Wedding Serenade

Last January 26, we performed some songs during the reception of the wedding of one of our Korean members at church.  Below is a clip of our set.  It was not the first time we performed on a wedding, but this was, as far as I am concerned, the first time that our performance on a wedding was videoed.

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What My Left Eye Feels Like

This is no exaggeration.  (Almost.)

To be fair, this is not the first time my eyes screamed “Get us checked up!”

In the past, I would experience this feeling of “wormy” irritation behind my eyes (usually, my left) days or weeks at a time, then it would eventually subside. 

Before, I would delay any opportunity or refuse any invitation of going to an eye doctor.  Never wanted to wear glasses.  I perceived it as an inconvenience.   

But this time around, I won’t mind going.  In fact, I would gladly welcome any (free) chance of getting an eye check-up.   I would gladly wear glasses.  Having to wear glasses is waaaaaaay preferable than having an irreversible eye condition.  

"Valentines? Bah, Humbug!" Part 2

This time around, it would carry a different tone from what I wrote two years ago.

I have a problem with Valentine’s Day.  A particular date – Februrary 14 – should never dictate when one should make somebody feel special.  Because if it does, it creates expectations.  Toxic expectations, that when not met, creates nasty disappointments and heartbreaks. 

Valentine’s Day makes you aim for a superficial title.  The title of being “romantic.”  It makes you live for a superficial experience.  To experience an idea called “romantic.”  And when this idea of “romantic” is not achieved, if nothing “romantic” happened, then the day becomes a failure.  Being “romantic” becomes more important than the actual person.    

That’s just sad, isn’t it?  The memory of being loving the entire year is erased if you fail to be “romantic” during this one particular day.

Bah, humbug.  

2012 in Review (Part 5): My Own Movie Awards

This Janu - oh, my... it’s already February!  And I still have 3 or 4 of this left to do!  Let me continue (and, hopefully, conclude) this February this series of articles that would recap or evaluate some (if I have the time, then all) of the highlights of 2012 that involved, concerned, compelled, and/or fascinated me… this is the fifth part…

Forget the Oscars.  This is the first ever “Bernels.”

I’ve already picked out my top movies of 2012; so this time, I will be picking out winners by categories relating to the movies of the past year.  The categories are not necessarily similar of those being given out in the Academy Awards or Golden Globes.  This is just for fun, with only one criterion in picking out the categories and winners: my preference.  

Let’s begin.

Best Movie Moment: The Avengers’ Final Battle

 

There’s no other movie moment that gave me such feeling of rapturous delight and spellbound absorption as much as that part of the Avengers where the team squared off with Loki and the Chitauri in New York City.    Every Avenger shined:  Iron Man being awesome was already a given, because ever since Robert Downey Jr. portrayed him in film, we expect nothing less of the character but cocky and witty awesomeness.  Captain America was impressive in his solo film, but we all know that Cap shines most when he does some captaining with the Avengers, and this was brilliantly shown in that sequence, as he makes a clear battle plan for efficiently fighting the Chitauri.  Thor is arguably the most powerful Avenger (but, like Superman, is holding off his full power), and this was also displayed well in that sequence.  Black Widow and Hawkeye were not merely supplementary or “padding” for the roster but were showed to have the chops of being great A-list superheroes, despite not having any superhuman abilities.  And Hulk… more about him later. 

I’ve watched that sequence in The Avengers no less than a dozen times, both from watching the entire film over again and forwarding the film to that point where Loki and Stark were trading banters.  Shows how much I loved this movie moment. 

(In fact, writing about it now compelled me to watch it again. LOL)

Runner-Ups: Cabin in the Woods’ Horror All-Stars Havoc, Pencak Silat fest in The Raid: Redemption 

Best Movie Hero: Hulk (The Avengers)

 

Yes, every Avenger shined in the movie, but the Hulk stole every scene he’s in.  The scene where he tossed around the arrogant Loki like a ragdoll was reason enough to become my pick as best male movie character.  

Hulk, despite being one of founding members of the team, is never a fit for team play.  He is an unpredictable, uncontrollable Weapon of Mass Destruction.  Therefore, as a WMD, he is a powerful and dangerous threat to both enemies and the side he’s on.  This is what Hulk on a superhero team brings.  And this interesting element has been perfectly depicted in the movie.  That’s why, when Cap was instructing the Avengers on their battle plan, Cap’s command to Hulk was merely “Smash.”  And he did.     

