“..Book to Movie Marathon..”

I’m starting this not knowing how long this post will be, so bear with me if it does end up long-ish..

Saturday was our “third first date”. So we retraced our steps as best we could of our first date, and had dinner at The Esplanade around 5-ish. We dropped by Reets’ primary schoolmates’ reunion and left around 9-ish. Of course I had to watch the Man United - Sunderland match.. and since me and Reets hasn’t been out to the movies in a while, Reets had the presence of mind to bring a few dvd’s so we could sort of  catch up on lost movie time.. 3 out of the 4 movies just happened to be inspired by books.

Twilight... Poster vs Original Book Cover

Twilight – Stephanie Meyer
Ok. This book was an awesome read.. then again I’m a sucker for vampire shit. I discovered that this was a book when the trailers started showing and i did some research about the movie. I read the series almost straight away. The premise of the story is a typical mortal/vampire love story.. not new but the difference here is these vamps are not the types that turn to dust during the day..
The movie does stay relatively close to the book plotwise. Apart from a few minor additions and some superficial aesthetic changes, yeah, it was a good one.. I can’t discuss this one further cuz Reets hasn’t finished reading the book, and the DVD couldn’t read like halfway through the movie..bummer..so she didn’t get to watch the movie to the end either.. double bummer.. I am waiting to see how the producers of Twilight the movie are going to follow this up with the other 3 books.. New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn. I’ve also read about the companion book to Twilight, Midnight Sun that tells the whole story of Twilight in the eyes of Edward Cullen instead of Bella.

 

Marley and Me – Poster vs Original Book Cover

Marley and Me – John Grogan
This is definitely a feel good movie. Me likey. And the ending, well it’s kinda sad but inevitable. Also inevitable would be comparisons to the book… which I will not make.. cuz I’ve never read the book.. hehehe.. The dog was cute.. too cute to hate.. I must say Jennifer Anniston and Owen Wilson has good on screen chemistry yes? NOOOOOOO… Owen Wilson could just be any character in his last 5 movies…and Jenn?, well Jenn is Jenn. Put her in a coffee shop, change the name to rachel.. but kinda older and more matured.. that’s that… The pull factor here is the dog and the misadventures and the sweet sweet moments.. the dog made the show.. hell it IS about him anyway right? watch the movie straight up.. do not expect powerful performances.. just enjoy the feelgood story.

 

Slumdog Millionaire vs Q & A

Slumdog Millionaire (inspired by Q & A – Vikas Swarup)
The IT movie of the present.. Everyone was talking about it during the Oscars.. Prolly half of Singapore already watched it.. but not me..even my FUTURE IN-LAWS had already watched it. And forgive my ignorance but I just found out today , that it was inspired by a book. I can’t say it was based on a book because the plotline has very little similarity. But now that I’ve seen the movie.. I want to read the book. Ok for the unitiated, Slumdog Millionaire tells the story of a young man (Jamal) from the slums of Mumbai who appears on the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and exceeds people’s expectations, arousing the suspicions of the game show host and of law enforcement officials. The story is told in a narrative as he explains to the police how he knew the answers for the questions. Flasbacks include how he and his brother (Salim) left the slums..and his love for Lakita a childhood friend also from the slums. I’ve yet to read the book, but I have been informed that in the book Jamal is not Jamal.. and him and Salim are not brothers.. and Lakita was not a childhood friend.. and the differences go on and on.. Nevertheless I totally enjoyed Slumdog and it’s the kind of movie i think, that the old and the young could appreciate.. It deserves all the accolades it has received..

and so that was my weekend.. how was yours..

Till Next Time..

“..somebody’s gonna get hurt real bad..”

somebody….

No prizes who said that.. lol.. if you don’t know then you must have been in some youtube/internet void for the past 3 years..

Fortunately, managed to get tickets to Russell Peter’s latest show in Singapore at the Rock Auditorium in Suntec City.. sold out for the 3rd and 4th (tonight and tomorrow), the organisers opened up an extra show on the 2nd (last night).. I asked Reets to come with but she declined.. so it was just me and Syida… fortunate enought to grab two seats before it sold out (albeit it was an obstructed view)..

settled down at 8 ish into our seats.. and the show opened with Angelo Tsarouchas. I’d seen him on a lot of Russell’s clips on youtube as the guy introducing Russell.. but hadn’t really occured to me to search Angelo as a stand up by his own right.. this guy is HILARIOUS.. great opening act ..

