Haywire, one smashing film

I watched the movie yesterday with my husband. And there’s something odd watching a woman beat up different men while seated beside another man.  I don’t know. Maybe getting the full satisfaction from this girl power showcase lessened in his presence. Nonetheless, I still savored each punch and kick. And damn, that girl can fight. That’s a true female mixed martial arts champion I’m watching there. Yes!

I especially love the hotel room fight scene with Michael Fassbender. A no holds barred brawl with her fully-made up face and gorgeous cocktail dress. He fought like he was fighting a thug.  And if you didn’t see the trailer, his sudden attack from behind after closing the door can be a little unnerving. Good thing, though after collecting her bashed wits, it was like bring it on, brother.

There was a lot of smashing, tackling, subduing, punching, kicking in that small hotel room. A more physical Mr. and Mrs. Smith if you will, less firepower. I mean if a man is going to beat you up or kill you, smash things at him or death-choke him with your legs while lying on bed if you can. Don’t give up without a fight. And in this case, Mallory Kane (Gina Carano) won because she was the better fighter and had something to prove.

Honestly, I expected a faster pace for the movie, more Jason Bourne like. Some scenes were a bit dragging, wobbly in some because these were shot in a handheld camera and some details in the storyline were a little blurry. The plot too, felt rehashed, rogue assassin, revenge. But the fight scenes were quite entertaining and the cobbled streets of Barcelona made quite an impression. Moreover, the cast behind Gina Carano was staggering. Michael Douglas, Antonio Banderas, Ewan McGregor, Tatum Channing and Michael Fassbender. Wow. What a coup of stars.

It’s been a while since I have watched great action by a female figure. I loved Sidney Bristow (Alias) by the way, and I haven't seen the latest season of Nikita by Maggie Q yet, so there. And this movie grabbed me, one powerful action scene after another, each one looking quite authentic and powerful, I enjoyed that.

And before I forget, watching Channing Tatum acting like a jerk was entertaining. It was offbeat, a little risky but it just showed that he’s ready to grow as an actor. Good for him. Even though, I loved his searing performance in Dear John.

So if you happen to pass by a theater or would rather watch it on DVD, Haywire is a movie not to be missed. Especially if you love to see a woman kicking a jerk’s ass or bashing things on his head, for women, at least, it can be oddly therapeutic. 

Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo, a four year old's view of heaven

After “Embraced by the light” by Betty Eadie, “Heaven is for real” by Todd Burpo is another book that let’s you glimpse through heaven…

“I was desperate for prayer, desperate that other believers would bang on the gates of heaven and beg for the life of our son.”  This passage brought tears to my eyes. I have been there before bargaining with heaven for my son. I thought I have been cynical already, unbelieving. Yet, it touched me because I remembered what it feels like to beg at heaven’s gates.

Honestly, part of me is still a little bit apprehensive. Is this another take on heaven to sell off millions of copies, someone’s attempt to exploit their child? Yes, I know its kinda mean but there are people out there who do it.

However, I want to believe that this is not the case for this book. I want to believe that the child talked about heaven even if part of me is still unsure he wasn’t influenced by his parents especially his Dad who was a pastor. If the father was an atheist farmer, maybe my skepticism would have been minimized. But then again, I’m still in between full belief to a doubting Thomas.

Despite these, there are a lot of heartwarming stories here. Like the story about meeting his grandfather who died before he was born and also meeting the child his mom miscarried who turned out to be a sister. It is also interesting to note that he met Jesus and quipped how kind and strong he was. And that he also met God the Father and God the Holy Spirit and saw Angel Gabriel and Mary near the throne of God and interesting too, are the animals and rainbows he saw in heaven.

In the age of the internet, where everything is digital, fast-paced, stories like these can be hard to believe. I mean is it really true? It sounds simplistic to an adult’s pragmatic mind but in the eyes of a child, he describes it as he sees it. Maybe I have lost that sense of wonder, that belief in miracles.But why am I still drawn to stories like these? Why buy these books?  Maybe because part of me still wants to believe that after living in this world, there is still something better for us out there, that after saying goodbye to loved ones who have passed on, we know that we will still meet again. That “See you or till then” would have been the appropriate phrase and not the word goodbye.

