MOVIE REVIEW: DARK KNIGHT RISES

Another big movie event of the year is the final installment to the Dark Knight saga. The caped crusader is once more back with "Dark Knight Rises". It is definitely a challenge to Director Christopher Nolan o follow-up on such great success as "The Dark Knight" much with the love affair of audiences with Heath Ledger's character Joker.

But the epic finale to the Dark Knight trilogy was just superb. Everything in the film was just so wonderfully done and carved to create such a wonderful masterpiece. The characters were given their highlights showing their importance in the whole Batman universe. Christian Bale once more was convincing as Batman - strong, firm and oftentimes stiff and also as his alter ego Bruce Wayne - charismatic, charming yet shows sign of being fragile. He has shown that Batman was more human than hero which makes it more touching and heart-felt.

Anne Hathaway joins the cast as Selina Kyle (Catwoman). She has given the character a new dimension - a fresh feel of change. In here, she shows that the Catwoman indeed is not all about stealing. She has reasons and the film shows us that somewhere along the way, we could make changes in our lives. Indeed, she has wowed audiences with her sexy portrayal of the master thief.

The best addition to the long list of Batman villains is Bane. Foeget how dreadful the portrayal of Bane is in Batman and Robin. This new one sure packs a punch. It shows a different kind of villain - cunning, tactical and planned. He has combined brains with brawns and he has executed his plans well. Unlike Joker who pretty much just likes to destroy Batman, Bane has other motives deeper than the skin.

The visuals and the effects were superb as Gotham City was transformed into a dark city of chaos, anguish and fear. The film may have been dark as what a lot have said but it was a great picture of deep down evil. The gadgets were again spectacular specifically the motorcycle that turns wheels. Wow! That is cool indeed!

The story was compelling and you would not miss a scene. It pays to have watched the first 2 films but it is not a necessity. There were some scenes or narratives that go back as early as he first film but you could easily catch it with some of the snippets and flashbacks. And just when you thought that what you see is what you get, you'll get surprised on who the true enemy is. 5 out of 5 popcorns!

PREPARE YOUR TUMMIES AT ZARK'S BURGERS

Making big buzz nowadays in Manila is Zark's Burgers. It has been creating a lot of buzz lately with their great live of burgers that is both mouth-watering and challenging as well. The big servings of patties and the great taste of all the ingredients makes it one wonderful experience. Me and my friend tried their burgers recently and for considerable price of around 150 php to 500 php, it was sure worth it.

I tried their Zark's Ultimate Burger which is a combination of quarter pound of burger patty, mushrooms, bacons and some veggies. And topping it is the mouth-watering cheese that spells delectable. Priced at Php 130, you can add fries and drinks by just adding Php 20. That is such a treat. My friend tried the Fried Mushroom Burger. One could choose a quarter or half pound of patty with deep fried mushrooms and fried bread buns as well. Served super hot off the grill, it was also a great food experience. And it comes with yummy barbeque rum sauce. Php 185.

We did not try their 2 hottest burgers as we're afraid we can't finish them up. But they do have their ongoing promos related to these 2. The Jawbreaker which is a burger of triple patty, bacon, spam and cheese. Priced at Php 250, this comes in free if you can finish the whole plate in 5 minutes. Not you can try to emp0ty those stomachs first before trying this out.

And there is also the Tombstone. By the name itself, it is something I opt not to try. Php 500 for a big full burger. (2 pounds of burger) + 400 grams of fries. Now that is for the hungry people out there. One can finish this up in 10 minutes and get a chance to be featured in the Zark;s Burger's Hall of Fame Wall!

Now this is definitely a hit! Hope Zark's grows bigger and have more branches.Happy burger! Zark's Burger is located at 2nd Floor Arthur Nook's Building, Taft Avenue and President's Ave, BF homes Paranaque. Below is the menu! :)

Photo Credits: Bloggers Own and Zark's Burgers FB page

BLUECLOUD'S MUSIC CHARTS (JULY 30, 2012)

We have 4 new entries from Nelly Furtado, Julie San Jose, Christina Perri & Jason Mraz and Linkin Park while Carly Rae Japsen continues her reign on top with her addictive song "Call Me Maybe". See the rest of the charts below.

RAISA IN FULL BLOOM

Just as promised a few weeks back, here is a feature on my niece Raisa Gelyn who recently joined her first true beauty pageant - Prinsesa ng Kumintang. She has wowed a lot of people considering her very young age. She is truly in full bloom and it showed as she grabbed the First Runner-up title behind the top 3 title holders. COming in 4th out of 12 contestants is not bad at all.

