"Come, good sir, care for a shave? I shall give you the closest shave you'll ever have... >:)"

Movie Review
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber from Fleet Street
Directed by Tim Burton

Johnny Depp; Tim Burton; B-movie-like title; musical; a set of deadly sharp razor blades, (and, perhaps, Sacha Baron Cohen of 'Borat' fame) you could probably tell from these things that this is going to be a very interesting movie. And interesting it definitely is. Excellent, even.

First, let us begin with the story. Sweeney Todd was once Benjamin Barker (Depp), a simple barber living an ordinary life with his wife Lucy and his baby daughter Johanna. A judge by the name of Turpin (Alan Rickman, who's probably well known for his role as Severus Snape in the Harry Potter series) desires Barker's wife and using his influence he sentences Barker on a false charge. Many years after his exile to Australia he returned to London, only to find out from Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter) that terrible things have happened to his family while he was away. Burned by hatred, Barker (now Todd), armed with his beloved razor blades, vows revenge on Turpin and humanity in general.

As a musical, let's just say that the sound of music won't be the thing that will leave the most lasting impression in your mind when you finish watching this movie. Not saying that the music is not good. The musical scores are nothing short of excellent, and the actors' and actresses' performance will keep you entertained. Depp turned out to be quite the adequate singer, and Helena Bonham Carter delivered an excellent performance. Acting-wise, it's Depp. Keep in mind, though, that this is not Jack-Sparrow-Depp, and that this is a Tim Burton's movie. Look forward to more of the melancholic, Edward-Scissorhand-Depp, but darker and more sinister. Cohen sounded a lot like his Borat persona, though oddly enough, it worked out quite well. His performance in this movie, though short (but not terribly so), is quite commendable. As for Alan Rickman, well, he's always a pleasure to see. I must say that I'm quite impressed with Timothy Spall's performance as well (another cast coming from the Harry Potter series: he played Peter Pettigrew, or better known as Wormtail) in this movie as Beadle Bamford, Judge Turpin's right-hand man.

As far as the story goes, well, for the sake of being hyperbolic, let's just say that I can see the plot coming from TWO miles away. It's pretty predictable. The main focus of the movie (aside from it being a musical and the dark and sinister story), however, is in its over-the-top violence. You will see blood in this movie. And you will see them a lot. The violence is so over the top that you'll have a hard time deciding whether or not you want to cringe or laugh out loud, or probably do both at the same time. Everytime Todd picks up a razor blade, my hands instinctively gripped the cinema seat's hand rests.

The movie has all the feel of a Tim Burton movie. The dark, dreary, and brooding colors; dark, brooding, and sinister characters; a generous helping of dark humours here and there, what more could you ask? Well, from a strictly utilitarian point of view, this movie is definitely not a date movie. So don't bring your girlfriends along. As for the girls, it might not be such a bad idea to bring your boyfriends to this movie, but maybe they will raise an eyebrow if you initiate such bold endeavour. Oh yeah, make sure you didn't have too much meal before you watch this movie.

Personally, after seeing this movie I shall never bare my neck to a barber. Never did, and never will. Oh, and meat pie is definitely out of my diet.

Looking at Fear's Ugly Face

Fear said 'hello' to me again when one weekend my friends were planning to go wall-climbing and asked me to come along. I went along, but I didn't go climbing. I just sat down looking at them climb that wall and went wondering whether or not I'd be able to face it again.

My fear of heights. Of falling. Of dying.

As I sat there on the bench looking up at that wall, at my friends scaling it, I recalled events that happened almost 8 years ago during college. Fresh in my early twenties, I just got off a potentially deadly traffic accident. I was unscathed, and the car only sustained minor damages. If things were only an inch different (or a second too early, a second too late, a heartbeat away), I'd probably have said good bye to this life 8 years ago. But that was not the case, and at the time I suddenly felt invincible.

It might be considered foolish, but I felt as if I could face anything. Thus, I chose to go do some outdoor activities. I was always wondering whether or not I could survive out there. At the time in my campus there's this nature lover group that was recruiting new members, and it was probably easy to guess that I signed up for it. To be accepted, we have to go through this initiation process where we have to try every routine activities they had back then (camping, rock climbing, kayak-ing, cave exploration, rafting, SAR simulation, survival in nature, etc.). Before the initiation activities we had to learn all the necessary skills in theory classes that our seniors had set up (tying knots, setting up camps, packing your bags, etc.).

I only realized that we were in for a rough time when they told us that we need to carry our at-least-15-kg-heavy back packs all the time. It was not such a good idea after all, I thought to myself.

I could not back out of it. I was already in too deep, backing out would make me feel like a wimp for the rest of my life. However, something was pulling me back so hard at the time, telling me that going was a really bad idea. Maybe it was the idea of leaving the comfort of proper civilization that was pulling me back. Maybe it was my sudden lack of confidence. Anyways, when I tried that heavy bag on I knew that it was not going to be easy. But, like I said, I was in too deep and I felt that there were no other choices.

One by one my friends started to climb that wall, and my mind took me back to a night so long ago when I was sleeping along with the other would-be members of the nature-loving group. We set up camp under a cliff that night, a cliff that some of my friends were assuming we would be climbing the next day. Turned out that it was not, but the cliff I climbed was somewhere near. This is where I faced my biggest fear. Rock-climbing has always been one of the items in my list of things I would probably never do in my life due to my fear of heights. I remembered how scared I was that day, how frustrated my seniors were from trying to tell me to go ahead and give it a try anyways. Finally, I put my right hand on the first grip that I could find and started climbing. The cliff was not hard to climb, in all truthfulness, as there were a lot of grip points. My biggest challenge was facing my fear of heights and of falling. My energy was mostly taken away just to muster up courage to pull myself up ever so slowly. Halfway my senior yelled from the ground and told me to yell the group's name. Took awhile to tore my eyes from looking at the cliff face and looked down. It came out more like a whisper than a yell...

They told me to yell again when I finally got on top. It came out okay, but felt a little held back. I knew that it was not over.

Looking at a friend hitting the wall when he was being belayed down snapped me back to the present. When he finally came back to solid ground I told him to...

