500 Days of Summer (Part 2)

Reasons why I love this movie - after watching it:
(kinda makes you wonder when do I have the time to watch it since the last entry. *wink*)

1. The voice-over

Oh yes... it deserves a second mention just because I can. Seriously though. Wouldn't it be awesome if I have that voice inside of my head, trying to talk rational sense into my (mostly) irrational puny little brain? I know I'd definitely listen to it a lot more than the current (annoying) voice in my head.

2. Non-linear storyline

It's not something new, but at least it's not something of the norm either. And when you have 500 Days of Summer to go through, there is just sooo much to filter through. I really like how they just skip back and forth as they please (which kinda reminds me of a movie but I can't remember which one... ). Sometimes, there's a connection between the scenes. Sometimes it's just something random. But despite the jumping around, you do get the progression of the movie - because at the end of the day, you're watching it in Tom's POV (that's Joseph Gordon Levitt to you) and he's just filtering through his memories to find the bright spots... or the bad ones as well.

Because that's just how our memories works - everything is just a jumble of scenes and people and conversations and things and events, meshed together through a sieve, and randomly conjuring at any given point of time.

3. Music

Awesome! Need. To. Go. Find. The. OST.

I love movies where music plays a big part of it. Some of my best finds normally crops up from movies, and I'd google the band online and voila! This one is of no exception although... looking at the tracklist, I have absolutely no clue of who they are (for the exceptions of Simon & Garfunkel, and Wolfmother) - which is a good thing! Cuz only You-Know-Who knows how tired I am of my playlist.

I'll try and dig-up some Youtube clips of a few songs once I have the time.

4. Joseph Gordon Levitt & Zooey Deschanel

By right, both of these names should have their very own bulleted point, but I wanna save the last one for something else.

I love Zooey simply because she's quirky and pretty and I adore the combination of black hair-blue eyes. She's such a sweetheart, and she's been quite consistent with the type of characters she's good at playing at. But it doesn makes me wonder though.. if she's capable of playing other than that quirky, out-of-this-world kinda girl.

Gordon is adorable, and it's a pity I haven't seen him since Brick. He plays the bumbling, nerdy, half-loser/half-nerd persona that is Tom like the brother I've never had. You can easily sympathise with him, with those doeey eyes and downturn mouth, yet also feel like bashing him in the head for being so naive and optimistic. It's a love-hate relationship that you can cherish.

... ONE Reason Why I Dont.

5. "This is not a love story."

I should've taken the voice seriously when he opened the movie with that line. I assumed that it was 'a-love-story-that-is-not-a-love-story'.... but in reality... it actually is 'not-a-love-story'. Watch the movie and you'll know what I mean. All I can say is, I'm not a big fan of the ending but I'm sure there's a valuable lesson in there somewhere that is so totally lost on me on the grounds that I can't relate.     

500 Days of Summer

Reasons why I love this movie - even without watching it yet:

1. Ok. Watch this trailer first and stop at 0:38.

Do you get it? Dude! It has awesome voice-over! The best I've heard this year! (shove over Up!) It makes even the most cliche opening ("This is the story of boy meets girl.") sounds awesome! In fact, that same voice is telling me to write this list in the first place! That same voice is what made me sit-up and pay attention in class. Don't you ever wish you had a lecturer with this sort of voice? I'd ace that class for sure.

2. Ok. Now rewind and watch the trailer again, and this time stop at 0:32.

Did your heart leapt to your throat at the very same moment the Boy (most probably) does to? - or was that just me? Now that is what I call 'A Moment'. And I'm pretty sure every single person who has ever been in love has had such moment(s) before. I know I do. Now doesn't that makes you want to root for the Boy to get the Girl?

3. "You should know up front that this is not a love story."

Yes. The voice is speaking to me again. But doesn't that line catch your attention enough to be curious? Plus, I'm a sucker for a 'love-story-that-is-not-a-love-story'. 2009 have been ridden with bad (on the verge of crappy) love story - be it romcom or drama. Let's have a change of pace for once!

4. It is Sundance approved.

Not that it matters much anyway, but hey! If the cynical critics would have a go at this, I'd say "Why not?"

5. It's like an Arthouse Movie.... but not really.

We get a lot of that nowadays - big budget movies made in such a way to make it look 'artsy' or 'indie'. It get's confusing but I still like to pretend like I am one of those movie snobs who only watches Casablanca, old black-n-white movies, foreign films and indie production - just so that I could wear all fitting black clothes and smoke with a long filter and talk with a French accent.

Eh... no? I thought that's what most theatre people do?

