Eddie Garcia Movies

Ben Mercado (Dante Basco) is an 18-year-old from a Filipino-American family who is soon to graduate from high school and plans to go to art school -- though he's trying to keep this a secret from his father Roland (Tirso Cruz III), who is determined his son will become a doctor. Right now, most of the Mercado family is preoccupied with an elaborate coming-out party being thrown for Ben's sister Rose (Bernadette Balagtas), which seems to have less to do with Rose and more with Roland's desire to impress his father Lolo (Eddie Garcia). Ben isn't too thrilled about having to attend, so he invites his best friends Rick (Brandon Martin) and Doug (Jason Schaal) to fight off monotony until they can slip out unnoticed. To their surprise, Rick and Doug find themselves having a great time getting a glimpse of Filipino culture, and Ben (who is enjoying himself more than he lets on) meets Annabelle (Gina Alajar), a pretty girl who is friends with Rose. However, Ben soon discovers that Annabelle recently parted ways with her boyfriend Augusto (Darion Basco), and Augusto is still very, very jealous -- and willing to start a fight with anyone who makes a move toward "his girl." The Debut was, appropriately, the debut feature for writer and director Gene Cajayon and was enthusiastically received at the 2001 San Francisco Asian-American Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The mayor of Manilla has been carrying on an affair with a formerly famous local movie star for years. He has supported her and her family with public funds. His wife has been aware of the set-up all along, but as long as it didn't threaten her cushy and powerful position at the center of power, she allowed it to continue. However, the mayor is coming up for re-election, and it's becoming clear that his little secret (which everyone who is anyone knows) is about to become public property and may cost him the election. Steps must be taken. At the same time, the fading star, no stranger to the fierce political winds within the movie industry, is attempting to stay afloat somehow. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

A young Filipino living at the end of the 19th century has his own agenda for his life -- he wants to travel and experience new places. His agenda is cut short when he inadvertently gets involved with a whole underground of marginal characters, including one priest who is a father in both the clerical and secular sense of the term and needs to find his son. Both the young man and the priest gain in following and power as the Filipino revolt against the Spaniards grows. Complicating everything is an attractive woman, and the young man will soon have to decide which direction he really wants to take -- that of a revolutionary leader, or the solitary wanderer that still resides somewhere inside him. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Flashbacks encompass the history of the Philippines as well as the life story of the elderly Daniel Aguila (Fernando Poe, Jr.) in this three-and-a-half-hour drama. The Aguila family gathers to celebrate Daniel's 88th birthday, but the old man is nowhere to be seen -- he has been missing for a decade. Suspecting that his father is in Mindanao, one of his sons (Christopher de Leon) takes off for that region in a determined search. Along the way, his memories of the nation and his father's life tell the story of eighty tumultuous years of personal and historical development. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Mando is a powerful army officer who is at least as much of a mobster as he is anything else. He uses his power to arrange the murder of the husband of a woman he covets. One of her children, who witnessed the murder, is raised by his uncle to avenge his father's death. He is trained in the indigenous Philippine martial art "Arnis," which involves the use of a short and a long stick, and he becomes marvelously proficient. When the officer has the boy's uncle killed, after the man witnessed his massacre of some labor leaders, the boy has additional reasons to go after his stepfather. However, he must fight the man's goons in order to get to him. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

While chained together, a policeman and his prisoner attempt to defend themselves against contemporary pirates and island natives in this feature. ~ Kristie Hassen, Rovi

A Filipino aristocrat loves his wife, but has a lot of fun with a low-class chorus girl. Unfortunately, so do other people. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

This Filipino film is in the Tagalog dialect of that country. The story concerns the coming-of-age of a young boy and his discovery of sexual love. His entirely natural activities are endangered by his town's gossiping busybodies. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

In this Philippine martial-arts action feature, a certain Buddha statue has a substance contained in it that could lead to world domination by its owner. Martial artist Chiquito and a newlywed black American couple (James Iglehart and Shirley Washington) vacationing in Asia join forces to keep this awesome object from landing in the wrong hands. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Two female prisoners, one black and one white attempt to escape a women's reformatory in this violent exploitation film that is a cheap knock- off of The Defiant Ones. The black woman is in for prostitution while her blonde counterpart was involved with a radical group. They escape after lesbian guards make passes at them. Though chained together, the two manage to make their way through the Filipino jungle to a camp filled with revolutionaries and drug smugglers. There more action ensues as the crooks engage in a climactic battle with a crooked cop. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi