Movie Review: Letters to Juliet

I have always been fascinated with Italy. It seems a very romantic and adorable place. From what I see in movies, Italy has a certain charm that captivates almost everyone. With its country wine vineyards, cobblestone walkways, palatable dishes and beautiful language, who would not fall in love with it AND in it.

Shot in Verona, Italy, Letters to Juliet is as endearing as the country view of Italy. Starring Amanda Seyfried, of Mama Mia and Chloe, the movie tells of a story of finding your one true love and fulfilling the promise of a love once lost.

An article published in Manila Times, a Philippine broadsheet, aptly describes and sets the tone of what the movie is all about:

The One That Got Away
(Mark J. Macapagal, The Manila Times)

In your life, you’ll make note of a lot of people. Ones with whom you shared something special and ones who will always mean something. There’s the one you first kissed, the one you first loved, the one you lost your virginity to, the one you put on a pedestal, the one you’re with…and the one that got away.

Who is the one that got away? I guess it’s that person with whom everything was great, everything was perfect, but the timing was just wrong. There was no fault in the person nor flaw in the chemistry, but the cards just didn’t fall the right way, I suppose.

I believe in the fact that ending up with someone, finding a longtime partner that is, does not lie merely in the other person. I can actually argue that an equal part, or maybe even the greater part, has to do with the matter of timing. It has to do with you being ready to settle down and commit to someone in a way that goes beyond the little niceties of giddy romance.

How often have you gone through it without even realizing it? When you’re not ready to commit in that mature manner, it doesn’t matter who you’re with, it just doesn’t work. Small problems become big; inconsequential become deal breakers simply because you’re not ready and it shows. It’s not that you and the person you’re with are no good; it’s just that it’s not yet right, and little things become the flashpoint of that fact.

Then one day you’re ready. You really are. And when this happens you’ll be ready to settle down with someone. He or she may not be the most perfect, they might not be the brightest star of romance to ever have burned in your life, but it’ll work because you’re ready. It’ll work because it’s the right time and you’ll make it work. And it’ll make sense, it really will.

So that day comes when you’re finally making sense of things, and you find yourself to be a different person. Things are different, your approach is different, you finally understand who you are and what you want and you’ve become ready because the time has truly arrived. And mind you, there’s no telling when this day will come. Hopefully, you’re single or be in a long-term relationship, or be married with three kids…it doesn’t matter. All you know is that you have changed. And for some reason, the one that got away, is the first person you think about.

You’ll think about them because you’ll wonder, “What if they were here today?” , “What if we were together now, with me as I am and not as I was?” .The one that got away is– the biggest “What if?” you’ll have in your life.

If you’re married, you’ll just have to accept the fact that the one that got away, got away. Believe me, no matter how fairy tale you think your marriage is, this can happen to the best of us. But hopefully you’re mature enough to realize that you’re already with the one you’re with and this is just another test of your commitment, one which will just strengthen your marriage when you get past it. Sure, you’ll think about him/her every so often, but it’s alright. It’s never nice to live with a “might have been,” but it happens.

Maybe the one that got away is the one who’s already married. In which case it’s the same thing. You just have to accept and know that your memories of that person will probably bring a nice little smile to your lips in the future when you’re old and gray and reminiscing.

But if neither of that is the case, then it’s different. What do you do if it’s not yet too late? Simple –find him or find her. The very existence of a “one that got away” means that you’ll always wonder…what if you got that one? Ask him out to coffee. Ask her out to a movie. It doesn’t matter if you’ve dropped in from out of nowhere. You’d be surprised, you just might be “the one that got away” as well for the person who is your “the one that got away.” You might drop in from out of nowhere and it won’t make a difference. If the timing is finally right, it’ll all just fall into place somehow. It would be a great feeling in the end, to be able to say to someone, “Hey you, you’re the one that almost got away.”

To watch the movie, click to play on the video below:

"'What' and ‘if’ are nonthreatening as words can be. But put them together side-by-side and they have the power to haunt you for the rest of your life: ‘What if?' 

'What If?'

 What If I don't know how your story ended. But if what you felt then was true love, then it's never too late. If it was true, then it why wouldn't it be true now? You need only the courage to follow your heart.

 I don't know what a love like Juliet's feels like. A love to leave loved ones for. A love to cross oceans for. But I'd like to believe if I ever were to feel it, I would have the courage to seize it. 

 And if you didn't, I hope one day that you will." 

