Friday, March 29, 2024

Review of GODZILLA X KONG: THE NEW EMPIRE: Kickass and Kinetic Kaijus!

March 29, 2024


Kong was thriving well in Hollow Earth, able to fight off his enemies. However, he was lonely, longing for contact with his own kind. An ongoing infection of his left upper canine tooth was not helping the situation.  Meanwhile, Godzilla was "helping" humans control the havoc wreaked by other irradiated Titans on the surface. His latest "mission" was subduing the crab monster terrorizing Rome. After his victory, Godzilla took a victory nap in the Coliseum. 

While Kong was on the surface seeking dental help from his human friends, Godzilla was awakened by signals originating from Hollow Earth. These same signals were also perceived by Jia (Kaylee Hottle), adopted daughter of lead scientist Dr. Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall). She led an expedition into Hollow Earth, together with her veterinarian friend Trapper (Dan Stevens) and podcast host Bernie Hayes (Brian Tyree Henry) to seek out the source. 

The first Godzilla - Kong collaboration project "Godzilla Vs. Kong" (2021) was released during the pandemic, streaming on HBO Go (MY REVIEW). Because of this, most people were not able to appreciate the full expanse of Hollow Earth and the gigantic Titans as designed and executed when they watched it on small gadgets. Now for this sequel -- do watch this on the biggest screens, in 3D IMAX if possible, for best possible viewing experience.

With a predictable story to tell, the film came to life only when Godzilla and Kong were on the screen. The annoyingly whiny human characters were mainly there for comic effect and to up the fear factor. We also meet new gigantic creatures discovered in a deeper subterranean world, including a mythic insect kaiju in an extended cameo. I am not exactly a fan of the design of the brown-furred baby ape at first, but he grew on me as the film went on.

Like the first film, it was still shown how Kong was very much dependent on the help of his human friends, like the extraction and instant implantation of a replacement, and their miraculous management of severe frostbite injury. Basic medical principles were ignored (you can't implant on infected tissue, among others), but then again, I guess no one really cares about these things in a popcorn adventure film like this, as long as it delivers the thrills. 7/10.   


Saturday, March 23, 2024

Vivamax: Review of RITA: Messed-up Melodrama

March 23, 2024



Former bar girl Rita (Christine Bermas) just married Ariel (Victor Relosa), but he immediately had to fly to work abroad in Saudi Arabia. Ariel worked as a driver for a rich Arab man (Sahil Khan), who began to make a move on him. Rita began to entertain Ariel's best friend Royce (Josh Ivan Morales) when he made his move on her. Rita's gay younger brother Marlon (Gold Aceron) was angry because she was cheating on Ariel, on whom he had a crush.

Things became difficult when Ariel came home prematurely. Rita knew that she had to end her affair with Royce, but she could not. Ariel had to come to terms with a newly-discovered sexual preference, but she could not. Marlon had to decide whether he should reveal to Ariel what he knew was brewing between the two people he loved, but he could not.  Royce found a way to earn the money he needed to settle his gambling debts, so he went for it. 

No less than National Artist Ricky Lee wrote this screenplay, so it was not surprising that there were so many complexities in this film's plot, certainly more than the typical Vivamax film. However, Mac Alejandre, who directed Lee's previous Vivamax projects, was only creative producer in this new one. The director was veteran teen film and TV drama series director Jerry Lopez Sineneng taking on his very first Vivamax feature film.

There were still a good number of typical Vivamax heterosexual coupling scenes -- Rita and Ariel, Royce and girlfriend Shirley (Amabella de Leon), Rita and Royce. This must be the first Vivamax film with frankly homosexual sex scenes between two men -- Ariel and Arab boss, Ariel and callboy (Mhack Morales), Ariel and Royce. The film's climax was a nude menage-a-trois which would, predictably, take a turn to violence, in true Vivamax formula.

In the title role, Christine Bermas gave it her all, especially in those crazy, never-before-seen bedroom acrobatics. Tougher acting challenges went to Victor Relosa (with all the gay scenes he had to do for the first time) and Gold Aceron (who had to portray a teenage closeted gay with subtlety). This was also the first Vivamax appearance of Josh Ivan Morales, best known as the predatory uncle in "Ang Lihim ni Antonio" (2008), still as depraved and beastly as ever. 5/10. 




