Drama Made to Order

Movie Review
No Reservations
Directed by Scott Hicks

The management in the apartment where I am currently staying in Makati held a movie night-out event and invited the all the occupants. It was Friday night and since I got nothing else better to do, I figured that there's nothing wrong with it. Along with my other colleagues, we went to Rockwell to see the movie.

I thought that 'No Reservation' is a romantic comedy movie, but it seems that I was wrong (thanks to the movie poster which seems to indicate that it is indeed a romantic comedy). Kate (Catherine Zeta-Jones) is a chef working in a well-known restaurant. She's proud of her cooking, and is quite a perfectionist. Her perfectionism, her inability to tolerate criticism to her cookings and her stern manner prompted the restaurant manager, Paula (Patricia Clarkson), to ask her to go to therapy. She goes, but doesn't seem to have a clue about what's wrong with her. Her life is turned upside down when one day her sister with her daughter, Zoe (Abigail Breslin) came to visit her and got into an accident along the way. Her sister dies, and Kate has to take care of Zoe. While adjusting to this new life, Paula brings in another chef, Nick (Aaron Eckhart) to assist her. Kate at first sees him as a usurper and a potential competitor.

Along the way I realized that this movie is not a romantic comedy at all, but more of a drama movie. There are serious issues like dealing with death of a close family member, adjusting to a life living together with a member of family previously living somewhere else, being a single parent and so on and so forth. These serious issues are presented nicely in the movie, not too heavy, but not light either. There are many good scenes in this movies when it comes to this issues. The romantic element of the story is introduced later on in the movie. The overall balance of these elements are done nicely in the movie, however, and the story moves along a brisk and pleasant pace, not too slow but not too fast either. Humor elements are sprinkled evenly along the way to keep the audience entertained and to lighten things up a bit. The cooking bit is quite colorful and also reminded me of Ratatouille (and it actually reminded me that I wanted to learn to cook).

In the performance aspect, Catherine Zeta-Jones is definitely in the spotlight. Her acting is spot on with the character Kate, and she managed to tune her undeniably charming charisma to the same level as that of a girl-next-door type (compare that with her roles in, say, The Mask of Zorro). The chemistry between her and Zoe (Abigail Breslin) is just right, and Aaron Eckhart also delivered an entertaining performance. Character developments are excellent, yet not over the top, and the spotlight is again on Zeta-Jones' character, Kate, and also a bit on Breslin's Zoe.

All in all, a nice little surprise of a movie, that has the right amount of everything without overdoing it. Go see it (preferably with a companion) and get a decent dinner after that and you'd have a perfect night.

Good Action: Extinct

Movie Review
Resident Evil: Extinction
Director: Russell Mulcahy

The story of Resident Evil: Extinction continues from the previous movie where the world was turned into barren wastelands thanks to the infamous T-Virus. Alice (Milla Jovovich) is on the run by herself, fearing the possibility of hurting anyone around her and at the same time trying to find a place safe from the virus. Claire Redfield (a character from the video game, played by Ali Larter) leads a convoy along with Carlos Oliveira (Oded Fehr) scavenging for food and valuables from one dead city to another. They met along the way and decided to go to Alaska, where they thought it would be safe from the T-Virus. The journey is not easy, since they have to face members of Umbrella Corporation, who has gone hiding underground and who believed that Alice is the answer to their latest research.

Aesthetically, the movie uses a lot of brown colors to depict the dying world. There's nothing interesting in the plot, as with most movies in this genre, you could easily guess the outcome from early on. That brings us to the action: in this aspect, the movie is not exactly disappointing but it's not exactly spot on either. Everything you'd expect is here, but nothing more. As with most movies of this genre, there are some 'jumpy' moments but as I've said before, you could see it coming a mile away. Previous Resident Evil movies also have some cool factors (in my opinion). But this one seems to lack this. In simple word, this movie's rather uncool. Everything's just too formulaic.

However, if you're here to see Milla Jovovich looks sexy and kicks butts, then you won't be so disappointed. At least in this regard the movie delivers. Add to the mix Ali Larter (of Heroes fame), and the guys are in for quite a treat of an eye candy. However, don't expect more than that.

Another formulaic zombie movie, with pretty actresses and nothing much more than that. Don't get me wrong, the movie can still entertain, but just don't have too high an expectation when you walk in to the theater.

A Peaceful Little Academic Town...(US Trip Recollection, Part IV)

...called Berkley is one of the place me and some colleagues of mine used to frequented when I was in the US (I went there three times, actually). There was this really good ramen restaurant (which, alas, I forgot the name), they served big tasty portions for quite a reasonable price (for US standard, that is). And yes, in all of my three visits there, I ate there.

