Cinephile si Kurt

14/09/2025

Big shoutout to SM Cinema and Reality MM Studios for the SM Studio Ghibli Fest 2025! 🍿

Got to rewatch Spirited Away on the big screen and wow, ibang experience talaga. Ghibli films just hit different in theaters.

Catch them in SM Cinemas nationwide until Sept 16! 🙌 Hoping this becomes a yearly thing with more Ghibli classics 🎬

14/09/2025

Let's go

08/09/2025

High and Low (1963) - Directed by Akira Kurosawa

My rating: 9.5 out of 10

I watched it the first time in preparation to see Spike Lee's remake, Highest 2 Lowest.

Now I understand how good this film is. This is basically the blueprint for police procedural films that came after it. Many filmmakers have copied it, and you can see the influence that it had on modern crime thrillers. I just don't know how Spike Lee's direct remake will bring justice to a masterpiece like this one. I hope it's better than his sh*tty remake of Oldboy.

12/08/2025

Weapons - Directed by Zach Cregger
My rating: 8 out of 10

This is the latest follow-up to his critically acclaimed yet divisive 2022 horror debut film, Barbarian. When all but one child from the same class under Mrs. Gandy mysteriously vanish on the same night at exactly 2:17 am, a community is left questioning who or what is behind their disappearance. I do recommend not watching the second trailer because it is quite spoiler-y when it comes to showing some of the best scenes of the film.

Like Barbarian, the story is told through multiple perspectives from different characters but with the structure of Magnolia (1999)—one of Cregger's inspirations. It does have the same vibes as Prisoners (2013) when it comes to the missing children plot point and exploration about the grief of losing someone close to you. Despite some of the heavy stuff, Zach Cregger injects some darkly comedic scenes here and there that never undermine the tension; in my opinion, some of them are from the funny one-liners or some planned incidental comedy.

I really like how the film was presented and edited. We start from the perspective of one character, and we follow them as the mystery unravels, then it stops and starts over with another character. It just really shows the confidence of Cregger as he puts you under his command and just "stripteases" you and stops at the right moment. The cast was phenomenal; Julia Garner and Josh Brolin were amazing as always. We also got one of the best child performances that I've seen in a while by Cary Christopher as the only child remaining in Mrs. Gandy's class.The pacing is pretty tight for a 2-hour runtime. There are some good jumpscares here that really got me. The absence of the score in some scenes, just a low drone sound, really adds to the tension and makes the scares more effective. I still prefer the journey rather than the destination after watching it. I know the reveal is something close to what I was thinking at the start. One of my gripes is also how sudden the ending is; it might need at least a bit of an epilogue.

With Weapons, Zach Cregger cements himself as one of the most exciting voices in horror today. I do think that this is even better than Barbarian. And with films like Sinners, Presence, 28 Years Later, Companion, Bring Her Back, and now, Weapons. 2025 is turning out to be one of the best years for horror this decade.

11/08/2025

Hello guys.
I've finally made up my mind about Weapons. I'm going to share my thoughts about it tomorrow.

04/08/2025

Materialists - Directed by Celine Song
8 out of 10

A pretty solid follow-up from Song's fantastic debut, Past Lives. We follow Lucy (Dakota Johnson), a matchmaker who is torn between Harry (Pedro Pascal), a charming millionaire, and John (Chris Evans), her ex and an aspiring actor.

I love how it subverts the expectations of its viewers, making you think that you're gonna watch a typical romantic comedy based on how it is presented and how they market the film. Then it turns out to be more of a romantic drama and really asks you some questions and confronts you with some observations on the current state of dating. The gamification of dating is real. From dating apps like Bumble or Tinder and how they present themselves on social media. Also on how we always use preferences as the end-all be-all when picking a partner and tend to lean on the "materialistic" side of things.

It is expected that this will also be divisive for audiences because of the tone of the movie and also the themes as well. There is also an unexpected subplot here that really makes the film more serious that is about one of Lucy's clients after a date gone wrong that really is a huge tonal shift towards the second act. It might have been a little bit out of place in my opinion when I first saw it, but it actually made sense when I thought about it after I watched it in its entirety. I kind of expect that some viewers might not understand what the film is talking about, but it would be a great conversation starter.

This might be Chris Evans' best role in years and one of his best performances that I've seen. The man is so charismatic and really makes his characters so damn relatable. Dakota Johnson and Pedro Pascal were amazing as always. I just can't wait to see what Celine Song is cooking next.

18/07/2025

Superman - Directed by James Gunn
8 stars out of 10

The feel-good film of the year.

James Gunn just pulled off a herculean effort to successfully kick off the new DC Universe (DCU). I've become a kind of cynic and am not excited to see superhero films nowadays because of the varying quality; most of them were just either mid or boring in my opinion. But when I saw the trailer, I was really excited to see what James Gunn's iteration of Superman will be. I'm glad that I am right because I really enjoyed it a lot.

