Princess at Heart

Every girl wants to feel like a ♔ princess ♔ sometimes.

Kung Fu Panda 2

It was my second time at Pavilion since it's opening. Had lunch at Grandmama's (the prawns in their 生虾河粉 - sang har hor fun were HUMONGOUS), and window-shopped around. Pavilion is SO not my place. All the branded stores are there with all their nice stuff on display and a very nice price tag attached to each and every item =_= How I wish I can sing ♪It's not about the money, money, money...forget about the price tag♪ at the top of my lungs and make it come true. Some people are just not born with a silver spoon in their mouth *sigh* =(

Watched Kung Fu Panda 2 at the GSC in Pavilion. I thought it'd have cost more than usual, but surprisingly they charged a pretty standard price. The seats are by far the best cinema seats I've tried. I've never been to their Gold and Premier Class cinemas so I can't compare, but the standard ones in GSC Pavilion were pretty darn comfy seats compare to your usual GSC seats elsewhere =P

Kung Fu Panda 2 was pretty good. I really like the graphics and the Oriental design and style of the backdrop and setting. There were a few really funny and cute scenes which I really like *hehe* However, I find that they frequently spoil the emotional scenes with inappropriately timed humor. It's like you are trying to get into how the characters are feeling and suddenly they pop in a lame joke -.- Other than that, it was pretty good, though not as good as Rio for me. Rio is still the best cartoon of the year!

Went to Fahrenheit 88 for the first time that day. There's nothing much there except Uniqlo and Sephora. The mall doesn't exude the type of atmosphere you get in Pavilion either. It feels empty and deserted inside. Even though I can't afford anything in Pavilion, I'd prefer it over Fahrenheit 88.

Final stop of the day was at Mid Valley. I can't remember the last time I've visited that many malls in one day *LOL* Had some supposedly Japanese soft-shell crab in Thai-style tasting sauce at Sushi Tei for dinner =S I find their chicken katsudon nicer; the breaded chicken had this unique taste to it which you don't usually find elsewhere. Didn't try any of their sushi, but they have uni (sea urchin) there!! Gonna go back to try their uni sushi someday *hehe* =P

***

The Son of Man

This is a related post to 500 Days of Summer.

"At least it hides the face partly. Well, so you have the apparent face, the apple, hiding the visible but hidden, the face of the person. It's something that happens constantly. Everything we see hides another thing, we always want to see what is hidden by what we see. There is an interest in that which is hidden and which the visible does not show us. This interest can take the form of a quite intense feeling, a sort of conflict, one might say, between the visible that is hidden and the visible that is present."

- René Magritte

Narrator: As he listened, Tom began to realize that these stories weren't routinely told. These were stories one had to earn. He could feel the wall coming down. He wondered if anyone else had made it this far. Which is why the next six words changed everything.

Summer: I've never told anybody that before.

Tom: I guess I'm not just anybody.

500 Days of Summer

This is quite an old movie, but I only knew about it after reading Jeanette's post. From the way she described it, it seemed quite interesting and relatable so I decided to watch it. Little did I know, the movie was way more relatable than I've imagined, to the point that it was a little scary. It even made me cry, twice! For those who know me, you should know that this is very abnormal. But then I guess sometimes you just need to let it out. Re-watched P.S. I Love You the other day and cried as well (I didn't the first time), so maybe I was just stress and in an emo mood. Anyway, 500 Days of Summer really had an effect on me (that's why it's worthy of a full blog post!). It is hard to describe what happened, but maybe you'll get a hint of how I felt by understanding what I thought about Summer and Tom.

SUMMER

Most people I've talked to thinks that Summer is a heartless bitch. I don't blame them. However, I find that she's only the way she is because of her insecurities, which was what made her so stone cold at times. She seems so carefree in the movie, doing whatever she pleases without a care in the world, as if nothing could harm her. A bit selfish, but then who isn't. I'd have thought she was a woman with an ice-cold heart as well if it were not for the scene where she brought Tom to her place and told him her secrets, and the park scene. If only I could wake up one morning like Summer and just know.

TOM

He appears to be very emotional and vulnerable, which earned him lots of sympathies. I didn't expect to relate to him as much before watching the movie, but surprisingly it wasn't hard to. He was so madly in love with Summer that he didn't see it wasn't the case for Summer, even though she had explicitly told him so from the start (one of the reason why I don't think Summer is a bitch). It's just so heartbreaking to see Tom after Summer left him. Though I find him a little pathetic at times, maybe that's just what being lovesick and heartbroken is like. If only I could believe like how Tom believe.

