more than visual pleasure

during the weekend, i made it a point to watch "willy wonka and the chocolate factory", starring gene wilder. the screenplay was also written by the author of "charlie and the chocolate factory", the amazing, visionary roald dahl.

previous to that, i only remembered one scene from the movie: the scene with willy wonka walking down the garden of edible delights. yum!
upon watching it again, i was struck by the subtleties of the script, as well as of gene wilder's acting. the way his eyes would shift, or he would cock his head to one side, or how his facial expression would change ever-so-slightly upon a word or phrase. it makes full use of his acting talent, outside of straight comedy. my favorite line from the film: "we are the musicmakers and we are the dreamers of dreams". roald dahl is a real genius!
i was a bit concerned about how the treatment of the new movie would be. because the original had that campy, psychedelic feel that pervaded the genre in the 70's. of course, the oompa-loompas were interesting to watch, but my favorite songs are still candyman and pure imagination (not sure if that's the title).
yesterday, i finally got a chance to watch tim burton's "charlie and the chocolate factory".

i liked it. the chocolate was chocolatey-er. hehe! johnny depp is, as always, wonderful. although at some parts, i could see traces of "edward scissorhands" in him. other times, as has been said, he seemed to channel michael jackson. freddie highmore, who i last watched in "finding neverland" is a wonderful actor.
ok, for the comparisons: as expected, the production design and special effects are more advanced on this one. the story is also different. whereas the original devoted as much time to the story before charlie entered the factory as the tour itself, the new version only took about 15 to 20 minutes before venturing inside the factory. the ending is also different. without spoiling it for those who haven't seen the movie, i'll just say that the original ends much earlier in the tale than the latest version. whereas the original got away with just "telling" some parts, the new version "shows" much more. in addition, there's more backstory on willy wonka in the latest version.
interestingly, the kids cast in the latest version as veruca, mike, and augustus look similar to the original actors. i checked out the site, and in the DVD release, there's a special feature on the where those former kids are now. only two of them are remotely involved in anything showbiz.
in my opinion, the first, which focused a lot more on charlie than willy wonka, and should have been called "charlie and the chocolate factory" than this one, which reveals much more about willy, and so, should be called "willy wonka and the chocolate factory".
both are dark comedies, though. and bear certain roald dahl fixtures: anti-institution/-adult, anti-bad behavior for children, and pro-child's individuality. also, loads of uniqueness and invented words and worlds.

cutie babies

first of all: who do you think is cuter?

the baby on the right is my cutie cousin in the US, who's almost 1 year-old, my youngest cousin--but soon to be dethroned by her soon-to-be-born younger baby brother. isn't she just so adorable??? mana sa tita!:P

mind-blowing

thursday night after class, i rushed to SM megamall and was just in time for the free screening of "metropolis". the director, fritz lang, is also the director of one of my favorite black and white movies: "M". i never got to see "metropolis" before, but it's one of the most revered in film history worldwide.
the visuals are fantastic! it's a silent film. for that night's screening, kudos goes to the rubber inc for wonderful accompaniment which was, though a bit too "modern", i think, was also appropriate for the visuals, i have to concede.
the story's themes still resonate, years after it was produced: stratification of society, need for humanism in a dehumanizing world, and--yes, of course--the love stuff.
here's a still from the film:

that's not the most striking image from the movie, but i couldn't find a still of it on the web. it's the visuals of the workers underground. very, very visual. proves a picture paints a thousand words.:)
i also found out that lang was supposed to direct my all-time favorite german expressionist (if i'm not mistaken) film, "cabinet of dr. caligari".
the retrospective on lang continues for the rest of august--every thursday at 8 pm, SM megamall cinema 6.
enjoy the movies!

hollywood dreamin'

i was able to watch an episode of "hollywood dream", another rip-off of the US-reality-show formula, on ABC 5 last sunday. the idea is ok. filipinos vying for a chance in hollywood. i learned that initially, the list included: Giselle Sanchez, Juliana Palermo, John Arcilla, Rey PJ Abellana, Lester Llansang, Roxanne Barcelo, Miguel Garcia, Dennis Coronel, Raymond Bagatsing, Pinky Amador, Andrea del Rosario, Rafael Rosell, Jao Mapa, Dimples Romana, Baron Geisler, January Isaac, Julia Clarete, Valerie Concepcion, Czarina de Leon, Princess Schuck, Jamie Wilson, Joel Trinidad. But last Sunday, there were just a dozen of them left. I'm rooting forr Pinky Amador, Jamie Wilson (who i last saw in the hilarious digital indie "Big Time") , John Arcilla (who's still gwapo), and Julia Clarete. This girl named mickie hyatt (what? like paris hilton??) was eliminated. and rightly so, i think. because she danced and sang badly. a close sedon would be Baron Geisler. i mean, he didn't know the lyrics of the song he chose to perform, and even asked for a "take two"--and still it was bad! how can you perform in front of armida siguion-reyna, joel lamangan, and audie gemore like that? i don't know if the series was taped before he decided to stay sober, because he sure looked and acted like he was drunk and/or high. at least, that's my impression.
i think what makes the show a bit more credible is the presence of the theater professionals there. and industry-professionals as judges. i hope my favorites make it!

just beach-ing

we just had time to catch the sunset at this beach in lemery. so i didn't bother taking a dip. but i got some nice photos anyway.

i've always wanted to try to go out and see how they fish in these:

my shadow at sunset

animals everywhere!

also work-related, i finally got to go to avilon zoo in montalban. i've been looking forward to going there ever since jac wrote about it in her blog. we went via the commonwealth-batasan route. and very near the zoo, we had to drive through this:

it was so exciting! the river actually flows right through it! of course, during the few seconds we were traversing that route, i was thinking "so, in which direction should i swim should we fall into the water?" later, we found out there was a bridge a few meters away parallel to the road. but the experience was so cool, we took the same road going home!
first, we saw the swans! they were a sight to behold, some black, some white. it was the first time i'd ever heard the sound that swans make. don't ask me to try replicating it though. i tried, and every time, the person i was talking to laughed at me!

i was like a kid in a zoo! snapping pictures, asking questions, trying to interact with the animals. this emu makes a drum-beating sound. it was so friendly, and would turn its head right, then center, then left, then back to center--just begging for a photo op!

i saw flamingos!!! live and moving and so long-legged. and ostriches too.

other feathered friends

going wild!

baby cubs out for their daily exercise

been hearing about it for some time, but first time i've ever seen a tapir:

let me tell you about joey. he's an orangutan that used to be able to walk freely around the zoo because he was friendly and safe. but some construction workers on-site taught him to smoke and drink. and so now, they have to put him in a cage. poor guy.:(

avilon was a great place to visit, with a lot of animals, that (thankfully) didn't look sad nor malnourished. it's a really nice, 7-hectare space that's expecting a lot of new additions soon. i'm definitely going back!

my hedwig photo series
me: let's take a picture together, ok?

hedwig: no! pay before picture! you mad woman-child!

me: ok, finally, there. how nice!
hedwig: what are you laughing at?!?! i look at camera, you fork out the money, #*^@%!

give me that old-time religion

it's been a while, i know. but i've been sooo busy at work. no kidding. anyway, last weekend, got a chance to go out of town. it was work-related, but of course, i made the most of it anyway. we drove through tagaytay going to taal town. it was my first time there, and i was so pleased to find a city that's still kind of laid-back, with imprints of the past. there were a lot of old brick houses, and we went to the wonderful basilica, and i went wild taking photos!