Book and Movie Reviews

Been a little busy, but I've decided that to frequent my posts, I'll be making reviews about the books that I read and the movies I see.

First up, next week, I'll review The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins.

Yadda.

Rio: Overcoming the Fear of Flight! - A Movie Review

Indeed, it has been refreshing to see a movie so unpretentious, especially in today's world where movies are all about special effects and violence. Rio has been like a blast of cold and fresh air.

The movie is about Blu, a domesticated macaw from small-town Minnesota, who, being the last of its kind, travels with Linda, his owner, to mate with his only living female counterpart. However, things go wrong the moment the two blue macaws gets abducted.

It has been a very long time that I laughed so hard during the screening in which I attended. The funny moments are intelligent, yet they are realistic in nature that anyone, kids and adults alike, really find them hilarious. This may be owing to the fact that, despite the exaggeration of speaking animals, the characters are someone we can relate to, with special mention to the main character, Blu. Throughout the movie, we share his experiences together in a very comprehensive manner. The audience feel the fear of flight just as Blu does, we fall in love with Jewel just as he does, etc. And this is what I like in a movie, the connection the main charaters to its audience.

Being a tech junkie, the animation of Rio is also commendable. The crisp and the variety of colors really fit with its characters and the setting, which is in Rio de Janeiro. How'd I love to go in there! There has been a great improvement with animation as we progress with technology. Being said, it is of great recommendation that one experience it in 3D cinemas. A little expensive, but totally worth it.

If I'd get the chance, I'll go see it again. 4 stars out of 5!

Oscar 2011 Best Achievement in Visual Effects Nominees

Indeed, there has been a great improvement with the visuals of the movie industry last year. 3D has become a fad and good special effects translate to large revenues. (Although, there are still victims of this confidence, aka, The Clash of the Titans)

And to prove this point, the nominees for the Best Achievement in Visual Effects of The Oscars this year are the cream of the crop. The following movies prove the point that visuals is not a simple business.

First off, Alice in Wonderland: Ken Ralston, David Schaub, Carey Villegas, Sean Phillips



Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1: Tim Burke, John Richardson, Christian Manz, Nicolas Aithadi



Hereafter: Michael Owens, Bryan Grill, Stephan Trojansky, Joe Farrell



Inception: Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley, Pete Bebb, Paul J. Franklin



Lastly, Iron Man 2: Janek Sirrs, Ben Snow, Ged Wright, Daniel Sudick



Well, there you have it! My bet? I'd go for Inception any day.

For the complete list of the Oscar 2011 Nominees, visit IMDB.com.

Book Review: American Gods by Neil Gaiman

One question that has always intrigued me is what happens to demonic beings when immigrants move from their homelands. Irish-Americans remember the fairies, Norwegian-Americans the nisser, [...] but only in relation to events remembered in the Old Country. When I once asked why such demons are not seen in America, my informants giggled confusedly and said, 'They're scared to pass the ocen, it's too far.'

- Richard Dorson

There is no better way to start a review on American Gods than state the quote written at the start of Neil Gaiman's bestselling novel.

Synopsis: Shadow dreamed of nothing but leaving prison and starting a new life. But the day before his release, his wife and best friend are killed in an accident. On the plane home to the funeral, he meets Mr. Wednesday — a beguiling stranger who seems to know everything about him. A trickster and rogue, Mr. Wednesday offers Shadow a job as his bodyguard. With nowhere left to go, Shadow accepts, and soon learns that his role in Mr. Wednesday's schemes will be far more dangerous and dark than he could have ever imagined. For beneath the placid surface of everyday life a war is being fought — and the prize is the very soul of America.[Source: Powell's books online ]

The novel starts in such a low tone that I had to drag myself to read the first few chapters, but it's just right that it sets the mood for what the main character is experiencing. Though when Shadow starts to accompany Wednesday, everything turns interesting and very intriguing. As every charpter of the first part passes through, you get to see yourself getting more and more immersed in a world where the impossible becomes possible while, at the same time, the boundless is bound by the limits of the modern world.

The second part of the book, we get a taste of how our world would work like, reminding us that despite all of the possibilities, we still live in the same world that we had been before. Also, this is my favorite part of all the four parts since it helps us understand more about Shadow, what kind of person he really is and not a shallow person as presented on the first part.

The third and the last parts will be just a breeze, since one cannot stop reading or even put the book down. Revelations come after another until the ultimate sacrifice and secret is revealed.

If you are to think of the concept of the book, one thinks its impossible to be written, much less for it to be believable. But Gaiman is just amazing. He has made a feat that no modern writer would be able to do (yes, I dare say that, Stephen King). He makes this world of the gods very real, that one may even consider that it exist in our world. As I've said before, he uses magic to create a place where the impossible becomes very possible yet is still bound by the rules of the modern world.

American Gods is a must read, whether you're a Neil Gaiman fan or not. Five stars out of five!

Pinoy on Technology

The surge of the use of technology and the boost of social networking sites these days is proved to also be true with the Filipinos. Juan de la Cruz seems not to far to the currents trend, just as recent surveys has showed.

First up, the just released 2008 Functional Literacy and Mass Media Survey (FLEMMS) results indicated that 58 million of the estimated 67 million Pinoy with ages 10 to 64 years old are functionally literate, or they can read, write, compute, and comprehend. This is a big improvement as to the functional literacy rate is now 86.4% compared to the 2003 FLEMMS result, which was 84.1%. More details of the report can be read in The Manila Bulletin official website.

On another hand, the latest report of the IT research and advisory firm Gartner Inc. states that the Philippines leads Asia on worldwide social media usage. In simpler terms, Pinoys are the most avid users of social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, in Asia.

The report had said that, "While Asia's biggest economies have been slow to embrace the global social communities of Facebook, Yahoo and Twitter, many countries in the region have followed the adoption patterns of Europe and the US. The most avid social networkers are in the Philippines, where Facebook is the country's most visited Internet site."

Does the two reports mean something that is good, I don't know? But it does mean that we are improving. Despite of the problems we encounter, I am still proud to be pinoy! Yeeehaa!