I spent the Christmas/New Year holidays watching Japanese dramas, among other things. I completed seasons 1 and 2 of Gokusen, which formed the bulk of what I has watched. Looking back, I had no idea why I chose Gokusen. Maybe I was tired of WWE (haven’t downloaded any WWE PPV since…. heck, I can’t even remember). Maybe it was a random click on a bookmarked page.

Anyway, I do not regret watching Gokusen. Sure, the show was formulaic and corny, but it was a funny corny show. Every episode made me laugh, though there were awkward moments. But I do have some beef with the show.

I know it paid handsomely to stick to the formula, but they could have deviated a bit from it. The formula consists of:
* Yankumi being hired to handle a difficult class. That is a given, and the root of all the plot points. Also, is she handling other classes?
* The students hate her. At first, of course. Would it be wacky if at least one student liked her immediately?
* A student (or group of students) will get into a fight and lose spectacularly. And from time to time, it’s the same set of students who got beaten to a pulp. I wonder if insurance companies would cover the expenses.
* Yankumi runs to the rescue. She was always running. That’s why she was always late: her kawaii students were already pulpy bits when she got to the scene. She should have invested in a motorbike. Poor handsome faces.
* No warm feeling after each rescue. The poor students have to have some shred of dignity left, you know. Besides, she came in late, when they were already vegetables.
* Yankumi gets into trouble at the end of the season. She is always forced to leave the school. Sometimes you have to admire her patience.
* The difficult class manages to graduate. The school closes down soon thereafter.
* She doesn’t get the boy of his fancy. Maybe the fighting’s her outlet for love frustrations.

If you are a nitpicker, there are loads to nitpick at this series, but hey, the series is fun. As a former teacher, the show validates some of my thoughts about teaching. And on watching the show, I was glad I left the academe – if I stayed on, I would have turned into an apathetic teacher.

Acting by Yukie Nakama and Katsuhisa Namase were excellent. Namase was wicked, and Nakama pulled it off playing Yankumi – dreamy and determined at necessary scenes. I don’t dig most of the student characters, like Kazuya Kamenashi. They just frown and shout and lie beaten down. Maybe that’s why out of all those actors playing students, only Tomohiro Waki managed to stay on throughout the series.

I love the music. You should go buy it, seriously.

Gokusen the Movie is available at Yes Asia.

Gokusen the Movie is available on Blu-ray and DVD at CD Japan.

Get the Gokusen 2002 DVD Box at CD Japan.

Get the Gokusen 2005 DVD Box at CD Japan.

Get the Gokusen 2008 DVD Box at CD Japan.

Get the Gokusen 2008 DVD Box at Play-Asia.com.

Get the magnificent Gokusen Original Soundtrack at CD Japan.

Get the magnificent Gokusen Original Soundtrack at Play-Asia.com.

This is just a short review of the movie. If you like movies that make you sit on the edge of the seat; if you like movies so intense you cannot help but go to the toilet and pee, 2012 is a movie to your liking. It is like a nightmare lasting for more than 2 hours, most of it harrowing bordering on the impossible.

Leave the thinking at the lobby. There are points in the movie that will astound your intelligence. The telecommunications infrastructure is so robust and indestructible that characters in the movie were able to communicate with each other, even if the place was falling apart. Some characters talk too much despite the fact that time was at a premium. And some of the scenes were predictable; I am afraid my seatmate last night was annoyed by the fact that I kept on saying what would happen in a scene.

I like Oliver Platt. He is a character actor that can play any role. John Cusack was blah. Woody Harrelson was wacky and at his element. Danny Glover was subdued. The kids performed admirably.

The idea of putting a human element in the story fails. This is offset by the special effects. The CGI was wonderful. The disaster scenes – specially California crumbling down, the humongous explosion at Yellowstone, the destruction of the Vatican – give me goosebumps whenever I remember them. And there’s a nightmarish feel to it. I can imagine myself being in those horrific scenes.

The only conclusion that I can derive from the movie: Sony Vaio and Sony Ericsson phones will survive the end of the world. The Air Force One will not. I cannot say the same about submarines.

2012 is an enjoyable movie, and I had never seen such an intense movie since Saving Private Ryan. It is worth your two hours.

