Cristine 'raped' by Baron

Author: Mario E. Bautista
Column: Freehand

WHAT can Cristine Reyes say about reports that some ABS stars like Bea Alonzo of "Betty La Fea" and Anne Curtis of "Dyosa" feel insecure as she now has two shows running, "Eva Fonda" and "Banana Split"?

"Tatlo pa nga pero patapos na ang 'Kahit Isang Saglit'," she says. "Wala naman silang dapat ika-insecure as I don't compete with them. Iba naman ang career path ko kasi ako lang ang nagpapa-sexy. Isa pa, marami na silang napatunayan dahil mas nauna sila sa akin. Ako, nagsisimula pa lang. There's room for all of us. "

Some quarters complain that "Eva Fonda" is too sexy should not be shown on TV at all? "Doon lang po 'yun sa pilot episode na may wet look ako. I'm really surprised when they say it's malaswa kasi meron ding ganung scenes even in afternoon soaps, and yet hindi nila pinupuna. Isa pa, our show passed the MTRCB. Kung malaswa ito, 'di nila palulusutin at all. Naiiba lang kasi ang point of view dito kasi mga tunay na lalaki ang nagdidirek, sina Jon Red at Frasco Mortiz, hindi 'yung usual sa soap na bakla ang nagdidirek, kaya siguro naninibago sila. But I'm honestly pleased na generally, maganda naman ang feedback at ang dami ngang pumupuri sa acting ko. At least, my acting was noticed, hindi 'yung katawan ko lang. Nakita ko nga sa youtube, may mga bakla pang gumagaya sa eksena kong tumatakbo sa beach. "

Is it true she has eclipsed her Ate Ara's career? "Hindi naman. May gagawin din siyang bagong soap sa ABS. Marami pa akong kakainin before I can achieve 'yung narating niya. Actually, hindi siya jobless, kasi ang dami niyang shows sa abroad kaya hindi siya masyadong visible dito. "

What can she say about Baron Geisler's statement that she's obsessed with Dennis Trillo? "Nainis nga ako sa kanya nun. How would he know? Nasabi niya lang 'yun kasi hindi ko kasi siya pinapansin. Dun sa rape scene namin sa 'Eva Fonda', sobra na niya kong dinadaganan, hindi lang isang beses kundi twice, kaya sumigaw na ako. Pinagbabalibagan pa niya ako na para talagang gusto niya kong reypin. Tigilan na 'yang pag-uugnay pa sa'min ni Dennis dahil wala na talaga kami. Basta ako, happy ako ngayon sa life and career ko. Kasi tuwing may lovelife ako, wala naman akong work, so sa work and career na lang ako, especially with my endorsements, Mint and Fiona. "

How will she spend Christmas? "With my family lang. And her Christmas wish? "Sana makagawa rin ako ng movie sa Star Cinema with Piolo Pascual or John Lloyd Cruz. "

MORE SPECULATIONS ABOUT MARKY'S DEATH

AFTER Marky Cielo is buried, expect more speculations about his death, just like what happened to the late Alfie Anido, Rico Yan, and even Julie Vega. The press and the public just love mysteries, so they will both cultivate that until it dies a natural death with nothing being proven.

Right now, a minor detail that's being magnified is the report that someone saw Marky crying while talking on the phone the night before he passed away. LJ Reyes was seen sobbing profusely at the wake of Marky and someone quickly concludes that it's LJ who made Marky cry as he's really wooing her but she's now going steady with the grandson of a mall owner who allegedly threatened to harm Marky.

Soon, the celebrity friends of Marky will be interviewed if he made "paramdam" and we'll be treated to stories about the personal encounters of these friends with Marky's restless spirit. This always happens each time a celebrity passes away. Well, we can't blame the media. After all, the ratings of "Sis" and "24 Oras" both zoomed because of their coverage of Marky's death. For the first time, "24 Oras" rated more than 40% last Monday.

MATT ON THE ROAD TO MATURITY

AFTER he played the title role in ABS-CBN's "Pedro Penduko," PBB Teens discovery Matt Evans played second lead in "Iisa Pa Lamang. " Now, while he has no project with ABS, he crosses over to TV5 to do the sitcom "Everybody Hapi," shown every Sunday at 6 p. m. Gone is his curly hair ("pinakulot ko lang po 'yun before," he says) and he's sporting a more clean-cut look.

