and we talk about dying.

My weekend has been spent mostly watching movies. I can't find any way to waste my time and doing my backlog in work is quite tedious and frustrating. Whenever I see the paper works I throw a fit and I lose my head. Weekend is ruined and the cascading effect takes its toll on Monday. I don't want also to read books though I am already quite behind my reading. I just want to be lazy. Hehehe.

Last Eiga Sai, I only watched "Feel the Wind" and "Villon's Wife". The featured movie was "Departures" which sadly I haven't seen until now. Hehehe. Curious about the various comments I read in the reviews about its being a tear-jerker, I downloaded the movie to prove it first-handedly. Though there were scenes that were touching, it didn't give me the moment to shed a single tear which was quite frustrating. I was expecting too much perhaps and ended up denying the movie had already ended. Perhaps the big screen would be a great help. I watched it on my laptop. Anyway, the movie dealt about "departures", mostly about dying and separation like what happened to Daigo and his wife. And of course the joy and peace that followed after restoration. "Death is harder for those who are left behind." 

This brings me to the second point, "What would you do if you know you only have few seconds to live?" Honestly, I don't know what to do. I haven't made my "Bucket List" yet. So many plans to accomplish and seemingly so little time. Death is such a short notice. When I watched the "Source Code" I couldn't help but wonder, "Yeah, how will I make every second of life count?" Be worldly? Influence others? Build more relationships? Be attuned with God? I know the answer but my doubt is hanging me on balance. I feel powerless at the thought. If only I could turn back time. But what  would I do? I don't have any regrets in life except having just enough money. I want to be filthy rich, being able to buy what I want. Hehehe. 

What if I could travel through time and manipulate the course of history? Perhaps live in the time of the great thinkers and steal their ideas? Or maybe travel to the place where you could be mistaken as a god and be served all day and night? Or travel through time and cheat death and live like an immortal traveling from one time to another? The only underside is not being with someone but yourself. Would I risk? I watched "Cyborg She" and I had this thought. What if I could cheat death? Be with someone over and over again. Monopolize the history by jumping from time to time and annihilate the icon of the era. Evil, just plainly evil. I remembered a movie where in someone traveled through time and became a millionaire after placing a bet on the winning team. He got the idea from a sports book. I know there will always be a consequence. Cheating was never made to be perfect. But you can perfect cheating by going back again and again to the same scenario. Hehehe. Still my super-ego is working. Hehehe.

Cheating death entails a lot of consequence. But having death under your control would be a brilliant idea. No.1 in my Bucket list for that matter.

eiga sai 2011 and my personal blah-blah.

I always like how Japanese people talk. There's always this sound that makes me smile whenever the language is uttered. It was like the air is sending  whispers of ticklish incantations in my mind. I always smile. This is one of the reasons why I like Japan. There's a rough edge at the sounds and then there's a mixture of innocence and candor in the way the sounds wave and mix in my ears. And I always like the mystery behind it. Japan, for me, is synonymous with mystery. It is like being entangled in a web of beauty, mystery and a hint of roughness. Cherry blossoms, samurai and kimonos are the tangible proofs, to name a few. Of course, there are the movies. The Eiga Sai 2011. 

This year's Eiga Sai had been a frustration for me since I wasn't able to watch most of the movies. I managed to watch only the last two movies charged to lack of information. Last year's film festival was a remarkable one since Ms. Elna had been there. She was the culprit behind this. She had introduced me to Eiga Sai which schedule I was totally clueless. The film viewing that I had this year was "scheduled" by accident. I and my girlfriend were passing by the entrance of the mall when the notice about the film festival hit our eyes. Love at first sight! It was late already when we cleared our schedules. The first one in our menu was the movie "Feel the Wind" by Sumio Omori. We watched also the "Villon's Wife".

"Feel the Wind" was like running with the runners for the last 2/3 parts of the 133-minute movie. It was the "Chariots of Fire" of Japan only this time it tackles with athletes who need to battle their own issues and strugles in life. Haiji, wanting his own dreams fulfilled, organized a team of seemingly incapable individuals under the coach who I think was better be relieved as a coach. Sleeping in the middle of a competition?

Let me cut it short, the team did not win but had shown what real winning means. The Hakone Ekiden (marathon) had seen more than just marathon that day. As a viewer, I had seen the unfolding of patience and determination. The movie ended with the question, "What is running?" with which the answer was not given. 

I remember one of the Nescafe commercial lines that goes, "Ikaw para kanino ka ba bumabangon?" It has the same appeal to me. It asks the most banal questions which answers can take us off-guard. Your depth of answer will tell the level of maturity that anchors in your being. The depth of answer will also tell our motives and concerns, particularly our circles of concerns. "What is running?" I can't basically answer this seriously. All I can say is that, "It is an infinitive." Why so serious? Seriously, that's how deep I am. Hehehe. 

