Star Trek Into darkness + Nyota Uhura/Zoe Saldana Inspired Makeup

Hey guys! It seems like it's just one good film after another this year. Following the wonderful Iron Man 3, yesterday I was given the wonderful opportunity to be at the Press Screening of the newest installment of the Star Trek Franchise: Star Strek: Into Darkness, after which it has quickly usurped the seat of Iron Man 3 as my favorite movie of the year.

Before I get into the details, may I just say that this movie totally surpassed my expectations what with my disappointment with the first film. The story line brings back some familiar characters - Captain Kirk (Chris Pine), Spock (Zachary Quinto), Bones (Karl Urban), Sulu (John Cho), Uhura (Zoe Saldana), Chekov (Anton Yelchin), and my personal favorite, Scotty (Simon Pegg).

And along with a new movie comes a new threat to the Starship Enterprise in the form of a mysterious anarchist, John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch) whose real identity and intentions make up a large part of the conflict to come. I can't say the twists and turns in the plot were very surprising, being medium-core fan, but the execution and introduction of the plot elements was rather intricate in itself.

The film is action-packed and leaves you reeling after each scene, eager for the next. There were definitely a handful of nerd-gasm moments in the film, one such moment being the came of one Leonard Nimoy haha. I'll just leave it at that.

Decent plot, striking cinematography + score, witty dialogue and the all-star cast definitely played to the film's advantage.

Fortunately for me, the screening was in 3D IMAX, and let's just say it was breathtakingly beautiful and added to the overall atmosphere. That being said, while it's definitely worth it to watch in 3D IMAX, it's still just as good even if you see it 2D, if only for the wonderful action, awesome script and Kirk-Spock Bromance.

 I'd probably pay to watch it again with my friends just to relive the adrenaline I felt seeing all my favorite characters in the awesomeness that is this film hahaha

A special shoutout to standout performances by John Cho, Simon Pegg, Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto. There a whole lot of quoatable quotes from these characters that I'm sure fans will be coining after this movie. One of my faves being : "Urrgh, sometimes I just want to rip his bangs off". Yehp, definitely a keeper. And there's definitely one one-word quote (it's more of a passionate exclamation rather) I'm sure will be filling the web-o-sphere, 4chan and tumblr later on, but for the sake of people who haven't called the obvious twist yet, I'll leave it to you to watch the movie and find out. And for all of those who still don't see what the fuss is about, you can check the trailer out here.

That being said, while I loved the movie to bits, I can't help but also admire the wonderful makeup Zoe Saldana dawned for her role as Nyota Uhura. So to pay homage to the movie, and keep this post relevant to my beauty blogging, I attempted to recreate the look she sported for the two Star Trek Movies.

I think I did pretty well if you ask me haha. It's a rather severe look for everyday, but that's what's awesome about th 2230s. Looks like these are everyday looks for Starship crews. Jealous much haha. Zoe has some rather defined bone structure, which sadly I do not possess, so I tried faking it with some highlighting and contouring. I've honestly never seen anybody rock the winged cat eye liner so well and I had so much fun doing this.

So what do you guys think? If loved the makeup and are are looking forward to the movie, don't forget to check it out in theaters near you on its release date (depending on mall schedules) on MAY 15/16!

Ada, signing out!
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Les Misérables Press Screening

You can probably guess from the title why I missed my usual schedule of posting today. Yesterday, I went to the press screening of Les Misérables in my country. Most of you will be doubling back, wondering 'Wasn't Les Mis ages ago?'

Yes, yes it was. But because of a little something called the Metro Manila Film Festival, its screening was delayed in the Philippines. Owell, you win some you lose some. I hear that Fast and Furious 6's Asia Premiere will be in the Philippines with some of the cast including Vin Diesel coming to visit, so I guess we make up for it with that. The irony is, there isn't much room to be 'Fast and Furious' here in the Philippines because of all the traffic x_x. But I digress.

I was originally invited to be at the January 9 screening, which was unfortunately cancelled and postponed to yesterday, January 15.

For all the hustle and bustle however, I'm pretty sure it goes without saying that Les Misérables is well worth the wait.

The event itself lacked the grandeur of the first planned advanced screening, but retained the respectable aura befitting of a movie that just won big at the Golden Globe Awards -- Best Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy), Best Actor (Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy): Hugh Jackman Best Supporting Actress Motion Picture: Anne Hathaway.

I of course, chose to dress myself a little fancy for the occasion, being the mini-attention crave that I am LOL. But on a rather sad note on my part, I forgot to bring a battery pack for my camera, thus the lack of decent photos. *cringe* Bad photo quality. You can see more coverage of the event at http://www.wazupphilippines.com/ in the future.

