I am fucking back

I will be blogging like crazy again, fuck I missed this. I really really missed this.

Smell y'all later....

RacsOview: Dogtooth (2010)

For days now, everytime I see a keyboard, I laugh, and it is all because of "Dogtooth". Much more if some says that I should lick their keyboard, then that would be a total laughtrip. But toss the laughtrip weirdness aside, "Dogtooth" is one crazy batshit of a movie. In fact I think that it is very disturbing, really really disturbing.

"Dogtooth" is about a family. A father, mother, two daughters, one son and one frequent visitor. You see, the father is odd, ditto the mother, thus the weirdness of their children. The father controls everything, he is the source of knowledge and the source of all everything. He created his own world and his wife and children move around it, all according to what the rules of his world are. The eldest daughter, got curious, saw the real life outside the walls of their compound, and desired to go out in the real world. His father told them that once their "Dogtooth" was removed, they could go outside. And the eldest daughter did just that. She took a dumbell and smacked it into her mouth to get the dogtooth out.

Watching "Dogtooth" for me reminded me of Lars Von Trier's "Antichrist", but for me "Dogtooth" is way disturbing. Yes it has gore and blood, but it psychologically, I think, it has more damage. It kinda is twisted, and you can't help but get curious or mad at what is happening. Several hours after watching it, I was still thinking about it. At times I will laugh (keyboard) but most of the time it will really get me thinking a lot.

"Dogtooth" for me is very open to multiple interpretations. One could say that it is a story about control. One could relate it to something political. But no matter how twist an turn it, I just end up still loving it. And quite frankly, it is the best movie of the year so far.

RacsOview: Toy Story 3 (2010)

I am usually not a fan of sequels because oftentimes they just are crap (see Godfather 3, Spider-Man 3 and many others) but sometimes they can just be really good (Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter). So I went out to see "Toy Story 3" with not that much expectations because I do not want to be all giddy about it and then it would just turn out to be a disappointment.

But hell was I wrong. "Toy Story 3" exceeded everything I ever had for the whole franchise. I already love the first two movies but now I love the franchise a whole deal lot and all of that love came from the third installment. Yes it may be tad too grim (that emo baby) and it may cause children to have nightmare for days (that MONKEY!), but I kinda think with all that, it helped elevate what for me is already a lofty franchise.

We have the gang back (I think for one last hurrah) and Andy is all grown up and he is moving out to college. He is 17 years old and he is too old to play with his old toys. Woody, Buzz and the gang are all desperately wanting to be played with that they had to do some schemes to get Andy to play with them. But Andy did not, and with his last days in his room, he packed his toys in a trash bag, all except Woody whom he will bring to college with him. The rest of the toys are to be placed in the attic but they got mixed up and accidentally was put out to trash by Andy's mom. Hopeless and depressed the rest of the toys decided to move to a daycare center where they hoped they would be played again. And things got a helluva interesting from there.

"Toy Story 3" will make you laugh, make you grab onto your seats, and then make you cry. The last scene reminded me of the touching scene in last year's "Up". But that fire in the dumpster scene made me tear. I'm not made of stone, and those scenes really got me. It is weird that you would actually feel deep and heartfelt emotions for toys.

Many say that the third one is the least of the bunch, but I think that it is the best of the bunch and this latest Pixar entry ranks high in their personal bests, also, this is one of the year's bests so far. I might be lining up to see "Toy Story 3" again and again.

10 Songs

1. Bloodbuzz Ohio - The National
2. Forever and Ever, Amen - The Drums
3. The Deal - Ruby Tigers
4. Bulletproof - La Roux
5. Drunk Girls - LCD Soundsystem
   
6. I Can't Get Enough - Rooney
7. I Can't Go For That - The Bird and the Bee
   
8. If I Had You - Adam Lambert
   
9. 1983 - Neon Trees
10. Nervous Breakdown - Hawthorne Heights

Trailer: Muli

Two of the best Filipino actors, two of my favorites, my current favorite Filipino director, plus a cast filled with my favorite actors and actresses. What is more to ask? This is like pure movie going orgasm for me. Watch the trailer.

I know this will get like banned here and there, but I kinda wish that it has that "Daybreak" magic into it. But I can't get over the weird hairdos. Hehehe.

