derpinsel.com - pixels, stories and texts by angela solis

Hindi Nakakatuwa Ang Snow

Ginising ako ng nanay ko bandang alas-8 ng umaga. May misyon daw kaming dapat gawin. Akala ko kung ano, magpapala pala kami ng yelo.

Noong lumabas ako ng bahay, nagulat ako. Grabe ang regalo ni 2004 sa amin. Sabi ng nanay ko galit na raw ang Diyos kaya raw abnormal ang panahon ngayon.

Hanggang tuhod ang yelo sa lugar namin; medyo huli na noong napansin ko ang malalaking trak na nag-aalis ng yelo sa pangunahing daan. Yung CRV namin, nakakaawa, parang tinubuan ng tigdas dahil sa ilalim ng snow eh may mga malalaking yelong nanigas na sa ibabaw ng kotse. Pinala namin yung daanan sa labas, hanggang sa makarating kami sa backlane para alisin ang yelo sa bandang gulong ng sasakyan. Aalis yata sina nanay mamaya para bumili ng prutas.

Hindi ko alam kung kailan pa ito matutunaw. Buti nga wala kaming pasok, pero paano na sa susunod na linggo? Tiyak mahihirapan kaming lahat. Yung tatay ko mahihirapan ding magmaneho dahil kapag nawala na yung gabundok na snow eh nakadikit naman sa kalye yung yelong madulas.

Lahat kami nakaramdam ng hapdi pagkatapos naming magpala. Pumasok na kami sa loob ng bahay bago pa kami magkafrostbite. Grabe, pati sipon ko nanigas, parang yelo sa kisame ng kuweba. Hehe.

Where Will Our Money Go Next Year

I know there are a lot of movies to expect this year, and so I decided to post some of the films that I’ll probably watch. With the exception kapag wala akong pera.

In the spirit of bloggers who love watching films, I actually have a guest blogger, the movie lover himself, Sedricke of Manilenyo. Some of the films that he mentioned are already shown here in North America, just so you know. You can also check Drei’s entry about the movies he’s expecting this coming year.

Si Sed po ito: Hello there. Here are few of the movies that I want to see for the next year, 2005. I do not know if I can watch all of them, but I will sure see most of them. These are just Hollywood movies.

Ocean’s 12
I had enjoyed the first Ocean movie immensely, with its wonderful effects, quirky characters and fast-paced story. It won’t hurt if I watch its sequel, especially if Catherine Zeta-Jones is added in the already star-studded cast.

The Phantom of The Opera
Phantom is the highest-grossing musical of all time, and who would not want to see its movie adaptation? Plus the fact that I am crazy about musicals made me add this to my list.

Spanglish
I have heard a dozen times from Jay Leno that this movie is good and very well-written, and that convinced me from wanting to see it.

The Aviator
This is a Martin Scorsese movie about the life of Howard Hughes, played in the movie by Leonardo Di Caprio. Enough said, I think.

Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events
People are calling this a Harry Potter 3-esque movie, and that made me raise an eyebrow. It got good reviews too. Therefore, it’s on my list. More »

Last Marathon For 2004

Ying Xiong (2002)
Cheree said it’s boring. And maybe because I had two servings of martial arts flick that is why I found this film boring as well. I was amazed that Tony Leung Chiu Wai was there; I didn’t recognized him at first (he’s the male lead in My Lucky Star). Anyway, Hero’s about a nameless warrior and — well, you know the stuff, empires, assassinations, swordfights. I wasn’t impressed. I know I shouldn’t compare this to CTHD, or to House of Flying Daggers (BTW, the latter and Hero have the same director), but what can I do? Hindi ako nasiyahan compared with the other two. Rating: 2.5 out of 5 More »

The Da Vinci Code, Angels and Demons

The Da Vinci Code
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. Nikka sent it to me as a birthday gift and finished reading it w/in 3 days - a week. Alam kong nagustuhan niyo ito kasi sabi ninyo ‘kakaiba’ but it’s not. The book gave me a hard time staying where I am kasi parang naiinis ako sa buong libro. Basta kapag hindi ako na-glue sa isang libro, ibig sabihin boring yung kuwento. Hindi siya gaanong kagandahan or remarkable. I have no idea why it was such a hype. Sabi ni Niks mas maganda daw ang Templar Revelations (yata, di ko alam yung title eh) compared to this one. Bakit nga kaya sumikat at naging best seller ito eh di naman gaanong maganda?

