Movie Review: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

"The Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky is one of my favorite books ever. I even have a tattoo dedicated to it. As such, I was super scared that turning the book into a Hollywood movie would ruin its essence.

Since I cried every time I watched the trailer, I didn't expect the movie to bomb. However, I didn't expect to like it as much as I did, either.

via Wikipedia

As a movie on its own, Perks did a great job in making an impact on me. It probably has something to do with the fact that the actual writer of the book also wrote the screenplay, but it unfolded very nicely. I even liked the ending - the only bit of the book that I really hated with a passion.

Unfortunately, they did ruin my two favorite scenes:

The Typewriter Scene

via Durance Magazine

Spoilers (highlight to read): In the movie, Sam gives Charlie a typewriter and types, "Write about us." He replies with, "I will." WHY, CHBOSKY? WHY?

In the book, Sam types, "Write about me." This might seem like a super small change to you, but it was the first time I felt kilig while reading the book and I absolutely loooved it when Charlie went back to the typewriter and typed "I love you." Scene ruined. :(

The Tunnel Scene

via IB Times

If you've known me for quite a while, you should know that I worship David Bowie. David Bowie is my God. It even says so in my signature on When in Manila. So, you'd think I'd love that they used "Heroes" for this scene. Well, I didn't.

First of all, out of all of Bowie's songs, "Heroes" is probably one of my least favorite. Second of all, it definitely doesn't sound infinite.

In the book, the tunnel song is "Landslide" by Fleetwood Mac. If you don't know it, YouTube it. And then close your eyes and imagine the tunnel scene. That is what infinite is supposed to sound feel like.

via Perez Hilton

The good news is that they did pretty well with the rest of the soundtrack. I have a Perks playlist on Speckles (my Mac) and it is aptly named "One Winter" and I am glad that they were able to get "Asleep" into the movie. Even "All Out of Love" worked for me despite it not being in the book.

Another thing that the movie did well in was the cast. There is not a single cast member I would change. And that's saying something since I used to envision Justin Bieber with long hair as Charlie. Although Emma Watson clearly had difficulties keeping her American accent, it still worked. And I wouldn't change a single thing.

via Time

As a whole, I believe everybody will be able to relate to Perks on some level. It is touching, sad, heartfelt, funny and inspirational - just like life itself. Although it is lacking a lot of great quotes from the book, it still has enough of them for me to say that it did the book real justice.

Sure, it missed a few parts and didn't expound too much on certain things, but it did what a Hollywood movie is supposed to do: make me not regret watching it. ;p Is "Looking for Alaska" up next? ;)

I guess it also helped that I watched the movie with people who actually make me feel infinite in real life. :) 4 out of 5 stars. I'd watch it again.

What did you think of the movie? And have you read the book? :) Let me know your thoughts!

Wrangler: Are You a Boundless Traveler?

Wrangler recently introduced its latest advertising campaign "Find Your Edge - Boundless Traveler" for Fall/Winter 2012 - a campaign that leads us to explore an adventure without bounds and with newfound energy and freedom.

In a nutshell, The Boundless Traveler demonstrates a free spirit on the open road who knows no boundaries. It is about exploring, feeling alive, going on adventures, and embracing unlimited possibilities.

That definition of The Boundless Traveler is definitely something I can relate to. I've always seen myself as a free spirit. I sleep late. I have fun. I let myself get wild. I drink whiskey. I go where I want. I do what I want. I spend what I want. If I had a car and if I could drive, I'd drive it fast on empty streets without anything in mind but feeling infinite... and not getting arrested, of course. :p

Some people would call this kind of lifestyle 'reckless' and 'irresponsible'. I'd like to call it 'free'. After all: YOLO. (Yes, I totes just did that!)

Here is the style of The Boundless Traveler, as Wrangler sees it:

Lightweight denim bottoms to travel in style and comfort while evoking a modern vintage look and jackets to serve as protection while traveling.

Functional, modern and utilitarian outfits paired with jackets and subtle details.

Outfits in the colors of the sunrise.

I've got a lil girl crush on the girl on the right. Hee! XD

Definitely something for everyone!

We also got to find out about Wrangler's 7 Icons and enjoyed a 360 degree view of models wearing Wrangler jeans:

My fellow bloggers on the other side seem to be enjoying the models jeans immensely. :p

What do you think of the new campaign? Are you a boundless traveler, too? Share your thoughts! :) And make sure to drop by Wrangler boutiques and leading department stores to check out the new collection firsthand!

And while you're at it, like Wrangler on Facebook and follow them on Twitter! :)

Long Lost Files: Syrena's First Yabu Experience

One sunny day, back when the babydaddy still lived in Manila and when I actually still spent time with my best friend, we all decided to have Yabu for lunch since we had to go to Megamall to return pullouts anyway. Of course, the booboo munchkin came with us.

To be honest, it was actually my top priority to bring her because I wanted her to finally bond with Jacob. See, my daughter is very, very, very picky with who she talks to/plays with/likes and before this Yabu date, she and Jacob never really "got along".

In fact, she used to hide her face and cry whenever she saw Jacob before. My mom had this theory that she's scared of good-looking men. But that's clearly not true coz Jacob's not good-looking. :p

The babydaddy and the baby waiting for Jacob to pick us up.

Thank you, Khaeiycee, for the baby umbrella! :)

Fortunately, it seems that God decided that day would really be the day where they finally bond. In the car, she actually sat on Jacob's lap and pointed at random stuff for him to look at outside of the window. And at Megamall...

Awwwww! Look! She's holding his hand! Or, more like, holding his finger with her hand. She's got tiny hands.