Anyway, the movies were really nice.

book review 2: i love more the books than the movies, until now.

There's always the bad taste of much expectation. I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore had been sitting in the shelves of National Bookstore for quite sometime. It was the sole copy but such an eyesight for prying eyes and reading enthusiasts who thirst for such genre. I kept on returning to that same shelf hoping to get hold of that copy. Until one day it's not there anymore. I checked on the computer cataloguer. It's not there. Sold. Out if stock. After few, or more months, it's back on the shelf and I did not have the second thought of getting a copy. It remained dormant inside my bag for some days until boredom tells me to read it. Actually, it was because of the movie that I finally decided to read it. Out of curiosity, and probably of frustration from the past incident , I finally finished it.

Here's what I found out.

It was a boring book. And I was sure of that. The start was a good kick off until it wore out towards the middle and finally died at the end. Although some parts were quite interesting, my reading cells were not aroused. My curiosity's paid it in dear amount, of another frustration and lack of sleep. It came upon me that the movie might be as boring as the book for, you know, some movies can be frustratingly beautiful or imaginatively crappy.

Here's what I found out.

The movie was good, visually impeccable, at least in effects. It's like watching a mash-up of contemporary superhero movies. Makes me think of Smallville, X-Men and the likes. Actually, The movie house was rather filled with "cute" sighs when the dog whimpered after its fight with the Moggy Beast. Apart from that, everyone's quiet, as quiet if I may say as my room when I was reading my book. But to tell you honestly, I like the last part when it reached the climax, the effects were at its peak. This was rather better than reading the book. A little bit disappointing but better than the frustration I got from reading the book. Sigh. The price of being a bibliophile is worse than a movie lover. Sigh. Sigh.

I love more the books than the movies, until now. But I will always be a book lover. Hehe.

a spoon of fun.

I need a breather after days of work and a series of sleepless nights reading a book. I have finished reading the first two books of the Mortal Instruments. And although I started reading the third book, I'd rather take a break because the book is literally suffocating me. It's thick and the plot is so simple, yet it's worth a read. After scarring my wallet, I spend days trying to destroy my eyes. Reading under a poor light and actually almost everywhere where prying eyes are not present. I prefer to read in McDonald's 'coz literally the place is jam-packed of people who mistakenly think it's a library oozing with caffeine and burgers, so camouflaging with your book is effortless. Anyhow, I digested two books and I'm reserving the third book for dessert.

Lately, I can't help but be allured by books. The last purchase sent me thrilled and baffled. I just bought "I Am Number Four" by Pittacus Lore. It's lurking inside my bag waiting to be stripped of its dignity. The busy schedule and the endless excuse of eye fatigue will temporarily put me under the shadow of reading hiatus. And blogging hiatus? The latter is actually due to laziness. I don't exactly know the reason behind this, but my mind seemed to be at focus when I'm snuggling with my blanket. It's like there's a spontaneous firework of ideas and I'm too lazy to stand and get my journal to jot them. Random ideas seemed to flock incessantly inside my mind like a cafe filled with morning coffee drinkers. Restless and volatile. When I try to make a mental note, I will just wake up frustrated trying to catch the last thread of my memory. I need rest. Life is a mixture of poison and antidotes. I need the antidote side of it. I need fantasy. Life is too real that I need to dilute it with fantasy.

I need to watch a movie.

I watched Burlesque. It's a story of a small-town girl dreaming something big and suddenly had the biggest break of her life when her talent was accidentally uncovered. Well, as the line in the movie went, "every opportunity has a shelf-life", Ali (Christina Aguilera) grabbed that opportunity and went to a series of ups and downs and literally the movie ended like a fairytale. Watching the movie was like watching an anthology of Aguilera music videos with the special participation of Cher. The grooves of half-naked girls, brazen colors and the striking lines somewhat paid off, putting life between boredoms. Stanley Tucci and Cher tandem pulled it. Tucci’s acting, for me, is nostalgic to The Devil Wears Prada, minus the awkward scene between Tucci’s character and his lover.

There were scenes in the movie which were actually confusing as to where did they get the inspiration to include such parts. The seduction part, although sexy and naughty, was an example. The business part was cliché yet its importance was revealed at the end. If you opt for the intellectually challenging movie, then this movie is not for you. Burlesque was just my right type of antidote.

I want to watch it again ‘coz it’s like watching a flimsy yet colourful musical, not serious but not boring. When your life is ragingly toxic, even a spoon of fun is worth it.

narnia: the voyage of the dawn treader.

