HE'S NOT "A-LIE", HE'S "E-LIE"

This is super fresh, like fresh from the oven fresh.

I've just came home from watching "The Book of Eli" and now here I am penning about it.

First of all, thanks Jessie Ong for informing me about the free tickets giveaway!!! Super cool!

Had loads of fun hanging out.

Okay so back to the movie.

"The Book of Eli" stars Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman.

First of all, let me just say this. I just COULD NOT RECOGNIZE GARY OLDMAN! It was not until the credit did I remember that he is actually in the movie. For those of you clueless about who Gary Oldman is, let me shine some light. All Harry Potter fans, he is Sirius Black. Yes, the kind god-father of the Potter boy. With beard and all...Gary Oldman is Sirius Black. If you are a Batman fan, well, you might know Gary Oldman as the righteous, non-corrupted Sgt. Gordon, who signals for Batman's help. If you still have no idea who he is, just Wikipedia him and see if you happen to watch any of his movies haha.

The multi-faceted Gary Oldman

When he was Black, like "Sirius"-ly Black in Harry Potter

Then he became Sergeant in Batman 

And look at him here...

I just can't see it's him, without the beard and all.

Anyway, excellent performance by Denzel Washington and extra credit to Oldman for being indistinguishable. I mean, for an actor to be so camouflaged proves his diversity in playing different characters - another brilliant example of such actor --> Johnny Depp.

The movie started off slow paced. Something like "I Am Legend". In fact, very much alike "I Am Legend". Because of such a deliberate beginning, one might find the beginning draggy. But then again, bear in mind that this is one type of directing style. Very much like "I Am Legend", "The Book of Eli" sets the mood through a mixture of dark gloomy-greyish-brownish colour tone which indicates the barren, parched and arid atmosphere when the world is somewhat destroyed by an apocalyptic event.

Denzel Washington plays Eli in the movie - a man who is determined to send a book to the West. This book is not just any other book, it is the Holy Bible. Due to the destruction of Earth 30 years ago, all copies of the Bible were destroyed, all except for one and it's in the hands of Eli. Eli had walked since he found the only copy 30 years ago, heading West, with the voice of God as guidance. On his way he met different people of course, especially hijackers who bully innocent people on the road.

Our 2-hour motion picture brings us to the part where he bumps into Carnegie, who has been searching high and low for the Bible, in which he plans to use it as a weapon to control the human race. No doubt, religion is powerful. As much as Eli tries to stay away from trouble and focus on his mission, sometimes, he just can't. We witnessed then Eli's adventures in protecting the book "The Book of Eli" which literally means the book of God and how our director depicts a world that has been destroyed by disastrous cosmic event. Great to see people practising the barter system. Interesting to find that people there don't read and treat people who read books as practically of higher rank.

In the movie, Eli talked about how we once had more than we needed, and that after such a disaster, people would kill for the simplest things. The messages are clear. We need to treasure the things we have. Additionally, the movie is illustrating the lives of people who are in the midst of war, or struck by any natural disasters, such as hurricanes and earthquakes. They fight for survival, just like the characters in the film. Food and water are necessities that they would die for and give their most prized possessions for, and we take water for granted. It is a reminder of how lucky we are compared to those suffering from such adversities. 

Though the presentation of the storyline is relatively slow, I love how the director brings in the fast motions in action scenes. Super cool, especially during the scenes in which Denzel Washington a.k.a. Eli kills with his sword. Okay it is super violent to say this, but the swift movements of his sword gliding through heads, beheading his enemies is so nice to watch from an artistic standpoint. I'm not condoning violence but hell, those were awesome moves. I'm turning into a devil because I actually laugh at such violence because I'm amazed at those scenes. WTH...

Another part of the movie that is brilliant is the firing scene involving a house, Eli, Solara, an old man and an old lady. I love how the camera uses a point of view shot of the missile or bullet (whatever that is) manoeuvring its way towards the house. The panning of the camera in that scene is just brilliant; it's like you are there...and seriously, you don't need 3D to feel that in that particular scene. (A bit exaggerated?? I don't know but the scene is cool.)

