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1:28 PM, Monday 4 August 2008 .. Posted in I love movies .. 3 comments .. Link

Movies, movies, movies. Don't you just love 'em?A few weeks ago.. wait, I think it was last 2 weeks.. hehhe.. Anyway, i brought my siblings to go watch the hugely praised batman movie, The Dark Knight. Although at that time, I had already read one review from a bias batman fan, who said that the movie was "freakingly awesome", I wanted to set my own opinions, so I didn't put any high standards for the movie, in fear that it would be disappointing.

First of all, let me say that.. this is the LONGEST movie I have ever watched! Hahahhaha.. Damn it was long. But I have to agree that it was seriously fabulous. Hhaha.. I know, I know.. some might not agree with me (*winks at tex*) Hhehehe.. but personally, I loved it.

Having been a huge fan of the actor, I might be bias in saying that Heath Ledger was incredible as Joker. He was so dark and psychotic, that I literally had goosebumps whenever Joker came on the screen. I loved how he portrayed Joker as a crazy psychopath who does horrific things just for the joy of it. Man, it was scary.

I didn't really connect with Maggie Gyllenhaal though. Hmmm.. I don't know why, but there was something missing. I was also kinda put off by Two-face's make up and Batman's weird made up voice. Although it made batman sound dark and mysterious, he also sounded a but funny.

Hhehe..But the rest was great! They added dialogues of humor and wit. I LOVED Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne. So cool, macho and sophisticated on the outside, but so passionate and loving in the inside *sighh*..

My most favourite scenes:
1. Bruce Wayne bumps into Rachel and Harvey Dent in the restaurant.
2. Bruce and Alfred after they destroyed all evidence of Batman's hideout
3. Joker during his bombing of the hospital, his expression of disappointment of the little destruction it made -- Hahahhahaha!
4. Joker meets Harvey in the hospital, his expression of false regret -- "Hi.."
5. The scene where Bruce attempts to stop a civilian ramming into a police van, and his clueless reaction to Gordon's praise -- "What..? Trying to beat the traffic light?"

I don't really remember that much, but I'll add other favourite scenes when I remember them. A scale from 1 to 10 (10 being the highest), I'm giving this movie an 8! Hehehhe..

Ok, next movie. The Mummy, Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.

We (meaning Me, Aimi and Ahmad) went to watch this movie on Saturday. Having seen the previous awesome Mummy movies before -- and loving them, we -- as in I -- was putting my expectations really high for its sequel. Although we knew that Evelyn O'Connell wasn't going to be acted by Rachel Weisz anymore -- which is disappointing coz I LOVE her! -- we hoped that Maria Bello would at least portray her humorous character.

Imhotep was dead (obviously the movie wasn't about him anymore), but Evelyn's brother Johnathan named his club Imhotep, which I found very hilarious. Hahhaha.. I'm going to start with the characters first. Brenden Fraiser was great as usual. He's both so heroic and funny -- as usual. Ive never failed to love his character as Rick O'Connell. Its the witty comebacks that always make me laugh. Hehhe..

Evelyn O'Connell was rather disappointing actually. *Sigh* I miss Rachel Weisz! She brought the character much better. And she was hilarious as this clumsy, enthusiastic librarian in the first movie, and this sexy but no longer clumsy yet still funny mother in the 2nd one. Mario Bello didn't have any of those characteristics. Evelyn wasn't funny anymore, she lacked the enthusiasm and passion. She looked too sophisticated and posh. Hmmm.. was this just me, or did u guys feel the same way?

Alex O'Connell was cute. Hehhe.. Full stop =P Oh okeyy... hehhe.. I cant really compare his characteristics with the previous movie coz at that time, he was just a kid. Now he's all grown up.

Jet Li... Hmmmm.. I don't like Jet Li being a bad guy. I see him as more the heroic type rather than the villain. Again, this is bias coz I LOVE Jet Li. Hehhe =P. Anyways, since Im not into Jet Li being the evil dragon emperor who plans to conquer the world, this character didnt do much for me.

Michael Yeoh's character was cool though, with the forbidden love and immortality thingy going on.

Ahaa.. I missed one of my most favourite characters, Johnathan -- Evelyn's big brother who's mind is always filled with treasures and jewels. Hehhee.. This guy is wonderful!

