Being such a fresh fan of movies, please forgive me that I only watched City Lights about 2 days ago. I was aware of Charles Chaplin’s greatness but the only Chaplin’s movie that I’ve seriously watched is The Great Dictator. If you want to get mad with me, please know that at least I’ve got The Great Dictator original DVD. While The Great Dictator enlightened me of how versatile Sir Chaplin is, it was City Lights that made me realized that Sir Chaplin is the one of the rarest individual that is able to make something or someone so insignificant to look like a timeless hero that is able to catch our hearts and mind while at the same time, relating it to everyone about our own fears and insecurities, the thirst for recognition and acknowledgement of existing in the planet.
City Lights was directed, produced, composed, acted and many more roles of Chaplin himself. Produced during the booming industry of sound movie, Chaplin went back to basic by making this movie a silent one with a quite minimal narration. The only significant dialogue is just some gibberish made by the Mayor and the Lady at the first scene of announcing the city’s proud statues, that our beloved hero, The Tramp made them his shelter tent.
The story introduced us to three central characters, The Tramp, the hero whom was the laughing stock of the city, even the newspaper boy poked fun at him and he was hopelessly in love with the blind girl, acted by the so beautiful Virginia Cherill (I seriously mesmerized when I first saw her) whom was a flower seller girl and living in a heavily debt house with her grandmother. Then we have the millionaire, the linkage of Tramp’s and Flower girl’s ideal dream, a lonely man who found solace in the Tramp’s hand when he is drunk. The story started when the Tramp saw the Blind Girl for the first time and immediately fell in love with her and that night he saved the millionaire from committing suicide and the scene was deliciously crafted with unforgettable scene. Through his meeting with the millionaire, the Tramp finally felt that he is worth courting the Blind Girl and through a mishap of a dance party, boxing and robbery, the story ended with one of the most touching moment ever made for film. Unless you are some cold-blooded b**ch or made of stone, you will end the movie with a big puppy eyes and smile on your face.
The magic of this movie not only lies within the story and the excellent performance by Sir Chaplin, it is within the details of everybody step of the storyboard. Never before in my life that I felt that a movie was planned so meticulously frame by frame and step by step. Silent movie requires a great detail on movement due to it is the main rail to get the story across. Being a comedy genre, silent movie nearly eliminates the existence of sarcasm line or any punch line so the choice of comedy is slapstick which is quite frankly the genre that is not in my list of favorite. But when it’s Chaplin, even my not so favorite genre was a hit again and again, through the course of the movie. Notably during dancing and boxing scene, the scenes were shot like a train ride, each act was like a stop to laugh station 1 then proceed to the next laugh station. Everything is so coordinated beautifully and we can see how committed Sir Chaplin to make this movie a perfect laugh. Nothing was repeated too much and each slapstick acts were topped by the funnier slapstick each time. Not to mention the background music of course composed by Sir Chaplin that added tunes to the film.
But the key of City Lights lies within the ability of Sir Chaplin to connect with the characters especially the Tramp. From the Tramp, Chaplin demonstrated the basic needs of a human regardless of what status or form, the need for comfort, recognition and confidence to be worthy of someone he or she loves. We saw how simple the Tramp lived his life before his encounter with the Blind Girl and the Millionaire and after that; we saw a depth of his character. A man who wanted to leave a mark on someone’s heart to remind him that he was worthwhile. While he was struggling with his esteem issues, the Tramp taught us the most powerful lesson in love throughout the movie, that sacrifices is the companion to true love. And also the sacrifices are not to be reminded with because the true meaning of sacrifice is not to relive it over and over again but to make sure it comes for the greater good.
In the word of George Bernard Shaw, another genius that had spoken “Charles Chaplin is the only genius that is ever produced by Hollywood” all I can say is Chaplin does not exist because of Hollywood, it is Hollywood that exist because of Chaplin and with that I definitely cannot score this movie due to my humbleness of this great masterpiece.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Monday, April 12, 2010
Movie review number two: How to Train Your Dragon (2010)
The rise of 3-D industry has profited the movie makers and that's why it is the new trend of cinema. With the promises of better movie experiences, tickets are charged higher for a piece of a big sunglasses that only Sir Elton John usually don in usual basis. So currently the new movies are released in 2-D and 3-D format. What used to be 2 layered slightly nauseating 3-D in Jaws 10 years ago, 3-D nowadays are a ticket for a good ride.
