Good Libations: Global Beer Exchange's Bottle Shop

The original theme of my blog was supposed to be about beer. My good buddy Phil was the one who first told me that I should write a blog about beer since I have always been and always will be a lover of finely brewed beer. But then I decided to not just focus on beer and make the blog about film as well. Unfortunately I haven't been able to write any sort of beer review yet, but I plan to change that with this latest post. I will be starting a new "category" in my blog called Good Libations, and these posts will not only be about the latest beers I have tried and what I have to say about it, but it will be about any finely made inebriating beverage under the sun. It is also fitting that the first entry under Good Libations be about the latest beer haven in the city: The Bottle Shop of Global Beer Exchange 

Let me start with a short anecdote. Coming from The Philippines, our selection of beers is very limited. 90% of the beer market here is controlled by one company. It was right around my late high school/early college years when my interest in beer really began to flourish. During my younger years, whenever we had an inuman (filipino for a drinking session), I would find myself noticing that the usual beer we drank wasn't really that delicious. So I tried the various beers of said monopolizing company and found that there was one beer that was superior to the rest. I found out that it was a Czech style pilsner and until now it is still my Filipino brand beer of choice.

Skyfall (2012)

So it's been five months since I last wrote down a review here, and I'm not sure if anyone outside of my closest friends actually read this blog, but I'll apologize for the lack of activity anyways. Again, I will try to be more active with this movie review blog, especially with some awesome movies coming out for the Fall season. I guess, it's kinda apt that after such a long drought, I'll be coming back with a review of the latest James Bond film - Skyfall, because much like this blog making a comeback, the film was an absolutely awesome way to bounce back from a lackluster and disappointing previous film.

MGM kept the details of Skyfall very hush hush and all I knew coming into the film was that, the past of both Bond and M will be tackled which will cause some discord between the two and even test the loyalty of 007. Given that it was a James Bond film, it was definitely one of those films that I knew I would not miss, regardless of how bad the last film was or how little I knew about the plot. The addition of Javier Bardem (No Country For Old Men, Eat Pray Love) and Sam Mendes (American Beauty) just brought my interest and expectations in the film to a whole new level. I am glad to say, without a shadow of a doubt, that after watching the film, my expectations were EXPONENTIALLY exceeded.

Rock of Ages (2012)

Contrary to what people may think (or I want to project hahaha), a movie doesn't have to be deep, heavy, or make the viewer think in order for me to say that it was good. Just like any other viewer, all I want is to be entertained. The simplest of plots or stories can be an absolute masterpiece for me if it's just presented to the audience well. Also, I don't stereotype based on genres. I may make assumptions based on who is directing or acting, but I don't say that a movie is bad just because it's a teeny-bopper movie or a film based on a Nicholas Sparks book. In short, I ain't that picky with what I watch, and the films that I like are not limited based on their genres. So it did not surprise me at all that I found absolute joy in watching a musical about rock and roll based on a Broadway play.

When I first saw the trailer of Rock of Ages, I did not know that it was an adaptation of a Broadway play, and it didn't matter to me that some of the biggest names in Hollywood were starring in it and singing some of the most iconic rock songs of all-time. The first thing that caught my attention aside from the trailer itself was the fact that it would be directed by Adam Shankman, who also directed Hairspray, one of my favorite movies and probably favorite musical of all-time. So knowing that Shankman was again directing another musical, and add to that the fact that I really love Rock n Roll music, I knew that I could not miss watching this film. So after finally watching the film with Giulz and the boys yesterday, all I can say is that all my expectations were met, and then some.

Prometheus (2012)

It's been around a month since I've watched a movie in the theater (Avengers being the last), and even longer since I've written anything here. I still don't have a laptop of my own and once I get one, I promised myself to be more active in writing. Also, I didn't even bother writing a review of Avengers since I knew everyone would go see it anyway. So seeing that it was Friday and Giulz and I had nothing else to do, we decided to head over to the cinemas and watch Ridley Scott's latest film Prometheus.

Now usually, before watching a movie, I find out what's showing in advanced, read up on the plots of each and then decide from there. This time though, it was totally out of the blue that we decided to watch a movie. I didn't even know Prometheus was already showing let alone know anything about it. All I knew was that it was a Ridley Scott film set to come out this summer. The experience of watching a movie knowing so little about it is actually quite refreshing. There are no expectations (lowered or increased) that need to be lived up to, or exceeded. But simply knowing that Scott was at the helm, I at least expected some wicked action scenes coupled with a decent story.

Titanic (1997)

It's been more than a month since I was able to post anything new here (blame the lack of a lappy and a new job for that), and in that time, I saw 3 movies that I was supposed to write about. The first was Hunger Games, but writing about it seemed moot now since I think everyone has already seen it. The next one was a home viewing of One More Chance (yes i know) as requested by Giulz. I really don't wanna start writing about it after a long lull and end up writing something non-sensical or disorganized. So I decided to first get back into the game by writing about the latest film I saw- Titanic in 3D.

Yes, even more than Hunger Games, Titanic may be that one movie that EVERYONE (of legal age) has seen and there really no point in writing about it with the purpose of convincing people to see (or not see) it. I actually had no intention of watching it since I have seen it numerous times as well, but Giulz really wanted to watch, and I'm actually glad that we did.

The Artist (2011)

Being the odds-on favorite to win the Academy award for best picture tomorrow, I wanted to see what all the buzz about The Artist was about before the actual Oscars. So Giulz and I just finished watching the film not more than ten minutes ago, and I don't know where to begin in writing about it. With what I knew about the film and all the hoopla surrounding it, some of my expectations were met, while others were surpassed. It was extremely refreshing to see this kind of a movie in this day of technology and special effects. A film that pays homage to the films that started it all, while adding a touch of modernity and surprising us with lessons about life that go well beyond the silver screen.

