All That Shiz

I'll Be Back...

2012-01-09T04:59:00.001-08:00

Promise!!!

RECAP: Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

2011-12-26T23:30:00.000-08:00

Tom Cruise is officially back!

Sorry, couldn't resist.

I know most of you would agree that he hasn't really been superstar-ing it the past few years. If you were to ask me what his memorable movies were in the last two years or so, there is NOTHING that comes to mind. The only time I paid attention to him was when he cameo-ed in Tropic Thunder as the foul-mouthed Les Grossman. He was hilarious next to Robert Downey, Jr.

Fast forward to 2011 and we have him again as Ethan Hunt in the 4th installment of Mission: Impossible. (Gosh, I just felt old typing that. It's been, what, 15 years since the first one?!?).

Anyway, Ghost Protocol is one hell of a movie(!) and I declare it to be largely due to Brad Bird's direction. I'm familiar with his work mainly because of The Incredibles which is one of my all time favorite animations (he also directed Ratatouille!). Here's a guy whose credentials were, uhhmm, rather limited, but in his first foray to live action, he definitely exceeded expectations.

The plot is nothing new but the action sequences were solid. thrilling. awesome. Like all others, I found the Burj Khalifa scene to be the high point of the movie. There was tension perfectly balanced by suspense and humour. Equally fantastic was the sandstorm chase scene after. I loved the drama of the chase amidst the invisibility. To say that it was highly-charged would be an understatement. Brad was successful in making us viewers feel like we're all part of the chase. I, literally, felt like I was also running with Tom feeling my way through the sandstorm. It's the kind of scene where you feel like slow-clapping right after. It was a great cinematic moment.

Photo Source

Notable also was the chemistry of the three characters portrayed by new-to-the-franchise Jeremy Renner, Paula Patton, and Simon Pegg. Simon was hilarious in all his scenes. Paula was gorgeous (OMG!) and Jeremy was a solid contrast to Tom's character. Michael Nyqvist aka THE original Michael Blomkvist from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Swedish movie) was convincing as villain (I have a feeling this is just the first of the many villain roles he'll get).

Ghost Protocol is entertainment at its best and you really couldn't ask for anything more. You walk into the theater expecting an action movie and you walk out getting that, maybe even more.

Fist pump for Brad Bird!

Happy Christmas

2011-12-26T04:32:00.000-08:00

It was a quiet, uneventful Christmas spent at home with family but I loved every minute of it. The playtime with the kids, the downtime, the food, the cool breeze, the Sunday night mass, watching Midnight in Paris to cap off the Christmas day... they're all lovely. We may not have much but I'm really thankful for everything...

For my husband who's always been my friend and a great partner in life.

For my darling daughters who've been so wonderful they never fail to cheer me up.

For my parents who've always been supportive.

For friends from work and school. Some of them I don't get to see often but whose friendship I treasure very much.

For ALL the blessings really.

As I'm typing this post, the stars right outside our bedroom's veranda were shining brightly reminding me of things that truly matter in life -- love and family. I'm happy. Sometimes, it's a work-in-progress but still I'm thankful. Whatever I have and whoever I am now is because of what I've gone through and I guess that makes happiness even more special.

I prayed for a lot of things this Christmas.

For my husband and myself to continue to have that love, understanding and patience towards each other's flaws. To be good examples to our kids, be good providers and be better parents. To always be strong in the midst of challenges.

For my kiddos to grow up to be loving, obedient, God-fearing and lovely people inside and out.

For my parents to be strong.

For good health and safety for all of us.

I prayed, too, for those who've been hit by tragedy and to all others who've been struggling. May they find strength and continue to have faith AND hope that this too shall pass and everything will be better.

Christmas is so much more that just getting presents. This is something you realize when you get older. I miss those days when I had nothing to worry but new clothes, and when and where the next party would be but at this point in my life, Christmas becomes truly special when my family is healthy and we're together.

