Just like its predecessors, this film attempts to be really faithful to the book but suffers from lack of continuity. And since the source material isn’t really that good, you are either drowning in all the cheesy lines (for the romantics) or wishing that it was all over (for the cynics).

If there is one character that saved the entire movie from total disappointment, it’s Jacob. His lines are getting wittier, it’s a surprise that Bella doesn’t fall for his charms. He acts naturally and he is the only believable character in the film. Even Bella’s acting is actually a bit better if she has a scene with Jacob. Edward, on the other hand, is still delivering those awkward lines. For someone watching the movies alone with no idea whatsoever on the source material, it’s probably a big mystery why someone would choose Edward over Jacob.

It would have been the most exciting part of the sequel to turn into the movie, because we get to see actual fight scenes between vampires and werewolves. I wish they invested more on the special effects, and maybe people will not bash the movie that much.

This is the last time I would bother watching this series. I’m not watching the last installment. Argh.

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Plot-wise, it reminds me a lot of Harry Potter. Here we have another retelling of the fight between those who want to protect the innocent (“To make strong the weak”) and those who want to conquer (“the strong shall rule the weak”). It ultimately leads to the showdown between brothers Soren (who joined the Guardians) and Kludd (who joined the Pure Bloods).

What I really loved about the movie is the way they rendered it in 3D. It has the feel of Lord of the Rings, especially during the battle between the Pure Bloods and the Guardians. Well, I wasn’t surprised when I learned that the director of this film was also the one who directed 300. The animation studio who worked on this film (Animal Logic) also worked on Happy Feet, another film with amazing animation effects.

I’m surprised that that I don’t hear that much buzz when this film was released. It makes me wonder if they will write a sequel to this film. This definitely deserves a sequel, unlike some other movies out there. *coughTwilightcough*

Oh I can’t wait to get my hands on the book series by Kathryn Lasky.

Visit the main website here: http://legendoftheguardians.warnerbros.com/

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The mere concept of the movie is enough to intrigue you. You are presented with a different crime scene: the dreamworld. The technology to enter someone elses dream exists, and the people who get inside your dream can steal information that you are hiding deep within your subconscious. Now is it possible to do the opposite, that is, to plant ideas inside your head and make it appear that it was your own idea (a.k.a. inception)?

Spoilers after the cut.

Since inception is more difficult than merely stealing information from one’s mind, the first half of the movie dealt with the assembly of the team for the mission. Cobb, the mastermind of the operation, was hired by Saito to plant an idea to split the company of his rival, Fisher. Saito later joins the team in the dream world to make sure that the idea was successfully planted in Fischer’s mind. Arthur, Cobb’s partner-in-crime, is the one in charge of researching everything about their target. They hired Ariadne as the “architect” (the one who creates the dream scenario). They also asked Eames to join the team, because he specializes in impersonating characters in someone else’s dream. Finally, they asked Yusuf to create a sedative so powerful that it would enable them to enter multilevel dreams.

The entire plan needs to be executed on three levels of dreams. In the first level, they kidnapped Fisher and introduced the idea of splitting up the company through Fischer’s uncle, Browning (who is actually being impersonated by Eames). Then they enter the second level of the dream and made it appear that Browning is the one behind the kidnapping in the previous level, supposedly to destroy the will that will break up the company. They managed to convince Fisher to enter the next level of the dream to ‘dig deeper’ and figure out what Browning is hiding from him (here is when ‘inception’ actually occurs).

As we all know, not everything works out the way they wanted it to be. The problem lies with Cobb’s past, which makes him create (unwittingly) a projection of his deceased wife, Mal. He is being blamed for her death, and this guilt manifests itself with Mal attempting to sabotage every operation that Cobb is involved with. At the third level of the dream Mal succeeded in killing Fischer, forcing Ariadne and Cobb to go to the 4th dream level (known as limbo) to save Fischer and Saito. Finally Cobb reveals the true reason why he was confident that inception can be done: he experimented with it using his wife as a test subject. In the end he sacrificed himself to save Ariadne and Fischer, and also to save Saito who is still trapped in limbo.