Also, do expect a brilliant twist in this film. I read that the movie is creative and after watching it, I second that opinion. I mean, it does have an interesting twist that leaves one going, OMG! So, the twist made the movie a memorable one. I'm going to leave out the twist, in case you want to watch it, I want to keep it a surprise haha. It's pretty cool really. 

I also love what Eli says, "I've been holding on to it for so long, trying to protect it, that I forgot to live by what the book preaches" (Something like that, forgive me if I can't quote exactly okay because I don't have a didactic memory ;P...). Eli has been so focused on delivering the book to the West that he stayed out of trouble, and that means, not helping people when he knows he should just so he won't get involved in any chaotic fights (though he can't help it sometimes). I guess it happens to us sometimes; we held on to something for so long that we kinda forgot what we were fighting for anymore. Oh well...that's just life. And there are times, God sends someone to help us remember our purpose in life and sets us on the right path again I guess. 

Then there are the negatives. It is pretty obvious that this movie has religious influences in it...hitting you right in the face, it is about Christianity and the theme of faith that comes with every religion. I'm not a very religious person to be honest, though I am proud to say that I respect the most of the teachings of Buddha. I do believe in God(s), and so I'm not Christian or Muslim because I don't believe in one God (but who knows in future?). But right now, since I've been reading too much of Dan Brown's books, I'm really swayed into agreeing with a lot of his rationale when it comes to his debates on religion and faith. Coincidentally or I guess intentionally, there was a scene showing the book "The Da Vinci Code" in the movie, as if mischievously presenting an irony to what the film is about.

The best is of course to have a balance of spiritual and rational beliefs I guess and that's why I love Dan Brown. He writes from both side of the story - the religious perspective and the rational & scientific perspective, offering readers something to ponder and weigh when it comes to beliefs and faith. But please, I'm not saying that having faith and believing in religion is a bad thing...no I do not mean that because if there's one thing I believe in, it is faith. Faith is very important. But we just need to be wise about it. 

Anyway, I'm not alone when I say this, many just don't like the cliche 'have-faith-in-God-because-in-the-end-God-will-save-the-world' movies you know...I was in this movie forum and many questioned the irony of the Bible saving the world because if God is powerful, why destroy what he created in the first place. Forgive me, but I'm one of those ignorant ones who do not get the "Last Judgement" or "Day of Judgement". If anyone care to explain, I'd definitely like to know and of course, I'm Wikipedia-ing it too haha. Arguably, God is testing us with trials and tribulations, thus, all those disasters and hardships could be just road bumps that make us stronger. At the end of the day, He is always there to show us the way and we just need to have faith. But the ultimate question is, where do we draw the line between faith and complete stupidity (excuse my rather direct language)? I mean, you don't get seriously sick and just have faith that God will heal you without taking any actions, right? You do need to seek medical help too. That's when wisdom comes in, and that is the main thing that Buddha preach and have been constantly planted into my mind by my wise dad. So like I pointed out before, as important as faith is, wisdom is above it all.

So, "The Book of Eli" could be utter rubbish to some who are anti-religion (maybe too harshly put) or those who are not that religious. But for someone who is on-the-fence when it comes to religion, like me and my friends, I guess it wasn't that bad a movie. Though one of me pal pointed out that this movie will be loved by those super religious folks because of the reference to the bible, I believe that for a normal movie-goer like us, we tend to disregard the religious message but focus on the action. But then again, one cannot deny the obvious religious elements in the movie. Duh...the movie title is "the book of God". I believe that if you are a Christian, devoted to reading the Bible, you'll be able to provide an even deeper and more interesting in-sight to the movie. Sadly, I can't because I don't read the Bible. But feel free to enlighten me =).

My conclusion is, watch this movie in the cinema. You need to be patient to enjoy the movie. There are some pretty awesome fight scenes though generally, the movie travels a slow pace. Nonetheless, not a bad effort because it has cool combats and a creative end to an otherwise trite movie. But one thing though, perhaps not Denzel Washington's best movie, though his acting is unquestionably up to standards. 

TC-My Rating:

Up next, Shutter Island starring my man, Leo DiCaprio, another brilliant actor!! Can't wait to see his awesomeness!~

With Lotsa Love,

TammyC 
Ps: I started of pronouncing Eli as "A-Lie" until I found out that the right pronunciation is "E-lie". '=.= Guess it makes sense that one can't read the Hebrew word for God as "A-lie"...

