This is what I say about the latest announcement that Ben Affleck is to be the new Batman.
And the ensuing pandemonium that arose as a result of that announcement.
Movies
If Agnes doesn’t make you go “aww”, you’re not human
I am officially conferring the “Cutest Thing in the World” title to Agnes from Despicable Me. I don’t think I’ll be the only one to do so. The precocious 3D-animated girl has stolen the hearts of audiences all over the world.
I’m deadly serious when I say I’ve never seen anything quite as cute as Agnes. I mean, I go “awww” at cute things pretty often since I find many things cute.
But Agnes is on a separate level altogether. She’s the absolute deity of cute. There’s nothing that could possibly compare in cuteness to her. Which is why I felt compelled to do a hasty montage of her cutest moments. (Pictures all taken from the Agnes Facebook fan page)
I could just eat her up, SHE’S SO FLUFFY!!!
If she doesn’t tug at your heartstrings (especially when you’re watching the movie), YOU’RE NOT HUMAN.
So, if you haven’t watched Despicable Me, I will tell you now that Agnes alone is worth the price of admission. She is worth the price of at least three admissions, in fact, because I am planning to watch the movie at least two more times.
This YouTube clip I’ve watched about a gadzillion times. It’s a good thing the Goonfather loves Agnes, too, or he’d kill me for playing this clip nonstop every day.
How can anything be THIS cute? It’s inconceivable!
When I was watching the movie in the cinema, the lady sitting next to me wouldn’t stop going “awwww” every time Agnes did something cute. It was mildly annoying, but I could empathise with her need to express her love for the little tyke, so I forgave her and didn’t make a fuss.
Agnes ought to have her own movie. She ought to have her own TV series. She ought to have her own talk show!
She is infinitely cuter than Boo from Monsters Inc. And I did like Boo very much, almost buying a Boo doll.
There’s an Agnes doll already on sale, but it’s not cute. Doesn’t look like the movie Agnes. Very disappointing, that. =(
Happily, the little actress who provided the voice of Agnes is also a cutie herself. I don’t know if I could handle it if Agnes’ voice were to come from a less-than-cute person. Maybe that’s rather shallow, but cute must go with cute, no?
Okay, I’d better talk a bit about the movie itself. I suppose it’s entertaining enough. It’s got a good story about villains trying to take over the world. The pace is fast enough so it doesn’t get boring. And it’s got cute little critters in it that look like medicine capsules.
But I wouldn’t watch it if Agnes weren’t in there, because it would be just another children’s cartoon show and I’m not really into 3D animation cartoons in the first place.
Now, I know some of you are going to come up with some lame theory about how my gushing over Agnes means my maternal instincts are kicking in so that means I need to have a baby or something.
WRONG.
Nothing could be more wrong than that.
Because, now that there is Agnes, there could be no other! I mean, I know there is no possibility of me (or anyone) ever having a baby that could come close to being as cute as Agnes, so, you know, it’s not going to work. If I ever had a baby, I’d want to trade it in for Agnes. But that’s not possible, is it? So, no baby. Nope.
There. I’ve said it. Now go watch the movie! Again! =)
My epic crush on the Prince of Persia
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I think I’m in love… with the most devastatingly charming prince of all.
I kinda hate when that happens, cos it means I’m going to have to buy the Blu-ray once it’s out, just so I can watch it multiple times.
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is an epic blockbuster that is truly epic. It has epic actors, epic costumes, epic set designs, epic music, epic action and it gave me an epic crush on Prince Dastan (played by Jake Gyllenhaal).
At the start, he’s just another good-looking character so it was like, okay cool.
But as the story unfolds, a girl can’t help but be swept away by his mischievous smile and floppy hair. He is at the same time goofy and charming, all the while sporting deadly muscles that glisten in the ever-present sun.
The movie originates from a popular classic videogame series of the same name, so the plot will be roughly familiar to gamers who have played it, although they shouldn’t expect the movie to be faithful to the game. Changes had to be made for the screen adaptation.
The movie follows the successful formula of a typical romantic adventure story. There’s action, there’s romance, there’s conflict, there’s humour, all well-executed.
In the mystical land of Persia, dashing Prince Dastan meets enchanting Princess Tamina (played by the gorgeous Gemma Arteton) as a rival but is forced to be her ally against a greater enemy: a cataclysmic disaster that would spell the end of the world.
