Movies, Music, Rants & Raves
The roads are colored black It was probably only weeks ago when I read about David Berman's return from hiatus, via a new band called Purple Mountains and the release of the band's eponymous debut. And just few days ago, when I read about the shocking news of David Berman's death. He was only 52.... Continue Reading →
March was for catching up on a bunch of superhero movies that came out last year. April was mostly about Endgame, Avengers: Endgame, the biggest movie event of the year. But it was also about Maria, my favorite female-led action movie this year. May passed like nursing an Endgame hangover: all the disappointments, all the... Continue Reading →
RIP Rutger Hauer This is medieval soft-core way before Game of Thrones made medieval soft-core porn an essential ingredient for your TV viewing experience. That is, medieval setting with enough boobs and sex to draw more viewers. By the way, that above is Rutger Hauer and Jennifer Jason Leigh, the movie's called Flesh & Blood... Continue Reading →
I'll start with the obvious, the most commonly used figure of speech in songs' lyrics in the whole wide universe according to me: metaphor. And it's best example, "Indak," by Up Dharma Down, where dancing with another is used as metaphor for having an affair. O iindak na lamang sa tibok ng puso mo At... Continue Reading →
Let's make this a quick one. Jolene here, wanted me to try this exercise. And so, I gave it a try. Can't think of any poem so I went with Lang Leav's And Then because Pavement has a song with the same title. I also remember that one joke in that stoner movie Dude, Where's... Continue Reading →
I remember this movie was showing in cinemas for maybe a couple of days before the news came out that it was PULLED OUT---all of a sudden. (You can imagine the collectives oh's and ah's from members of the movie's demographic who waited a little too long to go to the nearest theater.) It was... Continue Reading →
Themesongs isn't really as great, much less original, as all those millennial kids who raved about it before would have you believe. Musically, it's mostly just second-hand twee. But the songs are playful, quirky, they'd make you wanna jump, dance or chase around your hun and give him/her your tweest embrace when you catch him/her.... Continue Reading →
Now this, is Album Of The Year material. Probably the most exciting local indie-rock record from the 2010's. This sophomore effort is said to be more collegial, mature and sophisticated than the debut. The band, easily averting the proverbial sophomore slump---if there is still such a thing. All this, according to the fans, critics, and... Continue Reading →
1. Do you have any fan merchandise that is unusual? Hmm, not sure if it could be considered as a band merch or something, but... I got a souvenir from the Mocha Girls, and this was back when they were still APOLITICAL, and in some of their shows, they would throw panties at the audience.... Continue Reading →
Hindi ito tungkol sa bagong pelikula ni Nadine Lustre. Sobrang init lang talaga. Sobrang alinsangan. Maghapon na akong nakahubad. (Pero nagsusuot ako ng t-shirt tuwing lalabas ng bahay para di mapagkamalang tambay. Mamaya hulihin pa ako ng mga alipores ni Satanas.) Sorry ha, ang hot ko kasi, eh. Okay lang sana kung may kasambahay ka... Continue Reading →
Chumped's Teenage Retirement is for the young and restless, even the young at heart, those who dance to punk, power pop, anything with fuzz as long as its fast, melodic, those who love getting drunk with friends, talk about their "shitty" lives, teenage woes. It's an unhealthy mix of broken hearts, drunken nights, wasted time, melodic... Continue Reading →
A gun for hire (Ace Vergel) accidentally injured a bar singer (Aiko Melendez) during his last hit---gun powder blast to the eyes left her blind. A cop expert in taekwondo (Monsour del Rosario) and his buddy (Ruel Vernal) are in pursuit of the hitman, because he could lead them to the gun syndicate who ordered... Continue Reading →
What could be worse than both Nazis and zombies? Nazi zombies. Sentient, super-strong, Nazi zombies. Overlord does "WWII plus evil Nazi experiments" better than, say, Captain America: The First Avenger. It has memorable characters, bloodier, better action scenes, compellingly conflicted heroes, and a villain more evil and threatening than Hugo Weaving with red CGI face.... Continue Reading →
On weekends, I sometimes just don't feel like watching new movies or old films I haven't seen before. So, I settle with movies I've already seen. Because they don't require my full attention. Like if something comes up, like a phonecall, or work, or errands, I could easily switch it off. Luckily, nothing came up... Continue Reading →
You were young and so in love But your ex-boyfriend married another girl 'Cause you were dusted in the snap Now, do you say, "Thank you, Tony Stark?" You used to have a high-paying job But you were dusted in the snap Now you're back and you're jobless Now, do you say, "Thank you, Tony... Continue Reading →
The first of November is hardly about the saints. Even in this largely Christian Catholic Asian country. Even if the government and the church still call it All Saints' Day. It has always been Day of the Dead, like that centuries-old tradition in Mexico, only we don't have those colorful outfits and beautifully decorated skulls.... Continue Reading →
1. Favorite action film? There are too many. But if it has to be a recent one, I'd pick Pedring Lopez's Maria, with Cristine Reyes. 2. Favorite comedy film? Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Kung Fu Hustle. 3. Favorite “dark humour” or “black comedy” film? Inglorious Basterds. Kakaba-kaba Ka Ba? 4. Favorite scene from... Continue Reading →