This post indexes all the blog posts and pictures regarding PlurkLakbayan 08 – Tagaytay Edition. Reviews of restos covered by the itinerary are included.

BLOG POSTS

• Billycoy – Cold Turkey
• Rockerfem – Plurk Lakbayan 08 at Tagaytay City
• Micamyx – Plurklakbayan 08 sa Tagaytay
• Out of Town Blog – Tagaytay Food Trip: Rediscovering Southern Delights
• Misteryosa.com Archives – PlurkLakbayan 08 at Tagaytay City

REVIEWS

• Pinoy Food Cravings – Manos Greek Taverna – Authentic Greek Cuisine in Tagaytay
• Food Trippings – Manos Greek Taverna
• Food Trippings – Kanin Club at Paseo de Santa Rosa, Laguna

PICTURES

• PlurkLakbayan 08 Flickr Group Pool

Orthros no Inu has an interesting premise, eye candies for the fan girls, and a slow start guaranteed to pique your interest regarding the characters.

The premise of the show was established on the first episode: basically, you have an “evil” person having the power to heal, and a good young man having the power to kill, basically reversing the roles of common archetypes. Aoi Ryosuke (played by Ryo Nishikido) was a teacher who, due to several events (an incident involving one of his students and a gang of drug pushers, and the same gang threatening to kill a detective) was forced to kill. Ryozaki Shinji (Takizawa Hideaki), a death row inmate convicted for murder, healed the wounds of the prison warden.

The seeming contradictions in the characters and their powers, and the inevitable conflict being brought about by their powers and circumstances, drive the story. It is an interesting study of human character and morality, of being forced by circumstances to do something against one’s convictions, and acceptance of what one has and what one can do. I am sure all of us have experienced doing something against our will by force of events not of our doing.

The character of Aoi is established in the first episode, but the same cannot be said of Ryuzaki. He is a convict, he is on death row, and he’s handsome as hell. So is he a bad guy? Takizawa is perfect for the role: he is handsome enough to give the character the benefit of the doubt. At first glance, there is no hint of evil in the man. Yet he has the power to heal. The contradictions in the character will confuse you enough to make you doubt your own prejudices.

As for the character of Aoi, Nishikido plays it simple – charming, conscientious – making his character likeable at once. You could feel the clashing thoughts in his brain as he was being needled by Ryuzaki to kill. In two episodes, Aoi has already killed three people. You’d wonder if there was even a conflict at all! Still, I so can relate by that internal conflict. Let’s face it – if it is not illegal nor immoral, we could have murdered a person or two.

What did I like about the drama? Yes, there’s the characters. There’s the story. The opening music and billboard’s blah, the acting’s mixed. And I am sure fan girls go for the eye candies. There’s Takizawa, there’s Nishikido, and there’s Yaotome Hikaru. Yaotome’s character development was kinda slow, and the fact that he gets billing for such a limited screen time, I wonder if he’s there for the acting, or he’s additional eye candy. This is unfair for Hikaru; maybe he’s role going to be expanded in future episodes (I had seen two, and there are 5 episodes filmed). But it was a surprising role, and he chews on it as if he’s been a bad guy since birth. His brawling is unconvincing – he does not have the build for brawling. Maybe they could have him do martial arts, instead?

And I am sure fan girls are waiting for Takizawa and Nishikido to go topless. Heck, both of them have rain scenes on the first episode, and they could have gone topless. They were waiting to see the two like these:

You are most welcome, ladies.

And to be fair to Hika fans:

You are most welcome, ladies.

Anyway, I have enjoyed watching this drama, and looking forward to new episodes. There are English-subbed copies somewhere, care of your friendly subbers. I am sure you know how and where to look. *wink, wink* For those in Japan or have access for Japanese channels, it’s on TBS every Friday, 2200 Japan time.

Buy the Orthros no Inu DVD Box Set at CD Japan.

I saw Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince last night at SM’s new IMAX Theater at SM City North EDSA, curious about the new cinema and how the movie translated one of the longest novels in the Harry Potter series. My belief is that when watching a movie, enter the cinema without any expectations; if the movie bombed, at least your disappointment will not be that great.

I report with joy that I am not disappointed with the movie. The movie was faithful with the novel without presenting all the details found in the book. Sure, there were scenes in the book that were not in the movie (as expected), and I am sure some of the fans were disappointed with the non-inclusion, like the ending scenes. However, taken on its own, the movie presented the basic plot of the novel.

