But let’s start with a little background:

At HMV, I spotted ‘The Three Colors Trilogy’, a series of films directed by  Krzysztof Kieślowski with each story loosely representing the three ideals of France (Liberty, Equality and Fraternity) and the three colours of the French flag (Blue, White and Red). I felt inspired by the cool concept and immediately thought about the ideals of my own country, Brunei Darussalam. Our national ideology is ‘Melayu Islam Beraja’ (MIB) or in English, ‘Malay Islamic Monarchy’. I thought, “Wouldn’t it be cool if they make a trilogy with each film focusing on each of the components of that philosophy.”

That idea stuck and grew on me because of several things that happened such as the recent visit of the Sultan of Brunei to London and all the Bruneian students in UK (there are A LOT of us) gathered together at Hilton hotel; the fact that I’m graduating in the next few weeks and start thinking about my future.

Why this project?

So here’s my idea for this so-called ‘trilogy’ and I’m leaving it to anyone in Brunei to develop it. I also think that this could be the perfect time for this type of project because:

- There is a rising number of movie fans in Brunei now. The Cineplex at the Mall and the Empire have made Bruneians more savvy with films. Cinema-going have also become a popular leisure activity for Bruneians. Most young Bruneians are now reviewing films (Recently, I was surprised at how a lot of Bruneians criticized the poor plot of Transformers 3. I was like “WOAH! Since when Bruneians give a damn about depth? They are now trying to be proper movie critics now?!?!”). In short, Bruneians LOVE and KNOW movies.

- However, local film industry in Brunei is almost non-existent. I’m pretty sure there are many talented filmmakers in Brunei and all we have to do is give these talented people the right push.

So how do we push the local film industry and appeal to Bruneian movie lovers? By making our own movie that are relevant enough for Bruneians. Hence why I think a series of movies revolving around the theme of MIB and its relations to modernization would be a good idea.

So here’s a rough idea of this ‘trilogy’. These are just ideas that could just start things up and lead to better ideas.

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PART I : ‘MELAYU’

There are several ideas that could be spun out of ‘Malay’ as a theme. You could do a family drama focusing on the relationship between a young Bruneian and his father; two people from different generations with different mentality. You could also do something on racial theme about the relation between Malay, Chinese and Indians.

What I have is a story idea that focuses on the social divide among the young Bruneian population between the Western oriented and Malay oriented youngsters. Here’s a possible storyline:

A young Malay man returns to Brunei after staying overseas for quite a while. Full of ideas and energy, he attempts to open a Centre of sort to promote the Arts (art, music, drama, etc). He found success among the upper middle class and their more western oriented children. However, he could not reach out to the lower middle class Malay oriented masses that he’s simply out of touch with.

One day, he sees a performance of a traditional Malay dance by a group of girls. Feeling really inspired, he embarks on a journey to discover the rich Malay traditions that he sadly didn’t know much about. In the end, he holds a special showcase at the Arts centre with the main theme being a fusion of modern and traditional arts.

You don’t have to follow this exact plot but the social theme it touches upon is personal for me. As someone who had spent a considerable amount of his childhood overseas and met young Bruneians from both social sides, I just think that this is a story idea with a message that will resonate with a lot of young Bruneians. The protagonist’s journey of re-discovery of the Malay traditions is the perfect opportunity to showcase the rich Malay Bruneian traditions.

The moral of the story is – It’s good to be open to new and modern ideas but never forget your roots.

PART II: ‘ISLAM’

Here’s what I came up with but I’m sure this would be a bit controversial:

It’s about three close friends whose friendship is torn apart due to the different paths they took in their lives. One is exposed to Western philosophy which led him to question his Islamic faith. The other is into the dangerous extremist views of Islam. And the one is in the middle and tries to keep their friendship together. As both men became more convinced that they are correct, only their third friend can see how so far lost those two have become.

The story could have a happy ending where they both see the errors of their way and be friends again. BUT I prefer to have a downer ending where they both have an empty life because of the respective path they chose in their lives.

Moral of the story – It’s ok to open to new ideas but don’t get easily influence by it. Being ultra conservative may not necessarily make you a better Muslim.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with deepening your knowledge and practices in Islam, as a matter of fact it is GREATLY encouraged to do that (Alhamdulilah). But we need to know the difference between what is correct and what is extremist ideas especially in today’s world. And I see these thing happening to a lot to people especially those who stay abroad. It’s not about being liberal or not….it’s about being sensible and knowing to use your conscience.

Like I said, this would be a bit controversial. There are several possible ideas that are less controversial. Again, you could do a family drama about a father who tries to instill Islamic values on his family. A story focusing on the journey of a person towards the Khatam of the Quran would be interesting as well.

Perhaps a more relevant story could focus on a Sekolah Ugama/Religious School. I’ve always have the feeling that these Sekolah Ugama get sidelined by the more regular schools. It would be a nice and interesting change from what would be a typical plot setting of a normal secondary/highschool.

PART III: ‘BERAJA’

It gets trickier now. I don’t have any concrete plot ideas for this one. But if we like to follow a ‘political’ theme, something that touches on the LegCo would be interesting. I have to say that I’ve been impressed with how far our parliament have gone so far since its reinstatement  in 2004. When I say ‘Political’ theme, people would immediately assume something negative. No, I always see ‘politics’ in Brunei as much more about the relation between the community and the government; the LegCo is the center and the embodiment of that.

Here’s one suggestion:

Have a story revolving around an issue or a problem. Then focus on a few characters ranging from someone working in the ministry to someone on a village level eg. Ketua Kampung. We would then see the issue from different perspectives and the whole story would be about them working together to solve it. The LegCo could be involved in the middle of the story perhaps. In the end, the issue/problem is solved thanks to a cooperation between the community and the government.

You could even throw in a character representing the country’s media as the main character who could serve as an anchor to the various story threads.

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There are tons of story ideas that can utilise the themes of Melayu, Islam and Beraja. But the main point that I want to put across is that the story(ies) that we should make must touch on a topic that is both contemporary and relevant to Bruneians. If we want to start some sort of Brunei film industry then we must simply start with a bang:

• It may not have to be high standard but definitely don’t aim for a low one
• Must appeal to Bruneians from various age groups
• Most importantly, a movie that actually MATTERS. We can’t make a mark with our film industry by producing superficial films. It must at least have some depth/thought to it.
• It must be Bruneian. So that means it’s about Bruneians, deals with Brunei and is intended for Bruneians. And other people that would watch this movie would know it as a ‘Bruneian movie’.

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If all of this doesn’t appeal to you….then we could always fall back on my TV series idea or my ‘Bruneian Superhero Idea’

But that’s for another post if anybody wants to hear it.

Superman

After the ‘not-so-satisfying-enough’ reception of Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns (a quasi sequel to Superman II), Warner decided to reboot it and aimed for a darker take on the character ala Batman Begins. I was opposed to the idea because making Superman darker is not necessarily the best way to make a good movie. A more accurate word would be ‘mature’ or ‘character driven’. Brandon Routh’s Superman did have angst in him but the movie was sadly let down by the lack of a formidable threat (I like Lex Luthor but creating a continent for real estate??? seriously??).

