#joshlia

You need to wake up and get up. You'll have to figure things out yourself, you can't keep abandoning yourself and chase a person. You can't help someone while ruining yourself. Someone needs to end it, you need to end it. But never forget to communicate with the person before you do.

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OO.1 | Hindi nakakatuwang mag-biro ang tadhana. Masakit. Nakakapanlumo. Malungkot.

Masakit dahil kahit anong gawin mong iyak, mahirap kalabanin ang tadhana, hindi mo siya kayang salungatin. Nakakapanlumo dahil alam mong wala kang magagawa, hindi mo, o niya kasalanan na naubos na ang pag-ibig. Wala kang pwedeng sisihin na natapos na ang lahat. Nakakalungkot na wala kang pamimilian kundi pagtanggap o pagkamuhi, at madalas pareho lang sila ng binibigay na sakit.

OO.2 | Madalas taksil ang mga pangako, madali nila tayong madaya. Nakakagago. Nakakadismaya.

Mas magaling kasi mangako ang mga taong nagmamahal, at mas mabilis mapaniwala ang mga taong masaya na nakakatanggap ng pagmamahal. Totoong mass mabilis tayong ma-uto, at minsan pumapayag tayong magpa-uto. Hindi natin ito kasalanan. Dalawa lang madalas ang hantungan ng mga pangako: ang mapanindigan ang mga ito o ang mabitawan kasabay ng taong ginawan mo ng pangako. Kayang kaya tayong dalhin ng mga salita sa panandaliang pakiramdam ng saya, pero taksil ito dahil kaya rin tayo nitong wasakin kung gugustuhin niya.

OO.3 | Totoo ang pagmamahal na marunong magpatawad. Kuntento. Magaan. Masaya.

Isang beses tinanong ko ang sarili ko kung bakit kahit alam kong mapapagaan ng pagpapatawad ang pakiramdam ko, hirap pa rin akong gawin. Ang sagot lang na nakuha ko ay dahil siguro, sadyang hindi ito madaling ibigay. Minsan, kailangan natin ng panahon para magdesisyon at madalas kailangan natin ng mahabang oras para maging handa. Pero naisip kong ang totoong nagmamahal, bago pa man siya gawan ng kasalanan ng taong mahal niya, may parte sa puso niya na nagpatawad na agad. Natatagalan lang dahil ang nangangailangan na lang ng panahon ay ikaw, at kung handa ka na bang sabihing pinapatawad mo siya.

OO.4 | Hindi kailanman naging madali ang magpaubaya ng isang bagay na minsan nang naging sa'yo. Hindi rin madali maging matapang.

Kung nagawa mo nang magpaubaya, napaka tapang mo; at isa ka sa mga taong kinatatakutan ko. Hindi ibig-sabihin nito na ikaw ang sumuko, na ikaw ang naunang maubusan ng pag-ibig, o ikaw ang mas duwag dahil hindi mo piniling ipaglaban ang alam mong sa'yo. Nagpaubaya ka dahil tanggap mong hindi siya sa'yo magiging masaya, na hindi ka isang bagay na ginagamit lang na dahilan para sumaya. Dahil alam mong hindi ka nagkulang, binigay at kaya mo pang ibigay ang lahat. Dahil alam mong 'yon ang tamang gawin, at mas alam mong hindi ka nabubuhay nang mayroong kahati. Kung kaya mong gawin ito, alam mong nararapat sa'yo ang mundo ngunit hindi ito nararapat sa iyo.

OO.5 | Nauubos ang nagmamahal, pero hindi nauubos ang pagmamahal. Marami ka pang kaya ibigay.

May mga taong nauubos, pero walang taong nauubusan ng pag-ibig. Nauubos ang taong nagmamahal dahil iniisip niyang natatapos ito sa kung hanggang saan lang ang kaya niyang ibigay. Love's ability goes beyond that. Ang totoong nagmamahal ay natuto munang magmahal ng sarili. At kung totoong minamahal mo ang sarili mo, hinding hindi ka mauubusan ng pag-ibig.

