Bolt and the Firehouse Dog

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One afternoon, we saw two dog movies one after the other. The first one was the animated film Bolt. We saw it because Esban and AJ came up here and they knew we had it on DVD and they insisted on seeing it. The next one was a movie from a few years ago (honestly, I hadn’t heard about it) and was showing on cable, Firehouse Dog.

We could not help taking note of the similarities between the two dogs: both were celebrities who had spunk and extraordinary spirit. Both also had to save their humans from a fire. 

Bolt was like Jim Carrey in The Truman Show. He believed that he really was the superdoggy he portrayed on film/TV. And no one could blame him either. They paid extra care to make things very real to him. But knowing otherwise when he finally came out and had to fend for himself didn’t really crush his spirit did it? Well, okay, he was in denial for the most part. But what was important was he kept moving and striving towards his goal. In the end, he proved what a real superhero he was.

For the Firehouse Dog, he was really an extraordinary dog. I wish Zune could do his tricks, specially the cleanup part. Haha. For this guy, real-life heroism worked for him that he turned down his movie career and endorsements to stay with his firehouse family. What a waste, haha.

But seriously. Dogs could really be very loyal companions, and that’s what those two were.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

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It stars the sexiest man alive, who wouldn’t be curious about Mr. Button?

But seriously, even if it was any other man than Brad Pitt, it would still have been a great movie  – the story was so compelling, and the romance – a great love story. As the film started rolling, I had no preconceived notions of what it was about, or how it would turn out. You see, I hadn’t been looking at any of the publicity materials on Benjamin.

There’s a wikipedia article about the origin of the film, and I was surprised to find out that the movie adaptation is a lot different from the F. Scott Fitzgerald original. Still, I think the movie gave Mr. Fitzgerald’s literary honor in its adaptation. I would love to read how it was originally intended.

Back to the movie…

In more ways than just how he was born, Benjamin Button was actually a lucky bastard. He had the chance to bless Queenie with a baby that she has been praying for. He grew up in an unusual home, where his appearance as an aged little boy paid no matter to the old people living with him. He was able to live life and be whatever he could be. He sailed the seas, met many women, fell in love, knew how it felt to be a father. He had known friends. He was able to make an ultimate sacrifice just to make life a little more easy for his beloved wife and daughter.

He was a child born in a frail, old body. But his spirit was that of a child. At home, he was treated like a baby, but outside, on the rare occasions that he had at first spent outside, he was treated like an old man. In a way, we treat both kids and old people in quite the same way don’t we? That’s probably why things weren’t all that confusing for Benjamin Button once he started to venture out of his comfort zone.

Benjamin and Daisy’s lovestory is one for the record books. It’s like a love that took years to cultivate. They knew they loved each other, but also that they needed to move on for the sake of a greater love – that for their daughter. I couldn’t imagine how bitter-sweet the last years were for Daisy. I could only hope that I will have someone like that to care for me when my condition deteriorates. What’s more, I can only pray for strength like hers to stand by and bare witness when it is my beloved who goes through dementia.

I’m not sure if the story version really included the curious clock from the train station, but it’s a wonderful way to set the tone for the movie. For me, it even symbolizes all the hopes and dreams of families left behind by the young men and women who lose their lives in countless meaningless wars throughout history. I guess on a different plane of existence, everyone who exits this one starts their new lives with a backwards clock too.

Hay.

I didn’t know Cate Blanchett was so sexy. Haha. I knew she was an awesome actress, but she was a revelation to me here.

If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend the Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

We are meant to lose the people we love, how else are we to know how important they are to us…

My Only U

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When we first heard about the movie coming out – oh, okay, when we first saw the standees of the movie around ABS-CBN – we knew we wanted to see this one. Remember that Alfred and I have much jologs in each of us (more in him than in me ;)), and that one of our guilty pleasures is to watch Tagalog movies on Cinema One. But for one reason or another, we didn’t see it in the cinema. We waited for it to come out on DVD instead, and finally got to see the movie last week.

Starring Toni Gonzaga and Vhong Navarro, this romantic-comedy was about a young woman who believed that she would die young because no one in her family survived the age of 25. Her neighbor and best friend (who was also the handyman/landlord in the apartment complex) did everything to protect her, and prolong her life.

Her only plan in her young life was to work until she could, to earn and save money for her blind father. She sang with her dad’s string quartet (or was it a trio) in restaurants and events, and also did solo acts at lounges/bars on weekends. Beyond working hard, caring for her father, and saving up for an electric guitar, she had no other plans.

I won’t ruin the turnout of the movie for those who still intend to see it. I will say though that it didn’t exactly end the way I pictured it would – or should have. The humor was clean and they did make us laugh – something we’ve come to expect from a Vhong/Toni matchup. But there were also sad moments in the movie that would make one cry.

I can’t imagine how great it probably feels to have someone care for you the way that Vhong’s character did for Toni’s. It was like his whole world revolved around her, and in making sure she would get as much chance in life as she could. I guess that’s what really happens when you know you only have limited time with someone – you tend to make the most out of every single moment. But with or without an illness or a curse, don’t we all have a very limited time here with each other? The knowledge that death comes for everyone eventually should be enough for everyone to cherish moments.

The community they lived in, the apartment complex or tenement as Toni once referred to, looks like a great place to live in. The units themselves leave something to be desired, so it’s not the structure I like, but the layout of the complex and the nice, genial environment they had there.

Toni sure looked beautiful in the movie, she should seriously consider cutting her hair short for real. She had short hair in one of her movies with Sam Milby and she looked great there too. It was also nice to see Vhong not overacting like Jim Carrey in some of his movies.

On other news

I was out visiting blogs again earlier today and I must’ve clicked on an ad somewhere because I found myself looking at a site for Rackmount lcd and related products. I couldn’t understand what the product really is, are these laptops or custom LCD monitors for computers or something? The monitors looked super thin though, reminds me of LCD TV monitors that both Alfred and I admire at the malls. Those are the only kinds of TVs that would fit in our very small room. Hehe.