The story has it that director Christopher Nolan and writer David Goyer were taking a break from writing the third Batman movie and talked about Superman. Goyer told Nolan of the way he would approach a Superman movie to make him more relevant to modern times and go into what he is as a man. Nolan loved his idea and helped him pitch it to Warner Bros. They accepted it and the rest was history. Set to be released in 2012, the tentatively titled ‘Man of Steel‘ is a movie project produced by Nolan, written by Goyer and directed by Watchmen’s Zack Snyder. It features a cast of Henry Cavill as Superman, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Kevin Costner and Diane Lane as Jonathan and Martha Kent with Michael Shannon as villain General Zod.

Many have complained about Zod being the villain again but come on! – 1) Joker and Two Face was in more than one Batman movie 2) General Zod could provide some Kryptonian mythology which is an opportunity to explore Superman’s origin without making this movie a straightforward origin story.

Speaking of origin story, there have been various rumored plot over the internet but the one that I really liked the most involved “Clark Kent as a journalist travelling around the world, including getting caught in the middle of a West African civil war, contemplating whether he should become Superman or not. He then traveled back to Smallville and comes face to face with his secret destiny.”

Batman

The Dark Knight Rises is the final part of the Batman saga that director Christopher Nolan wants to tell. Nolan’s Batman story is basically a one long origin story so expect the end of TDKR to be about Bruce Wayne transforming himself into the Batman we all know and love. Christian Bale will return as Batman and is now hunted both by the Gotham police and his past with the League of Shadows from the first movie. This is hinted by the casting of Josh Pence as the young Ra’s Al Ghul in a flashback and Marion Cotilllard who, despite the recent story of her playing a Wayne enterprise board member, I think will be revealed as Talia Al Ghul towards the end of the movie and double crosses him.

Another adversary that Batman will face is Bane, played by Tom Hardy. We still don’t know whether he is related to the League of Shadows but expect him to beat the living shit out of Batman. In the comic, Bane is infamous for breaking Batman’s back and put him on a temporary retirement. Although I don’t think Batman’s back would be broken in this movie, I do think he would get some kind major ass whooping from Bane. This would probably have an impact on Batman’s ability to save Gotham on his own. With the Gotham police against him (except for Commissioner Gordon), Batman probably will have to form an uneasy alliance with someone outside the law – a thief called Catwoman played by Anne Hathaway.

So what happens after Nolan finishes his Batman saga? A Reboot.

I predicted this three years ago because I saw it as the only way they could incorporate a version of Batman that is compatible with a Justice League universe. So it seems that Warner/DC stole read my mind read my blog post logically had the same idea. So should they make a rebooted Batman movie so soon? Hell no! But should they instead reboot Batman through a Justice League movie? Sure!

But like what Marvel is doing with the Avengers, I think Warner/DC should do the same and start building the DC universe to prepare themselves for an eventual Justice League movie. And they should start with the Green Lantern movie…

Green Lantern

Three years ago, I was highly anticipating this movie because of the things I heard about the script which described it as an epic space opera superhero movie. Although I supported Bradley Cooper as the Green Lantern, I wasn’t dissatisfied with the eventual casting of Ryan Reynolds. I remember calling Green Lantern DC’s answer to Iron Man and when the first trailer came, I was right…..in a bad way. I was disappointed because of the poor attempt at humour, chick flick type banter between the leads and special effects – basically a poor attempt of an Iron Man type of movie. 

And then the much longer trailer showed up and blew me away. NOW THIS IS WHAT I WAS PROMISED ABOUT YEARS AGO! An epic Space Opera Superhero movie!

It’s clear that they are now selling on the otherworldly premise of the movie and I think this movie should be the building block to an eventual Justice League movie. The world of Green Lantern is vast and fantastical so it would be really easy to incorporate the rest of the Justice League heroes into the universe laid out in this movie. I’m not expecting a Justice League reference in this movie (it’s too late for that) but drop it in the sequel (yes, a sequel is already in development). OR they can start laying down the Justice League foundation with….

The Flash

A movie starring the Flash is currently in development by the same people who wrote the Green Lantern movie (Greg Berlanti, Michael Green & Marc Guggenheim). So fingers crossed that they’ll set this movie in the same universe as the Green Lantern movie (IF they’re not planning it…then I suggest you buy tickets to Green Lantern movie so the it can make lots of money which will convince Warner/DC to ride the Green Lantern bandwagon by making Flash associated with Green Lantern).

The Flash will focus on Barry Allen, a police forensic scientist who got exposed to a bunch of ‘lightning striked chemicals’ and now has super speed ability. The writer has described the upcoming movie as a balance between a crime movie and a superhero movie. There was also a hint of elements of alternate universe which is a reference to the famous storyline of Barry Allen meeting an alternate version the Flash (Jay Garrick) that set up the whole multiverse thing going on at DC.

As for the casting? I say Bradley Cooper because I wanted him to be the Green Lantern. Since Ryan Reynolds (who I REALLY wanted to be Flash) got that gig, I suggest giving Flash to Cooper. Him being the Flash was a popular internet rumour and even Ryan Reynolds recently said that he wanted Bradley Cooper as the Flash. But sadly, Bradley Cooper is a bit reluctant to take on the role.

Justice League

And finally, the big daddy! A Justice League movie is in development but how should they approach this big movie?!! Here’s my opininon:

Christopher Nolan as a producer

No, I’m not saying that the Justice League movie should be dark and realistic. I just think that Christopher Nolan could be sort of act as a quality control to the project. I think Warner would be happy to have Nolan be on top of things because of the huge success of The Dark Knight and Inception. It also adds some credibility to the project.

 Rebooted Batman introduced in this film

Rather than make another standalone film, a rebooted Batman would be introduced in the Justice League movie. Just like how Wolverine was the anchor in the first X-men film, the Justice League film could be anchored by a storyline following Batman’s introduction to other superheroes like him and his eventual realization on the benefit of working together. As for casting….why not give another shot at Armie Hammer (the Winklevoss twins in Social Network) because he was close to playing Batman in the previously scrapped Justice League project.

Henry Cavill as Superman

As much as I liked Christian Bale as Batman, I don’t want him to play Batman in the Justice League movie. It would be wrong to see him in a fantastical Justice League movie after being used to seeing him in three realistic Batman movies. However, I do want to see Henry Cavill as Superman in a JL movie. Despite what Zack Snyder said about his Superman being its own thing, I want them to stick with Henry Cavill for Justice League. I didn’t like how they wanted to recast Brandon Routh and I certainly don’t want them to recast Cavill.

Green Lantern and the Flash

Use the world introduced in Green Lantern as a starting point, then build it up with Green Lantern 2 and The Flash movie.

Wonder Woman

It wouldn’t be Justice League without Wonder Woman. I’m not sure if they have time to slot in a Wonder Woman movie before Justice League so I think they should introduce her in there.

So what do we have?

There is a big threat to earth that not one superhero can handle. Batman is investigating something in Gotham that led to this big global threat. Batman’s investigation led him to meet other superheroes such as Superman, Green Lantern and the Flash. Martian Manhunter is introduced as someone related to this big threat. Wonder Woman’s Amazon land is under threat and is forced to unite with the superheroes from the world of men. Superman tries to unite everyone, Wonder Woman doesn’t trust men, Green Lantern prefers to do things with Green Lantern corp, Martian Manhunter is unfamiliar with human customs, the Flash is…well…confused by all this shit AND Batman doesn’t want to be associated with these idiots. They all unite eventually and save the day. Justice League is born. Batman says he’ll just be a part time member but he respects them nonetheless.

