Watchlist 2007: Transformers Special Edition

Transformers. It lived up to the hype. Boy, it lived up to the hype.

We had the chance to see Transformers opening day. When we got to the theater, the line was already a hundred or so people long. I thought we were going to be the last people there, and was ready to go; ten minutes later, the line had doubled. Most of the people in line were my age, a lot of them guys, but a couple of fangirls mixed in (there was this girl who was in a Sailor Moon outfit!).

We finally got to our seats, and the trailers started rolling. Balls of Fury (looks funny). Some dumb Rock movie (ugh). I Am Legend (promising). Then, the most interesting one, an unnamed JJ Abrams flick. Godzilla, maybe? Or maybe it's Smokey the tree-crushing monster from Lost.

Then the Dreamworks logo comes up. Applause! Finally. Cheesy opening monologue. I cringed. Five minutes into the movie, Blackout transforms. Huge applause. I had this goofy grin on my face after that, which didn't go away until the end credits rolled.

Never mind that the robots didn't look like the Transformers I grew up with. Never mind that Megatron looked like the Shrike from the Hyperion novels. Never mind those silly flames on Optimus Prime and his "lips". Never mind the over-the-top acting by Jon Voight and John Turturro. This movie kicked all sorts of ass, and Optimus Prime was the number one ass-kicker.

The large crowd was into it as well. Applause when Blackout transforms and makes the classic transforming sound. Cheers when the phrases "More than meets the eye" and "Autobots, roll out!" were uttered (although there's this one phrase from the animated movie that people missed...watch out for it). But the biggest ovation was when Optimus Prime showed up and transformed, flames and all.

Hands down the best movie I've seen this year.

Stupid Pet Tricks

Oh what a feeling
buı1ıǝɔ ǝɥʇ uo buıɔuɐp

Watchlist 2007

Live Free or Die Hard. A couple of months ago I got nostalgic and saw the very first Die Hard, where Bruce Willis still had hair, and the "one-man-against-the-world" concept was still fresh and new. I got a kick seeing Severus Snape Hans Gruber again, and seeing gas for less than a buck. Surprisingly, it held up quite well.

Fast forward to iPhone Friday, and I was sitting in a movie theater watching the Mac guy pretending to be a hacker in the fourth installment (I actually prefer the alternate title, Die Hard 4.0). I always hate it when they use "hackers" as the bad guys in a film; they never get it quite right, and they dumb it down with multiple windows and fancy graphics (Swordfish, anyone?). Of course, if I worry too much about it, I'll never enjoy the movie, so I just pretty much turn my brain off.

With that mindset, I pretty much enjoyed LFDH. It doesn't quite compare to the first, but it's definitely better than the second and is somewhat on par with the third (which had Samuel L. Jackson lifting it up). Maggie Q was quite a talent. There are ridiculous stunts, and Bruce Willis has his trademark humor intact, although it seemed forced in some spots.

Two things ran through my mind after the movie, though:
(1) Why wasn't the Mac guy (Justin Long) using a Mac?
(2) Why was he using a Nokia instead of an iPhone?

It's Just A Fantasy

*sigh* Now I get to be a broody Final Fantasy character. At least I'm not Vivi.



Which Final Fantasy Character Are You?
Final Fantasy VII

Tell It To The Marines

So this 72-year old guy, an ex-Marine, beat the crap out of a would-be pickpocket. That's pretty cool. Who's tougher than this Marine? Apparently, his wife.

"'I wouldn't want my wife to give me hell for lettin' that guy get my money,' (Barnes) said with a smile."

KB to KG

As you can well imagine, it's mass hysteria here brought upon by (a) Kobe's demand to be traded and (b) rumors of Kevin Garnett coming over. Laker fans seem to think that the rest of the NBA will bow down and accept anyone they offer in order to get KG. They also expect Stern to just hand them the championship if KG does manage to become a Laker.

One of the funniest things I heard was from a talking head on the radio:

"Kobe and KG will make the Lakers just like--no, better than Phoenix!"

So by that equation Kobe = Nash and KG = Amare? The second I can see but the first? Nope, I doubt Kobe would share the glory.

KG to Phoenix, though, would make the Suns more dangerous. I'd like to see that happening.

Watchlist 2007

The Pursuit of Happyness. For a supposedly "uplifting" film this sure is depressing. The hits kept on coming for Will Smith's character, each one making me more and more uncomfortable. When the expected "happy" ending came I wasn't happy at all, I was just relieved. Poor guy.

The Good Shepherd. We had to watch this over two days, because it was unexpectedly long. It started out interestingly enough, with a smoking hot Angelina Jolie to keep me occupied. The beginning of Matt Damon's spy career was very interesting, with some interesting reveals during World War II. Then we had to stop the movie because we were all falling asleep. When we resumed the movie it had become dull and boring, a development curiously reflected in Jolie, who they made up to look dull and boring. We gamely soldiered on to the end, just because Damon is such a good actor.

