In Awe

Before I let on as to what I am in awe of, shall shout something first:

WOOHOO! THE EXAMS ARE OVER!!
But this is not a very loud exclamation because there's still that sickening, tight feeling of the impending results.

Shall show you what I've been up to so far for the exams later, but first..
I give the film:





Film critic gods, please don't scold me. I know by critical consensus (37% on rottentomatoes.com) that 2012 'sucks', but I did really enjoy this disaster flick, silly storyline plus extravagant effects and all. I am going as far to say that in this decade of Hollywood, I am probably hailing the film as this generation's Jurassic Park, in terms of visual effects, that is.

Probably until James Cameron's Avatar come along. But more on that later.

2012 is based on the prophetical premise that the world will come to an end on that titular year, since the Mayan calendar concludes at that time, too. The film portrays this by explaining that the Earth's core will melt due to solar explosions on the surface of the sun, and this results in the movement of the tectonic plates, and you don't have to take Geography to imagine how that will turn out.

The myriad of characters that litter the show are mainly stereotypical, but its universal themes of love will undoubtedly move people. This is another reason, besides the effects, to catch this in the cinema. It's the collective company that matters, and it will definitely improve your movie experience, as it did mine.

And now for the star of the show. I've proclaimed on Facebook that 2012 is "going to be a shoo-in for Oscar's Visual Effects", and nobody can refute that. And judging from the lacklustre trailers of the reportedly US$500million Avatar, I am rooting for this to win.

I walked into 2012 expecting 'just another blockbuster', but look how I have rated the movie.

FINAL SAY: I forgot how many times I've said 'wow' during the film. It's a solid, terrifying and technically groundbreaking movie. What is stopping this from becoming this generation's Titanic? Probably Twilight: New Moon, which I still don't understand why.
~

And now for some pics~
New love: The fries of Carl's Jr.


New-found friend: Muji's (very affordable) food products. That bag of delicious tortilla chips only retails at $1.50.


This is related to my 4-day job (no, I'm not going to work at Prada, just a tongue-in-cheek moment I had, that's all) =D Speaking of which, I need to get black shirts.
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And.. Impresario. Am excited for this. My song is getting some meat on its bones, thanks to the brilliant Tess Moh =)

Shall leave you guys with one of my fave country songs at the moment: Lady Antebellum's Need You Now. The other 'lady' that I like.



This post rocks. Good movie, good music, good food. =D

For those who've not completed the exams, I know how you feel, but you must hang in there okay! Promise to party like mad after that then ok liao.

Take care, people!

I Wonder, Alice...

I know I shouldn't be blogging, but procrastination wins. And it is a bigger win when there are so many distractions... especially one in the form of exciting news that Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland is well on the way! (I did that wallpaper myself, by the way. Credits to Rottentomatoes.com for the pictures.)

And here are more that I've compiled from Photoshop to further whet your appetite:

The beautiful landscapes of the Wonderland...

A-listers like recently appointed Sexiest Man Alive, Johnny Depp (Mad Hatter), Anne Hathaway (The White Queen) and the director's wife, Helena Bonham Carter (The Red Queen), headline this whimsical classic. And then there's Alice, played by relatively unknown Mia Wasikowska (wasi-what!?).

People have complained she looked too mature (old) to play the role. But apparently, this is a revisit, thus, she's supposed to be 19, instead of 12. Erm, okay.

But judging from the teaser trailer, I still trust Tim Burton and team to deliver a splendid 3D spectacle.


~

And now...
Let WOOHOO for awhile. For once my fave won! =D The dork won cycle 13! And I like her quote: "I'm a dork, but I'm America's Next Top Model."

I have another favourite from this season that featured 'petite' models (all below a certain height, which I forgot). And she is the one with the Asian blood that takes very good pictures, too: Jennifer!

I did those two montages on Photoshop during this period. You can see how much I'm procrastinating. Shit. Shit. Shit. But don't you think their water shots are damn chio?? And don't you think I'm totally wasting my time??

