SURVIVOR CAGAYAN Episode 9 Ranking

So basically at this point of Survivor Cagayan, the remaining episodes would be great only if someone from the Brady Bunch flips to Tasha and Spencer. I'm saddened by this thought because this season has been great.

I'm a huge Tasha/Spencer fan that's why even though I appreciate what Tony/Woo/Trish bring to the table, I just can't wholeheartedly root for them. But oh well... I should be used to this as my favorites don't always go to the end anyway.

This will surely affect my opinion of Cagayan when it ends. But I'm still holding on for my favorites so stay hopeful, Jay.

Trish wins this week's Plummy. She's playing the best game right now and I can already see her winning with her chances in the game. Find out why in this ranking:

8. Jefra

She's just irredeemable at this point in the game. She's the duddest of all duds and it's a shame because she's part of a great cast. She had so much promise since the previews last episode. Even Parvati was rooting for her to be amazing. And she was becoming amazing as the episode progressed until she proved to be a weak follower again when Trish consoled her. It was her time to shine, it was her time to change the game. It's in her hands just like how Dawn's denture was in Brenda's hands. But she blew it. Hard. So I just can't at Jefra right now. It's probably good for her longevity but it's not good for her chances of winning.

I am suddenly reminded of Ciera's move last season. I was a huge fan of Ciera until she blew the chances of the loved ones (Hayden, Katie, Caleb, Ciera), but when she realized that she made a mistake, she redeemed herself by putting herself in danger by picking rocks. What I love most about it is her reason behind it. She's right when she said that she'd probably go to the end with Tyson, Monica and Gervase but there's no way she'd win in it. In fact, she's at the bottom of that alliance and there's no way they'll allow her to reach the end. With the risk that she took with Katie and Hayden, her longevity would crumble but if it would work and she goes to the end with the two, her chances of winning would have been huge. As she took the game by her own hands and I just know that it was worth it even if she ended up being 5th instead of 4th/finalist. 

Same with Cagayan, It doesn't matter anyway. They're almost at the end. It was the right time for Jefra to flip it and put a huge move in her resume. But anyway, I doubt Tasha/Spencer/Jeremiah would include her in the finals unless a power struggle strikes them. Still... ugh Jefra doesn't deserve this writeup. 

7. Kass

Kass just doesn't have a chance of winning the game. No one believes her anymore. No one trusts her. No one considers her a great gameplayer. She's just a number for her allies. She's right when she said that Tasha/Spencer are threats, but she'd be one of them if she sticked by them. I should have realized this a long time ago but I was still in denial that she completely flipped on the Brady people because I used to like her, love her even.

6. Woo

Woo continues to be a fun presence this season. From his papaya butt scene and confessionals, I appreciate what he brings to the table. But he's just a sidekick right now and I can't support that further.

5. Spencer

Nothing spectacular with Spencer this episode. His idol was impotent. But I'll remain on team Tasha/Spencer. I wish they pushed harder for Jefra to stay to their side though. I think they could have blackmailed her with the HII (I don't know if that would work), I wish he'd talk to Jefra at least if they're voting for her or worked with Jeremiah to find out who the other side was voting, I wish he gave Jeremiah the idol. But I understand why all of those didn't happen. Spencer was also looking out for himself. It'd be a great risk if he gave the idol to Jeremiah and yes, it would have worked wonders but if it didn't, then Spencer was a fool for doing it. I really think they could have turned the table though. It's possible. Hard but possible.

4. Tony

Tony is having a massive number of haters right now but I just don't hate him for having the special idol nor for receiving a lot of airtime. It was not his fault. It's the editors or the people who tipped him about the idol. LOL. I refuse to believe that it was rigged for him though even if it's possible. But even without it, I love his energy about the game. I love his aggression. I love when he taunted Spencer at Tribal. Who does that? He's playing! And he's playing to win! He's doing all things he can for him to go further and even if he kind of humiliated Spencer at last Tribal by talking about his inexperience and all, look at what's going to happen next episode. It seems like the two will work again. Previews have been misleading for the last couple of episodes though so.. :/

3. Jeremiah

I've grown to be a fan of Jeremiah for the past couple of episodes. I've always been Team Morgan ever since they voted separate ways during Brice's boot but ever since the tribal shuffle, he turned into this likable, smart human being that there's no way you'll hate him. He's probably the nicest player to play on Survivor. Yes? I laughed at his "headbutt" confessional. It's such an extremely nice gesture. Like what I mentioned in Spencer's writeup though, he could have swayed Jefra more especially that he's game was on the line. But I feel like he just sort of surrendered and didn't want to beg nor scramble. Oh well, google him guys. "Jeremiah Wood model"

