Random. Crazy. Post

I am a failure on my two movie blogs, yet I 'm still holding on in making those things successful. These movie blogs of mine follows different formats: one is a free movie blog where I write about any movies I watch and the other brings me to the journey of watching the greatest movies of the '90s. Both of them is inspired by The Julie/Julia Project by Julia Powell which I came across with watching Julie and Julia (2009) starring Amy Adams and Meryl Streep. These movie blogs the one who keeps me busy these days but as sloppy as I am, I never did any blogs until today and some few days ago.

Those two blogs are rather invisible to the blogsophere. Not to mention this blog is also invisible. But I don't care. I am not the most interesting person and my writing might suck in different aspects  but you can't deny me of my right to express myself. So going back in the two blogs, writing posts to them felt like a great achievement for me who has nothing to do with my life except household chores. It feels refreshing to watch a movie after washing the dishes and then write something about the movie. I am following the footsteps of Julia but I have none of her wit and humor. See this blog is getting boring.

I am about to close this post without and spell check and rereading. This is my random rants so i don't care if this post has nothing to offer you. If you read this, then I successfully wasted your time. So yeah, see you in the next posts and hopefully those posts will have something in it.

PS: I have been alone here in the house for three days and I am trying to keep my sanity intact by writing this blog. Obviously, I failed (as usual). Nyahahahhaha

Anne Frank and a Concrete Evil

The first time I heard about Anne Frank was when I was in first year high school sitting in the auditorium and lazily watching a character portrayal contest for the English Week. There is this third year girl who portrayed Anne Frank and she did an amazing job of waking me up after spending half of the contest on almost closed eyes. I still vividly remembers how her minuted voice sounds cute when she says, "Dear Kitty" every time she monologues a diary entry. Since that time, I grew curious about this mysterious girl who talks to her diary anytime. I did some research and found out how hope stayed on this girl when it seems that every hope around her is too elusive to catch.

So I found myself few days ago searching Anne Frank on YouTube our of boredom and I came across this full movie (uploaded in 17 parts) entitled Anne Frank: The Whole Story (thanks romanov1918 for uploading). It is not actually a movie, it is a mini-TV series based on the book Anne Frank:The Biography by Melissa Muller (There is supposed to be an umlaut in u but I don't know how to do it) and it stars Hannah Taylor Gordon as Anne and Ben Kingsley who won a Screen Actor's Guild Award for portraying Otto Frank, Anne's father. The movie made me put faces on the stories I have read about the Frank's. What is nice about the movie is that it extends the story to the days where Ann spent some days in the concentration camps until the day she died in Bergen-Belsen. Anne Frank's story is about hope amidst the evils of humanity.

I talked about supernatural evils on my last post but what is more scary is the tangible evils that a person could afflict. This evil is infectious and it can spread very fast that is why the Frank's were driven to hiding. The persecution of the Jews-- if not the most-- is one of the scariest moments in the history were thousands of innocent people were killed because of the stupid reason that they belong to the inferior race. It is stupid to cleanse the supposed to be master "Aryan Race" and Hilter is damned incarnate evil to afflict that ideology. The Holocaust was not just about driving Jews from their homes but actually killing them for inhumane methodology such as starving, gas chambers and shooting random Jews for leisure. It is so sad that hope that is abundant in Anne's personality was sucked out of her piece per piece until she looks to heaven defeated at the last scene.

On the lighter side, there is the character of Miep Gies (Lili Taylor), the one who sneaked the Frank Family in the attic above their office. The Frank depends on Miep and three others for their food and supplies and most importantly their secret . Lili Taylor's role has not many lines in the story but the sense of her trustworth is always expelled in the atmosphere every time she is in a frame. It is warming to have Miep Gies's character to buffer the darkness all throughout the movie. No wonder the real Miep Gies was blessed by long life (She died January 2010). Her persona is the ultimate epitome of a friend, that is, of trust.

It is so sad for me to watch this great film because of seeing how people could do great evils. It is just like Lord Voldemort and Muggles, just more concrete and indeed scarier. This movie leaves me in a position to wonder what if I'll lose hope with life. I hope that everything that is happening to me right now will not suck out the hope inside me. I think we just need to remind ourselves that Anne endured the worst thing.

