Review: X-Men Days of Future Past

I have always been a fan of the X-Men movie franchise, and this was by far the best of the lot. I'm not saying it just because it combines elements of the trilogy that started it all and what was intended to become a prequel of sorts to the whole thing. Rather, it emphasizes on the probable impacts of time travel (one of my favorite storytelling devices), and that the future is never set in stone if you can do anything about it.

As we're still in the phases of opening weekend, I won't want to give too much away, save perhaps this one quip that only people who've watched the film already will understand completely:

X-Men: The Last Stand never happened. This is what it should have been.

Marvel comics, by-and-by, hardly make any chronological sense with mutant superpowers. Bending reality - time and space included - only serves to their purpose that things can go in any direction possible. And I like those twists and turns as a fellow pseudo-established fiction writer myself. You take Logan who's been through each of the films either center stage or cameo and put him in a situation to alter the desolate future ahead, then you know the task won't be a walk in the park. A guy with anger issues despite being their only hope wouldn't be your best candidate after all.

But what the movie does capture is that you somehow see the richness and diversity in the characters themselves, especially now when you have younger versions of Professor Xavier and Magneto who were much more (or less) different than their older, wiser selves. The dynamics was interesting to watch, and the overall outcome, rewarding.

Though the film itself doesn't give a complete closure on everyone, it does give you the closure you felt unresolved by the end of The Last Stand. At the same time, it opens up a world of possibilities moving forward, which I think is something to look forward to.

Canada: Winnipeg

(My apologies for the late post, but I never managed to finish typing up this entry before I came back to the hustle and bustle of coming back.)

Finally, the feature presentation! Our final destination and the entire reason for our Canada trip (going through all the trouble of procuring a single entry Canadian Visa) was to visit Winnipeg, Manitoba, where the Asuncion family migrated to back in August 2008. After nearly 5 years, this will be the first time that our entire family has come to visit them, so it was truly an experience to look forward to. Our flight was at around 8 in the morning, and were already in the airport at around 7-ish. The flight took roughly 4 hours, adding an hour to the clock due to timezone discrepancy of around an hour.

Upon our arrival, dad was taking pictures as we descended the escalators to the baggage claim area before we spotted some familiar faces hiding near the Tim Horton's nearby! Running, hugging, glomping and general greetings were exchanged when the entire Asuncion family came out to greet us, along with Ate Joan's boyfriend JR. After some obligatory pictures and more hugs, we made our way to their humble abode some 20-30 minutes away from the airport. Much of the reason why they all came out to meet with us as mostly because we needed all the space we could afford. With three cars, however, that didn't pose much of a problem.

What greeted us when we arrived was a welcome message that read: Bienvenue Monsods! I already expected this to happen, but it was endearing and it affirmed that we were actually there! We took some time to relax, let our feet rest and just chill for a while after all the travelling. For us cousins, we each end up with our own little partners from childhood, mostly because we were the ones who became so tight-knit. So I spent most of my time with Jostin, who had a grand lair in the basement that was just so awesome I wish I took a picture of it!

To unwind, he and I broke our his Rockband set, did I Spy with the drum adapter before proceeding to play some Rock Band 2 songs while our siblings went out. After a while, we joined my parents and his mom (my godmother) to see the sights and visit The Forks, the only "tourist spot" in Winnipeg, according to Jostin. Loved the bonding time with him, catching up with our age-old Xhevix conceptualzation for a while and spending the rest of the time enjoying their Netflix subscription and finish the first 2 seasons of Sherlock (Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman) and some random episodes of Doctor Who.

Of course, as a big group, we went to various malls and restaurants, and engaged in several fun activities, which I'll break down below!

Sunday, June 9, marked my parents' 29th Wedding Anniversary. We all came up with an itinerary for them, and our first stop was making reservations at Montana's Grill. The food was delicious, and my parents initially offered to pay for dinner, but in the end, we ended up surprising them by paying the bill instead! We capped off the day proceeding to go play Five-Pin Bowling. Separating into a boys vs girls groups of 5, we played two games, and I must say, it was a lot of fun! The alleys resembled the usual ten-pin bowling lanes, but this just had five, a smaller ball and a points system to cap it all off. My first game was a sweet success, but I couldn't boast the same for the second one though, haha!

