Justice for Cuckoo

Compassion

Hit and Missed

The second movie, Hunger Games: Catching Fire was a hit and miss. I have a mixed feelings about this film adaptation.

 

It was a hit because it successfully depicted the spite between Katniss and Snow. It showed how they want to destroy each other. It is like tear each others throat kind of anger. But both of them can do nothing but to cast hateful glances because Panem is watching. Katniss being the darling of the Capitol and Snow being the president, they take their fight in the arena.

 

The movie also showed the defiance of the districts as riots escalates. Inspired by Katniss, they found courage to fight for freedom, even though it means a painful death. The uncontrollable unrest and verge of uprising gave the idea to President Snow and the new gamekeeper to bring back the victors to once again face their past demons and throw them back to the arena. The anguish of Katniss was captured in the movie, given that the last game still hunts her in her nightmares. It was just so wrong and unjust to put them again in the death match, and yet because of the evil that is the Capitol, they have no choice but to literally kill to survive, again.

 

Katniss has her sartorial moment too. Wearing her supposed wedding gown that turned into a mockingjay, she was truly divine that endeared her even more to the people of the Capitol. Probably until they see her broken body on TV, initially sad and sympathetic but will soon recover, move on with their narcissistic lives and eventually forget.

 

What the movie missed are the seering romance and the non-stop excitement on the book. Gale is still gorgeous, but calling Katniss “Katnip” in several scenes immediately became tiring. Peeta, on the other hand, only had limited scenes with Katniss that can show how deeply in love he is with her. And if there are, it was not used in the best possible light to see how devoted they are to each other.

 

The excitement in the game itself was unfortunately also lacking. As I read my blog entry about the book, I wrote that there was team work and careful planning on how they can destroy the arena. There was also a thrilling unfolding on how they discover its glitches. All that happened confusingly in the movie. Why did she tie the cord in the tree? How did it dawn to Katniss that all she needs to do is to tie the cord in the arrow and let it fly in the source of lightning? The continuity of the traps in the arena was also flawed. Mags just decided to commit suicide, the poisonous gas chase, the monkeys attacked them, the other tributes tried to murder them. It was just too cluttered and anti-climatic in the screen.

 

I daresay that the movie failed to complement the book and did not live up to its potential. But I will stick with the Hunger Games series until the end. I am convinced that the finale will bring back what the second installment had lost. The third book was not the best among the three, I hope that it will not be the same as the movie. The challenge is not just to be at par, but to exceed what the debut film and book had achieved, recover from the second and to have a finale as strong as what Katniss and the people of Panem had fought for.

Bromance

Coed

Female models had been in center stage of fashion modeling. Prominent and highly paid supermodels are gorgeous women like Kate Moss, Linda Evangelista and Naomi Campbell. Try to recall a male counterpart and Rob Evans will probably come to mind. But that is only because he had been a regular judge of the popular TV show America’s Top Model. When in comes to salary and status, he would still pale in comparison to more contemporary Victoria Secret models in the like of Miranda Kerr and Alexandra Ambrosio.

My favorite model hunt show, ANTM, had been featuring girls only in their competition for 19 cycles. Including the boys in the 20th cycle, dubbed as Girls VS Boys gave a renewed spark for the show. This is a creative and marketing move that will avoid downfall rating of long running shows like American Idol.

Interestingly, popular contestants happen to be mostly male models. Mike is the hot ice cream vendor; Jeremy is the baby face beef cake; Phil is the ADHD “Jesus”, Chris is the wrongly accused “ass”, Don is the chicken legged-thin armed guy, Cory is the andronogous peace maker and Marvin is the Latino flag carrier also known as the “janitor’s son”.

Similar to such sob story of Marvin is his fellow finalist, blonde bombshell Jourdan, who claims that she was a survivor of an abusive relationship. It was easy to relate to these underdogs that it attracts sympathy votes from the third judge of ANTM which is the social media. Given that Marvin and Jourdan have their memorable story line, they really dominated the pictorials and were favorites of the social media. Even though the competition had been fierce, there was no doubt that they are the deserving finalists.

The good thing about the Marvin and Jourdan showdown is that they are neck to neck. It can go either way. Remember that the ANTM season British Invasion was won by Sophie who trampled all her American competitors. It will not be impossible if a male model will be victorious over the females on its first coed season.

The finals revealed that ANTM is still a girl’s turf, atleast for this season. With the success of this coed season, the next cylce will be the chance of the males to dominate the once exclusively for female model search show. Based on their debut, it will not be far- fetched that the America’s Next Top Model will be no longer be a woman.

Raw Power

Dmitry's Project Runway Season 10

Post-Split Family Picture

photo: www.people.com

All Smiles

www.dailymail.uk

Little Superman's 2nd

In Awe

Thank you Jeje for the nice photos.
Thank you Ate Gemma and Irene for the pretty dress.

