Author: Jude Cartalaba

Dharna (Christian Bables) is not the Darna that most Filipinos knew from the Mars Ravelo creation. The Jun Robles Lana film, Big Night won the Best Picture in the recently concluded Gabi ng Parangal of the 47th edition of Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) is a deeper look at the country’s extra-judicial killings (EJKs). Bables’s Dharna is reminiscent of BB Gandanghari’s character Ada in Zsazsa Zaturnnah Ze Moveeh. Though without any secret superpowers and has no alterego–he is still one hero to his family until he got stuck with the wrong network. He has two other gay brothers Vholtra and…

The Carlo Francisco Manatad disaster-themed drama film that chose to use Waray-Waray as its medium of its dialogues–may have settled the second-best picture in the recently concluded 47th edition of the Metro Manila Film Festival’s Gabi ng Parangal; but its Gatpuno Antonio J. Villegas Cultural award is enough proof that it is worth watching in cinemas. From the 23 awards at stake during the annual awards night, Kun Maupay Man it Panahon (Whether the Weather Is Fine) takes pride in the film’s seven wins, including Charo Santos-Concio’s best actress and Rans Rifol’s best-supporting actress, respectively. Manatad’s depiction of the 2013…

Film entries–Big Night, Kun Maupay Man it Panahon, and A Hard Day brought home most of the awards at the recently concluded 47th Metro Manila Film Festival’s Gabi ng Parangal on Monday evening of December 27 at the Samsung Hall of SM Aura, Taguig, Metro Manila. There were a total of 23 awards given away by the MMFF 2021 organizers. Christian Bables nabbed the best actor award for his performance in the film, Big Night. Kun Maupay Man it Panahon’s Charo Santos-Concio earned the best actress award. Jun Robles Lana walked away with the best director award for the film,…

The 46th Annual Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) announced its eight official entries today, November 12, at the Monet Ballroom 1 and 2 of Novotel, Araneta Center, Cubao, Quezon City. “The long wait is over. There is no stopping the Metro Manila Film Festival. We are bringing back the MMFF to the silver screens that have been shut down for almost two years due to the coronavirus pandemic ,”said the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and MMFF concurrent chairman Benhur Abalos during the announcement of the official entries. This year’s official line-up of entries are: A Hard Day. https://youtu.be/uw9jkEYlr3s Starring…

Maureen Ann Montagne, a belle from Batangas, Philippines, won the second Miss Globe crown for the Philippines in Albania on Friday, November 5 (early morning of Saturday, November 6 in the Philippines). The first Filipina who won the crown was Ann Colis in 2015. She bested 40 other beauties from different parts of the globe. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Maureen Montagne (@maureenmontagne) Montagne is a Filipino-American who got crowned as Binibining Pilipinas-Globe 2021. Before her win, she already competed in the Miss Eco International in 2019 and placed first runner-up. The MEI organization…

Miss Philippines-Universe 2021 is Beatrice Luigi Gomez of Cebu City. The 26-year-old out-and-proud lesbian bested other 28 finalists in the recently concluded beauty pageant held tonight, Thursday, September 30, at Henann Resort in Panglao, Bohol Province. She is a military reserved officer as well. View this post on Instagram A post shared by LionhearTV (@lionheartvnet) Before getting into the finals, she bested 100 other hopefuls from all over the country.  Gomez was a consistent pick in almost all beauty pageant sites as she eventually made it to the first cut for the evening’s coronation night. She then moved…

The much-awaited comedy-drama movie by the award-winning director Joel Lamangan is now streaming on VIVAMAX, which began yesterday, September 17. Diego Loyzaga and Christian Bables are BEKIS ON THE RUN, reflective of the film’s title. Other stars like Lou Veloso, Kylie Verzosa, Sean de Guzman joined the funny tandem of Loyzaga and Bables as brothers who were running out of money, running out of time, and running away. In the story, Andres (Loyzaga) and his gay brother Donald (Bables) tried to rob a construction site, but things got complicated, leaving them no choice but to run. They earned the sympathy…

Miss International 2016 Kylie Verzosa, though relatively new in showbiz, stars in the dark, suspense-thriller drama film based on a 1960 Korean film that had a remake in 2010, and was originally titled, Hanyo. Three days prior (Tuesday, September 7) to the premiere of the VivaMax film, The Housemaid (on Friday, September 10), Viva Films held a final digital media conference and was attended by the director (Roman Rerez Jr.) and the three lead stars–Verzosa, Albert Martinez, and Louise delos Reyes. Verzosa isn’t the only one who transitioned from being a beauty queen to being a serious actress. Perez also…

