Goemon & Casshern

I'm watching the movie Goemon and found it quite interesting. Great action sequences. It's like watching a live-action anime. Wonderful CG imagery with vivid and luscious colors. In this type of movie, the director can do whatever he envisions because he's not bound by the laws of physics. Lush and vibrant environments are created to match the superhuman abilities of the protagonist.


Also check out the previous movie of this director, which is Casshern. Visually speaking, Goemon is a great improvement compared to Casshern but both have interesting storyline if you're not lost watching the imagery.


Great movies for anime lovers.

Private Conscience

I think that when statesmen forsake their own private conscience for the sake of their public duties, they lead their country by a short route to chaos.
from"A Man for All Season"

I am watching once again the 1966 movie of Fred Zinneman about the Life of Sir Thomas More entitled " A Man for All Seasons". It a wonderful movie about standing one's group over an issue even at such insurmountable odds and dire consequences.

Most of us know that Thomas More has already been declared a saint by the Catholic Church and rightly so. What is wonderful about the movie is the fact that it didn't present it is the view of his saintliness by his humanity. The dialogue is much more of a courtroom drama rather than drama.

The quote above is something to ponder about because it creates a debate on which is to be followed when holding office, is it your own conscience or is it your duty as a civil servant. With the separation of church and state, we sometimes encounter laws that must be implemented but is not morally sound based on our beliefs.

Which would you follow? I have my own convictions about it and that's a blog for another day.

Movie : Ghost Town

I've just finished watching the movie Ghost Town, starring Ricky Gervais, Greg Kinnear & Tea Leoni and found it quite remarkable. It's a comedy with clever jokes and a wonderful storyline featuring a different take on the idea of a ghost's "unfinished business". However, in this movie, we find out that it is not ghosts who have "unfinished businesses" but the people they left behind. Sort of the "letting go" idea.

I like the part of the movie where Gervais' character found out that she was in love with the woman that she haven't noticed before even though they lived in the same apartment building. It's that sort of realization that strikes me because I can actually happen in life. Maybe, I'm sentimental about that kind of idea but it was wonderful presented in the movie that it didn't seem like a cliche.

The best quote in the movie, for me, was said by Tea Leoni's character, "We just get the one life, you know. Just one. You can't live someone else's or think it's more important just because it's more dramatic. What happens matters. May be only to us, but it matters." Oftentimes, we are victims of envy of other people's lives because they have more drama in them while we think that we live in a boring life just because there's not that many fireworks in our daily living. This explains why people love watching telenovelas. They like exploring the twists and turns of the characters in the series.

Also, listen to the soundtrack of the movie because it features many wonderful songs.

Discerning Your Mate During a Movie

A theater is an interesting place to analyze someone new in your life. Does he have a phobia about sitting on the aisle? When everyone else is sniffling and crying, is he busty unwrapping licorice and covering up emotions? Does he hog the communal armrest? Does he put his feet on the seat in front? Is he reluctant to ask people to move over one seat so the two of you can sit together? Everything you want to know about your potential mate can be discerned during a movie.

Kathleen Kroll Driscoll

Finished with " Benjamin Button"

I have just finished watching the movie "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button". It was a wonderful movie. I now understand why it was nominated for a "Best Motion Picture" award at the recently concluded Oscar awards. The movie is told in a narrative by the protagonist Benjamin Button.

This is the type of movie that I like watching. It's thorough in telling the story just like some of my favorite movies, "Out of Africa" and "The English Patient". It's a movie full of inspirational messages that talks about life in general.

Some of readers of this blogger have inquired if what i think of this movie. I have to say that it is wonderfully made with great casts but not recommended for everyone. I say that it's not for everyone because it is quite a long movie with a sad undertone. This is not a feel-good movie even though it has many moral lessons" scattered throughout the movie. This movie is sort of a tragedy were both the protagonists die in the end but in a different way. One die of old age while the other one died the opposite way, just as he was before he was born. But for people who wanted to watch a movie with great storytelling, this one is a must-see.

Here are some wonderful lines from the movie:

• Your life is defined by its opportunities... even the ones you miss.

• For what it's worth: it's never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There's no time limit, stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you're proud of. If you find that you're not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again.

• You can be as mad as a mad dog at the way things went. You could swear, curse the fates, but when it comes to the end, you have to let go.

• It's a funny thing about comin' home. Looks the same, smells the same, feels the same. You'll realize what's changed is you.

Curious About the "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"

I just had tonight got a copy of the movie"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button". Started watching it tonight but then I realized, when I glanced at the timer, that I runs for almost three hours. I started watching it late so I decided to continue watching it tomorrow.

I first heard of this movie because it was starring two famous Hollywood celebrities but then I was more captivated by the premise of what if a person aged backwards.

Well, I'll have to find out tomorrow how it turns out.

I Know. It's You.

This, finally, must be serious.

