The Real Fashion Police

Mercedes-Benz is a big supporter of the fashion scene, not just here in Malaysia but in America as well. And in conjunction with the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week (10-17 Feb) in the States, the fashion police will be out in full force to enforce law and order, and they will be patrolling in the new Mercedes-Benz CLS 63 AMG in police livery.

But less stylish New Yorkers need not worry, as the “Fashion Force” won’t be out nabbing style offenders, but to spot stylish people and reward them with a ride to their destination. Their picture will be taken as record and some will receive invitations to Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week runway shows as well as the main event.

“The Mercedes-Benz Fashion Force car is a statement about New York being one of the greatest fashion capitals of the world and the confident approach to individualistic style that people strive to explore throughout this amazing city,” said stylist Brad Goreski.

“Mercedes-Benz has a natural affinity with the world of fashion with cars that appeal to those with a strong sense of style,” said Lisa Holladay, manager of brand experience for MB USA. “The 2012 CLS 63 AMG four-door coupe is the perfect vehicle for the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Force initiative with its fascinating design and significant curb appeal.”

It's So FLUFFY!!!!

No matter how hard I struggle,
I can’t laugh like I used to laugh,
Heart that is colder than ice,
This bittersweet journey shows no ending...

SRi:Wish me luck-got exam today[read:NOW] Psychiatry n' Obgyn tomorrow!WHOA

270:6mins

Tinggal dua minggu sahaja lagi tahun 2010 akan meninggalkan kita. Dalam beberapa hari inilah, akan banyak statistik dunia hiburan 2010 akan timbul. Kita akan lihat berapa ramai yang dah mengikat tali pertunangan, mendirikan rumah tangga, teruntuhkan masjid yang dah dibina, anak-anak seabad milenium dan lain-lain lagi lah.

Tak ketinggalan juga, video terbitan Gen I ini dah tolong rangkumkan filem 2010 kegemaran kami. Dengan berlatarbelakangkan muzik yang segar dan mantap, footage ini tepat mengambarkan mood filem sepanjang 2010.

Sebanyak 270 filem dimuatkan dalam video berdurasi 6 minit ini termasuk filem hits seperti Inception, Despicable Me, The Social Network, Shutter Island, Iron Man 2 dan Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. Anda tonton saja sendiri.

Senarai penuh filem yang ada dalam video ini boleh di’dapati di Filmography 2010 (Google Doc). Berapa banyak sudah anda tonton?WHOA

SRi:Dah Solat belum hah??!

10 BIGGEST Nerd in Nick!!

Nickelodeon is a network that his seen its fair share of nerds. Of all the uncool characters ever featured on the network, here are the ten nerdiest. Hahahahha

10 Chuckie Finster – Rugrats
Though Chuckie is only two years old, you can already tell that he’s going to be a lifelong virgin. His giant glasses, buckteeth and aversion to any sort of adventure (“Maybe this isn’t such a good idea, Tommy”) are the calling cards of any future live-action role player. Not surprisingly, Chuckie hangs out with babies who are a full one-year younger than him. His fear of the guy on the Quaker Oats box and asthma-inspired speech pattern serve as cherries on the top for this double-fudge nerd sundae.

9 Eliza Thornberry – The Wild Thornberries
Glasses? Check. Braces? Check. Wiry braids? Check. One look at young Eliza and it’s clear that she’d fit right in at the Model U.N. Club of any middle school. Despite her supremely cool ability to talk to animals, she manages to dork it up in typical nerd fashion. Her head is filled with a library-sized amount of zoology facts. Additionally, her best friend is a chimpanzee – a fact that hints at her inability to have social interactions with kids her own age.

The Killer Elite

Sebab apa saya download I Love You Too?

Sebab dia Beeesst!

Sebab apa dia Best?

Sebab ada Yvonne Strahovski!

Ada apa dengan Yvonne Strahovski tu?

Dia smart--dia cantik--dia maskulin.. Larikkk!!!!

Mm, I Love You Too? Ok lah. Baru saja download baru-baru ni. Tak mahu berkehendak sangat bercerita tentang filem ini. Tapi yang pastinya nak story tentang pemegang watak Alice--Yvonne Strahovski. Make it short--cerita ni 3/5 stars. Not too bad--comedy story.

