The Best and Worst Dressed at the Star Magic Ball 2014

It's again that time of the year when even ordinary people, like me, get to have their say about glam and fashion, thanks to the yearly star-studded ball of Star Magic/ABS-CBN. There were some artists, which fashion sense, leveled up, but there were more misses this year than last year.

First, let me take this off my chest.

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Woooowww... I can't get over this picture. Hands down, KimXi or the Kim Chiu and Xian Lim loveteam, watta fab pair.

They did not win, of course. This is the winning couple of the Fabulous Pair award - Piolo Pascual and Iza Calzado.

Instagram: Starmagicphils

Papa P, please get a haircut, like how you looked in your film with Toni G. I'm not sure about Iza's gown, it's not really something that is wishing for an award, but this may be part of the promo of their on-going series, Hawak Kamay.

The Couple of the Night, for me, if it is still going to be based on how they dressed, is real life partners, Jericho Rosales and Kim Jones.

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Jericho and Kim looked very regal. Real life sweethearts, Angelica Panganiban and John Lloyd Cruz won the award for being the Couple of the Night. To be fair, Angelica's make-up suits her and oh well, John Lloyd is a stunner no matter what he is wearing.

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The winners of the best dressed, according to Star Magic, are Paolo Avelino and Julia Barretto.

Instagram: Starmagicphils

I am not sure how to pick the best dressed for men since they all look the same haha! The difference only lies on how they carry themselves and there are instances when some men opt to really stand out from the rest, like Enchong Dee's unforgettable German Moreno inspired get-up last year and Daniel Padilla's red overall in an event with a black and white theme this year.

For the men, I'd go for Jericho Rosales, Xian Lim and Richard Gomez for the best dressed category.

CTO (cropped)

The best dressed among the ladies, for me, are Dawn Zulueta, Gretchen Barretto and Kim Chiu.

credits to Rappler (cropped)

If only there is an award for the sweetheart of the night, or the best dressed among teens, it rightly belongs to Janella Salvador. She looks every bit of a teenager, from her clothes, accessories, to her hair and make-up.

CTO (cropped)

Let's go to the worst dressed.

CTO

Come on, Bangs Garcia, you can do better than that. And why not bring Phil Younghusband at the next ball? You never know, but a gorgeous beau might change the appeal of your ensemble.

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The gown of Alex Gonzaga, for me, is too simple, for this big and glamorous event.

Hands down for the number 1 worst dressed at the 8th Star Magic Ball - it's Kristel Moreno.

The gown looks cheap and it is either she doesn't really look fit or there is a mistake with the camera angle. At least, many people would now wonder who you are, since I don't think she is that visible on TV, but sighs, all for the wrong reasons. Better luck next year =)

Insignificant Local Showbiz Stories Making Headlines

There are certain showbiz stories that will make you look forward to hear more about, but there are those that would make you ask, “Why did it even make it in the news? Does anyone really care?”

Bato-Bato sa langit, ang tamaan wag magagalit =)

·         It’s confirmed! Derek Ramsay admitted that yes, Cristine Reyes is already his girlfriend and that he thinks that this time, it’s going to be forever. Aaaw… This relationship is like the Maja Salvador and Gerald Anderson admission – no one cares, or okay, maybe a few, but not enough to keep on talking about it. They can keep it to themselves and no one would mind, okay again, maybe a few haha!

Cristine and Maja are already branded as the bad girls in showbizness. Cristine, for warring with her family in public and Maja, for choosing a playboy boyfriend over a serious friendship. Gerald is on his way to being a “has-been” and Derek, I don’t know about him, he is no longer in my showbiz radar, taray haha!

·         Melai Cantiveros, as per the tweets of Ogie Diaz, is pregnant, courtesy of her playboy boyfriend, Jason Francisco. All together now, “Uh-oh!”

·         Claudine Barretto sued her former husband, Raymart Santiago. Gretchen Barretto posted a picture of her with Randy Santiago. Marjorie Barretto was infuriated with allegations that Tony Boy, Gretchen’s partner, is sending her children to school. Gretchen and Marjorie think that Claudine is the basher hiding in many aliases who has been throwing many juicy allegations their way. The mom of these girls… This is a never-ending story, really, and it’s getting boring and repetitious through time.

·         Lovi Poe says that what she and Rocco Nacino have is special friendship. Lovi and who?!

·         Rayver Cruz has a crush on Dina Bonevie, saying that he even bought a magazine that featured a sexy Dina on the cover. Anybody cares about Rayver? He may be a good dancer, good actor, but he does not have the kind of charisma that will make people interested with whatever’s happening to him. Next!

·         Max Collins does not want to follow the footsteps of Megan Young. Who’s asking, anyway? And who is this Max & why did she hire PR writers to write about her? Sayang ang space haha!

