classics: Mad Max: Fury Road

12 hours later, after watching this flick, I realize, it's a reboot! I'll explain below. It's over, this is the film of the year! haha Well, I know there are still great films to show this year, not to mentioned Star Wars (not a fan anymore).  

A little introduction, if you are indeed a movie fan, especially if you start watching films at the 80's... There was a trilogy you shouldn't miss, at least the 2 films or at least the one film, the Mad Max trilogy! First was Mad Max, second was the Road Warrior (one of the best action flicks) and then the longest title in the series, Mad Max: Beyond the Thunderdrome.. I just don't like that one. My oldest brother really likes until this day. Geez.. 

Well, for those who missed those films, after watching this new film, I advise, forget the first trilogy, you can watch that later! Or if you are tired watching those films, just watch Road Warrior. 

If I'm going to do a full study about this film compare to the first trilogy, it will be a long post. I don't want to that, especially at this present state of mine. However, I'll make this short as possible. But definitely, an instant classic!
I ranked this film already at my top 10 best action flicks lists. I haven't fixed that list for now but I'll do it in the future once I watched all the films I could muster.  Action flicks of course.. Let's say, if Road Warrior was like number 4, Fury Road is number 5. I can't separate them. hehe 

There are only two reasons why I put Road Warrior better than Fury Road and mind you, it's not about the technical aspect. First of all, yes, despite the title and Tom Hardy is Max, well, he is not lead of the film. Of course, he did a great part for the film but his story was abrupt and Furiosa's plot kicks in until the end. It's not really a bad thing, actually it's a great thing that George Miller did, but when Max said his prelude, you are exited to see him what the hell is he doing. But, well, let's wait for the sequel. 

Second factor which is the deal breaker, Mel Gibson as Max. I mean, when you watch Road Warrior, despite Max is only helping or the supporting character, his presence and his actions were the driving force of the story. Don't forget the great acting despite, few dialogues for him. He also showed that depth in his emotions in the film. There were the reasons I put this film better than Fury Road.

Everything else, well, even the technical side are going to this film. Fantastic! First thing I loved is the cinematography used. I mean, despite it's apocalyptic theme, I mean it lookg gorgeous and there are some scenes just I want to stare, like the first scene. It also helped showing the every detail of the film, from their home base, then the wide shots of the desert and car chases, even the cliffs and mountains.. Astonishing shots indeed! How about that storm scene? Despite it has CGI effects, wow, it is breath taking! I don't how in IMAX looks like. 

Second, the cast! Charlize Theron never fails to suprise me. I mean in that film million ways to die in the west, she has comedic chops and she made Mad Max at the same time, turn into an action heroine! Wow, I mean Furiosa's character is simple actually. While I was watching, I am thinking other promising actresses can do that but when it comes to action fight scenes with deep emotion acting, few can do that and Charlize is really fit for this character. Physically and emotional aspect. Tom Hardy being Max is a great fit. Even not better on what Mel did, I mean it's because of the plot went... Despite being Bane at least for 15 mins, he is perfect for Max. He is shown as one Mad or crazy and at the same time, the stunts he did are insane and great. At last, there is a Tom Hardy film that showcases his physical prowess and at the same time, acting ability. I already saw some of his films and when it comes to acting, he delivers. Then the rest of the cast which mostly Australian, also delivers especially the Immortan Joe and the old ladies backup at the end. Don't forget the wives and even the odd looking henchmen. How about unrecognizable Nicholas Hoult? Wow, what a lovely performance! hehe Even, he met a sad end. 

Third, sounds are top notch! Not only a visual treat but also the sound theme and the crashes and effects are just perfect cue! I'm in the edge of my seat because of the sounds and OST used. Don't forget the guitarist with flame thrower and the drum machine team. hehe Junkie XL indeed, I must say he can be like Trett Reznor. But we'll see if he can still do that in other types of films. Great DJ, I mean most DJ's now doing these music themes from Daft Punk, Chemical Brothers and others.. Great development! 

