being a theatre actress.
That dream started when I was in the sixth grade when I was asked by my music teacher to star as Mary Magdalene in the musical Jesus Christ Superstar. It was really a nice experience, and exposure if you ask me. Even if my teacher literally dragged me to the first rehearsal. LOL. I carried that dream until I was in High School but eventually dropped it when I found out that writing and web design is my forte in life.
But I still go to opera productions when I have the time these days, or when our school invite theatre groups to perform in our school. When I watch a production, though, I make sure that I inform my elder sister what I'm going to see, especially if it is going to be a musical. She lives in the states, and is a sucker for musical plays, I don't know why.
She also happens to love off-broadway shows, which I think are pretty cool. She would often send me photos of the tickets she bought for a show that she would watch, yeah... that really get me envious as I don't have as much free time as her. Pfft. :blackcloud: haha She often get her tickets online from Ticketamerica.com , she said they have many tickets for all different genres of music including musicals and or plays, plus off Broadway productions and all opera and classic music.
Sometimes, when I watch a production I still day dream that I am one of the people performing. I guess, my love for theatre never left me after all, perhaps I'll give it a shot again when I get the chance. Who knows right? :)
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Friday, January 20, 2012
Quand J'étais Chanteur
Sorry for the French title, but if you're quite into films, especially French films you'd know that the title is from a French movie. The English title, if I am not mistaken, is said to be The Singer, or When I was a Singer. Meh. Sorry for the confusing information, so not an expert. :P The movie is written and directed by M. Xavier Giannoli and it stars Gerard Depardieu and Cecile de France, and yes, I watched the movie because I was fan girling over M. Depardieu. You can't blame me though, he's such a good actor, and his performance in the movie bagged positive feed backs from French movie critiques. It was even nominated in the 2006 Cannes Film Festival, and the main actors were nominated as best actor and best actress consecutively in the Cesar Awards that same year; the movie won Best Sound in the said competition.
The movie tells the story of a middle-aged, ballroom singer (Depardieu, as Alain Moreau) who fell in love with a younger woman (de France, as Marion), who happens to be working as an intern in one of his friend's Real Estate company. The two met in one of Moreau's gigs, and they had a one night stand, which Moreau cannot seem to get over with not only because she left him without even saying a word, but also because he was really attracted to her. Being friends with Marion’s boss, Bruno, he went to her office one day and asked Marion to help him find a house for him. The two eventually fell in love, but were hesitant to fully show and give what they feel and have for each other because of a lot of reasons and because of the different situations they were in.
It’s a really great film, if you’d ask me, and I’ve been looking forward to watching it for weeks since I have seen its trailer on YouTube. As a growing fan of Gerard Depardieu, I got curious so I tried to get my hands on a copy of it, and when I finally did, I eventually went gaga over it. The chemistry between Depardieu and de France was quite unexpected, but came out to be wonderful after all. Gerard Depardieu has that something in him that makes him suddenly match a random actress that plays alongside him in movies, and it’s really one of the factors that make a movie better.
Apart from the chemistry that both lead actors possess, another factor that swayed me to watch the movie was the music. I suppose that this is not the first time that Gerard Depardieu was seen and heard singing in a movie, but it’s definitely the first movie where he sang seriously. He has a soothing voice, typical deep male voice, but he definitely carried out his role as a singer throughout the entire film by performing well known French songs and giving new life into them. The song selection was really good, and my personal favourite song in the movie is “Save the Last Dance for Me”, a song which I admit I don’t feel like listening to in the past, but I learned to love and appreciate because of this movie. As a matter of fact the song has been stuck in my head for over a week now, and I’m really having a hard time trying to get it out of system. I also happen to really like the finale, which is Quand J'etais Chanteur, wherein Gerard Depardieu has surprised me with a powerful vocal ability at the latter part of the song. Gerard Depardieu proved himself to be really talented in this movie when he swept along the dance floor with Cecile de France. Cecil de France has also showed her flexibility as an actress and not only did she feature it, she also did it well.