- Letters to Juliet, 2010

Movie Review: Grownups

Reminiscing my earlier school years was what I found to do while watching Grownups. This 2010 movie, which stars Adam Sandler, Rob Schneider, Chris Rock, David Spade and Kevin James, gives each one of us a walk down memory lane and let us remember what we used to dream of back when we were still kids. In the movie, these five kids are what you would call as the 'next big things' after having won their basketball finals match in their middle school.  Fast forward 30 years after, these five used-to-be basketball champs now lead very different lives. Adam Sandler plays Lenny who is a very accomplished and famous Hollywood talent agent. Kevin James plays Eric who is recently laid-off from his work but hides this from his friends. Chris Rock plays Kurt who is a stay-at-home husband without any work. Rob Schneider plays Rob who is a three-time divorcee and married someone who is 30 years older than him. David Spade plays Marcus who is a single womanizer. After they have found out that their basketball coach before has died, they all decided to attend the funeral services together with their own families. It is in this rendezvous that they reconnect again and rekindle their friendship and bring their families closer to each other.

Even if Rotten Tomatoes rates the movie 10% only, I still find it entertaining complete with a moral lesson. Sometimes, we feel that life has it going for us already - nice career, nice job, fat bank account, famous friends. But we fail to look at the basic foundation of our lives - our family. We may be successful in our work and social life but if our personal family life is crumbling then everything that we have accomplished for ourselves would become useless. It is our family that molds us to who we are, inspires us to get to where we want to, rejoices with us in our triumphs AND cries with us when the whole world frowns at us.

Indeed, this movie is a nice watch and entertaining, as what we always expect from Sandler movies.

If you still haven't got the chance to catch this on the big screen, I'm giving you the treat of watching it here.

Enjoy! ;)

Movies: Paano Na Kaya

Minsan natanong mo na ba sa sarili mo, "Mahal ko ba talaga siya o mahalaga lang siya sa akin? Hindi ba pwedeng maging best lover ang isang best friend? "

Just when Valentine's Day is around the corner, my officemates and I decided to watch the Star Cinema movie offering for January 2010 which is Paano Na Kaya.

You would normally think that for a 'jologs' movie, this will not be majorly patronized in upscale malls. But there were a number of people in the Rockwell Power Plant Mall who were screening the movie. The moviehouse was almost full. 

With little to zilch expectations for the movie, I obliged to be entertained for the next 1.5 hours. 

The movie's storyline is a typical plot that you always see in Filipino films. Girl falls for guy friend but guy friend falls for another girl. Girl friend loves in silence while guy friend flirts with his girl. Girl friend is always there when guy friend needs him even if it means mending his broken heart. Eventually girl finds the courage to express her true feelings and guy friend makes girl friend as rebound.

Kim Chiu's character, Mae, gives justice to the bestfriend role that she portrays- the one who will always be there even if it means sacrificing her own interests. The friend who is always ready to wait forever to be noticed. The friend who loves silently without expecting anything in return.

Gerald's character, Bogs, is verging on exaggeration. I find Bogs' character immature and insensitive. Bogs is the typical rich-kid-with-broken-family-who-hates-mom guy. 

In the acting department of the movie, I would have to say that Kim was better than Gerald. There were moments where Kim was very natural in delivering her lines and portraying the role. I am more comfortable watching Kim in fun and sassy roles than seeing her in melodramatic scenes. Kim is just more natural when she is bubbly and funny. Gerald needs more acting classes. One thing I noticed, he seems to modulate his voice and making it sound deeper which is annoying. When there are heavy scenes, he has this squinting-eye school of acting method where he tries to evoke tears and project a melodramatic facial expression. It's just plain distracting. Nonetheless, Kim and Gerald have oozing on-screen chemistry. They are the new breed of the Jolina-Marvin loveteam of the 90's which reminds me that Jolina and Marvin also had a movie with a similar plot before.

Story-wise, I felt that the movie was all over the place. I was expecting better transitions from one scene to the next. There were several fun and 'jologs' dialogues that were used in the movie and evoked guffaws from the movie audience. Also, there were just so many characters who were included in the movie but were underutilized in terms of subplots. The movie could have stood alone with minimal supporting cast and could have focused more on the rise and fall of Mae and Bogs' relationship.

