Season of the Witch

There is something about working and watching a movie that seems to be a pattern for me. Before going to work (I'm on night shift that time and was hoping that my work schedule would get cancelled and it did), I opted to go to the mall and watch a movie. That day's target movie was Season of the Witch.

Season of the Witch stars Nicolas Cage (you probably know him very well) and Ron Perlman (Hellboy) as two deserter Templar Knights assigned with the task of bringing an accused witch to the holy monks to be tried and stripped of her powers. Nuff said. We don't want to give away too much of the story.

Visuals. The costumes were nicely done and were perfect for the setting. The special effects were pretty much decent. Story. Pretty standard and linear. Very predictable. One thing's for sure, it's not a witch they're up against. Overall. This movie made the attempt of making an Action / Adventure / Fantasy / Suspense / Horror with a touch of Lord of the Rings and a dab of futile humor. Recommendations. If you're a Cage fan then you might want to see this movie. If not, then don't bother. But I do think that the masses would love the effects, simplicity, and no-brainer story.

Tomato rating: Eleven tomatoes.

The Green Hornet

After work, I went straight to the mall, got myself a ticket and watched The Green Hornet, the hero that poses as a villain.

Green Hornet was originally a radio program back in the 1930's. I never knew that before today when the movie credits started showing; "Based on the Radio Program." What I did know was that there was a TV series and Bruce Lee starred as Kato. I used to watch that show when I was a boy.

This 2011 movie adaptation stars Seth Rogen as Britt Reid/Green Hornet, Jay Chou as Kato (a.k.a. Kato), and Cameron Diaz as Lenore Case. For those who think Chou looks kinda familiar, he played Takumi Fujiwara in the live action movie of Initial D.

Now on to the ratings. Visuals. This movie has a 3D and a non-3D version (I saw the non-3D). It probably looked nice in 3D but the non-3D is nice enough to look at. Story. There were some pretty good conflicts going around. Plus, the villain tries hard enough to become more villainous. Overall. For a GP movie, this one's pretty action-packed with quite a few surprises, and it has a lot of funny moments. Recommendations. See it on 3D if you want to but the non-3D will still have the same story. It's great for the masses and is a good movie to watch with the whole family. Since, there have been quite a lot of changes to the characters over the past 70 or so years, a little "nowadays" change wouldn't hurt.

Tomato rating: One tomato. Now cue the theme.

With or Without Ophiuchus, I'm still a Piscean

Ophiuchus (or some would call it Serpentarius) some might say is the 13th Zodiac sign. Though not really 13th in order, it goes between Scorpio and Sagittarius. This caused a lot of hype in the horoscope-believing community. Especially those who are hard core horoscope believers.

Astronomer, Park Kunkle, said that the shifting of the Earth's axis caused a shift in the stars alignment. This caused the sun to go through Ophiuchus like it does the original 12 constellations.(click here for the article from The Epoch Times)

It's a good thing that we have GPS nowadays. If not, navigators using star positions would probably get lost.

According to Dailyhoroscope.com, Ophiuchus has been there for a long time as a constellation and not a zodiac sign and that the Zodiac signs are based on the four seasons with a beginning, middle, and end. (click here for the complete article)

Do take note that astronomy and astrology are entirely different. Even the horoscope practicing world is divided; those who follow the constellations and those who divide the seasons. Though there are some horoscope practitioners that would gladly make use of the new Zodiac sign, there are still purists that wouldn't.

But then again, this is just concerning the Western Zodiac. The change in constellations will probably never affect the Eastern Zodiac that, like the Western, has 12 signs. Adding a 13th would cause a lot of confusion since the cycle goes through 12 years. Eastern Zodiac is based on Chinese astronomy and follows a 60-year cycle that does not coincide with the modern calendar.

For the sake of imagination, if there would be a 13th sign in the Eastern Zodiac, what would it be? A cat, there already is one, the tiger. A bear perhaps? But a bear is not very eastern. I know. A panda. Mind you, a panda is not a bear. Year of the Panda. Sounds about right.

New Year, New Bill... Not Really

What better way to kick off the new year (a very late kick-off) than the bill on the additional tax on cigarettes. Ah, yes. I can't wait for the cigarette prices to sky rocket so the average wage smoker (or the poor smoker) would have to spend more in order to get a fix.

According to the newspaper article I read last year. The bill will take effect roughly around early 2011 or January 2011. I'm not sure on the exact date but I sure hope it happens soon. It will add about Php 30.00 to a pack of cigarettes. So if a pack costs Php 30, with the bill, it'll be Php 60 a pack. Your 1.50 per stick would now cost you double. How wonderful. I say, it should add more than 30, say 90 or 100. That would be most excellent. That should get the attention of a lot of smokers from the middle-class down to the below-poverty-line group. The higher class peeps probably wouldn't mind. Besides, most of them don't usually smoke with the common masses.

Seriously, a higher price tag on cigarettes will never eradicate smoking. But it will (hopefully) discourage smoking for those who earn very little or just enough, or discourage those who would like to take up smoking as a hobby. Especially those who smoke like it's okay for everyone to inhale their mouth farts. For example, chain smokers, or those who smoke while walking, loitering, or practically anywhere even if the sign says "NO SMOKING" or on the public vehicles. Those are the people who I want to suffer. Yes. Suffer. If you people want to smoke then go spend some more. Burn your money and pockets for all I care, you mouth farting freaks.

So, if you're one of those who are really affected, then too bad for you. I suggest you stock up on smokes while they're cheap. If you're not, then good for you (whether you're a non-smoker or you can still afford a smoke even if it's a USD a pop).