Fourth and most importantly, the insane, crazy, shocking action scenes put in film! Over the top car chases which indeed surpassed the Road Warrior. Evidence? The first chase scene, I mean that alone is way better than the Road Warrior and it doesn't include yet Max! That's how great this film is. I haven't even discussed the rest of the action scenes. Wow.. Even that night scene, it has that suspense factor and that tough ending. I mean I want to see how Max defeated that car but well, cut short. I hope it shows in home release. Great job by George Miller who, made a great effort of using more practical effects and very minimal CGI. The 150 million budget is damn well spent. I hope he'll definitely finish the remaining two films, all the fans are waiting to have his done. Give credit to the costume designer of the film. I mean, great looking, neat and scary! hehe I love that white war boy theme and of course, reimagined Max.

So, let's go to say why it's Mad Max. It has all the recipes as being Mad Max. Well, at least at this Mad Max, you can say he is Mad. Seeing visions of people and his grown old daughter?! Yes, unlike in the original Mad Max, he has a kid and wife killed. Not a somewhat teenage daughter. Always running from bandits in his interceptor and every relying saw off shotgun. The dog is gone. How it became a reboot? 

First, I already said the child thing. Second, it's not only gas that is running out, also water and there is already a Warlord or self proclaim God, which is Joe. Second, the looks of the people, it looks like there was a nuclear war or radiation.. Many deformaties and scary looks. Although Max still walks fast in one leg and still not sociable. Damn, when we will see a Mad Max film that he did use that shotgun. In this film, he already used the other guns, even that flare gun but not the shotgun and ended up broke! I hope in the next film, he can use one to blast off one head! hehe

Of course, his trademark interceptor! In all films, ah sorry, except for the first one which it did not end up in wreck. This film, it was not only wrecked but also exploded. Sorry for the spoiler! But I hope in the next film, we can see Max raming or racing his interceptor against those bad dudes. I don't know how to drive but it's just that interceptor has that aura. Darn, blame that Road Warrior shown in my early years..

Well, the next one I'll wait is Spectre, the new James Bond film. The other flicks even Star Wars, no thanks. I'll just wait this film in Blu Ray release.. Can't wait to see this in full glory! It made Fast and Furious films hmmmm for kids? 

But great thing for George to reboot the story in more scary and interesting wasteland scenario.. Kudos to him.

By the way, if Mel Gibson did this in 2003, I mean if George indeed push this through way back then, witht he same set up of this film. That I can say, the best action film of all time. Epic indeed. But we have this, better than never.. Damn, I should have watched this in IMAX!

".... it is hard to know who is more crazy, me or everyone else.."

Yabu v Katsu Sora

I'm quite privileged that I've tried eating in these restaurants. Tried their specialty which is of course, japanese pork cutlet, Tonkatsu sets. What's for sure, those are the times I really felt full after eating their respective sets.

I tried first Katsu Sora at Trinoma branch. They open at 11am onwards and definitely, go early as they offer eat all you can salads and rice. I ordered the Sakura set they called, their cheapest pork style of tonkatsu. It includes of course, the pork set and unlimited rice and salads with fruits as well.
I can say, the tonkatsu is really great, it melts in my mouth! That's how great it is. I can't imagine the taste of their expensive selections of tonkatsu. I also love their salad selections, from potato salad, fresh ones and chicken as well! It's so great that I was not able to taste the other salads. I think, I ate more salads than the rice and tonkatsu meal. I'm so full that I end up not finishing the tonkatsu and giving it to Gerro at home. 600 plus pesos meal is well spent.. Indeed.

After watching that hell of a ride Mad Max: Fury Road, I decided to enjoy at least with these free days... My best friend Rheg recommend to eat at this resto, which I did not have time or even money to try. hehe This is the right time to do it.

Due to watching a lot of japanese these days, I want to try curry. I ordered for the Japanese Curry Tonkatsu set! Of course, I tried once before at the other resto but it's not has that many meat. Then, they taught me how to well, make the tonkatsu sauce. Free tutorial plus explanation of their set. Great service! Then, I've waited for quite some time and here it was.. The tonkatsu curry set looks big! I mean, that serving I feel I can't finish them all right away! Then the cabbage plus the miso soup as well. By the way, the soup, cabbage and some fruits and pickles, unlimited! Of course, I tried the soup first then the organic cabbage with that delicious Japanese Mayo, I'm happy. Then after some servings, I went to the main dish.. I must say, that's a great japanese curry, and the rice is so damn great. I wish I have that kind of rice at home. 

