Pinoy Movie Fridays: Dahil May Isang Ikaw

Starting today, August 31 and to the succeeding Fridays, there will be a segment (wow~ sosyal) in my blog dedicated to Pinoy Movies (Filipino films). Yes~ I am proud of Pinoy films and this is going to be my tribute to them.

In accordance to this, my first PMF (Pinoy Movie Fridays) will be dedicated to one of my favorite rom-com (romantic-comedy) films: "Dahil May Isang Ikaw"

Film: Dahil May Isang Ikaw (Because There is Only You)
Year: 1999
Director: Joyce Bernal
Genre: Romantic-Comedy
Theme Song: "Ikaw" sung by Regine Velasquez
Cast:
Aga Mulach          - Andrew Castro
Regine Velasquez - Anya Catindig

Aileen Damiles     - Margarita (Andrew's fiancee)
Gloria Romero     - Lola Amor (Anya's grandma)
Gloria Diaz          - Nanay Ruby (Anya's mom)
Kim Delos Santos  - Marsha (Anya's younger sister)
Dino Guevarra      - Joey (Marsha's boyfriend)
Rufa Mae Quinto   - Didi (Andrew's temporary secretary)
Berting Labra        - Mang Choy (Andrew's driver)
Phillip Lazaro        - Donna (Anya's assistant)
Archie Ventosa      - Mr. Castro (Andrew's dad)
Tessie Villarama    - Mrs. Castro (Andrews' mom)

I am not much of a fan of romantic movies with the exception of those rom-com (romantic comedy) movies that has an interesting story. "Dahil May Isang Ikaw" (Because There is Only You) is a 1999 movie directed by Joyce Bernal topbilled by Regine Velasquez and Aga Mulach tells us a story of love in the most unexpected events and how fate binds them together. This is the first movie which features the Aga Mulach-Regine Velasquez tandem which is so natural and whom I love very much. They remind me of the Tom Hanks-Meg Ryan tandem (whom I also love) of the "Sleepless in Seattle" and "You've Got Mail" rom-com fame.

The movie starts at the engagement party of Andrew Castro (Aga Mulach) and Margarita Damilles (Aileen Damilles) in Cebu which is attended by their friends and family. The fiancee says "I love you" to Andrew but for some reason its like he is unwilling to say his "I love you" back. Meanwhile in Manila, Anya Catindig's (Regine Velasquez) morning starts when she is late going to the office that she hurriedly goes out saying goodbye to her lola (Gloria Romero) when their trucking business is just next door. Anya's family consists of all girls; her lola, mom (Gloria Diaz) and sister Marsha (Kim Delos Santos) who are all romantic but in their family Anya is the most practical one when it comes to love.

Their fates starts to interwine when Andrew's company is in dire need of a trucking/forwarding service that he's secretary (Rufa Mae Quinto) calls in to Anya's trucking business. While Andrew is having a bad day, they meet while Anya  is doing the reverse in the parking lot, her truck collides with Andrew's car; their first meeting ends up in anger not knowing that he is her client. Andrew thought he's got it all..the business, the perfect bride, the wedding preparations and his life on track; Anya thought that she is living the good simple life away from the the throes of love not until their fates unexpectedly collide. They seem to realize that their worlds aren't so perfect after all when they each take a peek into each other's perspective and envision that they make each other's life complete.

This is a typical girl meets boy when their life complicates because of their contradicting backgrounds and morals. Boy is rigid, sophisticated and uptight while girl is loud, simple and carefree until love binds them together in the most unexpected ways overcoming the biggest hurdle which is the fiancee and the dilemma on which to choose: the plan or that happy ever after. The only difference is, the fiancee is not that of a bitch and that made me symphatize with her. Though this movie has all the basic formula of love, what made me into the story is how the actors tried to depict the depth of each of the character's stories and the amazing chemistry of the Aga-Regine tandem. 

