The Dark Knight Rises

This movie. I can't even. There are so many things to talk about but I end up spazzing. A brilliant ending to what has been a superb series which definitely changed super hero movies. 

And it will cement the fact that I am in love with Christopher Nolan's mind.

The initial reaction was: Gasp! He CAN'T be!

I really, really thought he was Robin. I mean, I had so many fucking “feels” towards the end of the film that I presumed he is Robin (and his name! his name!) but HE IS NOT IN ANY OF THE COMIC BOOKS. I knew the other Robins and even some who took up Batman when Bruce Wayne was gone so this part of the ending of TDKR really bothered me. And then came the “epiphany” he could not possibly be Robin, just no. Bruce Wayne gave him the tools, not to be exactly THE Robin but to be Batman - or some other character (Ahem, Nightwing or possibly even Robin?!) in fact he could be anyone…any crime fighting superhero who follows after Batman (retired) to continue being Gotham’s hero. HE COULD BE ANYONE. It does not matter who he turns out to be, which super hero persona he will take on but what matters is that he represents the hero that Gotham needs. I finally understood that. And JGL is awesomesauce. 

God this movie gives me so many “feels” and just like any other Nolan film, you discover something else after re-watching the movie. 

p.s. I also don’t want him to be Robin…Robin has an awful costume in the comics.

Exercise is Evil

The act was impulsive. I quickly grabbed clothes fit for the task, grabbed my sister's running shoes and a teeny, tiny pair of foot socks. Then I walked towards the sports center, paid my dues and then walked among the fit folk. It wasn't awkward, loud dance music was blasting from the speakers as an aerobics class sweated itself out and people ran or walked or jogged. I started jogging then running for about halfway through then stopped to walk then run again. It was a pattern repeated until the back of my foot, chafed from   the lack of protection the teeny, tiny foot socks gave was wounded and I had to stop and examine the pink, opened layer of skin. Undaunted, I ran again until I could take it no more. This whole episode lasted about 30 minutes...I'm lying, it might have been 20. I stopped for a while to people watch which is very entertaining and a while lasted into minutes of just watching until I decided to go home. And eat. A lot. So I ate and my sisters were flabbergasted at the idea of me actually exercising. Flabbergasted. Then I did 10 sit-ups, ten! And then I had to lie down because my poor body could take no more and surrendered to aching pains which still bothers me 24 hours after that episode of running. Ouch.

SDCC

I feel alive. I am in front of my computer but the tweets from my fellow geeks and nerds from halfway around the world with their enthusiasm and excitement and love is infectious! SAN DIEGO COMIC CON!!!! Everyone is dressed to the nines in a way which only geeks and nerds could as they represent their favorite characters from TV, games and movies. It is heaven for geeks and nerds and even from far away I feel the happiness. Someday I'll be a physical part of that and then...and then....hahah, i'll quote all the best lines, dance the craziest and just be one of the happiest geek in the universe!

ALLONS-Y!!

An A-Z of Unusual Words

                                                           Project Twins

Scripturient
Possessing a violent desire to write

Ultracepedarian
A person who gives opinion and advice outside of one's knowledge

Ostentiferous
Bringing omens or unnatural or supernatural manifestations

Vernalagnia

A romantic mood brought on by Spring.

Hamartia
Character flaw or error of a tragic character that leads to his downfall

Hobbits in Middle Earth

I'd love to be a hobbit. If I lived in Middle Earth, I'd be a hobbit. They eat a lot. They have cosy holes. They live under hills. They don't have to wear shoes. And they get called upon to go on adventures which no elf, man or wizard would have been able to accomplish without the help of hobbits. HOBBITS RULE!!!

Here is Bilbo living a "chill" life, making smoke rings like nobody's business. 

And here is Gandalf who tries to awaken Bilbo's adventurous spirit in many clever ways. I love that part in book!

Words

“Your own words are the bricks and mortar of the dreams you want to realize. Your words are the greatest power you have. The words you choose and their use establish the life you experience.” 

– Sonia Choquette.

It Happened One Night

An old Hollywood romantic comedy is so much better than the ones of today. 

Apparently, these actors hated being in the film but you would not have seen a single scene in which they manifested that. They're both professionals!

Clark Gable...sigh. He is wit and charm personified. 

And it's so gosh darn funny but not too stupid-funny and sweet but not too cloying, I loved, loved, loved it. 

