General – Page 219

King Kong

By Jay Lagare on Thursday, December 15, 2005

Final exams were just done and I was looking for something to spend my time on. Enter King Kong. I decided to watch it because apparently people feel it is good: tons of cinemas were showing it (in Eastwood it was showing in ALL cinemas). Much more than any movie in recent memory. I went into the cinema with pretty high expectations.

I wasn’t disappointed.

The movie started off a bit slow: The background is set and the characters and their relationships built up. Then they stumble upon a mysterious island and it was non-stop action from there all the way to the ending in New York. You have to see the action scenes: from the dinosaur stampede, to the monster rumble, to the insect attack, to the city rampage, and finally to the battle up at the top of the Empire State Building.

It would seem like the movie got a lot of ideas from other movies. But remember that the original King Kong was where lot of other movies got ideas from in the first place.

And the acting is not bad either. Naomi Watts was gorgeous in a breathless 30s actress kind of way. Adrien Brody did well as the unexpected hero. He’s supposed to be Watts’ love interest but there seem to be more chemistry between her and the ape. Andy Serkis as the big ape himself almost outdid his Gollum. The only one who seem out of place is that comedy guy from Shallow Hal, but that’s because I saw that movie (as well as a few others). Otherwise he probably would have seemed great to me.

A classic in the making? Looks like that to me ;)

Rating: 4/5

General

Dencio’s, Metrowalk

By Jay Lagare on Sunday, December 11, 2005

The other day, my former colleagues and I had our traditional Christmas get together. We decided to do it at Dencio’s in Metrowalk instead of at Congo Grill at El Pueblo where we usually go. We should have known better.

As usual in big gatherings, people took their time and trickled in gradually. While waiting for them, one of the staff approached me and asked how many we are in the group. I told her the number. She asked what time they are coming. I told her soon. She said they don’t reserve on fridays. I told her we’ve already ordered their food. I don’t know what the problem was. Whether it’s one person or twenty, if I order food for twenty people, I deserve space for twenty people. Good thing she didn’t push the issue and the bulk of the group arrived soon after.

Then while we were eating, some of the waiters were removing plates without asking. And this is when we still had pending orders which are taking too long. Maybe they didn’t know there are still pending orders. But that’s not even an excuse. At the least, they should ask if it is okay to remove the plates. What it seemed to me is that they were running out of plates because when we asked for replacement plates and utensils, they would take their time bringing the plates and sometimes bring only a spoon or a fork with it.

Throughout the ordeal, I didn’t feel welcome nor attended to. Granted it’s dinner time on a friday and it’s the Christmas season to boot. But they should have anticipated that. So it’s no excuse. Besides, this is not the first time I’ve experienced poor service in this specific branch. So maybe they really suck at the service department. I don’t know why I still went back. But I definitely won’t again.

Rating: 1/5

General

Pi

By Jay Lagare on Sunday, December 4, 2005

Pi is about a psychotic mathematician (aren’t they all?) trying to develop a formula for making sense of and predicting the stock market. As he struggles against the problem, he is hindered by painful pyschotic attacks but which seems to lead him closer to the answer. As the solution comes within grasp, he realizes that it’s not just him who wants it.

Through great movie-making, Pi successfully draws you into the pyschotic world of the lead character for a pretty immersive move watching experience, i.e. you will almost feel psychotic too :)) As a bonus, it has a lot of interesting math information (some are inaccurate but still interesting nevertheless). Not for the casual viewer but if you’re a serious buff, it could be for you.

Rating: 3/5

General

New Trackpoint Cap

By Jay Lagare on Thursday, December 1, 2005

Selene has a new trackpoint cap. And it came from a rather unexpected source. There’s this really old busted Thinkpad lying around. It’s been lying in a corner, wrapped in newspaper to absorb the acid from its leaking batteries, and gathering dust for around five years now. There were times when I considered throwing it away but for some reason I did not.

A few days ago, I took a look at Selene’s trackpoint cap and decided it needed replacement. Then, out of the blue, I remembered the old Thinkpad. I picked it up from its corner, peeled away the newspaper wrapping, and lifted open the lid. Lo and behold! An almost unused trackpoint cap! I swapped trackpoint caps and closed the lid, carefully re-wrapped it, and placed it back in its little corner. After all, who knows when it might be able to provide a usable part? I certainly didn’t.

General

Insomnia and The Big White

By Jay Lagare on Sunday, November 27, 2005

I watched two of the old movies I recently got: Insomnia and The Big White. Insomnia is about an FBI agent sent to investigate a murder in Alaska and whose judgment was messed up because of insomnia. The Big White is about an travel agency owner who hatched an insurance fraud scheme with the help of a frozen corpse he found in a garbage bin. And what do you know? By chance, I ended up with two movies set in Alaska and having Robin Williams! That was pretty amusing! :))