Mitch Albom's The Time Keeper

Synopsis

In this stunning new novel, the inventor of the world's first clock is punished for trying to measure time. He is banished to a cave for centuries and forced to listen to the voices of all who come after him seeking more years for themselves. At last, with his soul nearly broken, Father Time is granted his freedom, along with a mission: a chance to redeem himself by teaching two earthly people the true meaning of time.

He returns to our world - now dominated by the obsession with time he so innocently began - and commences a journey with two unlikely partners: one a teenage girl who is about to give up on life, the other a wealthy old businessman who wants to live forever. To save himself, he must save them both. And stop the world to do so.

Gripping, simply told and filled with deep human truth, this unforgettable story will inspire readers everywhere to reconsider their own notions of time, how they spend it and how precious it truly is.

Quotes

Try to imagine a life without timekeeping. You probably can’t. You know the month, the year, the day of the week. There is a clock on your wall or the dashboard of your car. You have a schedule, a calendar, a time for dinner or a movie. Yet all around you, timekeeping is ignored. Birds are not late. A dog does not check its watch. Deer do not fret over passing birthdays. an alone measures time. Man alone chimes the hour. And, because of this, man alone suffers a paralyzing fear that no other creature endures. A fear of time running out.

Consider the word “time.” We use so many phrases with it. Pass time. Waste time. Kill time. Lose time. In good time. About time. Take your time. Save time. A long time. Right on time. Out of time. Mind the time. Be on time. Spare time. Keep time. Stall for time. There are as many expressions with “time” as there are minutes in a day. But once, there was no word for it at all. Because no one was counting. Then Dor began. And everything changed.

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Movie: Pacific Rim (2013) in 3D

To fight monsters we created monsters

Pacific Rim (2013) is AWESOME!

No worries, no spoilers at all.

You just need to remember two things: massive robots called Jaeger (German for "Hunter") and giant monsters called Kaiju from a portal between dimensions opened at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. Kaiju (Japanese for "strange beast") means giant monsters from Japanese sci-fi movies, such as Godzilla.

Then, just lean back and enjoy multiple impressive and intense digital fight sequences between Jaegers and Kaijus.

The movie's soundtrack composed by Ramin Djawadi adds necessary gravity and grandeur. The cast, especially Idris Elba as Stacker Pentecost, commanding officer of the Jaeger project gives a very convincing performance. He exudes a lot of authority effortlessly and you could feel the weight of the world on his shoulders when he shouts, "Today, we cancel the apocalypse!" 

Most importantly, the Jaegers are too darn handsome!

[Photo source]

Gipsy Danger

Striker Eureka

Cherno Alpha

 

Coyote Tango

 Crimson Typhoon

You must watch this movie!

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The New Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko

The New Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko - volume five of the Night Watch series: Night Watch, Day Watch, Twilight Watch, The Last Watch.

Synopsis:

At Moscow airport, Higher Light Magician Anton Gorodetsky overhears a child screaming that a plane is about to crash. He discovers that the child is a Prophet: an Other with the gift of foretelling the future. When the catastrophe is averted, Gorodetsky senses a disruption in the natural order, one that is confirmed by the arrival of a dark and terrifying predator.

From the Night Watch headquarters Gorodetsky travels to London, to Taiwan and across Russia in search of clues, unearthing as he goes a series of increasingly cataclysmic prophecies. He soon realizes that what is at stake is the existence of the Twilight itself - and that only he will be able to save it.

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Movie: The Pact (2012)

Are you alone in your house?

The Pact (2012) is a horror movie feature debut by Nicholas McCarthy.

Synopsis: When her mother dies, Annie (Caity Lotz) comes back to her childhood house to meet her sister Nicole (Agnes Bruckner) for the funeral, only to find Nicole missing. Soon after, strange disturbances start to happen in the house. With the help of Officer Bill Creek (Casper Van Dien), Annie begins to unravel the mystery about her mother's dark past that might cost her life.

This movie is not your standard ghost story because it has a surprising twist! In fact, it's a hybrid of both the supernatural and psychological thriller.

There are quite a number of scary bits, most of them dwelling on Annie's slow, unguessable movements in the house, eerie phone messages that show up on their own, passing shadows, and especially the tense buildup of putting pieces of information together towards the big reveal aka the final twist.