"Use your feet to break your impact against the cliff face!" My senior from the ground below yelled at me as I attempted to rapple down the cliff face. I was hugging the cliff face using my knees, afraid to let go and afraid of the heights. I kept telling myself that I would have to go down, there's no other way to avoid it. After some time, slowly I gathered my courage and using both my feet I propelled myself against the cliff face while slowly letting go of the rope. The going was slow, but as I neared the ground everything started to go smooth as I know that I would soon be relieved from the strain of having to muster up courage everytime I propelled myself against that cliff face.

The wall my friends were climbing was not as hard as the cliff face. The grips were large and quite comfortable. As I sat there, I knew that I could scale that wall. Fear, however, lurked behind my mind and teased. It reared its ugly face at me and it scared me.

For some strange reason, however, it excited me as well.

Many things happened during that journey to nature 8 years ago (the stories can make one long entry, something that I'm not keen on doing at the moment but will probably do so in the future). My personal fear visitted many times during that journey. It would probably too far-fetched to say that the journey completely changed who I was, but I did learn a lot of things about myself. I saw the dark side of me then (and was not proud of it, knowing that I could have been better). I also learn that fear is air with my face on it. But I believe that the most important thing I learned during the journey was that it created in me a heightened sense of respect towards nature in all its beauty and dangers. There's never a moment in my life when I look at the mountains and not think about whether or not I could make it again. The journey. There's never a moment in my life when I look at nature and did not feel an ever-growing respect towards it.

Maybe I did change.

In any case, this old friend visitted me again, and I felt its challenge. I vowed to myself to face it and get it over with the next weekend.

And get it over with I did.

True Legend

Book Review
I Am Legend

Richard Matheson

I must say that I have to thank the movie 'I Am Legend' because it led me to the realization that a brilliant novel with the same title (on which this movie is very loosely based) exists. If you read my review on the movie then you'd know that it's about the (supposedly) last man alive named Robert Neville, about an unknown disease, and about living alone while trying to survive madness in the world and madness in the mind.

So, since I already promised in the movie review that I will spoil the story of both the movie AND the book, then let's get down and dirty. First, let me begin with the story. The main character's name is still the same, Robert Neville. He's the only man alive that for some twisted luck did not get infected by a disease that has completely wiped out the entire human race (except for him) because of a natural immunity. The rest of humanity has been transformed by the disease into a pack of blood-thirsty vampires that hunt during the night and sleep in dark places during the day (for they could not stand the sunlight). Because of this, Neville can only go out during the day and he has to lock himself up during the night in his house to protect himself from these vampires (because even if he's immune, he could still die from blood loss).

During the day Neville would go out to look for food in the deserted city where he lives while at the same time hunts these vampires out by searching them in dark places where they are most likely to be hiding. Aside from these menace, he must also confront the madness within his mind that is caused from living alone without social contact for a long period of time. At the same time, he slowly looks for the true reasons why humans have become vampires.

Before we go to the spoilerific part, let me just tell you why this book is awesome. First of all, it is quite a short book, only slightly less than 170 pages, but it manages to pack in so many things in so short amount of pages. Second of all, this book has manage to create a perfect blend between the sci-fi and horror genre. I mean, the vampires have all the characteristics of vampires of legends: blood-thirsty, afraid of mirrors, afraid of garlic smell, can only die if you drive a wooden stake into its heart, and what have you. However, slowly but surely the book will show its scientific elements that will explain the true cause of the vampire (which I will spoilerifically tell later on after this paragraph's over). Third, the psychological condition of Mr. Neville is shockingly detailed and compellingly believable. Matheson has perfectly crafted a male human character complete with highly believable pscyhological schema. Mr. Neville here is just an ordinary guy who is thrust into an extraordinary circumstances. However, he is being described in by the author as being so ordinary that it's just wonderful. You'll believe in his feelings, you'll believe in his predicaments, you'll believe in his actions, you'll believe in his frustration, and you'll believe in his madness.

Beyond this point, it's all spoilers and spoilers...

..and spoilers!

Very well, let's compare the movie and the book. First off, let's welcome Mr. Neville of the book fame, and Dr. Neville of the movie fame. Now, Mr. Neville here is just a regular guy (I suspect that he's just a regular blue collar guy, a redneck even) that is trying to stay alive in the middle of all the vampire madness. At the same time, he actively hunts them and slowly but surely he started to do some scientific research into finding out the true cause of why people turned into vampires. His motive is not pure, he wants to know the true cause so that he could find better ways of getting rid off these sonsabitches. And mind you, he does not have enough academic credentials nor any expertise at all for doing scientific research. However, circumstances can really make a man do anything in order to survive. And a little bit of research is probably nothing compared to saying hi to your wife who just came back from the dead one night because she's thirsty. For your blood.

Now, enough about Mr. Neville for now. Let's say hi to Dr. Neville of the movie fame. Hey, it ain't fun gettin' jiggy with it alone eh Mr. Smith? Errrmmm, Dr. Neville, I mean. You sure look a lot darker than Mr. Neville there, doc. OF COURSE YOU ARE, YOU'RE A FRIGGIN' AFRICAN AMERICAN FER CRISSAKE (duh) and Mr. Neville here is purely caucasion with blue eyes to boot. Anyways, doc here has got some stripes on him (he's military), showed up in the cover of Time magazine once, and has a fancy lab with all the fancy apple computers in it to do some research into finding a cure to the virus. Reddie (Mr. Neville) only got a wood shop (where he sharpens a lot of wooden blocks into stakes). Doc knows the true cause of the disease and is determined to find the cure, while Reddie's got to figure it all by himself by trying to set aside legends and force himself to accept a concept commonly known to man as 'science'. Oh, doc's got a dog named Sam, while Reddie there ain't got no one to talk to except for himself (or the devil inside of him). Well, there IS a dog, but the poor thing was so afraid of Reddie and Reddie had to literally drag the dog in for companionship. The sick poor thing didn't last for more than a week.

Another thing as well: Doc tries to stay away as much as possible from these 'dark-seekers' while Reddie there looks for 'em vampires during the day and drive wooden stakes into their hearts.

Sorry if I make you sound like a wimp, Doc, but Reddie's got it rough (I mean, at least your dead wife won't be coming up your footsteps thirsty for your blood). Still, even if you are a wimp, you're an entertaining wimp, Doc. Sort of expecting you to suddenly start rappin' in the middle of the movie but I know it ain't gonna happen. It's possible for you Doc, I know, but not for Reddie there. I don't think he even knows the term 'rap'. Reddie's predicament started in 1975 while Doc's started in 2009 when some bitch thought she came up with a cure for cancer. As for Reddie, it all started with one germ and a lot of dust storms.

