Movie Watch: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

Yesterday I went to watch the latest installment in the Harry Potter movie franchise, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, with Queenie at Plaza Singapura.

We watched the movie in the 2D version as we felt that 3D movies are not our cup of tea. This first part of the movie is mostly focused on the backstory in the book and hence, is less action-packed. The second part promises to be more action-packed and I can't wait for it to be out next July.

However this first part is still good and worth the watch. Harry, Hermione and Ronald have finally grown up to the reality of the harsh battle with Voldemort. They have to be on the constant run from the Death Eaters that pop out from nowhere to hunt Harry down.

The most emotional part in the movie came when Dobby was killed while trying to save Harry and his friends from Bellatrix. I knew this was going to happen since I have already read the book but I still can't stop the tears when I saw it onscreen. In fact, Dobby was among the top ten trending topics on Twitter when the movie is released.

It is amazing how Dobby can make the trending list but not the movie's name. Twitter can be such an asshole sometimes. Nonetheless, I would recommend this movie to anyone who is interested to watch.

Movie Watch: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Trailer Official HD

Wow the official trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is out and it looks fantastic!





The final installment for the Harry Potter series is split into two parts, with the first part to be shown in November this year and the second part in July 2011. Oh man I can't wait for the movie to come quickly! =( 

Warner Brothers seems to have outdone itself with this new installment and I can't help but feeling down as this is going to be the final journey with Harry Potter before it ends truly once and for all. *sobs*

12 June is the final day of shooting for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Oh man. The day has finally arrived. The final shooting of the last movie in the Harry Potter movie franchise has arrived and it's 12 June. Thanks to Mugglenet for the information.

I can't believe that Harry Potter has come such a long way ever since the first movie was released in 2001. I'm feeling all nostalgic about it now.

When the books ended their run in the series, all that was left were the movies. Now it looks like it's time to finish off the movies too. By then, there will be no more Harry Potter to look forward to. Awww....

No more Daniel Radcliffe or Emma Watson. No more wand-waving and certainly no more Dobby, since he is going to be killed off in the last movie. Oops. That's a spoiler for those of you who don't read the books yet.


Oh well, life has to go on without Harry Potter.

*sniffs*

New Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Preview from MTV Asia

Finally, we get to see a HD version of the preview clip of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, which was shown at the recent MTV Asia Awards 2010.





It looks so awesome and now I can't wait for November 19 to arrive soon. Look at how Emma Watson has grown (she's showing off her cleavage). Those were the days when all 3 stars were still fresh from their first auditions way back in 2001.

Wow... it's been 10 years since the first Harry Potter movie. Time sure flies fast, don't you think so?

Movie Watch: Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief

Last night, I managed to watch this movie that I wasn't able to catch while it was screening in the cinemas. Through one of the Apps, I got to watch Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief on my iPhone.

The quality wasn't that bad, considering that the screen of the iPhone is small compared to a cinema screen. The movie wasn't that bad and I enjoyed the humour that peppered throughout the movie. Not to mention that this movie is full of greek myths and I love greek myths. (^o^)/

We follow the story of Percy, son of Poseidon, god of the sea. He gets accused of stealing Zeus' lightning bolt. Zeus demands the return of the bolt within 14 days, on the midnight of summer solstice, failing which a war will be waged upon Earth and Poseidon. Together with Annabeth, daughter of Athena and Grover, his personal protector, Percy gets to go on the journey of his life when he makes his way to hell and Olympus to convince the gods of his innocence.

I love the part where Percy fights with Medusa using the back of a shiny iPhone to avoid staring at her eyes directly. Slapstick humour is gratefully provided in the form of Grover, a satyr or a goat-man. He was initially thought to be a cripple until he revealed his goat legs to Percy in the moment of danger.

 

Medusa gets distracted by the iPhone while Percy strikes.

The whole movie smells of Harry Potter and that could certainly be attributed to its director, Chris Columbus, who directed the first two Harry Potter films. The CGI effects are awesome, with real-looking monsters going after Percy to Medusa's hair of snakes.