Ok then, storyline... Hmmm.. It was ok I guess. I dont know why it didnt really thrill me that much. It was interesting.. but it might be the extreme fantasy of it all.. A little bit too much in my opinion. Hmm.. how should I explain this.. Ok ok.. in the first 2 movies, the story was more of human vs. spirit/immortal beings/witch craft. But this movie was more of both sides being magical/witch craft. But the special effects were awesome! Id give you that. Hehhe..

Overall, it was kinda disappointing for me. I'd give it a 4.5

Anyone with other opinions? Do share.

Ok, next.. I just cannot wait for this movie. Coming out in November, the long awaited 6th movie of HP. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Price. Here's its current trailer. Enjoy! =)

Atonement

9:51 AM, Wednesday 25 June 2008 .. Posted in I love movies .. 0 comments .. Link

I cannot even imagine how to begin reviewing this movie. I just finished watching it online and there are still tears in my eyes.

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It is honest to say that this movie at first attracted me because of James McAvoy. But when I read its review, and how people kept saying that it is Oscar winning quality, it made me even more eager to watch it. In an interview with Kiera Knightley, the heroin of the story, she told people to bring lots and lots of tissues, because it is both beautiful but really sad.

I knew how this story would end, so throughout the story, there wasnt that unpredictable feeling on what is going to happen next. However, I never knew that the movie would be so moving.

Atonement. The repair done for the sake of a damaged relationship. In which the damage done in this movie was unthinkable and terrible.

Im not going to write a spoiler for this movie, because I think it is better to watch it and think for yourself how you feel about it. The message you can get from this movie can be in different perspectives. Watch the movie, then I'd really like to discuss about it.

My advice.. watch it alone, with no interruptions and bring lots and lots and lots of tissues. You're going to need them.

Becoming Jane

9:24 PM, Saturday 21 June 2008 .. Posted in I love movies .. 8 comments .. Link

Warning: This is a movie spoiler written by a hopeless romantic, therefore the opinions and reviews of this movie is bias. Hehhehe..

Becoming Jane is a movie about a famous English writer, Jane Austen. In her short life, she wrote 6 of presumably the greatest English novels of all time. Among them were Pride and Prejudice as well as Sense and Sensibility.

I absolutely love this movie. Im not sure why exactly. It may be due to my weird fascination of this 1800 era, or it might be the British-ness of it all. It might be the incredible actors in the movie, or it might just be the hopeless romantic within me. Har har.. Yet, I would rather take all aspects into account and accept all of them.

This movie introduces Jane (Anne Hathaway) in a different perspective as we all know her. She was known as being all proper and being so fanatic about propriety. Here she is this witty country girl who believed in independant thought. She had a mind of her own and did not allow anyone to make her think otherwise.

This upbeat personality caught the attention of Mr Wisley, the nephew of a Lady Gresham, who Jane's father calls a bobby (idiot). Hahahhaa..

Mr Tom Lefroy, a gentleman from a poor family was brought to live with his uncle, the supreme court judge. He stayed in London to learn the law, with hope to later inherit the property of his rather rich uncle. Mr Lefroy, having been living in London, was known for his bad reputation -- dissipation, wild companions, gambling -- So his uncle sent him to stay with his other relatives in Hampshire (deep in the country) to teach him a lesson.

This was how Jane and Tom met. Jane was giving a reading to the guests in her family home, when Tom arrived all arrogant like. Having had numerous and more "lively" entertainment in London, he considered a reading as something beneath him. He slept thru Jane's reading.

He also commented her reading to be "accomplished enough" behind Jane's back, which of course she heard. When they happened to accidentally meet in the woods, Jane was inclined to speak her mind about writing by women. But Tom still insisted that her writing was "accomplished".

After attending a ball, talking and dancing together, Jane considered Tom as "the most disagreeable, insolent, arrogant, impudent, insuffrable, impertinent of men". In truth, I think she thought this because Tom was starting to get under her skin.

During a game of cricket among the men in the Hampshire community, where Tom's team was winning, Jane decided to join in just to annoy Tom. In the end, her team won -- much to Tom's annoyance.

When they met up again by accident in the library of Tom's uncle, Tom started reading a sentence from a book, which made Jane speechless due to its suggestive manner.

"Your ignorance is understandable, since you lack.. what shall we call it? The history?"

Jane argues saying that propriety commands her to ignorance, but Tom disagrees saying that it condemns her to it and makes her writing to the standard of female accomplishment.

