The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader - 2010

Category: Movie

Genre: Adventure / Fantasy

Director: Michael Apted

Writer: Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely, C.S. Lewis.

Producer: Dune Entertainment, Fox 2000 Pictures, 20th Century Fox Film Corporation

Tagline: Take the voyage. Live the adventure. Discover Narnia like you've never seen it before.

Cast: Ben Barnes, Skandar Keynes, Georgie Henley, Anna Popplewell, William, Moseley, Will Poulter, Gary Sweet, Terry Norris, Bruce Spence, Tilda Swinton, Arthur Angel, Liam Neeson (voice of Aslan) and more.

Lucy and Edmund Pevensie lives in one house with their cousin Eustace Scrubb. They are often bullied by Eustace and through a magical painting of a ship inside the house they return to Narnia with Eustace and they met up with Prince Caspian aboard the royal ship The Dawn Treader. During their voyage across the sea they encounter different elementals, dragons, a band of lost warriors, merfolk and more.

Aside from the HP Series.. I am pretty much a die hard fan of the Chronicles of Narnia. This movie brought to life... my imaginations which I've read over and over during my childhood years.

Mhmm...Something seems to be lacking about the movie... I don't recommend the 3D Version. not really satisfying.

I always enjoy it whenever I see Aslan. Reepecheep was fun and paired up with Eustace.. it was great tandem and they brought life to the film with their constant arguing. Will Pulter as Eustace clearly did well and would really make you remember him. With its clean humor, Christian values, magical scenes, this would be a great film to watch with the family. It's good that they made it quite simple.. the story... so thought the younger audience can understand easily.

Metaphysical stories would be the transformation of Eustace (from nasty to being the hero who saves the day).....Lucy's dark side which was vanity, Reepecheeps journey beyond....

Convos I Like:

Coriakin: To defeat the darkness out there, you must defeat the darkness inside yourself.

King Caspian: Now's the time to be strong. Never give in.

Lucy: Aslan, will we ever meet with you in our world?
Aslan: You shall.
Lucy: How?
Aslan: Because there I have another name. You must learn to know me by that name. This was the very reason why you were brought to Narnia, that knowing me here for a little, you may know me better there.

Lasher - Anne Rice

Category: Books

Author: Anne Rice

Genre: Witchcraft


This book starts after the mysterious disappearance of Rowan Mayfair. Then there's the sexually adventurous Mona Mayfair who seems to be more powerful than Rowan.

This is the first of the Anne Rice books I've read. I have lots in my bookshelf but haven't got time to finish them. I found out this was the second book of the series. So... i was a bit lost. Mhmmmm... it's dark and sensual. Gory sometimes but not too much. Kinda maddeningly weird.

Convos from the Book:

Michael: Beatrice is perfect. You need a woman for Aaron who appreciates a gentleman, don't you think?
Mona: Uncle, there's no such thing a s a woman who doesn't appreciate a gentleman.
Michael: Do you know everything?
Mona: Nope. Wish I did, but then again... who would want to know everything? God must be bored. What do you think?
Michael: I can't figure it out. You're a firecracker Mona.
Mona: Wait till you see me in a flannel nightgown.

I never want to touch alcohol, or drugs in any form, I want my mind like a scythe.

Trader's Hotel - Pasay City

Category: Hotel

I've been in this hotel since 2006. And I think I've checked in here 5-7 times already whenever we have conventions or out of the country trips. It's not really accessible, the only convenient way is to ride a taxi (at least for an outsider like me).

But, of course since it is a Shangri-La Hotel, the service is superb. They have a K-9 Unit for security.

I love their rooms. The bed and the complimentary fruits during the first day. Or if you are under their Exclusive Club you get to have the complimentary fruits everyday and there's the buffet snack at their Club Lounge. Complimentary bottled water is also present. The personalized message on the screen. The free broadband internet in the room. The buffet area also boasts of it's continental menu.