Many say that it is a sad movie with an unhappy ending. I beg to disagree. As the tagline says "This is not a love story...this is a story about love" and that is exactly what it is. Tom taught Summer to believe in love. Even when he said he had stop believing, it was only because it hurt too much. I think everyone has a little of both Summer and Tom in them, regardless of how much they deny it. One may have more of Summer or more of Tom in them, but both will always be present.

I actually have so much more to say about this movie, but it's getting really late and I'm getting sleepy. So I'm just going to end it here before I end up writing something stupid. Who knows I might come back and edit this some other day. Read a related post here.

Now who wants to play the Penis Game?

PENIS! XD

Movie Backlogs

Yes, unfortunately there are movie backlogs as well *sigh* So let's get on with it before I get sick and tired of all my backlogs...

The Final Chapter of Saw VII turned out to be rather disappointing. The blood was too fake and it was predictable. It just wasn't as smartly played out as the previous Saws. I guessed maybe they focused more on the 3D element this time around.

This didn't meet my expectation as well. Chicago (my all time fav musical!), Moulin Rouge, Phantom of the Opera and even Coyote Ugly (might be a bit bias with this one) beats Burlesque anytime. The only thing that saved the movie was definitely Cher's and Christina Aguilera's singing and the songs.

I honestly don't know why so many people thought this movie was disturbing beyond belief because it was so not for me. I admit there were a few parts that were slightly messed up, but it was hardly disturbing to the point of creepiness. Maybe I don't really understand the movie that well. It was just weird for me.

A very cute movie overall, not one of the best, but good enough. Little Agnes and the minions were simply adorable. Totally loved the Mini Movie - Banana XD

I'd take the Ocean's series any day over this. I mean what was with everybody dying in the end man? It started off cool, but just totally lost it towards the end.

Wasn't as good as I expected, but wasn't terrible either. The concept is pretty original, I really like the idea of destiny vs. free will. People should have the right to choose how they want to live their life and not be controlled by some higher being, or even other people. It's actually one of the reason why I don't like the idea of having a religion because all of them tend to talk about destiny, fate, karma and whatnot which I think can be circumvent by free will that everyone technically should have.

It was a cute cartoon, but not a very good one. The ending was totally cliché and utterly terrible. If it wasn't for all the candies and chocolates and stuff I would have really not like the movie >_<

Thanks to Jeanette's recommendation, I've watched one of THE WORST movie EVER in HISTORY. It was just so terribly bad that it wasn't even funny. I'm not even going to go into any details of how bad it is because it was just BAD!

An interesting movie. I kind of want to read the book, I think it'll be good read. I really like the saying of "dolce far niente" and "attraversiamo". The soundtracks are pretty good too =)

Watched this because I saw June wrote about it on her blog and I just simply had nothing to do. It's a pretty sweet movie I guess. Parkinson's seems really scary =S But OHMYGOSH Jake Gyllenhaal's ass! XD I don't really understand why Anne Hathaway had to bare her boobs sooooo many times in the movie, I mean she has nice boobs (yea I'm jealous >_<) but I just find it a bit too much. I mean she's a good actress; she'd have more than enough audience without showing her boobs that many times. Though I guess I just justified her actions with that comment about Jake Gyllenhaal's ass *haha*

As of now, this is the best cartoon of the year!! Everything is so colorful and nice ^_^ It had a good storyline with enough drama and funny parts, and the soundtracks went really well with the movie. Totally love  "Let Me Take You To Rio (Blu's Arrival)" by Ester Dean and Carlinhos Brown ♥

AWESOME MOVIE! Despite a few parts that didn't make any logical sense, the movie was good. Love the cars, love the speed, love the action, and of course Paul Walker!!! He's a little bit more roughed up in the movie but still hot nonetheless XD I still remember wanting a life-size chocolate Paul Walker for Christmas when Fast & Furious came out *LOL* Can't believe I missed the hidden ending after the credits man thanks to my brother =_= Guess there'll be a Fast & Furious 6 then~

Ice Kacang Puppy Love vs. Love in Disguise

Both movies were directed by directors who were originally singers, and probably will remain singers.
Both directors were also the main lead in the movie.
Both movies can be considered as romantic comedies.
Both movies were released in 2010.
Those are most likely the only commonality both movies have.

初恋红豆冰 (Ice Kacang Puppy Love) grossed USD1,344,496 and 恋爱通告 (Love in Disguise) grossed USD8,665,577 according to Box Office Mojo. Although there's a considerably difference in the numbers for both movies, both were great success in their respective country. 初恋红豆冰 has one of the highest local production box office records in Malaysia and 恋爱通告 broke the highest box office records in China for a first-time director.

