Must date the playboy (2015) - Review

“Must date the playboy” is an adaptation from a wattpad story (you can find more about wattpad in Wikipedia) and it was relished as four web episodes and later as a movie. This is the third collaboration of Kim Chiu and Xian Lim that I watch and their chemistry is still strong.

What is this about:

Directed by Mae Cruz-Alviar. Star Kim Chiu, Xian Lim, Jessy Mendiola
Tori (Kim Qiu) is an everyday girl that works as personal assistant for her best friend, Chloe (Jessy Mendiola), and wishes to open her own cupcake shop. Chloe is dating the notorious playboy Zack (Xian Lim) and breaks up with him when she sees him dancing with another girl. When she returns to Philippines back from the U.S. with her new boyfriend, she persuades Tori to date Zack, so he cannot become a problem to her relationship. 

My review:

This was fun. It is a very cliché story, but it never took itself too seriously and it was unapologetically funny. Compared to their other movie collaborations, like Bakit Hindi Ka Crush Ng Crush Mo and Bride for rent, this is not as good, but it is good enough to spend your two hours.

Tori (Kim Chiu) is the sweetest. Kim Chiu brings her usual cuteness and mannerisms making the character very charming and endearing. She makes to-do-lists for everything, even to find her prince charming. She is a bit pushover when it comes to her best friend Chloe, and cannot say no to her. Her efforts to date Zach are really funny.

Chloe (Jessy Mendiola) is the master mind behind this plan. She is a spoiled princess and used to get everything the way she wants them. Towards the end she came close to the dark side but she redeems herself, cause in reality she is a good person, just spoiled.

Zach (Xian Lim) is a certified playboy. When Tori approaches him, as per Chloe orders, he agrees so he can be close to Chloe. The player becomes the played and vice versa. He too has issues with his father – is this some kind of trend in pinoy movies? Xian Lim, I have to admit, is not one of the most talented actors out there. But when his character falls in love, you can tell from miles away, I have to give him that.

Last but not least, Nathan is the third bestie of Tori and Chloe, and most of the time he acts as the third perspective in this mess. He sees things more clearly and is hilarious in his reactions.

The production values are not as good as their previous movies, perhaps because this is was aimed as a mini web series. Also, the writing is simple full of clichés and the characterization of the characters is paper-thin, while the direction is standard. But it is a charming little funny movie, thanks to the three leads.

Why you should watch:

• If you like romantic comedies.

• If you enjoyed

• The chemistry is enjoyable, as always.

• Nice youthful background music.

• If you want two relaxing hours.

Why not to watch:

• If you don’t like romantic comedies.

• The writing and directing are very simple.

• It is full of clichés.

• Paper-thin characters.

• Can see what is going to happen from miles away.

Final verdict:

6/10. Nice funny movie if you want to spend two relaxing hours and nothing more.

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A very special love (2008) - Review

After I saw Bakit Hindi Ka Crush Ng Crush Mo I wanted to see more pinoy movies, sinced they seemed perfect for summertime. So my next pinoy movie was “A very special love”, which was featured in numerous lists of best pinoy movies and in most it was amongst top five. Also it was a huge commercial success and it is still one of the highest grossing movies in Philippines. 

What is this about:

Directed by Cathy Garcia Molina. Star John Loyd Cruz, Sarah Geronimo. Laida (Sara Geronimo) is a romantic girl that is in love with Miguel “Miggy” Montenegro, owner of Flippage magazine, even though she has never met him. On the day she arrives for an interview, most of the staff quit due to Miggy’s personality, so she is hired instantly.

My review:

Laida is the perfect example of rom com heroine. She is cheerful, cut, incurably romantic and a bit clumsy. She has naïve ideas about love and she manages, somehow, to put up with Miggy’s intense character. Not only that, but she makes him a better person too.

Miggy, on the other hand, is arrogant, talks down to everyone, insults everyone’s work, never takes responsibility for his actions until the last minute, he is alone with no real friends – for good reason – and somehow Laida finds that charming. Now that I think about it, you could say it resembles “Beauty and the Beast”.

This is his mood for the first half of the movie

It has many funny scenes, especially misunderstandings where he says one thing and she understands something completely different. At first I didn’t get why everyone said John Loyd Cruz and Sarah Geronimo are one of the most successful movie couples, meaning that their pairing together was so good that clicked with the audience. After he started falling for her, however, I could see the chemistry.

In the latter half of the movie some dramatic scenes make their appearance, unfortunately. Miggy’s family problems do explain why he is the way he is, but I think they didn’t have to approach it so seriously. And things get resolved quite easily in the end, as per usual for a rom com.

I love these notes Laida put on coffee cups. They are so cute.

Why you should watch:

• It’s a nice romantic comedy.

• It has good actors with very good chemistry.

• It has a few memorable funny scenes.

• Nice music. It didn’t distract or bother me.

Why not to watch:

• Gets a little dramatic in the second half. 

• The male lead, Miggy, waits until the very end to set things right.

• It's a run-of-the-mill romantic comedy, nothing fresh or  different.

Final review:

6/10. It is a good romantic comedy, but I think it is a bit overpraised. Or perhaps it didn’t click with me. Overall, I certainly recommend it as summer movie.

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Bride for rent (2014) - Review

After watching Bakit Hindi Ka Crush Ng Crush Mo, I immediately wanted to see Kim Chiu and Xiam Lim again in a movie. So I was happy to see that they were paired again – apparently in Philippines it is very common for successful pairings to be paired more than once, which is fine by me. Although it is not as comedic as their previous collaboration, it is still an enjoyable romantic comedy.

