The Social Network - Advanced Screening at the Greenbelt 3

This evening, I was able to watch the advanced screening of The Social Network at the Greenbelt 3 Cinema 1. For those who don't have an idea what the story is all about, The Social Network is about the true-to-life story of Mark Zuckerberg, and how he started Facebook.


Before the show started, PLDT and Nuffnang Philippines awarded the winner of the Blog contest. Aside from awarding the movie invites to the 1st 90 bloggers, the best post wins a PLDT modem and wifi. The topic was about my analogy of Social Network is to Facebook as PLDT myDSL Modem + WiFi is to ...

and I answered family...

Lo and behold! I was chosen as the winner of this contest! Thanks PLDT and Nuffnang Philippines for awarding me this prize. Check out my contest entry here...

my prize - a PLDT modem+wifi device. I have yet to open it probably tomorrow...

I already mentioned to my mom that I won the contest, and we're happy we received this gift from PLDT and Nuffnang.

Anyways, back to the topic on The Social Network movie.

For starters, the movie is meant to be watched by a more mature audience. A lot of scenes deal with lifestyles of a typical college student in the U.S., filled with lots of wild parties, booze and sex (but the sex part isn't explicitly shown in the movie).

As the movie unfolds, two stories alternate in the narrative - the present where Mark Zuckerberg confronts his former colleagues/friends in a trial hearing on the ownership of Facebook, and the past, where the movie narrates Mark's dealings with his friends, and how he started Facebook during his college years in Harvard.

So as not to spoil the movie, I will not reveal everything here. But I would like to mention that the story is quite entertaining specially if you are familiar with Facebook. The movie tries to explain where Mark got the ideas incorporated into Facebook like the Facebook status where he mentioned "nobody in his right mind would wear a tag telling others what he's doing" (except he made it possible in FB now), and the funny "pop" sound when you receive a chat message.

Lessons can be learned from the story, specially about what weighs more - friendship or financial success. Overall, the movie played out well, but I also have reservations on how the movie could have been made better. Also, I think I read a blog post that not all the details are true, even the real Mark Zuckerberg says it's a work of fiction. Still, it was enjoyable to say the least. I give the movie a 3.5 out of 5.

Thanks again Nuffnang and PLDT for the movie invites and my contest prize.

:)

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Win 2 tickets to Awit Awards from SM Cinema

SM Cinema is giving away two tickets to the 23rd Awit Awards to the first 20 to upload their MTV on their Facebook fan page!

The 23rd Awit Awards will be held at the SM Centerstage, SM Mall of Asia on September 30, 2010 at 6 p.m. This promo is open to all who can claim the tickets and attend this concert event (living in or near Metro Manila).

To upload your video:

a) head over to the SM Cinema Facebook page.
b) if you're not yet a fan of this page, simply "like" this page.
c) after becoming a fan, you may now upload your video. You can upload your video through the following methods...

- on the SM Cinema wall click the camera / video icon then select the video on your PC, after that click share.
- click here... This will lead you to the videos uploaded by SM Cinema fans. Then on the top left of the page, click "add videos."

* follow the instructions on how to upload videos on Facebook then click save to complete the upload.
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I uploaded my music video and I was the 5th to successfully upload it. Therefore, as of writing, there are 15 slots left (if no entry was disqualified, hehehe). I only counted those videos uploaded starting September 23, 2010. So if you are interested in winning yourself tickets to the awards night you'd better hurry! Now is the time to upload your video.

On a personal note, I have concerns about the promo. Some of the previous entries (including mine) used copyright music content although the video portion are all original. Since SM Cinema did not mention restrictions in using copyright content, it seems it is alright to use them but I still posted this question to SM Cinema just for clarification.

For more information about this promo, visit the SM Cinema Facebook page and inquire...

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Star Movies Redefines Movie Marathons

Star Movies has an interesting contest which aims to redefine the meaning of Movie Marathons. Join this movie marathon contest and be the last person watching the movie. You will have a chance to win 100,000 pesos!

