Yesterday, to celebrate the start of my two-day rest days, I went to Power Plant mall to watch the 3D version of Alice In Wonderland.

I grew up watching Alice In Wonderland with my fellow childhood friends and all I can remember is the tea cup party (or a scene in the castle) wherein there’s this lady who keeps on shouting “pepper! pepper! pepper!” while sprinkling pepper all over the place. It was actually the human version of Alice and not the animated or cartoon ones.

Good thing that Disney has continued Alice’s adventure by going back to the Wonderland after 13 years. However, I won’t suggest to bring your little todds to see this movie as they may be frightened while the oldies gets bored. Adventurous people like me, will rely more on what we see than what the movie would tell.

While the visuals are superb, the movie lacks story. There were not much adventure and soul in the film. It is like Sleepy Hollow – EMPTY. Tim Burton succeeded in giving us a cupcake but no butter frost icing on top. It’s not a complete dessert.

The great deal about this movie are the costumes, visual effects and the actors!

Johnny Depp is the ONLY actor that can fit into the Mad Hatter role. He gave a performance that everyone must see to be appreciated! From Edward’s Scissorhands, Ichabod Crane, Jack Sparrow and Willy Wonka; It was surreal to understand a certain character if it was Depp who is doing the job!

The voice of the Helena Bonham aka Red Queen nearly steals the show! I don’t know what’s with her but I Love Her! LOL Her huge heart shaped head topped on a tiny body is perfect for her domineering character who loves to rest her feet on a hot pig’s belly. Hahahaha

Anne Hathaway as the White Queen is funny. Her gestures and body languages are hilarious. It’s just so funny the need of a steps in a battle field just for her to get off from her horse.

Though the film failed to give us the adventure that we are expecting in Wonderland, at least I was still entertained by how the actors delivered their characters. After a very stressful week at work, distractions like this is what I needed.

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I’m not sure what happened last Christmas but when I arrived in the office the next day, I was so sleepy and can’t get into my focus of doing my reports. My eyes keep on closing until I decided to take a nap in the Quiet Lounge.

I never got the chance to sleep in the room as I wasn’t able to get into a comfy position on a bed that is free to use by every employee in the company. Not to mention the pillow that I tried to keep of touching my face by using my two hands in between. After an hour of trying to get some sleep, I went back to my desk and back to my reports.

My friend Japok and I are planning to go to MOA that day to watch Avatar in IMAX. I never got the chance to see the movie before Christmas as I was so busy at my work and doing some Holiday rush. I was about to cancel it ‘coz I wanted to take some rest and sleep the whole day but the thought of not getting any chance to reward myself from all the stress I got makes me hail a cab to go South.

Watching movies during the Holiday Season in the Philippines is like committing suicide as all good movies will be stopped from being shown and replaced by all entries of the Metro Manila Film Festival aka MMFF. I’m not a big fan of Filipino films except those made by Star Cinema but I don’t feel like spending my hard earned money that time to some movies that will make me snore two hours or so. So that is why when I’ve learned that Avatar is still shown in IMAX instead of Panday 3D LOL, I asked Japox if he wanted to watch it again for the fourth time.

I was aiming for the 1:40 PM show time but as we enter the IMAX Lobby, the only tickets available are those from 8PM and 11:15PM play time. Since I don’t have prior engagements next day morning, I decided to watch it on the 11PM screening and just goof around the mall while waiting. Here’s what we’ve done to kill time…

Lunch

Ate at Mongkok

Japox on his 10th glass of Iced Tea

Bowling

And I won!

We also goofed around the mall and had videoke at Power Station.

Japox found his light while waiting for the screening time

Arrived home at around 4AM and with a smile on his face. The movie is great and the effects is just Outstanding! Kudos to James Cameron! He did it again!

It is worth the 8 hour wait!

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WHAT THE F***!???

If you don’t want any spoiler, then do not… BY ALL MEANS… click on THIS!

If this is true, I think the movie will not be as hit as the first one or as the series. I agree with all the comments on NYPost. Sex And The City is all about fantasies and fun! You should not link the story line into reality crisis as the movie goers will just get bored!

Oh gawd! But still, I will be watching the movie not because of the story line but because of the girls and my beloved NYC!

