Rediscovering the kids of Narnia

Typhoon Frank's decision to change course and unload buckets of rain over Laguna threw out my plans to do 2 weeks' worth of laundry last weekend. I spent most of Saturday surfing the net. Considering that I only had a cold and a few clean clothes left to wear for the rest of the week, I had it better than those who lost their lives/property/loved ones to the storm.

My cold got worse on Sunday and I was not in the mood to open my PC. With the cable out because of the storm, I decided to just watch my Narnia 2-disc DVD (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe). I watched it "as is", then with the "pop-outs", then with the commentaries of the director and the kids. In other words, I watched the movie thrice. I also watched the out-takes, the making, etc.

I fell in love with the four kids playing the Pevensies all over again.

I loved them after I saw the movie in a theater a little more than 2 years ago. I especially liked Skandar Keynes. He got the Edmund of the books spot on... and Edmund is one of my favorite characters from the series simply because he had the most character development ... same as Eustace, who is another one of my favorite characters (which means I am so looking forward to the film version of Voyage of the Dawn Treader).

I liked the rest of the kids because of the way they have bonded together ... and they do paint a very pretty family picture.

They have all grown up in the Prince Caspian movie. I adore the fact that more young girls/teens/tweens have begun to take notice of Skandar. I noticed him for his talent, but having grown up handsomely won't hurt his career at all.

With my cold winning the upper round today, and forcing me to call in sick, I spent most of the afternoon (I woke up very late) watching YouTube and all interviews with the kids. Saw some tribute videos as well (some are good, a lot of them mediocre).

Guess what... Slow me just realized what might have fueled the William-Anna/Peter-Susan shipping in fanficdom (which stumped me when I came across some of them after the first Narnia movie came out): it's those behind the scenes footages of them in the DVD where they do a lot of hugging and yes - cuddling. Those two look good together. Anna is sophistication and William is simply eye candy. I found it funny that Will had to clear to the press that they never "crossed the line" and remain good platonic friends.

I am impressed that Anna is taking up Literature in Oxford ... and she is in Magdalen College ... the same place where C.S. Lewis taught. Interesting, huh?

So, I have just noted how William, Anna, and Skandar have all grown up well. Let's not forget Georgie who is turning out to be a very pretty lady. No surprise, if you consider that the lovely woman who played the grown-up Lucy in the movie is Georgie's older sister.

Yup, I'm tracking the career of these kids and hope that they improve in their craft and be really successful actors (not just famous). It would probably be a while before we hear more from Anna though ... who's intent on earning a degree first.

Before I end this particular post, I'd like to share to you Switchfoot's video for "This Is Home", which is part of the Prince Caspian soundtrack:

This is Home
Switchfoot

Lyrics:

I've got my memories
They're always
Inside of me
But I can't go back
Back to how it was
I believe now
I've seen too much
But I can't go back
Back to how it was
Created for a place
I've never known

Chorus:
This is home
Now I'm finally
Where I belong
Where I belong
Yeah, this is home
I've been searching
For a place of my own
Now I've found it
Maybe this is home
Yeah, this is home

Belief over misery
I've seen the enemy
And I won't go back
Back to how it was
And I got my heart
Set on
What happens next
I got my eyes wide
It's not over yet
We are miracles
And we're not alone

(Chorus)

And now after all
My searching
After all my questions
I'm gonna call it home
I got a brand new mindset
I can finally see
The sunset
I'm gonna call it home

(Chorus)

Now I know
Yeah, this is home

I've come too far
Now I won't go back
This is home

Movie: Kung Fu Panda

Studio:	DreamWorks Animation
Release:	June 6, 2008
Genre:	Animation
MPAA Rating:	PG for sequences of martial arts action

My Yahoo! Movies Rating:

Overall Grade:	B
Story:	B
Acting	B
Direction:	B
Visuals:	A-

This movie lived up to the hype that Dreamworks built up to market it.

It is funny and had me laughing from beginning til end. Despite having Jack Black playing the lead character, this movie is squeaky clean when it comes to jokes. Your kids will even pick up good moral lessons here and there... some of them from the character development that Po, Master Shifu, and Tigress go through... some from the wisdom imparted by Master Oogway and yes, even from Mr. Ping - Po's goose father.

Speaking of Mr. Ping. I find it funny that Po the Panda has a goose for a father. At one point I thought Mr. Ping was going to tell Po that he is not his real son, only to find out that he meant to tell Po some other secret.

The animation was great. Its look was in between 2D and 3D, with more care given to the central characters, therefore making them stand out. Po looked so cute. His nemesis Tai Lung looked wicked enough.

Leaving the theater, I know this is one movie I wouldn't mind seeing again.

Viva La Vida

Just heard this song today ... looked it up out of curiousity after noticing how fast it jumped onto Billboard's Top Ten so fast. Ha! Loved it the first time I heard it. The tune is catchy and the lyrics are interesting. It does sound like one of those music that came out of the 80s Britmania ... I just haven't figured out yet which 80s song sounds like this one.