  

Bukan perkara pelik bagi seseorang penonton memilih satu-satu cerita berdasarkan pelakon yang memeran filem atau drama tersebut. Sama hal nya dengan saya yang cenderung melihat barisan pelakon dan pengarah filem tersebut dahulu sebelum berkeputusan untuk menontonnya. Nak buat macamana--i'm not kipas susah mati YouTube rajin sangat nak pergi cari trailer cerita-cerita baru. Paling-paling pun tengok waktu movie nak start dalam panggung ja--tu pun kalau masih ada-tak masuk lambat. Kalau tak-poster sajalah yang tinggal.

Yvonne Strahovski, atau nama sebenarnya Yvonne Strzechowski adalah anak kepada Peter dan Bozena Strzechowski--berketurunan Poland yang kemudiannya berhijrah ke Australia. Sebab tu Sarah ni boleh cakap Polish and English dan lagi satu dia banyak berlakon filem Australia-termasuklah I Love You Too ni juga.

Owh yaa--why I called her Sarah sebab watak beliau dalam Chuck- Agent Sarah Walker. Dan nama Strahovski ni wujud pun sebab pengarah Chuck tu susah bebenor nak nyebut Strzechowski-makanya dekat memana sekarang nama dia pun jad Yvonne Strahovski.

Watak dia dalam Chuck memang dinantikan--tak seperti pelakon drama yang agak terlebih berbuka-bukaan; Sarah cukup cuma senyum saja-tu pun dah mampu menggugat iman yang melihatnya. Tinggi lampai--cantik-tiada gossip liar-dan agak sopan-buatkan beliau berada dalam kelasnya yang tersendiri. Lakonannya yang mantap tak kaku dalam Chuck juga menyebabkan orang sanggup berjam-jam duduk depan TV tak berkedip-kedip mata menontonnya. Yang bergerak cuman tangan jaa pergi tukar DVD.

Papehal--gua memang tak sabar nak tunggu Agent Sarah Walker ni bergabung dengan John Statham, Robert De Niro, Clive Owen dan lain-lain dalam Killer Elite tak lama lagi-2011. Mesti gempak punya--sebab drama yang dia bintangi pun selain Chuck--memang jenis lasak-lasak pun. Maunye tak gigit jari lelaki kat luar sana tu tengok dia berlakon hari-hari. Fuhh--siapalah yang beruntung berbinikan beliau ni nanti!

SRi:Gurl wif BIG Bike Bertudung w/o Helmet pecut 130km/j atas Highway=SEXAY!!!

THE BREAKING DAWN

Bagi peminat setia Twilight Saga---pasti korang dah lama ternanti-nanti apa berita kelanjutan kisah romantik pasangan manusia-kuntilanak ni. Jangan tanya saya bila nak keluar--sebab memang lambat lagi. Nasib tak baik--kapal karam-tak sempat nak hantar roll filem dekat pawagam berdekatan korang. Gigit kuku lagilah jawabnya korang.

Banyak cerita konflik yang tak sedap berlaku sepanjang pembikinan sekuel ketiga Twilight SAGA bahagian yang pertama ni--sebab dengar kata dia pun nak splitt macam Harry Potter juga. Ada yang bergaduh--kena dakwa lakukan vandalisme, masalah attitude pelakon tak payah cakaplah-dah jadi makanan ruji semua set kot perkara macamtu.

Yang terbaru berkisahkan baju pengantin Si Bella ni yang buruk macam hampagas! Tak tahulah siapa perekanya--tapi sebab nak ikutkan sangat fesyen lama dengar ceritanya--terhasillah yang sedemikian rupanya. Harap-harap takdalah yaa memana pengantin terlebih gila ngefans ke sangat ke Twilight ni sampai sanggup nak pakai baju sedemikian rupa jua! Memang gua tak salam lah dengan laki korang jawabnya. Teruss larikk pergi bungkus mee goreng mamak time tu jugak.

