Entertainment

Now Playing: The Devil Wears Prada 2 — Still sharp, still human

Growth over gloss

All images are screenshots from the Final Trailer of The Devil Wears Prada 2

Published

April 30, 2026

Rodneil Quiteles

I didn’t watch The Devil Wears Prada when it first came out in 2006.

I came to it a few years later, at a time when I was still figuring things out—career, identity, even the kind of movies I allowed myself to enjoy. It wasn’t something I would’ve picked on my own back then.

At the time, it felt like a story about love versus career. I was about to graduate with a Mass Communication degree, unsure of where I was headed, trying to make sense of both ambition and connection.

Watching it again recently, it lands differently.

It’s less about choosing between two things—and more about understanding who you are, and having the courage to follow that honestly.

That’s what makes The Devil Wears Prada 2 feel so deliberate. It doesn’t just revisit the past. It builds on it.

Growth over spectacle

There’s a version of this sequel that could’ve leaned entirely on nostalgia. Bigger moments. Sharper outfits. A louder version of what already worked.

This isn’t that.

The film is grander, but in ways that feel earned. It embraces the 20-year gap instead of ignoring it, placing its characters exactly where you’d expect them to be—not in status, but in spirit.

Miranda Priestly still commands every room, but no longer feels as unassailable as she once did.

Andy Sachs carries experience. She’s no longer the green assistant, but an accomplished journalist whose relationship with Miranda still shapes her decisions.

Emily Charlton feels fully realized—no longer orbiting power, but owning her place within it.

And Nigel remains a pillar. Dependable to both Miranda and Andy, an almost invisible hand that guides more than it claims.

None of them feel stuck in who they were. That’s the point.

What it says about the work

This is where the film hit me the hardest.

Working in tech media, I constantly see the push toward generative AI—toward making everything faster, more efficient, more scalable. A lot of it is impressive. Some of it is genuinely useful.

But some of it is also unsettling.

We’re at a point where generative visuals can fool people. Where audio—music even—can sound convincing enough that you stop questioning where it came from. That’s the part that lingers.

Because music, for me, is personal. It’s how I process things. And realizing that something artificial can mimic that emotional weight—even if imperfectly—feels dangerous in a quieter, harder-to-define way.

This film doesn’t shout about AI. It doesn’t need to. Instead, it argues for something more fundamental.

That the human touch still matters.

That taste, judgment, and intention aren’t things you can replicate at scale.

That the pain of heartbreak, the joy of victory, and the complicated weight of living—these are things that come from experience. And experience leaves a mark. We leave a part of ourselves in everything we create, whether we mean to or not.

That’s something I don’t think can ever be fully replicated.

AI is a helpful tool. But it should not be relied upon for things that require a piece of our soul.

Direction that understands power

A lot of that message lands because of how The Devil Wears Prada 2 is directed.

Blocking and staging do most of the talking. Who stands where, who moves first, who stays still—these choices define power before any dialogue kicks in.

The camera follows emotion closely. Moments of uncertainty feel slightly unsteady. Scenes of control are composed and precise.

It’s not trying to impress you. It knows exactly what it’s doing.

Sound that knows its place

The sound design follows that same discipline.

Nothing competes. Nothing distracts.

Every element feels intentional–supporting the scene instead of demanding attention. It’s cohesive in a way that’s easy to overlook, but once you notice it, you realize how much it’s doing.

Dialogue that winks, but doesn’t linger

There are a few “wink” moments–lines that echo the original, callbacks that longtime fans will catch instantly.

But the film shows restraint.

It never lets those moments take over. They’re accents, not the foundation.

Nostalgia used with purpose

That restraint carries through how the film handles nostalgia as a whole.

It doesn’t rely on it. It uses it.

Parallels to the original are there, but they exist to highlight change—not to recreate what once worked.

It’s less about remembering.More about understanding what time has done.

Why it works now

What makes The Devil Wears Prada 2 land isn’t just that it’s well-made.

It’s that it feels necessary.

In a world that keeps pushing toward speed, output, and efficiency, this film slows things down just enough to remind you what actually matters.

The intention behind every line, every scene feels sharp—like it could only come from people who care. Who care about the craft. Who care about making something that connects.

