Kim Chiu and Xian Lim Star in Bakit Hindi Ka Crush Ng Crush Mo

After the hit flick, Monsters University and the oooh-so cute Minions on Despicable Me 2, watching a local rom-com with today's hottest loveteam would be a sure-fire treat. This July, Kim Chiu and Xian Lim will bring to life the phenomenal self-help book by Ramon Bautista, Bakit Hindi Ka Crush Ng Crush Mo?

CTO: James Banaag

Aside from the oozing chemistry of the pair and the proven wittiness of the book's author, no other than Bb. Joyce Bernal is at its helm. Here's a quick teaser of the film, Bakit Hindi Ka Crush Ng Crush Mo?

CTO: Pacifist Thug

Random Thoughts about Paano na Kaya

I did not write my review on Kim Chiu and Gerald Anderson’s film, Paano na Kaya, after I have seen it on its first day of showing,so as not to burst the bubble of my friends or relatives who were planning to see it. You see, I’m a fan of these two and I wouldn’t have missed this for anything. The trailer was good, but the film was one confused material.

It was evident that the director was nervous that he would make the bosses happy and at the same time, this film would gross well by giving what the fans would like to see. It has all elements that we have seen before. It was very Star Cinema, in a bad light. I was with my 5-year-old niece when I watched it. We both thought that this was going to be fun, sort of Cathy Molina-ish(?). When the story begins to become a drag, my niece asked me, “Bakit parang TV na? Akala ko ba comedy, pero bakit umiiyak na naman si Kim Chiu?”

I wonder how this material was originally written, because it must be a very good piece. There are times when you don’t really have to inject family stories into a romance material just so Mr. Film Critic won’t ask, now where is this character coming from. With so many angles that it tried to explore, the outcome became “sabog” with so many actors left with no speaking lines because they were not that important and in fact, the movie could have been done without them.

Ruel Bayani, the director, must have been given time to relax after Tayong Dalawa, so he could have prepared more for this material. In all fairness, he handled the kilig scenes way better than how Lino Cayetano did on I’ve Fallen for You. There were many good scenes and good lines, but the main problem remains to be the very thin story and confused story telling.

Despite this, I was forced to come back and watch this film for the second time last Valentine’s Day. Since watching it the first time, my niece wanted to go back and watch the Kimerald starrer every single day. We only obliged come happy hearts day and at the time, the cinema was forever SRO, a proof that no matter what the quality of the film is, people are still going to spend to see this very well loved love team on the big screen. And I am also very sure that I’ll be asked to buy the DVD copy of this movie and need to be prepared to deal with hundred rounds of replays, or else my niece won’t give me any peace.

I just hope that Star Cinema will give Kim and Gerald another project soon, and this time, give them a good story, period. We are not really after good and memorable lines and we’re not even asking for numerous kissing scenes. At these hard times and when money is getting so hard to be earned, moviegoers should demand quality above everything else.

Star Cinema's In My Life - Something to Watch Out For

Wow, John Lloyd Cruz is the man! That was what I thought after seeing the full trailer of "In My Life" yesterday. He was so into his character. He was so gay - aaaw! Now this is the kind of film that has the makings of succeeding in the tilts. It was so natural. There seems to be no pretensions.

Unlike "And I Love You So," "In My Life" focused on the story so after seeing the trailer, you will know if you are going to watch it or not. "And I Love You So" tried convincing people that it was a good film by bombarding us with so many "too good to be true" dialogues and lines which were said by the characters in the film. As a moviegoer, I wouldn't be convinced to see the film just because Bea or Connie or Sam said the most cheesy line I have ever heard my entire life. They got so engrossed in looking for these lines that they forgot to market the film in a way that it would be appreciated by many, just like how "In My Life" is currently doing.

I haven't seen Bea's film and I don't have any plans. It did not offer anything new. Even Bea appeared to be old with the kind of story. We've seen same acting from Bea in her past films. They should have given her something different, like what they have let John Lloyd tackle in his new film.

But I may be wrong, maybe it clicked like what is being announced on ABS CBN shows lately. And even if it flopped, people would only attribute that to the fact that the movie wasn't shown on SM cinemas.

