Chipwrecked Chipmunks

Those helium-infused, furry little critters are back! Love or loathe them, there's no denying the success of the Alvin and the Chipmunks franchise, which has grown from strength-to-strength with each installment, earning hundreds of millions of dollars in the process. With such a successful formula, it's only inevitable that the producers come up with yet another sequel - Alvin and the Chipmunks 3.



This time we find our favourite singing rodents on board a cruise ship with their manager/father figure Dave Seville (Jason Lee). Given Alvin's (Justin Long) notoriety for mischief, it wasn't long before havoc is wrecked.



The chipmunks (all six of them!) get blown off the ship via a kite and get 'chipwrecked' off a remote island. Things don't go too well for Dave either, who gets thrown overboard. And to make it worse, he's stuck with ex-producer and main protagonist Ian Hawke (David Cross) dressed in a pelican suit. Stuck on opposite sides of the island, they also encounter the peculiar cast away Zoe (Jenny Slate), who's been stuck there for far too long.

Being stranded on an island is actually quite refreshing to the storyline as he focus this time is less on the little critters competing and more on working together to survive and escape.



There are some good lessons learnt and plenty of laughs as we get to see some of the chipmunks in a different light. The chipmunks were clearly the star of the show and get quite a few numbers, albeit more contemporary than in previous films. Alvin and Brittany (Christina Applegate) develop a rivalry while there is a cute budding romance between Simon (Matthew Gray Gubler) and Jeanette (Anna Faris).



Simon later switches to French alter ego "Simone" after being bitten by a spider while Theodore (Jesse McCartney) continues to get the most "awww"s from the audience due to his adorableness (especially when he's imagining Jungle Monster 4).



Dave and Ian do have a few good lines and certainly add well to the comedy. The two hold their own rather well, especially since there aren't many live-action actors. Zoe on the other hand, I found tremendously annoying. I'm not sure if her acting was awful or was she asked to act that way, but she was just a pain to watch, especially with her unfunny "balls" which were obvious references to Tom Hank's 'Wilson' in Cast Away. 

Visually however, the movie was bright and colorful, with plenty of sea, jungle and beaches than you can shake a stick at. Wait till that climax suspense scene which seemed to have been hilariously added just to show-off some extra visual effects. The chipmunks themselves seemed to have gone through some enhancements too, as I fancy they were far more detailed this time around. With all that's going on, it's a little odd that this flick wasn't offered in 3D.



It isn't hard to see who the producers of the film were targeting. The story is inoffensive, the villains aren't too scary and the songs they sing are mostly chart-topping pop tunes that include 'Bad Romance' and 'Survivor'. You could even sense the dialogue is written in a way that will help younger viewers understand better. Children will lap this up easily while older folks might require further convincing.



Parents however will be relieved as there are fewer and fewer 'family-friendly' flicks these days. If you could ignore the occasional bad acting (come to think about it, the ship's captain was terrible!) and couple of roll-eye moments by the chipmunks, this is one fun-filled flick the whole family can catch without much trouble.



Stick around after the movie for plenty of extras during the credits.



2 1/2 Stars (out of 5)

Early Hangover

Oh gosh, it's Valentine's Day all over again. Directed by the same guy (Garry Marshall), I figured they must have reshuffled the plot and gave it a new title. Heck, they even included some of the same cast and hoped we wouldn't notice. That was exactly my first impression upon laying my eyes on the trailer of New Years Eve. So was it a rehash of the said movie? Read on to find out.



Centering around the theme of New Year's Eve (obviously), we are introduced to people from various walks of life and how they face the looming start of a new year. We start off with pressure-ridden Claire Morgan (Hilary Swank), who needs to get the ball (which is unfortunately stuck for some reason) to drop at Times Square by midnight, or she'll have her job on the line. There's also Stan Harris (Robert de Niro), a terminally ill patient who's dying wish is to just see that same ball drop one last time, which unfortunately isn't allowed by his caretaker Nurse Aimee (Halle Berry). Performing at the New Year Ball, we have rock-star Jensen (Jon Bon Jovi) who's also seeking forgiveness from his past love Laura (Katherine Heigl), who happens to be the head chef for the exact same event.



Other than that there's disgruntled middle-aged Ingrid (Michelle Pfeiffer) who hopes to complete her radical new year's resolution list with the help of her bubbly runner Paul (Zac Efron). At the same time overprotective mother Kim (Sarah Jessica Parker) is dead-set on not letting her daughter Hailey (Abigail Breslin) go out to enjoy the festivities with her boyfriend. There's also a couple of soon-to-be-parents set on out-doing each-other to be the first to deliver a baby in the hospital in order to win a big cash prize. And guess what, that's not even the whole list of characters, which also include among others Ryan Seacrest, Ludacris, Russell Peters, Ashton Kutcher, Lea Michele and Josh Duhamel.



Feel like there's too much going on? Well that's precisely the case. The sheer amount of big name presence coupled with various scenarios may seem overwhelming at first, but as each one runs its course it isn't that hard to follow. Just like Valentine's Day, New Year's Eve runs numerous story-lines that cross upon one another. However despite the number of A-listers and Oscar winners, the movie comes as a tad predictable. You could sense the stars giving it their best shot, but there's only so much they can do with such limited material to work on. Some certainly work better than others. Ashton Kutcher was in character as a young new year-hating comic artist, but then again he's just doing what he does best. It was interesting seeing him getting stuck in a lift with Lea Michele's character. The competing-parents scenario was excruciating while the mother-daughter one will make your eyes roll.
 


Halle Berry and Katherine Heigl had favourable performances, only spoiled somewhat by their mismatched counterparts. I certainly liked Michelle Pfeiffer and Zac Efron's story as the mismatched duo do various funny and oddball things to complete their list.



The theme of New Year's Eve is mostly love and compassion, but sadly none of the stories seem pushed to their full potential, resulting in a lack of impact. There were also a number of really funny parts during the film and it helped balance things up. And if there's one thing the filmmakers got right, it's the singing.



Having two singers in the mix, it'd be a crime not to have the two - Jon Bon Jovi and Lea Michele - sing a few numbers. And boy did they sing well. Too bad it's just not enough to save a film that is just a huge compilation of movie plots you've seen before.



New Year's Eve isn't a bad movie - it's sweet, but just rather average, like how Valentine's Day was. If you're in it just for the celebrities, then this is for you. But if you're expecting a good plot or storyline, best to look elsewhere. While there aren't many 'New Year' movies around, catch this only if there are no other rom-coms to bring your significant other to. If not, best wait for the inevitable DVD release.



2 1/2 Stars (out of 5)

Brewin' Lunch with Wyeen

Had a nice and simple lunch with Wyeen at Chef & Brew recently as a belated birthday treat (also cause she hasn't tried it before teehee).




We both had pasta, hers was Turkey Ham Olio Spaghetti while mine was Smoked Duck Olio Spaghetti. Pretty good value for the price I must say.






Messed up the settings on some of the shots though (guess I haven't been shooting much lately).




Some had too narrow depth-of-field or wrong focus points (sorry Shneeps, but you still look lovely and photogenic as always, will take better ones next time aye)



Perhaps I should do a review of this place someday~

PEACE & God Bless,
Aris Tee