Country > Philippines > Bohol > Tagbilaran
Date > 2024 > May
Activity > Movie Review

May 17, 2024

Movie Review: Monkey Man (2024)

Location : Tagbilaran, Bohol, Philippines

Rating: (5 stars out of 5)
Audience Rating:
Cast: Dev Patel, Sharlto Copley, Pitobash
Director: Dev Patel
Writers: Dev Patel, Paul Angunawela, John Collee
Awards: SXSW Film Festival, 2024 Winner Audience Award
Genre: action, thriller
Run Time: 2 hours
Premiere Date: April 5, 2024
Country: United States

Bollywood John Wick
Think 'John Wick Bollywood' and you'll get the picture. But although John Wick is almost a cartoonish caricature, Monkey Man pulls deep from human tragedy. It didn't get outlandishly John Wickish until the all-out mayhem towards the end of the movie. The clincher? The movie stars Dev Patel, the same boyish guy from Slum Dog Millionaire, who is now a full grown-up.

Synopsis
A 2nd rate street fighter gets beaten up in fights with flashbacks from his traumatic youth when his mother was killed while he watched. His whole life was hellbent on revenge. The movie's intensity and build-up made for an over the top crescendo.

Acting
This movie was practically actor-proof. I didn't notice anything magnificent about Dev's acting except his eyes that were fiery and consuming. I would even say that Makrand Deshpande (as Baba Shakti) was compelling, even though his appearance was scarce. The tough woman-manager of the club, Ashwini Kalsekars (as Queenie) was also riveting - she was frighteningly scary to be messing around with.

Cinematography
Setting was mostly dark and gloomy, particularly the flashbacks and the fight scenes in the ring. This added drama and tension.

Editing
Editing was quick with liberal use of shaky cameras to underscore action and urgency.

The Guru
The guru aspect of the movie is both timely and relevant. So many gurus who look the part, act the part and speak the part are so rampant - not unlike the heydays of the televangelists of the USA who promise salvation from the cockpit of their lear jets. This was magnificently played by Makrand Deshpande.

Ending Thoughts
I'd been getting lucky with movies lately. This one was a pleasant surprise. There was no promotion whatsoever and I had no clue what I was going to watch - I just wanted to see a movie. Was I in for a magical ride! Bollywood can indeed come up with not just good movies, but great movies without the excessive budget - Slum Dog Millionaire, The Three Idiots, etc. India seems to have that character. Same thing with the Chandrayaan-3 - they sent a lunar module to the dark side of the moon with a budget smaller than a Hollywood movie.

If India was left to progress with its culture and tradition without the disruption of the oppressive British colonization, who knows what leaps and bounds India would be in today?

--- Gigit (TheLoneRider)
YOGA by Gigit | Learn English | Travel like a Nomad | Donation Bank

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Bohol, Philippines

tourist attractions

Danao Adventure Park - zip lining, cable car ride, caving, river rides/trekking, off-road buggy ride, root climbing, rappelling and ultra-glide rides
Alona Beach - hub for tourists with hotels, resorts, restos, bars and dive shops
Chocolate Hills - hills side-by-side shaped like giant Kisses chocolate
Tarsier - pocket-sized marsupia looking like a monkey
Balicasag Island - one of the best dive spots in the Philippines
Loboc River - river cruise on a boat
Anda Beach - fine white sand beach with resorts, restos and cottages, 3 hours by bus from Tagbilaran
Cabagnow Cave Pool - brackish water pool about 5ft deep inside a limestone opening on the ground, 8 feet deep, P50
Lamanok Island - walk on a 100m bamboo bridge on stilts to a resto area to take a boat tour to caves and nearly attractions, P300
Combento Cave Pool - cave pool with underwater cave system, P20
Can-umantad Falls - long narrow drop until it hits a bulbous mound spreading it into a a curtain-like water canopy and down into a splash pool
Canawa Cold Spring - deep refreshing cold spring with developed pool area
Firefly Tour - evening boat ride into the river to watch fireflies

hotel

Fox & The Firefly Cottages - SUP paddle boarding, luxury riverside native cottages, mountain bike tours, SUP yoga
Baranggay Valladolid, Loboc, Bohol
Bohol Tropics Resort - seafront location, manicured surroundings, swimming pool, resto/bar
0133 Graham Avenue, Brgy. Cogon, Tagbilaran, Bohol 6300
Oasis Resort - Alona Beach location, dive center, resto / bar
Alona Beach, Panglao, Bohol

yoga

Jing Yoga - health & well being through yoga
The Courtyard - Airport Road fronting the church
Bohol Meditation and Yoga Center - 2nd Floor Lim Magtajas Bldg. CPG Avenue

Bohol Travel Info/Tips

Bohol FYI / Tips

the tourist area where most of the hotels, restaurants, ticket offices, tour operators are, is located within the Alona Beach area
the tourist attractions in Bohol are far apart and spread-out. It would be difficult to visit them all using public mass transit. Better hire a van (P3500/day) if in a big group, or rent a motorcycle (P400/day + gas)
Bohol relies on its tourism for revenue. As expected, everything they can capitalize on from tourism is extensively used and developed

Tagbilaran Port to Panglao

You can charter any tricycle from the port all the way to Panglao (~P300), but if you want to do it on the cheap,

don't take the tricycles lined-up inside the port. Walk past the port gate and immediately outside, you'll see many tricycles. Take one to the bus terminal in Dao (~P15)
in Dao, take the jeep that plies the Panglao route (~P20)

Tagbilaran (Bohol) to Cebu City by boat

** schedules and rates keep changing, call for latest schedule

Weesam Express - departs 6:15 AM, 11:30 AM, 4:00 PM
one way: Economy (aircon) P500.00, Economy (non-aircon) P400.00, First Class P600.00
round trip promo (at least 2 days advance booking): Economy (aircon) P600, Economy(non-aircon) P500, First Class P1200
round trip promo (1 day or on the day booking): Economy (aircon) P800, Economy (non-aircon) P700, First Class P1200
Ocean Jet - departs 6-7:05-8:20-9:20-10:40-11:40AM, 1-2-3:30-4:20-5:30-6:30PM, 2 hours, arrives Pier 1 in Cebu
Open Air / Tourist Class P800, Business Class P1000
+63(32)255 7560 / +63 (32) 255 0115 / 0917 638 0000
SuperCat (2GO) - departs 5:50-11AM, 3:45-5:25-8:15PM, arrives Pier 1 in Cebu
P 500.00
+63 32 233 7000

Things to do, Places to go in Bohol

Chocolate Hills - this is a clustering of more than 1200 hills within a 50km² area. They range in height from 30-50 meters. What's unusual is their near-perfect conical shape resembling an individual chocolate chip. No one knows how they were formed. Entrance is P50/pax.
Tarsier Conservation Area - located Upper Bonbon, Loboc. The tarsiers are no longer being played at by tourists as circus props, but instead, visitors now view them in cordoned-off areas in their natural 6ha habitat. As they are territorial and nocturnal, they are predictable on where they can be viewed. P50/pax.
Alona Beach (Panglao) - Alona Beach is the tourist hub of Bohol. It has 1.5 kms of white sand beach lined-up by bars, hotels and restos. Alona is also the jump-off point for Balicasag Island, a world class dive destination.
Danao Adventure Park - located in Barangay Magtangtang, 72 kms (2 hours ride) from Tagbilaran. Adventure activities include river trekking, tyrolean traverse, rappelling, bouldering, rock climbing and ziplining.

Bohol Blogs

Bohol blogs