Now the main topic of debate for people who watched the film revolves on Nolan’s open-ended finale. It was not explicitly shown how Saito and Cobb escaped from limbo, all that we know is that they did not come back to reality together with the rest of the team. The film ended with Cobb checking his totem (the spinning top), but did not bother to see whether it would spin continuously or stop at some point. Did Cobb return to reality, or is he still in the dream world? Remember that in this film, only he is compelled to check his totem every now and then to determine if he is in the real world or not. Because he has spent a lot of time in limbo and created dreams based on his memories, both scenarios are equally plausible. But maybe what Nolan wanted us to think is that at this point in the story, it does not matter anymore if Cobb is in the real world or in the dream world. Cobb is willing to accept that what is in front of him is the real world, he no longer needs the totem to tell him which is which. He finally got what he wanted: a life with his children. Spending the rest of his life in the real world or in the dream world does not matter.

(For the record, I believe that he really came back to the real world. This is based on the argument presented here.)

Combining amazing visual effects with an intellectually stimulating plot, that is what made this movie so entertaining. I wouldn’t go as far as calling it a mindfuck, I’ve read mangas with more complicated plots than this movie. But I enjoyed watching it nonetheless, and I wouldn’t mind watching it again. The first half of the film gave the viewers an opportunity to understand the process of shared dreams and the different levels of dreams. Nolan made use of the dream world to create stunning visual effects. It was quite a sight to see the city of Paris fold itself in half in Ariadne’s dream world. The geek in me squealed when Arthur was teaching Ariadne the paradox of the infinite staircase (obviously inspired by M.C. Escher’s work), to help her create labyrinths in the dream world.

In contrast the second half of the movie puts you at the edge of your seat, looking forward to seeing how it would turn out in the end. The way the team deals with unexpected surprises is quite astonishing, even jaw-dropping at some moments. My favorite part is the second level of the dream, where they used the influence of gravity in the first level of the dream to influence the zero-gravity environment in the second level. And even if time dilates as you go deeper in the dream, Nolan presented it in such a way that we can still keep track of the timeline at each level.

I guess what I loved about this movie is the fact that I felt like I just woke up from a dream when I went out of the cinema. It’s the first time that I’ve been totally engrossed in the movie for a long time.

Or am I still dreaming? Let me check my totem first.

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(Spoilers ahead.)

Andy is now about to leave for college, so his toys spend more time in the truck rather than outside being played with. In particular, it made Jessie paranoid because she already went through this “moving on” process with her previous owner, Emily. After a series of misunderstandings, the gang found themselves out in the wild again and we are following their journey back home. But this time, they have to get past Lotso the bear, who would stop at nothing to keep them in the Sunnyside day care to suffer in the hands of unruly toddlers.

Just like any Pixar movie, there were lots of funny scenes. Mr. Potato Head being turned into Mr. Tortilla head is particularly entertaining, I couldn’t stop laughing while he was fighting with the pigeon. And I just love Ken’s reaction as Barbie tears up his vintage clothes right before his eyes. (Seriously Ken, you’re gay.)

I just had to say this, I was surprised with the appearance of Totoro. So the creators of Toy Story 3 are fans of Hayao Miyazaki, eh? Now I want my own Totoro plushie. Seriously.

But for me, the last scene is the one thing most people would remember for years to come. While it was quite endearing to see Andy introduce his toys one by one to young Bonnie, you can feel his hesitation when Andy found Woody inside the box. He was probably torn at that moment: he wants to keep Woody and bring it to college with him, but at the same time he didn’t want to hurt Bonnie’s feelings. He probably thought that it was useless to hold on to Woody when he realized he can no longer remember Woody’s catchphrase but Bonnie said it even before pulling Woody’s cord. (And honestly, would normal college kids bring their old toys and still play with them?) As Andy looked down on Woody, I felt that I was shedding the tears that Andy did not dare show to young Bonnie. I’m amazed that Andy’s voice didn’t crack as he said this:

Now Woody, he’s been my pal for as long as I can remember. He’s brave, like a cowboy should be. And kind, and smart. But the thing that makes Woody special, is he’ll never give up on you… ever. He’ll be there for you, no matter what.

As Andy played with his old toys one last time, I was crushed knowing that after this scene, Andy and Woody would go their separate ways. I even half-expected that tears would fall down from Woody’s face as Andy waves goodbye and gets inside his car.

Woody and the gang were lucky to have Andy as an owner. He treated them all like good friends instead of merely toys. Even if they can’t speak in front of Andy, they are alive just the same.

My friend gave her toys a big hug when she got home from watching the film. I cried myself to sleep, thinking of all the toys I mutilated when I was a kid. And I think amyowhorker of Cracked.com got it right. If movie titles were honest, then Toy Story 3 will be renamed as:

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Seriously, The Last Airbender is not worth watching in the cinema. Not in 3D, not even in 2D. Just wait for a kind soul to provide a copy via torrent. And while you’re waiting for that copy, just watch the TV series. Or just watch Eclipse. *shudder* Even Rotten Tomatoes gave a higher rating for Eclipse compared with this mess.

