Personals: On Marriage

Williams and Gosling play a young couple
crazy over each other in Blue Valentine (2010)

At the early age of 17, I have thought to myself that I am not the marrying type. Blame it on my frequenting HBO and watching Carrie Bradshaw and pals express their disdain on the accursed ceremony that measures women (more or less). But, hey, they have a point. People stay together for love, marriage is only important if you're a practicing Catholic or if you want legality over insurances and conjugal properties. For financially secured people who have no trouble finding a new place and who don't have kids (or can't have), marrying is irrelevant.

Plus, let's face it. These days, happily ever after, if you're lucky enough, means three years.

A marriage that occurs too early in the relationship, especially for our country, may only result to a lengthy and expensive annulment case--which destroys every bit of happy memory a couple may have shared and chose to keep. It is thus more logical to keep the M word at bay until, say, the 6th year of the relationship--when you are really really sure that you can wake up everyday to the same face and find the happiness you went in the relationship for amid the nagging voice when you purposely left the dishes on the sink the other night.

The same couple above, now older and falling apart.

Relationships take real work. One day you are crazy over each other, then the next you realized you've spent so much time getting to know someone only to find out that the other person is a stranger. Imagine wanting to get out of something you didn't sign up for, but thing is you've signed up for it. In front of the state. In front of the Church. And all that ties to your property, and it's all gonna be messy and emotional. No one breaks apart without an expensive emotional cost. And aren't we all afraid of that emotional cost? Yet we see a lot of people so sure, so headstrong, diving into marriage only to bemoan that it did not work for them, that they are unhappy, that they want to make it stop.

Love is easy. Commitment is difficult. And marriage is a commitment of a lifetime that can screw you and your partner for the rest of your adult lives if you made a mistake. And if you have kids, good luck with them as well. It is the right thing to do, most of the time, but not always the easy thing. And with what I've experienced so far, it is the last thing on my mind. To me, I feel, as long as a relationship is happy, marriage is only for papers and legality; it is a lock to assure that the happiness remains confined within two parties and two parties only.

I respect the sanctity of the sacrament, thus my feelings towards it is both of fear and trepidation. I would always doubt if it is for me, or if I am the marrying type, not simply because I watched 4 whiny American women bash it only for all of them to end up marrying, but more for the fact that it is not something I can be honestly completely comfortable with. Maybe when I find the right person, and when the right person decides that I, too, am the right person. When I've found the lion after all the giraffes. And when I am the lion, too, to that lion. Maybe then can I say that marriage is something I would need.

Milk Tea Stop Round-up

I've been a milk tea drinker back to the days when it was only Quickly that serves it commercially in the malls. Eventually, the trend caught up in the metro, so much so that it started to eat up the "posh coffee" market share. I guess I would say that I have had my fair share of milk tea drinking experience enough to start writing this article that aims to round up the tea stops in the metro and give you, dear reader, a definitive guide on your milk tea choices. I am rating each milk tea stop based on 4 criteria: taste, variety, price, and service. A full star is awarded if they meet the criteria, half if it can be improved upon, and no star if it will take a long while to improve. So let's begin, shall we?

1. Zen Tea 2.5 out of 4
Relatively a lot cheaper compared to mall-based contemporaries, Zen Tea gives the best bang for the buck if your tea drinking is insatiable enough to require a serving per day. For a measly 65 pesos (sure that still can buy you a fastfood lunch) compared to the average competitors 100/tall tumbler, Zen Tea is a popular choice among students. The price you pay for its affordability? The taste. For one, the tea is not that recognizable, and so as the milk. Their products content themselves at being mildly sweet, so discerning one tea flavor from another is quite a task, amid them having quite a varied product line. They may have some revelatory surprise in the form of their Almond milk tea, but for most of their offerings, their tea mixes dangerously tread the watered down territory. Gladly, it doesn't cross the line and remains quite good amid the cheap price. Still, I have to question where they source their workers. I feel like they were former bus stewards or drivers even.
Best Sellers: Almond Milk Tea (aka Sky), Yogurt Cream Milk Tea, Pearl Milk Tea
Suggestions: their egg pudding is unusually really sweet, but add that to their Sky Milk Tea and wow a revelation happens.

