Entertainment

The Sandman review: A dream adaptation

Dream a little dream

Published

August 22, 2022

Luigi Leonardo

That will not last. The Great Stories will always return to their original forms.

It’s one of the most enduring quotes from the Sandman’s 75-issue run. Talking to the immortal Hob Gadling in the 18^th century, Dream, the eponymous Sandman, comments on the transience of a new ending attached to Shakespeare’s King Lear written centuries past. It’s a testament to the endurance of stories despite the ravages of time.

In an age dominated by adaptations, The Sandman’s quote rings ever truer. The past few years have seen countless adapted titles dropped because of lackluster reception. The original forms, whether it be books or series made years past, have won time and time again. However, despite history weighing down against it, one adaptation has seemingly prevailed against Dream’s cautionary warning: The Sandman itself.

Enter the Dreaming

Premiering on Netflix, The Sandman adapts the first few story arcs from the original comic book run. The series stars Tom Sturridge as the titular character, complemented by a lively cast from television’s finest including Doctor Who’s Jenna Coleman as Johanna Constantine and Game of Thrones’ Gwendoline Christie as Lucifer. Plus, most critically, Neil Gaiman himself, the series’ author, is directly involved with the series, along with David S. Goyer.

The series itself is a long time coming. Since the original run ended, filmmakers and producers have sought to adapt the title for Hollywood. However, for all of 30 years, Gaiman rejected all efforts to create a Hollywood-friendly version of the popular series. Now, fresh from the success of the adaptations of American Gods and Good Omens, the acclaimed author is taking the reins himself to create the first good adaptation of Sandman. And why not? The title’s tales of inclusivity, responsibility, and story-making still ring true today.

A dream of me: a personal history

When I first read The Sandman, I was in high school. My sensibilities and interests were naturally different from what they are today. They were hardly mature enough to understand the intricacies of the series. In fact, my young mind was more interested in how Dream was an all-powerful protagonist capable of blowing his enemies away in a literal puff of sand. For me, Sandman was no different from Superman. Can you blame me? I was a teenager, after all.

While it’s fair to read the series in that way, The Sandman was so much more. More than a decade later, I reread the entire series, picking up hundreds of tidbits I missed my first go-around. I learned about the power of dreams on our reality and how dreams pervade regardless of culture or identity.

Now, if you’ve read The Sandman at any point in your life, you’ll understand how the series endured all these years as an essential fragment of the world’s literary oeuvre. If you haven’t read the series, however, you’ll still understand how things we’ve read or watched as children rarely look the same when we reread or rewatch them as adults.

The Sandman, as both a comic book and a television series, is no different.

A dream of change

A traditional comic book has around 20 to 30 pages from cover to cover. While the number is usually enough to tell a captivating story, it does have limitations. Stories and themes have to be summarized into small speech bubbles or boxes. In contrast, a television episode allows for more nuances: an actor’s expressions, additional dialogue, movement.

While the Netflix series maintains fidelity in adapting its source material, it also expands what was presented on the page. Instead of a static image of Dream brooding in captivity, you see the evolution of emotion from stoicism, hatred, to hope.

Further, you’ll see the evolution of Gaiman from an early-career author to an acclaimed one revisiting past works. When the series was first written, Neil Gaiman was a relatively fresh creator. As such, he was still exploring his literary voice. The early Sandman books reflect that, seesawing between different genres and tones. Now, decades after first writing the series, Gaiman has an opportunity to change and expand what he wrote before. The end result is magical.

For one, characters were made to be more inclusive. Instead of white men or women, iconic characters are played by characters who are Black, female, or both. For example, Kirby Howell-Baptiste and Gwendoline Christie slay as Death and Lucifer, respectively. Likewise, otherwise-detached stories are connected and expanded in new ways that make sense in the over-arching plot. It’s a change in fidelity, but one that is welcome in today’s ever-changing world. It expands Gaiman’s vision for a more inclusive reality in and out of dreams.

Netflix’s The Sandman is an evolution of both the book’s format and its themes. It pulls double duty, alluring both long-time readers and new visitors to the land of dreams. As such, you’ll find both readings — as a fantastical adventure and as a thematic exploration of humanity — in the television series.

Though Dream said that great stories will always return to their original forms, it’s time to evaluate what The Sandman’s original form is. Maybe this is what it was always meant to be. Maybe “original” doesn’t always mean the first one.

Should you watch The Sandman?

Absolutely.

If you’ve read the series before, you already know why. If not, The Sandman is a dark fantasy series. In essence, it’s a collection of stories spanning decades and centuries, loosely connected by the character called Dream and our own smaller dreams — to live forever, to be recognized for who we are, to be free, to just be. Just as the comic book had me turning the page endlessly, the Netflix series will have you clicking that Next Episode button until you reach the end.

Entertainment

Street Fighter special look: Blanka vs. Ryu

Jason Momoa, Andrew Koji’s characters face off

Published

August 2, 2026

GadgetMatch

Paramount Pictures has released a new special look for Street Fighter featuring Jason Momoa and Andrew Koji.

The short, minute-long clip shows the actors’ respective characters, Blanka and Ryu, in battle.

It opens with a chained prisoner struck by extreme electrical charges, transforming into the green-skinned, electricity-infused Blanka.

He unleashes a fierce roar. Meanwhile, Ryu drops into a fighting stance, but tells Blanka he does not want to fight him.

Forced to defend himself, Ryu then fires a signature Hadouken fireball towards Blanka, as the teaser cuts to the Street Fighter title card.

