For the first time

For the first time, fans were treated to a grand spectacle of two of our brightest, most beautiful young stars, setting the silver screen on fire with a conflagration of romance, raw emotionality and captivating scenery.

But wait: such a spectacle is actually familiar--we've seen a lot of that in the 1980s with Gabby Concepcion and Sharon Cuneta. That however will not dissuade fans who will surely swoon over the love team of Richard Guiterrez and KC Concepcion, who star together for the first time in their film, uh, "For the First Time".

Watching the first half-hour of the film, I began to wonder whether I was the only person in the audience old enough to be feeling a sense of deja vu: Gabby and Sharon then, Richard and KC now. There has never been a love team in recent memory that crackled with the same energy, the same romantic, saccharine, diabetic coma-inducing sweetness as what Richard Gutierrez and KC Concepcion were generating onscreen. Theirs is definitely the love team to beat.

Let's face it: those two simply look gorgeous together. In the months leading up to the negotiations between GMA-7 and ABS-CBN to make the Richard-KC tandem a reality, everybody--from network officials to members of the press, to die hard movie fans, to even the average Juan who gets a whiff of showbiz news every now and then--everybody must have felt a sense of destiny: the feeling that "Of course. We simply must have a Richard and KC love team."

And so this is where destiny has brought us: watching Richard cry his eyes out in scenes that definitely required him to channel more than just his Captain Barbel, Mulawin and whatever other action hero character he played in GMA-7. That Richard was able to shed that many tears is probably a kudos to director Joyce Bernal.

Destiny has also brought us the sight of KC using her lips for something more passionate than flashing that Gabby Concepcion smile for the cameras (hey, her biological father did start out as a toothpaste model): kissing Richard Gutierrez torridly a few times.

The plot is standard Pinoy romantic fare so it's really not a good idea to give spoilers: Rich, privileged but very smart, very level-headed girl meets hunky hearthrob. Said heartthrob is standard romantic movie "bad boy": he's a consumate playboy, treating women like objects and probably thinks he's hit the jackpot with someone as lovely as Pia (KC Concepcion) who, while intelligent, is quite naive in the ways of the world.

Playboy Seth (Richard Gutierrez) however is in for a surprise: true love is right around the corner and will soon break his own wayward heart. Pia gets heart-broken, too; after all, being an over-protected daughter never prepared her for the kind of games and betrayals that Seth will bring into her life.

Another "star" in the movie is Santorini Island in Greece, where the film's most beautiful scenes were shot. One could sense that Bernal herself may have fallen in love with the locale. There's another star who deserves mention: who else but the impossibly comic Candy Pangilinan, who livened up every scene where she played a love-struck yaya.

So if you want a sweet escape from your troubles for the day, "For the First Time" would not be a bad choice: its two beautiful lead stars combine with Santorini for a sweeping two-hour escape into our adolescent fantasies--back when romance felt like a frighteningly lethal drug that threatened to consume us, eclipsing reason, and earning us the ire of our parents.

Here's one thing I noticed though: back in the day, when they were the hottest love team in the history of Philippine movies, Gabby Concepcion and Sharon Cuneta acted better than KC and Richard do in this movie. (KC, of course, has proven that she can act--but what else could she do with Pia's character?)

Hopefully, "For the First Time" is only the first of many more movies to come for Richard and KC. In time, perhaps, their fairy tale chemistry and acting would grow even more compelling, even following uncannily the success of the Gabby-Sharon phenomenon.

Then again, we know how that turned out: Gabby and Sharon watching their own daughter's movie premiere in separate theaters. So let's hope Richard and KC don't follow that road too closely.

A Very Special Love

Laida is a modern-day Belle. She works hard to provide for her family while believing that someday she will meet her prince charming and they will live happily ever after together. That prince charming is none other than Miggy Montenagro, the youngest of the Montenegro clan - a well established family in the business world. Laida dreams of meeting Miggy every day and night. These dreams lead her to apply as an Editorial Assostant at Miggy's newly established men's magazine Bachelor despite it being a long shot, hoping that working in the company will allow her to be close to the man who invades her dreams every night.