2. Tasha

I never would have expected for Tasha to be a fierce challenge competitor. 9 or 10 episodes in or whatever, but she's still surprisin me. I still remember the time when she surprised me about her social and strategic skills. She's now considered a triple threat and Jeff Probst likes that and I'm happy because if she doesn't succeed in this season, she'll surely be contacted for a returnee season. Unfortunately, I don't think the editors are Tasha's fan. It's such a shame because they could have made Tasha a legend right now by putting a little more airtime for her but they continue to focus on others and Tasha's one of the sacrificial lambs. But oh well, she could have been completely invisible this episode but because of her balancing skills, she didn't let her edit become invisible. Gotta love Tasha and I hope she makes it to the end. With where things are heading though, I think she's toast in the next episode or two. This brings me back to Kass. She's the person to blame for all of these. :(

1. Trish

Trish is not the biggest threat. Trish is not a goat. Trish has a shield in Tony/Woo. Trish has an alliance with two main targets in Spencer/Tasha. Trish is in an alliance with two goats in Kass/Jefra. So her chances among these players are huge. Lindsey is not in the jury. Trish didn't make enemies with the jury so far. What more could she ask for? Plus, last episode proved more what I already saw in her before. She can filter the hell out of her words depending on who she's talking to. She's also not playing with her heart. It was proven when she didn't stay mad at Tony for keeping her out of the 'vote out LJ' plan. In fact, she sticked with him even though one of their allies, Jefra already wanted to flip. And when their alliance was in trouble because of Jefra, she convinced her to stay by badmouthing Tony and she did that with so much damage control in case Tony finds out about it. And when Tony talked to them, Trish immediately handled the situation without addressing that it's Jefra who's having concerns. She just told him that all of them were wary of him and it worked wonders for the alliance. She was the glue and she's always been the problem solver ever since the merge. I even though she's gonna fix the LJ problem in last week's episode. Trish is playing a great game right now. I wish she's my favorite but I've always been a fan of underdogs and Trish is on top of all things. I recognize her game, though. I think she has this in the bag.

WINNER PREDICTION:

Trish

She is winning. For the next four Tribal Councils, it's going to be either Tasha/Spencer first or Tony/Woo or any of this combination. Trish will be with Jefra and Kass in the Final 3 and she'll beat any of those two.

I gotta say I'm not a fan of that final 3 that I predicted but we'll see. There are a few episodes to come and if those 3 prove that they're fierce competitors then I might have a change of heart.

Trish has already proven that she's great but I want more. Kass, I want more from her too because no more #ChaosKass since President Sarah's boot.

All I know is though, that Jefra is irredeemable.

NEXT EPISODE: I'm just not thrilled anymore. There'll be an auction so let's hope that it'd be fun. It seems like Tony and Spencer will be working together but I won't get my hopes up. I think we're going to say goodbye to Spencer/Tasha next episode. :(

Twitter: @jaynormouskid

The Grand Budapest Hotel

Director: Wes Anderson
With: Ralph Fiennes, Tony Revolori, F. Murray Abraham, Edward Norton, Mathieu Amalric, Saoirse Ronan, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Léa Seydoux, Jeff Goldblum, Jason Schwartzman, Jude Law, Tilda Swinton, Harvey Keitel, Tom Wilkinson, Bill Murray, Owen Wilson

The only movie I've seen directed by Wes Anderson was Moonrise Kingdom and he immediately enticed me with his distinct style of direction--marvelous production designs that seem like straight out of a children's story book, sweetest color palettes that triggers allurement to the screen, quirky characters wearing neat designed costumes and a great ensemble to give justice to them. The Grand Budapest Hotel is nothing short of these aspects. In fact, it's way more extravagant and a way better experience than the former.

It's a thrilling ride that follows the story of a previously young lobby boy Zero Moustafa (Tony Revolori) who worked under Gustave H (Ralph Fiennes), a charismatic yet strict concierge of a grandiose hotel called 'The Grand Budapest Hotel'.

The film consists of well-known actors and actresses but Budapest's storytelling is so fast that it swallows these actors' prominence and instead focuses on the characters they're playing. Anderson's characters are so quirky and distinct to each other that even though the film boasts of a number of heroes and villains, everyone remained memorable.

