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.

What ABS CBN Must Realize From the Success of Tayong Dalawa?

Now that ABS CBN has finally found a gem that caught a lot of people's attention, thus the consistent high ratings of the show, the network must learn from their past mistakes. Tayong Dalawa, the Kim Chiu and Gerald Anderson starrer is a rich concept with a very good ensemble of the best character actors in Philippine showbiz. The story and its execution is a treat to the viewers.

I never thought that Gerald would be able to convince me that he is poor and that he grew up in Tondo. The young actor proved that learning how to speak in natural Tagalog is not that hard to do even for someone who grew up in the States. This is something that must be admired by the likes of Sam Milby and Martin Nievera, even though the latter seems to have no intention of doing so. Maybe he is still aspiring to achieve a Hollywood career.

I love Kim for the person I knew since PBB days. She is bubbly, hardworking and appears to be a very positive person. Her acting has also improved a lot as she lasts in the industry. The only thing that she must seriously put her heart into is in gaining more weight. We want our champ to be healthy despite the various tasking projects that she is being put into, right?

Kim was the right Jasmine for My Girl. She was so funny at the show. I hope that ABS CBN will soon release a DVD of the series because I am sure, many people are waiting to get hold of one. My Girl had everything right. But it would have been a bigger hit if it was transformed into film. Many TV viewers still knew very much about the story of the said series when it was aired, hence the lower outcome in terms of ratings.

And this is something that the creative bosses of ABS CBN must be very careful about. Do not fill the boob tube with remakes, especially hits like My Girl, that many people would prefer seeing the original version.

This is also true with I Love Betty La Fea. Yeah, the American version launched the career of America Ferrera. The concept was inspired by the original version, but the overall execution veered away from it. As for our TV version of Betty, it seemed to be following the original one at the start. They even copied the face of the Spanish Betty when she was still ugly. But the result became too forced. Bea Alonzo, as well as Vhong Navarro, looked like retards than ugly. Now they seem to be implementing a newer version by introducing unplanned casts, making the story go out of line. They should have done such move from the start. On a positive note, Jericho's appearance on the soap was strong. He could have been a better Armando. And ABS CBN could have used someone who really looks plain in real life, as Betty. They could have used someone from their roster of talents in their big freezer to launch her career as Betty.

But the good thing about I Love Betty La Fea is that it showed some hints that Bea is effective in lighter and slight comedic roles. The material hasn't given her enough scenes to prove the point. I hope that the remakes of Meteor Garden and Lovers in Paris will not push through. It is time to make our own hits. It is time to follow the lead of Tayong Dalawa. After seeing the tandem of Bea and John Lloyd in heavy drama roles, people would love seeing them on a light romantic comedy series that is an original concept.

My now 4-year-old niece watches TV and loves Kim Chiu. So she stays tuned all throughout Betty La Fea, watches Tayong Dalawa, and then we either turn off the TV or watch what the rival network is featuring. The reason for this is ABS CBN's bold move to include a bold series in its lineup. People are not yet ready for series like Eva Fonda. It is so 80s, story wise. And I don't know about the rating of Pinoy Fear Factor, but the show is so gross that it would have been better if they had shown it weekends on a late timeslot.

Another star that is capturing people's interests via Tayong Dalawa is Coco Martin. I have heard of the scandals that he has gotten himself into in the past. I don't know if that will affect his rise to stardom. But his role in the series is meaty and he definitely gives justice to such. He could have passed as the other David Garcia, Jr. People love Gerald. But much as the executives of ABS CBN hate to admit, Jake Cuenca will never be a big star as what they want to portray him to be. If they will insist on it, people will only hate the starlet all the more. There are other qualified stars of ABS CBN than this one. And if he will keep on getting the good roles, the rumor about him being linked to a gay executive of the network won't die.

I have seen the teaser of May Bukas Pa. This will also be something to look forward to if it will be placed on the primetime block. I know, I have watched the concept over and over again through time. But who can resist a cute child with a good story and hopefully good execution to back him up?

