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The Day After Tomorrow: Admittedly scary

Paleoclimatologist Jack Hall (Dennis Quaid) predicts that the global warming the world is experiencing today will lead to the new ice age. His estimate is at 50 to 100 years from now. When he gives a warning at the New Delhi climate change conference, the Vice-President of the United States dismisses him, saying that the economy is every bit as fragile as the environment. Back in the United States, Hall receives a call from Scottish meteorologist Terry Rapson (Ian Holm), and the latter informs the former that there have been unusual drops in the temperature off the North Atlantic. Soon, turbulent storms circle the whole planet: tornadoes upon tornadoes rip off Los Angeles; blocks of ice rain over Tokyo; and incessant rains are registered all over Asia and Europe. It seems that Hall’s prediction of an ice age will not happen in 50 to 100 years from now…it is happening at this very moment.

The sudden and drastic change in the climate prompts Hall to propose an evacuation of all people south of the United States. What about the North? Hall thinks it may have been too late for them. The radical drop in the temperature will cause instant death to those who would venture out of their houses.

Earlier, Sam (Jake Gyllenhaal), Hall's son, joined the mental decathlon in New York. He and his team get stranded there and they, together with other New Yorkers, seek refuge at the public library. On the phone, Sam talks with his father, who advised him to stay indoors, keep warm, ride it out, and wait for him.

Jack (on the phone with Sam): I will come for you, do you understand me? I will come for you.

The Philippines, for the past two weeks or so, was ravaged by two deadly typhoons, which came one after the other. Colleagues and I were discussing about it one afternoon, I think the second typhoon had passed, and we were of the opinion that while the country may be prone to typhoons, two deadly ones were a bit too much. Our talks led us to global warming and climate change. Driven by some masochistic tendencies, I popped in the movie and scared myself silly. The blown-out-of-proportion disasters brought about by the cataclysmic events are stuff made for the movies. I did not bother to analyze the science of it. I will forgive the shallow human subplots. I will even think that this is just a movie.

I will admit though to being scared.

 

 

Lunch Out

23 October 2009

Lunch out was still a week away but we decided to have it earlier. La Mesa Grill caught our attention, and we tried the SM North branch, due mainly to the fact that the establishment is located at the Sky Garden.

The place is not that spacious but there’s a cozy feel to it. And the native decors give you that impression that the establishment serves Filipino dishes, which now brings me to a discussion about the food. Hands down, this is the best grilled restaurant I’ve been to. The dishes we had were simply delicious. I highly recommend the laing with adobo flakes, which is gabi/taro leaves cooked in coconut milk, topped with adobo flakes, and served on banana leaves.

The establishment is known for their Crispchon, short for crispy lechon. I know, not too creative on the moniker but who cares? We had one anyway. The skin and meat of the roasted suckling pig is chopped into bite-size pieces, wrapped in pandan crepe, and garnished with cucumber, wansuy, and leeks.

There are six flavours of sauce to choose from: we had the garlic (I liked this dip), sweet chili, and Rikki’s choice (my colleagues loved this).

 

Definitely worth another visit!

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Zoolander: In a nutshell, funny

Three-time Male Model of the Year Derek Zoolander thinks he’d bag the same award for the fourth time. When newcomer Hansel beats him to it, Derek feels he has no purpose in life. He thus retires from the male modelling industry because according to him,

There’s more to life than being really, really, ridiculously good-looking.

Meanwhile, the fashion industry is on the brink of wreckage because the Prime Minister of Malaysia is determined to eradicate child labour in his country. The fashion industry relies so much on cheap child labour.  Fashion designer Mugatu has been tasked to deal with this so-called nuisance. The plan is to assassinate the Malaysian Prime Minister. The would-be assassin is Derek. How does Mugatu call Derek from retirement? Offer Derek to model his new line and set up a Derek Zoolander Foundation.

