"Sa Ilog"

"Sa Ilog"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr. MD

I

Dapit Hapon

Doon napiling tumalon

Sa Malalim na ilog

Di na Umahon

II

Iba-iba ang sabi

Mga bersyon ng nangyari

Naumpog ang ulo

pinulikat , nalunod

Sumingil ang ilog

Dinala ng malakas ng anod

III

Dapit hapon nakita

Lumalangoy na bata

Nahawakan ang paa , hinila

Di na nakita. Di na nakita.

09/23/2016

Shaw 500 Centrum

"Hunyos Movie Ravings - Passengers"

"Hunyos Movie Ravings - Passengers"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr, MD

The Plot: 

Avalon is a colony ship transporting 5000 passengers to the planet Homestead II when a malfunction occurs accidentally waking Mechanical Engineer Jim Preston(Chris Pratt). The problem is that he is woken 90 years too early.

The Good:

1) The Sex scenes!

Hoooboy. Once Jim and Aurora start understanding each other they don't just do it in the bedroom. A ship where you are the only two people? They even do it in the mess hall! Messily at that with wasted cereals that the cleaning robots had to clean after wards. Most likely it wasn't just milk in that mix. Hmmmm

2) The comical attempts at opening the crew hibernation pods

From blow torches to an array of very sharp objects Jim attempts to open the hatch with zero success.

3) The effects of Zero G gravity.

One of the highlights of the malfunctioning ship is when the artificial gravity is shut off. Jim Preston only suffers a fall while Aurora who unfortunately went for a swim that particular time had to contend with swimming in a bubble and almost dying in the process. Yup. Zero G. Beautiful and deadly.

The Bad:

For a high tech ship with all the bells and whistles and humanoid bartender who could talk this ship didn't just tell Jim Preston why he was woken up for in the first place. Instead he has to suffer being alone for a year and then drag Aurora Lane (Jennifer Lawrence). It took them 2 years to figure out was what wrong!

The Ugly:

Robots dying and they die here one by one because of the overloaded ship. Arthur the bartender cutting his head on the bar as the ship wide system failure continues.

Rating:

I would have to say that  for a movie with Jennifer Lawrence in it this was just an ok movie. And it might have been a less ok without her in it.

Of course in the end she chose love and eventual death probably because she had found where she wanted to be. For a lot of the passengers on the Avalon , the goal is to reach Homestead II but there are times in life that you don't reach a particular goal because you found something else worthwhile to occupy your time. In Aurora's case a lifetime with Jim and all the finite possibilities that it offered.

Hunyos Movie Ravings - A Monster Calls

Hunyos Movie Ravings - A Monster Calls

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr. MD

The Plot:

It centers around a boy who has to deal with the reality of his mom's terminal cancer. At night he is visited by a monster who tells him stories.

The Good:

1)The First Three Tales

The Monster , an ageless Tree folk who has been witness to the towns long history tells three tales and at the end demands a 4th tale from the book. Enjoy each of the stories.

My favorite is the one that goes. "There was once an invisible man..." Watch.

2) The Fourth Tale/ Truth 

I don't want to reveal the secret here but this 4th tale is the most heartbreaking of all. A secret so deep that the boy may might as well die from uttering it.

3) His Mom's Art book in the end.

The boys mom is an artist and at the end of the movie watch as  he realizes how the monster may not have just called on him.

The Bad:

1) The Dad - Of all the dads in the world this one takes the cake and just once could have taken a really great step to being closer with his son , only he didn't. I have a deep sorror for fathers who are not able to connect to their children either because they are away or refuse to connect to their children.

The Ugly:

1)The Smashing of the Figurines. Well it was kind of fun actually but that look on Sigourney Weavers face when she discovers that her figurines and her antique clock has been destroyed is just one of anguish and silent rage. 

2) What would be the point? Is the question that answers this question. Aren't you going to punish me?

And it is ugly because it is the truth. Knowing that your mother is dying is punishment enough isn't it?

