DVD Mania

-- Friday, August 26 --
DM and I had two movies this Friday night. DVD is a good alternative to bar-and-alcohol gigs.

Batman Begins - the story of how Bruce Wayne became Batman (pretty obvious ;P)

I'm not really a Batman follower, maybe because all I think of when I was a kid was to be a Lois Lane when I grow up. :) But the story of Batman Begins is a good origin story.

Visual effects is so-so, maybe because all are miniature and the movie wasn't dominated with the usual computer graphics. This movie though has a strong writing and directing -- bravo!

I love:
-- Gotham - gleng ng setting!
-- Morgan Freeman and his character in this movie - perfectly fit

I hate:
-- Katie Holmes - she doesn't fit with her role or maybe because I still see her as a teen. Plus she's now Tom Cruise' girl! :) That explains it.

sHenGGie's rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Mr. & Mrs. Smith

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, I have to admit, look perfect together on (and off) screen. Perfect match, they have chemistry, both have oozing sex appeal and action skills which made them a magnificent tandem. These two are more than enough for the viewers to see the flaws and rough spots of the movie.

Flaws:
1. I can't believe Jane Smith (Jolie) can match John Smith's (Pitt) fighting skills. It's not realistic. Where on earth can she get her powers?
2. Another unbelievable scene -- Pitt and Jolie were able to survive, as in wala man lang tama even after they exchanged gun shots with almost a hundred goons! Just to think these two stood at the center of those men and they successfully killed everybody, whoah!

sHenGGie's rating: 3 out of 5 stars

-- Saturday, August 27 --
I watched Smallville the whole afternoon, from Episode 8 to 16. Then I played badminton with DM, I need to sweat out since I was a couch potato the whole day (not to mention the chocolates and junkies I had while watching). After our badminton game, another DVD session.

Closer
Julia Roberts, Clive Owen, Natalie Portman, Jude Law

All the characters are good -- my favorite though is Julia Roberts, in real life, not for this movie alone. I'm this Pretty Woman's follower. :) As usual, she made an impact again without exerting efforts, so Julia.

Clive Owen's performance is also exceptional -- grabe how he stares at women.. very.. hmmm.. sexy. His brute energy made him do justice to his character in this movie.

I was a bit shocked with Natalie Portman here though I have to admit that she did a good job. Jude Law is so-so.

Overall -- I like the movie. The movie is well written and acted. It's all about love and lust. How adults get confused with these two. Reality check -- what drives someone who's already committed to cheat and risk losing someone they love?

sHenGGie's rating: 4 out of 5 stars

-- Sunday, August 28 --
It's like my Saturday -- watched Smallville the whole day (yey! I got to finish Season 1 -- 21 episodes -- backlog!) then played badminton with DM from 6:30PM to 8PM. And my Sunday wouldn't be completed without another DVD moment with DM! :)

A Very Long Engagement

A highly romantic film that describes a young woman's desire to see her fiance once again even if it takes forever to wait -- a woman's determination.

Mixed emotions at the end of the movie. At least Audrey Tatou got to see her man again -- though he can no longer recognize her because of amnesia brought to him by war. :-/

A very touching movie.

sHenGGie's rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Hide and Seek

Another DVD review post -- Hide and Seek

I got tired of guessing -- from start to end. Dakota Fanning, who played as the daughter of Robert De Niro (parang 'di bagay, De Niro is way too old to have a young daughter as young as Fanning), who also played as the daughter of Tom Cruise in "War of the Worlds", is really terrific! I mean, the movie might not be good but this little girl made it 'quite good' because of her being scary -- effortless! Her character was annoying but I like her performance.

The movie itself is unremarkable -- though it has a good sense of visual style. I was kept hooked at least for the entire movie -- and boy, it was tiring!

sHenGGie's rating: 2 out of 5 stars

A Blogger's Poem

Why do I love You?

It's the way you say "I love you"
even a hundred times a day..
It's the way you do things for me
even if you have to exert tremendous efforts
just to see me happy and gay..
It's the way you hold my hand,
the way you hug me tight,
and the way you make me feel protected everyday..


