reviews! reviews!

Euro Thursday

skipped work last thursday to head to the Shangri-la Cineplex where Cine Europa was running. for more than a week, film buffs enjoyed free screenings of carefully selected films from the European Union.

i failed to make it to the 12 noon showing of You and Me (Toi et Moi) from France but made it to the 230PM movie, The Wave (Die Welle) from Germany.

the movie is a moving drama about a teacher who struggles with a subject he did not really want to tackle in their school's Project Week. to make it more interesting, he thought of an experiment done to his class as they discussed "autocracy". it became quite a riveting project as they developed their knowledge and experience on fascism and neo-Nazism. the experiment however spins out of control bringing it to an explosive ending.

i am particularly pleased that The Wave is a contemporary movie. and as i was about to rave about how i love German music with all it's disco, tantric, heady beat, google tells me the OST is actually composed of songs from several artists all over Europe like Sweden, Britain, and even the US. Lol!



my second movie that day was Italy's production of Fyodor Dostoevsky's life and love called The Ghosts of St. Petersburg. it's a profound movie alright but the bleak, wintry setting of Moscow and Siberia made me feel its gloom all the more. i must have snoozed in some of the scenes.

we did not make it to the 3rd movie because tickets ran out already. i finally got my cinema pass later that night but sadly i was not able to go back to Shang anymore for the last screening days. i hope they open up more cinemas for more people next time. and i hope too that i'll win in their raffle promo which gives a trip to Europe as the grand prize. sigh.

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Palahniuk Virgin No More

i spent my weekend watching over senior high school kids sweat it out for the Ateneo College Entrance Test and got to pick this book in case i get bored. i know it was quite a rash move, maybe i should have picked something more juvenile or wholesome at least like The Little Prince or Catcher In The Rye hehehe...

Six hundred dudes. One porn queen. A world record for the ages.

Snuff is about a porn star who plans to end her career by starring in a world record of bedding 600 men. on camera. think of it as wrestling's Royal Rumble. 60 seconds of wham-bam-thank you-mam and then comes the next guy all turgid and ready for the dive.

the barely 200 page book takes you behind the scenes where guys from all ages, shapes and sizes walk around naked with just their number inked on their bodies. they amble around, munch on donuts and chips and popcorn and some jack off to keep themselves ready for action while waiting for their turn.

there's nothing remotely erotic in this book really. the botched porn movie titles like Whore War One, The Blowjobs of Madison County, A Tale of Two Titties, etc, etc. were all hilarious. the characters are not your typical boy/girl next door, hollywood celebrity types but merely your scumbags, filthy types.

it is shocking in a ridiculous kind of way and like Fight Club, it feels filthy and icky reading it but it's an enjoyable ride just the same.

i finished the book that afternoon session in between reading the test instructions to the kiddies. Palahniuk's words were indeed a fresh breather to the rather rigid academic texts i had to blurt out to the class haha!

Tony Takitani

� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � Tony Takitani is one of the two Japanese films i caught at last week's Eiga-Sai at the Shangri-la. I was particularly drawn to this film because it is based on a short story by Haruki Murakami who i discovered fairly recently. Murakami has his way of telling stories which transports you into an almost transcluscent world and i was kinda curious as to how his stories would appear on film.

True enough, i found the movie fairly gauzy but in a clean and crisp way. It's like watching the characters in their real setting but is still seemingly floating, apart from everyone else.�

Just like most of his stories, this also delves on loneliness and solitude. A theme that is evident in Japanese culture, what with their boxed, and i say, almost claustrophobic lifestyle. Everything in its compartmentalized, organized state.

The main character, Tony Takitani is shunned since his childhood because of his foreign sounding name. Life has then taught him to fend for himself and wallow in solitude. He dabbled in a career in technical design and as a really good artist, made great money with it. In his latter years, he met a woman who he eventually fell in love with and married. The woman however has one great fault. She is so much addicted to shopping for designer clothes.

I bet most of the Japanese women could relate to the story. It is a running joke for most Filipinos in Japan, that for one to win a Japanese woman's heart, one must be ready to shower her with material gifts mostly of designer bags, shoes, clothes.

The film thus takes us into a woman's closet and how she fills them with one wonderful piece of clothing to another. How she picks each one item from the racks, buys, caresses, smells and worships them could almost be contaminating. Almost like some scene from Confessions of a Shopaholic!

But it is also this same addiction that leads to her tragic end.