Happy Christmas everyone.

Movies in 2011

2011-12-06T04:45:00.001-08:00

Came across this video mash-up of 2011 releases from Adjustment Bureau to Zookeeper.

What did you miss out?

What's the best? The worst?

Into It: Kitten Noir Sunglasses

2011-12-04T23:26:00.000-08:00

Uhhmm, how rawwwrr are these?

I betcha Catwoman came to mind...

Yeah?

Channel your inner ferosh with these Kitten Noir sunglasses from Swedish designer Anna-Karin Karlsson as fiercely demonstrated by Carolina Engman of Fashion Squad.

I know someone who would die to have these.

Oh, hello Romsycat!

Now if we can only find a more affordable version of this here in the Philippines...

Spend vs. Save Gifts

2011-12-03T00:30:00.000-08:00

It's December and that means it's time for gift-giving.

Hoorah!!!

Seriously though, for someone like me who needs to be financially responsible because I have a family to take care of and a household to run, I simply cannot afford to splurge like I'm still single. Gone were the days when shopping for shoes and clothes were a guilt-free therapy. Now, buying stuff is usually preceded by THE question of all questions -- "Do I really need this?" That sort of slaps me into reality mode which is a reminder that there are far more important things to take care of.

But if you think about it, there is actually a way for us to still enjoy buying things we like. Without the guilt. We only need to be more practical and realistic given our budgets.

Having said that, I'm listing down my wishlist for this Christmas. It's a spend vs. save list for me because as much as I wanna gift myself with the really fancy ones, I couldn't. Not this time, anyway. = )

1. Gold watch - Had my eye on this for quite sometime now. I think it's a nice complement to an all black outfit or a neutral ensemble which I must say dominates my wardrobe. Besides, a big watch, for some reason, looks good on my wrist so all the more that I have GOT to have this.

SPEND
Nixon 42-20 Chrono

SAVE

Michael Kors Oversized Runway Watch

2. iTouch - I love music. It's a go-to moodsetter for me. And now that my iPod Mini's life is about to come to an end (it's been with me for 6 years now), I'm hell bent on replacing it with iPod Touch, preferably 64GB. I wouldn't mind splurging on this thang because I'm sure it will go a looooong way.

SPEND/SAVE

3. Compact System Camera - I have been thinking of investing in a really nice compact system camera and have done quite a few research on which one's the best in the market. For the non-techies, a CSC functions like a DSLR in terms of controls, interchangeable lenses and high-quality images but is made more compact, which means it's not bulky to lug around. Sounds good, right? I don't wanna look like a "pretend photographer" with my heavy camera (I personally think the word photographer is a term loosely used nowadays) but I wanna get decent shots of my DDs (darling daughters) in all their cuteness especially this Christmas so I would really, reeeaaaally wanna get this. Like now.

SPEND
Olympus PEN EP3

SAVE
Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3

I could go on and on with my list but for now these are what I could think of. They're big ticket items, to say the least, but surely worth an investment whether I settle with the expensive ones or the not so.

Santa? Universe?

Are you paying attention??? = )

Must Watch Oscar-Worthy Films

2011-12-01T00:00:00.000-08:00

Full disclosure.

The last time I watched a Filipino movie was in support of my dearest friend Joey Paras. He was the lead in Last Supper No. 3, a comedy film screened in 2009 at Cinemalaya. It was, hands down, the. funniest. shit. ever. I died laughing. It won Cinemalaya Best Film and if you haven't watched it, I suggest you find yourself a DVD copy. The best time to enjoy it would be when you feel tired and down cause really, it's the best. Amused would be an understatement.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I don't usually watch Tagalog movies. Not because I'm hoity toity but because I simply do not like the type of movies being offered to us viewers. I am a fan of the old ones e.g. Himala, Kakaba Kaba Ka Ba, Itim, Maynila Sa Kuko ng Liwanag etc. and I think if we can get more people to watch movies like these then we would have a more discerning audience. The sad thing right now is film studios deliver only what the public demands. There is not enough quality and meaningful films shown on a much broader scale. The great ones we can only watch through independent film screenings and most of the time, it's a challenge for producers to even get people to finance commercial distribution.

