Doing What the Sheep Do

Since everyone else is doing lists of their summer plans, maybe I will too.

What I may or may not do:

SHORT-TERM:

1) Finish the Endless Setlist. I cower every time I see the "Endless Setlist" in Rock Band 2 just mocking- laughing at me. It stares me in the eye and says, "Are you man enough, bitch? Are you man enough to finish 84 frigging songs?"

2) Learn the basics of Objective-C. I know that you know that I'm cheap and greedy for money. Well, guess what, I'm gonna get ambitious and start learning a programming language called Objective-C. What is it? It's basically the foundation for iPhone apps. And what do I get from iPhone apps? Money. If a fart app can yield a ten thousand dollar profit for a few months, then...

3) Get my YouTube channel workin'. Maybe I'll do some videos out of boredom. Who knows?

4) Finish many games. Piracy can spoil a person. Because of this, I become fickle and I don't finish them at all.

5) Upgrade Final Cut Pro. I just hate that the version of Final Cut Pro I have in this Mac can't support different formats in one project which makes no sense.

6) Get back to hardcore gaming. For the past school year it has been more of App Store and Wii gaming. While there are indeed hardcore games on the Wii (unfortunately they have yet to be available in Tutuban), I gotta get to my Windows PC. Well, if only it didn't randomly restart that is.

7) Read more books. I seemed to start getting back into my reading groove in December, but the long test nipped it right in the bud.

8) Lose pounds. 'Nuff said.

LONG-TERM:

1) Master Objective-C- See Short-term #2; Maybe I can use this in the future, sideline :D

2) Learn AfterEffects- Special effects for movies. Not only in school projects, but maybe for my own entertainment or profit.

3) Master Final Cut Pro- I have an overly basic background on this program, and it's so basic, that I can't even take advantage of the software. When bundled with a mastery of AfterEffects, well, perhaps my mind will get blown.

4) Expand my vocabulary- There's no such thing as too much knowledge... of words.

Of course, I definitely will not do everything, but here they are- my plans.

2 French films and a third blow at the O' Connells

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

I meant to review this after we returned from America, and that's because I watched this from a plane along with the cut version of the funny musical biopic spoof Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story. And to be honest, this film is a rather effective little illustration of a French Elle editor's bout with "locked-in syndrome"- a rare kind of disability in the aftermath of a stroke. This means that Jean Dominique-Bauby, the Elle editor, can't move any part of his body and has no ability to talk... except his left eye, that is. Thus, he develops a way of communication with just his left eye. A person can ask him yes or no questions, and if he blinks once it means yes, twice means no. Heck, this even led to a real book!

Now, I may have forgotten the name of the biopic's subject (I had to go to RT to check what it was), but I have not forgotten his story! To make it short, it's affecting, it's funny, it's uniquely presented yet... human.

You just can't ignore the fact that he can only see with one eye (they actually sewed his other eye permanently shut) and that such a sickness actually exists! This film provoked my thoughts about life-- and I swore I held back some tears by the time the credits rolled.

To be honest, my seat's entertainment system's audio (along with my parents') was defective so fortunately, there were subtitles. And so I wonder: How much more of a magnificent movie would this be if there was sound?

I can't say any more about this movie... It is hands-down something people should watch. It's compelling, it's deep, and frankly, I need to view it again because it's surprisingly, artfully poetic that I almost didn't understand the deeper meaning behind all the proceedings.

Watch this, now.
Rating: 10/10

Persepolis

Marjane Satrapi may not be French, but to experience this movie is to watch it in that language with English subtitles- basically at its purest, original form. But whatever language you're watching this, it will be sure to make you laugh and be awed at the kind of culture Iran had back in the day.

So this autobiographical movie starts out with Marjane's childhood. Everyone is rallying against the shah, including her rebellious parents, and most of her relatives are being detained and executed. This movie lets you find out how her life was during those hard times, and it eventually leads you to the various stages of her life until womanhood.

