Paolo cries foul for Rhian

Column: Freehand
Author: Mario E. Bautista

PAOLO Paraiso's career took a turn for the better when he signed up with GMA7. He has now joined the cast of "Marimar" playing Carlito, the villainous boyfriend of Angelika (Katrina Halili. )

"I'm so happy to be part of this very popular show," he says. "My exposure here helps para mas makilala ako ng viewers. Angelika will ask my help to kidnap Marimar. "

He's also thankful to be part of the filmfest entry, "Banal", where he plays the son of a general who becomes a corrupt cop. "Comic relief din ako rito sa mga kasama and I'm so thankful na napasama ko kina Christopher de Leon, Alfred Vargas at Paolo Contis in this movie dahil puro sila mahuhusay. "

Paolo is the ex-BF of his sister, Bubbles Paraiso (who's now being linked to Diether Ocampo), but he says this is no problem as Paolo C. and he are good friends. "Labas ako sa anumang nangyari sa kanila," he adds.

He's also being tapped by Ara Mina to be in the movie, "Ate," which will star Ara herself and her sister, Cristine Reyes. Isn't he likewise being linked to Rhian Ramos after their picture together appeared on the Internet?

"Rhian and I have the same handler sa GMA Artist Center and that photo was taken after we had coffee noong Star Awards," he explains. "I treat her like my younger sister. Even if she's younger, Rhian has very mature views kaya masarap siyang kausap. Kawawa namang natsitsismis sa akin. Unfair doon sa bata. "

MARICEL DEFENDS YOUNG CO-STARS

MOTHER Lily Monteverde hosted a solo presscon just for Maricel Soriano of "Bahay Kubo. " Madera told us all those who've seen the film cried and are praising Maricel's performance as the mother in "Bahay Kubo," so many are predicting she'll bag another filmfest best actress award, which she already did before for "Nasaan ang Puso", "Dahas" and "Filipinas. "

"Aba, kung magkakatotoo, di salamat," says Maria. "Kundi naman, I'll still be grateful as I really enjoyed doing this moving family drama. "

Did she really have a rough time with some of the "pasaway' young stars in the cast?

"I'm really wondering why may nasulat na ganyan. I feel nga blessed kasi sina Marian Rivera, Yasmien Kurdi, Shaina Magdayao, Rayver Cruz, Mark Herras, at Jiro Manio, puro mababait na bata at 'yung iba, kahit pagod na sa taping ng soap nila, may nilalagnat pa nga, trabaho pa rin. Pag sinabing take na, ready agad sila kaya nakakatuwa.

"Dedicated sila sa trabaho. Si Shaina, dati ko nang naging anak sa ABS kaya gamay ko na siya. Sina Marian at Yasmien, ngayon pa lang. Pareho silang maganda na, mahusay pa. Ang tawag ko nga kay Marian is Marimar and I'm happy na nagri-rate ang show niya. Love ko silang lahat kasi you know me, kung meron akong hindi gusto, nagsasalita ako agad.

"I'm really thankful nga kay Mother Lily she gave me the chance na makatrabaho 'yung stars ng kabilang network. And at least, mga babae ang anak ko rito, except for Jiro. In real life, I have two boys, Marron and Tien. Naku, malalaki pa sa'kin. I'm really sad when I don't get to spend enough time with them, kaya ngayong Christmas holidays, magbabakasyon kami na kaming tatlo lang. I'm not a perfect mom, I try to be, pero mahirap, e. E ngayon, lola na rin ako kay Elijah, ang anak ni Meryll. He's one of God's angels. Sabi ko nga, ako ang kamukha nito, hindi si Meryl. "

POOH GIVES BACK

SO what did singer-comedian Pooh do with the P2 million he won from "1 Vs. 100"? "Hindi ko pa kinukuha kasi baka magastos ko lang," he says. "I plan to buy a condo and I'll give part of it for the construction of four classrooms in Lao Ang 1 Elementary School in Northern Samar, my alma mater. "

He'll have his first solo concert at the Music Museum on December 28, 8:30 p. m. , "ASAPooh '08", and he's quite nervous. "Sana mapuno. I've performed there sa 'Rock Da Vote pero marami kami. This time, akong magdadala, with Rufa Mae Quinto, Maja Salvador, Candy Pangilinan and Vhong Navarro as my guests, directed by Bert de Leon na director ko noon sa 'John en Shirley'. Ang dami pa ngang nagbo-volunteer mag-guest. Si Maja, walang bayad dito. Song and dance ito, plus I'll spoof Erik Santos, Christian Bautista, Sheryn Regis, Jed Madela, Mike Velarde and of course, si Manny Pacquiao. "

He turned 33 on December 15 and instead of having a party, he simply gave gifts to abandoned children in an orphanage. "Ang dami kong blessings, like nakabili ako ng brand new CRV at lote sa Bulacan. So dapat mag-share ng biyaya. "

For tickets, reasonably priced from P500 to P1,000, call Backroom at 435-1120 or email backroomtalents @pldtdsl. net.