Some of the houses in Berkeley

The town was a small one indeed, and it had a peaceful vibe about it. It was also home to University of California-Berkeley, so you'd see a lot of young people there who were mostly students. In my first two visits I only came to the intersection where the ramen restaurant was located. I got a better picture of the town on my third visit, where I and the other went for a walk to see the other part of the town, the part where the campus was.

It was just another regular Sunday. Halim and Ken, two of my colleagues, decided to drive there for lunch and took me and Raymund along. Summer was fast approaching, and the sky was blue with little or no hint of cloud. A perfect day, it was. As to be expected when Halim chose to go there for lunch, the ramen restaurant was the definite place of choice. After lunch, we went for a walk down the street where the restaurant was, towards the part of the town where the campus was.

This part of the town was livelier than the part of town where the ramen restaurant was, with a lot of college students walking about here and there. We saw cafes, restaurants, souvenir shops selling UC-Berkeley-related stuff, and a book store where they sold a lot of second-hand books. I bought one myself, a book by Deepak Chopra, something about knowing God. There was also a store selling supposedly Bali handicrafts, but somehow I felt that the merchandise I found there weren't genuine Bali.

The Streets of Berkeley

I like the vibe there, students criss-crossing, students lying down on the grass reading books or talking to their friends, students smoking pot (kidding). The blue sky and the cool weather made the whole atmosphere a bit dreamy. A church bell on top of a high tower was playing a tune that eerily reminded me of one of those dracula movies. If it was night time, it would have probably spooked me. But it was day time, and the weather was perfect.

Around the Campus

If you happen to be around west California, somewhere in the vicinity of San Francisco, you couldn't go wrong in visiting Berkeley. A nice little hamlet with an academical vibe about it (and just a wee hints of pot in the air he he he), you will enjoy the serenity of the place.

(For more photos, please go to this link)

...Bubbly...

Music Review

Coco

By Colbie Caillat

About a week ago I was surfing the net and I was reading an article in CNET about Apple announcing a new line of iPods (by that time, the CNET reporters were on site in San Francisco attending the event). And sure enough, the next day Apple announced this new line of iPods (the new Nano, the new classic, and the anticipated iPod Touch with iPhone-like capabilities...without the phone) and I went straight for Apple's website.

While trying to pick up my jaws from the floor looking at the pictures of their new line up, I noticed an album that sort of drew my attention. You see, most of the time, Apple puts up a lot of high quality music albums for their iPod ads (still remember U2 adorning the boxes of 5G iPods)? Well, this time I saw Maroon 5's It Won't Be Soon Before Long, KT Tunstall's Drastic Fantastic (I'm planning to get that one as well when it comes out) and well...what's this? Coco? By Colbie Caillat? Strange name...

Went to Amazon, and saw that Coco is Colbie Caillat's debut album. She's apparently quite well known in MySpace for her singing, and the song that helped her popularity was Bubbly. She's got good reviews there in Amazon, and after reading them I must say that I was totally interested in this album. After some looking around, I finally found her album and is now still listening to it while I'm writing this entry.

Fell in love straight away with the first track, Oxygen. After listening to the whole album, I can safely say that all of the songs in this album are great. And yes, Bubbly is a beautiful song. All the songs have that acoustic element, and all are quite relaxing music. The beautiful music, with its simple and relaxing melodies, is the kind that never force your attention away to it. Caillat has a very beautiful, smoky voice that matches perfectly with the music she's singing. Her album's like a naturally beautiful lady that doesn't put on make ups to draw attention. And the mood you get from listening to these songs is like the mood you get from looking at blue skies on a sunny summer's day.

You can see the music video of Bubbly in YouTube. Not bad looking either, this Colbie Caillat. All in all, a great debut album from Caillat that should not be missed by any of her fans in MySpace or by music afficionados in general.

Pinoys and Coins

I just don't get it, really. The cashiers at most of the convenience/department stores and restaurants here in the Philippines are obsessed with giving coins for change, even when I know for sure that they have bigger denominations (paper-based ones, of course) inside their cashier machines. I might be wrong here, and they might have some purpose in giving coins, but really why would you want to give out your smaller denominations if you have a bigger one that would suffice? Don't cashiers want to keep their smaller denominations for those many cases where they need them? That's how I see it and once again, I might be missing out on some purpose, but getting lots of coins for change is starting to really get on my nerves.