I won't spill any more than that, but what I have to say about this gloriously black-and-white animated film is that it certainly is not for the kiddies. Now, the fatalities of war are portrayed here subtly and artistically, but there is foul language used here and there in the otherwise well-written and naturally flowing dialogue. And despite it being black-and-white, there are scenes where a color palette is actually used, and the transition between them is astonishingly seamless.

Anyway, the movie is full of emotional depth, and the portrayal of growing up in this coming-of-age film is uniquely presented- it's unlike any other movie I've seen. It also details the impact of various trends to the conservative Iranian society and the flow just seems really natural and obviously personal. Marjane is practically opening all doors of her heart and not leaving one detail behind.

The pace is rather brisk, and it proves its point without over-dramatizing. Basically, it cuts to the chase.

But the film is not all seriousness for it has its funny moments. Heck, it has a spoof of Rocky! And the scene of her becoming a teen is utterly laugh-out-loud hilarious in its depiction!

And actually, this movie is relevant to our times. Okay, the Bee Gees may be obsolete, but we can replace that with our current trends, and the Revolution? You could put People Power. As for the Iraq-Iran war? You can put the MILF rebellion that's happening in Mindanao over that. People will be able to feel this movie- especially the ones who are embroiled in this war. They will be able to feel with Marjane's story, and that's because even if it's "merely animation", it contains a deeper meaning than many other movies currently being shown in the theaters. But of course, Persepolis isn't being shown in the theater anymore, so it's probably not right to compare this one to the movies currently showing.

But the way it ended surprised me. It just felt abrupt. You feel curious about Marjane's adventures as a grown woman, but of course, this is a coming-of-age story, so I guess it shouldn't be surprising at all.

Regardless of that, you should try and find a copy of this gem of an autobiography. It's unique, it's charming and it's deep but rather unsatisfying. Maybe it should've won the Oscar instead of Ratatouille!

Rating: 9.8/10

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor

Oh God, "here we go again" indeed.

Once again, we go to the lives of the O' Connell family, but this time, Alex has grown up (AS IN) but it's like Rick and Evie didn't age. Of course, Evie has become a bit less beautiful because it's not Rachel Weisz reprising the role anymore, but Mario Bello. But except Evie, the gang's all here.

But of course, there are new characters. I mean, how could they even revive Imhotep right? Well, Alex skips school and goes to China to try to find the Dragon Emperor who was cursed by a witch (Michelle Yeoh). His army was cursed with him, and now, of course, he has resurrected from the dead because of a Chinese general who thinks the ideals of freedom are not ideal for the world.

Jet Li's character's mission is now to go to the immortality water thingy that Michelle Yeoh's character is protecting, and release himself from his crummy CGI exoskeleton and revive his army.

Of course, the O' Connells are the reason of his living, and now they're trying to stop him. As usual.

Basically, the movie is just going through the paces. The proceedings have become predictable, the humor even more stale. The special effects? Ha! Don't start with me about the special effects! Now, judging for the poster, you'd think at least that the effects of this installment is for 2008, but in the movie? Not really. There are some tolerable, still believable effects, but the others aren't. The army in the war scene? Total unbelievability. Jet Li's eventual defeat? Laughable. These effects would've been more believable 5 years ago, but nope, they're iffy in today's standards, to say the least.

Anyway, the two parents are hypocrites. In Returns, they said they love Alex, but here, it's like they ignored him anyway. Alex is a downright ass, and I hate him. And his love story? Bah. There's no emotion in it whatsoever, and the relationship, even though I'm not saying that cross-racial relationships are bad, is really awkward. And come on! The logic! Movie language usually states that if you are stripped of your immortality, your age will catch up with you. Here, it's different. But hey, I could always make this point a point that's going for the movie: it doesn't follow movie convention in only this aspect! </sarcasm>

It's actually a good thing that Rachel Weisz backed out of this project, otherwise she'd succumb to my wrath. Still, if she were in this installment and she reprised her role as Evie O' Connell, maybe the movie would actually get its human emotion. Weisz is a good actress, so if she wants to make us believe that her character is truly, madly, still in love with Rick after all those years, she could. The movie could've been better with her, but she was better off without it in her resume.

