Happy Trails, Fans!

Bruce Willis, Die Hard, and John McClane. You're not a true action hero fan if you do not recognize these. 

Die Hard Movie poster from Wikipedia website

Die Hard has been one of the most recognized action films due to its unique plot, and of course, the chemistry between John and Holly McClane, and also Hans Gruber's Yippee-ki-yay.

Moreover, it's not usual to have an action-packed Christmas movie.

Jackie Chan in City Hunter from filmlinc.org

This film has been obviously well-loved not only by fans but also by actors and filmmakers. Jackie Chan's "City Hunter" (1993) had the same plot of having foreign terrorists becoming in-charge. Additionally, Chan wears a white tank top which was similar to what Willis wore in the first Die Hard.

Jake Peralta, the lead character of the TV sitcom "Brooklyn Nine-Nine", expressed his obsession with the Die Hard movies all throughout the show's five seasons. There was even a whole episode that replicated the plot of the first Die Hard. Peralta even listed the villains' names in his wrist. Other references were the Nakatomi Plaza cake and the visit of the whole cast to the Nakatomi Plaza itself.

Screengrab/Post from 9gag.com

Die Hard had spawned five sequels. However, some of the sequels had received mixed reviews. My personal favorite in order were Die Hard 1, Die Hard: With a Vengeance, Live Free or Die Hard 4.0, Die Hard 2, and A Good Day to Die Hard.

Die Hard 2 got the second lowest because I felt that it was very similar to the first Die Hard, just except that it happened in an airport. The fifth Die Hard got the lowest place because I felt it was not a very Die Hard-like movie. I never even had the chance A Good Day to Die Hard completely from start to end.

With news of a planned sixth Die Hard movie, however, without Willis in the role, fans would be completely mixed. Some might want to see the origin story of John McClane. Some might want to see more action, and less talking, with Willis in the lead role, of course.

What I'm sure of, we just want to hear John McClane say this again "Yippee-ki-yay, Motherf*cker!"

Happy trails, Hans from a post in Twitter.com

MOVIE REVIEW: Reprisal

Did you come across this film thinking that Bruce Willis will display a John McClane-like performance? Well, you were tricked which was what happened to me, too.

Movie poster from teaser-trailer.com

Willis portrayed James, an ex-cop, who is a neighbor to the lead character played by Frank Grillo, Jacob. The glorious Olivia Culpo had a  supporting role as Jacob's wife.

Jacob encountered a bank robbery in the bank where he was working in. The robbers killed one from the staff who tried to retaliate.

Jacob was haunted by the events and soon after, sought help from the friendly neighbor, James. Along with his wife, was his sick daughter. (Spoiler alert: You know it. There is a hostage scene later in the film.)

Willis' part was limited, as he was just the "inside man" that Jacob needed to overcome his dilemma since James was an ex-cop. They teamed up to identify the culprit from the robbery. Eventually, an intense car chase commenced, however, with  Jacob and the culprit. James was only on comms and did not do any sort of action.

In the film's end part, the identified culprit took Jacob's family hostage. James helped, and showed up with a shotgun as his weapon of choice. But again, he did not do much for the sake of action, except perhaps for some clever decision-making which helped our main man, Jacob.

A shootout with a couple of undercover police, contacted by James, and the culprit, and Jacob occurred as James and the wife looked for the hostaged daughter. Jacob needed some time to disarm the culprit because he wanted to catch him alive, for the sake of the whereabouts of his daughter. James entered and shot the culprit dead.

Jacob rushed to the dead body confused and worried that he might not know where his daughter was.  Little did he know that James came into the scene and had already rescued his daughter.

Overalll, the film was a good heist film. However, the takeaway for me was the billing of the actors, specifically for Willis. Of course, they made that as part of their marketing strategy. And for that matter, I could say that it was effective. I could only speack for myself though. They wanted to let people know that the hero of the Die Hard movies woold star in a movie so they gave him the second billing. However, his part in this film was just a supporting one. That might make movie watchers be disappointed with the film. 

If you're  into plain action, this one would be a good pick. It had some thrilling moments and an interesting plot, especially with Jacob's dilemma of being traumatized, and his switch from being a family man into a vigilante.

MOVIE REVIEW: From Russia With Love Part 2

*Continuation*

Despite scheduling their plan on the 14th, they executed their plan on the 13th. From what I believe, this was some sort of decoy made by Bond to fool those who might be listening to them, if there was.

