bury me in this dress

I just finished watching NANA movie and I’m so disappointed with it. After falling in love with the anime and the manga versions, I was expecting the movie to be really something. I have to applaud the production for making the actors look like their manga counterpart but I would rather they used actors who looked so different but can act well. Mika Nakamisha was deadpan all the time. I wish she had more expressions on her face. I wish they chose Anna Tsuchiya to play NANA instead. Ryuhei Matsuda…they could have used a better looking actor to play Ren. Aoi Miyazaki could have been perkier and funnier since Hachi is so hyper in the manga. The actors who played Yasu, Shouji, Sachiko, Takumi, Shin, and Junko were decent. Probably the actor I liked best is Hiroki Narimiya (he was also in the dorama Orange Days which I reviewed earlier). He’s the liveliest among the other actors and stayed true to Nobu’s character. *sigh* I really wish the live action was better. While watching it, I kept thinking that I wish the film was over. I haven’t seen NANA 2 yet but now I’m not looking forward to it anymore. Still, I’ll watch it. I just hope that the actors are more spirited this time.

I’m so glad I brought my laptop with me and super satisfied that I’m a Smart subscriber. There’s airborne access here at the airport and I have an hour and a half to kill time before we board the place. So yay! First time I was able to use my cheap AA access and it’s at the airport. I think that’s cool.

I need sleep badly. I only had an hour of forty winks last night. Went out with Phoebe again to watch that terrible film called Lucky You. It was a waste of 140 pesos. If you’re planning to watch it, don’t. The actors play poker throughout the whole film. Well, 70% of the film anyway. I don’t even understand poker at all so the film just made me confused. There’s some side story - romance between Eric Bana and Drew Barrymore - very cheesy. It’s really a waste of time.

I feel like I’ve forgotten something. If that’s so I hope it’s not important.

I hope there’s free wifi at Bangkok and Pattaya.

I just watched Spiderman 3 at Podium. I think it sucked. Too cheesy for me and full of cliches. It was fine during the first half and when Spidey became a fucking emo bastard but everything went downhill when he teamed up with Harry to fight Sandman and that other guy. When Harry was about to die, I wanted a gay moment between Spiderman and Harry. That would have improved the end of the film.

I almost forgot to mention that I’ve already seen Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. Phoebe suddenly called me on Friday night and asked if I wanted to do something so I suggested we see the movie. We got to Greenbelt just in time for the 12am screening and I was thrilled because the theater wasn’t packed.

I was crying with laughter from start to finish. The movie was hilarious, offending, and stupid. Just the way I wanted it to be. The most memorable part for me was when Borat and Azamat were fighting naked. It was disgustingly funny! I couldn’t believe Sacha Cohen actually did that. Another part was when Borat tried to bag Pamela Anderson. So fucking funny! I also loved his driving lesson. Actually I loved everything he did in the movie.

I hope there’ll be another Borat movie someday. I will definitely watch it!

Being a supporter of Greenpeace Philippines, I was given the chance to attend their special screening of An Inconvenient Truth, a documentary on Al Gore’s quest to influence mankind to stop the ticking time bomb which is global warming.

I’ve seen a few National Geographic and Discovery Channel documentaries on its effect, some even warning life on earth will cease to exist in 50 years time if we don’t do anything about it. In An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore presents new studies showing that we will start to feel the extreme effects possibly just 10 years from now. Effects like more severe storms, intense heat, droughts, flooding, death of wildlife and vegetations, and the spread of epidemics among others. (more…)

I was finally able to watch The Prestige last night. I found it okay, entertaining, but not that great as some people opined. I was able to guess how the magicians did their tricks at once so the ending didn’t surprise me at all. I loved the all-star cast though. I was surprised that David Bowie (as Nicola Tesla) is in it. I liked the props and the costume design. I also liked their play on Tesla and Edison’s rivalry, echoing Angier and Boden’s obsession with outdoing each other.

