Visionary director Dan Villegas showcased in great abundance the sensibilities of Fyang Smith and JM Ibarra as first-time big screen actors via Regal Entertainment and Project 8 Project’s Almost Us. Alwyn Ignacio and I were invited to a block screening organized by JMFyang Official to represent D’TT Show, an online show of DAILY TRIBUNE.

The film tells the story of a guy (Ibarra) who secretly falls in love with his best friend (Smith). But there’s a problem: his best friend is romantically falling for a knight in shining armor, Kenzo, played by Dustin Yu.

Deeply in love with Smith, Ibarra’s character becomes her “partner in crime” in everything just so she could spend more time with Kenzo.

Along the way, their friendship is threatened by the presence of Yuki Takahashi, whom Smith treats more as a foe than a friend.

Smith and Ibarra showed a natural flair for acting. They were spot-on in every scene, delivering flawless performances as two young souls caught between friendship and romance.

Although still relatively new to acting, both displayed unmistakable sensibilities in their roles. In a roller coaster of emotions, Smith and Ibarra navigated both drama and comedy with equal ease and fluidity.

What is palpably true is their chemistry. They look perfectly good together on the big screen.

As a movie, Almost Us gives viewers an amalgam of emotions brought about by young love. It navigates the struggles of romance while showing what young people are capable of doing in this thing called love.

Kim Chiu’s ‘soft confirmation’?

Fans went giddy when Kim Chiu and Paulo Avelino served more than just kilig factor in a game segment during their “Love, KimPau World Tour.”

In the last leg of their tour, the lead stars of The Alibi were asked what people should follow more: The heart or the mind. Both chose the mind.

“Kakasunod ko kasi sa puso ko, minsan namamali ako… Sana this time tama na (By following my heart, sometimes I make mistakes… I hope this time I finally get it right),” Chiu explained.

This was met with shrieks from the crowd, who took it as a “soft confirmation” of the status of their relationship.

Recall that during the grand mediacon for The Alibi, this columnist asked Chiu and Avelino about the real score between them. The actor answered “100,” but later backpedaled, explaining that he merely gave a score and did not admit anything.

Anyway, there are rumors that Chiu and Avelino’s families have already met, hinting that they may be taking their relationship to a more serious level.