Flushed Away. Mildly amusing, about on-par with Shrek the Third. Except of course I had lower expectations for this movie. I don't know why the Aardman magic wasn't here--lost in all the computer animation, perhaps. Or maybe it was the involvement of Dreamworks. Some amusing bits, especially the over-the-top acting of Sir Ian McKellen and Jean Reno. Best part was Reno's French commandos ("we surrender!"). Heaven help me, I found Rita strangely attractive. A rat. In my defense, they made her look and act like Kate Winslet.

Walker

Now I know what to get Calai if/when she has a kid.

Stories I Tell

From Petros of PMS:

Frank Sinatra was talking to the valet attendant.
"What's the biggest tip you've ever gotten?" he asked.
"$100, Mr Sinatra." the young man replied.
Frank then gave him $200.
"Now what's the biggest tip you've ever gotten?" he asked again.
"$200, sir!" the young man replied.
"And who gave it to you?"
"Frank Sinatra."
"That's right, and don't you forget it," the Chairman said, as he got into his car and drove off.

Happy Father's Day!

The sermon at church today was interesting:

Last year, there was a woman who was tending to the spiritual needs of the prisoners at a local jail. During Mother's Day she was besieged with requests for Mother's Day cards, running out of cards before she could provide for everyone. She was determined to be prepared for Father's Day, so she stocked up on boxes and boxes of cards.

The boxes of cards are still in her office, untouched.

Let's face it, Mother's Day is a much bigger affair--all restaurants are crowded, and mothers everywhere get hugs and kisses. We dads? Well, the family went to lunch at The Cheesecake Factory today. I was dreading the thought of having to wait for over an hour for a table; instead we waited five minutes. Five minutes! I've waited longer on a regular weekend.

I'm guilty of this too, growing up. Me and my sister always knew when Mother's Day was, but would forget that it was Father's Day.

Oh, well. It's just a day anyway. At least I know my kids love me. And that's all that matters.

Seven Wonders

Back when I was a kid in Manila I was fascinated with the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. I had a book which detailed each one of them, along with some modern Wonders like the Empire State Building and the Panama Canal. My favorite was The Colossus of Rhodes; watching Lost, I got a kick out of that four-toed giant foot off the coast of the Island.

Me at Chichén Itzá, a couple of years, a couple of pounds and a whole lot of hair ago

Today I came across a site which aims to select Seven New Wonders for the Modern World. They're allowing people to vote (either online or by text) for each Wonder. Of course, results are showing people largely voting for their local wonder--Asia's leading in the votes, of course; it's a safe bet that The Great Wall of China and the Taj Mahal will probably make it in. Too bad the Banaue Rice Terraces aren't there, because it would have been a shoo-in otherwise.

For my money, here's my new Seven Wonders:
(1) Pyramids of Giza
(2) The Great Wall of China
(3) Pyramids of Chichén Itzá in Mexico
(4) Easter Island
(5) Stonehenge
(6) Petra (the city carved out of rock featured in Indy)
(7) Taj Mahal in India

My criteria is simple: the site should make you want to know more about it, how it was built, and why it was built. For example, the Statue of Liberty, while impressive, is just...there. When I visited Chichén Itzá, I was filled with a sense of awe, and a desire to know more about it and the people who built it.

Vote now, if you're so inclined. They'll release the results on (what else?) July 7, 2007.

So Much For Conspiracies

Sweep! I guess even the Mighty David Stern figured out that no one would believe a Cleveland championship. Still a lot of Suns fans sore about the entire deal, thinking they should be the ones standing on that podium. Let it go.

Funny how Stern hightailed it out of there as quickly as possible, as Cleveland booed him. The NBA is becoming more and more irrelevant, and he has to figure out a way to fix things.

Congrats to the San Antonio Spurs. Boring team, but hey, better to be boring winners than flashy losers, right?

Trade Winds

The Loose Cannons, along with PMS (a local sports talk show), just broke this Trade Rumor from the doctor of a friend of a friend of Money. This doctor also happens to be the doctor of Vanessa Bryant:

Kobe for Luol Deng, Ben Gordon, Chris Duhon and the 9th pick of the draft.

If that's true, then wow.

Lakers Starting Five:
Lamar Odom
Luol Deng
Ben Gordon
Chris Duhon or Jordan Farmar
Andrew Bynum

Bulls Starting Five:
Kobe Bryant
Kirk Hinrich
Ben Wallace
Andres Nocioni
Tyrus Thomas

Interesting. The Bulls probably can make it to the Finals in the Leastern conference, while the Lakers suddenly become entertaining.

