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Reviews
Between Maybes (2019)
The great escape.
This movie works. Julia was great throughout the movie acting well with good diction and showing the right emotions. Gerald works well too once you get over his accent. The few secondary characters never seemed like caricatures and only helped the plot to move just fine.
Japan wasn't as much a setting but rather its own character. The quiet nature of Saga was used well highlighting a very clear duality specially when compared to the known Philippine lifestyle. The movie is well paced striking comedy and dramatic beats at the right time. While some scenes are slow, it never felt like it dragged and the dead air is used just the right amount to give certain scenes impact when it lands.
The relationship development between the 2 leads never felt too farfetched and their character arcs are circled out well. They both act as a foil to each other to show character depth and complexity. Regardless of what you think about the ending the resolution is warranted, for me at least. This is because the main motivation and driving force between the characters were never really meant to coincide with one another. Different people. Different lives. After all, escapism doesn't need to be resolved by romance but rather it relates to finding oneself amidst the chaos of the world.
Tayo sa huling buwan ng taon (2019)
Redemption
One thing to note is that I hated the first movie. I thought it was boring and took to long to make its point. But damn, it sure made a perfect setup for this one. All the subtlety, even when it seems like nothing is happening, builds tension and actually drives the story. Knowing the history of the characters gives things meaning and delivers a certain level of anxiety - and that is a good thing.
While the first movie makes some questionable cinematography decisions, this one pretty much nails it. Making use of just the right amount of camera work that's needed for the scene without coming off as pretentious like the first one did. The characters doesn't seem like caricatures anymore and are now fleshed out. These are living, breathing, flawed humans living in an imperfect world. They're relatable, realistic even. Props to all the actors. The film also does a good job of expanding the world just enough to understand it better yet still keeping it compact. The soundtrack is once again excellent. Montages bring emotions to the screen and it surely adds to the film's overall appeal.
All things aren't stellar though as I have my reservations about the film's climactic blow-off. To say that it came from left field is an understatement. I mean, I knew it was coming eventually but... I'll just say there were other avenues for it. I like where it eventually went, but the path leading up to it was somewhat iffy.
Another thing to think of is if this could work as a standalone film? If I haven't seen the first movie, this wouldn't have been the same experience. But overall this movie does a great job redeeming itself from the pitfalls of the original. Learning lessons and improving upon it. The vagueness of the ending doesn't give enough of a resolution for the characters so does this mean there's a part 3?
Ang kwento nating dalawa (2015)
Walang Hanggan
I really wanted to like this film. Ever since I stumbled upon the music video for the theme song 'Walang Hanggan' on YouTube, I was really hyped for this. The trailer also gave it a somber yet exciting feel of a budding romance. Good stuff.
Enter the movie itself.
First the positives, Ang Kwento Nating Dalawa has very good cinematography, it made the dirty streets of Metro Manila look clean and ideal. The various establishing shots sets up the tone of the movie well. The multitude of locations chosen work and they give a good representation of both the upper and lower echelon of society in the Philippines.
There are 3 very powerful scenes in the movie, they not only unravel the plot but give the viewer a legitimate emotional tug that literally pulls the heartstrings and makes you think and re-think the previous events of the movie.
The soundtrack is excellent, I recommend you give it another listen on other platforms, they weren't featured much in the film.
Luke, is easily the best character in the movie. Working as the comic relief as well as the foil to the main character.
But sadly, these don't save the film. To begin with, it took around 30 minutes before the movie started to become interesting and even then the good parts were few and far in between.
The long take was used excessively here, at one point I even thought they were trying to emulate the movie Birdman. I'm a fan of the long take, but if used too often it loses its luster and it retroactively numbs down the impact of the scenes which benefited from it.
The female lead, Emanuelle Vera, was indeed very beautiful but I can't help but think she was terribly miscast for the role. Her talking parts takes you out of the scene and makes it hard to suspend disbelief. The fact that she didn't have much chemistry with the male lead didn't help at all. I understand that it was explained eventually in the movie why she spoke that way and all, but I think it's more of a workaround rather than a legitimate plot choice.
While the ending is very powerful, it seems that everything leading up to that point was intentionally dumb-ed down in order to make it work. It then makes you question character motivation and the logistics of it all.
Lastly, where the f--- is Frank?
The movie would've been an excellent short film, if this was cut into a 30 minute version, it would've worked to its advantage because all the fat would be cut but it could still maintain its emotional core. Overall, the song Walang Hanggan represents the entirety of the movie, a bittersweet experience that takes too long and whose shots never seem to end.
The Dark Knight (2008)
the joker wins
Just got home from watching the Dark Knight and wow, and i mean wow. The acting was great, the plot, the build up, the climax and everything was excellent and it has surely surpassed its hype! Christian Bale delivered another strong performance as the Batman and his Bruce Wayne character is even stronger now than the first film. Aaron Eckheart did also a very good Harvey Dent/Two Face; and by the way, the effects for the disfigured face of Two Face is awesome (looks like the one in the long halloween). And hell, Heath Ledger even surpassed Jack Nicholson's Joker.
And at the end of the day, after all that happened, Batman didn't get what he wanted, Harvey Dent surely didn't get what he deserved and Gotham City as a whole surely lost. It was actually only the Joker who won. It would have been better if they showed one after credits shot of the Joker laughing his ass off inside Arkham Asylum; but that would be wishful thinking.:)