2007

I'm unfocused. If you've ever opened my office drawers, you'll see books, art papers and kept-as-mementoes junks. I keep the former two for "emergency" - that being, to busy myself when I'm having a do-nothing day.

Today's a do-nothing day, and I have Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere beside my keyboard since I came here. Its cover depicts a tunnel, giving it an air of mystery, inviting me subliminally to "come in and see what's at the end". I should be reading it, and at page 124 I'm already quite far. Yet, I've not been sucked into it the whole day today.

You can guess what I'm doing instead.

During the yuletide, bloggers tend to post year-end wrap-ups. I'm doing it now. Private life matters are mostly already chronicled, so those won't be today's focus. Instead, I'm discussing movies, books, and videogames I've experienced last year.

Movies

Everyone raved about it, but Pan's Labyrinth is surreal, poignant, gloomy, stylish, gothic, hopeless yet hopeful, etc. What else can be said about it that you couldn't read from a thousand other movie critics? Anyway, I saw this movie in the theaters, and my classmate, coincidentally, was also there. We then spent an entire hour on the phone talking about it - the parable-like messages, the characters, and even the most horrifying scenes. It’s this type of movie that guarantees long discussions, and perhaps introspection. Go watch it if you know what's good for you.

If you've seen the trailer of Bridge to Terabithia, you'll think that it's another Narnia knock-off. That's not true. Bridge is more like Pan's Labyrinth for younger audiences, except its protagonists cope with down-to-earth everyday problems rather than with a dictator. It never feels easy, contrived and sappy - surprising feats for a Disney film. And AnnaSophia Robb's character is just too adorable..

BUT WE WANT MORE ACTIONS says the attention-deficient readers of this blog (assuming there are such persons here). Fine. Bourne Ultimatum is an excellent conclusion to the Bourne trilogy. It sizzles from the start and never lets up. 300 is a stylish retelling of a war epic. You'll find it shallow, you'll laugh at the dialogues, and you'll pick your jaw from the floor every time a battle commences. About Transformers, you don't want to hear my criticisms of it *cough* shallow people *cough* racism *cough* jingosim *cough*. It's still a fairly fun romp if you ignore the human characters - which include heroic whiteys, promiscuous hispanics and fat-and-comic blacks, ugh to Hollywood.

Animes

Besides NBA games, the only TV shows I've watched are 2 animes. First is Nodame Cantabile. It’s about classical music, and it tells its story in a slice-of-life way, where vaguely connected events happen so we can understand the two leads better. All of its characters are likeably eccentric, although one of the leads is too arrogant.

When you write the name of a person on the Death Note, this person dies. Death Note is perhaps the most talked-about anime of the year, so I won't repeat what everyone's been saying. I'll just say it's deep, thrilling and philosophical - it will make you think of what justice represents. The anime starts excellently, but later episodes befuddle. The comics explain the events better, so I suggest getting the comics instead.

Videogames

If you think you're a badcore hardass (typo? lalalala!) I defy you to beat Contra 4. It does not have cutscenes, "profound" stories, and "gasp in awe of all these Maya graphics!" moments. It only has unmitigated BLASTING-ALIENS-INTO-OBLIVION fun. Oh yes! Contra is great again. It’s also DS-defenestrating difficult - the cover’s shirtless muscle-bound soldiers should be hint enough for that.

If you're someone who’d rather use your head than blast someone else's, get Phoenix Wright. And if not, get this game anyway, sheesh. I'm being objective. You play the eponymous character - a defense attorney - to defend clients and investigate crimes. Nothing is more exhilarating than your well-placed "Objection" supported by the correct evidence, accentuated by a dramatic silence preluding an upbeat song (I even have their arranged orchestra and jazz album! Click below for sample tracks). The story is very tight, and the characters are more compelling than anyone from Harry Potter.

Naruhodou Ryuuichi - Objection! (Jazz Version)

Naruhodou Ryuuichi - Objection! (Orchestra Version)

As Phoenix Wright can demonstrate, nihon-jins are reliable when you need a dose of zany and otherworldly ideas. Eternal Sonata, an RPG where you play as Frederic Chopin, stands as further testament. According to the game, when Chopin was comatose from a disease that would cost him his life, he had a dream of a land of young bandits, huge (but cute) monsters, and terminally-ill magicians. This is one of the rare Xbox360 games that do not have drab walls, depressions, hostile aliens, macho cuss words, marine-suits, steroids and silicones. It’s quite the contrary, as this game is very bright and colorful, and is populated with characters so innocuous you’d want to hug them.

