Monday random post

Ever since I sync my phone up with Google it is way easier to post pictures here. Tapiii limit gamba aku kat Google dah tak banyak, really need to find other way. Tunggu lah bile rajin nanti. 

So this Monday edition of a random post goes like 

Cats! 

When I got back from the hospital on Friday tu, baru lah dapat bermesra-mesra dengan the cats. However while the others bese2 je, found that Gollywolly just want to sit on the sofa. There is something wrong with Wolly when she wants to be on the sofa because that is not her favorite place. 

Rupanye demam. Can feel her body temp is warmer than usual. So the whole Saturday was spent on her terbongkang di atas sofa where all of us sit on the floor instead. The cats reign supreme at this house. I dah berkira2 if on Sunday she is still melepek tak bermaya I will bring her to the vet. Because I can see she is drinking and eating and her taik ok je (tak runny) . Anak kandung sakit, anak bulus pon sakit. 

But naseb baik on Sunday she seems ok. She still does not want to go out, but berjalan2 di rumah macam biasa and no longer as warm as on Saturday. Tak payah gi vet! Yes! 

Kurus sikit. Poor Wolly. My sister said tah2 die rindu kan mommy die. Heh. But dont think so, it is probably the haze. Wolly ni memang prone to sickness if the air is bad. 

Saif Condition.

Thank you for the well wishes and he is out of the hospital! Yeay finally discharged to my relief. All those days at the hospital make me really lethargic the whole weekend. And Saif is not 100% yet too. He is still pooping I think around once every 4 hrs. The doctor did say it would take sometime for him to fully recover. Poor baby! Hoping that he would get better as soon as possible. Thank God that is also the school holiday, so nursery die pon tutup seminggu. In the mean time he will be at home recuperating lah. 

Sekarang ni my husband WFH and take care of him, I will be on leave on Wed and Friday to take care of the kids plak. So harap by that time he will stop the non stop pooping. 

Time ni baru balik dari hospital . Immediately terus nak merangkak ke sana ke sini. We sampai rumah at the time around 2pm. I ingatkan nak put him to sleep la kan. Tadek. Sibuk die nak kesana ke sini . Lepaskan geram merangkak after being chained to the iv drip kut. Last2 die pengsan tertidur sendiri tengah2 ruang tamu. 

The doctor and nurses said to give him plent of fluids but tu pon susah amat. He only wants to direct feed kan, and I give him porridge kt rumah semua tolak. Last2 in frustration I give him nasi lembik dgn ayam kurma, baru la selera. Dan teh o pekat. Hahaha. Bagi tu solid la kejab taik die. 

Movie

Baru je recently watched 50 Shades of Grey. I avoided the book because reading about how a girl submit herself so readily to a man can make me all ragey but I am still curious for the movie because well,, it will consume less of my time. 

So sambil aku melipat baju and kemas baju, I tengok la the movie. And the critics are right . Sam Taylor Johnson, elevate the material, made it to a decent movie. Dakota Johnson makes us girls/women like Anastasia Steele as she is charming and lovable and sweet here even during the erotic scenes. And the weak link here is Jamie Dornan, Mr Grey himself. He was gile handsome masa Once Upon A Time, but here die macam meh. He is not convincing as a confident man. Basically he does not own the room he walked in. As for the naughty bits itself, it was meh la. Nothing really shocking and when Anastasia asked the worst of the BDSM, and that's it? Lepas tu die nangis when she should know what it is by now. Saying her feelings got hurt? I don't know y'all . You ask for it. And no.. it does not feel rape to me, but is it? is it? I guess it is about punishment and feeling shamed. 

I am so confused . 

I guess its the typical romantic heroine lead wants to change a guy who refused to commit. It only worked in the literary/rom com world. In the real world, you may turn out to be like that poor girl in Mont Kiara who died of asphyxiation. 

Dire.  

Reels and Small Screens - A seriously lenghty post with no real substance.

Updating because aku tadek keje wehhh.. boring. 

As for the cinema ( the reels in topic....), my husband and I we took turns watching movie at the cinema. Sebab susah la nak bawak tots and a babe. Husband usually go to watch his movie at night or me during the day on a weekend afternoon. I remember my colleague asked me who I go out with to watch movies if husband is watching the kids, and I said alone. Terus die buat muka pelik. Haha. I mean biasa la tu. To get my girlfriends with me bole kut, but then it would take longer, sebab of course la nak kena lunch la ape la or minum2 ke. If I go alone, I buy popcorns and soda and that is my meal. Though I think I will no longer buy it.

Sebab sometimes I can't really have soda if sakit perut ke, sakit kepala ke or time pregnant ( sebab the pening afterwards is just not worth it) and then they charged the ice lemon tea yang cikai tu rm5 and the popcorn cost like rm12 tambah gst dah nak close to rm20. Yeeesshhhh! That is not worh it. Next time I am stashing a bottled ice lemon tea or mineral water in my bag. And a sandwich or snickers. Bloody hell that is daylight robbery RM20 for an ice lemon tea with artificial lemon and a small tub of popcorn.. Not to mention cinema dulu kan kalau beli tiket online ikut suke la nak pilih seat mana. Tapi now if seat yang atas sikit rm20 bawah sikit yang buat sakit tengkuk rm18. Gile I tell you. I don't know if buy directly same price like that or only online je kena. I havent bought tickets direct at the ticket counter since forever. 

Anyway.. I decided to watch San Andreas. My husband is like pelik because he knows I would like Jurassic World better being Chris Pratt is in there ( his IG is cute. His love for Anna Faris is swoony) ,, tapi I had always liked big disaster movies and big disaster movies are best seen in a cinema. So it was ok, nothing spectacular and everything is predictable but I had a good time. 

Nak review ke? Tak perlu kut. It is a dumb disaster movie that are done well entirely by the earnest casts. The Rock never disappoint y'all. 

I wish I have the time to watch Jurassic World in the cinema, but I am not sure how I am gonna wrangle that out during bulan puasa. Tengok wayang time puasa is not that satisfying if we can't have something to munch on. I'll think about it. 

