Digital Fortress

They say that you can never forget your first IMAX experience so when I learned that Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix will be shown at IMAX 3D at SM Mall of Asia, I didn’t hesitate to reserve a ticket even it comes with a hefty price of Php400 each. The weekday mornings are cheaper by Php50.

So does IMAX theater at SM Mall of Asia really worth the price? I don’t think so. It’s overpriced. It should have been P250 or P300 only. They are bragging the so-called “IMAX experience” to sell more tickets. So what really is the “IMAX Experience”. Well, just upon entering the theater, you’ll be amazed on how big the screen is. But even before the movie starts, I was wondering how can I see the whole picture on that super large screen? Whenever there is a wide shot, you have to scan the screen from left to right (or up to down) to see what is happening. That is true during action sequences or even dialogue scenes where the each character is on the opposite side of the screen. Read more »

Sa lahat ng tinatanong ko kung maganda ba yung movie o hindi, ang sagot lagi nila sa akin: “Ok lang”. And it was also my response when my sister asks me how was the movie. Sabi nya: “Ay okay lang? Siguro panget…”

Well, not exactly. It’s not too good and it’s not too bad. Many people (mostly non-readers of the book) will be disappointed if they compare OotP to the two previous movies which are both equally impressive. This movie is a decent adaptation of Rowling’s longest novel. I like how they trim the story in just 2 hours and 15 minutes. Personally, I thought that book was overly long and it could have been shorter. I also think Rowling realizes that there’s not enough action moments in her book so she throws in this battle at the Ministry of Magic in the final chapters to compensate. That is exactly how it played out in the movie. No more big action scenes like the one we expect in a summer movies. The main focus of the film is Harry’s emotional journey and how he handles the present situation. He is taking more responsibility in his actions and he’s now on his own. And I have to say that Daniel Radcliffe impressed me more than the previous films especially on the scene where Voldemort possessed his body near the end.

The new director isn’t the one to blame if some people were disappointed. I guess it’s in the source material. I always thought that Rowling slows down the story by making the Ministry of Magic refuses to believe that Voldemort’s back. Maybe it’s her way of making the series longer so it will last until Book 7.

I wasn’t even disappointed in this film. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is the movie that disappointed me. But in this movie, I’m a bit prepared of what should I expect. What makes this film special is the realization of the character of Professor Dolores Umbridge. Imelda Staunton fits perfectly and totally upstaging familiar characters. She’s not the typical Ms. Minchin teacher but rather ’sweet’ and ‘pink’. Alan Rickman’s Snape doesn’t fail to impress me either. His one-liners are the best.

With just almost two hours, they managed to capture the atmosphere of the film but there are times that I felt that some moments were too abbreviated. The “Snape’s Worst Memory” part is too fast that I can’t hardly breath during that little clip. It would be very interesting if they lengthen it. I really like the little flashbacks from the previous films. They were effectively used in the final moments in the Ministry of Magic (”I feel sorry for you…You can never learn love..and friendship”).

Next year, I think mid-November, the 6th installment will be released and David Yates will once again helm the director’s chair. I would have love if other director to step in for the project or Alfonso Cuaron to come back…

For me, Transformers is still the most entertaining movie of the year. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix lacks the action that we expect but is actually a decent addition to the Potter franchise.

RATING: (out of 10)
Stone: 7
Chamber: 6
Azkaban: 9
Goblet: 8
Phoenix: 8

Whew. Matagal-tagal din akong nawala sa internet world. Panu ba naman kasi, yung PLDT phone installation namin, inabot ng 3 months bagi kami makabitan. As a result, 3 months ding nakatunganga itong Opera browser ko at ang outdated kong antivirus. Kaya ngayung may dial-up connection uli ako, libreng-libre uli ako mag-internet ng walang Websense on the way (hindi katulad sa workplace).

So right now, masaya ako dahil permanent na ako dahil naka-six months na ako sa company. So anong ibig sabihin nun? Pwede na ako maging pasaway! Nyeheheh. Nagkaroon na rin ako mag-update ng Wordpress theme and this time, iniba ko lang yung color scheme. Binase ko sa colour scheme ng company namin at nagkataon pang colour scheme din ng upcoming Harry Potter book. Sa loob ng six months, madami dami na rin ako naipundar sa bahay lalong lalo na sa aking pinakamamahal na PC. Hard drive upgrade na lang ang kulang before ako makuntento. In fact, nire-ready ko na yung PC bago kami magpakabit ng broadband.

At dahil unti-unti ko na nang na fi-feel ang ownership ng PC ko, parang ang damot ko na. Parang ayaw ko na pagamitin yung mga kapatid ko. Ni hindi man lang kasi marunong mag-cover ng keyboard pag hindi ginagamit. Nakakaasar. Ganun pala talaga ang feeling pag ikaw na ang bumubili ng gamit. Tulad ng isa kong friend, hindi ko pa rin feel na employed na ako. Hindi ko pa rin fully absorbed na “eto na, may trabaho na ako, employed na ako”. Feeling ko pumapasok lang ako sa school at kailangang pumasok ng maaga at mag-abang ng 15th or 30th of the month to withdraw money on the ATM machine. Maybe it’s a good thing kasi hindi mo feel na pressured ka or maybe it’s a bad thing dahil hindi ka seryoso sa trabaho mo. I don’t know, basta sumusweldo ako, yun ang importante..Wahaha.