Plus Persephone totally rocks in this movie with her sharp-tongued dialogue with her hell husband, Hades.

Hades: [yelling] Persephone! What could possibly be taking so long? Don't ignore me!
Persephone: [yells back] Or what? What will you do?
[quietly]
Persephone: I'm already in Hell.

Other humorous quotes include:

Chiron: [from trailer] Use this to defend yourself. It's a powerful weapon.
Percy Jackson: This is a pen.
Chiron: Only use it in times of severe distress.
Percy Jackson: This is a *pen*.

--

Percy Jackson: Oh I wish I could spend all day in the water instead of this place
Grover: Oh like High School without the musical

--  

It doesn't hurt that the star of the show, Logan Lerman, looks so handsome.See his pictures below.

Overall the movie is not too bad and the CGI effects should look great in the cinemas. Too bad I can only watch it only on my iPhone but at least I got to watch it. It's better than none. Plus it is apt to know that Hollywood has been chosen to be the gate to the depths of hell while the Empire State Building is chosen to be the gate to Olympus.

^_^

Gokusen Movie Coming to Singapore on 19 November 2009

Yay! Gokusen the movie is coming to Singapore soon! The opening date for the movie here is stated as 19 November 2009, which means it's next week! I have pasted a copy of the movie poster below for some eye-candy-viewing. That's Yukie Nakama as Yamaguchi-sensei in the poster by the way.

She's so cool, eh? ^_^

Currently I am watching Gokusen 3 of the TV series on my Apple iPod classic and I was so surprised to see the movie poster up at Commonwealth MRT station a few days back. I contacted Queenie immediately to book her to watch the movie.

Boy I am lucky enough that she's interested to watch and that she has the time to watch. Well, my movie kakis are getting lesser and lesser >_< Pathetic eh? Nonetheless, it's great that I can get to watch this movie as I love Gokusen.

Too bad I didn't get the chance to read the manga version, which should definitely be very good. Still I managed to get hold of all the 3 seasons of the TV series and I am very happy to re-watch them again. My favourite season is number 2 as it has Kazuya Kamenashi and Jin Akanashi. They are soooo cool. \(^o^/

In any case, the movie cast description mention Kazuya Kamenashi and I am sooo looking forward to seeing him again. Hee... Seeing how passionate Yamaguchi-sensei is teaching her students makes me wonder why I didn't get my own version when I was still schooling.

Oh well, this is the manga version so we can't take everything at face value. It's all entertainment, right? *_* Alrighty, I better start counting down to the day that I can watch the movie.

*paging for Queenie!*

Happy Birthday, Daniel Radcliffe!

Today is Daniel Radcliffe's 2oth birthday and he is looking more cool and suave as he grows up.

As an introduction, he is the main star of the Harry Potter movie franchise and is currently one of the hottest young stars in Britain, along with his Harry Potter star-mates, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson.




This year saw the release of the long-awaited Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. He has turned in a splendid performance and now I can't wait to see the final film in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

This movie is split into two parts so we get to see Daniel for two more times before both he and the Harry Potter series bow out from Hollywood. I hope to see more of his acting calibre in new films after he completes Harry Potter.

As an actor, it's important to branch out your skills into several different roles in order to get a better acting depth. He has so far acted in some other films like December Boys as well as a musical, Equus.

I have yet to see his other films other than Harry Potter but one day I will catch up with those films. As for the musical, unless it comes to Singapore, I doubt I would be able to watch it ever.

Nonetheless, it's still a Happy Birthday for our favourite wizard!

Movie Watch: Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince

Yesterday, Queenie and I went to watch the latest installment to the Harry Potter movie franchise, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.

It was supposed to be a gathering where 3 of us would watch this movie together. However Moonie chose love over friends and decided to watch it with her boyfriend instead of us. I do feel disappointed at her choice since we have been following the Harry Potter movies ever since the first day it was aired.

