General – Page 160

Superman Returns

By Jay Lagare on Monday, July 17, 2006

I’ve been holding off watching Superman Returns for the longest time because I wanted to watch it on the IMAX cinema at the SM Mall of Asia. But tonight, I finally watched it with some MBA friends.

Never being been into Superman, preferring Batman and his brooding nature,
I wasn’t expecting much. But the movie was so lame. It’s practically a glam movie with a dragging love story between Lois Lane, Superman, and Cyclops :P with Lex Luthor and his not-so-nefarious scheme thrown in as a side act. Needless to say, Superman wins against both Cyclops and Lex. So typical.

Good thing the 20 minutes of 3D footage sort of saved the day (or should I say the night?). I’ve said this about IMAX before but I’ll say it again: It’s great! The technology needs further tweaking but in time it will be the standard of cinema.

Rating: 3/5

General

The Constant Gardener

By Jay Lagare on Sunday, June 11, 2006

The Constant Gardener based on the book The Constant Gardener by John Le Carre is a story of love and revenge that pits Justin (Ralph Fiennes), a minor diplomat (and hobby gardener) against the evil pharmaceutical industry. The movie’s cynical view of the pharmaceutical industry reflects our own. Okay my own :P But seeing prices of medicine in Thailand to be way less expensive than in the Philippines, could you really blame me?

The movie is set mainly in Africa and begins with the death of Justin’s wife. His wife was an activist who had been involved in activities aimed at the pharmaceutical industry and he suspects that this was the reason for her death. Flashbacks abound as he slowly unravels the conspiracy that led to her death. He ultimately tracks down who was responsible. This he accomplished with great difficulty due to the power of these people. But in the end, he finally gains a measure of bittersweet revenge and deliverance.

A good movie with superb acting from Rachel Weisz as the activist wife and, to a lesser extent, Fiennes as the soft-spoken and reserved guy who is raging underneath. The director is the one who directed City of God and you can also see his realism style (think news footage) here.

Rating: 4/5

General

2006 June 7 to 10 Bangkok, Thailand

By Jay Lagare on Saturday, June 10, 2006

Just came back from Bangkok for meetings with a client and some partners (and partners-to-be). Actually, I was just there to accompany Migs and provide technical consultation.

We arrived wednesday and spent the time walking around a mall called MBK. It’s main attraction seems to be a HUGE mobile communications shopping area. While walking around, I noticed that there are MANY pretty Thai women (heck there are even some pretty Thai men!). Bangkok was nice already! Later in the evening, Migs interviewed a Thai who is interested in working with the company.

Thursday was all meetings. We met with the client, met with a partner, had lunch, met with another partner, then another. I mostly listened since technical issues didn’t come up. But it was still hectic and quite tiring. We ended late in the evening and simply crashed when we got back to the hotel.

General

Coraline

By Jay Lagare on Tuesday, May 30, 2006

“As the first stars came out Coraline finally allowed herself to drift into sleep, while the gentle upstairs music of the mouse circus spilled out onto the warm evening air, telling the world that summer was almost done.”

The last line of Coraline, as I finished it on the flight back from Bohol, seemed to me to be a fitting end to a great summer. I was able to watch backlogged TV shows, watched some movies, read a book or two, played airsoft, went to some beaches, even dived. I wasn’t able to cook, climb, nor go karting but I guess I can always put them off for the next summer. But I’m digressing, back to the book.

As everyone probably already know, Coraline is a children’s book with a twist. A dark twist as you would expect from Gaiman. It’s the typical premise of a children’s book: bored kid(s) having imaginary adventures that become all to real. But Gaiman was able to make it dark and creepy (a crawling severed white hand with loooong nails, now if that doesn’t raise goosebumps). It plays on every child’s (and who wasn’t?) fears (spiders, rats, etc) and multiplies them tenfold (the vividness of your imagination plays a factor). But most importantly, he was able to make it quite entertaining.

Rating: 4/5

General

2006 May 25 to 29 Bohol

By Jay Lagare on Monday, May 29, 2006

Some pics from my trip to Bohol on 2006 May 25 to 29. I was there to join the family for my sister’s birthday and my first nephew’s dedication. While there, I took the opportunity to dive at Balicasag Island (where, unfortunately, the divemaster’s assistant engaged in spear fishing grrr) and swim at Panglao Island. Pictures were taken using a Pentax Optio WPi.