Angels and Demons
Angels and Demons by Dan Brown. Mas nagustuhan ko ito kaysa sa Da Vinci Code, probably because mas action-packed at mas kakaiba naman kahit kaunti ang kuwento. Kaunti lang, kasi pareho din sa Da Vinci Code ang kuwento nito, as usual involved ang Church. Although the unraveling of the villain at the end of the story was parallel with Da Vinci, isa lang sa mga disappointment ko sa mga libro ni Dan Brown eh its Agent 007 theme — yung sex or intimate scene with someone else. Nakadalawang palit siya ng girl sa dalawang book, and I find it pretty annoying. Ang ewan kaya. Di na ako magbabasa ulit ng libro niya, tama na itong dalawa.

Movie Reviews

You know that my online kamalasan descended upon me when I lost a year and a half worth of blog entries when Anyxhost disappeared. I also lost almost a dozen of movie and book entries, and because I’m so hooked to movies right now, I’ll try to write quick notes on those stuff that I lost. I know some of my entries won’t be as accurate compared to the old ones, but then again… Whatever. More »

Battle Royale 1 & 2, And I Hate You So

Next week hindi na ako makakanood masyado ng DVDs kasi pasukan na eh. Dapat samantalahin ang pagkakataon.

Battle Royale (2000)
Very, very disturbing film. Kung naghahanap kayo ng madugo at maaksiyong pelikula na hindi ninyo makakalimutan, panoorin niyo ito. Ang Battle Royale ay based sa libro ni Koushun Takami, at ginawa na rin ito ng manga version. Tungkol ito sa 42 estudyanteng napili ng gobyerno ng Japan bilang panibagong grupong ipapadala sa isang abandonadong isla. Sa loob ng tatlong araw ay dapat mapatay ang nila ang isa’t isa, hanggang sa isa na lang ang matira at manalo. Twisted, hindi po ba? Hindi rin sila basta-basta makakatakas dahil may nakakabit sa kanilang electronic necklace. Sa oras na tangkain nilang tumakas o tanggalin ang kuwintas na ito — sasabog ito at patay sila.

Nagustuhan ko ang buong kuwento, kaya lang hindi ko matagalan ang dugo. Napuputol ang mga eksena ng patayan kapag nagpo-focus ang kuwento sa emosyon ng indibidwal na estudyante. Kung tutuusin, kaunti lang sa mga ito ang nabigyan ng focus. Disturbing at thought-provoking na pelikula. Sana makakain pa kayo pagkatapos niyo itong panoorin. Rating: 3 out of 5 More »

Vanilla Sky, Dead Poets Society

Vanilla Sky (2001)
Akala ko subtle lang ang pelikulang ito kasi ang ganda ng pamagat eh. Ito ang Hollywood remake ng 1997 Spanish film Abre Los Ojos. Kasama rin sa naunang pelikula si Penelope Cruz at iisa lang ang tauhang ginampanan niya sa parehong pelikula. Tungkol ito sa isang publishing tycoon (Tom Cruise) at ang kanyang kakaibang karanasan matapos ang aksidente kasama ang kanyang lover (Cameron Diaz). Sabi ni Sedricke noong nabanggit kong papanoorin ko ito ay dapat makinig akong mabuti sa pelikulang ito dahil medyo nakakalito. Nakinig naman ako at madami akong nakuhang magagandang linya.

Overall, nakakalito nga ang pelikulang ito. Hindi ko rin ma-distinguish kung drama o science fiction ang genre ng Vanilla Sky. Naintindihan ko naman (kahit paano) ang pelikula, pero dahil nakakalito talaga, hindi ko na-appreciate ang kabuuan ng kuwento. Hindi ko alam kung ano ang totoo at hindi, parang paikot-ikot lang. Magaling ang mga tauhan, saka maganda yung mga kanta. Pero parang may kulang. Rating: 2.5 out of 5 More »

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Ninja Scroll

I’m supposed to watch Vanilla Sky today but something came up at nawalan ako ng gana manood. I’ll probably watch it tomorrow then to be followed by Dead Poets Society. For now, more Asian movies, courtesy of Cheree.

