Philippines Archives – CULTURE MIX

Review: ‘Call Me Mother’ (2025), starring Vice Ganda and Nadine Lustre

January 17, 2026

by Carla Hay

Vice Ganda and Lucas Andalio in “Call Me Mother” (Photo courtesy of Star Cinema)

“Call Me Mother” (2025)

Directed by Jun Robles Lana

Tagalog with subtitles

Culture Representation: Taking place in the Philippines, in 2025 (with some flashbacks to 2015), the comedy/drama film “Call Me Mother” features a predominantly Filipino cast of characters (with a few white people) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.

Culture Clash: A transgender woman, who has been a longtime coach for beauty pageant contestants, is the legal guardian of a 10-year-old boy whom she has raised since he was a baby, but her plans to legally adopted him become threatened when his wealthy biological mother comes back into his life.

Culture Audience: “Call Me Mother” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners and are interested in movies about transgender people who want to become adoptive parents.

Vice Ganda, Lucas Andalio and Nadine Lustre in “Call Me Mother” (Photo courtesy of Star Cinema)

“Call Me Mother” has some overwrought melodrama, but the movie has plenty of charm, thanks to a charismatic performance from Vice Ganda. It’s a bittersweet story of a transgender mother’s quest to adopt a 10-year-old boy whom she’s raised since his infancy. The movie has some very broad comedy, but it remains respectful of a sensitive topic: transgender people who want to become adoptive parents.

Directed by Jun Robles Lana, “Call Me Mother” was co-written by Lana, Daisy G. Cayanan
and Daniel S. Saniana. The movie takes place in the Philippines, primarily in the city of Pasic. “Call Me Mother” was filmed on location in the Philippines. Most of the story’s timeline is in 2025, but there are some flashbacks to 2015.

“Call Me Mother” begins in 2015, when Twinkelito “Twinkle” Paoros de Guzman, also known as Twinkelito “Twinkle” Paoros Reyes (played by Ganda) is shown doing what she loves to do the most as a job: being a coach for beauty pageant contestants. Twinkle (who is in her late 40s) lives openly as a transgender woman. She has to be one of the luckiest transgender women in the world because the movie somewhat unrealistically shows that everyone whom Twinkle interacts with is completely accepting of her being transgender.

Twinkle is a strict and demanding coach, but she truly cares about the women whom she coaches. Twinkle also has a fun-loving side to her when she’s not working. One of the women whom Twinkle coaches is Mara de Jesus (played by Nadine Lustre), who has what it takes to be a winning contestant for the televised Miss Uniworld Pageant, which has various contestants representing various major cities in the Philippines. Mara comes from a wealthy family and has a domineering mother named Mila (played by Carmi Martin), who expects Mara to be perfect.

“Call Me Mother” doesn’t waste a lot of time before showing Twinkle becoming a mother. It happens when Twinkle’s own mother dies, and Twinkle becomes the guardian for a baby son named Angelo (played by Jarren Aquino), who had been recently adopted by Twinkle’s single mother. Nothing else is really told about Twinkle’s personal experiences before this story takes place. For example, there is no mention of when Twinkle came out as transgender, and there is no mention of her having any romances.

Twinkle treats Angelo as if he were her own biological son. But there’s a major complication to Angelo’s adoption story. Angelo is really the biological son of Mara. (This is not spoiler information because it’s revealed in the movie’s trailer.) Mara got pregnant and gave birth to Angelo when she was 18. The biological father of Angelo is not mentioned at all.

A flashback shows Mara was in her first trimester of her pregnancy when she competed in the 2015 Miss Uniworld Pageant. She kept her pregnancy a secret from everyone except the people closest to her. During the pageant’s interview segment on stage, Mara was asked if she had to choose between having a child or having a career, which would she choose? Mara was so flustered by this question, she fainted before she gave an answer. This fainting caused her to lose in the pageant.

Mila was furious that Mara was pregnant and demanded that Mara give baby Angelo up for adoption. Mila decided that Twinkle’s single mother, the housekeeper for the de Guzman family, would be the person to take care of Angelo, after Twinkle’s mother offers to adopt Angelo. Mila thinks if Mara kept the child, then it would tarnish Mara’s reputation and ruin Mara’s chances of becoming a successful beauty pageant contestant.

In 2025, Angelo (played by Lucas Andalio) is a vivacious and sensitive child. He is very attached to Twinkle, who is an adoring and attentive mother. Twinkle’s work as a beauty pageant coach doesn’t pay enough for a family of two, and the job demands too much of her time as a single parent. She has “retired” from this type of work and now has a job in retail sales at a store that sells beauty products.

Twinkle has promised Angelo that she will take him to Disneyland in Hong Kong. But in order to do that, they need passports. And in order to get the passport, Angelo has to be legally adopted. Twinkle takes the necessary steps to start the adoption process, with help from an adoption social worker officer named Mutya (played by Chanda Romero), who is friendly and professional.

Mara is now a famous fashion model/humanitarian who is engaged to marry a wealthy heir named Anton Villeneuve (played by River Joseph), who knows that Mara gave a son up for adoption in 2015. Anton has kept this secret, which very few people know outside of their family. Anton is also very loving and supportive of Mara in whatever decisions she makes.

Angelo knows he’s not Twinkle’s biological son, but Twinkle and Mutya avoid telling Angelo direct answers when he asks for details about his biological family. Twinkle and Mutya say that Angelo will be told the details when the time is right. Angelo accept this response, but you just know that “Call Me Your Mother” is the type of movie where Angelo will find out the truth in a way that will upset him.

Twinkle needs Mara to sign off on this formal adoption. And it just so happens that Mara wants something from Twinkle: Mara wants Twinkle to be her coach for Mara’s beauty pageant “comeback.” Mara wants to compete in the 2025 Miss Uniworld Pageant to “redeem” herself and win the pageant that she thought she would’ve won in 2015, if she hadn’t fainted on stage.

Twinkle agrees to be Mara’s coach under three conditions: (1) Twinkle wants a big salary raise from the most recent time that she was a coach. Mara agrees to pay four times the amount of Mara’s previous coach salary. (2) Mara has to stay away from Angelo. (3) Mara has to sign the necessary documents to allow Twinkle to legally adopt Angelo.

Mara agrees to these terms. But in a movie like “Call Me Mother,” it isn’t long before she breaks one of the rules. She doesn’t do it on purpose though. Mara ends up meeting Angelo by chance when she sees him outside Twinkle’s house and prevents an unnamed teenage bully (played by Bon Lentejas) from stealing Angelo’s computer tablet. In the tussle that ensues, the tablet falls on the ground and breaks.

Twinkle comes out of the house and sees what happens right at the moment that Mara tells a sobbing Angelo that Mara can buy a new tablet for Angelo, and Angelo hugs Mara. This interaction infuriates Twinkle, who mistakenly thinks that Mara deliberately set up this meeting with Angelo and is trying to buy Angelo’s love. An argument ensues in front of a confused Angelo, who doesn’t know that Mara is his biological mother.

Mara explains to Twinkle that she went to Twinkle’s house because she left her phone inside the house and came to retrieve the phone. Twinkle accepts this excuse but feels very annoyed and anxious that Angelo has now met Mara, and Angelo seems to like Mara a lot. Angelo will also be seeing more of Mara, now that Twinkle is coaching Mara again. For now, Twinkle and Mara act like Mara is a friend of the family.

“Call Me Mother” takes the issue of adoption seriously, but it tends to erase or ignore the hateful bigotry that transgender people experience in everyday life. Not once does Twinkle’s transgender identity become an obstacle to her adoption plan. Even in the most politically progressive nations, transgender people adopting through a social services agency can be controversial. Twinkle also doesn’t experience any discrimination for being transgender from any strangers either.

The biggest prejudice depicted in the film has to do with socioeconomic status. Much of the conflict in the story is about Twinkle being insecure and jealous that Mara can buy and do things for Angelo that Twinkle can’t afford. Mara starts to have an increasing maternal affection for Angelo, so Twinkle is understandably paranoid that Mara will change her mind about letting Twinkle adopt Angelo.

