Danielle Rain D. Lopez

Rating: 7/10 – ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Director: Antoinette Jadaone

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By Charmaine B. Quizon

Mind-blowing P200 million gross in less than 2 weeks and it continues to swell as I write this review proves the Lizquen’s huge fan base making them one of the most bankable love teams in the country. Weeks ago, Lizquen’s supporters were thrilled just to the thought their idols were up to another project. As soon as the teaser came out, various theories of how the plot would go spilled through social media. The film is under the Hugot director Jadaone’s entitled Together Alone produced by Black Sheep, newest brand of ABS-CBN films. It opened on February 13 in the silver screen creating queues in the cinema. The film encompasses story of love, dreams, failure, success, and courage. The story revolves around two characters: Christine (played by Liza Soberano), an academic achiever who majors in Art Studies from UP Diliman and Rafael (played by Enrique Gil), who’s a happy-go-lucky lad majoring in Biology who barely pass his subjects. The two found themselves madly in love but the former was caught to an unexpected dilemma that caused her to do her most regretful decision- splitting up with Rafael. From a driven Christine, she gradually lost her enthusiasm in pursuing her dream of being a museum archivist due to that one mistake. Meanwhile, the latter humbly became a respected doctor. The two parted ways but fate brought them together and the concealed feelings and forgotten memories of the past were unleashed

While the film has no overwhelming plot except the effective use of flashback in recounting events, the story is realistic. It is relatable. Shots and angles were conventional but the visual is exquisite credits to UP’s aged-old infrastructure and of course the museum which added aesthetics to the film. I think actors did well but not exceptional. Gil didn’t deliver an impressive transition from a simple university lad to an esteemed doctor as if he’s still a college boy from USTE in white coat. On the other hand, the beautiful Soberano portrayed her role quite well. What sets this film is its honesty. It underscores human frailty. Spectators could relate to the characters’ vulnerability and the path to courage, restoration, and eventually freedom. The film taught me that mistakes should not define people nor should they dictate one’s destiny thus never too old to pursue our dreams. In a nutshell, the film is nice and I appreciate its attempt to give audience something new for the love team Liza Soberano and Enrique Gil since they shared their first onscreen kiss on this movie. Now, that should give the audience extra excitement.

By: Mendoza, Khamylle Anne

The film was directed by Antoinette Jadaone, and was produced by Olivia Lamasan. The main characters were Enrique Gil as ‘Raf’ and of course, Liza Soberano as ‘Tin’.  Tin was an art student from the University of the Philippines while Raf came from the University of Santo Tomas. 

Tin was a candidate of Magna Cum Laude—she was an achiever & a ‘goal digger’, while Raf was a total struggling student. But even though they did not have a similar academic gaining, the unconditional love, support, and loyalty of the two remained and were genuinely manifested. Tin persistently helped Raf attain better grades through helping him review his notes during their spare time and motivate him in every way she could. Tin was a good and supportive girlfriend, she never forgot to remind Raf that ‘honor before excellence’.  Tin was so determined to succeed in her dreams, and that losing is never an option for her. And she made it, she was able to get what she wanted—the latin award and the job she strives to attain. Tin and Raf were happy, not until after Tin’s graduation.  When Tin got a job, she found out that there was an unlawful things happening within her workplace but she chose to be quiet, and act as if she knew nothing. However, the higher divisions discovered the illegal monetary transaction her boss has been doing. With that, her boss flew to the United States and left Tin deal with the issue alone. And so, Tin was held liable and was put into shame. That’s when she started blaming herself, and pushing other people away. She was lost and confused, so she decided to broke up with Raf. She struggled looking for a new job (since she already got a police record) until she met Greg who saved Tin from her chaos. In exchange, Tin worked in Greg’s company for five long years. Girlfriend slash secretary.