Going Back and the Evils Around

I have abandoned this site so a few months ago because I felt like a failure and, thus, started a new movie blog with a strict sense of order than this 4-movies-a week blogging. However, I am also a failure with that blog and found myself in the struggle between writing only the movie blogs following the format on my other blog and writing things about any movies I watched. So I decided to do both and write in this blog about any movies I watch while waiting to download the movies I am supposed to watch. (Damn internet connection: leeching its way that torrent downloads only get max download rate of about 9kbps). And here I am, getting back on this blog clean-slate and without any promises. Just writing for the sake of keeping my sanity intact amidst household chores and boredom.

Returning to my old ways of writing blog, I am coming back now to tackle the 2005 horror flick The Exorcism of Emily Rose. This film was first screened when I was in second year high school, but I first saw this in my senior year because of my friend, Oliver, keeps talking how scary this movie was. After too much hesitation, I rented out a copy and watched it bravely alone, in front of my desktop and just hearing the snores of my apneic father from the other room. After about 90 minutes of shock, I soon find myself sleeping with a Bible placed on my chest and wrapped around my arms. Yes, I was sooo scared that time that I easily sought the company of my church-mates and have me prayed over so I can get a good night sleep after almost a week walking to class like a walking zombie (Luckily Plants vs. Zombies is not yet around by that time or else I'll be having rotten tomatoes and eggplant bullets all over my uniform).

With Jennifer Carpenter portraying the lead role Emily, the main plot is set on a court room where a ambition-propelled lawyer Erin Bruner (Laura Linney) defends, although reluctantly at first, Father Richard Moore (Tom Wilkinson) who performed the exorcism rights and is now charged of negligence resulting to Emily's death. The whole trial changed the perspective of the seemingly religiously apathetic Bruner when she feels some supernatural presence at nights. Meanwhile Father Moore goes on the witness's stand to tell the story of Emily and of the demonic possession. It was revealed that Emily was possessed by 6 demons including Lucifer himself. Here is the clip of last exorcism of Emily Rose before she died.



I recently watched this movie for the third time last Halloween, 3AM the same time when Emily was last exorcised. I was watching it with my little brother and my cousins who are so scared that they can't sleep after the movies. I told them that the movie is actually based on the true story of Anneliese Michel and they started freaking out making my  brother pray every night before going to sleep.

The movie works darkly and you can sense the darkness creeping all over you when you watch this film. Three years have passed, and back then I was actively involved in church activities and right now I grew into someone like Erin Bruner, apathetic towards religion. Maybe because I know my evolution very well or I am annoyed with my grandfather's fanaticism towards Eliseo Soriano, but I just don't care with my religion anymore. However, I still have my faith in God and I know for a fact that He exists and so as the demons. The fear I felt when I first saw this movie, I think, is a proof already. We might believe in very different things and we could see Emily's story in different perspective, one thing is apparent though: Evil is always around lurking and trying to break our lives.

Religion and Me

Actually. I do not know how to classify my religious view so I will just classify myself as an agnostic leaning towards the positive perception towards God. I believe that there is God, I just know that there is, and that is my manifestation of my faith. The thing that I do not believe about is religion.

Religion, for me, is just a result of fanaticism. Yes, there are perks if you actually join one, for example, you get to have a company, meet new folks, develop together spiritually etc. But one thing that bothers me about religion is its ability to dictate, more often than not, subtly to its followers, thus, blinding them to personal analysis of a certain issue. I am not talking about the Catholic Church alone (I am baptised a Catholic btw), but any other religion out there. (To tell you something, I am horrified with Islam and I have the tendency to relate it to violence. Blame the media for that).

Many things affected me leading to my belief right now. On a large scale, take for example the meddling of the Church to a purely secular and political issue about legislating the RH Bill (Kudos to Carlos Celdran), claiming that it will be an issue of morality. Personally however, I am always bothered by the way my grandfather seemed to "worship" Brother Eli Soriano. When I attended a worship service of this Church, which I did as a favor to my lolo, this tele-evangelist claimed, with the "basis" from Paul, that the 10 Commandments were given by an angel not by God. for the record, I was scandaled when out of nowhere, Soriano asked to flash a series of "testimonials" claiming that they saw this annoying and ill-mouthed evangelist's head was illuminated by a unknown light source- implying that Soriano was sent by the heaven here. These things made me think if religion is actually necessary. As i viewed religion, the longer it stays the more it gets traditional and ceremonial-- making faith superficial, not a deep communication cord with God.

