After Alfred and I went out for his birthday dinner on Sunday night, we spent some more quality time together and then I snuck down for computer time and some TV. I was in front of either monitor until it was time to wake Alfred up. He needed to get up early for his first day at work. I know, it sucks that he had to go on his actual birthday.
I tuned in to HBO just before the movie Baby Mama started. I thought I’d just have it in the background while I surf blogs or do whatever. Didn’t happen. I actually stayed on the couch and just watched.
The next movie: The Spiderwick Chronicles
I had fully intended to write a review of both films which I saw for the first time that night. But now that I’m doing this, I just have no inspiration. Plus Tayong Dalawa is showing right now. Gotta tune in to that of course 🙂
Monday was again a day for watching movies. It started with a Filipino film entitled Bagong Buwan (New Moon). I blogged about the movie two years ago, specifically about their exchange about the one-legged soldier. Here’s an excerpt of what I said then, which is very much still true for how I feel:
Got me to thinking, is that really what it has to come to? That everyone has to die from war, before it ends? I don’t really know what the situation in Mindanao is at this time. I know it isn’t as chaotic as when there was an all-out war declared six to seven years ago. But the rift between Filipino Muslims and Christians is still there. And the wounds of war still have not healed.
Naisip ko yung mga bata na namulat sa pagtakbo, silang mga nabubuhay sa palagiang panganib. Bawat araw naghahanap ng katahimikan. Naisip ko rin ang mga batang araw araw ay nadadagdag sa hanay ng mga rebelde. Sumasanib upang makasama ang mga magulang na rebelde rin. O di kaya’y sumusuway sa bilin ng magulang para sundin ang tawag ng pagtatanggol sa kanilang lahi.
No. No child should ever have to join a rebellion. For all children deserve a chance for a peaceful life. They should not have to give up their childhood in exchange for armaments.
But I know that the world isn’t hard-wired to always give children what they need. Many kids grow up deprived of the simplest of things. Many children lose their parents to the war. Many see the injustice around them, and it pushes them to take to arms. What can we do for them?
What can I do?
The next three movies are courtesy of Star Movies. First up was one I hadn’t seen before. It stars Mandy Moore, Diane Keaton, Tom Everett Scott, Lauren Graham and others. It’s called Because I Said So. It was a bit predictable, but it got me hooked. 🙂
I liked seeing the dynamics between the mother and her daughters. My mom and I are just not like that, and it’s okay 🙂 As for the whole dating dilemma, I’ve never had to go through that phase and it was interesting to watch too. I love that Milly was a caterer, and that she loves baking – something I would love to do for a living, hehe. I didn’t care much about Jason – I knew for sure it was Johnny who’d win.
Next up was Dark Matter starring Meryl Streep, Liu Ye, and Aidan Quinn.
It tackles school politics and how it affects a bright and passionate young scientist, whose chances of getting his PhD and even possibly the Nobel prize was snatched away from him. All because his dissertation puts to shame his mentor/advisor. I’m sure these things happen in real life too, I hope though never to hear of such a case happening in our own universities. It had such a violent ending. What a waste of talent.
This last movie caused me Monday’s episode of Boys Over Flowers: It’s a Boy Girl Thing. To be honest, I didn’t find it to be a particularly good movie, also quite predictable, and the acting wasn’t really all there. I am known to keep on watching movies that I’ve already seen before, but this one would be an exception.
Woody and Nel are next-door neighbors but it’s like they’re from different worlds. They don’t get along at all. I like the fact though that they didn’t center on the differences between genders, but rather on the invisible social lines between them – this is probably the single redeeming value of the film.
I was browsing through the Entrecard and Adgitize networks this morning when I got a link to the free independent online movie, The Hunt for Gollum. I just watched it tonight, and I’m sure LOTR fans (books and movies) would enjoy seeing it too. Here’s a trailer (which can also be viewed in HD):
If you have 40 minutes to spare though, you might want to watch the full movie. It is not made for profit so sharing it here is perfectly legal. According to the Hunt for Gollum website, the movie was made by enthusiast film makers who are all LOTR fans, and they made no profit by filming this project. I think it turned out well, and though you can’t help but think of Viggo Mortensen the whole time, the actor in this one didn’t do a bad job naman. 🙂
I have so many stories to share, starting with completing my Parks & Wildlife series and then moving on to our Baler vacation. I’m lazy to do either. In fact, I was too lazy to go malling today. Alfred’s out with his former team from NCO, having a blast at a resort somewhere in Montalban. As for me? I slept through the afternoon (though I didn’t intend to).
Anyhoo, you can watch the full HD movie, The Hunt for Gollum right after the jump (the screen’s too big for my blog layout, so pardon the misalignment:)
Last night through The Probe Team, I met Juana Change. She embodies an advocacy calling for social renewal and political reform. We will be electing a new president in May 2010, and Juana Change (May Paner in real life) and her friends seek to educate the Filipino electorate such that they may vote wisely for the next leaders of this great nation.
On a more personal level though, she is also undergoing changes. She seeks some reform in her own life. She’ll be undergoing a politicized weightloss program in the next 360 or so days. After all, she says, how can she call for change when she herself cannot let go of her excesses in life?
I would love to say that I want to join her in her journey to wellness. But I don’t want to commit to something again when I am unprepared. I will take little steps in this journey. Next week, I will register to vote. Then maybe, I’ll also be able to plan out my own path to a lower BMI.
Anyway, here’s one of Juana’s YouTube videos, visit their blog to learn more about their campaign, and see her other videos:
Did you watch Meteor Garden when it was all the hype back then? I did. Xi Men (Ken Zhu in real life) was my favorite of the F4. Now, ABS-CBN is airing the Korea version of the serye, Boys Over Flowers.
When I first saw the ads on TV about this version coming out, I had my doubts. I mean, Meteor Garden is what started the invasion of Asianovelas (TV series coming from Taiwan, Korea, and Japan) in Philippine television. They really got us hooked. I watched the series, and its sequel. Friends talk about it. Was I working when this was shown? I remember talking about it at work too. Haha.
But I got to see the pilot episode on Monday, and I love it! So I watched it again on Tuesday, and again last night. I like Jan Di’s character, you can see how strong she is from the start. And I now have a huge crush on the Hua Zi Lei character – Ji Hoo. He is so cute, specially when he tries not to smile. That’s something to look forward to every night (and another reason to be late for work, ugh).
