Let's Talk Movies: Silver Linings Playbook

First and foremost, I will post no spoilers :D Feel free to read on then..

The first time I heard about this movie was when I was browsing the 'net. It caught a bit of my attention because of two things...and no, it wasn't the ones on Jennifer Lawrence [LOL]...1.] Bradley Cooper - because I loved his performances in the Hangover films, A-Team and Limitless. Number 2 would be that this movie is also starring Robert De Niro which has to be one of my favourite actors of all time.Of course, I couldn't leave out Jennifer Lawrence as my girlfriend likes her. We both laugh at how she's so not like her serious characters when she does interviews.

Anyhoo, in this movie Bradley Cooper plays Pat who finished his "time" in a Mental Institution for a serious breakdown [don't worry I won't spoil anything here]. He then lives with his parents played by Robert De Niro and Jacki Weaver [who was brilliant]. He tries to "re-make" himself and live right so as to rekindle his marriage to Nikki, his wife of course. Along the way Pat meets Tiffany [Jennifer Lawrence] who also seems to have problems on of her own. Tiffany agrees to help Pat out with his issues as long as she gets something in return.

The movie is a bit hard to track as it jumps right in the story. You'll only get to see what happened before via flashback. But that doesn't ruin it at all, you can still piece it together slowly but surely.

I also liked how it tackles other subjects than the main storyline [Pat's story], like how his family is coping with him coming back. Robert De Niro played a stellar job [in my eyes at least]. His characterization of Pat's Dad will let you know that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. This also the first time I've watched Bradley Cooper do something more serious and dramatic. Although his character almost always had some sort of blank expression on his face. Jennifer Lawrence was as great as Robert. It was more mature than most her her movies [LOL I've only watched Hunger games]. There are times where I think she was kinda like a living breathing Daria Morgendorferr due to her low voice [the director told Jen to lower her voice] and attitude in the movie. Her role as Tiffany won her a Golden Globe. Watching her performance here makes me think that she really should win. I wish she did more movies like this or she'll be typecasted for her role in the Hunger Games just like Daniel Radcliffe was for Harry Potter.

The story is somewhat the ol' "boy meets girl" arc but with a few complications along the way. It's not that it's boring but the story isn't really something new. There are a few more things added to the story to prolly sort of liven it up or spice things up but ultimately it still goes back to a tried and tested formula. In the end it was still great story and movie, I just recently found out it had 8[!] Academy Award Nominations. 1 award more than Argo [which i'll prolly watch next]. Best part of the movie for me? Brad and Jen dancing! Why were they dancing? What kind dance? Watch it and find out :D

It's a worthwhile watch for me. I'd recommend you to go see this movie, sure there's alot of big named stars in it but it really is a very good movie...I mean why else would it be nominated an Oscar for Best picture right? Right.

Unexpected.

As mentioned a few blog posts back, my 1TB external HD is in somewhat of a stasis. Now recently, my camera's shutter button was failing. I managed to get in one more shoot before it almost failed to to "click" every time. I went to the service center a few days back and while inspecting my gear they noticed my kit lens was having problems as well. It was going to take a few weeks [since it was the holidays] and money I didn't have at the moment to get it fixed. I just told them i'd be back in January.

On the way home, I was contemplating to ask my sister for funds just incase she had extra cash. My younger sister came home from Singapore to celebrate the Holidays with us. Lucky for me, she knows how to save her money. Even luckier, she agreed to lend me the funds I needed and I could still use the camera [but only in Manual settings] during the New Year celebration.

Moving on...

I woke up early this morning and everything felt normal.

We had prior plans to go to Manila and spend the day with Granma and our sister and then go back home along with them but the plan changed. Due to the fact that the places we wanted to go were mostly likely jam-packed with people. We can't go around much with a senior citizen in tow. We moved it this coming sunday and hopefully we can settle on where to go.

During the time they [Mom talking to my Granma on the phone] were still talking, I turned on my PC thinking of squeezing in a few hours of time online before going to Manila.

