The film opens with Gwen Zamora shown standing in front of a house, her face barren of expressions. It wasn’t shown that she walked inside but soon images of the interiors were shown with her standing in a spot visible enough for the audience to see. Then a room with a young man with his guitar is shown teary-eyed. In frustration, he smashed his guitar.

The woman had no idea who this frustrated young man is. Next thing we know, she wakes up from this weird dream.

Watching The Witness as whole felt like one of those dreams too. There is not much talking going on and you have to stare at the screen in order to understand what is going on because there are no internal monologues, no narrations, just images with no one to explain to you what is going on in order for you to learn to decode everything yourself. It’s a story-telling method I don’t always encounter in most films that depend so much on dialogue to get the story moving.

As we go and see one by one the family members murdered, although the death of her sister by bullet to her mouth was sanitized, the film chose to focus on the facial expressions the murderer exhibited while executing the mansion’s inhabitants one by one. There was agony and pain even in his eyes as if he didn’t want to continue killing anymore but went on with it anyway as he preferred to finish what he had started. He even went on to kill the cook and Angel (Gwen Zamora) herself when she tried to escape.

This film obviously is trying to veer away from movie stereotypes. I mentioned in the previous paragraph at how the murderer obviously felt guilt and confusion by the time it’s the young girl’s turn for him to kill. Or how he looked away in pain as he shot the cook. As for the remaining victim, albeit horrified at the sight of her family dead, she could manage to cover her mouth before a scream comes out and try to escape the house. I often respect the director who makes thriller films and make his/her characters learn how to think even if they’re so afraid. Oftentimes, victims are portrayed in horror/thriller type of movies as too dumb to even do anything about the rut they got themselves into. This film avoided that bad habit thankfully.

Another good device that the film used in portraying a massacre survivor is how incompetent she could be as a witness even if it wasn’t her fault. Anybody exposed to the trauma of seeing her own family murdered will suffer psychological distress and constant nightmares that images of the murder would constantly be in her head. The scenes where the murders are rewinded in her head are devoid of dialogue and in one sequence, as she was locked outside a glass house, the murderer would stare at her first before going for the kill one by one. By the time the locks are deactivated, she went for the phone and called the cop assigned to protect her to tell him everything … when it has become evident that neither she nor the audience could tell what are the nightmares from the actual intrusion of the murderer into her assigned safe house.

There aren’t ghosts in this movie. Ghosts in nightmares and hallucinations don’t count. But they provide clues to what events occurred prior to the crime. And when a story is told in the point of view of someone having psychological seizures, practically everything is creepy from the empty earth-toned hallways to the glass house with almost white interiors. Paranoia is at work and although Gwen acted some parts real well, some facial expressions seem inappropriate for someone who’s scared out of her wits. Sometimes she look constipated. Sorry but that’s how I see it. The other scenes where she is trying to get her life back together or searching thru the hotel archives or talking on the phone either to her relatives back in Manila or to her bodyguard cop, you can sense her tremble with the way she talked. Her breakdown at the sight of her family in the morgue is justifiable for someone who could barely walk straight since she just got of out the intensive care unit. Too weak to go hysterical but never too weak to at least wail her heart out and just cry on the floor.

When it comes to murders, sometimes the question is not “Who?” but rather “Why?” The investigators could not get any information from her unless she would do something about it. Weird as it may seem that her own dreams gave her clues to the reasons behind the crime but it worked especially when she found out about her younger sister’s boyfriend who had a record of a night’s stay in the hotel where Angel worked. The boyfriend left behind a diary that changed the point of view of the story even just for 10 minutes or so. It was a painful recollection of a love lost and the life he threw away upon the painful discovery of the betrayal of his loved ones. On what does it have to do with the crime is a spoiler I prefer not to write. It’s a twist that got me sick to my stomach.

As we approach the final minutes, that’s when the director, Muhammad Yusuf, resorts to the “thriller bad habits” – the chase and the attempts to create thrills from it. It wasn’t that long but if not for the Indonesian accent, I could have at least understood much of what the murderer tried to tell her – giving his reasons behind killing the family. His explanation wasn’t very long as he realized eventually it’s useless and the only way to get out of the house is kill or be killed.

I left the theater knowing that the worst mistake this film did is that it did very poorly in marketing. It could have made more money had GMA Films got more aggressive in promoting this film out there. Films this good didn’t deserve a poor gross. They underestimated the Filipino market all over again.

