Shake, Rattle & Roll Evil Origins

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I was going to give Shake, Rattle & Roll Evil Origins just one star, but let’s be fair because there is an obvious attempt at a cohesive main storyline here spanning two and a half centuries, connecting all three vignettes. Unfortunately, they dropped the ball with the execution of the concept. I have expectations because the last SR&R, the one that was released in 2023 and missed an MMFF slot, was actually quite good. This is the 17th entry in a franchise dating all the way back to 1984. In short, it is already part of every Pinoy millennial’s childhood. It’s such a shame that they can’t innovate well enough to honor that legacy and instead just decided to rehash horror/thriller tropes, without contributing anything new. If anything, this film just serves as an excuse to extend the 15 seconds of fame of some PBB starlets by giving them more mainstream exposure. This is how an industry stagnates, y’all.

Call Me Mother

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Twinkle Reyes (Vice Ganda) is a pageant coach who loses his source of livelihood when his mother passes away, leaving behind a baby she took in after being abandoned by the mother. The child grows up to be Angelo (Lucas Andalio), a spirited boy who considers Twinkle as his very own mother. When Twinkle gets the opportunity to work in Hong Kong, his son becomes his first obstacle. For him to be able to take him along, he will need to legally adopt him, which necessitates the signature of the biological mother. Pageant veteran Mara de Jesus (Nadine Lustre) almost won the Miss Uniworld crown a decade ago had she not fainted during the Q&A, being secretly pregnant during the competition. She plans to have another go at winning the crown now that the age limit has been abolished. She tracks Twinkle down and they make a deal: his training for her signature. And then she meets Angelo, her biological son.

Bar Boys: After School

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Almost a decade later, the gang rethinks their decisions in life. Josh Zuniga (Kean Cipriano) decides to give law school another go as he fades into obscurity as a has-been actor. Torran Garcia (Rocco Nacino) is happily married to his musician wife Jasmine (Glaiza De Castro) and is torn between corporate law and teaching. Chris Carlson (Enzo Pineda) is now divorced from his wife and having issues with his designated time with their children. Erik Vicencio (Carlo Aquino) is working pro bono and is targeted in an assassination attempt that takes the life of his farmer client. Lost and confused, the four friends receive advice from a dying Justice Hernandez (Odette Khan) who is now facing her mortality as she withers away in a hospital. New aspiring lawyers accompany Josh in his journey to becoming a lawyer: Arvin (Will Ashley); Trisha (Sassa Gurl); and CJ (Therese Malvar).

Bar Boys

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Four friends decide to try their luck and take the entrance exam to law school. Amboy Christian Carlson (Enzo Pineda) wants to be a lawyer because he wants to please his father who is a respected lawyer himself. Torran Garcia (Rocco Nacino) is from a big brood of five siblings, and his mother celebrates him as the first to get somewhere in life. Erik Vicencio (Carlo Aquino) is hesitant considering he comes from a poor background and his father might not be able to support his law school aspirations from his security guard job alone. All three of them pass while Josh Zuniga (Kean Cipriano) is left to pursue other options, being the only one of the four to flunk the test. They will soon find out that aspirations are never enough to survive law school when they start to meet their terror professors which include retired Justice Hernandez (Odette Khan). How far are they willing to go to reach their dreams?

Heated Rivalry: Episode 6

6. The Cottage

Scott Hunter wins MVP at the MLH Awards and expounds on his decision to come out as he dedicates the cup to his teammates, his coaches, and Kip. Ilya arrives in Ottawa and is picked up by Shane at the airport en route to the cottage. Ilya opens up about his mother’s suicide when he was 12. Shane explores options for a route to Canadian citizenship after Ilya floats the possibility of marrying Svetlana who has dual Russian-American citizenship. The two spend moments together, both tender and intense, and end up saying their I Love Yous for the first time. The honeymoon phase is disrupted when Shane’s dad David (Dylan Walsh) catches the two kissing before driving away. Shane goes into panic mode and he and Ilya drive to his parents’ place to admit everything. Yuna (Christina Chang) is surprised at first and apologizes to her son for making him feel that he couldn’t come out to her. And then she immediately goes into damage control mode planning on what to do next. Shane and Ilya drive back to the cottage, holding hands.

Stranger Things: Episode 41

41. The Bridge

As Max finally wakes up surrounded by friends, Holly wakes up in a nightmare scenario in Vecna’s lair. She manages to flee with Vecna in pursuit, finds a gate and takes a literal leap of faith. She falls down to a presumable death where Nancy, Jonathan, Dustin, and Steve are and they see her hovering above them before being yanked back by Vecna against her will. She is reunited with the rest of the kids and gets beaten up. As the day ends, Henry tells them it’s time. Everyone is reunited back in Hawkins. Dustin explains that the Upside Down is a wormhole connecting this world to another one where the monsters come from and that Vecna’s goal is to merge the two worlds. They all gear up for battle while Kali and El meditate and practice their telepathy. Kali warns El that the only happy ending for them is to stay in the Upside Down and vanish with it. Otherwise, they will just be hunted forever. They all manage to barge into the barracks with Murray’s truck and toward the gate leading to the Upside Down.

Stranger Things: Episode 40

40. Escape from Camazotz

Nancy shooting the barrier makes it unstable and knocks her and Jonathan unconscious before they are submerged into a melting room, resigned to their fate with no help in sight. According to Doc Brenner’s diaries that Dustin finds, the Upside Down is a wormhole connecting Hawkins to another world. The tear causes an accessible gate to appear near El, Hopper, and Kali, allowing them to get back to Hawkins. Will is in a trance after tapping into Vecna and he uses him to find out where Max’s comatose body is so he can send his demogorgons to kill her. Vicky, Robin, and Lucas with Max’s body are cornered at the hospital’s laundry room but Karen saves them by loading a washing machine with oxygen tanks, killing the demogorgons with the blast. Max and Holly find Henry’s traumatic memory as well as the way out to the real world. The two run toward their respective portals. El finds Will in the Upside Down and takes him back home. Kali reminds Hopper about being well aware what’s going to happen in the end.

Stranger Things: Episode 39

39. Shock Jock

El and Hopper escape with Kali and head to the church where they are supposed to meet the others, but they aren’t there. Kali tells El that in her attempt to escape she ended up in a hall with pregnant women being infused with her blood but they were all dying. That’s why the military wants to find El, to use her blood instead. Dustin, Steve, Nancy, and Jonathan search for the shield generator powering Vecna’s gate but are separated at the site. Dustin finds out that it isn’t dark magic but something else as Nancy prepares to shoot the foggy barrier believed to be the power source. The abducted kids are installed into their Upside Down pods, their minds welcomed to Henry’s memory prison. Derek creates a distraction as Max and Holly trace the latter’s last memory pre-abduction. Joyce, Will, Mike, Lucas, Erica, Robin, Murray and Joyce rendezvous at the station and use heat to reanimate the bodies of the dead demagorgons so Will could tap back into the hive, right as Max is being strangled by Vecna. Will manipulates Vecna’s body allowing the girls to escape.

Heated Rivalry: Episode 5

5. I'll Believe in Anything

Shane and Rose have a heart to heart talk where she tells him she thinks he’s gay and he comes out to her. They choose to be best friends instead. Hollander and Rosanov get a chance to play on the same team at an East versus West tournament. Shane admits that he is gay and in love with him, but Ilya doesn’t know how to handle the confession. He then has to fly back to Russia as his father’s condition worsens and he eventually dies. Ilya severs all ties with his family and comes back to the US, where he gets to play against Shane in a match once more. Distracted, Shane is accidentally bodyslammed by one of Ilya’s teammates and is sent to the hospital with a concussion. Ilya visits him there and is invited by a Shane high on anaesthesia to his family’s cottage, even though they know they couldn’t really do it. Scott Hunter leads the New York Admirals to a championship win after two decades. As everyone celebrates, Scott calls Kip from the audience, takes him to the ice, and the two kiss for all the world to see, including Ilya and Shane watching on TV. Ilya calls Shane and tells him he is coming to the cottage.

Heated Rivalry: Episode 4

4. Rose

The Montreal Metros finally win the cup two years in a row. Hollander and Rosanov continue hooking up during the 2014-2016 hockey season culminating at Rosanov’s house in Boston. After the deed, Rosanov asks Hollander to stay, and he does. When they wake up, Rosanov makes tuna melt and they snack on it while getting to know each other more. Rosanov tells him how he likes girls, Svetlana being a constant FuBu, but how he likes Hollander too. The two end up making out again and as they climax, they call each other by their first names. Shane abruptly withdraws despite Ilya reverting to his family name, but to no avail. Shane meets American actress Rose Landry (Sophie Nélisse) at a night out in Montreal and the two start dating. Ilya gets jealous. After a match between their teams, the two stumble upon one another at a club but do not acknowledge each other. They go home separately and give in to the night’s carnal desires, yet they can’t keep themselves from each other’s minds.

Ang Suklam Sa Ating Naaagnas Na Balat

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Hindi naniniwala si Dondi Amadeo na bangkay ng nawawalang kapatid niya na si Divine ang natagpuan na nakalibing sa isang tambak sa C-6. Sadyang malinis ang kalansay na tila ba inilipat lamang doon. Malapit nang lumaya si Bonifacio Bonifacio na kilala ng kanyang mga kaanak at kaibigan bilang Boni. Isang hindi magandang balita na umano'y pagpanaw ng kanyang dalagang anak na si Sarah ang tatambad sa kanya bago siya makalaya matapos ang pitong taong pagkakakulong. Si Marisol naman ay isang mamamahayag na pilit naghahanap ng balitang gigimbal sa madla. Magsasalubong ang mga landas nilang tatlo at sila ay magtutulungan upang hanapin ang katotohanan. Ang tanong ay handa kaya sila sa kanilang matutunghayan kapag kanilang nalaman kung sino sino ba ang mga nasa likod ng kanilang mga hindi kaaya-ayang kapalaran? Kaya ba nilang harapin ang kagimbal-gimbal na sasapitin ng kanilang mga mahal sa buhay sa ngalan ng katarungan?