One of the more memorable shopping escapades we went to was to a little place called Kildonan Place. Much of the reason we headed off there was to scout for the HMV branch that had a stock of the Eleventh Doctor's Sonic Screwdriver. And yeah, my uncle got it for me so it was a very, very sweet deal! Funny thing was, I only had one remark. "I need a screwdriver for my screwdriver!" Yeah, I needed an actual one to pop in the batteries before I could play Doctor. But once that was set it was such a dream.

Quite often, we spent late nights staying up and watching movies (this was mostly due to my cousin Joan and her boyfriend JR), so Jostin and I couldn't sleep right away even if we wanted to since that would have meant commandeering the PS3 and Netflix. So there was a little Cabin in the Woods with splashes of old cartoon shows like Dexter's Laboratory and Samurai Jack to keep us entertained!

For another fun activity we headed off to a little place called Lazer Runner where we engaged in a rowdy game of Laser Tag! We were a big group of 15 or thereabouts, so we started off a convoy to head out to where the place was (which was outside the main city) where we met up with a few more of my cousin's friends. We played three various games - a Regular one to warm up, a Vampire and Eliminator game. Sad to say I wasn't in the best of ways at the start of it all since I literally ran into a wall trying to escape being aimed at, and let's not forget that running causes tripping every now and again. So bumps and aches followed, but it was a hell of a lot of fun!

My family and I were even around to attend my cousin Jostin's graduation! He's finished 2 years of Digital Arts at Red River College, so he received a certificate for it. This spring, he'll be pursuing another year where he'll focus on 3D work. Really proud of him too!

As my sister and I were flying back to Manila early, Thursday was our last day in Winnipeg. It was decided that we'd spend the last day (Thursday), throwing a barbecue over at my cousin Jaimee and her boyfriend Josh's house, where we met Josh's side of the family. Jostin and I ended up babysitting Josh's nephews, playing through Guitar Hero down in the basement and had a nice Father's Day presentation once evening had settled in. We presented the dads with cards and little gifts, and they were more than amused, which was the overall point of it. It ended with a cousin sleepover, since we needed to head to the airport for an early morning flight.

The morning after, I realized that I never got my passport from my mom, so she and Uncle Joey had to drive back to the house to get it, and we were worried that they wouldn't be able to make it in time the flight was leaving. But they managed to get back, so my sister and I flew off to Toronto, and spent the next 11 hours at the terminal for an evening flight back to Manila.

It was a crazy adventure, but I am grateful for everything that's happened. I'll post pictures soon enough, so do sit tight!

Review: Now You See Me

Last May 31, Kai and I had plans of watching a movie. It was a Friday, Mom would be finishing up work late, we had all the time in the world. With all the hype for Star Trek: Into Darkness going on for the past few weeks, we wanted to see if we could still catch it in theaters before it fazed out. Much to our dismay, none of the Ayala Malls (those prominent in Makati anyway) were showing it anymore. The trade-off for that, however, was a new movie had just opened: Now You See Me.

Just like before, I had my own personal reasons why I wanted to watch this:

1. I'm a sucker for magic-themed movies (i.e. The Prestige)
2. I'm a major Mark Ruffalo fan

Kai and I saw the trailer for this movie a while back, and the plot itself was enough to pull in interest. The clincher, of course, was finding out who the cast was, with Mark Ruffalo and Morgan Freeman among them. That being said, it was a real treat and an absolute must to watch it! I immediately reserved us seats for the 6:20 showing. Below is my review. My apologies for any spoilers this might cause. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

The movie starts off with a magic trick. I mean, it has to. Not surprisingly, the audience was baffled by how it happened, and that I guess is one of the great parlor tricks that lures the audience into a continuous suspension of disbelief. As the movie continues on, we are introduced to the four magicians who make up The Four Horsemen, a super group who are guided by some mysterious benefactor later revealed to be a character portrayed by Michael Caine.

When they pull off a big bank heist, this gets the attention of the FBI, where a detective Dylan Rhodes played by Mark Ruffalo is assigned to handle the case. Annoyed at first, he finds himself paired up with an Interpol agent as they chase down the Horsemen. After all is said and done, the greatest twist is revealed at the end of the movie, which I won't bother spoiling since it's just too epic to describe.

One thing is for certain though: Mark Ruffalo is the star of the show. He might as well have been dubbed a magician in his own right, and the pacing of the movie itself never left a niche to get bored, at least in my book. You'll just have to watch the movie for yourself. :) Overall, I highly recommend the movie!

On Rurouni Kenshin + Movie Review

(My apologies for the uber lateness of this, but I was, quite honestly, lazy and caught up with other things to actually continue what I started. Ba humbug)

December 2012.