Now for the small screens. I am still the same. Obsessed with TVs. And this post seems apt with the season finale of Game of Thrones yesterday. I will give a list from the top of my head on the tv series I am currently still watching or following , and some opinions on it. ( May include spoilers like those who are not updated in the latest Greys Anatomy or Vampire Diaries. )

Game of Thrones - Incredible for the last couple of episodes. It improved tremendously by getting Tyrion to Daenarys. And that white walkers slaughter of the wildlings and the watch was seriously great TV since forever. Last night episodes was full of death and uncertainty and I don't know if I just can't wait for the book or for the series. And which will come out first?!!? 

Outlander - I love this series. People had been lamenting about the amount of rape or threat of rapes in this series, but it is not that outrageous to me. The series made me wants to go to Scotland more! Ohh.. those who want to watch this series, don't watch it with kids or parents. Nudity and sex abound. I was surprised at first but then learned that series from the Starz network usually have this. 

Greys Anatomy - Derek died. I honestly dont care. I never like them together anyway. Yes. I am still watching this . Will tune in till the end I guess. It is a fun relaxing watch. Macam the thing I usually look forward to watch on a Saturday morning with my tea and toast. 

Vampire Diaries -  Nina Dobrev had exited the show! And that means no more Elena. I actually am looking forward to see how they gonna do the next season because Elena was such a central figure in the whole story. 

The Originals - I kept on hoping Klaus to die. Or Caroline to go there. I have no idea why I watched, but i guess if nothing else ade, just watched it la. 

The Good Wife - Had deteriorated a lot this season. Maybe just by focusing on Alicia , it just feels really heavy and boring. Julianna Margulies have the screen presence but what made it fun to watch before is how all the cast interacted with each other. Christine Baranski for instance, is awesome in whatever scene you put her in. And that whole 'splicegate'. Don't know who is in the wrong, but it just made Margulies looks worse and frankly I kinda leaning in the belief that Julianna Margulies is kind of an asshole.  ( so more many thoughts tapi lagi panjang )

The Flash - The best new series of 2014/2015. Seriously, Watch it. 

Gotham - Meh. Only ok when Morena Baccarin came in. Before this it was too dark and depressing.

iZombie - Created by the same people who did Veronica Mars. Expect loads of snappy , quick, witty dialogue. Which I like tremendously. ( This is the same reason why I love Buffy and Gilmore Girls). 

Scorpions - Good procedural show. Nothing to shout about. Laughable in the this is kind of ridiculous .. but boleh la for an hour tv. 

Reign - Incredibly ridiculously historically inaccurate. Francis is taking a long time to die y'all... But.. seriously pretty actors and actresses. 

MARVEL Agents of Shield - Ok lah. This season is a bit smoother compare to last season. But not really something I look forward to but bile start to watch it is quite enjoyable.

MARVEL Agent Carter - Better than Agents of Shield, which is solely because the chemistry between Hayley Atwell and James D'Arcy is just too good. I love James D'Arcy. 

Big Bang Theory - Hey! It is still on! Ok for a quick laugh. 

Parenthood - The series finale was ages ago. I love Parenthood. Good family drama that always manage to make you choke out a tear or two especially when Monica Potter is sobbing. Will definitely miss Lauren Graham and Mae Whitman. Hope to see them more. 

Nashville - Gotten really soapy which do not deter the awesomeness of Connie Britton hair. Love the songs sometimes, mostly watch this when all the series I had watched finished or when I am doing chores. 

Scandal - Olivia Pope is no longer awesomesauce. And Fitz is the worst! 

How to Get Away With Murder - Pretty training wheel lawyers trying to lawyering and murdering. Oklah. It is good that it is just 13 eps. Don't think I can stand it if it is 22 eps. 

Hart of Dixie - Rachel Bilson as a small town doctor is cute and totally not belieavable. It was a fun show lah, have its up and down. Usually am bored by it, sometimes charmed. But it finished at Season 4 all neatly tied up with a bow. 

Downton Abbey - Wait.. is it starting yet? Watch it for Lady Mary but am thoroughly charmed with the cute quiet romance of Carson and Mrs Hughes. So hell yes I am still watching because it seems like Matthew Goode will be there for next season? 

Elementary - My husband still watching it, and it is still there in the computer. I love Lucy Liu so I watched it. A good procedural show. Have its hits and misses but the case of the week are charming and usually not predictable which I enjoy. 

State of Affairs - A Homeland wannabe ( I dont watch Homeland but that is the feels I get).They didn't manage to portray the main characters well, which is why I guess it got axed midway. 

Constantine - I love this! But it got axed. That actor here is more Constantine than Keanu Reeves could hope to be. I wish there is more. 

The Mindy Project - Another axed show but got move to Hulu. Hehe. So it lives on. Love and am exasperated at Mindy Lahiri and Danny and love Mindy Kaling. 

Jane the Virgin - A charming show in a telenovela sorta way. But I seriously dont care. I dont think so I will watch the next season kut because I keep on forgetting that I havent watched the finale yet. 

Once Upon A Time - Why.. why am I still watching this after the whole Elsa debacle. That was bad. But Lana Parilla is just too good to let go hence I stay. And Hook is pretty and got distractingly long eyelashes for a pirate. 

So roughly I watched about 20 tv shows. Wow. Well there are some that are axed or I decided to quit. Tapi mesti aku nak tambah tengok lagi. And I am also still watching Orphan Black, and Hannibal and Inside Amy Schumer ( another must watch, she is a great comedian ) , Didn't comment about these 3 because only watch like one eps each and havent started on Hannibal yet. Always like to marathon Hannibal, then I will get like really sick by the beauty and gore of the show. 

I should have aspired to be a tv writer.  

Mixes

Thinking I should update. At the very least because of how cute Saif is here

Swim swim swim

A video posted by @witherthorne on Mar 30, 2015 at 9:50pm PDT

We got the swim package for Saif boy. Which include 5 swim sessions. He obviously loves it. Though he did get tired after 20 mins. Lepas tu die macam nak duduk and just stared at the rubber duckie.

Yang ni kite orang amik the package at Wangsa Walk Mall. I like the girls working there. Saif baru pergi sekali. Sekarang ni die macam berhingus pulak. Kena tunggu cleared up baru pergi lagi. I think he would enjoy it more if he is the bigger tub which I think would be ok in his 3rd session there.

