Jane Austen in Beverly Hills

So, I didn't know that this movie (a modern classic)...

...was actually based on:

So who's clueless now?

Forgive me, I wasn't a big reader of the classics when I was younger, but now I try to alternate between classic and contemporary works. After I saw and read Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen's works quickly made it onto my reading list. I thought it would be better to see the movie (if there was one) before reading any of her books because I found that it gave me a better appreciation and understanding of the prose. But seeing as there was no Emma DVD on hand, I just decided to plunge into it and hoped I wouldn't get lost in the language.

The deeper I got into the book, the more I realized that it was a lot like one of my 90s favorites. And true enough, I only recently learned that Clueless really was loosely based on Emma—so I have seen it after all!

And that is what you call huli sa balita! Nearly 15 years too late!

"And you're the werewolf girl..."

Thanks to the folks at OK! Magazine (who, earlier this year, gave me a free courtside seat to see Kobe) for giving me a free ticket to the premiere of...

Woohoo! I intended to watch New Moon after the crowds had gone, but when the opportunity to see it first presented itself, I just couldn't let it pass me by.

A blurred pic of me and Coni from her mobile phone, taken outside the cinema

I am not a die-hard Twilight fan, but it's pretty cool that I got to watch it. So yay! And I must say, it was much better than the first. I like how they interpreted the book. There were a couple of cheesy scenes but whatevs. And it is totally a Jacob Show! I was indifferent before, but I am now officially on Team Jacob! Sigh.

...and this made me cry

I think the critics hated this movie, but I don't give an f.

There's this misconception that I love chick flicks and romance novels. But really, I don't pay to see chick flicks--I just watch them on cable. (And I don't think I've ever read a romance novel in my whole life.) But this movie is something I would've spent good money on.

Suffice it to say that I was crying--a really ugly kind of crying--practically throughout the whole movie. And even the next day, as I was telling H about a scene, I started tearing up. He chuckled as I swore about "that damn movie."

What can I say? Some things just resonated with me.

Catch it if you can.

Going Batty

Got to catch a special screening of The Dark Knight last night, with free popcorn and iced tea, to boot! Joel Schumacher, pay attention. This is what you do with the Batman franchise! (Tim Burton's off the hook--I liked what he did with the first one.)

Yes, the movie was awesome--it was a little unsettling because I felt like I got sucked into Gotham (a brighter, cheerier Gotham than I'm used to. I just realized that when I think of Gotham, I think of night). But I wouldn't count it as one of my Favorite Movies of All Time. I wouldn't mind watching it again though.

Yes, I preferred watching Maggie Gyllenhaal over Katie Holmes, but I think they still could've picked a better Rachel Dawes. Maybe Rachel McAdams? (Brunette, of course. Batman with a Mean Girl just doesn't seem right.)

And yes, Heath Ledger was really good. But is his performance Oscar-worthy? To be honest, I don't think so, and apparently, all the award talk is just if-you-build-it-they-will-come hype. A nomination, sure, it's possible. But I'm guessing people (including myself) are willing Heath to win a posthumous Oscar more for sentimental, rather than thespian, reasons. I'd love to be proven wrong though. (P.S. Jack Nicholson's Joker is one of my all-time favorite movie villains. How does Heath measure up? It was...different. And he did make me laugh. But I can't decide just yet whose performance I preferred.)

I was quite happy with the plot--it wasn't mind-numbingly simple (like a lot of other superhero flicks), but it wasn't so serious that it ceased to be entertaining. ("Why so serious?" indeed.) And it was cool going in there not knowing what to expect. I heard Aaron Eckhart was playing Harvey Dent, but it was only at the beginning of the movie when I remembered his significance in the Batman world. And I realized that I would love to have Michael Caine as a butler. Haha.

Hmmm, yeah. I would see it again.