Went to Cinemalaya Cinco.

Watched Sanglaan (meh... just okay overall) and Last Supper No. 3 (frustrating, hilarious and with a hint of sadness).

Saw Mylene Dizon who became so much hotter all of a sudden after years of disappearance. Sorely tempted to get her autograph. Hello? Star of 100?

Sorely tempted to steal a photo from an interactive art exhibit. Just might do it tomorrow.

I really want to watch Engkwentro but most of it's show times are inaccessible for me unless I skip the Acquaintance party on Friday. hmm...

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Designing health education materials again. I really don't like this task; too many art components for my taste.

nothing to do with actual post...

I, along with my friends, went to CCP yesterday for the Cinemalaya film festival. We failed to get tickets for My Fake American Accent so we settled for Namets. It was a nice movie. My reaction is that this is how love story films should be, no forced kilig scenes and the plot should not be sacrificed because the audience needs to see the faces of the big stars all the time. The shorts interspersed in the main film is nice but weird. I commend the film for using the Negros language throughout, of course true to modern trends, with sprinklings of Filipino and English. The only weird part is that the conflict seem too long coming. Or maybe that's just me.

After the show, we smooched around for a bit and took pictures with some people. I didn't bring my camera with me but my classmate managed to smuggle hers inside. I was starstruck by Kidlat Tahimik and said silly things to him. Stupid. We failed to have a picture taken with him anyway.

My classmates went home so I had to see the next feature alone. It was my first time inside the CCP(yes, ordinary citizens of the Philippines feel scared of entering the CCP and other art centers) and was pleasantly surprised to see art galleries/corridors. Stupid me spent 30 mins in Jollibee reading for Clin Chem instead of ogling and appreciating the photos and paintings in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th floors of the complex so my field trip was cut short since the movie I was suppose to see next is about to start(I heard the CCP warning music while olging).

Brutus is the title of the movie I saw. It was screened in a relatively small room; more of a function room instead of a proper theater if you ask me. The screen was small and I had to tilt my body slightly sideways so my view wouldn't be blocked but I still enjoyed watching it. I think Namets is better but Brutus' plot has much more potential. The editing and directing of Brutus could still be improved. Lines were too spaced apart and the scene lasts longer than needed. And there were preachy lines like save the trees and stuff. Still, there were sequences of good quality.

I think my fellow audience members didn't get the foreshadowing thrown at the end scene because they were smiling and seemed happy for the end. Don't they realize that the paradise the two kids are experiencing are coming to an end again? That another cycle of logging and migration is facing the two protagonists?

Anyway, based on the two movies, indie films have come a long way. They now use better cameras, better effects and, most important, better sound equipment. I hope that gone are the days of endless white noise.

I had planned going again today to see the shorts but I'm tired and I have to tons of school work to do. Gotta get good grades to maitain my GWA! I just had my first test of the sem yesterday and I'm happy with my performance.

That's it! I've wasted my youth(well, a good part of it).

Meet Eva Vartes. It's a bit long a little less than 20 minutes but I promise you will learn something. She could have done a better job(she keeps walking and saying um... and pausing and um...) but it's good enough to get the message across. Take note, she's only 17 in that video. I'm 18! What have I done with my life? Nothing! Nothing!

I blame the lack of opportunities here in the Philippines and my laziness and lack of initiative. But really, I shouldn't be too hard on myself since science is not about how young you start(or how long you've been working), it's not even about the greatest discoveries, it's on how good(reliable, repeatable, unbiased) your work is, even though you end up having proven the null hypothesis(no correlation). Still, I wish I had done/experienced some real research.

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Napanood ko kahapon iyong pelikulang Batad. Hindi ko natapos kasi may kailangan pa akong gawin pero gusto ko ang napanood ko. Sayang talaga at hindi ko natapos. Nakakaaliw pa naman. Uulitin naman siguro iyon sa Channel 5 o kapag swinerte, magkaka-commercial release pa(pirata kaya meron?).

