Batmanception

Note: This review contains spoilers. Lots of them. Also, I do not claim to be a comics nerd. Most of my pointing out of characters and plots can be referenced to the real geeks - my comics addict friends. I also recently started reading comics (mostly from the New 52 titles of DC comics), and I am not that new to the comics world thanks to my childhood watching Batman the Animated Series, X-Men, Wildcats, etc. And for characters/plots that I have not read/watched first hand, I do some research through the internet, which is not fun compared to experiencing the real deal by flipping a book or by watching the action on screen.



Reviews
As of writing this, Rises enjoys a high approval rating of 9.2/10 in IMDB, and 87% in rottentomatoes. The 2nd movie in the trilogy, The Dark Knight, has a higher rating of 94% in rottentomatoes, which incidentally, also reflects how I would rate the two films - both high scores, but the 2nd movie getting higher marks (mostly because of Joker).


I have also read a lot of reviews in the internet after watching Rises, and I have stumbled upon one review that voiced out and shared the same sentiments as mine. Check it out in this link. It's quite a long read, but it gives you an in depth analysis of the cast, the crew, and the technical work that contributed to the creation of considerably, one of the more superbly done movies in our time. Reading it made me appreciate more the movie since it gave me the insight on the individual elements leading to the totality of the film.

I agree to a lot of issues that Mr Daniel Griffith pointed out, I was almost tempted to just direct you to his review and ditch making my own. A few issues he raised were:

• the tough directorial call on Bane's voice which got mixed reviews, annoying some;
• the seemingly far-fetched comics feel of Bane's anarchy, starting at the opening scene and stretched to the end of the film;
• the great acting from Bane, Miranda Tate/Talia Al Ghul, Selina Kyle, Officer Blake, and as usual from Alfred, Commissioner Gordon, and Bruce Wayne; not to mention seeing Michael Caine (Alfred), Marion Cotillard (Miranda/Talia), Tom Hardy (Bane), and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Blake) reuniting with Christopher Nolan giving us the Inception aura all over again; and
• Rises nailing the end of the Dark Knight trilogy in its entirety.

(Comics-)Feel
The film started out theatrically with Bane's team ripping a plane in mid-air. It's not over the top with unnecessary props and explosions unlike Tim Burton's Batman, but it's more comic-ish, nonetheless. I was startled with Bane's character because of the craziness of the introducing act, but not as much like Heath Ledger as Joker in the heist opening act in Rises' predecessor. 

I know you want to put some text there.

All through out the film, you feel like it's a comic book. You wanna say "that's impossible!", or "that's illogical, should have...", but in the end, you just accept it as it is because, "it's comics". Bruce Wayne arriving in the nick of time after being heavily injured; Gotham city's abandonment by the national government; and the extraordinary firepower of the gyro-powered bat cycle without any recoil as abused by Catwoman. I wanted to add Bane's anarchic revolution to that, but after the recent Arab spring, that scene may not be far from reality at all. Anyway folks, yes, it's comics.





Giving Character
In spirit of Batman tradition, the villains are as important as the dark knight. The Batman movie franchises are known because of them, I ought to remember them more than Batman himself, with the exception of Michael Keaton and of course, Christian Bale. Jack Nicholson as Joker; Tommy Lee Jones as Two-Face; Jim Carrey as The Riddler; Danny DeVito as Penguin; Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman (purrrrrr!!); Arnie as Mr Freeze; Uma Thurman as Poison Ivy. I remember them all, thanks partly to the fact that they are known actors before they played their roles, but also since Batman flicks really give a lot of importance to building up the villains' characters in the lengths of their respective films. Taking the films aside, Batman is really known to have numerous known foes, whether be it in the comics or in the small screen adaptations.

Meow.

