Monday, March 31, 2008
Roll in the TV and ready the speakers!
*Drum rolls*
"Ladies and gentlemen, we are proud to present you new episodes of your favorite TV series!"
*Applause and cheers*
Finally! With the WGA strike over and in behind us, new episodes of my favorite TV series are back on air. I humbly thank the writers and kudos to you...umm...whoever you are. I'm so psyched up to catch the new episodes of CSI that are airing this week, exceptionally so for CSI: Crime Scene Investigation since we'll be delving into my all time favorite character, night shift supervisor Gil Grissom's personal life.
Why I'm attracted to this character? Because he's...different. Much different from most everyday people you see strolling up and down the streets. He's a bug lover with an eccentric behavior to go with that, a genius, witty and he's a CSI supervisor. What's not to like about him?!
Hmm...gonna go stock up on popcorns and such now. Adios!
Last Updated @ 3:46 AM
Signed: Whoever was here...
Friday, March 28, 2008
Movie Review: Vantage Point
To put it simply, I'd say the term 'point of no return' wouldn't really go well with "Vantage Point" since you'll be constantly returning to square one. Six times to be exact. Other words, you'll be experiencing the movie six times but from different perspectives. Think of it as a major déjà vu.
So, the movies started off with the President of the United States attending an anti-terrorism summit in Salamanca, Spain. We first saw the events that took place in the movie from the eyes of television news producer, Rex Brooks. From her, we learnt that the President was assassinated, followed by a bombing in the distance and another at the summit and...
*Beep*...rewind...
It's back to the start of the movie with the President still alive and kicking. Now, we view the events from the eyes of Secret Service agent, Thomas Barnes. Blah, blah, blah, the President is shot again and the bombing takes place. He managed to survive and we're given more insight on the situation, such as the possible location of the assassin and that a bomb was planted only after the shooting from a tourist's handycam. We also meet a man who rushed onto the the podium immediately after the President was shot. Next, we followed Barnes to the broadcast van where Rex is and there, he reviews the footage and we're about to find...
*Beep*...OMG!...rewind...
Look, we're back at square one. But now, we're viewing the events from the eyes of the person who charged onto the podium. His name was revealed to be Enrique and we learnt that he's a bodyguard of the mayor. From Enrique, we found out that he handed a bag to his 'sort-of' girlfriend. Bang! President's shot. Crowd scatters and Enrique spots his girlfriend tossing the bag under the podium. Next, he's caught by Barnes and questioned about his identity. Knowing that a bomb is gonna go off, he slips away and -- BOOM! Ok, he survived too. The agents gave chase but he managed to lose them. We then follow Enrique to an underpass, where he confronts a police car and...
*Beep*...what the...rewind...
Now, we're viewing events from Howard Lewis, the tourist we met during Barne's perspective. As usual, President is alive and kicking once again. As a tourist, Howard has a handycam in his arsenal. He begins filming the scene at the summit and bumps into a shady man known as Sam. The two conversed a little and a little girl named Anna knocks into Howard. Summit starts and President is shot...again. Barnes quickly approach Howard to see if he filmed anything suspicious. Oh no, it's a bomb! BOOM! Chaos ensues and Howard noticed that Anna is separated from her mother. Swipes her up and made way for the exit. He placed Anna with a police officer and did something which I think is really stupid. He took off after Enrique when he saw him running from the agents! Run, run, run, we stop and find Enrique confronting the police car. Bang, bang! He's shot by the pursuing agents. Howard films it all and finds Anna wandering in the middle of the road. Run, run, run...
*Beep*...I'm sure déjà vu wasn't part of its title...rewind...
Sweet. We're now watching from the perspective of the President. Turns out the one who got assassinated was a double. The real President is safe and sound in the comfort of his suite. He turns on the TV and watch as the summit takes place. Gasps! His double is shot! Think he's safe but he's not. There was a tremor and we learned that the first explosion heard during Rex's perspective took place at the hotel. A masked man breaks in and shoots out his bodyguards, leaving the President helpless and cornered...