Maganda ang isyu na tinalakay ng pelikula. Isa na ang Tradisyon o Pag-asenso? Ano nga ba ang dapat mangyari sa mga IP(tulad ng mga nakatira sa Batad, hindi ko alam kung Ifugao, Ibaloy o Kankanay sila eh) group sa Pilipinas? Hindi ba't dapat makapag-aral sila? Pero paano na ang kanilang mga tradisyon at kultura? Hindi ba't maaaring mawala ito lalo na't kung lahat sila ay titigil na sa kanilang tradisyonal na pamumuhay? Sa kaso nila, paano na ang mga rice terraces? Magagaya na ba sila sa Native Americans, magiging karaniwang tao o mananatiling nakaugat sa kanilang tradisyon? Pero, sino nga naman ang nagsabi na dapat mawala ang tradisyon kapag umasenso. Magulong usapan... hindi kasya sa post na ito. Kailangang mag-isip.

Pero tungkol talaga ito sa sapatos. Hindi! Seryoso! Kailangan ko makita ang huling bahagi, makahanap nga ng pirata... joke! ng legal na kopya.

here's the review...warning...

I have decided to NOT post my kom2 assignment. It was too crappy even for this blog. So where's the review then? I do not feel like doing it but I find it harder to keep insights bottled up. This post might have no coherence if I continue but what the heck.

I really like Pagdadalaga(blossoming). It ranks high in my favorite movies along with those children movies I saw as a kid(which I do not plan to watch again in case I find it corny), Crying Ladies and I am Sam. This movie is something and it's not just about the homosexuality that makes it special. The homosexuality is just the base actually what makes it good is something I find putting into words even using Filipino really hard to do. It's such a "natural" and nice movie. It may be kinda feel-good but compared with the other mainstream Filipino movies showing like Mulawin(the horror! the horror!) and Hari ng Sablay(ewww...). It's a love story but different. It's a growing up movie but much more than that. Actually, I tried to be objective about it and even tried viewing it through the eyes of a homophobe or in other words walking feces. The only thing that will cause you to dislike it is if you are against people being people.

Timeless quotes will be stuck in my mind like "Love is uhm...ah...er.." and "Marami ngang masasamang tao sa mundo pero isa lang ang tatay ko." And those moments, the whistling scene, the where in Maxi made an inside joke "Panget hindi sila nagkatuluyan." And that song! That song! Got to make livewire work! There are so many good things in this movie that it'll spoil your fun if I continue on but I think I will. Some scenes are so fun, what is love according to a adolescent gay kid? I heard "he" has a blog, hmmm... One thing also, those hugs(and there's plenty of them) and "intimate moments" did not cause viewers to stir. Such power that the dirty-minded became wholesome.

Argh... no coherence! no coherence at all! stop right now! GO WATCH THE MOVIE! SAVE THE RAINFOREST! PUBLIC HEALTH YEH! I LOVE CHEMISTRY!

huh... watch it!

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In order for those who read this blog to have a much easier time, I have altered the colors. Apologies to those who had a hard time browsing through it. heh. hope you like the "new" colors.

18/20

Kakapanood ko lang ng Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Olliveros. Nakakatuwa. Tsaka na siguro ang pagtanaw at pag-analisa ng pelikulang ito. Kapag na ayos ko na ang aking utak at tumagos na ito sa aking ulo. Patawad ganun talaga ako pagkatapos manood ng mga pelikula, hindi agad nakikita ang "deeper meaning." Pansamantala makontento muna kayo sa aking pagsasabing NAKAKATUWA ito! At maganda ang sound effects lalo na iyong song nila. Kaya lang nakalimutan ko na iyong tune. Panoorin ninyo po at dapat mulat kayo at huwag matulog. May parte kasing medyo aantukin ka pero dapat maging masigasig!

Anu pa ba? May sakit ako ngayon pero nakalakad pa at malamang pumapasok pa rin. Dry cough lang naman at sipon, ayos lang kaya naman kaya lang nakakaawa na ang katabi ko sa klase, jeep at lrt, mahahawa sila.

Ayun, sa susunod na uli, magbabasa pa ako ng 15-page na reading para sa Histo5. May maganda namang epekto ang pagbabasa, highest ako sa pampa-test namin sa KomII. Score ko po un sa taas. Mayabang talaga! Anu ba, minsan lang ako makakuha ng mataas sa Filipino, wahahahaha!

