Nilalang Trailer Impressions: 2015 MMFF Action Horror Film Featuring Maria Ozawa and Cesar Montano

Nilalang is an action horror film from welovepost, Parallax Studios, Viva Films, and Haunted Tower Pictures, Inc.; and is an official entry to the 41st Metro Manila Film Festival this 2015 under the direction of Pedring Lopez which stars Cesar Montano, Maria Ozawa, Meg Imperial, Yam Concepcion, Cholo Barretto, Dido de la Paz, and Kiko Matos slated for a December 25, 2015 theatrical release. Let's check out what this 2015 MMFF entry featuring Maria Ozawa and Cesar Montano has to offer.


Nilalang
Plot / Synopsis

Nilalang tells the story of Tony (played by Cesar Montano), an NBI agent investigating a series of rapes and killings that counts, among them, Tony’s girlfriend. With his co-agent, Jane, they follow leads that take them to a meeting with Miyuki (Maria Ozawa), the daughter of Mr. Kazudo who is an elder member of the Yakuza. Together, they come face-to-face with an enemy that transcends time; and leaves a trail of mindless, cold-blooded crime at its wake.

Watch Nilalang Official trailer here:
Nilalang 2015 MMFF Film entry Official movie trailer






Nilalang Official Nilalang Trailer Impression
Nilalang 2015 MMFF Film Trailer Review


So what can we say about the Nilalang official trailer? Well besides the obvious fact that it is an action horror film official MMFF 2015 entry featuring Maria Ozawa on it, Nilalang is a breathe of fresh air in a sense that we haven't seen that many local action horror films that has this kind of cinematography and actually be what it says it would; a high-octane action film. Well, we don't say that there aren't any. There aren't that many as much as RomComs do. The films usually featuring E.R. Ejercito are a good example of these contemporary action films, but they give more of a special kind of vibe to it; a vibe of a more biographical or artistic tone to in, than action.


Let me commend the marketers for Nilalang as they've released the official trailer for Nilalang this October which will be enough time to help create enough buzz and discussion for this film. The early worm catches the worm, right? This is film marketing done right. The Nilalang trailer shows the "wonderful" script used in the film like "Hindi matatapos, kung warang tatapos" and nope that wasn't a typo. It puzzles me as to why should the Japanese characters use Filipino when conversing with each other or when they address Cesar Montano to whom is shown to have a certain degree of proficiency in the Japanese language. It just feels pretentious or fake at best. Another observation is that shot with Maria Ozawa shooting like crazy as I find it rather weak. As the film portray her at being a bad ass, that scene was sure made her like a clueless member of Yakuza who can't handle a gun. Hopefully the film will not be riddled so much by the things we can observed in the trailer as it may negatively affect it. Don't give me started with Nilalang's title card. We get it, the film features Japanese and Filipino talent and settings, no need to pound it in with a Japanese-themed font. Try thinking about this, a high octane Japanese film with partnership between Japan and the Philippines,and the film title has a Filipino salakot (traditional wide-brimmed hat from the Philippines) just to make sure that there are Filipinos in the film. Isn't that a bit redundant? Amidst such nitpicks, Nilalang has somewhat piqued my curiosity as I want to find out what kind of monster is this Zahagur, the film refer to its villain.


How about you guys? What do you think of this 41st Metro Manila Film Festival entry starring Cesar Montano and Maria Ozawa? Are you more hopeful about the list of movies that made it to 2015 MMFF? Will you be seeing this action horror film starring the popular Maria Ozawa? Share your thoughts and opinion about the Nilalang official movie trailer in the comments section below:

Rigodon Trailer Impressions: Bringing the Erotic Dramas Back in Mainstream Philippine Cinema this 2013

Rigodon is an upcoming 2012 Viva Films and Reality Entertainment romance thriller film under the direction of Erik Matti, screenplay by Layetta Bucoy and Dwight Gaston, which stars Yam Yam Concepcion (new Viva Sex Goddess), John James Uy and Maxene Eigenmann. Rigodon is slated for an November 21, 2012 nationwide theatrical release. Let's check out the return of sexy (heterosexual) films in mainstream Philippine cinema this 2013 with Viva Films' Rigodon.

