Filipinos have been obsessed with K-dramas and movies nowadays. Some tend to finish binge-watching 20 episodes-long series in a span of 2 to 3 days! Like, how can you do that folks? Lol. I am not actually fond of Korean dramas, but if you are going to ask me which k-series I would not get tired of watching, that would be Reply 1988. One of South Korea’s highest-rated series in their television history. Reply 1988 revolves around five friends and their families residing in the same street of Ssangmun-dong in the year 1988. With its story of family, love, and...

WARNING: This review contains spoilers for the Cinemalaya 2020 Main Competition Shorts Entry “Tokwifi”. Read at your own risk.   Photo courtesy of Cinemalaya REVIEWER’S RATING: 9/10 SYNOPSIS: A 1950s mestiza star, trapped inside a television that fell from the sky – dreams up a romantic romp with a Bontok Igorot man who does not know how to kiss. The film is set in the beautiful fields and mountains which are home to the Igorot Tribe. The opening scene tells us a fact, according to a book written by Dr. Albert Jenks in 1905, that the Igorot do not kiss,...

WARNING: This review contains spoilers for the Cinemalaya 2020 Main Competition Shorts Entry “Living Things”. Read at your own risk. Photo courtesy of Cinemalaya REVIEWER’S RATINGS: 8/10   SYNOPSIS: Kints and Charles have been together for almost a decade. One day, Kints wakes up and discovers that her lover has changed, literally. Although troubled at first, she eventually understands that what happened is a natural phenomenon. Through this, she is reminded that people change all the time and love can change people. The film introduces the two main characters, Kints and Charles, at the opening scene. The following scenes let...

WARNING: This review contains spoilers for the Cinemalaya 2020 Main Competition Shorts Entry." Read at your own risk. REVIEWER’S RATINGS: 7/10   SYNOPSIS: A closeted gay man in his 60s has been living with HIV for 10 years. His monotonous life takes a sudden turn when he receives an old vinyl record from his dead ex-lover. The short film opens with a statement from UNAIDS that in the Philippines alone, there are about 77,000 people living with HIV (PLHIV), and that only about 62,029 of those have been diagnosed and reported. This is followed by a powerful statement, “HIV doesn’t kill,...

WARNING: This review contains spoilers for the Cinemalaya 2020 Main Competition Shorts Entry “Fatigued”. Read at your own risk.   Photo courtesy of Cinemalaya REVIEWER’S RATING: 6/10   SYNOPSIS: One night, you overslept because of too much work. Now, you must wake up before your nightmare becomes a reality.   Fatigued is an “interactive film” by Director James Mayo, where you play as yourself, a tired and overworked employee, who overslept one night. How do you wake up? How do you know what is real? The film has a really eerie feel to it from the start. It claims to...