Impressive directing debut for Perci Intalan

We were among the privileged few invited to the premiere of Perci Intalan’s “Dementia” held Sunday at Cinema 7 of Trinoma. There was an SRO crowd and happily, the Ayala management agreed to let the other people in even if there were no more seats available. Everyone was excited to watch the latest movie of Ms. Nora Aunor who came early to the dinner that was held before the screening.

The stars of “Dementia,” led by the Superstar, were all present – Jasmine Curtis Smith, Bing Loyzaga, Yul Servo, Chynna Ortaleza, Jeric Gonzales, Althea Vega, Lui Manansala, and Lou Veloso. In a brief interview before the screening, Ate Guy said she was very impressed with the work of her director Perci Intalan, the former TV5 executive who decided to give up his job as a television network honcho to try his hand in directing.

We were impressed with “Dementia.” For a debuting director, Perci surely had fine grasp of his material. He knows how to push the right buttons to make the horror work. There were two particular scenes that jolted us – first was when the ghost of the child Olivia first appeared and second was when the ghost touched Jasmine while she was going up the staircase. It was scary and eerie.

Congratulations to Direk Perci for a job well done. As for Ate Guy, she really never runs out of surprises. Just when you thought she has given her all, she comes up with a performance that blows you away. And those eyes! They certainly speak a thousand words. Her performance was greeted with applause from the appreciative crowd which also included Ricky Lee and Eugene Domingo.

Congratulations also to Jasmine, Bing, Chynna and even Jeric who did well in their respective roles. Jasmine is truly an acting find. If you liked her in “Transit,” you will love her even more in “Dementia.”

Bing should do more movies.  Chynna was also very good in her role as Olivia. She said she didn’t think her role would turn out that way but she was happy with what she saw.

Jeric is a revelation. He can act! It’s just a matter of finding the right material that he can sink his teeth into. He and Jasmine have good rapport. Paging GMA Artist Center – it’s about time they give Jeric challenging projects and not confine him to teenybopper stuff.

“Dementia” was graded A by the Cinema Evaluation Board and that should speak highly of the film. It has beautiful cinematography, good music, was edited well and really engaging for a horror movie. The movie is set to compete at the Fantasporto International Film Festival in Portugal next year.

“Dementia” opens today in cinemas nationwide.

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Tom Rodriguez was among the celebrities who got the loudest applause from the SM Mall of Asia Arena audience on the night of The Naked Truth: The Bench Denim and Underwear Show held on Saturday. Tom surprised many with his daring, even bringing down the garter of his underwear a bit to titillate the crowd. His frequent workouts certainly served Tom in good stead as he walked with confidence on the ramp.

Also getting cheers from the crowd was Dennis Trillo who walked for the first time on the ramp in his underwear.

It was Jake Cuenca’s swan song in the Bench fashion show and while he went daring with his choice of underwear, he was severely criticized because many felt he was not in good shape and should not have joined the event.

Other stars getting good comments from netizens were Enchong Dee (who even climbed the stripper pole), Joseph Marco, Martin del Rosario, Sam Concepcion and Dominic Roque (the nephew of former actress Beth Tamayo). Among the females, getting good feedback were Ellen Adarna, Kim Chiu and Marian Rivera.

It seems the audience at the Arena favored the male models and celebrities more since the photos of male celebrities had more postings in social media. Some segments of the show garnered negative reactions, such as that of Coco Martin who had a girl on a leash following him. Some say it was degrading for women. We also heard comments that past editions of the show had more established stars and models, unlike last Saturday where there were more newcomers and unknowns.

The underwear fashion show event unmasks who are popular, who are not popular and who will never be popular. Coco came out not in his underwear but in denim jeans and fully clothed, yet he gained wild cheers, same with Daniel Padilla and Kathryn Bernardo. But some people said that Coco should have worn underwear instead; after all, he started in showbiz in sexy indie films. A fellow writer said that since Coco is not wont to parade wearing sexy underwear then he ought not to join the next show two years from now.

A female star who many say is very popular got a meek reaction, same with a trying hard star who tried his best to make the crowd root for him but to no avail. Same with another male star who was involved in a recent controversy – he got only modest applause and nobody seemed to notice him.