Old Movie Reviews: Tangled and Black Swan

 I was arranging and deleting old files in my laptop tonight and happen to saw these old writings that I intend to publish in this blog. The blog posts are almost done and only needs a bit of editing but for some reason, I forgot to post it. I can’t just delete these files so I decided to post them here anyway even if they are very very late. Please pardon me for these super late movie reviews and blog posts.

Tangled Review

Tangled Review: Golden Hair and Flying Lanterns

I was lucky to win a pair of invites to the red carpet premiere of this new Disney movie so last Thursday my husband and I went to Mall of Asia to watch this movie. My invites was given by 96.3 Easy Rock as I am a member of their Facebook fan page and won by being one of the first commenters.

It was a rainy night and traffic was bad but we managed to arrive on time for the show. There are just a few people and most have free invites too. I think only a few people are willing to pay for a premier night event nowadays unless it’s a local film and celebrities will be present.

The good thing about this movie premier is that the movie is shown in Digital 3D and attendees were able to meet the jocks of easyrock. There were fun games and cool prizes before the show starts.

As for the movie, I have low expectations because Rapunzel is not one of my favorite fairytales. The Rapunzel book I have read as a child had a somewhat sad ending.

Surprisingly, Tangled is a must-see. The movie is funny and somewhat refreshing. The movie was successful in presenting the side of Rapunzel that desires true freedom. The reason why Rapunzel stayed with the witch for so long in an isolated tower is also explained. I especially love the part about the flying lanterns. It was so cute (especially in 3D) and wish to experience something like that in real life. The animators of the film did a good job as I can really feel the emotions of the characters. I find Rapunzel gorgeous. I envy her long golden hair.

I recommend this film to those who wants to watch a movie to relax and feel good.

The movie is cute and light - I loved it. Even my husband who loves action movies was moved by the story. It was a great movie-date- a perfect way to end a stressful day at work.

Black Swan: Beauty and Madness

I was able to watch “Black Swan” before it was shown in the cinemas and before the Golden Globe Awards so I deeply regret that this review is late. I got to watch it because a friend downloaded a copy of it on the net.

I requested it for a copy because I have always been a fan of Natalie Portman and because I am intrigued by the number of nominations the film got in Oscars.

I watched the movie with limited knowledge of the plot so it left me intrigued most of the time. The movie is crazy- I mean it will make you feeling crazy.

The movie shows what goes on in the mind of the main character so it is hard to decipher which events are imagined and which are true. Thankfully, it is not as complex as the movie “Inception.”

But I am so impressed with Natalie Portman’s dancing skills and her acting- she clearly deserves the best actress award.

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Home Decors and Housekeeping

My husband and I have been looking at interior designs of different houses in magazines and catalogs because we are slowly buying furniture and home decors for our house in Cavite. One thing I notice is how seemingly simple objects such as rugs, carpets and curtains can make a huge difference in a house interior.

Carpets are great house accessories because it is flexible, functional and stylish. You can hang it on a wall or you can just let it lie on the floor and it is already an interesting piece in a living room or bedroom. When we went to the mall to inquire about carpets- I find it not surprising at all that some carpets can be very expensive.

Of course, one thing that we take into consideration when buying stuff is if it is easy to clean. Carpets, curtains and other home decors only look good when it’s clean. So when it becomes dirty or dusty, I hope that the cleaning process would not be so complicated and difficult especially since I don’t have much time to do serious cleaning in Cavite. I sure hope there is also an eco-friendly rug cleaner new york here that can make housekeeping faster and less hassle. That rug cleaner that is available in New York would surely make housekeeping and house decorating much more fun and easy.

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Schedule of Japanese Eiga Sai Filmfest 2012 at Shangrila

 The 2012 Eiga Sai (Japanese Film Festival) is set to happen on July 6-15 at the Shangrila Plaza Mall in Edsa, Mandaluyong City.

 

Admission is free but the seats are limited. Movie goers are advised to be at the cinema at least 30 minutes before the movie schedule because they give out tickets around that time. There is usually a long line so it pays to be early.

 

The complete lineup:

 

Villain. Fukatsu Eri plays sales clerk Mitsuyo, a woman on the run with a murderer.

 

PEAK: The Rescuers. An adventure film and drama based on the popular comics by Ishizuka Shinichi, following the story of Sanpo, who volunteers as a mountain rescuer in the Northern Alps after having conquered the world's famous peaks.

 

Railways. Businessman Hajime, who is in line to be the head of a prominent electronics company, instead returns home after his mother falls ill and his best friend is killed in an accident. There he revisits his childhood dream of becoming a train conductor.

 

Happy Flight. Set onboard Flight No. 1980 bound for Honolulu from Japan, which is forced to head back to Japan due to technical failures and must be landed in the face of an approaching typhoon.

