PEACE and God Bless,
Aris Tee
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Thinking Too Much
You know, sometimes I really do think too much... I would think and think... and spend pretty much the rest of my day worrying and worrying... and it would pretty much affect what I do, my mood, my work, and pretty much everything. And worrying too much seems to affect people close to me. I guess it's just not natural to them... and at the same time I also worry that I'd make them feel uncomfortable, even if all I do is be concerned about them. Scometimes I wonder if my worrying is justified. Should I just let things be and go with the flow and see how things turn out... or should I worry what to do next? Then I see some happy people I know... they seem to just continue to have fun... live their lives and let things be... I don't see them worrying about anything... and perhaps that's something I should try. Enjoy life, worry not and hope all good things come to me. Sure it has been a messy and confusing end of the year for me, but instead of being a constant worrier, I just hope to be a simple, happy person... like how I used to be.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
YES, Watch This!
Yes Man
There is a certain appeal towards Jim Carrey comedies. They have the tendency of being totally slapstick or truly entertaining. Either way, we still flock to watch his shows (I know I do!). When trailers of his latest movie Yes Man played, many felt it was as if he’s doing ‘Liar Liar II’. Upon catching his latest flick, I’m glad those worries were unjustified.
The movie revolves around Carl Allen, a sad and lonely bank loan officer who leads a rather routine life, watching DVDs at home, working the same job and having little confidence in himself. One day he is convinced by a friend to attend a seminar in which he is taught to say ‘yes’ to every opportunity that comes in life. He is also told that the mere mention of the word ‘no’ will only lead to bad things. With the aid of a hilarious ‘dying-alone’ nightmare, he decides to give ‘yes’ a chance. Things turn out rough at first, but soon with this new philosophy, Carl experiences life in a completely new way. He becomes more adventurous and everything in life goes his way.
Upon offering a ride to a weird homeless man and allowing him to finish up his cellphone batteries and car’s petrol supply, he is unexpectedly introduced to Allison (played brilliantly by the gorgeous and awesomely cute Zooey Deschanel), who later becomes his love interest and further influences his life. It is interesting to note that both actors have great chemistry and were wonderful onscreen. Carl tries many things he wouldn’t have normally attempted, amongst other things, learning to fly, taking guitar lessons, learning to speak Korean, and even finding a Persian wife, most of which prove unexpectedly handy later on. But Carl also learns that access to unlimited possibilities can also have its drawbacks.
The bright cast of characters also adds to the fun, like loony boss Norman (Rhys Darby) and Terrence Bundley (Terence Stamp), the guy who teaches him the power of ‘yes’. The movie might have been rather formulaic and predictable in some parts, but the message here is very positive and there are laughs aplenty. A must watch for Jim Carrey and Zooey Deschanel fans.
4 out of 5 Stars
There is a certain appeal towards Jim Carrey comedies. They have the tendency of being totally slapstick or truly entertaining. Either way, we still flock to watch his shows (I know I do!). When trailers of his latest movie Yes Man played, many felt it was as if he’s doing ‘Liar Liar II’. Upon catching his latest flick, I’m glad those worries were unjustified.
The movie revolves around Carl Allen, a sad and lonely bank loan officer who leads a rather routine life, watching DVDs at home, working the same job and having little confidence in himself. One day he is convinced by a friend to attend a seminar in which he is taught to say ‘yes’ to every opportunity that comes in life. He is also told that the mere mention of the word ‘no’ will only lead to bad things. With the aid of a hilarious ‘dying-alone’ nightmare, he decides to give ‘yes’ a chance. Things turn out rough at first, but soon with this new philosophy, Carl experiences life in a completely new way. He becomes more adventurous and everything in life goes his way.
Upon offering a ride to a weird homeless man and allowing him to finish up his cellphone batteries and car’s petrol supply, he is unexpectedly introduced to Allison (played brilliantly by the gorgeous and awesomely cute Zooey Deschanel), who later becomes his love interest and further influences his life. It is interesting to note that both actors have great chemistry and were wonderful onscreen. Carl tries many things he wouldn’t have normally attempted, amongst other things, learning to fly, taking guitar lessons, learning to speak Korean, and even finding a Persian wife, most of which prove unexpectedly handy later on. But Carl also learns that access to unlimited possibilities can also have its drawbacks.