The still to-be-seen Judy Ann Santos' soap needs to be seen now, fast. When they thought about the concept, the boom of the nursing profession was the talk of the town. They have to air the soap before people lose interest at such idea.

There are still a lot of factors that the Kapamilya network needs to reconsider before it regains the number one spot in all aspects of the ratings war. It is a good thing though that they seem to be learning from their mistakes by giving us a masterpiece like Tayong Dalawa. The expectation for the next series to be aired next is high. So it better be good. And please show the Judy Ann soap for heaven's sake!

A Recap of the Past and Recent Showbiz Scoops

I know, I know, I have been slacking around towards the end of 2008 up until the start of this year. To all of you who loves the showbiz world and of course the gossips, belated Merry Christmas and New Year as well!

In Hollywood, John Travolta's teenage son was laid to rest. The 16-year-old boy had a seizure that caused his death.

Locally, while everybody was cheering for Manny Pacquiao's win over pretty boy Oscar dela Hoya, the family, fans and friends grieved for the sudden death of young TV personality, Marky Cielo.

Up until now, Marky's death is still a popular subject on text messaging. There are many speculations with regards to the cause of what happened. And people want to hear one voice in this matter, LJ Reyes. Is she pregnant? Did Marky get death threats that caused whatever has happened? There are yet so many unanswered questions. But if the actor chose to forever hold his peace regarding the issue, let us respect that and stop all the hush-hush. I won't talk about it anymore, promise =) … well, not unless something big comes up that has to be blogged.

Brad Pitt in a recent magazine interview acknowledged that he still keeps in touch with Jennifer Aniston. He came on her defense with the negative opinions that Jen received with her "uncool" statement in a magazine interview that was blown out of proportion. As for Jen, she seems to be going fine and happy with her current flame, John Mayer. She shocked us all when she did a sexy GQ magazine cover. I wasn't ready to see my favorite "Friend" too adult and far from being Rachel Green. But she was also shocked because she admitted that it wasn't supposed to be like that. The concept that was presented to her was different from the end product.

Hmm, so what else did I miss? The local news was filled with deceits, lies and cheap issues. First up, Dingdong Dantes and Karylle split. Karylle was asked by Boy Abunda on "The Buzz" if she thinks that Dingdong's rumored girlfriend is pregnant. Karylle smiled while thinking. I was also thinking that time, where did that question come from? There wasn't even a hint or a bit of smoke regarding that. Was Boy testing how Karylle would react? Before the latter could finalize her thoughts, Boy ended the interview, making it look like the poor girl actually hinted that Marian was pregnant.

And then we saw Marian Rivera on the presscon of their movie, crying her heart out and stealing the scene from her co-stars. Was it really Karylle that brought her frustrations? Or was it the reporter who told her upfront that she is "plastikada," meaning that she is really very far from what she's trying to portray in front of the cameras.

Well, as for me, Angel Locsin looks better than Marian who looks old for her age. And Karylle seems to be smarter than her. But Marian is simply lucky. She became her home network's most precious last year. Let's see if she can hold it up to this year when Heart Evangelista appears to be a big threat to her throne on the Kapuso side of the warring networks.

As per the Kapamilya, they retained Deither Ocampo who had almost jumped over the fence last year. They still got Judy Ann Santos, but why are they hiding her? The young superstar isn't visible on any of their shows. They got Karylle… hmm, I still think that she lacks the X factor to be famous like her mom.

Oh God, I refuse to blog about the Vicki Belo-Hayden Kho-Katrina Halili circus. I'm sure you have heard of it. This is just how I look at the matter. Katrina is easy to get. Hayden is a gold digger. And Vicky Belo is very willing to be a sugar mommy (wag lang papahuli)!

