Monday, January 13, 2014
@ 11:16 PM ---> Thursday, January 02, 2014
It's a Jolly Holiday in Antarctica
This was the picture from the i09 article, Strange Historic Photos From Antarctica and Other Kingdoms of Ice that caught my eye as something quirky without meaning to, I guess. Either the penguin doesn't care about the music it's hearing fom this stranger standing away from him or her or it's probably too scared to move. Or both.
But what if the penguins were swayed by the music? What if some birds showed some reaction and inexplicably danced to the music? Not like the ones in "Happy Feet" though. Ugh.
And then there were six:
That was fun.
 |
| Gilbert Kerr, a member of the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition plays the bagpipe for an indifferent penguin during the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition, 1902-1904 |
But what if the penguins were swayed by the music? What if some birds showed some reaction and inexplicably danced to the music? Not like the ones in "Happy Feet" though. Ugh.
And then there were six:
 |
Labels: aaahh, animated gifs, art, awesome, comedy routine, entertainment, funny stuff, movies, nature, new
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Got to watch the advanced screening of The Dictator earlier this evening thanks to a friend. This is my first time to watch a full length Sacha Baron Cohen movie since I missed Borat and Bruno, though I'm familiar with the controversies that accompanied the previous films. As is my usual practice with watching any movie these days I left all expectations at the door so as not to prejudge anything and to let the movie carry its own weight (barring a rather predictable movie trailer and that incident on the red carpet with Ryan Seacrest months ago). What I saw in the movie though didn't prepare me as to how low Mr. Cohen would go to top his previous movies.
Read more »
Labels: entertainment, movies, pang-asar, reviews
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
(Copied from The Insider)Just got back from watching Extraordinary Measures in the theater (this was the only one among the few good movies that we haven't seen). My take on it? It was okay. Seemed more like a TV movie than a feature length film for me. There was also a seeming lack of character development, deep chemistry between actors, texture, tension, drama, and proper "villains" in the film. It would have been better if the protagonist in the movie, John Crowley (Brendan Fraser), was bookending the story with a narrative. The highlight of the whole thing, at least for me, was finally figuring out the mix of temperaments and how they well they worked with each other. Dr. Stonehill (Harrison Ford) was obviously a Melancholic the way he went around with his meticulous and analytical work, his dealing with people reveals an underlying second temperament of the bossy Choleric while Crowley, although dominantly more of the laid-back-nice-guy, Phlegmatic, his secondary Choleric temperament put him at loggerheads with Stonehill during crucial moments of their research. It's hard to explain these things at times but that's how I enjoyed the remainder of the film. My mom seemed to thoroughly enjoy it though, she wiped away a tear at the end of the film if I'm not mistaken. I wouldn't say I recommend seeing it on the big screen probably on DVD would be enough.
* Check out also the review in Plugged In Online for more insightful reactions to this movie.
Labels: entertainment, movies, reviews
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
This one came as a surprise for me seeing our own Filipino folklore reaching halfway across the globe and starring as the main monster in a UK/South African production horror movie. While it features one of the coolest actors evar, Billy Zane, it also stars veteran actor, Joel Torre, who also gives a bit of background in this blog. Check out their facebook page, be a fan or something. Will post my thoughts about the impact of this movie in a post later.
Labels: awesome, curios, entertainment, movies
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Two new locally produced animated movies are coming soon on the silver screen. The first is Dayo ("Wanderer"), one of eight official entries in this year's Metro Manila Filmfest:
Sounds interesting. Another animation working on the same premise as "Dayo" is from Creative Media and Film Society of the Philippines (CreaM) set to be shown maybe early next year:
Jessie Lasaten, multi-awarded music composer and arranger for Filipino films "Anak," "Bata, Bata, Paano Ka Ginawa," among others, heads Cutting Edge as its Chief Executive Officer, and Executive Producer of "Dayo." Through the production of "Dayo," he challenges his pool of creative minds, and animators to compete on a regional scale by way of content creation.
Its narrative centers around an 11-year old kid named Bubuy (voiced by Nash Aguas) who is out save his beloved grandparents abducted into Elementalia -- a fantasy land abounding with strange flora and fauna, and a host of popular creatures from Philippine lower mythology.
Bubuy meets Anna manananggirl (voiced by Katrina Legaspi), a hyperactive teener with a special affection for all things human -- but not of a tummy-filling kind. Both Bubuy and Anna take on a wild, will-testing, and wonderfully funny adventure all over Elementalia -- from a massive falls teeming with gravity-defying merfolk; to an awe-inspiring crystal cave that houses a swarm of colorful alitubi; to a grand old tree that's home to a motherly female kapre; and finally to a majestic mountain guarded by a big pack of hungry aswangs.