Upon their arrival at the Orient Express, Tania noticed Benz, a Russian security agent. Along with them on the train were Kerim. They were Mr. and Mrs. David and Caroline Somerset, a newly married couple on their way to England. Unfortunately, Kerim was killed in his encounter with Benz along the way and this made Bond think suspiciously of his Mrs. Somerset. The interrogation was such a good scene and it showed how Bond was still putting the mission first. The Lektor was the mission, not the girl. I loved it most when Tania's answers were all "I love you, I love you. It's true," and Bond's reply was just a cold "Sure."

Bond finally met his rival, Grant, who was posing as Captain Nash, Kerim's contact. With probably the same coded signal that Bond has been using with his allies, Grant convinced Bond that he was Nash.

In their scenes together, Bond and Grant exchanged some clever lines. Grant was even using Nash's voice. After dinner, Tania was drugged by Grant and soon after, they had to return to their room for Tania to rest. By that time, Bond was so sure that Nash was no ally. Upon entering a separate room, Bond asked grant, "What was it that you put on her drink?"

Bond had the situation under control until Grant tricked and knocked him out. Bond responds to his current situation by saying that he should've confirmed he was not an ally immediately after Grant's "Red wine with fish" order.

What followed was the classic fight scene between the two in a darkened and narrow room. The camera work and editing that made the fight become one of the most brutal fight scenes in the series. Bond won the fight using the knives that were hidden in Q Branch's modified attache case.

James Bond and Red Grant from Den of Geek website

This very scene from FRWL was what made every train in every Bond film thrilling. When you mix Bond, a Bond girl, a henchman, and a train - that would surely end up in a fight scene. Hello, Live and Let Die, The Spy Who Loved Me, and Spectre!

Bond and Tania left the train, however, Spectre's thugs waiting for Grant were there. Bond easily disposed of them and took control of their vehicle on their way to the films two grand chases. In the first, Bond was chased down by a thug from a chopper a la Cary Grant in North By Northwest, and in the next one, Bond and Tania were chased down in a boat. However, these two chase scenes were not convincing enough, majorly due to the SPECTRE thugs' decision to slow down and stop eventually altogether. Bond had scattered his boat's gas tanks in the same exact area where the thugs stopped. Boom!

"Slow down. Slow down all boats."

Kronsteen was eliminated after his plan has failed, while Klebb was on her last hurrah against Bond.

While Bond and Tania were dressing up in a hotel room, Klebb enters the room, posing as a helper, to get the Lektor. Bond recognized him and it was one of the most suspenseful fights because, during the course of the film, we knew that Klebb's pointed shoes were lethal. Bond was totally no match for Klebb. Bond was obviously struggling.

Rosa Klebb pointing a gun at Bond from derekwinnert.com

Klebb's lethal shoes aiming at Bond from Sky.com

Fortunately, love won! Tania shot Klebb, ending Bond's agony. 

The couple took their time riding on a gondola while Bond disposes of their recorded sexual encounter, and the film's end credits appear.

That was the end, or better said by the film itself, "not quite the end" because there would be more James Bond thrillers!

FRWL easily became my favorite Bond movie. It showed the real spy that James Bond should be and the James Bond spy genre that the Bond movies should get inspiration. Sadly, the formula used in this film would only be used again after 18 years via "For Your Eyes Only" (1981). Despite using the modified attache case from Q Branch, the movie was not yet the cartoonish movie that it had become due to its gadgets. Simplicity was the key for FRWL.

I also have the nicest things to say about the villains. The villains were great, and had a good team, if not the most perfect team, to deal with Bond. Wit, tenacity, and strength went hand in hand to beat Bond. As for the Bond girl, Tatiana Romanova was one of the most beautiful Bond girls in my opinion. She had the young, innocent look that Solitaire had in Live and Let Die. She also did great in the acting department, even if it was her first stint in acting.

MOVIE REVIEW: From Russia With Love Part 1

"From Russia With Love (FRWL)" was the second Bond film for Sean Connery, for EON Productions, for the franchise, and for the fans. This movie was so good, the scene that had been the audition scene for screen tests of possible incoming Bond actors was taken here. That was the scene where Bond found Tania in his hotel room bed.

Movie poster from Illustrated007 website

According to sources, American President John F. Kennedy spoke about how much he liked the novel FRWL by Ian Fleming. This development boosted the sales of the book which eventually made it inevitable for the said novel to be the next one to be in the big screens.

