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Dec 7, 2003
Holiday's over... *sob..sob*
Well.... this is the third time I re write this entry.. thanx to this lousy net rental i'm using. What can you expect from a place like this anyway.. sigh..
Finally, my holiday's over. Unlike some of you who are in christmas holiday, I'm not gonna have it. My college doesn't have that holiday on their agenda. *sigh* Time does go so fast.. i remember it was just like yesterday when i was so happy to enter my holiday.. and now it's done. end set. finish. And because of that.. I'm gonna start getting busy again. To make things even worse, soon enough I'm gonna have my final exam. Lots of things I should study before that.. and the bad news is, there are only 24 hours available each day. So I gotta use the time as efficient as possible. hmm..
 Anyway, as I was saying.. due to all the things I mentioned earlier, I'm not gonna be able to go online as much as usual.. I'm still gonna be around though, whenever I find some free time here and there, then I'll visit yer blog, all my beloved friends.  But just in case, I thought I'd better tell ya all first.. I'm gonna miss ya all that's for sure.
I also wanna say goodbye to Waily's blog. I'm gonna miss both of your blog, wail.. but I'm still happy cuz I can still see ya in Splotch's or in my blog whenever you're visiting. I just wish you all the best ok? hope to see you again soon in your own blog.
Oh yeah, I didn't know that Friday's Child made me a really nice cute blinkie! I was surprised when my gf told me that Friday actually made me a gift. And I just missed it, typical me.. well, here I wanna say thank you a million, from the bottom of my heart to ya fry. 
Here's what she made for me. Nice blinkie rite? 
Before I go, for some of you my dearest friendz who ask about the snow flakes, here I give you the script. Just copy and paste it in your main html, save and upload the snow.gif to your own host (you can take the snow from my blog of course teehee..  ) and voila, you have the snowflakes on your blog.
note: on the 4th line of the script below, you see http://www.boomspeed.com/andre2/snow.gif rite? change it with the url from the host you save the snow.gif. eq: "http://blablayadayada.com/snow.gif"
okay, here's the script!
Alrighty, I'm outta here. Take care all!!
Posted at 07:21 pm by keketz
Dec 4, 2003
Leatherface Strikes Again
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TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE v.2003 |
Well well well.. forgive me for serving the review of Texas Chainsaw
Massacre "a lil" too late. You know, all the activities, so many movies
to review, so many things to do, yet so lil time cause the review
delivered late in front of you. Maybe some of you haven't seen it yet,
some have, but still there's nothing wrong to read the review right?
*wink* Okay, here's my review.
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Released in 1974, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was one of the first
movies featuring a group of teens stranded in an unfamiliar setting,
stalked and demolished one by one. This set up has been repeated and
reincarnated so many times that new ideas have run dry. Now comes a
remake of the 30-year-old original, and to tell you what I think, I
don't see anything wrong with that. I think it's about time to refresh
our memory to where the slasher genre came from, and this one isn't bad
at all, considering it's a remake. The 2003 version has some of the
elements that made the first a cult classic.
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The remake is faithful to the original and does maintain the graphic as
dark as it was before and also using some people from the original
(Hooper, Larroquette, and cinematographer Daniel Pearl). But there is
still plenty of fun for those us of us who've practically memorized
every stitch in Leatherface's mask. How about the acting? I think the
acting is definately above par. |
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The question now, is it scary? Well, It's fun and thrilling and chilling. Those with queasy stomachs proceed with caution, the film is a gauntlet of disgusting characters and disturbing visuals. But in today's world of genre, TCM only orbits Planet Horrorwood, never quite landing. In other words, not quite scary, at least to me. They have tried as much as possible though.. and I give credit for that.
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What makes the content somewhat forgivable is the timeframe it was released, around Halloween when certain people are just in a mood to be horrified, shocked, terrorized and disgusted at the movies. The original Texas Chainsaw Massacre was a hellacious nightmare; the remake is just a well made delicious impersonation. But hey, this is a memory lane for horror fans, and can be a new taste of a classic recipe for those who haven't seen the original. Should this movie be watched? Definately.
| Posted at 05:42 pm by keketz
Nov 29, 2003
Box Office and Sum Review
UNDERWORLD AND 28 DAYS LATER :
HORROR MOVIE OR NOT? |
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Welcome to the Underworld. First of all I wanna say this movie's kewl. it's interesting, cuz it's not really a horror movie, nor it's the twisted-to-the-darkside Romeo and Juliet story like what some guessed by the preview.
