RACONTEUR-ESQUE SCRIBBLINGS

SPOILER ALERT!!! I'm rather convinced that what I'm about to write in the following paragraphs will include bits and pieces of spoilers from the movie Rise of the Planet of the Apes, so unless you want to know what happened or just couldn't care less, kindly click the X on the tab that accommodates this page and check back in a week for something else - if you want to, that is. Otherwise, I hope you enjoy my less than thrilling take on the movie. For some reason, fictional scientists are occasionally depicted as deranged and the kind that are out there to destroy the world as we know it, although that is not the case here. In fact, we have an extremely good looking scientist (James Franco! Yum!) who invents the cure to Alzheimer's - a good intention, no doubt, with the exception to how it's carried out in the lab he works in - animal testing, which may seem as an indirect subject approached by the movie - or so I see it.  However, as experiments are apt to get, ...

It's been ten long years since the very first Harry Potter book (HP and the Philosopher's Stone) was thrown on my lap. I picked it up, a bit reluctantly at first, and the rest, as they say, is history. The movies on the other hand have been a different story altogether. The first movie was just 'alright', whereas the rest just got from bad to worse as they ignored important plotlines, leaving readers and fans of the books seething and disappointed, and the non-readers wondering what the hell happened. It all changed with the 7th movie, though. I didn't read the book right before the movie, and watched it with an open mind knowing well enough that it was the beginning of the end, and enjoyed it thoroughly. The review is here: http://raconteuresquescribblings.blogspot.com/2010/12/harry-potter-and-how-it-begins-to-end.html For that reason, we (the sister and I) went to see the final installment of the Harry Potter (HP and the Deathly Hallows Pt 2) on a Monday ni...

I think I surprised a fellow blog buddy just now over a revelation that I'm not really into movies by admitting that I had not watched Die Hard, which according to him is the basis for all action movies. And then it just got worse from there, because it turns out that I had not watched a whole lot of movies that are the basis of modern society! So, in an attempt to challenge myself (after a whole lot of prodding from him despite it being a conversation that was carried online) I have decided to undertake the *daunting task of watching (gulp!) the movies that this particular blog buddy thinks are 'must-watch' movies. The list is as follows: Terminator 2 Die Hard Aliens (After reading the IMDB page, I realised that I have already watched this) Pulp Fiction Goodfellas One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Schindlers List The Godfather (I've always wanted to watch this, but could never find a copy of the DVD anywhere) Shawshank Redemption Memento The Usual Suspects Leon: T...

As far as movie franchises go, X-Men happens to be one of the few that I've actually made an effort to catch (background story: I'm not an avid moviegoer), and that is how I'd like to think I ended up in a cineplex after work yesterday amidst loud popcorn crunchers and children in pyjamas.  Funny thing about children, though.. there are was this huge family with lots of little kids in front of us, and one of them started whining (this was before the movie started), and I accidentally said "shhhh" out aloud and inadvertently set a good example to the (presumably) older sibling who said "shhhh" when the younger one started whining again.  But I digress... (Plot spoilers may lie ahead like landmines - so skip this if you haven't watched X-Men First Class and want to be surprised when you do) Long before most of us were born, a boy sees his mother being shot when he couldn't repeat some magic with metal which he was seen performing earlier unde...

Over a year ago, comic fans all over the world were furious to discover that Disney was buying over Marvel Comics and reacted in a somewhat extreme manner (or so I thought), which I found utterly confusing until a friend explained the reason behind the Marvel Comics fans reactions. Original post here   - and if you were as confused as I was over the reaction of comic fans, pay attention to the explanation in the comments by Cyberfish.  I found myself with perhaps about 10 other people in a cold and darkened room while pursuing my 3D movie quest before the year closes yesterday evening. I had a choice between the latest Narnia movie, Tangled, and Tron, but decided to pick Tangled as it had less risk of being over crowded (which was true as there were only about 10 to 12 people there - awesome, I tell you) First of all, I did dig the 3D effects, although I believe I would have looked like a moron in those 3D glasses, and seriously doubted their cleanliness. I did wipe the...

