Jessica Zafra's Blog, page 64

Hail, Caesar! is an unexpected Coen Brothers valentine to Hollywood

Hail, Caesar! is not one of the Coen Brothers’ masterworks, nor does it aspire to be. It’s a light and jaunty romp somewhere between Raising Arizona and O Brother, Where Art Thou? Like O Brother, Where Art Thou?, it alludes to Sullivan’s Travels, Preston Sturges’s brilliant comedy about filmmakers, their intentions and pretensions. Josh Brolin […]

Not even the terrible reviews could prepare us for the ghastly Batman v Superman

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice opens in a world where soulless villains from outer space have sucked out all the color, forcing the citizens to live in browns and grays. Nope, it’s just Zack Snyder’s usual palette. What is his problem with color? Does the lack of color signify seriousness, or is it a […]

Saturday in Cubao: Cat cafe and Pop-up bazaar

We like visiting Cubao because our parents used to take us there when we were children. During the holidays we would stand on the street outside COD Department Store (gone) to gawk at the animatronic Xmas display, and in the weeks before school opened in June we would go to Marikina Shoe Expo in search […]

Season 6 is coming: T minus 20

We were snoozing through Batman v Superman when Jason Momoa appeared, waking us up for 30 seconds. Even as an email attachment.

Happy Birthday, Francine!

Me, Francine, Bubbles Why stop at one day? Take the whole week!

Scenes that come from out of nowhere: That dance in Ex Machina

The recent announcement that Oscar Isaac and Alex Garland would be working together on Annihilation, based on the work of Jeff VanderMeer, reminded us of our favorite scene in Ex Machina. Have you read VanderMeer? Should we?

Lucifer and Damien: Evil needs a hug

Tom Ellis as Lucifer Morningstar. WE KNOW that evil is at large in the world — you only have to read the news to be reminded of this. This year, the spirit of evil, a.k.a. the devil is the headliner of two new television shows. How does he measure up? Can traditional biblical evil compete […]

Our countdown to Game of Thrones Season Six begins now.

The new season of Game of Thrones starts on April 24, and since I am looking forward to it almost as much as Ricky was looking forward to the Madonna concert, I asked Ricky to reprise his ilang tulog na lang series for my favorite TV show. P.S. That is not a spoiler, you’re just […]

See you at Art in the Park on Sunday.

It’s the time of year when you can hear the thought waves at Salcedo Park, and they all go, “I want I want Iwantiwantiwant.” Check out the Tin-Aw booth, which features the work of our friend Chus, among other fabulosities.

You have to try. You see a shrink. You learn a lot. You read. You think.

Wendy Cope’s writing room You have to read Wendy Cope. Some More Light Verse You have to try. You see a shrink. You learn a lot. You read. You think. You struggle to improve your looks. You meet some men. You write some books. You eat good food. You give up junk. You do not […]