Tigil Ibabaw

Hongkong stop over after 4598 miles from Sydney.

Di nako natulog kagabi, nag punta kaming casino ulit tapos tambay magdamag. Nanalo naman akong 50 bucks. 2000 pesoses. Not bad.

Niregaluhan ako ni Tian ng soccer ball na Socceroos. Astig! Tapos yung soccer shirt ko pinapirmahan ko sa kanilang lahat. Isasabit ko sa opis sa Pinas.

Olats lang kasi yung bagahe ko 15 kilos sobra. Alangan mag diskarge ako ng 15 kilos worth ng dala. Neknek nila! Kaya napilitan ako mag bayad. Tinginingining yan, 366 bucks. Isang PSP din yun. Hanggang ngayon di pako nakaka "get over with" sa nanyari. Mababali na leeg ko kaka-iling.

Kami na nag sarado ng opis kagabi. Up to sawa yung kwentuhan namin nung HR manager na tropa namin bago nag casino. Di ko malilimutan stay namin dun. Balik na naman ako sa mainit at maulang Pinas. Wooot!

30 minutes more to flight sched. Kita kits!

Pre Homecoming Jitters

Last day ko na dito sa Sydney office tas katatapos lang ng isang simpleng morning tea gathering para sa pag-alis namin. Maikli lang naging farewell speech ko, hindi dahil wala akong masabi, kundi dahil hindi ko maisa-salita ang nararamdaman ko para sa pagtanggap nila sa akin. They've been all wonderful workmates to us and iL never forget how warm we were accomodated here. Worth it kahit andaming kong na-miss na events sa Manila. Worth it na tatlong buwan akong hindi nakapaglaro ng airsoft o ng basketball. Worth it na hindi ko nakasama ng matagal family ko, natikman mga luto ng mom ko, nayakap si "unan baho", makipaginuman sa Justice League habang kumakanta ng "Delilah", makipagkulitan sa mga Shak Boyz habang "nakatingala" sa UP, worth it kahit di ako nakatulong maggawa sa assignments ng kapatid ko.

I miss the chaos that is Manila but Sydney will always be that peace in my heart.

I met a former HP colleague here in Sydney and there's an opportunity for a permanent work at the company according to her. Habang marami sa kababayan natin naghihikahos... nagbenta ng kalabaw, lupain, kahit katawan para makapanirahan o makapagtrabaho sa ibang bansa, ako eto... walang dalwang-isip sa pagtanggap na hindi pa panahon para mamirmi ako sa labas ng Pinas. Kahit anong pagmamarunong ko kunwari sa mga dahilang sinasabi ko sa mga nanghihinayang, ang totoo hindi ko din alam kung bakit ayoko pa.

Baka nasa Pinas pa ang kukumpleto ng destiny ko. Yeba!

Anyway, the events on my second half of stay here was condensed here for posterity:

*I went to a colleague's house in Killara.

*We went to this monthly tiyangge in Kiribilli and I got me some classic 1982 print Dune books and a cool Buddhist jumper.

Quick Fact: The Australian Prime Minister lives on the Kiribilli area too. It's on Milson's Point, a suburb strategically located just across a majestic view of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge.

*Cheked out a local appliances store, Domayne, for some "On Sale" products. Nearly bought a handycam, but decided against it. Torn between it and a Sony PSP.

*We had a day of ferry-riding around the harbours of Sydney starting at the Circular Quay itself where the Opera House is. We went to this cliff spot called the Gap. It was an English artillery outpost back in the 1800's.

*We headed back to French Riviera and munched a foot tall ice cream scoops.

*Hay Market - bought heaps of "pasalubong" for my mates back in Phils.

*Hoyt's Cinema - watched Da Vinci Code, X-Men 3,

*We surprised Jhoanna by saying we're leaving last June (just before her birthday) then prepared a birthday party for her on our unit. Poker games followed at 5 bucks each for pot.

*Sheridan's Rhum Coffee from Dublin at Ray's house. Yub yub!

*Sydney Aquarium trip! Wooot! Mommy ang cute ng sharks!!

*The company's 10th year anniversary at Port Orient. Isang malupit na karaoke night followed. I was second to sing with "Tears in Heaven". I dunno till now why the heck I picked that song.

