broken lines (collection 47)

Discreet
Intellectual
Cunning
Appreciative
Deceptive
Procastinator
Confident
Speaker
Silent

Clever
Influential?
Dumbfounded
Peacemaker
Firestarter
Apprehensive
Impulsive
Imaginative
Thoughtful

Holistic
Sarcastic
Mild tempered
Stubborn
Ironic
Poetic
Pessimistic
Optimistic
Futuristic

Loving
Hatred
Serene
Quiet
Restless
Passionate
Great
Worst
Dual

Gemini.

Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno

The long awaited sequel to one of the most consistent live action anime/manga adaptation comes back. With more to offer.. 

Well, surprisingly, the line was very long. I thought I'm lining up in a Kathniel flick. But anyhow, that didn't stop really to grab a seat and enjoy sort of reminiscing a great samurai character comes to life.

Let's go first what I did not really like about the film. There were a lot but forgivable. Perhaps. First is the changes made for film, there were many changes just to fit the story into film, such as one example. Aoshi is not part of Shishio's men. I think the big boat was not used in attacking Tokyo, more so, there is no giant dude that terrorized Tokyo. Cho's blade was only long, not flexible. And a lot things changed. It not really affect the story or pace but I hope they kinda more true to the source, at least. Another choice of actors or how they were used. Yu Aoi was underused, maybe for this film. Or am I biased because she's my crush. Actor who played Aoshi should be the Kenshin's sensei because of his big built and looks but we might get a thinner sensei. Even Yumi, the hot right hand of Shishio is kinda thin, but looks great. Some of the assasins look different than in the anime, except for that I forgot the name always smiling killer, Soujiro. Lastly, which is I thought, Emi Takei's performance as Kaoru, declined. She always like lost or indecisive and sad.

Lastly, of course, it's not the films fault.. Less violent due to Kenshin's nature and as usual, more talking first then fight. Geez.. They did the adaptation good. 

Great things about the flick, first of all the fight scenes, with more than 2 hours long in this film, I can't remember or count how many fight scenes were there. I believe it has more fight scenes than the melodramatic moments in the film. It's only the number but the quality of it. Two fight scenes stand out for me, it's Aoshi versus his old Master and the short fight of Soujiro and Kenshin. The chose the latter because of it's close to a samurai fight. That's all. But like I said, there were more you can choose.

Give credit to the director that despite with the changes made, I still felt I'm watching Kenshin. It did not change the feel of watching one and the anime. The right amount of fun, and pace of story and the development of Shishio is still there. I'm not sure others felt but for me, of course it's just fine. I also did not feel watching a 2 hour more film. I just felt it when it was done and I was not able to do afterwards going around the mall. 

The production set up is really great, as usual in Japanese flicks, they made like samurai time or Edo time easily set up. No trace of letting down the production value up to the costumes and of course, katanas. 

Final credit goes to the actors, Takeru Sato made a great impression as kenshin and surprisingly, Tatsuya Fujiwara as Shishio. From the survivor in Battle Royale to Death Note and now as a villain, this dude can really act. Don't forget Sano, Saito who really resembles their characters. Maryjun as Yumi despite her thin/model figure, and few lines, looks great, Aoishi dude, wow and the rest of night watchers. Yoshi is still the same, Soujiro as well and the most suprisingly, Misao! After watching her, and I thought, she is more fit as Kaoru. I know there might be Emi Takei's fans but seriously, the actress who plays Misao should be Kaoru. Well, I still give Kaoru a chance, there is still one film left. 

Speaking of the last film, I feel it maybe the last film in Kenshin. The last time we will see this. Reasons? The Amakusa arc is interesting but quite boring due to well, it has a lot of talking as the anime/manga shown. The only interesting part there is the villain use the same style as Kenshin. The last arc, which is shown in the anime, the magic dude arc which is a letdown. The only movies left they can do after this last one, it's either a prequel which I feel a samurai flick as shown in the OVA and my favorite due to the love story, and the supposed ending which shown in the OVA but despite melodramatic and very emotional ending, the author discredit it. 