This was the second time I had a 3D movie experience. It was not a bad movie. I can vouch for that. :) C.S. Lewis showed again how human frailty could bring the end of everything and how everything can be redeemed through trust, hope and love. Each character has to face their weaknesses and learn how to overcome them. It made me realize that mortals will always be mortals, that human beings will really fall but there's always redemption. 

The Voyage's plot is simple, to look for the seven swords of the seven lords to save the world of Narnia. Each adventures unveils the characters' flaw, such as vanity, greed, cowardice and haughtiness. For a book-loving creature like me, the "Book of Incantations part" amazed me. I want to own one. Hehehe. Just imagine reading something and you can conjure anything that the book contains. When Lucy read the book, the snow just brought the nostalgic memories of the first movie. I liked the Chronicles of Narnia. I don't know if it's the childish feeling in me or I'm just nostalgic to the feeling of being child again. Either way. Hehe. Eustace was quite annoying for a boy unlike his dragon counterpart which was quite useful and adorable at the same time. I like his unusual friendship with Reepicheep. There's a touchy part at the end when Aslan appears dramatically, again. He always comes out in all the installments like that with his famous roar. Narnia movies are never complete without that roar, at least for me. :)

There were some parts though that were reminiscence of some movies. The blue star for Stardust, not to mention the snow of LWW, Lord of the Rings? Lol. I just remembered Gimli. Oops.

"There's a Place for Us" by Carrie Underwood is the perfect ribbon to wrap the whole movie. The movie was entertaining, although not that gratifying. I don't know why I'm sad after watching the movie. Maybe for Reepicheep. :)

perfume: the story of a murderer (a movie review).

In my quest to find the movie that could be both boredom-killer and mind-blower, I came across with so many books (not movies, my mood shifts so sudden) with which I found disappointing until I came across with a book written by Peter Suskind. I didn't know how I came across with such. Pardon me with my memory, they became picky sometimes. The title caught my interest. It was like fireworks display during Holy Week. I tried to find an e-book of this title but the luck seemed to be dodgy that time. I tried to satiate my bloodthirsty excitement by scanning series of videos from YouTube and I was not disappointed to see that there were installed parts of the movie. Do I sound cheap? Get lost. So click and roll!

But my happiness was just few reels away since I found out that it was not complete. Damn that pathetic creature who uploaded the first few parts only. Bet he's spending his life like a troglodyte now. Selfish brat! And so continue my mind-wrecking quest to find the whole copy of the movie. Since this movie was quite not popular, I had a hard time finding the legendary copy of this. That was when the world of torrents did not open itself to me first. So shy. It was a year ago. HAH!

Anyway, I have a repertoire of taste when it comes to movie. They range from the cochlear-busting-slash-techie type of films up to the grotesque-slash-epic movies which were all docile to the whims of my mood. Such movies were all slaved by my own criteria. You see, I have my own yardstick with which I gauge the movies I watch, whether they are just another waste-of-time piece or an epic one. Some considerations to see were as follows (you can plagiarize mine):

1. The actors or actresses are not make-believe like some sort of once-upon-a-time story with which the characters are too perfect to be true that even the strands of their hair look like Venuses intertwined. Movies should be realistic. Or almost.

2. The story is a spark of wit, struggle, beauty coupled with brilliant eloquence. It should be a banquet of rich storyline and not just an hors d'oeuvres of CGI effects and gadgetry (although this may pass for an eye-candy).

3.The movie haunts your deepest psyche and thus leave you, if you're in a cinema, dumbfounded; or if you're at home, insomniac after you've already watched the movie 3 times in a row. It becomes a topic for a week.

Going back to what I mentioned a while ago, I downloaded the movie from a torrent and watched it with my friends. I'm sorry I can't find it in any movie shelf since last year. Waiting until now was way too much for me, my ego's bleeding. But patience was always rewarded. With Smeagol laugh, I could finally ravaged "my preciousssss". So click and roll!

The story revolved around the brilliantly gifted and grotesquely obsessed perfumer, Jean-Baptiste Grenouille who performed a morbid experiment to preserve the scent which could bring the world at its feet. The narration was flawlessly delivered and the scenes perfectly executed. Wait. I won't summarize the film for you coz this will render you imbecile relying too much in my shortchanged compendium. Just a tickler though. Naked bald girls. Homicide. 12 + 1 scent = ultimate perfume. A modest orgy. A cannibalistic ending.

Let me share a piece of it to you (a narrative excerpt towards the end):

"He still had enough perfume left to enslave the whole world if he so chose. He could walk to Versailles and have the king kiss his feet. He could write the pope a perfumed letter and reveal himself as the new Messiah. He could do all this, and more, if he wanted to. He possessed a power stronger than the power of money, or terror, or death - the invincible power to command the love of man kind. There was only one thing the perfume could not do. It could not turn him into a person who could love and be loved like everyone else. So, to hell with it he thought. To hell with the world. With the perfume. With himself."