The movie concentrated on character development. This movie is Michael Gambon’s and Tom Felton’s. Their characters – Albus Dumbledore and Draco Malfoy, respectively – were given the spotlight on this movie, though without taking much limelight from the lead. While they were given emphasis, I think the development was rather short – sure, you could see Draco’s torment, and much question was left in our minds. Is he intrinsically evil, or his hesitation a sign that he is somehow moral? Felton must have relished all those scenes; I know I would, if I were on his shoes.

Rupert Grint’s character Ron Weasley was a scene stealer on several occassions, the most memorable one was the scene when he took a love potion. That scene was hilarious; Grint’s goofy face is enough to make you laugh, the actions of the character more so. Unfortunately, for this movie, that’s all the character was for, comic relief. Grint’s performance here is superb, and has shown great improvement.

Emma Watson is stunningly beautiful, and like Grint’s character, Hermione has some moments in the film, though not that much. She remained in the periphery of the lead, like Ronron, but beside from that, not much. And have I told you that Watson is stunningly beautiful?

I dunno. Tom Riddle is so gay in this movie. What gives?

Daniel Radcliffe. What can I say? Harry Potter has gain confidence, but the scenes where he tried extracting that memory from Professor Horace Slughorn were unconvincing. But Radcliffe did justice to the Felix Felici scenes. It was a riot, but not as riotous as that of Weasley’s love potion scenes. What’s with potions in this movie? Oh, that Potions book, LOL.

The cinematography is mixed. The scenes at the Great Hall could have been shot better, but most are shot well. There were none of those dizzying, zooming-into-giant-watch-tower scenes. And the quidditch game in this movie (plus the Gryffindor practice scenes) is the best in the series. Too bad the scenes were not 3D. And that cowboy scene (where Dumbledore was firewhipping the Smeagols) was awesome.

Speaking of which, I couldn’t help but point out that the Vanishing Cabinet reminded me of Narnia, and the ring-horcrux reminded me of Lord of the Rings. I am sure my seatmate was annoyed when I pointed them out. Sorry, couldn’t help it.

Overall, the movie is enjoyable 2.5 hour (estimated) spectacle. I suggest you watch it.

—

Should you watch it on IMAX? I think the movie’s worth the Php 400 price of admission, but take note that the 3D scenes are just around 12 minutes, all of them at the beginning (including the trailer). It was my first time, and I was awed by the effects. My seatmates were annoyed because I kept on saying “Whoah!” the entire 12 minutes.

SM City North EDSA’s IMAX Theater is probably the smallest IMAX theater in the world. When news broke out that SM was putting up an IMAX on SM North, I was excited because finally, I don’t have to go to the south just to watch movies in IMAX format. But when they announced the opening last month, I was incredulous because I pass by that mall everyday and I did see any tall building being built. Basically what SM did was convert one of their cinemas into IMAX. Hence the smallest IMAX theater in the world.

At least it does not smell like San Miguel-Coca Cola IMAX Theater in SM Mall of Asia. =P

(Yes, lens flare. Thanks, JJ Abrams.)

For the last two weeks, two Santacruzans passed by our place (one per week). Both of them were sad images of the current times.

I used to remember Santacruzans of old. Growing up in the metropolis, these events were refreshing, a gust of fresh air to clear the stale atmosphere left by modernity and a hectic lifestyle. Every weekend of May, we looked forward to Saturday nights. They used to be grandiose spectacles – bright, cheery, and smoky. Yes, smoky, as they use firecrackers in these parades (I dunno what were kwitis for, but lusis I could understand). There were karosas with generator sets after them, exuding light in the dim road. There were young men in barong, dashing but most of the time a bit awkward or shy (or both). There were young women in white gowns, their smiles as bright as the sparklers, waving their hands as if competing in a beauty pageant. There were the busy moms, attending to their sons and daughters, like stage moms do.

After the parade, the busy road became dark and dreary, the way it was ever since. It remains dark and dreary during nights.

After twenty years or so, we moved to a different city. The atmosphere is different. There is no busy road, but it can be dark and dreary from time to time. Time rolls so slowly yet it passes quickly you’d not notice it. Poverty is more pronounced, more obvious. The improving economy always has its victims, and I wonder if this place is one of them.

