Title: One More Try

Director: Ruel Bayani

Producer: Star Cinema

Distribution: Star Cinema

Date of premiere: December 25, 2012

[NOTE: This review was first published at PEP.ph]

Star Cinema's One More Try asks tough questions. The resulting ethical dilemmas are set up for tragic circumstances, but it only has a minimum pay-off at the end.

One More Try is about Grace (Angel Locsin), a single mother whose child is terminally ill. The only cure left is to get a bone marrow transplant, but Grace is not a match. She then reconnects with Edward (Dingdong Dantes), the child's father with whom she had a fling years ago.

When results arrive and Edward is also not a match, Grace's doctor (Carmina Villaroel) advises Edward to impregnate Grace, in hopes that the child will have the matching bone marrow.

Edward, however, is married to Jacqueline (Angelica Panganiban), and Grace is engaged to Tristan (Zanjoe Marudo). Pretty soon, the doctor's suggestion creates turbulence in the two's romantic relationships.

With One More Try, Star Cinema and ABS-CBN continue its approach of tackling taboo concepts in its entertainment media.

On TV, the Kapamilya company produced Dahil sa Pag-ibig, which tackled celibacy in priesthood, and Ina, Kapatid, Anak, which tackled surrogacy and in-vitro fertilization.

This direction is admirable, as it predilects the topics that will be talked about in the coming months, and their products will be the points of reference.

But despite this, Star Cinema still employs the safe route in its treatment for these issues. One More Try, for instance, is rated R-13 by the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board, and feels like it was made for that rating, perhaps to garner a higher number of audiences at the tills.

Rendering a tale that tackles a taboo topic on an R-13 script is obviously not the wisest decision. Tales of infidelity need the heat and maturity in order to hit hard and be relevant. It needs to be like In The Realm of the Senses, more than it is like The Notebook.

As it is, One More Try succeeds only because it employs the broadest cliches on how romantic movies work. Sure, both Jacqueline and Tristan get angered with jealousy over Grace and Edward's new arrangement, but there's no sexual tension to deepen this rage. This is probably why everything can easily be whisked away to a predictable happy ending.

What's most praise-worthy about One More Try is the performances of its actors. Angel Locsin and Angelica Panganiban are formidable as women who will do anything for the people they love. Had Thy Womb not make it to this year's MMFF, there is no doubt that either of the two would take home the Best Actress plum. (Nora Aunor deserves the award for a brilliant take on a silently suffering childless woman in Brillante Mendoza's opus.)

Both Dingdong Dantes and Zanjoe Marudo give intense performances, but Dingdong is more believable. In the packed theater that this reviewer watched the movie in, the audiences laughed whenever Zanjoe went into a crying fit.

All in all, One More Try features four credible actors in a controversial story that tackles tough ethical issues. You'd wish it had more bite, though.

RATING: 2.5 stars out of 5
SUMMARY: Tries to be controversial, but it lacks heat.

Title: Flames of Love

Director: Gigi Alfonso and Baby Nebrida

Producer: Gold Barn Media International

Distribution: Solar Films

Date of premiere: December 12, 2012

Flames of Love came like a thief in the night. This movie has a famous cast and a distinguished distributor, but we barely have heard any promotion for it. It's already showing, but there seems to be no effort to convince viewers that it is worth seeing.

But is it worth seeing? Perhaps. If you like watching daily dramas on local television, those terrible shows that trumpet the same plots again and again, then this may be for you. It's two-hour-and-30-minutes run is an indication of that.

This film exists to push an advocacy, namely for the pro-life side in the RH Bill debates. Included in the film are some snatches of dialogue that promote this view, like how the condom is absolutely not 100% effective, or how promiscuity is not a good trait.

But taking down this film just because of this agenda, when you don't agree with the message, is completely unfair. Similarly, overpraising a film and ignoring its faults just because you agree with its agenda is wrong, too.

I think a movie must be judged on its artistic merit alone.

For instance, I found The Human Centipede 2 to be absolutely disgusting. But director Tom Six claims it is his movie's agenda to be the most revolting horror film that he can ever do. And in the context of exploitation films, The Human Centipede 2 hits all the right notes. I give it a 3.5/5.