OF OLD MOVIES...

Ohh.. I had just getting the hang of recording stuff on Astro. Such an old geezer. My nephew can record cartoons ever since he was 3. Haha. Anyway. Sometimes Astro likes to play cool movies at an ungodly hour of the night. So which is why I recorded Notting Hill and The Breakfast Club. I never watched either if you can believe it.

Notting Hill - OMG no wonder people loves it. Hugh Grant was the sweetest leading guy ever. Gah. So. Bloody. Sweet with the horses and hounds. Though I am still meh about Julia Roberts. She feels very aloof here and actually I don't know what about her that makes him falls in love with her. But nonetheless it was still very sweet and no wonder people my age are always hankering to go to Portobello Road.

The Breakfast Club - So intense. The dialogues and acting was intense for a teen movie. If I were to watch it when I was a teen I would love it to bits so I understand why it was such a hit then.. Molly Ringwald was so pretty here. And of course.... hey hey hey hey.... don't you.. forget about me.

OF ICE CREAM ... 

Could not get enough of ice cream these past few weeks. Maybe because it was so hot. 

Bought a Tim Tam ice cream from Cold Storage. And it was so gooood. I love it because it tasted like dark chocolate and not that sweet. And at RM12 murah la. Which is about the size of Baskin Robbins quart size. 

And last 31st March I beli jugak Baskin Robbins punye quart ice cream mementang it was 31st March. Dah lama rasenye tak makan mint choc chip ice cream. So I got that. Hmmm.. and of course Ampang Point baru bukak Sangkaya. Beli the Signature because I heard so many people raving about it. And memang SEDAP. I like it. I don't like the price but hey.. we can pay as much for Baskin Robbins apa salahnye for something local. I tried the teh tarik ice cream, rase macam makan susu pekat. Huhu. But I think I am gonna try it again, 1 scoop of teh tarik ice cream with 2 scoop of the coconut ice cream. 

A photo posted by @witherthorne on Mar 29, 2015 at 5:10am PDT

Update on things

Baru lepas beli tiket Mockingjay! Yes. Sambil2 tu I am trying to play my jigsaw puzzles yang I bought satu pada masa dahulu di Jepun tapi baru buat border je. Sebab nak main jigsaw puzzles kekecik ni tak boleh ade gangguan kanak2 kecik. Kalau hilang ade mak menaga nanti tengok puzzles tak habis ade lobang. Rupanye bile main puzzles time ade kucing pon sama naik tension. Semua time tu la nak manja2 duduk dekat atas puzzle lah, nak kunyah puzzle laaahhh -_-" . 

Anyway. Ini cerita 2 weekend lepas. My husband have a team building event at Sunway hotel. Memula aku ingat ni masuk sekali Sunway resort. Rupanye tido. Mak buyung ade sedikit lega sebab mak buyung tak larat nak bawak anak bujang die terkinja2 kat Sunway lagoon at 37 weeks. 

Sepatutnye my husband pergi lah ice breaking session and makan-makan hari Jumaat tu, but we only manage to check in at 12.30 am sebab I still have to work kan dan banyak pulak keje time dah nak berenti tu. Sebab dah penat ngan ngantuk, I only manage to snap the picture of the room. Lawa! I like Sunway hotel. 

Aktiviti2 lain di hari Sabtu and Ahad tu lebih kurang free untuk family , tak free untuk staff dept. So while the spouses have to go their activities, the family do whatever lah. Most of the time it was spent at the pool. 

Pakai boyar princess sebab boyar pinjam. Hahaha

If it is raining or I malas to go in pool, Aziz berbubble bath di bathtub. He likes it. 

Sempat la round Sunway Pyramid sekali. Tadek ape menarik untuk dibeli pon . Bought jigsaw puzzles for Aziz to keep him occupied in the hotel room. Ended up mak die buat jigsaw puzzles tu dan Aziz letak the last 2 pieces and laughed gleefully like he had done the whole thing. We stayed for the whole Saturday and checked out on Sunday. 

On Sunday tu lepas lunch at the hotel tu Aziz dah bising nak mandi pool balik. Siap bukak baju and seluar sendiri bersedia untuk terjun. Tapi dah nak checkout dah anak. Haha. Kesian die. So while husband settled what needs to be settled bawak die tengok patung elephant at the outside of the hotel yang die sibuk nak tengok dari first malam sampai tu. 

Oh and the food at Sunway hotel tu besttt! Tak amik gamba lah sebab bile dah jumpa makanan memang aku lupa semua mende. 

Oh. Last Thursday tu I plan nak tengok Big Hero 6. Mementang la surirumah. Bawak la Aziz sekali because I think he would enjoy it and my husband decided to join tengok gak time office hour. Aziz enjoyed it tremendously. It is a great movie! This time we bought yang couple seat tu, tu pon rase cam sempit. Nak buat camne, mak besor. Nasib baik couple seat sebelah kosong haha. So I get to sit with relative ease and Aziz lagi la besar tempat die nak ke sana sini. He loves the movie and most of the time he paid attention to the screen. Ade sekali tu I pandang sebelah and saw his father is holding him while he is doing the superman pose bile time Baymax tu tengah terbang. He tried imitating Baymax punye kungfu moves la kat situ. 

This movie I would recommend for those yang nak bawak anak masuk wayang first time. They would most enjoy it. Lot of actions and Baymax is soooo huggable. Not to mention kucing dalam movie tu Mochi. I told husband I wish they would make patung kucing tu instead. Sebijik cam Kurap gemok. 

Hari ni pergi checkup gynae pulak so hantar Aziz to taska earlier than usual. Aziz dah faham bile nampak mommy die pakai tudung meant that mommy die pergi jalan-jalan and mesti la 'NAK IKUTTT JALANNN'. Sampai je pintu taska, menangis la die depan pintu. Sebab ingatkan gi jalan-jalan. Poor baby. 

Besok update pasal pregnancy ni la. 

47 Ronin - IMO

Keanu Reeves as one of the 'samurai' in 47 Ronin

Went to see it masa lunch hour semalam. Ok la tu. 12-2 usually people go out for lunch, I sempat tengok wayang. The running time is almost 2 hours pon.