The twists are rudimentary and yawn-inducing, and Jet Li is sorely underutilized. What do you see of Jet Li in this movie? A CGI statue of him, that's what. If you wanted me to count his screen time in the flesh, it would probably be as brief as Chow Yun Fat's appearance as a Singaporean pirate in Pirates of the Carribean: At World's End. They could've used his wushu prowess! But noooo, nothing to exploit his skill.

"I hate mummies!," Rick says. Yeah, me too. But the mummies I hate are the movies. They all suck, but not Batman and Robin sucky. But still, this movie is at the top of the barrel of suck.

Rating: 3.3/10

REVIEW: Indy 4... holy cow!

INDIANA JONES: The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Dreamworks SKG
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Starring: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Shia LeBeouf

Wow, now here's a title that definitely has "Most Anticipated Sequel of 2008" smothered all over it.

And because it indeed is arguably the most anticipated sequel of the year, I'm probably gonna make this review a little more unique as I present three views of different kinds of parties: 1) the new generation; 2) the Indiana lovers of the past and; 3) mine. But before that, here's the synopsis I formulated.

Synopsis:
10 years later after "The Last Crusade", Indy is still teaching archeology in the college and the Cold War is taking place. But before they even cut to the school part, they show some rising action in the start instead as the Russian Communists have taken over a secret military warehouse in Nevada (and when you watch this part, notice the warehouse doors -wink-, you'll be able to predict how the movie will pan out somewhat) and they have taken Indy and some Australian colleague called Mac as hostage. This Russian army is led by psychic scientist Irina "I-honestly-forgot-her-name-because-it's-Russian" Spalko and she plans to use telepathy via the powerful Crystal Skull to rule the world. There is going to be a lot of action, traps, nostalgia and humor along the way as Indy whips his way through the mystical rainforests of the Amazon in search for El Dorado- Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Review (in the perspective of today's generation):
As a teen in today's generation, I find it pretty easy to appreciate this kind of movie because first of all, it's the golden example of edge-of-your-seat entertainment this year so far, and two, because the last part actually looks pretty cool. I mean, I don't mind the critics being so critical about the alien twist at the end because the movie as a whole is definitely great to watch especially since it mixes fun, humor and adventure perfectly- but then again, it's a Steven Spielberg, what more can you expect?

Basically, the 4th adventure in the franchise is pretty much a great and slightly scary for younger audiences introduction of America's favorite fedora-wearing, whip-bashing archaeologist.

Review (in the perspective of past Indy lovers):
It's been a long wait since Last Crusade and I just can't believe that the series is taking a bit of a misstep or two because of that ending. God, that ending! It's like George Lucas is missing Star Wars, and Spielberg missing E.T., because, well, E.T. is sort of a like a guest star in the new installation, and I'm not talking about the kind one. What's next for the Indy series? A Star Wars crossover?! Sheesh... If you wanted to put sci-fi in an Indy series, it'd be kind of out of wack, right?

And CGI?! Boy! The past Indy relied lightly on CGI, yes, but most of the other parts were made with stunts! I mean, I guess I should acknowledge Ford's age, though, but still, heavy CGI?!

But wait, I'm emphasizing too much on the worst part of the story, let me tell you about the good ones. Most of what you'd expect from an Indy sequel is still here: the humor, the action, the thrills, the legends and the hairy escapes. Of course, there's also nostalgia: Karen Allen, a picture of Sir Sean Connery (the writers killed him off because he's obviously enjoying retirement) and... Ox.