As for companion, aside from the poor sick dog (who lasted for probably less than a week and was scared as heck of Reddie), Reddie's constant companion is only his dead best friend named Ben Cortman who never fails to show up after dusk (along with the other vampires) at Reddie's door and keep shouting "Come out, Neville!" at him 'cause he thirsts for Reddie's blood. Doc, you're getting lame here...

The cause of the disease? Well, in the book it's a germ/bacteria, while 'virus' is the movie way to go at it. Some symptomps are the same (aversion to daylight, drinks blood), but that's probably where the similarities end. The book's variant of the disease make the human afflicted become a total vampire. These monsters couldn't stand the smell of garlic, could not live during the daylight (they slumber during the day), have fangs like canine, are afraid of crosses (at least those who, when still alive, were Christians), are afraid of mirrors, and can only killed by driving a sharp, wooden stake into their hearts (some even burst to dust afterwards). Basically, the monsters have almost all of the characteristics of vampires in the legends. The movie's variant however, is just a pack of aggressive monsters with higher heart beat rates and are attracted to the smell of blood. Oh yeah, they can't stand the daylight either. But they don't sleep during the day (they just hide in dark places). The vampires in the book knows where Reddie lives and they always show up at his house after dusk. The only thing preventing them to go inside the house is the strong smell of garlic. Darkseekers, on the other hand, don't know where Doc lives (at least at the start of the movie).

Might as well mention about the difference of madness between Doc and Reddie. Well, at this point it's probably obvious that Reddie's madness is of a more menacing scale compared to Doc's. Reddie's all alone almost throughout the story while Doc's got Sam for most of the part. Reddie's gotta cope with voices inside his head (most likely his own conscience) while Doc can take it out at the dog. And can you imagine the desperation of being alone when even the thought of having sex with lady vampires sounds tempting? Yep, Reddie's like that. No human interaction whatsoever. And Reddie ain't no smartie. Circumstances lead him to 'research' ('trial and error' would probably be a better term of what he's trying to do). Can you imagine the frustration of a person trying to study academic stuff when for most of his life he's not used to such a thing? Even I was banging my head the first time I tried understanding chemistry.

Well, before I wrote the whole book here, let me just say that in the end, Doc's become a legend among the living, while Reddie's become a legend among the dead. I'd say both version (the book and the movie) kick ass in their own ways. Go read the book for something more (due to lack of a better word) raw. If you're a sci-fi/horror fans, you won't be disappointed. Such a short book, but packs a whole lot of punch.

It Ain't Fun Gettin' Jiggy Wi' It Alone, eh, Mr. Smith?

Movie Review

I Am Legend

Directed by Francis Lawrence

Alright, this is what the story's all about: a black man being chased around by a pack of Neo Nazis. Okay, okay, I was just kidding. After all, that's what the 'monsters' all look like: pale, bald, with manic look in their eyes. Add to that the fact that Robert Neville (Will Smith) is an african-american.

Very well, let's get to the proper introduction of the story. It was 2012 and humankind has been afflicted with a disease caused by a virus that was originally created for the purpose of curing cancer. People who are infected by this once hailed virus become aggressive, blood thirsty monster who could not survive the daylight. Dr. Robert Neville, a military doctor, was one (if not the only) person that survived the affliction due to him being immune to the virus. Accompanied only by a german shepherd named Sam, Neville hunts for food during the day and continues his research in trying to find the cure to the virus. When the night falls, he seeks the comfort and safety of his house, carefully and methodically erasing any trails he left behind so that the 'dark seekers' would not be able to follow him home.

Living alone with only a dog as a companion can take a heavy toll on human psyche, and this is one of the aspect of the story that the movie is trying to put forth. I approach this aspect of the movie with mixed feelings. It must be noted that the movie is based on the book by the same title written by one Richard Matheson (Stephen King once said I Am Legend is one of his many inspirations). However, by the time I write this review I have just finished reading it. Regardless, I will write the review under the guise that I have no knowledge whatsoever about the book's story. Moving on, as I've said before, I have mixed feelings about Smith's portrayal of a man who is losing his mind slowly due to a severe lack of human interaction. At some point, it is believable. Yet at some parts during the course of the movie, his performance is not convincing, or maybe even slightly off the mark.

The bright side is, convincing or no, this is Will Smith, and his performance has always been entertaining. His on-screen persona always has a certain appeal. Moreover, this is the kind of movie that was made to entertain and not to bore. In this regard, it delivers successfully. After all, a blockbuster movie is meant to sell and make profit, and if it becomes too serious people in general will probably stay away from it. Aside from the actor's performance, the plot suffered the same problem. In trying not to give too much away, let's just say that at times, it is believable and yet at some points it is not convincing.

Regardless of such short comings, the plot, the storyline, the special effects (isn't it fun driving like a mad man in an empty New York City, a place that is known for its unbearable traffic), all worked wonderfully in delivering Entertainment (yes, it's Entertainment, with capital 'E'). It's Hollywood all the way through, baby.

Go watch this movie and Entertain yourself. You won't be disappointed, as long as you have not read the book yet. For those who have, I can only say to approach this movie looking at it as a movie that happens to have the same title as the book, the same main character's name, the same theme, but a completely different storyline and an ending that is almost 180 degree different. Loosen up a bit and you will enjoy this movie. I did.

p. s. I will be making a review about the book later on and there's where the fun begins. For those who haven't seen the movie don't read the book's review because I am going to spoil EVERYTHING. HUAHAHAHAHA

Blue Skies are Good Remedy for A Tired Soul...

This is an ode to that ever present canopy high atop our heads and our tallest buildings. We might take it for granted often times, and God knows I do take it for granted from time to time. I mean, it has always been there and it has never literally come crashing down on our head (though it does happen, figuratively, from time to time in our lives but the sky's never really to blame in these cases) and it puts on some of the best displays human eyes can ever feast upon. But it's such a shame that we oftentimes hardly notice it.

