‘Epic’ Aga-Regine rom-com here at last

AGA MUHLACH plays a bar flunkee. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

All good things come to those who wait. So fans of Regine Velasquez and Aga Muhlach can now rejoice. Their rom-com movie under Viva Films and GMA Films, “Of All The Things,” will finally be shown on Sept. 26.

Aga portrays Umboy (Umbrella Boy), a bar retaker who holds office as a notary public under an umbrella. Regine plays Berns, an overly ambitious, social-climbing, class-A fixer. Their paths cross by some twist of fate, leading to a roller coaster ride of laughter, drama and romance.

“We call our movie an epic,” says Reg, “since it took three years to make. We stopped shooting when I got pregnant, but it would have been a waste to not finish it.”

How is it different from their previous films together? “It’s more funny than romantic,” she notes. “It’s cute, without us making pa-cute, since we’re older.” Of all the things there are to love about the Regine-Aga tandem, this new movie is bound to give us more reasons to adore them all over again.

No star complex

Arlene Muhlach raves about her costars in ABS-CBN’s “Walang Hanggan”: “No one has star complex. Our lead  stars Julia Montes and Coco Martin are very humble. Julia can ask for her own tent but she doesn’t mind sharing one with me.”

No wonder the teleserye soars in the ratings. The actors’ good vibes off-cam rubs off on their characters on-cam.

A for ‘Captive’

We gave Brilliante Mendoza’s “Captive” an A rating at the Cinema Evaluation Board. The Cannes best director winner is out to captivate us with his latest masterpiece which opens in cinemas today. Let’s hear it straight from Direk Dante:

“The events depicted are based on hostage crisis situations that have taken place in the Philippines, such as the 2001 Dos Palmas kidnappings in Palawan and other abductions by the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) and similar separatist organizations.

“I treated ‘Captive’ as a single real event. The script was based on intensive research …  and testimonies of survivors, captors, the military and other people who witnessed, and/or were part of, each crisis.

“About 25 percent of the film consists of fictional elements—mostly characters and scenes that I felt were necessary for enhancement and dramatization.

“I shot the story in a straightforward manner, in keeping with the concept of reality as contained in the material.

“Acclaimed actress Isabelle Huppert plays Therese, a French volunteer social worker for an NGO based in Palawan. That character is fictional, added to provide a microscopic eye on the interior makeup of the ASG and the kidnapping.

“Therese’s observations give us insights into the Muslim identity of the captors—their interpretations of the Koran, their ambitions, fears, weaknesses. She also witnesses the poverty and lack of education in the Islamic community.

“My depiction of the captors is definitely not one-dimensional. Like [anyone of us], they can be funny at times, angry and violent at other times, even caring and compassionate under certain circumstances.

“I am not defending the Abu Sayyaf or their cause … or justifying anything. ‘Captive’ is all about humanity—the Abu Sayyaf’s, the hostages’, even the military’s as an arm of the so-called Established Order.”

Despite the unresolved conflict, “Captive” shows the big picture: Everyone is captive to their own cause.