*Beep*...I'll be damned...rewind...
Final perspective. The characters, except Rex, are all intertwined and we learn the people behind the assassination and bombing and not to mention, the déjà vus. In this final perspective, all previous loopholes are filled up. What Barnes saw at the van, what happened to Enrique after he was shot, did Howard save Anna, the President after he was abducted and all others. As for the answers to all the loopholes, that's for me to know and you to find out.
All in all, "Vantage Point" really should use the title "Major Déjà Vu".
Here's how it's like in short:
President's been shot! Ooh, tense. President's been shot! Yup, got it. President's been shot! Right, right, I guess we've all got that so could me move on now? President's been -- Are you deaf? I said I know so that kinda puts us on the same page! President's been shot! Oh...this is the part where I'm supposed to stomp my way out the cinema, right?
But, with the déjà vu part of it aside, the story is actually quite intense and keeps your adrenaline pumping. Besides, it's something new and it actually builds up the suspense with its 'been there, seen that' methods. Now, the problem is, six times of déjà vu could practically drive a sane person insane within seconds so I guess it's a little overboard. However, the story lacks interaction amongst the key characters. Because of it's déjà vus, character development was left out. In the end, we know nothing much about the characters and just that the President was shot. Worst of all, Sigourney Weaver had the least spotlight as Rex. She was only featured in her own perspective and Barnes'. Wonder how much she's paid for this role. As for the effects, there weren't much except for the bombing and the car chase during the final perspective. Also, due to the déjà vus, the ending was quite abrupt. It starts with how the terrorists planned the attack, leads to the shooting and bombing and ends without a bang. To put it simply, the ending did not live up to the suspense it had built throughout the entire movie.
My, my. This must've been the longest post I've ever written. I apologize if it's a little too much but I'll try to keep it short the next time. Checks out!
Last Updated @ 4:36 AM
Signed: Whoever was here...
How I spent 13 hours glued to a seat on a plane...
First of all, I just want you to know that it is living hell and I literally couldn't feel my feet. So, I was given a window seat and wow-zer, the view outside was absolutely stunning. The thick balls of clouds clumped together, which reminded me of a really, really, really humongous cotton candy, and the golden rays of the sun really complements it, making it look like a stairway to heaven or should I say, heaven itself. I'd love to snap a few pictures of it but I'm not sure if it'd interfere with the plane. Whoo..don't wanna cause the plane to go berserk when I'm that high up. I'll not go into details on how it'd most likely end up since I'm pretty sure you guys know the answer to that too.
Moving on. Now, back to my 13 hours glued to a seat topic. Like I said, it's definitely a living hell. And if that wasn't enough, there was this alcoholic at the aisle seat whom, I have to say, brings out the true meaning of 'sleeping like a log'. To put it simply, you never could wake him up once he's asleep. Try shaking him like a coconut tree and he'll still be drifting somewhere off in his own little dreamland. Even if you do get his attention, he'll just utter something from his dream and doze off again the next second. Oh, and another thing was that I took the afternoon flight so go figure how he could sleep so soundly while the sun is still up. So, that's another thing that contributed to my 'Things You Do Not Want To Bump Into On A Plane' list.
Next, 13 hours on a plane could be a killer so thank goodness there's the on-demand movies. As such, I spent 7 out my 13 hours watching 4 movies. "Enchanted", "Martian Child", "Sydney White" and "August Rush". In my opinion, I think they're all pretty good but well, I'm not one to judge. But of the four said movies, I'd rank "August Rush" first. It's a memorable, heartfelt and touching story about a boy, Evan Taylor aka. August Rush, who's searching for his birth parents whom ironically are oblivious about his existence. But, August has this ability to hear music in everything around him and thinks that his parents are sending him messages through it. If you want to know more, go get the DVD or video cause I'm not gonna shed more light on it. Anyway, I'm dying to get my hands on it too. Besides the movies, I watched a few TV series that
were offered. Namely, they are "Back To You", "Bionic Woman" and "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation".
