Entertainment

Gerald gives up on Sarah

• Prev
• 1 of 2
• Next

‘[Sarah’s parents] want Sarah and Gerald to be just good friends.’

JULIE Ann San Jose is delighted that her Sunday afternoon show with Elmo Magalona, “Together Forever,” is rating very high. 

“At least, hindi kami napahiya as we were able to maintain the high ratings ng sinundan naming show, ‘Tween Hearts’,” she says. “At very positive ang feedback ng lahat. Nagagandahan daw sila. Marami pang twists sa show, like ngayon, nalaman na ni Elmo as Ely na ampon lang pala siya. Kapag na-sustain daw namin ang magandang ratings, baka ma-extend kami so I really want to thank all our fans who support the show.”

Aside from the weekly show, two other big events are waiting for her. Her self-titled debut album with GMA Records will be launched on August 12 in “Party Pilipinas” and the movie she’s doing with Elmo, “Just One Summer,” will open in theaters on August 15.

“The album has 10 tracks, with six original songs and four revivals. The movie naman, directed by Mac Alejandre, has three shooting days na lang at tapos na. Kasama namin dito ni Elma sina Alice Dixson, Cherry Pie Picache, Joel Torre and Boboy Garovillo as our parents, with Gloria Romero as my lola and Sheena Halili as my friend.”

Blessings continue to come her way. The Tatt Awards (from Globe Tattoo) gave her the People’s Choice Award and the Trending Personality title. With Elmo, she shares the Most Stylish Loveteam award given by the 1st Candy Style Awards.

***

Eula Caballero was at the screening of “Bwakaw” at CCP. “Bilang suporta po kay Tito Eddie Garcia who’s my lolo in ‘Third Eye’ that start on TV5 last Sunday night,” she says. “Ang galing-galing niya sa movie and I’m so happy to be given the chance to work with him in ‘Third Eye.’ Kapag hindi siya satisfied sa scene namin, siya pa ang nagsasabi sa director na ulitin para mas mapaganda. Very caring siya. Kapag magte-take na’t di pa ko ready, he says teka muna, inaayusan pa si Cassandra.”

She plays Cassandra in “Third Eye,” a girl born with psychic powers but her third eye was closed when she was still a child. She asks her lolo to reopen it after her boyfriend, Victor Silayan, goes missing and she wants to find him. “In each new episode, may naiiwang clue kunsaan matatagpuan ang missing boyfriend ko kaya ‘di mo bibitiwan talaga ang panonood.”

After working with Nora Aunor in “Sa Ngalan ng Ina,” she welcomes working with Lorna T in “Third Eye.” “Grabe’ng energy niya. She brings sunshine sa set. Kahit late na, buhay na buhay pa siya, nagpapakwela. Pero pag take na, she’d say, o kids, tama na ‘yan, ‘pag trabaho, trabaho na para mabilis tayo. When she felt ‘di pa ako at ease sa kanya. She called me: ‘Anak, halika, come closer para magka-rapport tayo.’”

Is it true she’s now on with Ivan Dorshner of ABS-CBN? 

“No. Leading man ko lang siya in ‘Ride to Love,’ a movie with Regal. One shooting day na lang, tapos na. Wala ngang nanliligaw sa’kin. Busy rin naman ako as I went back to school in Angelicum to finish high school. I intend to go to college after this kasi ‘yun ang condition ng parents ko when I joined showbiz.”

***

What is the real score between Sarah Geronimo and Gerald Anderson? Those who saw how sweet Sarah is to Gerald when he guested in her TV show (with her calling him Babe), swear something romantic is already going on between them. Fans of their love team were even jubilant as there’s news Sarah is about to give her “matamis na oo” to Gerald who’s been courting her for six months now. Gerald agreed to Sarah’s wish for him to visit her at home to show his serious intentions for her. She accepts him warmly each time he visits and even cooks for him.

But now, the latest rumor is that Gerald has given up and no longer woos her as she told him they have to wait for the right time. Is it true Sarah’s parents still cannot accept that she’ll have a boyfriend even if she already turned 24 on July 25? They want Sarah and Gerald to be just good friends.

“Sumuko na si Gerald,” someone said. “He’s trying his best to win the whole family but walang nangyayari. They were not even together noong birthday ni Sarah kasi nasa Bangkok siya. Noong concert ni Sarah, they’re supposed to have a duet on stage pero tumutol ang parents niya at sa daddy niya siya nakipag-duet. So during the show, bumaba na lang si Sarah at nilapitan si Gerald sa audience at kinantahan ito.”