SRi memang dah lama tak baca novel-novel ni--dan novel Stephenie Meyer ni sah-sahlah tak termasuk dalam kelompok kecil Robins, Mosby dan Moore tersebut. Dengar kata memang harus eyh ada adegan 18SX tu? Euuuww~ cemanalah korang boleh sanggup tahan mata nak layan tulang belulang bertelanjang dan beradegan macam tu eyh?! Tak selera nyahss..

Bagi peminat Taylor Lautner pula--dengar cerita ada kisah skandal di set ni! SRi tak tahulah kan--sape yang culik sapa--tapi yang pasti gurl yang terkantoi tu heroin beliaw dalam filem Abduction tu lah! Bagi yang memang kipass terlebeyh susah nak mati ni--berdoa bebanyak lah yea. Sebab SRi tengok Lily Collins ni--memang ada rupa pun! Cuma Taylor tu jah yang.... Pepandailah eyh korang sambung sendiri--ciptaan Tuhan-tak sesuai lah pula nak isi tempat kosong tu.WOHA!

Papehal--selamat menikmati hujung minggu anda dengan tenang dan damai ya! 

SRi:Jangan ada sengketa antara kita.

 

Spoiler Alert!

***Here are some pictures of filming Breaking Dawn on Party for the honeymoon scenes on Isle Esme with Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson.  If you want to remain spoiler free PLEASE avoid this post.

Top 10 Worst Movie Sequel Titles

Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps

Of course lah money never sleeps: It's an inanimate object! Other just-as-accurate titles Oliver Stone could have considered for the sequel to his 1988 business drama: Wall Street 2: Money Never Eats, Wall Street 2: Money Never Says Never, Wall Street 2: Money Never Just Wants To Be Friends. Perhaps by pointing out the insomniatic nature of currency, Stone is trying to make a commentary on the way that liquid capital slyly exerts power over the economic system that dwarves that of mere humans? Maybe... But in that case, he would have been better off using this line from David Mamet's Heist: "Everybody needs money. That's why they call it money." isk isk isk..

Highlander II: The Quickening

What is "the Quickening" exactly? Well, it turns out even the people behind the Highlander fantasy series aren't sure. In general Highlander mythology, a Quickening is the explosion of energy that happens when one immortal swordsman decapitates another. However, in the original 1986 film, the Quickening is also the process through which the Immortals discover their true nature. And in 1991's Highlander II, a Quickening is basically a writer's trick to get characters out of a jam: one Quickening de-ages our hero (it's complicated), and also brings Sean Connery back from the dead (it's very complicated) and another Quickening at the climax takes down a shield that was covering up the ozone layer. (Complicated is maybe not a strong enough word.) Perhaps they should have just called the film Highlander II: The Deus Ex Machina... hihi

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel

Contrary to what a lot of people will tell you, there is nothing inherently wrong with puns. Shakespeare used them, James Joyce used them — The Beatles even used one to come up with the name of their band. But it's hard not to dislike puns when they're as bad as the one in the title of the newest Alvin and the Chipmunks film. The 'Squeak'-quel? Really? If we're being charitable, though, we will admit: That awful title is the most creative thing about the entire film. (The plot, if you were unaware, takes the singing chipmunks to high school, just because.) Unfortunately, last year's Squeakquel made even more money than the original Alvin and the Chipmunks, which means one thing: Get ready for the shrill-ogy.

Leprechaun: Back 2 Tha Hood

Despite middling reviews, the original 1993 Leprechaun film was a cult-classic, a financial success, and marked the film debut of a pre-Friends Jennifer Aniston. It set a fairly high bar for the sequels that followed, one that 2003's Leprechaun: Back 2 Tha Hood managed to shimmy under without breaking a sweat. To be fair, the sixth installment in any franchise is probably scraping the bottom of the barrel. But really — making a movie chock full of racial stereotypes while rehashing the same old plot (Yes, you still can't take this leprechaun's gold without him hunting you down and killing you) is just lazy. A hint to filmmakers: When you have to resort to a title that looks like something tapped out on a cell phone by a 13-year-old upper-middle-class suburban kid desperate to prove to his friends just how gangsta he is, that's probably a sign your movie is in trouble. Even if it is straight-to-video.

2 Fast 2 Furious

It's the title that launched a million movie-review puns. To quote USA Today, for example, "'2 Fast' is 2 dopey, and that's 2 bad." The film itself? Almost 2 similar to the original, but why tweak success?