PERCY JACKSON OVER VALENTINE'S DAY

With the Chinese New Year celebration mellowing down a little, I've finally found the time to actually update my blogs *smiling big*.

Last week, the cuzzie gang went out for a movie marathon. It was tiring but I managed to watch 2 back to back movies that are currently topping the U.S. box office. 

So in this instalment, prepare for a double dose of movie crap.

First up, the romantic comedy, Valentine's Day. 

Opps! Wrong poster...

Looking at the movie poster alone leaves one starstruck. I mean, look at the array of stars adorning this movie. The stars in this movie can literally shine brighter than the sun. From A-list actresses like Julia Roberts and Jennifer Garner to brooding new generation of young actors/actresses like Emma Roberts and Taylor Lautner, this movie seemed promising to almost everyone who enjoys a typical feel good movie.

Contrary to popular beliefs, I'm not exactly a girl who finds romantic comedy exceptionally entertaining haha. I mean, I have a tad of a hopelessly romantic genes in me but when it comes to movies, I usually prefer those that can surprise me with twists or some that are socially debatable.

Naturally, I knew "Valentine's Day" would go along the lines of cliche romantic movies like "He's Just Not That Into You" which also starred a glittering array of huge stars. By the way, I didn't even bother writing about "He's Just Not That Into You" because nothing about the movie really stuck in my mind, except how I not enjoy it. I mean, erm...I really liked Justin Long in it, but I guess that's about it haha.

Anyway, I kinda thought I'd give "Valentine's Day" a chance and the benefit of a doubt and I really wasn't expecting it to be super fabulous. Plus, it was really a guilty pleasure; I really wanna check out Taylor Swift and Taylor Lautner together, and I've always loved Jen Garner.

To be fair, there are a few characters in the movie that wasn't that bad. I kinda like Ashton Kutcher and Jen Garner's best-friend love relationship because it's sweet...I love Julia Roberts and her son's mother-son relationship because it is touching...and I also love Eric Dane gay's relationship because it provided an unexpected twist in the movie. But generally, it wasn't great.

Sweet but that's about it...

A tad touching and funny...took only one day to shoot & that's about it

Bad characters, sadly, include Taylor Swift, Taylor Lautner, Emma Roberts, and the guy paired with Emma whom I don't know the name. I really do not understand why is Taylor Swift and Taylor Lautner given such huge publicity for starring in this movie because honestly, they were really not inspiring in the movie. I hate Taylor Swift's character because I don't get her. Is she a bimbo? If she is, she doesn't like look 100% the part...is she a nerd? If she is, she doesn't look the part either. If it were any other actress playing that role, I'd freaking have hated her but it's Taylor Swift so I'm being super lenient. I think she should stick to song writing and singing for now, unless if there are better roles to play. Lautner is super hot but he didn't really get to shine in the movie, which is sad. I guess most focus is on Taylor Swift's character, which bums me because like I said, her character is super annoying. Emma Roberts plays a teenager who is trying to explore love and sex in the movie. I don't know why but it was a bore watching her story. For such a promising young actress, the story made her a dull watch.

It's really a joker's crown that they are wearing

Jessica Alba, Patrick Dempsey, and Queen Latifah's characters are just there as publicity stunts because their screen time is even lesser than an average lazy student's study time (okay a bit exaggerated but you get the picture). Anne Hathaway and Topher Grace are kinda forgettable but I admit that Anne Hathaway is brilliant in doing accents.

Snippets from the movie 

I believe that the reason everyone is dying to watch Valentine's Day is because of the huge casts. It's like, you just have to watch it because everyone is talking about it. I watch it also because I wanna watch my hottie Taylor Lautner and just to hang out with my cousins because most of us dig Taylor Lautner haha. The storyline is very simple, basically, your typical romantic movies all combined into 1, and so I believe some of you would actually like it. But my advice if you really plan to watch this one is to rent a DVD instead for a girls' night at home, just to chill. No point spending $$ to watch this in the cinemas.

