Dancing household appliances, creepy talking dolls, marching creatures of all kind, metamorphoses, confetti, crumbling walls and melting railings, and transitions from world to colorful world... It's a trippy mix of colorful (sometimes dark) scenarios, all of which are part of Paprika.

*To be honest, I haven't been watching anime in the longest time (save for Rurouni Kenshin OAVs over and over again), so I've no idea how that world's evolved since the time I was still a part of it. So I'm not going to try and be all smart and compare Paprika to the other works of Satoshi Kon and Madhouse (both of which are legendary, according to a friend of mine :) ). I'll write what I know.

The thing about animation is that there are no limits as to what you can put into the story and into the film. I feel that was used to their advantage, and used wisely!

It was a little confusing to start with -- all those Japanese names I'm not used to anymore. But you can catch on to the plot rather easily when you get into the feel of the movie. Just make sure not to turn your eyes away from the screen when watching. You wouldn't want to miss a single moment. :)

I was right. It's a little hard for the movie to surprise you with unexpected funny scenes when most of them were already included in several versions of trailers and teasers.

Nonetheless, this is The Simpsons we're talking about. I can't help it. I grew up watching this, with my mom in the background going "Ay! I really don't like that cartoon!" It was one of the first (if not the first) PG cartoon, I guess. And this was a movie 18 years in the making.

The wait was so worth it. It wasn't revolutionary -- they dared to stick to old-school 2D. I love it! It was entertaining and funny and of course it was all in good classic Simpsons humor.

Most especially, I like that they kept it light, didn't force "values" or "lessons" where it was just supposed to be all about fun! They kept it simply like an extended Simpsons episode. :)

I'm not gonna try and sound cool. I just watched an animated rat trying to be a chef in Paris. Hello!

It's a kid's movie. I liked it, actually. :)

It's nothing new -- although I'm pretty sure this is the first animated rat to make it to the big screen (Stuart Little doesn't count! He's a white mouse, dang it!) -- but it is hella cute.

Comedy is sometimes a little slapstick, but what's wrong with that, right? The kids will love it, and I'm sure those who don't have sticks up their asses will, too.

Don't expect a fancy schamncy artsy fartsy comedy. Just because it's set in chez Paris doesn't make it anymore than a funny animated movie. But it doesn't make it any less worth shelling out 100pesos to watch. :)

The story isn't revolutionary, but there's great animation, a lovely French-y score, and omigod Janeane Garofalo (love her) voices a hawt French chef!

Rats in the kitchen are okay. Definitely. As long as they're Disney-Pixar and animated. :)

So I'm a loser. Years after its much talked about release, I finally get to watch the damn Morgan Freeman-narrated film.

Why now?

In a time when all my usual blog-haunts are talking endlessly about La Lohan's arrest and possible impending jail time, I decided -- Why not try and forget how gross she's become, and just watch a movie???

And March of the Penguins it is. :)

Cute little wobbly fat-coated penguins are the best distractions! :)
Throughout the film, my reactions were either a sad sympatheticOhhhh =( or a gigil Awwww =D and even sometimes a frightened Aaaack! @@, more than I can say for any National Geographic special feature. And definitely more than I can say for any other penguin-related movie I've watched.

Random little moments would bring me Happy Feet flashbacks, but for the most part I say real penguins are so much more endearing -- and so much more interesting! -- than the computer-animated ones. They are more that just "cute." (Although, they are just adorable!) With a much closer look at the penguins, this film shows us what these penguins are really made of.

It's the story of their lives, their loves and family.


...Oh I want to hug the penguins. :)

I've never been on an acid trip before, but after watching this movie, I'm left sure that I now know what that would feel like. It was beautiful, confusing, psychedelic and hella trippy! You're not exactly sure what you get out of it afterwards, but you know it was well worth it.

Richard Linklater, who also directed School of Rock, shows a different -- and far better -- use of his creativity in Waking Life.