Anyway the film is inspired by the legend of the 47 Ronin. A group of masterless samurai who seeks to avenge their lord death. Their lord (Lord Asano) had a disagreement or something but basically the lord had injured another lord ( Lord Kira) which many said is no fault of his since Lord Kira is kinda a dick. As punishment he was sentenced to death but was granted a honorable death 'seppuku'. So the 47 samurai now have no master and are dispersed until a year later they attacked Lord Kira castle to bring back his head to their master grave. Then all 47 of them had to commit seppuku as punishment since at the time the Shogun (emperor) had forbid any retaliation. But a samurai is dishonored if he didn't seek revenge for their master death.. that is their code.. So the story lives on..

In the film, it is kinda the same except with supernatural elements which to me kinda undermine the awesomeness of the original story. Keanu Reeves is Kai, a boy taken by Lord Asano to be raised in his household. so he grew up alongside all these samurai and Lord Asano daughter, Mika.  And afterwards it goes about the same, except there is a witch who have magical hair and likes to slink around sexily and supernatural beast and swords. 

It is pretty cool and the cinematography is beautiful. I was wondering if they shot it in Ireland because it looks like Ireland for some. Keanu Reeves wooden acting is suitable here and for the other, looking at Akanishi Jin as Chikara is enough for me. It have its moments la. I was never bored. It feels a bit ridiculous sometimes but I can accept it. 

But the point of watching it is for the action. The fighting itself is magnificent when it is one on one. Full on battle feels a bit cluttered. GoT did it better IMO. But the sneak attacks is wonderfully suspenseful. That is the highlight of the movie for me. 

Summary: Don't expect great CGI even or great dialogue but the face acting by the Japanese actors makes up for a lot of Keanu Reeves lack of , stay for the attack of the castle. Hate the supernatural elements and think if it is done away the movie would look much better. If I were to rate it, I would say 3 out 5 stars.

Gravity

Hey! I had time to watch movie dekat wayang at long last! Actually tadek la lama sangat. Last time I tengok wayang was World War Z. Zombies and Brad Pitt... it is an irresistible combination for me. 

Anyway sebab my husband akan balik semula ke Turk berkerja and I would take care of little Ajis sensorang after this. Hahaha. (Egads!) So die kasik wife die time alone untuk tengok wayang sebelom die pergi. Nanti kan after this susah laa. Bukan tak boleh.. susah.....

Ni dah paragraph ketiga dah ni. Saw wanna blog that I watched Gravity and here's my point form review sebab aku mengantuk tapi tetap nak blog. 

 

• What is it about. It is about space. About what can go wrong when you go for a little spacewalk. And you get lost or drifted away from the safety of the spaceship ( is that what it called? spaceship? )

• Quite a great movie but would be even more 'enjoiceful' if you watched in 3D. So I beseech you .. those who don't wear specs, see it in 3D for the whole gloriousness of it. It is meant to be seen in 3D pon . Kenapa aku tak tengok 3D? Agak sesalan.. tapi I hate holding the bloody glass throughout the movie if I want it to stay still . Sebab I wear glasses see. 

• A very good performance by Sandra Bullock. I am not blown away by her performance. I think she is a good actress but not great. She don't quite get me breathless. Actresses that can get me breathless is Cate Blanchett and Marion Cotillard. But it is a great performance, though I think if given to a more powerful actress, I would even be losing my shit together with Dr Stone. 

• The performance I am blown away by is George Clooney. He had always been a charming actor. He can charms the pants off anyone, hetero, homo and bi alikes. And this persona carried through here, but there is a little glimpse of  a great performance here and there especially when he have to let go. His expression breaks my heart. That alone nailed it, only that one scene carried the movie way up for me. I never knew he is quite a great actor and from that alone, I will look into his other dramatic role ( not Syriana, too boring.). 

• The story is GREAT. It started like most thrillers... light.. then when the action start.. it goes big. It slowed down, then it goes up again. Slows down.. and up again. Just when I start to think the story is kinda dragging it feet, the action start back up. 

• Summary. I would called it an action drama movie. More to drama.. but with a very well put out action that is a must see in 3D. So it is very worth to spend more sebab with all those things flying, floating around, I would imagine it would be very nice ( lagipon lagi lawa if the movie is dark kan..) . Tengok nyesal lagi tengok in 2D tapi aku tanak pakai spek tu okkk. 

Cloud Atlas

Saw it finally after I was excited seeing the trailer masa I pregnant dulu. Kenapa I excited... sebab ade Jim Sturgess laa. 

You should watch One Day, then read the book. The film is not all that, but the book... I don't know why, but there is something about British writers that I love. They don't pander. They get the story out, and still hit all the emotional notes. And One Day is a beautful story of friendship and love and life. It is predictable, but I love it nonetheless. Hoi baca je la One Day tu ok. 

And whyyyyy. Kenapa melalut cerita pasal One Day, tapi tajuk Cloud Atlas. Melalut kejab sebab Jim Sturgess is wonderful. He is my new James McAvoy. 

This film is around 3 hours. It took me 2 days as my free days is not as it is before. Heh. I heard that Cloud Atlas is a monster of a book. The story spans centuries, past , present and future. From 1849 to 2321. There are 6 stories in them. If not all, almost most of the actors have some roles in each stories, big or small. 

The one that is most memorable to me is the Sonmi story ( Jim Sturgess is an Asian! He kicks ass! He is romantic! Hellooooo ) and the Cambridge story. Sonmi story is wonderfully futuristic, lovely and sad. The action and set and effects is typical Wachowski. But the Cambridge story is about the life of a n impoverished musician, his love for a man is the one that moved me. I never care much about LGBT stories as I can't relate to it and I don't have any strong opinion on it ether. But this particular love story. Maybe it is the actors, but my heart breaks for them that it don't for others. If the other stories (some are yawn-ish, some are lovely and riveting), this one.. bring it home. 

I am itching to read the book because I don't get it. Tapi I don't think so I will read it. There are other books! Many others to be read! Anyway below are the observations and questions I had when I watch Cloud Atlas area. 

(Spoiler to those who cares)

Why Frobisher kill himself? I don't get it? 

Why is Sonmi is important? Exactly how did Gen Chang knows she is ? 

Why people choose to listen to  her? I don't get Sonmi. 

