More Star Wars!

Ever since I saw Revenge of the Sith, the Star Wars geek in me finally came to life. I’d get all sorts of merchandise if I could find them but strangely enough, even Star Wars t-shirts are hard to come by around here. So instead, I got the box set DVD of episodes 4 to 6, which came with a bonus DVD that has trailers and a documentary how the three movies are made. I have the book on the story about what happens after Episode 6, which I have yet to start reading. But the best Star Wars thing I have right now is Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords (on the PC).

I got the game from my cousin and haven’t left my computer since except to eat, shit, and go to the gym. I mean, any game that lets me wield a lightsaber, do the Jedi mind trick on people, and basically wander around the Star Wars universe is worth spending all that time on. Of course, it’s not just all mindless violence; there’s a story too, which sucked me in and kept me playing for hours because I was dying to know what would happen next. Your character is an exiled Jedi and apparantly the last of the Jedi since the Sith destroyed them all in the previous game. The decisions you make determine whether you and your companions end up choosing the light side or dark side of the Force.

You don’t have to be a hardcore Star Wars geek to enjoy Knights of the Old Republic 2. Anyone who loves Episodes 4, 5, 6, and even the crappy Episodes 1 and 2, will enjoy blasting and slashing the whole day away. 5/5

Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith

Since the second Star Wars episode was so bad that all I remember were the useless Padme and Anakin scenes, I wasn’t really expecting much from Revenge of the Sith. I’ve heard that this movie ties up a lot of loose ends in the story but I never trust what people say until I’ve seen the said movie myself. Fortunately, I was in for a pleasant surprise.

Revenge of the Sith starts out with some twenty minutes of exciting lightsaber action, an incredibly adorable R2-D2, exploding planes, and a lot of mindless violence. I loved it. The rest of the story was amazing; it showed the origins of Darth Vader in a very vivid manner and left me with a better understanding of how the whole situation in the original Star Wars trilogy (which I love) came to be. What’s really interesting about the plot is that the becoming of Lord Vader is shown through the way people’s lives are affected instead of through his point of view.

There are only two things I didn’t like about the movie. First was that everyone’s acting–Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, and especially Hayden Christensen–seemed awkward during the earlier parts. I couldn’t see the meaning of their words mirrored in their eyes, and even the tone of their voices came out sounding forced. Luckily the acting becomes a lot more convincing towards the latter end of the film. There are also around two or three useless Padme and Anakin scenes chock-full of cheesy dialogue and bad acting. Use this time to go to the bathroom or grab a snack.

However, even these minor irritations couldn’t ruin the whole movie for me. Revenge of the Sith would definitely be better with more believable acting, but I love it enough to watch it a second time in the theaters and maybe even grab the DVD. 4/5. Not recommended for non-Star Wars fans, aka stupid fangirls who just want to oogle at Hayden Christensen’s naked ass.

I want a lightsaber.

My short guide to San Francisco

Monday ended my 5-week stay in the United States. I’m happy to report that I’m not at all jetlagged but everybody’s been telling me that I’ve gained weight, which is a little upsetting. Tellingsomeone that they’ve become fatter without you asking is extremely rude. Just a little tip.

Since San Francisco seems to attract so many freaking tourists, I thought I’d write down a little travel guide based on what I’ve experienced during my short stay there. Kind of like friendly advice from a tourist to a fellow tourist.

Restaurants
I guess I can blame all that sudden weight gain to my Tita Lorna and Tito Erik’s gourmet cooking, as well as the one thing you must have in San Francisco: clam chowder in sourdough bread. I hear clam chowder in Cape Cod is the best though, but I wasn’t in Cape Cod and I enjoyed San Francisco clam chowder very much. I loved it so much that I had at least one bowl everyday from different places. The best I’ve had is at Nick’s Lighthouse, which you can find at Fisherman’s Wharf, along a row of restaurants past the Alcatraz tours. I’m told they make their chowder from scratch, using fresh clams. God, just thinking about it is making me hungry. The clam chowder at Boudin’s is my second favorite, so you might want to check that out as well.

Alcatraz
If you want to see the island, make sure you get your tickets in advance–like around the day before. I was unable to go to Alcatraz because they ran out of ferry tickets for the 12:15 ride and only had slots for the 4:30 one available. The latter trip was a little late since I was due back in the suburbs at 8. I was very, very disappointed. And to think that it was on a weekday too!

Pier 39
Talk about a tourist trap. Everything there is too freaking expensive, unless you’re the type to waste your money on souvenirs. Go there for the restaurants. I haven’t tried any of them but I went to Bubba Gump when I was 13. Their Shrimper’s Net Catch is orgasmic. You can eat just that and not order anything else. Well, that’s what I would do, anyway.

Shopping
I didn’t really do a lot of touristy things since I’ve done those the first time I was there (stupid Alcatraz), but I did spend a lot of my time just going around, checking out the shops. Clothes in the States are at least three times more expensive than those in the Philippines and I was real happy when my uncle took me to Ross’ Dress for Less. They had a lot of great, inexpensive clothes in there–I was even able to find a white Guess purse for just four bucks! I wish I had known about that place when I still had a lot of money, but it was on the last few days of my trip and I was down to my last $60 bucks. Luckily my Tito Erik paid for my stuff, so yay.

Macy’s ate up a lot of my cash because their bras (Maidenform) were so expensive in spite of the sale ($24 per!). So I was a bit upset when I found that I could get 2 Maidenform bras in Costco for $19. *sigh* Oh wells. If you’re from an Asian country or a place where you can buy clothes at home for a lot cheaper than in the States, spend your money on clothes when department stores hold sales or go to Ross’. Underwear is hella cheap at Costco as well, and they don’t sell low-quality stuff; they have brands like Maidenform, Lily of France, etc.

Because I was looking for posters for my room, I wandered into Rasputin to see if they had anything. Rasputin is a music store five stories tall and well, music stores usually carry posters. Anyway, not only did I find that their posters are priced low (around $6), but their used CDs are a real bargain as well. I got a The Ataris CD for just $7 and the whole thing looked and sounded just like a brand new one.

Perhaps I’ll be adding more to this tomorrow. Jetlag calls.