Malcolm1980's 2016 Movie Review Thread

[malcolm1980]

12/28

Oro (Alvin Yapan) ***1/2 - This is yet another MMFF film entry. (Notice how I'm actually bothering to see a lot of them this year?) Based on a true story about the murder of a group of miners in a poor village in the Philippines. Though the film is far from perfect, one can't help but get swept up by the emotions of it all: Sadness, frustration and anger at the unfair situation these people had to suffer though. This is largely thanks to the wonderful cast especially Irma Adlawan and Mercedes Cabral who nails their key scenes. Even though, I knew what was going to happen, the film also manages to create suspense so extra points for that. Yet another solid MMFF entry.

Saving Sally (Avid Liongoren) ***1/2 - A high school senior who loves drawing comics falls in love with the geeky inventor girl next door Yes, this sounds like a twee romantic-comedy and in many ways, it is. It follows the narrative beats and character tropes of your typical teen rom-com but this one's a little different. For one thing, the entire film blends live-action and animation, creating an entire visual palette on which this romance plays out. It is funny. It is sweet. It also has a dark edge and depth to it. This ambitious film took 12 years to make and it really shows. All the heart and ambition is up there on the screen. I thought the fact that even though it's a Filipino film set in the Philippines, the dialogue is largely in English will be detrimental but it's not! If you're in Manila, be sure to check this MMFF entry out.

The House is Black (Forough Farrokhzad) ***1/2 - This is a 20-minute documentary about a leper colony in northern Iran. Despite its short running time, this film truly made an impression on me. There are harrowing images of lepers here that are quite shocking. But underneath all that, there is something truly beautiful because the film lets their humanity shine. Despite the sad situation, it even manages to find something happy and profound. Definitely a must-see.

[malcolm1980]

12/29

The Woman in the Septic Tank 2: #ForeverIsNotEnough (Chris Martinez) *** - This is yet another MMFF entry. This is the sequel to The Woman in the Septic Tank, a hilarious satire on Philippine independent cinema. This pretty much follows the same formula. After the success of their previous collaboration, the filmmaker reunites with actress Eugene Domingo (once again playing herself) to make a sad film about a marriage breaking up but she starts giving "suggestions" on how to make it more commercial with often funny results. It's not as fresh or as good as the first one but as usual Eugene Domingo kills it with her performance.

Die Beautiful (Jun Robles Lana) ***1/2 - A transgender woman drops dead after winning a Miss Gay Philippines beauty pageant. We then flashback to her life leading up to that as well as her funeral. I'm surprised I liked this as much as I did. This is probably in the top five best films about transgender women I've seen. First off, the film is often a hilarious riot but when it veers into tackling serious issues and themes, it didn't lose a beat. Paolo Ballesteros gives a revelatory performance in the lead role and he carries this film, well, beautifully. Yet another high mark for the MMFF this year.

Irma La Douce (Billy Wilder) *** - After getting kicked out of the police force for an unauthorized raid at a brothel, a man falls in love with one of the prostitutes and concocts a scheme to get her off the streets for good. The film is a reunion of director Billy Wilder and stars Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine after the success of The Apartment. It's definitely nowhere near as good as that film. Though Lemmon and MacLaine give it their all and the film is often quite funny, the bloated, almost 2.5 hour running time keeps it from being great. There is a solid 100 minute comedy in there somewhere. But as it is, it's definitely not top-tier Wilder.

[malcolm1980]

12/30

How the West Was Won (John Ford/George Marshall/Henry Hathaway) *** - A truly epic Western which chronicles the progress and the taming of the Old West through the eyes of one pioneering family. Debbie Reynolds passed away this week and I didn't know she was in this film (among the large, all-star cast). So I was surprised this turned out to be a "tribute watch" for me. She was, of course, wonderful and she turned out to be one of the highlights. As for the film itself, it's rather uneven, with, parts are better than the whole. The film is beautifully made. The cinematography is fantastic and the action sequences: the rapids, the buffalo stampede, the Indian attack, the train sequence, etc. are all impressively executed. But as an overall film, it's very good but not great.

The V.I.P.'s (Anthony Asquith) ** - A group of travelers are stranded by a fog at a London airport. An ensemble cast led by then Hollywood power couple Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton bring to life their respective stories. Unfortunately for us the audience, most of those stories turn out to be rather, well, dull, if not rather cliche. The only highlight is Margaret Rutherford who won an Oscar for this film, probably because she stands out as the only one who's genuinely interesting. Unfortunately, her part was smaller than I thought it was going to be. They even manage to make Orson Welles forgettable. How does that happen?

[malcolm1980]

12/31

Hands Over The City (Francesco Rosi) **1/2 - After a building collapses and kills a couple of people, a ruthless real estate developer and some politicians try to cover their asses and shift the blame. The film has very good intentions, no doubt. However, the film is way they tell this story. I think it could have used a satirical edge or dark humor for it to really fly since we're seeing it largely from the point of view of the "bad guys". The result is a film that's largely detached when I'm supposed to feel outrage. The performances are good and it does has its moments but it could have been better.

Postcards from the Edge (Mike Nichols) ***- This will be my last new film for 2016. It will also serve as a tribute to both Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds since this is based on the former's semi-autobiographical novel which chronicles the relationship between an actress struggling with addiction and her mother, who's also a famous actress. Though it could have been a lot better based on the pedigree involved, I think it's still worth seeing. Both Meryl Streep and Shirley MacLaine are outstanding especially in the scenes that they share. I made the mistake of trying to figure out how true the scenes are in real life but in hindsight, it doesn't matter. It's still a pretty good movie.