100 tula para kay Stella (2017) Reviews

• A beautiful story about a teenager with a speech defect who secretly expressed his admiration and love for a lady named Stella by writing poems for her.

  gemmanavarro272017-09-04

  One of the best movies I have seen this 2017, 100 Tula Para Kay Stella gives us some lessons about the realities of life as enumerated below: 1.) Our weaknesses can inspire us to discover and hone our strengths. 2.) Our imperfections make us better and stronger persons. 3.) Not all the things that we want, we love and we have been dreaming of, are meant for us. We just need to wait for God's purpose to take its time to reveal the big picture to us. 4.) True love means sacrificing for the good of your loved one. 5.) The best lessons about love are learned after you realized you have lost it. 6.) When you love someone, grab the opportunity to say it right away. It is better to be rejected right away than to lose a loved one because you said I love you, too late. I must also commend JC Santos and Prince Stefan for the great acting prowess that they have shown in this film. Bella Padilla was also a good inspiration and an effective leading lady as she brought out the best acting from JC Santos. I think, what highly contributed to the box office success of this film in the Philippines, is the one brain filming attack brilliantly executed by Jason Paul Laxamana, who have vividly, creatively and beautifully wrote and directed this work of art. This goes to show that having the same writer and director in filming can strongly result to quality films. Ma. Gemma Cruz-Navarro - MOVIEGOERS DREAM CLUB

  More

• One of the very few well-made films from Philippine Cinema!

  percyloganfan09162017-08-20

  100 Tula Para Kay Stella is one of the very few well-made films from the Philippines. Fueled with dynamic performances from all the cast, very well-written plot and screenplay, well-crafted cinematography and a writer-director who shows that he knows what he is doing through powerful writing and directing, the film is undeniably a success. It might have genre tropes and clichés, but it uses it cleverly and utilizing them to deliver emotions and key moments as powerful, yet as subtle, and as raw and real as it could. The well- done sound mixing and on-point soundtrack, alongside its wonderful cinematography helps in telling the story and the feeling that go with it with perfection. Each of the cast did well with their performances, especially JC Santos who plays the main protagonist of the film. Dilemma and social issues, as well as personal and emotional issues are tackled and dealt in the movie in unique, raw and unexpected ways. 100 Tula Para Kay Stella is refreshing, surprising and satisfying. Dare I say, 100 Tula Para Kay Stella is one of the all-time best movies from the Philippine Cinema.

  More

• well done & heartbreaking

  baeyuhtrice2018-12-22

  One of the few Filipino films that is dear to me, maybe because I was with the best bunch of people when I watched this, but honestly! tears were shed, noses were clogged, and hearts broke while watching this film. It proves that love isn't enough to end up with the person you treasure to much.

• A Nostalgic & Coming-of-Age Story

  ClariSays2017-09-16

  The film starts at the beginning of the School Year 2004 – 2005, Fidel's first year in college. Like any school, the first day is dedicated to getting to know the professor and the students. In one class, it was Fidel's turn to do so. To help him speak and cover the fact that he has speech defect, he prepared a couple of cue cards. But as soon as he was asked about his interests and hobbies, Fidel was caught off guard revealing his secret. Though that incident led to students making fun of him, that encounter also led to his inspiration. The professor who asked about Fidel's interests and hobbies happens to be the Faculty Adviser of The Seedling, the school's publication. She asked if he could submit a poem about anything that inspires him. "Anything that inspires you." He tries to write but was unsuccessful. When Freshie's Night came, he met Stella, the person who showed him kindness and the inspiration behind his first poem. As he gets closer and their friendship deepens, he soon writes more and more poems with her in mind. What I like about 100 Tula Para Kay Stella is their take on both sides of college life and life in general. It is, after all, the time where a person discovers and understands himself. Take Fidel, for instance. Though Stella never left his mind, he continued life in school and experienced the "college life". Stella, on the other hand, was blinded by her dream. She kept looking straight ignoring the signs making her loose sight of what's important. But in the end, both characters acknowledged the emotions and mistakes they committed helping them accept everything that happened. 100 Tula Para Kay Stella successfully delivered each characters' journey. Though there were some sudden shifts in the film's tone, I didn't mind it at all because that's how life truly is. One day, you're happy. The next, you're angry at everyone and life starts to loose meaning. Another thing I like is the non-stop nostalgia. I wasn't in college yet but I do remember that 2004 was indeed a good year for Pinoy Rock Bands and Nokia phones. I believe it's the perfect setting for 100 Tula Para Kay Stella.