An inevitable rivalry develops between Twinkle and Mara over Angelo. This rivalry is the source of the movie’s scenes that are the most comedic and the most melodramatic. After a while, privileged Mara noticeably acts like Angelo would be better off in a home with a higher income, while Twinkle feels a lot of resentment about Mara giving gifts to Angelo as a way to get closer to Angelo.

“Call Me Mother” has a compelling story about how the definition of “family” can mean different things to different people, but the movie leaves a lot of questions unanswered. Twinkle and Angelo live in a household with five people in their 20s, including Twinkle’s brother Marco (played by Brent Manalo) and Marco’s girlfriend Bea (played by Mika Salamanca). The other housemates are named Ria (played by Shuvee Etrata), Mayet (played by Klarisse de Guzman) and Vince (played by Esnyr Ranollo), who is the housemate who stands out the most because he’s a flamboyant drag queen or transgender woman.

It’s never really explained why Twinkle is in this living situation with all these people, but she acts like a “house mother” to all of them. Vince seems to be involved in helping Twinkle with some of her pageant coaching. But whatever these other housemates are doing with their lives remains a mystery in the movie. Do any of these housemates have jobs? Are any of them students? Are any of them unemployed? Don’t expect answers to those questions. These housemates are mostly seen hanging out in the house and giving emotional support to Twinkle.

Twinkle has friends close to her own age, but very little is told about these friends except that they are transgender women. Mama M (played by John “Sweet” Lapus) is Twinkle’s best friend and is the pal most likely to give advice to Twinkle. It’s implied that Twinkle and Mama M helped each other a lot when they began living openly as transgender women. Twinkle’s other close friend is Dorothy (played by MC Muah), who is mostly in the story as comic relief.

Another transgender woman in the movie is Diosdado “Ms. J” Patumbong (played by Iyah Minah), who is Mara’s personal assistant/bodyguard. Ms. J mentions early on in the movie that she recently had her gender surgery. And that’s all the movie really tells about Ms. J because she’s another supporting character with a vague personal life. Ms. J is friendly with Twinkle, but things get awkward for Ms. J when Mara starts to compete with Twinkle over Angelo.

Andalio is adorable as Angelo and gives a talented performance. Viewers should be prepared to see him do a lot of gut-wrenching crying and wailing. It seems like Angelo spends at least half of his screen time crying or being on the verge of crying. And who can blame him? Angelo experiences a lot of deception and betrayal from adults who are only thinking of themselves and their own egos.

It would be too easy to put Mara in the role of “villain,” but “Call Me Mother” doesn’t have that judgmental attitude. Instead, the movie is empathetic about Mara’s feelings of guilt and doubt about making the decision to give Angelo to someone else to raise. And to be fair, it’s implied that Mara made this decision mostly because of enormous pressure from her mother because Mara initially wanted to raise Angelo herself. Lustre adeptly portrays Mara as someone who is much more complicated than being a “spoiled princess” type.

The glue that holds “Call Me Mother” together, when it could easily fall apart, is how director Lana skillfully balances the movie’s comedy and the drama. Ganda’s acting as Twinkle can get a little too hammy in the scenes intended to make people laugh, but Ganda’s overall performance shows a convincing range in all the emotions that Twinkle has in the movie. “Call Me Mother” doesn’t make Twinkle a saintly parent. Twinkle makes some bad mistakes, but she’s wiling to admit when she’s wrong and learn from these mistakes.

When there are movies about biological parents who want custody of kids who were primarily raised by other people, these movies can often have hokey and unrealistic endings. “Call Me Mother” has moments of unabashed sentimentality, but it has a clear-eyed view of how an adoption process like the one shown in this movie can be painful for everyone because difficult decisions need to be made. The movie has a meaningful message that it’s up to the adults involved in the situation to truly do what is in the best interest of the children, who are often the ones who suffer the most.

Star Cinema released “Call Me Mother” in select U.S. cinemas on January 9, 2026. The movie was released in the Philippines, Australia, and New Zealand on December 25, 2025.

Review: ‘Quezon,’ starring Jericho Rosales, Karylle, Mon Confiado, Arron Villaflor, Romnick Sarmenta, Cris Villanueva, JC Santos, Iain Glen and Jake Macapagal

November 3, 2025

by Carla Hay

“Quezon”

Directed by Jerrold Tarog

Tagalog with subtitles

Culture Representation: Taking place in the Washington, D.C./Maryland area, from 1901 to 1944, the dramatic film “Quezon” (a biopic of former Philippines president Manuel L. Quezon) features a predominantly Filipino cast of characters (with some white people) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.

Culture Clash: Quezon built his political career by changing alliances and getting a reputation for being a political chameleon.

Culture Audience: “Quezon” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners and Filipino history, but the movie has a muddled and superficial approach to Quezon’s story.

Iain Glen in “Quezon” (Photo courtesy of TBA Studios)

“Quezon” is a somewhat tacky drama that reduces the life and career of former Philippines president Manuel L. Quezon to a series of trite political battles. All the characters have shallow personalities. The dialogue and acting are often cringeworthy.

Directed by Jerrold Tarog (who co-wrote the “Quezon” screenplay with Rody Vera), “Quezon” takes place in the Philippines from 1901 to 1944. Quezon (who was nicknamed MLQ) died of tuberculosis in 1944, when he was 65 years old and 18 days away from his 66th birthday. The movie is presented as a political soap opera, but the narrative is so dry and jumbled, it just becomes a “checklist” biopic instead of being a well-rounded portrait of a controversial politician.

“Quezon” is divided into four chapters that are titled like boxing matches and chronicle the various political fights that Quezon had in his career. Chapter 1, titled “Quezon vs. Joven,” is about Quezon’s turbulent relationship with fictional media mogul Joven Hernando. Chapter 2, titled “Quezon vs. Osmeña,” details Quezon’s longtime feud with politician Sergio Osmeña, who when from being Quezon’s enemy to his vice president running mate. Chapter 3, titled Quezon vs. Wood,” chronicles Quezon’s power struggles with American bureaucrat Leonard Wood, who was governor-general of the Philippines. Chapter 4, titled “Quezon vs. Aguinaldo,” show the vendetta that Quezon had against Emilio Aguinaldo, the first president of the Philippines and the head of the Association of Veterans of the Revolution.

All of these political betrayals, alliances, scheming and campaigning could have made this a very intriguing and fascinating movie. Instead, “Quezon” is much duller than it should have been. Many of the cast members deliver their awkward dialogue stiffly. The movie’s messy timeline jumping also makes it difficult to have a cohesive narrative. By the end of the movie, all you’ll learn is that Quezon was a successful politician who was also vindictive, petty, insecure, ruthless and very dishonest while having an image that he wanted to make the Philippines a very prosperous nation. For the purposes of this review, the real people will be referred to by their last names, while the characters in the movie will be referred to by their first names

In Chapter 1, a young Manuel Quezon played by (Benjamin Alves) is a young major in the Philippines military in 1901, when the U.S. was winning the Philippine-American war, which lasted from 1899 to 1902. Manuel is seen giving a coin to a young Joven Hernando (played by Arron Villaflor) and makes a statement that Manuel will make the Quezon name great. Later, Manuel helps Joven launch Joven’s own newspaper called Alerta.

Joven, his family members and Alerta are all fabricated for this movie. These fabricated characters and fake newspaper are unnecessary, considering Quezon had a lot of major things that happened in his life that are barely mentioned or not mentioned at all in the film. It’s a time-wasting stunt to have an entire chapter in a biopic devoted to characters and situations that didn’t happen in real life. Alerta also becomes a battleground in the feud between Joven and Manuel, who gets revenge by eventually making Alerta go out of business. None of this should be considered spoiler information since it never happened in real life.

