i finished reading percy jackson & the olympians: the lightning thief last night, in time before the movie opens two weeks from now. the book which is the first of the five-part series by rick riordan, is about the 12-year old percy jackson who discovers that he is a demigod, son of sea god poseidon to a mortal woman and his quest to prevent the three big gods from declaring war against each other. the series is actually based on classic greek mythology although set in the present day heart of western civilization that is america and driven by modern-faced heroes.

i was initially wary to read the book because being the hardcore harry potter and lord of the rings fan that i am, i know that i would always compare fantasy books or similar genres to the latter two. it’s hard not to especially when the book’s first line has ‘half-blood’ in it (oh hello, professor snape!) and the lightning itself reminds us of the scar of harry potter. at some point, i also felt like the camp half-blood which is the training ground for the demigods is a cross between hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardy and xavier institute for higher learning of x-men. i can probably name many more parallels between harry potter and the lightning thief but i let it pass for now. i have come to accept that because rowling was also inspired by classic literature while writing harry potter whether consciously or not, it is therefore not impossible to see the glaring intertexuality at play, especially since riordan premeditatively derived his series from greek mythology. in short, both of them used the same inspiration.

in addition, i feared that the novel would not live up to my standards and i would end up utterly disappointed. sometimes, media hype, and even the label new york times bestseller’s list , can be entirely deceiving. the more publicity, the higher my expectations. that’s how it usually works for me. but for all my biases and apprehensions, i decided to give the book a chance, to lower my expectations, and to read (and review) the book on its own merits.

the lightning thief in itself is a satisfying read. all the elements of a good fiction are present: the narrative is fast-paced and action-packed; the characters are intriguing and well fleshed; and, the settings are vividly described. i can truly see it being a commercially successful hollywood film that i sometimes wondered while reading the book if it was indeed the author’s intention to sell the story to film production outfits. the story is simple and easy to follow. one does not need a background on greek mythology to understand the whole concept and to be vastly entertained. the book after all, is primarily intended for kids and teens.

as mentioned above, the story is set in contemporary america and i think this is where my main nitpick of the book lies. it is too close to home to allow complete suspension of reality. most of the fantasy books i know have their own worlds to speak of which allow full escapism. i think this is the beauty of rowling’s harry potter and tolkien’s lord of the rings. hogwarts and middle earth are akin to a parallel universe to its legion of followers including me. they are accessible only through the deepest of our imaginations. on the other hand, percy jackson travels to some of the busiest cities in america like new york, los angeles and las vegas that the scenes somehow become too tangible to even allow one’s power of fancy to work. how can one allow fantasy to seethe in when the book tries to paint a world that is no different than the reality of everyday life?

also, the events are sometimes too contrived to my own liking.  i particularly dislike that chapter when the triumvirate of percy, annabeth and grover goes to las vegas and supposedly stays in a time-warped hotel. this screams fan fiction to me. no offense meant to riordan but i’ve read a few harry potter fan fictions much to my dismay, where the authors try to bring the harry potter characters into america and subject them to worldy pleasures which make the stories cheap and juvenile. i think america as the modern day home to gods and goddesses is like taking the easy way out. why the need to create a new realm when an existing one would suffice?

i also think that the book needs an authoritative figure who embodies wisdom and comfort in light of all the incidents that have taken place in the story. someone who would be harry potter’s dumbledore to percy jackson. never mind if this will result into another parallelism between the two books. a young adult book needs just this kind of person after the villains shows up, a friend betrays one’s trust or as the heart tries to mend itself.

despite my criticisms, i wouldn’t want to take away the book’s credit where it is fairly due. its attempt to bring greek mythology into the consciousness of the young readers is truly a commendable effort. not only that, it also inspires its audience, mostly the older ones, to delve further into the classic greek mythology. i, for one, admit that i know very little about the greek gods and goddesses but the lightning thief is pushing me to explore the depth of the myths, beyond the quests of percy jackson. more importantly, it encourages kids to once more turn to books, to be enthralled by the limitless possibilities of a curious mind and to learn the basic morals of life. in today’s world filled with game consoles, computers and other technological gadgets, a fantasy book like this one is a great reminder of what it’s like to live in wonder through the eyes of a child. and i would continue to read the whole series if only for this.

i miss filmmaking, especially when i see my friends and former classmates doing well and making their mark in the industry. it was a haphazard decision when i shifted my major from journalism to film and audiovisual communication at UP Diliman. it was almost the end of my sophomore year when i realized i wasn’t cut to pursue a career in journalism. i wasn’t hungry for news as my peers were. it was an epiphany, if you can call it that, because i turn out to be pathetically apathetic many years later.

