Menthol-Guy

Surprisingly, nothing got lost

I’m the guy in maroon. Larger versions are here and here.

I’ve had much of Drew’s Katipunan again (I ordered Absinthe and it’s convincingly authentic at some point, but of course it’s illegal so it should be fake) last Friday night. But since we conformed to the rituals of drinking coffee to get sober, nothing got lost (compared to our past April boozefest when I lost my wallet and one lost her cellphone).

Kudos to the people who went there for Billycoy’s birthday celebration! My mentholated link-love goes to Rens, Jhed, Poyt, Bleue, Xienahgirl (at last she showed up! YEY), L.A. (the fairy gay-mother) and Aaron! (Hopefully I haven’t forgotten anyone).

Gone, at last

I checked the web yesterday and searched for the schedule of Cinemax Asia since I was left distraught and disappointed with leaving the movie unfinished just for some lame reason of urgent text messages from my former HS classmates. I felt good when Cinemax somehow gave me another chance of watching both ends of the film - scheduled a while ago at 11 AM. Since two alarm clocks are proved to be futile for my profound way of catching the z’s, I decided to sleep early and wake up before eleven (totally relying on my body clock).

And it’s not what I thought it would happen.

I’m pertaining to the film itself. The movie follows Alex (Shaun Evans) and Sophie (Amelia Warner) on a road trip around the outbacks of Australia. They have both agreed to meet in Australia, but before they do so, Alex has met Taylor (Scott Mechlowich: you guys might know him as “Scott/Scotty” in Eurotrip) - willing to drive him around and be his tour guide. The movie introduced the two boys as they met in a fun atmosphere, which gradually becomes gloomier and full of menace as we find out about Taylor’s dark side.

Two thumbs up for the cinematography and everything. The picturesque landscapes of the outback, the polaroid pictures (I now crave for a Polaroid camera, sheesh) and everything in the film.

Scott Mechlowicz as Taylor

Another good thing is that they sort-of revealed Taylor’s misdemeanor in an abrupt way - slowly and day by day. It practically diminished the suspense a bit, but then it was effective for me. I just don’t know how I found out that Taylor has this ulterior motive as he befriends Alex - well of course the movie is admittedly not original since I’ve heard similar movie plots like this.

I also liked some fragments of the film. Especially the rainfall that happened when Alex was peering over Taylor and Sophie while buying some food on some gasoline station. And the shots they make are more or less original, really. And their setting - deep in the Australian desert - somehow adds the suspense for what might happen in the film since it limits the capabilities of the characters. Like, they can’t just go home without catching a bus ride. And the leaping antelopes. It’s just good it made me think of going to Australia (LOL) with my Dad.

But the ending is a disaster. It’s for the insensitive and the not-so-precocious. It’s something very obvious, very predictable. I knew from the start that it (I’m trying my very best not to spoil everything) will happen. And it violently did. I shouldn’t have craved for the ending since it was generally how the viewers (particularly ME) might envision the ending of the movie.

Sophie (Amelia Warner) and Alex (Scott Evans)

The movie should have ended the film with how Sophie went home or what happened to her friend and all those unanswered questions. They should have - at least - filled the void. But it’s good, nonetheless. Not really a waste of time watching. I enjoyed the scenes A LOT more than I usually do towards other films (its cinematography is more or less the same with my all-time favorite movie “Brick” by Rian Johnson).

Early morning, I woke up.

I’m halfway finished watching the movie entitled “Gone” when a number of my High School classmates convinced me (through the frequent message alerts of my cellphone) to attend a debut of someone. They called me to “attend”, or rather, have a “chit-chat” with me while they look so defeated with their gowns donned and them pretending to look interested with all the eighteen shits again. Since the resort is seventy-seven pedals away from our house, I stormed through the gates of the pavilion with my bike without even having an invitation. Isn’t just nice to gatecrash for once in your life?

All I had were two drags of cigarette sticks, a pail of sweat trickling its own root-like ways, and inconvenience. The chit-chats were the blah-blahs of High School, but that’s it. I even refused to go inside the pavilion (even if that someone’s a classmate way back my freshman year) and decided to hurry on going my way towards home.

But the movie is gone and a short documentary about Brad Pitt’s films are aired on Cinemax.

I tried to search for the schedule and it turned out that “Gone” - for once and maybe for the last time - will be aired on the next day (Sunday) at 5 AM. The previous night’s boozefest altered my body clock and I slept at 4 AM (Sunday), one hour away from the movie.

My devotion to this movie (which is obviously showing) made me set two alarm clocks to work.

And regrettably, as what the title says, I am so lucky that I woke up at eight. And I have a scheduled get-together with my orgmates at NINE AM - and the meeting place is an hour away from our house. I toasted strips of bacon, went to shower, fixed my bag and put my clothes on me within twenty-five minutes (it’s part of my defense mechanism to tell you that my time for SHOWER took most of the time, LOL).

I’m so fuckin’ lucky.

I couldn’t imagine that even two alarm clocks can’t just wake me up!

I’ve been cleaning up my ears ever since I learned how to use cotton buds and the fact that I’m really determined to watch the movie pisses me off.

Now I shut up my mouth and sort-of wished that “Gone” would be aired next week and hope that my determination pays off (I’d rather move my High School reunion this Tuesday just to watch the movie, you see).

And that my diet’s working. The diet’ll be narrated on my next post. :)