Wide Tube 2.0: Inception

We watched Inception at Eastwood Cinema 1 last Friday. We took the 8PM slot since the 5PM seats is almost full. We decided to roam around at the Eastwood Mall while waiting for our screening time.

What if you can get into other people's dream and steal their ideas? What if you can discover their deepest and darkest secrets? This is the main plot of Inception. The story revolves around Cobb (DiCaprio) with a team of individuals who uses a technology to enter a person's dream and steal information from their subconscious. Initially the method is called extraction, which means they get inside the other people's mind and steal information.

As mentioned in the movie, the technology was developed by the military. Cobb uses this skill to earn a living by being hired by companies to steal information from a rival company. For the method to work, they will need people with different skills such as an 'architect' which will be responsible for the construction of the dream world; a 'forger' which impersonates somebody from the dream; a 'chemist' which formulates the drugs needed to enter the dream world; a 'point man' which researches information about the 'target' prior to entering the dream; and the 'extractor' which is responsible for stealing information.

After failing to steal information from Saito (Watanabe), Cobb and Arthur (Gordon-Levitt) must escape from the company that hired them to extract information from Saito. But Saito already knew that he was targeted during the dream because it was sabotaged by Mal (Cotillard) and offers the two to work for him with a new concept called Inception. As defined, Inception works like you are putting an idea into somebody's mind and the direct opposite of what they normally do which is stealing an idea.

The offer was so good that Cobb cannot refuse and assembled a new team with Ariadne (Page) as a new architect, Earnes as a forger, and Yusuf as the chemist. Their target was Robert Fischer (Murphy), apparent heir to Saito's rival company. to successfully implant the idea they need to get into the 3rd level of dream, meaning they have to enter in a dream within a dream within a dream. This complicates things because as they go deeper in the dream, the chances of getting back is becoming low.

The cast could be described as Nolanesque with Michael Caine, Ken Watanabe and Cillian Murphy since all of them were in Batman Begins which Nolan directed. Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Cobra Commander in GI Joe) and Ellen Page (Kitty Pryde in X-Men: The Last Stand) showed big difference from their previous characters they played.

With the film's plot, it raises some questions if this technology will be possible. Is it safe to sleep especially if you have to many secrets to keep? Are we still dreaming during our sleep or are we currently in a dream?

I will give Inception a rating of 9 out of 10. I never had a dull moment during the whole movie since Christopher Nolan was able to carefully show details. Although the theme is a little bit complex, you will not have a trouble understanding what was happening with the story. I can also compare the action sequence, during the hotel scene with Gordon-Levitt, with that of The Matrix series.

Only one question remains unanswered, is Cobb finally home with his family or is he still in a dream. As for me, whether he made it back to reality or he get stuck in the dream world, he got what he wanted - peace of mind after what happened with Mal and being with his children.

All images came from Internet Movie Data Base

Dietrich's Eyes: Converse - Spark Creativity Exhibit

I always pass by the Gateway Mall every time I go to office or when I go home since I ride the LRT Purple Lane.

Last week I got a chance to see an exhibit by different colleges and universities which features Converse shoes. Since I was already apprehended by mall guards when I took pictures of the mall last new year, I asked permission with them If I can take picture of the exhibit. The guard informed me that since that is a public exhibit, I can take pictures as long as it is the exhibit I'm going to shoot.

The exhibit features artworks from different schools such as University of Sto. Tomas, University of the Philippines, University of the East and many more. More of the artworks were made out of shoe materials like outsoles, shoe box, old shoes, shoe lace and paint.

Here's what the schools have showcased to present their talent in art and recycling:

University of the Philippines Integrated School

ShoeperHerollercoaster Boom of UP College of Fine Arts

Space Race of Asia Pacific College

Kostka School Inc.

Notre Dame of Greater Manila

And my favorite...

Pegashoes of University of Sto. Tomas

Hammy's Food Trip: Secret Recipe

It was a Friday, and I was told by my college friends to meet up in SM Megamall. Since it was my rest day the following day I agreed to meet them.

My officemate, Puyat was also going to Megamall that time so we went together and hitch a ride with the "Doctor" and dropped us at Gateway. We saw an exhibit by Converse (see other blog entry here).

My original plan is to watch movie since there's only three of us who's going to meet up. It was only then my friend told me that it's not only the three of us but another two will come and see us. It was past 7 when we meet up so we decided to eat first, but they already had their dinner and most of them wanted something light.

So we decided to check out the Atrium to resolve our stomach issues. One friend recommended to try Secret Recipe. She said that they have good cakes and salad.

Randy and I ordered a heavy meal since we haven't had our dinner yet. I ordered Grilled BBQ Chicken with Iced Cafe Mocha (forgot to take a picture of this) while he ordered Chicken Cordon Bleu.

Due to hunger, I almost forgot to take a shot of my BBQ chicken.

Since the girls already had their dinner before meeting us up they ordered the Kid's Burger, Emma ordered a slice of Tiramisu Cake and Castlyn had a White Chocolate Macadamia.

This meal is really for kids as the size of the burger can be taken with one take.

The latecomer Jean wanted to sample their Caesar's Salad even Castlyn informed her that they have big servings for salad.

You can see the bowl for salad has almost the same diameter with the plate for the Kids Burger.

Spider Ham's Rating for Secret Recipe:

• Food:
• Chicken: 7 out of 10
• Cake: 9 out of 10 (I am planning to go back for another set of cake)
• Service: 8 out of 10
• Place: 6 out 10 (place is a little cramped for big people like me)
• Estimated Budget (per person): 200 PHP

Wide Tube 2.0: Predators

Due to power interruptions brought by Typhoon Basyang, I have decided to watch Predators instead of staying at home in the darkness. It was really a choice between a local horror film and Predators and we decided to watch the latter.

