Marcus Can Blog

Question: What is the sum of adding a caffeine-powered and over creative CGI artist with a sleep-deprived, and de-motivated scriptwriter? Answer: 2012. Yes, you read it right. You get the movie, 2012.

This is another movie (the other one was Transformer 2) where my wife and I had to leave our little boy under the care of our trusty neighbor just so we can watch what the movie is all about and if it does stand up to the hype it has stirred. The movie, just as its trailer promised, have spectacular destruction effects of biblical proportion, but, its story didn’t do justice to my months of anticipation as I find it lacking sense and substance. 2012’s special effects appear as if it was made ahead of the storyline and that everything in the movie plot was created as an after thought (and needless to say, acting as a result is mediocre to fair).

However impressed I was with the special effects doesn’t mean though that it comes without obvious flaws. One just can’t help but spot at least a couple of annoying details that its producers desperately tried to pass off thinking that delivering an end-of-the-world movie will make one just sit back, relax (or panic in this case) and take it for what it is. They’re wrong. Gone are the days when audience will believe that the world will end just because something beneath the earth has ran amuck. People nowadays are now keener than before – thanks to Hollywood over-exposure and Mythbusters TV series. So it really would have been great if the producers have included details that should have come logically based on the premise that the earth’s core has become super hot. Like, why were there no simultaneous exploding volcanoes to imply an overheated core. Or why was it that despite the unfathomable gaping cracks, the other side of the globe wasn’t shown as feeling at least some sort of tremor. Likewise, if this whole thing was indeed based on the Mayans, it would have been striking if it was explained (through its Tzolk’in calendar) in part how their civilization, no matter how primitive, arrived at such accurate prediction. And so on and so forth. And more whys and more ifs.

Of course, it would have been in vain if the 2.5-hour movie didn’t conjure some kind of reflection on its audiences. For sure everyone inside the cinema started to think about the whole thing in between scenes. It is just inevitable to think what will it be really like if this unprecedented scale of destruction happens all of a sudden – like tomorrow. How will I react? Should I just stay put or take chances by driving waywardly over road fissures and collapsing structures; besides breaking traffic rules will be the least of my worries and jumping the car over a crevasse won’t matter anymore. Who will I save first? Who will save me? Where will I get one billion euro to be among those lucky beings inside the modern Noah’s ark? Will I go for REM’s It’s the end of the world or The Killer’s Everything will be alright as my last-day-on-earth song? Now isn’t that just tough. Anyway, if the Mayans are right, we still have 3 more years to go…let’s just hope they’re wrong so we can have another movie to laugh at come 2013. But what if they’re indeed really right…

Picture credit: 2012’s Official movie site

Mood: 2/10 Honks! (The hot peppermint mocha coffee I had inside the cinema was great.)

Other than enjoying a cholesterol-filled dinner of small-sized crabs (I don’t consider it crablets), what topped off this unhealthy night is this Ilonggo Indie film clip which I saw from one of my Facebook friend’s post. The title alone captured my attention due to a couple of reasons: First, as a kid I hate veggies and even until now I eat it just for health’s sake – if given the choice I won’t touch and more so eat one. Second, the title is in Ilonggo, my native tongue.

So here’s that clip that made me to have mixed emotions as I always have this second thought of seeing animals being slaughtered for food. I’m a meat eater but as much as possible I’d rather not watch that food-to-be’s life taken in front of me. But then again, I don’t eat utan. Tough choice, huh? Anyway, enjoy this clip.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLr_4dnNNBg]

***

This reminds me of last weekend while in Batangas. We were in a birthday party when I saw this group of men gathered around a cow tied to a post. Although, I haven’t witnessed a cow being slaughtered up close, I already had the idea what is about to happen next. The gory thought of a poor animal being held helplessly while fighting for his life, no matter how futile, played on my mind.

Then I saw one of the men approach the cow, unsheathed a surprisingly short knife from his waist and point it somewhere on top of the cow’s head. At this point I was thinking, “Uh-oh, this will be messy and bloody.” But I was wrong. In a blink of an eye, literally, the man pressed the knife down, the cow went limp, fell to the ground and became lifeless almost in an instant. That quick.  Well, at least it didn’t suffer. It made me think and hope that this is the case for every meat-to-be in the slaughter houses.

