‘Not a love story’

Netnet Camomot .

“SID & Aya: Not a Love Story” managed to survive amidst the usual invasion of Hollywood blockbusters: “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom,” “Ocean’s 8” and “Incredibles 2.” And, on Sunday night, there I was again watching “Sid & Aya” for the second time as the “double” after watching “Ocean’s 8” earlier that same evening.

Once upon a time, movie houses in Cagayan de Oro had double features, meaning, one ticket for two movies, and we had to sit through both for many hours until our eyes glazed over. Unlike today when each ticket has a seat number, standing room only was allowed then, with the audience standing or sitting on the aisles, stairs and hallways as long as they could squeeze themselves into the madding crowd and see the projection screen from their vantage point. The last time I did that was 21 years ago in 1997 for “Titanic” at the Skyhi cinema in Cogon.

There was no specific sked then for a movie watcher to enter a theater. One could buy a ticket while the ticket booth was open and enter the theater at any time of the screening, thus, he could watch the last part of the movie first and then wait for the next screening for the scenes he missed. Those days are so over but spending many hours inside a theater is still possible if, say, you want to watch three movies in one day. At least you’re now watching them from beginning to end and not the other way around, while seated comfortably on your reserved seat.

With cinemas conveniently located inside malls, a Catholic can now spend his whole Sunday there: hear Mass, shop, lunch, movie, dinner, and coffee. The non-Catholic is, of course, most welcome, too—all he has to do is skip the Mass. The mall is a one stop shop for almost everything. Even shuttle services for Laguindingan Airport have terminals at the malls where the traveller can immediately start shopping upon arrival.

There are travellers who do prefer shopping—or doing nothing—after having selfies at tourist spots. They don’t want to climb mountains, have no interest in scuba diving, and would rather feast on the usual fare—no fried bugs, please. Even when out-of-town and out-of-country, they still crave for the familiar. Each traveller has his own idea of a vacation, if he wants to sit around and simply savor the view, that’s perfectly fine.

Or he may not even have to travel at all but stay in his hometown where he can watch “Ocean’s 8” and see why a friend now calls Sandra Bullock as Sandra Botox. The movie’s main occasion, however, is not a Botox party but the annual Met Gala in New York, which Bullock and most of “Ocean’s 8’s” stars—Cate Blanchett, Rihanna, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter, Mindy Kaling, Sarah Paulson, etc.—had graced with their presence and bonggang-bonggang attire for several years now in their real and fabulous life. But for the movie, only Hathaway’s character, Daphne Kluger, is a Hollywood celebrity while the rest of them play non-celebrity roles who have to be at the Met Gala to—spoiler alert!—steal the $150-million Cartier Toussaint necklace that’s hanging around Kluger’s neck.

Women usually use fashion jewelry in this second decade of the 21st century so the Toussaint is for the most special of occasions such as the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, provided you’re Markle and not merely her bridesmaid.

Necklaces, like the Toussaint, are expensive—you can buy a skyscraper for the same amount. Still, it’s better to buy the real thing since the quality of the fake kind will never be as good as the original item it’s trying to copy.

Is a $150-million necklace available online? Hmmm. I’m one of the few who have remained old school when it comes to shopping—personally buying an item from a store instead of online.

“If a picture paints a thousand words/Then why can’t I paint you?” could be the theme song for an online store whose items look good in the photo but not in reality. Despite that risk, ordering online has become popular due to the traffic between house and store which can cause additional stress, making online shopping as the more convenient option.

Impulsive buying is probably easier through online shopping where a purchase is simply a click away, and you can never go wrong with quality bags, wallets and shoes which can last for many years but you should use them or else they’ll go mahay for being ignored. You need only one wallet, though, until it chooses to retire since transferring items from one wallet to another daily or even weekly or monthly can be complicated. But we do buy new wallets and receive them as gifts, so, they’re all there, waiting patiently.

The secret to life must be to want and buy only the things you truly need otherwise you’re wasting money and resources.

For Sid (Dingdong Dantes) and Aya (Anne Curtis), however, the secret to life must be having the time to make muni-muni in Japan.