i chose between broadcasting and film because they looked more fun and sophisticated in style. but after about five minutes of rushed contemplation since it was the last day to pre-register the courses for the following semester, i opted for film. i relied more on instinct than anything, or perhaps it was a mere response to an omniscient force telling me what to do because truth was, i knew nothing about filmmaking. i wasn’t a film buff either so being a film major was akin to taking the road less traveled. and yet, it proved to be one of the best paths i traversed to in my entire life, even if i never got to practice my craft after leaving school.

from time to time, i would wonder and ponder what my life would be like had i plunged into the local philippine movie industry. where would i be now? would i have sold my artistry into mainstream cinema or would i have been part of the rising indie films? would i have compromised my ideas and ideals for the sake of commercialization as star cinema subtly asked me to do when I had an interview with them? would i have been a successful film editor or a respected film critic now if I had been bold enough to follow the dreams of my youth? or would have these dreams faded too like photos of a bygone time? i wouldn’t know for sure. but i always come up with the realization that i do not have the heart to be a true filmmaker. i do not have such passion to continue on. at the end of the day, i know that i was not born into the world of filmmaking; i was merely passing by.

i do not have any regrets at all for taking up film when i could have transferred to a different college in UP and to a more sensible and practical course. i’ve always believed there are no wrong turns to a person who lives without regrets, only detours. in retrospect, i have had so much to be grateful about by being a film major –the theoretical approach to learning combined with practical application, the cool production classes even if the equipments and technology we had at school were relatively retrogressive, the highly-regarded professors (nicanor tiongson, gigi alfonso, armando lao, joven velasco and ellen paglinauan to name a few), the classic local and foreign films we were required to watch, and of course, the people and friends that i connected with from all walks of life, who at one point in time, i shared my dreams with. on top of it all, it was when i became a film major that i met and fell in love with my best friend, my husband, my soul mate. and, if this alone was the real purpose why i had to make a detour to this road, then indeed it served its purpose well.

according to 24 hour fitness new member rewards website, this is the history of my club visit:

The following Gym Visits have been recorded. Click a link to view that month’s visits Month 1 (Nov 2, 2009 to Dec 1, 2009) – 13 visits Month 2 (Dec 2, 2009 to Jan 1, 2010) – 12 visits Month 3 (Jan 2, 2010 to Feb 1, 2010) – 7 visits Month 4 (Feb 2, 2010 to Mar 1, 2010) – 0 visits Month 5 (Mar 2, 2010 to Apr 1, 2010) – 0 visits Month 6 (Apr 2, 2010 to May 1, 2010) – 0 visits Your original goal was 4 or more gym visits per week. (approx 16 per month.) You are currently averaging 11.9 per month. How do I compare to other 24 Hour Fitness Members?

i think they update this every week because they have yet to include my zumba class attendance on wednesday and thursday. two things that can be noted from the statistics above:

- i haven’t reached my initial goal of 4 or more visits per week. it might be way too ambitious for laziness personified that is me.

- on a positive note though, i’m way above average compared to the other members in general; people who share the same goal; and, peers.

please don’t think i am way too serious in losing weight that i have to track and analyze my club visits every week. i just do it to make sure that i am earning points (4 visits every month is equal to one point) so that i can get a material reward by the end of 6th month. after all, i need to reap the fruits of my labor.

i finished reading marley and me a couple of days ago. my third book in the first two weeks of the new year. i think i am doing well with my resolution that is to be a voracious reader even more than i was.

i saw the movie adaptation first of marley and me before reading the book. but the two are very similar to each other, that is to say that the movie screenplay did not deviate much from the book’s story.  both medium are simply written and their message is heart warming, sentimental and sweet although people have known it in for ages and ages: dogs are loyal companions despite its silly raucousness, untimely mischiefs and innate eccentricities and even when beset with old age.

