Hello.

I am back. /epic flailing

Actually, I have been up and about (in case this, this and most recently, this weren't sure signs of me still living a life). It's just that with the forced hiatus (due to stupidity on my part), plus life for the past two and a half months flew by at breakneck pace that it was impossible to have done a decent blog. Nope. Nu uh.

So, this will be like a monster posts of sorts, just to tie in the past two and a half months to the present.

Here goes everything.

"I want to stay single and let my hair flow in the wind as I ride through the glen, firing arrows into the sunset!"

I was FINALLY able to watch Brave last night. With company. (You win at life, EK. Slow clap for you.)

This is my favorite movie this year, after The Avengers. However, I must admit that I was kind of misled into believing that this movie was an adventure of a warrior princess that was of epic proportions, and that the theme of the movie is to create your own "Brave" story. For me, it was hardly that, but something more raw.

Questions

I just came home from watching Prometheus. More than it being a Ridley Scott movie, and even more than Michael Fassbender being one of the main actors, it was a movie that I didn't want to miss because it was supposedly made as a prequel to Alien. I absolutely love sci-fi movies. 

Having said all of that, I totally recommend this film! The effects were mind-blowing, and the acting was way above par. My only misgiving for Prometheus was that it didn't give any answers to its most compelling questions by the time the movie ended. This is also not a feel-good movie (so if you don't want to feel depressed, DON'T WATCH THIS MOVIE!). 

If I could sum up this movie in one sentence, it will be in the form of a question: How far would you go to get the answers to your questions? Maybe not all questions were made to be answered, and we'll simply have to live with that. But when you flip this argument around, and say that we deserve answers to the questions we deem important, then how far will we go to get them? At what point can we say that the search for answers has become meaningless, or has brought  contentment? This was Prometheus for me. 

Fassy was phenomenal in this movie. I don't want to spoil anything...but really...he is just BEYOND! (And I can't even end this sentence properly!)

RDJ/Opera

Hello, people who read this blog.

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The April 27 event went quite well. There were things that didn't exactly go the way I planned or intended, but overall I'm relieved that it's over.

Like...YOUHAVENOIDEAHOWRELIEVEDIAM relieved. XD

Up next on my pipeline is the author event on May 5. I'm more excited with this event than the one last Friday, but I have a feeling that there is more work for this one than the other.

I also have to buy myself a copy of Before Ever After to get that awesomesauce autograph. XDDD

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Guess what. I HAVE A SOCIAL LIFE. I just have to try harder at it.

I watched The Avengers last Saturday. It was PERFECTION. Everything was awesome and nothing hurt. Though I did initially feel bad that Edward Norton won't be reprising The Hulk, it didn't dampen my expectations for this movie at all. This was also the first movie I watched this year with a group. 

I would like to officially induct RDJ to my list of Papas, along with Johnny Depp and Lolo Ken Watanabe. Because. He is RDJ. 

Oh, and I get to watch it again tomorrow. For free. MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. 

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About an hour ago, I bought myself a ticket to this Broadway show coming to this country on August! I got a decent Balcony 1 Center seat on September 1, and I'm not complaining. I need some opera in my system, and I should at least get my butt out to watch one opera in my lifetime. 

The only letdown I see with this is that I don't have anymore money to buy a decent ticket (read: AT LEAST LOWER BOX) for the NKOTBSB concert that - read this - may have Kevin Richardson joining BSB again for good! Then again, I've already watched a BSB concert, and Phantom or the really good Broadway shows don't just come around here often. 

Randomness

First movie of the year - Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. IT'S SO DARN GOOD. My only misgivings (which are pretty minor) are the music - I think the first movie was better; and Rachel McAdams getting so little screen time. Other than that, fan-freaking-tastic.

I don't want to give any more details lest I spoil the whole thing.

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So, for work, I was asked to join this mentoring program for aspiring authors. HOW AWESOME IS THAT? I really wanted to freak out when I heard, but being at work, I had to keep my cool and downplay my reaction...but I think I overdid it. ("Hindi po labag sa loob ko," in a really toned-down voice. Imagine that!)

That aside,  I'm really excited about being a student slash-alalay. The sessions start next Tuesday. Being the person managing the program, I still have to prepare the handouts, make reservations, contact the participants, etc. etc., but I find it rather fun that I'll be participating. Last year when I was preparing for this program, I was thinking of how awesome it would be if I could afford to join something like this. Turns out...I could join for free! *epic freakout dance*

Asante sana, Disney 3D

As (I have) promised (myself) in an earlier post, I watched The Lion King 3D tonight. I actually was planning on watching it tomorrow, but when I looked at the schedule, I didn't think it would be a good idea. So, I decided to go for tonight instead.

