It's Sunday afternoon and I don't feel that well so I might as well blog about four movies that I saw in theaters, but didn't have enough time to write a full theater report for each. Ahh... not enough time, the constant excuse of a lazy blogger.
Kung Fu Panda
It seems that Pixar is the only animation studio that consistently comes up with great stories. But Kung Fu Panda has a good and funny story. It's nice to see Dreamworks come up with something good aside from the Shrek franchise (where storywise, #1 is the only one that I really liked) . And I found it really funny, though not as funny as I thought it was based on the what I've heard prior to seeing it.
Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
The company's movie night pick for June. Visually-stunning just like (and more so than) the first one. The story is much darker this time, and I was literally on the edge of my seat during the battle scenes (and not because the seat was damaged). I was bored at some parts in the first movie, but not in this one. Didn't like the song that got played during the credits, though, not because it was bad, but more because it didn't feel right and didn't fit the movie as a whole.
Maid of Honor
If you've seen My Best Friend's Wedding, you'll most likely not like this one at all. Aside from the premise there's no other similarity between the two films. There are no laugh out loud moments and there are no dramatic-romantic moments. All six of us who went to see this movie, agreed, it was just silly.
Get Smart
I love it. I'm not familiar with the TV series that this movie was based on, but I thought it was going to be another Johnny English (which isn't that bad because I love Rowan Atkinson type of comedy). But this turned out to be something more. I mean Maxwell Smart was, well, smart unlike Johnny English. He's just not adept at field agent work that he always wanted. And Anne Hathaway was very good as Agent 99. We saw this a few days after seeing Maid of Honor, which we hated, and it sort of made up for that bad movie.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Monday, July 21, 2008
Theater Report: The Dark Knight
July 20, 2008
Ayala Center Cinema 1
8:00 PM
Attendance: 98% of capacity
Previews:
Just in time, so didn't catch any trailer.
Story:
If Batman Begins explored the origins of the caped crusader, this one explored, through dialogues, the story of The Joker. As The Joker's character is unfolded before us, the deeper story of Bruce Wayne and Batman was also exposed. And together with this exposition, and with the help of Harvey Dent's and Rachel Dawes's stories, the deeper story of Gotham City as a community is being exposed before our eyes.
Thoughts:
I'm not a fan of the Batman comics, or any other comic superheroes for that matter, though I watched the cartoon series. But in terms of comicbook superhero movies, this is without a doubt a cut above the rest. Of course, the fact that Batman has no superpowers naturally lent itself to this kind of deeper and more human exploration, but so does Iron Man and yet I have to say that this movie more than the Iron Man, just like its predecessor (Batman Begins), made the characters as human as they could possibly be without ignoring the medium from which the movie was adapted from. The high tech gadgets are still there, the tank of a bat mobile is still there, and yet if at the end of the movie you looked back at what you've just seen you'd realized that all those things were secondary to the story of Batman, of The Joker, of Harvey Dent, of James Gordon, and of Gotham City itself. Even if you're not a fan of the comic books, you'd still care for Bruce/Batman because underneath the armor of a bat suit, this guy, the Batman, is shown to be not unlike the non-costumed good guys like Harvey Dent and James Gordon, or even the villain The Joker, just another human being with weaknesses, unable to shake his past from how he behaves at the present, and not totally in control of the things that are happening around him. I believed Spider-Man 2 started this trend of making superheroes more human. And it's refreshing to see these movies raking in lots of money in the box office. It meant we can expect more superhero movies like this get made with in-depth exploration of characters.
Would I see it again? No, but only because the twists and turns in the movie wouldn't have the same effect having already seen how the story went. But if I have companion, I would go see this again in a heartbeat. Would I recommend it to my friends? Yes. It's definitely worth the ticket price that I didn't pay to see it. On a side note, I'm not proud that a girl treated me to a Batman movie, but she insisted.
Ayala Center Cinema 1
8:00 PM
Attendance: 98% of capacity
Previews:
Just in time, so didn't catch any trailer.
Story:
If Batman Begins explored the origins of the caped crusader, this one explored, through dialogues, the story of The Joker. As The Joker's character is unfolded before us, the deeper story of Bruce Wayne and Batman was also exposed. And together with this exposition, and with the help of Harvey Dent's and Rachel Dawes's stories, the deeper story of Gotham City as a community is being exposed before our eyes.
Thoughts:
I'm not a fan of the Batman comics, or any other comic superheroes for that matter, though I watched the cartoon series. But in terms of comicbook superhero movies, this is without a doubt a cut above the rest. Of course, the fact that Batman has no superpowers naturally lent itself to this kind of deeper and more human exploration, but so does Iron Man and yet I have to say that this movie more than the Iron Man, just like its predecessor (Batman Begins), made the characters as human as they could possibly be without ignoring the medium from which the movie was adapted from. The high tech gadgets are still there, the tank of a bat mobile is still there, and yet if at the end of the movie you looked back at what you've just seen you'd realized that all those things were secondary to the story of Batman, of The Joker, of Harvey Dent, of James Gordon, and of Gotham City itself. Even if you're not a fan of the comic books, you'd still care for Bruce/Batman because underneath the armor of a bat suit, this guy, the Batman, is shown to be not unlike the non-costumed good guys like Harvey Dent and James Gordon, or even the villain The Joker, just another human being with weaknesses, unable to shake his past from how he behaves at the present, and not totally in control of the things that are happening around him. I believed Spider-Man 2 started this trend of making superheroes more human. And it's refreshing to see these movies raking in lots of money in the box office. It meant we can expect more superhero movies like this get made with in-depth exploration of characters.