Even with the promise of the excitement of 3-D, I choose to watch How to Train Your Dragon in 2-D due to my unfamiliarity with the material. I'm not sure whether my good money will be used for good so I opt for 2-D. After two hours of cinema, I can gladly conclude that How to Train Your Dragon is a family movie with a mix of adventure, bildungsromans, and values that is perfect for a escape of Viking taste. Although the unusual lavish beard might get in the way, this movie is a sure pick for any movie lovers.
WARNING: SPOILERS ALERT!!!
So, the story began with the introduction of a viking settlement, a beautiful seaside village with one problem, dragon kept infesting their goat and terrorizing their village. Then, we met Hiccup, a puny teenagers with all the hormones and no muscle to fulfill his greatest dream of all... (kinda like all the American Idol contestants' testament) to prove that he can kill the dragon and get..of course the gorgeous babe of the village, Asterid. And if the dream wasn't to much, he was actually the child of the strongest warrior of the land, Stoick, voiced by the delicious remind-me-of 300 epic hunky voice of Gerald Butler. So we can tell that there's a lot on Hiccup's shoulder and so far nothing is going in his direction. Until, he secretly shot the most dangerous dragon ever, Night Fury.
So the story goes on to show us how Hiccup had realized that the villagers were wrong about the dragon and they are actually gentle mistaken creatures due to their size and fire breath. So in the hours we are treat of how Hiccup grew to be a strong-willed young man to take a nerve and change the whole villagers' mindset and also solve the issue between the dragon and vikings settlement.
What works about the story is not only the story is greatly choreograph, the effects of the animation works great. Take the moment when Hiccup finally successfully to fly Toothless again and they soaring the sky and wind. If I was watching with 3-D, I bet the experience should be more amazing. The other thing about this movie is it is nice to see an historic epic, regardless of live action or animation forms are equalizing both gender. Not to make any sexist statement but it is nice to see there's woman alongside the guys fighting the dragon rather than cowering under the hole holding their babies.
The most exciting moment for me is got the be the last fighting sequence when Toothless and Hiccup were fighting the obese-I-can't-believe-it-can-fly queen dragon. The fight was tense with the added thunder and altitude and we can feel the tension of the vikings down on Earth, especially, Stoick, ridden with the concern of not knowing of what is happening up there mixed with guilty that he brought up the problem in the first place. The conclusion of course, good always prevail but the fact that this is a family movie does not hinder the loss of the good side too. They won of course but it cost Hiccup's leg to kill the ultimate evil. Nice to see that sometimes winner does not take all...
All in all, if I want to remember a Dreamwork animation features, I will choose this over Shrek. Maybe Shrek grossed the bucks but it was this one that make me crave for dragons, vikings and a hunky Scottish accent guy for always.
Overall score:
Story:3.5/5
Casting:4/5
Cinematography:4.5/5
Script:4/5
Direction:4/5
Overall: 20/25
Even with the promise of the excitement of 3-D, I choose to watch How to Train Your Dragon in 2-D due to my unfamiliarity with the material. I'm not sure whether my good money will be used for good so I opt for 2-D. After two hours of cinema, I can gladly conclude that How to Train Your Dragon is a family movie with a mix of adventure, bildungsromans, and values that is perfect for a escape of Viking taste. Although the unusual lavish beard might get in the way, this movie is a sure pick for any movie lovers.
WARNING: SPOILERS ALERT!!!
So, the story began with the introduction of a viking settlement, a beautiful seaside village with one problem, dragon kept infesting their goat and terrorizing their village. Then, we met Hiccup, a puny teenagers with all the hormones and no muscle to fulfill his greatest dream of all... (kinda like all the American Idol contestants' testament) to prove that he can kill the dragon and get..of course the gorgeous babe of the village, Asterid. And if the dream wasn't to much, he was actually the child of the strongest warrior of the land, Stoick, voiced by the delicious remind-me-of 300 epic hunky voice of Gerald Butler. So we can tell that there's a lot on Hiccup's shoulder and so far nothing is going in his direction. Until, he secretly shot the most dangerous dragon ever, Night Fury.
