Agnes of God (Repertory Philippines)

♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣

A novice nun is in trial for manslaughter and a psychiatrist is sent by the court to determine her sanity. Sister Agnes (Becca Coates) wakes up in her room with a newborn baby in the trash bin, strangled by the umbilical cord. Having no recollection of having given birth, she faces one of two possible verdicts: prison, if she is declared as mentally sound; or asylum, if she proves to be mentally disturbed. Dr. Martha Livingstone (Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo) believes that a third option exists: acquittal. If they can prove that the young woman was molested and can find the culprit, that is. Mother Miriam Ruth (Pinky Amador) does not want any more suffering for the young lady and would rather believe in miraculous virgin conception. Science and religion clash to provide a plausible explanation, characterized by constant bickering between the two women. Both claim to want what is best for young Agnes, but does she really want or need their help?

My Ex and Whys

♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣

Cali (Liza Soberano) is the brains behind The Bakit List, a twitter account of a jaded millennial who gives up on love after her ex Gio (Enrique Gil) sleeps with another girl while getting wasted at a concert. Finding out that his ex is the person behind the social media account, he resumes his pursuit of her forgiveness through playful online banter, resulting in an unexpected love team that fans suddenly begin to ship. Catching the attention of marketers on the lookout for social media ambassadors to carry their brands, she receives a lucrative offer for partnership, but with one condition: the campaign should also include him. She’s in it for business, while he gets onboard hoping for reconciliation. Eager to prove that cheaters never change, she seizes every opportunity to paint him as the villain in their past relationship. When one of her schemes backfires resulting in the calling off of their best friend Lee’s (Ryan Bang) wedding, the two follow him to Korea to fix what has been broken. Can they also fix theirs?

I’m Drunk, I Love You

♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣

Carson (Maja Salvador) and Dio (Paulo Avelino) have been best friends for seven years, but that is about to come to an end. Maxing out their MRR, they finally graduate. Inevitable change is about to come when they reveal their plans after obtaining their diploma. He wants to go to law school to follow the footsteps of his parents before him. She wants to work as a social worker to give back to her mother, who can’t be any happier that she has finished college at last. Carson has always been in love with Dio, but she never had the guts to admit her feelings. Tagging along on a road trip to La Union en route to a music festival, she musters all her strength through alcohol and the coaching of her gay friend Jason Ty (Dominic Roco) to confess her love once and for all. What she doesn’t know is that he decided to go to that event to meet his old flame Pathy (Jasmine Curtis-Smith), an overachiever who left him for her dreams seven years ago. Will she end up graduating from the friend zone or is this the end of the road for the two of them?

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike (Repertory Philippines)

♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣

Vanya (Michael Williams), Sonia (Roselyn Perez), and Masha (Cherie Gil) are siblings with a truckload of unresolved issues. Brother Vanya and adopted sister Sonia have watched their lives pass them by, taking care of their ill parents and putting up with the heartache of witnessing them slowly fade into death. Now well past their prime, they spend every single day wondering what to do with their lives, interrupted from time to time by their eagerness to stalk a blue bird landing on their pond. Their only company is the housekeeper who comes once a week. Aside from cleaning the house, she is also an abundant source of unsolicited prophecies warning them about everything, from Sonia breaking the morning coffee cup to Masha selling the house. When movie star sister Masha comes back home with her lover Spike (Joaquin Valdes), an aspiring actor whose biggest achievement in life is almost being cast in Entourage 2, feathers are ruffled as the three are left with no choice but to come to terms with their grudges against one another, culminating in a costume party that will change their lives for good.

[HOKKAIDO] Budget and Itinerary

SATURDAY: 4 February 2017

Air Asia X (Kuala Lumpur - Shin Chitose) - 16,440.00
Airbnb (2 Nights) - 5,290.00
JPY21,730.00

[SAPPORO] The Odori-Susukino Combo

Okay, so you want to see sculptures made of ice and snow? Repeat after me: Odori. Susukino. Odori. Susukino. Odori. Susukino. These are the only two place names that you have to keep in mind. Both venues are located at the city center. The area is big but the main tourist attractions are within walking distance from one another. Yes, it’s totally possible for you to see the train station, the clock tower, the TV tower, and the former Hokkaido government office in one morning.

[SAPPORO] Asia's Two Biggest Winter Festivals

When someone mentions either snow or ice in Asia, only two big winter festivals come to mind: Harbin and Sapporo. There is another one in China. There should be. Besides, Harbin is not their northernmost city. But when it comes to popularity and tourist attendance, no other festival can touch either of these two for the winter season. Which one you should visit is up to you. As for me, having visited both, I can say that I do have my biases. So perhaps a comparative look would benefit those planning to go soon?

