Top 10 Most Memorable Movie Scenes of All Time

So my bum-hood these days made me think of my most memorable movie scenes, and below is the product of my idle-mindedness. This is a mix of local and foreign movies of different genres. Enjoy. Haha. :P

1. Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung's Taxi Scene ("In the Mood for Love")
- Most kilig scene of all time. They didn't even say anything! Maggie Cheung just laid her head on Tony's shoulder, and I instantly melted. Haha. Definitely the best.

2. The Moment Tony Leung Smiled in Ending Train Scene ("Happy Together")
- Okay, so I obviously have a huge mancrush on Tony Leung. Haha. His final smile in this film was really, really memorable because it was a signal that he is happy and ready to move forward despite everything that has happened in his life. A happy ending that almost made me cry. Weird.

3. Lustful Sex Scenes between Tony Leung and Tang Wei ("Lust, Caution")
- This movie defined what lustful bed scenes should be. I don't want to elaborate. Just watch the film! (The picture is an UNDERSTATEMENT!)

4. The Bloody Baptism Montage ("The Godfather")
- Very, very artistic. I love gangster films and this has got to be the best gangster film moment of all time. It also sets the mood for the equally great sequel. I love the blood!

5. The Revelation Scene ("The Usual Suspects")
- SPOILER ALERT: This is the ultimate WTF moment for me. This movie really played the biggest joke on me, ever. Kevin Spacey was the one who did everything after all.

6. Magnifico laid to rest ("Magnifico")
- Absolute tearjerker. Nakakaiyak 'yung fact na 'yung ginawa niyang coffin eh sa kanya nagamit. And nakakaiyak 'yung maraming tao ang nakipaglibing. Pinigil ko lang talaga luha ko nito.

7. The Shower Scene ("Psycho") / Javier Bordem haunting down Tommy Lee Jones at the hotel ("No Country for Old Men")
- This has to be a tie for the most suspense-filled scenes ever. These scenes really brought me at the edge of my seat.

8. Dae-su slicing his own tongue ("Old Boy")
- This scene is super brutal and bloody that it super rocked to the core. Dae-su cutting his tongue was THE moment of this film, at naramdaman ko talaga ang sakit. Haha. :p

9. Final 'Jai Ho' Dance ("Slumdog Millionaire")
- Typical Bollywood finale that made me want to groove. Lovit.

10. Maja Salvador breaking up with John Lloyd Cruz ("One More Chance")
- Okay, call me jologs but I super loved the close-your-eyes portion of this scene. And JLC is really a good actor, and okay rin naman si Maja, so very memorable talaga!

*I really had fun doing this list, so I hope you had a nice time reading it to. In case you haven't scene some of these (#8 is NOT a good scene to watch for the faint-hearted though), there's always YouTube to access these clips. I think this list deserve a part 2. Haha. :)

And the Academy Award Should Go To...

Okay. So it's hours before the 81st Academy Awards aka Oscars, and I'm super PROUD to say that I've seen all five nominees for Best Picture (yey!). Based on what I saw, I think the Best Picture trophy should rightfully go to "Slumdog Millionaire." I've said much about it in my previous post, but now that I've seen all its contenders for Best Picture, I personally think that "Slumdog" should unquestionably win the award. It beats all the other nominees in almost all aspects: directing, editing, screenplay and musical score.

I must say that "Slumdog" is the only Oscar Best Picture nominee that gave me goosebumps. While Frank Langella's portrayal of Richard Nixon made 'Frost/Nixon' gripping, and while Sean Pean's did a convincing take on Harvey Milk, it is still "Slumdog's" 'freshness' that made the greatest mark on me. One particular scene-- when Dev Patel's character Jamal won the jackpot in the gameshow 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire'-- made me realize that this movie is the movie to beat. No questions asked.

But hey, let's give credit to the other movies. 'The Reader' really had the potential to be a great film, but I think Stephen Daldry failed to make the film gripping. Halfway through the film, I kinda lost interest in what was gonna happen. And the plot twist was just not shocking enough. Anyway, I also think Winslet didn't do a phenomenal job playing the role of a former Nazi guard, although I am not dispensing the possibility of her pulling off a surprise Best Actress win. When will Kate ever NOT strip in a movie? Haha.

