In Review: The Amazing Spiderman

The Gist

Bigger but not exactly better, the reboot to the Spider-man franchise lacks the humor of its predecessor, but the good casting choices--particularly the pairing of Andrew Garfield with Emma Stone--makes the movie entertaining and gripping in its own right, one rife with heart and action.

The Good

• that on-screen chemistry between Garfield and Stone
• nicely cast
• a gripping plot

The Bad

• Can be dismissed as unnecessary reboot due to its predecessor having a better lead and an overall better treatment of its material.
• Never quite establishes its characters, failing to cite a reason why Peter stands up against the bullies but not criminals.

Synopsis

Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) is a normal highschool student living with his Aunt May (Sally Field) and Uncle Ben (Michael Sheen) after his mother and father left him to them at a very early age. Peter grew up with this chip on his shoulder, always having a gap to fill. In pursuit of filling that gap, Peter stands up to the bullies in search of human intimacy or purpose--and it doesn't always go well. This particular trait caught the attention of his highschool crush, Gwen Stacy (Emma Watson), who happens to be an associate at Oscorp where his father's former lab partner, Dr. Curt Connors, works as head of human tissue regeneration research. In search for answers, Parker takes to asking Connors himself and, in the process, got bitten by a radioactive spider that starts his life as a rebel and as Spider-man.

Teenage Dirtbag

Considering that Spider-man was in highschool in the comics when he got bitten by the radioactive spider, it surprised me that Sam Raimi had a mostly late 20s cast on his 2002's Spider-man (Maguire was 27 then and Peter Parker was 16). Webb decided to go with teenagers this time and chose a mostly younger-looking cast. You might be surprised to know, however, that Andrew Garfield is actually 28 when he was cast and Stone, 22. Though because of perhaps how skinny Garfield is, and how--well--young Stone is, they actually look the age for the comic book hero reboot.

It Takes Two to Tango

For some reason, when you say Spider-man movie, the scene that pops to my mind is that upside down kiss between Tobey and Kirsten circa 2002. And that's because the first movie is so iconic and fun, it imprints itself to memory very easily. And also probably because it follows the comic book canon more closely than this reboot. I cannot say the same for this reboot. As with most Marvel movies nowadays, a lot of elements has been lifted from the Ultimate Marvel series. The darker tone of the movie probably had been derived from Ultimate Marvel timeline, and I wouldn't say that Marc Webb had an easy time with this. Storytelling for a great part of the first hour is a bit sloppy and leaves mess like a toddler, not really provoking one to think or at least enthrall its audience. But it gets better after the first hour.

Casting Garfield is both good and bad. On the good side, Garfield can be a really charming teen who is unsure about life and has a natural rebel in him that fit Marc Webb's idea for the refresh. On the other end, he can be a bit dull, not having the same humor and finesse that Tobey's Parker has. At best, he is full of angst and determined, though he works best paired with Emma Stone. Their pairing was a blessing to the movie, as on-screen, the pair really works--making for a cutesy couple with a believable tension and grip.

Martin Sheen was, well, mostly angry and detached as Uncle Ben--almost always strict and ready to reprimand Peter, but caring nevertheless. Just not sure is Sheen was proper for the role, I was expecting him to implode and I was disappointed when he didn't. Sally Field was far far from the Aunt May in Sam Raimi's Spiderman. This one was more antagonistic or at least less expressively caring for Peter, as opposed to the snoopy and sneaky, overly protective Aunt May in Raimi's.

On the plus side, technically, this is a better film compared to Raimi's, given the technological advances from 2002 to 2012. The CGI is more believable. And I have to give it to Webb (he, btw, directed 500 Days of Summer) for taking on an enormous job, and coming out nearly unscathed--giving Spidey more grit and making Peter less of a nerd but more of a rebel. Sure, it is similar to Raimi's, but it had a notably darker undertone, which might be how this new franchise is going to be. He did manage to translate the material to film albeit rather confused and dull at time, and at the obvious risk of being compared to the fun ride that was Raimi's Spider-man. Webb's was an antihero, a defiant kid who always had a piece of him missing, while Raimi's was a geek who loved the world, got powers, and forgot the very lessons that made him. Sure, this adaptation has its weaknesses, but in the end, comes as a whole, capable of delighting and entertaining--and at its best parts, it really is good: the last few scenes are actually very heartfelt and at one point cute, making you want to hug along with Peter and Aunt May.

Though you'd know there is a sequel only because it's a franchise, not because you really want to see one.

