Done deal for ‘BuyBust’

The word’s out. Erik Matti’s latest opus gained mostly positive reviews, some even glowing, from critics who had the chance to catch BuyBust as the closing film of the New York Film Festival.

Richard Kuipers, in his Variety review, said that the “pulsating action and lacerating social commentary are the ingredients of an outstanding genre outing” for Matti. He underscored that the Anne Curtis starrer is a “must-see item for genre fans.”

Screen Daily’s John Berra claimed that Matti’s latest work is “one of the most blistering action pictures since Mad Max: Fury Road on a fraction of George Miller’s blockbuster budget.”

Clarence Tsui wrote BuyBust could make “Quentin Tarantino quiver” and “outstrip” the Indonesian film The Raid, which some critics said BuyBust’s story closely resembles. But his review for The Hollywood Reporter highlighted that Matti’s film is a “significant part in the development of a socially charged genre cinema in the Philippines, while adding to the debate about the country’s social realities.”

By the sound of these favorable reviews, Matti’s insistence on writing a story with a female protagonist for a highly charged physical thriller had paid off. The trailblazing and outspoken director revealed during the film’s recent press conference that he had difficulties selling the film, which he co-wrote with Anton Santamaria, to big studios because they all wanted to have a male lead. This was on top of last year’s Metro Manila Film Fest brouhaha, which had reported that BuyBust was among the scripts rejected for that film fest’s edition.

These reviews also bode well for the actress’ transition from sweet and stylish lead actress-TV host to gritty and gut-punching action star. Curtis recalled how she purposely took a break from making films because she did not like the scripts that were pitched to her. She had a change of heart when she got a call from Matti, who told her about BuyBust.

Curtis enthused that she had no regrets doing the film for the last two years. It was literally blood, sweat and tears for the 34-year-old actress as she had suffered a handful of cuts and bruises from one of the film’s highlights — a continuous fight scene that took 57 takes and three days to shoot. Since the set had more male actors and staff, she confessed that she had to hold back tears when she was accidentally hit on the face.

Curtis’ performance was so uncharacteristically her and convincingly the cynical rookie cop who lends a tinge of humanity in the otherwise gritty and gripping film on the war on drugs. This was the common observation of the same critics as they praised her and Brandon Vera’s performances in the movie.

The film also stars Nonie Buencamino, Victor Neri and Arjo Atayde. It is graded A by the Cinema Evaluation Board. Strict parental guidance is recommended as the movie is classified as R-16.

BuyBust is set to hit local theaters on 1 August 2018. Just days after, it will be the opening film of another highly anticipated annual film festival the Cinemalaya Film Festival on 3 August.

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