I am NOT a critic. I'm merely an observer. (Books, movies, plays, musicals etc.)

With my "twin" The first time I watched Mockingjay Part 2 , my heart felt so heavy, but I still tried to see it in a good light.  It wasn't bad, but I was disappointed with a lot of things.  Suzanne Collins' message is very strong and powerful, but when I looked around the theater, almost everyone was forlorn, like they were expecting the movie to be better than expected. Well, there's that, and the fact that there were a lot of heart-wrenching scenes too, enough to make people feel morose and that's how the book made a lot of people feel too, anyway.    Jennifer Lawrence did great acting wise.  Probably that's why she is the highest paid actor, even if I still think that it is unfair.  Again, I'll leave the technical aspects to the experts.  I don't have the right to judge  or criticize  those things.   What about the other actors?  I cannot complain.  They all did their jobs well, most especially the very versatile Elizabeth Ban

The Bridges of Madison County is a 1992 best-selling novel by Robert James Waller that tells the story of a married but lonely Italian woman living in 1960s Madison County, Iowa. Wikipedia Before the blockbuster movie was shown I was able to read the book.  Everyone seemed to have read it before I did, but I didn't want to jump the bandwagon.  It was a bit controversial for someone serving in Church like me so it took a while before I read it.  When I finally read it, I think a year before the movie was shown, I couldn't put the book down.  It was a page turner for me and I found myself imagining what I would do if I were in her situation.  I had no idea that Clint Eastwood would be personifying Robert Kincaid and Meryl Streep would give life to Francesca.   I had my own vision on how Francesca and Robert connected with each other and how inviting someone over for iced tea meant something else. If I were Francesca, would I let someone like Robert in?  I'm

Set in France during the mid-1970s, Vanessa, a former dancer, and her husband Roland, an American writer, travel the country together. They seem to be growing apart, but when they linger in one quiet, seaside town they begin to draw close to some of its more vibrant inhabitants, such as a local bar/café-keeper and a hotel owner. - Written by Production There were many reasons why I chose not to blog about this, but here I am writing this entry anyway. The story was so-so.  I have seen a lot of these types of films while growing up and when I didn't know better, I wrote a lot of these types of films before and I burned the most unedifying ones. Watching this movie made me miss my typewriter.  I wrote better stories using my handy-dandy typewriter, except the ones I showed to that ______ awardee.  Which one?  I won't say because I purposely showed him the worst things I have written.   Back to the story written by Mrs. Pitt herself... Dad really wanted

Jennifer Lawrence is the highest paid or most valuable star, making RDJ only the second highest paid.  Is she worth it?  She's a very effective actor and I like her, but I think Hollywood is overdoing it.  Did she do justice to Katniss?  Of course she did, but... Mockingjay Part 2 was OK, but I did not appreciate it as much as I did Part 1.  When it was over, I was just glad it was, making me almost tell my friends I wouldn't want to watch it again, but I made a promise to watch it with them soon.  Who knows?  Maybe I'll like it better the second time around. It's not bad.  I like it too, but for a finale, I kind of expected something greater...something out of the ordinary. (I'll be watching this again on the 30th of November.  I'll create  a separate blog entry to update you if the second time around is indeed "sweeter".) Mockingjay 1

( source ) Disclaimer:  This is more of a narrative than a review Don't always judge a movie by its trailer A trailer is what usually attracts a movie goer, but sadly, even if I know at least a couple who really want to watch this movie because of the trailer, it didn't entice us to watch it.  It wasn't bad , but...  Peace to the person or group of people who made the trailer...I don't have the right to criticize you, I know, but that's what we thought of the teaser. In any case, we found ourselves watching this movie because it had the perfect  time slot.  We had ample time to have dinner before going inside the theater. We were supposed to be somewhere else , but because of the super duper heavy traffic and the Metro Manila SKYWAY was closed for security reasons because of the APEC SUMMIT we found ourselves staying in the south. Imagine, it took us an hour to get to somewhere near the Skyway from SM City BF P'que.  It usually only takes minutes o

Halos lahat ng mga pelikulang tinatalakay sa aklat na ito ay napanood ko na, maliban sa isa: Takaw Tukso. Gaya ng karamihan ng mga lahing pandaigdig, ang Pilipino ay mahilig manood ng mga pelikula.  May mga kumikita.  May mga nilalangaw o pumapalpak.  Ang mga direktor at mga artistang gumaganap ang nagsasabuhay ng mga ito, ngunit kung wala ang dulang pampelikulang pinagpaguran ng dugo't pawis ng mga manunulat, walang pagbabasehan ang pelikula.  Ang pelikulang walang kwento ay walang kwenta at minamarkahan ng X.  Kahit gaano pa ka erotic  ang isang pelikula, kailangan may sustansya ito at may matututunan sa bandang huli o kung wala naman ay mapapaisip ka dapat.  Sa madali't salita'y kailangang may patutunguhan ang isang kwento, may aral man o wala. Ilang taon na ang nakalipas nang aking binili ang aklat na ito. Nahikayat akong bilhin ito marahil dahil sa kulay at sa titulo: APAT 4  NA SCREENPLAY. Itinatampok ang Apat na Pelikulang (at teleserye) na pumatok s

( source ) It's always great watching movies at the Commercenter Cinemas A cryptic message from the past leads James Bond (Daniel Craig) to Mexico City and Rome, where he meets the beautiful widow (Monica Bellucci) of an infamous criminal. After infiltrating a secret meeting, 007 uncovers the existence of the sinister organization SPECTRE. Needing the help of the daughter of an old nemesis, he embarks on a mission to find her. As Bond ventures toward the heart of SPECTRE, he discovers a chilling connection between himself and the enemy (Christoph Waltz) he seeks.- WWW CAST AND CREW This is the best JAMES BOND film ever.  I know there are critics that don't agree with me, but thank goodness, I am NOT a movie critic, but I found at least   one  (if you don't want spoilers, don't click it) who almost perfectly verbalized my thoughts.   He is not typically Bond here.  It's true, his, for lack of a better term, promiscuity is still there , but it's