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Of course, all of this depends heavily on the success of the upcoming Green Lantern movie. I hope that 1) It’s a damn enjoyable good movie 2) Makes lots of money. Then have other things fall into place such as Flash, Superman and Green Lantern sequel to set up the Justice League movie.

IF they could make this work and do it right, I’ll assure you that a Justice League movie will totally be bigger than the Avengers. I love Marvel and they have more cooler characters but I always see DC as having more prestige and much more iconic. There is something about Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman that taps into a universally recognized archetype.

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You might enjoy my previous post on DC films back in 2008: http://trylobyte.wordpress.com/2008/08/29/worlds-finest/

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PS: Whatever happened to that Green Arrow movie?? and no love for Aquaman??

Best Actor:

• Javier Bardem – Biutiful
• Jeff Bridges – True Grit
• Jesse Eisenberg – The Social Network
• Colin Firth – The King’s Speech
• James Franco – 127 Hours

Who I want to win: Colin Firth – The King’s Speech
Who will probably win: Colin Firth – The King’s Speech

Who Won: Colin Firth – The King’s Speech

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Best Actress

• Annette Bening – The Kids Are All Right
• Nicole Kidman – Rabbit Hole
• Jennifer Lawrence – Winter’s Bone
• Natalie Portman – Black Swan
• Michelle Wiliams – Blue Valentine

Who I want to win: Annette Bening – The Kids Are All Right
Who will probably win: Natalie Portman – Black Swan

Who Won: Natalie Portman – Black Swan

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Best Supporting Actor

• Christian Bale – The Fighter
• John Hawkes – Winter’s Bone
• Jeremy Renner – The Town
• Mark Ruffalo – The Kids Are All Right
• Geoffrey Rush – The King’s Speech

Who I want to win: Christian Bale – The Fighter
Who will probably win: Christian Bale – The Fighter

Who Won: Christian Bale – The Fighter

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Best Supporting Actress

• Amy Adams – The Fighter
• Helena Bonham Carter – The King’s Speech
• Melissa Leo – The Fighter
• Hailee Steinfeld – True Grit
• Jacki Weaver – Animal Kingdom

Who I want to win: Amy Adams – The Fighter
Who will probably win: Melissa Leo – The Fighter

Who Won: Melissa ‘Fucking’ Leo – The Fighter

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Best Animated Feature

• How to Train Your Dragon
• The Illusionist
• Toy Story 3

What I want to win: Toy Story 3
What will probably win: Toy Story 3

What Won: Toy Story 3

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Best Original Screenplay

• Another Year – Mike Leigh
• The Fighter – Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson. Story by Keith Dorrington, Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnsonc
• Inception – Christopher Nolan
• The Kids Are All Right – Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg
• The King’s Speech – David Seidler

Who I want to win: Inception – Christopher Nolan
Who will probably win: The King’s Speech – David Seidler

Who Won: The King’s Speech – David Seidler

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Best Adapted Screenplay

• 127 Hours – Danny Boyle & Simon Beaufoy
• The Social Network – Aaron Sorkin
• Toy Story 3 – Michael Arndt. Story by John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich
• True Grit – Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
• Winter’s Bone – Debra Granik and Anne Rosellini

Who I want to win: The Social Network – Aaron Sorkin
Who will probably win: The Social Network – Aaron Sorkin

Who Won: The Social Network – Aaron Sorkin

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Best Original Score

• John Powell – How to Train Your Dragon
• Hans Zimmer – Inception
• Alexandre Desplat – The King’s Speech
• A.R. Rahman – 127 Hours
• Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross – The Social Network

Who I want to win: Hans Zimmer – Inception
Who will probably win: Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross – The Social Network
WHO I REALLY WANT TO WIN!!: Daft Punk – Tron Legacy

Who Won: Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross – The Social Network

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Best Cinematography

• Black Swan – Matthew Libatiquec
• Inception – Wally Pfister
• The King’s Speech – Danny Cohen
• The Social Network – Jeff Cronenweth
• True Grit – Roger Deakins

Who I want to win: Inception – Wally Pfister
Who will probably win: True Grit – Roger Deakins

Who Won: Inception – Wally Pfister

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Best Director

• Darren Aronofsky – Black Swan
• David O. Russell – The Fighter
• Tom Hooper – The King’s Speech
• David Fincher – The Social Network
• Joel Coen and Ethan Coen – True Grit

Who I want to win: David Fincher – The Social Network
Who will probably win: David Fincher – The Social Network

Who Won: Tom Hooper – The King’s Speech

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BEST PICTURE

• Black Swan
• The Fighter
• Inception
• The Kids Are All Right
• The King’s Speech
• 127 Hours
• The Social Network
• Toy Story 3
• True Grit
• Winter’s Bone

What I want to win: The Social Network
What will probably win: The King’s Speech
WHAT I REALLY WANT TO WIN!!: Inception

What Won: The King’s Speech

However, I’m definitely not a cynical bastard and there are few romantic movies/chick flick that I do love. Since Valentine is coming up, here’s some of my favourite romantic movies that I can think of on top of my head. Open the gates!! Let out my softer side!!!

NOTE: ‘The Notebook’ isn’t one of them, sorry.

500 Days of Summer

The tagline for the movie sums it up perfectly: This is not love story, this is a story about love. I see it as the story about Life. There may be some heartbreaking moments but it is not a heartbreaking story. As a matter of fact I see it as an uplifting movie where the main character has a moment of reflection and finally saw the moments where the relationship soured. The climatic scene where they meet at the park rarely happens in real life but they should. Every person deserves a sense of closure – leaving someone emotionally/mentally hanging after a break up is not recommended despite it being really easy to blame others for everything that went wrong.

Before Sunrise/Before Sunset

A guy and girl met at Vienna by chance and decided to spend the rest of the day in the city just before they had to go their separate ways. All day, they talked about life, love, regrets and everything. ‘Before Sunrise’ is about taking a leap of faith in bonding with a someone you just met (even if it’s a creepy looking Ethan Hawke). Life is measured by the people you meet so don’t take people for granted…you may never know how special that person might be. But how do I know for sure? You don’t and that’s why it’s a leap of faith…you won’t know until you take that leap.

Before Sunset is set 9 years after the first movie where the same characters met and spend a day in Paris. The sequel has better dialogues and also much more depressing as they face the harsh reality of life.

Enchanted

I am man enough to admit that this loving tribute to classic Disney princess genre is one of my favourite movie. Princess Giselle (played by the lovely Amy Adams) represent those over the top people brainwashed by the romantic crap from movies. These people should get smacked back to reality by the realistic people represented by Patrick Dempsey. However, just like anything in this world, being in an extreme end of things are not the way to go. In the end, you have to be both realistic and idealistically romantic to make things work. So the moral of the story is that girls shouldn’t always expect to be treated like a princess. BUT it is also always nice for a guy to, once in a while, just go ahead and treat her like one ESPECIALLY when the girl had been nice enough to stuck up with you. See it as a reward and girls will always appreciate it.

