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.

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