"If you wish to practise the art of fiction, to be the equal of a masculine author, experience is vital"

This starts a war of opinions, where in the end, Tom gives Jane a novel to read to prove his point. After reading the novel, Jane confronts Tom -- saying that his book was morality flawed. She also pointed out that "a novel must show how the world truly is, how characters genuinely think, how events actually occur." Even so, Jane agrees that she needs to match the standard of the masculine authors.

During this period, Jane views Tom as an interesting person. Someone different -- a personality she has never encountered before. She is intrigued and starts to fall for him.

Even so, Mr Wisley came down to propose to Jane, only to have been brutally rejected. However, Mr Wisley still hoped that Jane would change her mind in time. After "confessing" to Eliza (Jane's widowed cousin) that she fancies Tom, Eliza informed her that "your Irish friend does not have money and cannot be expected to marry without it".

At the ball in Lady Gresham's house, Jane looks for Tom but doesnt find him. She found Mr Wisley instead. So she reluctantly accepts the request to dance together. Jane was so bored during this dance, you can see it in the way she moves. This is so, until she noticed that Tom was in the dance as well. (p/s: this is my favourite part of the movie)

The dances they do require the couples to change partners at certain times, therefore Jane and Tom had frequent times "together". Eventhough technically, Jane's partner was Mr Wisley, her eyes were always with Tom during the dance. The same was with Tom. (I love how they used their eyes to convey how they feel. You have to watch the movie to appreciate it).

Afterwards, Jane is called by Lady Gresham for a private talk about her nephew. Saying that Jane should accept immediately. Mr Wisley, being a rich gentleman with class, should not marry someone as low class as her, but he still wants to, therefore Jane should be grateful. But still Jane does not give an answer about the proposal.

Tom learns of the proposal from his aunt and goes outside to talk to Jane. He meets her by the pond.

"How can you of all people, dispose of yourself without affection"

Jane conveys her true feelings of Tom by the pond. Tom was surprised, because Jane was always arguing with him. And they kiss.

"I have no money, no property, I am entirely dependant on that bizarre lunatic my uncle (the judge), I cannot yet offer marriage, but you must know what I feel. Jane, I am yours. Heart and Soul. Not much good that is. What will we do?"

So they planned a scheme to convince Tom's uncle of Jane eligibility using Eliza's Countess status. Jane, Henry and Eliza stop in London for this, during their journey to fetch Cassandra (Jane's older sister) from the coast. As Tom was about to voice out his intentions to marry Jane, his uncle was reading a letter. A letter that made his uncle angry, ruining Tom's plan and destroying all hope of his marriage to Jane. In the letter, the writer referred to Jane as "the penniless little husband hunter". His uncle did not give his consent. Jane and Tom assumed the letter was written by Lady Gresham or her nephew Mr Wisley.

After a long time thinking, Tom faces Jane and gives her his decision.

Tom: "I depend entirely.."
Jane: "..on your uncle..?"
Tom: "Hmm"
Jane: "And I depend on you. So what will you do?"
Tom: "What I must. I have a duty to my family, I must think of them as well as.."
Jane: "Tom, is that all you have to say to me?"

It was sad how a single letter could hurt them so much. How it could destroy their chance of being together. But Tom stuck with his decision, letting a hurt Jane leave him, eventhough he didnt want her to go.

This made Tom a changed man. He was always staring into space, thinking of Jane. He didnt even take heed of the girls who were trying to entertain him.

A few weeks after that, after the death of Cassandra's fiance, Eliza and Henry broke the news of Tom --saying that he was in town visiting his aunt. And that he was engaged. Jane was shocked. She couldnt believe how soon Tom got over her.

During this course of time, Jane accepted Mr Wisley's offer of marriage but told him that she didnt understand him. She didnt understand how he could be such a gentleman, but write such terrible things --referring to the letter. But Mr Wisley did not know of any letter. Still, Jane didnt believe him, saying that it must have been his aunt corresponding on his behalf.

That same day, Jane went for a walk with her brother George and was greeted by a guilty Tom in the exact place where they once met. Tom came to give a belated explanation on his actions before. He didnt know how to describe it so he brought a letter to explain it. But Jane was more interested (sarcastically) in his fiancee. When George asked Jane if she loved Tom, Jane denied it. Tom snapped and kissed her. Jane was furious and hit him on the chest.

