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Oggs Cruz

Tomatometer-approved critic
Biography:

Oggs Cruz is a corporate and maritime lawyer by profession. He has contributed articles and reviews to print publications such as Businessworld, The Philippine Star, Rogue Magazine, and the Philippine Free Press. He is currently reviewing films for Rappler. He has also written articles for various film books, including The Philippine New Wave. He was selected to take part in the Berlinale Talent Press and was part of several selection committees of various film festivals in the Philippines, including Cinemalaya, Cinema One, and Quezon City Film Festival. He has also served as part of the jury for the Jogjakarta International Film Festival, QCinema International Film Festival, and Bangkok Short and Video Festival.

Reviews

Movies TV Shows
Yellow Rose (2019) 87% EDIT “Thankfully, the film hits all the right notes, cleverly avoiding the pitfalls of the American Idol-style rags-to-riches trope by venturing into more serious territories.” – Rappler Feb 22, 2021 Full Review Lingua Franca (2019) 86% EDIT “It's also an empathic portrait of a man whose bid at redemption hinges on going against everything that Trump-era America stands for.” – Rappler Jan 25, 2021 Full Review Fan Girl (2020) EDIT “It is relevant and necessary, especially in this day and age where questionable idols do not just mouth quotable quotes to earn kisses from their leading women; they also govern.” – Rappler Dec 28, 2020 Full Review You Animal! (2020) 88% EDIT “Hayop Ka! is mostly bark, and barely any bites.” – Rappler Nov 2, 2020 Full Review Onward (2020) 88% EDIT “Sure, it is brimming with mirth and overflowing with so much positivity. However, it also feels a tad mechanical, in a sense that this is exactly what is to be expected from Pixar.” – Rappler Mar 11, 2020 Full Review Sonic the Hedgehog (2020) 64% EDIT “The property is better off as a videogame where if the character gets too bothersome with its antics, one can simply put a stop with the push of a button.” – Rappler Mar 2, 2020 Full Review 1917 (2019) 88% EDIT “It is a brilliant appropriation of the pains and aches of war for the purpose of creating something that is pure cinema.” – Rappler Mar 2, 2020 Full Review Spies in Disguise (2019) 77% EDIT “It's not a masterpiece, but it's far from being just a distraction or worse, a complete waste of time.” – Rappler Jan 28, 2020 Full Review The Grudge (2020) 20% EDIT “The film badly needs an edge, one that isn't borrowed from a film from more than a decade ago.” – Rappler Jan 21, 2020 Full Review Jojo Rabbit (2019) 81% EDIT “Jojo Rabbit is lovely from start to finish. It is unflinching in its allegiance to joy and mirth, no matter how depraved and depressing human beings and their actions tend to be.” – Rappler Jan 20, 2020 Full Review Cats (2019) 19% EDIT “Clearly, Hooper's film, while riddled with glaringly awful mistakes, is not bad at all.” – Rappler Jan 18, 2020 Full Review Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) 51% EDIT “All in all, The Rise of Skywalker is more like the fall of the saga and everything it once stood for.” – Rappler Dec 23, 2019 Full Review Marriage Story (2019) 95% EDIT “Marriage Story is a tremendous achievement. It balances the requirements of a stirring relationship drama and its bold statements on the corrupting system that preys on the misfortunes of failed lovers. It is brave and poignant. It is undeniably precious.” – Rappler Dec 17, 2019 Full Review Charlie's Angels (2019) 52% EDIT “Charlie's Angels will undoubtedly be more memorable for its clever subversions than its sparse pleasures.” – Rappler Nov 19, 2019 Full Review Terminator: Dark Fate (2019) 70% EDIT “While the film doesn't really absolve the franchise from its many greed-fueled entries, it at least allows the franchise a bid at some redemption.” – Rappler Nov 3, 2019 Full Review Zombieland: Double Tap (2019) 68% EDIT “It's undeniable that Double Tap is still amusing, but now that the gimmick has lost its novelty, all the fun feels slight like punchlines you've heard a long time ago but can't really remember.” – Rappler Oct 29, 2019 Full Review Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019) 40% EDIT “Like the appendix and the male areola, Joachim Ronning's Maleficent: The Mistress of Evil is an unnecessary creation.” – Rappler Oct 20, 2019 Full Review Gemini Man (2019) 27% EDIT “Gemini Man mistakes somberness with seriousness.” – Rappler Oct 14, 2019 Full Review Joker (2019) 68% EDIT “Joker indeed flourishes in abject vileness. It fetishizes the full extent of human savagery and rationalizes hate in a society that has become too crowded for its own good.” – Rappler Oct 8, 2019 Full Review Dark Is the Night (2017) EDIT “Madilim ang Gabi is the most expansive of Alix's very many films, and in a way, it is this sprawling and almost meandering quality that makes it coercive in its motives.” – Rappler Oct 4, 2019 Full Review 2 Cool 2 Be 4gotten (2016) EDIT “At the hands of first time feature film director Petersen Vargas, Laxamana's screenplay blossoms into a work of gorgeous sentimentality.” – Rappler Oct 4, 2019 Full Review Ad Astra (2019) 83% EDIT “It isn't a film that you admire from afar, since its effect and affect are universal. It reaches for the stars only to arrive at the very hopeful point that even the dangers of the universe cannot disrupt or distort our imperfect but invaluable humanity.” – Rappler Sep 25, 2019 Full Review It: Chapter Two (2019) 62% EDIT “It Chapter Two is comparably a lot less focused and vastly more distracted effort, with Muschietti clearly having difficulties in cohering all of his film's scary parts to tackle his daring take on trauma.” – Rappler Sep 9, 2019 Full Review Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood (2019) 86% EDIT “The film is an unadulterated ode that only Tarantino can make, one that blends cynicism with reverence to form a portrait where beautiful faces are never at odds with grime, alcohol and giddy murder.” – Rappler Sep 2, 2019 Full Review Hello, Love, Goodbye (2019) EDIT “Nevertheless, Hello, Love, Goodbye is still fine entertainment, one that doesn't dumb down the issues it puts forward for the sake of a standard happy ending.” – Rappler Aug 23, 2019 Full Review
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