TV Series: EncantadiaWeek Four

	Network:	GMA
	First Run:	May 2, 2005 to (present)
	Genre:	Adventure, Fantasy
	Time Slot:	Weekdays, 9:00 p.m.

I'm still hating the "mortal world" parts of the story. Comparable to the good acting of the denizens of Lireo/Encantadia, I have to sit through Milagros being verbally and physically abused - and the actresses are applying the old style I never liked in Filipino soap operas: being unnaturally mean for no reason but to make the heroine's life hell. Where's the motive? As for the girl playing Anthony's girlfriend wannabe - she doesn't come across as real. Is she supposed to a "princess spoiled brat" that Anthony's mom thinks is a good match for him? Well, she's coming across as a social climbing bitch who's got her eye on the prize so obviously that if I were Anthony's mother, I'd be wary and tell him to get rid of her, pronto.

This week's story:

With Danaya keeping a very close eye on her, Pirena poisons Lira's mind to kill Danaya. Lira does attempt it but fails because someone entered the room just as she was raising her dagger.

Pirena checks up on Hitano who is living in the forest under the name of Bergano. Alena, who thinks her name is Akesha, is asleep and does not hear Pirena tell Hitano to kill her if she attempts to escape. Hitano takes extreme precautions and Alena wakes up to find herself in chains.

Amihan meets Ybarro and calls him Ybrahim, and he does not correct her. She tells him that they have a daughter, so they spend time getting to know each other. Ybrahim is persuaded by Amihan to come to the palace and meet his child. The rest of the palace aren't as welcoming as the queen when the lowly Mandirigma walks in, and when Lira is called to meet her father, she rejects him outright.

Lira runs off to cry, is seen by Pirena, and tells her aunt that she just learned her father is a Mandirigma. Pirena tells Lira to stop crying, because her real father is not a Mandirigma. Lira is puzzled by this and when she asked her aunt to explain, Pirena realizes she slipped and took back what she said. while this drama is going on, Danaya is wondering if the Mandirigma called Ybarro that Alena was in love with is this Ybrahim that Amihan has just introduced as Lira's father.

Feeling the animosity against him in the palace, Ybrahim takes his leave and goes home. He tells his father that he has a daughter with the queen of Lireo, who knows him as Ybrahim. He brings up the dream where he first saw her face and where Bathala also called him Ybrahim. He asks if his father is hiding something from him. Apitong realized he had to tell Ybarro the truth. Apitong reveals that Ybarro is not his real son. His name is indeed Ybrahim, and his true father is the late King Arameo of Sapiro. Apitong launches into the story of how Ybrahim came to live amongst the Mandirigma.

During the fall of Sapiro, its queen was able to escape with her son, a few ladies in waiting, and some guards led by Prince Raquim. They took a path through the forest which crossed the camp of Apitong. Apitong and his men hid in the trees because of the presence of soldiers. They watched as the Sapiryans stopped and Raquim took some men to make clear the way ahead, leaving half of the guards with the queen. The Mandirigmas therefore saw how the pursuing Hathors caught up with the refugees and overpowered the queen's guards.

Apitong signalled his men to help the Sapiryans but they were too late. Although the Mandirigmas were not able to prevent the massacre, they compensated by killing the Hathors. Apitong realized that the queen was still breathing but barely alive, and she was able to protect the baby that she was clutching tightly in her arms. The queen told him that the baby is Ybrahim, the crown prince of Sapiro. Before dying the queen begged Apitong to take the child as Hathors are pursuing them. Apitong took the baby, and the Mandirigmas fled to safety in case more Hathors arrive.

After telling the story, Apitong takes out an ornate metal wristband and tells Ybarro that it was on his arm when he was a baby. It is the only proof Apitong has that Ybarro is King Arameo's son. Ybarro takes the wristband, and swears he will avenge the death of his family.

In the land of mortals, Milagros (or Mila for short) realizes that her master, Anthony, is the same runaway boy she befriended when she was a child. She tells this to a fellow maid, and the story is overheard by Anthony's girlfriend wannabe, Marge. Marge knows that Anthony often wonders whatever happened to the girl he met when he ran away. She gets alarmed when Mila decided she must tell Anthony that she was the girl in the park. Marge hatches an idea and beats Mila in telling the story to Anthony - changing it a bit to make it appear that the girl was Marge's friend and that said person died long ago. This bit of news depresses Anthony.

Marge's antics makes Mila angry enough to confront her. This is one of those rare occassions where Mila's emotions unleashes her power subconsciously - in this case, Marge found herself being freakishly thrown across the lawn.

