Movies – Page 2 – Marcus Can Blog

In Pursuit of Happyness, Live…

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

The main character’s name is Chris (played by WillSmith) like mine.
He has a Rubik’s Cube and solved it after several minutes with a potential employer inside the taxi 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 write
Can solve the Rubik’s Cube in 3 minutes or less

He is jobless. Hmm. Not me…yet.
DOS (I noticed that office computers have the green screen) is the “IN” thing then, just like Windows Vista is today.
Sometimes, using the words probably and possibly might have a different 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.
Chris’ son inspired him to strive more. TBD, for (Trivia: Real life father and son, Will and Jaden Smith played the role of father and son in this movie.)

In the end, Chris’ pursuit of happyness came true. After all his hard work, embarrassment and perseverance, he founded the Gardner Rich and had a stake at a multi-million dollar company.

By the way, Chris ended as a broker…

Death Race: A Film By Filipinos

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 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 its projected text 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 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 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 needed 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 drivers who love to mount anything on their jeepneys from horse figures, shiny CDs, LEDs, more LEDS, horns, and unlimited antennas just to name a few–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 sometime, just sometimes (wink wink), I wish I had those buttons inside our 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

The X-Files and Marriage

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 showing. The moment the first note of its theme song plays, 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 time 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 began to wonder if conspiracies especially on the part of the U. S. government exist–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, 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 second X-Files movie still didn’t do justice to the TV series. It has actually gotten worse than the first 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 but 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:

Finally, their (Mulder and Scully) platonic relationship ended. Good for Mulder, bad for us male Scully fans.
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.)
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.
Pedophile priest considered alien? Just about time I guess.
The snowy Virginia setting really added to the cinema’s chilly temperature. Hot brewed coffee highly recommended instead of sodas.
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 this latest X-Files movie is a flop. There must be one good story behind it all.

***

Why The X-Files and marriage are related

Scully: What are you doing?

Mulder: Trying to ignore you.

While I’m still trying to figure out the actual leader of this sinister plot of getting me late for the movie. 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). Come to think of it The X-Files and marriage may seem to have some commonality at all. Now you have a clue of who my suspect is. Well, here’s more why marriage and The X-Files are related.

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.

Sometimes the episode doesn’t seem to make sense just like your…(you fill in; I’m not getting quoted for this)

Sometimes you get obsessed with the show, of course, just like how you sometimes get obsessed with your wife.

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.

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)

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!

Lucky 9 Movies

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 we imagined our home as a hotel out of town. We let the air-conditioning on every night, woke up late, ate without counting calories, and went out of the hotel any time we like. A little bit of crazy creativity usually works.

After that wedding day celebration with wifey’s team members, the other days of the week were spent mall hopping, window shopping, and of course, watching movies. And since it’s our ninth year, I will do a brief review of the nine movies we’ve seen recently—not necessarily within the wedding anniversary week. These movies are rated 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).

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 together in one film. 3 Stars.

Kung Fu Panda (Jack Black. Jackie Chan. Lucy Liu. Angelina Jolie). Being a fan of cartoons, I could 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 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.

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

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.

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 us that most soldiers fight with what they believe is right regardless which side they’re with. 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.

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 would 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.

Wanted (Angelina Jolie. Morgan Freeman). Have you ever had a time when you felt like they cast a well-known celebrity to compensate a movie’s poor story? In my opinion, this movie is one of those. Angelina 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 watched it in the end. I could have given in to the idea of the intelligent bullets but I had 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.

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 agreed with reservations 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.

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 couldn’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 that 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.

dinoimax — Wifey getting crazy somewhere in Malaysia.

Of Pricey Seafood and Iron Man

The recent gas price hike didn’t keep us inside our house on a weekend. It’s not that we’re rich or never really cared if a liter will cost us around Php 50.00 (>USD 1.00) but it’s just that we craved for Indian food since last week. And Sunday was a much awaited day and when it finally arrived, we were so raring to go. I was looking forward to this day that I had my red collared shirt pressed.

Originally we were headed for Bollywood restaurant in Greenbelt 3 Makati. After attending mass, however, in the Shrine of Jesus church, we decided that maybe the giant Mall of Asia (MOA) would have some Indian food to offer. Less than 10 minutes of driving, most of it spent at the exit and pedestrian crossings, from one parking lot to another we reached the mall.