*Had a haircut. Semi-kalbo. Then headed to a Chinese Resto, grubs: calamari, sweet and sour pork, roast por, tofu mushroom. Yub yub!

*Star City Casino - watched Australia versus Brazil match on my OZ jersey. 2-0 in favor of the Brazilians. Doh!

*Chinese themed party here at the office. Played ping pong and Chinese chess while chowing on Chinese dimsums and grub. Yub yub!

*Luna Theme Park at Milson's Point. Enchanted Kingdom pa din. Hehe biased.

*Union Bar at North Shore. Hanging out.

*Three Sisters mountain ranges at Echo Point, Blue Mountains.

*Star City Casino - watched Australia versus Italy. Ref bollocks!!

*Ray's house for hot pot (shabu shabu). Yub yub!!

*Capitano's pizza place for Cindy's farewell gathering.

*Blue Mountains abseiling. 197 feet of pure thrill!

*Had another piercing just above my old one at the left ear. Got a shiny blue gem earring. Cutey.

*Today, we'll have a Football themed party here at the office. The boyz will be bringing Xbox to play FIFA and the usual grub and beer of course. Yub yub!

*Regular Friday noon football games, of course. I scored one goal today. Not a very impressive one though.

Quick stats:
Train tickets accumulated - 31
Movie tickets with me - 6
Boomerangs bought - 3
Table napkins with names of the establishment on it (for my collection) - 6
Boxes of miniatures bought - 16 (yes, they occupied one full luggage)
Receipts from shopping - 10
Double "A" batteries used - 10
Double "A" batteries in reserve - 8
Books read - 6 (Warmachine Prime, Dune: Machine Crusade, Stainless Longanisa, Tau Empire Codex, Index Astartes 4, Dune: Messiah)
Magazines read - 4 (White Dwarf April, May, June, July)
Books not yet read - 4 (All of em are Dune classics)
Miniatures painted - 3
Friday football games played - 7
Days at the snows - 2
Church mass attended - 2 (shame!)
DVD's watched - 8 (Memoirs of Geisha, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, American Pie 1 - 2 - 3, Fantastic Four, Runaway Jury, 13 Going on 30)
Text Twist score - 74,630 - Level 22
Size of pics accumulated - 882MB
Insaniquarium record - 8 fish variants - Level 4-5
Weight gain - 3 kilos (araguy!)
Chocolates I got as gift - 2
Chinitas spotted - secret pa din!!! Wagiii!!!111xoxoxo111!!

See you all in Manila!!! Painom kayo pag uwi ko!!! San Miguel, I'm coming hooooome!!!

Buccaneer Boo-boos

Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest
Spoiler Alert! Spoiler Alert! Spoiler Alert!

I wasn't able to watch the first "Pirates of the Carribean" but i just hate it when a sequel can't stand with a complete plot outline without relying much on its precursor. This is exaclty what "Dead Man's Chest" is all about.

Captain Jack Sparrow is back on another swash-buckling adventure after the sinister Davy Jones returned from the depths (literally) to claim what he promised years before - eternal servitude to him and his crew of the dreaded Flying Dutchman.

Not in anyway wanting to repay his debts to the phantom pirate, Captain Sparrow and the rest of his crew of the Black Pearl embarked on a journey to seek the legendary Heart of Davy Jones (for reasons unknown... but I believe and was implied that Jack wanted a bargaining leverage against his debt to Jones). With Jack is a mystical compass that showed them the way to the Heart. This same compass is the reason why Elizabeth Swann and Will Turner got tangled up again in the whole adventure.

Much action scenes followed and by the movie's end they were able to recover the Heart, encountering the Flying Dutchman along the way. The Black Pearl was able to elude the ghastly ship but Davy Jones summmoned his monstrous Kraken which ended up wrecking the Black Pearl itself and swallow Jack Sparrow whilst Turner, Swann, and some of the crew escaped on a boat.

It all ended up with... uhm... no ending at all!

After all the debacle, lose ends just flew everywhere and there's no concrete ending/resolution to hold on to. Watching and understanding it was like trying to climb a rope which is greased on the end. Gets?