The bright cast of characters also adds to the fun, like loony boss Norman (Rhys Darby) and Terrence Bundley (Terence Stamp), the guy who teaches him the power of ‘yes’. The movie might have been rather formulaic and predictable in some parts, but the message here is very positive and there are laughs aplenty. A must watch for Jim Carrey and Zooey Deschanel fans.
4 out of 5 Stars
Change or be Eradicated
The Day the Earth Stood Still
There is something about classic science fiction movies that is just so appealing. Hollywood has a knack for revisiting these classics, and more often than not, they receive rather mixed reviews, with many comparing them to the originals. Not too long ago we had the remake of War of the Worlds, and there is even news of a When Worlds Collide remake in the works. The latest to obtain this treatment is The Day the Earth Stood Still.
Based on the 1951 film of the same name, the plot is largely unchanged, but updated to suit the modern day. The theme of aliens visiting our world has been a popular one, and it still continues to fascinate. The first 30 minutes of the movie are the most gripping, where central character and astrobiologist Helen Benson (Jennifer Connelly) is taken into custody and escorted by federal agents, along with many other scientists and government officials to a top-secret meeting. The reason - an unidentified flying object is headed straight for Central Park, Manhattan and since there is not much time left, they are just preparing for the aftermath. The scene that follows is rather captivating.
A spaceship in the shape of an orb appears and lands, and from it emerges an intergalactic being named Klaatu, together with his companion, dubbed ‘Gort’. Before the poor alien could even shake hands with Benson, a trigger-happy soldier fires a shot and wounds him. This scene is faithfully done like the original, with Klaatu taking the shot and Gort coming to his rescue, disabling tanks and military equipment. He is then taken to military custody and sheds his outer placenta suit to reveal a physique resembling Keanu Reeves. He sends the message that he is a friend of the Earth, and he means that literally. He represents a group of advanced aliens from other worlds who believe that Earth’s unique life-supporting properties are too unique to be destroyed by a single species (yes, he means us!). We are to change our ways or be annihilated. Despite his pleas to meet our planet’s ‘leader’, Klaatu instead becomes property of the US government.
It didn’t take long before he escapes though. It immediately becomes clear to Klaatu that we humans are stubborn and refuse to change. What follows is a wild goose chase with Benson trying to convince him that humanity can change and is worth saving. But stepson Jacob (Will Smith’s son Jaden) doesn’t help when he said that we should ‘kill him’ (perhaps influenced by his addiction to PS3 games). The plot takes a messy turn from here, and perhaps it would have been done much better if there was a stronger backbone to the story. Gort on the other hand, is strikingly similar in design to the 1951 original, except he is now about 50-feet tall and also a biological weapon. He arguably exists simply as an excuse to cause major destruction and to make use of the huge special-effects budget. Another interesting scene to catch is when various orbs appear to serve as ‘arks’ for life on Earth.
What’s most interesting is that a slightly-tweaked 50-year-old story is astonishingly relevant for this day and age. The Day the Earth Stood Still might not be a real groundbreaking movie, but it has a rather meaningful message that transcends time.
3 out of 5 Stars
There is something about classic science fiction movies that is just so appealing. Hollywood has a knack for revisiting these classics, and more often than not, they receive rather mixed reviews, with many comparing them to the originals. Not too long ago we had the remake of War of the Worlds, and there is even news of a When Worlds Collide remake in the works. The latest to obtain this treatment is The Day the Earth Stood Still.
Based on the 1951 film of the same name, the plot is largely unchanged, but updated to suit the modern day. The theme of aliens visiting our world has been a popular one, and it still continues to fascinate. The first 30 minutes of the movie are the most gripping, where central character and astrobiologist Helen Benson (Jennifer Connelly) is taken into custody and escorted by federal agents, along with many other scientists and government officials to a top-secret meeting. The reason - an unidentified flying object is headed straight for Central Park, Manhattan and since there is not much time left, they are just preparing for the aftermath. The scene that follows is rather captivating.
