Thanks!

Thanks goes to everyone for giving me the best birthdays of my life.

Yesterday was a day of fun, walking, eating and shit! Yes, our first stop in the field trip was the muddy, ruddy and not to mention shitty Biak-na-Bato which is, to sound redundant, full o' shit! It was a tiring yet unconventional and unforgettable experience. Hell, my rubber shoes got soaked in the muddy water back there, too!

But later, it was a fiesta. A great, big organized fiesta in which I couldn't really eat! The spaghetti could fill the entirety of second year! And Mr. Spam was muching away without looking like L33T.

Butterfly Haven seemed like bull to me. Everyone probably wanted to go back to the bus anyway.

Casa Real, the printing press of the 1800's was closed and Barasoain Church was well, holy. After that, everyone just got on the bus, fooled around, freaked out when the alien-that-looks-like-SHIT!-but-I-forgot-his-name showed on TV (OK, so maybe it was only me) and the DVD player was not plugged in. But it was all worth it anyway.

Laughs were also abundant when Dale snuck in the baggage shelves and poked people... it was like Punk'd in there... seriously! And Fleur who was seated beside me, was forced to eat the kiampong she brought (which nobody ate) and with all the food commercials showing on the TV, how can she force herself to be hungry? Heck, even my distribution of the Muhlach ensaymada at the back almost made her puke (because it was food and she didn't want to think about food so she can get hungry). Yesterday was so totally worth my injured knee! It was a big blast so I give everyone in my class of II-1 a big thank you! Hahaha.

(OK. That part sounded cheezy but it's sincere!)

News
New Technological Celebrity: George Hotz
He unlocks iPhone. He gets famous. He gets car.

George Hotz is a teenager who "unlocked" the fixed AT&T plan that is carried by the iPhone. Which means that any sim card is now compatible with an iPhone like that. Though it doesn't really sound like a newsworthy story to me, it is to America which is stuck with an AT&T plan for two years with an iPhone. A used cellphone vendor even traded him a Nissan car plus 3 more 8GB iPhones for that unlocked iPhone. Now do you see what an unlocked phone means to America? It's crazy to tell the truth... real crazy. The thing is, he'll be in hot water with AT&T and Apple but I haven't really heard of lawsuits from the two companies yet...

Virginia Tech starts a remorseful school year
Everyone (in America at least) remembers the Virginia Tech incident. Cho, who is now dead because he shot himself, killed about 20-30 professors and about 10 students. But it's not as if the students are not trying to be optimistic... it's just hard.

Celebs paid at Vegas clubs to party
OK. Paris Hilton. Partying again. Surprise? Nah.

The only difference though, is the fact that the clubs pay stars like Ms. Hilton to generate buzz. It sounds as sick as prostitution in my opinion!

Reviews Galore
Blades of Glory

Released by Dreamworks Pictures

Starring Will Ferell and Jon Heder

RATING: 4 stars

Chazz Michael Michaels (Will Ferell) and Jimmy McElroy (Jon Heder), are both world-renowned skaters with hordes of fans and both have different ways to attract the audience. But when a bloody fight ensues when they get a tie on the Singles World Championship Match, and a mascot that represents the games gets burned, the two are both banned by the governing board from figure skating for life. They end up leading different lives but are forced to skate together when a stalker finds a flaw in the rulebook- the two are banned from the singles but they can vie for the pairs tournament. And because such an opportunity would satisfy their need to figure skate, they decide to agree and try to do it, and even become brothers in the process.

CAPTION: Welcome to the overrated world of figure skating.

This is comedy that practically goes to the road less traveled in comedy... which is the satirizing of a graceful sport called figure skating. The pair, being a same-sex pair at that, of course generates plenty of laughs because of certain moves that involve the "handling" of the crotch area. But still, the skating sequences are very well made with all the cool slow-motion effects and stuff. They eventually get to the world championship in Montreal and get to pit against a brother-sister pair (Amy Poehler and Will Arnet). But in beating the siblings, they have to perform a move called the "Iron Lotus" which even beheaded a woman when it was performed in North Korea! It's actually the obsession of their coach that leads them to doing this for the medal and it's go-for-broke after days of practice.

CAPTION: "What's wrong with 'Lady Humps' by the Black Eyed Peas?"

Will Ferell acts once again as a drunk lowlife... only in spandex... and it actually still fits him perfectly. You can even ask yourself if anyone can do it better than Will Ferell. Jon Heder plays an effeminate (but not totally gay) and pampered former child prodigy and succeeds in looking like a gay-but-not-gay nerd. I can say the same for fellow SNL member, Amy Poehler who competently acts as a sinister cheater alongside Will Arnet.

Funny is a word I'd like to describe and it's also refreshing to see an idea like this done right because something like this involves heavy slapstick and it seems that the comic timing of the two are greatly honed in this very welcome comedy. It has a good balance of toilet humor, slapstick and one-liners as well. It may not be the brightest comedy, but it still hits the spot. If you want to tickle your funny bone, I fully recommend Blades of Glory.