It might sound like a tired argument. But it’s still true.

The breadth and depth of humans who care is irreplaceable.

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.

Entertainment

Marvel Studios announces Ghost Rider, Black Panther 3 at SDCC

What lies ahead of Multiverse Saga now taking shape

Published

July 26, 2026

GadgetMatch

All images courtesy: The Walt Disney Company

What lies ahead of the Multiverse Saga in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is now taking shape, as Marvel Studios have made major announcements at San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) 2026.

The first major reveal was the Ghost Rider feature film, set to release in 2028 with Ryan Gosling playing the protagonist.

Shawn Levy, who directed Deadpool and Wolverine and the Night at the Museum trilogy as both director and producer, will direct the film. Jonathan Tropper is writing the script. All three worked with Star Wars: Starfighter in the same capacities.

Gosling said Johnny Blaze “is a character” he “wanted to play for a very long time.”

The Marvel character has been shown in two live-action movies between 2007 to 2012 starring Nicolas Cage.

More recently, Gabriel Luna played the younger host to Ghost Rider, Robbie Reyes, in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. in which the story revolved around him and Chloe Bennet’s Daisy Johnson/Quake for most of the first season.

Avengers: Doomsday panel, Spider-Man: Brand New Day

Marvel Studios then filled SDCC’s Hall H with the massive cast of Avengers: Doomsday, moderated by directors Anthony and Joe Russo.

This segment featured some of the biggest stars of the MCU. There’s Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Pedro Pascal, Paul Rudd, Anthony Mackie, Simu Liu, James Marsden, David Harbour, Letitia Wright, Lewis Pullman, Kelsey Grammer, Danny Ramirez, Winston Duke, Hannah John-Kamen, Rebecca Romijn, and Tenoch Huerta Mejia.

Hayley Atwell also joined the panel, confirming she will return in the new film as Peggy Carter.

WATCH: Avengers: Doomsday trailer assembles Marvel’s biggest heroes against Doctor Doom

After all, the mid-credits scene in Avengers: Endgame showed that when it was time to return the infinity stones back where they belonged, Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers/Captain America went back in time and instead lived the life he wanted to have with Peggy.

Meanwhile, Jon Bernthal later on made a surprise appearance. This was to talk about his role as Frank Castle/The Punisher in Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

Black Panther 3 revealed

To cap off the panel, Black Panther 3 has been confirmed for December 15, 2028. Writer and director Ryan Coogler came out to the stage to introduce David Jonsson as the new Black Panther.

The Alien: Romulus actor will play Toussaint/T’Challa II, the son of the late Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa. In the third Black Panther film, his character will be all grown-up. Naturally, the events in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars will make the transition and his on-screen “aging” a lot smoother.

What this means is Letitia Wright’s Shuri is preparing to step down as the Black Panther. Doomsday will be among her final battles wearing the suit.

Winston Duke’s M’Baku, who is the King of Wakanda in the current events of the MCU, will also play an integral part in setting up T’Challa II for the throne — be it through a traditional Wakandan ritual for the leadership or through other means.

Entertainment

Resident Evil movie reboot finally gets a scary trailer

Can you spot the Easter eggs for longtime fans?

Published

July 24, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

After briefly losing its way in the middling fifth and sixth entries, the Resident Evil series rediscovered its way back to the survival horror genre with the seventh entry onwards. However, the series doesn’t have the best reputation in Hollywood with its lackluster reviews. Now, the Hollywood series wants to right the ship with the upcoming reboot, simply titled Resident Evil.

Much like the gaming franchise’s renaissance, the upcoming film heads to the survival horror genre with a frightful caper. Medical courier Bryan (Austin Abrams) is tasked with delivering a vital organ to somewhere outside Raccoon City. Along the way, he runs over a rabid woman, who just disappears when he steps out to check.

Forced to seek help at a nearby shack, he finds himself in a struggle for survival when he discovers monstrous beings lurking around. It gets worse when he returns to the city and finds it overrun with the zombie outbreak.

The trailer has a few Easter eggs, including a typewriter, one of the most traditional ways that the game series uses to save games. Director Zach Cregger (Weapons) promises that the movie itself will have more Easter eggs for longtime fans of the series.

Resident Evil will premiere in theaters on September 18.