Merry Christmas!
If you’re not entertaining friends and family with a Christmas lunch or dinner, you must be thinking of passing the day in a cinema and watching one of the eight movies (all in Tagalog) showing perhaps nationwide (except in Imax screens and 4Dx theaters nationwide) until Jan. 2 next year.
Like in Christmases past, I did spend time in a cinema watching a movie that I thought warranted my attention, if not interest.
Well, this year here’s how I plan to watch the movies (in sequence, based on my personal standards and I am not imposing upon you, dear readers, as I know you have your own personal reasons for preferring to watch a movie and ignoring the others.
First, I’ll find time to watch Ang Larawan, not because it’s the best movie in the lot (or perhaps it is), but as I had written in my column last Friday, it will complete my A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino experience. I also like to see how Joanna Ampil sing the part of Candida Marasigan as she is being flaunted as a shoo-in for the Best Actress trophy.
If I hadn’t seen this film during it’s premiere last Wednesday at a cinema in Trinoma, it would be the second movie I’d watch. Deadma Walking by freshman director Julius Alfonso is an engaging film about two male homosexuals, the best of friends (beshies as the millenials call them). No, this isn’t a comedy, but Alfonso and his screenwriter Eric Cabahug who based it on his Palanca-winning screenplay) managed to inject contemporary gay humor that let you crack out in laughter when you hear how two gay men talk in gay sub-dialect. What is more important is the film is not didactic, but it is more like mirroring a reality in the sub-culture of homosexuals. Fortunately, Alfonso and Cabahug avoid the call to romanticize the film, dodging the lure to be camp. You should watch how Edgar Allan Guzman owned the film, he should win the Best Actor award, if I may, and how he overshadowed Joross Gamboa who played the lead as the gay man who wanted to experience his own death.
After Deadma Walking, I’ll probably take a peek on All of You, the Dan Villegas romantic drama with English Only, Please (2014) stars Jennylyn Mercado and Derek Ramsay. The film seems to have varied reactions among those who had seen it in previews. But, I want to watch it to make sure that my observation of Villegas as a filmmaker is validated. While I liked English Only, Please up to a certain point in the film (until the narrative becomes higgledy-piggledy towards the end), he should have realized that films need strong climax and resolutions. And I should be able to see that in this film.
The fourth film that I won’t miss during the festival is Paul Soriano’s Siargao, about how three people found and lost themselves in an island now famous for the huge waves and has become the surfing capital of the country. Soriano won Best Director in the Film Academy of the Philippines’ 2012 awards for Thelma. Can Siargao validate this award for Soriano as a filmmaker? I want to find out for myself.
Now, after these four films, I needn’t have to join the exasperating lines at the box office for films like Ang Panday, Gandarrapido: The Revengers, Meant to Beh, and Haunted Forest. These are the films being predicted to fight it out as top grossers of the festival. I had seen Panday during its press preview, well, it’s meant for kids, and perhaps to those who still wish FPJ were alive. And as for the rest, just read the titles and you’d know what kind of movies they are.
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Tonight, GMA Network premieres an inspiring story of a legendary doctor named Daniel Boo also known as Master Kim, who sacrificed fame and stature to serve his purpose in a province in the drama The Romantic Doctor.
Master Kim (Han Su Kyung) does not only lead, but also inspires people in giving importance to service above anything else.
He was once a famous surgeon in Seoul but he decided to follow his passion in Doldam Hospital in Gangwon Province. Here he encounters a vengeful intern named Marcus (Yoo Yeon Seok), whose father died in the hands of irresponsible doctors.
Master Kim will teach him the right ways to avenge his father’s death and the values of a real doctor. He will also meet a strong-headed Abby (Seo Hyun Jin), who is willing to do anything just to be acknowledged for her skills.
Follow their story as they face different challenges Monday to Thursday, after My Korean Jagiya.
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In time for the festive season, Asia’s Sexy Fantasy Kim Domingo charmed Kapuso fans overseas with the perfect mix of naughty and nice as she turned the heat up in the Kim and Queen in Dubai.
Kim’s recent Dubai trip was definitely one for the books as she successfully headlined her first international show. Kim was overwhelmed by the support of Pinoys who came in full force at the Boracay Bar Aseana Hotel despite the rainy weather. Prior to her flight to Dubai, the Bubble Gang mainstay mentioned that she had been receiving a lot of messages from her Middle East fans telling her how excited they were to see her for the first time.
Kim, who looked really chic on the day of the event, was not afraid to goof around in public and shared the stage with comedian Kim Idol. The two Kims joined forces to entertain the crowd through song and music.
Following the fun-filled night with our Kapuso abroad, the GMA actress brought out her inner supermodel on the second day of “Breaking Barriers”, a two-day photography clinic with master lens man Raymund Isaac, which was held at the Burjuman Tower. Kim showed off three gorgeous outfits that emphasized her voluptuous figure and natural beauty.
“Very happy ako dahil sobrang daming Pinoy na nanood sa show namin,” said Kim who is back in Manila. “First time ko sa Dubai at ngayon na-experience ko na rin kung paano mag-show abroad with the help of GMA Pinoy TV. Thank you sa lahat ng mga Kapuso abroad at sana ma-meet ko ulit kayo soon,” she added.
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I watch Ikaw Lang ang Iibigin if I could (meaning I am in the house when it airs on ABS-CBN) and I heaved a sigh of relief when Carlos’ (Jake Cuenca) hand in the sabotage of Vega Pacifico (the airline company owned by the De La Vega empire) had been exosed.
Carlo’s fall from grace has been sealed and the revelation came after Carlos’ accomplice admitted to carrying out his order to contaminate the products of Vega Pacifico – a move meant to destroy the reputation of Carlos’ foster brother Gabriel (Gerald Anderson), who runs the company.
Apart from being humiliated by the scandal and being disowned by his own father, Carlos has to deal with his crumbling marriage with Isabel (Coleen Garcia), his gambling addiction, and his mounting debt.