sorian (Catherine Keener) and her minions are hot on his trail, attempting to apprehend him. Compounding the situation even more.

The Weekend Away: Movie Review

Trust is put to the test in Kim Farrant’s new Netflix thriller "The Weekend Away."

Beth (Leighton Meester) and Kate (Christina Wolfe) are best friends. One day, Kate asked Beth to go on a trip to Croatia help her cope with her recent divorce. Even though she just had a baby, Beth agreed. 

At dinner, Beth opens up about her and her husband's (Luke Norris) relationship. After her pregnancy, the romance between disappear, and she doesn't know what to do about it. So, at a club, Kate suggests that Beth have a one-night stand. Beth refuses to participate in any of it, and they argue. She then felt dizzy and awoke the next morning with foggy memories.

It wasn't long before she discovered Kate was missing. With only a taxi driver (Ziad Bakri) helping her, she tries to ask for the assistance of the police, only to have her statement used against her.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre: Movie Review

Netflix’s 2022 "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" foregoes all of the original’s sequels to follow through with its own gory slasher film.

Melody (Sarah Yarkin) and Dante (Jacob Latimore), along with Lila (Elsie Fisher) and Ruth (Nell Hudson), travel to Harlow, Texas to pitch to a group of investors the remote town they want to gentrify. The town has been abandoned for a long time, and the group intends to sell the properties through an auction.

Upon their arrival, they are welcomed by the local mechanic and the group’s contractor, Richter (Moe Dunford). He had conflicting ideas about selling the town, but he didn’t try to intervene with their venture.

In one of the houses, an old woman lives with her adopted son. Dante and Melody try to persuade her that they have already brought every establishment in the area. But during their argument, the woman experiences a heart attack and dies.

Her quiet and towering son is enraged by the death of his mother. So, in retaliation, he picks up his Texas Chainsaw and goes on a killing spree, specifically targeting Dante and Melody.