Movie: The Conjuring

Everytime we watch a horror movie, we're almost prepared not to get scared. Yes, you got that right, NOT to get scared. Like most of you, we've seen a lot of horror movies, both Asian (Japanese, Thai, Korean) and Western (American, British, Spanish) and sometimes we can't help but think that most plots, twists, jumpy scenes, ghost make-ups, and almost all elements in a horror movie have been used, reused and abused that they will hardly make you wriggle in your seat. They have become so predictable and tiring, often following the pattern of the successful horror films that preceded them, and that takes away the fun in watching these scary flicks.



Then we watched The Conjuring. I remember reading about this movie on Yahoo, where I learned it's relation to Amityville: the couple who investigated the Amityville haunting were the same couple featured in The Conjuring. While I don't exactly find the movie The Amityville Horror, um well, horrifying, ghost detective stories have always piqued my interests. My husband wasn't too thrilled to watch it though, after a handful of not so impressive horror movies that we cared to watch in a moviehouse. But one boring day in a shopping mall, he didn't want to go home yet and The Conjuring was in the Now Showing list so...

The plot and premise of the movie was nothing new, the scare-tactics were also old-school, but everything was in the right place at the right time, and they wove the right mix of suspense, creepiness and horror that we found ourselves holding on to each other tightly and bracing ourselves for the next scary scene. It was a very good horror movie. The last time we got this scared was with Shutter (Thai movie), and it's been a while.

Was it predictable? Let me put it this way, I was enjoying being scared so much that I didn't want to predict what will happen next or how it will end. It's like watching a ghost reality show where I secretly wish that they were able to actually capture something really scary. And there were a lot of those in this movie. Some scenes were familiar, in fact, they reminded me of other popular horror movies. You get a bit of The Exorcist here, Sixth Sense there, Paranomal Activity, Insidious, etc. but still The Conjuring was able to hold it's own and carve a solid place in the horror movie genre.

One thing that I really really like about this movie is the characters acted "normal". When they hear strange, suspicious sounds in the middle of the night, they don't bring camcorders, they don't navigate their house with flashlights, they do what anyone would do, they TURN THE LIGHTS ON. That's something that a lot of horror movies don't do nowadays because darkness has always been an effective environment to build tension, but there are times when it just looks illogical to keep the lights off. The Conjuring wasn't afraid to scare in broad daylight. Of course, there are some scenes that demand darkness. And those scenes are the ones you should watch out for.

Acting, pacing, sound effects (much of it was just silence which I think is way more effective), camera panning (those contributed a lot), everything was executed so well that makes this movie one hell of a horror film. I can't say enough how good it was, so just watch it. If you're a horror movie buff (the ghost, possession, exorcism type), who like us have been waiting for that film - that film that will scare you and scare you well - you're in for a treat.

Quick Reviews: Movies of the 1st Half of 2013

One of our favorite things to do to distract us from work is to watch movies, whether in the big screen or in our computer monitor. But I've been a terrible blogger and I couldn't immediately review all the movies we've seen this year, after we saw them. Which is how it should be, because movie reviews are meant to help people decide whether a particular film is worth the trip to the cinema or not (or whether it's worth the bandwidth or not, in the case of downloading movies from the internet).

So I'm not sure how these quick reviews can help, but I'm dishing them out anyway. Here are the movies that we've seen for the first half of 2013.


Mama
Genre: Horror
Medium: PC
Verdict: If you want to something to watch for fright night and will make you scream your lungs out or sleep with the lights on, I wouldn't recommend this movie. But if what you're looking for is a sad and grim tale that both tugs at heartstrings and send a few shivers down your spine (although I wouldn't expect much, I thought the scare tactics were just "the usual"), somewhere along the lines of The Orphanage, you may want to consider Mama. The plot is different though: a spirit bound to earth because she's looking for something important to her, intertwined with the story of two very young children who grew up alone in the wilderness. That seemed promising enough. But regardless of the plot and even with great acting from the cast (the two children especially), I still wouldn't classify it as a strong horror movie. For me, it just wasn't riveting enough. It started out nicely, effectively building mystery and interest in Mama and her tragic fate. But when she finally appeared, it was almost funny. And sadly, that's the part I remembered the most.


