Blues

I don’t know if I said this already but, I love Titanic. Like, it’s my favorite film of ALL TIME (don’t ask me why, I really don’t know either).

Unless you live in a far-flung planet like Pandora, you’d know that it is also the highest grossing film of ALL TIME. At $ 1.8B, the movie has been standing loftily at the top of the rankings for 13 friggin’ years. It seemed unsinkable there. The closest competition was The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King at $ 1.119B. It’s not even close, really. And then came Avatar.

I’ve never been a fanatic of sci-fi which explains the lack of zest for this James Cameron blockbuster. Then one day, one friend nudged me and said, “Uy, malapit na raw ma-beat ng Avatar yung record ng Titanic, ah!” I was like, “No way!”

So I researched about it, and found out that Avatar is only a little over the 1 billion mark. I heaved a sigh of relief but then I realized it was just three weeks after its release. Holy crap [and as of this writing, it has garnered a mind-blowing $ 1.6B gross. And it’s not even released in other parts of the world yet!]

Trying to kill my curiosity, I borrowed a (take note) Blu-ray DVD from my cousin and watched it. Surprised myself, I kinda liked it. No, I totally liked it. It was highly imaginative with a very good mix of drama and adventure though I wasn’t really crazy about the plot. And for 162 minutes or so, I swear I had a massive loathing for blue, my favorite color. Nevertheless, it stopped me from questioning the success of the film. But it is still far from toppling Titanic at the summit of my list.

So why am I writing this? Wala lang. Mahirap lang sigurong tanggapin ang katotohanan na may bagay na hindi kayang maiiwasan. Na mayroon at mayroong hihigit pa sa bagay na pinaka-natatangi sa’yo.

OK, for a follow-up prediction: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (either the first or the second part) WILL be the next highest grossing film of all time. Mark my words.

***

At para naman magkaroon ng relasyon sa title yung post ko, eto ang isang awitin mula sa Switchfoot. I love this song. Dapat ikaw rin.

[I just checked now (Jan 26, 2010) and it's official -- Avatar is now the highest grossing film of all time. Haay buhay.]

Harry Potter and the Theater Imps

Yes, this is intended to be a Harry Potter post but I decided not going to make a review about it. Let’s just say the movie was superb. Probably six times better than the previous one (Order of the Phoenix; Prizoner of Azkaban remains on top of my list). Instead, I want to tell you about the ‘theater imps’.

They hide themselves inside the cold, dark corners of every movie theater. They are the small, shrill voices you hear in the background that definitely ruin your watching stint. No, they are not ghosts nor are they supernatural beings. They’re completely human and they’re utterly irritating.

They are more likely to show up in novel-based movies. But they could also spread doom in practically any movie, provided they are highly anticipated. They often express their grudge over the distorted story-telling (“Oh, bakit yun na agad?” or “Ganito dapat yung sasabihin niya…!” ) but more often they will spoil the next scene (“Tapos ang mangyayari dyan…” or “Ayan na, ayan na!” ). And like an over-eager Lola Basyang, they will tell the rest of the story to their innocent member and devastate the moment of their neighbors.

Hey, theater imps, do you really think you’re cute? Fine, you loooove the book. You know every inch of the novel by heart. But do you honestly expect the producers to translate it to film word for word? Maybe you misinterpreted the word ‘adapted’ and thought it’s synonymous to ‘verbatim’? Or perhaps you’ve already seen the movie or read the synopsis and reviews beforehand. But do you really have to spoil it? If you couldn’t help your mouth, then please, help it. Fudge you.

So to the hardworking law-makers of this wonderful country, I propose you pass a law regarding illegal chit-chatting inside the theater. ‘Illegal chit-chatting’, to avoid ambiguity, refers to re-telling the story of a novel-based movie and spoiling the next scene in the movie he/she already watched. Law offenders will be required to recite the whole film verbatim. Failure to do so will put them to eternal damnation. What a lovely country this would be!

But then again, we are all guilty.

PBA09620rp09

Slumdog Millionaire (Destined to Love It!)

Finally! I've been dying to watch the movie Slumdog Millionaire and fortunate was I that my friend has a (pirated) copy of it. Yipee!

As most of us probably know already, it's about a young guy who joined Who Wants To Be A Millionaire to find the girl he loves. He eventually won the game, as the questions posed on him were, for some twisted reason, all connected to his twisted life. But being an uneducated, (tea vendor) that he is, many suspected him to be a cheat. But in the end, the truth prevailed, he became 20 million Rupees richer, and he's with the girl he's destined to be with.

Love and Destiny.

Two of the loveliest words for me. Isn't it liberating to think that the one you truly love will always be with you no matter what because you are both written to be with each other? Ugh, I'm getting cheesy now. LOL. Although I have a slightly different take on destiny (I believe the WE make our own destiny), I still find it nice to think that there's a force that pulls us together and brings us to the one rightful for us. That everything was written right at the start.

After the film, I was left but smiling. I loved every bit of it (the dance number in the end was fun! haha). It just became number 2 (next to Titanic) on my list of all-time favorite movies.

Love India!

Drew Barrymore to Direct Eclipse?

Rumor has it that Drew Barrymore is in talks with Summit Entertainment to be the director of Twilight's third sequel, Eclipse. Seriously?

As most of us already know, Ms. Barrymore first put her director's hat in the upcoming dramedy Whip It! starring Juno's Ellen Page. Some five years ago, she also made a TV documentary titled Choose or Lose Parents: The Best Place to Start. But does she have the expertise to pull-off Eclipse? I seriously don't think so.

Now what the hell is happening here? Aren't there any other better director's out there? Catherine Hardwicke is a good Indie film director. But take note: Indie. Chris Weitz, New Moon's captain butchered the Golden Compass and now there's Drew. Why not make Steven Spielberg direct the remaining sequels? LOL

Eclipse is set to take the movie screens June 30, 2010, just six months after the scheduled release of New Moon. Are they in a rush?

Movie Review: Twilight

So it was undoubtedly one of the most anticipated movies of the year. The question now is: Is Twilight really worth the wait?

I've been reading the series for so long now so I'll try not to let any cloud of infatuation for the book cloud my judgments. First, the main disappointment in the movie is its lack of technical efficiency. The camera angles and movements were poor, snappy and shaky. The flashback scenes were horrible; very "TV quality". The special effects were not so special as well. It was so obviously low-budgeted I almost felt like I'm watching an indie flick.

Since this is just an adaptation, I expected a lot of "should be" moments. I just felt like the movie was too...rushed. Fast paced. I mean, the book was I think fast-paced itself but it appeared much faster when translated into film. Some scenes were not well-emphasized (especially in the earlier parts).

On the plus side, I don't think the movie was that disastrous. There were also scenes that I enjoyed so much, like how the Bella-Edward moments were developed. The modified scenes were not that off as well. I would be a lot harder if they strictly followed what's on the book and I guess the alternative scenes fit better.

Again, like what I've said in the last 2 Harry Potter films, you will fully appreciate the movie unless you read the book first. My friend May, who had not read a single line from the book at all loved the film so I guess it's not that bad for Twilight virgins. Or was she just too mesmerized by Robert Pattinson? LOL

If there's one thing that's redeeming about the film is when they played Leave Out All the Rest during the credits. Seriously love that song. And guess that made it all OK.

My final rating: 3.75 out of 5.

WOAH

An Aston Martin V12 Vanquish

This is the car Edward Culllen used to bring Bella to the prom in the film adaptation of Twilight. And man, this is definitely one of the most handsome cars that I’ve seen ever!