I realized that I’d been posting a number of entries that were essentially commentaries, and lumping them together with genuine ephemera in the blog’s Extras section. I then resolved to store separately these entries before they accumulate to a point of unwieldiness. I will also be using this section for posting personal opinions on issues of film and culture, including the occasional review. I will have to find a way of organizing these entries later, but I figured it would be best to start with a section devoted exclusively to them.
11011The present section will open with a boxed set of links on film criticism, followed by a reverse-chronological list of various other items starting in 2016 (the year after my last personal anthology, Millennial Traversals, came out) but preceded by an earlier tribute to a colleague in Korean academe, Manuel “Bangy” Dioquino Jr.
• “A Second Golden Age” – the article that first claimed that another filmic Golden Age, roughly coinciding with the Marcos martial-law period, ended with the fall of the dictatorship, no thanks to the liberal-democratic system that replaced it.
• The Trouble with Golden Ages – what should have followed the previously listed piece: a challenging of the Golden Ages framework, rather than the lionizing of a supposedly ongoing third one.
• More on the 2nd Golden Age – an argument for understanding the art-vs-commerce approach used by martial law-era practitioners.
• Ten Best Films Survey – the first comprehensive canon-forming survey of Philippine cinema, conducted and published in 1990.
• “Problems in Philippine Film Awards” – a memorandum submitted in 2003 to colleagues at the University of the Philippines Film Institute, after I ended my directorship to be able to go on foreign exchange. Like several official letters, this one was ignored and resulted in a state of affairs that affirmed the egos of the critics-dominated members of the faculty, but had no significant contribution whatsoever to the interests of Philippine film criticism.
• Every Tier a Victory; Or Why Film Awards Don’t Have to Be So Divisive – an account of how several like-minded critical critics (as opposed to the more typical uncritical practitioners) sought for and decided on a workable means of providing recognition for achievements in film practice.
• An Awards Exercise – a mock ceremony that declared winners in standard categories, covering all Filipino film releases up to the point of publication (early 1991).
• Pinoy Film Criticism – titled “A Lover’s Polemic,” a hasty and compressed evaluation of the difficulties encountered by local practitioners of film criticism.
• Fallout over Criticizing Critics – a narrative of the original Filipino film critics circle’s displays of pique over feeling alluded to in the allegations of the previous article (“A Lover’s Polemic”); continued in “A Formative Sojourn.”
• “From Cloud to Resistance” discusses the troubles of and prospects for film criticism in the Philippines. It comprises two parts, opening with “The Problem of Our Critical Approaches,” concluding with “Toward a More Responsive Critical Practice” and supplemented by an Appendix.
• Critics & Their Canons – a summary and hopeful closure of my long-term canon-forming activities.
February 2026
“Cracked Mirrors.” Review of Greatest Performance, dir. Joselito Altarejos. Amauteurish! (February 25, 2026). First published February 24, 2026, in The FilAm.
December 2025
“To Track Down a Rare Film Title.” Narrative of the search for a storyline of Jag Rodnar, dir. Vilgot Sjöman (1981). Amauteurish! (December 20, 2025).
November 2025
“The Petty Politics of Anonymity.” Critique of Goldwin Reviews on Facebook. Amauteurish! (November 13, 2025).
July 2025
“Madonna of the Revolution.” Review of Lakambini, dir. Arjanmar H. Rebeta. Amauteurish! (July 29, 2025). First published July 27, 2025, in The FilAm.
June 2025
“A Measure of Devotion.” Review of Faney, dir. Adolfo Borinaga Alix Jr. Amauteurish! (June 18, 2025). First published June 14, 2025, in The FilAm.
April 2025
“Nora Aunor’s Multiple Resuscitations.” Obituary on Nora Aunor. Amauteurish! (April 20, 2025). First published April 16, 2025, in The FilAm.
November 2024
“Counteractive.” Film review of Kontrabida, dir. Adolfo Borinaga Alix Jr. Amauteurish! (November 19, 2024). First published November 18, 2024, in The FilAm.
“From Nightfall Jitters to Morning Calm.” Contribution to Dáyo / 이민자: Stories of Migration, Erlinda Mae T. Young (Seoul: Philippine Embassy in Seoul, Korea, 2024) 98-101.
August 2024
“First Blush.” Film review of Unang Tikim, dir. Roman Perez Jr. Amauteurish! (August 28, 2024). First published August 23, 2024, in The FilAm.