But I know there's still hope. We have a lot of good directors, writers, DOPs out there just waiting to be given the chance to show how great they are. Speaking of, how intriguing is Six Degrees of Separation to Lilia Cuntapay?

Sorry, I'm going way off-point here.

How does the above sentiment relate to my post?

It's just AWARDS, really.

My interest in following how the awards season is shaping up in the US and UK is much higher compared to my interest in the local scene which I would say is close to nil.

Right now, The New York Film Critics have already released their winners. It's the Spirit Awards next.

We're pretty much counting down the days till the Oscar night but given that there's still months to go, right now, my mission is to watch all the films that have been given recognition so I can give my predictions before the Oscars (that's so preposterous, don't you think? = p ).

Oscar predictions = always a fun (and pretentious) thing to do.

Here's what I have in my list:

1. Albert Nobbs

Award winning actress Glenn Close (Albert Nobbs) plays awoman passing as a man in order to work and survive in 19th century Ireland.Some thirty years after donning men's clothing, she finds herself trapped in aprison of her own making. Mia Wasikowska (Helen), Aaron Johnson (Joe) andBrendan Gleeson (Dr. Holloran) join a prestigious, international cast thatincludes Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Janet McTeer, Brenda Fricker and PaulineCollins. Rodrigo Garcia directs from a script that Glenn Close, along with ManBooker prize-winning novelist John Banville and Gabriella Prekop, adapted froma short story by Irish author George Moore. Source

2. The Iron Lady

The Iron Lady is a surprising and intimate portrait ofMargaret Thatcher (Meryl Streep), the first and only female Prime Minister ofThe United Kingdom. One of the 20th century's most famous and influentialwomen, Thatcher came from nowhere to smash through barriers of gender and classto be heard in a male dominated world. Source

3. The Tree of Life

From Terrence Malick, the acclaimed director of such classicfilms as Badlands, Days of Heaven and The Thin Red Line, The Tree of Life isthe impressionistic story of a Midwestern family in the 1950's. The filmfollows the life journey of the eldest son, Jack, through the innocence ofchildhood to his disillusioned adult years as he tries to reconcile acomplicated relationship with his father (Brad Pitt). Jack (played as an adultby Sean Penn) finds himself a lost soul in the modern world, seeking answers tothe origins and meaning of life while questioning the existence of faith.Through Malick's signature imagery, we see how both brute nature and spiritualgrace shape not only our lives as individuals and families, but all life. Source

4. The Artist

Hollywood 1927. George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) is a silentmovie superstar. The advent of the talkies will sound the death knell for hiscareer and see him fall into oblivion. For young extra Peppy Miller (BereniceBejo), it seems the sky's the limit - major movie stardom awaits. THE ARTISTtells the story of their interlinked destinies. Source

5. The Descendants

From Alexander Payne, the creator of the Oscar-winningSIDEWAYS, set in Hawaii, THE DESCENDANTS is a sometimes humorous, sometimestragic journey for Matt King (George Clooney) an indifferent husband and fatherof two girls, who is forced to re-examine his past and embrace his future whenhis wife suffers a boating accident off of Waikiki. The event leads to arapprochement with his young daughters while Matt wrestles with a decision tosell the family's land handed down from Hawaiian royalty and missionaries. Source

6. Martha Marcy May Marlene

Martha Marcy May Marlene stars Elizabeth Olsen as Martha, adamaged woman haunted by painful memories and increasing paranoia, whostruggles to reassimilate with her family after fleeing a cult. Source

