Dead Kids

The premise of a bunch of amateurs gathering together to pull off a great crime - robbery, kidnapping, murder, or something else - may have been done many time before in movies, but even then I always find the premise irresistible. When I sat down to watch this particular example, I was especially intrigued because it was not an American effort, but instead a Filipino effort. The new setting gave this some novelty, which did help sometimes when the movie was showing off its shortcomings. I'm not saying this is a BAD movie - it's not boring, and I admit that part of me was interested in seeing how things would be wrapped up in the end. And despite a fairly low budget, it never looks so cheap to be distracting. However, the movie has its downs as well as ups. It doesn't seem to find a consistent tone - sometimes it's goofy, and sometimes it's serious. Also, while I know the central figures are just teenagers, even then they seem really stupid and haven't taken the time to plan things out (it seems they make their plans in 48 hours or less.) Some viewers may also have a problem with the fact the characters are constantly changing between speaking English and speaking Tagalog (though I know this is how many Filipinos do speak.) I'd recommend it to viewers who don't have their expectations particularly high.

While the Tagalog cinema is flooded with cheesy romantic comedies, it is often nice to have a break away from that genre, so I was excited to get to watch the 2019 movie "Dead Kids" by director and writer Mikhail Red.

However, it was a short lived excitement, because "Dead Kids" turned out to be a tedious movie experience. An experience of which I managed to last 1 hour, then I simply gave up out of sheer and complete boredom. Nothing much of any interest happened through the course of that ordeal of an hour I sat through. And I can honestly say that I have no intention of returning to watch the rest of the movie, as the storyline failed to interest me at all.

I will say, however, to the movie's defense that the acting in the movie was good, and the actors and actresses seemed quite adept at making the characters come to life on the screen. Just a shame that they had nothing to work with in terms of script and storyline.

This was a disappointment for me and I am rating "Dead Kids" a mere three out of ten stars. This is by no means the best that the Tagalog cinema has to offer.

Dead Kids is about a group of boys who plot to kidnap the class bully and ask for ransom from the bully's drug lord father.

I liked this movie up until 2/3rds of the way because the acting by all of the main cast was superb. Being a Filipino, and having gone through High School here, the 4 main boys all put up convincing performances (although a bit exagerrated by the script). The pacing was also good - it wasn't too rushed or too slow. The cinematography and music did a good job of establishing the film's atmosphere.

I just have a problem with the ending, and undeveloped characters. I know that film is about show, don't tell but I think some details about the main character weren't really fleshed out or were too subtle. The decision he made at the end really did not make sense to me. The character of Sue Ramirez was also underdeveloped (I agree with one of the reviews posted here) that her speech before the ending felt forced or out of place and her last scene just puzzled me and I didn't know what it meant.

There was a bit of social commentary also in the film about social class but again, it fell short for me. I know the film makers didn't want to be too preachy but I would've preferred a bit more preachiness instead of grasping at straws as to what it was the makers were trying to stand for.

Nevertheless, I would still recommend that people watch this movie. It would be interesting to see what else the Red Brothers will come up with in their future projects.

This movie is a breath of fresh air from all the cheesy rom-coms and angsty love stories that Filipino media regurgitates on a daily basis. It's dark, but not Joker dark, humorous, yet serious when it needs to be, and delivers quite a powerful message when it comes to privilege.

The cast made me love the movie even more. Vance Larena definitely stood out to me, as he was the most intriguing character of the movie. Despite how his actions were morally wrong, you can't help but feel pity and sorrow for Blanco, as it is clear that he is a victim to his circumstances. Khalil Ramos brings his A game as the comedic relief, delivering ridiculously stupid puns and punchlines with the ease of a late night show host, which compliments the edgy teen flick feel of the movie.

Overall, some plot holes here and there are in fact very noticeable, but didn't ruin my enjoyment of the film. If you want a break from all the love stories of Filipino media, this is for you.

Good to passable acting. Cinematography is ok. Cringy Dialogue. The main character is supposedly a smart dude but almost everything is dumb. What was even the point of Sue Ramirez's character? When you search for this movie you see her name on the list of actors first but for what? She wasn't really a plot device or a 'Chekov's gun' in a sense. She was just there...