Persona 3 is proof positive that PS2 still has life on it. Unlike most other RPG’s, which are downplayed by the term “interactive movie”, Persona 3 does involve you. You’ll only survive the game if you know everyone’s - yours, your allies’ and your enemies’ - strengths and weaknesses, so you can’t be doing the same lazy attacks all the time. Also, how other characters think of you depends on how you treat them. Unlike Final Fantasy, you won’t end up as a lover of any woman unless you’ve spent time with her. That’s how a real RPG should be! It should be more than just watching effeminate fancy-pants metrosexuals getting moody and rebellious while mashing the X button to oblivion (And no, Tetsuya Nomura, I’m not talking about your buckles, your angel wings, your douchebag Reno and your Gothic Mickey Mouse™!). I’m very addicted to this game, not just because it plays well, but also because it’s like living inside an anime. 

Books 

I’m only going to write about a few of the books I’ve read in 2007, because otherwise I will break this blog’s character limit. 

This is my much-belated view about Dumblepants: I think it’s out of place. I don’t have anything against gays and, if you recall my silly IM conversations with guile_sonicboom, I may have prognosticated it. I only find Rowling’s justification lacking. She said that even if Dumblepants was known as an altruist, during his younger years he had been drawn to Grindlerods, whose ideologies were sinister. That’s because D is gay about G. The problem is that she explained their relationship after the book is already finished. But how convenient! Is that the best she could come up with? Is it now unacceptable for two men become friends without being homoerotic? 

She also said that this is a “prolonged argument for tolerance”. Excuse me, Rowls, you do not argue for tolerance by shelving someone’s homosexuality throughout the story, only to reveal it in a press con. You do not reinforce acceptance by making the Death Eater or every Slytherins nihilistic and sly beyond redemption. 

The book’s biggest problem is convenience. Harry’s obstacles are rarely solved by his abilities; they just somehow get obliterated by something suddenly falling into place - be it by a phoenix, time machine, elves, Dumblepants, or spells unexpectedly saving someone’s life. Deathly Hallows suffered from this the most, such that it felt like Rowling has been pulling off fast ones. That’s why, of the series, I hated this book the most, even though I very much liked the person I borrowed this book from. Oh, and somebody burn the epilogue chapter, please.

Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud surpasses some of the Harry Potter's. They’re similar, but unlike Potter, Samarkand’s magic does bear real consequences on non-magician’s world. It even explains why certain events from our history happened (of course they’re fictional, but that’s what makes it fun). It also has none of them Deus Ex Machinas - the characters are left to their own devices when dealing with trials. And, speaking of characters, allow me to introduce you to Bartimaeus. Imagine him as a snarkier and more apathetic Holden Caulfield. Reading his chapters never grows old.

I had been urged by my best friend to read more business books, so I bought a Pera Mo, Palaguin Mo! by Francisco J. Colayco. And then I was reminded of why I've never been into business books: it's because their choice of words is so dry it could sharpen your pencil. From a layperson’s point of view, PMPM is okay. It offers pragmatic tips on how to become richer (basically, save money), and it reads very casually making it easily understood and applied. How I wish, though, that it would quit interchanging languages. And couldn’t they change the font? Is Comics Sans business-like at all?

Forget the movie, read Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend. It wouldn’t take longer to finish the book than to watch the movie, and the movie cannot capture all of Robert Neville’s musings. Chuck Palahniuk’s Fight Club, on the other hand, is just as good as the movie, so either reading or watching it is okay. Koushin Takami’s Battle Royale is among the most disturbing novels I’ve read, and it also happens to be very good. Both Fight Club and Battle Royale provide sharp insights about our communities. 

When I was watching Star Wars Episodes 1-3, I came away amazed at its graphics. But when I finally got over the awe, I realized that they’re devoid of anything else, like a good story or good characterization. That’s exactly how I felt with Wind Up Bird Chronicle (Haruki Murakami) too: that behind the high-flown words and simile/metaphors, it’s quite empty. And that’s when I started noticing Murakami’s writing patterns. He abuses simile/metaphors like a photocopier do to laser printers. He can only do it too much before I get annoyed like a dog unable to scratch away its itch. In case you’re asking “Nightdreamer, what’s with the couple of similes you used”, that’s exactly how Murakami writes. And am I supposed to be impressed that he knows more about Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis and Eric Dolphy than the average person? Why he name-drops assorted musicians all the time, and why he puts a background music on EVERY FRIGGIN' SCENE, I’ll never know. I didn't care much about his characters too: they’re never normal, they’re always weird - sometimes purposelessly so. In Wind Up, new weirdos get introduced so that the old weirdos can leave the story for good. What’s up with that? And good grief, can't Murakami write a story that does not take place on a self-centered and love-lorn average Joe's point of view? I'm not sure I can sympathize with Wind Up's because he tries to reunite with his wife by having sex with other women and by sitting under the well all night. Some back stories of the other characters are excellent, though, and that made me conclude that he’s much better off writing short stories. Wind Up is too long, and quite pointless. Maybe Norwegian Wood is better?

Whew, that’s my wrap-up. I’m exhausted now, but I hope you had a good time reading my capsule reviews.