LA LA LAND AND MOONLIGHT WINS BIG IN CONTROVERSIAL OSCARS

The 89th Academy Awards was a big hit not before some controversies at the tail end of the show as La La Land was initially announced as the Best Picture but afterwards given to Moonlight instead. It was a great shocker as La La Land was seemed poised  to win the big prize but again Moonlight wa as deserving as the musical. La La Land went home with 6 Oscars after a record-tying 14 nominations. Moonlight grabbed 3 trophies which includes the Best Picture piece. Moonlight became the first film with an all-black cast and the first LGBT film to win Best Picture.

Casey Affleck grabbed Best Actor for his performance in Manchester by the Sea while Emma Stone took the Best Actress trophy for her role in La La Land. Mahershala Ali won Best Supporting Actor for Moonlight and Viola Davis took the Best Supporting Actress for Fences.

La La Land's director Damien Chazelle took home the Best Director trophy.

MOVIE REVIEW: FIFTY SHADES DARKER

The second installment to the Fifty Shades movie franchise hit me more than the first one. Although the first film was more graphic and more sexual, Fifty Shades Darker triumph this time with putting more emphasis on its emotional aspects. We continue the story of Christian Grey (Jamie Dorman) and Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson) after their emotional break-up.

What hits me with this film is that it focused more on Christian and Ana's love story. We are treated to a place wherein we see the human side of Christian and how affectionate he is. We go into his side stories and what has happened from the past while trying to rekindle the emotions between him and Ana.

The film is gripping with some of the scenes as it will sometimes catch you off guard. But sometimes, in its effort to surprise everyone, it gets too much and lost much fluidity. And while the film's sexual content may have been toned down, some scenes still elicit sexual innuendo and they have successfully made it into a wonderful bonding and ties between two individuals.


Overall, I loved this film and could not wait for the final installment. 8 out of 10 popcorns.

GRAMMY AWARDS THE MUSIC INDUSTRY'S BEST

The 2017 Grammy Awards got mixed feels as it awarded once more Adele with the 3 major awards - Song of The Year, Album of the Year and Record of The Year. Though most people feel Adele's Hello was one of the best for last year, a lot was not expecting the relative sweep. People were put in shock as the highly successful "Lemonade" by Beyoncé failed to snag the best album plum. Some were also much more excited to see Justin Bieber's "Love Yourself" as the one for the Record of the Year.

Despite the mixed feels on the results, it was generally a good year again for the music industry's biggest night. Adele went on to become the most successful for the night bringing home 5 trophies. Before the event, Beyoncé seemed like the favorite to win big with her nine nominations but was stopped with the major awards by Adele.

PAUL ISKANDAR FROM LEBANON IS NEW MISTER INTERNATIONAL

The new Mister International has been crowned. Out of 35 contestants, Paul Iskandar of Lebanon won the coveted title for Lebanon's 3rd title in the pageant's history. Paul bested out Japanese Masaya Yamagishi and Vinicio Modolo of Italy for the title he seemed destined to win from the get go.

Iskandar has been an early front-runner and favorite due to his statuesque frame, good striking looks and a body to die for. He simply dominated each aspect from the formals to the swimwear up to the casuals interviews - from pre-pageant up to event proper.

No wonder he is the winner in this year's edition. He has given the new male a different mark - one that is not only good looking but also with brains to match the looks. Congratulations Paul!

MALE HOTTIE: KIRST VIRAY

Model Kirst Viray burst into the limelight recently with his connection with Kiray Celis and their rumored relationship. And for this hottie, we can't help but take another look and man he is indeed hot and gorgeous.

Standing tall with his long hair, he is tall handsome and more. What makes him noticeable is his great personality that is reflected with his pics. He seems fun and nice to be with and the camera seems to love him by much. is every frame and shot is truly amazing that shows his sexiness and masculinity.

We will expect more of this hot guy this year for sure but for now feast your eyes with some of his gorgeous pics.

MOVIE REVIEW: UNDERWORLD: BLOOD WARS

Underworld has made a name for Kate Beckinsale but definitely the demand and popularity of this movie franchise has dwindled down through the years and with Underworld: Blood Wars we are expected to see the loved characters one last time.

The vampires genre has lost popularity and so as with Kate. And with a story that did not present anything fresh, this film was bound to miss at some points. Loopholes here and there with the story takes you into a rollercoaster ride wherein you will feel lost all the time. But despite the lackluster story, the film tries to compensate it with the nice visuals and effects which was successful in some ways or two.

The film lacks the blood packing punch of the four previous installments and this has caused the film to stall at places. Beckinsale was as usual great but she alone could not save this film from falling flat on the ground.


6.5 out of 10 popcorns.

FEMALE HOTTIE: EMMANUELLE VERA

Filipino singer-songwriter Emmanuelle Vera just puts fire on the heat of summer. For fans of Emmanuelle you may want recall her from joining "The Voice" where she was part of Apl's team in 2013. But fast forward 4 years and you have a steamier and hotter gal ready to put jaws dropping.

