REVIEW: Every Breath You Take

Title: Every Breath You Take

Director: Mae Czarina Cruz

Producer: Star Cinema

Distribution: Star Cinema

Date of premiere: May 16, 2012

Every Breath You Take works mostly due to the infectious enthusiasm of its cast. The movie's story may be paper-thin, but the talent of its cast more than makes up for it.

Every Breath You Take is directed by Mae Czarina Cruz and produced by Star Cinema. It tells the story of Majoy (Angelica Panganiban), a young woman who is looking for a man that fate has given her. She needs to look for the guy quickly too, as her doctor had diagnosed that her ovaries are drying up, and if she wants to have a child, she needs to marry soon.

After a date that does not go well, Majoy meets Leo (Piolo Pascual), a hotshot sales executive in the real estate business. Majoy then realizes that Leo is the guy she is destined for, as all the signs she needs to see begin showing up.

What Majoy does not know is that Leo is not ready for a serious relationship. Can she do what it takes to convince Leo that they are perfect for each other?

At the heart of Every Breath You Take is a new pairing: Kapamilya stars Angelica Panganiban and Piolo Pascual. The talents of these two actors have already been proven, and these appear in this movie.

Angelica gives her performance an energy that's contagious, lending the movie's humorous moments the weight it needs to be extra funny. Piolo, meanwhile, is quite the charmer. He exists in the film as an impossibly gorgeous man whose charm breaks whatever inhibitions Angelica's character has. Piolo carries this nicely.

The supporting cast are also exceptional. Ryan Bang is Angelica's rejected suitor, and he's naturally funny. Wendy Valdez plays Piolo's delusional pseudo-girlfriend, and she gets the beats of her character correctly, too.

Also remarkable are the performances of Frenchie Dy, Janus del Prado, Regine Angeles, Ryan Eigenmann, and Ketchup Eusebio. On the other hand, the acting of Joross Gamboa, Smokey Manaloto, and Carlos Agassi seem over-the-top, that it's hardly believable at times.

The enthusiasm of this large cast of characters is what makes this movie a worthy watch, because it keeps you watching, even though the story becomes boring in the film's second half. There is no real conflict to the story, hence the boredom. Plus, there are several inconsistencies: for instance, if the gang of three want Leo to marry their sister, why are they trying to kill him in the film's second half?

Patient viewers, however, will be rewarded with an ending that looks unique and a first of its kind in its genre. Without giving away anything, this ending is a confrontation that looks as fun as that four-way confrontation seen in last year's stellar Hollywood romantic comedy Crazy Stupid Love.

Every Breath You Take is a film that should be seen for the cast members who make it humorous and a worthy watch. 

RATING: 2.5 stars out of 5
SUMMARY: It had promise, but fell short.

(This review was first printed at PEP.ph)

REVIEW: The Mommy Returns

Title: The Mommy Returns

Director: Joel Lamangan

Producer: Regal Films

Distribution: Regal Films

Date of premiere: May 9, 2012

Based on the trailer of The Mommy Returns, it seems that this movie is a generic mainstream comedy film.

This is a pity, though, because this movie is more than what the trailer shows it to be. The trailer sells this new Regal Films movie's comedy hijinks, when it should have sold its heart.

The Mommy Returns is directed by Joel Lamangan, and stars Pokwang, Ruffa Gutierrez, and Gabby Concepcion.

It tells of the story Ruby (Pokwang), a mother who dies on her 25th wedding anniversary. After being sent to purgatory, she learns that her husband William (Gabby Concepcion) has hastily married a young pretty woman named Katherine (Ruffa Gutierrez), she returns to Earth to protect her three children.

While Pokwang's comedic abilities is undeniable, her role still looks like a step back from her exceptional work in A Mother's Story, where she played an OFW mother who faced hardship abroad to provide for her family.

A Mother's Story established Pokwang as an actress, one who can deliver a credible dramatic performance despite being typecasted as a dimwitted comedian in her previous works. A Mother's Story also gave the viewers the trust that she can pull off other dramatic roles, one that we are now seeing in ABS-CBN'sAryana.

The Mommy Returns lets Pokwang play another mother, but somehow her performance here is weaker. 

Pokwang only shines whenever the movie puts up an air of sentimentality, when it is acknowledged that her character is a mother who only wants to take care of her kids, and not a ghost that only brings mischief.

When the movie takes a turn for comedy, Pokwang's performance dulls. Somehow, her jokes aren't funny, and her performance looks trying too hard.

This is also the same with other members of the cast. Ruffa Gutierrez's acting woks in scenes when she's trying to learn how to be a mother, and not when she's being the butt of the jokes. Gabby Concepcion gains credibility when his character needs to bond with the children, but not when a joke is being set up. There his performance seems forced.

The characters playing the children all fare better. Kiray Celis is perfect as an angry child who cannot accept her stepmother, Gerald Pesigan's young gay character somehow elicits a few chuckles, and Jillian Ward is still a reliable child performer.

And there's also John "Sweet" Lapus, who's funny in the few scenes given to him as the Diyosa of Purga (pugatory).

All in all, The Mommy Returns is a good movie, but only when you consider its dramatic moments. It has a heart buried somewhere that can be inspiring to viewers who want to relate to its story about motherhood. 

If only the trailer chose to show its heart from the start, and if only the director chose to polish its heart more, then this will be the perfect movie this Mother's Day.

The Mommy Returns is being screened in cinemas nationwide. 

RATING: 2 stars out of 5
SUMMARY: This should have been crafted as a drama, instead of a comedy.

(This review was first printed at PEP.ph)

TV: On Jessica Sanchez and Pinoy cheating

Jessica Sanchez is a contestant on the 11th season of American Idol. I did not need to tell you that, though, since the Philippine media have been bombarding us about her since the show started last January.

This girl.

Playing the race card, the Philippine media have been telling everyone how great Jessica is. In fact, every primetime newscast--24 Oras, TV Patrol, Aksyon--has a daily item about her, perhaps to drum up support for her to win the TV contest.

This support is good on paper, of course, but what actually happens in real life breaches fairness and honesty. In the hopes that Jessica becomes the 2012 American Idol, these media entities have been encouraging Filipinos to cheat.

American Idol is a singing contest in the United States. To get the winner, the show encourages viewers to vote for their favorite contestants through phone calls, texting, or through internet voting. And according to American Idol's official rules, only individuals living in the United States and its territories are allowed to vote.

Proof from http://www.americanidol.com/faq

However, there are Filipinos who choose to ignore this rule. They happily vote for Jessica Sanchez, through many methods I will not anymore publish here. And instead of condoning these cheaters, the Pinoy media is happy to encourage them to do it.

The media may not have televised or printed these unfair instructions, but their silence on this matter is deafening. And since I work in the media myself, I know some of my colleagues who publicly post these methods.

Besides, public forums for these media entities are filled with posts of Pinoys proudly declaring how they are cheating. Take these posts from a TV media's Facebook feed:

Dirty cheaters.

This phenomenon is ironic, since the current political climate frowns down on fraud and dishonesty. Majority of Pinoys are calling for the heads of former President Gloria Arroyo and Chief Justice Renato Corona for alleged fraud, so shouldn't they also avoid committing this type of wrongdoing?

But it's not surprising really. Many Pinoys kind of live in a world where they do no wrong. They are the first to cry racism when foreigners criticize them, but then completely deny how they are racist to local foreigners like Indians and the Chinese. Similarly, for them, cheating is not cheating when they are the ones doing it.

Completely in denial.

For a more articulate take on the matter, read this: Indolent Indio