New Moon

The cheesy lines could probably melt the heart of young girls. There aren't that many actions as anticipated in New Moon. Edward Cullen doesn't look as captivating as he was in Twilight. He is in pain (for having to leave Bella), hence his pale look and becomes less appealing, my sister came to his defence. At some point, I agree but he is still too pale to be attractive =p

It was an all girls outing on Saturday. There were 3 of them who had not seen Twilight. So, after the movie, we had a Twilight series marathon. We saw Twilight so that the rest of the 3 girls could relate. They should have seen the prequel first. Alas, time didn't permit them to do so. I must say that I still prefer Twilight to New Moon. Perhaps the book may change my mind. I am still working on Twilight, not even half of the book is read. Ganbatte! There are a number of details not mentioned in the movie, which made those who has not read the book wonder a little.

Anyway, I reckon fans of Twilight series will definitely give a go to New Moon despite what the review is. All in all, it's entertaining and it provides a lot of topics of discussion among girls - well, now there are 2 hunks to scream over. So, guys, please bear with the girls for a while.

All right, let me get back to the cheesy-vampire-romance-thriller ;p I need to at least finish the first book!

500 Days Of Summer

We decided to have a movie together before I flew off. After browsing through the movies available in the cinema, my sister and I shortlisted a few : G-Force, 500 Days of Summer, Accident (I decided not to go for this as the story line sounded a little disturbing).

At the counter, I was torn in between G-Force (cute hamsters!) and 500 Days of Summer. In the end, I chose 500 Days of Summer.

According to the review, it's a romance comedy starred by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Sounds familiar? He's the guy who acted in Third Rock from the Sun. Overall, the movie just faired averagely. It's not romantic although it consists of humour, which causes laughter every now and then. Levitt's performance is rather impressive in this simple movie, I would say.

The story started with Levitt broke off with Summer (his "girlfriend") and how his buddies consoled him. Then, the audience was brought to the scene how Levitt met Summer. Every now and then, the audience will be brought back and forth within the 500 days of Levitt and Summer's romance. It illustrated how the relationship grew and ended and how Levitt coped with it.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Everyone tries to cheat aging and some one would give anything in exchange of youth. It does sound promising if you get younger when everyone around you seems to be going the opposite way. Wouldn't it be great if you could outlive others? I personally didn't like the idea. Perhaps you could say I am selfish but I don't like the idea of seeing people who I care or who I know leave one by one before my eyes. I rather be the one who leave first or leave when I am happiest (though it would be the most difficult time to let go). Well, it does scare me on the thought of death as I do not know how will I die. If I die peacefully and without major complications, I have no fear.

Ah, what's all the talk on death about? Hehe, I went for a movie yesterday (finally!!). The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. It's a very touching story and it discusses many aspects of life, which set me to ponder.

"I was born under unusual circumstances"

Benjamin, a less fortunate baby borned with deforms, who was deserted by his father (Thomas Button - an heir to a reputated button manufacturer Button's Button) who could not accept his ugly appearance, after his mother died giving birth to him. Benjamin was left at the doorstep of a nursing home ran by a lady who is kind-hearted but unable to conceive named Queenie.

Despite receiving discouraging remarks by two of her friends, Queenie decided to raise this child. She introduced Benjamin to others as her sister's baby and her sister could not look after the poor child. Hence, he would be joining the elderly as part of a family member.

Looking old and wrinkled, Benjamin was born weak and his body seemed to perform like an elderly who was nearing death. He would not live long, according to a doctor.

Much to Queenie's surprise, Benjamin lived longer than expected and as days go by, his body showed signs of growth instead of deterioration. Being special and different from other kids, Benjamin had never been far away from his home until a friend brought him out. It opened a whole new world to him and that's the beginning of a new chapter in Benjamin's journey of life.

The story was delivered in a narrative way with constant flashbacks. David Fincher did an excellent job in putting together the scenes such that the connectivity and the flow is undisrupted. Although the movie is tear-jerking, Fincher never failed to put a smile on his audiences' face from time to time, especially when one least expected it.