Date Night - 2010

Category: Movie

Genre: Comedy / Crime

Director: Shawn Levy

Writer: Josh Klausner

Producer: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, 21 Laps Entertainment, Dune Entertainment

Tagline: One ordinary couple. One Little White Lie.

Cast: Steve Carell, Tina Fey, Mark Wahlberg, Taraji Henson, Jimmi Simpson, Common, William Fichtner, James Franco and more.

The Foster Couple (Steve Carell and Tina Fey) have been married for several years. Their days are of a typical couple, they go to work and they come home and take care of their children. They also have a ritual where they find time to have a date night once a week. When another couple who are close to them announces that they will be separating the Foster's begins to feel that they are heading there as well. So when their date night comes the husband Phil decides to do something different. So, they decided to try and get into a popular restaurant but when they got there it was full, and they were very persistent they decided to "steal" reservation of a couple who doesn't show up and assumed their identity. And that's how everything began when two men approached them mistaking them for the couple.....


Well.. it's kind of entertaining. Not exactly that funny but well... good for popcorn. It's a very simple film... using something ordinary (couple feeling in the rut) and adding a twist. If you are looking for an excellent comedy film.. look for another one.

Funny Quotes:


Phil Foster: Because we're going to find them and we're going to *make* them do it. Once Miletto has the flash drive, this thing ends.
Claire Foster: Okay, I like that. I am completely with you. I just have to ask you one question, and do not judge me. What is a flash drive?
Phil Foster: Seriously?
Claire Foster: Phil, I can't... Phil Foster: Okay, it's a little storage disk that you stick in the side of a laptop.
Claire Foster: Oh, it's a computer sticky thing? That's... in my office, we call it a computer sticky thing.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - 2007

Category: Movies

Genre: Adventure / Fantasy

Director: David Yates

Writer: J.K. Rowling, Michael Goldenberg.

Producer: Warner Bros., HeyDay Films.

Tagline: You Will Lose Everything

Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Ralph Fiennes, Gary Oldman, Mark Williams, Evanna Lynch, David Thewlis, Maggie Smith, Julie Walters,James Phelps, Oliver Phelps, Bonnie Wright, Chris Rankin, Imelda Staunton, Tom Felton, Jamie Waylett, Josh Herdman, Helena Bonham Carter and more.


When Harry returns to Hogwarts, few of the students and parents believe him or Dumbledore that Voldemort is back. The Ministry of Magic decided to step in at Hogwarts by appointing the nastiest person as their new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher named as Dolores Umbridge.

This is one of the most exciting part of the HP series for the Hogwarts students. Because this time not only Harry, Ron and Hermione will fight against Voldemort, it will also involve their friends when they formed the Dumbledore's Army. I like Evanna Lynch as Luna Lovegod here. She really fits the role. And Dolores Umbridge in this movie is equally annoying and nasty as her character should be.

David Yates gave a great job by doing this movie. You go up and down with all the topsy turvy emotions you will be feeling with the Order fighting against Voldemort's Death Eaters. The high and the low emotions. A lot of things were left out from the book but that is pretty much understandable since it's a great challenge to fit an 800 page book into just 2.5 hours. So you'd take the essential and just make a great job at it. For the story.. I suggest you just read the book. At least the movies are giving us a realm where our imaginations of the book are beginning to come to life. The visuals were great... acting superb! :)


New Places: Ministry of Magic, Room of Requirement.

New Spells: Portego,

Magical Creatures: Thestrals, Centaurs, Giants,

New Characters: Dolores Umbridge, Bellatrix Lestrange,

New Groups: Dumbledore's Army. Inquisitorial Squad, Order of the Phoenix


Funny Convos:

Ron Weasley: Hermione, you are honestly the most wonderful person I have ever met. If I'm ever rude to you...
Hermione Granger: I'll know you've gone back to normal.


