by Carla Marie Adair

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Shadows dancing on the sand,
a man and women walk hand in hand.
They watch the moon dance in the sky,
then watch the stars twinkle in each other's eyes.

They hear the waves crash on the shore,
then, just silence... and nothing more.

The horizon, so beautiful,
The breeze, so shy,
as the new day ascends into the sky.

The only people who matter,
Are you and are I.

--

~

Ice Age 2: The Meltdown was more of a let down. So was The Wild. After Disney's Cars, subsequent animated flicks will have a hard time competing with plot originality and creativity.

Then came Happy Feet.

The movie rendered me speechless. I still can't find the exact adjective to describe it. Brilliant, surprising, daring, thought-provoking, touching, eye-opening, controversial and bold would be some words to fit it. The trailer will totally mislead any watcher but for a good reason. The movie simply had soooo much more in it than just the cute choreography and lots of singing we saw in the previews.


Scenes: More than breathtaking.

Technically, this movie has so far pushed the boundaries of CG-Animation not only with the jaw-dropping scenes (you think the canyons in Cars was great? see this one!) and a bold and surprising experiment that the producers went with. The jarring turn actually made me shift on my seat. Watch out for it!

Plot wise, it was not original when it came to the "out of place" lead character story, that's how we get our "chosen ones" in movies anyway. But Happy Feet had much, much more than just a Cinderella turnaround. Happy Feet is a musical through and through and you'll get treated to a lot of song and dance routines that were more like huge production numbers. It's usually these song and dance scenes that will get you laughing out loud.

Dialogue and humour is honeslty not for kids. It had a PG-13 rating which would account for the sexual innuendos some of the songs have such as "Kiss" by Prince. And "Let's Talk about Sex" isn't exactly a subtle song choice. It'll also take wit and social awareness to pick up on some lines and settings (social discrimination, racial minorities etc.). Be ready to shed a tear. Not because of any tragedy but because of the lesson Happy Feet comes with.

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Just a roll of my fave James Bond theme songs.

1. Tomorrow Never Dies – Sheryl Crow
2. Die Another Day – Madonna
3. Live and Let Die – Paul Mc Cartney
4. Nobody Does it Better – Carly Simon (The Spy Who Loved Me)
5. The World is Not Enough – Garbage
6. If You Asked Me To (Patti LaBelle - License to Kill)

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Postscript:

I first noticed the pretty, pretty Eva Green in Kingdom of Heaven and now she's a fabulous Bond girl.



Here she is as Queen Sybilla in Ridley Scott’s Kingdom of Heaven (2005)



And here she is as Veser Lynd, beside Daniel Craig and Caterina Mulino. A brunette, a Brittish buff guy and a Latina - can the picture be more beautiful?

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~

Let me quote a line from my last entry:

“Manny, you’re one hell of a hero. I just wish you were fighting for a country that’s more worth it.”

A few months back (August), an oil tanker sank in Guimaras, Philippines, leaking tons of fuel, destroying the local marine and coastal ecosystems. Now, a barge carrying oil debris siphoned from Guimaras sank off Misamis Occidental Monday night.

http://sludge.wordpress.com/2006/11/21/breaking-news-barge-with-guimaras-debris-sinks-off-ozamis/

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The latest CG movie, Happy Feet premiered yesterday with a bonus – the first showing of Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix full trailer. Here’s the teaser trailer:



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The country was again in sudden stasis. The MMDA left their posts on the streets. Cellphone snatchers took the day off. It was Pacquiao day once more. We were again placed in history. I feel sorry for Morales, I knew he wasn’t going to beat Manny right from the start but I actually thought the fight would last well past round 6. His fans and supporters must’ve felt the ticket prices wasn’t worth the fight. I mean, even if Morales lost, it would’ve been ‘sulit’ if it went to round 11. But it was all over in 3 tragic rounds. Man, with Manny’s pretty wife, we’re sure Manny could last longer in bed.

Just the day before the fight, a friend and I was talking about how this country was a joke. He’s right, nothing makes sense here. The MMDA is painting the MRT posts white which we know will be dirty again in a matter of days because duh, it’s the highway of smoke-belching buses. It just feels like the government is wasting all the people’s efforts and hard-earned money on worthless projects.

Then here comes our hero. I’m just thinking, with Manny’s gazillions, he could’ve taken a short course in English. Now every westerner would think all Filipinos speak like him. Actually, I doubt that. Because it’s we who really take their tech support calls and inquiries anyway.

Manny, you’re one hell of a hero. I just wish you were fighting for a country that’s more worth it.

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~

It’s surprising to know what kids are learning nowadays in school or in this case, in pre-school even. I was looking at a friend’s kid’s books the other day to check out what children in kindergarten was being taught about and I couldn’t comprehend what I discovered. Ok, so perhaps it’s ok to teach kinder kids one-plus-one and one-plus-two and so on but when I saw the pages teaching about the 5 senses, types of plants (herbs, trees, shrubs) the parts of a tree, the parts of a gumamela and so on, I went speechless. My god, kids in kindergarten are learning about the pollen grains, stigma, the ovules and photosynthesis already?

I approached the kid’s mother and told her what I saw on the books and she said she was surprised as well but just assumed the schools know what they’re doing. She added that perhaps when children reach grade six they’ll be building hydrogen bombs already.

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Casino Royale

I liked the latest Bond flick, Casino Royale. Something was amiss though but I had nothing to fuss about Daniel Craig. In my opinion, he was another perfect James Bond. He reminded me of Sean Connery while Pierce Brosnan was the Timothy Dalton incarnate. I’m not a Bond fanatic though. Watching them was just a fun and a more interesting way to spend time.

I think what people will miss is the fancy action. Casino Royale is not the most hi-tech Bond film released, it’s a bit traditional actually. The producers didn’t even bother forcing in a scene just to exhibit 007’s car features. So there - no souped up cars and impossible gadgetry, the movie was pure story.

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~

I walked in the rain tonight
in absent minded bliss
Just because you said goodnight
and touched my cheek with a kiss

And with each day I am with you
the more I grow unsure
Could your actions mean something more
than merely innocent sweet gestures

If only love comes in black and white
not with all these colors and hues
And it doesn't help that I'm afflicted
of misreading all the clues

If only I could read what you're going through
then maybe I could see
And I wouldn't have to go and wonder
What is it you really feel for me

For though I've been hurt and badly burned
I will still love and give my all
But if catching me was never one of your intentions
Then please, don't let me fall

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