Why Cavendish brother locked him in nursing home? I don't get it. 

Isaac Sachs storyline into Luisa Rey is completely pointless. 

When Cavendish yells out "Soylent Green is people" in his storyline, I am not at all surprised on how the Sonmi story pan out. 

Sonmi and Gen Chang love story is cute and lovely and tragic, but Bae Doona made it so. Jim Sturgess I am sorry to say, can be turn into a mannequin for all I care and I hardly notice. He is heroic and regal and handsome... but why does he loves Sonmi so?? I don't get it. 

I love everything about the Frobisher story. The affair with Ayrs (or who the heck it is) is also kinda pointless, but aside from that, everything melodramatic about this story works.

I want to watch it again, but I don't think so I can larat go through 3 hours of it. Tapi nak tengok Jim Sturgess. Maybe I'll search for Upside Down next then for my Sturgess fix. 

When the world says, "Give up," Hope whispers, "Try it one more time."

I got it from some quotes. I hate quotes, but this girl, in this movie deserves it and embody the above quote.

I watched the Winter's Bone. It was painfully depressing. Watching people in abject poverty teetering in further poverty. 

I know this is gonna be a depressing movie and picked my time carefully. You can't really watched depressing movie when you're depressed. You can't stand to watch depressing movie when you are busy and stressed. The timing of such movie must be right so you won't be thrown in a somber mood the whole week. Maybe many people don't feel this or do, but I have a tendency to be melancholy for days if some movies affect me. 

Now this movie. It is sombering. But in the midst of all the struggles she endured, I smiled as I watched at all the animals she feed and try to. She do not have enough to eat and I suspected let her siblings eat her share, but when her brother presented with a stray she smiled sadly and accepted it. And I am not even touching on her courage and perseverance. 

What I like most is that this movie does not goes to the path of 'selling own body' to make ends meet. She never entertained the idea nor did anyone alluded it to her.

I like Jennifer Lawrence, she carried the whole movie magnificently. Her character is pitiful but she never once ask to be pitied, and if my whole world would come crashing down, I would like the thoughts that I can have that sort of determination to survive.

Day 19 - Favorite book turned into a movie

Stardust by Neil Gaiman is a wonderful book. What is it about? (partial summary from goodreads)

... tells the story of young Tristran Thorn and his adventures in the land of Faerie. One fateful night, Tristran promises his beloved that he will retrieve a fallen star for her from beyond the Wall that stands between their rural English town (called, appropriately, Wall) and the Faerie realm. No one ever ventures beyond the Wall except to attend an enchanted flea market that is held every nine years (and during which, unbeknownst to him, Tristran was conceived). But Tristran bravely sets out to fetch the fallen star and thus win the hand of his love....

I like the book immensely. After I finish reading it, I think the writer had craft a wonderfully written book. More like a gritty love story meets fairy tale. It have everything that a fairytale-loving heart could love, prince and princesses, curses, witches, goods triumphing over evil. But it is also dark, it does not shy away from gore or violence or passion. 

However why I chose Stardust for favorite book turned into a movie is because the movie surpassed my expectations and become even better than the book. For a book nerd, that it something that rarely happened. Movies tend to screw plots and characters and flow of the stories. However I believed Neil Gaiman lend his talent on the movie and turned it into something else. I had reviewed the movie a few years earlier, so I won't be talking more about and you can go there instead to see what I gushed.

Usual random

Impending Wedding

I've been busy going here and there for my brother's wedding. Since sometimes I went alone or with my sister most of the bridal boutiques automatically assume this wedding is for me. Haha. Even the new maid at my sister's house thought that the impending marriage preparation is for my wedding because she had never seen my husband. This only shows that my husband had been away far too long. Bah! But it is still fun to prepare for the wedding. . My brother is like "whatever.. ", so the sisters are having all the fun. The downside to this is I'm broke.

Love & Other Drugs

I'd watched Love & Other Drugs. It was so sweet. Granted you need to watch it uncensored because there's a lot of nudity going on there especially involving Anne Hathaway boobs. And by typing that out, I'd guaranteed there will be some stray that will stumbled into my blog looking for that. Back to the movie, I thought it is gonna be more dark and serious, but most of the time it is funny and sweet. I did wish it'd been a bit more serious, but hey, it was still good. And I recommend it to you, watch with your friends ( to comment on Jake Gylenhall and Anne Hathaway bits) . Or your married spouse (for the same reason while laughing at the sex). I am not promoting for unmarried couples nor I tegah also.

I think I look fat. No. I know I look fat.

I think I mentioned so many times I need to diet. Cakap banyak, satu haprak action tiada. And now I have to. My pants are now becoming leggings and I am severely unhappy about it. It is either wearing baju kurung all the time now or buying more pants which is not an option because, moi, broke, si? And wearing baju kurung all the time, is also like. NO. So come on Dila, don't be a fattie. Sigh. Exercise is such a chore. I am always incredulous when I heard of people saying things like " I love working out". Why can't I be one of those people?

X: Men & McAvoy

X: Men First Class trailer is now out. Despite James McAvoy in it, I am not impressed. The trailer underwhelmed me. So. Gah! Emma Frost looks hot though, but James McAvoy does not move me there. Please let it be good. The only James McAvoy coming out soon is Gnomeo and Juliet and he is not onscreen!

Well, sampai sini sahaja. I think it should be some time for some proper post. But I am not in the mood to be serious in blog nowadays!

Zombies Apocalypse : White Meat or Dark Meat?

Did not mean that in racial term or disgusting term ( suddenly am reminded of a certain hilarious smut manga).  Had just been watching The Walking Dead and the character said something along the line of "There is no longer, white, nigger or white trash. There is only white meat or dark meat. White meat is the alive and dark is the dead." Excellent series. I implore you to join me in my zombies frenzy and be disgusted together watching the series.

So the question is will you be a zombie or a survivor? So in line with AMC awesome new show. It got me thinking, if say we are in the midst of a zombies apocalypse, how sure are we that we can survive? I mean sure, we saw all these movies that the people somehow manage to dodge all these zombies lunging at them. While random strangers suddenly shrieking, gone down, is now dinner. So why the other people who got eaten, got eaten? Are you following my logic here?