4/10 Honks (all the bloody thought may get in my dreams tonight) 

Have you ever been in a situation when you were with someone annoying inside the movies and yet you can’t seem to do something about it? Well, we were yesterday.

Imagine this. After months of being kept away from relaxing on the soft padded seats, dark yet comfortable room illuminated only by the lights along the aisles and of the ever changing projection on the silver screen, you finally had the chance to bring this someone with you to watch the perfect movie.

And after treating this someone to a hearty lunch in one of your favorite restaurants your group formed a beeline to the ticket booth with almost everyone excited and anticipating that within the next few minutes everyone will indulge themselves to pure cinematic sensation that is way different from what the boob tube at home can offer.

Eventually, you all reached and entered the doors of the cinema and being a good host of this gimmick you glance at your guest expecting him to at least glance back to show his appreciation. But instead, for a moment he seems to have chosen to ignore you and would rather focus on the trailers being played as if it were already the featured film. “Well, that’s good enough…at least he’s one that doesn’t talk in the movies”, you reminded yourself, a bit disappointed.

But soon as the movie started he gets jumpy and annoying, and he began to look at you and your partner, just a little short of saying that he needs to discuss something while the scenes flash on the wide screen. This time it’s your chance to ignore him back, while looking around if there’s someone near your seats who might be already irritated of your group’s restlessness.

He smiled, he grunted, he stood up and sat down, and he did almost the complete opposite when you first entered. At some part of the film he fell silent and focused once again, with you thanking good heavens. Unfortunately at some part he did the whole thing all over again as if on purpose. The worse came when he demanded for you to give him a drink and that was when you almost lose your cool. Some people are just mean, aren’t they?

So what do you think I did with this unruly guest? Did I give him the seemingly effective shhhh? Or did I whisper to him that he better stop it or he’ll be out? Well, no. None of those. What can I do, he’s our one-year old baby. Besides, it’s just his first movie and Monsters Vs. Aliens is for him after all. Hahaha. Kids will be kids.

Not bad. At least, the ticket lady believed that our little son is already 1-year old.

Ice Age 3 is next. Hope he won't sleep like he did in MVA.

Mood: 2/10 Honks!

It’s already year 2009. Just another year more and lots of things will start to happen. No not according to Nostradamus or any other stargazers. It’s actually from a couple of my favorite entertainment or pastime – TV or movies.

The night before we went for a 2-day vacation in Batangas (where we spent our New Year’s eve), I was in front of the boob tube again, this time watching an Arnold Schwarzenegger film – The Running Man. I know that this is among his first and I know that I missed this one when it was shown in the big screen. Back then, on 1987, I’m hooked with Kung Fu Kids. Shhh.

What I find fascinating about this rerun is the timeline when it is set. It’s year 2017. More so, what is striking is that its intro is so similar to that of Death Race and from that part alone I was even more intrigued – I just got to watch this. Besides, who wouldn’t enjoy watching a futuristic scene wherein America is in chaos (this must be one of Bin Laden’s favorite movie); characters don padded tight-fitting overalls; people enjoying a sadistic live game (I’m sure the Japanese love this too); where the shows’ stage looks like a bit improved versus that of Eat Bulaga; where despite the technology advances cellphones did not exist; where Bens Richards blurt out punch lines after every kill as if some standup trying to elate the crowd. Lastly, who wouldn’t love to watch the governator at its prime?

Of course, in this current state of my Hollywood-clogged mind, I knew from the very start how this movie will end. I’ve seen so much of such plot already that I can predict it just like any other. But this does not mean I didn’t enjoy it because sometimes a lousy rerun can always be appreciated especially if you’re left with nothing but other reruns from other cable channels. Ti abi, this is what happens when there’s too much vacation.

To prove that this Arnold movie got hold of my mind, somehow, I browsed the web for any other futuristic movies/stories that are set on the year 2000. This time at least on 2010 even if I’ve seen one before set on an earlier Y2K period with flying cars already. Its writer, director and especially the production designers must have been so embarrassed by now as it is quite certain that none will come close to what will be on 2010.