In 2003, 2 Fast 2 Furious took the fast cars and buff bodies of 2001's The Fast and the Furious from Los Angeles to Miami, and replaced standout Vin Diesel (who was too busy dealing with newfound fame) with model-actor Tyrese Gibson as Paul Walker's buddy. Other than that, the formula stayed the same, just with even more racing and even less plot. Moviegoers didn't seem to mind the corny title — take fast cars and add hot girls, and you get a $127 million box-office gross. However, the next film in the series, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, only took in $62 million. Shud have called it 3 Fast 3 Furious..huhue

Top 10 Worst Movie Sequel Titles

Owh yeah.. There is a very long long time we are not talking about movie. Maybe because of time, money also--so, I didn't have much energy to waste in the cinema every-weak. 

But, today we try to take a look at some of worst sequel title in history. May this will motivate our producers to make not such a fool mistakes like them. *bajet bagus!WOHA*

6. The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas

1994's The Flintstones dosed audiences in nostalgic camp with a live-action version of Hanna-Barbera's beloved cartoon classic. Fans seemed smitten with the film, which grossed nearly $350 million worldwide. But when film execs released a sequel in 2000, its title was nearly as bad as its plot. The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas is a prequel to the first film, and tells the story of how Fred and Barney met Wilma and Betty while living in the Flintstones-esque Las Vegas. The film's title is a pun on the 1964 film Viva Las Vegas, starring Elvis Presley and Ann-Margaret, who appears in a cameo role as (ugh...) Ann-Margrock.

7. Live Free or Die Hard

What does this title actually mean? We've been trying to figure this out. So let us progress through the stages here. First you die hard. Then you die harder. Then you die hard with a vengeance, like "Yeah, I'm seriously dying hard here!" Then...you live free or die hard? Are those the only two options here? Are we basically returning to the initial concept, because it seems that we're just dying hard all over again...

Also, Justin Long's here. That's right, the Mac guy's in an action film. And he's not half-bad. So, watch this movie or die hard.

8. Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life

The Cradle of Life sounds like a really sappy Lifetime movie about a mother being wrongfully accused of matricide or a really boring documentary about Earth's origins. Either way the title is just bad. The movie is actually about the search for Pandora's Box which is hidden in the Cradle of Life, the birthplace of all humanity. Therefore, a more apt name probably would have been Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Pandora's Box...though we're not even sure that would be an improvement.

9. Howling III: The Marsupials

There's really no way not to mock this title. The third entry in the 1980s werewolf film series takes place in Australia (hence the title), though it does not feature werewolfs with pouches or werewolfs that bounce, because that might have made the movie entertaining. At one point, a woman even gives birth to a werewolf baby. Also, this is a horror movie titled The Marsupials, which sort of disqualifies it from being called a horror movie.

10. Basic Instinct 2: Risk Addiction

When you're Sharon Stone, could you really ever outdo yourself? Stone's lewd and lascivious leg crossing in the 1992 erotic thriller Basic Instinct was just one sultry moment in a movie that had little problem maintaining the heat. The '92 movie was a critical hit, and helped solidify Stone's star. She was wise enough to avoid roles that directly mimicked the iconic role, and she waited fourteen years to return to the character in the London-set movie titled Risk Addiction. Yes, Risk Addiction. Not surprisingly, the film flopped at the box office, which proves that doubling up on vaguely carnal titles is a pretty limp marketing strategy.

Charlie St Cloud

 Charlie St Cloud is obviously intended as an uplifting movie about overcoming tragedy and moving on with one’s life; the film teeters on the brink of bathos, without ever quite falling in. Yes, the CGI-enhanced skylines lend a storybook quality to the film’s look, but they also create a world in which the presence of ghosts is less obtrusive; yes, the musical choices are eccentric at best, with upbeat songs shoe-horned into the soundtrack as if to insist that Charlie is not really a gloomy person, even though he has a live-in job at a cemetery and interacts with almost no one but his dead brother, but there is just enough underlying bitterness to prevent viewers from overdosing on saccharine sweetness.