After that serving, I focused of eating more of the cabbage and soup and the fruits and I'm just enjoying eating. I can't imagine, I'll eat a lot of those then  the tonkatsu curry is so delicious, I ordered another rice filling. I also ended up not really finishing the katsu and gave to Gerro at home. 
For short, those two restaurants gave me indeed a happy and fulling experience!

The simple question is; who is better? I know with my experience stated above might give a difficult answer. For me, it's easy to pick one because of the overall experience I had.

Katsu Sora was great, I mean they have that pork melts in your mouth and those Salads are still damn great! Almost taste my mom's well, known salad but not that same type. However, two things kinda let down on me for them. First was self service, it's hard to do that especially if you are alone eating. My bad that I should have sit beside in that buffet instead. Another thing, service is just good, not great as Yabu really have time to discuss how the sauce works and the eat all you can thing. Here, they discussed the sauce when I'm almost done. The other thing bothered me was the price. 600 pesos with service charge, for me was a bit steep. I need to do a lot than they did, which serve water and just looking at the people. If they add the service charge, then better serve the salad to the customers instead. Great thing they have better taste of tonkatsu and salad, if not, they are just out of their minds. But definitely, some time in the future, I'll come back for those other salads/fruits that I haven't tried. 

The answer is here. Yabu! I mean, I spent 550 bucks, remember, with the set, and iced tea with service charge! Despite well, the katsu is slight lower than Katsu sora when it comes to taste, but still it tastes great, the service is fantastic. I'm also lucky that I sat right beside the condiments and waiters section. They have time to tell the sauce, explain the menu and the eat all you can. Even Katsu Sora has better salads, I'm quite happy with the cabbage and fruits. Next time, I should order the set with their house salads than the refillable iced tea. hehe 

Service is just made my stay great as they are approachable and helpful. I don't mind asked 3 times for more rice and stuff. =) If I did not order that ice tea, 450 is really like the others say, bang for buck! 

It doesn't mean Katsu Sora is bad, they just need to really change that system and they will be better than Yabu. For Yabu, well, I hope they offer that salad in a more resonable one or include in the set itself. But other things, just stay what they do and they are good. 

Thinking about these 2 restaurants makes me hungry again for Tonkatsu! Hai! 

Stay Faithful

Well, at last, I almost going to finish ng isang series sa the feast for the long time. Parang 1 and a half year ako nawala kahit nakakapunta ako pero not that regularly like 4 years ago.

Yes, 4 years na ko, and kahit may nawala, nabago, nakuha at nadapa at ano pa man.. Nandito pa din ako sa The Feast PICC. Can't believe it! Thank Jesus. hehe Actually sa mga nangyari sa kin for the past months, naisip ko na lumipat ng location.. Not sa community, maybe due to economical purposes or my own convenience.. Pero in the end, nandito pa din ako.. Sa first session at the PICC. Wow, I just don't know why I'm still going back. God has indeed some plans for me this year. Maybe just stay put at this session.

I admit that for the past years eh talagang nagfocus ako masyado to improve my skills or even planning ahead. I became selfish and quite arrogant din. Pero, in the end, I just failed after these hard fought months. Lahat ng yun nangyari at ano ano pa, nagpapasalamat pa din ako kay Lord na nandito ako, at ok pa din ang mga tao sa palagid ko. Ako lang ata nagkasakit. hahaha 

Of course, marami ako babalikan at makabawi din. Pero I'll start here, time for God and parang first time nga ulit ako. hahaha Parang first time, lalo na wala na ko makita or balita sa mga kaCG ko dati. Geez, sobrang busy ako at I lost touch sa mga kasama ko dati. I missed those days, so parang looking forward ako na start again and maybe, for real.. Serve na. 

It is so refreshing, to see na this Feast PICC going bigger as every year comes. Akalain mo 5 sessions na after 4 years! At siyempre, it goes wider na din with more locations. I don't have a suggestion when it comes management or the services itself, I just pray na they continue on what they are doing at lalo na improve. Of course, always ask Him for blessings, grace at guidance na din for this community. I sound simplistic these days, I have reasons for that. I just want to get back in all basic aspects, spiritually is the most important part. 

This year, sabi daw yun mga ox babies eh medyo buenas. Sa nangyayari sa kin inside and out, parang hindi. But what I believe, this is the time, which I need Him the most. Yes, the real Light.. Jesus! =)

What If..