Suddenly, something went wrong.

The screen got stuck at the "Verifying DMI Pool" screen. A few restarts later, as well as mini heart attacks, it was still the same. I borrowed my older brother's iPad and googled about the issue. It seems that something was wrong with either the software or hardware. I read a few troubleshooting tips and a few articles about the issue but it didn't help.

I was irritated, frustrated and dumb founded as to how it happened. Good thing I posted my problem in a particular facebook group of old friends from a former workplace. I knew that they had enough knowledge to help me out.

While waiting for replies on my post, my older bro also researched on the issue and was trying to help me out. He tried getting me a copy of my operating systems' installer CD as it contained a recovery program. When I read my friends' replies, most of it was the same thing. One of my more tech savvy friends suggested I take out my internal HD and try running it externally on another PC. I could've done that ASAP but I was afraid to find out if ever the HD was the one that's borked or not. My older bro suggested we wait for the CD, so I did.

Before we went about the business of trying to fix my PC, me and my siblings went out a bit and visited the nearby mall. We had my younger brother's PC fitted a new RAM and got a few things and then went home. On the drive home we came across an accident. A military man was face down on the ground, his motorcycle broken near him. A few early responders were at the scene trying to take care of him and talk to him. It seems he was sideswiped by a car [the said car and driver/passengers were still at the scene]. As we drove by, it looked like he was moving a bit and talking. We all hoped he was going to be okay.

I then realized how small my current problem was and how I fretted over something trivial. Sure it was an unfortunate and unexpected occurance BUT it could've been worse.

In the end, we found out that my C drive somehow got corrupted and we had to reformat and reinstall everything. Good thing 80% of my data is in my D drive. So it wasn't a total loss. I just hope that it doesn't happen again.

I can't take these unexpected and unfortunate events.




moving on..
~ the alansong ~

Let's talk TV: A Young Doctor's Notebook

While wandering around the net looking for things, I chanced upon a news article with the words "Jon Hamm", "Daniel Radcliffe", "Mini-series" and "Doctor". It made me well curious enough to click the link and read the article.

I was surprised to see Jon and Dan doing a tv mini-series together about the experiences of a young doctor. We all know Daniel Radcliffe from the Harry Potter movies, I haven't really seen his other works though so I thought it might be worth a watch. I also know Jon Hamm via Mad Men but I really didn't follow the series. For me, Jon Hamm's memorable performances in Saturday Night Live [especially his "Sergio!" skit] was absolutely fantastic.

...and who could resist the possibility of seeing this?

Anyway, moving on...

*cough*

The story revolves around a  certain Mikhail Bulgakov during his early days of being a doctor. Daniel Radcliffe plays a young Mikhail while Jon plays the older one.

The first episode starts with the Older Mikhail [Jon] in an office while two [what seems like Russian?] officers are either looking for something or currently confiscating everything in the room. Older Mikhail then chances upon an old black notebook which he reads and it goes into a flashback of his younger self [ Daniel] being taken to a remote hospital in the Smolensk province.

During the time, the Young Mikhail is fresh out of med school and as he mentioned got the highest of marks from his class. However as the episode progresses, he finds out that the actual real thing is way more nerve-wracking than what med school had offered. 

Aside from that, he also has to surpass the certain stigma that his predecessor has left behind. It seems as if the previous doctor did things the right way every time and the staff never lets him forget it. And also trying to convince the medical staff that he really was a doctor [the staff mentioned he was either too young..or too small] and a good one at that.

A nice thing they did was that the Older Mikhail shows up in the flashback as some sort of spirit guide for his younger self. He can only be seen by his younger self and converses and interacts with him.

Overall, it was a very fun first serving of this mini-series. Daniel Radcliffe looks more rugged than usual but during some of the more goofy and awkward moments, you can't help but see a little HP sometimes. Either that of HP really has been imprinted on me that much. It's nice to see Jon in a more relaxed and comedic role [at least not too comedic like in SNL]. 

