A Davao Interlude: Part I

I did not expect Davao to be such a pleasure.  I booked a ticket not really knowing what to expect.  All I know is that I needed a trip to cure my wanderlust.  So hopped on a plane I did, on a rainy Tuesday afternoon, and began my four day interlude with the city of eternal sunshine.

Movie Review: First Love (Crazy Little Thing Called Love)

*Image from AsianMediaWiki.

Title: First Love/A Little Thing Called Love/Crazy Little Thing Called Love
Director: Puttipong Pormsaka Na-Sakonnakorn and Wasin Pokpong
Producer: Somsak Tejcharattanaprasert and Panya Nirankol
Distributor: Sahamongkol International and Work Point
Language/Country: Thai/Thailand

Think back.  Back to your high school days.  Back to the days when the most important task for you was to survive high school.  Now, think of your fondest memories from those days.  That one moment you topped in class, probably?  Those crazy antics you pulled with your friends.  Those little things you considered triumphs.  Then, somewhere in the middle of homeroom and recess, there may be a boy (or girl, whichever strikes your fancy).  The one who made you a little bit more fluttery and idiotic at the same time.

That is how First Love: A Little Thing Called Love or Crazy Little Thing Called Love makes you feel.  It reminds you of the charm of first love.  Set in a small province in Thailand, the story follows Nam (Pimchanok Luevisadpaibul), a girl with a "bug face" who did everything she could so Shone (Mario Maurer), the boy she likes, would notice her.  For three years, Nam did everything to improve herself.  She tried to be fairer, got braces, joined the drama club, tried joining the dance club, studied harder, became a band majorette and pretty much everything else.

This movie was such a pleasant surprise.  One friend recommended this for me to watch and I thought it was some regular run-of-the-mill foreign language film to see.  It wasn't.  It's a classic feel-good movie.  I remember thinking as watched it that this is how feel-good movies should be.  This is how it's supposed to make you feel.  Happy, giddy, cheeky and melancholy in one sitting.  This is the kind of movie I'd like to see after a long day going through the motions of quarter-life.

I particularly liked how Nam's character was played.  She did justice to every high school girl that did crazy little things for love.  She was lovely throughout it all.  From the awkwardness to the triumphs.  Shone, was pure eye candy.  In that moment where he was flipping through the pages of his journal, though, you see the depth of his love for Nam.  For about three minutes, you see his side of the story in the entire length of the film, complete with background music (Someday by Maria Sukosol) and flashbacks.  One of my favorite characters in the film would have to be Teacher Inn (Sudarat Budtporm).  She was unbelievably funny.  I have to admit that she may have reminded me of a teacher or two back in the days.  Honestly, the entire support cast was wonderful.  Everyone played their part well for me.

I was immensely pleased with this movie.  From the fun parts to the down parts.  It takes you back to a whole lot of feel-good memories.  It's quite impossible not to relate to Nam.  There wasn't just one instance when I looked at her in a certain scene and saw myself.  There she was, looking just like I did (and mind you, I did have just that kind of hairstyle), doing things I have done.  Going to unbelievable lengths to see a crush, not really saying anything, just trying to catch a glimpse of him.  Calling up just to hear his voice, still not saying anything, and hanging up after.  Finally getting the courage to talk to him, five sentences at most, and going somewhere no one else will go to where you can jump up and down and scream like a crazy banshee.  Ah, well, the pureness of young love.

However, not all of us would have the same kind of ending as Nam had with Shone.  Sure, she had that painful first heartbreak after confessing her love.  Time proved to be her ally, though, because in the end, Shone still waited for her.  Unfortunately, majority of us in the real world are not equipped with the same kind of patience.  I think that it's also what makes this movie so charming.  It gives you the thought that the ending you thought of may not be the ending at all.  Maybe nine years down the road, you'll find out that whoever that boy you did crazy little things for have loved you, as well.  Who knows, right?

I highly recommend this film.  If you notice, I do not really blog about anything unless I really liked them.  This is one of them.  Lately, my interest in films do not really require a whole lot of hard-hitting content.  Given that I do not have the time, neither do I want, to think hard when I'm watching a film created to entertain me.  I'd like to reserve that energy to other things in my life.  I honestly think that a film do not necessarily have to be deep, sad and disturbing for it to be considered intelligent.  I think that this film is  intelligent.  The intelligence lies in it's ability to show and simplify the complicated thing that mystifies us regardless of our age.  This film is for every girl who did crazy little things for love, and for every boy who recognize the same little thing.

Tagged: Ten Things

I guess, I was tagged.  Tagged by blackshirt13

Here goes the rules of engagement:

• Each tagged person must post ten things about themselves.
• You have to choose and tag ten people.
• Go to their blogs and tell them you tagged them.
• No tag backs.
• Have fun.

Ten things, right?

1. I cannot function without coffee.  I tried, seriously.  I failed.  It doesn't have to be an overpriced gourmet coffee.  I can live with 3-in-1 sachets.  I just need hot water to blend it with.  Some friends who have seen me without coffee all agree that I'm a perfect bitch without it.  It's as if I'm not even human yet.  That's my magic potion.

