Quickieview: (500) Days of Summer

Review ko lang bago ako magsimula sa aking month-long writing obligation.

Naisip ko lang, habang pinapanood ko yung closing credits ng 500 Days, na dapat, sa isang predictable/conventional/boring parallel universe, may kasama akong date habang pinapanood ko 'to. Pinaguusapan na siguro namin yung artistic and realistic merits ng 500 Days, yung conventions na sinubukan nitong basagin, yung mga conventions that it strengthened. We'd argue about the possibility of a real Summer, or a Tom, or Tom's gifted younger sister, or the whole nonlinear passage of time, or the possibility of a relationship that could last 500 days.

Kung itutuloy natin ang speculation about the other universe being predictable/conventional/boring, lalabas kaming dalawa ng gerlpren ko na magkahawak-kamay, pinaguusapan pa rin kung bakit ginawang nonlinear ang atake ng romcom na 'to, kung ito ba ang first wall na tinibag ng isang Gen-F (Facebook) romantic comedy. She'd argue for the nonlinearity of it, na nakatulong siya sa mga contrasting events before and after (or during!) breakup. "Sabagay," sasabihin ko, hawak pa rin ang nanlalamig niyang kamay, "pero yun lang naman ang point nun e, mag-contrast. Tingin ko palusot lang yun kasi mishmash lang siya ng mga scenes na hindi magagawa pag ginawang linear yung pelikula."

Tatango lang si gerlpren, her short black hair shifting behind a strangely printed headband, at ipagpapatuloy ko yung point ko: "Mishmash, hodgepodge, whatever. I think may mahabang list talaga yung gumawa nito, mga list ng astig na romcom ideas, tapos pinagsama-sama lang sila under the guise of a nonlinear bullshit."

She'd press my hand, indicating that she doesn't approve of my taste for words. "It's arguably fresh for the genre. It's between the ultrasacchirine Sandra Bullock/Kate Hudson guilty pleasures," she'd say with a smile, "and the out-there indie flicks that you so annoyingly dismiss."

Binago ko na yung usapan. "Coffee?"

Tapos biglang lumabas na yung production logo ng Fox Searchlight, at na-realize ko na ilan na lang kami sa sinehan at nakalabas na ang karamihan, mostly couples. Lumabas na rin ako, point very much taken. Predictable/conventional/boring parallel universe was already a universe away by the time I write this.

(Authors note: Hindi totoo ang mga nakasulat sa taas. Walang akong pinapatamaan. Especially you, ______, na hanggang tease lang at hanggang date lang ang narating bago nadiskaril nang tuluyan ang biyahe tapos biglang friends na lang tayo habang balik focus ako sa trabaho at ikaw sa walang kwenta mong buhay. Especially you, ______. Bitch.)


FTW: Like I said, mishmash 'to ng good-to-great slices of life, pero ito yung da best: Yung split-screen sa later part ng film, comparing Tom's expectations with reality. And, of course, I couldn't help but approve the bittersweet ending. Lahat inaabangan yung 'clinch' na common sa genre -- na magkakabalikan si Summer at Tom -- pero mas okay yung nangyari.

FTL: Yung unnecessary speech about love ni Tom at ang irony ng greeting cards. Reminds me of the prom night speeches, yung biglang may lesson sa huli.

(Author's note pt. 2: Everything but the review is fictional.)

the salmonella scraps -- anong meron?

At least nagkakulay yung TSS...

Quickieviews -- lotsa films edition

Dahil nasira nga ang TSW at ayoko itong makita dati (kasi sira nga), naipon na lang yung mga pelikulang napanood ko nung 2nd half ng September. 4 Spanish Films (salamat sa Pelikula Pelicula), isang Cinemanila entry (premiere ticket salamat sa guro ng kakilala). Ngayong organized chaos na ang layout ng TSW, pwede ko na sigurong ituloy ang Qviews.