Because the timeline in “Quezon” is so messy, Joven is seen in other chapters in the movie. It’s later shown that an older adult Joven (played by Cris Villanueva) and Joven’s daughter Nadia Hernando (played by Therese Malvar) become filmmakers and defy Manuel’s orders to make propaganda movies about Manuel and instead make unflattering movies about him. These silent black-and-white movies are clumsily placed in “Quezon.”

The young version of Manuel is ambitious and bit idealistic. By the time the movie shows Manuel (played by Jericho Rosales) in his mid-30s and older, he’s become a cynical and ruthless manipulator. In real life, Quezon held several political offices. In the movie, he is mainly shown as president of the Philippines Senate (from 1916 to 1935), president of the Nacionalista Party, and president of the Philippines, holding the latter two positions simultaneously from 1935 to 1944.

Manuel has a longtime unfriendly rivalry with Sergio Osmeña (played by Romnick Sarmenta), who was the Philippines’ Speaker of the House of Representatives but also held many of Manuel’s other political positions before Manuel did, such as president of the Nacionalista Party and Secretary of Public Instruction, which is now called Secretary of Education. During their feud, Manuel Quezon mentors a younger legislator named Manuel Roxas (played by JC Santos), whom he hopes will discredit and replace Sergio. Years later, Manuel Quezon convinces Sergio to be Manuel Quezon’s vice presidential running mate, with Manuel Quezon promising that he would be president for only one term. (He broke that promise.)

Manuel Quezon’s conflicts with Leonard Wood (played by Iain Glen) have a lot to do with Wood’s resisting Quezon’s attempts for the Philippines to become independent. Leonard, like a typical colonialist oppressor, doesn’t think the native leaders of the Philippines are capable of governing themselves as an independent nation. Leonard also thinks many of the native Filipino leaders—such as Quezon and Manila mayor Ramón J. Fernández (played by Nor Domingo)—are corrupt.

Manuel Quezon wants Emilio Aguinaldo (played by Mon Confiado) to speak out against Leonard, but Emilio refuses and becomes an ally of Leonard. Manuel Quezon holds a grudge against Emilio for years, and the feeling is mutual. When Manuel Quezon runs for president of the Philippines commonwealth in 1935, former Philippines president Emilio is one of his most outspoken critics and becomes his political opponent (representing the National Socialist Party) in the campaign.

There’s kind of a weird scene where Manuel Quezon and Leonard get drunk together because Manuel Quezon hopes this will weaken Leonard’s animosity toward Leonard. However, this plan backfires because Leonard threatens to expose two scandals from Manuel Quezon’s past: Manuel Quezon went on trial for rape (he was found not guilty), and he is rumored to be a bigamist who never had a divorce or marriage annulment from his first wife.

The movie then never really mentions Leonard having this bombshell information again because Leonard dies (in 1927, at age 66), not long after this drunken conversation. The movie implies that Leonard never did anything with this information, which is a little hard to believe considering how much Leonard despised Manuel Quezon and wanted to ruin his career. Leonard’s death paves the way for Manuel Quezon’s political ascent.

As questionable and disjointed as this movie is in depicting Manuel Quezon’s political career, the movie is downright opaque about his personal life. His second wife Aurora Quezon (played by Karylle) has very little screen time. And when she does, it’s in a scene where she’s putting on makeup and says to her husband that he’s a “chameleon,” and she can’t believe he was engaged to four women before he married her. The movie never explains the rape case against him. The movie also never mentions that Aurora was his first cousin, and they had four children together.

The bigamist allegations are brought up again in a soap-opera-like sequence where Manuel Quezon’s first wife Ana Ricardo (played by Sue Prado), whom he abandoned, is invited to an event where Manuel Quezon will be, in order to humiliate him. The person who invites her is Raymundo Melliza (played by Bodjie Pascua), the vice president running mate of 1935 Philippines presidential candidate Emilio Aguinaldo, who doesn’t want play this type of dirty trick in the campaign. The movie shows the outcome of this set-up.

“Quezon” takes a few too many liberties with the truth and fabricates too many things for it to be taken seriously as a completely accurate historical drama. The movie brings up things about the character of Manuel Quezon (such as how he was accused of mistreating women in his personal life) that needed more exploration, but the movie cowardly backs off from this type exploration, as if to say that’s enough just to drop small hints about these scandals. Although not all of “Quezon” is terrible, the overall quality of this drama isn’t befitting for a former president of a nation but seems better-suited for a less important politician who wanted to be remembered more for his manipulative exploits than any effective policies.

TBA Studios released “Quezon” in select U.S. cinemas on October 31, 2025. The movie was released in the Philippines on October 15, 2025.

Review: ‘Ex Ex Lovers,’ starring Jolina Magdangal and Marvin Agustin

March 1, 2025

by Carla Hay

“Ex Ex Lovers”

Directed by JP Habac

Tagalog and English with subtitles

Culture Representation: Taking place in Malta and in the Philippines, the comedy film “Ex Ex Lovers” features a predominantly Filipino cast of characters (with a few white people) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.

Culture Clash: Two ex-spouses try to figure out what type of relationship they want to have after they are invited to their daughter’s upcoming wedding.

Culture Audience: “Ex Ex Lovers” will appeal mainly to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners and pleasantly lightweight romantic comedies.

Pictured clockwise, from left: Loisa Andalio, Marvin Agustin, Jolina Magdangal and Juan Karlos in “Ex Ex Lovers” (Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. International)

Cute and predictable, “Ex Ex Lovers” can be an entertaining romantic comedy about how two ex-spouses handle their unresolved feelings toward each other and their daughter’s upcoming wedding. Jolina Magdangal and Marvin Agustin continue their co-star magic. This is by no means their best project together, but it’s good enough for people who want to see a romantic comedy with cast members who have believable chemistry with each other.

Directed by JP Habac, “Ex Ex Lovers” was written by Antoinette Jadaone and Kristine Gabriel. The movie reunites longtime co-stars Magdangal and Agustin, who have been appearing in TV shows and moves together since the 1990s, beginning with ABS-CBN’s 1996 to 1999 teen drama series “Gimik.” Some of their other co-starring projects are the ABS-CBN’s soap opera “Labs Ko Si Babem”; GMA Network’s drama series “I Luv NY”(2006) and “Adik Sa’Yo” (2009); and the movies “Adarna: The Mythical Bird” (1997), “Kung Ayaw Mo, Huwag Mo!” (1998) and “Labs Kita… Okey Ka Lang?” (1998), and “Hey Babe!” (1999).

In “Ex Ex Lovers,” Magdangal portrays Joy Hermoso, a divorcée who lives in the Philippines capital of Manila. Joy is very close to her 23-year-old daughter SC (played by Loisa Andalio), who was raised primarily by Joy. SC is nice but a little spoiled. The father of SC is Cedric “Ced” Hermoso (played by Agustin), who became a deadbeat dad when he abandoned the family about 10 years ago. Joy is still bitter about the abandonment because Ced used to be her best friend, and he was her first love.

Joy and Ced haven’t seen or spoken to each other in years. There’s one major reason why Joy and Ced’s relationship hasn’t officially reached closure. Ced and Joy haven’t legally ended their marriage. (Because divorce is not legal for most residents of the the Philippines, Joy and Ced will have to get an annulment.) Joy complains that Ced has a frustrating habit of running away from responsibilities. And making their annulment final has been one of those responsibilities that he’s been avoiding.

In the movie’s first scene, Joy is meeting SC for lunch at a restaurant. SC is accompanied by her boyfriend of two years: Joey (played by Juan Karlos Labajo, also known as Juan Karlos), who is easygoing, friendly and comes from a rich family. Joey has a surprise during the lunch: He asks SC to marry him. A delighted SC immediately says yes, while a dismayed Joy immediately says no at the same time.

Joy is miffed and insulted that Joey did not ask Joy for her blessing for this marriage proposal. She doesn’t really approve of SC and Joey getting married because she thinks they’re too young for marriage. SC tries to smooth things over by saying Joey would have asked for Joy’s blessing, but Joy has been too busy at Joy’s bank job.