What made the psychedelic-erotic-thriller movie Taya more engaging and a hit after it premiered on Vivamax on Friday, August 27– is the three equally irresistible female stars. They are AJ Raval, newcomers Angeli Khang, and Jela Cuenca–also known as VMX Crush. In the film, Taya, directed by Roman Perez Jr., the three female rising stars are have titillated the male interest, and today, they are considered to be the toast to the former pop girl group Viva Hot Babes, which composed of actresses and models, led by  Maui Taylor, Katya Santos, and Andrea del Rosario back then. Jela Cuenca, Angeli Khang, and AJ…

After Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque berated health workers during a pandemic task force meeting on Tuesday, September 7, Kapamilya actress-philanthropist Angel Locsin-Arce wrote via Instagram on Thursday, September 9, “To those who can’t go & console family & friends fighting their battles alone.  “I feel you. I wish for you to overcome whatever it is you are going through. “This crisis has made me realize that the world can work without politicians, businessmen, police, and even without actors like me. but the world can never work without health workers. “Again, thank you for all that you do. Sending everyone strength, hope,…

The multi-talented ‘Inday Wonder’ of Cebu City, Sheena Belarmino wants to be an architect. She revealed her dreams of becoming an architect if she has not pursued a career in the entertainment world. It’s an unusual dream for a girl with a talent like hers. However, since she opted to pursue a career in the show business, she had to set her other dream aside. Her talents will go to waste if she chooses to set them aside and not share them with the world. The girl is overflowing with grace! Listen to her sing, and you will feel the…

The much-awaited and most prestigious beauty pageant, the 69th edition of Miss Universe, recently concluded and crowned the 26-year-old Mexican beauty Andrea Meza as the winner. Meza has a degree in software engineering and an activist focused on women’s rights and inclusion and currently works closely with the Municipal Institute for Women. She aims to end gender violence. Also, she is part of a global charity association raising funds in India, Indonesia, and China for the downtrodden. Her runners-up were Julia Gama of Brazil as first runner-up, Janick Maceta del Castillo of Peru as second runner-up, Adline Castelino of India…

Few hours ago, Maine Mendoza tweeted, “Hi tweeps! I’ve been receiving a lot of messages about my tweets several years ago. Sending my sincere apologies to those whom I have offended with my tweets way back then. It was my careless self talking and I didn’t mean to offend anyone. I am sincerely sorry.” Before making a name for herself, Mendoza was not just known for her viral Dubsmash videos and as the Yaya Dub in the noontime show Eat Bulaga! segment, Kalyeserye–but she was fond of bashing local and foreign celebrities alike. https://twitter.com/mainedcm/status/1383045661562650625 Among the popular tweet she had…

After the word-war between It’s Showtime! lead host Vice Ganda and Presidential Spokesperson of President Rodrigo Duterte Herminio ‘Harry’ Lopez Roque Jr. over the issue on COVID-19 vaccine that the government is insisting on buying, the former wittingly used a segment of his noontime show to throw back at the latter. Vice tweeted on January 12 and wrote: “Sa sabong panlaba nga choosy tayo sa bakuna pa kaya. Ano to basta may naisaksak lang?! Vaklang twoooaahhh!!!”. However, the following day, Spox Roque also made a swipe on Kapamilya comedian-host, “Alam niyo mali naman na ikukumpara iyong bakuna sa sabon na…

If moviegoers prefer laughter or humor, the Vhong Navarro-starrer–Mang Kepweng: Ang Lihim ng Bandanang Itim is a welcome treat. Though not all jokes are that funny, at least, it will provide an hour and 41 minutes of loads of fun while watching this fantasy-comedy flick. Navarro, being the new Mang Kepweng hasn’t lost his touch in delivering his comic lines. Together with him, he is joined by supporting stars like Benjie Paras as Hero, Ryan Bang as Janwick, Ion Perez as Einstein, Jaclyn Jose as Nanay Milagros, Barbie Imperial as Devie, and Ritz Azul as Reyna Marikit. In a normal…

Don’t put high hopes on this Easy Ferrer film, a horror piece, The Missing. If you expect too much–you might get disappointed instead. The BL series directed by Ferrer was already something to redeem him, somehow–it was engaging enough despite the bad acting of one of the lead actors. Still, the series was enough to make me applaud him. But, getting into the horror entry of Regal Entertainment, Inc.’s was quite disappointing. First, the five elements of a good horror story–fear, surprise, suspense, mystery, and spoiler–were missing. I never got scared or surprised at all. My friends and I were…