Last Saturday, I got a chance to watch Sherlock Holmes at the cinemas!

By golly, I waited for this for a month, given that it was shown elsewhere last 2009, but only got to watch it this 2010! Jeez, what a loser. One part being that from the third week of December 2009 until the second week of January 2010, only local [ie Filipino] movies were being shown from a film festival. Ugh.

Anyway, the plotline is quite simple [and here's me without giving any spoilers]: Holmes was called in to a case wherein he was chasing after Lord Blackwood, stopping a crime involving magic & human sacrifice. He catches Blackwood, he was tried and hanged. But wait! Blackwood rose from the dead! And Holmes was called again to capture Blackwood and find out how he did his death-defying act.

Simple enough, eh?

I wouldn't give away any other parts of the movie because I came in the cinema with absolutely nothing! No spoilers, nothing, and I guess that's what made me enjoy and appreciate the movie more. Although the movie is not based on any of A. Conan Doyle's novel, the story gave it enough justice, staying loyal to the methods of Holmes on how he apprehended the perpetrator, and the steps the perps went through as they were doing their deeds as was described in the novels and short stories. Holmes mastery of disguise was also clearly shown in the movie. Look closer at some of the characters and you'll realize that it's Holmes, playing another part!

Robert Downey Jr as Holmes was awesome. Hands down. No wonder he was nominated [or won?] several awards from his portrayal of Holmes. Jude Law was also great as Watson! I loved their bromance and banter on the screen! Absolutely entertaining!

Loooooved the costumes and setting as well! Costumes were typical of the 19th century. Setting-wise, several London landmarks that we now know and love today were featured! St. Paul's Cathedral, Big Ben & the Houses of Parliament, and Tower Bridge. I loved that they showed the Tower Bridge when it was still under construction at the time. It was the perfect backdrop! One thing that caught my eye as well: Eros at Piccadilly Circus!! It's an amazing contrast to the Piccadilly of now, where there's neon signs in one area! Wheeee!! Okay. I am biased. I loooooove London hence plus points for the movie to be set there! =) The Thames also has a major part in the movie! Watch out for that!

One complaint though: in the movie, Holmes has a tendency to talk very, very quickly! It's quite hard to catch on what he's saying, as his words may sometimes be fuddled with Downey's fake British accent. Then again, that's my only complaint!

The ending is open-ended in such a way that there might be a sequel in the works! Wheeeee!!!! I hope there will be one! I'll keep on googling it! 

I'll give this movie a 4.5/5!! Very worth your money!! Go watch it!

The Young Victoria is a British movie that chronicles the early life of Victoria as she ascended to the throne of England. It shows how she was very protected as a child, not being able to interact with any other children, would need to hold someone's hand as she was walking down the stairs, and had to share a bedroom with her mother. The movie also chronicles how Victoria and Albert had met, and how their love story had blossomed.

This movie was such a blast for me to watch! I love all things England, so was thrilled when I saw that it was showing on a limited engagement at the local cinemas. For starters, I don't really know much about Albert & Victoria, much less gone to most of the famous landmarks that were left in their honor in London, so I came to watch this movie with an open book, willing to learn and understand more about them. Now, that's a disadvantage to me because I don't know which parts are historically correct and which parts were just exaggerated for the cinematography.

The setting, costumes, and actors were very brilliant. The Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace scenes were believable, as were the period costumes at the time. The actors also showed the youth of both Prince Albert and Queen Victoria, as I tihnk most of us only know them as part of history now, and don't give them much thought. Emily Blunt as Queen Victoria? Absolutely AMAZING! Rupert Friend as Prince Albert? HOT! And very, very, very believable! Their chemistry on screen was sizzling! And in some scenes, they managed to make me cry. And bawl. Like a baby. Yes. It's that good.