Being an avid fan of the musical, and having followed the casting and progression of the motion picture after the announcements of release, I can confidently say that the film itself did justice to the emotion and historical backdrop of the circumstances the musical revolves around. You can expect iconic renditions of all the fan favorites -  'I Dreamed a Dream', 'Stars', 'Who Am I?', 'A Heart Full of Love', 'On My Own', 'One Day More' and 'Do you Hear the People Sing?'

My personal favorites from the musical itself are the songs 'At the End of the Day', 'A Little Fall of Rain', 'Red and Black', and Gavroche's 'Little People' which all have wonderful renditions in the movie. Can I just lend a special mention to the little boy they cast as Gavroche? What a charismatic young lad he is and his part in the tale is thoroughly heart-wrenching.

Speaking of casting, the all-star line up is no secret from the movie posters released - including big shots with known musical background like Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway as Jean Valjean and Fantine respectively, who earned their Golden Globe Awards with their heart-wrenching performances.

You've probably also seen Amanda Seyfried (Cosette) in her role in Mama Mia! and Russell Crowe (Javert) in his more iconic role in the Gladiator. They both have their strengths and weaknesses and while I maintain that Amanda Seyfried is a mediocre singer at best, she more than makes up for it with her on-screen presence. Russel Crowe, on the other hand, has been receiving mixed reviews in his rather different portrayal of the supposedly vindictive inspector. Some have complained of the softness of his portrayal of the role, but once you've learned to accept that Crowe is no Geoffrey Rush, you start to feel for the character, however emotionless his singing may be.

A big round of applause also to Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen to bringing a whole new side to the Thenardiers I never thought existed. Part comedic relief and part social commentary, these two know how to play the eccentric Inn Keeper and his wife to the tee and their colorful rendition of Master of the House will always strike me as one of the best setups in the movie.

The total scene stealers who I'd wish would get more recognition however, are Samantha Barks, Eddie Redmayne, Aaron Tveit and Daniel Huttlestone who play Eponine, Marius, Enjolras and Gavroche respectively. Despite not being big-named players in the movie industry, these guys showed true theatrical prowess in their powerful portrayals of the key players in the musical revolution.

For those who are not familiar with the book, the play, the musical and previous films on Les Miserables, the film adapts the strengths of all in its theatricality balanced well with good cinematography and musical arrangement. Almost all the singing in the movie was done on-set so the raw emotions of the actors and actresses can be felt through the screen. A testimony of which were the number of grown men crying audibly in the theater throughout the movie.

One happy addition that you can look forward to is the added action and confrontation to the film, that you would not usually get in the musical adaptation due tot he strain of singing during fight scenes. But do be warned, prepare yourself for inordinate amount of close-up shots during solo musical pieces. While most would find one-take closeups boring, I commend the fact that it does not take away from the meaning and emotion behind each song and instead helps you focus on each character's inner turmoil and dialogue.

A lot of key climactic build-up points which were conveyed musically were replaced with cinematic segues but all were done with class and with little left to want. Some of the build-ups I wish they could have included however are the lead-up to 'A Little Fall of Rain' and Gavroche's scrambling for ammunition. These build-ups would have done wonders for these characters' role in the greater scheme of things.

All in all, be prepared to cry as the 2012 Film Adaptation of Les Misérables is sure to be one of those films you'll remember for the rest of the year.

Do you hear the people sing?

Singing a song of angry men?

It is the music of a people

Who will not be slaves again!

When the beating of your heart

Echoes the beating of the drums

There is a life about to start

When tomorrow comes!

movie stills from google images

4th Philippine Kpop Convention Highlights

Hey guys! I was supposed to start out the new year as most sane people would - with a few resolutions here and there and concrete plans for the year ahead.

But when have I ever demonstrated the sanity possessed by most of my stature? Answer: Not that often.

So because of my utter excitedness and flail-deprived state, I've decided to put this post ahead of the rest and share with you my first ever Philippine Kpop Convention Experience.

Most of you who are my friends on facebook know that although I had concrete plans to go to the convention regardless of whether or not I had a free pass, I did indeed win one from a Nuffnang Blogging Contest not long ago. But even still, I thought why not go ahead and pay for the entrance because the proceeds go to a good cause anyway.

But at least I got some cool prizes from Globe, Liole, Pond's and Basic House. Lol They even made me go on stage, which was a little too embarrassing for my taste.

Photos by Philippine KPOP Committee Inc.

Other than that though, going into my first KCON, I was honestly mostly there for the prospect of meeting F.CUZ  in the flesh. I've followed their music since their first single Jiggy and I remember listening to them fondly on my delegation to Singapore as a representative of my high school LOL. So of course, the prospect of meeting them excited me greatly.

