It Takes A Man And A Woman (2013) - Sarah Geronimo, John Lloyd Cruz

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It Takes a Man and a Woman is a Filipino romantic comedy film and the third and final installment in A Very Special Love franchise. Cathy Garcia-Molina return as the director of the film. Sarah Geronimo and John Lloyd Cruz also reprise their roles as Laida Magtalas and Miggy Montenegro respectively.

From the back-to-back success of “A Very Special Love” that earned P 176 million in the box office and “You Changed My Life” that raked in P209 million in 2009, the biggest love reunion is here again as the couple that made everyone smile, laugh and fall in love reunites in “It Takes A Man And A Woman” to share to the whole nation everything that has happened to them in the past years.

In this story, we see couple Miggy (John Lloyd Cruz) and Laida (Sarah Geronimo) go separate ways, as each recovers from their break up two years ago. Miggy is still a disappointment to his family’s business reputation, while Laida, now with an accent and a better fashion sense (though still donning a wig), moved to work in New York. A special assignment that involved the two of them stands as a test on whether they’ve finally moved on or if they’re still stuck with their relationship from the past.

Reviews of the film has been mostly positive. Jeman Villanueva of the Orange Magazine TV wrote "I recommend this film and I’m planning to check it again on its 2nd day of screening. It do takes to have John Lloyd Cruz and Sarah Geronimo to make a romantic-comedy movie you will never forget. And I’m giving the whole cast and crew a big power group hug! Staffs from the Sunstar reviewed its characters, specifically Laida and Miggy. They wrote "Sarah is convincing as the new, improved Laida. She has discarded the giggly, girlish image for a smart, assertive woman. John Lloyd doesn’t need to reinvent his character. All he has to do is turn on the charm machine full blast.

It Takes A Man And A Woman,” is the third installment of the hit romantic comedy movie series that is set to reveal the how Laida and Miggy’s four-year relationship headed to splitsville.

This Guy's In Love With U Mare - Vice Ganda

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This Guy's In Love With U Mare! is a 2012 Filipino comedy parody film under Star Cinema and Viva Films. It stars Vice Ganda, Luis Manzano and Toni Gonzaga, and it is directed by Wenn V. Deramas. The film received mixed reviews from Filipino critics. It currently holds the title of the fifth highest-grossing Filipino film of all time.

Synopsis: The film is about an unlikely love triangle. After Lester (Vice Ganda) catches his boyfriend (Luis Manzano) proposing marriage to Gemma (Toni Gonzaga), it seems as if his whole world comes crashing down. He devises a brilliant plan to keep Gemma away from his ex by making her fall for in love with him. Will Lester emerge victorious and win the heart of his old partner?

This Guy's in love with you Mare tackles the typical gay relationship that most straight people can relate to. The supposed straight guy (I say supposed because my stand on the matter is, if you have sex with another guy, there is no way in hell should you be able to call yourself straight) hooks up with a gay guy for money, leaves him for a girl and tries to forget about that part of his life. Some critic calls this film progressive. I say this is as progressive as my mom saying that I will be somebody's sugar daddy when I told her I'm gay. It is reflective of the backward way that society views gay relationships just like when people ask, "E sino sa inyo ang lalaki?"

Of course, this is not to say that these things don't actually happen. I just feel like given the ignorance of the masses in this particular issue, they could have at least provided a glimpse of how some gay people are in a self-respecting, mutually beneficial relationship just like any hetero couple.

This particular issue aside, Wenn Deramas' way of storytelling where he spells everything out for his audience worked for this film. It never hurt that Vice Ganda pointed out the obvious to Toni Gonzaga towards the end after she got mad at Luis for hooking up with a gay guy as if he committed a heinous crime.

The film was also sporadically funny, although a lot of people in the cinema would surely disagree with me. In the end, I would say that this is better than the other Vice-Luis-Wenn offering, Petrang Kabayo, but it wouldn't even rank close to Wenn's personal best, Tanging Ina.

Suddenly It's Magic (2012) - Mario Maurer & Erich Gonzales

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Suddenly It's Magic is a 2012 Filipino-Thai romantic film directed by Rory Quintos, starring Mario Maurer and Erich Gonzales. The film is produced by Star Cinema and was released last October 31, 2012 in the Philippines.

Synopsis: A Thai superstar dealing with a very public breakup decides to run away to the Philippines. There, he meets a young Filipina woman dealing with her own heartbreak. The two share their pain with each other and find comfort in each other's arms.

Joey Hermosa (Erich Gonzales) and Marcus Hanson (Mario Maurer) only have two things in common. One: they live to make fairy-tale romances happen — Joey through her exquisite wedding cakes; Marcus through the numerous romantic comedies he stars in. Two: their own love stories do not have the fairy-tale happy endings — she was just recently dumped at the altar; he just discovered that his on-screen partner and real-life girlfriend had fallen in love with another man.