What happened to disgraced Commodore Norrington?
What did Lord Beckett do to the Heart of Davy Jones?
How do the Black Pearl survivors at Tia Dalma's intend to bring Sparrow back? Back from where, or back to what??
What happened to Governor Swann?
What will Davy Jones gonna do, now that he knows his Heart is out there somewhere and endangered?
What happened to Bootstrap Bill and how the hell did he managed to sneak into Black Pearl?
Why did Elizabeth Swann chained Jack Sparrow at the Black Pearl before they escaped the Kraken?
(If you haven't watched the first movie) Who the f-word is Captain Barbossa??
(If you haven't watched the first movie) Who the f-word is Tia??
(If you haven't watched the first movie) Who the f-word is Ragetti and Pintel??
And the list goes on and on because the characters from the first movie were poorly introduced...

The entire movie was a marketing flop to start with... it just shouted, "Shut up and just wait for Part Three!" which is of course if you're a religious follower of the film, you will... but thing is if you're not and you're just a casual movie-goer happening to have stumbled upon the movie, you're like wasting your bucks, baby. Bigtime.

"Palubag loob" yung effects at production, though. I like how they merged the mythic components to the buccaneer feel of the film settings. Hands up on those regard. I like the speckles of humor too. I think Depp had a great work delivering some of em. I like the Ragetti and Pintel comedy duo too. Not "that" funny but at least they don't suck as the storyline (if there is).

It's a shame they have to be this incoherent on a movie theme that is so rich and vivid to work on. I was like half-asleep on the middle part of it. Boo... rrring. I have this feeling that the first movie was good but true or not, they din't have to make a sequel that is sooo dependent "information-wise" to the prior movie and sooo dependent "conclusion-wise" to its next part. The result was a "non-movie movie". It's like a bridge, a preparatory story... Part 1's epilogue and Part 3's prologue. If you know how epilogues and prologues work, imagine reading only that part of a story... that's how it feels watching this movie.

Sayang. The casts were great, no doubt there. The entire production was cool... costumes, CG effects, and all. But the plot is crap.

2.5 gulamans.

Goodluck kung panonoorin nyo. =)

Bakit "S" Ang Nasa Damit ni Superman?

Status ko ito sa YM kanina... eto ang mga naging reaksyon:

Ginoong Emp (may-ari ng isang imprentahan ng ritrato sa Maynila)
- ayon sa pinakahuling kwento, yung nasa S ni superman ay simbolo ng krypton. so hindi sya S na kagaya ng letrang S sa alpabeto natin. nung ginawa ni martha kent yung costume, ginamit nya yun, na nakatatak sa birthing matrix ni kal-el. pero nung unang labas yata nya e para sa "super" yung S

Ginoong Romy (punong inhinyero sa isang malaking proyekto sa Makati)
- sirit

Binibining April (ka-empleyado sa isang kumpanyang I.T. sa Makati)
- kasi **** **** *** ****
Obi: sino nagsabi sayo? patentado ko yung joke na yun a. kinwento na ni Yuki no?

Ginoong Dan (technical support sa isang pamosong kumpanyang I.T.)
- bec of trademark???

Ginoong Tian (ka-empleyadong Tsinoy dito sa Sydney)
- to remind himself of what he did with lois

Ginang Diep (ka-empleyadong Australiano dito sa Sydney)
- to remind himself that he is Superman, or to show off to others that he is Super, or because it looks good..

Isa lang ang tumama... hindi pa lehitimo.
Ang sagot: Kasi walang "M", "L", at "XL" na available. Kaya tiyaga na lang siya sa tightfit. Macho pa!

Hihirit pa...

Dan: an laki e..di ba dapat sa likod un hehehe
Obi: hindi makikita pag sa likod... kasi matatakluban ng kapa
Dan: hahaha uu nga =)


Superman Returns
Spoiler Alert! Spoiler Alert! Spoiler Alert!

After a five year hiatus, the Man of Steel is back after his quest to find any remnants of his homeworld of Krypton. However, he discovered that a lot has changed to the world that Clark Kent had known: Lois Lane was married and has a child, the populace has grown accustomed to not having Superman around (spearheaded by Lane's own Pulitzer award-winning article), and Luthor was able to evade lifetime sentence, got freed from prison, and was determined to scheme evil again.