My appreciation of a bright blue sky came to fruition about a couple of years ago. I was on my way to work, and at the time I was feeling down about the whole idea of life. I was walking down to where I usually take the bus to commute, when I noticed that the day was unusually bright (when you are depressed and down, it is a really good idea to divert your mind to other things and the bright light that day was practically screaming "Oohhh, pick me, pick me!"). It was bright, clear blue, with not the slightest hint of a cloud. The wind was only a whisper, and the buzzing noise of the busy city that was Jakarta had a bit of a muted quality to it (as if there was an ear muffler strapped on my head). It was as if the blueness of the sky drowned out the city noises, like it was a sound instead of a color. It was probably overly dramatic to say that my depression lifted instantly, but at that moment, it did. It felt like a wind just blew over a dusty surface, revealing a previously hidden gloss. No amount of Frisium or any other anti-depressant could ever replace that kind of effect.

A Scratch in the Sky

[It turned out to be a hot, sweaty day (blue sky with no clouds was usually a strong hint of a hot, sweaty day in Jakarta) but at least the depression lifted.]

Cloudy days, now that's a different thing. When the sky hide itself behind clouds, many people would say that it was a nice day to be inside the house and enjoy the many creature comforts that could be found in their individual dwellings. Maybe it's been hard-wired since the days of when humans were still living in caves. Rainy days, can't do nothing 'bout it, might as well put away our hunting spears away and go back to sleep in the cave. Something like that. The color of the gray sky is also quite melancholic, and if you're not in the reflective mood this can be quite a disadvantage to your psyche (I know it would be quite a disadvantage for me). But, no one can't deny that it's a really good time to get some quality Zzzzz.

Living in the state of California (near San Francisco, to be exact) for about one and a half month brought me to a deeper realization how a simple thing like a blue sky can really affect your mood, and give some healing. It was summertime in US soil, but the soil of my heart was growing cold. However, one thing in the US that never escaped notice was how big and wide the spaces are there. The sense of wide open spaces are so jarring there that one coming from a crowded place like Asia (such as myself) couldn't help but realize it, in a good way. Living in a small town of Pleasant Hill, where the highest building around was only 4 or 5 stories tall, the view of the sky was not the slightest obscured. There, you'd realized how vast the sky was, and the blueness of it was probably as deep as the ocean (even though it was on the other deep end of the vertical plane). It was hypnotizing, and it soothed the aching heart.

A Palm Tree among the Blue Skies

[The recipe for a tired soul: take a fresh picking of a blue sky (make sure you pick the most blue), squeeze, heat the blue juice until some vaporizes. Take a deep breath of the vapor and relax, drink the juice through your eyes, your nose, your mouth, your skin. (You can do the same thing as well when you catch a cold, but an extra dose of orange juice would probably help as well).]

I wonder whether it was why people, hypnotized by the sky, build skyscraper and try to reach it or even pierce it (like the Tower of Babel). But it did no good because it only obscures the view for those land dwellers. Maybe that's why it was so hard to find the truth these days, because there were so many skyscrapers out there.

Though that doesn't sound right, but it sure do feels right.

People would sometime ask whether or not you're a 'beach' or a 'mountain' person. There was a time when I would say without hesitation that I was more of a 'mountain' person, though I did have a thing or two about beaches. However, if asked now, I'd probably say that I love both equally. Both have their own qualities: mountains are more quiet, reflective and meditative; while beaches are more playful and youthful. And both have special relations to the blue sky.

Blue Skies on top of Lassen

It was a few years ago when I was staying over at a friend's villa in Puncak, a mountaineous area just outside of Jakarta. The surrounding environment was still quite green and natural (trees everywhere), and I was at this big field of grass on the hill right across from where my friend's villa was. Thought that it was probably nice to just lie down on the grass and stare at the sky. The sky that day was bright blue, with a helping of clear white clouds, just like whip cream on a fresh, blue-colored frappucino. But as I was doing so, I came to the realization of how small I was in the face of the vast sky, and it felt as if the weight of it all was crushing down on me. At the same time, I imagined how it felt if gravity was turned upside down. To be falling down to the infinte deep of the sky. I stood up feeling dizzy. That was the only time I became quite frightful of the sky.

It is just a silly musing, but I couldn't help but draw a comparison between the mountains and the beaches or the sea for that matter. While mountains try hard to reach into the sky, the sea does exactly that without even trying. If you want to see proof, just go to any beach on a really good day and look at the horizon. There, the blue sky came down to meet the sea at the end of the horizon. We might try hard to meditate, to reflect, in trying to reach the truth. But sometimes the innocence and the playfulness of youth itself attracts the truth even without any intentions of doing so.

Yes, this is an ode to a good, blue sky. That canopy high in the air that sees everything that goes on in the world below, yet often times taken for granted.

Blue skies are indeed good remedy for a tired soul.

A Mac Book, however, is a good alternative (and a completely different thing).

Viva Las Vegas! (The Aftermath)

Vegas ended, and it was time to drive back to Los Angeles. I didn't go straight back to San Francisco, though. Stayed overnight at my buddy's place in Orange County. The next day he and his wife took me to go visit some of the nearest beaches there in Los Angeles. Forgot the names, but as the picture on the right suggests, one of them was called Newport. The beaches were okay, though nothing compared to the likes you'd find in Bali, or even the Philippines. Duh. But they did have some nice looking women there. Feast for the eyes.

In any case, Vegas was great. Even though many people would relate Vegas to gambling, the closest thing I did that came close to gambling was playing the slot machine and in my opinion that was tame. The shows, though, that was the biggest selling point of Vegas for me. Back in LA, my friend's wife made good on her promise, I got my Oakley Juliet for half of the selling price. I didn't get any shoes though, and now that I looked back I regretted that decision because the price was so cheap there compared to here in the Philippines or even in Indonesia.

After going around the beaches, visitting my friend's wife sports store (for the sunglasses), and some casual mall crawling, it was time for me to fly back to San Francisco. Check in was a breeze and I was up on the plane in no time. Arrived in SFIA around 10 pm, took the train back to Walnut Creek, and asked Halim (a colleague who happened to be there as well) to pick me up and bring me back to the quiet little hamlet that was Pleasant Hill. Had to bribe him with a box of Godiva chocolates to wipe off the frown on his face, but it was cool.

There you go, nothing much, but I sure am missing Vegas and its shows now. Hope there will be a next time. For the time being, Viva Las Vegas indeed!

