Sunday, May 31, 2015

Terminator 2 DVD Feature



There was this Movie Trivia sheet that was going around in the office and of course being a self-proclaimed a Movie Maven (and a bit competitive) I was excited to get right to answering the sheet.

This was how it worked: you would guess the movie from which a quote or a line was said and among the different lines that were asked, this one stood out: "Hasta La Vista Baby" of course this was a very easy question since it's mostly common knowledge that the line came from the Terminator franchise, how did I know it was from the second movie and not the first one ? Well there was a question in the trivia sheet that went: "I'll be back". Which I know came from the first Terminator movie since I finally got to re-watch it on Star Movies after searching (in vain) for the first movie on DVD. Logic also told me that "Hasta La Vista Baby" was something the T800 (Arnold Schwarzenegger) could have learned from a teenage John Connor therefore Terminator 2: Jusgement Day, So I got two answers on the trivia sheet :) 

Seeing those lines reminded me that I still haven't watched the Terminator 2 DVD I got for only P100.00 from Eastwood Mall :) 

So when I got home I immediately placed the DVD on the player and got to relive (becasue I already saw it) one of the most well known movie franchises in pop culture history. 

The second movie takes place a few years after the first one ends. Sarah Conor (Linda Hamilton) is in a psychiatric facility (talking about the rise of the machines and a war in the future can land you in places like that). Her son John Connor (Edward Furlong) -the future hope of mankind is a rebellious teenager in the care of foster parents. Destiny catches up with the mother and son when the liquid metal, shape shifting T-1000 (Robert Patrick) is sent to the past to kill the young John Connor. An unknown hero is also sent from the future to stop the T-1000 and it's none other than the original antagonist of the first movie, Arnold Schwarzenegger's revamped T-800 who has been reprogrammed to protect the Connors instead of trying to kill them. 

A cult classic that should be part of any home movie collection Terminator 2: Judgement Day on DVD for P100.00 is a steal! Too bad there weren't extra features on it though :( 

Still it's a good time to catch up on your Terminator lore with the new movie Terminator Genisys coming out in July of 2015 (30 years after the original 'The Terminator' came out in 1985.) but instead of doing a reboot, the franchise is going to take a new twist in the story. Which is probably why it would be a good idea for you to review your Terminator terms and timelines so you don't sit in the movie house with your mouth open. 

Looking forward to this since Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen) is putting on her leather jacket and will be wielding guns as the new Sarah Connor. Not so sure about Jai Courtney as the new Kyle Reese though- let's wait and see how the Divergent alum does when the movie comes out. 

Jurassic World is another movie from the past that is making a comeback and will be on cinemas on June 10, 2015. I saw an original boxed set of the Jurassic Trilogy for only P300.00 in Eastwood! It's the Magnavision kiosk across Fully Booked at the fourth floor of the Eastwood Mall. That's actually my next target :) hoping to acquire it before the 10th of June! 

Emilia Clarke as the new Sarah Connor and Arnold Schwarzenegger in the new Terminator Genisys (2015). 

Arnold Schwarzenegger in the original 1984 The Terminator. 




Headlights: EP Review


Save Me Hollywood is a local band that we follow and you've probably seen them on the blog since we do cover their gigs and I also wrote an album review for their debut "Your Story To Tell" which came out in 2013. When the band started playing new songs from their upcoming sophomore effort we were there to drink in and savor the goodness that new songs bring- at last the thirst has been quenched. 

Last Easter Sunday the band released the video accompanying their catchy single "Everybody Wants You" and fans loved it. The music video ends with a teaser for another video, you know the "to be continued" kind. (You can watch it below). 

The band represented the Philippines in the recently concluded Music Matters Live in Singapore, here they released their new EP Headlights, all copies they brought with them were sold out. They didn't forget about their fans back home though as they recently made the EP available to stream on Spotify. Which is why I am writing this EP review now, originally I thought we would be going to the EP launch, getting a physical copy then I would be able to write an EP review but when it became available to stream on Spotify I literally went now what? 

Headlights On Spotify



As if a response to my question I saw bassist Calde's posts on social media asking fans to let them know what they thought of the new songs and upon seeing that it gave me the resolve to go ahead and write the review :) 

Headlights is a 6 track EP, which opens with the sounds of waves crashing to the shore, you are transported to the beach, to the ocean, you smell the salt in the air, then the drums sound off and the song Headlights plays. Taking a different route from her usual range, vocalist Julz Savard sings in a higher range for this song. It's a raw song which leaves the musicians vulnerable, it's sad and shows the band at a more comfortable stage in their song writing. I remember in one of their shows Julz talks about this song and says "when you're in the headlights, you can't see anything but everyone else can see you" and it's this vulnerable feeling which also transcends to the song. 

