Review: One More Try

The 38^th Metro Manila Film Festival Best Picture winner One More Try offers a very interesting tale of a moral dilemma. I read that the movie’s plot is strikingly similar to a Chinese film but I haven’t seen that so I can’t compare but on its own One More Try thrives thanks to commendable performances but it still can’t fully escape the awkwardness of its story and some of the Filipino melodramatic tropes.

Grace (Angel Locsin) looks for Edward (Dingdong Dantes), the father his son never met knew. Grace’s son needs a bone marrow transplant and only Edward could help him. When they found out that Edward couldn’t donate his own, the doctor suggests that they should have another child who can give his bone marrow. But Edward is now married to Jacq (Angelica Panganiban) while Grace is in a long-term relationship with Tristan (Zanjoe Marudo).

While the premise of One More Try is medically possible, the way the movie builds up the predicament is contrived. The doctor played by Carmina Villaroel was just too unprofessional when she was pushing Grace and Edward so hard to sire a child the natural way. That scene, which was obviously intended for laughs, just left me cold. I know it’s just a movie but with a morally complex premise like this, there should be a sense of realism with the attitude and behavior of the characters no matter how minor the role. I feel like that the attempt to inject humor through the doctor’s perkiness and bluntness was out of place and offensive.

But setting that aside, One More Try is compelling enough thanks to strong performances from the cast who elevated the material. All the major characters were sympathetic and their actions were quite believable given how difficult the situation they were forced to be part in. Locsin delivered a career-best in this movie as she perfectly captured the struggle of a mother who will do everything to save her child’s life. Panganiban is equally impressive as she can fully express the inner turmoil of her character even without words. Dantes and Marudo were good as well with controlled but heartfelt performances. There are a lot of dramatic exchanges but they were mostly effective with no histrionics from the actors.

It’s also worth noting that there are surprisingly good choices in direction for a mainstream movie like scenes that didn’t have much dialogue and it just let the visuals to do the talking. However, it still did some of the clichés like having a montage of scenes with the movie’s theme in the background and a predictable ‘happy’ conclusion. I’m not saying that movie should end in a dark place but I just think that given the premise it just doesn’t make sense to leave all the characters in a situation that is way too sociable as if they didn’t experienced the most grueling time of their lives. (Spoiler Alert!) It would have been better if at least one of the couples broke up for good or at least have an ambiguous end with regards to the status of their relationships. I just can’t buy that the four characters are that comfortable with each other as if they are all best friends and nothing happened. I know the intention was noble but the predicament was just too morally damaging to not leave a dent in their relationships. 

One More Try is decent movie with some very promising aspects. For the performances alone, it’s worth the watch but they could have hit the right spot if they dared to make bolder choices. 7 / 10

Review: Thy Womb

 Thy Womb is a very unique entry in this year’s Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF). Getting in the last minute thanks to one movie backing out, Thy Womb is a refreshing change to the commercial-driven movie festival.

Shaleha (Nora Aunor) is a Badjao midwife who can’t bear a child. Her husband Bangas-an (Bembol Roco) proposes that he gets a second wife so he’ll finally have the chance to have a child of his own. This begins the couple’s journey of finding the suitable woman that could give them a child they wanted for so long.

Thy Womb is a restrained quiet film as it lets the visuals do most of the talking. Small moments are lingered on even if it does not move the story forward. At times it felt like you are watching a documentary because of the film’s naturalistic vibe. People may find this approach boring but what keeps the film from being lifeless is because it focuses on the culture of a small community in Tawi Tawi which is anything but uninteresting.

 The film gives us slices of life from the regular townsfolk exchanging small talks to the local market activity to the intriguing and lavish marriage proposal rituals. But what got me the most is the way it captured how life goes on in a place that is often burdened by violence. During a wedding, a gunshot was heard and a minor chaos ensued but Shaleha encouraged the newlyweds to continue dancing and they followed and soon after everything went back to normal as if there’s no more threat. Violence is nothing new, it still gives them scares but they can easily move on from it and resume their lives. It’s quite a moving scene and will make you wonder how can they live normal lives under such precarious situation.

Another interesting aspect in this film is how it gave us a look on how marriages are arranged in this culture. It presents the process in a matter-of-fact account offering no judgment but still managing to let the complexity of the situation seep through. However, I wished the film gave us more scenes on how the arrangement Bangas-an had with his second wife worked because I felt that it was not given enough time to tell that story satisfyingly.

Aunor and Roco gave restrained but very effective performances. This film has little dialogue in it but thanks to the strength of the actors they don’t need words to show their characters’ inner pain and complex feelings. The scene when they met the future second wife for the first time is the best example how an actor can do so much without uttering a single line. It’s all in the eyes.

