Hidden Soldiers!
Ang sagot ni Manny Pacquiao
nang tinanong siya kung ano
ang World’s Number 1 anti-dandruff
shampoo.

The text message above is definitely funny, but it is an ugly reflection of how most Pinoy discriminate someone who doesn’t speak fucking English fluently. This, also shows how narrow-minded most of us when it comes to how we measure intelligence and capability. No wonder we are still living in a developing country until now. Hypocrisy dominates most of our central traits which has blinded us to see genuine talent and ability. We always assume that when someone is good in speaking english, he or she is smart and intelligent and everything. How pathetically wrong!

Well, this post is definitely not intended to rant about how pathetic most Pinoy are. This post is intended to praise Manny Pacquiao, Oscar Dela Hoya’s new idol. The golden boy in the boxing arena who has been a reigning champion and living legend bowed down and surrendered to Pacman at the start of the ninth round in their recently concluded Dream Match at MGM Grand, Nevada, USA.

I never thought the game would end that way. Dela Hoya has more fighting advantages compared to Pacman. First, is the height advantage. Pacman is only 5′ 6″ tall compared to Dela Hoya’s 5′ 10″. Next, is the reach advantage. Dela Hoya has long arms compared to Manny which means a high hitting probability. The Golden Boy is also famous of his powerful left jab and has more fighting experiences compared to our pambansang kamao. But all of these expected advantages had been easily vanquished by Pacman’s agility, good footworks, lethal throws and punches, and a combination of consistent offensive and defensive moves.

Manny Pacquiao dominated the whole game from round one to round eight. He threw the first few punches in the first round and managed to avoid Dela Hoya’s. The Golden Boy was reduced to a mere punching bag in round four to eight. Pacman emerged victorious after Dela Hoya accepted defeat with an injured face and a black eye. Pacman, on the other hand, accepted the victory unscathed along with millions of victorious Filipino around the world. Our Pambansang Kamao has clearly obliterated USA’s Golden Boy after 8 rounds due to technical knock out. Yeeeyyyyyy!

N.B. Have you noticed that the background music played after each round was of Rammtein’s? I’m referring to GMA 7’s game coverage. Hehehe.

Photo Credits: BatchLinks

I watched the movie last night at Ayala Theater in Cinema 1. I got a ticket reservation from sureseats.com last week that’s why I managed to book a last full show schedule in the first day of screening here in PI. I immediately took off from the office when my CPU clock ticked off to 9:30PM. The Ayala theater is just located in front of our office building.

The mall was already closing up when I arrived and most of the stores were already closed. When I went upstairs to the cinema, there were already throngs of people who were going inside the theater. Most of them were females and a quarter were males. The inside of the cinema were jam packed with Twilight fans when a cinema crew ushered me to my reserved seat.

I really didn’t expect much from the movie because I know that it’s not easy to compress a three hundred plus pages of story into a 122-minute film. I’ve already read a lot of movie reviews and negative criticism write ups from the internet a few days before I decided to watch it. My expectation was low, but my acceptance was high. I was determined to watch the movie to show my love of the books and how I adored Stephenie Meyer’s (a plain housewife before her book became famous) creative imagination that enamored millions of avid fans worldwide.

The movie started off awkwardly. I guess that’s the right term. I expected Kristen Stewart to be really, really great, but it seems like her acting is kinda dry, no emotions. But I guess that’s really how Meyer portrayed Bella Swan in her book. Bella is always anxious to become the center of attention, she doesn’t want to be a burden to anybody even to her mom and dad. But this doesn’t justify Kristen Stewart’s emotionless portrayal in the first few scenes. The most awkward scene is that one in the Biology lab when Bella’s scent distracted Edward. It’s very awkward to watch a scene written in a book portrayed straight in the big screen. It’s because what you imagined in your head while you were reading the book is not exactly what you see in the screen.  So, this is a major fall back of a novel turned into a movie.  Every reader has their own interpretation or imagination.

Moreover, the movie all in all is okay. Rob Pattinson is definitely hot and he portrayed the character of Edward well. I guess there’s no one more appropriate than him to play Edward. You will definitely leave the theater falling in love with him. On the other hand, the relationship between the members of the Cullen family was portrayed properly. And Billy Burke (the one who played Charlie, Bella’s father) is really a good actor. Among all the Twilight casts, I can say that he’s really one of the best actors in the movie.

