ashisthename-o

posting random $@#! whenever I feel like it

[fashion-runways]

VALENTINO Pre-Fall 2015 — Galaxy details

[inneedofmoney]

The Art of Getting By: A movie review

Disclaimer: I will write a quick summary of the story so to those who haven’t watched it yet It’s better to skip the summary part.

George (Freddie Highmore)  is a very peculiar teenage kid.  He is a senior, he attends classes but rarely turns in his homework or other activities that is needed for school because for him they were all meaningless. Thus getting him on probation. He meets Sally when he decided to go up the school roof top. A teacher then comes up to the said roof top. Sally gets nearly caught smoking but George covers up for her. As the story progresses both of them started to get closer to each other. Sally would always call George to hang out with her on certain holidays like New Year’s eve, valentines and Christmas. To Sally it was nothing, she would always  tell people that she and George were just friends, little did she know that George was feeling something a little bit more than that. Geroge meets a young artist, which is an alumni of their school, named Dustin on career day. Dustin invites George to his studio/apartment. George takes Sally with him to meet Dustin and at that moment Dustin gets attracted to Sally, which in return Sally did get attracted to Dustin. Sally and George went out to dinner on valentines day, Sally started questioning George if he ever thought of her in a sexual kind of way and asks George to have sex with her. The baffled boy couldn’t say a word and continued to ignore Sally. With that being said he told Sally that he wasn’t feeling well and that “this is wrong, it’s a joke” stormed off and went straight home. George laid on his bed for several days and doesn’t attend school. He also found out that his step father got kicked out of his job and is going bankrupt. He fought with his step dad badly enough to get his dad hospitalized. He runs to Sally’s house and thought about what Dustin had said to him- if you like a girl you should throw her on the wall and kiss her, chances are she’ll kiss you back but if she doesn’t, well at least you tried. With that he knocks on Sally’s door  and as she goes outside George did exactly what he had in mind. But Sally didn’t respond to his kiss, she opens the door and shows George that Dustin was already there conversing with her mom and that George was too late. He storms off with Dustin following him and they argue outside. After that George goes to the hospital and finds his mom sitting on the benches outside. After realizing that he had to do something he goes back to school to pick up every paper work that he needed to do in order to graduate. His art teacher was kind enough to give him only one task to cover up everything that he missed and that task was to paint or draw something that he wanted to say for a very long time. He proceeds to getting all of his work done and Sally texts him that she wanted to talk. There in the restaurant Sally told George about her mom remarrying and moving to Texas and that meant she wouldn’t have money for college. She decided to go with backpacking with Dustin around Europe which was a gift to her by the boy. During that conversation George finally had the courage to tell Sally what he really feels. Sally takes him home and kisses him, tells him that she loves him too. George finishes every work including the painting then graduates. Sally on the other hand came back to George and saw what he painted- he painted a portrait of Sally. They end with George asking her “what do you plan to do now” and with that Sally answered “I don’t know”. They give each other knowing stares and smiles then it fades to black

The acting here was so good that I wanted to just burst in tears but I decided not to. Freddie Highmore and Emma Roberts played the characters George and Sally really well. It was natural for Emma to be doing these things, being a high school student when in reality she never attended high school. Freddie on the other hand who actually has an accent talked like a natural New Yorker. The acting all in all was very natural even for those supporting characters. 

 I personally loved how this movie was shot all throughout. There was minimal close ups and they showcased the other parts of New York that haven’t made an appearance on other films yet, which for me was necessary for the movie to feel the loneliness and stillness of these parts of the city. They wanted to capture in film the scenes that would give the viewer the essence of feeling every little detail of emotion that has to be felt while watching it. All of these were accomplished by the simplicity and comfort that the shots give you and the minimal close ups which can be bothersome. 

I learned to say what I have to say. Even if I get scared of what the outcome might be I had to have a voice that would tell people how I really felt. We should always cease the day. We might miss out on opportunities that are essential for us to know what we want to do with our life. The quote which made George become an alienated boy was “we live alone, we die alone, everything else is just an illusion”.

