Rating:
Obligatory Plot Summary
Munich is based on real events surrounding the Black September terrorist attack at the Olympic Village during the 1972 Munich Olympics. It follows a team of 5 men formed by the Israeli government to assassinate the 11 men determined responsible for the Munich attack.
Bourne Identity/James Bond/Tom Clancy after hours
I really like the Matt Damon Bourne series especially the last one Bourne Supremacy (best car chase I've ever seen in a movie at the end.) And there was a time when I diligently rented the Bond series 3 betamaxes at a time from the neighborhood video store. I'm not really sure but I might've watched a few of the Clancy Harrison Ford movies. I like the spy, covert mission, international-mostly-European-settings of spy movies. But a thought occured to me after the last two movies of this genre that I saw (Bourne Identity and Supremacy): what goes through the minds of these lonely men after they've quit the job. Well as you can tell in most movies with a sequel, the CIA/FBI/NSA, whatever, will never leave them alone. But that's the glitzy action star take on it. Munich affords an in depth look at what goes on in the minds of ordinary men as they go through the mission, and try to return to their normal lives after the mission.
Particularly gripping is the scene where the team's designated bomb maker is dismantling his tools and explosives and Avner (Eric Bana) is combing through his room looking for planted bombs that are not there. He ends up sleeping in the closet out of fear for his life. Not exactly something you could imagine the suave and sophisticated Bond doing.
Scholarly stuff
I could go on about the political aspect of the film, which is probably one of the major points, but I think the other critics would be better qualified to address this, along with a healthy dose of research into the political implications of the event, as well as the background of the cultural and religious conflicts the film is set in.
My own, barely qualified 2 cents in this area would be, that it's an insight into both sides of the 'war'. Particularly striking to me is the dialogue between Bana and one of the Arab characters they unexpectedly shared a safe house with, where he (Arab guy) talks about how others think that it's just a piece of land, or that having your own country is nothing.
I've felt pretty much the same about the Muslim terrorism in the Philippines, and the separatist movement. Why should they sow a lot of confusion and terror over having their own land and nation. Isn't ARMM enough for them? I guess this isn't an easy debate, else it would have been ended all over the world years ago.
As highlighted in this review by Roger Ebert, Spielberg's evenhanded treatment of the subject has caused both sides in the story to call him a traitor, and I agree that the complexity of the issues is presented well.
Of course, as in any good movie of this kind, the action scenes are well orchestrated and tension-filled. And Spielberg brings history to life once again, as he did with Gump, Private Ryan and Schindler.
Minus point five for the artsy artsy love scene at the end. Watch it and you'll get what I mean.
Links to related sites:
Metacritic gives it a score of 74
Wikipedia entry on Munich Massacre (interesting to read after the movie, also discusses the book which the movie is based on)
Monday, February 13, 2006
Munich
Singapore to Manila on Jetstar Asia
Rating: 
As with Tiger, I started with their online booking system which was well designed and very intuitive to use. They've got two types of fares-- the JetSaver and JetFlex with the latter being almost twice as expensive but gives you the option of changing your flight origin/destination. I took the Jetsaver since I was fairly certain of my travel plans. Similar to Tiger, they only take VISA or Mastercard.
The round trip cost me about SGD360 (including taxes) which at that time was cheaper than Tiger's SGD450. Sometimes the other airline is cheaper so it's best to compare before booking.
From Singapore
Booking was more high-tech than Tiger because they used computers and printed the boarding passes instead of hand writing them. Just because it was computerized, it wasn't significantly faster but unlike Tiger, you get an assigned seat-- boarding isn't on a first come first served basis.
If you're not flying solo, then I think having assigned seats would be better for you as you're sure to be together. As an added bonus, the lines at boarding time were less chaotic.
I flew on an Airbus A320 which was similar to Tiger's and the only difference was that there were no radio ports where I could plug my noise canceling headsets.
As with most budget airlines, food isn't free but it costs the same as Tiger's SGD8 per meal and SGD2 per drink.
The plane landed in NAIA and this time there was a sky bridge. No walking down the tarmac here. Since I'm reviewing the airline and not the airport terminal, I won't go into a tirade with how chaotic NAIA was but i'll just say that the Tiger's Clark airport felt a bit "calmer" (maybe because it was smaller).
From Manila
Checking in NAIA was a pain! It could be much simpler if they thought of reducing the many redundant queues and security checks. I had to line up for someone to get my Overseas Employment Certificate (the OEC is unique for OFWs only), line up again to get inside the airport, line up at the check-in counter and line up at the boarding gate. Sus maria!
In summary
4.5 Pawikan points because the planes arrived and left on time. The service on board was excellent and this has everything you'd expect from an airline except for the on-board radio. I would definitely fly Jetstar again.
Update (May 20, 2006):
I've since flown Jetstar three more times since I wrote this and I can say that they consistently depart on time and I've received great service from the flight crew. One tip: When you check in, ask for seats near the front of the aircraft as they seem to have more legroom than the back!
***
You may also want to read my other experiences flying from Singapore to Manila and back in my review of Tiger Airways and review of Cebu Pacific Air.
Nobody's Perfect by Repertory Philippines
Rating:
I should've written about this the week after I caught this play at Greenbelt's Onstage Theater but I've been a bit busy and I only recently have found the time to blog again.
Simon Williams' "Nobody's Perfect" is the first of Repertory Philippines' plays for 2006 and It was a riot! I was laughing from beginning to end with its British humour. It's about a guy who pretends to be a girl in order for his story to be published in a publishing house of feminist books. In the process, he falls in love with beautiful publisher and thus ensues the dilemma of how to woo the girl without his 'secret identity' being discovered. (Clickthecity.com has another synopsis here.)