Yes, there's a whiff of a star-crossed, Ann Rice-ian love story at its core. Yes, every character in the movie is either a vampire or a werewolf. And, sure, there's plenty of blood-letting, ghoulish attacks from dark corners and morphing, Lycian transformations.
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But the thing is more properly a war movie. Its mythic horror characters fight each other not with fang and claw but with blazing machine guns and high-tech pistols firing bullets loaded with light-beams (against the vampires) and silver nitrate (against the werewolves).
It's the kind of movie that, if you fail to get with it from the start, can be difficult for you to go through -- especially with quite long running time. And if you blink, you can get lost in the complexity of the vital backbones of the story. But, if you do follow it right, you'll like the story plus the movie works as an exhilarating celebration of the gothic style, modern goth. I think this is the first movie that show us the subculture of modern goth in movie industry.
At the center of all this mayhem, Beckinsale makes a most stunning focus. With her flowing black coat and stylish confidence, she may be a bit too obviously a female version of Keanu Reeves' Neo, but she's poetry in motion and she projects an exquisitely soothing intelligence and determination. And the rest of the cast are also fit perfectly, especially the vampire lord, Victor, creates so brilliantly.
I gotta give a special credit to the special effects and action. The transformation of werewolves are really great! and the vampires, although they seem too standard with fangs and long black coat, but they look realistic like it exist normally around us. The action's really fun to watch! so many cool stuff that will put you at the edge of your seat. Those two elements blend together with perfect casts to make this movie worth watching! Seems like there's a hint of sequel in the end.. and tell ya, i can't wait to see it! :D
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Now speaking about another movie, 28 Days Later, that I watched shortly after Underworld. This one, unlike the standard hollywood movie might be boring for those who happen to like the way story goes according to hollywood. And might be dissapointing for horror lovers after the first one hour. But the movie itself actually good once we get the message. |
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The movie goes like this. A group of animal activists release A monkey that has been infected with rage from a primate research lab. Right away it attacks the group in a gruesome, merciless manner, and soon, the "rage" is passed onto the humans like a deadly virus. It took only 20 seconds after the blood passes from the infected to the other. This leads to a slaughter epidemic of global proportions. Then we meet Jim, who who wakes from a hospital bed with no idea about what's going on. While he was passed out, the infection has transformed the living into bloodthirsty carnivore zombies. They are hungry people with no anger management. Essentially, this part looks like a modern update of the horror classic Night of the Living Dead. Jim eventually finds unaffected survivors,and together they struggle to survive. They find an uninfected army unit. Finish? Nope. The story continues to another topic. The mentality of those army are actually bad, they are trying to make two girl survivors as their sex object. Then we're about to see how the story turns out to be Jim and friends vs army unit.
This is why I said horror fans would be dissapointed, cuz this is not a pure horror movie. There are zombies till the end, but that's not what this movie goes to. If we set the standard to horror movie, we might be dissapointed as well, cuz the movie seems to forget the idea of infections and zombie nightmares later on, plus an ending that really against the ritual of horror movies that might be a logical outcome. But wait a minute. The point of this movie isn't zombies. Zombies are just one of the ingredients to build it. This movie actually talks about human nature. The tendencies to kill each other, the anger and lust human have inside can be uncontrolable in some conditions. It doesn't matter if our species is going to end, for whatever the reason is, named it viruses, plagues, diseases, epidemics or anything, the human nature have those elements inside. This is what the movie wants to tell us. So basically the movie's about the study of human nature.
Finally, I'd say this movie will satisfy us if we depend it on their (and our) understanding of human nature. Other than that reason, I think one's better to leave this one out from their watching list. -andre-
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Weekend Box Office of Nov 23, 2003
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1 DR.SEUSS'THE CAT IN THE HAT 38.3
2 GOTHIKA 19.3
3 ELF 18.7
4 MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD 15.2
5 LOVE ACTUALLY 8.6
6 THE MATRIX REVOLUTION 7
7 BROTHER BEAR 5.3
8 LOONEY TUNES: BACK IN ACTION 4.2
9 SCARY MOVIE 3 3.1
10 RADIO 2.6
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PS: THANKS A LOT to BLIFME for a reallllly cute banner she made for me!! 