Viewers will get the impression that Joy is the type of divorcée who hasn’t dated much since her marriage fell apart. Joy doesn’t seem to have a large circle of friends. Her best friend is a woman named Mimi (played by Mylene Dizon), who is about the same age as Joy and who listens sympathetically when Joy has gets emotionally wound up over something. (And expect to see Joy wound up a lot because most of the movie’s comedy comes from her reactions to whatever happens.)

Ced has been living in Valletta, Malta. For the wedding, SC wants Ced to have the traditional role of the bride’s father walking the bride down the aisle. Joy knows Ced better than SC knows him, so SC asks Joy to be the one to ask Ced to have this role in the wedding. And because this is a romantic comedy, Joy has to make this request in person. SC and Joey offer to go to Malta with her because they SC wants Ced to meet Joey. It’s all just an excuse for the movie to have gorgeous-looking scenery in Malta.

Not surprisingly, this family reunion has a lot of tension and plenty of ups and downs. Ced immediately tells SC that he’s sorry for abandoning her and that he’ll never stop asking for her forgiveness. SC is more willing to forgive Ced than Joy is willing to forgive, but does Joy still have romantic feelings for Ced? And has he really changed his irresponsible ways?

Most of “Ex Ex Lovers” is about Joy and Ced bickering, flirting, and deciding whether or not they want to rekindle their relationship. SC is a romantic and wants her parents to get back together. Joy is the most skeptical that getting back together with Ced would be a good idea. Ced (who has a very charming side) is open to the idea, but he has a long way to go before Joy can consider him to be trustworthy.

The movie begins in a very over-the-top manner, with a lot emoting from the cast members. Some of the dialogue and mannerisms are exaggerated in “Ex Ex Lovers,” particularly with the characters of Joey’s parents Andres (played by Dominic Ochoa) and Sophia (played by G Tongi), who are negative stereotypes of wealthy, entitled people. It would be easy to assume that there will be a certain outcome to the love dilemma between Joy and Ced. However, “Ex Ex Lovers” ends up being more realistic than a lot of romantic comedies would be with a similar concept.

Despite some flaws in the movie’s tone and performances, the “Ex Ex Lovers” plot does not go off track into ridiculous fantasy-level wish-fulfillment, which is usually the biggest flaw of romantic comedies. “Ex Ex Lovers” has capable supporting performances from Andalio and Labajo as engaged couple SC and Joey. However, Magdangal and Agustin are the main attractions in “Ex Ex Lovers” and do not disappoint in giving winning performances that have authenticity in showing how relationships can evolve over time.

Warner Bros. International released “Ex Ex Lovers” in select U.S. cinemas on February 21, 2025. The movie was released in the Philippines on February 12, 2025.

Review: ‘Uninvited’ (2024), starring Vilma Santos, Aga Muhlach and Nadine Lustre

January 19, 2025

by Carla Hay

Vilma Santos in “Uninvited” (Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. International)

“Uninvited” (2024)

Directed by Dan Villegas

Tagalog and English with subtitles

Culture Representation: Taking place in an unnamed city in the Philippines, the dramatic film “Uninvited” features an all-Asian cast of characters representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.

Culture Clash: A woman seeks murderous revenge on a corrupt billionaire and some of his cronies for the death of her daughter.

Culture Audience: “Uninvited” will appeal mainly to people who don’t mind watching tacky melodramas.

Ron Angeles, Nadine Lustre and Aga Muhlach in “Uninvited” (Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. International)

“Uninvited” is exactly the tawdry melodrama it appears to be. It’s a predictable story about a vigilante mother on a murderous vendetta. The terrible acting performances drag the movie down to cringeworthy levels.

Directed by Dan Villegas and written by Dodo Dayao, “Uninvited” takes place in an unnamed city in the Philippines. It begins by showing a woman named Lilia Capistrano (played by Vilma Santos) looking frantically for her teenage daughter Lily in their house, but Lilia can’t find Lily. It’s later revealed in flashbacks that Lily (played by Gabby Padilla) and her boyfriend Christopher Norman “Tofy” Almario (played by Elijah Canlas) are both dead.

The next scene takes place 10 years after Lily’s death. Lilia is at a lavish party at the mansion owned by billionaire criminal Guilly Vega (played by Aga Muhlach), who is celebrating his 55th birthday at this party. Lilia has arrived at this party uninvited and is pretending to be a socialite/philanthropist named Eva Candelaria. Guilly is secretly involved with drug smuggling, sex trafficking and many other crimes.

Also at the party are Guilly’s materialistic and shallow wife Katrina Vega (played by Mylene Dizon) and their “wild child” daughter Nicolette Chantal “Nicole” Remegio Vega (played by Nadine Lustre), who’s in her 20s. Nicole, also known as Nicky, is addicted to cocaine that is supplied to her by her enabling boyfriend Mark (played by Ron Angeles), who is also at the party. Nicole repeatedly talks about how much she hates her father Guilly.

Other party attendees are Jigger Zulueta (played by RK Bagatsing), who is Guilly’s right-hand man; Celso Batac (played by Cholo Barretto), who is Guilly’s bodyguard; Jomar Maitim (played by Ketchup Eusebio), who is Guilly’s pimp; Randall Ballesteros (played by Gio Alvarez), who is Guilly’s corporate “fixer”; and Colonel Red Zaldarriaga (played by Tirso Cruz III), Guilly’s friend who is now his enemy. One can assume that Red was invited to the party so that Guilly could flaunt his wealth to make Red jealous.

“Uninvited” alternates between scenes at the party and flashback scenes to show why Lilia has gone to this party under a false identity. You can easily figure out within the first 15 minutes of the movie that Lilia’s motive has something to do with Lily’s death. In case it isn’t made clear that Guilly is a complete scumbag, he acts like an incestuous father to Nicole. It should also come as no surprise when the family’s dirty secret is eventually revealed.

Lilia’s close friend Norma Almario (played by Lotlot de Leon) is Tofy’s grieving mother. Norma is briefly in the movie and doesn’t have much bearing on the plot. It’s pretty clear that Lilia is acting out her revenge plan completely on her own. Her plan (killing more than one person at this crowded party) is actually very foolish because there could be many witnesses and so many things could go wrong.

Santos brings some believable humanity to her role as Lilia. Her performance is the main reason why “Uninvited” isn’t a complete waste of time if you want to watch a formulaic vigilante movie. Unfortunately, all of the other “Uninvited” cast members are either too stiff or over-act in their performances.

“Uninvited” slowly lurches along to the inevitable reveal of who are Lilia’s targets besides Guilly and how she plans to get revenge. A mid-credits scene is underwhelming and adds nothing interesting to the movie, which ends very abruptly. It all adds up to a sordid soap opera that has no surprises and is actually quite boring in how everything plays out to the very unimaginative end.

Warner Bros. International released “Uninvited” in select U.S. cinemas on January 10, 2025. The movie was released in the Philippines on December 25, 2024.

Review: ‘The Childe,’ starring Kim Seon-ho, Kang Tae-ju, Kim Kang-woo and Go Ara

July 3, 2023

by Carla Hay

“The Childe”

Directed by Park Hoon-jung

Korean with subtitles

Culture Representation: Taking place in the Philippines and South Korea, the action film “The Childe” features a predominantly Asian cast of characters (with some white people) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.

Culture Clash: A 24-year-old underground fighter in the Philippines travels to South Korea to get money from his estranged father to help pay for the medical bills of the fighter’s ailing mother, but the fighter gets more than he bargained for when he finds out that people are trying to kill him.

Culture Audience: “The Childe” will appeal primarily to people who are interested in watching neo-noir action films.

Kim Kang-woo (center) in “The Childe” (Photo courtesy of Well Go USA)

“The Childe” is an intriguing action film with plot twists that will keep viewers riveted. The principal cast members give solid performances. There are also frank depictions of the prejudices experienced by half-Korean, half-Filipino people in South Korea. These bi-ethnic people are called Kopinos, which is sometimes used as a derogatory term, depending who’s saying it and the context.

