Dr. Manhattan is in the News!

Just something awesome that I've seen today. The hype is finally starting. Watchmen is one of my most anticipated movies this year. This will be coming out this March in the US, so I expect it to hit locally pretty much the same time. This movie is of course an adaptation of a super-hero comic miniseries that came out in the eighties, a deconstruction of the super-hero genre. It is set in an alternate world where costumed heroes or crime fighters exist and America is in the brink of nuclear war against the Soviet Union. Watchmen is a murder mystery in the beginning but grows into something much more complex. It is the only graphic novel listed by Time in their greatest 100 novels published from 1923 to the present.

No question that the comic book is a masterpiece. I spent days thinking about it after I finished reading. I'm unsure how it's going to play up as movie, though. But I'm still excited as hell. Out of all the superhero movies that has been released so far, Watchmen promises to be the most epic in scale. I hope it's as good as it seems, but I'm lowering my expectations a bit just in case. I'd hate to be disappointed.

Here's an awesome viral video in promotion of the film. A faux 70s newscast about Dr. Manhattan, the only super-powered character in the story. I have to say they really did a neat job on this one, looks very authentic.



The full Trailer.

The Manliest Manly Movie Ever! (...and why I love Action Movies)

Predator. It is the truth.

But before I tell you my thoughts about the movie (I'm just pretending that somebody reads this sorry ass blog. xD), I've been in love with film as a form of entertainment ever since my old man took me to an FPJ movie when I was a kid (I'm not sure how old I was exactly, but I couldn't have been more than 9 years old). That kick started my love affair with cinema. I couldn't remember most of the movies that I saw as a child, but what I do remember, I will never ever forget. They have been burned in my consciousness. Movies like Rocky V (Sly), Terminator 2: Judgement Day (Arnie), Army of Darkness (Bruce Fuckin' Campbell), Lionheart (Van Damme), Sigaw ng Katarungan (FPJ), Reveng of the Ninja (Sho Kosugi), Under Siege (Seagal) will always be part of my memory. This was the formative years of my filmic taste, so to speak. Naturally, out of the spectrum of genres that a movie might be categorized, the Action genre is what I love the most. It is my drug. It gets me high. Not to say that I'm solely an action guy. I've learned to love other genres of cinema. Bottom line, I love stories and the motion picture is one of my favorite mediums of telling it. If I had my way, I'd forgo sleep and watch movies instead.

In recent years, much to my chagrin, I have looked on while my favorite genre faltered. The vaunted personalities of my youth declined. Arnie turned to politcs, Sly turned diminished from the public eye, Van Damme and Seagal became shadows of their former selves. Van Damme and Seagal didn't disappear though. They became jokes after turning in shit movie after shit movie. They still make movies, but it's been a long time since any of these got a theatrical release (just direct to video).

Over the years, I've seen other actors attempt to rejuvenate action cinema, but it just isn't the same. Most of these actors are pretty boys that couldn't hold a candle to Sly and Arnie in their hey day. These dopes are just pretenders to the throne, lacking an ingredient that the real kings possessed, pure badass quality (for lack of a better term). Their just pretty boys with their carefully styled hair and perfect teeth. They can't achieve the manly ruggedness that was so effortlessly demonstrated by Sly with Marion Cobretti in Cobra and Arnie's Det. John Kimble in the beginning of Kindergarten Cop, no matter how hard they try (for the record, the examples are two of the worst movies from each of these guys' filmography, but their presence somehow saves it from being total shitpiles, in my opinion).

I have now come to the realization that those days are over. The action films that I love most were a product of their time. I don't know what it was in the eighties that made this movies work, but work they did. These films couldn't have been made today, and even if they did, I'm unsure if they'd enjoy the same amount of success. So there's nothing else that an action fan like myself can do but look back. If I ever want to quench my cinematic blood lust, (heh) all I have to do is go back to my old faves.

Thus this long winded blog post. I saw, for the upteenth time, what has got to be the manliest manly movie ever made. The movie's mere existence is by itself a miracle, a fluke. Two of the biggest names in action, at their prime, chose to collaborate to make this masterpiece of action cinema, Predator. Arnold Schwarzenegger/ Arnie, coming of in fresh from riddling 100 mercs with bullets in Commando, is in his peak physically and his star has been on constant rise up to that point. John McTiernan, who would go on to make a big star out of Bruce Willis with Die Hard the following year, makes the second best movie of his career as director. The producer of this movie was either a genius, or a really lucky bastard.

