Today’s the last day of my Christmas Break (. And before my break is officially over, I want to share these movies that I have watched. That’s right, I traded these movies for lots of anime episodes but I don’t feel bad about it because I wanted to try something different… and I want something not 2D for a while…

I will not include the local films that I have seen. (Shake, Rattle and Roll 10 and Ang Tanging Ina)

Juno (2007)

This one’s recommended to me by a friend. I was looking for comedy and she said that it is comedy. But it turned out that Juno is not really the hardcore comedy that I was talking about but guess what, I really liked it. I love the story and I love the characters. I love the twist of accidental-teenage-pregnancy and romance.

I’m not sure if everyone will like it. To tell you, my tastes are kinda different from normal. I may find this interesting but majority says it’s boring. Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material, sexual content and language.

9.5/10 for Juno.

Superbad (2007)

This is the second movie that I watched. And this time, I searched for a comedy myself instead of asking my friends. If you will notice, the third guy here is the main guy on Juno. That’s completely coincidental. Ha ha.

Superbad is a story of this two best buddies (the 2nd and 3rd guy). They’re graduating high school and they’re going to different universities. Before they graduate, they will try to do something cool – something bad. Ha ha ha. I like this too.

7.5/10 for Superbad.

Knocked Up (2007)

This is the 3rd movie and coincidentally (again), it’s a story of unwanted pregnancy. The poster says it all:

From Judy Apatow | Comes a comedy about a one night stand | That became something more.

Not bad, really. I’ll give it an 8/10.

Prom Night (2008)

It’s time to switch genre. This one’s suspense. I don’t want to say something about this movie. It’s best if you watch a suspense movie without knowing anything about it. With that, you can experience the full excitement the movie is offering you.

8.5/10 for Prom Night. ^^

College (2008)

The poster says it all. It’s a story about boring graduating high school kids who wants to experience college. So they went to the college and stayed at a Fraternity house… how fun would that be?

On every forum about this movie that I went to, they say that the movie sucks like hell. Well, personally, it’s cool. I think that this movie targets teenage boys. So if you’re not one, I guess you’ll hate this.

8/10 for College.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)

That’s right. This is a comedy of getting dumped(after five years of relationship, how bad could that be?). What will the guy do to forget about her cheater ex-girlfriend? Be wary of full frontal exposure. Ha ha.

I actually like this one. Deserves a 9/10.

The Golden Compass (2007)

I only watched this because I have finished the book written by Philip Pullman. Aside from proper narration, everything is great and outstanding – the cast, the characters, the animation, the settings… everything is perfect. I think that the exposition of the story sucks. If I will ask somebody who have seen the movie about Dust, I bet he’ll say “what is that Dust? Did the movie mentioned that?” And the daemons, they are not properly introduced. Chris Weitz, please, be better, ok?

7.8/10 for this book-to-movie adaptation.

How sad… Christmas Break is over. I honestly don’t miss anything from that university. T_T

100+ Reading Challenge is to read more than 100 books in the year 2009. All books count: children’s, YA, adults, fiction, non-fiction, how-tos, etc. I hope I can make it. ^^

Yes, I need recommendations. Please…

Here’s my Want-to-Read List:

1. Brisingr (The Inheritance Cycle Book III) – Christopher Paolini
2. The Claiming of the Sleeping Beauty – A. N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice) *finished in 5hrs*
   
3. Beauty’s Punishment – A. N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice) *finished*
   
4. Beauty’s Release – A. N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice) *finished*
   
5. The Vampire Lestat (The Vampire Chronicles Book II) – Anne Rice
6. Queen of the Damned (The Vampire Chronicles Book III) – Anne Rice
7. The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials Book I) – Philip Pullman *finished*
   
