Goemon

Goemon is a 2009 Japanese film directed and written by Kazuaki Kiriya. It is the story of folk legend Goemon Ishikawa, a shinobi(ninja) bandit hero who stole valuables from the rich and gave them to the poor.

An action-tragedy movie.

to be continued….

Twilight Saga: New Moon

We got reservations for New Moon, but that’s a big joke for SureSeats.com (Trinoma). If I hadn’t freaked out at the mall guard, we won’t be able to watch the movie early. He assisted me to Counter 2; I waited till the girl shouted for anyone who has a reservation for 12:00nn. I shouted at her when she said, our ticket was already forfeited, I was pissed. The good part of it was, I’d been able to buy tickets, same time, and same seats without going back to the line where Leslie was. The “not-so-good’ part was, I need to go down to give Larae her movie tickets, she’s late.

New Moon, for me, was the most dramatic book in all Twilight Saga. I expected drama on the movie but somehow, I can’t feel any. The humor was good though. Apparently, they followed the story in the book, which is good. Did they really followed it or I read the book long enough that I forgot some details? I love the opening credits (showing the movie title).. it’s very dramatic.

I liked the small fight scene between Victoria and the wolves, Paul vs. Jacob both in wolf’s form. The wolves looked real, nice CGI. When I saw the wolves, I would like to buy one as a pet. They look cuddly. I can’t wait for Breaking Dawn, where Renesmee is on Jacob’s back fur. I can’t wait how cute they will look.

Compare with Twilight, I enjoyed New Moon. We don’t have good seats while watching Twilight; Leslie was pissed by Larae’s officemate. My neck is aching because we are too close to the screen. I tried not to focus on Kristen Stewart’s acting; I don’t want to get upset.

From Twilight to New Moon, I just can’t feel the connection between Bella and Kristen. It’s like I’m watching a different character, all I can see is awkwardness in sweet scenes. Why can’t she (Kristen Stewart) cry when Bella should be crying?

Alice in Wonderland (2010)

Another book will come to life, Alice in Wonderland, will hit the big screen on March 5, 2010.  I got excited when I saw the trailer. I loved it. The effects, concept, casts… wow! I can’t wait to see the movie..

Watch the Official Trailer:

Casts (Helen Bonham Carter, Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway)

The Casts:

Mia Wasikowsa as Alice
Johnny Depp as The Mad Hatter
Helen Bonham Carter as The Red Queen (Bellatrix Lestrange) I love her in Sweeny Todd and Harry Potter. While looking at her filmography, I got suprised when I saw her upcoming project for 2010 and 2011. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be filmed in two parts.

Anne Hathaway as The White Queen

Plot: from wikipedia.com

Alice in Wonderland March 5 2010

Alice (Mia Wasikowska), now 19 years old,attends a party at a Victorian estate only to find she is about to be proposed to in front of hundreds of snooty society types. She runs off, following the White Rabbit (Michael Sheen) into a hole and ending up in Wonderland, a place she visited 10 years before, yet doesn’t remember. Wonderland was a peaceful kingdom until the Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter) overthrew her sister, the White Queen (Anne Hathaway). The creatures of Wonderland, such as the Cheshire Cat (Stephen Fry), Tweedledee and Tweedledum (Matt Lucas) and the March Hare (Noah Taylor), ready to revolt, wait for Alice to help them. With the help of the White Queen, the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp) and the Caterpillar (Alan Rickman), Alice starts seeing flashbacks of her visit, back when she was nine.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince: Movie vs. Book

If you don’t want to be disappointed after seeing a Harry Potter movie is, YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE READ THE BOOK. I’ve collected Harry Potter Books from Book 2 to Book 7 (Book 1, I’ll buy it later). I’ve read it  twice. When I’m reading a book, I am as if watching a movie. I watched Harry Potter because I would like to see if it is exactly how I imagined it to be. The visual effects are great. I love the the fire emitted by Dumbledore’s wand inside the cave, it’s superb.  The location of the cave is good also, pretty scary. The smoke effect when Death Eaters travel,I loved it.

In Harry Potter 6, I think they missed important scenes in the book. Like the following:

1. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. In the movie, they failed to explain how Professor Snape became the Half Blood Prince, since it’s included in the movie title. All I heard from the movie was, “I am the Half Blood Prince” by Snape, and I commented “Yun Lang?! (Is that all?!)”. I expected Hermione to mention “Prince” while she’s searching for “Half Blood Prince” in the library, but I heard nothing.In the book, Hermione told them that she found a record of a witch with a surname of PRINCE, great Potion Master, and she is a PUREBLOOD. And that PRINCE happens to be married to a muggle-born and that PRINCE is the mother of Severus Snape. That’s why he called himself the “Half Blood Prince”
2. In the book, Dumbledore stupefied Harry Potter and hide him inside the Invisibility Cloak and witness everything. I feel his eagerness to help or prevent Dumbledore from dying.But in the movie, he only watched. Just watched…
3. They haven’t explained the History of the Ring that burned the hand of Dumbledore. I think it’s important to show the History and how he got rid of it, so viewers wouldn’t get lost when they watch the last movie, Deathly Hallows.The ring was one of the Horcruxes owned by the descendant of Salazar Slytherin, Marvolo Gaunt. Dumbledore stabbed the ring to get rid of it. He used the sword owned by Godric Gryffindor.
4. I was hoping that they will show the story of Voldemort’s Squib mother,Merope (Gaunt’s daughter) and Tom Riddle Sr. His mother used a Love Potion on Tom Riddle Sr.
5. At the end of the movie, Harry decided to look for the remaining Horcruxes. In the book, Dumbledore gave Harry the task to look for the remaining Horcruxes and will not tell anyone except Ron and Hermione.

And the not so important was the following: (I’d be happy if they included it) By the way, to all the viewers, the woman with Remus Lupin was no other than Nymphadora Tonks, his wife.

1. When the Death Eaters infiltrated Hogwarts, the Order of Phoenix was also there.
2. Bill Weasley was bitten by Fenrir Greyback, a werewolf. Fleur Delacour didn’t back out on her wedding with Bill even if he is already a werewolf.

There are a lot of book details which they haven’t included in the movie. Some are important for this movie and some are important as a reference for the next one. We read the book and even if some parts are missing, we’ll never get lost. But how about the viewers who don’t read the book, and fond of watching instead of reading?