At the heart of it all is the magical Dagger of Time, an exquisitely carved dagger that holds all the powers of the universe, allowing its bearer to control and reverse time itself.
I couldn’t recommend this movie enough. There is not one boring moment, I swear. I was riveted the entire two hours.
Well, don’t expect a Pulitzer prize-winning plot. It’s a Disney movie, after all, not an art-house film. The aim is for the audience to feel good and I felt good after watching it, especially when it’s spiced with a liberal dose of humour, which kept a smile on my face throughout.
(Except during one instance when Nanny Wen screamed in shock, causing the smile to be shocked off my face. But only for a while because laughter at her soon followed.)
There’s a lot to marvel at in the movie. The sets are gorgeous and the scenery breathtaking. The action is heart-stopping. As in my heart almost stopped at the sight of Jake Gyllenhaal’s muscles rippling as he leaps off tall buildings or plunges swords into villains.
The discipline of parkour (navigating obstacles by adapting one’s movements to the environment), which has been so beloved in the game series, is faithfully represented in the movie. Expect an abundance of nail-biting stunts as the characters tear through a busy city full of walls and buildings.
The CG is amazing. CG is getting so good these days it makes me glad I live in this era. The awesome, shimmery effect that happens when the Dagger of Time is activated is pure candy for the eyes.
Wanting to gawk at more pictures from the movie, I poked around in the Prince of Persia website and discovered some fun things to do, such as this photobooth:
Haha. You can put your face on Princess Tamina’s or Prince Dastan’s body. There are also couple shots where you can upload you and your partner’s photos!
Also, try the video jigsaw. It’s SUPER COOL. You have to fit the pieces together while the images in the pieces are moving!
I really enjoyed that.
2) Play the video jigsaw here.
I love the movie so much I’ve downloaded a Prince of Persia wallpaper. This is my favourite!
3) Download cool wallpapers here.
I’ve also “liked” the Disney Studios Facebook fan page. I’ve really enjoyed all the Disney movies that I’ve watched, and I’ve watched many!
4) Like Disney’s Facebook Fan Page here.
One more thing. Twitter!
Yay, Twitter! Here’s where you can learn all the trivia behind Disney movies, with Prince of Persia being the focus right now, of course.
5) Enjoy interesting trivia on Twitter.
Gosh, I don’t think I can wait for the Blu-ray. I must catch it again in the cinema! Soooooon!
Attending the 82nd Academy Awards
I attended a “live” screening of Academy Awards at GV Grand this morning!
This was the invite:
To be honest, I’ve never been interested in the Oscars. I’m interested to know that a movie I watched or an actor I like has won an award, but I wouldn’t sit down for four hours to watch it happen. I’m happy to hear the news if someone tells me, but I wouldn’t actually go find out myself.
So why did I attend this event?
I dunno. I guess I thought it sounded glam and fun, something different.
Also, I wanted to see Avatar win awards.
I’m sad it only won three, but I suppose The Hurt Locker is a worthy contender even though I haven’t watched it.
I want to watch it now, though. I liked Kathryn Bigelow when she was giving her acceptance speeches for Best Director and Best Picture. Very real and humble.
Actually, many speeches were very real and humble. I enjoyed Sandra Bullock’s (Best Actress) speech. Moved me to tears!
By the way, Ben Stiller went on stage to present an award looking like a Na’vi. He was so funny!
I was a bit stressed about the dress code today. It said “Hollywood Glitz” but I really didn’t think Singaporeans would dress in Hollywood Glitz on a Monday morning (9 am).
But I feel that it’s important to follow dress codes to respect the event. Yet, I don’t want to stick out like a sore thumb. So I compromised today by doing casual glitzy.
Actually, bluff you one. I did casual glitzy cos I don’t have anything full glitzy to wear. Haha.
I know the pants is really wrong. I really would have preferred to wear a skirt, but I don’t have any appropriate ones. And I only started deciding what to wear half an hour before I was due at the event, lol.
I had thought to wear a certain black dress I have, but realised this morning that it was crumpled and there was not enough time to iron it!! What a catastrophe.
Anyway, beside me is Fish Chaar, my actor friend, who has played my screen partner in films about four times or more, I can’t remember.
He’s working in Universal Studios Singapore this year. SO COOL RIGHT! If you visit the Donkey Island or something like that, see if you can spot him!
