Classes are set to start for the first semester school year 2010 in the University of the Philippines College of Law on June 8. Last sunday therefore was the last free day of summer of our youngest daughter to relax and bond with me and my wife. We want her to complete her summer vacation with a bang so to speak! She was insistent to try the Promenade in the Greehills Shopping Center as the venue of our moviewatching trip. This summer, we had the opportunity to watch movies at the Cineplex in the Gateway Mall and the Eastwood Cinema in the Eastwood City in addition to our regular moviewatching venue which is the SM Fairview because it is the nearest cinema to our home.

We arrived at the Promenade at 12:45 pm, being a sunday, all the slots in the parking at its front was already filled up. I dropped my wife and my daughter in front of the Cinema building and I was able to get a parking slot at the 4^th level of the main parking building. We looked for a restaurant to have lunch before we started our moviewatching spree. From among the rows of the restaurants at the ground floor of the Promenade, we chose Tender Bob's. My wife and I ordered hamburgers (she had single burger while I had 1/3 pound two burgers with cheeze) and our daughter ordered baby backribs. Lunch at the Tender Bob's was a bit expensive, our bill was a few hundred over one thousand but I felt it was a good deal considering that the food was yummy and serving was generous!

Our first movie was the second installment of movie version of the of the popular american tv show "Sex and the City". My daughter had followed the TV series and had watched the first installment. I must admit that my addiction to the local teleserye had used up all my time and made me missed a chance to watch a single episode of "Sex and the City". It was my first time to watch the quartet of middle-aged women led by the seemingly pre-menopausal Carrie (played by Sarah Jessica Parker). The rest of the gang, over-liberated PR lady executive Samantha (played by Kim Catrall), Charlotte (Kristine Davis) and Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) failed to tittilate my sex hormones both physically/visually and lingually. First, physically or visually, I wished that the movie was filmed when the quartet were in their mid-twenties rather than now! Perhaps, their beauty then could visually arose my animal instincts! Secondly, lingually, the use of sexual innuendoes and vulgar language had drawn laughter rather than libido from my mature body! Yes, I have to give due recognition that the filmakers intention of giving us a good laugh using sexy situation as a major tool succeeded in this movie. Aside from the perfect postcard-like frames specifically, the gay wedding which was like watching a church service of Pastor Apollo Quiboloy on tv, the Abu Dhabi sequences which provided glimpses of the Middle East are reasons that one should not miss this movie. In fact, I have strong suspicion that it is co-produced by the Kingdom of Abu Dhabi purposely as a promotional material or a media blitz to draw in the tourists to this Kingdom. On a personal note, if I were given the chance to play a role in that movie, I want to play the role of Carrie's husband!

After Sex and the City 2, we watched "Killers" starring Ashton Kutcher and Katherine Heigl. Trapped in a whirlwind courtship, Jennifer or Jen (played by Katherine Heigl) realized in too late after their third year wedding anniversary that she married a CIA agent! And as such, her husband was hunted by hired killers with her eventually becoming a co-victim of would- be assasin bullets and at the same time a new killer undergoing training! Again, the action-packed gun battle and the seemingly unending car chase which promoted Ford pick-up never appeared too violent! I commented to my daughter and my wife that throughout the story, there was no police that appeared to investigate what was going on! Look ma, no police! But, who would need a police in an action movie that I felt was intended to be a feel good movie rather than a mysterious serial killing movie! To its credit, the film makers were able to provide a sweet love story using action as a background! But, to my mind, it did not help my law student daughter in her criminal law course! Nevertheless, the gun batlle scenes provided the bang to end the summer vacation as officially the weatherman says we are now under the rainy season!

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