How’s you movie pleasure doing these days? Are you satisfied with Corazon, Ang Unang Aswang? Did you enjoy My Kontrabida Girl? Why not add The Witness to watch, starting March 21st, nationwide in the Philippines(April 26th in Indonesia). Gwen Zamora shot this movie all the way from Indonesia. The Witness is a collaboration of GMA Films and Skylar.

Here’s an excerpt of Mario Bautista’s review of Gwen Zamora’s performance and the movie itself.

Gwen delivers a solid performance as the much addled and much harassed heroine. She must have shed buckets of tears in many of her scenes. She gets great support from Pierre Gruno as the murderer (his motive will be a big surprise for the viewers) and Agung Saga as the tortured young man in her dreams. Technical credits are superior, particularly the quality of the cinematography that is much better than most local films.

Viva Films has released the official poster and synopsis for their upcoming comedy movie “Moron 5 and the Crying Lady” starring Luis Manzano, Billy Crawford, Marvin Agustin, Martin Escudero and John Lapus.

“Moron 5 and the Crying Lady” is an upcoming comedy movie from Viva Films starring Luis Manzano, Billy Crawford, DJ Durano, Marvin Agustin, Martin Escudero and John Lapus.

Also in the movie are German Moreno, Dennis Padilla, Arlene Muhlach, Deborah Sun, Jon Santos, and Carlos Agassi.

Here is the official synopsis of the movie:

Half-witted longtime friends Albert (Luis Manzano), Isaac (Billy Joe), Mozart “Mo” (DJ Durano), Michaelangelo “Mike” (Martin Escudero) and Aristotle“Aris” (Marvin Agustin) were used to living moronic yet pretty normal and hassle-free lives until successful careerwoman Becky Pamintuan (John Lapus) accused them of killing her father and ruin everything for them. The Moron 5 are more than sure of their innocence but for the life of them, they can’t find any single satisfactory argument on how to prove it especially when their opponent would do everything to punish them for whim. Spending three miserable years in prison trying different failed comedic attempts to get out, they finally figured a way to escape. They stalked Becky and tried to understand why she’s fighting so hard to have them imprisoned when it’s clear as day that what happened three years ago was a nonsense frame-up. An opportunity came when Becky’s driver got fired for having an affair with her maid and Albert volunteered to apply to replace him. He infiltrated the Pamintuan Residence and together with his four crazily daft friends, they’ve gathered information about the curious family yet to them, it isn’t making any sense at all especially Becky’s unexplained hatred to the five of them. Why is Becky fighting so hard to have them suffer? The Moron 5 will try their hardest to know and hopefully understand what’s really going on although little did they know that by doing so, everything that they hold dear might be at risk.

Helmed by blockbuster director Wenn Deramas, “Moron 5 and the Crying Lady” is set to open in theaters nationwide on April 7, 2012.

The trailer turns out to be something that did not give much away about the story of Corazon, the woman referred to as the first aswang that ever existed. Although in this day and age, the definition of aswang has evolved from the mundane to the insane and we can’t help but be curious at how can one be labeled as the first aswang. I had to check the credits in order to see who wrote and directed this. It turned out to be Richard Somes, a director whose episodes in recent Shake, Rattle and Roll installments often involved aswangs and similar creatures known for eating human flesh. It turned out to be somewhat of a concern since if you’re so used to 30-minute episodes of a horror franchise, if he shifts to a full length feature film of a single plot, it might end up dragging itself because of the unnecessary subplots they’d put into the film just to meet the targeted film length.

Thankfully, it didn’t happen.

In one scene, before Corazon’s “hilot” friend bade her goodbye in order to help her own daughter give birth in a faraway town, she recommended another “hilot” that might eventually help her finally get pregnant. The said “hilot” turned out to be a recipient of the kindness of some nuns whose only advice to Corazon was lending her the image of San Gerardo (a.k.a. St. Gerard Majella, patron saint of those who wanted a child), giving her instructions to carry the said image to a quiet place and pray to God thru the intercession of San Gerardo for 2 weeks nonstop for her to conceive a child.

She did conceive a child although it wasn’t clear what was the cause of death. The dead infant’s face wasn’t even shown to the camera and no cry came out after the fetus finally came out of the mother. This is where Corazon’s descent to madness started. While at first I found the story dragging I almost complained that why the delay in the aswang metamorphosis, it needed some “justification” as to why she acted the way she did. Just when you thought there is anything supernatural into her descent into the dark side, it turned out to be painful process of accepting the fact that her first born is dead. And the way she accepted her fate was anything but positive. [I'm fighting the urge to write spoilers and don't even push me, please.]

