It might as well have been called that. If and when you watch the movie, you'll understand.

Oh boy, where do I start. This movie was just tried so hard to pack in so many stories into one movie. Don't get me wrong, the movie wasn't terrible, it just wasn't worth waking up at 8:30 in the morning to catch the first showing for.

There's just too many stories in it. The Sandman angle. The Harry Osborn angle. The Venom angle. The Gwen Stacy angle. Mary Jane (are they together? are the done? do we still care?). So many stories that the way the closure was put feels rushed. It really does. So you're left with lots of different storyline angles and too little time (which is saying a lot, since this baby ran for more than 2 hours) to put it in. So those different sides of the story weren't really explored fully.

Saying all that however, I'm not going to say that this movie was a complete disaster. Far from it actually. The fight scenes, as per usual, were well done. And, um, well... Oh! There was the emergence of a new and entertaining character: Peter Parker's apartment door. Also, we get to find out that even when he's Venom, Topher Grace still talks like Eric Forman. It's also revealed that Pete probably carries a spare mask all the time!

So go ahead and watch this movie. Even though it's probably a 5/10 movie, it's still worth watching. But don't go out of your way just to see it. You're welcome.

Ayos!
MP

Who?

Pat Torpey, the former drummer of Mr. Big, stopped by the Philippines to give a drum clinic yesterday at the Hard Rock Cafe in Makati. The event was sponsored by Audiophile and TAMA drums, and attracted a significant amount of people to the venue.

Our tickets state that the clinic starts at 4pm, so we tried to be there at around 3pm. When we got to the Hard Rock Cafe, we could already hear the drum's sound being checked, and so being the jerkoffs that we are, we immediately assumed that some drum tech is trying to show off. Well that drum tech turned out to be Pat Torpey himself. Oops.

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Well, 4pm rolled around and the event started on time. Pat took the stage and chunked out a drum solo that lasted for around 7-10 minutes. After he finished his introductory solo, people went nuts. Pat then said, "It's great to be in a place where you don't need an interpreter!" The crowd applauds. Haha, take that, non-english speaking countries!

Before the lessons began, Pat reminded the crowd that any question would almost certainly be entertained. Whether it's about drumming in general, Mr. Big or whatnot. So the whole clinic was made up of an exchange between him giving lessons and the crowd asking questions.

The majority of the lessons he taught were really entertaining and informative, even to those who don't play the drums. Basically, he demonstrated how to improvise and make the most out of every limb you've got, and to not be stuck in the common set-up of the right hand being stuck in the hi-hat cymbal and the left hand stuck to the snare drum.

He demonstrated how he gets that fast bass drum action, how he alternates his left foot between the hi-hat and the cowbell, how to alternate jobs between his left and right hands, and how simple improvisations to basic beats can spice up the drum track. While his demos were very elaborate, you could see very well how he practices what he preaches.

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As for the questions, the most entertaining ones we could remember were the following:

Can you play 'Take Cover?': We were all surprised by how simple the drum beat as well as the drum break of this song was played. He played it out in slow-mo too, so that everybody could catch up. While we're sure that a lot of practice would be needed to master the song, it was pretty amazing to see how simple it was for him to play it.

Were you sad when Paul Gilbert left?: Awww. He said he was, and that before he actually left the band, he had written him a letter expressing how he thought he should stick it out with the band. He even suggested that maybe all Mr. Gilbert needed was to take a break. On a lighter note, that question was a little too "The Buzz" and showbiz, that's why it's entertaining :)

Can I 'arbor' your sticks?: We swear that's true. This guy actually used the word 'arbor.' We don't really remember how Pat replied, because we were too busy chuckling like little kids. When it wasn't a chuckle really, it was laughter. And I mean the whole place was laughing.

It should be interesting to note that before anyone could even ask, he already addressed that he would want a Mr. Big reunion, but that it wasn't up to him. We're guessing he wanted to get that out of the way since that's probably a topic he gets faced with questions from most of the time. It was at this point when we stopped raising our hands. Kidding.

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After the question and answer portion, Pat played one last drum solo. A very, very long drum solo that the crowd absolutely ate up. We then proceeded to the autograph line where we had stuff like CD covers, tickets and flyers signed, as well as pictures taken with the man. The event wasn't bad at all. People learned stuff about drumming, we got to hear stories about the origins of some songs, and everybody had an awesome time. It was great just… to… be… with… him!

Get it?

(Drum roll!)

Ayos,

-MP

I love watching movie trailers. It's an artform in itself. Imagine having to give out a preview of a movie, cut it in a way that's not boring, and put in music in just the right places. That's a real challenge. Especially when you consider the fact that the editors can't really go overboard with what they show, since that would pretty much eliminate any need to actually watch the film.

So every so often I visit the Quicktime Trailers page over at Apple.com, and it gives me at least a good preview of movies I'd like to see within the year, as well as movies I'll pass on. It's the cinematic equivalent of juding a book by its cover.

Why not? After the so-so Ocean's 12, watching this trailer makes me think think that this franchise may end on a high note. They're back in Vegas, and they really want you to know Al Pacino is in the movie. Great editing, cool music and the usual cool red/black/white color scheme for the motion graphics.



John Cusack's character adopts a kid after his fiancee passes away. But the child thinks he's from Mars ('Cause since Men are from Mars, Boys must be from the same place, right?), so he walks around inside a box, afraid of the outside world that's filled with earthlings. So basically, it seems that it's up to Mr. Cusack to get this kid out of his shell. And I'm sure he'll learn some stuff about life as well. Aww. When this movie is out, you can bet that a lot, a LOT of people will equate the child's box with how people hide their true selves from society. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Well, that being said this movie looks quite interesting and (surprise!) Joan Cusack is in it too. This is most certainly a John Cusack movie. Oh wait, where's Jeremy Piven?



A comedy about a cop from London who is so good at his job that he's reassigned to a small town. Why? Because he made everyone else look bad. That's how it's described! Hmmm, interesting...

I would have wanted to post more, but the connection I'm using right now is having a hard time, so I'll just update this post as I see more interesting movie trailers.

Ayos,
MP

We've decided to resurrect JustStuff, now known as JustStuff Redux. We hope people like the blog and we hope that this version chunks out better stuff than the last.