Wednesday, March 20, 2024

Review of BOB MARLEY: ONE LOVE: Remediation by Reggae

March 19, 2024



In 1976, reggae star Bob Marley (Kingsley Ben-Adir) announced that he was going to perform at an event that aimed to promote peace and unity in Jamaica, which was then being wracked by violent conflicts between political factions. However, Marley and his wife Rita (Lashana Lynch) also became victims of this violence. To minimize the risk to their lives, Marley decided to send Rita and his kids to the US, while he exiled himself to London. 

This biopic is directed by American filmmaker Reinaldo Marcus Green. "Bob Marley" is only his fourth feature film, and his third consecutive biopic after "Joe Bell" (2020) and his highest profile film to date, "King Richard" (2021). The latter was nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, and won its star Will Smith the Best Actor award in the most controversial circumstances. His first film "Monsters and Men" (2018) was also inspired by real events.

I confess that I knew nothing about Marley's personal story or the history of Jamaica, so I went into this film blind. It was interesting to see the turbulence of the political landscape in his native country of Jamaica in which these songs were born.  He and his wife had infidelity issues, which of course were not much of a surprise for music superstars like him. He passed away in 1981, a still young 36, and the cause of his death was unexpected.

I only knew of Bob Marley because of his iconic reggae hits sung in his passionate signature style, specifically "I Shot the Sheriff," "No Woman No Cry," and "Redemption Song". While I was happy I discovered more of his discography, it also felt like there were more scenes of these song performances than deeper dives into his life story. Anyhow, the radiant charisma of Kingsley Ben-Adir as Bob Marley certainly kept this film afloat. 6/10. 


Monday, March 18, 2024

Puregold: Review of UNDER A PIAYA MOON: Treasuring Tradition

March 18, 2024



While doing a television interview which talked about his family's legacy bakery Celine, Stephen Maravilla (Jeff Moses) and girlfriend Joy Decena (Pau Dimaranan) looked like the perfect couple. Joy even excitedly announced that they were going to introduce European pastries to Celine's classic menu of local delicacies.  However, when the couple was by themselves, Joy broke the news to Stephen that she wanted to break up with him.  

At that time, Stephen's grandmother Serafina Infante (Chart Motus) was in Bacolod after a bad quarrel with her husband Poldo (Joel Torre)  caused her to leave their house in La Carlota. She encouraged the distraught Stephen to join the upcoming Concurso de Calamay, the most prestigious native specialty baking competition in Negros Occidental. While Stephen wanted to modernize his creations, Lola Fina advised him to stick with traditional techniques.

Set in Bacolod and surrounding towns of Negros Occidental, this film was in the Hiligaynon language, with that delightfully distinctive lilting accent.  The story was set back in the 1980s, which necessitated appropriate period production design, costumes, hairstyles, without the high-tech gadgetry of today. The cinematography had such a quality that evoked nostalgia, as it made our mouths water with tasty close-ups of these sweet Negrense snacks, like bitso-bitso, pilit-turon, napoleones, and of course, the titular piaya.  

Jeff Moses had a smiling face and friendly demeanor that immediately made us like him as Stephen and root for him to win the Concurso. Senior actors Chart Motus and Joel Torre had fun with their roles as Fina and Poldo, as they bickered bitterly at first, then made up so treacly sweet later. Pau Dimaranan's Joy was such an annoying character from her very first scene up to her last, you could not wait for Stephen to snap out of her toxic spell. 

The script by Vicente Garcia Groyon hewed to old-fashioned linguistic styles to keep to the nostalgic theme of the film. It included a number of charming, kitchen-inspired sayings and mottos to keep to the culinary theme, ranging from sensible ("Kneaded dough continues to rise when left on the table.") to naughty ("The longer you knead it, the longer it needs to rest."). Aside from food, there were also side trips to other tidbits of Negrense culture, like betting at the cockpit or the story behind the song "Nitang." 

This is director Kurt Soberano's feature film debut, but I had seen and loved his short film recreating the shooting of Peque Gallaga's "Oro Plate Mata" entitled "Sa Balay ni Papang" (MY REVIEW) (2021). In "Piaya Moon," the clash between traditions vs. modernity was brought up multiple times, but . Different generations will answer this question differently, but me, I am a sucker for this type of sentimentality and positivity. 9/10.