When the publicists wrote that this is a different kind of horror flick, they turned out to be right – perhaps one of the few instances where the marketers were honest about it without giving much away. Nothing is supernatural about the monstrous transformation as shown in the trailer because there really isn’t any. Like why does it always have to possess this mythological aspect of how a person turned out to be a monster when there could be psychological aspects as well? Then again, if they chose to market this as a psycho-thriller rather than a straightforward horror story, some folks from the masses might interpret that as “patayan ng mga baliw”. It’s horror, period. And if you would check the definition of horror in the dictionary, you’d realize that it’s only appropriate that some directors like Somes would exploit the various definitions of horror. Or better yet, if you’re a parent, imagine the horror of seeing your own child dead and see various ghost come alive in your imagination. And see them come alive in this movie.

One of the main strengths of the film is the clever writing. While not much dependent on dialogue in order to get the story going, it capitalized on the appropriate facial expressions needed for some scenes that matched perfectly with the brilliant landscape in order to portray how hard had been to the townsfolk as of late. Even running around the arid land is expressive – when Daniel ran to his fellow serfs to announce his wife’s pregnancy, he almost stumbled on his way. When he tried to run away from a bunch of thugs who wanted him dead, even if he’s frantic in the way he ran, he made sure to at least look back to check how far away had he been from his pursuers. When Corazon ran away to the woods to take away her dead child, it was slow. She only started running fast after a few days of staying in the woods and she’s on all fours. The acting is pretty physical on notable scenes which is one of the pretty underrated methods of acting in cinema. That’s a major step up from your conventional drama acting. Brilliant cinematography too since the common misconception about films shot in the rural areas is that it’s always green and lush with vegetation. Things aren’t always green and bountiful in the rural agricultural areas especially during droughts. Even the talahib and the wild grass got browned in the arid land. It even became easy to interpret the overall tone of the film as drought = drought from having a child, drought from motherhood, drought from the earth that can’t be useful for tilling crops anymore and drought from common sense. The idiocy that prevailed in the community isn’t as bad as in most movies where the killer ran around loose taking advantage of his victims that run around in a way that give new meaning to “headless chickens” because their common sense went somewhere. Whenever something bad is going on in the place, they are always quick to find someone to blame, either Corazon who everyone is accusing of as bad luck bringer or Melinda, the former war guerrilla turned village idiot rumored to be a cannibal or Matias, the selfish landlord who doesn’t give a crap if his serfs go jobless once he decides to sell his land after finding out it has become unsuitable for agriculture. The only reason the townsfolk hasn’t gone full gung-ho in sending Corazon away from the village is that her husband Daniel is someone valuable to the community.

I read somewhere that the reason behind the success of the film is because Derek Ramsey managed to take Erich Gonzales under his wing and soar to greater cinematic heights. Um what? Last time I checked Derek Ramsey’s acting was pretty lackluster to just plain bad compared to the leading ladies he often get paired with. And I’m not sold on the abs. I’ve seen so many abs on celluloid that I’ve reached a point of realization that great abs can never compensate for lack of decent acting prowess. If ever there was a time though where his acting improved, it’s in this film. And it improved in ways I didn’t even expect. The only problem he has right now is how to get those lachrymal glands working. He’s still crying without tears. And I agree with Erich’s fans that it’s her acting that really carried the movie as a whole.

I mentioned about the physical acting early on and halfway thru the movie, Erich’s speaking parts dwindled in order to focus on her metamorphosis into a wild savage beast. Although the makeup helped, it’s the mannerisms and eye movement that really emphasized the descent into madness. She basically became an animal once she stopped talking, hissing like a cat and always on the prowl for prey. Something tells me Ms. Tetchie Agbayani who played the village idiot Melinda helped her motivation for the role. In the movie, while it was never proven that she’s a cannibal, it’s obvious that she’s crazy to the extent that she’s like a savage cat trapped in a woman’s body. She could have been the first aswang but the flesh-eating part was missing so here we are. Erich was able to find a template for her character and eventually made it her own. I just found the screaming to be sometimes gratuitous. There were some scenes where I could still tolerate her screaming to the person’s face and there were some scenes where she screams just for the sake of screaming, it’s screeching me. It’s almost annoying. Good thing her embrace of the dark side more than made up for whatever annoying quality the screamings made. It’s the best performance I’ve ever seen in a horror film.