Which brings us back to the prevailing theme of sadness and isolation and solitude.

Yes, pretty heavy and profound.�

can i borrow your dad or a grandpa?

i grew up from a family bereft of male figures. i didn't really get to know my grandfathers.

i lost my dad when i was 18.

i only have one brother.

i've always wondered what it's like being surrounded and taken cared of by men.

i was always with male friends as my barkada. i was one of the boys.

imagine my awe when i saw Clint Eastwood's latest flick, Gran Torino. i can't help but say, "Wow i'd want a grandpa or a dad like him! Cool! "

reminiscent of his Dirty Harry spunk and the muy romantico essence from Bridges of Madison County, Clint Eastwood is a sight to behold here. in this film he is not Clint Eastwood, the actor. He is Mr. Walt Kowalski, the Korean War veteran.

i have no more encouraging words for now, just go watch it. i'm still puffy eyed. it's such a great piece of work. and i'm glad to say that with young people dying these days, falling one by one like flies, this actor and director is still way up there and giving us more movies to watch out for.

catching up

my idea of catching up really aside from sleeping all i can and holing up in my room is to go out and see what the mall is like once again.

and this is what i did yesterday, Monday. i've decided not to report to the office just yet since i felt like my weekend's rest wasn't enough, especially after two weeks of being in one city after another. and i wanted to spend my day paying my bills, watch a movie or two and check out what's new in the malls.

i watched Nights in Rodanthe first because i've always loved Nicholas Sparks. i went alone with a bunch of grannies among the audience and i was thinking what must be on their minds when some love scenes came out hehe...the night before i also got to see Bridges of Madison County on QTV 11 and the idea of some wife making out/ love with another man kinda bothered me a bit. i mean, these were women in their 40s-50s even and suddenly they found themselves desiring other men? hmmm...

as i sat there on the theater alone with just my hotdog sandwich, popcorn and coke i found myself thinking what i must be 20-30 years from now. will i find myself finally enjoying that stage which Erikson calls the generativity stage? will i have become the best mom to Xan and be able to take care of more kids and grandkids? will i still want other men, or men in general as well? LOL! or lo and behold, will i find myself stagnate, retreat in my own world as i get older?

i know i ought to keep myself from thinking too much.

well back to the movie, i find myself liking Diane Lane even more. wow, when i grow old i want to be like her haha!

like most of Spark's books, the movie had a bittersweet ending.

i was to meet my old friend Lala for dinner but it was still a bit early and i felt sad by the movie quite a bit that i decided to watch another movie, this time it was Quantum of Solace.

oh well, Daniel Craig isn't really guwapo but i've to say he's hot, hot, hot!!! i think he's a way cooler 007 than Pierce Brosnan.

i've no major complain about the movie, in fact i love how this film's Bond girl got her own's really kick-ass action scenes.

my major issue though is that i couldn't quite comprehend how an Alicia Keys' song got chosen as it's theme. hmpf!

they say there has to be some missing scene somewhere in the last part but i barely noticed it, have you?

i later met up with Lala for dinner. when you wanna keep grounded always keep in touch with old friends who know you 15 even 20 years hehe.



we went to Cafe Bola and yes, i had bola-bola for dinner.



i also got to try San Mig's premium beer and brought home the coaster as well hihihi.

yeah, i have to say i really had full and satisfying day.


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just today, i learned that our Batanes trip for this weekend has been cancelled. imagine my relief when even after almost 30 minutes of being put on hold by Zest Airways trunkline (thank greatness for speaker phones!) they told me that the flight has been cancelled. well. i've been losing sleep over it for days now especially because of this rainy weather and i didn't want to get stranded in that so far away land especially when i have our Macau-HK trip scheduled/fixed and relatively paid for already.

yup, i would love going to Batanes, i've always looked forward to going there but my skeds are just too close i couldn't really afford anymore bungles in it.

so the trip has been resked to January, by then, if we'd get stranded for a week then i won't really care since i don't have any more trips scheduled after it haha!

so here i am, home for the entire week and the weekend. i'm not going anywhere for now, yey! it can really be a nice feeling, eh.

current reviews

MOVIE: Harsh Times

this is quite a surprisingly absorbing film especially when i haven't really heard anything about it then. i sort of just picked it up off the shelves in Video City and wow, i'm impressed!

i'm never a fan of Christian Bale not even as Batman but he is indeed oh-so-good here! i'm actually googling for any awards or citation buts can't seem to find any. it is a bit similar to Training Day especially since it has the same creators but I have to say this film moved me more, even if that has Ethan Hawke in it hehehe...

oh yeah, Freddy Rodriguez (Havoc, A Walk in the Clouds) is as yummy anyway. add in teeny but ever gorgeous Eva Longoria as well.