Like past visits in MOA, I had mixed feelings of excitement and confusion as soon as we stepped inside. This mall is so huge that it has a dizzying effect especially if you don’t exactly have a plan in mind to where you’re headed. Or maybe I’m just not the window shopping expert who relaxes at the sight and thought of the numerous stores ahead.

It was already lunch time so we immediately checked the stores locator. Bingo! We spotted an obvious Bollywood alternative. The name itself shouts I’m an Indian food restaurant: Prince of Jaipur. I likewise noted Fish & Co.‘s location. I got hungrier with anticipation.

Disappointingly, the Indian restaurant is deserted. It was as if a police caution tape has been placed around it while its surrounding restaurants had flocks of patrons, some are even eating al fresco. For whatever reasons, none were inside Jaipur’s. An empty Indian restaurant during lunch time is just not a good sign so we ditched the idea of eating there. Maybe our second choice would be good.

Fish & Co. was enticing. Once we got inside the restaurant, the smell of the place tells me this one is a hit. The place is almost packed and everyone seems to be enjoying their meal. Happy customers mean good food, right? As we got seated the menu was promptly provided. The price list got my attention though. But since my mind was conditioned to have anything Indian, the Seafood curry on the menu convinced me to give it a chance. My wife picked the Prawn Fettuccini.

Our orders were served in no time. The presentation was just like in the menu book. So far my two senses agree that I got the right stuff. But just as my olfactory and vision are feasting on what’s on the table, my taste buds tell me that I’ve been robbed yet I continued eating. I even tried if my wife got better pasta than she ever had. Unfortunately, the umhs and the ahhs never came. Both orders didn’t deserve a round of applause. And by the way, the clam chowder is a shame compared to Don Henrico’s. ‘Curry $14, Pasta $10, having Sunday lunch at Fish & Co. priceless’ is just commercial tagline that won’t fit. The food is overpriced, period.

Next time, we’re eyeing MOA’s Sakae Sushi. Does buffet ring a bell?

***

ironman

Good thing we got our ticket for the 1:20 PM showing of the Iron Man at Centerstage—one reason to scram out of Fish & Co.

As I’m never an avid reader of marvel comics, I’m just going to give my pros and cons of this movie just the way I saw it.

Pros:

I dozed off at the first part of the Errr, this must be in Cons.
Setting aside Mythbusters, I find the effects such as the transformation and Iron Man’s flight great (I’m a sucker for anything that flies—except flies). We never know if such technology would someday come to reality but to quote ‘it’s all funded by the military’ should give us a hint.
The sound effects are overwhelming. Hearing the Jericho blast out of the missile pod makes me smile and that sonic boom Iron Man creates is pure pleasure.
Gadgets and cars galore!
The humor lines and puns are perfect.

Cons:

Story drags at first part plus the fact that someone invented something sophisticated inside a cave raises eyebrows.
Surgery and implants inside a crude environment? I wonder if anyone would survive for I could be wrong though, I’m no medical expert.
Let stupid villains be a thing of the past please. And because this movie continues to stereotype people, somewhere in the Middle East is likely an anti-Iron Man sentiment brewing.
Gwyneth Paltrow’s character is pathetic. Must be the talent fee that convinced her to still do it.

Overall, this movie is great if watched with a couple of friends over a bottle of beer just to kill time. And remember, always shutdown thoughts of the Mythbusters prior to watching the movie.

Let’s Kill

Watching the movie Untraceable just a couple of days ago made me realize that my blog site’s title may appear threatening to potential visitors. The words killing time may be taken as a pun of some sort. I could have had visitors ranging from innocent bloggers to eager killers or disturbed individuals who get their high by watching someone die, live via the internet. Morbidly, Untraceable depicts such characters.

The villain in the movie is portrayed as a young man who maintains a site named KillWithMe which is basically a YouTube.com from hell. For the first time I seem to make connection to the disclaimer at the end of every movie: …any similarity…is purely coincidental. So just to make things clear, that’s not me, not inspired by my blog site, folks. FYI.

I don’t know but I picked the blog title Kill Time out of thin air during my registration on blogger.com. It is just because I relate blogging as a good way to kill time–no pun intended whatsoever. Promise. Hehe. (Play Psycho theme here).