Hunyo Rating:

5 0f 5. A Monster Calls is an emotional roller coaster and it is a movie that has helped me with some questions about a loss that I have suffered as well. Given that the young boy in me has not learned how to fully cope with that loss as well. 

The monster tries and helps as he could and heals those that should be healed. It made me wish I had such a monster.

"Day6 - You were beautiful MV reaction:Got me thinking"

"Day6 - You were beautiful MV reaction:Got me thinking"

by:

The Vole

Day6 has come back with a video that seems to continue the story of Congratulations. It took them 2 years to comeback to this particular story line but for someone like me who recently just got to know this JYP produced band I consider myself lucky that I did not have to wait all that long.

This MV answers what you think your ex-girlfriend does when she is alone and it is not the kinky thing that you initially thought. As seen here the MV starts with the girl from the Congratulations MV as she is about to burn the midnight oil and go over time as the clock beside her displays a couple of minutes before midnight.

She then opens a folder in her email inbox that seems to be well hidden as it has not title. And the first video unfolds , one of her in the snow , in a parka as she is being videoed who we all would assume was her ex-boyfriend in the Congratulations MV.

The whole MV moves on as she goes through each memory that they have spend together as a couple. While many fans believe that the girl is having regrets in this MV it is the opposite. The girl believes that things cannot be the same between them and that "It is already over". What the band heartfully sings is that the girl just got to thinking about the past in one of her stressful days and got to appreciate how beautiful his ex was during all that time. "Lines like Even if it was nothing you apologized and thanked me." "You always thought of me first." , show this but that is just it. Even the girl knows that this beautiful thing is in the past.

Day6 has gotten better and better over time and this latest single from them shows maturity in their musicality and stability as well as they all sang beautifully with what appears like a simple ballad about the past. The arrangement is something that drives forward and makes their voices more pleasant as you sing along to the heartful rendition. 

"Day6 - Congratulations MV Reaction:This guy and trains don't mix."

"Day6 - Congratulations MV Reaction:This guy and trains don't mix."

by:

The Vole

While I was watching this particular MV from 2015 the first thing that came to my mind was. "Wow , this guy is so unlucky in trains."

After watching him as the baseball player who got his neck bitten by Sohee(Which is not really bad considering that she was a Wondergirl after all and how many male kpop fans would want her to bite into them even if she does turn into a flesh craving zombie?) in Train to Busan , I was able to watch this MV as I was scrolling to this JYP bands impressive single list.

Of course this guy proves how unlucky he is on trains when he has a chance encounter with an ex-girlfriend on what seems to be a very empty coach. It seems that the two are on a cool off period and he is waiting for her to come back to her. Only to see that he has a new guy in her life and seems very happy at that with all the smiles and skin brightening effects as he sees her. Call it awkward. Call it spine chilling. It will have an effect on you in the proper context.

This rock ballad becomes even more absurd as the band sarcastically exclaim Congratulations! You broke my heart in the chorus. You'd think that they guy would be happy saying congratulations  , you have moved on when the confetti starts falling all around them but nope. He hides his discomfort with a smile and the girl responds secretly with an awkward smile of her own as she pretends to laugh at whatever it is that her current boyfriend is prattling on about.

This MV might be a little discomfiting to watch if you have ever experienced it. I am not saying I experienced it myself but my imagination does tell me that this would suck big time. Being alone , seeing your ex whom you still have feelings for and then they get on the same empty coach as you do. Yup. This guy and trains really don't mix well.

"Twice - Knock , Knock MV reaction:So it was them."

"Twice - Knock , Knock MV reaction:So it was them."

by:

The Vole

Twice has been blazing a path for girl groups as of late , going head to head with established kpop boy bands and winning against them. Big Bang and BTS included although these two groups still hold the lion's share of the industry and cannot be easily beaten. Case in point is the ongoing Streaming War on youtube that has fans on both sides calling for peace or war depending on what comments you are reading.