Another thing that makes "In My Life" a stand-out as compared with "And I Love You So" was the right pairing of John Lloyd and Ms. Vilma Santos. They owned the screen and the film that even if sometimes I get distracted by Luis Manzano's amateurish attack on his role, especially when he was crying to his mom (ampanget nya umiyak hehe!), I forget about him immediately after seeing scenes with both John Lloyd and Vilma.

The only thing that must be resolved right now is the conflict between SM and Star Cinema. They should act on it fast because they will both lose big time if "In My Life" will suffer from the same fate as "And I Love You So."

And I Love You So - Another Flop in the Making?

All those who think that the upcoming Star Cinema flick, And I Love You So, will become a hit, please raise your hands. This film is very important to Bea Alonzo's career. The first time she has tried to veer away with her team-up with John Lloyd, via Dream Boy with Piolo Pascual, it was a flop. This can be attributed to the fact that even they were big TV and film stars at the time, they did not have the magic and chemistry when paired up.

The other half of Bea (in TV and films), John Lloyd Cruz, was able to succeed even without his perennial love team. The John Lloyd and Sarah Geronimo team-up used the old kilig concept of love that opposites attract that made them Box Office King and Queen.

Now that Bea is once again trying to prove that she can make it without John Lloyd, I doubt that this film is the material for such goal. It would already be shown some time this month, but until now, I still can't get what the story is all about. What they are trying to market at this point is that Bea was bolder in this film, literally. I don't think that would help much to convince the female moviegoers that they should give this a try.

Sam, Sam, Bea is with Sam Milby in this film. I don't know about his fans, but I don't like his current appearance, especially his hair. He doesn't look tidy anymore. In terms of magic, Star Cinema could have tried to place Anne Curtis instead of Bea. The other leading man, Derek Ramsay, would not help much to the success of this film. The guy is plainly overexposed. He really has a good backer, er, manager, for him to land good roles both in TV and films even though he doesn't have as much following as his other contemporaries.

Star Cinema should really think hard about their lineup. After T2 did not do well in the tills, they've shown another horror flick, Villa Estrella. I suppose that the latter did not do any well in terms of earnings because I've never heard anything after it was shown. This was due to the fact that the actors of the said film are still not capable of making it big in films, because they also haven't proven their worth on TV either.

And now comes Bea's film, And I Love You So. Is this going to break the flop curse for Star Cinema? I think that Bea has enough following for the movie to earn some, but not as big as expected.

I just hope that Star Cinema would soon utilize actors that people want to see in films. Enough of Derek Ramsay and Jake Cuenca, please. And they should also be able to give memorable stories with unique plot points that will make people want to see the films after they have seen some snippets and teasers of these.

Sarah Geronimo Must Be Careful in Choosing Her Next Leading Man

With the success of A Very Special Love and its sequel, You Changed My Life, everybody seems to be in high spirits that a new Superstar was born. People are raving about Sarah Geronimo, how great she is and how she was able to achieve so much. Even Inquirer's entertainment columnist, Nestor Torre, weighed in on who is more deserving to sit on Sharon Cuneta's throne, should it be Sarah or KC Concepcion. But is Sarah the real reason why the said movies hit on the Box Office? I doubt it.

Personally, I went to see the first film because of John Lloyd. But I didn't get a chance to see the second one, although it's still on my plans. And yet again, I'll be watching it because of the male lead and the story. And I'll be interested to see the film even if it was Bea Alonzo playing the lead girl, or someone of Sarah's age like Kim Chiu.

I don't really have anything against Sarah. She is bubbly and she always seems to be happy. And that is what people love about her. She's fun to see. But that I think is not enough for people to see a movie just because she's in it.

There are talks that Viva and Star Cinema are planning to pair Sarah with Gerald Anderson. Now you don't want to touch something that is not broken, which is the Kimerald love team. How do these two companies think the fans would react? This is not the same case with the John Lloyd-Bea team-up. This pair has done lots of films and has graced many soap operas with the two of them as leads before they were paired off with anybody else.