Last week, when I heard that there would be a Santacruzan (and a niece would be part of it), I took my camera and prepared for a night shoot. I am not fond of using the flash, but I thought the lighting would help. I was wrong. A cousin borrowing a rechargeable flashlight was a sign.

It was a sad spectacle. No more fancy karosas with gensets. No more torches. Heck, no candles. Some relied on streetlights (and you know how reliable these are). Some managed to scrounge up rechargeable lamps and flashlights. There were occasional kwitis, which had no purpose but to announce the incoming pageantry of patheticness.

What were worse were the participants. They looked apathetic, bored, obviously forced by their moms to wear these uncomfortable clothes. Heck, a man was texting while walking, clad in a barong, unmindful of the woman whose left hand was in the man’s right arm. The girls were not smiling. It was pathetic.

Yesterday was another Santacruzan. This time it was late afternoon, so I had the benefit of fading daylight. But it was no different. It was a repeat of last week, only with daylight. The daylight did nothing to lighten up the mood. The walking young men and women were still wearing frowns, while the stage moms were laughing like crazy in a barangay van.

What a change twenty years have done.

Producers of Amazing Race should watch Angels and Demons and take notes.

Forget the factual errors. People, this is a work of fiction, despite the author’s claims of facts. Ignore that claim, so that at least you could enjoy this movie. See, strip yourself of these assumptions, and the movie’s kinda entertaining. Besides, most of the people who had read the book claimed that the movie is better.

The basics: Harvard professor Robert Langdon was summoned to the Vatican to solve a mystery. The Illuminati sows terror on the Vatican by kidnapping 4 cardinals and planting a bomb that could decimate the entire city of Rome. Then an Amazing Race of sorts revealed that the enemy is within.

The first hour or so was rather tedious and tiring, and the Amazing Race section was a bit fun to watch (because they were always too late). The movie will keep you guessing who the antagonist is – unless you have read the book, that is. But if you had read the book, there were changes made that will surprise you.

The scenes were marvelous though most of them were shot on soundstages, but they were almost real! It was as if you were down in the grottos when they opened the tomb of the deceased Pope. I had seen pictures of this section of the Vatican, and the scene looked as if they were indeed below St. Peter’s Basilica.

The music was rather flat, a surprisingly flaccid output from Hans Zimmer. I was expecting more choral works, bordering on the sacred. It is understandable that this is a suspense movie, but still…

Overall, this is a good movie to see, as it is entertaining enough. Just sit back and enjoy, stop “intellectualizing” while watching the movie. Looking for errors would only spoil the fun.

Speaking of errors, there are loads of pages on the internet regarding errors of this movie/novel. I’d like to point out two issues. The first one was the appointment of a mere priest as the camerlengo. This position has always been assigned to a cardinal, true. But a Pope can always change this, as much as Gregory VII dissolved the office of Archdeacon (predecessor to the current office of the camerlengo).

Next, which was not pointed out yet (as of this writing, or maybe I haven’t scrounged them all): the scene where they opened the deceased Pope’s tomb. In the current practice, the body is encased in three coffins. The first is made of cypress, the second, of lead, and the third coffin, made of elm. In the movie, it was obvious that only one coffin was used. (As a note, the disfigured face shown was similar to what had happened to Pius XII).

I thought that what I was eating mirrored that of life in general, and particularly life in the workplace and the economy.

Last year, I bought a Hershey’s Cookies and Cream donut:

A few days ago, I bought that particular donut:

Spot the difference. And yes, that’s how life has been since last year.

I was looking forward to watching the new Star Trek movie ever since rumors of a new movie (and a reboot) surfaced three years ago. I am not the in-the-details fan (though I like details), but enough of a fan to be worried about diverting from the established canon. I was following the news (via TrekMovie.com), from the official announcement by Paramount, to the introduction of the cast and creative team, to the release of the official trailer. I was glad when they casted Leonard Nimoy, and saddened that William Shatner was not in the movie.

So, seating at the third row from the back of San Miguel – Coca Cola iMax Theater at SM Mall of Asia last Monday with silent anticipation, I was wondering about what would I see. When I saw the stars of the Paramount logo, I sat back, relaxed and prepared myself for surprises.