Other Critics' Ratings:
Rotten Tomatoes: 69% FRESH ("Successfully milks its one-joke premise into a feature length movie.")
Yahoo! Movies Critics Consensus: B-
Hollywood.com: 2.5/4 ("Yes, Will Ferell is once again playing a macho jerk in dire need to learn some life lessons--in spandex and ice skates, no less. But honestly, can anyone else do it better?")
Movie Chicks: 3.5 ("What’s amazing is how many real figure skating personalities were willing to be involved in this movie – they add a bonus dimension to the jokes (like throwing in a double toe-loop after landing a triple axle)")

Nintendo DS Lite
RATING: 5 stars

It makes me regret buying the original Nintendo DS.

Let's say you have a first generation DS. Compare it alongside the DS lite and you'll see evident differences. Though most of these adjustments are quite cosmetic, it's for the best. I mean, with that screen, I can look at the projecting pictures and not get eye strain for like a trillion hours! And if you're a clumsy oaf with sweaty hands, you probably will like the Power button relocation to the right corner of the unit. Games generally feel a lot cooler and better in terms of graphic power and you just can't see the difference unless you put the two side by side. I mean, just looking at pictures won't do the trick, it's the real hands-on experience that will make you want to upgrade from the first generation DS to the lite version! It just puts first generation DS owners to shame.

But under the hood, nothing's changed (except the brightness of course). Heck, they don't sacrifice the screen size and yet that thing is pocketable! Will Nintendo be the next Apple in the gaming industry? I don't know. But the transition of a handheld gaming system from bulky to lightweight isn't often perfect. But this one is the exception to the rule!

Zodiac
Released by Warner Bros. Pictures
Starring: Jake Gylenhaal, Robert Downey Jr.
RATING: 4.5 stars

Jake Gylenhaal is merely a cartoonist in the San Francisco chronicle. He's also a puzzle enthusiast and has a child. Sounds normal, right? But when a serial killer who goes by the alias of Zodiac is at large, he sends letters- codes, to the said paper for them to publish. This is where he goes in to become somewhat obsessed with finding out who he is.

What is great about this movie... is the execution of its premise. Based on a real crime case which remains unsolved, the Zodiac is a serial killer who usually murders couples who are alone in a certain area in Vallejo. The director certainly knows how to go beyond conventional crime-solving fare and does without the car chases, high-powered explosions and miraculous returns and paces it in a police investigation fashion.

CAPTION: "Stop bugging me with that Zodiac killer!"

You find a lot of evidence and facts but it doesn't really solve the mystery in the end. But the gripping story just sucks you in especially with competent and effective performances by the stars.

Zodiac is probably the best, most interesting suspense film I've seen this year. I've never found anything else so interesting (at least in a crime movie). It's very long though, at 2 hours and 30 minutes but you'll enjoy it nonetheless.

Other Critics' Reviews:
Rotten Tomatoes: 88% Certified FRESH!
Roger Ebert: 4 stars
Yahoo! Movies Critics Consensus: B+

1408
Released by MGM Pictures and Dimension Films
Starring: John Cusack, Samuel Jackson
RATING: 3.5 stars

Check in alive. Check out dead.

This is what happens to those who dare check in Room 1408 of the Dolphin Hotel.

Mike Enslin (John Cusack) is a horror novelist who sets out to find places which claim to be haunted. He then receives a letter from someone in the form of a postcard from the New York Dolphin Hotel. It says, "Don't enter room 1408.". Considering the lonely, unexciting and haunted nights he slept through in various other inns and hotels that claim to be haunted, the notorious Dolphin would probably be a good place to see. He tries to check in only to be confronted by the manager (Samuel Jackson) who warns him, bribes him, and eventually gives him the key anyway due to Enslin's stubbornness and persistence to enter said room. He enters and experiences hell, what happens during and after that, you can see by watching the movie.

CAPTION: I wonder how his Dell laptop endured so much from the sprinklers and the negative degree snow... hell, I even wonder how he got WiFi (he was using Y! Messenger) and not a cellphone signal! It makes the movie more comedic than scary...

Anyway, 1408 seemed like a great horror flick when I saw trailers in Yahoo! but the movie itself isn't quite as scary as I thought it would be. It's based from a Stephen King, who is often hailed as one of the kings of the genre of horror... and the film does scare... but only to an extent. The Carpenters can be irritating sometimes... and I'm a fan of their music too!

Cusack plays his role perfectly as a novelist in the verge of insanity and Jackson, well, he's just calm and collected. They hired a girl with a somewhat ominous presence though. She's Jasmine Jessica Anthony and the make-up she wears in the film makes her look real dead all right.

It goes in CGI overload toward the end though. But that flaw can be forgiven. So for those who want to spend time to watch something in the genre of horror, can watch this I guess... I'm sure it'll be more effective in theaters or at night in your house or something.

Critics' Ratings:
Yahoo! Critics Consensus: B
Rotten Tomatoes: 78% Certified FRESH!
Seattle Post Intelligencer: B