Book: The Da Vinci Code

	Author:	Dan Brown
	Genre:	Thriller
	Publisher:	Bantam Dell Pub. Group
	Year Published:	March 2003

Frankly, I guessed who the antagonist was way too early to be in suspense at the ending. Nice book. Mind opening for those who would not pick up a book on the topic otherwise. I've read up on the Merovingians, Templars, da Vinci and the Priory of Sion before so there wasn't much "revelation" for me. Brown left out John the Baptist, and some other theories like Jesus not actually dying (anyone heard of Da Vinci supposedly making the Shroud of Turin for his amusement?). But that would mean having a longer novel. I think Brown left in just enough clues for others to pick up the trail on their own - he actually mentioned the books that studied the topics he touched on.

Makes you wonder if Brown is actually in cahoots with the guys who want the world to seriously take notice of their particular field of research. If you want to be a conspiracy theorist, you'd even say he's of the Priory or one of those brotherhoods. In fact, his book may well be the medium of revelation that the novel itself was talking about - you know, revealing the truth to the world at the start of the Age of Aquarius? He he he he!

If you ask me, half the world doesn't really consider Jesus as the God personified, so it wouldn't really matter if the Merovingian line survives and is what it is supposed to be.

Movie: The Lord of the RingsThe Return of the King

	Distributor:	New Line Cinema
	Release:	December 17th, 2003
	Genre:	Action/Adventure, Drama, Science Fiction/Fantasy
	MPAA Rating:	PG-13 for intense epic battle sequences and frightening images

After enduring a lot of commercials and trailers, it was a relief when the New Line logo finally appeared, signalling for the Middle Earth magic to begin.

Like the first two, this is a beautiful movie. We see more of Pippin as he is whisked away from his companions and becomes a guest of the Steward of Gondor. Billy Boyd had the luck to sing a simple song, with the backdrop of war to give it significance and feeling.

I've always cried over the death of Theoden king in the novel, so it is natural for me to love that scene in this movie.

Although the Denethor I have imagined from the books had more finesse than the Denethor here who eats sloppily, the movie capture the madness of the character. The scene where Frodo has to throw the ring into the fire was executed well - we see how Frodo finally gives in to the power and claims the ring, only to be saved by the greed of Smeagol. Sam as usual is the lovable loyal servant, and the ending is so sweet - showing him returning to his family in the Shire after seeing Frodo off at the Grey Havens.

Now for the fun parts. Orlando Bloom once more gets his share of Legolas-in-action scene. I think Jackson inserted those moves after the initial filming because he realized how Legolas clicked with a certain demographic. The elf nicknamed by some internet denizens as Figwit makes an appearance due to insistent female fandom clamor. The proliferation of slash fiction about LOTR characters definitely ruined some heartwarming scenes. Since most people watching are college students, people were hooting whenever Sam/Frodo, Merry/Pippin or other guy/guy characters would have "tender" moments. It confirms that majority of the audience have access to the net and have read the slash fiction - which includes Cassandra Claire's secret diaries.

I was amused. I don't know if Peter Jackson would be.

Movie: American Wedding

	Distributor:	Universal Pictures
	Release:	August 1, 2003
	Genre:	Comedy and Romance
	MPAA Rating:	R for sexual content, language and crude humor

Watched this last night. Enjoyed it so much that my bro and I repeated the movie.

This installment is where the saga ends. The American Pie trilogy is really the love story of Jim and Michelle. In the first movie, we see that Jim's first time is with Michelle, he discovers he loves her in American Pie 2, and in this film, they affirm that love by getting married. The movies also chronicle Jim's misadventures with his "thingy". He sticks it into a warm apple pie in the first installment, accidentally super glues his hand to it in the 2nd movie, and in this movie, he shaves the hair for the sake of love - and ruining the wedding cake in the process.

The guys are back, minus Oz (Chris Klein). Only Michelle (Alysson Hannigan) of the original girls is present. However, Jim's parents, Stifler's mom, and the MILF boys are still here to provide us with gags - which become funnier if you know the history by having seen the previous two movies.

Book: My Story

	Author:	Dave Pelzer
	Genre:	Nonfiction, Biography
	Publisher:	Orion
	Year Published:	August 31, 2002

"My Story" is a thick book that puts together three of Pelzer's bestsellers - "A Child Called It", "The Lost Boy", and "A Man Called Dave". It's the true story of the child abuse the author endured under his mother and how he overcame this to eventually "break the chain" of violence that started with his grandmother.