Tom: "And so you would marry Wisley. If there is a shed of truth or justice inside of you, you cannot marry him"
Jane: "I dont know Mr Lefroy, justice by your own admission, you know little of, truth even less"
Tom: "Jane, I have tried. I cannot live this lie! Can you? What value would there be in life if we are not together?"
(Awww.. sgt romantic.. isk isk..)

Then Tom asks Jane to run away with him. To elope. And she accepts, leaving everything else behind. On their way to London, their carriage gets stuck on the road. When everyone helps out to get the carriage moving again, Jane finds a letter Tom dropped when he was taking off his jacket (this of course was the letter Tom wanted to use for his earlier explanation). The letter was from Tom's mother, thanking him for sharing his allowance from his uncle with them --saying that they couldnt survive without it.

The rest of the journey, Jane is filled with worry and thought. When they rest at an inn to change horses, Jane confronts Tom about the letter saying that there are "God knows how many mouths that depend on you".and that if he sinks, they will all sink with him. Eventhough Tom tries to convince Jane that they will survive thru this, that he can earn money, Jane says that it will not be enough.

Jane decides to go back to her family. Tom tries to stop her, asking her if she loves him.

"Yes. But if our love destroys your family, it will destroy itself. In a long, slow degradation of guilt, regret and blame."

Eventhough their love is strong, their situation is more of importance. Tom, with his financial situation will not be able to survive with so many people depending on him. Jane finally realises why it is so important for him to follow his uncle's wishes. Even though it kills her to give him up, she must do it for the sake of his family.

So she takes the carriage back to Hampshire. As the carriage passes the inn entrance, she sees Tom standing there watching her carriage leave. Jane watches him from the back window of the carriage as if this was the last time they would see each other again.
(Isk.. isk.. sedih sgt part ni)

Jane goes back home, and is greeted by Mr John Warren, one of her father's students. He proposes to her, only to discover that he was the one who sent the letter to Tom's uncle. He was jealous of Tom and wanted Jane for himself. (they should have let Jane hit him in the movie, she nearly did mind you).

From that day on, Jane decides to "live by her pen". She was later famous for her novel "Pride and Prejudice". The movie continued where the characters were much older. Jane, Henry and Eliza were attending an opera performance. When the show ended, Jane spotted a familiar figure going out of the building. They all recognised it to be Tom, so Henry went to catch him. Tom was then invited to their house, where they held a small party. Tom brought along a girl whom he introduced as his daughter. When his daughter asked Jane to do a reading, Tom scolded her, which lead to them discovering that Tom named his daughter Jane as well. Much to Jane's surprise, she agreed to do a reading, where Tom applauded her writing in the end. Showing that she has succeeded in being equal to a masculine author.

Aduh.. sgt best movie ni. Although the ending was rather sad, it was still a sweet and touching movie. The director wanted to make this movie as true as possible, and took note of how not all romantic stories have happy endings. Jane Austen never married, but she wrote great romantic stories. This is somehow what they assumed to have happened. This was how Jane became the Jane we all know her as. This was the story of how she became a great writer. (Although not necessarily how it actually happened. Hehehe)

-----------------------------------------------------

Sorry.. this was kinda bias. Heheheh.. But seriously, I love this movie. Ive watched it more than 20 times *wink*

Movie goofs and gags

3:01 PM, Sunday 1 June 2008 .. Posted in I love movies .. 4 comments .. Link

The last three days have been spent watching back my movies collection looking for their mistakes and gags. With the help of the list of goofs on the net, I found myself laughing at all the missed mistakes the movie editors forgot to cut out or didnt notice. Hehehe..

Among the movies I watched back for goofs are:
1. The Mighty Ducks Series - D1 D2 and D3
- Hahahhaha.. Its so funny! There are a lot of mistakes during the hockey games. Oh yeah, I also found out that there's going to be a D4! Cant wait to watch it.

2. Harry Potter - Chamber of Secrets and Philosopher's Stone
- Hehehe.. sbr je la. There's one, right after Harry was sorted into Gryffindor, he went to sit beside Ron. But in the scene after that, suddenly he was sitting between Hermione and Percy. Hehe..

3. Grease
- Hahahhahahaha.. there was one point where you can see the reflection of a microphone! Hahahhaa.. Also during the grease lightning scene, you can SEE the strings! Hehehe.. I found these mistakes so hilarious.

4. The Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship & Two Towers
- Hahaha.. well, its really funny seeing mistakes in such serious movies. In the fellowship, there was one point when Frodo was stabbed by the Cave Troll in Moria. When Aragorn was crawling to a wounded Frodo, you will be able to notice a few rocks move, clearly showing how light and fake they really are! Hehehhehee..