(computer science ang take ko instead of BA)

That's a big if! hahaha Siguro kung ganun... 10 years na ko nagwowork sa isa o dalawang IT company. hehe Paano kung pumasa ako sa second choice ko na com sci! Malamang sa old building ako mapupunta at malamang din... Sorry to sound offensive, malamang puro geeks kasama ko dun. hahaha At yes, malamang tag tuyot dun. Although ang college of science masasabi ko na medyo quality ang mga lady students dun. Yun nga lang ang quantity, ehem. hehe For short, mas ok pa sa building namin. haha

Kaso, yun lang naisip ko, puro aral ito. Malamang ang mga kaklase ko, kaunti lang yun pakwela unlike sa BA. Pero mas gusto ko kasi yun computer science or programming, transforming into a computer geek of sorts and mostly memorize na ang computer and basic programming ng mga languages. Bonus hacking skills pa. hahaha Sarap nun, siguro naman may kalaro naman ako sa computer games noon. Unlike sa BA, counterstrike lang at NBA live lang mga pwede kalaro ko. 

Siyempre, ang problema ko mga subjects siguro puro science! I admit at nasabi ko naman kaya di ako pumasa dito eh 73 ang score sa science entrance exam eh. hehehe So physics saka malamang yun lang. Bad trip baka puro physics ang mga subject dito! 

Eh kung ang lab puro pang computer, kaya na! ahahaha pasado na to kahit hanggang thesis.. That's how I love computers. Geez.. Baka nga today apps na binubuo ko which is not possible. What else, hmmmm malamang college pa lang may computer na ko or laptop. 2006 ata ako nagkaroon ng sariling computer! hehe So pag computer science eh magastos sa una, sa huli parang hindi. Unlike sa BA, puro gastos!!!! Lalo na pagraduating na!

About the uniform, sa ladies ok lang, sa guys like me, mas respetado.. I mean, kaysa naman sa uniform namin na parang PSG di ba? hahaha Hmmmm malamang dahil puro aral ito, kaunti lang un mga good time. Mukhang yun ang mamiss ko! Umaga pa lang, inuman na o bilyar na. hahaha At gimikan din sa gabi. Mukhang di ko kaya mawala yun ha. Pero malay mo, nasa loob din ang kulo ang mga might have been com sci classmates. 

Ah oo nga pala, malamang kaunti lang kami, unlike sa BA na kilala ko lahat ng pang umaga, kaunti sa hapon at mayroon pa sa gabi. Pero malamang close ko lahat ng kabatch kasi kaunti lang naman. 

Ang tanong eh, magiging close friends ko lahat gaya sa BA? That's a big if.. I don't know or don't have a clue kung sino yun mga kaklase mo. CRAP malamang nandun pa din lalo na si Doc kabuilding ko. hehe Pero marami kaya ako friends niyan? 

Well, di ko masabi kung magiging masaya ako kung talagang natuloy ako dun pero ang sure eh...


Masaya naman ako nang galing ako BA. =)

jdorama: Ghost Writer

Actually, napadaan lang ako sa series na to. Marami pang series yun inaabangan ko at the start of this year pero napadaan na ko dito. Saka eto yun series na mabilis magupload ng raw at subs sa mga streaming sites. hehe Saka interesting na din yun story, about sa novel writing.

Tono Risa ay isang successful na novelist, most of her books were hits except yun mga recent novels niya. Pressure na yun publishing company sa kanya to come up with a great novel or else.. Kawahara Yuki is promising writer, she has skills at lagi siya sinasabihan na pwede siya gumawa ng novel kaso di siya makapagdebut, di siya nanalo sa contest. Of course, idol niya si Risa which made her into writing. 

Then, Yuki submitted her new piece sa editor at nagustusan niya yun work kaso ayaw pa ipublish as advised ng editor in chief. Dahil naghahanap na ng assistant si Risa, eh kumuha siya at nagkataon na dahil yun editor eh friend din niya, Yuki was referred na maging assistant ni Risa.. Then, that were the chaos began!

I thought, intially na 8 episodes lang siya kasi sa gitna parang fast forward na pero well natapos siya in 10 episodes. Ang galing nung unang scene na parehas si Yuki at Risa halos ng suot tapos nagsasabunutan sa gabi, umuulan. hehe I was curious after that. 