Computer and video games:

• Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War (2004)
• Uplink (2001)
• Street Fighter 2010 (1990)

Film

• 2010 (1984)
• Thunderbirds (2004)

TV

• Knight Rider 2010 (1994)
• Stargate SG-1 (2001)
• The Transformers (1986-1987)

   

Even though what authors and production designers have created will fall short of their expectations of what a futuristic setting will be (at least for 5 more years from now), I’m already beaming with excitement to see what might happen next. Wouldn’t it be fun to see flying cars and robots casually moving from all directions? Hmmm. Not until we get to understand the basics of “land” road driving, I guess. But I just can’t wait for the robots to take over our senate and congress. At least these mechanical wonders don’t have greed. I may be wrong though.

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010

***

What would happen if we’ve got flying cars and its drivers doesn’t even know what “Do not tailgate” nor a red traffic light is all about? Go figure.

Tailgate, what?

Well, the arrow doesn't say if it's my vehicle's front or rear. Maybe it's my middle.

Hey, that's my car's color. That means I'm go.

I don't even have a brake light, so why not beat the red light as well?

***

Happy New Year!

Mood: 3/10 Honks!

I’m watching In Pursuit of Happyness right now and this is my second time after we watched it in the big screen several months ago. I have a mental list of movie favorites that I’d love watching over and over again and this one is not among those. Funny, but this time I’m paying more attention.

Since this is like reporting a news live from the scene, I’m taking notes as much as I can and will feed it as soon as possible just like our national news (ABS-CBN and GMA alike) reports trivial things such a fallen motorcycle rider in North Luzon Expressway as if people down in Mindanao cares.

“You’re live in 1, 2….” Good evening, here are some fascinating facts I captured anew from this movie re-run in HBO:

1. The main character’s name is Chris (played by Will Smith). Mine is the same.

2. He has a Rubik’s Cube and solved it after several minutes with a potential employer inside the taxi cab. Well, I hate to brag but I can do better. Hahaha. So I’m now considering writing in my resume, the following:

Other Skills:

·         Can blog.

·         Can solve the Rubik’s Cube in 3 minutes or less.

3. He is jobless. Hmmm. Not me…yet.

4. DOS (I noticed that office computers have the green screen) is the “IN” thing then, just like Windows Vista is today.

5. Sometimes, using the words probably and possibly might have a different meaning. To prove this I checked my trusted sources, MS Word’s synonym feature and www.m-w.com. The former shows that possibly is synonymous with probably. M-W.com however clearly defines that the two are somehow different from one another. Note to self: I will probably find a job soon – all fingers and toes crossed.

6. Chris’ son inspired him to strive more. TBD, for me. (Trivia: Real life father and son, Will and Jaden Smith played the role of father and son in this movie.)

In the end, the pursuit of happyness eventually came true. After all the hard work, embarrassment and perseverance, Chris Gardner founded the Gardner Rich (pun intended) and had a stake at a multi-million dollar company.

By the way, Chris ended as a broker…

(continuation of Part 1)

The second interview we had last week is far more serious than the first because what is at stake here is someone else’s life being entrusted to us we if pass it. It’s actually the 2^nd one for this process as the 1^st one was done at home. This time we were in an adoption foundation somewhere in Cubao.

Early this year I approved the long standing wish of wifey to adopt a child. I can still recall the time and place when I finally told her about it. We were having dinner in Aling Tonya’s in SM by the Bay when I see one family with small kids passing by. I guess something in me snapped when I felt like we need another one to tag along with us just like complete families do. That night, the image of one of the kids holding his father’s hand while they merrily chatted held on to my brain like stubborn road tar. And that was it; I had to admit then that we lack at least one member. We need a child.

So after that event, my wife had been busy searching thru the internet with regards to adoption, child care, etc. I myself, did some searching especially on the inevitable potty training thing. This I guess is the one thing that I might need some time to getting used to with our future kid. Other things related to raising a child, I’m now prepared to do it. At least I think so.

During the interview, we were asked to answer a couple of questions from the forms and a couple of which got me to reflect for a moment.

1.       Names of people who influenced you? Frankly, I can’t seem to figure out who did.

2.       Three (3) things you fear the most? Undoubtedly, I wrote lightning as one.

3.       I will love my wife more if…? I answered: if she cooks breakfast without being told and if she drives the car well. Because other than these, I love her as she is.

4.       What are the adjustments you’ll make when you receive the baby? I wrote a phrase or two, but for sure that will be a lot…and I’m excited about it.

Taco Bell

Coming out of the foundation more than half an hour past lunch time, we headed to the nearby The Gateway mall and treat ourselves in Taco Bell’s. That lunch for me was more than just a treat, as it brought back memories of my US trip back in ’05. The tacos smelled and tasted just like they did abroad. I just hope that wifey will soon have the opportunity to agree with me.