The plot: A Black Ops team, led by Arnie's Duke,who specializes on hostage situations is employed by the CIA to retrieve an American diplomat captured by South American rebels camped in the middle of the jungle. Sounds simple enough. Dillon (Apollo Creed himself, Carl Weathers), a CIA operative and a one time friend of Duke (we know this because they arm wrestle when they shook hands) insisted on coming along. The team gets dropped in the middle of the jungle. It didn't take long before they found the first team to be sent to rescue mission, hung by their feet on the trees and apparently skinned. They blame this on the rebels but we know something fishy is going on. From the moment they landed, they are being spied on by an unknown creature. We know this because we see through it's POV and it's sort of a thermovision special effect. Everything else has a greenish hue except for the team which is has a red hue, perhaps because of the body temperature. We also know that the creature is an extra-terrestrial because the very first shot of the movie is an alien spaceship deploying a smaller pod towards Earth. That's my interpretation and I'll stand by it.

It didn't take long for the team to reach the rebel encampment, and they didn't wait to commence their attack. What follows is one of the most spectacular action sequences ever submitted to film. Gun fetishists will drool on the firearms on display here. Most notable is Blain's (Jesse 'The Body' Ventura) modified minigun. The same ones that can be found on the side of Apache's or Raptors. It's one huge gun. A large cylindrical multi-barreled chainsaw of a gun that rotates whilst spewing 20 bullets a second. Explosions, unlimited supply of bullets, and seemingly unlimited supply of enemies to shoot are the main ingredients of this sequence. Needless to say that Dukes team won and the Rebel Camp is decimated. They soon learned that they were tricked by the CIA. There are no hostages to capture and the real mission is to destroy the rebels. Duke got pissed. Tension in the team brews. This is when the fun begins.

The Alien stalker following them is of course the titular Predator. It's a hunter, living for the thrill of pursuit. It uses high technology to hunt it's prey. It has the ability to become invisible with his cloaking technology, and has some sort of cannon perched on top of it's shoulder. One by one, Duke's team is taken out. Naturally, they fight back, setting up traps, preparing an ambush. Needless to say that not everyone makes it alive. Most of the men's deaths are awesome though, so it was all good. All this leading to the climactic one on one confrontation between Duke and the Predator, where all Duke had to win was his physical acumen, his hand crafted weapons, and most especially, his cunning.

I wouldn't hail this as the manliest manly movie ever if it wasn't for the character flourishes though. The film-makers succeeded in making a very entertaining whilst endearing the audience to the characters. Although the team consists of 7 individuals, each were given their own time to shine. Some shone more than others though, and Ventura's Blain almost stole the show. When they were attacking the rebel hideout, Poncho noticed blood on Blain's left arm. Blain appeared to be unaffected by it though. A concerned Poncho tells Blain that he's bleeding. Blain answers "I ain't got time to bleed." Simple. Bad-Ass. It's the kind of awesomeness that won't be seen again. Ventura almost stole the whole movie for me, too bad his character had to go early.


Anyway, this is Arnie's movie. Nobody is going to take it from him. As I've said, he is in top physical form here. He actually had to decrease his muscle mass to attain a believable physique of special forces operative. And that heavy German accent of his makes every line he delivers instantly cool. When he found out that the Alien got wounded and bled neon green glow-in-the-dark blood, he uttered "If it bleeds, we can kill it" inspiring his men to become more proactive and take on an offensive stance against the beast.


The direction by McTiernan is just top-notch. That is all I can say. It was shot beautifully, and the violence, while stylized, is brutal. The pace was brisk and it didn't slow down at all. Another person that should get mentioned is Stan Winston, may he rest in peace. His make-up effects work for the Predator is ground breaking. Much like the Alien design, his creature design for this movie is just memorable. "You one ugly motherfucker!" is all Duke could say when he saw the Predator's mug for the very first time when it took off it's mask.

My only complaint though is the inclusion of the token female character. I knew it was a necessity to avoid being a total sausage fest but I wish she was given more to do, other than being in danger. She was integral to the plot to explain the Predator's motivation, that she isn't a suitable prey because the Predator only goes for armed badasses.

