MANILA, Philippines?The unpredictable weather may have dampened our spirits, but the entertainment sector has been giving us good reasons to smile:

We?ve been missing the quirky Sundance-type indies (?The Station Agent?) that the Ayala Malls? cineplexes used to screen regularly. So, we?re glad that Robinsons IndieSine has been offering an alternative venue for nonmainstream production and local indies.

Intriguing

Recently, we were blown away by Jerrold Tarog and Ruel Antipuesto?s brilliantly disturbing ?Confessional? (a must-see for film buffs). This week, Adolf Alix Jr.?s thematically intriguing but technically flawed black-and-white drama, ?Tambolista? is on view. Unfortunately, for every ?Confessional,? there?s also a ?Kalakal,? ?Hugot? or ?Eskandalo.? But, let?s stop there and count our blessings.

On local TV, we?re pleased to note that a good number of once mediocre talents on ABS-CBN?s ?Pinoy Dream Academy, Season Two? have since blossomed from ambitious ducklings into performing swans. Some exercises thrown their way are questionable, but the current batch is nonetheless a big improvement over Yeng Constantino?s group.

Our top scholars: Liezel Garcia (for her unique voice), Jay ?Bugoy? Bogayan (seamless vocal technique) and Laarni Losala (astounding range).

On QTV-11?s ?One Proud Mama,? we found ourselves riveted when we caught Jaya acting like one proud daughter to her irrepressible mother, comedienne Elizabeth Ramsey. The alternately hilarious and heartwarming episode revealed how much the ?unlikely? pair loved each other unconditionally.

It was hard not to be won over by the unabashed demonstration of affection: While Ramsey shared some tragic and comic anecdotes (she said she knelt down when she saw the Statue of Liberty for the first time because, well, she thought it was a humongous replica of the Blessed Virgin Mary!), Jaya would suddenly hug her mother?and sob like a little girl!