The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

A Love Story is basically the same old trashy filipino soap style movie being serve by Star Cinema. We can see the usual stuff like heavy on dialog, over the top crying scenes, and all those melodramatic cliché being thrown into the screen. This movie is all about Ian (played by Aga Muhlach, acting cute as always) who have to decide which two chicks his hooking up his going to end up with. Is it the bitch Karyn (Angelica Panganiban) or the mature and caring Joanna (Maricel Soriano)? Basically, its a contest between these two lousy women on who gets the grand prize(Ian the womanizer).The story was presented in non-linear and boast itself with a plot twist not common to filipino movies. Unfortunately, the direction was gawd awful its messy and confusing. The scene editing was horrible you get lost between transitions to different location and time. All sorts of supporting casts appears right at you.... you just unable to keep up knowing each one of them.The problem with this movie is that we really don't care about the characters we are seeing. It doesn't show the true values of a filipino. Like Karyn for example, mind you.... a woman who met a guy in the elevator then ends up having sex on the same night will always be a woman of bad reputation in Christian Philippines. Then there's this Ian who broke his leg on a pathetic skiing stunt who cries like a girl eventually going gaga over Laura because she was the one nursing him till he gets well. Its unbelievable..... and when they finally reveal the over hype twist in the story, I'd say oh yeah..... big deal.

I watched this movie with not much expectations. I've been let down several times by most Tagalog movies that it's hard to expect too much. So with an open mind, I watched this movie with a friend. And boy were we in for a real disappointment.Before I start ranting, credit must be given to where it is due. The over all look of the movie is not bad. Like almost all recent Filipino movies, this movie also looked expensive. The cinematography and editing were good, the direction was average and the acting were good given the material that the actors had to work with. Aga's portrayal of Ian's character was moving in a sense that I'm sure Filipino yuppies were able to identify with him. Maricel's (Joana) portrayal was her usual drama. Nothing spectacular. Angelica (Karyn) is a pretty face but she could not cry to save her life.What irked me the most, aside from the musical score, was the plot. The basic storyline was a disgrace to the intelligence of women all over the world. Yes, it is a virtue to forgive and forget. Yes, love should conquer all. But balance must also be made with respect to morals and values.This movie patronized how men could conjure up reasons why they would cheat on their spouses or their girlfriends. Unavailability of your partner is not a reason for anyone to go looking for someone else. It may be a reason for a termination of a relationship but definitely not one for cheating - not that there's any reason to cheat, mind you.Maricel portrayed an intelligent, successful woman who was once betrayed by the man she loved. And then all of a sudden, here she is falling for a married man. That's illogical. How could someone who have supposedly suffered so much commit the same adulterous mistake once made against her. Though it may happen on real life in the unlikeliest of situations, the writers of the movie failed to create a reasonable impulse on Maricel's character for the audience to comprehend her actions. In addition to this, in the scene where Joana and Ian first met, the former said:"pwede ba tayong magpakuha ng stretcher?" No self respecting doctor would sound so doubtful in this kind of situation.Aga, on the other hand, played a rich, recently married playboy who has issues with his father. Aga plays the role of a rich playboy so well we almost believe that in real life, he is (who knows). But the problem with this with regard to this movie is that such shallow characterization of Aga's character failed to utilize Aga's acting skills. Can he just stop playing cute in each and every movie and be a serious actor soon? Like in this movie, Ian, who was supposed to have shun his family's already steady business to make a name for himself appeared to be shallow and immature in his personal life. The writers could have used the character's pain brought by his dad to their advantage by making Aga's character deeper, wrought by confusion, racked by guilt and generally logical. But somehow, in their attempt to make the audience sympathize with the character's betrayal, the writers forgot the actual character.As to Angelica's character, well a former comment on this was so apt. Karyn's character was not fully developed, to say the least. Here is a smart guy who has everything in the world going for him who met a pretty girl who is so much younger than him. They slept together and then boom! They're married? How come? What compelled this elusive bachelor to get hitch with this seemingly loose girl? Once again, there is no logic here. To be contrite about it, there is simply a lack of progression.The movie seriously underestimates the intelligence of the Filipino audience. Gone are the days when people seem to be satisfied with a happy ending. Loose ends NEED to be tied seamlessly this time. Gone are the days when movie patrons comprise mainly of yayas and manongs. The educated Filipinos are trying to appreciate our film industry. Give us good stories. Give us reasonable tales. Give us a reason to come back. Stop feeding us rehash of old tales. And please, stop advocating male machismo at its worst.It is NEVER okay to cheat on your wives and expect to be forgiven just because you're sorry. Even if you have a child. Women need to understand that children are not a reason to stay in a marriage. You don't lose your dignity when you get married.