So how exactly did Shyamalan mess up the movie adaptation of one of the most adorable animated series ever?

First, the script. I watched this film with someone who is uninitiated in the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender, and he felt that there were lots of scenes that were disconnected and unnecessary. Imagine how I felt, having watched the animated series a few days ago. It’s as if I’m reading a badly written essay, where the writer lifted some paragraphs from several sources without bothering with the continuity of the story. I’m not even sure if Shyamalan is thinking of his target audience at all. It lacks the depth that adult viewers would appreciate, and it lacks the humor that would make the kids excited to see the film.

Second, the 3D rendering. I would have been less annoyed by it if I just watched the film in 2D (because it is cheaper). James Cameron’s Avatar earned a lot from the 3D version because there are certain scenes that you would appreciate only in 3D. The only 3D scene I could recognize in The Last Airbender is the landscape of the Northern Air Temple. Most of the time, I was lifting my 3D glasses to see if there is a difference with and without the glasses. Now I miss the times when you get a warning seconds before a 3D scene telling you to wear your glasses, and you can remove the glasses after that scene. It’s a little inconvenient, but at least you know which parts of the movie are rendered in 3D.

Third, the acting. Well you can’t really do much with a badly written script. I imagined Aang to be a playful kid, but we get an emo version of him instead. Sokka was supposed to be the king of sarcasm, and yet he only got slightly funny when he met the princess of the Northern Water Tribe. Katara is not motherly enough in the movie. Besides, she is already a powerful water bender in the animated series when she defended Aang from Zuko’s attack. But in the film version, Zuko defeated her easily. And speaking of Zuko, he is not angry enough. I don’t see the obsession with capturing the Avatar to regain his honor. He should be doing everything he could to prevent Aang from escaping his clutches.

Fourth, the battle scenes. The Fire Nation has been waging war for a hundred years, and they are winning. How can you make me believe that a huge fleet of Fire Nation ships would simply back away because they saw a giant wave? They should have stuck to the version in the animated series, where Aang attacked the Fire Nation fleet in the avatar state and cannot control himself. Seeing the other ships destroyed would be enough motivation for the rest of the fleet to fall back.

I was also not satisfied with the battle of the benders. I imagined that the movements would be quick, the elements reacting to the slightest movement of the bender. Having to watch a lengthy dance before seeing a reaction is a bit lame. It would give the non-benders an advantage in battle, because they just have to attack the bender before he finishes the movements. The decent battle scenes are already in the trailer. Most of the time it just felt awkward.

To be fair to Shyamalan, I like the idea of having the fire benders not generating their own flames. Only the strong fire benders can make fire out of their own chi, like Iroh and Zuko. But didn’t Master Pakku tell the Water Tribe warriors to put out all fires before the attack of the Fire Nation? Then why were the lamps within the city walls still lit? Zhao even used those fires to attack Iroh. Stupid of the Northern Water Tribe to miss that.

So if they ever plan to do the second part of The Last Airbender, here are my suggestions.

If they don’t have enough money to shoot the entire movie in 3D, prioritize the battle scenes. Look at the fifth Harry Potter movie. It was a horrible movie overall, but the fight scene between Dumbledore and Voldemort was stunning in 3D. You should make the audience evade the attacks even though it is just an illusion. There are lots of battles between benders to choose from. Take some lessons from James Cameron’s Avatar.

Zuko needs to resolve his issues in the second part. He needs to figure out if he will continue to chase the avatar to satisfy his father or if he will listen to his Uncle Iroh and be on the good side. We need to see some epic acting from Zuko. Can’t we have Alfonso Cuarón direct the second part?

And seriously, look for a better scriptwriter.

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First, I don’t see how they are going to squeeze in all the important details in 103 minutes. Are they just going to concentrate on Book 1? If yes, maybe it can be done (although we won’t be able to see some Earth-bending action). Otherwise, forget it. Even the seventh book of Harry Potter had to be split into 2 parts, so there’s no way that the entire series of Avatar: The Last Airbender will fit in just one movie. Now if they are just going to show the Water Tribe saga, that would be a bit boring. Let’s face it, the series only got exciting when they finally reached the Northern Water tribe and they had to defend themselves from the attack of the Fire country. Only the humor got me through the first few episodes of the series, thanks to Sokka. If they cannot do that in the movie, then I’m afraid that we won’t see the sequels.

