We have made a video! For our Preventive Medicine module, we were tasked to create an instructional video for community use. (Meaning, in layman's terms and in Filipino.) Our chosen topic was scoliosis.

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Last Saturday Faith invited Archie, Set, and me to dinner and a New Moon mubidate in celebration of her birthday. I can't watch Twilight movies without these guys; I need people to giggle with :p Thank you for the treat Faith! The cheese remains central to the plot, and the melodrama is still drawn out. While the acting doesn't seem much improved, the action sequences are better rendered. The CGI wolves and vampire fights are pretty good; the use of wires isn't obvious like in the previous movie.

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After the movie, I dropped by Dam's place for his birthday party. It was so great to see everyone again. We're always so busy cramming for exams or preparing reports -- even during lectures and lunch time -- that we never get the chance to just talk.

Horor comedy is always a tough sell, but it's one of my favorite genres. Shaun of the Dead set the bar for zombie comedies, but Zombieland holds its own. Holds it own extremely well. I watched the film not knowing anything about it, and I think it's more fun this way so I'm not giving a synopsis.

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Lastly, Zombieland is feel-good movie at heart. It's fun, it's gross, and it's great to watch with friends.

For those who've already seen it: additional rules.

It's been months since I've done this so I'm easing into it: linkspam!

For the eyes...

Twisted Princess
Jeffrey Thomas creates his own versions of the Disney princesses. (Ariel is damn creepy.) He made stories up for them too!

Disney Heroes (on ONTD for the comments)
The Twisted Princesses reminded me of David Kawena's Disney Heroes. I last saw this years ago, and apparently the artist has added several characters. Including live action heroes...um. Yeah. Awkward.

An excellently-named sex toy
via @neilhimself: Do not click on this link. If you do, & then need to wash the inside of your eyes with wirewool, blame @bstiteler

If You Printed The Internet…
Although...this was posted a month ago, so it's probably outdated. Haha.

Let the Right One In remake starts shooting; cast updates
OH HELL NO. I loved the original Swedish film. The filmmakers intend to "forge a unique identity" for the remake, probably meaning it's going to be a totally different movie with more gore and shock value. At least the choice for Eli seems good. While watching (500) Days of Summer I remember telling Jaime, "She could be a boy...OR a girl."


...And the ears...

The 2009 Holiday Music Meme
It's that time of the year again folks!

Iggy And The Stooges for full 2010 tour
I'll never get the chance to see them, but this is eeeeexcellent.


...Together!

A clever ad that was released in time for Halloween:


And my favorite version of this song: pah-pah-pah-POKER FACE!

Last Friday Jaime and I watched The Hurt Locker. I understand that it hasn't gotten much local coverage. But on LJ the hype has been pretty intense, so I was excited to see it.

In war torn Iraq, an elite Army bomb squad unit loses its team leader to an improvised explosive device. They get a new team leader soon enough, a brash Staff Sergeant who, while really good at his job, appears to have some sort of death wish.

The film isn't strictly a story, in that it has no clear-cut setup, climax, or denoument. As Jaime said, it's more like a dramatized documentary. Unlike a documentary however, the film jumps right into the action. No one explains IEDs or specialists or anything, and the audience is left to rely on context clues to figure out what's happening. But rather than being confusing, it imparts a feeling of urgency.

The Hurt Locker doesn't shy away from the violence and confusion that war brings. Nor does it glorify war. It simply depicts a month in the life of a US Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) unit -- and all the tension and uncertainty such a job brings. Apart from some iffy soldier protocol, it seems quite realistic. While the bombs are always in the forefront of the story, they never outshine the characters. The actors really stepped into their roles. (Also, the shots are very pretty.)

A word of caution: true to the documentary style, all cameras are handheld, and things are often shaky. So if you're astigmatic like me, expect to get a little dizzy.

( slightly spoilery picspam )

Caught the last full show of Jennifer's Body with Set and my sister tonight.

Set's right, it lacks something. (And it's not just because of all the damn cuts the MTRCB made.)

I read that it was supposed to be a satire about relationships between best friends, and female empowerment, but I didn't get that message. (Teeth, another horror-comedy flick, does a much better job.)

There are some funny lines, like "Cheese and fries!" (Jesus Christ, get it?), and Adam Brody's bit on indie bands having a hard time making it big. Through The Trees as a running gag is funny. Needy's prom dress in itself is one big punchline. But I thought there would be more horror. Nearly all the good stuff is in the trailer.

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Anyway, I liked it. But given the movie's hype, I expected more.

No picspam because I'm tired and I have a tooth extraction tomorrow. *groan*

Last Friday Faith, Jaime, and I watched (500) Days of Summer. I had come from a literally sleepless night and was halfway to zombieland, but I am so glad our plans pushed through because I loved watching the film. Also, it seems that the entire UST FMS is in need of a break. I saw all the years of med students (excepting clerks, because they either hard at work or dead to the world). Going into the cinema I met Dino, Nikko, and Rina. Exiting the movie I saw first years and second years. Only two more exams to go and then we can relax! Boy meets girl. Boy falls in love. Girl doesn't. (500) Days is tagged a romantic comedy, but it doesn't feel like it. It's got most of the cliches (even honest-to-goodness cartoon birds), but it's not maddeningly predictable or plastic. It's an honest love story story about love, far more entertaining than the usual romcom fare. It's as much a date movie as a barkada movie.

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Also, there is an excellent use of Wolfmother. :D Actually the entire soundtrack is adorable: zip, 47MB.

Today I was so desperate to get out of the condo and do something non-academic, I tagged along with my family to see The Ugly Truth.

I still can't believe we paid to see this. Katherine Heigl's character is so weak. She is a television producer, semi-successful in a field that is dominated by men. This gives her the appearance of a strong, independent woman. Yet in an instant she changes her whole personality for a man, based on what another man says she should be. Gerard Butler's character is entirely sleazy, yet somehow he is seen as attractive by all the women in the film. Both characters made me feel icky.

And the story is so predictable, I was reciting lines before they were said onscreen.

Perhaps the only thing that saves this is the hint of chemistry between the two leads.

PS: Gerard Butler + jello twins = the pr0n version of 300. *facepalm*

Thanks to Mia's headsup, I watched Spring Awakening with Set, Faith, and Archie. We got orchestra center seats, which gave us a good view of the stage. I didn't know about Spring Awakening, other than it was a coming-of-age musical. Judging from people's love of the Broadway production, I don't think the local act did it justice. Although the singing acts were good, the choreography was not. The steps were far from polished, and to put it bluntly, Melchior can't dance. Spring Awakening tackles such heavy issues as abortion, rape, child abuse, and suicide, but glosses over them so that the characters' individual tragedies become trivial.

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All in all, the musical was forgettable.

Ooh-- camh0ring!

I cut my hair short again. :p

This won't deter us from watching the upcoming productions of Avenue Q, Sweeney Todd, and Spelling Bee though!