I have my own reason as to why I don't like this. Coins can really damage wallets, and too much coins can make that happen a lot faster. This, along with my reasoning above, adds to my growing irritation. Top that off with the fact that I tried to ask nicely for a bigger denomination and the cashier gave a curt reply that no, they don't have bigger denominations (which is bull-fucking-shit), really got me going. So, instead of getting 20 Pesos bill I got four 5-peso coins. Crap.

Okay, rewind that a bit.

I was buying a nice can of Nescafe coffee worth 32 pesos. I have a 50-peso bill in my wallet. Knowing that if I don't do anything bout it I'll be getting (if I'm lucky) a change of one 10-peso coin, one 5-peso coin, and three 1-peso coins (if not lucky, maybe three 5-peso coins and three 1-peso coins, and believe me it can go as bad as receiving eighteen 1-peso coins). The prospect of my wallet having to nurse 5 more coins worth of change inside its already bulging space is frightening, and since I don't have two 1-peso coins and only have some 5-peso coins, I decided to give the cashier one 50-peso bill and one 5-peso coin, so that I would be getting a change of one 20-peso bill and three 1-peso coins. Better than 5 coins, right? And then it happened. Fucking dumb-ass guy.

And, c'mon, cashiers have a better chance in exchanging all those coins. I mean, don't people with businesses like these have a bigger chance than an average Joe like me in going to the banks and exchanging all those stoopid coins for bigger denoms? Don't they do that on a daily basis? Don't they have a central bank where they regulate this shit? Or is it because they want to promote charity so that the average Joe like me have small change to give to beggars? I'm trying to look at the bright side here...but the brighter side still looks dim to me...

When you really think about it, it's no biggie, really, but still it gets on my nerves. I just see no point in giving out smaller denominations while bigger ones still suffice (AND available). Like I said, if I'm a cashier (which I am not, and that's why I might have missed out on some explanation as to why they give out coins/smaller denominations first), I would try using my bigger denominations if I can and hold on to the smaller ones for cases where they are truly needed. I love my wallet (and no, it's not LV or any of those stoopid expensive brands) and I would dearly love to see it lasts for a long time by not taking in too much coins.

Maybe it's this night shift that gets me pretty cranky about small, inconsequential stuff. Threw the coins inside one of the pockets in my bag instead. I'd probably forgot about them later on. These coins would happily build a nest inside my dark, dingy bag and start proliferating like cockroaches in dark, dingy places.

And I can't believe this rant post is actually longer than some of my movie reviews...

I definitely need more sleep.

Me, Myself and Everyone Else...

Though it didn't win during the project performances showcase in the office's outing in Yogyakarta recently, I can safely say that we, the people of Jakarta office in our project, are proud of this video that we made. Didn't really take much effort, because we were enjoying every minute of it. Much of the credit goes to Pipil, who did all of the video editing. He's done a great job!

Without further ado, please enjoy the video, courtesy of the Indonesians in our project in Manila!

Yes, Penguins Invented Surfing...Indeed...

Movie Review

Surf's Up

Directed by Ash Brannon and Chris Buck

Oh, another movie about penguins? Wait, let me correct myself: another CGI movie about penguins? So, what's new this time? Well, for starters, these penguins claimed that they were the ones who invented surfing (along with cave paintings for proof), and instead of the cold arctic ice, they surf in a tropical island. Cody Maverick (voiced by Shia LaBeouf), a local denizen of Shiverpool (ha ha, SHIVERpool...get it?), inspired by a visiting surfing legend Big Z (Jeff Bridges), grew up to be a surfer-wannabe, though he really needs to learn some more moves. Due to his inspiring to be a surfer, he becomes some sort of an outcast in his community of honest, hard-working, fish-collecting penguins. Shunned by his community and his own family, he longs to find an opportunity to prove himself. One day, that golden opportunity presents itself in the form of a tournament. Well, dear reader, you'd probably know where the story's going next so I won't elaborate further.

The whole theme of the coming of age of a penguin that is slightly different than the rest sounds quite familiar, isn't it? So, you'd probably be asking, what's so different this time? Well, aside from the surfing part, one thing that stands out is that the film is presented in a style that is a cross between a documentary and a reality show. So, you'll get a bit of a shaky camera angle, and the cast (the penguins, of course, not the voice actors) voicing their opinions on certain scenes or events during the movie in a set up that resembles a lot like interviews. Watching the movie is like watching 'the-making-of' documentary. Weird as it sounds, this set up actually works, and somehow became a part of the many comical scenes in the movie.

Another thing worth mentioning about the movie is that the computer graphic here is really good. Since this movie is about surfing, the creators really pay a lot of attention and effort into making the waves and the sea look realistic. Quite an achievement, I must say.