Going back to Nolan's trilogy, Rises gives importance to the first film, Batman Begins. Aside from Ledger's great portrayal, the Joker is the most popular among Batman's foes. It's even safe to assume that he really earned the title as Batman's nemesis. If you're not a geek, it's hard to identify Liam Neeson's villainous character in Begins, unlike Ledger as Joker. With the revelations in Rises, it comes a full circle, giving Nolan's Batman trilogy a solid background. The League of Shadows has come to haunt Bruce Wayne; and Ra's Al Ghul's daughter, Talia, has returned to avenge his death. In Neeson's cameo in Rises, I was almost happy to see Ra's Al Ghul alive again, maybe finally finding out some spell or fountain of youth, staying true to the comics version of the character. Of course, that false hope dissipates, but in replacement of that, they kept Talia's character well replicated of the comics version, costume, complexity, sex scene and all.


Aside from the League of Shadows' return, it's also interesting to see that they've put weight to connecting Harvey Dent in Rises. The utopia created in Gotham by the Dent Act is necessary to give contrast to the chaotic social revolution that Talia and Bane aspired for, and has temporarily achieved.


Tom Hardy as Bane was good. As I have narrated earlier, some people have had issues with Bane's voice in the film, with the vocals sometimes sounding as gurgles. I think it needs some time getting used to, but also is necessary to build up the character of the calm yet lawless maniac Bane. Fellow Inception stars Gordon-Levitt as John Blake, and Cotillard as Talia Al Ghul also played their parts well calculatedly; their acting seemed as natural reactions to the circumstances they were in as the plot progressed. And who can deny Michael Caine and Gary Oldman's performances as Alfred and Commissioner Gordon? Alfred only had little screen time, yet I think Alfred is now more loved, even if his lines were more dramatic, and void of the usual witty jokes that were present in the earlier parts of the trilogy.

Catwoman wears Prada. Deadly, razor sharp Prada.

The greatest surprise for me was Anne Hathaway as Catwoman (given Michelle Pfeiffer's extraordinary performance of the role in Batman Returns). Firstly, she had the most sensible Catwoman costume. The idea of making night vision goggles acting doubly as cat ears is a product of  great imagination. Second, I think she quite delivered the playful cat, Selina Kyle, on and off the cat suit. Lastly, though the credit goes to the story writers, the Hathaway Catwoman is a real villain/anti-hero, true to Batman tradition. That is quite a nifty trick to pull, in the same way as they have depicted Harvey Dent's fall to villain status.








Reference Spotting
For the more hardcore Batman geeks and fans, of course, it's a different level of high. 

• In Rises, there is a certain black officer Allen. This is an obvious reference to Crispus Allen in the DC universe, a black cop who dies and eventually reanimated as the Spectre (who by the way becomes a Black Lantern in the Blackest Night arc of Green Lantern, which I am reminded of in The Dark Knight Rises posters with word Rise)
• In Rises, a certain John Daggett hires Selina Kyle to steal Bruce Wayne's fingerprints and uses them to try to take over Wayne Enterprises.He also employs Bane, but was killed by the latter. He is a reference to Roland Daggett, who was a president of an industrial pharmaceutical company that is somehow responsible for the creation of Clayface (in Batman the Animated Series).
• Catwoman may be lesbian/bisexual. Yes, in some story lines, there are hints that Catwoman is not straight. Again, they are just hints, unlike a declared lesbian batwoman. And in the end of Rises, a tinge of me wanted a spin-off sequel to the trilogy. Helena Wayne, Bruce and Selina's daughter, as Huntress. But that, of course, is not movie worthy. Just look at Birds of Prey TV series, where Huntress was a part of.
• Talia Al Ghul was expected. All you had to do was connect the dots. A woman sleeping with Bruce Wayne with a dubious mark in the skin; the apparent connection of Bane to the League of Shadows; deception. Even the orient inspired dress she was wearing was very Talia in every sense. Although, I think, Talia was not seductive enough in the movie as portrayed in other media. Anyway, goodbye to Damian Wayne, Bruce and Talia's son (as Bruce chooses Selina over Talia), who would be the 5th Robin in other Batman universe.
• Speaking of Robin, I was confused with the John Blake character. There were Damian Wayne, Dick Grayson (later Nightwing), Tim Drake (later Red Robin), and Jason Todd (later Red Hood), who were all called Robin in some part of their lives, but never a John Blake. But why was he called Robin in the end? Why did he eventually seek out the bat cave (and as speculations, we can conclude that he will continue the dark knight's work)? I called my geek friend and comics collector JR (who lends me his comics), who told me that the Nolan team probably introduced John Blake as a summation of the Robin's. Just like Dick Grayson, Blake is an orphan; like Tim Drake, Blake deduced Batman's identity independently; and some claim that Jason Todd and John Blake have the same temper/attitude. The summation theory is the most sensible explanation to Blake's character so far.

