VIVAMAX: "TAHAN" When Things Take A Dark Turn

We went in the cinema of Gateway Mall for the screening of the film TAHAN, a movie which will be shown solely on streaming platform VIVAMAX. Cloe Barreto plays the role of Elise, a woman who was forced to work in the high end escort industry; she started at a very young age. To provide for herself and her Mother, she had to seek clients for pay to do all their wishes. She falls prey to different kinds of folks, some kind, some abusive, which puts her in the brink of losing hope.

Her relationships are all complicated, but it pays the bill. Although in a rut, she does several encounters to feel she's the dominant one, being served as she doesn't have that on normal days. She also got into vices, so she could forget about what’s happening. She also gets involved with a guy (a former high school fling) played by JC Santos (also multi awarded actor). He represents her way out, her wishing to change ways, but all fails as she gets sold and forced by her Mom; depicted by 2016 Cannes Film Festival Best Actress Ms. Jaclyn Jose. The film also stars Mercedes Cabral, Karl Medina, EJ Salamante, AJ Oteyza and Jet Delgado. Quinn Carillo wrote this film, but also stars in it as the protagonist's best friend. 

 

Talented writer and actress Quinn Carillo who slayed the script!

Cloe Barreto plays Elise

 

AJ Oteyza, Quinn Carillo plays interesting characters

JC Santos plays Cloe's high school sweetheart. What will become of him when things go south?

Not to patronize her, but Quinn really put the needed shocking twists in the script of this film. Although it delved on content appealing to men, Director Bobby Bonifacio, Jr. made risky creative interpretation to make Quinn's script come alive. It felt like a long dream sequence, one that takes all the things she probably feared the most to happen on screen. If you think about it, this movie is matriarchal in nature, on how their relationships and dynamics work... until things take a dark, dark turn.

All in all, this is a showcase of talented actors. Cloe Barreto has really leveled up her acting chops straight from her other projects like "Silab". Aside from that, JC Santos presents a different persona who still has to tell their story. They were high school sweethearts who lost touch. This may also open up a lot of possibilities, a prequel, another installment, which can be possible since the story asks for it. As expected, Madame Jaclyn Jose proved why she's world class. She's very generous, and let Cloe shine when she needs to in the film. I'd be really surprised if this didn't snatch an award from different festivals which they plan to do soon. Here's some videos I made of the presscon which happened after the screening:

You can watch this movie solely on the VIVAMAX app, you can download it off web.vivamax.net, Google Play or the App Store. Payment is a monthly subscription which you can do on the website, or various digital wallets. It can also be accessed in countries like UAE (Dubai), Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar or elsewhere in Europe where available. You can also download it on East and Southeast Asian countries, New Zealand, Australia, the US and Canada. Having this be accessed worldwide, it's already doing the deed of introducing Filipino films worldwide. Congratulations to the cast and production of TAHAN and I'm glad plans for another film from the same production will be in the works soon.

 This film is sick, and I LOVE IT!

Banking on Talented Cast, Controversial but Realistic Story: "TAHAN"

It was a fun afternoon meeting the cast of upcoming sultry, suspense-thriller movie called TAHAN, which will be directed by Bobby Bonifacio Jr. under 3:16 Media Network. Tough Executive Producers John Bryan Diamante and Ms. Janilyn Carrillo deem unnecessary to think that this would be a challenge to do while we're all going through the pandemic because the material and story written by talented Quinn Carrillo (who's also part of the cast) was already enough reason to do this film. Bryan Diamante stresses that even though this is his first venture into the production side of the industry, he's got total trust with 3:16 Media Network. His goal is not just to create a quality movies like these... but learn the ropes while he's wearing the production hat in hopes to make even bigger stories come to life.  

He says "I'm glad that right now, things are easing up a bit. People are looking for interesting stories, Quinn really made a really good script and I'm very excited about it. I know this will certainly be something that people would love to see."

I've noticed that they've gotten no shortage of passion. Seeing how eager they are to tell the story (even if there are some really disturbing subjects in the story line) you wouldn't be able to just concentrate on it because of the realistic parts that would make anyone certainly connect with the characters in the movie. Lead star Cloe Barreto says "It's not that difficult and I think I'm equipped to do this. It's actually really exciting to see that I'm going to work with JC Santos and my idol Ms. Jaclyn Jose. People are going to learn a lot from the story, this is coming from the point of view of the daughter. She's gone through a lot and it will teach people that these things happen in real life."

Executive Producers John Bryan Diamante and Janilyn Carrillo

Here's our video coverage of the story conference which includes a few questions answered by the cast. Please, enjoy!

Again, the cast includes Cannes Best Actress Ms. Jaclyn Jose, the very talented actor JC Santos, writer and actress Quinn Carrillo, Karl Medina, AJ Oteyza, former pro basketball player Mac Cardona (who was very good looking), indie queen Mercedes Cabral, the funny EJ Salamante, Joseph San Jose (who told us a very inspiring story on how he was able to land this role), Stiff  Banzon and a whole lot more.