A spaceship in the shape of an orb appears and lands, and from it emerges an intergalactic being named Klaatu, together with his companion, dubbed ‘Gort’. Before the poor alien could even shake hands with Benson, a trigger-happy soldier fires a shot and wounds him. This scene is faithfully done like the original, with Klaatu taking the shot and Gort coming to his rescue, disabling tanks and military equipment. He is then taken to military custody and sheds his outer placenta suit to reveal a physique resembling Keanu Reeves. He sends the message that he is a friend of the Earth, and he means that literally. He represents a group of advanced aliens from other worlds who believe that Earth’s unique life-supporting properties are too unique to be destroyed by a single species (yes, he means us!). We are to change our ways or be annihilated. Despite his pleas to meet our planet’s ‘leader’, Klaatu instead becomes property of the US government.
It didn’t take long before he escapes though. It immediately becomes clear to Klaatu that we humans are stubborn and refuse to change. What follows is a wild goose chase with Benson trying to convince him that humanity can change and is worth saving. But stepson Jacob (Will Smith’s son Jaden) doesn’t help when he said that we should ‘kill him’ (perhaps influenced by his addiction to PS3 games). The plot takes a messy turn from here, and perhaps it would have been done much better if there was a stronger backbone to the story. Gort on the other hand, is strikingly similar in design to the 1951 original, except he is now about 50-feet tall and also a biological weapon. He arguably exists simply as an excuse to cause major destruction and to make use of the huge special-effects budget. Another interesting scene to catch is when various orbs appear to serve as ‘arks’ for life on Earth.
What’s most interesting is that a slightly-tweaked 50-year-old story is astonishingly relevant for this day and age. The Day the Earth Stood Still might not be a real groundbreaking movie, but it has a rather meaningful message that transcends time.
3 out of 5 Stars
Chimps in Space
Space Chimps
What do you get when you send three chimpanzees to space? You get Space Chimps of course. I know, lame pun but boy was there lots of chimp puns in this animated flick! As the story goes, in 1961, before man took that first step, it was a chimp that was sent off to space. His name was Ham (this is an actual fact!), and the story centres around his grandson Ham III (Andy Samberg), a circus performer who is shot out of a cannon on a daily basis. Clearly he doesn't aspire to follow his grandfather's footsteps.
When a billion-dollar space probe gets sucked into a wormhole, NASA plans to send chimps through it to see if they can survive the journey to the other side. This is to pave the way for future human travel. As a publicity stunt, Ham III is recruited to join two trained chimps, commander Titan (Patrick Warburton) and co-pilot Luna (Cheryl Hines) for this space mission. Ham surprisingly withstands high G-levels with ease where his two partners would pass out, but he kind of screws up everything he does and threatens to place the mission in jeopardy.
The story actually moves at breakneck speed. Before you know it, three chimps are actually off to space. While this all seems rather promising, it all goes haywire the moment they unveil a planet with retarded-looking good gooey green aliens and an ugly evil alien named Zartog (Jeff Daniels), who uses the missing space probe as a method of enslaving the inhabitants of the planet. It is almost as if they were from two different movies and put together, with animation not really fitting together. Do watch out for Kilowatt (her full name is ridiculously long!), a peculiar big-headed creature who generates lots of laughs.
While there are a number of genuine laughs in this movie, there seems to be too many chimp puns and a number of cliché jokes. Overall it should be colorful fun for the young, but older audiences might find the jokes a little thin. The chimps may be cute, but they are far from giving Bolt a run for our favourite dog's money.
2.5 out of 5 Stars
What do you get when you send three chimpanzees to space? You get Space Chimps of course. I know, lame pun but boy was there lots of chimp puns in this animated flick! As the story goes, in 1961, before man took that first step, it was a chimp that was sent off to space. His name was Ham (this is an actual fact!), and the story centres around his grandson Ham III (Andy Samberg), a circus performer who is shot out of a cannon on a daily basis. Clearly he doesn't aspire to follow his grandfather's footsteps.
