New moon, same emotion.

Have you seen the movie trailer for “New Moon?” I’m probably the last one not to have seen it yet. But, in my opinion, I didn’t really miss anything. Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart’s acting are just the same, lifeless and unfeeling. For a story that’s supposedly filled with emotions, (imagine a vampire falling in love with a human, just how many conflicting feelings could he be going through, right?), both actors miserably fail to deliver. It’s so darn disappointing!

The Twilight Saga is such an amazing story. But it doesn’t get through due to the inability of the actors. I mean, Robert Pattinson shows heartbreak by merely wrinkling his brow?! What was his motivation for that, a stomach ache? Good thing for him he got to show off his abs, probably his only saving grace. And then there’s Kristen who says “I love you” to the boy she’s crazy about like she’s reciting off a menu. For the love of all that’s holy! Jeez! My exclamation points probably show more emotion than they do. But I do think that Taylor Lautner’s acting as Jacob is better than the others. Although I still don’t think Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt should be alarmed yet at being unseated as the best vampires in the movies.

But what’s annoying is that despite my utter dislike for the depressing acting prowess of its stars, I would still go watch the New Moon movie. Argh! Here, watch me wrinkle my brow to show the conflicting emotions I feel inside.

If you’ve been hibernating inside a cave for I-don’t-know-how-long like me, you probably haven’t seen the movie trailer yet. Let me do you a favor. Enjoy this, if you can.

 

Relaxation weekend

I’m looking forward to the weekend. Not only am I about to finish the report that’s been due ages ago, I now have a chance to see three movies.

I’ve already read the book by Sophie Kinsella. It was superbly written, with parts I can certainly relate to. How that would translate in the movie, I’m not sure. I’ve been known to be disappointed with movie renditions of books I’ve loved. Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code was really a bummer. John Grisham’s The Firm was an even bigger disappointment in the movies. These two notwithstanding the fact that they starred actors of whom I’m a big fan. I suppose it just goes to show that the movie isn’t all about the stars.

Other than Confessions of a Shopaholic, I’ve got two more lined up. I can’t wait!

 

Salvation is his

With just one save in this season’s American Idol, is Matt Giraud really worth saving? Can he actually bring it?

I must admit, when I saw the auditions for this season’s Idol, Matt Giraud caught my eye. Aside from his uncanny resemblance to Josh Lucas (which automatically makes me think of Sweet Home Alabama along with Reese Witherspoon), he’s got a Justin Timberlake vibe that has been missing in the history of American Idol. I thought that he could actually be the next winner. After all, the show has spawned pop stars and a rock star. Giraud’s RNB and Soul vibe should be what Idol needs at this point. I mean, how many pop stars can you really stand?

Unfortunately, however, Matt has only shown so much of his artistic talent. Sure he can sing — so could the others who auditioned for the show. Well, most of them, probably. But the point is, at this stage of the show, when we’ve almost seen all, the contestants need to show more than just their voice. They’ve got to show creativity. Matt has, however, almost failed in this aspect. I say ‘almost’ becuase he’s had sporadic magical moments. Like I said, he’s shown just a little of his creativity. He’s not really consistent. So, how can we be sure that he’s really gonna bring it after having been saved by the Idol judges?

I have nothing against Matt. In fact, I actually like him. I know he’s got it in him. But at this point, faith in the unseen is not really enough. This is the time where we say “to see is to believe.” Or in case of American Idol, ‘to hear is to believe.’ I would really love to prove Simon Cowell wrong: that Matt Giraud could possibly be the next American Idol. But with his song choices and performance, the way I see it, Simon Cowell could be right. If Matt doesn’t up his ante, he’s definitely not going to go far with the show.

 

The trouble with life is that there’s no background music.

That’s exactly what was written on a cubicle door of a comfort room at the airport. It wasn’t in somebody’s filthy handwriting. It was designed, printed and framed.

So, if I could pick a song that ought to be playing right now, I’d probably choose Hadji Alejandro’s “Nakapagtataka.” Hah! That’s only because the first line is so fitting: “Walang tigil ang ulan…” which is totally true. It has been raining in this side of the archipelago for FIVE straight days now! In fact, the flights destined for this sleepy town has been repeatedly cancelled since Sunday. I suppose it was utter good luck that my husband’s flight came through yesterday. Otherwise, he would have gone on a longer route. It better stop raining by Saturday because that’s his flight back here. I need to have my personal “Edward Cullen” back in my arms. Ugh! I’m beginning to get as sappy as the weather!

If there is something good to be said about the weather, though, I suppose I could make a pitch for the alleged local production of  Twilight, i.e. Takip Silim. I mean, this is the only place where it rains even during summer! Although, it’s not really the entire day. Usually in the afternoon it rains. But in the morning, argh! The sun shines really, really, really hot. And I mean scorching hot! A bottle of sunblock ought to be enough to protect the skin when you go out to get the mail. Well, I might be exaggerating a little. But you get the point.

I should be thankful that the big boss is on leave until Friday – hopefully until the entrire next week. I am particularly thankful that he’s away today, especially after how the day started. I had already driven the car away when I’d realized that the front right tire was flat. Crappy morning, really. The rain was pouring while I was out standing beside my flat tire, cussing and wondering what I’d done wrong to have this happen to me on a rainy day and I’m running late for work. Not to mention that I’d gotten my feet wet while I went on unofficial errands. Let me tell you, it wasn’t such a pleasant experience on a work day.