I highly recommend it to everyone out there looking for a horror film with a strong plot to back it up.

Cinema One, the no. 1 cable channel in the Philippines, takes prides in presenting the Philippine TV premiere of “In the Name of Love,” which won big in the recently held 28th Star Awards for Movies, on March 18 (Sunday), 8p.m., with replays on March 24 (Saturday), 9p.m. and March 30 (Friday), 5p.m.

In the movie, Angel Locsin portrayed the role of Cedes Fernandez who’s engaged with politician’s son Dylan Evelino (Jake Cuenca), but will find love from the dark yet passionate past of her dance instructor Emman Toledo (Aga Muhlach).

Emman is drawn towards Cedes from the first time she catches his eye. As their lives intertwine through dance, Emman and Cedes find themselves resisting an affair: one that holds the truths to their painful pasts, and the memories of a boundless love.

For her exemplary performance in the silm Angel received her first Movie Actress of the Year award. Her leading man Aga Muhlach also got the top plum as Movie Actor of the Year, while Jake Cuenca received the Movie Supporting Actor of the Year for also starring in the film. “In the Name of Love” also won the Movie Original Screenplay of the Year for its director Olivia Lamasan and Enrico Santos.

Prior to being this year’s Star Awards big winner, “In the Name of Love” has received good reviews from some renowned film critics.

“The Olivia Lamasan-helmed drama is quite heavy and tackles mature themes such as dirty politics and drug trafficking, but it’s well-crafted and I saw that there was an effort to go to a level most local releases do not tread,” goes Regnard Raquedan’s post in his movie blog.

“Dark Shadows” fans will be thrilled that the trailer for the upcoming film adaptation of the cult classic television series starring Johnny Depp and directed by Tim Burton has been released.

Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Village Roadshow Pictures’ “Dark Shadows” boasts of an all-star ensemble cast which includes Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham Carter, Eva Green, Jackie Earle Haley, Jonny Lee Miller, Bella Heathcote, Chloe Moretz, and newcomer Gulliver McGrath.

In the year 1752, Joshua and Naomi Collins, with young son Barnabas, set sail from Liverpool, England to start a new life in America. But even an ocean was not enough to escape the mysterious curse that has plagued their family. Two decades pass and Barnabas (Johnny Depp) has the world at his feet—or at least the town of Collinsport, Maine. The master of Collinwood Manor, Barnabas is rich, powerful and an inveterate playboy…until he makes the grave mistake of breaking the heart of Angelique Bouchard (Eva Green). A witch, in every sense of the word, Angelique dooms him to a fate worse than death: turning him into a vampire, and then burying him alive.

Two centuries later, Barnabas is inadvertently freed from his tomb and emerges into the very changed world of 1972. He returns to Collinwood Manor to find that his once-grand estate has fallen into ruin. The dysfunctional remnants of the Collins family have fared little better, each harboring their own dark secrets. Matriarch Elizabeth Collins Stoddard (Michelle Pfeiffer) has called upon live-in psychiatrist, Dr. Julia Hoffman (Helena Bonham Carter), to help with her family troubles.

Also residing in the manor is Elizabeth’s ne’er-do-well brother, Roger Collins, (Jonny Lee Miller); her rebellious teenage daughter Carolyn Stoddard (Chloe Moretz); and Roger’s precocious 10-year-old son, David Collins (Gulliver McGrath). The mystery extends beyond the family, to caretaker Willie Loomis, played by Jackie Earle Haley, and David’s new nanny, Victoria Winters, played by Bella Heathcote.

“Dark Shadows” will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures on May 11, 2012.

Watch the trailer here:

Photo Credit: Warner Bros.

I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s itching to watch a Marian Rivera and Coco Martin movie. Let’s hope Ethel Ramos is not preempting this news but for the love of everything holy, please Mother Lily, make this Marian-Coco movie into a reality.

Mother Lily said she has finalized talks with Coco Martin’s talent manager, Biboy Arboleda, for the actor to do a movie with her film firm, Regal Entertainment, with Marian Rivera as his leading lady.

She has tapped Maryo delos Reyes, she further stated, to direct the project.