Scores:
Taste: .5
Service: .5
Price: 1
Variety: .5

2. Gong Cha 3.5 out of 4
Probably a late-comer to the scene as it opened more in the South whereas the milk tea boom was up in the North and East side of metro, Gong Cha quickly caught up and gained reputation as the best milk tea in the metro. And that is not without reason, they probably are. Their milk tea has a distinct creaminess that you might not find in other brands. And while their milk cream looks strangely similar to Happy Lemon's cheese topping, it functions differently as a creamer instead. The price does not rip you off and for 95 bucks, you got a huge huge tumbler. Problem is, most of the time, half of that tumbler is ice. Request for the less ice option and your tea will arrive to you lukewarm. Kind of a huge problem, actually. Should not really bother you as even as those ice melt to water, the tea rarely tastes watered down. You would almost always see a long queue in Gong Cha, but it doesn't take long to get served as the service is often fast. Variety, yep, they have that, though I doubt anyone has actually explored their menu beyond Wintermelon and Earl Grey Milk tea. Those are their two most popular mixes.

Gong Cha Earl Grey Milk Tea with
Grass Jelly, pudding, and pearl

Best Sellers: GC Wintermelon Milk Tea, GC Earl Grey Milk Tea, GC Chocolate Milk Drink
Suggestions: Skip trying the Ice cream Milk tea and try a Taro Milk Tea with an additional Gong Cha Milk Cream, this shall send you straight to heaven.

Scores:
Taste: 1
Service: 1
Price: 1
Variety: .5

3. Happy Lemon 1.5 out of 4
Let's admit it, people go to Happy Lemon for their Rock Salt and Cheese drinks not for their milk teas. Going to Happy Lemon for Milk Tea is like going to eBay to find a wife. It's just not logical. While the rock salt and cheese drinks are to die for, their milk tea offerings are at best questionable, having too much strength that rival freshly brewed coffee without creamer or milk. It just doesn't go well with anything. Plus, don't let me mention the variety. The only variety they can offer on the milk tea department is the sinkers you can add to your milk tea. That's about it. Drink-wise, Happy Lemon is perhaps the most creative beverage stop there is. But for milk tea, you can get better elsewhere. Price is ok. 100 pesos for a medium (grande in Starbucks lingo) sized tumbler is an industry-standard. But still, milk tea from Happy Lemon? Can you see the long line? Girl friend, you need some intervention.

Happy Lemon's Cocoa with Rock Salt and Cheese

Best Sellers: Cocoa with Rock Salt and Cheese, Green tea with Rock Salt and Cheese, no milk teas at all.
Suggestions: Bored with the cheese drinks? Try this: order their Cocoa milk tea and request for an additional cheese. It's actually good.

Scores:
Taste: 0
Service: .5
Price: 1
Variety: 0

4. Bubble Tea 3.5 out of 4
Bubble Tea started as early as March 2008 when they opened a branch in Megamall lower ground. Their menu has changed very little since, and their rainbow tea selection (I'm calling it that as their selection seem to be a lot more colored than others) remains unchanged to this day, save for an inclusion of one new flavor introduced early last year. There is a reason Bubble Tea is popular other than its age in the Philippine market: they are the only tea stop that is actually a full Japanese restaurant. You would find it difficult to order anything unpleasant from their menu. Their milk teas are really creamy without losing sight of the tea, and one flavor is easily distinguished from the other, such is the case that choosing your favorite milk teawill be another difficult task. Avoid the coconut milk tea and coffee milk tea, though. Price point however is challenging. For a Grande size, they are charging 125 for the milk teas and 95 for non-milk tea items, straying dangerously near Starbucks territory, though you would find the convenience of not having to fall in line worth the extra pay. Plus, hey, free pearl or pudding with one of metro's best-tasting milk teas. Service is also hard to find fault from, everyone is nice and I have since become a frequent customer.

One of my favorite drinks from Bubble Tea:
JCC Iced Coffee. Yum!

Best Sellers: Taro Milk Tea, Royal Milk Tea
Suggestions: You really are going to have a hard time to go wrong with Bubble Tea, but you can try their Japanese Cheesecake Cream Iced Coffee for something new. Their iced teas are also suprisingly special, like the Lychee iced tea and Green Apple iced tea.

Scores:
Taste: 1
Service: 1
Price: .5
Variety: 1


5. Serenitea 1.5 out of 4
I cannot, for the love of me, understand what people find so good about Serenitea. Is it the cute mascot, the great store layout, the tea? I have no idea, but I personally avoid buying anything from Serenitea. Their teas, for whatever flavor you choose, all taste alike. I once ordered a Royal Milk tea and a Strawberry milk tea, and lo and behold, the only difference was their color. I find their milk teas too watered down and a tad too strong. It's like drinking iced water with some milk tea on it that bites. Service borders on the flimsy side. Last time I went there, they didn't inform me that there are free sinkers for the large sized drinks and they just served it off with pearls. Also, the beautiful ambiance their stores have is paid off by the fact that it's really warm inside. I practically sweat a bucket the last time I was in Serenitea in Eastwood. Same thing occurred in their Galleria branch that I decided to step outside while waiting. Price point is great. Same price as Gong Cha, though with a crappier tea on it, so I am not really sure that's a plus, but I'll give them that nonetheless. Their Okinawa tea is their most renowned offering as it's the only thing that doesn't taste quite like the others. Still, a meh for me.

