THE love team of Kim Molina and Jerald Napoli’s made it when they were paired in the sleeper hit “Jowable.” This was followed by “Ang Babaeng Walang Pakiramdam” and their try at drama in “Ako at Ikaw at ang Ending.” They didn’t have any movie for last year, but now, they’re back in “Girlfriend Na Puede Na,” the initial offering of Viva Films in theaters this New Year 2023.
The romcom is written by Noreen Capili and Aya Anunciacion, and directed by Benedict Mique. Kim plays the girlfriend of Gab Lagman. Her heart was broken when she heard Gab telling his friends that Kim is the type of “girlfriend na puede na.” Which means she is just so-so and he has no plans of taking her seriously.
Her own friends then told her to get a guy who will pretend to be her new boyfriend to make Gab jealous. And this guy is – tada! – Jerald Napoles. To make Jerald more presentable, they dress him up and groom him to be more dashing and better looking.
It’s been ten years since she and Jerald met in the play “Rak of Aegis” and they’re still together. What does she like and what doesn’t she like in Jerald?
“Pareho kaming mag-isip. We have the same goals in life. You can consider me as babaeng Jerald and he, lalaking Kim. Marami rin kaming ayaw sa isa’t isa, but we always make it a point that when we clash, we talk about it and we eventually realize that we still have a lot of things to be grateful for about each other. And so, we’re still together.”
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Sid Lucero is so lucky. He ended 2022 with “Bugso” with Ayanna Misola (now streaming on Vivamax) and starts 2023 with “Night Bird” with Christine Bermas (streams beginning January 13.) What’s his role in “Bugso,” directed by Adolf Alix Jr?
“I play Dado, driver ako ni Ayanna as Estella pero lover din niya ako at partner niya sa sexual acts na pinagagawa sa kanya ng customers niya,” he says.
How is it working with beginners like Ayanna in “Bugso” and Christine Bermas in “Night Bird” when he already has so many acting awards?
“I don’t see myself naman as Sid Lucero, an award-winning actor . I don’t leave the house thinking I’m an actor with acting trophies to show and baguhan lang sila. I’m always excited to work with new actors and help them. I see to it that I’m very approachable and they can talk to me about anything about our roles.”
Ayanna says they have a bed scene where Direk Adolf ordered her to pull down his briefs and she was surprised because he was not wearing any plaster.
“Yes, and I’m embarrassed. Ambilis ng kasi ng mga pangyayari. Nang sabihin ni direk alisin ang briefs ko, I didn’t know ipapagawa pala ‘yun and action na agad. It’s hard for a male to get into a strictly professionoal mood right away from the get go, specially in our industry where everything is sexualized. But I’m learning how to cope with the demands of the job.”
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‘In a scene where Lyra is being terrorized, someone from the audience quipped: “Buksan mo kasi ang ilaw!”’
“Deleter” is the most blessed entry in the last Metro Manila Film Festival. It won so many awards, including best pic and is now the top grosser at the box office. The movie belongs to that type of horror flick with a story that has been overused: the naghihiganting multo.
Director Mikhail Red’s last horrorfilm, “Eerie,” is also about a grieving ghost in an all-girl school who’s out for revenge. The ghosts in “Eerie” and “Deleter” both committed suicide. Writer-director Joey Reyes has also used that trope in his past spooky films like “Malikmata” (MMFF 2003), “Spirit of the Glass” (MMFF 2004) and “Dilim” (2014).
Like what we’ve written before so many times, this kind of horror flick is quite weak because our tendency as viewers is to side with the ghost. An injustice has been done to her, so may karapatan siyang maghiganti. And she’s a high-tech ghost, as she gets to liberally use video clips and the internet to scare Lyra.
In “Deleter,” it’s easy to understand why the “multo” wants to kill her the evil boss and the security guard who the boss asked to delete all the video files concerning her death. At first, we side with Lyra and we can’t comprehend why the “multo” is also after her. But everything will be explained later as to why she deserves to be punished too.
The movie is manipulatively designed to scare the viewers. First is the very dark surroundings. The hallways and the very office itself is so darkly lit, as if they are being extra parsimonious about electricity and their is an order from their higher ups to scrimp on using lights.
In a scene where Lyra is being terrorized, someone from the audience quipped: “Buksan mo kasi ang ilaw!” We know this is utilized to establish a creepy atmosphere, but we’re more amazed by Chito Rono’s horror flicks that happen in broad daylight but still very frightening, like “Feng Shui,” the best local horror film that is definitely a classic in giving viewers a good scare.