My Best Friend’s Wedding

Julia Roberts finds out that her old friend that she’s in love with is marrying another girl. OH NO!! GO JULIA ROBERTS!! STOP THE WEDDING!! Oh wait…the main heroine is a bitch and trying to ruin a nice girl’s wedding!! That’s the fun thing about the movie because you’re rooting for Julia Roberts even though you know it’s wrong. Love is not an absolute concrete thing, it actually takes in many forms and degrees. Sure, you may end up spending a significant amount of your life sharing with one person but that doesn’t entirely diminish what others have meant to you. All we have to do is sort out the feelings and decide which one is best for you. There was no denying from both Julia Roberts and her longtime friend that the thing they shared all this time was something special. But the guy have sorted out his feelings and decided that Cameron Diaz is the right girl he wants to marry. It may have looked like a defeat for Julia Roberts in the end but she learned how to let go and hopefully find what her friend found in Cameron Diaz.

Did I just spoiled the movie?? Who cares, go watch it. It’s an enjoyable movie.

Hitch

Will Smith plays Hitch, the ‘love doctor’ who helps the King of Queens guy get a Paris Hilton type girl. Now Hitch isn’t one of those sleazy douchbag-looking pickup artists you always see on tv…no no no, this is a nice charming guy who genuinely helps the underdogs get the girl they love. Of course, it IS a romantic comedy so you must have the ‘love doctor’ fall in love with a girl who’s cynical about men. Hilarity ensues. Good flick for both chicks and dudes

Serendipity

This movie deals with fate. In a larger context, fate and free will is just the same thing. I watched Serendipity at a particular night at a particular place because I chose to come and study here which was made possible because of the grades that I worked hard for. It was my choices that led me to that particular cold night watching the movie. Yet, I also believed it was fate, I was meant to lazy around on a couch watching Serendipity while it was snowing outside. Why? It was your choice and you could’ve chosen another path? I could’ve but I didn’t. What if you made a different choice and end up somewhere else? Doesn’t matter because it didn’t happen. Life is an interplay between fate and free will. You decide Love and Love decides you but never ever let one side fully dictate your life. Fate can be explained in many ways but never ever listen to the explanation made by those who uses it as an excuse for laziness. Like I said in Enchanted, being in an extreme end of things are not the way to go.

Wait, I haven’t even mentioned about the movie!! Ummm…Serendipity is a good movie. It has John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale. Go watch it.

WALL-E

“What was the last chick flick you watched in theatres?”
“Ummm….Wall-E”
“…….that’s NOT A CHICK FLICK!!”
“Yes it is!”
“No! It’s a cartoon!”

Wall-E is not an environmental movie at its core. It is a romantic story set against a backdrop of an environmental message. Sure, Wall-E saved the world in the end but actually the primary motivation that drove this lonely robot throughout the movie was simply the desire to be loved. Listen ladies, guys would do anything for a girl. Worst case scenario: Guys do stupid things and embarrass themselves. Best case scenario: Guy would bring out the best in him all because of a girl. Because of a girl, Wall-E saved the world. What would your man do for you? Or better yet, have you really appreciated what your man had done for you? Think about it.

When Harry Met Sally

“Can a guy and a girl be good friends?” That was a question a friend of mine have asked because her friend didn’t believe in such thing. I say yes but it can be tricky because things might develop into something more than friendship. It could end up well if you’re lucky but usually it just turn into an emotional mess but hey! that depends on how the two of you decide to deal/play with it.

This movie deals with that question and much more….and it’s a hilarious movie too!! It is one of my favourite movie and I don’t know where to begin in writing about it (PLUS I’m tired of writing this post …I’m not that passionate about writing on romance & relationship ). So I’ll just bombard you with clips:

Of course, it wouldn’t be complete with this scene:

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And one more thing:     I’m single

- See previous list: 2009 (Avatar, District 9, Star Trek, etc.) and 2008 (The Dark Knight, Kung Fu Panda, Wall E, etc) -

10. The A-Team

From the director of Smoking Aces
Watched it: Once

I wasn’t really expecting much when they announced a remake of The A-Team. I mean, who the hell are gonna replace the original gang (especially Mr.T). Then they started casting what seemed to be actors that looked perfect for the role. AND THEN you see them act as the characters in the movie! Again, I’m a sucker for action movies and have a soft spot for those ridiculously fun ones; this movie certainly delivers in both departments.

Highlight: But what makes The A-Team special is that it’s about these four guys, each of them being bad asses in their own way, working together and bickering amongst themselves but always gets the job done no matter what. Watching these iconic characters gets portrayed both in a faithful and also refreshing way by these wonderful actors is best part of this remake. Hannibal, Face, BA and Murdock have distinguishable archetypal personalities (the brain, the look, the muscle and the ‘wildcard’) that makes it so fun to watch as a team and bein ridiculous situations. The first 30 minutes of the movie was brilliant in how they introduced each character one by one and setting the tone of the movie.

9. The Expendables

From the director of Rocky Balboa & Rambo
Watched it: Twice

Like The A-Team, this is another trip down memory lane. Both a tribute to the good ol 80s action movies and a straightforward-blow-shit-up-good-guy-vs-bad-guys movie….oh wait, that is the same shit There’s the muscular heroes (except for the Asian…who, in movies like these, is fast of course), the damsel in distress, the slimy bad guy who’s unsympathetic (played by Eric Roberts of course, always reliable when in need of channeling an aura of douchbaggery) and a long extended explosive finale. Speaking of finales, the movie stays true to what I like to think as the ‘core’ structure of a ‘real’ action movies. Let’s have the director and star of this movie explain it to you:

“Throughout cinematic history I believe the goal of well made action films was to illicit an emotional response, a visceral tightening of the stomach, not an intellectual response simply because the momentum of a film of this nature is to build to a crescendo rather than a point of intellectual debate while the film is going on.”

- Sylvester Stallone, AICN

That is why things slow down a bit in the middle and that is why you get extended scenes of bad guys doing bad things (especially to women and children). So you’ll have a cathartic experience watching the last half an hour of the movie where the good guys (literally) blow shit up.

Highlight: Like The A-Team, the best part about this movie is seeing characters portrayed both in a faithful and refreshing way. Wait? What?! Barnes, Lee Christmas, Ying Yang and the rest were never in movies before! True…but these actors are playing the same characters they’ve played before with some added twists. “Give this job to my friend here. He loves playing in the jungle,” said Arnold Schwarzenegger to Stallone’s character as joke on Rambo. And I did imagine that Stallone’s character did had jungle warfare experience like Rambo and Arnold has that sarcastic John Matrix/Dutch vibe in him. Same with Jason Statham, Jet Li and Dolph Lundgren having that vibe of their past movie characters. Ok fine, maybe it’s just me and I’m making my own backstories for them but that’s how I see it and it made this movie more awesome than it already was.

8. RED

From the director of Flightplan and The Time Traveller’s Wife (seriously).
Watched it: Once

Like the Expendables, this was another fun over the top action made up of badass old people. Unlike Expendables, the old people here are Bruce ‘muthaF***in’ Willis, John ‘muthaF***in’ Malkovich and Morgan ‘muthaF***in’ Freeman!! All actors deserves ‘muthaF***in as their middle name. Oh and add Helen ‘muthaF***in-Queen-Elizabeth-herself’ Mirren in a badass role too. Karl Urban round things up as the obligatory pursuer/Cat-hunting-mouse role but he brought some fierceness to the role that sold the whole Don’t-mess-with-this-guy deal. With Star Trek and the upcoming Judge Dredd remake, he’s on his way to earning that ‘muthaF***in’ status.

