Kimmy Dora and the Temple of Kyeme

5/5

Not only is it comedy at its best, Kimmy Dora and The Temple of Kyeme is also what sequels should be!

It’s common knowledge that creating a sequel is one of the greatest challenges in film making let alone create one that even surpass its predecessor in terms of quality and substance but this sequel to Kimmy Dora does just that.

The screenplay is one of the bests I’ve ever watched in Pinoy comedy movie. The plot is simple and almost shallow to its core but it was written very well along with a very funny script that there’s no boring, corny factor in it. The comedy it presented is very fresh and natural that it will really transport you to the world it created negating the out-of-this-world feel we usually get from mainstream cinema. I’ve always been a fan of Chris Martinez. His 100 is still my favorite movie of all-time. I also applaud his Last Order Sa Penguin as well as his other hits like Here Comes The Bride and Ang Babae Sa Septik Tank, and I must say that this movie just made me admire him even more.

The seamless blending of comedy, drama, and horror in this movie is also one for the books. It was perfectly manifested in the entire film. To be honest, the “gulat” factor is more defined in this film than Joyce Bernal’s overrated “Segunda Mano” last December. Lighting and Cinematography are equally amazing. The shots really made me love South Korea. Even the special effects were done excellently and believably. This movie knows its strengths from the script, to the over-all screenplay, to its actors and it instinctively capitalized in all of it creating all-time highs of the movie.

As far as the lead star’s acting is concern, I have nothing to say but WOW to Eugene Domingo. Acting in two different characters is hard enough but to portray two extreme characters at the same time with the perfection she does is just genius! Seriously, thank God for a Eugene Domingo in Philippine cinema! She’s outstanding and remarkably the ONLY one. The most poignant scene of the movie is actually the one where Dora is giving back her engagement ring to a half-awake, comatose Johnson and knowing the character of Dora, there will probably be the slightest part of you who would want to laugh but I swear believe me when I say you will be carried away. The scene lasted for just a minute or two but you can feel the genuinely innocent pain of her Dora character there. That’s how brilliant actress EUGENE DOMINGO is!

In conclusion, Kimmy Dora and the Temple of Kyeme is a must watch comedy. In my own honest opinion it’s funnier than the first Kimmy Dora and if you enjoyed it I guarantee that this one will exceed your expectations. I truly hope that more Pinoy comedy movies with substance and wit like this will be produced. Enough of the Wenn Deramas shitty crap comedy that’s so prevalent in mainstream cinema today, please!

Babe, I Love You

3/5

Before writing this review, I promised myself not to be too technical about it. Just go with the flow and say my piece; setting the mood to a more relaxed movie goer sharing his thoughts rather than a critic who objectively scrutinizes every single detail of the movie.

I had to pass on watching the movie on its opening day which happens to be a Black Saturday for it was one hell of a busy day at our house that day. Yesterday, after our appointment with our ophthalmologist at Medical City, my mom, my sister, and I went and ate lunch at Jatujak and headed to Robinson’s Galleria to watch “Babe, I Love You”.

To be honest, I didn’t expect much from the movie. I wasn’t very excited about it but don’t get me wrong because I love Anne Curtis. I’m a fan of Sam Milby. And I applaud their love team. I saw the full trailer a few weeks ago and to me it lacks the WOW factor that fuels your anticipation. Having said this, I want to clear the air and say that the movie is very much enjoyable and is a good choice if you want to be entertained.

Just like any other rom-coms, the main plot and storyline of this movie is something that we’ve already seen a couple of times in the past. As a big fan of this genre, I’m already expecting a larger than life storyline, at times corny dialogues, and over the top embellishment of coincidences. Though I know that this may sound unfair to this genre I love so much, it’s also saying accurately what rom-coms have turned out to be. After all, what else can you do in a teeny bopper movie like this?! Most of the time in rom-coms, the defining moment is the script and the director’s take on a very cliché and overrated plot. Gladly for “Babe, I Love You”, it didn’t disappoint.

Anne Curtis’ acting is highlighted a lot in this movie. It’s such a joy to see how much maturity as an actress she’s gained over the years. This is one genre that I think Anne is very very fit on doing for the next 5 to 10 years in showbiz. Sam Milby on the other hand is turning to be one of the brilliant actors of his generation. In my own personal opinion, his acting is more authentic and excellent in this movie than in last year’s “And I Love You So” opposite Bea Alonzo. His facial expressions and delivery now is more sincere and you can really see his depth as an actor. And oh my golly as in SAM IS SO HOT!!! YUMMY YUMMY YUMMY. I'm crazy in love with him! The undeniable chemistry of this two is the big come on of this movie. It creates a very natural feel. The magic of Sam and Anne’s chemistry makes you feel as if you’re not watching a movie. I never once felt that anything is pilit. Acting and dialogues are just ample and stayed close to real human emotions. I love love love all the quotable quotes! Star Cinema is really the best when it comes to quotable quotes. Praise and compliments to the writers.