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First there was Coco Chanel…

Now, Gucci is in the making. Leonardo di Caprio will portray as the fashion legend Maurizio Gucci (son of founder Guccio Gucci) and Angelina Jolie will play as the ex-wife of Gucci who was sentenced to 29 years of imprisonment since she plot for her husband’s murder.

Who will be next? Rene Lacoste?

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I’m not sure why but the last few days, my fascination over New York kicks in again. Maybe because I was too excited for the Gossip Girl Season 3 premiere, a new series premiere at CW – The Beautiful LIfe, VMA 2009 last Sunday or I just badly need another vacation.

Last Wednesday, my friends invited me over to watch In My Life before reporting to work. But since I over slept, I was not able to join them and decided to watch it alone on my rest day.

From then on, I’ve been hearing a lot of mixed comments about the film. That’s what you get if you follow Ruffa Guttierez (who rented the entire theatre to watch the film – no offense) on twitter and friends seen the movie first before you.

Anyway, I’ve been longing to watch the movie since I saw the trailer on YouTube. I told myself that no one can stop me (even the lines at the ticket counter and traffic in Commonwealth) from watching this movie. So, I braved myself (Cee abandoned me, yet again) and head to TriNoMa to watch the movie alone.

Check out the trailer first….

In My Life is a story of an aging librarian who have some issues on moving on. When her daughter’s husband (together with his family) landed a job offer abroad, she decided to go to New York and visit her successful gay son. That’s when Shirley (Vilma Santos) met Noel (John Lloyd) and experience the difficulty to fit in.

It was a great film! The story line is very realistic as we know that this really happens in every lives of a Filipino family. Kudos to Vilma Santos for showing another side of her on her come back movie. As for John Lloyd Cruz and Luis Manzano, I can say that John Lloyd convinces me that he can really be gay. He is so into his role that by just looking at his face (forget the haggard look – he works all the time on the movie that explains his look) makes you say that this guy is a gay man. As for Luis, Jobane is right when she told me that Luis sometimes forget about his role of being a queer. But not bad for his first drama role.

Here are some of my comments:

1. Did I just spot fake Louis Vuittons?
2. I’ve been to New York 3 or 4 times and I’ve been studying the Subway map for most of my stay in East Coast, but how come Vilma end up in East Harlem with A Train? Isn’t it 4, 5 or 6?
3. What’s up with fake American accent form Rafael Rossell?
4. What happened to the “er” scene from the trailer? Why did they cut it out from the final film?
5. Check 3:44 on the trailer, that was changed on the actual movie. But I was surprised by the sampalan scene of John Lloyd and Ate Vi. Pero I was looking forward for it pa naman on the movie.
6. Was the McMansion of John Lloyd’s uncle was shot in New York, New Jersey or Connecticut? It seems like it’s not. But it could be, napaka jologs naman siguro kung they’ll bring plastic bag of Cheesecake Factory pa here in Alabang or Tagaytay.
7. I don’t think there is a Red Ribbon Bakeshop in New York. So why do they have Dulce de leche in Nikki’s house party?

8. Also, where are the skyscrapers on Nikki’s appartment? Was it really shot in NYC or Ortigas?
9. Best Bagel in New York City can be found in Bagelry, Ess-a-bagel and H&H.
10. John Lloyd and Luis’ kissing scene is not that sweet at all. Parang friendly kiss lang.
11. Do NYC funeral homes chapels have a huge “CHAPEL B” signs on the wall?
12. The Brownstone Apartment where Lloydie and Luis lived in is not very NYC or owned by a gay couple. It doesn’t have any style at all. The only thing that I found interesting is the 24 inch iMac that they have.

That’s just some of the things that I noticed on the film. Anyway, it’s the story that most of us are after. But for a movie goer like me, I am not just looking at the story line. While my ears are after their dialogues, my eyes are looking for fascinating items and moments.

I would recommend this movie to those who haven’t seen it yet. Just make sure to make a reservation online and watch the film at Ayala Cinemas. At least if some caught you lining up for a ticket, at least it’s not in some theaters. Also, watch the movie with a ham and egg bagel and a Venti Caramel Macchiato.

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