If I would rate the movie from 1 to 10, 7 would definitely my rating. For those people who haven’t read the book yet and are talking negative things against the story, you better read all the books first before you start stoning shits. I’ve been reading hundreds of fictional books since elementary, and the Twilight Series is definitely one of a kind. It’s so refreshing that Meyer gave my fave mythical character a chance to be seen in a different shade of light. Well, who wouldn’t like a vampire for a boyfriend now? Just kidding. So long penguins.

The TWILIGHT CARS

WARNING: There are lots of spoilers in this post. If you haven’t read the Twilight series yet and has a plan to read them, then, don’t read this post.

You might be wondering who the Cullens are. If you have already read the Twilight series, then they might be very familiar. The Cullens is a family of “cold-blooded” vampires in Stephenie Meyer’s books. But they are no ordinary vamps you have read in old and boring bloodsucker legends. They are modern day vampires. They don’t explode and turn into ashes when hit by the sunlight. They don’t drink human bloods. They don’t sleep in filthy coffins. They don’t have long and sharp fangs. They don’t wear black robes. All in all, they don’t do those pathetic things you used to know about vampires.

The Cullen family is headed by Dr. Carlisle, the handsome doctor who managed to co-exist with mortals in his three hundred years of existence; Esmee, the suicide victim who has been given the chance to a life of immortality; Jasper, the one who can control emotions and is the best fighter in the family; Alice, the one who has the gift to see the future; Rosalie, the most beautiful vampire according to Bella; Emmett, he is Rosalie’s lover and gifted with unbelievable physical strength; Edward, the ninety year old plus vampire who fell in love with a human and has the power to read minds, and later on Bella, the ordinary teen-ager who accepted her destiny to live the life as one of the immortal ones. These modern day vampire characters who graced the pages of Stephenie Meyer’s books became the keys to the series phenomenal success. And because they are modern-day characters they drive the conventional and the hippest cars in town. Let’s start with Isabella Swan’s (Bella) 1953 Chevrolet Pickup Truck.

Bella’s Chevy Pickup

This vehicle was given by her father (Charlie). This was originally owned by Billy Black, Jacob Black’s father. Anyways, Jacob is Bella’s best friend. This is the truck she used in going to her new school after she decided to continue her high school study in Forks. Forks, Washington is actually the main setting of all Twilight Saga Series. Next is Edward’s Volvo, the silver S60R.

This is the car he used from book 1 to book 3. I noticed that this is not mentioned in book 4. Next is Rosalie’s BMW M3 convertible.

Next is Carlisle’s Mercedes S55 AMG.

This is the vehicle he uses at work. Next is Emmett’s Jeep Wrangler.

Next is Edward’s “special occasion” car, the Aston Martin V12 Vanquish.

This is the car he used when he took Bella to the Prom in book 1. Next is Alice’s Porsche 911 Turbo.

This yellow porshe became Alice’s obsession when she and Bella went to Italy. Edward gave this to her as a special gift in exchange for her service in “baby-sitting” Bella. Next is Bella’s Mercedes S600 Guard.

This is the pre-wedding car Edward gave to Bella in book4. Stephenie Meyer called this in the book as Mercedes Guardian. This is the car that awed the two youngsters in the gasoline station when Bella stopped there. They assumed that she must be something since she’s driving a car that is used by the VIPs who are in need of high security. They don’t even think that this kind of vehicle has been released already in the market. They were too awed that they asked Bella’s permission to take a few snapshots so that their friends would believe them that such kind of car did really exist.  And last, but not the least, is another Bella’s car. It is her ‘after’ car, a Ferrari F430.

This is Edward’s post-wedding gift to her. She used this car in the middle and last parts of book 4. Bella is actually more exciting and more enticing in character in the last book.  Breaking Dawn is definitely the the best book in the series.

Twilight (book 1) the movie will be shown here in PI this December. The US premier will be on 11th of November. New Moon (book 2) will also be in big screens by 2010.  Eclipse (book 3), and Breaking Dawn (book 4) would definitely follow. I hope Midnight Sun (book 5) will be published soon. I can’t wait to read Edward Cullen’s side of the story.