These news items may only be fillers as bigger news are set to hit the industry in the coming days or so. Hopefully, the local showbiz industry will again be filled with interesting and worthy stories, which involved interesting and worthy personalities. 

The Barrettos, Gretchen, Claudine, Marjorie, Julia and the Mom - More Controversial than Ever

This is another family matter, which was made public. This family really loves to be in the news, eh? This letter from the mother of Gretchen, Marjorie and Claudine Barretto will surely ignite more fire, answer lots of issues and open more of Pandora's boxes.

This only proved that Raymart Santiago and Claudine are now in a cooling-off stage. Would the mother squeal as well regarding the alleged baby of Marjorie, courtesy of a local politician who is very much married?

Don't test the patience of your mother, girls. The public now knows where you all have gotten the "palaban" attitude, even if it means that you'd fight with your own blood relatives. 

CTO: FUNFARE By Ricky Lo

Gretchen and Claudine Barretto – Drama Queens

With so many brouhahas that have happened before the airing of the 8:30PM timeslot of last night’s local TV, I took the chance of finally being able to sleep way earlier than my usual bedtime. Even if you are not that fond of celebrities or local shows, especially dramas, you may have heard about Claudine Barretto’s agony and pains after finding out that her new show on GMA is going to be pitted against her sister’s MMK episode. Gretchen Barretto, on the other hand, immediately stole the spotlight by resorting to a walkout from her media interview. Both happenings were featured on primetime news, as if these were very important issues and as if these two are still very popular.

Well, they may be popular, but not for good reasons. People only care to listen about them if they are involved in nasty and unpopular situations that they are both so good in meddling with. What’s the whole drama all about? Claudine’s argument is that she pities her parents because they must feel very sad that their daughters are being pitted against each other. For Gretchen, she argues that any parent would be proud that their daughters are dominating a certain timeslot on local TV. For this argument, with or without the walkout, Gretchen clearly gave out the more intelligent response.

As per the teasers that I have watched, I don’t like both. Gretchen’s MMK appears to be too old and very complex. It may appeal to the much older viewers. Claudine’s drama, on the other hand, doesn’t have anything new to offer, except that it’s Claudine on the other channel.

GMA 7 seems to be sticking on a formula drama. If they want to make viewers cry, they will use the story of amnesia or Alzheimer’s, like what was utilized on Claudine’s story. Yeah, it may be heart tugging to see someone you love slowly forgetting about you and even about themselves, but after watching it for the first time and you have already cried, the next time you see the same storyline, you will definitely change channels.

My mother watched both. She said, para walang away (feeling naman nya sya yung nanay ng mga Barretto =). The MMK story started with what seems to be a simple plot. Gretchen’s husband died and so she fell in love with a priest. My mother switched channels to watch Claudine’s. The story basically stuck with what was seen on the teaser. It was not only simple, it was boring. When she tuned in again to MMK, she was surprised when the priest character began abusing Gretchen’s kids because she doesn’t have enough time for him. This is when the real conflict would begin and at this point, the remote control was completely forgotten. My mother said that she even cried while watching MMK. I asked her what she felt while watching Claudine. She said that the story may have been good, but the story telling is bad.

This is a very usual reaction to dramas that are done by GMA 7. Even at the time when they have gotten all good creative people from ABS CBN to create Susan Roces’ drama series during the Christmas season, the end result was not as good as compared with the same genres that are shown on ABS. This may be the reason why GMA sticks with re-hashed and recycled concepts and fantasy series. They still cannot create the kind of drama that can hook the viewers and make them cry.

Oh well, GMA 7 claims that they are still number one, but this must not make them feel secured. There are times when ABS CBN is leading the ratings in Mega and Metro Manila that were supposed to be avid to GMA shows. Or even if this is true, GMA should strive harder to make their stories and storytelling more compelling. They are lucky because it seems like ABS CBN will still be their only stiff competitor for a long time. TV-5 re-launched at the time when they still did not have any good materials for their shows. There are rumors that even Maricel Soriano cannot stand to shoot the crappy scripts being given to her. Maricel needs this to prove that she still is a star, and it won’t help if she’ll be given materials like the ones that Claudine is doing on GMA.

Enough has been said, but going back to the Claudine and Gretchen dominance on Saturday night’s drama block, Gretchen is the clear winner when it comes to the script, acting and overall production. I’m not sure about the ratings though. I am interested to find out who won on this aspect. If ever it would be Claudine, many couch people have surely wasted their time and missed out on their chance to get a good cry or a good night sleep like what I had.

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P.S.

It seems like the ratings have sided with Gretchen as well =)

TNS, March 10: National MMK 31.4/Claudine 14.7;
Mega MMK 23.6/Claudine 17.3;
Metro MMK 26.4/Claudine 14.7