Movie: The Island

	Distributor:	Dreamworks SKG
	Release:	July 22, 2005
	Genre:	Action/Adventure, Thriller
	MPAA Rating:	PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some sexuality and language

The title reminds me of those B horror movies that take place on an island, I wondered if some of that will surface in the film. Well nothing of that genre here, thankfully.

Cool premise: clones are being raised in a facility and they exist so that the original people they were cloned from could have spare parts. They're treated like kids although they have adult bodies. The movie, although entertaining, fails to sustain the plausibility (there will parts you'll be saying "Puh-leez").

Ewan McGregor shows here a bit his ability to shift character, including change in accent. Not surprising considering that the past movies he's done, taken together, show he could play either a misfit, rogue, rascal, respectable mentor, or hopeless romantic.

To complete the cast are Scarlett Johansson - the Lost in Translation girl, Sean Bean - who's back to his intellectual bad guy roles, Steve Buscemi - a character actor who has appeared in so many movies his face is more familiar than his name (he's got lots of speaking parts in this movie, yay!), and Djimon Hounsou - who's appeared in movies like Amistad and Hotel Rwanda.

Some of the questions that popped into my mind:

• When did Lincoln start visiting McCord (the character played by Buscemi)? Why would McCord encourage the visits if he didn't like the trouble?
  
• Why didn't the other workers report the visits?
  
• Why was Lincoln able to hold on to the key to the maintenance area indefinitely?
  
• Why did the clones have the same hair style as their sponsors? If they're being grown just for spare parts, why bother making their hair style reflect that of the sponsor?
  
• Why was it easy for Lincoln and Jordan to figure out how to make love considering they weren't exposed to sex? Whereas, I've read in some newspaper that there are Chinese or Singaporean couples who had to be told how to do it by a doctor because no one told them how?

Rockstar: INXSWeek Three: Performance Night(Cable TV)

	Network:	Star World (Asia)
	Episode Two:	July 27, 2005
	Genre:	Reality/Music Show
	Time Slot:	Wednesday 9:30 a.m.; Rerun at 9:30 p.m.

Jordis missed her opening ... I don't know the song so I didn't notice because she recovered fast. Good girl. Suzie wasn't able to recover as fast.

Suzie's past performances had no recall for me (I only remember that she forgot lyrics during the first episode), but with her playing the harmonica tonight, she managed to make me remember her.

MiG's "Lola" had a nice start to it, and there were moments he was sexy onstage. I think he did okay, so I have no idea why Dave and INXS would want to see him sing after he's drunk half a bottle of vodka. They don't like JD being too cocky onstage but they want MiG to lose it. I also can't figure out why Dave suggested MiG throw his jacket and go topless ... how come the other male rockers weren't asked to go barechested? I think that jacket-throwing gimmick just earned MiG more fans tonight... mostly female.

JD screwed up "We are the Champions" and had the gall to blame it on seeing his sister in the audience. Dude, that line of reasoning would have worked if we didn't see how you also sucked during rehearsal.

JD wasn't the only one who sounded terrible tonight - Brandon had trouble hitting notes, and I don't think Heather hit a right note at all (she sounded sick and she confirmed she was sick).

Daphna supposedly murdered "Rock the Casbah", I don't remember if she sang it wrong, because I can't get the "trying to look cute" moves and the gown out of my head - that was a weird outfit.

I can't remember much of Deanna's performance, but I do remember thinking she looked cute - well that was after an officemate remarked she liked her hair. You caught me, I was watching during office hours.

In past performances, Marty had a lot of antics onstage ... tonight, his performance was all about the song because he decided to stand still. Nice move, he impressed INXS.

Rockstar: INXSWeek Three: Reality Show(Cable TV)

	Network:	Star World (Asia)
	Episode Two:	July 27, 2005
	Genre:	Reality/Music Show
	Time Slot:	Wednesday 9:00 a.m.; Rerun at 9:00 p.m.

