† Another Alien Invading Earth Movie: Skyline †

People just love watching the same thing over and over again don't they? Aliens invading Earth themed movies were produced in different titles such as 'Independence Day', 'War of the World', 'The Arrival' and now in 2010, 'Skyline'.

Yeah I would say this is a very typical and boring themed movie but what has made this movie different from others is the producers: Colin Strause and Greg Strause, also known as 'Brothers Strause'. Whats so significant about them? In case you don't know, they are the one who have been responsible for the visual effects in dozens of blockbuster movies like Avatar, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, X Men 3, Wolverine, Terminator 3, 2012, Wanted, The Day After Tomorrow, 300 and more. So this time, they're going to make it big in their own project. 

Interesting Scenes:

Aliens hunting down the humans by pulling them into the ship via some anti-gravity device.

Human uses their best weapon a.k.a. nuclear bomb to gun down the aliens not knowing that these aliens are using some kind bio-organic-metal that enable them to auto-repair the ship.

 Armies shooting gigantic alien creatures with their pathetic bazooka.

Air forces including stealth aircraft battling the alien ship. This scene is really impressive.

My Thoughts:

The Good:
1. Really good graphic and visual effects.
2. Unexpectedly suspend and scary.

The Bad:
1. Lousy ending.
2. Too much of quarreling and debating.
3. Simple plot.

Conclusion: Worth watching? Why not? Or perhaps you rather spend another extra bucks for 3D MegaMind.

Predator 1987 vs Predators 2010

Predator 1987 vs Predators 2010, how does the new version compare with the original version? The 1987 original has become a modern classic regarded as an ultra-tough action film, led by the one and only Arnold Schwarzenegger.

THE CLASSIC

I still remember how my dad first introduced me to this movie back in 1990 when I was 6 years old. I wasn't that interested with army war type of show and I still remember my attention was totally off the television when I see Arnold acted as Dutch, the commander of an elite force, holding his gun shooting at the terrorists in the jungle.


The strange thing was that, there were so many infrared heat sensor scenes being showed in the movie and I don't understand what on Earth this heat sensor things got to do with the whole stories.


Here comes the fun part: Dutch and his crew was ambushed by an outer space, high-tech, laser-equipped and invisible alien known as the predator. This thing can not only turn camouflage like a chameleon, it can also attacks human with all its super high tech weapons, as well as seeing human via its heat sensing visor.


"If it bleeds, we can kill it..." A memorable quote by Dutch. Well said, Dutch found a way to hide his body heat from the predator and his new aim was to kill the predator instead of escaping.


The truth under the mask: You're one ugly motha farka. I can never expect a godlike predator has such distorted face. Well then, nothing is perfect.

PRESENT DAY

In Predators 2010, the storyline is rather more confusing and its not as simple straight forward as the previous one.


In the new version, the heroes are not as tough as the previous one especially the team leader, Royce acted by Adrien Brody. The one and only remarkable thing about him is that, this guy is faster than the old bulky Dutch.


I guess if the producer just wanna copy the previous script, it would be firstly, too boring to watch a same script twice and secondly, the original one was too good especially when it is acted by Arnold. Thus, to make the whole new movie looks good and unique, the whole hunting progress takes place in an unknown alien planet.


Well, what I guess was right: Writer/producer Robert Rodriguez admitted that "we can't compete with Arnold, so its much better to go another direction to do something unexpected". In my opinion, Predators 2010 is considered 'not bad' but of course, most people watch this movie simply because of the original one. If you haven't watch the original Predator 1987, I think its time that you should go grab one DVD or you can download the movie from here via torrent.

† Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence: What A Cocktail †

Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (戦場のメリークリスマス in Japanese) is a classic movie produced in 1983, directed by Nagisa Oshima.


The synopsis: In 1941, Jack Celliers, a British soldier comes to a Japanese prison camp. The camp is operated by Yonoi, who has a firm belief in discipline, honour and glory. In his point of view, the allied prisoners are cowards if they chose to surrender instead of committing suicide via seppuku. One of the prisoners, John Lawrence the interpreter, tries to explain the Japanese way of thinking, but is considered a traitor etc...

I'm not so interested with the storyline but the theme song of the movie with the title 'Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence' caught my attention. Here's the trailer and do pay attention to the background music that sound so traditionally Japanese. Also click here to listen to the original version.


The theme song becomes popular again after almost two decades when it is sang in Utada Hikaru's version. Thanks to the fusion style of traditional and hip-hop, Utada Hikaru's Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence really make a big hit in many countries. Click here to listen Utada Hikaru's version.


Ryuichi Sakamota's piano version is a master piece that one must not miss. The song hits its peak when the strings flow in along with his harmonious piano melody.


If you're a guitarist, you must also pay extra attention to Oshio Kotaro's amazing guitar play on this song. I've never seen someone play like his way other than Erik Mongrain that I mentioned in my previous blogpost.

Seriously, what a cocktail for this song.

† A Magical Christmas Movie: A Christmas Carol †

Disney's "A Christmas Carol" is an animated retelling of Charles Dickens' classic novel. This is a great film to watch during Christmas season. Its a simple but very meaningful film. What impresses me the most is its Christmas soundtracks and thank God I've owned all the songs now.