Isn't it cute? Wow sis, I really love it! Thanx a million ok! *hugs* :)
Posted at 05:16 pm by keketz
Nov 23, 2003
Making Effects with Adobe Photoshop 7.0
SUN EXPLOTION EFFECTS with Adobe Photoshop 7.0 A little gift from me to all of you who like to play around with photoshop :)
1. Make a new file, width :500 pixels, height :400 pixels, resolution :100 pixels/inch, mode: RGB, contents:white
2. Click Shift-D to reset the foreground and background color
3. Click background layer twice then change the layer name to Explode
4. Use Filter > Render > Difference Clouds
5. Repeat this several times by clicking Ctrl F over and over again until you find a texture that looks like this:
6. Go to menu, Click Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation. Set it to: options: Colorize, Hue:25 Saturation: 100, Lightness: 0
7. Make a new layer from Layers Palette, and give it a name: Sun.
8. Prepare red color as foreground (click the foreground on the left that has black color in it). Set it to: R:237, G:28, B:36
9. Click menu Edit > Fill then choose: Use: Foreground Color, Opacity: 100%
10. At the layers palette, drag the Sun layer and place it under the Explode layer.
11. Choose Explode layer, then choose Blending Mode: Lighten. You should see that layer becomes a bit transparant, showing some red color the Sun layer.
12. Click the layer Sun, then use: Filter > Render > Lightning Effects, and follow this setting:
13. On the pallete layers, click "Create new fill of adjustments layer"
14. Choose Gradient from the menu, then follow this setting
This is how it looks now
15. Click the layer Explode from layers palette, then click menu: Layer > Duplicate Layer. Name it : Rays
16. On this new layer, use Filter > Blur > Radial Blur with : Amount: 100, Blur Method: Zoom, Quality: Good
17. Again, click Explode layer on the layers palette, then click Layer > Duplicate Layer , and name it : Center. Place this new one between Explode and Rays.
18. Use Filter > Render > Lightning Effects, and follow this setting:
19. On the layer palette use : Blending Mode: Normal
and that's it. Here's the final result:
Have fun!! :)
Posted at 07:28 pm by keketz
Nov 21, 2003
The Matrix and Religious concept
Speaking about The Matrix, I found out that so many religions claim that this is movie reflects their concept. I've been thinking to write about this for long time ago, as my dearest sis Nita also asked me to write, but I just felt it's just too complicated as I found so many clue related to any concept of religions. But hey, I know sooner or later I gotta write about this, from everything I know. Sorry if there are things left unwritten, or if there's anything i write wrong.. that's why I really need more comment from all of you guys! :)
 Mixing metaphors from Christianity, Buddhism, Greek mythology, and even cyber technology, The Matrix as myth may be seen as an analysis of the contemporary existential condition. It appropriates the Christian messianic framework but imports a form of Buddhist idealism to radically transform the Christian existential understanding of the human condition. In this respect, it dialectically produces a new worldview through myth.
There is no end to the biblical parallels that have been found. There are names like Trinity and Zion. There is a baptism and a betrayal. After a while though, the parallels start to get rather debatable, and more to the point nerdish.
There are many Christians who have attempted to construe the movie as a Christian allegory. Admittedly, there are delicious morsels of symbolism that support this view. The One at first reminded us to a role of Messiah, the Saviour, the one who could bring peace between human and machines. Some can make the connection between Morpheus and John the Baptist by pointing out their common role heralding the coming of “the One.” The word Morpheus comes from the name of the Greek god of dreams, and the linguistic root for both our words morphine (a drug that induces sleep and freedom from pain) and the computer technology of "morphing" (seamlessly transforming from one reality to another). There are other names that are representing religious connection.Trinity reminds us of the Father, Jesus and Holy Spirit concept. While "The Twins" brings us to the ancient Chinese myth of a pair of gods who guard the door, sometimes symbolized as lion-like figure. Zion,it's more about Jewish, it's a holy city that's gonna be the place for the Messiah to appear. and look at Neo's name "Mr Anderson" the root "Ander" evokes "Andros" which means "Man" in Greek, so "Anderson" becomes "The Son of Man" which is what the Jewish call their Messiah. The Judas character represented by Cypher. Like Judas at the last supper, Cypher accepts his fate as traitor over a meal.Cypher also wears a reptile skin coat, which alludes to the biblical figure of Satan as serpent. (Thus some connected Cyper as a play of Lucifer).