I for one detest to that. Because at the end of the film we, along with George, realize the we can’t live alone and everything else isn’t an  illusion but a reality that this world gives you and that you have to face even if you refuse to. 

[inneedofmoney]

One More Chance: A movie review

Disclaimer: I will write a quick summary of the story so to those who haven’t watched it yet It’s better to skip the summary part. 

One more chance is a story about Basha and Popoy who had been in a relationship for five years. They know each other better than anyone else for they always spend time together. But then Popoy became so suffocating for Basha as he is not supporting her dream career. So Basha decided to just end their relationship in order for her to give time for herself. Popoy, on the other hand, still cannot accept the fact that what they had has just ended like that so he kept on asking Basha to give their love another chance but the latter chose to ignore him and move on. When they thought they had both finally need to give up and find another love, Basha realized that she still loves Popoy but it's too late because he already have found a new love with (Maja Salvador's name). That's when things got a lot more worse for Basha. She had tried to confess what she really feels but Popoy cannot accept her feelings anymore. But still, Popoy find himself falling again for Basha and broke up with his current girlfriend. But they did not get back to each other right away. Basha and Popoy decided to find themselves first and fulfill their dreams before they finally spend forever with each other.

Now the acting in this film is very heavy. Both the lead and supporting actors did a great job in expressing the right emotions in the right tone at the right timing or moment in scenes where they are most needed. Although sometimes the actors make some scenes awkward with gestures that aren’t actually necessary. But all in all I can say that I am very proud of how John Lloyd preserved the essence of emotion in this movie because of how he acted/expressed what Popoy was really feeling during their break up. He even showed up like a bum in one of those scenes where his and Basha’s common friend was having a birthday party. He let Popoy’s real emotions flow through and that for me is a very big part of the movie. John Lloyd really cried his heart out in those scenes that needed extreme emotion. 

They did close up and mid shots more than wide and long shots to highlight those scenes that are very emotional, and in my opinion nearly all of the scenes were very heavy and emotional, which in return also works out because as a viewer you would appreciate it more if you really saw the meaning of the actors/actresses emotions through their eyes. The camera work was very good at handling blocks, which sometimes is the reason for awkward scenes. 

What I learned from this movie was to always say what you think is right and do what you think is the best for you. As a person you need to grow and explore your capabilities alone. People essentially know what’s right and wrong, sometimes we just get too scared of the consequences of our actions that we might suffer more than we should. But that’s the beauty of it. Without suffering we won’t get to know what it’s like to taste victory and recognize it. Probably what I’m trying to say here is we should be strong like Basha and Popoy, neither of them were cowards. Both of them rose up as a better version of themselves after the break up and it all worked until the end. 

[inneedofmoney]

My media consumption: Media Literacy, Issues & Concerns

Intenet: Youtube

When visiting this site, or using the internet in general, one should have an open mind about things that can interest other people but for you it might be meaningless of just plain weird and inappropriate for mankind. To be a responsible media consumer you must understand what you are allowed to post in the internet. Mainly you are allowed to post anything, but not everything is inappropriate for everyone. People, in this case v-loggers, should also be aware that there are minors who watch their videos and what they say, do or act will influence these kids into thinking that what they are doing or about to do is appropriate for them . As a responsible blogger,v-logger or netizen we should always think before we type, say or do. 

Books: Banana Yoshimoto’s Hardboiled & Hard Luck

One should have an open mind when reading this, or reading any type of book for that matter, in order to grasp what the writer wanted us to understand. But as responsible readers we should also know if the content is against our values or will it be a good info to add on our list. In newspapers it is sad to see that some articles are fabricated and that some are just plainly lies, especially those that are pertaining to the government and show business. We should also look on that side of the paper and question these information that are presented to us. We shouldn’t just take in everything that is printed just because it’s printed.

Films: The Art of Getting By

As a viewer of these types of movies you should always listen and watch attentively, and also understand what you are watching from the appropriate perspective. The problem with films that have deep plot lines is that in reality it’s not that deep at all. Some movies pull it off in a marvelous way but some just don’t. Also, as responsible consumers of the media we should check if the films that we are watching are actually appropriate for us or appropriate to watch with your family. Make sure that the movie should not have intimate sex scenes or kissing scenes that might spoil your traditional family movie night. Movie ratings are essential to everyone especially if you’re going to tag along your 8 year-old niece who knows nothing about the different wonders of life. 