Heaven is for Real is a book that intrigues you, enough to ponder on your beliefs again. It’s not as detailed as “Embraced by the Light” because it was taken from the viewpoint of a child but it makes you see though heaven, God, Jesus in a young person’s eyes. It has that sense of wonderment, that sense of belief, that lack of apprehension that whips a breath of fresh air in a world where most people have lost their innocence and some who have lost their faith. 

My movie review of X-men First Class

I made this review before I started this blog. I was so excited after seeing the film, I wrote this. Of course, I had to edit it a bit because I was almost gushing in its unedited form. And now like the other pieces hidden in my netbook, I want to let it see the light of day, to have it read by others. Maybe those who haven’t seen the film can finally see it on DVD and those who have can appreciate it again. 

Thank you.

A movie review of X-Men First Class

I have to write this before the feeling escapes. A feeling after realizing you have fallen in love or made a startling epiphany about yourself. What started out as a one of the few dates my husband and I have in almost a year transformed me to a witness to a thrilling and an emotional stirring film. It’s been awhile since a film captured and enthralled me like this. A book usually does with its graphic prose and unflinching commentaries but seldom does an action film does this to me.

The acting of James McAvoy and Michael Fessbender is worthy of Oscar nominations for me if this is not comic based movie. The way they held the character together and let the audience see who their characters really were more than their mutant powers is makes this movie worthwhile view. The drama of their friendship and the eventual drifting away due to their different causes is also worth seeing more than the spectacular special effects.

I believe that more than anything that special effects are only the icing in the cake, that it is the story and the evolution of the characters that will make the film more memorable. And this is what this movie has attempted to do and has successfully done so. It has taken the viewer not only on a visual journey but an internal journey, one that he remembers long after he has left the theater. He brings it with him after he has slept and remembers it the day after.

I also believe that films are another art form because like other pieces of art, it has the power to move you and enthrall you. And the thing that successful books and movies does is take the reader or viewer to another world, to another time and most importantly to another emotional landscape. These bring him to another train of thought that never lets go. He is not the same person before the book or the film.

James McAvoy still magnificent in his craft is always a pleasure to watch. A wonderful thespian, you momentarily forget that you’re watching a popcorn movie and not a movie of Shakespeare. His character is so enigmatic he makes every dialogue effortless and believable. He really has this gift of magnifying his emotions enabling audiences to see right through it.

And Michael Fessbender is a wonderful discovery. A good foil to James MacAvoy, he can exchange emotional sequences with him point by point. Like James, you can feel his pain, his anger, a mark of a great actor. His commanding presence coupled with a polished charisma like James Bond is also a sight to watch.

The highlight for this duo was the scene where Magneto (Michael Fassbender) had to channel his power to move a satellite dish. Professor X  (James McAvoy) had to go through his memories and tell him to channel it to the part of his heart that exists between rage and serenity. It was a powerful scene that moved me especially the scene when the two actors are on tears. I also love the part where Professor X had to save Magneto from drowning, to tell him to let go the submarine or risk his life. And more than the actors, I also want to commend the scriptwriter, Simon Kinberg, his words gave the film its heart.

Not many movie can achieve what this movie did, to combine the elements of a good action movie with the heart of the characters. It was a big risk but they have been successful because here the viewers were able to connect with the characters first, taking the back story in thereby heightening their appreciation to the special effects that followed. As such, it gave the movie a more lasting impression. 

Because a movie bloated with special effects and minimal character formulation or weak plot is like eating a lot of icing. It may taste wonderful at first then after a while it loses its appeal leaving one to crave for something more substantial. Similar to someone who is unable to remember what the film was all about after leaving the theater and worse, not remembering it the next day. Fortunately, this did not happen to X-men First Class. Well, to me at least.

Lance Armstrong: A Memoir to Remember

This memoir have lessons that stick like plaster to my soul. The writing is honest, heartfelt and engaging. I even cried in the latter parts when he talked about how cancer radically changed him and how it defined him as a person after.

