a robot lovestory

Francesca: Do not do that!

Sheldon: I'm gonna do it!

Francesca: NO DON'T!

Sheldon: I'M GONNA DO IT!!

Francesca: I'm not asking for this.

Sheldon: Okay.

Francesca: Don't I have a choice?

Sheldon: No, you don't. Because I had a dream last night and in my dream, you needed a leg and everyone in the dream was trying to give you that leg but I really wanted you to have mine. In my dream, you picked my leg. You made me so happy. It was the best dream in the history of dreams.

Spike Jonze's I'm Here (2010) is a 30-minute short about the love story between two robots- the timid Sheldon (Andrew Garfield) who works in a library and the cool, free-spirited Francesca (Sienna Guillory). Set in a universe where humans and robots coexist, I'm Here is a bittersweet testimony of how love works within the fragility of life; in a world where everything is bound to be broken. It is a tender portrayal of sacrifice and boundless courage for love despite impossible circumstances. For in the end, love is what you take home with you.

The song There Are many Of Us by Aska Matsumiya just perfectly captures the sweet melancholic essence of the film, along with a very delectable sountrack which includes artists like Sleigh Bells, Gui Boratto, Christopher Owens, and The Lost Trees.

I love short films because they are short. Downside is, they're very hard to find since most of them rarely makes the mainstream media. I am glad I stumbled upon this one. Heart-breaking, and hopeful, I'm Here is a neat slice of love captured in film. It's the best robot love story ever... :)

and the Oscar goes to...

The time to give out naked golden statues to writers, directors, and actors of the outstanding films of the past year has finally arrived. And much to everyone's surprise, Tom Hooper's The King's Speech bagged the award for Best Picture. It's quite unexpected but this particular film is as potent as it is passive. It might look boring to some eyes, but its strength greatly stands on brilliant acting. And what an ensemble to make up this film with the triumvirate of Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, and Helena Bonham-Carter.

The King's Speech is an autobiographical account of King George VII (who struggles with a speech disorder brought by trauma he acquired from childhood) and his relationship with his speech therapist, Lionel Logue. With the support of his wife, the king braves the paramount responsibility of leading his country that sits at the dawn of World War II. The King's Speech garnered a 95% rating from Rotten Tomatoes.

I stayed up all night watching the Red Carpet coverage till the end of the main ceremony. It was too darn long, but watching an Oscar awards night has always been fun. It's my goal to watch all nominated films (I failed as usual) and it's thrilling to know who gets what. By the way, what are your thoughts about this years Oscars? Well for me, it's really entertaining in general except for the hosts maybe. I love James Franco's performance in 127 Hours but he sucks at hosting (the drag costume was pathetic), and Anne Hathaway didn't help either. If it weren't for the comical presenters (The old man with a cane was epic!), the night would've been dull.

The opening of the night was really entertaining as it featured a video clip presented mostly in an Inception parody. I was laughing my ass off watching this clip. Best Oscar opening ever!

The event also showcased auto-tuned scenes from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Pt. 1, Toy Story 3, The Social Network, and Eclipse. My favorite was Tiny Ball of Light by Ron and Hermione, and He Doesn't Own A Shirt by Bella, Edward, and Jacob. :P

One aspect of the Oscars I always look forward to is the stage, and I am pretty impressed with what they've done this year. I'm not sure if they used tons of LCD screens but I think they opted to use 3D projectors like the ones in this year's Grammys. It's visually stimulating and elegant. I liked the way they included tribute to iconic movies in the presentation process. I got excited when I saw a significantly enlarged Heart of the Ocean gracefully sinking down the sea with the Titanic theme in the background. The Lord of the Rings tribute was simply arresting especially with Cate Blanchett presenting the award.

Here is the complete list winners.

THE KINGS SPEECH

Best Picture

Best Actor - Colin Firth. I was silently hoping that Jesse Eisenberg would win, but it's a long shot, especially if against a veteran and brilliant actor like Colin Firth.