As usual, the acting was superb with Miguel Faustmann as the cross dressing 'Leonard'. It's fast paced, witty and the transformations from man-to-woman as well as the quick cellphone dialog at the end kept me ready to get on my feet for a standing ovation after each scene! I've never been disappointed with Rep's plays and my only regret is blogging about this late! The final run has ended but I hope you get season passes because the next comedies look very promising!
4.5 pawikans for this-- minus points for the misleading text on the flyers: "can a transvestite make a woman love him?" (he wasn't a transvestite!) and for the ending that I felt was a bit "rushed".
Saturday, January 21, 2006
Brooklyn Pizza
Rating: 
The Philippine pizza market, about 10 years ago was probably dominated by Pizza Hut and Shakey's. You had the thick crust camp on the Pizza Hut side, and the Shakey's thin crust lovers on the other. And then you would have the more pinoy pizzas like Magoo's, 3M, your highschool cafeteria's ham and cheese pie heated in an oventoaster (pinoy pizza is going to a new level with Greenwich's sisig pizza, I was hoping it would come with egg).
Lately, there's been a move towards "New York" style pizzas, which have shown up one way or another on Pizza Hut and Shakey's (American Style pizzas, etc.). For this, I guess we have Yellow Cab to thank for. (another parenthetical aside, don't you notice, that especially with food, Manila food tends to copy and overcopy to death.. take Zagu and the other pearl shakes that followed it, most notably Shakes Bomb.. or Shawarma, or Lechon Manok..)
Anyway I had read about Brooklyn Pizza in the newspaper the other week, so I decided to give it a try myself. Securing a pie was not easy, as they only deliver to limited areas in Alabang and Makati. But after much haggling I was able to convince the Makati branch to deliver to Malabon. (By delivering to someone I knew in Makati who was going to Malabon..)
Delivery took 45 minutes for two pies. Pies are 18 inches wide, and here's the flyer so I don't have to type out the rest of the info:
The pizzas. I had one slice deluxe (which has all the toppings) and one slice white cheese (which is not kesong puti, as my sister believed it to be.). The taste is closest to S and R, not really Yellow Cab, and so is the size.
Those two slices are making me consider skipping dinner right now. Of course, the travel time from Makati to Malabon must've affected the quality, so I guess I'll have to wait when they open in Ortigas.
At around Php480 for a whole pie, and about 8 slices per pie the price is about 60 per slice. Not bad value considering Pizza Hut sells theirs at about same price with lesser diameter (then again, thicker crust plus stuffing, etcetera).
I guess Brooklyn Pizza's approach is less frills. Limited selection of flavors, and limited delivery area, with no guaranteed delivery time (they tell you over the phone how long they think it will take). Looks like they're targeting a niche, and choosing to avoid the 800 pound gorillas. With Yellow Cab expanding rapidly (they've got branches everywhere, but it doesn't look like many are doing extremely well), it'll be interesting to see how this strategy pans out (no pun intended).
Overall, the tag "we make New York pizzas, not New York-style pizzas" made me have expectations that were hard to live up to.
New York size yes, but I'm not sure about the New York flavor. Put it in the office rotation, for variety, and should be good for lunchtime blowouts as the carbs tend to be filling.
Singapore to Manila on Tiger Airways
Rating:
I booked a red eye round-trip flight right before new year from Singapore to Manila on no-frills, low-cost airline Tiger Airways and I must say that all in all it was a pleasant experience.
The experience started off with online booking on their well designed and easy-to-navigate website. I kept on getting a system error message on the first couple of tries and the website advised me to try again after some time. Minus points for this snafu! Anyway I gave it a rest, tried again the next night was successful! (Note that as of this writing, they only accept VISA or Mastercard so sorry na lang if you have an Amex or Diner's Club.)
Since I booked at the last minute, the round trip cost me about SGD 350-- cheaper than flying PAL or Jetstar but this is still a bit expensive for a budget airline. If you book some months in advance, the price of a ticket could go as low as SGD 9.99!
From Singapore
Check-in was straightforward-- you just show them your passport, they tick your name from their list and and issue you a hand-written boarding pass.
The Airbus A320 left on time from Changi airport, the crew was friendly and the cabin was neat and tidy-- everything you'd expect from an airline! The part that made it low-cost is you had to buy your food (about SGD 8 for sandwiches and SGD 2 for drinks). The seats were relatively spacious and the leg room felt just like a typical economy-class. It could get a bit uncomfortable but hey it's only a 4 hour flight and as in all flights, it won't hurt you to stretch!
The plane landed at Clark Airport where you'd have to alight from the plane and walk on the tarmac. There's a bus from Clark to Megamall that costs about Php350 but just get some friends and relatives to fetch you so you can save yourself the hassle.
From Manila
The experience from CRK was a bit different-- check-in was again very straightforward but the plane departed an hour late!
TIP: Make sure that you're within the 15kg weight limit for checked-in luggage and 7kg for hand carry since they follow this to the letter!
Since there was no sky bridge so you would have to climb the stairs (while lifting your hand-carry items) to get on the plane. This isn't a problem for most of us but some of our elderly passengers could have a little trouble.
I'm tempted to say some more about my experiences at Clark airport but I will save that for another entry since I'm reviewing the airline not the airport!
In Summary...
Four pawikan points because it has everything you would expect from your typical airline. Before you book, I recommend that you check the price of other carriers! I just booked a round trip flight on Jetstar so let's see how that pans out. In the meantime, check out other passenger reviews for Tiger.
***
You may also want to read my other experiences flying from Singapore to Manila and back in my review of Jetstar and review of Cebu Pacific Air.
You could also try whatsikat.com which is updated twice an hour with reviews from other Pinoy bloggers, celebrity bloggers, chismis and news.
