Mr. Pure Energy is A-OK. After worrying fans and observers with cryptic messages on social media about his health, singer Gary Valenciano has emerged alive and kicking. It’s a known fact that Gary is afflicted with life-threatening diseases, such as diabetes, and has been confined in hospital due to dengue, tuberculosis, and other illnesses. He...
Author: Boy Villasanta (Boy Villasanta)
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Gawad Urian fulfills its social responsibility
More than being just another award-giving group in the film industry, the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino (Manunuri) is a corps of critics who review and recommend films for their commercial, artistic values and it’s social responsibility to serve the best interest of Filipino moviegoers. Since it was established in 1976, the Manunuri has changed shallow...
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Always and ever: the Nora Aunor mystique
Does Adolf Alix Jr.’s “Kontrabida (The Villain)” winning a Netpac (Network in the Promotion of Asian Cinema) Award for Best Asian Film) at the 6th HIFF (Hanoi International Film Festival) held in Vietnam early this month still merit attention? Of course. Not only is “Kontrabida,” the Philippines’ entry in the festival, directed by a prolific and...
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A Spanish film for Filipino workers to watch
Young Critics Circle member Nonoy Lauzon was right: The 2021 Spanish film “El Buen Patron” (The Good Boss), directed by Fernando Leon de Aranoa, should be shown and viewed by Filipino employees in all workplaces. Lauzon said as much in Filipino after seeing the movie at the opening last Oct. 5 of the 21st Pelicula...
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Into the forest, across streams and rivers, and up and down hills
I went back to the remote Barangay Villa Espina in Lopez, Quezon, one Tuesday morning. At 6:30 a.m. after insufficient sleep the night before, I jumped into a decrepit jeepney—only one unit plies the route twice daily if the weather is fine—bound for the barangay (village). It was sunny, unlike the first time I embarked...
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Korean megahit film producer says ban on censorship is key to success
With the worldwide success of the “Korean wave” or hallyu, the Korean entertainment industry is now regarded as one of the most prominent, productive and moneymaking enterprises on the planet. Korean cinema already conquered the world market in 2016, when “Train to Busan” made a killing at global box offices. In 2019, “Parasite” won the...
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Stage actor-turned-businessman comes full circle
Ignacio Gimenez who? It’s been seven years since I first heard that name—a donor for a theater to be constructed on the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) grounds. Former CCP vice president and artistic director Chris Millado kept on harping on the edifice before and during the coronavirus pandemic, and continued to push for...
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Unhappy Heart and the loudest whisper
Is it literally the seven-year itch? Heart Evangelista and her husband, Sen. Chiz Escudero, recently celebrated their seventh wedding anniversary, but the loudest whisper these days is that their marriage is on the rocks. Adding to the intrigue was GMA Network’s supposed impending official announcement on the alleged breakup. But according to entertainment writer Dave Rojo,...
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Filming in the boondocks on a shoestring budget
The short documentary was supposed to be about the indigenous language of the Aeta in the remote, hilly village of Villa Espina in Lopez, Quezon (boondocks). It was my intended entry to the 2022 Kota Kinabalu International Film Festival (KKIFF) in Sabah, Malaysia, on Sept. 17-25. But a tight production schedule and a looming deadline...
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The militancy in/of Jay Altarejos
It’s not every day that one encounters a militancy in/of a filmmaker like Joselito “Jay” Altarejos. Local show business isn’t traditionally and usually attuned to or associated with activism, political or otherwise; it’s more known for glitz and glam, if not gossip. Anything of the hoi polloi, the great unwashed, and being combative, truthful and...