 More about Neo's character, it plays that of both new convert and Christ in the film, is on the receiving end of the some of the world's most ancient wisdom wrapped in some of the best modern technological analogies. "You are a slave" and "We are born into bondage" are the two sentences Morpheus speaks to Neo that reveals the biblical analogy to the Judeo-Christian understanding of slavery to sin. Like the biblical understanding, our technoslavery is a bondage of mankind's own making, a product of our own free will, as evidenced by Agent Smith's revelation that this is the second Matrix. The first Matrix, Smith says, was perfect, but we humans decided we wanted to define ourselves through our misery, and so we couldn't accept it. This is the technological version of the Garden of Eden story from Genesis. But above all, of course, the most known basic to connect it to Christianity is that the hero, born as a man, gives his life as a sacrifice, is brought back to life and then has the power to set the people free.
Yup, everything i stated above can be related to religious concept..but is it all about religions? is that the point of this movie? what does matrix "believe"?
For whoever see it as a Christian allegory, which is natural enough because it draws so much on the life of Jesus, there's one tough question, because some pretty essential elements of Christianity are missing. There's no God in Matrix. So?
I personally come into my own conclusion, the truth is that The Matrix is a pot pourri - you can't pin it to any one religious system. The most important thing one should remember when watching this movie is "free your mind". Epic films like The Matrix are the modern day equivalent of The Iliad-Odyssey or the epic of Gilgamesh that creates it's own myth and legend. I find that the Matrix also illustrates the culturally imbedded nature of myth with respect to issues of gender, violence, and entertainment. There are wonderfully created special effects thru this epic that really worth watching for years to come. So my suggestion is, stop thinking too much, just enjoy the movie.
Posted at 05:44 pm by keketz
Nov 20, 2003
my 2nd anniversary..love's here to stay
Today is the happy day. I'm celebrating my 2nd anniversary with my hunny. Back in 2 years ago, when we first made the commitment to be together, when we were still far away from each other, when everything was still new, and now I praise the Lord for reaching this moment. Our relationship is still going on strong, in fact I dare to say it's never been better.
When two people being together as one, when love appear and stay, when finally one finds the other half and feels complete, and more, when one know that God's blessing the relationship as well, it's a really beautiful thing. There are so many words unspoken, no words can actually be enough to describe how it is, yet the feeling is so wonderful. Sometimes when I wonder, how to feel God's existance in this world, well... other than breathing in life of course, I got the answer just by looking at my gf's smile. Yup, whenever I feel the love between us, I know that this amazing feeling come from nowhere else but above. I cherish every moment with her, I'm happy with her, satisfaction guarantee? you bet.. hehe.. so many things I wanna say to her, but all come down into a three little words that could conclude my feeling..I love you.
The question is, what about the perfect relationship, is it a relationship with no argue, no fight in it? I don't think so.. like in my relationship as others, there are ups and downs. There are good times and bad times. There were times when we argued badly, but then again that's not the point. No matter how great two people match to each other, there's always differences between them and that's natural. What's important is, we learn from all the mistakes, we learn from everything happen, we learn from all our fights, and we promise to do better. And when a couple learn from all the bad thing and do better next time, in the name of love, that's the essence of a perfect relationship. I never condemn the fight, I never regret anything that's already happened. But I walk away from it with something to remember, that I gotta be better and not making the same mistakes.
So.. here I am in this special moment. We're going to dine out in a nice restaurant tonight for a lil celebration.. But that's not the most important thing. Today we're making a commitment to hold the love together and to do our best in it. I can't wait to look into her eyes in a nice candle light dinner tonight, and send the breeze of love right to her eyes from mine. I can't wait to hold her hand, saying how much I love her and how I thank her for being here and supporting me in times of trouble. As maybe you already know how much I'm struggling to survive in life right now, I feel more than happy to know that she's still believe in me. Hunny, yes, right now I'm in the middle of struggle for our future. Sometimes I feel too tired, I feel like I wanna scream for the big pressure inside me, but then again with your smile in my mind I always have my strength back, have my courage to face every challange, and trust me, just with you in my mind, I'll beat them all and come as a survivor. And hunny, I'll always do my best to make you happy, I'm doing everything I can to make it real, to make every dream of yours come true.