It's not very often that Japanese movies get shown here in the Philippines, so when SM Cinemas managed to get ahold of the Rurouni Kenshin live action movie (with awesome petitions from Filipino fans!), there was no time to waste when getting tickets were involved.

The initial showdates spanned about a week, so watching the movie within that time seemed to be an absolute must or dare to waste seeing your childhood come to life on stage. Considering this too had been part of our childhood, Kai and I were among the many fans who would stop at nothing to ensure that we had seats.

Amuse Philippines, a fangroup of the Japanese group Amuse (agency of the lead actor Sato Takeru) made arrangements to do block screenings for the weekend showing at SM North Edsa. We immediately jumped at the opportunity and made our reservations. After I made the necessary bank deposits, disaster struck.

Early that week, Kai had gotten into an accident that, put it simply, rendered her unable to walk and had to use crutches for almost a month after that. This meant that we wouldn't be able to make the Saturday showing we had reserved for. We ended up giving the tickets up to our friends while I spent Saturday keeping her company.

When Sunday came along, she had insisted to go and watch it, against my better judgement. Needless to say, I purchased our tickets on SM Cinema's website, and we went on our way (one of the few times I brought the car) to SM Marikina.

Not surprisingly, it was everything we expected and more. The action was breathtaking, the fight choreography was orchestrated brilliantly, and the actors were spot on to the dot of the I. Their portrayals spoke volumes of what the manga started off with, and Sato Takeru, the actor for our favorite Himura Kenshin/Battousai embodied the character to perfection.

It was full of comedy and action just as the original work from the manga to the anime depicted, and watching and experiencing it in its raw, Japanese form was perhaps the best part of it all.

Kai and I were happy campers and it was well worth the trip... if it wasn't such a hit and the showdates extended for about two extra weeks. (xD)

But I give a toast out to our collaborative effort to bring Rurouni Kenshin to the Philippines, and here's to hoping for future titles to come to our islands in the South East.

Review: Les Miserables 2012

The Golden Globe for Best Musical, Les Miserables (2012). There were two reasons why I looked forward to watching this in the theater:

1. I'm a sucker for musical-movies (i.e. Sweeney Todd, Rent, Phantom of the Opera, Chicago, Hairspray)
2. I'm a major Hugh Jackman fan

When advertisements came out for this movie, it had slipped my mind that a movie version of the epic classic had already come out previously (starring Liam Neeson, Uma Thurman and Geoffrey Rush) in the late 90's. I never had the chance to watch that. Admittedly, I never picked up the book due to its daunting thickness as a literary work. I didn't have the privilege of others to have to read it, and somehow I regret it.

But for me that doesn't really matter. It helps me become unbiased and critique it as an art piece than an actual adaptation. I had the privilege of listening to some of the tracks included in the soundtrack prior to watching the movie, and I had chills hearing some of them, notably praising one particular actor I had not known to have a smooth baritone voice. Yes, I'm referring to Russell Crowe. This Maximus who portrayed Javert surprised me vocally, but could not impress me more in his portrayal of the pursuing a bringer of the law. Despite all the bashing against him, I think he did a swell job.

Another of the standouts for me was, of course, Anne Hathaway's Fantine. I would be lying if I said I didn't get chills seeing the desperation and distress she was conveying, and I think I felt the breath knocked out of me when she sang I Dreamed a Dream. Kudos to her, and much more so for winning a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress for it.

And of course, there's Hugh Jackman. Hands down, he made the perfect Jean Valjean. Pair that with the fact that he sings so effortlessly, emotes so naturally, it would seem as if he internalized with the character. I remember hearing him portraying Peter Allen in The Boy From Oz, and this project, for him, just fit something he could not be more perfect and more comfortable with. When Broadway meets Hollywood.

Others include, of course, Sacha Boron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter as the quirky duo of Mr and Mrs. Thenardier. Their quirkiness ooze the weirdness and silliness resonated by their characters they could not have fit them any better.

Overall, it was an ensemble cast that exceeded all expectations. Every scene kept you on the edge of your seats and challenged your tears to fall at every turn. In summary, I'd like to share the new synopsis from Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway presenting their movie at the SAG-AFTRA Awards:

"Wolverine is being chased by Gladiator, Catwoman gets knocked up and for some ungodly reason goes to see Bellatrix Lestrange from Harry Potter and Borat. Then Wolverine agrees to raise Catwoman's baby, and she grows up to star in Mamma Mia!"

