Time and again sinasabi ko sa sarili ko na "Rules are made for men, men are not made for rules." Ibig sabihin lang nito ay kapag hindi nakabubuti ang isang rule sa nakararami ay kailangang i-amend ito.
Nagkaroon ng problema si Larry (Kevin James) kasi hindi nya nailipat ang beneficiary sa pangalan ng kanyang mga anak noong sumakabilang buhay ang kanyang better half. Sa sobrang pagmamahal nya ay umabot ng mahigit isang taon ang kanyang pagdadalamhati, at nag-lapse ang panahon na pwede nyang palitan ang beneficiary. Kung kaya't hinumok nya ang kanyang partner sa Fire Station na si Chuck (Adam Sandler) na pumasok sila sa isang domestic partnership para maayos ng mabilisan ang mga papeles.
Napasok sila sa mga sitwasyon na sila ay nakaranas ng discrimination tsaka kung anu-anong chorvanes. Gusto ba naman sila machugi sa work! Chenes talaga yung mga katrabaho nila. Orocan! Nung sila ang may kelangan ng tulong, binigyan sila nina Chuck and Larry nang walang hinihinging kapalit. Pero noong nabalitaan nila yung domestic partnership ni Chuck and Larry, nag-sign ba naman ng petition para mapaalis sila ng trabaho! The nerves! Grabe ang mga eklabush na itu.
Oops teka... spoiler yata yun... sowee.
Pero, syempre ok ang ending. Dapat lang or else sayang yung pinambili namin ng ticket, popcorn at iced tea! We came to be entertained at na-entertain naman kami. Highest level nga e! Bagama't the movie tackled a rather sensitive topic on homosexuality, hindi sya eeeeewwwww. Tawa kami ng tawa. Hahahaha.
We love this film. I give it 4 eggs!
Ok.... aaminin ko na. I'm a sucker for Superhero films. Kaya syempre di ko pinalampas ito. Nagkataon namang narito sa Manila ang mag-ina ko kaya niyaya ko silang manood ng sine. Na-shock kami nung nalaman namin na ang bata ay full payment! Sa Glorietta pa naman ito. 120 pesoses ang isang ticket. Pero first time ever na manonood ang anak ko ng sine kasi 2 years old pa lang sya so go go go na kami. Tutal pambata naman yung sine so treat na lang namin sa kanya.
Ineexpect ko na na hindi malalim ang plot. At hindi naman ako nabigo. Maganda na yung wala ka masyadong expectation kasi syempre you're setting yourself up for disappointment. Since first time ni baby sa cinema, natulala sya sa laki ng TV! Natuwa naman kami.
Kaya lang... medyo nakatulog ako sa first half hour ng film. Sana hindi ako humilik. Ineexpect namin na si baby e nanonood ng husto. Heto sya:
Hindi rin nakayanan ng powers nya.
Straightforward yung story. Nagkaroon ng accidental powers si Shoeshine (isang Beagle) tapos nakakapagsalita sya. Binigyan sya ng costume ng umampon sa kanya. Yung powers nya galing sa experiments ng isang mad scientist. Gusto bawiin ni mad scientist. Showdown. Tapos.
Sayang, base pa naman ito sa 1960s cartoon show na may pinakitang konting footage sa simula ng movie. Siguro may senti value sa mga late 1960 kids. As for me, di ako makaka-relate dyan. hehe.
Pambata ini so don't really expect much. I give it 1 egg for nice CGI.
Okay... siguro magtataka kayo kung bakit The Holiday ang review ko samantalang matagal na itong pinalabas. Kasi... kapag Christmas holidays dito sa Pinas, meron tayong Metro Manila Film Festival showcasing local films. Echepwera muna yung mga foreign films. Op cors, to do our part in contributing to the local film industry, nanood rin kami ng sine that time. Since naaalala ko pa na maganda yung unang Shake Rattle and Roll, nagsuggest ako na panoorin namin yung latest installment ng movie series na ito.
Grabe. Natulala kami sabay nailing. Kasi since entry sya sa filmfest, syempre dumaan sa screening ito diba. Pero bakit ganun? Sayang yung pinambayad namin! Mas corny pa sya sa popcorn na kinakain namin! Yung saving grace nya, yung part na may yaya kasi maganda yung cinematography pero dragging rin yung kwento. Hay buhay. Muntik na kaming mamatay, hindi sa takot kundi sa asar.
