3 films to see on the week of December 16-23, 2016
Mano Po 7: Chinoy
AFTER IT FAILED to make it as an entry in this year’s Metro Manila Film Festival as originally intended, the seventh in the long-running film series focusing on the life of Filipinos of Chinese descent has gotten a regular commercial release. The Regal Entertainment film shows the lives and relationship issues among the modern generation of Chinoys and how it isn’t as perfect as it seems. Directed by Ian Loreño, it stars Enchong Dee, Jean Garcia, and Richard Yap.
MTRCB Rating: PG
Your Name
VERY POPULAR with the critics on the Rotten Tomatoes review aggregate site which gave the Japanese animated film a 97% “fresh” rating, Your Name (Kimi No Na Wa) follows two high schoolers, Mitsuha and Taki, who have never met. One day they wake up to find that they have suddenly switched bodies. The two must adjust their lives to each other and start to communicate by leaving notes. Written and directed by Makoto Shinkai.
MTRCB Rating: G
The Cokeville Miracle
BASED ON a true story of a town facing a terrible tragedy and an investigator who struggles with his faith as he gathers evidence that defies easy explanation. Cokeville Wyoming, a town of just over 500 people, made national headlines in 1986 when a madman and his wife entered the elementary school with guns and bomb. They gathered over 100 children and teachers into a small room, and made a demand: $200 million dollars for the lives of the children-but then the bomb went off… but only the hostage takers died. Written and directed by T.C. Christensen, it stars Caitlen E.J. Meyer and Jasen Wade. “Like a lot of inspirational films, the movie could use a little more subtlety and restraint,” opines Randy Cordova of the Arizona Republic. “Writer-director T.C. Christensen (17 Miracles) paces the tension of the first half sharply and handles the spiritual message thoughtfully as the lawman wrestles with his faith through his investigation,” says Sean P. Means of the Salt Lake Tribune.
MTRCB Rating: G