BOOK: A Thousand Splendid Suns

i have to say it was a bit laborious reading this one. i had to stop in between chapters in order for me to breathe and most often shake off the negative images that never fails to make me cringe.

a thousand splendid suns is about two women finding their lives intertwined amidst the atrocities in Afghanistan. it spans almost 30 decades of the countries darkest years starting from the Soviet occupation, to the rise of the Mujahideen, and later the rule of the Talibans. i honestly could not tell which ones oppress them more. it seems that instead of being hopeful about seeing their current enemy falling, another more barbaric rule would later follow.

i saw myself taking notice of the timeline alongside my own and it breaks my heart realizing that while i was feeling high and mighty and rebellious supposedly battling teenage angst all of these oppressions were going on in their country.

what bothers me more is that the human drama, the violence was even more severe in the confines of their own homes. among husbands and wives, among sons and daughters. i would like to believe that indeed war could turn the sanest of men into the vilest of creatures.

it makes me wonder how could anyone ever gather enough strength to go on, where could anyone draw hope in ever seeing a better life again.

i so admire how the author could use the most beautiful words, the most awe-inspiring imageries in spite of the war torn background.

i love Kite Runner, and i love this one too. i really can't decide which one is better but i believe i don't really have to. just like with the former, i also cried, moped, and pondered on this one.

*sigh*




SONG ALBUM: Third by Portishead




portishead has always been my female radiohead.

definitely great for head-tripping. makes me feel fuzzy and heady and hazy and floaty with all those wonderfully dizzying colors everywhere.

august rush

i don't want to sound so exaggerated but this movie is just so brilliant. i was actually cursing ala claudine barretto on most parts of the film most especially on its last 4 minutes. and almost felt sad that it has actually ended. oh well...

this is my second keri russell film for the week. the waitress which i saw a couple of days ago was also really heartwarming. i'm beginning to discover how lovely keri russell is.

august rush is a highly musical film marrying classical and rock and bearing some streetbeat protege of a son. true to its title, watching it does give you that kind of rush, some high brought on not only by the power of music but also with how love is able to transcend time and distances apart.
and yeah, i've to say freddie highmore is just becoming a handsome fine young man.


"You never quit on your music. No matter what happens. Cuz anytime something bad happens to you, that's the one place you can escape to and just let it go. I learned it the hard way. And anyway, look at me. Nothing bad's gonna happen. You gotta have a little faith. "

bumped off!

I somehow had the fortune of being bumped off from my early morning flight today. I was prepared to report to the office by noon but the free round trip ticket I could get for volunteering was just too enticing to pass up.

besides waiting for another four hours for my eventual flight was not really that bad especially after having gone through several delayed flights from cebu pac already hehe.

I wasn't that a bit worried, I still didn't have any word about our new budget being approved yet thus I didn't think there's anything urgent to be done in the office anyway.

and I had my mp3s and my eee pc with me. and what more, my friend, Sugar, just saved a copy of the movie Love in the Time of Cholera in my pc. =)

I was more than excited to just sit and watch it first.

I know I have a copy of the book somewhere among my college textbooks but I don't really remember reading it. must be that Marquez's books were mostly thick and with minute letters at that.

ahihihi...i've to say I was a bit kilig as I watched the movie, I was almost oblivious that i was enjoying amidst the busy CDO airport with passengers from different flights arriving and leaving.

the film is just so rich with visuals it almost looks like some Spanish painting come alive. Florentino's prose and poetry were so moving i'd almost feel the tears well up if only for the crowd around me.

for more than 2 hours i've been held captive by my 7 inch screen. i'm wondering how most wonderful this must be to be viewed on the widescreen.

and the ultra sensual shakira who's singing most of the OST adds up to its over all passion and depth.