After the series, hmmmm una ko napansin na not good about the series eh una, sana pinakita man lang yun mga novels or paano naging magaling silang writers. They show those visuals or reception ng tao or sales, but not really how they write. Sabagay, you can show naman that they are typing at yun mga visuals na katakana pero sana may scene na pakita about the book. Re-enactment kung baga. Di naman mahaba yun, pero malamang tipid sila. hehe Isa pa, ok yun na plot, ayoko ko lang yun point na after nila magsiraan, sakitan at bad stuff, bigla sa huli, sorry for the spoilers, magsama sila to make a great novel. Ok sana yun, kaso agad agad. Sana pinatagal nila ng taon. hehehe Well, yun love interest or fiance ni Yuki sana yun na lang nakatuluyan niya, kaso nagbreak at yun editor na gusto siya eh wala lang, di na nag grow. Sayang. Actually, more on plot holes talaga saka rush na to. hehe

What stands out naman is the cast. Bagay yun cast for the stars, dito pala nagstart ang paghanga kay Mizukawa Asami and Nakatani Miki. Miki is perfect as Risa na sobrang perfectionist and fragile din. Pinakita niya yun at favorite ko was yun scene na nasusunog na yun inn, eh nagpaiwan siya, ayaw niya na talaga mabuhay kasi sa mga nangyayari sa kanya. Galing ng acting niya dun. Asami as Yuki, well, not perfect pero just right for her role. Although split ang time ni Risa at Yuki, I can't say na sino bida or kontrabida eh galing pa din ang ginawa niya, made her presence felt saka nadevelop niya yun character na from hopeless writer, to a great ghost writer at yun na bully na siya ng press hanggang ending. Dahil sa role na yun, hinanap ko yun ibang series niya. hehe Then yun ibang cast, just right except sa editor na friend ni Yuki. That character was confusing at irritating but great thing, well important siya sa story. Malaki silbi niya. hehe Another actors stand out eh si Nanao, iba talaga dating niya kahit maliit role niya and Tanaka Tesushi, lagi na lang effective yun role niya. Every jdrama na nakikita ko siya, magaling siya. Baka inspired na din, asawa ba naman na ni Nakama Yukie eh. hehe Ah don't forget the catchy intro song. 

Saka nagustusan ko din ang plot. Lalo na about writing and how they decide, grabe new writer's contest.. Parang wala naman dito na ganun. I mean mayroon pero di naman lagi. Kaya parang kahit very competitive sa japan for being a writer, at least publishing companies giving out a chance sa lahat di ba. Saka, parang ok yun ganun buhay ha.. Just write, and if it's a hit, then rest! Write again pag may naisip ka na at deadline pa. Hmmmm Parang ok nga yun ha.

Anyway, there were a lot better series than this one for this season pero I enjoyed watching at waiting for each episode. Mag ghost writer na lang kaya ako? At least, I won't be dealing that fuzz and hassle sa gossips. Pero naisip ko..

Lugi nga pag ghost writer. Better to write on your own under your name. Not write for other's well being. Look at Yuki at Risa, sa huli, sila din ang lugi.

crushes: Arci Muñoz

Mukhang matagal na ko di nagsusulat tungkol sa mga crushes ko. hehe Old geezer me! Pero di ibig sabihin siya na yun pinakamaganda Filipina all time. Marami pa diyan, at yes, di pa kasama yun mga classic pinay beauty. Nauna lang siya kasi bwisit na commercial sa channel 2 tungkol dun sa bagong show niya. Channel 2 na pala siya. Kakatawa kasi one of the reason I'm sometimes surfing sa channel 5 eh dahil sa kanya. Sad that she transferred. =(

First I saw her, ah isang show sa TV 5 dati, and always just looking at that almost perfect spanish face. Lagi din naman namiss ko kung ano pangalan niya. Then, thanks sa google, I found her name! Ramona Cecilia Datuin Muñoz is her real name and it sounds, very, I mean very old school pre. =) Great thing may screen name siya.