This is a pretty good indie horror movie; it's made with a small budget and not marred by your usual dosage of Hollywood horror thingamajig.

If you are looking for a different genre of lightweight horror movie, you would like this one.

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Movie: The Tall Man (2012)

Fear Takes A New Shape

The Tall Man (2012) is a mystery-thriller movie written and directed by Pascal Laugier.

Synopsis: Julia Denning (Jessica Biel) is a widow living in rural town Cold Rock in Washington. She stays and works as the town's local nurse after the doctor - her husband - passed away. Rumor has it that the town's children are kidnapped by "The Tall Man". When Julia's son is kidnapped, she tries to find him and the kidnapper. Who is 'The Tall Man'? What is the truth behind the kidnappings?

I like this verdict: The Tall Man is a spooky and atmospheric little thriller that contains some actual and unexpected surprises, which is rare for a thriller. It also manages to take its spooky ghost story premise, and turn it into something else entirely, ultimately turning the film into a social comment on wealth.

The twist-ending is not something you would expect. In the end, the movie leaves you with questions about the society. Are we aware of how messed up our current society is? Are we doing anything about it? Even if we do take actions, are our actions justifiable?

I don't know.

If you're the kind who enjoy no-nonsense, thought-provoking mini thrillers, you should watch this movie.

2

Movie: Wreck-It Ralph (2012)

Wreck-It Ralph (2012) is an animated family comedy movie.

Synopsis from IMDb: Wreck-It Ralph longs to be as beloved as his game's perfect Good Guy, Fix-It Felix. Problem is, nobody loves a Bad Guy. But they do love heroes... so when a modern, first-person shooter game arrives featuring tough-as-nails Sergeant Calhoun, Ralph sees it as his ticket to heroism and happiness. He sneaks into the game with a simple plan - win a medal - but soon wrecks everything, and accidentally unleashes a deadly enemy that threatens every game in the arcade. Ralph's only hope? Vanellope von Schweetz, a young trouble-making "glitch" from a candy-coated cart racing game who might just be the one to teach Ralph what it means to be a Good Guy. But will he realize he is good enough to become a hero before it's "Game Over" for the entire arcade?

Quoting this review, "Wreck-It Ralph, the latest Disney animation, isn't a movie of a video game. The movie is a video game, with video game jokes, video game noises, video game cameos and a blocky, 8-bit video game villain." True indeed!

If you're a gamer (sadly I'm not), you will recognize many games characters (of which I don't. :P)

The thing I like the most about Wreck-It Ralph is the brilliant world it's built in, especially the littlest details of various video games. They let you take a peek into what could be happening in each video game station when they cease action at the end of business day. Brilliant! 

Oh, and the captivating colors of the set pieces! Amazing! The array of colors in Sugar Rush reminds me of Candy Crush. LOL!

Anyway, I'm so glad I manage to catch this awesome movie on DVD. Watching it in cinema would be much better but too bad I missed the showtimes earlier this year.

If you haven't watched this movie yet, do get yourself a DVD! :D

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Current pursuit: Freedom & fire

Photo source

~ Freedom ~

Freedom is not about doing what you like to do;
freedom is about not doing what you don't like to do.


~ Fire ~

Girl on Fire by Alicia Keys

Oh..... we got our feet on the ground
And we're burning it down
Oh..... got our head in the clouds
And we're not coming down


******************************

One day, I won't need to do what I don't like to do. Now, it's time to lay the foundation. Later, it's time to reap the fruits. 

Wait and see. :)

2

Movie: A Good Day to Die Hard (2013)

Like father. Like son. Like hell!

A Good Day to Die Hard (2013) is the fifth movie in the Die Hard movie series.

Synopsis: John McClane (Bruce Willis) flies to Moscow to help his seemingly wayward son Jack (Jai Courtney) in a Russian prison, but discovers that Jack is a CIA operative out to stop a nuclear weapons heist. Now father and son are forced to put aside their differences and battle the Russian underground forces to stop a war.

I couldn't recall how Bruce Willis was like in his previous Die Hard movies as John McClane. I guess he must be quite a memorable character. However, in this fifth movie, I don't really see an impressive McClane in terms of character development.

But, if you're looking for really bad-ass action sequences and stunts, you'll get what you're looking for. In fact, the factors that save this movie from getting too monotonous are the super high-octane actions after actions, be it high-speed car chases, gun fights, and bombings; and a lot of double-crossings and unexpected triple-crossings. 

