The Reunion

Verdict: Proceed with Caution

Pinoy Rebyu Score: 2.25 (15 ratings)

Genre: Comedy

Director: Frasco Mortiz

Writer: Aries de Guzman

Cast: Enchong Dee, Enrique Gil, Xian Lim, Kean Cipriano, Jessy Mendiola, Cristine Reyes, Megan Young, Bangs Garcia, Julia Montes, Matt Evans, Janus del Prado, Tom Rodriguez, Gina Pareño, Ronnie Lazaro, Louise Abuel, Alodia Gosiengfiao, Joseph Marco, Bryan Santos, Ivan Dorschner, Alexa Ilacad

Synopsis:  Friends Lloyd, Joax, Bogs and Patrick (Enchong Deep, Xian Lim, Enrique Gil and Kean Cipriano) attend their high school reunion. There they are humiliated for ending up in dead end jobs. The four reason out that their misfortunes can be traced back to a single event in high school that caused their then-girlfriends to break up with them. They resolve to get Lloyd back with his high school sweetheart Ara (Cristine Reyes), and this leads them to seek out their past and deal with the various things that has kept them from moving on. (Click the City)

Trailer: 

Reviews:

3.5      Oggs Cruz (Twitch)

“It is entertaining enough, unburdened by any baggage to mean anything other than guiltless and shallow amusement.” (Read full review)

3.0      Wanggo Gallaga (Juice.ph)

“While the story is full of promise, the script demands too little of its cast and the director chooses to play up the comedy with the basics, like making the actors make funny faces during embarrassing moments.” (Read full review)

3.0      Mark Angelo Ching (PEP)

“The enthusiastic performances of the young cast make this movie a treat for fans of the ABS-CBN stars.” (Read full review)

3.0      Reel Advice

“What you get is a mess of a story (with little or no logical sense at times) but with perfect moments of comedy mixed in to make you forget about its shortcomings.” (Read full review)

2.5      Dale Bacar (Bum-Spot)

“The Reunion as a whole is fun and very likeable. It mostly lived up to the vision of its creators. It just wasn’t a very ambitious goal to begin with.” (Read full review)

2.5      Ihcahieh

“This movie goes out of its way to try to make you laugh. Sometimes it succeeds. Most of the time, it fails.” (Read full review)

2.5      Manuel Pangaruy (Taga-ilog Special)

“Made of stuff that I wish to see from Star Cinema. It remains empty but it is more risky compared to their other so-called blockbuster comedies. I won’t recommend it because of the association with Eraserheads but at least it gave me an illusion that perfect barkadas do not disband. Kinda teary eyed when ‘Minsan’ was played, which was prophetic enough for me about the band’s break-up when I first heard it, in a scene where things started to go wrong. For anything tribute-y, I like the Lynch Hotel part the best.”

2.0      Philbert Dy (Click the City)

“The Reunion actually has a couple of interesting stories to tell. The problem is that it focused on the most boring one.” (Read full review)

2.0      Rito Asilo (Philippine Daily Inquirer)

“With confounding hijinks ensuing, Mortiz’s zippy first full-length feature veers from fatuous slapstick to stock sentimentality, and peppers its tale with narrative side-trips that are more annoying than entertaining.” (Read full review)

2.0      Cathy Peña (Make Me Blush)

“Director Frasco Mortiz’s movie runs on a premise that’s too ridiculous to believe. In fact, connecting the dots should be the least of their worries as logical groundwork in the narrative leaves much to be desired.” (Read full review)

2.0      Ria Limjap (Spot.ph)

“It suffers from an un-funny screenplay that relies too heavily upon flashback and madcap romping, pretty awful acting, and generally sloppy production values like uneven cinematography and abysmal sound; the dialogue is drowned out by the musical score.” (Read full review)

2.0     Mavin Reyes (Mavin Media Guru)

“Though there are some comedic moments worthy of a laugh or so, still the ones that were not properly executed outweighs the good ones.” (Read full review)

1.5      Skilty Labastilla (Young Critics Circle)

“Wow, what an embarrassing script. Clichés dropping like rain on a monsoon season in the age of climate change. Enchong Dee’s sincere performance sticks out like a sore thumb and provides the sole glimmer in this otherwise hackneyed, convoluted, bloated mess of an excuse for a movie.”