From Bessie Badilla del Castillo, Imee Marcos, Mina Caliguia and a number of very talented Filipino artists from Art Farm Asia, check out this first all-Filipino-talent anime of one of the Philippines' famous folklore "aswang". It is making quite some noise in the international anime scene from Hong Kong to Cannes, France.Both movies look promising judging from the trailer both animation studios are obviously seeking to break out from the old tradition of full length locally animated movies released before like Adarna: The Mythical Bird (1997) and Urduja (2007), both official MMFF entries. I do hope this jumpstarts the trend for local animation studios to churn more quality indie film features worthy of international standards.Originally conceptualized for a 13 episode TV series. But because of it's story and the quality of work done by the artists and members of Creative Media Philippines (CreaM), the group is now challenged to make Fly Aswang into a full-length-featured anime with a 90 minute running time. It will still be in Tagalog and Tag-Lish and will be subtitled when it is submitted for international competition.
Fly Aswang - Filipino animation series based on Philippine Mythology. Against their mother Bessie's wishes, her three Filipina-American daughters travel to Manila for a cousin's wedding. Instead they are trapped in a vampire or aswang ritual and their family's history of supernatural power until Bessie come to save them.
The original will be in Tagalog except for the three girls, Isabel, Blanca and Ines who will be speaking Tag-Lish. The Hong Kong version (for HK anime/film fest April 2008) will be in English as requested by HK film makers. French version will be in the original format with French subtitles which will premier in Cannes in July 2008. ~ From arkitekfhc's "Fly Aswang" Trailer - An Original Filipino Anime post
Labels: art related, awesome, cartoons, cool, curios, discovery, entertainment, launching, movies
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
This just in: Tim Burton's next movie is a live action mixed with CG for Disney Pitcures, Alice In Wonderland (2010). Starring the adorable, 18 year old Australian actress, Mia Wasikowska in the title role. Other actors included in the movie are: Johnny Depp (Mad Hatter), Anne Hathaway (White Queen), and Helena Bonham Carter (Red Queen).Unfortunately, from what I read as this early in the stage, it seems he's mixing the two stories, "Alice In Wonderland" and "Alice Through the Looking Glass," together as the initial plot we're getting for the film thus goes:
Hathaway is playing the White Queen, a benevolent monarch who is deposed and banished by her sister, the Red Queen (Carter), who has an affinity for crying out, "Off with their heads!" The White Queen needs Alice to slay a creature known as the Bandersnatch. ~ Anne Hathaway books "Alice in Wonderland," Yahoo! MoviesThe mixture of the two results in some rather confusing details especially as major characters go. As far as I know and remember, the Red Queen from the second book is not the same as the Queen of Hearts and she doesn't command her lackeys to off her subjects' heads (the White and Red Queens from the second story are from a huge chessboard) to the detriment of some fans who're asking "Why not opt for two films instead of mixing them both?" As for the role going to a rather older actress playing the title role, this is what I got from a fan's post:
Tim Burton said he wanted an older actress who carry the weight of the film better than a 7-year old could, but he also wanted someone who still had an innocence about her. So my guess is the non-book material added for the movie may give Alice more emotional range than most young actresses can handle, but at the same time Mia won't act like a mature, cynical 18 year old. Think Judy Garland from The Wizard of Oz for a good example of what I think Burton is aiming for.This is all interesting to say the least, let's see how this all goes.
* Related posts: AIW Movie IMDB Page; Movie fan blog; TimBurtonbr/Alice Photobucket album; AIW Movie Flicker Album
Labels: aaahh, aha, awesome, cool, curios, discovery, entertainment, movies
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Hilarious take on the Watchmen (copied from ComicBookMovie.com):
Who Watches the Watchnuts?
Good Grief! Charlie Brown as Doctor Manhattan?!!
Young art star Evan Shaner mimics cartoonist Charles Schulz by combining his Peanuts characters and the Watchmen. The drawing includes Charlie Brown as Doctor Manhattan, Linus as The Comedian, Schroeder as Ozymandias, Lucy as Silk Spectre, Snoopy as Rorschach, and Pigpen as Nite Owl.
Labels: art related, awesome, cartoons, comics, comics related, cool, cute, entertainment, funny stuff, movies
Monday, September 29, 2008
Now I get it.
Here goes nothing...
After reading through the entire 416 pages of the graphic novel which I borrowed from my friend, Lee, yesterday, I finally got what the hullabaloo is all about. Whereas before I was so opposed to all the excitement and hype this movie was generating ("That's a batman rip-off!" "The Comedian? He doesn't even look funny!" "Silk Spectre?! What kinda name is that?" "Who's that blue guy?" "Booooring!") reading the graphic novel finally made me change my mind, or at the very least, understand where those who've already read the novel are coming from. In fact I now know why that smiley face button has blood splatter on it.
I totally loved the story, the characters (Rorschach and Nite Owl II stood out for me) and everything else despite the noise inside the venue (you'd think rock bands would, at least, reserve their set for a more appropriate venue, like say, far from the selling area. As in very far). With the images still fresh in my mind I went online to watch the movie trailer again and compare the actors against those artist Dave Gibbons had created in the comic. The scenes turned out to be extremely cool after seeing it coming from a more informed stance. Not that I'm raising any and all expectations after this, in fact I'm still leaving it at the "It's gonna suck, it's gonna suck! I just know it!" level.
