Author: Jude Cartalaba

At first glance, the Lemuel Lorca-directed film Broken Heart’s Trip seemed promising. It started fine when the three coach-judges were together auditioning for their contestants in a reality show called Broken Heart’s Trip. The host is portrayed by Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) 2021 Best Actor and MMFF 2016 Best Supporting Actor Christian Bables. He has two female co-judgers, Tart Carlos and Jaclyn Jose. The show features five participants who have one thing in common–they are brokenhearted. The show allows them to have the chance to heal from their bad experiences by going on trips to various tourist destinations across…

The comeback film of Stars for All Seasons Vilma Santos and Kung of Philippine Drama Christopher de Leon via When I Met You in Tokyo is interesting to watch after their long absence of doing movies together. Both stars appeared in the 2002 Filipino historical drama film Dekada ’70, directed by Chito S. Roño and based on the 1983 novel of the same title by the late Lualhati Bautista. Apart from the plot, the story concept that the two lead stars have crafted together with their director, Conrado Peru, and screenplay by Suzette Doctolero; and the great acting of Santos…

The film Becky and Badette teaches its viewers something about what matters the most in this day and age. It’s not about the fabricated content creators come up with–but how one remains authentic amid the social media chaos. At first glance, those who saw Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion (1997) with Mira Sorvino and Lisa Kudrow in the title roles–could easily refer to Eugene Domingo-Pokwang tandem as a copycat. Yes, there may be several similarities, but the Jun Lana-written and directed screenplay showed something new, something relevant these days–going viral online. If anyone wants to get entertained and have…

Perhaps one of the highly anticipated and relevant films in the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) 2023  is the story about the martyr-priests, better known as the GomBurZa. For most moviegoers, historical drama is not the usual preference film to flock to in cinemas during the said annual festival, spearheaded by the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA). However, the recent win of the said film produced by JESCOM Films and MQuest Ventures as Second Best Picture at the awards night on December 27–has piqued the moviegoers’ interests instead. The film doesn’t have a more popular movie star in the lead,…

Mentorque Productions makes history through its Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) 2023 entry as the first Filipino movie distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. Being distributed by an American film production and distribution company is already a feat for a Filipino production like Mallari. That’s something to be proud of (not just for the film industry) as a nation. Lifted and loosely based on the story of Mallari, a parish priest in the 1800s who killed 57 people before being caught, thereby becoming the first and only recorded Filipino serial killer ever, antedating Jack The Ripper by more than 60 years.…

There is truth in this line: Life is what you make it. In the film REWIND, a screenplay written by Enrico Santos, and directed by Mae Cruz Alviar–the theme of existentialism is presented to the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) 2023 moviegoers. It features the reel-and-real celebrity couple–Dingdong Dantes and Marian Rivera. It may seem simple in its plot, but Santos could surprise the audience with a twist in the film’s conclusion. Life, Death, Tragedy, and Love are some of man’s complex quests to finding one’s ultimate purpose. REWIND isn’t a new way of telling a story with an Existentialism…

Personally, the film Firefly attracted me not because of its story. First and foremost–it’s about the filmmaker’s brilliance in directing movies (Paglipay, The Baggage, and Black Rainbow) and TV series (Maria Clara at Ibarra and Sahaya). He can magically transform a story, no matter how it may seem insignificant, but make it engaging and compelling. That’s how I was convinced of the film’s great potential. Zig Dulay’s Firefly is a minuscule film among all the official film entries in this year’s Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF). It carries no big names except Dingdong Dantes (in a ‘special participation’ role as…

Putting together the brilliance of Nuel Naval and Mel Mendoza-del Rosario in Family of Two (A Mother and Son Story), is synonymous with a box-office hit. They proved this in 2019 when their tandem via the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) entry–Miracle in Cell No. 7, topped the box office with ₱426 million returns, beating Vice Ganda’s The Mall, The Merrier with ₱323 million. Family of Two (A Mother and Son Story), which stars the Megastar Sharon Cuneta and Asia’s Multimedia Star Alden Richards–is the seventh film that Naval and Mendoza-del Rosario have worked with since their first collaboration via…