If you have a thing for CGI movie, and looking for something that is slightly different in presentation, it wouldn't hurt watching this movie. And, for casual audience, this movie will definitely entertain you with a lot of wacky scenes. Surf's up, dude!

(P. S. Watched this movie and Blades of Glory in one weekend, went to imdb and realized that these two have something in common: John Heder, who played as Jimmy MacElroy in Blades and voiced Chicken Joe in Surf's Up...ooooh, serendipity!)

Skate Like Your Life Depends On It

Movie Review

Blades of Glory

Directed by Josh Gordon and Will Speck

Well, I must say that I was really entertained by watching this movie. Nothing really special about the story. It's basically about two rival skaters, Chaz Michael Michaels (Will Ferrell) and Jimmy MacElroy (John Heder) who, due to a scuffle between the both of them, got banned from the men's single competition for life. Their only hope to ever compete in skating again is a loophole in the regulation that allows them to skate as pairs.

You'd probably see the rest of the story coming from a mile away: they get together unwillingly at first, scuffles a bit more, trains together and go on and become one of the best pairs figure skaters. There's nothing in this movie that you haven't seen before. The story throws a lot of cliches at you. The only thing you've probably never seen before is two men skating as pairs. Both are straight, mind you, with Chaz on the rougher side of masculinity while Jimmy's more on the softer side. But, well, two men in figure skating pairs, wearing tights...expect a lot of sexually-charged jokes, especially those that are figuratively-gay flavoured, coming at you.

And when it comes to the jokes department, the movie delivers. Believe me, the jokes are satisfyingly funny, thanks to the comedic performance of Ferrell and Heder. Ferrell is fast becoming an icon in the comedy genre, delivering performances that are unique. To me, his sometimes clueless yet bewildered expressions are just right for the masculine Chaz character in this movie, a guy who's so full of himself but still likeable. John Heder gave quite a good performance as the perfectionist and good boy Jimmy MacElroy as well.

So, if you're in the mood for some good laughs, you won't go wrong in watching this movie. It'll give you some really good laughs.

Hong Kong, August 2007 (Third and Fourth Day)

This time around, I woke up first before my room mate did. Did the usual morning business and then went down for breakfast. This time, after the other swore off the hotel's morning buffet, we went together to have dim sum for breakfast. The dim sum restaurant was quite near the hotel, and it was along the way to the subway station. Very convenient indeed. As to be expected, the food was fabulous.

Ah...fresh trees in the morning

The group split up after that. The families opted to go to Disneyland, and some decided to go and visit some more Hong Kong markets. I decided that Disneyland didn't exactly scream 'Hong Kong', and opted to go with the second group. Was still in the mood to go toy hunting (Transformers Bumblebee, couldn't get that thing off my mind), so thought that I might have a better luck by going with the market-hunting group.

The Market Views

Since I have no luck in memorizing anything that sounds Chinese, I would have to admit that I could not recall the name of the first market that we visited that morning. But it has all the things that are unique to Hong Kong. Chinese signs and ads, old dilapidated apartments in the background, stalls selling cheap knock offs. But no such luck in finding Bumblebee. Along the way, some of the guys decided to go look for a place to sit. Conveniently enough, there was a small mall nearby, so while some of the ladies continued their shopping and haggling me and the guys went off to get some coffee and to rest our tired legs.

Everyone teamed up again around noon, and we headed off to our next destination: Stanley Main Street (see, I could remember it if it doesn't sound Chinese). Yep, it was another place with a market full of stalls selling cheap stuff and knock offs. No Bumblebees, but I got some unique souvenirs that were just right for mom and dad and also my brother. Those for my bro and dad were a bit more expensive and better since their birthdays are coming in September.

The Chinese Junk

Around this time I could pretty much sense the worries of some of my colleagues, especially my supervisor. Because I hadn't bought much stuff up until that point. I only have 1500 HKD with me when I came, and that won't get me much. It wasn't that I was stingy, it was just that if I want to get myself electronics I was pretty much more comfortable doing that in Indonesia. I go to places to see the sceneries and drink in the atmosphere. Not to shop. Unless if I could find something that is unique. And even that, souvenirs for family members come first in my priority (and believe me, I always had to drag myself when it comes to buying souvenirs). However, their efforts in pointing out stuff for me to buy is very much appreciated.

Stanley Main Street

Well, I finally got some things (the stuff for mom dad and bro), and I really hoped that that put their worries to rest.