It's a bit sad that there will only be 4 episodes and [if we use the first episode as basis] that each will only last 30 minutes. Still if it's going to be as interesting as the first episode than it'll be worth it.

Besides, who cannot resist watching these two together on the TV screen?

It's been awhile..

In retrospect, the past 3 months hasn't been that great overall. It had its moments for sure but overall it was just so-so.

Working for my Mom hasn't been that...err...productive. I haven't really given any work as of late. Even i i'm not spending money and such, it would be nice to have some stable flow of income....especially this December.

~

It's funny how the internet connect people nowadays. You would be having conversations with people you haven't really met yet or talk to people you thought wouldn't get a chance to talk to. The downside of that is, when you get to meet them in person....things get a little awkward.

That's what I am currently experiencing. In my case, an event being held by a group of talented people [Spidersilk] will be having their 1st Anniversary gathering this weekend. I've only attended one of their gatherings along with my girlfriend [who was real-life friends with one of the girls of Spidersilk]. Unfortunately, we haven't gone to the rest of the subsequent gatherings afterwards.

I've known one of the girls from the group albeit only online but I did meet her once during a convention. I doubt I left a lasting impression [trust me when I say that I don't]. But i've been sort of conversing with the Spidersilk founders via Plurk and such, so at least I get to talk to talented people online.

With their coming gathering, I was kind of thinking of going. Sadly, i'll be going alone since my girlfriend is still in Australia. But...I'm afraid that if I go I won't really know anyone per se. I would possibly "know" a few people but only thru the internet and online conversations. It's going to be awkward for me introducing myself to people there. At least if my girlfriend was with me, we can be both awkward together and I can have someone to talk to.

Also if I did get to go, I wonder what i'll be doing there...hahaha...I'm not that talented enough to paint or draw. Geez, this feels like highschool again LOL.

Anyhoo, here is their awesome poster for their event.

~

Time flew by so fast...well, sort of...and it's now December.

It felt like only yesterday when they were announcing that it was still 90+ days till Christmas.

I'm not sure what kind of Christmas it's going to be like. Sure I won't have much financially to fully splurge on gifts for me and my family but ever since that fiasco that happened at my previous workplace, I have already told myself that it's going to be another pocket-pinching Christmas...at least for me.

It's going to be the first Christmas [hopefully last] me and my girlfriend will spend far apart...literally. Although we didn't spend our first Christmas two years ago together [at least on Christmas eve] since I was on the graveyard shift, we were still able to spend Christmas day together. The Christmas after that, I was lucky enough to get the day-off on Christmas Eve but my girlfriend was spending it with her family in Tarlac. Hopefully next year will be a bit different. :]

I think this coming Christmas will be also the first time the family will be together since my younger sister will be coming home from Singapore and my granma will be coming and staying over. It'll be a full house in a few weeks time, so i'm a bit excited because of it.

~

Slowly but surely I've been hauling my stuff from Manila to Pampanga whenever me and my bro go there. It's much more convenient with a private vehicle. I haven't really hauled most of my clothes since sometimes i'll be staying over there.

The transition of moving back home has been a bit smooth. It's also sad since most of my current friends are in Manila and most of the friends I know in Pampanga have moved or migrated.

I also can't go to events as much and I also can't go deal with other people hence it seems like my toy-collecting hobby will be on hiatus.

I can still go to shoots though with accordance to schedule and the current financial state i'm in.

~

With the year ending, I am hoping to hear some good news.

Lord knows I need it.




forward and onward!
~ the alansong ~

Lost At Sea.

Life.

It'll get to you. Though most of the time, you go on with your life oblivious. At times, lax and comfortable with your current bearings.

And then..life happens and throws a curve ball.

You can be amazed how one thing can lead to another, into a chain of events utterly out of your control. When it's all done, you just stare and go blank with all that's happened. Rationalizing why it happened and why it shouldn't have. 

