Friday, October 28, 2011

Real Steel

I know it has been showing for a while now and most of you would have probably watched it anyway but I really wanted to blog about it (But stop reading this moment if you haven't and if you do not want spoilers.)

It's been a while since my last trip to the cinema (I think it was Insidious?) and it's just good that it was Real Steel that I watched.

Because I kinda love it, robot boxing violence and all.

A quick run on the synopsis; Real Steel takes place somewhere in the near future, year 2020 or so, where robots have replaced humans in the boxing ring. Yup, humans don't have to get hurt no more, instead they just control the robots with high-tech looking consoles or hand-held controllers. Some robots (a.k.a Noisy Boy) could even take in voice commands. Just speak into a bluetooth-like headset and instruct the robot; "upper-cut! dodge! swing left! swing right!" - well, you get the drill.

So we have Hugh Jackman playing the lead role as Charlie Kenton, a former boxer but who is now kinda in a deep debt which he trying to pay off by earning big money in robot boxing. Unfortunately things aren't going too well for him at all due to his hastiness and over-confidence. His first robot, Ambush, got totally mauled by a real-life bull and Charlie finds himself in hot soup which he could only try to run away from (but you know soon the bad stuff catches back up on you). He also finds himself having to take care of his preteen son, Max, whom he couldn't care-less (at first) and only agreed to the baby-sitting for the money (to buy a new robot so that he can earn back his cash asap). Then there's Bailey (played by the beautiful Evangeline Lily of Lost fame), childhood friend of Charlie, who is in love with him but had to ask him to leave as she could no longer support his debts while maintaining her deceased father's boxing gym. And the movie goes about detailing more fights while focusing on the father-son relationship.

So what made the movie stand out? You might think it's just robot boxing and that's that. Or perhaps it would only appeal to the guys with all the actions and fighting. Truth is Real Steel is more than that. In fact, it's so good that for once the girls wouldn't mind watching robots fighting.

Seriously.

The movie has such passion in it that it simply moves the viewer. It sure moved me at least. I enjoyed the movie from start to end and there wasn't really any moments/scenes that I disliked. It was exciting watching all the fights and the moves as if they were real and I was standing by the ringside. I grimaced at the violence but I also had a good laugh at all the antics. From the great Midas stroking his red Trojan hair after thrashing Noisy Boy, from the mighty Zeus flattening some unknown robot's head with just a clap of the hands, and definitely the dancing moves of Atom, the sparring robot that Max had to dug up on his own at some junkyard, no thanks to his dad who refused to help him!

And of course, the father and the son. Max is adorable and smart (or genius, so he says) and in actual, looks up to his dad and just wants Charlie to fight for him. The scenes between them are realistic, humorous and personal that it touches me as well as tickles me. It is only because they are so alike that they are always at loggerheads with each other but it sure keeps the audience entertained.

But what makes the movie stand out is really the cinematography. Kudos to director Shawn Levy for his visions. The angles, the lightings, the settings are just beautiful and very well captured. Even Charlie's pose while pumping gas was hilarious but way COOL. Levy is great at catching those moments; the frustration here, the anger there, the triumphs and the tears.

Overall, the movie is about how you gotta have hope and how when you have been beaten down, you have to stand up and fight somemore. You know what the ending is going to be like but you don't mind. You are in it for the feel good factor and coming out of the cinema at the end of the day with a happiness jab in the arm ☺

My Rating:

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

The Science of Deduction

Blogging had taken a step back lately due to a sudden series tsunami.And the influx was so overwhelming, my days and nights were practically swarmed. Thus, it comes as no surprise what my blog post's going to be about...afterall it's TV Tuesday!

When it comes to solving mysteries, the name Sherlock Holmes is never far off. What with Warner Bros. even bringing the character to life with a face that strikingly resembles a certain Robert Downey Jr. There's even an Iphone game bearing the same face - which I would probably cover in some other post. Sir Authur Conan Doyle created the character a few centuries back thus the stories  always take place in late 1800s London with cobblestone streets, horse-drawn carriages, Pea Soupers and what-nots. And I certainly do not have any complains about the settings, being a fan of the Renaissance and the Victorian eras.

So when I was introduced to Sherlock, the TV series, I was expecting a similar setting and eagerly looking forward to it. (Coincidentally, I am halfway through a Sherlock Holmes novel myself - check out "Aftertot is Reading" at the side.) You bet I was surprised to see a modern London setting to begin with. The thought of "Did I copy the wrong files?" flashed across momentarily but was quickly overwritten by "Wow, a modern Sherlock Holmes! Now, how are they gonna portray this?!" with the first appearance of Dr. Watson, Holmes' trusted sidekick.

And I must say, the guys who created this series are just brilliant. They managed to put a modern twist to the stories so well that one would believe the stories are written in the 21st century themselves. Obvious example; Dr. Watson no longer jots down his adventures with Holmes in a journal. Instead he is now a techie guy who owns a blog, aptly named The Personal Blog of Dr. John H. Watson - and yes, it really exists!

And Holmes in the show is a genius with a wit that makes you laugh out loud, as long as you are not at the receiving end of his remarks. He is arrogant and funny at the same time. And one would say he is really sly and manipulative. But in a good way i.e. in the name of solving mysteries and murders. Benedict Cumberbatch, the actor who plays Holmes, is superb in the role and plays it to a T. Martin Freeman is great as Watson with funny antics almost always befalling him. Dialogues, plots, places and characters are wonderful all around.At the end of the day, it makes you wanna visit London and speak like an English...

The only downside is the first season is too short with just three 90-minute episodes, each a case of its own. The cases are adapted from Doyle's works - A Study in Pink (based on A Study in Scarlet), The Banker (based on The Valley of Fear and The Dancing Men). Thankfully though, the show has been picked up for a 2nd season schedule to be broadcast in early 2012, seeing that it won the 2011 BAFTA Television Award for Best Drama Series..yay! (BAFTA is the UK-equivalent of the Emmy Awards.)

Looking forward to more Sherlock but am glad for the hiatus. Now my other series can fill in that gap *winks


When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth - Sherlock Holmes

My Rating:

Saturday, October 01, 2011

And In Another Life

Do you sometimes dream how life would have been, had you taken another path when you were at certain crossroads? Or how different where you are now from where you thought you would be? Childhood dreams...do they come true?


Image Source: nadivondi.tumblr.com
The One That Got Away, a great new song by Katy Perry. Love the rhythm, the lyrics..☺


Summer after high school when we first met 
We make out in your Mustang to Radiohead
And on my 18th birthday we got matching tattoos

Used to steal your parents' liquor and climb to the roof
Talk about our future like we had a clue
Never planned that one day I'd be losing you

And in another life I would be your girl
We keep all our promises, be us against the world
And in another life I would make you stay
So I don't have to say you were the one that got away
The one that got away

I was June and you were my Johnny Cash
Never one without the other, we made a pact
Sometimes when I miss you, I put those records on, whoa

Someone said you had your tattoo removed
Saw you downtown singing the blues
It's time to face the music, I'm no longer your muse

But in another life I would be your girl
We keep all our promises, be us against the world
And in another life I would make you stay
So I don't have to say you were the one that got away
The one that got away

The one, the one, the one
The one that got away

All this money can't buy me a time machine, no
Can't replace you with a million rings, no
I should've told you what you meant to me, whoa
'Cause now I pay the price

And in another life I would be your girl
We keep all our promises, be us against the world
And in another life I would make you stay
So I don't have to say you were the one that got away
The one that got away

The one, the one, the one

And in another life I would make you stay
So I don't have to say you were the one that got away
The one that got away