Russell’s kicked off his set in his usual laid back style.. and It was rip roaring.. gut wrenching.. jaw cramping .. laugh fest all the way till almost 11.. Totally new material that I assure you have not seen on the net.. well not yet.. not gonna spoil it either.. cuz the shits funny .. an i won’t do him no justice by giving some spoilers..

but he did close the show with a classic.. well a variation of a classic..

that was from the closing of Russell Peters : Outsourced.. which I have ..funny how he mentioned then he was retiring that joke.. but hey .. it was an encore . so it doesn’t count as part of his set….  there was a new DVD out last night which he says has not been released in Northern America yet.. but yeah.. gave it a pass.. lol no money lahh.. It’d probably be another 2 years before he comes around here again , if he does.. But IF he does.. I’ll be sure I get the tickets early.. to get the good seats..

Speaking of good seats.. one of the guys whom Russell railed on turned out to be my long lost school mate Melvinder ..lol.. that’s always a good thing..

too bad didn’t manage to get any pictures..

“.. Sing To The Dawn..”

Got free passes to watch Sing To The Dawn (STTD) over the Deepavali Holiday.. 

I applaud the producers of this film for the attempt. The first REAL step into animated movies (them legend of the sea and that other one doesn’t count they were not movies they were a joke).. ok.. now the reality check.. The movie .. was bad.. real bad.. It stunk so much that the drycleaner will not even touch the shirt i wore to the show. Then again this is MY OPINION.. so  yeah.. let’s get started shall we..(might be some spoilers)

1.The Casting
For a story said to be set in “generic” South East Asia, I feel the producers of STTD did not put enought thought in casting the characters. There is a Big bully character with an Thai-sounding name (Euchai), but speaks in a burly semi cockney/aussie drawl.. it’s an asian forest with Asian animals..the white parakeet sounds local but the black mynah bird also has an australian accent. And a malayan tapir with sophisticated british accent… bad idea mate…The voice acting also came across as a bit stiff in some parts and lacked conviction.

2. The artwork.
The artwork is very important in an animated movie. And although I liked some parts of it.. for the most it leaves a really sour taste in my mouth. I mean, the human characters seemed very .. i don’t know.. very robotic in the movement. It doesn’t feel natural. It doesn’t draw you into the scene. Even the vocal/dialogue synch is bad. I mean , in comparison, Upin and Ipin (those ever popular twins from Malaysia’s TV9) were better rendered then STTD; and they are prolly working with a smaller budget too..The animals (more of this later) lacked CHARACTER.. and all of them were forgettable at best.

3. The story..
Mingfong Ho wrote a story of the frustrations, hardships, and political injustices of everyday life in a village in SEA. The story of Dawan, a young Thai girl who seeks the opportunity to continue her education at a city high school by taking a special examination. She also has noble goals to save her village from greedy landlords. But she must compete with her brother, who also takes the test, and must face the disapproval and prejudice of her father, who feels that city life and schooling are not for girls. The movie however these themes are toned down to the extent that the actual theme of the book is just a passing fancy. and then there were the animals.. WTFF??!! I happened to watch a “the making of..” of STTD, and the producers admitted they added the animals for comedic effect. The whole plot seemed to be thrown together by a pack of monkeys in front of typewriters.

4. The music.
This movie featured 6 original songs written specifically for it. I have no base for comparison with the musical version of STTD but the songs were horrible. I only liked “It’s a family affair” only because of it’s catchy uptempo tune. The title track of the movie is a feeble attempt at a “be inspired” kinda song. Coupled with Celine Rosa very thin voice on this particular movie.. it just falls flat. Very.. “template” you know.. While walking through the hallway on the way to the concession stand
i over heard somebody remarked,” If I hear that theme song one more time I’m gonna kill someone”

In conclusion.. don’t bother on this movie.. No “must support local movie productions”.. no”blind faith”..
Reets commented, ” Lucky these were free passes.. if not I would have felt cheated.. and angry.. and yeah feel a little stupid for watching STTD”..
My advice.. Don’t even bother renting the DVD..Wait for mediacorp to show this on Channel 5.. or OKTO..or central or whatever Mediacorp wants to name it’s channel in the future..

Thumbs Down..

“..Bo ai, mana wu tiah; bo tiah, tolo wu ai..”

Literally translated it means, “No Love , where got pain; No pain, where got love” . Essentially it is the backbone of the movie Reets and I watched last night.