'Milk' is very creatively done. Period. It has all these reflection shots drama (which I think were very difficult to shoot). I would love it if Van Sant will steal the trophy from Danny Boyle tomorrow, but Boyle really just nailed "Slumdog" that he really deserves the award. And Sean Penn. What a great actor. His 'gay-ness' as Harvey Milk was super convincing I doubted his sexuality while watching the film.

And 'Frost/Nixon'. Hmm. I was expecting it to be quite a bore, since it is journalistic, and journalism is a bore (jowks. haha). But the movie surprisingly held my interest. As I said earlier, Langella should be given credit for this. He really played the part of the bully Nixon well, and I think he deserves to win the Best Actor trophy for this (although I have yet to see the performances of his two other contenders). And to be fair, this film was really educational for a journ major like me. It was indeed a very informative movie.

Okay. I would puke all over our living room if "Benjamin Button" aka "Forrest Gump 2.0" will win any award, save for Best Make-Up. It was a SUPER DUPER BORE! Enough said.

There you have it. I am really looking forward to later's awarding ceremonies. Hope my favorites win. :)

Dreo's 2008 Year-End Awards

What does Isadora and Obama have in common? They both made it to my year-end list!

I started this last year, and I am continuing the 'tradition' just in time with the opening of the New Year. I am giving out more awards this year though, so here you go:

Movies of the Year:
1. The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan)
Kenneth nominated this movie through Plurk, and I am gladly naming 'The Dark Knight' as movie of the year, because, primarily, it developed in me a liking for Batman. It is also one of those films whose sequel is better. Just when superhero movies are saturating the market, 'The Dark Knight' came with a breath of fresh air. The plot was good, production was good, but what really contributed to the phenomenal success of this film is the late Heath Ledger's performance as The Joker. Ledger did a great job portraying the villain we all love to hate (the nurse Joker scene and the ship social experiment scene were fantabulous). I think Heath deserves lots of posthumous awards for this. Truly, a blockbuster hit!
2. Slumdog Millionaire (Danny Boyle)
Maybe not a lot of people have seen this film (I, myself, streamed it through YouTube), but this feel-good movie about how a humble tea-maker from India won the gameshow 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?' is really worth watching. The screenplay is really fresh. The cinematography and the editing are superb. The use of Indian music for scoring is super nice. What really makes this movie unique is use of a gameshow as a means of telling a story? So why should we all watch this movie? A. It will make you believe in destiny B. The technicals are impeccable C. The Bollywood-ish dance number towards the end is something to watch out for. Answer: D. ALL OF THE ABOVE! I daresay this is the best movie of the year, and I can't wait for it to win awards next year.

TV Show of the Year: Gossip Girl
Not even the writers' strike stopped our favorite gang from the Upper East Side in giving us their share of kilig moments, scandals, issues, and what have you. The show is just super fun to watch. Personally, I stopped following other shows such as 'Brothers and Sisters' and 'Prison Break' religiously, but 'Gossip Girl' is just too awesome to miss. Forget about the sometimes messed up plot. 'Gossip Girl' just makes each one of us crave for the next episode (and I'm dying to see the next episode!). Blair-Chuck moments are my reason for watching this show, although Blair moments and Chuck moments (separately) are always fun too. And of course, Dorota FTW! The show had such huge impact among the youth that people started imitating the fashion sense of the cast. Blair bands are everywhere in 2008, making those who didn't carry these headbands well look like oversized gifts. Nonetheless, 'Gossip Girl' is undoubtedly THE television show of the year. You know you love it.

