Morbius

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Scientist and Nobel laureate Michael Morbius (Jared Leto) has been searching for a cure for his and best friend Milo’s rare blood disease for many years, and he is finally getting closer to a breakthrough by virtue of gene splicing between human and bat DNA. Treating himself as his own guinea pig, he undergoes the human trial himself with the help of girlfriend and fellow doctor Martine Bancroft (Adria Arjona). The illegal procedure he undergoes on a cargo ship in international water east of New York works and he is temporarily cured but must face the side effect of bloodlust to maintain its effectiveness. Not wanting Milo to suffer the same fate of being a blood thirsty monster, he attempts to withhold the serum from him, but he finds a way to inject it to himself anyway. With no moral compass and a newly found freedom, Milo goes on a senseless killing spree that only Morbius himself can stop.

Moon Knight: Episode 1

1. The Goldfish Problem

London giftshop clerk Steven Grant (Oscar Isaac) works in an Egyptology Museum selling souvenirs, even though he really wants to be a tour guide given his affinity with the topic. Every night he sleeps chained to his bed and with sand surrounding his sleeping spot, while the main door is sealed with duct tape. Nevertheless, he still finds himself waking up in odd places, being chased by weird men with the emblem of the Egyptian goddess Ammit tattooed on their forearm. One of them is Arthur Harrow (Ethan Hawke), the leader of her cult in pursuit of Grant’s scarab beetle. As he finds himself falling prey to mythological creatures from ancient Egypt, Grant realizes, with the aid of a strange phone call from an unknown woman who derides his fake British accent, that he is suffering from dissociative identity disorder. One of his identities, Marc Spector (Oscar Isaac), surfaces when they are under threat, transforming into a masked superhero known as Moon Knight, Egyptian god Khonshu's avatar on Earth.

[TORTOLA] Budget and Itinerary

SUNDAY: 27 March 2022

Road Town Fast Ferry (Charlotte Amalie - Road Town - Charlotte Amalie) - 103.00

Environmental Tax (British Virgin Islands) - 10.00

Pussers (Fettuccini Alfredo w/ Chicken & Coke) - 26.45

Departure Tax (British Virgin Islands) - 20.00

USD159.45

Estimate of USD1 = PhP52.00

TOTAL – PhP8,291.40

[ROAD TOWN] A Boring Daytrip

While the US Virgin Islands changed hands from Danish to American, the British side remained primarily British through most of its history, except for the fact that they were originally part of the Dutch West Indies for 24 years before the Brits gained control in 1672 with the capture of the main island Tortola, where the modern-day capital of Road Town stands today. Despite being a British Overseas Territory, the currency here is the US dollar, and having a multiple entry US, Canadian or UK visa will suffice to be granted entry as a tourist.

[SAINT THOMAS] Budget and Itinerary

SATURDAY: 26 March 2022

jetBlue (Newark - Saint Thomas) - 124.80

Airbnb (2 Nights/Charlotte Amalie) - 234.25

Taxi (Airport - Downtown) - 12.00

KFC (2 pc. Chicken w/ Fries & Coke) - 11.99

Taxi (Downtown - Magens Beach) - 10.00

Magens Beach (Strawberry Daiquiri + Pizza x3) - 24.25

Taxi (Magens Beach - Downtown) - 8.00

Biso Mini Mart (Groceries) - 12.00

USD437.29

[CHARLOTTE AMALIE] The Danish West Indies

Aside from seeing two Virgin Islands every year at Miss Universe, I know next to nothing about them. Now that the possibility of visiting both has come to fore, I decided to read up a bit. Who would’ve thought that Denmark used to have territories in the Caribbean? Apparently, the US Virgin Islands were once called the DANISH WEST INDIES before the United States purchased them in 1917 from the kingdom of then Denmark-Norway, pretty much the same thing they did buying Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines from the Spaniards. Island shopping much, ‘MERICA?

[NEW YORK] Budget and Itinerary (7)

MONDAY: 21 March 2022

United (Miami - New York) - 163.30

Airbnb (5 Nights/Hell's Kitchen) - 610.53

Airtrain/NJ Transit (Newark - NY Penn) - 15.50

Jollibee (1 pc Chicken w/ Rice & Coke + Spaghetti) - 13.26

Liberty Bagel (Groceries) - 21.58

Dunkin Donuts (Donuts x5) - 9.45

Plaza Suite (Broadway) - 111.50

USD945.12

[MANHATTAN] Broadway Barrage Season 7

Broadway Barrage came early this year, perhaps as a normal reaction for missing one whole season during pandemic year. After a back-to-back season just last fall, we come back to Broadway after less than half a year to continue the tradition. All of the six shows have been awesome, though, and I feel as though this season has been worth it overall. I believe this is one of the few seasons in which all of the shows got five clovers from me. And yet, I still felt like I wanted more!