OO.6 | Makakabangon ka ulit. Walang duda.

Hindi natatapos ang lahat sa natapos na pag-ibig. Kahit gaano pa kabigat, kahit gaano ka pa patayin ng sakit, makakabangon at makakabangon ka ulit. Sa paraang alam mo na dahil sinanay ka na ng panahon, sa pinili mong paraan ng pagkalimot, o sa kung paano mo man pinilit gamutin ang lungkot.

This is not a review.

This is an appreciation post for a film I just watched— Love You To The Stars And Back brought me into a rollercoaster of emotions i was not prepared for. I laughed, i cried, and cried then laughed. Even a scene scared me (and w0w, Julia and Joshua’s chemistry was superb, i have never been so impressed about a newly-introduced team up tbh)

There was a scene wherein i cried so hard and as far as i remember, it was after Caloy (the character of Joshua Garcia) said that maybe parents would stop treating their offsprings like bullshits once they knew their child was dying. This line hit the freakin void inside of me to the point that I wanted to spend an hour alone and just cry. Couldn’t help it.

That line made me think that it’s sad, really sad that someone has to have their life threatened for them to get what they’ve always wanted because the truth is, we are all so fragile when it comes to death. It’s everyone’s weakness. It’s everyone’s fear.

And as a person who had attempts, i realized that no matter how hard I pray for death to come, i still really fear it, I still fear death as much as i fear living.

This movie is not your typical romantic comedy that serves couples, friends, and senior citizens who are taking advantage of their free passes.

This movie is hope that also serves people who are struggling to find the essence of living. (And hey, let’s not forget that the movie also talked about various social problems esp health care system in our country)

I am not sure if I am overrating it (even though this is not a review, lmao) but this movie gave me something.

1. Hindi mo kailangan ng jowa para manood nito. Hindi rin ito pabebe or pa-tweetums na napanood mo sa mga previous loveteams. Ito yung pelikulang sasaktan ka sa una, sa pangalawa, sa pangatlo, kahit ilan, pero alam mong sa dulo, sasaya ka.

2. Magkahalong tawa, sakit, lungkot, at saya ang iyong mararamdaman. Hindi mo mafifeel na may kulang sa pelikula o kaya na mag-isa kang nanonood. Ipapadama nito sayo na ang kasiyahan at kahulugan ng buhay ay hindi lang matatamo ng pansarili kundi mas maaapreciate mo ito kapag kasama mo ang mga taong nakapaligid sayo, mga taong mahal ka.

3. Ipaparamdam sayo na ang pag-ibig ay walang pinipiling panahon or estado ng buhay ng isang tao. Ipapaunawa sayo na ang pag-ibig ay kusang sumusulpot tulad ng LBM ni Caloy o ang feisty na ugali ni Mika, at kusang tutubo at magreresulta sa kasiyahan. Ang pag-ibig ay hindi duwag, hindi sumusuko. Walang iwanan, sa taong nagmamahalan.

4. Pelikulang may pang-international na storyline at loveteam na may tunay na chemistry ang espesyal sa pelikulang ito. Hindi mo mararamdaman na awkward ang isang scene or may dull moments. Full package. Ramdam mo yung emosyon ng bawat karakter, walang patapon. I can say it's phenomenal.

5. Isa sa mga pelikulang tatatak sa puso mo tulad ng ginawa nila Popoy at Basha, ang iyakin nila Bobby at Terry o kaya naman ang nakakakilig na tambalan ni Rico Yan at Claudine Barreto. It is worthy to be seen. Walang imposible, kung maniniwala ka.