Highlight: We all know Willis and Freeman can play badass. Helen Mirren’s character was fun to watch but it was more of a gimmick. John Malkovich was the real highlight as the paranoid and mentally unstable ex-black Ops CIA agent. Just plain fun to watch. And how about that brutal fight scene between Bruce Willis and Karl Urban? One of the best fight scenes of the year.

7. The Karate Kid

From the director of Agent Cody Banks
Watched it: Twice

A remake of Karate Kid?? Hmmm the original is special. Jaden Smith?! Ok this sounds horrible and probably be some Disney/Nickelodeon stuff. Jackie Chan?! Wow I love Jackie Chan but how lazy was that in casting him for this movie – Can’t they find some other Asian and Jackie needs to be in a good Hollywood movie that doesn’t have ‘Rush Hour’ in its title.

Guess what? I was proven wrong. The Karate Kid was an example of a good remake.

- First, it’s been 20+ years since the original so there’s a whole new generation now who may not be ‘in tuned’ with 80s stuff thus putting it a ‘good-to-remake’ time period.

- Secondly, stick to the same formula of the original. This movie takes from the first two Karate Kid movie by having a kid who goes to a foreign land, gets bullied, trained by an unconventional master who has issues of his own past, falls in love with a girl whose parents don’t approve, enters tournament and wins it.

- Thirdly, put a different spin on it. Nothing to do with Japan, it’s now China. Despite the title, it is not Karate but Kung Fu. Add some nod or twist to the original (whoever came up with Jackie Chan slapping the fly instead of catching it is a genius).

- Fourthly, make a good story. Not gonna delve on that because we all know what it is…blah blah characters blah blah conflict blah blah inner conflict blah blah pacing

Highlight: Jaden Smith is actually really good! He can actually carry this movie and the future looks bright on this kid. Jackie Chan is finally in a good American movie that is not titled Rush Hour. The chemistry between the mentor and the student was the heart of the original films and it’s nice to see it carried over here.

6. Kick Ass

From the director of Layer Cake & Stardust
Watched it: Once

The ‘hero’ of this story became a superhero not because he was chosen nor he had any personal tragedy. He became one because he asked himself, “how come nobody has ever thought of being a superhero?” and “how come nobody is willing to help others when they see them in trouble? (aka the Genovese effect)” So he decided to wear a costume and just went out to beat up some bad guys in an act of pure bravery and stupidity combined. Despite the ridiculousness of a deadly acrobatic little girl who kills all the bad guy, the movie kept it real for most part with how it portrays the danger of reckless vigilantism demonstrated by the clueless ‘Kick Ass’. Case in point: the torture scene involving two of our heroes. And like The Dark Knight, there was a question of whether the superhero actually made things irreversibly worse.

Highlight: Remember I mentioned that ridiculous deadly acrobatic little girl who kills all the bad guy? ‘Hit Girl IS the highlight of the movie. nuff said!

5. Tron Legacy

From the director of award winning commercials
Watched it: Once

I really enjoyed this movie and the whole ‘world’/'mythology’ that was created. It is the long anticipated sequel to the 80s cult movie ‘Tron’ but don’t worry, you can still understand this sequel without viewing the original although I recommend watching the original to get some of the minor nods (I saw the original the night before I watched this movie and my friend didn’t even watch the original yet managed to understand the sequel). I personally think that the plot may not be as good as the original but the main characters were engaging enough to get you along the ride (Jeff Bridges played the dual role of hero and villain, Olivia Wilde evokes some childlike but also the sexy warrior vibe with her character and Garrett Hedlund shows some qualities of Jeff Bridges from the first Tron movie). And the special effects were awesome obviously….especially in 3D (Like Avatar, this epic movie SHOULD be watched in the best possible way – IMAX 3D)

Highlight: When the movie opened, you see these dots & lines with a voice over from Jeff Bridges talking about the ‘Grid’. And then you hear THE MUSIC as we swoop above the city and the title appears. Chills down my spine and a smile on my face. Daft Punk just outdid themselves when they fused the traditional cinematic epic orchestra score with their own techno synth style to create one of the best movie soundtrack in recent years. Rather than adding to the scene in a subtle way, the musical score in this movie was loud and in your face till it actually ‘creates’ the scene itself. Never have I seen a movie where there are not one or two but many notable moments where scene and music are essentially inseparable. Whether it’s Sam riding a motorcycle or when they enter the club & it’s subsequent fight. The most noticeable one for me was when our heroes gets into a situation in the elevator and THIS music starts blasting! I N T E N S E .

4. Scott Pilgrim vs The World

From the director of Shaun of the Dead & Hot Fuzz
Watched it: Twice

When I saw Chris Evan’s character (the Hollywood star Ex boyfriend number #2) do that skateboard stunt and explodes at the end, I thought “Man, this movie is really stupid ” Then something happened…I’m not sure if it was when Michael Cera fought the Super Vegan (played by Superman himself, Brandon Routh) or when Ramona fought her Lesbian ex…the movie became….COOL. Then it got Cooler…THEN IT BECAME THE GREATEST THING EVER.

Highlight: There were many wonderful characters filling up the world of Scott Pilgrim but the best one for me was KNIVES CHAU. The character made me fall in love, annoyed, feel sorry, angry, raise my fist and cheer, embarrassed and do a facepalm, laugh out loud and cringe. But one thing for sure, there was never a dull moment whenever her character shows up.

3. The Social Network

From the director of Se7en, Fight Club, Zodiac & The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Watched it: Twice

Let me break this down:

- The movie involves Facebook so it is relevant (Facebook is not something hip anymore, it’s part of the mainstream culture).
- This movie was written by Aaron Sorkin of ‘West Wing’ fame – famous for fast paced snappy dialogs.
- This movie was directed by David Fincher, probably one of the most talented filmmaker of his generation.
- This movie has a really engaging time jumping plot structure.
- This movie was scored by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nail and Atticus Ross in what is probably going to an Oscar nominated soundtrack.
- This movie has young talented actors like Andrew Garfield  (Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus and will be in the new Spiderman!) and Armie Hammer convincingly playing identical twins.
- This movie has popstar Justin Timberlake ironically playing the Napster founder in a breakout role (his character even has one of the best introduction).

Highlight: This movie has Jesse Eisenberg playing the founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg. I’ve only seen Jesse from Adventureland and Zombieland (yes, they both have ‘land’ in their title) and I usually call him the ‘poor man’s version of Michael Cera’ LOL But in this movie, he still maintains that quality but he also brought more to the table in a subtle way. You can’t help to hate and admire his character at the same time. Is this a true portrayal of Mark Zuckerberg? Nop. I don’t think the movie is historically accurate and I don’t think the real Mark Zuckerberg is as interesting as Eisenberg’s Mark Zuckerberg.

In the end, The Social Network is both a cautionary and a motivational tale. When you see ‘Mark Zuckerberg is the youngest billionaire’ at the end of the movie, everyone in my age was probably thinking the same thing – I want to build something and be successful.