That bittersweet quality is felt most keenly in the relationship between Charlie and Sam, which is laced with underlying resentment: Charlie refuses to let go of Sam emotionally, but he also resents Sam for holding him back; Sam, meanwhile, resents Charlie’s resentment, accusing his older brother of secretly yearning to leave him behind, especially after Charlie becomes interested in Tess.

After a first act that effectively sets the stage,  Charlie St Cloud settles into a too-measured pace meant to convey the stasis of Charlie’s life. The character is a bit too wrapped up in himself, too precious about holding onto his grief, and too passive to fully engage us. Florio, the paramedic who pulled Charlie back from the grave, is surprised to see the young man wasting his second chance by spending his life literally among the dead, and we are forced to agree. Fortunately, Efron is charismatic enough as an actor to hold our attention and our sympathy, even when we start to feel that Charlie needs a good swift kick to snap him out of his bad mood.

Things pick up when Tess goes missing while trying out her new boat. At this point,the focus shifts away from grieving to the suggestion made by Florio that there must be a reason for Charlie’s resurrection. Rather like Shyamalan’s Signs, at this point  Charlie St Cloud lays out message that things happen for a reason, and even tragedies can have silver linings. Charlie’s sixth sense gives him a clue to Tess’s possible whereabouts, but when the search goes on longer than expected, Charlie’s commitment to finding the lost woman requires missing his daily appointment with Sam. The dilemma is cleverly encapsulated in the dialogue, when Charlie’s co-worker Alistair (the charming Augustus Prew) asks Charlie whether he intends to go back or move on – a question that applies not only to the present emergency but also to Charlie’s life in general.

There are a few mis-steps along the way, which we are obviously not supposed to question in the midst of being inspired by the uplifting love story. At one point, Charlie physically interacts with another character on a rather intimate level, only to realize later that the person was present only in spirit – the only indication that Charlie is not able to tell the living from the dead at a glance. The script also makes a major miscalculation in portraying Sam’s death as the result of  a car accident; since the opening scenes go to considerable length to depict Charlie as a daredevil sailor who takes too many risks, the logical route would have been for Sam to die in a boating accident caused by his brother – which would have given Charlie more reason for feeling guilty.

Nevertheless, for all of its obvious calculations,  Charlie St Cloud is sincere and effective enough in its intentions to win over at least a few cynical hearts.

Cats & Dogs: Revenge of Kitty Galore

A sequel to a 2001 film nobody willfully remembers and from which it resurrects wholly dispensable characters just to generate content for 3D technology. Like its predecessor, this proudly insipid kid's movie relies on cynical jokes with self-evident punchlines that proudly announce that what you see is exactly what you get with each passing minute of dead air that in real-time feels like five. Talking cats and dogs parody spy- and action-movie clichés mostly ripped off from the Roger Moore cycle of James Bond films, among other generic detritus.

Nothing so exciting happens to the audience during the main feature, alas. Plagued by cheap-looking special effects and a crummy 3-D conversion, Kitty Galore leans heavily on its only real asset, the natural cuteness of its fuzzy stars. It also negates the one truly fun thing about 2001's Cats & Dogs -- the comic mileage it got out of the age-old rivalry between humankind's two favorite house pets -- with a gloppy peace-between-the-species plotline. Cats and dogs working together for the greater good? Woof.

Of course, the animals are voiced by plenty of celebrities--James Marsden, Nick Nolte, Christina Applegate, Neil Patrick Harris, Wallace Shawn and, in one of the more inspired casting choices, Roger Moore, a former Bond who voices a character called Tab Lazenby, himself named after another former Bond actor. One would think the cleverness of the writing might go beyond simply referencing Bond movies outright, but I suppose that would be expecting a bit too much.

It's likely that a great deal of the film's budget went into the special effects, which is baffling considering how poor they are. Giving a dog peanut butter may be a pretty archaic way to make it look like it's talking, but even that would've been better than this. Basically, the animals sit around, completely still, and then their mouths are animated. The result is less amusing or realistic and more weird and creepy. At least with peanut butter, the animals would move around with some sort of personality.

The action is pretty much equally bad, kinetic to the point of confusion at times and banal and boring at others.