Wo Hu Cang Long (2000)
Remarkable and amazing film. Hindi na ako magtataka kung nakakuha ang Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon ng 10 Oscar nominations at 4 dito ang napanalunan nila. And I thought Zhang Ziyi was so damn good in House of Flying Daggers pero mas magaling siya sa pelikulang ito! Nagsisisi ako bakit hindi ko ito napanood dati. Tungkol ito sa dalawang magaing na mandirigma (Yeoh at Fat) at ang kanilang ‘pakikibaka’ para maibalik ang ninakaw na espada ni Fat, at kasama na rin ang pagtatago nila ng kanilang damdamin sa isa’t isa. Yikes, may love element. Pero ok lang, tolerable.

A few days ago I saw Flying Daggers and I cannot help but compare these two films. Both have their advantages and disadvantages, depende sa kung anggulo mo titingnan. Mas gusto ko ang effects ng Flying Daggers, but CTHD’s fighting sequences are awesome. May isang scene din sa Flying Dagger na parang kapareho ng Crouching Tiger, pero di ko na sasabihin at panoorin niyo na lang. Rating: 4.7 out of 5 More »

Spirited Away, House of Flying Daggers, My Lucky Star

Sen To Chihiro no Kamikakushi (2001)
Dapat hindi ko na ikukuwento kung ano ang tingin ko sa Spirited Away kasi nakuwento na nina Vic at Sedricke ang puwedeng maikuwento tungkol sa animated film na ito. Kung sinasabi ni Sed na ‘weirdly good’ ang palabas na ito, ang masasabi ko lang, huwag na kayong magtaka. Tungkol ito sa isang whinny 10-year old na bata na si Chihiro na natagpuan ang sarili niyang nasa mundo ng mga espiritu at nag-ibang anyo ang kanyang mga magulang. Kailangan niyang sagipin ang kanyang magulang, pero kailangan din niyang matutunan ang ilang leksiyon sa buhay.

Typical Japanese Anime film, pero may twist. Maganda, medyo mahaba nga lang, so medyo dragging ang ibang bahagi ng pelikula. Pero sa palagay ko kasama yun talaga sa development ng kabuuan ng kuwento. Rating: 4 out of 5 More »

Happy Holidays!

This is my second Christmas here in Winnipeg. So far there aren’t any changes compared to last year, except for the following:

1. Tatay’s here with us.
2. Nanay’s cooking a lot of food.
3. We already have a home.
4. We actually have a Christmas tree.

Yes, it’s still cold outside. We spent the holidays last year with the Santiaguel’s, but this year, we decided to spend it alone — I mean, as a complete family. It’s also our first Christmas in our new home; last year we spent it on the apartment and without tatay. He went back to Middle East to finish his contract. But it’s okay, we’re all together now, that’s more important, right?

If you’re curious how we spent our holidays, you can check this entry. Nothing fancy, I tell you. As for gifts, well, we haven’t received THAT much. But it doesn’t matter. Nothing grand for this year. So far I only received ONE Christmas card — from my uncle in Illinois. He also sent a whopping 6.5 gallons of Popcorn a few hours ago. Yes, that’s the one that you see in the picture. It comes in three flavors — caramel, cheese and butter. A great treat especially if you’re a movie buff.

I spent my morning helping nanay preparing our Christmas dinner. Too bad tatay is sick today. We left the house after mom finished cooking baked macaroni and we went to deliver some stuff to some of her friends. I also went to Cheree’s house and gave her baked mac and gelatin.

It’s kind of sad when I realize that I cannot receive snail mail cards from the Philippines. Thanks to all my friends, and fellow bloggers who read my entries and who greeted me earlier. It makes my Christmas warm despite of the horrible cold that we’re experiencing right now (literally and figuratively). Anyhow, Happy Holidays to everyone!

P.S. To those who are sending me text messages, sorry if I can’t reply. Wala na akong load.