P.S. I love the song, totally.
P.P.S. I love the cinematography already. Albert Banzon truly is a god.

RacsOview: Autohystoria (2007)

I remember seeing this way back in 2007 and felt too intrigued and sort of inspired by it. Raya Martin continues to show his uniqueness of vision and story telling, this time with a reimagination or restaging of the death of Andres Bonifacio. "Autohystoria", like I said is a different take on the last hours of Filipino hero Andres Bonifacio.

What was very different was that he used the camera this time as the third actor. The first part of the movie was like 30 minutes of some sort of surveillance, as the camera follows a guy walking on a street and enters his house. The second part wherein the same guy, now with a high school student, sitting in a taxi cab both seem to be behaving uneasily. The camera feels as though he was the one injecting the bad omen surrounding the two. The next scene we see the two guys, same guys from the cab, walking in a forest at midnight, I think. The camera now feels like he is governing the two and where they are going. Then the end, the inevitable death. Was the camera responsible for the death? Is he the killer?

What was so intriguing about this work is that there honestly is anything (I've seen) that is quite like it. Some may say that it is something Lav Diaz would make, but then again, is it really? I really think that the movie is Martin signature and he sure continues to show that and seems to be not losing his touch.

"Autohystoria" is commendable due to its freshness, originality and wit. I am now a convert. I love Martin's works and I am a big fan.

RacsOview: The Runaways (2010)

I am a fan of Kristen Stewart and I belong in the group who thinks that she is kinda good in the "Twilight" franchise. Plus I do think that she is pretty, and I think that she is talented, that is, if she is given the right role to excel in. And I think that did a great job in "The Runaways".

"The Runaways" follows the sudden rise and sudden fall of the band "The Runaways". It all started with a dream, Joan Jett wanted so much to play the guitar and be in a band and play music. Then the dream clicked. They formed their band, one by one. The last one to join was Cherie Curie (Dakota Fanning), the troubled singer. They rose to fame rather quickly, but Cherie had demons and major issues. She had a very dysfunctional family and she got addicted to drugs and her only escape was music. But that did not help her that well in the end. She was very lost and she needed solace, which I think she found but was too late for the band. Joan moved on and continued what she really wanted, and got there, and made it very far.

I really enjoyed watching the movie, partly because I really loved their songs. I was really surprised to find out the actors really sung their parts. It may not be as good as the original, but they really rocked it out. Fanning was not much of a singer but at least she looked the part. And she got that whole "I am broken live with that" vibe going, and it worked in her favor. I do think that Fanning, after "I am Sam", is a better actress than Stewart but in this movie, Stewart gave the better performance. Stewart stood out the most (at least for me) and she was really great in her role, and I love her in it. But let us not forget how memorable Michael Shannon was, as the talent manager from hell.

"The Runaways" may lack characterization, but no one can deny its rocking power. It is a good enough movie to get your head banging to the beats of the band. You will get to know them, not that personal though, but at least you are introduced to them musically.

10 Songs

1. Bloodbuzz Ohio - The National
2. I Can't Get Enough - Rooney
3. If I Had You - Adam Lambert
4. Drunk Girls - LCD Soundsystem
   
5. Bulletproof - La Roux
6. The Deal - Ruby Tigers
   
7. 1983 - Neon Trees
8. Nervous Breakdown - Hawthorne Heights
   
9. You Will Leave A Mark - A Silent Film
10. I Can't Go For That - The Bird and the Bee

RacsO Decade in Review: Songs

Runners up: Mr. Brightside (The Killers) fun, memorable catchy. Face Down (The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus) I just love singing this song. Chasing Pavements (Adele) can you really be not in love with this song? Rehab (Amy Winehouse) before Amy became a trainwreck, she made this perfect song. Relator (Pete Yorn, Scarlett Johansson) really really infectious. The Reason (Hoobastank) very commercial and overplayed but great nonetheless.

10
Untitled Number 3
Sigur Ros
from the album "Untitled"

If there is one song in this list that I do not fail to play every day, it is this song. For me, this song is a journey, it started of kinda slow and melancholic and then it progressed to something epic in the climactic middle and the beautiful end. Sigur Ros is one of the best bands of the decade.