Reports say that Thy Womb is getting pulled by a lot of theaters due to poor ticket sales. It’s unfortunate that they couldn’t give this a full-week run. Admittedly, it’s a tough sell to the mainstream audience due to the way the story is told but Thy Womb presents a picture of a culture that is fascinating and is definitely worth watching. I always hear complaints how uninspiring the MMFF slate is but this year we have a film that is not your usual MMFF fare so why not give this a chance? 9 / 10

Review: The Strangers

Horror/suspense movies are mostly built on twists and in this day and age it's really hard to get a new twist that can still surprise a viewer. The Strangers pulls off a twist which is really interesting however a movie can not just rely on twist alone as it actually needs a compelling story first.

Evelyn (Cherry Pie Picache) and Roy (Johnny Revilla) take their twins Max (Enrique Gil) and Patricia (Julia Montes) on an out-of-town trip to celebrate their 18^th birthday. Tagging along with them is Evelyn's father (Jaime Fabregas) and his aid Paloma (Janice De Belen). But on their way to the place, their van broke down and they got lost in the middle of the forest where they met a group of villagers hunting down Dolfo (Enchong Dee) whom they believe is an aswang.

The movie starts pretty slow as it takes too much time telling the characters' issues with one another. Nothing really significant or exciting happens for the first hour or so but for what is worth, when they finally got to the “twist” it will make you look back at the early scenes and conversations. I must say that the foundation of the twist is structured well. Unless you're a super sharp person or have seen this premise before in another movie (I haven't) the twist is not something that you could easily guess.

Unfortunately, before you get to the cool twist part the movie lingers on a storyline that drags for too long and felt like it was going nowhere at all. I felt a sense of disconnect from what's happening on screen mainly because The Strangers failed to construct characters and build situations that the viewer could actually have an emotional investment on. It felt like it was just filling out time before they reveal the deceit.

The effects are solid but it's pretty generic and they rely too much on the musical score to inform the viewer that this is an intense scene already. The cast is populated with veteran actors who made the most out of their stock characters while the young leads took sometime to get into the groove of their characters but in the end they still did a fine job. One thing I was impressed with the technical side of the film is the make up because it's really well-done and didn't look fake at all.

The Strangers is sadly a missed opportunity. If they only had a stronger story leading to the revelation of the twist then the impact of the deceit would have delivered a bigger blow. As it stands, the twist only redeemed the movie from being a total dud. 6 / 10

Review: Sisterakas

There’s nothing new to expect with the latest Wenn Deramas comedy Sisterakas. It is pretty much in line with his recent movies that were all box office hits. This brand of comedy clicks with the mainstream audience mainly because it’s easily digestible but one can’t help but think what more can they do if they had a better storyline and not just a barrage of jokes.

Perfectionist fashion czar Bernice (Vice Ganda) hires Detty (Ai Ai Delas Alas) to replace the executive assistant he fired. Unbeknownst to Detty, Bernice is her illegitimate half-brother whom they threw out of their house (along with Bernice’s mom) when he was a child. To seek revenge, Bernice plans to make Detty’s life a living hell while she works for him. Meanwhile, Bernice’s rival Roselle (Kris Aquino) plans to pirate Berna to finally beat Bernice’s company.

While the main plot is actually decent it is still nothing but an excuse to set up jokes, parodies and skits. With this kind of set up, the comedy is pretty much a hit and miss. Vice Ganda did his usual sarcastic and personal jokes and he can really sell a joke no matter how old or corny it is. He can effortlessly deliver one-liners and snark that seems so natural and out of the blue.  Delas Alas is fine although her “baby voice” is grating  but the energy is there. And as for Aquino, well, you could see the effort to do things broad but she doesn’t have the comedic chops to pull it off. The movie was also hesitant to make Aquino’s character a full-blown antagonist and I think if they only embraced that, they could have squeezed out more substance from the character which to be honest is really not needed. And speaking of unnecessary stuff, the subplot of the teens (Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla) is so minor that I don’t think even the love team’s diehard fans will enjoy it completely (their scenes in the trailer is pretty much it for them).

Sisterakas reportedly topped the first day of the 38^TH Metro Manila Film Festival, which will likely begin another franchise in this annual festival. The audience clearly likes this type of comedy and the stars will add this to their roster of box office hits. I admit I laughed in a couple of scenes. It’s silly fun but I hope this team will be inspired to change things up and not be afraid to explore more areas in comedy next time. At this point, they can pretty much sell any movie with their names alone, so why not take some risk (even a small one) in the next project? I hope this is not just wishful thinking. 5 / 10