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i've to admit I kinda left the home early this morning with quite a heavy heart. I haven't really accomplished anything and there were just more issues and concerns faced that I felt I didn't really had any vacation at all. the only consolation I have is that Xan got well finally. he was really sick when I arrived and it was just too great a relief that his cough and colds were gone, he was running around everywhere again and has been eating left and right as if wanting to just make up for all those missed meals.

nothing matters now really but seeing Xan up and about once more. let the adults take care of themselves and their issues. Xan is ok. that's all that matters. =)



our family has had a lot of better/happier days anyway. we will see brighter sunshinier times in the days to come. i'll just have to focus on the yellows and the oranges instead of gloomy grays and dark ones. muchos gracias.

Kite Runner- The Movie

so this is going to be another rant/rave post.

a few months back i know i posted some review about the book, how it has made me stay up till late and ended up crying, moved, pondering over some scenes.

then i learned some news that it was to be made into a movie. well, i sort of had misgivings at first. it's a pretty emotional story with controversial themes dealing with human relationships and turmoils and a much more delicate social/political/racial issues. but i was excited nonetheless especially when i finally saw the trailer online which gave me enough reason to watch out for it.

anyway, a few nights ago i actually joined a Pex contest for free premier tickets. i know there has always been a lot of contests in the said forum but i just thought i'd try it out as it's actually The Kite Runner and all i did was copy/paste the answer of previous posters to the question "who is the author of the book Kite Runner?". how simple can that be. i even didn't take note where and when the preem was going to be.

so imagine my surprise when i got a message last night that i did bag the two tickets haha! that was almost midnight and i thought of "raffling" my extra ticket among my pex friends or maybe ask my cousin out when my college friend, Ron, popped out on ym. so i just asked him if he's free for the following day and said he is. he didn't even ask what the movie was all about hehe...

so there, earlier this afternoon, i left the office early to get my tickets in makati, where i almost got lost looking for their office. but that's another story altogether.

the venue was at SM Megamall, uhm, i've been so used to the cinemas at Gateway that i think the movie screen is now a bit smaller, haay. and we must be with the wrong crowd as most of them were rowdy and were even talking among themselves while we were silently sniffing. they must have gotten bored and didn't understand a thing *sigh* so enough of my reklamos haha, sorry!

so, finally, on with the film...

first of all, i believe it has a perfect cast, most especially the young Hassan. he's just really cute, not good looking but cute just the same. and he's a good actor for someone so young huh!

as the film progressed and i remember the scenes bit by bit, i suddenly wonder if they will ever show some delicate scenes and if they do i don't think i'd feel comfortable watching it. but then again it is still the main turning point of the story so they simply have to. how they are going to treat it cinematically ought to be a real challenge. but yes they did, along with all the other controversial parts.

i cringed, sniffed, felt revolted, moved to tears, got excited, all throughout the film.

(i realized i could't tell much details about it now as i dunno how to make spoiler tags here, and just the conscientious moviegoer that i am, i don't really dream of spoiling you even if some of you have actually read the book.)

and all i can say really is, it remains faithful to the book and most of the great scenes are shown in the movie. it may not be as detailed but most of the good parts are there. there is one aspect there which was a bit changed but i couldn't blame them as it turns out to be more exciting to watch onscreen.

and i enjoyed the kite flying scenes a lot! it was kinda hard to picture it based on the book, but the movie makes it really fun and exciting.( i have read though that the kids were holding balloons during the filming and was just edited during post-production hehe.)

the lightness and heady feeling of the kites hovering as the kids frantically run about gives the movie an over-all subtle play of emotions. we know and feel that there are some parts that are heavy and intense but how they are being presented makes them appear as some dark stains to an otherwise youthful and hopeful film.

and even if the movie, which was initially set in Kabul during its glory days, showed how it was ravished by the Russian invasion and eventually by the Talibans it still manages to depict a more optimistic and glorious ending for it's main characters which like the older Hassan wrote to the older Amir:

"I dream that my son will grow up to be a good person, a free person. I dream that someday you will return to revisit the land of our childhood. I dream that flowers will bloom in the streets again... and kites will fly in the skies! "

what's eating gilbert grape

realized how full of angst we are back in the 90s. not just in the songs we listen to but also in the movies we watched.

saw what's eating gilbert grape a while ago. my first after i saw it on the movies more than 10 years ago. i remembered we saw it then at Sta. Lucia Mall when it was still new. we were at the top floor and we just sat there on the floor, facing the window right after. my schoolmate kinda exclaimed na" kung di totoong special child si Arnie sobrang galing lang nya talagang actor!" of course, we all know now that Leo diCaprio is indeed normal like us (or some of us) and is just one hell of a good actor.