This is a must see movie for those in love, out of love, wants to be in love and as for me: getting into the mood and inspiration in writing rom-com fanfiction ^^. But seriously though, it may be a ball of fluff but this rom-com movie is a feel-good film perfect watching it on a rainy night. :)

Till the next Pinoy Movie Fridays...

Otaku Moments: My Hana Yori Dango addiction (Meteor-Hana-Boys)

Ah~ yes. Because the rain wouldn't stop and I have nothing else to do I decided to watch Meteor Garden which was aired here years ago.

I love the manga series created by Yoko Kamio (she's a genius for writing such a story)...I have been in love with the entire series  for almost 10 years already. And when Meteor Garden became popular here in the Philippines (I can't even explain  the popularity of the Taiwanese series) I decided to watch it so that I could see if it gives the manga justice, and it did; and because I have nothing to do (although while I'm writing this, its 2AM in the morning) here is my review on all the versions Hana Yori Dango has gone through the years:

1. Taiwan: Meteor Garden Season 1 (2001)

Though I wasn't a great follower of the actors/actresses in the series, I think they did give the manga justice. The did the scenes perfectly. I was like reading into the manga once again. I loved how the station that aired it here (ABS-CBN) gave the characters the best dubbed voice. But when I decided to watch it again in the original voice, I was petrified; maybe because I was so used to the dubbed voice that their real voices seem wierd and nasal. I loved how they portrayed the characters and the plot though sometimes I had this feeling that the girl protagonist didn't act well. One thing that I didn't like is Dao Ming Si's hair should be curly till the end, they did the straight 'do..for me, curly hair was one of the highlights of the manga and they did not give it justice.

Characters:

• San Cai - Barbie Hsu
• Dao Ming Si - Jerry Yan
• Hua Zi Lei - Vic Zhou
• Xi Men - Ken Chu
• Mei Zuo - Vaness Wu
• Xiao You - Rainie Yang

Number of episodes: 27 episodes
Necklace: Meteor Necklace

2. Taiwan: Meteor Garden Season 2 (2002)

I hate this. I hate this. I hate this. Need I say more? I. HATE. THIS. Seriously? You are making me madder by the second. Okay, *calm down*. To give this sequel the benefit of the doubt, I loved episode 1 and episode 31..the first and last episode, anything in the middle is to be scrapped out. Am I too harsh? This is just my opinion. They dragged the story long enough to bore me. Sure, in the manga Tsukasa had a temporary amnesia..and sure, there was Umi in the manga but the amnesia thing...to drag it for so long....the series was also open ended.

Characters:

• San Cai - Barbie Hsu
• Dao Ming Si - Jerry Yan
• Hua Zi Lei - Vic Zhou
• Xi Men - Ken Chu
• Mei Zuo - Vaness Wu
• Xiao You - Rainie Yang

Number of episodes: 31 episodes
Necklace: Meteor Necklace

3. Taiwan: Meteor Rain (2001)

Okaaaaay....this were just one-shots maybe from the filler chapters of the manga which focuses on each of the members.

Characters:

• Dao Ming Si - Jerry Yan
• Hua Zi Lei - Vic Zhou
• Xi Men - Ken Chu
• Mei Zuo - Vaness Wu
• Xiao You - Rainie Yang

Number of episodes: 3 chapters

4. Japan: Hana Yori Dango Season 1 (2005)
Okay, I may be a little biased about this but since the manga came from Japan, it would be fitting that the artists that would play the characters would look like the the characters in the manga. Of course I love the main protagonists' chemistry here and everything is set in Japan, having the same names as the manga..need I say more?

Characters:

• Makino Tsukushi - Inuoe Mao
• Doumyouji Tsukasa - Mastumoto Jun
• Hanazawa Rui - Oguri Shun
• Nishikado Soujirou - Matsuda Shota
• Mimasaka Akira - Tsuyoshi Abe
• Matsuoka Yuki - Nishihara Aki

Number of episodes: 9 episodes
Necklace: Saturn Necklace

5. Japan: Hana Yori Dango Returns Season 2 (2007)

This is my most favorite season of everyone who did versions of the Hana Yori Dango manga ♥♥♥ The chemistry between Mastu-Jun and Inuoe Mao is off the charts. I love the story..though I thought was too short...I love the proposal and I love Utada Hikaru's "Flavor of Life" ballad version. That was the ending song for this season and it clearly depicted the characters emotions, whenever I hear the song in the drama, I get teary-eyed. I know I don't cry in dramas..but the song and the scene is so perfect. And yes, I'm biased with this season. ♥♥♥

Here is Utada Hikaru's "Flavor of Life"

Lyrics:

Arigatou to kimi ni iwareru to nandaka setsunai

Sayounara no ato no tokenu mahou awaku horonigai

The flavor of life

The flavor of life... 

Tomodachi demo koibito demo nai chuukan chiten de

Shuukaku no hi wo yumemiteru aoi furu-tsu

Ato ippo ga fumidasenai sei de

Jirettai no wa nande, baby?

Arigatou to kimi ni iwareru to nandaka setsunai

Sayounara no ato no tokenu mahou awaku horonigai

The flavor of life

The flavor of life... 

Amai dake no sasoi monku ajike no nai doku

Sonna mono ni wa kyoumi wa sosorarenai

Omoitoori ni ikanai toki datte

Jinsei suteta mon janai tte... 

Doushita no? to kyuu ni kikareru to "Uun. Nandemo nai"

Sayounara no ato ni kieru egao watashi rashikunai

Sinjitai to negaeba negau hodo nandaka setsunai

"Aishiteru yo" yori mo "daisuki" no hou ga kimi rashii janai?

The flavor of life

Wasurekakete ita hito no omoi wo

Totsuzen omoidasu koro... 

Furitsumoru yuki no shirosa wo omou to, yeah... 

Sunao ni yorokobitai yo

Daiyamondo yorimo yawarakakute, atatakana mirai

Teni shitai yo kagiri aru jikan wo, kimi to sugoshitai

"Arigatou" to kimi ni iwareru to nandaka setsunai

Sayounara no ato no tokenu mahou awaku horonigai

The flavor of life

The flavor of life

Ohhh... 

The flavor of life... 

Yeah, yeah, yeah...

Translation:

When you say thank you to me,

for some reason it hurts,

Like a magic spell that doesn’t

get undone even after the good bye.

a hint of bitterness.

The flavor of life

Stuck midpoint between friends and lovers,

like an un-riped fruit dreaming about the day of harvest

because of being unable to just move one more step forward

what’s causing this frustration baby

When you say thank you to me,

for some reason it hurts,

Like a magic spell that doesn’t

get undone even after the good bye.

a hint of bitterness

The flavor of life

Sweet talk and tasteless conversations.

it sparks no interest in me

even when things do not go the way you want

it doesnt mean you’ve thrown your life away

When asked ‘ whats wrong?’

I answer ‘its nothing’

The smile that disappears after goodbye

It’s unlike me

The more i wish to believe in you,

For some reason it hurts even more

‘i like you a lot’ instead of ‘i love you’ sounds more like you

the flavor of life

the period when you suddenly remember the scent of someone you had almost forgotten

I want to be able to openly and honestly cherish the white purity of the falling snow more

A future tender and warmer than a diamond

i want to grasp it, in this limited time we have, i want to spend it with you

when you say thank you to me,

for some reason it hurts,

Like a magic spell that doesnt

get undone even after the good bye.

a hint of bitterness

The flavor of life

And can you believe I know the lyrics by heart? ♥♥♥

Characters:

• Makino Tsukushi - Inuoe Mao
• Doumyouji Tsukasa - Mastumoto Jun
• Hanazawa Rui - Oguri Shun
• Nishikado Soujirou - Matsuda Shota
• Mimasaka Akira - Tsuyoshi Abe
• Matsuoka Yuki - Nishihara Aki

Number of episodes: 11 episodes
Necklace: Saturn Necklace

6. Japan: Hana Yori Dango Final (2008)

This was not a series but a movie at the silver screen. Doumyouji's mother have accepted Makino and Doumyouji's relationship and the only thing that they should face together is the reality on what could happen when they are married. Doumyouji and Makino must have a great understanding on what they would face as a married couple like how to deal with their different backgrounds. To my surprise, it wasn't Doumyouji's mom who cooked up the trouble they've been to, but Makino's parents (*spoiler alert*). This is the most awaited conclusion to the Hana Yori Dango series with Domyouji and Makino's marriage + Makino being pregnant.

Characters:

• Makino Tsukushi - Inuoe Mao
• Doumyouji Tsukasa - Mastumoto Jun
• Hanazawa Rui - Oguri Shun
• Nishikado Soujirou - Matsuda Shota
• Mimasaka Akira - Tsuyoshi Abe
• Matsuoka Yuki - Nishihara Aki

Number of episodes: Movie

Necklace: Saturn Necklace

7. Korea: Boys Over Flowers (2009)

Ooooo-kay. Since Taiwan and Japan already did their versions, its about time that I would watch Korea's take on Hana Yori Dango. What could I say? The characters were good looking that's for sure and they did the story well. Plus, Domyouji's curly hair was given justice. Two major things that was different is that Jan Di is a swimmer and she pursued a career in medicine (rather than law). But what I loved the most is Yi Jung (Soujirou) and   Ga Eul (Yuki)'s relationship. This quenched my thirst of writing fanfictions regarding their subtle relationship in the manga. They did the whole series in one season. The story did end with Jun Pyo proposing to Jan Di after the promised 4 years. 

Characters:

• Geum Jan Di - Gu Hye Sun
• Gu Jun Pyo - Lee Min Ho
• Yoon Ji Hoo - Kim Hyun Jung
• So Yi Jung - Kim Bum
•  Song Woo Bin - Kim Joon
• Chu Ga Eul - Kim So Eun

Number of episodes: Movie
Necklace: Moon and star necklace (?)

8. Japanese Anime: Hana Yori Dango (1996-1997)
If there's the manga, of course here comes the anime version. This is one heck of an anime and I loved every part of it. Although, I didn't like the OVA. Makes me wanna sing "Stepping out, Futsuu no nichiyoubi ni...stepping out, kiseki ga okuru its my day" all over again.

Number of episodes: 51 episodes
Necklace: Saturn necklace

My verdict (anime not included):

Best Chemistry: Japan version! (followed by Taiwan and Korea)

Best Opening or Ending song: Utada Hikaru's "Flavor of Life"

Best Makino Tsukushi: Inuoe Mao (Japan)

Best Doumyouji Tsukasa: Matsumoto Jun (yes~ I'm biased) (Japan)

Best Hanazawa Rui: Oguri Shun (Japan)

Best Nishikado Soujiro: Kim Bum (Korea) -- actually the Taiwanese and Japanese are good too.

Best Mimasaka Akira: Kim Joon (Korea) -- the Japanese version was good too

Best Matsuoka Yuki: Kim So Eun (Korea)

Best secondary-chemistry (Yuki and Soujirou): Kim Bum and Kim So Eun (Korea)

Best Story like the manga: Meteor Garden Season 1 (Taiwan)

Best necklace: Saturn Necklace (Japan)

Best Doumyouji Tsubaki: Taiwan, Japanese and Korean versions (respectively)

Best fierce mommy Doumyouji: I hated the Taiwanese mom's guts...it means she did a good job (then the Japanese and Korean)

Best Conclusion: Japanese version

Best school where F4 resides: Japan version

Best Domyouji Hair: Hana Yori Dango Returns season 2

Best Makino Hair: hmmmm, in the manga, Makino had it long but was cut short till the end because of what happened when she was kidnapped (and Domyouji being punched a few times) In the Taiwan version, she had it long till the end...same as the Japan version; but in the Korea version, she had it short from beginning till the end..so I don't know who to choose.

There you have it....and yes, I've gone through the different versions so that I could give my verdict on all of them *evil laugh* fangirl much?

The flavor of life...♥♥♥

Into the Silver Screen: The Dark Knight Rises

This is quite a late post. Me and Dianne watched the movie at SM Sta. Rosa last July 29, 2012 *bummer*. The movie was awesome. I know its such a cliche word but for me Christopher Nolan delivered the perfect ending to his amazing trilogy. We saw the world of Gotham City through his eyes. I know that Batman has encountered countless revamps through the cartoons, series and movies but this ride was quite addicting. The name Dark Knight was fitting to the character Christian Bale performed; not only was he busily battling Gotham's antagonists, he was also having a battle within himself and this movie had its most awaited conclusion.

The story is not your everyday hero-saves-the-day scenario, sure he had this cool gadgets and other I-wish-I-had-those-stuff, not to mention his really cool motorbike and jet (okay I was gawking) but the story was so complex. The story went back to the beginning of everything. There was this twist....okaaaaaay I won't spoil you guys, but it has something to do with his first antagonist (I shall stop there). With that, the viewers will see how he did battle himself and succeeded, risen from the ashes. (of course he did, he was the lead role and a hero at that)

Dianne, me (yep drinking Green Tea with Calamansi) and Arian (she didn't watch with us because she already did...just so happened, she was there for a project implementation)

The story started 8 years after the events where Harvey Dent (also as 2 face) and his childhood friend (whom he loved) Rachel died. Commissioner Gordon was living in guilt while Bruce Wayne was shutting himself out from society much to his old friend Alfred's dismay and the Dark Knight will forever remain a fugitive....or will he? The story did end to my satisfaction and wish that there would be another Batman movie involving him and Robin (the dynamic duo)..there I said it. Tom Hardy did an extraordinary job as Bane that he made me want to strangle him and rip that mask off his face especially when at first I didn't understand what he was talking about, what the heck is that accent? Kidding aside, he did a great job considering that he would have to fill the big shoes left behind by Heath Ledger as The Joker (where he did a *hands down* the best joker I have ever seen). Anne Hathaway did a perfect Catwoman (of course I'm biased...I love her...she is an amazing actress to begin with) And the catwoman-batman tandem satisfied my quench for their loveline...there I did it again..Oh well, I recommend this movie to all comic enthusiasts out there and to those who would want a good story bundled with your favorite comic book characters and of course the awesome Christian Bale and Joseph Gordon-Levitt and The Dark Knight and Robin (?). Christian Bale was so awesome that as my friend Arian told me, he would make the perfect Christian Grey of the 50 shades trilogy (along with my other two candidates, Matt Bomer and Ian Somerlader) but that is another story. :P

I haven't watched completely the first installment Batman Begins (I know I'm a loser) I always see the movie either its in its credits or the last half of the story (damn you HBO! LOL~) But I did watch The Dark Knight of course in the silver screen.

Here are the characters:

• Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman
• Tom Hardy as Bane
• Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle/Catwoman
• Joseph Gordon-Levitt as John Blake/Robin(?)
• Michael Caine as Alfred Pennyworth
• Gary Oldman as Commisioner James Gordon
• Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox
• Marion Cotillard as Miranda Tate

 If and when they will revamp Batman, I guess I won't watch it...maybe...probably. It's like having this wonderful memory in your mind and then spoiling it with another. (just like how I didn't watch the Spiderman revamp...yes, I'm bitter) but who knows right?

"A hero can be as simple as a man putting his coat around a little boy's shoulders and reassuring him the world hadn’t ended yet...." - Batman