(Most Overplayed) Song of the Year: 'Always Be My Baby' by David Cook
Okay. The David-David American Idol finale was sooo phenomenal, that post-Idol, people still have the songs of these dudes as their LSS's. However, the ultimate, ultimate LSS of the year is Cook's 'Always Be My Baby.' It is super overplayed by all the radio stations (yes, even Love Radio) that there was a time I hear it almost anywhere. From noontime shows to reality singing contest, people just love singing and performing Cook's rendition of Mariah Carey's song. But that's not all. The ultimate OMG moment is when I heard a Tagalized version of it over the radio! This song is sooo popular it's driving me insane. Ohwell. Kudos to Cook for making his version of the song overly popular. But please, enough is enough.

Statement of the Year: 'I don't feel any pressure right now' from Janina San Miguel's Bb. Pilipinas speech
You might have come from outer space or lived under a rock the entire year last year if you haven't heard of this infamous line from Binibining Pilipinas contestant Janina San Miguel. It was the buzz everywhere at a certain time last year. Let's admit it: the entire speech was hilarious since the girl was... uhmmm... grammatically-challenged. But hey, let's look at the bright side since New Year naman. The girl was super confident when she uttered these lines. Best of all, it taught every one of us a very important lesson -- that when you can't say it in English, for God's sake, say it in Filipino. Filipino is still the best way to communicate, not to mention it saves you from the same shame suffered by this notorious beauty queen. So guys, don't feel any pressure right now. (See the video here.)
*PS: 'Whatever, Yaya. You are such a loser' from Bubble Gang's Angelina came in close second.)

Villain of the Year: Isadora of 'Iisa Pa Lamang'
Move over Heath Ledger. Isadora beats you this year as Best Villain. She just made my primetime for the most part in 2008. Cherrie Pie Picache did a great job portraying a new kind of villain for all of us. Isadora is the only villain you'll enjoy seeing on screen, because her actions are so comical. And who could ever forget her witty lines? From the 'cheapanggang kumunoy' to that memorable 'Best Actress' moment, every Isadora moment was plain, unadulterated fun. Please ABS-CBN, give us an 'Iisa Pa Lamang' spin-off featuring Isadora (pero baka maging sitcom ito kapag nagkataon. Haha). Isadora = love. (for more Isadora lines, click here.)

Artist of the Year: Britney Spears
I could have easily given this award to Rihanna or Chris Brown or even Amy Winehouse, but Britney made noise this year for her unexpected comeback, thanks, primarily, to 'Womanizer.' After all the custody and driving issues, and after The Rolling Stones called her life a 'tragedy,' Britney was able to prove that she is indeed THE pop icon of this generation. And hey, she's still hot after giving birth *Sauna scene in 'Womanizer' music video in mind*! Let's see what will happen to Miss Spears in the coming year.

Person of the Year: Barack Obama
Chesa will hate this, but I think US President-Elect Barack Obama is undoubtedly 2008's Person of the Year. I am not saying this just because other publications such as Time have already named him as such. Obama really got the whole world talking about him, since he was able to overcome all the odds (including that historic battle against Clinton) to become the United States' first Black president. Obama really made history this year, and let's just wait how much impact his presidency brings to our country.

There you go with my list. Last year was indeed filled with lots of entertaining moments that it was really difficult to make this list. I am REALLY looking forward to year 2009.
Happy New Year, everybody! :)

Top 5 Memorable Moments of 2008

This year is soooo coming to an end, and what better way to end it than to look back on the most memorable moments the year 2008 brought to me. This year was indeed filled with crazy and fun moments, but these five stand out among the rest, mostly because of its impact to my life (may ganun? Haha). So, here we go:

5. The UAAP Experience
J152 has got to be one of the most memorable subjects of this year, for it gave me (and the rest of the class) the awesome experience of rubbing elbows with sweaty cagers (ok, sweat is not so awesome, but who cares?), well-known coaches and super nice sports writers through the public relations task the fabulous Ma'am Jaz gave us. We are indeed the luckiest public relations class on earth, for we get unlimited access to whoever basketball player we want to see. I got to see my favorite player, UE's Hans Thiele, stretching before the game, scoring points and what have you. We saved ourselves from the trouble of falling in line for UAAP Cheerdance tickets, for Ma'am Jaz practically handed the tickets to us a day before the event (where Tribong UP won once again, btw). Best of all, we get to experience all these for FREE (well, not the cheerdance coz we paid for the tickets). So there. This experience is really a memorable one, because, above all, it developed in me a liking for basketball I never thought I'd have. (Read more!)