Then, get ready to listen to cheesy lines between father and son and lots of asinine family bits as they struggle to work together as a team. I guess in the next Die Hard (if there is), we'll see junior McClane replacing senior McClane? I don't know. 

In the end, A Good Day to Die Hard is just another adrenaline-pumping action flick with two heroes who could survive all sorts of accidents, [minor spoiler] including one that involves a burning helicopter.

Having said that, if you're a Bruce Willis fan, you won't want to miss seeing him in action at this age. :)

3

Movie: Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013)

Classic Tale New Twist

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013) is an action-horror-fantasy movie with a twist from the original folk fairy tale "Hansel and Gretel".

Synopsis: Witch hunters Hansel (Jeremy Renner) and Gretel (Gemma Arterton) are in the village of Augsburg where children are abducted by wicked witches. Grand witch Muriel (Famke Janssen) needs the children during the Blood Moon to carry our her evil plan. Hansel and Gretel have to stop her before it's too late.

Let's hear what director Tommy Wirkola has to say: [via] 

"Blood and gore and action, all the stuff that I love... It's definitely an R-rated movie, the first draft has a lot of blood and guts. First and foremost, it's an action movie, I think, with horror elements. And of course some dark humor as well. But the action and horror are the most important feelings I want."

"I loved fairy tales growing up. I used to listen to them on tapes and 'Hansel & Gretel' scared the hell out of me and it always stayed in the back of my head. I always wondered what happened to those characters."

"I have a strong memory from my childhood of just how dark and gruesome their tale was and I wondered what would have happened to the two of them when they grew up? They had this dark past and this intense hatred of witches. So as I thought about it, it made sense to me that of course they would be fated to become great witch hunters. We wanted it to feel like this could be happening 300 years ago but at the same time, there is a modern spin on all the action, characters and weaponry. It was a fun way to make a classical world feel fresh."

Well, in my opinion, there's not much of a storyline to talk about. Almost every scene is about intense action, swearing, hunting down and killing those bloody witches in one way or another. But the visual effects are really fantastic though.

At the end of the movie, my deepest impression is how Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton run everywhere in some steam-punk-ish clothes while toting sinister-looking weapons. 

Not too bad if you enjoy every bit of the action parts. Apart from that, sad to say, there's nothing much to shout about.

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Movie: The Apparition (2012)

Once you believe, you die

The Apparition (2012) is a supernatural horror movie.

Synopsis: When frightening events start to occur in their home, young couple Kelly (Ashley Greene) and Ben (Sebastian Stan) discover they are being haunted by a presence that was accidentally conjured during a university parapsychology experiment. The horrifying apparition feeds on their fear and torments them no matter where they try to run. Their last hope is an expert in the supernatural, Patrick (Tom Felton), but even with his help they may already be too late to save themselves from this terrifying force.

You know what? There are so-called horror movies that are hilariously not scary at all. This is one of them. But there are big names - Ashley Greene (Alice Cullen from the Twilight Saga series) and Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy from the Harry Potter series). It's kinda like a "playground" for young rising stars or something. 

The movie starts off with a grayish 1970s seance experiment scene about conjuring a spirit back into this world. The shooting style reminds me of Paranormal Activity or any of those found-footage horror movies. Nothing revolutionary here. Then, it continues to the plot where three parapsychology students - Patrick, Ben, and Lydia - are trying to replicate the same experiment before whatever written in the synopsis above transpires.

There's not much scare factor but a whole chunk of scientific explanations about spirits, purgatory, supernatural world, so on and so forth. I think director Todd Lincoln wants this to be an intelligent horror movie with scientific twist to differentiate itself from mainstream scary horror movie.

To be honest, if you're not a fan of horror movies but you want to give the horror genre a try, you might be able to stomach this one. Compared to Mama (2013) and Sinister (2012), this movie is nowhere near those two super horror movies. Good luck!

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Movie: Mama (2013)

Mama (2013) is a horror movie directed by Andres Muschietti and produced by Guillermo del Toro.