9
Kids
MGMT
from the album "Oracular Spectacular"

Even though it feels like some kids are attacking you in the beginning, "Kids" is one of those songs, like "Poker Face", that are entirely new and fresh, catchy and infectious, and it triggers LSS.

8
Poker Face
Lady Gaga
from the album "The Fame"

I did not write this as one of my favorite songs of 2009 because at that time, I did not even listened to her. "Just Dance" was a catchy song but I really did not get the hype back then. But when I listened to "Poker Face" especially the piano version, it really is very special. Lady Gaga truly is a bona fide artist, and "Poker Face" remains as her most commercial, catchiest and best single to date.

7
Chicago
Sufjan Stevens
from the album "Illinoise"

Sufjan Stevens is a true artist, and picking a best song from his resume is a tough task because there are many, but "Chicago" stands out among them. Like the number 10 song, the song feels like a journey, and this one unlike the number 10 song, is a happy journey.

6
Svefn G Englar
Sigur Ros
from the album "Agaetis Byrjun"

Even though I did not understand all of it, and I have not even tried to research what the song meant, there is no denying the eerie sticky glue factor it has when you hear the song. Trust me, when you listen to it every time it will get you humming and muttering "icheeyoooohooo"

5
Fallen of Deaf Ears
Urbandub
from the album "Embrace"

I think that this song is one of Urbandub's not so well played song, but even with a slew of albums post "Influence" this song remains to me as their best song to date. It is not as heavy as their other songs, but it still is, but I kinda dug how it gets inside my head and it stays there and it will get me singing the song the whole day.

4
Running Away
Hoobastank
from the album "Hoobastank"

Before Hobbastank got worldwide fame with "The Reason" (a song also that I dearly love) , Hoobastank made this song that for me is still their best song to date, and with the rate that they are going I think that it will take time for them to make another masterpiece like this.

3
My Heart
Paramore
from the album "All We Know is Falling"

I love this song especially when our band plays it. I do not have any part in it until the last chorus where I scream/growl to the chorus. It is just beautiful and it Paramore will have a hard time making a new song that would top this one.

2
From Yesterday
30 Seconds to Mars
from the album "A Beautiful Lie"

I really wish that our band could perform this song. This is one of those commercial rock songs that I reaaaalllly love. Listening to the CD version is already quite a superb experience but listening to (some) live versions is a different thing. Jared Leto sounds soooo damn good in this song.

1
Everything
Lifehouse
from the album "No Name Face"

Quite possibly, this song is my all time favorite song, not just this past decade, but for the past 24 years (my age, ugh). The song is personal, and it is personal to me too, and it could be interpreted to be being religious but I really do not mind. I love singing this song, I feel like something has happened, like a miracle or something.

RacsOwhatever: #2

Yesterday I have learned the use of baby/wet wipes and pay CR. And by that you know that this post is going to be yucky.

Yesterday, after going to the gym, I feel like my stomach is telling me something unpleasant. But I did not listen, I still continued with my day with my stomach feeling uneasy. About ten in the morning, as usual, I felt rather sleepy. So I bought 2 sachets of coffee and drank it all up to keep me awake. Coffee made my stomach chortle some more. But then, I ignored the signs of impending doom.

Afternoon came, I feel like I really need to go. But I remember what happened the day before. It seems to me that someone defecated and it stank up the whole office. As in the whole office, it smelled like rotten eggs mixed with dead mice. So with that in mind, I really can not go here, history may repeat itself.

Night came, I still went out to look for a new bag. The bag that I am using is fugly, so it needs to go. But my stomach is as bad as it could be. I rushed to go to the nearest Taxi stand. Motherfracker! There is at least 30 people lined up, waiting for a taxi. So I decided, I really need to do this right here in this mall, and I need to go ASAP.

I went to the nearest drugstore. Here in the Philippines, drugstores have beauty products, food, medicine or anything that you could find in a grocery. I bought me two packs of anti bacterial wet wipes. I sooo wanted to run. But even if I walk, I felt like I am going to burst. At times I had to stop so that I could hold it in firmly. The mall has a hidden CR at the fifth floor. Fuck, five fucking floors.

5th floor. 5 minutes. YES! Lesson Learned: your stomach is a wonderland.