But one unexpected highlight of my day was actually being introduced to a wonderful rookie Kpop Band called A.CIAN. To be straightforward, they aren't the best looking, nor are they the most talented, but you can definitely tell that they have the drive as well as the mindset to make it big.

Photos by Ada Agupitan

When interviewed, their model and aim was to become as well-known and respected as TVXQ, and you can tell that they value each and every one of their fans. I mean, who else would hug their fans so tightly and sincerely like that?

Aren't they just adorable hugging their fans like that?

Photos care of Brandon Sy my partner in crime LOL

So much happened between A.CIAN's LIVE and then F.CUZ but I wasn't exactly able to catch it all. There were fanbooths, activities, giveaways, dance battles, singing contests, Kpop Cosplay presentations etc etc. It's almost too much to take in at once. So being the oddball that I am, I took a calm little tea break and read a book ahahaha. DON'T JUDGE ME!

A few hours later and it was finally time for F.CUZ to perform. I pulled off some fancy cheerdance moves and managed to shoulder-sit myself atop my kind Kpop Partner to get these shots LOL. Yay for having the tallest combined height amidst all the people standing on chairs x_x Also, forgive me, I am obviously very Kan-biased LOL.

Photos by Ada Agupitan

Photos by Brandon Sy

The boys were absolutely amazing. From Left to right you can see them in the above few pictures: Jinon (the leader, and also the smiliest of the bunch), Raehyun (the one who likes to give out hand-hearts and aegyo to the max), Yejun (the self-proclaimed puppy of the household), Deagun (the to-die-for vocal) and Kan (the house and the cool mysterious visual).

Everyone who purchased their album at the event had a chance to meet and greet the band, and might I say the boys were really happy throughout the whole thing. I remember Yejun's crescent moon smile-eyes, Jinon's super tight handshake and Kan's hug hohohoho. I think these three are by far my favorites of the bunch.

Their performance itself was amazing. I have a few videos of them performing Gangnam Style but unfortunately, the loud fanscreams made it so that the video was virtually un-watchable unless in mute haha. Just tell me if you guys still want it and I'll be more than happy to upload all their performances.

I was one of the few that knew all their songs by heart and actually sang along to their songs, No. 1, No One, Jiggy, and Rise Up. Sadly they didn't perform Answer the Phone, but hey, you can't have everything right?

Two lucky fans got to win a dinner date with the band. I WAS ONLY TWO NUMBERS AWAY FROM THE WINNING TICKET! (The winner was 60 and I was 62 hahaha). Owell.

All in all, it was an amazing day from 9 am to 8 pm, almost a full twelve hours for me. I really can't ask for more despite all the could'ves and should'ves because it was one of the most exhilarating experiences of my life.

Thank you PHILIPPINE KPOP COMMITTEE for organizing another wonderful successful event! Until next time!

P.S. Can we please have B1A4 and/or BAP next? hahaha Please and thank you!

Ada, signing out.

New Year!!!

Hey guys! Sorry about not being able to follow up properly with my other Year-End Review Post. I've decided not to push through with it because in all honesty, I'm enjoying my time with my family right now and I guess I deserve a little break of my own too right? Hahaha

I have a lot of things to blog about, and I'm so damn excited about starting the New Year right!

I have the KCON to talk about, where I got the awesome chance to meet and greet F.CUZ, and even get a hug from KAN hahaha. I won a lot of free stuff as well from my blogging, so expect some really exciting giveaways (skincare + a SIGNED CD GIVEAWAY!) Super duper happy about this.

I also have a few reviews, LOTDs, FOTDs and hair posts lined up, so you can definitely look forward to that! Just rest assured that I haven't forgotten about this blog and about my awesome readers!

Thanks for making my 2012 so awesome and special, and please continue to show your support this coming 2013!

For all your trouble, here, have some F.CUZ (I'll follow with a proper KCON post within the week, hopefully)

Aren't they just beautiful?

Have fun guys! Until I blog again!

Ada, signing out.

The 4th Philippine KPOP Convention

HUZZAH! If you were to ask me what particular part about being on December break I would be looking forward to the most this year, I would definitely answer, without reservation or qualms,

"The 4th Philippine KPOP Convention!!!" 

-Insert incomprehensible fangirl flails here-

Yes, my dear friends, after three years of lost opportunities, misguided priorities and thus the loss of any chance of my attending the previous three Philippine Kpop Conventions, I have decided to do my very best to make it to this year's event.

Ermherhgerhhd, Ada. How could you have let those chances pass you by!?!?

Oh, 4th Philippine Kpop Convention, how may I put into perspective all the fun that I have missed these past few years and all the fun I have yet to have once I attend this year? Let me count the ways.