The story progression was good as well, it was neither rushed nor slowed down, it went on smoothly and orderly, in my opinion. But it lacked character background, especially on the part of Cecile de France’s character. I personally find her character background mysterious, even if her personality shows that she was ironically a strong yet fragile woman. I yearn to find out more about her character, since the movie focused on Depardieu’s character background quite well. I feel that some part of the movie was cut during final editing because of this.
The movie ended well, and the director really made it a point that the audience hold their breath at the story’s ending. It was even heartbreaking at first, especially when the lead actors parted ways, but like a fairy tale, it ended happily ever after just when I thought that the credits would roll.
It’s really a great movie, and I highly suggest it to movie fanatics like me who are looking for something easy, simple yet magnetizing. It’s a movie with a very simple plot, typical as some might find, but it was beautifully and superbly told and performed.
Nota bene: All photos are all screen capped by moi. :)
The movie tells the story of a middle-aged, ballroom singer (Depardieu, as Alain Moreau) who fell in love with a younger woman (de France, as Marion), who happens to be working as an intern in one of his friend's Real Estate company. The two met in one of Moreau's gigs, and they had a one night stand, which Moreau cannot seem to get over with not only because she left him without even saying a word, but also because he was really attracted to her. Being friends with Marion’s boss, Bruno, he went to her office one day and asked Marion to help him find a house for him. The two eventually fell in love, but were hesitant to fully show and give what they feel and have for each other because of a lot of reasons and because of the different situations they were in.
It’s a really great film, if you’d ask me, and I’ve been looking forward to watching it for weeks since I have seen its trailer on YouTube. As a growing fan of Gerard Depardieu, I got curious so I tried to get my hands on a copy of it, and when I finally did, I eventually went gaga over it. The chemistry between Depardieu and de France was quite unexpected, but came out to be wonderful after all. Gerard Depardieu has that something in him that makes him suddenly match a random actress that plays alongside him in movies, and it’s really one of the factors that make a movie better.
Apart from the chemistry that both lead actors possess, another factor that swayed me to watch the movie was the music. I suppose that this is not the first time that Gerard Depardieu was seen and heard singing in a movie, but it’s definitely the first movie where he sang seriously. He has a soothing voice, typical deep male voice, but he definitely carried out his role as a singer throughout the entire film by performing well known French songs and giving new life into them. The song selection was really good, and my personal favourite song in the movie is “Save the Last Dance for Me”, a song which I admit I don’t feel like listening to in the past, but I learned to love and appreciate because of this movie. As a matter of fact the song has been stuck in my head for over a week now, and I’m really having a hard time trying to get it out of system. I also happen to really like the finale, which is Quand J'etais Chanteur, wherein Gerard Depardieu has surprised me with a powerful vocal ability at the latter part of the song. Gerard Depardieu proved himself to be really talented in this movie when he swept along the dance floor with Cecile de France. Cecil de France has also showed her flexibility as an actress and not only did she feature it, she also did it well.
The story progression was good as well, it was neither rushed nor slowed down, it went on smoothly and orderly, in my opinion. But it lacked character background, especially on the part of Cecile de France’s character. I personally find her character background mysterious, even if her personality shows that she was ironically a strong yet fragile woman. I yearn to find out more about her character, since the movie focused on Depardieu’s character background quite well. I feel that some part of the movie was cut during final editing because of this.
The movie ended well, and the director really made it a point that the audience hold their breath at the story’s ending. It was even heartbreaking at first, especially when the lead actors parted ways, but like a fairy tale, it ended happily ever after just when I thought that the credits would roll.
It’s really a great movie, and I highly suggest it to movie fanatics like me who are looking for something easy, simple yet magnetizing. It’s a movie with a very simple plot, typical as some might find, but it was beautifully and superbly told and performed.
Nota bene: All photos are all screen capped by moi. :)
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
You'll Never Know...
I still feel like crying after seeing the photo below early this afternoon.