2. Toy Story 3

From the director of Monsters, Inc & Finding Nemo
Watched it: Twice

What’s not like about Toy Story? Our loveable gang of Toys are back in another fun adventure!! But this time…

Highlight: …will be their last bittersweet adventure together. The stuff that happened in the middle was fun but the beginning and the ending is what elevates this movie to legendary status (yup, that’s me substituting the overused ‘Epic’). I really love how they took time to introduce the characters one by one in both the beginning/ending scenes acting like a final curtain call for the beloved characters that we’ve all come to love for as long as the toy owner Andy did.  It’s also the only movie that I can think of that managed to surpass the first two movies of its series (hopefully until ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ in 2012!). If you don’t get emotional by the ending then you’re not a human being. Period.

1. Inception

From the director of Memento & The Dark Knight
Watched it: Twice

I was obsessed with this movie and to a certain extent, I still am. Christopher Nolan crafted the ultimate summer movie that managed to be thought provoking and a thrilling action ride. Nothing more to add to all the other stuff written about this movie in the internet. (Here’s a shameless promotion: Check out my epic dream exploration series of article where I keep visiting the same place in my dreams ; having dream within a dream , cool weird stuff I dreamt the night after I saw Inception ; Comparing stuff from Inception with my own dreams.)

Highlight: The whole concept/structure of the movie is the main highlight for me. I love action movies and this one was basically a ‘Gun Fight within a hand to hand fight within a Car Chase’ so that’s an action movie within an action movie within an action movie!!

You can read my previous posts on dreams:
I Have A Dream –  Outlined several instances where I visit the same place in my dreams again and again.
A Dream Within A Dream – Exploration on the dreams that I’ve had. I attempt to define several properties of my dreams.
Dreaming The Inception –  My dreams the night after I watched ‘Inception’

***

Never intended to write another post on dreams but after the release of the movie ‘Inception’ and it’s surprising commercial success (and the fact that it is probably the most talked about movie right now), I couldn’t resist not writing one more thing on the subject. I’ve written down what I dreamt about the night after I saw Inception over my Tumblr blog. However, for this post I’ll be talking more in depth about dreams and I’ll also be referring to things from the movie so I advise you to stop reading if you haven’t seen the movie yet.

Construct of dreams

One of the main criticisms of Inception was that people were screaming “Hey that’s not an exact portrayal of dreams! It’s too formulaic and too restraint! It’s not surreal! It’s not weird! What about the sexual elements?! Where are the boobies?! We entered four guys head and no boobies?!!” I think those criticisms weren’t fair because:

• These are lucid dreamers. They have a certain level of control in their dreams. They are not dreamers who are passively experiencing crazy surreal images/narratives when they are dreaming. Like I’ve said before, I tend to like the latter way of dreaming.
• The dream worlds in the movie were constructed by the Architect. They were grounded in realistic way in order to fool the subject that he’s not in a dream. It’s like a mouse trap with the illusion of reality being the cheese.

So it’s not an accurate portrayal of dreams because those dream worlds were constructed for the purpose of the mission.

Levels of Dreaming

I’ve talked quite a bit about my experiences of “dreaming within a dream” Of course, there is a difference between how ‘dream within a dream’ (DWD) worked in the movie and how I’ve experienced it. In the movie, the concept of DWD is related to the technology of dream sharing where a group of people is connected through some wires which enables them to share a dream space. A DWD occurs when the procedure is repeated within a dream therefore entering a deeper level of the subconscious. The dreamers take turns in ‘hosting’ the dream space they enter. For example, in the early sequence of the movie, Leo and Saito were in Joseph Gordon’s Levitt dream WITHIN the first architect guy’s dream!

For the last sequence please refer to this nice diagram from http://dehahs.deviantart.com

So in the end, Juno was in Leo’s dream within Tom Hardy’s dream within Joseph Gordon Levitt’s dream within Yusuf the chemist’s dream! Here are several interesting comparative points between my own experiences and Inception’s rules on DWD:

1) I’m experiencing it myself so I’m not jumping into other people’s dream while I’m in a dream. I don’t have a dream sharing technology (If such thing even exists!)

2) I always start on ‘Level 2’ (although I don’t really prefer it but I’ll just use the terminology from the movie to make things clearer) and then wake up to ‘Level 1’. Never have I dream about going to sleep except for maybe this one time:

I woke up and I looked at the clock on the wall of my room. It’s still early so I went back to sleep. I woke up and it’s 6pm!! I’ve missed or am late for whatever it was that I was planning to do that day! I went out my house and I’m suddenly in a parking lot. It’s night time and raining. I saw a group of actors gathering around the parking lot and shooting a scene. HOLY SHIT! IT’S THE CAST OF ‘LOST’!! They greeted as if they know me and asked why I was late. Turned out I’m supposed to be in that scene they were shooting! The rain stopped and it’s suddenly a beautiful sunny day. I hung out with Henry Ian Cusick and Daniel Dae Kim (actors who played Desmond and Jin respectively). We went to a parked double decker bus that was actually an ice cream restaurant in disguised. I was talking to this cute lady who was behind the counter and taking my order. I woke up…and looked at the clock on my wall of my room. It’s STILL early so I went back to sleep.

It may sound like a normal ‘one level dream’ but I began to doubt that I even wake up in the beginning.  Although I’m really sure that I really did wake up the moment after I ordered my ice cream, I’m still a really hazy with the first moment when ‘I wake up’. Is this an example of me dreaming about going to sleep and dream about something else? A ‘Level 1’ ->‘Level 2’ -> ‘Wake up’ scenario as opposed to my usual ‘Level 2’ -> ‘Level 1’ -> ‘Wake up’ experiences?? I HAVE NO IDEA!!

3) I don’t think this is intentional on Christopher Nolan’s part but I notice that the further down the dream level you are in, the further it gets from the realm of reality. For example, Level 1 was constructed to be close to reality with its urban setting. While Level 3 was a hospital that looked like a fort in the middle of nowhere!! I’ve noticed the same thing with my DWDs:

• Level 2 - A character dies in one of my favourite TV shows.
  Level 1 –  Woke up and I saw the same character die on TV and I told my brother that I dreamt it!
  Reality - Woke up.

• Level 2 - A wrestling match between Shane McMahon, Goldberg and Peter Petrelli from Heroes.
  Level 1: woke up to write it down in my dream journal.
  Reality: Woke up to find out that I DIDN’T WRITE IT DOWN BECAUSE IT WAS JUST ANOTHER DREAM!!

• Level 2 - A road trip on New York with friends.
  Level 1 - Woke up and writing down my dreams while in McDonalds with my friends.
  Reality - Woke up.

You can see how Level 1 reality is more realistic/believable than Level 2 dreams in terms of the settings (eg. Wrestling ring/bedroom, New York/McDonalds) and the people (eg. TV characters/my brother).

4) I’ve never experienced a more than 2 Levels of dreaming. Hell, I don’t think it’s possible!!! Unless you watch too much TV/movies or play too much video games! That is how I always like to explain the cause of DWD…because I watch too much TV and movies.