I just seen this movie and from what I saw, the only thing I could say is that it had a very good idea behind it. Unfortunately, they lack important details such as how Karyn(Panganiban) and Ian's(Mulach) relationship ever blossomed. I mean, sure they showed how they met, and how they ended up in bed, but where's the middle part? It's like sex without foreplay. Yeah, Just straight to orgasm. But then again, what the hell do I know about that stuff. Anyway, back to my point. The concept of having the audience think that the mistress was the wife and vice-versa was very well planned. It had the potential to be one of the most unforgettable movies of all time; However, because of the lack of support for each of the character's background, the movie ended up just as a one-time thing. You watch it, you forget it. Period. I am aware, though, that they deliberately intended for the audience to start hating Karyn, given the way that she was exposed slowly to the viewers, but a little more detail could not have hurt.As for the sympathy for the characters, there was not much. The only dominant feeling throughout the movie was the growing hate for the character of Aga. He was flat and boring AND annoying. The little screen time Angelica had gave even more growth as a person, and insight to the expecting viewers. Maricel's character showed development too, but I didn't think that she would've done the same thing that happened to her to another person. There's trauma, yes, but that was just plain evil. Who makes people hurt the way they did? All in all, I would still recommend A Love Story to most people. Especially if you're Filipino.Though not very lengthy, it still had parts where you just get lost thinking with the characters as you watch them, possibly even share the feeling that they had at the time. I can't deny that it did have it's moments, it's just that they weren't very unforgettable.Again, good idea, could-be-way-better depiction.

Finally, a mainstream Filipino flick that experiments with non-linear storytelling, uses an excellent cast (not reliant on the upcoming star of the moment), and doesn't insult the moviegoers' intelligence with overly explicit explanations.Direk Maryo J. de los Reyes does an excellent job with A Love Story: the plot is complex enough to hold a more discerning audience's attention. The sound engineering was consistently solid, the wardrobe and make-up were expressive of the characters' personalities, and the acting was mostly spot-on. The cinematography is subtly symbolic, thoughtful and well-motivated. The first establishing shot is a bird's-eye view of the Alabang Town Center fountain, done ala Gaudi with fragmented tile pieces, foreshadowing the movie's theme of broken relationships, and ends with the lead characters walking over a rocky shore.Ian Montes (played to the hilt by Aga Muhlach) is the classic Pinoy male who feels he's God's gift to women; unlike most men of this strutting ilk, at least he comes equipped with dimples, a well-maintained bod and makes oodles of money. Joanna (sympathetically performed by Maricel Soriano) is the doctor who finds new love in Ian after recuperating from a cheating husband and showers him with attention. Karyn (believably portrayed by Angelica Panganiban) is the stewardess that Ian is drawn to because of her youthful spontaneity. The characters are complex and offer facets the audience can relate to.Absurdly fascinating yet true is how these independent, strong-willed women are reduced to mindless martyrs whenever the object of their affection throws another testosterone-filled tantrum. What is ridiculous is while both women are shown to have depth beyond their looks (which is supposed to complicate the choice further); there is nothing beyond the superficial that Ian offers other than what is apparently great sex. His father's words of wisdom apparently did not impress upon him: Flowers are like women; do not pick a flower if you will just throw it away. You have to take care of it because there will never be another one like it again. There is nothing more satisfying than right triumphing over wrong, no matter how difficult. Those who indulge in adultery really set themselves up for inevitable pain. This is really a good example of while we all have a choice, it takes two to tango! All in all, a good movie, but if I had to nitpick, I'd change the title (why in English? And why so plain and non-descript?). Some of the supporting cast could've been reconsidered because they were painful to watch (Karyn's bestfriend/fellow stewardess was OA, Karyn's OB-Gyne and her son Jacob were also camera-conscious), some minor technical flaws (what must be a handsfree microphone set is visibly tucked behind Maricel's jeans; the reflection of the hand holding the non-glare shield is visible on the windshield in the scene where Karyn is sitting in her car). Also, cut out the draggy parts and reshoot some of Angelica's speaking lines in English because they distract from the dialogue. And okay, rehashing the Joey Albert song "Tell Me" is cheesy with literal lyrics as a compromise-trademark of Filipino films, which could've been tolerated except whenever it played in the movie and the lady beside me would burst into heartfelt song. Each time!