To join this contest, you will have to do the following...

a) To join, tune in to Star Movies everyday from September 24 to November 5, 2010.

b) You have to catch the brand bug of a popcorn tub which will be appearing on your TV screens 12 times a day. Once you see it, take note of the movie that was showing when it came out, the time, and date.

c) Send your answers together with your name and contact details to entertainment.marketing[at]ph.startv.com.

On November 9, 2010, 100 lucky viewers will get a chance to participate in the Star Movies Movie Marathon contest.

So if you have cable TV, tune in to Star Movies to and watch out for that "popcorn tub" image and e-mail your answer.

Pointers:

Too bad I don't have cable TV at home so I could not personally check this on their channel or join this contest. An article about this is published in Philstar.com. Check out this link which also talks about the promo.

Although it isn't written in the article, if you are planning to join, make sure you are physically fit with no heart problems whatsoever because this is a physical endurance contest. This might be dangerous to your health if you are unfit/sick. Endurance contests like this have waivers for you to sign absolving the organizers from all liabilities / fault if anything untoward would happen to you.

Since it came out from an article on Filstar.com, this contest is probably exclusive to Philippine residents.

UPDATE: According to Star Movies Philippines on Facebook, the more entries you send to them, the better the chances of getting picked for the contest.

The Movies Movie Marathon Activity will be held on November 9 at the Newport Cinema located at Resorts World Manila.

For more information about this contest, you may try to e-mail them at entertainment.marketing[at]ph.startv.com or try to watch out for additional ads on the Star Movies cable channel.

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Clash of The Titans: Clash or Crash?

Last Saturday, I was able to watch Clash of the Titans with my gf. The eye candy visual effects in the TV trailers and the adventure of the story made me anticipate this movie. The story is about a Greek hero named Perseus who saves a city from the threat of destruction. But after watching the movie, I couldn't help but compare it to the old movie I saw a long time ago of the same title. I was a just little kid back then.

After the movie, I asked my gf if she liked it and I got a positive answer overall. The movie had a realistic-looking Kraken. (Yeah, just like the bad-ass sea creature from Pirates of the Caribbean II). The Olympian Gods do have godly-looking armor and the mythical beasts and the Argos setting give the movie a very 'Greek mythology' appeal. Still she said that the story telling could have been done better.


As for me, I feel that there are important details missed out, or changed which could have made this movie a classic.

What the hell is lacking in the movie?

WARNING: spoiler alert. Do not read this part if you still want to watch the movie...

In the movie, Perseus was given a sword (by Zeus himself) and a pegasus which mysteriously appears out of nowhere. These are trademark accessories of the hero but, if you are a fan of Greek Mythology, you might be disappointed because Perseus (Sam Worthington) lacks important pieces of Divine weaponry in his arsenal. This includes his...

a) Helm - this was given by the nymphs/dryads. Wearing this renders him invisible. Thus it was called the helmet of invisibility.

b) Shield - this was given by Athena, a highly polished shield which allowed Perseus to defeat Medusa (by not looking at her directly). In the movie, Perseus was also given a carapace-like shield, but not by the gods.

c) winged sandals - based on classical myth, Perseus used this to fly. Other versions of the tale say Perseus rode Pegasus to fly. It would would have been great to show both in the movie.

Heck, Perseus should be more equipped if he wants to challenge Kraken and the gods. This, by the way, is the whole point of the story.

The story writers may have added some story elements to make this movie more appealing to a wide audience. Some include their scorpion-battling adventure, and a Protoss cross Undead hybrid character (from Starcraft and Warcraft video game, with glowing blue eyes) who joins them in the middle of the story. See the movie to know what I mean...

In my opinion, the story could have been more 'astig' (awesome) if the screen writers would try to base original plot points of the literature rather than re-inventing the story and characters. Plus, it would be better if they delivered memorable lines ala 300 (the movie). Don't take it from me, take it from Kratos (God of War - Playstation II)

Pardon me for mentioning a video game character, but I think the developers of that game made more research on Greek mythology than the ones who made this modern adaptation. At least here, Perseus (on God of War II) was more equipped, and still that wasn't enough against our PS II hero, Kratos...lol

Kratos: WHO'S YOUR DADDY NOW!!!

P.S. Images belong to their rightful owners...

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