Pending Title (Part 2)

"Hey man, you look horrible."
Jay, my best bud since law school.  We've established a law firm together and achieved our goals of fame and wealth.

"Is Mr. Sanchez giving you a hard time on his testimony?"
Right. I must have dozed off while reading the signed testimony of Mr. Sanchez.  A company whistle blower who had the guts to expose the misdeals of his employer.

"Ah, wait a minute. Come on lemme see." He turned my seat around.
"Who is it?" He excitedly asked me.

"What?" I replied. But I pretty much know what he meant.
"You heard me, who is it?" And he gave me the I-know-that-look-face.

"I don't know what you mean Jay. I'm just tired.  This case is really draining up all my energy."
I tried to divert the conversation. But I know Jay. He would know and would ask me to...

"Come on let's get some grub." I am pretty sure he'll beat it out of me.  And I'm not really sure if I will even tell him.  We haven't spoke about A since the accident happened, and I moved on.

Jay picked a different place this time. Instead of going to our favorite hang out place which is the Diners along the corner, he led me into a bar.

"Come on Jay, it's high noon and you wanna drink?" In my mind, I felt like I needed to.

 "What's wrong with having a few beers over lunch? Besides their pesto here is damn good than the one at Diners."
Pesto, hah. The only pasta A liked to eat. She loved to eat it with lots of cheese.  That was weird, I thought.  But it's weirder to think about her like this after 3 years.

"So, is it Tasha? You guys having problems?" He started the conversation as he opened the first bottle of beer and gave it to me.

"Nah, we're good." Yes, I think we were good. As long as she didn't know who that visitor was yesterday.
"Then what is it then? I haven't seen that face since A passed away."
Right there. A sure-hit.  I never thought that I had a signature face when it comes to A. And now my urgency to tell other people about yesterday became unbearable.

"You got me." I grimaced, and gulped down a mouthful of beer. It was bitter. I never liked drinking anyway.
"What do you mean? This is about A? Come on man, A's long gone."
He chewed on his pesto while he talked. I just fell silent and drank another mouthful of beer. Jay looked at me.

"No." He looked at me again.
"Are you serious?!" I motioned my hand to his face since he was too loud.
"So she's not dead?" He whispered.

"Well she really wasn't dead when I moved away. She was in a coma."
"You left her just like that?"
"I did. Her mom told me to leave.  They were thinking of pulling off the plug. Or I guess that's what they told me." My face reflected regret.

"And you didn't even check on her or  resisted?" I saw regret and pity on his face.

"I was suffering too man! I couldn't bear seeing her like that! So I left when they told me to." I tried my best not to cry. It would be too embarrassing to do that in a public place, and to my ego.

"I really shouldn't be talking about this. Let's just go back to the office." I stood up and left a bill on the counter for the beer and Jay's pesto.

"But you haven't told me everything yet!" He snarled at me as I walked past him towards the door.


 ----------------------------------------------------o0o-----------------------------------------------------------

Title Pending (Part 1)

"Is Ace there?"
That voice.  I haven't heard that for a long time. Years.  My train of thought was broken.  I was supposed to ask my girlfriend -  who opened the door- "Who is it?"  But instead, a series of flashbacks played on my mind.
Her beautiful, angelic face.  Her laugh. Her touch. Her smile.

"Is Ace there? Can I see him?"   Said the voice again.
"I'm sorry, but who are you?"  Tasha's voice.

"Oh, I'm sorry.  My name is A.  I'm a friend of Ace's."
Ah.  Friend.  Yes that was what we were before the accident happened.  She didn't know what happened to me.  It was 3 years ago when her mother told me to forget about her.  Mrs. V told me that she might not wake up at all after hitting her head so hard on the windshield of my ruined car.

"She's alive?"  I heard myself mutter as I came to my senses.  But how?  All these years, why now?  I didn't know what to do, my hands started shaking and the glass of water I was holding slipped and crashed on the floor near my foot.

"Ah!"
"What is it?!  Are you okay?!"  Tasha appeared on my face all of a sudden.  Looking at me with puzzled eyes.