“Afflictions.” Film review of The Hearing, dir. Lawrence Fajardo. Amauteurish! (August 10, 2024). First published August 12, 2024, in The FilAm.
“Mother Knew Best.” Obituary on “Mother” Lily Monteverde. Amauteurish! (August 10, 2024). First published August 9, 2024, in The FilAm.
July 2024
“Slang, Cant, & Colloquialisms from Manila by Night (1980).” Compilation drawn from the endnotes of the screenplay published in Kritika Kultura. Amauteurish! (July 21, 2024).
June 2024
“Pinas Cinema’s Golden Ages & Their Discontents.” Content of lecture delivered June 8, 2024, at the Korean Federation of Film Archives. Amauteurish! (June 10, 2024).
March 2024
“Bold in Heaven.” Obituary on Jaclyn Jose. Amauteurish! (March 17, 2024). First published March 9, 2024, in The FilAm.
September 2023
“Corrosive Criticism.” Commentary on the Goldwin Reviews Facebook page. Amauteurish! (September 2, 2023). First published August 31, 2023, in The FilAm.
July 2023
“Crinkled Lives.” Film review of Erotica Manila: Foursome, dir. Lawrence Fajardo. Amauteurish! (July 20, 2023). First published July 20, 2023, as “Carnal Fireworks in Erotica Manila” in The FilAm.
May 2023
“Mystique of the Past.” Separately posted update to “An Intro to Chapter 16 of Marcos’ Lovey Dovie,” published February 2, 2021, in Ámauteurish! Amauteurish! (May 11, 2023).
“Trauma at Length.” Mini-review of Lav Diaz’s Florentina Hubaldo, CTE (2012). Amauteurish! (May 7, 2023).
October 2022
“Pop for All Seasons.” Review of Marius Talampas’s “Balot,” advertising short produced by Gigil Agency for RC Cola Philippines. Amauteurish! (April 26, 2023). First published April 24, 2023, as “Sharon Torch Song Used in Absurd Soda Ad” in The FilAm.
“Shout Out Film Festival Citations.” Ámauteurish! (October 16, 2022).
September 2022
“From Cloud to Resistance.” Critique of Philippine political film criticism, in two parts and three uploads: Part 1, “The Problem of Our Critical Approaches” (August 30, 2022); Part 2, “Toward a More Responsive Critical Practice” (September 7, 2022); and Appendix, “‘Category E’ Samples” (September 13, 2022). Amauteurish! (August-September 2022).
August 2022
“Artist in a Hurry.” Obituary on Cherie Gil. Amauteurish! (August 9, 2022). First published August 7, 2022, as “Cherie Gil: Artist in a Hurry” in The FilAm.
“A Formative Sojourn.” Personal history of film criticism. Amauteurish! (August 6, 2022).
June 2022
“A Season of Comebacks.” On the announcement of awardees for the Order of the National Artist. Amauteurish! (June 26, 2022).
“National Artist Endorsement for Ricky Lee.” Dated October 20, 2020, uploaded but embargoed since February 2, 2021. Amauteurish! (June 11, 2022).
“What Lies Above.” Critique of film critical practice. Amauteurish! (June 3, 2022).
May 2022
“The Studio System’s Final Movie Queen.” Obituary on Susan Roces. Amauteurish! (May 27, 2022). First published May 24, 2022, as “Jesusa Sonora Is Gone; Long Live Susan Roces” in The FilAm.
March 2022
“An Archival Summary of the Gregorio Fernandez Filmography.” Appendix to the draft article on Gregorio Fernandez titled “A Missing Installation in the Philippine Pantheon” and published September 13, 2021. Amauteurish! (March 22, 2022).
“The Political Is Personal.” Review of Sheila Coronel’s “Marcos and Memory: The Past in Our Future,” the 2022 Adrian E. Cristobal Lecture of the Writers Union of the Philippines. Amauteurish! (March 10, 2022). First published March 6, 2022, in The FilAm.
November 2021
“Every Tier a Victory; Or Why Film Awards Don’t Have to Be So Divisive.” Amauteurish! (November 16, 2021). Published as a postmortem to “Nearly 3 Decades-Old FACINE Is the Longest-Running Fil-Am Film Festival,” in the October 30, 2021, issue of The FilAm.
September 2021
“Nether Nation.” Film review of Lockdown, dir. Joel C. Lamangan. Amauteurish! (September 28, 2021). First published September 27, 2021, as “Macho Dancing Goes Virtual in Joel Lamangan’s Lockdown” in The FilAm.