This 'review' has gone on to long. To sum it up, this movie is just one of the very best action movies ever made and I see myself revisiting it in the years to come. I attempted to explain why this is the manliest manly movie ever. I doubt if I succeeded but I hope I at least got you curious to see it if you haven't yet. But I know in my heart of hearts that this is what I proclaim it to be. The manliest manly movie ever made. I felt like I grew an extra testicle by watching it. For me, this movie represents everything that an action movie should be. The heroes are tough as nails, and the action is spectacular. It's a great time in the movies without feeling any guilt afterwards. Nobody is trying to fiddle with your heartstrings, and it requires minimal brain activity, but I don't feel stupid while watching it. Too bad they don't make them like they used to.

I'm the G*d**** Batman!

After a frustrating two months (more or less, i'm leaning to less. xD) of being unable to access my deviantart page (since switching ISPs, deviantart.com cannot be displayed properly on any of my three browsers), it finally loaded sometime late last week. It hasn't really been updated for quite some time now. I can only draw on paper with a pencil or a pen. I don't have a scanner so I'm unable to make digital copies of my drawings. Well, I was able to have some of the old ones scanned when John was still here, but since he left to see the elephants in Thailand.... heh. I'm just glad that i'm able to view the deviantart galleries of artists that I subscribed to, though. 

Only a few of my friends and acquaitances know that I do a little drawing once in a while, and even fewer appreciate the subjects that I choose to draw. heh heh. I have never really personally met anyone who are as crazy or at least as enthusiastic for barbarians and superhero comics as I am. xD

Anyway,click here to go to my deviantart page. But only if you're interested. 

GAAHHHH!!! I'm bored out of my skull!

I sat in front of the computer three hours ago. I'm still here, sitting, with not one iota of clue what to do with myself today. Yes, there are a couple of books that have remained unread since the time I purchased them, I've got downloaded TV shows and Movies (don't tell Edu) that is just waiting to be played, or I could draw (come to think of it I haven't picked up a pencil in months). I'm sure there are a bunch of other stuff that are far more important that I could do but I just don't feel like doing anything today.

I don't know. I don't understand. The thought of doing anything depresses me, but the thought of doing nothing depresses me even more. I guess it's that kind of day. I have no choice other than to depress myself, or else I'm fucked. Maybe I'll do the dishes, that would probably give my self-worth a little boost. Give me a sense of usefulness around here, I guess. It's only mid-day but so far, today has sucked giant cow balls. I'll just blame it on the weather. It's dreary, overcast, and cold. If the sun don't show up anytime soon, I'll jump off a high place (e.g. a chair, or my bed).

...

Here I am, counting the hours until you leave.... Why am I not where I should be right now? Why am I not with you? Once you get on that plane you'd be gone, and I will be left here wondering when you'll return or when I will be seeing you again. 

I wish I had more time. Time to let it all sink in. Time for me to understand, for me to adjust. But the little time I have to be with you, I can feel slipping from my grasp. It's frustrating when one realizes that things are out of his control. I cannot control this as much as I cannot command the tide. I cannot fight this because it is much bigger than me. I am but a speck compared to this. 

No one can fight the wave. One can only ride it or roll with it, else it will crush you underneath it or push you into it's depths. That is why I let you go. This is my attempt to roll with the wave. But sometimes, the wave does what it pleases no matter what anyone tries. 

AAARGGHH!!! I'm doing it again...!

Here I go. Again. Starting something that I may not be able to finish, or in this case, keep up. After a pathetic attempt to start a blog on friendster, which in it's two years of existence was only updated four times, I'm starting another one. I feel that this is doomed to fail, and I am counting the days before I lose interest upon this whole business. But if i'm so doom and gloom about this whole blogging thing, why try at all? Yep, I heard you ask. I'm doing this because for a very special person. She has convinced me to start this. She has faith in me and I cannot let her down. But more than that, she has inspired me to write. To write down my thoughts and my passions, and about my feelings and things that interest me. Most importantly, she has convinced me to not care if nobody else cares except for her. As long as she does, I guess i'm resolved to keep on writing. She is all the fan that I want. Thanks El-Ei. xD

I'm a person of many interests, so I guess that would be what I will be writing about. Apart from that, I will be writing about my life and my opinions, regardless of it's inconsequential nature with regard to the scheme of things. So yes, this blog will be filled with various nonesense and inanities of my daily life. It isn't called a blog for nothing. heh heh.