A word of unsolicited advice: If you want to watch a movie based on a book, never ever read the book right before going to the movie. The sister and I decided to spend the morning watching the latest Harry Potter movie, based on the seventh and final book in the series. I usually have an aversion towards movies made from books, especially if I had had my hands on the books first. A total opposite when compared to my view on movies based on books if I had watched the movie first instead. The day started strangely enough, while we were in the line buying our tickets (sadly, e-ticketing is a bit of a pain in the ass for both the sister and I) One of the staff was surveying the line and asked if I was of a certain ethnicity, to which I said yes. He asked me to fill up a customer satisfaction form, and in return, I got a complimentary pass to the movie I wanted to watch! Not bad, eh? PLOT SPOILERS AHEAD!!! As the books suggest, the plot gets darker as we head towards the end of it all. ...

Note: Enticing procrastination tool ahead. If I called myself a movie buff, the stone lodged somewhere in the tread of my left safety shoe would laugh so hard, it'll get dislodged immediately. However, despite the number of movies I've watched over the years average less than the average of almost anyone else, I couldn't help being drawn to the picture below. Basically, what you've got to do is to guess the names of the movies creatively hidden in there (if you want to) and place your findings in the comments section (also if you want to)... I'll be away on a short holiday for the next few days, so guess away!  Oh yeah, click to enlarge the picture :) Picture credits: Lovefilm, I guess...  

"Un, dos, tres, toca la pared" Laura said as she knocked on the tree trunk in front of a big sprawling orphanage. She looked behind her after a short pause, gauging how close her friends were to her, preparing to run the moment any of them could tap her on her shoulders as the game progressed. Later, Laura gets adopted. El Orfanato, also known as The Orphanage, is a Spanish horror movie leaning towards the slightly mysterious and chilling side, with a bit of tragedy thrown in... It is what you could call a beautifully taken horror movie, verified by the non-existence of a blood-thirsty killer going on a rampage seeking revenge of some sort on skimpily dressed teenagers. Moving on to the present day, Laura is all grown up with a family of her own, including an adopted son, Simon who is so adorably cute you feel like biting his nose off. My sister wanted to bite his cheeks off, though. They live in her former orphanage where she has plans to turn it into a house for children ...

"Have I gone mad?" "I'm afraid so. You're entirely bonkers. But I'll tell you a secret. All the best people are" Saturday morning saw three of us traipsing along the 2nd floor of the mall headed towards the darkened walls of the cineplex, where we were supposed to watch Alice in Wonderland, a well loved child's tale, brought to life to tease your visual and auditory senses with colour, strange characters and well spoken lines. It was never part of the plan (I had reserved my very limited movie watching for Thundercats), but with the knowledge that it was directed by Tim Burton, and had Helena Bonham Carter AND Johnny Depp as part of the cast, it would be crazy to give it a miss for any reason unless you're physically incapable of going to the theatres or dead. It has been said that the movie was below expectation (what kind?), but I beg to differ. I found it enjoyable, and the characters endearing, especially the Red Queen (HBC), who despite he...

It was somewhere in the not so final vestiges of the month known as January, where days flew past you and weekends were spent bonding with cousins over activities that were either in the form of a movie in the cineplex despite the crowds or promises to play Risk. Somehow, the idea of the movie got the popular vote instead of Risk, and we somehow found ourselves seated in the cool cineplex watching a movie because we wanted to watch a movie, and not exactly the particular movie (although all of us agreed to the movie due to not having much choice) It's been awhile since I've seen a romantic comedy in the cineplex, well, not since the second Bridget Jones movie and I wonder if it is purely me being more cynical as I grow older or that I just wasn't that into the movie although I suppose I laughed at the 'inappropriate moments' with the rest of the crowd. The storyline was just normal... everything you thought would happen happened (maybe in varying degrees), the so-...