“A Missing Installation in the Philippine Pantheon.” Auteurist revaluation of Gregorio Fernandez (1904-73). Amauteurish! (September 13, 2021).
August 2021
“Siren Call.” Film review of Nerisa, dir. Lawrence Fajardo. Amauteurish! (August 25, 2021). First published August 23, 2021, as “In Nerisa, Viva Brings Back Regal’s Low-Budget Blockbuster Formula” in The FilAm.
July 2021
“An Error in the Urian’s Internet Record.” Amauteurish! (July 16, 2021).
May 2021
“Acceptance message for the 2021 Gawad Balagtas for Film Criticism.” Amauteurish! (May 1, 2021).
April 2021
“NUT’s Kernel.” Tribute to Nestor U. Torre. Amauteurish! (April 15, 2021). First published April 14, 2021, as “NUT to Film Critics: ‘Don’t Take Things Too Seriously,’” in The FilAm.
February 2021
“Bibliographic Mini-Essay 3: The Rise in Spin-offs.” Amauteurish! (February 21, 2021).
“Experimental Cinema of the Philippines: A Hasty Recollection.” Amauteurish! (February 15, 2021). Listing and contextualization of Ámauteurish! uploads of materials on the ECP.
“An Intro to Chapter 16 of Marcos’ Lovey Dovie.” Amauteurish! (February 2, 2021). A belated commemoration of the death of Dovie Beams.
September 2020
“Pelikula Book review of Manila by Night: A Queer Film Classic.” Amauteurish! (September 16, 2020). Translation into English of “Mahalaga ang Marami: Rebyu ng Manila by Night: A Queer Film Classic ni Joel David,” written by Chuckberry J. Pascual and published in Pelikula: A Journal of Philippine Cinema 5 (2020), pp. 76-77.
“By Way of an Epilogue.” Tribute to Laura Samson. Amauteurish! (September 16, 2020).
July 2020
“Bibliographic Mini-Reviews: Memoirs & Bios.” Amauteurish! (July 30, 2020).
“Mother Pinas, Onscreen.” Tribute to Anita Linda. Amauteurish! (July 9, 2020). First published June 13, 2020, as “Remembering Anita Linda: She Devoted Her Life So Completely to Her Craft that It Defined Her” in ANCX.
June 2020
“Empiricals; or the Bearable Heaviness of Having-Been.” Amauteurish! (June 29, 2020).
“Corrigenda & Problematics for Manila by Night: A Queer Film Classic.” Amauteurish! (June 6, 2020).
May 2020
“My Peque Gallaga Interview.” Tribute to Peque Gallaga. Amauteurish! (May 9, 2020). Reprinted May 12, 2020, in The FilAm.
January 2020
“The Aunor Effect in Philippine Film Book Publications.” A spinoff of the Bibliographical Essay posted on January 18, 2020. Amauteurish! (January 28, 2020).
December 2019
“Authoring Auteurs: A Bibliographical Introduction.” In relation to the Comprehensive Pinas Film Biblio posted on December 4, 2019. Amauteurish! (January 18, 2020).
“Comprehensive Pinas Film Biblio: Categorized” and “Comprehensive Pinas Film Biblio: Alphabetized.” Amauteurish! (December 4, 2019).
October 2019
“Showbiz Babylon: A Tribute-of-Sorts to the Barretto Sisters.” Amauteurish! (October 29, 2019). First published October 28, 2019, as “The Barrettos and the Privilege of Behaving Badly,” in The FilAm; reprinted December 2019 as “Barretto Sisters: The Privilege of Behaving Badly” in The FilAm: Newsmagazine Serving Filipino Americans in New York.
June 2019
“Manoy Takes His Leave.” Tribute to Eddie Garcia. Amauteurish! (June 27, 2019). First published June 23, 2019, in The FilAm.
May 2019
“Auteurs & Amateurs: Toward an Ethics of Film Criticism (Lecture Version).” Plenary lecture delivered during the International Conference on Ethical Literary Criticism: Celebrating Literature as a Distinctive Ethical Expression. Amauteurish! (May 1, 2019).
March 2019
“A Salute to Our Pinay Filmmakers.” Amauteurish! (March 26, 2019). Originally posted March 25, 2019, on Facebook.
December 2018
“Tears Go By.” Film review of Ang Pamilyang Hindi Lumuluha, dir. Mes de Guzman. Amauteurish! (December 25, 2018). First published October 18, 2018, in All Things Sharon.