My Big Love

Star Cinema is once again capitalizing on the tandem of Sam Milby and Toni Gonzaga in their newest Valentine offering - My Big Love. The Sam-Toni was quite successful in You Are The One, which raked in some box-office moolah. And now, that chemistry is bound to become successful as the film utilizes the charm and acting prowess of the two young stars to create another romantic flick. Throw in veteran Kristine Hermosa into the mix, and this sure is going to be a big hit.

My Bestfriend's Girlfriend

After an awkward yet memorable encounter at a stag party, Evo (Richard Gutierrez) and Grace (Marian Rivera) thought they would never see each other again. Little did they know that Grace is actually the girlfriend of Evo's best friend, Mark ('JC de Vera' ). As the arrogant player that he is, Evo takes advantage of what happened at the party to make Grace agree to his demands. He forces Grace to pretend as his girlfriend to make Akiko (Ehra Madrigal), his ex, jealous. But, they will accidentally fall in love to each other.

When Love Begins

Benedicto “Ben” Caballero (Aga Muhlach) is an environmentalist who founded the Mother Earth Movement, an NGO committed to educating Filipinos about the protection of nature. Michelle “Mitch” Valmonte (Anne Curtis) is a marketing assistant who works for his father’s company. She decides to take a vacation with fellow rich friends in Boracay. When Michelle accidentally steps on a sea urchin, she meets Ben, who suggests that someone should pee on her foot to relieve her of the pain.The two instantly hit it off despite their apparent differences. Ben is a vegetarian while Michelle is a carnivore. Ben doesn’t have any vice while Michelle loves to intoxicate herself with alcohol. But their passionate personalities bring them together that they learned to love and accept each other.

But love isn’t always too good to be true. Ben’s involvement in his NGO pushes him to come face to face with Michelle’s father. In the end, Michelle has to make the ultimate decision of choosing between the two men she loves the most.

Caregiver

Filipinos are known to work hard for their families. We are known to do anything just to send our kids to school, give them a better life, and give them the things we weren't able to have when we were still kids. I guess that's one of the greatest of being a Pinoy, the love for families and special someones.

Filipinos are said to be everywhere. In any part of the world, you can see a Filipino. They are either working or visiting the place. Filipinos are the first Asians to ever set foot on the American continent in 1763 and followed by the Chinese in 1778. In the present day, Filipinos formed the second largest group of Asians in the United Sates, after the Chinese. There are also significant number of Filipinos in many parts of the world such as Canada, United Kingdom, Italy, France, Germany, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Dubai and many more. In Palau and Guam, Filipinos are the second largest group of people and in the Northern Marianas Islands, Filipinos are the largest.

Life of a Filipino overseas is never easy. Most Filipinos abroad worked in different fields, most of them as Nurses and in electronics. Some have house-bound jobs and construction companies.

Recently, a film about the life of a Filipino in United Kingdom hit the big screen. The main role is played by Philippine entertainment industry's Mega Star Sharon Cuneta. She played the role of a Filipina teacher who worked as a caregiver in UK in search for greener pasture for his family. Seems like this is the same story with my professor I told you before.

Can you imagine the feeling of working abroad, caring for other person's children while your own children is living alone in care of another person? That's something that most people do not understand. It's not easy to work abroad while you worry what you're family is doing back home. You take care of other person while you can't even take care of your own family. These are the things many Filipinos sacrificed just to give their family a better life.

You need to go and see the film, an eye opener to many aspirants who wants to become an OFW to work abroad. Caregiver is brought to us by Star Cinema and ABS-CBN Network. It is currently in all Philippine cinemas nationwide. It started last May 28. It also has international premieres in this location and dates.