Credit: Mr. Dennis L. Santos
You've probably saw it on the evening news tonight, the horrible accident that shook the entire town of Taytay, Rizal early this afternoon. A dump truck went out of control and eventually crashed into a police outpost, killing five people. I was with Mac and Abby in McDonald's Valley Golf this afternoon having our lunch when it happened, and I'm not sure who told us of the news first, but Mac's aunt sent him a message in Facebook asking for his whereabouts, apparently she heard of the news already (I don't even know how, because she's in Canada) and was worried for his nephew. Our good friend Felice sent Abby a text message confirming the accident, telling us that she has been stuck in traffic for almost an hour because of it.
I was in a bit of a shock when we were informed of the news, because Felice and I were planning to go home early but I decided to stay in school because of school work and because I still have a class at 5:30pm. I was thinking of saving my money when people were desperate to save lives. What's worse is while I was browsing through the updates of my friends in Facebook I saw the photo of the accident, and when Mac started browsing through all the photos, he found the picture above. I nearly cried, I'm sure if we were not in a public place I would have done it. The photo just made me worried of the owner of that school book, I was imagining an innocent little girl on her way to school. My heart sank at the thought of it, and what I saw on the news on my way home (I took the bus) made me feel even worse. The owner of the book was an 11 year old boy who was on his way to school; he was running late because he was asked to sell rags by his mother for his and his two other sibling's allowance for the day.
The older sibling was interviewed, and she does not seem to display any sign of grief from the death of her younger brother. I felt really bad... and--I know it's really weird but I was imagining myself as the older sibling... Perhaps I would have gone ballistic if that ever (but I do wish and pray to God that it won't) happen to any of my younger brothers. Maybe the media won't be able to talk to me either, but looking at the sister of the poor boy she was not even slightly tensed. :'(
I was literally trembling on my seat. I closed my eyes and uttered a short prayer for those who were killed, especially for that poor little boy. His death was, I guess, the most tragic among those who were killed... if you would look into this site, they have a photo of the boy--I don't want to and I definitely can't describe the photo, so just see it for yourselves.
My mom doesn't have any idea about it because she was in Quezon City the entire day, but I told her immediately when she called me this evening. She told me what she would always say when things like this happen... "Never forget to utter a prayer wherever you are, because you will never know when you will be joining God." . I hope everyone who would read this would also take at least a few seconds to utter a simple prayer for the people who went home to God today. God bless everyone and keep safe.You'll Never Know...
Credit: Mr. Dennis L. Santos
You've probably saw it on the evening news tonight, the horrible accident that shook the entire town of Taytay, Rizal early this afternoon. A dump truck went out of control and eventually crashed into a police outpost, killing five people. I was with Mac and Abby in McDonald's Valley Golf this afternoon having our lunch when it happened, and I'm not sure who told us of the news first, but Mac's aunt sent him a message in Facebook asking for his whereabouts, apparently she heard of the news already (I don't even know how, because she's in Canada) and was worried for his nephew. Our good friend Felice sent Abby a text message confirming the accident, telling us that she has been stuck in traffic for almost an hour because of it.
I was in a bit of a shock when we were informed of the news, because Felice and I were planning to go home early but I decided to stay in school because of school work and because I still have a class at 5:30pm. I was thinking of saving my money when people were desperate to save lives. What's worse is while I was browsing through the updates of my friends in Facebook I saw the photo of the accident, and when Mac started browsing through all the photos, he found the picture above. I nearly cried, I'm sure if we were not in a public place I would have done it. The photo just made me worried of the owner of that school book, I was imagining an innocent little girl on her way to school. My heart sank at the thought of it, and what I saw on the news on my way home (I took the bus) made me feel even worse. The owner of the book was an 11 year old boy who was on his way to school; he was running late because he was asked to sell rags by his mother for his and his two other sibling's allowance for the day.
The older sibling was interviewed, and she does not seem to display any sign of grief from the death of her younger brother. I felt really bad... and--I know it's really weird but I was imagining myself as the older sibling... Perhaps I would have gone ballistic if that ever (but I do wish and pray to God that it won't) happen to any of my younger brothers. Maybe the media won't be able to talk to me either, but looking at the sister of the poor boy she was not even slightly tensed. :'(
I was literally trembling on my seat. I closed my eyes and uttered a short prayer for those who were killed, especially for that poor little boy. His death was, I guess, the most tragic among those who were killed... if you would look into this site, they have a photo of the boy--I don't want to and I definitely can't describe the photo, so just see it for yourselves.