Okay, am going to rest. Then Saturday and Sunday is 201 and 203 day. Intro to Psych was... quite psychotic.

Take care, people!

Scary Stuff

This is the last Themed Tuesday of the semester =( *sobs* but it's one of the cutest and most colourful! =D It's Geeks+Hats day! Woohoo.

Well, talking about scary stuff, this post is going to be filled with quite mind-boggling things. Firstly, we had our fun with Mac's photo booth! Check it out~


And here's presenting to you two of the silliest ones:
This last one is EPIC. No one is spared here. Look at Huiling's disproportionately LARGE hand! LMAO.

~

And now on to some real scary sh*t. My review of Paranormal Activity.
I give the movie:





Whenever I tell someone I've watched Paranormal Activity, the first question is this - Is it scary? Well, I guess it is inevitable, since this movie is gathering rapid word-of-mouth, along with the fact that this is supposed to be this generation's Blair Witch Project. The answer is this -

It is scary. And for the faint-hearted, it'll haunt you for nights to come.

Why nights? Well, save to say, the movie has successfully created so much fear in a single setting alone, you become afraid even for a single, open door.

Micah and Katie are engaged and have moved in together. It is only recently that Katie has revealed that since she was 8, a restless demon has been disturbing her. Micah decides to bring in a video-cam to film their bedroom every night to see if they can detect any paranormal activity, because to him, seeing is believing.

It doesn't take long before he believes. For consecutive nights in a row (eerily at 2:09am), strange sounds of footsteps and unexplained movements have been detected by the camera, and the impatient Micah starts to taunt the demon to show himself, much to the distress of Katie.

I shall not reveal anymore of the plot, but clearly, it is precisely these nights that we witness, one-by-one, the horror that is unfolding before our eyes in 'real time'.

Although we don't really get to see the demon itself, a scene depicting a violent contact with Katie will go down in horror film history as one of the most frightening sequence ever.

FINAL SAY: Forget about the lack of a strong storyline. This effective ghost story will still work its scares even after you watch the final shocking scene, simply because it hits so close to home.
~


Phew, the movie is really kinda freaky. Go watch it if you're brave enough.

Okay, on to happier things!


Sweet, shiok Shaved Ice! Wanted to eat MOF after Paranormal but it was closed =( so we koped fifi's mango shaved ice. Nice.

Grabbed this two for a steal at Lot1! On the right, the Cotton On tee, was on sale. $10 only! Ff caught me red-handed buying it. And then she song yong me into buying the berms on the left! But it's so cheap right.

And to prove that I'm being influenced by Fashionista Fifi...
That's me and my $20 outfit =) (okay, minus the agnes b. belt)

Whoaaa. What am I doing here?? Okay, nevermind. Just one last video to show.

To end this 'scary' post, shall share with you guys Lady Gaga's latest video, Bad Romance. I know some of you might've seen it on my Facebook, but this is a video to watch. She is the Madonna of our generation. Freaking insane, but freaking smart.



Alright, this might be the last post before the exams.

Study hard! Stop procrastinating!

That line's for you and me.

Take care, people!

Of Udders and Meatballs

I AM SO LOVING THEMED TUESDAYS! Blue, blue beautiful was the latest one. There are two photos because our dear Rachel was MIA for the first one. Looking forward to the upcoming. Two themes combined.. nice!
~

Oh man, need to give me a moment to sort out some things first. I've not blogged for so long and so many things has happened. Okay, for one, I'VE DECIDED TO JOIN IMPRESARIO 2010. Yep, that nationwide talent-search organised by NTU. I'll be taking part in the Original Composition category, and I've already came out with a melody and lyrics. For those who have heard it and helped me, a BIG THANK YOU to your feedback and constructive criticisms =D Really grateful. Wish me luck =)
~

And now, for a spread of delectable stuff that I enjoyed before officially starting to mug for the examzzzzzzzz...

