Entertainment

XTREME MF-4300s review: Time to settle down

A low-risk investment for those afraid of commitment

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A TV is an integral part of every home — a centerpiece worth investing in.

That’s what I learned from the people around me while growing up. Although, I’ve never spent my life lounging on couches and watching telly until midnight, snacking popcorn and drinking soda while I laugh my heart out.

I was constantly moving, aimlessly wandering as if my life was a perpetual adventure; days spent hopping from one place to another. Little did I know, I would eventually learn to settle down.

Formerly averse to commitment, I met someone who made me want to stay. Now that I have been staying at home for almost eight months, my desire intensified even more. I started taking care of my little chateau. From buying furniture and spending on decors, to deciding to try a Smart TV — which I now believe is essential to every home.

Finding the right TV to settle down with

Smart TVs are expensive, gigantic, and requires a major decision before making a purchase. It was emotionally taxing to look at pricey, humongous Smart TVs in appliance stores. I asked myself, “Am I really ready for this?”

You could say my fear of commitment was triggered until I met XTREME’s lineup of Smart TVs. Most are half the price of what premium brands such as Samsung, Sony, and LG have to offer. In particular, the XTREME MF-4300s seems to fit what I need — without too much risk.

It’s a Smart TV, comes in an appropriate size, and a price tag that doesn’t break the bank. It’s not difficult to ease your way in the art of settling down since you’re not shelling out an insane amount of cash.

A low-risk investment

If you’re wondering why TVs are considered an investment, one of the reasons is how you need to adjust your living room to fit it in your space.

Having the MF-4300s made me realize I need to invest more in my home furniture. First off, I simply had a makeshift rack. I never really had a TV rack, considering my nomadic lifestyle.

My living room is comprised of a set of gray, textured fabric sofa, a shelf housing Buddha and gold figurines, a dedicated altar for my spiritual needs, an old speaker system to fill the house with lounge music, and a center table for my magazines.

Since the MF-4300s is a 43-inch Smart TV, my center table was more than enough to handle it. From the box, it comes with a stand you can easily set up, so long as you follow instructions and use your logic.

The TV’s bottom houses a built-in Pure Sound soundbar. For recognition, there’s a tag that can be found on the bottom right while Xtreme‘s branding is located on the middle part.

On its back, you can find the usual ports you’d expect from a typical TV, along with two HDMI and two USB ports. In addition, there’s a LAN port to make it easy for you to connect your TV directly to your router, especially if you don’t want to use Wi-Fi.

The remote is incredibly long (not that I mind) and it has dedicated buttons that let you access Netflix and YouTube.

Decent experience… for now

The XTREME MF-4300s delivered a decent experience for an affordable Smart TV. Comparing it to my previous experiences from the TVs I covered and used in studios and our office, the performance is quite stellar albeit there are compromises. But you get what you pay for, right?

Oftentimes, I found myself waiting for Netflix to fully load, which is sometimes affected by my crappy internet connection. There’s a bit of noticeable delay when using the remote control, but definitely not a dealbreaker.

Sometimes, both apps — Netflix and YouTube — decide to freeze, which can be solved by restarting the XTREME MF-4300s. Turn off, unplug and plug, then turn on again.

Frankly, it was a bit frustrating but it was one of the compromises you’ll have to consider especially since this is unlike any premium TV offerings. If you really want an extra seamless experience, better raise your budget and get an expensive one.

Just the right audio and visual quality for me

In the audio-visual department, the MF-4300s presents a decent quality for the price it commands. It uses an IPS panel with an FHD resolution of 1080p. Forgive me for not accurately depicting it, my camera wasn’t able to give the TV some justice.

Colors — despite using different presets — are a bit washed and lack vibrance. However, the overall image quality is clear especially when my Fiber internet connection is doing its job properly.

Viewing angles are satisfactory, though the faded blacks are inherently visible the more you watch at an acute angle. Light can be a nuisance, since the panel reflects it. Honestly, the best experience I had with this TV is when I used it at low light and at night. It’s quite like a smaller home theater setup.