So the story goes on to show us how Hiccup had realized that the villagers were wrong about the dragon and they are actually gentle mistaken creatures due to their size and fire breath. So in the hours we are treat of how Hiccup grew to be a strong-willed young man to take a nerve and change the whole villagers' mindset and also solve the issue between the dragon and vikings settlement.
What works about the story is not only the story is greatly choreograph, the effects of the animation works great. Take the moment when Hiccup finally successfully to fly Toothless again and they soaring the sky and wind. If I was watching with 3-D, I bet the experience should be more amazing. The other thing about this movie is it is nice to see an historic epic, regardless of live action or animation forms are equalizing both gender. Not to make any sexist statement but it is nice to see there's woman alongside the guys fighting the dragon rather than cowering under the hole holding their babies.
The most exciting moment for me is got the be the last fighting sequence when Toothless and Hiccup were fighting the obese-I-can't-believe-it-can-fly queen dragon. The fight was tense with the added thunder and altitude and we can feel the tension of the vikings down on Earth, especially, Stoick, ridden with the concern of not knowing of what is happening up there mixed with guilty that he brought up the problem in the first place. The conclusion of course, good always prevail but the fact that this is a family movie does not hinder the loss of the good side too. They won of course but it cost Hiccup's leg to kill the ultimate evil. Nice to see that sometimes winner does not take all...
All in all, if I want to remember a Dreamwork animation features, I will choose this over Shrek. Maybe Shrek grossed the bucks but it was this one that make me crave for dragons, vikings and a hunky Scottish accent guy for always.
Overall score:
Story:3.5/5
Casting:4/5
Cinematography:4.5/5
Script:4/5
Direction:4/5
Overall: 20/25
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
of crappy room and teaching styles...
Everything has a two sides. Coins, colors, seasons, gender. Same thing with what I am experiencing in Melaka. There are good sides and bad sides. Good sides are of course financial freedom, doing things that I love and meeting all these bright young individuals. The bad sides are unstable schedule, lack of entertainment and the one that bothers me most, the condition of classroom. One of my group is unfortunately to be placed in one of the crappiest room that is available here. Between there and the bunk of the World War II remains, I prefer the bunk. At least it got walls.
So when the inevitable happen, the best thing to do for me is try to make it at least acceptable. So, hence come the teaching style. To compensate for the damp condition of the room, I make myself a nice display. Does not mean that I become Tyra Banks because in my wildest dream I can be as hot as her but I make myself as lively as I can. I have to be active to make them active. So at least we can enjoy ourselves for being in that unfortunate room.
Unfortunate events seem to stroll one after another. Just then I find ourselves to be bearable there, protest exist. It's hard to compromise I know but isn't a teacher supposed to be empathy. Here we are trying our best to make it good but instead somebody else stepped it and complaining about it as if we don't know the real crap in the first place.
Well, the solution is to move out and trust me, I should have done that in the first place. Let they have one less problem to worry with and same goes for us too.
So when the inevitable happen, the best thing to do for me is try to make it at least acceptable. So, hence come the teaching style. To compensate for the damp condition of the room, I make myself a nice display. Does not mean that I become Tyra Banks because in my wildest dream I can be as hot as her but I make myself as lively as I can. I have to be active to make them active. So at least we can enjoy ourselves for being in that unfortunate room.
Unfortunate events seem to stroll one after another. Just then I find ourselves to be bearable there, protest exist. It's hard to compromise I know but isn't a teacher supposed to be empathy. Here we are trying our best to make it good but instead somebody else stepped it and complaining about it as if we don't know the real crap in the first place.
Well, the solution is to move out and trust me, I should have done that in the first place. Let they have one less problem to worry with and same goes for us too.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Gaji...gaji makes us go crazy!!!!