7. Moneyball

Based on a true story, Moneyball is a movie for anybody whohas ever dreamed of taking on the system. Brad Pitt stars as Billy Beane, thegeneral manager of the Oakland A's and the guy who assembles the team, who hasan epiphany: all of baseball's conventional wisdom is wrong. Forced to reinventhis team on a tight budget, Beane will have to outsmart the richer clubs. Theonetime jock teams with Ivy League grad Peter Brand (Jonah Hill) in an unlikelypartnership, recruiting bargain players that the scouts call flawed, but all ofwhom have an ability to get on base, score runs, and win games. It's more thanbaseball, it's a revolution - one that challenges old school traditions andputs Beane in the crosshairs of those who say he's tearing out the heart andsoul of the game. Source

8. Margin Call

Set in the high-stakes world of the financial industry,Margin Call is a thriller entangling the key players at an investment firmduring one perilous 24-hour period in the early stages of the 2008 financialcrisis. When an entry-level analyst unlocks information that could prove to bethe downfall of the firm, a roller-coaster ride ensues as decisions bothfinancial and moral catapult the lives of all involved to the brink ofdisaster. Source

9. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is the long-awaited featurefilm version of John le Carre's classic bestselling novel. The time is1973. The Cold War of the mid-20th Century continues to damage internationalrelations. Britain's Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), a.k.a. MI6 andcode-named the Circus, is striving to keep pace with other countries' espionageefforts and to keep the U.K. secure. The head of the Circus, known as Control(John Hurt), personally sends dedicated operative Jim Prideaux (Mark Strong)into Hungary. But Jim's mission goes bloodily awry, and Control is forced outof the Circus - as is his top lieutenant, George Smiley (Gary Oldman), a careerspy with razor-sharp senses. Estranged from his absent wife Ann, Smiley is sooncalled in to see undersecretary Oliver Lacon (Simon McBurney); he is to berehired in secret at the government's behest, as there is a gnawing fear thatthe Circus has long been compromised by a double agent, or mole, working forthe Soviets and jeopardizing England. Supported by younger agent Peter Guillam(Benedict Cumberbatch), Smiley parses Circus activities past and present. Intrying to track and identify the mole, Smiley is haunted by his decades-earlierinteraction with the shadowy Russian spy master Karla. The mole's trail remainscold until maverick field agent Ricki Tarr (Tom Hardy) unexpectedly contactsLacon. While undercover in Turkey, Ricki has fallen for a betrayed marriedwoman, Irina (Svetlana Khodchenkova), who claims to possess crucialintelligence. Separately, Smiley learns that Control narrowed down the list ofmole suspects to five men. They are the ambitious Percy Alleline (Toby Jones),whom he had code-named Tinker; suavely confident Bill Haydon (Colin Firth),dubbed Tailor; stalwart Roy Bland (Ciaran Hinds), called Soldier; officiousToby Esterhase (David Dencik), dubbed Poor Man; and - Smiley himself. Evenbefore the startling truth is revealed, the emotional and physical tolls on theplayers enmeshed in the deadly international spy game will escalate... Source

Such an awesome lineup, don't you think?

The Artist looks interesting because it's a silent film. (Silent film!!!) And I can't wait to see Gary Oldman in that Tinker Tailor spy thriller. I love him. He is, no doubt, one of the finest actors in the industry and I'm already looking forward to his performance.

Side note, how sick was he in The Professional? That scene where he swallowed the pill and then had that crazy calm look after? I attached the clip below so you can see.

I'm telling you. This man is THE shit. Now I feel like doing a Gary Oldman movie marathon...

Have your say. Which of these movies is your must watch???

Into It: Brian Atwood Colorblock Pumps

2011-11-18T09:16:00.001-08:00

Me and my friends in the office are such shoe hags.

If we were rich, every peso would certainly be spent buying all kinds of shoes -- booties, platforms, pumps, oxfords, maryjanes, you name it, we'd probably have it. Unfortunately, we can only settle with buying a couple of pairs in a span of one year and can only drool over the most expensive ones, which usually have the fiercest designs.