Everyone worked their characters very well and while all of them delivered, Ralph Fiennes stood out the most as the primary carrier, or should I say 'concierge' of the film - both as an actor and as a character. Gustave H is undeniably likable, a stubborn hero, a nefarious protagonist, he's an unsung hero reminiscent of classic playful Old Hollywood characters. It worked for him that he's not playing a kind-hearted goody goody hero because we knew him as an actor who played iconic villains. He was Lord Voldemort and he was monstrous. He was Amon Goeth and he was despicable. But Ralph Fiennes redeemed himself for playing this character that's just so ironically likable, even touching at times. Honorable mention is Willem Dafoe. As one of the characters with a brief role, he notably injected himself as the bulldog-looking scoundrel who's funny and awful at the same time.

In my viewing experience of Moonrise Kingdom, as much as I was highly fascinated by Anderson's work, there were times when it felt a little lethargic. But the slowness of the former, he makes up for the bold and quick pacing of Budapest. It never rests in entertaining the hell of its viewers. What made it more fun is that it's a movie with a world straight from a creative and unconventional imagination, youthful in its colors and execution albeit containing mature stories and characters.

I also just want to mention how Alexandre Desplat scored the hell out of this movie. It's kind of funny because it seems like he's scoring every other movie I watch this year. No complains here because he's a fantastic musical composer and he made Budapest more whimsy and playful.

Its humor is both verbal and visual. Its pacing is something most movies should have. I'd give this film 5 plums in a New York minute for its richness, creativity and astounding viewing pleasure but I just wish it connected more emotionally.

Even then, The Grand Budapest Hotel is a must-see film that somehow will remind you of the fulfillment one earn in watching quality movies.

Transcendence

Director: Wally Pfister
With: Johnny Depp, Rebecca Hall, Paul Bettany, Kate Mara, Morgan Freeman, Cillian Murphy

Transcendence, the movie that marked Christopher Nolan's resident cinematographer Wally Pfister is not as bad as its trailer implied and not as weak as what most critics are saying. Although far from being perfect, its concept is rather absorbing. It's just the narrative that falls short in a deep deep grave.

Think of Transcendence as a scifi action version of Spike Jonze's Her. Like Her, it tackles love (it is part of the movie's depth) but it focuses on the negative effects of artificial intelligence machine that Will (Johnny Depp) and his wife Evelyn (Rebecca Hall) planned to establish in which Will called it as 'Transcendence'. Things went wrong and the suspense happened.

Except not really.

What's lacking in this movie is the tension that viewers expected in the film. It lacks action even if the scenes involve explosions, guns and canyons. It lacks the grip even though the concept is interesting. The unremarkable storytelling and the lame conflicts and climax pulled down the capability of its premise. Even worse, the film contains annoying and somewhat idiotic characters that just makes you not want to root for any of them.

Most especially Rebecca Hall. I liked her in Vicky Cristina Barcelona and The Town but she didn't deliver well in this film. It doesn't help that she's playing an irritating character. No one stood out in this film. Everybody's just okay. Johnny Depp can't catch a break.

Pfister maintained his cinematographic talent as it's very palpable in the film but not enough to carry the whole movie especially with the excessive head scratcher ideas in its plot. With a weak screenplay that most of the time, doesn't know where it is headed, I doubt there's a way for Pfister to improve it. A different approach and a sharper plotting to the artificial intelligence concept would have made it better.

Even then, I expected it to be extremely horrible. Johnny Depp's face with nail-like screws and wires on his head looked ridiculous and don't get me started with his facial expression. Didn't plan on watching it because of how terrible the whole thing looked but I did anyway as I had a lot of time to waste before catching the first schedule of Budapest Hotel. Luckily for me, it ended up being below decent and tolerable. But yes, it's a movie I wouldn't care if I skipped it.

Heaven is for Real

Director: Randall Wallace
With: Colton Corum, Greg Kinnear, Kelly Reilly, Thomas Haden Church, Margo Martindale

I had no idea that this movie exists until my sister told me about it. It was the same day when she told me that they're going to watch it on a Black Saturday. They invited me to go with them but was kind of hesitant because of my foot injury (that's been keeping me from travelling for months now). But then I went with them because I was already rotting at home and I could use an exercise.

I gotta be honest the trailer didn't impress me but with its material and the Lenten season, I said to myself, why not?

So I willingly watched it. Heaven is for Real. The title is something...

Heaven is for Real started with Greg Kinnear's character, Pastor Todd Burpo asking this question--"Is heaven for real?, or just a place on Earth?".

He's saying it to his fellows but I'm pretty sure that it also made all the people in the movie house think. I'm guilty. So let me tell you a story. I'm not the most devout person you'll know but I have faith and I Believe. I'm quite skeptical about supernatural stories but there are some stories that I choose to believe.