Money is power. There's a phrase that I finally understood after I've been working for 3 months. Having financial freedom has always been a target in my life. Basically, I've been living off my parents' money for almost 26 years. With no husband in target to switch, 26 years is a pretty pathetic to be spoon-fed by your parents right?
Mostly the payment that I've got are used for rent, savings and food. But there are moment that I feel like I want to emptied all bank accounts and buy everything that I've seen in the marketplace. But, obligation is the key and I have to prove to myself and my family and I'll be fine with my own money.
But still, I did have some fun with my pay. Firstly is to treat my family to one of our favorite place to eat. Saba' in Cyberjaya. So big plates of lamb for my siblings and chicken for mama and abah (lamb is strictly off limits to them!), we had fun over there. Also, this is the first big family outing my our newest member, Mia so we had fun!
The realization of becoming 26 years old single woman has made me realize about my health. So, the next splurge is spent on sportswear. I always wanted a decent sport shoes, not the one like I've bought in Tesco, (no offense Tesco, but you're a convenient store, not exactly sporting goods store). With a little dime in my pocket, I've surveyed the shoes for myself. I ended up buying Power sport shoes from BATA, 68 ringgit. I know it's not exactly Adidas, Nike or anything but hey, it covers my feet right?
But the biggest splurge that I did was on books. I know, pretty nerd, huh? I considered myself a rebellious geeky nerd so I'll that that term as a compliment. I've bought 2 books at Midvalley, one crime books, an area that I love and a made-up funny biography. Both cost about 6o ringgit. But the one that I spend most is on Ebay Malaysia. I was just browsing things for fun and for actually to be used for my teaching, then I come across of the complete set of Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events in hardcover. All 13 series for RM 240 and a little calculation with a help of a calculator of course, that makes each book costs RM 18. So RM 18 for one book, isn't that a bargain? Ok plus shipping cost, it's RM380 in total, so that makes RM24 per book. Still a bargain for me! So, my fingers just reflectively clicked buy and there goes my fmoney!! After 7
days of waiting, it finally arrives and the collection is great and totally amazing!!!
Currently, I'm at the tenth book and so far I'm loving it!! Right now, I'm waiting for my next pay, I think I'm gonna spend it on food because I just found a website promoting great food and this cougar just can't hold her appetite! I can always used friends to accompany me, so interested? First stop Sibaraku Oriental at Plaza Mahkota. It is the highest rating restaurant in Melaka in Malaysian food website so, my next pay here I come!!!
Mostly the payment that I've got are used for rent, savings and food. But there are moment that I feel like I want to emptied all bank accounts and buy everything that I've seen in the marketplace. But, obligation is the key and I have to prove to myself and my family and I'll be fine with my own money.
But still, I did have some fun with my pay. Firstly is to treat my family to one of our favorite place to eat. Saba' in Cyberjaya. So big plates of lamb for my siblings and chicken for mama and abah (lamb is strictly off limits to them!), we had fun over there. Also, this is the first big family outing my our newest member, Mia so we had fun!
The realization of becoming 26 years old single woman has made me realize about my health. So, the next splurge is spent on sportswear. I always wanted a decent sport shoes, not the one like I've bought in Tesco, (no offense Tesco, but you're a convenient store, not exactly sporting goods store). With a little dime in my pocket, I've surveyed the shoes for myself. I ended up buying Power sport shoes from BATA, 68 ringgit. I know it's not exactly Adidas, Nike or anything but hey, it covers my feet right?
But the biggest splurge that I did was on books. I know, pretty nerd, huh? I considered myself a rebellious geeky nerd so I'll that that term as a compliment. I've bought 2 books at Midvalley, one crime books, an area that I love and a made-up funny biography. Both cost about 6o ringgit. But the one that I spend most is on Ebay Malaysia. I was just browsing things for fun and for actually to be used for my teaching, then I come across of the complete set of Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events in hardcover. All 13 series for RM 240 and a little calculation with a help of a calculator of course, that makes each book costs RM 18. So RM 18 for one book, isn't that a bargain? Ok plus shipping cost, it's RM380 in total, so that makes RM24 per book. Still a bargain for me! So, my fingers just reflectively clicked buy and there goes my fmoney!! After 7
days of waiting, it finally arrives and the collection is great and totally amazing!!!