Viva Las Vegas! (US Trip Recollection, Part V)

A trip to the US is not complete without visitting Vegas, right? Well, personally I don't really think so (New York, I believe, fits this bill better), but still it'll add to the catalog of cities I've visitted. Not saying that I have a zealous ambition in adding the number of items in that list but I'm always glad with anything that comes my way. With that in mind, how could I turn down a friend's offer to take me to Vegas? All I had to do was to catch a plane from good ol' San Francisco to Los Angeles, and he'd pick me up at the airport and we'd drive straightaway in the middle of the night to pretty Vegas.

So, 2 weeks before the day I arrived in Vegas I booked an airplane ticket (United Airways) from SF to LA. Pretty straightforward affair, and was later impressed at the airport with the automatic check-in counter. All I had to do was to swipe my credit card (the one I used to pay for the ticket) and voila! Choose your own seats, print your boarding ticket, and I was all set. It was all DIY. A little detail I would like to put down: like to thank the brother who pointed out to me where the auto check-in counter was, well I did have to donate a bit of money for charity (he was there asking for donations to a certain cause which I forgot what it was) but the brother was kind enough, and he pointed out to a sorry shortie like me the way so it was cool.

So, after an hour of traveling by train from the little pleasant town of Pleasant Hill to SFIA in SF (got off at the wrong train station once, and had to change train, the whole affair made me a bit nervous along the way) and an hour-and-a-half flight from SF to LA, my friend and his wife finally picked me up at LAX's pick-up area. First place to visit was the nearest McD's drive-in to grab ourselves some grub and after that it was a long, 3-hour drive to Vegas all the way. Chatted with that long-time buddy of mine (knew him since elementary school) 'bout lotsa stuff, and played his PSP to get rid off the sleepiness. Finally dozed off a bit though, but woke up just in time to see the bright lights of Vegas.

First impression was: look at all those lights! And there was this bright beam of light shooting straight up from a big, glossy-black, pyramid-like structure (it's the Luxor, my friend pointed out to me). Couldn't say enough how much lights there were. Don't get the wrong impression, though, we didn't stay in any one of them fancy hotels. We went to the outskirts of Vegas and stayed in a cheap (but good enough) motel. It's the kind of cheap motel you see in the movies where the main character's staying when on the run from the bad guys or something (and where he or she will most likely get ambushed by one of the bad guy's henchmen). It's good enough for resting before the big day in Vegas.

The sun rose, and we rose as well. Got ourselves decent and ready, and went out of the room. It was a good day: the sun was shining brightly in the sky, and my skin was starting to get scorched and was drying up so fast it scared me. It was hot, and there was no perspiration on my skin not because I wasn't prespiring but because my sweat dried up instantly due to the heat. I'm not much of a fans when it comes to applying sticky liquid on my skin, but seeing how dastardly hot and dry the weather was I thought to myself that I can make an exception or two once in awhile. Asked my friend's wife for moisturizer without shame, and started applying it before my skin goes to hell (it was starting to wrinkle, by the way, and I was not ashamed to admit that I started to freak out a bit).

That was my first time ever in an American dessert, and boy was it hot! When you think of it, it's amazing that they built a city like Vegas in the middle of nowhere, and a scorching nowhere it was to boot.

Our first stop of the day was a big factory outlet. Nothing special, just a big factory outlet. Was looking at some Oakley glasses when my friend's wife told me that she could get that for half the price for me and I asked which model was the best. She said the most expensive one so far is Juliet so I said I want that one. Was interested with some Nike shoes, but thought better of it (but would later regretted that decision). After about an hour of walking around in the complex, I ended up buying nothing, but had a good time looking at some nice merchandises (and was quite happy with the prospect of having one of the coolest sunglasses with half the price). Next stop was 'The Strip'.

Alright, the Strip. They call it the Strip because it's a long road and this is where all the luxurious hotels are located. Remember the movies? Remember that whenever they shot Vegas they shot a street lined up with big fancy hotels and lots of lights? That's the Strip. We got there at around 12 in the noon. Even during daytime and without the fancy neon lights Vegas was quite extravagant. The decorations, the (fake, wanna-be, copy cat) architecture, the statues, the buildings, the flashy billboards with flashy advertisements, they all scream 'Big Money!' They have a smaller version of the Eiffel Tower, a compacted Venice complete with water canals (outside AND inside the hotel/shopping plaza/casino, to boot!), an onix black pyramid (The Luxor) and they even have a hotel named 'New York New York' with miniatures of famous landmarks from New York on top of the hotel and jet coasters zig-zaging in between 'em. To top it off, showing that Vegas is a place where people throw money away, up in the sky there was a plane circling around making a sentence 'John Doe loves Jane Doe' using its exhaust trail. You got the money, you got it.

One of the many classy restaurants inside 'The Mirage', there are cushions in between the big letters of 'Revolution'

The walkway to the entrance of the Beatles-themed show named 'Love', also by Cirque du Soleil

First stop at the Strip was lunch. There were many buffets in the many hotels of Vegas, and we visitted one of them. The food was okay. It was, after all, lunch buffet and in all honesty the food was average, something that is to be expected out of any buffet restaurant and nothing more. After that, it was hotel/casino hopping. We visitted lots of grand and luxurious hotels/casinos such as Caesar's palace, MGM, Venice, and many more, taking pictures and marveling at all the money they pour to create the level of luxury displayed all over the place from the obvious, out-in-the-open spaces to the corners and crevices of the hotels. Walking along the Strip I found many people giving away cards with pictures of ladies wearing 'suggestive' attires (sometimes downright blatant, nearing nudity). I guess that's Vegas, people gamble and when they do win they might want to celebrate (catch my drift?). According to my friend, the 'advertisements' are not representative. In other words, the ladies probably look as good as in the pictures...10 years ago.




The many examples of the grand architectures that can be found in Vegas

Just between noon and evening we were walking down the street to visit another hotel when we realized that we should have taken the bus (it was blistering hot) and we got in to the nearest 7-11 to get ourselves some drink to cool us down a bit. I believe someone stole some stuff from that 7-11 store while we were there. Vegas, they don't call it Sin city for nothing I guess. Walking down the road further more we arrived at a collection of building, one of 'em a big Coca Cola store. Went in, took some pics, and went up to the second floor where they sell this combo set of drinks made by the Coca Cola company. The range of flavours they have was quite staggering. Ginger-flavoured soda, anyone? They really have it all, from sweet to (I kid you not) bitter soda drink. And when I said bitter, I mean bitter as in taste-more-awful-than-your-most-hated-cough-solution bitter. Right next to the Coca Cola store was an M & M store. Well, it was chocolate all the way. Nothing bitter, mind you, just chocolate in many-colored coatings.