Did I miss out on anything? That is the recap of the recent and not-so recent showbiz scoops since the last time I posted till this day. I hope that there will be more blog-worthy events and tsismis in the coming days. Oh please, stop featuring the broken hearted Hayden Kho and don't make him sing his sick composition to his "Vicks." If they have a problem to solve, don't let the public know about it. I'm sure they won't mind. I won't! =)

Jennifer Aniston – On Brad Pitt and Everything Else that Came After

Both their films are set to open come Christmas day. So it is just very natural for us to hear about Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt more and more before their films hit the big screen. And also be prepared to hear more about Angelina Jolie. She's part of the equation now and she will always be, whether we like it or not.

After Jolie gushed over how her romance with Pitt bloomed at the set of Mr. & Mrs. Smith while the latter was still very much married with Aniston, it was expected that people would wanna hear about Jen's reaction. And what she said, of course, toppled off all news about the new US president.

Jennifer told in an interview with Vogue magazine that what Angelina said regarding the issue was very uncool. When Jen sat with Oprah for the promotion of Marley & Me, she explained that she was asked a question that she answered as honestly as she could.

During the Oprah interview, Jen was asked about her former husband. She said that she is happy for him. She appreciates the amazing things that Pitt was able to do for the last couple of years. She exclaimed that she is happy for Mr. & Mrs. Smith, er, Mr. & Mrs. Pitt (or Mr. Pitt & Ms. Jolie?). And she also said that she is over with Pitt and feels like the separation happened 100 years ago.

Oprah was also able to ask Jen about her current flame, John Mayer. Her reply was, "I've been unbelievably lucky in love… It just might not look the way it's supposed to look at this point."

Since Jen's very public split with Brad Pitt and the circumstances that brought the incident, people have been wanting to see her happy and settled. Well, as a fan, John Mayer was not exactly the kind of guy that I imagined her to end up with. But well hey, if he makes her happy, so let it be.

As for the clash of her film with Pitt's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Aniston joked if they can just have a tie. Well, it will be up to the viewing public now. Both films have promising premises. Pitt's movie deals with a man who ages backwards. And Jen's film is about how the world's worst dog was able to change the life of the people it dealt with for the better.

There is Hope for My Only Hope

Okay, so I am still watching My Only Hope, Sundays after ASAP 08 at ABS CBN. First of all, thank you for the obvious effort to bring kilig to the fans. But what used to be a promising start seems to be dwindling to the sloppy-story road.

Come on, creative peeps of ABS CBN, you know you can do better than that. The latest episode seemed to be done on a rush. Yeah, people would love to see the main leads fall in love, kiss, hug and everything else that was shown on the latest episode. But this completely shattered the good foundation of this Sunday drama series.

The show has already set up so many good points.

• Gerald’s emo character has paved the way for this kind of get-up and attitude to become popular and known to this day’s generation. I wasn’t really paying attention to such before My Only Hope aired. And Gerald was good playing the role of Keeno. He really has done a lot to make the character very convincing.

• The Boracay setting for the show’s first airing was a sight of fresh air for weekends’ couch potatoes like me. It was new and it contributed to the excitement over the progress of the story.

• Gerald and Kim have shown lots of improvement in terms of acting. And Enchong Dee must not be overlooked. He is also beginning to show signs of progress by portraying his role the best he can.

• Tomy Abuel, being the veteran actor that he is, showcases what old school and powerful acting is all about. He sets a good example to the younger casts of the show.

• The new guy who plays the role of Rick, Keeno’s brother, is also promising. But he still has to overcome some apparent shyness and learn how to act tougher.

• Kudos to Miguel Escueta for a very fresh, innovative rendition of the main theme. This was like what David Cook has done for Always Be My Baby. Miguel was able to make me forget about the original version of Mandy Moore.

Let’s go to the negative points.

• The story is becoming too predictable. It’s like showcasing the best or memorable scenes from both local and foreign dramas and collating them all on this one. So Keeno was the one who accidentally killed April’s (Kim’s character) father. Jessie (Nina), who already died, has a twin who looks exactly like her. The rich family of Keeno will not approve of his relationship with poor girl, April. Yang (Regine), who has owned up to the responsibility for most of his boyfriend’s expenses, is actually a call girl (oh wow, very 80s eh?) I am just waiting for an amnesia element and I’ll conclude that the creative team for this drama is composed of 50 to 70 year old folks.