Besides the visual entertainment, I had my meals and caught a few short winks. Don't even think of comparing me to that 'log-man'. Well, that's how I spent 13 hours glued to a seat on a plane. If you have any suggestions on how else I can spend it, do pitch it in. Till our next meeting, ciao!
Last Updated @ 3:48 AM
Signed: Whoever was here...
Friday, March 21, 2008
Holidays. Sounds good, tastes bad.
So, let's see, 10 days since my previous post. Hmm... seems like I've made a little improvement there, seeing that my previous post is like almost a month and a half away from it's ,well, previous post.
Without me saying, I guess everyone knows it's Good Friday today! If you don't, I'm wondering if you even notice you're at home since it's a holiday. Then again, that doesn't apply to everyone. Speaking of holidays, let me share with you how crazy life could be on my side during these times. Let's just use Good Friday as an example.
For Christians, you'll have your mornings occupied by the church. There goes 1/3 of your day, which I'd say is easy. But, for others, imagine turning up at McDonalds for breakfast only to find yourself facing a crowd of hungry and grumpy people who had been queueing in line for an hour. You get frustrated, you turn to the diners. There's this tiny glint of hope for you...until you set foot in the restaurant and find that glint of hope extinguished, as you come face to face with yet another ferocious but famished crowd of zombie-like-people. And once you find a vacant diner, look, it's noon! There goes 1/3 of their day, looking for a vacant diner for what seems to be breakfast turned lunch.
Considering that this group of people had that bad a start, what makes you think they'd have a better half of the day after that? With lunch taken care of along with breakfast, dinner it is then. Hail the arrival of pandemonium! With both groups of people intertwined together, hunting for dinner, you'd best take a flight out to some other part of the world where meals don't mean a thing. Oh right, there's no such place. In the end, we have our day turned into a jungle while we become the animals that inhabit it in our quest for survival, or should I say, food.
All in all, holidays definitely sounds good but when it comes to living through it, it's the worst day of your life. Of course, I personally have no objections against it since I pretty much enjoy them. The fast-paced action that is bound to ensue is just what I need to spice things up.
Well, I'll break it here then. Think I've gone on for long enough already. Until our next meeting, tata!
P.S. This sort of thing happens whenever there's a holiday and therefore, not necessarily only on Good Friday. This is just to let you know how crazy life could be here. Last of all, I was barely using Good Friday, a holiday, as an example and so, harbors NO ill intentions against Good Friday.
Last Updated @ 8:08 AM
Signed: Whoever was here...
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
A month and 11 days later...
I can't believe a month has already passed me by without my knowing. Well, that's just me lying. How could I not have noticed a month go by? It's not like I was comatose or oblivious to time. Truth be told, I was...say...occupied by foreseen circumstances. Yes, I do mean foreseen and no, I didn't forget about the 'un'. Other words, I knew something was gonna come my way sooner or later. Looks like it's sooner in this case. Anyway, it's a little too bad if you want to know more about it cause I don't wish to go into details about it. Or rather, I should say I DON'T even want to think about it. Just really bugs me out.
On the bright side, I'm going back to Switzerland for a month. Contrary to my previous visit, this will be solely for pleasure purposes. No work, all play. And for the first time in my seventeen years of life, I'm visiting the Basel Watch Fair. Basically, watch companies will be gathering at this spot to show off their new timepieces and...that's about everything I know about it. Excuse me but as I said, my first time going there. Will keep you updated once I'm there.
So, once again, do excuse me for I have to go deal with my bittersweet life and get prepared for the trip. I promise that I'll be back soon enough and until our next meeting, adios!
Last Updated @ 12:49 AM
Signed: Whoever was here...