This advertisement can be found almost everywhere in Vegas. Yum...

Wish I was invited...

There was a place offering Grand Canyon tour with helicopter. I think the fee was around USD 300 (quite steep, but if I had the money one day I wouldn't mind) and thought to myself that I'd probably go for that the next time I went to the US in September (that didn't happen though, the project decided that everything was covered during my visit there so there was no business need for me to go there again in September. Boo-hoo) and my friend was, at the time, looking forward to it as well. So, that didn't happen, and anyways the Grand Canyon was only a really huge piece of coal (my friend's words, verbatim) so no big loss there. New York, well, that's a really different story. One day...one day...New York...New York...

On Top of 'The New York, New York'

Nearing evening we went back to the hotel where we parked our car (the hotel's name was 'The Mirage', where the buffet restaurant where we had our lunch happened to be as well) by means of a monorail. In hindsight, we thought that we should have used it instead of walking around, but then again we would have missed lots of good sceneries (and I wouldn't be able to take many pictures). We visited another hotel named 'Venice'. This was where they have the indoor and outdoor canals, and for those of you who are wondering: yes you can ride gondolas. The ceiling inside the building, painted with clouds and blue skies, also mimicks the time of day outside. So, during day time the ceiling would look like the skies outside during day time, and when night falls, the stars shine. Inside the building. Fake stars, of course. Damn, talk about going all the way.

Inside 'The Venice'

Sun went down, and it was time to have our dinner. For that, we needed to go back to our car. Passed 'Treasure Island' along the way, and the 'Pirates' show was on-going. The sidewalk right outside 'Treasure Island' was packed with people and it took some time for us to pass. We finally got back to 'The Mirage' and drove to the place where we were planning to have dinner. It was to be a seafood buffet restaurant, but by the time we got there the place was packed and the line was long. We had a deadline so we took another alternative: a Japanese restaurant which happened to be located in the same hotel/casino as the seafood buffet restaurant. The food was...well, sub-standard, but at least we had our dinner. We watched a show as well in there, free, and at the end of the show wooden boats hanging from the ceiling carried on rails started to run around the big casino room. On it were pretty dancers giving away plastic necklaces, throwing it down to the throng of people on the casino floor. Got lucky and caught one. Not bad for a souvenir.

Finally, we got to the end of the itinerary, the gala event of the day: 'Zumanity'. Before I venture further, let me tell you another thing famous about Vegas (aside from gambling, shopping and whoring): the shows. The shows! Boy, are they magnificent or what! They even created stages specifically for certain shows. A few examples come to mind: Cirque du Soleil, a famous circus troupe with lots of shows in Vegas, has some shows with stages created specifically for them. One is a show called 'O', where I heard the performers dance inside a stage-size aquarium, another is a show called 'Ka', where the performers perform on a stage that can rotate to a 90-degree angle and where the performers practically climb up across the stage. The Blue Man Group also has a show going on in Vegas at the time of my visit.

The show we were watching, 'Zumanity', was also a show performed by Cirque du Soleil. The stage is in 'New York, New York' and we came just a tad bit late. They were already starting, but we didn't miss much. The theme of the show was sexuality and sensuality. The performers danced, jumped, did acrobatic maneuvers on stage with very minimum attire. Even the ladies are bare-breasted most of the time. But the show was not about cheap nudity. It celebrated artistry in the sensuality of the human body in the forms of dances, acrobatic maneuvers, and often times, comedy. It was a beautiful performance accompanied by great acting and live, on-stage music and singing. It was USD 130 well spent. Shame that cameras are not allowed. The show was probably the best part of my visit in Vegas. If ever there would be a next time, I'm planning to watch more.

The show also marked the end of my visit to Vegas. It was time for us to drive back to Los Angeles. Some things that I regretted not doing in Vegas were: not visitting the Luxor and not seeing the water fountain show in front of 'The Bellagio' (featured in the movie 'Ocean's Eleven'). But, overall, it was an awesome trip, one that I don't mind doing again. One day was good enough, but next time I'm watching more shows!

Childhood

A long and arduous season it has been, my dear child,

Many a sunny days have passed coloring your skin brown,
Many a stormy nights have you endured,
Yet with innocent eyes braves you these days without a frown,
Though not yet it is your future assured.

Many a mistakes have you made, cuts and bruises inflicted, humiliating defeats
And yet many a victories have you achieved under,
the faces of the brilliant sun and the melancholic moon,
Your pure spirit and bravery, never they are torn asunder.
Alas, the end has come of your season of amazing feats,
Grown weary and bleak your heart will be soon.

Sleep then, my child, embrace the coming slumber,
Grant me the honor of taking over the reign,
and I will guide our chariot through the coming summer,
Towards duty and honor that has been ordained.

Sleep and carry yourself away to a land of dreams,
Build a castle made of clouds and hopes, so that one day I may gleam,
A castle of fortitude held up by the strongest beams,
From where we rule the lands of our life, oh so wonderful they all seem!

Come and go, these seasons will,
And come again your season shall,
Where you open your eyes to a perfect morning,
The sun shining, wind calling and rivers flowing,
And to your eyes will my gaze fell,
And remember a childhood so glorious I will.

You Can Not Kiss an Idea

Movie Review
V for Vendetta
Directed by James McTeigue

Based on a graphic novel written by Alan Moore, V for Vendetta tells the story of one masked vigilante called simply by the codename 'V' (Hugo Weaving). Set in the bleak fictional future of Great Britain, V vows vendetta against the repressive British government and started wreaking havoc not only by the destructions of key governmental buildings but also by instilling ideas of freedom inside the minds of the citizens of Great Britain. Along the way, V met a woman named Evey (Natalie Portman), who reluctantly becomes entangled in V's conflict with the British government. Unknown to both of them, their past has a lot in common than they realized at first.

