X!!!

I loved the 3rd Xmen!!! I won't go into details since it has only started showing in theaters. Don't miss it!
Back to work for me...

Beware

Beware, Terrorists! The Dessert Troopers are here!

Jarhead

I made time to watch this 3rd movie from Sam Mendes. I liked American Beauty and Road to Perdition and it seems that his choice of actors with all 3 movies were excellent. Kevin Spacey, Tom Hanks, Paul Newman and now, Jake Gylenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard. When I first saw the trailer months ago, I was hooked with it's music, Jesus Walks. I knew this was a drama though, coming from Mendes even thought the trailer looked like it had so much action. Well, after watching the DVD, I was really blown away with it's intensity. The cast was great! The film is about the life of Marines in the Gulf War and I must say, it ain't easy being one. But I loved how the characters interacted, looked for each other, the bond they created and everything else. The look of the movie is very bright and dirty at the same time. You'll be seeing mostly whites and desert except for some scenes like the oil rain. This isn't an expert review, just raving about the movie. Jke Gylenhaal's performance as intense and to be honest, I wasn't aware he could be that intense. He seems to be such a gentle character but here, all gloves are off. My favorite actor here though, is Peter Saarsgard as Troy. Mysterious character this one is. Watch it if you have time... or likeme, make time for it.

Blog marathon ha! Updates galore! Hehehe!

V

Bollocks! I just saw V for Vendetta! Pretty good and quite timely.

Made in the Philippines!!!

From this entry's title, you'd think I'd say something patriotic, support Philippine-made products, etc... but sadly, it's the other way around. After being disappointed with recent DVD releases namely Narnia, KingKong and Saw, I never expected to be in the same position again after buying a Philippine made audio CD. The plague that is LQC (Lack of Quality Control) has spread to audio CDs as well. To start with, they were not really very good technically, the sound mix isn't as good as those from other countries, but that's the studio's fault. Anyway, I bought this double disc relese of Sugar Hiccups' album for nostalgia's sake. I used to listen all day to NU 107 and loved the music of the bands then. I was in college and as soon as I wake up, I'd turn on the radio and listen to Zack and Joey in the morning and stay tuned 'til I fall asleep... okay, that was exaggerating but it really felt like I did. Aaaanyway...I bought it, thought I'd try it and if it turns out well, I'll buy the other double releases as well. And when I opened the sleeve... BANG! Quality, quality, quality is ABSENT! Here are pictures for you to see how bad it is.

GRIP STAND THROW was Sandwich's frist album... not Sugar Hiccup. At least they got the second album right.

If the companies who produce these want us to patronize their products, buy original cds/dvd/vcds, they should really make it a point that it's worth it! Man, at least with pirated copies, you kind of expect these things. But even with the originals?! I always make it a point to buy original cds from our local bands. For support, for them to keep making good music and topple Screaming Regine off the charts. But I was really disappointed and will not buy the other 2 in 1 releases. Too bad.
Marvel has a new storyarc running right now. Civil War. It cme as a surprise to me since I have stopped buying comics since buying DVDs... and I never completed DC's Crisis on Infinite Earths since I could never really relate to the characters (Some of the characters have funny names, if a character has powers of electricity, he'll be called The ElectricityMan or General Electric!). But Marvel is Marvel. These are characters we know and love, at least for me. After a tense debate by our beloved superheroes, it was inevitable to have 2 opposing sides. This is definitely a must read. Superheroes vs. superheroes!

Impossible Indeed

Yesterday, Guia and I went out to see M:I:III. And It is impossible not to enjoy this action flick. It's definitely a cool spy movie, kind of reminds us of True Lies, Alias and Mr. and Mrs. Smith. What really sold this movie is the over-the-top acting of Tom Cruise. I now consider him the best in portraying a man in PAIN. It's pretty convincing stuff. Still, I can't help but smile whenever I see him running with his chest out. The visual effects were good, I especially liked the time when Ethan slams into the side of a car from a nearby explosion's force. After the movie, Guia and I were playing with our phones as if we're spies on a mission.

Current favorite drink: Fuzion's Pepermint FrosTea.

Running Free

Things are definitely looking good for me and my current manga called "FreeRunners". And after a battle with creative frustration and ultimately, creative drought, I have finally found my direction with this book. I used to think that working professionally in this business has left my creativity dry. My art seemed stiff and unintresting. There were exceptions but mostly, they do not really stand out compared to my drawings when I was in college. I guess having a set of characters, stories to draw have really limited my so-called talent. Progression stalled and I stayed in my creative comfort zone. But not anymore. And I strated doing things manually, not relying so much on the use of the PC, using digital tools mostly on cleaning up dirt and stains in the pages. Here are teasers on my upcoming manga Freerunners. Written by Bill Strauss, drawn by me and published by Seven Seas Entertainment! Watch out!





Another thing I'm missing is coloring. Oh well, there will be time for that.

Currently listeing to: Tool's Aenima, Dicta License
Last DVD viewed: Aeon Flux (Charlize is such a goddess)
Looking forward to watching: MI:III, Superman, Xmen 3: Last Stand, Da Vinci Code, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Ghost Rider
Looking forward to getting: FF7:AC DVD, SW:ROTS ARC-170 toy
Number of times the words creative/creativity was mentioned in this post: 4

World Records and Old Records

What the?! Mass Breastfeeding World Record?! Count on the Pinoys for absurd World Records. Pinoys have this insatiable hunger for international fame and it shows with their choice of what record to break. The biggest kalamay, the longest puto bumbong, largest plate of Pancit Malabon, etc. and now, most number of moms breastfeeding?! I won't say "Now I've seen everything." evr since I saw Team America where a character says, "Now I've seen everything." and the other character counters with, "Have you ever seen a man eat his own head?"... Well, obviously, we haven't. But that record makes you come close to it... hmm... that didn't sound right.
For Star Wars news, this year on September 12 to December, we'll see the Original Trilogy on DVD as it was seen in the theaters in 1977. Read on!

From Star Wars.com
Fans can look forward to a September filled with classic Star Wars nostalgia, led by the premiere of LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy video game and the long-awaited DVD release of the original theatrical incarnations of the classic Star Wars trilogy.

In response to overwhelming demand, Lucasfilm Ltd. and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment will release attractively priced individual two-disc releases of Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Each release includes the 2004 digitally remastered version of the movie and, as bonus material, the theatrical edition of the film. That means you'll be able to enjoy Star Wars as it first appeared in 1977, Empire in 1980, and Jedi in 1983.

[ doc_title ] This release will only be available for a limited time: from September 12th to December 31st. International release will follow on or about the same day. Each original theatrical version will feature Dolby 2.0 Surround sound, close-captioning, and subtitles in English, French and Spanish for their U.S. release. International sound and subtitling vary by territory.

"Over the years, a truly countless number of fans have told us that they would love to see and own the original version that they remember experiencing in theaters," said Jim Ward, President of LucasArts and Senior Vice President of Lucasfilm Ltd. "We returned to the Lucasfilm Archives to search exhaustively for source material that could be presented on DVD. This is something that we're very excited to be able to give to fans in response to their continuing enthusiasm for Star Wars. Topping it off with a new interactive adventure makes September 12 a red-letter day for Star Wars fans."

Good news indeed! I'll be saving up on this new set! May the Force be with us!!! (Btw, yesterday was Star Wars Day. Unofficially. May the Fourth be with you! Hehehe!)