Since I’m into giving some sort of very brief review for this movie, I’ll finish it off with my rating. I rate this movie 4 out of 5 stars. It has the scary factor of Disturbia, but with the oldie yet goodie Diane Lane this time in the basement. Needless to say this gives me another reason not to think of living in a typical American home at least for now.

Anyone wants to kill with me? Please just do blog. No more, no less (Psycho music keeps on playing in the background). Visit Killtimedoblog.blogspot.com. I swear I killed time with it and murdered some English (again, no pun intended) in the process.

(This reminds me of a friend who loves to say Kill All Violence, the most ironic and funny statement I’ve heard next to Alf ’s “I Kill Me.” Ti abi.)

1000 Kilometers, 1 B-Movie, 3 Coffees

Yesterday, I had to bring the car back to Honda for its first 1000 km check-up even if it meant having only three hours of sleep and waking up by mid-day after a stressful 12-hour graveyard shift. I was at Honda Alabang at exactly 1 PM as scheduled.

Expecting the check-up to last only for about two hours, I spent some time eating in their homely cafeteria and appreciating the customer lounge’s comfy couch and widescreen TV which was showing an HBO thriller. I likewise tried some cat naps to fill my lack of sleep.

Two hours later I was called by the service agent but to my dismay it was just to fill in the service form and the actual check-up would commence right after I completed the needed details. I learned that the check-up itself would be after another two hours more. Damn. Two more hours of reruns. I was craving for strong caffeine already.

An idea then came up. ATC here I go again. I was thinking I could get doze off inside the cinema. Ironically, as I was preparing myself for a 115-peso sleep, my body, as if under hypnotism led me to The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. My brain was trying to sleep but my body craved for caffeine. Just great. Inside me was an ongoing battle if who the really boss is.

So my body got its coffee, my brain came next and it was selecting between four movies. Well a sleep is what I need so the sleepy brain picked what seems to be a B-movie. Dreamland in the next few minutes.

Right after I grabbed my ticket for the movie Cloverfield, I excitedly entered the cool and almost vacant cinema, and then picked my spot away from the scattered moviegoers. I don’t normally enter in the middle of a film, but sleep was the main purpose.

I was 30 minutes late from the start of the movie and my brain was already trying to prep itself into snoozefest. I don’t know if I’m that dazed as I find the scenes quite dizzying but I realized sooner that it’s part of the movie’s effect. The Blair Witch Project came into my mind–Cloverfield is set to first person perspective thus creating an amateur effect. Perfect. A copycat is what I need to fall asleep.

I don’t know if my brain succeeded into getting its much needed sleep even after my body got its dose of the strong and large Americano. I never knew who won the who-is-the-boss struggle but I woke up watching movie trailers. So I looked at my watch and it was just an hour and a half. The movie finished earlier than I expected. It was a short film.

Upon checking my cellphone I found out that Honda still has not sent me an SMS to claim Mary. That gave me another hour to kill. So the curiosity to confirm if I was having nightmares while inside the cinema or had actually witnessed a weird ending of the movie made me decide to watch the film from the very beginning.

The trailers ended. The cinema lights once again dimmed and the featured movie starts once again. And just as I find the ending weird enough, the start itself is just as unpredictable. A couple of people actually booed after seeing the chroma bars and as some weird text negatives uncontrollably started appearing and rolling. Unknown to most of us, the film has started.

Cloverfield’s plot I soon found out is about a couple of young New Yorkers having a farewell party for a friend.One of them is taking a documentary of everything in the apartment. Some are recording their wishes and goodbyes in the video.

The twist of the story came. While at the peak of the merry-making a loud noise is heard and the place shakes with all the lights in every building outside going out momentarily. What happens next is reminiscent of the 911 attack. There is panic. Buildings crumble. People running around the ravaged and dusty streets. Everything looks surreal.

Chaos and confusion ensue and the video shakes further and everything blurs. Then the amateur cam captures a monstrous creature that would put Godzilla to shame. It delivers a damaging blow to the Brooklyn Bridge and it decapitates the historic Statue of Liberty sending the head crashing on the parked cars miles away. Suddenly, I feel like I was among those running for their lives. Surprisingly, I was beginning to enjoy the movie. I was immersed.

As the plot thickens, and as emotions and mayhem intensify, I felt something in my thigh beginning to vibrate and buzz. I was wondering if I was experiencing a 4D sensation but damn, it was my cellphone alarm going off. It was time for me to leave. Never before have I hated leaving a B-movie. I went out feeling bad not having finished the show. I walked out as if with the dilemma if I’ll stay and finish all of it or getting Mary out before Honda closes at 6 PM.