Written and directed by Park Hoon-jung, “The Childe” is an often-violent story about greed, ambition, and family relationships. The movie’s protagonist is 24-year-old Marco Han (played by Kang Tae-ju), who lives in the Philippines and makes illegal money as an underground boxer. Marco is desperate for cash because he’s the only one who can pay the medical bills of his ailing mother (played by Caroline Magbojos), who raised Marco as a single parent. Her medical situation is urgent because she needs a life-changing operation.

Marco’s biological father, who was never in Marco’s life, is a wealthy South Korean businessman who has some medical issues of his own. Because of heart problems, he is comatose and currently on a ventilator in a hospital in South Korea. Marco’s father has not kept in touch with Marco’s mother. It’s mentioned that Marco’s father kept his distance because he was ashamed of having an illegitimate child who’s half-Filipino.

Marco’s father, who is currently a widower, has two other children, who were both raised in this wealthy family: Adult son Director Han (played by Kang-woo Kim), who is in his 40s, is the heir apparent to the family fortune, which includes the Hokyung Foundation. His sister Han Ga-young (played by Jeong Ra-el) is in her late teens. Director Han knows about Marco. In a scene where Director Han is talking to their comatose father in the hospital, Director Han calls Marco a “mutt” because of Marco’s half-Filipino/half-South Korean heritage.

Back in the Philippines, Marco is enticed by a shady criminal to rob a warehouse. When Marco arrives at the warehouse, he finds out too late that it’s all a setup for an ambush. He’s physically attacked by about 10 thugs and runs away into a street, where he is almost hit by a car driven by a mysterious woman who’s about the same age as Marco. Viewers later find out that her name is Yoon-ju (played by Go Ara), who knows more than she initially tells Marco.

When Yoon-ju and Marco first meet, she’s very apologetic for almost hitting him with her car. When she sees his injuries, she insists on taking him to a hospital. The thugs that were chasing Marco back off and leave when they see that Marco is being helped by a potential witness. Yoon-ju makes the mistake of asking Marco if he’s a Kopino. It’s a question that offends Marco, and Yoon-ju makes an apology for it.

After Marco leaves the hospital, another mysterious stranger comes into his life. He’s only identiified in the movie as Nobleman (played by Kim Seon-ho), and he is a frequently smirking assassin. Nobleman tells Marco that he was sent by Marco’s father to bring Marco to South Korea. At first Marco is suspicious, because he’s been estranged from his father for Marco’s entire life, so Marco wonders why he is being summoned by his father at this point in time. But then, Marco decides he can use this visit to South Korea to ask his father for money to pay for the operation that Marco’s mother needs.

The next thing that Marco knows, he’s being whisked on a private plane to South Korea. But what about those thugs that attacked him? Why did that happen? Marco soon finds out that he’s also under attack in Korea. There are several scenes in the movie where he is chased by men who obviously want to kill him. It should come as no surprise who’s behind these attacks, but the motivation for these attempted murders is meant to be a surprise, which is revealed in the last third of the movie.

Nobleman and Marco develop an unusual like/dislike rapport, where the lines are blurred on whose side Nobleman is really on. The offbeat and sometimes sarcastic banter that Nobleman and Marco have with each other is the darkly comedic part of the movie. Kim and Kang have great performance chemistry with each other. Between the action scenes, Marco is trying to find out exactly who Nobleman is, just like how viewers might be wondering the same thing.

A few of the action sequences are unrealistic in how certain people should end up with broken or fractured bones but don’t. However, the stunts mostly look believable and don’t over-rely on visual effects. The mystery behind Marco’s invitation to South Korea eventually reveals a truth that is not as obvious as it first appears to be. “The Childe” isn’t a perfect action movie, but it offers enough thrills and suspense to satisfy any fan of the genre.

Well Go USA released “The Childe” in select U.S. cinemas on June 30, 2023. The movie was released in South Korea on June 21, 2023.

Review: ‘Family Matters’ (2022), starring Noel Trinidad, Liza Lorena, Nonie Buencamino, Mylene Dizon, Nikki Valdez and JC Santos

February 9, 2023

by Carla Hay

JC Santos, Agot Isidro, Nonie Buencamino, Noel Trinidad, Liza Lorena, Mylene Dizon, James Blanco and Ian Pangilinan in “Family Matters” (Photo courtesy of Cineko Productions)

“Family Matters” (2022)

Directed by Nuel Naval

Tagalog with subtitles

Culture Representation: Taking place in the Philippines and briefly in the United States, the dramatic film “Family Matters” features a predominantly Filipino cast of characters (with a few white people) representing the working-class and middle-class.

Culture Clash: Members of a large Filipino family have various squabbles with each other and other people, while the family patriarch is coping with health issues.

Culture Audience: “Family Matters” will appeal primarily to people who are interested in watching appealing dramas that show the ups and downs of family relationships and how relatives deal with aging family members.

Nikki Valdez, JC Santos, Nonie Buencamino, Mylene Dizon, Liza Lorena and Noel Trinidad in “Family Matters” (Photo courtesy of Cineko Productions)

Despite some flaws, “Family Matters” is a drama with its heart in the right place, featuring good performances from the cast members. The movie drags on a little longer than it should, and some plot developments look forced, but the movie remains watchable. It’s a story that transcends nations and cultures, because there’s probably something relatable to most viewers about the family at the center of this story.

Directed by Nuel Naval and written by Mel Mendoza-del Rosario, “Family Matters” has a sprawling total running time of 134 minutes. Some of the movie tends to ramble and become unfocused, while other aspects of the movie seem too rushed without adequate explanation. It’s the type of movie that has some scenes that look like they’re going to end, but then the scenes keep going with needless repetition.

However, one of the biggest strengths of “Family Matters” (which is about a large family in an unnamed city in the Philippines) is that the adult characters have personalities that make these characters very unique and memorable. One of the biggest pitfalls of movies about large families is when the movie makes it hard to tell the family members apart from each other. “Family Matters” manages to mostly avoid this pitfall, because the family’s adult characters are written and portrayed as fully formed people, not stereotypes. However, the underage children in the family have the most underdeveloped storylines because the movie is really more about how the adults in the family interact with each other.

Here are the members of this large clan:

Francisco Florencio (played by Noel Trinidad), the family strong-willed patriarch, is having some health issues that land him in a hospital and affect him throughout the entire story.
Eleonor Florencio (played by Liza Lorena), the family matriarch, is the kind and loving wife of Francisco. They have four adult children, ranging in ages from mid-50s to mid-30s: son Francisco Jr. (nicknamed Kiko), daughter Fortune, daughter Ellen and son Enrico.
Francisco “Kiko” Jr. (played by Nonie Buencamino), Francisco and Eleonor’s eldest child, works as a building construction engineer. Kiko tends to be bossy and arrogant with his three younger siblings and with his work subordinates.
Odette (played by Agot Isidro), Kiko’s homemaker wife, patiently puts up with Kiko when he loses his temper and becomes difficult. She usually stays out of the family arguments.
Kiko and Odette have three children, ranging in ages from about 13 to about 17. The eldest child is son Francis (played by Ian Pangilinan), followed by daughter Frances (played by Beatriz Teves) and daughter Florence (played by Alessandra Romero).
Fortune (played by Mylene Dizon), Francisco and Eleonor’s second eldest child, is outspoken with her opinions. She gets involved in family arguments, but she is also sometimes a peacemaker. Fortune owns and operates a pet store with her loyal husband Nelson. Fortune and Nelson have three daughters, ranging in ages from about 8 to about 14: Nikki (played by Alexa Macanan), Nina (played by Krystal Mejes) and Nadia (played by Allyana Nicole Goyenechea).
Nelson (played by James Blanco) is a mild-mannered spouse who gets annoyed whenever Kiko acts superior because Kiko has the highest income of the four siblings. Nelson and Fortune, who love taking care of animals, are proud of their pet store business, even though Kiko looks down on this type of work because it doesn’t require a college education.
Ellen (played by Nikki Valdez), the third eldest child of Francisco and Eleonor, helps take care of her aging parents. She’s a never-married bachelorette who is insecure about being the only one of her siblings who hasn’t gotten married and who doesn’t have children. Now in her early 40s, Ellen feels she doesn’t have much time left if she wants to find a life partner and start her own family.
Enrico (played by JC Santos), the youngest child of Francisco and Eleonor, is an entrepreneur who has recently opened his own gym. Enrico grew up being called a “menopause baby” because Eleonor unexpectedly got pregnant and gave birth to Enrico when she was middle-aged. Enrico is a divorced father of a daughter named Ginny (played by Allyson McBride), who’s about 13 or 14 years old. He shares custody of Ginny with his ex-wife Glenda (played by Ina Feleo), who has a tense relationship with Enrico. Enrico also has a daughter named Ivy (played by Kzhoebe Nicole Baker), who is about 6 or 7 years old, with his live-in girlfriend Irene (played by Anna Luna).