8. The Subtle Knife (His Dark Materials Book II) – Phillip Pullman *finished*
9. The Amber Spyglass (His Dark Materials Book III) – Philip Pullman *finished*
10. Coraline – Neil Gaiman *finished*
11. Neverwhere – Neil Gaiman
12. American Gods – Neil Gaiman
13. Anansi Boys – Neil Gaiman
14. The Eyes of the Dragon – Stephen King
15. The Book of Lost Things – John Connolly
16. The Ruby in the Smoke (Sally Lockhart Book I) – Philip Pullman
17. Shadow in the North (Sally Lockhart Book II) – Philip Pullman
18. The Tiger in the Well (Sally Lockhart Book III) – Philip Pullman
19. The Tin Princess (Sally Lockhart Book IV) – Philip Pullman
20. B is for Burglar (Kinsey Millhone Mystery) – Sue Grafton
21. C is for Corpse (Kinsey Millhone Mystery) – Sue Grafton
22. D is for Deadbeat (Kinsey Millhone Mystery) – Sue Grafton
23. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Book I) – J. K. Rowling *finished*
    
24. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Book II) – J. K. Rowling *finished in 1 day*
25. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Book III) – J.K. Rowling *finished in 2 days*
26. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Book IV) – J.K. Rowling *finished*
    
27. Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix (Book V) – J.K. Rowling
28. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Book VI) – J.K. Rowling
29. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book VII) – J.K. Rowling
30. Fearless (Fearless #1) – Francine Pascal *finished*
31. Sam (Fearless #2) – Francine Pascal
32. Run (Fearless # 3) – Francine Pascal
33. Twisted (Fearless # 4) – Francine Pascal
34. Gaia Abducted (Fearless Super Edition) – Francine Pascal *finished*
35. It – Stephen King
36. Inkheart (Inkheart Trilogy Book I) – Cornelia Funke *finished 2 days*
    
37. Inkspell (Inkheart Trilogy Book II) – Cornelia Funke
38. Inkdeath (Inkheart Trilogy Book III) – Cornelia Funke
39. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (The Chronicles of Narnia – I) – C.S. Lewis *finished*
40. Prince Caspian (The Chronicles of Narnia – II) – C.S. Lewis
41. Nights in Rodanthe – Nicholas Sparks *finished in 1 day*
42. The Notebook – Nicholas Sparks
43. The Alchemist – Paulo Coelho *finished in 1 day*

My finished reads will go here:

1. The Golden Compass – Philip Pullman (01.02.09)
2. The Claiming of the Sleeping Beauty – A. N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice) (01.03.09)
3. Beauty’s Punishment – A. N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice) (o1.03.09)
4. Beauty’s Release – A. N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice) (01.04.09)
5. The Eyes of the Dragon – Stephen King (01.06.09)
6. The Subtle Knife – Phillip Pullman (01.19.09)
7. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Book I) – J. K. Rowling (01.26.09)
8. Fearless (Fearless #1) – Francine Pascal (01.27.09)
9. The Amber Spyglass (His Dark Materials Book III) – Philip Pullman (02.08.09)
10. Gaia Abducted (Fearless Super Edition) – Francine Pascal (02.12.09)
11. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Book II) – J. K. Rowling (02.14.09)
12. Inkheart (Inkheart Trilogy Book I) – Cornelia Funke (12.16.09)
13. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Book III) – J.K. Rowling (02.18.09)
14. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (The Chronicles of Narnia – I) – C.S. Lewis (02.24.09)
15. Coraline – Neil Gaiman (02.27.09)
16. Nights in Rodanthe – Nicholas Sparks (03.02.09)
17. The Alchemist – Paulo Coelho (03.04.09)
18. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – J.K. Rowling (03.18.09)
19. Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix – J.K. Rowling
20. Sam (Fearless #2) – Francine Pascal
21. Run (Fearless #3) – Francine Pascal
22. The Ruby in the Smoke (Sally Lockhart Book I) – Philip Pullman
23. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Book VI) – J.K. Rowling
24. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book VII) – J.K. Rowling

Eldest

After some weeks of reading this, I finally have finished this book. A very long book it is. I wonder what’s up with Paolini, writing such long novels. Anyways, Eldest is the second installment of the Inheritance Cycle of Christopher Paolini.

Actually, I really like it. Like I like it like it. Even though there’s not much action as Eragon, the story I have been looking for for a very long time(since when I’m reading Magician: Apprentice of Raymond Feist) is here. All the magic stuffs and real dragon things are here. I totally love this book. The shocking revelations and the fateful meetings… all in the same book is giving me a heart attack. Damn you Paolini.