  More

• It's OK, not bad but not that great.

  jcnathanielspn2017-08-22

  I'd like to praise the director, Jason Paul Laxamana, for creating such an interesting romance film. I went to the theaters expecting some cliché teenage romance film again but thankfully, that was not the case. Though, I wouldn't go so far saying that the idea is unique. There are other films where one of the main characters has a disability (The Fault in Our Stars, A Walk to Remember, Me Before You, 50 First Dates and many more). I'd also like to acknowledge the cinematography of the film. The composition and framing of most parts of the film are well done. Actually, I liked most of the camera work. There were only 2 scenes where I had a problem with the camera because it was unnecessarily shaky. There was also one continuity error but that's all. The cinematography made me really pay attention to the story and for that I believe it should be praised. Some also say the poems were "cringy" but I don't have the same opinion. The first few poems, I believe, were intentionally bad but over time grew to have much more meaning. The poems were, with Fidel, growing as time went by. The soundtrack and the score of the film were also good. However, I'd also like to point out the different problems I had with the film. First, but this is the last thing I noticed, is the acting. JC Santos and Bela Padilla were the only ones who I thought to be the great actors in this movie. Von, who I thought was going to rape Stella because of the way he delivered his lines, Danica, who was just okay, and most especially the supposed 'nakatuluyan' of Fidel was bad. I'd like to forget her name because her acting was so stiff and awkward that I was almost embarrassed for her. The way Von and Stella ended up together is so unbelievable for me. I really thought when Danica was breaking the news to Fidel that she was raped and carried their child that's why she can't be with Fidel. Also, the way Danica told the news that Stella was married was bad for me. I felt as if the scene was trying to be suspenseful but it felt, to me, just dragging. Though, I'd like to make it very clear, Fidel and Stella were really good. They really held up the acting in the film. Whenever they were together, the film just works. The next problem I had with the film is the pacing. The film sometimes feels too slow but then it jumps forward in time so fast. I was saying "What?" every time there was a jump in time. It had me confused as to how fast the film jumped from one time to another. I cannot offer a solution on how to solve this problem but I wonder how much better the pacing could've been if the story had not spanned for four years or if the run-time was longer. The dialogue and screenplay itself suffered some problems too. It may be nitpicking to some but I believe it should still be pointed out as the film establishes itself to be set within 2004 and 2008. But some minor characters seem like they're not from 2004-2008. What I still couldn't believe is how Von and Stella ended up together. A friend told me that there are things missing in the part where Stella falls in love with Von. To me, I felt the two were just forced. I really can't decide whether it's the delivery of the line or the screenplay itself, though. However, I did expect it somehow that Von would be significant as there were some instances where Von was specifically shown in the scene. It's actually good storytelling. The camera focusing at Von was actually significant. However, during the last scene with Stella and Fidel together, I found the dialogue to be lacking. The emotion was there but I did not feel it in the dialogue. What carried the scene is JC Santos' brilliant acting. Another problem I had was during the opening credits, but this is more on the technical side of the film. It was really weird that Stella's voice was really loud before the opening credits then when they started playing it sounded like they were in a studio. It was hard not to notice because Stella's voice on the microphone before the opening credits had some reverb and sounded like we were in the gymnasium. But once they started playing, I heard the difference. There was also a part where the camera pushed in to Fidel inside the crowd and I could notice that the extras were really trying to move out of the way for the camera. Sometimes, the entire band was not in sync with the music playing and Stella's voice sounded as if she was in place even though she was moving around. I know this is a simple matter but it really bugged me. Lastly, one pet peeve of mine is unnecessary dialogue in film. When someone says something in a film, I should be able to learn more about a character. There was one line in the movie, in the pool party scene, where one of the extras says "Di naman politically correct yang sinasabi mo". Yes, you could say that the audience could learn that that particular character was socially and politically aware but was the character essential to the story? Was the line he delivered essential to the plot? I don't think so. The film, in totality, is just an OK film. It's not a masterpiece but I did enjoy watching it in theaters. I also liked the cinematography in the film and I'd like others to draw inspiration from it. However, the film is not something I'd go see again. Maybe if it's shown on television, I would, but it's not something I'd go to the theaters again to watch. 6/10

  More