Thursday, July 31, 2025

Children of Virtue and Vengeance

♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣

Zélie, Amari, and Tzain bring magic back despite some initial doubts about the success of their mission. However, there is a catch. Magic is reignited not just among the Maji but also among the political elite who have magical ancestry. With just a streak of white hair as opposed to the Maji’s whole head of white locks, the Tîtáns do not need incantations to unleash their unrefined magic, a fact made obvious to the trio when Queen Nehanda turns out to be a Tîtán herself, ambushing her daughter’s political rally and intimidating everyone by absorbing the life essence of the other Tîtáns around her. Not all is lost, though, as Zélie, Amari, and Tzain are taken in by the Iyika, a group of Maji dwelling with their clan leaders on an ancient mountain range commune built by the first Maji elders. Together, they form a rebellion, but will their combined powers be enough?

Wednesday, July 30, 2025

I Know What You Did Last Summer (2025)

♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣

Ava Brucks (Chase Sui Wonders) comes back home to Southport for the engagement party of her best friend Danica Richards (Madelyn Cline) and high school buddy Teddy Spencer (Tyriq Withers). There she is also reunited with Milo Griffin (Jonah Hauer-King) who has always had a crush on her. They are also reunited with Stevie Ward (Sarah Pidgeon), yet another one of their high school buddies with whom they’ve lost contact when they all went away to college. What is supposed to be a fun night ends in a tragedy as the five of them figure in a road accident that sends a stranger and his car careening towards a cliff before completely diving down to the rocky waters below. A year later, the gang is all back in Southport for Danica’s second engagement party when she receives a note which says “I know what you did last summer”. Then, people close to them start to die. Murdered by a masked assailant with a fish hook.

Thursday, July 24, 2025

Sunshine

♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣

Young gymnast Sunshine (Maris Racal) has made a name for herself not only in the local sports scene but also in the region. Having won gold medals at the SEA and Asian Games, her next target is Olympic glory, a path to which is opened for her with a sure slot in the national roster competing at the World Championship qualifiers. Sunshine’s dreams suddenly turn into an important crossroads in her life when she finds out that she is pregnant with her Boyfriend’s (Elijah Canlas) baby. When he immediately decides to dodge responsibility, he leaves Sunshine to her own devices, scouring the alleys of Quiapo for illegal abortifacient drugs to get rid of their baby. There she is ambushed by a Young Girl (Annika Co) who seems to know a lot for a child her age, serving as the voice of reason urging Sunshine to reconsider her decisions in life.

Wednesday, July 23, 2025

The Fantastic Four: First Steps

♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣

A quartet of astronauts lands back on Earth-828 imbued with superpowers. Scientist Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal) can stretch his body parts to great lengths. His significant other Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby) can manipulate light to create force fields and render herself invisible. Her brother Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn) can control fire and, in effect, fly. Pilot Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) has been physically transformed into layers of rock, granting him superhuman strength. Four years later, the team is established as their Earth’s SOLE protectors and they are treated as celebrities, amassing significant economic and political clout. They even have their own animated series immortalizing their heroic travails. Things change when Sue finds out she is pregnant, which coincides with the appearance of a silver surfer named Shalla-Bal (Julia Garner) heralding the arrival of Galactus (Ralph Ineson), a devourer of planets who has his eyes set on Earth-828 as his next target.

Monday, July 14, 2025

Superman (2025)

♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣

In a world inhabited by ordinary people and superpowered metahumans, nothing seems to surprise anyone anymore, until a doctored video of the parentage of Superman catches them off guard. Clark Kent (David Corenswet) is busy with his journalistic career for most of the day, but disappears to save innocents whenever necessary. His arch nemesis gazillionaire Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) has studied his every move and now has an entire team shuttling antagonists, both super and not, back and forth through a black hole powered pocket universe. When Luthor catches Superman in a weakened state and holds him against his will in the pocket dimension, reporter Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) who also happens to be Clark’s girlfriend asks the help of a trio of corporate sponsored heroes of the Justice Gang to intervene: half human/half bird Hawk Girl (Isabela Merced); high tech gadget inventor Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi); and Green Lantern Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion).

Friday, July 11, 2025

Heart of Darkness

♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣

Charles Marlow finds himself reminiscing along the Thames about his misadventures in Africa. He then narrates his story as he recalls how he went on his way to the continent via steamer. What he finds there is the shocking living conditions in which the natives are being treated, particularly the deplorable slavery they find themselves in. He also finds out about a certain Mr. Kurtz who seems to enjoy a polarizing reputation, admired by some and loathed by a few. When he finally meets the legendary Mr. Kurtz, Marlow discovers the ins and outs of colonialism in Africa like the lucrative but exploitative ivory trade, the way the natives are subjugated based on various belief systems when it comes to race and the like. As the two meet and navigate Kurtz’s eventual death, Marlow takes back with him to Europe, a different perspective about colonialism and the clash of cultures that it entails.

Thursday, July 10, 2025

Children of Blood and Bone

♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣

Once upon a time in the kingdom of Orïsha, a magical divîner can turn into a maji when s/he reaches the age of thirteen, which is when his/her powers manifest. Everything changes when the non-magical kosidán discover majacite, a rare metal that renders the maji powerless. After the Raid, basically a purging of the kingdom’s magical inhabitants, divîners are referred to as maggots, hard to miss due to their distinctly white hair. When a magical scroll discovered on the shores of Ilorin awakens latent powers of divîners who touch it before they are massacred by the royal guards, there is hope for magic’s return. Princess Amari, daughter of merciless King Saran steals the scroll and runs away, stumbling upon divîner Zélie who is about to be sent away to slavery when the scroll ignites something within her. The princess’ brother, crown prince Inan, is ordered to give pursuit. Together with Zélie’s brother Tzain, the trio must travel to a magical temple to reawaken magic before it is gone for good.

Wednesday, July 9, 2025

The Old Guard 2

♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣

Andromache (Charlize Theron) has lost her immortality and has been living under the threat of death for half a year now. Despite the fact, the team are still fully booked with their mercenary activities. James Copley (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is now part of the group as well, mostly intel, while Joe (Marwan Kenzari), Nicky (Luca Marinelli), and Nile (KiKi Layne) act as frontliners. When the first immortal who now goes by the alias Discord (Uma Thurman) locates and rescues Quỳnh (Veronica Ngô) from her 500 year old coffin submerged in the ocean, the latter kidnaps exiled Booker (Matthias Schoenarts) to get to Andy. As Discord’s sinister plans come to light, the team must reflect on the idea of fighting her with Andy being mortal. Enter Tuah (Henry Golding), another immortal who has spent his centuries as a scholar instead of a fighter, proposing a solution based on folklore that might just bring Andy’s immortality back.

Monday, July 7, 2025

Jurassic World Rebirth

♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣

Dinosaurs have lost their novelty post de-extinction, many of them migrating to areas closer to the equator which resemble the once Mesozoic climate conditions amenable to them. Big pharma executive Martin Krebs (Rupert Friend) wants to spearhead a new drug that can ward off heart ailments by a margin of 20 years. The catch? He needs to extract DNA from living dinosaurs. Not just that, what he needs are DNA from the biggest three of them all: the aquatic Mosasaurus; the land-dwelling Titanosaurus; and the avian Quetzalcoatlus. He assembles a team: covert mercenary Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson); team leader Duncan Kincaid (Mahershala Ali); Bobby Atwater (Ed Skrein); and paleontologist Dr. Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey). They set sail towards the northeastern coast of South America in an effort to hunt down the three gigantic dinos and extract the DNA they need to save millions of human lives. As if big pharma would allow that without the ever lovely ka-ching of a dollar sign followed by many zeroes.

Sunday, July 6, 2025

Lila Ang Kulay Ng Pamamaalam

♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣

Taong 1990 nang unang masilayan ni Dylan ang bagong lipat pa lang na mga Abe sa tabi ng kanilang bahay sa Imus. Mula sa pangalawang palapag kung nasaan ang kanyang silid ay katapat nito ang silid ni Mayumi Mahinhin Abe na apat na taon ang tanda sa kanya. Isang taon din ang hihintayin ni Dylan bago magkaroon ng pagkakataon na makapag-usap silang dalawa nang magpasya siyang sundan ito pauwi galing sa paaralan na kanilang pinapasukan. Ito ang magiging simula ng isang pagkakaibigan na tatagal ng pitong taon bago mapagtanto ng isa na Lila pala ang kulay ng pamamaalam. Katumbas ng matatamis nilang alaala kinalaunan ang lumbay at hindi magawang pagkalas pagdating ng araw na kailangan na nilang mamaalam sa isa’t isa. Mahigit sampung taon ang lilipas at magpapatuloy sila sa kanilang kanya-kanyang landas bago pa man matutuhan na minsan sa buhay ay kailangang tahakin ang patutunguhan na magkahiwalay.