As for Kim and Gerald fans, it is only normal that they will react violently about the issue of the latter being paired with Sarah. Yes, they have done a movie together, a launching movie that was like a music video stretched for more than an hour. It was a bad story, bad direction and a bad choice of launching material for a team-up that has a solid following. Now they are proving their worth by acting the best that they can give through the soap opera, Tayong Dalawa.

With TD's success, Star Cinema should be given a hint that it is high time to let this love team prove that they can do onscreen what they have achieved on TV. They should be given a good material and not a mediocre one like their first film. Their entry on the Manila Film Fest was also successful. It could have been more successful if only it was not of a horror genre and if Ms. Tadyang of the Kapuso network was not part of the trilogy.

Instead of thinking who should be paired with Sarah next, Star Cinema should focus more on who should they pair up with John Lloyd. Sarah may be popular, but she definitely is still not a Superstar. She has the makings to be one. But she still has a lot to prove and she has to do something with her voice. She no longer sounds as good as she used to when she was only starting (overexposure?).

As for the third installment of her team-up with John Lloyd, the creative team behind it should come up with something really unique but still fun. After that, Sarah should experiment on more serious roles, like how Sharon Cuneta did on Pasan Ko ang Daigdig. And she should be given a chance to shine without a known leading man. If she will be able to pull it off, then by all means, give her the crown and the title of being a genuine Superstar.

Why I Chose Benjamin Button Over Papa Piolo?

I was able to sit through 2 hours and 39 minutes and got to know all the characters and understood the complex story of Brad Pitt's Oscar-nominated film, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. The story is about a man who ages backwards. The story telling was unique. But if you want to watch it, you must make sure that you've eaten enough or you have snacks with you. It is longer than what I expected it to be.

At times, the story becomes dragging that leaves me thinking, why am I still holding on? Why am I still sitting and watching the film? True to the title, you will become curious as to how his life would end. It was so perfect. He did not even get himself into any big time accidents. And that was something that I find to be the movie's main flaw.

Again, the storytelling was great. It was full of emotions. It was human. This is mainly because of the path that Benjamin's life was leading to, the revelations to the daughter and the emotions of the lover who would later act as a mother to the father of her child. All the characters were given their own spotlights. You will know each of them to the core after finishing the film.

What makes this something to watch out for is the uniqueness of its story. But aside from the acting and the technical aspects of the film, I don't think that this one deserves an Oscar trophy. But for all the efforts that was made to make me understand everything about how it's like to grow young, the money that I spent to see this film was all worth it.

Love Me Again

As much as I want to show my support to Piolo Pascual for his latest movie project under Star Cinema, I can't convince myself to go see this film. I am a certified Piolo fan. But after watching the trailer over and over again at the Kapamilya network, it made two impressions to me. Piolo is handsome. Angel is beautiful.

The focus became more on how would they be able to utilize the locations, Bukidnon in the Philippines and Australia. They used a very used concept and story that has been shown and rehashed not only in films but on soap operas as well. It was obvious that Star Cinema just wanted to give Angel Locsin a project fast, before the former Kapuso talent regrets her decision of jumping over to the Kapamilya fence.

Having two beautiful leads is not enough for a moviegoer to see the film. I don't think that this is a success, no matter how the network may later try to argue such statement. What went wrong? Here are only some of my sentiments.

1. The concept of Lobo, the TV series where the Angel-Piolo tandem first teamed up was too complicated to be fleshed out on TV. This may be the reason why it did not also leave any positive impression to the TV viewing public, whereas, the concept of Love Me Again appears to be so thin to be even made into film.

2. The producers should have experimented more on Angel. She hasn't still proven her bankability in terms of films. And the team-up doesn't have enough following yet. So it was really a bold move to place the two on a very simple concept that would have earned more if it was Piolo and Judy Ann Santos on the screen. Such partnership has legions of fans that are willing to see their idols onscreen even for such a concept as this film.

3. It opened when some of the movies which were part of the Manila Film Fest last year were still showing. I would rather catch up watching Baler (although I did not hehe!), knowing beforehand that at least it won the Best Picture award, than to waste my money on a film that I knew from the teasers I really wouldn't like.