Of course, this is from the doctor of the friend of the friend of Money, so this is all probably just a bunch of bologna (also, that'll be breaking patient-doctor confidentiality, don't you think?). But couple this with Johnny Buss shooting his mouth off saying "Good Luck Kobe wherever you go!" and you have the makings of an interesting scenario, to say the least.

Hey, maybe that's why Kobe switched to the number 24: he knew all along that he would be following number 23 in Chicago.

Pretty Vegas

Just got back from a mini-getaway to Las Vegas. The last time I was in Vegas was about two years ago, and a number of things have changed:

• There are now three lanes throughout most of the 15. Yay! This has improved the traffic immensely. Except, of course, when a couple of cars decide to slow down or even stop to watch a military convoy training in the desert. It took us four hours to get to Vegas at night, and nearly six hours to get back home on Sunday.
  
• Aladdin/Desert Passage are out, Planet Hollywood is in. Planet Hollywood hotel, complete with new logo. The Desert Passage was renamed "Miracle Mile". Funny, I thought Planet Hollywood had gone the way of the dodo. Huh, guess not. I will say this, though--the Spice Market buffet rivals the Rio. Just don't eat the sushi.
  
• Monorail, monorail, monorail! I used to ride this for free. Now they've extended it all the way to Sahara, and you have to pay five bucks to ride it one-way. Sucks.
  

Of course, the traffic on the Strip hasn't changed, along with the bad drivers (there was this one van who cut me off while I was making a left turn. Of course, it was a Pinoy driving. Le sigh). There are the crowds of people (although there weren't that many people on a weekend; I expect that to change once school is out), the people handing out "flyers", and of course the talent. Best talent I saw was dancing on top of a bar, Coyote Ugly style, in front of a club near Imperial Palace. She drew quite a crowd.

Go Ducks!

Gotta admit, I followed the NHL during the Western Conference Finals and The Stanley Cup because of the Ducks. I have an on-and-off relationship with hockey--I ignore it during the regular season, but follow it during the playoffs. I was pissed off when St Louis won the Cup in a controversial fashion against The Dominator; however, I was rooting against Hasek this year.

The Ducks broke my heart a couple of years ago, so I'm glad that given a second chance, they made the most of it. Congrats to the Anaheim Ducks! Now the OC has two world championships under its wing (no pun intended).

Conspiracy Theory

Remember the "Frozen Envelope" conspiracy theory that led to Patrick Ewing going to the Knicks? A lot of people subscribe to that particular theory. These people also believe that the NBA is rigged.

This year, for example, a lot of people think that the fix was in for the Spurs. Which is crazy, if you think about it. Why the Spurs? Wouldn't you think that the league would prefer that the Suns go all the way to the championship, since more people would watch? Wouldn't the league prefer that Spurs-Suns go seven, with the Suns (the more exciting team) prevailing, and going against...the Mavs? Why on earth would they have the Warriors win against the Mavs, and then lose against the Jazz, setting up one of the dullest Western Conference finals in history?

Then it hit me: This is the Year of LeBron!

It's straight out of a WWE script! To wit:
(1) Set up a "heel" turn by a beloved "face" team (i.e. the Spurs). Make them almost invincible.
(2) Have the "new face" (i.e. LeBron) struggle against an established "heel" team (i.e. the Pistons) and then "Hulk out" (games 3,4,5 and 6), winning the next four games in dramatic fashion.
(3) Have the Championship Match, with the heel almost winning...then the face pulls it out in the end against seemingly impossible odds.

And thus the King gets crowned.

You know what else the league would love? LeBron vs DWade for the title. Impossible you say, since they're both in the Eastern Conference? Cue Kobe and all his histrionics the past couple of days...

Kobe and Bynum get traded to Miami for Shaq and DWade!

Hey, anything's possible.

Watchlist 2007: Memorial Day Marathon

Spent Memorial Day Sunday watching movies. Took in Shrek the Third in the afternoon, and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End at night.

Shrek The Third. It's all just a money grab now. Shrek 2 was funny, especially with the introduction of Puss'n'Boots; the climax, with the spoof of Mission: Impossible, was especially cool. This movie had a few laughs, but overall felt more like a DirectToDVD film rather than something you're willing to pay ten bucks for. What's even more outrageous is that there's a TV special, a spin-off, and TWO sequels in the works. Oy. Make it stop.

POTC: AWE. This was a movie we were anticipating ever since the second one ended. We caught the last showing at 11pm, and the theater was still pretty crowded. Overall it did not disappoint, with a great story, great stunts, and great effects. It did have some flaws, however--the opening felt rushed, Jack was a bit too over-the-top, and the much-ballyhooed cameo was a big meh (PJ didn't even recognize who it was, and didn't particularly care)--but on the whole it was a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy. If you can, wait until the credits finish for that extra scene, much like the previous two.