Of course, if they can make a spinoff about Seijuro Hiko's story, why not! hahaha

Everybody is excited about the last film which it will be shown on Sept.24.. I don't care waiting in a long line again. Definitely!!!! 

I felt that Warner Bros Japan is doing a good job at doing adaptations recently huh.. From Berserk to this except for Black Butler. They should do more of this in other source materials or better yet well, invest more. Better yet, our cinemas should release more Japanese flicks. I'm quite biased. hehe

The Epic battle awaits. 

K'na The Dreamweaver

Noong nakapila ako sa Trinoma, noted napakahaba ng pila.. Iniisip ko ano pipiliin ko.. Hmmm should I see a film na tatlo lang ang cast na mukhang pinilit lang gawin ang isang film about a whatever princess na sa tingin ko next week wala na. hahaha A film about 5 guardians who are to save the galaxy which despite great reviews and trailers or promotions, I did not get excited. Darn I sorely missed Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.. Or how about Scar Jo becoming Akira but directed by Luc Besson which recently has a string of almost flops. 

Pero dahil di ako nakapanood last year ng Cinemalaya at nagpromise ako manonood this year, eto na lang. hehe Before naman ako pumunta cine eh namili na ko kung ano papanoorin ng around 4pm. I chose this na lang, kahit ang gusto ko mapanood eh #Y due to Sophie Albert, but Sunday pa showing. hehe Kapapanood ko pa lang ng palitan sa youtube so naging interested ako kay Mara Lopez, not because she became a centerfold of Playboy here recently. 

Anyway, simple lang naman ang story.. Hmmm a T'boli tribe as the synopsis suggest or mukha nga kasi sa Lake Sebu ang setting, may rare dreamweaver or parang nagbuburda ng abaca na napakaganda. Dreamweaver kasi may kakayahan ata mag interpret or makakita ng panaginip in detail. K'na is her name at napakabata niya to handle such hard responsibility. Very hard childhood naranasan niya kasi maaga namatay nanay niya tapos nagkakagulo pa yun angkan nila laban dun sa kabilang nayon. Pero ang napapatatag sa kanya eh yun Lola niya at siyempre may manliligaw siya na taga gawa ng abaca tinatahi niya. Then well story goes from there, which rely a question, can she live the life she loves or can she live the life she was assigned to do.. 

After a very brief 87 something minutes, sa dami nangyari eh nasatisfy naman ako. Di sobrang sulit o di naman lugi sa binayad ko. Definitely way better than Mood Indigo na kahit 100 pesos binayad ko sa french film fest eh nalungkot pa din ako.. hehe 

Some flaws to be considered.. First of all, sorry to spoil pero despite maganda ang title and title sequence and I was expecting kasi she is task na maginterpret ng panaginip, kala ko yun ang gagawin niya in the climax. But well, the climax was she forced to marry yun anak ng Datu ng other tribe. Geez, I thought na makakainterpret siya ng dream to save or stop the clan war which kinda a downer. Sayang.. That will make this film somewhat great or above sa ibang films sa festival. 

Magaling si Mara Lopez, which I'll tell below, pero some scenes that she could have nailed for an outstanding performance like namatay lola niya, aba nanaginip agad nung nasa hanging coffins siya. No moment to cry or grief. Sayang.. Or kahit yun kinakasal siya, medyo blank state lang siya, well normally for girls they'll cry if they are getting married to the wrong person but no choice. I met once like that. hahaha But well, sayang ulit. 