In Lireo, Lira continues her forays into the forest, and learns from one session with Cassiopeia that she will not be the next queen of Lireo. This surprises Lira since she is the only likely heir. The next surprise was Cassiopeia saying that Lira will fall in love. Lira asks who will be the next queen, and was told that she is related to Lira, but will come from a far place. Next, Lira asks who is the man she will fall in love with - and Cassiopeia shows her the face of a man who lives in what is known as the world of mortals. Lira rejects all this and insists that she will not fall in love and that she will be queen of Lireo.

At another part of the forest, Akesha (Alena) manages to escape but is recaptured. While Bergano (Hitano) is scolding her, the Adamyans Banak and Nakba overhear and try to find out who the voices belong to. They see the sang'gre Alena and the missing guard, Hitano. They scuttle towards Lireo to bring the news to Danaya.

At the palace, Ybrahim visits Amihan and asks what she knows of the Sapiryans. Amihan tells him what she knows based on the records of Lireo. He returns to Apitong and they have a discussion, with Ybarro wishing he knew he was of royal blood when he met Alena so that they did not have to hide their relationship which ended tragically. Amihan on the other hand, is starting to feel something for Ybrahim but tells herself that she will not fall in love.

Danaya receives the news that Alena has been seen alive and is captive, but she wants to be sure before telling the queen. She calls on Aquil and some guards to accompany her into the part of the forest where the two Adamyans last saw Alena. Pirena sees them walking out of the palace and learns that they are out to rescue Alena. Pirena rushes to Hitano to warn him that the Queen's guards are coming. She threatens Hitano that she will kill him AND Alena if on the event they are captured, Hitano reveals to anyone about Pirena's hand in the kidnapping.

Hitano runs home to grab Alena but he is too late because the guards have seen them. Hitano fights bravely, even killing some of the guards until Aquil managed to subdue him. When Danaya arrived, she unleashed her anger at Hitano for daring to kidnap a sang'gre. She would have killed Hitano had Aquil not stopped her.

When Danaya and Aquil brings Alena back to the palace, Lira has just finished asking her mother about the world of mortals and was told about the portal between worlds, the Asnamon tree. The queen is delighted to see her sister alive and Lira sees her aunt Alena for the first time. Nothing was making sense to Alena however, for she does not remember any of them.

When Lira was able to sneak out again, she confides to Hagorn what Cassiopeia had foretold. When Hagorn asked how she plans to deal with it, Lira tells him that she will go through the portal and kill the man so that she won't fall in love with him and lose her throne.

This mortal happens to be the same Anthony who currently finds himself liking Milagros day by day. This fascination with the maid is noticed by Marge who finds a reason to have Milagros dismissed and thrown out of the house. This was not a good move because Anthony had already found out that Marge had been lying about being the friend of the girl Anthony befriended in childhood. Not only will Anthony confront her about making lies, but he would also learn that Marge had Milagros fired. Anthony would later realize that Milagros is his childhood friend. He goes out to find Milagros and bring her back... if Milagros agrees, since she would not to go back to her employer despite pleadings from her "mother".

In the palace of Lireo, Amihan is figuring out how Alena lost her memory, and is not having luck getting any answer from Hitano, who we know refuses to speak lest Pirena kills Alena. When Hitano is locked up after a fruitless interrogation, Pirena comes to free him and tells him to run away and take Alena with him. Hitano rushes to Alena's quarters and orders her to come with him. Alena refuses and fights. Alena surprises Hitano by fighting very well - a fortunate outcome of her mind not remembering who she was but her body not forgetting the fighting skills it learned. She would have killed Hitano had the guards not interfered.

In the queen's chambers, Lira is sneaking in to steal the medallion that will allow her to open the portal of Asnamon. Having found what she was looking for, Lira goes to the forest and commands Asnamon to bring her to the man Cassiopeia foretold she will fall in love with. Lira finds herself descending in the middle of an intersection, being surrounded by metal beings that honk a lot. These, by the way, are cars. One of the drivers happen to be Anthony, who took it upon himself to step out of his vehicle and drag the loony maiden to the safety of the sidewalk.

Lira recognizes the face of Anthony and walks away after being scolded about causing traffic. On a bridge somewhere in the same city, Milagros is taking a walk when a speeding vehicle bumps her off the bridge.

