Put On A Happy Face - JOKER, A Review

Joker is a heavy, mentally and emotionally challenging movie to watch.

This film focuses on the backstory of Joker, Batman's famous nemesis, presented and told in a dark narration.

In here, we will see Arthur Fleck, as a mentally ill person dreaming on becoming a successful comedian. But Arthur was going through though times in life; having a sick mother dependent on him, investigation of a crime, struggle at work the eventually losing it, and the cruelty of the society.

Despite being an installment to DC comics or movies, Joker is another story depicting the Marxist philosophy where there is a division in the society-- the upper class or capitalists (bourgeoisie) and the working class or wage-earners (proletariat). And this conflict in the contributed on how the film highlighted the mental health issue.

When Arthur's character was being established during the first part of the film, he was seen as a man who has positive thoughts though he has special needs, probably because he had someone to talk to and a support system. But when this support system failed him, adding to the conflicts he was encountering from his family history and the society, his character started to develop, including his mental health status. And this leads to Arthur becoming "the" Joker now.

A lot of different factors may test one's mental fitness. In this movie, we are taught on how social class, lies and abuse triggered Arthur's personality that caused him several mental conditions that defined his behavior.

Joker came out in time as just we have celebrated the World Mental Health Awareness Day last October 10. A happy face does not guarantee that one is mentally healthy. Sometimes, they are just putting a happy make up on their faces to mask the pain and the struggle one's personality is going through. In the movie, we learned how important it is to have someone to share our thoughts to and that the stigma on mentally ill person must be eradicated because they need us, they need help.

While comics and/or the Batman superhero was giving us heroic entertainment, here, we witness how tragic Joker's past was and his story was told to us also in a dark manner. Maybe, we are to expect also that the future Batman movies will be as dark as this? We will soon find out. :)

10 Things I Loved About Mamma Mia 2: Here We Go Again

This summer, the musical film that we enjoyed ten years ago came out of cinemas again. And here are the 10 reasons why I loved this movie. :) 

1.       Sequel-Prequel. This is a movie sequel that tackles about the prequel of Mamma Mia released 10 years ago that may get us thinking that may be this time the story will tell us who Sophie’s father really is.

2.       The story. Here, we get to know the life of the young Donna before she finally got into an island in Greece. How spirited, a dreamer and free she was where most of the youth right now may relate with. I loved the feminism in this movie.

3.       The wardrobe. Oh gosh! It was a complete mix of the modern, 2018 summer outfits and the 70’s bell bottom pants, boots, ruffles and shiny, colourful clothes. It will definitely take us back in the day where these costumes were a trend.

4.       The location. The movie took us to the same setting, Kalokairi, an island in Greece, where Donna settled in. This place in the film made me want to go to Greece. J

5.       The production. It was just amazing! Mamma Mia 2 just pulled off a bigger production compared to the previous film. Here, there was a bigger crowd and there were boats where everyone in it was just singing and dancing in the tune of Dancing Queen. I had goosebumps everywhere in my body during this scene!

6.       Music and choreography. Just like the first movie, this film featured the songs of ABBA, and this time, I guess more songs from the group were used. The choreography of the huge crowd was awesome. Watching them was like watching a musical concert party!

7.       The Cast. The original cast that we loved in the first Mamma Mia, Julie Walters to Pierce Brosnan, were all ageing beautifully. Since the story of this sequel focuses on the life of the young Donna, there were new added actors who played the young men that got involved with the young Donna. Also the two (2) members of the Dynamos, who both have a great resemblance to the original Rosie and Tanya. Then the presence of Andy Garcia and of course, Cher herself, who played Sophie’s grandmother.

8.       Lily James. One of the new cast members that I have to exclude from the above because she played the young Donna very, very well. She has that charisma that may get you hooked to her as she sings and perfects being the young Donna. And oh! Yes. She is just so, so, so pretty as well.

9.       Meryl Streep. Who else but Meryl Streep, right? The anticipation of seeing the original Donna was just so high even at the beginning of the movie. Then at that moment where she finally came out… it was so on point and the timing was perfect. Waiting for her was truly worthwhile.

10.   Smile. Although there was a part in the film that I regret for not having tissue or a hanky on hand because I had to cry I tear, I did had fun watching Mamma Mia 2. I was just literally smiling throughout the movie even until I went out of the cinema!

Seeing Cher and Meryl Streep then Amanda Seyfried and Lily James, this movie is definitely for all generations. And if you are into a feel good movie after a stressful day or week, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again is highly recommend for you!