I watched the film with my friend Phoebe. I chose the 10:45 PM showing at Greenbelt 3 and made reservations through sureseats. Ticket is expensive, 160 pesos, but cheaper compared to watching it abroad. We arrived in Greenbelt around 9PM so I had enough time to eat supper. I chose National Sports Grill since I’ve never eaten there. Good choice. I loved the San Francisco Burger with Sourdough Parmesan bread. Yum. The fries were really good too. I ate too much though. While I ate, Phoebe mostly read the Time magazines she bought. She ate at home already so she just picked on my fries. She isn’t into American food.

We were supposed to watch Cine Europa yesterday but I woke up very late. 5:15 PM to be exact. Yay me!

Tonight we will have a family dinner to celebrate mine and my sister’s birthdays. The relatives will be coming and I hope it will be fun. We decided to have it at Burgoo in Rockwell. I love their salmon and Seafood Caesar Salad.

I’m a big fan of Trevor Brown, an artist known for creating cute but grotesque images. I didn’t know that his art is considered as guro until I went to gurochan.net. For those not in the know,  guro is a type of visual art which combines the macabre with erotica. The movement originated in Japan and can be found in art, cinema, and music. It’s definitely not for the easily offended and weak-stomached. So while browsing around the site, I discovered the art of Yock. He makes great CG art which I guess is considered as guro. I also discovered a great blog which features scanlations of some guro manga. I just read Falling by Junji Ito and enjoyed it a lot.

I really am a sickfuck.

I watched Marie Antoinette this afternoon with my new friends Chito Rico (Sorry! I’m bad with names) and Luna. I met them through a Philippine depression mailing list I joined a week ago. They’re great and we could relate with each other because we’re all going through the same thing. I’m glad I joined the group. I hope I will become friends with the other members. Maybe I’ll finally have a support group and a social life.

Marie Antoinette was great. Sofia Coppola showed a different side of the notorious historical figure and in the process, the viewers get to understand and relate to Marie Antoinette. Honestly, I didn’t know much about Marie Antoinette except for her famous words (”Let them eat cake”), how hated she is, and that she still makes an appearance as a ghost. Coppola reminded us that M.A. is young after all, that she was given heavy responsibilities and was put into too much pressure, that she had difficulties with her marriage, and that she is female. The M.A. in the film reminded me of today’s socialites. People like the Hilton sisters and other trust-fund babies who just want to party and live the life. They’re young, love to party and experiment, has money to splurge on clothes and stuff, and they’re also portrayed negatively in media. Perhaps the film is also a commentary about them. What I loved most about the film is the visual eye candy. I love Coppola’s use of bright colors and how she framed Kirsten Dunst surrounded by flowers. The set design and costumes were great although I’m not so sure if they’re historically accurate. I also loved the scoring and soundtrack she used which added a modern touch to the film.

We watched this in Greenbelt and the cinema was full. I don’t know why this film is only being shown in Ayala Cinemas. I think a lot of young people would like to see this. I feel like watching the film again. Maybe I will with mom.

I just watched Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and was astonished that Wes Anderson used Filipino actors to act as pirates. I found it very amusing.

I found the first hour of the film boring and I thought that it would bomb but by the end of the film, I was crying. Hay. Idol ko na talaga si Wes. I loved The Royal Tenenbaums, Bottle Rocket, and Rushmore. Ang galing galing.

Woohoo! I finally got the Freaks and Geeks DVD set I ordered from Amazon last month. I was expecting it to get to me earlier but whatever. At least it’s here now. Much thanks to rained.org for sharing that it’s easier now to get shipment from Amazon. Apparently they now outsource a logistics company here in Pinas. There goes my budget. I want to order some more!

Some of the stuff I’m planning to get:

• The Adventures of Pete and Pete 1 & 2
• Degrassi: TNG 1 to 4
• Degrassi Junior High: The Complete Collection
• Entourage 1 and 2
• Absolutely Fabulous: Complete DVD Collection

I’m beginning to love Amazon but I just wish is free or much cheaper.