Cinematic dreams

“You have very….adventurous dreams” “That’s because my life isn’t that adventurous!” That may be true but I tend to think that it’s because I watch too much TV and movies. So certain aspects of movies and TV shows gets deeply ingrained into my subconscious to the point where my dreams tend to follow movie formulas. The following example is one of most memorable dreams I had when I was a young:

My friend’s little brother has been kidnapped by a group of mafia/gangsters. Nobody dared to volunteer for a rescue mission except for me (don’t know why I volunteered…probably because I was a bad ass!). CUT TO – Another friend of mine getting stalked by some perverted guy. She tries to escape from her stalkers so she volunteered to join me on my mission. CUT TO – We arrived at a lavish party hosted by the evil mafia. I stood up and shouted at the head mafia boss. I demanded that he release my friend’s little brother or else he will pay the price! The mafia boss laughed and ordered his men to kill us. Crazy gun fight!! I gave my friend a gun but she said she didn’t know how to shoot. “Then what the hell are you doing here?!” “I was just finding a way to escape from my perverted stalker!!” I gave her a quick lesson on how to shoot. She managed to kill a few bad guys. I continued dodging bullets and killing few men. BULLETS FLYING! GLASS SHATTERING! PEOPLE SCREAMING! I woke up….checked the time, still early in the morning. Got back to sleep but I couldn’t continue my kick ass dream.

That dream had a typical action movie written all over it! A rescue mission? Check! A bad ass hero? Check! Evil gangsters? Check! Crazy gun fights? Check! A female partner? Check! Hero’s love interest? That girl was someone I had a crush on so that’s a Check! The way it was sequenced also felt cinematic with scenes suddenly cutting into another scene.

Another interesting dream I had recently borrowed one particular cinematic technique. There were three ‘scenes’:

1) My mom asked me about whether I went to eat at this restaurant with my friends. I didn’t go but I decided to lie at my mom. With every question she asked, I made up some story to answer it.

2) Its raining hard and there is a flood. Water started to violently flood the restaurant that was referred in the previous ‘scene’.

3) A Voyager space probe flying past the planets with me narrating my intention of creating an exciting fantastical account of the Voyager space probe into a Sci fi tv show

Those three ‘scenes’ were intercutting between each other in my dream! The relation between the first two ‘scenes’ were obvious: I was lying to my mom and it is evident that I was lying because that restaurant was actually flooded. As for the third ‘scene’….that’s an idea I had when back when I was 3^rd grade or something. It also proved that an old idea is never gone but just got lost somewhere deep within your mind waiting for it to resurface.

“You Never Really Remember the Beginning of a Dream”

That was a line from Inception where Cobb made Ariadne realize that she was in a dream. It’s a common thing for dreams to start abruptly and drop you in a middle of things. And usually within a dream, you just assume that you know the situation, the people and the backstories related to the situation in the dream.

One notable dream that I had when I was kid involved me saying farewell to all these wonderful animal characters that I’ve had many adventures with. It was a tearful farewell and I got so emotional about it. The funny thing is that I never remembered any of my adventures with them…I never had any dreams about them before! The dream abruptly started with a farewell to these animals that I was supposedly having many adventures with without actually knowing what those adventures were exactly. It’s like watching an emotional ending of a TV show without watching the whole series.

Here’s another and more recent example of a random non-beginning dream that I had:

I’m in a hotel room with three other people: two guys and a girl. We’ve been staying in the hotel for a while and we’re waiting to go another city. On each city that we’ll visit in our road trip, we get to stay on one of our friend’s house. I told the others that it’s impossible for me because “I have no friends.” One of the guys took pity and said “don’t worry, we’re your friends.”

That last part of the dream is really interesting because they claim to be my friends yet I DON’T REALLY EVEN KNOW WHO THOSE THREE PEOPLE WERE IN REAL LIFE!!! They weren’t friends that I know nor fictional characters from TV or movies. They were just three random people (a guy in red shirt, a girl in green shirt, a guy in black shirt). But I seemed to be fine and have some “unseen backstories” with them in my dreams. Although, I do think they were mash ups of different people I know but that would still make them a bunch of random strangers!

Dream Time vs Real time

According to the movie, Dream time is slower than real time (eg. sleeping for 5 minutes feels like an hour in the dream world, which feels like a week in a dream world within the dream, etc). Is there any difference? Yes. Is there a specific time difference? I don’t think so. Normally, I wake up and check the time to see that it’s still early in the morning so I go back to sleep. I would have some elaborate dream that feels long only to later wake up again, check the time, ONLY 5 MINUTES JUST PASSED!

Here’s a recent example:

- I wake up, check the time, still early, go back to sleep.

- I have a conversation with a friend

- **more dreams but I couldn’t recall it clearly**

- I’m a soldier in a computer game going around shooting opponents. It’s a fast paced FPS Counter Strike/Battlefield/COD type of game. The ‘map’ is Machu Picchu, a famous archaeological site in Peru.

- I have a restaurant by the seaside. It’s late and I’m closing it down. Strangely, I strap a balloon around my waist and I was floating around.

- I wake up, check the time, WTF?! ONLY around 15 minutes?! All those dreams felt longer!!!

***

Well that’s it for now! Inception is definitely the most talked about movie this year and if you haven’t seen the movie yet then WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?! GO WATCH IT NOW! And if you have….GO WATCH IT AGAIN!! Honestly, I’ve only seen it once and I’ve been talking about it for a few weeks now!

To close it off, I’ll leave you with this weird ‘dream’ that happened to me just few days ago:

It was a sunny day and I was walking with my friend in the middle of a road. It was crazy with cars, parades and marching bands yet we didn’t have any problem because they always gave us space to walk. We were having a conversation about last night (thus giving this dream some sort of time frame) UNTIL…..

*my phone vibrates*

Woke up and that same friend is calling. She asked if I could join her for lunch. I barely opened my one eye to peek at the clock on my wall. I closed my eyes again and said that I’m not coming but I’ll probably meet them at a later time.

She said, “Ok! Sorry to wake you up”

I said, “What if I’m still asleep?”

She said: “Hahaha!”

I said: “What if I’m in a dream within a dream?”

“HAHAHA YOU NEED A TOTEM!!”

“You could be my totem”

ummm..ok, how?

If you call me and say ‘I love you’ then I know it’s fake and that it’s all a dream

errmm…ok…..

if you call me and say ‘get up, go take a shower, you smell’ then it’s reality

ermm…i think you should go back to sleep…i’ll see you later ok, BYE!

*hangs up*

I didn’t even say bye and slept for a few more hours…..

Or was I asleep all that time?! Obviously, I wasn’t fully conscious when I say those things….or maybe I was?! so was that real? Or was that a dream?

***

Read my previous writings on my dreams:

Here’s one where I outlined several instances where I visit the same place in my dreams again and again.
http://trylobyte.wordpress.com/2007/11/29/i-have-a-dream/

This one is a much more elaborate exploration on the dreams that I’ve had. I attempt to define several properties of my dreams.
http://trylobyte.wordpress.com/2010/06/23/a-dream-within-a-dream/

My dreams the night after I watched ‘Inception’
http://trylobyte.tumblr.com/post/827995205/dreaming-the-inception

UPDATE 12/8/2010

You can read my more recent posts on dreams:

Dreaming The Inception
My dreams the night after I watched ‘Inception’

A Half Remembered Dream
A more recent posts on my dreams plus with references to the movie, Inception

I have always been fascinated with dreams. Anything can happen in dreams and for most people they are beyond their control. It can be exciting or frightening but most of all, it is mind-boggling. It is a place where you experience your heightened fantasies and fears that you most probably don’t know you even have. I believe that the best way to understand your own mind is to dive directly into your subconscious part of the mind and dreams are the easiest place to do it. Some seek to fully control their dreams but I prefer not to. I want them to surprise me…I want to see what kinda of stuff my mind can create.