 

Tomorrow's Joe. An exciting live adaptation of Takamori Asao and Chiba Tetsuya's eponymous comic, regarded as a brilliant feat in Manga history. The story revolves around two boxing rivals—a recruit from the slums and a professional fighter—who engage in a fierce battle that will determine both their fates.

 

In His Chart. A medical drama based on the debut novel of Natsukawa Sosuke. An eye-opening glimpse into Japan's healthcare issues in its provinces, the film follows the growth of young doctor Ichito, who encounters terminal cancer patient Azumi and questions the very existence of medicine.

 

Colorful. An animated sci-fi and fantasy film showing what happens to a deceased soul that was transferred into the body of high school boy Kobayashi Makoto, who just committed suicide. With Kobayashi's body regaining life, the soul inhabits him and journeys deeper into the boy's story, eventually uncovering the truth behind the suicide.

 

Abacus and Sword. A family drama and film adaptation of Isoda Michifumi's book chronicling life in the final days of the Tokugawa shogunate from the household accounts of a low-ranking samurai.

 

Ninja Kids. A live action adaptation of Amako Soubei's well-loved ninja action manga, following the comical slapstick antics of a group of boys who are elite ninjas-in-training. In this film, the spotlight is on Ninja Academy first grader Rantaro and friends and fellow students Shinbee and Kirimaru as they commit constant blunders in school.

 

Permanent Nobara. A love story for grown-ups based on the popular manga series of the same title by Saibara Rieko. Naoko returns home with her young daughter, where her mother runs a beauty parlor and local women go there to lament their bad luck with men and laugh over dirty jokes. However, unbeknownst to them, Naoko has been secretly seeing her former teacher Kashima.

 

Schedule of Japanese Filmfest 2012 Schedule

 

July 6 (Friday)

2:00 pm: Railways

4:30 pm: Permanent Nobara

7:00 pm: Peak: The Rescuers

 

July 7 (Saturday)

2:00 pm: Ninja Kids

4:30 pm; Tomorrow's Joe

7:00 pm: Happy Flight

 

July 8 (Sunday)

2:00 pm: Colorful

4:30 pm: In His Chart

7:00 pm: Abacus and Sword

 

July 9 (Monday)

2:00 pm: Peak: The Rescuers

4:30 pm: Railways

7:00 pm: Villain

 

July 10 (Tuesday)

2:00 pm: Happy Flight

4:30 pm: Tomorrow's Joe

7:00 pm: Colorful

 

July 11 (Wednesday)

2:00 pm: Ninja Kids

4:30 pm: Permanent Nobara

7:00 pm: In His Chart

 

July 12 (Thursday)

2:00 pm: Abacus and Sword

4:30 pm: Railways

7:00 pm: Villain

 

July 13 (Friday)

2:00 pm: Tomorrow's Joe

4:30 pm: Happy Flight

7:00 pm: Peak: The Rescuers

 

July 14 (Saturday)

2:00 pm:  Permanent Nobara

4:30 pm: Ninja Kids

7:00 pm: In His Chart

 

July 15 (Sunday)

2:00 pm: Abacus and Sword

4:30 pm: Colorful

7:00 pm: Villain

 

For showtimes and inquiries on Eiga Sai Film Festival, contact 633-7851 loc. 113 or log on to www.shangrila-plaza.com.

MO

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Fifty Shades of Grey Free E-Book

As I am writing this, I am currently reading an e-book of Fifty Shades of Grey, a bestselling novel from E.L .James. I heard about the book from my officemates who were then trying to look for a copy. I got curious so I asked an officemate who seems to have a talent in downloading files to search and download it for me. He really is talented because less than an hour passed and I already have a free PDF copy of the whole trilogy.

I want to read it out curiosity. I have no idea about the book when I started reading it but I heard that it is soon going to be made into a movie. Then I heard that it is an erotic book. Well, I am currently just in the middle of Chapter One and so far, the plot is interesting enough. I haven’t gotten to the intimate parts yet and I see nothing out of the ordinary; it is a typical boy meets girl story for now. The character of the male protagonist is very intriguing. Christian Grey is described as very wealthy and very handsome- quite godly. The book kinds of remind me of Harlequin Romances and Mills and Boons and I am still reading it because I want to see how it is different from romance novels. I heard there is an unexpected twist to the story in the end.

The other day, I read a story in Yahoo about Fifty Shades of Grey breaking records in terms of sales. For those who want a copy of the e-book, I would be glad to give you a copy; just leave your email ad in the comment box below.