My biggest surprise in the movie was that Queen Victoria proved to be quite a looker when she was younger! I googled her paintings when she was younger and she wasn't the grieving, rotund widow that is usually portrayed of her. And Prince Albert! Oh my gosh. He was a stunner!! Look through Wikipedia and you'll see how he was when he was younger!

Go and watch this movie, if its showing in your area! I think its in limited engagement only but it's definitely a must-see

Being the loser that I am, I did not catch on the Twilight bandwagon early and instead decided to take my own pace as I try and read all the books in the Twilight Saga.

I've already reviewed New Moon in this blog, but I was at a loss to review the first book, Twilight.

Anyway, in the third installment of the series, it chronicles Bella as she tries to choose between Jacob and Edward on who should own her heart.

The first part of the tale also covers a back story on Edward, Jasper, and Rosalie, which was most interesting, and definitely worth pondering upon.

The latter part, ugh, it was one of the most excruciating reads of my life. It dragged on and on and on. I didn't want to know the full details of how Edward and Jacob were playing mind games just to win over Bella. Nor did I need to know how selfish Bella was when she was asking Edward to stay by her side.
Nor was I amused about how Bella started using "Please?" to get whatever she wanted from Edward.
Ugh. Pathetic.

To be honest the writing was definitely not something to be also amused about. I feel a fifth grader could write better plot lines and story twists than this.

Well, there was a bit of action in the book, maybe centered in one chapter. But most of it was "missed out" because the bulk of the action was handled by Edward's family & the wolf pack at some other clearing. It was narrated briefly through Edward's communication with the wolf pack through *gasp* his mind-reading skill.



I sure hope the movie is better than the book though. For one, it should feature more action sequences and definitely should focus on the vamps and werewolves more. Bella is just plain boring for me. It's really painful to read through her point of view as it contains nothing but Edward, Edward and Edward.

Seriously, can a girl ever be that pathetic? To only just want to be the damsel in distress all the freaking time?
Is one ever that accident prone and has the worst luck in the world? Gah.

I am seriously not amused with this book.

Nevertheless, I will continue to read on the fourth book in the series, "Breaking Dawn." I do hope it will be so much more interesting than this third installment.

I would give this book a 2/5 rating. I'd read better books but this one has its ups as well.

Sometimes I wonder why I even bought this book in the first place. Is it about the hype that surrounded it? Perhaps so. Or maybe it was because of the vamps and werewolves. It cost me P260 pesos from National Bookstore [I got it at a 20% discount]

So far, my personal ranking of the Twilight Books are as follows

1) New Moon -- because there was a character development in Jacob, and the tale was quite amusing [the Volturi part in Italy, Jacob's transformation & love, good, good].
2) Eclipse -- just because of all the back stories
3) Twilight -- the first book is the worst of all. I can't even bring myself to blog about it because it bored me half to death. I had to stop for a few months and go back to it because I just couldn't stand not finishing a book.

I am a wee bit bored and tired from last night so I might as well lighten things up with a blog post to release some of the stress and tension from my little brain lol.

So, last Wednesday, my friend and I saw (500) Days of Summer in the cinema. It was shown a few months ago in the US and some other countries and I have no clue why it took so long to show it here in Manila.

It stars Joseph Gordon Levitt (I loooooved him in 3rd Rock from the Sun. It's one of the best telly shows in the 90s IMO) and Zooey Deschanel (who I think looks like Katy Perry and she turns out to be Emily Deschanel's little sister!)

Anyway, on to the story. It;s a story about Tom, and how he chronicles 500 days of knowing, dating, and getting over Summer, a girl whom he thinks is "The One" for him.

It's a typical chick flick, although presented in such a non-linear way [ie first scene may show day one, then the next would show day 100+ ] throughout the movie. I also loved that there were some scenes show in parallel -- ie the scene of what really happened & in half the screen, shows what Tom had pictured the scene to happen in his mind.

