[Movie Review] When I Met U (2009)

Richard Gutierrez? and KC Concepcion?  It's a 1 out of 4 for me.  Don't watch it, it's a waste of time and money.  Teaches the wrong values also.  A lot of other movies are much, much better.  This has problems in the acting department (main two characters at least), the story/plot development, and the directing, production, and maybe the cinematography.

A Very Special Love is better.  Baler is better.  When Love Begins is better.  Everything else is better.  I wasn't able to watch "For the First Time" but people say it was even worse than this.

By the way - did you notice how "poor" KC Concepcion's character supposedly is - and yet they live in that posh house.  No one from that kind of a house would become a "diser" in real life.  Some say, it is just a movie.  But it is so unrealistic.  It's like - did they just make this to earn money?  And forgot about the film making?  Just put in the two popular chubby actors in there.  And get Emperador to pay.

Aaaaye, it was really painful to watch. :-(

Okay, here's the good part about it.  There is something realistic about it, or at least I've seen it once or twice in other people's actual, true-to-life stories, albeit not exactly the same: how a girl can fall for a guy and how a guy can attract a girl... how a guy can "uncommit" when he already is "committed"... how a "committed" girl would think she's only being friends with a guy but unknowingly is putting herself in a situation that would lead to "uncommitting"... how stupid people can become just to get what they want, nevermind if my dad loses his house (you can argue against this) or make my mom pretend she is so sick, or if at least two people get hurt... how people think everything will be better if only he/she is together with his/her love...  how people justify the wrong things they are doing (e.g. "aerodynamics is overrated - hummer owners international" - ooops that's not in the movie)...  how people do not stop to think what should they do before jumping a cliff (and how people drive thru an intersection without stopping to see if there are other cars, and then if somebody hits them, oh no it's the others' fault, not theirs!)...  If this movie cared to have any values at all, the thing that the couple should have done was to break up with their respective boyfriends/girlfriends earlier!  But no... they don't want to be without one.  "Sigurista"?  Anyway.  I guess that's also a realistic thing that I've seen before.

It's just a really bad movie.  Don't ever mention to your kids that there is such a movie like this if you are for improving our society.

[Book Review] How to Mend a Broken Heart (by Nelson Dy)

Not what I thought it would be. I expected something general, something to really heal broken hearts of all sorts. I do know this is a Christian book.

But this thing is targeted at male nerds/dorks who are already at their mid-30s to 40s and yet haven't hooked up yet. Not applicable to me! Sadly? Well, this also applies to young teeners and 20-something guys who are already "looking." In short, this applies to BOYS, not MEN.

By nerds/dorks/boys, I meant those who do not know how to win at least one girl's heart. And that is, a girl he likes. Because low-EQ nerds/dorks could settle for someone they don't really like, and well, problems could come like flash floods in the middle of the dark night (i.e. married life). Hopefully, this book encourages low-EQ people not to be low-EQ. Ha! As if that's not difficult.

The author was broken-hearted because he did not know what to do, and he wasn't yet ready (in terms of personality, spirituality, etc.), and yet he was barking at the wrong tree. That girl wasn't the right person for her but... if he knew what to do and he was the person he should be, i.e. a good Christian man and not just a nice guy, the girl could have fallen head-over-heels for him even though he didn't have as much money as that other guy, and she would've become the best person for her. Oh well.

But, with an open mind, there are some new stuff you could learn here and there. Like the story of David and Jonathan, or Ruth and Naomi and Mara--If you don't already know their story. Or, there's this one advice at the end for guys. The book says that as The Man in the relationship, it is your task to make your partner and future wife (if not yet your current wife) be SSS. That is, Satisfied, Safe, and Spiritual. You will want to be the man she likes. If not, you shouldn't be with her! You want to provide for her. You want her to feel secure. Financially, yes. Emotionally, too. And not only from evil outside elements. Like you don't let her walk down unsafe streets. But you also make her feel safe with YOU. So you should also control your temper. And by doing that, you are leading by example. You should also lead prayers, read scripture, attend mass and go to church at least weekly - and you bring her along on the ride.

I also like the story at the end - the story about a nice, Christian couple, who had a big fight over parking... There's a moral to that story. I am not sharing the whole story so that you have some reason to buy the book for.

Nonetheless, I do not recommend this book if you're looking to mend a broken heart. Instead, if you want to pick up a few Christian teachings or two, you could get it from this book. Or, if you are a male nerd/dork (God bless you more if you are humble enough to admit that) or a young boy at heart, whether you're 13 or 30 or already dirty, buy this book. Perhaps this is something I could have used maybe 6 to 10 years back. Because although I was already 25, I didn't know better yet, and I put myself at a huge risk of getting a broken heart. And so I became broken-hearted. I was still a nerd/dork; a "little boy" who had false illusions about love brought about by varying environmental factors. Although all the while, I knew I wasn't yet good enough. I wasn't yet the man that I should have been. After then, I started reading, and those helped.

What then is better reading for male adults (i.e. 25 and older for Filipinos)? These three books are better than HTMABH by Nelson Dy:

1. Wild At Heart by John Eldredge
2. For Men Only by Shaunti Feldhahn and Jeff Feldhahn
3. The Bible by GOD

[Movie Review] A Love Story

Wow. The twist in this movie alone make me give this movie a must-watch. There are really good mainstream (i.e. not film fest material) Filipino movies out there. For what this innovates on in terms of... plot(?) or whatever, this is a good movie. I do think there was a point when the movie should have ended already (or was that another movie), but like many mainstream Filipino movies, it has to have a happy ending that everyone could understand what happens. Well, check it out for yourself. Maybe I am confusing it with another movie (talking about where it should have ended).

