Agua Bendita is the newest teleserye to touch the hearts of many Filipinos. It is being shown on ABS-CBN directly after TV Patrol World. In the beginning, teasers of this teleserye were shown during the Primetime Bida timeslot. It shows Andi Eigenmann, daughter of Mark Gil and Jacklyn Jose, emerging from the pool looking so much like Angel Locsin.

ABS-CBN must admit that the teaser showing Andi did not generate that much interest for the show. Agua Bendita is a classic komiks story from Rod Santiago and to be quite honest, I watched the pilot episode because I was a fan of that komiks when I was a teen. An aunt used to buy Liwayway magazine every week and I would read the Agua Bendita komiks. That’s mainly the reason why I watched at first, to see how they will translate the komiks into a teleserye.

But then I saw the little girl playing the dual role of Agua, the good little girl who looks like water, and Bendita, the bad twin. She’s Xyriel Anne Manabay. You can say that Xyriel made a huge impact on everybody including me. It got me hooked to the teleserye in no time at all!

The little girl undoubtedly captured the hearts of the many viewers of the teleserye. When she’s Agua, the little girl can really make you cry and sympathize with her. When she’s Bendita, you feel this urge to make her stand in the corner and face the wall all day long! She is that good!

Critics are actually raving about the little kid playing the dual role. It is said that Andi and her mom Jacklyn are already pissed with ABS-CBN because the deal was the little kid will only stay onscreen for two weeks and then Andi will come in. But it’s been two months already, if I am not mistaken, and the little kid is still playing the dual role. Xyriel captured the hearts of the viewers of the teleserye that there’s actually a clamor for Agua and Bendita to stay as kids.

I guess after Santino, the viewers are looking for another good little kid that they can watch every night. A kid who can be a role model for the little kids who are still awake and watching tv with their parents. A kid who can show us that we can all be good despite the setbacks we encounter in life.

Watch Agua Bendita. It’s really good! I hope that when they start showing Andi Eigenmann, the story will be as good as right now.

Are you watching Pinoy Big Brother: Double Up? I catch snippets of it when I am still awake around 10:30pm. It airs directly after Dahil May Isang Ikaw of Jericho Rosales and Kristine Hermosa. It was hyped up during it’s promotional stage. Something’s cooking in Big Brother’s house. The came the big unveiling…

Surprise, surprise! There are two houses! That means two sets of housemates!

It was not that exciting, to tell the truth. We watched past seasons. This season, the drum up seemed to me like all noise and no substance. It turned out to be true. To raise the level of interest (if any) by the televiewers, they included a transsexual housemate.

Big Brother then included twins who tried their best to confuse their housemates. They failed. A couple then came in, who pretended to be not a married couple. The woman was tasked to flirt with someone in the house. It almost caused trouble with the couple. The husband was eaten by jealousy. He had to bow out or risk the anger of Big Brother when he revealed that he’s the husband of the woman. Hay…

The thing is, I could not get what the f**k Big Brother wants to accomplish with all the cheap tricks up his sleeves. With the married couple, he said that to see the strength of their relationship. Which to me is rubbish! It’s all a cheap trick to drum up interest. With the transsexual, acceptance. Which is bullshit! Another cheap ploy, if you ask me.

Ratings are down, by the way. I don’t think a lot of people are watching. I think there was more interest with Survivor Philippines: Palau than this season’s Pinoy Big Brother. Too bad. Another investment gone to waste for ABS-CBN.

Can someone please tell Christopher de Leon to tone down his acting? Ang OA grabe! I couldn’t help but watch Lovers in Paris if I am still awake at this hour. My sibs watch it. And whenever I catch an episode, I couldn’t help but cringe and make comments. OA lahat! The story, the lead and supporting actors (except for Hyubs and the one playing KC’s uncle)… The ultimate OA in the teleserye are Christopher de Leon and Assunta de Rossi!!!

No wonder the soap isn’t rating.

Major failure!

I find it curious why Maricel Soriano accepted this kind of project. Sure, it was a classic Susan Roces movie. But coming from T2, it just feels redundant for her to act in another suspense/horror project.

I happen to like suspense/thriller/horror so I watched Florinda the series in ABS-CBN. At first, I was so caught up with the story. The first two to three episodes were good. Not brilliant but good enough. Until Jay Manalo vanished without a trace. Maricel’s character, Florinda, started becoming hysterical and prone to overacting. It wasn’t Maricel the best actress. It was actually too painful to watch her overact. Ang OA sobrang-sobra talaga!

I read a few reviews of this series and all were negative ones. Cherry Pie Picache was brilliant as always. The supporting cast is mediocre at best. Maricel is blah.

Thank God Florinda ended already!

Lovers in Paris is a Korean drama about a girl who met the man of her dreams in Paris. The Koreanovela, as the K-dramas are called locally, was a big hit when it was shown here in ABS-CBN. It is now Tagalized, adapted to Tagalog in the same tv network. The show itself is a far cry from the original version. The K-drama had a more cohesive storyline while the Tagalized version is a bit more haphazard. Pilit ba.