TC-My Rating:

Ps: After looking at the poster, I completely forgot about Jessica Biel & Jamie Foxx!! Okay both of them were pretty entertaining also but see, so forgettable!~

After Valentine's Day, the whole Motley Crew went for a second helping of box-office treat. 

"Percy Jackson & The Lightning Thief" to me is way cooler and more entertaining than Valentine's Day. I guess it has got to do with the fact that I'm always fascinated with the myths and legends of Greek Gods and Goddesses and Percy Jackson has nicely incorporated these mythical characters into an adventure story.

The general reviews for this movie were great, but I had one or two people telling me that it is a crappy movie. To some it could be a commercialized movie with no substance what-so-ever but one may argue that incorporating the concepts of God/Goddesses, superheroes and a treasure hunt adventure movie all in one cannot be disregarded as shoddy. As much as some would say that Grecian myths are bull-crap, it had been nicely roped into the movie and it is made me submerged into a mystical world of Gods and Goddesses that I wish I could really live in. Other cool Greek characters that are featured include Medusa and the Hydra monster to name a few. 

Medusa is supposed to be ugly, but this is??

Hades, God of the Underworld, which looked like Mick Jagger in the movie

Poseidon, God of the Sea, Earthquakes & Horses

Time to ask him about what happened in Haiti...

Athena...

If you haven't know already, this movie is based on a series of "Percy Jackson & the Olympians" books. There was an article in the Star Newspapers today on the concept of the books and the movie and it is wonderful to know that the books (and now movie) serve as such an inspiration and motivation for people struggling with dyslexia and ADHD. That's the beauty of stories like these, you don't know who it could reach out to.

The creator was inspired by his son who is also dyslexic and a ADHD. Because his son had hated reading and school, Rick Riordan would tells stories of Greek Gods and myth which fascinated his son and when he ran out of stories he had asked his son to come up with some and *ta da* Percy Jackson was created. 

The movie tells of Percy Jackson, just an ordinary boy who sees himself as a loser due to his dyslexia and ADHD. What he didn't know is that his incapabilities were due to fact that he is demi-God, meaning being the offspring of God and human or what you call, half human half God. He is the son of Poseidon, one of the 3 main Gods (Zeus and Hades are the other 2) and because of the status of his father, he is constantly in danger and need protection. Without him knowing it though, there were people around him that are literally heaven sent to protect him, including his crippled best friend, Grover, who is a Satyr and his disabled teacher Mr. Brunner, who is a Centaur. Even at home, his mum has taken various precautions to protect his identity without him knowing it. 

Pierce Brosnan as Mr. Brunner/Chiron, the wise Centaur

When Zeus's lightning bolt went missing, many accused Percy of stealing it. This had led to many different creatures going after him for the bolt, because the bolt was very powerful. Although Poseidon had argued that his son Percy does not have the bolt, the bolt's disappearance had angered Zeus who threatened to start a war if Percy do not return the bolt. Hades also made an agreement with Percy that if he hands in the bolt, Hades will release Percy's mother from the grasp of hell. Percy, in order to save his mother, went on a quest with 2 friends, Grover & Annabeth (daughter of Athena) to find Hades and persuade him to release his mother even though he doesn't have the bolt. In order to find Hades, they need to go to the underworld and to get out from the Underworld, they need to find pearls.

Annabeth, the daughter of the Goddess of Civilization, Wisdom, Strength, Strategy and Justice...*phew* long list

Grover, the Satyr

The whole movie is basically like a treasure hunt, with the three of them following a map which takes them from one adventurous place to another in order to find the pearls. I really kinda enjoyed the whole adventure story but I believe I had the advantage of having not read the book first and so I won't do a comparison. Usually when books get translated into the silver screen, they change a lot of things, much to fans' despair and so, not reading the book first could actually be the reason I like the movie. Nevertheless I've read somewhere that the movie did do the book justice though there were changes here and there. 

I do encourage you to give this movie a go if you are the type who enjoys adventurous sci-fi movies with a touch of myths and legends in it. Another good reason to watch it is because it is directed by acclaimed director, Chris Columbus, who director the first two Harry Potter movie. If there's one thing I like about Columbus, it is how he manage to stick as closely as possible to the original book, without changing too much of it until it feels like it doesn't belong anymore.