Synopsis: Five years after a father kidnapped his two young daughters, their uncle, Lucas (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) finally found the girls, Victoria (Megan Charpentier) and Lilly (Isabelle Nélisse), in the cabin where they have been living for the past five years. Lucas and his girlfriend Annabel (Jessica Chastain) manage to obtain custody for the girls with a deal made that the girls' doctor, Dr. Dreyfuss (Daniel Kash) can continue to monitor the girls' progress. Both girls are seen talking to walls and are extremely vicious upon human contact. Lilly can hardly speak and walk. Both girls continue talking about the presence of someone, or something, as "Mama".

I tell you, horror movies with creepy, haunted children are the spookiest kind of horror movies.

The deranged "Mama" ghost is the perfect scare factor that every time she appears, you wouldn't want to look at her at all. "Mama" the ghost or Edith when she was still alive, was a mad woman stricken by grief. Now that she's dead and became a ghost for more than a century, she's an angry ghost, harming everyone who comes between her and the girls. 

I find that this movie is far more chilling in its quieter moments, especially when the girls seem to be so comfortable with the on-and-off presence of Mama. That actually adds a sense of foreboding. 

Megan Charpentier is perfect as Victoria and Isabelle Nélisse as fiercely devoted little Lilly to Mama will scare you silly with her charming smile, awkward silence, and occasional defiant acts. 

Speaking about horror movies with spooky children, I browsed through my blog and found a list:

• The Others (2001); Dark Water (2005)
• The Messengers (2007)
• El Orfanato (The Orphanage) (2008)
• Insidious (2011)
• The Awakening (2011)
• Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (2011)
• The Possession (2012)
• Sinister (2012)

If you are a big fan of horror movies, don't miss watching this one and get spooked by Mama!

Note: Not for the faint-hearted.

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Movie: Here Comes the Boom (2012)

One teacher still believes in fighting for his students.

Here Comes the Boom (2012) is a sports-action-comedy movie directed by Frank Coraci.

Synopsis: Scott Voss (Kevin James) is a lazy and uninspired 42-year old biology teacher at Wilkinson High School who's trying his best to date the school nurse Bella Flores (Salma Hayek). One day, his colleague, music teacher Marty (Henry Winkler) almost loses his job when the school decides to cut off the music program due to budget cutbacks.

Voss attempts to raise the $48,000 necessary to keep the music program alive. While working as a night instructor for a citizenship class, he meets Niko (Bas Rutten) and finds out about mixed martial arts (MMA) fights. He learns that the loser gets to win a lot of money. As a former collegiate wrestler, Voss is convinced that he could join the fights to raise money and save Marty's job. In the end, Scott gains something he never expected as he becomes a sensation that rallies the entire school.

I usually avoid this movie genre - an underdog who rises against all odds and inspires people despite how silly or impossible the situation is. I find it unbelievable because it's not gonna happen in real life. So why bother?

But, after watching this movie, I find that having massive feel-good influx is good for the soul. Yes, in real life Voss would have been killed while contending with those trained-for-life MMA fighters.

However, if we are willing to put aside common sense and just enjoy the moments of how a selfless act could produce so much positive impact to the life of people around you, you will feel so inspired.

Note: The movie has notable air of authenticity due to real Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) branding, e.g. Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg as themselves (commentators) and cameos from real-life UFC fighters.

In summary, I'd say this is a heartwarming sports-action-comedy movie that will keep you engaged - laughing at the funny moments and biting your lips during Voss' fights - from beginning till the end. In the end, you will have lots of feel-good mojo.

2

Movie: Upside Down (2012)

Upside Down (2012) is a romantic fantasy sci-fi movie set in an alternate universe.

Synopsis: Adam (Jim Sturgess) is an orphan living in the slum-like world of 'Down Below'. As a child and throughout teenage years, he meets and falls in love with Eden (Kirsten Dunst), a girl from 'Up Above', an inverted prosperous world. Both worlds - directly opposite each other - have their own gravity and are separated. Going up is strictly forbidden and the only connection between the two worlds is through the "TransWorld". An unfortunate accident happens, separating the two lovebirds for quite a long time. One day, Adam catches a glimpse of Eden on television. Since then, he begins to plot his way of getting back with her.

Here's a little bit of explanation about Adam's and Eden's worlds. Their planet is unique from other planets as it is the only one that has dual gravity. According to the movie, the dual gravity has three rules:

1. All matter is pulled by the gravity of the world that it comes from, and not the other.
2. An object's weight can be offset by matter from the opposite world (inverse matter).
3. After some time in contact, matter in contact with inverse matter burns.