Chiong ah!! Thank you Cant 5 steamboat uncle for this free plate of humongous ice kachang. Very smart hor. Keeps the customers coming.

Merci to Eve for these Merci chocolate sweets. Chocolates make people happy =D

Random photo of Huiying's necklace taken during COM204. This reminds me of the Miley Cyrus' song 'Party in the USA' with the lyrics: "...the butterflies fly away." Which reminds me of this MLIA post: "Today, after listening to Miley Cyrus's Party in the USA, my 7-year-old son asked me if I knew why the butterflies fly away. I said I don't know, whereby he proceeded to explain that because they were scared of her face. MLIA." xD

Wang enjoying his Gong Bao Ji Ding with his 'inherent-drama' face.

Oops.

Pasta Mania. Just had to get out of NTU to eat some better food.

Whiskey Java Choc and the white one I've forgotten the flavour :X But still, Udders, you've got a newfound fan.

IKEA meatballs rock. While waiting for Darius and gang to finish with their interview, Ying Hui and I wasted our time, money and stomach space eating the crap spaghetti at Spring's cafeteria. It was due to a desperation for good food, fuelled by the grossness of the food we just had, that we decided to chiong down to nearby IKEA@Alexandra for the wonderful meatballs. You can say we were satisfied.

After 25 years in the business, Sembawang Music Centre is going to fold. And because of that, they're having a storewide closing down sales at all their outlets, 50% off all stock. I bought Hitchcock's 'Dial M for Murder', 'The Orphanage' and 'Finding Neverland' starring Johnney Depp and Kate Winslet all for only $41+! Yay.
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On the topic of movies, shall review two pics now. Although two of them are quite dated (one my dad rented, the other one from Choy), but they were both released this year, so they'll still make it to my year-end movie countdown =)

First one is the religious mystery, Angels & Demons.
I give the movie:






Right after anti-matter was successfully created, the leading scientist was killed and the substance stolen. It is later discovered that the mastermind is apparently an ancient brotherhood called the Illuminati that is bent on destroying Vatican City, on the same day the Catholics are to elect their new Pope. The history books state that the Illuminati are a group that believes - in an extremist point of view - that Scientific reasonings of life should be made known, and that Religious beliefs should be set aside in light of the 'truth'.

Famed symbologist, Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks reprising his role) is chosen yet again to follow a series of ambigrams (illustration of a word that reads the same even upside down) to find the path of Illumination, which will lead them to the whereabouts of that deadly substance that threatens to eliminate the city.

In comparison with The Da Vinci Code, also another Dan Brown adaptation, Angels obviously has a bigger budget to play with. The final explosion scene is quite stunning, but that is probably the highlight of the film, in what appears to be a standard by-the-numbers mystery ride with a few controversial elements peppered in.

FINAL SAY: Exciting and intriguing enough to sit through, but nowhere as fun as National Treasure.
~


The next film is the excellent District 9.
I give the film:






Filmed partly-documentary style and partly-movie format, District 9 tells the story of an area cordoned off by the South African government because of a large alien spaceship that has been stranded above that spot. The aliens, known as 'Prawns', however, wreak havoc in the town, and the people want them evicted. The plot unfolds when an officer from the Multinational United (MNU) gets contaminated by an alien substance during a raid, and he eventually mutates, making him a fugitive by the government.

He seeks the solace of a fellow alien, while trying to plot a breaking-in into MNU's facility to eventually aid him in turning back into his normal self.

Opened to both critical and audience acclaim, District 9 is an unorthodox science fiction movie that works on many levels. Being both funny and shocking, as well as an apt social commentary on segregation in the society, the film is definitely a breath of fresh air from all the previous bloated Hollywood blockbusters.

FINAL SAY: It will make you uncomfortable but you can't take your eyes off it. The final scene will probably haunt you for days.
~


OKAY! Done. I need to get back to mugging.

Take care, people!