Photo Credits: Stephenie Meyer, Voiture, CrepusCulo, 4WDandSportUtility, Akamai, RSSportscars, DTownLuxuryandAutoRental, and SportsCarCup

Do you want to watch movies for free? You can still catch up the movies from Cine Europa Film Festival at Onstage, Ayala Center Cebu. The Screening schedule is from Sept. 26-28. We watched “After the Wedding” yesterday. It’s a film from Denmark about a rich businessman in the brink of his death.

Cine Europa Film Festival features contemporary and critically-acclaimed films from different countries around Europe. Hurry up, and catch these movies for free.

Mozart in China(Austria) Danny and Li Wei, two ten-year-old boys from Salzburg, spend an adventurous summer on the southern Chinese island of Hainan. With the help of Mozart and a Chinese shadow princess they manage to save an old shadow theater from a greedy hotel chain.

A Perfect Match(Belgium) On the day of his forced retirement, a grumpy school principal decides to look for a wife on the Internet. It’s not love he is after. Merely companionship. He meets scores of women but can’t seem to make up his mind. Until his new housekeeper arrives. She is almost forty years younger than him and a total disaster at housekeeping. For the first time in what seems a lifetime, he falls totally and desperately in love.

Beauty in trouble(Czech Rep.) The Robert Graves poem by the same name inspired Jan Hrebejk and Petr Jarchovsky to tell the romantic story of a young woman dealing with dilemma of loving two men at once a dilemma between sexual dependence and assuring a future for herself and her children, a dilemma in her relationship to her mother and step-father and with her mother-in-law.

After the Wedding(Denmark) Jacob Petersen receives a donation of US$4 million for the orphanage he manages in India. Conditions are, he must return to Denmark and attend the wedding of the benefactor’s daughter, which caused an unexpected drama in his life.

Colorado Avenue(Finland) Colorado Avenue tells the story of Hanna, a young woman who immigrates to America determined to make money in the Great West and later returns to her home country to face civil war, alcohol smuggling and humiliation. With her American dollars she buys a parcel of rocky land and opens a country store. The store becomes the village centre and the local people begin to respect the industrious Hanna- or Dollar-Hanna as they choose to call her. The film deals with humiliation, shame, respect and making peace with one’s past and is set in the early years of Finland’s independence.

Love Songs(France) Love song tells the same story: “Too many people love you.”; “I can’t live without you.”; “Sorry” Les chansons d’amour is all about that.

Children of the Moon(Germany) Astronaut Paul flies to the moon. Lisa, a scientist, accompanies him. Every afternoon, 12-year-old Lisa has an appointment with her 6-year-old brother Paul. He is suffering the incurable “Disease of the Moon” and has to stay inside the house. As a pastime, Lisa has invented a fantasy game, and in the siblings’ imagination Paul is a spaceship captain who travels around, lost in space. But when Lisa falls in love for the first time, another appointment is getting in the way, and becoming more and more important. Brother and sister have to learn to adapt to the new reality.

Chemical Hunger(Italy) With a backdrop set in a grim housing project of a Milan suburb teeming with social tension, three youngsters, Claudio, Manuel and Maja, face up to the passage from youth to adulthood. Urban poverty, workers’ rights, and racial conflicts between Italina and Third World extracomunitari(people from outside the European Union) represent one set of related issues; Claudio’s career and romantic uncertainties and interactions with his more illegal pal Manuel are another. Italian rapper, Zulu, leader of the “99 Posse,” comments on the social situation in songs he sings like a Greek chorus.

One hundred steps(Italy) was the distance between the Impastato’s house and the house of Tano Badalamenti, an important Mafia boss, in the small Sicilian town of Cinisi. The movie is the story of Peppino Impastato, a young left-wing activist that in late seventies(when almost nobody dared to speak about Mafia, and several politicians maintained that Mafia did not even exist) repeatedly denounced Badalamenti crimes and the whole Mafia system using a small local radio station, with the arm of irony. In 1978 Peppino(30 years old) was killed by an explosion. The police archived the case as an accident or a suicide, but his friends never accepted this thesis.