But for real though.. it does have that 'artsy' quality to it and the narrative of the storyline reminds me of 'The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' - which happens to be the 'love-story-that-is-not-a-love-story' in my list. Hmm.. I wonder if this movie that top that?

Ok. I definitely have a date with Zooey and Joseph this weekend! If you're interested to join me, do drop me a line. But if not, it is currently on limited (and exclusive) viewing @ TGV KLCC till 28th October 2009.

The Brothers' Blooms : A Review

Up to this juncture, I've heard nothing but good praise for this movie. I saw the trailer a few times but I thought it looked maybe too cheesy and comedic for my taste. Really. Using a mute Japanese Harajuku Girl as a prop for all the randomness? Hmmm... let me consider that idea. But... I'm a fan of Mark Ruffalo (really, that guy don't get enough credit) and Adrian Brody have yet to dissappoint me with any of his movies (well.. maybe The Darjeeling Ltd was a bit too random for me). And... yes... I've heard nothing but good things about this movie, and I am nothing but a sucker for a good movie.

This movie is basically a con-movie. Think... Ocean Eleven (and Twelve... and Thirteen)... minus George Clooney (and the other 10, 11 or 12). The Brothers Bloom are perhaps the best con-artists in the world, renowned for their elaborate and dramatic ploys in order to syphoon money off innocent rich tycoons. And their latest 'Mark': Penelope Stamp - an epileptic pinhole photographer, well-known for her huge amount of inheritance, as well as collection of hobbies.

Of course, this would NOT be your basic straight-off-the-mill con job. We're talking about the Brothers Blooms here, and Stephen (Mark Ruffalo) is nothing but a good, dramatic narrator. And from the moment they made contact with Penelope, you know things aren't ever as they seemed, and you are dragged into this flurry of web, tangles and lies, and into the twisted and warped made-up world created by Stephen, and acted-out with sublime perfection by his brother Bloom (Adrian Brody), and... random Japanese chick, BoomBoom (Rinko Kikuchi).

It's a con in a con in a con being conned. Up to a point, you can't even trust your own instinct on what is real and what is not. Which, I think, lies the beauty of this movie. Being such an elaborate narrative, it's easy to mess it up and make the storyline very confusing for the audience. But what this movie did was... well, hell yeah you're confused! but you get the heart of the idea... the executions... the relationship between the brothers, as well as the blossoming romance... so basically, that confusion is anchored to something.

And other than the storyline itself (of a con in a con in a con being conned) , the movie is nicely packaged with a neat red ribbon. It's funny. Yet subtle. It's dramatic. Without being corny. It's an adventure... that is well executed by all players. And the characters are all lovable. Even the random Japanese chick grows on you.

Karma Came Around and We Watched a Movie!

It's a Friday night, and I have the Friday blues. Barely minutes before the 'official' clock-out hour, I received a couple of phonecalls from office with more work to do. And I've to settle it by this weekend as I'll be on my study leave for the next 6 weeks. Aiyoh.. so depressing-nye!

BUT...

I have to confess that I have not been such a model employee anyway. I was in the cinema with a fellow ' non-model' employee, when I received the phonecalls. Yes, I've been playing truant. Again. For the third day in a row. And now, on a Friday night, I have to work. Ahh.. karma. What goes around, comes around, right? ;)

Anyway, I was in the middle of watching Sell Out : a local satirical film by Yeo Joon Wai when Karma came over and started kicking me in the rear. I've been meaning to watch this eversince I read the glowing review in the papers last week. So, after watching Star Trek for two days in a row (yes... it's that good!), my friend and I finally found a convenient time-slot for us to catch the movie.

The Verdict?

Ok. For starters, I love the quality of the film. It was good. The editing.. the cinematography.. the lighting. What I don't get is why all the other local Malay-language films can't be made the same way? Why do we always get very grainy films, low lighting, poor colouring sort of movies? Go digital! That's what I'd say.

Second: for a satire movie, I love how they exagerate the situations and made fun of Malaysians and their quirks, by being absolutely sarcastic about it. As a warning though, it's not a laugh-out-loud, "hey, it's a joke" sort-of obvious satire. The execution is.. subtle and mellow. Other than the sudden burst-out into songs here and there, I found the movie rather sombre for most parts and gruesome in some others. I think for people who are not inclined to have their thinking cap on during a movie, would not get some of the jokes. My friend definitely didn't and the only reason she laughed was because she thought the whole movie was ridiculous!

Third: I love the musical elements in the movie. I grew up with Grease and Sounds of Music constantly on repeat on the VHS player, so this is definitely something I appreciate. My favourite would have to be the one sung by heart-disease guy and the part where you can actually karaoke along with the movie! Seriously! I urge you to sing-along!