Birthday Celebrations

I normally don't splurge on giving gifts to someone, but I've known for some time that Kai is always worth spending for. Perhaps it's the whole "first love" magic of sorts, but somehow turning 22 is a big deal. So for whatever reason, it's my way of saying a wide array of things at one: "Happy birthday", "I'm sorry", "You deserve it" and most importantly, "I LOVE YOU".

So let's have a breakdown of the things I got her!

Tardis Pendant (The Blue Box by Tuxessories)
As she is a big fan of Doctor Who, I thought getting this for her would be a great way to start things off. The squeal was priceless. xD

Pink Galaxy Pocket (Android Phone, split w/ her mom)
After having a trusty XpressMusic Phone from Nokia for the longest time, it was time she moved forward with the times. This was actually because of the commercial we kept seeing on TV, and it was relatively cheap compared to most phones out in the market. Sweeping SM Marikina stores, we stumbled upon a pink version of the phone. Convincing her mom to half the expense, I paid for it for the time being and the rest is history. Happy Kai, happy me.

Severus Snape Lego Keychain (Hobbes & Landes)
During one of those long nights when I had to wait for my mom before going home, I decided to do a little bit of exploring around Greenbelts 1 & 5. One of the little shops I discovered was the hobby store called Hobbes & Landes. During my sweep of the place, I wondered what would make another fantastic gift for Kai and initially I found nothing. But all that changed when I spotted small Lego figurine keychains of several key characters. Among them hung three pieces of SEVERUS SNAPE ones. Inwardly, I spazzed. He was the only remaining Harry Potter character on display and both of us are, to this day, mega fans of Snape. So I snagged it off the shelf and paid for it.

Purple Hard Storage Box (Tickles, c/o my Mom)
My mom asked me what would be a good gift for Kai as she planned to get something as well. Originally, I had suggested to get a book. Kai had been eyeing Mitch Albom's latest book, The Time Keeper for some time, and I thought that would have been the perfect gift. But it was out of stock in the bookstores I went to. I was willing to shell out the excess of my mom's ceiling price but I lucked out.

Instead, I came to browse through the Tickles stall in Greenbelt. I thought a pillow would suffice, but as I was browsing the designed that were behind the counter, my eyes found these neat boxes! I remembered how Kai always complained where to store her wires, so I though it was PERFECT. It fit the price range my mom was willing to pay so it made the choice even better.

Om Nom Doll (Clipper)
The adorable green creature in Cut the Rope named Om Nom became a fast growing fad. Clipper was one of those stores that sold odd ball merchandise that bordered on cute and squishable. This wasn't any different. This sudden purchase when Kai and I were together comes with some sort of explanation. Since Kai is allergic when in prolonged contact with anything with fur, this made the perfect bed companion (when I'm not around) for her! She immediately took to it and was lovingly scratching Om Nom, much to my amusement.

Belle de Jour Power Planner (Fully Booked, paid remaining price)
Kai has always enjoyed having the BDJ planner. One of the perks this time around was a coupon that we plan on using up for our 5th anniversary next year. I paid for the rest of the overall price for her, so she felt pretty safe and content having it on hand.

And moving beyond the physical, material gifts, there were two extra gifts I gave her: a Yakimix lunch treat and agreeing to see Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2 with her. A buffet is a grand luxury I'd avoid except on special occasions and I've been wanting to take her there so doing so to celebrate her birthday was very much worth it. Plus since we dined there on a weekday, we managed to enjoy the Eat & Drink All You Can! :D Truly a grand experience.

I LOVE YOU KAI! NOW AND FOREVER~!

Review: The Help

To be honest, I was uniquely intrigued when I saw The Help nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, along with other categories such as Best Actress for Viola Davis and Best Supporting Actress for Jessica Chastain and Octavia Spencer. Out of the four, Spencer came out with the win. From what I picked up from the snippets shown during the airing of the Awards, it revolved around a familiar situation of uber-racist proportions.

Of course, this isn't the first drama I've encountered that tackled something as monumental as white against colored people ,or at least the mistreatment of the latter. Rather, it's not the first movie I appreciated so much when it comes to building a bridge between two races. Two others that come to mind are Hairspray, the musical-turned-movie about breaking status quo, and Something the Lord Made, a medical drama TV movie based on true events revolving around the collaboration of two doctors - one white and one colored (who starts off as a carpenter). These two contrast in many ways but come together where it matters most.

