after mornings

It’s been a long time since I last watched an animated film (I did a Studio Ghibli marathon several months back). I probably would not have delved into this again had it not been for Kris’ suggestion that I watch this movie. It came highly recommended, and I’m glad to say that it did not disappoint. The film captures its setting very well, which revolves around the innocent concerns and languidity of high school days. The characters are also well-defined: not particularly complex, but very easy to identify and sympathize with. The movie’s time-travel concept is not exactly new, but I like how the plot manages to make it unique. Plus I think it closed pretty well, with one of those rare endings that make you feel somehow happy for the character and yet leaves the story a bit open-ended. That’s the kind of endings I like anyway.

They were right. It was awesome. I loved the fast-paced story, the inventive transition scenes, the visual effects, the humor. The characters were identifiable and yet not stereotypical. Michael Cera fit into his role really well. The girl who played Knives Chau surprisingly did a good job too. She’s a pretty cool character. And of course who can forget Wallace, the gay roommate. And Julie! Oh, I could go on and on. Strangely, Ramona’s my least favorite character. If there was anything I didn’t like about this movie it would be how she just stood idly by during the fight scene with G-Man (the part where Knives almost falls off), but I’m even willing to let that slide. Overall it was a great movie, really fun to watch. Now if only real life was like that.

Lemon chicken, rice. In the swirly cup: water.

Watching this with Sean tonight made me realize how much I’ve grown up since Hercules. I used to anticipate the 7:00 PM movie they played each night on Disney channel, but now I don’t even know if they even do that anymore. I still enjoyed watching this movie (watching it with a kid helped), though it’s lost all sense of magic for me. There were too many songs in it for my taste, and of course it was predictable, what with the tried-and-tested Disney plot formula and all. But I appreciated how it’s just a bit different from the other princess fairy tales (it features a black girl, for one). In the end though—I’m sorry to disappoint—I have to say it’s too cheesy for me. It’s the kind of movie I’d want to watch once in a while, for old time’s sake, but honestly I couldn’t help cringing at scenes like:

Tiana: Don’t do this.
Naveen: I have to do this and we are running out of time!
Tiana: I won’t let you!
Naveen: It’s the only way to get you your dream!
Tiana: My dream? My dream wouldn’t be complete…without you in it. I love you, Naveen.
Naveen: Warts and all?
Tiana: Warts and all.

Okay maybe that last part was kind of cute. So I might not be such a hopeless cynic after all. Bite me.

Beef-flavored instant noodles. In the swirly cup: water.

Honestly? This breakfast thing is getting kind of tiring. I wonder how long I’ll be able to keep this up.

Because I wanted to give myself a break from reading heavy books. It was a bit strange to read because I’d seen some excerpts/animations beforehand so the whole thing’s rather jumbled up in my mind. (It was hard to think of the events happening chronologically, which was fine, I think. It’s meant to be fantastic anyway.) I enjoyed reading this book mainly because of its great use of wordplay. It’s a fun, quirky testament to how language ironically sometimes ends up just confusing us instead of communicating things effectively.

I watched Tim Burton’s film of this in 3D when I was still in Korea. It was a great feast for the eyes but other than that it really didn’t make an impact on me. I regretted paying so much to watch it. I remember not liking Alice’s character, but along with most people I liked the Red Queen and the Mad Hatter. They were just so eccentric I couldn’t help but love them! Who can blame me?

Graham crackers. In the swirly cup: Swiss Miss hot chocolate.

Today one of my dearest friends turns a year older. Happy birthday Danica! Welcome to your twenties! It’s going to be awesome, I promise.

I’ve had this for a long time but always delayed watching it because I thought it was going to be gory, and that I wouldn’t be able to stomach it alone. I finally got around to watching it this afternoon with Maki, only to be surprised that it wasn’t gory at all. It also wasn’t as good as I had expected it to be: the first half of the film was rather dragging and disjointed. I liked it better towards the end, especially the part where they blew up the cinema (my favorite). But I didn’t like the repeated usage of flashbacks and slow motion (that part when Shosanna got herself killed really irritated me, they made her look so stupid). I think the movie disappointed me largely because I took it too seriously, because I was looking for more than just explosions and gunfire and a bit of historical reimagination to keep me captivated, and well, there just wasn’t much of anything else.

If all goes according to plan I’m watching Pulp Fiction with Mike sometime next week. I hope it’s way better.

Ham, fried egg, vegetables, rice. In the swirly cup: milk.

Today I did some (rather stupid) things for the first time. I walked the entire length of Esteban Abada and Katipunan, jaywalked across Katipunan, and spent an hour sitting along the Abada sidewalk. Did I mention I also dealt with a flat tire? Yeah, today was pretty awesome.