In FHM's February issue, she graced its cover and all she could elicit were ohhs and aahs. She has definitely blossomed into one wonderful flower and her pics are more than proof how she has become better. Clad in her sexy bikinis, she takes sexiness into a new level. What more can you ask for? She seemingly has it all.

Emmanuelle seems poised for more and this is just the start of brighter days ahead. Now just feast your eyes with her wonderful shots.

GLOBAL MUSIC CHARTS: FEBRUARY 4, 2017

Bruno Mars fended off competition as he remained at the top spot with his power song "Versace on The Floor". He resisted challenge from Lady Gaga (A Million Reasons) who stormed into No. 2 spot and a surge from "Shape of You" by Ed Sheeran who vaulted from No. 26 to No. 8. The Vamps feat Matona made their debut with "All Night" at No. 14.

OPM MUSIC CHARTS: FEBRUARY 4, 2017

Sud finally grabs the top spot with their song "Sila" as they unseat last week's champ Michael Pangilinan. Sam Concepcion's Afterglow made steady progress jumping into No.5 in the charts while 2 new entries entered the list with "Pakipot Suplado" by Alexa Ilacad at No. 26 and "Laro" by Autotelic at No. 29.

MISS FRANCE IRIS MITTENAERE WINS MISS UNIVERSE 2016

After weeks of great festivities in the island country of the Philippines, the 65th edition of the Miss Universe finally crowned a new queen. This time it is France's Iris Mittenaere who was successful besting out 80+ candidates for the crown. Reigning beauty queen Pia Wurtzbach crowned her successor on a jam-packed MOA Arena.

The victory ended a 63 year drought for France for the crown and has made a stunning remark on the changing of the standards for Miss Universe. She won over the judges and beat 1st Runner-up Raquel Pelissier of Haiti and 2nd Runner-up Andrea Tovar of Colombia. Philippine bet Maxine Medina ended in the Top 6.

Iris wowed the audiences in the preliminaries with her sexy national costume resembling that of a Moulin Rouge performer. Though her victory came at a surprise to some, she is one worthy title holder with beauty, poise and great heart. Well I had her at No. 6 in my final predictions. :)

REPOST: RAINDROPS

RAINDROPS...

by Bluecloud

Rain...

As I am left stranded and can't go home because of the heavy outpour from the Heavens, I realized how my life has been in a cloudy mood for some time. Gone were the days when my life was brimming with happiness... energy, fame. luxury, acquaintances... Now they are mere parts of the past... Even if I want to get them all back, I can't - at least for the moment. It would take an enormous amount of effort to retrieve what was once mine. Each and every piece of my old life seemed scattered to different places. I am hoping I could still get them back or maybe at least get a glance at them for one more time...

Rain continues to pour and I am still stuck... Decisions should be made... I want to go home and desperately desire to take refuge. How can I with the amount of rain falling down? I would definitely get wet, drenched and worse soaked... Got to make a stand and decide...

And so I go on and took a step outside, not minding the rain... letting each raindrop fall on me...

SERENA AND ROGER TAKES AUSTRALIAN OPEN CROWN

The Australian Open 2017 was one to be remembered. The changing of the guard both in Men's and Women's tennis has suddenly been put into halt by 4 veterans who stormed their way into the finals and 2 winners who both deserve the titles - Roger Federer and Serena Williams

In the Men's field, Roger Federer beat the odds and competition and at 35 years of age grabbed his 18th Grand Slam title and 5th Australian Open beating veteran rival Rafael Nadal in 5 grueling sets in the finals. None have put them as favorites for the finals but the path became more clear for them as each of the strong competitors fell by the wayside. 6-time champ Novak Djokovic was bundled out in the 2nd round while World No. 1 Andy Murray was also bundled out early. None of the young guns took the chance and each one of them failed to derail a much awaited Federer-Nadal final.

In the Ladies field, Serena was one of the favorites but with her see-saw performances in the past was not the top dog to win the title. Much more with sister Venus who at 36 has never progressed much beyond the second week in recent years. But against all odds, the sisters once more faced each other in the finals with the younger of Williams sister, Serena taking the crown. Challengers Pliskova, Kerber and Muguraza all fell with their respective hurdles paving the way to an epic final.

GLOBAL MUSIC CHARTS: JANUARY 28, 2017

Bruno Mars scores his 3rd No.1 hit in our charts in the past 3 months with his moving song "Versace On The Floor" putting Zayn and Taylor Swift out of the top spot and down to No.3. James Arthur and his tune "Say You Won't Let Go" makes a steady move up in reclaiming the top spot as he moves back up to No. 2. Ed Sheeran's "Shape of You" debuts at No. 26 while Little Mix makes their entry at No. 19 with "Shout To My Ex".