Anyway, balik tayo sa The Holidays. Ang alam ko, pinalabas pa rin sya pagdating ng Pebrero pero di ko na napanood. Kaya tamang-tama at nagkaroon kami ng DVD nito. Tutal, start na rin ng "ber" months at nagsisimula ng magpatugtog ng carols sa radyo, so why not?
Isa itong romantic comedy. Kakaiba sya kasi yung concept ng home exchange, dito ko lang nakita. Meron ba talagang ganun? Palitan kayo ng bahay? Pero ito ang ginawa ng dalawang byutipul gerls: si Iris (Kate Winslet) na gustong magpakalayo kasi yung lalaking iniirog nya ay ikakasal sa iba, tapos si Amanda (Cameron Diaz) naman, nalaman nyang naging unfaithful sa kanya ang shuta nya. Si Iris, nasa England. Si Amanda, nasa California. Gusto nilang magpakalayo para sa Christmas Holiday, kaya nakapagsunduan sila agad! Switch it for two weeks! How I wish I can disappear for 2 weeks as well.
May nangyaring kababalaghan kay Amanda kasi na-meet nya si Graham (Jude Law), ang kapatid na lalaki ni Iris. Tapos si film composer Miles (Jack Black), na-meet naman si Iris.
May mga complications na nangyari along the way (or else magiging boring ang movie) pero ang ganda ng kinalabasan. I lab it.
Habang pinapanood ko nga ito eh naalala ko rin nung grade school ako. Meron akong naging kabarkadang babae. Naging super close kami to the point na dun na sya nakikitulog sa amin. Kilala rin naman ng parents ko yung parents nya kaya ok lang. Magkatabi pa kaming matulog kasi walang malisya. Tapos nagkaroon ng time na pumunta na doon ang mama nya at pinapauwi na sya. May mga damit na sya sa amin kasi ang dalas nga nya na dun. So nagbackpack na sya at umuwi. Tapos pagdating ng gabi, may kumakatok sa bintana ng kwarto namin. Andun sya sa labas! Sabi nya pinayagan sya ulit mag-stay. Pero kinabukasan sinundo na sya ulit. Tumakas pala sya. Galit ang nanay. Dahil dun, dinala sya sa prubinsya at di na kami nagkita ng matagal. Later on, nakita ko dun sa wooden double-deck namin ang initials nya at initials ko na may puso sa gitna. Sobrang lungkot ko sa nangyari sa amin. Asan na kaya sya?
Dahil sa flashback na ito, I give The Holiday 5 hard-boiled eggs! Highly recommended!
Just read up on the article above written by this Malu Fernandez and tell me if I'm at fault in experiencing a peak in my high blood pressure. No amount of Jo Malone nor layers upon layers of makeup can cover her stench!
To summarize it up, this Ms. Fernandez who loves flaunting her wealth but can't seem to do something about her thick makeup made these in-your-face remarks about her encounter with Overseas Filipino Workers in economy class:
"... I wanted to slash my wrist at the thought at the thought of being trapped in a plane with all of them."
"I thought I had died and God sent me to my very own private hell."
"On my way back, I had to bravely take the economy flight once more. This time I already resigned myself to being trapped like a sardine in a sardine can with all these OFWs smelling of AXE and Charlie cologne while my Jo Malone evaporated into thin air."
Her backlash on those lambasting her article can be found in the Manila Standard Today, entitled: Am I being a diva? Or do you lack common sense? Here's some excerpt relating to the above article, with my interjections:
As I type this, I’d like you to know that it’s not about whining, complaining and bitching but just stating the facts. Just recently, I wrote a funny article in my magazine column and my friends thought it was hilarious. It was humorous and quite tongue-in-cheek, or at least I thought so, until the magazine got a few e-mails from people who didn’t get the meaning of my acerbic wit.
If you are indeed of the high social standing you claim to be, it will mean that you have attained a high standard of education and all that travel would have broadened your horizon. But noooo. Oh I get the meaning of your acerbic wit all right: that you're not human, you're a pig.
