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2 Cool 2 be 4gotten
Philippines 2016
produced by Alemberg Ang, Ronald Arguelles (executive) for Cinema One Originals, VY/AC Productions, Karampangan Cinema Movement
directed by Petersen Vargas
starring Khalil Ramos, Ethan Salvador, Jameson Blake, Ana Capri, Peewee O'Hara, Joel Saracho, Meanne Espinosa, Ruby Ruiz, Bajun Lacap, Jomari Angeles, Jerom Canlas, Dylan Ray Talon, Phyllis Grae Grande, Cecile Yumul, Felly Villanueva, Kristine Pearl Lagman, Saivitri Villareal, Felly Villanueva, Donny Cherreguine, Kyle Jumayne Francisco, Xia Chloe Young, Almira Cayanan, Cyrin Nucum, Russel Atoy, Paulo Policarpio, Mark Anthony Diaz, Ardee Antonio, Jeremiah Dionisio, Darwin Ocampo
written by Jason Paul Laxamana, music by Alyana Cabral, Christopher Flores
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Available on DVD! To buy, click on link(s) below and help keep this site afloat (commissions earned) |
Always make sure of DVD-compatibility!!!
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At school, teenaged Felix (Khalil Ramos) is pretty much a loner, but
not because he's so unlikeable but because he's just ... a really good
student, one who's diligent and who knows good grades are the only way to
college and thus out of the poor surroundings his mother has brought him
up in. Then Magnus Snyder (Ethan Salvador), a handsome boy of
Filipino-American origin, is introduced to the class, and there's
something that attracts Felix to him from square one, even if Magnus is
seemingly his opposite, a rather lazy student living in a rich
neighbourhood, and not afraid to spend his money. However, since Magnus
wants to finish high school eventually, even if for the sole reason that
his dad, an American soldier, has promised to fetch him and take him to
the USA after graduation, he asks Magnus to tutor him - which Felix does
gladly, at first because Magnus pays him, but soon he becomes quite taken
in by Magnus's lifestyle that's much more relaxed than his own, includes
cigarettes and alcohol, and a constant feeling of plenty, a feeling Felix
wants to be a part of, diligently saving all the money he earns from
Magnus. But there's not all rosey in Magnus and his younger brother
Maxim's (Jameson Blake) lives, as their mother Demetria (Ana Capri), cool
woman that she pretends to be, is actually a high class prostitute, and
the boys know it very well - even that their dad might have been one of
her clients ... Eventually, while drunk, Demetria confesses to Felix
that Magnus and Maxim's dad won't come to fetch them, has long married
another woman in the USA, and shows no interest into his Filipino sons.
Magnus overhears the conversation, and all his dreams and hopes are
shattered all at once - so much so that he quits being tutored by Felix
and is expelled from school soon afterwards. This breaks Felix's heart a
little, as to him Magnus has long become a friend, maybe even more. Maxim
has of course long noticed how much Felix admires Magnus, so he comes up
with a proposition of how to win back Magnus's affection and get him and
Maxim himself to America after all - a proposition that's so dark and
wrong that Felix is at a loss how to properly react ... A
pretty compelling drama that starts out as a coming of age story, sexual
awakening included, but gradually turns into a dark psycho thriller -
which works without a hitch as the film is carried by strong character
arcs that remain relatable throughout, while the movie itself puts
subtlety over spectacle, tells its tale in a very unexcited way that
concentrates on little things rather than spectacle. And of course, solid
lead performances only help making this a pretty cool movie.
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