V for Vendetta has a lot of good things going on about it. First and foremost, the story is excellent. Alan Moore is quite known for graphic novel with stories that have a lot of moral gray areas and intricate plot details. For those who are in the graphic-novel-loving crowd should be familiar with Moore's Watchmen (which is also coming out for the big screen sometimes in 2009), and the story there follows the same style of intricate plots and twisted morality. Although heavy with political themes, the story of V manages to relate to the ordinary people. This is thanks to the character Evey and the background of her story.

The excellent story is supported by excellent screenplay written by Andy and Larry Wachowski (of the Matrix Trilogy fame). Coupled with the cinematography, the story and characters are excellently portrayed, calling forth the right kind of emotion for each scene from the audience. Even though it is the Wachowski brothers, don't expect Matrix-like action. They do the story justice by cutting down on the special effects and creating a screenplay that best describes each scene. They save the special effects for the last parts of the story, and even that is not grossly overdosed like what you find in the Matrix trilogy.

Performances by the actors and actresses are probably one of the strongest aspects of the movie (second only to the excellent story), with Natalie Portman perfectly portraying the character of Evey. She delivers a great and convincing performance in this movie (something which couldn't be said of her role as Princess Amidala in the Star Wars movies). However, the spotlight is definitely on V, played by Hugo Weaving. Probably the most extraordinary aspect of his performance is that Weaving manages to perfectly deliver the characters and personality of V without showing his face, since the character wears a Guy Fawkes mask all throughout the movie. A truly outstanding feat, considering that Weaving has to use other means to convey V's emotions aside from facial expressions.

I couldn't write enough praise when it comes to the story of V for Vendetta, something that could be said of the graphic novel Watchmen as well. Yes, you can't touch an idea, but ideas are probably one of the strongest moving forces in human lives. So is this movie. Highly recommended, for those who has a penchant for excellent and complex story. I suspect that those with quite a liberal point of view could find a thing or two to like about this movie as well.

Good Show, Lad!

Movie Review
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Directed by David Lean

Whoa. 1957. Old movie, but in full color of course. Ran across the DVD in one of Manila's many markets. Knowing that this movie's got a lot of praise, I thought that I owed it to myself to see it and find out by myself why it's one of IMDB's top 250 movies of all time (and why it won Academy Awards best picture long, long time ago).

The story tells of a Japanese POW (prisoners of war) camp somewhere in Burma, South East Asia. It opens up with the arrival of a battalion of British army under colonel Nicholson who previously surrendered to the Japanese. The camp's commander, one colonel Saito, orders these prisoners to build a bridge on the river Kwai (hence the movie's title). The bridge's development starts slowly, hindered by a dispute between Saito and Nicholson over the British officers' nature of involvement in building of the bridge. The dispute is settled, and the bridge's development continues. And of course, the story's not that simple, but I won't spoil that in this review.

There are many things to like about the movie. First off, Alec Guinness' acting is top of the line in this movie. Those of you who scratch your head when hearing his name, please recall Obi-Wan Kenobi and you'll know who I'm talking about. Still no clue? Then better stop reading right now. Kidding. Anyways, Guinness' acting is center stage in this movie. You will sympathize with his character straight off from start to finish. He fully deserves the Oscar for best actor that he won for his role in this movie. Sessue Hayakawa's believable and sympathetic performance as col. Saito also deserves a high praise. William Holden, as commander Shears, and Jack Hawkins as Major Warden also deserve honorable mention.

The screenplay and cinematography are just downright amazing. Each scenes are handled meticulously, and those who were involved obviously put a lot of care into making them perfect. Amazing that a movie made in 1957 could put so many amazing little details into each and every one of the scenes. Can't really stress enough how excellent the cinematography is, the shooting done in style so that you can even notice things happening both in the foreground and in the background. This truly shows off the excellent coordination between each scene's elements, be those in the foreground or the background. Truly an incredible feat considering that this movie was made in 1957 and that they didn't have a lot of high-tech tricks to play around with during that time (computer graphic, for example). There's a lot of incredible, unforgettable moments in this movie.

And then there's the story, of course. I'm willing to bet that a lot of people who watch this movie will be able to draw an analogy between this movie and the whole idea of war and military might. I have my own opinion on it as well, a really balanced one, but let's just say that this movie will touch on your morale senses. But don't take it too seriously. There's a lot of humorous scenes in the movie. And, if you pay attention to its many little details, you will find a lot of comedic touches sprinkled here and there in the movie's scenes, even among the seemingly serious ones. War analogies aside, you will get more entertainment out of the story if you try to enjoy it as it comes and not draw analogies (though it's rather difficult for me to do that).

Additionally, the music and sound effects are so...due to a lack of better word...classic. Vintage, even, in my humble opinion. Don't expect sweeping orchestra scores in this one, but the music fits the mood perfectly.

This movie screams classic all over the place. It's got everything: excellent performances, great cinematography, great and compelling story, good sense of humor, long running time (if you're used to movies with short running time, this one has the danger of putting you to sleep along the 161 minutes run time if you're really tired). They just don't make this kind of movie anymore these days. *Sigh*. Great movie, highly recommended. Enough said. Good show, lad! Good show!

Disturbed

Movie Review

Disturbia

Directed by D. J. Caruso

Disturbia, I've been wanting to see this movie for quite awhile. By the time I realized that IMDB gave it a decent review, the movie's out of circulation in the many theaters near me. My luck came around when I found a DVD of it back when I was visiting good ol' Jakarta. Got the chance to pop it into the DVD player on a good Sunday evening (while denying the fact that the next day was actually and inevitably Monday). And I had quite a fun watching this movie.

Disturbia tells a story of one Kale Brecht, whose life takes a turn for the worse when his father dies in a car accident, an accident in which he survives. After the tragedy, Brecht becomes rather antisocial and sullen. During a Spanish class, the teacher said something that provoked Kale's anger and physical violence ensues. One thing leads to another, and Brecht finds himself under house arrest for 3 months. Trying to get rid off the boredom afflicting his condition, Brecht tries to find entertainment by spying on his neighbours. It is during this time that he finds some unsettling things about one of his neighbours, one Robert Turner.