The first half of the movie focused on his coming back to his heroic deeds but part of the conflict there was him getting over with his feelings to Lois. Lois on the other hand, harboured bitterness on Superman's sudden departure before but a romantic airborne trip with the suave hero rekindled the affection, threading carefully with the fact that she's already married. Basically, the emotional struggle of both Superman and Lois were very evident throughout the film. I believe that helped a lot on stressing that her marriage should not throw the viewers off of the whole Superman/Lois Lane romanticism.

Going back to the story, by a twist of fate (and boy, how coincidental it is), Miss Lane and her kid got tangled up on Lex Luthor's scheme, ending up as the bald guy's hostages. More heroics ensued as Metropolis was rocked by a freak earthquake caused by Luthor's cataclysmic terraforming (with the aid of the mysterious crystals he stole from Superman's cave). Eventually, the Last Son of Krypton saved Lois, her kid, and her husband (after the hubby's failed attempt to rescue em) and confronted his archenemy at last - Lex Luthor.

Unknown to Superman, Lex came prepared by stealing Kryptonite from a local museum. Rendered powerless, Superman was mauled by Luthor and his gang and left for dead with a sheet of Kryptonite stabbed at his back. Luckily, Lois opted to head back and look for Superman which led to them (Lois, Cyclops... hehe, and their kid) saving the then unconscious hero. Quickly regaining his powers, Superman saved the day by blah blah blah... and the ending scenes confirmed the implication that Lois Lane's kid was actually Superman's.

Naka-iskor pala si pareng Super bago naglakbay. Wooot!

I've watched all the Superman movies when I was a kid but all of em were vague-ish to me now. One thing I'm sure of is that like all the old Superman movies, this one will sure leave a lasting impression to the young boys and will send shivers of nostalgia to those who used to be young boys when they've watched the old Supermans. Almost eeeeevery major details were reminiscent of the former Superman films with slight modifications just to make it "up to date" and for me, the movie justified its predecessors very well.

The plot of the story is very simple but it's in a way that it can not and SHOULD not be any more complicated else ruining the spirit of the first Superman films. To put it in another term, the storyline is just right to give you the feel of watching a "modern classic". Tangena, pahirapan bako mag explain. It's just hard to put it in words. Basta yun.

Anyway, my applause goes to Brandon Routh who did an excellent job on reliving the legacy of Christopher Reeves. I mean, he - portraying Kent and Superman - was like a leaner clone of the good ol Reeves day: the smirk, the voice!, the 80's hairstyle and the Superman kiss-me, and his postures and manners. There's no one who could give more justice than what the guy did. He deserves a pat at the back... by Reeves. Hehehe boohooo!

kiss-me (n) - piraso ng buhok na nakabalandra sa noo na pinilit kulotin para pogi. Source: Diksyunaryo ni Lolo.

The rest of the major casts did well. It was like reading all of em out of a comicbook. Kevin Spacey acted just enough to be that stereotypical, comicbook villain. It's just disappointing that Luthor's actual meeting with Superman lasted for some minutes only. None of that epic confrontation that I imagined of. Kate Bosworth isn't a bad Lois Lane either... so so. Parker Posey portrayed the stupid "henchwoman" well, I like her antics. She's the comedy moments of Superman all by herself. The kid, Jason, is cute. He looks like Bosworth so yeah, the resemblance helped fit the role. On Richard (Cyclops, Marsden), his acting's a trademark. I still can see Cyclops on the way he carried himself in the movie. Not bad really, but in time it could get boring.

In all, the movie's great in a way that it matched the "classic" beauty of the old Superman films. The music... of course, they're John Williams original (re-arranged by Ottoman but classic nonetheless)... hats off to that, no brainer. Casting is good. I can't imagine how crappy it is seeing Nicolas Cage on those blue tights. I think there's a rumor that he was a choice for the role. I like the subtle changes on the costumes. It was nice they scrapped the idea of putting another "S" sign at his cape, and it looks heavier now, more "leathery" than the former piece of red curtain.

Siyam na gulaman! Wooot!

Classic, baby! Classic!

