Vampire sequel 'New Moon' feasts on box office

By Agence France-Presse, Updated: 11/23/2009

The "Twilight" vampire romance sequel "New Moon" took a record-breaking bite out of the North American box office this weekend, final figures showed Monday.

The "Twilight" vampire romance sequel "New Moon" took a record-breaking bite out of the North American box office this weekend, final figures showed Monday.


The second big-screen installment adapted from Stephenie Meyer's phenomenally successful books raked in an astounding 142.8 million dollars in three days, the third biggest opening of all time, Exhibitor Relations said.

Only Batman sequel "The Dark Knight" with 158.4 million dollars and "Spider-Man 3" with 151.1 million dollars have scored bigger openings.

However, the "New Moon" earnings are considered remarkable because the film was released in November, outside of the traditional summer blockbuster season.

Although the movie was unable to dethrone "The Dark Knight" or "Spider-Man 3" for highest opening weekend, it did set records for biggest midnight opening and opening day, figures showed.

The "Twilight" franchise follows the fortunes of high school teenager Bella Swan, played by Kristen Stewart, and her vampire lover Edward Cullen, played by British heart-throb Robert Pattinson.

The success of "New Moon" left American football drama "The Blind Side" in second place.

The feel-good film, adapted from Michael Lewis's 2006 book, is based on the real-life journey from rags to riches of Baltimore Ravens star Michael Oher.

Starring Sandra Bullock as the woman who helps Oher realize his dream, it earned a healthy 34.1 million dollars in its opening weekend.

In third place, end-of-the-world film "2012" brought in 26.4 million dollars, more than double its next-runner-up, "Planet 51," with 12.3 million.

"Disney's A Christmas Carol" earned 12.2 million, trailed by acclaimed abuse saga "Precious" with 10.9 million dollars.

In seventh place was satire "The Men Who Stare At Goats," starring George Clooney and Jeff Bridges as members of a military unit schooled in psychological warfare. The film took 2.8 million dollars.

Eighth spot was taken by comedy "Couples Retreat," which earned 1.9 million dollars while extra-terrestrial drama "The Fourth Kind" was ninth with 1.7 million.

Michael Jackson concert movie "This Is It" completed the top 10 with 1.6 million dollars.

 
SOURCE: MSN News

JENNIFER'S BODY

 by MARK PILLOS

Succubus- a female demon fond of having sex with males. Then ruthlessly mutilating them to pieces, and serve as her meal.

Why is she doing this? To become eternally beautiful and immortal. Not only that, she will starve if she doesn't do it. Just like humans  for their daily meal. It's a need. It's a necessity. She doesn't have any choice.

The movie perfectly captured this by making the gorgeous MEGAN FOX have the role of Jennifer, a high school mean girl who was hot for every guy. But changed into a wicked monster who can satiate her hunger by the flesh of guys drooling after her.

This started when a group of rising rock band lured her one night, just after their escape from a club that was set in fire. Hell (Amanda Seyfried), her bestfriend really can't understand everything when Jennifer excitedly go with them like nothing happened. Like a sweet lamb  deceived by a pack of wolves.

From that night, reports always contain man being murdered by an unknown animal. The first one was a high school phone exchange student. The second was the bestfriend of the first. Then Colin Gray (Kyle Gallner), a high school rocker and writer.

Hell wondered why her bestfriend Jennifer seemed to be stoic of what was happening. Instead of emphatizing to people who cried for their love in the funeral, she even look so blooming like nothing happened.

Interest came to her when Jennifer revealed that there's something stomach lurching happened when the Low Shoulder (the band) kidnapped her. They sacrificed her soul to Satan, knowing that she's a virgin. But she's not since Junior High.

Hell had a paranormal research and she found out that her bestfriend was being possessed by some sort of evil spirit, or that she herself was the evil. She also found out that there's something wrong will happen if a female, no longer a virgin, is being sacrificed to Satan- she will not die, but she will possess a part of evil, i.e. to become a succubus.

In her further readings, she learned how to separate the spirit of the evil from the one possessed, and she has to stab her directly to the heart.

Hell mentioned this to Chip (Johnny Simmons), her boyfriend, but the latter just can't believe that this is true. Not so long, they broke up.

Jennifer, looking so haggard, craving for flesh, lured Chip to come with her. Kiss her. Destroy Hell to him telling that her bestfiend used to hit Colin.

