The Girl Who Leapt Through Time + Spirited Away

I've long since stopped watching anime and it was also an "it-all-got-too-much-for-me-i-had-to-step-away-from-it-all case since everyday when I switch the TV on, it would all be a mind-numbing series of anime after anime shows. However, it just so happened that as I was surfing the net for a movie to watch, i stumbled into this amazing website that has a great collection of HD quality movies that you can either stream or download. Another great thing about it is they actually provide viewers an option to watch the movies either dubbed or sub-titled. The only catch is, they're all anime films. By this time, I had already watched a trailer for Spirited Away so I decided ok, might as well watch it, it's been a long time anyway. I enjoyed it. So much so that right after that movie, I watched another anime, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. 

credit: lokasenni


Synopsis: 

When 17-year-old Makoto Konno gains the ability to, quite literally, "leap" backwards through time, she immediately sets about improving her grades and preventing personal mishaps. However, she soon realises that changing the past isn't as simple as it seems, and eventually, will have to rely on her new powers to shape the future of herself and her friends.  -stagevu.com

movie link (subbed) : http://stagevu.com/video/hbxnrfsarocj

My Take:

I like time travel themed movies/books, except when it's badly made, that it wasn't much of a surprise when I ended up enjoying this movie despite it being an anime film. Somehow it reminds me of Butterfly Effect and Dean Koont'z Lightning, but only because it shows how every action, every alteration done in the past, always, always, affects the future. This movie begs the question "if you have the power to go back in time and change something, would you do it? If so, which time? and which event?" I asked myself that and I couldn't really think of any. ah, maybe go back for a day during that time when I saw my crush for the first time in high school, lol, not to change anything but simply to relive the feelings, and maybe freeze time for a bit so i could stare at him unhindered lmao. *.^

credit:  cosmo111687

Synopsis:

Tale of the fanciful adventures of a ten-year-old girl named Chihiro, who discovers a secret world when she and her family get lost and venture through a hillside tunnel. When her parents undergo a mysterious transformation, Chihiro must fend for herself as she encounters strange spirits, assorted creatures and a grumpy sorceress who seeks to prevent her from returning to the human world. - http://movies.yahoo.com

movie link (in Japanese, English subbed) http://stagevu.com/video/ejxbtfppaqvd

My take:

I would have enjoyed this movie more if I was a kid. It's not that I didn't, i did. But had i been a child, this movie will be in an altogether different level, intense. Some scenes would be so much horrifying, so much exciting. It'll be much more thrilling at every turn, and I'd be cheering the heroine on as if I'm her friend. But since I'm a grown woman watching this movie about magical creatures, it toned down things a bit, but I still enjoyed it very much. 

P.S. I can't find a longer english subbed Japanese trailer so I had to use Disney's version (yes, Disney bought the right to show this film but they it had it dubbed in English). However the movie link I posted here is the Japanese one cos personally i don't like watching dubbed movies since I think the movie loses much of it's spirit, spunk, and flavour. :)

K-Movie: Moss

                   credit:  KMDb01


movie links:
http://www.mysoju.com/korean-movie/moss/
http://www.dramastyle.com/movie/Moss-2010/


Synopsis:

Movie remade from a popular internet cartoon. The story of the few people who live in a village, and a man who comes to the village for his father's funeral. He tries to figure out the mystery of his father's death, but the villagers watch his every move.

RYU Mok-hyeong, a member of a small prayer house located in a remote mountain village, is well-respected for his leadership and gift of speech. In order to build a new prayer house Mok- hyeong leaves the mountains to build a new village with the help of his friend, Yong-duk. Many years pass and Mok-hyeong is discovered dead after sharing a bottle of rice wine with Yong-duk. Mok-hyeong’s good for nothing son, RYU Hae-guk, arrives from Seoul to attend his father’s funeral. Hae-guk soon realizes that the villagers are trying to hide something from him leading him to seek the help of PARK Min-uk, the public prosecutor responsible for his demotion to a local branch during his more reckless past. Hae-guk plans to conduct his father’s autopsy himself, but arrives at his father’s grave only to find his corpse missing. Hae-guk suspects that Yong-duk is responsible.