My dear one, happy anniversary.. I love you with all my heart and soul, let's keep this love alive forever and ever..
Posted at 05:41 pm by keketz
Nov 19, 2003
movie review: Dancer in The Dark
As a request from my dear friend Nisya, one of the biggest Björk fans, today i wanna review a great and unique movie called DANCER IN THE
DARK. I really hope i still remember what's the movie all about, since
i watched it quite long time ago.
 The movie, more or less, is about Selma (Björk) a Czechoslovakian
immigrant to the US, whose diligent but infinitely stubborn efforts to
save her son from a terrible family legacy, fall foul of fate, tragedy
and an American dream gone wrong.
Selma escapes the problems of her life with music,
specifically MGM musicals with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Here,
she vocalizes her dreams and her very real fears. She taps her
feet to the sounds of the factory machinery
and the local railroad, she has hope. The film often
finds true emotional depth, the sort of gritty realism one might
briefly encounter at an amateur poetry reading.
Unfortunately, the real world and all of its problems cannot be ignored
forever.
The plot itself is pure soap opera and in the hands of any other
filmmaker would be nothing more than a gushing, shamelessly sentimental
work. But DANCER IN THE DARK chooses as its context a situation quite
unlike any you’d normally associate with a musical. Dancer in the Dark
is a curious tale, one that mixes overt melodrama and
tragedy with chilling musical numbers. The result is a
wild, unusual, daring, and at times thoroughly exhilarating sort of
Shakespearean soap opera set to bizarre interpretive music from
Björk.More than just proving that musicals need not be purely about
entertainment,Björk also establishes herself as an acting force to be
reckoned with in the film. She played it as if she 'feel' the part as
opposed to acting them. Of course it's also related with the music,
which forms the bones of DANCER IN THE DARK. The score is dark,
difficult and extremely haunting. It also reaffirms Björk’s position as
one of the finest, innovative songwriters in the business.
Like a novel, this film is many different things. But, for me, if
anyone really curious to know, the film’s
greatness lies in its exploration of human despair, the loneliness of a
single mother, and the human coping mechanism.
DANCER IN THE DARK is probably the best example in recent years
of a film that audience members will either love or hate. In all
likelihood, the film will either bring a smile to your face, with its
brazen over-the-top style, or it will seriously grate on your nerves
and senses. Still I think it demands to be seen, and though you might
hate it, at least you'll exit the theater with the bruised sense of
having seen something memorable.
Posted at 09:51 pm by keketz
Nov 15, 2003
Some of The Worst Movie Of all Time
It's quarter past 12 noon, here I am sitting in front of my gf's
laptop, remembering about some movies that could really give you
nightmares..well at least they did give me nightmares. No, I'm not
talking about horror movies, forget horror movies for a while as I may
have given you too much hehe..  I just thought my entry needs a lil
variation. Still spooky, so spooky that they haunt you terribly
everytime you see anything related on those movies, you feel goosebumps
all over you, but as i said, they're not listed in horror section.
Sound scarier don't you think?  Okay, what I'm talking about is
some movies that might cause headache, nausea and vomiting. I'm talking
about some of the worst movies i've ever seen. Note, I dont wanna
bother myself for choosing the worst 10,20, or whatever. And i'm not
sorting it in order as well. I just wanna give some of the worst i can
remember right now. There might be more, but hell, i'd never get the
chance to write them down if I gotta keep on thinkin' rite?
Well, that's the appetizers, now let's move on to the main dish!
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1. Batman & Robin (1997)
Holy batcrap! Imagine the whiny pantywaist Robin demands equal billing
with the dark knight! Schwarzenegger camping in as mr freeze, Alicia
Silverstone overstuffing her batgirl tights.. and above all, how Batman
turns out to be super geek without any charisma and dignity. Joel
Schumacher must've forgotten that this movie's about Batman! nuff said.
Oh yeah, Batman, you have a new job, you gotta save Chris O'donnell and
Alicia Silverstone's careers!