The scenes and lines were still very vivid to me. and i still cried at some scenes. it also has one of the most cathartic ending for an all too emotionally filled film. it made letting go and moving on actually easier to do.

oh, bought this dvd at the Chinatown in Singapore for $5 (roughly PhP150) =)

movie tag

Rules Of This Tag:

1. Link back the person who tagged you and write what was the movie his/her family enjoyed watching recently.

2. Now your turn to tell about the movie your family had just watched.

3. Tell something about the movie and spoilers are accepted (hehehe).

4. Lastly, write anything that has something to do with movies: Trivia, your top choice or favorites and why, your family's story about your favorite motion pictures, the first film you watched with your husband, any traditional film the family 's been keeping etc...etc...

5. Copy and paste the rules of this meme on your blog and pass the tag to as many friends, bloggers and movie lovers you want. Don't forget to tell them they're tagged and leave a comment here if you're done with the task.

1. I've been tagged by daiz, they just recently saw and enjoyed movies as the bee movie, cloverfield, juno and memento.

2. saw cloverfield recently too with my mom. i didn't quite enjoy it as i was too tired and sleepy. just got back from an early morning flight that day and it was hard enough keeping my eyes open. worse was the film's camera shots made me dizzy. made me want to hold them with steadier hands instead hehe.

3. the lead female characters were all gorgeous though. nevermind if they were virtually unknown. just that i wasn't that caught up with the human drama. and the monster just came out of nowhere and it wasn't even known what happened to it after. kudos to the effects though. especially after seeing the monster up close, wow! that was some visual delight i might say. how they ended with saying "i love yous" was a bit tad mushy. but then again maybe when you're in the brink of death too you'll end up saying them to anyone and everyone with you. :p

4. I'm still a big Ethan Hawke fan, it's not just about his good boyish looks but how he chooses his films well. Great Expectations, Before Sunrise/Sunset and Gattaca are big favorites. I'm still endlessly searching for his Hamlet dvd din pala. Our family watches Lord of the Rings series and all of Harry Potter on Christmas and New Year's eves. Same with The Ten Commandments and Jesus, Christ Superstar on holy weeks. Xan is still terribly on his Blues Clues stage. though lately he's learned to alternate it with Dora, Diego, Sesame Street and his a-b-cs...yun memorized na din namin. I've yet to take him to the theater, baka magwala kse sa dilim. =)

5. I'm tagging aian, jenn, karl and mec.

virgin suicides

the lazy rainy sunday afternoon saw me pouring my heart out for this gorgeous young girls who instead of basking on the beauty that is life ended up killing themselves for some mysterious reasons.

narrated by some young boys who've grown to love and follow them around, i have learned to become fond of these boys as well. how they showed concern, how affected their lives have become to the point of collecting memorabilia and almost obsessing on these girls prove to be so endearing.

the mystery of why the girls committed suicide was never solved. but the way the story is told, the warmth of the scenes, the marvelous play of visuals and imagery make it all unforgettable.

So much has been said about the girls over the years. But we have never found an answer. It didn't matter in the end how old they had been, or that they were girls... but only that we had loved them... and that they hadn't heard us calling... still do not hear us calling them from out of those rooms... where they went to be alone for all time... and where we will never find the pieces to put them back together.

and oh, the dibidi copy which i got for only 60 bucks also includes the soundtrack which features songs as Magic Man by Heart, Alone Again (naturally by George O'Sullivan, I'm Not In Love by 10cc, among others.

Deeply

wow, it's been a while since i have seen any great film lately. this is quite some sweet surprise as i didn't have any idea what it's all about. i thought of the setting as quite bland and too cold and the weather too harsh...but dang, i was so moved as the story is unfold.

i'm not gonna put in any spoilers but the parallelism beweeen the two teen characters is just so greatly woven.

the ending is cathartic. i was left speechless for a while. great images abound too.

watch it!

football mania

i grew up being exposed to football back in grade school. we used to have a wide enough football field in our school. my earliest crushes were varsity players hehe...i would come home with my shoes pudpod because we'd kick balls before going home...

thus imagine my excitement upon seeing the trailer of Goal 1 in star world...too bad i was not able to watch it in full though.

good enough i got to watch Goal 2 in the internet. it stars Kuno Becker (lemme just say he's hot! hot! hot!) who now gets to play with legendary players as David Beckham and Zinidine Zidane...though the plot is quite shallow and lackluster, you'll get entertained just watching the eyecandies haha!

