An Arabian Day

It was a tension-filled afternoon (the cause of which I might write about someday), and to loosen up, I popped the Aladdin trilogy in the player.

Of all the Walt Disney cartoon adaptations of fairy tales and legends I've watched so far, none is as modern as Aladdin, from the dialogues to the songs. You wouldn't expect less from a cartoon where the Genie calls Aladdin 'Al', would you? So anyway, I was later treated to an afternoon of wise crackin', lamp rubbin' Arabian fun.

While the original was everything a Disney movie should be - smooth animation, witty dialogues, and the rich, rich colors - the second and third installments, while with stories as exciting as the original, paled in comparison. The colors were just dull. And what happened to the elaborate markings on the flying carpet? And where were the other thieves? A 40 thieves song-and-dance ensemble would have been pretty impressive. Surely sequels, while only for video release, deserve as much attention to details as the original?

However, whatever disappointment I had with the animation aspect was well compensated by the wise-cracking Iago and the simply funny Genie. The songs were lovely, too. I noticed that while this cartoon has every right to go pop vis-a-vis the songs, the singers delivered wonderfully with just the right amount of pop and classical; so unlike Cinderella II: Dreams Come True, where there was much wailing going on in the singing in a bid to make it pop.

The trilogy is worth the watch if only for those really funny dialogues and delightful songs...well, the second and third installments, anyway. The original: Definitely worth the watch for everything.

Major Blog Makeover

I had 'overhaul' in my mind for the title, but I thought 'overhaul' was such a strong word, so I opted for the 'makeover'. And what a makeover it is.

I finally managed to have ads on my blog, after a week of 'error on page'. But I cannot, for the life of me, understand why I seem to have difficulty in copying and pasting pictures for my entries to make them a tad more interesting; although my entries are interesting enough as they are, with or without pictures (hahaha!). I added some page elements too, considering that I've kind of branched out a bit to include reviews of my favorite movies and books. So on the right-hand side of my blog, there's a List. Inspired by John Grisham's The Last Juror, I added a Religion Corner, which will consist of Bible passages, or prayers to Saints, or anything that has to do with anything religious. I also added a Currently reading... corner. The title of the said corner pretty much gives you an idea what it is about, doesn't it?

I wanted to add pictures, wallpapers really, of my favorite movies at the end of the blog page, but I had difficulty in making them shrink to fit. What the heck. I might be adding a few more page elements for quotes whenever I feel like it.

Anyway, I like the way my blog looks now. I'm seriously contemplating of changing the template once in a while (read: once a month), just for the heck of it. We'll see.

A Fairy Tale-y Day

It was a rather boring afternoon. I was looking through my movie collection when my eyes landed on the cartoon section. And there they were: The Cinderella Trilogy. Yes, folks, Cinderella is a trilogy.

I grew up to Walt Disney. My favorites are the fairy tale adaptations. Although Beauty and the Beast is my most favorite of the lot, Cinderella closely trails behind. Imagine then my delight when Disney decided to follow up Cinderella's story with its release of Cinderella II: Dreams Come True and Cinderella III: A Twist In Time. Everybody knows Cinderella's story; who doesn't? Probably the greatest fairy tale ever told, Cinderella has inspired more movies than any other fairy tale. She and the Prince living happily ever after is a good enough end for me. But in the tradition of sequels, I decided to get myself a copy of the second and third installments. It's nice to keep up with your favorite Disney characters.

Cinderella II: Dreams Come True is a collection of stories from the mice's perspective. There isn't much singing going on in this cartoon, unlike the original, but the animation is more luxuriant. The songs have a pop feel to them, but I didn't like them that much because Cinderella is, well, a classic. Leave the pop songs to, say, Aladdin. There isn't much magic going on in this installment either; except for the second story when Jaq, you know, the mouse, wished himself to be human. Other than that, none of those wand waving and 'bibbidy-bobbidy-boos'. Quite a disappointment, really. But still, Dreams Come True was cartoon fun.

Cinderella III: A Twist In Time is an exciting look at what could have happened if the slipper hadn't fit. The Fairy Godmother accidentally knocks her wand away and it lands right in front of Anastasia. Fascinated, Anastasia brings home the wand to her mother, who, instead of just magicking back her family's affluence, seeks revenge. She summons the forces of nature and turns back time to the day of the slipper-fitting. With constant waving of the wand, the stepmother manages to have the slipper fit Anastasia and the Prince to fall in love with the latter. The fun begins with Cinderella trying to convince the Prince that it was she he danced with at the ball, she he fell in love with.

There's sinister magic in this third installment; none of the innocence of the original. But I thought it was what made the cartoon exciting. At least there was magic. It was nice to hear Cinderella and the mice singing again. But what I really loved about this cartoon was the more active participation of the Prince. He was given more lines, more screen time, a meatier role: This was definitely his cartoon.

Next cartoon project: The Aladdin Trilogy.

Food Trippin' Weekend

It was one of those long weekends: Friday, the 12th, was declared a holiday, it being the end of the Ramadan. Somehow, though, I didn't feel the weekend was long enough. It's almost Monday and I'm like, 'Where did my long weekend go?' Well, where DID it go?

Thursday night was spent watching Season 9 of Friends. I had a blast! I laughed so hard I don't think I can wait long enough to buy the entire series. I laughed until the wee hours of Friday morning so, naturally, my Friday was spent sleeping the entire day off. And now I'm asking myself where my weekend went (rolls eyes).