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2S24-y0Ij3Y 1. Which bands/artist do you have the most albums by? Do you mean physical copies or not? (I'm asking because I have the whole discography (90+ LPs) of unlicensed, unadulterated, undeniably good music from a group called The Tribal Sounds from Mt. Krakatoa in digital format.) So, to be safe, I'll go with legit... Continue Reading →
1. Justine Bieber. That moment when Rocket joked about Captain Marvel's ever changing haircut. Yup, Captain Marvel is Disney's attempt at a lesbian superhero. And they still couldn't spell it out. Where's your balls Kevin Feige Mickey Mouse? Also, Deadpool did it first. And she has a very cool name: Negasonic Teenage Warhead. By the... Continue Reading →
Endgame is over now. Thank you, Tony Stark, you're the one who started it all. In a cave. In Afghanistan. Back in 2008. It was that long ago. If you could still remember, there were two big comic book movies in 2008. and if I have to pick between the two, for me, Iron Man... Continue Reading →
Some said this movie accurately portrays the young people of today---perpetually bored, alone and lonely. Connected but not really. Spotify music plus TV soap as background noise, equals loneliness. The movie's nice to look at. As someone puts it, it's so Instagrammable. It has style (i.e., the movie's aspect ratio changes every time Jewel feels... Continue Reading →
Everyone's into time travel now, thanks to Avengers: Endgame. It's an interesting concept---time travel. In the MCU, it was first hinted at in Doctor Strange. Then, in Infinity War. Below's an old post of mine, which I came up with after binge-watching Tarantino movies, Scorsese's gangster films, and exploitation movies from the '70s. Yep, I... Continue Reading →
The End Is The Beginning Is The End Avengers: Endgame isn't "the best MCU movie or the best superhero movie since (insert your preference here)," but it does what it has to do, "whatever it takes." Even if that means Endgame makes for an unwieldy, ponderous, pandering, uneven, thrilling ride. It's a crowd-pleaser and super... Continue Reading →
We're in the Endgame now. Avengers: Endgame is now showing in theaters. In Manila. And probably in malls in some other cities. Don't have a firm plan yet. Don't want to wait in long cues but I don't want to wait until two weeks either. Not really afraid about someone spoiling it to me because... Continue Reading →
The Avengers (2012). The cataclysmic results of Loki's entrance in a S.H.I.E.L.D. base was somewhat off-putting, sort of Michael Bay-like, but the movie regains my trust the moment Black Widow and Bruce Banner show up. At the start, Steve Rogers has nothing for Tony Stark but contempt, for Nick Fury and SHIELD, distrust. Bruce Banner... Continue Reading →
Iron-Man (2008). This is where it all begun, the Mark I of all Marvel movies. This is the movie where Marvel--after deciding to make their own movies based on characters they haven't sold yet--finally hammers it home. In a cave. In Afghanistan. Tony Stark's billionaire-genuis-playboy suits Robert Downey Jr. perfectly in the same the way... Continue Reading →
Come May 17, Maria will start streaming on Netflix. If you live overseas or you missed it during its theatrical run, here's your chance to see it. And below are five reasons why you shouldn't miss. 1) It's R-rated, not whiny PG-13. This is not comic book kiddie stuff, which means there's sex and violence.... Continue Reading →
Saw this once on pirate cable TV years ago. It's nonstop French action with English subtitles. This was years before I learned about that wonderful art of jumping through windows and landing like Peter Parker. Parkour, it is called, probably a French word for something. The actors are a bunch of unknowns (to me) but... Continue Reading →
Seven years after that one final job, Maria (Cristine Reyes) now lives a quiet domestic life in an unnamed province. A nice big house, a loving husband, their cute little daughter, Cristine Reyes plays an ex-cartel assassin turned wife and mother, from killing people to cooking dinner. But not for long. Her idyllic domestic milieu... Continue Reading →
Training Day opens in early morn with LAPD officer Jake Hoyt preparing for his first day on a new assignment---he's transferring to Rampart Division and will undergo evaluation under Detective Alonzo Harris, a bad-ass mofo cop played by Denzel Washington. After a meet-up in a cafe, the two drives around town as Alonzo shows Jake... Continue Reading →
Hale. Say what you want, "The Day You Said Goodnight" would still be hit, whether Champ Liu Pio now looks like FrancisM-meets-Luis Manzano or not or whether he's still with Louise delos Reyes or not. Lucky guy, that Champ. A real champ. Sponge Cola. I still like the deeper cuts in their debut like "Partisan"... Continue Reading →
Like Captain Marvel, at the center of Alita: Battle Angel is a strong female character who doesn't know her past. In the movie, scientist Dr. Dyson Ido finds a disembodied female cyborg with fully functioning brain in a scrapyard, gives her a new body and names her after his deceased daughter. Then, Alita wakes up... Continue Reading →
Skimmed a few reviews: some says it's good, some says mediocre. Checked its Rotten Tomatoes score ("relatively high") before I went in and kept in mind that Marvel movies tends to get overpraised (i.e., Doctor Strange, Black Panther, Civil War) most of the time. How did it go? It's middling. Just another Marvel movie: bland-looking,... Continue Reading →