But if you are not the kind who digs unrealistic myths, then perhaps Percy Jackson is not your thing. For me however, I do think that Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief is a great watch. Although it is almost 2 hours long, I don't feel it and I want more. Can't wait for the next instalment! I really should get hold of the books because if the movie is actually this good, I bet the books would be even better! The author did say that he is influenced by J.K. Rowling and that is definitely not a bad thing. 

TC-My Rating:

Tomorrow I'm off to watch another great movie! Can't wait!!

With Lotsa Love,

TammyC

THE IMPORTANCE OF LYING

Ricky Gervais often brings British humour into any movie. I first saw him on "Night at the Museum" where he plays an ironic character that sees him being someone with no-sense-of-humour but in being so, he is hilariously sarcastic. Then he was on this BBC comedy, Extras, in which in one episode featured Ben Stiller starring as a mean director who always bullied his actors, especially the extras! The comedy won Gervais a few awards, hmmm let's see ...there's an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy series, a BAFTA for his excellent performance in a comedy and multiple other British comedy awards. Brilliant credentials for a British comedian, eh? While I usually don't really get British humour, because British are more witty, intelligent and classy, there are some who just are sophisticated enough for these type of humour. However for others, British comedy is a total bore.

While I tried to enjoy "Extras", I gave up after two episodes. I guess mainly for 2 reasons. Firstly, I don't enjoy watching TV as much as I used to anymore since the Internet means that I can access practically any shows I wanna watch. Secondly, the pilot episode of "Extras" wasn't too engaging, and so I kinda lost interest...opps! Perhaps I should give it another shot?

But anyway, where am I going? I'll now focus.

I was crediting Ricky Gervais because I'd like to introduce this movie Ricky Gervais directed. Not that he actually needs any EXTRA publicity, he is great already but I thought I'd boost his sales a little by giving a little free publicity haha.

"The Invention of Lying" is a great comedy movie. It's not exactly a rom-com (romantic comedy) though it does have a touch of romance in it, but then it's not the focus of the whole story. The movie stars exceptionally brilliant Jennifer Garner, Rob Lowe and of course Ricky Gervais. It also featured Tina Fey.

The movie takes us to a world where nobody lies, perhaps not because they don't want to, but rather, they don't know how to or has no abilities to...until one day, a man invented lying because he can do so. It is really interesting to see that they would actually believe what a human say rather than the accuracy of a computer system.

What this movie present is the idea that even though lying (according to our Moral studies at the age of 7 to 12) is downright wrong, the honest fact is, we don't have to, but NEED to lie. It is a necessity sometimes. I mean, if you see someone not thin, you wouldn't just go straight and tell them that they are fat straight in the face because those are hurtful words and most of us try to avoid being such a jerk. I mean, it's good to be honest at times, but honesty has to come with wisdom. In the movie, people are just downright honest and things just doesn't seem too good for some because they are judged based on looks alone. Imagine how demotivated one would be to be constantly reminded of how ugly they are or how they suck. Plus when you are in the corporate world or in business, you need to tell certain amount of reasonable lies in order to sell. That's just what business people has to do.

So anyway when Mark Bellison (Ricky Gervais) discovered his ability to lie, he realized that he could use this to his advantage, and also to help people feel better in life. When his mum was dying, he lied and told his mum about this beautiful place people go to after they die, just so his mother feels better and happier in her deathbed. He was basically describing the place we know as 'heaven'. What he doesn't know is that because of this, the whole world became interested to know about what happens after death and they were all wanting from this man who knows stuff that they didn't know about what is beyond living. That's when Mark created the concept of God and his own 10 commandments.

It is interesting to see how Ricky Gervais brought in the concept of God into a movie, referring to God as "The Man" in the movie and somehow, the storyline in the movie is a witty way of representing God and the whole concept of religion. This is a personal opinion, but I guess "The Invention of Lying" is toying around the idea that religion itself could be something  (a lie perhaps?) created by a man to make the world a better place. No one can guarantee that what Jesus say is the truth but it is faith that makes people believe and when they do believe, they have the confidence to do things, despite the obvious disadvantage they have. There is a scene in the movie in which Mark grew a moustache and hair just like Jesus, and it's hard to shove off the idea that the movie is metaphorically referring to Mark as Jesus. No one can guarantee that we all go to heaven after we die if we do good things but then the faith and believe that we will go there has prevented us from doing evil.

