i spent most of my saturday and sunday indoors, either curled up with a book or engrossed in a tv series, all because of my hurting knee. but when i was feeling a bit better, T was nice enough to take me out for dinner and a movie. here are two films we saw this week.
the princess and the frog
the release of this movie created quite a stir for casting the first black prince and princess. but truth be told, the issue of race was handled well in this movie. aside from the comparison between the homes of the rich 'whites' and of the native 'blacks' (which seemed to be a real message sent by the filmmakers as they intentionally showed the glaring dissimilarity by way of scanning from the biggest house to the smallest house), there was nothing else that showed any issues on racism. in fact, tiana's bestfriend was blonde and blue-eyed charlotte.
at first, i thought the movie was quite a gamble being merely a 2d cartoon in the midst of animated features in 3d. but it was a good gamble, nonetheless. i realized at the end of the movie that effects were not at all relevant. because watching 'princess and the frog' made me feel reminiscent of the old disney movies i grew up with ---- the little mermaid, beauty and the beast, aladdin. these were classic disneys that pride in giving its audience a feel good atmosphere induced by love, family and friendships.
and that's what 'the princess and the frog' was. although a bit more radical because of the color issue, it was one of those disney movies you can put in the same league as the classic ones.
with that, i give 'princess and the frog':
dear john
anyhow, i used the past tense in describing my adoration of sparks' books because i felt that after 'the wedding', sparks wrote his books for hollywood and not the other way around. his novels were becoming a bit commercialized, like he had a movie in his mind before even beginning to write the novel. i didn't like that. not one bit. so, i stopped reading his books.
which was why when T and i saw 'dear john' i had no inkling as to what it was about. actually, i was even a bit hesitant to watch it. after a horrid weekend, i didn't want to end my day with a raw 'a walk to remember' wannabe.
and admittedly, i was wrong. i was touched by the movie! made me shed a tear or two even. i guess, sparks 'redeemed' himself with this one. although i haven't read the book, i'd have to say that 'dear john' was different from those novels i refused to read after 'the wedding'. it may have some aspects typical of a sparks novel but it was far from being a recycled sparks classic.
with that, i give dear john:
photo credits:
seat42f.com
impawards.com
my entry for:
ooh i want to see the princesss and the frog - dear john looks too sad!
ReplyDeleteStay safe and chic ma chérie,
English Rose x
http://iamanenglishrose.blogspot.com
english rose. you should watch it! it's a real disney classic :)
ReplyDeletehi Joei! Thanks for the earlier visit. I'm about to put up my pbw weekend pa.
ReplyDeleteI'm no fan of Nicolas Sparks. I have seen a Message in a Bottle and A Walk to Remember but I haven't read any of his books. We had similar sentiments because all of his books were showing one after another. But with Dear John, I wanted to give him another try. Thanks to your review (and I such a fan of Channing T :)
PS. I hope your knee is better! :)
ReplyDeletei'm looking for a DVD of the princess and the frog..Wow you've seen Dear Jogn already? I've read that "Dear John" dethroned Avatar for the top box office..It makes me curious to watch this.
ReplyDeleteBTW, hope your knee is fine now
mine's here: http://genefaith.blogspot.com/2010/02/meet-and-greet.html
Aw, I'm so sorry to hear about your knee; I hope it gets better soon! These are both movies that I want to see now that I've read your reviews - they sound fantastic!! :)
ReplyDeletei havent seen this one yet, i hear its a good one though ! and dont be afraid with DIYs - try testing it on an old shirt or something first
ReplyDeleteps. i would love for you to enter my giveaway :)
http://thefwordonline.blogspot.com/2010/02/thomas-paul-tote-giveaway_07.html
xx lue
i wanna see all of these movies sooo badly ! havent got time to go to the moviesss
ReplyDeleteI've been waiting for Dear John actually. :)
ReplyDeletei love animated movies i like it
ReplyDeletemommy judy. thanks! and i hope you get to watch 'dear john' soon :)
ReplyDeletegenejosh. really? i didn't know that! anyway, thanks for the visit. i'm looking at your blog right now :)
erika. thanks! although my knee is getting worse :(
ReplyDeletelue. sure! i'd love to enter your giveaway!
michelle. same here. so much stuff to do! but make time. it'll relax you ;)
ReplyDeletelynn. it's really nice. you should watch it. anyway, thanks for visiting :) i'm going over to your blog right now.
naveen. i know. for some reason, they relax me :)
ReplyDeleteI hope that your knee will be better soon. Maybe you just need sometime to relax and take it easy...
