unSAULicited

Acclaimed actor Aaron Eckhart (“Erin Brokovich,” “Sully”) teams up with talented Carice Van Houten (“Game of Thrones”) in the chilling horror movie “Incarnate.” The horror begins when eleven-year-old Cameron (David Mazouz) alarms his single mother Lindsay (Houten) when he experiences isolating himself on the floor of his dark room, speaking in ancient languages and displaying other symptoms of demonic possession. Alerted to the situation, Vatican representative Camilla (Catalina Sandino Moreno) recruits wheelchair-bound scientist Dr. Seth Ember (Eckhart) to extract the evil spirit from the boy. A non-believer who drinks, smokes and prefers to think of his work as “eviction” rather than exorcism, Ember sets up shop with high-tech assistants Riley (Emily Jackson) and Oliver (Keir O’Donnell). Strapped into a life-support system, he enters Cameron’s subconscious mind, where the demon holds the boy captive in an imaginary dream world by appealing to his deepest desire: to be reunited w...

From the highly successful R-rated film “John Wick,” Keanu Reeves steps out of retirement from the underworld once again in “John Wick: Chapter 2” where he reprises his role as the legendary hitman in the shadowy world of assassins. Directed by Chad Stahelski, “John Wick: Chapter 2” heads to Rome where the world’s deadliest assassins set their killer contracts. Bound by a blood oath to help him, John travels to Rome where he squares off against some of the world’s deadliest killers. Reeves, in recent interviews revealed that that the film would deal with the duality of Wick where something from his past will come back to haunt him. “There's John, the docile man who spent five years married to the love of his life. Then there's John Wick, the deadly assassin feared by the entire criminal underworld.” A buffet of bullets and unprecedented action on screen when “John Wick: Chapter 2” opens in cinemas on February 8 from Pioneer Films.

The action-packed and breathtaking game-to-movie adaptation “Assassin’s Creed” starring Michael Fassbender follows dual characters Callum Lynch and Aguilar de Nehra in the modern day and 15th Century Spain respectively. In the 15th Century, Aguilar is joined by Maria, a more experienced Assassin than him, who is his most trusted ally. In the modern day, Cal finds himself at the Abstergo facility with a rag-tag bunch of fellow inmates who are all suffering from the effects of prolonged exposure to the Animus, and have their own ancestral Assassin legacies. From the onset, director Justin Kurzel was adamant about filming as much of "Assassin's Creed" as possible without relying on green screens and computer-generated imagery. As one of the video gaming industry’s most popular and beloved franchises, “Assassin’s Creed” is famous for its heart-pounding action sequences. The series was among the first to prominently feature Parkour as a major gameplay element, with Assas...

ALERON, one of the country’s top all-male choir launched recently their debut Christmas album “Dakilang Hiwaga,” which includes a wide variety of songs. Also included in the album are some songs from their European Concert and Competition tour repertoire. The group aims to further cement the Filipino’s reputation of having some of the world’s most formidable musicians through this trip. The group is set to compete in the most prestigious choral singing festivals and competitions from May to July of 2017. The most important leg of their tour is the 11th World Symposium for Choral Music which will be held in Barcelona, Spain. The event is hosted by the International Federation for Choral Music (IFCM) and will feature the world’s finest choirs and choral leaders. ALERON is one of IFCM’s ambassadors for 2017, and they are the only Filipino performer to have been invited to the event. ALERON, translated from Latin as "the winged one," is geared towards exploring the mal...

In its maiden production, Tony Award winner Jhett Tolentino, through his new company, JTPi, successfully brought Broadway to Manila last Sunday by flying in the charming and talented Andrew Keenan-Bolger. Andrew started his Broadway career as Chip in Beauty and the Beast and most recently he has played Crutchie in Newsies and Jesse Tuck in Tuck Everlasting. Christmas classics that were performed include It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year, I'll Be Home for Christmas, and Santa Claus is Coming to Town. Tanya brought her brand of versatility by showcasing Sal Tlay Ka Siti from Book of Mormon, A House is Not a Home, and Breathe from In The Heights. During the course of the evening, Andrew showed the wonder of his Broadway experience with songs from his recent musicals. The audience was surprisingly delighted each time he would sing an OPM Christmas song. As historic as this was the first event staged at the Globe Theater inside the Maybank Performing Arts Cente...