Two Part 3s down, one to go. I'll try to catch Spiderman 3 before it disappears from the theaters.

The Fix Is In

Well, there you go. Blake got Guarini'd, and your new American Idol is...Jordin Sparks.

What a rip. Randy, shut up. "This is a singing competition, the best singer always wins!" Really? Where's Melinda then? Oh, right. "America" voted Melinda off. Couldn't risk having Melinda blow Jordin away.

The Jordin pimping was so obvious. Nothing against Jordin, but this TCO stuff is annoying.

Oh, and someone on TWOP found this reaction shot to Jordin singing...I'm still laughing, especially at Melinda. Priceless.

Burger Royale with Cheese

A couple of months back a couple of radio hosts (Money and Petros on PMS on XTRA570) were arguing over which burger was the best: Fatburger or In-N-Out. For my money it's In-N-Out, no contest; well-done with extra crispy grilled onions. Mmmm.

Of course, having grown up in the Philippines, these two burger joints pale in comparison to what I remember. There were several local joints competing for the title of "best burger":

1. Tropical Hut Hamburger, the first fast food burger I ever had. Heavenly stuff. My favorite was the Hawaiian, of which Jollibee's Aloha burger was a pale imitation.
2. Jollibee. Decent. I only really started liking this stuff when I got older. It was always Chicken Joy or nothing.
3. Burger Machine. The burger that never sleeps! The burger's flavored with exhaust fumes. Maybe that's why it was so tasty. Say, do these stalls still exist? Last time I was in RP (last year) I didn't see a single one.
4. Mushroom Burger. The one in Tagaytay. I still have fond memories of stopping here everytime my dad and I went fishing in Caliraya. This one time we ran into the Bad Bananas (Christopher de Leon, Jay Ilagan and Edgar Mortiz, along with Michael de Mesa) riding their bikes. My first brush with celebrity.

Not sure why Pinoy burgers taste so good. I've always thought they added pork along with the beef to make it more flavorful; or was it the worms that the burger patties were allegedly made of? In any case, I sure could use a Pinoy burger right now.

Aloha! Part 2: Maui

Amelie and friend at Wai'anapanapa State Park

The airport in Honolulu was a bit confusing--we didn't realize there were two terminals, one for mainland and international travel, and the other for inter-island hopping. It also didn't help that our airline had managed to change its name from "Mesa Air" to "go!". The important part was that we made it, and we were at Maui in thirty minutes!

Maui was definitely more relaxing than Oahu. It's less crowded, so there's no stress from the big city (relatively speaking, of course). Oddly, though, Oahu felt more like Hawai'i than Maui did. I guess it's because the rest of the world is exposed mostly to Honolulu and Waikiki.

The Grand Wailea

Things I liked in Maui:
1. The Grand Wailea Hotel. Ah, Grand Wailea. The resort was beautiful, and the pools were amazing, kinda like a water park. During peak season I wouldn't even dream of staying here; we couldn't afford it. Heck, it was low season, and it was still pricey. But it was worth it; heck, from our room, you had a view of...
2. Molokini Crater. Granted, the little fishies off Cozumel in Mexico were more colorful; but the water here was much, much, clearer. The first couple of seconds in the water was cold, but I quickly got over it. Better snorkeling than Hanauma Bay (although I have this nagging feeling I missed a lot of what Hanauma Bay had to offer).
3. Hana Highway. Instead of driving, PJ convinced me to take the tour instead. Good call. The roads were twisting, turning, and so narrow that "two lanes" is a laughable description; it's more like "1.5 lanes". I think I could take it, though. The scenery was beautiful; lots of waterfalls (although some were dry), and one part looked like a bunch of cylon (toaster) heads. I wish I caught a red car driving the road so that it'll seem even more realistic!
4. The Banyan Tree in Lahaina. It looks like it's a grove of Banyan Trees, yes? But no, it's all just one tree. Wow.

Banyan Tree at Lahaina

Things I didn't like in Maui:
1. The sugar plantation near Kahului. What an eyesore.
2. The high prices. Gas in Oahu was 3.25; Maui, 3.65. Yikes. Even the Costco had slightly higher prices, with bread going for nearly $5 for the generic Kirkland bread. Ow. Lunch and Dinner were pretty pricey as well.
3. The speed limit (25-35). Same as Oahu. Although drivers here seem more aggressive. I actually had a couple of drivers riding my tail for doing the speed limit.
4. So much stuff to do, so little time. We didn't get to surf (or at least learn to surf). We didn't get to Kayak. I didn't get to bike down Haleakala. I didn't get to go ziplining. We didn't see enough of Hana and the waterfalls. Maybe next time...

Cylons at Hana!

I'd love to come back and stay at the Grand Wailea again. The kids sure loved those pools!