Cinephile si Kurt

11/02/2025

I finally saw Gitling yesterday and I'm glad that the screenings are extended. Highly recommended and for only 200 pesos it's very sulit.

SINE SINTA 2025 FILM SCREENINGS EXTENDED!🎬

CRAVING AN INTENSE CINEMATIC EXPERIENCE? Don’t miss GITLING – the Cinemalaya Screenplay Winner by Director Jopy Arnaldo. Starting February 12, 2025, dive into this powerful and unforgettable film!

This Valentine's season, treat yourself, your loved ones, and your friends to the magic of Filipino cinema on the big screen for just PHP 200! 🌟

🗓️ Check our cinema guide and find your nearest screening location:
Trinoma
Glorietta
Market Market
Cloverleaf
Fairview Terraces

Note: Screening times vary by location, so be sure to confirm with your chosen cinema.

📽️ Sine Sinta: Pag-ibig at Pelikula is brought to you by the FDCP in collaboration with Ayala Malls Cinemas, FDCP Cinematheque Centres, ABS-CBN Sagip Pelikula, Go Asia, Heaven's Best, Metropolitan Theater (MET), Star Cinema, TBA Studios, UXS, and Viva.

Walk-ins are welcome on a first-come, first-served basis. See you there, sine sinta!

10/02/2025

Companion - Directed by Drew Hancock
My rating: 8 beep-boops out of 10

Companion is the directorial debut by Drew Hancock. It is about Iris (Sophie Thatcher) along with her boyfriend Josh (Jack Quaid), who went to a private lakeside estate along with their friends. But a revelation among one of the guests starts a chain of chaotic events.

Sophie Thatcher shines as Iris, she's a bona fide movie star. The way she expresses emotions with just a look—especially through her eyes—makes this her best performance yet. Jack Quaid also is great as a do**he boyfriend; he just plays characters like this to a tee. The script is pretty funny and witty too; I laughed to a lot of jokes and there are some reveals that I didn't see coming.

Companion is a film best seen with friends and with a crowd. This is the first best film of 2025 so far, in my opinion. Also benefits for watching it as blind as possible. Do not watch the official trailer; just watch the teaser trailer and you're good.

29/01/2025

Hear Me: Our Summer (청설) - Directed by Cho Sun-ho
My rating: 8 saranghaeyo out of 10

This might be one of the cutest films I've seen. Hear Me: Our Summer is about Yong-Hun (Hong Kyung ), a guy who is currently having a quarter life crisis and figuring out about life after college. Where he reluctantly became a part-time delivery man for their family food business, where he met and fell in love with Yeo-reum (Roh Yoon-seo). She is the bubbly and caring sister to Ga-Eul (Kim Min-ju ), who is training to be an Olympic swimmer and is also deaf. It is a cute rom-com where they mostly use Korean Sign Language. It also a remake of the 2009 Taiwanese film Hear Me.

I did not expect this one to be this good. I thought I was going to watch just a breezy and easy rom-com, but this film is just a warm hug and very heartfelt. The performances here by Hong Kyung (Revenant) and Roh Yoon-seo (20th Century Girl, The Frog) really are the best part of the movie. They just have that chemistry that is magnetic and feels real. This is also my favorite performance from Roh-Yeon Seo so far; the way she utilizes sign language and her facial expressions with nuance really adds depth to her performance. She is slowly becoming one of the actresses I'll be looking out for. Hong Kyung really has that leading man appeal to him; I can closely compare him to a young Song Joong-ki. The acting chops and the charm are there, and they also look alike.

I also love the cinematography. It has this dreamlike quality to it where the lighting is so soft and really fits the theme of the film. There is also an unexpected one-take scene here about a swimming competition that really surprised me a lot. I really admire the presentation of the film visually.

That said, there are some nitpicks. In the second act, some pacing issues that derailed the momentum of the engaging first act. There is also a "reveal" here that I wished was not even introduced because it is played as a joke and just became a source of some plot holes but it didn't affect my enjoyment of the film.

Hear Me: Our Summer is just a wholesome and very heartfelt watch. It is not just a cute love story, but it also highlights the experiences of the deaf community with empathy and respect. We need more stories like this.

Also, if you like "Isa Pa, with Feelings," you will definitely adore this one.

17/01/2025

Thank you, David Lynch.

16/01/2025

REST IN PEACE

David Lynch (1946 — 2025)

14/01/2025

Looking forward to this one. Catch me around SM North EDSA this Feb!

JFF 2025 SCREENING VENUES AND SCHEDULES

Shangri-la Plaza Red Carpet Cinema
30 January – 9 February 2025

SM City Baguio
7 – 16 February 2025

SM City Iloilo
14 – 23 February 2025

SM Seaside City Cebu
14 – 23 February 2025

SM City Davao
21 February – 2 March 2025

SM City North EDSA
21 February – 2 March 2025

Visit our official website for complete film lineup and information
https://japanesefilmfestph.jfmo.org.ph/

14/01/2025

👀👀👀

💉 Haven't tried The Substance yet?
This is your only chance! 🩸

Starring 2025 Golden Globe Winner Demi Moore, , is back to cinemas in the Philippines starting January 15!