Nothing is superb in the story and it’s neither one of the best rom-com you’ll ever see but it’s a story that a lot of people can relate to. I think that’s the major reason why it’s such a box-office success. Though it’s not a movie you’ll remember and will turn in to be one of those classics, you’ll leave the cinema feeling content and not asking for your money back. The movie’s main goal is to make you feel kilig and make you fall in love again. And this movie is successful in creating that effect on you. This is the kind of rom-com that will have you cringe in your sit and smile cause of so much kilig.

“Babe, I Love You”, is mediocre to a John Lloyd-Bea movie but it’s a sure thing very nice movie. It’ll make you realize a lot of things about love and relationships. It’ll make you smile just by staring in the screen and going with the flow of the storyline. It’s enjoyable and humorous. And without trying to be, it’ll make you fall in love again because of the very honest and believable kind of love it portrays not to mention the sincerity of Sam and Anne’s chemistry.

I can say that this movie is worth watching for because it’s good that sometimes, a movie like this comes our way to awaken the fire and remind us that we should never falter on love. It is a reminder that we should never give up on true love because at this day and age, it still is real and possible. Elusive to many of us but will certainly find us in the least of time we expect.

I enjoyed this movie a lot because balancing out the kilig moments are life realities and ideas of love and relationships that will make you think. After watching I realized that indeed, sometimes, it is our differences that make relationships more exciting. This movie is a testament that LOVE always goes beyond differences whether be it in beliefs, social class, family background, education, etc. The true measure of a relationship lies on how we compromise to make things work out. And ultimately, this movie is proof that love above everything else is all about accepting and fighting for the one you love for all that he is and all that he’s not. LOVE...WITH ALL ITS IMPERFECTIONS AND MADNESS, IS STILL THE GREATEST THING THIS LIFE CAN EVER GIVE.

Miss You Like Crazy

3/5

“Time is meaningless when you are in love.”

I’ve seen “One More Chance” a thousand times before and I’m a self-confessed fan of the John Lloyd-Bea love team so it’s impossible for me to miss this movie. Weeks before February 24 I’ve already freed my schedule and swore that I’ll drop everything on that day just so I can watch this reunion movie on its first day. I have to say that I have high expectations for this movie and I can’t help but compare it with “One More Chance” for that movie had so much of an impact not only to me personally but to many others as well. And so allow me now to indulge on my thoughts and say my piece about this movie.

Two strangers with extremely opposite characters were constantly being brought together by fate through stones, Mia Samonte (Bea Alonzo) have intentionally left behind whenever she feels like expressing her feelings. These stones bearing loaded statements of deep human emotions caught the attention of a serious, unhappy young man, Alan Alvarez (John Lloyd Cruz); whose inner emotions relates to the statements written in the stones. They seem perfect for each other but because of choice, they had to go on separate ways. So can genuine love bring them back together?

It’s perfect that this material was given to John Lloyd and Bea. I think that among the stars of our generation, they’re the only ones who can give justice to the roles of Alan and Mia. This movie is a sure blockbuster hit because like “One More Chance”, the story hits home, many can relate to it. Just like many of Star Cinema’s previous offerings, “Miss You Like Crazy” has a very reach story where real and genuine human emotions can be drawn to. I have to commend Director Cathy Garcia-Molina for yet another genius take on a love story that’s mature, nakakakilig without trying to be, and most importantly a love story that shows another side of love. Its side where love takes its own course and perfect timing, complete with all the whirlwind of joys and pains it brings. Once again, scriptwriter Vanessa Valdez was able to deliver a script that’s truthful with close to perfect authentic human emotions. Lines were never exaggerated nor pushed. The balance of drama, humor, and kilig in this movie is impeccable. Everything is just so natural that you’d forget you’re in fact watching a movie. The execution of a story that’s close to every moviegoer’s heart is praiseworthy.

Acting is superb! I will never tire in saying that John Lloyd Cruz is the best actor in his generation. Piolo is also good but trust me when it comes to acting, JOHN LLOYD CRUZ is the KING! He’s just brilliant. What I love about him is that you’d forget he’s just playing a role. When he takes on a role and act, you’ll totally forget John Lloyd Cruz, the actor playing the role for when he gives life to a role, he definitely owns it. Bea Alonzo has really matured acting wise ever since her “And I Love You So” blockbuster hit last year. She acts so well that sometimes just by her facial expression you can already feel the depth of the pain she’s going through. She really deserves an acting award real soon. And what can I say to the unwavering and very powerful chemistry that these two have?! MAGICAL! MAGNIFICENT! I’m just in awe of how natural, sincere, and unpretentious their chemistry is. It’s a chemistry perfectly formulated by heaven. It’s just the best of chemistry I’ve seen in Philippine Cinema in this generation.