• When I watched My Girl, I thought that David Chua who plays April’s brother on this one was only faking his enunciation to make people believe that he cannot speak Tagalog. But hey, he still sounds like he cannot speak the language on this one even if his role is very much a Filipino.

• Another character that wasn’t able to come out of her My Girl’s character is Alex Gonzaga. She was funny at My Girl because she sounded gay and she was supposed to be comic. But now, the manner that she speaks is already becoming too irritating since she is not a funny one in My Only Hope.

The latest episode brought many disappointing turns with regards to the flow of the story.

• After one date, April loves Keeno already. Um, this can be true, I don’t doubt it. I am a believer of true love, naks! But we must remember that April is only recovering or is actually in the process of forgetting about her feelings for Jhun (Enchong’s character). Keeno’s presence must cause her to be very disturbed and lost for rational explanation why she’s all of a sudden feeling the way she does whenever this emo guy is around.

• And Keeno is also recovering from a loss of a loved one and guilt for what happened. It will be better if we will see him fighting his real feelings for April and thwarting her from becoming too close. Rather than saying that he used to dislike people like April who has so much happiness in life, he must have demonstrated that first before becoming involved with her type.

• The Jhun-April story should have been given more depth. It couldn’t end one night after April’s first date with Keeno. It would really be hard to decide, especially when the intention of June (Keeping his promise to April’s dad) was so pure. At June’s proposal, April should instead have said that she’ll think about it. And then she will be torn between the two.

This is the problem when you put in too many details, too many conflicts and loads of characters that have lots of emotional baggage with them, in a series that will only be watched once a week.

Kim, Gerald and Enchong are becoming too good as actors for the confused story that they were made to portray. The creative team should focus more on fixing the story of these three and making it more believable and well-thought of. Forget about the twin of Nina’s character. She shouldn’t be given too much exposure. She might cause a little jealousy between April and Keeno, then she should be out of the scene completely.

While I am on my Kimerald addiction last Sunday, I also saw the trailer of the upcoming primetime teleserye of the two, Tayong Dalawa. They will be with my most hated Kapuso transferee, Jake ‘Yabang’ Cuenca. Oh please, there is no hope for this guy. Throw him back to GMA or to your Kapamilya freezer and thaw one talented actor to hone for the role, just like what you did with Enchong.

As for My Only Hope, I really wish that they can still fix the script before the story becomes too predictable and too old as a concept. If that’s the case, ABS is only proving that they are running out of good creative talents, reason why they have to resort to remakes of hit TV series from other countries. But I know that this is not true, so prove me wrong, will you?

The News that Hit and Failed the Spot

Big News: Barack Obama was elected as the US' 44th President.

Sad News: Jurassic Park author, Michael Crichton died of cancer. He was 66.

Intriguing News: "I'm off women now." That is according to Idol judge, Simon Cowell, after it was reported that he has broken up with long time girlfriend, Terri Seymour. Let's just wait and see if Cowell is bound to the direction that Clay Aiken has gone to.

Get your pillows ready, for here are some boring news:

As for the local showbiz scene here in the Philippines, nothing much is happening. The pages of the dailies as well as online showbiz magazines like PEP, are bombarded with showbiz tidbits about stars who aren't really worthy to be read.

• Karylle and Dingdong breakup. Honestly, when they were still on, did you even follow what was happening to their relationship? Now that they have admitted that they have broken up, after so much beating around the bush, Tsismosa says, SO WHAT?
  
• Marian Rivera's breakup with her non-showbiz boyfriend and her non-involvement with the breakup of Dingdong and Karylle. Yeah, yeah, you know, these people are not using such issues for the promotion of their upcoming boring movie (but I am open to be proven wrong). Believe it or not, Tsismosa says, NEXT!