Currently, I am reading The God Delusion by the famous atheist Richard Dawkins. I got interested in this book because of a series of online conversation with my friend and some readings about the author. I am not yet finished with book (I have read 2 chapters now and mostly they deal about the falsity of agnosticism, the delusion of the existence of a supernatural intelligence), but I have doubts on whether I should finish the book or not. I always feel sad and burdened by reading every word of the book. Dawkins' arguments are well established and frankly logical in a scientific point of view. He can really be persuasive and while reading the book, there are moments that I seemed to doubt the actual existence of God. This book is shaking me yet I am afraid to let go of my faith. I always feel the tension between my curiosity to finish the book and the belief that there is someone there watching me reading TGD.

Religion is a very difficult matter to discuss, considering the high level of respect it receives from any society. In our country, being the only Catholic country in Asia, the Church has the control on our collective unconscious (Maybe this is a manifestation that we are not actually over with the oppressive control of the Spanish). However for me, I have to say that I do not belong to any religions or if I do have one, I have to call it a religion of my own. I just have to go directly to God if I have to confess, request, or want his Guidance without any intervention of a dictating third party. After all-- and ironically for I have learned this from my Theology professor-- I really could not comprehend the very nature of God because I am just human.

Cheesy Plot Can Still Make an Everlasting Love

Week Number 1 (still) and Movie Number 3: The Notebook (2004). (Yes, it is based on the novel of Mr. Nicholas Sparks of the same title.)

The only bad thing about this movie is that it is one of those country-boy-meets-city-girl movie he making the plot very predictable. You know that in the end, Noah and Allie will be united despite their differences and the parent hindrance. Although they have twisted the timeline (making it non-linear because the story is told on a flashback), they made their greatest flaw by giving a very obvious hint that the two oldies are in fact the lovers in the story as written in the notebook when the nurse "gave" the name of the old girl. Nevertheless, watching the movie makes a well spent two hours for the audience.

Of course, the timeless plot template of well-refined-girl-fell-in-love-with-the-bad-boy is always cherished especially by the girls (and I am gay, thus, I count as "girl"). The movie makes it you remember that day when you first fell in love no matter if it was only a puppy love. Noah was a man of few words and it makes him simplay hot and it makes you want him (or not him, maybe someone like him. Talk about Derek Ramsay). And naturally, you would want to act like the spoiled Allie who wants to be with her beau most of the time and start to make fights with him which both of you would reconcile in sweet caressing hugs and maybe a prolonged kiss. Romantic it is for the girls but I think the guys have some difficulties appreciating this movie because an obvious appreciation would have them appear to be at least effeminate.

With Alzheimer's Disease being the major blockade of their supposedly continuing love story, the movie saved itself from the major fires because of this trick. We are sure that Noah, as steadfast to his love for Allie, reads the notebook to her so often in order for her to fulfill her promise to "return" every time the story is retold. And we are glad that she "returns" everytime he reads the story to her; however tragically that it only last for five minutes at most. Also, the recurring symbolism of the mansion highlights two main "roads" of the story line: First, the mansion's renewal manifests the hope that Allie would come back to him once the mansion is finsihed, and last, its transformation from old to new can be juxtaposed with the implied resurrection of their love after their physical death. Therefore, the movie, although it has the cheesiest plot template, have depth and unique visual palatability. It makes us still believe that there are wonderful things in our life amidst the pain and trials that we are burdened.

Ryan Gosling has already proven to be one of the greatest actors of this era. His hotness and the believability of his acting is a very good choice for the movie. For this movie, he won the Teen Choice Awards for a breakout performance of a male and an actor for a drama flick-- a true evidence that the movie hs a lot of teenage fans (what would we expect?). Also, Rachel McAdams has used her innate Queen Bee she also used for Mean Girls (2004) in order to portray successfully the spoiled, rich kid nature of Allie. Combining the innate talents of this actors, they made one of the classic kiss flicks in the entire history which catapulted them into series of dating sessions after the movie screening. Indeed, they make a wonderful couple and it contributed so much to the success of the movie.

One thing that we can learn about The Notebook is that love endures forever. However cheesy that line is, it gives us hope and it encourages us to engage in a loving relationship. In our times now, true love maybe hard to find and girls would have the difficulties now to find a bad-boy sawmill worker but the movie assures us that love is always there hoping to be found in the right place and time.