I don’t plan on reading the third installment, Brisingr, just yet because I might end up begging Paolini to hurry up writing, editing and publishing the last book, and I don’t want that to happen. Ha ha.

After finishing Eldest, I realized that the Eragon movie is so lacking… I wonder how they are going to continue making the movie of the rest of the Cycle. The cool and exciting parts will be omitted and that sucks! I guess it’s best to watch it in the perspective of someone who has not yet read the book.

I will rate this book 9/10.

Am I being a fan of the series? NOT! I just saw the news and I thought  I wanted to put it here. Ha ha.

Summit Entertainment announced last December 13 that Chris Weitz(known for The Golden Compass and American Pie prod.) has been hired to direct the second movie of Twilight – New Moon. Weitz, they say, is one of the outstanding director and producers when it comes to fantasy and that sort of stuffs.

Summit also announced that the production will begin on this coming months and is planning to release the film towards the end of 2009 or early 2010.

It’s too bad they’re not making it back to back but I guess they want to remain faithful to the original storyline. I hope they do better this time. ^^

Eragon Movie Poster

I just saw this movie. I really wanted to see this as soon as I finished the book but I failed to find time before that’s why I only watched it today.

Yeah, I know I have been watching Movies that are adapted from books this past few days… I should have compiled them in one post…. but since I’m doing this now, so be it.

On the first half of the movie, I seriously WOW-ed because it’s fantastic… so surreal… so beautiful. Everything is narrated very clearly and artfully(if there’s such a word). But on the other half, I said “Oh no.” They tweaked details a little bit too much.

Since I have read the book, I can’t help myself but to keep on thinking about the book while watching it. From when Arya came into the scene, everything feels so wrong. Not to mention Eragon’s study session with Brom went missing. And the werecat! I thought he’s an important character. And magic, I want more magic.

If I watched this movie before reading the book, I’ll say it’s wonderful. Beautiful. The fight scenes are breathtaking. The settings, the view… so nostalgic.

Anyways, I can tell you that the story in the book is thousand times more beautiful than in the movie. So if you think the movie is outstanding, you better check out the book and see what I mean.

I’m cutting this here. I’m watching The Da Vinci Code Movie next. Ha ha.

Stardust Movie Poster

I have finished the novel some time last week so there’s no way I’m not watching the movie adaptation now. Right, I know this is so 2007 but I want to say something about it.

I really really really like this movie. Though they did not follow many things from the novel, I find it extremely good. This is the best way to transform magical words to a magical movie.

I hate myself for not being so imaginative. When I was reading the novel, there are some details I missed to materialize in my mind. But after seeing the movie, yattaa~, I finally realized it – that I missed some details. Ha ha.

I totally love the production. From the effects, to the settings, to the script, to the characters, to the acting…

I love it. I love it. You definitely have to watch it!

My rating 9.25/10 – too good for a movie adaptation.

New Moon

Eclipse

I’ve read that SUMMIT ENTERTAINMENT is moving forward to the production New Moon, the second installment of Twilight. But, there’s a rumor going around that the studio will do something different.

Um, it’s just a rumor, ok? So don’t take what I write here too seriously. Summit Entertainment might make the next movie a back-to-back of the two books New Moon and Eclipse.

I don’t know about it. Twilight alone had been troublesome to fit in the 2-hour movie, right? But there are the good and bad sides on it. Firstly, the fans will not wait for like 5 years for the whole series be completed. But the downside of it, the narration will be sure fail. The story will be crammed and will sure be messy. The character development will be rushed and pushed to the limit, to the point of ruining the real story.

Here are some possible reasons:

1. If you have read the Saga, in the New Moon, Edward (portrayed by Pattinson, the new Teen heart throb) will be away to keep Bella (played by the beautiful Kristen Stewart) from their vampire enemies. So, with Edward away, and Jacob (Taylor Lautner, a not-so-good choice for Jacob, but I think I see the reason why they chose him) on the spotlight, the fangirls will sure lose some interest.
2. Action, action… Everyone wants action.
3. It is also possible that they are rushing the movie to Breaking Dawn.
4. Twilight-ers wants more vampires and more werewolves

The question here now: is it better for them to make a separate film for Eclipse (that means little of Edward in New Moon) to make the movies more accurate and close to the novels’ story lines or should they combine the two books (they should make the movie longer… 3 hours?) because you want them right away?