OHMAYGASSS GAIS IT WAS EPIC. THE GRASS WAS GREENER, THE SMOKE SMOKIER, THE STARS STARRIER!!! EVERYTHING WAS AWESOME AND NOTHING HURTS. 

I know I’ve got a big TLK bias, this being my all-time favorite Disney movie, but if you’ve watched the movie countless times like I have and you think you’re getting the same (asante sana squash) banana, you’re not. They added so many layers of detail to this movie, so much so that it’s as if Zazu’s wings popped out of the screen when he was flying towards Mufasa, the stampede scene became even more ravaging, the stars actually sparkle (and it was very believable too - when Mufasa said, "Look at the stars," I actually stared at the stars for the rest of the sequence), and the rising sun scene at the start of the movie … ye gads, I got goosebumps all over. The colors seriously pop out of the screen - they don’t look faded or worn over compared to when you see it on DVD or Disney Channel.

I almost cried when Simba found Mufasa dead. I almost cried when Circle of Life was coming to an end. And the "Simba, you have forgotten me" sequence - TEARS. Some things never change. =)

The 3D version is so awesome that I think I will always refer to the 2D as substandard from here on in. (HOHMGIWANTBLURAYNAO)

As expected, part of the crowd tonight were families with small kids. After Circle of Life ended and the loud beat of the drum sounded off and the title in red over black showed on screen, I heard a kid ask his parents: "Tapos na?" I had to smile, because that was the exact same reaction I had when I first watched it 17 years ago (wow, it was that long na pala...)

Fast forward to after the stampede - when the screen showed that Mufasa was dead, the same kid (I'm assuming) blurted out, "He's sleeping!" Again, I smiled (while trying not to cry - which surprisingly, wasn't so hard) because that was what I thought at first too when I watched it as a kid. Looking back on it now, it was not actually Mufasa's death that was traumatizing, it was Simba's reaction to it that scarred me for life.

After Simba was banished by Scar, not a sound could be heard from the kids watching. I wanted to see if any of them were crying, but I was just so engrossed with the added detail that I couldn't afford to look away.

Anyway, again...if you loved TLK but you're thinking twice of watching it on 3D - DON'T THINK, JUST DO IT. I don't think you'll have any regrets. =)

Movie time

As (I have) promised (myself) early this year, I watched The Adventures of Tintin today. It was supposed to be yesterday in 3D, but stuff happened. So today, I got to see it but in 2D only. I think the experience would have been complete if it was in 3D.

Anyway, IT WAS AWESOME. Watching this series as a kid and seeing it rendered with such detail (even in 2D the rendering was so beautiful, everyone looked near-human) made the Php180 worth it. Personally, seeing Snowy chew through the rope had nostalgia written all over it.

Now, I'm not really a Tintin purist. Yes, I've read the comics when I was in grade school, but I'm not so much of an addict that I can remember if I read the comics from which this film was adapted (which Wikipedia says is a combination of The Secret of the Unicorn, Red Rackham's Treasure, and The Crab With The Golden Claws). Some say that it didn't stay true to the comics, which is (of course) not really surprising - it's rare that a Hollywood adaptation stayed true to its novel/comic roots anyway.

Having said all of that, being someone who watched this on TV and read some of the comics as a kid, this was such a treat watching on the big screen. I did feel that the Thompson/Thompson slapstick could have used more effort, but everything else was very satisfactorily done. If there's a sequel, I'm definitely watching it. I hope there will be more characters in there, like Professor Calculus.

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The next movie to watch on my list is my favorite Disney movie of all time - in THREE-FREAKING-DEE! The Lion King 3D opens tomorrow! I really want to watch on opening day, but alas, I have commitments. I intend to watch it on Saturday lunchtime (which I can do since finals is over and done with).

I wonder if I'll cry watching Circle of Life, or watching Mufasa die, or the Mufasa-in-the-clouds-saying "Simba, you have forgotten me" - in 3D...gosh, just thinking about it right now makes me want to watch it even more! 

(By the way, when I watched this for the first time as a kid, those were the three scenes where I cried. Not even Finding Nemo came close to this.)

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The last two days have been nice. I go back to work tomorrow. I hope to have more consistent posts this time around. =D