THE DRAGON!
*sweat*
NOT HIM LA AIYOOO!
[That's better :)]
GONG XI FA CAI!!
May this year of the Dragon bring you great wealth, fantastic health, and an abundance of prosperity!
Happy Holidays!
Read More......
Happy Holidays!
Monday, January 23, 2012
Monday, January 2, 2012
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
After two superhero origin movies in a row that summer, we finally get one where he doesn't start off a cocky, arrogant dickhead.
[Late, late, I know.]
*fairly spoilerish*
One of the things that Marvel does so well is character development, and it firmly establishes Chris Evan's during the first half hour of the film. Every scene with pre-serum Chris Evans portrays him as the underdog with spirit so much bigger than his body (now I sound like I'm reviewing an animal movie), that you just can't help but root for (literally) the little guy. Considering that we're much more used to seeing Evans as the cocky, arrogant comic relief in the Fantastic Four movies (or in anything else, for that matter), surprisingly we are not reminded of his past sarcastic witticisms and the general comic adorableness that we've become so accustomed to.
[I mean, he's still pretty adorable in the movie, but it's not the usual kind, if you know what I mean.]
Even though the CG to shrink Evans is a bit weird (since I'm so much used to seeing him in his usual size), it doesn't pose much of a distraction from the dialogue or anything else, since Evans does a bang-up job as the little guy that wants do so much but is hindered by physical means. The scene where he finally gets the super-soldier serum is really quite satisfying, except for the part immediately after, where his benefactor (Stanley Tucci in a rare German-but-non-villain role) is immediately killed by German spies.
Supporting cast can do no wrong: Tommy Lee Jones is awesome as always, while Hugo Weaving turns in another villainous role with a European accent, but eh, when I first saw the casting I thought he'd be perfect as Red Skull, though I think he would be slightly more awesome as Sinestro. It's a pity they didn't bring back John Slattery to play Howard Stark; that would've been a very neat way to link this movie to Iron Man 2.
On an emotional level, the movie succeeds very well as evident by Cap'n's losses throughout the movie. First he loses his best friend Bucky Barnes (in the comics he actually takes over the Cap'n mantle for a while) during a mission, and then at the end, we see him part from his girlfriend Peggy Carter, as he is forced to crash the German craft into the ocean to avoid its trajectory towards the US. We know that Cap'n'll survive that crash (on account of the Avengers), but we also know that he'll never see her again. Watching that scene where Peggy speaks to Cap'n over the radio and finally gets cut off is just heartbreaking.
Overall, the storyline is pretty simple and straightforward (America vs. the Nazis) compared to other origin movies (evil half-brother always works for me), but as I said, Captain America has a ton of heart. It's not all happy-endings, but you still leave the theatre with a warm, fuzzy feeling inside that has nothing to do with The Avengers teaser after the end-credits.
[Oh, and Red Skull dies. OR DOES HE?! He looks like he gets obliterated when he's holding the Cosmic Cube with his bare hands, but those of us who paid attention during Thor knows that it looks like a Bifrost Bridge, which is how Asgardians travel from one plane to another. Yeah! Maybe that's how Loki knows how to teleport to Earth without fanfare ^v^]
Ahem. Sorry. Couldn't resist that last bit. Read More......
2012 Resolutions!
Okay, I think I might have been a little bit too ambitious with my 2011 ones (but then again, I guess resolutions are supposed to get you out of your comfort zone), so I'ma go easy with my 2012 ones.
[End of the world peeps, don't wanna stretch myself too much.]
Yannoewhat, I'ma gonna go REAL easy with my 2012 resolutions, and just carry forward my 2011 ones. Sooo.. here they are, my 2012 resolutions!
[a.k.a. Out with the new, and in with the old.]
- Be more outgoing
- Blog more
- Movie-go more
- Procrastinate not
- Bitch less
- Judge and critique less (aha! This is a new one!)
- Lose weight
- Learn Mandarin
- Take up dancing lessons
- Be nicer (I think this is also new, if not slightly more so)
2012 Movie List!
And it's only Day 2 of 2012! Not too shabby, eh? ;)
[Though I see 2011's list being posted while it's still 2010. Eh.]
- Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (February 17th)
- Mirror, Mirror (March 16th)
- The Avengers (MAY 4TH!!!)
- Snow White and the Huntsman (June 1st)
- Jack the Giant Killer (June 15th)
- Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (June 22nd)
- G.I. Joe: Retaliation (June 29th)
- The Amazing Spider-man (July 3rd)
- The Dark Knight Rises (July 20th)
- The Expendables 2 (August 17th)
- 47 Ronin (November 21st)
- World War Z (December 12th)
I also tossed in the movies that I most likely will be seeing next year (so to boost up my watch stats). Links to trailers already available are above; others will be added when available.
Bonus. Sadly, the trailer is fan-made. Would've been pretty awesome if it were real. Read More......
Sunday, January 1, 2012
2011: A Movie Year in Review
Same as my previous post on the resolutions, I've pulled my 2011 movie list from the side for review purposes. Colored ones mean seen ones; linked ones mean posted-review ones.
2011 Movie List
1) Sucker Punch
2) Thor
3) Priest
4) Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
5) Green Lantern
6) Rise of the Apes
7) Transformers: Dark of the Moon
8) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
9) Captain America: The First Avenger
10) Smurfs
11) 11.11.11
And I still can't believe I included Smurfs in that list.
5 out of 11, which is fairly worst than 2010, since the numerator was 6 and the denominator was 10. Ugh. On the plus side, I managed to catch a few others off-list, though I'm surprised that Immortals is not on there, but it may be be that the list I'd checked wasn't updated with Immortals yet.
Anyway, here's my 2011 movie off-list, the reviews of which will be up shortly (except #1 and #7, 'cuz how do you review a concert movie?):
1) Kung Fu Panda 2
- Mom wanted to watch it. Shockingly good.
2) Immortals
- Like I said, didn't even know the movie was due in 2011.
3) The Adventures of Tin Tin: Secret of the Unicorn
- totally unplanned, but my office organized Movie Night so I went. And I'm so so glad I did.
4) Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
- also unplanned, but it was Christmas weekend and I had 6 days of non-work.
[And the indirects I watched on Emirates, to and fro Italy:]
5) X-Men: First Class
6) Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil
7) Glee: The Concert Movie
- By the trip back there was nothing else to watch.
2012 movie list up in a bit. AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!! :D
2011: A Resolute Year in Review
Pulling the list from my side-thingy (it's still there at point of writing), I will review the resolutions I had for the previous year to see how I fared. It's also a slight deciding factor in my 2012 resolutions, which will come in a later post.
So without further ado:
2011 Resolutions - To be...:
1) consistent
- No comment.
2) outgoing
- Fail. I did talk quite a bit more this year, but I don't think it's counts as 'outgoing'.
3) the opposite of the noun for 'procrastinate'
- Borderline pass. This is still a massive work-in-progress.
4) an active blogger
- Argh. 10 less than last year. In my defense, I do have a coupla posts lined up, though I don't think it's enough to make the gap. At any rate, those will go into 2012's number.
5) an active moviegoer
- Okay, I saw only five movies on my list, but watched an additional few more that wasn't. This would mean more than 6/10, no? Anyway, I'ma check this.
6) more patient
- HA!
7) more tolerant and a lot less bitchy
- HA HA HA! Oh, how I crack myself up.
8) thin and fat, simultaneously
- I have no fucking idea what possessed me to type the above sentence, but I'm quite fat now, sooo... based on the above sentence, partially achieved, yes?
9) confident, and not a pushover
- Fuck no for the confidence, fuck YES for the backbone. I'm quite proud of the latter acquisition.
10) Mandarin-proficient, and able to bust a move
- Hell to the effing naw, yo!Well, 3/10; looks like 2011 was a fairly disappointing year for resolutions. Read More......
Happy New Year!
Happy 2012 everyone!!
Don't let the nighing end mar your celebration! Enjoy the holiday weekend! xD
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