Reviews

A group of people got in the elavator and was talking about the new movie "Aladdin". They are in the middle of a passionate conversation (Actually, I only heard one talking loudly.) and the conversation went on like this :

Talker 1 : Nabasa ko sa mga reviews ang panget ng Aladdin. May mga scenes kasi na kailangan kumanta e ang sabi sa reviews di naman singer si Will Smith! E un Genie kaya nagdala ng movie na yun.
Talker 2 : E kasi...
Other people in the conversersation : ...
Talker 1 : ...Mas ok pa "daw" un unang gumanap na Genie...

This conversation went on until they got off their floor with talker 1 dominating the conversation with the review that she read. I almost chuckled at how talker 1 is reacting so intensely about a movie she has never seen and how she has probably never seen the cartoon version which Robin Williams did a voice over of. And just in case you don't know, Will Smith is a rapper back in the 90's.

We currently live in a world were most people rely on what they have read online, regardless if this is true or not. I am guilty of reading reviews on how a movie or TV show goes, or how a particular food in a restaurant tasted, or how this shoe is better than that shoe and so on and so forth. It gives us the preview of that particular thing is like before we try it for ourselves. The thing is, most reviews are based on the perception of the person who is writing the review. We all have different "tastes" in things which are based on our own experiences in life. Reviews are there to basically have that person share his or her experiences which most of the time will not be the same as how you will feel if you give that particular experience a chance. Take for example a review on perfumes and scent. How can you possible write about what something smelled like? You can say the base notes are like this and the heart notes are like that but what does it actually smell like using your own nose? Wouldn't it be better if you actually go to a store and smell it for yourself? It's actually free and you are under no obligation to buy something as buying a perfume that suits your own body chemistry is complicated. Some people would say, it's humiliating. I would ask why? And the most common answer I get is they are afraid the salesperson will judge them negatively which is kind of sad because these people are passing up an opportunity to learn more about a product that they want to buy and just blind buy an item because it is more convenient than to be judged and then afterwards giving the perfume a bad review because it smelled bad on them after a few hours. And at the end of the day, that salesperson that you are so afraid of "being judged" by will not even remember it by the end of the day and if they do, so what? What they think of you is none of your business. So instead of relying solely of what you've read online, try living what that person has lived if you really want to try something. Don't get me wrong, reviews are awesome. It gives you a sneak peak of the experience of that thing you want to try. But it is not living if you rely solely on what the reviewer has said and you will be missing most of your life if you never tried the things you are curious about just because of a "bad review".

I did watch Aladdin growing up. It is one of my favorites and is still guilty of watching it in my 20's. I also did watch the new version with Will Smith and  it is technically the same except for the part that the original is a cartoon and the only difference is how the new has a different beginning and an ending which I will not go into detail. And Will Smith as Genie gave this movie a different twist with his "Fresh Prince from Bel Air" kind of approach in portraying the character. I still felt the same "kilig feeling" when they were flying over Agrabah with carpet while singing "A Whole New World" and it made me feel good so that's enough for me to give the new version a thumbs up.