Tigil Ibabaw

Hongkong stop over after 4598 miles from Sydney.

Di nako natulog kagabi, nag punta kaming casino ulit tapos tambay magdamag. Nanalo naman akong 50 bucks. 2000 pesoses. Not bad.

Niregaluhan ako ni Tian ng soccer ball na Socceroos. Astig! Tapos yung soccer shirt ko pinapirmahan ko sa kanilang lahat. Isasabit ko sa opis sa Pinas.

Olats lang kasi yung bagahe ko 15 kilos sobra. Alangan mag diskarge ako ng 15 kilos worth ng dala. Neknek nila! Kaya napilitan ako mag bayad. Tinginingining yan, 366 bucks. Isang PSP din yun. Hanggang ngayon di pako nakaka "get over with" sa nanyari. Mababali na leeg ko kaka-iling.

Kami na nag sarado ng opis kagabi. Up to sawa yung kwentuhan namin nung HR manager na tropa namin bago nag casino. Di ko malilimutan stay namin dun. Balik na naman ako sa mainit at maulang Pinas. Wooot!

30 minutes more to flight sched. Kita kits!

Pre Homecoming Jitters

Last day ko na dito sa Sydney office tas katatapos lang ng isang simpleng morning tea gathering para sa pag-alis namin. Maikli lang naging farewell speech ko, hindi dahil wala akong masabi, kundi dahil hindi ko maisa-salita ang nararamdaman ko para sa pagtanggap nila sa akin. They've been all wonderful workmates to us and iL never forget how warm we were accomodated here. Worth it kahit andaming kong na-miss na events sa Manila. Worth it na tatlong buwan akong hindi nakapaglaro ng airsoft o ng basketball. Worth it na hindi ko nakasama ng matagal family ko, natikman mga luto ng mom ko, nayakap si "unan baho", makipaginuman sa Justice League habang kumakanta ng "Delilah", makipagkulitan sa mga Shak Boyz habang "nakatingala" sa UP, worth it kahit di ako nakatulong maggawa sa assignments ng kapatid ko.

I miss the chaos that is Manila but Sydney will always be that peace in my heart.

I met a former HP colleague here in Sydney and there's an opportunity for a permanent work at the company according to her. Habang marami sa kababayan natin naghihikahos... nagbenta ng kalabaw, lupain, kahit katawan para makapanirahan o makapagtrabaho sa ibang bansa, ako eto... walang dalwang-isip sa pagtanggap na hindi pa panahon para mamirmi ako sa labas ng Pinas. Kahit anong pagmamarunong ko kunwari sa mga dahilang sinasabi ko sa mga nanghihinayang, ang totoo hindi ko din alam kung bakit ayoko pa.

Baka nasa Pinas pa ang kukumpleto ng destiny ko. Yeba!

Anyway, the events on my second half of stay here was condensed here for posterity:

*I went to a colleague's house in Killara.

*We went to this monthly tiyangge in Kiribilli and I got me some classic 1982 print Dune books and a cool Buddhist jumper.

Quick Fact: The Australian Prime Minister lives on the Kiribilli area too. It's on Milson's Point, a suburb strategically located just across a majestic view of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge.

*Cheked out a local appliances store, Domayne, for some "On Sale" products. Nearly bought a handycam, but decided against it. Torn between it and a Sony PSP.

*We had a day of ferry-riding around the harbours of Sydney starting at the Circular Quay itself where the Opera House is. We went to this cliff spot called the Gap. It was an English artillery outpost back in the 1800's.

*We headed back to French Riviera and munched a foot tall ice cream scoops.

*Hay Market - bought heaps of "pasalubong" for my mates back in Phils.

*Hoyt's Cinema - watched Da Vinci Code, X-Men 3,

*We surprised Jhoanna by saying we're leaving last June (just before her birthday) then prepared a birthday party for her on our unit. Poker games followed at 5 bucks each for pot.

*Sheridan's Rhum Coffee from Dublin at Ray's house. Yub yub!

*Sydney Aquarium trip! Wooot! Mommy ang cute ng sharks!!

*The company's 10th year anniversary at Port Orient. Isang malupit na karaoke night followed. I was second to sing with "Tears in Heaven". I dunno till now why the heck I picked that song.