12 Lotus

Mindee Ong, Qi Yu Wu and Liu Ling Ling return this “Getai” season in another movie about (what else?) the life of a getai performer. Now if you are expecting something like Royston’s Tans first offering, 881, be prepared to be a little dissapointed. It is not the “waterfall” fest that was 881. Forget the packs bring the box. The tone of the movie is noticeably darker then 881 but, I don’t know just as it is about to take your emotions over the edge, the plot turns.. and .. aiya.. it’s like you wanna sneeze.. but then tak jadi .. But take no heed…it is definitely an emotional ride that will leave you spent at the end.

The movie revolves around Lian Hua, her aspirations to become a big Getai star.. and her fall from grace. No spoilers here today ladies and gents… just a short commentary..

In recent weeks there was the much touted interview in The New Paper about “that rape scene.” About how Mindee broke down after the scene was taken.. After watching the movie, I feel that the real excellent performers were actually Liu Ling Ling, who played the part of Lian Hua in the later stages of her life.. and Huang Yi Liang as her domineering and abusive at times father. Mindee was ok lah quite good .. but the whole thing about her is becoming a wee bit overrated. After letting the whole movie sink in.. my advice is.. well .. as good as a movie it was i would say wait for dvd to come out..

Till later..

“…Hulk SMASHHH!!!!..”

The new movie is simply titled The Incredible Hulk, hinting that this time around the movie has more in common with the popular late-1970s TV series than with the comic books – or God forbid! – the first movie.

An excellent Edward Norton replaces Eric Bana as Hulk / Bruce Banner and Liv Tyler replaces Jennifer Connelly (not a good move actually – Tyler is rather bland) as Banner’s ex-girlfriend, Betty Ross. William Hurt replaces the gruff-voiced Sam Elliott as Betty’s father, General Ross.

The Incredible Hulk assumes that audiences already know the character and his back-story: following an accident involving gamma rays, scientist Bruce Banner becomes the raging super-powered, green-skinned monster The Hulk whenever he gets angry. Of course the U.S. military in the guise of the corrupt General Ross (William Hurt) – who also happens to be the father of Banner’s girlfriend, Betty – is interested in getting their hands on the Hulk and using his blood to manufacture a new breed of super-powered soldiers. Banner becomes a fugitive, hoping to find a cure for his condition before Ross and the U.S. military industrial complex can get their hands on him. In that sense it is more of a sequel than a remake than some of the “let’s give it another shot” talk may have let on.

The story kicks off in Brazil where Banner works as a manual labourer at a bottling plant, trying to find a cure and learn Portuguese in his spare time. (One of the film’s funnier lines involves his broken Portuguese.) Soon however crack U.S. commandos led by Tim Roth with a permanent five o’clock shadow (do they allow this sort of thing in the U.S. military?) are on Banner’s case. He escapes – narrowly – in an exciting foot chase on top of rooftops in a densely populated Brazilian slum, an interesting and exotic choice that makes a change from your standard Hollywood action movie.

Banner must find a cure and he soon finds himself back in the States where the Hulk faces off against the U.S. military in a thrilling show-off on a university campus. This time Roth’s character has however been injected by super-soldier juice and is well on his way to becoming The Abomination, an over-sized monster against which the Hulk faces off in a no-holds barred epic battle at the movie’s climax. This final battle in New York streets replete with flying cars, lots of stuff exploding and fleeing bystanders .

Except for one or two quiet moments shared by Banner and his girlfriend while on the lam, Incredible Hulk doesn’t waste a single frame on dull talky exposition. It is all plot-driven and action-filled. In fact, unlike the much-hyped Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, The Incredible Hulk never runs out of steam. Put simply: this is the movie which audiences wanted to see back in the fits HULK movie.No dull existential angst and weird split screen film techniques. No mutant poodles either. Instead we get some nice comic referencces like another cameo by Stan Lee and a sight gag on those purple pants the Hulk always wears. Speaking of cameos, look out for one by body builder Lou Ferringo who used to be Hulk in the 1978 television series as a pizza-loving campus security man.
Some notes fellow comic book geeks would be interested in, Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark (Iron Man) makes a cameo appearance towards the end of the movie and hints that a “team” – no doubt the Avengers – is being formed. Just like the ending of the Iron Man movie when Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson) approaches Tony Stark.

Events in this movie also hint that the villain in any future sequel would be “The Leader”, the green-skinned criminal mastermind with the over-sized brain. In the movie he is Samuel Sterns (played by Tim Blake Nelson), the scientist who helps Banner with a cure (and has a drop of blood fall into an open wound in his head).

I am looking forward to the future Marvel Movies. First Iron Man (i still haven’t watch this one ah), now Hulk. In the works are Thor, Captain America, a new Spiderman and The Avengers. Good times baby… Good times..