SAN LAZARO

If the opening sequence tells you how the movie will turn out, it would have been a Tim Burton-esque horror-comedy flick. But as lovely and haunting the opening sequence is, the film varied in its story. This is no light-hearted horror comedy fare like the usual Pinoy horror film, the story is simple but it is given a dark turn by the characters. Each has his own story to tell and every time the characters close their eyes and relive their memories, the story gets darker.  The film can be funny at the most unexpected moments, like that instance when Wincy Aquino Ong’s character was asked to give his laptop as payment for his rent but he reasoned out, “Ibibigay ko na ang atay ko, wag lang yung laptop ko”; a sentiment shared by most people nowadays. I did not whether to laugh or cry when Ramon Bautista’s character admitted he was Captain Barbell, he is quite funny without even trying but he fits his strong man character quite well.  Nicco Manalo was brilliant, he can play two different personalities and still look sincere doing it. I loved how this film has Ely Buendia as the cool older brother detective! This is the type of film that will make you lie awake at night thinking of the strangeness of human nature. It can be deceptive but hides something deeper and darker and spew evil when it comes out, they used the demon as the manifestation of this darkness and the characters get their reckoning. It was not only Biboy who was exorcised of his demon but Siegfred and Lemuel also exorcised their personal demons throughout the journey to San Lazaro.  Kudos to the filmmakers, it was brilliant and diverse! More Pinoy films should go out there and try other blends of horror films, not just the usual cheesy scream fest. 

Oh god, the FRENCH

French Film Festival.
I suppose gobsmacked would be the right word after seeing all the nudity, sex and intense french kissing in most of the movies. We started with Demon Lover, went in a few minutes after the film began, got confused by the plot, the hentai and the sex and then they started shooting and abusing and what the hell, I enjoyed it when the girl shot the guy in the head in the middle of his orgasm, it was morbidly funny. All the films were well made but I really only enjoyed watching The Artist (i love those black and white films!). I expected some films to have at least a touch of Godard or like Amelie but no, the films were about people I could not sympathize with. Cebu got the bad picks in this year's French Film festival. I was not amused.

Doctor Who?

I remember a month when all I listened to were the Doctor Series 4 and 5 soundtracks. They give me a lot of feelings.

Murray Gold, you are brilliant!

Pretty Food...and tasty too!

Horrible photo, did not do justice to the food. Tsk, tsk.

La Vita e Bella

Maybe it was good that i was not able to see how the movie ended because it already felt good the way it was. It was a happy film in such a dark time. I would have cried for Guido had I seen how it ended. It would have left me with a melancholy feeling instead of being uplifting. 

Enid

Today, my worst fears about one of my favourite childrens book writer was confirmed. I saw the autobiographical movie Enid where she was played by my favourite actress Helena Bonham Carter. She was a selfish wretch and an adulterer. A child who never grew up, waiting for her father who never came home. She was a child herself that’s why she wrote those wonderful stories, but she was a horrible mother. Bam! Childhood ruined. I idolized her, I loved her books, I read almost all of them, she made me want to read more. She introduced me to fantasy stories and escapism.  Am sorely disappointed that the woman she really was is different from the woman I envisioned who wrote all those wonderful tales. I cried for my loss and for hers too. She had dementia later in life. She wrote 759 books. All those stories in her head, amazing. 

Fish are friends, not food!

I hate eating fish. Everyone gets this idea that fish is great and meat of other animals will kill you. Wrong. The meat of other animals are important too. Plus they are more palatable. Why can’t they cook fish and make it more palatable!? That is my word for this hour: Palatable. Our fish is not cooked in a palatable manner. Watching food shows will tell you that the appearance of food will contribute to its palatability. Palatable. 

Machiavellian...or not

Troll’s Eye View, An anthology of tales on villain’s point of view. I love, love, love it. It has the darkness of a Grimm fairy tale, the magic of Hans Christian Andersen and it is all about the villains! The tales are beautifully crafted and the much-maligned villains get their own tales. I love tales like these, unconventional fairy tales like those written by Gregory Maguire and now by these writers who wrote such brilliant retellings of the old fairy tales in a villain’s point of view. I love that they give these villains a background story and how they understood that they become villains for a reason, and that maybe those annoying heroes or heroines in fairy tales are annoying little gits who nose in on stuff which are none of their business. They are given a voice by the best fantasy writers of my generation.