4. Instead of a love story, they could have casted the two on a heavy family drama feature, ala-Tanging Yaman, that people will be interested to watch and rave about even after it was shown. This is the kind of career move that Angel needs badly now, to create a good impression, that ABS CBN, nor Star Cinema have not given her the chance to do as of yet.

In these times when money is so hard to earn, movie producers must give people more than enough reasons to convince them that it will all be worth it to catch their films.

I’VE FALLEN FOR YOU, KIMERALD

Who isn’t familiar with “Kimerald”? Even my 2-year-old niece knows them, only she calls them “Poknat” and “Bokbok,” Kim and Gerald’s nicks for the soap opera they last did, “Sana Maulit Muli.”

Kimerald is Kim Chiu and Gerald Anderson, products of the “Pinoy Big Brother – Teen Edition.” They become famous inside the house for how they developed closeness to each other, even the network, which was airing the show, was not prepared for these two to be “it”. The network groomed the teens for different partners. It even had to edit most of Kim and Gerald’s sweet moments inside the house just to make it appear that these two were falling for the partners that the network picked for them. But then no one could no longer deny it and the network would not be able to air anything happening inside the house because all that was happening was that Kim and Gerald were “falling” in a deep friendship, (naks, showbiz na showbiz!)

But even if I am a fan, I still don’t want them to commit into a relationship because it’s still too early. And it’s more “kilig” if they’re still in the courting stage.

After an out-of-the-box concept for their first primetime soap, Star Cinema, the film arm of the network, which launched these two, decided to give them a “very” “gasgas” “cliché” story for their first movie.

And I am really not so happy.

When I first watched the trailer of “I’ve Fallen for You,” Kimerald’s launching movie, which would be shown here in Manila, Philippines on September 26, I didn’t finish it. I’ve more kiligs googling the two and finding pictures and write-ups about them. There is nothing really new that this film has to offer.

I even read the director, Lino Cayetano, saying in an interview, that he is not the kilig-type of director, so when it comes to scenes like that, he just lets Kim and Gerald do their own thing and it always comes out more kilig than he expected it to be.

But that’s how Kimerald has always been, kilig. They’re just standing next to each other and their fans would go crazy.

There was even a scene in the trailer where they were cooking, Kim and Gerald, and they were tickling each other and laughing, hmmm… very PBB, ain’t it?

But this movie has a nice plot. I know that this was intended for Sandara-Hero, but hmm, the two have decided that they’ve had enough, maybe, and went on their separate unsuccessful showbiz ways…

Going back to Kimerald, (sayang talaga ang Hero-San, they have lots of potential), the movie is really about two people having one name, they share one full name. And cute, di ba? It could have been played out to the max. This could have been a Joyce Bernal movie and this will be a riot with the type of kilig that we, as fans, are looking for. Or whoever did the Kimerald’s “Nescafe” commercial would have come out with something fresher than this one, had he or she only directed the film. (But great work on the commercial, something fresh to the eyes, something that fans are not so familiar seeing Kimerald on).

Lino Cayetano, as a new director, wants to prove something – he wants to do a film, which is somewhat socially relevant, the “not your ordinary kilig film” type. Well, Star Cinema should have gotten him veteran actors like Judy Ann Santos and Piolo Pascual, who have already proven their blockbuster abilities and not the likes of Kimerald who are into their launching film.

I am still giving the film the benefit of the doubt. I’ll be watching it because I am a trulili “Kimerald.” I’ll be going to the movie theater on September 26, just because I love the pair, not because I want to see it to enjoy a quality “kilig” film. Heck, they could have done this plot for their soap opera, and “Sana Maulit Muli” could have been their launching movie, and that would suit me, as a fan, much better.

To the fans of Kim Chiu and Gerald Anderson, let’s see this film so that Star Cinema would give the pair a “better” film the next time around. And to ABS CBN, here’s hoping that if ever you have something cooking up for the Kimerald pair, let it be something “out-of-the-box” like “Sana Maulit Muli.” Yes, like that, but please stick to the original story and not, “Oh, kumikita siya, pahabain pa natin kahit pilit na” type, like what happened to that soap. Sayang. But that’s another story.



I will watch this definitely, hoping that I would be surprised to see that what I perceived to be “cliché” is wrong after all. Good luck, Kimerald!