I like Black Panther, but I didn't like this movie.

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

Kubot is a sequel to another MMFF entry Tiktik the Aswang Chronicles which once again stars Dingdong Dantes in the role of Makoy. It is however a toned down version of Tiktik. Toned down version in terms of gore, in terms of special effects, in terms of scare factor, in terms of storyline, in terms of acting and counting and counting. It is however funnier than the first one. Lolot de Leon (who plays Dingdong's sister in the film) provides great comic relief though corny most of the times.Isabelle Daza plays the role of a good Aswang and who became an ally to Makoy. Joey Marquez is still present in the movie while Lovi Poe was only good in the first few minutes after being sucked dry by the new breed of Aswangs who can elongate their hair (headed by Ms. Elizabeth Oropeza.Kubot strayed from what Tiktik did best. In doing so, it lost its steam and magic. It became corny and tiring to watch given that it was a festival movie. The character of Dingdong became as tiring as well. The character was a pain to watch. The charisma was no longer there. The ending showed Marian Rivera (Dindong's wife and regular FHM's sexiest candidate) on a cameo role who vows vengeance for the death of their kind. I do not think this sold well either leading to another sequel. The MMFF for this year have no entry for a third offering (sigh)Don't expect Kubot to be a better movie than its predecessor. No wonder it was a flop in the box office. It din't even have a DVD release to date. I like Erik Matti's work but he definitely sucked from this one.

KUBOT: THE ASWANG CHRONICLES (a few spoilers!!!) is rollicking fun, and outright silly. But you knew that with Joey Marquez, Jun Sabayton, Ramon Bautista and Bogart the Explorer in the cast. Erik Matti's sequel to his groundbreaking TIKTIK CHRONICLES (2012), which boasted of different special effects never before seen, finds Makoy on a rickety jeepney ride with his wife Sonia and baby in tow. They encounter Veron (Elizabeth Oropesa) and her hag sidekicks, with truly frightening hairdos, and goes right out and eats Makoy's wife and walks away with the baby (all this time, Makoy's right hand is pinned in the overturned vehicle). Two years later, Makoy, grieving for his dead wife and baby, jaded and tired of it all (he had to slay innumerable ghouls in the first movie), settles in with his sister Nieves (Lotlot de Leon) and Nestor (Joey Marquez). However, when an upstart, Dom (KC Montero) invades the city with his horde of ghouls, infecting humans through contaminated hotdogs (yes, hotdogs), Nestor and Nieves urge Makoy, who now sports a gadget- laden mechanical right arm, to stand up and fight, if only to avenge the death of his family. With returning cast members Ramon Bautista (as Bart) and Marquez, KUBOT: THE ASWANG CHRONICLES, benefits from the addition of new cast members Oropesa, Isabelle Diaz Daza (as a "closet" aswang/lady doctor), and gamely surprises the audience with thrills, scares, and funny characters. The great special effects are moodily photographed by Shing Fung Cheung, while the music of Erwin Romulo jars the senses (sometimes it sounds like technoremix, sometimes like Argentine tango) and prods the story along. Lotlot de Leon won as Best Supporting Actress in the MMFF derby -- but how good her performance here is a matter of opinion, for from her first scene to the last, she camps it up with relish (and high camp/outright silliness shouldn't nab acting awards for any artist). Sometimes you feel you want her character to be killed off, but hey, she already did that in FENG SHUI (2004). Nevertheless, de Leon's busybody character is likable, funny, comical, and some rather witty lines are delivered by de Leon with panache. Diaz Daza proves she's no lightweight in the acting department, except for a bizarre, grimace-inducing scene when she and Dingdong Dantes are cornered by a horde of ghouls. From a roller-coaster ride of dazzling special effects, comedic touches and real thrills, the film degenerates into high camp and corn, like a beautiful but tawdry ship running aground. Even child stars Alonzo Muhlach and Mona Louise Rey have token appearances as aswang children, and this early they're seemingly taught to ham it up. Emerging unscathed from it all is Ms Elizabeth Oropesa, who, with very good makeup, is chilling and menacing as a queen ghoul who seeks revenge on Makoy. Young musical stars Julie Anne San Jose and Abra, providing James Bond gadgetry for Makoy, have almost thankless roles, but Ms Rina Reyes, sexy star of the late 1980s-1990s and granddaughter of movie queen Paraluman, is a welcome sight as a good Samaritan. Issa Litton, Dido de la Paz, Pao Gamboa and Nicco Manalo appear in solid supporting roles. For his part, Dingdong Dantes, aping some mannerisms from certain Tom Cruise/Keanu Reeves action movies, acts bored in his first few scenes. He only jacks everything up by the climactic showdown, and even then, everything else is swallowed by the humongous special effects already. KUBOT: THE ASWANG CHRONICLES, directed by Erik Matti, feels like a Filipino version of a Hollywood summer blockbuster with the title, say, TRANSFORMERS (directed by Michael Bay in 2007) -- all razzle dazzle but can't be scrutinized closely. Let's wait and see if Matti (who apprenticed under Peque Gallaga and has made sharp films like DOS EKIS (2001), PROSTI (2002), and PA-SIYAM (2004) and the fantastic indie sleeper hit/multiawarded film last year, ON THE JOB), and Dantes can come up with something new for the Part Three -- given that Marian Rivera makes a delicious cameo appearance at film's end. So far, among the eight MMFF movies, this ranks high up there with the BONIFACIO/Robin Padilla and the George Estregan Jr movies.