And then off we went to Yabu!!! :D

It was both Henry and Syrena's first time there, so I was excited to hear their feedback. I always love introducing people to Yabu and watching their reactions while they eat and after they eat. It's almost better than actually eating the food at Yabu itself. Almost. But not quite.

Jacob making his katsu sauce.

Syrena deciding what to eat.

I look horrible in this picture, but look at how cute my daughter is!!! Clearly happy to be in Yabu. :)

Her favorite phrase of the day was, "Mommy, I like this soup." next to, "Mommy, I like this rice." She had four cups of rice. It's a good thing the rice at Yabu is unlimited!

Henry's katsu set.

Jacob clearly enjoying his katsu. :p

They gave us free dessert, too - my favorite chocolate lava cake. :)

Ahhh. Writing about Yabu always makes me crave it. I've actually been craving it for a while now, but don't want to commute all the way to Megamall just to eat alone. Anyone wanna join me? Let's have a Yabu get-together, please! :D In the words of Kelly Medina: Yabu dabu doo!

Find out more about Yabu by liking their Facebook page and following them on Twitter! :)

Do You Dare? Part 1.

When I received an email from Maybelline New York last June asking me to be one of their Dare Girls, I could not believe my eyes. In fact, I was in such shock, I Googled the contact who emailed me and searched for her on Facebook and Twitter just to make sure she was legit. :p She was.

So, on June 30, 2012, the Southern Girl spent a sleepless night picking out clothes and started her commute all the way to UP Diliman at 5am to make it to her super early call time. This explains my puffy eyes in the final photos.

Since I didn't want to get lost and carry a bag of clothes to an unknown location, I dragged the also-sleepless babydaddy with me to take my Behind-The-Scenes photos.

I was one of the first ones there - as always an early bird!

(left) grouchy me coz I hadn't had coffee yet

(right) dorky me trying to spread some good vibes

Tinkering with my phone while getting my hair done for my first look: Bohemian Rhapsody.

I have a confession to make: that was the first time I got kilig over a certain someone's tweet, too. See, I found out that morning that Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise were getting a divorce, so I tweeted something along the lines of, "It's my turn, Tom Cruise." He replied something short like, "You're so cute."

Still, that in itself put a grin on my face for the rest of the morning. I'm easy to please. Lol. But seriously... Even back then, he already sent good vibes my way. :)

Zzzzz.....

Hair done!

I always believed that curls don't suit me, but I think they actually went pretty well with my undercut. What do you think? :)

Makeup time!

My makeup artist for the day also did the makeup for "Rock of Ages" and she knew my friend Mikkie Bradshaw! :) Small world!

Zzzzz... Lol.

After getting my makeup done for my first look, the babydaddy fell asleep on one of the tables and I didn't have the heart to wake him to take my BTS photos. Therefore, I have none. He makes up for it with the second look, though. Don't worry. :p

Anyway, my first look is finally up on the Maybelline page, so you can just check it out there! :)

Visit the Maybelline Philippines website to see all of the Bohemian looks!

See my complete Bohemian Rhapsody feature here.

A special thank you to Gela Francisco who personally handpicked me for the shoot, allegedly because she loved my galaxy skirt in this outfit post. And thank you to Lee Caces for the photos, as well. You're one of my favorite photographers of all time... but more on that when my next look is up! :)

I Am Cotton On, Are You?

It is very rare for me to fall in love with a clothing brand at first sight, but that is exactly what happened when I first set my eyes on Cotton On at their store launch at the Mall of Asia earlier this month.

As such, I proudly wore this sticker all day, and even stuck it on Speckles (my laptop) afterwards. It helps that seeing the sticker reminds me of nothing but good vibes and happy times. (Good vibes and happy times courtesy of Gerd Perez.) :)

If you haven't heard of Cotton On yet, then you are definitely missing out. Cotton On is an Australian brand that has finally made its way to Manila, thanks to the Bench Group.

Not only is Cotton On known for providing great fashion, but it is also very affordable. It is no wonder why it is deemed to be a bona fide fashion destination all over the world. Well, now, we can enjoy shopping at Cotton On in Manila, as well! :)

Although Cotton On mainly targets men and women from 18 to 24 years old, that doesn't mean that oldies people 25 and up, like me (I can't believe I'm over the age bracket! Lol) can't enjoy what they have to offer, as well.

The best part about Cotton On is that it is trendy and style-savvy, and everyone will be able to find something that will suit their fashionista needs - and all under 3,000 pesos.

Enough with the talking. Here are some of the clothes that you can find at Cotton On:

Fun fact: All of the models in the show were winners of the "Cotton On Model Search" that bloggers Patricia Prieto, Laureen Uy, Camille Co and Cecille Zamora judged! :)

Things don't end there, though. Since I am a bit of a shopping fanatic, I already made a list of the items that I simply must have in my closet soon:

I am absolutely loving the top on the left and the bottoms on the right. However, I simply must have these complete outfits:

Imagine it. This is so my style.

But this one even more so!

You might not know this, but I'm a sucker for band shirts. I actually have a whole collection of Beatles shirts. I'm cool like that.

Isn't this so "13 Going on 30"? I absolutely loved the concept!

Congratulations to the entire Bench Group for a successful store launch! Thank you for the invite! :) I will definitely be shopping at Cotton On a lot in the future.

I seriously cannot get enough of Cotton On. This is the reason why I'm so excited for the launch of their second store at Megamall tomorrow! Let me know if you'll be there! :) There will be lots of discounts and freebies, so don't miss it!

If you like what you see, then make sure to like Cotton On Philippines on Facebook and follow them on Twitter! You can be Cotton On, too! :)