I wish I am Batman!

But I happen to be Iron Man. Maybe because I do not feel comfortable wearing cape and thongs. hehehe

Your results:
You are Iron Man

Iron Man 90% Green Lantern 85% Superman 75% Spider-Man 70% Hulk 60% Wonder Woman 53% Supergirl 53% Robin 48% Catwoman 45% The Flash 45% Batman 40%	Inventor. Businessman. Genius.
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Cocky. Comic. Crazy. Hancock!

Hancock is my (almost) perfect superhero. Extraordinary strength sans the  superficials.  He is full of angst without being emotional.  He is drama-free and has no pretensions.  He does things his own way without trying to impress anyone.  He is just doing it the way he knows it how.  In a corporate setting, he is results-oriented without minding the process.  He is effective but not efficient. Initially!

The movie has introduced another infamous and reluctant superhero played convincingly by Will Smith. The story presented who is Hancock,  how he came about, his strengths and his weaknesses.  Because of his non-conforming heroic practices, a good-hearted PR man (played by Jason Bateman),  which once saved by Hancock, dared to clean the bad reputation of Hancock. With the universe coming to play, this PR man’s wife (Charlize Theron)  happens to be the wife of Hancock several decades ago. Yes, superheroes never age.

The lead actors were exemplary and consistently good.  Otherwise, Oscars would have not recognized them in their previous works.  Will Smith never fails to entertain me.  He is funny alright but I am not his fan. Though,  I have great respect for him as an actor.  Charlize remains to be one of the most beautiful and most intelligent actors of her time.  Her character requires not much emotions, hence,  she did not overdo it. Bravo!

I am looking forward to the next Hancock with a more powerful villain. I understand that this is just a prelude to more installments of this Will Smith franchise.  I want to see  Charlize’s character  displaying more of her powers as well ala husband-wife team.

Till the next more cocky, more comic and crazier but finally, refined Hancock!

The Gift called death

Note: I had this speech delivered on my Communications III class when I was in college. My professor then asked indiscriminatingly how could I come up with such a serious subject at a young age. Reading it again, I can’t help but smile with my seemingly acquired spirituality then and I sound so preachy huh?!?  I cannot remember where I am coming from when I wrote this. Maybe, it was the movie I had recently watched then.

She is a simple woman with simple wants in life. She is such a street smart, the way her job being a “torera” trained her to be. Her name is Curacha, the lead character of the movie, “Curacha, Ang Babaeng Walang Pahinga.” As the title suggested, she longs for rest as she never had one. Not the kind of rest we literally think of, to take a break from her job of being a live sex performer. She desires for rest that comes along with death. Eternal rest, so to speak.

Francis Bacon once said, “I do not believe that any man fears to be dead but only the stroke of death.” I somehow wish to believe this happens but in reality, it does not. Most of us regard death as something horrible. Something to be afraid of. We even have a clear picture of a personification of death which we also call by the name of Death, with a capital D. But all over the Bible, it is written, “Fear nothing but God!” If that is the case, I would like to ask you, why do you have to fear death?

Not long ago, I also feared death. I was so afraid to die young. But I realized, death is something else. It is more than a horrible fact. There must be a deeper connotation of what death really means. And that’s what I want you to realize this very moment.

First, life is a gift and so is death. God lend us life so He is responsible of taking it from us. In the bok, “Life After Death” by Rosa Claudia, the author noted that there is a greater life that awaits us soon after death. She farther added that it is more of a spiritual undertaking unlike here on earth which is more physiological. In the Gospel of John 11:25, Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life, he who believes in Me though he is dead shall live again and whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.” For death is a gift from God, it could also

MOH was made with honor.

Somehow!

I am happy to have seen Made of Honor with Van as I haven’t gone to cinemas for sometime (My last was Iron Man which was eons ago). I was even happier with what I saw. MOH was one cute movie to cheer you up without trying to impress the film critics. MOH exudes both commercial and sex appeal with its equally beautiful lead actors. It was light and displayed comic sequences that effortlessly made me laugh.

I like most on the movie is the use of metaphor with Tom (Patrick Dempsey) unknowingly  associating Hannah (Michelle Monaghan) with dogs and even the film’s third wheel was playfully linked to a dog in one scene. I also love the effort of Tom (with the help of his male friends) to be the best Maid of Honor he could be.  I admit to certain extent I feel like I am  watching another movie in the tradition of “My Best Friend’s Wedding” etc. The bottomline is, I did enjoy  watching MOH.

Though the movie happens to be light, MOH imparted me lessons in life and love.  One is, we are always looking for the perfect person but are we sure that same person is perfect for us?