Though I may seem to praise the movie with its entirety, I also want to point out three major problems this movie have. First is the use of the element of time. It’s the most important tool of this movie but unfortunately, it failed to give justice to this one. At some point the movie feels a little bit rushed and you won’t feel that 2 years have already passed? When the anticipation and excitement died down, you’ll notice yourself asking, “What? Really? 2 years have already passed?”, “Wow! Really? This scene is supposed to be 5 years after?!” There’s this kulang factor towards the end of the film mainly because the element of time wasn’t executed properly. Secondly, I just hate the film’s ending because to me it appears very much an obligatory ending because Filipino moviegoers always want a happy ending. Though I understand Star Cinema’s thinking business, I just personally would rather see a different ending, something more believable, fresh, and realistic. Finally, one of the differences this movie has compared to “One More Chance” is that “Miss You Like Crazy” is full of predictable scenarios. Yes, it’s a love story and usually love stories tend to be predictable because after all, its plot is just one universal field that is love but with this movie, I don’t think Direk Cathy Garcia-Molina was careful enough to minimize and control the predictability of her scenes. What’s admirable is that somehow the movie’s predictability was reversed to humor that the full capacity of the movie house were laughing every time a predictable scenario is about to transpire. One particularly foreseeable scene that really grated on my nerves was the scene at a Malaysian park where Alan and Mia first met at Malaysia. The moment Bea stood up, then John Lloyd also stood up, I knew right away that they’ll bump into each other after a few steps. I believe Direk Cathy could’ve done better than that.

Nothing is perfect and it includes this movie. Though it’s not as superb as “One More Chance” was, “Miss You Like Crazy” is still a movie you shouldn’t dare miss. It’s a perfect post-Valentine movie that tells us love is not all about kilig-kilig. There are so many quotable quotes in this movie as well as lessons about love to learn. Among these many lessons that really struck me is the movie’s main message of love’s own timing. Love can be very playful and indeed, it has its own perfect timing that neither anyone of us can ever halt but in the end, TRUE LOVE AND DESTINY WILL ALWAYS PREVAIL. We may hurt and question why sometimes destiny brings us to meet someone who won’t end up with us but in this real world we’re living, really, LOVE IS NOT THE ONLY REASON WHY YOU LEAVE OR STAY.


P.S. Forget about Papa Piolo or Sam Milby or even Derek Ramsay’s 6-pack abs, if it’s JOHN LLOYD CRUZ, fuck who needs an abs?! JOHN LLOYD FOREVER!

Kimmy Dora

4/5 stars

Comedy at its best!

Twins Kimmy and Dora (both played by Eugene Domingo) are heiresses to the multi-billion Go Dong Hae empire. Conflict arises mainly caused by the differences between the twins’ personalities. While Kimmy is all-brains and ruthless, her sister Dora is caring and thoughtful although a little slow, mentally. The twins’ personalities always clashes as Kimmy is very much jealous of the attention and special care Dora is getting from their father, Luisito Go Dong Hae, and from Johnson (Dingdong Dantes), the apple of her eyes. As peculiar events transpired, Kimmy and Dora finds themselves switching places with Kimmy in the hands of kidnappers and Dora now the CEO of the Go Dong Hae empire.

I’d like to say that this movie didn’t disappoint at all. There was enormous hype and promo for the movie and it’s all worth it. This movie stands apart from all the other comedies the Philippine movie industry has been producing these past few years because this particular movie actually offers a different type of Filipino humor, a comedy that has value. It’s not the cliché overly corny comedy we’ve all watched a thousand times before. Kimmy Dora actually tells a story with a perfect blend of stuffed comedy and passable drama.

There was never a dull moment in this movie and I never felt as if scenes were just included to fill-in the time as many mainstream comedy movies in the Philippines now do. I have to point out that though Kimmy Dora falls under the comedy genre and it’s obviously produced just to entertain and make moviegoers laugh, producers made sure that the storyline and the script itself is actually worth watching. And it proves that not because this is comedy, the narrative flow of the movie is already unimportant. I say kudos to its scriptwriter, Chris Martinez. I am so a fan of the works of this man. Editing was also worth mentioning above others because every scene was perfect in the story’s time line and this is a very important aspect many comedy films nowadays take for granted. With a beautiful editing like this, audiences will be drawn deep into the story even though the plot is just very very light. This is the only comedy movie Direk Joyce Bernal directed that I actually enjoyed. I am a big big fan of her romantic-comedies and only now can I say that she’s also good with comedy movies.