Movie: Revenge of the SithStar Wars: Episode III

	Distributor:	20th Century Fox
	Release:	May 19, 2005
	Genre:	Action/Adventure Science Fiction/Fantasy
	MPAA Rating:	PG-13 for sci-fi violence and some intense images

When Episode IV came out in 1977, I was a toddler and it was not something I cared about. When Episode V was released in 1980, I kept hearing my classmates talk about it but no one took me to see the movie. The first Star Wars movie I saw was Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, and it instantly made me a fan not only of the series, but of the science fiction genre as well (although one hard core trekkie I know scoffs at Star Wars being called real science fiction). When I was already working, one of the first things I bought was a complete set of the trilogy in VHS (for the younglings, that's how we viewed movies at home before the DVD).

When Lucas released the first of the prequels, I made sure I watched it. I liked Phantom Menace but the movie experience was not as mind-blowing as I expected it to be. Now, Attack of the Clones, to start with, had a title similar to Attack of the Killer Tomatoes (yes youngling, it is a movie - and no, I haven't watched it) which made me wonder if I should take this movie seriously. It is the beginning of a love story that ended just before things heated up. Though this movie is ho-hum on the satisfaction scale, you'd find you cannot dismiss it after seeing Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.

If the Prequel trilogy is compressed into one movie, Revenge of the Sith is the climax of the storylines set up in the first two movies. If it were a term paper, Phantom Menace is the Introduction, Revenge of the Sith is the Main Body, and Attack of the Clones would be an Appendix or Annex - you could skip it if you want an overview of the plot, but you would need to refer to it when it comes to the specifics.

For me, EPIII is better than the first two. As I heard someone say it, the movie effectively bridges the prequels to the original trilogy. It is the movie that made me want to watch the next three episodes because now I have added information I didn't have when I first watched the story of Luke and Leia unfold.

When the movie started, I liked it immediately - because in contrast to the polished, airbrushed look of the CG in the first 2 prequels, the ships in this movie reminds you of the clunky ones in the early Star Wars movies. For lack of a better term, I call it a more "organic" look. The ships looked like something I could actually touch.

Another thing that made this movie better is the presence of more, or probably heavier, drama. Phantom Menace had that happy-everything's-fine ending. Attack of the Clones, as I said, got to the denouement before really hitting a climax. Revenge of the Sith had a good dose of what made the series a successful space opera, without losing the pacing of an action movie. I felt betrayed as the Jedi were when their clone soldiers turned on them - and I understood how an order as powerful as the Jedi was almost extinct by the time Luke Skywalker became Kenobi's student. I felt heartbroken as Padme when she realized Anakin has joined the Sith. I felt Yoda's pain when it was apparent that the Jedi, even the younglings, were being massacred. I enjoyed this movie waaaay more than I enjoyed Episodes 1 and 2.

I must say: wasn't Anakin's decision to change sides too abrupt? Can a doctor tell me if a DEAD woman's belly remains big AND ROUND AFTER giving birth? Was I the only one who wanted to chuckle at the scene where Darth Vader wails after learning Padme died because of his own doing? Nothing wrong with the scene really, I wanted to chuckle because Vader looked like a wimp in that pose - the head looked to big for the thin body underneath. If you want to criticize this movie, you'd probably find a lot more to poke fun at. Well, I loved this movie, so unless it's something that's so obvious, I'm not gonna go into faultfinding. =)

TV Series: EncantadiaWeek Three

	Network:	GMA
	Series Run:	May 2, 2005 to (present)
	This story:	May 16 - 20, 2005
	Genre:	Adventure, Fantasy
	Time Slot:	Weekdays, 9:00 p.m.

Jennylyn Mercado acting is like seeing a scene from everyday life - her character becomes a person. Mark Herras, on the other hand, is another story. I don't think he knows how his character should act ... also I sometimes get the feeling that he's relying on striking a pose instead of acting. He should start taking points from Dingdong Dantes. Yasmien Kurdi fits the brat princess quite well.

This week's story:

Milagros and Lira (who is actually Mira) are now grown up, and live opposite lives.

As it was years ago, Amihan would sometimes sense that her child is in trouble or stress, only to find Lira well and far from danger. Danaya on the other hand, keeps an eye on Pirena and wonders why she is very fond of Lira.

Despite Danaya's suspicions, Lira is doted upon by her mother. She is confident and sometimes bratty, but digests the lessons given to her well. Lira soon developed the habit of sneaking out of the palace. This is how she met Hagorn, who began teaching her warfare secretly, and Cassiopeia, an ancient fairy living in the woods.

We find Milagros still living with her mortal family (she did not stay long in the park), but when her "mother" needed money she sends Milagros off to work as a maid in a rich family. Milagros is tasked to handle the needs of her mistress' son, Anthony.