i'm not quite excited with the third part though, except for the mere fact that i'd like to find out how it ends. but that's just it.

i don't really mind if Xan gets to be a football star one of these days to. whoa!

unfortunately, football stories also remind me of Russell. sigh...

perfect for my brooding soul

Pan's Labyrinth--am never the type who gets turned off by films wth subtitles. most of the subtitled movies i've seen were great and memorable.
i've read several reviews about this film. some find it grotesque, disturbing, boring (duh!)...but then it's the same dark imagery that drew me in to watching this. and boy, i was not disappointed at all. i actually loved every scene! forgive me for sounding so strange but yeah i sometimes delve on dark and violent films.
it's certainly not your ordinary Alice in Wonderland and i'm still confused why they rated it as PG 13. my niece who was with me was even disturbed by some scenes and she's 21. heck i even had to cover my eyes on some really gory executions hehehe...
just the same it's a great movie when you feel like you're all in anguish inside. it could be cathartic for all those dark thoughts lurking inside you. it's actually like dousing some alcohol on one's open wound. great, good God!!!!

pursuing happiness

And it was at that time that I thought about Thomas Jefferson writing that Declaration of Independence. Him saying that we have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And I thought about how he knew to put the 'pursuit' in there, like no one can actually have happiness. We can only pursue it.

now that's kinda sad...but what is happiness anyway??

the first time i saw the trailer for this movie a pursuit to happyness i was actually moved to tears. trailer pa lang yun ha. but then again am such a sucker for father-son relationships...there's always somethin melancholic about fathers striving life and limb for their children...oh well...

but watching the entire movie is an entirely different feeling...yeah, i was moved to tears just the same, though slight lang...i was more moved by chris gardner's (will smith) determination to get what he wants. great thing is that he is really smart and he is bent on achieving what he wants. i dunno how man could do that. his wife leaves him taking care of his little son, he lived on every dollar he has, faces jail time, bein thrown out of his apartment. sometimes you wish it can't be all true. but chris gardner is a real man. he actually walked this earth. and has lived through the odds.

this is more or less a great, inspring story for the cutthroat corporate industry. that people can always start small and still manage to emerge succesful and powerful and drive that ultra shiny red convertible and be a multi-millionaire someday.

but it also teaches us to never lose the heart...to never cease showing compassion for other people. sometimes we set our dreams too high. we focus so hard on getting there that we tend to not see the people around us that matters. chris always has his son, he never left him. and though it was not shown in the movie, chris continued to support the homeless, giving funds and sharing his time. he also continued to advocate for the well-being of children by showing them how much it means to have their responsible and committed fathers around them. he later got a Father of the Year award. such a great guy indeed.

being happy doesn't only mean getting what you wanted and dreamed of...it's about sharing what you got and letting others feel at least a little bit of what you have too.

so you think you're happy now?

headbangin with Miller's 300

the movie is indeed a feast for the senses. not just with it's stunning visuals but more so because of the hardrock musical scoring. grrrr, can't help but almost wanting to bang my head as the warriors head on to battle. i swear, i really think trent reznor, eddie vedder and even creed's scott stapp should have been one of those spartans!

falling...

"And after all that, however long all that may be, you'll go somewhere new. and you'll meet people who make you feel worthwhile again. And little pieces of your soul will finally come back. And all that fuzzy stuff, those years of your life that you wasted, that will eventually begin to fade."

yeah, i've watched the holiday twice this week. so sue me! but then again who can stop me from enjoying this film. after all it has given me a lot of hope and inspiration that my life will smell of sweet roses once again. or if not for me then at least for the people around me who hasn't loved or felt being loved much. i actually don't mind dragging more people to watch it with me. misery loves company, so does enlightenment or even pure enjoyment. corny yeah, but i do need corny sometimes. :D

and then there's jude law. who would not want to watch him. i know he's the sexiest man alive twice over but i've never really cared to notice him. i don't quite like his all too boyish and sunny appeal. but here it's different though. i love hearing and watching him talk. his lips and his lisp is but adorable. hell yeah, am smitten. and yeah, it would be entirely hard for me to find someone new with jude (close kami eh!) as some benchmark. but who cares. this girl can dream, ayt!

wanting to write again

i used to write a lot. and i mean a lot. i've some poems and verses and short stories and anecdotes hell even slogans buried somewhere. but that was a decade ago. i stopped just after having attended my first national writing workshop.