(An Exclusive Interview with Enrico Santos) The former vice president for ABS-CBN Films for new media, concept development and production, also a filmmaker Enrico Santos revealed some stuff about the upcoming Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) 2023 entry–MALLARI. Mentorque Productions, in cooperation with Clever Minds Inc.–the creators of the horror and suspense-thriller Mallari made history as the first Filipino film distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. Santos and the director of Mallari, Derick Cabrido have worked on several projects together like Clarita (2019), U-Turn (2020), Wish You Were the One (2023), and Deadly Love, a TV mini-series (2023); before they collaborated on…

The 72nd Miss Universe concluded with a new titleholder from Nicaragua. R’Bonney Gabriel, the outgoing queen crowned the 23-year-old Sheynnis Palacios, who supports the project “Entiende tu mente” or “Understand your mind.” It seeks to emphasize the importance of mental health. Her runners-up are Thailand’s Anntonia Porsild and Australia’s Moraya Wilson as first and second, respectively. Philippines’ 28-year-old representative Michelle Marquez Dee, brought back the country in the finalist lineup, as she made it in the Top 20, then in the Top 10. Also, she received the gold award for the Voice for Choice and the Spirit of Carnival. Apart…

It’s just a few hours before the new Miss Universe is crowned in José Adolfo Pineda Arena in San Salvador, El Salvador, on November 18 (November 19 in Manila)–here are the list of the site’s #HotPicks for the #Top20 semifinalists. The ladies were selected based on their profile images, and their respective advocacies that would readily fit the Force for Good thrust of the new Miss Universe Organization under the leadership of Thai transwoman business magnate–Anne Jakrajutatip. From the 84 official candidates–its first cut will be the Top 20. Without further ado, here are the countries that made it to…

Romer Gutierrez Jazo, raised by disciplinarian parents Myrna B. Jazo, a primary teacher, and Romulo V. Jazo Jr., engaged in agricultural business and local politics. Thus, he had to behave growing up in a community where everybody knows everybody. He was born on the 19th of April 1991 in Sorsogon City, Philippines. Growing Years in the Province. During his early childhood, Jazo grew up in an agricultural environment. His family cultivated copra and rice. He has two sisters. At Butag Elementary School, he graduated as the valedictorian of his first-grade class and demonstrated early academic excellence. He was a consistent…

Ikay and Uly’s love story is “uniquely mysterious” in many ways, especially to those who may end up confused about how it progresses till the end. In this film, JP Habac showed how brilliant he can play around with his two lead characters and throw them into a “complex” relationship. Between the two stars, Carlo Aquino who played Eulogio or Uly–never failed to shine through in all his scenes. Eisel Serrano, as Ikay, Uly’s object of affection, on the other hand, was no match to the actor’s performance. Sadly, all her scenes lacked the power to convince me that she…

The film wouldn’t get awarded as the first-ever Metro Manila Film Festival Summer Edition’s (2023) best picture if it didn’t show such evoking performances from the story, the directing, and even the performances of the two actors–Romnick Sarmenta and Elijah Canlas. Frankly, the characterizations of the two personas that Canlas breathed into–I had some issues, but the young actor has convinced me even more that he has more future in bagging acting awards one day, soon. Sarmenta, on the other hand, managed to showcase his brilliance–and is something to behold. This film is his defining vehicle to let the Filipino…

The Summer Edition of the annual Metro Manila Film Festival kicked off with its first-ever Parade of Stars on Sunday, April 2. Amid the smoldering summer heat, fans flocked to get a glimpse of the stars who participated and rode in their respective colorful floats. The cast of the eight official entries to the inaugural summer film fest waved at the cheering crowd atop their decorated floats, as it traversed a five-kilometer route, which started in Villa Beatriz on Commonwealth Avenue. MMDA acting chairman and concurrent MMFF overall chairman Atty. Don Artes, with Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte, led the…

On Friday, February 24, the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) recently announced the eight official entries for its first-ever Summer edition, held at the Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria, Quezon City. MMFF chair for the selection committee Ms. Boots Anson-Rodrigo and MMDA acting chairman and MMFF overall chair Atty. Don Artes announced the successful entries from 33 submissions for the summer fest. Of the overall number of films submitted, 23 are new films, while 10 are resubmissions from the December 2022 MMFF. Here are the official entries in alphabetical order: About Us but NOT About Us. This drama-thriller tells the story…