Alena on the other hand, is alive and living in the woods with Hitano. The problem is, Alena does not know who she is for Pirena wiped her memory clean. Alena thought she'd always lived in the forest. She would feel a strange pull towards the city she could see on the other side of the forest, but Hitano forbids her from wandering far from the house.

One day, Alena is gathering firewood in the forest while Ybarro was passing by. Ybarro sees her only for an instant and never got a good look at her face - but Ybarro thinks he has seen Alena, or a very good clone of her.

TV Series: EncantadiaWeek Two

	Network:	GMA
	Series Run:	May 2, 2005 to (present)
	This story:	May 9 - 13, 2005
	Genre:	Adventure, Fantasy
	Time Slot:	Weekdays, 9:00 p.m.

At this point, I love and hate the show. I totally like the Encantadia scenes, but am annoyed at the scenes in the "mortal world" - mainly because I think they merely picked the child playing Milagros because she could cry a river. Just because you can cry when the director snaps his finger doesn't mean you're a good actress - in my opinion. The tears flow, but the emotions aren't there. As to the fairies getting pregnant in a different manner - is this an attempt to be original, or do they want to avoid the censors?

This week's story:

Amihan is the new queen of Lireo, Mine-a will soon depart for Devas, and Pirena joins the Hathors in declaring war against Lireo. The butterflies whisper to Mine-a that Bathala has found the man who will be the father of Amihan's daughter-heir.

Amihan would meet that man, called Ybrahim, in a dream. Waking up, Amihan is surprised that the flower she held in her dream is still in her hands. Mine-a explains both of them were really present in the dreamworld, and that the flower means that she is already pregnant.

While Amihan and her sisters are talking about the pregnancy, Ybarro wakes up from a strange dream where Bathala called him Ybrahim and introduced him to another woman. He approaches his father, Apitong, and tells him of the dream. Apitong dismisses it as nothing important, but when Ybarro leaves, Apitong has a worried look on his face.

Alena keeps seeing Ybarro secretly, and after Amihan got pregnant, Alena told him how the queen met the father, called Ybrahim, in a dream. This bit of news shocks Ybarro for he still remembers his dream where he was called Ybrahim. Ybarro decides not to tell anything to Alena.

The news of the young queen being pregnant soon reaches the ears of Pirena. Sneaking into Lireo, Pirena mesmerizes one of the guards and gets herself pregnant. With the flower in her hand and the guard dead, Pirena goes back to Hathoria and tells Hagorn that she is expecting. Pirena manages to keep her pregnancy a secret. After some months, she and Amihan give birth to girls. Mine-a finally leaves Encantadia to go to Devas.

Alena keeps on seeing Ybarro secretly, but one day she is followed by Hitano, one of the queen's guards and who is in love with Alena. Upon discovering that the princess has fallen in love with a lowly Mandirigma called Ybarro, he becomes jealous and angry.

The birth of the daughter-heir, Lira, gave Pirena a reason to visit her sisters and make them believe that she has reformed. In no time, Pirena is back in Lireo. Unknown to Amihan, Pirena snuck in her child Mira and replaced Lira with it. Muyak catches Pirena sneaking out with Amihan's real daughter, but could not call for help lest she loses sight of Pirena. Pirena goes to the tree of Asnamon where the portal between worlds is. Pirena commands the portal to take her to the worst place in the other world and goes through.

Poor Muyak had no choice but to follow - and to her surprise, once she stepped through the portal, she grew in size, lost her wings and found herself invisible to the mortals. Pirena leaves the child to die in the mortal world then steps back to Encantadia, sealing the portal behing her. Muyak, who cannot make herself be seen or heard by mortals, is distraught that the queen's daughter is going to die and she can't do anything. Fortunately, a mortal heard the baby cry and saves her. The man names the child Milagros, meaning miracle, and adopts her.

Back in Lireo, Amihan, Danaya and Aquil are searching for the missing dame, Muyak. They see Pirena emerge from Asnamon and get suspicious. Pirena claims to be merely curious about the world where Amihan spent her early years. Amihan accepts this, but also follows Aguil's suggestion to seal the portal permanently so that no one can go in and out without the queen's knowledge. We would learn later that the reason the portal remained open during Mine-a's time was because she always hoped Raquim would come back to her.

Meanwhile, Hitano confronts Ybarro and challenges him to a duel. Just when Ybarro thought he was winning, Hitano stabs him and he falls into the water. Believing that Ybarro is dead, Hitano makes it appear that the Hathors killed the Mandirigma, and presents Ybarro's sword to Alena as proof. Alena grieves Ybarro's death and her sisters notice this. Upon questioning, they find out that Alena had fallen in love with a lowly Mandirigma who is now dead. Although shocked that they had not known this before, the sisters are also relieved that he is now dead, otherwise law would dictate that Alena be punished for loving a man beneath her stature.

