FILMS TO WATCH AT THIS YEAR'S MMFF

At last year's MMFF, I watched only 3 films - all in one day.  These were  “Seklusyon,” “Vince, Kath & James” and “Die Beautiful.”  This year I’ll probably watch 3 or more films.  

On top of my list this year is “Siargao” starring Jericho Rosales, Erich Gonzales and Jasmin Curtis-Smith, directed by Paul Soriano.  The movie has been graded “B” by the Cinema Evaluation Board and this is also Paul Soriano's first foray into romcom genre.  The movie was shot entirely in the tear-drop shaped island of Siargao touted as the surfing capital of the Philippines. 

Next is the comedy-fantasy movie starring Vice Ganda, Daniel Padilla and 2015 Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach.  I love comedy films but I guess I’m done with Vice Ganda’s styIe of slapstick brand of comedy; I am going to watch the movie because of Pia.  

The third movie that I will watch is Regal Films' horror flick entry this year “Haunted Forest” starring Jameson Blake, Jane Onieza, Maris Rascal and Jon Lucas.  This is Jameson's first mainstream movie after starring in 3 Indie films ("2Cool 2B 4Gotten," "Nay," and "Nabubulok").  I’ll probably watch “All of You” and “Deadma Walking” at a later date but it all depends.  

Two other entries "Larawan" and "Deadma Walking" merited "Grade A" ratings from CEB.  An "A" rating qualifies for a film for a 100% tax rebates while "B" rating gets 60%.,

2017 METRO MANILA FILM FESTIVAL

The line up of film entries for the 43rd Metro Manila Film Festival has been announced and will hit the theaters on December 25, 2017.  The genre of the entries varies from superhero flick to romance, horror, drama, and comedy as listed below:

The much anticipated Mike de Leon film "Citizen Jake" would have been among the entries and a shoo-in for Best Picture but veteran director Mike de Leon decided not to submit the film out of principles citing alleged corruption within the MMFF committee and  the anomalous process of selection of entries favoring mainstream film producers.  "Citizen Jake" features Atom Araullo in a fictional journalist role, who criticizes politicians through his writing. 

Which MMFF films are you going to watch?  Please vote on our mini poll (can be found on the right hand side of this blog).