I so love the character of Colin because despite what Jennifer told him, he remained faithful to Hell.

Worried of what may happen to Chip, Hell looked for him. She heard Chip's shrieked and she knew what was happening- that her succubus friend is with him.

She saw Jennifer devouring Chip. So, with all might, she restled with her trying to protect her love.

At the point that Jennifer will bite her, Chip rescued her by piercing Jennifer's body  with a long pole.

They, Chip and Hell, love each other, but it's too late. I love Chip when he said, "I know that I'm dead but I'm waiting to hear you." They sang their love to each other until the last breath of Chip.

Hell avenged her boyfriend by stabbing Jennifer's heart.

She was detained in a mental hospital when Jennifer's mother caught her in the act.

The movie ended with the vengeance of Hell to the root of all wickedness and the destruction of her bestfriend's and boyfriend's lives- Low Shoulder. Tasting every pleasure of their pain using the same dagger that they used for Jennifer's sacrificial.

I thought it is just another movie that will scare me for weeks, can't sleep  for it's haunting scenes. It's not just it's being scary that I was impressed. It's the weave of the story that was perfectly interlaced. So flawless. Awesome!

The story is so scrumptious. So delicious that I want to eat over and over.

 The story kept me glued to the screen. Jennifer's Body is powerful. No, it's sooooooooooo powerful!!! =)


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NEW MOON HITS THE SCREEN

by Mark Pillos

I have waited for how many months and now New Moon is here. I was dying to see how they were able to put the novel into  movie. Well, I have expected that there are scenes in the book that will be omitted because it is really impossible to perfectly copy the content of the book.

I'm done with all the books of Stephenie Meyer's famous TWILIGHT SAGA (Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn) and I am so happy  that I was contented watching the first two of the series.

It is worth watching the movie New Moon. It is more than an hour of staring at a pack of shirtless hot guys. Oh well, forget about that. I was about to tell that it is more or less two hours of emotional rush from the intertwined lives of vampires, werewolves and humans.

The movie New Moon got a teaser from the third book Eclipse, i.e. there are some parts there that were taken from the first part of the book. Part of which was the inclusion of Volterra, Italy,  the place of the powerful and talented vampires Volturi. Another one was the attempted suicidal  of Edward, knowing that Bella is already dead, among others.

To Miley Cyrus, look at how succesful New Moon is. I wonder if you could even match this. What do you expect of how people react on your 'bad' comments about vampires and werewolves. If you could have just shut your mouth up, then everything is fine. People could have appreciated you better.

To Twilight Saga fanatics, I  love you all!!! Let us all anticipate for better sequels of the movie. Let us all wait for Eclipse and Breaking Dawn.

I am one hundred and twenty percent sure that the last two books are better than the first two.

In Eclipse, there will be a war between bad vampires and good ones. The first side aims to destroy Bella, while the other to trash the aim of the first. The catch is that the werewolves will  team up with  the good vampires.

In Breaking Dawn, the most anticipated wedding of Edward Cullen and Isabella Swan will happen. They will be having a baby, and this will steam up the twist of the finale book.

See it for yourself. I seem to be spoiling everything for everyone who has not read the books. =)

I seem to be not excited here but I was. I was dying to see NEW MOON. I'm here with my friends in a cab going to Edsa Shangri-la.

-Edward

-Jacob

The long queue of moviegoers for New Moon at Edsa Shangri-la.

Coffee at Dome after going to Ayala

Pacquiao makes history by thrashing Cotto

MSN and Agence France-Presse. Photos AP, Sun, 15 Nov 2009 07:34:25 GMT

Manny is a national hero and the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world

Belly dancing baby Shakira

By Bang, Updated: 11/19/2009

Hip-swivelling singer Shakira believes she could belly dance from birth and never had to train to learn the dance moves.

Shakira claims she could belly dance from birth.


The 'She Wolf' singer is famed for her hip-swivelling abilities and believes it isn't something she ever had to learn, even though she did have lessons as a child.

The Columbian beauty said: 'For me, it was, and is, more of a natural thing. It's something that was practically given to me at birth, and for which I never had to train myself. These movements, they are inside me and I can call them back whenever I need them.'

Shakira realises she is a sex symbol to men all over the world but insists she is 'flattered' that guys find her attractive because she has never believed she is a beautiful woman.