When I saw the book "A Child Called It", the title caught my attention. Reading the summary got me interested in the story - what kind of parent would treat her child like rubbish and call him "It"? I didn't buy the book though, as much as I wanted to read it, I thought it was too expensive. Months later I would find other books by the same author, apparently continuing the story. Much later, I would come across, by chance, a paperback combining the three biographical books into one volume called "My Story". I bought it at once.

I would find out that Dave had four other brothers and that their mother is an alcoholic. The mother decided to pick on Dave for unexplained reasons and vented out all her frustrations on the child. The odd thing was - the other brothers weren't given the same treatment. Dave did manage to break away from his mother, began learning to adjust to a different life in foster homes, learned to accept the abuse as part of his past, and he is now a sought after speaker apart from a known author of self help books. What happened to his brothers? Little is told of them - although we gather that when Dave left the house, another brother took his place and endured the abuse Dave was subjected to.

It is a beautiful story, but not one I would read again anytime in the near future as it would leave me with heavy emotions. After a few years or so, then maybe I can read it again, when I have forgotten how painful the story is.

Movie: Kung Ako Na Lang Sana

	Distributor:	Star Cinema Prod. Inc.
	Release:	September 24, 2003
	Genre:	Romance, Comedy
	MTRCB Rating:	G

Sharon and Aga in a romantic movie, yet it is light compared to drama-heavy love stories Filipino production companies usually churn out. You would find a few chuckles here and there.

It is a good thing that Sharon and Aga aren't young adults anymore to engage in sugary lovey-dovey scenes onscreen. This movie reminds me of FRIENDS and St. Elmo's Fire. Why? It's the story of one gang that's been together since college - which is what St. Elmo's Fire is. It's also the story of how two close friends eventually realize they are a perfect couple - something I've seen in St. Elmo's Fire, where the womanizer ended up with the nerd. By the way, Aga here plays the guy who've always had the good-looking girl, while Sharon plays the woman who's spent most of her time making her business grow. It's the absence of angst (there are conflicts though) and the generous helping of "everybody happy" that stops this from being St. Elmo's and start looking like FRIENDS.

No over-acting here, and the supporting actors are good.

I liked it but this isn't something you'd go watch again on the big screen. It would be a good movie to watch at home when you've got nothing to do.

DVD Movie: Breakfast at Tiffany's

	Distributor:	Paramount Pictures
	Movie Release:	1961
	Genre:	Comedy
	MPAA Rating:	Not Rated

Last night I bought a DVD copy of the Audrey Hepburn movie "Breakfast at Tiffany's". Watched it for the first time and I liked it. Now the song "Moon River" keeps replaying in my head.

Mind you, though, "like" doesn't mean overwhelm. I can't understand why this movie ends up being considered one of the best. Acting's light, the real story's short; and if it wanted to examine society, it didn't do enough. There are poignant moments, especially when the characters have stripped off their high-society skin and become themselves.

Fan Fiction Writer: Cassandra Claire

Cassandra Claire, or Cassie, has established quite a reputation in the fan fiction community. The Secret Diaries, which are hilarious, made her famous. However, she can also write very compelling serious fantasy stories as evidenced by her Draco trilogy.

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	Author:	Cassandra Claire (Pseudonym)
	Link:	nyu.edu
The Very Secret Diaries	Year published:	2001 Updated with each release of the Peter Jackson LOTR movies

I'm guessing the Very Secret Diareis will be a classic for some time. It will be remembered by anyone who's old enough to have seen Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy when the movies first came out, AND had access to the internet. These are the first fan fiction I've read, and the first slash stories I've come across, too. I discovered both genre, and Cassie Claire, when I got an e-mail containing snippets from the diaries.

After The Fellowship of the Ring movie came out, only the members of the fellowship had "diaries". These diaries chronicle their thoughts (as imagined by Cassie's naughty brain) from the time each of the company arrive at Rivendell till they reach Gondor (where the first movie ends). Cassie would update the diaries, or make new diaries, as each movie in the trilogy came out. You can say her works are parodies of the movies.

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	Draco Trilogy
	Author:	Cassandra Claire (Pseudonym)
	Link:	schnoogle.com
	Year published:	2001-2002 Only the first two are finished

This trilogy showcases Cassie Claire's skill at writing. You forget you are reading fan fiction. This made me a Draco/Ginny shipper, actually. Unfortunately, reading this as my first Harry Potter fan fiction, many of the other stories begin to sound like they copied ideas from this one. Ofcourse, there is somewhat of a feud in fanfiction circles whether Cassie copied another author or not - point is: I read hers first and Cassie's stories were good. I'm also amused that some good Harry Potter fans who are also artists have contributed drawings to accompany the trilogy.