Serenitea in Eastwood Cybermall

Best Sellers: Okinawa milk tea
Suggestions: Don't. Walk. In. In case you have, you'd be glad to try their Yakult offerings which are not really milk teas but will save you the trouble of ordering anything watered down.

Scores:
Taste: 0
Service: 0
Price: 1
Variety: .5

6. Sip 2 out of 4
What happens when you marry Bubble Tea offerings and Serenitea flavors? Sip. Yep. Another one of the watered down disasters, Sip does not offer anything good beyond the cute mascot and the deconstructionist layout. I have to give them credit for trying, though, they have a vast array of sinker offerings--albeit completely not being able to offer egg pudding! They have fruit crystals, popping bobas (which are horrible, forget them), jellies, and the basic pearls (which, in the two times I visited them, always manages to run out). Flavors are like Bubble Tea, but the taste borders closer to Serenitea, and sometimes even worse. Their hand-made taro milk is also hard to drink and extremely pulpy (in a bad way, I've tried a hand-made taro milk tea from somewhere that tasted really nice, not like this one) that I threw it midway. When I tried that one, it was like drinking vomit. Yeah, that bad. Service on Sip is really slow. On the times I visited them, they managed to make me wait for more than 10 minutes. The server reasoning that they only have one machine and one person to prepare the orders (which happens to be the same cashier). Seriously? What you may want to try is their imitation of Happy Lemon's rock salt and cheese, their Chappuccino, fusing out creamy Milk tea with a thick milk cream. My friend loved it, I thought it was OK, if not too sweet. Price point is standard, if not a bit non-standard just like how Bubble Tea was when they started. 85 for the cheapest and plainest milk teas, and as much as 100+ for more sophisticated ones. Sinkers don't come free.

White Chocolate Milk Tea with Choco Pudding

Best Sellers: Milk tea with pearl, Chappuccino
Suggestions: Settle it safe with their Chocolate Chappuccino or go adventurous with their White chocolate milk tea. Just don't ever get the popping bobas for sinkers. Terrible idea unless your drinking juice or iced teas.


Scores:

Taste: .5
Service: 0
Price: 1
Variety: .5



7. Saint's Alp 3 out of 4
A relatively new entry to the milk tea race is Saint's Alp. It has only two known branches (known to me, that is), one is in Katipunan and the other one at Global City in a somewhat obscure location. Their tea offerings are perhaps the creamiest I've tasted; their Taro milk tea, even besting Bubble Tea's, and their tapioca pearls having a joyful chewiness to them. Price is below Bubble tea's by 10 pesos but may very well challenge modern coffee shops--even their rustic and cozy interior will remind you of Starbucks, heck even the way the posters were styled. A grande milk tea sets you off 110 bucks. Sinkers are very limited, I believe, to pearls and puddings. Their offerings offer less variety but is more imaginative than its nearest competitor, Bubble Tea, though, still, for that price, I don't want to be falling in line, but I am pleased to say that Saint's Alp's crews are hospitable and pleasant.

Best Sellers: Taro Milk tea, Almond Milk tea
Suggestions: I urge you to try their bestsellers. Though, good luck with the Almond milk tea as that easily runs out of stock. Their classic black milk tea is also worth the try.

Scores:

Taste: 1
Service: 1
Price: .5
Variety: .5

8. Cha Time 2 out of 4 (Revised: 3 out of 4)
There's just no going around the fact that Cha Time and Serenitea are the most popular milk tea stops in the metro. It has a presence in major malls, shopping locations, and commercial areas. Chances are, you've passed by either and happen to see a major queue happening. If that piqued your curiosity for Cha Time, I'll be glad to tell you that you can skip it. Though they have a huge variety of drinks to choose from, hardly any is really good. Most taste watered down, the only exception being their chocolate mousse drink which, sadly, tastes nothing special--in fact tastes like MILO. Their Yogurt teas are somewhat reminiscent of Happy Lemon and Serenitea's Yakult mixes, so you're not missing much there. Service is quite fast on the other hand, and, just like Serenitea, uses that buzzing plastic circle thingy. What is their claim to fame, then? Well, perhaps the authenticity of just how Chinese their teas are, and by that I mean how unsweet. Theirs is the least sweet milk tea from all the tea stops I've been to and perhaps older people will enjoy these offerings, but not me, especially when the ice melts, heck it's just like water. Price point is same as Serenitea, maybe the reason why Cha time is quite popular. But for that price, wouldn't mind walking around, trying to look for a Gong Cha.