On the other hand, sound quality is average. Surround sound was fabulous, but the lack of clarity makes it unpleasant to listen to when watching action films. It’s exceptional when you’re watching your favorite dramas and sitcoms.

Is this your GadgetMatch?

The XTREME MF-4300s is definitely a utilitarian Smart TV. It doesn’t offer a sleek design, top-of-the-line performance, and a buttery smooth experience like most expensive offerings from Samsung, Sony, and LG. Simply, it provides what you need: a practical and smart television for your home.

For PhP 15,995, the MF-4300s allows you to experience the basics of a smart TV, focused on functionality rather than aesthetics. It’s a low-risk investment for those who started concerning themselves with appliances and other home stuff.

What I can certainly vouch for is how this Smart TV filled the missing ingredient in the art of settling down. A TV is indeed an integral part of every home, and it made me want to enjoy quality time with someone that I love, instead of constantly moving around. You don’t have to fear commitment and making investments anymore, especially when the risk is low and it yields a high return.

SEE ALSO: How Sony’s newest TV made me remember what matters most

Entertainment

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

Growth over gloss

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

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.

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Entertainment

WATCH: Teaser trailer for DC Studios’ Clayface

DCU’s standalone horror thriller

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Courtesy: Warner Bros. Studios

The teaser trailer for DC Studio’s horror thriller, Clayface, has just been released. It is the studio’s first-ever foray into the genre, with the film co-written by Mike Flanagan and directed by James Watkins.

The R-rated standalone film is still part of the new James Gunn DC Universe, taking place within the main DCU timeline before the events of the 2025 Superman.

It stars Tom Rhys Harries as the titular Gotham City villain. He is joined by Naomi Ackie, David Dencik, Max Minghella, Eddie Marsan, Nancy Carroll, and Joshua James.

The film opens internationally on October 21 and in North America on October 23.

Here’s a quick look at the film’s teaser trailer:

Clayface explores one man’s horrifying descent from rising Hollywood star to revenge-filled monster.

The story revolves around the loss of one’s identity and humanity, corrosive love, and dark underbelly of scientific ambition.

Joining Watkins in his creative team are director of photography Rob Hardy, production designer James Price, editor Jon Harris, visual effects supervisor Angus Bickerton, costume designer Keith Madden, and casting director Lucy Bevan.

In addition, here’s a quick look at the movie’s teaser poster:

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DC’s Clayface teaser shows off a horror-filled superhero movie

Our first taste of James Gunn’s Gotham City will be frightening.

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Last year, James Gunn’s Superman sparked an impressive wave of excitement for the new DC Universe. Though this year’s spotlight is on Supergirl, Clayface is also getting an eponymous film, giving us our first taste of Gotham City in this bustling universe.

There’s been a lot of mystery surrounding this film. For one, Gotham City’s DCU debut is based on, arguably, a secondary villain, rather than any member of the Bat-Family. Secondly, Gunn has confirmed that the movie will heavily lean towards the horror genre, a feat others have tried but often failed.

Today, DC Studios has released the first teaser trailer for Clayface. And no, Gunn wasn’t kidding when he said this is going to be a horror film.

Tom Rhys Harries plays Matt Hagen, a rising movie star suddenly scarred by a violent attack. Desperate to resurrect his career, he resorts to a scientific experiment that turns his skin into moldable clay.

As the teaser hints, the film will not shy away from body horror, including shots of Hagen’s disfigured face either from the attack or from the clay. It’s a big departure from the more traditional style of Superman or Supergirl. But it’s a gamble that might pay off for a universe as young as the DCU.

It’s also apropos that the DCU’s first horror film is getting a horror-themed premiere. Clayface will premiere in cinemas on October 23, 2026.

SEE ALSO: Superman sequel, titled Man of Tomorrow, comes out in 2027

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