Since most of my time is spent watching TV or movies, I decided to dedicate my blog mostly to spew out reviews on what I’ve recently caught in the big screen or the telly. Personal stories, social commentaries and other topics shall be kept at bay.
Waited patiently,
Argued excessively,
Learned continuously,
Lived vicariously,
Cried unexpectedly,
Loved unconditionally,
All in seven months.
Dank je en ik hou zoveel van jou.
It’s been a very long while since I wrote about television or movies, both of which I enjoy immensely. I’ve been so busy with learning Dutch for my Civic Integration Exam (which I shall discuss in further detail in another post) that I haven’t been able to dish out my insights about the long list of tv shows and movies that have kept me sane throughout those months of studying a foreign language. Late as it may be, here is a rundown of the shows that have not failed to entertain me:
REVENGE
Though currently on its way to coming back from an excruciatingly painful hiatus, this show has never failed to keep the suspense way up high. And who wouldn’t be looking forward to weekly servings of revenge served at sub zero? For those who haven’t seen an episode, the story is of one Emily Thorne (formerly known as Amanda Clark), rich orphaned girl who’s out to destroy the lives of the people who framed her father for a crime he did not commit. After years of being away from home, her return is made even more interesting by the people to which she comes home to: allies, enemies, pawns and lovers. Set in the Hamptons, the show is luxurious, indulgent, but most of all, deadly delicious.
RINGER
Ringer used to be my “other show”, the one I watch when I’m bored and out of Revenge episodes. But this show has proven itself worthy of a following. Unlike Revenge, Ringer has a faster pace, without sacrificing the story’s cohesion and character development. Ringer also has a more relatable feel to it, making you eager to root for either of the show’s protagonists. Why “either” you say? Well, I won’t spoil anything but Ringer’s writers have been pretty cunning into making their audience believe what they wanted them to believe. The gist: twins Bridgette and Siobhan have lost touch for years because of something horrible that Bridgette has done to her sister. However, Bridgette turns to Siobhan now that her life is threatened as she is about to testify for a huge murder case. Moved by her twin’s call for help, Siobhan takes her back willingly and forgives her. Everything seems okay, until Siobhan kills herself and now Bridgette, in a desperate move to escape her old life, assumes the place of her dead twin. Then the madness begins.
SMASH
When Glee started to get sloppy with its story, and relied on contemporary covers to maintain interest, Smash came to the rescue. A show that offers its audience a peek at what goes on behind the scenes of creating a musical, it won me over faster before I can swim back to the Kurt-Blaine ship. Though ratings haven’t been as strong as those of McKinley’s, I hope they sign them up for another season. The characters are very genuine, and the original songs are just eargasmic. It also doesn’t hurt that Uma Thurman is now on board, hopefully as a regular. Oh, and the story? Two girls competing for the chance to play Ms. Monroe in an upcoming musical about Marilyn.
MISSING
Finally, the return of Ashley Judd. If you have seen Double Jeopardy, well Missing is a bit like it, only with more action. Ashley Judd plays a mother in search for her kidnapped son, only this mother is a former CIA agent. So yes, she kicks major ass. She can climb a ridiculous number of building floors, just give her a pillar to lean on, and she can render you unconscious with a computer keyboard. With just five episodes out, it is quite early to gauge whether or not the show has enough staying power. But so far, all five episodes have been one shocker after another.
NEW GIRL
Witty, ridiculous, downright insane – this is what New Girl is about. It is so crazy, even I don’t have the words to articulate what the hell they’re doing on that show. If you are having the shittiest day of your life, watch New Girl to keep you from jumping out of your window. Yes, that’s what it is – an infectious dose of happiness.
I hope I haven’t spoiled any of these shows for anyone. Up next, my rants on movies.
Summer of 2012 is definitely one for the books: so many things happened in a span of two weeks. Feelings of excitement, tension and happiness were abound, making each moment of my vacation with Paul totally unforgettable.
First stop: Manila
The first two days were unnerving, as I was supposed to take the Civic Integration Exam that week. Luckily, I passed, with scores higher than both Paul and I expected. Finally, ik spreek nederlands!
Paul loves coffee so naturally we made Starbucks in Greenbelt 1 and 3 our review spots.
Of course, Paul had to meet my family since it would be very long before we see them again (that is if all our plans go as planned – crossing our fingers!). Surprisingly, there was no hint of tension or awkwardness. Lunch was great and everyone welcomed Paul into the family.
This is Paul going crazy over how unorganized and chaotic Naia 1 is. Checking in is definitely NOT MORE FUN in the Philippines.
Second stop: Koh Chang
At the beautiful island of Koh Chang, we stayed at Nirvana Resort, which was a hidden gem. They had excellent rooms, unbelievably great food (their restaurant chef is French) and majestic surroundings.
All around the resort, monkeys roamed. They were really cute and friendly – just dont give them food or they’ll be banging on your porch the next morning, asking for breakfast!