well, twas a great experience, met a lot of co-old souls in there. just could not forget that b*tch who told me i should not write anymore. argh! i could not exactly remember what it was she was ranting about. we we're discussing a poem of mine then and i guess she did not like my answer to her grilling so she just retorted with a resounding "then you shouldn't write at all!" i've never been mortified in my life. my fellows were as shocked too.

oh well, that was my first and last workshop. and though i've written a few scratches here and there i've never dreamed of being published anymore. i guess my muse just left me since then. i hope she's happy where she is now.

oh, i just felt nostalgic right after having seen music and lyrics. tis a very heartwarming love story but more than anything else it just reminded me of those times when i was always inspired and words and thoughts would just come flowing in and before i knew it i've created something lyrical already.



back to the movie though. had so much fun watching hugh grant in all his sexy glory shaking his booty! yeah, he's kinda getting old but sexy just the same. ;)

and drew barrymore, minus a few pounds here is always a sweetheart. :D

it's totally a feel good movie with all the happy elements of goodlooking people falling for each other amidst the inspiration of music and err lyrics or beautiful verses. and though there were lil conflicts they still ended up kissing and almost making out during a stage performance, how cool can that get. *okay*

ironically though if there's anything i've learned from it, must be that "life is not a fairy tale, deal with it!" yeah, really realistic words for someone like me who still believes in happy endings and that someday i could have my muse back and be inspired again and could live happily ever after.

*sigh*

currently replaying...

kinda craving for great expectations once again but i didn't have my cd with me, darn. thank god for you tube though. was able to find some clips which kinda fed my longing. yeah, i've watched this movie for the nth time and i just love it everytime the scenes are played over and over again as if i'm seeing it for the first time. and boy, i've even memorized some lines hehe...



the soundtrack is good too. ethan hawke, my all time hunk acts, though i don't really like gwyneth, she's but gorgeous in here, i love the story, robert de niro, the late great ms. anne bancroft, the production, the location, the support cast, everything, and notice that all their clothes are in different shades of green. ;)

sigh...

any movie you'd also love watching over and over again?

walk this earth alone
lauren christie
You're in the doors that keep revolving
The sirens that keep screaming
You're in the flashing of the headlights
The things that I'm believing

You're in the water that I'm drinking
the sound of 911
The walls that protect me
From the damage that you've done
In this world you are with me

But I walk this earth alone
But all I've eve known
Is you are right beside me
If I love you for a day
You'll blow my life away
Could I leave you behind me

You're in the crashing of the windows
The angels 'round the ceiling
You're in the fire in my belly
The fucked up way I'm feeling

You're in the warning on the label
The pills that dissapear
The whines as I'm talking
The words you'll never hear
In this world you are with me

But I walk this earth alone
But all I've eve known
Is you are right beside me
If I love you for a day
You'll blow my life away
Could I leave you behind me

Could I leave you behind me...

star wars mania

i just saw the final (or is it?) installment of the star wars prequel and sad to say i was kinda disappointed with what i saw.

this is after all the same movie (or movies) which i practically grew up to as a kid. though i honestly don't remember most of the scenes except of course for those adorable ewoks and han solo and leia's exchange of "i love you" and "i know", i particularly don't remember this as this cheesy. it focused so much on ani and padme its almost like a telenovela.

ani's reason for turning into the dark side was quite lame for me. i somehow expected of someting more intense, more dramatic a reason for him to turn coat. well, he's still but a kid after all with a weaker willpower and immature moves.

gladly though, a lot of other scenes blew me away esp the opening, i thought i was in rialto or watching some 3d movie in i-max. yoda is always a sight to behold. he is just adorable. i was particularly amused with how obi wan sneaked into the enemy's lair riding this giant tuko and how they chased Gen. Grievious in his Torque-ish vehicle.

watching it somehow reminded me of LOTR. i was actually saying things like "destroy the ring, master frodo" when obi wan and ani was fighting it down amidst the flaming lava. and haven't you noticed how anakin looked more like gollum as he was slowly consumed by the dark force?

acting wise, i only root for ewan mcgregor and samuel jackson and yoda of course...even natalie portman was left in the side lights.. still can't get over her though stripping in Closer. hehehe.

all in all, i view it as just one tragic love story. that even anakin's jedi instints were not able to help him think better and hopefully save padme and his twins. but then of course there won't be any Darth Vader.