It is a story of a man who pushed through the uncertainties that engulfed him after his diagnosis, when the doctors had almost no hope for him especially when a part of the disease had spread to his brain and when the management of his team had turned its back at him leaving him with financial uncertainty.

It is the triumph of the human spirit. That even if others let you down, you shouldn’t give up and when others tell you that you can’t come back, you tell yourself you can and you will.

Lance Armstrong survived the disease and came out a different person. Once cocky, he became more matured and patient. Having suffered bouts of chemotherapy, he learned to push harder on his sport, becoming better than before. I remember reading the hours he spent training in the mountains of North Carolina to improve his bike climbing abilities. It paid off and was victorious, winning the Tour de France several times.

I’m glad to learn more about this sport, the arduous training it required and the harsh conditions each biker had to go through like barreling through pelts of rain and scorching heat in cliff-like sides of mountains while fending off other riders. I was also surprised to learn that cycling is a team sport, that there is only one rider that the team supports to win and some members of the team act like protectors to this rider. As a strategy, the other riders sometimes go after competitors who seem to break away and limit their lead so their lead rider can advance. I was also surprised to learn that Tour de France is not won by the final stretch to the finish line in Paris but by winning a great lead in various legs of the race. The one going to Paris has already won it even before going there for the ceremonies.

It is said that things happen for a reason, that sometimes tragic events can be transformed into something magnificent and inspiring. This is what happened to Lance Armstrong. The disease had not only changed and strengthened him as a person and as a cyclist, but transformed him to become an inspiration to other people  who are battling the disease. He became a symbol of courage and steadfastness for them. His tenacity reminded them that like him, they too, can be triumphant and become healthy again. And whatever happens even if they lose, they gave it quite a fight and in the end, I think, that’s what really matters.

This is one memoir I won’t forget in a long time because I have personally witnessed how this disease can ravage people. I witnessed it through loved ones who have battled with this disease and have passed on. So I really admire the strength he has shown, it takes a great amount of courage and determination not to give up fighting for your life especially when the cure is almost killing you. He truly is an inspiration and a remarkable person.

Kerima Polotan: My icon, my heroine

One of my inspirations on my writing is this indomitable woman, Kerima Polotan. For me, she is one of the greatest writer I have ever read. Her words and images radically moves you while her characters intrigue and beguile you, leaving you quite immersed in her world. Sometimes, after reading an excerpt of her work, I can't help but mutter "Dammit, you're so good I want be like you", but of course there can only one Kerima Polotan, she is in a league of her own. 

 Honestly, I’m not an academician, I don’t have fancy degrees in writing but I want to become a good if not a great writer because of her.  Here’s a sample of an essay I submitted to a newspaper in one of their contest, My Idol, My Icon. I joined it because I wanted to win the big LCD TV prize. Unfortunately, I didn’t get it but I don’t want to leave this piece hidden in my hard drive forever, at least someone might read my ode for her on this blog. She passed away in the middle of this year and this  entry is for her.

Kerima Polotan: My Icon, My Heroine

As I write this, I ask myself, how can I possibly describe someone whose works I admire so much? How can I recount her incredible short stories and essays when I feel bereft of her gift of lyricism, irony and rawness? I don’t know if my puny words are enough to aptly expound on her formidable works.  Somehow, I feel incomparable to the many talented writers who have introduced her books and will gladly slink aside to make way to the prestigious institutions that have awarded her. Here I am, a struggling, wannabe writer expressing my admiration to one of the most talented female Filipino writer in the Philippines, Kerima Polotan.

Kerima Polotan is best known for her short story The Virgin, which won the Philippine Free Press short story prize and the Palanca Memorial Award  in 1952. She has also won other awards for her writing, one of which is the prestigious Stonehill Award for her novel The Hand of the Enemy in 1962. Aside from writing award-winning stories, she has written provocative essays found in the books Adventures in a Forgotten Country and The True and the Plain.  On a personal note, Kerima was born in Jolo, Sulu and is the daughter of an army colonel and a teacher. She is also married to Juan Tuvera and has ten children.

