On The Road towards Kristen

Make no mistake, I have never understood all the fuss about Kristen Stewart. I always found her beauty quite plain. Not unattractive, but rather subdued. And when it comes to her acting.. Err, let’s just say that she has mastered her signature performance. 🙂

But yesterday, I came across this picture of her while trolling the blogosphere:

Boy did she sizzle on the red carpet of the New York Premiere of her On The Road movie! Now I’m starting to see what other people see in her. She is ho-o-ot! The make up, the outfit and the pose just works perfectly on her!

Just curious, is she wearing Rob’s trousers and white button down? Still trying to win him back, eh? May the odds be ever in your favor, hun.

Side note: So I guess it’s true then, what they say; that girls get prettier after breakups. Agree?

 

 

xoxo,

D.

The Ides of March Experience

I do not like smartass movies. Never. I am a girl’s girl that enjoys sappy chick-flicks and rom-coms. I cringed my way though The Reader, Revolutionary Road, Inception, Drive, and I could go on about this all day but you get the point. Anything other than these genres, expect me to be bored. So this goes without saying that I do not watch political thrillers which, The Ides of March obviously is.

I am the epitome of a woman. I like movies that invoke emotions. I like gut-wrenching scenes that make me cry. I like to cry with the heroines and take on their pain, as if they are mine, for an hour or so. Then the lights would flicker, and the moment is done. End of story. Back to reality.

With this, I am deeply ashamed to admit that I only watched The Ides Of March because of:

1. Ryan Gosling (Enough said.)
2. George Clooney (He wrote, starred and directed the film. Plus, yumm!)
3. Evan Rachel Wood (Yes, I still like her despite the fact that she was associated with Marilyn Manson WHILE he was married to Dita Von Teese.)

I apologize to writing the reasons this way. I’m still not over the awesomeness that is Looking For Alaska, which I just read. Thus, naturally, John Green’s way of writing rubbed off on me. For more details about this, I’ll be blogging about it in a dedicated blog post soon and will put a link here as well. Stay tuned! 🙂

I didn’t even know what The Ides of March was about when I watched it. I was just looking for something to watch while I was busy munching on licorice seeds. The first fifteen minutes went by and before I know it, I already set aside my food, ignored plans to go out and gave my undivided attention to the movie. Not the actors good looks, but the plot itself. This has never happened before, and I loved every minute of it.

STOP! INCOMING SPOILERS!

The lower section contains major plot spoilers from the movie The Ides of March. If you do not wish to read them, you can just take my word for it and watch the movie because it’s goo-oo-ood! And of course, you may read the entirety of my blog post then and comment. Or you could just read and comment about it now if you want. 🙂

I loved the fact that Stephen Meyer (Ryan Gosling) was such a true believer of Gov. Mike Morris (Geroge Clooney) and his presidential campaign. He was one of the rare diamonds that sparkle amongst the dirty and manipulating people involved in politics, which in this movie, is Duffy (Paul Giamatti.)

Stephen showed us that everybody puts themselves first. He reminded us that even the idealistic, when backed into a corner, would give in to the primal instinct of survival – that we would set aside our morals and beliefs and fight till our last breath, to crawl our way back. He showed us that collateral damage means nothing if it means getting what we want. Because ultimately, it’s every man is for himself. He showed us how selfish and imperfect we are.

People still debate on whether or not the movie has an open ending. It does not.

Stephen has become a cynic. He’s done it the right way the first time but was just used as a pawn in someone else’s sick game. Just like the loss of the intern Molly (Wood), he was easily replaceable. They chewed him up and spit him out without so much as a second glance.

I especially loved the confrontation scene of Stephen and Duffy (Giamatti.) So much so that I’m including some parts here:

Stephen: Give me the job.

Duffy: No. That’s not going to happen. I’m sorry. Go take a nice long vacation. You’re a smart guy. Everything that I said, the other day is absolutely true. But you know? Maybe, politics isn’t for you.

Stephen: Politics is my life!

Duffy: Oh, you know what? Do yourself a favor. Get out..now! While you still can. Go into entertainment or business. Go open a fucking restaurant in Costa Rica. Anything! Do something that’s going to make you happy, okay? Cause if you stay in this business long enough, you’re going to get jaded and cynical.

Stephen: Like you?

Duffy: Yeah, just like me!

———–

Stephen: This is…It’s my life, that you’re talking about.

