Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows: Part 1

Hubby and I managed to take an afternoon off away from the children to have a quiet lunch and catch a movie. I can't remember the last time we went to the cinema or had a proper meal, so this was a really nice break.

We had a nice buffet lunch at 'The Living Room' in The Westin Hotel, where I finally got to eat sashimi after a loooong time! It was incredibly yummy; I must have had about 7 slices or so. Should have had some more; darn. Haha :p The buffet spread wasn't really THAT spectacular, but then again, one can't really eat much for lunch...

We then made our way to catch the latest Harry Potter movie; something that I was dying to do for ages. Overall, I found the book much better than the movie; parts of the latter seemed a bit slow. Plus, the exciting bits in the book were not given enough screen time. Also, somehow those felt a whole lot more exciting in the book!

Nevertheless, I'm still looking forward to Part 2 of the movie, especially the final battle scene. That was seriously heart-stopping in the book; wonder how that will turn out in the movie.... Guess we'll find out next year!

Thumbs up for Up!

Have you watched Up yet? If you haven't, you really ought to see it. It's a lovely movie; funny, heartwarming and thought-provoking all at once.

*spoiler alert*

Flying away with the help of balloons? Cool! Talking dogs? Errr... And the scene with the two old men fighting was just hilarious! Incidentally, Russell- the little kid, made me think of my little boy.. round face with 'no double-eyelid eyes' (Where are they?? They keep disappearing when he opens his eyes wide. No hope la...) Haha :p

On a more serious note though, I wonder what a scrapbook of my life would look like. What will I file away under 'Stuff I'm Going To Do'? Hmm. I remember the exact moment when old Mr Fredricksen discovered his late wife's cherished memories.. and it got me thinking. Life may not turn out the way we expect it to, or the way we hoped; but there will always be something wonderful to be discovered, if we choose to open our hearts to it.

p/s: If you're going to watch Up, remember to be there early. The short film screened before the movie is just precious :)

Harry Potter, Angels & Demons

After a fair amount of planning and co-ordination, we managed to find time to watch 2 movies recently- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and Angels & Demons. Harry Potter wasn't really that great; it was more of a teenage love story or sorts. Plus, it was rather weird seeing sweet and smart Hermione getting her knickers in a twist over Ron. Hmm. I went back and ended up reading the last book just to refresh my memory on what happens next. Oh gosh, I'm so excited- can't wait for the next 2 movies! In case you didn't know, they're breaking the last book into 2 movies. Hope they are as action-packed as the book.. :)

Angels & Demons was also a bit of a disappointment. Director Ron Howard certainly took quite a few liberties with the storyline. There were just too many 'Eh?' moments for me. What a shame- the book was simply amazing. I remembered being glued to it, devouring page after page. The Camerlengo's speech in the book was wonderfully heartfelt and thought-provoking, but it was hardly featured in the film (if my memory serves me right).

Ah well, at least Rome was captured beautifully in the film. And Tom Hanks' hair looks less ridiculous now... Heh.

Ironman!

We watched Ironman last week and we really enjoyed the show. It was full of action and funny at the same time; and even the 'lifeless' objects had a character of their own! Think 'Jarvis' and Tony Stark's robot helpers... :)

And oh... Robert Downey Jr. as Ironman was just superb! I first saw him on Ally McBeal, and there was just something about him that got me hooked to the show (he seemed the perfect guy for Ally). I was so sad when he got himself into real-life trouble (yet again) and had to leave the show so suddenly. I think I even cried watching the episode where he left Ally (I can't recall how or why though.. just that it was very sudden). Well, I guess the producers had no choice, since he got himself arrested. Hmm.

I really hope the success of Ironman gives him the chance to redeem himself and get his career back on track. Hopefully we will see more of him in the future (in movies; not in the tabloids for getting into trouble!)

Two movies in one weekend!

What a busy weekend it has been. We found time to catch 2 movies, plus we did quite a fair bit of furniture (window) shopping. Checking out furniture is super-tiring I tell you, but more on that another day! :)

We caught Jumper on Saturday in Mid Valley. It's always nice to catch the first movie of the day, when the queue is virtually non-existent and the shopping mall is just beginning to show signs of life.

Anyway, Jumper is about this guy who can teleport- what a cool ability to have, eh? The role is played by Hayden Christensen; but I don't really think his acting ability has improved much from his Anakin Skywalker days. *chuckle* Still, it was great to see him 'jumping' from one place to another- morning in New York, afternoon in Fiji, evening in Egypt. What a life! No need for long-haul flights at all. Or walking, for that matter.

After the movie, hubby and I were discussing how this power could be used to lead a legitimate life (as opposed to robbing a bank and living off the money :p) and still make the most of this incredible ability to go anywhere in the world in a hearbeat. Sigh- it's every traveller's dream come true... Anyway, one thing we thought he could do was to set up a delivery service; that would certainly give DHL a run for their money! Hahahaha :D

The other movie we watched was Vantage Point. This is the story of eight strangers with eight different points of view, each trying to piece together the truth behind an assassination attempt on the President of the United States.