The Play That Goes Wrong (Broadway)

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To say that the theater group of Cornley University is struggling is an understatement. In fact, Chris Bean (Matt Harrington) who serves as director, set and costume designer, box office manager, PR head, voice and dialect coach, choreographer, and actor, among others, has his hands full with everything that is going wrong in their staging of the whodunit play The Murder at Haversham Manor. Lighting and sound operator Trevor Watson (Ryan Vincent Anderson) and stage manager Annie Twilloil (Ashley Hildreth) try in vain to make last-minute repairs onstage but can’t manage to finish everything as the curtains drop. Newbie actor Dennis Tyde (Bartley Booz) who plays Perkins goes on mispronouncing words while benefactor Max Bennett (Matt Walker) who portrays two different characters keeps on making the show all about him. As primadonna lead actress Sandra Wilkinson (Maggie Weston) is literally knocked out cold by a damaged set piece, the rest of the cast, which includes Robert Grove (Brent Bateman) and Jonathan Harris (Chris Lanceley), must prove their thespian versatility to ensure that the show must go on.

Birthday Candles (Broadway)

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“The genius of a party is to offer us all a rest from the daily human errand to travel morning until night. To stake a claim in an hour and say I will notice this.” From the age of 17, Ernestine Ashworth (Debra Messing) has honored the annual family tradition of baking a cake in celebration of her birthday, something she will never forget to do for the years to come until she reaches her 90’s. Through the decades, she goes through the highs and lows of life: starting a family with her high school sweetheart Matt (John Earl Jelks); taking care of her daughter Madeline (Susannah Flood) who suffers from a mental illness; watching her son Billy (Christopher Livingston) marry Joan (Crystal Finn) and start a family of his own; and finding love again through childhood friend Kenneth (Enrico Colantoni). Birthday Candles zooms through the highlights and heartbreaks of a woman’s lifetime as she tries to reconcile her existence with that befuddling quest to find one’s purpose.

Take Me Out (Broadway)

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At the height of his sports career, baseball superstar Darren Lemming (Jesse Williams) surprises the world with an announcement. He is gay. Such declaration of his sexuality causes ripples in the dynamics with his team members, some of whom are caught unawares as to how to react or treat him after his admission. Close friend and team member Kippy Sunderstrom (Patrick J. Adams) believes that the team’s problems appear to emerge from that event, while some other members are not even that careful in spewing words of bigotry towards their teammate. After a controversial TV interview with new pitcher and southern simpleton Shane Mungitt (Micheal Oberholtzer) who uses the F word to describe him, Lemming must decide whether to weather the storm or just take the easy route out by retiring early and escaping from it all.

Come from Away (Broadway)

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September 11, 2001. As two towers fall prey to a terrorist attack in New York, all flights within US airspace are grounded, forcing incoming planes from all over the world to reroute to an outside airport. 38 of those planes find themselves stranded in the tiny town of Gander in Newfoundland, Canada. With a population of less than 10,000, the small locale along with its neighboring towns suddenly double its population overnight as a temporary refuge for confused and angry passengers who couldn’t make their way to America. Come from Away tells the story of that fateful day in 2001, when the mundanity of the daily lives of Gander’s folks takes a turn for a humanitarian crisis which they successfully band together to go overcome. As departure date looms and the southern airspace becomes accessible once again, the occurrence will have changed the lives of both locals and visitors from away, for life.

Hamilton (Broadway)

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Would-be American founding father Alexander Hamilton (Miguel Cervantes) leaves Nevis for New York in the 1770’s and meets some influential people during his stint at King’s College who will define his future and eventual legacy. One of them is Aaron Burr (Nik Walker), a lawyer who will fight alongside him during the American Revolutionary War of 1775. Throwing their support behind George Washington (Tamar Greene), the two will bear witness to the birth of the United States after winning the war of independence against Great Britain. Ego bruised, King George (Euan Morton) asks through song how America will survive on its own. Given his wit and gift of the written word, Hamilton becomes instrumental in the power play that ensues as more political aspirants rise through the ranks. He also becomes a father as his wife Eliza (Krystal Joy Brown) gives birth. Changing allegiances along the way for his political career to survive, he ends up dead in his late 40’s after a gun duel with Burr.