1.5      Nicol Latayan (Tit for Tat)

“This movie looks like a pilot of a teen series that will be canceled mid-season. There’s nothing that hasn’t been done before that this film did not incorporate.” (Read full review)

1.5      Carl Joseph Papa (Whatever Carl)

“A waste of time.” (Read full review)

1.5      Armando dela Cruz (Film Police)

“The Reunion is triumphant in building up a premise; it’s also triumphant in gradually destroying that.” (Read full review)

Temptation Island

Verdict: Proceed with Caution

Pinoy Rebyu Score: 2.84 (19 ratings)

Genre: Comedy

Writer/Director: Chris Martinez

Cast: Marian Rivera, Heart Evangelista, Solenn Heusaff, Lovi Poe, Rufa Mae Quinto, John Lapus, Aljur Abrenica, Tom Rodriguez, Mikael Daez

Synopsis: Four beauty pageant contestants, who are vying for the coveted title of “Miss Manila Sunshine”, set sail on a yacht. They ended up stranded on a deserted island after their vessel got caught up on fire. Together with an attractive young man, a maid and the gay pageant director, the four ladies found life “anything but dull”.

*

*

Trailer: 

Reviews:

4.0        Ria Limjap (Spot.ph)

“Chris Martinez has the right touch by staying true to form but creatively reimagining portions of the movie for a current audience using language, pop culture reference, and cheeky visuals.” (Read full review)

4.0       Katrina Stuart Santiago (GMA News)

“But Temptation Island 2.0 is ultimately Martinez’s show, where while the tiniest details are fodder for laughter, it’s the bigger picture that works at making it funny and ludicruous and everything in between. It’s safe to say that Martinez got the spirit of the absurd and ridiculous here, the kind that Gosiengfiao had in the original. It’s also ultimately a tribute, as it is a measure of the present’s ability at the campy.” (Read full review)

3.5        Philbert Dy (Click the City)

“Temptation Island is still pretty fun when all is said and done, but it’s definitely inessential. While the film fully recreates the sublime absurdity of the original, it approaches it from an inferior perspective. The sincerity and purity of the original film simply cannot be recreated, and without those qualities, this version is doomed to be inferior.” (Read full review)

3.5        Rito Asilo (Philippine Daily Inquirer)

“While ‘tamer’ than its irreverent predecessor, Martinez’s faithful remake has a strong nostalgia factor going for it.” (Read full review)

3.5        Cathy Peña (Make Me Blush)

“Though this work isn’t as fun as its predecessor, Martinez rides his humble boat by carefully tweaking its story line into something as close to the original – in all its campy and artistic sensibilities.” (Read full review)

3.5        Jowanna Bueser (blogger)

“Temptation Island is not better than the original but nevertheless not  a bad remake. He respects the material using it as a sacred text as he kept certain scenes and lines intact as possible.” (Read full review)

3.0        Earl Villanueva (PEP)

“Temptation Island 2011 certainly looks better, flows more smoothly and delivers the requisite glamour and wardrobe update. Some scenes were recreated frame-by-frame and lines delivered almost in sync with the original scenes. In fact, this remake is almost too faithful… It is obvious though that the 2011 update is a sanitized version of the original, probably to appeal to a broader audience.” (Read full review)

3.0         Ihcahieh

“Final verdict? See this one as a standalone film. If you intend to see the original, do that AFTER watching this one.” (Read full review)

2.5        Wilfred Cabrera (Me Likes Art)

“The remake is at its best when the absurdity kicks in. Its first hour, revolving around the creatively produced beauty pageant, might be considered a segue to the ridiculousness of the events onscreen, providing only a few laughs here and there, but when it approaches survival mode the audience finally experience the silliness of the original.” (Read full review)

2.5        Rob San Miguel (The Chair)

“Chris Martinez’s version is like a nice cover of a classic dance song.  The production value may be better, the budget and cast bigger but some things cannot be replicated.” (Read full review)

2.5        Reel Advice

“Temptation Island, the 2011 remake, is like having a shiny new car minus any changes on its old interior/innards. It may look beautiful at first glance but screams mediocrity once you try to see what’s really running the car inside.” (Read full review)

2.5        Jonnah D. (Sisyphean Dreams)

“The acting of the men was just plain bad but that’s part of what made it funnier. From Abrenica’s pronunciations and syllabication, to the fight scenes – everything was so utterly fake and rehearsed, it was glorious to behold.” (Read full review)

2.0        Viewer Discretion

“The four main girls had big pantyhoses to fill, and sadly, nay, surprisingly, only Lovi Poe delivered, with her effortlessly dedma aura and imperturbable baritone.” (Read full review)

2.0        Pat Session

“But this being a remake of an ‘unintentionally funny’ film, every joke pulled is intentional and obvious. Perhaps, the performance is unintentionally genius and the joke is on us, and Aljur knew that the essence of his character is in the inside-jokey nature of the film. But who are we kidding.” (Read full review)

2.0        Carl Papa (Whatever, Carl)

“There were moments of sheer brilliance in this film, and that was only because the original (Joey Gosengfiao’s) was perfection.  The rebooted parts were not as funny or even came close to how biting the original was.  Those said, it was aptly entertaining, mildly funny.” (Read full review)