THE POLAR EXPRESS

-

THE POLAR EXPRESS, above other things makes us remember what it feels like to be a kid again, and what Christmas is all about.

The visuals are strikingly beautiful, the characters lovable, and you couldn't go wrong with a Tom Hanks-Robert Zemeckis tandem. 

RATING: 5/5






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

ISDA (Adolfo Borinaga Alix, Jr.)

-
Image
It is in Adolfo B. Alix, Jr's ISDA (Fable of the Fish) that I first heard the term "magical realism". Magical realism as it turns out is the combination of the magical and the actual, or in other words the fantastic and the real. I mean, come on- a woman who gives birth to a fish? In the hands of a lesser director and a lesser actress, ISDA would have been a total mess of a film. In order to make the outrageous story work, you have to navigate somewhere between sentimental and comical, and Alix  does just that. Cherry Pie Picache shines in ISDA as a woman longing for a child; she completely descends into this poor, depressed character that you really believe what you're seeing onscreen is not some actress playing a poor, depressed character but instead a real human being. If you've read enough articles written about Alix's latest film, you'd already know that the story of ISDA stemmed from that controversial incident way, way back in the 80s t...
Read more

ANG BABAE SA SEPTIC TANK (Marlon Rivera)

-
Image
Why ANG BABAE SA SEPTIC TANK works as a film and as a work of art is because of its objective- to deconstruct mainstream cinematic conventions as well as misguided aspirations and visions of young filmmakers. Also, it exposes the actors who are in the limelight per se, embodied here as Eugene Domingo playing herself, and we revel as Domingo, representing the glamorous movie star is being brought down to the level of the septic tank (literally and metaphorically). The script by Chris Martinez and the direction of Marlon Rivera with Eugene Domingo's comic timing and caliber as a dramatic actress made ANG BABAE SA SEPTIC TANK a witty critique of some of Philippine cinema's bane of existence-those things a lot of us were enraged about, but can only do so much. A film within a film, we see a trio of filmmakers (director, producer, production manager) do a quick pre-prod at Starbucks, throw bitter remarks at their friend who has become a successful director, and get a dose of thei...
Read more

I'M DRUNK, I LOVE YOU (JP Habac, 2017)

-
Image
Familiar romcom elements abound in JP Habac's feature-length debut "I'm Drunk, I Love You." There's the road trip, the beach, drinking (lots of it), a best friend/confidante/wingman and yes, unrequited love. However, the film treads rather dangerously on familiarity that it misses being a full-blown mainstream fare by only several inches.  Co-written with Giancarlo Abrahan (Dagitab), "I'm Drunk, I Love You" centers on Carson (Maja Salvador) and her seven-year hell being best friend to Dio (Paulo Avelino). Carson likes Dio a lot, and for seven years she harbored her secret feelings for him. Jason Ty (Dominic Roco), Carson's other best friend is the only other human in the know of such intentions.  The film opens days before both Carson and Dio graduate from college. Dio takes Carson and Jason Ty on an impromptu trip to La Union province for a music festival, with the two unaware of what lies ahead. Enter Pathy (Jasmine Curtis-Smit...
Read more