I am impressed how petty details were considered and blended into the scenes. To those who are die-hard fans of action movies or horror movies, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button may not be your cup of tea. It discusses many aspects of life through the eyes of Benjamin. He had been through war and lived through the pain of parting with people who were dear to him.

In his 20s, Benjamin had his first encounter with his father but he didn't know that man was his father. It was only when his father was dying, he was made known to that fact. Benjamin was upset with his father but he decided to let go of the past later and embrace what's lying before his eyes.

Like most Hollywood movies, romance is an important element. Benjamin first love was Daisy, whom he met at the nursing home. Her lovely blue eyes captivated him at the first sight but due to their differences at the time they met, there's no development to the sparks ignited. Benjamin had quite a number of affairs with women before meeting Daisy again, with whom he had a baby girl later.

The ending of the movie isn't exactly a happy one, if you ask me. Benjamin's unusual biological aging and growth complicated his relationship with Daisy. As much as he wanted to be with Daisy and their love child Caroline (named after Benjamin's late mother), he knew he would not be able to provide what a father could considering his reversing aging process - he's growing younger physically while Daisy was growing older. Hence, he sold all the assets bequeathed to him by his father and left the proceeds to Daisy and Caroline. It's a heart-breaking scene if you put yourself in either of their shoes *sniff sniff*

What saddened me was the fact that Benjamin turned into a little boy who had dimentia and aged terribly from within. He then died as a baby, the exact same way he came into the world but only in the reverse form. Well, the only consolation is that he died in the arms of the woman he loved, unwrinkled and youthful.

If you notice, those who are born extraordinary usually have higher morality than others. Perhaps their imperfection mould them into a more humble and empathetic soul who treat others sincerely.

Enough said. In fact, I think I have revealed too much =p Shall leave you to enjoy this masterpiece.

P/S: This is the first time I bought a couple seat. There're no more seats with good view. The only that were left were two rows from the screen. No way, I had enough neck strains. A crazy thought came to my mind - I wanted to take a picture of my sister and myself in a couple seat. However, I dismissed that after a second thought. That's just too embarassing. It's just a couple seat! LOL.

First Movie of The Year 2009 - Ip Man

Happy New Year 2009! It's the first day of 2009 but I feel I am living in yesteryear. This always happens to me. *shrug* Anyway, hope 2009 is a better year for everyone.

What's my celebration to welcome the year of 2009? I went out with my colleagues after work yesterday (worked for half day only) and had pizza for lunch. We actually talked for about 5 hours, including eating time! It was great as we had an enjoyable time talking and laughing our hearts out. We were pratically talking about everything under the sun. It was also my first time after God knows how may years that I had Mc Donald's Sundae cone! No joke. LOL.

Today, I went to catch a movie which I had longed to see since last year - Ip Man. To my shame, I called it I-P Man but it's actually "Yip Man" =p Well, blame it all on my technical background (easy way out huh? hehehe).

Starred by Donnie Yen, this kung fu flick is definitely a good movie to start off the year 2009. Ip Man discusses the spirit of Wing Chun martial art, humanity, morality and friendship. Apart from sleekly choreographed kicks and punches, the script writer and director introduced humour into the movie, which added more flavour to the one-hour-forty-minutes long movie.

There are some scenes, which typically exaggerate the fact that one man could defeat a crowd of more than ten men at one time. I am not doubting the strength of Wing Chun but it doesn't seem too logical why would a group of ten (or more) attacks a single person one at a time instead of all ten (or more) attacking at once. Anyway, it's common to find the above mentioned in almost every action movies.

Donnie Yen protrayal of a humble, well-mannered, righteous and a truly gentleman has me admiring him even more (I have always liked his movies). Umm,..yeah. I am getting the character and the actor mixed up all together but who cares?! hehehe. People like him is scarcely found in the universe these days. Plus, who would not fall head over heels for him if you see him in action.

Credit should also be given to Wilson Yip (director) for his splendid job in capturing the war scenes. They are very realistic and it's indeed very heart-breaking to see how war destroys a country and its people.