I've often been alone but I've never lived alone. When I was with someone, I was often happy but it seemed like a coincidence. These people were my parents, but it could have been others. Why was this brown-eyed boy my brother, and not the boy with the green eyes on the opposite platform? The taxi-driver's daughter was my friend, but I might as well have put my arm around a horse's neck. I was with a man, I was in love, and I might as well have left him and walked off with the stranger I met in the street.

Look at me, or don't. Give me your hand, or don't. No, don't give me your hand and look away.

Tonight is the new moon. No night can be more peaceful. There won't be any bloodshed in the city. I've never toyed with anyone, yet I've never opened my eyes and thought 'Now, this is serious'. At last it's becoming serious.

I've grown older. Am I the only one who wasn't serious? Is it the times that lack seriousness?

I was never alone, neither on my own nor with others. But I would have liked to be alone. After all, to be alone means to be whole. Now I can say it - as from tonight I'm alone at last. I must put an end to coincidence.

The new moon of decision! I don't know if there is destiny, but there is a decision. So decide! We are the present day now.

The whole town, the whole world is taking part in our decision.

We two are now more than us two.
We incarnate something.
We are sitting in the place of the people and the whole place is full of people who are dreaming the same dream.
We decide everyone's game.
I am ready.
Now it's your turn.
Now you've got to decide.
Now or never!

You need me. You will need me. There's no greater story than ours - a man and a woman. It will be a story of giants - invisible, but transferable, a story of new ancestors.
Look, my eyes. They are the picture of necessity, of everyone's future. Last night I dreamed of a stranger. It was my man. Only with him could I be alone, open up to him, wholly, wholly open for him, welcome him wholly into me, surround him with the labyrinth of shared happiness.

I know. It's you.


from "Wings of Desire"

Who Watches the Watchmen? That Would be Me.

Two weeks ago, I went to another town to watch the movie Watchmen since we have no cinemas here. That was not my real intention but Plan A didn't materialize so I resorted to Plan B which is just to watch the movie adaptation of the graphic novel written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons, WATCHMEN.

I was enthralled by the movie because of what I have heard of the graphic novel since I am an avid comic book fan of both Marvel and DC. Truth be told, I already had an electronic copy of this graphic novel years ago but failed to ready it. I got most of my information about the novel from Wikipedia and other websites after my friend gave a copy, saying that it was one of the best comic book ever made.

Even with all that information from the internet, I wasn't able to fully comprehend the story of the novel until I watched the movie adaptation. Since the 12 issue graphic novel cannot be all incorporated into a 2-hour movie, I'm currently revisiting my copy of the comic book to fill-up some gaps not found in the movie.

Also, I have watched the animation "Tales of the Black Freighter" which is a comic story within the Watchmen story. It was quite scary and not suitable for anyone for teens. The story is quite dark and grotesque that it is uncomfortable to watch and I kept grimacing while watching the video.

From the host of watchmen characters, I now understand why many believe that Rorschach is the most popular figure even on the way he was portrayed in the novel.

I do like how Rorschach thinks, in this world where there are many gray areas that people tend to make, it is a necessary component to have a character who sees things as black and white, right or wrong, good and evil. I like a character who doesn't compromise their beliefs even when it resulted in a perfectly made lie.

The saying "The End Does That Justify The Means" comes to mind on how Rorschach does his thing. The is a very flawed character who does veil things to get what he wants but doesn't pretend that what he was doing was right. No apologies for what he has done because he himself knows that they're wrong.

Although I like Rorschach, I question whether such a person could exist in seeing the world just as black and white. Well, I think that the world of tolerance, understanding and empathy would not be in the vocabulary of Rorschach.

Take a Chance on Me

The past few days, the song that always pops in my head is "Take A Chance On Me" from ABBA. It came back to my head while watching Mamma Mia! months ago and now I can't get rid of it. I don't really think that the song fits my situation but the title does.

I know why it keeps popping in my head. It's because I'm trying to woo someone to want me. After examining myself and what I think she likes based on her lifestyle, I'm nowhere near her type. Just wishing that she'll notice me and maybe take a chance on me. Give a guy his chance to say his piece and let her decide.

Movie : Beyond the Clouds (1995)

Al di là delle nuvole (Italy)
Beyond the Clouds (USA)
Jenseits der Wolken (Germany)
Par-delà les nuages (France)

Beyond the Clouds is a film directed by Michelangelo Antonioni and Wim Wenders (who directed Wings of Desire) released in 1995. This is the last film of Antonioni, who was a brilliant Italian director.

It is composed of four short stories linked by a journey of a film director played by John Malkovich, while thinking of his next film in Europe. The stories take place in Ferrara, Portofino, Aix en Provence and Paris with each story centered on a woman. They are Ines Sastre, Sophie Marceau, Chiara Caselli and Irene Jacob, four of the most beautiful women assembled in one film.

Each story at each end doesn’t explain the reasons by the characters became as such or why they acted that way. I think it invites as to speculate, to wonder why they are what they are.