This surely looks so PROMISING, judging from the ensemble cast, a different kind of flavor from the usual romcoms you've been seeing released in PH theaters. One can just imagine how feisty Cloe and the cast is who promised they'll be bringing their A game once the camera starts rolling for this film called TAHAN. I can't wait to see it in theaters and digital platforms; they plan to have this out soon.

We wouldn't want to miss how this unfolds!

Vhong Navarro Stars in Sequel MANG KEPWENG: Ang Lihim ng Bandanang Itim

 

This is produced by CINE KO Productions and Star Cinema. On Christmas day, we'll see a dose of comedy courtesy of this film derived from the 80's iconic film of the same name, Mang Kepweng. This generation has a different spin on it so they properly called it Mang Kepweng: Ang Lihim ng Bandanang Itim.


Tickets are now on sale via upstream.ph. We talked to the stars this evening and they had a lot of stories. Here's some of their statements during the zoom conference.


Fumiya says "We are together here, my best friend is Yamyam and it's a complicated relationship. We are dwarfs but we don't get along that well."

Yamyam says "My role here is a dwarf that could give Mang Kepweng the direction so he can get the magic for his bandana. My grandpa was actually an albularyo, he cured me with a lot of rare leaves and roots, he used a few on me with smoke, he told me I was really punished by spirits hence a lot of bumps on my skin appeared. I got smoked, I got prayed upon and got cured by my grandfather, I believe 50%, I don't know for sure but I think it was true."

Ritz Azul was a bit perky during the call and says "I am the queen of Engkadya and I'll be helping Mang Kepweng fight Maximus on his journey to find magic on his own polkadot bandana. I did experience a lot of albularyos in our province, they did dishes, eggs, they pass on powers to people, there are lots of things that I can explain but they do get cured."

Joross Gamboa plays the villain of the film and he says "I am the enemy here, I have the black bandana and I will make Mang Kepweng's life miserable. This film is for the whole family so make sure you do this Christmas. There are a few comedians that can whip their faces like that, who can make funny faces and comedy out of it, Vhong is qualified to do it."

Ryan Bang joked around and said  "Of all the friends of Mang Kepweng, I am the most good looking... almost 70 percent I will be with him in his adventures. I read the script so many times but when I get to the set I just end up with people who will not go with the script. This is for kids, I hope people will see it because it's fun, it's just that so many things happening here but I don't know what it means. I hope you become happy watching this but if you don't we can't do anything really."

Ms. Jaclyn Jose says "I am the mother of Mang Kepweng here and I have been since the first one, so they have no choice but get me for this second installment. The albularyos of the first Mang Kepweng has been brought to this generation, I watched the original in the cinema, he can play Chiquito really.I love the cinema, I hope we could watch it there instead but I'm not worried, I'm sure it will be back. I want people to forget problems, this film is funny and if you could forget an hour and a half of those problems, I'd be really glad."

Barbie Imperial says "I have a lot of experience being cured by albularyos, in the province we really believe in them and I had to seek their help because I always get sick when I was a kid. I wasn't able to get help from doctors, but when I seeked their help, I got better. In Bicol, I got treatment from them and with that experience, I really did get healed."

Vhong Navarro was so proud of this film and he says "I play MK or Mang Kepweng, he will be continuing with his mission to cure everything. He will need his friends to fight aliens, monsters, without facial mask or shields because this was shot before the pandemic. I am sure though that you will enjoy this film, you just need to look for Mang Kepweng on upstream.ph and pay 250 only to watch it with your family.That's what new technology can do this MMFF 2020 and Christmas. I wanted to really look for the copy of the original Mang Kepweng but the quality of those on digital is just too poor, but I'm glad CineKO agreed to do a part 2 because this was their baby and together with Star Cinema there will be a good comeback. I'm also glad they chose me to play the lead role again, I was chosen because they see Chiquito in me so I reprised the role again. I don't think it's bad to believe in things that could better health with faith and albularyos. We even filmed everything on the actual home of Mang Kepweng during the 80's and that connects the generation. We're both happy and sad because we got in the MMFF 2020 but a little sad about how it's different on how we watch movies without movie houses. It's good though because a lot of people will learn on how to use technology. I haven't really researched about albularyos and just based what I am doing with the character of the late Chiquito, I am privileged to be able to do this as my first film that got a sequel. It's a good feeling because people loved it, the producers believed in me again and I got to work with brilliant writers that made this even better. I want to make sure it would be better than the first one because we'll put a lot of adventures in Mang Kepweng now."


Other stars are also in this film like Lou Veloso, Mariko   Ledesma, Kaladkaren, Patricia Roxas, Ritz Azul, Ion Perez and Benjie Paras. Watch it on Christmas day!

GMA's New Show D'Originals

Ladies, you've always dreamed of a perfect relationship right? But what if you suddenly find out that your man is not as "perfect" as you think he is? What if you found out that he's got another woman? Well, GMA wants you to see it on TV via this show called D'Originals. This stars Ms. Jaclyn Jose, LJ Reyes, Kim Domingo, Katrina Halili, Meg Imperial, Lovely Abella and a lot more!