4. The UP Centennial Kick-Off!
This event showcased UP pride at its best. It gives me goosebumps just reminiscing it. The jubilant crowd from all the UP campuses (yes, even the Open University!), the high-end alumni that participated the event (imagine Ryan Cayabyab and Frank Drilon just casually strolling around the Academic Oval), the torch relay, the performances, the bonggang-bonggang fireworks-- everything is just all about maroon spirit. I will forever be thankful that I witnessed this once-in-a-lifetime event (literally), and recalling the centennial kick-off will surely always paint a smile on my face. UP, ang galing mo! (Photos here.)

3. Survivor: The Banahaw Escapade
I officially name the Banahaw trip as the ultimate adventure of the year. It required not just physical strength and endurance to reach the peak if Mt. Banahaw (known as Kalbaryo). More importantly, you have to have the heart and the drive to get to the top. Plus, the spelunking experience was equally exciting and challenging, Forget about claustrophobia; entering caves is mega fun! Also, let's not forget that this experience was primarily to see more facets of the national hero, Jose Rizal, and it surely opened my eyes to these. Of course, this experience wouldn't be that fun if not for the cool company I had: Row, Sir Nilo and the rest of the crazy gang who trooped to Banahaw on the same date as mine. The Banahaw Escapade indeed made me realize that I can conquer all the hurdles and reach the top (Yeba!). (Photos here.)

2. MCO Week 2008: Mold, Challenge, Outshine
I am super duper proud of this event! After months of hardwork and trials brought about by the college org recognition shit. UP MCO pulled off a wicked, smash hit MCO week. From the marketing (go Francesca and Ana Tan!) to the exhibit (go Bikay and Agor!) to the outreach (go B/Harry) to the MCO Night (go Rach!), all fell into their proper places. Of course, the Major Issue during this week deserves special mention, for it was phenomenal, thanks to Kay and the rest of the RATTlings! Truly, every MCOer should place MCO Week 2008 in their list of accomplishments from now on. And oh. I got a new nickname during this week too, thanks to Atang supahstar Jerson. Haha. (For MCO masquerade pics, click here.)

1. The (Crazy) Inquirer.net Internship
My internship in Inquirer.net tops the most memorable moments for 2008 because it really opened my eyes to what kind of life is in store for me in the not-so-distant future. It exposed me to the dynamics of the different beats and the newswriting process, while giving me lessons that I will remember for life. I will forever be thankful to Sir JV, Ma'am Lynette, Sir Dennis, Sir Noy, and the cool Inquirer.net reporters (Ma'am Lira, Ma'am Onic, Ma'am Maila, Ma'am Tetch and Ma'am Thea) for guiding me through this entire experience. This internship really made my year. Bow. (Photos here.)

There you have it, my most memorable moments for 2008. It's super nice to look back to the year that was, and these memories give me enough reason to expect a nice year ahead. Thanks to all you guys for sharing this year with me. See you in 2009! *cheers*

A Different Kind of Christmas

So I am blogging once again. I dunno what exactly happened during the entire blogging hiatus (I know for a fact that thesis work is primarily to blame). Nonetheless, my comeback blog (of sorts) will be about Christmas.

People always say that Christmas is for kids. Well, I believe these people now. During the entire Christmas day, I was basically at home either (1) munching on Noche Buena leftovers (2) complaining due to the number of people that flooded our house this year or (3) waiting for 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' to load over at YouTube. Yes, Christmas day this year gets the most-dormant-Christmas-ever award unchallenged.

I miss the days back when I was little when I and my cousins hop from one relative's house to the other just to rob our ninongs and ninangs of our aguinaldos. Gosh. Those were the days when Christmas time means money time. On the contrary, this year, I got ZERO pesos. Yes, ladies and gentlemen. Not a single cent. Okay. Call me a major, major loser.

