We Make Our Own Destiny
June 5, 2010 § 3 Comments
I don’t recall seeing this scene >(
This time, I finally arrived at the movie theater early enough to catch the previews. I love previews! But in Hong Kong, they’re followed by a slew of skincare commercials that really kill the mood. Anyway, Prince of Persia!
1. WHAT IS A BLUE-EYED WHITE BOY DOING IN PERSIA?!?? I didn’t think it would be this bothersome, but it is very much so. I wanted to laugh every time I saw a white person in this film because there were actually quite a lot. It sucks.
2. Jakey is fiiiine, but this cast & plot are garbage from the start. There is literally almost no expository: nothing is ever explained to us. Why does anyone do anything? Why is Jakey so good at everything? Why is he like this?
3. The princess has an annoying Paris Hilton voice, and she’s really not that beautiful. They should’ve gotten an actual Persian woman. Also, why is she such a nagging, whiny brat? Her character is really despicable, and her stance is awkward.
4. There are many times when it looks & feels just like the video game, which is good for fans but looks fake & contrived as a film. Frankly, the CGI in this movie is not very good; it’s comparable to The Mummy, which came out…over a decade ago.
5. The first time the princess met eyes with Jakey was almost unbearable. The entire theater collapsed with snickers.
6. Jakey looks soooo hot when he fights o_o his arms are delicious and his face is incredible … even his furry chest is tolerable. His brother was pretty goodlooking too.
7. Is ostrich racing possible? LOL.
8. I hate romance. Why does it have to show up in every freaking movie? This is why I prefer Iron Man: the less, the better. Seriously though, Jakey’s puppy eyes make those moments overpoweringly cheesy.
9. Suddenly, it turns into some Indiana Jones-style film with quicksand & secret passageways. Um…
10. I suppose the important thing is that we are left with a good feeling at the end, and The Sands of Time accomplishes that at least.
The Man In The Shiny Red Suit
May 7, 2010 § Leave a comment
You know procrastination is at an all-time high when you decide to go watch Iron Man 2 in the middle of finals week when you have overdue work that hasn’t even been brought into existence yet. Yet! That’s what I did. The two people that I talked to about it beforehand that had seen it already both told me it was bad, so my expectations were pretty low. I think that’s why I enjoyed it so much. That and the fact that I was so glad to be able to see a movie normally, without those wretched 3D glasses sliding off my face.
1. Iron Man is dying. This situation reminds me of Mad Eye Moody’s impostor, always drinking some mysterious liquid in an attempt to stay alive. What exactly was Tony Stark drinking anyway?
2. I hate the evil geek caricature. Justin Hammer got way too much screen time. And why was his speech pattern so stilted? Who actually talks like that?
3. Okay seriously how much Botox has that senator guy had??? LOL. His face was so unnatural: 
4. It was really weird to see DJ AM posthumously :( moment of silence please.
5. I still don’t understand why Rhodes took the suit. Was he trying to punish Stark? … ??
6. I had totally forgotten that Samuel L Jackson is in this movie! But of course he would play the magical black man with the cure for Iron Man’s problems. Of course.
7. This sequel reminds me of the most recent 007, in which the plot is not as riveting as the first, but we do manage to dig deeper into the psyche of the main character. Perhaps part of the reason why my friends did not enjoy it?
8. DANG IT I ALWAYS get so worked up over those touching father-to-son speeches. Why am I like this??
9. Is any of this science-speak real? I’m glad I don’t know anything about chemistry/physics, otherwise this whole “I discovered a new element!” thing would probably bother me to no end.
10. At the end of the day, Tony Stark is just a boy with big toys trying to be a man.
11. As always, Iron Man 2 is a visual orgy of futuristic technology and metal-on-metal clanging. And I love it.
12. Scarlet Johansson is pretty good as an action heroine, though her skin-tight suit was really reminiscent of Fantastic 4.
13. The end came a little too quick, a little too easy. But the film is not about the villain; this one’s about the man. And his lady.
14. The Avengers??? This is going to get bigger??? …!!! Very excellent.
15. The very end is very anticlimactic. Make sure you stay until the verrrrry end, AKA after the credits, for a sneak peek into what will probably be the next film.
Sometimes You See Two Rainbows
April 8, 2010 § Leave a comment
In our quest to watch a Hong Kong film while studying here, Rosaline & I [and others] decided on Echoes of the Rainbow, which won some film award somewhere, because apparently HK movies usually suck [their words, not mine]. This film takes place in the 60s era of HK, and we [of course] watched it with subtitles.
1. Cantonese is known as an abrasive, shouty language, but when spoken softly, it can sound just as whiny as Korean.
2. Aarif Lee. In short shorts. Running. Jumping over the camera in slow motion [did I mention short shorts?!?!?]. I almost passed out from sheer excitement. [LEGGGGGGS!!!!!]
3. Why are Chinese movies dubbed? It’s weird and annoying. Can they not afford microphones? Alice [or someone] suggested that it’s because HK is too noisy. In any case, it’s bothersome when the lips don’t match, because then all the vocals sound too studio-recorded and fake.
4. Aarif Lee has a beautiful profile. He’s like the upgraded version of Wang Leehom [although Leehom has a nice profile too].
5. I can actually recognize the street names in this film!
6. Aarif Lee plays a moody, lovestruck teenager well [he’s 22, according to Rosaline, but I can’t find a bio]. The goodbye scene was actually acted genuinely, and as somebody who has said goodbye too many times, I really identified with it.
7. Like any Asian drama, it’s not good until someone gets diagnosed with an incurable disease and/or dies.
8. Aarif Lee’s love interest has crooked teeth, which is very bothersome.
9. It’s amazing to watch two people [the parents] love each other. Love is better communicated without words and without sex.
10. I cried. There are some uber-cheesy moments, but most of it is about the down-to-earth struggles of a poor family.
11. THEY GOT AARIF LEE TO PLAY THE GROWN UP VERSION OF HIS YOUNGER BROTHER THAT IS SO WRONG. It literally ruined the mood of the entire movie — so gauche it was hilarious.
Wonderland
March 15, 2010 § 1 Comment
Saw Alice In Wonderland in 3D [non-IMAX] Friday night. Thoughts:
1. It actually didn’t require much thinking. The storyline is straightforward and does not contain many surprises.
2. This is the second 3D movie I’ve seen, and I wasn’t extremely impressed by either. It’s cool but a bit gimmicky and leaves me with a cross-eyed headache in the end.
3. Apparently lead actress Mia Wasikowska went to the same school in Australia as the friend of my floormate Paris. She’s 20 but easily passes for 16 in the film.
4. The one outstanding thing about this movie is the costume design. Every time Alice changes clothes, which is rather often for a short movie, we see a new and lovelier piece.
5. Alice gets kind of annoying, actually, because she keeps running away from everything.
6. The ending is kind of terrible, like they couldn’t bother to come up with something sensible or satisfying so they half-heartedly created something acceptably Disney-esque and left it as is. Then again, the movie doesn’t seem to be about the ending [if you know what I mean], so let’s not focus on it.
7. I didn’t like this as much as The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus; there is no emotional investment whatsoever in Alice’s situation.
8. My friend Kiran loved the film because of the three strong female leads going to battle, which is indeed a rare occurrence.
9. Johnny Depp, Alan Rickman & Helena Bonham Carter are forever awesome. Anne Hathaway is forever Princess Diaries, which is only slightly less awesome.
auradis 