A weekend is great when it is filled with awesome movies. It has been a while since my last Monday Movie Review, not that I have any real authority in deciding what is good and what is not.

The first was Kung Fu Panda 2, the sequel to the highly successful, enjoyable and awesome Kung Fu Panda 1. The great news for fans is that the cast did not lose their shine after the first.

While it was in every sense of Po’s fav word, awesome, I did find myself drifting in and out of sleep at times. It might not be the movie though and it could be my accumulated lack of sleep. The only gripe I had with the movie was probably the recycled development of the plot. But then again, all kung fu movies are pretty much the same.

I must say that I had doubts about the movie when I first heard about it. After all, the last X-Men Trilogy did not end too well. I was surprised though that X-Men First Class was very well done. George Lucas could learn a thing or two from this movie if he wants to make another movie about the origins of the villain.

Although I don’t remember some of the characters in the movie, or some of the storyline, I guess they can’t follow the comic exactly. But the cast played their roles almost to perfection and the pace of the movie was just nice. I did not fall asleep this time around although the RM18 ticket could have something to do with it :P

All in all, two very enjoyable movies over the weekend and I would definitely recommend anyone to catch it on the big screen.

Missed the Monday Movie Review yesterday because, well, I didn’t watch a movie during weekend. Instead, I caught Lion King the Musical at Marina Bay Sands Theatre. Lion King is one of my favourite Disney cartoon and it was an entirely different experience catching it live on stage.

I was curious as to how they were going to bring the African experience out in full and they duly delivered. The production value of the entire musical was astonishing!

I wouldn’t say that the entire musical was top notch, although I would say 90% of it was. Some of the solos, although performed well, fell a bit short in terms of trying to awe the crowd. I guess they had to have ups and downs, else everything will be rather flat.

Some of my personal favourites were the opening number (a song I always loved) as well as the performance of Scar, Zazu and Timone. Those were just some of the top highlights for the musical but definitely worth every single cent of my SG$185.

So, remember, if you are in Singapore, from now until end of May, and you love musicals, don’t miss the opportunity to catch Lion King the Musical at Marina Bay Sands Theatre.

Sharon and I sometimes have very different taste in movies. For example, she was bored to death by 500 Days of Summer and I thought it was great. 127 Hours belongs to this category, where we will both pretty much agree to disagree.

127 Hours is pretty much all James Franco. You get a glimpse of other actors and actresses but you will be seeing him for the majority of the movie. Why? It is about him being stuck in a canyon and his determination to get out of there.

So yes, if the above description sounds boring to you, give this movie a skip. If you curious, then go watch the movie. It is not like he only talked to the camera all the time (but most), there was a gory scene, a very disgusting scene which I thought would have been more disgusting in 3D, and some pretty cool stuff.

Thankfully, James managed to carry his role extremely well and I think he definitely deserved to be nominated for an Oscars for Best Actor. He carried a range of different emotions, and successfully conveyed the determination and helplessness when it mattered most.

But the best part of the movie is the strong message it delivered. That one should never give up. And the message came pretty much at the right time for me.

Monday Movie Review is back! Not that many people read this, but it is back. Let’s start off slow with only one movie this week and it is none other than Sanctum! By the guy who brought us the blue people (Avatar, not Smurfs), James Cameron, this should be good right?

Welllll….

The movie has a predictable plot. After all, how can it not be when you have such characters? A father and son with a strained relationship, a billionaire adrenaline junkie bringing a girlfriend with an attitude and some of the supporting cast that you know will die the moment they start their script.

But predictability is not that bad because the venue of the plot is quite different from the rest. A movie about caving is not mainstream so this is a good movie to show people about caves and how little we know about them. I just read a National Geographic article on a humongous cave so I found the movie quite enjoyable.

The 3D element of it was also gorgeous at first but then after that, it grew boring. Because well, caves are either rock or water. Not much there go “ooh ahh” about.

Overall, I would say go watch it if you have nothing else to watch. If you have something better to do, you can give this a skip.

Back on track for movie watching and Monday Movie Reviews, we caught two movies over the weekend which were really kid-friendly movies. The first was what could have been a Disney success story if they didn’t pull the plug and the second was a classic Disney movie.

When Disney pulled the plug on Chronicles of Narnia after Prince Caspian, I thought that was the last that I would see but Fox swooped in to fund the filming of Voyage of the Dawn Treader. And they certainly made a great decision, from how much I enjoyed the movie. Not too sure about the return of investment though.