They said that it is not your father’s Star Trek. And indeed it is not.

I was staring at the screen, my brain embroiled in conflicting thoughts. A part of me winced for every fabric of Star Trek becoming alien to me; a part was awed by the beauty of what I saw; a part was annoyed by what I thought was unnecessary lens flares; a part was laughing at the jokes; and a part was relieved that the movie was glorious.

Relief: that was the emotion that I had felt when the end credits began. The use of Alexander Courage’s Star Trek theme at the end credits, I think, is testament to the creative team’s effort to honor what has been done. Yet, the reboot was nicely done, and I am sure those new to the franchise would appreciate the movie without getting turned off by technobabble. Only the die-hard, strict-stickler-to-canon Trekkers would diss the movie. In the end, I thought that the movie should be judged by itself, without the baggage of canon. Besides, it was an exciting and exhilarating adventure.

But still, it would take time to get used to the changes. The Apple-store like bridge, for example. And the engineering section looked like it was in the building basement, not in a starship. Also, I found the uniforms in Starfleet Academy more cool than those worn in a starship. Some of the changes were radical, what we have now is a revolution, the Star Trek world topsy-turvy.

I find the antagonist to be weak. Eric Bana’s acting was so low-key, you would have thought he was not the villain. He should have brought more anger even if in a subdued way. The character was just not angry enough. The fact is that I find the villain’s motive to be kinda lame (and it was already done before – Khan Noonian Singh, is that you?).

Michael Giacchino’s score was glorious. I am not familiar with his music, and when he was announced as the one who’d score the movie, I was ambivalent. Sure, he did Ratatouille and some TV shows, but for me, an epic score is a John Williams, a Jerry Goldsmith, a Hans Zimmer. Well, I was proven wrong, and now I am looking for the OST. I was used to hearing a strain of Courage or Goldsmith’s theme at the start of a Star Trek movie, and when the new movie started, I was a bit disappointed and thought that it was really a hard reboot. The music at the end credits, like the movie itself assuaged this thought.

I find the reboot clever. Lest I spoil the movie for you, I think the idea for the plot was a win-win idea from JJ Abrams and the writers. If the story line bombed (but not that much), they could always explain it away and then make another one that is more in line with the canon.

To conclude, Star Trek is a thoroughly enjoyable film, which old fans and those new to the franchise can appreciate. Go see it. And if you can, watch it on iMax.

Taking advantage of a needed business meeting in Alabang, Gareon invited plurkers Jenijenjen, Juned, and me to Alabang and Parañaque for some food trip. This time, we made sure that a south-based plurker will join us, and Jayvee consented to be our tour guide of sorts he he.

Two hours late, no thanks to the infamous SLEX traffic, Jayvee met us at Cafe Año for a very late lunch (at around 2:30 pm). We wanted to try Kanin Club (which we had tried last December at Sta. Rosa), but they close at 2PM, so no dice. Anyway, food at Cafe Año is good, though they can be a bit pricey. I got their Pork Belly Adobo for Php 385. The pork was cooked adobo-style then fried. It was served with rice, achara, and a slice of tomato (which I gave to Jen). I was afraid that the pork was tough, since most fried pork tend to be tough; I was surprised it was very tender. Since this is pork belly, those who watch their blood pressure should probably avoid this dish. Though I can’t blame you if you order this one – it is sinfully delicious.

Anyway, Gareon got lengua (delicious – I took a bite); Juned got a bowlful of callos; Jen got a pasta with a big green pepper (the kind that you put in sinigang) above the past; Jayvee got the beef salpicao, which Juned graciously devoured since Jayvee couldn’t finish it. We had chorizos and a cheese platter for appetizers. The blue cheese is scary, and it has a nasty aftertaste.

Gareon went off to his meeting, so the remaining plurkers decided to wait at BoNa Coffee Company. There, we found Seav waiting for us.

This sign was appropriate, specially for Juned.

Anyway, this was not the first time we went to BoNa – the PlurkLakbayan Alabang edition started at BoNa. For the second time, the item I ordered wasn’t available (Vanilla Bean Smoothie). The barista instead recommended hazelnut smoothie. I kinda missed the bubblegum smoothie, though.

