Film Review: The Danish Girl (2015)

The Danish Girl is inspired by the true story of married Danish painters Einar and Gerda Wegener. When portrait artist Gerda Wegener as her husband Einar to stand in for a female model who couldn’t make it on time, it reveals her husband lifetime identification as a woman.

I just absolutely adore this film. The whole time, I was transfixed to Eddie Redmayne’s transformation into Lili Elbe’s character. His sublime performance as one of the pioneering transgender individuals is nothing short of amazing!

After Redmayne’s beyond amazing Oscar winning performance in The Theory of Everything, this I thought should’ve gotten him his second Oscar. Alas, he was pitted against THE Leonardo DiCaprio whose time to win has been long overdue and it would be a total injustice if DiCaprio’s equally incredible performance in The Revenant will be ignored yet again. If this was released last year, he could easily snatched the Best Actor trophy from Gary Oldman.

It is also undeniable that without Vikander’s affecting performance as Einar Wegener’s devoted wife, the whole vibe of the film won’t be as convincing! Her subtle intensity is what made Gerda’s character truly mesmerizing on screen.

The story felt as powerful today as when it was released a couple of years back, what with all the stories and media mileage the Transgender community is getting at the moment, one that I’m hoping will continue until such time everyone could just mind their own business.

Director: Tom Hooper
Cast: Eddie Redmayne, Alicia Vikander, Matthias Schoenaerts, Ben Whishaw, Amber Heard, Sebastian Koch, Adrian Schiller, Emerald Fennell, Nicholas Woodeson, Pip Torrens, Henry Pettigrew

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Film Review: Mamma Mia 2! Here We Go Again (2018)

The first film, Mamma Mia was an absolute delight! I’m a big Meryl Streep fan and I absolutely adore the storyline of the first installment which was released a decade ago. Can you believe that it has been 10 years? Doesn’t feel like it at all!

I was able to catch Mamma Mia 2! Here We Go Again during its first week of showing in Manila and I’m pretty surprised that aside from its expected demographics lining up for it, a lot of younger viewers were actually there to watch it. Imagine that!

This film would disappoint some, if not all of Meryl Streep fans because this is a Meryl-less Mamma Mia! Ugh. It was rather head scratching at first when it was revealed at the start of the film that her character, Donna died a year before. The heart of the first film just had a little scene (but definitely the highlight) at the end and that’s it. I’ll be glad to tell you though that it wasn’t so bad that they killed Meryl’s character – I mean, they need something to work on. Although, personally I wasn’t convinced that it was the best route.

The first good thing about this installment is the inclusion of more music from ABBA (obviously) that I’ve never heard before aside from the more popular ones like Fernando, I Have A Dream and Waterloo that were not part of the first film. I have to be honest though, ABBA was not my generation, hence, my lack of knowledge about their catalogue. Secondly is the casting of Lily James (Cinderella, 2015) as the young Donna. She’s an absolute delight on screen and I couldn’t think of any other actresses that could do the role justice. And then there’s Cher. I was giggling throughout her scenes because she’s such a fucking queen especially when she sang the iconic Fernando. That was one of the highlights for me.

There’s also a bunch of eye candies here! The young fathers of Sophie are just all so dreamy! I particularly liked the very charming Josh Dylan as the young Bill! But really, the casting was fantastic!

Overall, it wasn’t as enjoyable as the first film because I wanted more Meryl in it but you cannot fault the treatment of the film paying homage to ABBA and Meryl Streep’s character – a film filled with beautiful people and jaw-dropping musical productions!