Apparently, the rockers have a clinic every week. Last week it was fashion tips, this week it's stage presence. The Rockers and INXS sat watching a video of selected performances and people critique what they see on screen. Most of the comments made sense, but the funny one would be about Suzie's teeth being so white and prominent it's distracting. Ofcourse, it prompted Suzie to react that there's not much she can do about her teeth (unless surgery is considered, but her teeth are fine the way they are, why ruin it?).

Now, I had no problem with J.D.'s comment that had some fellow Rockers resenting him, and turned off some viewers. What happened during song selection this week was what really made me label this guy as trouble. First, he convinces Jordis to let him have "We Are the Champions". Then he discovers he can't sing the song. He attempts to rearrange it to suit his range - but not only is his idea not working, the house band is pretty much averse to changing the way the song is originally sung. Knowing he's going to screw it, JD tries to exchange songs with Jordis again. Jordis may be the youngest rocker, but she's no pushover - so JD is stuck with the Queen song.

In my opinion, JD is acting like the playground bully who pushes people around to get a popular toy, only to realize he doesn't really like playing with it.

The icing on the cake of this "JD's got it coming" episode is the end where MiG sings "We Are the Champions" during rehearsal break and jokes that while others have to learn that song, he sings it because he loves it.

Harry Potter Series, Book 6Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

	Author:	J. K. Rowling
	Genre:	Children's Book Fantasy, Magic
	Publisher:	Scholastic
	Year Published:	2005

I reserved the Half Blood Prince (HBP) at National Book Store months ago. It was available on the 16th but since I was lazy to go out this weekend, I only got my copy last Monday, 18th. I paid something below PHP800 and got a PHP100 certificate as well. Not sure if the book price went down or I got a discount for being a "Laking National" cardholder and paying PHP500 in advance to reserve the book. I wouldn't be reading it at once if my computer hadn't conked out. I'm thankful I had a book to read or else I'd be having SIMS2 withdrawal symptoms.

Last Monday, my friend texted to me that:

• it was an easier read than Order of the Phoenix (OOP)
  
• she wasn't too devastated by the love teams ... she's with the Harry/Hermione ship, so that's a clue
  
• along with OOP, this isn't one of her favorites

OOP wasn't my favorite because Harry was an angry person for the most part of it, and it annoyed me that Goblet of Fire (GoF) didn't end with the kind of Harry I saw in the first chapter of OOP. There was no consistency. Now that I've finished HBP, I still think that emotion-wise, OOP's Harry is a bit out of place compared to the Harries in the other series.

My friend was right in saying that it is easier to read HBP compared to OOP. As I read the first chapter, I was delighted that the cadence in HBP is the same as in the first four books. When I got to the Spinner's End chapter though, I had to laugh. The theme was something out of fan fiction.

It's a fact that J.K. Rowling visits sites dedicated to Harry Potter. I am not sure though if she includes fan fiction in her prowling of the web. Either she has read too much fan fiction that it influenced her, or she hasn't read fan fiction and rather, it is I who has read too much of it that the real thing sounds familiar. Anyway, I'm guessing Draco fans will have a feast with this book. Who knows, the bits of fan-fiction moments in this book are intended and is Rowling's tribute to her fans.

Little bits:

• I find it amusing that following the trend of no Defense Against the Dark Arts (DADA) professor lasting for more than a year in Hogwarts, Snape, who finally gets the post, does something that will not make it possible for him to return to Hogwarts in the near future
  
• Harry and Ginny do become a couple but break up in the end because it will be dangerous for Ginny to be linked with Harry ... I'm wondering how things will be in the last book. Ron and Hermione haven't become an item yet, but it's getting there. It's a strong ship. The book shoots down the Harry/Hermione ship, and if Harry hadn't broken up with Ginny, the Draco/Ginny ship would have sunk too.
  
• I think Dumbledore dying is a must if Harry must learn to stand by himself in the final battle. Dumbledore's been his security blanket for so long.
  