So in various zombies movies rules, here's MY probability predictions if you are more likely to survive or chomp on some poor soul brains.

• If you are a woman: are you a hooker ?

• If not, do you sleep around and are proud of it?

• Are you racist and not afraid to make your view known?

• Are you incline to be violent or had records/moments of violence? 

• Are you obese/fat?

• Were you involved in any way beforehand in the creation of said zombie apocalypse?

If you say yes to any of the above, I'll say about 90% chance you're most probably gonna be lunging around groaning for some fresh meat or fresh meat strewn across the street. 

• Are you above 19 yrs old? 

• Are you consider as a minority group/race?

• Were/was you a hooker/stripper ? Were is the definitive word here. Basically had you resigned from such profession in search for greener pasture before the T-Virus Rage Virus zombie apocalypse came upon us?

• Do you work in a secret underground office dealing with biological/pharmaceuticals stuffs?

• Are you a single father with child in tow?

• Do you have a hero complex?

Do you say yes to any? I say you stand 50-50 chance of surviving.

What about those who stand a very good chance of surviving eh. If you are any of the below, most probably you'll be riding to some forsaken land somewhere while the sun set.

• In a group of survivor, you are the only teen/child. 

• You are a single mother with child in tow. 

• Female with a knack in weaponry. (and moral tendencies) 

• You have mutant abilities.

• You are a retired stripper with machine gun as leg. I mean really. If you're dead when you've machine gun as leg, you just got what's coming.

Yeah, I ran out of scenarios after I put mutant abilities there. Feel free to add em!

Amidst it all

I was reading the reviews on 'I Spit On Your Grave' and horrifyingly despite the reviewers pleas to not fall into the producers expectations; incredibly bad reviews to draw audiences out to see if its as bad as they say, I am a little intrigued. 

Is it as bad as they say it is? Does the film only portray violence and nothing of value can come out of it? I noticed at first that Roger Ebert was disgusted by movies by Tarantino and movies like Kick Ass, where he said the movies just promote senseless violence. While in other reviews I found out that the reviewers are saying movies are depicting senseless violence because it is senseless. Violence nowadays is senseless. 

So what exactly the movie should be? Should it portrayed the reality of senseless violence or bring a moral value or food for thoughts to the viewers to think about violence? Where does the line of portraying and promoting comes in? 

And I am torn either way. I do think the violence and graphic sex need not be shown. Old movies does not showed it, and I think they give wonderful performances and audience know exactly the passion and feelings of the scene without those scenes. 

Long ago, a kiss on the screen was considered as taboo. Cleavage can only be shown just a hint of it. (and in Malay cinemas I think we are going a backwards instead of 'forward', more sexiness was shown then rather than now). Nowadays for an actress to get a first best actress nomination ,they must at least show boobs to show their commitment to their roles (what gives?). Then, full frontal male nudity is not usually shown, but it is slowly getting there. So when I have kids, I will expect a full on sex show during family hours clearly showing vags and poles? ( And True Blood is not a show you want to watch with the whole family eh?)

I may watch my zombies flick and B rated movies about monsters eating humans, however... I have to say I squirmed whenever I watch movie in the like of Saw or Hostel. I hate torture porn. Yes, that's what it called. Torture porn. But I have to wonder too, if the other movies (of zombies and monsters) is the same thing. Fantasy violence is still violence.So where do you draw the line? When you squirmed watching it or when you enjoyed watching it? And why are you (and me) so proud when we say that we enjoyed watching these kinda things?

I mean there's ego, trolling... and there is just plain enjoyment. Like you wouldn't mind doing that to another person. And don't answer egotistically in the comments saying "I can watch Saw while eating and shagging a kitten.". I mean really... if you found yourself enjoying them, aren't you a little afraid of yourself? 

p/s: Nampak gaya long blog post can now only be done during cuti.

Inception

I will parrot what others had blogged.

Go in there blind and you'll be blown away.

Each and everyone one of the cast is incredibly GREAT in the their roles and it is hard to think of a single bad thing to say in this movie.

And can I also add, how incredibly awesome Joseph Gordon-Levitt in this role. I am just a little bit in love with him.

Go watch it!

Back From Holiday

 Taken around 7 am at Langkawi. The sea was warm even in the early morning and cool in the hot sun.

I mean from this sight at Langkawi to getting back to work tomorrow. Bah! Ain't that depressing. 

Got back on Thursday evening, then picked up the cats and got a staggeringly high bills for the pet boarding that almost keeled me over. 

Then come night I am the one that is keeling over the toilet throwing up all over the place. As usual, I would get sick after a long holiday. I spend the whole night either throwing up or shitting. It is not pleasant. Yes, not pleasant to you readers too, but its need to be said. 

So on Friday, the only thing I can manage is to stare at the TV to watch How I Met Your Mother Season 5. Not so awesome. Yeah, I think Season 5 is the weakest season so far. It got a few high points, but most of the time I can only muster a smile. Ah well. 

Oh did we say that we went to Batu Feringghi for some dvds. My sole purpose is to buy Medium, but they had not yet have Medium. Gah! I need my serial killer fix damn it. And usually Medium served up the horror without the gore and no, thanks, I will wait before watching Dexter. I mean does Dexter have a killer who stuff a body of a toddler into a toy box that used to have a toddler toy in it?

So my husband bought The Big Bang Theory, which was ok enough because it have a lot of geeks and  nerds reference to bring out a laugh but nothing really extraordinary.

And a few movies of course 2 of which we had bought.

Date Night - Good comedy, nice down to earth feels to it. But I was either too sick/mengantuk/drugged out to concentrate much, so I feel it is just ok.

She's out of my league - A bit of There's Something About Mary. Funny, hilarious at the moment. But again. Nothing really extraordinary.

I am the type of viewer who like to feel connected to the characters, and all of the characters I watched on the movie above is either blah or I don't really care about. So yeah, those 2 movies are forgettable enough.

Movie ape lagi yek, oh ye. The Lovely Bones and Sunshine Cleaning. Maybe next week.

And I am ending this post now because I am trying to watch either the Big Bang Theory or Mercy.

Oscars thoughts churned out loud

Because the Oscars had just passed by so am feeling a bit excited. A little bit about the Oscars.