Sunday, March 17, 2024

Puregold: Review of BOYS AT THE BACK: Rambunctious Repeaters

March 17, 2024


The Boys at the Back (or BATB for short) was a group of notorious for being high school students at the Kinantong National High School. They were infamous for being in fourth year high school for four years now.  The muscle-bound leader was Mike (Michael Berces), and his knucklehead minions included Arnold (Bob Jbelli), Porkchop (Nyle Libranza), Jerome (Raynier Brizuela) and tomboyish Cayang (Merry Chris Rodriguez).

This semester, a new freshman kid Kevin (Noel Comia, Jr.) transferred into Kinantong from a private school La Naval. His first friend in his new school was Joyce (Nicole Omillo) with whom shared a love for Filipino pop music. One day, Kevin's iPod fell out of his pocket and was confiscated by his teacher, Mr.  Robert Dimasupil (Bani Baldiserri). Desperate, Kevin thought of asking BATB to steal the iPod back, in exchange for helping them graduate. 

This film was all be silliness and shenanigans on the surface, with scene after scene showing naughtiness, truancy, bullying, disrespect, and failing grades. All of these were dealt as a laughing matter, with a juvenile sense of humor which may come off more as annoying than funny. However midway, it would catch you completely off guard when it revealed that deep within, there lay very serious triggering topics of suicide and sexual abuse. 

Noel Comia Jr. is already a veteran in indie films even in his young age, and here he proved that he still had what it takes for the drama scenes, especially those with his mother (Dovee Park). Pretty and perky Nicole Omillo was a surprise winner of Best Supporting Actress even with her limited screen time. The five actors playing the BATB tended to play things just for laughs, not recovering even in the end when they were supposed to be more mature.

One of the more remarkable awards Boys won was Best Story and Screenplay award for director, writer and star Raynier Brizuela. However, I felt that this screenplay just presented a lot of open threads, but none of them really had closure at the very end. Those who were waiting for the villain to get his due comeuppance will wait in vain. There was no satisfying sense of justice at all the very end. We don't even see Kevin's iPod ever again. 5/10

    

Puregold: Review of PUSHCART TALES: Grounded at the Grocery

March 17, 2024


It was a very strong storm, and all the roads outside the grocery store were flooded such that no vehicles could pass. Store manager Jack (Nonie Buencamino) still had two employees in the store with him -- Sarah (Shamaine Buencamino) and Emily (Therese Malvar). There were still three customers trapped in with them -- aspiring filmmaker Ria (Elora Espano), bratty rich kid Ryan (Harvey Bautista) and elderly grouch Benjamin (Carlos Siguion-Reyna).

Their food and water supply was scarce from prior panic buying, and there was no electricity nor phone signal. Glass panes have been shattered and portions of the ceiling have caved in, which caused them to panic that this may be the last them of their lives.  They decided to play a game, passing items to one another in a circle. When each of them got a certain item in hand, this would trigger memories of major events in their respective lives.

When the first Puregold CinePanalo Awards were held last night, this film won several major awards -- Best Director for Sigrid Andrea Bernardo, Best Actress for Shamaine Buencamino, Best Actor for Carlos Siguion-Reyna, Best Ensemble, Best Sound Design, and Special Jury Prize. the acting was really the strongest suit of this film (all six main actors were nominated as leads), and Bernardo did well shepherding them through the story she was telling.

This certainly looked like a very complicated film to do on what was presumably a limited time and a shoestring budget. The technical requirements of its production design and sound design (most deserving of its win) were formidable to make us feel the storm howling outside and show the violent effects of the strong wind and rain on store's infrastructure. That opening scene of zombies rising up of the debris also looked very difficult to execute.  

On bookend scenes of undead beings and calamitous disaster, Bernardo stitched on six episodes of melodrama dealing with a variety of family issues about infidelity, separation, LGBT, sacrifice and disease. After this, she then surprised us some more with her last minute twists that tied all the loose threads up neatly. I thought her complex script was a winner. Even with zombies in there, it still managed to live up to the positivity Puregold was going for. 8/10


Saturday, March 16, 2024

Vivamax: Mini-Reviews of KAPALIT, KALIKOT and MAPANUKSO

 March 16, 2024

KAPALIT

Directed by Carlos Alvares

Written by: Gelo Catamio, Maya Diaz

Nurse Audrey (Cess Garcia) was fired from her job, following naughty shenanigans she did with her ne'er-do-well boyfriend Richard (Chad Alviar). The recruiting agency she relied on to work in Australia also turned out bogus. She got accepted as a caregiver of Demi (Rica Gonzales) who suffering from an unknown disease. Audrey admired Demi's husband, Dr. Stan Monasterio (Matt Francisco), for his dedication to his wife, his kindness and good looks.