When a billion-dollar space probe gets sucked into a wormhole, NASA plans to send chimps through it to see if they can survive the journey to the other side. This is to pave the way for future human travel. As a publicity stunt, Ham III is recruited to join two trained chimps, commander Titan (Patrick Warburton) and co-pilot Luna (Cheryl Hines) for this space mission. Ham surprisingly withstands high G-levels with ease where his two partners would pass out, but he kind of screws up everything he does and threatens to place the mission in jeopardy.
The story actually moves at breakneck speed. Before you know it, three chimps are actually off to space. While this all seems rather promising, it all goes haywire the moment they unveil a planet with retarded-looking good gooey green aliens and an ugly evil alien named Zartog (Jeff Daniels), who uses the missing space probe as a method of enslaving the inhabitants of the planet. It is almost as if they were from two different movies and put together, with animation not really fitting together. Do watch out for Kilowatt (her full name is ridiculously long!), a peculiar big-headed creature who generates lots of laughs.
While there are a number of genuine laughs in this movie, there seems to be too many chimp puns and a number of cliché jokes. Overall it should be colorful fun for the young, but older audiences might find the jokes a little thin. The chimps may be cute, but they are far from giving Bolt a run for our favourite dog's money.
2.5 out of 5 Stars
Frank Martin's Back
Transporter 3
There seems to be a curse of the third installment. While occasionally there are gems, many great franchises seemed to have been marred by their third chapter, either by losing the good elements of the original, or cramming too much into one movie. This brings us to Transporter 3, in which Jason Statham reprises his role as ultra-cool tough driver Frank Martin.
The Transporter series have always been about all-out action, with little real plot and lots of popcorn value. This time around, our hero has to take on the job of transporting a young woman named Valentina (Natalya Rudakova) from France to Ukraine, a job from his new ‘employer’, just known as Johnson (Robert Knepper). The catch? Both he and the girl have a high-tech device attached to their wrists which will blow them into oblivion if they stray 75 feet from the vehicle. And what a vehicle it is. Martin continues to drive a sleek black Audi S8 W12, which is a star in its own right, stealing every scene it is in.
The plot may be rather thin, but what really matters here are the action scenes, and this is where Statham shines. Stripping topless at least three times throughout the entire movie (and showing off his excellent build) to use his clothes as weapons, he just oozes coolness. Taking out baddie after baddie with relative ease using slick martial arts moves, it was a joy watching the fight sequences, which by the way were performed by Statham himself. The chase scenes also do not disappoint, with a slick battle of manoeuver between the S8 and an E-Class Benz. Wait till you catch the part in which Martin uses a BMX to chase his S8, which was arguably the most intense scene.
The main drawback to the movie is perhaps the romance that develops between Martin and Valentina, which was quite awkward to say the least. This slowed the movie’s pace tremendously. Valentina was annoying for most parts and Statham just isn’t cut for romance. The plot was also somewhat weak, despite using current issues like politics, toxic dumping and environmental damage. But forget all that and throw logic out the window. If fun action is what you’re looking for, Statham delivers and the stunts are as outrageous as they get for the Transporter series.
4 out of 5 Stars
There seems to be a curse of the third installment. While occasionally there are gems, many great franchises seemed to have been marred by their third chapter, either by losing the good elements of the original, or cramming too much into one movie. This brings us to Transporter 3, in which Jason Statham reprises his role as ultra-cool tough driver Frank Martin.
The Transporter series have always been about all-out action, with little real plot and lots of popcorn value. This time around, our hero has to take on the job of transporting a young woman named Valentina (Natalya Rudakova) from France to Ukraine, a job from his new ‘employer’, just known as Johnson (Robert Knepper). The catch? Both he and the girl have a high-tech device attached to their wrists which will blow them into oblivion if they stray 75 feet from the vehicle. And what a vehicle it is. Martin continues to drive a sleek black Audi S8 W12, which is a star in its own right, stealing every scene it is in.