Cast:
Park Hae-il 박해일 As Ryoo Hae-gook (류해국)
Jeong Jae-yeong 정재영 As Cheon Yong-deok (천용덕)
Yoo--Seon 유선 As Lee Yeong-ji (이영지)
Yoo Joon-sang 유준상 As Public prosecutor Park (박 검사)
Yoo Hae-jin 유해진 As Kim Deok-cheon, villager (김덕천, 마을 주민)
Kim Sang-ho 김상호 As Jeon Seok-man, villager (전석만, 마을 주민)


Credits: http://www.koreanmovie.com


My Take:

Almost 3 hours long, though I hardly noticed. Grabe! I love this movie, it'll keep you guessing til the end. So did the guy just died, or someone killed him? If the latter, who did? Why? So much so that at one point I even thought, ok, so is it possible this woman was just imagining things after all? I was with the protagonist the whole time, in his every suspenseful moves. I couldn't even help myself but warn him like "Mok, be careful!". Very, very edge of you seat film and just when you thought you had it all figured out, the ending just grabs ahold of you and never lets go, even long after the movie ended.

Hollywood Film> X-Men: First Class

I don't think I have to include a synopsis or a cast listing or what-not with this entry. The movie pretty much speaks for itself and i'm sure almost everyone has seen it already.

I walked in into the theater not expecting anything since I haven't even seen the trailer beforehand, but I just really wanted to see it cos I've always wondered about Professor X and Magneto's "past". Gosh, I can hardly eat while watching the movie ( i had KFC's hotshots,lol, i like to eat while I watch, i don't like just chips or popcorns, i prefer real food, not that you can call fastfood fares "real" but you know what i mean ^.^ ) So anyway, i grew up with X-Men, it was one of those cartoon series we used to watch every night as a child, I even fought with my siblings as to who's who, I was Jean Grey haha, i chose her cos then I'll have two hot guys pining for me, Cyclops and Wolverine lol, even then I was crazy lmao! but why do i keep wavering off topic. The movie explained so much for me, and it was touching knowing that Magneto was actually a Holocaust victim, had I known this before, I would have looked at him differently during the subsequent X-Men films, maybe with more understanding, more sympathy. It's also amazing to find out that Charles had always been the same, such strong character, such unwavering devotion to the human race. Beast. Mystique. It was so nice knowing how their characters started off as well. I loved everything about the movie, it was tight. I surprisingly even cried towards the end of the movie, it was just so touching. I thought I was gonna be disappointed but I ended up wanting to stay seated for another 2 hours to watch it again but I couldn't cos i have some grocery shopping to do, which I couldn't do on any other days because of work schedule. bummer. In the meantime, I'm gonna watch the other x-men movies again, this time, through a more "informed" glasses. :)

Hollywood Film (tv movie) The Memory Keeper's Daughter

                                              credit:quer17iron

Cast:  Emily Watson

              Dermot Mulroney

              Gretchen Mol

Plot: On a snowy winter night in 1964, Dr. David Henry rushes his pregnant wife Norah to the hospital, where, with help from her husband and nurse Caroline Gill, she delivers their son Paul. However, Dr. Henry discovers that his wife was carrying twins, and helps her deliver the second child, a baby girl named Phoebe. Shortly after Phoebe's birth, he finds that she has Down Syndrome, and hands her over to Nurse Caroline, explaining that the death of his ill sister nearly destroyed their mother and he doesn't want Norah to go through that. Instead, he instructs Caroline to take Phoebe to a nearby institution for the mentally ill, figuring the child won't live much longer, and tells Norah that Phoebe was a stillborn. However, after visiting the institution and seeing the state of the other patients, Caroline takes the baby home with her, stopping along the way to buy formula and diapers. With help from a truck driver named Al, Caroline begins to raise the baby as her own, while Dr. Henry develops an obsession for photography after his wife gives him the gift of a Memory Keeper camera.  Written by scorpionqueenofhearts  

credits: http://www.imdb.com

My Take: 

