THERE’S chika that SM City CDO Uptown will finally have a Director’s Club. Yay!
But is it true? Uptowners are definitely hoping so!
I, for one, have no choice but to head to SM CDO Downtown Premier (SMDT) whenever I want to catch a movie. I did just that this week for “Crime 101” and “The Loved One.”
My curiosity for “The Loved One” was piqued only after I got home from watching “Crime 101.” I think the last Tagalog movie I watched was “Only We Know” in June 2025, which starred Charo Santos and Dingdong Dantes.
“Crime 101” is a must-watch for politicians and political candidates planning to engage in graft and corruption, as the film teaches wannabe robbers exactly how—and how not—to pull off the perfect heist.
“The Loved One” is for those who have loved and lost and would rather be alone now. The line that Eric (Jericho Rosales) utters several times in the movie is this: “Dahil ako ang mas nagmahal, ako ang laging naghihintay.” Ouch.
There’s no chemistry between Rosales and Anne Curtis, who plays Ellie. I now wonder if something’s wrong with the way I see fictional pairs. I also didn’t see any chemistry between Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie in “Wuthering Heights,” despite the marketing team’s efforts to make the viewing public believe that something was brewing between them.
Chemistry is never forced. It’s simply there. Oh, where art thou?
There was indeed a pair that had that chemistry: Ethan Hawke and Julia Delpy in the 1995 movie “Before Sunrise.”
And also Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts in the 1999 film “Notting Hill.”
And Rodrigo Santoro and Laura Linney in the 2003 film “Love Actually.”
When it comes to Pinoy movie pairs, there’s Richard Gomez and Dawn Zulueta, who starred in the 1991 film “Hihintayin Kita sa Langit,” an adaptation of “Wuthering Heights.”
Watching movies is always a last-minute decision for me. Say I’m about to head home after the gym, and suddenly I find myself checking SMDT’s movie sked for the day. If something looks interesting, I Google the cast and reviews. If I like what I see, I check the weather app. Nice weather? I go to SMDT instead of home.
Nice weather is essential. A flooded downtown means heavier traffic—sometimes a two-hour trip from SMDT to uptown during the late afternoon rush.
The last-minute decision usually gives me enough time to have brunch, courtesy of the cinema’s food counter, where hotdog bites are my favorite. When those are out of stock, I end up with the hotdog sandwich, cheeseburger, and chicken nuggets. Plus, Starbucks’ seasonal Churro Crema Catalana. I already had three churros—good thing it’s seasonal.
Now that I’ve reset my carnivore journey, carbs are back to being non-essential for me.
Carbs are indeed not essential, since our liver produces enough glucose for the body. Therefore, there’s no need to eat them. This is one fact I have to remember, along with my deep “why”—reducing or even reversing my hypertension—to help me stick to the carnivore lifestyle.
So, I’ll be saying no again to the free popcorn at SMDT’s Director’s Club.
