Movie Review: Alice in Wonderland

12 Mar

You’ve to be mad as a hatter, he said. How I’ve missed this line and it came back to life with Johnny Depp. In my childhood, it was classical Disney films from Pete’s Dragon and more.

mad hatter

Hello Wonderland

Reliving the tale foretold in a new generation put a new twist to its origin. Not to mention, it had a tinge of maturity in this new Alice. The environment to me was nothing to scream about but I loved the art direction. It was very well pulled off, keeping its original essence.

And indeed, you’ve to be mad as a hatter before watching this movie. Meaning, I’d recommend you watch the original Disney cartoon before watching the movie. You’ll enjoy it more and relate to it better.

alice cartoon

The movie kept the more memorable moments from its history. That’s why I was saying you should watch the original cartoon. One of these moments was the smiling and disappearing Cheshire cat in the sky. Or, the red queen and her croquet stick.

Nonetheless, big thank you to Tim Burton in bringing this back to life. Modernizing the Disney story to young geeky kids today was a great idea. :)

Would I watch it again?

I’ve to say, no. Like the original fairy tale, the story is meant to be told and leave a memory. It’s left a sweet memory with me and kudos to Tim Burton on a job well done.

Would it be worth watching in 3D?

I’ve to say, I don’t have the slightest clue. I enjoyed the normal viewing already. Though my friends think there’ll definitely be an advantage with all the renders from the storming red knights to the fugly black creature.

Zee Avi is Coming To Malaysia

10 Mar

This is one concert I’m definitely attending this year. Not because I’m a die-hard fan but I’d like to hear her sing live.

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Because with a sultry voice like hers, it’ll be monumental to absorb the strumming and laid back feeling. It’ll be like going on holiday when you close your eyes. Only to be hit back into reality when you leave the hall.

Zee-Avi in Malaysia, can’t wait for it!

P.S.: I wanted to put the original music video from her YouTube channel but it had some material infringement. :(

Updated March 12, 2010

The pre-booking of tickets is closed. Now, all we have to do is wait for tomorrow after 12:00pm to start buying them tickets!

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May’N Big Wave Asia Tour in Malaysia

8 Mar

The last concert I attended was Linkin Park in Kuala Lumpur, Yes, they were here before our smart *sses banned them. The other so-called concert I went for was Bunkface at Yahoo Youreka.

And this year, I started it of with May’N Big Wave (Waaaaave!!) Asia tour in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I was lucky and fast enough to win a pair of free tickets from Nuffnang.

The concert was held at the KL Life Centre. The same place Bunkface performed and the same place I pay RM9.00 phreaking bucks for parking. Bleh.

Anywho, when I reached the place at 6:00pm a line already had formed! From the top all the way to the ground floor with a turn to the back of the building. I didn’t seriously expect to find this many fans. LOL!

While waiting, we were all asked if we wanted to purchase glow sticks (RM5 each) and the official tour t-shirt (RM48). Then by around 7:05pm, the line started filling up the venue.

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The show was only starting at 8:00pm. So what do you do to kill time with a bunch of friends? You form a May’N glow stick signage on the floor.

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Some of the photographers in the media box came out for a quick snap too. One of them I know is from the LowYat website. Talk about how fans can really pull the media out of their boxes. ;)

As the lights dimmed, the crowd cheered on May’N and her dancers. This was definitely where my iPhone can only deliver so much quality in low-lighting.

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The performance really rocked the room with huge bass sounds and near deafening pitches. Personally, I felt the music was a little too loud and it drowned out some vocals. But May’N definitely had lots of fun on stage with the Malaysian audience.

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She shone like a star – literally. Really loved what the iPhone did on its own for this shot.

And as much as I’d have liked to photograph with my gear, the concert had a strict policy of no photography and video recording. Someone on the floor was caught and pulled out from the crowd for this.

Well, I still find it silly for event organizers to disallow photography. Because at  nearly every corner, there’ll be someone with a DSLR – even a kid.

I told my friend on the way back, the organizers or management could have a clause not preventing photography but strictly warning against selling of these images or causing damage of the artiste’s image.

Right now, a DSLR is in very high demand and affordable. Couple it with a bunch of social media enthusiasts, you’ll have a long tail of publicity not only of the event but the artiste. Us, (bloggers) get pictures for our posts and keepsake. Win-win.

Oh well, I’m definitely looking forward for more Japanese artistes down here. So, when’s FLO, bump of chicken, Orange Range and others coming down?! I want a media pass! :D

At the event, I also found Dustyhawk, Valho (I think) and Fapping Cat.

Movie Review: Book of Eli

28 Feb

I will NEVER EVER read a Wikipedia page on a movie, EVER AGAIN!

I wanted to find out if the movie storyline was derived from a myth or history. Unfortunately, I spoiled the surprise for myself – I read the plot of the movie. So I had no more surprises. :(

Watch it with an open mind

The choreography of the fight scenes was nothing to shout about. For some reason, I still found it slow with not enough impact. Maybe I’ve been watching too many kung-fu movies.

It’s a movie you need to watch with an open mind and heart to enjoy. I can’t mention even a slightest clue because if I did, it’ll spoil the subject of the story already.

However, I would say I really liked how this movie has interpreted its message and core of the subject. It relates itself in the movie without harming others – mentally.

So here I’d ask, what would you do if an apocalyptic event occurred and you survived?

Is it worth watching again?

Yes, twice only for me. Because you can only read a book so many times before you already memorize it. :)

Movie Review: Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief

27 Feb

I definitely had no expectations of Percy Jackson but me and Ariel just needed a movie to calm our thoughts. It’s been a great Chinese New Year and this movie was simpler said, entertaining.

Diving in and Hit it!

The plot started of okay but it got a little boring from the middle to the end. However, I seriously found the Computer Generated (CG) effects in the movie commendable. I really felt they did very well in creating the centaur and blending the daylight. Most of the time, we only see them in the dark night. Easier to not notice any imperfections. :P

The story is great for a kid who loves to imagine they were superman. This creates another imaginary character for them to be submersed. A person who’s father is the God of the Sea and has the ability to control water. Coolness!

There were some bumps in the story I felt wasn’t told properly or enough. But I’ll leave that to you to find out later.

Is it worth rewatching?

Well, I’d skip to the interesting parts. Overall, maybe after a long time. Definite answer, I guess no. Sorry Percy.

However, I think it’s cool when my friend said it’s suppose to be revolving the story of Perseus.

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