Okay, so it may be the the price of crude oil which affects practically everything has receded. It may be the peso is at an high against the dollar because of the influx of remittances from OFWs. That’s why inflation last month was the lowest in 27 months. But why is it that pan de sals are shrinking? And it’s not just pan de sals. Yesterday, I got myself some donuts and even they were smaller too! :o Now that could be another reason why inflation is lower. And I’m sure it’s not just pan de sals and donuts. Not really something to be joyful about. Just imagine the prospect of having smaller hamon de bola and keso de bola this Christmas season :P
The Departed
I’ll have to admit that I was leery of The Departed after seeing the billboard. Coming from Hollywood, I thought it is just another one of those gunfire blazing unlimited ammo action flicks. And the title didn’t help: It actually got me expecting some demonic horror twist. But haven’t watched a movie for so long that I actually did go and watch it. Fortunately, I was oh so wrong. The movie turned out to be pretty good. It is essentially a cat-and-mouse game between a police mole in an organized crime gang and a gang mole in the police force. There were no guns blazing. During the whole movie there were probably just over a dozen pistol shots. And there was absolutely no demonic horror twist. Instead, there was intense palpable drama full of twists and turns as the two moles hunt each other out while at the same trying striving to protect their identities and maintain a grasp on the false life (or is it their real life?) they both live. The game culminated in a tragic ending though not without a few more twists.
Okay. That was actually my review, with some word changes, for Infernal Affairs where the movie was based on. But to a large extent, it was faithful to the original and the review is still quite applicable. What Scorsese did different was to make things less complex and easier to understand (or should I say made it idiot-proof?). In that he did quite well. He also strived to develop and establish the characters more. All the actors were great for their roles except for Leonardo De Caprio (okay so maybe it’s just my bias showing :P). And finally, he culminated with a montage of death befitting a classic crime drama (think The Godfather). The end result is a great remake that can stand on its own as a great movie.
Rating: 4/5
Lunchtime Madness
While hanging out at a friend’s pad, I caught a glimpse of some of those lunchtime variety shows while channel surfing. I couldn’t help but marvel at how retarded the shows are (there goes any possible points with a starlet :P). I wonder if this is what the producers think the audience wants or if this is really what the audience wants. I really hope the producers are just misinformed because if they aren’t it would be a poor reflection of the audience.
Which Serenity Character Are You?
I liked Firefly and Serenity so I followed my sister’s lead and took this online quiz. Results are below.
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You scored as River Tam. The Fugitive. You are clever and dangerous, which is a nasty combination. The fact you are crazy too just adds to your charm. They did bad things to you, but you know their secrets. They will regret how they made you.
Which Serenity character are you? |
I always knew I was a hot psycho babe in a previous life :P
A Date Which Will Live In Infamy
No, not December 7, 1941 which was the date of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. I’m referring to September 11, 2001. The date a group of Islamic extremists attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
I remember it so clearly. My officemates and I were playing Starcraft when we heard the news over the phone. We checked the news websites and they were all unreachable. Overloaded. SMS messages soon came pouring in. One said: “The World Trade Center is no more”. I didn’t believe it.
Only when I got home and watched the replay of the planes hitting the towers and their crashing down did it finally dawned on me that the World Trade Center was really gone. And that these events has just changed the world greatly. This attack awakened the United States to a new, previously ignored, threat.
Five years hence and we wonder if the awakening has really done much. Osama Bin Laden is still on the loose. Afghanistan is still in turmoil. It can even be argued that the Middle East is more strife-torn than ever. All because of the United States’ War on Terror.
But does this mean the United States should have done nothing? No. It just means that it needs to do more and that the rest of the world has to join in. Not doing anything is just letting the threat grow to eventually come out again more destructive than ever. This threat is not just against the United States. It is a threat against the whole world. Or at least the part that wants freedom.