Santa Clarita Diet: Episode 10

10. Baka, Bile and Baseball Bats

The family prepares to meet Cora Wolf. Sheila tells Joel that he should make tough decisions if ever she deteriorates further and ends up like that guy in West Virginia who murdered his entire family. The doctor has bad news, though. She only ever tested her formula on rats, and even then it is no cure but rather something that will just stop the deterioration. It means Sheila will still have to feed on humans and that there is no going back to what she was before. In short, she will remain dead. As they try to collect bile from Principal Novak’s grandmother which is a crucial ingredient for the formula, Sheila goes feral and attacks Joel. She goes back home and asks Abby to chain her down at the basement. Cora Wolf walks out on them due to police involvement in Joel’s arrest. He is thrown into a psych ward. Abby is left with the book and Eric helps her come up with ideas on how to host a Serbian exchange student from whom the can extract the bile. With her parents both locked up, it’s up to her to save her mom from her fate.

Santa Clarita Diet: Episode 9

9. The Book!

Joel gladly tells Sheila, as he tries to fix her lopsided eye, that the guy who owns the ancient Serbian book finally agreed to meet them. Abby keeps up her rebellious streak by stealing a motorcycle from the guy who ripped them off. Accompanied by their police officer neighbor home, she starts to worry her parents. Sheila goes with her to return the motorcycle while Joel and Eric head to the paranormal convention. The eccentric book owner won’t entertain Joel, accusing him of working for the government. He exposes the guy as a fake, but finds another person who points him to the direction of a scientist who can actually help them. Mother and daughter get to spend some quality time together, making Sheila realize that she wants to see her daughter grow up and be there for her as her mother. When Joel returns, she tells him that she is willing to seek treatment, no matter how much of a longshot it is. For the family. He phones Cora Wolf (Portia de Rossi), who is seen experimenting on a dead rat that comes back to life after throwing up a red ball.

Santa Clarita Diet: Episode 8

8. How Much Vomit?

Sheila struggles to reattach her little toe, but to no avail. The drop in her energy levels also suggests something is wrong. Visiting their neighbor the next day, they run into the sheriff once again, who casually mentions a guy named Loki they thought Dan killed but is still very much alive. She also says something about an insane amount of vomit. The two proceed to the motel room where he stayed and finds a similar medium-sized red ball, along with a note to kill at 8 PM on Friday. They feel obliged to stop him, so they suit up and prepare their weapons. Abby sees them and wants to join the fun, but they don’t let her. What they find is a renewed Loki brimming with enthusiasm for his music. He and Sheila end up bonding over their shared experience. He gets his food supply from the people his gang kills, leaving the body without him having to murder anyone. He then starts to pursue Sheila romantically and tries to murder Joel. The two eventually have to kill him. As Sheila shows Joel her severed finger, one of her eyeballs falls off.

Santa Clarita Diet: Episode 7

7. Strange or Just Inconsiderate?

Joel hitting Dan with a shovel actually killed him. They try to get rid of the body but are interrupted by their other police neighbor looking for him. They leave the body in the tub and fill it with ice while they entertain the sheriff. Abby walks in on the body. When the sheriff leaves, she tells her parents that she knows everything, even the dead body in the freezer. She then goes on to tell Eric that her parents killed his stepdad, accompanying him to their bathroom so he can say his last goodbye. He promises not to tell on them given how he never really liked his stepfather anyway. When Sheila and Joel learn that the police are going to use sniffing dogs to find Dan the next day, she attempts to do the only solution she knows might work: Eat all of Dan before sunrise. She gives up halfway, his upper torseau remaining. Joel comes up with a twofold solution. They shove what remains of the body in a large cooler and they bring it to the beach for their excursion. The police find the hidden wall in Dan’s garage instead, along with Gary’s finger.

Santa Clarita Diet: Episode 6

6. Attention to Detail

Joel and Sheila stalk Loki (DeObia Oparei) from their car across the street from his house but he hasn’t come back yet. They come to barbecue at Dan’s house and he lies to him about killing Loki and disposing the body. She panics when she realizes that she left her pen, which has all of their details on it, at Loki’s apartment. Dan asks Joel to kill again, a sex trafficker this time around. Sheila and Joel agree that from now on, only she will be in charge of the killing. She finds out that her new target is the guy her neighbor is having an affair with. It turns out he’s not a criminal after all. Joel sneaks back into Loki’s apartment to retrieve the pen, but is caught unawares by the arrival of his friends. They mug him and knock him out, but he does get the pen back. Abby and Eric play around with Dan’s stuff at the garage and discover a secret wall where he keeps his stash of illegal drugs, firearms, and money. They steal a thousand dollars. Joel visits Dan to put an end to his blackmail, but he refuses to give in. He hits him with a shovel.