Plaza Suite (Broadway)

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Plaza Suite 719 has been a witness to one too many couples and their marital issues. Visiting from Mamaroneck, husband and wife Sam (Matthew Broderick) and Karen Nash (Sarah Jessica Parker) have been married for over two decades and today is supposed to be their anniversary. However, he is always busy with work, and she begins to suspect that he might be having an affair, which she says she would totally understand given his apparent midlife crisis. Visiting from Hollywood, bigtime producer Jesse Kiplinger (Matthew Broderick) tries to woo back his high school sweetheart Muriel Tate (Sarah Jessica Parker), who is now married with three children and trying to keep up appearances of a happy family despite her growing liquor dependency. Visiting from Forest Hills, Norma (Sarah Jessica Parker) and Roy Hubley (Matthew Broderick) try in vain to get their soon-to-be-wed daughter out of the toilet after she locks herself in on her wedding day due to cold feet.

[BERRY ISLANDS] Budget and Itinerary

    

SUNDAY: 20 March 2022

Royal Caribbean (Miami - Nassau - CocoCay - Miami /2) - 233.32

Royal Caribbean (Internet 1-day Package) - 25.99

Star Lounge (Tequila) - 10.61

USD269.92

Estimate of USD1 = PhP52.00

TOTAL – PhP14,035.84

[LITTLE STIRRUP CAY] Perfect Day at CocoCay

While there might be many other things these islands should be known for, the Bahamas’ Berry Islands always tend to be remembered as those private playgrounds leased to cruise ship companies. The MO is to lease them and be developed into an exclusive stop in some of these cruise ships’ routes. In the case of Royal Caribbean, the island leased is named CocoCay (Perfect Day) which stands on Little Stirrup Cay. The main attraction is a water park with several slides not appropriate for acrophobic people.

[NEW PROVIDENCE] Budget and Itinerary

    

FRIDAY: 18 March 2022

Royal Caribbean (Miami - Nassau - CocoCay - Miami /2) - 233.32

USD233.32

[NEW PROVIDENCE] A Day in Downtown Nassau

I’ve been eyeing Nassau for some time now, checking out flights and Airbnbs available. The only thing stopping me was the visa application process, which I actually went through then find out was unnecessary for cruise passengers. In any case, you NEED a visa if you are FLYING to the Bahamas. Good luck with that. Airbnb options were also kind of limited and pricy, so I thought if ever I fly to Nassau, I will probably just splurge on two or three nights at Atlantis.

[ROYAL CARIBBEAN] Freedom of the Seas

I booked this cruise on a whim, and then the stress that followed that because of conflicting visa requirement info from various websites, both from the government of the Bahamas and not, has been following me around for almost two weeks. But let’s not talk about that anymore. Bottomline, what Royal Caribbean will ask you during boarding if you are a Philippine passport holder are your passport, multiple entry US visa, COVID-19 vaccination card, and negative antigen test (up to 2 days prior to sailing). There is NO passport control at the Port of Nassau AT ALL when you dock.

[FLORIDA] Budget and Itinerary (4)

SUNDAY: 13 March 2022

Greyhound (Savannah - Jacksonville) - 35.99

Star Card (Card + 3 Day Pass) - 14.00

Starbucks (Croissant + Double Bacon Egg & Hot Choco) - 13.28

Airbnb (3 Nights/Jacksonville) - 188.51

McDonalds (10 pcs Chicken Nuggets Meal) - 10.94

Walgreens (Groceries) - 47.56

USD310.28

[ORLANDO] Theme Park or Evacuation Center?

To be totally blunt, I feel like all I ever accomplished at Universal Studios here in Orlando was to pay $150 to up my chances of getting COVID-19, which I managed to dodge for the entire six months that I have been flying around everywhere. Nobody is wearing a mask except for a few personnel. Social distancing is an alien concept. The crowds are of evacuation center proportions. The waiting time to get on a roller coaster is a minimum of 60 minutes in line unless you have a fast pass that costs upwards $150 on top of the park admission fee. After an hour, I decided, nah, I’m too old for this shit.