Cha Time's new Banana Milk Tea--indeed,
a revelation

Update: 06/10/2012: So I gave Cha Time Megamall a chance and I was surprised by how different their milk teas taste as compared to the one in Galleria. The new Banana milk tea absolutely tastes watered down in Galleria, while in the newly opened Megamall branch, it does taste like banana milk. Just the right sort of sweetness and not too watered down. The same can be said for their Taro milk tea which is, unfortunately, blessed with Taro bits that can spoil the flavor. I am thus revising the score of Cha Time to 3 out of 4.

Best Sellers: Grass Jelly milk tea, Lemon Yogurt Tea
Suggestions: Don't. Walk. In. I have no idea what causes lines in Cha Time, but seriously, the Grass Jelly Milk Tea is the best you can get and that's not even good.

Scores:

Taste: 0
Service: 1
Price: .5
Variety: .5

Revised Score (06/10/2012)
Taste: 1
Service: 1
Price: .5
Variety: .5

9. Tea 101 2.5 out of 4
Tea 101 opened their branch near ABS CBN (Tomas Morato) this February 2012 and very recently in California Garden Square. Their milk tea does not stray far from the taste of Cha Time, but is a bit better than Serenitea's. Though I've been disappointed with how their Royal milk tea tastes like their Wintermelon milk tea and just how awful both tastes--watered down and strong like Serenitea's. Price is the most affordable in the market, even beating Serenitea by a hair strand. For 90 pesos, you get a Venti size tumbler--with free sinkers! The variety of huge, but their milk teas are terrible as said above. Not the best, though their tea offerings are--for most of it--revelations and are one of the best in the market, I daresay. Thankfully, the service is fast and the price is just about right.

Best Sellers: Wintermelon Milk tea, Blueberry green tea
Suggestions: Skip the milk teas and try their green tea mixes.

Scores:

Taste: 0
Service: 1
Price: 1
Variety: .5


For now, that's all the tea stops I have covered. Soon, we'll add Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, Cha Dao, Moonleaf, Fruity Froyo, and others. Feel free to drop a comment if you feel I have misreviewed your favorite tea stop.

In Review: The Muppets

The Gist

Magical may be the only fitting way to describe this Disney triumph. Truly a must-see not only for the nostalgia, but also for the joy you can derive from its simplistic approach to life and laughter, The Muppets has a heart beneath all that layers of felt and fabric.

The Good

• grandly clever and traditionally Muppet nonsense sense
• nostalgia level over 9000
• the amount of laughs in this movie equals its amount of heart
• great music

The Bad

• It's not 4 hours long, for the time they've been gone, we need more

Synopsis

Walter (a born muppet) and his older brother Gary (a human) grew up together in Smalltown. Together, they grew up watching The Muppet Show and Walter dreamt of becoming part of The Muppet Show, while Gary grew up to have a relationship with Mary, a school teacher. On their 10th year anniversary, Mary and Gary are going to Los Angeles to celebrate; Gary adds Walter to the entourage to surprise him with a visit to The Muppets studios. However, what they arrive to in Los Angeles was the condemned Muppet Studios, every attraction closed, every part close to falling apart. Walter wanders inside the abandoned Kermit's office and overhears a plan between Mr. Richman, his henchmen, and Statler and Waldorf to take over the Muppet Studios and turn it into a museum. After Statler and Waldorf have gone, Richman and his gang revealed that they will tear down the Muppet Studios and drill oil, all while laughing maniacally. Walter heard all these and ran out screaming until he got home. Together, he, Gary, and Mary gather the Muppets so they can raise the money and save the studio.

Life's a Happy Song

Like in TV, The Muppets is filled with musical numbers, most of them contribute to the overall humor of the film. Most of the songs are touching or silly or both, and are at times sing-able. In fact, Bret McKenzie's Man or Muppet won the Academy Award for Best Song. As with most comedy musicals, this film is filled with silly dance numbers that adds to the movies light-hearted feel.