So how is Flames of Love, artistically?

Well, it is horrible.

Again, it imitates the awful daily drama shows on local television, and the stories presented seem all too familiar. 

Dina Bonnevie plays a single mother who raises two children away from her adulterous husband (Ricky Davao). Valerie Concepcion tries to lead a normal life despite working as a prostitute to Ricky Davao and Allen Dizon. Allen has a sickly wife who has a hard time bearing a child. Christopher de Leon and Lani Mercado have a happy marriage, until Lani thinks of reconnecting with her old sweetheart.

These many stories lead to the long running time. It's all unnecessary--since some of these stories are treated with less significance anyway, I don't see the point of it.

(One story that should have been chopped is Allen Dizon's family life. It was even given no resolution.)

Characters aren't also well-written. Many of them are supposedly godly, but pepper their dialogue with swear words. Dina Bonnevie had an adulterous husband, but then chooses to egg on her bestfriend (Lani Mercado) to betray her marriage. Valerie Concepcion's boyfriend boasts of being the ultimate playboy, but is really just a one-woman man.

All of these inconsistencies lead to a head-scratching ending: Lani Mercado chooses drive away with her old flame to Subic, while Christopher de Leon chases them. Suddenly, the usually-reserved Lani becomes a slut, saying slutty things to the guy she wants to go to bed with. And when the car goes off a cliff, Lani crawls up the cliff to beg Christopher for forgiveness. Then they kiss under the setting sun, completely forgetting that a guy is burning to death a few meters away from them.

If that isn't the year's most ridiculous car chase scene, I don't know what anything is anymore.

RATING: 2 star out of 5
SUMMARY: Over-long and inconsistent. It makes sense why the mainstream distributor does not seem to want to promote it.

NOTE:

1. I did not take notes so I don't know the character names.

Title: Rigodon

Director: Erik Matti

Producer: Viva Films and Reality Entertainment

Distribution: Viva Films and Reality Entertainment

Date of premiere: November 21, 2012

[Note: This is a review of the R-18 version. There are spoilers.]

Erik Matti's Rigodon is nearly flawless. In a landscape of stale mainstream movies relying on tried-and-tested box office cliches, Rigodon's approach to storytelling is as fresh as it is shocking. A breath of fresh air, so to speak.

The Viva-Reality* picture promises to show the raw truth about affairs, when the same is the current trend in Philippine entertainment.

While movies and TV shows like A Secret Affair and A Beautiful Affair treat affairs like carnival--that is, something to be viewed and enjoyed--Rigodon is messy and controversial, like how affairs could be in real life.

Rigodon's story reads like a cross between juicy gossip and a police brief: Riki Torres (John James Uy), an aging actor wannabe, dreams of making it big. Yet the only work he can find is to be a live model for a TV shopping network, where he shows off his buff physique to sell comical products like personal saunas and barely-working exercise machines.

One night, Riki meets a young woman named Sarah, who recognizes his celebrity status. The two spark a connection, and they start a fiery and passionate relationship.

The problem is that Riki is married to Regine, a housewife who dreams of putting up her own cupcake business. They have a kid, who is in elementary school.

What's refreshing about Rigodon is how it lays out the motivations of the characters. There's an honesty to it that lends credibility to the shocking turn of events that follows them.

Riki is already married at 31 years old, but he still dreams of being a young man who can achieve all his dreams of fame, wealth, and social status. Buhay binata, as old folks say.

It is solely due to this why he starts an affair with Sarah. The woman is young, and was the only person in the movie who treated him like he's famous, or once was.

Besides, Sarah is a welcome change to his wife, who's always occupied with household chores and taking care of their daughter. Regine also has insecurities that clash with Riki's self-worth. When Riki makes love to her, she keeps her clothes on. Perhaps her body issues make Riki feel trapped in an imperfect relationship.

With Sarah, however, Riki can feel young and carefree. Their trysts are adventurous and wild. Sarah is willing to do anything for him.

Yet Riki cannot commit to a relationship, for obvious reasons. Sarah is needy, though, and she only gives in once convinced the guy is the marrying type.

