Star Powerhouse

CINEMALAYA - SHORTS A (2017) FATIMA MARIE TORRES AND THE INVASION OF SPACE SHUTTLE PINAS 25 (Carlo Francisco Manatad, 2017) - ★★★☆☆ Although the title was as subtle as Jason Mraz's Waiting for My Rocket to Come, there were still a lot of funny bits here that kept me erect, er, entertained in my seat.

SPOILER ALERT!! JUANA AND THE SACRED SHORES (Antonne Santiago, 2017) - ★★☆☆☆ Similar to Pina, this dance film was just too artsy for my basic tastes. Kwento ko na lang sa inyo mga bes. So merong long-legged Ate Dyosa na nag-trip magsayaw sa maduming batis. Biglang dumating si Gluta Koya na may dalang santol at more join sa ballet nya.

Ang Pamilyang Hindi Lumuluha (Mes de Guzman, 2017)) One long and badly-edited sitcom. It would have been more bearable if most of the jokes (in the vein of Dolphy and Babalu circa 90s) were actually funny, except that they weren't. I had more laughs watching The Lilian Velez Story.

My notes on Nabubulok  (Sonny Calvento, 2017) : 1. Whatever happened to that Anti-Chismis Law? In a country powered by daily gossip (ranging from the newest kabit of your neighbor to the escapades of the resident office slut to the questionable sexual preference of a popular matinee idol), could that even be successfully implemented? The great Jessica Zafra once said that we could never breed serial killers in our country because we're a nation of nosy people. Secrets could never be kept for long in a community since Pinoys are naturally suspicious of the littlest odd behaviours of others.

My notes on Sa Gabing Nanahimik ang mga Kuliglig: 1. It was probably during the scene where Hector (Ricky Davao) was wailing over the corpse of his wife Dolores (Mercedes Cabral) that I realized I had watched something similar to this before. It looked very much like the same red herring thrown around in another murder-mystery set in a swampland. My suspicion was further confirmed when self-confessed killer Magda (Angel Aquino) had that fantastical dream sequence where she ended up seeing a floating dead body that actually turned out to be her. Yes, I was definitely watching a version of Sam Raimi's The Gift, except that the supernatural element was replaced by a religious theme. Nyek! 2. I shouldn't even be complaining that the movie chose to head into that direction because I initially thought I was watching Senakulo: The Movie and it would really be Easter Sunday 2018 by the time it completed the twelve stations of the cross (thankfully, it abandoned that concept wh...