Lastly, although not really a flaw pero sana, if they did speak a different dialect, sana yun tuloy tuloy na. Not slow or phonetically.. Although pag nasalita sila deretcho baka mahirapan yun magsub. hehe Para rinig ko indonesian or thai yun pagsalita nila, pero ok naman yun ginawa nila. It's better kung natural. O baka mali ako, baka ganun talaga sila magsalita. I should be there to know. hehe

Great points, hmmmm first of all the editing at cinematography.. Talagang pinakita na maganda ang lugar na yun.. Naisip ko nga sana may rest house ako na katabi eh lawa lang. Talagang I'm not a beach person. hehe Dapat ganun na lawa ang setting. Grabe, the right balance of greens and water. Wow.. Breath taking. Editing kasi sa dami nangyari, nakuha yun tamang pace and scenes na dapat sa film. 

Director should be credited dahil sa iksi nung film. Di ba nga nagulat ako sa dami at bilis nangyari eh di man lang umabot ng 90 mins. hehe Tama lang, coz kung dalawang oras yun and more subtle scens lang, kakaantok. But with this short span, ok and tama lang.. Great length for a simple story.

Costume and production design na yun feel na sobrang pre spanish feel yun story. Kuha yun tribe setting, tapos yun dancing at props din na parang accurate in that era. Mahirap yun ha.

Lastly, despite a small cast and most cast eh parang taga dun eh nadeliver naman ng tama yun story despite that big flaw.. Give credit kay Bembol, Nonie, Alex Medina, and surprisingly RK Bagatsing ba, na kala ko nung una siya si Alex. hehe Pero pagtagal, ayun na, di si Alex yun. Galing niya as Silaw na dapat kasi nung panahon na yun, may nagpayo na mag move on. Ayun.. Kawawa naman siya, nagpakamatay, take note, one bad way and good way to die. But well, ganun talaga nainlove kay K'na. 

To Mara, well, tama si Direk Joey na upcoming talaga siya, from doing bare and risky sa Palitan tapos mysterious sa Debosyon last year na sana pinanood ko na. hehe Ngayon she can do role na not bearing skin. Tama nga siya, walang kissing scene. hehe Pero she can do it, very versatile and force siya sa film, kahit may mga flaws. I love the scene yun sumasayaw siya or even yun nagweave siya, talagang nagpractice ata siya. Then yun nagmamakaawa siya sa Datu na wag na ituloy yun balak niya, very moving siya. Kawawa naman and of course,last scene na tumanda siya na kaunti. I just don't like her skin, kasi sayang ang japanese looks niya!!! hahahaha Namana yun skin niya galing kay Maria Isabel. Pero dahil sa skin niya, nabagay siya sa role with her another dialect experience at acting na din. I just wish, I can see her in film speaking in Nihonggo. hehe 

Natuwa naman ako sa audience na talagang pumalakpak after the credits show. They like the film. At sa presyong 150, sulit. Dapat kahit di indie na pinoy film eh ang price dapat eh ganun lang these days.. I know a lot of factors to take consideration para lang matapat natin yun international flicks, but yun price na 150, kahit di alam nung manonood kung ano yun flick, tignan mo.. Puno ang sinehan. Chance ticket holder pa yun dating ko sa panood kung hindi next showing pako. hahaha Like the french film fest or Eiga sai, mapa 100 or lalo na yun free, puno ang sinehan. Dapat price lang ng showing eh pang laban sa mga bigatin.

I mean, paano kung ang film eh 220, malamang, magtiyaga na ko sa guardians. hehe Dapat all pinoy films mainstream or indie, eh ganun range lang para pantapat sa international films. Sa quality naman, alam natin malabo natin kalabanin yun mga blockbusters or foreign films, pero sa price at least may laban kasi dito naman ginagawa at dapat walang tax na yun ganun if they want to have pinoy film industry rise or survive. 

At para na din maraming film na magawan na ganito, kung di social relevant, at least different genre. Or whatever na kuha yun pinoy audience. 

With 150, Erich's film will survive two weeks despite crappy film. hahaha 

PreView

August started with anxiety. Well, nagusap kami ng TL ko na medyo taasan ko daw ang performance ko. Wow, bawal ang pasang awa dito ha. hahaha Anyway, it's a challenge and will see how I go through this.

