Sack Boy makes his debut on the big screen!

Mystery/Horror/Drama (2007)

After seeing Gullermo Del Toro’s “Pan’s Labrynth”  I had to see his next film “The Orphanage” although it took me a while because I hadn’t heard about it since America doesn’t really get much publicity from foreign films. Once I heard about it, I desperately tried to get a view of it and once I found it I watched it immediately. Different from the visuals in “Pan’s Labrynth,” “The Orphanage” was more grounded to reality than the fantasy elements that originated in his previous film. I was a bit disappointed with “The Orphanage” when coming to horror elements as many reviews I had read said it was a great scary movie and I guess I misunderstood the use of their grammar. The film has many horror elements, but the true strength of the film is how the plot moves forward with it’s cleverly crafted use of children’s games.  I know I haven’t mentioned anything about the plot, because I fear I may spoil any insights that the curious viewer of this film may discover for themselves, so please if you would like a synopsis, just simply search for one because I’m not the person to give an introduction of the film without spoiling the whole plot itself ;P. I must admit that I did not understand the finale of the film until I had searched forums online with their explanations because it’s the type of film you may have to watch again to catch certain details you wouldn’t catch on a first view. Or like myself, you can search forums for people’s points of view to get the conclusion clarified for a more satisfying feeling. Overall, great down to earth mystery/horror film driven by strong plot devices that kept it moving until the credits rolled.

Sweet

Ok, you can even get a feeling the movie is gonna be bad just by looking at the quality of this promotional poster.

Horror (2009)

First of all, I didn’t even hear this film existed until after it was really, yet I would like to say that The Grudge series has been a guilty pleasure to me, since I know they really aren’t that great of a movie, however I personally like the plot and how everything began to unfold in the second one (although the chracters just suuuuucked!) but for this third installment, I can’t believe I wasted my time on…. I was interested how the sequel broadened the curse’s horizon, but for this one, it just kind of goes back to square one, with just a simple relocation. By the time I had completed the second film, they didn’t really “scare” me any more because of one major thing: REDUNDANCY! Seeing the woman with long black hair with white make-up covering her entire body and her jaw dropped open just doesn’t do it anymore. The reason the first was so horrifying was the concept of this ghost being able to take you at any time, even hiding in your bed was no safe zone. However now that I had experienced those ideas explored in the first one, I think I grew weary of this concept by the time the sequel ended. The third installment seemed to rely on violence to try and scare the viewers of the ghost’s presence just to show what the ghost is capable of doing. Overall, as a fan of the originals and the first two…. I was disappointed with the overall structure of the third film.

BITTER

That pipe looks delicious!

Adventure (2005)

JUST completed this series right at this moment, and had to immediately post my personal opinion. From start to finish I got felt I had a really good run with the storyline. The theme of “Champloo” (mix) between the traditional samurai: Jin and the not-so traditional: Mugen added a sweet flavor to the overall arc of the series and continually grabbed my attention with their differences of opinions in certain situations they encounter, while the third character Fuu, seems to represent a medium amongst the two. I would say it’s hard for me to say that “Samurai Champloo” would surpass it’s predecessor “Cowboy Bebop” due to a difference in personal preference. Both series run a different flavor, one is alongside that of a Science Fiction, while the other a more grounded, historical feature of Japanese culture. So I would not say that one is better than the other just due to the fact that they both have their own unique styles and it would be hard for me to bluntly give a judgement. I find it interesting how Bebop was produced back in 98 yet soars it’s setting way past it’s years, while Champloo produced more recently pushes it’s time period backwards. The action sequences in Champloo echoes much of the same style and movements of Bebop which I favored a lot and the hip-hop style music selected to run along the actions of the characters seemed so out of the ordinary yet it fit along so well so the soundtrack had succeeded it’s goal. The replay value is high for me because I would like to re-analyze the series again as it’s efforts are definitely worth it.

UMAMIIII!

SAY WHAAAAT??!! (You even got Sasuke stumped!)

Action/Adventure (2002-2007)

Finished this a while ago, but I really wanted it to have a place in my blog because it really deserves it…. What an amazing long running series! I truly liked how the characters developed over time through all the events that occur. The action… AMAZING! The choregraphy that’s done is great and well thought out, so every moment of the anime you can appreciate the art and hard work that is being shown right in front of you. Of course, I always watch my anime SUBBED because I want to avoid Dubs as much as possible as it personally feels like it ruins the original work as it revamps anime as cartoons for children. So I gladly get to dodge all of the “Believe its!” getting to enjoy the anime much more. The only thing that was an obstacle for me was the pacing of FLASHBACKS. It really bugged me that in the middle of the intensity of a fight they break off to a flashback to explain a character’s motive for fighting or whatnot. Towards the end, the pacing becomes an amazing story arc leading up to the present “Shippuden” series, where the flashback sequences are appropriately placed for correct pacing which makes me feel better in the long run. Naruto is a strange character, yet his morales and drive as a young genin makes you want to root for him, so I became really drawn in to follow his journey until the end. May the chronicles continue!

UMAMI!

I was really drawn by curiosity by this one since I really enjoyed the first…

Horror ( 2008 )

Ok, ok, here’s my personal opinion straight out: disappointing. I really enjoyed the pace and the characters of the first one, but the sequel’s new cast just wasn’t cutting any interest for me. One certain thing I always enjoyed about Joy Ride was how the truck was portrayed as an actually entity of evil itself, yet there were certain circumstances in the second one that made me think: “huh, is that even possible??” Well, the acting from certain characters were great but that punk rock dude in the movie was just begging to get killed I really got a thrill from the original one because I actually CARED about the outcome of our protaginists and I WANTED them to survive the dangers… but this one… eh… I felt sorry for them at times, (especially Bobby… hahaha) but there wasn’t enough THRILL and just more VIOLENCE in this one. I guess I was expecting certain aspects that I enjoyed from the first but rather I got new aspects that I didn’t really like… At least I streamed the movie to watch it…

Bitter

Kids say the darndest things…. so fun to watch….