Final Verdict

The Dark Knight Rises is a must watch movie in the big screen. It is not as captivating as The Dark Knight with Aaron Eckhart and Heath Ledger, but it sews together the earlier two movies that you can say that Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy is the best film adaptation there is of the masked crusader... so far, and I think for a looooong time, if not ever. Unlike the Spiderman trilogy, or the Transformers series of films, the Dark Knight sequels has not lost its charm of the first film, and even galvanized the plot for the trilogy to become a truly complex yet coherent and sensible story.

Rediscovering Maculot

Last July 15 (Sun), I once again trekked Mt. Maculot in Cuenca, Batangas. This would be my 5th climb for the year, and the 1st time that I revisited a mountain. In my mind, I tagged Maculot as the easiest of all the mountains that I have climbed. Well, that's because the last time I trekked it, we didn't even reach the summit. We just visited the rockies area, which is, as pinoymountaineer explains, the greatest draw of Mt Maculot. This would also be the largest trekking group I've been with - we totaled 35 for that day.

In this particular climb, I learned that Mt Maculot is not an easy climb as I have programmed in my mind since my first ascent. We did a traverse, starting off at the grotto side, and ending at the rocky trail (the trail near the rockies). All in all, from the starting to the exit point, I think it took us 5 1/2 hours of walking, more or less:
45 mins from entry point to grotto;
2hrs 45 mins from grotto to summit, then straight down to the rockies camp area;
30 mins from camp area to rockies, and back to camp;

1hr and 30 mins from rockies camp area to exit point.

Of course, we spent some time resting at the grotto, at the rockies camp, and the top of the rockies. The Maculot traverse is really fitting for a day hike, since you can complete all the trekking, resting/eating, and taking pictures in 8 hrs.

Grotto

Going to the grotto is, well, challenging. Some parts of the trail had cemented steps, while some parts of the trail just had bare soil. Taking in from the story of our guide, I think the trail had all cemented steps before when it was first opened in 1979. It is not the lack of concreted trail that was challenging, but the steep ascent. There are 14 stations leading to the grotto which the religious devouts flock during the Holy Week with the grotto itself being the 15th station.

Grotto - Summit - Rockies Camp

After the grotto is a much more muddy and exciting trail. There were two parts of the trail where ropes where installed to help climbers ascend/descend. One was installed in a steep stony part, while the other in a steep muddy one. Either way, the ropes really helped a lot.

Also at this part of this trek, we got lost twice, since we went ahead of our guides. We got lost after the second rope, after following a false trail. Upon reaching the summit, we also followed a false trail going down, which just lead to camping grounds near the summit. Thankfully, we found the correct trail and trekked down to the rockies.

Photo credits to hradcanska,  http://www.flickr.com/photos/hradcanska/3426824930/ 

From the summit to the rockies, we encountered a mossy forest. Some of the foliage blocked the path, but you know you are in the right track with the cleared trail upon your feet. From the forest, you will encounter the ridge to the rockies camp. But since it is the rainy season already, this ridge is covered with tall "talahib", most of which are taller than people. I was almost half-expecting to see a pokemon and engage in a battle.