***

raj and i have always wanted a dog. i want a small one, maybe a chihuahua or a poodle, but not because i want it to be a style accessory like most female celebrities do. i just think that a small dog is more manageable for me. raj, on the other hand, wants the opposite. he wants a large dog for us. unfortunately, we can’t get one yet as we don’t have our own place yet where we can raise a dog the way we plan to.

i recently finished reading only love by erich segal. he is one of my favorite authors because his stories are always simple and straightforward, devoid of any convoluting nor contrived drama, and yet engaging nonetheless. his books are more character- than plot-driven which essentially gives the stories a heart of its own.

i discovered erich segal when a college friend lent me a copy of love story, the author’s first book which became a best seller in the 70s. love story broke my heart into many million pieces but ironically, it was this heartbreak that drove me to love segal and his other works. i went on to read the class, doctors, acts of faith, prizes and only love. the only books of his that i haven’t read thus far are oliver’s story (because i can’t bear to know what has become of oliver after jen’s death in love story) and man, woman and child (just because I haven’t had the chance to). of all, my favorite book is doctors not only because the characters are so relatable, but more so because, in a way, it allows me to relish my childhood dream of becoming a doctor. on the other hand, my least favorite is only love because it is lacking something but which i cannot exactly pinpoint. i’m a little disappointed but i still love erich segal.

on chesil beach by ian mcewan is the title of my latest read. it’s a short story about florence and edward, a newly-married couple on their wedding night, sparsed with flashbacks of their individuals lives from childhood until edward’s, and with snippets of their future at the end. just because the story seems uncomplicated does not mean it’s an easy read. no, not mcewan’s literary style. his is a story punctuated more by commas than periods, that at several points i felt like i was drowning in his words. but he has the innate gift to paint the unseen into vivid mental images so i found myself always trying to swim back to the shore that is his book.

i love how on chesil beach ends. in a word, heartbreaking. it’s one of the best sad endings i’ve read in a while. i even shed a tear or two imagining the fate of these two characters as the book reaches its last page. and i’m writing down the closing words here because to me, they are so beautiful and poignant that i can almost see florence and edward’s silhouettes by the beach and touch the melancholy in them.

(SPOILER ALERT)

…All she had needed was the certainty of his love, and his reassurance that there was no hurry when a lifetime lay ahead of them. Love and patience – if only he had them both at once –would surely have seen them both through. And then what unborn children might have had their chances, what young girl with an Alice band might have become his loved familiar? This is how the entire course of a life can be changed – by doing nothing. On Chesil Beach he could have called out to Florence, he could have gone after her. He did not know, or would not have cared to know, that as she ran away from him, certain in her distress that she was about to lose him, she had never loved him more, or more hopelessly, and that the sound of his voice would have been a deliverance, and she would have turned back. Instead, he stood in cold and righteous silence in the summer’s dusk, watching her hurry along the shore, the sound of her difficult progress lost to the breaking of small waves, until she was a blurred, receding point against the immense straight road of shingle gleaming in the pallid light.

it’s that inevitable time of the year – the time to start working on new year’s resolutions. after all, these resolutions are made to be acted upon and not merely to indulge oneself into the act of listing them for new year’s sake. here are mine:

- i will try not to be a slave of technology. and by that i mean less online games, facebook, unnecessary google searches and what-have-you.

- read more books. because of lesser technological evils, i can devote more time to my books. in the past few months, i bought so many books enough to cover my reading this year.

- write more. i was pleased with myself last year that i was able to maintain my blog. this year, i promise to write more meaningful than random thoughts; to capture significant moments through words; to preserve memories in writing so that i can look back and remember them easily.

- be more fit and fab. i am loving the new me with the health-conscious lifestyle. yesterday, i weighed in for the first time after the holidays and i lost 4 pounds when i expected to gain more because of the food galore over the past weeks. it just goes to show that i am capable of self-control.

- be frugal. my shopaholic days are over and i intend to keep this side of me dormant until i win millions and millions of money in lotto. since i am not growing any younger, i realize that i should start saving up for more important and consequential things.

- be good. when things don’t go the way i plan, or when times get tough, or when people or circumstances provoke the devil in me, i will remind myself of alanis morissette and her song so ‘that i would be good’.

whew! it’s 2010. i haven’t had the chance to blog during the merry holidays even though i was on vacation, or should i say staycation, because my elder sister and my cute nephew went to hawaii to celebrate christmas and new year with us. my nephew was so cute and charming that i couldn’t get my hands off him.