Ang nakakagulat sa kanya, well besides na matangkad, maputi and that well, spanish face, which is almost perfect eh she sings in a hardcore metal band called Philia. I hope I can see one of their gigs. It's like a different side or parang kakashock na ganun ang trip niya! I mean, it's rare that those kind of beautiful women well loves that kind of music. Anyway, other than that, I can say she can act. I watched one of her episodes, yun show ni Derek Ramsey in TV5, ibang show to. I forgot that freaking show. Ah! Action show na parang detective tong si Derek, Arci playing sort of wife ata that looking for her missing hubby. I mean she is not only looks great as a simple wife pero yun acting na medyo lost siya because of what happened, eh pwede na. Well, I was suprised she's a graduate of UP ata, or at least nagaral sa UP. Cool! Then add mo pa ang singing talent. I was also surprised that she was with GMA dati! I did not really notice that. Grabe ang GMA 7, they collect all the great looks talaga. Magaling magscreening. hehe

Well, there are things I'm worried siyempre sa career niya. First, as much she is very talented, di naman siya exposed in other media. I hope she has at least commercials or print model. She can a model nga without really acting because of that great looks. Also, nothing against Philia, but yes, more gigs or exposure kasi she can well, forget the option of exposure sa modelling then just stick with this band thing as she is enjoying it. 

Darn, eto talaga sayang, sana sumali siya sa mga beauty pageants. I'm reading some of the news about her, and sayang,  over the age limit na siya. I mean, her presence at dating eh may chance di lang manalo kung hindi better represent our country sa international competitions! Di lang siya, maraming artista na kala nila walang dating sa pageant pero naisip ko, mas bagay sila sa ganun. 
Most important thing as well, she needs to do... Appear in movies! Well, I saw her that cooking movie, no offense pero I hope she just appeared in other movies. That's how bad that movie is and I just stayed because she's into it. hahaha Sorry. 

Pero di naman niya kasalanan kung bakit di siya kilala masyado. I mostly blame her manager, and ehem mukhang kilala pala ang manager na yun. 

Anyway, nakakabighani talaga siya and I just hope for the best! May pagkacomedy din siya ha. I mean I saw an ad sa isang mall about a beauty clinic and siya yun model.. There was like a before and after phase, at tinignan ko mabuti, para naman walang nagbago. hahaha I mean before, although may kaunting blemishes pero yun after pic niya, parang wala naman nagbago. Grabe, with no make up?! Maganda pa din siya. Funny ad. hehe

I stayed looking that ad for couple of minutes and left..

What a beautiful lady indeed! =) Arci, nice yet weird nick name. Parang softdrinks lang!

I hope she won't quit acting. 

Ring! Ring!

QC

part three

The next part in QC I want to discuss, is the kinda new built around 5 years ago, cool name as well.. UP Technohub! UP owns the land but with a collaboration with Ayalaland, they set up this land for BPO offices and at the same time, kinda research or development center with UP. Until now, I haven't see that part really.

Anyway, let's start going around into this place and see which centers are here.

At the middle, it's like a commercial center which it has restaurants and some stores all over it. Mostly restaurants but suprisingly it has timezone, CDR king and of course, BPI. I forgot, they have Globe Store and Power Mac if I'm correct.. If its not there, I'm sorry. hehe

The food restaurants located here are not bad really! KFC, Yellow Cab, Mister Kabab and many more. At night, this spot has a high vehicle traffic because cars are here because it's the only way I guess they can go around. It's great here because my favorite convenient stores are here, Family Mart and Mini Stop!

Not bad for an appetizer..

PointWest - Interesting office, it has a branch in citibank tower in Ayala. As the website says, it is a local IT firm which caters global clients through IT services. I tried their prelimary exam and I can say, I should really study word problems way back high school. Geez.. That is my weakness and I failed that pest, sorry test. But at my brief stay there, wow.. Cool IT office, spacious desk, flexi time and most of all, IT stuff! I hope I could improve my word math problems skills so I can try my witts again in this firm. I don't know how much they earn though.

Manulife - A leading global insurance company. It shows in the name right? hehe Don't be confused the Manulife in Ayala Ave.. That is their local office, I mean it caters the local customers. This one in UP is for inhouse outsource functions and what I heard, they mostly cater US LOBs. It means, their workshift is at night. I'm not sure if their compensation package became higher coz when I applied before, it's quite small. It's like working in EPLDT again and no increase whatsoever. I'm not sure if they still pay that much today but one thing is for sure, their test is fun to answer.

For now, let's breathe and stop for a while at this part of Technohub.

Don't worry, this site is enormous! hehe