Bret McKenzie, with Kermit, performs one of the songs he
wrote for the Muppet movie via Youtube

The Rainbow Connection

I was 5 when I discovered The Muppets. Initially, I watched Sesame Street only and slowly graduated to The Muppet Show after watching their Music videos. I kept looking for Big Bird, Ernie and Bert, Oscar, etc. in The Muppet Show. Eventually, I got used to the humor of The Muppets. Then I grew up, the re-runs stop airing, and I forgot them. I forgot how fun they were. So when I found out that they have a movie coming up, I was like, "Meh. Probably boring." It's been more than a decade since the last Muppet movie and at this rate, they were easy to dismiss as has-beens.

As this was shown around December 2011 last year in the United States, I was fortunate enough to get knowledge of this film being a surprise treat. Without nothing much to work on other than it is a "surprise treat," I dove in to discover how true that description is.

How I Met Your Mother star, Jason Segel, co-wrote
The Muppets

Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller (who Segel worked with in Forgetting Sarah Marshall) co-wrote the Muppet movie, and the result of this cooperation is an extremely fun and rare fourth-wall breaking / absurdly funny movie filled with nostalgia and heart. The extensive use of absurd jokes such as "travel by map," "maniacal laugh," and "that was an expensive-looking explosion, I didn't know we have that in our budget" greatly surprises audiences who think that the Muppets will take itself seriously and come out cheesy. In fact, that was the last thing it did, and these absurd jokes took the movie to a level of light not achievable by real people.

But it's not all about laughs and music, The Muppets have internal conflicts, too, that showcase the heart beneath the fabric. In a way, these conflicts further gave the Muppets character and made them grow. For instance, if before we just knew Kermit as the Muppet leader and the voice of reason and order among the gang, the movie shows him also as reluctant, proud, and regretful--things you would not have known about him if he was trapped inside the TV--in fact, this approach help introduce the Muppets to a wider audience who don't have knowledge of them. Their struggle to put up a telethon with very little progress or interest from the current world (and a realization that they are has beens) shows a conflict that is, albeit light, crucial, rending, and engaging. The telethon itself is a clever depiction of a returning audience's reaction to the movie. Initially, a moviegoer may start doubtful and faithless that the movie will be good, just like the telethon where initially only hobos were watching, but as the movie progresses, you would be completely absorbed and rooting that The Muppets succeed, just like the entertained audiences in the telethon who came in flocks, eventually.

The movie's nostalgic scenes (such as the Muppets' opening sequence) and the Mahna Mahna number bring back so much memories that may be enough to make you forget that you are a grown man and cry your eyes out, and with its proper pacing, the moviegoers are guided very well, whether they are new to the Muppets or are age-old fans.

In the end, it's hard to describe exactly what happened in the Muppets. All I know is that it's nothing short of magic.

My verdict:

Not much more can be said about a movie that brings back the joy of being a child. A passing and recommended mark of 4.75/5.

In Review: The Hunger Games

The Gist

Armed with a good material, The Hunger Games manages to keep itself tense and entertaining throughout its whole running time, with notes of cleverness here and there. And though not without a few minor niggles (particularly its inability to go darker given its nature), it manages to avoid entering soppy territory and holds the audience's interest for a sequel.

The Good

• interestingly dark premise that works
• intended for younger teen audiences, but with enough grit and lack of cheesiness found in its contemporaries that make it work for a wider audience
• thrilling and tightly plot; tackles political and emotional issues, too

The Bad

• needs more grit and gore for the topic it deals with
• may not be so suitable to the younger audience it originally targets

Synopsis

The story is centered around Panem (once North America) and its 13 districts that revolt against its capitol some 74 years ago (the 13th district was destroyed during the war). After the districts were defeated, as punishment, the capitol stages an annual death match competition comprised of 2 representatives (1 boy and 1 girl aged 12 to 16) from the different districts that survived the war. During the day of the "Reaping," a day where representatives are randomly chosen, Katniss, a girl from District 12, volunteered to be a tribute after her younger sister "Primrose" was randomly picked. Chosen along with her was a baker's son, Peeta. Together, they are thrust into the death ring with only advises from a District 12 champion Haymich to save them from imminent death in the competition.

