Monday, February 17, 2025

Balota

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Single mother Emy (Marian Rivera) is a small town teacher making ends meet for the sake of her son Enzo (Will Ashley) who spends most of his time playing video games with his friend Jimbo (Raheel Bhyria). Since it is election season once again, vote buying as well as extra judicial killings are rampant once more, putting lives in danger. Despite the risks, Emy accepts her assignment as one of the poll watchers in a heated race between incumbent Mayor Elena Hidalgo (Mae Paner) and ex-sexy starlet turned politician wannabe Giancarlo Edraline (Gardo Versoza). As voting precincts wrap up and secure their districts’ votes, Emy and her co-teacher are escorted to a van supposedly en route to the governor’s office for the final tally before discovering that she is about to be ambushed because of the ballot box in her care. Narrowly escaping death, she must think fast as to whom she should turn for help considering every option seems as corrupt and dirty as the next.

Friday, February 14, 2025

Ex Ex Lovers

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Joy (Jolina Magdangal) has been rearing her daughter on her own since her husband Ced (Marvin Agustin) abandoned them a decade ago, strengthening the bond between mother and daughter. When SC (Loisa Andalio) is surprised with a marriage proposal by her boyfriend Joey (Juan Karlos Labajo) on a dinner night that is supposed to be a mother-daughter affair, Joy is faced with the realization that she will soon be losing her only reason for living. To make matters worse, SC has a special request, which is for her father to walk her down the aisle. Joy soon finds herself on a flight to Malta to look for Ced. Aside from convincing him to come back to Manila, she also asks him to help her find a way to cancel the wedding. Unbeknownst to her, it seems she is not the only one with an ulterior motive for their untimely reunion.

Thursday, February 13, 2025

Captain America: Brave New World

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The discovery of Tiamut’s remains results in a mad scramble among world powers for the harvest of Adamantium, an element stronger than Vibranium which the celestial’s corpse is made of. Newly elected US president Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford) attempts to come up with an international treaty for equal access but loses trust and confidence in the global scene when he fails to keep the meeting of world leaders in Washington secure, leading to his very own assassination attempt. As tensions run high, both Japan and America send their navy to the Indian Ocean in a big risk of sparking a new world war. Taking the mantle as the new Captain America, Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) flies in with his new Falcon sidekick Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez) but their participation will be challenged by new faces such as ex Red Room widow Ruth Bat-Seraph (Shira Haas) and Serpent Society leader Sidewinder (Giancarlo Esposito).

Wednesday, February 12, 2025

[ORIENTAL MINDORO] Budget and Itinerary


MONDAY: February 10, 2025
Bus (Alabang - Batangas Port) - 214.00
Dali (Groceries) - 104.00
Terminal Fee (Batangas Port) - 30.00
Galerian Ferry (Batangas - Balatero - Batangas) - 1,460.00
Tourist Fee (Balatero) - 120.00
Tricycle (Balatero - White Beach) - 200.00
Dreamwave Beach Resort (2 Nights) - 3,000.00
PhP5,128.00

Thursday, January 30, 2025

A Real Pain

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Jewish American cousins David (Jesse Eisenberg) and Benjamin (Kieran Culkin) put the small inheritance they receive from their recently deceased grandma to good use, so they travel to Poland and get to know the family’s roots. There they meet British tour leader James (Will Sharpe) who is not Jewish himself but has studied Eastern European history extensively. Joined by four other participants, they all embark on a tour of Warsaw before heading over to Lublin to visit the Nazi concentration camp in Majdanek. Benji causes friction within the group due to his unapologetically blunt behavior and unorthodox opinions, leading Dave to be embarrassed of him in front of the other guests. After he expounds on what is causing his cousin’s unhinged attitude towards the tour and life in general, he reminisces on their childhood together and tries to help him get over his depression, but most often than not it is impossible to help people who won’t help themselves.