An Embodiment of a Core Value of Humanity

To the question “Why should you be Miss World?” Young answered, “I treasure a core value of humanity and that guides people why they act the way they do. I will use this to show other people how they can understand each other … as one, we can help society.”



photo: http://www.stylebible.ph/style-star/

Beach Babe in Puerto Princesa

I always enjoy being in the water even though I am yet to learn how to swim. As long as I am protected with a high SPF-sunblock lotion, I will frolic on the pool, beach or even a mangrove to my heart's content.

Through the Fire

Fire is an omnipresent force in our lives. It can be as blazing as a furnace or warm as candlelight. You experience the pain from its’ heat without the illumination of its’ light in life’s darkest moments when you are slandered, deliberately ignored, wishfully intimidated and relentlessly ill-wished.

When you are going through the fire, stand up against the evil tongue. Fight back with diplomacy but never compromise the truth.

When you are subjected to hatred, respect space. Since the world is large enough, just live with integrity and let live.

When you are thought to be unworthy, think and show otherwise. Remember that defeat is unacceptable and limitation is expandable until you achieve your goals.

When you are awaited to fall, let your detractors see it. They will eventually be a witness on your rise, so spectacular that they will decide that you are invincible.

Fire makes us feel threatened and endangered. But it can also make us stronger, tolerant, determined and hopeful. In the end, fire will bring out the survivor in us.

The Best of Noir

Comforter of the Afflicted By F.H. Batacan
 CSIS: Lagro. It was written in a fast- paced, clever, detective style, where the clues were uncovered and the pieces of the puzzle were put together for the final revelation. The unfolding of the crime was really captivating. The victim was not a weakling at all but a brave, inspiring heroine. She died, but it was a battle well fought. From the moment she decided to become a comforter of the afflicted until her inescapable demise; it was truly a life worth telling.

The Professor’s Wife By Jose Dalisay
 The intriguing relationship between the venerated professor and her young, “probinsyana” wife is a love story destined to be doomed. It’s fascinating to imagine the interaction between a couple that is a total opposite. There were no long dialogs between them. They were described separately through the storyteller’s viewpoint. Reading between the lines will be necessary for the readers to have their own conclusion on what transpired between them and what were the events that eventually culminated the fate of the professor; and if the wife was the one who sealed it.

Broken Glass By Sabina Murray
In the eyes of an innocent child, adults can really be scary sometimes. Especially if they would tell jokes which are half-meant, if they possess wisdom that can only be gained through age, if they assumed that a child’s innocence was stupidity; and most especially, if they know where the dead man’s body lies.

Aviary By Lysley Tenorio
The opening salvo was the best story in the anthology to illustrate the first chapter of the book entitled Us Against Them. It was an honest opinion of the grudge and hatred of the two spectrum of the society against each other. The unjust division between the society classes had been exposed. The friction of envy and loath would result to the destructive collision of the two distant worlds.

Norma from Norman By Jonas Vitman
What would one do if death is staring him on his face? He would probably think what is the motive of his aggressor. He would cry as his life in the past and future reels. He would shake his head profusely to awaken from a brutal blow. He would activate his senses to know if he is still alive. He will seize any momentarily strength to fight for his life. He will pray for salvation if there is really heaven. Norman to Norma to Charmaine. Who will survive, who will perish, who will resurrect?

Jet Black

The brunette Loki was the evil brother; souvenir from a defeated race and raised out of pity. It was a stereotyped comparison from the golden locks of Thor, the king of Asgard and every inch of a god. Loki as a dark entity as his hair is just the artistic vision of the creator. But even with his horned headgear, Loki does not inspire fear. As a viewer, knowing his vulnerable side. He was already punished with the pain that the Hulk inflicted in him and taken as a war criminal by his brother in The Avengers.

 Harry Potter was described wearing a messy jet black hair. That is what he got from his father as he got his green eyes from his mother. It is how he was physically identified to his parents. He keeps on straightening his hair to keep his famous scar from unwanted attention. He also tried to fix his hair to try to fit in and be accepted. In the final scene of the movie, his hair was not as messy as before, but it was still as black as ever.

Maggi Q as Nikita was as perfect as her wavy strands. She is fierce and sexy and so is her crowning glory. One may think that she gets her confidence, smarts and power through her head. She kicks the ass of not only her enemies but also all the blondes and gingers. She takes the elegant and mysterious Asian beauty center stage. She silently advocates that women should just make their hair shiny and healthy and not suffocate it with severe color and styling.

Tactless people called me a witch and white lady because of my hair. The inescapable bombardment of media dictates that colored locks is the trend to follow. But I think colored hair is a contradiction to my low-maintenance personality. Me being brunette is my true self. My mom often recount how the nurses who delivered me were delighted with my curls stamped on my scalp. Hairdressers don’t fail to comment that my hair is very thick and black. That is me that I don’t want to change.

...and we are just starting...

Dumbledore: It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to your enemies, but a great deal more to stand up to your friends.

Gritty & Violent

Je and the Gang in the Park

May Dalisay me monster!! ung naghihiwa! Wednesday at 6:58pm via mobile · Unlike · 1

Alvin Pablo You look great TL Cherry! and i love your dress! 2 hours ago · Unlike · 1

Survival

Gandalf the Saviour

Casually JK