After the song plays, you hear the sound of the ocean again, teasing you of the summer that has come to pass, then the short but sweet and catchy Everybody Wants You plays, reminiscent of their more upbeat songs like High from their debut album, the chorus is ingeniously written with lyrics that goes: "Give Me One, Give Me Two, Give Me All Of You..." fans will definitely be screaming-err singing that out loud at gigs and shows. I just wish that the song were longer though, it's so good that you just want more of it. 

Secrets is the next song and no longer has the fun and upbeat characteristic it's predecessor had, the lyrics paint a vivid picture and tell a strong story  "We're in the streets eh, and I just can't sleep eh, So let's keep Secrets eh.." I can really see a couple, sitting on the sidewalk in the early morning, whispering secrets to each other. 

Coming Up Roses continues to show the band's more vulnerable side with lyrics like "I know I'm safe but it can't be that simple, the longer I wait, the more wretched I get" you feel the emptiness but then there is a saving grace in the story of the song with the lyrics "You came along and it all made sense" and it just brings a smile to your face. 

An old song that the band wrote but did not make it to the first album, Hold Your Fire picks up the pace and brings back the energy to which the band is known for. There is more angst in the song "If this means war-it just means you're asking for more" you hear the angry guitar riffs and you know they mean business. A good balance to the rest of the EP which otherwise shows a more mellow side to the band.

The EP closes with a song aptly called Slow It Down, have you ever heard songs that just makes you overcome with emotion and when the guitar adlibs play you just get goosebumps and you feel like crying? Well this is one of those songs, it's so scathing raw you can't help but be sad and calm at the same time. Then you hear the waves again, you're back at the beach and the EP is over, the sounds of the beach making everything come full circle.

Save Me Hollywood performing at Treehouse Tavern. 



The Headlights EP shows us that Save Me Hollywood has more tricks up their sleeves. We see a raw and vulnerable side of them but still delivering well written songs worthy of representing Original Pinoy Music to other countries. There is less distortion giving the new songs a more refined sound. I'm definitely missing their more angsty, let's 'bang our heads' songs like Reckless, We Are One Tonight and Any Press Is Good Press from their debut album. Hopefully there will be a couple of tracks with a similar feel in their yet untitled sophomore album. 

Even if I already have the album on Spotify (you can download it so it's available offline when you go premium) I will still be getting a physical copy of the EP as soon as it's made available. Why? Because I support the artist and the local music industry plus it's an addition to my collection :p I don't have a copy of the very first EP that the band came out with so that sucks and so I also suggest you get Headlights so you won't regret it in the future :p 

Other ways of supporting the band is by listening to their songs on Spotify, voting for their music videos and requesting for their songs on the radio. Of course going to their shows! Hope to see you in one soon :) 


Friday, May 29, 2015

No Limit with Inipit!


I have fond memories of the favorite snacks I used to bring to school as 'baon', one of them was the chocolate Inipit that I used to put in the refrigerator (sometimes) even the freezer because I prefer to eat it as a cold or frozen treat. I don't know how I came about doing that I guess it's just one of those weird things you did as kids and fondly look back on. 

I realized that even as you grow older you can still enjoy your childhood favorite snacks but with an elevated twist which is what we did with our Peanut Butter Cream Inipit! 

Even if I don't eat peanuts, I love anything peanut butter flavored, don't ask me how can that be, it just is, even Paul doesn't get it. Anyways, let me share with you this simple recipe you can do to elevate that Inipit experience. 

Ingredients: 
Chocolate Inipit (cut in two or three pieces) 
Peanut Butter
Butter
Cream 
Confectioner's Sugar
Reese's Chocolate (optional) 

Just mix all the ingredients (except for the Inipit and Reese) in a bowl. You will have to estimate how much of each ingredient you will be using. It would also depend on how many Inipit pieces you will be using. Your Peanut Butter cream (icing) will be creamy after you are satisfied with it's taste. You can easily place it in a plastic (the kind that's used in iced candy or ice). Push the cream all the way to the end of the plastic, cut a small hole and push the icing on the Inipit cake. You can be creative and put different designs on your Inipit cake. Add pieces of the Reese chocolate on top, you can also sprinkle some confectioner's sugar on top. 

Sobrang masarap maging kid with Inipit and now that I'm not a kid per say I'm just happy that I can still enjoy a childhood favorite and share it with my nieces and nephews! :) 

You can try it out too! 