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2. Moment By Moment (1978)
Ever wonder what could possibly make you sick? how about... watching a
young John Travolta prance around in tighty-whities for 2 hours and
constantly bang his mom? At least that's our interpretation when we
have the creepy relationship between him and Lily Tomlin. Anything
worse than this? |
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3. Cutthroat Island (1995)
Look at the $ 92 million idea. Hand a sword to Geena Davis and put her
in situation where her clothes' likely to be ripped. Next, place a love
interest with umm.. Matthew Modine! (good job, really... LOL) .
Erm..sure.. then let Geena's then hubby, Renny Harlin, control the
megaphone. The result? No more than $11 million gross. Oh okay, I get
it.. it's a comedy! |
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4. Spice World (1997)
We'll tell you what we want, what we really, really want.. We want 92
minutes of our lives back and five way porn video to make up for this
"A Hard Day's Night" wannabe! not to mention civilization as we know
it.. They show that Girl Power means farting around miserable London.
Actin stupid, dressing like street ho, those are the ingredients of
what they want, what they really really want. |
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5. Howard The Duck (1986)
Imagine this.. a smart kid who could beat the odds and get every
question wrong on a true-false test. With Howard The Duck, George Lucas
was the kid. From a man who made Star Wars saga, Indiana Jones movies,
we get this unbelieavably unfunny flick about cigar smoking
duck. |
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6. Speed 2: Cruise Control (1997)
Hey pleasure boaters-make a way! There's a cruise ship out of control
at 12 knots! Oh, too bad Jason Patric didn't wear the life vest...
look, he's sinking along with the movie to a watery grave.
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7. Hook (1991)
How many parents accidentally subjected their children to this
amazingly idiot version of Peter Pan? Waste of Robin William's talent..
I still laugh my arse off everytime I imagine peter pan on robin
william's face! oh, what about Dustin Hoffmann's costume that turns him
like menacing drag queen? Think about how far they abuse and destruck a
legendary story.. I tell you what, just place your kids in front of an
autopsy video-it'll be far less traumatic. |
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8. Junior (1994)
Seems like our fearsome T-800 grew a vagina while making Twins and
Kindergarten Cop, and then knocked out in a prom night. I don't know
where the movie's gonna take us, what's the needs of seing a huge shape
of Aahnold got preggy. Some things just don't fit.. Imagine if he
said.. "ill be baaack.. with more juniors!" noooo! thank god he never
said that..phew.. |
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9.Zardoz (1974)
Call it ironic. Yup, Sean Connery traded his license to kill for a red
diaper. And he did it in his maidenform man-bra. um.. nuff.. never
mind. |
Posted at 03:54 pm by keketz
Nov 14, 2003
MOVIE REVIEW : CITY OF GOD
Another movie review.... gosh, i can be so productive when i'm in
holiday.. I'm gonna review a movie called City Of God. At first I
didn't know anything about this movie, but my buddy recommended this
movie lots of time until i finally bought and watch it. How's the
movie? here, i'll give you the review.
First look at the title. City of God? This is anything but. This is a
graphic and visually stunning film covering three decades of the lives
of residents in one of Rio de Janeiro's most dangerous neighborhoods,
the "City of God" slum. A housing project created in the 1960s slides
into disrepute and by the1980s is completely in the grip of violent
drug-running street gangs.
Based on true story, composed of a series of character sketches that
circle back in time to link with each other, this is a horrifying yet
at times comic picture of a group of youths growing up in the 'City of
God'.Told from the perspective of a young fellow who wants to stay clear of
the violence around him, the film focuses on one young man or a small
group at a time, covering events in the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s. These
kids with nicknames like Shaggy, Clipper, Goose and Knockout Ned have
various aspirations, but most are fascinated by the strongest role
models they see on a daily basis. This is a world of endemic and
endless daily violence, and a seemingly casual disregard for the value
of life. We see small children as young as eight-years-old carry guns
and use them, grow into murderous thugs, and the transformation is
utterly credible. Life expectancy is short. There is an acceptance that
this is the way things are, that this is a section of the population
doomed to repeat this lifecycle of violence.
The film, while
entertaining in its depictions, makes its point bang-on. The culture of
violence is a virtually inevitable product of the poverty and
hopelessness of this ghetto. This is a world of endemic and endless
daily violence, and a seemingly casual disregard for the value of life.
However, the filmmakers have crucially not forgotten to allow some
light in. All along we see glimpses of the humor and
humanity of the characters. The film spends some time outside the slum,
at Rio's beaches, illustrating how sad it is that such worlds exist in
such close proximity and that these young people have to return to the
slum at night. There is hope for escape.
