CHRISTMAS

Now, the expected twist has occurred!
...and i realized that one will never feel the true essence of Christmas if one doesn't understand what it truly means, what it is all about and what it is for.

what it truly means:
it means we are saved!
"For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life." - John 3:16

The birth of Jesus is the fulfillment of the prophecy that God will sacrifice His own son for the salvation of the world. There is much rejoicing on this day, because despite our sinfulness, we are saved.

what it is all about:
"Joseph went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to the town of Bethlehem in Judea, the birthplace of King David. He went to register with Mary, who was promised in marriage to him. She was pregnant, and while they were in Bethlehem, the time came for her to have her baby. She gave birth to her first son, wrapped him in cloths and laid him in a manger - there was no room for them to stay in the inn." - Luke 2:4-7

Our King was born on a manger - the symbol of humility, of service to the people, and meekness, among the animals in the barn. We must always take that in mind whenever we feel highly of ourselves and forgot to put our feet grounded.

what it is for:
"She will have a son, and you will name him Jesus - because he will save his people from their sins." Matthew 1:21

This is for us! Because of our sinfulness, God sacrificed His beloved Son for our sake. The Word was made flesh and what the prophets foretold became true! We must rejoice for such Good News!

Now, Christmas isn't just for jolly songs, abundant food, lavish decorations, overflowing gifts, and the like. Even by simply giving a smile to your neighbor or a friend and greeting Merry Christmas with all your heart, knowing what its true essence is, you have been a part of God's way in sharing His love to others...

MERRY CHRISTMAS to everyone!

-honey-

it's almost Christmas

just a few days from now, and it's Christmastime...
but mind you, i still have not heard any Christmas songs around the neighborhood,
not have felt the same old excitement when the cold breeze started to brush your hair,
there might be Christmas lights that would lighten your mood up, reminding you that the season isn't over, so don't be grumpy and all,
but why is this one a little dark and sad?
or is it just me viewing it as this?
it's a bit dull and too silent.
i couldn't feel the excitement from people either,
not hearing their animated talks about plans for vacation and the like,
yet, i am hoping that maybe a couple of days before *the* day, all will turn around from the gloomy feeling to a very meaningful and fun way of celebrating Christmas...

i know it's not about the carols, the lights, the decorations,
these are just mood-lifting adjuncts to what the real thing is.
Christmas is supposed to be a self-reflecting, soul-changing, and heart-inspiring event for everyone to enjoy...
hope that despite the "silence" that i am feeling now,
i will still be able to find the true essence of Christmas...

-honey-

Movie Review: Kung Fu Panda

Prepare for awesomeness.

Directors:
Mark Osborne
John Stevenson

Writers:
Jonathan Aibel (screenplay)
Glenn Berger (screenplay), etc.

Release Date: 6 June 2008 (Phil)



Genre: Animation/ Action/ Comedy/ Family

Cast:
Jack Black for Po (voice)
Dustin Hoffman for Master Shifu (voice)
Angelina Jolie for Tigress (voice)
Ian McShane for Tai Lung (voice)
Jackie Chan for Monkey (voice), etc.


Totally star-studded and fun!
Another Jack Black movie that goes way down to your laughing bones...with a tap to your wits and senses.
At first, I was a bit hesitant to watch this movie, thinking this might just be any crap animated movie..but, heck, they proved me wrong.
The laughs are all worth it including the lessons tagging along with the plot.

"There are no accidents." -Master Oogway (Randall Duk Kim)
> definitely true. even if we thought some things just happened by chance, they actually are not. the reason why may be revealed later or much sooner than we thought, but no matter how soon we get enlightened on why these things happened, we must always remember that nothing happens by just mere coincidence. everything has been planned...carefully, just as Po the Panda (Jack Black) did not just drop off from the sky to land in front of Oogway's pointing finger and be chosen as the Dragon Warrior to fight the evil snow lion, Tai Lung (Ian McShane).

"You just need to believe." -Master Oogway (Randall Duk Kim)
> Master Oogway is definitely one wise tortoise. you cannot fulfill your destiny if you won't believe you will. you may never know, all what it takes to walk the last few steps to success is to have faith in ourselves and trust that we can do it. yes, we may falter a lot of times depsite the countless attempts, we may have been bruised all over, spurned and tripped, but the secret in ending our demise is just believing that at one point, we are going to succeed after all those struggles. in believing, we might unravel our secret potentials, stuffs that we never thought we acquired, had it all along with us. just as iron sharpens iron, challenges may also sharpen our skills. Po never had known that he has all what it takes to defeat the greedy Tai Lung, and he would not have known it unless he believed in Master Shifu and believed in himself. so, we should openheartedly and bravely tread the path of our destiny knowing that we already learned one important weapon to bring along with us...believing in ourselves.