The highly anticipated death-defying and non-stop action adventure “Assassin’s Creed” starring Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard, Jeremy Irons and Brendan Gleeson will bring the audience to an unforgettable ride in two time periods in history. In “Assassin’s Creed,” Michael Fassbender plays dual characters as Callum Lynch and Aguilar De Nehra. When Lynch is brought into the Abstergo facility, having been rescued from the lethal injection on death row, he doesn’t know what to make of it. A foreboding, concrete structure with plenty of natural light, but no windows, it’s kind of a cross between a high-tech day spa and a prison. His fellow inmates are a ragtag bunch of souls who seem to struggle with their own mental faculties. And at the facility’s center, within the circular structure of an old church, lies the Animus, a device which will send Cal back in time to 15th Century Spain. In Justin Kurzel’s big screen adaptation of the hit video game series “Assassin’s Creed,” ...

Magtanggol, awarded Most Popular Film at the International Film Festival Manhattan this year, goes back to the UP Film Center for more screenings on November 28, Monday, at 2 p.m., 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. The political whodunit film tells the story of a family who has spent years fighting for and helping the disenfranchised and the abused, specifically Overseas Filipino Workers, survive and get out of their hapless situations. The family encounters hardships, opposition, scandals and inter-family disagreements, including a potentially destructive accusation that one of their own has been exacting revenge against known OFW oppressors. The film challenges the audience to guess who the real perpetrator of the crime is from start to finish. The screenings aim to make Filipinos feel proud again in time for the November 30 celebration of Bonifacio Day. Starring as the Magtanggol family are Joonee Gamboa, Dina Bonnevie, Tom Rodriguez, Ejay Falcon, Albie Casiño, Kim Domingo and Basti Sa...

Come and celebrate the holidays as Ballet Philippines presents “Awitin Mo At Isasayaw Ko ”, a new dance musical featuring the songs of VST & Co. at the CCP Main Theater (Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo) from December 2 – 11. The show is an exciting collaboration with ABS-CBN and the ABS-CBN Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Maestro Gerard Salonga. “Awitin Mo At Isasayaw Ko” tells the story of the forbidden love between Teresa, a kolehiyala and Victor, a construction worker amidst the backdrop of the Philippines in the late ‘70s – burning with disco fever but chilled by the horrors of Martial Law. They are separated in life but are united in heaven and once again dance up a storm. BP artistic director Paul Alexander Morales will direct the show featuring disco hits such as “Rock Baby Rock”, “Magsayawan”, and “Ipagpatawad Mo”, along with Bert de Leon’s “Hindi Ko Akalain”, and Celso Llarina & Roger Rigor’s “Puwede Ba?” and “Ikaw ang Aking Pasko”, all woven together by a libre...

Octavia Spencer whose powerful performance in “The Help” won her a Best Supporting Actress in the Oscars stars in another riveting role in the inspiring story of women of courage in “Hidden Figures.” Spencer plays one of the three brilliant mathematicians working in NASA at a time when prejudice and discrimination in the early 1960s ran high. Based on the stories of real life women, Spencer’s role, Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson (Janelle Monáe) and Katherine Johnson (Taraji P. Henson) made remarkable accomplishments against all odds and breaking barriers when they helped America win the space race that paved the way for future generations. “Hidden Figures” is an exciting film about courage, resilience and empowerment, focusing on a trio of gifted women whose excellent work in the fields of mathematics and aerospace engineering was of crucial importance in turning around the space race. It is also an emotional story about the friendship that developed between the three women and ...

Black Box Productions proudly presents its first theater production “MULA SA BUWAN ” --- a new Filipino musical about love, ideals, and the heartbreaks in between. Based on French poet Edmond Rostand’s play Cyrano de Bergerac, “ Mula Sa Buwan ” is now set in 1940s Manila, among young ROTC cadets and blushing colegialas. The play shows the innocence and beauty of our nation where music, harana, kundiman, wit, passion, and hope abound! However, when World War II strikes, virtue, honor, and love are all tested – the young now forced to suddenly grow up as men. The story moves to a time after the war, to a field of ruble, of forgotten memories, of heroes lost in a country struggling to survive. At the center of it all, the tragic love story between Cyrano, Roxane and Christian. “ Mula sa Buwan” is a brainchild of two prolific artists namely Pat Valera who conceptualized, wrote the book / lyrics and directed the production together with...