One thing worth mentioning is that the sceneries along the way to Stanley Main Street was beautiful. We were skirting along the coasts, and the view there with the luxury apartment buildings lining the hills was beautiful. There were several beaches along the way, and in one of them we saw the Chinese-looking junk (basically a ship with decidedly Chinese-styled sails). It was just so Hong Kong. We also saw cable cars leading to Ocean Park, one of the famous tourist attraction in Hong Kong, traveling above the tall hill emblazoned with the Ocean Park logo. Too bad we didn't have the time to visit Ocean Park and to visit the beaches along the coastline. Next time.

The apartments lining the coastline

We went back to Kowloon after we finished with Stanley market (with my supervisor chiding me for not eating more than just a toast, hey I was full from the morning's breakfast) through the same route as the one we came from, but instead of taking the subway after the bus ride we took the ferry back to Kowloon. This ferry ride, in my opinion, was another unique thing in Hong Kong that I was glad I experienced. When I arrived at Kowloon's ferry terminal, another thing hit me: how our hotel was conveniently located. The ferry terminal was actually only within walking distance from our hotel, which is also not far from the nearest subway station. 19000 Pesos for plane tickets and 4-days-and-3-nights stay at a strategically-located 3-star hotel was really a good deal.

The view from Hong Kong Ferry Terminal

The view from the ferry

We took a rest for awhile, and then it was time for dinner. This time, the whole group went out together. It was interesting to find a restaurant with food and service so good in a building so dingy and had some sleazy 'establishments' on the higher floors. But like my boss said, there was food for the body and there was food for the soul. I couldn't decide which one's which. And boy was the food great! Guess this was one of the most remarkable things about Hong Kong. And yes, I ate a lot this time.

Outside our restaurant (notice the night club billboard?)

The night was still young, however, and furthermore that night was our last night in Hong Kong. Thus some of us, who were young (and who felt young) went out to Lan Kwai Fong (amazing, I could remember this one!), one of the night scenes in Hong Kong. After looking around at the bars lining up the area, we decided to settle down in a bar called Bulldog's (I think...). There they played one of the games that I really don't like: drinking game. It's simple, really, all you have to do is to choose a card from an upside down stack (so that you don't know what card you're getting) and put it on your forehead. You can see the others' cards except your own, and hoping that your card is not the smallest out of the lot, you pour your drink of choice (out of all the available bottles of drink) for the intended victim to drink in the provided glass. I just don't see the point, but it seems that my supervisor really wanted so bad to see me drunk. I entertained him by playing, but after 5 tries it showed that I was lucky. Not intending to let him walk away completely empty handed, I tried one drink that was supposed to be for another unlucky lad. Sure enough it got me tipsy, and for some reasons, really pissed.

Not fun at all.

The real reason why I remember the name of the place

After that, we had a bit of a midnight snack somewhere nearby. I was in a pissed-off mood, since I really didn't like getting drunk when I knew I didn't want it. Well, at least I wasn't drunk, only a bit tipsy. The whole affair was a disaster. I also didn't like the fact that they wouldn't let me pay more than 10 HKD just because I didn't drink much. I knew I could pay for it, and I didn't like it when some people cut me some slack. On certain matters, at least.

Whatever.

The Night Scene

Anyways, it was time to go back to the hotel to get some rest. The next day would be the day when we would be leaving for Manila.

Before heading for the airport though, we still have some time in the morning to do some last-minute shopping. I took that opportunity to try and look for a camera lens for one of my colleagues. Hendra, the pro photographer, was willing to accompany me and help look for it in Mong Kok. So, after our breakfast we went straight for Mong Kok, driven by the fact that we had little time before we have to leave for the airport at 12:45. After looking around at several shops, we finally found the lens. Wasn't easy to find, but was really glad Hendra was there to help me. Nice guy. Too bad I failed in trying to convince him to buy one of those digital photo frames.

That was the last of it, my romp around Hong Kong. The bus picked us up at the hotel at 12:45 and off we go to HKIA to finally return to Manila. I'd definitely go there again, if I have the chance (and if there's a bargain price for the whole ticket and hotel thing). To me, as an Indonesian, Hong Kong had just become the new Singapore.

The Graveyard Shift...Again

It probably wasn't such a good idea watching a horror movie before you go on a graveyard shift.

Now that the security guard has turned off some of the lights and that there was no one around (except, of course, for the security guard who, no surprise here, was snuggling in his chair at the time of this writing and was about to produce an orchestra out of his snoring), my imagination started playing tricks on my eyes and my ears. I kept thinking I saw something moving in the dim room, or hearing some squeaky noises from around the corners. Kept trying to tell myself that they were air conditioner noises or just rats scurrying in the many nooks and cranies of the ventilation system.