This movie is all about making the wrong choice and how you pay for it for the rest of your life. And it's something that everyone can relate to, considering we make choices everyday. Sometime's we're not even aware that we are, but we do. And it's sad cos when the time came to realize that it was the wrong choice, there's nothing we can do to correct it, we can't undo what's been done, and we have to live with the consequences of our action. I admit, there were times when I'd also look back and think I wish i chose the other way. But then I tell myself, it's been laid out for me. I was meant to make that choice. I could be wrong. but somehow it's comforting. Of course, it wasn't as grave as what the character had to decide upon on this movie but it's the same thing. You make a choice,you live with the outcome. This movie is really touching, and it certainly touched a chord inside of me. Ahhhh if only life is less complicated, but then again, that would be like asking for life to be boring... i don't know what to say anymore. What I can assure you is it's not a 90 minute wasted.

one of those days..

i just came across this quote and it is just so damn true, almost as if they're my own words lol. i did say one time, when you love someone, you give that person a certain power over you ( late edit: was listening to some Coldplay song here and i rmbr this idea was from their song Moses). a bit scary but is it worth it? maybe. it's like that "..for- the -rest- of - your -life"  concept. totally horrifying. but i guess if you luck out with the right person, everything that you give up, will be totally worth it. or no, scrap that, i don't think you'll even remember to stop and weigh things if they're worthy or not.  man, why i am so mushy tonite, is it Valentine's Day already lol. ^__^



“Have you ever been in love? Horrible isn't it? It makes you so vulnerable. It opens your chest and it opens up your heart and it means that someone can get inside you and mess you up. You build up all these defenses, you build up a whole suit of armor, so that nothing can hurt you, then one stupid person, no different from any other stupid person, wanders into your stupid life...You give them a piece of you. They didn't ask for it. They did something dumb one day, like kiss you or smile at you, and then your life isn't your own anymore. Love takes hostages. It gets inside you. It eats you out and leaves you crying in the darkness, so simple a phrase like 'maybe we should be just friends' turns into a glass splinter working its way into your heart. It hurts. Not just in the imagination. Not just in the mind. It's a soul-hurt, a real gets-inside-you-and-rips-you-apart pain. I hate love.”
    -- Neil Gaiman

credit: http://myname isoneword.blogspot.com

ok, since i'm in this mood already. Here's another quote/poem? that i like.


The weirdest thing happened the other morning...
I woke up with tears in my eyes...
And one rolling down my cheek...
And I knew I must have been dreaming of you again.
  -- i don't know the author

 credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/aftab/3152515428/

                                         

This Crazy Little Thing Called LOVE ( Thai: สิ่งเล็กๆ ที่เรียกว่า...รัก )

credit: queridonu


Synopsis:


The ordinary 14 year old girl Nam is unattractive or in simple terms...ugly. But she's always been secretly in love with an older guy in grade 10 called Chon, the most popular student in high-school. He's hot, perfect and generous, and that's what makes girls go crazy about him, including Nam too. But she doesn't give up easily. She tries to do everything to make her get noticed by the boy she loves, in the hope of him turning around to look at her just one more time.

• Cast: 
  Mario Maurer
  Pimchanok Lerwisetpibol
  Sudarat Budtporm
• Director: Puttipong Pormsaka Na-Sakonnakorn and Wasin Pokpong
• Writer: Puttipong Pormsaka Na-Sakonnakorn and Wasin Pokpong
• Producer: Somsak Tejcharattanaprasert and Panya Nirankol
• Cinematographer: Reungwit Ramasudh
• Release Date: August 12, 2010 (Thailand)
• Runtime: 118 min.
• Distributor: Sahamongkol International and Work Point
• Language: Thai
• Country: Thailand

credit: http://asianmediawiki.com

credit: movieseer.com

My take:

*sigh* the moment I saw the trailer, i thought to myself, omo! story of my life in 3:28 secs :). Really, this movie is such a blast from the past. While watching the movie i wanted to sing "♫♪ It's all coming back, it's all coming back to me now..♫♪". What made it more relatable is the fact that it was almost like my own high school, like all high schools here in the Philippines, the teachers, the students.. ahh what a trip down memory lane. 