Hermione Granger: Don't you understand how she must be feeling? Well, obviously she's feeling sad about Cedric, and therefore confused about liking Harry, and guilty about kissing him. Conflicted because Umbridge is threatening to sack her mum from her job at the Ministry, and frightened about failing her O.W.L.s because she's so busy worrying about everything else.
Ron Weasley: One person couldn't feel all that, they'd explode!
Hermione Granger: Just because you've got the emotional range of a teaspoon.



Quotes I Like:

Remus Lupin: The Minister thinks Dumbledore's after his job.
Harry Potter: But that's insane! No one in their right mind could believe that Dumbledore...
Remus Lupin: Exactly the point. Fudge isn't in his right mind. It's been twisted and warped by fear. Now fear makes people do terrible things, Harry. The last time Voldemort gained power he almost destroyed everything we hold most dear. Now he's returned, and I'm afraid the Minister will do almost anything to avoid facing that terrifying truth.


Harry Potter: Wait... look, it all sounds *great* when you say it like that. But the truth is most of that was just luck. I didn't know what I was doing half the time, I nearly always had help...
Hermione Granger: He's just being modest.
Harry Potter: No, Hermione, I'm not. Facing this stuff in real life is not like school. In school, if you make a mistake you can just try again tomorrow, but out there, when you're a second away from being murdered or watching a friend die right before your eyes... you don't know what that's like.
Hermione Granger: You're right, Harry, we don't. That's why we need your help. Because if we're having any chance against beating... Voldemort.


Harry Potter: Working hard is important, but there's something else that's even more important: believing in yourself. Look at it this way: every great wizard in history has started out as nothing more than we are now - students. If they can do it, why not us?

Hermione Granger: You've done it, Neville! You've found the Room of Requirement!
Ron Weasley: The what?
Hermione Granger: It's also known as the Come and Go Room. The Room of Requirement only appears when a person has real need of it, and is always equipped with the seeker's needs.
Ron Weasley: So, say you really needed a toilet...
Hermione Granger: Charming, Ronald. But yes, that is the general idea.
Harry Potter: It's brilliant! It's like Hogwarts wants us to fight back!


Harry Potter: Are you sure you don't want any help looking?
Luna Lovegood: That's all right. Anyway, my mum always said things we lose have a way of coming back to us in the end.
[they look up and see a pair of her shoes hanging from the ceiling arch]
Luna Lovegood: If not always in the way we expect.


Severus Snape: It appears there is a connection between the Dark Lord's mind and your own. Whether he is, as yet, aware of this connection is for the moment unclear. Pray he remains ignorant.
Harry Potter: You mean if he knows about it then, he'll be able to read my mind.
Severus Snape: Read it, control it, unhinge it. In the past it was often the Dark Lord's pleasure to invade the minds of his victims, creating visions designed to torture them into madness. Only after extracting the last exquisite ounce of agony, only when he had them litterly begging for death would he finally... kill them. Used properly, the power of Occlumency will help shield you from access or influence. In these lessons I will attempt to penetrate your mind. You will attempt to resist. Prepare yourself! Legillimens!


Harry Potter: This connection between me and Voldemort... what if the reason for it is that I am becoming more like him? I just feel so angry, all the time. What if after everything that I've been through, something's gone wrong inside me? What if I'm becoming bad?
Sirius Black: I want you to listen to me very carefully, Harry. You're not a bad person. You're a very good person, who bad things have happened to. Besides, the world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters. We've all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That's who we really are.


Albus Dumbledore: [looking down at Harry that is being tortured by Voldemort in his mind] Harry... It's not how you are alike. It's how you are not...


Lord Voldemort: [to Dumbledore thru Harry] You've lost, old man.
Harry Potter: [to Voldemort] You're the weak one. And you'll never know love,or friendship. And I feel sorry for you.

Harry Potter: The prophecy said neither one can live while the other one survives. It means one of us is going to have to kill the other, in the end.
Albus Dumbledore: Yes.
Harry Potter: Why didn't you tell me?
Albus Dumbledore: For the same reason you tried to save Sirius. For the same reason your friends saved you. After all these years, after all you've suffered, I didn't want to cause you any more pain. I cared too much about you.