Best Director - Tom Hooper. I was rooting for Darren Aronofsky. But what the hell! I love this film too.

Best Original Screenplay - David Seidler. Chris Nolan should've won this award. His story is the most original and way out of the box. No. Nolan doesn't have a box.

INCEPTION

Best Cinematography - Wally Pfister

Best Visual Effects - Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley & Peter Bebb

Best Sound Mixing - Lora Hirschberg, Gary A. Rizzo & Ed Novick

Best Sound Editing - Richard King

THE SOCIAL NETWORK

Best Adapted Screenplay - Aaron Sorkin

Best Original Score - Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. What happened to Hans Zimmer people?!

Best Film Editing - Angus Wall & Kirk Baxter

THE FIGHTER

I am discouraged to watch this because of the boxing thing. But I think I should see this.

Best Supporting Actress - Melissa Leo

Best Supporting Actor - Christian Bale

TOY STORY 3

Best Animated Feature Film. Very well deserved. I was fighting off tears watching this. I think it's the most moving animated film I've seen. The melancholic aspect of this movie is reminiscent to that of Up (2009). Great job, Pixar!

Best Original Song - We Belong Together - Music and Lyrics by Randy Newman. This was a very surprising outcome. I was almost sure that 'I See The Light' from Tangled would win. Anyway, I was looking forward to see Chuck sing and he didn't disappoint. He's a really good singer but I'm not digging the hairstyle though. He looks weird without his curly hair. Actually, the hair reminded me of Simon! Another highlight of the event for me, was when Florence Welch of Florence and the Machine, performed 'I Will Rise' from 127 Hours, instead of Dido. Her song 'Cosmic Love' made her a breakthrough artist and I just love her eccentric personality and haunting voice. She should hang out with Imogen Heap. :P

ALICE IN WONDERLAND.

I hate this movie. Helena Bonham-Cater is the main reason why I decided to watch this movie. Off with his head!!! Haha!

Best Art Direction - Robert Stromberg (Production Design), Karen O'Hara (Set Decoration)

Best Costume Design - Colleen Atwood

BLACK SWAN

Best Actress - Natalie Portman. An obvious winner, but I am quite surprised that this film only won a single award.

THE WOLFMAN

Best Makeup - Rick Baker & Dave Elsey. Poor, Harry Potter. The end has come yet still no Oscar for you.

IN A BETTER WORLD (Denmark)

Best Foreign Language Film. I was rooting for Biutiful. But I'd like to see this one.

INSIDE JOB
Best Documentary Feature. Too bad Banksy didn't win. I was hoping that if he did, he would accept the award personally, sleeked-up with his mask and all. Hehe. I guess Inside Job is more controversial and impactful.

GOD OF LOVE.

I love shorts, because they're short. Downside is, they're very hard to find.

Best Short Film (Live Action) - Luke Matheny.

STRANGERS NO MORE
Best Documentary (Short Subject)

THE LOST THING
Best Short Film (Animated) - Shaun Tan & Andrew Ruhemann

Truly, it was another great year in film. I'm really hoping for better films this 2011 especially with Norwegian Wood, Restless, and Deathly Hallows, Part 2 in line :)

DLSU Lady Spikers reclaim UAAP title

La Salle capped a dominating season with a 25-18, 25-17, 28-26 victory over University of Santo Tomas Saturday to win the UAAP Women’s Volleyball championship at the Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan. It was payback time for the Lady Spikers as they lost to this same team in the finals a year ago.

Despite the Tigresses holding fort to a 24-19 lead in the 3rd set, the Lady Spikers showed poise down the stretch to hammer out this come-from-behind win. Captain Cha Cruz, who was named the Finals MVP, collected 14 hits, including four blocks, while Michelle Gumabao and season MVP Jacq Alarca combined for 25 markers.