Street Fighter debuts in cinemas starting October 14. It is directed by Kitao Sakurai and stars an ensemble cast that includes Noah Centineo as Ken Masters, Callina Liang as Chun-Li, Joe “Roman Reigns” Anoai as Akuma, and Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson as Balrog, among others.

The film is set in 1993 when estranged Street Fighters Ryu and Ken Masters are thrown into combat when Chun-Li recruits them for the next World Warrior Tournament.

Entertainment

Now Playing: Spider-Man: Brand New Day

It’s a must watch for Spidey fans who want to see Peter Parker enter his sad boy era.

Published

July 29, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

The Holland-led Spider-Man trilogy is one of my favorite franchises in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Compared to other series with admittedly disjointed plots, all of Spidey’s storylines have a clear thread leading from one to the next. Since the fourth entries after trilogies are historically lackluster, I had a lot of trepidation heading into Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

Thankfully, all those worries were unfounded. Brand New Day follows the same throughline as its predecessors, once again reinforcing Spider-Man as the strongest franchise that Marvel offers fans today.

A brand new day indeed

Coming from No Way Home, Brand New Day still has Peter Parker live a new life as a literal nobody where no one remembers who he is. So begins his existence as just Spider-Man with no friends or family.

When a new and unseen threat ravages through New York City, Spidey starts to wish that he still had friends to help him out, which leads him on an inevitable collision course with Ned and MJ. Ironically, it also leads him to other characters in the city, including the Hulk and the Punisher.

A cacophony of villains

When I first saw the trailer, I was worried about the astounding number of villains from the get-go. After all, one of the biggest problems in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3, the most maligned entry in Spider-Man movie history, was the villains. Though far from the movie’s biggest problem, having too many bad guys without a solid plot led to its terrible reception. You can see why Brand New Day’s trailer raises some flags.

If you were thinking the same thing, Brand New Day does indeed have a cohesive plot. Everything flows neatly into one another. Each emotional beat of Peter feeling for his solitude mixes well with the action. In here, fight scenes feel like they have a purpose.

And there is a big bad here. It’s not just a collection of guys that Spidey has to go through. That big bad, who shall not be named at this time, doesn’t feel like just a placeholder for Peter’s internal struggles. They have a character of their own and their own struggles to solve. I wouldn’t say they’re at the level of Loki just yet, but they definitely have a better go at it than most of the MCU’s other villains.

Marvel’s New York City finally debuts

Despite being a prime location since 2012’s Avengers, New York City never really felt like the quintessential city for superheroes in the comics. In the movies, the city was just another city to be ravaged when a new villain comes along.

For the first time, Brand New Day makes the city feel like a lived-in world with a bunch of superheroes living in the neighborhood. And they do pop up.

Does Peter have a scientific problem that only a very specific hero can solve? It’s a good thing Bruce Banner is just around the corner. Does he need some muscle? Well, the Punisher is skulking around somewhere. Plus, there’s even a succinct reason why other superheroes can’t help out.

In this way, Brand New Day presents itself more like a comic book series than a one-off movie. It’s like following the story alone from issue to issue. It’s not the most perfect adaptation of the landmark city, but it goes a long way from just another ravaging of New York.

Peter’s sadness

Everything here hinges on Peter’s loneliness. Despite meeting a trove of characters across the cinematic universe, Peter yearns for time with his loved ones. But they’re gone.

Unlike the past three films where he always had someone to go home to, he has no one here. Tony Stark is dead. Aunt May is gone. Happy has gone to parts unknown. Ned and MJ have no memory of him. Brand New Day has a way of making you feel for his aches, whether the way he still keeps track of MJ or some physiological changes as a result of his predicament.

It also helps that the movie’s big bad has similar motivations. Both serve as perfect mirrors against each other, elevating both their stories effectively. And that’s all I’ll say about that.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is a few steps behind from being a perfect Marvel movie, but it’s still an extremely strong part of the Spider-Man mythos. The trilogy, now quadrilogy, remains Marvel’s most consistent franchises to date. It’s an absolute must-watch.

Entertainment

UNDERTALE: The Determination Symphony hits Makati in October

Determination arrives in October.

Published

July 28, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

For so small of a game, UNDERTALE quickly made it into the gaming world’s hall of fame. Despite being only a decade old, the small title has had a major influence for modern-day gamers because of its unique gameplay, its lo-fi art, and, of course, its catchy soundtrack. If you’re a fan of UNDERTALE’s soundtrack, a unique concert experience is headed your way.

On October 17, Film Concerts PH, in partnership with SOHO Live, is hosting UNDERTALE: The Determination Symphony at the Proscenium Theater in Rockwell, Makati.

The concert will be performed by the Filharmonika Orchestra and conducted by Thanapol Setabrahmana. Personally curated by creator Toby Fox and developed by Lambert Jackson with Materia Music, the concert experience showcases the game’s most recognizable tunes laid over gameplay footage playing simultaneously. Plus, for the world tour, the experience will have expanded scoring.

In the game, you play as a small child stuck in the mysterious Underground filled with interesting characters and monsters. Unlike traditional RPGs, UNDERTALE asks players to choose between building relationships and chasing after wins. It’s a unique experience that’s defined by whether you chose to make friends or fought your way to the top. It teaches players to value different ways to solve problems, all while showering them with its one-of-a-kind humor.

Pre-sales for the concert, exclusively for members of the Film Concerts PH community, start on August 4. Public sales, however, will start on August 11 via Ticketmelon.