HP4 "movie" review

JK shouldn't have allowed her books to be adapted into movies. She should have waited for her death and then let the movie be made. By that time, Harry Potter would be achieve a better rank in the "children's classic" hierarchy. Also, the first kids who read the books would be directors by then and would be the one/s making the movie not some adult who read a children's book. Face it! Adults have a different view on things from those kids(who are now teens) that have read the book. Even if that adult is claimed to be a "child at heart" it is still not enough. And no I do not want to direct the HP movies. This movie do not have spoilers really, I expect you to have read to book or atleast know how it'll turn out.

To be fair, the movies was not bad throughout. There were very good moments. The Quidditch cup made me a jiggly inside. I loved the entrance of the teams and the effects. I hoped to see what they'd do with the match. What tricks they might pull. I'd LOVE to see what happens next. Will this movie blow my mind? Then the scene stops. I slumped down my sit and concluded, this is a bad movie.

Creating a movie adaptation is tough. Especially books that are in their prime, ie the HP series. That's is why most movie adaptations were created ages after the books were written like the movie versions of LoTR, and Romeo and Juliet. Now, we do not expect the movie to include everything in the book(though we'd be happy if you manage). We do not expect the exact same interpretation of the book also. We do expect an interpretation near ours, some sense of loyalty to the book and the "flow" and "spirit" of the book be retained. We expect feel to the same or nearly the same emotions we felt when we imagined the scenes in the book. Unfortunately, (as said by the previous post) I laugh when they cry, I cringe when they laugh, and when they feel "in love" I look away(in fear and disgust). Okay, I was scared by the snake(in hp2 movie) but that was a special effect, the chamber itself and the fear Harry felt I didn't feel and I was scared of both of the first two books last chapters.

I do not demand too much but is it really to difficult to get the colors right, Harry's eyes are green. Remember the line "You look like your father, except you got your mother's eyes"? I hope JK figure in the green eyes into the last book to shake up the makers of the film! Hermione was wearing blue, Harry wore green. Well atleast the Quick Quotes Quill was green. Even the seemingly irrelevant things were incorrect. Beauxbatons and Durmstrang were not exclusive (for girls/boys) schools! Parvati and Padma danced with boys from Beauxbatons! The mermaid in the prefect's cr was asleep. Sirius's face appeared out of the fire not from the coals. And I do think the maze contained other obstacles and the Death Eaters were many times more than the Weasley family. Oh yeah, Padma was from Ravenclaw! And the enchanted ceiling was enchanted always not like in the final scenes.

Now, on a more technical view. Editing was crap. The only role not underwritten is Harry's. Snape actually disappeared, Rita Skeeter seems unusually good-natured and likeable, Krum was suddenly stupid, Hermione and Krum's togetherness seem to be due to physical reasons(which was not, Krum was quiet in public only or that is how I like to think things are), Fleur was weak, Moody was nothing. On the other hand, Neville seems to be a really important characer. Dumbledore suddenly became a manhandling teacher, and became more open to show his feelings. I don't know, but the charisma of Dumbledore was due to his aloofness and his unnatural calm in situations. The anger Harry saw(in the book) was radiated and was not shown through harrassing Crouch Jr. I blame the director and the actor who played Dumby. And what's with the bells? The Voldy scene was blah or maybe because I was tired of watching already.

The things I did like were the jokes, the Quidditch opening and the Myrtle scene(all those fanfic writers must be exploding to write something about it). I didn't like everthing else, especially the laziness of the special effects team and the cgi team. The wardrobes were okay but I think Muggle fashion was radically different from Wizard fashion. Oh yeah, the speech Dumby made was crap! Who wrote that stuff?! And were was Fudge's and Dumby's argument? Some notable disappearances Mrs. Weasley, Percy, Ludo, Dobby, Winky, and Sprout. Why? Did Mr Radcliffe ask for a raise? For a movie so expensive, why wasn't I dazzled by the effects and costumes.

Compared to the other HP movies, maybe next to last.
I'm getting tired. Here...

Grade:3(up grading system)

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Wtf happened to the National Bookstore branch in SM north edsa? WoT suddenly disappeared and the books seem to be in the wrong categories.