Though they are officially 16-1 in season 73, the Lady Spikers are technically undefeated as their lone setback was a forfeiture due to an eligibility infraction.
“Hindi namin inisip na may talo kami. Inisip namin na 17-0 kami, talagang pinaghirapan ng mga bata ang championship na ito,” said a jubilant coach Ramil de Jesus, who has guided La Salle to all of its 6 UAAP championships including a 3-peat from 2003 to 2005.

Maika Ortiz had nine hits while Maru Banaticla added eight markers for Tigresses.

An outside hit by Abigail Maraño allowed UST to move closer in extending the game to a 4th set. But the Lady Spikers did not wilt under pressure as they mounted a rally to regain the upperhand 25-24. The Tigresses were able to tie the count twice, the last was at 26-26, after Ortiz scored a running spike. However, Gumabao scored a kill, while Cruz scored a hit which UST setter Rhea Dimaculangan failed to dig in which sealed the win, and the championship for La Salle.

Aside from the MVP plum, Alarca was also adjudged Best Spiker and Best Server. The other awardees from La Salle are Mika Esperanza (Rookie of the Year) and Michelle Gumabao (Best Blocker).

Source: greenarchers.ph

million steps

He was walking away, confused legs in ambivalent motion and aiming towards the horizon that led directly opposite the love his heart harbored for many years. He was moving away from her in small steps, heart taking giant leaps backward with every beat, ever wondering what could've been, what was lost. He raised the white flag in his fight against change, finally opening his eyes from a perfectly conjured illusion, so real and so true. He was breaking away from a dream that had become his world while battling the rush of pain hoping to stay awake.

He looked at the golden skies ahead, bathed by the last light of the day. He watched as the high winds shape and mold the clouds that eventually grew dark, disintegrating against the black space of night as the sun hid behind the hills and around to the other side of the world. He imagined the remains of his emotions ebbing away from him and back. He imagined his love retreating like how the somber light of the sunset crept back from the dusk. It was almost unfathomable how it once effortlessly covered the stretched boundaries of the heavens and that within a blink of an eye be reduced into a simple sad reminder that everything ends, that everything fades; leaving in its tracks an expanse of empty nothingness, so wide that not even a conscious happy thought could wade.

He walked on and stared at the sharp silhouettes of power lines blunting in the daylight's demise. For a moment, it was completely dark. He stopped in his tracks and closed his eyes from everything. He fully sensed the cold wind rushing against his face, whispering turbulent sounds in his ears, egging him to go back. But he wouldn't. He waited for something to disturb the monotonous hum of unknown possibilities he was in.

Where to go?

When he opened his eyes, bokeh lights hovered ahead, slowly shrinking, sharpening as his pupils adjust to the dark environment. Stars revealed themselves from above, like sprinkles of hope he could not taste--destinies etched criss-crossing in the face of the universe, bridges of chance for hearts to love, and to be broken, and to heal and to love again. But he couldn't see it that way for he still had to take a million steps away from a love that was great and was true and ten steps more from the loneliness he would carry in his journey through and around that wide expanse of nothingness to the other side where abstract dreams and solid reality collide under a shining new sun...

another 'little miss sunshine'

Elissa Down's The Black Balloon (2009) is a heart-warming and tender portrayal of a family struggling to deal with autism. The story centers on Thomas and his relationship with his autistic brother, Charlie. Thomas embarks in an emotional journey when he meets, Jacky, while dealing with the pent up frustrations toward his brother and the crisis his family is going through.

If you're a fan of Little Miss Sunshine (2006) and the very recent The Kids Are All Right (2010), you'll have no problem liking this one. I think it's a little more melancholic than the two, but the core essence is pretty much the same. The witty blend of comedy and drama will take you in an emotional roller coaster, and leaves you with that familiar fuzzy warm feeling in the end.

Can't Unsee: The large eyes and hairstyle of Jacky, Thomas' girlfriend in the film, remind me of Amanda Seyfried. Hehe! Anyway, The Black Balloon received a 90% rating from Rotten Tomatoes.