Review: My Extraordinary Summer with Tess (2019)
Sam is preparing for the worst; and, Tess is preparing for the best. When they meet each other, emotion begins shifting and thoughts about life begin to unravel.
Review: Kado / A Gift (2018)
In only 15 minutes, Kado delivers an absorbing complexity of a transsexual teenager subtly and cleverly.
Review: To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You (2020)
To All the Boys 2 (2020) is another sweet story that feels more like an extended chapter than a full-fledged sequel.
Review Dua Garis Biru (2019)
Gina S. Noer surprisingly flaunts playful imagery and enchanting dialogues to complement the story that, by nature, is powerful—even when the narrative is sometimes overwhelming in Dua Garis Biru.
Review Five Feet Apart (2019)
Five Feet Apart is like a deliberately sappy fanfiction of The Fault in Our Stars saved by Haley Lu Richardson’s star-making performance and Cole Sprouse’s ethereal charm.
Review Fall in Love at First Kiss (2019)
Fall in Love at First Kiss could’ve delivered a more heartwarming romance which pays beautiful tribute to the source material, whichever it refers to.
Review Dilan 1991 (2019)
Bypassing all the character introductory phases, the romance rift in Dilan 1991 is sadly underwhelming even when the chemistry between Iqbaal and Vanesha starts to make sense.
Review To All the Boys I've Loved Before (2018)
The saccharine-heavy rom-com effectively uses its overly familiar ‘fake-first-date’ tropes to make a sweet & uplifting teenage love without over-abusing its sugary potential.
My Generation (2017) – Review: Young blood runs hot
Review: For as long as history repeats itself, an endless generation clash would always be an intriguing topic to ponder on. No matter how much technology or lifestyle or virtue have changed, the fundamental difference which always leads to rift between […]
Posesif (2017) – Review: A juggernaut of teenage romance
Review: This is Lala’s first love; yet, Yudhis wants it to be their forever. That’s how Posesif abridges its powerful content. It’s a high-school meet-cute that blossoms, escalates, grows as quickly as it spirals out of control. It’s a portrayal […]
Moss (2017) – BALINALE Review
Review: It’s difficult to grasp what Daniel Peddle’s Southern coming-of-age drama, Moss, tries to emanate. Shot in the midst of lush Pleasure Island, North Carolina with casts of local people (who mostly have no acting resume), this film remains quiet, restraint, […]
A Season with: Riverdale (2017) – Season 1
Review: For starter, Riverdale “borrows” super-likable characters from your childhood Archie comics – from red-haired jock-musician wannabe, Archie Andrews (KJ Apa), the good girl Betty Cooper (Lili Reinhart), smoky hot rich Veronica Lodge (Camila Mendes), quirky Jughead Jones (Cole Sprouse) to […]
A Silent Voice / 聲の形 / Koe no Katachi (2017) – Review
Review: In its 130-min duration, Koe no Katachi a.k.a. A Silent Voice tackles a complex coming-of-age drama of consequences, self-alienation and reconciliation. Sometimes it staggers, sometimes it falls into melodrama; but, in the end, it passes a meandering way with […]
A Season with: 13 Reasons Why (2017)
Review: A teenage girl, Hannah Baker (Katherine Langford) committed suicide. Instead of leaving suicide notes, she left seven double-sided cassette tapes – in which she stated a reason and tagged a person ‘responsible’ for her demise in each side of […]
Dear Nathan (2017): A grey-and-white meet-cute
Review: Dear Nathan is a clear-cut boy-meet-a-girl story. A bon-chic-bon-genre girl, Salma (Amanda Rawles) unexpectedly meets a violent, rich yet troubled greaser, Nathan (Jefri Nichol), after both come late for school with opposite reasons. Salma’s simple act of compassion, to […]