Time Crisis

The clock on my phone is set precisely in sync to Philippine Standard Time. Everything is as it should be.

One thing I don't understand is why people set their clocks in advance. What difference does it make? The reasoning is that it helps them be earlier by making it seem like the time is later than it is, thus, they compensate. But what's the point since you KNOW it's advanced and even on a subconscious level you probably include the advance time in your calculations.

"Hey, we better hurry up! It's almost six o'clock."

"Don't worry, that clock is advanced by ten minutes."

See?

Captain Phillips Film Review

Guns are scary.

Captain Phillips is a movie about... Captain Phillips. It's based on a true story about one man's ordeal of being taken hostage by Somali pirates. If you remember a few years ago, this incident was sort of a big deal news story. Now it's time for the Hollywood cash-in. Don't worry, it's not as bad as it sounds.

Characters

I was apprehensive about this film before watching it. On the one hand, I didn't want to sit through a political screed wherein the pirates are a bunch of misunderstood people and how the world is evil for forcing them to resort to piracy. On the other hand and extreme, I was in no mood for an "America, fuck yeah!" type of movie wherein Navy SEALS repel from helicopters to rousing rock music while fighter jets whiz by. 

I must say, I was pleasantly surprised and impressed with the approach the film takes with the characters and the sides involved. The pirates are portrayed as desperate fishermen who resort to piracy for money. Well, that's not in dispute. The film however, doesn't make them out as saints. They're desperate sure, but there were many moments in the film where their greed got the better of them. Even when the pirates were clearly way out of their depth, they just had to make things worse. News flash: poor people can be just as cruel and selfish as the oppressors, real or imagined, they complain about. It's an approach that oddly humanizes them more.

Somali Fishermen

The American military in the movie were portrayed in a very professional manner to the point of being almost emotionless. The Navy were just people doing their jobs. There were no theatrics or fanfare, just "procedures". It was almost boring and you know what? That's a good thing. That's how armies are supposed to be in real life: professional. 

All in all, the film's portrayal of characters was fair which is great.

I found Tom Hanks attempt at an accent hilarious at the start of the movie. I'm no American so I can't say if the accent was correct or anything but I just found it funny. The accent was no longer a concern later on in the movie when Tom Hanks is reduced to few, short lines spoken in fear, yelling and crying. I found his performance really good but don't come into the movie house expecting an "action hero" Tom Hanks.

Barkhad Abdi, the guy who plays the main antagonist pirate captain named Muse, was also great. He had that look about him, you know? It was as if the director picked a real Somalian Pirate off the coast of Africa to act in the movie.Apparently, the guy is an actual Somalian, raised in Yemen and living in Minneapolis. The guy came out of nowhere and had no acting experience.

(Not an actual Somalian pirate)

The Story

There's really not much to say here. A ship Captain gets caught and taken hostage. If you followed the original story closely, you probably already know how it ends. But that doesn't matter.

What matters is that the movie is pretty damn thrilling. We know the story but we haven't been told the story, you dig? It's always about how things are told and this movie tells it well. I couldn't help but get hooked and wanted to see what would happen next even if I read the news stories. There's a lot of stuff in between you don't know about. It's these details that make the movie.

The Bad

One thing I found really annoying in the film was the camera work. It was shot like someone was holding a camcorder and following people around. It moved around too much. Look,. I understand why they did it. They wanted the audience to feel like they were "really there" so they went with the shaky-cam approach. It was probably just me though because nobody else seemed to notice. You get used to it in a while anyway.

Another thing in the movie that sort of bugged me were the Navy SEALS. The way they were portrayed seemed to veer a little into that "America, fuck yeah!" approach of military, macho movie bullcrap. 

In retrospect, I guess the portrayal of the SEALS as some kind of powerful force of nature was justified. It wasn't because SEALS are awesome because hey, we already know that. The reason was more to add tension to the movie. By the time the SEALS arrived, things were pretty grim and their presence gave the feeling that the final, potentially ultra-violent conclusion was drawing ever closer.

Conclusion

All in all, it was a great movie. I recommend people to go see it. It's thrilling and well-paced. It takes a very fair and even-handed approach to the story and portrays it in a believable and realistic manner. It takes a serious approach and manages to avoid, thankfully, unnecessary Hollywood bombast and flair.

Go watch it.