My verdict:

A slow Marvel with grit, but does get boring and confused. I had fun but can't really recommend it. A passing mark of 4/5.

In Review: What We Saw from the Cheap Seats

What We Saw from the Cheap Seats, 2012

Gist
Spektor might have lost a little of her humor and quirk in her newest effort, but she gains depth, coming back with often paradoxical lyrics and a dark (and possibly personal) sound not usually heard from her previous efforts. Her piano work has also become noticeably more eloquent and classical.

Overview 
The album starts with the track Small Town Moon which basically sets the mood and expectations for this album. A little lilting and easygoing--quirky but without conscious effort or need to be. The album ends, also, with the equally easygoing guitar-backed track Jessica, which I think is about a song for someone in coma, to which Spektor sings "I can't write a song for you, I'm out of melodies." This made me think how applicable it is to this album as she seems to be running out of the same wild random fervor notably present in her previous works. Her melodies have gone from quirky to emotionally deep, the sort of tracks on her album that I don't enjoy at once. Tracks with the same emotional traction like Lady, Man of a Thousand Faces, Field Below resonate throughout much of the album, save for one to three tracks. I also noticed how much she has switched from storytelling to writing heartfelt songs about heartbreak, sickness, coma, and unrequited love. She has perhaps gone more personal this time and thought of writing songs that people would not only love to sing--and be thought of as weird--but also would be able to relate to.

Favorable Tracks
The opener Small Town Moon worked amid an easygoing demeanor. The backing piano and percussion are easy to listen to and the song itself gets away with a marking phrase, "how can I leave without hurting everyone that made me?"

The new version of Ne Me Quitte Pas from 2002's Songs retitled as Please Don't Leave Me has a classic Spektor flair that blends quirky storytelling with catchy melody. The new version cuts off a verse and adds other instruments to the mix, most notably a trumpet routine that makes everything livelier.

Firewood goes for the daring as it compares humanity to a piano, with sickness and death equated to a piano being cast as firewood. This, I say, is the most emotional and memorable songs from this album, probably producing the most quotes you can need in time of depression and losing hope. The pathos is deep and the melody is deep and Regina does not spoil it by her quirky vocal antics.

The easy-going Patron Saint is a hymn to loving someone undeserving, backed up by playful and curious piano chords. It lights up mid-chorus with a cheery melody that makes it one of my favorite tracks in this album.

How is perhaps as mainstream a ballad can get under Regina's hands. The purity of its lyrics felt like Regina took the song to heart.

All the Rowboats, with its dark brooding tone, sounds like Far's Machine, in which she compares museums to public mausoleums. And like Machine, Rowboats is the noisiest, busiest track in this album.

Initially quiet, Open surprises with a good piano routine at the chorus. The song would have been pretty empty without that precious piano routine in the middle--it sounds like a spring morning coming into being. The exaggerated vowels sort of ruin the song and make it sound scary, with those exaggerated Os coming after a quiet verse.

And speaking of quiet, the very short Jessica, summing itself up in 1 minute, 44 seconds, closes the album with Spektor saying "I am out of melodies," swapping Spektor's piano for a guitar. The song feels like a conversation between two children: Jessica, who is in coma, and is about to celebrate her birthday this February, and her sister who's prompting her to wake up and grow older.

The bonus track Call them Brothers, co-written by Dishel and appears on his album, is a breath of fresh air from mostly solo efforts that Spektor dished out most of her career. The song, which is a hymn to war, is beautiful as well as haunting.

Two other bonus tracks in Russian were included. Both are written by the bard Bulat Okudzhava. Both are beautifully rendered by Spektor, which again brings to the forefront her classical piano.

Unfavorable Tracks
I like the quirky Regina, which is mostly absent here. Her quirkiest novelty work, Oh Marcello, is a big mess and did not work for me, although it seemed like a big middle finger for the whole music industry (just like how Lady Gaga keeps on using fake accents, acting like a good soul, hoping not to be misinterpreted).

The Party sounds better than Open, and even livelier, but there's a silliness to it that didn't quite work for me. You can imagine it playing at a city parade, though, with floats and confetti, but Regina needs to work on her rhymes here as those make her silly songs funny.

And my least favorite from this effort, The Ballad of a Politician, goes a la Songs. It feels like the lovechild of 20 Years of Snow and Chemo Limo and it didn't quite cut it out for me, perhaps due to Spektor trying to make her voice sound big and that just makes this effort too weird.

