REVIEW: My Cactus Heart

Title: My Cactus Heart

Director: Enrico Santos

Producer: Star Cinema

Distribution: Star Cinema

Date of premiere: January 25, 2012

The romantic film My Cactus Heart is Star Cinema's first offering for 2012. It sets a tone for the local film production outfit, that all their films for the year will be shallow and saccharine.

My Cactus Heart tells the story of Sandy (Maja Salvador), who does not believe in love, and chooses to break as many hearts as she can. She then meets Karlo (Matteo Guidicelli), a singing waiter, who convinces her to take a shot at romance.

It is undeniable that the two leads, played by real-life sweethearts Maja Salvador and Matteo Guidicelli, has infectious chemistry. The two light up the screen whenever they are in the frame, and their presence makes the story of found love believable.

Maja is lovable as Sandy, who should have been characterized as a mean girl but was instead shown to be sweet and endearing. Matteo, on the other hand, is charming as a humble young man who says his Tagalog lines stiltedly, playing up the appeal of an almost-foreign accent.

The problem with My Cactus Heart is that too many stories are added to the batch, complicating Sandy and Matteo's love story.

Sandy's father left them when she was young. Karlo has an absentee mother. The bank can take Karlo's house at any time. All of these stories are developed, then droppped when the film reached its conclusion. All these make the film longer than how it should be.

My Cactus Heart also tries to capture the current era by toying with recent trends in cinema, like found footage, animation, and sped up and over-the-top scenes. What it does is admirable, so it is a pity that these only existed in the film's first half. But then again, these moments were not made well, so having less of them might be a good thing too.

Several actors playing support manage to make a mark. Xian Lim enchants as Sandy's suitor, Gee Canlas is made to deliver hilarious lines and survives the order, Joy Viado's mere presence is funny, and Rosanna Roces's quiet suffering is remarkable.

In the end, My Cactus Heart is a sweet film that delivers some good laughs at times. If you want to see a romantic film early this year, then this film is for you. But don't expect a masterpiece.

RATING: 2 stars out of 5
SUMMARY: Matteo Guidicelli and Maja Salvador are charming in a movie with a messy screenplay. You might want to skip this one.

(First published in PEP.ph. Article has been reworked.)

REVIEW: A Mother's Story

Title: A Mother's Story
Director: John-D J. Lazatin
Producer: TFC
Distribution: Star Cinema
Date of premiere: January 8, 2012

A Mother's Story is a film that is single-handedly destroyed by its trailer. But although the film's screenplay has been made very predictable, lead actress Pokwang's outstanding performance saves the film from being mediocre.

Produced by TFC, ABS-CBN's international channel, A Mother's Story tells the story of Medy (Pokwang), a make-up artist who decides to work in the United States illegally to support her growing family. She meets an old friend named Helen (Beth Tamayo), who introduces her to a bickering American couple so she can work for them. The arrangement proves to be hard for Medy, who is detained by the couple by taking her passport from her.

Years later, Medy goes home to her family, who has now developed a strong animosity against their previously missing mother. Medy is then faced with the struggle to keep her family together while keeping her suffering a secret.

The story of A Mother's Story is not that original. We have seen this story again and again in movies, and even more in television shows like ABS-CBN's own Maala-Ala Mo Kaya. But that fact still doesn't make the OFW story less timely, as it is still part of our government's policy to send workers abroad. Still, this familiarity works against A Mother's Story.

It is also quite frustrating that the little twists that the film introduces to keep the story fresh have been hijacked by the trailer. The film tells the story in an unconventional manner--what happened to her as an OFW is told in flashbacks--and much of the film's climax hinges on the mystery of Medy's "unknown" sufferings as an OFW. But the trailer shows all of these hardships, so what was supposed to be a satisfying reveal has been rendered useless.

What glues the film together is Pokwang's brilliant performance as Medy. Known as a comedic actress in ABS-CBN, it is refreshing to know that Pokwang is good in drama. Her presence is enough to convince the viewer to ignore the film's familiarity and to stay glued to their seats.

RATING: 3.5 stars out of 5
SUMMARY: Pokwang's performance is strong enough to warrant the viewer's attention, even if the movie's themes are not that original.