"Are you  okay?"  She asked.
"Yes. I'm sorry my hand slipped."  And I saw the door still open with someone's shadow beside it.

"It's real." My mind spoke.  "She really is here." My hands trembled again.

"What is going on?  Why are you shaking so much?" Tasha worriedly asked.

"I- I don't know.  I feel really tired.  I think I should get some sleep."  I lied. As I was about to go upstairs, Tasha whispered.

"There's someone looking for you.  She said she's your friend."
"A friend? I-I don't remember having any appointment today." I lied again although I knew it was her who was looking for me.  I faced the stairs again.

"She said her name is A."
"A?  What does she want?" I wasn't supposed to prolong the conversation, but just in case Tasha noticed my weird reaction, I blurted that out.

"Ah, she really didn't say.  I can go ask her."
"No. Just tell her I am not feeling good and I need to have some rest."
"O-okay. I'll go tell her. I'll clean the glass up, go ahead and have some sleep." Tasha left.

I immediately ran upstairs.  My every step felt very heavy.  I wanted to see her.  To see how she looked like after 3 years. If my stupid windshield damaged her angelic face.  But I had to turn away.  I wasn't sure what I'll do when I see her.  I wasn't ready.

I tried to get some sleep, but it was unsuccessful.  Instead, my mind recalled that day.  That memory was long shelved in my mind, and now it's all coming back like it was just yesterday.

My plans for that night were very specific.  We've known each other for a year, and we dated.  Or I thought we did.  That night, I was ready to tell her how I felt.  I tossed her a letter while our law professor was busy writing on the board. Very old school I thought. Paper and notes.

She looked back after reading what I wrote.  And she nodded at me with a smile.  Her smile.  It was always so bright. So bright that thinking about it always made me feel lighter, my problems gone.

I had a table reserved for us in one of her favorite coffee shops.  We usually go there to study and do tons of homework.  But now, I asked Tim, the coffee shop owner to put in a different ambiance for us.  Tim even asked if I was going to propose, and I said "No!" But it actually felt like it.


 A, she was the girl of my dreams.  I was just some loser who entered law school in hopes of finding a smart girlfriend.  Yeah, I know such a loser.  I was smart, so I told myself, I had to find someone of the same "wavelength" as I am.

But I wasn't exactly a boyfriend material. Some girls I dated before told me that, I was too serious. I didn't drink, I didn't smoke, never even been to school parties. I had been rejected a couple times, but I always thought highly of myself.

My friends even thought I was getting all the girls since I was the "bright boy" or "nerdy-mysterious-boy-next-door" in the group.  Turns out, most ladies were intimidated of me instead of being attracted to me.   And believe it or not, I never had a single girlfriend.

Then came A.  She was that "girl" who turned my life around.  She was smart, beautiful, caring, and understanding.  She was never intimidated, no matter how my friends told her that I was some "jinxed" guy, she still went out with me.  We talked a lot about all kinds of stuff.  She was perfect for me.

----------------------------End Part1---------------------------------------

Whoa!  It's been a verrry long time since I last posted here.  Geez, I told myself I am going to be very dedicated in blogging, err I guess not.
Well anyway, I am back after how many months of idleness and limbo.  And I will be writing about the most recent movie I watched. 
 

Today's feature

 

 I waited for this movie for a long time to have a clear copy online.  Unfortunately, I wasn't able to watch it on the big screen (such a loser!).  This movie was somehow an adaptation of various characters from The Guardians of Childhood series written by American author, William Joyce.

 

 


Five stars for this movie!


Oh, don't get confused.  I know the movie is kind of familiar, but you might be thinking of the Legend of the Guardians, that's different because that was by Warner Brothers.  This one here is by DreamWorks-yep the same studio who brought to us one of the most beautiful animated movies of all time (as so they claim, and I decided) How to Train Your Dragon. 
 
