Angels & Demons by Dan Brown

The book was a page turner.  When I read a book I do it slowly and occasionally close my eyes and imagine the scenes.  Books like this where the characters are clearly described, I also imagine hearing their voices with my own best effort interpretation of their tone and accent.  Having said all that, I was still able to finish the book in 2 days.  I remember bringing it to El Nido, Palawan and since it was raining – I literally spent a whole day just turning the pages of Dan Brown’s masterpiece.  Every page makes you realize how much research and imagination he poured into this book.  Amazing pare!

Moving forward to the movie… it was hard to sit there fighting off conclusions that you already know from the book.  I wanted to experience the movie as if I had no idea about the twists and turns in the story.  Unfortunately, I gave in and kept comparing it to the book – I had spoiled the movie in my head.  I thought all was gone and I will now fall into the trap of matching pages in the book to scenes in the movie.  I was wrong.  I genuinely enjoyed this movie.  1/4 into the movie, you start to loose yourself in the scenes and focus on keeping up with all the action.  Amazing!  It was not until the last few minutes of the movie when I regained control and focused my eyes on that twisted revelation that is to come.  HAhaahaha.. that’s how far I will go.  If you haven’t read the book – I envy the experience.  For those who have read the book, this is worth watching my friend.

Angels and Demons

Here’s the trailer:

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I hope you enjoy it and agree with me.

Tip: If your connection is slow, pause it and leave it for a while – this way when you watch it, its all loaded or at least half of it streams while you watch.

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The concept is very simple – Zohan (Adam Sandler) is a mosad agent who is burned out and wants to get out and start a new life following his dreams of being a hairstylist.  Silky smooth! Hahaha

Its one hilarious movie that will make you laugh over and over again.  The humor is just a bit sick but who cares – it works!

As usual, there’s a good story to be learned and I’m finding this common in most comedy films nowadays.  The movie slaps racism and stereotype issues dead center on the jugulars.  Hahaha.  We can all pick up a thing or two from this movie.  Disco disco good good!

Watch out for the fight scenes – very very funny!

So there, if you haven’t seen the movie – go ahead and schedule it with your friends.  Have a few drinks to lighten up the mood.  Have a few more drinks after the movie – its fun to talk about and let’s all go out and DISCO!

Here’s the trailer:

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So how was the movie? Last week marked the end of what seems to be an eternity.. the restless nights.. the anticipation (kidding) when I finally had the opportunity to see the movie. And it kicked some ass!

I do agree with most of the casts like Morgan Freeman when they said in one interview that Heath could be up for an award with his performance in this movie. His performance was – effectively disturbing. Whatever sensation, whether it was fear, confusion, whatever… that he wanted you to feel, you would feel it. I had to drink a few bottles of beer after the movie so I could sleep. I wonder if its possible that he was consumed by this character. I’m sure there were other factors. Good job and God Bless his soul. I won’t be putting in much about the Joker – I don’t want to spoil it for you.

Christian Bale (Batman, Bruce Wayne) as usual delivered his unique portrayal of the bat in a suit – dark knight. I just have one small comment – I could never get over the weird regurgitated voice. Hahaha. But I know that it made the character more realistic in a sense that it completely differentiates the billionaire or millionaire Bruce from the Bat.

Gary Oldman, Michael Caine, and Morgan Freeman – pioneers from the first Batman with Christian Bale effectively exhibited continuity of their characters to this movie. Character actors that hold the highest respects in my book.

Aaron Eckhart (Harvey Dent) – his character slipped my mind and I felt so stupid for not seeing it earlier on. I knew that he would eventually be two-face but I guess I was really into the movie from the second it started and blocked out all previous memories so that it would feel like I was watching this concept, story for the very first time. I was actually surprised and excited that I said to myself – “F*ck, Harvey will become two-face” like I didn’t know. It was like I was figuring it out for the first time. Hahaha.

Anyway, its a must see movie on the big screen and I will definitely mark this as “must have dvd” movie.