Red right hand

Soon after, and as if having an itinerary for every interview day, we were again headed to the cinema. Both of us easily pick Hellboy II: The Golden Army over other films. This will be our first time to watch a movie in this mall.  The cinema is fully carpeted with a wide end row and tapering towards the wide-screen. Air-conditioning is just right and its soft cushioned seats added a great viewing experience for one great movie such as Hellboy. 

What I find fascinating about this sequel is the fact that it got better than the first one. The creature characters were surprisingly well detailed that although the diversity of the aliens reminds me of Star Wars Episode III, the creatures in Hellboy are as unique as the main stars of this film. Even the villains were convincingly portrayed. And as much as they appear mean and scary, I think the tiny evil tooth fairies deserve a movie of their own. Oh, by the way, Hellboy and Liz are having their own kid. Coincidence?

Definitely not from your mom's fairy tale bedtime stories.

And there goes another busy week for both of us. It may even become busier until the end of this year if our baby arrives by October. I’m not so fully sure yet if I’d be busy at work as well. This I’ll know in a couple of weeks.

Ref: 

I’ve said it several times either to myself or to someone – Time flies so fast. And so today I was surprised to see that the last time I did a blog was on August 31 and fifteen days after that, I’m still wondering what I’ve been thru since then. Now I’m in the middle of the much waited months for us Pinoys – the “ber” months.  And being the 15^th which is the payday for most employees, I can just imagine the throng of people in the mall, in the clubs, and those in the beer bars – all of which probably enjoying at least a couple of Christmassy tunes in the process.

In spite of having lost track of my activities, the freshest memory that still lingers in my mind is the things that we did last week. In work terms, work week 37. Last week, my wife and I underwent a couple of separate exciting interviews amid my untimely colds that was made worse by the enduring rainy week.  But having prepared for these interviews for so long, not to mention that the stakes are high, we proceeded undeterred.

The first one was in the US embassy in Manila. It was actually my wife’s idea to try our luck in getting a US Visa (tourist). Although, I’ve been thru this before for my week-long Wisconsin training trip, I was a bit pessimistic in acquiring a new one as I’ve seen a couple of times the disappointment it gave my parents upon every denial in their quest to visit my sister abroad. Lately though, according to wifey, a lot of her peers got theirs without much ado. And true indeed, after a couple of anxiety-filled hours inside the embassy, our visa application got approved as well. My wife went out of the hallway skipping like a kid promised with a weekend beach picnic. “I feel like I’ve just won the American Idol audition”, she quipped. Well, that probably puts me in William Hung’s shoes when he got the record deal. (What made it greater was that our Visa expires in 2018 but the news today regarding the end of validity of the green passport by 2010 looks trouble to me.)

One thing that my wife and I are totally in synch with is that both of us agree with rewarding ourselves with every success that we had; more often than not, we love having food treats. And this time we dropped by MOA (Mall of Asia) looking for something new. Then we saw Cheesecake Etc. Inc. It is a small (approx. seats 10-15 person) restaurant but with cozy feel to it. Obviously, we ordered a couple of cheesecakes and coffee to match it. What we got were nicely presented (lovely shape and plate decoration) and were fairly priced. I recommend this place as an alternative to Starbucks.

After satisfying our sweet tooth, we headed to the cinemas just in time to catch the movie Wall-E – this time to feed our craving for comic relief. And like any other Disney movie we’ve seen, this movie didn’t fail us. The scenes in the movie despite being subtle and comical packs a serious message of what our (humans) future awaits if we lose the awareness on our environmental obligations. It also sends a strong warning to everyone who tends to entrust our lives to technology with the belief that it is there to give us convenience. Convenience that if not controlled will eventually produce more bad than good effects in the end. Do garbage problem and obesity sounds familiar? If there’s an animated counterpart to Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth movie, this is it. This is a must see movie for both young and old alike. (I love this one so much that I can’t wait to get its DVD.)

(to be contintued…)

Ref:

http://www.pinasgift.com/cheesecake_etc.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WALL-E

The other night my beloved wifey and I watched the last full show of the film Death Race (Starring Jason Statham as Jensen Ames) – because Wall-E isn’t showing anymore. And while on my way to meet up with her at the mall, I was thinking of the title which by itself is a no brainer. As it aptly implies, I presume that it’s just all about death and race. No more. No less. But wait…there’s more.