Further on in the movie, Mark realized that his lies, even though has brought hope and cheers to some people, like his hopeless neighbour, friends, everyone around him and not to mention, himself, there is also a downside. People started to depend on him for answers; people go to him to tell them what are the right decisions, instead of just making their own choices and decisions. Some believe that they are going to heaven anyway, so they might as well not do anything in life except wait. I guess it applies to life too. There are some people who just pray but does nothing what-so-ever in making changes in their own life. I mean, praying is just one part of it, work and action is what really get you there. I'm not against praying because I pray a lot but then again I believe that if there's one thing that we really need to remember is that having the faith only helps us complete half the journey, the other half is running the race itself.

Basically there are 2 very obvious lessons I learn from the movie, and that is sometimes, truth just can't be told because sometimes "lies" help us believe in things that might seem impossible and by believing that it is possible, we then make it possible. Lies are also what keep the world in some ways a better place to live in because sometimes, truth could hurt so much that it could be unbearable. So I guess, lie when necessary, with wisdom as guide.

Secondly, whatever that's good, there's always a bad to it. So it is us who shall wisely take in the good and cast away the bad in whatever actions we do. Whether or not a decision is the right decision is always debatable and it is again really up to us to weigh the good and the bad before proceeding to a wise resolution.

So it is pretty clear that I enjoyed the movie. It is cleverly induced with witty humour (which I actually get hahaha) and augmented with strong messages. Plus, it stars one of my favourite actresses, Ms. Jennifer Garner a.k.a. Mrs. Ben Affleck. Overall, I'd say it is a must-watch although Rotten Tomatoes might have only credited it with a 5.8 over 10.

Excellent performances by all the cast members, witty & fun dialogues...what more can one ask for. I seriously didn't regret spending the 2 hours watching this one.

What say you?

TC-My Rating:

With Lotsa Lurve,

TammyC

PS: Please don't misunderstand me, I AM NOT CONDONING LYING in this post. Just like the movie proposed, I'm just saying that we should always be able to see a few sides of things and lying could have its positive =) 

ME ON THE FROG

It's been a while since I watched a real, like real cartoons that are literally drawn in 2D.

Seriously, gone were the days of Pocahontas, The Lion King, Aladdin, and Beauty and the Beast.

Taking over these classics are 3D animations like "Bolt", "Monsters Inc." and "Ratatouille". 

While these Pixar-Disney productions do have its entertainment values, they are still very different compared to classic cartoons. In some ways, I still feel that they are incomparable. I don't know why. I guess, it's just like Michael Jackson or Celine Dion - irreplaceable. That's why when Disney's new cartoon "Princess and the Frog" was released, many were excited about the reintroduction of classic 2D cartoons in cinemas. 

I think the second poster wins hands down.

What do you think?

I admit, I will not really pay to watch cute cartoons in cinema - because I don't feel that it's worth the money paid to watch something that is equally enjoyable watching in the warmth of my own home. I mean, if you are watching action-packed or horror movie, you pay for the sound effects but cartoons....seriously? But of course lar, if I'm babysitting kids, it only make sense if I bring them to watch cartoons...I'll not risk being sue for polluting minds of the next generation.

Anyway!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ( I find myself drifting always).

SO ANYWAY...........

I finally managed to watch the latest 2D cartoon "Princess and the Frog" which many of us anticipated. 

I wasn't disappointed with the cartoon. It was a pretty decent watch, though not as memorable as previous Disney cartoons. The songs in the movie were too jazzy for me, well, since the Prince in the cartoon likes Jazz and I guess the songs are also very rhythm and blues, in order to bring out that era in time - 1960s? 70s? Not sure. 

Every Disney cartoon delivers a message (and some argue contains subliminal sexual references too haha) and I love the message carried by the cartoon. I guess in many ways, it reminded me of something that I think I've come to forget easily and that is to WORK HARD!! I tend to be very very lazy and procrastinate a lot. 

