Entertainment

Now Playing: Scarlet

The revenge story experiments with the idea of self-discovery.

Published

December 11, 2025

Luigi Leonardo

You can’t go wrong with a revenge story. Watching a group of evildoers get their deserved comeuppance is always a good time. Mamoru Hosoda’s Scarlet promises such a tale worthy of the greats. However, Hosoda quickly sheds the veneer of revenge for a tale of self-discovery.

Scarlet, the film’s eponymous character, is a princess on a quest for revenge against her uncle, a usurper who ordered the death of her father. However, before she can deal the killing blow, her uncle outsmarts the attempt by poisoning her. She dies and is teleported into a purgatory called the Otherworld. There, she must fight against the other departed to exact revenge from the other side.

So much for revenge

A mix between Dante’s Inferno and Hamlet, Scarlet should have the makings of an excellent revenge story. However, though Scarlet keeps revenge as her main motivation throughout the entire film, she eventually finds a new quest in discovering what she wants to be after she gets her retribution.

She meets Hijiri, a pacifist paramedic from the modern era, who persistently asks her to reconsider seeking violent ends to her enemies. With Hijiri in tow, Scarlet discovers that there is more value in helping other people and giving her enemies a second chance.

Was it a shift well earned?

Most revenge stories today come with a similar twist where the main character reevaluates their murderous rampage to seek inner peace. This usually comes after the murderous rampage. After all, how do you redeem someone who hasn’t done anything wrong?

In stories like these, satisfaction comes when the main character kills minor villains. After getting their fun, a traumatic incident causes them to lose their drive to fall short of killing the main villain. In some situations, the character sacrifices themselves to save someone else. In others, they choose to forgive the villain.

Scarlet fast-forwards straight to the finish by choosing less violent measure right from the beginning. As hellbent as she is on killing her uncle, she fails at every step, usually because of stronger enemies. The only thing she becomes good at is sparing and forgiving her foes, often prodded by allies.

Now, there’s nothing wrong with writing a unique take on the revenge story. However, Scarlet wants audiences to learn its lesson without going through the grueling work that often comes with such a lesson.

Hosoda wants to play it off as the futility of vengeance, and he’s right in making that the moral of the story. However, this just doesn’t stick.

A beauty on the screen

Amid all the criticism, Mamoru Hosoda always manages to deliver visually appealing pieces for the big screen. Scarlet is no different. It features hand-drawn animation that looks three-dimensional and laid on top of realistic scenery.

For all its misgivings, Scarlet transports audiences to a picturesque purgatory with a clear target, the Infinite Lands. If you love fantasy world-building, the movie showcases a fantasy worthy of the name. Though I had problems with Scarlet’s character, I still looked forward to seeing what comes next over the horizon.

Entertainment

Dune: Part Three teaser trailer: First look at Robert Pattinson’s Scytale

In cinemas this December

Published

March 20, 2026

GadgetMatch

Courtesy: Warner Bros. Studios

The countdown is officially on as Warner Bros. Pictures has released the teaser trailer for Dune: Part Three.

The epic conclusion to Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune” trilogy opens in cinemas and IMAX this December.

In addition, character posters have also been released. Here are some, courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures:

The highly anticipated film stars Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Jason Momoa, Javier Bardem, Rebecca Ferguson, Florence Pugh, Robert Pattinson, Anya Taylor-Joy and Isaach De Bankolé.

The trailer, meanwhile, gives an excellent first look at Pattinson as the main antagonist of the final installment, Scytale.

In the final movie, the plot jumps ahead 17 years after Chalamet’s Paul Atreides ascended to the throne.

There will be a dramatic change in the tone from the first two films, focusing more on psychological thriller instead of a war epic, given the visuals of the previous two installments.

Atreides is now a battle-hardened Emperor, struggling with the “Holy War” that has claimed 61 million lives.

Worse, Scytale will lead a conspiracy from within that attempts to overthrow the protagonist’s empire.

Pattinson’s character will mess with Atreides’ head instead of pure brawns, in a bid to wear him down. This presents the central conflict of the upcoming film.

Entertainment

WATCH: The Super Mario Galaxy Movie final trailer

In cinemas this April

Published

March 19, 2026

GadgetMatch

Courtesy: Universal Studios

Universal Pictures has released the final trailer for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, which hits cinemas early next month.

Chris Pratt and Charlie Day return to play the iconic brothers Mario and Luigi, with the group getting bigger and more lovable with the addition of Donald Glover’s Yoshi.

Other actors returning to voice beloved characters from the franchise are:

Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach
Jack Black as Bowser
Keegan-Michael Key as Toad
Brie Larson as Rosalina

Worth noting, the Captain Marvel and The Marvels lead actress, Larson, fulfills her dream as a Super Mario fan as her character makes her big-screen debut.

Courtesy: Universal Studios

In The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, the plumber brothers are sent into space to save Rosalina from the clutches of Bowser Jr.

Coming along for the ride are Princess Peach, Toad, and Yoshi, their newest companion.

More beloved characters will make their first big-screen appearances, including Pikmin, R.O.B., Birdo, and more.

The trailer also highlights some of the wonderful worlds the protagonists will visit, from the Preshistoric Falls to the Honeyhive Galaxy.

The film will show in theaters on April 1 in the United States and April 4 in the Philippines.

Watch the final trailer here:

Entertainment

Spider-Man: Brand New Day first trailer hits hard — and gets weird

What’s happening to Peter?

Published

March 18, 2026

Rodneil Quiteles

All images are screenshots from the trailer

Spider-Man is back — and this time, it doesn’t feel safe.

The first trailer for Spider-Man: Brand New Day just dropped, and it’s equal parts heartbreaking, chaotic, and… a little unsettling. The kind of trailer that makes you pause halfway through and go, “Wait, what is happening to Peter?”

Because this isn’t just about swinging through New York anymore.

This is about what happens after Peter Parker chooses to disappear.

A lonelier Spider-Man

The trailer opens with Peter hanging upside down high above the city, quietly watching MJ and Ned Leeds celebrate their first day at MIT.

They’ve moved on. They’re happy. And Peter… doesn’t exist to them anymore.

That idea lingers through the next few scenes. He rehearses introductions like a stranger trying to fit in and washes his bloodied suit in a laundromat. He carries on as Spider-Man, even receiving a Key to the City — while Peter Parker fades into the background.

Things get violent, fast

Then the trailer flips.

We see a little moment between Frrank Castle (The Punisher) and Spidey. The exchange was lighthearted but also brutal. Spidey ends up immobilizing Frank and tells him to “Go home.” Could be a quick nod to Tom Holland’s “Home” trilogy in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

And in the middle of it all, Scorpion finally emerges as a major threat, alongside a brute with mechanical gauntlets and a swarm of red-clad ninjas.

This isn’t your usual friendly neighborhood lineup.

Something is wrong with Peter

And then there’s the part that really sticks.

Peter starts deteriorating. He looks sick. Sweaty. Unstable. At one point, he collapses completely.

Then comes the reveal: Peter trapped inside a massive web cocoon — before violently breaking out of it.

He seeks out Bruce Banner, who seems to confirm what we’re all thinking — something is very wrong with Peter’s DNA. His warning? Mutation at this level is dangerous.

Paired with the narration about a spider’s life cycle and Banner’s warning, it really feels like the film is setting up a Man-Spider arc. A version of Peter where the mutation goes too far. Where the line between hero and something else starts to blur.

If that’s where this is headed, Brand New Day might be the most unsettling Spider-Man story we’ve seen on screen.