The moment the film started rolling, it immediately captured my attention with some of the words it presented on the silver screen and with some questions running on my mind along with it:

·         2012 in America. Will we be there by this time?

·         Unemployment. Will we be included?

·         Death. Entertainment?

·         Race. Will we be watching another live F1 soon? And when?

My wife, as I expected, started giving her naughty remarks (I always know that it is meant to intentionally annoy me) while I was starting to sink in to the story. But instead of hushing her, I myself made my own mumbled remarks in agreement. And as if those keywords aren’t enough to keep us related to the opening part of the film with its resemblance to our pending future, the opening scene also shows the main character getting laid off from his job in the metal factory. There’s chaos in the line of workers waiting for their turn to get their last pay. At this point, I was beginning to feel uneasy and I was somewhat praying to get over with the factory scene and show the death race itself.

A few frames more, the factory setting ended, thankfully. I did not mind when the succeeding scenes became tragic with Jensen drugged by someone in a ski mask and eventually becoming unconscious just to wake up with police and their hand guns sticking inches away from his face while trying to make sense what he’s doing with a knife in his hand and his dead wife beside him. Needless to say, that landed him in prison.

His role in the prison called Terminal Island became apparent when he was offered to participate in the famous Death Race since his record shows that he was a famous car racer years before. His acceptance of the part will be his way out of the prison facility with the condition that he will win the race. (Sadly, I didn’t catch in the film the reason why he indeed the said career and instead endured working inside the hot metal factory).

So just like any sane man offered to race for freedom, Jensen accepted. And this is where I started to enjoy the film. The main death race had several inmates as drivers and with their own armored, gun-mounted, and extra modified cars. Among them of course is Jensen who had to wear a mask in order to pretend as Frankenstein who was actually the famous death racer who perished in the opening scene but without the fans’ knowledge. The race is viewed online by fans numbering in millions with each paying at least $99 per view while the death racers outrun and “outgun” each other.

While I consider this as a B-movie, I actually applaud whoever was behind it. I’m now beginning to imagine that the people who conceptualized this movie are a team composed of Dana White’s men, ex-FIA officials, troubled American school kids, Twisted Metal (PS1 game) programmers and last but not the least – Filipino drivers.

Why? Because I find this movie a mixture of UFC fighters who are driving F1 cars with trigger-happy American school kids handling the Gatling gun’s remote button. Furthermore, the Filipinos here are divided into two sub-teams. First are those Jeepney drivers who loves to mount anything (such as horse figures, shiny CDs, LEDs, more LEDS, horns, antennas. Just to name a few.) on their jeeps – they are the designers of the Death Race cars. The other Filipinos are those who designed the weapon activation systems – which I wish I’m one of them as sometimes…just sometimes (wink wink), I wish I had those buttons inside my Mary.

Surprising as it may seem, I recommend this movie to let out some steam without doing any harm to the stubborn driver in front of you while stuck in traffic. Road rage alert. Watch out for bald male driver fumbling with the cigarette lighter.

At last! A couple of days ago my wife and I finally got the chance to view one of my much awaited movie – The X-Files: I Want to Believe. I can’t exactly say that I’m the number one fan of its TV series, but I can say that it’s one of the shows that made me forget almost about everything once it starts on TV. The moment the first note of its theme song played I’m all eyes and ears in front of the boob tube.

You see I’m one of those who believe that someone could be indeed out there. Since I was kid, one of the things we did once the sun sets is to look up the dark and star-filled sky either just to past time away or to compete with either my friends or my sister on what have we lately learned about the constellations. Most of the times when we do that I would always wonder if someone else may be staring down (or up) at us and wondering just the same thing like I do.

My enthusiasm for alien life form – or at least stories of it – increased further as I grew up. And the advent of The X-Files filled in the craving to know and discover more. I begin to wonder if conspiracies especially on the part of the U.S. government existed – remember Roswell? Those days and even until now, seeing the “Something is out there” poster sends some sort of adrenalin rush. These are words that keep the alien conspiracy theorists awake and sleepless.

So other than the fact that The X-files featured two great characters, FBI Agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson), whom I had crush with the latter (but of course yes, who wouldn’t anyway), the presence of the elements of mystery, conspiracy and the idea of finding alien life form here on earth is a dream come true for every believer like me.