The night Muyak disappeared, Amihan would sense that her daughter is in danger, only to be told by Danaya that Lira is safe in her crib. Amihan had the child brought to her. As she was cradling Lira, fire came out from the baby's mouth. Danaya and Amihan are both surprised that Lira would have the gift of fire.

In the mortal world, the real Lira, now called Milagros, is growing up in the squatter area near the railroad track. She believes her adoptive parents, Dado and Amanda, are her real father and mother, and could not understand why her mother doesn't love her as much as her father does. Her mother and sister thinks she is weird for having an imaginary friend called Muyak. In fact, some people think she is crazy for having an imaginary friend. It is not surprising therefore, that when Milagros found out she could sometimes summon the wind, she kept this a secret from everyone else.

When Milagros is around 7, Dado dies, and she is further maltreated by Amanda. She runs away and lives in the park. There, she would meet and befriend a boy, another runaway named Anthony. He came from a rich family so he had money when he left home. He would use this money when he and Milagros needed to buy food to eat. After spending some days together, Anthony's mother Carmen finally tracked him down and dragged him home. Before parting, Anthony would give Milagros his storybook, and he would take home her plastic butterfly ring. Both would remember the time they spent together as runaways in the park, but when their paths cross again ten years later, they would not recognize each other.

Back in Lireo, Alena could not contain her grief at Ybarro's death, and Pirena takes advantage of this. Disguising herself as Bathala, Pirena convinces Alena that the only way to ease the pain and forget about Ybarro is to give up her jewel (perhaps the separation of the jewel from the fairy who guards it is enough shock to give someone temporary amnesia?). Alena gives up the jewel of water and falls unconscious.

Alena's body will be found, seemingly dead, beside a lake; and the sword of Ybarro lies beside her. They concur that Alena killed herself. Her sisters sadly send her off to Devas on a funeral pyre.

Ybarro, who survived his fall in the water and was making his way slowly towards Lireo because of his wounds, was surprised to see a funeral being conducted. He was devastated when he learned the dead fairy was his beloved Alena.

When everyone had left the pyre burning by itself, Pirena would rise from the fire and laugh maniacally. Apparently, Pirena had impersonated Alena and led people to believe that Alena is dead (maybe getting burned had no effect on Pirena since she has the power to control fire).

Movie: Kingdom of Heaven

	Distributor:	20th Century Fox
	Release:	May 6, 2005
	Genre:	Action/Adventure, Drama
	MPAA Rating:	R for strong violence and epic warfare

If you're a fan of Orlando Bloom, I bet you made it a point to see this movie.

My friend is one and she calls him her "boyfriend". No, she's no psycho yet, but I bet she'll be a stalker if Bloom happens to be walking in our city. An ideal gift for her would be a large poster of Orlando Bloom. She already has a photo of him in her wallet.

Bloom plays the lead character in this movie, and his supporting cast are notable actors like Liam Neeson, Jeremy Irons, David Thewlis (who I last saw in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban), Brendan Gleeson (who I WILL see in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire), and Edward Norton (you don't see his face but you sure notice his acting). Bloom has appeared in previous movies with 2 of his co-actors here - Gleeson was in Troy, and Csokas, who plays the antagonist, was in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

If the acting in this movie relied on Bloom, the movie would have sucked. There, I've said it. I wish it were otherwise. My friend who's a die-hard Orlando fan even admits it. I think the character of Balian should have been performed by a "forceful" actor. If Bloom was unsure how to attack his character, it definitely showed in this movie. There are scenes wherein he got the emotions right, then there are scenes wherein I think he was just following the director who said "okay, now stand there then walk here, say these lines...". Know what I mean? Either Bloom was unwilling to let go of his emotions or he has no reserve of memories/experiences to draw the emotions from. His bland face fitted Legolas only because Tolkien's elves were supposedly more calm than humans would be.

Thank goodness for the presence of more seasoned actors. Neeson appeared only at the start, but it was memorable. Irons played Tiberias well, though the character didn't exist historically. Massoud played Saladin as a great war general, worthy to be admired (which is probably true).

Norton as the leper king, Baldwin, was very good. He was wearing a mask all the time, and yet he was able to convey expressions normally seen on the face with small gestures of his hand, or with slight tilting of the head.

Csokas and Gleeson may have overly done their characterization of the Templars (or the real personages they played are just horrendous people).