*photo by: http://www.iwatchstuff.com/2007/10/15/kung-fu-panda.jpg

Movie Review: Tropic Thunder

The movie they think they're making... isn't a movie anymore.

Director: Ben Stiller
Writers:
Ben Stiller (screenplay)
Justin Theroux (screenplay), etc.
Release Date:
8 October 2008 (Philippines)
Genre: Action | Adventure | Comedy | War
Main Characters:
Tugg Speedman played by Ben Stiller
Kirk Lazarus played by Robert Downey Jr.
Jeff Portnoy played by Jack Black

It is hilarious. This is the first Ben Stiller movie I've ever seen, him being the director/writer/producer/actor..etc. A revolutionary twist of the making of a movie in a movie. You would not think that these good guys would stand up for the so-young nemesis: a Viet kid who lead a bunch of war-freak, drug-dealing stupid Viet terrorists just to make a big-budget award-winning war movie. They never had the idea that their supposed-to-be shooting scenes turned out to be real-life shots when they were left at a jungle where those terrorists lurched around. What's funny, their director was way dead even before the first scene was filmed when he unfortunately stepped a mine at a grassy area. There are some funny surprises as you go through their adventures at the jungle until the Awards night.

*photo by: http://www.iwatchstuff.com/2008/05/23/tropic-thunder-poster.jpg

Movie Review: Twilight

When you can live forever what do you live for?

Director: Catherine Hardwicke
Writers:
Melissa Rosenberg (screenplay)
Stephenie Meyer (novel)
Release Date: 26 November 2008 (Philippines)
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Romance, Thriller
Main Characters:
Bella Swan played by Kristen Stewart
Edward Cullen played by Robert Pattinson


The book is a lot better! You can work out your imagination and play the scenes in your mind a lot better than the motion picture in the movie. Though i appreciated the screenplay writer's efforts to alter some clips of the novel to appeal to the moviewatchers who haven't even read the book, i was frustrated not to see the would-be wonderful scenes played in the movie. In compensation, there are also some heart-pounding scenes that they added which was not on the novel. At some point, i was like watching high school students roleplaying the characters instead of watching a movie per se. I couldn't even feel the chemistry of the two lead roles like on how i imagined it from the book...and i don't know if i'm the only one for this, but i think they got it wrong on how they interpreted Bella's character. sheesh, there's just something that's aint right. Overall, it was just fine.

*photo by: http://images.fanpop.com/images/image_uploads/Twilight-wallpaper-twilight-series-787124_1280_1024.jpg

Book Review: Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

i have been away for quiet some time,
i mean, have not been able to post something for a few weeks already,
i dedicated most of my time indulging into my all-time favorite craze: novels and my newfound hobby: mangas...

i just finished reading Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, determined to be able to read the novel before watching how they portrayed the scenes in motion pictures....
see if how i imagined it in the book would be closer to how the director interpreted Meyer's writing.
the plot is not far from any ordinary vampire stories, though i like the simplicity of the word usage and the poignant emotions displayed by each characters. How Meyer delivered the features and attitude of each one was fine, but what captured my interest was how each taglines and conversations revealed her creativity in expressing true emotions that would drive every reader to digest the words over and over again.

though we could see from countless movies and books portraying a strong male hero always to the rescue, such as Clark Kent and Lois Lane in Superman, or Peter Parker and Mary Jane in Spiderman, your mind would get curious on how a love would sprout from such a seemingly impossible circumstance between a stalwart vampire rescuing his prey from danger...and eventually confessing affection! one could just imagine how difficult would that be. the only thing you craved for right in an arm's length for you to reach became the one thing that you should avoid to hurt...still not counting, you've waited more than a century for that! the temptation would just get worse each time you get a chance to come near. it'll probably drive you crazy.

the heroine of the story was portrayed as weak, clumsy and the damsel in distress type who puts herself in constant danger, which is a perfect match for the strong, muscular, handsome hero who would just have easily swiped her off her feet and take her down a dark alley to feast on her. hahahah, i thought this is a love story and not a horror one. well, it is. it's just so creative on how Meyer twisted the myths and created a marvelous romantic story between a vampire and a human.

i am looking forward to watching the movie and confirm my imaginations, looking forward also to reading the sequel novel...

*photo by: http://blog.ugo.com/images/uploads/twilight_book_cover.jpg