a record of thoughts

It’s been a while since I rented DVDs. I was hooked on the many new KDramas that aired before the year ended. I just couldn’t insert Hollywood in between episodes. So right around Christmas week, I returned my Blockbuster envelopes after they scattered around the house for months for new DVDs. Allow me to digress and explain how my rental routine works.

I signed up for Blockbuster’s online rental; just like NetFlix, only better. I say better because I can return my envelopes at my assigned Blockbuster store for free DVD rentals — 1 DVD for 1 envelope. The rental rules applies. While I have the DVD from the store, the online rental will already send me whatever is next in my queue (availability of the title succeeds the queue). Again, if I return 1 envelope, they’ll send me 1 DVD also. In essence, I’m getting twice as many DVDs.

Back on topic — this weekend, I saw three good films: Meet Bill, Step Brothers, and Traitor.

Meet Bill is a story about identity crisis. I enjoyed it because Elizabeth Banks was hot and not because of the story. The story was okay, but left hanging just like its characterization. Aaron Eckhart’s personification of Bill was praiseworthy and Banks’ body display was delightful to my eyes.

Step Brothers is a story of two middle-aged men becoming stepbrothers after their parents remarried. It’s another one of those Will Ferrel films where everything is blown out of realistic proportion. It’s stupid funny.

Traitor is a story of an FBI undercover who was of Sudanese decent from Chicago (sounds familiar?) He is caught between his beliefs and reality. He sacrificed himself in order to battle terrorism that killed his father and at the same time, he is battling to keep intact his spiritual beliefs. I consider this film to be one of the year’s best because it is substantial overall. It wasn’t overloaded with Hollywood effects and at the same time the story wasn’t dragging. The audience would know that Samir was undercover, but the film would still grab one’s curiosity. That’s because of the nature of the characters, one cannot know what will happen to Samir in the end.

I strongly suggest to anyone the movie Traitor. You won’t regret it.

I’m so excited for this Korean film to come out on torrent (oopps!) Starring the two of my most favored actors — Joe O-dagiri (Shinobi) and Lee Na Young (Somebody Special), I have to see the film. The big screen release is early October, so a subtitled DVD quality should be out early next year. This will be another tear-jerker and depressing movie, but it’s the substance that matters including the excellent acting that I will be expecting from the two. This will be the second O-dagiri piece I’ll be seeing and it’s been a while since Lee made a project. If you want to know why I’m expecting the best of this, check the stream below.

So it seems that I will be upgrading my cable programming this coming Fall. JoKoy announced on Adobo Nation that Comedy Central is giving him his own show The JoKoy Show. I really enjoy his standups if I get a chance to see him on TV. I even bought a DVD compiling his early rise in the industry. It’s YouTube quality, but it’s fine with me. He’s a proud Filipino (he’s half American) and he’s on target when he cracks jokes about Filipino culture. I especially enjoyed when he told the audience how his mother pronounces his name (JoooSep! JoooSep!)

I will be able to follow Carlos Mencia also, so the additional fee would be worth it. I’ll just have Google AdSense pay for it :)

It’s Independence Day weekend and for those who will be staying home (like me) during the long weekend, I am recommending the films below. They are all foreign films (not if you’re Japanese or Korean). I have them as part of my tiny DVD collection. They aren’t new. They’re about at least 3 years old already and I’m guessing that most of my readers have not seen them yet. I’m a huge fan of martial arts films especially the ninja and samurai. That’s not the only reason why I’m recommmending them, however. These films possess deeper meaning. I have found those meanings in my own perception. It’s up to you to find for yourself.

I will recommend more films later on. (more…)

Okay, as promised I will be documenting the process of installing pre-Vista OS in a SATA drive. However, I will be documenting on a specific unit: Acer Aspire M1640. (more…)

Last night I saw on DVD Julie Delpy’s film “2 Days In Paris”. The film hit home. The film has so many features that I will probably miss most of them in this entry. “2 Days” is about a couple – an American and a French – who stopped over in Paris for two days on their way back to New York from Italy. The French girl was reunited with old friends and lovers. Delpy, who wrote, directed and produced this flick, brought out, in my opinion, everything that is negative about the Frenchies. But she didn’t miss the assault on America either. (more…)

Sunday. Boredom struck me. I was in the verge of depression – I may as well have been. I tried to sleep it off, but I can’t. My eyes are being pulled inside, yet I can’t keep them closed. Thoughts are empty, yet I feel tireless. I wanted to get out and watch a movie, but nothing is worth watching these past few weeks. Rented movies are too depressing and mind boggling. My mind’s not in the mood to think. Nothing on TV worth watching. Nobody worth talking to. I can’t write. Paranoid. I felt like ending. (more…)