KC Concepcion should undergo acting workshops. She’s way too slapstick in her comedy and her acting is bad. She’s too mahangin (literally) when she speaks and ang OA sobra! Someone should tell her that she’s not funny and can never be funny. She’s not bagay to play a mahaderang working student. And pwede ba, yung mga scenes where she’s wearing only a towel… hay naku! Yun lang!

Funny ba siya? More like trying to funny but failing!

Piolo Pascual is gorgeous as ever and is the only one holding the cast together. Magaling na actor talaga! Although in some scenes where he’s supposed to be mad at KC over something, ang OA ng dating because he’s trying to be mad and poker faced at the same time. And ang OA ng lines ha. Para siyang bading na pumapatol sa babae. But since he’s papa P, okay na rin lang. You can forgive him for overacting a bit kasi he’s so gorgeous to look at.

And Zanjoe Marudo… can someone tell ABS-CBN bigwigs to stop giving this guy lead roles and instead enroll him in extensive acting workshops with KC! At someone tell him to take a bath and shave! Ang baho niya tignan! Promise! I can’t see what other girls see in this guy. Halos magpakaloka pa si Bianca Gonzales sa kanya before di ba? But he looks like he hasn’t showered in ages! Ang dungis ha!

All in all, with the three lead actors, the only salvation for this Koreanovela remake is the setting which is Paris. Other than that, good luck with getting annoyed whenever you watch it.

I find Only You dragging and forced. I catch portions of it when I am waiting for Tayong Dalawa. Sure, the actors in it are way better than the ones from the GMA-7 soaps. But then they don’t jive in my opinion. Angel Locsin looks madungis, disheveled most of the time. We are always wondering why no one from the production or her team is telling her that she doesn’t look good with her bangs. Or that Dimples Romana is more put together than her. Even Candy Pangilinan is prettier than her in that soap.

Also, when you are following that soap, you will notice that Dimples is the lead star in it, not Angel or Diether Ocampo or Sam Milby. My sisters and I were laughing about it, actually. And we’re thinking that the title of the soap should be changed to “Ang Pagbibida ni Dimples Romana”. She’s given more in that soap, no doubt about it. While Angel is relegated to the madungis co-star category.

I don’t know if it’s just me but have you noticed how Angel Locsin is being pushed to different big named actors of ABS-CBN? First, it’s Piolo Pascual. Have you seen an episode of Lobo? Corny grabe! Now, it’s Diether Ocampo and Sam Milby via the Koreanovela remake, Only You. The network giant is forcing the viewing public to buy the supposed chemistry between Angel and her leading man/men but it’s just not there. I suggest they find the perfect partner for her first or let her do a teleserye where she need not have a love interest. Masyadong pilit kasi!

But there’s no denying the fact that Angel has come a long way since her Kapuso days. Acting-wise, she’s better now than in her Mulawin days. Even critics are praising her improved acting skills.

And she can’t complain about not being known abroad anymore. Remember her London stint? Nobody knew her then! Now, I just hope she’s ready to get mobbed when she go to places abroad where there’s TFC.

ABS-CBN really scored big with their primetime teleserye Tayong Dalawa. From the get go, this soap has garnered, and is continuously garnering, high ratings because of its fast-paced, rich story about two men who share the same name, the same fate, and the same love for the same woman.

The teleserye stars Gerald Anderson and Jake Cuenca, both as David Garcia, Jr. One goes by the nickname JR, while the other’s Dave. Their lives are intertwined, not knowing at the start that they are actually twins separated at birth. If you think the story is quite predictable, think again. This teleserye has captured the attention of avid teleserye fans as well as those who are not regular viewers of this kind of show like me.

You know, the thing that I love the most in this teleserye is that, it’s not far from reality. Some situations shown in the teleserye can happen in real life. I love the characters of Coco Martin, who plays Ramon, big brother to JR, Greta, played by the talented Alessandra de Rossi, who is madly in love with JR, and to whom Ramon is in love in return, Cherry Pie Picache (Marlyn) and Gina Pareño (Lola Gets), mother and grandmother to JR and Ramon, respectively. The irritatingly good Agot Isidro as Ingrid with Helen Gamboa (more on her in my next post) as her mom. Kim Chiu, who plays the love interest of both JR and Dave, is really good. For a relatively new young star, she can truly compete with the giant networks big stars. Judy Ann Santos and Claudine Baretto come to mind.

Tayong Dalawa was supposed to end last April. But since there’s a clamor for it to be extended, plus the fact that there really is more to tell in the story, it is extended. The powers behind the soap can’t really say until when. I guess they are holding out on the 35+ ratings that the teleserye is getting night after night. I think they should set a date and make an exit when people are still hooked to it. Don’t drag the story just because it’s getting big bucks in terms of sponsorships.