And thus I bring you:

Ada's impossibly long list of things she is spazzing about/most excited about in this year's Philippine Kpop Convention

1) The SHEER NUMBER of Kpop Group Fanclubs participating is ALMOST UNREAL.

And these are just the groups I fangirl most. The semi-complete list of fanclubs is actually below with the names in bold being the fanclubs I belong to *in my head*, but hopefully after Kpop Con, I'll be an official member of all of these as well!

MAJOR FANCLUBS

2NE1 PH, 4minute PH, 2Oneday PH, Beast PH, Shrine of BoA PH, Bigbang PH, Cassiopeia PH, CNBlue PH, EXO PH, Girl's Generation PH, Beyond Infinity Philippines, MBLAQ PH, Primadonna PH, SHINee World PH, Shinhwa PH, Super Junior United PH, T-ara PH, TripleS PH, Ukissme PH, Wonderful PH

MINOR FANCLUBS

A Pink PH, B.A.P PH, B1A4 PH, Boyfriend PH, Brown Eyed Girls PH, Co.Ed PH, Dal Shabet PH, Davichi PH, F.Cuz PH, Fly to the Sky Philippines, Perf(x)tion PH, G.NA PH, Girl's Day PH, GP Basic PH, Hello Venus PH, High Skool PH, Jay Effect PH, IU PH, KARA PH, Airen PH, Nine Muses PH, Nu'EST PH, Play Girlz PH, Rainbow PH, SecreTime PH, Se7enolution PH, Supernova PH, Teen Top PH, ZE:A PH, Miss-A PH, SISTAR PH

ROOKIE FANCLUBS

4MEN PH, A-LIGHT PH, Double B21 PH, Block B Club PH, Brian Joo PH, C, REAL PH, Dalmatian PH, DNT PH, F1RST PH, JJ Project PH, Lee Hyori PH, N-Train PH, Oh Wonbin PH, SeeYa PH, Shapley PH, SHU-I PH, SM the Ballad PH, The Boss PH, T-Max PH, X-Five PH

And all these clubs have each of their own special activities, merchandise sales and get-together events planned. So you see, there's a place for  everybody here at Kpop Con, and even if you aren't much of a Kpop fan, who's to say you can't appreciate the hot gals and guys that comprise the industry? Hey, half the guys and gals in love with Kpop right now were visual-baited and I'm pretty sure it wasn't necessarily their music that caught most people's eyes haha.

Yehp, definitely here for the music.

2) Speaking of hot Kpop artists, did I mention F.cuz and rookie group A.cian will be there?

Ah yes, Engrish has never been so hot. And imagine being at the same convention hall as these wonderful acts, shaking their hands, getting to see them in fanmeets and actually getting to shake their hands (wait, I said that already) - doesn't that sound positively exhilarating?

I'm especially excited to meet Kan of F.cuz. IMO he's definitely one of the more breathtaking visuals out there~ Plus, his voice is absolutely to die for.

But what if you aren't a fan of A.cian or F.cuz? No worries, no worries. The organizers have thought this one out as well.

3) There will be dozens of Kpop Look-alikes at the event @_@

"Why? How? What????", you may ask.

Well, ever since the success of last year's Kpop Look-Alike contest, the organizers have taken it upon themselves to hold one this year as well. And might I say, the prospects are ah-may-zing. Let last year's winners be a testimony of the awesomeness of what is to come. So even if your favorite artists aren't going to be there, I'm pretty sure you'll be able to find someone just as pretty, talented and with the same interests as well. What's better is they'll probably speak your own language as well haha.

And personally, if I may say so myself, if you squint really really really hard, I look just a teeny weeny bit like f(x)'s Victoria.

No? Not really? Okay :(

And if stalking pretty men and women just isn't your thing, there's always the window shopping, because

4) There will be loads of concessionaires for KOREAN MERCHANDISE

That includes CDs, clothes, food, fan merch, and did I mention FOOD?
Not to mention awesome booths by the main sponsors of the event as well:

Globe

Standard Appliance

Pond’s 

Basic House

and

Liole

5. And the best part -- in lieu of tickets, donations will be taken at the door for CHARITY!

Not only will you be having an awesome time enjoying all the events lined up, you'll also be doing organizations like GAWAD KALINGA and PAWS a huge huge huge huge favor! What's not to love?

With all that and then some, I'm pretty sure of what I'm going to be doing this December 29th from 9am to 9pm at the PICC Forums 1, 2, and 3.

How about you guys? Are you ready for the biggest Kpop Convention in the Philippines?

Keep in touch and stay in the know by liking The 4th Philippine Kpop Convention's FB Page, and by following their twitter. And for those who are just as decided as I am, SEE YOU THERE!