We sat outside, talking about anything. Juned was thinking of recording a podcast, but the ambiance was not perfect – there was construction going on, and then it was raining. The rain was a good excuse to go inside. Jayvee then suggested to Jen to install Games of the Generals for iPod touch (I had the misfortune of leaving my iPod touch at home, but I had the headphone in my bag, boo). So the two played via Wi-Fi, with Eugene advising Jen. Guess who lost.

Gareon’s meeting over, we moved to the second leg of the tour. We had dinner at Twentyone Plates at BF, Parañaque. The restaurant was so named because they have 21 dishes to offer. The place was a house converted into a restaurant. The garage was converted into an al fresco style dining area, and some of the rooms inside were converted into private dining rooms, sort of like function rooms. We got assigned in the so-called Library room, so named because one of the walls have bookshelves. I’d rather call it the cellar, because there were more beer/wine bottles than books.

For appetizers, Jayvee ordered this kimchi roll, which I had wisely avoided, since it’s kimchi (read: it’s spicy hot). For whatever reason, Gareon kept on breaking the rolls that he got using chopsticks, while the others did not. All of them liked these kimchi rolls; they are weird people, like all others who like spicy food.

The next appetizer was this feta cheese, which was fried in olive oil, and four bread pieces. (Yes, there are four, but someone got hungry and took one; guess who?) I took a small bite of the cheese. Nothing extraordinary.

I ordered this callos for Php 265. Cheap, only that it was bland; Gareon said it had no taste. Pity. Also, at this point my stomach chose to grumble and rumble. The toilet for men was somehow broken, and I was rather shy of using the facilities for women, so there.

Jen got this spicy chicken thingie. Spicy. End of story.

Seav got this pasta dish, which he said was OK. The others got steak. What could go wrong with steak, specially if it’s very affordable (at Php 5++)? Well, Gareon and Juned ordered their steak rare, but only a small portion of their steaks were rare. Well, it’s still steak, so I am sure it’s delicious. For drinks, we got their bottomless iced tea. It was a mystery for us. The taste got better during the second pitcher. No explanation was offered.

Across the street, Gareon was curious about the Miracle Spa (who wouldn’t). Seriously. That got everyone interested in getting a massage, and I was the only holdout. I had to be taken with arms flailing and legs kicking, and I found myself at the dim lobby of Wensai Spa (don’t ask me how we got there and not Miracle Spa). Anyway, as compromise, I had a foot spa instead of a massage. It was my first time, and I found it calming. The masseur (the only one who was available at the moment, which says a lot about the popularity of the place) was courteous; he even asked me to tell him if I feel any discomfort. I think he knew it ws my first time, as he guided my feet into that tub. I almost fell asleep, but I was busy plurking.

Also, I took the opportunity to use their toilet (hihihi).

On our way to Twentyone Plates, we noticed that spa places were like sari-sari stores; there are plenty of them along that main road. The area must be the spa capital of Parañaque. Business must be good. Also, many of them cater to Koreans, evidenced by billboards in Korean.

Gareon got hungry after the massage, so off we went to Cafe Francais. The place was quaint; the building was concrete, but the table and chairs were old, antique-looking (but definitely not antique). Funny thing is, the non-smoking area was at the inner-most area; Gareon says this is expected, since the owner is a French man.

I was not in the mood to eat (what with the toilet episodes earlier), so I got an iced tea shake (at Php 145 pesos, not cheap); besides, it was almost 1AM. Jen got coffee, Jayvee fries and San Mig Light, Juned sausages and Cerveza Negra, and Gareon spaghetti with meatballs. Everyone expressed satisfaction with their food; Gareon said the spaghetti was good (count how many time the word “good” was used in this post).

The tour ended with us departing back to the north. Our thanks to Jayvee for playing gracious and very patient host. There will be a next time, I guess.

The trip home (and the trip going south) was laughter galore, with entertainment provided by Juned, with his interpretation of music blaring in the car. Jen had contributed to the laugh trip. Unfortunately, everything is off the record. Sorry.

Now the only remaining place to visit is the east Metro Manila.

PS: My only regret is that we haven’t tried Elfav. Maybe next time.

(All photos taken using Olympus E-420. All the pictures are posted at PlurkLakbayan 09 – The Paranacue Tour album over at Ovi.)