One last minor comment and I’m not sure if you felt the same way. It felt a bit “draggy” in probably the last 20 minutes of the movie. What do you think?

I found this page – Heath Memorial. You think you’d expect more from warner bros besides just a page. hmmm…

Check out this cool batmobile made out of paper. Found it while blog hopping:

I wonder how much gas is consumed by the Batmobile. Oh oh oh.. and there’s a cool part in the movie involving the bat mobile. Really nice!

Here’s the trailer:

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All I can say is that it rocks and its definitely not for everyone. Expect to see bullets through heads.

Angelina Jolie rocked the part as usual. Even as voice over you can feel her. In this movie she plays the role of a dedicated and seasoned professional assassin. They belong to a group called the fraternity -hehe, not too creative but hey, they probably spent all their time mastering and studying the best way to show you a bullet through the head scene.

Morgan Freeman – hmmm… I still picture him as God in Bruce Almighty and Evan Almighty. So his role here – I would prefer seeing someone like Samuel L. Jackson but that’s just me ok. Don’t get me wrong here, Mr. Freeman is an excellent actor. I just see him differently.

James McAvoy – I honestly don’t know the guy but he sure did a great job in the movie. Its just hard to play opposite Angelina Jolie. Nevertheless, his performance was very effective.

I wouldn’t mind training to be an assassin for a couple of weeks. But when things get real – I don’t think any form of therapy can bring you back.

Curving a bullet is an interesting concept so MythBusters – do your thing!

So there… I rank this movie as “If you’re a fan of hardcore – GO! If not, wait for HBO!”

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When you get to see the movie watch out for “Good Job” and “Asshole” – hahahaha.

Anyway, I expected to see a typical superhero movie twisted with funny antics to entertain.  But I was surprised to see a well thought out back story.  Good Job to the writer of this movie (Vincent Ngo) – I like it A lot!  Excellent fx – very believable and well done – remember the Matrix and how he flew around?  That made sense right?  The concept, the impact on solid objects and how the wind moves around a flying object was presented well in this movie.  It shows that a lot of creativity and imagination poured into this movie.

Will Smith was great in this movie – its like when he was back in the movie Independence day – good solid character with  a touch of humor in his every move.  Exactly what you would expect from a superhero with an attitude living in the modern day.

Charlize Theron – keep a close eye on her guys! She’ll blow you away in this movie.

That’s about it – I don’t want to give away much information because you might hate me.  Just catch the movie in a theater near you and expect to see things happen and unfold real quick.

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This is my very first embedded movie post. It’s a wonderful life – this movie was made way back in 1946 and was originally in black and white. It was the masterpiece of the great Frank Capra. To be honest, this was the first time I heard of him but I now have great respect for him. You can tell that this laid out the foundation for future feel-good movies.

This version has been remastered to full color and they did a great job as you can see below if you decide to watch it.

I found this movie last Sunday when it was raining hard – Storm (Frank) hit the Philippines. I wanted a feel good movie so I did a quick google search – at first, I was hesitant to play this movie because it did take place in the 1940′s BUT it showed up as number one in several search results so might as well right? Anyway, I hope you enjoy this movie as much as I did. A classic feel good and inspiring movie about life, hope and faith. Its also a cozy Christmas movie.

Part 1 | wait for video to load on top

Part 2 | wait for video to load on top

It’s a Wonderful Life is a 1946 American film produced and directed by Frank Capra and based on the short story The Greatest Gift written by Philip Van Doren Stern.

The film takes place in the fictional town of Bedford Falls shortly after World War II and stars James Stewart as George Bailey, a man whose attempted suicide on Christmas Eve gains the attention of his guardian angel, Clarence Odbody (Henry Travers) who is sent to help him in his hour of need. Much of the film is told through flashbacks spanning George’s entire life and narrated by Franklin and Joseph, unseen Angels who are preparing Clarence for his mission to save George. Through these flashbacks we see all the people whose lives have been touched by George and the difference he has made to the community in which he lives.