The movie would have been simpler if only the affair is focused. There are many more layers to the story though, and they tend to get confusing.

There's a mob loan shark out to get Riki. Regine delivers cupcakes and stumbles into a secret hitman-for-hire service in the slums. Sarah has a domineering father and a conceited ex-boyfriend.

What makes Rigodon relevant is that it may bring about the resurgence of bold movies in Philippine cinemas. The genre was last prevalent in the 90s to the early 00s, but was singlehandedly killed when SM stopped carrying them.

[Another bold movie will follow Rigodon soon: Ato Bautista's Palitan, an entry in this years CinemaOne Originals filmfest.]

Director Erik Matti is not a stranger to the genre. His directorial debut, in fact, was the critically-lauded Scorpio Nights 2 in 1999. But unlike Scorpio Nights 2, Rigodon feels like it will not resonate.

The ending of the movie tells us this. Riki and Regine move on to a new life to presumably forget the tragedy that befell them. The viewers move on with them.

RATING: 4.5 stars out of 5
SUMMARY: Mostly flawless, but the ending could have been better.

*Earlier press releases indicated that Rigodon will be produced by Viva and Regal.

Title: A Secret Affair

Director: Nuel Crisostomo Naval

Producer: Viva Films

Distribution: Viva Films

Date of premiere: October 24, 2012

[NOTE: This review has spoilers. I also spoil the ending. Be warned.]

Nuel Naval's A Secret Affair is an affair movie done right. It is definitely better than Ruel Bayani's wildly successful No Other Woman, which is not as flawless as how the box office thinks it is.

In A Secret Affair, Anne Curtis plays Rafi, a young woman who has been dating Anton, a chef, for only two months. While watching a concert, Anton takes Rafi onstage to propose marriage. She says yes, but only because the moment calls for it.

Unsurprisingly, Rafi gets cold feet the night before the wedding. She rushes to Anton's condo unit and breaks off the engagement. This devastates Anton, but Rafi still leaves to go on vacation.

When carefree brat Sam (Andi Eigenmann) learns of the failed relationship, she tries to move in to snare Anton, with whom she has had a one night stand months ago. The depressed Anton gives in, until Rafi comes back to his life. Sam, however, does not like this development, and so she plots to finally destroy Anton and Rafi's connection.

What differentiates A Secret Affair from No Other Woman is how they treat the illicit relationships. 

For me, No Other Woman's  greatest fault is that it celebrates the illicit affair by placing its sex scenes in romantic places, and setting them to erotic music. This complicates the story, as both the legal and illegal relationships are legitimized, thus establishing that there's nothing wrong with the adultery. The guy could have gone to any woman, conflict be damned.

The way Naval handles it in A Secret Affair is vastly different. While Anton's love scenes with Rafi are slow and sensual, his love scenes with Sam are quick and violent. At one point, Anton even pushes Sam onto a glass table. This stark contrast is important, as it gives more emotional weight to the characters' relationships with each other.

The story also has surprising depth. In No Other Woman, the lead male is only a knucklehead who starts a bad relationship just for no reason. In A Secret Affair, the affair is more complicated--Anton only goes with Sam when he's technically single, and so he is shown to be virtually loyal to his fiancee.

There's also no chance meetings, and no abrupt events that change the plot. Compare the two movies' endings: the catalyst for the resolution in No Other Woman is a car crash that comes from out of left field. In A Secret Affair, Sam drives to where her friends are just in time to witness Anton and Rafi finally break up.

I am actually pleasantly surprised that A Secret Affair chose to end with the most logical ending. No one ends up with each other, and they all go their separate ways.

Storytelling is not the only positive aspect of A Secret Affair. I liked how Naval composed every frame, and I saw many interesting shots. One of my favorites is the one where Anton and Sam meet for the first time. Sam sits in the background, while Anton pours a drink in the foreground. Anton places the glass in front of Sam's image, and he slowly fills it with alcohol.

The lead stars should also get accolades for their performances. Derek Ramsey looks smart and sensitive. Anne Curtis acts with her eyes, and her little gestures (fidgeting with her hands, little tics of the mouth) help a lot. Andi Eigenmann is naive and sexual at the same time, and so she nails the role so hard, no pun intended.

