THE box office results of the Metro Manila Film Festival 2021 is quite disappointing but it’s better than when it was just held online in 2020. People are still afraid to go to moviehouses and the ticket prices at P350 to P450 is just way too prohibitive for the regular wage earner. Now that we’re on Alert Level 3 and the omicron variant is on the rampage, expect the ticket sales to go down further.
The only big success story last year is the rise of Vivamax as the country’s number one streaming channel. It now has an estimated 2 million subscribers worldwide. Viva has the foresight to know that viewers will prefer to watch movies right at the comfort of their own homes so they produce new movies every week, including concerts of local artists.
And not only that, they lowered their subscription price to only P129 a week and you can watch all you can on their streaming channel, with your whole family! What a bargain, isn’t it? Vivamax has the advantage of not being censored by the MTRCB so they show soft core flicks and has become the home of sizzling, sin-inducing entertainment.
Never before have such nubile bodies been shown in wild abandon on screen with full frontal nudity, both male and female. We honestly think it will take a long, long time yet before moviegoers will troop back to actual theaters.
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Streaming has introduced a crop of stars whose films have yet to be seen on the big screen. The hottest tandem is that of AJ Raval and Sean de Guzman, whose previous outings in “Taya” and “Nerisa” did well online. It’s said that it’s Boss Vic del Rosario himself who ordered to give them a follow up movie after their tandem clicked with viewers. This is in “Hugas,” directed by Roman Perez Jr., the sex and violence guru who also directed them in “Taya.” So how is it working with each other again?
“Sean and I are now so comfortable working with each other,” said AJ. “This is our third film together after ‘Nerisa’ and ‘Taya’ so sanay na kami sa isa’t isa. Tropa na kami. We even share some secrets, pero friends lang kami talaga. But when we do love scenes in ‘Hugas,’ para talagang nandun ang love between us, makikita nyo. ‘Hugas’ is actually an action movie kaya dream come true ito for me kasi noon ko pa talaga sinasabing I want to do action, ‘yung bumabaril may fight scenes. O heto ngayon, ibinigay na and I’m so thankful.”
“Kami ni AJ, sobrang gaan na ng loob namin sa isa’t isa and we’re so relaxed na sa isa’t isa,” said Sean. “Even sa sex scenes, ‘di na kami naiilang. Wala na kaming pakialam kahit magkakitaan na kami ng iba’t ibang parte ng aming katawan. Gaya ni AJ, I like this film kasi it’s action and I’m glad to be given the chance to do this. But I also want to try other genres, like serious drama and be recognized for my acting.”
How would he describe the passing year 2021? “Okay siya for me kasi kahit pandemic, andami kong nagawang pelikula. Sana magtuloy-tuloy up to next year.”
How about AJ? “Maraming nangyari sakin sa 2021. Andami ko ring nagawang movies. Pero andami ring intriga, so ‘yung mga pangit and negative na nangyari, iiwanan ko na. But I learned a lot of lessons from them. Ako, iiwas na sa sobrang pagiging active sa social media to avoid the negativity ng bashers. I hope there will be less controversies and we’ll have more positivity in 2022.”
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‘The past year is memorable for its many celebrity weddings and breakups.’
The past year is memorable for its many celebrity weddings (Dennis and Jennylyn, Carla and Tom, Derek and Ellen) and breakups (Kylie and Aljur, Paolo and LJ, Janine and Rayver).
We won our first gold in the Olympics for Hidilyn Diaz in weightlifting, Maria Ressa won the Nobel Peace Prize and John Arcilla won the Volpi best actor award in the Venice International Filmfest for “On The Job 2.”
Lovi Poe lands an important role in the international movie filmed in England, “The Chelsea Cowboy,” opposite actor Alex Pettyfer. Iñigo Pascual gets a supporting role in the Hollywood TV series “Monarch” opposite Susan Sarandon. Raymond Gutierrez comes out and admits that he’s a member of the LGBTQ community.
Tony Labrusca was arraigned at the Makati Trial Court for his case of acts of lasciviousness filed against him by an unnamed woman. Celebrity preacher and Duterte adviser Apollo Quiboloy faces sex trafficking charges in the US.
Janno Gibbs and comedian Kitkat get into an ugly, bitter fight while hosting a show on Net25. Its executives tried to intervene but Janno and Kitkat failed to patch things up, so they were both fired by the network.
Community pantries became in vogue in April and several pantries cropped up in various locations but it stopped when Angel Locsin put up her own pantry and an elderly citizen died while lining up in the huge crowd of people who want to get free donated goodies.
The court sides with Viva Films in the case against Nadine Lustre so she’s reconciled with the company that built her up and is now about to finish a new movie with them, “Greed.” Here’s praying there will be more positive stories in 2022.