At her age, she exudes beauty and confidence that spells the makings of a future beauty queen. More experience in the pageant world and she'll surely do good. Two years more and I think she'll be eligible for Binibining Lungsod ng Batangas and I can't wait for that. While we're waiting for that time, here's more of her pics.

Isn't she lovely? Hope to see more of her in the future pageants to come. I smell a very good future for her.

LOCHTE IMPRESSES WITH FIRST GOLD IN LONDON

And the games have officially begun! And one of the centerpiece events swimming saw two big names try to outswim each other - the hottest swimmer of the year Ryan Lochte and record holder Olympian Michael Phelps.

And it was Lochte who drew first blood as he swam his way to victory in the 400m Individual Medley with a time of 4:05:18 finishing ahead of Brazil's Thiago Pereira at second and Japan's 17 year-old Kosuke Hagino who came in third. And the great Phelps was just out of sorts as he finished 4th and out of the medals.

LONDON OLYMPICS 2012 IS HERE

Let the games begin. The Olympics is once more here and this time it is being held in London. Although the Philippines does not have high chances of contention for medals, it still is a marvel to watch the nest athletes in the world compete against each other and try to win the gold.

So let the games begin and let us all cheer in the greatness of all athletes all across the globe. Happy London Olympics!

BENCH GO-SEES 2012

And yes the biennial Bench Fashion show is coming this year once more and with that the guys from Bench have made their casting calls in one of the hottest Go-Sees ever. Caution: The following pictures are so hot that it would make you burn. (Photo Credits: Elite Icons Facebook Page)

Alex Anselmuccio, Alfred Morales and Cris Lomotan

Edwin Ayo, Garrett Armando Zebley and Jiro Shirakawa

John Daryl Lopez, June Macasaet and Kris Melendres

Love this batch! Lancer Serrano, Mark Alfred Morales, Mark Manicad

‎Paul Robert Penales Drake, Paul Ajdanii and Vince Ferraren

Enrique Nor and Charles Ghareh

John Mark Marcia (in red)

Laxie Ram 2, Eric Soriano 3, June Macasaet 4, Van Victor Leano 6.

MOVIE REVIEW: THE AMAZING SPIDERMAN

One of the few event movies that are eagerly anticipated this year would have to be the reboot of the "Spiderman" franchise thus the birth of a new franchise starting with "The Amazing Spiderman". The new spidey suits up for a retelling of the beloved superhero story. This time Andrew Garfield dons the suit and her love interest is Gwen Stacy played by Emma Stone.

The story focuses on Peter Parker's beginning as he struggles to find his parents and himself. Silent most of time but always upholds the right, he was raised by his uncle and aunt and had a lot of questions growing up. As most fans would notice, there was a slight difference in the storyline of the initial Spidey flick and this new one, but hey the story arcs in the comics itself change a lot. Still, what was presented was the inner emotion of a young boy who turned out one day having special abilities. His morals have caused him to take charge and become a hero. Despite having that motive of revenge, he kept on helping due to pureness in his heart.

Peter's main adversary this time is The Lizard played by Rhys Ifan. I personally did not like the way "The Lizard" was presented. He looked more like Killer Croc than a lizard but still the fight scenes with the web slinger were good. When not transformed as a monster the doctor shows cunning looks that could pass well foe a villain.

The story also focused on the start of love story between Peter and Gwen which had its own twists and turns. The on screen chemistry of the two was good but the sad developments towards the film's end made fans of the film quite depressed. But hey, that's how the story goes.

"The Amazing Spiderman" was a fresh take on the friendly neighborhood hero. It did bring a fresh air on a franchise but I don't know, the geeky Tobey Maguire still lingers in my head and Mary Jane as the leading lady is still my cup of tea. Take note, one thing to look forward is the usual Stan Lee cameo on all Marvel films. Nice one as the librarian with the headsets. :) Story, effects, drama and all, this film deserves to be on everyone's watchlist. Great but not jaw-dropping. A good 4.5 out of 5 popcorns.

BLUECLOUD'S MUSIC CHARTS (JULY 23, 2012)

Your favorite music charts is back this time combining OPM and International Music in one top 40 charts. Enjoy all the great songs abound!

ROAMING AROUND AS FERDIE STRIKES

Me and my bestfriend just wandered around and bought some food for stock as typhoon Ferdie was causing heavy rainfall and lots of flood along the area. A lot of roads are passable yet in floods. It created a lot of difficulty with pedestrians as everyone has to literally submerge to the big floods. With body wet, feet drenched in the flood, we managed to take some shots along the way using our phones.

Hope the rain stops soon as this is really creating a lot of damage to properties and going in and out of a place makes difficult as transportation is limited and passageways and streets are clogged.