“Libre lang mangarap” (“It’s free to dream”), that’s the way we Filipinos think of the unattainable. In the case of Laida Magtalas, the heroine in Cathy Garcia-Molina’s romantic comedy hit A Very Special Love, her plentiful efforts earned her more than what she dreamed of having.

Born from a humble family, Laida is a modern day Cinderella who, by some stroke of luck, lands a job as the editorial assistant for Bachelor, a newly launched men’s magazine headed by Miggy Montenegro, the guy she’s been crushing on for the longest time. Her colleagues believe that Laida’s dreams are meant to be shattered for Miggy is everything she did not dream of – the guy is an unrepentant, short-tempered perfectionist who will never tolerate being in second place. Surprisingly, Laida blends right in through her efforts to understand her boss. In return, she gains his trust and even his heart in the end.

Of course, this does not end here because Miggy has more hardships he must face, namely his own family which has a secret behind its wealth and prestige that commoners like Laida only see. It’s up for our hardworking heroine to make the man of her dreams realize that there’s more to life than struggling to be on top of everything.

A Very Special Love proved to be one of the biggest film hits of 2008 when it raked an unexpectedly huge amount of positive reception for the experimental pair consisting of John Lloyd Cruz and pop star Sarah Geronimo. It can be because of the straightforwardness of a simple love story or the natural chemistry of the two lead stars or that famous “Sun dance” that Sarah’s character Laida popularized, the reasons are quite plenty.

I’m not too keen on local films because most of them are failures in different aspects but I have to say that I didn’t make a mistake in trying this one. The story of A Very Special Love is something that we need – simple, straight to the point and has a feel-good mood in the end. We’ve had enough of heavy tear-jerking dramas in TV; there should be diversity when it comes to films. For a low-budget film with a whopping return of approximately Php134 million and becoming the 5th Top Grossing Film of All Time in the Philippines, Cathy Molina and the whole cast have definitely hit the jackpot in this project. – Zizi Arcega

Ambeth Ocampo, Chair of the National Historical Institute and the country’s most widely-read historian, presents Philippine history with a dose of wit and extensive research in a series of lectures at the Ayala Museum.

More details of the lecture series after the jump.

26 June (10:30AM) – Pre-colonial Philippines
24 July (3:00PM) – Philippine-American War
14 August (3:00PM) – The Malolos Congress
18 September (3:00PM) – The Katipunan

Admission fees per session:
P200 for students/senior citizens/Ayala Museum members
P300 for regular adults

Admission fee for all 4 lectures:
P700 for students/senior citizens/Ayala Museum members
P1000 for regular adults

Come to the first lecture on June 26 and receive a free Ambeth Ocampo book!

Contact information:
Phone: 757-7117 to 21 local 29
Email: education@ayalamuseum.org
Website: www.ayalamuseum.org

Reserved seating is available.

The Ayala Museum is located at Makati Avenue cor. De la Rosa St., Greenbelt Park, Makati City.

Do you love comics? Do you commute to school/work via the LRT 1/2?

Komikasi is holding a launch party to kick-start a great venture in the local comics industry. Interested? Curious? Check out the details of the launch after the jump.

Komikasi, makers of the popular Talecraft Storytelling Card Game is set to launch a new platform for local comic artists to showcase their work and reach a broad audience of various backgrounds. Espresso Comics is a weekly free comics magazine that features one-shot comic stories by Filipino artists to be given at LRT lines 1 & 2.

Like Water for Chocolate is Mexican novelist Laura Esquivel’s first and arguably most celebrated novel that enjoyed huge success not only in her native country but also abroad. The novel was translated into 23 languages and was made into a film in 1992.

The book is divided into twelve chapters which are named after the twelve months of the year. Each chapter opens with a recipe along with an accompanying outline of how to make it. Afterwards, the reader finds this dish somewhere in the chapter and realizes the connection it makes with the protagonist’s experiences.