• Slughorn's taking over the helm of Slytherin has made it possible for Slytherins to look less notorious.

Another read and this book may actually become one of my favorites, along with Sorcerer's Stone and Prisoner of Azkaban.

Rockstar: INXSWeek Two: Elimination Night(Cable TV)

	Network:	Star World (Asia)
	Episode Six:	July 21, 2005
	Genre:	Reality/Music Show
	Time Slot:	Thursday 9:00 a.m.; Rerun at 9:00 p.m.

Reality Show extra - J.D.'s housemates did not like his comments about him knowing the INXS songs better than anybody and they confront him on it. He was unapologetic ... probably because he didn't think he did anything wrong.

J.D. does get commended (again) for "Hand in My Pocket", Suzie's version of "Roxanne" got special mention as well, and MiG is told he's now transformed to rocker (I wonder if theater folk like the idea that this is a compliment). No one gets an encore tonight.

Tara ends up in the bottom three for the second week, with Neal and Jessica joining her. By this time, I think Tara is confused. Last week she missed the mark by sounding too country, she gets edgier this week only to be told she's too hard rock. I frankly cannot remember Jessica's performance - so maybe her forgettable rendition was why she ended at the bottom. Neal being called out is no surprise for me, but apparently he was surprised he ended at the bottom. More amazing is that his fellow Rockers were dismayed he got the axe. Maybe they thought it would be Tara - after all, this is her second week at the bottom.

Neal Carlson This guy reminds me so much of Mick Jagger - only with finer facial features. He's got stage presence, I'll give him that - he struts around like a cock, actually. I thought he had promise, until "Summer of 69" showed he's a bit tone deaf.

Staying power in terms of weeks:

Two

Number of encore performances: None
Number of times at the bottom three:

One

More about Neal Carlson:
Career/Day Job:	Admin Coordinator
Currently resides in:	Queens, New York, USA
Home Town:	Queens, New York, USA
Family:	Has a brother.
Musical Career:	Started by performing in coffee shops and dive bars in New York's Lower East Side. Released a solo acoustic album, "Pseudovibe," and had a second CD titled "Reach In and Get Her". He founded his own rock band, Bona Roba.
Website:	www.bonaroba.net
Links:	His "Rockstar" bio. His "Rockstar" blog.

Rockstar: INXSWeek Two: Performance Night(Cable TV)

	Network:	Star World (Asia)
	Episode Five:	July 20, 2005
	Genre:	Reality/Music Show
	Time Slot:	Wednesday 9:30 a.m.; Rerun at 9:30 p.m.

In the first episode, I thought Marty was one shy guy... but, based on what he did tonight - apparently not.

Suzie didn't look like a gypsy, thank Ellie Mae. Her version of Police's "Roxanne" is forgettable though.

MiG didn't wreck "Walk This Way", and I thought he did well - then again, I don't know all the lyrics to that song as well so I can't judge. He fell flat on his back in relief when the song was over and that probably earned him "cute" points among the ladies.

The train wreck happened when Neal stepped out to do Bryan Adams' "Summer of 69". He decided to use his guitar, but I don't think Gibson appreciates that because for most of the number, this Mick Jagger clone was off key. It was a pain watching him. Really.

I missed JD's encore-worthy "California Dreaming", but tonight's "Hand in My Pocket" was also great - he totally transformed the song. He could be asked to sing an encore of this too. He's definitely on top of the list of "most likely to win". He gets complimented ofcourse, but totally ruins the moment by saying that he's known and loved INXS songs growing up while the other hopefuls are still learning the songs.

As I expected, Deanna's "un-love" for "The One I Love" definitely showed in her performance and she just managed to get through it without murdering the song the way Neal murdered "Summer of 69".

Brandon sang Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama", another song I like. He just sang it the way it was supposed to be sung, and he put his guitar to good use. Only thing that bugged me was him going barefoot on stage. This guy's really coming across as country rock.

