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.

Friday, January 10, 2025

Aswanglaut

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Isang igat na iniihaw ni Luklak ang makaaagaw ng pansin sa mga aswang na naggagala sa bahaging iyon ng kagubatan. Ang katotohanan ay kapatid ng dalaga ang iniihaw niyang igat na siyang ipinanganak ng kanyang ina noon bago ito pumanaw. Inilibing ang kapatid sa pook na iyon at ngayon lamang binungkal ni Luklak upang gawing hapunan sa kadahilangang siya lamang ang nakaaalam. Matapos makipagtagisan ng talino sa mga halimaw ay malilinlang pa rin ito na bahagian sila kahit kaunti ng napakasarap na kinakain niya. Sila ay kanyang pagbibigyan habang hihikayatin naman siya ng mga ito na dilaan ang tira-tira na ibabalik nila sa kanya. Ito na ang simula ng pagbabago ng buhay ni Luklak sapagkat ito ang magiging dahilan ng kanyang pagiging aswang. Ilang araw ng sakit at karamdaman ang pagdurusahan ng dalaga hanggang tuluyang maging ganap ang kanyang pagbabagong-anyo. Ano nga ba ang naghihintay na tungkulin niya kapag siya ay naging bahagi na ng mga halimaw na kanyang kinaiinisan?

Thursday, January 9, 2025

The Substance

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Now in her 50’s, Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore) has been the face of her long-time TV aerobics program, not to mention she has just received a star at Hollywood’s Walk of Fame. Despite all her achievements, her age becomes a crucial factor as TV exec Harvey (Dennis Quaid) decides to fire her so he can hire somebody to cater to a much younger audience. After a car accident that sends her to the ER, Elisabeth receives an anonymous business card with a number that she reluctantly dials after a while. The offer from the other end of the line is a new wonder drug called The Substance, made available to her in locker 503 housed in a white walled cube of a room in a decrepit building. Once she follows all instructions and administers the serum on herself, a younger version of herself literally emerges from her back, who later calls herself Sue (Margaret Qualley). The catch? They are one and must regularly switch every seven days, or else…

Friday, January 3, 2025

And the Breadwinner Is...

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Bambi Salvador (Vice Ganda) has been working as an OFW in Taiwan for more than a decade now. When his contract is not renewed due to unfavorable blood test results in his annual medical examination, he flies back home to Pampanga unannounced expecting his siblings to welcome him in their house which has supposedly been already renovated and celebrate his birthday at the same time. Not only have they forgotten his special day, he also arrives in the same old house he left 15 years ago sans the improvements where the money he has been sending all these years should have gone. When a case of mistaken identity leads everyone to believe that Bambi has died of a road accident, a representative from the company of his life insurance informs the family that they are indicated as his beneficiaries and are on their way to receiving 10 million pesos. However, Bambi is alive and well. Can they put aside their differences as a family to put on a good show for the money?

Thursday, January 2, 2025

My Future You

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A comet that shows up once every 15 years becomes a fixture to brighten up the night sky. Two young adults sign up for an account on a dating website and immediately match. Alex or “Lex” (Seth Fedelin) resides in Cebu while Karenina or “Karen” (Francine Diaz) hails from Marikina. After a day or two of chatting, they are sure that their rapport is not just an online thing, and the two decide to meet up. Lex books a flight to the capital and they agree to meet up at Luneta’s kilometer zero at exactly 7 PM. After two consecutive nights of trying, the two never meet. Soon they discover that they are living fifteen years apart. Lex is in 2009 while Karen is in 2024. Discovering the advantages of knowing someone in the past, Karen asks Lex a favor to change the future which is technically her present so that her family can be whole again.

Wednesday, January 1, 2025

Espantaho

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Despite suffering from bouts of what looks like epilepsy, Monet (Judy Ann Santos) takes care of everything for her father’s funeral. The patriarch has succumbed to lung cancer and his first family cannot be contacted for whatever reason. Monet’s mother Rosa (Lorna Tolentino) is ever present yet does nothing but nag while her partner Jack (JC Santos) leaves her and the house at the behest of his legal wife. Only the house help and her son lend Monet any kind of necessary support. The first wife Adele (Chanda Romero) finally shows up shortly after the nine days of prayer and mourning have commenced with her two children, Monet’s half-siblings, in tow. They are only in town for obvious reasons, which is to sell the property her legal husband has left behind, including the very house Monet and her son are living in. As a mysterious landscape painting of a scarecrow finds itself inside the house, people begin to disappear.

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