If a movie must have its antagonist/s to play against the protagonist/s, the bad guys in this movie are the Templars, not the Muslim. If you've read reviews of this film, you'd know by now that this film offended some Christians (for the supposed zealousness to wage war against Muslims) and Muslims (for being portrayed as somewhat stupid in some scenes - although Saladin's offer of physicians to Baldwin underlines the fact that they were advanced medically). Was the movie as unsure of its stand as Bloom was unsure of how to act?

You cannot call this a historically accurate movie, either. Historians (of which I am not) can pinpoint a lot of mistakes - but they are swept under the rug by the technicality called artistic license. A number of characters did not exist, like Tiberias and Godfrey of Ibelin. Some characters whose names could be found in history were not portrayed accurately either. Balian was not a blacksmith fresh from France - he grew up in the Holy Land (or the area thereabout). Sibylla never left her husband for Balian, if ever they had an affair (no affair has been recorded in history).

I did like the battle scenes. The viewer is reminded how ugly war is, and why it is to be avoided. At the same time, one is instructed on the hows of ancient warfare and weaponry. The cinematography was good, as it brought richness to the depiction of life in the Holy Land during the Crusades.

This movie didn't win critics' nods, especially Bloom's acting (I agree with the critics on this one). But it isn't an all out loser.

TV Series: EncantadiaWeek One

	Network:	GMA
	Series Run:	May 2, 2005 to (present)
	This Story:	May 2 - 6, 2005
	Genre:	Adventure, Fantasy
	Time Slot:	Weekdays, 9:00 p.m.

In the recently concluded Mulawin, Encantadia is the land of fairies (engkanto) where the half-Mulawin Alwina spent some time after she died in the real world. The two series are definitely connected but I'm not sure about the timeline ... is this story happening before the story presented in Mulawin?

I'm a sucker for fantasy series ... and I really looked forward to this one. In contrast to Mulawin where I had to wonder what the story was, GMA kept showing teaser trailers of Encantadia during commercial breaks. Worse, they had a "primer" last Sunday, May 1, that offered a sneak peek into the series.

So there I was last Monday, patiently waiting for the show to start after MANY advertisements. I swear, if I didn't want to watch the first episode so much, I would've switched channels (and the score goes to the advertising guys). Verdict? the first episode wasn't as good as I expected. If I'm going to base the whole series by this one, I won't stick to watching the whole season. But... I am a person who hopes for something better and so I watch the second episode. Episode 2 also raises questions but the flow of the story's much better. Maybe if the first episode was edited well I would've said it rocked. I can proudly say the series gets better with each episode.

The story so far is this:

Encantadia's peace is maintained by each of the four kingdoms possessing a jewel of power. The Hathors, an ambitious people whose skills and craft are in making machines and weapons, aptly has the jewel of fire for they reside near the volcanoes where I guess they make use of the heat and lava in their craft. The Adamyans, a peaceful people of small stature and who dwell near the water, keep the water jewel. The Sapiryans, people skilled with battle arts, take care of the jewel of the earth. Finally, the jewel of air is in the custody of the fairies of Lireo.

As mentioned earlier, the Hathors are ambitious and greedy. They wanted to rule all of Encantadia. They know they will need all the jewels to tip the balance of power in their favor. They decided to start with Adamya, whose people and water jewel they easily conquered.

The Sapiryans learned about the attack and arrive to aid the Adamyans. The Sapiryan king, Arameo, is slain by King Arvak of Hathoria, and they also lose their jewel to the Hathors. Before Hathoria's king could bring home his booty, Raquim, Arameo's cousin and a master swordsman, kills him. The Hathors flee upon learning their king is dead.

With King Arameo dead, Adamya in ruins, and Sapiro the next likely target of the Hathors, Raquim brings Imaw - the wise one of Adamya, and the three jewels to the fairies of Lireo. The Sapiryans and Adamyans agree that all four jewels should be guarded by the fairies. It is possible that Raquim and Queen Mine-a of Lireo became romantically linked at this time.

In Lireo, the responsibilities of the throne always come before everything else, which is why their law forbids rulers, always women, from marrying. Therefore the romance between Mine-a and Raquim remained a fling, though it has been said that among her lovers, the queen favored the Sapiryan most.

It seems that the queen already had a daughter from a previous romance when she took Raquim as her lover. To Raquim, she bore another daughter, Amihan. We would find that Raquim would later leave Lireo and Encantadia itself, bringing his daughter with him, in order to hide from the Hathors.

