#2019 vacation

[simplyemcee]

Day 8 of 2019 vacation:

I watched this 1-hour anime film titled “The Garden of Words” which was directed by Makoto Shinkai - the same person who directed “Your Name.” It is a 2013 drama film which was also written and edited by Shinkai.

The story is about a 15-year old student and a woman, who was mysterious at first, and was later on revealed as a 27-year old teacher in the same school where the boy was studying. 

They meet in a shed (see 3rd photo) around a “garden” during rainy days. 

It is quite aesthetic and it depicts the setting vividly. Although, I guess, the ending was a bit cut short. If it was a full-length film, perhaps the story would have been more complete. 

Nonetheless, it was a great anime movie. I am thrilled to see “Weathering with You” this year, 3 years after his last movie “Your Name” last 2016. 

[simplyemcee]

Day 12 of my 2019 vacation: (June 18, 2019)

I watched this Studio Ghibli film titled “Whisper of the Heart.” It is about an elementary student, Shizuki, who is about to go to high school and was faced with the little bumps of puppy love. She experienced her first confrontation with someone who likes her (see third photo, bottom left) and felt connection with this guy named Seiji (see first photo, top left). However, Seiji was set to transfer to Italy to pursue his dreams of violin playing. Will they continue high school together or will they pursue their dreams away from each other? 

This movie takes me back to my elementary days when I really don’t have to feel pressure on academics or any role in life. This movie just makes me feel carefree and curious and it just feels good to watch. 

Some of my takeaways:

[simplyemcee]

Day 4 of my 2019 vacation: 

I am now on episode 7 of “Dae Jang Geum” or “Jewel in the Palace,” a Korean drama which I consider as one of my favorites. I have already finished this years back but I still want to repeat it because of the uniqueness of the story and the ancient touch in the theme. 

[simplyemcee]

Day 30 of my 2019 vacation: Avatar: The Legend of Aang

This one took me five days. It’s one of my favorite cartoon/anime of all time. I watched it thrice already: first when it was aired on local television (although it was Tagalized to cater to Filipino children, second when I was in college (sophomore I guess) and third this 2019 summer. 

This series has no flaw. It’s so perfect I can’t even stop watching it even though I know how it started and how it ended. It has all genres you can imagine, fiction, romance, comedy, politics, history, name it all - the “Avatar” has it. 

It was aired in Nickelodeon on 2005 to 2008 and has three seasons (or books, as they called it). It is not that typical children’s series for toddlers to watch, as a matter of fact, it is for anybody, of all ages and standing in life. 

I am sure several of us already know what happened here. I’ll just emphasize how creative the writers and makers of this series are to be able to do something which can stir the minds of the people with the use of only four basic elements - water, earth, fire and air. Of course, we’ll admit at some point, we have memorized the intro of this cartoon so well... “because I believe, that Aang can save the world.”

PS: Just because I love this series so much, I also finished playing its game counterpart, Avatar: The Last Airbender on PSP. If you have a PSP, you can download it here. 

Of course, I’ve got my favorite parts:

This is one of the best parts - when Aang’s flying bison got lost, get ready to feel really - really sad and mushy. It’s like losing your own pet dog. 😞

It’s a complete conversion for Sokka and an opportunity for Aang to finally master the fire element. 

Who wouldn’t cry on this scene? I love Uncle Iroh so much. 

“...Aang can save the world.” 

[simplyemcee]

Day 31 of my 2019 Vacation: The Lucky One

‘Sup? 

Here’s a movie with Zac Efron in it (his name is Logan here). And this is a review on another Nicholas Sparks novel-turned movie. 

As we may have realized by now, Sparks novels are really tickles your insides and lets you feel that love is a really magical - something that you’ll die for. But another realization may hit us AFTER we watch these types of movies - that they are not real and are perhaps hallucinations of a person who lacked romantic experience in life. 

Basically, this movie is just that. I don’t want to pop anyone’s bubble on love but to look for a woman just because you found her photo lying randomly on war ground and it saved you TWICE while fighting in war, oh come on. If that’s how destiny would work magically, then a lot of people might as well wish someone (like a soldier, Zac Efron-ish) randomly look for them after they found their photo on the ground. 