People are split on what they think of the film based on the initial images being shown in the trailer. Now I heard that writer, Alan Moore couldn't care less about the movie and vows to spit venom all over it for months to come. Which comes as no surprise since he also said prior to the aforementioned statement that he finds, "film in its modern form to be quite bullying." But I do hope he changes his mind. I do hope that he would soften his stance actually see the movie with an open mind and criticize it based on its own merit. If it goes down in flames then so be it. If it works, then by all means write a statement of commendation to the production team. It's not like we haven't seen the other side of Mr. Moore before:
"The Simpsons" clip with Alan Moore, Art Spiegelman & Dan Clowes
He drove his point with his rant against Hollywood studios and greedy executives but then Spiegelman was also right in saying he has to lighten up too. After all, no man made institution's perfect. You just have to look really hard for the good things that crop up once in a while.
* On a related note, here's an interesting article regarding movie directors following the visuals of comic books closer than necessary: Watchmen Objections - Storytelling and the Storyboard By Hervé St-Louis
Here goes nothing...
After reading through the entire 416 pages of the graphic novel which I borrowed from my friend, Lee, yesterday, I finally got what the hullabaloo is all about. Whereas before I was so opposed to all the excitement and hype this movie was generating ("That's a batman rip-off!" "The Comedian? He doesn't even look funny!" "Silk Spectre?! What kinda name is that?" "Who's that blue guy?" "Booooring!") reading the graphic novel finally made me change my mind, or at the very least, understand where those who've already read the novel are coming from. In fact I now know why that smiley face button has blood splatter on it.
I totally loved the story, the characters (Rorschach and Nite Owl II stood out for me) and everything else despite the noise inside the venue (you'd think rock bands would, at least, reserve their set for a more appropriate venue, like say, far from the selling area. As in very far). With the images still fresh in my mind I went online to watch the movie trailer again and compare the actors against those artist Dave Gibbons had created in the comic. The scenes turned out to be extremely cool after seeing it coming from a more informed stance. Not that I'm raising any and all expectations after this, in fact I'm still leaving it at the "It's gonna suck, it's gonna suck! I just know it!" level.
People are split on what they think of the film based on the initial images being shown in the trailer. Now I heard that writer, Alan Moore couldn't care less about the movie and vows to spit venom all over it for months to come. Which comes as no surprise since he also said prior to the aforementioned statement that he finds, "film in its modern form to be quite bullying." But I do hope he changes his mind. I do hope that he would soften his stance actually see the movie with an open mind and criticize it based on its own merit. If it goes down in flames then so be it. If it works, then by all means write a statement of commendation to the production team. It's not like we haven't seen the other side of Mr. Moore before:
"The Simpsons" clip with Alan Moore, Art Spiegelman & Dan Clowes
He drove his point with his rant against Hollywood studios and greedy executives but then Spiegelman was also right in saying he has to lighten up too. After all, no man made institution's perfect. You just have to look really hard for the good things that crop up once in a while.
* On a related note, here's an interesting article regarding movie directors following the visuals of comic books closer than necessary: Watchmen Objections - Storytelling and the Storyboard By Hervé St-Louis
Labels: aaahh, art related, awesome, comics, comics related, cool, curios, discovery, entertainment, movies
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
While the whole of Geekdom salivates at the teaser trailer of Watchmen, I can't help but feel left out. In a way, apathetic about the whole thing. I was intrigued with the prospect of Director Zack Snyder taking on the project when it was announced on a small box among other movie news about a month after 300. Back then it was a piece of news that somewhat excited me having heard of the graphic novel, and seeing the cover displayed in comic book shops here and abroad, for years but now that the hype's being built up around it with the release of the first trailer I'm like "hmmm... what?"It's like Sin City all over again. I also didn't get what the heck was the excitement in all that was all about (include the "Kill Bill" series there too). While I'm totally "with it" that Hollywood's too bankrupt with original ideas to finally embrace the one medium any one thought was too childish in the past to take seriously but I'm personally drawing the line on hyping it up too much beyond its original intent. This not only applies to things that have only come out in previews but also around good things that have been around till it entered the mainstream and its own popularity proved to be its own worst enemy, if not, its eventual demise. I won't enumerate what these things were (I've been branded an elitist for thinking some things should be left alone under the radar and not be touched by the mainstream) but I'll have this to say about the upcoming Watchmen movie: I'll rave about it after I'm finished watching it on the big screen. Till then please allow me the luxury of waiting, free from any expectations whether raised or shot down. Thank you.
* On a related note, cartoonist, Scott Kurtz said something similar about this annoying phenomenon.
Labels: comics, comics related, embarrassment, movies