Family

Ok, I thought I wouldn’t get into this show, as when I saw my brother and my sis-in-law watching this, I immediately assumed, oh man, this is a “housewife show!” but the moment I decided to watch one full episode I was amused at how the show functions to expose the interaction among the parents Jon & Kate with their 8 children, and the standalone interaction between the siblings as well. I find it interesting going in-depth on each of the children’s personality and how they think, then they show you how their personality compares to the other children when the play together. As you saw in the video above, the most entertaining part is when the children are on one topic, then they say something outrageous or completely random you can’t help but laugh…. All-in-all, I would say this is a great FAMILY show, not a “housewife show” XD

Definitely a Sweet!

LOOK MUMMY! NO HANDS!!! (Sounds like the jokes that were in the movie)

Action/Adventure (2008)

Well, Rick and the family (with the lack of the well-established Rachel Weisz -_- ) return once again for a pointless adventure…. honestly! It was quite clear the studio wanted to milk the crap out of this summer blockbuster because they really don’t know what else to do! I hardly saw any character development other than the whole father/son problem but to bring back all of these characters not to have much character development and speak cheesy one liners instead seems really unnecessary. If it had been difficult to build up development from the O’ Connor family then at least build up on the star: The Mummy! Another point that irritates me is the fact that this mummy didn’t have much camera time! The reason why I enjoyed the first two (especially the first) is the fact that the audience got the chance to see Imhotep stomping around in the modern world as well as the details of his character. Jet Li played an emperor and he was evil and yeah. No background, no interaction… just show up, blow fire out of your hands, become a dragon, get humped by yetis…. bleh. The movie is called THE MUMMY, right? Then tell us more about the Mummy! The film completely misses the point that the first two brought up, and that abrupt change in the third made it difficult for me to enjoy this film.

All in all, I rate it Bitter

Me likey the red version more than the black….

AT&T’s Samsung Blackjack II

Well, yesterday evening I just got the Blackjack II and have been toying with it since so that I can properly review this for myself to remember… Well, I can pretty much say that’s it is a decent phone, but I have a few nitpicks that I must get out of the way: The scrolling wheel: feels cheap and unstable, I use the traditional directional pad rather than the wheel. Windows mobile 6 is new to me, so I’m still adjusting to it, but it seems much more complicated than the previous mobile software that we’ve all grown accustomed to. NO TEXT MESSAGE RINGTONES I love dancing to my custom ringtone every time I received a text message from friends… The texting keypad is a little difficult for me, but it really is due to the fact that I have to find where the letters are…

Well, those are the few nitpicks that have been eating at me and to say for the positives, the photo/video quality is very nice from a phone, the size is pretty decent, data storage is great for a phone and it’s got nice features all the way round….

Just Sweet, since those nitpicks are really getting to me

Well, it’s been a veeeeery long day, setting up the church and the recreation center…. however it was worth it. I had been to weddings before, but actually being involved in it is a new experience. I was the groomsman, and I’m retarded, being all nervous walking up the aisle . The wedding was coincidentally a “Laker Wedding” because Ate Belle’s favorite color is yellow, and she thought lavender partners up well with yellow, and it did. GO LAKERS! I’m proud to say that my older brother is now married to a great person It would suck if she was the wicked witch of the HELLHOLE!!! JKJK It was difficult setting up and putting the stuff away, but it was worth seeing my brother awaiting his love walk up the aisle, commit their love to each other, and of course. PIG OUT ON THE FOOD! (literally *pig out* there was lechon! MMMMMM!) As well as pancit canton to top it off. There was more food, but those were the highlights.

It was sooooo Sweet *hearts flying everywhere* jk lol

AWWW Look at the crawling baaaaaaby. Let’s stab it.

Suspense/Horror (2008)

First-time director Bryan Bertino gives a try in the horror genre where a couple is terrorized by three strangers, with no motive. (“Because you were home.”) Well, the suspense and the horror elements that he utilizes were pretty interesting. He doesn’t take advantage of killers popping out of corners with the big “BOO!” kind of scares. There are times where there is loud bangs and other noises that make you jump, but I love it when he utilizes the eerie-ness of masks slowly fading out of darkness, and slowly sinking back in. When we first see a “stranger” in the house, you would expect a big sound effect sting that makes the audience jump & the killer attacks the victim. But no…. It was a slow and silent entrance…. he just glares at his victim from behind. The tension increases, the audience expects an attack. Yet no, he just returns into the darkness. Now the audience realizes that the victims are being watched from inside the house and are anticipating when the killers will attack, which makes the film much more suspenseful knowing the fact that they are already in the house, and the victims have no clue. That simple eerie amosphere made the movie more unique than recent horror movies being released. The characters did stupid things at times, however with the emotional conflicts currently occurring if I were to put myself in their shoes I probably would’ve handled the situation much worse. (I probably just got negative thoughts from my readers just now ). Another negative aspect was that the suspense drawn on too long towards the end that I grew tired of that suspenseful feeling and just awaited the next killer’s attack. For a first time film in the director’s seat, Bertino could’ve done MUCH worse giving us a load of crap with random gore and chase scenes that’s been done over and over again.

I rate it a Salty. Enjoyed it, but I think it’s a better one-time rented movie, rather than a one-time theater movie.