In the cartoon, Tiana believed in wishing upon a bright shining star, wishing her dreams would come true. And her father told her something that rings in my head til now. The wishing on the star (or God) can only bring us that far, the other half of the journey is through hard work. I'm guilty of wishing upon stars and wishing things would happen for me. Well, it's a reminder that I need to start putting in extra effort.

But on top of just working hard, Tiana's dad also reminded her the importance of love. You know how some people just work and work and neglect family? Well, I guess it's beautiful that the cartoon tries to highlight the importance of both - love and also hard work. So basically, it's reminding us about the importance of balance in life. Very very good advice.

I also think that the villain in this cartoon is a very creatively designed character. I mean, we've seen witches and manipulative men trying to take over thrones or win the lady character but we've yet to see a voodoo man in cartoons. With voodoo, all the weird stuff that happens make sense. It's somewhat like magic, but then again, it's not exactly magic; so it doesn't falls into the cliche of evil witches often incorporated in fairytales. 

The story draws on the classic Frog Prince story but with a twist because the girl, Tiana, isn't a princess. She's just a not-so-wealthy girl who work for the mayor and his daughter. Her philosophy in life, as nurtured by her father, is to work hard in life in order to own a dream restaurant. But she tend to worked so hard that she lost focused on another most important thing in life - love. She met the Frog Prince, who was turned into the frog by a Voodoo man and she thought that by kissing the frog, he would turn back into a Prince and then can help her financially. What she didn't know was that the Prince was so lazy that his parents cut off his allowance so that he'll learn the meaning of work. So basically, Tiana taught the Prince that we have to work for something because not everything is gain that easily. The Prince balanced out Tiana's life for he taught her what it means to enjoy life and have fun.

As a conclusion, I'd say that the recipe to living a good life is to work hard and have faith.

But like I mentioned earlier, the songs weren't really working for me and also, unfortunately, I really have a thing for frogs. No offence, but...I wished they were cursed into other animals rather than frogs. I mean, when I watch Lion King, I was like so into the lions - they are like amazing to look at...even Pumba and Timon look cute, but frogs....*making the so-so hand*. I don't know...not feeling it. 

Generally though, it wasn't a bad cartoon. The colours and 2D effects are definitely better (I bet due to advancement of technology, even 2D looks super good). However, this is not one cartoon that is super glued into my memory though. It's really still nothing compared to my favourite Disney masterpieces such as The Lion King, Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast. I didn't really get the mystical, fairytale feeling I used to get after watching Disney. It's either I've grew out of it or it's just not one of the best cartoons. I'm thinking more of the latter haha because I WILL NEVER GROW OUT OF CARTOONS! I'm YOUNG! ahem...

So should you watch it?

Yeah!! Go for it! It's a cartoon! What makes you feel better if not cartoons. It's simple, it's colourful, vibrant...it just helps cheer people up. That's basically what Disney does I guess haha. I might not rewatch it, but who knows right?

TC-My Ratings:

With Lotsa Lurve,

TammyC

ps: I just re-watched The Lion King and it was hilarious! Brought back so many childhood memories and now that I finally truly understand the dialogues, the lines are super witty. Sadly, the same witty dialogues aren't found in The Princess and the Frog. But I love the characters' accents though.

HANGING OUT WITH THE ARMY OF GOD

I owe this to writing to myself. I've watched this movie 2 weeks back and I'm still feeling so lazy to blog about it. Okay...don't care. Gonna have to wade against those waves of laziness and get this piece done!

I believe that "Legion" would be a much more interesting watch if you have knowledge about the origins of angels and a bit on Christianity. I mean, it'll make the movie one that has substance, instead of one that is just another zombie movie. 

The storyline is simple yet it manages to lure me into wanting to watch it bad, until I saw on Twitter DJ Ben from FlyFM give it a 6.4 out 10. But then, I've already bought tickets and so I entered the theatre with much reduced expectations. Plus, thank God that we get better seats this time that doesn't fail on me when I sit on them.