But if we set aside this search for something tangible and real and stick on the fact that this story is really fiction, perhaps we can thank this movie for giving us satisfaction in such a way that the characters are just carefree and it doesn’t squeeze your heart really tight from all tragedy or life and death situations. It’s just simple and a nice movie to kill time just because you can’t sleep at night. It won’t make you cry, it won’t make you laugh so hard, but it will make you feel loved and make you realize that you will always deserve someone better.

Just a bonus perhaps: it has dogs in it. I love dogs so that’s a plus for me. 

One takeaway would be what Beth’s (the leading lady) mom told her that if sacrificing for someone means compromising your own happiness, maybe that sacrifice is not worthy at all. 

Here are some of my favorites:

Here is Beth’s son Ben. He’s talented and clever. 

Well, same thoughts, Logan. Same thoughts.

No spoilers here. 

Yeap. All the while, Logan just don’t know how to say things. Perhaps he skipped communication classes back in college (well, okay he didn’t finish college because he signed up to the military so I guess that’s why). 

*when you have to pick up your dog’s poo again in the park*

Right.

[simplyemcee]

Day 25 of my 2019 vacation: Four Sisters and a Wedding

This one’s a Filipino classic. 

I can say that almost all Filipinos (well, even just Bobbie and Teddie on memes) know this movie very well because it is a typical Filipino story. A medium-sized family (literally the title; the four sisters) with an overly-protective mother, children, a big house, housekeepers, a father who died of severe disease, earning money for the family and all that. 

What’s different about this movie that other Filipino movies have is that it did not stick to the typical Romance-Comedy genre. Well, I guess there are some parts or scenes depicting some sisters and their brother’s love life but of course, the story did not revolve around those. 

I guess, since it has already been “common knowledge” on what the plot of this movie is about, I am just going to address what I like about this movie. In a nutshell, it reflects a Filipino family setting and their struggles. Although it does not really show poverty - the reason why majority of Filipino families are struggling - it catered to the interest of an average family or those in the middle class who can actually buy tickets to movie houses and watch this movie which is also about them. 

To make this long blog short, Four Sisters and a Wedding will surely make you feel at home despite all the difficulties and quarrels you had with any of your family member. You’ll just later on realize that all of you in the family has one goal as long as each one of you are living - to protect and love each other. 

As usual, here are some of my favorite scenes:

Here are, of course, the four sisters Alex, Teddie, Gabbie and Bobbie (from left to right) and the youngest brother RemRem (bottom).

This is one of the best scenes in the entire movie. Later on, the girl with the long  black hair became popular in the Philippines for spreading fake news and for being one of the die-hard fans of the current Philippine president.

I guess this biscuit company really had a big sponsorship payment for this movie for even using it as an “offer” to baby Jesus during the start of the movie and using it here (see photo on top) as peace offering for their mother and youngest sister.

[simplyemcee]

Day 16 of my 2019 vacation: Orange

June 22, 2019

I just finished a 13-episode anime series titled “Orange” and it was far beyond what I expect it to be, I mean, given the title, I don’t see anything great coming from an “orange.”

Backstory: I saw a tweet or an IG story from one of my college batchmates. During that time, I was watching Studio Ghibli movies and turned later on to The Melancholoy of Haruhi Suzumiya. I finished until episode 5 of the anime series and got a bit bored, so I told myself, “why not try this anime?” 

Apparently, this anime series commenced in 2016 and is only composed of 1 season with 20-30 minutes each episode. The first episode already gave me goosebumps. When I started it, I know I’m not going to sleep without finishing all 13 episodes. 

This anime is a rom-com classic, timeless and with a whole lot of concern and awareness on mental health. The reason why I love this anime is not only that it subtly touches on the stigma of suicide but it also offers a lot of possible solutions if we happen to have a friend who has attempts on taking their own life. 

The sensitivity of the topic was clothed with fun, romantic, yet realistic scenes and dialogues which will really let you appreciate life and everyone around you - your friends, your parents, relatives and anyone close to your heart. 

There are still a lot of things I want to reveal about this anime, but I still want to leave it up to you to feel and experience the roller coaster of emotions I felt throughout the movie. And of course, if you still do not believe in mental health problems, may be experiencing one or you have a friend suffering from it, this series is definitely for you. 

SAVE A LIFE through awareness!

Prepare your lunchbox, and a box of tissue (if you’re a crybaby) and dive into Kakeru, Naho, Suwa, Azu, Hagita and Takaku’s story.

Here are some of my favorite scenes: (not in particular order)