Without giving away too much, The Artist is set in 1927 Hollywood when silent films rule all. It revolves around George Valentin, who at the time is the best actor in silent film, and how his career and life change when sound films suddenly emerge, and a younger actress named Peppy Miller usurps his place atop Hollywood. Yes, the film is about silent film, and is also presented to us in that medium. This was actually the first time that I watched a silent film. I guess I subconsciously avoided the films of Chaplin and instead went for the hilarity of The Marx Brothers for my oldies fix. Yet while I was watching, I noticed that the way I was viewing the film was different from the usual. I found myself observing more every single change in the face, action and body language of the actors.

An Homage To The Greatest: 500 Episodes of The Simpsons

People who have had the chance (or misfortune maybe) to get to know me will definitely agree when I say that I am an intense couch potato, and an even bigger fan of cartoons. At 26 years old, my daily channel surfing still consists of Family Guy, American Dad and even Spongebob Squarepants. From my earliest days of watching Voltes V and Daimos on local TV to my current favorites mentioned above though, it is fair to say that all others are fighting for a distant second when it comes to being my absolute favorite cartoon of all-time. Without question, no cartoon, or TV show for that matter has been a bigger influence in my life than The Simpsons.

Without sounding blasphemous, The Simpsons was like religion in our house growing-up. When we had a betamax, we would record every single episode from RPN 9. When cable and a VHS came along, we would record episodes from Star Plus/World. It was family bonding time whenever The Simpsons was on, and it is no exaggeration when I say that we can probably tell you the whole plot of any episode from season 1-8 within it's first 10 seconds and even recite the whole episode's script as well. I put a disclaimer of only memorizing seasons 1-8 because the local and cable channels suddenly stopped airing new episodes or stopped airing it totally a few years back. It wasn't until recently thanks to Jack TV and Fox channel that we are able to watch The Simpsons on TV again, but by this time, people could easily get the entire series on DVD. So while I have watched some of the later seasons, it is the earlier ones that have really stuck with me.

The Simpsons is currently on it's 23rd season, and just recently aired it's 500th episode last February 19th. This makes it only the third primetime episodic TV show to reach that mark, the other two being Gunsmoke and Lassie. Despite the fledgling quality of current episodes, it is a testament to the greatness of The Simpsons that such a milestone was met, by a cartoon no less. So in homage of reaching such a feat and for basically being the greatest TV show EVER, I decided to come up with a list of my 10 favorite The Simpsons episodes ever. Choosing 10 among 500 was a challenge in itself, ranking them from 1-10 was downright impossible for me. So instead, I will show my 10 favorite episodes in chronological order of when they first aired, and you can see them after the jump.

So I raise my glass to the single greatest TV show out there. 23 seasons down, maybe another 23 to go.
Ti Saluto

The Descendants (2011)

It seems like ages since I've written my thoughts about a film down for people to read. If I remember correctly, the last film I wrote about was Grindhouse: Planet Terror back in the old Multiply website. So forgive this initial attempt at a comeback if it lacks any semblance of a valid movie review. As I write more, I'll try to do better I promise. It is also befitting that I re-start this hobby of mine discussing one of the most critically acclaimed movies of the year - Alexander Payne's The Descendants

The end of the year is usually where Hollywood studios release their bets for Oscar gold. Because of the Metro Manila Film Festival though, we get these films a few months delayed. This for me is both good and bad since by this time the nominations have been announced, so we only get those films that were actually nominated and not those that were snubbed but still worth watching. So when Giulz and I found out that The Descendants was now showing, we made it a point to watch it and see if the film lived up to all the hype and if George Clooney's performance was as good as his nominations merited. By the end of the film, the answer was a definite yes to my queries.

The plot of The Descendants is pretty straight forward- An absentee father attempts to mend his strained relationship with his two children because his wife is near death due to an accident. Seems cliche, pinoy-like even, but there truly is so much more to the film than the main plot. This movie is so far from the usual family drama where the absentee parent, in this case Clooney, is solely to blame for all the family's dysfunctionality, will spend the whole film being the nicest parent there can be, and they will live happily ever after. Much like his other films, Payne initially introduces us to the simplicity of the plot, slowly sucking us in, and then

Success

Boredom (and perhaps a little curiosity) certainly can push a man to do some silly things. My good friend Phil has been egging me to come up with a blog for the longest time now. The blog's main goal was to be one solely dedicated to beer and everything about it. It was supposed to be a joint effort but then I never found the motivation to pursue it. Phil on the other hand has already launched a very successful blog about Food and Photography, while my other brother Ting is creator of the sickest blog for all things hip-hop and basketball. Of course their blogs aren't limited to such topics and both are simply their way of sharing their thoughts, interests and passions with the world. So with the two of them, along with Giulz as my inspiration, I finally sat down to finish this. After years of delays and a few hours of work, this is what I got and all my feelings can be expressed in...

So what is to be expected of this "blog"? Nothing. I'm the type of person who has difficulty focusing on one topic for more than 10 minutes so I really don't know what this blog will contain in a month or a year. One entry maybe about politics in the country, and the next about the latest episode of Spongebob Squarepants. Looking back though there were two things that I really developed a passion for: Beer and Film. I know there are countless other places to read about these but it's alright. I have no illusions of grandeur and do not take myself an expert on either of these two, but I will try my very best to give justice to both in my writing.

So there you go. To all who chance across this page and take the time to read my seemingly disorderly thoughts put into words, thank you and I hope you don't feel that you wasted your time. I hope I don't embarrass myself.

Cheers!