Hairspray, being a musical, underscored its plot through song and dialogue. It remains light but has a lot more to say beyond a show featuring the "nicest kids in town". Behind the scenes there's the issue of racism and close-mindedness with typical high class white women who will do anything to keep things where they are.

Something the Lord Made, on the other hand, is a true tale of the complex partnership of black cardiac pioneer Vivien Thomas (Mos Def) and white surgeon Alfred Blalock (Alan Rickman), who work together to solve the Blue Baby Syndrome. Their story revolves around the prevalent racism of segregation where most - well, all - black employees are no more than class 3 employees.

Ultimately, The Help once again brings the issue of black or white to the big screen, with a flavor of focusing on issues revolving around colored help and raising white children. The movie dons powerful insight into slipping through the cracks show and tell the perspective and overall state of the maids during this oppression. It evokes the freedom and courage to speak the truth behind an anonymity in the midst of racist white housewives whose only concern is to mind theirown kind, complain about sharing bathrooms and bridge tournaments.

This story emotionally moved me to understand where these maids were coming from and the bond that formed between these people and the people they worked for, if it ever was something to be cherished. I guess the best thing I can take away from this wonderful move are the words Aibileen Clark (Viola Davis) imparts to Mae Mobley, the toddler she takes care of:

You is kind. You is smart. You is important.

Destination L.A.

*It is to be noted that I typed this entry on the plane, but I was only able to post this when I finally got net for my netbook.

It's been years since I last flew to the United States. Since my dad has been in the industry ever since I was born, we've always had this privilege to fly out to America every summer growing up. Our usual destination would be San Diego, California, considering a good number of our relatives reside there. But as time passed and we kids grew up, it became harder and harder to schedule these family vacations during the summer, starting with the year my brother entered college. We usually had summer semesters along with the usual school year, so planning had to shift to the vicinity of October and November.

This time around, all of us are now working. I'm currently on probationary status where I work for 6 months until November, but I was most fortunate to have accumulated compensation leaves from doing hours of overtime work for the past 3 months that allowed me to file for a leave that would last just a bit over 2 weeks.

Granted, I love my job. And if there would be any proof of that, it would be the positive evaluation I received just yesterday... if we still have not crossed the International Date Line. Taking a break from work for 2 weeks is most welcome, but somehow I couldn't shake off the fact that I still see myself going to work and testing out games from 8:30-5:30. But I don't think that's the point.

What IS the point is that as any year previous to this, our trip to the States is often never 100% full-proof. After all, using said connections of my dad, the tickets we have going to and from the States are non-reserved, or chance tickets meaning we could only get on the plane if there are available seats. With my dad's fairly recent promotion to Flight Purser, he gets the privilege of being able to upgrade our seats.

This is the first time I've ridden Mabuhay class; much more setting at the front of the plane. It's a very luxurious feeling with a fully reclining chair, my personal screen which I can choose what to watch and just the space. airplane food, good as it looks and probably tastes, never settles well with me during air travel.

This is the first time I've gone on a trip longer than a week - and to the States no less - during my relationship with Kai. The separation anxiety hurts, but I know our love is strong enough to make these 2 weeks go by quickly. When I return home, I know she'll be waiting for me to chat with her; as I am with her once that time comes. I love her so dearly, and I'll make sure that the wait is worth it. Doesn't hurt to find a good souvenir for her from New York too.

During my flight thus far, I tuned in to watch 3 movies so far: Rumor Has It (Mark Ruffalo), Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer (Chris Evans) and Australia (Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman and David Wenham). I'm deciding if I watch any more movies or crack open my book and continue reading. We do have about 3 more hours of flight time, but I was considering taking a good nap. We'll see.

Review: Ano Hareta Aozora

A few days ago, Kai and I managed to pool our resources together and got a copy of the latest Takumi-kun Series. Sometime last Saturday, I managed to receive the English softsubs for the movie so we could better appreciate it. So here's the review more than a year later since I first mentioned it in my blog here.

1) Gii and Takumi relationship: Happily enough, their relationship remains pretty compact, unlike previous movies where Takumi's phobia regresses or Gii had to leave for an extended period. They're learning to cope, and more importantly, adapt to the prospect of what a relationship is. So kudos to them~

2) Arata and Shingyouji: After PURE, where you already get a great idea on their weird relationship (which I probably more S&M than romantic thanks to Arata's choice of words), they still happily remain as characters intrinsic to the series and still manage to contribute if not push Gii and Takumi in the right direction - towards each other.