To get around the island, we rented a bike which Paul drove of course. This made going to other beaches and trying other local dining options easier.
We spent most of our time sunbathing in Lonely Beach, a few kilometers north of Nirvana Resort. There was always a big crowd in this beach and meeting people from all over the world is ordinary, as almost everyone ate at the same place.
Third stop: Bangkok
It is our first Songkran together, and we went all out: drinking, dancing and getting wet. Silom was the destination for the first night.
The morning after brought a terrible hangover, and so we did what any normal person with a hangover would do: drink again. We went back to Silom (this time in the middle of the day), to participate in the festivities.
Separation from you makes me anxious, maybe even depressed at times, but most of all frustrated because just a few hours ago, you were still here beside me.
But the heart learns to respect the distance, the heart learns to strengthen the trust. The heart learns to be patient, for the next time you hold my hand, I am yours to keep beside you forever.
Countless stories have been written about love and relationships, yet it is rare that they talk about how hard it really is. Which is expected I guess, since most of us don’t really want to read about other people’s issues and problems – we (especially those who are single) want to read about the romance and the addictive high that falling in love gives. Of course I am not here to rant about the issues and problems I’ve had with my boyfriend, lest I cause you depression and anxiety. I just want to talk about what I have learned in the past five months(going six in seven days!) of being in a long distance relationship, because no matter how much Disney has disillusioned us with promises of happiness ever after, you would realize that evil queens and dragons are nothing compared to what real life has in store for us.
1. Trust is something as fragile as fine china. Try your best not to break it, or things will fall apart. Earning back lost trust is a million times more difficult than losing it – and it doesn’t only hurt your partner, it also hurts you more than you thought it would.
2. Sacrifice is inevitable – accept the fact that you are different people, and at some instances, compromising is the best option. You can’t always have it your way, because selfishness has no place in a relationship.
3. Be thankful. No matter how bad things get with all the crap that life throws at you, try to remember that you are not the only one with problems. Some couples have it easier or worse than you – looking at what you have instead of what you don’t comes a long, long way.
4. Let go of fear. Let your conversations remain honest and true. You are in a relationship, so don’t build a wall between you and your partner. You’ve taken a leap of faith when you chose to love this person, so let them in.
5. Do not give up. You only get a few chances in life – if you believe that you’ve found love, fight for it.
Obviously I’m returning from a long hiatus. Since my last post, a lot has changed in my life and to go into the nitty-gritty of all that has transpired over the past few months would definitely tire me, and you who’s reading this, so I’d rather not. I’ve went back and forth so many times in my mind on how best to put what has happened into words, but I always end up on the fence. In my head, I imagined this post to be so full of emotion and imagery to be able to articulate all the emotions I felt and those I’m still feeling up to this very moment. But again, I found it so hard and complicated to capture the raw intensity of each and every moment to give it justice through my writing. So instead, I just decided to put it as simple as I can, drama-free and with all the conviction and certainty I could muster:
I love you Paul.
Just yesterday, I gave up my last remaining thread of restraint and finally went to watch the fourth installment in the Twilight movie franchise: Breaking Dawn part 1. If you would ask why was I so against watching it, well have you seen the previous movies? Then you should know why. For those who haven’t read the book and haven’t seen the first three films either, Breaking Dawn isn’t hard to understand. Human girl + werewolf bestfriend + vampire boyfriend = an “ok” movie. I don’t really hate it, I don’t like it, I am on the fence, caught between two choices: to vomit or swoon.
The thing with Breaking Dawn (the book) is that it seriously set me up for a huge disappointment. I wouldn’t divulge why as it would spoil everything for those who still plan to watch part 2. Therefore, it was normal for me to think twice, thrice, maybe twenty times, going back and forth on whether or not this film was worth the buck. Anyway, I bought the ticket, sat through it, and actually, I’m not complaining about it as much as I expected myself to. Though Breaking Dawn does not provide any throwback to its predecessors for those watching it the first time, as said before, it isn’t that hard to catch up to the story. The first half of the film is as good as any other wedding video, plus the added honeymoon sequence. The second half rushes to introduce the audience to the main conflict of the movie – Bella getting pregnant with Edward’s vampiric spawn. The movie tried its best, but failed to evoke any emotion it could from the audience who’ve been robbed of feeling from watching Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse. Oh wait, it was a bit funny – during the wedding toasts. But any scene other than that was a flatline. The musical scoring was pretty decent, as most of the times I found myself listening more as supposed to watching Bella try to tempt Edward in all sorts of lingerie. Even the fight sequences were substandard, blurry at best.
All in all, the movie is ok. Wouldn’t recommend it, wouldn’t stop anyone from watching it. I would definitely see Breaking Dawn part 2 only to see my favorite, Dakota Fanning. And of course just to give props to the characters of Edward Cullen, Bella Swan and Jacob Black – who may not have been stellar in the big screen, but were at least good enough to keep me company on nights when I had nothing better to do.