Anyway, unlike typical chick flicks, the story did not really have that happy happy ending where the hero and heroine would get back together and live happily ever after. No, no. It just goes to show that the movie is [un]predictable in some aspects and makes you wonder what surprises the next scene would bring.

I think it's like an independent movie, but maybe it was just presented that way? I honestly have no idea.

So, would I recommend watching this movie? Yes! Definitely. But it's not something you'd watch over and over and over again, unless you're a superfan of Zooey or Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

On other movie news --- I've just seen a rerun of Notting Hill on the HBO a few days back and I bawled.
That, on the other hand, is my favourite movie of all time. Hands down.

On bookish news -- I'm nearly finished with Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer [yay!] and halfway through Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone. I hope to put up the reviews on it very, very soon. I've done much reading on these two during the readathon.

On other books? Well, I'm currently juggling reading 7 books at one time, so forgive me for the lack of bookish updates.

Which reminds me that I have a backlog of travel posts as well.

*groans*

Book # 2 of the Twilight Saga. Bella is a human, while her boyfriend is a vampire.
In the first book, their relationship survived without Bella getting killed, but during her birthday party, Edward's brother, Jasper, tries to attack Bella when she gets a paper cut [she is such a klutz]. Edward was mortified, and decided that in order to protect Bella and not hurt her, his family decides to leave Forks, Washington, to move someplace else, leaving Bella and their relationship behind.

While Edward was gone, Bella finds herself attached to Jacob, a Quilleute boy who was living in the reservation. At first, Jacob was just a normal boy, until he transforms into a werewolf. Isn't Bella such a magnet for paranormal creatures?

She was getting to grips with choosing Jacob over Edward, until one day, Alice Cullen finds herself back in Forks, asking for Bella's help to get Edward back from Italy.

So who would Bella choose? Jacob or Edward? [As if it isn't obvious already]

Thoughts: [may contain spoilers]
- This book is so much better than Twilight. I loved that Jacob's character was well-defined and has a backstory on how he became a werewolf. I also loved the way Bella and Jacob's friendship was defined, and how he helped Bella move on to a life without Edward [and her stopping to be so whiny and pathetic about not being with Edward]. Jacob and Bella's little "romance" was soooo cute, it made me smile just imagining how they would look like on the big screen this November [not to mention Taylor Lautner is definitely hot].

My most favourite part of the book was about the Volturi -- a clan of ancient vampires living in Italy. They are said to be the "royal family" of campires. They are an interesting group of people, how their very strong and not to mention, unique powers made them the feared vampires as they were and how they punish the other vamps who go astray and not follow the basic vampire rules.

One thing that I didn't like was Bella "casting" Jacob off when Edward came back to Forks. Seems like Jacob was just the rebound guy. Oh, poor Jacob! [And yes, I am team Jacob, can't you see?]

I would definitely read the next book in the series, Eclipse, once I've got the time. I also cannot wait to see New Moon in the big screen in November! I'd love to see Jacob in the book screen and see how the movie compares with the book.

Overall, I'd give this book a 4/5 rating.

And off to a friend's house tonight. Yay DSL! Hello long-delayed posts of videos on YouTube, reviews about events and photos.

Have a happy weekend everyone! :)

Latest hauls:
-- Taking 5 DVD [OMG been waiting SOOOOO long for this! Hello the Click Five!]
-- The Duchess and Carnivale [season 1 and 2 DVDs] --> is it just me or am I being biased to buying only period films?
-- Ronan Keating Live DVD [hurrah hurrah]
-- another copy of Boyzone: Back Again No Matter What Live 2008[because I'm scared the other one would be scratched the way I keep on playing it]

**Just wanted to post this --- OMG I shaked the hand of Joey Westwood. He's such a babe:**

Last Friday, I got a chance to watch "Seven Pounds" starring Will Smith & Rosario Dawson.



Below are my musings on the movie without giving away too much spoilers.

What if you made a mistake, a mistake that you cannot undo? What would you do?