“Family Matters” begins with a family emergency: Francisco wakes up in bed with severe chest pains and is unable to breathe. He is rushed to a hospital, while Ellen makes calls to her siblings to tell them about this medical crisis. After all of the siblings and Eleonor have gathered in the hospital and are worried that Francisco might die, the hospital’s Dr. Salvador (played by Gerry O’Hara) tells them that Francisco will be okay. Francisco did not have a heart attack or a stroke, says the doctor. Instead, Francisco has been diagnosed with early onset asthma, so he is prescribed medication and a nebulizer.

Francisco’s health scare motivates the siblings to rethink their lives and start paying more attention to their elderly parents. There is some debate over whether or not Francisco and Eleonor should move to an assisted living retirement home. Francisco and Eleonor adamantly do not want to take that option. Francisco is somewhat in denial about how his medical diagnosis will change his lifestyle, because he would like to think that he will still have the physical strength that he had before the diagnosis.

Meanwhile, Ellen starts to feel more pressure to find her soul mate, because she wants her parents to still be alive if she ever gets married. For the past eight months, Ellen has been talking to a Filipino American named Chris (played by Eren Kereci), who lives in the U.S. and is about the same age as Ellen. Chris is a divorced father who has his own business. Ellen tells her family that Chris is her “boyfriend,” even though she and Chris haven’t met in person yet. Ellen decides to take the plunge and go to the U.S. to visit Chris and see if their relationship will progress.

Ellen’s visit to the U.S. leaves Francisco and Eleonor temporarily without a caretaker, and the siblings don’t want their elderly parents to spend a lot of time alone. And so, the siblings come up with a plan to have Kiko, Fortune and Enrico take turns having Francisco and Eleonor temporarily stay at each of the sibling’s respective homes. The movie shows what happens when this plan is put in motion.

During the course of the movie, the children of Francisco and Eleonor have to come to terms with their insecurities about themselves. Kiko begins to feel guilty because he has let his workaholic ways prevent him from spending better quality time with his family. Fortune also has to re-evaluate how she has been balancing her work life with her personal life. Ellen puts more pressure on herself to find a soul mate. Enrico (who has jumped around from job to job) wants to stop having a reputation for being flaky and change into being a more responsible person.

Meanwhile, Francisco and Eleonor have to face the realities of their own mortality and what type of legacy they want to leave for their family. “Family Matters” shows several occasions where the family members gather for meals. And the inevitable bickering among family members happen, but there is also a lot of love and camaraderie. Enrico has the most turbulence in his personal life, because his ex-wife Glenda doesn’t really trust him and might fight for full custody of Ginny.

Ginny adores her father, but her parents broke up before she was old enough to know what happened. The divorce is something that the family doesn’t really like to talk about. During a family gathering, Ginny asks Irene why Enrico and Glenda split up, and Irene awkwardly says that she’s not the best person to answer that question. Francisco and Eleonor are sitting at the same table. Francisco tactfully says that when Enrico and Glenda were married, Enrico used to be immature. Francisco adds that Enrico and Glenda wanted different things out of life.

“Family Matters” has a lot of “slice of life” scenes that show conversations between the family members. But there are also some scenes that pack in the melodrama. Let’s put it this way: Francisco’s trip to the hospital in the beginning of the movie won’t be the last time that someone in the family ends up in a hospital. The melodrama in the movie looks overly contrived and awkwardly placed. It doesn’t look as convincing and natural as other scenes in “Family Matters.”

With such a large ensemble cast, it’s truly an asset that all of the cast members are very believable as family members. There isn’t any bad acting, which helps make “Family Matters” more enjoyable. Trinidad as Francisco and Lorena and Eleonor have some wonderful moments showing a longtime married couple who are reflecting on their lives and coming to grips with the inevitability of death. Santos as Enrico also stands out for his portrayal of Enrico’s evolution as a parent and as a partner.

“Family Matters” is at its best when it shows the realistic family dynamics within this tight-knit clan. Loyalties and rivalries can stay the same or change over time. A family member’s self-perception can also be very different from what other family members actually think of that person.

For example, in an emotionally moving scene, Ellen (who feels ashamed for being her parents’ only child who hasn’t gotten married or had children) tearfully tells her mother Eleonor that she’s sorry she turned out to be a disappointment. Eleonor lovingly responds that Ellen has always been a blessing. It’s a turning point for Ellen and her self-esteem issues. In another example, Kiko likes to think of himself as a respected alpha male of the family, but certain things happen that make him understand that other family members perceive Kiko to be overbearing and overly judgmental.

The last 30 minutes of “Family Matters” really going into overdrive with sentimentality—but in a way that is endearing, not annoying. The message of the movie is loud and clear: Whatever problems or differences that family members might experience, it’s always best to try to resolve them honestly, and to appreciate loved ones while they are still alive. It’s not an original theme for a family movie, but it’s a timeless and classic theme that “Family Matters” handles in a mostly entertaining way.

Cineko Productions released “Family Matters” in select U.S. cinemas on February 3, 2023. The movie was released in the Philippines on December 25, 2022.

Review: ‘Plane,’ starring Gerard Butler and Mike Colter

January 14, 2023

by Carla Hay

“Plane”

Directed by Jean-François Richet

Culture Representation: Taking place in the Philippines and briefly in Singapore and New York City, the action film “Plane” features a white and Asian cast of characters (with some African Americans and Latinos) representing the working-class and middle-class.

Culture Clash: A Scottish-born airplane pilot working for a commercial American airline company leads a rescue mission after a plane that he is piloting makes an emergency landing in a remote jungle in the Philippines, and the survivors are held hostage by a gang of terrorists.

Culture Audience: “Plane” will appeal mainly to people who are fans of star Gerard Butler and well-paced action movies about heroic rescue missions.

Daniella Pineda, Gerard Butler and Yoson An in “Plane” (Photo by Kenneth Rexach/Lionsgate)

As a semi-realistic action movie, “Plane” delivers exactly what it’s supposed to be: pure escapist entertainment full of gripping suspense. The movie has a few twists that don’t make the story as predictable as it could have been. “Plane” isn’t pretending to be award-worthy art, so viewers shouldn’t have those expectations at all.

Directed by Jean-François Richet, “Plane” (whose screenplay was written by Charles Cumming and J.P. Davis) has a somewhat misleading title because most of the action does not take place on a plane. The first third of the movie is about a commercial plane having to make an emergency landing in a remote jungle of the Philippines, due to an electrical malfunction and lightning striking the plane. The rest of the film is about what happens when the surviving passengers and crew members are stranded in the jungle and targeted by a gang of terrorists.