[teenvogue]

Bates Motel has a sinister new season coming up… 

And Freddie Highmore told us all about it »

[inneedofmoney]

perfection

[inneedofmoney]

My top 3 media consumption

[daniblowup]

[lensblr-network]

Self Portrait #9

by Dani Oshi  (daniblowup.tumblr.com)

[eatsleepdraw]

Based on a boss from the game Dark Souls.  Prints can be purchased here

[inneedofmoney]

asdfghjkl

[brenthofacker]

Irish Coffee

Nom Nom Photography

[brenthofacker]

Guinness Float

Nom Nom Photography

[inneedofmoney]

Laziness

That’s it. I’m lazy, end of story.

[inneedofmoney]

My media consumption: Top picks

These are my personal faves from my latest three posts entitled “My top 3 media consumption” enjoy! 

Banana Yoshimoto’s Hardboiled & Hard Luck

This book tackles two stories, Hardboiled tells of an unnamed woman hiking in the mountains and stumbles upon a peculiar and eerie looking shrine, shrugging it off she nears her hotel and takes a bath as soon as she got there. Little did she know that the eerie feeling that she has been getting was because she had forgotten about the anniversary of her ex-lover. Hard Luck on the other hand tackled another young woman’s story whose sister is dying and lies in a coma. Kuni’s fiancé left her after the accident, but his brother Sakai continues to visit, and the two of them gradually grow closer as they make peace with the impending loss of their loved one. I personally like Hardboiled better than the other story because it tackled something out of the box which is homosexuality. I read books not on a regular basis but whenever I can. I find peace whenever I get engrossed with these kinds of books that have an eerie feel to it. 

Youtube

I cannot thank you enough to the creator of youtube for letting people like me watch weird, cool, and addicting videos from japan and about japanese stuff. I don’t know why and I don’t actually know how I came about these kinds of videos but I probably watch these for 5 or 6 hours. It’s that addictive. I don’t only watch music videos from vevo but as I mentioned in the introduction I am subscribed to tons of channels that are all about japanese candies, food, culture and other stuff that I like. An example of these channels are RRCherrypie, miniature space, bonobos25- the list goes on. I love entertainment and traveling in general and that may be the reason why I become fascinated about these things that I rarely see in my own country. 

The Art of Getting By

I cannot stretch how this movie was the perfect one so far in my list. All of the aspects presented in this movie was what I wanted to do as an aspiring filmmaker. I’m fond of movies that have deeper meanings to the story rather than the same old boy meets girl kind of plot. I am fond of movies because of the fact that I love to always be inside a different world, seeing the world from a different perspective and sometimes that perspective becomes the same as mine. If I would be given a chance I would love to watch these kinds of melodramatic movies for the whole day and not minding the reality that is waiting for me outside. Movies like these become my motivation in life, that in order to feel free and inspire others I need to succeed on my own reality and face the future. But sometimes it’s also fun to relax, watch a great movie like this and just escape from it all. 

[inneedofmoney]

My top 3 media consumption

[inneedofmoney]

My top 3 media consumption

[inneedofmoney]

The art of getting by vs One more chance: A film comparison

Story

The two movies revolved around romance and how people find theirother halves, nearly loses them, and get back together with a “happy ending”cherry on top. In TAGB we see George (Freddie Highmore) suffering from what I call the deception of reality, wherein the world sets out norms on what to do and deceives us into thinking that everything we do in school, every homework, every project has meaning when in fact the majority of it does not contribute to a certain path or interest that the individual is going for or that they don’t find any meaning or worth from it at all. Of course in every empty, lifeless character in a movie there comes a hero or heroine to sweep them off of their feet and finally understand the meaning of having direction in life, knowing what you want to say and do and acting on it. This is where Sally (Emma Roberts) comes into George’s life. In my perspective I saw these in both of the movies, in One more chance Basha (Bea Alonzo) wanted to break up with Popoy  (John Lloyd Cruz) not because of her not having feelings for him anymore, it’s just that Popoy never really made Basha do anything on her own and that’s pretty much tiresome because in a relationship the partners need to grow individually and live their part of the lime light.