Sadly, the 2^nd X-Files movie still didn’t do justice to the TV series. It has actually gotten worse than the 1^st one. The story just doesn’t have the X-Files feel compared to its TV counterpart. But maybe it’s just me. And maybe it’s because we came in late in the first place and my mind was divided between catching the UFO looking patty of Burger King’s Whopper Jr. and getting in on time inside the cinema. My wife actually sensed the desperation that she consoled me that we missed only a couple of minutes of the show. That’s easy for her to say that, but then again The X-Files for me wouldn’t be a complete X-Files if I didn’t hear its main theme song.

Bits of this movie that I find interesting are:

1. Finally, their (Mulder and Scully) platonic relationship ended. Good for Mulder, bad for us male Scully fans.
2. Despite the obvious ageing, both still has the appeal as X-Files FBI agents. (I learned from the Jimmy Kimmel show this morning that Gillian Anderson was just 24 years old when she first made it to the X-Files TV show).
3. At least Skinner is still there. But it could have been better if the Cigarette-Smoking man had his appearance. I love this Morley-packing character.
4. Pedophile priest considered alien? Just about time I guess.
5. The snowy Virginia setting really added to the cinema’s chilly temperature. Hot brewed coffee highly recommended instead of sodas.
6. And guess who’s in charge of the music for this movie? Mark Snow. How colder can it get?

If given the chance, I’d like to watch this movie again from the very start in order for me to understand what it was all about. I hate to believe that the 2^nd X-Files movie is a flop. There must be one good story behind it all.

Anyway, while I’m still trying to figure out who’s the actual leader of this sinister plot – wherein I’m starting to believe that there’s a conspiracy between Burger King, bridge repair works, SM guard on duty, the cinema and my wife (This is where the X-Files theme song plays) that made me be late, I am now actually thinking that The X-Files and marriage may seem to have some commonality at all (now you have a clue of who am I suspecting):

1. Scully: What are you doing? Mulder: Trying to ignore you.
2. “Don’t give up!”
3. The anticipation to see the show is just like anxiously waiting for your wife to come home with six-pack of beers. The moment she’s in, you grab the beers and then you’re in your own world on the sofa.
4. Sometimes the episode doesn’t seem to make sense just like your…(you fill in; I’m not getting quoted for this)
5. Sometimes you get obsessed with the show, of course, just like you sometimes get obsessed with your wife.
6. The continuation of an episode sometimes doesn’t seem to get related to the other. I’m sure you’ve had discussions with your wife that suddenly shifted to something that made you wonder if you’re awake during the whole discourse.
7. Sometimes the episode is just so scary you can’t help but avoid looking at… (I’m not completing this one either – you fill it in. Take the risk)
8. Most of the time though, you miss it so much that a week is never complete without seeing it. Sometimes you even wish that you can see it daily. Now, this is more like my wife. Hahaha. Peace!

Alien Me: Uncovering the conspiracy

Our week together turned out to be quite good despite not going farther than Festival Mall Alabang or Tagaytay. To make up with the cancelled road trip I played some make believe situation by considering our own home as a hotel as if being out of town and staying in a comfy hotel room. To make it a bit more realistic I let the air-conditioning turned on every night, woke up late, ate without counting calories and going out of the “hotel” any time we like.

After celebrating our exact wedding date with the rest of my wife’s team members, the other days of the week were spent mall hopping, window shopping and of course watching movies. And since we’re celebrating our 9^th year, I will do a brief review of the 9 movies we’ve seen recently - not necessarily within the anniversary week. By the way, I’ll rate the movie from 1(poor) to 5(great) stars just like my wife and I do in our individual diaries (which reminds me that I haven’t updated mine for a long time).

9.  Forbidden Kingdom (Jet Li. Jackie Chan). I’m not so sure if I enjoyed this movie or not. It may have something to do with too much exposure to MMA especially UFC on TV that I’m not buying the flying kung fu stunts anymore. What I like about it is seeing both actors back in business and being together in one film I think is a good way to do just that. 3 Stars.

8. Kung Fu Panda (Jack Black. Jackie Chan. Lucy Liu. Angelina Jolie). Being a fan of cartoons, I can immerse myself into it in no time every time I see one. Frankly speaking, I find this Kung Fu movie better than Forbidden Kingdom due to the fact that I have no reason to question once I see the characters, like the bulky panda, float in the air to do gravity defying stunts. It’s not impossible. Why? Because it’s cartoons. Duh. Po rules!  4 Stars.