Rigodon
Plot / Synopsis

Can we truly know another person, close as we might become? Secret lives, hidden passions, deceit, betrayal and vengeance are revealed in a dizzying dance of a peeping eye.

We follow the life of Sarah, who has been left by her boyfriend after he was threatened by her domineering father. Drifting, in despair, she meets Riki, a former teen star now hosting a home tv shopping show. Casual friendship turns deeper as Sarah feels herself being drawn closer to Riki, who actively pursues her. Until she gives herself one passionate night.

The next morning, we shift our voyeur’s view and follow Riki as he makes his way to his house...and his wife, Regine. Here we get to know the real Riki as he tries to juggle his incredibly complicated life, dealing with loan sharks, his boss, his still-smoldering ambition to regain his stardom, his girl Sarah, his wife Regine, and still another ex-wife, Pearl. Secrets he tries to keep, specially from Regine.

So then we follow Regine, as she struggles with raising their two children while managing her bipolar disorder and growing suspicion, frustration, and rage at her shadowy husband.

Then Regine discovers Pearl and the sick son that is the counterpart to their own girl and finds that her paranoia has become a bitter reality. She confronts Riki. Riki realizes that of all of them, Regine is the one he is terrified of losing, for Regine is the only one he truly loves. He resolves to do better by her, but being the duplicitous person that he is, cannot bring himself to cut clean and instead starts avoiding Sarah.

And when Sarah, puzzled and hurt by Riki’s evasiveness, discovers the truth, this leads to Regine discovering more devastating, soul-crushing truths about her husband. As Riki’s convoluted world unravels around him, these two troubled women’s murderous rage leads to a shattering finale.

Source: Viva Films Rigodon Official Channel

Watch Rigodon Official trailer here:


Rigodon Official Trailer Impression
Rigodon Film Trailer Review

I give up with Viva Films and how they spoil their films through the synopsis released for their films. The plot shared above came from Viva Films official channels (including FB, official Yutube trailer, and their official website) which leaves little to the imagination. Well, on the good side straight (heterosexual) kind of sexy films are back in mainstream Philippine cinema.

In fairness to other locally produced mainstream films, they did try to make drama titles that vaguely resemble ST films by including popular sexy lead on them, but none of them came close to actually titillating the male or "mature" audience as much as sexy (ST) film actress like Joyce Jimenez, any of the Viva Hot Babes, Rosanna Roces, etc. did before. Now Viva Films is reviving the sexy genre and tackling that niche male movie going market by introducing Yam Concepcion, Viva's new Sex Goddess. Rigodon is a film about unfaithfulness and its deadly consequences. The only difference between Viva Films latest sexy movie from the other 2012 Filipino movies about mistresses is that it add a thriller element to the film's plot. Well, a similar mainstream film did something similar this year with Biktima, but it didn't include that many sexy scenes. That is probably one of the main selling point of ST films before, but I don't know if Rigodon would come close to the notoriety of like Warat and Scorpio Nights 2 achieved before. We have to consider that we are still living in a country run by conservatives. Anything that goes below their definition of morality will definitely get a violent reaction from them. So far Rigodon hasn't received any fire from such dogmatic individuals and this could be because the film's trailer isn't that visible in public television channels. This could also mean that the level of risk and sexiness of the film is tolerable to their standards. If Rigodon wants to be the definitive mainstream sexy movie that is going to be the revival of the mainstream sexy film genre (like what Manila Kingpin promised on the action film genre), then it has to offer something more and not just some some smutty scenes. Well, so far it possesses that with its precautionary tale type of plot. It is not your average drama film with a usual comedy-type of an ending where the only thing hurt is the character's egos, families, or emotions. These kinds of films usually ends up with death or incarceration of one of the leads. Well, this is not some prediction as this will come to pass no thanks to that detailed spoiler by Viva Films about Rigodon. But with a somewhat decent storyline and fresh faces that would redefine sexiness in mainstream sexy films, Rigodon could be the film that would return sexy films back on Philippine mainstream cinema.

How about you guys, what do you think about this mainstream Viva Films 2012 title for mature audiences. What do you think about Viva's newly crowned Sex Goddess, Yam Concepcion? Share your thoughts Rigodon's official movie trailer in the comments section below: