But so far, none of the recent romantic movies were able to survive the cynics’ critique, not even the taste of mere moviegoers. I’ve seen “One Day” which starred Anne Hathaway & Jim Sturgess and the 2006 flick “Griffin & Phoenix” of Amanda Peet & Dermot Mulroney. The only difference between the two, aside from the obvious age differences of the cast members, was that Hathaway and Sturgess took 20 years (or equivalent to 20 Julys – their fixed dating anniversary) to realize that they were meant for each other. Peet and Mulroney took less than a year and a dinner date to figure that one out.

Both movies injected some humor and wit. But somehow, they failed in that department as they came in either too melodramatic or tried hard to be funny and cute. The stories dragged until the end where they killed both heroines – and my sanity too.

Just look at him and you get that rare feeling he’s born to play the role.

Martin Freeman, a British actor included in the cast of The Office, has been chosen to play Bilbo Baggins in the two-part prequel of “The Hobbit”. It’s been confirmed and sealed. The new Bilbo will be joined by a team of Middle-Earth newcomers: Richard Armitage (UK’s “MI-5″, Captain America: The First Avenger) as Thorin Oakenshield; Aidan Turner (“Being Human”) and Rob Kazinsky (“EastEnders”) as Kili and Fili; Graham McTavish (Secretariat, “24″) as Dwalin; John Callen (“Power Rangers Jungle Fury”) as Oin; Stephen Hunter (“All Saints”) as Bombur; Mark Hadlow (King Kong) as Dori; and Peter Hambleton (“The Strip”) as Gloin. Original Lord of the Rings actors Sir Ian McKellen (Gandalf/White Wizard) and Andy Serkis (Smeagol/Gollum) are expected to join “The Hobbit” cast later on.

Now, I’ve learned from a friend that this particular style of death-defying fast movement is called “parkour”. Parkour is a French word which means l’art du déplacement or the art of moving. It is a physical discipline of French origin with an objective of getting from one place to another using only the human body and the objects in the environment around you.

David Belle, the 37-year-old French guy who created parkour, was hired by Disney to train Jake for his role as Prince Dastan.

Have you seen it? I did yesterday. The digital version.

I already liked Sam Worthington as an Avatar, but lesser as the demigod Perseus in the movie, Clash of the Titans. His role as Perseus was not as intense. He was just an angry guy who refused to acknowledge his godlike origins and plans to kill Hades on his own after his adopting family died on the sea. While all nice things can be said of the movie’s visual effects and actors (Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes played major god roles), the story has a major flaw – the story itself.

The movie is totally different from the Greek mythology. If you’re a huge fan of Olympus and have not seen the 80′s movie version like me, you’re bound to a series of disappointments. (But you know how things are like these days. Everyone is entitled to re-write about anything under the guiding light of creative license and some people wearing mens ties who can pull strings. If you want a movie faithful to the story of its dead author, get Peter Jackson.)

Clash of the Titans was basically written fanfic style. What if we get Io to babysit Perseus? What if we kill Danae? What if we put Djinns (originally part of Islamic folklore now depicted as sand-demons) into the story? What if Pegasus would just fly from the sky instead of coming out of Medusa’s bloody head? What if Acrisius (Perseus’ step dad in the movie) was recruited by Hades? What if we dress up Zeus like a knight of the round table? That was how the story’s plot was developed and screwed Greek mythology the way we knew it.

Perseus’ True Origins

Perseus was the son of Zeus and Danaë – daughter of Acrisius, King of Argos. Acrisius was desperate to have a son so he consulted the oracle at Delphi, who warned him that he would one day be killed by his daughter’s son. Danaë was childless and to keep her that way, he had her in his palace courtyard. Zeus came to her in the form of a shower of gold, impregnated her and soon she bore the child Perseus.

King Acrisius cast the two into the sea in a wooden chest fearing the gods retribution should he kill both mother and child. They were washed ashore on the island of Seriphos, and fisherman named Dictys received them and raised Perseus like his own son. The brother of Dictys was Polydectes, the king of the island.

I remain a fan of Lord of the Rings. Set that on stone.

Now back to business, I was able to dig deep into the list of all-time box office hits before memory slips away because someone forgot to do an online backup. What amazes me is the fact that the very films I loved are all together in the list. Sci-fi and fantasy films share seats together in the top 20.

1. Avatar (2009) $1,852,472,387
2. Titanic (1997) $1,835,300,000
3. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) $1,129,219,252
4. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006) $1,060,332,628
5. The Dark Knight (2008) $1,001,921,825
6. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001) $968,657,891
7. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2007) $958,404,152
8. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) $937,000,866
9. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) $933,956,980
10. Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999) $922,379,000
11. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) $921,600,000
12. Jurassic Park (1993) $919,700,000
13. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) $892,194,397
14. Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009) $887,773,705
15. Spider-Man 3 (2007) $885,430,303
16. Shrek 2 (2004) $880,871,036
17. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) $866,300,000
18. Finding Nemo (2003) $865,000,000
19. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) $860,700,000
20. Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005) $848,462,555

As far as I know, Avatar did not receive the same hype accorded to Twilight. At least not on this part of the world.

Having been showcased in cinemas sometime in November, no one suspected that Avatar attendance would pick up the way it did right now. People only have but praises for James Cameron’s second masterpiece, and the news spread through word-of-mouth. Just a few days ago, this recent 3D giant dislodged the reigning billion dollar movie “Titanic”. Avatar earned a whopping $1,852,472,387. James Cameron still remains the undefeated “king of the world” with the two top grosser films reigning the box office worldwide.

The years spent on producing this latest digital masterpiece were certainly worth everything; even that dark circle under eyes you get from watching too much of it. Avatar is still in cinemas. For the nth time, see you there.

Henry wrote this to Clare:

“Clare, I want to tell you, again, I love you. Our love has been the thread through the labyrinth, the net under the high-wire walker, the only real thing in this strange life of mine that I could ever trust. Tonight I feel that my love for you has more density in this world than I do, myself: as though it could linger on after me and surround you, keep you, hold you.”

No. I have not read the book “The Time Traveler’s Wife” by Audrey Niffenegger. But I saw the movie last night with Renz. For a non-convert, and seeing the name Brad Pitt as the executive producer, I knew there’s something to look forward to its seemingly intimidating sci-fi like theme. It turned out that this chrono-genetic disorder was explained in simple terms better than my muddled understanding of POS systems. The movie presented Henry and Clare’s life in a neat sequence of two individual timelines merging in the end. (Huh? He he.) It left an impression on me the way Benjamin Button did – how the love of a man does transcend time and space and how a woman keeps all those little secrets in her heart. I think writing down the chronology of their dates would also help understand the entire sequence better.

I will buy that book. I’m ready to fall in love and cry.

We were driving along post-flood Imelda Avenue in Cainta early this morning when we saw this “fluke” in Harry Potter cinema billboards of Sta. Lucia Mall. Below the structure are gravel and sand manufacturers and wholesale furniture shops at the far end. I took my camera phone, begged Kleng-Kleng to slow down and took this shot of the week. I still have the Harry Potter hangover since the other night.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince opened in the middle of one stormy week. Renz and I had the chance to see it on a rainy Friday night minus the usual elbow fight for a splendid balcony view. Half of the mall crowd that time were in their jammies eating champorado at home…

Hey, Snapes has just killed Dumbledore.

This sequel directed by Michael Bay would definitely raise the bar in the special effects department. I think Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen is more explosive than the first one. They had the movie shot in those pyramids in Egypt where Shia’s character, Sam Witwicky, deciphers Transformers’ origin and existence through symbols. New robotic characters were introduced and expect more live action from lead stars Shia Labeouf and Megan Fox, and the rest of the cast. Hugo Weaving lent his voice to Megatron and Australian actress Alice Lucas plays Shia’s college friend. Josh Duhamel’s character, Captain Lennox, rocks as usual. It’s a date on June 25 and the race to secure seats has already started, unless you would like to endure those snake lines.

Here are some helpful reminders when you watch Transformers. If there are two of you watching, let the other one buy food for both of you while you line up for the tickets. But if you know someone from the theatre, it’s time to pull some strings. I’m pretty sure all cinemas will be booking seats until the wee hours in the morning. Reserve a seat in the middle or last row. Otherwise, risk sporting a migraine with those hardcore actions. Believe me, my prediction is as accurate as those diet pills that work. If the swine flu scares the hell out of you, wear a mask. Well, Optimus Prime always does.

Say hello to Edward, Jacob and Bella

A lot of things had been said. People were waiting for things to be done (as usual). The dibidi copiers had been far more efficient in acting on these issues than the grandstanding actors of the Senate. Here’s a tip to victim Katrina Halili. Try googling your name and see that you now have a new surname. Hubad.

Anyway, the whole point of this post is stay quiet, go abroad, change careers, be gadget savvy and be a better person. A couple of months from now, no one would remember what exactly happened to you. Some Filipinos function like an outdated memory stick. Ask an average Juan about Garci. He won’t even remember who that scumbag was. All people would care about 6 months from now is not Hayden Kho behind bars nor that hilarious SMS joke about him and Aling Dionisia. It’s the 2010 elections.

In the meantime, enjoy the nice movie poster of New Moon. The director of Golden Compass, Chris Weitz, is in charge of the Twilight project. I have high hopes on this one. Showing in November.