Gian Gabriel at 9 mos

we went to sea life park the same day obama and his fambam but apparently, they were there before the park opened so we didn’t get to see them. it would be nice though to watch the dolphins with the president himself.

anyway, i’m babbling. all i wanted to say is ‘cheers to 2010!’

it’s hard to believe it’s been a decade already since the turn of the new millennium. it seemed like it was only yesterday when the Y2K bug scared the whole world and yet here we are, we survived it and more. personally, so much have happened to me in the course of ten years and now i write them down in remembrance:

my first job ever. it was in october 2000 when i took the big plunge into the real world. a few months after leaving my dearly beloved university of the philippines, i landed a job as a junior writer in a small, family-owned public relations firm. it wasn’t exactly the type of first job that i wished for. i switched majors from journalism to film because i was a sporadic writer and i couldn’t count myself to produce quality writing under pressure so to work in a public relations was irony at its best. i wanted to work in the film industry and maybe become a highly respected editor or a critic, but such wasn’t the universe’s plan for me. my job as a writer wasn’t challenging nor was it financially rewarding per se. however, i was able to score a couple of gigs through this job which i was truly grateful for. in addition, i had the opportunity to meet influential and popular celebrities in those years i wouldn’t have the chance to be in contact with otherwise. i lasted two years in this job.

further studies in japan from 2002-2005. a couple of weeks after i left my job, i flew to japan to study at asia pacific university in beppu for three years. this trip to the land of the rising sun was the realization of my childhood dream, although i soon found out that it wasn’t exactly the ideal life that i hoped for. living in japan meant leaving behind the comforts of life that i enjoyed back in manila. luckily, i had raj and our friend bong to share with the excitement and travails of being in a foreign land. in addition, i got to meet many of my international friends and a caring support group of filipinos who became my instant family in japan. on the academic side of things, the japanese classes were extremely laborious as we had them everyday except wednesdays and then at the end of the day, we still needed to study for the following day’s quiz. come to think of it now, i can’t imagine how i pushed myself to work that hard. japanese aside though, all the other classes which were conducted in english were manageable, some of them effortless even. but one of the best parts of this whole experience was that i got my first taste of living in an international and multicultural setting, not so much in japan as it was a homogenous society at least back then, but more in the school where there were about 60 different nationalities amongst the students. later on, this personal awareness and understanding of cultural diversity would play an essential role in my current job.

With APU Filipino Community

Celebrating cultural diversity with APU Bayanihan girls

receiving scholarships. after a semester of diligence and of course due to my innate cognitive abilities (ahem), i managed to get a scholarship from the local prefecture. it was only for 30,000 yen every month or roughly $300 but it was a big help. it meant 2-3 weeks of meals thrice a day and a few to spare for karaoke. i also got the dean’s award for pulling a GPA of 1.8. on my second year, i was awarded another scholarship from a japanese civic organization and it was a monthly stipend of 50,000 yen or about $500 this time. the combined monthly allowance covered all my basic necessities and more while in japan including house rent and utilities, meals, cell phone plan, toiletries and some luxuries every now and then. life still wasn’t a bed of roses as i wanted it to be but at least i had a soft bed to sleep on every night. but more than the monetary value, it was the prestige and honor which came with these scholarships that made it all the more significant to me.

travel galore with raj. i am truly grateful for the many trips that raj and i were able to take together for the past 10 years. as i said earlier, we went to japan together and filled our time there with happy memories from beppu to oita to fukuoka to osaka to tokyo. apart from the bus and the train rides, we also took the boat, the domestic plane and the bullet train to get to places where we wanted to go. raj’s first trip to the US was back in 2003 when my grandfather died and he accompanied me in the interment in hawaii. in the summer of the same year, we got to visit atlanta, new york, chicago and other nearby states for the first time. apparently, it was love at first sight for new york that we traveled back to the state multiple times and even lived there for a while. we had our vacation in the philippines twice in 2004. and then in 2005 right after we finished our studies in japan, we decided to move to the US for good. we’ve been nomads for the most part of the decade; traveling through various places for thrilling adventures; temporarily residing from one country and/or one state to another in pursuit of better opportunities. and yet through the pleasures and mishaps in our journeys, the absurd accounts of lost suitcases and missed flights, the excitement of packing, usually last-minute, and the woes of unpacking, the search for the perfect home or for cheap but fabulous furniture, all these and more, raj and i have been together hand-in-hand and laughing, as always.

Hawaii 2004

Washington 2005

Boston 2008

discovering the world of harry potter. i have said time and again that the wizarding world is my alternate universe, thanks to j.k. rowling’s harry potter series. i discovered the first 3 books at a time when i thought I was about to enter the threshold of adulthood. but harry potter came to my life and it pulled me back to a place that i knew better as a child, a world where magic exists and where the good always triumphs against evil in the end. since then, harry potter has become my elixir of youth. not only because it brings me back my childhood fantasies, but more importantly it has taught me many valuable lessons as an adult which makes life less difficult like it was when i was younger. harry potter was with me for the past decade. it’s more than just a book or a series now, it has been, and always will be, a loyal companion and friend.