Director: Ol Parker
Cast: Amanda Seyfried, Meryl Streep, Dominic Cooper, Christine Baranski, Jessica Keenan Wynn, Julie Walters, Alexa Davies, Pierce Brosnan, Jeremy Irvine, Colin Firth, Hugh Skinner, Stella Skarsgård, Josh Dylan, Cher, Andy Garcia

Music: When I Kissed The Teacher, I Wonder (Departure), One of Us, Waterloo, Why Did It Have to Be Me?, I Have a Dream, Kisses of Fire, Andante, Andante, The Name of the Game, Knowing Me, Knowing You, Mamma Mia, Angel Eyes, Dancing Queen, I’ve Been Waiting For You, Fernando, My Love, My Life, Super Trouper, The Day Before You Came

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Film Review: Cargo (2018)

Cargo reminds me a little bit of John Hillcoat’s The Road starring Viggo Mortensen and Kodi Smit-McPhee or maybe it’s simply because of the same father and his kid scenario in a post-apocalyptic world – a sort of Zombie apocalypse for this film. I honestly didn’t like The Road that much when I initially watched it but rewatching it has been a rather enlightening experience.

Cargo, though is a totally different experience compared with my first impression watching The Road. I actually find it more emotional and the reason perhaps, is because it has a baby in it! When Guido sacrificed himself to save Giosue in La Vita e Bella, his kid has some great memories of him. Smit-McPhee’s character in The Road is old enough to remember his dad. But Rosie. Poor Rosie is just a wee thing wearing her diaper and needing to feed every now and then and she won’t even remember a thing about her father – his sacrifices and all that. Just heartbreaking!

The movie’s bleak overall feel was juxtaposed by its ginormous setting of the Australian wild. It would’ve been boring if not for the affecting performance of Martin Freeman as a sensible and loving father who will do everything to keep his baby safe. The baby may be the heart of the film – the center of everything that’s happening in the film – but Freeman is definitely its heartbeat.

This is an affecting film, that’s for sure – not scary, startling or even groundbreaking but its emotional impact is its strength. It’d be a worthy film to watch, most definitely!

Director: Ben Howling and Yolanda Ramke
Cast: Martin Freeman, Anthony Hayes, Caren Postorius, David Gulpilil. Susie Porter, Kris McQuade, Bruce R. Carter, Natasha Wanganeen, Simone Landers

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Film Review: Alex Strangelove (2018)

At first glimpse, Alex Strangelove looks like a mere rip-off of Love, Simon but far from its smiliar LGBTQ+ lead characters, this coming-of-age film has a charm of its own with Daniel Doheny adorably playing the role of Alex Truelove and his quest – with the help of his supportive friends – to lose his virginity to his awesome girlfriend / bestfriend Claire (Madeline Weinstein).

Unlike Love, Simon – this isn’t as wholesome and as realistic in terms of how accepting the high school kids are and virtually just about everyone around Alex. That is where it falters a bit in my opinion. Alex Strangelove is a cliché yet poignant and optimistic movie in an unforgiving high school setting moving towards acceptance, rather than just mere tolerance when it comes to sexuality and individuality. It is beautiful yet too ideal a scenario that we only see on TV and the big screen – this time, through my smartphone.

That being said, Alex Strangelove is a step forward towards education. A step towards acceptance. We’ve already made some progress. One step at a time. One step at a time.

Director: Craig Johnson
Cast: Daniel Doheny, Antonio Marziale, Madeline Weinstein, Daniel Zolghadri, Nik Dodani, Fred Hechinger

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Film Review: Annihilation (2018)

I’m not big on these kind of films but this one piqued my interest from its very visually appealing trailer, plus one of my favorite actresses is starring in it so I ‘d easily searched it thru Netflix where it was widely released and tagged as one of Netflix originals.

Annihilation follows a group of an all-female scientist who enter a mysterious quarantine zone they call The Shimmer – a place where there is constant mutation from virtually all living things the shimmer touches.

There were several failed mission before the group where nobody has ever returned except for one – Lena’s (Natalie Portman) husband. Nobody has ever gotten information about The Shimmer since said husband couldn’t remember a thing and communications is jammed inside the Shimmer.

