My Oscar Bets

It hasn't started yet (at least, here) and I think I still have time to post my bets for the 77th Academy Awards this year...and check out later how right I am or how miserable a guesser I am.

Unlike last year when we all knew that the Lord of the Rings will sweep all the more than ten nominations it got, this year's Oscar's is a tad difficult to guess because almost every nominee is a sure winner.

Complete set of nominations here.

Without further ado, here are my bets:

Best Picture: Million Dollar Baby

Best Actor: Jamie Foxx for Ray

Best Actress: Hilary Swank for Million Dollar Baby

Best Supporting Actor: Morgan Freeman for Million Dollar Baby

Best Supporting Actress: Cate Blanchett for the Aviator

Best Animated Feature Film: Shrek 2

Best Original Screenplay: John Logan for the Aviator

Let's now see how this all works out....


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UPDATE on March 1, 1:15PM, Manila Time:

Hmmmm....not bad.

The results are out. It seems I'm not too bad a predictor. I was right on most of the major awards.

I just missed out on the last two. Brad Bird for the Incredibles won the Oscar for best animated feature film and the team of Charlie Kaufman won the original screenplay award for the movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

Cool, Clean, and.....how much Caffeine?

This is C2 or Cool and Clean.

If you visit the supermarket regularly (I do my grocering on weekends), I'm sure you have seen this new beverage and its other varieties: lemon, peach, and apple.

This was introduced late last year, around October 2004, if I'm not mistaken, and it is advertised as a "refreshing, non-carbonated and green tea-based beverage," by John Gokongwei's Universal Robina Corporation (URC).

Being half-Chinese, you would understand why Gokongwei would see wisdom in launching this product. Other than the usual teabags you find in the Tea section aisle of supermarkets, I do not know of any locally-produced green tea beverage like C2. Also, with news of health benefits from drinking green tea, the entrepreneur in Mr. John might have seen the great opportunity in launching this product.

And so, when I saw this product, I gave it a try.

I tried the plain green tea version first, followed by peach, lemon tea, lemon iced tea, and apple. I decided that the plain green tea flavor was the best for me.

Everything was going great until one night I noticed that my heart rate was going faster (my usual resting heart rate is in the 70s) everytime I drink a bottle of my favorite C2 plain green tea beverage. I counted and I noticed my heart rate increased to the range of 90 to 100 per minute. That was still within normal limits, but the increase was notable. I was not doing anything exhausting and was not also taking any other caffeinated beverage. Also, I noticed feeling more energetic and lively, much like the feeling I get when I take a cup of coffee or an energy drink.

Curious, I looked at the back of the plastic bottle I was holding to search for the nutritional information of the product. I thought I must know how much caffeine it was pouring in my system. Only caffeine can produce that kind of energy boost I was feeling plus the unusual heart rate increase. I also have a healthy heart according to my friend cardiologist (who monitors my cardiovascular health annually) so you need not suspect that I have some cardiac pathology to begin with.

I found NO nutritional information at the back of the C2 bottle. I looked again and still saw NOTHING.

But it was obvious that CAFFEINE was present in this beverage, and URC didn't think it was important anymore to tell the consumers how much it is.

URC says that C2 is "made with delicately brewed tea leaves of the Camellia Sinensis plant" and because of this, consumers are assured that they are "getting the healthy chemicals that make green tea today’s choice drink."

I agree with that. If you still do not know the difference between black tea and green tea, read here.

But what I really would like to know is HOW MUCH CAFFEINE is in this product.

To give you an idea how much caffeine is found in our usual drinks, click on this link.

Bottomline: A good refreshing drink, but take it moderately, and preferably with another food item. NOT RECOMMENDED for people with heart problems.

CROSSING KILL BILL WITH LOST IN TRANSLATION

I encountered this while surfing for films to watch.


Can you imagine what films will come out from this union? For more information about where they were seen last, click on the link below:

THE NEW COUPLE

PETER PARKER, Take 2

This one was bigger and better than the first Spiderman movie.

In this sequel, Spidey comes into terms on the true meaning of a superhero. Is it a blessing or a burden? Here, his personal relationships get into conflict with his super alter-ego, and he must decide whether to just settle for one identity or maintain the hard balancing act of preserving two.

