‘Mr. and Mrs. Cruz’ is a heartwarming romantic comedy that reminds us to stay positive, because eventually, we will find ourselves in a place that makes us smile. Now showing as part of the IdeaFirst Film Festival.

Its blockbuster-eyed filmmaking understands life’s urgency to move, but offers little affirmation beyond its humor and charm to those who have fewer means to change like its protagonist.

The First Omen is a noteworthy prequel to an already well-known horror classic, leaving us craving for more good Omen sequels to come.

Eight years after its 2016 MMFF debut, Die Beautiful stands tall as a passionate, post-mortem portrait of a transgender beauty queen in Philippine society.

‘Kung Fu Panda 4’ is a watch to pass time. Neither does it contribute much to the franchise nor does it have what we loved most about the first two movies, but it does give us a new soundtrack worth listening to.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire feels bloated and struggles to find the balance of showcasing the new characters aside from the main group of the Spengler family.

Ang Manananggal sa Unit 23B’s sensual romance offers something fresh, leaning towards the flesh as a representation of intimacy and longing in the form of people masquerading as lonely creatures of the night.

The dialogue-heavy, one-take film, ‘Anino Sa Likod Ng Buwan,’ is a marvel of calculated narrative and technical claustrophobia that will leave you gasping for breath with each frame and grab you by the neck with its unexpected twists and turns.

'Sleepless’ boldly defies the conventional Filipino rom-com formula, offering an intimate look at an enduring love not confined in romance...and opportunistic profit machines.

In Jun Lana’s struggle to make sense of past political conditions, Your Mother’s Son becomes his definitive bomba film: mired deeply in sex, and politically dense in its delirious and lustful desires.

‘Road House’ is too ecstatic to show us the intense high-octane action set pieces that it forgets to let the characters grow.

‘Kung Fu Panda 4’ is a watch to pass time. Neither does it contribute much to the franchise nor does it have what we loved most about the first two movies, but it does give us a new soundtrack worth listening to.

For a more Filipino semblance, White Bird: A Wonder Story captures this grandmother-grandchild dynamic of telling wondrous stories with lessons in the vein of “Mga Kuwento ni Lola Basyang.” Apart from the film’s setting, there isn’t that much to go further deep into things, as the film exists as an idealistic reminder of kindness conquering all.

‘Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire’ knows exactly what it wants to be: a maximalist monster affair that puts its biggest stars (literally) front and center of a vibrant and epic kaijū fisticuffs.

‘Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour’ is a time capsule for Swift about the songs she has written about her life, a testament to her dedication and passion as an artist.

Pushcart Tales is the type of film that could only be possible in a film festival hosted by a supermarket chain, and it unexpectedly provides the conditions for what is Sigrid Bernardo’s best

Though Exhuma digs up the predictable, it unearths something more, with the story’s layered turning points saving the film from being deemed run-of-the-mill.

‘Baghead’ is a full-length adaptation of the 2017 short film of the same name that takes on too much to give us a compelling story. It was better as a short film.

On paper, ‘3 Days, 2 Nights in Poblacion’ is an otherwise nondescript recollection of a memorable time that has interesting leads and better film influences as its ingredients.

Iti Mapukpukaw finds new life on Netflix, breaking through art dimensions and film conventions with its animated exploration of trauma and losing one’s self.