The awards ceremony

Missed the NPH opening songs, which is a shame!

It was a WTF-had-happened moment, when the Best Documentary Short speech was "Kanye West" (everyone seems to be calling it that). It was incredibly funny seeing the guy standing there with a look like " I would strangle this woman but I'm on TV" and the woman continue to yammer on.

I like that "Paranormal Activity" spoof. I think it was hilarious. 

While it was certainly nice to see the horror montage, I questioned why Jaws, Silence of the Lambs and Edward Scissorhands are thrown in the mix. And Twilight is not a horror movie!!! Calling it a supernatural love story is more appropriate. I most certainly love seeing The Blob montage. That movie was awesomely B-movieish. As also The Slugs. And The Hand. Which comes to another point, that I am most certainly ANTICIPATING the new Freddy Krueger movie.

I covet that woman who won Costume Design award, look. I love, love, love her hat/headpiece. I think its a hat. But on second thought it maybe a headpiece because it seems so stuck to her hair? But I love it anyway Ok. Its a shiny beret and its awesome! .

While I do reasonably like Barbara Streisand, I hate her last night when she presents the Best Director .. "for the first time ever...it could be a woman, it could be a African-American", so the other people don't matter? 

Up is deserving of its Best Original Score. Whenever I heard that song, I feel like ballroom dancing, even though I don't know how.

The fashion. 

People may hate on Zoe Saldana dress. But I. LOVE. IT. I wish there were more fluffy balls of pouffi-ness around her dress! I would totally wear that going up and down the stairs 30 times just to see it bounce around me. AND THAT WOULD TOTALLY MAKE A GOOD WORKOUT REGIME!

The trends on a strapless dress is really making me weary. Especially for wedding dresses. Most wedding dresses that I seen in blogs and weddings (western style I meant) always push for strapless. And some of the women choosing to wear this strapless dress, their breasts looks sad and droopy (yes, I can call it because it does seems to look that way). An example of an Oscar strapless dress that is a a bit ugh

 Not that it is terrible, it just seems unsuitable for her.


And I kinda am digging Diane Kruger ruffles and chiffon dress.. 

The movies itself. 

I usually watch the movies after the award itself. But the only movies I really want to watch are The Hurt Locker, An Education and Up In The Air. So tengok la bile I got the chance.



Credits: 
Zoe Saldana: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/07/zoe-saldana-oscars-2010-p_n_489298.html
Miley Cyrus: http://www.popeater.com/2010/03/07/miley-cyrus-oscars-dress/ 
Diane Kruger:  http://www.usmagazine.com/stylebeauty/news/love-it-or-hate-it-diane-krugers-oscar-gown-201083

Red go-go boots and a sinister box

Things been ahappening during the weekend. Mainly cleaning the new house. Yes, my husband and I have bought a house and in the process of well, kemas and whatever. Long arduous process and that would take another post which I would later tell, if my husband don't

Anyway, terasa macam nak tulis review muvi. So here it is.

All About Steve

What its about? 
Sandra Bullock (Mary) is a socially awkward woman who fell in love with Steve (Bradley Cooper) and followed him through the country.

• Thought I would hate the movie, but I did enjoyed it. 
• Mary is silly and a bit insane but endearing. 
• You can drown in Bradley Cooper's eyes. 
• The movie is good for relaxing as there is nothing exceptional going on, but the silliest thing. 
• Not Sandra Bullock best movie, but she seems to be having fun. 
• Basically a mediocre fare with that I will compare and rate it to 2 decent bruschetta

The Box

What its about? 
A couple (James Marsden and Cameron Diaz) is presented with a box with button and given a choice. If they push the button, they will receive a million dollar but some random person in the world that they don't know will die. If they don't, well, nothing will happen basically.

• Horrible, boring movie. Was literally bored to tears. 
• Kept on repeating to self and husband... "I don't understand this movie." "I don't get it" "Damn, this is boring". 
• There are some scenes that literally do not make any sense in any way I try to think of it. I understood the message, but the story and scenes ? Not so much.There are some that I go like .... why the hell do they even show that if that does not help the story!
  
• The movie is actually an adaptation of a short story "Button, Button" (I think that is the title). The story was either poorly executed, should not be translated to screen for more than an hour of viewing or should stay as a written short story and be left clearly alone. 
• James Marsden as an eye candy, could not save this movie for me. 
• The only good points I could think of: James Marsden is a darling. He and Cameron Diaz got some pretty good chemistry. 
  
• My advice is : Stay the hell away. It would be better if you read the book. If I would rate it, I would just give it a paltry 1 green M&Ms.
  

Mewayang and a book

For a couple of weeks had been watching movies with my husband... and many of those I like. But hey, I even like Legally Blondes (with the S), so my taste in movies can also be questionable.

The Hangover

Image from www.impawards.com 

Manage to watch it last week and it was HILARIOUS. I was laughing out loud many, many times . The jokes were spot on and even the most wildly inappropriate one doesn't feel inappropriate. And I hate movies like Click, Ace Ventura, Pink Panther, and the likes. So this comedy feels refreshing, funny yet not slapsticky. I wonder how Hangover 2 is gonna play out?

Avatar

Image from www.examiner.com

The story is kinda cheesy and cliche. I can basically know what is going to happen before it happened. But the visual effect and all those CGI thingies is really lovely. However how cheesy or cliche the story is, it is pretty watchable and worth your money for the blu ray or whatever new tech it might come up next.

500 Days of Summer

 Image from www.obsessedwithfilm.com

Incredibly sweet and lovely tho a bit draggy at times. A story for the people who had gone through heartbreak and trying/used to figure out what went wrong. I like the concept of a non-linear storyline and IKEA must had sponsored a bulk of the expense eh. And maintaining the story from Tom P.O.V and leaving us to wonder about Summer at the same time as his, make us felt the same frustrations as he did. Why not him? Most of all , I like the story of a love that is not meant to be.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Because I will be malas to create another post here's my thoughts

• Not as funny as I thought it would be
• Not as gory as I thought it would be
• Not funny, but pretty amusing from time to time. 
• Seth Grahame Smith does change the storyline to a more satisfying end, especially to the villain of this story. I like this book ending rather than the original one.
• I kinda hate Elizabeth on this book. I guess the talk of "I am the best warrior... bla bla bla" is kinda tiring and annoying. Because she said it almost every fricking time. 
• Overall, I think the book is fun to read because of Jane Austen writing and the presence of zombies and the Longbourn girls as warriors is something of a fun twist to add to it. The illustrations help in adding fuel to the imagination, however I don't think it is that funny. In this book, I don't laugh, I merely smiled. So... I don't think so I will be buying Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters as I guess I enjoyed the original more.I would still watch the movie though.
  