Hansel and Gretel
Genre: Action
Medium: PC
Verdict: I love Jeremy Renner in Hurt Locker and The Avengers, but outgrew my feelings after Bourne Legacy and this. Hansel and Gretel didn't pretend to be a great movie, although I thought it leveraged on the trend of retelling fairytales and making them dark or serious and at least PG-13, to generate interest. But the original tale of Hansel and Gretel was pretty dark on its own, so all they needed to do was to show blood and some fancy fighting skills. It's pretty straightforward and average, and it offered nothing new or something that will make you go "Wow". Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) looked so old here, older than in the Taken movies. Not that it affected the movie, but I just want to say.


The Haunting in Connecticut 2
Genre: Horror
Medium: PC
Verdict. If you've watched first haunting and didn't like it, don't watch the second. Although the stories are not connected, the executions were both lame. The only thing that kept me watching was Mr. Gordy. But even my curiosity for Mr. Gordy didn't keep me from falling asleep in the middle of the movie. Good thing, I woke up in time to see him save the little girl and her mother.


Dark Skies
Genre: Suspense/Sci-Fi
Medium: PC
Verdict: This was actually quite interesting at the start and got me hooked right away - weird things happening in the house, parents acting possessed - premises that kept me wanting to know more. Until they brought out the youngest son's drawing. That sort of curtailed the fun and mystery for me because clearly you can see from the drawings that there will be an abduction. And I wasn't even surprised who got abducted. It became pretty predictable after that. But despite the effect of the "drawings", I still think this was a decent sci-fi/suspense movie with a bit of drama. At some point, I sympathized with the family's struggle to keep a normal life amidst the weird things happening to them. I was almost wishing that Fox Moulder would come up and sort them out so they can finally live in peace.


Jack The Giant Slayer
Genre: Fiction/Adventure
Medium: Cinema
Verdict: Another fairytale reinvention, although it's not much of a reinvention as the story is fairly the same. They just made it grander, more elaborate and the giants more menacing. But it didn't appeal even to the kid in me.


Oz The Great The Powerful
Genre: Fiction/Adventure
Medium: PC
Verdict: Two things I don't like in this movie: James Franco and Sam Raimi. Two things I didn't like about this movie: everything feels superficial and bad acting (except for Rachel Weisz). Despite the vivid colors, the movie was flat and lifeless. Maybe Oz needs to be told again, by someone who has a better vision of the story. Someone who can give it a heart.


G.I. Joe Retaliation
Genre: Action
Medium: Cinema
Verdict: Read review here.

To be continued (2nd half of 2013)

Place: Airport View Pension, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan

UPDATE: Airport View Pension is already closed. Natura Cabins has acquired the area that was once occupied by Airport View Pension.

Airport View Pension is one of the cheapest accommodations in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan. It is conveniently located near the airport - a mere 2 minutes away - perfect for those who need just a place to crash before flying the next day.

This is the same reason why I chose to book Airport View Pension. When the first pension where we stayed in, Sunflower Royal Pensionne, had no available rooms on the last day of our Puerto Princesa trip, I opted to look for something cheap but still decent (meaning: air conditioned with own bathroom) and near the airport because we had an early flight back to Manila the following day.

Similar to Sunflower Royal Pensionne, I booked this pension through Agoda. The location is perfect and the reviews are good enough. The less than Php1,000 per night rate for a standard twin sharing room satisfied my "cheap" condition. It would've been cheaper if I got the family room, which is good for 4, but I thought, just by looking at the photos, that it looked too cramp to be comfortable for 4 people.

The Room

For it's price, I definitely wasn't expecting a fancy room. And true enough, they were not. The accommodations were container vans that they converted into stand alone rooms. On the outside, it was cute and I even fancied having something similar to build on our spare lot.

Because the pension is just beside the airport, Wi-fi signal is strong outside the rooms. They also have wooden benches in front of every room where you can sit, take advantage of the Wifi or just relax and enjoy the breath of fresh air outside.

But inside is a different scenario. The room is really small and that's not exaggerating it. Space is limited as they tried to fit everything in. You get the bed in one corner, a small table and chair sandwiched between the bed and the door, a closet in another corner with the TV on the top shelf and beside it, the bathroom.

  

That's basically all the free space in this room. I was already at the door of the bathroom when I took this picture.

  

Toilet and bath - toilet on one wall, shower on the opposite. You wouldn't believe that they were even able to fit a sink behind the door. You can't bring your clothes inside when taking a bath, because everything will get wet once you turn on the shower. But at least, water pressure was good and the bathroom was well-maintained.