Considering that it was released alongside Rapunzel (or Tangled), and Harry Potter 7, they might have been swarmed by the giants. But it is a nice movie, and possibly the best of the series. The pacing was right this time, without too many slow moments where one can fall asleep.

I watched in it 3D, but there wasn’t that many 3D moments so you could possibly save some money and just watch the normal version instead. I always thought the Narnia series was a great series for the kids, because there are life lessons to learn there. Probably a bit better than being influenced by emo vampires or wizards.

Next up is a Disney classic of songs, dance and animation. And I must say that watching animation in 3D is loads of fun. There is that added depth and it is a nice touch. I always thought this movie was called Rapunzel but apparently it is also called Tangled.

No matter, the movie is based on the Rapunzel series, with a few twist of its own of course. While it is CGed, it maintains the formula of the good ol’ classic Disney movies where they burst into songs. I always thought those were the best Disney cartoons and it is no wonder that I enjoyed Rapunzel a lot.

The songs were good, the lines were punchy and throw in hilarious animals and you got a winning recipe for kids and adults.

So, if you are looking for kid-friendly movies, then there are two great ones showing in the cinema right now. Just in time for the school holidays :)

It has been a while since I last read a comic because frankly, I am fast losing interest in the usual superhero stuff. I liked Y the Last Man, Girls and some of the funkier comics and honestly, never heard of The Walking Dead until the TV series came out.

I caught a bit of the first episode, and when I went to Singapore, I picked up Compendium 1 of the comic and boy, was I hooked! After 72 issues, I am now searching for Volume 13 which is another 6 issues and no luck on that front yet.

The comic has a nice pace, the twist comes at you without warning and it is quite an emotional roller coaster ride. Not only that, the comic ensured that characters are introduced, and you get to know them, and so, when they are killed, you actually feel for the people who lost them.

It has been a long time since I found a series that I had to immediately read and this was it.

Back home, I decided that since I can’t get Volume 13 of the trade paperback, I was going to start watching the TV series. While I was expecting it to be slightly different, it surprised me that it was actually quite different. Only the first episode sort of followed the first issue.

While the characters are largely the same, there were additions and how the story seems to be developing is quite a change from the comic. Personally, I found the comics better, because the TV series seems to be throwing in a lot of characters right from the start.

The zombies also seem faster and smarter. I am into the third episode (I think) and while it is still one of the better TV series out there, I sometimes wonder if it would have been better if it stuck to the same storyline as the comics. I’ll never know but at least now I got two different things to look forward to.

Every once in a while, I get extended some cool stuff like getting nominated for an Award, and getting a free holiday. This time around, I was given the chance to catch the sneak peek of MadWorld, an experimental production by DUMC and SIBKL. It is a combination of dance, music, and very little dialogue.

While the sneak preview I was watching was still lacking the finer touch, like proper backdrops, play of lights and sound, and media integration, it gave me a glimpse of what it could be. And if I was bowled over by what I saw yesterday, anyone watching the full production will be leaving the hall utterly impressed.

But of course, I can’t just leave you with a shot of the postcard. After all, the idea of having us there was so that we can have the opportunity to take some shots and share it with the world. I’ll try to share some insights that Ronny/Ronnie (he said his name a few times but unfortunately didn’t spell it out for us :P) and Stephanie was giving us but truth be told, I was excited to shoot, so I didn’t really listen.

But I paid attention to the show! THE TRUTH!

MadWorld initially started off with the title, How We Should Save the World? or something to that effect. It was then shortened, and shortened and finally it became one word, MadWorld. Why one, and not two you ask?

Let me try to explain it the way Ronnie/Ronny did because I was still digesting it. Basically he said they wanted the title to reflect that it is one entity. Rather than being a mad world, where it is merely a descriptor, MadWorld was supposed to be more reflective. Errr get it? If you don’t, go watch it, hunt down the producer and go ask him :)

So what is MadWorld? MadWorld is an audio-visual feast of movement, music and drama that bares the souls of two protagonists – Adam and Lucas, asking the question, “What is the worth of our souls?”

And that my friend is the official descriptor of the production. To me, it was basically a representation of us today. People like you and me. This was meant to be a Christmas production, but it is not all Christmasy, which is good. Because anyone can watch this show regardless of gender, race or religion. The message is that universal.

Furthermore, it is FREE.