My mom doesn't have any idea about it because she was in Quezon City the entire day, but I told her immediately when she called me this evening. She told me what she would always say when things like this happen... "Never forget to utter a prayer wherever you are, because you will never know when you will be joining God." . I hope everyone who would read this would also take at least a few seconds to utter a simple prayer for the people who went home to God today. God bless everyone and keep safe.You'll Never Know...
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Segunda Mano 2012
I went to the mall with Mac this morning. It's been nearly two years but we still haven't watched a movie together in the cinemas so we decided to finally do it today, since we're kind of getting tired of watching movies on computer screens. Ha-ha! We were planning to watch The Asiong Salonga Story, but the screening schedule is not until 6:30pm, so we opted for another movie instead. We chose to watch Segunda Mano since the trailer seems to be pretty nice, we figured that the movie is great. But that thought was cut short as the movie reached it's first half-hour. Before we went in the theatre, we bought snacks first from the department store then we had brunch at KFC. We shared one Zinger Fully Loaded Meal, four rice and three bowls of gravy. No other fast food would ever satisfy us than KFC, it's an all time favorite and no date is complete without it. If it's not available we opt for McDonald's, but it will always be our first choice. :)
The movie is okay. I can't say it's bad, and I can't say that it's good either. The plot is pretty predictable, but it's okay, it's not like we wasted money or anything; it's not disappointing as well. We find the movie pretty funny, or perhaps we're just one of those people who snicker at the most simple things. The actors are convincing, they were great it's just that the plot is, as I said, predictable that it kind of made the movie a little boring. There are no scenes that would make the audience scream as we have expected, or perhaps we just don't find it that way either. I guess we're just used to more horrifying films, or maybe the actress who played the ghost doesn't look creepy or scary at all. But whatever the movie turned out to be, I could say that we both really had fun watching it.
And yes, believe it or not, it's actually our first time to watch a movie together in the cinema. It was actually my idea at first, because I find watching movies pretty costly and I have this fear of watching a lame film. That's why we've been watching movies at home, at least we get to choose what movie we want to watch without worrying of the date or year it was shown. I was just being practical ha-ha, but he insisted that we finally do it, and I just can't refuse when he said that we're going to watch The Asiong Salonga Story. I've been wanting to watch it since they first aired the trailer on TV. We're still kind of disappointed that we haven't seen The Asiong Salonga Story, but we promised ourselves that we'll watch it soon, no matter what it takes. Ha-ha! Nonetheless, we loved what we did today and we will definitely have a go at it again in the future.
I love hanging out with Mac like we both have nothing to do, we kind of miss being bums but we just could not afford to bum around for too long anymore. It's a great feeling though, being productive, but nothing beats a chill out day with the person you love being with. <3
The movie is okay. I can't say it's bad, and I can't say that it's good either. The plot is pretty predictable, but it's okay, it's not like we wasted money or anything; it's not disappointing as well. We find the movie pretty funny, or perhaps we're just one of those people who snicker at the most simple things. The actors are convincing, they were great it's just that the plot is, as I said, predictable that it kind of made the movie a little boring. There are no scenes that would make the audience scream as we have expected, or perhaps we just don't find it that way either. I guess we're just used to more horrifying films, or maybe the actress who played the ghost doesn't look creepy or scary at all. But whatever the movie turned out to be, I could say that we both really had fun watching it.
And yes, believe it or not, it's actually our first time to watch a movie together in the cinema. It was actually my idea at first, because I find watching movies pretty costly and I have this fear of watching a lame film. That's why we've been watching movies at home, at least we get to choose what movie we want to watch without worrying of the date or year it was shown. I was just being practical ha-ha, but he insisted that we finally do it, and I just can't refuse when he said that we're going to watch The Asiong Salonga Story. I've been wanting to watch it since they first aired the trailer on TV. We're still kind of disappointed that we haven't seen The Asiong Salonga Story, but we promised ourselves that we'll watch it soon, no matter what it takes. Ha-ha! Nonetheless, we loved what we did today and we will definitely have a go at it again in the future.