• Jennylyn Mercado continues to hate Patrick Garcia and she's being very vocal about it. Yeah, it is understandable for this girl to feel that way. But can't she just keep it off the record? It is becoming a redundant issue that no matter how I may sympathize with the girl at first, even if I don't really know her and haven't seen any of her projects, I am just getting too fed up with this. Tsismosa says, ENOUGH ALREADY!


• The Yasmin or Jasmin-JC something calling names or not calling each other by their names hehe! Confused? Me too! I don't even know who these people are. Tsismosa says, SINO DAW!
  
• The sikuhan issue of 2 GMA starlets, Jewel and Bubbles. Owkay... so whose elbow hit what, where and when? Tsismosa says, NEVER MIND!


• Becky Aguila vs Mel Pulmano. The issue? Money! Becky accused Mel of stealing big amount of money from her roster of talents. The controversial manager made it appear that Mel would release some negative publicity about her prized talent, Angel Locsin, if the issue would come out in the public. But have you seen Mel? You know how Becky looks like, eh? I know, a book must never be judged by its cover. But just one look at these 2 and you will get a feeling of who is really telling the truth. As for Ms. Aguila, she has proven how greedy she can be when she chose money over loyalty in the case of Angel when she made her jump off onto a lonelier fence. Tsismosa says, WHAT'S NEW?


• The continuous domination of GMA 7 on Mega Manila's ratings game. I can't really appreciate their shows. Most of them, especially on the primetime block, are too un-original and nakakasawa na! It's not enjoyable to watch stars who lack the needed X-factor to shine. But it's becoming more painful as you get to see them perform in a mediocre way, makaraos lang! Tsismosa says, WORKSHOP YOUR TALENTS, GMA!


• Criselda Volks admitted that she was the girl on the sex video. Um... okay. This girl has done enough damage to her life. She should start cleaning up her acts before it becomes too late. Hay, Tsismosa says, NEXT!


• Snooky Serna has a new man in her life. Okay, good for her, end of issue.


• Willie Revillame's house was robbed. Tsismosa says, DO NOT DO UNTO OTHERS WHAT YOU DO NOT WANT OTHERS DO UNTO YOU.

There are some stars that people love hearing about even if the news is only about their usual day-to-day activities. And there are those who are becoming involved in complicated situations but yet, fail to catch the interest of the viewing public. This only means that not because you are in the news, not because you've got the most headlines on PEP, or your manager is writing about your feats in showbiz columns at Pilipino Star Ngayon or even The Philippine Star and Inquirer, means that people actually care about you.

Showbiz news, especially on the local scene, can never be the measurement of who is hot and who is not in the industry. There are really those "stars" who fail to hit the spot no matter what they do for the sake of being talked about.

Prove Me Wrong, Marian and Dingdong

GMA network is confident about their newest gems, Marian and Dingdong, enough to produce a film for this love team. The two rose into fame when Angel Locsin decided to leave GMA to what she (or her pa-kontrobersiyal manager) thought would be a better choice (but is proving to be disastrous). The team-up was warmly accepted by the public via the TV show "Marimar," despite their lack of good acting abilities.

Through time, the two keep on proving that they really have captivated the hearts of the boob-tube fanatics. They have been trusted with product endorsements as well. Their latter venture hinted that they are not that picky with the projects that they get. Marian looked like a bold star with her last ad for a soap or something. I can't recall because I always change the channel whenever she's on. And they have done ads for liquors and alcoholic beverages. I will not be surprised if they will agree on endorsing condoms in the coming days. But this is just my take on this.

Personally, I don't like Marian. There is something about her that turns me off. I stopped buying the products that she endorses. As for Dingdong, I used to like him way back his TGIS days. But through time, I still haven't seen him grow as an actor. He seems to be following the career path of Piolo Pascual. But one thing that he has to improve on is the reality that Piolo can act while Dingdong still has to do a lot of catching up.

