Friday, August 25, 2006

Shakira

No lo tenía planeado, pero el martes en la noche iré a ver a Shakira en el Verizon Center en DC. ¡Tengo que practicar las nuevas canciones!

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Reflejo

Ayer me cambiaron de cubículo por tercera vez en dos meses, y hay dos ventajas en el cambio. Una es 100% positiva y la segunda... aún no lo he determinado.

Primera Ventaja: Es un cubículo personal - no es que sea antisocial, pero uno necesita su espacio.
Segunda Ventaja: Tiene una ventanita tipo espejo.

Digo, es bueno poder verse al espejo, pero en ocasiones es bastante distrayente.

Chilangolandia

Estaré volando por primera vez en mi vida al Aeropuerto Internacional de la Ciudad de México. Llegada: 31 de Agosto de 2006. ¿Nervioso? Aún no.

Fin de Semana

Se me ha hecho costumbre levantarme cada fin de semana y analizar mis actividades. Mediar lo que se debe hacer con lo que se quiere hacer. El fin de semana se está convirtiendo en mi escape de lo convencional -- no es que no lo haya sido antes, pero ahora lo es de manera consciente. Es mi ventana de oportunidad para cumplir mis metas, ya sea laborales, personales, o sociales.

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

Sex and the City

Desde que empecé a trabajar en Pittsburgh y ver tele en la noche, empecé a hacerme adicto a Sex and the City. Digamos que catalogo al programa como witty. El hecho de que cada capítulo se base en Carrie escribiendo su columna, no sé... me parece bastante ingenioso e interesante.

No, no se compara con mi adicción a Six Feet Under, pero digamos que me entretiene.

Cavite (2005)

Adam, a security guard who works in San Diego , travels home to the Philippines for his father's funeral. Amid struggles with his pregnant girlfriend who is considering abortion, Adam arrives in Manila to be immersed in a saga of distress and quandary. Through the alley of the rough streets of Cavite , Adam gasps as his distant home country welcomes him back with frightening news: his mother and sister have been kidnapped. A terrorist organization captured them and he is forced to follow obscure instructions to save his family from death.

Directed, written, acted, produced, and filmed by five people, this picture screams "independent" and "low budget" at its top. Ian Gamazon and Neill Dela Llana received the well deserved "Someone to Watch Award" in 2006 (keep an eye out for these guys in their future projects) for this film. I have to confess that I was so stressed after watching this movie that I had nightmares that night!

Cavite is clearly a very talented creation: the ironic and omnipresent terrorist's voice on a cell phone traveling with Adam through the vicinities of Manila is worth seeing. However, this can be a very difficult film to watch -- not only for the single camera's constant movements, but for the extreme poverty, harsh reality, and stressful situations that are simply thrown at the viewer. Nonetheless, Cavite has a flaw; it tries too hard to make its point through images that it forgets to explain the background. This film possesses as much raw reality as it lacks historical or economical context to support its narrative.

Is this a movie that I would recommend? Yes. Is this a movie that I will watch again? No. But regardless of my opinion, you need to hurry to catch this art flick before it leaves the silver screen. It is playing at the E Street Cinema for one week only, ending its run this Thursday. Lastly, but not least important, if you are interested on watching independent films, drop me a line to join our small community of moviegoers.