With Sapiro destroyed because of the wrath of the Hathors, and any surviving Sapiryan hunted down, Raquim hid in the world of mortals. Once there, he had to work as a miner to feed himself and his daughter. The other miners thought he was extremely lucky in finding gold, not knowing that as a Sapiryan (who had once been keepers of the jewel of the earth), Raquim would naturally know how to find elements in rock.

Raquim would bring up his daughter the only way he knew how - teaching her the sword craft that Sapiryans are known for. Amihan does not appreciate her training though, as she sees other children being sent to learn in a place called school. Amihan would try to make friends with other kids her age, but the others find her odd and often than not, would make fun of her.

Amihan would later find out how different from other kids she is when she realized she just pulled off a disappearing act. She tells this to her father who gets a bit rattled. With her power surfacing, Raquim realizes that his daughter must be told about their real world. One night, he pulls out a map and tells her a story about a land called Encantadia. Amihan liked the story but never thought it real. She did however, have a dream where a beautiful woman called her daughter and warned her that she and her father are in danger. Amihan barely finished telling Raquim about her dream when strange looking people appeared outside their house. These are the Hathors.

Leading this band was King Hagorn, who had a special interest in finding Raquim. It was Raquim who killed Hagorn's father, Arvak. Raquim pulls out an elegant sword from a chest and hands it to Amihan, telling her to use it to defend herself. Tucking Amihan away in a safe place, Raquim faces Hagorn's men, puts up a brave fight, but is struck down by Hagorn. Amihan rushes out of her hiding place with her father's sword in her hand, trying her best to strike the Hathors. The bemused Hathors capture the little girl, threaten to chop her head off, but King Hagorn held back the moment he saw the mark of the sang'gre on the girl's shoulder. A sang'gre is a fairy of the royal house, and are identified by a birthmark on their shouler.

Around this time, another group of strange people appeared looking for Raquim and Amihan in what they knew to be their house. These are the soldiers sent by Mine-a to fetch her lover and daughter and bring them to the safety of Lireo. The soldiers find artifacts from Encantadia, confirming that they have found the house of Raquim, but the people they came for are gone and from the mess the house was in, they realize that the Hathors had found their quarry.

The soldiers search the grounds for any traces of Raquim or Amihan. Finally, they find the queen's daughter crying over the dead body of her father. The soldiers convince the girl to go with them back to Encantadia.

In Lireo, Amihan realizes that her father's story is true. The shock of her father's loss and being brought to a strange world is somewhat abated upon learning that her mother is still alive and is happy to be reunited with her. Amihan also learns that she has an older sister, Pirena, and two younger sisters - Alena and Danaya. They have different fathers, but none married their mother, which is a strange concept to Amihan who grew up amongst mortals who married before having children. Alena and Danaya befriend Amihan, but it would take a mother's coaxing for Pirena to accept Amihan as her sister.

Amihan would learn from her sisters that fairies have different kinds of power. Amihan could control the wind, Pirena could control fire and also take on the shape of any humanoid, Alena has the voice to kill or make a person fall in love, and Danaya could transform into either a plant or an animal at will. Amihan would also be told that the use of weapons, unless you are a soldier, is frowned upon at Lireo. This attitude of the fairies towards warfare came to scrutiny when the girls were attacked by Hathors. Imaw, who had taken residence in Lireo after Adamya was destroyed, suggested to Mine-a that if the Hathors are brazen enough to set foot on Lireo, then perhaps learning to wield a weapon or two would benefit the princesses.

We do not know what Mine-a thought of Imaw's suggestion, for the next scene shows us that the girls have grown up although still at the stage where they play games with each other - the exception would be Pirena who finds it ridiculous to play children's games at her age. It would seem though that the queen allowed the girls to learn how to wield weapons for we see Mine-a voicing her concern to Imaw that Amihan has taken to the sword-bearing ways of her father, and later, when it was time to choose her heir, Mine-a decided the test would include duelling.

Pirena had grown up expecting to be heir to her mother's throne as she is the oldest. It was therefore upsetting to her that when the butterflies came to tell Mine-a that the time to go to Devas is approaching, Mine-a announced that she will put the four princesses to a test to decide which one should be the next queen. Pirena's insecurity was heightened when she overheard her mother telling Imaw that one of her reservations against choosing Pirena is that she is afraid of the blood flowing through her veins. Had Pirena heard the whole conversation, she would know that Mine-a also had issues with the other princesses. Unfortunately, Pirena walked away thinking her mother does not like her as much as her sisters.

