kritikal kritiks

It is a rare occasion that I watch a movie without Googling the title and reading up on what critics have to say about it. Cloverfield is one such movie. I have seen the poster of the beheaded Statue of Liberty a couple of times as we pass by the mall, and wondered how it was related to the title. I haven't seen the trailer either. But yesterday, we got a chance to go home earlier than usual and so we had time to sneak in a movie before surrendering to the comfy confines of the pad.

Well, of the 4 movies currently showing, Cloverfield showed the most promise (based on the poster). Oh wait. A colleague said they watched it last weekend and they liked it. Hmmm... would you consider that a review?

Anyway, we rushed into the theater as it had already started and we missed a couple of reel minutes.

The movie is about a footage shot by a friend for a going-away party which turned to disaster because of trouble afoot which prompted the evacuation of Manhattan. First, there was a tremor which momentarily created a black-out. The news later revealed that an oil tanker capsized near the Statue of Liberty. Then another tremor shook the building. The next series of events depict what happened as they try to survive the unfolding crisis.

The movie reminded me of the Blair Witch Project. The story is told through the eyes of the video camera which faithfully recorded the group's story. The camera was found in an area designated as "Cloverfield Site US-447" (hence the title).

It also reminds me of War of the Planets and another movie which I would like you to guess if you have watched Cloverfield.

The film engages you to share in the suspense and the adventure. The feelings are real, making the scenario which is highly unlikely to be plausible. It was like watching something that did happen some time ago.

I like this movie and enjoyed it not because I'm sadistic, but because it was an emotional roller coaster. No boredom whatsoever, and makes you think and feel long after you have experienced the film. Watch it with friends and loved ones this weekend.

[cross-posted with watson.online]

Ang pelikulang I Am Legend ay base sa nobelang sinulat ni Richard Matheson's. Ito ay binidahan ni Will Smith na gumanap bilang si Robert Neville. Malaki ang kinita ng pelikulang ito at umani rin ito ng magandang review sa mga kritikong katulad ko. Di ko man nabasa ang libro nagagandahan ako sa pelikula, lalo na sa mga mala bampirang kalaban ni Will Smith, na nabiktima lamang ng virus na ginawa ng bida bidang doktora na kumalat sa buong kapaligiran. Di ko lang alam o diko naintindihan bakit parang naging immune siya sa virus, di ko rin alam kung bakit may kuryente parin siya sa bahay bagamat wala ng ibang taong magtatrabaho sa electric company nila. Naka jumper lang ba siya. tsaka di pa ba expired yung mga pagkain nyang de lata.

Naaawa ako at naiinggit sa kanya biruin mo antagal niyang nabuhay mag isa, wala siyang kausap kundi yung aso at mga manikin. Pero okay lang dahil parang kanya na ang buong new york. Sa umaga nga lang. Laking tuwa ko nung may dumating na ibang tao tapos babae pa. naisip nya kayang i do yung girl, tumigas kaya yung pututoy nya. Sayang nga lang unang gabi nila eh inatake sila nga mga monster .

Well maganda ang pelikula kahit tinipid sa characters puro lang manikin, tapos yung kontrabida walang dayalogo. Tapos tagal ko hinintay wala naman si Jaworski dun sa pelikula.. eh dapat siya ang bida dun dahil siya yung living legend. Punong puno ng aksyon ang bawat eksena di ka maboboring dahil sobrang iksi. Bitin my gulay

I admit it. I am a gadget freak. When the Matrix movie featured this Nokia phone with a sliding keypad cover, I got myself the closest thing: a Nokia 7110. And I had to wait for 3 months for my order to come in. When the first ever Nokia phone with polyphonic tones came out (the 7650), I lined up for one. When Siemens came up with a small phone that can display 7 lines of text, I got one for myself. And I also went through the gaming console phase.

Those were my gadget freak days. When I got married, priorities changed. I skipped PSP, the WII, the iPods. Rather than buying something for myself, I'd rather get something for my wife or son. And - dare I say it? - I was ready to settle for a phone with just SMS and call features!