   
 
 
The movie's storyline centers on the in-depth personal struggle of a hot (yes he is hot, for a drawing) Jack Frost.  Living his second life as the winter spirit menace for over 300 years, not knowing what his real purpose was.  He then was kidnapped by Yetis and shoved into a magic portal to North Pole.  He ended up meeting the "Big Four" guardians: Sandy the Sandman, Tooth the Tooth Fairy, E. Aster Bunnymund a.k.a. the Easter Bunny, and North, better known by his common name, Santa Claus.  He then finds out that he was destined to live his eternal life as a guardian as well (ha, what do you know?  A menace as a guardian and he suddenly straightens up).

 

 

Jack with (from L-R) Sandy,  Bunny, North, and Tooth 

 

 

 

It shed light to the different characters that are actual myths in real life.  The concept of 'children believing in them to be real' is not really a new beat in the world of animated films.  (I remembered an old Korean student of mine, who believed that Shrek was a pig, and was real. Tsk.)  Imagination can really go a very long way.
 
What I loved about the movie was the way they changed the so-called connotation of these characters and their relevance in the lives of kids:  They look after them. 
It's not just because Santa only looks after naughty or nice kids, or the tooth fairy bunking on their lost teeth.  It's about them (the guardians) looking after the kids, and making sure that their childhood is something that they can remember as being fun.
 
Though I wasn't sure if it was appropriate to present Santa as a guy with "Naughty" and "Nice" tattoos, or wielding two swords, it was nevertheless "cool" in a childish way.  At least children were to think that Santa is not just an old man with a big belly who only comes in through the chimney to give them gifts, but as someone who's tough enough to look after them aside from their parents.
 



Jack Frost humanized




What I really really loved the most in this movie, was Jack Frost.  I don't know what or how is it that these "people" even though they are just drawings, seem so "appealing" to me.  Hmm, maybe it was because of his playful nature or his voice.  Huh, speaking of which, I've actually known Chris Pine from a few movies, but I never thought that he could give justice to Jack Frost's character.   






As a matter of fact, I prefer his voice as Jack Frost than Chris Pine himself (sorry dude, I just don't know why).  Especially when he said, "Am I on the naughty list?"  I kept on playing that scene over and over again. 

 Oh and did you guys know that old Jack Frost movies starred a psycho Snowman?  Yeah that was in 1996 that actually had a sequel.  Uh-huh. 
 




Superb performance as always



Another was how Hugh Jackman lent his voice to Bunny.  Jackman is really a versatile actor.  I've watched some of his movies and he takes on different roles (well, X-Men series only counts as one) all the time.

 



Overall, my rating for this movie is a four star out of five.  It's a fun movie for kids and for kids-at-heart.  Animated movies like this will always leave a smile on your kid's, and your face as well, as you walk out of the movie theater.  It was unquestionable that this movie bagged a number of awards for Best Animated Movie or Best Animated Film in various film festivals.

Just a pity that I wasn't able to watch this on IMAX.  I bet the experience was realllly good! 
 
Oh well, I guess I'll start looking for upcoming animated films.  But I will not forget the possibility of this movie having a sequel according to its producers.  I hope they will have a love interest for Jack Frost next time.  Haha.  Well it doesn't hurt to teach children about eternal love eh? As long as it doesn't turn out to be like Twilight's!

Oh by the way, here's the link where I watched this movie through streaming.  The audio is a bit crappy at the start, but it works pretty fine all throughout.   Enjoy watching!  Rise of the Guardians Movie Online Streaming

The Avengers

Alright, as I have promised yesterday, I will be writing about the first movie I have watched on IMAX.   This movie is...(drum roll) The Avengers!

Already signed for a sequel

 I have waited for this movie as well since I saw its trailer long ago (I also cannot remember when).  I have been a long time fan of Marvel (and DC) and I have watched their individual films (though I  found some of the movies very shallow).  I have always been fond of superheroes and the extra ordinary things they can do.

Of course the actors of the respective individual films reprised  their roles, well except for Hulk, which pretty much look like Mark Ruffalo himself.  The story was pretty shallow as well, them fighting Thor's brother Loki. (which I think should have been just between the two of them).  I was a bit weirded out (and I think some of you guys who watched the movie Thor as well) on how Loki came to be?  The last time we saw him, he fell to the dark abyss when he fought his brother Thor in the movie THOR (er...that was quiet redundant).  And all of a sudden, here he is wreaking havoc on Earth and it took seven superheroes to defeat him and his forces.  