Catching Fire

I cannot state how much I do not like Jennifer Lawrence, how unenamored I am by her presence. In the two movies I've seen her appeared on (X-Men: First Class and Like Crazy), she played villain which did not help. Her catty demeanor on-screen, cold facial features, and her lack of overall appeal made me disheartened that she was picked for this movie to play lead. It however works at some level. Given that Katniss was not very likeable in the story. And that she did try her best to be, though you can see through it. That's Jennifer Lawrence through and through and she nails that part. The anti-hero. But here she was softened. She was cunning, but a little less cunning than necessary. There's a certain innocence and lack of commitment to murder that made her perfect-imperfect for the role, and as usual that angst / ferocity that make her scary to pick a fight with. Unfortunately, the story says that people liked her well enough to root for her and her young love with Peeta. As a blonde, Lawrence is likable, a bombshell, but when she goes brunette and tomboyish, all that likability is thrown out the window. The overall effect: to me, when the credits rolled, I still could not like her nor Peeta. I wanted her and Peeta to live, but I could not see any reason why I wanted to root for them other than the fact that if they die, then there's no sequel to an interesting story. I like the idea and the personality of the characters (how they both schemed to get support from the audiences), I just am not sure they were properly cast.

Swapping blonde for brown, Lawrence dwarfs her age, and her
likability as well.

Live Fast, Die Young, Make a Pretty Corpse

Director Gary Ross (who directed Pleasantville and Seabiscuit) has crafted a taut and intense thriller here. What he ended up ultimately is a product with enough depth but not not enough teeth. It doesn't go soppy and soap operatic and it does have enough heart, but it lacks that shock required from a theme as dark as throwing teenagers in a death match. What happened to mental and emotional torture? It seems as if Peeta was the only one affected by this and that no one in the battlefield seems to be affected. No one cried because they know death is imminent. Just Peeta. All the time. So does that mean Peeta is the coward of the bunch or has their lives gone so warped forward into the future that kids are not afraid of death, and, in fact, excited to kill.

The supporting cast was good. Elizabeth Banks cast as Effie Trinket was a delight, while Woody Harrelsen as Haymitch seems like a spot-on slacker who does not want to show how much he cares for his countrymen, children, who would die very soon. Josh Hutcherson who played Peeta Mellark did very well, in my opinion and is the figure of human frailty and suffering throughout the movie, the perfect underdog. Former Legend of the Seeker star Alexander Ludwig did well as support rather than lead as he played Cato. Again, my complain here was how Lawrence's character of Katniss was written. She needs to show strength, cunning, and perseverance because she is highly outclassed and outnumbered by her competition. But instead, she was depicted more as lucky, which is not someone who'd root for in a society where strentgh is a value. I am not sure, I have not read the books, but something tells me they softened Katniss for the younger audiences.

Pacing was done well and the set design was elaborate. The dialogues were pretty good and the adaptation was fine and easily digestible. The cinematography is also grand to say the least. Plot is tense and tight, the storytelling enjoyable and entertaining, but ultimately failed to evoke further depth and human pathos. It could have been the best movie, but somewhat, I felt there was some Hollywood hesitation here and there, wanting to make a more rating-acceptable adaptation, for which I wish they get over with the next installment.

My verdict:

Like Katniss's arrows, there were a lot of good hits, and a lot of misses and opportunities past. It could easily have been the movie of the year, but instead we are assured that the series is in good hands. I am staying tuned for more. A passing and recommended mark of 4/5.

In Review: My Week with Marilyn

The Gist

Williams' glowing transfiguration to Monroe will leave spell-bound throughout the whole movie and that alone is enough reason to watch and recommend the movie.

The Good

• spell-binding performance by Michelle Williams
• perfectly cast, with Redmayne, Caine, Brannagh, Dench, and Watson doing solid work all the while allowing Williams to completely shine

The Bad

• would need you to suspend your disbelief in the events that happens (as this is a memoir of Colin Clark), lest, take it as a fan fiction of sorts.
• though is pleasurable to watch, does not completely achieve a climax

Synopsis

Colin Clark, 23, applies to be a production assistant in Olivier's production of The Prince and the Showgirl. During the course of things, Olivier and Monroe's professional relationship are marred by Monroe's stage-fright and Olivier's impatience. Feeling a need to help Monroe, Clark "takes sides" with Monroe and in the process, spends a flirtatious week with her. The movie recounts that week.

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

My reaction when Williams was cast as Monroe was apprehensive. Sure she's blonde, American, a female, and has full lips, but that's about it. Williams is a good actress, but a bit too far from looking like Monroe, much more carrying her charm and allure. This is me coming from watching her in "Blue Valentine" where she played a sappy housewife who couldn't seem to attract even the flies. And remember how pathetic the housewife she played in Brokeback Mountain was? That, plus the fact that if anything, Williams does not in any bit look like Monroe. But alas! Williams manages the impossible: she recalls Monroe from the dead and becomes her! Complete from accent, diction, speech, gait, and allure. She even managed to be really sexy, though not Monroe-sexy. That transformation alone got me hooked throughout the movie's 1 hour and 40 running time. I believed it was Monroe I was watching the while time.