Basically, it'll accomplish what parents will probably want it to--it'll entertain (very young) children for a little over an hour. But when movies like Toy Story 3 and Despicable Me are still in theaters, it feels irresponsible to force them to watch stuff like this.

Dinner for Schmucks?!?

Clearly there’s little Steve Carell can’t do. The unctuous boss on The Office who won our hearts as the over-ripe Virgin plays it stupid, really stupid, in the new comedy Dinner for Schmucks.

Dinner for Schmucks is a remake of Francis Veber's much livelier French farce from the 1990s titled The Dinner Game (Le dîner de cons), and it's no surprise that the American version is so bloated and dumbed-down compared to its more sophisticated foreign-language cousin. Director Jay Roach, working with an anemic adapted screenplay by David Guion and Michael Handelman, turns the whole dinner element of the plot into more of a freak show competition (one guest channels the souls of dead pets, another is a blind swordsman) than the original film's more scathing exercise in intellectual mockery.

I keep coming back to the word uncomfortable when trying to describe Dinner for Schmucks. Barry turns into a stalker, breaks up Tim's relationship with his girlfriend, and allows a psycho one-night-stand lady to re-enter Tim's life. Tim meanwhile takes advantage of Barry's clinging ways and means to set him up as an object of ridicule. And all this goes down without the benefit of clever writing or set-ups.

The best part of Dinner for Schmucks are the incredibly complex mouse dioramas which are simply stunning. The stories they tell are moving and the amount of work put into each piece is impressive. Too bad the same can't be said about the rest of the film.

Skip this Dinner as it'll leave you with a bad aftertaste. If you're hungry for something funny, this isn't the satisfying meal you're looking for.

SRi:Unless you're a hard-core Carell fan, this is one "Dinner" reservation I'd consider canceling.

The Last Airbender is a disaster

Apa yang menerujakan SRi awal tahun ini~ AVATAR! Bukan Avatar makhluk biru hidung belang itu ya adik-adik. Tapi ini Avatar kisah penglipurlara Aang: The Last Airbender.

Apa yang mengecewakan SRi awal tahun ini ~ M Shyamalan. Sebab apa? Kerana sejak 1992: Praying With Anger sehinggalah The Happening (Baca : cerita yang sangat memening sakit kepalakan orang) masih tiada satu pun yang boleh mampu dibanggakan. Ingatkan cuma pengarah sahaja, bila dibaca diteliti lebih lanjut rupa-rupanya semua dia sebat- mulai pengarah, penulis bahkan produser dirembatnya. Nafas dalam-dalam berkali-kali SRi ketika itu. Nasib baiklah tak ditibainya sekali pergi aktor merangkap sang hero Aang. Kalau tak...

Perkara yang sama-sudah dapat diterka terjadi lagi dengan filem yang dinanti ramai terutamanya peminat setia Nickelodeon; The Last Airbender (tajuk awal; Avatar -- tapi sebab risau disalahertikan dengan filem syaitan biru tu, setuju ditukarkan kepada The Last Airbender saja)

Mulai dari castingnya-semuanya haru biru. Sudahlah rupa langsung tak sama-yang Fire Nation buta-buta Cina terus tukar jadi India. Elok-elok Katara gelap jadi cerah bak puteri salju pula dah. Susah sangatkah nak cari sorang pelakon Cina Asia terutamanya yang berperut buncit untuk dijadikan Iroh? Ini nya tidak--yang duk berlakon jadi terorrist juga di castingnya. Aktor akteres semuanya sama sahaja kelihatan tak bersemangat , tak bermotivasi nak berlakon. Narator pun hampagas petala ke lapan lapisan langit. Berterabur semua. Bagaikan cukup cuma saja melepas batuk di tangga--semuanya boleh pulang dengan poket yang bahagia

Untuk cerita semegah ini rasanya memang kesilapan besar untuk memilih kroni--wajah baru di layar perak. Selain daripada Dev Patel (Prince Zuko yang GELAP dan mengecewakan) tiada satu pun watak dalam filem ini pernah memegang watak utama dalam filem atau drama mereka. Bahkan buat Noah Ringer : Sang Aang, ini merupakan lakonan pertamanya. Tapi SRi tak tahulah pula kalau beliau pernah menang mana-mana drama sekolah sebelum ini.