This is exactly what Will Smith faced when he was involved in an accident that had killed 7 people, including his beloved wife.
Once a promising engineer, he had turned his back on his successful life, and took the identity of his sick brother, an IRS agent, to help find people that he would help... by donating his organs to those who need them the most.
His plans suddenly come to a halt when he fell in love with one of the people that he wanted to help [played by Rosario Dawson].

*****

Such a sad, sad movie. Imagine having to live with that accident on your shoulders, thinking that your mistake ended the life of others who may have had so much more potential, a future to look out to.

I personally wouldn't do what he did in the end of the movie, but hey, it's his choice.

The movie was not presented in a normal manner -- it goes backwards and forwards. Forwards in a sense that the present is presented from past to present; while the past has been presented as a flashback -- where the most recent event happened, and the initial cause of the accident has been at the end of the movie.

I would definitely give this movie a rating of 3.5/5.

You could opt to watch it on the movie cinemas, but if you could catch it on a DVD, then feel free to do so.

Personally, with the sky-rocketing prices of movie tickets, it's best to choose movies that you'd want to watch on the big screens, which, in my preference refers to those big, blockbuster action movies that you would die not to watch without the surround sound.

Rants:

• My trip to Batanes has been cancelled. : Zest Air does not fly to that destination anymore so I've asked for a full refund of the ticket. Downside? The refund will arrive in 15-30 days! What a long time to wait! :S
• My prom dresses has been borrowed. Wonder if I'll ever see them again?
• My weekend movie/telly show marathon did not go as expected. Only got to watch "My Best Friend's Girl" but it was not really worth watching. I was bored nearly the whole time. :

*******************

Raves:

• Went to Book Sale in Festival Mall last Saturday after mass. OMG they've got lots of titles that I was interested in: David Sedaris, Ann Brashares, Arthur Golden. They're a bit pricier than the other titles available but for a very good condition trade paperback, I think it's worth it. I went home with a copy of Sophie Kinsella's "The Undomestic Goddess"
• It was sale in Festival Mall also so I got a mass-market paperback copy of a book about Rembrandt for only P50.
• Got to watch an episode of Medical Investigation. Didn't finish the entire series though.
• Got invited to one of the most awesome weddings around. It was held at Fernwood Gardens last Feb 1st. The venue was absolutely exquisite, the food was also divine. Kyla performed a few songs too. =) Loved the waterfalls, fountains, and the exotic animals [parrots, swans, koi fish].

-- till the next time :) Hopefully I'll get to post some more stuff when I get my DSL connection at home.

Apologies for the delayed posting of this.

Last Saturday, I was fortunate enough to watch this movie starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett.

Based from F. Scott Fitzgerald's fictional short story with the same name, it chronicles the life of Benjamin Button, who was born with the features of an 80-year old and seems to age backward.

It is a very entertaining tale of love and life, albeit some parts are a bit boring.

But if you do get to watch, please take a note of the conversations/dialogue between the characters. You'll find out that there is more meaning to them.

Overall, I'd give the movie a 3.5 out of a 5.

I'm off to watch "The curious case of Benjamin Button", "Rome" season 1 and a few others.

Will post reviews on Monday.

Ta for now! Have a nice weekend!

Movies:
Ang Tanging Ina Nyong Lahat [Local Movie Review]
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Seven Pounds
(500) Days of Summer


DVDs:
Boyzone: Back Again...No Matter What Live 2008 [Concert Review]
Criminal Minds -- Season 3
Medical Investigation -- Episode 1
Lipstick Jungle

***MOVIE REVIEW***

So this is technically the first movie I ever saw at the cinemas this 2009.

Thanks to this site, I got some MMFF passes to see a Filipino movie of my choice. I'm normally not too fond of Filipino movies, but since my mum was keen to watch at least one, I let her decide which one to watch.