Ciao.

RacsoView: Maicling Pelicula Nang Ysang Indio Nacional (2005)

When I saw "Independencia" I think last year in the Philippine's French Film Festival, I fell asleep. I think that was my fault, I was not feeling very well and I was loopy and I drank medicine. The movie had a rather serene vibe and it was rather silent, and when the meds kicked in, I fell asleep. But for the part that I tried to stay awake, I liked. Especially the first parts. But then I struggled. I was able to grasp what it was but I blamed the boredom that the film emitted. And dismissed that I did not like the movie. But what am I telling you this? I am pretty new to Raya Martin's flair when I saw "Independencia", and now I kinda am sorry for having said what I said about it. Now I really need to see it again. Lesson is, don't go to a movie drugged.

So I finally got the chance to see "Maicling Pelicula Nang Ysang Indio Nacional" which is not a short film actually because it ran for almost one and a half hours. It was separated into two parts, the first part, the prologue was about a woman who had a hard time sleeping, because something seems to be bothering her. She then woke her husband and begged for a story. The husband then told a rather unsettling yet emotional story. Then the lamp light fades and in comes a series of Lumiere like short films about family, traditions, religion and war, joined together.

From what I have seen from Raya Martin's works, he tells the untold stories of the Filipinos history. And he tells the story in his own unique way. I think that he worked wonders with this film because it is one of the most unique, interesting, beautifully made Filipino films this past decade and I really really love it. It was as if the movie was made by someone who is really from the past. Like if they were handed the camera, these are the clips that I would have gotten.

What separates this from other historical movies was that there are no uber dramatic scenes. No exaggeration. No big events. These are stories of the common man that was never told. It may be mundane, common or lackluster, but it was real and what really happened. No garnish. No added extras.

"Maicling Pelicula Nang Ysang Indio Nacional" for me is one of the best movies of the decade, and it completely changed what I dismissed Raya Martin's work to be. I was wrong. Now, I need to see "Independencia" again.

RacsOview: Hesus, Rebolusyonaryo (2002)

I am having a break on my classic Filipino films marathon and doing some watching on the movies of the past decade that I failed to see. I'm doing this because as you can see i am doing a decade list of awards and it bothers me that I have not seen some unseen gems that I oughta have seen. I know I will not get to see them all but at least I tried.

So this time I saw 2002's commercial flop and Lav Diaz helmer "Hesus Rebolusyonaryo". First thing that comes to my mind after watching the movie was "Why did this flop? it was amazing!" I mean, it really was very good. They had bankable stars. A topical premise. Right amount of action. why did it flop? Because it was a thinking man's action film?

It was part political movie, part action film, part drama and sometimes philosophical. It has all the ingredients of a Diaz movie, only this time it is cramped up to two hours. But even at a shorter running time, Diaz sure does know how to make everything his own.

Mark Anthony Fernandez was superb as Hesus. But it was Joel Lamangan who stole the show. He was beyond superb, and I never knew he could act. He was creepy and menacingly superb. For me, his performance was like Forest Whitaker's Idi Amin in "Last King Scotland", he should have raked in bucketloads of awards back then. But he did not.

"Hesus Rebolusnyonaryo" is one of the Philippine's best dystopian action films ever made. Early on this decade, Diaz made a masterpiece that the people failed to notice and I really do not know why.

P.S. I love the poem recited over and over, especially the last two lines. God I love this movie.

RacsOview: Melancholia (2008)

Personally, I think that from all the working Filipino directors right now, Lav Diaz has the most distinct voice. He had continually broke boundaries and pushed the limits of cinema. It is like he does not really care if the audience would be turned off due to some of Lav Diaz's movie making style: long running time, ultra personal, quizzical scenes, politics. But I think that is the charm that brings the audience in. Watching a Lav Diaz movie could prove to be quite an experience indeed.

Based from the title alone and the whole look, feel and tone of the movie, "Melancholia" is about sadness. The cause, the feeling, and what happens when you are sad. But the movie offers more than just that. It has some issues that it raised about truth, politics and even independent filmmaking. And Lav Diaz sure does know what he is talking about. There were times that I feel that I was being educated, which for me is kind of offputting in a way, but in the movie's case, since I am pretty much new to what the movie was delivering. I felt that the education that goes along with it, I welcomed with open arms, and mind.

