Wednesday, December 29, 2010

A New Year means...

Lists!

2011 Movies I'll Be Waiting For

#5 Water for Elephants


I hope Robert Pattinson doesn't blow his chance to redeem himself.


#4 Sucker Punch

Through the guns and girls, the storyline of reality vs fantasy could be a really cool psychological action movie. If not, it'll still be really cool.


#3 Your Highness











Looks high-larious.


#2 The Muppets
The Muppets + Ali G's James Bobin? Respek.


#1 The Hobbit
Haha I wish..


Random 2011 movies that I'll watch: 
-The Green Hornet because of all the Stephen Chow drama. I've got to see if his resignment as director and actor is justified.
-The Dilemma since I saw them filming live. Not expecting much, though.




My Favorite Movies of 2010 [so far]

#5 Shutter Island
I love psychological thrillers! Shutter Island kept me on the edge of my seat--and the ending blew my mind. Hmm sounds a lot like Inception.






#4 The Social Network
The Social Network tests the definition of friendship, reflecting on the technology of this era. Mark Zuckerberg, has so many layers to his character--playing a protagonist as well as the antagonist. 





#3 Black Swan
The Black Swan creates a darker world of ballet.  Beautiful and terrifying at the same time, Darren Aronofsky and Natalie Portman truly display art at its finest (or worst). 





#2 The King's Speech
Inspiring. The King's Speech touched me with a story about friendship and true courage. Colin Firth anGeoffrey Rush were absolutely enchanting together. Also, the British humor was hilarious!





#1 Inception
I love psychological thrillers! Inception kept me on the edge of my seat--and the ending blew my mind. Hmm sounds a lot like Shutter Island.
From the ensemble cast to the storyline, Inception was unpredictable and incredibly engaging.





I have yet to see more movies from 2010 since I mostly rely on Netflix dvds.

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Elf



Happy Holidays, Everyone! My family celebrates with silly Christmas movies and lots of tissues (because I always get sick).

Santa!!! I know him!

Buddy (Will Ferrell) was adopted by Santa (Ed Asner) after he crawled into his present sack from the orphanage. Papa Elf (Bob Newhart) raises Buddy to be an over-sized elf in the North Pole. As Buddy grows up, his size also grows to be a problem with bedding, toilets, and he can only make 85 Etch-A-Sketches a day (gasp!). Buddy overhears that he isn't just a "special elf"--he's a human. He sets out on a journey to New York to find his father, Walter Hobbs (James Caan), who isn't as nice as gumdrops and sugar plums. Buddy's elfish ways clashes with the rush of New York, but he finds his way to his family and Jovie's (Zooey Deschanel) heart.


Ahh...there's nothing better than watching Elf to get in the Christmas spirit. Its hard not to laugh at the charming Will Ferrel in a hilarious elf costume...in New York City. Buddy brings the child out of everyone; from spinning in revolving doors to stashing free handouts, he is easily a lovable character. Pair him up with Mr. Grumpy Walter Hobbs and Cute Jovie and we have a great Christmas movie. The story is gumdrop-sweet and unbelievable, but what the hey--it's Christmas. Anything can happen.

Friday, December 17, 2010

The Karate Kid


Dre Parker (Jaden Smith) moves to Beijing because his mother's, Sherry (Taraji P. Henson) job. Dre experiences  culture shock and even encounters bullies, such as Cheng (Zhenwei Wang), who is jealous of Dre's smooth [American] moves on Little Miss Mei Ying (Wen Wen Han). After a kung-fu-butt-kicking from the bullies, Mr. Han (Jackie Chan) saves Dre, revealing his own kung-fu prowess. The bullies are instructed by Master Li, who promises that his boys will leave Dre alone if he or Mr. Han fights them. Dre and Mr. Han work together to prepare for the kung-fu tournament using unusual methods for training. No waxing the car, though. Just hanging a coat over and over and over...


Jaden's character was sheet thin--almost invisible. Jaden was able to rely on his cuteness in The Pursuit of Happiness, but that safety net is taken away in the Karate Kid. We learn a little about Mr. Han; we learn a little about Mei Ying, but Dre is just a kid with fancy poses. Actually, everyone was poorly developed. Mr. Han busted out a tragic car crash memory and reminisced for five minutes. His dispute with Master Li was left unfinished by the end of the movie. Dre's mom has a shady job, if she even has a job in Beijing. Mei Ying and Dre's "friendship[?]" was super awkward. What made Mei Ying fall for Dre? Was it his braids or his embarrassing dancing? Who knows...the script called for some romance and that's that. 


Awwkwaard...

The Karate Kid could entertain little children, trapping them with flashy kung-fu, popular music, and cheesy jokes.For everyone else: If you want kung-fu, watch Chinese wuxia. If you want culture shock, watch Lost in Translation or something. If you want child romance, go hide in a corner. 
I'm going to hang up my coat now. I have some bullies that need addressing.

"Attitude!"