I’ve several questions about the central premise of the film but the major thing that bothered me is – if and when the / a group was able to gather information from The Shimmer, then what? It’s not like, we’re advanced enough to counter such entity (if you even wanna call IT that). Obviously, the whole thing was expected to expand and invade cities, states, countries and the rest of the world in time but what can we do exactly? I mean, all throughout I was just thinking about what are they going to do about a world that is constantly evolving, the way we are evolving now. If you wanna go deep and a philosophical about it – even without the Shimmer. We are evolving. Maybe not in appearance (just yet) but in every aspects of our lives.

It was a fascinating and visually stimulating film to say the least. Very typical alien-esque movie, not as artsy as the tree of life but definitely worth a watch or two!

Director: Alex Garland
Cast: Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez, Tessa Thompson, Tuva Novotny, Oscar Isaac, Benedict Wong, Sonoya Mizuno, David Gyasi,

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Book Review: In Other Words…Murder (Holmes & Moriarity, #4) – Josh Lanyon

36546081Published July 13, 2018 by Josh Lanyon
Genres & Themes: LGBTQ+, Mystery, Murder, Romance, Family
Ebook Edition, 215 pages
ISBN13: 9781945802263
Characters: Christopher “Kit” Holmes, J.X. Moriarity

Blurb:
Mystery author Christopher Holmes, now comfortably married to sometimes rival, sometimes nemesis J.X. Moriarity, is starting a new career as a true crime writer when threatening anonymous notes start arriving.

Even worse, Christopher’s ex also arrives–asking for help locating the man he left Christopher for!

It’s life–and death–as usual at Chez Holmes. In other words… Murder.

It’s been ages since I’ve read something from Josh Lanyon and reading the fourth book off her Holmes and Moriarity series made me realized how much I missed her storytelling and it reminded me how much I absolutely loved almost all of her catalogue!

In Other Words…Murder is no exception. I absolutely adore this installment of the series where we see J.X. and Kit being all so domestic with each other, much more the inscrutable and super adorably funny Kit! I could totally picture him being all so awkward, snooty and of all things – romantic!

I totally enjoyed the mystery here. There are three things that are happening at the same time so I was a bit puzzled at first on how the author would tie up all the loose ends and being the awesome Josh Lanyon, ofcourse she’d find a way to do it neatly and I’ve to say that I’m more than satisfied with it.

This is highly recommended for the fans of the series and for those who have not had the chance to read anything from Ms. Lanyon, I suggest you start with this series and you’d definitely won’t regret it!

My only problem about the whole thing is the last page where she said that the next Holmes and Moriarity installment is still in 2020!!! Ugh. That’s like forever!!!!

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

About The Author
A distinct voice in gay fiction, multi-award-winning author JOSH LANYON has been writing gay mystery, adventure and romance for over a decade. In addition to numerous short stories, novellas, and novels, Josh is the author of the critically acclaimed Adrien English series, including The Hell You Say, winner of the 2006 USABookNews awards for GLBT Fiction. Josh is an Eppie Award winner and a three-time Lambda Literary Award finalist.

Burt’s Bees Beeswax Lip Balm Review (Philippines)

I seldom post product reviews but I thought ya’ll should know how satisfied I am with Burt’s Bees Besswax Lip Balm. It’s the first lip balm I’ve tried that works well with me after being a ‘petroleum jelly’ user for years! Yes! Kind of icky but I’ve been using it for my lips for several years now disregarding its eventual negative effects! I hope that I’d still be able to counter said effects overtime.

I got the classic Burt’s Bees Beexwax Lip Blam with Vitamin E and Peppermint from Watsons in Megamall for P225. It maybe pretty pricey compared with other lip balms out there but I’d sya it’s worth it.

Upon application there’s this tingling feeling of mint at first until it disappear and bye bye dry and chapped lips for the day! I usually apply it whenever needed. It’s so different from Petroleum Jelly and other lip balms I’ve tried since it doesn’t feel icky that you barely feel that you applied it on your lips.