Duffy: It doesn’t make me happy, doing this kind of thing. Don’t think, it gives me any kind of pleasure. No, I’m sorry for you. I really am. Take care of yourself.

But Stephen was willing to do anything and everything to stay in business (politics), not caring who gets hurt along the way. He got what he wanted, but at what expense? His innocence? His morals and virtues? The loss of something to believe in?

His words towards Ida (the reporter, Marisa Tomei) at the end when she was asking him for an inside scoop, showed how much he has changed. When told her “We’re the best of friends,” he was being sarcastic. Gone is his genuine effort to forge a friendship with her. He’s now a cynical liar and their ‘collaboration’ has ended.

At the last scene of the movie, when he was about to speak, he needed to keep hearing everything that is positive about Mike Morris because he himself, does not believe in him anymore. He lost the one thing he truly believed in.

Just for the record, he would not divulge everything in the interview. He would go on and mesmerize the cameras on cue, just as he always did. The viewers would be able to catch a glimpse of the old Stephen, like nothing has changed. Mie Morris would win the democratic vote and would go on serving as president.

But when the cameras stop rolling, Stephen is only a shell of the person he once was. He is now jaded, withdrawn and devoid of his virtues -perfect for politics.

If you still haven’t watched the movie, I suggest that you do, immediately. If not for the story, than for the all star ensemble then. Excellent writing, superb acting, exceptional story. Just please, watch it.

Please, please, please don’t hesitate to voice out your opinions about my opinions (say whut?) in the comment section below. Let’s bounce ideas! 🙂

 
 

xoxo,
D.

 

PS: I just wrote about the parts I found most striking about the movie. I did not include much of Molly (Woods) because I felt like you have to watch the movie to fully grasp her character.

PPS: This is not a review.

Tito Sotto: Translation 101

This is a picture I found online with the privilege speech given by Sen. Vicente ‘Tito’ Sotto III on September 5, 2012, side by side Robert F. Kennedy’s speech during Day of Affirmation, June 6 1966.

This is not Tito Sotto’s first plagiarism offense. Nor would it be the last. But this is the most shocking and abhorrent, yet.

He lifted and translated a speech of Robert F. Kennedy, a noted civil rights activist and the younger brother of assassinated president John F. Kennedy. And true to Tito Sotto fashion, he once again claimed it as his own. When once again, caught red-handed:

(Translation: Sotto: Kennedy knows how to speak Tagalog?)

 

Shame.

No words can even express this. He is making a mockery out of not only the Senate, but the entirety of the Philippines and his countrymen, as well. Tito Sotto is digging up his own political grave with his ignominious acts for all the world to see.

Is this the payback of electing under qualified celebrities and comediennes to political office? Well, I say never again.

This upcoming election, I will surely be exercising my right to vote to help (however little) alleviate our country of inglorious bastards like this.

Politicians are far from perfect but I hope that our country would be lead and represented by better suited people than this.

xoxo,
D.

PS: Pictures from this post are not mine. These are taken from various sources in the internet.

 

 

 

Arr!

Ahoy there, matey!

Sorry for sounding too pirate-y there. I don’t know what got into me. I don’t even like pirates. Well, that’s a lie. I do like Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom in the Pirates of The Caribbean franchise. Okay, that’s not entirely true either. I also do have a tiny massive girl-crush on Keira Knightley. Oh, don’t you dare give me that look! You very well know that she’s gorgeous (yes, even dressed as a funky, un-bathed pirate.) Admit it.

Okay, enough about pirates. It’s only my first post and I’m already blabbing about my innermost crushes. So where were we? Oh, right. Introductions. Well, I’m Diane, crazy about Keira. Wait, that came out wrong. Err, let’s just move on.

I’ve been having an inner debate with myself for a very long time now whether I should publish a blog or not. Occasionally, I publish a few of my thoughts. But then I get embarrassed by it a few days or so after so I delete the whole thing.

I swear this time it’ll be different. Well, partly because I’ve already put in too much effort for this to all go to waste. Seriously though, I feel like it’s time that I actually try to do this, and I mean really try, not the half-way kind that I’m so used to doing my whole life.

So yeah, that about sums up what I feel. Till my next post then.

Oh, and my love, Keira says hi by the way.

Now you believe me? I told you she’s beautiful. An epitome of perfection.

xoxo,

D.