These three rules will explain a lot of scenes in the movie before you start wondering and asking questions about the real law of gravity.

As a romantic sci-fi, this movie is basically a Romeo and Juliet story with a modern twist. Well, they are trying to prove that love is a more powerful law than the law of gravity. Even when two persons are forcefully separated by the law of gravity, love shall prevail. Yada, yada, yada. I'm not trying to be cynical... but I really don't buy the idea of such hyped-up power of love.

Putting love aside, I do like the mind-boggling and beautifully rendered visual effects that give this movie its spectacular feel. The seamless integration of 'Up Above' and 'Down Below' in the same scenes / frames is undoubtedly unique and awesome.

All in all, this movie is quite entertaining. It doesn't have the power to move you to tears because you will be busy admiring the visual effects.

2

Movie: CZ12 (十二生肖) (2012)

CZ12 (十二生肖) (2012) is an action-adventure movie by Jackie Chan.

Synopsis from here: Globe-trotting soldier-of-fortune JC (Jackie Chan) is hired by shady antiques dealers to track down six missing bronze animal-heads by any means necessary. The six bronzes originally formed part of a set of twelve, representing the animals of the Chinese Zodiac, forming part of a fountain in the old Summer Palace outside Beijing; they were looted and dispersed when Anglo-French armies sacked the Summer Palace in 1860.

JC and his crack team of assistants first head to France, where two of the bronzes are believed to be held in a private collection. The operation to 'liberate' the bronzes from a heavily guarded Chateau brings JC into an uneasy alliance with Coco, a Chinese student in Paris, who is active in a global movement which campaigns for stolen cultural treasures to be returned to their homelands. Along the way, JC makes an enemy-for-life of Pierre, the chief of staff at the Chateau Marceau, and an unexpected friend of Katherine, a bankrupted aristocrat whose home contains another of the missing bronzes.

The trail next leads JC and his team, now including Coco and Katherine, to a forgotten tropical island in the South Seas, where two missing animal heads are found in a beached wreck. A multi-national band of pirates moves to block the team's getaway, but JC's skill and resourcefulness wins the day. Back home, JC is stunned to learn that his employers already had the sixth missing bronze all along, and he sets out to teach them a lesson for tricking him.

Meanwhile the protest movement has persuaded buyers to shun auctions of stolen national treasures, and the shady dealers are threatening to destroy the sixth bronze in public. Will JC's conscience – and his sense of Chinese national pride – kick in to push him to save the last bronze from destruction? The answer is played out on the slopes of an active volcano...

My verdict: This movie bursts with a cacophony of emotions - funny, irritating, annoying, confusing, boring, exhilarating - Jackie Chan's trademark. Conversations among the characters - spoken in three main languages - Mandarin, English, and French - can be quite entertaining at first, but when I have to read the subtitles way too often, it becomes kinda annoying. The action scenes are entertaining and they are basically all about Jackie Chan and his almost impossible stunts for a 58-year-old man.

If you're a staunch Jackie Chan fan, you might enjoy watching this movie. As for me, I find it watchable, as expected.

2

Movie: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)

From the smallest beginnings come the greatest legends.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) - directed by Peter Jackson - is an epic fantasy movie, the first installment of a three-part movie adaptation of the novel The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien (The Lord of the Rings trilogy).

The Hobbit is set in Middle-earth 60 years before the events of The Lord of the Rings.

Synopsis: Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) is swept into a quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from the fearsome dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey (Ian McKellen), Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage). Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and Giant Spiders, Shapeshifters and Sorcerers. Although their goal lies to the East and the wastelands of the Lonely Mountain first they must escape the goblin tunnels, where Bilbo meets the creature that will change his life forever... Gollum (Andy Serkis). Here, alone with Gollum, on the shores of an underground lake, the unassuming Bilbo Baggins not only discovers depths of guile and courage that surprise even him, he also gains possession of Gollum's "precious" ring that holds unexpected and useful qualities.

The next two movies are The Desolation of Smaug, to be released in 2013; and There and Back Again, to be released in 2014.

I have never read the novel and I can't remember if I have watched all three The Lord of the Rings movies. That's how detached I was regarding pure fantasy movie / novel genre. Therefore, I watched The Hobbit with an unadulterated, child-like awe.