Friends from Hogwarts

getting engaged. raj and i had been dating for 6 years when he popped the question to me, and at times square at that, in front of our friend april who was able to capture the moment with a camera and many other passers-by who stopped to watch the proposal unfold. as expected, i got a wee bit emotional, shed a few tears (a-ha), before i said yes. i knew he was up to something because he insisted on us to go to the city even though it was raining earlier that day. i initially did not want to leave the house but my sister, who was a co-conspirator, called me and egged me to go out with raj. meeting april was not part of his plan though. we chanced upon her on our way to central park where raj originally wanted to propose and she tagged along with us so raj had to think of another way of doing it. i’d say april was a blessing in disguise because without her, we would not have the pictures to document this important moment in our lives. and the camera whores that both raj and i were, we were truly thankful for those photos from october 11, 2005.

Of course, I said 'YES!'

After the proposal

civil wedding. it was december 5, 2005 when raj and i pledged our wedding vows in a simple ceremony at new york city hall. my elder sister gretchen and our friend christine bore witness to the occasion. no one else from raj’s or my side of the family was able to come because it was more like a rushed decision, but definitely not regrettable, for us to do a civil wedding in december. the actual wedding itself took less than ten minutes. one of my friends was so sure i would get teary-eyed on my wedding day but i didn’t and neither did raj. we were grinning all throughout like the happy couple, or maybe the happiest in the world even, that we truly were. there was no grand reception either. the four of just went to cheesecake factory for a late lunch after the ceremonies. indeed the wedding was quiet and simple and yet the absence of fancy-schmanzy details did not make it any less special. it was the continuation of our beautiful relationship that started many years ago but at the same time, it was also the start of a wonderful marriage. perfect despite its imperfections. what more can I ask for?

The simple civil wedding

my first job in the US. after graduating for my university in japan, i was hell-bent on getting a job in the field of tourism and travel so i opted to move to hawaii. finding a job in the industry proved to be difficult though as i was competing with more experienced workers and i had nothing under my belt but a degree and a basic knowledge of the japanese language. raj and I then decided to move to new york for more and better opportunities. true enough, i found a job in new york in an ESL company but was asked to be relocated to the sunny city of santa barbara where i started working from January 25th, 2006. transferring to california was a big leap of faith that raj and i took, one of the biggest decisions we took in the decade, as we didn’t know anyone in town and i wasn’t sure even that i would like my job. it was like gimli the dwarf going to rivendell with his eyes blindfolded. but like gimli, it turned out to be one in a lifetime experience. i have been with the company now for almost 4 years – transcending mergers, surpassing adversities, getting promotions, traveling out of the country twice, managing a small team of my own, allowing to work from home here in hawaii. my job as a sales advisor is tailor-made for my skills and qualifications. i continually work with people of varying cultures, languages and ethnicities. i have had the best superiors and mentors who believed in my capabilities and honed them further to be what i am now. but the best part of the job is knowing that at the end of the day, i have helped students fulfill their dreams of studying abroad in one way or another. and being once a student of a foreign language myself, i do connect to this people in a personal level. i am truly grateful to my lucky star (which incidentally was the logo of our former company before the merger) that i have lasted this long on my first job and I look forward to more years in the coming decade.

Cheers to my lucky star

first own apartment. raj and i had lived together in the same apartment while students in japan but we shared it with our friend bong and a couple others at different times so we can’t exactly call it our own. our first one would have to be our apartment in santa barbara when we had to move there for my job. this was another milestone for us because it truly meant freedom and independence from our immediate families. because the apartment was unfurnished, it also marked the first time that we bought furniture, appliances, decors and what-have-you together as a married couple. raj mostly did the decision-making which i don’t mind since he had an impeccable taste in things. our apartment was a haven after a long day at work; a lover’s nest whenever we were there; a shelter when we needed it, both literally and figuratively. but more importantly, it was where our hearts were. it was home.

Chillaxin' in front of our apartment

Inside our humble abode

church wedding. if our civil wedding was devoid of any festivities, our church wedding held on December 15, 2007 at fernwood gardens in manila was the complete opposite. it was a lavish celebration of pure love and happiness. the long and tedious preparation culminated into a beautiful church wedding that i wished for, with the same man i vowed to love ‘til death do us part two years ago in a civil rite. how many brides could say that their married the same guy twice in a span of two years? what made the event even more memorable was that we were in the company of our loving families and good friends, some of whom even flew to the country to be with us. our wedding provided the perfect venue to thank these people, who in one way or another, have become a part of us whether as individuals or as a couple and to welcome them as we went on to the next chapter of our lives together.