2. I have a high tolerance for pain and alcohol.  Given my small frame, people often think that I'm very fragile.  Well, I'm not made of glass.  I'm not going to break.  Neither am I going to have fainting spells on the sixth bottle of beer.  I'm just going to be really bubbly and animated.  I'll probably dance a bit, too.  However, I'm past the age of substance abuse.  I stop drinking when I can't hold my liquor any longer.  

3. I enjoy being on my own.  There are people who have difficulty doing things alone.  I'm not one of them.  I have watched a movie on my own.  I have traveled on my own.  I have no problem eating in a restaurant alone.  I even live alone.  And no, I'm not a hermit nor am I afraid of people.  People have asked me if that makes me sad.  It only becomes sad when I start thinking it is.  Besides, it allows me to move at my own pace.  I enjoy other people's company, but I have no problem being on my own.

4. I am clumsy.  I have, what a friend calls, a series of unfortunate, self-inflicted accidents.  I have cut myself, burned myself, injured myself, and simply hurt myself with no intent of harm.  I am one of those people who will bump herself against a pole while walking on an empty street.  I can probably manage to kill myself by accident, too.  

5. I listen to foreign-language music.  I love music in all forms, shapes and languages.  Some of my favorite songs are in Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Italian, French and Spanish.  While some people find it gauche to listen to music they do not understand, I on the other hand, believe that music in itself is a language.  The words are only secondary.  What matters is that the music itself speaks to me.

6. I'm an activist at heart.  I have always been too opinionated.  Back when I was younger and ignorant, I believed that I can change the world.  I do not believe that, anymore.  I believe I can influence positive change, though.  Others can only decide for themselves.  I, on the other hand, have within my capacity the ability to influence a positive decision.  A positive decision that can influence another positive decision.  Paying it forward, after all, is almost like networking.  

7. I'm a southpaw Gemini.  A lot of the theories surrounding lefties do apply to me.  Right-brain focused, introverts and artsy-fartsy.  On the other hand, not everything about Geminis apply to me.  I do tend to be fickle and I am easy to bore.  I'm not a gregarious person, though.  Geminis are often described as the life of the party, but believe me, I'm hardly that. 

8. I'm a photography enthusiast.  This enthusiasm has fueled my 365 Project.  I grew up taking random pictures of things.  I say, not much has changed.  I still like taking random pictures of things.  I take pictures of things I like seeing, and no, I do not do photography to feed the artist in me.  I honestly believe that photography is a science.  The right time, the right subject, the right angle, the right amount of light and you got yourself a good photo.


9. I'm nocturnal.  My work has pretty much set my body clock on night shift.  My brain follows the Eastern Timezone.  I live, more or less, twelve hours behind everyone else.  My brain is much more awake at night.  It somehow seems less productive during the day.  Every time I work in the day shift, I feel displaced.


10. My definition of OC is Organized Chaos.  One reason why I decided to live on my own is because I remember putting things where I left them, not where they're supposed to be.  Sometimes, my desk would look like roadkill but it means I have left it that way and I understand it better that way.  I'm kinesthetic, so it adds to my having to have several things around me to understand.


Now, here's the ten folks I'm tagging on this blog post.  I would have tagged everyone on Team Project 365, pero ten lang daw eh.  No pressure to post, ladies. :)


Dianne, Joanne, Myealexis, Gwacie, Kitchen Goddess, mango_shake, princessposh, Reggie, southpaw, Pink

Album Review: 21 (Adele)

So, four months after starting a blog that aimed to make me write more, and I haven't even updated with another post.  Well, I honestly have been writing more.  Incidentally, my 365 Project is also a channel for me to write about my photo and insights for the day.  I have probably written more in the last four months than I have in the last four years.  

Anyway, this post is intended to review Adele's sophomore album, 21.

Artist: ADELE

Album Title: 21

Tracks: 11

I adored Adele Adkins after hearing Chasing Pavements.  Back then, there seemed to be a scarcity of soul and jazz talents.  The genre being such a minority.  Joss Stone managed to give the youth an appreciation for jazz.  However, the industry needed more of these artists.  

Then came Adele.  I remember thinking that a voice this powerful cannot come from someone so young.  She is, though.  Only 19 at that time, she had managed to cop out a voice that will remind you of great blues singers.  She has the makings of one.  A friend said that she's like a sober Amy Winehouse.  I'd agree.  Amy Winehouse is a talent that got wasted on crack.  Hopefully, Adele is smart enough not to go that route.  

Back to the album.  

Given that her debut album was a critical and commercial success, there was a lot expectation from the fan base 19 has generated.  I'd say, 21 did not disappoint.  

The opening song, Rolling in the Deep, is a powerful opening that Adele said she wrote about her ex-boyfriend who cheated on her.  I love every bit of this song.  The power of her voice when she belts out the lines: We could have had it all/Rolling in the deep/You had my heart inside of your hand/And you played it to the beat.  You can feel the venom dripping out of it.  They say hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, and I guess this song is a testament of it.  The music video is also something to see.  It's an artistic montage of quiet vengeance.  My favorite parts being the water-filled glasses vibrating to the beat of the drums and the pile of broken dishes at the foot of the stairs.  I felt the anger when the china broke.

