Syowing this Week

It's a very interesting movie week because there are two big Filipino movies that will be opening; one is an Indie Comedy that pits one of the country's most brilliant comediennes with a respected Japanese actor co-star. The other movie has already made audiences at the Cannes Film Festival give it a standing ovation. These two Filipino movies really deserve to be watched this week. This week, we've also got a biopic, a serial killer thriller, and some other B-movie type never-heard movies that you may want to ignore. Then there's also extended runs of movies from last week. [hit the jump to continue]

ON THE JOB
First off, we have the MUST-SEE Filipino movie entitled "ON THE JOB" oddly referred to with a shortened (in my opinion) corny title "OTJ". What makes this movie a MUST-SEE movie, even though I personally have yet to see it this week, is that it was Erik Matti's movie which was screened at the Cannes film Festival in France and got a standing ovation from its audiences. It's popularity immediately caught the attention of many film companies internationally and has gotten a deal with France’s Wild Side (DVD/Blu-Ray Publishers) and Wellgo USA Entertainment, in a deal which covers theatrical release and DVD/Blu-Ray and VOD (video on demand) production. This means that ON THE JOB will be screened in “at least 12 theaters in the US in the fall" according to the film's producer Dondon Monteverde.

ON THE JOB is actually an action-drama-crime thriller, its story s about the passions and ambitions of four men trying to survive, and a make living for themselves and their respective families. It depicts parallel worlds between two inmates who are hired as contract killers, and law agents investigating the crimes. As the two groups are caught in the jobs of corrupt government officials, the two groups are lead into a inevitable collision against each other having their loved ones as collateral damage. It is relevant, realistic, and will surely be thought-provoking. Producers are also hoping that this will fuel the resurgence of Pinoy Action movies.

Co-produced by Reality Entertainment and Star Cinema, ON THE JOB is written and directed by Erik Matti, co-written by Michiko Yamamoto, and stars Piolo Pascual, Gerald Anderson, and Joel Torre.

INSTANT MOMMY
This movie is actually one of the entries in the New Breed category of the 2013 CINEMALAYA Philippine Independent Film Festival. I know some people (especially mainstream audiences) would find the indie scene boring, but before some of you can misjudge this, it stars Eugene Domingo. Come on, you gotta admit she's awesome, and can definitely work effectively in either mainstream films or in indie films (if you did not like Ang Babae sa Septic Tank, then I'm sorry; you just didn’t 'get it').

This film has an interesting storyline that just about any audience can be chew on. Eugene Domingo plays a character named Bechayda, who is a wardrobe mistress in TV commercials. This is the story of a summer's journey of Bechayda amidst a highly visualized world where the video screen reigns supreme. Things are about to get interesting when she pretends to be pregnant, just to keep her Japanese fiance.

Domingo stars opposite Hollywood-based Japanese actor Yuki Matsuzaki (The Last Samurai, Letters to Iwo Jima). INSTANT MOMMY is directed by Leo Abaya who also wrote and produced this movie.

The other films showing this week are JOBS which is a biopic about the life story of Apple Pioneer Steve Jobs, and stars Ashton Kutcher. This movie is not doing well with critics and the box office as well. some critics recommend audiences to wait for the other Steve Jobs movie that is also currently in production, which is penned by Aaron Sorkin, the screenwriter for The Social Network and Charlie Wilson's War.

Also showing this week is THE FROZEN GROUND which stars Nicolas Cage, John Cusack, and Vanessa Hudgens. It is based on the true story of Alaskan detective Glenn Flothe (called Sgt. Jack Halcombe in the film). Halcombe sets out to end the murderous rampage of Robert Hansen, a serial killer who has silently stalked the streets of Anchorage for more than 13 years. As the bodies of Anchorage women start to add up, Sgt. Halcombe goes on a personal manhunt to find the killer. When 17-year-old Cindy Paulson escapes Hansen's unspeakable violence, she believes the law will take him down. Instead she finds herself, once again, fighting for her life. With his only ally, Cindy Paulson, Sergeant Halcombe is determined to bring the serial killer to justice. The movie has mixed reviews, which indicates that this could possibly be good.

The rest of the films showing are THE MULE which stars Sharon Stone, and some weird and ignorably obscure Thai horror movie entitled PEE MAK. On extended run are THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS, R.I.P.D., PLANES, and THE CONJURING which I will be giving my review soon (perhaps tomorrow) in this column.