Movies to look forward to

December 12, 2011 by · 4 Comments

I love classic movies. I appreciate black and white. But of course, I also like HD. These are a few of my favorites:

  1. One Flew Over Cuckoo’s Nest
  2. Gone With The Wind
  3. The Sound of Music
  4. Memoirs of a Geisha
  5. The Great Escape
  6. Schindler’s List
  7. Himala

I think there are thousands of great movies which I haven’t seen yet. I wish I had the liberty of time to watch all those films. But right now, I am looking forward to Dangerous Liaisons starring Jang Dong Gun and Zhang Ziyi. It’s a film adaptation of a French novel “Les Liaisons Dangereuses.”

I like Zhang Ziyi. She’s the girl in “the salt is too salty” commercial. She also had a major role in Crouching Tiger .., Memoirs of a Geisha, and Flying Daggers.

I have a crush on Jang Dong Gun. LOL. He’s a great Korean actor. I’ve always seen him portray the good roles. He’s always the gentleman. I hope this time, he plays the role of the arrogant and manipulative Vicomte de Valmont.

I read from wiki that the Hollywood adaptation of this film is called Cruel Intentions. I’m not sure if I’ve already seen that movie. Sounds very familiar …

Anyway, there is another that I’d love to see this Christmas. Manila Kingpin! I dunno. I just think I’ve had enough of those fantasy and crappy romance films. It’s about time to switch back to classic Filipino movies! I love the vintage cars. Where did they get that?

Filed Under: movies and flicks ·

Big fan of Hiei (Vincent)

December 10, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

In my country, YuYu Hakusho is known as Ghost Fighters but I think the correct English translation is Poltergeist Report.

Okay, I know this Japanese anime is practically old, about 16 or 18 years, but for me it’s one of the best anime series in history. Better than Flame of Recca and Card Captor Sakura.

Who’s your favorite YYH character?

I’m a fan of Eugene (Yusuke) but I also like Vincent (Hiei). I am drawn to Vincent’s sarcastic and elusive personality and his tragic past has always intrigued me.

I also like that he’s very protective of his sister, Mikaela (Yukina). They are actually twins but he is a fire demon while she is an ice maiden.

They are born in Koorime, a floating country made of ice. It is an all-female society where women are strictly forbidden to marry a man. Every 100 years, they give birth to a girl. Always a daughter, never a son.

When the twin was born, they thought Vincent would bring curse and destruction to the community. So he was taken away from his mother and was thrown off a cliff to die. But before that, his mother told him to be strong and come back to kill the ice maidens.

The infant managed to survive the cold winter. He was adopted by thieves where he grew up with a thirst for revenge. In his adult years, he came back to Koorime and learned that his mother committed suicide and that his twin sister left to search for him.

On that day, he had a change of heart. He realized that killing the women of Koorime is nonsense. The ice maidens are emotionless. Their hearts are as cold as ice. It’s like ice is circulating their veins instead of blood. For Vincent, they are as good as dead.

I want him to tell Mikaela that he is the long lost brother that she’s been looking for. But he never revealed his identity. Instead, he advised her to stop waiting around for a brother who might be dead.

Apparently, when Vincent was searching for Mikaela, he asked Sigure to implant a third eye on his forehead. The price which Sigure asked is that Vincent should hold his tongue about his true relationship with Mikaela. That was their agreement.

I eagerly waited for the final episode just so I could find out if Vincent’s going to tell the truth but I was slightly disappointed. He remained faithful to his character. Aloof and anti-social with a different sense of “code of honor.”

The author did not clarify if Mikaela knows the truth. However, this was her response: “I guess, that is the sort of advice a girl might get from her brother.” So, you be the judge if she knows or not :P

Filed Under: Amour-finding adventures, Consider This, movies and flicks, talking booger ·

Amaya – The Filipino Epic Story

July 5, 2011 by · 7 Comments

Caution: I only watch shows in GMA 7 and QTV 11 so for the purpose of not sparking World War III, don’t read this if you’re a Channel 2 fan :)

First, I really think that the team behind this soap opera is brilliant. I loved Encantadia, Mulawin, and Dyesebel. Those TV programs are the best. And now I am currently hooked with Amaya. Not only me but the whole family and the entire neighborhood as well. Yup. Even my neighbors are watching Amaya.

  • Story – definitely not boring. The writers are really creative. From princess to slave to a great warrior. There are a lot of scenes to look forward to. We feel bad every time there are commercial breaks but we do understand that the show needs advertisements. Hehe. The twin-snake makes the show more intriguing.
  • Dialogue – I appreciate that the characters converse in traditional/old Tagalog with bits of Visaya and Muslim. Actually, I don’t know what kind of dialect they are speaking but it’s interesting to hear again the words which I’ve almost forgotten now. Like tagna for prophesy, balay for house and many other words which are pure Tagalog. I also learned new words such as bai for princess, uripon for slave, etc.