ReplyDeleteHave a great week ahead!
poor me. i still have to read a work of Sparks. They are always the first ones to be bought off the flea market!
ReplyDeleteBut i did saw The Notebook and like the rest mega-crayola ako.
there's so much buzz on FB about Dear John. i hope to grab a DVD copy soon!
Thank you for sharing Joie. And i hope your knee is healing nicely.
hugs!
wow.. i want to watch those movies too.. we are planning to see princess and the frog this week..
ReplyDeletei also thought of buying a copy of Dear John... but i'm still thinking about it more hehe...
i hope your knees are okay now :-)
Very interesting, thanks for sharing with us.
ReplyDeleteThanks also for leaving a thought on my last post, love hearing from you!
Have a lovely week.
Colin.
Very interesting, thanks for sharing with us.
ReplyDeleteThanks also for leaving a thought on my last post, love hearing from you!
Have a lovely week.
Colin.
ako din mejo nasawa sa mga novels ni sparks after reading a walk to remember, message in a bottle and the notebook, feeling ko predictable na. but when i read the choice, naredeem din nya ung sarili nya sa kin. hehe
ReplyDeletewill try to download an ebook of dear john kung meron na.
sassy mom. actually, this week's kinda hectic. but thanks! i just need to get through this week of misfortune! :/
ReplyDeletekero. thanks! hope you find a dvd of dear john. its a classic sparks worth watching/reading :)
reyapot. it's a bit better though it still hurts. dear john's for those day that you just want to emote. hope that helps you decide ;)
ReplyDeletecolin. you're welcome :)
erlyn. oh, the choice :) i remember thinking of buying that book. plot sounded interesting. but i guess i just got too tired of sparks being commercialized already.
ReplyDeleteOh, I managed to watch the princess and the frog in Dec when bf was here! I did enjoyed it but I must say, there was something still lacking. Something magic that the old Disney films used to have.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen Dear John yet and am now wanting to watch it, thanks to your review:)
xx
I really want to see the princess and the frog!
ReplyDeleteWow, you write real cool reviews, my darling! I'm really not into cartoons now that I'm not a kif any more, but this one is such a milestone, plus after seeing your review, I guess I'll watch it if presented with a good chance! So thanks :)
ReplyDeletesorry about your hurting knee sissy! hope it will be okay soon!
ReplyDeletei love princess and the frog too.. i havent seen Dear John but im planning to.. thanks for the review!
u may view mine here
I REALLY want to see that one!!
ReplyDeletesher. i know what you mean. it doesn't have that 'tug' in your heart at the end huh? :)
ReplyDeleteleia. go watch! ;)
julia. thanks! i hope you get to watch it soon :)
ReplyDeletemarice. go watch it before they replace dear john with something else in the theaters ;)
kristin. go! :)
ReplyDeletei still need to see dear john. i heard it truly is a tear-jerker. i have sine the princess and the frog, and i love it so much. i'm the girl who hasn't outgrown fairy tales yet. i think i never will.
ReplyDeletexx,
betz
http://herarmoire.blogspot.com
betz. same here! i still love them :)
ReplyDeletesis kahapon ko lang na realize nung tinitignan ko ung poster ng frog prince sa gale na kamuka nung princess ung melai sa pbb
ReplyDeleteerlyn. hahahaha! she's on my tv screen right now!
ReplyDeleteGreat review of The Princess and the Frog. I've been wanting to see that. :-)
ReplyDeletetreacle. go watch it. its so cute :)
ReplyDelete