In terms of numbers, 恋爱通告 no doubt owned 初恋红豆冰. But in terms of plot, acting and the movie as a whole, 初恋红豆冰 totally beats 恋爱通告 in my opinion.

初恋红豆冰 set in retro Malaysia with small little details like the Indian roti-man gave it a lot of kampung feel, which I really like because it feels more homey =) The characters were all really cute, jolly and funny which is always good to have in a feel good movie =D  Being a Malaysian-made movie, of course it had food in it, like the fried kuay teow, Hainan coffee, and the most important ice kacang =P If you know me, any movie that touch on food can't be terrible XD It also featured art, as in drawings which I'm also a sucker for. So 初恋红豆冰 really hit all the right notes for me. The storyline, despite not having your typical type of happy ending, was really nice. It not only managed to captured the feeling of puppy love which is fleeting and sweet, yet unforgettable. It also showed how we must work towards our dreams and goals because it won't just happen. I simply love this movie. The best Chinese local production by far! It's sad how such a good movie is finding it difficult to break-even though most of the actors/actresses got little pay in support of 阿牛 and the local film industry =(

恋爱通告 set in modern time Shanghai didn't really connect with me despite having stayed in China for nearly 5 years. It's probably due to the fact that it was too metropolitan in 杜明汉's world and the traditional folk music and Chinese art university which made up 阿得's world isn't really my thing. I feel the characters didn't really grow and develop in the movie, unlike in 初恋红豆冰. I didn't like the female lead; she was a bit stupid and lame compared to 打架鱼 in 初恋红豆冰 which I reckon has more personality and character. The plot was boring and predictable, and the bad CGIs just made it worst =S You'd have imagine with the money from all those in-your-face product placement, they'd hire better graphics designers -_-'' The only reason I can think of for why the movie is such a huge success is because 王力宏 is in it =.= I swear all those zoom ups on his face are on purpose (I don't deny I didn't enjoy them XD). He seemed like a pretty good kisser too in the last scene *LOL* However, the presence of the few lines alluding to how he might be gay is really questionable. I wonder if that's why I didn't feel the chemistry between him and the girl. It would also explain why he kept singing 多的是, 你不知道的事 and he always 需要人陪 *hahaha*

The Tourist

***

Not really a fan of this movie. The best part was probably all the French and Angelina Jolie's earrings XD They are soooooo pretty!! When Johnny Depp revealed himself it was just such a WTH moment for me =_= The whole movie was just a bit weird in my opinion. You can also see the age of Angelina Jolie in the movie. She is getting old... Overall, not a movie I would recommend.

Last two movies for the year 2010

***

This Harry Potter movie is probably by far the best one out of all the others. There were good action scenes, funny scenes and a scary scene that managed to scare me and a bunch of girls sitting behind -_-'' It wasn't draggy and all the important parts were included (or maybe I just forgot the detailed story from the book XD). The only let down was that it's only Part 1, and thus had that left-there-hanging ending that I don't like.

Tangled is really nice! It was very light and funny and just plain nice *hehehe* and Pascal was SUPER CUTE of course =P I really don't have much bad comments about this movie. The only reason anyone would not like it is probably because they are not genuine Disney fans so whatever~

YouTube kept removing the videos due to copyright so this version doesn't have the dialogue =(

This is like my favorite scene from the movie. It was simply ♥MAGICAL♥ I couldn't stop smiling throughout the whole entire scene, like literally! IT WAS AMAZING! I totally loved the lights from the lanterns and the song and everything! Disney TOTALLY got it's magic back! The magic that makes Disney movies what they are =)

Four SAWsome people saw six SAWs in a row

I really don't have the mood to do my Organizational Psychology assignment due next week, which I actually should start doing because I won't have much of the weekend to do, but I just really don't feel like doing it now so here I am procrastinating by writing about my SAWsome Hari Raya Puasa.

---

Instead of going for people's open-house on Hari Raya Puasa this year,
four brave souls locked themselves up and watched ALL SIX SAWs straight in a row!!

~INTRODUCING THE FOUR SURVIVORS~
*drum roll*

VIRAN the imitator of the sick voice and laugh *hehehehe*
BRIAN the host with his stupid "PIG!" scares -_-''
BRANDON the one afraid of the puppet =P
ME the one afraid of the pig >_<

We were all stuck on the couch from 11am to 11pm.
There was however an intruder that came when SAW II started.

WENG HOWE the squeamish one who came and left.
The Domino's deliveryman also came around the same time
because we just couldn't be bothered to go out for lunch.