Runner-Ups: Dr. Schulz (Django Unchained), 007 (Skyfall), Abraham Lincoln (Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter)

Best Movie Heroine: Katniss Everdeen (The Hunger Games)

 

I’m always a sucker for strong no-nonsense female characters.  And Katniss is one of them.  She is tenacious, independent, and intelligent.  Toughened by having a hard life, her primarily concern is survival and she has no room for unnecessary things like romance.  Being a survivalist, her instincts and will carried her through in making the right calls during the Hunger Games – a televised free-for-all deathmatch among teenagers – allowing her to stand tall in the end.    

Runner-Ups: Selena Kyle (Dark Knight Rises), 

Best Movie Villain: Mad Dog (The Raid: Redemption)

 

The movie The Raid: Redemption was a treasury of intense fight scenes – the best piece of close combat epicness I’ve seen in a movie for a long time.  And two of the three best fight scenes have Mad Dog (the right hand man of the drug lord who the SWAT protagonists were targeting) in it.  The word badass is being thrown a lot by people – including me – these days, but Mad Dog brings justice to this adjective.  He is a tough, brutal, and proficient fighter who finds great thrill in fighting and killing with his bare hands.  He is so confident with his skills and capabilities that he willingly puts himself in a handicap so that the fight and the kill can be more stimulating for him.  Bane is a badass villain, being able to break Batman’s back; but if he finds in a fight with Mad Dog, my money is on Mad Dog. 

Runner-ups: Loki (The Avengers), Bane (The Dark Knight Rises), Gollum (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey)

Best Movie Villainess: Madame Thénardiers (Les Misérables)

There are not much fascinating female villains to choose from in 2012’s pool of movies, so this is almost just a “winner by default” pick.  I adore Helen Bonham Carter, so I pick her character in Les Misérables.  Along with Sasha Baron Cohen, they enjoyably played the dirty, dishonest husband-and-wife thieving duo, the Thénardiers, lighting the mood of the generally gloomy and dramatic musical.   

Best Animal Character: Richard Parker (Life of Pi)

 

Richard Parker – never just “Richard” or “Parker”, but always “Richard Parker” – is the name of the tiger that shared the experience of being stranded at sea with the main character, Pi.  I love how cleanly the tiger has been animated into the movie; it was so realistic that Pi’s interactions with him throughout the movie were effectively emphatic. 

Best Cameo: Moose (Step Up Revolution)

I decided to watch Step Up Revolution because of three reasons: a) I am greatly entertained of great dancing, b) my date loves dancing, thus, she likes Step Up movies and wanted to watch this new one, and c) Moose’s cameo.  Moose is definitely the most charismatic character that ever appeared in the Step Up franchise that a mere cameo of him makes me excited.  

Runner-Up: Stan Lee (The Amazing Spider-Man)

Most Hilarious Character: Ted (Ted)

 

Ted, the movie and the character, is the most hilarious movie and most hilarious movie character of the year.  I’ve never been a fan of Seth McFarlane.  I’ve always looked at Family Guy as an inferior Simpsons rip-off.  And McFarlane’s brand of humor, crude and unclassy though funny, has never appealed to me.  But put that kind of humor on a teddy bear magically brought to life and it works!  There’s something riotous about a typical adorable teddy bear having a vulgar mouth and lifestyle. 

Best Movie News: Disney Buys Lucasfilm, Star Wars 7 in 2015!

 

Someday, we will wake up to find out that Mickey Mouse has become the supreme ruler of the world! 

Most Terrible Movie I’ve Watched: Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance

 

Ugh.  What a shame.  I never expect this sequel to be an awesome superhero flick, but I was nonetheless hoping it was, at least, going to be a mediocre but “okay” superhero movie like its predecessor.  Ghost Rider is one of Marvel’s most intriguing properties, and this movie just crapped on it.  With the exception of that scene where Ghost Rider converted a huge crane into a gigantic flaming machine, the entire movie was total garbage.  There are definitely worse 2012 movies than this, but I haven’t gone to see them, knowing they’d be terrible.  With Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, I gave it the benefit of the doubt, watched it, and wished I didn’t.     

Best Direct-to-Video Animated Movie: The Dark Knight Rises Part 1

 

Since Paranorman was included in my top 10 movies for the second-half of 2012, I already implied that it’s my pick for best animated movie of the year.   So, instead, let’s have a “Best Direct-to-Video Animated Movie” category instead.  Superman and the Elite made the top movies of the first-half edition, but it isn’t the best.  It’s The Dark Knight Rises Part 1, which was released during the second half of the year.   It didn’t make the second half edition’s top 10 because movies are packed at that time and there are just better movies than it for it to be considered.  Nonetheless, it is arguably one of the best animated superhero movies ever made.  Based on Frank Miller’s classic, the story tells of a 55-year old Bruce Wayne who was forced to come out of retirement as Batman.  Part 2 (which is even better than Part 1) was released in January 2013.    