Aside from James Bond, Moneypenny, M, and Sylvia Trench made their return to the Bond films reprising their roles. Major Boothroyd was also in FRWL and was tasked to supply Bond of the standard issue attache case (with its secrets and surprises, of course) for the mission, however, he was bearing a different name in the movie. He was called Q, being that he is the Quartermaster of the Q Branch and he was also played here by Desmond Llewelyn instead of Peter Burton.

The villain in this movie was the sinister organization SPECTRE. After Dr. No was killed by Bond in the previous film, SPECTRE was out for revenge, utilizing a brilliant plan by SPECTRE No. 5 Kronsteen, who is a chess grandmaster. SPECTRE No. 3, Russian General Rosa Klebb was tasked to help Kronsteen, along with the henchman of this movie Red Grant. Moreover, the SPECTRE bad guys were headed by their No. 1, who was left unnamed in the film's end credits.

The mysterious head of SPECTRE and his white cat from michaelmay.online

Kronsteen at a chess battle from 007  Under the Mango Tree website

Of course, we all know now that he is Ernst Stavro Blofeld, who apparently is Bond's step-brother, as per the 24th Bond film, Spectre.

The film opened with a gun barrel sequence, which featured Bob Simmons again. After the shot and blood-dripping, the film commenced with the very first pre-title sequence of the film series with Red Grant and an agent looking a lot like James Bond. They were looking out for each other, waiting for an opportunity to attack. The thrill was present, the feel was a lot different from the previous film. However, the mystery continued further after Bond was seemingly strangled by Grant's garrote watch. After this, the film went on to the title credits.

After some time, you might start asking yourself this: Why would a movie starring Sean Connery who plays James Bond kill off the character in the films first minutes? This would be teased further as Bond would only appear 20 minutes into the movie after the whole plethora of villains were introduced. 

It was a great introduction for the villains. We saw that Kronsteen was the brains of the organization, Klebb was loyal not to Mother Russia but to SPECTRE, and that Grant was strong AF. Klebb punched his abdomen with a knuckle and he did not move a bit. That was how strong he looked like. No. 1 was creepy, and in this film, we knew that failures in the executions of their plans would lead to the execution of the ones who failed. Quite tragic.

Bond was sent to Istanbul for a supposed Russian defector, Tatiana Romanova (the Bond girl),  and a Lektor, a decoding device that M badly wanted. M sent Bond despite having doubts that the defection was only a trap.

Bond's ally in this film was Kerim Bay. He was one of the greatest allies that Bond had and could be even ranked higher than most of Felix Leiter's stint. Unfortunately, he was the sacrificial lamb of this film. He would be killed once Bond, Tania, and himself would board the Orient Express.

Before meeting Tania, Bond and Kerim go out on adventures with the gypsies and also taking out one of Kerim's nemesis. Tania and Bond crossed paths in this very intriguing scene. 

"But I think my mouth is too big."

"No, it's the right size. For me that is."

Unexpectedly, Klebb would be seen watching the flirting and other activities of the couple from a two-way mirror while also recording it in a video, and puffing a cigarette. (Get a room, Klebb! Better yet, get a separate room!)

Bond and Tania went on to discuss matters about the Lektor on the next day, with Tania still flirting with Bond. Bond should be given credit for being so focused on the mission despite Tania's flirting. Perhaps because he had already banged her during the previous night.

*Continuation on my next post!*

The King Versus the Fab Four

Most of us here in the Philippines have one plan on November 1 every year. That is to remember and celebrate the lives of our loved ones who passed away.

We pray for them to be peaceful eternally.

However, some have other things in mind aside from visiting and offering peace for their departed loved ones.

There is another group of Filipinos that awaits November 1 for another thing, which is the battle that will settle it all, hopefully: Elvis versus The Beatles.

Promotion of the show grabbed from RJ Society of Music Facebook page

DZRJ 100.3 offers the entertainment of having fans give out reasons and the power of their votes for their chosen party. Some would go for Elvis, some would go for the Fab Four. 

Ramon 'RJ' Jacinto, the main man of the show and the radio network is a musician himself and a very musically-inclined musician. He has his own radio network, recording studio, and brand of guitar, and other musical instruments for him and his band to use, which he also shares to people via his music shop, RJ Guitar Center, all throughout the country.

Since I was a child, my family and I have been tuning into DZRJ every Sunday morning for his show wherein he plays requests that our parents, and probably, your parents also, love to hear. In that show, I saw that he was quite a Beatles fan too. He'd play Beatles hits often, although there's a chance that the requests were just to have Beatles' songs always.

