Eula Valdez in “Neomanila”
Neomanila
Directed by Mikhail Red; stars Eula Valdez, Timothy Castillo, Angeli Bayani
A teenage orphan is recruited by a death squad, whose leader becomes a maternal figure.
Castillo, who won best actor in the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival last year, told the Inquirer, “Representing ‘Neomanila’ … abroad gives me so much joy. I hope that this honor inspires other indie film actors to do their best in helping great Filipino filmmakers tell their stories.”
Armie Hammer (left) and Felicity Jones in “On the Basis of Sex”
On the Basis of Sex
Directed by Mimi Leder; stars Felicity Jones, Armie Hammer, Kathy Bates, Justin Theroux
The film tells the tale of young lawyer Ruth Baden Ginsburg, whose groundbreaking case aims to overturn a century of gender discrimination.
Boston Globes’ Ty Burr opines, “‘On the Basis of Sex’ is dutiful ‘Classics Illustrated’ filmmaking, with the villains easy to spot, the goal distant but obtainable, and an 11th-hour speech that just may save the day.” Seattle Times’ Moira MacDonald says that “while the structure occasionally feels a bit awkward, ‘On the Basis of Sex’ has the kind of crowd-pleasing story that skims over any minor shortcomings; by its end, you’re ready to cheer.”
Carlo Aquino (left) and Nadine Lustre in “Ulan”
Ulan
Directed by Irene Villamor; stars Nadine Lustre, Carlo Aquino, Marco Gumabao, AJ Muhlach
A woman fascinated and frightened by the rain hopes to find her one true love.
In a recent Inquirer interview, Lustre said of not being paired with frequent screen partner and boyfriend James Reid: “It’s something I’m not used to … But I welcome the challenge to work with different actors.”
“Wonder Park”
Wonder Park
Directed by David Feiss; voiced by Jennifer Garner, Mila Kunis, Matthew Broderick, Ken Jeong
In the animated flick, the imagination of a wildly creative girl comes alive in an amusement park that feels strangely familiar.
Betsy Bozdech of Common Sense Media says, “Expect some action-packed sequences, peril and heavy themes that might be too much for the youngest viewers, but overall, this looks OK for older kids.”
Ogie Alcasid in “Kuya Wes”
Kuya Wes
Directed by James Robin Mayo; stars Ogie Alcasid, Ina Raymundo, Alex Medina
A timid remittance clerk falls for a problematic customer.
Alcasid told the Inquirer, “I fell in love with the script as soon as I read it. If I did not coproduce it, it wouldn’t have been done.”