It's a story of a teenage boy who's walking through his dreams, and can't figure out a way to wake up. On that journey back to his "waking life," he comes across different characters, all of whom have their own philosophical insights to share.

Dialogues are as deep as I like them to be. And the art... It's more than just "pretty", because it tells part of the story too. Oh, this was the first movie I've watched with art like this.

I am left entranced. :)


*Random shit: Guess where I first came across this movie? WOWOW. Fucking closeminded old people thought it was only for porno and demanded the channel be banned!! And it was! Losers. Wowow was the only channel that played movies like this. So I had to watch it from here instead. Sigh.

It was ok.
Why:

There were too many stories squished into the 2plus hours of film. And the viewer can't really be absorbed in the story if there are about 357 different plots. (Ok, I exaggerate.)
As a result of said overloading of plots, the movie was too long for it's type. And it gets a little overdone, confusing, and - I never thought I could say this about a movie but, - disorganized.

And I know Stan Lee is pretty much a sure cameo in all of his movies. But his appearance here was pointless. It would have been a deleted scene included only in a special DVD release, I'm sure, had it not been Stan Lee.

There were too many villains. Still due to the too many plots. And so... The plot then seems a little uneven.

BUT. As a Spiderman movie, it was ok. Not GREAT, but ok. No regrets for the P100 spent for it.

There was enough comic relief to not make it way too heavy. Sometimes there was even comic relief where I'm not sure they intended there to be. (Spiderman is emo. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA.)
And the battle scenes were interestingly done.
The drama, and oh the love stories, though quickly paced were effective enough.

Somehow.

So. I give it a passing grade, but just barely.
3 out of 5.

The 3rd star was for showing us that even a multi-million franchise such as Spiderman couldn't escape the trend. It's is for making sure he had that flippy hair. It's is for making Spiderman emo. HAHAHAHAHA.


*It IS a little sad... The emo hair is the most memorable scene in the movie.

We're all familiar with Snow White - the Disney version. The one with the jetblack bob of hair and a red ribbon headband, ruby red lips, pale white skin... And that angelic voice, that sweet personality. That virginal little princess who was a friend of all the forest folk.
Yawn.
How sure are you that Disney's version wasn't totally edited from the other side of the story?

Snow, Glass, Apples is a twisted take on the story of Snow White, but from the "evil" Stepmother's point of view. And what REALLY happened, as opposed to what Disney portrayed in his cartoon movie.

What you want to believe is entirely up to you. *spooky background music here*

It's a short story, just 5000 words. The pacing is quick, but just right. And the words allow you to just read through it without being overloaded with overly complicated words and having to go through a dictionary each sentence. I like that about it. BUT somehow it manages to still engulf you in the mood of the story, in every scene.
And I sometimes wish it was longer, but then it wouldn't feel the same, would it?

It's perfect. It's magic. It's dark. I love it. ^ ^

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I'll give you 2 links to sites (2, in case the other doesn't work) that feature the short story itself so you can all experience the story firsthand, and let me know if I was wrong about giving it 5 stars! ^ ^ --> [link][link]

THIS! IS! SPARTAAAAAAA!!!

Words fail me.

300 Spartan warriors going up against millions of Persians... That alone would make a great war movie. But add to that incredibly executed cinematography - from the same guy who did Sin City, no less! - and you've got a blockbuster that left me with my mouth hanging open the whole time I was watching.

If it wasn't artistic or poetic, it was entrancing. What with the strength and determination and skill of these Spartans. Each scene counts for something!

If you haven't watched it yet, remember to keep an eye out for this: the oracle. Now THAT was pure art. So fucking beautiful.

Most scenes are bloody, and seething with the fury/determination/passion of the Spartan warriors... But let me tell you this: NEVER have I seen blood shed so gracefully. The fight scenes were actually beautifully done, and that's what I'd like to think made the movie so different from those in the same genre as this.