[JACKSONVILLE] The Biggest City in the Lower 48

I myself was surprised to find out that Jacksonville held such distinction. It was only lately that I even knew the city existed because, seriously, when you hear about Florida it’s always Miami or Orlando. After double checking the info, it appears that Jacksonville is indeed the largest city by land area in continental United States. If you include all states, the city falls to number five right below four cities all located in Alaska. Weird flex, but okay. For a city with such distinction, it’s surprising to see how quiet and sleepy everything seems to be.

Turning Red

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13-year-old Toronto native Meilin Lee (Rosalie Chiang) is your typical teenager entering puberty. Along with her best friends Miriam (Ava Morse), Priya (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan), and Abby (Hyein Park), they spend most of their time juggling school activities, ogling the local convenience store clerk as well as fangirling over 4*Town, a popular boyband headed to Canada for a grand concert. Meilin also has to deal with her overbearing mother Ming Lee (Sandra Oh), your typical dragon mom who makes sure that her daughter is always on the top of her class and fulfilling her obligations which include assisting in the tourist tours the family temple, the oldest in town. Problem ensues when an ancient family curse manifests as Meilin suffers an emotional outburst. Apparently, their ancestor made an occult deal which allows the women in the family to turn into giant pandas when provoked. The only way to get rid of it is to undergo a ritual during the Red Moon, which coincides with 4*Town’s Toronto concert.

The Adam Project

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Constantly bullied for his small physique and big mouth, 12-year-old Adam Reed (Walker Scobell) takes out all his frustrations on his mother Ellie (Jennifer Garner), despite both of them obviously not coping well with the death of his father Louis (Mark Ruffalo). Things get exciting when on a boring afternoon, he finds an injured stranger in their shed who knows a lot about him, their house, and the family history. It turns out that the guy is future Adam (Ryan Reynolds) who just time traveled from 2050 but missed his 2018 target and ended up in 2022 instead. The older and younger selves help each other with the former’s mission, which is to locate his wife Laura (Zoe Saldaña) who disappeared in a time jump a few years prior as well as to put an end to the future tyrannical rule of Maya Sorian (Catherine Keener), their dad’s financier and business partner who will take advantage of his invention of time travel.

[GEORGIA] Budget and Itinerary

SATURDAY: 5 March 2022

American Airlines (Miami - Atlanta) - 69.60

TGI Fridays (Whiskey Glazed Chicken & Strawberry Slushee) - 26.24

MARTA (Card + Reload) - 12.00

USD107.84

[SAVANNAH] A Georgia with Some History

Blame climate change, perhaps, but it is here in Savannah where the cold blast in March had its climax for me. Jesus Christ, 1 degree Celsius and windchill that penetrated the depths of my soul. What the hell, ‘MERICA? It’s freaking March! And so, that is perhaps one of the reasons why my trip outside has been abrupt. I just couldn’t handle the migraine. It didn’t help that it was drizzling for a while too. Wet and cold, bad combination. Anyway, Savannah! What is there to see? Well, welcome to historic Georgia, y’all.

[ATLANTA] So, Did I Like It?

Overall, I feel like I would thrive in Atlanta should I ever find myself relocating there. I believe I’ve already mentioned that it feels like Boston to me. It’s hard to explain. You know, big cities yet not as chaotic as some of their ‘Merican cousins. Not too crowded and has a reliable public transport system. Lots of green spaces where you can just chill. A downtown area that has its own distinct charm thanks to the public works of art. A skyline that is not jampacked but impressive, nonetheless. The list goes on.

[ATLANTA] Something Fishy Downtown

As much as I would have loved to remember Atlanta by something more distinctive, which I believe The World of Coca Cola was despite being a tad too capitalist, there just wasn’t a lot of places of interest for me. The Georgia Aquarium is a rather general tourist attraction that has similar things to offer compared to other aquariums abroad. But hey, I enjoyed it to some extent, ok. After all, it was just within the vicinity and such a visit will always be a learning experience. Again, the place is literally across the Coke Museum and adjacent to the National Center for Civil and Human Rights. You can visit all three in one morning or afternoon.

[ATLANTA] A Tribute to My Soda Addiction

“PEPSI!!!” shouted the kid as he raised his hand enthusiastically beaming with confidence as if waiting for his prize. We don’t think he was trolling because he immediately followed it up with a literal facepalm moment. Context? World of Coca-Cola tour, the guide asking a trivia question as to which drink was introduced by the company after Coke in 1955. The answer was Fanta in case you were wondering. The guy who got it right won a Coca-Cola lanyard. The kid? Well, at least you made us all laugh.