So, when we arrived at the event 20 minutes late (thanks to my wardrobe emergency), we found that 85% of the guests had gone in very casual clothes (like jeans and tee) or work wear. No one was even near Hollywood Glitz lah what is wrong with Singaporeans??!!!
Pictures of the breakfast reception. We were served champagne with breakfast.
We also got a goodie bag consisting of a magazine, some perfume and skincare samples, and tons of vouchers.
Okay, I don’t mean to sound ungrateful because it’s a good thing when people give stuff to you and you shouldn’t complain. But I really think goodie bags ought to have real stuff in them, not samples and vouchers, which really just come across as disguised advertising.
Well, to be fair, samples and vouchers aren’t that bad since you can actually use them. I have received goodie bags that come with advertising leaflets and brochures. Seriously, where is the “goodie” in that?!
Alright, done ranting.
Okay, not really ranting, more like observing, since I enjoyed myself today and am in a happy mood. And I realise that the Oscars is a really entertaining show. Guess I’ll be watching it yearly from now on.
If I can wake up.
Shaw Theatres (Lido) ruins movie experience just to save a few bucks
I watched Avatar in 3D with my friends at Lido last night. We each received good quality 3D specs at the door.
There were repeated reminders outside the cinema, as well as on the cinema screen, as well as audio messages, for us to return the specs in good condition at the end of the movie, failing which we would have to pay $10.
All good there.
We watched the movie and immensely enjoyed three hours of a gripping story set in a fantastic, vibrant world.
And then the movie ended and the credits started.
Accompanying the initial credit roll were awesome 3D footages of the world of Navi accompanied by awe-inspiring music.
Unfortunately, we never got to enjoy it. Two seconds after the credits rolled, lights flooded the cinema, the music was muted and a recorded announcement came on, reminding us to return the 3D specs, failing which we would have to pay $10, blah blah.
I was annoyed.
The movie had ended too soon and I craved more of it. I was sad at having to say goodbye to the world of Navi and I wanted to enjoy the ending music and footages to continue the illusion of still being immersed in the world.
The recorded announcement and muting of the music shocked us out of our immersion like icy cold water to the face.
We endured the announcement for about 20 seconds, waiting for the music to come back. The screen was still showing footages of 3D scenery but it was hard to watch since the lights were all on.
Then the announcement ended but the music didn’t come back.
Three seconds later, the announcement started again. The same damned announcement all over again.
I was very, very annoyed. By muting the music, turning on the lights, and playing the stupid announcement, Lido had robbed us of our final few minutes of enjoyment of the movie, an experience which would have given us the closure we needed to wrap up our otherwise impeccable experience of the movie.
It’s like sex without a proper climax.
Did they really need to remind us to return the specs over and over again? After all, there were two guys collecting the specs outside a very narrow exit doorway.
No one could possibly escape.
We left the hall and the Goonfather demanded to see the manager.
We were shocked at what the night manager had to say.
He said we weren’t the first people to complain. Unfortunately, he can’t do anything about it because he is only following orders.
The management of Shaw Theatres had ordered the recorded announcement to be played before the movie officially ended. And even with repeated complaints and suggestions to play the announcment later, the management refused to budge.
The answer was, “Don’t care them lah.”
The manager also said that, by right, it wouldn’t hurt to allow patrons to take the specs home. After all, we paid extra for them. The tickets cost $14 each.
But Shaw wants to make more money, so the specs are collected back and recycled.
The manager also told us that care is taken to wash the specs thoroughly before they are reused, but he was probably lying. When we collected our specs, they were all greasy and covered with fingerprints on the lenses.
In the end, there was nothing we could do. Nothing he could do. He told us to complain directly to the Shaw Theatres management and, maybe, if more people complained to them, they would take notice.
This is very disappointing. Not only did they rob movie goers of the last few crucial minutes of enjoyment, the management of Shaw Theatres also showed great disrespect to filmmaker James Cameron.
To truncate his movie like that!
How grave is the insult for a pioneer of Singapore’s movie industry (Shaw made movies in the early 1900s) to disrespect a film like that, and all for the fear of losing a few plastic spectacles?
I am deeply disappointed.
Be warned. If you’re going to watch Avatar in 3D (and I absolutely recommend that you do), don’t watch it at Shaw Theatres.