I grew up watching a lot of Superman: The Animated Series and Justice League Unlimited. Gunn literally made his live-action version of the animated series, imo. It really embraces the fantastical elements and the absurdity of the source material. We have a Superman that shows a lot of his humanity, just like in the comics. Literally the scene that won me over is the scene where he shows concern for his dog Krypto. David Corenswet's portrayal of Superman is really one of the best that I've seen. He just exudes this "gentle giant" vibes and he is just charismatic. This is the Superman that I know.

The entire cast delivered strong performances. Rachel Brosnahan is charming as Lois Lane. Nicholas Hoult might be the best film portrayal of Lex Luthor, just a literal evil person; he really got on my nerves and just displayed big hater energy, and I love it. Edi Gathegi as Mr. Terrific is one of the highlights too; his character really adds to the humor, and I just love his character here. I wish there were more scenes of Clark Kent working in the Daily Planet, especially showing his friendship with Jimmy Olsen, which really lacks in this one.

It's not a James Gunn flick without a bunch of heroes teaming up; in this one it's "The Justice Gang" with Guy Gardner, Hawkgirl, and Mr. Terrific. I just wish that Gunn just introduced them in the next Superman movies because we're supposed to focus on Superman more and not them yet because it really suffers the film's pacing imo. There are also some characters and relationships that were a bit undercooked.

Some of the choices here will not work for everybody for sure, but I am confident that everyone will love Krypto, one of the best parts of the film. James Gunn has now written multiple films that involve adorable CGI dogs, Krypto and Scooby-Doo.

Superman is a slam dunk. It has some flaws, but it's a great start for DC Studios, and it really got me interested in watching superhero movies again. I really trust James Gunn's vision; it might not work sometimes, but I still respect it. We need films like Superman. The world is pretty bleak right now; we need something that brings us hope.

17/07/2025

Happy Anniversary to Cinephile si Kurt!!! TYSM to all who followed and are still supporting this page.
More film related stuff coming soon.

P.S. Superman review. Next up 👀

08/07/2025

F1 the Movie—Directed by Joseph Kosinski

From the success of Top Gun: Maverick, Joseph Kosinski is back with another banger. Another film that you really need to see on the biggest screen possible. F1 the Movie follows Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt), a former F1 prodigy who returns to F1 racing after 30 years to help his former teammate Ruben (Javier Bardem), who owns a team that is on the brink of collapse.

This might be one of the biggest blockbusters of the year that is worthy to be seen best on the big screen, and I'm really glad I did that. The way that Kosinski, his DP Claudio Miranda, and his team filmed the racing scenes is a massive achievement in and of itself. From the cameras that they set up inside of the vehicles, it even shows the POV of the driver that really immerses the viewers, and the cinematography of the film as a whole is really amazing. The actors did a really good job here, from Brad Pitt, Javier Bardem, and Kerry Condon to Damson Idris. All of them were just so charming, and I really like how their characters were written.

The part of the film that I wish was stronger is the writing. Obviously it is a sports drama, and it just follows the same beats that you expect to see in many films that you have seen in this genre to please as much of the audience as possible. It's actually fine with me, but I really wish that there could've been at least some parts where they subvert our expectations, just like what they did in Maverick, but it's not the case here. It would've at least helped to justify the almost 2 hour and 30 minute runtime.

Despite the cheesy and cliché moments, I watched it with the right mindset, and I enjoyed the film overall. It feels like I'm watching a film from the 90s with all of the fist-pumping scenes, funny one-liners, and the overall vibes of it. F1 the Movie is a technical achievement in filmmaking that really deserves to be successful and a film that knows how to have fun.

07/07/2025

Thunderbolts* —Directed by Jake Scherier

8 Bobs out of 10.

Wait... What?! Has there been a truly good MCU film since GotG Volume 3? MCU Phase Five has been very disappointing, to be honest. Except for the last James Gunn film, MCU movies right now are just full of unnecessary cameos "for the nostalgia," just sequel teasing that affects the script, full of obvious reshoots, and frustratingly shying away from being more dramatic. Thunderbolts is not like that.

We got a more grounded, character-focused film, full of empathy and not afraid to get messy (in a good way). This is what Eternals wished it would be, but it just ended up as a big CGI fight in the end, which is typical MCU, but this one is very different. Instead of a big CGI fight in the end, we got a more surrealist and emotional third act that is actually very refreshing to see.

Jake Scherier did a great job as a director on this one; fresh from his successful A24 series Beef, he really brought that grounded drama to this superhero movie. Joanna Calo, from The Bear and Bojack Horseman fame, is one of the writers in this, and I think it's one of the best parts of this film as a whole. I really can find a lot of parallels in Thunderbolts and The Bear, which are relatable characters that feel like "real humans." The cinematographer of The Green Knight and A Ghost Story is in this one too, and there's also an impressive and grand score by Son Lux. Last but not least, a big shoutout to Florence Pugh, who is fantastic as Yelena; she is the heart and soul of this film.

Marvel Studios and Kevin Feige, we need more films like this.

28/06/2025

As it should

B**g Joon Ho’s PARASITE has been named the Best Film of the 21st Century by the .

27/06/2025

LFG

👀