It was always good listening to and watching his show, and up until now, we still do.

Going back to the battle of the greats, I could remember that Elvis won on the first time that I heard about it. However, the Beatles got it in the next year, and the next year, and the next year. If my memory played it rightly. 

There was even a running joke in the show about the reason why Elvis is being beaten in the tally of votes by The Beatles by the start of the program in the morning. RJ said that it was because Elvis fans were either still visiting in the cemetery, or already resting in the cemetery for good ( Do correct me if this memory was wrong again, thanks!) Anyway, that was a joke that I found funny since I was a very avid Beatles listener during my childhood. We were raised listening to the Beatles music. Our music knowledge sort of evolved with the Beatles as the beginning. In the show, RJ would alternately play their songs, hits after hits after hits. Just imagine the bliss it brought to us back then.

I could remember that Elvis fans would catch up by noon, however, by afternoon everything you could hear would just be Beatles' songs, which means they have already won the battle for that day.

Yesterday, November 1, 2018, I tuned in to their station in the radio and in the television and found out no battle anymore. Apparently, the battle has stopped for a couple of years now.

It's sad that as we grew, the show had also grown fond of the battle. It's maybe because the fans have grown older and older, or maybe the technology now is more reliable back then, all we need is one click to see Elvis and the Beatles play and hear their songs.

The memory will live on though. Just like the legacy of two of the greatest, if not the greatest, music acts of all time, Elvis and The Beatles.

Who Did You Become for This Year's Halloween?

Usually, people warn us that we shall fear the alive, more than the dead ones.

They say that the alive can do more damage than any paranormal being can do. Do you find this statement true?

Be that as it may, the question that I want to ask is "Why do we want to scare ourselves?" What bliss do we get in scaring ourselves?

To answer that question, we might have to answer this one first. I asked some of my friends the question, "Who do you want to be for Halloween?" and these were their answers.

One friend answered the evil nun, Valak, from the movies. Another answered being Wonder Woman, while another one answered just being another zombie.

Over the years, Halloween has become a thing not for scary beings only, but also superheroes and generally, any fictional character. You see, it'd be very insulting and offensive to portray a non-fictional character as a Halloween alter-ego.

Superheroes like Deadpool, the aforementioned Wonder Woman, and Spiderman have become fan-favorites. I've also seen movie and TV characters, too, like Sadness from Inside Out, Miguel from Coco and Sansa Stark from Game of Thrones portrayed by the always quirky Joe Jonas (Sophie Turner's love in real life). Soon after, the couple graced the public with their portrayal of Gomez and Morticia Addams from The Addams Family.

Joe Jonas' Instagram story as Sansa Stark from www.winteriscoming.net

The Addams Family from the Daily Mail website

With such observations, I found that people do not generally want to scare themselves. Halloweens have become like some sort of a showcase of creativity and imaginative decision-making with a wide mix of motif and theme, while still having the horror genre as the major theme.

Holidays, in general, are people's escape to their exhausting daily lives of school and work. The observance of Halloween is no exception to that. People take Halloween as a break from their usual selves, and they intensify it with their alter-egos.

No matter who you chose to be, just be sure that no one will be harmed or affected in doing so, only your dignity. Kidding.

Takot sa Takutan

Takutan ba 'kamo?

Ang mga tao nga naman
Hindi na maintindihan
Alam nang matatakot sila
Lalong magtatakutan pa

Manonood ng horror na palabas

Pero paos naman pag lumabas

Paos dahil sa sobrang gulat

Mga mata'y parang ayaw na imulat

Sikat din na tapatan sa telebsiyon

Mga nakakatakot na presentasyon

True to life expereinces daw

Ng white lady, aswang, at halimaw

Isa pang bagong gawain

Ang kwentuhan pagkagat ng dilim

Pero parang kalokohan lang naman

Hindi multo ang gustong patunayan

Dahil ang prowebang pinakita

Hindi multong nagpakita

3 AM challenge na pinagpyestahan

9:40 PM naman pala kinunan

Photo from androidpolice.com

Mas nakakatakot sa aswang at manananggal

Ang mga taong puro na lang atungal

Walang katuturan na argumento

Pinagaaksayahan pa ng minuto't komento

Wag maging manananggal

Sa sarili, o sa kapwa mong mahal

Pero hindi 'yung nakakalipad

Kundi 'yung manananggal ng dignidad

Filipino Mythological Creature "Manananggal" from filipinojournal.cm