Much Loved
The Price of Truth, On Screen and Off Few films have dared to face societal hypocrisy as boldly as Much Loved (2015), directed by Nabil Ayouch. Set in Morocco and banned in its own country before release, it tells the story of four sex workers living in Marrakech — women both condemned and desired, invisible […]
Leap Year
When Timing, Travel, and True Emotion Converge There is a predictable pattern in romantic comedies: meet, fall in love, clash, and reunite. Leap Year (2010), directed by Anand Tucker and starring Amy Adams and Matthew Goode, took that formula and turned it into something more tender. More than a love story set in the beautiful […]
Hotel Coppelia
Movies can serve various purposes: some are made to entertain, while others stick in your memory long after you have finished watching. In this regard, Hotel Coppelia (2021), directed by José María Cabral, falls in the latter category. It sheds light on history and the endurance of the human spirit, exploring the Dominican Civil War […]
And Your Mother Too!
When Y Tu Mamá También And Your Mother Too! released in 2001, it didn’t just start a global conversation, it also redefined coming-of-age in modern cinema. Directed by Alfonso Cuarón, this Mexican classic tells the story of two teenage boys, Julio and Tenoch, who go on a road trip with an older woman, Luisa. What […]
Blue Is the Warmest Colour
When Love on Screen Became a Mirror of Real Life Few films have blurred the boundaries between performance and reality quite like Blue Is the Warmest Colour (2013). Directed by Abdellatif Kechiche, the French coming-of-age romance follows the passionate yet turbulent relationship between Adèle and Emma — two women whose love story unfolds with raw, unfiltered emotion. […]
The Boy Next Door
When Obsession Turned Too Real In 2015, The Boy Next Door was expected to be just another simple erotic thriller, but what was delivered was something far more psychologically complex. A mixture of desire, solitude, and peril, it provided a uniquely unsettling experience that navigated the borderline of fantasy and terror. Producer and star Jennifer […]
The Change-Up
The Wild Swap That Said More Than It Seemed — The Story Behind The Change-Up When The Change-Up hit theaters in 2011, it promised audience members a laugh-out-loud fantasy about two men trading lives, but behind the bawdy humor and body-swap chaos was a surprisingly human exploration of envy, responsibility, and second chances. Directed by […]
Sex Drive
The Untamed Path of ‘Sex Drive’ — And the Stories Behind the Stories Upon its release in 2008, Sex Drive was predominantly viewed as any other raucous American teen road market crossover, packed with frivolity and juvenile humor. However, the narrative of the film also presented an adventure in the discovery of self. For a […]
Maharot
When the Trailer Teased More Than Romance The trailers for Maharot on Vivamax promised copious coming-of-age adult narratives centered on risky relationships, moral complexities, and the tensions that lie between overt social constructs and underlying desires. Online fans speculated whether the narrative was a bold romance or one that addressed concepts of shame, judgment and […]
Sabel Is Still Young
When Justice Turns Personal: The Story and Storm Around Sabel Is Still Young Before its release in late 2022, Sabel Is Still Young (originally titled Bata Pa Si Sabel) carried the kind of anticipation that Filipino cinema hadn’t seen in a while. It wasn’t just another thriller—it was being talked about as a raw, unflinching […]