Anyone out there got a more enjoyable zombies story books that they can recommend? Because I just thought that I seems to find a lot of vampires, demons and werewolves books but never zombies.

short post on things I am excited about

except this tuna sandwich I bought from Cold Storage that I had just eaten. I gagged a bit when I'd taken the first bite, but you can give me a maggot sandwich and I would eat it because I had paid money for it. Urgh...

No. 1 thing that I am excited about. Coraline is nominated for a Golden Globes! I like the book, and love the movie. It have an eerie charm about it and shivers me timbers! Great news for Neil Gaiman and filmmakers everywhere whom will now be interested in making movies based on Neil Gaiman works. Pleaseee do a film on Neverwhere, pleaseee.

Also the other thing that make me bite my tongue to prevent me from squealing out loud and at the same time gagging from the horrendous tuna sandwich I am chewing is the awesome, awesome teaser poster of Chuck for Season 3.

Really awesome. It would be even more awesome if Adam Baldwin is also there looking bewildered while glowering (because I loveeee, loveeeee, looooveeee him especially when he glowered). I know some of you would appreciate this poster so I took it from Ausiello and share it to the mass.

Later.

Random Reviews

Book: Contest

Pic taken from fantasticfiction.co.uk

 I thought I wouldn't enjoyed it. It is a book about aliens! I hate any stories about aliens. I don't even enjoy E.T. But Effi might complained that the book is dumb down, I say its fine the way it is, because if it try to act anymore clever, I will not enjoyed reading it.

Its a kinda like Aliens VS Predators, plus more aliens! Except for the human participation in it. Light action read I should say.

Reels: Zombieland.

Pic taken from iwatchstuff.com

Yoda is right. It is lulzy. The rules ala-ala Zombie Survival Guide is awesome. Beware of bathroom! Double Tap!

Not as funny as Shaun of the Dead but it have its funny moments. The Bill Murray thing, was equally funny but on the other hand rather stupid. My fav is Woody Harrelson. He is such a badass! I kept on getting him confused with Matthew McConaughey throughout the whole movie because they look kinda similar and McConaughey always played the macho western with swagger and drawl type of roles.

TVs: Nur Kasih

Pic taken from a forum carigold.com which I believe is taken from Nur Kasih official TV3 site.

The end is rather anti climactic don't ya think?

Hahahahaa. Yes, yes I do watch TV Melayu sometimes since my brother is such a fan of them (he will not admit it, and whenever we are in the vicinity he will quickly change the channel to sport because we will tease him mercilessly by singing the song "Gerak Khas". He is in denial that he was a fan. ) I kinda follow the drama and get why everyone are so into it. It is a rather clever, beautifully shot show. And the dialogue does not make you feel like punching the throat of the scriptwriter. But the last episode is kinda meh for me.

Not necessarily a fan though, like say the options of going out vs Nur Kasih, I will pilih to go out (kecuali the last episode sebab even though I do know the ending, I want to see how it all wrapped up).

p/s: The last review I just tacked in, because Random Reviews does not see so random reviews when you reviewed only 2 things.

Shopgirl : A movie I watched 3 years ago and tetiba teringin nak blog about it

For as long as I can remember, if I start watching a movie. I mean really start watching a movie, (not sambil tengok sambil meandering buat mende lain) I would finish it. But I can't finish Shopgirl.

If you had never heard of it, well, good for you. Starring Claire Danes, Steve Martin and Jason Schwartzman. I bought it on an impulse because it got Claire Danes. I like Claire Danes ever since My So Called Life. Her work is pretty diverse, she's pretty and can act. Some people said she is a bit cold and offish. And the funny thing is, she alwayysss seems to hook up with her co-stars. So she might be interesting at the very least, if her co-stars find her that interesting and fall for her. She even manage to steal Billy Crudup away from his pregnant gf (the likable Mary-Louise Parker) and not cause a major scandal like Team Angelina/Team Jolie or LeAnn Rimes proportions. Hoh. Then she dumped Billy Crudup for the dishy Hugh Dancy. Hah! (Sheesh, I know a lot of Hollywood gossip)

Now, so my problem lies not with Claire Danes, even when she played the really unlikable character of Ann in Evening, I still enjoyed Evening. The problem is with the 2 heroes of the movie. In the movie Roy (Steve Martin) is the rich suave playboy 'mengayat' Mirabelle (Claire Danes). If you grew up with The Father of the Bride where now if you think about it, Claire Danes can basically be his grandchild, I am a little sick to the stomach. In here he obviously treated Mirabelle a little higher than a hooker and a bit lower than a mistress. Urgh. And Mirabelle is crazy in love with him.

Then the other hero is (Jeremy) Jason Schwartzman. He maybe kinda cute, but not in this movie. Not at all. There was a scene where Mirabelle went a date with Jeremy, and after she paid for their date and came the make out session, Jeremy stop for a while mentioning that he don't have a condom and would a plastic bag would be ok. Urgh. Yeuch. And unhygienic. And Mirabelle reaction to Jeremy is also understandable.

After a few more scenes that is equally depressing I just shut off the DVD player altogether. It just make me feel loya and pening. And I never want to see even a hint of sex scene involving Steve Martin ever again. Thank you very much.

Some critics called it thought provoking. And whatever. I think the critics may well be just depressed themselves.

Though I did read a wiki entry on the movie after 3 years of not opting to watch it, and read that at last Jeremy cleaned up, win Mirabelle heart after all and Roy turned out regretting his choice of not treating Mirabelle right after all because he actually love her.

Yeah. I just told you the whole plot of the movie as you would better spend your time pruning your bonsai plant than watch this.


p/s: Eh. I am on a blog roll this week! Woot woot!