300.
Oh, and let's not forget the guys with EIGHTpacks in leather speedos - that didn't hurt the movie one bit. ;)

This is yet another movie that made parodies of superblockbuster movies, referencing the Pirates of the Caribbean, Nacho Libre, the Chronicles of Narnia, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, etc. But it isn't as good or as entertaining as the movies they spoofed.

But it made me laugh. It did! This is like admitting to a dirty secret, but it did!

Okay I'm not saying it was consistent through out the movie. There were one too many lame attempts at cheap laughs - slapstick, throwing things at each other, that kinda stuff.
And I'm definitely not saying it was 'great'!

But in it's overall corniness, there are enough scenes that really made me choke with laughter. Enough scenes to give it TWO stars.

It was worth a few laughs, but watching it once was enough for me. :)

It doesn't take much to make me cry in the movies. And it doesn't take much to make me cover my eyes.But it DOES take a bit much to actually wear me out! There have only been 3 movies that really made me breathless in the end... 3 movies that left me tired and catching my breath while the closing credits are running - and Apocalypto was that 3rd movie.

There was blood and tears and enough of comic relief to give you a breather every now and then... And it's obvious that Mel Gibson is not one to make a light movie.

He lays this heavy shit on real thick and it's not without a point.

Point is:
People are all the same - fighting to survive whether it be in huge ways like stabbing someone else to save yourself or little things like being a serious career woman in the cutthroat business world. And in this movie, Mel Gibson goes back to basics... All the way to uncivilized tribes with tunnels, piercings and body paint, and gods who demanded morbid rituals. Several different tribes with one thing in common -- they all just want to survive. And that's what they're trying to do throughout the nearly 3-hour long movie.

I repeat: This one is not for the faint-hearted. Swear I thought my asthma was gonna come back. But all that breath I seem to have lost was worth it; by the end of the movie I was waxing philosophic, thinking about how life and struggle seem to really do come hand in hand and there seems to be just no way around that.

"No one can outrun their destiny." - The tagline for the movie is more than befitting.

I don't want to say anymore because if I do, I know I'm gonna end up spoiling it!

Watch the movie yourselves and you'll get what I'm talking about. :)

I had Hot Fuss. Bought it on a whim a year or so ago. Listened to it like I would on a busy day - just in the background.

And then I bought myself Sam's Town. And I realized what I had failed to appreciate in the past.

As good as Hot Fuss was... Sam's Town, the Killers latest album, is even better!

I don't know what the hell kind of music they play. If it's rock or alternative or emo. I was never very good at categorizing music. But it's not cheesy. It's not bubblegum. But it is heartfelt and the kind of music you'd hear NU playing. Haha. That's it. It's NU music, I guess.

It WILL take a little getting used to though, honestly. This kind of music doesn't jump out at you like a hardcore rock song that gets you headbanging 5 seconds into the intro. No. But it does seep into your blood, painlessly. It sneaks in through the back door.

Without the metaphors: The music grows slowly, but SURELY on you... Next thing you know you can't get enough of their music - old and new alike. Trust me, I am a victim of this disease. Haha!

I am now obsessed with The Killers.

"Lying is the most fun a girl can have without taking her clothes off, but it's better if you do."
As said by Natalie Portman's character in Closer. And later on, became titles of 2 Panic! songs.

that's what drew me in. the titles. the long, interesting titles.

Their songs are good. Okay. But what I discovered when I bought their album was this:
Their songs are good, upbeat and get people toe-tapping, yes. But only - and ONLY - in small doses! 1 to at most 3 songs in one sitting.

The words are too long and the rhythm and beat get irritating after that 3rd straight Panic! song. And it gets to you that wow, all their songs kinda sound alike?

It was a disappointment all in all.
But the songs are good, so it wasn't a total rip-off after all. I'll just listen to one song at a time and stop before the songs start irritating my eardrums.