MMFF 2024 REVIEW: Hold Me Close - Romance In Japan

Completing my 10 entries of 2024 MMFF with HOLD ME CLOSE starring Carlo Aquino and Julia Barretto, directed by Jason Paul Laxamana. The film is one of romance entries for this year which promises to bring a different kind of love story from the usual. And it does so, but not really what I expected and felt.

The story is about Woody who traveled around the world searching for the perfect home. His latest move was in Japan, where he met Lynlyn and her siblings who are making a living by selling squid. Lynlyn is revealed to have an ability to know if that person could bring joy or pain just by touching them. This ability would also lead to some trouble but will also bring Woody into their lives. At first, there was no reading if it was positive or negative however it will eventually change, as they get to know more about each other. 

Set in my favorite country of Japan, her story and ability are linked with the culture and supernatural entities of the country. Though it can also be adapted to any place with that situation, yet the Japanese aesthetic just made it better but not the story. The actors are great with the performances however it suffers from the lack of establishing connection and emotion. 

The Day After Valentine's - JC-Bella Magic Once Again?

From the success of last year's PPP entry "100 Tula Para Kay Stella", comes another JC Santos and Bella Padilla movie team up directed by Jason Paul Laxamana, The Day After Valentine's is an encore movie that hopes to be another blockbuster hit from the two.

Though with a new set of characters and story, many are rooting for the chemistry of JC and Bella which has a charm with their unconventional love stories. This one starts with the common serendipity meet up which eventually leads to friendship. Kai (JC) is still emotionally attached to his last relationship which also drives him to hurt himself. Lani (Bella) discovers his secret and offers to help him on the road to healing.

Though they do make a good pair, the story comes a little flat with not enough factors to build up the character connection. Despite many people does not like the damatic angst characters of Lani and Kai.

So Connected - Janella and Jameson Made Romace Click!

Love Stories in the millennial times are actually more complicated with the influence of technology. With most of us, especially myself, immersed in the digital lifestyle, finding romance comes unexpectedly yet comes with a lot of risks. So Connected brings that story to film and aims to connect.

This movie will also debut the new love team of Janella Salvador and Jameson Blake. Though this may seem to be a litmus test for the pair, they shown in roadshows and presscons that there is something interesting with their pair as Trisa and Karter.

So Connected tells the story between Karter (Jameson) and Trisha (Janella), in which Carter loses his phone and ends up with Trisha. With a special app that links the two together, Carter sets off to find her and gets to know Trisha who thinks Carter is her soulmate. However complications arise with issues of privacy, viral videos, and the toxic hate on the internet were brought up with their budding romance.

Mother Lily Favors The New Loveteam Of Janella and James in So Connected

Janella has gone a long way now in showbiz. From Be Careful With My Heart, Oh My Gee, and movies like Hunted Mansion, Bloody Crayons, and My Fairy Tale Love Story. Jameson Blake comes from Pinoy Big Brother and now part of Hashtags. The two was suprizingly paired together with So Connected,

So Connected tells a story of a girl finding love with the help of technology, they found connections which nurtured feeling for each other. However there are also a lot of risks involved with this. And with many of us hooked on technology, it taps to the millennial lifestyle of love.