Stars and starlets in transition

BRILLANTES. Cast as the titular character in the remake of “Annaliza.”

This show biz season, some starlets are finally getting their big break, while a number of certified stars have been going through a rough patch in their careers. The contrast should make all celebrities realize that none of them can afford to relax and rest on their laurels.

You really are only as good as your last role, and the big stellar break you get today definitely does not assure an endless future of fantastic tomorrows!

This season, the big “breakthrough” starlet is Andrea Brillantes, thanks to her being cast as the title character in the current remake of “Annaliza.” After Julie Vega, Andrea has been entrusted with the potentially starmaking role.

Big plus

So why did Andrea get the part over scores of other young comers? First, she looks good on-cam, with those soulful eyes that are a big plus for any TV-film actress (“eyes are windows to the soul,” etc.).

SANTOS. On the comeback trail.

On point of acting ability, she can cry copiously and on cue, so that’s another requirement proficiently filled. But, the soggy melodrama hews to predictable conventions that prevent Andrea from coming up with a deeply felt rather than safely “generic” portrayal—so in our view, no celebratory bells should be rung just yet. Let’s hope that Andrea will be given a chance to show what she can really do as a young actress—soonest.

For her part, Judy Ann Santos is on the comeback trail in the field of teleserye melodrama, and has been gifted with her very own series, “Huwag Ka Lang Mawawala,” where she can show off her new svelte, adult look, and her more intense and less pa-cute thespic chops.

Let’s hope that she unveils a really new dramatic persona, leaner and “meaner” than ever before, so her comeback will turn out to be the big reveal of 2013!

Vehicle

On the foreign film scene, the sci-fi film, “After Earth,” starring Will Smith and his now teenage son, Jaden, was supposed to be the vehicle for Jaden’s surge to teen superstardom, but the sad news is that it isn’t happening.

MARUDO. Needs to go the action-drama route.

The film ended up only in third place in the past week’s box-office competition. What went wrong? A “symptom” could be the fact that the flick’s director, M. Night Shymalan, hasn’t had a hit in years.

That’s really too bad for Jaden, who’s already chalked up impressive outings in “The Pursuit of Happyness” (again costarring with his dad), “The Day the Earth Stood Still,” and “The Karate Kid” (with Jackie Chan).

Well, Jaden is young, so he could still recover with another starrer. Don’t count him out, as in permanently knocked out, just yet!

Good showing

Back on the local TV-film scene, Zanjoe Marudo scored points with his double-trouble roles in the gay comedy flick, “Bromance,” but it isn’t clear if that good showing will boost his career in general.

Since the movie was a gay romp, the acting challenge for Zanjoe was how well he could convincingly swish and dish—but, can he “apply” that “achievement” to the roles he will tackle in the future?

What Zanjoe needs to come into his own as a major comer who can “level up” to the more experienced and established likes of Jericho and Piolo is a drama-action starrer that he can really sink his teeth into—like a remake of “Maynila, Sa Mga Kuko ng Liwanag” or “Jaguar.”