Cess Garcia is a pretty lead actress, and had potential for dramatic scenes. However, the way her Audrey was written was quite haphazard. She wanted Dr. Stan for herself, but she also wanted to stay loyal to Ms. Demi. The reveal was not really surprising, no one that perfect could be true. Like he did in "Haliparot," Matt Francisco could convincingly portray decent-looking men hiding demons within. Chad Alviar had that roguish bad boy look and presence that Vivamax boys should exude. 6/10. 


KALIKOT

Director: Artemio Abad

Writers: Roni Benaid, Nigel Santos

Arnel (Van Allen Ong) was a budding auto mechanic moonlighting at the repair shop of his uncle BJ (Raul Montesa). Despite having a girlfriend Jenna (Arah Alonzo), Arnel could not help but fantasize about the sexy new neighbor who just moved in across the street, Sal (Shiela Snow). Nothing prepared Arnel for a big surprise when his new professor for his major subject Engineering Economics walked into the classroom. 

The three main actors in this Vivamax short film (Ong, Alonzo and Snow) may be relatively new, but were actually quite natural in the acting department (that is, when they were not involved in sex scenes, which were practically happening one after the other).Van Allen Ong can give Gold Aceron a run for his money as Vivamax's go-to boyish loverboy-next-door. Arah Alonzo played Jenna with spunk. Shiela Snow was not really credible as an engineering professor, she could have tried harder to project intelligence on top of her sex appeal.  4/10. 


MAPANUKSO

Directed by Jose Abdel B. Langit

Written by Quinn Carrillo

In the private bar - nightclub of Madame E (Boobita) called The Den, rich female clientele were entertained by a group of male dancers. The current team were Carlo (Sean de Guzman), Primo (Marco Gomez), Jason (Calvin Reyes) and Benjie (Mon Mendoza). Aside from their dancing, they had their respective sugar mommies. One day, Carlo brought in Angelo (Itan Rosales), an 18-year old delivery boy who wanted a better way to earn tuition. 

This was just another one of those Vivamax films about people who prostitute their bodies to earn money for themselves and their families. This time, the boys were the dancers and the women -- Tanya (Ataska), Abbie (Thia Ledesma), Anne (Apple Castro), Bianca (Tiffany Grey) and her aunt Tonette (Panteen Palanca), Mica (Rica Gonzales) -- who were the sex-starved predators. There was nothing new with the cliched story, the lazy acting, and the predictable final turn into violence. 3/10. 

Vivamax: Mini-Reviews of SALISIHAN and EKS

March 1, 2024

SALISIHAN

Director: Iar Arondaing

Anna (Zsara Laxamana) and her husband Dan (Chester Grecia) had long been trying to conceive a child, but in vain. One day, a young woman named Sophie (Amabella de Leon) went to their house asking him her partner Gab (Ralph Christian Engle) was with them. It turned out that Gab was the son Dan never knew he had, and he had gone into hiding since he found out that Sophie was pregnant. 

Director Iar Arondaing, head writer John Carlo Pacala and writer Rijel Reyes spun a neat little tale here of infidelity and karma, and a wickedly twisted, darkly comic ending. Of the two new sirens, Laxamana did show more promise in terms of her looks and drama skills, while wan and homely de Leon paled in comparison. With his mature mien, Grecia got to play a role much older than his actual age of 26. Engle, who was supposed to be Grecia's son, actually looked just about the same age as him. 6/10. 


EKS

Story and Screenplay by ER Astrologo

EKSPRESIBO

Directed by Roman Perez, Jr. 

Ardo (Felix Roco) was an artist who made a living by selling his paintings on the roadsides. Sometimes he gets lucky with an art collector like Mrs. Nebres (Ayah Alfonso) passes by and brings him home for a private posing session. She would pay him not only for the paintings, but for his body as well. However, Ardo kept having visions of Lisa (Yen Durano), his love and his muse, who one day just upped and disappeared from their home. 

