Happy Lunar New Year to all!!!
A CNY that doesn't feel like one
The busy busy days and the stress stress times left Hong Shiying watching many many movies.
Definition of "stress" in The Free Dictionary in this instance is:
A mentally or emotionally disruptive or upsetting condition occurring in response to adverse external influences and capable of affecting physical health, usually characterized by increased heart rate, a rise in blood pressure, muscular tension, irritability, and depression.
The movies I watched:
1. Across the Universe
All you need is love.
An original musical film, Across The Universe is a fictional love story set in the 1960s amid the turbulent years of anti-war protest, the struggle for free speech and civil rights, mind exploration and rock and roll. At once gritty, whimsical and highly theatrical, the story moves from high schools and universities in Massachusetts, Princeton and Ohio to the Lower East Side of Manhattan, the Detroit riots, Vietnam and the dockyards of Liverpool. A combination of live action and animation, the film is paired with many songs by The Beatles that defined the time.
Because it's The Beatles, and it's English English, I watched it. :D
Lovely show, altho there were many super random scenes, but in the overall, the plot was fantastic. In addition, the covers of The Beatles' songs by the characters in the musical movie realy amazed me.
2. The Assassination of Jesse James by Coward Robert Ford
A story about Robert Ford, who idolized Jesse James (a bandit leader) since childhood, tries hard to join the reforming gang of the Missouri outlaw, but gradually becomes resentful of the bandit leader.
Because it's Casey Affleck and Brad Pitt, and imdb rating is rather high, I went to watch it. But I deeply regret spending $10 and 160mins in the theatre.
3. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
The story is about a barber whose wife and family have been broken up by an evil judge. After years of exile for a crime he did not commit, the barber is determined to take his revenge! Musical and all.
Because it's Tim Burton (director of Corpse Bride, writer of Nightmare Before Christmas), and it's Johnny Depp, and they say it's bloody, I went to watch. heee. Slit throat. I did not regret spending $10 and 2 hours in the theatre :D
Samuel says "No wonder all the faces are white, just like Corpse Bride".
4. 3:10 to Yuma
Rancher Dan Evans heads into Bisbee to clear up issues concerning the sake of his land when he witnesses the closing events of a stagecoach robbery led by famed outlaw Ben Wade. Shortly thereafter, Wade is captured by the law in Bisbee and Evans finds himself one of the escorts who will take Wade to the 3:10 to Yuma train in Contention for the reward of $200. Evans's effort to take Wade to the station is in part an effort to save his land but also part of an inner battle to determine whether he can be more than just a naive rancher in the eyes of his impetuous and gunslinging son William Evans. The transport to Contention is hazardous and filled with ambushes by Indians, pursuits by Wade's vengeful gang and Wade's own conniving and surreptitious demeanor that makes the ride all the more intense.
Because it's Russell Crowe and Christian Bale. HAHAHA!
But the show is darn good ar! very cowboy. Gunshots and all darn shiok. I love the ending of the show. Please do watch it of possible.
5. Pride and Prejudice
This tale of love and values unfolds in the class-conscious England of the late 18th century. The five Bennet sisters - including strong-willed Elizabeth and young Lydia - have been raised by their mother with one purpose in life: finding a husband. When a wealthy bachelor takes up residence in a nearby mansion, the Bennets are abuzz. Amongst the man's sophisticated circle of friends, surely there will be no shortage of suitors for the Bennet sisters. But when Elizabeth meets up with the handsome and - it would seem - snobbish Mr. Darcy, the battle of the sexes is joined.
Because it's English English, it's Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen (lead actor in the comedy, Death at a Funeral).
The wealthy man was misjudged by many as a proud man is actually not proud at all and has been the one who has been saving all the situations possible. For love, he is willing to sacrifice and give all that he has. He does this for the love of his life, yet she misunderstood him until she found out that he has all along been helping her and the people around her. What he did was because he loves her. She realised how prejudiced she is against him, and that she loves him.
The kind of love that some yearn for :)