Don't worry, I won't give too much away here. All I can say is that the movie may progress at a slower pace than you're used to, but then again- it IS called Vantage Point after all. It was still action-packed all the way though, and there were quite a few surprises as the pieces of the puzzle fell into place.

We really enjoyed Vantage Point, and our overall verdict is that we liked it better than Jumper. And oh, it features a star-studded cast as well; Dennis Quaid, Matthew Fox, Forest Whitaker and Sigourney Weaver :)

Cloverfield...

We watched Cloverfield last week. It was a dreadful experience. The film was presented as a recording from a hand-held video camera, which made us terribly dizzy. I had to contend with an awful headache after the movie ended as well! :(

I was hoping the shaky camerawork would last only a couple of minutes or so, but alas, it was not to be. Halfway through the film I was hoping that the character holding the camera would get shot, or better still- eaten by the monster, so that I could watch the rest of the film without shutting my eyes every now and then to ward off the queasiness.

The last time I saw a movie that induced motion sickness was an Iranian film called 'The Blackboard'. Fimed in the desolate highlands of the Kurdistan region of Iran, and probably on a tiny budget as well, I could understand why the camerawork wasn't top quality.

But Cloverfield, from Hollywood? Sheesh...

Ratatouille!

Thanks to chimpunkrock who managed to get tickets, we finally managed to catch Ratatouille at the cinema! No thanks to the school holidays, trying to get tickets to watch a movie has been quite the challenge... :p

According to Wikipedia, the word ''ratatouille'' comes from "touiller," which means to toss food. Ratatouille originated in the area around present day Nice. It was, originally, a poor farmers dish, prepared in the summer with fresh summer vegetables.

I remember eating ratatouille for dinner when I was staying at university halls in London. Don't recall liking it much! But then again, that was hall food... hmm.

Anyway, back to the movie. It's a lovely film about a rat- Remy, who loves food and cooking, and desperately wants to be a chef. It does sound a bit far-fetched, but then again, the motto of the movie is 'Anyone Can Cook'!

The animation is incredibly impressive, and at times I thought I was looking at real water or buildings. Remy is so adorable, although I have to warn that seeing an entire colony of rats scuttling about onscreen can still be rather scary!

In short, Ratatouille is highly recommended. But try not to watch it while you're hungry; it won't be easy seeing all the food, food, food! :D

Amazing Grace

Sang this song in church on Sunday; it’s been a long time since we’ve sung it the slow, reverent way…I’ve always thought that beautiful songs like these should be sung in a manner that allows the worshipper to absorb the meaning of the words.

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me ;
I once was lost, but now am found ,
Was blind, but now I see.

T’was grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears reliev'd;
How precious did that grace appear,
The hour I first believ'd!

Thro' many dangers, toils and snares,
I have already come;
T’was grace has brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promised good to me,
His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be,
As long as life endures.

When we've been here ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun;
We've no less days to sing God's praise,
Then when we've first begun.

This reminded me of the recent ‘Amazing Grace’ movie that I watched with Mum and Moonie in Singapore. Thought it would be a movie about John Newton, who wrote this wonderful hymn- but it turned out to be the story of William Wilberforce and his 20-year struggle to abolish slavery in the United Kingdom.

No matter, it was still an interesting movie. Granted, it was probably very low-budget compared to most movies we see these days. No special effects (except for the makeup- that was excellent), or dramatic scenes requiring expensive props and all.

Ioan Gruffudd starred as William Wilberforce; a role he played with much passion and conviction as he fought the powers-that-be on the issue of slavery, whilst trying to defend his loyalty to his Queen and country. His opponents in parliament accused him of being a traitor; they argued that the abolition of slavery would have a huge negative impact on trade, and therefore the economy of the British Empire. He sought encouragement from John Newton himself (brilliantly played by Albert Finney), who was an ex-slave trader who repented of his ways when he came to know God, and went on to pen the beautiful hymn- Amazing Grace.

For Ioan Gruffudd, this is such a different role compared to the one he plays in another big-budget Hollywood movie! Wonder how many people in the audience knew that he is also the ever-flexible Mr Fantastic of the Fantastic 4 Fame?

All in all, Amazing Grace is an inspiring, thought-provoking movie indeed.

Shrek 3

Watched this with hubby the other day- nearly died laughing; it was just so funny! Personally I liked this better than Shrek 2, where I found the Fairy Godmother dreadfully annoying.

In this movie, when his new father-in-law King Harold falls ill, Shrek is looked at as the heir to the land of Far, Far Away. Horrified at the thought of becoming king, Shrek recruits his friends Donkey and Puss in Boots to find the 'other' heir, while Princess Fiona rallies a band of royal girlfriends to fend off the nasty Prince Charming.

I wonder if there will be a Shrek 4? Hahaha :D