I'm basically in awe with my new-found knowledge about dwarves being fearsome warriors. I really like Thorin Oakenshield; I think he's the best-looking dwarf I have ever seen. I have always thought dwarves are genial, non-combative creatures like those in Disney's cartoons. 

Smaug the dragon is nasty. The ethereal Elven race - Lord Elrond (Hugo Weaving) and Lady Galadriel (Cate Blanchett) - are so beautiful. The Trolls, Wargs-riding Orcs, and Goblins are horrible, vile creatures. All in all, the Middle-earth is a very dangerous but adventurous place to live in.

Wow. You really shouldn't miss this movie!

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Movie: Life of Pi (2012)

The journey of a lifetime

Life of Pi (2012) is a magical adventure movie based on the best-selling novel by Yann Martel. Ang Lee is the director.

Synopsis: Pi Patel (Suraj Sharma) and his family lives in Pondicherry, India. His father is a zoo keeper. One day, Pi's father decides to move the family to Canada. Halfway through their journey, the ship carrying their animals (and Pi's family) sinks due to a storm. Pi finds himself stranded in the Pacific Ocean on a lifeboat and some wild animals as his companions – including an adult Bengal tiger called "Richard Parker" – all fighting for survival.

This is a very aesthetically beautiful movie with breathtaking visuals, meaningful lessons and questions about life and religion, and a really great storytelling approach. There are poignant, funny, and tear-jerking moments at different points of the movie. I have to agree that Ang Lee did an awesome job directing this movie. Kudos!

Note: Ang Lee directed the famous Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Brokeback Mountain.

James Cameron gave us a fantastic 3D experience with his mega-blockbuster, Avatar in 2009. Life of Pi has an almost similar impact.

Yann Martel, the author of the novel on which the movie is based, says, "I'm happy it works so well as a film. Even if the ending is not as ambiguous as the book's, the possibility that there might be another version of Pi's story comes at you unexpectedly and raises the same important questions about truth, perception, and belief." [via]

Two memorable quotes from the movie:

• All of life is an act of letting go but what hurts the most is not taking a moment to say goodbye. 
• Faith is a house with many rooms. But no room for doubt? Oh plenty, on every floor. Doubt is useful, it keeps faith a living thing. Afterall, you cannot know the strength of your faith until it is tested.

Don't miss this meaningful movie!

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Dumb Ways to Die

 

Dumb Ways to Die
(Tangerine Kitty)

Set fire to your hair

Poke a stick at a grizzly bear

Eat medicine that's out of date

Use your private parts as piranha bait

Dumb ways to die, so many dumb ways to die,
dumb ways to di-i-i-ie, so many dumb ways to die

Get your toast out with a fork

Do your own electrical work

Teach yourself how to fly

Eat a two week old unrefrigerated pie

Dumb ways to die, so many dumb ways to die,
dumb ways to di-i-i-ie, so many dumb ways to die

Invite a psycho-killer inside

Scratch a drug dealer's brand new ride

Take your helmet off in outer space

Use your clothes dryer as a hiding place

Dumb ways to die, so many dumb ways to die,
dumb ways to di-i-i-ie, so many dumb ways to die

Keep a rattlesnake as pet

Sell both your kidneys on the internet

Eat a tube of superglue

"I wonder what's this red button do?"

Dumb ways to die, so many dumb ways to die,
dumb ways to di-i-i-ie, so many dumb ways to die

Dress up like a moose during hunting season

Disturb a nest of wasps for no good reason

Stand on the edge of a train station platform

Drive around the boom gates at a level crossing

Run across the tracks between the platforms

They may not rhyme but they're quite possibly...

Dumbest ways to die

Dumbest ways to die

Dumbest ways to di-i-i-ie

So many dumb, so many dumb ways to die

"Be safe around trains. A message from Metro."

2

Movie: Iron Sky (2012)

We Come In Peace

Iron Sky (2012) is a Finnish-German-English sci-fi action comedy movie.

Synopsis: Before the end of World War II in the 1940s, a group of German Nazi soldiers fled to space and resided at the dark side of the Moon. It's now the year 2018 and the President of the United States (Stephanie Paul) has sent two men to the moon as a publicity stint for her re-election. One of the astronauts is an African American male model named James Washington (Christopher Kirby). He is captured by the Nazis on the moon, led by Führer Kortzfleisch (Udo Kier) and his ambitious commander, Klaus Adler (Götz Otto). Adler goes to Earth with his fiancé Renate Richter (Julia Dietze) and they join forces with the President's manipulative aide, Vivian Wagner (Peta Sergeant), who uses them to campaign for the President's re-election without realizing their mission to invade the Earth.