Finally, when, where and how you can watch it? Below are the details:

DUMC Dream Centre, Section 13, PJ
3/12/10, Friday – 8pm
5/12/10, Sunday – 3.30pm
5/12/10, Sunday – 8pm
Ticketing: No tickets, just show up

SIBKL Auditorium, Bangunan Yin (next to Phileo Damansara 1):
25/12/10, Saturday – 7.30pm
26/12/10, Sunday – 10am
26/12/10, Sunday – 7.30pm
Ticketing: Contact your SIB friends or call +603 7957 2701

For more info on MadWorld, you can visit http://www.madworld.my/. And I leave you with a simple video of the shots I took:

What’s with me and chick flicks? Surprisingly, I rather enjoy them. Especially if they are well written and funny. Luckily, Life As We Know It falls under the category of highly enjoyable. Katherine Heigl have been going places and she is starting to be the actress cast in the roles of girl who finds it hard to find a husband/boyfriend. Not sure if she likes it though.

In Life As We Know It, she has a disastrous blind date with her best friend’s husband’s best friend. And when something happened to the best friend and her husband, they entrusted Katherine and the guy (Josh Duhamel) with the role of guardian for their daughter.

And so the drama, the humour, and everything else you can expect happened in the movie. From argument, to falling in love, to “I shall not spoil the movie any further but if you are smart, you can predict what will happen”, and while it sounds like I didn’t enjoy the movie, it wasn’t the case.

I enjoyed it, mainly because it showcased exactly what we need to sacrifice to become good parents. I just got married and therefore starting my own family has always been a consideration. And am I ready? I don’t know but when the time comes, I think I definitely will.

So for some laugh, and a pretty good story, watch the movie. After all, life as we know it changes all the time.

It was a hectic October, as I was busy getting married, busy with work and busy changing directions in my photography journey (yes, yet again!). Finally, things have settled down a bit more and I can start blogging already. Probably my readership is now back at 0 or was it 1 (Brian, you still here?)?

With my life back on regular schedule, it is time to catch up on movies and the first movie is You Again. Yep, a chick flick with the wife as our first movie together as husband and wife.

You Again was about a girl bullied in high school by and the brother announces that he will marry that girl. The bullied girl then set about trying to stop the brother from what she thought is the biggest mistake of his life. Add in the twist that the bride’s aunt also had a history with the groom’s mother and you got a recipe for laughter and disaster.

Some parts of the movie dragged on but overall, it was funny enough to keep you interested and even the corny dialogues were actually quite good. And it helps that Odette Yustman provided eye candy for the movie. Guys who can’t stand chick flicks will probably just find it bearable to sit through the movie since she is in it.

Betty White is also in it and I will be really sad to see her go one day. She is such a great actress for the “fun grandma” role. It is always cute to see her smile with that twinkle in her eyes :)

Second movie is Scott Pilgrim VS the World, which generated some online hoohah when it was announced that the movie won’t be shown here on local screens. With Amazon, eBay and Blurays, there is no doubt that we will still have access to the movie after all.

Was it worth all the hype? Probably a yes if you are a big video game fan. Even then, at times, the movie like the industry it pays tribute to, tries a bit too hard. But if you are not sure what the movie is about, it is about a boy who fell in love with a girl and has to battle her evil exes (is this the plural for many previous ex?) in order to date her.

Surprisingly, the best part of the movie was the starting when the Universal logo was presented. That was quite fun. Other than that, the movie was pretty much your typical teen movie but with lots of gaming references thrown in, and given the comic treatment.

It wasn’t too bad but it wasn’t that great as well. I guess if I didn’t get all hyped up by the hoohah generated online, I probably would have enjoyed the movie more. So, this is it and hopefully I get to watch even more movies this week!

Call it a romantic comedy, call it sappy love story, I will still call it a chick flick. Luckily I enjoy chick flicks. After all, where else are you going to get romance these days? This time around, Justin Long and Drew Barrymore provided the laughs and the romance in a plot that is simple but effective.

As the world becomes borderless, a lot more of us are going through long distance relationships. I have, taking 2 hours flight to Kuching and missing Sharon in between. This movie reminds us of the romance of such relationships and the challenges a couple has to face.

Along the way, it has two very likable lead characters and a fantastic cast to support the story behind the both of them. Usually, a movie can introduce an array of characters and leave you wondering if there was a point in any of them. Going the Distance introduces a small group of them and by the end of the movie, you will think that you have watched them all your life.

Going the Distance had some fairytale in it, and after all, all chick flicks must have that. But it also felt very real. You could sit there watching the movie and thinking, “I know how that feels like.” and that is the best thing about this movie. It was believable.

So, the next time you are wondering what movie to see with your girlfriend, or your wife, consider Going the Distance.