My mind’s made up. Ten minutes before closing time I was back in Honda’s service area. It’s getting dark outside when I drove away, and I was still thinking of what I’ve just watched. I was hoping that I’ll be transported back to Cloverfield and would have cared less if Mary and I gets entangled in the devastation. I really got hooked.

***

There were a couple more coffee shops Mary brought us within its 1000 km break-in period. She brought us to Bag of Beans in Tagaytay after a cold night dinner at Leslie’s with my wife’s brother and sister-in-law.

A week after that, we took the Talisay road going to Sto. Tomas Batangas. Mary endured the steep, tight and blind turns with me having her just at second gear for almost 15 kilometers to avoid careening off the road. Eventually, that trip took us to a cozy and warm coffee shop in Tanauan, Dairymoor.

And the verdict? All three coffees taste the same. I just can’t remember which shop costs the least. Definitely not The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf.

***

Wrote this blog’s draft while at our company’s parking lot, waiting for my wife.

Beowulf: The Future of Animation

After coming back to Honda Cars Alabang like a restless car buff ghost haunting the place until he gets what he wants, I dropped by Ayala Town Center to catch a van going back to Cavite. Curiosity however guided my feet to pass by the cinemas to check out the movies. Three cinemas were showing Beowulf but I remembered someone on multiply.com had a bad review of it so I scrapped the idea of buying the tickets.

With Bread Talk delicacies on hand I proceeded to the van terminal and was looking forward to be at home an hour after lunch and maybe watch PBB or have my regular siesta. Disappointingly, the vans were all empty and the dispatcher mentioned that the first trip will leave by 2 PM which left me no other choice but to go back inside the mall and convince myself to check Beowulf despite the threat of a possibly bad movie. But the expected didn’t come. My siesta clock shut off and there I was in front of the big screen, eyes wide open.

From the very start of the movie until the end I can’t believe everything is 3D animation. I’ve mentioned this before that time will come when we can’t differentiate an animated character to a real one and I think it is now starting to happen. The cast and crew of this movie did a great job. I don’t know the technology behind such realism but whatever it is, it is the start of the future of animation.

Anyone watching this film would notice the resemblance of the animated characters to the real actors behind the face and voice. Just after watching Meet Joe Black, I immediately recognized John Hopkins is Hrothgar. And there’s Unferth whose accent and stare revealed he is John Malkovich. Of course, people who have seen Angelina Jolie would immediately know who those pouty lips belong to even in animation. She plays the seductive Grendel’s mother. I don’t know the rest of the actors behind the other characters but I’m sure the resemblance could be spot on.

I doubt though if Ray Winstone (Beowulf) has all the battle scars on his body. But this is another thing that I find fascinating about this movie. It may have cost a bit more to produce such quality of animation than using prosthetics or make up but the advantage weighs more than the cost. For one, the producers had the pleasure of doing whatever they want for an actor or character to look like. Beowulf could definitely set the trend.

The story may have some flaws but the experience of watching the awesome animation totally compensated for all of it. It was soooo good that I think viewing it on IMAX could be more thrilling and fun. Wait, forget fun, for this is not for the squeamish or weak of heart. And just a word of advice, do not bring and eat pizza or even Bavarian donuts (or any food that drips) if you’re picking this movie. Trust me, you’ll regret it. I just hope I’m not going to have nightmares tonight.

A Lovely Death Story

“How I was born I do not remember, How I will die I do not know” – Russian Proverb

Just last week while channel surfing I passed by HBO and saw Meet Joe Black about to be played. I can’t remember when we watched this in the cinema plus I have forgotten what this movie is all about. That’s typical me. Trying to figure out what I missed, I was glued on our couch again but with my thumb on the remote’s channel button waiting to press it any moment I get a hint of a boring story.

While watching I tried to recall past films about death. My mind replayed horrifying faces of the Scream mask; of a man in black hood with the ever familiar scythe; of heads rotating past 360 degrees; of men and women in death beds; and of bloodied soldiers dying in the battlefield. Those films portrayed death for what it is–morbid and scary. Interestingly, I set aside the remote few minutes after Meet Joe Black started. The scene opened with the character Bill Parrish abruptly waking up and having a confusing conversation with someone he can’t see, not sure if he is only hearing things.