But my favorite scenes come from Jaclyn Jose, who plays Anne's mother. The movie's best moment comes towards the movie's end, when she finally confronts her husband's other woman.

I also liked the interchangeable women friends who need to be panned to quickly when they need to speak. They're hilarious.

Only a few flaws mar the film's perfect score: its social media segments feel unfit to the movie's tone, and several cameo actors could be done away with. Nina's cameo, for instance, is presented like she's the movie's star, and we're only watching her concert. (Nina sings the theme song.)

All in all, A Secret Affair is miles better than No Other Woman. Some of you may be double-thinking trooping to the theater for it because it does not have the "Star Cinema" tag, but who says only the Kapamilya film production outfit can make good movies?

Besides, will you let the middling This Guy's In Love With U Mare! to take the top box office spot for 2012? Better movies need to take that cake, right?

RATING: 4.9 stars out of 5

SUMMARY: See this movie.

Title: Biktima

Director: RD Alba

Producer: Alba Productions

Distribution: Star Cinema

Date of premiere: September 19, 2012

RD Alba's Biktima is so absurd, so bad, so good, so-so, and so funny. I couldn't contain my laughter while watching this in an almost empty SM theater.

There's really no way to describe the plot easily. Safe to say that it is an overdrawn Maalaala Mo Kaya plot, but with less vision. At least every episode of MMK has a goal, in that it either wants to showcase the acting talent of its featured star or it wants to push a broad advocacy.

Biktima has none of that. 

You could even say that nothing really happens in its one-and-a-half-hour plot. Granted, there's a long-winded story about a  TV reporter named Alice (Angel Aquino) who goes on an assignment to a rebel-infested area, and gets kidnapped for six months. In that time, her family thinks she has died, and so husband Mark (Cesar Montano) pursues a relationship with Sandra (Mercedes Cabral). Sandra also volunteers to look after Mark and Alice's young son, making their romance all the more convenient.

But Alice returns, and Mark welcomes her back. Soon, she learns about Mark and Sandra. She goes ballistic, accusing Sandra of sneaking behind her back, never minding that she has been dead for a fairly long time.

And have I mentioned that she's insane? Apparently, she has had mental issues in the past, and the trauma she incurred from the kidnapping incident supplemented that illness. In the end, she murders her mother-in-law, threatens Sandra with a knife, and manages to put a bullet in Mark's back.

Great dramatic plot, right? 

Wrong. The movie ends with the sweetest possible ending: Alice spends a year in the mental hospital, and gets discharged and reunited with Mark and their young son.

The happy ending makes you wonder why they even bothered. Nothing really changed, and they are back to where their characters are when the film started. Maybe they just need an excuse to kill the mother-in-law.

It's not entirely bad, however. You can say that the plot's ludicrous and senseless, but that's what it makes it so fun.

See, the film is made of plotholes. Plothole after plothole constitutes the movie, that after a while, you refuse to care about its narrative value. 

Just accept that Biktima exists in a universe where kidnappers will abduct a TV journalist without asking for ransom, where a TV journalist previously thought dead gets saved from rebels but does not get plastered all over the news, and where hostages are kept in a cage made of flimsy wood that they don't try to escape out of.

It's a world where more than 20 rebels are needed to gun down one defenseless and obese journalist, where a young kid is allowed to ride in the back of an accelerating open 4wd vehicle, and then asked to use both of her hands not to grasp for her life but to try out a pretty watch.

In sum: don't be so serious when watching Biktima. Have fun. This way, you won't feel like a bad film's victim.

RATING: 2 stars out of 5

SUMMARY: So bad it's good. Plothole driven. Senseless and ludicrous.

Title: The Mistress

Director: Olivia Lamasan

Producer: Star Cinema

Distribution: Star Cinema

Date of premiere: September 12, 2012

There is no excuse for a highly-anticipated big-budgeted mainstream production from top-tier studio Star Cinema to have a lot of glitches. But maybe, the film's post-prod had just been rushed and did not care for quality control. The film is more than two hours long, after all.