Now for the controversies on racism, frankly I don’t care. As long as they can bring justice to the character in the series, that’s fine with me. Geez, I was just praying that this won’t turn out into a Dragonball: Evolution type of movie adaptation.

I was also having second thoughts when I saw their website. Don’t get me wrong, the website is really great. But then, the website of The Golden Compass was just as impressive, and we all know how it fared in the box office. I am praying that this film will not flop, because the next 2 books of Avatar are way more exciting compared with the first book.

The fact that it will be shown in 3D got me interested in watching this movie. Wow, it would be interesting to see how they bend the elements in 3D. The last movie I watched in 3D was James Cameron’s Avatar, so I have a pretty high standard. They better pull it off in this film.

Tomorrow is the opening day of The Last Airbender in the US, much later for the rest of the world (July 28 in Paris). I got my advanced screening tickets on July 9. I hope it’s worth the wait.

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I can only imagine the effort they put into creating Pandora, the world of the alien race called Na’vi. You feel yourself immersed in this world just like Jake Sully (the lead character). You can feel the pain of Neytiri (Jake’s love interest) as she sees how the humans destroyed their home. You will be amazed at how the Na’vi fought using bows and arrows against the tanks, guns, and robots of the humans. I can’t help but cheer as the battle turned in favor of the aliens. At the end of the film, I wished I had my own avatar form to experience Pandora first hand.

Finally I find a film that is worth watching in IMAX 3D. In terms of special effects, this puts all the other films I’ve watched to shame. And yes, that includes The Matrix and the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Directors need to take lessons from James Cameron and his team to see how to shoot a film in IMAX 3D.

Thanks to Jleg for convincing me to watch this film. ^_^

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This film was written and directed by Makoto Shinkai, and was released last 2007. The Japanese title is Byōsoku Go Senchimētoru (秒速5センチメートル). It is made up of three short stories in the life of Takaki Tohno, from his elementary school days up to his adult life. Basically it is the story of Takaki’s first love, Akari Shinohara, and how it affected his life. It has a simple storyline, but it is coupled with the magnificent scenery and superb animation. It was a touching story, to say the least. It simply blew me away.

This is not your typical love story where the lead character gets a happy ending. In fact, it portrays the reality of first love. No matter how much you love each other, you will eventually drift apart if you lose contact with the other person. “Five centimeters per second” seems to symbolize the rate at which you find yourself drifting away from a person. A slow rate, but given enough time you just might be surprised at how far you’ve drifted away. And eventually, you will realize that you cannot go back to the way things were.

Such is the case in the love story of Takaki and Akari. They were very good friends in elementary school. They had to part in junior high because Akari had to move away. They keep in touch through letters, but Takaki will move even farther away from Akari starting high school, making it difficult (if not impossible) to stay in touch. Takaki and Akari meet one last time, hopefully to admit their feelings for each other. But the sudden snowstorm prevented them from doing so, and they parted with things left unsaid. Nevertheless, they had an intimate moment that night, and that is enough for Takaki to have something to hold on to in the years to come.

In high school, Takaki meets Kanae Sumita. She fell in love with Takaki, and it is affecting her performance in surfing and her studies as well. She was feeling insecure because she sees in Takaki someone who is good in everything he does, while she on the other hand is being indecisive. They eventually got to know each other better, and it helped Kanae to be more confident of her abilities. Right before they graduate, Kanae was confident enough to finally admit her feelings for Takaki. But then she noticed that Takaki was thinking of someone else, so she has decided not to admit her feelings after all. They parted ways after graduating in high school.

The final episode of the movie tells us of the life that Takaki led as an adult. It was surprising to see Takaki lead such a miserable life, going through the routines, hoping that one day he would meet Akari once more. But here it is revealed that Akari is already engaged. Alas for our hero! He was holding on to something that no longer exists. That scene when they almost met each other again made me cry. Takaki was so kind to Kanae, he deserved to be happy somehow! Towards the end of the film, Takaki realized how miserable his life had become. At that moment, he decided to let go of Akari’s memory and move on with his life.

I felt sad when I realized that Takaki and Akari will not end up together. But then I realized that I’ve been watching too much Hollywood movies where the lead characters eventually get their happy ending. I was reminded that this is the scenario that happens most of the time in real life, people moving in and out of your life. Isn’t there a saying that when a person leaves you, it means that their part in your story is over?