The movie was a direct sequel to the Predator (1987) featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Predator 2 (1990) with Danny Glover. As mentioned by the writers, the plot of this movie does not coincide with the Aliens Versus Predator movie series.

The movie starts with the main character Royce (Adrien Brody) falling from the sky and meeting 7 other individuals in the forest where they have dropped. All of them remember a white light before falling from the sky and most of them were currently in a battle or gunfight before falling except for the death row in mate and a doctor (Topher Grace). As they discover that they are in a different planet upon reaching the higher grounds, they are attacked by alien creatures. Royce concluded that they were in a game preserve and as soldiers they are the game of the Predator.

During their run-in with their hunters they met Noland (Lawrence Fishburne) as the lone survivor of the previous hunts. They learned that there are 2 races of Predators and it was the superior ones that are currently hunting them. As one by one of them is being killed, they must find a way to fight back and not become a prey and leave the planet.

The movie consists of well known actors such as Adrien Brody (King Kong), Lawrence Fishburne (more famous as Morpheus from the Matrix series) and Topher Grace (played Venom in Spiderman 3). The cast was able to compliment the movie with Robert Rodriguez on the story line.

The story shows that its not only teamwork that should be considered when you are being hunted. Sometimes sacrifices has to be made to be able to survive the hunting game. You also need to think like the predator so as not to become the prey.

As for my rating for this movie, I will give it a 8 out of 10 rating. You do not need to be a fan of the Predator series of movie to enjoy the film, although some parts was made as reference to the 1987 film featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger to give a continuity of the series. The film was good since it did not use excessive CGI effects for the battle scene.

All images came from Internet Movie Data Base

Hammy's Food Trip: Mann Hann

It was a Saturday night when my brother decided to eat out instead of having dinner at home. Our destination for the night, Mann Hann located in SM Mezza Residences.

We started our meal with a Beef Noodle Soup, perfect for the cold weather that night.

For our main dish we had the Lechon Macau served with the traditional liver sauce. The lechon had a crispy skin but the meat part is soft and tender.

We also had a sample of Sweet and Sour Spare Ribs and its hot version Spicy Spare Ribs. The hot version of spare ribs won't sting unless you have eaten a piece with crushed chili on its breading.

I failed to try Mann Hann's version of Pork Siomai and Shrimp Siomai because I was too busy with the spare ribs. We also had the the breaded squid which I was not able to taste.

Here's my rating for Mann Hann for this food trip:

• Food: 9 out 10
• Service: 7 out of 10 (they only have 1 high chair for toddlers and we need to wait for the other group who used it as a bag sitter)
• Place: 9 out of 10
• Estimated Budget (per person): 200-300 PHP

Angel Locsin is the FHM's Number 1 Sexiest Woman in the Philippines

Angel Locsin is back as the FHM Philippines' Number 1 Sexiest Woman in the World. FHM Philippines Top 100 Sexiest Women supplementary magazine is included in July 2010 issue with Sam Pinto on the cover (click here for the related entry).

This number 1 spot was a comeback position for Angel since she was already able to get it on the 2005 Edition of the the said contest. She was also always within the top 10 position since 2003.

Here are the list of the 2010 Top 20 Sexiest Women in the Philippines based on the magazine:

1. Angel Locsin
2. Marissa Miller
3. Cristine Reyes
4. Marian Rivera
5. Iwa Moto
6. Angelica Panganiban
7. Katrina Halili
8. Regine Velasquez
9. Bangs Garcia
10. Ehra Madrigal
11. Jackie Rice
12. Erich Gonzales
13. Jennylyn Mercado
14. Kim Chiu
15. Maja Salvador
16. Diana Zubiri
17. Rhian Ramos
18. Anne Curtis
19. KC Concepcion
20. Bianca King

Here's a copy of Angel's picture from the supplemental magazine of FHM's July 2010 issue.

Sam Pinto is FHM Philippines July 2010 Cover

Sam Pinto graces the cover of FHM Philippines magazine for the July 2010 Issue. Sam Pinto gained popularity after joining the third season of Pinoy Big Brother (Double-Up Edition) as a replacement housemate. Prior to joining the reality show, Sam was already into modeling and can be seen in some TV commercials and her face can be seen on some products. You may remember her on a cracker sandwich commercial with the line "Zipper mo bukas!" Enjoy her first magazine cover below.

The July 2010 issue of FHM Philippines contains some helpful articles on how to get away in an awkward situation like when a cop flags you down for a violation. It also have an article about "death by choking".

This month's issue comes with a separate magazine that features the FHM Philippines Top 100 Sexiest Women in the World. FHM Philippines July 2010 Issue can now be purchased in all bookstores near you.

Wide Tube Sneak Peak: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Trailer

The trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was released last Monday. As Yahoo! Movies have described it as 'The Beginning of the End for the Harry Potter movies.

As we all know, it was decided that the last movie of the Harry Potter series will be presented in two parts. Part I will be released on November 19, 2010 and Part II will be on July 15, 2011. We still have a year left before we can say goodbye to the series that we have always anticipated the release from the books to the movies.

The trailer showcases the whole movie including the much awaited "Battle at the Hogwarts" between Harry and Voldemort since the movie was shot in full. But the famous battle scene won't be seen till July next year so we'll just have to settle for the first part for now.

I will be marking my calendar November 19, 2010 for this great event that is about to happen. You can watch the trailer here courtesy of Yahoo! Movies.

For additional information regarding the trailer, you may visit the Yahoo! Movies article here:
New Trailer Marks the Beginning of the End for the 'Harry Potter' Movies