The bottom line was just that I had offended the reader’s socioeconomic background. If any of these people actually read anything thicker then a magazine they would find it very funny. Most people don’t get the fact that they need bitches like me to shake up their world, otherwise their lives would be boring and mediocre. I obviously write for the a certain target audience and if what I write offends you, just stop reading.
Wow. She undermines the intellect of the people. You have to be a wide reader to understand her acerbic wit! Excuse me, but how can downtrodding people be very funny?
I simply can't just imagine you shaking my world. Ugh. I think I'd settle for boring and mediocre, thank you.
And what target audience is this you're referring to? The Mimi Bobeck crowd?
You know what? Your don't-care-what-I-write-stop-reading-if-you're-offended attitude makes me wonder if you're even qualified to be a writer! You don't know the meaning of responsible journalism!
Although it may sound elitist to you the fact is this country is built on the foundation of haves, have-nots and wannabes. One group will never get the culture of the other.Even if you project yourself to be one of the haves, you sound more like a wannabe, you wannabe!
Although I could mention that it is easier to understand someone who has a lower socioeconomic background that would entail a whole other page and frankly I don’t want to be someone to bridge the gap between socioeconomic classes. I leave that to the politicians in my family who believe they can actually help. Now I seriously ask you, am I being a diva or are people around me just lacking in common sense? Perhaps it’s a little of both!Yes, that's right. Leave it to someone else to bridge the gap. So why don't you buy your own island and build your pig pen there!
You're not being diva, Ms. Fernandez. You're being a pig! I have friends working abroad and you will never be able to fathom their pride and dignity because you find yours in your material possessions!
So please please tell me that you weren't kidding when you said you were going to slash your wrist. Here's a butter knife so it will take a while longer for you to meet your private hell and you can document your suffering! Please!
Jump to Tingog.com's Fire Malu Fernandez, Boycott Manila Standard Today and People Asia Magazine
And for this, I give you -5 rotten eggs!
[Mimi Bobeck is the boss' secretary from the sitcom Drew Carrey Show who loved to make life a living hell out of Drew's life and always called him pig]
To start it off, I'd like to say that I'm not a big fan of Will Ferrel. The last film I saw with him on it was when he was a 70s TV reporter and I didn't like it at all. However, this film's trailer looked funny enough so I ventured on watching Blades of Glory.
C'mon! Kakaibang level ng figure skating ito. Nung nakita ko si Jimmy MacElroy (Jon Heder) na nag-skate napatunganga ako. Kasi men's division sya pero parang girl yung nag-iiskate. Tapos dumating naman si Chazz Michael Michaels (Will Ferrel) na total opposite ni MacElroy. Medyo notorious sya sa style na medyo provocative. Nag-tie sila pero hindi nila matanggap at sa awarding ceremony pa sila nagrambulan kaya't na-ban sila for life.
After 3.5 years, na-tip kay Macelroy na pwede silang mag-skate ulit bilang pair! Bukod-tangi sila sa boy-girl tandem competition. Sa kadahilanang ang career nila talaga ay sa skating at kahit na nagkaroon sila ng trabaho na related sa skating ay wala sa kalingkingan nila ang kanilang ginagawa.
No challenge = boring = sleep it = drink it = you're fired!
Kaya't tinanggap na rin nila ang bagong challenge na ito sa career nila. Nakakatawa ang mukha ni Wil Ferrel habang ginaganap nya ang role bilang lalake sa figure skating at binubuhat nya si MecElroy. Nakatunganga lang sya pero nakakatawa talaga. ha-ha-ha. Naalala ko yung kasama kong reviewer dito, si espyo.
May isang super-daring to the max move na tinuro sa kanila ang coach nila at kahit na nagkaroon ng glitch sa huli ay nagawa rin nila.
At kung nabasa nyo ang review na ito hanggang sa puntong ito ay sorry na lang, nakalimutan kong sabihing may spoilers pala ito. Pero ayun, nanalo sila of course.
Medyo formulaic yung story pero mahusay ang execution. Gusto ko na tuloy panoorin ang next movie ni Wil Ferrel na magiging basketbolista sya. Tsaka gusto ko mag ice-skating. Tsaka gusto ko ng snow cones. Tsaka gusto ko ng gold medal.
For its comedic content, I give this movie 4 eggs! Espyo, pakilagay na lang yung eggs sa baba. Ang tagal mong ibigay sa akin e! C'mon.