Mabuti at di na umuulan.. Pero hard to adjust sa akin kwarto na well, labas dila. hahaha I can't wait to have this fix soon.

Ah for now, I don't know yet pero malamang focus sa new work at rebuilding and other stuff. Nadelay lahat na dapat gawin. hehe Pero still adjusting for this new work life. I might write new stuff for this month. A lot of birthdays pala pero more sa friends. I can't help but just sigh on what happened last month. Thank God, unti unti naman nakakabalik. 

Quite shocking though Robin Williams, one of the best cinema actors/comedians suddenly past away. It should take a serious note that despite his comedic nature, he died as rumors swirling due to depression. It's sad but that happens. =( We'll miss him and I might get some of his classics. =)

Ah mahirap pala pag ang computer eh nasa baba ng bahay. Malayo sa akin piling. hahaha Natanto ko na din na baka di matuloy ang upgrade next year, so mukhang susulitin ko ang computer ko for the next 2 years. Geez. hehe But we'll see, many things will happen in the next year or so.

For now, wala pa ko masabi kung ano gagawin ko shocking or maybe this month is boring yet quiet for me. I don't know, but maybe focus lang talaga sa work. And other interesting activities. Reading eh isang halimbawa. 

Oo nga pala, salamat sa Stellar for the process ng clearance and back pay. Hanggang sa huli, kuripot. hahahaha

Hmmmm.. Matapos na sana tong audit na to, para balik sa normal routine sa work. 

8 months passed is fast these days.

ReView

I can't believe this, after 5 years doing this while I'm working.. I'm doing it again. hahaha While waiting to end my lunch since wala naman masyado sleeping quarter dito eh makablog nga.

Actually, di ko pa gamay ang work but great thing improving naman everyday. This month was kinda stressful talaga. Kung di lang kay Glenda siguro kaunti lang problema namin, lalo naman sa kin. hehe Ganun talaga, some events just happen and all we need to do is move on. 

Surprise talaga ang UST, going 3-1 kasi UP lang naman kalaban sa Saturday so akalain mo ganun line up, magulo pa ang mga play, naka 3 panalo pa? hahaha Gilas naman this coming August, pero tagal pa. NBA, the King returned to his home.. I'm coming home. Naks. hahaha Talagang ayaw niya umalis ng Cleveland as evident naman sa More than a Game documentary.

I'm not sure what to watch this week, Dawn, Guardian or Cinemalaya? Hmmmm I'm looking towards Cinemalaya, hintayin na lang sa mga sources ko yun dalawa. hehe 

Working in a night shift is hard, lalo na yun dati, but this time, steady lang. Not like stressful before kasi wala naman puknat na tawag kasi. Eto, kahit nagtatawag ako, parang wala pang 30 calls per week. hahaha 30 calls per week. Geez, eh ilan oras lang yun sa call center. Feeling on my first call? La lang, as normal lang despite not taking calls for almost 2 years. Saka client businesses naman to. Yun iba through email lang talaga. Ayaw makipagusap. Fine! hehe

Going to August, my feeling is a bit loose and just preparing sana wag na worse, just recovering and fixing na lang siguro. Doing other good habits. I hope yun movie festival ko matuloy na. hahaha 

I just want to, well, 2 things.. Start to do some changes. Second, enjoy life for the rest of the year. =)

"these are my personal views and not my employer, Accenture."

Not Showing: Jodorowsky's Dune

The greatest movie that was never made. That tagline caught my curiousity to check out this wonderful movie documentary. Actually I didn't expect that this documentary gave me more yearning to look forward watching Alejandro Jodorowsky's films soon.

First of all, who the hell is Alejandro Jodorowsky? A peruvian director who made theater plays mostly in Mexico which lead him making films. His first film was fando y lis which he was end up banned in Mexico. The reason? He disregarded the director's union and made people mad by watching the film. But that doesn't stop making films. He made a cult classic El Topo, a spaghetti mystical western story. Due to the success of that film, he got a million dollars to do his next feature Holy Mountain which about a thief took a journey to holistic transformation. He became sucessful again and this where his story of Dune comes in..