Plot cerita memang dah boleh diagaklah. Kalau dah nama pun diadaptasi daripada komik atau novel dll; sudah pastilah semuanya bakalan melompat-lompat, tak ikut plot yang sebenar. Makanya, bersiapsedialah untuk menerima kenyataannya. Cuma yang jadi rasanya bersyukurnya--sang pengarah tak tamak haloba  sangat nak habis selesai rangkumkan semua buku-buku ni buat satu kali sahaja. Kalau tak.. Silaplah gua kutuk macam Lagenda Budak Setan!

Skrip--SRi memang ada banyak masalah dengan Encik M Night Shyamalan ni. Sudahlah berterabur, tak berpuitis--bila diucapkan terasa pula dah kepoyoannya bermaharajalela penuh sesak dalam gedung panggung wayang tu. Nasib baiklah kiri kanan depan belakang penuh berisi orang--kalau tak dah termuntah  dah waktu tu juga tak fikir kali kedua dah.

Grafik--dari segi arsitektur rekaan bangunan-ketelitiannya bolehlah dibanggakan terutamanya indah reka rupa negara North Water Bender. Tapi kalau dari segi animasi, rumput dan fauna sekeliling terutamanya ketika pada adegan bernaga-nagaan; fuuuh.. tarik nafas panjang sekejap. Aksi seni pertahanan diri--tak payah buka mata pun Aiman tak kisah mana.

 3D? Rasa-rasanya buat masa ketika ini 3D cukuplah saja anda habiskan duit fama tu dekat filem-filem animasi sahaja rasanya. Mungkin untuk yang berbentuk figur manusia beneran--dunia perfileman masih belum menemui formula yang sebenar untuk mengoptimaksimumkan penggunaannya. Bahkan sampai satu tahap punya bersungguh-sungguh sang grafis nak bagi 3D juga- beliau cuma mengtigadimensikan rambut Prince Zuka dan Jenderal Iroh sahaja--dan makanya terlihatlah seperti kepala korang yang ditempek secebis kertas warna hitam. Sadis sungguh saya rasanya untuk menikmati filem tersebut sebentar tadi. Cuma rasanya untung 3D ini (Baca:Mungkin) gambarnya lebih sharp yang menyebabkan anda dapat melihatnya dengan lebih teliti setiap detailnya. Yang lain-yang timbul hanyalah sarikatanya sahaja. Bagi yang duduk dekat oversea yang tak disediakan subtitle-selamatlah menikmati kertas hitam yang ditempek dibelakang kepala Zukaodan Iroh itu.

Kesimpulannya; sila tukar semua manusia yang terlibat untuk Book Two nanti. SRi sebenarnya berharapkan versi filem ini dapat menutupi kecacatan plot dalam versi kartunnya, namun malangnya makin teruk pula jadinya. Sudahlah dulu cuma berlubang kecil saja, kini pecah tembelang pula tempayannya.

SRi: They messed up everything...

"Garam"

Let’s face it, from Tomb Raider (2001) to Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005) to Wanted (2008), Angelina Jolie has always delivered in her high-octane action adventures, and Salt is no exception. This espionage thriller about a Russian mole strategically planted in the U.S. couldn’t be more timely, given the recent arrest of Anna Chapman, the flamboyant NYC realtor deported after confessing to being a Soviet spy...

Phillip Noyce based the film on Kurt Wimmer’s script, and what they’ve created is pleasantly absurd, the perfect summer throwaway that offers steam, heat and a seemingly bottomless taste for action. It’s a fun movie, so much so that you have to question the critics who currently are slamming it because they find it “ridiculous,” “cheesy,” “an action vehicle that moves fast but thinks slow.”

Oh, please. Will anyone be walking into this movie thinking they won’t have to suspend disbelief for the entire movie? That’s the film’s point, that’s what’s putting people into seats, and that’s what Noyce, Jolie and Schreiber deliver with aplomb.

And that they do so with aplomb is what makes the movie so good. Yes, this could have been a train wreck--we’ve all been to action movies that are so dull, they make you want to reach for a noose and call it a life. But “Salt” is sleek and engaging, and the key reason for that is Jolie herself. She brought everything she had to this part, which mostly is physical as she does most of her own stunts. There’s no phoning it in with Jolie. What you see is what you get.