LJ Reyes is here. She says "I am Marge and my character tries to hold my family together and while I'm busy with that, I kinda have problems with my own family. I will also have issues with my friends and their relationships, I enjoy meddling with their lives and I always get involved in situations that are very difficult for a woman. There's seduction, there's life that happens but you always have to do the right thing."

Kim Domingo plays Sofia a Zumba instructor and she's the girlfriend of Archie Alemanya's character named Art. She says "Watch for the things she does to catch her husband doing it with other women. We all have to be professional and know how to execute the scenes because there are times when it gets physical."

Katrina Halili says "My role here is Yvette and she's the other woman who's going to make Lando's life a living hell (played by Jestoni Alarcon)."

Meg Imperial plays Alice the sexy star who's had a past with Art trying to rekindle their romance as she tries not to get caught by the original one. She utters "There are a lot of reasons why there are women who go to miles of being the other woman,but they have their reasons."

Jestoni Alarcon who plays Lando says "This will teach people a lesson, the bad things that happen to people involved with a lot of women". Lando owns a security agency who's primary love is Josie played by Ms. Jaclyn Jose. 

Mark Herras is also here and he says "I am Caloy who just got back to the Philippines from his job as a singer from a different country. I didn't have a job or savings and we were left at home a lot of times so that's why we had a relationship too. We know life is crazy, but if a person has a partner we don't meddle with that so we don't have problems. We just need to find the single ladies."

Archie Alemanya plays Art who is an artist, plays around with 2 women because they can't help it. "I am shocked that there are men that do this, I need a one day sensual workshop with Meg and Kim."

Josie and Lando's son is Mikoy Morales who's exploring his sexuality, is also having problems. He's got a relationship with Elyson De Dios's character Darenn (of which he says is a straight guy but does go into relationships with gay men). They represent LGBT but it will be discussed more on the relationship of Mikoy coming out to his parents, how judgemental people are and the difficulties of maintaining their relationship. He also adds "Our relationship is a little on the cute side, being a little too young as well (16 year old boy), even if we didn't have physical contact, it was how the way our affinity with our family that matters."

Claui is Tim's youngest sister whilst Arnie Ross plays Precious who will also make matters worse as she partners with Yvette.

Adolf Alix the director says "The cast is different, we have a lot. The story is well researched and we interviewed real wives and other women who went into these relatioships. You know there are incidents like these seen in social media. You find it funny but if you think about it, these are real people. When someone watches TV and they emphatize with the characters they would really watch it. It's still a soap and based in emotions and we make sure there are real situations. If it's the rivalry between the other woman and the original one it would end early but there are family issues, domestic problems, we still need to discuss that other than just putting them on the spot. We have families and we can identify with the woman characters, limited time and budget but this series needs the emotions and characters and we move on to the next. I hope people understand the characters and what left them to do it. There are rehearsals, we talk about that how to execute. I enjoy making this a lot because I know how to handle them being I've done soaps with them in the past."

D'Originals will play from Mondays to Fridays right after Legally Blind and before Wowowin on GMA's Afternoon Prime.

KUMAGCOW

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Max Collins Celebrates Birthday with Kids in Makati

We celebrated the birthday of Max Collins last month at the YWCA Compound in Makati. She's been blessed with several shows on GMA including Innamorata, Illustrado, Kailan Ba Tama ang Mali and now add to that the new Sef Cadayona starrer Juan Tamad. This center houses a baptist community church and the Pastor with his wife are good friends of Max. You can say some of the communities are pretty depressed here so holding a small party with the kids would really make them happy, a thing that Max says is very close to her heart. This is also organized in part by Pink Women on Fire, an organization that helps underprivileged children.

After saying a prayer or two, they started playing several games and served food for the kids from West Rembo. Some of them live in shanties and places in Pasig River so you can tell this is much like a needed boost for them. They also learn a thing or two because it's like Sunday school in the center so they learn a lot about God and good manners through mediums like story telling and activities. 

Thanks to Max Collins' sponsors Black Water, MET, Zagu, Aquabest and her BENCH Family for all the toys and goodies they gave the kids. She also thanks GMA Artist Center for organizing a simple but meaningful charity event for her. Even if she's a little sick, she told us how happy she is to have been able to at least spend a few hours with the kids. As long as they're happy, she's happy. 

Make sure you watch her show Juan Tamad as she plays the role of Marie Guiguinto, who is Juan Tamad's love interest in the program. She's also with veteran actors Roi Vinzon, Marissa Sanchez, Gene Padilla, Melanie Marquez and RJ Padilla. Their guests include Jaclyn Jose, Rocco Nacino, Carlos Agassi, Caloy Alde, Alden Richards and a lot more so watch out for that. This is a production of GMA News and Public Affairs. 

Happy birthday Max!

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