I hope that Dingdong will really take his profession seriously. He will not forever look like a hunk. He has to show some real tears and poignant emotions before he loses the body that he is becoming more known for.

I cannot blame Dingdong though, or Richard Gutierrez for this matter. These two are popular stars of these days that lack the ability to convince people about what real emotions are all about. They are not still being given the right roles to hone their craft. They are continuously pampered with the kind of roles that their network thinks they can handle. Richard's non-acting prowess isn't that much obvious with fantaseryes or action fantasy series. Dingdong can just flaunt his hot bod and no one would mind if he is carrying out a sloppy performance.

GMA still has a lot to learn from ABS CBN in handling talents (but do not follow their lead in freezing their careers), especially those who are on the rise. John Lloyd wouldn't be where he is now had ABS CBN did not plan his career right. This also goes for Lloydie's team-up with Bea.

Unlike the Marian and Dingdong love team, John Lloyd and Bea took calculated steps in order to become successful multimedia artists. ABS planned what roles they must play, when they would be allowed to kiss on TV, then on films, when they would be given more matured roles, etc. This way, the two are becoming prepared and honed for the next roles that come their way.

With the Marimar duo, people have already seen them do everything on TV. They kissed, made love, kissed, shown off some skin, kissed and well, this is where they are good at, kissing.

What more can people expect from their film that they still haven't seen them do on TV? The only thing that is left for them to do is frontal nudity that I don't think they would be willing to do just yet. And knowing GMA Films' track record when it comes to love stories, the soon-to-be-released Marian-Dingdong film will be a familiar one and something that will not prompt the non-fans to pay at the cinemas just so to catch the film.

The non-fans are the people behind the success of films like "A Very Special Love." These are the people who are only waiting for good movies and do not really care about the stars. Yeah, Sarah Geronimo and John Lloyd Cruz already have a following of their own. But the non-fans helped the movie hit its blockbuster status.

And how is GMA going to promote the film of Marian and Dingdong – Kakaiba? Maraming halikan? May bed scene? GMA may appear to be the number one network in Mega Manila. But Mega Manila is not the whole Philippines. And the sources of ratings are only composed of few households. Are these people who brought the pair to stardom on the little screen will be willing to pay their hard-earned money to see the team-up on the big screen?

I doubt it. But I am very much open to be proven wrong.

Jennifer Hudson – In Times of Grief

Jennifer Hudson's world started crumbling down Friday after the murder of her mother and brother. But the singer/actress and an American Idol alumna fought back to bring justice and at the same time, kept her hopes up in finding her missing 7-year-old nephew who was with the slain victims at the time of the crime.

To make matters worse, the boy was found, Monday, at the backseat of a 1994 Chevy Suburban that was abandoned at Chicago's West Side, dead and was shot multiple times.

As of today, police say that this crime is domestic related. The Chicago police have taken William Balfour into custody. He is the estranged husband of the mother of the slain child, Jennifer Hudson's sister, Julia, although he is not the father of Jennifer's nephew.

Balfour spent almost 7 years in prison and was out on parole. He was convicted before for attempted murder, hijacking and possession of stolen vehicle. He is now being held for parole violations which were not related to the Hudson investigation. Balfour's mother denied her son's involvement with the killings.

Jennifer's colleagues in the industry and the American Idol judges expressed their support for the actress/singer. This may be a tough time for Jen. She had a lot going on for her. Her star is on the rise and she has also gotten engaged this year.

For Jen and her family, may you find peace, justice and the courage to be able to stand tall and strong and fill the holes that the tragedy has created after all these hurdles.

Still Crying Over Grave of the Fireflies

I was expecting to cry. But I did not expect that I will not easily get over the depression that it brought.

Life is a hopeless venture. This was what I deemed as the theme of Isao Takahata’s powerful animated film, Grave of the Fireflies.