Harry Potter: I've been thinking about something Dumbledore said to me.
Hermione Granger: What's that?
Harry Potter: That even though we've got a fight ahead of us, we've got one thing that Voldemort doesn't have.
Ron Weasley: Yeah?
Harry Potter: Something worth fighting for.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - 2005

Category: Movie

Genre: Adventure / Fantasy

Director: Mike Newell

Writer: J.K. Rowling, Steve Kloves

Producer:

Tagline: Dark And Difficult Times Lie Ahead.

Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Mark Williams, James Phelps, Oliver Phelps, Bonnie Wright, Robert Pattinson, Jason Isaacs, Tom Felton, Stanislav Ianevski and more.

It is now Harry Potter's fourth year at Hogwarts and he is enjoying his summer vacation with his friends. The movie started with The Quidditch World Cup Final which looked so great on screen. The same frenzy you get during the FIFA World Cup except that it's much more magical and stellar. Also, in this film Hogwarts is hosting " The Triwizard Tournament", an inter-school magical tournament.

The film is also darker than the previous installment, The Prisoner of Azkaban. Eventhough it's 2 hours and 30 minutes, seems like time flies while you are watching this film. I love the music, and how the 2 schools were introduced into Hogwarts it was just oh so lovely.

They did a wonderful job at the underwater scene.

This movie is pretty much a visual treat of the Harry Potter book... and I suggest you read the book for the story.

Watching an HP movie... is really my kind of escape. I just love it.

New Creatures: Nagini *the Serpent*, Death Eaters, Dragons

New Stuff: Portkey, Pensieve. Gillyweed, Veritaserum.

New Characters: Amos Diggory, Cedric Diggory, Bartemus Crouch, Barty Crouch Jr., Mad Eye Moody (Auror), Rita Skeeter

New Spells: Morsmorde, Stupefy, Unforgivable curses: The Imperious Curse, The Cruciatus Curse, The Killing Curse (Avada Kedavra), Age Line, Magic Confundus Charm, Reducto, Priori Incantatum,

Special Events: Quidditch World Cup, Triwizard Tournament, Yule Ball,


Quotes I Like:

Dumbledore: Curiosity is not a sin, Harry. However, from time to time, you should exercise caution.

Dumbledore: People change in the maze. Oh, find the cup if you can. But be very wary; you could just lose yourselves along the way.

Voldemort: The Boy-Who-Lived. How lies have fed your legend, Harry! Do you want to know what really happened thirteen years ago? Shall I divulge how I truly lost my powers? It was love. You see, when dear sweet Lily Potter gave her life for her only son, it provided him with the ultimate protection, I could not touch him. It was old magic, something I should have foreseen. But no matter, no matter, things have changed. I CAN TOUCH YOU... NOW!

James Potter: Harry! When the connection is broken you MUST get to the Portkey. We can linger for a moment to give you some time but only a moment. Do you understand?
Cedric Diggory: Harry. Take my body back, will you? Take my body back to my father.
Lily Potter: Let go. Sweetheart, you're ready. Let go... LET GO!

Dumbledore: No spell can reawaken the dead, Harry. I trust you know that. Dark and difficult times lie ahead. Soon we must all face the choice between what is right and what is easy.