Add to the mix Chiwetel Ejiofor in a small yet key role as another of Salt’s colleagues and you have a movie peppered (sorry) with actors who know how to pull off a brisk movie that doesn’t lag.

As for the film’s ending, it’s an absolute set-up for a sequel, and the good news is that there still is a story to tell here. Beyond the fact that Salt’s character is compelling enough to flesh out even further, who doesn’t want to see more of Jolie being the female equivalent of James Bond? Think that’s a stretch? When you see Jolie leap from bridges onto moving semis, or when you watch her rapidly scale an elevator shaft with no equipment other than her hands and feet, or when you see how she ingeniously gets a cop to drive with the help of a stun gun, there’s truth in that statement.

Jolie knows it, she owns it, and many who see it might want a bit more of it

Inception

Dreaming is life's great solitary adventure. Whatever pleasures or terrors the dream state provides, we experience them alone or not at all.

But what if other people could literally invade our dreams, what if a technology existed that enabled interlopers to create and manipulate sleeping life with the goal of stealing our secret thoughts, or more unsettling still, implanting ideas in the deepest of subconscious states and making us believe they're our own?

Welcome to the world of Inception, written and directed by the masterful Christopher Nolan, a tremendously exciting science-fiction thriller that's as disturbing as it sounds. This is a popular entertainment with a knockout punch so intense and unnerving it'll have you worrying if it's safe to close your eyes at night.

For Inception is not only about the dream state, it often plays on screen in a dreamlike way, which means that it has the gift of being easier to follow than to explain. Specifics of the plot can be difficult to pin down, especially at first, and guessing moment to moment what will be happening next, or even if the characters are in a dream or in reality, is not always possible. But even while literal understanding can remain tantilizingly out of reach, you always intuitively understand what is going on and why.

Helping in that understanding, and one of the film's most satisfying aspects, are its roots in old-fashioned genre entertainment, albeit genre amped up to warp speed. Besides its science-fiction theme, Inception also has strong film noir ties, easily recognizable elements like the femme fatale, doomed love and the protagonist's fateful decision to take on "one last job."

 

Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Dom (short for Dominick) Cobb, the leader of a crack team of "extractors" who are paid well by rival business and political leaders to drug the competition and steal their best, subconsciously inspired ideas. Watanabe's character, however, charges the group with the never-before-tried task of implanting an idea in the mind of his chief competitor's son and heir. This process is referred to as "inception."

From there, Nolan's seamless script twists and turns as it introduces other characters (including Cobb's father, played by Michael Caine, and an architectural student winningly portrayed by Juno's Ellen Page), explores multiple levels of consciousness, and uses impressive visual effects to literally turn reality in on itself. While I would love to read what a psychologist or dream analyst makes of Inception, it perfectly reflected my experience of the surreal figures and action that normally occur in recognizable settings within my dreams.

Of course, one is led to wonder throughout Inception exactly which characters' dreams are being played out, or if the whole movie might be a dream. This brain-teasing on the part of Nolan and his excellent cast (which also boasts great turns by Joseph-Gordon Levitt, Oscar-winner Marion Cotillard and the long-MIA Tom Berenger) never feels manipulative, gratefully. Rather, it feels natural, even organic given the subject matter. I detected enjoyably intentional nods to James Bond adventures, especially during the team's invasion of a snow-covered fortress in the mountains. Composer Hans Zimmer often seems to be knowingly channeling Bond score stalwart, John Barry.

Inception also reminded me in spots of the very effective, Martin Scorsese-directed thriller Shutter Island Shutter Island also benefited from a game, top-notch cast and crew.

Many critics are passionately, even vociferously, divided over Inception. It's been a while, though, since the critical community has had a large-scale debate over a movie. I think this isn't only a testament to Inception's high profile but to Nolan's complex, visionary achievement. See it, and feel free to weigh in here with your own reactions. Like dreams, movies can linger and haunt long after they're over. released earlier this year, and not just because DiCaprio stars in both films. Both play with their characters' and audiences' perceptions of reality and sanity, as well as the mental toll that loss and grief can take.