Rockstar: INXSWeek Two: Reality Show(Cable TV)

	Network:	Star World (Asia)
	Episode Four:	July 20, 2005
	Genre:	Reality/Music Show
	Time Slot:	Wednesday 9:00 a.m.; Rerun at 9:00 p.m.

Gibson gives away guitars for each of the remaining rockers. Here's hoping they all know how to play the instrument.

Next perk would be the aid of a stylist. Dave greets the rockers wearing a ridiculous boa around his neck. He admits he looks funny, but points out that a famous rocker actually made wearing it a signature. It is therefore important to find a style that suits you - enter Ellie Mae who would be assisting the rockers from this point on. I'd like to add that it also means that if the rockers get on the stage looking silly - blame it on Ellie Mae.

In the room of fashion accessories, most of the rockers were eager to look at what is being made available for them to wear - including the men. Suzie and Brandon were the ones who seriously wanted tips regarding style - and I think they need it. Suzie thought she needed to look a bit sexy, and just about grabbed anything she thought might do the trick - I fear she'll look like a gypsy if no one restrains her. Brandon is looking so country rock, it's going to be tough working on him. Ty's proclamation about loving to dress up makes me wonder if he's gay. Neil would prance about like a rooster with an animal's tail dangling from his belt, I don't know what makes him think it's a good combination. In contrast to these fashion conscious guys, Jordis would say that she wasn't really into fashion and would prefer to stick to the clothes she brought for the competition - and most of them are black.

Later, MiG discovers that the next round of song selections are already posted and takes a peek before the others. Deanna got stuck with R.E.m.'s "The One I Love" and admits she doesn't feel the song. I think that's a bad sign already. MiG is having problem with the lyrics of "Walk this Way" by Aerosmith and I had to chuckle when he used the phrase "train wreck". J.D.'s reworking of the beat of Alanis Morisette's "Hand in My Pocket" sounds promising - mind you, I liked the original and would hate it if he ruins the song. At the end, I'm looking forward to how Deanna and JD will do in the performance show... Will Deanna spell her doom by making it plain that she doesn't like the song? Will J.D. succeed reworking "Hand in My Pocket"?

Movie: Fantastic Four

	Distributor:	20th Century Fox
	Release:	July 8, 2005
	Genre:	Action/Adventure, Comedy Science Fiction/Fantasy
	MPAA Rating:	PG-13 for sequences of intense action, and some suggestive content

I'm tired of hearing which comic series is going to be a movie next. Yet, when they show it in theaters, I still go watch.

The fun in this movie stems from the dynamics of the group that finds itself an instant family after an accident in space has made it close to impossible for them to continue living a normal life. Johnny and Susan finding out they can't wear ordinary clothes (the clothes burn on Johnny, and Susan has to undress if she wants to be really invisible) is also worth a laugh.

The touching moment was when Ben Grimm's wife refuses to take him back after seeing he'd become what we call as The Thing.

For Grimm to choose to remain The Thing even if the technology to change him back exists sounds kind of stupid to me - but then, we won't have a fantastic four without him, would we?

I'd watch it again if they show it on cable, but I won't buy the DVD.

Rockstar: INXSWeek One: Elimination Night(Cable TV)

	Network:	Star World (Asia)
	Episode Three:	July 14, 2005
	Genre:	Reality/Music Show
	Time Slot:	Thursday 9:00 a.m.; Rerun at 9:00 p.m.

First up is an encore by J.D. Fortune for a good arrangement of California Dreaming. For INXS to be impressed enough to ask him to sing it again is saying something - J.D.'s one up on the other hopefuls.

I don't really watch American Idol, so I'm not familiar with how viewer participation works. For Rockstar:INXS, the viewers can vote via their cellphones or through the internet after the live show. The voting window is only open for a few hours. After that period, the votes are tallied, and the bottom three are singled out on Elimination night where each will sing a different INXS song. Based on previous performances and how well they sang the INXS song assigned to them, INXS will choose which of the bottom three is booted out of the mansion.

