Movie Review: No Other Woman

I'm still up coz I just finished watching "No Other Woman". This is one must watch Filipino movie. I should've watched this on the big screen when it came out, but I was terribly busy that time. Anyway, I shelled out 3x more than what it would've cost had I watched it back in Manila, but it was worth it!

 

This movie was a big hit in the Philippines. Adultery isn't a common movie topic and I was really curious at the ending (I'm not going to spoil it for you in case you have not watched it). I must say that this very delicate topic was well-played out in the movie. Both sides were shown, the grief-stricken wife vs. the seductive mistress. I loved how the writer played with words - one sample is the mother-daughter dialogue and watch out for the wife vs. mistress scenes. It was very Filipino and I'm sure it resonated well with those who could relate to the characters.

Casting for this movie was also superb. Anne Curtis has proven once again that she has evolved into a serious actress and Christine Reyes' play as the wife was believable. And Derek, wow, the abs! Oh sorry, I liked his acting too. I also hope to see more of Carmi Martin in more movies. I was hoping though that they would've picked a more appropriate song although I guess it's quite hard to find a song other than "Hiram" to measure up.

You can watch this movie via TFC Now, but it's available only until December 4. I heard though that it's out on DVD already (not sure if those have subtitles, I'll ask).

Movie Review: In the Name of Love

Watching Filipino movies is one of my guilty pleasures, so I dragged my boys to watch "In the Name of Love" with me. I felt it was a must-see movie based on the trailer.



I'm glad my boys accompanied me to watch the movie since my Pinoy-movie buddy (my aunt) lives in Bicol. "In the Name of Love" is a love story full of twists, turns and many surprises. I like how the narration switched from present to past. It allowed the story to unfold like a multi-wrapped present. Unlike other movies, the trailer truly showed just the tip of the iceberg - enough to make a prospective movie-goer interested to watch.

I liked how Aga Muhlach and Angel Locsin portrayed the characters of Emman and Cedes and I now understand why Aga mentioned in his TV interview that it was the hardest role he had to portray. Emman and Cedes are just like any Filipino who dreamt big. Went abroad, found love and soon-after met trouble. Both characters went through trials, a sacrifice for love and Aga and Angel successfully conveyed the pain that the characters went through.

"In the Name of Love" is worth-seeing and I don't share that much about the movie because it might spoil your experience. I heard it took a year to make this movie and I wish all Filipino movie producers would take as much care in making films so the viewing public can enjoy great stories such as "In the Name of Love".

Noy the Movie

It isn't a date movie, but Sweetie and I (in one of the rare times we watch a movie) went to see it on a lazy Sunday evening. We were curious and originally thought that the movie was all about President-Elect Noynoy Aquino, but when we watched the trailer and read the synopsis on the "Noy the Movie" website it was about the struggle of "Noy" (played by Coco Martin) to earn a living for his family.

The disparity of how the two "Noys" lived their lives struck me. One lived in truth and lived for the truth, the other lived a lie to live. Noy pretended to be a journalist to earn a living and followed Senator Aquino's campaign trail. He was in it for the money only and only when Caloy (Baron Geisler) pointed out that his work did not have any soul in it that Noy started thinking about what he was really doing.

Caloy further questioned Noy on his motivation for work. Does stealing because you are hungry mitigate the sin? Does selling drugs lessen the crime because you did it for your family? Do you just do things for your own family? Why don't you help others? Noy didn't get what Caloy said and answered back by saying he was weird.

That was the turning point of the movie and I would like to believe this period in our history is also a turning point for all of us. Truth vs. lies. Light vs. darkness. Progress vs. retrogressing (again). The last part of the movie showed how Noy's character evolved and how he tried to right things as one person. Lies to truth. Darkness to light. Retrogressing to progress.

The movie reinforced my belief that it will not take just one man to change our history. We all have to take part in it. "Noy the Movie" is definitely not a date movie (I didn't expect it to be), but I'm sure glad that we watched it instead of the other movies that were available because I felt that it was a good reminder on what we should do as Filipinos.

And yes, I cried at the end.

T2 (the Movie)

When the trailer of T2 first came out on TV I knew I had to watch the movie. I like watching local movies, especially suspense/horror ones that have a good story. I felt that T2 had the right elements like Feng Shui, Sukob and Sigaw. 

And I was right.

Don't expect T2 to make you scream while watching it, but it will keep you awake at night because the story behind it is realistic. The fact that some scenes were shot at the "Emme" in Quezon and the Camarines Sur going to Samar made me squirm in my seat. That's because the road is very familiar to me and I've heard a lot of hair-raising stories about the area. The story also incorporates a lot of local folklore about enkantos and other things that we usually just hear from our yayas, lolo, lolas and titas. 

I used to write horror stories back in college and T2 definitely had a good number of twists, not only story-wise but through it's cast as well! I was pleased that they kept secret who were part of the whole cast because it was a very pleasant surprise. I won't say who it is because that would spoil the surprise. Anyway, I loved every single character in the movie and they were all relevant and played their parts perfectly. 

Psst! Psst! I hope I won't hear that later when I go to sleep.

Here's the trailer of the movie -

T2 (Tenement 2)

Artists: Maricel Soriano, Mika dela Cruz, Eric Fructoso, Derek Ramsay, Tetchie Agbayani, Camille Prats, K Brosas, Mon Confiado

Directed by: Chito Rono

Movie Review: A Very Special Love

I had very high expectations with the John Lloyd Cruz-Sarah Geronimo tandem for "A Very Special Love". The movie trailer started showing about a month before it opened in theaters and seeing it made me excited to watch the movie.

Okay, okay I admit now... I've watched most (if not all!) of John Lloyd's movies! He's just simply CUTE!

`nuff said!

Kidding...

So today I had Sweetie and Miguel accompany me to watch the movie and I was not disappointed. I loved the movie because:

1. It was fast-paced
2. There were no boring moments
3. Perfect mix of the funnies and drama
4. There was resolution (that's where Monster Mom failed big time!)
5. NAKAKAKILIG!

A friend of mine found it corny and cheesy, well it does have the usual Pinoy-kilig-movie formula, but I must say that the story-line was refreshing, creative and light. It's a feel-good movie that will definitely lift your spirits and make you gush over the leading man (fan po ito ni John Lloyd!).

The Llody-Sarah tandem works not only because they have natural chemistry, but also because it's not pilit. They each have their own following and are established artists. The characters they portrayed simply fit and they obviously had fun doing the movie.

I had so much fun this afternoon and I'm happy to report too that my kid laughed along with everyone else (I had to bribe him to come watch with us). I laughed a lot too and cried along with the characters during the sad fez moments (and shhhhh I was very kilig too!).

So, just sit back, relax and watch "A Very Special Love".