Limelight

The richness and wonders of Japanese cuisine are set to be celebrated at Eiga Sai 2015, the latest edition of the annual Japanese film festival organized by The Japan Foundation Manila that will be held from July 9 to 19 at Shangri-La Plaza’s Shang Cineplex in Mandaluyong City.

By Alvin I. Dacanay This week theater lovers are expected to come to the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) to catch the dozen dramatic works that are set to debut at the Virgin Labfest, the annual laboratory festival of untried, untested and unstaged plays that is now on its 11th year.

Twenty-seven women from different parts of the City of Manila are set to compete in the Miss Manila 2015 pageant, with the grand coronation night to be held at the Philippine International Convention Center Plenary Hall at 7 p.m. on June 24.

Story and photos by Alvin I. Dacanay Rak of Aegis, the hit Philippine Educational Theater Association (Peta) musical that uses the songs of pop-rock band Aegis to tell the story of a young woman who dreams of achieving YouTube stardom, and the problems facing her perpetually flooded village, swept the Seventh Gawad Buhay! awards, earning 11 trophies at a three-hour-plus …

Review by Jake Coyle / The Associated Press Along the scaly spine of the Tyrannosaurus Rex runs the evolution of Hollywood blockbusteringaz. Twenty-two years ago, Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park set the standard for the kind of movie the industry has, ever since, bred like test-tube dinos. Their genes are genetically modified for the requisite computer-generated effects, merchandising tie-ins and theme …

The Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) has announced that it is now accepting entries to the 27th edition of the Gawad CCP Para sa Alternatibong Pelikula at Video (CCP Independent Film and Video Competition), or Gawad Alternatibo, which will be held in August.

Review by Jake Coyle / The Associated Press Ridiculous questions about the funniness and bankability of women have clouded exactly what’s going on here: Nobody is a better comedic actor right now than Melissa McCarthy. She’s a combustible ball of comic fury rolled up in Chaplinesque sweetness, equally capable of profanity-laced verbal virtuosity as perfectly timed pratfalls. In her latest, …

CineFilipino Film Festival 2015, organized and led by Unitel Productions, and in partnership with the MVP Group of Companies, has announced that it is extending the deadline for the submission of entries to the festival to June 15.

By Lindsey Bahr / The Associated Press Los Angeles—Dwayne Johnson has played his share of outsized heroes over the years. His characters have taken down crazed criminals and evil empires. He has crushed an army of fire ants with his chin. He has even flexed his way out of a plaster cast.

By Alvin I. Dacanay Indie films Barber’s Tales and Dagitab received the highest number of nominations—11 each—for the 38th Gawad Urian, which was revealed last week on a list that features several high-profile names in the acting categories and reflects the continued love shown to Philippine independent movies by respected film critics’ group Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino (MPP).