Seems legit

Whose Side are You On?

Marilyn explains the kind of behavior that Monroe brings to the set, which is consistent with the literature written about it: habitually late, difficult to work with, struck with stage-fright; albeit, I find it all too condensed that one will have to imagine how she became lovable, how she became the most famous woman on Earth. The movie does not bother to explain it in length, but assumes you have a basic knowledge about Monroe before you jumped in to watch the movie.

The script is fair enough, with Williams squeezing the most potential out of it. Some may bemoan the lack of depth, but it didn't really bother me as I am taking this as a biopic for which witty dialog do not really suffice or happen often, but when they do, they do. What really brings the work to life is Williams' channeling Monroe into being. It is impossible to imagine anyone playing the role. As mentioned above, she got everything spot-on, from the raspy, breathy speech pattern to the flirtatious gestures. She brings Monroe to full life when she performs a dance routine number that Monroe played on The Prince and the Showgirl. Branagh's and Dench's performance of Olivier and Thorndike were laudable, too, while Redmayne, albeit outshone by Williams, did relatively well, too.

Costume and set design were also great and add to authenticity of the movie, while the pacing is fluid and simple, which helps a lot to enjoy the movie. There are great sparks of comedy in the movie and like most of Marilyn movies, this one is light, with the darker areas mostly reflecting on Monroe's inability to cope up with her stage-fright and being near impossible to work with. It is however impossible to decide which part of the film is the climax. For most of it, the film goes on to become delightful that there is no discernible climax, but rather a series of playful scenes during the whole filming, guided by Curtis' tight direction.

My verdict:

A biopic, albeit dubious but a really enjoyable one, powered by a glowing transfiguration of Williams into Monroe is not something you'd like to miss. A passing and recommended mark of 4.5/5.

In Review: The Descendants

The Gist

A non-cheesy trage-comedy, The Descendants is one of those rare films that is mildly lying and mildly telling the truth--it does take life's tragedies with seriousness, but ends up with a childlike self-laughable behavior. Truly one of 2011's best films.

The Good

• pleasant and realistic script, serious but with a heart and candidness
• excellent performance from Clooney and everyone involved.

The Bad

• has dragging parts near end, with an unsatisfying ending
• will not feel long, but will dilly-dally on a lot of occasions

Synopsis

Matt King, father of two girls, a local Hawaii lawyer, and a failing husband, is the sole trustee of an inherited Hawaiian land, of about 25,000 acres. Having thought of no better way to resolve their problems with the rule against perpetuities, the King clan decided to sell their property to a local developer, Dolitzer for half a million dollars. During the course of the bidding, Matt's wife gets into a motorboat accident, which left her in a coma, which if she ever recovers from, will leave her in a vegetative state, leaving Matt to execute her living will of disconnecting her from the machine. On the course of accepting the bitter truth, Matt fetches her daughter from her boarding school and embarks on a journey to inform everyone about his wife's fate and dealing with his family's ancestral property.

Pleasantville

When one thinks of Hawaii, all we ever think of is parties, fun, pinacoladas, beaches, surfing, and other recreational activities. Media has done very little to expose the other side of Hawaii, that is the political dealings, the common life of the residents, and the problems that Hawaii faces, in general. Alexander Payne depicts part of that undiscussed side of Hawaii in a very lifelike light, using a realistic script that reflects American values with a Hawaiian flavor. The result is a finely-crafted mix of unexpected humor in tragic circumstances.

Surf's Up

I am not a big fan of Hawaii-based films (or TV series or TV series episodes for that matter). There is a weird feel in Hawaii being American and smack right in the middle of the Pacific. It's an uneasy mix of culture and humidity and vibrant colors that don't really go well altogether. Anything set in Hawaii makes me feel uneasy and humid and to some extent, feels corny, shallow, and predictably a surfer or beach movie. That is to say, that to me, watching The Descendants felt initially like that. But the thing with The Descendants is that it's actually a movie that normalizes Hawaii, make the beaches as commonplace and as uninteresting as a heavy traffic in New York. In a way of saying: it's a drama set in Hawaii, and not a surfer movie with some drama. Heck, even George Clooney, who is normally polished and gleaming, is disheveled and slob-looking here. That is how bigwigs in Hawaii looks like, apparently, as his character explains.

If only we can all get paid to look like slobs.

What's gonna surprise you as the movie goes on is how the dialogues, at their most pedestrian ("motherless whore," "you are such a retard"), becomes humorous and entertaining.