Dune was regarded as one of the best sci fi books made which until now I haven't read or even look at that book. But at that tine in 1970's, it was the best seller. Jodorowsky has also no idea what the book is as it was only suggested by a friend. First I love how Jodorowsky detailed the process of how he imagined or created the feel of the film. Despite the book itself was hard to swallow, he just made a way to make it understandable with his touch of madness. I loved how he recruited what he called spiritual warriors.. His artist was Giraud, one of the best French comic book artist. That dude is one of a hell artist as he can draw everything in detail. VFX supervisor Dan O'Bannon who kinda surprised he was picked despite only the second choice. Alejandro doesn't feel Doug Trumbull, the SFX dude of my fave film 2001 because he was described very technical and full of himself. Jodorowsky was also able to assemble a very intersting cast. Despite no known actress but his set of actors are damn legendary, from David Carradine, Jodorowsky's son as usual, Mick Jagger, Orson Welles and even Salvador Dali. I love the footage of Dali, indeed enigmatic. Don't forget Pink Floyd and another rock band for its musical score and OST. How about the other illustrators/artist included in this movie project. It shows how ambitious this one was.

Another thing I love was the inputs of the men and women behind this project. From critics, even the producers of the film and people who joined the project seemed very influenced how Alejandro motivated them to be artist than a worker who has a deadline. Lastly, with all these factors going thru the course of the film, I was convinced that this might have been the best scifi or even of the best films ever made. The year was 1973 and on how this was made, it was indeed ahead of its time. Despite with some violent and gore effect, the concept is somewhat scifi and religion in one film. Star Wars or even blade runner was not made yet. 2001 was made but it was not box office hit until it was released in home video.

3 factors that made me sad after watching the documentary. It's not really the films fault. First the behavior of the big movie studios today of making films is still the same. More emphasis on profit than art. The film as the producer calculated can be done if the studios provided just added 5 million dollars for the budget but still they declined due to the nature of the film and risks involve. Geez they were damn wrong. They didn't even gave a second look to this film. Second, the film was indeed made by David Lynch but it was terrible that even Lynch doesn't want to talk about it or even claimed its a mistake he made. This was connected to the first one as the producers thought they'll earn but without the right people or mindset, it was an epic fail. Lastly, I won't blame if less will watch this because of less people or only movie fanatics knows Jodorowsky. As much this is well done and promoted, Jodorowsky's films made really not for the general public. It's bizarre and mystical as I saw some scenes in his films.

Amidst of failure well, all the people worked in this doomed project moved on and better yet achieved success. Somewhat used the ideas in this film to other ones. Great example was alien, the design of Alien came from a design of one of the castle in this film. They also won Oscars in other projects. The manuscript or even design of Dune was kinda used in most films until today, as you see in montage at the end. I suggest that since Nicolas Winding Refn was the one saw and heard what this project should been, he's the one could do it.

Jodorowsky already moved on and now legendary. But you can see in this film his undying passion to still create his project. Even he admits he might not see the light or have this project done in his lifetime, he still encourages anyone to create this..

Magnificent film. 

I wonder what would happen if this film was made indeed before Star Wars and other films? Will this alter what we view in a sci fi film? or How films should be made?  

broken lines (collection 46)

Storm coming forward,
furious, devastating wind.
Darkness flows around.

Whirlwind shows no fear,
swirling, raging and pouncing.
Destroys along path.

Even small droplets,
rain with such strong storm dangers.
All who looks upon..

Despite no thunder,
such scary echo of wind,
enough spreading worry.

Surge of damage rise.
Thy storm picking up power,
crushing everything.

Staying in one place,
it may not sure of safety.
it gives sign of end.

Anxiety grows fast,
as the storm reaches on high.
Darkness may not end.

Swifly, storm thy halt..
left us drenched and yet happy.
Sky shows sign of life!