“Plane” begins by showing this ill-fated flight and who is on board for this trip. The fictional airplane company Trailblazer (which is based in New York City) is operating Flight 119, which is going from Singapore, with a planned layover in Tokyo, and then on to Hawaii. (“Plane” was actually filmed in Puerto Rico.) The captain of this flight is Brodie Torrance (played by Gerard Butler), a native of Scotland who has experience flying for the Royal Air Force of the United Kingdom. Brodie is a widower (his wife died three years ago) who lives in Hawaii. He has a daughter named Daniela (played by Haleigh Hekking), who is in her late teens.

It’s New Year’s Eve, and there are only 14 passengers on this flight. The co-pilot is Samuel Dele (played by Yoson An), who is originally from Hong Kong. Samuel is happily married with two pre-teen daughters. The three flight attendants on this trip are Bonnie Lane (played by Daniella Pineda), Maria Falco (played by Amber Rivera) and Isabella Yu (played by Michelle Lee), with Bonnie as the flight attendant who has the most obvious leadership qualities.

Not long before the flight is scheduled to leave, Brodie is informed by the FBI that an agent named Shellback (played by Remi Adeleke) will be boarding with a recently arrested fugitive who was found in Singapore, after the fugitive evaded capture for 15 years. This fugitive, whose name is Louis Gaspare (played by Mike Colter), is an American who is wanted for murder. Louis is brought on board in handcuffs, but Brodie thinks it’s best if the rest of the flight’s crew members do not know the details of why Louis is handcuffed.

Shellback and Louis are seated in the very last row of the plane. The other passengers are scattered in various other seats. Many of these passengers are not given enough screen time or dialogue to have distinguishable personalities. But other passengers stand out and affect certain parts of the story.

Matt Sinclair (played by Joey Slotnick) is an impatient and demanding American in his 50s. Maxwell Carver (played by Oliver Trevena) is a talkative and inquisitive Brit in his 30s. Two women in their 20s are friends and travel companions: Brie (played by Lily Krug) is American, and Katie (played by Kelly Gale) is Swedish. Katie and Brie are both giggly and excited to be on this trip.

While boarding the plane, one of the passengers notices that the plane is an old model and makes a comment about it to Brodie. In a defensive but pleasant tone, Brodie says, “These planes are indestructible.” And when someone in an airplane disaster action movie brags about the plane being indestructible, you know what that means: The plane is going to malfunction.

Even before this happens, there’s tension on the plane because a few of the passengers have noticed that Louis came on board in handcuffs. Brie and Katie were originally assigned to sit in the seats now occupied by Louis and Shellback, but Bonnie discreetly tells Brie and Katie that they have to move a few rows up. When Brie and Katie are seated, they start to take a selfie photo.

However, Louis gets very agitated at the thought of being in the background of their photo, and he barks at them when they’re about to take the picture: “Can you not do that?” Later in the movie, when Maxwell starts making a video recording with his own phone, Louis has an even angrier and more extreme reaction. How much of a loose cannon is Louis? And can he be trusted?

It’s already shown in the “Plane” trailer and other marketing materials that Louis is eventually taken out of his handcuffs to help Brodie in the jungle when the surviving people on the plane come under attack by the gang of terrorists. (Brodie is the one who makes this decision to uncuff Louis.) The leader of the terrorist gang is a ruthless thug named Junmar (played by Evan Dane Taylor), who wants to hold these survivors hostage for big ransom money. It’s something that the gang has done before when visitors have the misfortune of getting stranded in this jungle.

Meanwhile, back at Trailblazer headquarters in New York City, company officials are frantically trying to locate the plane and its occupants, since the plane has dropped off the radar and is considered missing. Trailblazer chief executive Scarsdale (played by Tony Goldwyn) is leading the search-and-rescue efforts. It’s explained in the movie that the Philippines government won’t get involved because the jungle is in a part of the country overrun with terrorists that the Philippines government has given up trying to control. Therefore, Scarsdale makes the decision to hire a private group of mercenaries to help.

“Plane” has some adrenaline-packed action scenes that go in some unexpected directions, while some of the “shoot ’em up” scenes come very close to looking like generic video-game combat. However, the dynamics between Brodie and Louis make “Plane” a little more interesting than the average action flick. There’s nothing particularly special about any of the acting in the film, but no one is outright horrible either. “Plane” is an overall satisfying and serviceable thriller for anyone seeking this type of entertainment.

Lionsgate released “Plane” in U.S. cinemas on January 13, 2023.

Review: ‘A Thousand Cuts’ (2020), starring Maria Ressa

August 15, 2020

by Carla Hay

“A Thousand Cuts”

Directed by Ramona S. Diaz

Some language in Tagalog with subtitles

Culture Representation: Taking place in the Philippines and the United States, the documentary “A Thousand Cuts” features interviews with a predominantly Filipino group of people about journalist Maria Ressa, the CEO of the Filipino news media outlet Rappler, and Rappler’s coverage of Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte and his “war on drugs” in the Philippines.

Culture Clash: Rappler has come under attack by Duterte and his supporters, igniting debates and conflicts over what is “fake news” and what is “freedom of the press.”

Culture Audience: “A Thousand Cuts” will appeal primarily to people interested in issues of democracy, the media and constitutional freedoms, regardless of which country is grappling with these issues.

The Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte (center) in “A Thousand Cuts” (Photo courtesy of PBS Distribution and Frontline)

What happens when the president of a democratic country, with a constitution that’s supposed to guarantee freedom of the press, goes to war against the leader of a news outlet that has been openly critical of the president? The riveting documentary “A Thousand Cuts” (directed by Ramona S. Diaz) goes inside that war between Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte and Rappler, a Manila-based online news website.

Rappler executive editor/CEO Maria Ressa, who is a partial owner of Rappler, is the main focus of the documentary, which has an up-close look into her life during her battles with the Duterte administration. “A Thousand Cuts” unapologetically takes the side of Rappler and the media overall, but the movie also includes viewpoints from both sides of the conflict.

In 2016, Duterte was elected president of the Philippines on a populist platform and an image that he was a political outsider who would be tough on crime. His controversial rhetoric includes crude language, sexist comments and open disdain for the media that have resulted in many people describing him as the Donald Trump of the Philippines. (Ironically, Duterte is chairman of the PDP–Laban Party, which has usually had a reputation for being left-leaning and liberal.) One of the top priorities in Duterte’s agenda is his “war on drugs,” in which he openly declares in speeches and in interviews that he wants everyone who sells, buys or uses illegal drugs in the Philippines to be murdered.

Before becoming president of the Philippines, Duterte was mayor of Davao. Under his leadership in Davao, the high murder rate and government-sanctioned “death squads” came under intense criticism from human-rights groups such as Human Rights Watch. However, this controversy apparently helped his presidential campaign. Duterte is not interviewed in “A Thousand Cuts,” which has archival news clips of some his speeches and interviews, including exclusive on-camera interviews that he did with Ressa before he turned against her and Rappler.

And when Duterte became president, he continued his “death squad” policies as his administration’s way of battling crime, this time on a national level. (“A Thousand Cuts,” which is being distributed in U.S. cinemas by PBS Distribution and Frontline before debuting on PBS’s “Frontline” series, can be considered the companion piece to the documentary “On the President’s Orders,” which “Frontline” debuted in 2019.)

Rappler was one of the media outlets in the Philippines that dared to question these policies and demand that Duterte and his administration be held accountable for senseless murders done in the name of enforcing the law. Complicating matters is that the police could be committing these murders, or the murders could be committed by vigilante citizens. Either way, during Duterte’s rule, open season has been declared on people suspected of being involved in illegal drugs.

Many of the thousands of people murdered in the Philippines since Duarte because president (estimates range from 4,500 to more than 20,000 murder victims by “death squad”) were suspected of low-level crimes, but had not been given a chance to go through due process under the law. And an untold number of those victims might not have been guilty of any crimes.

Rappler published the names, faces and background stories of several murder victims to show that these victims were unfairly murdered for suspected crimes that did not justify their brutal killings. It wasn’t long before Rappler began running into legal troubles from the government. In 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission of the Philippines revoked Rappler’s certificate of incorporation.