Tula 06-24 Part 2

Muling binalikan ang nakaraan

Sa panahon na lahat ng oras sayo ay inilaan

Masaya, nakakatuwa, may pagmamahalan

Bawat sandali tila walang hangganan

Oh kay sarap alalahanin

Ang nakaraan na ikaw ay nasa akin

Habang nasa ilalim ng mga bituin

At sa iyong mga mata masayang nakatingin

Muli kong binalikan ang nakaraan

Naalala ang iyong pagbitiw at paglisan

Ang iyong mga pangako na walang katuparan

Ang noon na ngayon ay nasaan

Sinubukang hanapin ang pighati

Ang lungkot ay tila hindi na namumutawi

Puso ay hindi na pira-pirasong nahahati

Sa mga matatamis mong salita na biglang binawi

Binalikan ko ang nakaraan

Nung ikaw ay dumating nang biglaan

At ganoon din kabilis na lumisan

At ang tanong na “Bakit?” lang ang iniwan

Ngunit gaya ng una nang naisambit

Kinalimutan na kitang pilit

Upang mapawi na ang lahat ng sakit

Maialis na sa puso ang galit

Wala na ang sakit

Tapos na ang kahapon na mapait

Kalayaan ng puso ay hindi na ipagkakait

Sariling kaligayahan ay uunahin nang makamit

Maraming salamat sa mga alaala

Panahon na para piliing maging masaya

Sa iyo ay kailangang magpaalam na

Hanggang sa muli aking sinta

Part 1 -> http://ritaclarisse.blogspot.com/2015/10/tula-ng-pusong-nagmahal-at-nasaktan_0.html?m=0

Travel 2017: Tacloban, Leyte, Philippines

One of the resolutions to ought to make for this New Year is to be able to continuously update my blogs. :) And with that, I chose to write about the places I have gone and will be going to this 2017.

First stop, Tacloban, Leyte.

I went to Tacloban last December 30, 2016 to spend the holidays and celebrate the New Year with my family.

To maximize my short stay in Tacloban, my family made sure that I will be able to see some beautiful places in our hometown. Places I’ve never been to. And that excludes the historical places in our province because this time, they took me to different food spots in the city. :)

SurpRice

While accompanying my cousin with her shopping ecklavu, she decided to treat me lunch (which I actually deserve noh! Hehe.) This cute restaurant is located Gomez Street, offers different viands of rice toppings. Here, we tried one of their best sellers, the Chilli Chicken.

At first, I thought it wasn’t that spicy, but the more I eat, the more it gets really hot in my mouth! Whooh! :) Ranging from 100-150 pesos, customers can leave the place really full.


SAMSAM Bistro

After taking some rest upon my arrival in Tacloban, my family took me to one of their favourite restaurants in the downtown area. In SamSam Bistro, they presented us different types of pinoy foods such as sinigang, inihaw, pancit and Filipino desserts. We opted to order their combo of inihaw na manok, inihaw na baboy, sinigang na hipon and their version of halo-halo. Their service was good but it took them almost 20 minutes to serve our food. Overall, everything was delicious! :)


HIGHSIDE

Sunday, after attending the New Year’s Holy Mass, my family and I had our dinner. We decided to try the one the newest resto at the Robinson’s Place Tacloban, the Highside. 

This motorcycle themed restaurant offered some western type of food such as burgers, grilled pork in rosemary sauce, creamy beef and mushroom, chicken in tomato sauce and many more.



The food was good and delicious. But their service… sadly, we had a bad experience with their service. Our food was served after about 30-40 minutes after we ordered. Of course we would kinda understand if the food would take some time be served, but for a burger to take about 30 minutes??? And what’s even worse, customers who just came in and who seemed to be familiar to them were served first and were fully accommodated. We couldn’t help but complain. Good thing, their staffs were sincerely apologetic. Sigh.

SunZiBar

Having been unable to see each other for a long time, my college buddy residing in Samar, island next to Leyte, took some of his time and came to Tacloban to catch up with me. He took me to another restaurant in the downtown area, SunZiBar. This food spot offers steaks, pastas and salads. Jude, my friend who is much more acquainted with the place, ordered their bestseller, Diablo. It is a 2 piece thinly sliced steak served in hot and spicy sauce on top of rice and vegie side dish. Apart from their good service, I totally enjoyed the food! The spice was enough to compliment the steak and was perfectly cooked that I couldn’t resist finishing the whole plate! Haha! Thanks to my friend. :)

HQ Food Park

Who would have thought that food parks do not only dominate Metro Manila but also, Tacloban?!? Yes! This Yolanda-devastated-city in the Eastern Visayas region has moved on and has a lot of growing businesses. And I was just glad to see much improvement since my 2015 visit in Tacloban. Now, to see a food park in this city is such a delight!

January 2, my last night in Tacloban, my cousins invited me to hang out and chill. Since it was a Monday, not all stalls were open. There, we only had a few bottles of beer, nachos and fish balls! :)

My family and I also visited the San Rafael farm in Babatngon, Leyte. It is a lovely place just outside Tacloban which I will feature in my next blog entry. After a 4-day trip, I can say, I truly had a gastronomic stay in Tacloban which I definitely enjoyed.  :)

 

TRAIN TO BUSAN: A Movie Full of Different Emotions

  

At first, I never really had a plan watching this movie. But it was like, everyone (my colleagues, friends and on social media) has been raving about this korean film. And so last Saturday, I gave in and watched it.