"I look so carefree and kengkoy with the Afro hairdo," he says. "Now that I'm 20, I want to do more serious roles sana. But for the meantime, heto, nagpa-patawa kami nina John Estrada, Eugene Domingo, Long Mejia and Cathy (Alex) Gonzaga in 'Everybody Hapi' where I play the role of Steve, Eugene's brother who's in love with Cathy na anak naman ni John. "

He says he's enjoying doing comedy. "After 'Iisa' na heavy drama at puro iyakan, this is very light at laging masaya ang mga kasama ko sa taping. Pero actually, mas mahirap magpatawa ng viewers kaysa magpaiyak kaya all comic moves that we do, pinag-uusapan muna namin to make sure nakakatawa talaga. "

Since he joined showbiz, Matt had his home in Proj. 4 renovated and also bought new appliances for his mom. He's now also sending his two younger brothers to high school. "Whatever I earn, I share it with my family. "

He has broken up with PBB colleague Olyn Meimban. "It didn't work because we got too busy. Wala akong girlfriend ngayon and what I really want to do sana is go back to school and finish college. "

LONG INDEBTED TO PACMAN

COMEDIAN Long Mejia was jobless for three years. "Hanggang guestings lang ako kasi nawala lahat ng sitcoms, kaya kaming comedians, wala ring trabaho," he says.

But now, he's back in not just one but two new shows. On ABS-CBN, he plays one of Shaina Magdayao's three foster dads in "Dragonna" (the other two are Bayani Agbayani and Arnold Reyes) on Saturdays at 6:30 p. m. On TV5, he plays John Estrada's sidekick in "Everybody Hapi" on Sundays at 6 p. m.

"At the time na wala akong trabaho, malaki ang naitulong sa akin ni Manny Pacquiao. He was the one who said cousins kami dahil Mejia rin ang lola niya. He gave me a car and helped me send my four kids to school. Nasa college na ang panganay ko who's 19. Ang tatlo namang sumunod, puro nasa high school. Lahat sila, nasa Calumpit, Bulacan kunsaan kami nakatira. Napakabait ni Manny kaya naman lagi siyang nananalo sa dami ng tinutulungan niya. "

JC IS GMA'S NEXT BET?

JC de Vera felt very sad when he learned of Marky Cielo's passing away. "Kasi magkasama lang kami sa taping ng 'La Lola' on Friday, then Sunday, mawawala na pala siya," he says. "Nobody in the cast expected that to happen kaya we were all shocked at mara-ming nag-iyakan sa next taping. We will all miss Marky kasi tahimik na tao siya at napakabait katrabaho. "

What can he say about the prediction that he'll be GMA's next big leading man after Richard Gutierrez, Dingdong Dantes and Dennis Trillo? "Of course, I'm flattered. Sana nga, magdilang-anghel sila. "

Aside from "La Lola," he's now busy promoting his Metro filmfest entry, Regal's "Shake Rattle & Roll X. " "This is the first time I'm doing a Shake movie kaya excited ako. Also, kapamilya ang kapareha ko rito, si Roxanne Guinoo, kaya naiiba talaga ito. I play a nurse in a hospital at si Roxanne naman is a doctor. Our problems start when our ambulance accidentally hit a woman on the road, si Mylene Dizon. We didn't know that she is an aswang and she wreaks havoc in the entire hospital, kasama pa ang husband niya, si Wendell Ramos. Pareho silang uhaw sa dugo ng mga pasyente, doktor at nurse sa ospital. "

ROXANNE CONNECTS WITH 'J'

AS for Roxanne Guinoo, after being paired with Joross Gamboa and Jake Cuenca, she's happy to be paired with another actor who's name also starts with the letter J. "JC is a very good actor and I'm glad to be given the chance to work with him," she says. "Sana nga, maulit pa dahil wala naman akong permanenteng ka-love team. "

QUE PASA, PARTICIPANTES?

THE goodlooking chef, Jose Sarasola, who was tagged as Tuklaw after he got bitten by a snake, was the participante eliminated from "Pinoy Fear Factor: Argentina, South America. " He was beaten by model Jommy and actress LJ Moreno in the last stunt of the 4th elimination round last Monday. He joins other eliminated participantes Phoem Baranda, Ram Sagad and Gail Nicolas.

Jose landed the farthest from the "Pinoy Fear Factor" logo after being dragged by a speeding vehicle along a 'line of fire. ' The fallen participante miscalculated and let go from the vehicle too late, causing him to go way past the target.