It would be very, very interesting and beneficial if I could form a bond between myself and the laptop using my ponytail as we seem to constantly live in the utter hopelessness of disharmony. Silly notions aside, the idea for this concept was naturally 'borrowed' (although the bond should logically be between objects that are animate instead of inanimate) from a movie that has seemed to have gathered fans like a famous football player. The cousins, sister and I had watched Avatar at the very beginning of the year, as usual hoping that the crowds would have dissipated by then, but as luck would have it, it was not to be... we got our tickets alright, but it was insanely close to the screen, which I suppose we didn't mind at the end of it. Now Avatar has a particularly intriguing concept... an alien planet by the name of Pandora (Pandora's Box, anyone?) similar to Earth, with inhabitants similar to us (but so very different at the same time - language, their view on l...

Note: This is a very delayed post. Twenty years after the rest of the world hogged the cineplex, enjoyed and expressed amusement/bemusement over the movie 2012, my sister, mom and I finally made our way through, and even then had to endure the crowds, smelly feet (or was it the carpeting?) and the general irritation associated with huge crowds. Now, I had heard too many negative remarks about the movie from friends and tried my best to remain objective about it, (which was really difficult as I had watched way too many documentaries about supervolcanoes as well and couldn't help wondering about certain things) which is why I will refrain from doing a review (I must stress once again that my reviews, if ever reviewed by someone else, will probably get a D and then I will be just sad. I know they're lousy, but I'd rather not have anyone tell me that) Instead I will attempt a point form commentary on anything that strikes my fancy. 1. John Cusack looks exactly like his s...

Say you think you've got your life sort of figured out, with a tad bit of normalcy (depending on your definition of normal, of course) and all of a sudden one day, while you're back in your usually placid and very normal hometown, you meet a few people, some family members, some strange strangers and realise in a shocking instant that you're suddenly shouldered with the sole responsibility of saving your family and yourself from the evil clutches of a *disgruntled evil spirit. Seriously, what would you do? This movie, titled Arundhati intrigued me from the very beginning for some reason that I can't quite put my finger on. All I knew is that the snippets on TV were exciting enough and I wanted to know what happens, which I did, a few months later courtesy of my colleague who actually took the trouble to borrow it from someone else (another colleague, which actually makes it very embarrassing, but that's another story) on my behalf. I loved how the movie was set...

When it comes to awesome plots, my favourite author is undeniably Neil Gaiman with his unique blend of fantasy and horror, laden with interesting twists, ideas and disturbing characters that may sometimes leave you gaping in awe. Plus, he's wickedly good-looking. I first 'discovered' him while reading Good Omens which I have read three times so far and have been hunting down his books one by one since then, not an incredibly successful task I'm afraid as his graphic novels seem to be missing hereabouts. Can't seem to figure out which of his other books I like best, though... I suppose it must be one of those 'firsts' for me to have read and watched a movie based on the book within one month of each other and this makes it much more fun. Coraline is a story about a little girl who is bored after she moves into her new house with her parents who somehow seem a bit absorbed in their work, leaving her to seek entertainment on her own. She finds a door in her h...

Note: I'm sorry, I didn't realise this earlier (in my defense, this post was posted at almost 1 am) but there may be spoilers ahead. And the title of the movie (especially if you don't like to see the picture attached is called Children of Men) It could have been Clive Owen's soulful eyes staring out of the DVD cover, or maybe the title of the movie, or even the description that sounded futuristic enough for me to pick it up. I don't know, but pick it up I sure did. It all begins with the curious scene of people all over the world crying over the death of Diego, apparently the youngest human being then. I have a bone to pick with the depiction of people in Kuala Lumpur in the movie's news report... we do NOT go around in black burqas , trust me... I live near enough. Clive Owen (or Theo as we will find out slightly later) walks out of a cafe, and there's a bomb blast. The coffee in his take away coffee cup spills on the sidewalk as the smoke and nois...