The movie was definite Lav Diaz. It has him written all over the movie. And I think that from all the filmmakers working right now, he is the only one who could pull off such an arduous task. Lav Diaz continues to break filmmaking conventions and norms, he is in a whole different league, and I envy him for that. Every movie he makes, you will know that it is his work. "Melancholia" is no different from his other greats, it is an addition to what is a looming collection of original and highly crafted and personal works.

Sitting through the whole movie was hard and it made me feel uneasy, not because that it ran for almost seven and a half hours, but because everything about it felt gloomy, somber and hopeless. It was like sitting through Lars Von Trier's "Dogville" only twice the running time and quadruple the gloom. But that said, I think that it was very successful in imparting its messages and to draw audience to its somber trance.

"Melancholia" truly is one melancholic movie going experience, but sitting all the way through it was kind of rewarding, in a weird kind of way.

RacsO Decade in Review: Albums

10
The Reason
Hoobastank

Hoobastank is one of my favorite bands of all time, but lately they have not been giving us anything that would stand out from the other bands that are coming out nowadays. But that said, this debut album still is their best work to date. It has a heavier sound to it, a little too commercial but it was more personal and Doug Robb has never sounded this good.

Key Songs:
The Reason, Out of Control, Same Direction, Disappear

9
Opaline
Dishwalla

Early this decade, Dishwalla for me was the best rock/alternative band, and they had proven their greatness more with a near perfect mainstream album "Opaline". It was commercial but every song from the album for me was very addicting, and i love singing them songs.

Key Songs:
Candleburn, Opaline, Angels or Devils, Somewhere in the Middle, Every Little Thing

8
Oracular Spectacular
MGMT

MGMT's "Oracular Spectacular" has got to be the most fun album that I have listened to, this decade. It was quirky good and the really original sounding. Listening to it feels like you have your iPod on and you are playing a nintendo game along with it. It was an inventive and very unique and distinctively MGMT. I can not wait how they follows up this album.

Key Songs:
Kids, Time to Pretend, The Youth, 4th Dimensional Transition

7
No Name Face
Lifehouse

One of the few albums that came out in early on this past decade that I still listen to now is "No Name Face" by Lifehouse. There is not a single bum song in the album. But I suggest that you start listening to it with "Hanging by a Moment" and then end the album listening with "Everything".

Key Songs:
Everything, Hanging by a Moment, Sick Cycle Carousel


6
Poses Rufus
Wainwright

Rufus Wainwright is one of the best artists of the decade and he clearly made that statement with his album "Poses". It has the right amount of flair, of operatic theatrics and the right amount of pop, the right amount of romanticism. The result was a perfect masterwork. Plus, I especially love how some songs really differ from mood from the other yet the album still works as a whole.

Key Songs:
California, Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk, Poses

5
Kid-A
Radiohead
I think of all Radiohead albums that I have listened to, this one stands out the most. It is not entirely different from their other works but I think that it is the distinct sounding, Avant Garde of sorts, but still Radiohead definitive. And listening to the whole album was just engrossing. I think that the album is sort of divisive, love it or hate it. Because if you have gotten used to what they did in the "Creep" era, this is a very different sound from them yet, it is still a great great move.

Key Songs
Idioteque, Kid A

4
Illinoise
Sufjan Steven

I have not listened to Sufjan Stevens up until lately that I have grown rather addicted to his work. There was even a day, way back, that all I listen to are his songs. He has a great body of work but I think that he peaked with this album. It was a perfect mesh of classic sound and pop. You would not even notice how somber the songs were because it feels as though he is serenading you.

Key Songs:
Chicago, Jacksonville, and some other songs with oddly long titles.

3
Aaliyah
Aaliyah

This is Aaliyah's last recorded album, and it saddens me because if she had not died, she may have made other masterpieces than this. But that said, her self titled album was a perfect RnB album and it solidified her name in the music history.

Key Songs:
More than a Woman, Rock the Boat, We Need a Resolution

2
Agaetis Byrjun
Sigur Ros

Practically a cheat here, because this was initially released in 1999 but it was released in the US in 2000 that is why it is in the list. Sigur Ros has a very distinct sound, and "Agaetis Byrjun" is a big big hello world of a work. Every single in the album stood alone beautifully and when you hear the whole album as one, it is quite an experience.