She added: 'I must confess that I feel very flattered - because I never have felt particularly sexy. Anybody who shows me like this is promoting my feminine vanity.'

But Shakira - who appears virtually naked in the video for 'She Wolf' - admits it's not easy looking as good as she does, and she has to stick to a rigorous training regime to stay slim and sexy.

She added to German magazine Fit For Fun: 'I trained really hard for the 'She Wolf' video - almost a month. I wanted to look good and didn't want to shame myself.

'There was no muscle in my body that did not hurt. I was in pain for days, simply because I'd gone too far.'

 
 
SOURCE: MSN News

Clerics cringe as Indonesians flock to doomsday film

By Agence France-Presse, Updated: 11/19/2009

Hollywood's latest doomsday offering "2012" has caused a storm in Indonesia, with conservative clerics condemning it Thursday as a "provocation against Islam".

Hollywood's latest doomsday offering "2012" has caused a storm in Indonesia, with conservative clerics condemning it Thursday as a "provocation against Islam".

Screenings have been sold out across the capital Jakarta following the film's success in North America, where it beat Disney's "A Christmas Carol" to top the box office honours last weekend.

It looks likely to repeat its success in Indonesia, the Southeast Asian archipelago with the world's biggest Muslim population, judging by the queues at cinemas in its opening days this week.

But while most viewers said they had enjoyed the film's apocalyptic vision of life after December 21, 2012, when the fulfilment of a Mayan prophecy sees the Earth engulfed by catastrophe, senior clerics were deeply troubled.

The country's top Islamic body, the National Council of Ulema (MUI), is divided over whether or not to issue a fatwa or religious edict against the film. One local branch has already done so, to little apparent effect.

"The controversial things about the film are, first, in Islam doomsday should not be visualised or predicted, it's the secret of God," council chairman Amidhan told AFP.

"For the common people, the portrayal of doomsday in this film could distort their faith -- that's what I'm worried about."

He also complained that the film showed mosques being destroyed but not churches, despite sequences depicting the Vatican collapsing and Rio de Janeiro's monumental Christ the Redeemer statue crumbling to pieces.

"The film shows that everything including Kaaba (Islam holiest shrine) and mosques were devastated except for churches. The film is a provocation against Islam," Amidhan said.

"The Indonesian film censorship body should have cut part of the scene on the devastation of mosques or the Kaaba because it hurts the Muslim people."

But few people who emerged from a packed matinee showing in Jakarta on Thursday shared the clerics' worries.

"It's actually a beautiful film. The MUI branch is wrong about issuing a fatwa as the movie actually has increased my faith and not the other way around," insurance broker Ian Ramelan, 49, said.

"I'm a Muslim, my faith in Allah is stronger after watching this flick," he added, urging the clerics to worry more about rampant corruption in Indonesia than about Hollywood's apocalyptic Christmas blockbuster.

University student Rafi Gamal, 22, said he understood that some people might think the film controversial "because men were able to predict doomsday and thus played the role of God".

"But then again it's just another natural disaster movie in which there are some survivors in the end. The end of the world means that there'll be no survivors," he said.

Junior high school student Steven Benedictto, 14, said the film had a positive message.

"I disagree with the MUI that people should not watch this movie. It has a beautiful message that we all should repent and industries should reduce their sinful activities, such as deforestation," he said.


SOURCE: MSN News

Nicole Richie has pneumonia

By Bang, Updated: 11/19/2009

Nicole Richie has been hospitalised with pneumonia after she complained of feeling unwell.

Nicole Richie has been hospitalised with pneumonia.

The reality TV star was taken to the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles after complaining of feeling unwell and doctors quickly diagnosed her as suffering from the illness.

Her representative said: 'Nicole has checked into Cedars-Sinai where she is being treated for pneumonia. She is doing well.'

Over the weekend, Nicole - who has two children, 22-month-old Harlow and two-month-old Sparrow with partner Joel Madden - had spoken about not feeling well.

She wrote on her Twitter page: 'OK cold, it's been six days. Let's part ways graciously and keep it moving.'

Earlier this week, Nicole was granted a restraining order against two paparazzi who she claims caused her recent car accident.

The 28-year-old socialite appeared in court to testify how the two male photographers, Eduardo Arrivabene and Ivon Miguel, had been hounding her constantly.

The judge ruled the two men are to stay 50 yards away from Nicole and her two children for the next three years.

SOURCE: MSN News