The story in Disturbia is quite good, but in my opinion it could have been developed more. I am in particular pointing out the relationship between Kale Brecht and his father, I feel that this is only to serve to bring the story to the part where Brecht got his house arrest and the events that will later follow, and there's no continuation of how Brecht cope and find redemption in the lost of his father. However, this is a thriller movie and not drama, and in this regards the story works quite well. The movie might not have the most scary, make-you-jump-out-of-seat, story and screenplay. However, in the thriller department, it still entertains.

Alright, let's take a look at some of the crucial elements of a thriller, or any good movies for that matter. Acting? Shia LaBeouf actually delivers, fitting his role as an angsty, antosocial teenager perfectly. Seems like he's good when it comes to playing teenager roles, especially with his face that blends innocence and mischief perfectly. Carrie-Anne Moss' performance is also decent, playing the mother of a hard-to-handle Brecht. Funny sidekick? Check. Aaron Yu, playing as Becht's best friend Ronald, delivers the comic reliefs in many of the movie's scenes. Hot chick? Check and double check. Sarah Roemer is your typical hot chick that you just gotta have in a thriller, but the good thing is that they don't whore her too much. And, last but not least, a scary villain? Check, with David Morse playing the antagonist role as Robert Turner. He's got the face, however I just don't see him as menacing enough a villain in this movie.

All in all, an entertaining movie all around. Good story with some regrettably underdeveloped potential but manage to entertain nonetheless, decent acting by the casts, and some interesting gadgetry in many of the scenes (Marketing, marketing! Brand awareness, brand awareness!). And I'm so getting a PlayStation Portable.

Who Watches The Watchmen?

Book Review
Watchmen
Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons

Alright, I'm not much of a comic book fan (and please bear in mind that comic is different than manga, it's Japanese counterpart). I don't follow stuff like the Marvel Universe, or Justice League of America. I mean, I know X-Men, Spiderman, Batman, Superman, and all those superheroes, but only in general terms. My exposure to these characters is thanks to a good friend, who has quite a healthy collection of superheroes comics in his home library.

I am, however, always curious about books that are said to be excellent by a few sources, one of them being Time magazine. That was why when I saw Watchmen in one of Makati's book stores I got interested. On top of the cover, these words were printed: "One of Time Magazine's 100 best novels". Novel? Must be one heluva comic with one heluva story. On a side note, they call comics 'graphic novel' these days, but to me they will always be comic books. They just have much better stories.

A week later, on a Friday, I got my hands on one copy and started reading and finished by late next day on Saturday. From the moment I opened up the book, I was hooked. The artwork is vintage American comic, and the story is excellent. I could understand why Time magazine called this one of the best 100 novels. The story's excellent, with a lot of plot twists and tiny little details, and the psychological profiles of the many characters depicted in this 'graphic novel' are amazingly deep and multi-dimensional. Each and every one of them are believable human beings. Yes, the story is about people dressing up in costumes and masks and fighting crimes. But, that's what's great about it. These are just ordinary people with their own private fears and doubts.

The story's started with the mysterious murder of a costumed crime fighter (or vigilante, if you prefer that) named 'The Comedian'. His death is only the first of many to follow, with the murderer seeming intent on eliminating costumed crime fighters (whether active or retired). Determined to find out about the truth, one costumed vigilante with the name of Rorshcach started investigating. As to be expected, one thing leads to another, and soon enough, you got a pretty complicated yet excellently told story on your hands. There are so many story elements, like the cold war between the USA and the (then) USSR, the Keene Act that declared costumed vigilantes to be illegal, war in Vietnam, the golden age of comic books, and so on. Some (like me) would probably be unfamiliar with these background/concepts, but that won't take the pleasure of reading it away.

There are so many things to be said about the story, but at the least I could say that this is not your usual colorful superhero story. It's dark, and can be a bit depressing at times, at least to me. And unlike the usual superhero story, good and evil are not clear cut here. There's so much gray area in this story, it's not an easy 'black and white' story. There's this interesting thing worth mentioning: there's a 'story within story' thing going on along the way. Won't spoil it for you, but it's one of the many entertaining parts of the story. Furthermore, I can't say it enough, there are so many little details in this book, that you'd probably want to go through it again and again. Good value for money, right? To add to the growing glowing words I've been writing up until this point, I'd like to point out that the story's not only told in comic panels. You'll find sections where there are worded narratives in place of panels (usually at the end of a chapter). In both matters, comic panels and narratives, the book shines equally.

So, great story, great character psychological profiles, great artwork (vintage!), the list goes on and on. For those who love comic books, it's definitely a must have. And for those who love great stories, don't be put off by the comic panels presentation. You will find a deep and compelling story within this one. Certainly one of the best book I've ever read.

Enchanted Album

Music Review

Corinne Bailey Rae

by Corinne Bailey Rae

First heard of her in a compilation CD called 2007 Grammy Nominees. The song they put in that album was 'Put Your Records On'. The song started out relaxing and picked up tempo a bit during the chorus and throughout the rest of it. I was not deeply interested in her until, as always, I was browsing through Amazon and saw her album and realized that it's got good ratings.

Put it up in my list of albums to get, and sure enough one day here in Manila I was browsing one of the music store and found her album. Bought it straight away without thinking twice, especially it has a bonus CD with almost the same number of tracks as the main CD. Yep, it was a pretty good deal.

Popped the CD into the player and started listening to her songs. Seems like my initial impression of her was misleading, but only slightly. The songs in this debut album are mostly relaxing and only some of them are slightly up-tempo. Most have this dreamy quality in the melody. The mostly-love themed songs, the slow relaxing tempo, the dreamy and sweet characteristics of the melody blended with Rae's sweet and rather smokey voice made for an excellent chemistry. In other words, I'm saying that this CD is excellent. Excellent might not be the right word, methinks. 'Exquisite' is probably more spot on.

I'd like to mention some of the songs worth mentioning in my opinion. The album starts with 'Just Like A Star', a sweet and exquisite opening. 'Enchantment' is downright dreamy, one of my favourite songs in this album. 'Put Your Records On' and 'I'd Like To' are probably the only songs that are slightly up-tempo in the whole album. Not saying that the other songs are not enjoyable; they are all great songs and they are all as exquisite as a cup of smooth cappucino on a sunny and breezy Sunday afternoon. Which is probably a great time to listen to the album.

If you like sweet and relaxing music (with a touch of dreaminess), you can't go wrong with this album. I'm looking forward to further release from Rae.

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.