I've been an Amazing Spider-Man comics fan since I was a kid. I collected his comics along that of Thor, Iron Man, the Incredible Hulk, Superman, Batman, and many others. I know his story pre-clone saga and post-clone saga. I also know how most of Spidey's fans were turned off when they knew that there were two Peter Parkers (Ben Reilly being the clone).

I've always thought that Spidey's coolness stems from his skillful webslinging and his witty remarks that really annoy most of his enemies. Only Johnny Storm (the Human Torch) can match his motormouth talkativeness when in combat. Maybe that's why they're such good friends.

There have been Spider-Man movies in the past but they weren't as spectacular because they failed to mimic Spidey's smooth moves in comics. Every Spidey fan can tell which is a sloppily-done copycat and which isn't. The current Sam Raimi flicks are not a disappointment. Of course, thanks to the marvels of CGI. Way back then, CGI must still be in the drawing boards and just a concept.

While my esteemed friend the Sassy Lawyer found that Spiderman 2 had a thin story line and a "withered" leading lady in Kirsten Dunst, I'm sure many Spidey fans like me will disagree.

Kirsten Dunst was lovelier this time around, and with ol' Doc Ock in the story, how can this sequel be labeled as "thin?" Every character in the sequel had a struggle to contend to:

• Peter Parker choosing between his 2 personas


• Harry Osborn choosing between revenge or friendship


• Aunt May Parker choosing between anger or acceptance


• Mary Jane Watson choosing between Peter and some other guy


• Otto Octavius choosing between being a hero or a villain

This sequel emphasizes the need to decide on a choice and make that decision immediately to minimize hurt to other people --- mostly people they love.

Then again, I do not blame the critics. You have to be a long-time fan to appreciate the beauty of this movie.

I'll get myself a DVD copy once it becomes available.

THE DAY ICE TOOK OVER THE EARTH

Roland Emmerich's third film, "The Day After Tomorrow," tackles so many important environmental and social issues that no one seems to be paying attention to. Or, if indeed someone or somebody is paying attention, no one is listening. As A.O. Scott said in his NYT review:

"Some environmental groups using the release of ''The Day After Tomorrow'' to raise awareness of global warming say in their publicity materials that the accuracy of the movie's science is beside the point. The conditions could take hundreds of years to develop, and it is the prerogative of movies to heighten, condense and extrapolate. But if the film is meant to prod anxieties about ecological catastrophe and to encourage political action in response, it seems unlikely to succeed. Not because the events it depicts seem implausible, but because they seem like no big deal".

The film also tackles issues like bureaucracy, indifference, migration, discrimination, family bonding, and apocalyptic sequences. Oh, it also shows scenes of bibliophilia (I'm sure my friend the Ca t will like this part).

I think Roland Emmerich has a deep seated anger against New York and America, in general. In his first two films (Independence Day and Godzilla), he smashed and demolished the American landscape using UFOs and a resurrected dinosaur. In The Day After Tomorrow, he showed his anger towards the US goverment authorities by highlighting their indifference and ignorance towards environmental issues (the one who played US Vice-President had an uncanny semblance to VP Dick Cheney). He also emphasized a reversal of fortunes: when the US had to migrate and evacuate massively its citizens to Mexico and other third-world countries to avoid the cold wave sweeping the northern states. There was even a scene where Mexican officials had to close the US-Mexican border to drive away the droves of American refugees trying to enter their country.

I would love to see the day when American refugees come to our own shores and beg us for food and jobs. But that just happens in movies, like this one. Reality tells me this will never occur; I have to stop daydreaming.

Even the movie poster shows a frozen Statue of Liberty. Lady Liberty, I think, is memorable for the thousands of European migrants who came to New York many years ago. Showing it under thick slabs of ice can mean that Emmerich is fed up with the worldwide brain drain and wants a shift, which only a weather disaster movie like his, can attain. But that's just my opinion. Feel free to contradict.

Nearly two hours into the movie, after an onslaught of blizzards, tornadoes, and hailstorms, the real day after tomorrow begins. The title isn't really what the movie is about; the title should have been the sequel's. That is, if there will be a sequel. You see, Shrek 2 still reigns in top post after 2 weeks.

If you care about the environment, see this film. If you don't, see this film too, so that you may learn how-to. This film is worth your time and money. Watch it!