My thoughts on The Dark Knight Rises

I’m not a fan of the Batman movies, I just like watching its action sequences. So this is not the “Man, that was awesome” review kind of thing. This is just my ten cents worth because it still made an impact on me. Maybe because it was probably one of the disturbing pieces I have seen lately and its connection with the Colorado shooting didn’t help. 

Moreover, like one film reviewer said, there was more yin and more yin in it. And I agree, you don't leave the theater quite satisfied that evil was triumphantly vanquished especially after so much horror Bane brought the city in. The climax of this character with Batman could have been more explosive or grandiose. Batman could have ended this evil with the same measure it has wreaked horror and dread among the people.

I know Batman lives in the shadows and Christopher Nolan thrives in it. He, who has created a dark world with tortured characters in chiseled costumes and unsettling face paint. He creates dread like he revels in it. His Joker is still one of the most eerie villains in superhero film history and Bane another monstrosity that strikes fear in you with its sheer heft and power, a formidable enemy to Batman physically. His Darth Vader and Hannibal Lecter type contraption also made Bane's voice more ominous, layering more evil to his imposing size.

If you want to talk about darkness, this film has it, the darkness of the soul, the fear, the lies, the deceit. It is as dark as Gotham gets. Good thing, there are scenes in daylight otherwise, if it was almost shot at night, it would have been more bleak. But the action sequences were good. The chase, the fighting and the Batman vehicles, his hovercraft like machine was unlike anything I ever saw. Quite imaginative, letting the comic book inspired side of the franchise come to life.

Though, I did not leave the theater exactly glowing, I will choose to remember the good parts I saw. The light that came with the dark, as thin as it is compared to the overall darkness. Michael Caine’s concern for Bruce Wayne like a father to a son was heartfelt, it was a surprise but a good one at that. As a parent I know I would feel the same. Then the comeback of Bruce/Batman after Bane broke him physically and psychically was also good. His personal triumph and his escape were inspiring, overcoming the almost insurmountable. I liked that. Also Joseph Gordon Levitt’s moving performance as a police officer with Bruce Wayne was good too.

With the women, well, I’m sorry, I will always like Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman so Anne Hathaway’s version was just good enough for me. Maybe remembering her as Princess Mia in the Princess Diaries was distracting. Maybe Marion Cotillard could have tried the catsuit, I don’t know, for a change maybe. Because after watching her performance in the French film Le Vie En Rose, her acting here was underutilized.  And the end of her character like Bane was also unsatisfying. Like the writer-director was hesitant to end his evil creations with a bang.

I know Christopher Nolan’s Batman is supposed to be broody and angsty. That his Batman films are a different take on superhero films. Yes, I commend him on that. He veered off from the cartoony and fantastic superhero films of old.  But if highlighting this angst would be the trademark for other future superhero films then I find that a little disturbing.

Superheroes are supposed to bring light and hope to humanity not reflect its desperation, fear and anger with graphic intensity.  We have so much of that in the real world, thank you very much. Good thing, the Avengers brought that piece of hope to us even if it looked like a little boy’s action figures come to life stupendous fantasy while Spiderman teetered on the brink exploring teenage angst while hanging on to his Uncle Ben’s adage, with great power comes great responsibility. Bless Martin Sheen for his performance there.

So if I’m holding my breath on Nolan’s Superman next year. I’m not really sure. I saw a clip of Clark on a boat, like a fisherman. Hmm...Ocean and Superman, interesting. Fine, I’ll suspend my judgment after I watch it. But if Nolan brings about the angst again, the tortured soul bit, or his grand scale evil, I sure hope he counteracts it with the same balance or maybe greater display of heart bursting, panoramic combustion of the triumph of goodness, of hope because in the real world, it is something most of us still hang on to. 

The Best of This is a Crazy Planets by Lourd Ernest H. de Veyra: Acerbic and Funny

I wanted to write about this book immediately after reading it because it’s one of the most hilarious local book I’ve read in a while. I have always been a fan of nonfiction and collected essays like those of columnist, Jessica Zafra and my favorite Filipina writer, the late Kerima Polotan.

So this was a real treat. But writing about a book with an author who drops quotations from Oscar Wilde and Chekhov and can write in the vernacular as if he was just a local “kanto boy” and not educated in one of the top schools of the country with a journalism degree is honestly, intimidating. Because more than that, he is a multi-awarded Palanca winner too.

Compared to him, my prose reads juvenile, like a poser, unworthy of giving comments to his book. To write well in English and Filipino with humorous sarcasm is genius. Honestly, I haven’t encountered anyone who writes well in both languages, I mean one that is relatable and entertaining, not purely high brow. And to write like he does, you must have a good grasp of both languages and a strong pulse of the Filipino culture.

Anyway, I saw his book on my way to the counter of National Bookstore. I got curious when I read a caption on the blurb, “Umasal Lamang Nang Ayon sa Ganda” loosely translated as “Act according to your level of beauty” Okay, the translation doesn’t sound as good, it lacks punch. But it piqued my interest so I bought it.