- In the two towers, the funniest thing to watch for is the part where the villages of Rohan were being moved into the caves in Helms Deep. There's a point were one of the villages held a pointy rock to lean upon. But he quickly stopped holding it because it was rocking back and forth! Hahhaa..

Ive been having so much fun laughing to myself. Hehe.. Im definitely going to show Ahmad all these goofs when I come back to Malaysia. Mesti die suka. Hahahhaha..

If youd like to see the list of goofs for any movie, go here. Enjoy! Hehehe..

The Return of the King

9:03 AM, Wednesday 6 February 2008 .. Posted in I love movies .. 8 comments .. Link

The Lord of the Rings have always been one of my favorite movies of all time. Especially the last of the trilogy --The Return of the King. The suspense, the action and the drama. I always love the special effects.

Last night, after downloading the extended version the night before, my siblings and I sat down to watch it. And oh was it great!. There were so many scenes they cut out from the movie. Although most of them didnt effect the original cut, it was still very enjoying to watch.

You know how competitive Gimli and Legolas are? Ive always loved watching them 'fight' with each other about practically everything, most of them really silly things. Well, there's this scene where the Rohirrim army were celebrating after being victorious at Helms Deep. They were all drinking and toasting. In the scene, it seemed like Legolas had never tasted wine before. He didnt understand why men liked drinking. "So, its a drinking game?", he asked. Gimli replied with a "The last one standing wins!"

So they drank --Gimli getting drunk with each pint. Legolas with no effect whatsoever. After about 10 glasses, Gimli all drunk and disgusting, Legolas said with astonishment, "I feel something. A slight tingling in my fingers. I think it's effecting me!". Gimli replied with, "He can't hold his liquor!" and passed out on the floor with Legolas watching on. "Game Over", said Legolas.

Hahhahaha.. It was hilarious!

Remember Faramir? Well, if you guys ever watched Van Helsing before, you'd notice the same actor in a rather funny role, as Carl. After watching that movie, I found it hard to see him act as Faramir again. I used to adore Faramir and his macho-ness. But as I watched LOTR back, I kept laughing when it came to his scenes. I kept remembering him as the silly guy saying "Why does it smell like wet dog in here?" in Van Helsing. Hahaha..

Well, that was in the beginning.. Lama2 nampak macho balik =P. Hehehe.. I still love Faramir. Hehe..

My favourite characters in LOTR:
1. Aragorn
2. Legolas
3. Faramir
4. Arwen
5. Gimli

=) Who are urs?

The Brave One

8:14 AM, Tuesday 8 January 2008 .. Posted in I love movies .. 1 comments .. Link

Every night with the exceptions of a few (which are tuesdays, saturdays and sundays) our house is always taken over by eager secondary students coming for tuition classes. My siblings and I will be prisoners in our rooms without the blessing of TV. Hhahahhaha.. Hey, its not at all that dramatic. Saje je =P

Anyhow, the tv will be off once the students come, which is around 830pm. They end at 1030pm -- which of course is when the best tv shows are on.

So last night I opened my laptop and watched a movie titled "The Brave One" staring Jodi Foster. Ayah said it was a good story, so tengok laaa..

Hmmm.. since ayah said its a story about a women membalas dendam, I kinda hoped it would be something like Kill Bill. Rupanye tak. The story was kinda slow. I nearly fell asleep. Hehehe.. Sorry to say la =P

But watching the movie, Jodi Foster mentioned something about after experiencing a terrible incident, the street you used to walk along will never feel the same again. Being afraid of the shadow.

We sometimes take for granted that this world is a safe place. We assume that fear only belonged to other people until something actually does happen to you. This world is dangerous. Its horrible. Most things happen because of its people. We should be afraid of its people. Not ghosts, the people, those who have akal. Those who can think but choose not to. Those who live based on their nafsu. Those who choose to live as animals.

Once something happens; either it being getting mugged, getting robbed, raped, loved ones murdered or any other terrible crimes, then and only then will the people who survived it become aware of the dangers in this world. But, they will never become the same person ever again. Traumatic experiences such as these are what changes people.

Oh yeah, if you like Jodi Foster's acting, go watch the movie. Eventhough its kinda slow, it has its interesting features.

Take care people. Its not a safe world out there.

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