You'll be surprised to hear that familiar twang of Alan Rickman. Remember Snape of Harry Potter? You'd wished you'd been circumcised twice if you'll not watch this.

Iron Bum (a movie review).

Well, what do I need to say? Hmm, the movie was a box office hit of boredom and a boring clash of neat but predictable CGI effects and visuals. For the first half of the movie, I was constantly interrupted by my own yawns. As usual, Tony Stark was still a major kickback with his witty remarks and Pepper Potts' verbal batting stints, which made these two a sought-after tandem (or at least in this film).

I totally forgot what the first half of the movie was all about. All I know was that there were this one these two guys who annoyed me. Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) who was more than willing to try all the sinister plans he could device to outsmart and outshine Stark. Gosh, this kind of people really exist, even in movies like this. The other one, the guy sitting beside me. If he wanted to text someone, at least he should do it outside, or better, not use the phone anymore. The backlight's glare killed my eyes, and my mood.

Maybe my mind was still clouded by the movie's predecessor, that's why it didn't give a kick. I can assure you though that the fast cars, kick-ass Black Widow (Scarlett J.), the A-list weapon drones and M. Rourke's annoying slash barely audible slash vague languages (both English and Russian) would not render your tickets or money useless.

Before I went inside the cinema, I overheard these two ladies talking.

Lady 1: Oi san ba tayo? Losers ba tayo?

Lady 2: Oo, Losers tayo. Maganda yun.(Natawa ako.)

Lady 1: Sabi ng friend ko hardcore daw yung Losers.

Lady 2: Ganun ba? Dapat Losers na tayo.

Lady 1: Iron Man pinanood ng kapatid ko kanina. Doon na lang tayo. (At dun ko pa nalaman, The Losers pala na movie. lol)

Tata!

Dear John (a movie review)

Dear Savannah,

It was because of your lover-wannabe boy that these things had come to a complicated start. I didn't understand why I got your bag from that deep water. I looked like a Muro-ami cast (my Pinoy friend described it to me, though a handsome version). To aggravate things, you lured me with your erotic stories about moon which I had also my version (by the way, my toe is smaller than my thumb and still it covers the moon). Those stories about the fire, our chat in the restaurant, and our straddle slash romantic slash wet scene cost me my balls. Our two-week love story was a blast and it left me hangin' in the air. By the way, I'm sorry with how I reacted with your bitchslappin' diagnose of my Dad. You cost me an ego reconstructive surgery. Anyway, I still love you. That's why I promised to write you all the time. And I did. And we did. I became smitten with writing letters. *sigh* But you became a whore of it. Blame's on you. Hehehe.

By the way, my story about the mule is a little bit exaggerated. I think I got so sentimental I forgot I should not exposed my Dad's neat slash order freakiness. I'm so sorry for the boring sex that we had. It bore the audience as well.

About the letters, you, bitch, didn't write me a letter anymore. And when I received a letter from you, I got so excited. Only to find out that you've been engaged with someone. You broke my artillery. You just didn't know how much I wanted to die that time, that's why I always volunteer for a mission. I don't want to go home. But I still. My Pap died. I attended the funeral. No one but only me. Where were you? I had an obituary about that.

I was exhilarated when I saw you for the first time after 5 years. I thought you replaced me with a horse, only to find out it's Tim. Sonnavebee. I wanted to punch him again. Good, he's sick. Good riddance. Anyway, I still love you. I, still, was baffled why the movie ended that way. My friend here, mjomesa, commented that this movie is boring. I should've done another romantic flick.

Love,

John

P.S. The audience should stick to the book. However tiring, just be patient.

This movie was based on Nicholas Spark's (The Notebook) novel. I did not watch this intentionally. I was just a victim of chance.

Ms. Aleli bought a book because of that boring movie. The Notebook is better.

The Man of (Steel) Iron

Do you remember when Terrence Howard (now played by Don Cheadle) get a glimpse of the armor in the first installment of Iron Man?

In the sequel, he, as War Machine, will be able to wear the famous suit with its unique gadgetry. Robert Downey Jr. (Tony Stark) will reprise again with Gywneth Paltrow (Pepper) and the rest of the gang minus Terrence. Of course, newcomers like Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow) and Mickey Rourke (Whiplash) will comprise the whole cast of Iron Man 2 which is expected to be out this April 30th. Directed by Jon Favreau.

The first movie did kick some a** both in plot and effects. I just cross my fingers for the sequel movie. Lol. I love Iron Man. I hope it will not be a disappointment. Looking forward!