Being directed by Roman Perez Jr. (with DOP Neil Derrick Bion), this film carried his signature visuals bathed in warm yellow sunlight, the sun beamed through windows. They had nice shots of the Bonifacio Monument as well. The business of selling art was interesting, but could have been explored more seriously. Felix Roco is a good actor, but again that awful wig he wore was very distracting. Durano (who was launched in Perez's "Litsoneras") was also good, but her part was very short. 5/10

EKSPERTO

Directed by Omar Deroca

Lara (Yen Durano) was a very popular sexy vlogger who had millions of followers. Her constant escort was gym rat Dex (Albie Casino), but she kept on turning down his proposals to be her boyfriend. Lara was quite the playgirl with a fetish for recording herself in action, as she had casual sex with mature business partners like Marcus (Chester Grecia) and Benj (RR Lopez), or 20 year-old resort employees like Ches (Gabriel Fernandez).

The story of this one felt a bit off-tangent in this artsy trilogy, unless you consider sexy vlogs as an art form. Director Omar Deroca tells it pretty straightforward, just scenes Lara having sex with Dex and other men, held together by a simple story of how she used sex to further her "businesses." Casino's portrayal of weak and whiny Dex was so annoying, especially being the veteran in the cast. You totally see why Lara did not want to commit to him. 3/10

EKSPERIMENTAL

Directed by Sigrid Polon

Lilak (Yen Durano) was a very popular visual artist, whose specialty was to make paper mache figurines of a woman's open legs showcasing her wide-open pudendum. Her current workshop aide was Gabo (Itan Rosales), who assisted her in more ways than one. One day, a Japanese-Filipino news reporter Aiko (Audrey Avila) visited her shop in Laguna, and requested for an in-depth interview about her artwork.

Director Sigrid Polon captured the carefree bohemian spirit of artists in her latest work, and that was the most interesting aspect of this short film. I am not sure why her vulgar-looking paper-mache art was a big hit with the public, but I guess there is no arguing with popular taste when it comes to "art". Durano and Avila make a good match, but when it comes to Vivamax, their Sapphic pairing was hardly experimental anymore.  4/10

 

Friday, March 15, 2024

Puregold: Review of A LAB STORY: Quizbee Qualms

March 15, 2024



Pinky (Uzziel Delamide) was an Aeta teenager who had been chosen by the nuns to study at the Josephine Cojuangco Tech Voc high school. She was more obsessed with reading romance pocketbooks than her schoolwork. One day, their teacher Ma'am Kristine (Donna Cariaga) announced about the upcoming Agri-Quizbee. When the teacher said there was going to a "Lab" test, Pinky thought she said "Love" test and volunteered to join.

Her first meeting with her quizbee partner, an ambitious achiever Genesis (Potchi Angeles), was awkward, but they eventually got along. Knowing that this quiz could give him a scholarship he needed for college, he had committed to memory all the scientific names of tropical plants in the Philippines. A silent introvert, Genesis coped with stress by looking at slides of cells and microbes through the microscope. 

The way writer-director Carlo Obispo wrote and told this story of high school life and puppy love in a most childlike and entertaining manner. This was such a fun watch as it can bring back a lot of high school memories, especially the silly (playing FLAMES with crush's name) or cheesy (the first girl you gave flowers to) ones. For me, I joined quiz-bees before, so I can relate with the tension during review prep and competition proper.  (During the film, I was able to recognize Ulasimang Bato and still recalled its scientific name, haha!)

True blue Aeta teenager Uzziel Delamide radiated such a winsome personality onscreen. Her being an Aeta enabled Obispo to address not only their traditional medicinal herbs, but also serious problems Aetas have because of their elders' illiteracy. She and Potchi Angeles may be acting neophytes, but they carried the story very well, even generating romantic thrills when they would do something cute together.  To keep things interesting, Obispo introduced a pretty, brainy classmate Lovely (Barbara Miguel) midway to throw in a wrench. 

As Pinky's class adviser Ms. Kristine Mangrobang, Donna Cariaga was so lovable with her faulty choice of English words and her interchanging consonant sounds. (I know this may not look good for public school teachers, but it was cute and in the spirit of fun.) In fact, the louder hoots of romantic thrills were heard in scenes of Ms. Kristine with her good-looking co-teacher Mr. Kurt Dalang (Ely Cellan). One delightful scene between Cariaga and Cellan was ripped right out of a K-drama which sent the entire audience howling with glee. 