Then again, I can't seem to convince myself.

I hate my overactive imagination...

1408 turned out to be a good horror movie. I was walking about Greenbelt 3 (one of the many malls in Manila) when I saw it playing in the cinema. Remembering that one of my friends had wanted to see it and knowing that I got nothing to do this afternoon except to wait for my nighshift to start, I thought that it wouldn't hurt to kill the time by watching this movie. And, just like I said in my review, I was pleasantly surprised. The aftereffect, however, was not pleasant.

What was that noise...?

Oh the security guard.

Anyways,

Yep, here I am, doing night shift again. The last time I did that was in March. Seems like a lifetime ago. Life's been a lot different back then. I was really happy at that time (not saying that I'm not happy right now, but back then it was a different sort of happiness, if ya know what I mean). My team lead is now on leave, so he asked me to sit in for him. From Manila. As he was working in the US, and that they need me in US time, so here I am working from 10 PM to 9 AM tomorrow (which is 7 AM to 6 PM, Concord USA time).

There are some good things about working night shift. For one, I don't have to worry about wearing formal clothing. Not saying that I'm right now sitting on this chair with my underwear only (though the thought is tempting), but let's just say that I am free to wear a more relaxed attire (changing my shoes to a pair of hotel slippers right now, actually). Another good thing is that I could take videos of the snoring guards, something that I actually did back in March. It was amusing, to say the least.

Man, the fact that one of my colleagues who could see ghosts told me that he actually saw two on this foor is not helping me at all.

Maybe he was just pulling my legs.
Maybe.

Why on earth do they have to turn off the lights on the hallway leading to the men's toilet...?

(a few minutes later)

*Phew* just got back from the toilet...thank God there was a security guard who happened to go there as well.

So, yeah, working the graveyard shift has its own perks. Bosses tend to be more lenient on you and your works, thinking that "Hey, give the guy a break, he's working the graveyard shift." And man oh man, for some reasons there are more beautiful ladies here in this building during the night. Hell ladies, where ya been during the day? Most of all, no one would be bothering me because, guess what, no one's around! That's why I could write this blog with almost reckless abandon...

...if only I don't have to look over my shoulders from time to time.

Crap, why is my cupboard making funny noises?

Anyways, I got my iPod with me (and if that's not good enough I also brought my hard drive with me) and my trusty Sennheiser headphone is ready to pump some sweet music inside my ears (and help me to shut out the funny noises). So, it's the graveyard shift for me for this week until Monday next week (that is September 10th).

Pray I won't see anything whose feet doesn't touch the ground...

Haunted Hotel Room

Movie Review

1408

Mikael Håfström

Mike Enslin (John Cusack) is a writer who writes books about haunted places, but he doesn't believe in anything that he could not see. One day, he came across a certain hotel in New York called the Dolphin Hotel that has a fabled room where many of its previous occupants died horrible deaths. Intrigued, he came with the intention of investigating it, but met with stubborn resistance from the hotel manager, Olin (Samuel L. Jackson) who, in his effort to convince Enslin to abandon the idea of staying in the room, provides him with a lot of documents on the previous victims with photos of the incidents. Enslin, saying that Olin's constant resistance is only a ploy to raise the hotel's occupancy rate, is undetered. Olin, finally giving up, gives him the key to the fabled room.

Room 1408

That was the main plot of the movie 1408, a movie whose story was based on one of Stephen King's short story. John Cusack delivers a convincing performance as a novelist who was haunted by his past but nevertheless still trying to run away from it and Samuel L. Jackson delivers a very good performance as the hotel manager, Olin, who tried his best to convince Enslin in giving up. Aside from good acting, suspense/horror movies need the right kind of music, the right kind of special effect, and the right kind of camera angle and screenplay to make the 'magic' works. The movie delivers all this. And this is one spooky thriller-horror-suspense that made me shrink in my seat. So, horror/suspense movie fans, you'll get your doze of scare in this movie.

Now, for those Stephen King fans, you'll be delighted by this movie. This is vintage King, all the way through. Håfström has done a terrific job in bringing the story to life. Now, I've never read the story before, but I've read some of King's other novels (Bag of Bones, for example), and the vibe that I was getting from watching this movie is exactly the same as the vibe I was getting from reading King's books. This movie is not just a horror movie, but it also has a lot of psychological elements, which are also present in King's many books. In King's many works, the horrors and terrors are in many cases metaphorical. Without spilling much about the story, let's just say this movie has that exact same elements: that room 1408 is a metaphor whose horrors and terrors are no less real than the horrors and terrors that are present in the human minds.

