Studies in RESTRAINT...

My favorite line in the recent James Bond movie,
Casino Royale,
was from M to 007:

"You're a BLUNT INSTRUMENT, James."

Well said, Dame Judi Dench!
She could've said the same thing to me:

Spanky,
poster boy for lack of subtlety,
case study for zero restraint,
and a living thesis on indefatigable passions.


"Carpe Diem" to the max:

No gray areas;
Life in Black or White.

In or Out,
no middle ground.

Pedal to the metal,
damn the torpedoes,
and full speed ahead!


How could I have turned out otherwise?

My basketball idol while I was growing up,
and to this very day,
is none other than

Robert "The Living Legend" Jaworski,
the quintessential blunt instrument of the PBA!


Fortunately for most,
the overwrought passions of youth
can be cooled by the patience
that arrives with maturity.

Unfortunately for some,
I'm still as blunt as ever,
and still burning as hotly.

Pikon pa rin,
parang si Da Big J talaga!



I'm not worried though;

I continue to learn
the Art of Subtlety
and
the Wisdom of Restraint,

thanks to some of my favorite movies ",

LOST IN TRANSLATION:
Sofia Coppola redeemed her godawful "acting"
in The Godfather III with this film,

proving to the world,
that like her father, the great Francis Ford,
that she belongs at the back of the camera,
and definitely not in front of it.

In this heartbreakingly great film of staggering genius,
Bill Murray veers ever so close into an affair
with the luscious Scarlett Johansson,

but in the end,
does the right thing,
and against all Manly Logic,
uses his head,
instead of thinking with his,
well, other head.

The last scene in Tokyo between the almost-lovers
is unforgettable, and the great debate continues:

What exactly did he whisper to the girl?

IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE:
If you're not a fan of Asian Cinema yet,
do get a DVD of this film,
and bask in the brilliance of director Wong Kar Wai.

This film, set in Hong Kong in the early 1960s,
is the classic study on restraint,
and its seemingly languid pace
is a perfect counterpoint to the unbearable tension

caused by the elegant dance of supression of passions
that Tony Leung Chiu Wai and Maggie Cheung
perfectly perform over the movie's running time.

Their clothes do stay on,
but ITMFL is infinitely sexier
than most R-rated American films I've seen.

CASABLANCA:
the mack daddy of 'em all.

Humphrey Bogart.
Drinking scotch. Lots of it.
Chain smoking cigarette after cigarette.
Saving and shattering his soul at the same time.

Ingrid Bergman.
Heartbreakingly beautiful.
Even as time goes by.

Some of the most memorable lines in movie history,
and definitely one of the best endings ever.

This classic,
regarded as one of the Top 5 Films of All Time,
is in equal parts
a heroic war story,
a sophisticated comedy,
a wry tale of friendship,
and most of all,
a treatise on virtue and nobility.

And so,
what have I learned from all this?

As the Rolling Stones once sang,
"You Can't Always Get What You Want",

but sometimes,
you end up with something better!



And James Bond,
who started off as a blunt instrument,
eventually became a really sharp weapon.

Cool.


The name's Enriquez.

Spanky Enriquez.