P.S. This is different from the 1970 American movie, "Love Story" - you know, "Love means never having to say you're sorry." Although here, that same line applies.

[Movie Review] A Very Special Love

This is a movie which I did not have any expectations on and yet it surprised me with the good and appropriate acting, and the appealing pop love-romance script/plot.  It is a fun, feel-good movie worth every penny, when all you're looking for is... fun.  and to feel good. :-)

[Movie Review] For The First Time

This is not my review. But because of a friend's "review" of this movie, I am not watching this movie. Maybe you might be convinced that your money is better spent on important or more interesting things. Here is her review (paraphrased):

Richard can't act. This doesn't have the same appeal as "A Very Special Love."

[Book Review] Simplify and Create Abundance [Bo Sanchez]

Alright! I now have two reviews and counting! For my review (more like a "reaction paper") of Bo Sanchez' latest book, I actually wrote him a letter. It follows. By the way, I give this book 5 out of 5 stars, it's a must-read I think as it is a good reminder for us all. Oh and it's cheap. Bo Sanchez is a simple and great guy. I wrote a little short something about him in the RONJBLOG, thoughts.

------------------ Book Review: Simplify and Create Abundance [Bo Sanchez] ------------------

Dear Bo,

I would just like to say that I am a big fan of yours, specifically your books. I have bought all five of your books (the P150 ones; I haven't bought "Embraced" yet. I do have "The Way of the Cross" also. I hope I got the titles right...): Thank God He's Boss, You Have The Power to Create Love, You Can Make Your Life Beautiful, Simplify and Live the Good Life, and, I am in the middle of reading "Simplify and Create Abundance."

I can't help but react to your book. It is the message that many Filipinos need to hear, I think. I just recently read the chapter/section about poor Leny and Manager (and former house helper) "Helen." I think those two are two stories many Filipinos need to hear. If I would write a reaction paper on that chapter/section, I would say this...

Christianity and the Bible tell us that we should learn to accept, and to be thankful to God for whatever we have, for wherever we are, for whatever situation or condition we are in, and for who we are. "Blessed are the poor, for they shall inherit the Kingdom of God." Et cetera. We know that envy and self-pity are our enemies... On the other hand, the Bible does not tell us that we should stop there. There was this one parable about... the talents? Or basically the one wherein the master gave his slaves some money and left for a while; he came back to find out that some of his slaves made more than the others out of those he left for them. In fact, the Bible is telling us that for whatever we have, we should make something out of it, make it grow. If it's money, we should make it earn. If we are indeed, say, financially deficient, we should accept that fact, be thankful for the littlest thing we have, but the thing is, we still have something. If we have hands and feet, we could use them in many ways to earn---to get to work, to use at work, etc. We have brains that we should not waste at all; by just internally brainstorming, we could come up with lots of ideas to be able to provide for our personal needs, and for the needs of others, including our families and loved ones. If we are not deaf, we could ask others to help us in our quest, and humbly give back in gratitude for their help. Even if we are blind, we know that even blind people could be productive. If we are still alive, let us not waste a minute of it doing nothing to make things better for ourselves and for others. If we have time, we could take a rest from all the work. The thing is, there are a lot of these "little" things that we forget we have that we could use so that we may not end up poor. Like Helen, she had free time in the evening, and she used them to take classes and finish school. She had feet to walk to her job interviews, a voice to communicate with her interviewers, a mind to help guide her to give her best answers, hands to fill up the application form, etc. Haha, and this is just one very simple example. There's this one person I know who thinks more like Leny; he thinks that "Mahirap maging mayaman..." And there's this other person I know who thinks that simplicity means being poor. On the other hand, I think we can be simple and have an abundant supply of whatever we need! Bo's message is truly something that all Filipinos should hear, and apply in their lives.

Okay, well that's that. But Bo, if I may make a suggestion. One thing I have observed is that, while many Filipinos understand English, like say when the LRT makes an announcement like "Next station is Araneta Center, Cubao", Filipinos can easily understand that; it's just one sentence. Most Filipinos know what "Stop" means, or "One Way", "Yes", "No", or "No Left Turn"... But I think not a lot of Filipinos really understand "Turn right anytime with care"... Haha, I might be being too judgmental of my fellow Pinoys now. Anyway, to explain my point better... I was an instructor for one semester at one of these universities and I made all of my students submit an index card with their full name, identification numbers, contact numbers, and I asked them to answer the question "What do you expect to learn in this class?" When I got the index cards, all their answers had all-English words, but I got frustrated because it's not even close to 50% who gave grammatically correct English sentences. My point is, though Filipinos are proud because we're probably the third largest English speaking nation in the world, it is still not our first language. It is not our natural language. Maybe only a few of us really may have had very good grades in our English classes back in Elementary or High School...

My point, Bo, is I think your books, your message should reach more Filipinos. Your books are not just for us who understand English. I appreciate it that your books are affordable (to me at least) at P150 each. I think it would be great if you would have your books translated into the natural language for most of us. Maybe you could have at least a Tagalog or Filipino version, or a Bisaya version... What do you think?

Nway, keep up the Good work, Bo. By the way, I did listen to one of your tapes already, "Loving difficult people." Hehehe.

That's it for now. God bless!

Ronjie Aquino

[sub-labels: CPC books]

Bo Sanchez

Bo is a living example of a man who has a lot of time to serve God first, and still have time to earn a lot of money. He earns more than enough money to feed his family, and more than enough love for other people to give some of that extra money to the needy. That is how his latest book, “Simplify and Create Abundance,” impressed upon me. It is a must-have book. Go get a copy for yourself and your loved ones!

ronjnote: i'll be most likely reviewing Bo's "Simplify..." book and a few others (recently read and not so recently) at the coach potato's corner.