One word: BIZARRE! You will either like or loathe this movie because it's full of parodies and a lot of fun-poking at historical and international facts and figures.

I like this movie despite so many negative reviews out there. The idea behind the storyline is unique and entertaining - moon Nazis with one mission, i.e. invade the Earth - just like in history, the Nazis invaded Europe during World War II. 

And, it's a comedy, so really, there's plenty of dumb humor and comic relief, just don't take it too seriously. Follow through the movie and have a good laugh for 1.5 hours.

2

Movie: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)

An Epic of Epic Epicness

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010) is a comedy movie based on the graphic novel series Scott Pilgrim. This movie is directed by Edgar Wright who also directed the famous 2004 zom-com (zombie comedy), Shaun of the Dead.

Synopsis: Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) is the bass guitarist for the band "Sex Bob-omb" led by Stephen Stills (Mark Webber). Scott is dating Knives Chau (Ellen Wong), a high-school girl but he still hasn't recovered from being dumped by his ex-girlfriend, Envy (Brie Larson). One day, Scott meets Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). He doesn't know Ramona's past - she has seven ex-lovers who have teamed up as the League of Evil Exes against him.

They are:
1. Matthew Patel (Satya Bhabha)
2. Lucas Lee (Chris Evans)
3. Todd Ingram (Brandon Routh), who's also Envy's current boyfriend and her band's bass guitarist
4. Roxy (Mae Whitman), a lesbian
5 & 6. Kyle & Ken Katayanagi (Shota & Keita Saito)
7. Gideon (Jason Schwartzman), the mastermind behind the League of Evil Exes.

Scott must battle these evil exes to the death to win Ramona to his side!

I find this movie very weird but its concept is refreshing. It's a teen flick, so you can expect tonnes of relationship-related issue. However, instead of focusing on the common boyfriend-girlfriend-gay-lesbian-sex stuff, this movie decides to take the fun-and-easy route to make every scene fun and entertaining to watch. The characters are not taking themselves too seriously; they maintain a certain level of cute goofiness that doesn't make you feel like a retard.

What I like best is the movie's approach. The story is presented like a video game, a metaphor. The characters - Scott, Ramona, Knives, and the evil exes - are the game's players, and their lives is the game itself. Of course, most of the scenes don't make any sense at all but that's besides the point. LOL!

Even a fun-and-light movie like this has its fair share of enlightenment about relationship issues. The story makes us think about how tough it is to make a relationship work when there's so much emotional baggage. The battles between Scott and the evil exes give a picturesque desciption about how far you are willing to stretch yourself.

Overall, do watch and feel young all overall again. :)

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Movie: Paranormal Activity 4 (2012)

All the activity has led to this...

Paranormal Activity 4 (2012) is the fourth movie in the Paranormal Activity film series. It's also the sequel to Paranormal Activity 2 (2010).

P.S.: Paranormal Activity 3 (2011) serves as a prequel, set in 1988, and it explains the origin of the malevolent supernatural entity in the first two movies.

So, the tagline "All the activity has led to this..." is pretty apt.

Synopsis: After killing her boyfriend Micah, sister Kristi, and Kristi's husband Daniel, Katie (Katie Featherston) disappeared with her nephew Hunter. Their whereabouts remain unknown. Five years later, Katie and a mysterious boy named Robbie (Brady Allen) are seen in a suburban neighborhood. A teenage girl Alex (Kathryn Newton) and her younger brother Wyatt (Aiden Lovekamp) befriend Robbie. One day, Katie is suddenly admitted to the hospital. Alex's mom takes Robbie into their home and since then, strange activities begin to happen in the house.

This movie would definitely be enjoyed by "die-hard" fans of the previous movies in the franchise. The directors commented that they featured a new scare technique, of footage being shown from a laptop in a video chat, which would rival the 'fan cam' from previous movies. [via]

The video chat scare technique is not that bad. But overall, this movie seems to be the "safest" compared to the first three movies, i.e. it's not as scary. The ending is a bit abrupt and you get this, "Huh, that's it?" feeling when the camera pans out.

I heard there's a fifth movie coming out in October 2013. Let's see what story will they give us.

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