Maybe this has something to do with the fact that our family basically stayed in the house the whole time. During the past years, we were the ones who visit houses to get our gifts and aguinaldos. This year, our family suddenly became the host family! We had to cook food not just for ourselves, but for people who we expect will visit us. Plus, we have to prepare the aguinaldos to give our godchildren (I have two)-- aguinaldos I usually receive. But then again, my younger sister said it best: It is better to give than to receive. This year (and I assume in the years to come), we are in the giving end, and who am I to complain?

So there. Although this year was an entirely different Christmas for me, I am still happy because I get to spend it with my entire family (extended family pa nga eh, since even our relatives from Nueva Ecija stormed our house like crazy!) and that's enough reason for me to call this Christmas a 'merry' one.

Happy Holidays everybody! :)

Goodbye, 1st Sem

Who would have thought that saying goodbye can be this sweet?

I officially bade farewell to my last first semester (haha. that sounds weird.) as an undergraduate student in the University of the Philippines by cleaning up my study table inside my room a while ago. It just became my ritual, since all the academic stuff are there (readings, org documents, the works), and seeing them all cleaned up just means I am sooo done with my oh-so-academic (as if) semester. It just amused me, however, how I managed to squeeze in my brain every single reading that I had to go over during the entire sem. I mean, that's quite a pile. How did I manage to read (and SLIGHTLY understand) all those? And given they are about a lot of stuff (from globalization to network wars to Jose Rizal's love affairs), I should be really proud that I survived all of those. Haha.

Anyway, as I have mentioned in my previous post, the sem wasn't really stressful for me, although, of course, stress was occasionally there still (I know, what a b*tch). But I am more than happy to conclude this semester, since that means I am down to my last 15 units in THE premiere state university in the whole wide world (OA. haha). Well technically, 18 units, since I am taking up extra units of elementary French (I was so fascinated when Serena van der Woodsen aka Sunshine Barbie spoke French in one of those GG episode, and I thought "Hey, I wanna learn that too!"). I hope I survive them as relatively stress-free like the last sem, given all the thesis work I have to go through in the coming months. Please please Lord. Let me graduate.

So there. Seven sems down, one fockin last sem to go. For all the learnings, good times, sleepless nights, and crazy crazy moments, goodbye and thank you, senior year first semester. I am soo done with you.

PS. Please bring me good grades pala. Pretty please? ;p

My Chuck-ed Up Life

I sooo love the fact that two of my favorite shows on the face of the planet are back, and are getting better and better. First, there's 'Chuck.' I can't believe Chuck Bartowski aka Agent Charles Carmichael is here again to give me a weekly dose of his adventures (and misadventures). Of course, with Chuck comes the ever delicious Sarah Walker (I like her better as a Wienerlicious lady though). And then there's the entire Buymore gang, with my favorite bearded friend Morgan getting sillier and sillier by the episode, which I totally enjoy.

I just am amazed at how the producers of this show are able to make the show more and more enjoyable. I mean, the first three episodes of the show were effing amazing. I particularly love the last episode ('Chuck vs. the Break-Up') since there was sooo much love and hurt in it. I very much like a decent love triangle, and the Chuck-Sarah-Bryce thing is just a joy to watch. The very nice blend of action, comedy and romance in this show makes it really worth watching.

And then there's Chuck Bass of Gossip Girl. This guy is the best anti-hero ever. I fockin love how he plots against each and every character in the show. He's just adorably plain evil. The entire B vs. S drama (that lasted for three eps, if I'm not mistaken) is all his working. The Sunshine Barbie vs. Darth Vader scene last episode was really hilarious, that I hated it when these two girls suddenly became BFFs again. C'mon Mr. Bass. Cause some more conflict between these two!

So there. My life's really Chuck-ed up right now, thanks to these shows. And with the sem break just around the corner, these shows will be enough distraction for me to make the break a little less boring. 'Chuck' and 'GG' = love.