The only information they would give was that it is about "an unlikely friendship (that) blossoms between two misfits". Seeing that I had nothing better to do, I sat down to watch the movie they played on TV last night till the point of delaying my shower and dinner till much later (for some reason, I wanted to shower first, then only eat). It's called Dream with the Fishes . With a slight comedic twist, the story is about life and death in general, and about dreams and fantasies we all have while we go through our daily lives. Through the movie, we get to see how one character, Terry, while alive, is intent on dying by suicide, and another, Nick, who has only *three weeks left of his life. They cross paths one night in Terry's attempt at suicide, strike a deal and the rest they say is history. Now, I'm not exactly going to review or summarise the movie. Suffice to say that if you do get the chance, watch it by all means... at least for the excellent dialogue ...

*This is a much delayed post Some of them at work refer to one of our colleagues as Wolverine (not because he looks like Hugh Jackman - otherwise you'd be having the ladies fainting every few seconds but because he seems to be having sideburns that look so much like Wolverine's) I took the opportunity of the long Labour Day weekend to watch the movie; X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Yes, in case you're looking at your calendars and scratching your heads, that was on 1st May. Now, admittedly, I'm not much of a movie person, having the kind of attention span that I do, but occasionally, I do catch a movie here and there and enjoy it. The movie started off easy enough, we were introduced to the beginning of the life of Wolverine before he became officially known as Wolverine. His childhood, his roles in the different wars through the ages alongside Victor Creed. Along the way, due to their indestructible nature, they're employed by the 'Government' for some secr...

We receive a staggering amount of input on a daily basis, through all our different senses, and it is a wonder that none of us has crashed due to an overload, well, except some people, perhaps but that is not what this post is about. Now, the way I see things, I find that stories of creepy nature creep me out the most when they're located nearer to me, for instance, when I was a wee kid of five, I had gone to the bathroom late at night, and on the TV was a local Malay horror movie, and at that very moment I looked at it, an image of a woman with long black hair and fangs looked back at me from the screen. At the same time, the story about the sounds of animals in chains late at night in an Australian Outback (the animals were apparently ghosts), although gave me the creeps when I first read it a few years ago seems to have not much of an effect on me these days. Yesterday, while I was reading one of the blogs I usually read, I came across the blogger's fear of monsters an...

Movies and me have mostly been a 'two years later' affair, mostly due to an unfortunate series of not being able to get tickets because of kiasu crowds, or just plain forgetfulness and other such lame excuses. The month of January nevertheless has seen both my sister and I bonding over movies during the weekend, and to date we have gone through about 6 movies. Here's a short review: 1. The Devil Wears Prada: I was advised against watching the movie when it first came out, but I couldn't remember the reason why I was advised as such. Therefore, I never bothered about the movie or the book which I see displayed in the local bookstore I frequently visit. Personally, I thought the story was alright, and it sort of hit a chord with me as the main character seems to spend so much time and has way too much dedication to her work (which I don't think is the healthiest thing ever) which is how my life is at the moment. Overall, I thought the movie was pretty enjoyable (on ...

First of all, Hugh Jackman has got to be one of the most gorgeous people on this planet. Now that we have set that straight, life can go on as it normally does. With themes we are all familiar with, such as love, the search for an answer to life's mysteries, and death, this movie captures you from the very beginning with it's amazing cinematography. A tree, mostly almost dead stands alone, and a bald (but still good looking) Hugh Jackman sits crossed legged, and then there's all these memories flashing back and forth as the story moves from the inter-related lives of the characters that had spanned over centuries, from the days when Spain had a Queen, to the modern world we live in , right up to the futuristic view of life. What's captivating about the movie is the fact that it incorporates Mayan folklore, and discusses the existence of the tree of life and how it is death that creates life (a suggestion by Rachel Weisz character, Izzi) Despite the movie being ...