Fearless Charlie Dizon

“Charlie walang takot! “ (fearless Charlie!) is how some wags call Charlie Dizon these days for marrying fellow actor Carlo Aquino on 9 June (and it hits us only now that she is a “fearless” June bride).

Those rascals (the trolls of this era) must be among those who nagged Jolina Magdangal for best wishes for her newly-wed friends. Not all those who attended the wedding in some hidden resort in Cavite rushed to their Facebook and Instagram to proclaim their jubilation for the new legally bound couple. They are unconvinced that because of Aquino’s reputation, the marriage will hold on till death do them part.

Many are actually fearful for Dizon who seems to have not had many boyfriends before she allowed herself to be “corded” to Aquino who is a veteran of breaking into some girl/woman’s heart and breaking out of it sooner or later. Aquino is as much a heartbreaker as Paolo Contis who, happily for him, cannot marry anyone yet as he remains legally married to LJ Reyes though they have been separated for years. (The latest news about them is that Reyes has dropped her petition for annulment of their marriage due to its being a financial burden to her, though she’s happy with her live-in relationship with a businessman in Cebu who takes care of her and her children from her broken marriage and short-lived romance to Paolo Avelino).

If Dizon does not get pregnant in their first year of marriage, it may not affect her career, which is not exactly on the upswing, though she is not exactly next to Kim Chiu, Anne Curtis, or Janine Gutierrez in the career board.

Aquino may be branded the “lucky guy.” Luckier than Xian Lim, it seems. Aquino’s movie career seems to be unaffected by his real-life romantic dalliances. He may not be as big as Piolo Pascual or Paolo Avelino in the box office and scale of films but the former child actor is not idle for months for not having movie projects. Aquino’s career may be on the same level as Conti’s.

Can a Pinoy GL (girls’ love) movie shown in theaters break the drought in movie house viewership of Filipino cinema?

Believe it or not, it’s the streaming company Vivamax that will try its luck in the movie houses in the middle of July. And it’s doing so with an oeuvre of woman-to-woman love affairs headlined by two of the company’s hottest stars, Angeli Khang and Robb Guinto. The movie’s title is Unang Tikim and it’s slated to start showing on 17 July.

Vivamax seems to be fearful that people might think it’s a hoax that the company is releasing a movie in the theaters so the company started its publicity and promo for the film a good one month before its opening. Vivamax held the media conference for the movie on 11 June at Viva Cafe in Cubao, QC.

The so-called “Troika” of reporters on the entertainment website Pep.ph reported that the two Pinoy movies that opened last Wednesday in theaters were dismal at the box office. Nakakapanlumo (debilitating) is how one of the three journos (though one is also a talent manager) described the box office revenue of Playtime and Fruitcake.

The former is a first time collaboration between Viva Films and GMA Pictures top-billing Xian Lim, Colleen Garcia, Sanya Lopez, and Faith Lorenzo.

The suave and dashing Lim portrays a serial killer of women who easily fall for him because he makes it a point to always look and sound gentle and loving. It was helmed by well-rated Mark Reyes.

Fruitcake was produced by Cornerstone, better known as a talent management company, during the days before the pandemic which prevented its theater release. The film was bannered by Joshua Garcia, Heaven Peralajo, Jane Oineza, Empoy, Ria Atayde, Dominic Ochoa, Alex Diaz, Mark Paterson, Victor Anastacio, KD Estrada, Enchong Dee and well-followe vlogger Queenay. It was publicized as a romcom.

The two Pinoy films were shown alongside Hollywood’s Inside Out 2. The Pep Troika quotes lawyer-film producer and Daily Tribune legal advice columnist Joji Alonso in her Facebook account post: Inside Out 2 grossed almost P90 million on its first day. So people do watch films that they like. Regardless of ticket prices.

What’s next for Filipino films?

Well, what’s next is a GL of two women making love to each other.

And, oh, there’s still hope that Playtime and Fruitcake may be lapped up by the multitude. At the streaming platforms! Some Pinoy movies that flopped in the theaters triumphed at home viewing. Netflix and HBO love ‘em Pinoy films and TV series these days.