I went to see this film with a couple of friends earlier this week. I was hoping it would be at least good, since I actually liked the book.

I did not shed a single tear. I should have just spent the cash on my little brother’s vitamin for acne.

Amanda Seyfried and Channing Tatum were actually okay. What I didn’t like was how they drastically changed parts of the book. Even the ending was changed (and it seems as if it was done to appease the tween viewers, who are addicted to happily-ever-afters), which sort of made the title rather pointless. They made Amanda Seyfried’s character come off like a super skank, too.

This was probably the most boring movie I’ve seen in months. Sorry, fans. I’ll stick with the book.

She is also considering pursuing an online business degree. She filled me in on some information about online schools, and I have to say it’s pretty interesting.

My usual perception of online learning is when someone gives you tasks and leaves you alone to learn on your own. I guess this is true for some online learning institutions. But there are some, which actually gives you mentors and actually lets you connect with fellow students, like Western Governors University. And these schools are fully accredited.

I’m still weighing the pros and cons, but this just gives me one more option.

I was pulled into a dicussion regarding Online master degree a few days ago. They were talking about Gonzaga University, which is ranked number 3 in the West by US News and World Report.

I readily expressed my opinion that online master degrees are pretty good, especially since some of the people getting master degrees are professionals who really don’t have time to go back and forth from workplaces to classrooms. It allows them to pursue advanced education without having to compromise their professional commitments. Equal opportunity for everyone.

To be honest, I was actually rather skeptical, because Miley Cyrus is part of the cast. But it was actually rather nice. It was very funny, very entertaining, I didn’t get bored at all.

The graphics were pretty good, the dialogue was good enough, and the dubbing was okay. Fortunately, there weren’t much scenes which included Miley Cyrus’ voice (because I honestly can’t stand her voice), so I was kept happy all throughout the film. Haha.

Overall, it was impressive.

I was really tired when I got home, though. We watched the movie at Gateway Mall, and the floor where the cinema was located was packed full of people waiting in line to get tickets for Twilight. It was rather amusing, seeing fangirls scream over a cardboard cutout of Edward Cullen and Bella Swan, and having pictures of them taken with it. I have no idea why they were fawning over the cardboard cutout though. It was weird. I’d rather look at Moroccan decor.

As promised, I am going to blog about that thing that Feah, Dre and I have been working on. Feah and I have been talking about how we missed being part of a community or a message board for a while now. So we’ve decided to create Menage MB, which Dre offered to host. We hope to see you there!

Oh, and a certain DVD store here in the Philippines is offering a free mahogany seedling with every purchase of the special edition Wall-E DVD. Jeremiah and I are thinking of getting our own DVDs. It’s really ironic, though. The packaging for the Region 3 (Southeast Asian) version DVD uses up a lot of paper, as opposed to the Region 1 DVDs. So much for being environment-friendly. Heh.

Okay yay, I’m going to go see what kind of Moroccan decor there is… and then maybe go to bed. Let’s hope i actually get some sleep, eh?

We watched four films: Modern Times, The Circus, West Side Story, and Citizen Kane. The first two are Charlie Chaplin films. These two are the first Chaplin films I’ve seen and it was also the first time I encountered The Tramp, Charlie Chaplin’s very memorable onscreen character.

I’m a big fan of old movies, but I’m not a very big fan of silent films. However, The Circus was very entertaining and very fun to watch. I cannot count the moments that I literally doubled over with laughter on Jeremiah’s couch.

Anyone who has seen a silent film featuring The Tramp would know that he has always been a terrible victim of circumstance – and a very kindhearted fellow. The Circus is no different. I’m not going to spoil the plot for you guys, because I’d like you to watch the movie and experience Charlie Chaplin’s humor.

In The Circus, Charlie Chaplin is at his best. While I have to say that it’s not as good as Modern Times, we still see the bumbling Tramp unintentionally get into all sorts of trouble. Only The Tramp can get locked in a cage with a lion, try to transfer to another cage containing a tiger and still make it funny. Only The Tramp can find himself being forced to walk a tightrope when the original tightrope walker fails to arrive.

It’s funny, it makes you feel a little sorry for The Tramp, and will make you go “awww” as well. It also ends with the signature ending that usually accompany his movies.

Perhaps you’d like to look at modern furniture?

I discovered Rebecca while browsing my father’s DVD collection. He’s an avid fan of Alfred Hitchcock and has all his DVDs. When I settled in to watch it, I didn’t realize that it was film adaptation of Daphne Du Maurier’s bestseller (which I still had not read at the time, although I had a very vague idea of the plot). I only found out when Max de Winter was introduced in the story.

So, having seen the film, I decided to check out the book. I will be ordering it soon online, however, I couldn’t resist downloading an ebook from The Burgomeister’s Ebooks.

Somehow, I wish I had read the book before watching the film. The film was very good, however, there is something about the book which tells me that I would have enjoyed it more if I had plunged into the Daphne Du Maurier’s world without a notion of what would happen. I understood, though, that film adaptations sometimes tend to alter certain plot details, so I was prepared (and somewhat hoping) to be surprised.

The book is written in first person, the unnamed narrator (the second Mrs. de Winter) recollecting her past – how she met the widower Maxim de Winter, and her life trying (and failing) to fill the shoes of Max de Winter’s first wife, Rebecca, who had died earlier in the year. It shows her struggle to deal with Mrs. Danvers, the hostile housekeeper at Manderley (Mr. de Winter’s estate) who resents her for trying to replace Rebecca, and her struggle with the belief that her husband is still in love with his late wife. If you’d like to read a better plot summary, there is one on Wikipedia.

The novel, with its famous opening line “Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again”, truly draws you in. While the book wasn’t packed with much action, you already feel something right from the beginning. Daphne Du Maurier’s writing is filled with gothic and sinister undertones.

I was happier with the book than I was with the film. As much as I love Alfred Hitchcock films, I still couldn’t come to terms with the fact that they had to alter a major plot detail. A plot detail that strongly influenced the story.

It was a somewhat slow read, but an enjoyable one, though I never really expected the ending to go that way. I was surprised about how the truth came out. I just never saw it coming, and I never thought that Rebecca had died that way, as it was shown differently in the film. However, I wasn’t let down. I put the book down, satisfied, fascinated – and sort of wanting more.

I keep wondering what the second Mrs. de Winter’s name is, though. I think that the author deliberately did not mention it so the new Mrs. de Winter would remain standing under Rebecca’s shadow.

I’d recommend this to fans of mysteries, and also for people who liked Jane Eyre – you will see some similarities.

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