At least Saturday was kind of productive. I had a haircut at David's, the parlor I always go to for a nice do. Then my cousin and I headed off for SM North and that was when the fun started. Hungry, we searched for a new joint to sample. Tokyo Cafe was right there along the passage from The Block to the cinemas, and the food looked sumptuous, so we dived right in.

I didn't notice the interiors but I do remember that the place was small, cozy small, that is. I noticed the really big Italian backdrop though so I sort of did a double to see if we entered the correct place. Yes, we did. It was time to order.

I'm not a fan of Japanese food, so I went for the safest: chicken recipes. I had the Chicken and Cheese Rolls, which is a new addition to the menu. It consists of fillets of chicken rolls stuffed with melted cheese, a potato something as a side dish, and a tiny bowl of sauce which tasted very much like the sauce of an Italian spaghetti. My cousin had the Shrimp Burger, and it was huge.

My dish was delicious. The chicken meat was tender, and there was no grease, at all. It's tasty with or without the sauce; I opted for without because I'm not that into Italian sauces. By the time my cousin and I were through with our orders, we were stuffed. The servings were meant for sharing and that's quite a relief because the dishes can be quite expensive for ordinary wage earners. Anyway, it was worth the visit and I'm thinking of visiting the place again for its pizza and pasta.

We decided to walk off our big bellies, so it was National Bookstore next. I got myself a copy of the Penguin Classics: Jane Austen's Persuasion and Fyodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment. Yes, I kind of was influenced by the movie The Lake House. Anyway, I decided to head home because I had a send-off dinner to go to. Food, food, and more food!

That time around, it was Napoli's at Timog Avenue. We had the New York Classic Pizza and Seafood Marinara. It was not my first time to eat at the place. My friends and I frequent Napoli's if only because the servings are quite hefty, it's almost impossible to finish your orders. Of course, everything there is simply delicious, that goes without saying. So I was once again stuffed, which made me beg off Sunday breakfast.

Book focus:The Last Juror by John Grisham ( The Last Juror Paper )

The Lake House: Timeless Love Story

I am a Korean Wave follower, and one of the Korean movies that I really like is Il Mare. When I learned that the movie The Lake House was a remake of the Korean flick, I was a bit skeptical. For one, I'm not a fan of remakes, particularly the Asian to Hollywood type. Second, bizarre plots are Korean movies trademark, so I seriously doubted whether Hollywood could pull this off. Finally, Hollywood has a tendency of butchering artistically-made Asian films.

Anyway, the movie. The story begins with Dr. Kate Forster leaving a note for the new tenant of the picturesque house on the lake she just moved out from with a request to please forward her mail to her new address in Chicago.

Enter the new tenant, Alex Wyler, who comes across the letter and is somewhat baffled by its contents. Kate's letter mentioned paw prints by the front door, which aren't existing. The letter also mentioned a box in the attic, but the box simply isn't there. Besides, as far as Alex knows, before him, no one has lived in the lake house for years.

So Alex dismisses the letter, until that fateful day when a dog wanders in the lake house, steps on some paint, and leaves prints by the front door. Alex is reminded of the letter and in his curiosity to solve the mystery of the paw prints, decides to personally deliver his letter to Kate in the address stated in her first missive. The thing is, the building Kate is supposedly living in doesn't exist yet. The area has one of those 'On this site shall rise..' signs.

Alex comes to the conclusion that the lady might just be pulling his leg, stating an address that doesn't exist and a date that's all wrong. She dated her letter 2006, when it's the year 2004.

Kate decided to play the 'date' game with him: If he insists that it's 2004, then he better watch out for the spring snow. He scoffs at this, naturally. But then, it snows.

'Can this be happening?' he asks.

The continued correspondence between the two blossoms into a wonderful love affair which would have been perfect if not for a teeny, weeny detail: They live two years apart.

I love this movie, I don't quite know where to begin.

Everything about this movie was so calm - the directing, the actors' portrayals of their characters, the musical score - that I felt soothed despite the confusing premise. My skepticism had nothing to do at all with the perplexing premise. I initially knew that the movie was a remake of Il Mare so I expected the odd plot. Hence, I set aside all logical thoughts and suspended my disbelief; otherwise, I'd go crazy analyzing this movie and I haven't even started on the dog. This movie begs you to simply appreciate it for what it is: A love story with a powerful message that true love comes to those who wait.

My skepticism bordered more on whether Hollywood can pull off a bizarre plot characteristic of Korean movies. I was awed. I am now a remake convert, if just because of this movie. The director, Alejandro Agresti, made this movie his canvass, bringing in really amazing sites of Chicago, blending them with the actors' superb performances, and finishing it off with smooth transitions from the past to the present to the past. Needless to say, this movie was a work of art.

The movie hardly had scenes of Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves together, and this is supposed to be their characters' love story. Still, it worked for me because the actors have an inexplicable connection with each other, apart or together. Take Speed, for instance. In that movie, neither had the chance to at least gaze into each others eyes to establish the romance, but you feel the attraction is there. And if the actors' natural closeness isn't a plausible explanation to the effective love story, just look at the way they portrayed their roles. There was top-notch acting going on in this movie, even for Reeves who's usually stiff. Reeves felt wonderfully relaxed here that he had some quite powerful scenes - the train, Kate's birthday, the time when he browsed his father's memoirs. Both actors shone in this movie and I can't think of anybody else who'd portray their roles as perfectly as they did.

End result: The Lake House won both me and my quill. Why, it can't seem to stop writing praises about it! It was so masterfully directed, it is now my most favorite movie in the romance genre, so far.