Biyaheng Lupa (Soliloquy) -- Tama nga yung sinabi nung nag-introduce ng pelikulang ito: This is an ambitious film. Dalawa na lang naman ang resulta nun, kung na-achieve ba ng direktor o lumagapak siya sa kanyang vision. It's half-and-half, to be honest. Narito yung magandang concept -- mga pasahero ng isang Legazpi-bound bus na sa isip lang natin maririnig ang mga boses -- and a cast of a dozen award-winning actors, sa execution lang nadiskaril (pardon the lame pun). Astig marinig ang random thoughts ng mga pasahero, mga strangers na may sari-sariling mundo't may kanya-kanyang problema. Minsan mas masarap pa nga marinig sila ng sabay-sabaya at choice ko na kung anong pakikinggan ko. Enjoy ang biyahe. Yun lang, parang wala rin siya talagang focus. Concept lang ang astig, pero nawalan na ng direksyon sa huli. Slices of life, pero lahat hindi nabigyan ng panahon. May mga seemingly interesting characters na extras lang pala, ni boses sa isipan hindi ko narinig. Paano ba ire-resolve ang ganto ka-'experimental' na pelikula? Pati siguro si Lao hindi na rin alam (hindi ko naman siya natanong kasi I don't talk to strangers, hehe), kaya ayun, inihulog na lang niya sa bangin -- out of the blue. Tapos binigyan ng focus yung isang character -- habang binabalot siya ng heavenly light -- tapos yun na. Parang sayang lang; kung mas matagal pa siguro ang development nito, baka mas naging matino ang daloy ng pelikula.

FTW: Nang mag-play ang konduktor ng isang videoke version ng isang classic pop song, lahat kumanta sa isip nila. Inspired. Tsaka siyempre, nakita ko si Eugene Domingo in the flesh. Hehe.
FTL: Mute na wala ring boses kahit sa isip. Pano kaya yun. Di pa magaling na aktor yung gumanap, kaya double FTL.

meh news, old news

Meh news: I've decided to join that Nanonano-blahblah novel-writing marathon. This is the 'new' thing that will consume most of my November, the same way Milo 5k Fun Run consumed my October (due to nightly training sponsored by Wii) As for the story, I've seen bits and pieces of the first act (in my head, of course), and they have a 0.5% chance of filling out all the details needed to get to that 50k word count minimum.

santino, you can go to hell.

Pag nakikita ko talaga si Santino, gusto kong mag-amok. Badtrip!

wapakels, dude, wapakels

Dude. Duuuuude. Hindi kita kilala. Di pa umaabot sa 'acquaintance' level yung pagkakakilala ko sa 'yo (at maraming na-stuck na dun), isang bus ride pa lang, kala mo kung sino ka na.

1. Wala akong pakialam kung nagta-trabaho ka sa DataBlitz, at kung masaya ka sa trabaho mo.
2. Wala akong pakialam kung nakakuha ka ng swag galing sa Norton, at kung nanalo ka ng Olympus camera na, sabi mo, nagkakahalagang 16k.
3. Wala akong pakialam kung nambu-bully ka ng mga applicants niyo, at dine-demand mo palagi na masagot ang tanong mo ng 'Yes' or 'No'.
4. Wala akong pakialam sa mga pamangkin mong mahilig magpakuha ng pictures. Wala rin akong pakialam sa camera mo na maganda ang resolution.
5. Wala akong pakialam kung basted ka ng babaeng pinili ang lalaking palamunin.
6. Wala akong pakialam kung DevCom ka at kaibigan mo yung kakilala ko.
7. Wala akong pakialam kung pumunta kang Cebu at pinaulanan ka ng generous travel allowance.

May rason siguro kung bakit hindi kita kilala, kasi alam ni Bro na maaasar lang ako sa 'yo. Kitams, di ko pa nga matandaan yung pangalan mo (again) alam ko na yan lahat. Di ako expert sa small talk at wala akong pasensya sa mga paastig.

For the last time, shoo.

TSW is broken

Because I'm stupid, and I don't know shit about those CSSes and HTMwhat-have-yous. A random spark of inspiration led to total destruction of this obscure little page, so to the half-a-dozen readers (or wanderers, I can't really tell) of TSW, I'm sorry. You should be relieved, to be honest. No more of this sometimes-work, sometimes-life outlet from nelson-who. This could be a sign, though: micro-blogging is hot nowadays, with all the hype around Twitter and Plurk and, uh, Facebook Wall, and I might, you know, micro-blog starting next year (hell, I already have a Twitter account somewhere). Or not, since what you'll get is a barrage of (micro-)rants about blahblahblah getting cut for the nth time -- not healthy at all to everyone involved (or concerned).

Anyway, you have to put up with this lame excuse of a site a bit longer. When I have the chance (or the willing person/people, handsomely paid with a few bottles of butterbeer) I will fix this damn TSW. That, or it's back to that Friendster blog again.

I miss the wall of bus tickets.

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As a bonus:

Since I didn't take pictures that night and I was smack in the middle of 4 or 5 hastily connected tables,
I get to observe two very different conversations. Great source of inspiration, if you ask me.

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Of course, this post will not be complete without announcing my planned sick leave on June 18 next year, courtesy of the wicked guys at Pixar:

They should have ended the trailer right after the song. Shame.