*Had a haircut. Semi-kalbo. Then headed to a Chinese Resto, grubs: calamari, sweet and sour pork, roast por, tofu mushroom. Yub yub!

*Star City Casino - watched Australia versus Brazil match on my OZ jersey. 2-0 in favor of the Brazilians. Doh!

*Chinese themed party here at the office. Played ping pong and Chinese chess while chowing on Chinese dimsums and grub. Yub yub!

*Luna Theme Park at Milson's Point. Enchanted Kingdom pa din. Hehe biased.

*Union Bar at North Shore. Hanging out.

*Three Sisters mountain ranges at Echo Point, Blue Mountains.

*Star City Casino - watched Australia versus Italy. Ref bollocks!!

*Ray's house for hot pot (shabu shabu). Yub yub!!

*Capitano's pizza place for Cindy's farewell gathering.

*Blue Mountains abseiling. 197 feet of pure thrill!

*Had another piercing just above my old one at the left ear. Got a shiny blue gem earring. Cutey.

*Today, we'll have a Football themed party here at the office. The boyz will be bringing Xbox to play FIFA and the usual grub and beer of course. Yub yub!

*Regular Friday noon football games, of course. I scored one goal today. Not a very impressive one though.

Quick stats:
Train tickets accumulated - 31
Movie tickets with me - 6
Boomerangs bought - 3
Table napkins with names of the establishment on it (for my collection) - 6
Boxes of miniatures bought - 16 (yes, they occupied one full luggage)
Receipts from shopping - 10
Double "A" batteries used - 10
Double "A" batteries in reserve - 8
Books read - 6 (Warmachine Prime, Dune: Machine Crusade, Stainless Longanisa, Tau Empire Codex, Index Astartes 4, Dune: Messiah)
Magazines read - 4 (White Dwarf April, May, June, July)
Books not yet read - 4 (All of em are Dune classics)
Miniatures painted - 3
Friday football games played - 7
Days at the snows - 2
Church mass attended - 2 (shame!)
DVD's watched - 8 (Memoirs of Geisha, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, American Pie 1 - 2 - 3, Fantastic Four, Runaway Jury, 13 Going on 30)
Text Twist score - 74,630 - Level 22
Size of pics accumulated - 882MB
Insaniquarium record - 8 fish variants - Level 4-5
Weight gain - 3 kilos (araguy!)
Chocolates I got as gift - 2
Chinitas spotted - secret pa din!!! Wagiii!!!111xoxoxo111!!

See you all in Manila!!! Painom kayo pag uwi ko!!! San Miguel, I'm coming hooooome!!!

Buccaneer Boo-boos

Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest
Spoiler Alert! Spoiler Alert! Spoiler Alert!

I wasn't able to watch the first "Pirates of the Carribean" but i just hate it when a sequel can't stand with a complete plot outline without relying much on its precursor. This is exaclty what "Dead Man's Chest" is all about.

Captain Jack Sparrow is back on another swash-buckling adventure after the sinister Davy Jones returned from the depths (literally) to claim what he promised years before - eternal servitude to him and his crew of the dreaded Flying Dutchman.

Not in anyway wanting to repay his debts to the phantom pirate, Captain Sparrow and the rest of his crew of the Black Pearl embarked on a journey to seek the legendary Heart of Davy Jones (for reasons unknown... but I believe and was implied that Jack wanted a bargaining leverage against his debt to Jones). With Jack is a mystical compass that showed them the way to the Heart. This same compass is the reason why Elizabeth Swann and Will Turner got tangled up again in the whole adventure.

Much action scenes followed and by the movie's end they were able to recover the Heart, encountering the Flying Dutchman along the way. The Black Pearl was able to elude the ghastly ship but Davy Jones summmoned his monstrous Kraken which ended up wrecking the Black Pearl itself and swallow Jack Sparrow whilst Turner, Swann, and some of the crew escaped on a boat.

It all ended up with... uhm... no ending at all!

After all the debacle, lose ends just flew everywhere and there's no concrete ending/resolution to hold on to. Watching and understanding it was like trying to climb a rope which is greased on the end. Gets?

