WATCH: McDonald’s shows us what it means to be a perfect pair

MANILA, Philippines - Some things are good on their own but even better together—just like the two of the most iconic Filipino showbiz personalities, Sharon Cuneta and Gabby Concepcion, as highlight of McDonald’s TVC released on Friday, February 9.

Classic loveteam of Gabby Concepcion and Sharon Cuneta star in latest McDonald's commercial | Photo Courtesy: McDonald's Philippines

In the latest viral commercial, we see “ShaGab” chancing upon each other in a McDonald’s store and enjoying a quiet meal together—their first after a very long time.

“Strikingly, there are many similarities between our Chicken McDo with Fries Meal and ShaGab. The Chicken McDo with Fries Meal is one of our best-sellers and has truly become a favorite of our customers over the years. In the same way, ShaGab is one of the most-loved tambalans all time, truly transcending generations,” shares Christina Lao, McDonald’s Marketing Director.

And just like Sharon and Gabby, who are popular in their own right but pack a more powerful punch when paired up, Filipinos love Chicken McDo and Fries separately, but even more so when enjoyed together in one complete meal experience.

McDonald’s said it made the ShaGab comeback possible to let everyone appreciate what a perfect pair means.

Watch the latest TVC starring Sharon and Gabby here.

— The Summit Express

Family and friends of Vic and Pauleen defend Baby Talitha from bashers

MANILA, Philippines - Family and close friends of Pauleen and Vic Sotto decided to hit back at bashers who criticized their daughter, Talitha.

It started when Oyo Boy posted on his Instagram an adorable photo of his baby son, Vin. One netizen commented that baby Vin is so cute that he looks like baby Tali. Another netizen chimed in and replied, “Ang layo naman, ang gwapo gwapo niyan. kitang kita naman ng lahat kung sino kamukha ng anak ni Poleng… si Ryzza Mae.”

Baby Talitha | Photo Courtesy: Instagram/Bossing Vic

This caused a barrage of mixed reactions from netizens. Some agreed, some felt offended while other argued that there was nothing wrong with being compared to Ryzza Mae Dizon.

Oyo Boy decided to intervene and stated, “Please stop. Tali is my sister. Kung yung ibang tao nakikita na may hawig sila ng anak ko, walang problema dun. Kanya kanya yan. Tama na. Thank you."

Veteran writer Lolit Solis also has a few words for those bashing Baby Talitha. Manay Lolit who is Pauleen’s manager posted on Instagram her reaction on those criticizing the baby’s looks. She stated, “Para maman talaga sa isang nanay, di ba, nakakainis kung sinasabing kamukha ng iba ang anak mo?”

“Ok lang kung kamukha mo o kamukha ng tatay, o kamukha ni Ms. Universe o sino pang sikat na artista, pero iyong kani-kanino ikumpara, foul naman di bah!”

She added that babies are “angels” and shouldn’t be involved in “intrigas.”

Mommy appreciates

Mommy Pauleen seems to have appreciated the effort of defending her daughter. She replied to Lolit’s post saying, “Thank you, nay! Wala naman sigurong nanay ang papayag na kung ano ano sabihin sa anak niya.”

Baby Tali is now 3 months old | Photo Courtesy: Instagram/Bossing Vic

The celebrity mom reiterated that there’s no problem when others see a similarity with Ryzza as long as there’s no malice in their comments. She said, “If there are people who think that Tali looks like Ryzza, no problem. But for me, she’s a combination of her mom and her dad.”

Pauleen added, “Pero para mag-comment ng kung ano ano lang, para lang may masabi, at halatang may malisya yung comment, eh hindi naman pwede yun. Pati ako nadadamay na, ang daming imbento tungkol sakin. Hay oh well! May mga tao talagang madaming hanash!”

The actress-host also decided to keep her Instagram private.

Mom’s little morena version

Baby Talitha just turned 3 months last February 6. Her mom, Pauleen couldn’t be any happier at her bundle of joy. She posted on Instagram a lovely photo of Baby Tali and described her happiness. She calls Baby Tali as “little morena version of me” who fills them with sunshine.