Twice seems to be taking all this in stride , getting a lot more thinner and prettier in this comeback MV that is directly linked to their TT MV. Scoring an All-kill with this song as well it follows the girls in what seems like a slumber party when there comes a couple of knocks on their doors.Those pillow scenes are savage and even if those are soft pillows you can see how some of the members are being hit so hard! 

One of the visitors is JYP who makes a very funny cameo in the MV , Some of the girls reaction to him is priceless. Of course there is a second knock when they slam the door on JYP's face and lo and behold there is no one there but a book illustrated with fantasy characters such as a mermaid , pinochio and chubby carrot eating rabbit that the girl seems to be enjoying. When they turn to the page where Elsa from Frozen is illustrated it suddenly snows outside and the girls frolic around and they get locked out of their own house.

Girls , word of advise taking in illustrated books that show up on your doorstep are a bad idea. Just watch the Babadook.Needless to say this book that they take in to their house also takes them in and transforms them into the characters they would be plying in the TT video.

The knock at the end of the video of TT is them trying to get in but it ends because they story book took them or in this case since it is at the end of TT it might have returned them?

The song Knock , knock has a catchy beat to it and speaks of a girl asking a guy to try and try until he has proven himself of her love or at least shown that he is not just another playboy or bad boy as Momo so pointed out. 

The girls are gorgeous here once again and the amount of hairstyles and costumes are tripled. Everyone except Tzuyu received the curling iron treatment and it has mixed results. A hit or miss. Like in Mina looking like a pretty drowned rat. Pretty but still looking like she was drowned rat. All the girls seems to have upped their visuals like the rap line. Nayeon just looks cute in anything.

As of this writing this MV has hit 17 million views on youtube as of Feb 22 and continually rising. Twice will remain the undisputed girl group of this generation but will Gfriend or possibly OMG join them in that upper rank soon? Only the latter half of the year will show. Fighting Twice. Go Once.

"BTS- Spring Day MV Reaction - Going Back to Omelas"

"BTS- Spring Day MV Reaction - Going Back to Omelas"

by:

The Vole

I have to be honest I only know about this group because Oh my  girl cannot stop themselves from going wild when they hear Fire. Since they have come back and is currently involved in a streaming war with Twice I thought that I would give Spring day a look see.

It starts with one of the members putting his hands on the rail tracks and then his head on it which some would say is an act of suicide. Of course in my book this is just an over the top way of expressing longing as this particular member feels for the coming of the train and whoever is it that is on that train. 

There are very good imagery in this MV and well these are probably some of the prettiest kpop boys you would ever get to see. They have been on a roll since last year and I can start to understand why. 

The song starts with the line Bogo Sipda which translates to I miss you and by now have been on the lips of every BTS fan since this MV came out. So the tone is set for the songs themes of longing as the boys travel by train to an undisclosed place that only they know.

There is a loop where there are shots on the train that they are on and leading to an Inn called Omelas. This is in reference to an Ursula K. Leguin short story that describes a Utopian society that remains happy at the cost of one child's suffering. The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas refers to those who cannot tolerate this suffering despite their happiness and  eventually fade away from the city to a destination only they know. Much like the boys in this MV and yet it seems that in their longing they keep coming back to Omelas for that one person who got left behind.

Regardless if the MV alludes to the childhood or friend or lover that they want to go back to BTS invokes an emotional response via their slow melodies and catchy rhymes. At times painfully clear and at time forcefully driving away the same pain.There are times in the song that they want to speed things up so that the loneliness would end. That they could see that person.

The line in the song that says I will erase you but I can't really yet speaks of a painful memory but like all painful memories of loss humans have a tendency to nurse it until in naturally just goes. Holding on is painful but letting go is also painful so a status quo is met and the song just let's you hold on.

Regardless of where the boys think they are they all end up in Omelas one way or the other.And at the end of the tracks lies a tree where it seems they lost someone or want to commemorate someone. Like the child who suffered alone in Omelas or a loved one already departed.

This MV works on so many levels and I am not surprised at the 32 million views on youtube as of this writing. Congratulations BTS for breaking so many records this year again. And may it be so for the rest of the year.