Photo credits to  http://www.serebii.net/diamondpearl/palpark.shtml 

Rockies
The camp near the rockies was a welcome sight after walking almost non-stop from the grotto for more than 2 1/2 hours. The last time I visited Maculot, I bought softdrinks from the "7-11" at this site. Too bad, they were not open that day. We stopped by at the rockies, and another disappointment as it started to rain lightly, obscuring the view of Taal lake and volcano. The farther Mt Makiling (oh, how my heart breaks) cannot be seen because of the drizzle, unlike in my first visit during the summer. Nonetheless, I still love the rockies. And a trivia (as verified by our guide), Chuck Norris shot some scenes of Delta Force in Mt Maculot. A revolving joke among us was that the rockies wasn't there until Chuck Norris pushed it off the side of the mountain.

Rocky Trail

There were just two open buko juice stands among the many that are situated at the rocky trail. This has got to do with the rainy season. In my last visit during the summer, I think only one stand was closed during that time. Even the stand at the edge of the trail where fresh coconuts were sold was unmanned in this trek. Good thing, there was a halo-halo stand just before the exit point. Another opportunity to rest and just talk about anything. The unexpected topic for that afternoon - Anabelle Rama and her ruckus at a wake.

Post Trek

At the site where the cars were parked, everyone took a bath and rested. The P15 water per large pail was fair enough, and the bathrooms were clean. Also, the people were friendly. After everyone cleaned up, we parked at the 7-11 in the town proper (a real 7-11, unlike the one at the rockies camp, haha), and walked to Ogie's for authentic Batangas lomi and goto. In my first Maculot trek, we had lomi at Lomi King in Lipa. I think, a Maculot trek is not complete without sampling real Batangas delicacies.

Passport Fiasco Part 3: End of Trilogy

What happened before: Part I, Mykmyk was asked to produce travel documents.
Part II, Mykmyk was asked to have the travel document officially translated (again).



I went at the DFA Aseana office with the translation of certain pages from my mom's visa from 1985, which I got last Thursday from the Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant and Workers Affairs (Othat instructed me to have the translation faced me. Seemed that she had no problem wiUMWA) at the old DFA office. I went directly to the guard at the director's office, and was called soon after my papers were turned in, took about 5 minutes before I was called. The same lady th the translation from OUMWA. But she found another problem... My gender (they use gender, though I think it should be called sex) wasn't stated in my birth certificate.

Yes, my friends, I am neither male nor female, as reported in my certificate of live birth - another complication in the report by the foreign service. She instructed me to go to Door 4 for me to file an affidavit of undertaking that I am indeed male. "Kailangan mong mag-file within the next 5 years (sa NSO/civil registry) regarding your gender sa birth certificate mo, bago ka magrenew ng (next) passport mo." I want to be clear. I am not mad at this lady, but you have the idea of my irritation, with the new problems that crop up every time I go back to this office. I know she, and the rest of the people there are just doing their jobs, but a smile could have changed everything. There are posters inside their offices telling the employees to smile, but during the span of 3 days that I was there, only some of the guards were friendly enough to do that.

So I went there, and had my affidavit made. The affidavit was worth P300, and the translation P200. And this was my 3rd day already of going back and forth to this office. I kind of didn't want to mind about the extra payments that I needed to make, I just wanted the whole ordeal to be over. So after filing the affidavit, I went back to the lady at the director's office as per her instructions. After some minutes, she called me, and finally being cleared of the requirements, I am to start the normal process!

The normal 3-step process took me about an hour to complete. Step 1 was verification; Step 2 was payment; and Step 3 was encoding and capturing of photo. I lined up and paid the optional delivery option in between Steps 2 and 3.

So there, I'm finally finished with my passport application process. As a bonus good news, while in the FX ride home, the company that I had an interview with last Friday called again for another interview on Wednesday! I hope it's a job offer already since this is going to be my 4th interview with them. It was like I was on cloud 9 after that call. All that's left for me to do is to wait for my passport to be delivered... and actually use it, hopefully soon!

Thanks to everyone who had been praying and had been supporting me since last week. Shout outs to everyone who had been following the progress of my application process, you know who you are! :)