Essential Truths of the Lake finds Lav Diaz revisiting moments that are undoubtedly familiar. It’s a story that has been previously presented in more striking fashion, but its present iteration is still an adventure worth diving into.

Even though Love is a Gun is by far from redefining the neo-noir genre, there is still something enthralling about a forlorn man desperately in pursuit of rewriting his fate.

This year’s QCShorts are very promising. With entries from young filmmakers (and an indie film legend), these short films showcased in the festival capture the human experience in such unique and creative ways. In this article, we will be discussing all six entries, ranging from inescapable yearning and religious guilt to exploration of sexuality.

‘All of Us Strangers’ is a hymn for the lonesome, a saving grace that comes knocking at your door in the middle of the night. It is very personal, modern, and queer, tackling the long and winding road of grief but focusing more on its first stage—denial.

For a film about faith and questioning, I think it’s quite ingenious to use the medium of slow cinema to convey its themes because, in a way, there are a lot of commonality with each other in the sense that you have to be ready to embrace both, and you are willing to listen. And one can’t really force either, you have to devote yourself to it.

Amanda Nell Eu's attempts to explore these themes of puberty and womanhood while fusing body horror and adolescence are admirable because ‘Tiger Stripes’ deftly maintains a balance between realism and mythology.

Kim Jee-woon's 'Cobweb' entangled multiple layers of fiction and reality that will leave you questioning what actually happened during its conclusion.

In a film filled with excessive violence and horniness, director Emma Seligman says, "To hell with it.” Men have dominated this genre; now it's queer women's turn to get a slice of the cake, and eat it too.

Barbie underutilized a beautiful paradox: the younger Sasha outgrows Barbie, while the older Gloria finds solace in her. In this odd ballet of circumstances, Barbie is the cord connecting generations.

Gian Arre's debut feature is lackluster on all fronts. It leaves you wanting for more, in the most baffling way possible.

From its direction to the performances, ‘Gitling’ perfectly captures that melancholic and quiet sense of loneliness and the pure joy of finding someone who’ll listen and understand you.

When This Is All Over may occasionally be confused at times, but it shows how you can turn an intimate story of a son who just wants to reunite with his mother into a one big trip.

Marupok AF (Where Is The Lie) comes from a sincere place of wanting to raise awareness on the struggles and difficulties that Trans people go through in our modern society, but the film doesn’t really do it justice by having Quark Henares tell the story and going with a dark comedic treatment.

Oras de Peligro has good intentions of reminding the local audiences about the country's dark history, and reigniting the flames that will prompt people into action, but Lamangan's overstuffed screenplay and rushed production eventually leads to its downfall.

Suzume is a sincere and poignant exploration of humanity's collective grief amid a tragedy. Despite some shortcomings on its story, there’s just something incredibly moving about a young teenage girl making an effort to stop a major tragedy and the deaths of others when she has already suffered the worst tragedy of her life. For once, a Makoto Shinkai film that feels cathartic and soulful.

Between the decent action and humor, overloaded visual effects, underdeveloped characters, and somewhat half-baked storyline, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is a perfectly serviceable film that doesn’t quite reach the zany heights of its predecessors, while offering a tease of what’s to come in the MCU’s Multiverse Saga.

Not even Fraser’s comeback as a main lead can save Aronofsky’s “The Whale”, harpooning more on emotionally manipulating its audience to a pitiful lead with a surface-level analysis on obesity, religion, and homophobia.

Celebrate February 15, a.K.a the Valentines’ Day of the Mistresses by watching a murder-mystery comedy kabetpelikula, Jun Lana’s “Ten Little Mistresses,” exclusively on Prime Video PH!

A story about trust and company, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish highlights chosen families, and although blood is thicker than water, the movie is a testament to the beauty of friendship that can stand the test of time.

Arnold is a Model Student shows rallying students and activists side by side to make everyone realize how oppression exists in all forms, a subtle jab at the current Thai administration that curtails its people’s basic right to free speech. The school is indeed a microcosm of the community, where the principal and the head of the country both boil down to a single, authoritarian evil.