What is this about:

Rocky (Kim Chiu) is an aspiring young actress – not that talented – who goes from audition to audition in the hope of landing a role and helping her family. Rocco (Xiam Lim), on the other hand, is a rich boy who is eagerly waiting to get his trust fund. But there is a catch – he has to be married. So, after his friend’s idea, he holds an audition to find a fake wife. Guess who he meets there.

My review:

Another successful pairing between Kim Chiu and Xiam Lim. I am really enjoying this practice to pair movie couples more that once – I think they are called “love teams”, not sure though. Of course I want to see various combinations between the actors, but when something works so well it is nice to repeat it, and in a funny movie like this, even better. 

Kim Chiu as Rocky is a pure joy. She is funny, charming, has a sense of humor and loves her family very much. She brings most of the hilarity in her scenes. That girl has the comedic chops. Xiam Lim as Rocco is again a guy who doesn’t believe in love, but through his interactions with Rocky starts to change. Again, he is not a bad person, just spoiled by his grandmother.

Rocco’s grandmother, Lala, is perhaps the best character in the movie, after Rocky. She is clever and understood immediately her grandson’s plan, she is not someone you can fool easily. She wants what’s best for Rocco and, if forced, she will take drastic measures. And has so many one liners, I think she has the best dialogues in the movie.

I love her sarcasm and sense of humor.

The main theme of this movie is commitment forever. Obviously, we have Rocco who fears commitment like it is the plague and slowly changes. Nothing groundbreaking here. What I loved are certain lines from Lala, which were cheesy but they had truth and sincerity in them. Then again, I love Lala.

Another highlight for me is this old couple. They appear for, maybe, two minutes, but they were so sweet and make you wish you had what they have.

Why you should you watch:

• It is an enjoyable romantic comedy, that has both romance and comedy.
• The chemistry between the leads is amazing.
• Funny side characters.
• It has a main theme and it sticks to it throughout the movie.
• Nice music.

Why not to watch:

• If you don’t like rom coms.
• It is not as fresh as their first collaboration.
• Again, we have mostly one dimensional characters.

Final verdict:

7/10. A nicely executed, enjoyable romantic comedy. What it lacks in freshness, it has it in chemistry and side characters. I certainly recommended it.

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Bakit Hindi Ka Crush Ng Crush Mo (2013) - Review

This is the movie that started my love for pinoy movies. I was browsing through Viki and I stumbled upon the trailer (for some reason I can't play it on my browser now, so here's the trailer without english subtitles). It was the funniest thing I had seen for a while and I knew I had to watch it right away. And it didn’t disappoint.

What is this about:

Directed by Joyce Bernal. Stars Kim Chiu, Xiam Lim. We start with our heroine, Sandy (Kim Chiu) who is preparing to celebrate her one year anniversary with her boyfriend, but he breaks up with her. Meanwhile, Alex (Xiam Lim) returns from the States and takes charge of A&I Records. In order to save the company, he needs to fire some employees, among them Sandy. But he soon realizes she was the only one truly working, so he promises to teach her how to make men fall in love with her, if she comes back to work.

My review:

One of the funniest romantic comedies I have seen in long time. What it does really well is that it remembers the “comedy” part of the genre, something that is forgotten far too often. It has many memorable scenes that bring laughter even after the movie ends. But it has also many romantic scenes that are quite good. Overall, I could say that it has achieved a nice balance between the comedy and the romance.

One of my favorite scenes is the one after the breakup. Sandy’s boyfriend breaks up with her over the phone and takes with him the anniversary gift, an ipad. So the heartbroken Sandy goes to the one place where she can forget her pain and has a wild night cleaning the whole office. I wanted to be sad for Sandy for having such a terrible boyfriend, but the hilarity of the scene made me want to laugh at the same time.

Sandy is a naïve, romantic and funny girl – a description that fits the mood of the movie too – and the actress Kim Chiu brought a lot of hilarity to the character. Alex is a charming boy that fears failure more than anything, but his sense of humor and that in fact he is not a bad guy make him sympathetic. That and his smile and jaw line. Very important factors indeed.

On the side characters, Alex’s family is one of the coolest. Especially his grandfather, who is supportive and encouraging and forgiving. I wish I had him in my family too, he would be so fun.

I love their reactions, they're so cute.

 What I loved though is that Sandy’s transformation from an ugly duckling to a beautiful swan – the actress is really beautiful – was made by Alex indirectly. Actually, it was Sandy’s brother and his friends that helped her. Alex only saw photos they send to him and of course the final image. And the parade of clothes and styles was done in a very cute and funny way, Sandy way.

The music was nice. None of the songs truly made an impression on me, but fitted the movie and the story very well. There was a variety, from the ballad for the break up to the breezy romantic songs when feelings start to grow. 

But, of course, this is not the perfect romantic comedy, not one of the classics. In the second half the dramatic scenes feel forced and out of place and they force the characterization to a certain direction that doesn’t feel organic. I would definitely do without them, but thankfully they don’t last too long to ruin the mood of the movie.

Besides, the movie relies heavily on the chemistry between the leads, which is amazing.

 Why you should watch:

•    It is romantic comedy that has actual comedy in it.
•    Amazing chemistry between the leads.
•     Nice summer songs.
•    Predictable but nicely executed story. Just because you know what will happen next doesn’t mean you don’t enjoy it, as long as it is well done.
•    A very enjoyable summer romantic comedy.

Why not to watch:

•    Some dramatic elements could be left out.
•    There is no heavy characterization. The characters are often one dimensional.
•    Cheesy ending, but so is the rest of the movie.

Final verdict:

8/10. Might seem a bit much, but I am not comparing to the great classics, such as The seven samurai, I am reviewing it as a romantic comedy, and it is good. Besides it is my first pinoy movie, so it will always be in my heart. Give it a go, I think with the right expectations you will enjoy it.

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