Overall, it was good. You could sympathise with the characters, but most of the time you'd think they're crazy. A warning though, the plot of the story is rather vague so I advice you to not follow it and just... enjoy!

A Movie Review: Star Trek

Shh.. don't tell my boss(es) this but... *whisper* I skip work today *endwhisper*

Ehem... you can't really blame a girl for something that is unavoidable though. I was already on a bus on my way to client's after lunch when it started pouring! And really... do you expect me to walk in the rain in 3-inch heels, a shoe bag in one hand and a laptop on my back??! You must be crazy! I would've stayed on the bus and gone back to KL Sentral if I hadn't spied Pavilion on the next bus stop. I would get plenty of shelter from the rain there. =)

And... well, now that a situation have presented itself to me decked out in a glittering red dress, with a hemline so short, it's just screaming to be taken advantage off... *ahem*...

ANYWAY... I headed straight to GSC and lady luck was on my side when the next Star Trek movie was showing in 15minutes! Logic would dictate that I buy the ticket immediately and get myself seated comfortably in the cinema, with plenty of time to munch on popcorns and googling over all the trailers. And I am nothing but a logical person. =)

Ok... before I jump into the review itself, let's take a little History lesson!

Star Trek originated as a television series in 1966 that survived for only 3 season ('66 - '69) and which had brought to life timeless characters such as James T Kirk, Spock, Bones and Scott and memorable quotes such as "Beam me up Scotty!" & "Live well and prosper... V". It later served as a foundation for four additional live-action television series, one animated television series and eleven theatrical films. This latest of the 11 theatrical films is the current showing "Star Trek" feat Chris Pine (Just My Luck) and Zachary Pinto (Heroes).

Now... I have to say that up to this point I have never ever watched a Star Trek episodes/movie before. Ever. Of course I'm roughly aware of the cult status of this sci-fi as well as the corny colour-coordinated uniforms, but that's where my knowledge of Star Trek ends. And I have to admit that I had prematurely concluded that I was going to give this movie a pass.

So what convinced me otherwise? My brother's rave review about it. And if I know my brother as well as I think I do, then his approval is very much note-worthy. And so here I am.

Now, as a warning, if you want to be spoiler-free, please do look away. Go find someone else's blog to read. I shall not be held responsible for the contents that you will read henceforth.

For an opener, we get a glimpse to the USS Enterprise encountering an abnormal "black-storm" before a mammoth sized and savage looking Romulan ship emerged and attack the Federation Starfleet. On board are the newly captained George Kirk, and his 'very-pregnant-and-very-much-in-labour' wife. We're 15 minutes in, and the outlook is bleak. Autopilot is malfunctioning and Captain Kirk stayed behind to go Kamikaze-assed on the Romulans. Here, we are treated to a nicely done cinematography and contrast of the chaos of the onslaught, as Captain Kirk struggles to hold-up defence as his crew evacuates, to the beauty of his wife's childbirth, all played out to a slow string-backed musical. A second of silence before it was broken with the cries of his baby boy, and here you can't help but smile along as both parents decided on a name. Of course, such happy moment are short-lived. As Captain Pike best described this event later on in the film (as he was recruiting James Kirk) , "Your father was captain of the Enterprise for 18 minutes, yet he had saved more than 800 lives of his crew members, including yours' and your mother."

We are briefly treated to the childhood of both James Kirk and Spock, before we warp-speed forward to 25 years later, where we find our very own Mr Spock at a cross road on which to accept either his paternal Vulcan heritage (noted for their attempt to live by reason and logic with no interference from emotion) or his maternal Human side. On the other side of the spectrum, we are introduced to the adult James Tiberius Kirk, renegade ladies man who is caught in a messy situation at a bar.

Introductions aside, I'm not really planning to bore you on the details of the movie, but let's just say that it was awesome and one of the best sci-fi movie I've watched to date. There's plenty of actions to keep you entertained and on the edge of your seat. And this is effortlessly balanced out with great characters developments and amazing delivery by the casts. The visual effects are awe-inspiring, amd cinematography was brilliant! Much thoughts and considerations have definitely been through in coming up with the screenplay, and this is reflected in the depth of the movie and the carefully crafted essence that personifies a Star Trek franchise. This is definitely a movie that engages the audience to connect with the characters and its surroundings. And you'd find yourself rooting for Kirk or Spock or any of the crew to pull through any messy situation they are thrown into. It's difficult not to be a fan of the movie by the time the credit rolled in. And I really hope that they would revive the Star Trek eras with more movies of this calibre.

Verdict? TWO Thumbs WAY Up!