All in all, I enjoyed the movie very much and if you are a fan of martial arts, don't miss this ;)

Falling In Love With Drop Dead Gorgeous Vampire

Romance between an immortal and mortal under the twilight seems intriguing and mysterious. It only happens in movies and we could only imagine how it's like to be in this kind of unusual relationship. Things get more complicated when one is the predator of the other.

If you have been to the cinema lately, you should have guessed I am referring to Twilight. Written by Stephenie Meyer, it's adapted by Melissa Rosenberg to screenplay and directed by Catherine Hardwicke. After looking through all the available movies on screen, Twilight seems to be the only available movie that's interesting. Starring Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, the movie is about a romance between a junior high school student Isabella (or known as Bella) Swan and a vampire Edward Cullen.

Robert Pattinson may seem familiar to some of you. Well, he acted in Harry Potter as Cedric Diggory. When I read a review about Twilight, the reviewer gave credit to Pattinson's good look. I didn't agree as soon as I saw the movie's poster and I didn't change my mind on that even when he made his appearance in the first scene. Perhaps his squarish jaw and his utterly pale skin (not to mention his ruby red lips) wasn't exactly that appealing to me. I thought they were such an odd combination. It was about after an hour only did I find Pattinson attractive. His eyes were arresting and hypnotic.

Kristen Stewart did an excellent job in protraying the character Isabella Swan. Although shy and quiet, she caught the attention of her new schoolmates, who then immediately became her close friends. She also managed to attract a few boy's attention but she was only attracted to Edward, who was in her Biology class. Adopted by Dr. Cullen, he lived with the Cullen's in the middle of the woods, far away from town. Everyone thought that the Cullen clan was weird and distant. They only mingled among themselves. [Gosh, I love Kristen's legs. They were long and slender. Wish I have them!]

The dialogues between the characters were well scripted. Intelligent, witty and romantic. Exactly the way I like them. Unlike many other two-hour movies, Twilight has good character and story development. However, you may have already noticed that a scene was obviously being censored and that was a spoiler. Anyway, I am sure you would know the sources to obtain the uncensored version ;p

Thanks to the television series Angel, I was under the impression that vampires will be burnt when exposed to sun. In Rosenberg's protrayal, the skin of the vampires would sparkle like diamonds when exposed to sun and hence, leading others to notice they are different from other mortals.

Apart from romance, Hardwicke did an excellent job in enticing her audiences with suspense for the remaining 30-45 minutes of the runtime. I was holding to my seat and breath until the suspense fell flat. I am expecting a sequel to Twilight because the ending suggested so. You will get what I mean when you see the movie.

I thought the ending was romantic and Stewart looked just as gorgeous in the blue dress. Pattinson and Stewart is a good match and the chemistry between the two actually made the movie a success, though credits should be given to other supporting actors as well.

Twilight is an entertaining romance and thriller flick. I would certainly recommend this movie to all movie-goers. Perhaps after seeing this movie, you may start to appreciate the relationship with your significant half.

High School Musical Year 3

What makes a movie extraordinary and stand out among others? Kenny Ortega has the answer to this question. Coupled with catchy songs and sleekly choreographed dance moves, a movie is no longer a story telling affair. Kudos to Ortega for putting up yet another awesome musical movie.

High School Musical had been advertised on Disney Channel in Copenhagen since the day I set foot at the foreign land - about once every hour. It attracted my attention especially with the song "Right Here, Right Now" and some interesting dance moves. I decided to see it when I am back in Malaysia. Actually, I wanted to see Eagle Eye before flying off. Alas, time did not permit me to do so. My sister saw it with a friend and I wanted us to catch a movie together.

The story is simple but I enjoyed the movie very much. I have a tendency to like musical shows and High School Musical is my cup of tea. It is well packaged with comedy, romance, action (in terms of dance and oh, basket ball match) and great songs.

As I was led into the story by the characters, I could relate some of my experiences to the characters'. Good old school days are sweet and innocent. I miss the time when my friends and I would cherish every free period we had together.