Best Action Scenes: The Raid: Redemption

My preference for a terrific action scenes are more on close-combat martial arts than Michael Bay explosions.  And I’ve already mentioned that The Raid: Redemption has among the best fight scenes ever made in the history of action movies.  The action scenes were savagely realistic, sustaining the movie’s testosterone intensity from start to finish. 

Most Romantic Movie: Silver Linings Playbook

“The only way to beat my crazy was by doing something even crazier. Thank you. I love you. I knew it from the moment I saw you. I'm sorry it took me so long to catch up. I just got stuck.” 

If that’s not romantic, I don’t know what is.

Movies I Wanted to Watch on Theater but Missed: Titanic 3D

 

When Avatar was released, there was still no 3D theater here in my hometown.  And when it was re-released for special screening a week after the opening of the first 3D theater here, I still wasn’t able to see it.  Whether you love or hate Avatar, you can’t deny that critics praise James Cameron when it comes to the use of 3D.  And I’ve yet to see the visual thrill that Cameron can do with the 3D medium.    This past 2012, he decided to re-release his classic Titanic in 3D.  And reviews said that it’s “3D conversation done right.”  That kind of praise was intriguing.  Considering that based on experience, most 3D conversions I’ve seen end up as “pop-up book” visuals, I really wanted to experience this hyped 3D conversion of Titanic for myself.  But I missed it.  Can’t remember why.  Maybe I had no money when it was released, or I had not time.  The reason doesn’t matter, the fact is I was not able to see it.  And it kind of sucks that I still have to wait for Avatar 2 to see if the hype about Cameron’s 3D prowess is totally warranted.         

 

Most Underrated Movie: John Carter

Regardless of what the box office returns for this movie imply, regardless of what critics say of it, John Carter was a good and enjoyable sci-fi flick – one of the best films of 2012. 

Movie That Would Have Made My Top 10 Movies of 2012 List IF I Was Able to Watch It in 2012: Django Unchained

If you’ve read the second half edition of my top 10 2012 movies list, you would know that there were movies that I wanted to watch in 2012 but wasn’t able to, thus, were not able to be considered for the top 10.  But, if you notice, those movies – Life of Pi, Les Misérables, Silver Linings Playbook – are being considered here in “The Bernels”.  It’s because I was able to watch them already as of writing.  You might even consider “The Bernels” a “Top 10 Movies of 2012 (Post-2012 Edition)” (Hmmm. That actually sounds good. Might try it next year.)  However, among those movies, only one would have made my final top 10 if I was able to watch it in 2012 (thus, would have qualified for the final top 10 picks), and that is Quentin Tarantino’s Western, Django Unchained.  It would have taken the number 7 spot.  I really love a good Western story and amazing Western gunslingers, and this movie has both.  The characters were fascinatingly compelling, the gunfights were exhilarating, and the dialogues and monologues were very engaging.                

(Bonus!) Coolest Movie-Related Stuff I Found in the Internet:

2012 marked 007’s 50^th anniversary in film.  To commemorate it, somebody made this awesome GIF of all Bonds doing the trademark post-movie 007 gunshot.    

 

2012 in Review (Part 4): Highs and Lows As a Sports Fan

This January, for my traditional reviewing of the previous year, I will be writing a series of articles that would recap or evaluate some (if I have the time, then all) of the highlights of 2012 that involved, concerned, compelled, and/or fascinated me… this is the fourth part…

2012 was an Olympic year.   And as usual, United States and China dominated.

The Olympics, however, is not the biggest sports story of 2012 that I cared for most.  The following mattered to me more than the Olympics:    

The Rock returned to Wrestlemania to bring the whuppin’ to John Cena’s candy ass.

Linsanity! 

After getting cheated by the judges with his fight with Bradley, Pacman, on his next match – his fourth meeting with Marquez – would suffer the most devastating loss of his career.    

But above all of these, what affected me most is the dramatic rise and fall of morale in Lakerdom…

 

After failing to capture the championship this 2012, falling to the Thunder in the second round of the playoffs, the Lakers management was able to acquire Dwight Howard and Steve Nash during the offseason.  Everybody in Laker Nation was ecstatic.  I was ecstatic.  At last, the Lakers are back on being dangerous title contenders.  In fact, the championship was almost a guarantee with this new Laker superteam.  Every Laker fan was floating on cloud 9.