The Mistress tells the story of Sari (Bea Alonzo), an aspiring  and  dressmaker who works hard to support her large family. On the side, she augments her income by being the mistress of a rich businessman twice her age. But it's not her choice, she says, because she's just highly-appreciative of the help Rico-the-businessman (Ronaldo Valdez) has given her in the past. She's a good girl, she says.

One day, she meets JD (John Lloyd Cruz), a hotshot playboy drop-dead-gorgeous architect. JD tries all the ways to let her fall into his arms, chanting repeatedly: makukuha rin kita (I will get you). But Sari is not free, so JD must be content in pestering her.

That is until JD learns that Sari is the mistress of Rico, the father he knows and despises. JD tries to be angry at Sari, but her good-girl ways acquit her in JD's heart. JD continues to try courting her, if only to save her from that dad whom he deeply hates.

This amazing setpiece should be homerun for director Olivia Lamasan. There could be fun campy confrontation scenes a-la blockbuster hit No Other Woman. There could be lines that people utter as they go out of the cinema. 

Sadly, Lamasan failed to capitalize on this. While the absence of the campy confrontation scenes can be forgiven, given that the low-key dramatic approach works better since it makes the scenes simmer, the lack of crisp memorable lines is unforgivable. The lines are corny and sometimes cringe-inducing, as attested to the main line uttered again and again. Hearing "Hindi lahat ng gusto mo, makukuha mo (You cannot get everything that you want)" again and again is taxing to the ears. We get it. Please stop.

The other aspects of production are also not that high. The scoring is as tacky and as loud as elevator music, and the soundtrack chosen is a tough gamble. Watching the main characters make love to Snow Patrol's Chasing Cars is funny it had me giggling.

It needs a softer song, with less bass. Would it hurt to compose one just for the film?

Cinematography is also as weak. Some shots are underlit, while some shots are too bright. In one scene where Hilda Koronel was supposed to be drunk, the lighting had her skin look too pale, like she's sick. Intoxicated people should be flushed red.

And, as previously stated, post production is shoddy and seems rushed. The version I saw in Shangri-La Plaza Mall had three (or more) editing gaffes, where a snapshot of a scene sneaks in inside another scene for a micro-second. There are also continuity goofs--the most memorable is one where Bea Alonzo is washing the windows, and the bubbles magically disappear. In another, Hilda Koronel was fidgeting with her purse laid on a table. The purse disappears when she stands up to go somewhere.

But The Mistress is not an overall failure. The performance of the cast more than saves the movie.

They're good, except maybe the kid. Anita Linda is
not in this photo, but she's a great diversion.

In this movie, John Lloyd Cruz was cast against type. He's not anymore the Mr. Nice Guy. He's now an asshole who will do anything to get any woman. And although the characterization disappears halfway to the film, it's still fun to see JLC navigate the character.

Bea Alonzo, on the other hand, plays the long-suffering kind woman she usually plays, so it's not surprising that she nails it. 

Scenes with Bea and John Lloyd in them are so affecting that it compels you to stay in your seat for two hours to see how their characters' stories end. You might even shed a tear or two.

Exiting the theater, I heard a woman behind me say: "Ang dami kong iyak dito (I cried a lot in this movie)." If you'd like to get lost in a movie for two hours to cry your eyes out, then this movie is for you. But if you're thinking you'd want to see it because it may be as good or better than the perfect perfect perfect One More Chance, then you'll have to think twice.

The Mistress is not stellar, but darami ang iyak mo rito.

RATING: 2.5 stars out of 5

SUMMARY: Shoddy production values keep The Mistress from being perfect. See it for the actors.

ADDITIONAL: Want to read a deeper analysis of this film? Go here. It's right-on, although it's a (non)review.

Title: Amorosa: The Revenge
Director: Topel Lee

Producer: Skylight Films

Distribution: Star Cinema

Date of premiere: August 29, 2012

The first minutes of Amorosa: The Revenge are fascinating. The spate of jump cuts and rough editing make the film feel like a dream, or a memory carefully recalled to confront the present.

Sadly, director Topel Lee cannot sustain this style, and so his latest horror film takes a turn to narrative hell.