But then the night came when Greg and Tin went to an event wherein Tin, for so long, saw Raf again. By that time, Raf’s already a doctor. The feelings and memories knocked their hearts out the moment they looked at each other’s eye. I tell you, even if they did not say a word, their teary eyes did the talking. Since then, Raf started to communicate with Tin. But Tin was quite hard to get that she kept on neglecting Raf knowing that she still loves him. Until Tin went to New York for a business trip where Raf intendedly followed her. The two were able to talk things about the past—what really happened and what was the reason why Tin suddenly closed her door for Raf. Then Raf proposed to Tin right after they talked, but then again, Tin refused.

Basically, the film is about an oppressed love. It’s about two young people who love each other very much but not meant to be with one another. The opening of the film’s good. The cinematography was great, and the objective of the movie was clearly established. The film used warm colours when shooting inside the gallery or museums which totally make the audiences feel the warmth of each painting displayed. The flashback scenes have low colour tones too. The plot is insane, I must say. It could make you feel like you’re on their situation and would even make you cry (most especially if you haven’t moved on yet with your past relationship). But what I liked the most was the film’s choice of music—Eraserheads’ playlist. Through the choice of music, the film was able to connect with viewers’ Pinoy souls, considering too that the setting was in UP. 

All in all, I can say that the movie is exceptional. It does not only give you the feels of being a struggling-UP-student, but could also make you appreciate Arts and value history as well. Because as what Tin says, “we must not forget”, because to learn history is to understand the present.

Watching Mad Max for the second time around never failed to amaze me. It helps me to understand the deeper context of the story. The very first part of the film is very exciting and interesting at the same time. For first time viewers’, they may feel that the plot of the story is all about survival of the fittest or more so violence. The fighting scenes are well-executed especially that  they made use of shifting methods from low angle shots and high angle shots which show the whole view of the setting. Each angle was appropriate from time to time. The aesthetic beauty and rich colors are absolutely spectacular too. Although it may appear a bit saturated but I think it matches the atmosphere of every scene considering that most of the fighting shots are in desert, and they also maximize the use of lighting which incorporated rich colors and has surprisingly added to the overall emotion and theme of the film.   

The character that stood up the most for me is Furiosa. She embodied most of the women nowadays, brave and intelligent. It is also worth it to mention that this film uses Feministic approach, apart from being one of the main characters, Furiosa shows being an empowered women.  It was shown on the movie how she led the group and always weighs in what is good for everyone and helps the wives in escaping the citadel’s territory, and more importantly, she serves as assistance for Max’s flight. 

Although some viewers may think that the film’s focus is all about action and violence, granted that action films basically center on a protagonists role in which focuses on how to overcome battles, problems and conflicts and eventually succeed by means of physical actions as the key distinctive element of the film (Buffam, 2011).

Watching the film the second time around made me realizes that it also centers the aspects of reality and our daily life economic problems. One good example is, considering that the main location of the story is in desert in which people lacks water, which mirrored most of the people nowadays who earn below wage salary.

What will you choose, the red pill or the blue pill? What are you in for, the blissful ignorance or the harsh and difficult reality?

Prior to watching “The Matrix” weeks ago, all I know is that the film has slow-motion takes. I mean, growing up, that’s all I know. The fact that this film was described as one of the greatest science fiction films of all time made me look like some fool because of my prior knowledge. The film’s plot revolves around a dystopian realm that has a simulated reality, called the “Matrix” created by artificial intelligence that will also control humans. The protagonist, computer-savvy and hacker, Neo, learns the truth by swallowing a “red pill” that opened his eyes and gave him the drive to revolt against these machines. 

For a 1999 film, it had excellent visual effects. “The Matrix” was known for popularizing “bullet time” or “frozen moment” which brings the slow motion scenes before our eyes. With all honesty, I personally had a difficult time understanding the film. I, however, admire the fact that the film possesses allusions on Marxism and feminism. For the bourgeoisie and the patriarchal, “The Matrix” wouldn’t pass as their easy favorite. I have plenty of qualms with capitalism and I am a feminist that is why I found the allusions admirable. Neo’s breakaway is a metaphor; it symbolizes the revolt of the oppressed from the oppressor. Trinity deviates from the patriarchal portrayal of women, not only with her physical aspects but also her character; Trinity is a deviation from social constructs per se. 