The fabulous church wedding

And we live happily ever after

changing nationalities. after years and years of waiting, i finally got my american citizenship. it was funny how the previous decade ago, i was adamant in staying in the philippines that immigrating permanently in the US was not an option i would have considered. but i came to learn that idealism dies and it did for me when i left the university. the tiny hope for a social change that i fought for in my early youth and that i held on to left me after i got exposed to the reality of life in my home country. so i went to seek greener pastures as many of my fellowmen did and while looking for better opportunities, i also realized that nationality does not equal patriotism nor it changes your ethnic lineage. in fact, i am now a naturalized american and a citizen of this borderless world. and yet, it is literally my journey to different countries that made me appreciate my filipino culture, embrace it and experience a unique sense of homecoming.

Waving the American flag after the ceremony

the past 10 years are indeed my first decade into adulthood. it was frightening and exciting but as it nears the end, it has proven to be a wonderful and remarkable journey. and through it all, i am truly grateful and blessed that raj was with me every single moment of it.

the list is based on entertainment weekly but comments are mine:

10 –  almost famous (2000). this film is memorable in so many ways – for boys (and even girls) coming out of age, for people who love the rock n’ roll genre and for those like me who have a girl crush on kate hudson. on the second thought, i don’t have a crush on her. i want to be her.

9 – lost in translation (2003). i didn’t like this sophia coppola movie when i first saw it but luckily, i was obliged to see it the second time around for my asia pacific networking class and only then did i get to appreciate the complex relationships on various levels (e.g. personal, social, cultural) that the film depicts.

8 – the 40-year old virgin (2005). this is the only movie in the list that i don’t agree with. i know steve carell was big this decade and the film is probably hilariously witty on its own merit but to declare it as the top 8th is pushing it to the extreme. i think other titles (cough,*avatar*,cough) deserve it more to be included in the list.

7 – children of men (2006).   the apocalyptic vision of the film told not only through its plot but also through the cinematography, production design and editing, is less subtle unlike the theme of more foreboding and more commercially profitable  disaster films like ‘the day after tomorrow’ or ‘2012′ and yet, the future it paints to its audience is equally, if not more, terrifying.

6 – moulin rouge (2001). this is my favorite musical movie of all time. i love baz lurhmann’s  fusion of 19th century characters and mise en scene and 20th century songs. this is pure entertainment at its best with the outlandish choreographed dance numbers, the extravagant costumes and the farrago of music. spectacular, spectacular!

5 – wall-e (2008). i don’t have anything to say about this film because i slept through it. shame on me. but i heard so many good things about the film and i would just quote EW on this one,  ’Conventional wisdom crumbled in the face of imagination when Pixar made the decade’s unlikeliest megahit out of a melancholy, semi-silent movie about a lonely, music-loving robot.’

4 – the dark knight (2008). i’m no fan of batman until batman begins (2005) and this movie. apart from the thrilling action scenes that can incite reaction even from the most stoic viewer, the dark knight is a constant reminder just how heath ledger who played the creepy and abominable joker, was great at his craft. his posthumous oscar best supporting actor award for this movie is indeed a fitting end to his career.

3 –  gladiator (2000).  the roman empires of ancient history inspires me and even though i do not like russell crowe, especially since the film was shown at the time of his controversy with meg ryan, i have to give it to him for delivering an oscar-worthy performance as a gladiator. kudos to the overall film production, as well.

2 – brokeback mountain (2005). i wouldn’t say that i love this movie as much as i love the other films mentioned in the list. but i have to give it brokeback mountain for being bold and radical at a time when society wasn’t ready yet to accept that even gays are capable of loving someone.  as EW says, it’s more than just a gay cowboy movie; it shows us the gripping reality that gays are humans too.

1 – the lord of the rings trilogy (2001, 2002, 2003). my precioussss is on the top of the list. hell, yeah! one film, er, i meant three, to rule them all. it’s impossible to separate one from the other just as the book should be read in its entirety. bringing to life the middle earth is truly a notable cinematic achievement of the decade. and surely, i will remember this movie experience in the following decades to come. a separate entry on the film (and the book) can be found here.

to check out the original gallery of EW, visit http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20324027,00.html.