Angel Aquino plays Amorosa, mother of two sons, Rommel (Enrique Gil) and Amiel (Martin del Rosario). Several tragedies force them to live in an inn haunted by a vengeful ghost. But the ghost is not the biggest concern Amorosa has to face.

The main issue with Amorosa is that there are too many things going on. It is also too bad that several conveniences are introduced just to move each of them along.

Aside from the lead character's story, the ghost's story is also told in flashbacks. Her name is Sandra (Empress), and she was raped years ago in the same inn, when it was still an abandoned property.

There's also the story of a group of three drug addicts-turned-rapists, an over-eager policeman who harbors a secret, and an old gardener who may be magical.

Much narrative logic is sacrificed just to bring these stories together. For instance, the workers of the inn suddenly decide to go on a vacation towards the film's climax, just when a killer is coming along.

The film is also hampered by the worst of horror movie conventions: stupid characters who actively seek danger. In one scene, Angel Aquino opens the door to find a dead policeman out in the porch. When the killer haunting her turns up behind her, she runs up the stairs, completely forgetting that she is still holding the door open.

What saves the film is the strong performance from Angel Aquino. Enrique Gil's acting can also be as solid, until he goes into hysterics. Martin del Rosario is okay, while Empress feels miscast.

If you're a fan of any of the cast, then you may like this film. Other viewers should look elsewhere.

RATING: 2 stars out of 5
SUMMARY: Amorosa is not boring, and some scenes are scary. Narrative logic is what's lacking here.

I love Bong Joon-Ho's The Host, but Memories of  Murder (2003) felt a little confused to me. 3.5/5

Hick (Derick Martini, 2011) Lots of style, but utterly pointless. 3/5

Title: Corazon: Ang Unang Aswang

Director: Richard Somes

Producer: Star Cinema, Reality Entertainment, and Strawdogs Studio

Distribution: Skylight Films

Date of premiere: March 14, 2012

The strength of Corazon: Ang Unang Aswang lies in its visuals.

Corazon is directed by Richard Somes, who is known to be a proficient production designer, so it is no surprise that he nails the visuals of his newest movie for Star Cinema.

Corazon stars Erich Gonzales and Derek Ramsay, as a couple in 1946, living in a barrio where the first aswang will originate from. Ostracized by the villagers, Erich as Corazon gradually loses her sanity until she becomes a monster.

Somes's direction brings 1946 to life with period costumes and structures, and an atmosphere that evokes nostalgia. There's a poetic nature in each frame, achieved through the use of smoke, dust, and greenery.

The whole look captures the feeling one gets when living in a barrio: time seems to run slowly, and nothing seems to run sinister. This is why terror is doubled once an aswang finally roams the barrio.

It also helps that Derek and Erich were chosen to play the lead parts. Derek has a magnetic charm going for him that magnifies the charm of any frame he's in. Erich looks pretty even with her hair frazzled and make-up frayed. Her stills as an aswang look like editorial shoots for high-fashion magazines.

But one thing going against Corazon is that the storytelling is a bit messy. When Corazon curses God for a tragedy that befell her, it doesn't make a lot of sense since Corazon is not established to be religious.

It's also a shame that there are too many stories at work in Corazon. It's a titular role, and as such, only her story should have been the focus. Stories involving the owner of the hacienda, the crazy woman, and stories of the villagers should have been minimized to intensify the power of Corazon's plight.

The story of the crazy woman, for instance, could have been edited out because she was not mentioned again in the film's second half, even though her case seemed to have a lot of bearing to what happened to Corazon.

But then Tetchie Agbayani, who plays the crazy woman, played her character very well that she contributed a lot to the film's supernatural quality.

Corazon: Ang Unang Aswang is co-produced by Star Cinema, Reality Entertainment, and Strawdogs Studio with distribution by Skylight Films. It also stars Epy Quizon, Mon Confiado, Mark Gil, Sue Prado, and Sharlene San Pedro. It is currently being screened in cinemas nationwide.

RATING: 2 stars out of 5
SUMMARY: Topnotch visuals with messy storytelling cluttered with too many side stories that did not contribute to the titular character's ending.