It is easy letting go “When Love Begins”

It is easier for me to relate to Filipino films rather than those from Hollywood. Though I also like Chinese epic films with those flying-while-fighting scenes and sub-titles. Haven’t I mentioned I am a movie fan?

I have seen “When Love Begins” at Powerplant Mall with two of my closest girlfriends. We were also together when we watched “A Love Story” twice on the opening day. But we cannot have that same eagerness and excitement when we saw Aga Muhlach and Anne Curtis’ latest flick. I think the movie failed in a lot of aspects. Allow me to unleash the (trying hard) film critic in me…

“W.L.B.” failed to deliver a beautiful love story. What could have been a great one was plagued by unnecessary subplots. Though the movie was fair enough in somehow displaying both sides of the environment-progress issue, such discourse requires more length in another film. The mother of Ben having sick added nothing but melodramatic scenes. The movie may stand alone without it. Also, I felt no remorse from Mitch. Alright, she may have been a good daughter for standing by her Dad but was she not hurt that much for leaving Ben? Even, the love scene seems so choreographed. I expected and want more – more emotions, more love scenes, and more worth remembering lines.

I have seen previous (and great) collaborations of Mr. Joey Reyes and Aga like “May Minamahal” and “Kung Ako Na Lang Sana.” Mr. Muhlach failed to convince me this time that he is a lawyer who is supposedly admirable for his worthy causes. The lead stars are both beautiful, admittedly, but I don’t feel the chemistry as much when I watched JB and Celine. I expected more from Joey Reyes. I enjoyed seeing him in Pinoy Dream Academy and his “Sakal..” but his latest work is not his best.

The movie’s saving grace is Christopher De Leon. He deserved to be the drama king. He knows fine acting very well. He never cease to be excellent no matter how great or how little his part. Bravo!!!

The film was was adorned with much hype by Star Cinema prior to it release but it failed my expectations. I would rather see “A Love Story” again for the nth time but I am still looking forward to Caregiver.

Iron Man is my new superhero…

I am a Batman fan. I have seen all Batman movies with all the different actors wearing the Bat suit. I admire Bruce Wayne’s riches and intelligence and his alter-ego’s gadgetry and infamous villains. I want my superhero to be all-human, neither an alien nor a mutant, neither I want his powers coming from a precious stone or a barbell. I am solid to Batman, not until I have seen Iron Man. I thought he was a robot or cyborg created to save mankind but Iron Man is Tony Stark wearing an all-iron costume. Iron Man must rather be called the Man of Steel and not Superman.

“What the mind can conceive, the body can achieve”

This commercial tagline of an adult medical supplement applies also to Iron Man. The lead character played by Robert Downey Jr. is  convincingly genius in robotics and military sciences, Tony Stark. Mr. Downey has consistently been a great actor and so as his personal assistant played by my favorite Gwyneth Paltrow. Tony Stark is not your usual, boy-next-door lead character. He loves to drink and takes pleasure in beautiful women and plays casino but remains on top of his business, the Stark Industries.

One flaw I find unacceptable in the movie is how the villain, one of Mr. Stark’s closest associates, manage to come up and able to manipulate the prototype version. He maybe familiar with all the financial interests of Stark Industries but I don’t feel comfortable in him having good psycho-motor abilities. Aside from the fact that he is in waning age.

Wholly, the movie is definitely great. The special effects and editing were superb. I am looking forward for the next Iron Man with a more convincing villain. I just hope Robert Downey Jr. could last until the fourth or maybe fifth installment.

Forbidden Kingdom rightfully reigns!

Two weeks ago, I have seen this movie alone. I knew very well that I will enjoy it because I am a Jet Li fan. Though I never liked Jacki Chan’s comic antics, I managed to be overwhelmed by the movie’s great display of fighting scenes.  I am glad that it was not just another Jacki Chan movie with my favorite, the talented Mr. Li as the supporting character.  Both actors had equal share of movie minutes to showcase their acting and fighting prowess.

The script was tailor fit for both actors.  I could not imagine Mr. Chan playing the role of Mr. Li or vice versa or any Asian actor for that matter.  Maybe the writer/s thought of the actors first before coming up with the script.  Where the film failed I think is in its efforts to impress the American viewers. In that way, the film lost much of its local Chinese flavor. It was really made too Hollywood-ish.  They refused to simply settle on the bankability of its lead actors. (I can’t help but admire how Ang Lee retained the beauty of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and still, won the hearts of the American viewing public.)  Other than that, Forbidden Kingdom rightfully reigns in my favorite list and so in the box-office!

I hope to see more Jet Li films, whether ala Hero or Fearless. He remains to be The One for me even without Jacki Chan around. Told you, I am a solid Let Li fan.