Denial.

We all go through denial. In everyday and in every choice we make. It doesn't make life any easier but you'd be surprised how some people live in a constant state of denial.

~

I seriously think that whenever I get comfortable with my current line of work something happens. The facts are there, I'm not sure whether the employment gods are playing a trick on me...or they're actually trying to tell me something.

It was all good times when "the boat" was purring like a well-oiled machine. Sure we had sort of an unorthodox way of doing our thing and we always had our fun but we never really let that interfere with the whole reason we're there for. Everything was going great until something weird happened to me that put me out of commission.

Prior to coming back, I've heard that "the boat" is now sinking. Which really was a big bummer. I've grown accustomed to the "ways of the boat" and the people. Everyone there has grown on me as they've made life a bit more bearable and easier. Irregardless, when I came back on board, it just really wasn't the same. Sailing for one last time, we had one final hurrah before most of us went separate ways. "The boat", a legend, now dismantled and rotting beneath the sea.

Opportunity came knocking when a former "boat" member told me try my luck at the company he was working for. It got me excited as he was working for a well-known company. With luck, I was able to get hired but assigned to work on something that, to be honest, was flat-out boring. The people were nice...it's just what we were doing was boring.

But in the coming months, I somehow enjoyed what I was doing...or at least trying to. That's when things happened again and a few of us needed to go "float" for awhile until we hear some news. It was...sort of a welcome thing for me as it would mean a new opportunity...and hopefully a more interesting game.

I thought it was pure luck when I got called back early than what I have expected. I also thought it was pure luck when I got assigned to something new and to a whole new set of people. It was a bit rough from the start but I eventually got the hang of how they work things on that team. The work was pretty much alright and the people were more than accommodating.

Then something happened again and people had to go. I thought that this was the end...again. But it wasn't, thankfully it wasn't. We did have to work a bit more and sacrifice a bit more but we managed and we got over the hill. Things were running normal again and enjoyable. However, something was looming over our heads that we expected to come sooner or later. We really just paid no mind to it as worrying will make matters worse for us.

And then it eventually happened, what transpired just a few months ago repeated itself.  Trying to be optimistic was all I could do. Until they called me back for something different. Rather than waiting for a call to go back to work, I am now waiting for a call to get my final pay. Oh well, with all the new things being implemented there, I guess it worked out.

From all those experiences, I feel like a prank is being played on me. A cosmic joke I am not aware of. Every time I get to a point where I am comfortable with my surroundings, I suddenly get a curve ball...and for the life of me I cannot swing good enough to stop it.

~

I've come to some sort of realization that I may have become an "invalid" before even reaching 30. I know a lot of people abusing their bodies more and yet here I am. I have stopped most if not all of my vices... yet here I am. Stricken with an unusual condition a few years back that has now left me incapable of doing certain things. 

Funny, I thought that I had an mature [well....sometimes] mind trapped in a young man's body. It's actually the other way around.

...and I don't know how long it'll last.

....that...scares the bejeezus outta me.

 

~ currently drifting and lost at sea ~

the alansong

Man overboard.

Last week, my external 1TB hard drive fell from a table. It wasn't that much of a very hard fall so I didn't think it would matter as the casing seems to be sturdy. Little did I know how very wrong I was.

So I picked the thing up checked [it seemed nothing was wrong] and tried to access it but the HD wasn't lighting up and it wasn't detected by the PC. What happened next was frantic and nervous google searches and chats with my friends with regards to external drive troubles. I checked the thing again, made sure nothing was making noise or even moving inside. Then I noticed the usb port plug was a bit...skewed.

I plugged the usb back in, placed a small amount of pressure and the HD lit up and began doing the motions of booting up...or so I thought. Once I let the pressure off, the whole drive turned off and even if I did manage to let the power stay on for a bit, the drive itself wasn't detected by the PC. So I started fidgeting and fidgeting until the usb port plug broke off and fell inside the case.

