The real life story of PEPITO MANALOTO premieres this September 16

GMA Network is bringing back the well-loved family sitcom Pepito Manaloto to Filipino homes beginning September 16, Sunday night right after Imbestigador. Pepito Manaloto, Ang Tunay na Kuwento is different from the previous season. It is a stand alone show that follows the ordinary life of an ordinary person who was blessed with extraordinary luck.

This original family sitcom is top billed by Asian TV Best Comedy Actor recipient Michael V. as Pepito Manaloto. The show also stars Manilyn Reynes as Elsa Manaloto, Angel Satsumi as Clarissa Manaloto and Jake Vargas as Chito Manaloto. 

REEL DEAL: Ang Nawawala SPOTLIGHT

CINEMALAYA 2012 AUDIENCE CHOICE WINNER “ANG NAWAWALA” BEGINS COMMERCIAL RUN SEPTEMBER 12

Director Marie Jamora’s Ang Nawawala enjoyed a successful run during this year’s Cinemalaya Film Festival, with positive word of mouth created by fans, receiving favorable reviews, and almost every screening selling out as a result. At the close of the festival the film took home two prizes: Best Original Musical Score for composers Mikey Amistoso, Diego Mapa, and Jazz Nicolas; and Audience Choice (New Breed), an award determined by votes from the Cinemalaya audience. No mean feat, considering this was the best-attended Cinemalaya yet, with a 12% increase in viewership over last year. Over the span of the festival the hashtag #AngNawawala was found to be trending on Twitter twice.

MUSIC LYF: Bea Binene launches her debut album “Hey, It’s Me! Bea” on Sept. 9 at Skydome

Being one of the most promising young stars of GMA Kapuso network, Bea Binene’s debut album “Hey, It’s me! Bea” is finally here! Bea’s new offering is poised to capture fans who want to get more of pop singles that celebrate being young and having fun in spades. “Hey, It’s Me! Bea” is now available in stores and for downloads as released by Galaxy Records and distributed by PolyEast Records. 

Feel and experience the cycle of love and friendship! Be it songs of love lost, letting go or falling in love once again, it is here in this purely OPM revivals “Hey, It’s Me Bea” where you will hear a new Bea.  Aside from “Hey It’s Me,” which is the album’s title, Bea’s album features four other tracks. The album boasts the kick-off single “Urong-Sulong Ka,” a revival of a Regine Velasquez pop hit and will also be accompanied with a music video and will be directed by the award-winning music video director Treb Monteras. Another 90s hit remake are “Sayang Na Sayang Lang,” and “Mahal Kita, Walang Iba,” her solo version and a duet with her on-screen partner Jake Vargas.

Bianca King and Heart Evangelista take centerstage in Luna Blanca's third book

Beginning September 10, Kapuso prime actresses Bianca King and Heart Evangelista headline GMA Network's original drama, Luna Blanca, as they breathe life to the adult characters in the story's third generation.

As the series enters its third book, Bianca as the dark-skinned Luna and Heart as the fair-skinned Blanca will continue the journey of the twin sisters in discovering their ancestry and, at the same time, fulfilling their personal destinies.

In this generation, Luna and Blanca's relationship will be tested after being trapped in a love triangle with Joaquin, whose character will be portrayed by Mark Herras. The sisters are in love with the same man, but Joaquin is smitten with Blanca from the moment he laid eyes on her.

REEL DEAL: The Watch REVIEW

In a peaceful and simple suburban town of Glenview, Ohio, where everything seems to be perfect will be the target of a very big invasion that will also determine the fate of mankind. Evan  Truartwig, a manager of the local Costco manager forms a team called "The Neighboorhood Watch" to investigate the murderer of his co-worker.

Though very active in the community with putting up clubs for the residents, he has very few friends. With the establishment of "The Neighborhood watch", he met 3 interesting individuals, (Bob, Jamarcus, and Franklin) who will be part of a big discovery. 

The Watch  (orginally titled "Neighborhood Watch" with an original alien-themed, bullet-ridden poster, bearing a modified neighborhood watch sign, that was replaced as Fox sought to distance the premise from the Trayvon Martin case.)  brings together Ben Stiller Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill and Richard Ayoade. With each has a very interesting comedic style, it brings a lot of interesting scenes with each dialogue.