As the night of the tournament nears, Pirena broods and swears she will be queen; Amihan and Danaya prepare excitedly, wondering if they have what it takes to be queen; and Alena prepares half-heartedly, admitting to Amihan that she doesn't fancy being queen, but rather, when the trial is over and she knows she will not be chosen, Alena wants to be like other fairies who fall in love, marry, and raise a family. As fate would have it, someone would fall in love with Alena even before the trial starts.

This would be Ybarro, the Mandirigma. His people are skilled in martial arts but are looked down upon by other denizens of Encantadia for they would rather steal than grow their own food or make their own implements. As he passed the forest on his way home, he hears a beautiful voice, follows it and gazes upon the beauty of Alena. He followed her to the waterfall where she took a bath, boldly approached her, and promptly earns the ire of Alena. Gazing at the fleeing fairy, the cocky Ybarro swears he will make her fall in love with him.

At the tournament, the four princesses don their war suits which are woven out of the elements they control (Pirena=fire, Amihan=wind, Alena=water, Danaya=earth). They find out that they must fight the warrior dressed in white and get the key. They do not know his identity for his face is covered. Alena and Danaya were immediately beaten, and Amihan's turn was not yet finished when Pirena joined in the fray. Amihan makes a wrong move and found herself hanging on the side of a cliff. Pirena ignores her calls for help and continues fighting the warrior in white. Amihan falls and is caught by the white warrior. Amihan suddenly realizes the warrior is her mother. Pirena follows them and snatches the key the warrior is wearing, claiming that she won. Mine-a uncovers her face and tells Pirena she got the wrong key. Mine-a reveals that she is the key, and part of the challenge was to recognize her. This meant that Amihan won the throne.

Pirena refuses to acknowledge the outcome, claiming she won fair and square and that Mine-a changed the rules at the last minute so that Amihan would win. Pirena challenges her mother to another duel, which according to law, could not be refused.

The tournament revealed that Mine-a herself was a skilled warrior despite her known distate for weapons. The only way Pirena could think of to defeat the queen is by using the jewels. Taking the form of Aquil, Captain of the Guard, Pirena sneaks into the chamber where the jewels are kept. Pirena realizes quickly that the task is not easy - for the jewels would evade her grasp. Luckily for Pirena, the jewel of fire beckons to her and tells her to use it for they control the same element. Pirena sneaks out with the jewel, without anyone realizing it is gone.

While the rest of the palace is trying to deal with the conflict growing between Pirena and her mother, Alena finds out that the cocky Mandirigma she saw at the falls is stalking her. However, whenever Alena finally gets around to calling for help, Ybarro would disappear.

Finally the day of the duel arrives, and Pirena fights with more strength than she did at the tournament, almost defeating Mine-a. Her three sisters however decide to step in at the last moment, unwilling to give Pirena her victory. An enraged Pirena disavows her mother and sisters, announces that she is leaving Lireo but swears to come back one day to claim the throne.

Pirena goes to the people she knows hates Lireo most - the Hathors. King Hagorn willingly accepts her, especially when he learns that the fairy princess has brought with her the jewel of fire which had once belonged to Hathoria.

As Amihan was being crowned queen of Lireo, Pirena was also celebrating with the Hathors. Alena on the other hand was falling in love with Ybarro, and the only other person in the palace who knows this is Muyak, a dame in the palace and a pixie.

After the theft of the fire jewel by Pirena, Mine-a decides that her other daughters would each take care of one of the remaining jewels. Amihan gets the air jewel, Alena gets the water jewel, and Danaya gets the earth jewel.

Movie: The Interpreter

	Distributor:	Universal Pictures
	Release:	April 22, 2005
	Genre:	Drama and Thriller
	MPAA Rating:	PG-13 for violence, some sexual content and brief strong language

Truth: The main reason I watched this movie is because it starred Sean Penn and Nicole Kidman. Both have earned enough acting credits which are buffered by numerous acting nominations and/or awards. The proposition and the trailer weren't enough to pull me into the theater, but the big names were.

If other actors played the lead roles here, they could have botched this movie. The story is not only about the US Secret Service trying to prevent the mess that would ensue if an assasination of a foreign dignitary on American soil happens, but it is also about the lead characters going through internal turmoil. Any actor could pull off the action scenes, but not everyone can act the mourning widower or a UN interpreter anxious about people knowing her past, and her connection to the rebellion going on in Africa.

No grand endings or a love story here. That the assasination was staged was a better explanation to the string of incidents although before Penn figured it out, it wasn't what I had been thinking was happening. However, I had expected Kidman's character to be forced to kill the target. I liked that the leading male and female actors didn't end up falling in love or in bed doing you know what.