David Hasselhoff as Nick Fury

 With Samuel L. Jackson signing a nine-picture deal with Marvel Entertainment to play the character Nick Fury, commander of S.H.I.E.L.D., this is going to be a long ride.  Did you folks know that Nick Fury was actually recruited by super billionaire-genius Tony Stark according to Stan Lee's Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. comic book way way back in the1960's.  Interesting eh?  And he actually had his own movie back in 1998, except that it wasn't Jackson who played the role but, Baywatch dude, David Hasselhoff (yes, the Baywatch dude).

The movie's antagonist was HYDRA, the longest foe fought by Capt. America (Hey, I wonder if Capt. and Nick are of the same age, then Nick might have been stuck in cryo stage as well!).

 

On the other hand, Avenger's antagonist Loki was not really menace-looking for me except for the horns in his costume, that made him look like a minotaur (a small minotaur).  His agenda is like what any other villain wants (not to mention he is an alien), world domination.  As if I was watching a Transformers movie with the flying robot-like creatures whatsoever. 

The giant flying creature whatsoever

Its like the giant thing my character is fighting in Phantasy Star Portable.  Oh, pardon me, mixing up video games with movies.  It's sort of how I imagined it.  There was also the alien army, which do not look like Thor and Loki (I never could understand why Loki did not look like them when he was half Jotunheim giant).

I kind of regret though that I watched it in 3D.  Wasn't really that recommended if the movie have lots of action, it will make you feel dizzy (don't want to recall the feeling).  But, putting that aside, I felt that it was worth it.  I was pretty overwhelmed by the screen.  It was so huge and clear that I can see Scarlett Johansson's  pimples (those were pimples, I think) and Chris Evan's facial ingrown hairs. 

Hulk super smash Loki style!

Now, this was my most favorite scene in the movie!  See how Hulk smashes Loki?  That was awesome!!! I was laughing my heart out when I watched it!  Hulk was pretty angry with Loki and Loki's blabbing and not being prepared for action.  

Yeah, we know.

Yeah, his body wasn't ready... that would have hurt big time!  His Asgardian-menacing powers did not work on Hulk's super strength and anger!

The movie was a success , so the producers decided to produce another one in the near future.  As of now, they have just released confirmation about the next Marvel movies line up which includes again individual characters from the Avengers' association.  

The upcoming movies of 2013

Iron Man 3 cast would be the same with the addition of Guy Pearce who will play the lead antagonist and Ben Kingsley as The Mandarin.  This will be released sometime in May of next year.  

Thor 2: The Dark World's cast will also reprise their roles (yes, Loki will still be there) with the addition of Chuck series actor Zachary Levi who replaces Joshua Dallas for the role of Fandral the Dashing.   I do not have any inside scoop yet on the storyline, but as soon as I have one,  I'll definitely blog about it.  Movie is scheduled to be released sometime in November of next year.

Now, originally for the Winter Soldier is actually centered in James "Bucky" Barnes, who was the next Captain America after Steve Rogers.  I think the writers are altering that and still has Chris Evans for the lead.  Nick Fury will still be showing his face on this one (cameo role I guess) since this picks up after the Avengers' storyline and might also somehow center on the Captain's adaptation in the modern world.  Movie is set out to be released sometime around next year up to 2014.

Ant-Man will be directed by Shaun of the Dead director, Edgar Wright.  As to my frustration, I haven't heard who will play the shrinking superhero's role on the big screen.  The storyline is still on the works and I also haven't found a concrete release date yet.

Guardians of the Galaxy.  I, myself is not that familiar with these guys.  But I guess I have to research about them to find more.  These guys just came out in comics in 2008, and created by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning.  Comics are now being printed in a collected edition.  

Drax, the Destroyer; Groot; Star-Lord; Rocket Raccoon and Gamora

Alright to close this off, overall Avengers experience, I rate it three stars out of five.  I just love superheroes.  I'm pretty sure you guys are also waiting for the upcoming movies I noted here.  Yeah! So am I.  Plan to blog about it as soon as I watch it.  Stay tuned for more! Ciao!