Thursday, July 3, 2025

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣

Tom Sawyer is an orphan and living with his Aunt Polly and half-brother Sid in the town of St. Petersburg in Missouri. His stubbornness often gets him in trouble, even more so when he hangs out with the town outcast Huckleberry Finn, who is almost the same age as he is. In terms of romantic interests, Tom is infatuated with Becky Thatcher, the new girl in town who also happens to be a judge’s daughter. His adventures include disappearing with Huck Finn and another boy for a few days and being believed by the townsfolk to have drowned, only for them to reappear at church during their supposed funeral. But perhaps their greatest adventure yet is witnessing a murder at a cemetery in which an innocent drunkard is framed up and ends up in jail. Will the young boys have the courage to side with justice despite the danger?

Tuesday, July 1, 2025

Ironheart - Episode 6



6. The Past Is the Past
FLASHBACK: Mephisto (Sacha Baron Cohen) helps Parker out of his predicament by offering him a Faustian deal: a tool in the form of a magical cloak in exchange for something that he wouldn’t miss. Zeke is held against his will at Parker’s mansion, his programming hacked to protect Parker at all costs. Riri finally completes her new magic-infused suit and heads to the pizza place where she squares off with Zeke and implants a virus on him to override his programming and have him reboot. He thanks her but tells her they aren’t quite done with their beef yet. Riri confronts Parker and her suit’s magic element undoes Parker’s invisibility. After successfully getting possession of the cloak, she leaves a “de-magic’ed” Parker in their once HQ. She finds Mephisto waiting for her downstairs and he tempts her to make a similar deal with him. Her heart’s greatest desire is obviously to bring Natalie back to life. She agrees. As she hugs her newly-resurrected BFF, veiny tattoos start to creep through her arms similar to those of Parker’s.

Ironheart - Episode 5



5. Karma's a Glitch
The mom’s friend’s witchy daughter assumes that Dormammu might be powering Parker’s cloak, pretty much like what Kaecilius was doing in Doctor Strange. Parker puts out a kill order on Riri. N.A.T.A.L.I.E. in control of the suit sits atop a government building with a full on existential crisis, which makes it easy for the suit to be captured by Slug. Riri manages to fend off Clown, Jeri, and Roz through improvisation, while N.A.T.A.L.I.E. breaks out of bondage right in time to save Riri as Slug is about to ram a van on her. A newly upgraded Zeke appears and zaps Riri, tearing her suit apart short of killing her. He tells her to get out of Chicago before Parker finds out she isn’t dead. Zeke decides to run off but Parker has all his tech hacked, giving him full control over him as his new puppet, just as the gang disbands after they find out that Parker killed their previous tech guy. Riri gets help from everyone to devise a new suit, enlisting mom’s friend’s witchy daughter’s help to infuse it with magic, which overwhelms the suit and erases N.A.T.A.L.I.E. before she can be fully downloaded.

Ironheart - Episode 4



4. Bad Magic
Parker holds a mini eulogy for cousin John at the pizza place and tells Riri he has plans for her. He later dismisses her saying that he is getting a new tech guy. Riri gets paranoid analyzing the patch of fabric from Parker’s cloak, discovering that it seems to be heat combustion at work but can’t determine where the energy is coming from. Her paranoia prompts her mom to take her to her friend’s sweets shop who turns out to be a Kamar-Taj drop out with a daughter engaged in witchcraft. They magically transport mother and daughter to their witchy workshop in a parallel dimension and magically analyze the patch of Parker’s hood. What they find out makes them panic, advising Riri about bad magic and how she should stay away from whoever owns that hood. Ezekiel is implicated in the HEIRLUM heist and detained. Parker breaks him out of prison and takes him back to their HQ. Ezekiel undergoes a procedure he designed himself to “upgrade himself”. N.A.T.A.L.I.E. fetches her brother when Riri has a panic attack. He isn’t pleased with what Riri did to his dead sister’s memory.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Protected by Copyscape DMCA Copyright Detector
 

Film Review

Film Review

Film Review

Theater Review