Pen Medina portrays ‘Mother Ben’ in GMA’s ‘Aso ni San Roque’

Veteran stage and TV actor Pen Medina has replaced Eddie Garcia as ‘Mother Ben’ in the upcoming drama-fantasy series on GMA-7, “Aso ni San Roque.” 

Originally, the role of an elderly and motherly gay, was offered to Eddie Garcia but due to unforeseen health concerns, Garcia later requested the producers to give him a less time-demanding role, instead. Garcia will now portray the role of ‘Supremo,’ the leader of the aswangs. 

As ‘Mother Ben,’ Pen Medina will be the adoptive ‘mother’ to the lead star Mona Louise Rey who stars as ‘Fatima,’ a blind girl who has a dog, ‘Anghel’ for a pal.  Anghel is no ordinary canine; she is the incarnate of San Roque’s dog, which possesses a supernatural power to cure diseases. 

Pen says he enjoys Mona’s very light and bubbly personality which masks the fact that the eight-year-old girl is actually suffering from Type 1 Diabetes.  Pen very well understands her ordeal especially because the actor’s own son – his youngest – who is only ten years old is also suffering from the same disease. 

REEL DEAL: The Raid Redemption REVIEW

Really don't judge a book (film) by its cover. This has been proven when I saw the screening of the Indonesian Action Film, The Raid: Redemption (Serbuan Muat in Indonesia). The film is under the direction of G.H. Evans and stars the rising Indonesian actor, Iko Uwais. The Raid is the 2nd film of G.H. Evans and Iko Uwais together. Their first film is Merantau, released in 2009, and is considered one of the best martial art films. Like Merantau, The Raid also features the pencak silat, an indigenous fighting style created in Indonesia. Aside from pencak silat, The Raid incorporates different fighting styles. The cast is actually composed of professional martial artists from different disciplines.

The film is presented by METANTAU FILMS and XTZ FILMS in association with Celluloid Nightmare. The film is about an elite team of cops tasked to raid a rundown 15-storey apartment and remove its owner, a notorious drug lord called Tama. The apartment has never been touched by the police before and is now a sanctuary of infamous gangsters. The team infiltrates the apartment but a chance encounter with a spotter blows their cover. Tama orders the lockdown on the building. While the team has been stranded on one of the building’s floors, Tama solicits the aid of notorious criminals to defeat the special unit.

MUSIC LYF: Frank Ocean

Who is FRANK OCEAN?

Oblivious to the local music scene is a 24 year old American singer-songwriter named FRANK OCEAN who happens to be heating up the World Wide Web after unleashing his new album, “channel ORANGE”, and later stating how he has fallen in love with someone of the same sex as revealed in the album’s liner notes. In the past few weeks, Frank Ocean has nearly gotten 1.5 Million tweets and has been featured on 5,192 blogs. The album has also trended worldwide and has been tweeted 154,887 times. SPIN Magazine expressed that "A lot of people are going to love this man (Ocean) very soon." People Magazine stated that “channel ORANGE is not just the best debut of 2012 – it’s the best album period.” 

Mona Louise Rey and wonder dog Anghel banner GMA-7's newest telefantasya Aso ni San Roque

In the tradition of producing innovative and quality telefantasyas, GMA Network launches its newest series about a little girl who is gifted with a power to fulfill a prophecy and to transform the lives of the people she meets via Aso ni San Roque. It will air beginning September 10 right after 24 Oras.

After making audiences cry during her stint in GMA's top-rating teledrama, Munting Heredera and Luna Blanca, Mona Louise Rey is back on primetime to portray the role of Fatima --a blind girl with a good heart, who is the daughter of a mortal man to a mythical creature called “manananggal.” Behind Fatima's persona is a prophecy that is said to end the life of all evil creatures on earth.

2nd Skills-Up Training for OFWs Launched By Villar Foundation

OFWs around the world still contribute an important  portion of the GDP of the country however there is a number of them that are abused, underpaid and sent back with empty handed. Though many of them find it hard to find work locally and unable to start a business. The Villar Foundation, led by its Managing Director Cynthia Villar, launched the 2nd OFW Skills-up Training recently in Masibay, Las Piñas. 

With the aim of helping repatriated OFWs and their families who are having difficulty in finding employment, the program provides necessary skills training, particularly commercial cooking and housekeeping.