I must say that I was pleasantly surprised (in a scary-but-good way), since it has been awhile since I last saw a good horror movie. Highly recommended for suspense/horror fans, especially those with a penchant for psychology.

Ultimate Bourne

Movie Review

Bourne Ultimatum

Paul Greengrass

I have always liked the Bourne series, and this final iteration is probably the best one out of the three. The story picks up where the second movie left off. Bourne is on the quest of trying to find out who he really is and why he became who he is right now. Along the way, he saw an article in a newspaper with his name in it and an operation named 'Blackbriar'. Realizing that this sort of information could only come from a higher-up source, Bourne went out to find the reporter to find out where this information came from. Along the way, Bourne met with old allies and old dangers as well.

The movie moves along in an almost unrelentless pace, fast enough to move the action from one scene to another, but not too fast so that audience could keep up with the plot elements. The actions themselves are no let down, as they are so brutal they seem natural and unplanned. Amazing stunt work as well, which is to be expected out of the series. The actings are also great. Performances are delivered excellently and are nothing short of believable.

Another signature of the series is the shaking camera. To some, it might look confusing. But try to pay enough attention then you'll see that the camera focuses on information and action that the audience need in order to make sense of the plot and the overal storyline. The camera never stops moving from one scene to another, from one point of focus to another. This gives the movie its unrelenting pace and sense of urgency. This also create an illusion to a simple scene to make it looks as if there's a lot of things going on at the same time.

Another point worth mentioning is the music. The music also helps in charging up the intensity of the actions that it accompanies. It picks up tempo and volume during the hard-hitting actions, and never really slows down but lower its volume down a bit, but never too low so that the audience is reminded that another action scene is coming up. Some of the tunes are recycled from the previous series, but this isn't necessarily bad.

Great choreography, excellent (and a little bit dizzying) screenplay, great performances, and unforgiving action scenes that will keep you at the edge of your seat, this movie is one of the best that have come out so far this year and should not be missed especially by those who are action fans. Highly recommended.

Hong Kong, August 2007 (Second Day)

My room mate (and my supervisor in the project) woke me up at around 8 am in that Saturday morning of August 25th 2007. We were supposed to go out looking for breakfast that morning, but I told him to just go ahead because he was all prepared and I was basically a lazy ass. I thought that I'd probably be eating at the hotel's breakfast buffet. About 5 minutes after he left I realized that I couldn't sleep anymore so decided to hit the shower real quick and see whether or not I could catch up with them.

Got to the hotel lobby and saw none of them around. Thought to myself that they'd probably be looking for a restaurant nearby so I started wandering around the vicinity of the hotel, testing my luck whether or not I'd bump into them, while at the same time looking around at the many shops around the Marco Polo Hotel. After about 15 minutes of no luck in finding them, I texted one of them who were supposed to be in the group. About 1 minute after I sent that message, I saw the supposed recipient of my message walking with the other 4 people. Lady luck loved me that morning. I went up behind her (the recipient) and surprised the bejeezus out of her (I am good at surprising people, they thought I came out of thin air I should have been a magician).

We later on met the others at the restaurant where we were supposed to have breakfast (there were actually 3 groups, the first group who went on ahead because the other one was taking too much time to shower, and yes that would include me as well, and the last one were those who were with families and had to take care of children/grannies so they opted to go for the buffet) and we had ourselves a nice noodle-and-meatballs breakfast. Have I mentioned that the food in Hong Kong is fantastic? At least I could say that the food is in average better than most Chinese food in Jakarta (AND Manila, for that matter). *Drool* ah, I miss Hong Kong already.

After we finished breakfast, we all teamed up (including those who didn't go out for breakfast and had it in the hotel which, by the way, sucked and they swore never to return for the buffet again) and went to go to the monastery where there was a really big Buddha statue. The monastery was located quite high on the mountains (don't ask me the name, because I didn't know and probably wouldn't be able to remember). We went there by the subway first and then by bus. The alternative to the bus was to use cable cars (which would have provided a better view of the mountains we were going to go to), but at the time they were not operational. Such a shame, but oh well, better than nothing.

The bus ride took about 45 minutes, and along the way we caught a glimpse of the coastline and the view was quite beautiful. About halfway through the journey I received a text message in my handphone welcoming me and notifying me that I was in China. Wow. Too bad there was no immigration. I'd dearly love to have a China immigration/visa stamp on one of the pages in my passport. Not a biggie, anyways. Another point of interest was a medium-sized man-made lake/dam, which I suspect was used to generate electricity for the surrounding area.