I first encountered Kerima Polotan’s work in college. This was The Virgin. The story is about a 34-year old unmarried woman faced with the possibility of love and desire long after she thought these have eluded her. It is quite admirable how she brings you inside her story with her deft lyrical descriptions and creative emotional landscapes.  In The Virgin, she was able to create sexual tension between her protagonist, Miss Mijares and the carpenter by stirring the reader’s imagination with her subtle eroticism and uncontrived symbolism.  Noteworthy is the restraint she gave her characters, not giving too much, just enough to leave you wondering and smiling as you arrive to your own conclusion.

 Aside from the Virgin, I also liked her other short story A Various Season which won second place in the 1966 Palanca Awards. It was about a married woman who had an affair with an equipment salesman. Reading it was like watching a movie and with each page, you witness Lourdes David, the main character shuttling between her feelings of guilt and rationalizations about her infidelity and her heartbreaking disenchantment with her marriage. I also love the confrontation part with her lover. You can almost feel the pain within the pages of the book, gripping you inside and as it unravels you realize that this is what makes Kerima Polotan a great writer, she can easily transport you from a dreamless state to the heart of her characters and feel their pain.

Kerima is not only a great storyteller but also an unconventional writer audacious enough to write unlikely and controversial characters like an unmarried woman in The Virgin and an adulteress in A Various Season in the 50s and the 60s, both conservative eras. She courageously wrote about them even if she opened herself to scrutiny as some women writers are prone to when they write about these topics. And not surprisingly, she also wrote biting essays. I was confounded by her essay on Filipinos in America written in the 70s. Her observations here were quite keen and uncompromising. She nailed it to the heart when she wrote about the people needing its country more than the country needing its people, that no matter where we are in the world or how good life is in foreign soil, there will always be a longing for the Motherland in the hearts of every Filipino.

 I wish I could ask her what inspired her to write. What inspired her to write characters like Miss Mijares and Lourdes David?  Did she had a dream about it or was it divine inspiration? Writers have different sources for their material, some from personal experience, some from people they know, and even some from people walking down the street. But whatever muse inspired her, it doesn’t matter, what’s important is she made these characters real enough for us to care about. Besides, writing is not an easy job. For me at least, I always have this strange need to write the emotions seeping within my soul. If I don’t write it and keep it within myself, it almost torments me. There is this urge to write even if I don’t know if I’m good enough, I just write.

And since writing is not easy, being recognized as a good writer is even harder, so to write and earn accolades while raising ten kids is a feat in itself, I salute Kerima for that. Impressively, she has shown me that motherhood and writing can co-exist, that if you are really passionate about your craft, you can do it no matter what herculean odds are against you. And as a mother of just one, I can imagine how hard it must be. I wonder how she managed it. Did she write while the kids were napping or did she write in the washroom?  Has writing become her refuge from the strains of everyday life?  Did it become a piece of her identity with no connection to the husband and kids?  Maybe. For me at least, writing reflects my own time, my own thoughts, enclosed in my own world where there are no diapers to change, no meals to prepare and no spouse to pick up after. Writing provides me a certain freedom to be myself while the family is sleeping or busy playing. I like writing during silent early mornings when my mind is still fresh or in the late evenings when everyone is asleep and I’m alone with the characters of my stories. It is my piece of sanity in a sometimes insane world.  In my stories, I can play God and give the characters their happy endings or confrontations I detest and witty dialogues I would love to tell myself. Sometimes, it’s also my form of catharsis, clearing cobwebs in my mind, seeing things in a different way.

I know I am still a long way off to become as good a writer as Kerima Polotan.  But despite this, I will carry on, writing when I can and polishing my skills along the way. Whatever happens  Kerima will always be the heroine writer I will look up to when I feel discouraged and she will always be the gold standard I will strive for.  With her authentic storytelling, she has inspired me to be true to myself and write with heart and audacity, to write from within, without looking back and with no self-consciousness because it is with this truth that the characters in my stories will feel alive to readers. And if I am true to myself, becoming a better person, a better wife and a better mother will come much easier.