But to every dark cloud, there must be a silver lining, right? Well, here come’s that part. At lunch time, the staff had nothing better to do, work’s been done, the boss is out, what else is there but to… watch  Twilight. (Aargh! Not this again!) And despite myself, I couldn’t help but join them.

Right now, I’m just about tired of myself talking/writing about Twilight. And yet, I can’t help myself! I really, really don’t know why. It’s becoming annoying, actually. Maybe with every time that I see the movie, I’m hoping that Rob Pattinson would be better at playing his role. But I get disappointed everytime, so much so that by the time it’s revealed that he’s actually a vampire, I get bored and do something else. I’d admit that sometimes, I have a short attention span. But I’ve read the Twilight Saga twice and, except perhaps for the middle part of Breaking Dawn, I hadn’t gotten bored with it.

So, instead of finishing the movie, I just went and played mind-numbing time-management games to occupy my time while the heavens poured down with all its might. As the day progressed, I’ve forgotten about my crappy morning and found myself liking the rain.

Now, I feel like singing: “I’m only happy when it rains. I’m only happy when it’s complicated…”

 

Forgive me

I have a confession to make:

Yesterday, while I was at home, sick and absent from work, I watched the Twilight movie — for the third time!

Crap! Crap! Crap!

Let me explain:

The first time I saw the movie, it was at the prodding of my cousin D.  Like I said in my previous random rants, I didn’t really like it. I couldn’t understand all the madness, the gnashing of teeth and the shedding of tears. So, like I said, I read the book. To make what would be a long story short: I loved the story of the Twilight Sage. Even now, I think “love” is a fairly weak word to describe how I feel about the story. I mean, I could give an arm and a leg…perhaps even my husband? (teehee)… just to show my gratitude to Ms. Meyer for creating such wonderful novels and also to plead for the immediate publication of the complete Midnight Sun. In fact, I curse the person who leaked a copy of the manuscript of the Midnight Sun to the public! Thanks to you, whoever you are, the author has seen fit to halt the progress of that book. If it hadn’t been leaked, maybe I’d be in bed right now, reading the Midnight Sun, biting my nails and wondering why my life isn’t as exciting as fiction.

Anywaaaay… So after I’ve read the books, I saw the movie again. Just to understand why I didn’t fall in love with the movie as I did with the book. That’s when I realized that the movie failed to live up to the magic of the love story of Edward Cullen and Bella Swan.

I suppose I should’ve stopped there, right? Like my grandma used to say, “One is enough. Two is too much!”

And yet…yesterday, for some reason, I felt the compulsion to watch the movie again.

The only justification for this that I could come up with is this:

I was sick, so I wasn’t in my normal state of mind — and I had to watch it for purposes of analysis.

Char! Whatever!

Nonetheless, I did learn some insightful things from watching that movie FOR THE THIRD TIME as to why it didn’t particularly blow my mind.

First: the reason why I didn’t like it is because the sequence of the movie (compared to the book) was a mess. For me, the one of the more exciting and thrilling part of the story was when Edward was driving Bella home from Port Angeles and he wanted to know what theory Bella had come up with. So, she was telling him what she’d researched about but in the end, deciding that it didn’t really matter whatever Edward was. It was one of those “awwwwww!!!!!” moments. And later, while still in the car, Edward said something to Bella to which she replied: “This is a mistake?” and then she sobbed. That was/is a heartbreaker! I mean, why did the writer/scriptwriter skip that? They could have cut the introduction instead. After all, the scene where Bella was leaving Pheonix could have been mentioned in as few lines as possible.

Second: actually, I think my second reason is still in relation to the first. I didn’t understand why the writers of the movie chose to introduce Jacob immediately as the movie started. I mean, they included the beach scene anyway, why not stay true to the story line and show how Bella flirted with Jacob to get the story of the Cold Ones from him?

Lastly: (although I could still think of a few other reasons why I didn’t feel so strongly about the movie, I’ll limit this to three) Robert Pattinson didn’t really deliver the emotions that was supposed to have been going through Edward. I could cite a couple but what really struck me the most was the fight scene at the ballet studio. Imagine it this way, Edward has been waiting for Bella his entire life (he said so himself). Naturally, he wouldn’t want any harm to happen to her in whatever way. And then, here comes James who wants to drink Bella’s blood and all Robert Pattinson could muster (as he jumped inside the ballet studio) is a somewhat “pa-cute” soulfull look in his eyes.He should have been growling instead! This was the perfect time to show the “monstrous side” of vampires. I mean, Edward was willing to kill for Bella’s sake, why can’t Robert Pattinson at least look angry?I mean, didn’t the director see that? I would’ve yelled “Cut!” right then and there and told Pattinson what his real motivation for the scene ought to be.

I recall one episode from FRIENDS where Joey was teaching a couple of people some acting techniques, based on his experience as Dr. Drake Remore from “The Days of Our Lives.” Joey was telling them that if they wanted to look like they were thinking of something, they should make the face of someone who’s just smelled fart and was trying to find out who did it.  I think Robert Pattinson could take a few lessons from him.

I’m not being cruel here. My point is just this: maybe next time, in the New Moon movie, Robert Pattinson ought to take better acting lessons and internalize his character more.

There is one good thing I can say about Robert Pattinson, though. He’s good at looking handsome. If I’ve said something to the contrary in my previous random rants, then I take it back. Insofar as looks are concerned, Pattinson is a good match.

*This is just MY OPINION!

But…whatever, right?! So long as nobody else goes out and makes a better Twilight movie, I’m afraid I might have to watch the same movie again for who knows how many more times. Hey, I’m still sick, remember?! =P