Despite the size of the room, I thought our bed looked comfy, the sheets were clean and the towels were folded nicely. Until we slept on it. The linens reek of bleach and the foam mattress was old and saggy. We all woke up with backaches in the morning. Mine was worst that I had to get a massage in order to relieve the aching.

Problem during Check-in

If you've noticed in the pictures above, this was the family room good for 4 and not the standard twin sharing room. We got a room upgrade. Here's why:

Upon check in, we found out that they didn't reserve the 2 standard rooms I booked through Agoda, and the person on the front desk told us that they only have 1 standard room and 1 family room available. Initially, he wanted to give us the family room because it can accommodate 4 persons. But when my husband learned about this, he argued that we reserved 2 separate rooms and wouldn't accept that we occupy the family room because it's too cramped for 4 people (and it is, honestly, which is why we reserved 2 rooms in the first place). He added that it wasn't our fault that their reservations were messed up and insisted that we should be given 2 separate rooms, because that's what we booked.

The guy, in all fairness to him, was apologetic and kind. He admitted to their fault and let us have the family and the standard room. My husband and I stayed in the family room while my parents stayed in the standard room. Theirs, as expected, was smaller and they complained of the poor airconditioning and the rusty smell of the water coming out of the faucet and shower.

In our room, airconditioning was okay, but you have to turn on the electric fan to distribute the cold air inside, and water smelled okay. The small TV was working, too, albeit 'strategically' placed on top of the closet to maximize room space. We just needed to lie on the bed at a certain angle to be able to watch without straining our necks. Except for the saggy mattress, I really have no major other complaints - the cramped space was tolerable especially if I remind myself of the price of the room.

The Verdict

Overall, if you're only staying for the night and want something near the airport and Rizal Avenue, which is where most of the restaurants are, then Airport View Pension is a great choice. But if you're staying for a few days and want a cozy place where you can rest after touring the beautiful places that Puero Princesa City has to offer, I really suggest that you look somewhere else.

Quick Reviews: G.I.: Joe Retaliation

I think most of my Quick Reviews will comprise movies. I just don't have the time to digest movies as much as I would like to. And the efficacy of doing movie reviews is in the timing - while the movie is at least being shown in cinemas - so it makes no sense to delay this post.



Some of you have probably seen G.I. Joe Retaliation already but for those who haven't yet, here's my take:

The Good

• Action scenes, lots of them. I like the ninja fight at the side of the snow mountain.

The Bad

• The story (It's flat, predictable, the usual stuff that's already been used in a lot movies.)
• The script and lines (Not witty, jokes not funny, the dialogues for the most of the parts were flat out boring, except maybe the one about "Korea" - just because it's very timely)
• The acting and casting (I just still can't see Dwayne Johnson as an actor. For me, he's still The Rock and his movie acting is as good as his wresting acting. The girl who portrayed Lady Jane was kickass, but not 'kickass' kickass enough. And Bruce Willis, didn't add anything to the cast or the movie. The villians were boring and did not appear as terrifying as they should be for a group who plans to blow up the whole world.)
• No character development (the clash between Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow, that's a worn-out plot already)

Worth seeing? If you like mindless action-packed movies (where you don't have to have puzzle-solving skills to figure out the plot) and don't care so much about storylines, characters, scripts and stuff like that, then G.I. Retaliation is your movie.

Quick Reviews: Pig Out Halo-Halo Heaven

If only I can blog as often as I want so that I churn out more prompt reviews. But that is not the case for me. Because of work and other things that take up most of my time, and that I like to put out lengthy and extensive reviews, my posts are often delayed by months, lucky if it's just one month. So I came up with Quick Reviews - short, bulleted details of products, foods, places or anything that I'd like to talk about that I feel need to posted right away, or don't have plenty enough details to deserve a full review.

Like this Pig Out Halo-Halo Heaven for example:

• Price is P365
• Good for 5-6 persons or more (there were 8 of us who shared this).
• Watch out for the popping sago (tapioca). The wait staff said it's imported from Thailand.
• Nothing special about the toppings (sweetened banana, beans, langka, kaong, macapuno, garbanzos, gulaman, cereals) but the milk/cream had something else. I can't quite say what it is, probably the ice cream, but it gave a nice 'distinct' sweet taste to the dessert.
• Just the right sweetness that doesn't linger on and hurt the throat.
• I was missing the taste of ube (purple yam) and leche flan.
• There were a few large pieces of ice, would've been better if it was crushed finely.

But this Pig Out Halo-Halo Heaven was super fun to eat with friends and family. A perfect treat for summer. Sulit na din for P365.