With that came another round of frantic google searches and chats. Trying to solder the usb port plug back in wasn't possible...at least if I was the one to do it..then again, it would really take the hands of a pro to solder the damn thing on properly to make it to work [I read about this in a forum]. With soldering out of the equation, I resorted to removing the hard drive from the case and try running it via another enclosure and or just directly plug it inside my PC.

A friend let me borrow his own HD enclosure for testing and gave a few advice. The HD was running inside the enclosure and it seemed ok as my friend mentioned but it still wasn't detected by my friend's PC. He then said that his enclosure might be faulty and that it might need a few trues so he let me bring it back home with me. After a few more tries at home, the drive still wasn't detected.

However, I could see it in Disk Management as "not Initialized" and "unallocated". Another friend helped me go through the motions [via my bro's iPad Skype Vid chat] of putting it inside my PC [I am not a very hardware-type of guy] and then trying a few recovery programs to see if I can retrieve anything.

A few days and alot of recovery programs later, I still couldn't get any files from it.I have read from the official Western Digital forums that ALOT of other people has/had/have been experiencing the SAME troubles I have. Then a few admins stated that the data inside the HD are encrypted so it's really going to take some cash to get data back.....that or soldering the usb back on [I am entertaining the idea].

Prior to even trying to recover the files, I have surrendered to the fact that I have already lost everything. I don't care much for the music, videos, games in it. Those things can be easily re-acquired. I am most sad to lose four years worth of pictures from conventions, photo shoots, photo walks, vacations, events and daily life. I am sad to lose the written documents I have there as most of them were unfinished poems, stories and such. All those memories gone [or trapped until I get the drive decrypted]. The folly of not having a back-up of important things, I know now how important it should've been to find the time and made effort in backing-up files.

Nevertheless, people have helped me not think so much about such loss. I guess I can make new memories, take new pictures, write new things. I'm trying to see the positives and the silver linings from what happened...no matter how cliche it seems. I think it's better than dwelling on it and sulking.




~ Sailing forward ~
the alansong

Let's Talk Movies: The Campaign

This movie almost coincided with the emergence of "campaign" posters that we are now seeing along our streets, walls and etc.

But that's not why I wanted to watch this. I wanted to watch this movie because of Will Ferrell, as he is my favorite comedian, and because of Zach Galifianakis, as he really shined in the Hangover movies.

The story starts with the re-election campaign of Will Ferrell's character, incumbent Cam Brady. He is set to win [again] because no one wants to run against him. That is until Zach's character, Marty Huggins, puts in his name in the race. Marty seems out of place in the political world but with the help of his Backers and "Campaign manager", he's more than ready to serve his district.

What happens next may or may not be a reflection of what really happens in and behind the scenes of an electoral campaign. It clearly has the political mudslinging but in a more less serious tone.

Will does a good job portraying a man in office. He had alot of practice in SNL, playing Pres. Bush. In fact, in some points of the movie, I think he was channeling his Bush character. Zach also did a good job being the regular joe who is thrust into the limelight. His portrayal of Marty in itself was pretty hilarious.

The movie is not just about politics but it has alot of underlying themes to it. From family issues/drama/values to loving your country to standing up to what you believe in. Amidst all the comedy, there are lessons to be learned. that was pretty nice of them to include.

There also alot of other great actors in very great roles. From SNL Legend Dan Akroyd and the Great John Lithgow to current SNL cast member Jason Sudekis. A few cameos by great actors are included too. Let's not also forget the news anchors and reporters who acted as themselves.

The movie shows us the dark side of politics. How it can manipulate the good men into something they are not. It shows us how some people in power aren't really in control of themselves but are more puppets to something more greater..or sinister. But it also shows us that there is also good in everyone and that they have the chance to do good and be good if they are given the opportunity.

This movie is a great watch and offers a great mixture of serious and comedic tones. It's a breath of fresh air if you've been following Philippine politics as of late. You'll definite laugh out loud and leave the cinema very entertained.