Dark Places

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Libby Day has run out of luck, specifically the money that has been fueling her existence for the last two decades or so. Now in her early 30’s, Libby is one of two siblings who made it out of a massacre alive twenty years prior, when her mother Patty as well as her sisters Debby and Michelle were brutally killed in their very own farm home. She managed to make a run for the woods and hide under a thick blanket of snow, resulting in the amputation of two of her toes due to frostbite. The murders were all pinned on her then teenage brother Ben, who has been in prison for two decades now. The family massacre has been popular among crime and whodunnit clubs. When Libby is approached by Lyle, a member who promises money through her appearances and memorabilia, she is forced to recall what really happened that night and even come to doubt the very statement she made that put her brother in jail.

The White Tiger

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Balram Halwai is not even his real name. Balram was given to him as a nickname by one of his teachers, for lack of having one. Halwai is just a reiteration of the caste he belongs to, that of sweetmakers and confectioners. True enough, Balram spends most of his formative years working at a teashop as some sort of reckoning from the town mafia. It is through a leap of faith that he ends up as a family car driver in Delhi, serving one of the mafia bosses’ sons and his Americanized wife. In Delhi, Balram learns the harsh truths of life and decides to hold his own fate in a chokehold. Witnessing how corruption and government operations work through his boss Ashok’s shady dealings, Balram is not yet aware that this knowledge and his street smarts will soon lead him not just out of poverty but into a life he has never imagined possible for someone like him. After all, a White Tiger like him is a once in a generation kind of thing.

Angels & Demons

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Harvard professor Robert Langdon receives a call from an unknown number in the middle of the night. The caller claims to be Maximilian Kohler, director of CERN aka the European Organization for Nuclear Research. One of their top scientists Leonardo Vetra has been murdered, one eyeball gouged out, and branded on the chest with the word ILLUMINATI. His daughter Vittoria Vetra flies back home to the lab once she finds out and meets Langdon and Kohler there. According to her, she and her father were not only spearheading a secret research about antimatter, they actually managed to produce it. The canister with a sample enough to obliterate any matter it interacts with within a half mile radius, they hid sub terra. It is nowhere to be found and later materializes on live CCTV footage within the walls of the Vatican. The problem? The canister runs out of battery within a few hours just as the Holy See is preparing for a conclave to replace the recently deceased pope.

A Christmas Carol (9 Works Theatrical)

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Before the Grinch stole Christmas, forever alone and bitter old man Ebenezer Scrooge (Arnel Carrion) had been terrorizing London with his obnoxious anti-Holiday tirades, making him quite unpopular in his neighborhood. But then again, every individual thought to be a villain has an interesting story to tell. One night, Scrooge is visited by three ghosts. The Ghost of Christmas Past (Franco Laurel) makes him relive the memories that have been haunting him for the longest time, giving a couple of reasons as to why he is acting the way he does. The Ghost of Christmas Present (Lorenz Martinez) shows him the lives of the people surrounding him as well as their challenges and aspirations. The Ghost of Christmas Yet To Be (Carmelle Ros) provides a sneak peek of future death and how the world will move on despite the fact. The next morning, Ebenezer wakes up with a change of heart. Is it too late?

Shrek the Musical (Resorts World Manila)

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Shrek (Jamie Wilson) is thrown out of his parents’ abode when he turns seven, because that’s just how ogres are. He survives on his own and lives in a swamp, away from everything and everyone who is terrified of him anyway. When Lord Farquaad (Alfredo Reyes) banishes all the fairytale characters from his realm, they seek refuge at Shrek’s swamp, much to the ogre’s chagrin. An opportunity to drive them out of there appears when Farquaad tasks him to find a princess so he could marry her and become king, in exchange for the official deed of the swamp. He agrees, getting help from a talkative Donkey (Topper Fabregas) he meets along the way. Princess Fiona (Krystal Kane) has been locked on a tower since she was young, with a guardian Dragon (Julia Serad) promising a fiery demise to anyone who will dare try to break her out. Will Shrek and Donkey succeed where others have failed?

Heated Rivalry: Episode 3

3. Hunter

A few months before the Sochi Olympics, New York Admirals captain Scott Hunter (François Arnaud) has been having a bad season. He stops by a smoothie bar and meets barista Christopher “Kip” Grady (Robbie G.K.), an aspiring arts postgrad student hustling from job to job because he needs the money. When they stumble upon one another at a charity auction where Kip is serving drinks, Scott invites him out and they go back to his place, hooking up. Scott asks him to stay the night and admits the next day that he wants him so badly, but he can’t come out because of his career. The two live together, their relationship kept secret, with attempts to enjoy each other’s company in public always ending badly. At a charity fundraiser, Scott meets Kip’s best friend Elena (Nadine Bhabha) who tells him that Kip being kept a secret makes him miserable and that both of them need sunshine. The final straw is when Kip invites Scott to celebrate his birthday at a gay bar, which he declines. Heartbroken, Kip goes back home to his dad crying.