After we arrive, the first thing that most of us did (not including finding a toilet, that is) was to whip out our camera and started firing away. The big Buddha statue on top of the straight, long (and quite high) staircase just screamed "Hey, I'm here and I'm a very big Buddha statue so whip out your camera and start firing away." After we were happy snapping away at the base of the staircase, those of us who wanted to climb it to reach the top, and thus reach the statue as well, started climbing away while those who weren't up to it (you guessed it, the mothers and the children, and the grannies, and some who weren't interested in big statues screaming 'take pics of me!') went away elsewhere to relax, enjoy the weather (which was cloudy but nice), and probably have something to nibble.

The Big Buddha Statue

That's a really long climb...

I was sweating like a pig by the time I reach the top (the air was thin up there, believe me, it was not because I was out of shape. Really!) and to compensate I bought an ice cream in a cone. Welcome back, calories. The view was amazing from up there. I didn't realize how high the mountains were until the clouds parted and I saw a glimpse of them with sides sloping up almost to 70 degrees. We could see the coastline that we saw along the way, and also the lake/dam. The monastery itself had been converted into a tourist attraction, so the building under where the big statue was sitting on felt more like a souvenir shop (it really was) than a monastery. We took our time snapping away at the big guy and also the view around us, and when we were satisfied we then climbed down the stairs to join the others.

Views from the Top

There was a small collection of shops and restaurant near the base of the staircase, and that was where we meet up with the others. Had a taste of ice milk tea and ice pearl green tea, nibbled on some of my friends lunch left-overs (yeah, the food's good, but that doesn't mean that I should be going about like a pig ordering full meal portions, I was happy as long as I had a taste), and resting my feet before we leave the area. The fog came in, covering the big statue up there in a bit of a haze when we were about to leave the place. Bye, big guy. This place is a recommended spot for those who likes to travel to see the sceneries. Let you know the name of this place later. Still couldn't get it out of my memory.

We went back through the way we came. Got to the bus station and continued on (after another visit to the rest room) through the subway. Next order of the day was Mong Kok. This place was an electronic heaven. You can find a lot of things electronic there: TVs, digital cameras, camcorders, handphones, Nintendo Wii, you name it. And if you can haggle, you'll get bargain prices. One thing I really liked about this place was all the chinese signboards strewn about and a big mass of people walking around crowding you. I saw the true Hong Kong there. A chaotic mass of beauty. Some people might find the crowd a bit overwhelming (an understatement and plus, the weather's quite hot at this time of the year, making it more stifling), but this was Hong Kong. And I loved it.

First things first, though. This place is not suitable for people with families and small children, especially children who couldn't stand the heat and the crowd. So, the group with the family decided to go back to hotel early. Me and my supervisor/friend helped them find a couple of taxis, which was a difficult affair due to the large amount of people queueing up. But taxis were in abundant numbers, so it didn't take us long to finally send the families off back to the hotel. After that, we just walked around looking at the scenery (if you call crowded streets a scenery, which I actually think it was) until my eyes caught a glimpse of a toy store full of anime robots.

Mong Kok during the day and night

Yours Truly

I went straight for the toy store, and found myself a very happy boy in an adult body. I wanted to buy Bumblebee from the Transformers movie, but it was out of stock. We tried looking at other toy stores, but to no success. I finally went back to the first store and got myself a 1/200 scale of Freedom Gundam, one of the Gundam models that I really like. We went about for awhile and then meet up with the others. We went about other places for awhile (one place for dinner) before we finally went back to the hotel.

I rested for only awhile in the hotel, then a small group of my traveling buddies wanted to go to the Space Center near the ferry terminal and I decided to come along. My roommate was too tired so he decided to stay and lay back a bit. The ferry terminal was very near to our hotel, and it has a great view of the buildings of Hong Kong, across the waters. Too bad that it was rather foggy that night, else the pictures I took would've turned out better. While snapping away at the scenery, I noticed that the then latest picture in my digital camera looks clearer than the others and I realized that the fog had lifted. I didn't know that I was mistaken until I felt raindrops on my head and realized that the fog hadn't lifted, it just moved to our side. We ran for shelter, and found one. Good thing I brought an umbrella in my back pack (I had my backpack almost all the time in HK), and we used that an another borrowed umbrella to find a better shelter.

Before and After

Not long after that the rain subsided, and we went back to Mong Kok to have an evening dessert at one of the roadside stall. It was good, as to be expected. With that, my second day in Hong Kong concluded, and we went back to our hotel to get some rest and get ready for thei third day.