Ryan Oquiza

Oct 30, 2024 | rappler.com | Ryan Oquiza

This review is spoiler-free. “Bewitched” is how I would describe my feelings about the latest Marvel Disney Plus show centered on a WandaVision villain whose iconic theme song, brought to you by the Frozen songwriters, has found its way into the title. Sometimes we forget how big the former show was in 2021 — a sitcom-mystery-superhero-drama delight that more often than not delivered on its promise of solidifying the Scarlet Witch and beckoning a new era of superheroes post-Endgame.

Oct 27, 2024 | letterboxd.com | Ryan Oquiza

★½ Something feels awfully wrong about this movie. It cannot seem to strike a balance between authenticity and style.

Jul 17, 2024 | rappler.com | Steph Arnaldo |Ryan Oquiza

You’ve probably already heard of the movie Longlegs. The viral marketing hit of the year so far (though not without criticism for its official Philippine poster) is a horror film from Neon, the same company that distributed the likes of Parasite and Anatomy of a Fall. It stars Maika Monroe, already the breakout horror queen of the 21st century, with indie hits like It Follows and Watcher already under her belt. Then, there’s Nicholas Cage playing the eponymous Satanic serial killer.

Jul 7, 2024 | rappler.com | Ryan Oquiza

In my defense of X, the first film of this Mia Goth-tinged horror trilogy, I lauded its pornstar-studded story of young misfits shooting X-rated content at a 1970s farmhouse as actually being a critique of American conservatism, its prudishness and hypocrisy — however crude or uneven it may seem at times. It’s scary because its veiled Christian undertones work.

Jun 29, 2024 | rappler.com | Ryan Oquiza

This review contains minor spoilers. It’s unusual for a genre film to be set in New York and for it to make sense, as these two things are often seen as mutually exclusive. The most common guilt that blockbuster films manifest is using New York simply for aesthetic reasons; it’s iconic, the most famous city in the world, and action scenes tend to look more metropolitan. But, does it really make sense for it to take place in New York?