And so, we were at the cinemas, deciding which one we wanted to watch. The choices was down to two: "Baler" and "Ang Tanging Ina", but our schedule permitted us to watch "Ang Tanging Ina". Well, it also seems obvious since the cinema we went to has three theatres dedicated to the latter, while only one for Baler.

My thoughts on the movie? Uh.. Two words to sum it up: mindless fun. And that's about it. The story is so shallow, I felt so bored, looking at my watch every 20 minutes is an understatement. The only winning point of the movie? Eugene Domingo and Ai-Ai's acting. It's quite good. Some of the "kasabihans" or sayings in the movie are also funny, but they're quite boring now, as it has been shown in the commercials/trailers of the movie from time to time, you kinda expect for it to appear at one point or another in the movie.

So.. overall rating? 1.5/5 stars.

Go watch it in the cinemas if you've got money to burn. Otherwise go wait for it to be shown in Cinema One or some other local telly channel to save your money.

Since my friends have all been posting their 2008 round-ups, might as well post one too.

Let's see... I shall do it by month.

January 2008 -- I really had this strong feeling that 08 is going to be lucky. I can feel it in my bones. And yes, it was lucky indeed :)

February 2008 -- Seeing Ne-Yo in Shangri-La. Super funny. I was craving for a Wendy's frosty and there he was, in line, in front of us! Syempre we asked for autographs, but what are the chances? Lol.

March 2008 -- Maroon 5 in Manila -- And oh yes. I got a chance to meet them too. I'm sooooo infatuated with Jesse Carmichael, oh yes, oh yes. I had my photo taken with him but its a bit blurry. But who the hell cares? I still had my photo taken with him!

Colbie Caillat in Manila I got a chance to meet her too, thanks to Tet's Ayala Card. teehee! :) She's awesome.

Mandy Moore in Manila I got a chance to meet her and see her in concert IN THE FRONT ROW! Oh my gosh. She's been my fave female singer ever since I was younger and I was soooo gutted when I didn't get to see her concert at Araneta in 2004. But oh well. That all changed now :)

Special mention: Incubus in Manila. I never really liked the band that much but I went to the concert to see how they were good live. I liked some of their songs anyway.

It was also on this month that I found out I'm flying to London in a couple of weeks for training. Waaaah Yay! :)

April 2008 Was supposed to go to Pagudpod, but had to cancel my trip because the London trip was scheduled for April 12th. But the London trip got delayed till May. Oh well.

May 2008 The Click Five in Manila!
Just when I thought that I wouldn't be able to watch this concert, I got to! My flight for London was scheduled for May 31st, the concert was on May 30th. Teehee. Lucky no? Well..... part of it was because I had rescheduled my flight hahaha. Instead of leaving on the 30th I had it moved to the 31st instead.
I didn't get to meet Click this time around, but hey, the payoff was good anyway... I got to book tickets to MY ULTIMATE FAVE BAND two days before the Click concert... You'll find more of that in the next month ;)


CDs I loved for 2008:



Books Read for 2008:

**Cross-posting this from another blog that I contribute to**

OMFG.

The most boring movie I've ever seen for 2008 hands down.

Although the content is very meaningful, the interpretation was menial. And did I mention boring? I thought there'd be awesome action sequences, but it turns out it was just a mix of Constantine and The Matrix.

Oh yes. I am typcasting Keanu on those two roles.

Better watch this on DVD instead of the big screen. Save your money during this financial crisis.

However, I find it quite odd that it was at the top of the box office charts this week.

With all the telly shows being show, which one would you watch and tune in the most?

With all the movies, coming out, which one would you spend big bucks to watch in the big screen or wait until a dvd comes out?

With all the books that you want to read, which would you choose first?

If you had all the time in the world, would you watch all the shows/movies shown? And would you read all the books that were ever published?

Time.

Ahh.. the restrictions of it.

Makes you wonder how much time is very, very important.

I really don't want to waste it.