The second song, Rumor Has It, gives you a Broadway to pop feel to it.  It could easily be part of a musical (think Chicago).  The lyrics, probably even more biting than Rolling in the Deep, talks about a lover straying and trying to get back after being jilted by the woman he left his girlfriend for.  There's sarcasm in the lyrics that Adele brings a whole lot of class to.  It's a bit bluesy, really.

Turning Tables is a bit more ballad, which is something I haven't heard from this singer.  This is a welcome new flavor to her music mix.  Having co-written it with Ryan Tedder (OneRepublic), it gives you a bit more pop feel to the ballad.  I can imagine this song being covered by an R&B artist, but I doubt it'll get the kind of sass Adele has marked it with.  Don't You Remember, on the other hand, feels a bit folk.  Understandably, since Adele wrote the song with Dan Wilson (Semisonic), who has folk-rock influences.

Set Fire to the Rain goes back to the blues, that Adele does with a whole lot of panache.  The song talking about being played and crying for the lover is very reminiscent of the age of twenty-one.  He Won't Go talks about the risks in trying to save a relationship.  I won't go/I can't do it on my own/If this ain't love, then what is?/I'm willing to take the risk.  This song feels a bit like an R&B flavored jazz.  

Take It All and I'll Be Waiting are probably the most soul songs in the album.  Take It All has a lovely sound to listen to.  It's still a sad song, but it's so lovely I forget how somber it's supposed to be.  I'll Be Waiting is the most upbeat song in the entire album in terms of lyrics.  Given that this is the only one (apart from the cover song) that gave more hope than bitterness.  

One and Only is the most reminiscent of Adele's songs from 19.  It's still different, though.  It has more depth and maturity.  I dare you to let me be your/Your one and only/I promise I'm worth it/To hold in your arms/So come one and give me a chance/To prove I'm the one/Who can walk that mile/Until the end starts.  The lyrics couldn't be more romantic.  This goes to my pick me up jazz song list.  Definitely one of my favorite tracks.

Adele's cover of The Cure's Lovesong was a pleasant surprise.  I'm partial to the song, because it's one of my favorite songs from the band.  I'd say she gave justice to the it in her own way.  I can't say it's the best cover of the song, as not everyone may appreciate the song in jazz, but it was very well done.  It was a very soothing jazz rendition of a classic.  It didn't lose the sweetness of the lyrics and sexy tone of the melody.  Which should be expected, since it's jazz.

Someone Like You is one of my favorite songs in this album, if not my favorite.  It's a sad story told in such a classy song.  Probably the most baring track of all.  With Adele's voice giving justice to the pain of the lyrics: Never mind, I'll find someone like you/I wish nothing but the best for you/Don't forget me, I beg/I remember you said/Sometimes it lasts in love/Sometimes it hurts instead.  It sums up the bittersweetness of the age.

Overall, the album may be a collection of bitter, bittersweet, sad and melancholic songs of a vengeful jilted woman.  However, I think it's appropriate.  It's a collection of songs that define a coming of age.  The life of a woman at the age of 21 is mostly defined by her successes and failures in relationships.  You're too young to talk about a career, and too old to talk about first love.  The arrangement of the songs in this album is also very diverse.  The songs appeal to a greater audience, since the album has varying influences.  It's still very distinctive of Adele, though.  That voice is just too unique not to be distinguished.  

This album is highly recommended.  If you have ever or ever been loved, jilted, cheated, revenged, longed, and wished, you will find a song for you here.  Probably one for your lousy ex, another for the one who got away, and another for the one you wish you had.

I had my expectations of this album, because I was really impressed by her first.  21, though, not only impressed me, it blew me over.  Every song in this album is worth listening to.  I've read that this album has topped charts in both UK and the US.  I'm glad to hear it's reached a larger audience.  Maybe, Adele may just take out this genre out of the minority.

Setting the Right Mood

Like most people, I have a lot of hope for this new year. 2010 was challenging. 2011 feels like it's going to be a fresh new perspective. Which, I sincerely hope is true. I've gone and unloaded a lot of the baggage I've had in 2010. Tag it with whatever catchphrase you feel will work. Live and let live. Let go and move on. All I know is, from hereon, I'm moving forward.

Having said that, I've decided to do two things. One is, I decided to go back to writing. I even created this brand new blog just so I can start devoting more time to writing again. Another is, I decided to start a good habit called Project 365. The entire goal is to take one photo a day. It doesn't seem much, but if you think about it, it's hell to keep up with for an entire year. My perception of it is that; you can always find something beautiful to chronicle or make a memory of everyday. And so I started the year with a picture of pencils.

I wanted to start the year with positivity. They say we get what we deserve, right? I believe that I deserve a good year this time. I know I can work to get it. This year is going to be beautiful simply because I choose to make it one. As the shoutout on my Facebook goes; 2011, you are so going to love me! :D