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Top Ways to Make Money Online

I have not earned much online so I am really no expert, but I can say that I have earned quite a decent amount with my online pursuits. By decent, I mean it is equivalent to an amount that I would usually earn for a part time work. The only difference is that my online activities are much easier to do and doesn’t require much time. Right now, my online earnings can’t rival my income from my full time job but my earnings help me save some money and make it somewhat easier for me to pay some bills. For others who also want to make money online, here are some of the online activities that will make you earn money, based from my own experience:

Start a Blog: A quality blog can really earn some bucks thru Adsense and other advertisers but it is not so easy. Blogging requires time, effort and passion so it is not recommended to start a blog just for the goal of making money. The best way is to start a blog on a topic you are passionate about- then you will surely post great content that others will be interested to read and soon you might end up earning money from it.

Buy and Sell sites. Make use of sites that offer free advertisements such as sulit.com.ph where you can set some of your old stuff (or new stuff) for sale to earn money. If you have an existing business, you can reach more customers and promote your product for free by using these sites. Of course, you have to be cautious of scammers to avoid being victimized.

Paid Surveys. There are survey sites that really pay but I think they are not so many. Plus those who pay don’t really give surveys frequently so earning money here is slow. It is usually a slow but sure process so answering these legit paid surveys is still worth it for me.

Paid to Click Sites: Earning takes so much patience but there are a lot of paid to click sites.

Paid to Post sites: There are websites like ezines, mylot, squidoo and forums that need people to post something to keep the sites or the forum alive. For those people who loves to write, earning will come easy here.

Do you know other ways to make money online? Share them here by leaving a comment below.

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Hunger Games E-Book Review

I am so into Hunger Games nowadays and it is not because of the movie. I have just finished reading Book 1 and 2 of the Hunger Games and been spending sleepless nights finishing the Mockingjay (Book 2). I am now clearly a fan of Suzanne Collins. I love the main characters in the book, Katniss Everdeen, Peeta Mellarck, Haymitch and Gale. 

The book is nothing like the Twilight or the Harry Potter but since it is another trilogy and also a novel that has been turned into film, I think some people can’t help but compare them. And I can say that between the three, Hunger Games is the best. Harry Potter is very much for children while Twilight is so much for teenagers. On the contrary, Hunger Games is a book that deals with concepts that concerns everyone. It tackles poverty, politics and an oppressive government but also highlights family, friendship and love issues. One thing that I noticed about the book is that Suzanne Collins never mentioned the idea of religion. I noticed that Katniss even if she’s about to die did not utter even a single word of prayer. 

Narrated by Katniss character, the book is set in the future when a television show called Hunger Games is staged every year. In this game, the twelve districts would each have one male and one female participant aged between 12-18 years old. The participants on the Hunger Games are called tributes and for 2 weeks, the 24 participants would fight each other to death in a place called the arena. The Hunger Games is a cruel reminder to everyone of the uprising that took place years ago, a war that destroyed District 13 completely. 

For a book with a violent or should I say barbaric theme, it shows so much emotions; the love of Katniss for her sister, her special relationship with Gale, her confused feelings towards Peeta and Peeta’s undying love for Katniss. I also think the character of Katniss would be a good role model for young girls – she’s brave, smart, determined and a survivor. I have seen the movie and I think the movie actors (Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson as Peeta) are perfect for the role. I quite have regrets that I did not see the movie in a cinema but on second thought, I don’t think I will appreciate it as much if I haven’t read the book first. 

I was able to have a copy of the book because my officemate gave me an e-book of the whole trilogy. To those who wants to have a copy of the Hunger Games e-book, just leave a comment and I will send it to you via email.

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Get Beautiful Lawns in a Snap

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Scotts® for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

 

We all have versions of our own dream houses. And in my case, I would love a big house with a blooming garden. Of course that would mean maintaining a great lawn area. Keeping a beautiful garden is not so easy as it can get messy and tiring. Fortunately there is one product that can help make the lawn task a breeze- Scotts® Snap® Spreader System

 

Alas, I don’t have a garden area in the house where I lived right now so but I know someone who I think would greatly benefit from using this product- my sister in the US. I am talking to my mother via Skype the other day and she mentioned that it is already Spring season in America. She loves the weather and the fresh air. She also told me that my sister requested the services of a gardener the other day to tend their lawn.

 

The next time we talk, I would suggest to her to give this product a try so she won’t need to hire a gardener again. This product might save her money and might make her feel she has a green thumb as it seems to be so easy to use. The Scotts ® Snap® Spreader System  promise to help one achieve a great lawn fast because the system is just snap, lock ago.

 

 

I can’t wait to tell my sister about this product. To those who are in the US (or know someone there), you might want to check out this product. Know more about it by  checking out the Scotts® Snap® Spreader System and "like" Snap perks on Facebook

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