The plot may be rather thin, but what really matters here are the action scenes, and this is where Statham shines. Stripping topless at least three times throughout the entire movie (and showing off his excellent build) to use his clothes as weapons, he just oozes coolness. Taking out baddie after baddie with relative ease using slick martial arts moves, it was a joy watching the fight sequences, which by the way were performed by Statham himself. The chase scenes also do not disappoint, with a slick battle of manoeuver between the S8 and an E-Class Benz. Wait till you catch the part in which Martin uses a BMX to chase his S8, which was arguably the most intense scene.
The main drawback to the movie is perhaps the romance that develops between Martin and Valentina, which was quite awkward to say the least. This slowed the movie’s pace tremendously. Valentina was annoying for most parts and Statham just isn’t cut for romance. The plot was also somewhat weak, despite using current issues like politics, toxic dumping and environmental damage. But forget all that and throw logic out the window. If fun action is what you’re looking for, Statham delivers and the stunts are as outrageous as they get for the Transporter series.
4 out of 5 Stars
Monday, December 08, 2008
Oh My God!
Well... what can I say, I haven't been blogging of late. There has just been too much to write, I wonder if I'll ever recap it all. Too much to say, too much in my mind, too much thinking. Well maybe later. Today I did the unthinkable. I told her how I felt. Yeah, it was awkward but I feel a lot of relief once I did. Spent a wonderful half-day with her... it was nice, she's a wonderful person, and a nice friend. I hope she understood what I expressed to her. We both knew what was coming, but she's very sweet and said that things will be the same and that she wishes to continue the friendship for now, but I hope somehow at least a small part of her feels the same way I do. While there are lots of complications to this matter that I do not wish to express (sigh, blogs aren't personal anymore... bring back them good ol' diaries!), what I can say is that perhaps what I feel is still not yet whole and I hope we can continue to learn more bout each other, perhaps once we understand more bout one-another, can we decide what's best for us. For now I'm just going to stay positive bout the future and hope something good will happen... May God watch over me and decide what's best for me~
PEACE and God Bless,
Aris Tee
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Lies and Deceit
Body of Lies
Ever since the events of September 11, stories involving Middle Eastern terrorists have become hot subjects for movies. Body of Lies, the latest film by Ridley Scott is one of them. Based on the best-selling book by David Ignatius, the story focuses on young U.S. Intelligence agent Roger Ferris (Leonardo DiCaprio), who is sent to hunt down notorious jihad terrorist Al-Saleem. Lots of lies and deceit are involved in the race to capture him. Watching over Ferris (using various spy equipment) and giving him instructions is middle-aged CIA veteran Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe) who also works from the comfort of his home, doing household chores and managing his children.
Ferris speaks Arabic and is well accustomed to the cultures of the Middle Eastern folk. He knows that here your life is only worth the information you hold. The man he is after, Al-Saleem is an obvious reference to Osama bin Laden. Ferris figures that Al-Saleem’s ego would not tolerate a new player in the field, so by utilising technology he fabricates a rival terrorist out of an innocent architect, hoping to lure him out into the open. He also seeks the help of Jordanian security head Hani Salaam (Mark Strong), a brilliant man who takes loyalty very seriously.
Something that might bother many is how capable Ferris is. It’s quite difficult to imagine how a lone person would be able to perform the tasks he does, creating a fictitious terrorist organisation, surviving gunfights, bombings, rabid dogs and even torture in three different countries. But then again, this is Hollywood after all. Ridley Scott doesn’t disappoint when it comes to action. Explosions, gunfights and chases should keep action buffs interested while a short romance between Ferris and Aisha (Golshifteh Farahani), a Middle Eastern nurse prove interesting but lack depth. A nice touch is the awkwardness involved when they are together, perhaps because a relationship between a local and a Westerner is considered a no-no.
Body of Lies may serve as an entertaining spy-thriller flick, but it lacks a certain something to make it a really good movie. This could be because the movie tries to cram too much into what is essentially a political spy-thriller, plus a hero performing superhuman feats.
PS: There is so much swearing in this movie that the censorship board just gave up and let it be. LOL! And wait till you see that cringe-worthy torture scene towards the end...
2.5 out of 5 Stars
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