Anyway I have learned not to ask Moonie to go out with me anymore. Attached people are best left alone. They usually would want to spend all their free time with their partners rather than friends. I'll just let her be. One day it will be my turn. When I have my partner, I will also dump Moonie and choose my partner. Ha! Eh... I gotta get a partner first.

Right.

This post is getting out of topic. I am supposed to write about the Harry Potter movie loh...

Daniel Radcliffe reprises his famous role as the boy wizard in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. By now he has already mastered the art of portraying Harry and in this particular movie, Harry gets to date. Hee... Yep.

There's a kissing scene between Harry and Ginny, Ron's younger sister. The actress, Bonnie Wright, has certainly grown up differently from the days when she was acting in the second installment, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Little did we know that her role would turn out to be such a major factor in Harry's life.

It was in this book that Harry fell in love with Ginny for real. For once, Ginny's affections finally gets returned and we get to see a little bit of their romance in the movie as well. Too bad majority of their love story gets cut off but that is to be expected since the book is way too thick to be fully adapted into a movie.

Tom Riddles a.k.a. Voldemort's past also gets revealed through Dumbledore's memory. Riddles' odd question on horcrux finally set the events for Harry's future when he sought to be immortal by destroying all that stood in his way and making little trinkets into his soul carriers.

It is truly scary to see that Riddle could think up such an evil plan at such a young age. No wonder everybody is so scared of him. Even the mention of his name sends shivers down everyone's spine.

However the next book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, seems destined for a better treatment as Warner Bros will release the film in two parts. Well it makes economic sense for the company as the movie is going to be the last huge cashcow in the Harry Potter franchise. After all there are only seven books in the Harry Potter universe and being able to make eight movies out of that is already amazing enough. Furthermore no other recent book series has managed to get adapted fully into movies the way Harry Potter series did. Narnia didn't even come close.

Sadly in this movie, we also witnessed the final moments of dear old Headmaster Albus Dumbledore. Personally I liked his character as he has always been so supportive of Harry. At the very last moment, he sacrificed his life for Harry so that Harry could go on to defeat that damn Voldemort. It was fitting that it was Severus Snape that ended Dumbledore's life. I'm sure we wouldn't have had it other way, unless its a natural death.

I am looking forward to the final installments to the movie franchise and I'm sure Warner Bro will do a good job. J K Rowling would not have it other way too.

Anime Movie Watch: My Neighbour Totoro

I know this is a very old anime movie made by Studio Ghibli, way back in 1988 but I saw this movie for the first time today. Right on my dear iPod Classic.




I came across this movie by chance and I am very glad that I have had the chance to watch it. It is a very light-hearted movie that centres around a little family that has just moved in to an old house.

Satsuki is the elder sister while Mei is the younger sister. Together they had lots of fun and share close sibling bonds.

One day, Mei sees a pair of white ears belonging to a magical creature, which eventually led her to Totoro. It was both magical and fun to see how the little Mei interact with Totoro.

Halfway through the movie, Satsuki also gets to see Totoro for the first time, while waiting for her father to come home at the bus stop. Soon the siblings share a close bond with Totoro and it was heartwarming to see how Totoro slowly opened up to them.

When Mei went missing while trying to reach her mother in the hospital, Satsuki was frantic and eventually enlisted the help of Totoro. Totoro got a catbus to search for Mei, which it did.

The movie was very nice to watch as its themes were all about family bonds and sibling bonds. The accompanying music is also very soothing to the ears and makes for an unforgettable experience. I'm glad that I have this chance to watch the movie as I was too young to understand it when it first came out.

Hayao Miyazaki is indeed a genius in developing this movie and I look forward to his movies in future.

Movie Watch: Drag Me To Hell

Last night, I went to watch Sam Raimi's latest movie with Queenie, Drag Me to Hell, at Plaza Singapura's Golden Village.



Since the film is directed by Spiderman's famed director, I can't give this movie a miss. For the most part, it was satisfying as sudden shocks and surprises jumped at the audiences in-between the storyline.

