A Very Special Love

I have a common stereotype about Filipino movies: uncreative plot, dialogues that sucks, and boring settings. But these stereotypes are probably my fault, as a rarely give Pinoy movies a chance in changing my mind by not watching them (yes, I'm crazy, hehehe).

Its a good thing that naamoy ko na some girlfriends of mine will be watching a movie and I tagged along, not really knowing what they will be watching. When I learned that we will be watching "A Very Special Love," I said to myself that I wasted my 5 hours of undertime.

Well, I guess I spoke too soon because I enjoyed most of it.

Its has the usual plot, in love si "not so mayaman" girl sa mayamang guy; guy struggles to be acknowledged, the reason why he cannot admit that he is in love, and ang mayaman maraming problema, and ang "not so mayaman" palaging masaya.

But the movie is fun and there are a lot of scenes na natawa ako, gaya nung Sun Dance in Laida, nung sabihin ni Migs na Laida will be working close with him and Laida daydreaming, asked "Gaano ka close?" while their faces are a few inches from each other, the "Ang ganda mo" comment of Matet.

The mushy scenes are also ok, not too mushy pero you will see that John Lloyd and Sarah were comfortable with each other.

Ang hindi ko lang maintindihan eh bakit walang kissing scene? Granted na parang di naman kailangang mag kiss kiss sila, pero parang kulang. Doon ako nabitin.

Tapos, what's with Sarah's hair? Wig ba iyon. Well, anyway...

Kung Fu Panda

I am finding that its really a treat to have kids and toddles at home because I have a valid excuse to sit in front of the television and watch cartoons with them.

 

Some of the cartoons that I have watched... and watched... and watched... are the Complete Land Before Time series, this is actually a "watch in progress" (as in work in progress, hehehe) since they are still coming up with new additional to the series, the latest is Land Before Time - The Wisdom of Friends, which I haven't got the chance to buy yet; there's Cars, which I love so much; A few season of the The Simpsons, love this too; Dora The Explorer, Spongebob Squarepants, and even Barbie.

 

 

The latest that I was able to watch was Kung Fu Panda, a movie that, at first watch, I did not approve of. But I later realize what the movie was really all about and it is highly recommended.

 

 

The story is about Po, a panda, that loves kung fu. Hence the title Kung Fu Panda, hehehe. He was picked to be the dragon warrior over the "Furious Five" (Monkey, Tigress, Crane, Mantis and Viper) by Master Oogway. The dragon warrior must battle the rogue Tai Lung to bring peace to the valley. Master Shifu thinks that this was an accident, as Po's kung fu skills, with his admission, was level zero. But as Master Oogway is fond of saying "There are no accidents" and he begs Shifu to believe that they finally found the dragon master.

 

The scripts and dialogues are very good and memorable, although full of cliches. What I like about Kung Fu Panda is that, unlike other movies, it did not resort to spoofing another movie or a song and dance number. It was funny and deep all its own.

 

I said that I did not approve of it at the beginning, because of what Po or Panda said not wanting to be himself. What's wrong about being oneself? I asked myself. But when I heard Mr. Ping, Panda's father, confide to him that there are no secret ingredients, that something does not need a secret ingredient to be special as long as you believe, I finally realized that this movie teaches a very basic, but important lesson: "There is no need to change what you are, just believe that you are special, believe that you can do it and you are all set for success."

 

One really cute thing that I like about Po was when he wiggle his nose whenever he was upset or in a state of self-pity. I like it best when he did the nose-wiggling after falling down on a chair that he rigged with fireworks and he shouted "I love kung fu!"

 

 

There are a lot of memorable quotes that I love from the movie, here are some of them:

 

 "You are too concerned with what was and with what will be.

Yesterday is history... tomorrow is mystery...
but today is a gift.. that is why it's called present"
- Master Oogway

 

"Yeah, I stayed. I stayed because every time you threw a brick at my head or said I smelled; it hurt, but it couldnever hurt more than everyday of my life just being me. I stayed because I thought if anyone can change me, can make me not me, it was you! The greatest kung fu teacher in all of China!"

- Po

 

There are no accidents.

- Master Oogway

 

One often meets his destiny on the road he takes to avoid it.

- Master Oogway

 

There is no secret ingrredient.

- Mr. Ping

 

The mind is like this water, my friend.  When it is agitated, it becomes difficult to see.  But if you allow it to settle, the answer becomes clear.

- Master Oogway

 

The mark of a true hero is humility

- Master Shifu

Millenium by John Varley

You may know or remember Millennium as a movie starring Kris Kristofferson and Cheryl Ladd. Me too. But its actually a short story by John Varley, Air Raid, which he expanded into a full length novel, Millenium.