The trailer was dead on: 89% of the people who have watched it have been through the experience. I am really happy to say that I'm a part of that statistic, lol. This movie reminded me of my first love in high school (first love?? til now I'm not really sure if it was love or just plain crush. However, I've never felt that way ever again nor have I felt such intense emotions over someone ever again so if it wasn't love, i don't know what is). Of course, as all of my then friends knows, it didn't have a happy nor a sad ending. it simply didn't have an ending. period. I was crushing on him hard, but I didn't have the gall to tell it to his face. I didn't even thought of writing those cliche love letters. I was such a coward. And so a line from this movie hit me hard:


" you might never see him again for the rest of your life, aren't you going to do anything about it?" > so true.


On a lighter note( gosh! since when had my movie review became a Dear Diary entry hahaha), the film is all about falling for someone and doing your damnedest to get that love reciprocated, in a young, sometimes silly, more often hilarious, ways. And I gotta admit, I'd had my fair share of foolish young-girl-in-love acts in high school.   And for the sake of documentation, said foolish acts are listed as follows:


1. ever so slowly passing by their classroom like I'm in such deep thought, then cast my eyes in his direction being careful to maintain a blank stare like I'm lost, well, in deep thoughts when in fact, I just wanna see him. :)


2. writing his name on a piece of paper and putting it under my pillow and sleep on it. didn't they say it's suppose to make the person think of you? lol


3. wished on a star,so intently that if staring at them would make them fall, there would have been a hell of a lot of falling stars for weeks on end.


4. looking up his number in the directory, had to call about 5 different households before i found the right one, then, after hearing his voice, hung up the phone, and giggled/screamed like crazy. lol

to be continued (hopefully *.^)

everyone, let's SLEEP!!!

S U M M E R. i love everything about it: the sun on my skin, trips to the beach, airy clothes, summer songs, and basically just hanging out with friends. everything, that is, except when i'm stuck at home and it is sooooo hot it gives me goosebumps. i love summer almost as i love the rainy days: hot coffee in hand, just lazing around in bed in a blanket with a good book, or maybe just getting all sentimental and listen to slow songs with the rain making its hypnotic pouring sound outside, the gloomy sky, walking in the rain. everything, except when it's flooding.

So anyway, I'm at home, and being at home at this time of the day is like being cooped up in an oven, or in a sauna, a few minutes in and I'm soaking in sweat. And it's great too that I happen to have a work schedule at 2:30am and that I needed to be up by midnight, meaning, I have to hit the sack when the sun is still at it's merciless hotness. Really, trying to sleep is becoming such a battle of wills. I already broke two of my no-no's way of life: 1.  i used to not take cold showers, warm water only, and 2. i used to hate it when the fan directly blows air to my face, or to my skin, i could never get to sleep then.  Now, i need to put ice in the water if i'd want to take a bath in the afternoon, and i'd learned to ignore the strong gusts of air. Talk about survival. I'm just getting worried cos every year, the weather people have like an almost scripted spiel: " it's the hottest summer yet.." HuH!?? i shudder to imagine how hot summer would be summer a decade from now. Oh well, I'm reminded again how i wished i'd been born in the 17th century, or the late 60's / early 70's, be a teen in the 80's, and be done with it all before the millennium rolls in. ahhhh..I'm babbling again.

So anyhow, youtube comes to the rescue!! i thought of looking for a clip of the sound of rain to help trick my mind and lull me to sleep. and since i never, ever ignore user's comments ( yay! ), as per their suggestion, i tried listening to the clip alongside Yiruma's Kiss The Rain and I was blown away. just. too. beautiful. i can almost feel the air start to cool down and i can almost imagine the steady  sound of raindrops outside the window. *sigh* now all i need is plug the speaker on, turn the volume up to a comfortable level and start to doze off...

P.S.  i also tried playing Jason Mraz I'm Yours and it's relaxing as well. I'm pretty sure it'll work with just about any song. infinite possibilities. Happy sleeping everyone!! ^__^

P.P.S. again, play these two at the same time and prepare to end your summer! lol

credit: deadhobo

credit: xXYuNPoOXx