I particularly like the scenes when Troy and Gabriella waltz in the balcony and the school garden. The scene which Troy and Chad danced to "The Boys Are Back" was awesome as well. I felt a sudden sparkle of desire to pick up dancing lessons right away. Yeah, I have been thinking of that since..mmmm, I can't recall when and yet, here I am, still not realising it. Blame it all on laziness ;p

Take my hand
Take a breath
Pull me close
And take one step
Keep your eyes
Locked on mine
And let the music be your guide........

Now, if you would excuse me, I would like to see the waltz scene again.

Innocent Steps

My friend's craze over dance reminds me of a movie I saw about 2 years ago. It's a Korean movie and I think some of you might have seen it too - Innocent Steps. The heroine in the movie is Moon Geun Young, a name which have brought much pride to the Koreans. Apart from starring in the popular tragic romance drama Autumn In My Heart, she's the most sought after commercial young artist in Asia.

I am drawn to her exceptionally great performance in Innocent Steps. Not sure about others, but I think she portrayed the character very well. Though she's not a trained professional dancer, I was almost deceived she's. Innocent Steps also managed to get me shed some tears. Mmm...maybe I am the emo kind.

If you have not seen it, would recommend you to spend about 2 hours of your weekend seeing how the 2 hero and heroine grace the dance floor. Worth watching, especially if you are interested in dancing.

Sharing with you is the MV of the OST (Thousand Years of Love). Enjoy.

The Dark Knight

"You either die a hero or live long enough to see the bad guy you have become"

-The Dark Knight 2008-

I have finally seen The Dark Knight! The queue at the cinemas yesterday was rather intimidating. Not to mention the plasma screens kept reminding you that the seating was FULL for the next 3 sessions were upsetting. My sis and I actually expected that it would still be difficult to get the tickets as The Dark Knight is this summer's blockbuster. So, we had worked out back-up plans. We would see any one movie listed below if tickets for The Dark Knight are sold out, with the "most wanted" ranked number 1.

1. The Dark Knight
2. Red Cliff
3. The Mummy 3
4. Hancock

The truth is, tickets for all the 4 movies mentioned above were selling off fast. Seating for these movies were FULL and not to mention they were full for the next 2 or 3 sessions! Bet the cinema must be happy that its business is taking a good turn-point.We decided to queue our way up to the counter nonetheless. Perhaps those seats were booked by people who had yet to collect the tickets 45 minutes before the show start. We are still early. Once we were at the counter, we requested for 2 tickets to The Dark Knight. The counter-teller said only the second row from the screen was available, as expected. We took the offer.

It wasn't too bad except to adjust our sights to such near images. After the movie ended, our sight was a little blurry and we felt a little dizzy when trying to adjust to the light and objects ahead of us. LOL. Rather funny when comes to think about it. Things got better after a while. No major harm done so long it doesn't happen regularly.

The movie was great!! Although I have heard many positive comments from those around me, it managed to outdid the high expectations I had set basis on the information I gathered.

This sequel is a little different from the previous sequels in the sense that it has a good combination of action flicks, emotion twirls, and comedy. I like a couple of lines from the movie. I find them rather meaningful and something I could relate to.

I didn't know what or how does a Lamborghini look like until I saw this movie. LOL. Forgive my shallowness. At one point of time, I thought it was a kind of drink ~_~"

In some ways, I feel the character Joker is quite disturbing. It simply shows the dark side of human and a disillusioned person. However, there's something about this character which worth noting. One of his favourite saying is "Why so serious?" I do agree that sometimes we need to step back and stop being too serious. In that way, life is more relaxing and we can see the world from a different perspective. The movie brought up a very important reminder that human may change according to time or life experience but we should not succumb to evilness when we are distraught or when we are pushed to the verge. If we do, all the good we have done would go to waste. I agree that it's easier said than done as human are creatures filled up with emotions. Anyway, The Dark Knight had proven it is possible to be incorruptible. Perhaps, we need more perseverance.

Christian Bale is more gorgeous than I remembered. He has very sharp features. I love his eyes and his lips look sexy. From some angles and some pictures, he resembles Tom Cruise (my idol!).

P/S: Apologize if the opening quote of this post is not accurate. I couldn't remember the exact phrase from the movie. I suppose it's pretty close.

picture source:
movieweb
us.movies
moviesmedia.ign
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