Mr World and Mr International 2012 Winners

It was a back-to-back-to-back season of male international pageants, and started off with Manhunt International which was won by our very own Jhune Macasaet of the Philippines. Then, the Mr World and Mr International pageants were held simultaneously on the same night. The 2012 Mr World was held in London, England, and Francisco Javier Escobar Parra of Colombia won the title, with our very own Andrew Wolf of the Philippines emerging as the 1st runner up, and 2nd runner up was Ireland.
Completing the 10 finalists were delegates from Vietnam, Canada, Croatia, Belgium, England, Peru and Lebanon. While the 2012 Mr International was held in Bangkok, Thailand and 23 year old Ali Hammoud of  Lebanon won the title. Runners up were Singapore (1st), Slovenia (2nd), Brazil (3rd) and Slovakia (4th).
The top 10 finalists included Mr Turkey, Malaysia, France, Korea and Indonesia.
Completing the 16 semi-finalists were Mr Italy, Thailand, China, Venezuela, Macedonia and Serbia.

Miss Earth 2012 Winners

The 2012 Miss Earth beauty pageant recently concluded with Tereza Fajksova of Czech Republic bagging the title, held in Alabang, in the Philippines. Over 80 delegates from all over the world competed in this prestigious pageant, only one of 3 major international beauty pageants, The Miss World and Miss Universe being the other two. Our very own, Stephanie Stephanowitz of the Philippines was adjudged 1st runner up (Miss Earth Air), while Miss Venezuela emerged 2nd runner up (Miss Earth Water) and Miss Brazil 3rd runner up (Miss Earth Fire).
The other finalists chosen were Miss USA, South Africa, Russia and Nepal.
Completing the top 16 semi-finalists were Miss Costa Rica, Korea, Scotland, Italy, Mexico, Japan, Poland and Germany.
There is only one more major beauty pageant left, and this is the most prestigious of them all, The Miss Universe pageant which will take place in Las Vegas, USA sometime mid of December.

PAHIRAM NG SANDALI

There have been countless teleseryes, telenovelas and soap operas for the past couple of years, mainly from the rival tv networks ABSCBN and GMA, and lately, TV5 has also joined the bandwagon. Unfortunately, only a handful of these shows are worth watching, and most of them have the same concepts and plots..you would think that all of them are conceptualized by only one writer. That is why I don't usually patronize these teleseryes, except for a couple of them which I religiously followed, among them GMA7's "Amaya" which was a monumental epic serye which ran for almost 10 months, and even won several awards, the recently concluded "One True Love", also from Channel 7, and ABSCBN's 'Walang Hanggan" which was a phenomenal hit amongst everyone, from the rich to the poor households. And now, I am about to start patronizing another new teleserye, also on GMA7, since I happen to be a certified Kapuso. This teleserye is a drama serye "Pahiram ng Sandali" which will premiere on the 26th of this month. I particularly chose this project mainly because of it's ensemble cast, a powerful one, and I particularly adore these veteran dramatic thespians. Headlining the cast is Dingdong Dantes, Lorna Tolentino, Christopher de Leon, Sandy Andolong, Alessandra de Rossi, Julio Diaz, Kristoffer Martin, Mark Gil, and newcomer Max Collins, who replaced Kylie Padilla. This will be directed by Maryo de los Reyes. This is Lorna's comeback project with the Kapuso channel, after having done projects for both ABS and TV5.

2012 Manhunt International Winners

It seems that the Year 2012 is the Year of Asian supremacy in the world of beauty pageants, both male and female. Miss China was named Miss World 2012, and Miss Japan was named Miss International 2012, and just last night, our very own June Macasaet of the Philippines was adjudged Manhunt International 2012. June is a professional ramp model, and he won over 54 other male delegates from all over the world, held in Bangkok, Thailand. He also won the New Urban Male award.
First runner up was Sweden, 2nd runner up was Macau, who also won Mr Physique, 3rd runner up was Puerto Rico, who was also named Face of the Year, and 4th runner up was Singapore, who was named Mr Internet Popularity. The other semi-finalists included delegates from Dominican Republic, USA, Switzerland, Venezuela, Thailand, Colombia, and my earlier bet Greece. Also included in the 15 semi-finalists were India, who was named Mr. Photogenic, Latvia who was named Best Runway Model, Denmark who was named Mr. Friendship. Other special awards were Best National Costume - Hongkong, and Mr. Personality - Bahamas.
It is the very first time that the Philippines bagged the Manhunt International title.

2012 ManHunt International Favorites

The 16th Manhunt International male pageant will take place on November 9 in Bangkok, Thailand. Manhunt is considered the most prestigious international male pageant, and this year 55 gorgeous men from all over the world will be competing for the coveted title. The reigning Manhunt titleholder is John Chen from China. Among the top contenders this year are delegates from Australia, Belgium, Bosnia, Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Latvia, Puerto Rico, Singapore, USA, Vietnam and and our very own June Macasaet from the Philippines.

Movie Review: A Secret Affair

Movie Rating:
* * * * *  - Excellent
* * * *     - Very Good
* * *        - Good
* *           - So-So
*              - Trash

For my initial movie review, I have rated Viva Films "A Secret Affair" with * * * * - 4 stars, meaning it was a very good film, and is worth watching. Nuel Naval's style of directing can be compared to a Hollywood film. While watching the film, one would be mesmerized by it's Hollywood concept. You would easily forget that you're watching a locally-made film. For one thing, 90% of the dialogue and speaking lines are in English.
It was a better film than his previous blockbuster "No Other Woman." Derek Ramsey's acting has immensely improved,  and he now knows how to control his emotions and with depth. Anne Curtis is quite effective as well, although there are a couple of scenes where she tends to over-act, but the big revelation is that of Andi Eigenmann, who delivers an outstanding performance as a happy-go-lucky, liberated, spoiled brat. Her intimate scenes are so natural, you would think it's for real. Her real-life mom, the versatile and one of the best character actresses Jaclyn Jose was also excellent, as usual. What makes the film worth-watching are the numerous quotes and one-liners, particularly "Cheating is not an accident, it's a choice."
Scenes I really liked include the one where Jaclyn, Anne and her little sister just came from the place of  Jaycee Parker, the mistress, and that particular car scene where they just kept on laughing their hearts out.
I also enjoyed that scene where Anne sprayed Camomile lotion on Andie's face. I really thought she was going to spray acid or something. "A Secret Affair" is a must-watch film, although I am not pretty sure if the CD market will get to appreciate the film, and relate to it.