But despite the sad turn of events, the mood is not that gloomy in the entire film. In fact, we are treated to the beauty of everyday life, like the cherry blossoms gently falling during springtime, or the waves splashing on the shore during summertime. Somehow it reminds us to stay positive, for even in the most dramatic moments of the film, there is something to be happy about. Take for instance the final scene from episode 2. Just after Kanae has decided not to admit her feelings for Takaki, they were treated to the sight of a rocket ship being launched into space. A bittersweet moment, if you asked me. This movie just made me realize that what Alfred, Lord Tennyson said is true:

I hold it true, whate’er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
‘Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.

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Special effects are good, but not great. And geez, why is it that almost every Hollywood villain who wants to take over the world starts with destroying the Eiffel Tower? I wasn’t convinced with the car chase scenes, because they can’t drive like that in the narrow streets of Paris. And come on, am I supposed to believe that the clothing they wore in the Artic base is enough to protect them from the cold? Boo.

I have to admit though, I loved the fight scene where the Joes first appeared. Also, I was impressed with the accelerator suits they used in the car chase in Paris. I enjoyed it immensely, too bad it had to be ruined by Ripcord saving Scarlett in the middle of the chase. I also loved the part where Ripcord had to blast the warheads before it hits Moscow and Washington. Impressive special effects on those scenes, I give them that.

After a few days, I finally figured out what I hated about it: Too many flashbacks! Geez. They try to develop the characters by looking at what happened in the past, but to do it for half of the characters in the movie? Bleh. This might have worked for Duke, the Baroness and the Doctor, they are the main characters after all. But it was a drag for Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow. Come on, of all the things that you can do after seeing your master killed by someone you know, why take an oath of silence? They wasted a lot of screentime on that, and it contributes nothing to the story except for the fact that Snake Eyes wanted to kill Storm Shadow so badly.

And for those who were saying that this is at least better than Transformers 2, I totally disagree. Goodness, I’m starting to get disillusioned by the shows I loved as a kid. It’s a good thing that I have a discount when I watched the movie, I would have been totally disappointed if I paid the full price. And I guess my opinion on this film can be summarized by what my former student said in his entry:

G.I. Joe – where ice sinks in water!

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Watched it in 3D today. To be honest, I didn’t see much of a difference, noticed a scene or two popped up off the screen out of the 1 hour, 30 minutes I’ve been there. But since I was wearing the goggles the entire time, I barely realized that it is already in 3D. I did see that the French subtitles were popping up, and it looked blurred the moment I took the glasses off. But since I ignore those subtitles anyway, there isn’t really much of a difference.

It is still a good movie to watch, though I would be perfectly happy even if I was only watching it in 2D. Most of the time I can’t tell the difference when watching it with the glasses and without the glasses. It’s already a visual treat with the 2D version. I’d say, another plus for Pixar with this film. I mean, going to South America by using lots of balloons to lift your house! Leave it to Pixar to think of great ideas for a story.

My favorite character in the film is Russell, no contest. He is just too adorable! So agile too, for a fat kid. Or maybe that’s the adrenaline working. Haha. I love the last scene where he gets the badge for helping the elderly, but looked like he just survived a dragon attack. I was laughing hard at that one.

Another scene that got me entertained was the battle between Carl Fredricksen and Charles Muntz. For one moment, it’s as if you are watching a battle between a Jedi and a Sith. The next scene, they couldn’t attack because their bones were cracking as they raised their weapons. You suddenly remember that these are old people to begin with. Haha!

The one thing that really made me burst out laughing is Alpha. I mean, his voice! The whole cinema was laughing with me whenever he talks. It was just too crazy! You really have to hear it for yourself. Ohohohoho!

This story didn’t make me cry as much as the other Pixar films though. I don’t know, maybe the sad part was introduced a bit too early with the death of Ellie. So when the conflict of the film came up, when Russell left Carl to save the bird Kevin, it was just an ‘aww’ moment for me. Or maybe I was just too busy laughing at the antics of Dug and the rest of the dog pack.

So how did it fare compared with the rest of the Pixar films? Not much, I’m afraid. It’s kind of hard to beat the previous films when you have to compete with a lot of good films in the past: Wall-E, Finding Nemo, Monsters, Inc., Toy Story, The Incredibles, A Bug’s Life, and so on. Maybe a fourth or a fifth place spot for me among all of the Pixar films I’ve watched.

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