I’ve been using it for a week now and loving it so far!

Update: Japan Multiple-Entry Visa Application for Filipinos!

I am going to be lodging my Japan Visa Application by the end of August for my Osaka trip in October which I’m pretty excited about so I’m hoping that I’d be able to finish my deadlines at work and have all of the prerequisites ready. It will be my first time to apply for a Japan Visa and I will be gunning right away for a Multiple Entry Visa since said visa could be my entry for my planned South American tour next year with a friend (see, we’re planning to use the MNL-MEX-COL route which at present is the cheapest route that we’re seeing online).

I’m not even sure if I’ve abundant funds enough for the consul to grant me an ME visa (3) Applicant with abundant financial capacity) Oh well, I’ll just hope for the best then.

Going back to the Multipl Entry Visa Application, the Japan Government recently added some provision for Multiple-entry Visa for Philippine Nationals. Below is exactly what the government has added that you can also read thru: http://www.ph.emb-japan.go.jp/itpr_en/00_000035.html

MULTIPLE-ENTRY VISA FOR BUSINESS PURPOSE, AND CULTURAL OR INTELLECTUAL FIGURES

The following is an outline of application procedures for nationals of Republic of the Philippines who wish to apply for a multiple-entry visa for business purpose, and for cultural or intellectual figures (period of stay: 15, 30, or 90 days, visa validity: 1, 3, 5, 10 years ). The visa is for the purpose of business affairs for the first visit, but from the second visit it is possible to use as tourist or visiting to relatives/ acquaintances as well. But it is not permitted to perform activities to undertake revenue generating business operations or activities to receive remuneration.

A. Eligible Applicants 1. Applicant with business purpose Applicant who is applicable to one of the following categories and his/her spouse or children

(1) A regular employee of a public (government) enterprise.
(2) An employee of a private company which is listed on the stock exchange (including Japan and third countries)
(3) A regular employee of a Japanese-affiliated company which is a member of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and has a management base in Japan
(4) A regular employee of a joint venture company, a subsidiary company or a branch office of a company which is listed on the stock exchange (including Japan and the third countries)
(5) A regular employee of a private company with constant business transactions with a Japanese company which is listed on the stock exchange
(6) A regular employee of a company among the “Top 1,000 Philippine corporations in terms of gross revenue”
(7) A regular employee with a travel record to Japan for business purpose and travel records as temporary visitor to G7 countries (except Japan) in the last three years
(8) A regular employee with more than three travel records to Japan for business purpose in the last three years

2. Applicants for cultural or intellectual figures etc. Applicant who is applicable to one of the following categories and his/her spouse or children

(1) An artist (Fine Art, Literary Art, Music, Stage Play, Dance etc.) , a specialist in humanities (Literature, Law, Economics etc.), or a scientist (Technology, Medicine etc.) who has relevant accomplishments
(2) A lawyer, certified public accountant, patent attorney, judicial scrivener, notary, medical doctor who has a national or international qualification and actually working as the same position.
(3) An amateur sports player who has relevant accomplishments
(4) A full-time professor, assistant professor, or lecturer of a university or a college
(5) A director or higher post of a national or public research institution or a museum
(6) A Diet member, government official, local assemblyman, local government official

B. REQUIREMENTS All documents must be original unless otherwise stated.
1. Philippine Passport
• Broken passport is not accepted. Passports must be signed and must have at least two (2)
blank visa pages.

2. Visa Application Form
• Available at the Embassy website, at the entrance of the Embassy or at any of the accredited
travel agencies.
• Application form should be filled out all items correctly, If item is not applicable, please fill in
[N/A]. Embassy may not accept application with blank item, no signature or no date in the
form; may deny the application that is filled out incorrectly or wrong information.

3. Photo
• Specs: 4.5cm x 4.5cm, with white background
• Photo must be taken within 6 months.
• Please write applicant’s name and birthdate on back side of the photo.
• Photo must be pasted on the application form.