3) Gii and Arata: These two "geniuses", or the overly brilliant smart-ass and Student Council President (who I must point out are both Tezukas from Tenimyu!), actually deserve to clash, collide and confide in each other where it matters. After all, Gii's shortcomings are surprisingly already anticipated if not covered up by Arata, so their friendship, if it could even be called that, is one that's well worth the movie's time in stressing. It does make me wonder why it's just Gii owing Arata all the favors. xD

4) Takumi and Shingyouji: Ukes confiding each other is cute. Always was, always will. It's during these scenes where you're more likely to have a better overall idea of what they're thinking about their partners or how much they're so in love or have matured altogether (well, Takumi anyway).

5) Gii apologizing: I counted. He apologized five times throughout the movie, which was already a rarity if you consider how proud he normally was and the upbringing he normally portrays. Here he's just more vulnerable, and frankly, sorta reminds me of myself when Kai and I end up having an argument. Their argument in this movie reminded me of us actually.

6) Gii running (again): Well, this never gets old. Gii's always the one at fault, but ends up taking the most effort to run after Takumi. It's endearing, really. And I'm glad they kept this for the movie. Making Watanabe Daisuke run is uberly fun. xD

Impromptu Dates

So yesterday was Independence Day here in the Philippines, which equally meant that there wasn't going to be any work. Happily enough, I got to sleep in and woke up at around 11 to rains and strong winds. So much for the alleged picnic at the memorial park. Our grandparents could wait, but the bad weather was just not ideal for it. It was a day I was supposed to haul my ass off and meet with Kai prior to the picnic, but oh well.

Plans quickly changed when we decided to meet anyway. So an afternoon and early dinner well spent at Quezon Memorial Circle for the two of us as we ended up renting a 3-wheel pedicab to bike around for about 30 minutes before deciding to settle in for a treat of Kamameshi House Tori Kamameshi~ Ironically, it was a good way to celebrate the day as well, as much as we didn't exactly pay tribute to much. Oh well.

To top it off, she ended up sleeping over~ We watched Batman Forever that was showing on HBO before we settled in to sleep to wake up early for today. She rode with us to Katipunan where my mom and I dropped her off to get breakfast before she ran any errands for the day prior to going home.

In other news, we've begun plotting for more of our upcoming fanfics on our joint account. So if you're an avid reader of our works, please please please review and author alert! :D

Movies and Mark Ruffalo

I think I'll blame The Avengers. Since its debut here in the Philippines last April 25, the hype never seemed to end and the impending box-office smash hit managed to take away two of it's screening times from my life; one in 3D, the other in good ol' 2D viewing. Of course, when are movies ever going to be a waste of my time?

But this Avengers movie was different. Of course, with a star-studded cast portraying a band of epic superheroes, how could it flop? The biggest surprise came in the big package, all bundled up nicely with a bow in the form of Mark Ruffalo portraying Bruce Banner / Hulk. 8D

It was a welcome surprise, really. He was a newcomer compared to the rest who reprise their roles from previous Marvel flicks and the third overall to portray the good doctor. And may I say, he has just been full of surprises. He made me an insta-fan for Bruce, and I'm very much glad to hear that the overwhelming positive reviews landed him a six-movie deal to continue portraying Bruce! *cheers*

In other news, I decided to procure a copy of 2004 flick 13 Going on 30, where Mark portrayed the adult form of Matt Flamhaff. It's not surprising that a number of his movies have him in the same demeanor and acting style, with variations in character personality. Needless to say, he is just very much a great actor that has gotten my utmost respect.

Best of luck to him, and I'm very much looking forward to his future work and success in the Marvel world~ Looking forward to his own Hulk movie!

The Avengers

The past few days have been anything but dull. Since my departure from the house to run some work-related errands that seemed to have been more practically spent in the company of my girlfriend Kai - both for the company and convenience - I have been in and out of a house to go to either the mall or elsewhere.

Last Wednesday, April 25, Kai and I went to get our NBI Clearance at Robinson's Metro East, just a trike ride away from her house. We were there somewhat expecting the long line but in the end it turned out to have been a long wait. Since the Clearance center only accommodated 500, they gave out numbers to everyone who was in line. Luckily, Kai and I got 399 and 400 respectively, so we managed to get to get the process done by the end of the day. The day was especially special because it was the opening day of The Avengers here in the Philippines, and being there in the mall as early as we were, who wouldn't line up to buy tickets?! So I treated Kai and myself to a 3D screening of the movie at 6pm. Well worth it!