The story revolves around Josefita Dela Garza who is better known by her nickname Tita. Her life is filled with love for cooking and it is her recipes that will ignite the whole course of the story. Tita is trapped in the cruel tradition of the Dela Garza family; that the youngest daughter must remain unmarried and is supposed to take care of their mother until she dies. So when her lover, Pedro Muzquiz, asks for her hand in marriage, her mother (named Mama Elena) forbade it and instead, she offers her eldest daughter, Rosaura to marry him. To the astonishment of Pedro’s father, his son agrees to the proposal but he revealed that he only did it to become closer to Tita.

The book's movie adaptation

As the story goes, Pedro and Tita fall deeper in love with each other and Mama Elena dislikes it. She takes several measures to separate them but it is Tita’s cooking that acts as a medium between them. However, it is not as easy as it looks because the highly traditional Dela Garza family proves to be a harsh opponent.

Like Water for Chocolate is a very entertaining read as the story just flows at a quick pace and will not leave its readers bored. The characters are especially commendable because they represent different aspects and outlooks of people. Tita and Pedro are emotionally determined and would take risks to pursue their love. Mama Elena is an image of a strong and tradition-driven woman and would not tolerate any change. Tita’s older sisters are contrasting; Rosaura is bothered by pressures and insecurities of being the eldest daughter while the middle sister Gertrudis is carefree yet she’s worried of her sisters’ welfare and the agony the tradition brings to them.

This novel gets an added plus factor to those who love to cook with its sumptuous recipes, thus, making Like Water for Chocolate a truly delicious read. – Zizi Arcega

Last year’s American Idol Season 8 runner up, Adam Lambert, heats up the charts with his debut album that sums up one of AI’s best seasons. Ever.

I’m not exactly a great big fan of American Idol. In fact, I was only able to watch a few episodes per season, and I guess most viewers would agree that not all seasons produced great artists. I count myself lucky to have been able to watch Season 8 with a certain level of frequency to have been able to give a fairly reasonable review. But I believe that the even the show’s most frequent viewers will concur that last year had, if not, the most number of great singers with so much potential.

Cue Adam Lambert.

Regardless of his sexual preference, the man is mad hot onstage. There was no other guy throughout the entire season that I looked forward to watching in every episode (well, him & Danny Gokey too..harhar). The guy was a major shoo-in for the plum title, so imagine the level of disbelief and frustration that I went through when Kris Allen won. Stage presence, vocal prowess, hands down…it was Adam Lambert. Sure, Kris has got the talent as well (otherwise, he wouldn’t have made it that far in the competition), but for me and for most people, Adam made a resounding impact.

I’m glad that Adam’s debut album, For Your Entertainment, captured what he was best at. No, I’m not just talking about his vocal belting and his eccentric looks; it was his ability to make people listen when he sings. That’s the impression that I got when I heard the first track, “Music Again”.

I actually liked the succeeding songs, “For Your Entertainment” and “Whataya Want From Me”. The latter, written by Pink and Max Martin, was the first of the album tracks that I heard on local FM radios. “For Your Entertainment” was catchy both in the way it was sung and how it was performed as a music video.

Adam wasn’t just gifted vocally; he was also involved in writing some songs in the album, particularly the tracks “Strut” (with AI judge & songwriter Kara DioGuardi and Greg Wells) and “Aftermath”. Lady Gaga likewise co-wrote the song “Fever”, which was also fun to listen to.

Ok, so we’ve established that Adam can reach insane notes in the spectrum, but for me, there’s this certain “attitude” in the way he sings that makes any song truly his own. Some AI graduates have difficulty in this field, but with Adam’s own brand of singing, it’s already a second nature.

For Your Entertainment is definitely not just for Glambert fans, but for those with unorthodox music tastes.

A story of an unconventional girl named Kyoko who decided to take the reins of her life after being used by her so-called true love. But the challenge she must take is something she won’t ever imagine.  Welcome to the glitzy world of Skip Beat!