While watching the movie, I somehow felt what Mae has been feeling - falling for someone close to you but not being reciprocated with the affection that you are giving. Sometimes no matter what other people say about our stupid actions, it still does not matter because it's what makes us happy everyday. Even if it means always being the disadvantaged and looking like a fool. Mae's fault was to fall for her friend and at one point in our lives, we may have fallen for someone close to us. We were afraid to confront our feelings for fear of rejection and losing the current friendship. We find ways to convince ourselves that somehow if we wait long enough, the person will be able to realize our importance. In Mae's case, Bogs realized soon that it was Mae all along that made him complete and happy. It was Mae who makes him laugh, cry and smile about a lot of things. But sometimes, in real life, the unrequited love will forever remain unrequited and the only choice left to do is to accept reality that the love that you may be hoping for a long time will forever remain in your dreams.

Over all, the movie did not disappoint and stayed true to the friends-turned-lovers plot. But I would have liked it better if they went their separate ways and then at the end realized that they were much better persons because of what happened. It would have been more realistic if that was the ending. But hey, it's what movies are for, right? It's meant to turn our fantasies to realities.


My favorite scenes and lines from the movie:

1. Bogs was drunk because he just broke up with his girlfriend Anna and Mae accompanied him home. Totally wasted, Bogs suddenly uttered to Mae, "Mae, Bakit hindi na lang tayo?" Then Mae, without any hesitation, answered, "Eh gago ka pala eh, ikaw lang ang hinihintay ko."  Then Mae, realizing that Bogs has fallen asleep already, went to say to Bogs, "Sana minsan makita mo rin ako, kasi ako, ang nakikita ko ikaw lang. Tayo na lang. Akin ka na lang." Mae may have sounded pathetic, but that's what she felt and I empathized with her. It's really difficult to be on the losing end of the scale. :'(

2. Bogs and Mae on the graffiti wall scene. Bogs was telling Mae to get out of his life if she feels tired already being his friend. Bogs was trying to recover from his break-up with Anna. Then Mae answered him, "Oo, Tanga ako. Tanga na kung tanga pero mahal kita!" awts! Then sabay kissing scene agad! :)

3. Mae was angry at Bogs because she saw Bogs and Anna together even if they were over already and Mae was already Bog's girlfriend. Mae said to Bogs, "Shinota mo ako Bogs eh. Shinota mo ang bestfriend mo!" 

4. The firetruck scene was just way over the top, both literally and figuratively. Bogs was trying to get back to Mae but Mae declined telling him that she needed to find herself and she needs to find her life without Bogs. Bogs was asking Mae to rekindle what they once had but Mae told him that it would be unfair for both of them to continue and hurt each other more. They need to live their own lives and find their own selves and if they are meant together, then the cosmic universe will find it's way to conspire and make this happen (parang Alchemist lang). :)

5. The ending scene was symbolical for me because it marked a new beginning for their relationship. The graffiti wall was already clean and they were able to realize that they still want each other back. (sobrang cheesy! lol)

Movies: Sherlock Holmes

Movie nights with friends are the best!

I just came from Ayala Glorietta and watched Sherlock Holmes with Sig, Rox, Bro, Weng, Simi and Da. Before we went to screen the movie, we went first to MetroBadminton to play badminton from 1PM-5PM. Then, ate at Giligan's in Glorietta 5 before going to the cinema. The screening time was 7:50 PM.

I really do not have a strong recollection of Sherlock Holmes and his many exploits. I just happened to have a book that has a collection of the famous mystery cases solved by Sherlock Holmes. Thus, I went to the cinema with little to no complete knowledge of what I will be watching. But I still obliged. I am particularly interested in Robert Downey, Jr.'s portrayal of Sherlock Holmes and their on-screen chemistry of Jude Law (Dr. Watson).

I will not be spoiling the plot and climax of the movie in this post as that will make me a loser. Go see it for yourself. It's worth the bucks.

I am pleased in the way the story was delivered in the movie. For a non-Sherlock fan, I was able to understand the way Sherlock behaves and his social demeanors. Dr. Watson is Sherlock's alter-ego and this was pretty much evident in the movie. It's amusing to catch Law and Downey together on-screen. Their tandem works and it provided the movie a good balance brought by the two characters. 

One thing, though, that I had a hard time while watching was catching up with the lines thrown by the movie characters. The lines were either delivered very fast or very soft. I definitely need to watch the movie again with subtitles. This way, I can really make out the dialogues in the movie. It would also possibly help if subtitles were allowed in the cinemas. =D

Over all, the director, Guy Ritchie (Madonna's husband), made a decent film out of a very popular book hero. I give it a 3 out of 5 rating. :)

Below is the movie's official trailer from Youtube: