Category Archives: movies

The last time I cried over a movie.

The last time I remember wailing over a movie was when I was a college sophomore. I came into my friends’ room and suddenly broke down like all the problems in the world was mine.

I cried because I watched the movie alone. Usually, my friends would invite me to watch it with them while we are in our dorm rooms. But always, ALWAYS, I would sleep over them.

Once, they watched Shutter Island. I slept and woke up to almost all of them shaking and/or crying.

So, after many prodding, I watched that movie. The fact that I watched it alone made it all the more heartbreaking. Because when I watch a movie by myself, I feel like all the emotion that the movie was trying to communicate flowed directly into my senses. I had no one to share the sadness.

Funny thing was, while I was watching it, I did not cry. I just felt sad. I empathized with the actors and the pain they are undergoing. What if I was in their shoes? Every sad smile and goodbye hug seemed to bring, no drown me, in rivers of unhappiness.

When it was finally over, I went to Bemjo and Jennie’s room. They were fixing their desks and chatting with their two other roommates, Ate Jans and Ate Josette. They said Hi to me.

All I remember was saying, “Kasubo”, then I let my body fall on Ate Jan’s bed and cried and cried as if I was there on the film. I felt like my heart would burst any minute. Dinibdib ko talaga.

Like true friends, they laughed at me.

The movie was Love of Siam.

I wonder when will I be able to cry like that again. :]

giving justice to great movies

Jennie and I have a huge (800 GB) collection of movies and videos. This ranges from Hollywood to Asian to indie to music videos to random clips which we have edited during college.

Of all of these movies and videos, Jennie was able to watch 80%. My friend, ladies and gentleman, is… still normal.

Being the lame one, I was only able to watch about 55% percent. And the hard drive belongs to me.

Two days ago, we decided to watch a movie before work (we woke up at 6AM and we still had two hours to kill). Since she was comfortably tucked on the upper bunk of the DB bed, she told me to go ahead and pick a movie. (Now Jennie has this habit of re-viewing her favorite movies. Example? Easy A. I love you Jen, but I would lost my appetite to watch that movie again someday if we are going to see it again today. )


Jack Black’s acting is effortlessly impressive.

After minutes of scrolling up and down and clicking on folders, Gulliver’s Travels caught my eye. I wasn’t able to watch this movie before (unlike Jen). Besides, I like Jack Black. So when I asked Jen if we could watch this one, she agreed. But not before commenting that maybe the copy is of low quality.

This is something which turns me off when it comes to movies. No matter how great they are if my copy is not the HD version, I wouldn’t watch it. I’d rather wait for the HD version than not appreciate a work of art of the people behind it.

Going back, the movie quality of Gulliver’s Travel was great. We had fun–which lasted through the entire day. And it made me like Jack Black even more! :)

The Hotlist (Western Edition)

According to the amount of saliva wasted, here are the sexiest men of the West for me:


Jude Law
The accent. The stare. The smile. The after-sex look. What does one not love about Jude Law? O___o


Johnny Depp
The eccentricity. Everything else follows.


Hugh Grant
The accent. The just-got-out-of-bed look. The always out-of-place hair.


Penn Badgely
The body. The smile. The boy-next-door look.


Robert Downey Jr.
The Boss.


Bradley Cooper
The deep voice.


Orlando Bloom
Being Legolas.

AMIGO


Love the tagline. :)

A new film about the Philippines and being Filipino is about to be released next month, Amigo.

This film stars Joel Torre, Ronnie Lazaro and Rio Locsin among others. Directed by Academy Award-winning John Sayles, this is expected to be one of the most touching and “passionate” films ever made by foreigners about the Philippines. For this, I would like to thank Sayles. Yey!

It is a bit sad though, that the government and the viewing public does not show much support to historical films, considering that it is all about being nationalistic. I remember Neil Gaiman’s refusal to inculcate Filipino mythology in his writings and illustrative ideas, saying that being Pinoy, we should be the ones to write our own stories. He is right.

Back to the movie, here is a link. Watch and enjoy! :) Credits to Kristian Peace Braquis for sharing this. :)

on TV series and being glued

I had wanted to view this for soooo long. But due to laziness, I did not get a copy of the different cycles until last Thursday.

America’s Next Top Model would have had me going crazy if I were in high school or if I have seen the first episode of the first cycle. I would have cried, thrown things around and starved myself to save money and fly to the USA to be one of them. Thankfully, I did not.

And now that I have seen other American and Japanese TV series like Satorare, FRINGE, Gossip Girl, Modern Family, Absolute Boyfriend and Lie To Me, I think that ANTM got lost somewhere between. I know I should not and must never compare them because they are of different genres and are targeting different audiences, but as a viewer, I cannot help it.

I cannot stop myself from feeling hyper and nauseous every time I watch FRINGE. I do not really find the characters good-looking nor interesting but I get interesting anecdotes from Absolute Boyfriend. Gossip Girl’s enigmatic ways and witty lines make up for the bitchiness and bitterness of its lead cast. Modern Family is a must-see TV series for every American Family (and being Filipino, I still can relate to it) I find most Japanese story lines and themes weird like Satorare and I like Tim Roth’s cockiness and brains after being glued to Lie To Me.


FRINGE. I love everything about Fringe.


Modern Family I love Gloria’s character


Lie To Me. Now, I have suddenly become conscious about lying. XD


Zettai Kareshi, Absolute Boyfriend. Got me dehydrated.


Gossip Girl Funny how they seem to practice ‘inter-breeding’


Satorare means “Transparent”. Literally, the lead character’s thoughts can be heard within 20 meters.

TV series are for those who are insatiable. It is for those who are up to the challenge of knowing their limits versus sleepiness and boredom. It is for those like my friend, Jennie who is every movie director’s dream audience (cries at the right time, smacks the nearest person when something funny happens, etc.).

I love it that I was able to contain my hunger for TV series until this week (no more thesis, yeah!). I ma happy that I can prove their existence and purpose. Most of all, I am happy to be able to find the perfect reason to lose myself. Now, I can choose not to sleep..

P.S. My favorite is Naima, before I was informed/ spoiled by my friend that she emerged as Cycle 4 winner.


Naima, ANTM Cycle 4 winner

we went because we thought it will be epic..

Just a few hours ago, we were inside SM Cinema 8, watching the film that we have anticipated for weeks–Rango. And two hours or so after, we left Cinema 8 disappointed.

Ngaa man?

1. The trailer was nice. It had a really good message and “sneak-peak” of the movie. BUT, that was the most disappointing part. The trailer only succeeded in encouraging people to watch. End of story.

2. It is a bad addition to Johnny Depp’s accomplishments. LAWL.

3. Johnny Depp himself did not give that much of a stellar performance. There are some scenes which made me forget that he was the main character. Also, there are some scenes which could have used more “Ommph” in them which JD failed to give justice to.

4. The movie is not really of the “epic”, “life-changing” or at the very least, memorable, type. The plot is not typical, but it reminds me of “peeing in the wind”. When the sun goes up, the pee dries.

5. The climax (if there really was one), was not exactly emphasized. Kind of kalat. Too bad, there are some parts which are really funny, but were not maintained until the film ended(The kalat na climaxes remind me of life support machines).

The good things about the movie:

1. Undeniable. With a good script, Johnny Depp still shines–in some scenes.

2. Great graphics. Para kang nasa planetarium slash giant aquarium slash zoo. 2D pa nga daan. How much more if 3D na siya?

3. The plot and characters are not typical. This is one of the reasons why we wanted to watch this film very much. Tuko and friends in search of tubig. XD

Personally, I would give the movie a three out of five (Johnny Depp factor included). But if you are in the mood for a light movie or one dealing with identity crisis or the related stuff, Rango is for you. :D


Google Images

When we went inside, by the way, there were no more than ten people inside. Maybe, half of Iloilo City were not really as expectant of the movie as we were.

Rango was directed by Gore Verbinski under Nickelodeon. I told my friends that, perhaps, when Johnny Depp had his breaks in filming Pirates of the Carribbean, he was busy voicing over for Rango. Hehehe! By the way, Isla Fisher dubbed for the main female character. XD

Crazy Little Thing called Love

Hype makes something otherwise common become inviting to watch. One good example are movies. Those who have watched it exaggerate on what the movie can offer and relay them to those who have not yet seen it. Then, those who have not yet seen it develop this strange yearning to watch it.

But sometimes, expectations are violated. We are hoping that we could share the same euphoric feeling with our friends who have watched it. And more often than not, we are displeased.

A Crazy Little Thing Called Love is a Thai movie top billed by Mario Maurer. If his name sounds familiar, it’s probably because you have seen Love of Siam, where he also plays one of the lead roles. The story is all about high school loves and the impossibility of becoming that white and pretty after three years of looking like a “darkling” (suffice to say that the movie is a literal translation of the Ugly Duckling). Kudos to the Thais for creating that transformation for Nam.

This Thai movie is one of those which triggered this kind of feeling within me. My friends have long been “injecting” us with positive reactions after watching this movie. They look so ecstatic, so enlightened. It made me wonder why. So I watched the movie, and while my two friends shed tears as it progresses, I was enveloped in my high school world. I kept likening the movie stars’ experiences with mine and I felt very glorious when she ended up with her high school crush. Yipee!

Generally, I’d say that the movie was good…until it ended. This was one of those movies where you get to appreciate the first ¾ part and loathe the remaining ¼. Sayang is the key word. It could have been great. Let me tell you why:

The movie breaks the hearts of the viewers when the lead character, P Shone, rejects Nam’s love when he was in love with her for almost the same time that she was. Then they part ways. Nine years later, Nam returns to Thailand as a well-established fashion designer. P Shone becomes a photographer. The supposed-to-be climax of the story is very disappointing because P Shone declares his love for Nam on television. It is downright chaka.

They could have just met in the streets, looked each other in the eyes and recognize the same mutual love. The movie could have ende with a simpler way of presenting the two lovers’ love. But the end spoiled what could have been a good movie. Sayang..

Overall however, I recommend this movie if you’re in for teary nights. It’s great for reviving your high school cognition and reliving the past guy/girl that comes with it. :)

P.S.

Most of my dormmates have fallen in love with Mario Maurer after watching this movie. I still am rooting for Mew, his significant other in Love of Siam. XD