Acting

The versatility of these actors and actresses are far from great especially the two leading men in each of the movies. I marveled at how John Lloyd was able to depict the emotion that the average man won’t have the guts to do, which is crying, and the same goes for Freddie Highmore who played a senior in this movie. In my opinion, other teenage men would react oppositely to what Highmore did in the movie where he confronted Dustin where he resulted into crying as they kind of argued with the fact that Dustin and Sally started dating. I favor Highmore’s acting over JL’s because the character that Higmore has needs so much emotion not to be expressed but to be kept. He needed to have something much more deep than what it looks like and for me Highmore delivered really really well. As for the women in this movie both of them also delivered pretty well. I favor Bea Alonzo more than Emma Roberts because of the fact that Bea Alonzo made a representation of an empowered woman through Basha and helping Basha get into that state of freedom when she finally gets to independently exemplify her own ideas and put them into work and that is important for me because Bea Alonzo needed to be strong for her character who wanted to break away and spread her own wings. As for Emma, she was getting into that teenage dilemma that Sally has which is to not know what to do with her future ahead and on what she really wants to be, despite the fact that she has far more experiences than George has with life, love and a whole lot of other stuff on the sticky side. But despite those differences and George being the one, who in the beginning was not aware of his own path, both of them managed to work things out and find balance between their relationship. Sally made George realize things that George never really cared or thought about and that’s what George also did for Sally in a more toned down way as presented in the movie.

Production/technical aspects 

TAOGB had minimal close ups and focused on mid shots and long shots given the reason that writer/director Gavin Weisen wanted to showcase those parts of NYC that are not as mainstream for other movies in the industry, particularly way upper east and west side of the city. Which in my opinion is a very good choice for somewhere to shoot the movie because it gave that appropriate feeling. As for OMC they focused more on close ups and mid shots to showcase the emotions that you would see in their eyes when they would talk or cry or all in all act, mid shots were used when the actor or actress had to move excessively and also for the viewers to see where the setting is for those particular scenes. That for me is generic for local movies because Filipinos like close ups, rarely will you see Philippine movies that have long shots. 

Values/lessons

What I learned in both f these movies is to say what you want to say, to have the strength to let others know what’s running around your mind and act on it. George had that belief that everything is just an illusion so why work hard and do everything that is “needed” for you to do for just an illusion. He really didn’t have any friends and he felt odd doing normal teenage stuff but all of that changed when he realizes that everything was going to fall apart and it was up to him to get everything fixed by making one little effort which in return made him become a better person and a person who actually has a purpose in life. Basha was that kind of girl who wanted to empower herself and  be independent for her own satisfaction. I think everyone wants to be that kind of person, it feels good to be treated a queen or king from time to time but those special treatments have limitations when that person feels like they are lacking self success which their partner never helped them to accomplish. 

Recommendations

(a) Viewing

For One More Chance the viewer has to pay attention to what the characters in general are saying because this movie is heavy in dialogues. Also they have to feel and relate to what the character’s emotions are because it won’t be that much of a fun experience watching it if you won’t get to feel the emotions that the actors wanted you to feel. The same goes for The Art of Getting By, although it’s not as heavily dialogued as OMC but you really have to pay attention and understand what the main character is saying. The viewer also needs to understand George’s point of view on how the world works and where these intense emotions were coming from in order to understand why he does things in an uncanny way.

(b) Improving

I think One More Chance needed to show more of the background rather than always using close ups even in those shots that don’t need close ups. They also should lessen the dialogue just a little bit. But all in all this movie wain visual representation of scenes in a not awkward sort of way.

In The Art of Getting By; I actually love this film so much that it’s nearly perfect for me to even give out improvements. But for the sake of this review I will point out those scenes that for me were kind of awkward but in a way I can’t actually complain because those fade away and blurry scenes made sense for the story and also it made the movie look prettier in terms of visual representation.