What happened to disgraced Commodore Norrington?
What did Lord Beckett do to the Heart of Davy Jones?
How do the Black Pearl survivors at Tia Dalma's intend to bring Sparrow back? Back from where, or back to what??
What happened to Governor Swann?
What will Davy Jones gonna do, now that he knows his Heart is out there somewhere and endangered?
What happened to Bootstrap Bill and how the hell did he managed to sneak into Black Pearl?
Why did Elizabeth Swann chained Jack Sparrow at the Black Pearl before they escaped the Kraken?
(If you haven't watched the first movie) Who the f-word is Captain Barbossa??
(If you haven't watched the first movie) Who the f-word is Tia??
(If you haven't watched the first movie) Who the f-word is Ragetti and Pintel??
And the list goes on and on because the characters from the first movie were poorly introduced...

The entire movie was a marketing flop to start with... it just shouted, "Shut up and just wait for Part Three!" which is of course if you're a religious follower of the film, you will... but thing is if you're not and you're just a casual movie-goer happening to have stumbled upon the movie, you're like wasting your bucks, baby. Bigtime.

"Palubag loob" yung effects at production, though. I like how they merged the mythic components to the buccaneer feel of the film settings. Hands up on those regard. I like the speckles of humor too. I think Depp had a great work delivering some of em. I like the Ragetti and Pintel comedy duo too. Not "that" funny but at least they don't suck as the storyline (if there is).

It's a shame they have to be this incoherent on a movie theme that is so rich and vivid to work on. I was like half-asleep on the middle part of it. Boo... rrring. I have this feeling that the first movie was good but true or not, they din't have to make a sequel that is sooo dependent "information-wise" to the prior movie and sooo dependent "conclusion-wise" to its next part. The result was a "non-movie movie". It's like a bridge, a preparatory story... Part 1's epilogue and Part 3's prologue. If you know how epilogues and prologues work, imagine reading only that part of a story... that's how it feels watching this movie.

Sayang. The casts were great, no doubt there. The entire production was cool... costumes, CG effects, and all. But the plot is crap.

2.5 gulamans.

Goodluck kung panonoorin nyo. =)

Bakit "S" Ang Nasa Damit ni Superman?

Status ko ito sa YM kanina... eto ang mga naging reaksyon:

Ginoong Emp (may-ari ng isang imprentahan ng ritrato sa Maynila)
- ayon sa pinakahuling kwento, yung nasa S ni superman ay simbolo ng krypton. so hindi sya S na kagaya ng letrang S sa alpabeto natin. nung ginawa ni martha kent yung costume, ginamit nya yun, na nakatatak sa birthing matrix ni kal-el. pero nung unang labas yata nya e para sa "super" yung S

Ginoong Romy (punong inhinyero sa isang malaking proyekto sa Makati)
- sirit

Binibining April (ka-empleyado sa isang kumpanyang I.T. sa Makati)
- kasi **** **** *** ****
Obi: sino nagsabi sayo? patentado ko yung joke na yun a. kinwento na ni Yuki no?

Ginoong Dan (technical support sa isang pamosong kumpanyang I.T.)
- bec of trademark???

Ginoong Tian (ka-empleyadong Tsinoy dito sa Sydney)
- to remind himself of what he did with lois

Ginang Diep (ka-empleyadong Australiano dito sa Sydney)
- to remind himself that he is Superman, or to show off to others that he is Super, or because it looks good..

Isa lang ang tumama... hindi pa lehitimo.
Ang sagot: Kasi walang "M", "L", at "XL" na available. Kaya tiyaga na lang siya sa tightfit. Macho pa!

Hihirit pa...

Dan: an laki e..di ba dapat sa likod un hehehe
Obi: hindi makikita pag sa likod... kasi matatakluban ng kapa
Dan: hahaha uu nga =)


Superman Returns
Spoiler Alert! Spoiler Alert! Spoiler Alert!

After a five year hiatus, the Man of Steel is back after his quest to find any remnants of his homeworld of Krypton. However, he discovered that a lot has changed to the world that Clark Kent had known: Lois Lane was married and has a child, the populace has grown accustomed to not having Superman around (spearheaded by Lane's own Pulitzer award-winning article), and Luthor was able to evade lifetime sentence, got freed from prison, and was determined to scheme evil again.