Childhood friends Kyoko Mogami and Shotaro Fuwa have been inseparable for years in rural Kyoto. Shotaro’s parents own an inn and they want him to take over someday. However, he dislikes the rural life and aspires to go to Tokyo to pursue a career in music. On the day of their middle school graduation, Shotaro invites Kyoko to help him achieve his goal in Tokyo and she happily follows him, saying that she’ll go through whatever means to help him, even if it meant sacrificing her happiness and living a very frugal life.

True to his word, Shotaro succeeds in becoming a music superstar under the stage name “Sho”. And Kyoko couldn’t be happier as she basks in the glorious spotlight that her best friend enjoys. One night, while on her way to deliver Sho’s dinner, she overhears him saying hurtful things about her – that he only invited her to come with him to Tokyo so that she can be his maid and the fact that she’s a boring girl with no appeal at all. Instead of crying her eyes out, Kyoko’s “pandora’s box” opened and vows for revenge. The unruffled Sho tells her that if she wants to get back at him, she must be an even bigger star than him. But Kyoko is a simple country girl who only knows how to do housework. Can she succeed in bringing down the guy who wasted her youthful years for nothing?

Skip Beat! is a 25-episode anime series based from the manga penned by Yoshiki Nakamura which is still ongoing at 23 volumes so far. The anime features the voices of Marina Inoue (Kanmuri of Yakitate Japan, Matsurika of Maria Holic) as the hardworking Kyoko, Mamoru Miyano (Light of Death Note, Tamaki of Ouran Host Club) as the arrogant Sho and Konishi Katsuyuki (Hagi of Blood+, Toya of Ayashi No Ceres) as Ren Tsuruga, the most popular actor in LME, the agency where Kyoko trained.

I personally like watching anime series that feature strong women, thus, the story of Skip Beat! appealed to me. Kyoko is definitely not a pushover and while she shows her weakened state every now and then, she thinks of a way to get over it which is evident when she began to take up acting – a field she knows absolutely nothing about.

The animation is somewhat old-fashioned looking but managed to look pleasing. The story is exciting enough but sadly, the anime had to be cut short as the manga is still ongoing at present. Hopefully, a second season will be on its way soon.  –  Zizi Arcega

When I’m in TriNoma, there are only two food haunts that I usually frequent, and one of these is Toast Box. Located at the Main Lobby near Fully Booked and Gourdo’s, Toast Box is my favorite place to hang out for a nice, hearty snack.

The place boasts of its authentic Singaporean-inspired breakfast cuisine, featuring the staple kopi and the (coffee and tea), as well as other Singaporean dishes. Whitewashed and decorated to the barest essentials, I find the place cozy and inviting. It’s usually packed with people during weekends as it also shares the space with Bread Talk, a well known bakery that sells the most sumptuous bread and pastries.

Corned beef sandwich

Being the coffee lover that I am, I absolutely love Toast Box’s kopi-c (coffee with condensed milk). Lately, I’ve been loving the cold version of this perfect brew, paired with corned beef sandwich and soft boiled eggs. Their sandwich servings are just right—not too large to finish or too small that you won’t feel like it’s a hearty meal. I particularly order the corned beef sandwich in every visit because the filling is quite generous and flavorful (it can sometimes be messy to eat though). For those who have an aversion to eggs, you’ll find that Toast Box’s soft boiled version is quite enjoyable. I usually mix it with what looks like soy sauce and pepper for a tangy soup-like texture.

Soft boiled eggs in soup-like texture

Admittedly, the place has great food, but the service is a bit of a disappointment. There are only a few of them attending to customers. Confusion sometimes props up when they serve the orders, as if they don’t take note which customer ordered the particular meals.

Nonetheless, I still find myself coming back several times to the place, annoying service quality and all. I guess when you’ve tasted good food, you’ll come back for another serving.  – Presea

Designed by George Fan and released by PopCap Games, Plants vs. Zombies is a highly addictive strategy / tower-defense game that was first released for PC last May 2009. To date, the game has been developed and can now be played in XBOX Live Arcade, Nintendo DS and iPhone.