And then came the online video of Steve Jobs' launching of the iPhone. I watched mesmerized. I simply got to have it! The last couple of months was enamoured with looking for an iPhone. I practically gave up on it and left the searching to my good buddy Harry.

And he finally found one! One morning he dropped it off my room. I took one look at it and felt that I really didn't want such a phone, even if it was going to be my holiday present for myself. But I decided to just take a little peep into what it can do...

Whoops, look at what we have here. I brought home the Powerbook! Hmm... let's see what will happen if I sync it with iTunes...

I spent the next few hours transferring photos, songs, and music videos, and configuring the device for my preferences. So much for losing my gadget freakness! I spent a couple of nights converting a couple of movie favorites into iPhone format. I was hooked.

So how is the iPhone like?
As an iPod, it's simply amazing. I love the coverflow which enables you to visually flick through your album and song selections. I love the huge screen and the crisp images! I love the music output.

As a WiFi device, I love it. The pages load and display nicely. Controls are so easy to use!

The camera captures really nice images even in low light conditions. Which I cant say the same for the Nokia N80, with its 3Mpixel camera. And you get the entire screen as your viewfinder when you take photos! Nice.

The interface is so simple you don't need a manual to familiarize yourself with it.

As a phone...
It's a cinch to make calls! And you get a full screen photo of the person you're talking to. And the screen turns off when you press it to your ear.

As an SMS device, that's where most of my expectations fall short. In a country where we send and receive SMS and MMS like we have meals 5 times a day, the features of the iPhone fall short. Imagine, you cannot forward messages! The horror! And you cannot send a single message to multiple recipients! Unspeakable!

Typing your messages also takes a lot of getting used to. Of course, we send more messages in Filipino than English but the dictionary kept substituting words. In fairness, the dictionary is also trying to learn some of the Filipino terms but typing can be frustrating sometimes. I thus try to send messages in English, which the dictionary is built for, and that's where I can see the dictionary working out. You don't have to accurately press on the right letters; the dictionary will help you get the right words in.

But still... I wonder why they didn't at least include message forwarding and sending to multiple recipients. It's as if the developers or the beta testers have never tried SMS and MMS before.

Darn.

So right now, I find myself smiling when I use the iPod features and surf on it, but get frustrated at times when I send text messages. It's a love-hate relationship.

[cross-posted in watson.online/]

Last Friday, my friends and I got all hyped up because of the much-anticipated play later that evening. Yes, in my quest to complete the to-do-list I made some time back, I even managed to influence some friends to join in the fun. Bwahahaha!

I'm not really much into play. I just watch when I feel like it, which is like once every other year. The very first play I watched was Ms. Saigon at the CCP, and though it was not Lea Salonga, I enjoyed it immensely. How they were able to fit the helicopter into the set is beyond me. Next was Wizard of Oz in Greenbelt Theater. It was also a memorable affair, with the revolving sets and the Somewhere Over the Rainbow song.

Along the way I missed Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah (I have the comic books and watched the movie and loved it!), Darna when she had her anniversary (Vilma Santos is still the best Darna there is in the movies and Nino Muhlach as Ding).

While waiting for the play to start, I browsed through the program. It said that Avenue Q is like Sesame Street for adults. Of course, I wondered what they meant about that, but when you see the set, it is indeed like a scene from Sesame Street. And the puppets! Memorable characters they are. And did I mention it's Sesame Street for adults? Hahaha! Well... there's puppet nudity involved! But it's really hilarious! The songs are memorable, the characters realistic, the storyline engaging. Of the many wonderful actors on stage, I am only familiar with two: Aiza Seguerra (who plays Gary Coleman) and Rachel Alejandro. Of course I am already that Ms. Alejandro is a great singer, but Aiza's performance was top notch! She played Gary Coleman really well.