But, drooling isn't bad, right? So, here is another one for us to drool over.

Brian Atwood's Colorblock pumps... Eye candy!!!

Check out the video. I am all over the scoring and super digging the drama of colorful paint dripping over the body parts. The treatment is so subtle and stylish which brings the video to a whole other level of sexy.

This will surely go down to my list of video pegs for work.

via Neiman Marcus

I'm not sure if we have Brian Atwood in the Philippines but if you're into shoes like these, you can check out Call it Spring. They have a great selection of pumps that are both stylish and affordable. Also, Aldo cause, well, obviously.

Lord of the Rings starring The Muppets

2011-11-18T00:51:00.000-08:00

Okay, these artworks are making my life.

I'm not really a Muppets fan but I definitely turn all geeky and shit if it's Lord of the Rings. (How awesome is it to watch the LOTR trilogy extended version, noh? The film score is seriously one of the best there is.)

Anyway, Kermit the Frog is hilarious as Frodo.

So, in this version, his character's name is Frogo???

Ahaha!

Source

Friday Fangirl: Ewan McGregor and Michael Fassbender on Haywire

2011-11-17T03:00:00.000-08:00

Aaahhh... what a lovely way to start my blog.

I just recently found out that Steven Soderbergh made an action movie called Haywire centered on female MMA fighter named Gina Carano.

Wait, who? (I know, right?)

Gina, apparently is an MMA star. Soderbergh was able to watch her in one of her fights and got inspired to make a movie with her as the lead.

Anyway, that's not the point. The point is that the film is full of A-listers and Ewan McGregor and Michael Fassbender are in it.

Ewan and Fassbender!!!

My heart is pumping twice as hard just reading their names side by side, hahaha! Two of Hollywood's finest actors, no, make that two of MY Hollywood men are working together being bad ass-y and shit! I am seriously gonna jizz in my pants when I watch this in the cinema!

Did you see how Gina beat the hell out of Channing Tatum and Fassbender? No surprise there. She seriously could kick some ass. I'm just curious as to why Soderbergh thought of making this movie. The girl couldn't act, obviously. Maybe he wanted someone to challenge THE Angelina Jolie? I mean, we all know, there is no other woman in Hollywood who could do what Angelina could do i.e. be sexy and bad ass at the same time.

Whatever.

I just hope that this isn't some B-ish action movie cause it would be such a monumental waste if Ewan and Fassbender's first collaboration is in a disaster of a film. They're both very good actors (not to mention very, very hot!) to be associated with a mediocre project.

Click here for photos from the premiere and here on what went down during the Q&A.

I'm beyond excited. I can't wait till this hits theaters in January 2012.

P.S. How funny is Joel McHale? Hahaha!

An Introduction

2011-11-17T01:44:00.000-08:00

I couldn't sleep so might as well get started with this thing.

You see, I have had several attempts to put up a blog. I tried but failed. I managed to post one or two entries but I couldn't sustain it. I was either too tired or too lazy to update. Which is bad if you really wanna be serious about this blog thing.

But why do it?

Well, my work is super stressful and my sked is soo f---ed up that I never get the chance to meet up with friends outside of work. Most of the time, I have so many things I wanna talk about, so many info to share that talking about it with my dearest and lovely work colleagues (love you guys!) is not enough. Sometimes, you just wanna get a different perspective, you know. So, I thought of blogging.

I know this isn't very original (it's never too late to catch up though, right?) but I hope that with this blog, I'd be able to bounce my thoughts on other people, hear from them, share my excitement, drool over lovely things in life, shriek and be giddy over my Hollywood crushes (wink, wink), cringe over bad movies and bad acting (hello Justin Timberlake!) and just generally be random.

And, by the way, don't feel weird about the blog title. The explicit version of that is my favorite expression. = p