The Dark Knight Rises

The Legend is concluded.

Yes!  I waited for this movie for a long time.  I saw its trailer I think last year (can't remember what month though).  I never got to watch the other installments on the big screen (only on dvd- clear copy), so I decided to finally watch it!  I so love Batman! 

He doesn't have a "raspy" voice

I have watched other Batman movies prior to watching this one (not to mention various animated series) and can't help but compare the actors who played my ever super intelligent-cape-crusader boyfriend Battie.  I guess the best one who topped my list would be: Yes, my dear ladies, the forever eligible bachelor George Clooney played Batman way back in 1997.  And he was the only one (for me) who did very well voicing the hunk crusader.  This is alongside villain Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was playing Mr. Freeze. 

 Will Gordon-Levitt supersede his charms?

Oh and not to mention the yummy Robin at that time, Chris O' Donell- yes before he played agent G. Callen in NCIS: Los Angeles.

FYI juicy tidbits by the way, did you guys know that this guy here, was supposed to play Wolverine (instead of Hugh Jackman), Agent J (Will Smith in MIB), and Spiderman (not Toby)?  Yah, I was surprised too.  Can't imagine how this guy felt knowing that those movies and characters were big hits.  


Well, too much of this.  Going back to the main topic.  I guess Nolan's Batman franchise was pretty much "the reality" of Batman --  its not really all goody-goody-save-the-day experience.  Batman had to also lay low and rest for a while (rest his knee? It was his knee right?), not to mention take fall for "good citizen" Harvey Dent's death.  But the thing that bugged me the most was, how did they conclude Joker?  I was thinking about them replacing Ledger in this movie to conclude what happened to Battie's archnemesis.  
I guess they just forgot about it and moved on to Bane. 

Who's the most fearsome of the two?

 Hey I got to admit, this was the first ever time that I saw Joker's "insaness" (if there's such a word--if there's none, hey I coined that!), I was scared as hell, well not really but yes I was.  And the, "Do you want to know how I got this scar" story that he was telling people despite them not willing to listen, that was scary.  That proves how good Heath Ledger was in portraying this character. 

Now, now, going back.  I was hearing a lot of comments from people on why Battie spoke in a raspy voice all throughout Nolan's installment.  A good friend of mine (hey Pax, you there?) told me that, they wanted to somehow set up barriers for people not to know that the cape-crusader was actually the wealthiest and most intelligent eligible bachelor in town, Bruce Wayne.  Well, ok that actually makes sense.  Thanks for info-seeking people like my friend Pax.  Ha! 

The neareast IMAX I can go to

I watched this movie in SM Southmall IMAX.  The ticket was double the price of regular movies (Php 400), but for me the experience was great.  The seats were cozy, it was cold (hope it was just the air-condition), and the screen was really huge!  Though the screening time was way late.  We watched the 4pm screening.  If you guys are planning on watching movies on IMAX, and you are near to SM Southmall in Las Piñas, you can watch here instead of going to MOA.  Well, the ticket is way more expensive if you watch there, though the screen is bigger, but consider the traffic and travel time from here to there going back and forth.  Sometimes, you do not have to get a reservation.  Just buy a ticket and watch it the same day.

Next time, I'll write about the first movie I've watched on IMAX (take a guess?).  Watch out to find out what it was.  Ciao!

Starting new

Ok.  So I am starting from scratch again.  I erased all my previous posts from the last 10 years in hopes of adding at least one entry everyday starting from today moving forward.  Hmmm.  I'm not really that much of a blogger.  But I guess I love to write so, here I am.  

Now, what the hell will I say?  I guess I can start with what I am hoping to write in this blog in general.  Well, life's experiences.  I'm planning to have a section for the movies and TV series I have watched (or I remember watching).  Work stuffs (errr....I hope no workmate of mine's gonna read this) and whatever goes!

I hope to post in pictures if I can and links, too.  I'll squeeze in time from work (of course when I'm done!  You monitor-hover!) to write here.  Tidbits.  

That's all for now i guess.  I'll park my pen.  I hope I can come back later to write another entry.  Ciao!