4. Employment Certificate (with applicant’s salary, tenure and position)
• Owner of a company should submit a copy of “Certificate of Business Name Registration”
issued by Department of Trade and Industry or Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission

5. Documents to prove the applicant is qualified for one of the categories abovementioned
A.1(1) ~ (8), A.2(1) ~ (6).
• If qualified for abovementioned A.1(7) or (8),current or old passport that shows Japanese and
G7 countries’(except Japan) temporary visitor visas as well as entry stamps in the last three years.
• If qualified for abovementioned A.2(2),Copy of ID card(issued by Profession Regulation
Commission)

6. Explanation letter for requesting multiple-entry visa (must be made by applicant)  Please fill in embassy prescribed form “Reason For Requesting Multiple Entry Visa”, check items that apply and fill in reason for request.

7. A letter of explanation stating the reason of applying for the multiple visa (letter of mission
or travel requisition by employer, etc.) * for business purpose

8. Documents to prove kinship ( birth certificates, marriage certificate and copy of passport and
visa page of the multiple entry visa holder (parent or spouse) )
[NOTICE]  Size of document for application should be A4 size only. If document is other size, please submit copy that is already adjusted in A4 size from its original and without staples or pasting
pages.  It is applicant’s responsibility to ensure that he/she meet the requirements for the grant of a visa. Submission of any supporting documents not listed above is encouraged (e.g. applicant’s
economic or social ties with the Philippines, urgent reasons for visit: medical certificate,
wedding invitation).

I am hoping that I’d really get a multiple entry visa but a single entry would suffice since I really wanted to visit Japan for the longest time now!

ICYMI: Miss Universe 2018 – Live in Thailand!

The 67th Miss Universe pageant will be held on 17 December 2018 at the Impact Areana in Bangkok, Thailand. This would be the third time the country will be hosting the show after the ultra successful staging of the pageant in 2005 and way back in 1992.

Steve Harvey who hosted the infamous 2015 edition will return for the fourth consecutive times as host.

Our very own Catriona Gray is also all set to ‘battle’ it out in Thailand releasing a short but beautiful video giving us a bit of a glimpse of the beautiful host country! Now, that is what you call gameplan!

Go and book your tickets now for the most beautiful event in the Universe!

ICYMI: Asia’s Next Top Model Cycle 6 – Judges, Mentors and the Contestants!

After our very own Maureen Wroblewitz snagged the Asia’s Next Top Model title last year, the top reality modeling competition in Asia is back with the tagline – Beyond Limits!

Cindy Bishop will still be hosting the show and serve as a judge along with the show’s creative director Yu Tsai. The surprising part is the participation of Monika Sta. Maria (from Cycle 3), Minh Tu Nguyen and Shikin Gomez (both from Cycle 5) as the models mentors this season!

Monika Sta. Maria (from Cycle 3), Minh Tu Nguyen and Shikin Gomez (both from Cycle 5) are the models’ mentors this season!

Now, let’s meet the 14 contestants who will be competing in the hopes of becoming Asia’s Next Top Model!

Adela Marshall – Philippines

Fun fact about Adela – she’s actually the runner-up to Angela Lehmann on the second cycle of the Philippines’ Next Top Model. The revival of the show didn’t take off as expected but it was definitely a great learning experience for Adela for sure!

Beauty Tinh – Myanmar

Dana Slosar – Thailand

Hody Yim – Hong Kong

Hody Yim – Hong Kong

Jach Manere – Philippines

Jesslyn Lim – Indonesia

Lena Saetiao – Thailand

Mia Sabathy – Taiwan

Pim Bubear – Thailand

Rina Nguyen – Vietnam

Rubini Sambanthan – Malaysia

Sharnie Fenn – Japan

Si Yihan – Singapore

Bangkok will be the home of the models this cycle and the show will premiere on the 22nd of August on Fox Life.