I love hanging out with Mac like we both have nothing to do, we kind of miss being bums but we just could not afford to bum around for too long anymore. It's a great feeling though, being productive, but nothing beats a chill out day with the person you love being with. <3
Monday, January 9, 2012
Concerts in 2012
Mac have always dreamed of going to a concert with me, so when he found out that Katy Perry is playing Manila again, he asked me if we could watch it together. We both agreed that we'll try our best to save up for at least the bronze ticket, but since we have a lot of things to save up for first, the California Dreams concert thought was put aside.
But a couple of days ago he told me that Evanescence will also be having a concert in Manila next month, knowing for a fact that I used to be (and I guess I still am) a huge fan of Amy Lee. I nearly hyperventilated in excitement, believe me I'm not exaggerating. ;) But I already figured out that Evanescence would be more expensive than Katy Perry.
I have not been in a concert for over a year, and it's a sad thing for me because way back in high school I used to follow my favorite local bands around Manila, and even in Cebu. LOL I miss screaming like a sissy fan girl on a Hale concert. Ha-ha! Came college, the only time I could watch a gig or a concert is when local bands are playing in bars nearby, or if the council invited one. I miss watching concerts, it's been a great part of my life at some point. It's my other way of winding up on a Friday or Saturday night after a week long of stress from school.
So I decided to Google other upcoming concerts, and found out that a great deal of artists are coming to the Philippines this year. YAY! I've also just been informed by my good friend May that A Rocket to the Moon will be having a mall tour next month, I guess there's a fat chance that Mac and I could watch them. I'm still trying to look for something bigger that would happen during the summer like Death Cab for Cutie, they'll be having a concert in Taguig on March 5th. I guess it would be much better since we could have enough time to save up for it, and we will most probably be not too busy. But we will definitely watch A Rocket to the Moon! Ha-ha! Not only am I a fan, but also because I want to do something good for Mac. <3 In the mean time, I'm thinking of watching local bands with Mac, I was thinking of Pupil, Bamboo, Urbandub, The Dawn, Franco or better--KAMIKAZEE! Ha-ha! But I haven't looked into their gig lists yet, I might do it tomorrow.
BTW, I updated the site pages and added some new content in the Visitor's page. Finally have FREE WORDPRESS THEMES for you to download! Tell me what you think.
But a couple of days ago he told me that Evanescence will also be having a concert in Manila next month, knowing for a fact that I used to be (and I guess I still am) a huge fan of Amy Lee. I nearly hyperventilated in excitement, believe me I'm not exaggerating. ;) But I already figured out that Evanescence would be more expensive than Katy Perry.
I have not been in a concert for over a year, and it's a sad thing for me because way back in high school I used to follow my favorite local bands around Manila, and even in Cebu. LOL I miss screaming like a sissy fan girl on a Hale concert. Ha-ha! Came college, the only time I could watch a gig or a concert is when local bands are playing in bars nearby, or if the council invited one. I miss watching concerts, it's been a great part of my life at some point. It's my other way of winding up on a Friday or Saturday night after a week long of stress from school.
So I decided to Google other upcoming concerts, and found out that a great deal of artists are coming to the Philippines this year. YAY! I've also just been informed by my good friend May that A Rocket to the Moon will be having a mall tour next month, I guess there's a fat chance that Mac and I could watch them. I'm still trying to look for something bigger that would happen during the summer like Death Cab for Cutie, they'll be having a concert in Taguig on March 5th. I guess it would be much better since we could have enough time to save up for it, and we will most probably be not too busy. But we will definitely watch A Rocket to the Moon! Ha-ha! Not only am I a fan, but also because I want to do something good for Mac. <3 In the mean time, I'm thinking of watching local bands with Mac, I was thinking of Pupil, Bamboo, Urbandub, The Dawn, Franco or better--KAMIKAZEE! Ha-ha! But I haven't looked into their gig lists yet, I might do it tomorrow.
BTW, I updated the site pages and added some new content in the Visitor's page. Finally have FREE WORDPRESS THEMES for you to download! Tell me what you think.
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