Silver screen: A look at the past

Just when I thought I wouldn't have any time for vacation, my internship ended on May 22, leaving me 17 days of summer before school starts. As you may have guessed, I had a lot of free time. I thought of watching old movies that I kept hearing about from the new ones, so let me play the role of a movie critic for a while.

Here are the list of the oldies I got to see before and during the summer break—some of which were personally recommended while the others were mentioned from movies and TV series.

Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) - I'm not sure where I got the recommendation to watch this. I loved Audrey Hepburn here (Cross my heart, kiss my elbows!). She was really skinny and stylish. The story is about a phony socialite in New York who had a brother to take care of after his supposed comeback from the military. She met a neighbor, a writer, who also ended up as her friend. What I liked about this film was that it did not have many self-inflicted dramas some just can't relate with. I had to search the Internet for the plot in order to better understand it. Way back, people talked too fast.

 Star Wars (1977-1983, 1999-2005) - The intention to see this saga rooted from How I Met Your Mother (HIMYM). Not recently, my brother and I bought a DVD and were hooked with the prequel trilogy, Episodes I to III. I just learned that the prequel was filmed later (1999-2005), and that Episodes IV-VI were filmed earlier (1977-1983). No wonder the plot went all crappy and corny! I didn't finish the later episodes: I got saturated and bored. Anyway, I'm thinking of re-visiting the other episodes in order to see the Ewoks Barney kept talking about.

The Breakfast Club (1985) - When I saw Pitch Perfect and after everybody else did, there was a fuss to watch this film. Judd Nelson was really cute here, something about his nose? I’m not even sure. Easy A also mentioned the fist-in-the-air scene. The movie was about five different teenagers getting along and understanding their differences.



     






Sleepless in Seattle (1994) - Robin, from HIMYM, saw Ted re-enact the last scene from this. I didn't like it. It was an old chick-flick about magic and destiny and hearts and flowers. I wasn't in the mood for such.

Pulp Fiction (1994) - I asked the Internet for the best films of the 1990's, and this movie kept appearing on almost every list. I was surprised that 9gag used scenes from this as memes (I double dare you, motherfucker!). It got me really entertained; it was funny in so many ways. I still had to ask Wikipedia for some facts though, because I honestly did not understand how Jules' and Vincent's conversation centered about a foot massage and someone getting thrown from the window. I was confused at first.

     





Nell (1994) - This made me cry! Despite some critics, I found Jodie Foster appealing here! This was recommended by Lyn, a friend, who belonged to a class where this film was shown. Well, interpersonal communication was the topic, and Nell communicated rather differently, so it was logical. It's a masterpiece.

Anna and the King (1999) - Again, another film from Lyn which stars Jodie Foster. Blooper alert, it was a sad ending. I really liked this film. Plus, I got to know what Chow Yun Fat looks like! Some scenes were rather corny and unbelievable, but all in all it was great.

         All the movies here were from Hollywood. I’m thinking of re-visiting the Filipino cinema, too. I mean, I've seen enough FPJ and Bong Revilla action movies, but I don’t think I've seen enough drama yet. Is it about time I check what the Vilma Santos and Nora Aunor craze is about?

   

Guess who got Enchanted?

Last May 26, Sunday, Rav and I went to Enchanted Kingdom (EK). Originally, the plan was to go there months ago, but then she failed to file her leave on time so it was cancelled. Honestly, I thought it was never going to happen, but here I am, blogging about the fun we had.

The last time I went there, I was four years old. It’s been 15 years, EK! And we meet again!

The most fun rides are Anchor’s Away, Disc-O’-Magic, Log Jam, and Space Shuttle. Anchor’s Away took me by surprise, I thought it was a light ride that we sat by the end of it to have a better ‘feel.’ Man, those few minutes almost took my breath away! When it started throwing us higher and higher, I started to scream like AAAAH! WOOOH! MAMA! WHERE ARE YOU WHEN I NEED YOU?

We asked an EK staff to take a picture of us before we go Anchor's Away.

Disc-O’-Magic made me dizzy a lot. My eyes were open the whole time to savor the moment, and I felt really dizzy what with all the circular motion. But it was A-OK! You’d feel really secure with it, so it isn't as scary as should be, but it’s mighty good!