The regular season, however, brought Laker Nation crashing to the ground.  The team proved to lack chemistry.  They were not dominating as expected, but were losing instead.  Mike Brown got fired as coach.  Then Lakers hire Mike D’Antoni.  Still, even with D’Antoni, the team ended the year with a mediocre 15-15 record.    

(As I write this, Lakers continue to fall this January, winning only 2 games so far.  With each loss, as the Lakers go further down .500, a playoff berth continues to grow dim, a championship’s now almost an impossibility.  The Lakers currently have an abysmal record of 17-25.)

               

A Laker turnaround this 2013 is unlikely, but still possible.  And as a Laker fan, I hold on to this hope. 

2012 in Review (Part 3): TV Farewells and Welcomes

This January, for my traditional reviewing of the previous year, I will be writing a series of articles that would recap or evaluate some (if I have the time, then all) of the highlights of 2012 that involved, concerned, compelled, and/or fascinated me… this is the third part…

This past year I had to say farewell to three of my favorite TV shows. 

 

With just one season without Cuddy, House has to end?  It gives the appearance that the show lost its spirit with the absence House’s love interest.  Which is a wrong perception, of course.  Even without Cuddy, the show has been solid and fresh.  Yes, the verbal sparring and wit wars between House and Cuddy were missed, but the show remained as funny, intense, and exciting.  Even more so in some episodes.  House is, after all, a show about House – the most awesome TVcharacter ever.  The Hugh Laurie-portrayed character alone is enough to carry the show.  Such a shame House had to end considering that it was still going strong and just had to end because of lack of appropriate support (i.e. financing) from producers.  Such a shame indeed.  I felt it was still good enough for two or three more seasons.  Heck, something like Smallville (which had its moments but was clearly inferior to House) lasted ten seasons, and House only had eight?! (Sigh)

Leverage’s season 5 was its last.  And its cancellation came as a sad surprise to me.  The finale though was an awesomely written episode.  But I don’t dig the “wrap-up” of the story in which Nate and Sophie had to retire, leaving the team to just three members with Parker as the new mastermind.  It doesn’t work.  In the last scene, Parker would even replicate Nate’s awesome monologue during the final scene of Leverage’s pilot episode.  That scene had been iconic because Nate smoothly delivered that monologue which empathically defined what Leverage is all about.  Parker’s was flat.  Moreover, my greatest disappointment was I had been always hoping that the team’s line-up would have expanded – with new members gradually joining the team – during the show’s run… and it didn’t happen.  Thus, though the story of the final episode had been awesome, the closure of the show was unsatisfactory to me.         

 

This year also marked the end of The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, the greatest superhero animated TV series since Justice League Unlimited.  This was the superhero TV animated series that brought all of these heroes together…

Not as impressive as JLU, but still awesome.   

With House and Leverage gone, what’s left for me are Psych and Sherlock.  Psych’s new season, however, didn’t start late in the year, as it usually does, but will just be starting this February.  Sherlock’s second season run last year – after we, fans, waited since 2010.  That’s 2 years!  And it’s as if there will be no Sherlock this year.  Now, Sherlock is an awesome show – one of the best shows ever created for TV.  The problem with it, though, is it takes two years for each new season to arrive, with each season having only three episodes!  Granted, that each episode’s length is that of a mini-movie, it’s still not enough!  It’s very very frustrating. 

In 2012, however, I also got hooked with two new shows.

 

Castle has been around for a while but it was only in 2012 that I started watching it.  My bestfriend Madel was the one who introduced me to Leverage and House; so after House ended, as I was searching for a new awesome show to follow, I asked for her recommendation.  She pointed me to Castle.  I watched its pilot, and I got hooked.  Before Season 5 started this year, I have already watched all episodes from the previous seasons (Thank God for the Internet. LOL).  Castle got me re-acquainted with the geek god Nathan Fillion, who I first encountered and adored as Capt. Mal in Firefly.  I’ve never really been a big fan of Nathan prior to Castle; but because of this show, I was led to check out his personality, interests, and career which made me grew fond of the guy.  And now, Nathan Fillion is probably my most favorite celebrity. 