Would I see it again? No, but only because the twists and turns in the movie wouldn't have the same effect having already seen how the story went. But if I have companion, I would go see this again in a heartbeat. Would I recommend it to my friends? Yes. It's definitely worth the ticket price that I didn't pay to see it. On a side note, I'm not proud that a girl treated me to a Batman movie, but she insisted.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
One year hence
I just came from our project's first year anniversary party. It also officially marked my first year working here in Cebu. I'm happy with what I have learned and will learn in the future. I don't regret working here. But I missed home a lot. It's been four months since my last trip home and I missed my parents very much. But I can't go home because I don't want to have to plan to go home on a weekend only to fail because there are urgent things that need to get done at work. It's tiring, but I honestly love what I'm doing. Thankfully, two airlines now operate daily flights from Cebu to Cagayan de Oro. They're a bit more expensive than going by ferry, but an hour an a half's flight is certainly less stressful. Flying home also means not having to hurry on Fridays just to catch the eight o'clock voyage. There's a morning and an afternoon Saturday flight to choose from. This doesn't mean that I'll never go home by ferry again, but it's just nice to have an option to fly home Saturday instead of just the ferry ride Friday night.
Some of my DM barkadas had left my former company also. One is now working in another IT company here in Cebu. Two have flown to Dubai. And another one is joining my present company, but was assigned to another location.
I remember my last full day in my previous company. I was really really sad. I truly had a dream of retiring from that company. My parents had both worked there more than half of their lives. I was prepared to do the same. But sadly, I had to face reality. I saw no future there and was compelled to look for opportunities elsewhere.
I'm happy with where I am now. Yeah, it's tiring at times, but there have been wonderful events as well. All the team building events as well as our mini-tours and night outs with my start mates had been fun and I'm looking forward to our future trips. I have also made a lot of new wonderful, smart, energetic, fun, and caring friends. I know God has a reason for me to be here. There have been countless events in my life where I didn't understand why I was in some difficult situation only to have the answer weeks or months after they happen. My resignation from my previous job last year was in itself nothing short of a perfect timing. From what I had gathered from my previous colleagues, my former department isn't headed towards anything. Had I not resigned, it would have been another year of doing pretty much the same thing. Instead, I'm learning new stuffs everyday.
God truly has His mysterious ways. It's sometimes difficult at first, but looking back they're perfect.
Some of my DM barkadas had left my former company also. One is now working in another IT company here in Cebu. Two have flown to Dubai. And another one is joining my present company, but was assigned to another location.
I remember my last full day in my previous company. I was really really sad. I truly had a dream of retiring from that company. My parents had both worked there more than half of their lives. I was prepared to do the same. But sadly, I had to face reality. I saw no future there and was compelled to look for opportunities elsewhere.
I'm happy with where I am now. Yeah, it's tiring at times, but there have been wonderful events as well. All the team building events as well as our mini-tours and night outs with my start mates had been fun and I'm looking forward to our future trips. I have also made a lot of new wonderful, smart, energetic, fun, and caring friends. I know God has a reason for me to be here. There have been countless events in my life where I didn't understand why I was in some difficult situation only to have the answer weeks or months after they happen. My resignation from my previous job last year was in itself nothing short of a perfect timing. From what I had gathered from my previous colleagues, my former department isn't headed towards anything. Had I not resigned, it would have been another year of doing pretty much the same thing. Instead, I'm learning new stuffs everyday.
God truly has His mysterious ways. It's sometimes difficult at first, but looking back they're perfect.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Just smile
May smile finds its way back
And sadness be lifted off
Remember the happy past
Imagine them back and
Everything shall fall in place
Love continuously
Offer a smile spontaneously
Understand frequently
Measure success by love given
And not how much was returned
You have already won
Smile the biggest smile
Make the sadness shy
Imagine what went before return
Love like that rose without torn, and
Everything shall fall in place
Marie Lou May Smile
- a cheesy birthday poem I wrote for Rocky's birthday (July 8).
And sadness be lifted off
Remember the happy past
Imagine them back and
Everything shall fall in place
Love continuously
Offer a smile spontaneously
Understand frequently
Measure success by love given
And not how much was returned
You have already won
Smile the biggest smile
Make the sadness shy
Imagine what went before return
Love like that rose without torn, and
Everything shall fall in place
Marie Lou May Smile
- a cheesy birthday poem I wrote for Rocky's birthday (July 8).
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