P.S. My favorite part of the it: seeing the full trailer for Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol.
Just the other day, I saw the movie In Time top billed by Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried. The cast also included Cillian Murphy, Olivia Wilde, Alex Pettyfer, Vincent Karthesier, and Collins Pennie. At first glance, you can’t help but be slightly impressed by the casting. Pair it up with a very intriguing concept and you definitely have a box office hit. Yes? No? Well, if you haven’t seen the movie, stop reading now because spoilers are about to come. Let’s take a dive and see whether this flick was worth the buck.
In Time starts with an introduction to the basic premise of the film: everyone stops aging at 25. Hardwired to last another year, one must find a way to buy more time. Currencies are a thing of the past. Time is everything: it pays the bills, keeps you alive, and you work to earn more of it. But then with this setup, how is population controlled? Simple: standards of living are raised everyday. A cup of coffee that costs 3 minutes of your life today will cost 4 minutes tomorrow. So then the rich and privileged get to live forever (or at least a century), while the poor die on the streets each day. With such an interesting concept as this, how can this movie go wrong? Apparently a number of ways.
The plot is triggered into motion when Rachel Salas (Olivia Wilde) dies seconds before her son Will Salas (Justin Timberlake) gets the chance to save her. Why does she die? She runs out of time. Why? Bus fare was raised. So mom with no time/money tries to run in her heels to borrow some time from her son who ironically just inherited a century from a rich man who got tired of living. Olivia dies, Justin cries, and I am still unmoved.
Angry and suddenly rich, Will Salas vows to take revenge and travels through economic time zones to reach New Greenwich, where only the richest live. Being from the shittiest economic zone, of course he’s supposed to stay at an expensive suite and fine dine like there’s no tomorrow. And oh, of course he can’t avoid but go to the nearest casino. This is where he wins a thousand years playing poker against uber millionaire Philippe Weis (Vincent Karthesier), gets introduced to heiress daughter Sylvia (Amanda Seyfried) – who in fact has been strangely stalking him since he arrived in town. Are you having a headache already? I know I am.
As in any plot, there has to be an antagonist. For this film, it is a role brilliantly played by Cillian Murphy. He plays Raymond Leon, a bad ass “timekeeper”. Timekeepers are the equivalent of the police force. They literally “keep time”, watching and monitoring any suspicious influx of time where it shouldn’t be. When Will Salas’ generous benefactor turns up dead in the river, they simply follow suspicious behavior, ie. someone crossing timezones to get to New Greenwich which costs a whole year to do. So in a couple of days they are able to locate primary suspect Will Salas, all fresh and salty from taking a dip in the ocean with tragically stifled and privileged Sylvia Weis. They interrogate him, take every year, month and hour but two to ensure safe return to the slums.
If you’re still reading this, then maybe you should go and watch the movie. I’ve no longer got the patience to explain the rest and maybe this is where the movie fails. All in all, it is a mess. The concept, though promising, has not been taken further as much as I hoped it would be. The storytelling is distracted at best with a handful of comedic parts forcibly injected. Some parts are pointless and unnecessary, such as the subplot of Fortis (Alex Pettyfer). I know we all loved him as the contemporary version of the Beast in Beastly, the hunky, Mogadorian-slaying alien in I am Number Four, but seriously, this movie could’ve done without him. The story’s main protagonists Will and Sylvia seemed to lack some serious motivation and were mostly clueless as to what to do next. Their big plan? Steal time, give it away to everyone, and upset the balance. How they did it? With a lot of indecisiveness. Should we steal time? Or should we make out? Blame Amanda Seyfried’s scandalous push-up bra.
In the end, it was a big chase between “timekeepers” and “time thieves” which seemed to have no apparent goal. It’s a mind fuck in a way that you go out of the theater wishing you could rewrite the plot to make it a whole lot better. It’s not crap, but it’s not something I’d like to watch over and over again either. It’s fine. If you have a couple of free hours to kill, then go watch it. As long as you’re not paying in seconds, minutes or days.
A dare is a dare. Nothing more, nothing less. But when stakes get higher, how far are you willing to go when you are playing for love?
Love me if you dare is a romantic comedy, telling the story of two friends, who started a game of dare back when they were just kids. The movie successfully shares an entertaining transition with the audience – not only of the main protagonists but of the game as well. As childhood friends Julien and Sophie mature, so does the game they play. From seemingly harmless pranks to more outrageous stunts, the movie intensified with a comfortable consistency before finally blowing everyone’s socks off with the last couple of dares that some may find downright crazy and dark. I know i did.
Actors Guillame Canet and Marion Cotillard were both convincing in their respective roles. Their chemistry is natural, and everything they did seemed effortless. In some scenes, Marion did overshadow Guillame’s performances which is quite understandable and forgivable, given Sophie’s emotional depth and complexity.
What’s most frustrating though is that my favorite part of the film is exactly the same thing I couldn’t share without spoiling it for those who haven’t seen it. So I guess this review ends here.