Credits: pep

  • Cast – if I’m not mistaken, a lot of them are theatrical actors and actresses. I’m quite sure I’ve seen them in Sarzuelas and theater shows before. Anyway, Marian Rivera is very pretty. She’s half Spanish, so not exactly a Filipina beauty. But her acting is more than okay. She’s perfect for the role. It’s disappointing that Raymond Bagatsing’s role was short. He has a superb talent in acting. Same with Gardo Versoza and Gina Alajar. I also like Sheena Halili. She’s so cute.
  • Costume – amazing, fantastic, excellent. Need I say more? Haha! I read somewhere that the bahag attire is an insult to the Filipino people. The writer said it would be humiliating for other countries to watch Amaya and see us wearing almost nothing. That made me laugh. From what school are you from? Filipinos really wore that outfit hundreds of years ago. For me, the costumes that they are wearing in Amaya are beautiful. Not only the clothes are colorful, they also represent our culture. This is how our ancestors dressed in the past and there is nothing shameful about that.
  • Parental guidance – I’m not sure if Amaya is recommendable to grade school kids. The show is a reflection of the Filipino culture but it contains violent scenes so I don’t know. It’s up to the parents if they would allow their child to see it or not.

To wrap things up, Amaya is one of the best Filipino soap operas in this genre. It’s 100% Pinoy. It’s already tiring to see dramas which are influenced by the western culture. So Amaya is like a breath of fresh air to me.

Filed Under: Consider This, family matters, movies and flicks, talking booger ·

Gay is happiness

October 8, 2010 by · 2 Comments

Personally, I have no problem with gay people. In truth, I really find them fun to be with and their jokes are the best sellers. So, it’s a wonder why a friend of mine dislikes another friend just because of gender issues. Actually, it’s more of religious issues. Well, I hope he realizes soon that he’s actually missing half of his life. That is, if he has a life. Hehe.

Recently, I watched an indie film entitled Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros (The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros). It’s about a teenage gay whose loyalty to family was tested when his crush, a young cop, encouraged him to act as a witness against his criminal brothers and father. Light-hearted and full of humor, this flick is a perfect recommendation to anyone who has already gotten tired of heavy-drama Filipino movies.

The title itself is very interesting though a bit inappropriate. I was expecting a different story. Something like how Maxi discovered that he is not a straight guy. But the movie as a whole is very entertaining. Everything was captured naturally. Even the house where Maxi lives is a typical squatter’s area. In other films, the leading star’s role is poor but he/she is unbelievably living in a decent apartment.

After watching this movie, I immediately searched Google for websites about homosexuals and found one great gay blog. In a particular post, the author wrote about how stressful it is to finally come out and let your family and friends know about your true identity. Aside from gathering enough guts, there a lot of questions that must be answered. So many what-ifs to worry about.

I will definitely share this link to my friend in the hopes that this will open up his heart :)

Filed Under: Amour-finding adventures, movies and flicks ·

Angelina Jolie is Evelyn Salt

August 29, 2010 by · 7 Comments

Every time Mrs. Pitt has a new movie, my family is always in a hurry to go to the cinemas.  This especially holds true for my mother who cannot forget Tomb Raider and the leading lady whom she’s always referred to as the “beautiful action woman.” They simply adore her pouted lips, lean body and of course her roles. Me? Sure, I like her too. I mean who doesn’t?  However, I’m just not a fan of action movies. But I watched it, anyway, and I have no regrets.

Salt is fast-paced, amazing and much better than the other spy thrillers I have seen before such as Mission Impossible. The stunts are fantastic and almost unbelievable considering that the lead character is a female. She acts like a man, you should see the brutal fight scenes. From start to finish, every scene is worth watching and got me thinking of the character’s true intention until the end which makes it very entertaining.

In one of the hair-raising action sequences, Jolie jumped off an overpass and onto a speeding container truck which is crazy dangerous. I literally had to catch my breath in that particular scene although later on I learned that Jolie was aided by a double stunt. But I still think that she is admirable and there is no other actress who can fit the role better than her.

Admittedly, I can hardly understand the conversations because of the accent. After the final scene, I was like “Huh?! That’s it? The End?” Haha. I am itching to watch the movie again yesterday with a friend but I somehow felt it’s an impractical thing to do. I don’t want to pay again for the tickets. Maybe I’ll just wait for the DVD copy.

Filed Under: Consider This, family matters, movies and flicks · Tagged With: ,