Night run(The Netherlands) When Dennis van der Horst gets the chance to obtain an extremely lucrative taxu license of the only taxi-company MOTAX in Amsterdam, he cannot believe his luck and thinks his days as a hustler are over. Soon he finds out, however, that his license is worthless as the law has been changed and competition on the taxi-market will be allowed. A taxi-war on the streets of Amsterdam is the result. Dennis gets entangled into the criminal organization behind MOTAX and he finally decides to confront the man who is pulling the strings, in order to free himself from the mess he is in.

The Paper will be blue(Romania) The movie is extremely significant didactic film of the Romanian cinema because it illustrates a crucial period 19 years ago which changed the history of the country. Hirtia va fi albastra is the Romanian title of the film which takes us back to the night of December 22, 1989 when the regime of Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu finally collapsed, and rage, paranoia and revolution are in the air.

Un Franco, 14 pesetas(Spain) Spain, 1960. Two friends named Martin and Marcos decide to look for jobs in Switzerland, the free and progressive part of Europe. They will have to adapt to a very different way of life there.

Latebloomers(Switzerland) Lisi encourages Martha(80), to realize a long-held dream: to open a botique with her own hand-made lingerie. This news turns the placid Swiss Emmental village upside down. When Martha’s son, the vicar, orders her to close the shop, she and her bestfriends decide it’s high time to show the village what they are made of.

Vitus(Switzerland) Vitus is a boy who almost seems to be from another planet: He has hearing like a bat, he plays piano like a virtuoso and studies encylopedias at the age of five. No wonder his parents begin to anticipate a brilliant future for him. The want Vitus to become a pianist. However, the little genius prefers to play in his eccentric grandfather’s workshop. He dreams of flying and of a normal childhood. Ultimately, with one dramatic leap, Vitus takes control of his own life.

And when did yhou last see your father?(United Kingdom) is Blake Morrison’s moving and candid memoir of his father in the weeks leading up to his death. After his father’s death Morrison questions the nature of the bond between them, articulately expressing the contradictions, frustrations, love and loss bound into the complicated relationships which most of us have with our parents as we grow up.

Seats are on a first-come, first serve basis. These free movies will be screened in Cagayan De Oro from 3rd to 5th of October at Rodelsa Hall, Liceo de Cagayan University. Visit this site for more details.

I’m always a fan of KC, and I even visit her blog every now and then. One thing I like about her is her boyishness, and she’s really a down to earth person. Disregarding all her regal qualities and attributes, she really is beautiful inside and out.

Before I watched this movie, I already heard feedback about her acting skills. Some said she should just remain in stage plays or just be good in her commercial modeling career because she doesn’t have that X factor in acting in TV or in the big screen.

My reaction was actually quite neutral for I really don’t judge anything unless I’ve seen or experienced it myself. So, I watched this movie yesterday and I can say that the people’s feedback are quite true.

KC doesn’t look convincing when she cries. It looks like she’s a character in a horror movie when she sobs, that is, she looks more scared than sad. The scene wherein she mistaken Richard as an intruder is very exaggerated. She’s so stiff in her entire screen appearances that I feel like I’m sitting with my back straight and my chain up.

Well, there’s always a room for improvements. This is her first movie and I guess it’s normal to be criticized especially when you’re that popular, and smart, and all.

Anyways, I really don’t like the story of the film. It’s a very typical Tagalog movie wherein you can easily predict the flow of the events. KC and Richard have no chemistry at all. And I guess the people who showed up yesterday were just there because of curiosity. Well, who won’t be intrigued if it’s Sharon Cuneta and Gabby Conception’s daughter’s first movie?

Have you imagined yourself walking in a garden very late in the afternoon? The sun slowly sets, the wind a bit chilly, stilly surroundings, a familiar chirping of birds from trees afar, dried leaves all around you, everything seems stagnant, and a feeling of emptiness creeping inside you…

That’s how I felt when I watched this movie. Silk is way too different from any other movies I’ve seen. The scenes are too serene and melancholic, yet too vivid. The unfolding of characters is softly sculpted that you would slowly learn to like each one of them. The story yielded a climax of guilt-provoking scenes, yet it’s not actually what it seems. The tip of the climax sends a message to everyone about the congruency of true love and unconditional love. That big, red muscle in the center of your rib cage would definitely utter a sigh of longing as the protagonist unveils the most precious secret of his existence. (Hehehe!) (Photo from IMDB.com)

Photo Credit: Movie.Moldova.Org

EOD

You can download the movie here

I can’t get enough with Basic Instinct 2. If you haven’t watched the movie yet then you should watch it as soon as possible.  It is in that movie I first heard of the word “Risk Addiction“. Sharon Stone played the role of a risk-addict novelist who would do anything to quench her thirst for risky stuff, like finger-fucking while driving her car (risk of getting caught and risk of having a brutal road accident), paying a man-whore for sex and a secret gang-bang or orgy) (risk of having a disease, being caught by people, risk of social isolation ), committing sexual-oriented crimes (risk of getting caught by the police, risk of going to prison), and a lot more.