The story is about a guy full of hopes and dreams (as any new grad can be) and he looks for an apartment and a job. He ends up in Avenue Q because the rental rates at the other places are quite steep for someone who's just starting to choose his career path. He finds adventure and love and in this neighborhood as he searches for his purpose.

I love the play. The bit with the puppets work really well in weaving the story. Catch it if you have the time! We got our tickets at TicketWorld. Whoops! I just checked. Dec 18 and 22 are already sold-out.



[cross-posted in watson.online/]

What a movie! What a movie!

When I saw the Beowulf trailer a couple of months ago at our building lobby (courtesy of these new video ads), I was mesmerized. The last time I watched a full-CGI movie was Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, and then Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on home video. The first Final Fantasy movie was a breakthrough in that it gave us a glimpse of what could possibly be the future of movies: humans that are not quite human. Think of it. Fans could be idolizing a movie personality, but is not really a live person (although that's happening today... think anime). Also, it can considerably cut down movie production costs, since the characters can work 24 hours a day and not get tired!

Back to the here and now... what is even more intriguing about this movie is that it's being shown in Imax in full 3D! This is an opportunity I don't want to miss. A 2-hour 3D movie!

And so last week we drove off to the Imax theater in the Mall of Asia to catch the 7:00PM movie. The ticket is quite pricey at 400 pesos but hey! It can be worth the experience. And we'll be doing it only once anyways.

So what can I say about the 3D effects and CGI? Amazing. Simply amazing.

And the storyline? Well. there's a lot of dialogues than I would care for, but eventually I felt that it's a "necessary evil" to develop the plot. The action scenes are exciting, bloody, amazing!

If you want to experience movie watching in a whole new light, go watch Beowulf at the MOA's Imax theater! It's worth the 400 pesos you'll shell out for the movie. After all, you're only going to watch at Imax only once, right? Right? Ummm...

Related site: Beowulf official movie site
Cross-posted at watson.online

Nagkaroon na ng mga pelikula na bagama't bigatin ang mga artista ay hindi maganda ang kinalabasan kaya't hindi rin ako nag-e-expect na mapapabilib ako ng pelikulang ito. Pero dahil sa ganda ng trailer nya ay inabangan ko na rin lang ang Stardust.

Ito ay tungkol sa pagmana sa trono ng kahariang Stormhold, ang lugar ng kababalaghan na nahihiwalay sa lupain ng mga tao sa pamamagitan ng isang mababang pader. Sa kagustuhang maibigay ng masugid na manliligaw na si Tristan ang isang kakaibang bagay na syang magiging dahilan ng pagpapakasal ni Victoria (na wala naman talagang gusto sa kanya) ay sinabi nyang kukunin nya ang falling star na nakita nilang nahulog mula sa langit isang gabi. Kaya lang, ang bituin na ito ay nahulog lampas sa pader kung kaya't ginoyo ni Tristan ang tagabantay ng pader para makalusot sya sa kabila. Dun nya nakita si Yvane. Isang dilag pala yung falling star. Dahil sa pangako kay Victoria ay pilit nyang dinala si Yvane sa kanyang paglakbay pabalik sa mundo ng tao.

Marami silang adventure na pinagdaanan. Tinutusig sila ng mga tagapagmana ng kaharian ng Stormhold, at ng mga witch (istarring Michelle Pfeiffer!) rin dahil makakapagbigay ng youth ang puso ng falling star, at nahuli rin sila ng pirates (istarring Robert de Niro!). Si Ms. Pfeiffer ay napakahusay bilang isang witch. At ganun rin si Mr. de Niro na ang husay ng pagkakaganap bilang isang... pirate! Kakaibang pirate!

Basta panoorin nyo na lang. Fairy tale adventure sya na may love overture. Sa sobrang aliw ng pelikulang ito ay pinanood ko pa ng pangalawang beses kasama ang iba kong kaopisina at sila rin ay sobrang na-in-lab sa Stardust. Pramis.

5 eggs for this wonderful movie!