After all was said and done, we had the privilege of watching it again yesterday with my relatives at Shangri-La Plaza Mall, care of our cousin's running team's premiere screening. Since my brother wasn't watching with us and Kai was already sleeping over, we invited her to come along to not waste the ticket.

Considering it was both our first time exploring that mall, we were more than amazed. But of course, not as amazed by our second viewing of the movie.

I finally took the opportunity to get a picture with the promotional board of my favorite actor & character of the bunch, Tony Stark/Iron Man played by the forever awesome Robert Downey Jr.!

Since we got an advanced screening from America, I won't give out any spoilers, but will say how it's worth every cent to GO AND WATCH THIS MOVIE! Looking forward to the sequels The Avengers 2 and Iron Man 3 in the future!!

Dates, Recovery and Workshops

So to kick off this blog, I want to start off simple by saying I've been plagued with a bad case of the colds and cough duo for the past few days, which explained my semi-sloth behavior in coming up with the sense of typing up a post for my blog. And so here I am, still recovering, but engaged in much activity in the early days of the new year doing things of the social and academic fancies.

So I believe safe to start off with the more exciting story of spending time with my girlfriend~ Now, one of the movies Kai and I have been wanting to watch this year was Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. Personally I love the whole franchise because I've actually read some of the Doyle classics when I was still in the mood of reading. Much more so when I watched the first movie back in 2009. Now, This particular movie franchise took my interest in mostly due to the starring roles of Holmes and Watson portrayed by the awesome Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law respectively. Clearly my new favorite pair of detectives nowadays.

You can find the trailer of this movie below, though of course the release date varies across the world. Here in the Philippines it came out just last Sunday, but all the same, the movie is a must watch. Funny thing about the pre-screening. The movie was rated PG-13, and the ticket lady out front asked us how old we were. As if we looked remotely close to 13. Well as far as compliments go, that's by far most acceptable for me, and in my responding 18, realized that I'm, in fact, 3 years older than what I say. SO I'M NOT USED TO IT YET LOL.



Anyway, moving on. After out fun viewing of the movie that nearly lasted 3 hours, we drove off to Quezon Memorial Circle to happily find one of my absolutely FAVORITE Japanese restaurants open for dinner service. New Kamameshi House has been a place of dining for me and my family for as long as I can remember. We used to go there frequently to celebrate achievements and what not (graduations and the sort) to savor the magic tastes of their signature Tori Kamameshi Rice. It was absolute heaven to have eaten a kettle of it, and well worth the wait and money. 
Immediately following this date, we move on to today. Earlier this morning after I took Kai home I attended a morning workshop that was organized by my thesis adviser, where she asked my partner Jason and I to give a talk on our thesis to the visitors from all over who came. It is for a fact that I was still feeling sick but I didn't want to let anyone down and not show up, so I went despite my sickness - which was more phlegm in the throat kind more than a cold, which ruined my voice and hence a bad idea - and ended up doing most of the talking as I later realized.
Well, regardless of that fact it was a fun talk, though it was rather sad that we weren't able to demonstrate our game to them, which would have been cool. But I do hope we got our point across. I'm actually looking forward to my Naga trip in February now after this. More stuff to include to my resume, haha!!
So that's about it. I've got some readings to do but I'm sleepy so I'm on the fence with what to do. xD Ah well. 
Carpe diem.

Christmas Break!

So today was the first official day of Christmas break!!!

These next two weeks will be devoted to parties and Christmas celebrations, but of course it didn't come cheap. Two days ago I finished the draft for our thesis paper, making sure that it's done well before Friday so I can use Thursday to relax. Of course, that meant that I had myself an early celebration by going out on a date with Kai that afternoon!

So last Thursday she and I went to Eastwood to have lunch and watch a movie. We originally wanted to watch Tintin, but they weren't showing it in their cinemas so we settled for watching Immortals instead. Admittedly, I was so tired from the night before that I nodded off during the dialogues, but I was perked awake by the fight scenes. Hehe. Lots of gory blood and epic fight sequences, and hot guys to boot. Hahahaha!

Tomorrow the family will be holding an exchange gift tomorrow night in lieu of the annual Christmas Eve celebration since we'll be going to Boracay for the holidays. I happily have my gift wrapped and ready to be given. ^o^/

On Tuesday I'll be meeting with my blockmates to have a Christmas block party. Surprisingly enough, the boys were the one who did the planning this time around, which was in itself a surprise. Let's see what happens out of it. Hahaha.