7. Get Smart (Steve Carell. Anne Hathaway). There’s always anxiousness inside me whenever I get to watch a film that is closely similar to previous movie. I have some reservations that this stupid-field agent-comedy movie will be a letdown. Thankfully, it wasn’t the case. The casts (and characters) and story of this film are a great combination. The comic scenes are so hilarious that I was either laughing or giggling from the start until the end of the film. Jim Carey beware. 5 Stars.

6. Evan Almighty (Steve Carell). We caught this one on TV while lazily channel surfing one afternoon. It was just a couple of days after we watched Get Smart and my interest to see another version of the famous ark story grew with the fact that Steve Carell is portraying as Noah.  I was fascinated with the idea of mixing a biblical story to a modern setting but I don’t know if my mother would have been laughing as I find some of the exchanges blasphemous. Anyway, I did have a good laugh from majority of the scenes and more importantly I think that the same moral of the story is conveyed as intended in the bible. I’m becoming a Steve Carell fan. 4 Stars.

5. Letters from Iwo Jima (Ken Watanabe). This one was from the DVD – another Clint Eastwood film to complement his Flags of Our Fathers movie. I always wonder if there are good people on both sides of the war and this movie helped prove that. The Iwo Jima story reminds me that most soldiers fight with what they believe is right regardless what side they’re in.  In a sense, one you consider a foe is actually a hero of the other side. Comparing the two war films, Letters from Iwo Jima is better than Flags of Our Fathers.  Additionally, dubbing the film in Japanese with English subtitles created a more genuine experience to it.  5 Stars.

4. The Happening (Mark Wahlberg).  This film is like some of the dreams I had. It starts with something so interesting that no matter how frightening it was, I forced myself to stay in it in order to find out how it will end.  It’s like a nightmare that you have no control over what you’d see next and every scene makes you curse and jump out of your bed and find yourself sweating from the excitement and/or fear.  At the end of this movie my wife and I were staring at each other still with lots of unanswered questions but being an M. Night Shyamalan flick the end is no surprise – and I love it. 4 Stars.

3. Wanted (Angelina Jolie. Morgan Freeman).  Have you ever had a time when you felt like they cast a well known celebrity to compensate with the movie’s poor story? In my opinion, this movie is one of those. Angeline Jolie was like an a wriggling bait so irresistible to an unsuspecting fish like me that despite having seen the trailers with bullets circling its way to find its intended target I still got to watch it in the end. I could have give in to the idea of the intelligent bullets but I called it enough when the story came to be about killing individuals as dictated by a loom supposedly started by weavers from long time ago. To me that’s just crap (pardon the word). 4 Stars – for casting Angelina. 2 Stars for the whole story.

2. Incredible Hulk (Edward Norton). Other than fearing lightning, I fear that I might see another lousy Incredible Hulk movie once again. I wisely skipped the first version of this marvel comic character but unfortunately watched it either on a pirated copy of the public buses or from friends’ houses (also pirated, I suspect). But having watched almost all film being shown this week, I hesitatingly agreed to see the new Hulk movie with my wife. Good thing this new version erased all my doubts as the movie progresses. I was awed by the actions scenes, I find the CGIs are not exaggerated and the actors are convincingly good. Lastly, having an unexpected twist in the end makes it more interesting. See for yourself. 4 Stars.

1. Made of Honor (Patrick Dempsey. Michelle Monaghan). What better way to cap a week of wedding anniversary celebration, than to end it by watching what else? A wedding movie of course! The movie is about a platonic (or more aptly, hypothetical) relationship which led to a crazy love story. What sets this movie apart from other romantic movies is the idea of having one man being tagged and eventually agreeing to be the bride’s maid of honor.  Although come to think of it, IF I were in the shoes of the male character, I can’t imagine myself to last that long as just being a friend with a lady as lovely as Hannah.  4 Stars.

Don’t get me wrong, but whether I enjoyed the movies we’ve watched or not, it doesn’t mean that I didn’t enjoy the company of my dearest (wink!) wife. We’ve been in the movies 11 years ago (wink again) and hopefully we’d still be together to see more of it even if we’re as wrinkled as English bulldogs.