photo from Wikipedia

I'm not (yet) a big fan of Koreanovelas, so I had no clue what Pure Love was all about.  But I've heard that it's a good show.  So, I did what I had to do--nanood ako ng Pure Love, starring Alex Gonzaga (as Diane), Matt Evans (as Scheduler), Joseph Marco (as Dave), and Yen Santos (as Ysabel).

photo from www.viki.com

I'm glad I did.  I didn't like Alex too much before, but now she's become one of my faves.  Matt Evans has always been talented, so I expected that.  Plus Yen Santos is such a refreshing face, and OK din naman umarte.  Joseph Marco, of course, is a sight for sore eyes. :-D  What a fun show!  Even if the topics are actually serious and even goes deep into faith, values, and beliefs.

At nakakainis naman talaga itong si Arjo Atayde (as Raymond).  That means he's a really good actor.  He's probably the best one in the group, and no wonder, he's the son of Sylvia Sanchez, who's also there as his mentally-challenged mom.  OK din si Yam Concepcion (as Kayla).  John Arcilla and Sunshine Cruz (as Diane's parents) are just, as expected, super credible and magaling.

But when I googled the title and found a Wikipedia article, I saw the roles assigned to Yen Santos--and discovered that she's supposed to be the missing ate of Diane!  I found this out months ago, and now pa lang ire-reveal sa show since last two weeks na.  Sana lang hindi agad nailagay sa Wikipedia!

Two weeks to go and I hope it won't end the way it did sa Koreanovela (of course na-research ko na din).  Since we Pinoys love happy endings, I'm a bit hopeful na it won't be a sad conclusion. :-D

I must admit--when I started watching this, I thought it would just be a copy of The Legal Wife, which I loved.  Hindi pala.  Well, of course the entire kabit storyline is similar, but the issues in ADMR are more complex, and, I dare say, more interesting.

Photo from kapusotvreplays.blogspot.com

Kasi naman, where will you meet a guy (Anthony Real, played by Dingdong Dantes) who thinks he can get away with having two wives--as in pareho niyang pinakasalan--and in the same country at that?  Sure, nasa Cebu si Sheila (played by Lovi Poe), but come on, it's a small world.  Buti naman, as of this writing, Anthony has been found out by his clueless wife Millette (brilliantly portrayed by the fabulous Maricel Soriano) and they didn't let the pasabog happen in the ending pa, kasi hindi na yun believable.  Turns out si Anthony has a huge mental/psychological problem (in my opinion lang ha), because the biggest thing that keeps him married to Sheila is the fact that they have a child--as opposed to his ampon with Millette, who is always thought by people to be his tita.  Kundi ba naman baliw.  In the process din, clearly he developed feelings for Sheila, who is portrayed as a woman who will suffer through anything to keep her man.  Nakakaloka, but believable.  I'm now watching the episode where Millette finds out about Sheila, and OMG can you say exciting!  Grabe manampal si Maricel!

Photo from pinoyexchange.com (OMG ano 'to? Hind pa 'to pinapakita!)

I'd like to see how this series will end but at the same time ayoko din, hahaha.  It's been part of my evening entertainment for several weeks now.  I hope the writers find a way to make the ending as complex and thought-provoking as the premise, no.  Also, kudos to the actors!  I've always found Dingdong Dantes utterly pogi and hot, but in this show nakakabwiset lang siya!  I hear the ratings are good, and I hope they get to keep it that way. :)

Hello!  Haven't posted in a while, masyadong maraming ganap sa buhay.

One of the things I discovered in the last few months is this line of books entitled New Adult Pop Fiction, based on stories made popular on Wattpad.  For those of us who have been living under a rock and don't know what Wattpad is, well, isa po siyang site where writers can post story installments and people can comment on them.  Apparently, Revenge ni Miss Piggy is one of the more popular stories on Wattpad and so naging part siya ng growing list of titles under this line, published by Summit Books.

So, OK, the title itself raised a red flag right away.  Miss Piggy?  Can we be more politically incorrect, not to mention insensitive?  Pero I realized yun kasi ang tawag sa protagonist ng kwento.  Still.  Anyway, it's all about this plus-sized high school girl who fell in love with the popular guy, and eventually found out she was being duped by not just the guy--also by the resident mean girl, and her very own inggiterang BFF.  Fast forward six years and she's become a famous fashion designer based in London, and is now super payat; she decides to go back to the Philippines to exact her revenge.

Masaya naman magkwento ang author, I really like her way of writing dialogue.  Funny, witty, and natural.  I like din her description of the setting, parang tunay.  But I had problems with some of the characters, like the bida herself, Margaux.  Naging OA yung revenge motivation niya, it was mostly being mean rather than being fair or smart about it and not stoop to the level of the kontrabidas.  Then the best friend, Therese, who appears to have done the worst in this story, seemed too mean and inggitera, considering her status and relationship with the bida.  I had problems believing these characters, sorry.  Of course, may payback in the end pero parang kulang pa or simply off.  But overall it was a short and fun read, and if you like pasabog scenes then this one's got a lot.