The The - Uncertain Smile

Dissolute

Has there ever been a time when the institutions of the Philippines were so morally bankrupt?

Everybody is corrupt. The whole system is a joke and you're not in on it. Who do you turn to, exactly? This is a society where a  den of thieves passed judgement on the highest magistrate of the land. 

It's ridiculous.

Earthquake

Now that classes are over, I can start writing things nobody reads again.

Last Tuesday, October 15, a magnitude seven earthquake struck Bohol. The quake was felt all over Central Visayas including my hometown of Cebu.

I remember waking up early at four o'clock that morning which was highly unusual since I usually get up later at around nine. I took a hike, walking to Banawa and back. It seemed like a normal day. I even thought it would be a good one even since I "started it right" with exercise and breakfast.

At around eight, (8:12 AM according to official news) I was at my computer, as usual, when the tremor started. At first I thought it was a minor thing. After all, very minor earthquakes happen every now and then.

But it didn't stop.

It went on longer than usual and then got much, much stronger. I knew it was serious when I heard the house and all it's contents rattling. The house moaned as the second floor began to sway back and forth. The shaking was more terrible up there as the first floor was concrete but the second was wooden. I remember running into my bathroom thinking that at least the small room seemed solid enough and that half-empty shampoo bottles would hardly become deadly projectiles.

At some point, I must have ran out and opened the door for mom who was banging it and yelling my name. I don't remember doing it but I must have. We both hid in the bathroom.

It seemed to go on forever. The things on my shelves began falling to the floor making a racket. The cover of the air-conditioner fell down with a nerve-wracking bang. Mom kept yelling my name over and over again. I held her arm on one of mine and used my other to hold the door tightly as I stared outside almost incredulous. I didn't know what to do. I just wanted it to be over. 

I couldn't bear hearing my mom yell my name over and over again. It was heart-wrenching as I couldn't do anything to help her. I simply told her to start praying. In retrospect, it was pretty out-of-character of me to do so and more than a bit hypocritical.

After the quake stopped, we made for the staircase. Though, it was finally over, I realized my feet were shaking as if it wasn't. I ran as if I was on the deck of a small boat in choppy waters. As soon as we got out mom began to cry. All the neighbors were out on the basketball court with looks of fear and uncertainty. My cousin and a house helper appeared and we helped mom back inside the house. Mom was hysterical and wouldn't stop crying. We tried to calm her down as best we could, offering her a drink of water. It would be some time before we got back to normal.

Bed-ridden, grandpa slept through it all. To our horror, we found out that his bed, which had no wheels, couldn't fit through the door, neither could the extra bed on the side. A wheelchair was out of the question. Exhausted, we decided that if ever it came to the worst, we would have to carry him out.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared. That earthquake was the longest thirty seconds in my life. It's amazing that this old house didn't even seem to be damaged. It would seem termites would get this house before an earthquake would.

What a ride.

Big Head

I wonder if a Panama hat would look good on me.

Bei Bei & Shawn Lee - The Blue Grotto

The Beautiful Game

I don't understand what the fuss is all about concerning the Miss World pageant. I guess it's because I never got the whole concept of beauty contests anyway.

Not everyone is born with good looks. It's just a fact of nature. So isn't it kind of unfair making people line up to judge them on something based on their genes? I mean, where's the challenge? Where's the effort? How does one even score points on such a thing? By what means can we measure success? In soccer, the team who gets the ball in the goal the most times, wins; simple enough. In beauty contests... ???

It's no contest.

Mystery Poster

About a month ago, I passed by a poster of a man put up near a restaurant. What was strange about it was it was just a picture of a man doing the "thumbs up" with his name written below and nothing else. It just seemed a bit odd to have a picture of some random guy out there for no reason.

When I passed by the public market, I saw a whole bunch of similar posters of different people. I wondered what was up with it.

But then, if you lived here long enough, you kind of already know the answer.

As soon as election season rolled around, all they had to do was put stickers on the posters indicating what position the seemingly random guys were running for. 

I guess that's one way of beating the campaigning ban before the election period starts. It's not technically campaigning if its just a poster of a guy with a name since there's no indication he's running for office. You know, you have to marvel at the ways people skirt around the Law. It's like wringing a wet rag, coaxing as much water out of it as possible, looking for every avenue and technicality to defeat the rules.

I don't know whether to be impressed or ashamed.