Conclusion
I am not sure, but Spektor feels running out of ideas, or at least the quirky ones. Gone are the days when she'd write about drinking soap she played with on the sink, singing dolphin songs, or refuse chemotherapy for a limo ride. She opts, however, to write more relatable songs about people being like a party not good for her, or a guy who falls for the wrong girl against her advices, or the impossibility of moving on from a lost love.

The general shortness of the album (the only album without a single track surpassing 5 minutes), the loss of the frenetic piano play for a more disciplined classical piano, the fact that you almost always see nothing from the cheap seats, and the admission that she's "out of melodies" in Jessica seem to be telling that she's out of stuff to write about. That or maybe she got tired of writing about quirky things. My fear is of the former. Ne Me Quitte Pas, one of the two or three quirky songs in this album, came from her 2002 album, Songs, and nothing in the album sounds like it, or of her old quirky songwriting.

You can also notice her marked change in clothing and figure. Is it possible that her music label is promoting her as a pop artist, which, of course, she is not?

Not that all those are bad things at all, but where's the funny and fun Regina Spektor? The wild Regina. This perhaps may be her darkest, possibly most personal and disciplined body of work to date, and that makes this album beautiful and a stand out compared to her previous works. It's impossible to hate what she makes, for me at least, but I can't help but miss the classic (ack) Regina who's just about quirkier and sillier, and would rather write about people inside a musicbox, two birds lying to each other, and being kicked out by the bartender. Where art thou, old Regina? Have the Skrulls taken over you, too?

Score: 4 out of 5 stars

Personals: Fly

May 2012 was a difficult time for me. Its last two weeks were particularly troublesome, mentally taxing, annoying, and emotionally wrecking. I was only so happy to see it gone. And with it, my brother who was to live with his family in the USA.

Me and my brother had an uneasy relationship, if it was at all, as one may say, a relationship expected of siblings. We were more like strangers who for some reason hate each other to hell. I am not keen on what he hates about me, but probably the fact that I breathe and that I criticize him and question his authority as often as I draw breath--and probably the fact that I have work and that I am knowledgeable and there was no escaping the fact that you cannot subdue an educated man's conviction. On my part, I hated my brother for being the biggest Bible-reading, Old Testament professing bigot that I knew. If my mother is religious, my brother thought it was best to read the Bible on a daily basis and shove it down your throat whenever he gets the chance. And he claps while you choke on it. That's to put it on a nutshell. Or maybe I am just stressing for a comic effect.

He's not very brave. We, as a family, are aware of that. He needed faith, the Bible, for a reason. Everything for him is scary or doomed to fail. He quit school early and didn't get back to finishing it amid my parents' repetitive--almost forceful--efforts. And he wasn't satisfied with just being unschooled, he thought it cool to have a son by the age of 20. And another by the age of 23. And another by 25. Another by 26. I've lost count actually. But, thank God, his children are delightful and brilliant little children capable of bringing and sharing happiness. Imagine now how he is without work, and with children, he needed something. Something to still make him a man he believes he is. He needed religion. Something to make sense of the poor decisions he has made, that it was all planned somewhat. That there was a God to blame for all of his mistakes. And the only way it can be right is if people agreed to him, to the Bible--the words of God that says everything is God's will--the perfect device for absolving yourself of responsibility.

He's a good son, nevertheless. He loved our mother. He was always there for our mother when she was sick. He cared for her, albeit with a few outbursts of temper. As for father, he always doubted if father has any love for him. The fool will probably never realize how much our father thinks of him, of how much the old man cares for his future, of how much father wants him to correct his ways and start moving. For our Dad was a mechanic, he believes everything can be fixed. Even our brother. But I am not. I quit on people. Dad wouldn't. And that's what my brother couldn't see. My father couldn't see that my brother thinks that his constant attempt to repair him is a sign of his lack of affection, but my brother couldn't see that that disapproval was the only way available to my father to express his love--even after all that he's done to himself, our father's desire for him to live decently for him and his children persists.

Amid all this, I find myself going home each night missing my brother for the past few days, worrying how he is doing in America. He was always one to ask me to turn on the wifi router as he doesn't know how to. I wonder if he's figured this out now on his own. Amid all our disagreements and the many things I dislike about him, at the end of the day, he's still family. And family is family. It's not the same household without him.

Secretly, I root for him, that he finds success and happiness out there. Although, I'm just happy he's gone. I can now play Wii all I want!

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.