EUGENE DOMINGO IS THE BEST! A STAR IS BORN. I am a fan of Uge since time immemorial. If I admire her talent before, I adore it now. I believe everything with regards to this movie is perfect timing. This is the perfect launching material for a talent like Eugene’s. In my opinion, she deserves every title being given to her today because she’s really a one of a kind actress. Her comedy is genuine and spontaneous. And she can affect audience with her drama. With her versatility and innate acting abilities, I dare say, EUGENE DOMINGO IS THE ACTRESS of all our lady comedians nowadays. She is a precious talent and really THE ONE AND ONLY! Hail to the Diamond Comedy Queen and hopefully, the 2009 Box Office Queen!

Kimmy Dora is in every aspect a worth watching movie because aside from the laugh it’ll give you, it’ll also unconsciously touch you in many ways. And hello naman just for Uge’s talent being showcased in this movie it’s already a must watch. I am saying this now, this movie is worth every peso you will pay for it and I believe this comedy movie will be one of the classics Philippine cinema has ever produced. Super congratulations to Spring Films and Ms. Eugene Domingo.

Paano Kita Iibigin

5/5

Fans of songbird Regine Velasquez and heartthrob Piolo Pascual had been waiting for this movie for two years now. And as an avid Regine Velasquez fan, my anticipation for this movie was unexplainable. That’s why days before its first day of theatrical showing, I promised myself that I’m going to watch it on its first day, rain or shine!

May 30, after my first class, I rushed to Glorietta 4 to catch the first screening at 12:50 pm. I was not expecting that crowd thinking that it was the first screening and people might be at work since it’s Wednesday, 12:50 pm. But I was wrong because at the time I bought my ticket and made my way inside the movie house, there were a lot of people occupying the seats already and by the time the movie started, the first three rows from the screen were the only one’s not occupied. There were even some that chose to just stand up to be able to get a better view.

After watching the movie, I dare say YOU’LL MISS HALF OF YOUR LIFE IF YOU WON’T WATCH THIS MOVIE!!! And I mean that!

I’ll give you FIVE reasons why you should go and see this movie:

1. It is very rare that we find a local movie that has depth and so much SUBSTANCE in it. This movie if I may say so is oozing with substance. And it’s very, very different in such a way that it gave a typical Filipino romance flick a different perspective. It’s not your ordinary kilig-kilig, pa-cute Tagalog romance, it’s so good! Everything in the movie is FRESH!!! I didn’t notice any cliché at all. The movie in general is very realistic. The acting of everyone in the film was perfect. A totally different Piolo and Regine are in this movie.

2. I have to commend the writers for a well-written story. I love the fact that they did not relied on fantasy and just offered a love story that has so much out of this world element. John Paul Abellera, the script writer, made a job well done in this movie. There was never a “trying-hard” line. Every dialogue was perfect. I really noticed that they made it a point that every dialogue in the script fits the characters, the scenes, the emotion of that particular act and the over all tone of the movie. One thing I also admire about the script was that they did not use cliché, over-acting lines. Especially when the main characters were professing their love for each other, the words they used were carefully chosen and were not baduy!

3. I have seen all of Regine Velasquez’s movie and indeed, I can say that this movie is her best to date. This movie brought out the actress in her. Here, she proved that she’s not only the best singer in Asia, she also established that she’s one of the excellent actresses we have here in the Philippines. Regine Velasquez deserves a Best Actress trophy for this movie. Not only was she admirable in this film but also stunning and exceptional. Regine Velasquez was really great in this movie. Two thumbs up, Songbird!

4. What can I say about Piolo Pascual??? He’s fantastic in this movie. He doesn’t need to speak just by his facial expressions you’ll know what his character’s emotion is. I particularly love the scene where he’s inside the mini airplane and was just crying. I BOW DOWN TO YOU PIOLO!!! You’re the man! And of course, he’s so yummy!!! Gosh!!! I’m so speechless. I’m drooling the entire time I was inside the movie house.

5. This masterpiece was directed by Direk Joyce Bernal and she deserves a standing ovation for this film. It’s like she never runs out of bright ideas for a romance movie. She’s one of the best directors we have and I really love her. There was never a dragginf scene in this movie. Every shot was just perfect and rightfully done. One thing I love about Direk Joyce is that she knows what she wants and if it’s a romance movie by her, expect it, it’s DAMN SO FABULOUS! I admire how she directs love scenes. Very, very good!!! For this particular movie, the love scene and kissing scenes were sensual and very passionate but still it appeared extremely wholesome.

For a person like me who has watched a hundred romance movies, I say this is one of the best I have ever seen. This co-production between Star Cinema and Viva Films is amazing! It’s all worth it and I highly recommend it.

“Paano Kita Iibigin” is a great movie. It offers a great deal of romance and the right amount of drama and humor. Go and WATCH IT!!!

P.S. Eugene Domingo rocks!!!