The film is regarded as a classic and is a staple of Christmas television around the world, although, due to its high production costs and stiff competition at the box office, financially, it was considered a “flop.” The film’s break-even point was actually $6.3 million, approximately twice the production cost, a figure it never came close to achieving in its initial release.[2] An appraisal in 2006 reported: “Although it was not the complete box-office failure that today everyone believes… it was a major disappointment and confirmed, at least to the studios, that Capra was no longer capable of turning out the populist features that made his films the must-see, money-making events they once were.”[3]

It’s a Wonderful Life was nominated for five Oscars without winning any, but the film has since been recognized by the American Film Institute as one of the 100 best American films ever made, and placed number one on their list of the most inspirational American films of all time.

- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It’s_a_Wonderful_Life

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Ha ha ha ha! Don’t let this movie pass – its worth every penny.  Very funny and entertaining new comedy.  Good job Steve Carell as Maxwell Smart.  This came close to the same level of comedy and laughter to the 40 Year Old Virgin.  If you were entertained by that movie then you should go out and see this.

The guy from Borat and Meet the Spartans was also there – Ken Davitian.  Mr. Shishkebab your ass and the guy who shared an uncomfortable naked wrestling scene with Borat.  Very funny guy.

Anne Harthaway – whew!  Its getting hot in here!  She was sexy, chic and hot in this movie.  If you haven’t seen Princess Diaries and saw this movie first – woah, who would have thought right?

Dwayne Johnson – The Rock!  The scene in the trailer where he staples a guys head – wait till you see the full scene. Ha ha ha.

This movie was star studded and funny as hell.  It starts of a bit slow with a few giggles but when the action starts – its one hit after the other.  You’ll have a hard time catching your breathe.

And one more thing to watch out for – imagine a fat Steve Carell…  All the scenes in the trailers are to die for.

I give this movie a “Must See, Will Buy DVD for my collection” rating.

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Highly recommended movie for all ages. I’m guessing even the toddlers will enjoy this movie because of the funny antics and cute characters.

Congratulations to Jack Black – another successful movie. He plays the hero Po – the panda who is having some issues with his destiny. He finds his motivation in food!

Also in the movie is Dustin Hoffman who is an amazing actor playing the role of Shifu – who is having a hard time teaching Po the ways of kung fu.

Angelina Jolie also lends her voice to Tigress. Did you know that Jackie Chan was also there? His was doing the voice for Monkey. Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu and many more also joined in the fun.

Make sure to catch it on the big screen. Every now and then, its nice to watch a cartoon to bring out the child in you. This movie will do it for you – especially if you also went through the kung fu childhood phase.

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Outstanding! Edward Norton played the role of Bruce Banner and he did a great job as usual. The effects on this movie were 100 times better than the first big screen released back in 2003 with Eric Bana and Ang Lee. Don’t worry about the spandex shorts in this one – in this movie its more improved and they even took the extra effort to add scenes to make it realistic.

Stan Lee’s cameo was significant and accelerated the pace of the movie at an early stage.  Lou Ferrigno’s cameo was funny and he shared a scene with Edward Norton – something to look forward to.

Edward Norton was perfect for the role.  The same approval with Robert Downey Jr. on IronMan.  The fight scenes and effects were amazing – you will struggle to keep your eyes open so you won’t miss a thing.  The proportion of the Hulk in the movie was well done.  Abomination was literally an abomination!  He was the ultimate villain.

The inclusion of “romance” was a bit off.  It wasn’t a big deal and I do agree that it was necessary but it just felt out of place.  Probably because there was a noticeable change in cinematography when it was inserted.  It felt old school.  That’s just me ok.  I would appreciate hearing your thoughts.

The evasive short clip that normally shows up right after the credits is now conveniently placed right after the movie – no need to sit and wait after the credits.  AND this short clip will get you EXCITED!  I promise!  Think collective.. think Marvel.. think Collaboration.  YES!  The same sensation you felt with the after credits clip of IronMan – you WILL look forward to the next.

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