While mentally sifting through our minds our usual watering holes and finding them bland at best, we were about to resign to a fate of a gimickless Friday, when Yoyo suddenly had a flash of inspiration and excitedly informed us about this place in Malate where they serve mixed drinks by the pitchers at 200 pesos each. This reminded me of Puerto Galera's Mindoro Sling! Well, with nothing else popping in mind, we met Mitch and her sister Jo and took a quick jeepney ride to Adriatico Street in Malate.
When the finally alighted in front of an open-air bar, we were a bit hesitant to enter. A couple of tables were occupied by some serious-looking guys, and a long row was set-up for a rather noisy crowd. Upon Yoyo's prodding, we entered the premises and got seated near the bar.
We then checked out the drinks list. The mixes sported water-themed adventures save for the Mango Margarita (tequila, triple sec, mango shake) which we tried first.
Soon enough, a pitcher with chilled yellowish stuff was placed on our table with shotglassess for each. Shredded ice poured into the glasses, we tossed for good health (kanpai!) and gulped our first ever mango margarita.
The mango taste was quie evident, and more so was the the tequila. Well... I am not exactly a hard liquor drinker but I think that the tequila was fighting with the mango slush taste; there should be harmony (yin-yang!) between these two elements. It is a nice drink but it can do better. I love the mango shake component though.
Right after Mango Margarita, we attacked the Red Tide (red passion, dark rhum, juice) next. This was a nice mix. It actually reminded us of the Mindoro sling.
Soon we were enjoying ourselves. The dance music was enticing us to beat to the groove but we weren't drunk yet. The big crowd next to us started dancing though. But we didn't mind anymore. It was a Friday night after all!
Tides is the name of the place and primarily serves drinks and pulutan with upbeat music in the air, but you can also order pizza here courtesy of Pizza Niro.
Two pitchers later, we called it a night. We still had some other plans, like playing Cluedo! Hmmm... we have a couple more pitchers to try out next time. Hopefully we can go back soon!
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Like most boys growing up in Baguio City in the late 70s to the 80s, we watched a lot of Martial Arts films. Foremost of these is Jacky Chan's movies. The fight scenes are meticulously thought out and performed like it can be done by everybody else. And as can be seen in the outtakes (which is a trademark ending of his films), you can see the dedication Jacky Chan pours into his movies. It is a passion that shows in his performance.
And then came Wong Fei Hung of the "Once Upon a Time in China" series. Jet Li wowed us with his moves. While Jackie Chan loves injecting humor into his performance, Jet Li exudes a calculating and serious mood. I wondered if there will come a time when these two will face each other in a single movie. In my wildest dreams.
Lo and behold. My wildest dream came true! The ironic part is, I have never even seen a trailer of this movie. Just the posters at which I stared in disbelief. It's for real!
And so last weekend, my wife, Jo-Lo, and I trooped to the cinema to watch Forbidden Kingdom. I knew early on that there has to be a confrontation between these two stars and eagerly anticipated this. I was not disappointed. It's one of the best martial arts sequences I have seen.
An added bonus is Jackie Chan reprising his role as a drunken master. Some of his earlier films portrayed him as a character who was taught the art of the Drunken Fist, whereby the martial arts technique required drinking copious amounts of alcohol while fighting and getting drunk in the process while at the same time becoming more invincible! And Jet Li maintained his composure as a Monk; his Wong Fei Hung persona really suits him.
Hmmm... I really do not want to give away spoilers at this point because the movie is still relatively new and you might not have watched it yet, but if you have, I would like to hear your take on the immortality concept of the movie. That part was confusing to me.
As for the overall plot of the movie, it actually reminds me of another movie called Warriors of Virtue where an American kid loves going to this Chinese food shop. He had braces on his legs, but this did not stop him from dreaming of becoming a football player. An accidental drop into a whirling water storage of sorts (he was cajoled into crossing a narrow plank by kids who need a really good spanking) transported him to the mystical land of Tau where he met these Runes possessing powers of the five elements.
Hmmm... I do see the resemblance with Forbidden Kingdom. There's also this dude who loves frequenting a Chinese store - this time a pawnshop - and is forced by a gang to do something bad and he falls.... into the magical land of Ancient China where there is a prophecy that the Monkey King will rise again and defeat the oppressive regime.
Yes, dear boys and girls. The spotlight is shared by this lanky kid who grows in strength and willpower as the story progresses. I have read some reviews that said the movie needed a touch of American for it to sell in the US and give it an international appeal. I disagree. In my point of view, these critics are misguided. I believe the story did call for an "outsider" entering the mystical, ancient China, and who to better personify it than somebody of a different skin and hair color? It wouldn't be as effective if an Asian dude played the part.
The fourth character in the team is played by a lady called Golden Sparrow. She's quite attractive, and lethal.
I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. The theme - a fantasy and action flick is very appropriate as I remember their films of old, when Jackie Chan and Jet Li were known only to our side of the world.
Cross-posted in watson.online/
Ito talagang si pareng Stephen King, ang galing gumawa ng istorya. Mula noong napanood ko ang kanyang Silver Bullet ay talaga namang na-engganyo akong abangan mga pelikula na hango sa kathang-isip nya. Kaya lang... ewan ko ba. Hindi ako ginanahan magbasa ng libro nya. Noong college ay sinubukan ko yung It pero nasa chapter 2 pa lang ako ay umayaw na ako. Teka... yung Christine yata nabasa ko.
Anyways, nung nalaman kong kay Stephen King ang pelikulang ito ay syempre di ko to palalampasin!
Ang isang town sa Bridgton, Maine ay biglang nagkaroon ng malakas na bagyo isang gabi. Tapos sumunod na araw, nagkaroon sila ng fog. Masaya sana kasi para kang nasa Baguio pero ang makapal na fog na ito ay nagdala ng salot! Cmon it.
Mga alien life forms na carnivorous ang kasama ng mist na ito. This time around, hindi humanoid ang form at hindi scalpel at laser ang dala nila, kasi mga monstrous animals ang mga ito.
Kung may mga monsters sa labas at na-trap ka sa loob ng supermarket, anong gagawin mo? Lalabas ka ba? Kung ako tatanungin mo, malamang hindi. Pero boring na pelikula yun di ba? So ayun, may mga lumabas. Labas-masok nga sila eh. May minalas, may sinwerte.
Pero aside from the horrifying situation they are in, Stephen King also made a play on human emotions. Nagkaroon ng faction sa loob ng store: ang mga gustong mag-stay, at mga gustong lumabas. Teka... parang The Stand ito ah.
Anyway, yung mga gustong mag-stay, may leader sila. Isang religious fanatic na nagku-quote sa Bible at sinasabi nyang dumating na ang paghuhukom. Problema, delusional sya. So nang sumusunod na sa kanya yung iba, alam na nung kabilang party na delikado sila. Gagawin silang sacrifice! Ewww.
Teka. Panonoorin mo ba ang pelikulang ito? Hehe sorry po napagana ako sa pagkwento. I like this movie because it was suspensful and engaging. Talagang edge-of-the-seat thriller. Kaya lang... the ending is one of the biggest let-downs ever in a movie so far. But who's to say that you must like the ending of all movies to enjoy them? I think the movie was contrived to make you feel downtrodden and depressed at the end. And it was successful in that objective. So therefore... I like the movie and at the same time I did not like it. Pero maganda yung movie. Ang labo no? Panoorin nyo na lang to get my drift.