The sound effects are especially good and they succeeded in creating scares and tense atmosphere that made most of the girls in the cinema cringed in horror. But both Queenie and I were not affected as we are seasoned horror movie-goers, so there's pretty much nothing that can scare us.

Still this movie is very realistic and do borders on the ridiculous edge as well. I mean, just how much yucky liquid Sam Raimi is going make that actress swallow just to satisfy his sadistic tendencies?

The poor actress ate almost everything from maggots to flies to saliva to vomit to soil to blood. Just about everything that you can think yucky of, she's done them all in this movie. Poor Alison Lohman.

Overall the movie isn't that bad but the ending is kind of, duh. Our heroine thought she managed to escape from hell's clutches, only to be sent back right into hell by her unknowing boyfriend. And that was right after she went through the process of digging up the cursed old woman's grave and stuck the so-called accursed button right into the mouth.

What can I say, Christine? You are just fated to be in hell. Oh ho ho ho... Yeah~ that's just about it.

On a side note, while I was waiting for Queenie to arrive, I went to Sasa to get my eyebrows trimmed and the service was totally free. Oh boy that was quite a delightful find. However I did bought some items like mascara and facial masks from the shop so it's not as though I am a cheapskate person.

Right so that's just about it. =D

Movie Watch: Angels and Demons

Yesterday, I went to watch the latest movie starring Tom Hanks, Angels and Demons, with Queenie. This movie is based off the best-selling book by Dan Brown with the same name.

Movie Poster

Book Cover

More or less, the movie followed the premise of the book but personally I don't really like the casting of Tom Hanks in the main role of Robert Langdon. I had imagined a much younger Robert. Hanks is way too old for my professor fantasies. Muawahaha!

The movie wasn't that bad but it wasn't particularly good either. I don't get sucked into the movie's plot and the dialogue between characters was bland too. Sometimes Hollywood doesn't get it right and this is one of them.

No doubt the action is there but I just don't feel satisfied from watching the movie. Perhaps my expectations are too high but the feeling that I got from reading the book was much better than this. I was truly enthralled by the book's plot and pacing, something lacking in the movie.

The few comic reliefs in the movie were quite funny but then, they don't lift the movie up a lot. Perhaps I should re-read the book again to get that previous feeling of thrill.

Wow! Lots of great pictures of Daniel Radcliffe on Deathly Hallows Set

This website here has posted lots of yummy pictures of Daniel Radcliffe doing takes on the set of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.






Filming has just started for the movie, which is scheduled to be released in 2 parts. Part 1 will be released on November 19th 2010, with the second part following on July 15th 2011. That means we will be getting 3 Harry Potter movies in 3 years straight.

Oh well, I suppose Warner Bros is making up for the postponement of the Harry Potter and Half-Blood Prince last year, which is going to be released on July 17th 2009.

In any case, Dan is looking very good in these latest production pictures and I'm sure more pictures will be out once the filming gets really underway. I shall be on the lookout for more!

^_^

Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe on Yahoo! Movies '20 Stars 20 and Younger' List

According to HPANA, Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe are listed in Yahoo! Movies '20 Stars 20 and Younger' List.

Apparently, Watson tops the list with her famous role as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter movie franchise. Overall her total domestic box office gross is $1,461,797,64! *gasps* That's hell a lot of money that girl's been raking in for the studios!!!

As for Daniel Radcliffe, he ranks number 2 in the list alongside Watson. He also owes his success to his titular role in the Harry Potter movie franchise. Overall his total domestic box office gross is $1,411,173,590! Slightly lesser than Watson but still an awesome feat. So now we know Warner Bros is actually a super rich studio firm, eh? They have to thank JK Rowling for writing such an amazing book series in the first place. She's amazing, aren't she?

Now I am looking forward to the upcoming Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince movie which will be showing in July 2009. Gosh, time better fly faster this time!