***

TV director Manny Palo makes an impressive film debut in “Sta. Niña,” a film that asks loaded questions about faith, piety, sin, guilt, religious and superstitious beliefs of local folks who believe in miracles. There are no concrete answers given since, ultimately, faith is really a matter of personal choice of whether you’d believe or not. Some folks compare this to “Himala” but that would be unfair.

“Sta. Niña” can definitely stand on its own and we think it’s a better realized work.

The film starts with Pol (Coco Martin), who works in the sand quarries of Pinatubo, finding the coffin of his two-year-old daughter, Marikit, who died 10 years ago and was lost in the floods. Her body remains intact and Pol takes the coffin home, not knowing what to do with it. Soon, word gets around about it and people start congregating in his home, swearing that Marikit healed their diseases. Pol wants the church to make her a saint and cannot understand there’s a formal process for this.

As the film unfolds, we learn that Marikit is the product of an incestuous relationship between Pol and his cousin, Madel (Alessandra de Rossi), which fostered animosity among their families, particularly Madel’s mom (Irma Adlawan), who continues to remind them of their sin even if they have since found other partners.

The film offers compelling performances from Coco and Alessandra, especially the latter who doesn’t embroider her performance but still gives a much felt, no-frills interpretation of her role, delivering all her lines with searing conviction.

The supporting performances in “Sta. Niña” are even more astounding: Anita Linda as Coco’s senile grandma suffering from dementia, Irma Adlawan as the bitter mom, Angel Aquino as Coco’s sister nun, Lui Manansala as the governor’s wife who’s healed by Marikit and Nanding Josef as the parish priest. Nor Domingo’s cinematography is a big plus, with its bleak but stunning shots of the lahar-strewn surroundings. This is indie filmmaking at its best and it certainly warrants a wider theatrical release. 

When we watched it at Trinoma, the theater was full and the ticket seller told me when I was choosing my seat: “Malakas ho talaga kasi si Coco Martin.”

***

After his debut in the moving family drama, “Niño,” director Loy Arcenas chooses a black comedy for his second film, “Requieme,” a combination of requiem and the gay word “kiyeme.” Its characters are all looking for something to give more meaning to their unhappy lives.

This excursion into dark human behavior is evident in Shamaine Buencamino, a barangay captain, and her husband, Rez Cortez. They have a lechon business and Rez cheats on his wife to gain some money on the side. When a distant relative of Shamaine kills a famous designer in the US (inspired by the Versace-Cunanan murder case), she moves heaven and earth to get the body of the killer for burial in Manila so she can use it to forward her own political career.

Shamaine tries her best to contact with the killer’s mom from whom the boy has long been estranged. The irony of it is that she herself is estranged from her only son, Anthony Falcon as Joanna, as she cannot accept his being gay. Joanna lives in with his boyfriend and earns a living as a seamstress-designer. He has a heart of gold and this is seen when he sacrifices the money he saving for a cosmetic procedure (he wants to have boobs) for the wake and funeral of the old shoemaker in their neighborhood who died without any relatives.

“Requieme” is a film difficult to make for the indie circuit and its limited budget because it requires a very large ensemble cast (there are more than 30 characters with speaking lines) that deals with serious issues like family, being an OFW, homosexuality, dying single and alone, politics. They obviously spent more as even the news footage scenes about the murder in the US involving Robert Sena as the newscaster, Jake Macapagal as a Philippine consulate official, Raquel Villavicencio as a psychiatrist, and other actors were especially shot for the movie. It also has several locations, particularly when Joanna was looking for the long-lost relative of his dead friend.

Although not all the threads of the story work (the scenes involving the remains of an OFW that was lost in transit seem to belong to another movie), we admire Arcenas for his daring in coming up with such an ambitious project. The scenes showing Joanna going through all sorts of bureaucratic difficulties in having the shoemaker buried are rather overdrawn, but it underlines his basic humanity. That’s why we are somehow hoping he’d be reconciled with his mom when Shamaine gets into the same eatery with him. He recognizes his mom but instead of acknowledging her, he decides to leave in a hurry. As he earlier told his boyfriend, “Hindi na ako babalik sa amin.” And with that, Arcenas decides to end the movie on a heartbreaking note that makes us feel sorry for them. Both Shamaine and Anthony deliver sterling performances they should get acting nominations at the very least.

Related Articles