We were all feeling very smug about our six SAW accomplishment.

Thanks like AGAIN *haha* for the SUPER DUPER belated birthday present ^_^


I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE FINAL SAW!!!
We have to finish what we started!


photos by Brian the pig

Talentime

I finally got to watch Talentime, another one of Yasmin Ahmad's movies. I actually skipped my Cognitive & Social Psychology lecture last Tuesday so I can watch the movie =P It was TOTALLY WORTH IT! It wasn't like I was going to learn anything useful in Dr. Tam's class anyway -_-''

Judging from the trailers shown on TV, I've always thought that Talentime was some sort of a comedy. Who knew it would turn out to be about love and death, or that was what I thought anyway. The movie had a morbid tinge to it. I guess with Melur's poems and the deaths, it is hard not to feel the morbidity of it all.

Despite all the darkness and despair, the movie managed to really touch me deep inside. Mukhsin had previously squeeze one tear out of me, but Talentime was totally another different story. I tried to hold back the tears but they just kept coming, so I gave up and let them fall. Thank god the lecture theatre was really dark, but I think the few people who were there all knew I was crying. Evelyn was totally making fun of me after the movie -_-'' Funny how I reacted so emotionally to a movie I couldn't understand much because half of it was in Tamil/Hindi and there were no subtitles. Maybe it reminded me of daddy. It made me miss him. Is it normal to still miss him? Or should he just be remembered but not missed? I really don't know the answers to those questions, but I guess I still miss him subconsciously all the time. The emotions just like to present itself during touching movies. I never used to cry during movies, and I don't really like the fact that I will now sometime cry, but I guess it is a good way of releasing my bottled up emotions.

The part where Melur couldn't sing started it all, but this part was the one that kept it going T^T



Love how this song managed to evoke so many different kinds of feelings in different context.



Here's something cheerier to end the post =)

p.s. I was in the same high school as Mahesh and didn't even know he acted in the movie till Davina told me about it XD

Step Up 3 please step aside for Inception

A total EPIC MINDFUCKER!

I'm so glad that Inception was still being screened at the cinema when I finally decided to go and watch it. My brother and I were so mindfucked after the movie that we kind of forgot where we parked the car. I'm so getting the DVD so I can watch it again to catch everything else that I missed the first time around. Seriously a must watched for all those who likes to get their mind screwed over. I actually had some trouble sleeping that night after watching the movie because it just really messes with your head. Who is to say what is real and what is not?

The choreography and dances were AWESOME as usual. And Rick Malambri is HOT! HOT! HOT! But the storyline was just really not up to par with the first two. The fact that Nike's product placement was made SO obvious did not add to my liking either. Even the poster has the Nike shoes on it man -_-'' Nonetheless ♫ it made me feel like dancing, I want to dance the night away~ ♫

Oreo Sippy Cup

This TV ad has actually been on for quite some time now, but I just didn't have the time to blog about it. Since my Integrated Marketing Communications lecturer encourages us to watch more ads, I'm going to share one of my current favorite ad with you guys =)

This is the one they play in Malaysia. It is originally the Indonesian version.



Upon YouTube-ing for the one I saw on TV, I found out they have a Chinese version as well.



This is the Caucasion version.
Not sure which country it originated from or whether it was the first original version.
I find the kid's "ha-ha" in this version not as cute as the one in the other two version.


*HA-HA*
>_<

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

First things first, I'm not a Twilight movie fan, but since I've watched the first two movies, I've just got to watch the third one -_-'' Another reason being that Jacob is supposedly HOTTER than ever in the movie, so there you go, my main reason for watching >_< Both Jeanette and I had the same secret desire to watch the movie so naturally we ended up going together =P

In my opinion, Eclipse is by far the best out of the three. Maybe I was expecting a really bad show since it's predecessors were so superbly bad, and Eclipse just happened to exceed that superbly bad expectation. There were good action scenes, really funny scenes, and just really gorgeous scenes of Jacob XD However, being part of Twilight, the movie just had to have really corny scenes that spoiled everything >_<

This HAS GOT TO BE the most memorable part of the whole movie *LOL*

Mooooovies

大日子 Woohoo!
This was supposed to be a comedy but it made me cry
I've forgotten why
It wasn't as funny as expected
It just wasn't great

葉問 2 - Ip Man 2
The fighting scenes were good
A happy ending
Some say patriotic, I say slightly racist
All in all, it was pretty good

Shutter Island
I thought it was a horror movie...it wasn't...
They say it messes with your head...it did...a bit...
To live as a monster, or to die as a good man?
Either way, an AWESOME movie