For this break I've got some things I need to do: write a PCSC paper with my thesis-partner, read some books for Philo class, and prepare for Theo midterms and Game Design LT. So much for a break. But then again, that's what cramming is for! xD

Playing on Accents

I wanted to talk about Puss in Boots. Kai and I went off to watch it some days ago and might I say, what an excessively cute, hilarious and sensational movie it was! You can't go wrong with cats, and adding Antonio Banderas voicing the rogue cat was just the cherry on top.

Now, with every movie and great actor, physical or voice over, it's a funny little habit of mine that I end up coming away with some sort of accent to do. Such was the case with Puss, but this has happened on more than one occasion. One such instance was Real Steel, where I came away with a nice Hugh Jackman accent that Kai was highly amused of.

But of course, there's always the showings of Hell's Kitchen, where I end up borrowing the accent of the infamous Gordon Ramsay with his British tone. It may not be up to par with actually sounding exactly like them, but close enough to make my girlfriend have a good laugh (or swoon) about. xD

Last Hurdle, Real Steel and Avengers

Thursday mid-morning and I'm back from my Economics Final Exam. I can admit that I don't know the fate of my grade until the very end, but I think I did alright. All that's left is for me to get through my Philosophy orals tomorrow afternoon and I'm home-free!

To celebrate the occasion and to psych myself up for the rest of the day, I came home to make myself some breakfast: my ever favorite Cheese Bread! ~u~

Now, because yesterday was the birthday of the epiceawesome Hugh Jackman, Kai and I decided to watch his latest movie Real Steel tomorrow to celebrate the sembreak! ^o^/ You can find the trailer below~


In other news and Marvel-related, the teaser trailer of The Avengers is out, and looking awesome! Out of this bunch I personally enjoy Iron Man, especially portrayed by the great Robert Downey Jr. This is sure to be part of my To-watch list this year!

Post-Defense

Yesterday was a stressful day. Besides it being the last day of the month - not that that's a bad thing -, Jason and I scheduled our second thesis defense to present recent developments, inclusive of our prototype. It was a happy time, and I must say it went well! Happy time~

TODAY, it's a special day today~ Happy birthday to Tenimyu Seigaku 2nd cast, Fuji Syuusuke, Aiba Hiroki today! Not really sure if it's some form of celebration, but I'll be meeting with Kai and her mom later in TriNoma for lunch and watch Glee 3D concert~ 

New Phone

So today the family and I went to watch Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 at SM Marikina. This was my second time watching since my parents wanted to watch it so hooray~

What's funny was in SM Marikina it was a free seating and the theater was hardly full, and the first two rows of seats in the very front were lazy boy seats. My dad and I decided to watch the movie there once we figured out how to recline the chairs. It was awesome. xD

And afterwards. AFTERWARDS I FINALLY GOT MY DREAM PHONE!!! TuT

My netbook webcam's a little blurry but you see the Samsung Champ Duos phone right there. One of the main reasons I wanted this was for its dual-sim functionality. I've been meaning to get a Sun sim for quite some time to avail of the unlimited texts and calls I could share with Kai. xD Yei~

The Dinner Before

IT WAS EPICAWESOMESAUCE!!


That is all I can really say after watching the final movie. A lot of tears surely spilled for some scenes, but also a lot of hearty laughs for the small inserts of comedies splayed throughout the film. But as people have yet to watch it I'll leave out any spoilers for now and just talk about the hours prior to watching it.

So after my 10:30-12:00 class and enjoying from Baked Macaroni for lunch, I zoomed off to Marikina with a coded car to spend the rest of the afternoon with Kai at her place with intentions to leave at 7:00pm once the coding was lifted for the day and headed to Eastwood.

Of course as the showing was at 9, we went to have dinner at the usual place of interest: Teriyaki Boy! And as is the usual with us, we order ourselves some delicious Shake Roll. I took some pictures you can find below. :D

 

The Day

Today is the day! The premiere of the last Harry Potter movie and as has been some form of tradition I gave myself since the 5th or 6th movie: I dress up a bit with the white polo and red & gold tie and bring along my wand originally made by my uncle and greatly modified (for one shortened and colored) by me for some prop. This is probably the first time I thought of taking a picture of things prior to watching Harry Potter but the phenomenon I've come to love so much is worth looking like a geek sometimes.

If only people knew I was attempting to cosplay. xD Who exactly, I have no idea. xDDDD