incapacitated

or at least that's what i think has been happening..

if this is still the proper space for all the ups and downs, then i will be back before you know it.

Me Against the World: Basketball in Beijing 2008 Olympics

my issue stands: i will root for every team versus USA basketball team.

but their tenacity at hoping to land the gold (and the media coverage surrounding it, AND they are all saying the right things making you want to root for them) is way, way too much that it leads you to believe that they already have won it.

my only reason for accepting a USA win is that it's not as fun if they won't compete anymore in FIBA ball, which could become the case if they decide to quit after losses pile up. a mercy win, if you like to call it as that.

the whole Philippines cheer for Kobe, Lebron, Wade. i quietly support Calderon, Papaloukas, Jasikevicius, Ginobili.

let the games begin.

TDK

as Kevin Smith mentioned in a podcast where he was a guest, all of the internet has reviewed the movie so point of discussion must be made to what we like about it instead.

i've seen The Dark Knight twice.

Nothing beats my first screening as i dived into the Batman Nolan-verse. And this dive was deep. Way too deep. Trench deep. I can't imagine watching a comic book movie movie this deep .

i didn't read that many Batman novels. But the established relationship in the mythos is that the Joker is the arch-nemesis. The more mature take is that the Joker is the Batman's anti-thesis. And we did indeed get that mature take.

Sequel to Batman Begins

what i like about TDK is you can watch the Batman Begins Blu-ray, insert the TDK Blu-ray and there will be no time gap. the theme, direction, whatever is directly connected from the prequel to this installment.the Batcave was destroyed in the prequel, now we get the pseudo-hideout-Bat-basement-alternative. Rachel Dawes aged though (Maggie Gyllenhaal replaced Katie Holmes), but became more emotional, acting-equipped. Batman upped the ante when he first appeared and almost eradicated crime, what happens next to Gotham?

An unstoppable force meets an immovable object

The Joker happened.

We meet the insanity and absolute evil of the Joker.

The equal.

Joker quips that line, as if they're talking about themselves as gods in Gotham. and how the Joker manipulated everyone, i'm not surprised by the blasphemy.

Heath Ledger gave the scariest Joker ever. sad to say we won't get an encore.

Best ever

All i can think of is how 'great-great' TDK is, then an aggregate tells me he didn't like it, it's full of talk. (I only noticed that in my 2nd screening, because it's full of ups the first time i saw it).

The answer to that is it's a CHARACTER STUDY.

This story basically tells why Batman isn't considered a hero, but more of a vigilante-detective-crime-fighter. This movie is the journey of how that happened. On why Batman is called 'the Dark Knight'. We know Batman's motivations (from Batman Begins). And then we understand the Joker's motivation (or lack thereof). And we saw the fall of Two-Face (if you don't identify Two-Face, then this line isn't a spoiler).

The bar has been set so high, as Kevin Smith quipped. How they will do another sequel is beyond me (don't think that way anymore and why i'm not in the film business anymore also). it's just so amazing, i left the theater deeply, deeply satisfied. the linear, literal, emotional orientation of the movie is just so right in many fronts, or ends.

i hope i can catch an IMAX screening, the Blu-ray will be awesome.

PS.

i hope they do "Dark Knight Returns" adaptation, which they say is the best graphic novel of all time.

World Upon My Shoulders

It's either I finish my thesis or I finish my thesis.

It's either I finish my thesis quickly or I finish my thesis slowly?

It's either I finish my thesis AND write the documentation quickly or I finish my thesis AND write the documentation slowly?

It's either I finish my thesis and write the documentation and 'measure the fabricated chip quickly' or I finish my thesis and write the documentation and 'measure the fabricated chip slowly'?

But 'measure the fabricated chip quickly' is out of the equation. It's almost a gradual, grind-it-out situation.

So I am left with "I finish my thesis and write the documentation and measure the fabricated chip slowly".

But funding ran out.

Dang!

(To be continued...)

Sci-Fi to Blow your Mind

There it goes again..

The need for something to blow my mind has become a necessity. The thought that a new idea or concept will astound me is a novelty. And I constantly search for them either in movies or technology.

Looking for a movie to pique my interest, I chanced upon a site that reviews sci-fi movies. In its DVD review section, it mentioned a BETTER movie at all aspects compared to Cloverfield, and that movie was The Mist.

Ever since I saw Ringu, I have been searching for the perfect Japanese movie that can blow my mind. That search led me to Audition, Inner Senses and Cure. All Asian movies. Little did I know the pleasant surprise that Hollywood can sometimes offer.

I really love it when I watch a movie that I know NOTHING about. No trailers, no spoilers, no hype. This is supposed to be already popular since it's a Stephen King novella, but I was more into comics than books. Also, this happened to me in the Sixth Sense, and that blew me away.

The movie deliberate starts slow. Supermarket as location after the Storm in a remote area in the country. Then the unexplained happens. There's this Mist that covers the whole area, the people retreat to the Supermarket, and after awhile, the monster appears.

Then the whole movie shifts to what I like to call as the 'Theory of Relativity'. Not relativity as in science, but relativity as in 'with respect to one's personal beliefs and experiences'. Everyone has an opinion on what transpires. Some takes the logical side, that the idea of a monster is ridiculous. Some take the religious side, which takes contexts out of the bible to fit the current situation. Some take the humanity side, the thought that people are naturally good. Some take the moderate side, somewhat survival side, making relevant decisions on the given situations. And the MAJORITY take the SHEEP side, no further explanation.

So it basically tells that the MONSTER IS IN US. This is a play on these things, and I love it.

There was this tremendous sequence, which I would like to refer as 'KILLING GOD' in this movie, the sequence where the self-appointed shepherd got what was deserved. And yet the one who did so paid a steep price.

I was reading a review of this movie which has exactly my reaction while watching the culminating events. "There is no way they will end the movie like that! This is a Hollywood film." But they got the balls to do it that way! When the novella's ending was actually lighter! And this blew me away. The character found himself in a relative situation and acted accordingly in his reality. Not knowing another reality in a bigger picture that he only sees until it was too late.

I like the way I find these types of obscure movies that didn't get that super media mileage, but turns out to rock at the end. The Dark City totally felt this way.

This movie is dark. And I love it. It makes me reel for another movie like it. I'm itching to grab Cloverfield to take a glimpse whether the assertion was true. But maybe I should let the novelty rub off first. Which is the business reason for the iTunes Rental feature. You don't tend to re-watch a film you have just seen. But then again, this is why I'm posting this entry. To remind myself of this 'Woah' moment.

Purpose

Confused.

Just like this blog.

Maybe because I thrive on Entropy.

Reconstruction reasons aside, sometimes it's good to have a personal space for pseudo-publishing efforts.

At the end of the day, all you really have is (a bird's eye-view on) yourself.

untitled

what i only have is now