West Side Story (2021)

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Upper West Side, Manhattan. 1957. An ongoing turf war between a gang of Caucasian youth called the Jets and their Puerto Rican rivals the Sharks is a cause of perpetual agony for the local police force. Jets leader Riff (Mike Faist) invites his nemesis, Sharks strongman Bernardo (David Alvarez), to settle the score once and for all in a gang battle days after an experimental dance headlined by the local government to bring peace between the two sides. Caught in between is co-founder of the Jets, Tony (Ansel Elgort), who wants to start fresh as a free man after a one-year stint in jail by earning his keep with the help of pharmacist’s widow Valentina (Rita Moreno). Aiming to find peace, the dance event itself becomes a trigger for an escalated dispute as Tony lays his eyes on Maria (Rachel Zegler), Bernardo’s sister who falls in love with the guy at first sight. As Bernardo’s girlfriend Anita (Ariana DeBose) would like to ask, is this the start of World War III?

[ALABAMA] Budget and Itinerary

SATURDAY: 5 March 2022

Megabus (Atlanta - Birmingham - Atlanta) - 28.98

Max Central Terminal (Groceries) - 6.65

Uber (Max Central Terminal - Fountain Heights) - 10.51

Airbnb (1 Night/Birmingham) - 39.14

USD85.28

[BIRMINGHAM] An Impromptu History Refresher

Alabama came out of the blue. In my itinerary at least. Knowing that I would be spending a week in Atlanta to apply for the Bahamas visa, I wanted a short weekend getaway that wouldn’t be too far. Searching for random routes on Megabus, only Alabama fell within that category. Either I go to Birmingham or Montgomery. In the end, the destination with the more suitable travel time and schedule won. Off to Birmingham we go then. The problem? What is there to see in Alabama?

The Batman

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Gazillionaire orphan Bruce Wayne (Robert Pattinson) deals with his parents’ untimely death when he was young through vengeance, donning the cape of street vigilante Batman, keeping the city of Gotham almost crime-free. However, it’s different nowadays as the place slowly becomes a cesspool of anarchy and chaos. The murder of a mayor up for reelection by Edward Naston (Paul Dano), aka the Riddler, leads the bat to a collision course with the cat. Fronting as a nightclub waitress, Selina Kyle (Zoë Kravitz) is out for vengeance as well for her friend’s disappearance, along with several personal scores to settle with some powerful men in the city. Their unlikely alliance is tested as they go through each and every riddle dropped along their path, eventually going down a deep rabbit hole of corruption and organized crime so deeply rooted within the institutions of the city all of them call home.

[FLORIDA] Budget and Itinerary (3)

WEDNESDAY: 2 March 2022

American Airlines (Paramaribo - Miami) - 292.14

FlixBus (Miami - Key West) - 27.05

NYAH (2 Nights/Key West) - 405.00

Boat House (1/2 Chicken w/ Fries & Strawberry Daiquiri) - 33.22

New Market (Groceries) - 10.58

USD767.99

[KEY WEST] Caribbean 'MERICA!

My fascination with Florida is just a recent phenomenon. I’ve been to the Sunshine State before, in Fort Lauderdale, in an extended transit. Anyone who transits in that effing airport knows how horrible the waiting times are, pandemic or not. In any case, I enjoyed what I could of FLL’s beaches without going down to Miami. When I finally did years later, it was love at first sight. It must be the sun. The beaches. The prevalent Latino culture. All of the above? After that, I just knew I wanted more Florida.

Belfast

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Belfast, 1969. Buddy (Jude Hill) is a nine-year-old boy belonging to a Protestant working class family who witnesses the horrors of The Troubles as Catholics are rounded up in the predominantly Protestant province of Ulster in Northern Ireland. Despite the ruckus, he can always count on the support of his family: his Pop (Ciarán Hinds) and Granny (Judi Dench); his brother Will (Lewis McAskie); and his strong-willed Ma (Caitríone Balfe). His Pa (Jamie Dornan), they only see once every two weeks as he works across the sea in London. As the commotions begin to escalate and the street they live in is barricaded as the army is sent in to maintain peace and order, the family will be forced to face the music of the current socio-political turmoil. Should they risk it and make it work as a separated family in Belfast or accept the offer of Pa’s company to relocate to and be a whole family again in England?