The first half of the movie focused on his coming back to his heroic deeds but part of the conflict there was him getting over with his feelings to Lois. Lois on the other hand, harboured bitterness on Superman's sudden departure before but a romantic airborne trip with the suave hero rekindled the affection, threading carefully with the fact that she's already married. Basically, the emotional struggle of both Superman and Lois were very evident throughout the film. I believe that helped a lot on stressing that her marriage should not throw the viewers off of the whole Superman/Lois Lane romanticism.

Going back to the story, by a twist of fate (and boy, how coincidental it is), Miss Lane and her kid got tangled up on Lex Luthor's scheme, ending up as the bald guy's hostages. More heroics ensued as Metropolis was rocked by a freak earthquake caused by Luthor's cataclysmic terraforming (with the aid of the mysterious crystals he stole from Superman's cave). Eventually, the Last Son of Krypton saved Lois, her kid, and her husband (after the hubby's failed attempt to rescue em) and confronted his archenemy at last - Lex Luthor.

Unknown to Superman, Lex came prepared by stealing Kryptonite from a local museum. Rendered powerless, Superman was mauled by Luthor and his gang and left for dead with a sheet of Kryptonite stabbed at his back. Luckily, Lois opted to head back and look for Superman which led to them (Lois, Cyclops... hehe, and their kid) saving the then unconscious hero. Quickly regaining his powers, Superman saved the day by blah blah blah... and the ending scenes confirmed the implication that Lois Lane's kid was actually Superman's.

Naka-iskor pala si pareng Super bago naglakbay. Wooot!

I've watched all the Superman movies when I was a kid but all of em were vague-ish to me now. One thing I'm sure of is that like all the old Superman movies, this one will sure leave a lasting impression to the young boys and will send shivers of nostalgia to those who used to be young boys when they've watched the old Supermans. Almost eeeeevery major details were reminiscent of the former Superman films with slight modifications just to make it "up to date" and for me, the movie justified its predecessors very well.

The plot of the story is very simple but it's in a way that it can not and SHOULD not be any more complicated else ruining the spirit of the first Superman films. To put it in another term, the storyline is just right to give you the feel of watching a "modern classic". Tangena, pahirapan bako mag explain. It's just hard to put it in words. Basta yun.

Anyway, my applause goes to Brandon Routh who did an excellent job on reliving the legacy of Christopher Reeves. I mean, he - portraying Kent and Superman - was like a leaner clone of the good ol Reeves day: the smirk, the voice!, the 80's hairstyle and the Superman kiss-me, and his postures and manners. There's no one who could give more justice than what the guy did. He deserves a pat at the back... by Reeves. Hehehe boohooo!

kiss-me (n) - piraso ng buhok na nakabalandra sa noo na pinilit kulotin para pogi. Source: Diksyunaryo ni Lolo.

The rest of the major casts did well. It was like reading all of em out of a comicbook. Kevin Spacey acted just enough to be that stereotypical, comicbook villain. It's just disappointing that Luthor's actual meeting with Superman lasted for some minutes only. None of that epic confrontation that I imagined of. Kate Bosworth isn't a bad Lois Lane either... so so. Parker Posey portrayed the stupid "henchwoman" well, I like her antics. She's the comedy moments of Superman all by herself. The kid, Jason, is cute. He looks like Bosworth so yeah, the resemblance helped fit the role. On Richard (Cyclops, Marsden), his acting's a trademark. I still can see Cyclops on the way he carried himself in the movie. Not bad really, but in time it could get boring.

In all, the movie's great in a way that it matched the "classic" beauty of the old Superman films. The music... of course, they're John Williams original (re-arranged by Ottoman but classic nonetheless)... hats off to that, no brainer. Casting is good. I can't imagine how crappy it is seeing Nicolas Cage on those blue tights. I think there's a rumor that he was a choice for the role. I like the subtle changes on the costumes. It was nice they scrapped the idea of putting another "S" sign at his cape, and it looks heavier now, more "leathery" than the former piece of red curtain.

Siyam na gulaman! Wooot!

Classic, baby! Classic!