I've watched the movie a few years ago, I don't remember much of how it goes. Obviously, it will follow the happenings on the novel, but I am not sure on where it deviated. If you are interested, you can check out its wikipedia entry (Millennium (film) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia).

Now, for the novel, it is one of the reasons why it has taken me this long to finish The Charm School, hehehe. I was able to buy a copy of the book on BookSale, found it interesting, started reading it and before I knew it, I was already at the end of the book.

Millennium tackles one of the most complex items in science fiction (or are there actual research being done to determine if its feasible?): Time Travel. From my readings and the movies that I have watched, (I particularly like The Simpsons episode where Homer traveled back in time), dealing with time travel is very tedious as you will have to tie up a lot of loose ends. When traveling in time, the slightest action can, and usually does, gravely affect the future in ways previously thought impossible.

One of the no-no's when you time travel is leaving behind something that came from the future, to the past (or present). A stunner left behind by one of Louise Baltimore's (the time traveler protagonist) soldier was creating a paradox that would ultimately destroy the future. Louise volunteered to retrieve the stunner to prevent the future from being destroyed. And that is where the story will revolve.

Louise will come back to the past 4 times to try to fix the future, and to tell you the truth, I am unable to follow the story from that point. I know I will need to re read the book to have a better understand of what has happened when, but for now, I really don't why it is important for her to prioritize in going back to Window C rather than Window A.

But as I have said, its a very entertaining book, and I will do my best to find the time to read it again.

Naked Gun Series

I was able to watch the Naked Gun series and its true what was said on one of the reviews, "its impossible not to laugh".

I don't have a favorite among the series, I like them all.

But some of the scenes that I really like were that Captain Ed got angry upon seeing Professor Meinhaimer covered in oil and styrofoam, saying he can stand it any longer and challenge a goon to a mano-mano, throwing his gun and badge. Then some sounds of punches being thrown and receive, then Frank will say "Ok, that's enough. Stop them, the captain had enough" and Captain Ed is lying on the floor and he was the one that got clobbered.

Another one was the one where they sang "Besame Mucho" while wearing Spanish attire.

And the one where Frank works undercover and went to a sperm bank where he needs to know more about Anna Nicole Smith. He got drained there and Jane was waiting for him wearing a sexy lingerie.

They had spoofed a lot of movies but some either I have not yet watched, and others I can no longer recall, like Jane saying "you like me, you really like me!" I know is quote from a movie but I don't know what movie was.

The series is good in generating lots of laugh. Its good to watch while you are relaxing, and listen intently to what Frank will say. I like it when Frank and Captain Ed were talking, they're so funny.

Scary Movie series

I've finished watching Scary Movie 4 a few days ago. I was able to borrow some DVDs from my brother and they include Scary Movie 1,2,3 & 4.

The series was a good parody of some movies that I have watched, like Scream, the Matrix, The Blair Witch Project, The Sixth Sense, Teh Exorcist, The Haunting, The Ring, Signs, The Others, 8 Mile, The Matrix Reloaded, The Village, The Grudge, War of the Worlds, Saw, and a lot more.

The reviews that I have read are mixed, some like it, some don't. For me, if the movie gets you involved, makes you laugh a lot, its a good movie.

I've enjoyed watching the series and can't wait for Scary Movie 5.

Corpse Bride

While babysitting Paolo, we watched Corpse Bride, a weird but beautiful film by Tim Burton. Never really heard of him but I can easily be converted into a fan, because Corpse Bride is one of the more visually impressive films that I have watched. The story is also a bit unique, its not something that you will encounter a lot of times.

Its a story of mistaken status, in terms of whether you are among the living or dead. Victor, Johnny Depp, had it good bacause he was still alive but was able to cross over to the land of the dead. He mistakenly said his wedding vows in the presence of a ghost bride who is looking for a groom, so the bride claims him as her own.

The cinematography is beautifully gloomy, as if there is always a haze or fog present. The songs are a bit disappointing, they are not catchy if you will compare them to most of the songs on Land Before Time. All in all, its highly recommended. Its a beautiful movie minus the scare factor.

I thought its my first time to watch a Tim Burton film in Corpse Bride, but he made some files that I have already watched and I did not know he was the one who made them: Beetlejuice, Batman, Edward Scissorhand, Batman Returns, Mars Attacks!, Planet of the Apes, and Big Fish, which I have a VCD but haven't watch yet. A wonderful collection that I did not realize I am already a Tim Burton fan.