#NoLimitWithInipit 



Sunday, May 24, 2015

Fresh Filter Vol.1 Vinyl Launch



Despite working odd hours (mostly the night shift), since both Paul and I work in the BPO industry. We still make the time to go out and support the local music scene. Paul came from working what would be considered a double shift while I still had work ahead but we stopped by the vinyl launch of Fresh Filter Vol. 1 at the Satchmi store in Megamall-because we wanted to be part of history of local music and we believe in it's cause and mission.

It's so Fresh-it's still breathing   

Unlike your usual radio shows which plays the contemporary chart topping songs (most of which are from foreign artists), Fresh Filter explores the rich yet undiscovered landscape of local indie music.
Helmed by DJ Russ Davis, the show features artists yet to be known and discovered and gives them a larger stage by playing them on the air. Listeners are then given the chance to vote for the songs that they would want to be included in the regular playlist of Jam 88.3. It's just unfortunate that Paul and I are not able to listen over to the show since we are mostly asleep when the show is on air (it plays in the afternoon during the weekdays and we're often asleep at this time due to our work schedules) but despite this set back we still follow the happenings in the show (thanks to Social Media).

Bundled OPM Freshness 

Fresh Filter Vol. 1 is a collective effort of Jam 88.3, Satchmi and so many awesome people to bring together a compilation of local music on vinyl. These indie artists cover a wide range of genres. The artists themselves belong to different generations and age groups and each of them have something fresh and new to bring to the table. The compilation is so diverse that you and your friends could party to some tracks on the record At Last (Tandems '91), Irish (Moonwlk), Accidents (Cheats), Pretty Car (B.P. Valenzuela) while your parents can enjoy some of the songs as well: A Quiet Walk Outside (Library Kids), I wouldn't Mind (Ourselves The Elves), Fools (The Ransom Collective). 

I'm a happy owner of the vinyl and it's great to hear your OPM favorites on vinyl it's a plus that you get to discover new acts as well :)




Launch and Bar Tour 

Last May 22, the vinyl had its launch at the Satchmi store at Megamall and despite the lack of sleep for Paul and an upcoming shift for me, we dropped by the launch to get a copy of the vinyl. Paul was so tired I literally had to point what he should take photos of, don't worry he had about 12 hours of sleep when he got home :P As Paul says - if there was a band called Ourselves The Elves on the vinyl, we would be "We The Sabaw" :P

Despite our usual predicament of being tired, sleepy and/or have work to go to, dropping by the launch and supporting this endeavor was so much worth it. It was a full house at Satchmi, there were so many people it was hard to move around and seeing that overwhelming support gives such a reassuring feeling that the future of OPM is still bright. I had to wait through an entire work shift before getting home, Saturday morning to play the vinyl on our Motorino and hearing the record for the first time made me even more determined to continue on our cause to support local music. I refuse to take in what my contemporaries lay before me as music. I would rather dig in the dirt longer and unearth rare gems that shine brighter and have more value, for they are ours, our own home grown talent just waiting to be heard and discovered.

Fresh Filter Vol. 1 will be sold exclusively in the coming bar tour. You can expect awesome performances from the artists on the record. :) Can't wait for Vol. 2! For more updates on awesome music and events make sure to like and follow Satchmi and Jam 88.3.

May 29 at Saguijo, Makati 

June 12 at A-Space, Makati 

June 26 at Cubao Expo, Quezon City





Sunday, May 17, 2015

Mad Max: Fury Road: Movie Review


As designated driver and chaperone to my younger siblings as they watched the UFC fight in Manila Paul and I saw Mad Max on a date so to speak, no exclusive screening or movie premiere just a regular movie date on a Saturday night. The balcony area of the movie house was pretty filled which is interesting since most of the most masses would probably have gone to see Pitch Perfect 2. 

I honestly didn't know what to expect from the fourth movie in the Mad Max franchise since I'm not familiar with the first three movies. Even Paul wasn't born yet (in 1979) when the film that launched Mel Gibson's career, the original in the franchise came out. I honestly had no idea what to expect, just that there was going to cars, sand and explosion. 

So just imagine my surprise when this stunning vision of a post apocalyptic world came exploding through the screen. Unlike young adult dystopian novels turned movies, we have no heroine making an undying sacrifice or breaking the confines of society, we have a cruel world made up of nightmares where the only the only thing that you can do is to survive.

There were parts in the movie where they seemed to use an increased frame rate in the camera, giving an unnatural effect in the actors movement, now imagine a chase scene where the pursuing party is a pack of pale white bald headed men it was like watching zombies on adrenaline. There were many sudden flashed disturbing images (in relation to Max's past) that will give you a mini heart attack. I heard someone in the audience say "I thought this wasn't a scary movie?". Indeed, some images were both frightening and disturbing, so much so that a colleague of mine at work said his girlfriend was traumatized from the film. 