When I read that post, it’s like whoa! Who the hell tells you that? To “berate” you for acting bratty or entitled, reminding you that your beauty didn’t launch a million spaceships so please act accordingly.  The nerve right? But I found it hilarious…the gall of this man to tell Filipina women who spent thousands downing glutathione pills, lathering whitening lotion on their skin and primping themselves to their heart’s content to act according to their level beauty? Well, he just did. You either love him or hate him on this piece. 

Then he also talks about other things like the Pacquiaos:

 ”This is the Philippines, where the boundaries between showbiz, sports and politics become blurry by the television minute. We cannot seem to be content with the idea of the champion achieving superhuman greatness all by himself. We like to humanize him. It also helps that the mother is quite a character, whose praying-and-braying-and “Omigod-I’m-having-a seizure” act matches the intensity of her son’s title match.”

And one of my favorites, his “Taxi Drivers from Hell”

“This is the ironclad rule of life: at that moment when you desperately, piss-in-your-pants need a cab, you’ll never get one. When you don’t they’re all meekly parading in front of you.”

“,,some of the major cabbie classifications: The Hustler- Like beasts of prey they’ll pounce on you when you’re desperate and helpless-i.e. laden with 10 shopping bags and big-ass pizza box. And it’s raining. Sonofabitch will charge P400 for a ride that costs only P60. There is a wonderful place in hell reserved for these lovable creatures.”

And before Pnoy became president, he had this piece, “On Noynoy and Kris: Shup Up, Little Sister”

“Noynoy isn’t even President but instead of platform and agenda for changes, all his youngest sister can ever talk about is his receding hairline, his awful pleated pants, and how she’s consulting with comedian and wig-store owner Arnell Ignacio about matters follicular.”

“…we can’t help but give the following suggestions should he become the second President Aquino:

-          Issue gag order on youngest sister-on whatever subject. Especially that schtick about her being a young Ninoy and her mother’s favorite: Before she completely smears family name.

-          Exile youngest sister to obscure African country (preferably one with a protractedly bloody civil strife) if she does not shut up.

-          On second thought: just banish youngest sister, given her propensity for periodic involvements in truly embarrassing scandals."

There are still a lot of hilarious pieces written well in both English and Filipino, those with shards of truth about Filipino culture and society dressed in caustic humor. It’s one of the most entertaining Filipino essay collection I have ever read, something I won’t mind reading again when I’m bored waiting in line (yes, I also read standing up) or when I want to cheer myself up after my son’s passing tantrums. It’s one of those books I don’t always come across with, acerbic and funny.

Big Miracle: Soviets helped save whales in American waters

It was not a box-office hit. It wasn’t even talked about much. Maybe because the trailer wasn’t that exciting.  Or limited promotions were done. Too bad. It was a good film based on a true stoy. Yes, Drew Barrymore was there letting you think that this was another syrupy rom com but it’s not. 

Centerstage were the three grey whales trapped in a land of solid snow with only a large hole to breathe in. They weren’t able to get out of their feeding grounds in time for their migration to Baja, Mexico.

Three whales trapped in snow was the story. And everyone wanted a piece of it. The media, the government, Greenpeace. I read that there were hundreds of whales being killed in Iceland that time according to a former Greenpeace person, the time of the Reagan administration but the public was more interested in those three whales. http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/Blogs/makingwaves/the-big-picture-behind-big-miracle/blog/38821/ And almost everyone all over the world covered it even the Filipinos. I heard someone reporting in Tagalog J

And time was running out. The artic chill, was getting heavier threatening to solidify the hole, threatening the survival of the whales. It was already 50 to 70 degrees below zero. Anyway, everyone wants to be part of the whale rescue for PR purposes even the oil company who won a bidding contract to drill in Alaska. They even sent a hoverbarge which unfortunately crashed while being towed in a helicopter by the National Guard.

However, as Nature became the unlikely villain, there were unlikely heroes too, like the Eskimos particularly the Inupiat tribe who are known whale hunters. They used their chainsaws to prevent the hole from solidifying plus the two men in Minnesota who flew to there to donate and use their de-icing machine and of course, the Soviet icebreaker. It was the nearest icebreaker in the area and it was urgently needed because there was a dominant ice ridge separating the land from the ocean.

A Soviet ship entering American waters was supposedly not a possibility because it was the time of the Cold War. Russia and the US were almost mortal enemies then. There should be no way that would happen even if hell freezes over but it did. And that was the big miracle. Added to that is the surprising cooperation of certain people you wouldn't imagine working together, the media, the government, the oil company, Greenpeace, the Eskimos. Together, they drilled holes in the snow so the whales can safely go back to the ocean.

Unfortunately, one of the whales did not make it. But the other two did. But the story was more than the whales, it was the people around it. The whales became the cause that people with different ideologies, beliefs, some enemies in fact, worked together for. That was the bigger story.

With the world in constant turmoil, a story like this becomes a reminder that this can happen, that we can work together for something good despite our differences. That we can set aside our grudges for one another and work together to alleviate any pain we are witnessing in the world. That if we collectively believe in something, we can be united. And one day, if we work together to push reforms that would benefit many people, many endangered animals and even the environment, that would even be a bigger miracle.