More intriguing things followed and I would sooner realize that this movie would separate itself from any other films that portray death. Maybe its about casting. Death (known as Joe Black) is played by Brad Pitt, the prospective “victim” Bill Parrish is Anthony Hopkins and his lovely daughter Susie Parrish is Claire Forlaine, whose twitching lips and sharp probing eyes would catch my attention every now and then. Or maybe its the subtlety of the story despite the topic of death that stands out the most.

A mixture of emotions were running in my head as the film progresses. There’s the uncomfortable thought that sooner or later we will all die anyway. Then there is comic relief in the idea of meeting your angel of death and with him trying to calm you down to prevent a heart attack so as not to ruin his vacation here on earth. The writer also made a perfect pun of making Joe Black an IRS agent–there’s nothing more certain in life than death and taxes, remember? And there’s also the idea of getting in love with death. It’s absurd but for the first time Meet Joe Black made me find dying worth the wait.

The last moments in the movie aren’t predictable either. Instead of the boring death bed farewell, there were grand fireworks and partying. There’s Bill anxious yet firm in the midst of anticipation of leaving his family, business and aristocratic lifestyle and subsequently facing the unknown. To cap the story, the last conversation was perfectly chilling. “Should I be afraid?” Bill asked. Then Joe Black answered, “Not a man like you.”

Wanted: Evil Employees

Out of boredom last week I convinced myself, though carless, to try watching a movie alone as I haven’t done this for a long while. After a hearty lunch of Wendy’s Bacon Cheeseburger, which I noticed by the way that its bacons are getting shorter and shorter every time I buy one, I picked Resident Evil Apocalypse out of the other three movies in SM Dasma’s homey cinema to spend my day off.

In the movie, Alice is portrayed as just among several “Alices” bioengineered by the infamous Umbrella Corp whose employees are now living several hundred feet under a vast deserted dried land. On the surface are hundreds of undead aimlessly walking and waiting for any human they can bite and infect.

After appreciating the fact that the movie started with Alice (Milla Jovovich) laying butt-naked and wet in the shower, I sooner got bored with it. I always knew that I start to hate a movie when I catch myself in deep thought while watching it. Some people would consider it a good sign but not me. I watched The Bourne Ultimatum last time and I was just plainly immersed in it despite the Hollywood boo-boos, it entertained me nevertheless.

I drifted away from this Resident Evil movie when something about its hi-tech underground headquarters caught my attention. In there are blinking red, green and white consoles, most likely computers that would humble even today’s Quad Cores, and a totally clean meeting rooms and lab. So what’s wrong with it then? Let me tell you.

Did anyone ever wonder where the technicians, janitors, laundry personnel and chefs are in that setting? Do bad guys in that corporation still need these employees to keep their covert operations running on a day to day basis? And do these bad guys require evil-minded employees as well?

Just imagine finding these classified ads:

“Umbrella Corporation wants you:

Engineers. Qualification: Must possess a degree in BS Computer Engineering or equivalent. Experience with an evil empire preferred.

Chefs. Qualification: Must have cooked for Bin Laden. He/she should expect finding mutant mice running around the kitchen (if the evil lab technicians had a snafu).

Janitors. Qualification: Had experienced cleaning lots of blood. May perform some jobs with morgue personnel. And other than general trash, he may have to deal with disposing dead bodies. May be assigned to dispose non-performing Alices (I’d like this job).

Laundry Personnel. Qualification: Experienced washing blood-stained tuxedos. Must be able to press it properly in preparation for a spic-and- span evil officer’s meeting.

Barbers. Qualification: Must have good control of scissors and blades. Possible promotion to hit squad personnel if cutting is found precise.”

I’m also wondering if Payroll and HR is appropriate. Hmm, an aggrieved evil employee? Not applicable I guess.

So there goes, whatever empire or corporation we are all in, it still needs the blue-collar employees. Every one is still essential to an organization–from the managers to the grass root level. These suave, clean-shaved evil guys who attend meetings in suit and tie won’t even exist without the low-level employees.

After all there’s a bright side to this disappointing movie. Now I’m inspired. It now appears that there are still lots of jobs around. Only if I can find that newspaper with Umbrella Corporation’s classified ads. Probably an evil newspaper boy is out with it.