Be that as it may, Fury Road's vision is indeed frightening enough to be of a dystopian future we do not wish to be a part of. I believe that the film's essence is that beyond the crazy cars, fight, chase scenes and all the explosion is a narrative so simple that it is one that we have mostly read in books, or seems in movies and television. Which works for Mad Max because it is relatable and believable. A tyrant keeping control of all resources so he has each and every one at his mercy and begging for his favor is something that we don't only see in movies but happens in real life that it is almost scary. 

Max and his companions come together merely by accident and yet they all want the same thing-to survive and in order to do that they must face and fight a sadistic and cruel tyrant. 

Aside from Tom Hardy's Max or Charlize Theron's Furiosa there is also a colorful cast of characters who will keep you glued to the screen, okay I have to admit the Victorias Secret Models were a bit distracting but it's all part of the style and vision of the story. Our favorite would be the bad as* guitar hero with a fire breathing axe :) 



Pitch Perfect 2 might have deafeted Mad Max in the blockbuster earnings but the ravings and praises of critics is also an indication that this is an action movie like no other and will be talked about for years to come. 



Thursday, May 14, 2015

Pitch Perfect 2 Movie Review




When the first Pitch Perfect movie came out I really didn't think too much of it especially since it really doesn't fit the genres of movies that I usually watch but one afternoon I was at home and the movie came up on HBO and oh boy- did my tummy hurt so much from laughing out loud - think boisterous laughter. Paul always gives me a "don't" look when I'm laughing out loud, I ended up enjoying the music and the movie. 

So when the opportunity to catch Pitch Perfect 2 on it's first day screening came up -ACA-scuse me?! I wasn't going to miss it! Big thanks to Nuffnang and new video messaging app Skype Qik for a fun night of music and crazy sisterhood love and some pretty dope Acapella performances! 

Rare is there a comedy sequel that is actually better predecessor but Pitch Perfect 2 is it! Helmed by first time director Elizabeth Banks, the movie opens with the Bellas, now a 3-time National Champion crash and burn after a disasterous live performance has them stripped of their championship priviledges. Determined to get back on the top; the girls are set to win the World Championships, possibly their last chance at redemption but they have to beat those Germans first. 

In Pitch Perfect 2 the Bellas face an even bigger competition. 

More than just the music and the laughs Pitch Perfect 2 tackles with (SPOILER!) the inevitable reality of life outside of The Bellas. I wasn't in an Acapella group but I was in the College Newspaper though, we also competed in regionals and are pretty much a family (we still see each other every once in a while) so I have an idea what's like to be in that kind of family but come graduation you have to give the reins over to the new generation. Which was ingeniously played into the movie with new comer Emily (Hailee Steinfeld) who becomes part of the Bellas as a legacy to her mom, who once wore the blue and yellow scarf. 

Sunday, May 10, 2015

Team Marnie Photoshoot

Fly high Team Marnie!


When I first started out in the company I was seated near the original members of this team. I saw and personally experienced their strong sense of camaraderie, their fun disposition towards their work. So it really is no surprise to me that most of them have already been promoted and with new additional members have gained the coveted title of Best Team of the month (for March).




Just in time for summer, Team Marnie chose bright colors for their theme, which matched the team's bright personality. It was really touching that the original team members (some have already been promoted) were also included in the shoot since according to their Team Leader they didn't get to experience it :p 







Despite the sweltering heat, I was only sitting down during the whole shoot (except for the time when Paul made me a tripod) but I could feel the beads of sweat rolling down my back, it was a fun shoot :) 

Watch out for their tarp soon! ^_^ 

Click HERE for more photos! 

Thursday, May 7, 2015

Qik Or It Didn't Happen


The internet and social media has changed the world as we know it, a day will not be complete without checking one's social media sites. It's a great way to keep in touch with friends, family and loved ones and it doesn't matter if you are separated by distance or time zones, because there are many amazing apps out there that shorten the distance.

Skype is one of those apps that even your grandmother's know how to use, I have seen grandmothers and grandfathers baby talk to their grandchildren through Skype, so even babies know how it works.
 I myself have conducted a lot of business such as my freelance writing through this app. It's just one of those apps that makes everyday life much easier and a little better.Well if you thought that things can't get any better or easier- Skype takes the next step with a new video sharing app-Qik (just say 'quick' ^_^)



Share videos with friends so you're always updated! Create groups in your Skype Qik so the whole barkada is updated and having fun  at the same time. Even lolas and titas can stay updated with the cute antics of their apos and pamangkins! 

What are you waiting for? Download Skype Qik on Apple App Store, Google Play Store or Windows Phone Store. Even NamNam is enjoying Qik It! :)