Twenty-five-year-old Sutton fears she will become an old maid, because of a myth that claims you will be if you have had seven boyfriends by age twenty-five.  She then meets next-door neighbor, ladies' man Onyx, who, in the end, becomes the right guy for her.  A Precious Hearts Romances title published by Precious Pages, 2013.

Hmm, medyo naguluhan ako sa myth na ito, only because I've never heard it before.  But sige, let's take it as it is.  The story had Sutton, with the help of Onyx, looking for her ex-boyfriends in the hopes of rekindling whatever they had just so hindi siya mag-25 na nagka-seven boyfriends which means magiging old maid siya.  To me the entire search was not the highlight, but the developing romance between Sutton and Onyx.  In fairness, nakakakilig naman ang dalawang ito, without being OA, unlike in other stories.  Maganda ang back stories nila (Sutton seeks independence from her comfortable life, and Onyx clearly separates his business life as a real estate mogul and his personal life as a player), kaya mas maiintindihan kung bakit nila ginawa or sinabi ang ganito o ganoon.  May one issue lang ako:  si Sutton kasi is shown as masungit, may pagka-mataray, and focused; medyo hindi nag-fit sa idea ng girl na nagka-seven boyfriends na at that age.  I'd imagine pwede siyang either super street-smart or knowledgeable pagdating sa love and boys, or sobrang romantic na tao na lives for the idea of love.  Hindi masyado believable si Sutton sa akin na nagka-seven na jowa na, sorry.  Otherwise, it was a fun read--I felt pati yung warmth ng barkada ni Sutton, how tight they all were. 

Read it on a lazy afternoon when it's raining outside, like I did. :)

Before I get into my review of the movie, I'd just like to briefly mention why I just stopped blogging about Dormitoryo.  One reason:  it turned into crap.  As in.  Talo ang palit-baby and kidnapan moments sa ABS-CBN teleseryes.  Feeling ko tinamad na ang writers and prod heads to make the ending bearable man lang--sayang, promising pa naman ang start.  Sigh.

So last week naman I decided to watch Bride For Rent, starring Kim Chiu and Xian Lim.  I must admit, super crush ko si Xian Lim for a long time but I hadn't seen him in a movie, puro lang sa TV in their teleseryes.  More about Xian later.

Natawa ako kay Kim.  I wasn't expecting na may Toni Gonzaga-level of comic timing siya but she does.  Iznt it amaaaziiing???  LOL.  Plus she looked so pretty onscreen, like a Barbie doll.  Si Xian, well, he looked good, but that's about it.  Everything else about his acting was so OTT.  Somebody should tell this guy to tone it down a bit, he always sounds like he's nanggigigil.  But he did have a few moments, like yung towards the end na the whole setup of his Lala (Pilita Corrales) and Rocky (Kim) was revealed to him, plus yung reconciliation moment nila ng father niya (Tirso Cruz III), na believable siya.  Pero overall, more work, Xian.

It was a fun movie, but for me the most laughs were brought on by Empoy Marquez as Javier, one of Rocco's (Xian) sidekicks.  Super funny siya!  Hope he makes more films.
Oh, and I learned Bride for Rent is the third highest-grossing local film of all time, following It Takes a Man and a Woman and Praybeyt Benjamin.  Good job!

Directed by Mae Cruz for Star Cinema.

Here I go, blogging about the episode right before the next episode is shown.  But hey, as they say, better late than...skip an episode? :-D
Medyo mabilis ang show na ito, unlike most other teleseryes.  Plus I read somewhere that GMA has planned for it to only air for one season?  So solved agad ang mystery, I guess.  Kaya nga the plot thickens.  Si Hazel appears to be completely convinced na si Burn ang pumatay sa ate niya, and this is likely because the guy just behaves so suspiciously around her.  Then he invited her to go to some old building (didn't really catch why), with Airiz and Charlie (Burn's nerdy younger brother, who, based on how he's being shown, I think is the murderer) tagging along.  Then Hazel thinks Burn is planning to kill her, so she calls the police, and Burn is thrown into jail.

screencap from www.nonstoptv.net

Before the episode ended, a shot showing Airiz clutching a photo of her and Burn is show.  Ano na naman ito?
Medyo nagiging exciting na nga, pero production-wise, they need to boost it up a bit more (unless na-shoot na nila lahat ng episodes) because nagiging boring na ang limited locations nila.  Everything's shot on campus.  At least medyo nabawasan yung mga pretensions to be an American school in an American TV series.
I have a feeling may matinding ire-reveal this afternoon on #DormitoryoWeek6.  After all, Halloween weekend's coming up!  Abangan!