Key Songs:
Svefn g Englar, Staralfur, Agaetis Byrjun, Ny Batteri

1
Influence
Urbandub

Arguably, Urbandub is the best Filipino band that is working and is in the radio today. But before they went mainstream with their album "Embrace", they made a masterwork with "Influence". It won best album in the NU Rock Awards and was hailed by critics all over, and why the hell would it not, it is as perfect as it could get. It was a major major step up from their freshman album "Birth". This album kinda set the Urbandub that we all know and love now, a fresh new sound, a rocked out album.

Key Songs:
Gone, Soul Searching, A New Tattoo, Sailing, Fallen on Deaf Ears

10 Songs

1. Bloodbuzz Ohio - The National
2. Bulletproof - La Roux
3. If I Had You - Adam Lambert
4. Falling Slowly - Crystal Bowersox and Lee DeWyze
5. I Can't Get Enough - Rooney
   
6. You Will Leave a Mark - A Silent Film
7. Giving up the Gun - Vampire Weekend
8. 1983 - Neon Trees
9. The Only Exception - Paramore
10. Undo It - Carrie Underwood

RacsOview: Noy (2010)

Watching "Noy" for me was like an ultimate movie going orgasm. Why? Because most of my favorites Filipino actors are in the movie. Coco Martin, Baron Geisler, Cherry Pie Pichache, Ping and Pen Medina, Joem Bascon, Neil Ryan Sese etc. But the orgasm was stuck on the poster and credits reading. The movie going experience was not quite there.

The main problem with watching "Noy" was that the movie was trying to do so much and it was trying to be many movies jammed into one. At first glimpse, "Noy" seems to be a political movie, pimping the now president to be Noy Aquino. Then it really was not. Up until that batshit ending. It was also a typical family drama, and then what happened was that the family was thrown with all these problems and what is left for us to do is to see how they cope with the craploads of problems thrown to them. The only salvation at that was that the cast were giving beyond what is asked from them of the lackadaisical script.

I really do not like the love interest side of the story. It was too underdeveloped and felt like something that was just inserted there just for the heck of it. Or did I feel that because the love interest of Coco Martin was just bland?

I kinda dug that the movie was comparing the both of the two Noys and showing how they both love what they were doing and that was what kept them from doing what they were doing, be it right or wrong. But the real redeeming factor and that extra something that would make you stay and watch the whole thing was that it was superbly acted. Coco Martin in his first big commercial banner role was more than an able lead. But this was not his best. I blame that to the rather one note character. That does not mean that he was not great, he was, but the role was kinda limiting. It kinda relied more on the uber dramatic scenes for the actors to excel. Cherry Pie Picache was superb as well, and I loved the scenes she shared with Coco Martin.

"Noy" is an OK movie. Let's just settle at that. But despite the movie's glaring flaws, there is no denying the fact that Coco Martin is one of the best actors working right now.

RacsOwhatever: #1

I have been meaning to blog something personal in this blog. And now I am about to do so.

I have been working out rather heavily lately. I want to shed of some fats here in there. I hate my stomach. It is kinda blob-by. But I do not look fat. I think. Some people say I am but some don't, but I kinda am on the side with those people who think I am fat. So thus the gym. I work out like more than hour almost everyday. It is boring but I kinda am loving the results. Months ago, gym-less, asthma attacks almost every week, lasting for days. But now, no asthma attacks. It is really fracking hot here in the Philippines. It has been the hottest since like ever, since I am living. It has never been this hot. So thus my asthma kicks in all the time. Heat is my enemy.

Other than the gym, I just started becoming a vegan. Yes I am now 80% vegetarian. The other 20% is comprised of 15% any milk related products and 5% of killed animal residue that I may have accidentally eaten. The vegan thing is kinda an experiment right now. I do not eat a lot of vegetables. They kinda are really yucky when they are tossed in together and sometimes the collection of them vegetables ooze out slimy goo. Yuck.

