Sinapupunan (2012)

Sinapupunan  (Brillante Mendoza, 2012) International Title: Thy Womb Sinapupunan ( Thy Womb ) opens with a woman giving birth. Shaleha (Nor...

Melodrama Negra (2012)

Melodrama Negra (Maribel Legarda, 2012) Like Loy Arcenas, Maribel Legarda has several years’ worth of theater experience to guide her first ...

Philippine Film Awards, in a Rotten Nutshell

Philippine Film Awards, in a Rotten Nutshell by Francis Joseph A. Cruz It is quite strange that for a country whose movie industry is report...

Slumber Party (2012)

Slumber Party (Emmanuel dela Cruz, 2012) Emmanuel dela Cruz’s Slumber Party is a film of undeniable charms. It revels in color. It delights...

Taglish (2012)

Taglish (Gym Lumbera, 2012) In response to a query as to when he felt his feature film was already finished, director Gym Lumbera replied wi...

Palitan (2012)

Palitan  (Ato Bautista, 2012) English Translation: Exchange Ato Bautista’s Palitan ( Exchange ) opens with a business transaction. Ramiro (...

Ang Paglalakbay ng Bituin sa Gabing Madilim (2012)

Ang Paglalakbay ng Bituin sa Gabing Madilim (Arnel Mardoquio, 2012) English Translation: A Star's Journey into the Dark Night Arnel Mard...

Rigodon (2012)

Rigodon (Erik Matti, 2012) Erik Matti’s Rigodon , unlike the many infidelity films that have plagued local theaters, eschews glamour for gri...

Celso Ad. Castillo (1943-2012)

A Tribute to the Kid by Francis Joseph A. Cruz He was the Kid. At age 21, he directed his first feature entitled Misyong Mapanganib  (1965) ...

A Secret Affair (2012)

A Secret Affair (Nuel Naval, 2012) Nuel Naval’s A Secret Affair makes a lot of noise and drama about nothing. The story revolves around act...

Tiktik: The Aswang Chronicles (2012)

Tiktik: The Aswang Chronicles  (Erik Matti, 2012) The first thing one would notice in Tiktik: The Aswang Chronicles is how incredibly gorge...

This Guy's in Love with U Mare! (2012)

This Guy's in Love with U Mare!  (Wenn Deramas, 2012) There is this one particular scene in Wenn Deramas’ This Guy’s in Love with U Mare...

Marilou Diaz-Abaya (1955-2012)

Marilou Diaz-Abaya and the Story of my Cinephilia by Francis Joseph A. Cruz I hate to admit it but the first Filipino film I ever paid money...

Of All the Things (2012)

Of All the Things  (Joyce Bernal, 2012) Of All the Things has director Joyce Bernal reunite with Aga Muhlach and Regine Velasquez, who, onc...

In Defense of the Status Quo

In Defense of the Status Quo by Francis Joseph A. Cruz If cyber-libel was a person, natural or juridical, it would have been itching to call...

Pridyider (2012)

Pridyider (Rico Maria Ilarde, 2012) The first few scenes of Rico Maria Ilarde’s Pridyider immediately reveal a particular milieu that is fa...

The Mistress (2012)

The Mistress  (Olivia Lamasan, 2012) The Mistress has a plot that feels taken straight out of one of those cheap trashy novels, the ones wi...

Of Blind Items and Critics

Of Blind Items and Critics by Francis Joseph A. Cruz You eventually get used to it --- the hate, the fear, the derision, the awkward pleas f...

Give Up Tomorrow (2011)

Give Up Tomorrow  (Michael Collins, 2011) It should have ended when the Philippines’ Supreme Court denied the several Motions for Reconsider...