I would define each story as, 1st – Unfulfilled love over time, 2nd – Meeting a person with Intriguing Personality, 3rd – Chance encounter leading to Infidelity, and 4th – Love at First Sight vs. Divine Love.

Of the four stories, I was struck by the first and last story.

The first story is about a travelling technician Silvano who encountered a roving teacher Carmen (Ines Sastre) while trying to find a hotel to spend the night in a remote town somewhere in Spain. She pointed the technician to a hotel nearby where he stayed for the evening. In the morning, the technician found out that the teacher was also staying the hotel. They had an interesting conversation throughout the day. In the evening, he escorted her to her room and said good night before going to his room. After closing her door, he hinted for the desire to enter her room maybe to have an intimate night together. But he never did. When he woke up in next day, he found out that she had already left.

After three years, they again met and continued their conversation as if time has not passed since they last met. He asked her why she left without saying anything and it was revealed that she was waiting for him to enter her room that night. She showed him to her home were it was revealed to she has been with a man for a year now telling him of a letter that her lover wrote while lamenting that “Words do us good even in writing/ A woman expects them/ She always does”. He left her house but returned immediately and the woman let him in again. They had an intimate moment but before it could be consummated, he left without saying anything.

It was clear that he loves the woman and continues to do so even after he left. Maybe the woman did love him too, hinted by a sign of sadness while watching him leave from her window. The question lingers that even though he loves her, why he not possessed her even though it was hinted that she wanted him to possess her. It may be that he has too much pride in himself or maybe it’s just plain foolishness on his part. We are led to speculate on the matter

Why did he left when? Did the knowledge that she is with someone else deter him from pursuing her even though he loved her immensely? Will he be contended that he just knew her? Is he afraid of what might have been? Was it sacrifice or pride?

I was left to wonder why he did what he did. I’m still wondering…

The last story was about a man who was fascinated with a girl (Irene Jacob) whom he just encountered while holding the door for her as she was leaving the apartment building. He followed her immediately and asked her if he could walk with him. She was heading to a church to attend mass at as nearby church. As he was accompanying her, he told her that he thinks that she is in love and the girl agreed. He assumed that she was in love because she was satisfied and they continued their conversation heading to church. They attended mass, however, he didn’t sit beside her preferring to side by the side of the church. He felt asleep and when he woke, the mass was finished and the girl had already left.

He went outside and tried to find her and caught up with her in the nearby fountain and then accompanied her back to the apartment building where they first met. They continued to talk even as the rain was about to fall. Upon reaching the apartment door building, she hurriedly went up the building to her apartment leaving the man. The man followed her up the stair. As she was about to enter her room, the man revealed that if maybe he could she he again because he was falling in love with her. And the girl said that it could not be so because the next day she will be entering the convent to become a nun. And she closed her door while the man outside dumbstruck of what he just heard.

Could that single meeting constitute as love or just infatuation? What would one feel knowing that the one he fell in love with was not meant for him? How could he react to that kind of answer? It’s human love versus divine love.

These two stories are opposite of each other, the first one didn’t continue a love he could have while the other cannot have the love he wanted. Both stories end in heartache. The stories didn’t mention how each story might have ended up in the future. The first one only implied that he continued to love her and I believe that he did.

Most people would say that we should move on with our lives when we encounter heartaches like finding out that we could never have the person we love or letting the love of our life continue without us to have a better life as I think the character Silvano did. He let he go because he thinks that he is inadequate for her. This is very painful to admit knowing that you’re not good enough for the person you love. However, I think it is even more painful to realize that you can never have the person you love even if you are at your best just like the boy who fell in love with the future nun.

Yes, we should move on but not necessarily lose the feeling for the person we could not have. Sometimes, moving on and letting go doesn’t follow the same path. As what I’ve read in a book, we should hold on the pieces of our broken dreams because they will serve as a reminder of the ideal that we couldn’t achieve. They will serve as our guide in formulating another dream.

I believe that love is a choice and we are free to choose who we love but we could never choose the person who will love us. We could only hope that the person we love feels the same way about us. Even if your stars decree that you’re fated to be together, until the choice is made, it is still nothing.

Make the choice, not because it is easy or is available but because you wanted that choice. Never settle for something, choose the best even if you won’t succeed. Settling for something is a continuous pain to suffer because deep inside you, you know that it is not what you wanted.

Rejection is easier to accept rather than the knowledge that you were just settled for.

Continue searching. Who knows? We may continue a love story from our past or create a new one. We could only hope for the best because we still can’t see anything beyond the clouds.

I Finally Have a Copy of Citizen Kane

Finally, the wait is over, I finally found a copy of the movie Citizen Kane. It's been years since I started looking for that movie and now I found one. I've read great reviews of this movie and some critics considered it the best movie of all time. I'll be watching it in the next couple of days because I don't have much time right now to watch a movie intently. Don't know if I will like it but I want to see what made it a great movie.