August 2018
“Signal Rock and a Hard Place.” Film review of Signal Rock, dir. Chito Roño. Amauteurish! (August 24, 2018). First published August 17, 2018, in the Philippine Entertainment Portal.
“The Millennial Traversals of Millennial Traversals.” Lecture delivered during the launch of the University of Santo Tomas’s UNITAS website. Amauteurish! (August 16, 2018).
“Queerness as Defiance in Manila by Night.” Lecture delivered during the launch of Angela Stuart-Santiago’s Pro Bernal, Anti Bio. Amauteurish! (August 7, 2018).
July 2018
“Innocence Regained.” Film review of Balangiga: Howling Wilderness, dir. Khavn. Amauteurish! (July 30, 2018). First published July 16, 2018, as “Amid the Nightmare of War, a Coming-of-Age” in The FilAm.
April 2018
“Statement on the Availability of Filipino Films during the Internet Era.” Amauteurish! (April 15, 2018).
March 2018
“Farewell Farewell, Bernardo Bernardo.” Amauteurish! (March 23, 2018). First published March 21, 2018, in two parts, as “Farewell Farewell, Bernardo Bernardo” and as “Toward the End, a Hopeful Outlook for the Philippines,” The FilAm.
February 2018
“The Storyline of Ishmael Bernal’s Manila by Night (1980).” Originally drafted for Arsenal Pulp Press’s Manila by Night: A Queer Film Classic. Amauteurish! (February 9, 2018).
November 2017
“The First Glory Awards (2017): A Mini-Album.” Amauteurish! (November 23, 2017).
October 2017
“Tribute to Bangy Dioquino.” Amauteurish! (October 5, 2017, delivered May 2013).
August 2017
“Film May Be Dead, but Film Culture Is Alive and Well.” Film review of Respeto, dir. Treb Monteras II. Amauteurish! (September 18, 2017). First published August 18, 2017, in The FilAm.
January 2017
“Peerless Vampire Killers.” Film review of Vampariah, dir. Matthew Abaya. Amauteurish! (January 23, 2017). First published January 13, 2017, as “Vampariah as Subversive Aswang Film” in The FilAm.
“Pop Culture and Halalan 2016.” Amauteurish! (January 2, 2017). First published May 15, 2016, as “How Pop Culture, Social Media Played a Role in Halalan 2016” in The FilAm.
December 2016
“A Festival in Flux.” Amauteurish! (December 22, 2016). First published December 22, 2016, as “MMFF: A Festival in Flux” in Philippine Daily Inquirer.
October 2016
“President Duterte’s War on Drugs.” Delivered October 6, 2016 at the People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy auditorium. Amauteurish! (November 27, 2016).
“Cold Word Wars: Philippine Film as a Critical Activity.” 2016 FACINE Gawad Lingap Sining Lecture, delivered October 18, 2016 at the Diego Rivera Theater, City College of San Francisco. Amauteurish! (October 19, 2016).
September 2016
“Fallout over ‘A Lover’s Polemic’.” Amauteurish! (September 19, 2016).
“Searched For, But Not Missing.” Film review of Ang Nawawala, dir. Marie Jamora. Amauteurish! (September 1, 2016).
July 2016
“Doy del Mundo on a Controversy over Maynila: Sa mga Kuko ng Liwanag.” Interview with Clodualdo del Mundo Jr. Amauteurish! (July 2, 2016).
March 2016
“Grains & Flickers.” Amauteurish! (March 25, 2016). First published 2016 in Remembering/Rethinking EDSA (ed. JPaul S. Manzanilla and Caroline S. Hau, Mandaluyong City: Anvil).
February 2016
“Annual Filipino Film Production Chart.” Amauteurish! (February 25, 2016).
January 2016
“Manay Revisits Manila by Night.” Interview with Bernardo Bernardo. Amauteurish! (January 26, 2016). Reprinted as an Appendix in Manila by Night: A Queer Film Classic.
July 2015
“A Lover’s Polemic.” Amauteurish! (July 1, 2015). First published August 2013 as “Pinoy Film Criticism: A Lover’s Polemic” in The Manila Review.
June 2015
“Pinoy Filmfests ca. 2013.” Review of the All Masters Edition of the 2013 Sineng Pambansa National Film Festival. Amauteurish! (June 30, 2015). First published February 2014 in The Manila Review.
May 2014
“Sight & Sound ’02.” Inside account of the process of my submission to the decadal poll. Amauteurish! (May 30, 2014).
ORCID ID 
Ámauteurish! 