In 2019, Rappler was sued for cyberlibel, while Ressa and former Rappler reporter Reynaldo Santos Jr. were arrested and faced criminal charges for libel. In March 2019, one month after being arrested for libel, Ressa was arrested for alleged violations of the Anti-Dummy Law, a law created to punish those who violate foreign equity restrictions and avoid nationalization laws of the Philippines.

“A Thousand Cuts,” which was filmed primarily in 2018 and 2019, only chronicles the arrest and legal procedures of Ressa, not Santos. Her libel trial began in June 2019. When “A Thousand Cuts” had its world premiere at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, the outcome of Ressa’s libel trial was pending. The movie has since been updated with an epilogue of the trial’s outcome.

The movie gets its title from the concept of how a thousand cuts can accumulate over time to a brutal slaying. Ressa invokes this concept during a speech that she gives at De La Salle University in Manila, where she comments on what the Duterte administration is doing to the Philippines: “What we are seeing is death by a thousand cuts to our democracy.”

In addition to Ressa, other members of the Rappler team who are featured in the documentary are investigative reporter Patricia Evangelista, police beat reporter Ranbo Talabong and Malacañan Palace reporter Pia Ranada. Evangelista explains why Duterte appeals to his Filipino supporters: “He offers not just change. He offers revenge.”

One of the outspoken Duterte supporters who’s interviewed in the documentary is Mocha Uson, a member of the singing/dancing group Mocha Girls, who became a prominent government official in the Duterte administration, despite having no political experience. In 2017, she was appointed assistant secretary of presidential communications operations, which essentially involves a lot of social media activities to promote Duterte’s policies and to sell Duterte merchandise. (There’s footage of Uson shilling some of this merchandise in an infomercial-like format.)

In 2018, Uson resigned from the position after a controversial stint in which she was frequently accused of spreading “fake news.” In 2019, Duterte appointed Uson to another government position: deputy executive director of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration. This appointment caused even more controversy.

Uson says in the documentary, “I never planned to go into politics. When I supported then-mayor Duterte, it was voluntary.” She and others in the documentary say that her influential blog, which is read by millions of people, helped get Duterte elected. Uson comes across as someone who would rather be in showbiz, but she’s working in politics because it’s given her access to power.

And later in the documentary, Uson tells a very tragic story about the personal reason why Duterte has her loyal support. Uson says that her father, who was a judge, didn’t really approve of her working in the entertainment industry, because he didn’t think being a dancer was a “real job.” This disapproval led to her being estranged from her father for many years, but they eventually reconciled. The day after their reconciliation, her father was shot to death.

Uson says of her father’s murder: “He was a judge and handling a mayoral electoral protest, so it was political.” She adds, “What President Duterte said is true. There are criminals pretending to be politicians, so that’s who killed my father.”

Bato De La Rosa is another extroverted character who has expressed undying loyalty to Duterte. A former general who was in charge of the Filipino prison system, De La Rosa (who is a member of the PDP–Laban Party) ran for office in a crowded race for a seat in the Philippines Senate in 2018. De La Rosa is not interviewed in the documentary, but there is video footage of him doing an ABS-CBN interview where he says of Duterte: “I would kill for the president.”

De La Rosa has a flamboyant “look at me” public persona where he displays some unorthodox campaign methods, such as singing and dancing at his campaign rallies, where he looks like he wants to give a music concert instead of a political speech. And when he does political speeches during the campaign, they echo much of what Duterte spouts in his speeches, such as people involved in illegal drugs must be killed and the media can’t be trusted.

The documentary also includes some footage of De La Rosa, before he declared his campaign to become a senator, visiting the maximum security New Bilibid Prison for men. He addresses a large crowd of seated prisoners and asks some of them to open their mouths so he can look at their teeth. He accuses the prisoners with missing teeth of being meth addicts.

And then, De La Rosa gives a short, scolding speech that has an almost cheerful, upbeat tone, in which he warns: “Trust me, I have my own way of stopping you from doing your illegal acts.” He then asks the group of prisoners to give a “gentlemen’s agreement” that they will stay away from drugs. The prisoners then cheer as De LaRosa leaves, as if they know his appearance is just a spectacle for show, and they’re playing along.

“A Thousand Cuts” features Samira Gutoc, one of De La Rosa’s opponents in the senatorial race. Gutoc was a candidate from the Otso Diretso Party, an electoral alliance that’s an opposition party to Durtete and his administration. Gutoc comments in the documentary about why she is opposed to Durtete and his policies: “You can’t be judge and executioner at the same time.”

The movie doesn’t try to sugarcoat that journalists who speak out or report on controversial issues are not immune to criticism too. The documentary includes some coverage of the vicious cyberbullying that Ressa receives. Ressa comments on “fake news” accusations: “The end goal is to make you doubt the facts.”

In another part of the documentary, Rappler’s Evangelista gets teary-eyed and emotional when she talks about the toll that her job has taken in her personal life: “It sort of leaks into every part of your life: the paranoia. Maria doesn’t scare easily. I do.”

The documentary also includes footage that gives a peek into but not a full revelation of Ressa’s personal life. Ressa, who is not married and doesn’t have children, doesn’t discuss her love life, but the cameras tag along when she spends time with her sisters Michelle Aventajado and Mary Jane Ballinger. Ressa is shown having dinner with Aventajado and discussing Ressa’s busy work schedule.

And when Ressa is in the New York City area to attend the the Time 100 Gala as an honoree, Ballinger is seen with Ressa in Ressa’s hotel room. They have some light-hearted banter because Ballinger has picked out a gown and high heels for Ressa to wear to the gala, but Ressa declines because she says she prefers wearing trousers and flat-heeled shoes.

George and Amal Clooney make a cameo in the film, as Ressa is also seen attending the Clooney Foundation for Justice’s TrialWatch launch event in New York. While the famous couple is on stage for a discussion panel, George Clooney singles out Ressa from the audience to commend her for her bravery, and he says that she has their support. After the event, Amal Clooney offers her personal email address to Ressa, and they engage in some pleasant small talk.

Despite hobnobbing at these glamorous events, Ressa’s legal problems are never far from her and her family members’ minds. While visiting with her sister in her hotel room, Ballinger begins to cry when she expresses fear about what will happen to Ressa in the trial, while Ressa tries to ease her sister’s fears by remaining practical and optimistic. Ressa says she’s mentally prepared for any outcome because she’s already decided what to do in the worst-case scenario.

Ressa (who was born in 1963) opens up a little bit about her background, which explains why she is able to deal with the type of adversity that would break other people. She says that her biological mother died when Ressa was only a year old. Ressa’s father and stepmother moved to the United States without Ressa because they couldn’t afford to bring her with them when they sought a better life in America.

When she was 10 years old and they could afford to raise her, they sent for her, and the family settled in Toms River, New Jersey. Ressa had to learn English and adjust to living in a country where her skin color and ethnicity made her a minority. She says of being a person of color who expects to be treated equally in a predominantly white society: “You have to prove that you deserve it.”

Ressa graduated from Princeton University in 1986, and earned a Fulbright Fellowship to study political theater at the University of the Philippines Diliman. She ultimately made the choice to permanently move back to the Philippines. In the documentary, Ressa admits she briefly thought of not returning to the Philippines to avoid her legal problems, but she says she knows that would be a mistake and a betrayal of all her values. She also says that facing the attacks and legal issues is part of a larger cause in the fight for freedom of the press.

“A Thousand Cuts” director Diaz doesn’t lose sight of this big picture either. The obvious message of the movie is that attacks on constitutional freedoms (such as freedom of the press and freedom of speech) are attacks on democracy. And although “A Thousand Cuts” focuses specifically on the Philippines, the documentary also serves as a dire warning that other democracies could face the same problems if they’re not careful.

PBS Distribution and Frontline released “A Thousand Cuts” in select U.S. cinemas on August 7, 2020. PBS’s “Frontline” series will premiere the movie in January 2021.