IT'S Christmas and it's also the opening day of this year's Metro Manila Film Festival. After three days, we'll find out who will take home the awards at stake.

For this year, we'll do away with our usual fearless forecast; instead, we'll describe the six official entries, and we'll leave the final educated guesswork to you.

Here's a reminder: Based on past experience, the filmfest has made some really bad choices for their awardees.

Anyway, here are our inputs on the filmfest entries:

''Muro-Ami'' (GMA Films): This is one of the more thoroughly produced films in the festival. Director Marilou Diaz-Abaya has complete control of her material and is fascinated with the sea. You can see her passionate involvement as a director in many of the films' sequences. We also like her inclusion of non-actors who perform really well and give the film a raw and riveting flavor.

Cesar Montano is brilliant in his anti-hero role and never loses his hold on his character's many internal conflicts. Pen Medina and Jhong Hilario provide commanding support, and Amy Austria shines as Montano's prostitute lover. The film's technical aspects are also outstanding.

''Sa Piling ng Aswang'' (Regal Films): Directors Peque Gallaga and Lore Reyes have an interesting material and handle it quite well. The film is fast-paced and although there is a little too obvious inspiration from the same premise of ''Blair Witch,'' the duo scores high on the logic behind the supernatural forces and the environmental theme they injected in the movie.

Maricel Soriano is wonderful in her two-minute ''aria'' as she is breast-feeding a baby aswang. Manilyn Reynes is cocky and sharp, while Gardo Versoza is perfect for his military officer role. Impressive too is Gina Alajar, who gives her 1,000-year-old character a different evil attack.

''Bulaklak ng Maynila'' (Viva Films): One can smell the filth of the city in Joel Lamangan's film. We just think that although it is being hyped as Angelu de Leon's image-transformation movie, it actually belongs to Elizabeth Oropesa, who plays Angelu's mom, and Christopher de Leon, the squatter bully who becomes Angelu's foster father and tormentor.

Oropesa gives a splendid, and tour-de-force performance and De Leon might give Montano a hard time in the Best Actor derby. Bembol Roco also gives a quiet but sweeping performance as Angelu's jailed father.

We think the problem with this film is the material and most of the dialogue seems to be cliché-ish. Although it is based on Domingo Landicho's Palanca award-winning novel, both the director and the writer failed to put cohesiveness in the story's unfolding.

''Agimat'' (Millennium Films): No question, this is the film with the highest budget. But we find it dark and visually disturbing, considering that most of the scenes were shot at night. In fairness, however, the special effects are alright and deliver where they count most.

The film never got out of the usual and predictable and although lead actor Bong Revilla is charismatic and takes his role seriously, the material is basically flawed.

Princess Punzalan is credibly wicked and once again proves that she is so good at playing bad. Also commendable was the performance turned in by Jess Lapid Jr.

''Esperanza, the Movie'' (Star Cinema): Director Jerry Sineneng deserves commendation for sustaining our interest and for successfully connecting all the subplots to the movie's main character, although we sometimes get distracted by so many characters interacting with one another.

This is soap opera material translated into film and we find it interesting, although it's nothing new to us. Judy Ann Santos may vindicate herself with a heartfelt and intelligent performance. Obviously, this movie belongs to her, and she draws a lot of energy from her strong supporting cast.

The material is realistic and coherent. If there were a best ensemble acting award, it would go to the cast of this movie.

High-end acting is delivered by senior stars like Bembol Roco, Elizabeth Oropesa, Dante Rivero, Sylvia Sanchez, Rosa Rosal and Charo Concio, but it's the younger set of actors that truly impressed us--Carmina Villaroel, Piolo Pascual, Angelika dela Cruz and Marvin Agustin.

''Ako ang Lalagot ng Hininga Mo'' (MHR Films): The lone action entry in the filmfest stars Dan Alvaro, Rufa Mae Quinto, Erick Esguerra and Daisy Reyes. Unfortunately, we haven't seen the movie.

Sting comes up with a new album, "Brand New Day," and admits that he is quite optimistic about the new millennium. "We need to look positively toward the future and not be sucked in by the lunacy that this is the end of the world or that everything is falling apart. Trouble, strife, plague and all that stuff becomes self-fulfilling if you believe that it is a part of life. My strategy is to be optimistic!" Sting shrugs his shoulders, "Naive maybe. But maybe that's my job."

His new album, "Brand New Day" carries his positive attitude about life and love. Is he really that optimistic when it comes to love, even if he's broken-hearted?

"I didn't set out to write lyrics just about love, yet almost all the songs have the theme of broken lives that can be mended by love. My challenge was to write a happy love song without being banal or smug. The last song, 'Brand New Day,' begins with a jaundiced view and then moves toward acceptance, to diving back into love. It's basically the thought that falling in love is an act of optimism and the whole album has that optimistic tone," Sting grins.