Movies!
I saw a quite a few movies during the past few days.
Those would be (500) Days of Summer, Hurt Locker, and Astroboy.
(500) Days of Summer
I saw this movie with Eula and Faith in Trinoma. I missed doing this. (Thanks you two!)
I was bracing myself, initially, for the incoming saccharine and romance I came to expect from any romantic movie. Note that this isn't necessarily a bad thing, but requires a different mindset to appreciate for me than watching something less, erm, for lack of a better term, inspiring.
Well, the movie deep-sixed that mindset in a jiffy. It was rather harsh. I found it realistic, and could echo the sentiments of the guy and the girl whenever they were reacting to the other. Apart from the single scene of joyful overload, complete with a dancing crew and cartooned extras which the movie played straight by loading every happiness cliche on board, nothing felt staged, apart from the telling of this story.
And that is what makes me love this romantic movie, which isn't. I questioned the movie a lot of times as it contradicted itself, or I felt the roles went out of character. Why did she kiss him in the copy room? How come the girl doesn't realize that they're practically together, except for the silly label of officially being known as boyfriend / girlfriend? How does the guy maintain his sanity during the days that they practically are, but aren't really yet? It took me awhile to grasp the meaning behind this until the end hit me with their Aesop.
The destined person of your dreams will be with you eventually - don't worry! That's the movie's touted moral-of-the-story.
Worthless information from Captain Obvious.
That's a silly tautology used by the story to sound smart. It's basically "What will happen will happen". Thank you for telling me that.
The true lesson in the story isn't served to the audience in a silver platter. It requires looking into the whole movie again to realize that one, crucial thing that gives all Romance novels and movies their magic.
Love's a crazy thing. That's the rub. Don't bother trying to explain it. Just go for the lovely ride.
Not that you can stop it anyway, so yes, this is another tautology.
But at least it removes some large part of the growing pain that is associated with romance. And for that single lesson alone, the movie, I believe, is worth the view.
Hurt Locker
This time, I'm just with Eula at Gateway - poor Set couldn't make it on the day before Halloween!. After a quick dinner at Pizza Hut and a long and rewarding catch-up chat, we ease in into our seats and see honest-to-goodness movie trailers. WONDERFUL! No mall ads, no cellphone ads, no campaign ads. Things were looking good.
I really didn't know what to expect from this movie. I just knew the premise of a Bomb Disposal Squad operating in Iraq. Seemed like a good framework for a compelling story. Black Hawk Down comes to mind.
Halfway into the movie, I'm grasping for some semblance of a connection. There's none, except for the entry of their new soldier as one of the original members takes a permanent vacation. It's pretty much a month in the life of Bravo Company's Bomb Disposal Team.
At that point, I was worried that this would be a flop. By rights, if it's not 2 hours into the movie, it means the team will survive - any bomb defusal they go through is simply a routine walk-in-the-park. Even the new guy thinks so. He practically goes in defusing while whistling.
However, the documentary movie took on a new life of its own halfway through, as the unit slowly begins to gel together despite their clashing personalities. A unified cynical outlook on their assignment is apparently enough to keep them together. But soon, accidents happen, and after too much shock, the unit collapses on their own, buckling under as motivations are smashed, and the pillars of integrity each character holds on to stay sane collapse.
Brilliant, really. This alone makes it worth the watch.
That said, I echo everything in Eula's entry with a few more additions I'll place here. I'll be a bit nitpicky.
The soldiers pictured in the movie didn't seem to be trained at shooting. Dad would've cringed if he saw all the soldiers firing full-auto at a target they couldn't distinguish yet. They're supposed to be trained to be accurate even under threat of death. They just shouldn't simply go firing their weapons like that. Is this realistic? Is this a special case with Iraq-stationed units? Or are they firing for story effect? Kind of sad if it's the latter.
The sniper scene, I thought, was very well crafted, and was very funny during the scenes where they had to prep the gun. It also doesn't shy away from displaying all the waiting that's involved. Cool.
Astroboy
I haven't gone on a Sunday movie with Dad and Sandy in a while. Memories. =) Astroboy seemed to be one of those movies you could just walk in, watch, and come out with a smile on your face.
To that end, it does not disappoint. While I realize that a lot was ret-conned for this film that many purists may hate, I am thankfully one of the uninitiated.
It's a kid's show at heart, but skirts enough on the harsh reality between human-robot relations for more mature fans like me to still appreciate the story. It's always been the focal point of the series that Astro plays the role of diplomat between the two core factions, as well as all the crafty politicking and bickering that crops up from inter-faction discussions.
*sigh*, I'm analyzing the story of a kid's show that has some semblance of depth.
At any rate, what really takes the cake are the moments that do not involve story. Just watching Astro go about his business is a treat in itself. I am an avid fan of the animation done in this work, and for me, that was what I had come for.