10 years ago or so, my grandmother was rushed to the hospital. She had a heart attack and we were told that her chances of living was slim. My aunts and uncle from other countries immediately went back here in the Philippines. Our relatives in Masbate, my lola's hometown, already prepared for her loss. They bought pigs and cows to kill for food for the inevitable funeral.

We've already expected that my lola's time had come. Her heart beat already stopped for a minute and some seconds. But she survived it and was revived by the doctors. She went to live for a couple more years until her death last year.

During her borrowed time, she told us a story that during her days in the hospital, she saw herself sleeping. Whether it was a dream, hallucination or her soul wandered while she's sick, I am not sure but it sure sound like a near death experience. She told us that she saw her family and everything was white. She also saw a light through a doorway and I can only interpret it as heaven.

I never believed these kind of stories until my Lola told us her experience. I just know that there's no way my grandmother invented it. My lola has always been a strict and disciplined woman, from my mother's stories. I don't see her telling fantasies because it's just not in my lola's personality. So I believe my lola.

That's why when I was watching Heaven is for Real, I can't help but be contemplative so I affirmed its goodness, its content. Because it's a story affirming that heaven is real. And many doubt it, even the believers in the movie. Even Pastor Todd Burpo who wrote the book about his son who experienced heaven. It's a film with a powerful subject and this writeup could never ever change everyone's beliefs so thanks for reading and I'll just move on to technicalities.

I must say that I didn't like Randall Wallace direction style. He made this movie with a vision. The downside is, his vision is more of like a vision of a child. Can't blame him because the visions of Heaven according to the movie is from a child. So..yeah. But he could have made it less cartoonish. It's obviously a film with a subject matter that's hard to adapt into a film so I guess it's acceptable. But aside from that, it also had tonal inconsistencies. I sound like a nitpicker here after affirming the content of the film but that's just how it is.

It's not preachy but it's also quite slow sometimes. It could have hit its jackpot in portraying that heaven is real but it's too safe in adapting it.

Its strongest aspect is the actors, especially Greg Kinnear and the one who portrayed Colton, the child who had a heavenly experience, literally. He's the main source of cuteness and entertainment. Can't help but compare him to Santino of May Bukas Pa. lol. He delivers punch lines so naturally like he does it his whole life.

I wish I could say that it touched me more than it intended its viewers to be but it's a good enough film that it effectively made me reflect on a personal level.

Labor Day

Director: Jason Reitman
With: Kate Winslet, Josh Brolin, Gattlin Griffith, Tobey Maguire

I've mentioned in my Top film rankings for 2013 how I'm fond of sugars in films. I expected to like Labor Day because of that, but it didn't have the sugar that I was looking for, more like flour. Literally.

Labor Day is a drama about a mother and son who met a fugitive and asked them to hide him into their home. Throughout this long Labor Day weekend, the mother (played by Kate Winslet) falls in love with the fugitive (Josh Brolin) and as days progressed reveals their lives in their previous relationships.

It's actually more of like a melodrama because Kate Winslet's character is super lonely and sad, but it's a story that I couldn't even call melodramatic because there's nothing 'melo' about its drama. It's insufficient of all of its aspect, including the storyarcs.

But that's probably because Reitman remained loyal to the book. Watching the film, even though I didn't read the book, Jason Reitman's screenplay felt very faithful to it. Don't get me wrong, I have no idea about the book. Zero. LOL. But what I saw in Labor Day looked like an imagination straight from reading the book. I give Reitman that. But I'm kind of nonplussed of why Reitman chose to adapt this book. It's very different from his past works, Up in the Air, Young Adult and Juno. I guess he's trying to explore his talent. Unfortunately, I think he needs to stick with directing more modern and comedic films. But who am I to say that, right?

It has at least a graceful cinematography which captures the humidity of its setting. That's one thing I like about Reitman's direction, you'd always expect to see artistic shots and he'll most likely deliver. I still remember the birds eye view shots of fields in Up in the Air. He delivers in Labor Day. Those moving shots in the beginning, the peach crust that looks so yummy, the green pastures in their area, the simplicity of the town, the everything.

I am not crazy about Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin's performances but both are good, quite effective in portraying their roles. Their roles which I find dull. Yes, Labor Day is quite dull. It's not boring per se, but geez, the characters need some happy pills. Movies with dull characters don't always translate to being bland but this one is just that, pedestrian.

It's such a shame because I consider myself a huge fan of Up in the Air and Young Adult and those two are two consecutive great films by Reitman, but following those two with this, it seems like Reitman is still finding his niche after all and everyone who watched the film will probably agree that he needs to leave the dramatic love story genre asap. It's not for him. Although kudos for trying.