The plot thickens when it is soon discovered that history is replete with  male models who were hired to assassinate political figures dealing with slavery, but these male models were also mysteriously killed after. In order to thwart the assassination plot, Derek teams-up with Hansel. Together, they both save the Prime Minister and make the world safe for male models everywhere.

In a word, funny. Not ridiculously so, but there are good laughs in between which sustain the viewer for those scenes that can get a bit dragging. I’m no Ben Stiller fan, and I don’t say that I’ve been converted through this movie, but I give credit where credit is due, and he deserves praises here. It’s a satire alright, but less the harshness. It’s an altogether nice movie to watch if you’re looking for a few laughs.

Notting Hill: Surreal, but nice

He lives in Notting Hill; she lives in Beverly Hills. He’s an unassuming bookshop owner; she’s the world’s most famous actress. Fate brings them together when Anna Scott wanders into William Thacker’s bookstore. While he tries so hard to be nonchalant about it, still, his whole fibre shouts ‘It’s Anna Scott!’ She leaves. But they meet yet again, accidentally. He spills juice on her clothes and offers his house for her to change in. She gives him a lingering kiss after. And there begins the heart-warming romance between a celebrated film star and an ordinary man on the street.

It’s a charming fairy tale that’s wrought of absolute surrealism. But then again, anything’s possible. A famous actress could fall in love, marry, and happily spend the rest of her life with the ordinary guy next door. Julia Roberts was absolutely glowing in this movie, she with that lovely, lovely smile. Hugh Grant was so natural in playing the timid bookstore owner that he came across as cute, charming even. They look good together; it’s a shame this is their only movie.

It’s a romantic comedy that pierces the heart at times, and it’s on my list of favourite romantic comedies.

I’m just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her.

Black Hawk Down: More Than A War Movie

General Muhammad Farah Aidid, a Somali warlord, has been confiscating U.N. food shipments in Somalia, resulting in the death by starvation of some 300,000 Somalis. The world responds by sending an elite group of American Rangers and Delta Force soldiers on a humanitarian mission. The task: capture the General’s top advisors in the hopes of capturing the elusive Aidid. The timeframe: half an hour.

Upon reaching the place where the key advisors held their meeting, the US troops encounter unexpected resistance from Aidid’s militia. Two helicopters were brought down by enemy rockets. What was supposed to be a simple 30 minute extraction mission became a complicated 24 hour rescue mission.

I first heard of  the movie during an International Law class; my professor was discussing the complexities of war and he suggested we watch Black Hawk Down. I did watch the movie; my understanding of war wasn’t any clearer. Nevertheless, I saw the purpose of the movie, and that was to deliver to its audience the ghastly experience of a soldier during this Somali mission in 1993. It delivered quite magnificently. From the cinematography to the screenplay, the movie made me sympathize with those troops out there . I was glued to the screen for fear that I would miss a single frame; never mind that the movie seemed to be all explosions and gunfire. It helped of course that Josh Hartnett, Eric Bana, and Ewan McGregor were there.

Lunch Out

…to eat lunch away from one’s home or away from one’s place of work.

Colleagues and I planned a lunch out every salary day – 15th and 30th of the month – just to break the monotony of office lunch. I decided to document the same for the fun of it.

16 October 2009

We had our lunch out at Reyes Barbecue, UP-Ayala Land TechnoHub branch. A bit of a background: the UP-Ayala Land TechnoHub, or simply TechnoHub, was once a wide expanse of barren land located across the University of the Philippines, Diliman. Today, it is home to call centre agents. Besides business process outsourcing companies, there are dining, cafe and novelty shops in the area.

Anyway, lunch. The establishment offers grilled dishes, from the simple pork barbecue to the exotic grilled chicken ass. I had the grilled tuna and ice tea for a reasonable price of Php190.00. My dish came with a really tasty java rice and enselada. The grilled tuna was savoury, made even tastier by the establishment’s famous peanut sauce.

For more pictures, click here.