Best Actress Marian Rivera-Dantes' "BALOTA" Hits Theaters October 16th

It's been a while since I've last seen Ms. Marian Rivera-Dantes. I also missed the opportunity to watch her latest movie "BALOTA" which was showcased at Cinemalaya XX which won her the Best Actress trophy for obvious reasons. The film mirrors real life (although satire), of an educator who goes over and beyond her duty in the classroom. Teacher Emmy not only thinks about her future, but spins in the optimism of electing leaders, and finding out the grim reality of the human psyche.

In a mayoralty race of their quaint town, they had the choice between a land grabbing power hungry woman, or a former s3xy actor. Since she also administers a precinct during the elections, she gets caught in the action when the result meant people seizing the ballot box she carries in order to win. The woman with integrity didn't budge with any force, and baddies even became more eager to find or eliminate her, no matter what it takes.

Marian by any means still looked every bit beautiful even if she was de-glamorized. The chase brought her to vehicles, the forest, the querida's house, the s3xy actor's house, the boondocks, something you wouldn't think she'd have to do as a premiere actress yet here we are. Marian says "I couldn't explain how I felt after shooting "Balota". I even mentioned to Dong how fulfilled I felt doing it despite me being in the industry for a while now. It fed my hunger to do worthwhile projects like these. I felt inspired after that win given to me by the Cinemalaya community."

The exciting thing is, they will be having this released for public viewing this coming October 16. This is produced by GMA Pictures, written and directed by Kip Oebanda. The film also includes actors Will Ashley, Raheel Bhyria, Royce Cabrera, Sassa Gurl, Esnyr, Donna Cariaga, Gardo Versoza, Mae Paner, Sue Prado, Joel Saracho, Donna Cariaga and Nico Antonio. Apt for the times, great story line that is cohesive. It's genius. Having Marian Rivera-Dantes is a great reason to also watch this. It's our story.

INA RAYMUNDO and WILL ASHLEY Does May December Affair Film "X and Y"

When I heard about this film and the lead stars, I was so eager to cover it. It's called "X and Y" starring my generations "SABADO NIGHTS" icon, Ina Raymundo and the Prima Donnas teen heartthrob Will Ashley.

The film is about a May-December affair, which looking at them physically might have been a long shot but Director Adolf Alix Jr. told us that the characters of Xander and Ysha have their "maturity as individuals" to define that. This is produced by G Channel PH who's quite known for creating content for entertainment especially during the pandemic. This foray to romance and movies was something they wanted to do since the material was masterfully crafted and executed by Direk, their creatives and prolific movie and TV writer Gina Marissa Tagasa (who was also there during the presser).    

Will admits he didn't know who Ina Raymundo was and had fears about approaching her on set. This is officially his first film as a leading man, and was quite nervous about it. Ms. Ina on the other hand was also a bit clueless who Will was because she's been on hiatus for about 8 years prior to this project. She says "I'll be honest because I admit, I'm not quite updated with young stars since I haven't been doing projects for a while now. But I was given enough information by our director where I could stalk Will a bit especially in his Instagram account. I found out how popular he is on TikTok. I also wanted to work with Direk Adolf Alix whom I've worked on TV in the past... which is why I immediately said YES to this film. Will is SO YOUNG! I remember when I met him on the first shooting day, he was 20 at that time. In a sense, he's younger than my first born. My worry really was if I'd do scenes with him, it would look like it's forced because I'd look like his Mom in the movie. He's officially the youngest guy paired with me. I had apprehensions, but I've seen our photos together and I think it did work." 

Will said "That's exactly how I felt when I met you. I asked my Mom about who she was, and her thoughts if our pairing would work. I slowly got the hang of it when I saw the photos we shot, I realized how it would look like on screen and felt good afterwards."

Here's the press conference on video, please enjoy!

The film also stars Elizabeth Oropesa, Bembol Roco, Divine Tetay, Bugoy Carino, Kirst Viray, Ron Angeles, Thor Gomez, Jake Rosales, Glenda Garcia, Rico Barrera and Marnie Lapus.

Make sure you watch it on April 17 as the movie not only talks about romance, ageism, but finding one's dreams, realities. The cast also warned us to bring tissues because it'll be a cry fest in some scenes. This is definitely interesting, and people would relate to their characters as it also discusses the limits of morality and love. 

Who are we to judge?