One "rocker", Dana, got sent home even before elimination night. For this week, the official first bottom three are Suzie, Tara and Wil. I'm betting the mansion incident with Marty ("Is that really your voice?") and forgetting the lyrics on her first song worked against Suzie because she didn't really suck on performance night. Frankly, I think the voters will most of the time be subjective - apart from talent, it's a combination of how the voters like your looks and attitude that will decide if you survive the competition. Therefore, it is a good thing that in the end, it is up to INXS to decide who really gets sent home.

Wil Seabrook This guy looks nice, but I never really noticed him in the first episode - which meant he didn't have the rockstar presence then. Wil is not right for INXS because they think he tends to just focus on the girls in the front row instead of working on the whole audience. In other words, he's coming on like someone who's from a pop boy band.

Staying power in terms of weeks: One
Number of encore performances: None
Number of times at the bottom three: One

More about Wil Seabrook:
Career/Day Job:	Musician
Currently resides in:	Pasadena,California, USA
Home Town:	Morganton, North Carolina, USA
Family:	His parents traveled a lot when he was a kid, bringing him with them - he's been Germany, China, Thailand, and New Zealand.
Musical Career:	He released an independent album in 2000, and later had a recording deal with the label Maverick/WB. He has toured with his own band around the US and has opened for many artists. Wil Seabrookband Band's "It's Your Life" have actually been featured in the teen TV drama, Dawson's Creek. The group disbanded when Wil entered Rockstar: INXS. Exposure from the contest has helped sales of his EP as a solo artist, "New", as there are people who have seen him on the show and bought the CD out of curiousity (check comments on his blog).
Website:	http://www.wilseabrook.com/ I think the site was once www.wilseabrookband.com, then Rockstar:INXS happened and the band ceased to exist - so it's plain wilseabrook now.
Links:	His "Rockstar" bio. His "Rockstar" blog. His blog at myspace.com The Wil Seabrook Band site at Maverick

Rockstar: INXSWeek One: Performance Night(Cable TV)

	Network:	Star World (Asia)
	Episode Two:	July 13, 2005
	Genre:	Reality/Music Show
	Time Slot:	Wednesday 9:00 a.m.; Rerun at 9:00 p.m.

Not knowing that this show is on TV more than once a week, I totally missed this episode. Apparently, J.D. scored with California Dreaming this night.

Rockstar: INXS, Episode One(Cable TV)

	Network:	Star World (Asia)
	This Episode:	July 12, 2005
	Genre:	Reality/Music Show
	Special Episode:	Tuesday 9:00 a.m.; Rerun at 9:00 p.m.

The first time I saw the TV ad promoting the show, I wasn't listening and thought it was about a contest in line with the release of a new album; the second time, I realized INXS is looking for a lead singer (what went through my head - "Did I hear that right?"). I didn't think it was a good idea. I'm not a fan of American idol ... maybe it's the combination of meanness and sometimes mediocre performances that turned me off, and if they're going to copy AI, I won't buy it. Little wonder I never really made a point to catch the first episode.

I've got to say I have to thank GMA's Encantadia for making me surf over to Star World during one of those looooong commercial breaks, just in time to catch the rerun of the first show that was aired this morning.

WOW!!! This, my friends, is an hour of listening to rock music! An episode is a concert by itself. The best part yet? Most of the hopefuls can really sing and rock the stage. I have only seen about 3 episodes of American Idol, and those are shows near the finals where my officemates had to switch the channel to see who'd be eliminated - and I must say the singers in Rockstar:INXS are a league above the American Idol finalists I saw.

Now, the show actually has a "reality TV part" which I didn't even know of beforehand. I'm not a fan of reality TV ... the only time I watched one was when MTV first aired it's version of Big Brother years ago. When they got to the second and other seasons, the novelty wore away for me. Anyway, I found the reality part of THIS show to be interesting. Maybe because all these people are talented and I'm interested to know more about them. Ofcourse, the fact that they focused on the guy called Marty getting insecure when another contestant, Suzie, asked him about his voice, shows that the producers are going to milk whatever drama they could get no matter how petty ... I hope that doesn't ruin the rest of the show - it would be tragic for INXS.