Sharon Stone’s character in the movie is unstoppable and she has the drive to do anything she wants. She even manages to manipulate her psychoanalyst and make him believe that he’s a psychotic. I think the movie exaggerates a lot in that part. I mean in the real world, the psychoanalyst should not be that attached to his patient. In the story Sharon Stone manages to lure him using her erotic sexual charms.

So, what’s with risk-addicts anyway? They are individuals who have high dopamine and serotonin on their bloody brains. Dopamine and serotonin are neurotransmitters which are responsible of the occurrence of various attitudes which turned out to become the basis of personality development. The level of these brain chemicals can determine if an individual is compulsive or impulsive, easy-going or independent and the likes. Risk-addicts have high level of serotonin, this means their brains need high level of stimulation before they can feel satisfaction or before they can feel anything.

People who are into danger-seeking activities like bungee jumping, mountain climbing, drug abuse, sex abuse, and the likes are risk-addicts. Their lives are defined on how they outwitted risks and winked at death. The common cause of this addiction is the fear of boredom. People who have high levels of dopamine cannot just sit in the corner and wait for someone to come. They are the ones who go out and seek for fun. So, are you a risk-addict?

LOL! ITSOAI means In the Sarcophagus of an Immortal, my blogsite in blogger. I just switched here in wordpress first day of this week. I have to do some link exchanges because my blogroll is kinda empty…ahehehe. Anyways, it’s time to keep the ball rolling…

I just spent 8 hours watching Supernatural. Deathgod lent me a dvd for
the first season which is consist of 23 episodes. I watched episodes 1 to 3 three days ago and continue watching episodes 4-17 until today. I had actually seen season 2 last all saints and souls days. I only managed to watch episodes 1 to 14. And the verdict is? Hmmmn…not that bad. I mean it’s the same with any other supernatural series like Charmed, Buffy, and the likes. The differences are the characters and the twists of events in the story. On the other hand, I’m shamelessly smitten by Dean (the older leading character), ahehehe…

I just watched SAW and the movie entails more than it’s genre and more than the intensity of a jigsaw, savagely used by Dr. Lawrence to cut off his leg. Before I watch this movie I’ve already heard some remarks from my friends that it’s pretty bloody, scary, terrifying, and everything gory.  They told me to watch it because they know that I’m into this stuff. Well, I watched the first part and I’m quite glued up on the screen from the start to the end.

SAW is not really the jigsaw…no…no…no…It’s that “thing” the
serial killer “SEE” that the victims didn’t. The serial killer can be compared to Robin Hood…oh, well…not so…He is a demented fellow. Anyways, Robin Hood because he tried to change his victims’ lives by giving them roles in his brainsick-crazy games, and the ones who survive would know “how great it is to be alive”.

As what I’ve said the SERIAL KILLER is SICK. He’s SICK both mentally and PHYSICALLY. He has a malady that cannot be cured and his KILLINGS are way of reminding his victims how important it is to be alive. His illness is eating him inside and his unhinged mind instructs him to do some bloody games. He called his victims pathetic because he himself is piteous and he’s a hecatomb of his own catastrophe.

That is so far my psychology of the character of the villain. I still have to watch 2 and 3…yuummm…And I picked a very important lesson from this movie…as what the serial killer said “MOST PEOPLE ARE JUST TOO UNGRATEFUL TO BE ALIVE.” So goddamn true…

Remember mortals…”It’s GREAT TO BE ALIVE…” Are you grateful that you are alive right at this very second, reading my post? Take a minute of reflection mortals and beware… HE’s maybe standing at your back, ready to abduct you and make you a character in one of his morbid, macabre games…hahahahahahaha…

~eod~