Pang-all time season ang pelikulang 'to and I'm sure hindi mo makakalimutan ang chant nina Caloy at Mika. Wag mong palagpasin. Hindi mo ikinaganda kung manonood ka lang sa pinirata. Support Filipino films. <3

[A/N: this article is the first draft of the review that I made for an org but I decided that I wanted to post this too so yeah. Enjoy reading.]

credits to Google Images

For years, the existence of aliens had always been a hot topic for debate. Some scientists say that there is indeed life outside Earth while some people think that they're just plain ridiculous. In the film, Love You To The Stars And Back, Mika believes that nothing is impossible unless you believe hence, the existence of aliens is no exception. This makes Caloy burst into laughter upon hearing it because for him, there are some things that are just way too impossible in this world.

Based on their outlooks in life, we may conclude that Mika is the optimistic one while Caloy is the pessimist. But as the two goes on with the road trip, we would witness the different sides of these characters that if we'd analyze the film very deeply, we would realize that Mika's persistence to be abducted by aliens is actually a metaphor that she wanted to choose death over life and love.

At the beginning of the movie, we could already spot the difference between the two characters. Mika is a healthy, rich girl who wants to be "abducted by aliens" with the news that she'll have a new baby sister from her stepmother while Caloy is a middle-class guy with cancer who still wants to meet with his absentee father despite his mother's disapproval. Through this comparison, we could see the irony of the one feeling more pain than the other who actually has heavier burdens to carry.

But as their road trip progresses, we would find out that these two have their own sources of hope that will make us understand the reason for Mika's rebellion. Mika's source of hope had always been her mom who was also a believer of aliens herself that's why when she was finally "abducted by aliens", Mika felt the emptiness in her heart that was used to be filled with joy by her mom. On the other hand, Caloy's source of hope is his dad. No matter what the past has brought, Caloy firmly believes that there is no way that his dad would turn his back on him once he sees him face-to-face because at the end of the day, he is still his son. However, reality slapped him in the face when his father wouldn't even budge to see him in person, despite his great effort to travel a mile just to make peace with him, which made Caloy break down, question God and release all his frustrations that were used to be tamed by his source of hope. And with that, he suddenly wanted to be "abducted by aliens" too.

People may think that this is just a typical romcom film but there are hidden elements in the film that you might not notice while watching because you were enjoying the scenes too much. The film never revealed that the abduction of aliens is a metaphor of death but there are scenes that could serve as evidence that can prove it such as Mika's mom's hunch before she died that she will be abducted by aliens, the last phone call the two had before finally walking up to Mt. Milagros and Caloy's rejection to the aliens in his dream that made him wake up after his transplant. Also, there are some conspiracy theories that God and the angels are actually aliens so when Mika's mom said that she thinks she's going to be abducted by aliens and that their world might be better than Earth and a place where there is no pain, it's a metaphor that God is "abducting" her to live peacefully in heaven.

The choice of actors in the film was just perfect for the film that you could actually feel the kilig even if you're not a fan of their JoshLia. The two deserve an award for acting because they really delivered the scenes well, especially Joshua in his breakdown scene.

The script was wonderfully written that it didn't even have to tell the details of how Mika's mom died or how Caloy's parents separated or how Caloy even got his cancer. The film just portrayed the feeling of how it's like to be in Mika and Caloy's shoes and based on the tears that I saw from the audience in the cinema, I think the Jadaone did a marvelous job.

The breathtaking view of the Mt. Milagros also gave some jaw-dropping visuals to the viewers. In most of Jadaone's films, she always tries to feature the hidden wonders of the Philippines that usually turns as a tourist destination, just like Sagada, and with the beauty of Mt. Milagros, I think it would be a tourist destination as well. Although Mt. Milagros may not really exist in real life but the mountains used for the film will definitely have more tourists than before. The cinematography was really good however, there was just one scene when the camera movements were too shaky that the girl beside me in the cinema even whispered, "Ano ba yan panira yung camera". Although I understand that the director may want to convey the message that Caloy is not in his proper state of mind hence the shakiness but I think it was a little bit too much.

After the end of their road trip, Mika and Caloy learned that they don't want to be "abducted by aliens" just yet because there are more to life and love that they've been ignoring all along. They may have lost their own sources of hope but there are still other people around that loves them so much and with the help of destiny, they found their new sources of hope through each other.