2012's Tiktik: The Aswang Chronicles looked like an experiment of today's visual effects, but that surprisingly becomes the least memorable part of the movie since it already provides a lot of witty humor and excitement within its characters and direction. This sequel is a little less straightforward but tackles the same merits as it fools around with its monstrous mythology and shifts either from silly to awesome. The film may not offer beyond than having random set pieces in its own story, but this is already a rich and amusing world that not even the little problems of the plot matter. Kubot: The Aswang Chronicles 2 just lets the creativity and ridiculousness flow throughout the experience.Kubot is a little less gritty than the first one. The effects were also kind of moderated in comparison, but the movie shines better when it's all about the characters dealing with their own situations in a rather comical way. Following the plot doesn't exactly matter in this edition; how the film constructed each scenario, including the ones that introduces its characters, brings total intrigue. The real deal of this journey is just having fun with its weird universe, the kind of imagination that is rarely available in today's Filipino cinema. And there we take a look on a factory that grinds human parts into hotdogs, and then we watch most of its characters not taking their monstrous threat seriously and sometimes make a priceless gag about it, and finally the Hollywood wannabe action scenes that finds creative ways of pulling off each set piece. This is just a perfect combination of twisted, hilarious, and fun. What more could you ask for?Some might ask for a little more depth into the story's drama, but that is easily resolved in the end where it also plays with a crueler gag. In spite of not having a definite plot, it still provides rich details in its surroundings. The craft is still solid, bringing real aesthetic flavor to this larger-than-life adventure. The action scenes are cool enough to pose as a big blockbuster, though my only complain that anyone else may not agree with is some of the slow-mos. This is probably just a me thing, but as much as tries to look awesome, it rather slows down the momentum, but then it's never a big deal if the movie is already this entertaining. It's best if it's all choreography. The acting is pretty much the same and it's a great thing. Dingdong Dantes continues to be an appealing hero to this franchise, which also hints humor in his character's swagger. Joey Marquez and new to the cast, Lotlot de Leon, bring a perfect chemistry for the movie's best comic relief.Kubot: The Aswang Chronicles 2 is perfectly entertaining. Some might seek for more than being funny and cool, but they might be missing the real fun. The film still has some little flaws, but they are easy to ignore anyway. The franchise just continues to expand this mythology and it gets even more interesting. It's just totally adventurous and silly, hardly comparable to other local fantasy films getting released in a while. These Aswang Chronicles movies have its own personality and that what makes them special.

"Kubot" starts exactly where "Tiktik" left off, after Makoy (Dingdong Dantes) and company killed off the Aswang leader and decimated most of his minions. While trying to escape Pulupandan in a bus, they were ambushed by a group of Kubot, led by Veron (Elizabeth Oropesa). These are a variety of female aswang with long, thick mass of powerful hair that they can will to do their commands. Makoy loses his right arm and much more in that unfortunate encounter that caused him to be in a constant mood for revenge.Jump to two years later, Makoy is staying in with his nosy sister Nieves (Lotlot de Leon) in Manila. She works as a secretary for an OB-Gyne, Dr. Alessandra Baldivia (Isabelle Daza), whom she suspects to be an abortionist. It turns out that the doctor's mysterious nightly appointments were of a totally different, supernatural nature. Meanwhile, a Balikbayan aswang Dominic (KC Montero) is going against aswang conventions by seeking to turn humans into aswang by feeding them very tasty hotdogs made from human meat. When a plot to spread this deadly hotdog in a huge political gathering was uncovered, Makoy had to accept unexpected assistance to prevent this potential aswang epidemic from happening.Dingdong Dantes cuts a very fine form as a brash action hero, very believable. This actor is a very natural and charismatic leading man, even if he takes on arrogant character like Makoy. Joey Marquez is consistent in his sidekick characterization of Nestor from the last film to this one. Isabelle Daza is an icy, classy beauty as we always knew her, but she has an awkward dancing scene that is so pleasantly out-of- character for her, it is delightful. Elizabeth Oropesa and KC Montero are convincing as sinister monsters. Standing out from among the supporting characters is Lotlot de Leon in a bold, loud and fun characterization of Nieves. Her memorable brazen declaration of her bravery received a round of applause and laughter from the audience. Also stealing scenes is Ramon Bautista, playing a totally different character in this one, after his previous character Bart died in the first film. Bautista's pairing with Bogart the Explorer as the wacky cop tandem of Justiniani and Macapagal was hilariously annoying even if it took some time away from the main story.Director Erik Matti successfully maintains the elements that made the first film the success it was. He incorporated more elaborately choreographed wire-work stunts and imaginative visual effects for this sequel. That scene of the kubot Veron sucking someone's life force out and that scene with Dominic eating crows were absolutely exceptional in their execution! Aside from the gore factor, the comedy factor were upped more, which made this one more entertaining. The concept of aswang having a council of elders and alliances were reminiscent of "Twilight", but this was integrated very well into the local context of this story. The surprise appearance of a beautiful aswang royalty at the end promises another installment to look forward to next time. 8/10.