Dumbledore: Today we acknowledge a really terrible loss. Cedric Diggory was, as you all know, exceptionally hard working, infinitely fair-minded, and most importantly, a fierce, fierce friend. Therefore, I feel you have the right to know exactly how he died. You see, Cedric Diggory was murdered, by Lord Voldemort. The Ministry of Magic does not wish me to tell you this. But not to do so I feel would be an insult to his memory. Now the pain we all feel at this dreadful loss reminds me, and, reminds us, that though we may come from different countries and speak in different tongues, our hearts beat as one. In light of the recent events, the bonds of friendship made this year will be more important than ever. Remember that, and Cedric Diggory will not have died in vain. You remember that, and we'll celebrate a boy who was kind, and honest, and brave, and true. Right to the very end.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - 2004

Category: Movies

Genre: Fantasy / Adventure

Director: Alfonso Cuaron

Writer: J.K. Rowling, Steve Klowes

Producer: Warner Bros. Pictures, 1492 Pictures, Heyday Films,

Tagline: Secrets Will Be Revealed

Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Gary Oldman, Oliver and James Phelps, Chris Rankin, Julie Walters, Bonnie Wright, Mark Williams, Michael Gambon, Maggie Smith, Robbie Coltrane, and more.


Harry is on his Third year at Hogwarts, and they have a new "Defense of the Dark Arts" Teacher. Trouble is also looming since, a dangerous criminal Sirius Black (A trusted aide of Voldemort) has escaped the Wizards' Prison and is coming after Harry. To make everything worse for Harry, he has to deal with Dementors who have been appointed to guard the school gates and whenever the are near they have the most horrible effect on him.

Most of the scenes are kind of dark because of it's story. All of the cast improved here and they really did a great job. The new director really did a great job. Although there were parts that were not seen they really did their best not to deviate from the story.

Love love love the movie. Can't wait to see the next film. :P

New creatures you will see: Hippogriff, Boggart, Werewolves, Dementors, Animagus

New characters: Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew

New stuff: Marauder's Map, Knight's Bus

New Places: Hog's Meade

Spells used: Expecto Patronum, Expelliarmus

I enjoyed the song:

Hogwarts Choir: [singing] In the cauldron boil and bake / Fillet of a fenny snake / Scale of dragon, Tooth of wolf / Witches, mummy, maw and gulf / Double, double, toil and trouble / Fire burn and cauldron bubble! / Double, double, toil and trouble / Fire burn and cauldron bubble! / Double, double, toil and trouble / Fire burn and cauldron bubble! / Something wicked this way comes!

Quotes I Like:

Dumbledore: Mysterious thing, time. Powerful, and when meddled with, dangerous. Sirius Black is in the topmost cell of the dark tower. You know the laws, Miss Granger. You must not be seen, and you would do well, I feel, to return before this last chime. If not, the consequences are too ghastly to discuss. If you succeed tonight, more than one innocent life may be spared. Three turns, should do it, I think.
[He starts to exit, turns back]
Dumbledore: Oh, by the way. When in doubt, I find retracing my steps to be a wise place to begin. Good luck.
[He exits]

Harry: Professor, can I ask you something?
Professor Lupin: You want to know why I stopped you facing that boggart, yes? I would have thought that would be obvious - I assumed it would take the shape of Lord Voldemort.
Harry: I did think of Voldemort - at first. But then I remembered that night on the train... and the dementor...
Professor Lupin: I'm very impressed. That suggests that what you fear most of all... is fear itself. This is very wise.

Harry: Professor, why do the dementors affect me so? More than anyone else, I mean?
Professor Lupin: Listen, dementors are among the foulest creatures to walk this earth. They feed on every good feeling, every happy memory until a person is left with nothing but his worst experiences. The dementors affect you more than others because there are true horrors in your past, horrors your classmates can scarcely imagine. You are not weak, Harry. You have nothing to be ashamed of.
Harry: I'm scared, Professor.
: Well, I'd consider you a fool if you weren't.

Dumbledore: [to Professor Snape] For in dreams, we enter a world that is entirely our own. Let him swim in the deepest ocean or glide over the highest cloud.

Sirius Black: You know the man you truly are, Remus! This heart is where you truly live! This heart! Here! This flesh is only flesh!
FUNNY:

Ron: Who do you think that is?
Hermione: Professor R. J. Lupin.
Ron: Do you know everything?
[to Harry]
Ron: How is it she knows everything?
Hermione: [annoyed] It's on his suitcase, Ronald.
Ron: Oh.