Romeo + Juliet
Sense of hearing, sense of sight
The contrast was too much
I do not like it so
And think it too weird

孔子 - Confucius
It took a lot to understand the dialog
Though I can't say I understand the whole lot
Maybe I should re-watch with English subtitles
It is rather worth the watch

American Beauty

Human beings are very sick things

Not just Americans

No matter how hard people try to hide it

It will always find its way out

...look closer

And you will see it too

p.s. Sometimes you just need a fuck or two to get yourself back together and move on.

p.p.s. DAMN! I should have watched this earlier and write about it for my Contemporary Film Studies' assignment. Could have probably gotten a better grade >_< but might have also end up being totally consumed by the movie.

배수빈 - 裴秀彬 (Bae Soo Bin)

The more I watch
灿烂的遗产
(Brilliant Legacy a.k.a. Shining Inheritance)

the more I fall in love with him

*heart melts*

He always make me smile
♥

心魔 (At the End of Daybreak)

It is an artistic film, an experimental film.
I have to admit I did not fully understand the film when I watched it.
I even found it boring at times.

But after watching the trailer, I understood the film a bit more.
I have also came to the conclusion that the version I've watched was heavily censored.
Thus I'm blaming my lack of understanding on the censorship.

The film won the NETPAC Award at the Locarno International Film Festival 2009.
Kara Hui (惠英红) who plays Tuck Chai's mother won several awards as Best Actress.
Jane Ng Mei Hui (黄明慧) who plays Ying won Best Newcomer in the 4th Asian Film Awards 2010.

A film garnering so many awards, it is hard to believe that it would end up so crappy.
So I have decided to watch the uncensored version of the film.
I shall update this post once I get my hands on the complete original film.
Stay tune~

Mukhsin

It was my first time watching a Yasmin Ahmad production and I gotta say it was FUCKING AWESOME!!! Too bad my experience had to be after her death =(

~May she rest in peace~

The movie almost brought me to tears T_T

I swear I was going to cry if I hadn't insist on reminding myself that I was in a lecture -_-''

Okay fine! To be honest, one tear actually rolled down my cheek T^T

I just couldn't help it, it was so sad and touching =(

Turn up the speaker please =)
p.s. I had to edit this video from the trailer because I just couldn't find any video showing only that part!

This has got to be my favorite scene in the movie,
along with the ending scene where Mukhsin does the same thing.
I can't help but think that there's a meaning behind that gesture.

Alice in Wonderland

It's Alice in Wonderland

Not Hatter in Wonderland -_-''


I don't like the movie because...

Alice was being bi-polar (quote from Matthew) in the movie, jumping from one extreme to the other. It is especially evident in the scene where she had to decide whether or not to fight the Jabberwocky. It was "NO!" at first because she was sick of what is expected of her by everyone, then it became a "YES!" for the story would not have been able to proceed otherwise. Judging from her decision to fight the Jabberwocky, one might expect the same answer to Hamish's proposal (do what everyone is expecting her to), but she went all out to reject it, and even had the nerve to tell poor Aunt Imogene to stop fantasizing when she herself just came back from a dream!

The Mad Hatter was given such a big role, too huge a role in the movie. I suppose he was meant to act as some sort of a narrator but he seriously cannot possibly repeat the line "Why is a raven like a writing desk?" an additional time! I am not denying Johnny Depp's acting skills, he played the Hatter really well, but I just find the role itself a bit over. On top of that, I haven't the slightest idea whether there is something going on between him and Alice. The relationship being conveyed was just way too weird and slightly wrong =S

White Queen, though loved by everyone in Underworld is definitely NOT love by me, and of course the Red Queen. The way she moves and holds her hand is just UGH! It's so unnatural. Having Anne Hathaway act and look so ridiculous and horrible is just......unjustifiable. The fact that I can see through the White Queen's facade, knowing that she actually wants the crown as badly as the Red Queen also contributed to my loathing of her (SO OBVIOUS at the beginning of the face-off scene with the Red Queen on the giant chessboard). One can also see how she was more herself than anything when she was mixing the Pishalver for Alice...worm fat...Horse Fly urine...buttered fingers...dead man's coins...wishful thinking and spit...how lovely ♥

For such a movie, there is only one thing to say...

OFF

WITH

ITS

HEAD!

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

This is going to be really short...

I can't say this is one of my favorite animation, but it's pretty cool to have food weather especially for a foodie like me XD If only I have a machine that can make me any sort of food I want with just water *wishful*

Told ya this was going to be short =P