It's the way you take care of me
and never asked for something in return..
It's the way you introduce me to the world
and the way you make me feel proud to be your girl..
It's the way you appreciate the little things I do
and uplifts my whole being..



It's the way you tell me I am wrong at times
and accepted them wholeheartedly without getting hurt..
It's the way you laugh
and makes me feel that you're happy and content just being with me..



It's the twinkle in your eyes
which I only see when you look at me..
It's the warmth of your hands,
the sincerity of your actions
that make me feel so much loved..
It's how you always amaze me
and suprise me every now and then as if it's never ending..


It's how we enjoy doing things together..
how we comfort each other during tough times..
how we manage to keep our cool even in the heat of an argument..
how we understand each other..
how we care for each other..
how you bring out the best in me..


There's just so much about you..
So much that sometimes I still can't believe how lucky I can be..

But on top of all these..

It's how you complete me.

=============================

Hope you like this simple poem I wrote for this special day of ours..

Happy Special Day, sweetie.. Wabyu much!

Thirstday Night

Who says partying comes only on Fridays and Saturday nights? I had 2 gigs tonight -- Nyt's videoke house party and MLL's beer-rhum-vodka-tequilla thirstday party at Cafe' Agogo! :)

To Nyt and Boss Mark, belated happy birthday! :)

Rest Day

No aero for me today -- sore muscles all over aaaarrrghh! :-/ I played badminton last night for more than 3 hours, more than an hour at Smashville Ortigas with my officemates -- they're all good, grabe! Then we (I was with my health conscious buddy -- DM -- who else?) transferred to The Zone in Makati for another 2 hours of sweat-pouring badminton game with the Metrobank smashers! :)

And now.. ouchie! Can't do aero later... :-/

Movie Break

I had a wonderful weekend -- a 'balanced' weekend. I got to spare some time with Him, my family, with DM, and without forgetting to allot something for myself..

-- Saturday, August 13 --
I woke up late, maybe because I got home late from last night's party -- belated happy birthday again, Boss Mark! :) Ok, then I went to the parlor with my mom, I got my nails done and my mom got her hair trimmed. And then, DM and I had a sweaty badminton game at Shuttle's Best, 7:45PM to 8:45PM. Then off to his place to watch DVD -- 'The Notebook'.

DM's got a drooling 'room' theatre setup..
one of my fave scenes in the movie -- sorry it was kindda blur, i was just using the cam of my phone
-- The End --
I was really moved by this movie. I was always left wondering "how will this story end?".. and I was always like "aaawww" during the movie.. it was a happy yet overly weepy ending after all. A great romance story indeed.

-- Sunday, August 14 --
DM invited me and my brothers to his place, we watched 'Cursed' starring Christina Ricci.

Well if you're looking for a fun and scary stuff, then this is your type of horror movie -- a bloody, messy type of horror flick! Wasn't at all frightening -- kakagulat lang...

I was a bit disappointed with the plot but..

Bottomline is...

It was a bonding time for DM and my brothers.. and we kindda had a great time by just eating pizza and chicken and pasta while enjoying the 'unenjoyable' movie. :)

Simple and yet meaningful. It was a weekend well spent.

I hope you guys had a great weekend too. :)

Ants

I was cleaning out my inbox this morning, deleting some unnecessary text messages when I came across this message from my friend Rizza -- "As I watched the ants crawl upon the wall, I noticed that no matter how busy they are, they still stop and communicate. I hope we could be like ants.. nakakalakad sa walls.. :)"

It was a joke, I smiled.. even laughed a bit.. for me, that was a nice joke, worth forwarding to DM.. so I did, I was still in my house then. Then we saw each other after a couple of minutes. On our way to work, he told me that he got the message. I was wondering why it didn't sound funny to him.. Then he told me this -- "Yeah I know it is a joke pero ang galing ng ants, they still communicate kahit ga'no sila ka-busy.." Ooohh.. that hit me! Then I said to myself, onga, why didn't I notice that phrase? What I got was the joke but I never paid attention to the ants that never failed to stop and communicate even if they were so busy.. and I just realized, I was so busy the past few weeks that I never noticed that DM and I hardly talk about ourselves now.. all about my work because I was too occupied and busy with my new job.. and sungit a lotta times because I'm always tired.. but he's still the same DM I knew.. understanding and patient as ever..

