OK, so I saw the movie Thursday afternoon...for lack of anything else to see because movie distributors just decided, "Hey, this movie has got to make a gazillion dollars--let's have it in everywhere before Harry Potter swings into town."

The movie begins in what was made to look like China--30 seconds into the movie, I was already thinking if there was some hidden joke behind this opening scene. Like, "OK, you staged a stunning Olympics. But what about those tainted milk and leaded toys? Not to mention your rabid support of North Korea. Let the Decepticons wreak havoc there." But no, Michael Bay just loves blowing things up. No movie of his is complete without it.

I should have known by the title, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, that this is more about the bots than the human actors who look on helplessly in the background. Two hours and a half later, I went home feeling a little shortchanged. I would probably enjoy this more if I were 11. But I am not.

Three days later, our parish priest decides to mention this ridiculous movie in his Sunday homily. No, he's not bashing it like I am...but actually found a little nugget of faith in one scene where the two lead actors discuss whether or not to continue on with their mission. Yeah, the dialogue's that cheesy, but hey, you do with what you have, right? The movie is far from being a spiritual experience, even as people didn't mind the long queues to see it as if it were some visual miracle.  

Maybe 75% of the people who went to see this movie liked it. They got their money's worth. Lucky them.

P.S.: Remind me to watch the premiere of SVU this fall. The guy from Prison Break guest-stars.

First, there was the global financial crisis in which I initially thought paper money as we know it would totally disappear and we would be back to bartering items just like they did in the ancient times. Then, the new flu virus scare that now engulfs practically every land where there are humans. Well, turning on the large hadron collider last year didn't pull us into a huge black hole. We're still here and Barack Obama is President.
      It's just that when you're in a crowded bus and you see someone not feeling well, you kind of want to move as far as you could from that person. But it's crowded...There's hardly any space left. Hours later, you feel fine. Body temperature's normal. You don't have an urge to sneeze, cough, or vomit. And just when you thought you'd get home unscathed -- boom! No, it's not the blaring music of the Black Eyed Peas. A boxing heavyweight champion just knocked you out of consciousness. That's how it feels to be a crash-test dummy. I guess.

In the not-so-distant future, the scenario in the movie "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" may actually come true if brain researchers succeed in editing our memories. If we wanted a memory removed or to overcome a traumatic event or addiction, we can undergo a procedure. Hey, if people can think of reversing aging, why not tinker with our memories, right? Maybe, we'd be less depressed. I don't think it's good for people who want to forget they owe others money, though. The good news is that the procedure can also help memory problems. All it takes is learning which parts of the brain does what. 

Neuroscience has always fascinated me. Who knows what it can do in a decade or two, especially if it is true that we are only using 10% of our brains? Maybe it can help us forget unwanted memories, faulty decisions, or even people we wish we never met. The ironic thing is, just like in the movie, we will eventually experience the same things sooner or later.