Santa Clarita Diet: Episode 5

5. Man Eat Man

Abby finds the chest freezer in the garage, as well as who’s inside it. Joel stalks Principal Novak’s grandmother and she translates the manuscripts for him, saying that it’s about a childhood horror story used to scare kids in Serbia. “Man eat man”. She also says that there should be a cure, but he needs to find the book. Googling the title, he begins his search for the person who currently owns the ancient book. Sheila tells Joel to take some time off. Dan (Ricardo Chavira) ambushes him about the severed finger he found at their yard. He doesn’t arrest him, but starts blackmailing him, asking him to be his personal hitman for problematic criminals who keep on escaping. Sheila thinks it’s a good idea that  could actually work for them. They struggle with their first victim, who successfully escapes. Sheila is not sure if she actually bit him, and wonders if he’s going to become like her if ever. Later at some random motel, the guy is found unconscious by housekeeping with an insane amount of vomit all over the place. He wakes up.

Santa Clarita Diet: Episode 4

4. The Farting Sex Tourist

Sheila’s new routine now involves taking a trip to the garage every morning to carve the dead body in her chest freezer, putting it in the blender to make a smoothie that she drinks as she jogs along with her neighbors. She encourages everyone to be their best selves, and her infectious enthusiasm has a domino effect in the neighborhood. Joel, on the other hand, goes on research mode. He has no luck with books at the local paranormal shop, but he does find a 16th century manuscript illustrating the same thing that happened to his wife before she changed. The only problem is that it has Serbian inscriptions that they can’t comprehend. When Principal Novak (Thomas Lennon) calls them to threaten Abby’s suspension due to her frequently cutting classes, Sheila starts targeting him as her next victim, much to Joel’s disagreement. When Abby eventually gets suspended because of her, she corners him with Joel and Abby watching, who thought she’s going to attack. Instead, she threatens him through other means.

Santa Clarita Diet: Episode 3

3. We Can Kill People

Sheila and Joel lay the groundwork for their killing spree. They agree that there must be a criteria for their victims: at least someone who is bad and won’t be missed. They shop for supplies and equipment, including a chest freezer where they can keep the body to be preserved for future consumption. Abby’s friend is dumped by her drug dealer boyfriend who sells illegal hallucinogens to teens. Overhearing their conversation, the two zero in on their first candidate. Inviting him to an abandoned house under renovation, Sheila prepares to pounce, but is distracted by an important business phone call. Joel chats with their victim over marijuana, finding a good listener for his current dilemmas without revealing the truth. He lets him go, which does not sit well with his starving wife. They have a fender bender on the way home. The driver won’t stop hurling expletives at them. She jumps on him without warning and gets her long delayed meal. They stuff his body in the chest freezer afterwards.

Santa Clarita Diet: Episode 2

2. We Can't Kill People

Husband and wife bury Gary’s body. The arrival of a car startles them, but they find out that it’s just Abby and Eric, who have tracked them via GPS. Now the four of them know that she has killed and eaten her first victim. They are able to get an offer from the house client that Gary stole from them. As the days go by, Sheila’s longing for human flesh gets stronger and stronger. Frozen meat doesn’t cut it anymore. Freshly killed animals won’t do either. Joel consults a virologist in an effort to shed more light on their situation, but the doctor ends up referring him to a shrink. His trip to the hospital is not in vain, though, as he gets to meet the morgue assistant, who assumes that the couple must just be into necrophilia. With a price tag of $5000 per cadaver, the two only get to afford a foot, which doesn’t appeal to her taste buds either. Although reluctant to kill people at first, he finally succumbs and promises her that they will do whatever they can to keep her cravings satisfied.

Santa Clarita Diet: Episode 1

1. So Then a Bat or a Monkey

Sheila (Drew Barrymore) and Joel Hammond (Timothy Olyphant) are realtors in a suburb of Santa Clarita, California. She wakes up one morning with a sharp pain in her stomach. She shrugs it off and they head to work, where they are introduced to new transfer Gary West (Nathan Fillion). Eager to sell, the husband and wife tandem takes a couple on a tour of one of their newly-renovated properties, where she throws up an insane amount of vomit along with what seems to be an internal organ. She uses the bathroom as he continues the tour. He later finds her unconscious and seemingly dead on the floor, but she quickly regains consciousness. Later that day she discovers that she has no heartbeat anymore. Their daughter Abby (Liv Hewson) enlists the help of their geeky neighbor Eric (Skyler Gisondo), who concludes that her mother is technically a zombie. The four of them keep it a secret, until Gary drops by and insists on flirting with her. She ends up eating his fingers first, until Joel arrives and finds her feasting on his intestines.