From the beginning until the story’s climax we're on the ride circling
back through flashbacks, we follow the evolution of a handful of
characters, all young and male, and all facing the poverty of the City
of God. This is a gangster movie like no other that you’ve ever seen,
combining straightforward narrative drama with artistic/symbolic use of
the film medium. And amazingly, the visual flair and dynamic camera
angle makes the movie fresh and interesting. The combination of these
strengths really glued us to watch this movie till the end. This movie
is like a collaboration party of Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino. If , say, they work together making a gangster movie, this will be the result, for sure.
My final word, City of God is a tremendous, skilfully composed film
that impresses with its artistry and quirkiness while smacking you with
the tremendous storyline. Really imaginative and challenging
filmmaking. Oh yeah, warning: City of God is rated R for the constant
presence of violent content (mostly gunplay), frequent use of strong,
sexually related profanity and crude sexual slang terms, simulated drug
use (marijuana and cocaine), vulgarity, gore, a scene depicting rape,
brief glimpses of male and female nudity, brief sexual contact, and
occasional use of racial epithets. If you're not into these subjects,
leave the movie alone, but if you are, I strongly recommend this one!
Posted at 08:36 pm by keketz
Nov 13, 2003
SCARY MOVIE 3, LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT?
 Hey fella!!
As I'm approaching 3 weeks holiday, here I am again, giving you another review. This time I'm gonna talk about Scary Movie 3. Okay, buckle up, let's hit it!
The tagline on the original Scary Movie (2000) claimed, "No Mercy. No Shame. No Sequel." Well, obviously, they lied. Here we are in 2003 with Scary Movie 3.This time, "The Ring," "Signs," "8 Mile" and "The Matrix" are the central victims of this seemingly unstoppable laughing machine. Crass, crude and sledgehammer-subtle. Yet, you can't help giggling yourself stupid, even at the more obvious sight gags.With "Scary Movie 3," the latest addition to the ridiculous but successful "Scary Movie" entities, anything and everything is fair game in the quest to get a laugh. Forget about the style, forget about taste, forget about taboos. And never get offended. Innocent kids are thrown out windows, crushed by speeding buses and seduced by pedophile priests bearing candles and wine. And that's all just for laugh.
It's outrageous. It's obnoxious. It's offensive. And yes, it's also really, really, really funny. Or, at least, it is for the first 40 minutes or so, until it starts to wear out its welcome, or until you feel to tired to laugh. Despite good chuckles and good sight-gags along the way, Scary Movie 3 goes thru difficult path to find its footing. In fact, it stumbled pretty badly when it tries to connect the dots between so many disparate story lines. There are teeny snippets of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Final Destination tossed into the mix, but the lack of continuity in the horror storylines are ultimately makes the result less satisfying. But wait.. there are lots of funny stuff here and there. Like, right about the time when the movie's heroes crash a wake and start inflicting all kinds of abuse on a corpse in the coffin. Flying body parts! Are! Funny! and Michael Jackson? OMG, that's hillarious! The barrage of jokes and references flies by so thick and so fast that there's usually no time to react to one gag before two more have passed .
Like its progenitors, "Scary Movie" and "Scary Movie 2," "3" is all about the parody, sending up horror flicks and their contrivances. This time around, the Wayans brothers, who originated the franchise, have stepped down. Taking over was director David Zucker, who did "Airplane!" and the "Naked Gun" series. The result is a film that's a little more mainstream, more suburban than urban in sensibility.
So, is this movie recommended? the answer is: it depends. With "Scary Movie 3," the fun is in playing guess-the-reference, which is both the movie's greatest strength and its greatest weakness. Which is to say, if you like your humor served up sophomoric and have seen "Signs," "The Ring," "8 Mile" and "The Matrix: Reloaded," watched "American Idol" and all the "Girls Gone Wild" boobfest videos and can spot rap royalty such as Queen Latifah, Fat Joe, RZA, Raekwon, Redman and Method Man, then, well, you're in for a good time.
Then again, if you haven't been a regular fixture at the multiplex, or don't spend all your time in front of the tube surfing hip-hop videos on MTV2, then you're not in on the joke, and if you're not in on the joke, you might want to skip this one.
Posted at 02:27 pm by keketz
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