FTLY: Much Awaited Episode 13, ALL PARTS OUT!
June 9, 2008To get the links for the WHOLE Episode 13, head on over to:
NEW SITE!
June 8, 2008I’ve been wanting more features that I can’t get from WordPress, so Cafe Melrose has moved over to Blogger. Please change all links from your sites or URLs from your memory banks to:
cafemelrose.blogspot.com
There’s a chat box up and ready there already, so we can all finally chat!! 
This site will still remain open since there’s so many past posts living here. Happy drama watching!
- Paula
My Girl: Episode 10 With Subtitles OUT!
June 8, 2008
Watch Episode 10 Now!
Thank you as always to the Sub-I-Mo-Eh subbing team. Don’t forget to show them your thanks!
You can find the latest subbed episodes on the right navigation of their site. Happy drama watching!
FTLY Episode 13: Currently Wishing I Understood Mandarin
June 8, 2008FTLY Episode 13 is already out on the Tube, but without English subtitles. 
You can start watching the raw version at Rainie777 or you can simply search YouTube and you’ll see that so many people have uploaded parts of Episode 13 already. As for me, I’m still on the lookout for subtitles.
Lobo & My Girl Friday: Magdayao Steps Up Her Game, but Nina Jose Doesn’t
June 7, 2008Lobo
Shaina Magdayao as Gabby
People that either quietly lurk or participate in my blog entries would know how many times I have shown my disappointment with Shaina Magdayao in the beginning and middle of Lobo. However, I have got to give the girl some props! In Friday night’s episode, during the scene where she shot Silva, in my opinion, was probably the best performance she has ever given. Ever in Lobo (because her MMK episode still reigns).
That little “absence” from Lobo helped everyone because not only did Gabby’s leave let Noah and Lyka further develop their relationship, it also gave Shaina Magdayao the opportunity to really step up and develop her character (that is, if she did go to workshops during that time).
Let me lay out the scene for you:
As Noah, Alec, and Rodolfo goes off to save Lady Elle, Gabby was left as the sniper shooter, so that if or when there was a time she had a clear shot of Silva, she can end his treachery then and there at the cemetery. So when she did have the opportunity to do so, flashbacks of her childhood suddenly crept up, reminding her of how Silva saved her from the poverty that has affected so many in the Philippines. As a child, she had competition for left-over food from the trash bins and didn’t have anyone to take care of her. So in comes Silva, bearing food, promising safety, a place to sleep, a future! All this so that he could use her in his revenge against the Waya, which I don’t think she’s realized yet.
It takes a while for Gabby to pull the trigger, and believe me, I was shouting at her to do so! But at the same time, I could not help but feel some sort of sadness for her. From her agony of whether to shoot or not to shoot, one could see that Gabby really saw Silva as her father figure — it’s just sad to know that the only love she could find was from this horrible monster. Seriously, Lobo crew, get Shain–Ooops, I mean Gabby–with A(Geoff)lec already.
Overall, I bought the whole scene — her tears, her obvious distress in deciding whether to kill Silva, the whirl of emotions construed on her face, and all of this mixed with the flashbacks = brilliant. Great job, Shaina. Seriously.
My Girl
Nina Jose as Annika and Gerald Anderson as Julian
Though I gave praises for Team Magdayao, I can’t do the same for Team Nina Jose. I understand she may be new to the whole acting biz, but her playing Annika isn’t working. Friday’s episode was supposed to be an opportunity for Nina to shine, yet she unfortunately wasn’t able to really nail the scenes she were in.
In the elevator scene with Julian, her professing her love for him was just not executed well — the scene wasn’t believable and in my opinion, it was in how she delivered her lines. Her voice was annoyingly needy which, I felt, didn’t compliment the emotions she was trying to convey on her face. It was like I was just watching someone deliver lines from a paper, rather than them actually identifying the persona, making it their own, and then portraying it. Then there were some pauses she made as if she were trying to her remember her lines (or Julian’s name — yeah, Nina, I saw that).
Later, when Annika was drunk because Julian said that they were over, she started shouting and screaming like a little 6-year-old that didn’t get her ice-cream, which got real annoying fast. Not to mention, was Nina trying to flaunt her breasts during this scene, or is it a hidden rule that all actresses that act drunk have to keep bowing down to the camera to show the goods?
What I keep questioning is how Nina Jose landed this role when there’s so many other actresses from ABS-CBN that could have so easily fit in Annika’s shoes. Was it because she was also in PBBTE with Gerald and Kim and there was a love triangle that I didn’t hear about (thanks ABS-CBN for not showing PBB, PBBTE, PDA, and PBB Celebrity shows on TFC)?
However, Nina Jose is here now and it’s not like Annika can go to Belo and get cosmetic surgery and another actress suddenly takes her place. Just like Shaina Magdayao’s amazing transformation, I’m leaving a flicker of hope for Nina because I at least have to give her a break, considering she’s new meat whereas The Kimerald have Sana Maulit Muli (or Chances as it’s called in Taiwan), a few shows and series here and there, two movies, and numerous performances under their belt.
All in all, though I seem harsh on this girl, I’m really hoping she’ll step up in her game as Shaina Magdayao has and that we’ll be able to really see what she can do.