'ZAIDO' EXTENDED

GOOD news for "Zaido: Pulis Pangkalawakan" fans. Due to the demand of regular viewers who read that "Zaido" will be shown only until January, GMA-7 is now extending the hit sci-fi show up to February, 2008. You can now expect more exciting adventures from the space sheriffs. As of now, the show focuses on the death of Gallian or Zaido Blue (Dennis Trillo).

His girflriend, Carmela (Diana Zubiri), will do everything to save him from the blackhole that sucks him. She seeks the help of the twins Avi and Vea (Charisse and Charlotte Hermoso) so she can have the magical Water of Herabim that will bring Gallian back to life. However, there's a hitch. Gallian might be revived but he will lose his memory of his past life. Carmela makes a sacrifice and revives Gallian, but he doesn't remember her anymore or anything about their past love affair. But he's still Zaido Blue and his resurrection is timely as he gets to help Zaido Green (Marky Cielo) and Amy (Kris Bernal) when the forces of the evil Kuuma attack again.

'EASTERN PROMISES': DARK THRILLER

DIRECTOR David Cronenberg got much acclaim from his "History of Violence" which starred Viggo Mortensen. He's now reunited with Viggo in "Eastern Promises," a dark thriller about Russian mobsters in London.

Tatiana (Sarah Jeanne Labrosse), a young pregnant woman goes to a pharmacy pleading for help in heavily accented English as she is bleeding. She passes out and is taken to the hospital. She dies at childbirth, but a midwife, Anna Khitrova (Naomi Watts), gets to deliver her baby alive. Tatiana left a diary written in Russian. Anna then asks her Russian uncle, Stepan (Jerzy Skolimowski) to translate it for her and the translation uncovers distrubing information about a white slavery ring.

With the help of the diary, Anna searches for Tatiana's relatives, not knowing she was a victim of a Russian Mafia prostitution ring. Her search brings her into contact with the Russian mob, led by a restaurant owner, Semyon (Armin Mueller Stahl), and his sinister son, Kirill (Vincent Cassel. ) They are members of the notorius Vory V Zakone Russian criminal brotherhood and they pretend to be accommodating to Anna, but their real objective is to get back the dead woman's diary that will incriminate them as it says that Semyon was the one who raped Tatiana and held her as a sex slave while making her a drug addict.

Semyon assigns Nikolai (Viggo) to do this for them. He is officially Semyon's driver, but he's also known as "the undertaker" doing dirty work for them. Nikolai has a secret ambition of deposing Semyon so he can be the kingpin of the Russian underworld in London, but he also feels sympathy for Anna and her mission to find Tatiana's family. He now must do a balancing act to survive in the mob and also to help Anna. In the end, there's a surprise twist in his story.

The first strand of the story is about Anna's persistent search for the family of the orphaned baby. She's doing this because she herself lost a child and her maternal instincts were awaken by the infant she's caring for. The other strand concerns the crime world where mobsters are up against each other to see who ends up as the new kingpin.

The film is violent and this is established right in the opening scene when a man's throat is slit brutally in a barber shop. And mind you, no one uses guns in this movie but only bladed weapons. An even more violent sequence shows Viggo fighting two thugs out to kill him inside a bath house. Viggo is stark naked throughout the entire fight sequence and he really lets it all hang out, although there's nothing much to be seen, actually. The way he kills his opponents will make the squeamish wince and squirm. Viggo, speaking with an Eastern European accent, does well in the role and this is his most complex performance since he played Aragorn in "The Lord of the Rings".

Naomi Watts renders another heartfelt portrayal as Anna, just like what she did in "21 Grams". Also giving adequate support is Vincent Cassel as Kirill, who's cruel at times but is obviously attracted to Nikolai (he forces Nikolai to have sex with a girl while he watches) and also shows some humanity when he is ordered to kill a helpless infant.

Cronenberg's direction properly focuses on his major characters and persuasively depicts the lives of the mobsters. His direction of the graphically violent bathhouse scene makes it a gripping and unforgettable sequence, fittingly accompanied by Howard Shore's chilling musical score. What is weak in the movie is the way he decides to conclude it. It's as if he rushed the conclusion and some scenes that should have tied up all the loose ends were not shot.

Source: People's Journal