Viva La Vida
Coldplay
From the album: Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends

I used to rule the world
Seas would rise when I gave the word
Now in the morning I sleep alone
Sweep the streets I used to own

I used to roll the dice
Feel the fear in my enemies' eyes
Listen as the crowd would sing
"Now the old king is dead, long live the king!"
One minute I held the key
Next the walls were closed on me
And I discovered that my castle stands
Upon pillars of salt, and pillars of sand

I hear Jerusalem bells a'ringing
Roman Cavalry choirs are singing
Be my mirror, my sword and shield
My missionaries in a foreign field
For some reason I can't explain
Once you'd gone it was never,
never an honest word
That was when I ruled the world

It was the wicked and wild wind
Blew down the doors to let me in
Shattered windows and the sound of drums
People couldn't believe what I'd become
Revolutionaries wait
For my head on a silver plate
Just a puppet on a lonely string
Oh...who would ever wanna be king

I hear Jerusalem bells were ringing
Roman Cavalry choirs were singing
Be my mirror, my sword and shield
My missionaries in a foreign field
For some reason I can't explain
I know St. Peter won't call my name
Never an honest word
But that was when I ruled the world


Bridge:
Whoaaa (x4)

Bridge and Chorus mix:
(Whoa...) Here Jerusalem bells were ringing
(Whoa...) Roman Cavalry choirs were singing
(Whoa...) Be my mirror, my sword and shield
(Whoa...) My missionaries in a foreign field
(Whoa...) For some reason I can't explain
(Whoa...) I know St. Peter won't call my name
Never an honest word
But that was when I ruled the world

Oooh Ooooh Oooh Ooooh... (until fade)

Movie: The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

Studio:	Walt Disney Pictures
Release:	May 16, 2008
Genre:	Action/Adventure, Science Fiction/Fantasy and Adaptation
MPAA Rating:	PG for epic battle action and violence.

My Yahoo! Movies Rating:

Overall Grade:	B
Story:	B-
Acting	B
Direction:	B
Visuals:	B

The director of this movie must be in love with battle scenes. They're probably the best portions of the movie. Story development is a bit neglected.

The movie starts with Prince Caspian's escape from the castle at the birth of his cousin. Just by starting here, the wonder of discovering Narnia's secret history, experienced by the reader through the Caspian character, has been deleted from the movie. In my opinion, a really good portion of the book is this re-discovery of Narnia's golden years.

Magic is injected here and there ... but the flow of the story is not fluid enough for the magic to stay with the audience even after the scene is finished. I am not sure if this is a result of writing or editing.

Visuals, at least in the theater where I watched this movie, wasn't clear. The "Telmarine scenes" were mostly in gray, which is drab and maybe supposed to add to the mood. I would have appreciated sharper visuals, for gray need not be blurry.

The kids have grown into their characters, and are more confident.

I find it interesting that they chose to give the Telmarines an "accent" to distinguish them from Narnians.

Once more, the movie's plot has deviated from the one in the book it was based on. However, the main characters go through challenges that develop their personality in a similar fashion to what they experience in the books.

The movie starts out putting you to sleep, but hang on for it gets interesting at the middle and more so near the end at the last battle scene.

TV Series: Chuck

	Network:	NBC
	First Run:	September 24, 2007
	Genre:	Comedy, Action/Adventure
	Time Slot:	Philippines' C/S Channel: Mondays 8:00PM Thursdays 10:30PM AXN (Asia) Mondays 9:00PM

Chuck is a nerdy computer whiz kicked out of Stanford due to alleged cheating, no thanks to his so-called best friend Bryce. He also lost his girlfriend to Bryce and hasn't been in a relationship since. As far as he knows, Bryce is an accountant based in Washington.

Chuck's boring life as computer repair man at the Buy More's Nerd Herd booth took an interesting turn when Bryce sends him an e-mail loaded with hundreds of pictures. Turns out that Bryce is a rogue CIA agent who just stole the images from the CIA-NSA intersect and sent them to Chuck before destroying the computer. Effectively, Chuck becomes the human intersect of all the data the CIA and NSA have accumulated.

Both CIA and NSA agents begin monitoring his moves, and proving that he is not a spy for unfriendly countries (just a victim of Bryce yet again) at the end of the pilot, Chuck eventually becomes part of a special team composed of Sarah Walker the CIA agent, John Casey the NSA operative, and Chuck Bartowski as the intersect. He couldn't tell any of this to his family and friends ofcourse.

Chuck is a true nerd and that makes him a lovable character. He has no pretensions of being the secret agent one tends to see in the movies. More endearing are the characters that surround him: the overprotective older sister Ellie, Captain Awesome aka Devon (Ellie's almost perfect boyfriend), Chuck's pesky childhood friend Morgan, and the weird characters that are Chuck's co-workers at BuyMore.

Sarah is a combination of tough and sweet. Casey tends to be the stiff NSA agent, even if he is pretending to be a salesman at BuyMore, a chauffeur, or a Stanford alumni. His weakness would probably be women ... starting with the episode where Carina seduces then cuffs him to the bedpost. Casey's one fun character to play.

The makers of Chuck started marketing the series at a comic con, aiming to get the same audience as that of Heroes. They're right you know. I am addicted to Chuck now as I was addicted to Heroes.

Chuck's website (http://www.nbc.com/Chuck/index.shtml) has desktops and screensavers for downloading, has a summary of each aired episode, as well as stills. It's "sister sites" are those that supposedly belong to Buy More (http://www.nbc.com/Chuck/BuyMore/) and Nerd Herd Help (http://www.nerdherdhelp.com/).

C/S started airing the first season of Chuck last April. AXN started airing it in May.

In the US, the second season starts airing in September.