Realization for today -- I miss our after-dinner-hot-tea inside the car where we talk about everything.. anything and everything..

It’s weird how somewhere along the line we forget to make life’s precious moments a priority. We start acting like bugs, like ants.. always on the way to our next destination. We get so busy.. it’s as if life is on some lay away plan. We’ll rush around dealing with all of our responsibilities and keep pushing away the biggest responsibility of all – ourselves and our loved ones.

Well.. it's never too late for a "kiss and make-up".. and I'm up for one..

Jeraaaan!

Guys, please bear with my kababawan. I made some scripting with my blog's sidebar pix. Try to do a mouse-over on the black and white sidebar pix and you'll see some minor artwork. ;)

Jeraaaan! Yun lang po. Tenkyu! :)

~~ gotta rush to the fitness center for my aero! ~~

New Look

I just thought of changing the look of my blog.. and i liked it! :) I would want it simple, with just a few colors and yet would still look nice.. and I guess it did. Hooray for my blog! *kulet* ;)

Health Buffs

I was really excited when I found out that I can make use of Meralco recreational facilities because that will include the fitness center and the famous oval -- jogger's hang out. But what I like most is the aero class! Oraaayt! And it's free, yey! :)

I tried joining the aero class last Monday and then yesterday.. and it was great! I was really sweating and hurting all over! :P We also had a few belly dancing moves, cool! ;)

I don't feel fat though I know I gained a few pounds, but whether we are trying to lose weight or maintain it, we should understand the importance of physical activities -- coming from a couch potato like me. :)

Physical activity helps in controlling our weight by using excess calories that otherwise would be stored as fat. The number of calories we eat and use each day regulates our body weight. Everything we eat contains calories, and everything we do uses calories, including sleeping, breathing, and digesting food. Any physical activity in addition to what we normally do will use extra calories. So the more we use up calories, the more we lose weight.

Also, following a regular aerobics program gives us a sense of commitment and control - two positive mental attitudes that help counteract stress. Better than stresstabs! :D

Since I'm into aero now, every MWF, my fitness partner DM hehehe decided to do some exercises too -- he started to join the jogger's circle! ;)

Healthy living made fun.

Bicol Experience

I don't want to put in writing, I meant text, this bicol trip o' mine -- all pix! :)

-- Saturday, July 30 --0430 -- Off to Bicol

Gumaca, Quezon1130 -- Set foot on Bicolandia

On our way to the hidden paradise -- some kids having fun under the coco tree
Not so famous and yet fabulous beach in Pulang Daga, Paracale, Camarines Norte
I thought I can only see white sand in Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte and d-beach-party-place Bora... Never did I know that I can see one in a simple and quiet small town in Bicolandia, right in the heart of my Dad's hometown. We didn't really went to Bicol for the beach fun, we just accompanied my lolo, he doesn't wanna stay here in Manila, all he wanted is to stay for good in Bicol. Now I know why.. Bicol is a beautiful place to stay, maybe I will someday.. long term plan.

What else should we do in a place like this? Pix addicts on the loose!
Nothing much to do so we decided to act like a-bit-beyond-the-normal beings.. :)
The boyzzz
Of course night time at the beach wouldn't be complete without these mushy pix :)
-- Sunday, July 31 --
A perfect Sunday morning site..
Photo shoot once again.. :)
I'll surely miss this place..
Last shot of Pulang Daga beach.. just before the heavy rain..
0230 -- Off to Manila
2230 -- We're home!

I'm really looking forward to go back to Bicol soon. To visit my lolo and lola and of course to go back to Pulang Daga.

It was tiring but we really had a great time. Thanks to DM for the ride. Tnx tnx tnx to the highest level! hehehe I'm really glad that DM's getting along well with my family. Gleng gleng!

So... when's our next trip? :)