Monday, January 27, 2025

Presence

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A poltergeist comes out of the closet and explores the house it is haunting, giving you a tour of the premises. It sees a real estate agent come in hastily as she prepares last minute for a house viewing. Her guests arrive not long afterwards and they decide that the house is perfect for their liking. The family of four move in but not without baggage from their previous life and residence. The husband Chris (Chris Sullivan) is secretly calling a lawyer asking about the implications of a hypothetical divorce. The wife Rebecca (Lucy Liu) seems to be hiding something work-related and potentially illegal. The son Tyler (Eddy Maday) is pissed off at his sister for causing them to move house, but adjusts well to his new life and school, aspiring to get a swimming scholarship. The daughter Chloe (Callina Liang) is still not over the death of her best friend who allegedly died of drug overdose. It is to Chloe that the Presence makes its presence felt, in subtle and, somehow, protective ways.

Friday, January 24, 2025

[ZAMBOANGA DEL SUR] Budget and Itinerary


WEDNESDAY: January 22, 2025
Cebu Pacific (Manila - Zamboanga - Manila) - 2,085.00
Coffee Hour (Tapsilog + Water) - 285.00
Grand Astoria Hotel (2 Nights) - 3,600.00
PhP5,970.00

Monday, January 20, 2025

Si Amapola sa 65 na Kabanata

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Si Amapola ay isang bading na nagtatrabaho bilang impersonator sa isang gay bar called High Notes. To make her life more complicated, may multiple personality disorder din siya at “alters” ang tawag niya sa dalawa pa niyang personality. Yung isa bakla rin pero kloseta named Zaldy while the other one ay si Isaac na straight at boyfriend ni Giselle na tanga mag-English. As if hindi pa ganun kagulo ang buhay ni Amapola, one night bigla na lang nahati ang katawan niya at tinubuan siya ng pakpak habang naka break sa likod ng bar. Manananggal din pala siya. It doesn’t take long until ma-track siya ng isang Noranian named Emil na kasama ng ninuno ni Amapola na ang pangalan ay Lola Sepa na galing sa panahon ng Kastila pero for whatever reason ay napadpad sa 2010’s Tomas Morato. According to Lola Sepa, may prophecy raw na si Amapola ang magliligtas hindi lang sa lahat ng manananggal na nagtatago kundi sa buong Pilipinas na rin.

Sunday, January 19, 2025

A Thousand Splendid Suns

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Mariam is born an illegitimate child in Herat when her father Jalil has an affair with his housekeeper Nana. Since then her existence is kept secret from the high society her father belongs in. When Nana commits suicide and Jalil has no choice but to take Mariam in, his three wives quickly come up with a plan to marry her off, at age 15, to a middle-aged widower and business owner in Kabul named Rasheed. With no other options open to her, Mariam lives as a battered wife after several miscarriages deem their marriage fruitless. Laila is born a few years after Mariam moves in with Rasheed. The daughter of their neighbors Hakim and Fariba, Laila grows up educated and strong-willed, quite the opposite of Mariam. She finds a brother in Tariq, a friend of hers who lost one leg to a landmine, after both of her brothers leave to fight in the Afghan-Soviet War. A tragedy will turn Laila into an orphan, and her path will cross with that of Mariam’s.

Saturday, January 18, 2025

The Ministry of Utmost Happiness

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Anjum used to be called Aftab after s/he was born intersex to parents who were praying hard for a son. Living as a Muslim Hijra already seems complicated enough as it is, given India’s diversity of socio ethnic groups that find it difficult to live together, and so Anjum ends up squatting at a graveyard which is fashioned bit by bit to become the Jannat Guest House. One of the guests is a man who calls himself Saddam Hussain and has a revenge plot against a police officer responsible for the death of his father. Later on, the guest house also welcomes S. Tilottama, a Syrian Christian who works as an architect and has ties to three men from different spheres of influence: a journalist from a family of diplomats named Naga; Biplab, a high ranking officer of the country’s intelligence bureau who has always harbored a crush on her; and Musa, the love of her life who is a militant fighting for Azadi in Kashmir. The arrival of an abandoned baby tagged as kidnapped shakes up the dynamics of daily life at the graveyard.

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