Train to Busan, a Zombie thriller film that stars Gong Yoo, Jung Yu-mi and Ma Dong-seok, has been breaking box office from all over the world since its premier last May. The movie has that close similarity to that of Hollywood's World War Z where the lead actor tries to stay alive along with his daughter after being under attacked by Zombies. The difference is... a lot. In this Korean Film, story focuses on the characters aboard a train fighting for their lives against a number of zombie infected passengers. 

As I watch the movie, there were scenes that made me laugh, hated a character, cried a tear, but most of the time, I almost screamed and shout (but had to control it coz screaming is not my thing, hehe). At the end of it, I felt so tired because I felt every inch of emotion the movie tries to make its viewers feel. It made me feel like running whenever zombies are approaching and it has a very good shock factor that kept my nerves so alive. The struggle of the characters in order to survive looked so real that it made me want to kill those zombies. :)

I applaud the cinematography, the musical background, and the technology they used. The texture of the film so smooth and clean. I loved the fact that they were able to combine all those emotions in a thriller movie which we rarely see in some Hollywood film with same genre. Having to pull off a comedy scene plus drama, action and horror in one is so commendable. The ending is a little sad, and there were questions popping out in my mind after like, how, when, where it all started and was the ending really just like that? But overall, it was like a hyperventilating roller coaster ride in a train movie and I liked it a lot. Clap! Clap! Clap!

x's:

According to reports, there is a prequel to Train to Busan that explains how it all started, an animated film titled, "Seoul Station".

World Street Food Congress 2016

Started last 2013 in Singapore, the World Street Food Congress that promotes food culture, has now finally arrived here in Manila. The said event is participated by several chefs and food enthusiasts from all over the world, where they would showcase the best street food of the country they represent.

As food lover, I felt so excited to attend and catch this event. So last April 21, 2016, I went there and witnessed the latest food happenings in the Metro. :)

The World Street Food Congress held at the Bonifacio High Street Global City.

Admission is Free and Upon entering, you will find this 10 Jamboree Commandments.

As I go around, I found interestingly, deliciously-looking foods and the noticed how the foods were prepared.

How the Filipino Spicy Lechon is described :)

On top of every food stall, it shows the food's description and from which country it originated.

Some of the delish foods I found in the Jamboree :)

The only food I tried to eat was... Churros form the USA. 

How the Churros Locos started 

This Picture shows how it is done

 Churros Locos was the crowd favorite that is why i chose to have a taste of it... because that day, my teeth was not in a good condition ... too bad. :(

CHURROS :)

The huge crowd of food lovers at the event. 

This Food event is complete with a live band. 

Too bad I just got my braces on that day which didn't permit me to get to taste every food in that feast :(

The World Street Food Congress lasted from April 20-24, 2016. Hoping that in the coming years, they will get to organize this event again here in Manila. :)

Everyday is a New Beginning

 “When you’re dreaming with a broken heart, the waking up is the hardest part”

-John Meyer

Ever had that feeling when you wake up in the morning and you don’t feel like getting up? When you just feel so depressed and thought that sleeping is better than waking up, that dreams are better than reality? That moment when you had to ask yourself, “Para saan pa ba ang pagbangon ko?”

I believe we all had that moment in our lives. After a tragic incident, ending a relationship, after losing someone so dear to us, or whatever it was that made us feel so down. It is when we felt like our world collapsed and we are broken into pieces that we would thought of just sleeping the whole day and wish we don’t have to wake up anymore. But then, it won’t simply happen. As the morning comes, we would open our eyes, face the reality that what used to be there and we used to have is already gone, and go through another day of enduring that pain in our hearts until we get to sleep again. As each day  would pass by, we have to breathe and make a living. Even if we want to go back to sleep, we will get up from our bed, go to work or school, and we would continue living our everyday life, everyday routine.

Yes. It was like, there’s no life anymore. . . 

Not until we learn to let go of that hurt we have been carrying in our hearts.

After living a life full of pain for quite some time, there comes a point where we have to let it go, and detach from it. We  have to stop holding on to something that is not already there, to stop waiting for nothing and to feel unhurt. It may take some time, surely it will. Facing each day bearing such pain wouldn’t be that easy, but keep in mind that it will all heal. As they say, all wounds heal as time goes by. It may leave a scar, but that scar is there only to remind us of the lesson we learned from the experience not to dwell on our loss or grief. As the morning comes, open your eyes, wake up, get up and try to think of positive thoughts. It may be hard at first, but remember, everyday is a new beginning. Everyday is another chance for us to fight that sadness in our hearts. Everyday is another chance for us to do good, to be better and be stronger than ever. Each morning is always another fresh beginning for us to live again... To start over again. =)