The whole cast did well on their parts, though I have to note Shailene Woodley and George Clooney's acting. Here, Clooney plays a vulernable and uncertain father, quite unsure of what he is doing and what he is to do after he gets the news about his wife. This is quite an opposite to the roles he has played in Michael Clayton, The Ides of March, Ocean's Eleven, and Up In the Air, where he plays a suave successful man who's figured out everything only to learn a lesson in the end. Kudos, too, to a relatively unknown Nick Krause, who did great on his role as Sid, the equally lovable and detestable friend of Alex (Woodley), for providing most of the movie's comic reliefs and that rare wisdom amid stupidity.

Scene-stealing Sid played by Nick Krause

Near the end, the story will slow down and mostly rely on visuals for the resolution. And speaking of resolution, I'm not sure I'm a big fan of the way the movie ended. Sure, that's how life is sometimes, we peek in the middle of the story and the end for us is up to how much we are allowed to peek into the lives of these characters. It's just that the ending felt kind of undone and could've been done better.

In a sense one can say that the movie was effortlessly done. There are sparks of brilliance here and there, but one may need to dig the sand for those. It's in the normalcy and how Payne managed to capture the human response to tragedy that makes this movie shine. How genuine the characters are and how relatable they are. There was very little cheesiness too as there was grit, but those worked exactly for the better.

My verdict:

A comedy amid tragedy, hindered by some dragging parts and a nonchalant ending. A passing and recommended mark of 4/5.

In Review: Hugo

The Gist

A 3D wonderment at its finest, Hugo is a family film that, while entertaining and rewarding, may discuss too many things all at once to mask its huge fanaticism for the magic of cinema.

The Good

• fine 3D experience, at a running time of more than 2 hours, it doesn't wear your eyes down
• an innocent film with a heart of a child, eager to discover new things
• finely cast with great performances from Butterfield and Moretz

The Bad

• the semi-fictional viewpoint may seem dubious for cinephiles who know the story behind Melies
• initially focuses on existentialism then does a turn for movie preservation; should have focused on one thing intensely

Synopsis

Hugo Cabret spends most of his days stealing bread and milk and winding the clocks secretly in a French train station to avoid being placed in an orphan home. His father, a clock maker, perished in a fire and left him to his drunk uncle who has been missing for months. One day, he was caught by toy shop owner George Melies who confiscates all his belongings, including his father's notebook that has all the notes on the automaton they have been working on. To get back his notebook, Hugo enlists the help of Melies' granddaughter Isabelle and together, they embark to a journey that shows them the wonder of cinema.

Not Like the Movies At All

Scorsese, famous for his gangster films, surprises everyone by directing an adaptation to a children's book, The Invention of Hugo Cabret. The book itself is based from the later life of George Melies after his decline in the industry. Scorsese followed the same course as the book did and the result was a family-friendly film. Sadly, if you know the true story of Melies and how he suffered, and how unromantic everything was going for him, you would feel as if the movie had trespassed on a lot of things that Melies has gone through. But, if you didn't know about those, you'd most likely enjoy yourself. Sorry.

Cinemagical

The problem with me reviewing this movie is that I know the real story of Melies and for me, the inclusion of fictional elements seem like an affront on the history of cinema, although a little mellowing does not hurt anyone, but this is real life that Selzsnick "fixed." Trying my best to be objective, I would like to commend on the casting of Asa Butterfield, Chloe Moretz, and Ben Kingsley into the film. Sacha Baron Cohen was typically annoying, but I guess it worked for the better of the film. And while I am here, might as well comment on how much Kingsley looks like Melies.

Not sure if Ben Kingsley or George Melies...

The pacing of the movie will initially feel slow, but actually, you wouldn't notice the running time of 128 minutes as events unfold fast enough. Butterfield's innocence also helps a lot in the movie as you will be engaged watching him.

Initially, the movie will existentialist, dealing with one's purpose of being here with analogies from machines and clockworks. Then the focus would soon turn to the cinema, forgetting the existentialist premise it initially started on. The later parts of the movie are generally dangerous due to their inaccuracy. If people were to take these accounts as true, given that Melies was a real person, one might not completely understand the real story of Melies and conclude this to be true. Nevertheless, the depiction and re-enactment of the early days of cinema were delightful and as poignant, making Hugo one loveletter to the joy of the movies, just like The Artist.

The 3D in Hugo is liquid. It does not hurt your eyes much as would other 3D movies. 

My verdict:

A family affair with a historical and existential twist. Not bad, could've been better. A passing mark of 4/5.