I highly recommend this film. If you want entertainment combined with innovative visual effects and excellent cinematography, this film is for you. If ever you’ll stumble at times and feel confused, do not worry, I felt that too. You are now probably at the end of my review… so what did you choose, red or blue? Choosing blue is convenient, choosing red is bold, but easier said than done. 

-Justin Dizon

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George Miller’s Mad Max features the story of survival, escape, and vengeance in a post apocalyptic world. The plot follows Max Rockatansky, who escapes from the hands of Immortan Joe, Citadel’s harsh leader. Amidst his journey, he meets Immortan Joe’s commander in chief, Furiosa, who is also trying to escape together with Joe’s three wives. Together, they try to get away from the furious leader’s people in a dessert full of hardships and battles. As the days go by, Max realizes that the only option is to kill Immortan Joe and return to Citadel.

Even with a very little amount of dialogue in the film, the story was not quite difficult to understand. The use of symbols made the story flow clear to comprehend. Also, the Visuals of the movie worked together in making Mad Max a distinct film. For instance, the utilization of dark blue hues for night scenes and overly saturated warm hues for day scenes added to the overall vibe and emotion of the movie. The props, costumes and backdrops also helped it giving each character his or her original style patterned with the film’s unique setting, such as the creation of originally made symbols that represent different groups and complex vehicles..

In terms of its cinematography, Mad Max uses a variety of camera angles such as high and low angles to create statements about each individual. Moreover, the film focused on featuring subjects on the center of the screen, in order for the audience to avoid eye shifting from frame to frame

More than just being an action film, Mad Max creatively depicted stories behind each role by showing the deep origins of its notable characters. An example would be the flashbacks that show unfamiliar faces such as the little girl, prompting the viewers to to dig deeper into the plot. Furthermore, the film also effectively portrayed empowerment by portraying Furiosa as a fearless unstoppable woman of power.

Honestly, im not such a fan of film from the same genre but it’s one of the very few action films that I like. Would definitely watch this again.

Morales, Marge

Film Review on George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road.

Mad Max: Fury Road is a science fiction film directed, produced, and written by George Miller. It won six awards during the 2016 Academy Awards namely best film editing, best sound mixing, best costume design, best production design, best sound editing, and best makeup.

The film is set after the collapse of civilization and follows Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) who saves tyrant Joe Citadel’s five wives from his captivity. While on the run, she crosses paths with Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy) and together they flee to safety.

Unlike other action films I have seen, this film does not ease you into the fight and explosive scenes but takes you right to it. Mad Max:Fury Road starts off very fast with the action becoming a little to overbearing and hard to take in at first but becomes addicting all throughout.

The creativity and imagination put into this are a result of how well-thought off the film is. I have uncovered through research that Mad Max:Fury Road has been a project of Miller since 1997 but has been delayed and stuck in development stages until 201 2 when principal filming began.

The Academy did the right thing in awarding Mad Max: Fury Road with the best film editing. Just to see Theron have a missing arm is award winning enough. But what was surprising to know was that the film did not heavily rely on CGI for their effects.  Most of the explosives in the films are real and yes, even the man playing the guitar with the flames—the flames are real.

What I love about the film are the characters and how the females are written—they are not your damsels in distress. Imperator Furiosa goes against everything seen as ladylike. She has a shaved head, is strong, shoots guns and other weapons, drives a huge car-slash-tank, and wears the pants. I appreciate the fact that she is not seen less of a fighter than Max—they are both portrayed as equals, have just the same amount of ass-kicking scenes (if not, I think Theron has more), and they do not fall in love with each other.

The five wives although in distress are able to fight their own battles, they follow orders from Theron’s character and are not afraid to get dirty.

The film’s warm cinematography was something I appreciated. I have no complaints about the shots and angles used for the scenes.

This is a film I would definitely recommend people to see. This film has a little something for everybody. If you are someone who wants to watch a film just for explosives and fight scenes or if you want something that delivers a message that women are not sexual objects and can fight their own battles then this film will not disappoint you.

Ericka Frye

Danielle Rain D. Lopez

Rating: 8/10 – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Directors: Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski

Continue reading “The Matrix – Black Mirrored” →