The movie sees God loses faith on mankind and had therefore gave up on us. He then sends a legion of freaky looking army of angels to destroy humankind (by possessing them?). He also ordered the leader of his army, Archangel Michael (Saint Michael) to kill a baby who will redeem mankind. However, Archangel Michael (Saint Michael) defies His orders for he loved humans so much. He descended to Earth against orders and went to Paradise Bay, the place in which the baby would be born. Archangel Michael then lead a team of locals into fighting the angel attacks. Gabriel was then summoned to take over Michael's job to kill the baby. In the end we see that Gabriel with only slight hesitation had killed Michael. Gabriel, by doing so, has go against what God has been preaching; Michael on the other hand, resurrected because he understood the true meaning of love and would sacrifice for humans (just like God has sacrificed his own son, Jesus to purge the sins of humankind - I hope I get the facts right).

I guess the main theme in the story is the importance of faith and the sacrifice for love. 

Michael has faith in humanity because of Jeep (portrayed by the hot Lucas Black). God then regains faith in humanity through Michael. I guess Michael reminded God the meaning of believing again...reminded Him of how much he loved humans. 

Through Michael's faith, God sees that HOPE still exists. One may argue that the movie tries to help us see how having no faith destroys a lot of things. When we lose faith in God, just like how He loses his faith on us in the move, it's like all hope are gone.

The movie also examines the dynamics of good and evil, angels and devils. Angels can also be devils/satans. In fact, if I'm not mistaken, satan is a fallen angel, an angel who refuses to bow down before humans. So in other words, the legion of army sent to hurt humans are therefore also known as satans, right? Only Michael deserves his title.

"Legion" is supported by a large cast including some big names (well to me they are quite big lar) Dennis Quaid, Paul Bettany, Lucas Black and also Kate Walsh who plays a very annoying mum. 

Hot Lucas Black from "Tokyo Drift" stars as Jeep 

One of my favourite actor, Dennis Quaid as Jeep's dad

Adrianne Palicki as Charlie, the mother of the baby who would redeem humankind

She apparently plays the ill-fated girlfriend of Sam Winchester, Jessica, in 'Supernatural'

Okay, this is just one cool pic of Paul Bethany, famous for his role as Silas in The Da Vinci Code

Gabriel played by Kevin Durand

Love their costumes...

I didn't expect "Legion" to be such a zombie movie but it really does go along the lines of "Underworld", "Resident Evil" and "30 Days of Night". I thought of it more like "National Treasure" but well, zombie movies are okay. One thing I don't get is how all zombies and whatever man-eating creatures look almost completely the same in all the different versions of movies.

There were moments of boredom in the cinema (I felt my friend next to me yawning a lot and  I felt awkward because I recommended the movie haha), where things got a little bit too slow and quiet but there were also some great kick-a** moments that gets your adrenaline pumping. I think one of the best part features the old lady who was possessed by the Angels and ended up attacking the people in the restaurant. Now that part was fun. There's also one part in which they make a cute little boy turn into a man-eater. Such cute little boy but kills horridly. Well, it was also fun to watch. It really made me laugh, I don't know why.

Shutz...I find myself more and more immune to violence.  In fact, I feel amused sometimes. Oh crap...would I turn into a killer? Well, okay, I do scream and shout a bit but generally, I've watched so many violent series like Criminal Minds and Supernatural that I'm not as scared and disgusted as I once was.

Kids will be afraid of their generous looking grandma after watching "Legion"

Let's hope I don't get nightmare later but I just have to share this pic haha

Was "Legion" a good watch?

I'd say yes though I expected it to be better. 

However, for some of you, it could be too scary...though I don't find these type of movies that scary anymore. It's also great that there were some witty and dry humour incorporated in the movie, making it kinda nice to watch. 

What director and writer Scott Steward brings to the movie is a mythical and divine storyline that backs up a movie that could easily end up as just another lame zombie movie with a lame storyline. That little extra "God" and religion theme puts it a tad higher above the rest. Also, I'm glad that though the CGI aren't that fake. 

My advice though, watch it in the cinemas for pleasures of effects and surround sound...unless of course if you have your own home theatre lar...If not, you might doze off. *shrugs*

TC-My Ratings:

With Lotsa Lurve,

TammyC trying hard to be down-to-Earth