Película: Exes Baggage

I'd like to introduce a new blog segment which I've decided to call "película" just because I like how it sounds. LOL From the segment title itself, it's pretty obvious that this new part of the blog will feature my reviews of movies that I've watched.

But wait, I'm not an expert in the film industry, what do I know about cinematography and acting? Yeah, yeah, I hear you but I've been quite a film enthusiast for as long as I can remember, and I have quite a huge range when it comes to films that I love. Look, I'm not an expert in film or acting and I'm not trying to be but I do give an objective opinion and I enjoy doing so with films as I do with food. Just consider me as the friend you ask before watching a movie to save you a couple of bucks on movie tickets and movie snacks.

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So for our first movie review, I'm going to start with Exes Baggage. I saw this movie the same day that Tim and I arrived home from Vigan. I met with my best buds, Jaycee and Tricia at SM City East Ortigas as we have planned to see this movie together for almost two weeks already. 

Official movie poster for Exes Baggage. I don't own this photo nor do I claim it as mine. Got if off the IMDB page for the movie.

To be honest, I'm not such a huge fan of Tagalog films unless they're art films or biopics, I barely watch them. Don't get me wrong, I've nothing against our film industry, it's just that sometimes plots can be quite repetitive. But I gave Exes Baggage a try because of the hype and since my best buds & I badly wanted to see Angelica Panganiban and Carlo Aquino reunite in one film. Yes, I may not be a huge Tagalog movie fan, but it doesn't mean that I don't know anything, I've been a pre-teen once and I really liked Car-Gel LOL 

The film plays between two timelines and starts out with the present where Nix (Carlo Aquino) and Pia's (Angelica Panganiban) were invited to their married friend's party, two years after their breakup. 

The second timeline were a series of flashbacks. It can be seen that the chemistry was strong between them from the very beginning that they instantly hit it off. Their seemingly normal but natural flowing conversation eventually lead them to fall for each other despite their opposing perspectives on love brought on by their last partners. 

They got together, a picture of a perfectly happy relationship typical to a couple in the honeymoon stage until layers starts to peel off their happy pages as they saw Migs (played by Joem Bascon) Pia's ex-boyfriend whom she told Migs previously about. A man whom she loved but was unknowingly married.

The encounter caused Nix to become jealous and overly focused on the fact that Pia did not introduce him as her boyfriend, to which Pia then compared herself to Nix's ex-girlfriend, Dwein (played by Coleen Garcia) who was often the source of her insecurities in their relationship. Nix soon apologizes and they made up. 

However, Pia's insecurities just got a lot bigger when Nix's conservative and clingy if not restrictive tendencies started to unfold that lead to numerous fights, and with Pia always ending up telling Nix that she isn't Dwein. 

It got a lot worse when Dwein visited Nix to check on the furniture she ordered from him, which turns out Nix was delaying on purpose. Pia noticed how much Nix changes around Dwein and concluded that he's still in love with her causing her to break up with Nix.

The film moves on to the present day showing Nix and Pia reunited and talking about their past. Soon they were watching a band play in the party, and what are the chances, the band was playing their song to which they both sang and dance to. However, their moment was abruptly interrupted when Pia's phone rang revealing she's with a guy named Anton. She hurriedly left the venue and hopped in her car, still contemplating whether she should stay or leave but before she could decide, a reflection hovered over her, revealing Nix standing outside her car. She rolled down her window and he began talking to her car, which she named Ogie during the start of the film. 

Nix gave a quite lengthy and cliche but compelling monologue about how he should have taken better care of Ogie and Pia, how he should have fought for their relationship and that he should have not let her leave the house without saying a word. Pia's phone then rang and she bid him goodbye again, but as Nix walked away and her phone rang signaling for a call from Anton, Pia suddenly realized (or the film implied that she did lol) that she still wanted to be with Nix. She hopped out of her car and called his name, rekindling their previous flame. 

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Okay, so that was a lengthy summary of the movie, but I did my best to keep it as accurate as I could. But as you have read, Exes Baggage wasn't as common as we think it is, but as cliche and predictable the ending might have been, to be honest, there were moments in the last 20 minutes that you'd think that ending would not turn out that way. 

The actors in general gave so much life and emotion to the seemingly typical plot which makes the film stand out from similarly themed movies done in the past. Pia and Nix's characters were portrayed as genuine and natural as the actors could, that you'd feel like you've been through the same thing with them.

Angelica and Carlo's performance were really captivating, sparking a lot of emotions that I didn't know I could still feel just because I'm happily married.  They really have that effect on you where you would just feel nostalgic all of a sudden, then you're starting to compare your own experiences with them and eventually, you'll say that "Yeah, I've been there." My best buds had the same experience, I think Tricia more than Jaycee and I as she had gone through something heartbreaking recently.

If I were to rate this movie, I'd give it a solid 4 out of 5. Given 5 as the highest. I recommend this film most especially to the hopeless romantics like me LOL I think you guys would like it. And hey, even if you're not a fan of something sappy, I think you'd enjoy this, too. It isn't sappy enough but it's relatable enough. 

Have you seen the movie? What do you think of it?