Currently, I'm at the tenth book and so far I'm loving it!! Right now, I'm waiting for my next pay, I think I'm gonna spend it on food because I just found a website promoting great food and this cougar just can't hold her appetite! I can always used friends to accompany me, so interested? First stop Sibaraku Oriental at Plaza Mahkota. It is the highest rating restaurant in Melaka in Malaysian food website so, my next pay here I come!!!
Returning of izzat...
Assalamualaikum,
Sorry for the absence. I just started working and things starting to get haywire and apparently I've forgotten about this. But now, I'm starting to get hang on things so it's fun to write and express anything that I want to say.
Right now, life has turning up and down, side way, parallel, any directions that you can think of. Coping with a new life, new schedule, new place and new faces is totally overwhelming but nonetheless is a great experience indeed. I count myself lucky for only having to be out of luck for 1 and a half months before I got employed in here. Even though working in Melaka has never been in my train of thoughts, I'm glad it happened to me.
As for teaching, I absolutely love what I am doing right now. Although teaching English is not exactly what I'm dreaming for, I love every moment of it. What makes it even more special, the fact that I'm teaching for UiTM. I owed UiTM for my 7 years of higher education and there's nothing better than to be able to do something back to UiTM, even if it a thing as little or insignificant like this. My debt with UiTM is a lifetime debt and I'm here to make up for most of it.
As for living in Melaka, it's been bittersweet symphony for me. I love the tranquility and the uniqueness that Melaka has offered like the buildings, the places of interest and many more. But I also miss the convenience that Selangor has. I mean, it's easy to find a place to eat and hang out in Selangor. In here, we need to shot for either Bandar Melaka or Ayer Keroh to get a bit of hype. With the traffic and the drivers' attitude, it's easy to resent it a little bit.
But amidst of all the hype of my personal lives, I am hoping for the best for my carrier in here. Teaching has always been the thing that I'm sure I'm good at in my life. I come to this world with many shortcomings and teaching has always been a good remedy to redeem for it and I hope this love will be a lifetime affair for me. There's nothing happier than being looked up upon by these young individuals like my students and someday I'll hope that I can be a person that present as a big influence in their lives.
Sorry for the absence. I just started working and things starting to get haywire and apparently I've forgotten about this. But now, I'm starting to get hang on things so it's fun to write and express anything that I want to say.
Right now, life has turning up and down, side way, parallel, any directions that you can think of. Coping with a new life, new schedule, new place and new faces is totally overwhelming but nonetheless is a great experience indeed. I count myself lucky for only having to be out of luck for 1 and a half months before I got employed in here. Even though working in Melaka has never been in my train of thoughts, I'm glad it happened to me.
As for teaching, I absolutely love what I am doing right now. Although teaching English is not exactly what I'm dreaming for, I love every moment of it. What makes it even more special, the fact that I'm teaching for UiTM. I owed UiTM for my 7 years of higher education and there's nothing better than to be able to do something back to UiTM, even if it a thing as little or insignificant like this. My debt with UiTM is a lifetime debt and I'm here to make up for most of it.
As for living in Melaka, it's been bittersweet symphony for me. I love the tranquility and the uniqueness that Melaka has offered like the buildings, the places of interest and many more. But I also miss the convenience that Selangor has. I mean, it's easy to find a place to eat and hang out in Selangor. In here, we need to shot for either Bandar Melaka or Ayer Keroh to get a bit of hype. With the traffic and the drivers' attitude, it's easy to resent it a little bit.
But amidst of all the hype of my personal lives, I am hoping for the best for my carrier in here. Teaching has always been the thing that I'm sure I'm good at in my life. I come to this world with many shortcomings and teaching has always been a good remedy to redeem for it and I hope this love will be a lifetime affair for me. There's nothing happier than being looked up upon by these young individuals like my students and someday I'll hope that I can be a person that present as a big influence in their lives.
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