Entertainment News (10/17/23)

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The Italian Film Festival returns

THIS year, the Italian Film Festival in Manila delves deeper into Italian culture, life, and art and will run from Oct. 21 to 24 at the Cineplex, Cinema 3 of the Venice Grand Canal Mall in McKinley Hill, Taguig City. It will feature six recent films: Diabolik where love and crime mix in a series of adventures by Antonio and Marco Manetti; Leonora Addio by Paolo Taviani which tells of the adventure of the urn of ashes of Pirandello and its journey from Rome to Agrigento; Il Colibrì (The Hummingbird) by Francesca Archibugi which follows a man from the 1970s to the near future and the myriad relationships on his path; Il Ritorno Di Casanova by Gabriele Salvatores follows the famous Venetian libertine as he has trouble facing the fact that he’s over 60; Settembre by Giulia Steigerwalt is set on a September day when three people realize that the life they find themselves in is not the one they had dreamed of; Diabolik Ginko All’attacco by Antonio Manetti and Marco Manetti continues the story of Diabolik as the film follows his escape from Inspector Ginko’s latest trap. One film will be screened on opening night on Oct. 21; on Oct. 22 and 23, two films will be featured at 6:30 and 8:30p.m.; and the last film will be shown on Oct. 24 to close the Italian Film Festival. All screenings will be available to the public (on a first-come, first-served basis) and are free of charge. The Italian Film Festival is organized by the Philippine-Italian Association under the auspices of the Embassy of Italy in the Philippines.

Music gaming app features ABS-CBN artists

NEWLY launched rhythm gaming app SuperStar Philippines is bringing the music of many ABS-CBN artists to Filipinos’ phones through an upbeat mobile game. The likes of Daniel Padilla, Janella Salvador, Belle Mariano, Maymay Entrata, Jayda, Angela Ken, BINI, BGYO, and Nameless Kids are now part of the app, which comes from US-based company Dalcomsoft in partnership with ABS-CBN Music. The rhythm game itself allows players to tap along to songs such as like Daniel Padilla’s “Simpleng Tulad Mo,” Ms. Mariano’s “Sigurado,” Ms. Entrata’s “Amakabogera,” BGYO’s “Tumitigil ang Mundo,” and BINI’s “Lagi.” They are now part of the SuperStar Series that features over 450 artists in its roster and is known for its success in South Korea, Japan, and the United States with over 75 million downloads worldwide. SuperStar Philippines is free to download on the App Store and Google Play.

Aegis to stage a Christmas concert

THE AEGIS, known for its powerhouse tunes, will have its first ever holiday concert, AEGIS: The Christmas Bonus Concert. The show will take place at The Theatre at Solaire in Parañaque City on Dec. 20. It aims to capture the spirit of the holiday season as the OPM (original Pilipino music) stars serenade their fans with Christmas-themed songs as well as their familiar hits, backed by an orchestra and rendered with intricate arrangements that elevate the experience of listening to Aegis live. Tickets are now available at all TicketWorld outlets nationwide and their official website.

Alden Richards, Julia Montes team up in romantic movie

THE FIRST-TIME big-screen tandem of Alden Richards and Julia Montes is Five Breakups and A Romance, directed by Irene Villamor (known for her work in Meet Me in St. Gallen, Sid and Aya, and Camp Sawi). The very first collaboration between GMA Pictures, Cornerstone Studios, MYRIAD Corp., and Axinite Digicinema, the film also marks the first time the two leads are paired together for the big screen. Five Breakups and A Romance is a modern love story between the carefree Lance (Richards) and the career-driven Justine (Montes), who must find the ideal midpoint between love and career. The movie opens on Oct. 18 in cinemas nationwide.

Film tackles online shopping scam

SHOPPING for second-hand items online becomes a terrifying and life-threatening situation in the upcoming Korean action thriller Target, starring K-Drama’s Shin Hae-Sun, along with Kang Tae-Oh and Kim Sung-Kyun. Soo-hyun’s (Hae-Sun) life falls apart when she is targeted by a killer after buying a used washing machine online. Bent on saving costs due to skyrocketing prices of goods, Soo-hyun falls for a deal when a seller posted a second-hand washing machine online at a very cheap, irresistible price only to find out that she’s been scammed since the item is not working. She tracks the seller and warns everyone online about being scammed but soon finds out that this is no ordinary scammer. The film, directed by Park Hee-kon, opens on Oct. 18 in local cinemas.