Movie Watch: Slumdog Millionaire is worth to watch

Yesterday I went to watch a newly acclaimed and crowned Best Picture at the 81st Academy Awards 2009 recently, Slumdog Millionaire, together with Queenie. A winning film directed by newly minted Best Director, Danny Boyle, it's a heartwarming story about how a boy from the slums win his way to a 20 million rupees prize on the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?.

Poster for the movie

Poster for the movie

Dev Patel, Actor for the main protagonist, Jamal Malik

Overall, the movie is neither too serious nor too light-hearted. It has just the right amount of story twists to entertain viewers while ensuring that the plot doesn't sink. I admit that I watched the show mainly out of curiousity generated by the Academy buzz. So many articles has been written about this film and critics have been giving it a glorious report card.

Since there are none other movies that I want to watch, I thought this movie might just be the one to beat the blues. After all, it is marketed as a feel-good movie. Hmmm, I think the feel good part is due to the fact that Jamal has a happy ending together with Latika and that probably makes all viewers, including me, happy at their joy. So our protagonist got his money and the girl, what's there not to like? And of course, being an Indian film, we get to see the compulsory dance routine performed by Jamal and Latika at the movie's ending despite the fact that the director is a foreigner.

Generally speaking, it all seems too good to be true and so when I found out that it's just a fiction story, I heaved a sigh of relief. If you have watched the movie, you'll understand why. Who on earth will get to live a life like Jamal? Or have a bastard of a brother like Salim? I really can't think of anyone.

Good or not, it's all based on personal preferences but still, this movie is worth the movie ticket price. Wanna see how much I pay? See below:



Ahahaha! Yep. S$7.50. Not that cheap nor that expensive. So go watch the movie while it's still being aired. Again, this movie is distributed by Warner Bros so now we really know that they have lots of moolah to spare. LOL. Well Warner Bros has to share the moolah with Fox Searchlight though.

Slumdog Millionaire is now raking in all the money from all over the world. Worldwide total as of Mar. 6, 2009 is estimated at $217,030,943. With all those cash, Warner Bros can comfortably rest its laurels this year. Not to mention that they have another blockbuster on hand, the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. That is a certain huge cashcow for the studio.

As for us lesser mortals, we can only drool at the amount of money that we will never get to see in our own bank balances ever. Haiz....

Happy Birthday, Ronald Weasley!

Today is Ronald Bilius Weasley's birthday. He is one of the main characters in J K Rowling's famous Harry Potter book series. He is the best friend of Harry Potter and is the second youngest Weasley, just in front of Ginny Weasley.

In the movie adaptation, he is played by Rupert Grint. Some pictures of the actor are shown below:

Rupert Grint

Rupert Grint with Daniel Radcliffe in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

From left to right: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint

Hmmm, they always seem to be standing in the same order, don't they?

Well, actually Daniel Radcliffe is my favourite actor out of the 3. But his birthday is in July so I have to wait till then before I can gush about him. Anyway I found some pictures that are backdated to 2001, when they first appeared in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone:

From left to right: Rupert, Daniel and Emma

From left to right: Daniel, Rupert and Emma

They are so cute, aren't they? Now they have grown up so fast and by the time Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince arrive this July, they would have been adults, in western terms. Man, I can't wait for the movie to arrive!!! Warner Bros better not delay the movie again. Grrr...

Release Date Confirmed for Third Twilight Movie

Whoa! It has been reported that the release date for the third Twilight movie has been announced by Summit Entertainment.

The date is 30 June 2010. As for the second Twilight movie, its release date is 20 November 2009, which is this year. Robert Pattison, star of the movies, has even barely start the filming of the second film.

How on earth are they going to make the third film in such a short time? Well I have no idea but it remains to be seen whether the quality for these films will turn out to be as good as the Harry Potter movies by Warner Bros.

Churning the movies out in such a short period of time would require enormous amount of capital, something which is not lacking for Warner Bros. However for Summit Entertainment, it might be quite a different story.