Every once in a while, you come across a simple yet challenging game that can have you sitting in front of your computer for hours. Horrific zombies are in front of your lawn and are dead set on getting in your house to eat your brains! But don’t worry; you’re not completely empty handed. All you have to do is awaken the green thumb in you and make use of your plant selection to fight these brain-hungry villains and your house is safe. For now.

You begin the game with only a peashooter in your arsenal and as the level goes higher, you are able to unlock more plants each with its own unique purpose in the game. For example, a wall-nut doesn’t directly eliminate zombies, rather, it acts as a wall (thus, it’s name) and buys you time to set up your defense against incoming zombies. Some plants are also for instant use like the jalapeno that incinerates the zombies in its entire lane and the squash that kills the first zombie it sees depending on where you placed it. For every seed you plant, it requires a number of suns that you can get by planting sunflowers on your lawn.

The game has a total of five modes (Day, Night, Pool, Fog and Roof) with 10 levels each. During halftime or before the mode changes to the next one, you get to play easy mini-games that you have to complete to advance. As you progress, you are introduced to more plants and some of them are only useful for a specific mode. There’s the puff-shroom (can only be used during Night and Fog mode) that doesn’t cost you any sun but can only attack at close range. Then there’s the lily pad and the flower pots that are required to plant in the Pool and Roof modes respectively so that you can put plants in it. With limited seed slots, it is your task to plan ahead and strategize by gathering a good set of plants to pass a particular level.

While your plants are versatile, so are your enemies. You have to know their toughness level and find the best way to eliminate them as soon as possible. You begin with a simple garden zombie that can be taken down by a single peashooter and later on, you get to see more like the conehead and bucket zombie, the football and pole-vaulting zombie and even a bungee zombie!

You are also introduced to Crazy Dave, your friendly but crazy neighbor who will give you advice throughout the game and will sell you helpful stuff which you can buy with in-game money. Be aware that his products are rather expensive but definitely worth it and can be used to make your plants and defense stronger.

The game ends after your face-off with Dr. Zomboss, who is apparently the one behind all those zombies you encountered. But surprise! It’s not yet the end. After completing the first round of 50 levels, you get the Zen Garden which allows you to care for your plants to earn money. You’ve also unlocked a wide array of mini-games, puzzles and survival modes that will keep you on your seat for more hours.

Plants vs. Zombies enjoyed very positive reviews from various gaming websites and magazines and was praised for its simple yet gorgeous and imaginative visuals and its highly addictive factor.

What makes this game stand out is its sheer ingenuity at making use of an uncomplicated item and turn it into something else. The amusement factor is also there and will have you laughing at a zombie who’s got butter on its head or a diver getting pulled under by an evil-eyed seaweed.

PopCap has been known for having plenty of acclaimed casual games under its belt and Plants vs. Zombies is just one more game to add to its hall of fame.

Visit http://www.popcap.com/extras/pvz/ to see more info on Plants vs. Zombies and make sure you stop by http://www.popcap.com/games/pvz and make your own customizable zombie! – Zizi Arcega

When you see couples, it’s almost always the guy who is taller than the girl. When it gets reversed, the result is rather comical. This is exactly the problem of Risa Koizumi and Atsushi Otani, the outspoken main characters in Aya Nakahara’s hit manga Lovely Complex.

All her life, Risa has been placed at the back of a class line-up because of her height – a commanding 172 centimeters (or 5 feet and 8 inches). Being tall brought nothing but misery to poor Risa and her frank attitude doesn’t help much. But mind you, Risa has her girly side as well, but it doesn’t change the fact that she can’t get a guy unless he’s taller than her.

Otani’s predicament is basically the same as Risa’s, only it’s the other way around. Standing a mere 156 centimeters (or 5 feet and 1 inch), it’s no surprise that Otani is nicknamed “chibi” (or small) by his classmates because of his height. Girlfriend standards becomes quite limited because he’ll have to find one who is shorter than him lest it will look like he’s dating his older sister or worse, his mother.

How these two ended up together would eat up a 16-volume manga filled with laughter, tears and best of all, a good dose of romance.
Ever since their high school life started, Risa and Otani, the so-called giraffe and midget, have been nicknamed “All Hanshin-Kyojin” which is a reference to a popular Japanese comedy duo with the same height differences as our main characters. Despite hating being called this name, the two have a rather strong bond that stemmed from their common interests of which a prime example is Umibouzu, a fictional rap artist who seems to have a very strong appeal to them. They both like Umibouzu so much that they have gone out to his performances more than once.

Risa and Otani’s friendship is off to a great start and they’ve used it well when they helped each other get romantic partners. But gradually, Risa feels something different from her best guy pal and it’s something she didn’t want to admit in the beginning. To her, there was nothing worse than falling in love with someone who is so short that he can pass up to be her younger brother. However, she learned to listen to her heart and admitted that she is indeed attracted romantically to Otani. Problem is, how will she confess? And even if she did, how will the indignant and undersized Otani take it?

I’ve heard about LoveCom for a while before trying it out and I’m so glad I did. I first encountered it through its 26-episode anime and then I ended up reading the manga. What’s so nice about it is the fact that the anime followed the original manga story so faithfully you’d feel like the characters you’ve read have come to life onscreen.

One of the best features of LoveCom is hilarity. The comedic scenes just keep coming out from nowhere and will keep you laughing all through out. Risa and Otani’s synchronized expressions whenever Umibouzu is the topic is something so cute it’s amusing.

Being a romantic comedy manga, it’s quite commendable that the author was able to dish out a nice dramatic feel that can make you cry in frustration because you want to have these two hook up already. Risa’s insistent love confession is the one to look for and her determination to get Otani at all costs is very admirable.
On the other hand, the art is also very nice and visually pleasing. I have to say Otani gets my vote hands down because of his cute expressions especially when he’s embarrassed.

All in all, I highly recommend Lovely Complex to manga fans out there who are looking for a good romantic story that’s not overflowing with unrealistic mushiness. LoveCom can teach a thing or two about the ups and downs of life and that makes this manga worth trying out.  – Zizi

The Classic is a parallel story of a mother and daughter on the road to discovering first love. The story unfolds with Ji-Hae helping out her friend express her feelings to Sang-min, a schoolmate involved in theater arts. When she discovers an old box containing her mother’s love letters from a boy named Joon-Ha, she then realizes how similar her story is with that of her mother’s.

The Classic is a slice-of-life presentation of what most of us have experienced in one point in our lives: the trials and tribulations of first love. Although the movie presents two stories of two women, there’s this impression that the main story revolves around Ji-Hae’s mother, more than hers. Sure, there were moments when the scenes revert back to the present, or to Ji-Hae’s own struggles with her personal life, but there is a distinct affinity for Joo-Hee and the sad, yet poignant love affair with Joon-Ha.

Joon-ha & Joo-hee in the rain.

What I love most about this movie is its ability to draw out feelings and memories long forgotten. Call it being over-emotional or what, but once you get to watch this movie, you’ll look back on those memories with a certain degree of fondness. Other reviews for this movie talk about its tear-jerking factor, which undoubtedly, can make even the men folk shed a tear or two. It had that very same effect on me, but what resounded all the more was how these two similar stories of both mother and daughter finally came full circle in the end. I was left crying and smiling at the same time.

When I was scouring the Internet for information about this movie, I was dumbfounded when I learned that the movie was directed by Kwak Jae-yong, the same guy behind the highly successful and equally poignant My Sassy Girl and Windstruck movies. Unbelievable!

Sang-min & Ji-Hae share a moment together.

All in all, I recommend watching this movie, especially for those who love watching Korean RomComs, more so for those who love Kwak Jae-yong’s work.

Note: I highly recommend getting the movie OST to listen to the various instrumental versions of the theme song, Saranghamyon Halsurok. Perfect for emo moments and pensive reflections! – Presea