Welcome to What to Watch Right Now, our weekly rundown of the best things to watch right now. The constant stream of shows, videos, and films to watch online can become a sludge to wade through, so here are a few things you can watch courtesy of the Rolling Stone Philippines team. Whether it’s a new film, a video essay, or even a home video release you should own (physical media is now available!), we hope it can ease the burden of choosing which streaming platform to use or of discovering a new cinematic odyssey.
This week, we couldn’t turn away from the offerings of the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF). Over the holiday season, we enjoyed dramas like UnMarry, surprisingly emotional comedies like Call Me Mother, and earnest, coming-of-age flicks like Bar Boys: After School. And, because we were already on a MMFF marathon, we turned to previous years’ entries, like the slightly unbelievable but nonetheless entertaining The Kingdom.
‘UnMarry’
The freedoms and beginnings that await us at the end of love
Beyond its sheen and vlog structure, Jeffrey Jetturian’s UnMarry is an uncomfortable watch, as we witness these two characters endure the worst days of their lives. Celine (Angelica Panganiban) and Ivan (Zanjoe Marudo) enlist the same lawyer, Jacqueline (Eugene Domingo, a scene stealer tbh), and hope against all odds that they might win their annulment cases. Celine hopes to take back her business, which she built from the ground up, from her elitist husband, while Ivan simply hopes to win back his wife (Solenn Heusaff, in one of the year’s best performances).
We go through the motions of the annulment process, which is more convoluted since the Philippines doesn’t have divorce. They have to prove psychological incapacity, dig up the past for possible bullets against them, and, in Ivan’s case, just prove that, despite his grave shortcomings in the past, he can still be a good father.
UnMarry is Jetturian’s first film since 2013’s Ekstra, and his precision for emotive moments hasn’t let up. The film gives plenty of spotlight to Celine, whose case might be the most soul-stirring example of the need for divorce in the Philippines. Panganiban is also returning here after four years of absence from the big screen, with both her comedic and dramatic chops on full display. She shows us a woman who is undergoing varying degrees of loss, unable to comprehend the cruelty of the world, yet charges on forward for the people she loves. —Don Jaucian
‘The Kingdom’
A serious Vic Sotto in a fascinating cosplay about an uncolonized Philippines
I’m gonna tell you right ahead that The Kingdom isn’t perfect. It’s shot like a TV show, and the story leaves much to be desired. But as a thought experiment, The Kingdom is very exciting. The film imagines the Philippines unconquered and unbowed, ruled by our own royals, who, like any other monarchy in the world, face a power struggle.
The Kingdom intersects two worlds: the opulent world of the widowed king, Makisig (Vic Sotto), and Sulo (Piolo Pascual), who exists outside the caste system and is hostile toward the royal family (his father was a disgraced royal guard). There is still poverty in this Kingdom, and many people do not feel the wealth to which their Lakan and his family are entitled. The two paths cross when the royal daughter, Lualhati (Sue Ramirez), is kidnapped, and Sulo helps her flee her abductors. Their destiny leads them to the palace, and Sulo and Makisig have some choices to make along the way.
The film (recently added on Netflix) is a little nuts, and there’s a little suspension of disbelief in order to keep it going. You’ll have many questions about world-building, but this exercise is worthwhile for thinking about a Philippines that has not been conquered by Spain, the United States, or Japan. What would happen if we were left to our own devices, growing and developing only from the beliefs and culture of our ancestors? The Kingdom shows us a possible scenario, and it’s a high possibility that things would have been the same. —Don Jaucian
‘Call Me Mother’
Vice Ganda leaning hard on her slapstick roots, while still packing an emotional punch
Did I expect that Vice Ganda and Nadine Lustre would make such a killer comedy pairing? No, but both stars proved me wrong in director Jun Robles Lana’s latest MMFF offering (and second collaboration with Vice Ganda), Call Me Mother. We see the It’s Showtime host play Twinkle, a pageant-coach-turned-devoted-mother to her adopted son, Angelo (Lucas Andalio). Problems arise when Twinkle attempts to finalize Angelo’s adoption papers, only to discover that she needs the consent of his biological mother, Mara (Lustre). What ensues is a high-stakes mother-off, complete with what is arguably some of Vice Ganda’s best slapstick work in recent years. But she nails the landing with so much emotional gravitas that it’s no wonder that she bagged the award for Best Actor at this year’s fest. —Mel Wang
‘Bar Boys: After School’
A nostalgic return to the world of the first movie, but also a somber look at the Philippine justice system
You don’t need to watch Bar Boys, director Kip Oebanda’s first law school barkada flick, to fully enjoy its sequel. All you really need to know is that the OG wannabe lawyers — Torran (Rocco Nacino), Erik (Carlo Aquino), and Chris (Enzo Pineda) — are full-fledged attorneys trying to make sense of the local justice system, while the last member of their group, Josh (Kean Cipriano), is finally making his way to passing the bar.
This time, Oebanda has also enlisted the help of the likes of Will Ashley, Sassa Gurl, and Therese Malvar to show the increasingly high pressures of law school. But at the story’s core is everyone’s stalwart mentor, Justice Hernandez (Odette Khan), who guides them through the highs and lows of corrupt cases, academic stresses, and a legal world that isn’t always so kind to those clinging to their moral high ground. —Mel Wang