For me, I don’t really care about it. Let them do what they can, and what they want. I’ll just watch the movie, so it’s not my problem. But I do hope they do better this time.

Stardust Cover

Welcome to the Faerie, where all the things you could imagine exists; where all the senseless poetry is reality… where all your dreams are on the tips of your fingers.

I personally like this book because everything feels wonderful and light-hearted, eveything feels so warm and beyond my imagination.

This is a story of a farm-boy(yeah, like Eragon) in the name of Tristran Thorn, who fell deeply in love with one of the most beautiful girl on the country, Victoria Forester. But the breathtaking woman rejected her. On that night, the two of them saw a shooting star. Victoria told him that he would accept his proposal if and only if he bring to her the same star that they saw falling from above the sky. Tristran, who is desperately in love, promised her that he will bring the same star to her. And so, the journey of this boy begins when he crossed to the realms of fantasy and of the supernatural… the land of Faerie, in which he will encounter several personality and extraordinary creatures.

Open your imaginative eyes and give this book some justice by reading it. Take yourself in the realm of fantasies of the creatures formed in the wildest of your dreams.

Twilight Poster 2

I saw this movie last wednesday, November 26, the first day of showing in the Philippines.

Edward and Bella

I’m not really disappointed with the movie because I know that all adaptations cannot flawlessly imitate the original. Of course, it is a very difficult to fit all the things viewers may want to see in the movie.

Anyways, I have noticed that my reactions are different from most of the people. They say that Bella is soO irritating, and Edward is so cool and he fits the character. I say that the Bella in the movie is the very same Bella in the book, and Edward… he lacks something, he is so hard.., and he just manipulates the audience with his charm. Ha ha. About Jacob, I agree with everyone else… eew.

For me, the movie lacks some important elements. Edward and Bella fell in love with each other too easily. Bella fell in love with Edward too easily. Well, in some ways, it’s kinda right, but based on what I think for I have read the book, they should have spent much more time together. In the movie, they spent too little time… But that’s not at all bad, it’s just my opinion.

I actually love the setting of the movie… and the characters, they are nicely chosen(not Jacob, of course). I love the scenery, I love the view… I love some moments. I love Bella, she is so beautiful. Ha ha.

I like the way they fit the running-away part for very short period of time. Though the given time was very short, the exposition of the story and the happenings is nicely done.

For the movie alone, I could give it a score of 7.5/10. And because I find Bella so astonishing, I’m increasing it to 8/10. Ha ha.

Eragon book cover

I read the first half of this book for about a week, and finished the other half in one whole day. Cool, eh?… considering my university stuffs.

Anyways, I find this book very interesting. Dragons, Riders, sorcery, elves, dwarves, shades,… what else could a guy wish for? Fight scenes, oh yeah. Urgals, boo. Ancient language, totally COOL.

This post is kinda… uhm… senseless, eh? ‘Cause I don’t want to spill a single bean to anyone who would want to read it.

Ok. Eragon is(or I mean, was) an ordinary farm boy living with his dad(not biologically) and his uncle(not biologically either). Farm boy, y’know, doing boring stuffs every single day, nothing cool, nothing exciting. Until one day, while hunting at Spine(at the foot of mountain ranges), he found a shiny stone, saphire in color with white veinlike stuff… It smells like money for him but nobody wants to buy it since it’s from Spine. Spine does not have a very good reputation FYI. An expert told him that the stone is unbreakeable and hollow inside. Ooh, interesting.

Eragon’s journey is learning everything that he has missed because he has become an important and the most wanted man in Alagaesia.

My story here is, as you see, kind of limited. Why? Because I want you to see it for yourself. You won’t regret it, I promise… unless you have no thing for sorcery and mythical creatures.

So much for this post. I have to continue reading the second book in the Inheritance Cycle. Book 2: Eldest.

Read it, read it… And then thank Christopher Paolini afterwards, ok?