There's a few new characters along for the ride though: Irina Spalko played deliciously evilly by the excellent Cate Blanchett, and Indy's son played by rising Dreamworks' star (and obviously Spielberg's favorite for now,) Shia LeBeouf.

Overall, I'd still call this a step above Temple of Doom, but nowhere near the others. This deserves a viewing, but by the newbies, so they can appreciate what we've been enjoying for the past 20 or so years. It's still great escapist fare, yes, but I'm not exactly sure if other fans would react the same as my first paragraph, so I'm not raising a sign for past Indy fans to necessarily watch this one.

Review:
Personally, I loved it because it's essentially an Indy made for the new century. Surely, you'd expect that all summer movies would have heavy CGI effects nowadays, and this one's no exception. And actually, I don't really mind that bordering on generic sci-fi twist at the ending because the entirety of the movie has Indiana Jones splattered all over it. It's even got nostalgia for the fans!

I love Cate Blanchett, and I like Shia LeBeouf. Harrison Ford, although he's pretty old, still retains that spunky attitude, yet he seems to be visibly having lots of fun while doing the movie. Yeah, his whip isn't really used as much as I expected him to, but whatever. If you're looking for some great escapist and edge-of-your-seat entertainment, look no where else. Iron Man, step aside for some of that old-fashioned treasure hunting. I mean, basically, it's National Treasure on steroids- huge, huge Steven Spielberg-George Lucas-David Koepp (did I spell that right?) home-brewed steroids.

It's not exactly forgettable, but not enough to reach the Raiders standard of classic either. Still, this is the summer's best movie right now, and you should watch it with the family. I mean, I definitely had an uproarious time watching this, and you probably would too. But for now, I'm just gonna wait for Narnia to come out. (Yay, Narnia!)

And oh, before I forget, look out for Shia LeBeouf's new lead role in Eagle Eye whose trailer starts right before the movie. That's all. :D

LA and Vegas

April 21, 2008 7:18AM Monday, Philippine time (April 20, 4:18PM Sunday, American time)

After almost 10 hours of delay, we finally got to board, and eventually depart, the HKIA. Well, the row we sat on still had no audio in its entertainment system, so we had to deal with the boredom by reading (I read Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere) then watching a foreign film with English subtitles (Julian Schnabel's The Diving Bell and the Butterfly- a great movie).

Anyway, when we finally got down to the Los Angeles Airport (LAX), we had to walk down a series of non-working walkalators and wait a line to go to the baggage claim (because we had to put fingerprints and take a picture as stated by US Aviation Law). We then had the chance to get out of the inspection stages and look for a ride to our hotel. After an hour in a car, we got to the Lincoln Plaza Hotel. It was already 2am American time by then.

Hours later, we woke up to eat a very, very light breakfast and go to our bus to go to Las Vegas.

Actually, I've just arrived in Vegas and we're gonna be waiting for 6:30pm American time so that we can tour the casinos. Unluckily, the Wi-fi here (4 Queens hotel) is not free unlike in Lincoln Plaza so this post, for most of the 3 days we're staying in Vegas, will be long and filled with the word "UPDATE". Photos will be added in 3 days.

UPDATE
The Casino Tour (April 20/21, 2008 American/Philippine time)
Ever watched the original CSI? How 'bout the crappy Nicholas Cage movie Next? Well, you'll probably notice backdrops of Las Vegas being shown, and we're going to the places found in the backdrops. We went to Treasure Island to see the show Sirens of TI but to no avail because of windy weather, we went to the Tropicana to shoot some pics, we drove through New York New York to see the replica of the Statue of Liberty, the Mafia-owned Flamingo and came in the Wynn and the Venetian (the same as the Venetian in Macau, only classier) with their multi-million real flower gardens and greenhouses and faux Victorian villages. Lastly, we went to the Belagio to look at the famous and beautiful water fountain show. We got back to the hotel at about 10:40pm American time, and watched TV then slept.

