“..smurfs on steroids..”

Really.. that’s my honest opinion…Oh come ON, now that I’ve said it, you think so too..  There might (or might not) be some spoilers in here.

Watched this one in 3D at Bishan Junction 8. I won’t deny it. The film was visually a masterpiece. In 3D no less it was a feast for the eyes. I have no love for the storyline though. I find it a little weak a little predictable and to me, there were a lot of plot/continuity holes.  To put it perspective, think Dances With Wolves.. in the future.. with blue aliens instead of red indians.  And somewhere in there, the writers even managed to throw in an alien love scene for good measure.. Find it so .. wrong..  although me and Reets were expecting the beings to “become one” through the connection thingy thing in their braided hair just like how they connect with the various beasts of burden (the horse-like creature and the flying thingies), which would have made more sense. I mean these aliens got same anatomy as humans meh?

Amid all they hype, I think Avatar is just an average ok movie. Frankly I would have.. SHOULD have waited for the dvd. But I’m glad i got to watch in 3D. At the end of the day, it’s a movie that nobody would remember save for the fact it had awesome CGI.  If you absolutely MUST watch it.. watch it in 3D.. otherwise just wait for the dvd. 3 hours is a long ass time to watch something with that weak a storyline.

next on my to watch list of movies.. CHIPMUNKS!!!! hehehe..

till next time..

“..rule #32:Enjoy the Little Things..”

Straight of the bat I’m going to say, to me, this is one very entertaining piece of work. The movie takes place in a time where the Mad Cow disease has somehow mutated into a zombie making human variant.

“The plague of the 21st Century, remember mad cow disease? Well mad cow became mad person became mad zombie. It’s a fast acting virus that leaves you with a swollen brain, a raging fever, makes you hateful and violent and leaves you with a really bad case of the munchies.”
- Columbus

The story is told in an almost narrative fashion by the main character Colombus (Jesse Essenberg) , a absolute obsessive compulsive geek. The characters do not use each others’ real names. Instead, they identify themselves using place name (Columbus, Tallahassee, Wichita, Little Rock) that relates to them.

The premise of the whole movie is that our narrator is trying to make his way to Colombus Ohio (thus the moniker), to an area which is supposedly zombie-free. Along the way he hitches a ride with Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson) and get’s conned by Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin). I would say this movie is not made for horror. It runs in the same vein as Shaun of the Dead, more of a comedy with a lot of dead corpses. Of the cast i only recognised Woody Harrelson and Abigail Breslin (that girl from little miss sunshine) and a short cameo by Bill Murray.

Leave your brains at the door, and enjoy the movie for what it is. A Road Trip comedy.  What I liked most is the running gags throughout the movie. Tallahassee’s  unending search for a twinkie, and the Columbus’ rules. Ahh the rules.. This one I’ve never seen in a movie before. Well not in one that I have ever watched. Everytime a scene presents itself with an incarnation of a rule, a popup would appear stating the rule.

This is a must watch preferably in big groups. A great party movie..If you missed it in the cinema’s (like i did) go get the DVD when it’s out. Unless you prefer watching a senseless teen flick (ala American Pie) with no plot and unnecessary nudity… For that.. I’d recommend Sex Pot..

till next time

p.s. still haven’t watched avatar.. everybody’s raving about it.. PFSHH!!

“..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..