Baby Tali is her mom’s “little morena version” | Photo Courtesy: Instagram/Pauleen Luna-Sotto

The first-time mom wrote, “3 months since you came into this world my little morena version! Thank you for filling our days (and mama’s nights) with your bright sunshiny smile! You have given us immeasurable joy, little one! All of God’s grace in one tiny face.”

Pauleen added, “Thank you for being behaved, sweet and easy! I will always be here for you and protect you from anyone who tries to hurt you. I love you, Talitha.”

— Sally, The Summit Express

‘Fifty Shades Freed’ Movie Review: It All Ends Here

*MINOR Spoilers Ahead*

Capping the three-parter big screen adaptation of E.L. James’ “Fifty Shades” novels, Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson are back reprising their very much in love characters, Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele respectively. This time, however in “Fifty Shades Freed,” the two are making things official by getting married. Unfortunately, once the honeymoon dust settles, the two are faced with several real-world problems, including the return of big bad, Jack Hyde, played by Eric Johnson.

Dakota Johnson as Ana Steele and Jamie Dornan as Christian Grey in ‘Fifty Shades Freed’/Universal Pictures

By now, it should already be expected that not every single detail from the book has been translated on the big screen. And it has always been the thorn of films based on novel, given that chances are, the majority of people watching the film have also read their source materials. So the best way to cater to it is cleverly cherry pick plot points to include in a two-hour motion picture.

Unfortunately, while “Freed” was able to pinpoint which narratives they want on the movie, the manner with which they were all slapped together makes it feel disjointed. For some reason, it felt like there was so much happening, but at the same time, it seems like no character progression was happening. The first several minutes of the film felt like just a flurry of images of the newly weds in their honeymoon around Europe. It’s such a waste that Universal had to pay for actual location shoots when they could’ve gotten the shots that they wanted have they used a green screen.

Dakota Johnson as Ana Steele in ‘Fifty Shades Freed’/Universal Pictures

If anything, the film,highlighted the books’ futile attempts to make Ana a strong, independent woman. Granted that her relationship with Christian is deeply rooted on love, “Freed” makes her look like a fake heroine. At some point, she insisted on not coming to New York with her husband because of work, but when he whisked her away in a vacation in Colorado after just a couple of days, she didn’t have any objections whatsoever.

The same thing happened at work, while she was initially very awkward of her new position and how she actually got it, she later warmed up to the idea that she could actually call his boss by his first name. Johnson has the acting prowess to actually be a charming but strong headed character based on her other work, but her characterization in this film is too corroded to even know what her personality us.

Additionally, for an R-rated film supposedly leaning heavy on intimate scenes, the film, much like its predecessors, was nothing but lazy when it comes to filming s*x scenes between the two leads from a creative standpoint. Other than the nud*ty and some curse words, there’s really nothing artistically pushing it to have an Adult rating.

Ana and Christian’s making love is a core element of their relationship, and yet, “Freed” cheapened with unpassionate coitus between the two. It also didn’t help that Johnson has already started making inarticulate sounds even before she had contact with Dornan. Whether that’s the ADR done in post-production or not, that shouldn’t have been the case.

Dakota Johnson as Ana Steele and Jamie Dornan as Christian Grey in ‘Fifty Shades Freed’/Universal Pictures

If only “Freed” embraced what it actually is without pretending like it’s a psychological thriller, then people may actually be more acceptable of it. While the books created a huge fan community, phoning it in, knowing that readers of the books will see it seems to be a bit lazy. And it’s not like Dornan and Johnson are bad actors, both have done great work in other projects. So why does it feel like their main responsibility as lead stars of the film is to look good n*ked first and acting just comes second?

The “Fifty Shades” film threequel had a good chance of making something good out of the novels which were frowned upon by many. Folks behind the production could’ve taken the creative liberty to make the films become more thoughtful and better crafted than their source material as a way to send a message to naysayers. Unfortunately, three films after, they just proved their detractors right.

Watch ‘Fifty Shades Freed’ official trailer here:

— ALD, The Summit Express