Day 1, Monday.
Breakfast/Lunch: I ate Caesar salad from KFC (Kentuck Fried Chicken). There were some chicken chunks in it, so I had my cousin eat them for me. Snack: 1 Donut and coffee. Poor me. Dinner: Pakbet, or I think it was Pakbet. It was yucky, the bitter melon was yuckily bitter. Dang. I pushed them all with riced and water. I remember eating Pakbet in the past, but this one was just awful. I also ate Okra which was slimy. I felt like I was eating a slug and its slimy trail left a gooey mark in my throat. Thank God for water.

Day 2, Tuesday.
Breakfast/Lunch: Ampalaya (Bitter Melon) again. Frack, I kept pushing the food with rice and water once again. I was kinda tempted to eat the meat that goes along with it, but I resisted. So yay for my part. Dinner: Caesar Salad and Mashed Potato. Finally something palatable.

Day 3, Wednesday.
Breakfast: Oatmeal cookie with mango juice. I bought it from 7-11 and it was the only combo that I can think of that would be best to be eaten. Lunch: Ilocano Vegetable goo, I forgot the whole name. They, veggie monsters, are all getting stuck in my throat. Luckily the goo was kinda tasty but the veggies were not. Dinner: was a touchdown! I had tofu with broccoli and mushroom. It was really delicious. The one decent meal I had so far. I love it. Will have it again today.

Being a vegan is hard and expensive. Vegan food is cheap in karinderyas but they are not as palatable as you would hope them to be. Oftentimes I judge food by their looks. If they look like gutter scum, I would not eat them. I will immediately dismiss them as garbage. Vegan food is expensive if you buy them at vegan restaurants. They cost more than meat. But not steak level though. And the harder part of it is, vegan restaurants are scant. Also, vegetable comes very rare in menus at cheaper restaurants. But that will not stop me from my goal. I will not eat animal meat. At least for now, or unless I really have no choice.

That's all for now, I will be constantly updating you guys on my vegan quest, plus I will take pictures next time.

Ciao.

RacsOview: Here Comes The Bride (2010)

I was kinda hesitant to watch this movie because I kinda am allergic to Angelica Panganiban. I do not like what her TV or celebrity persona is. She is that sort of angelic little kid turned devilishly hot when she hit 20's. But then I still decided to see it because people and critics are somewhat raving about the movie.

"Here Comes the Bride" follows the story of five correlated people whose souls got interchanged in a chain car accident that happened during an eclipse. Stefanie is going to be married to a hunk husband got the soul of Toffee, the heartbroken gay but superfluously flirt and outrageously dressed. Toffee's body then got Stefanie's grandfather Bien's soul, who is weak and kinda sick. Bien's body got Medelyn's soul, a nanny of one of Stefanie's relatives. Medelyn's body got the soul of Precy who was the lawyer aunt of Stefanie. Precy's body got the soul of calm and mild mannered and conservative Stefanie. It took them time to adjust to their new bodies. But all of them sort of kinda liked the new body that they had, all except Stefanie who was stuck in Precy's body. Why wouldn't she? She is about to get married to a gorgeous and understanding husband.

It was a rollercoaster of laughs and jokes and more laughs. I really was impressed at how effortlessly comic it was and I have got to give big kudos to director/writer Chris Martinez who seem to be in a streak after the Cinemalaya win (100). But something is kinda off for me. If I have not known that Martinez did this, I could have easily mistaken this movie as a Joyce Bernal movie. But then again, Martinez seems like the driving force to the current trend of great Filipino comic movies such as "Kimmy Dora" and "Bridal Shower", both movies were great fun.

The star of the show undoubtedly was Angelica Panganiban, and all notions that I have that she is not a good actress all went out of the window. She was superb in this movie and I am dying to see how she would follow this one up. Eugene Domingo made everything out of the sort of bland and one dimensional character. Jaime Fabregas for me was all aces as the nanny. I really loved his work, especially when they all were trying to switch back to their bodies. Tuesday Vargas was fun as the overacting lawyer turned nanny. John Lapus was sort of great as well as the Casanova grandfather.

In the end, the movie, despite its flaws in plot and characters, was a great and fun movie. It is the sort of movie that you could watch over and over and you would just end up laughing all the time. "Here Comes the Bride" is a good and solid ride, and hella funny at that.