April 22, 2008 Tuesday, Philippine time (April 21, 2008 Monday, American time)
We had to wake up early and catch up with the bus for Grand Canyon, Arizona but we weren't gonna stay overnight there despite the long drive. However, we first went to see North America's largest man-made lake which has a name I forgot. This lake connects to the Colorado river (I think) which is located near the Hoover Dam which is also a sort of boundary between the state of Nevada and Arizona. We didn't stay in Hoover Dam for long, just 10 minutes so we can pee and take pictures. It is actually notable for being the shooting spot for 007: Goldeneye as well as last year's blockbuster Transformers. It may seem old because it is, but it's still enough to make a futuristic robot movie!

Anyway, after a long ride in the bus again, we got down in the desert full of Joshua trees to ride yet another kind of bus- an Indian bus. No, not the Indian living in India, but the Indians in Pocahontas. You see, the West Grand Canyon is also the home of the so-called Hualapai tribe and is powered by solar energy because of their lack of resources. But this isn't important now, is it?

There were 3 designated points in the area: Point A, the gift shop; Point B, the Eagle Point; and Point C, the I-Forgot-Point. We didn't do much in Point A, so after riding the bus to Point B, that was when amazement was evident in the big crowd. Why? It seems that Mother Nature's carving of the American eagle is just damn amazing and it took 9 million years, too. After that, we went to the Skywalk which is basically a transparent platform that enables people to see the view of the Grand Canyon below. Cameras, cellphones, backpacks, anything couldn't be brought because the staff at the Skywalk itself are the ones in charge of the pictures. It's a bit expensive, especially the 100 dollar USB disk package thingy, but what the hell, you only live once.

We did nothing in Point C as well except wait for my sister and mother to scan the jewelry being sold there. Afterwards, we ate in Point B adjacent to the dancing Indians.

"Time for the Friendship dance! Ouuwahwahkeeeeeeeehhhhhhhhh!"

After eating, we went back to Point A, played DS 'till 2;00 and rode the bus back to Vegas. We got back at 5 and we instantly ate downstairs in our hotel, the Four Queens hotel, in a pizza place. The oil in that thing will just make you puke, though.

6:00 and we went out to wait for the bus to take us to Planet Hollywood so that we can watch Steve Wyzick's Real Magic. I guess watching magicians in the act live is different from that on TV, obviously, and it's great. It's definitely great for the kiddies (my little brother's still talking about it!) and it's entertainment for adults either for the mild sexual innuendo in the jokes or for the ladies wearing short, short skirts and barely concealing tops.

The show finished at 8:30 and we got back to the hotel by 9. But before that, we finally got to see the Fremont Street Experience which is basically a blatant ad for LG Electronics. But still, I gotta admit, who knew a ceiling with hidden lights could do that. It's not that much of a must-see, but if you're in Fremont Street, it's free. After that, we came in a gift shop nearby to find some jerky because my brother's godmother told us it was delicious, but we couldn't find that specific, so-called Las Vegas Jerky. It wasn't especially helpful when the Chinese tour guide simply laughed at our question though. Still, we tried some branded spicy jerky that was terrible.

We watched CSI: Miami, looked up what the time for American Idol would be the following day and watched the news. We slept afterwards.

APRIL 23, 2008 Wednesday 2:22AM, Philippine time (April 22, 2008 Tuesday 11:22AM)
I woke up at 6:30 and watched Good Morning America in ABC. After taking a shower, me, my dad and mom went out to walk and explore Fremont Street and buy breakfast in McDonald's. After eating, we went down to get in the bus and went to Tropicana Casino to pee. An hour later, we went back to the bus, and now we're riding towards LA. So yeah, we're going back to Lincoln Hotel Plaza to rest up for the big day tomorrow. But I'm getting way ahead of myself now because we're still in the bus, watching Live Free and Die Hard. So for now, I leave you... that is after I charge this thing.