General

General

Man of Steel

By on Monday, June 17, 2013

Finally a Superman movie that’s actually super. Not since Superman (and somewhat Superman II) has there been a worthy Superman movie. I hated Superman III and I don’t even remember Superman IV. And Superman Returns? Let’s just say he shouldn’t have.

The general story is familiar to those who have seen the first two original movies. Kal-El was sent to Earth, Krypton was destroyed, Kal-El grows up to become Superman, outlaw Kryptonian general Zod and underlings shows up, big fight, Superman wins.

But the execution is what makes it super. Fights were dynamic and titanic. Even the ones between Jor-El and Zod. Yes, a scientist kicking ass! Never has Russel Crowe been so cool since Gladiator. And wait till you see Superman vs Zod. No external underwear here. This Superman not just kicks ass but takes names as well. This is Superman for the younger set. Not necessarily good. But not necessarily bad. And it’s definitely a fun watch.

That Man of Steel wraps up the stories of Superman and Superman II makes the reboot complete and in one move (or movie) sets up the stage for what’s next. And that’s the question: What’s next? Given the height of success of Man of Steel, it’s easier to screw it up than make it better. But I hope they’re able to do the former. The franchise now shows so much potential.

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General

Explosion at Serendra

By on Friday, May 31, 2013

Earlier, Jeanne, and I were having dinner at Mary Grace at Serendra when there was a loud explosion. The building actually shook. My first reaction was to grab Jeanne and duck close to the wall and floor.

There was no other explosion so I peeked up and saw people calmly heading towards the source of the explosion. Someone said that the it was at Market! Market!

Still, I had no intention of staying around. We quickly paid and drove out. To avoid the traffic, we went the long route away from Market! Market!

When we got home, I checked the news and it turned out that the explosion was from Serendra! Thanks to God were safe. Others were not so lucky, I read on the news there were some casualties.

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General

Fast and Furious 6

By on Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Last Sunday afternoon, Jeanne, Michelle, and I caught a screening of Fast and Furious 6. Just like the previous installation, it’s a heist movie with cars. But this time around, there’s a hint of James Bond. The crew gets together for a job to stop an ex-SAS international villain from stealing and assembling some kind of doomsday device. See what I mean about the hint of James Bond?

Assembling the crew for the task was care of Hobbs (The Rock/Dwayne Johnson). I guess, James Bond was busy and he needed Toretto’s (Vin Diesel) uncanny ability for doing the impossible with cars (and anything with wheels). He accomplished this by dangling the possibility of Letty Ortiz being alive to the playing-hard-to-get Toretto. Of course he succeeded, otherwise there’d be no movie. First love never dies indeed.

But as usual, the whole point are the cars. It doesn’t matter where they are, what they’re doing. It’s all about the cars. The stunts are over the top and absolutely ridiculous. But there’s no denying it was fun!

You’d think it’s hard to come up with a crazier and more outrageous sequel. But they just may even be able to pull it off. Think Jason Statham of The Transporter fame. Wait for the post-credit ;)

Rating: 3/5

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General

SM Aura

By on Monday, May 27, 2013

We decided to spend last Sunday at the new and somewhat controversial SM Aura. Michelle wanted to check it out and I agreed to go figuring I should at least try it before I knock it… some more.

To begin with, getting to the mall is an exercise in patience. The traffic was congested around the mall and the entrance to the parking was even more congested. I almost wanted to turn back. Typical SM.

Inside, I was quite impressed. The finishing, marble floor, and ceiling are pretty. But after a while I noticed some things that fall short: the stylish but inefficient layout of the escalators and stairs, the hollow 3D restroom signs, the crowd, the crowd…

First item on the list was lunch. We searched the directory and most restaurants were coming soon. We finally settled on Bulgogi Brothers but we couldn’t find it where it’s supposed to be. Maybe I missed some hidden premium restaurants area. The food court had some relatively interesting shops like Brasas and Pepper Lunch. But the lines were long and service slow. The crew was asking people if we’re willing to wait 45 minutes. So we ended up in KFC. Yeah.

After lunch, we went around. There was actually a good selection of shops. But nothing I could see that wasn’t in any SM mall. Maybe I missed some hidden premium shops area. We ended up staying mainly in and around Uniqlo and Forever 21, both SM-exclusive shops.

Next we went to have snacks. The food court shops were still crowded so got our food from the cinema snack bar and went back to the food court to eat. The good thing is that there are free tables. The bad thing is that it’s so dirty! There’s only a few busboys. I actually saw only one. We had to partially clear up the table before a busboy came over and cleaned up.

Then we went to the cinema to catch Fast and Furious 6. The cinemas we’re smaller than the typical SM cinema. The seats were better. However, the layout is awful. The screen is just too near. Anywhere near the screen and/or off to the side is intolerable. And guess where we ended up seating? Yeah.

After the movie, we headed out and leave it all behind. But wait! There’s more! There was still a lot of construction going on at the basement. When we got to the car, it was covered with a layer of cement dust! And finally, as we headed out, we learned that at least one of the exits was closed. I learned later that there actually was some flooding from the rain and I guess that’s why that exit was closed.

So in a nutshell, SM Aura is an upscale-looking mall. But with the usual shops, the usual restos, it ends up attracting the usual crowd. So yes, it’s a prettified SM mall with the full SM mall experience. And it will surely bring in lots of money to Mr. Sy especially once it’s more complete. But upscale? Not quite there yet.

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