This is one of the six feature films included in the newly-launched Puregold CinePanalo Film Festival, running at Gateway Cineplex from April 15-19, 2024. With the festival theme of "Mga Kuwentong Panalo ng Buhay," we are expecting films with positive messages. Festival director Chris Cahilig had said in a statement that "CinePanalo aims to leave audiences with a warm fuzzy feeling," and, true to his word, "A Lab Story" did exact that.  8/10



Thursday, March 14, 2024

Review of 3 DAYS 2 NIGHTS IN POBLACION: Floundering Friendship

March 14, 2024



Gabbi (Jasmine Curtis-Smith) and Charlie (Barbie Imperial) were best friends and constant partners in school activities when they were in high school. They had not seen each other since Charlie left their hometown in province to study in Manila. Five years later, Gabbi was about to leave the country to work in Canada. She set up a reunion with Charlie to paint the town red in Poblacion, the red light district in Makati City. 

Circumstances made it possible for the two friends to spend three days and two nights roam, drink and party all around Poblacion. The two girls were having a great until they met Javi (JM de Guzman), on whom Gabbi had a crush on since their school days. It turned out that Charlie and Javi were keeping a secret between themselves which they were not about to reveal to Gabbi. But of course, no secret could be kept forever. 

Jasmine Curtis-Smith and Barbie Imperial did try their best. However, they not only felt miscast in their respective roles, they also did not look very good with unflattering make-up, outfits and cinematography. JM de Guzman looked too old to be their classmate and root of conflict, Javi. Kakai Bautista again stole scenes with her wild antics, as wacky Tita Cion. Drag queens led by Lady Morgana were in the cast, but were sorely underused. 

This film told a story about a dear friendship facing a grave threat to its continued existence. Despite the fact that the focus of the film was about a friendship between two young women, it was made by men -- written by Jules Katanyag and directed by RC delos Reyes. I am not sure that they got the dynamics of this relationship correctly. The way the story was written and told, there was no sincerity felt whatsoever between Gabbi and Charlie.

I guess they were of the thinking that to be "entertaining" to the Gen Z, everything had to be loud and obnoxious. It's probably meant to be immersive, but I am clearly not the demographic targeted by this film. As a parent of Gen Z kids, it was disturbing to see educated young ladies drinking so much alcohol and indulging in such scandalous activities when they are out with "friends" in Poblacion.  This film should be rated R-16 instead of R-13.  2/10. 

Thursday, March 7, 2024

Review of THE COLOR PURPLE (2023): Emancipation from Exploitation

 March 7, 2024



As teenagers, homely Celie (Phylicia Pearl Mpasi) and her prettier sister Nettie (Halle Bailey) were the best of friends. Celie was being sexually-abused repeatedly by their father Alfonso Harris (Deon Cole). She had already giving birth to two babies, who were both given away right after they were born. Alfonso then made Celie marry a ne'er-do-well who called himself Mister (Colman Domingo), who inflicted physical abuse on her. 

Eight years later, Mister's eldest son Harpo (Corey Hawkins) announced that he wanted to marry a tough woman named Sofia (Danielle Brooks). Celie (Fantasia Barrino) was fascinated by Sofia's strength of character and bold defiance of men, and they became close friends. Popular jazz singer Shug Avery (Taraji P. Henson) came to perform in Harpo's saloon, and she also became close friends with Celie, despite being Mister's mistress.

"The Color Purple" was first a book written by Alice Walker in 1982. In 1985, it was adapted into an acclaimed film directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Whoopi Goldberg, Oprah Winfrey and Margaret Avery. In 2005, a Broadway musical version debuted, with music and lyrics by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis, and Stephen Bray, and a book by Marsha Norman. This new film was based on the Broadway version of the story, with its songs.

Despite its success in the Tony Awards (11 nominations and 1 win for the 2005 original, and 4 nominations and 2 wins for the 2015 revival), there was no new song which were particularly memorable.  In the film, the song numbers felt incidentally inserted, like singing at church ("Mysterious Ways") or while building a house ("Workin'"). These song numbers tended to stall the flow of the storytelling, instead of helping it go forward. It's always welcome to hear Shug sing "Miss Celie's Blues (Sister)" again though.

Aside from their melodramatic moments, the main triumvirate all sang the heck out of their songs. Brooks had "Hell No!" Henson had "Push Da Button." Barrino had "I'm Here." Together, they had a colorful upbeat "Miss Celie's Pants," and an epiphanic finale "The Color Purple." Presented as a musical, the story felt sanitized despite the dark subject matter. Female empowerment was main message, but a lesbian subtext was also implied. 7/10