The dizzying Disc-O'-Magic with Eldar in the middle.

Log Jam was a short and wet ride. The first time we went down from an uphill slope, it made me scream big time. We had no seat-belts on or whatever and we had to literally hang on for dear life! The second time we went down, I screamed with anticipation since it was higher, but I shouldn't have: I was not afraid afterwards. Like, what? That’s it? Needless to say, it got us wet and scared for a while, so the ride is also in my list of fun rides.

Is my imitation of Eldar good enough?

Somebody is scared of heights. The Ferris Wheel was not as high as I thought it would be
 nor was it fast and scary nor fun. I was a little bit disappointed.

Last but not the least, the Space Shuttle. Rav won’t ride it with me, so I waited the long line alone. It was not supposed to be my turn yet, but the train had two vacant seats by the end. The people in front of me were in group of threes and fives, and when I was asked, ‘How many are you with  Ma’am?’ I motioned with my index finger, ‘I'm alone.’ And so I had to ride almost at the back (again) alone, and had the ride of my life! My eyes were wide open as we were sent to higher altitude, but when the train started moving fast I closed my eyes. I opened my eyes twice, saw the sky, regretted it, opened it again, and saw the flashing lights of cameras. It felt nice being thrown and everything, but I regretted having closed my eyes afterwards. I was a brave girl, I told myself, and now I brag about it here. Huh.

The trail for the Space Shuttle

We also rode the Carousel to get even dizzier after Disc-O'-Magic.

The sad part of the trip was the rain. If it hadn't rained, we could have been able to ride the Anchor's Away and Space Shuttle twice! And we could have got the time to ride EKstreme, too. Nonetheless, it was a day to remember, way better than my EK memory from when I was four.

The wet look we had after the Rio Grande Rapids. Man, Ania  was really unlucky with
that one. I hated how it wet my shoes.

Rav and I had a really good time catching up what was going on with each other’s life. Thanks to her I got to go to EK, have a great bonding moment with an old friend, and forget about all the drama I’d been afflicting myself with. Thanks, Rav!

Honey and some clover, please?

            I've been wanting to post about Honey and Clover (H&C) for two months now, but I got pre-occupied with other things like internship and procrastination. H&C is one of the best animes I ever watched, one that was heartfelt since I was especially heartbroken the time I saw it. It's an anime that revolves around the lives and love affairs of five (5) characters.

        The Main Characters of Honey and Clover. From left to right: Yamada, Morita, Hagu, and Takemoto.

Behind Morita is Mayama. Photo taken from the Internet.

Mainly, the characters are Hagu, Yamada, Morita, Takemoto, and Mayama. My favorite character is Yamada, she was the girl who helplessly fell in love with a guy (Mayama) who was madly in love with another woman. She often cried and whenever she was hurt, so was I.

Yamada, crying in front of a Ferris Wheel. Photo taken from the Internet.

           Meanwhile, Hagu was the perfect character. If you’re an avid anime fan, you should know about how there’s always a perfect character. She was very pretty, blonde, and talented. That’s the reason why two guys fell in love with her at first glance. The two guys are, of course, Morita and Takemoto.

Hagu's face when Morita and Takemoto first saw her. Photo taken from the Internet.

 Of the two guys, I liked Morita more. He was very perky, as talented as Hagu, and he was filthy rich, too. Takemoto played the good guy Greg, and I didn’t like him much. It wasn’t because he was a good guy, it was because he reminded me of people saying they love somebody, but then, being too scared to do anything about it.

Shinobu Morita and his older brother, Kaoru. The plot of his family is nice, too. 

Photo taken from the Internet.

In the end, Hagu chose her Uncle Shuuji who is also in love with her (incest alert). She chose him to take care of her, give his life to her, as she was being treated to be able to paint again. Did I mention she got into a life-changing accident?

            H&C is, relatively, a short anime compared to Inu Yasha and Naruto, but since it wasn’t fantasy, it was enough. The ending would leave you hanging, but needless to say, all of the characters reached their dreams. In my opinion, that is.