The story goes like this: Ebenezer Scrooge, a bitter old man who is selfish and keeping himself nasty to everyone around him for years.


During one of the Christmas eve, he is visited by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley, who is now forced to spend his afterlife carrying heavy chains forged from his own greedy ways.


Marley warns Scrooge that he will suffer an even worse fate if he doesn't repent, and foretells that he will be haunted by three spirits that will help guide him.


The first spirit who visits him is the Ghost of Christmas Past, a small ghost made of fire, shows Scrooge visions of his own past that take place on or around the Christmas season, reminding him of how he ended up the greedy man he is now.


The second ghost is the Ghost of Christmas Present who laughs most of time, shows Scrooge the happiness of his fellow men on Christmas day.


The third and final spirit, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, shows Scrooge the final consequences of his greed.


Because of the three Christmas ghosts, Scrooge begins to realize how most of his life has been wasted because of wealth. Ever since that day, Scrooge has changed to become a nice and loving old man.

† 2012 Doom's Day †

This is the first day screening of the movie '2012' and I'm lucky enough to get the ticket in time. This view of the poster truly attracts my attention to watch this movie.

The storyline of this movie is rather simple: ancient Mayan's prophecy has come true and doom's day is happening in year 2012.

Where else can everyone escape to? Earth quakes, landslides, uncontrolled volcanic explosions, tsunami are happening everywhere.

The whole show was about how the main character Jackson Curtis escapes from the catastrophic events with his family members. Simple storyline, but exciting! Don't forget about the ending theme 'Time For Miracles' sang by Adam Lambert. This piece of song has a pretty good melody.

† The Lost Room †

I've spent my whole day watching this 3 episodes of mini series called "The Lost Room". To be honest, this show is simply terrific! It is a science fiction series about a non-existed room and some of the very common everyday items from that room which possess unusual power once they are brought out from the room.

The storyline is about Joe Miller who accidentally obtains an unknown key that has the ability to open any door around him as long as the door has a knob and a key hole. Whenever the door is opened, there will be a room appears in front of his view even if he uses the key to open a public toilet.

Due to certain conflicts over the key, Joe's daughter is trapped in the room and disappeared. In order to find his daughter, Joe has to find out the origin of the mysterious room.

According the the series I've watched, the room is the non-existent room 10 at the abandoned Sunshine Motel somewhere in Mexico. In year 1961, something happened at room 9 of that motel, causing all these phenomena to occur.

From what I've learned from the series, room 10 can only be assessed by the key holder. The key holder can bring anyone into the room but they must leave the room together or else when the room door is closed, the person inside the room will disappear just like Joe's daughter into an unknown place. Even if an object is left in the room, once the door is closed and reopened again, the object will vanish.

The fun part is that, Joe realizes that there are up to 100 items in the room and these items (known as 'The Objects' in the series) are indestructible outside the room. All of them have unique and unbelievable abilities for instance, a pen that can produce microwaves that burns an object, a scissor that turns anything upside down and many more. However in the series, some objects for example the television seen in the picture above, the power is remained unknown.

Apparently there are a few rules can be observed in the series. One of it is that I mentioned about anything that is left in the room will disappear once the door is closed. However, this rule does not apply on The Objects. Interestingly The Objects will reset to the place they are supposed to be. For instance, the pen will always to be seen on the table whenever the door is opened even if it is thrown under the bed.

Joe learns a lot about the room however there are no answer for the existence of this room. Apparently people are still looking for the answer and even the person who were directly involved in the 1961 incident didn't even know about the cause and the source.

Personally I think this is a great series to watch and I do hope the second part will be released although I have a feeling that there won't be any second part.

† Yama Onna Kabe Onna: Simply Enjoyable †

Yama Onna Kabe Onna (山おんな壁おんな) is a Japanese comedy series that makes me laugh no matter how many times I've watched. The word yamma means mountain (山) while the word kabe means wall (壁).

The series features Megumi Aoyagi, a career woman who is popular at her workplace due to her superb performance in selling handbags.

Other than her outstanding ability in promoting handbags, Aoyagi is also a career minded woman who is able to make strong decisions, bringing numerous chances of revival for her department. There are many times that her department is facing critical moments but things often turns out positive thanks to her help.

Aoyagi may seem strong and elegant outside but deep inside her heart, she carries an inferior complex with regard to her flattened chest and that is how she obtains the nickname "wall woman" (kabe onna) eversince the appearance of Marie Mariya the "mountain woman" with big breast in her department.

On top of Mariya's well proportioned body figure, Mariya is also gifted in promoting handbags to the customers without much efforts. Aoyagi finds her position and status in the department has turned out to be unstable.

However, Aoyagi and Mariya's friendship has been built up through numerous obstacles and difficulties as they work side by side in the same bag department.

Personally I think this series is worth watching. To be honest, I wasn't that interested with this series when my friend Alvin first introduced me to it a year ago. However, after 15 minutes of watching, this comedy turned out to be hilarious. Therefore I would say this series is simply enjoyable and unique!