Perhaps the first movie has given the studio some windfall and so it dares to make all these release dates.

Oh well, whatever the case, let's wait and see how they can meet the deadline. After all, Hollywood always uses the postponement tactic when they fail to meet deadlines.

New Half Blood Prince Movie Posters

According to HPANA, there are some new high resolution movie posters released for Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.

They look quite mysterious and gloomy at the same time. See the pictures below for illustrations.

Professor Dumbledore

Harry Potter

According to the date printed on the poster, the upcoming movie is slated for release on 17 July 2009. Oh man, I can't wait for the movie to arrive soon! It was supposed to be released last year but Warner Bros changed its mind. *sighs*

Anyway, Daniel Radcliffe looks so cool in this poster. He has certainly grown into this character ever since he first started acting as Harry Potter when he was just 11 years old.

Let's hope the new movie will surpass its predecessors and create new records for the Harry Potter franchise.

New Japanese Trailer for Half Blood Prince

According to HPANA, a new Japanese trailer for Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince has just been made available online via Youtube. I have attached the video below for easy referencing:





Daniel looks good in this trailer and I can't wait for the new movie to be released as soon as possible. July seems so far even though I know time can fly by in a flash. Warner Bros is making the fans wait and wait even though it has no reason to. *sighs*

Whoa! Robert Pattison in USA Today's Top 100 People List

Harry Potter's Page has posted that Robert Pattison has just made it to the USA Today's Top 100 People list this year.

Pattison is placed at number 20 on the list. Reason is listed as follows:

His glistening skin distracted millions of teen girls this year, and it's safe to say the Twilight franchise will transform the actor into a superstar. Even if the sequel bites, Pattison's hair is a box-office cash machine.

So, will he be able to match Daniel Radcliffe of the Harry Potter movie franchise? It remains to be seen as Radcliffe is not included in the list this year. This is probably due to the fact that the latest Harry Potter film's release has been pushed back to July 2009 and so, his influence is not as great as Pattison's this year. After all, Stephenie Meyer's vampire series has hogged the limelight this year and it's no surprise that the movie will do the same.

On a side note, the HP Page also reported that Pattison had just recently cut his famous Twilight hair into a super short cut. Here's a comparison of his hair:

Before: His famous Twilight haircut.


After: His new super short haircut. Btw, those words are not written by me.

I could still remember the time when he was first cast as Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. He was quite a relatively unknown actor before being casted in the Harry Potter movie. Here's how he looked while portrayed as Cedric:




Heh heh... he certainly looks very different back then, eh? Now with the enormous success of Twilight, his career can only go up and up. Besides, I doubt he could return back to the Harry Potter franchise movies as his character, Cedric Diggory, had already been killed off in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, though he still appeared in flashbacks in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

Will we be seeing more of this rising young star? I think so but he has to be careful not to be typecast permanently as Edward Cullen. Otherwise, he would never be recognised as anything else except as Edward. That would be a disaster for an actor, I believe.

Look at Daniel Radcliffe. He has since branched out to act in other movies such as December Boys and also acted in musicals such as Equus. Thus, Radcliffe proved to the critics that he is not just a one-time boy wonder but a serious thespian to be reckon with.

Too bad I won't be able to see Equus as it is currently not staged in Asia. Hmmm... Besides, the naked scenes would have made it impossible to premiere in conservative Singapore's theatres.

So, between the 2 guys, who will prevail? For me, I will always support Radcliffe as I am very impressed with his performance in the Harry Potter movie franchise. As for Pattison, his acting is nah. Oops.

There you go. My few cents worth. Keke....

Twilight Gallery

For those who are wanting more of Twilight's cast, I have found a gallery which has quite a number of pictures which mostly includes Robert Pattison and Kristen Stewart.

Click here for the site.

Most of the pictures are taken on the set of Twilight and some of them featured light-hearted moments between the 2 main leads. A sample is posted below:




So go feast your eyes on the pictures and hopefully more pictures of the movie premiere can posted online too.

Kudos to the web!