"The snake bite still hurts. But I'm not going to make any excuses. I'm embarrassed because I'm supposed to stay being the leader of pump squad," said a frustrated Jose.

LJ escaped from being eliminated by dangerously using her arm to cut speed. Landing only 1 meter and 5 centimeters away from the logo, LJ even outperformed pump boys Jommy and Jose.

"Wow, I beat them, and it wasn't even an easy stunt," said LJ who felt redeemed after always being edged out by boys in her favorite extreme sports.

To console Jose, host Ryan Agoncillo informed him that he may stay for another day at El Campo Miedo to celebrate his birthday with the group. Meanwhile, the quinta ronda de eliminacion promises to bring bigger challenges to the participantes with the return of Paolini (the crane used for stunts done involving heights), the snakes (including the one which bit Jose) and the freezing and treacherous Argentinian waters.

Manuel, who's gunning for a fourth straight immunity, will also face greater opposition from a depleted but more determined pump squad. As the real-life action gets started, so is the real-life drama of "Pinoy Fear Factor. " Savanah feels sad about Jose leaving as he's her big crush. But gay-impersonating Marion will come up with an explosive confession about his real sexuality so don't miss the next episodes of "Pinoy Fear Factor," Mondays to Fridays on ABS-CBN after "Eva Fonda. " Also catch "PFF: Special Edition" on Studio 23, Saturdays at 7:30 p. m.

COF TOPGROSSERS ON EXTENDED RUN

THE three topgrossers in the Cinema One Filmfest at Robinsons Galleria Indiesiner are on an extended run: "UPCAT," "Dose" and "Yanggaw. " "UPCAT" is about two teen friends, Felix Roco and Joseph Roble, who want to pass the UP college entrance exams. It'll be shown on December 12 and 16. "Dose" is about the forbidden romance of a 12-year boy (Fritz Chavez) with their randy gardener (Yul Servo. ) It'll be shown on December 13, 15 and 16. "Yanggaw", which means infected and six awards, is about a family coping with one of them turning into an aswang, starring Joel Torre, Tetchie Agbayani and Ronnie Lazaro. It'll be shown on December 14 and 16.

'PRIDE AND GLORY': FIRST-RATE ACTING OVERCOMES SHORTCOMINGS

A GRITTY drama about a family of cops involved in a corruption scandal, "Pride and Glory" stars Edward Norton as Det. Ray Tierney, who's assigned by his dad Francis, Chief of Manhattan Detectives, to investigate the death of four New York City cops after an attempted drug bust that went terribly wrong. Ray is hesitant to accept the assignment as the four dead cops all served under his brother Francis Jr. (Noah Emmerich) and brother in law Jimmy Egan (Colin Farrell. )

His hunch turns out to be correct since the more he learns about the case, the more he finds out that there is some connection between Francis, Jimmy and the dead cops. He's starting to suspect that his family members might have been involved in informing the drug dealers about the attempted drug bust. Eventually, Ray is put in an ethical dilemma and has no choice but to confront his family members in his desire to be loyal to his job, especially Jimmy who's been using members of his squad to carry out murders for cash. Jimmy doesn't see anything wrong with it, but when one of his targets managed to escape, this exposes his dastard deed and plunge public trust in the police into an all-time low.

A gritty and intense drama about law enforcers and corruption, the film has many elements that we've seen before in previous police thrillers, but its main asset is its superb cast. One cannot argue about the topnotch performance of the whole cast. Both Norton and Farell have volcanic screen personas and are in fine form. Norton, in particular, is very effective in imparting the angst-filled moral conflict he encounters as he investigates members of his own family. Colin seems better suited in playing bad guy roles and he's really chilling here as the cold-blooded Jimmy. Watch out for that scene involving him, a baby, and a hot iron.

They get solid support from Jon Voight, Noah Emmerich, Jennifer Ehle as Abby, Noah's wife who's suffering from cancer, and Lake Bell as Megan, Colin's wife who must choose between her family and her shady husband. But the first rate acting of the cast cannot overcome the shortcomings of the script with gives the film a very bad climax and ending.

There are three major problem points, one at a convenience store, another one is about a brawk, and the last one is about a coincidence that comes out as something too contrived. In the end, it becomes another generic cop movie even with it's numerous betrayals and double-crosses, and nothing truly superior like the Oscar-wnning "The Departed" or even Al Pacino's memorable "Serpico".

Source: People's Journal