Tetchie Agbayani Movies

Philippine filmmaker Raya Martin directed this stylish and stylized study of a pivotal moment in his nation's history. In 1898, in the wake of the Spanish-American War, the United States took control of the Philippines, only months after American representatives had declared the islands would maintain their newly won independence. Rather than cooperate with the occupying forces, a woman (Tetchie Agbayani) and her son (Sid Lucero) flee to the mountains, hoping to live in freedom away from civilization. In time, they're joined by a young woman (Alessandra de Rossi) who is running away after an American soldier raped her. As the boy grows to be a man, he falls in love with the woman, and when his mother dies, he becomes the head of the small household in the hills, helping to care for the child that resulted from the rape. Martin has shot and staged this story in a purposefully unrealistic manner, using black and white film stock, painted backdrops and old-fashioned lighting techniques so that this story of life under forced American rule resembles a Hollywood potboiler of the 1930's. Independencia was one of two films from Raya Martin that were screened as official selections at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Former boxer Marvelous Marvin Hagler stars as a U.S. Marine sergeant who aids an Amazon rain forest tribe in their battle against land developers. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi

After dropping out of the CIA while in Manila, a man descends into drug addiction. After his recovery, an old flame asks him to help his own brother, who has suffered much the same trouble. ~ John Bush, Rovi

Adapting the themes of the 1948 film Mr. Blandings Builds his Dream House, this comedy stars Tom Hanks as Walter Fielding, who with his love Anna (Shelley Long) decides to buy a suburban New York home for next-to-nothing. Both Anna and Walter are willing to fix what ails the house and since they are both successful professionals, that should not be too difficult. Unfortunately, what ails the house might be terminal as the rest of the film chronicles the battle between the couple and the disintegrating structure. Construction workers come in to make matters either worse or better -- or both. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

In a standard no-plotter, this is a martial arts showcase for gymnast Kurt Thomas as Jonathan Cabot, the front line man sent out to secure a military foothold in an unfriendly, unnamed country in Eastern Europe near the Caspian sea. Jonathan has to use his lethal weapons (hands and feet) and his ingenuity to chop down legions of adversaries, especially in a one-against-all scene in a rustic village. With scenic Yugoslav landscapes and the attractive Miss Philippines (Tetchie Agbayani) as Princess Rubali, the film offers some visual appeal as well as whirling martial arts choreography. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

A fast-lane fashion photographer comes to a remote tropical isle for a glamour shoot. He recruits one of the local girls for one of his photo spreads. Cameraman and model fall in love, and he makes plans to take her back to the States. Alas, the dictates of her tribe forbid her to do so. This is a loose reworking of the 1931 film Tabu. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi