4 films to see on the week of December 2-9, 2016
Underworld: Blood Wars
THE LATEST installment in the franchise, Underworld: Blood Wars follows Vampire hunter Selene (Kate Beckinsale) as she fends off attacks from both the Lycans and the Vampires as she attempts to stop the eternal war between the two groups. Directed by Anna Foerster, it also stars Theo James and Charles Dance. FILMINK’s Anthony O’Connor writes, “…you’d be better off staying home and doing literally anything else.” Iain McNally of The Hyped Geek suggests “… it’s definitely time to reboot or abandon the cinema franchise. At one point Selene says that ‘Times change, Vampires do not.’ Neither it seems does Underworld and at this point it sorely needs to.”
MTRCB Rating: R-13
The 9th Life of Louis Drax
AFTER SURVIVING eight near-death accidents throughout his short unlucky life, Louis Drax plunges off a steep cliff on his ninth birthday. A neurologist uses unorthodox techniques to try to tap into the boy’s unconscious mind and finds himself drawn deeper into the mystery of Louis’s seeming ability to cheat death. Directed by Alexandre Aja, it stars Jamie Dornan, Sarah Gadon, and Aiden Longworth. “A dopey psychological thriller that combines elements of The Sixth Sense with an overbearing sentimentality, The 9th Life of Louis Drax flat-lines from beginning to end,” writes Kyle Smith of the New York Post.
MTRCB Rating: R-13
The Super Parental Guardians
LOCKED OUT of the Metro Manila Film Fest this year, the latest Coco Martin-Vice Ganda comedy goes on a regular run this time around. In this sequel to the box-office hit Beauty and the Bestie, Martin plays a gang leader who takes care of his orphaned nephews with the help of a gay buddy played by comic Vice Ganda. Joyce Bernal directs this Star Cinema production.
MTRCB Rating: PG
Enteng Kabisote 10 and the Abangers
FOR THE first time ever, an installment of the long-running Enteng Kabisote franchise did not find a place in the lineup of December’s Metro Manila Film Festival, so the fantasy film series now finds itself competing with Hollywood — in this case Disney’s Moana — for audience members to fill the theater seats. Since his last adventure in Engkantasya, Enteng Kabisote has become an ironworks and robotics magnate, settling down to become a successful businessman, community leader, and a doting grandfather. But of course there is trouble brewing and he will be called on once again to save the world, this time against Kwak-kwak (Epi Quizon), a power-obsessed villain with the power to control minds through a virtual reality game. The film, directed by Marlon Rivera and Tony Y. Reyes, also stars Wally Bayola, Jose Manalo, and Paolo Ballesteros.
MTRCB Rating: G