Two people stuck out because they performed well - Jordis who was the first to sing and stopped me from clicking the remote control; and Ty - he's got lots of energy and controlled the stage...don't like his spiky hair much, but it's easy to overlook given his performance. J.D. was also good but there were parts of his performance where his actions were uncomfortable for me to watch ... it doesn't help that his shaking his head and hands before the competition just weirded me out.

Because of the "reality show" part, I would remember Marty and Suzie. As fate would have it, Suzie would forget the lyrics and Marty would breeze through his song. If Marty was insecure when the show started, it's Suzie who's worrying about being kicked out when her number was over.

Two other people stuck out for the wrong reasons. Dana started "Knocking on Heaven's Door" well, then the long scream at the end just ruined it. MiG sang "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and the song just sounded odd with him doing it ... his voice was too high.

Eventually, INXS called on three of the rockers: JD, Suzie, and Dana. They told JD he was overdoing it on the stage and they warned Suzie on forgetting the lyrics. That left Dana and we all get a surprise to find that she's been dropped off the list even before competition got heated up.

	Dana Robbins She got kicked out before the episode was over, and I agree that it really sucks to be the first to go. It was the screech that did it. I don't know if she has really unpacked yet before she has to pack up again.
More about Dana Robbins:
Career/Day Job:	Bartender/Yoga Instructor/Dancer
Currently resides in:	Studio City, California, USA
Home Town:	Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Family:	Physician father, accountant mother.
Musical Career:	Was a showgirl by age 17 and founded the band Honey Pot while in Vegas. She eventually moved to Los Angeles and performed with the group Alien Show Girls, which is a sexy, campy, fun type of band. She has also appeared in a few films (Sinful Obsession, Stripper Wives and Intimate Nights), wherein she had brief nude scenes - this bit may get her labelled a porn actress by some people. Before joining Rockstar: INXS, she has formed her own band, called Aerial - which is a hard rock band. I expect she has returned to this band when she left the Rockstar mansion.
Website:	http://www.danarobbinsmusic.com/ I haven't confirmed if this site is official. It's a bit slow though because of the huge image files.
Links:	Her "Rockstar" bio. Her "Rockstar" blog. Her friend talks about her in rockband.com.

Movie: War of the Worlds

	Distributor:	Paramount Pictures
	Release:	June 29th, 2005
	Genre:	Science Fiction/Fantasy
	MPAA Rating:	PG-13 for frightening sequences of sci-fi violence and disturbing images

There's something about Tom Cruise that makes me not like all his movies. Cruise has an overbearing personality that always finds its way into the character he portrays. This works in some movies, but not in all. That is the reason I was wary about watching this film. When I was about 10, I devoured science fiction, including H.G. Wells, and so War of the Worlds was familiar to me. I didn't know if Cruise would ruin the story for me or not.

Surprise, Cruise was able to act without overdoing it. This is one of those rare times I wished he had more to do. It's the script itself that failed to deliver. Most of the time, we see people running away from the tripods lest they get hit by the rays and turn to dust. The menace represented by the tripods is terrifying. The movie however, did not put enough time to explore the inner turmoil going through the characters. They just are, but I would have liked to see why they reacted differently to the situation. At the end of the movie, I felt I just got off a fun ride. The movie just did not evoke too much of an emotion in me. Special effects were great though.

Some people felt disappointed at the ending. A friend thought it was anticlimactic for the aliens to die of germs. This is one area you cannot blame the script writer - the book the movie was based on did have the Martians dying that way.

By the way, have you heard? Some real scientists are worried that all this space exploration by humans of Mars may introduce virus or bacteria that may be harmful to the planet. That's in addition to the junk we've been littering space with.