I have heard so much about it and I’ve been wanting to see the film. I finally got a DVD copy. On a Sunday, I sat with my 3-year-old niece and we watched it together. I was telling to her the story all along.

We instantly got hooked. I, as an adult and the child beside me can easily relate with the protagonists love for their mother and their love for one another. The movie was set at the latter part of the World War II in Japan when times were tough and people were all hard up as to how they will get their food and how they will go on with their lives.

The focus of the film was with the journey of Seito, the big brother in his teens and Setsuko, the adorable child, who is maybe the same age as my niece and even looks slightly similar.

Every emotion was poignant. Every hurdle that the siblings face that leads to other obstacles was well-planted.

I kept on telling my niece what was happening in the film until I could no longer bear the tears. My niece asked me why was the movie so sad. I told her that because it was the kind of life that people experienced during the time of war. Towards the end of the film, I was telling my niece why Setsuko died. It was shown that the child was left by Seito by herself because the brother had to look for food so that they will not starve.

Setsuko, being an innocent one, will try to entertain herself. She will play with insects. She will create anything out of nothing. This includes make believe food made out of mud that she would eat because no one was there to look out for her when she was on the age when she still has to be constantly looked after by an adult.

But the siblings had no other choice but to do what they had done. They could have made better or wiser decisions. They could have just apologized to the family who once had made them stay at their home. But what do they know? They were only children.

I don’t want to tell you the complete story. It was a marvel to watch it, but be prepared to get really depressed. Watch it with your family. This will make you treasure the littlest things that you have in life. This will make you go on even if you think that life is difficult because you will realize that it can be worse, that it can be tougher.

Cristy Fermin is Out, Who’s Next?

The latest development about one of the most hated showbiz host, writer and reporter, Cristy Fermin, is welcome news to all local tsismosos and tsismosas. Ms. Fermin was suspended for two months as anchorperson of DZMM’s Showbiz Mismo and co-host of ABS CBN’s Sunday showbiz-oriented show, The Buzz.

If you have read my previous post, you will know that I am among the happy tsismosas these days because of what happened. Now I think that ABS CBN can focus its attention on giving The Buzz its needed boost by letting Kris Aquino (just a suggestion) grab the mic from the silenced Femin. It will also be of added value if someone who is funny will be included on the show. I wonder why John Lapuz was ever axed from it when he/she is more enjoyable to watch than Joebert Sucaldito. But who is deserving of the spot?

There are fans clamoring for Ogie Diaz’s TV comeback along with his Locomotion gimmick on The Buzz. Ogie has been recently axed on his morning show on ABS CBN, Umagang Kay Ganda, because he had conducted services as a member of the press which was in conflict to his role as a UKG co-host. Well I admit that Diaz is funny and the Locomotion is nakakaloka. But this guy has also gotten himself into trouble with fans because of his biased reporting about celebrities, including the Kapamilya stars. And this is how Cristy started to get herself into the mud. She is biased. She sticks to what she was paid to believe in and will even include innocent children to her expose just to make her statements sound true.

According to the official statement of ABS CBN that I read over Inquirer.net:

“It was deemed that Ms. Fermin did not conduct herself with due regard to social conventions and public morals. Her statements went beyond the bounds of decency as they involved innocent children who are not party to their personal dispute. Ms. Fermin's statements violated the highest standards of professionalism and journalistic integrity.”

This is a good move for ABS CBN to start cleaning up their acts and give people what they want and what they deserve. So who will be next to be voted out? I’d go for Willie Revillame and then Mariel Rodriguez. What a delight TV viewing will be if we will no longer see these kinds of people who fill the boob tubes despite the fact that people want them removed.

What happened to Cristy Fermin must also be an eye-opener for showbiz reporters and showbiz-oriented shows to be responsible with the power they were given as part of the media spectrum. You don’t know the gravity of the effects of the tsismis you bring out for all people to devour to the celebrities involved in those. Stars, despite the glitz and glamour, are also humans. They deserve to be respected and their private lives must stay private.