Pixar and Disney are prone to repetitive, formulaic storytelling. That’s why seeing last year’s Oscar for Best Animation be taken by Sony Animations is so refreshing; until Disney took back the prize this year. Dan Scanlon’s Onward, from the surface, appears to be another feature that follows the same formula, but with mythological creatures this… Continue reading ‘Onward’: A Heartwarming Family Adventure
JP Habac’s I’m Drunk, I Love You tells the story of two friends on a journey, albeit separate and unaware of it. Carson (Maja Salvador) has been in love with her best friend, Dio (Paulo Avelino), for the last seven years, and in three days, she was graduating—both from college and from her feelings for… Continue reading ‘I’m Drunk, I Love You’ and the Inevitable Sting of Growing Up
At first glance I didn't think I would empathize with Alan Yang’s Tigertail, a film about an immigrant father who has lost touch with his family, himself, and his purpose. As someone who grew up in a typical Filipino family and has lived in the same place almost all my life, Tigertail presents a story… Continue reading ‘Tigertail’: An Ode to the Forgotten
If you take a deep dive into Netflix’s catalogue, you’re bound to find some obscure movie that will make you ask why it never landed on your homepage. It has a decent cast, an interesting trailer, and a title you wouldn’t be able to make sense of before watching the film. So why did you… Continue reading ‘Earthquake Bird’: A Mild Mystery
It's always the pain in our childhood that defines us later in our lives. It's the weight of the memory in our hearts that we carry around, like ghosts. And then at times, it manifests into our own relationships and how we handle it. Eventually it comes to a two-way decision: do we exorcise it… Continue reading ‘Happy Old Year’: On Decluttering Ghosts
Four men went crazy over her. You do not know her name. She is someone who just passes you by in the streets of Avenida. She can be anyone you want. She is Aileen. She can give you anything–love, lust, obsession, and companionship. But she will leave you. You will long for her. Forever. Aileen… Continue reading ‘Gusto Kita with All My Hypothalamus’: Aileen, a shapeshifter