 

The second show I got hooked this year is Sherlock’s rip-off, Elementary.  Like Sherlock, Elementary is also a modern take on Sherlock Holmes.  However, the setting is set in New York instead of London, Gregson works for the NYPD instead of Scotland Yard, and Dr. Watson is female instead of male. Among the three, what I don’t like most is the last one.  Watson should always be male!  The friendship between Holmes and Watson works best when both are male.  Aside from these differences, Elementary also lacks the clever allusions to the original material that Sherlock has.  Each case is almost always unique in itself, with no reference to the adventures of the literary Holmes.  Lastly, Jonny Lee Miller performance as Sherlock Holmes is terrific, but he’s no Benedict Cumberbatch, who’s just perfect.  The better thing about Elementary than Sherlock is that it follows the traditional episode scheduling of a TV season.  Thus, with a new mystery to look forward to each week, we get more dose of Sherlock Holmes with Elementary than Sherlock. 

You might be asking why I haven’t tried Game of Thrones yet, considering it’s probably the best show out there right now.  The answer is, I want to read the books first before I check out the show.  TV episodes are readily available in Internet, anyway, so what’s the rush? LOL.    

2012 in Review (Part 2): Song of the Year? Oppa Gangnam Style!

This January, for my traditional reviewing of the previous year, I will be writing a series of articles that would recap or evaluate some (if I have the time, then all) of the highlights of 2012 that involved, concerned, compelled, and/or fascinated me… this is the second part…

I feel that the music and songs of today are very inferior to the music and songs of the past.  It’s very seldom for me to find a favorite among the songs made nowadays.  I find the mainstream, synthesized music occasionally catchy but bland, artificial, and soulless; and the lyrics too shallow or unoriginal.  Either it’s just my biased preference per my age or I’m objectively correct in my observation that the songs of today lack the quality of the songs of the past.  I don’t know.    Either way, I’ve never been a big fan of the 21st century music scene.     

This year, my sister got crazy with this boy band One Direction.  Now, I’ve never been a big fan of boy band pop music (with the exception of my fondness for Michael Learns to Rock [if the band is considered as such], Backstreet Boys, and a bit of Blue… and maybe a song or two from other boy bands), and I know that boy band music is about 60% good looks and just 40% talent.  I’m not saying boy bands can’t sing – most of them can – but good singing is secondary to “being a cute guy that girl fans can crush over.”  But though musical talent is just secondary factor in boy band music, it is my observation that the music of One Direction can’t even hold a candle to those mediocre boy bands that dominated the 90’s.   Moreover, one of their songs goes like this:

Lets go crazy, crazy, crazy till we see the sun.
I know we've only met but let's pretend it's love.
And never, never, never stop for anyone.
Tonight let's get some.
And live while we're young.  

That’s the first time ever in the history of boy band pop music that premarital, casual sex is obviously implied in the lyrics.  That is a bit disturbing considering that I’ve always thought boy band music is supposed to be GP.  That or I haven’t listened to enough boy band music.

But enough with One Direction.  This post is not about them and their music.  This is all about the sensational…

 

“Oppa Gangnam Style” is the song of the year.  This song’s popularity – considering that it has more of the makings of the “fad” kind of music than having the makings of becoming a classic – may fade in a few years (or even in a few months into 2013), and I doubt Psy will have a bigger hit than “Gangnam Style”, but this song owned 2012.  No song comes close.  Its music video became the first video to get to 1 billion views in Youtube (ergo, it’s the most watched video in Youtube history) – all in mere months of being available in Youtube!  To say that this song’s impact to pop culture has been big is an understatement.

The success of “Gangnam Style” could be attributed to its catchy techno music, ridiculous but enjoyable dance moves, and/or Psy’s massive sex appeal – because there’s swag, and then there’s Psy…

(Moreover, his singing might sound silly, but just hear him talk.  Just search for an interview in the Internet.  He’s fluent in English and his voice is James Bond-like.) 

For me, going viral in the Internet is the most important reason of Gangnam Style’s successful pop culture invasion.  The success of Gangnam Style is another reminder on how powerful the Internet can really be, that it dramatically changed the mechanics of promotion and dissemination of products, propaganda, ideas, information, etc.   

     

By the way, despite arguing that it’s the song of the year, I’m not implying that “Oppa Gangnam Style” is a piece of musical genius.  It’s cheesy.  But it’s that kind of cheesiness which is “so cheesy that it’s awesome.”  It’s far from becoming one of my most favorite songs, it doesn’t help improve my perception with the quality of 21^st century music, and it’s not going to be a permanent occupant of my playlist (though, currently it still is in it)... but there’s nothing wrong with enjoying some cheese once in a while. 

Lastly, if you get a badass like Wolverine to dance the Gangnam, that has to count for something…