Written and directed by Coralie Fargeat.

09/01/2025

Mine too

Denis Villeneuve was the most watched director of 2024 on Letterboxd.

09/01/2025

This is it. Big day for annoying people lol.

Here is my 2024 Letterboxd Wrapped.

Follow me on letterboxd, let's be mutuals:
https://letterboxd.com/CinephilecKurt/

08/01/2025

👀 👀 👀

07/01/2025

Emilia Pérez - Directed by Jacques Audiard
My rating: 2 out of 10

Who knows that a film about a gang leader turned into a transwoman and painted a dirty portrayal of Mexico, directed and written by French people who didn't even bother to research Mexican culture, will win 4 awards in the last Golden Globes ahead of great films like Anora and The Substance?

And.... it's also a musical. With bad songs and bad singing. It won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. At least just give it to Wicked, because it is the best musical of 2024.

I guess the people involved in it forgot that a musical should have good songs performed by actors who can SING.

Zoe Saldaña carried this movie on her back though. Dynamic cinematography as well. I guess that's it.

This is like a bad afternoon telenovela condensed into 2 hours and 10 minutes and released into Netflix and suddenly some critics liked it because I guess they haven't seen telenovelas before.

07/01/2025

Birdeater - Directed by Jack Clark, Jim Weir
My rating: 7 Aussies out of 10

Phew. Dude, I didn't expect it to be this dark and disturbing.

Let's start the year off with a pretty disturbing and trippy Australian indie psychological horror/drama film where we follow a bride-to-be who is invited to her own fiancé’s bachelor party, but when uncomfortable details about their relationship are exposed, wild turns of events follow.

I guess it's a good film to watch with as little information as possible. The best way to describe it is The Hangover meets Midsommar, filled with panic like Uncut Gems. The film starts off a little bit slow, but it still engages you with kinetic editing and then slowly turns out into a disturbing and bleak psychological horror film about toxic masculinity and toxic relationships.

The editing here is pretty impressive, along with, at times, wonky camera work, clearly inspired by Sam Raimi's Evil Dead. Also, the acting here is pretty impressive; all of them did a great job with believable performances. First-time directors/writers Jack Clark and Jim Weir really made something special here. It might've been a little shorter in some parts; the pacing gets a little bit derailed after the first tension-filled scene, but thankfully they went a little bit crazier in the second half and just won me over.

To me, it is a pretty relatable film because I know some people and interacted with some toxic guys who just excel in gaslighting, are proud of being misogynists, and do crazy stuff to their friends and just downplay it as a joke after getting called out. I've been in some events when I was in school, filled with a majority of guys, where they talked about the most toxic things possible with a drink in their hand, and hearing those stories and those words that came out of their mouths really disturbed me and got me leaving early.

It is not for everyone; it is intense and not for the faint of heart, but if you like to be disturbed and just want something to think about after the credits roll, this is for you, sicko. Australian filmmakers never fail to disturb me.

07/01/2025

LETS GOOOOO

Succumb to the darkness. NOSFERATU is coming to Philippine cinemas Feb. 26.

06/01/2025

HUGE WIN FOR ELECTRONIC MUSIC

Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross ( ) win the for best original score, motion picture.

See all the winners here: https://bit.ly/4j1pLg5

06/01/2025

LETS GOOOOOO

Demi Moore wins Best Actress in a Motion Picture: Musical or Comedy at the Golden Globes for her role in ‘THE SUBSTANCE’.

03/01/2025

Let's move on from 2024 na haha.
Here are my favorite films of last year! I saw a total of 108 films that were released last year.

Check out the full list here:
https://letterboxd.com/cinephileckurt/list/2024-ranked/

02/01/2025

MY FAVORITE HORROR FILMS OF 2024 👻

2024 was a pretty good year for horror, not gonna lie. I've seen a total of 48 horror films (not that many), and I enjoyed most of them. 2016 is one of the best years when it comes to horror as a genre in recent history, and 2024 is a close second. Also, this is the best year for horror this decade so far. Please check out some of the films here if you haven't seen them yet. 👻

Check out the full list here:
https://letterboxd.com/cinephileckurt/list/horrors-of-2024-ranked/

31/12/2024

And The Breadwinner Is... - Directed by Jun Robles Lana
My Rating: 7 "kabogs" out of 10
(50th Metro Manila Film Festival)

(Quick thoughts)
This is Vice Ganda's best performance, no doubt about it. That one take family argument scene straight to the monologue of Vice Ganda is an all-timer already.

It might be cliche in some parts, more comedic than what I expected, and the structure might be all over the place, but when it hits, it HITS. There are times that I did get emotional and have tears rolling down my cheeks because I saw myself and did relate to Bambi because I am just like him.

Mabuhay ang mga breadwinners.

*This is my last post of the year. Thank you for reading and sharing my reviews and recommendations; it really means a lot.*
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!