These two broken-hearted people will find love again when they least expect it. Sounds like the perfect recipe for a happy ever after!

Desperate to escape the media frenzy and the intrusive questions of the public about his love life and career, Marcus impulsively decides to go on vacation in the Philippines where he meets Joey who is determined to move forward with her life. Marcus finds himself drawn to Joey’s passion for baking, and rediscovers his love for acting. In love once again, he invites her to join him in Thailand. Joey refuses at first, but she eventually follows him to Bangkok and allows herself to fall in love again. But their love encounters opposition from Marcus’ fans who are desperate to see him reunite with his ex-girlfriend, and from his overprotective mother. Moreover, Joey’s responsibilities back home cause a strain in their relationship. Despite their love for each other, Joey and Marcus begin to question if their dreams are worth sacrificing for holiday romance suddenly turned serious.Then when Marcus got accepted in Hollywood he remembered Joey and went back to the Philippines and surprised her and took a balloon and attached it to a paper that says " Marcus and Joey Forever"

Can Marcus and Joey’s fairytale romance survive life’s realities?.

Sisterakas (2012) - Vice Ganda, Ai-Ai de las Alas, Kris Aquino

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Main Cast: Ai-Ai de las Alas, Kris Aquino, Vice Ganda

Supporting Cast: Daniel Matsunaga, Daniel Padilla, DJ Durano, Kathryn Bernardo, Tirso Cruz III, Xyriel Manabat

Director: Wenn V. Deramas

Genre: Comedy

Synopsis: Feuding half siblings reunite when a down-on-her-luck socialite is hire by her successful half-brother to be his assistant. He resolves to torment her, but the two are forced to work together to overcome a powerful rival.

Sisterakas is very much a movie of the now, and only of the now. While some films strive to be timeless, or at least to offer future generations a powerful vision of the present, Sisterakas only aims to exist in a very narrow timeframe, its humor derived entirely from references that will be all but forgotten a few months from now. From this shaky foundation, the film delivers a half-hearted plot with questionable execution. The talent of the cast is palpable, but there’s little else going on.

The story has a few intriguing elements, but little is made of them. Plot threads are left dangling and everything is resolved a little too quickly. The direction is speedy, but there are quite a few technical hiccups. Most noticeable of these hiccups is the variable aspect ratio. The movie freely switches between having black bars on the sides and not, often in the same scene. It’s an egregious mistake, especially for a major studio release. If even the cheapest and the most amateurish of our movies can get this right, why can’t this one?

The answer will likely stem from the nature of the movie itself, and the festival it is part of. Sisterakas was likely rushed into existence, and so technical mistakes are made, and the script had to be cobbled together in an unreasonable time frame. Thus, we get the switching aspect ratio and the lazy jokes based on the stars of the picture. It only strives to exist during the festival duration, drawing in audiences with its combination of stars, the entire endeavor meant to be forgotten as regular life returns.

A Moment In Time (2013) - Coco Martin & Julia Montes

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Main Cast: Coco Martin, Julia Montes
Supporting Cast: Cherie Gil, Ella Cruz, Gabby Concepcion
Director: Manny Palo
Genre: Drama / Romance

Synopsis: After seeing her on the train, amateur artist Patrick (Coco Martin) becomes obsessed with Jillian (Julia Montes). He pursues her relentlessly, despite not knowing anything about her. He eventually wins her over, only to learn that she was the driver of the car that ran over his mother years ago. This fact, along with other issues, causes Patrick to push Jillian away, even as she falls in love with him. Patrick eventually learns the error of his ways, but by then, he might be far too late.

Emmanuel Palo's A Moment in Time is an exercise in barefaced mediocrity. There is absolutely nothing in the film that exhibits any effort from the filmmakers to be anything other than fodder.

A Moment In Time is one of those romantic movies that make you question the very concept of romance in cinema. The film rigidly follows the shape of a romantic story, going through the motions of an onscreen courtship, complete with all the silly things that we’ve seen in dozens of movies prior. And yet none of it evokes anything that resembles human experience. The movie takes for granted that the two people at the center of the picture are meant to be together, and builds a ludicrous relationship founded on some really unsettling actions that would result in criminal charges in the real world.

A Moment In Time gets it completely backwards. It provides a really strong argument for keeping these two people apart. And at the same time, it provides few reasons for them to be together. Their entire romance is founded on one of the creepiest courtships I’ve ever seen in a movie. And yet we are supposed to find it cute, if only because Coco Martin has put on his smile, and Julia Montes is wearing quirky glasses. But it’s not cute. It’s just an amalgamation of all the things that have already been in Star Cinema romances: big gestures, public humiliation, montages set to standards, a trip to another country, and a reunion that seems to happen by default. This film just didn’t have its heart in any of it.