So yeah, I left the theater with a smile on my face. I particularly found the machine guns sticking out of his rear end joke hilarious. :))
Those would be (500) Days of Summer, Hurt Locker, and Astroboy.
(500) Days of Summer
I saw this movie with Eula and Faith in Trinoma. I missed doing this. (Thanks you two!)
I was bracing myself, initially, for the incoming saccharine and romance I came to expect from any romantic movie. Note that this isn't necessarily a bad thing, but requires a different mindset to appreciate for me than watching something less, erm, for lack of a better term, inspiring.
Well, the movie deep-sixed that mindset in a jiffy. It was rather harsh. I found it realistic, and could echo the sentiments of the guy and the girl whenever they were reacting to the other. Apart from the single scene of joyful overload, complete with a dancing crew and cartooned extras which the movie played straight by loading every happiness cliche on board, nothing felt staged, apart from the telling of this story.
And that is what makes me love this romantic movie, which isn't. I questioned the movie a lot of times as it contradicted itself, or I felt the roles went out of character. Why did she kiss him in the copy room? How come the girl doesn't realize that they're practically together, except for the silly label of officially being known as boyfriend / girlfriend? How does the guy maintain his sanity during the days that they practically are, but aren't really yet? It took me awhile to grasp the meaning behind this until the end hit me with their Aesop.
The destined person of your dreams will be with you eventually - don't worry! That's the movie's touted moral-of-the-story.
Worthless information from Captain Obvious.
That's a silly tautology used by the story to sound smart. It's basically "What will happen will happen". Thank you for telling me that.
The true lesson in the story isn't served to the audience in a silver platter. It requires looking into the whole movie again to realize that one, crucial thing that gives all Romance novels and movies their magic.
Love's a crazy thing. That's the rub. Don't bother trying to explain it. Just go for the lovely ride.
Not that you can stop it anyway, so yes, this is another tautology.
But at least it removes some large part of the growing pain that is associated with romance. And for that single lesson alone, the movie, I believe, is worth the view.
Hurt Locker
This time, I'm just with Eula at Gateway - poor Set couldn't make it on the day before Halloween!. After a quick dinner at Pizza Hut and a long and rewarding catch-up chat, we ease in into our seats and see honest-to-goodness movie trailers. WONDERFUL! No mall ads, no cellphone ads, no campaign ads. Things were looking good.
I really didn't know what to expect from this movie. I just knew the premise of a Bomb Disposal Squad operating in Iraq. Seemed like a good framework for a compelling story. Black Hawk Down comes to mind.
Halfway into the movie, I'm grasping for some semblance of a connection. There's none, except for the entry of their new soldier as one of the original members takes a permanent vacation. It's pretty much a month in the life of Bravo Company's Bomb Disposal Team.
At that point, I was worried that this would be a flop. By rights, if it's not 2 hours into the movie, it means the team will survive - any bomb defusal they go through is simply a routine walk-in-the-park. Even the new guy thinks so. He practically goes in defusing while whistling.
However, the documentary movie took on a new life of its own halfway through, as the unit slowly begins to gel together despite their clashing personalities. A unified cynical outlook on their assignment is apparently enough to keep them together. But soon, accidents happen, and after too much shock, the unit collapses on their own, buckling under as motivations are smashed, and the pillars of integrity each character holds on to stay sane collapse.
Brilliant, really. This alone makes it worth the watch.
That said, I echo everything in Eula's entry with a few more additions I'll place here. I'll be a bit nitpicky.
The soldiers pictured in the movie didn't seem to be trained at shooting. Dad would've cringed if he saw all the soldiers firing full-auto at a target they couldn't distinguish yet. They're supposed to be trained to be accurate even under threat of death. They just shouldn't simply go firing their weapons like that. Is this realistic? Is this a special case with Iraq-stationed units? Or are they firing for story effect? Kind of sad if it's the latter.
The sniper scene, I thought, was very well crafted, and was very funny during the scenes where they had to prep the gun. It also doesn't shy away from displaying all the waiting that's involved. Cool.
Astroboy
I haven't gone on a Sunday movie with Dad and Sandy in a while. Memories. =) Astroboy seemed to be one of those movies you could just walk in, watch, and come out with a smile on your face.
To that end, it does not disappoint. While I realize that a lot was ret-conned for this film that many purists may hate, I am thankfully one of the uninitiated.
It's a kid's show at heart, but skirts enough on the harsh reality between human-robot relations for more mature fans like me to still appreciate the story. It's always been the focal point of the series that Astro plays the role of diplomat between the two core factions, as well as all the crafty politicking and bickering that crops up from inter-faction discussions.
*sigh*, I'm analyzing the story of a kid's show that has some semblance of depth.
At any rate, what really takes the cake are the moments that do not involve story. Just watching Astro go about his business is a treat in itself. I am an avid fan of the animation done in this work, and for me, that was what I had come for.
So yeah, I left the theater with a smile on my face. I particularly found the machine guns sticking out of his rear end joke hilarious. :))