Deo Edrinal, who is the producer of Coco’s current top-rating series, “Walang Hanggan,” on ABS-CBN will handle the marketing of the yet-untitled flick.

“I have a strong feeling that the movie will be a blockbuster,” said Mother Lily. “At ang nakatutuwa, both Coco and Marian are excited sa pagtatambal nila sa isang pelikula.

While Marian, according to Mother Lily, is under exclusive contract to GMA 7 for her television appearances, when it comes to doing films, she is signed up with Regal Entertainment.

Mother Lily gave Marian her blessings to do “Ang Panday II” with Senator Bong Revilla. An Metro Manila Film Festival entry, “Ang Panday II” placed third as top grosser.

The web is all abuzz with Marvel’s big-reveal this week of seven brand-new posters for “The Avengers.”

In keeping with the teamwork theme, the posters did away with solo character features. This time, each superhero is complemented by another “avenger” in the background. Check them out below!

Marvel Studios presents “Marvel’s The Avengers”—the Super Hero team up of a lifetime, featuring iconic Marvel Super Heroes Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye and Black Widow. When an unexpected enemy emerges that threatens global safety and security, Nick Fury, Director of the international peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D., finds himself in need of a team to pull the world back from the brink of disaster. Spanning the globe, a daring recruitment effort begins.

Starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner and Tom Hiddleston, with Stellan Skarsgård and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, directed by Joss Whedon, from a story by Zak Penn and Joss Whedon with screenplay by Joss Whedon, “Marvel’s The Avengers” is based on the ever-popular Marvel comic book series “The Avengers,” first published in 1963 and a comics institution ever since. Prepare yourself for an exciting event movie, packed with action and spectacular special effects, when “Marvel’s The Avengers” assemble in summer 2012.

“Marvel’s The Avengers” is presented by Marvel Studios in association with Paramount Pictures. The film is being produced by Marvel Studios’ President Kevin Feige and executive produced by Alan Fine, Jon Favreau, Stan Lee, Louis D’Esposito, Patricia Whitcher, Victoria Alonso and Jeremy Latcham.

“Marvel’s The Avengers” will assemble in the Philippines on April 25 2012. The film is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International through Columbia Pictures.

Disney has just released the first-look image of its upcoming blockbuster “The Lone Ranger” starring Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer.

From producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Gore Verbinski, the filmmaking team behind the blockbuster “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise, comes Disney/Jerry Bruckheimer Films’ “The Lone Ranger,” a thrilling adventure infused with action and humor, in which the famed masked hero is brought to life through new eyes.

Native American spirit warrior Tonto (Depp) recounts the untold tales that transformed John Reid (Hammer), a man of the law, into a legend of justice—taking the audience on a runaway train of epic surprises and humorous friction as the two unlikely heroes must learn to work together and fight against greed and corruption.

“The Lone Ranger” also stars Tom Wilkinson, William Fichtner, Barry Pepper, James Badge Dale, Ruth Wilson and Helena Bonham Carter.

A Disney/Jerry Bruckheimer Films presentation, “The Lone Ranger” is directed by Gore Verbinski and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and Gore Verbinski, with a screenplay by Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio and Eric Aronson and Justin Haythe.

Opening across the Philippines in May 2013, “The Lone Ranger” is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International through Columbia Pictures.

Star Cinema’s romantic dramedy “UnOfficially Yours” had a 3-week box office gross of P143.44 million.

“UnOfficially Yours” starring Angel Locsin and John Lloyd Cruz topped Philippine box office on its 3rd consecutive week of screening. The stint made the Star Cinema movie the highest-grossing Pinoy movie for 2012 so far and the first one to surpass the P100 million mark.

Here’s the Philippine box office tally (Top 10) for the opening period of February 29 to March 4, 2012 according to Box Office Mojo (premiering movies are highlighted in yellow):

HIGHEST-GROSSING FILMS IN THE PHILIPPINES FOR 2012
(As of March 6, 2012)

1. UnOfficially Yours – P143.44-M *
2. Underworld Awakening – P102.12-M
3. Journey 2 The Mysterious Island – P66.39-M
4. Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance – P64.78-M *
5. Sherlock Holmes: A Games of Shadows – P61.95-M
6. Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked – P56.16-M
7. The Vow – P55.37-M *
8. Safe House – P38.18-M
9. Chronicle – P35.48-M
10. The Darkest Hour – P34.61-M

* still showing in theaters