Most of the time, I tried to mentally recall my dreams as soon as I wake up but recently I’ve scribbled down notes every time I have a chance to wake up (Nov 1 – 11 2009; May 11 – June 2 2010). The fun part begins when you are fully awake and you start reading the stuff you wrote. Some of them actually create a coherent narrative:

May 14

Group of students in a theatre with an empty stage – trying to create a play but there is no script – a teacher shows up warning us to leave if we don’t have anything to show – the scriptwriter (a white girl) and her friend (a black girl with curly hair) wrote the first scene – a casual talk between characters at a dining table and they find a mysterious origami – they asked us for suggestion on the next scene – my friend, Ida stood up and start giving some elaborate suggestion – I disagree and suggest another scene – we argued

Some of them are randomly funny:

May 23

Watching TV – saw a music video of a new catchy song by Mischa Barton and Lindsay Lohan – titled “Candy Time” – lyric – “wake up, it’s the morning, It’s Candy TIME!”

And some are just…it made me pause and say WTF? because it seemed to be gibberish:

May 17

The city got its ‘Voice’ back. I told Joan that I’ll be the new voice of Amy’s town.

“Building a dream from your memory is the easiest way to lose your grasp on what’s real and what is a dream”

But as strange these dreams may sound like, they can be dissected and explained. The first dream is just an alternative representation of a real life situation between me and my friend (in this case, arguing about direction of a script we’re working on). Furthermore, the origami is a reference to the game ‘Heavy Rain’.

The second one is strange because as far as I know Mischa Barton is not a singer. But I could tell that the ‘Candy Time’ lyrics have its basis from Robin Thicke’s ‘It’s in the Morning’ song. As for the third dream, the only image that I remember from that dream was an animated city from the Facebook game, ‘Social City’. As for the inclusion of my friends and the whole business of ‘Voice’…that I have no clue.

Therefore, a dream will always have its basis from aspects of your memory. But can it have a basis from things that hasn’t happen yet?

Dreams as prophecy

Throughout history, some people have associated dreams with predicting the future. I lost a comic book once and I dreamed that I would find it in a drawer. I woke up the next day and guided by my dream, I found the comic on that very same drawer. A divine message? Or was I just thinking about the possible areas where the comic is and the dream was just a mental representation of my thought process?

Let’s take another recent example. I dreamt about me and my brother trying to climb over a fence. My brother climbed first and when he did, I noticed a big centipede on his back and then I woke up. Later that day, me and my brother were watching Bear Gryll’s Man vs Wild and there is a scene where he encounters a big centipede! Was my dream predicting this? Or was it just my mind taking something from my memory (a movie called ‘Human Centipede’) and it manifest itself in the dream? Back in November, I tried to not only write down what I dreamt about but also what happens during the day just to see if there is any connection.

I found out that there is a connection between what goes on in your day with what you dream about later that night. Here’s one notable example where on Nov 4, one of the things I noted that happened that day was “Laptop got fucked up” and this is what I strangely dreamt about that night:

Nov 4

I was walking on the street – my laptop was in the middle of the street – went to plug it out and shut it down – three kids/siblings (a girl, a boy and an older brother) starts stepping on my laptop intentionally – I pleaded them to stop – they refused to stop – I got furious – I punched the little girl and choked the little boy to the ground and threaten him – the older brother was standing up and too scared to do anything – they all fled. I met them later – they were scared – smiled at me – one shook my hand

And all of that was created by my mind only because I was frustrated with how my laptop got fucked up earlier in that day. Now it is really an interesting exercise to keep a record on your dreams however I stopped doing it mainly because it got more difficult to keep up especially when you encounter this situation….

Dream within a dream (DWD)

On May 16, I dreamt about a wrestling match involving Shane McMahon and another wrestler beating up Goldberg. Peter Petrelli, from the TV show Heroes, later arrive at the ring to assist Goldberg. I ‘woke up’ and wrote about the dream in my notebook and then I went back to sleep. A few hours later, I woke up again and was eager to re-read what I wrote. BLANK. I didn’t write anything and never did!! because it was a dream!! A Dream within a Dream! My plan has backfired! This went on several times where I started having dreams of writing about my dreams!!

“This can’t be done. Dreams within dreams is too unstable.”

My method was to write when I’m in a half-awake state because I believe that’s the best time to get a more accurate recollection of your dreams. What I didn’t take into account is I can easily drift back into a dream state OR be deceived into believing that I’m actually awake! Hence, the occasional occurrence of ‘dream within a dream’ (DWD) situation whenever I tried writing in my journal.

But DWD isn’t anything new to me. The first DWD that I remember was when I was kid, I dreamt about watching a cartoon where one of the main characters died. I ‘woke up’ and watched the same cartoon only to see that very same character die. I told my brother that I actually dreamt about it!!! THEN I woke up again….for real this time.

Here’s another more recent DWD:

I took a bath in this large expensive bathroom. Then suddenly a lot of people (from both gender) came in. I was embarrassed and asked one of them “What the hell are you people doing here?!”They said that this was a public place and we are all sharing it. I ‘woke up’. I met three of my friends and told them about my dream. They started debating  about it and came up with ridiculous explanation.  Later, I was in Starbucks and I was discussing about my dream to my classmates and the subsequent debate among my friends. When I left Starbucks, I couldn’t find my car on the street and started searching for it at a mall (why? Don’t ask). This is where the logical part of my brain kicks in and I said “My car is not here because it’s back at the garage in Brunei”. I woke up for real.

The thing that I noticed in this dream is the amount of time jumps. One moment I’m debating with friends and instantly the next moment I’m at Starbucks. Later, the streets where I lost my car was instantly transformed into a mall. That is entirely illogical and it should’ve been an obvious sign that I was in a dream. But it didn’t wake me up because I haven’t reached that level where I could logically grasp the concept of time and space when I’m in a dream state. Then how could I finally put some logical thinking at the end of the dream?

Wake up call

I’ve noticed that I can only wake up from a dream when I’m in trouble or in fear. I couldn’t find my car so my logical thinking kicks in to escape from the nightmare. I got chased by a monster and force myself to wake up. I had to do an examination and my logical part of the brain instantly creeps up to tell me that I don’t need to because I’ve already sat through it and I passed! I used to think that these are evidence that I’m capable of controlling my dream but I now think I’m merely just reacting than controlling.

Morphing location

Let’s go back to the concept of space in a dream. For me, it is rare for a dream to take place in a single location. I usually end up in an environment that is radically different from where the dream started. Look no further than the dreams that I’ve managed to record:

Nov 1 – Walking on a brick road at night – hallway with red carpet – a shopping mall

Nov 3 – climb a steep green hill – climb down – reach a muddy lake and could only be crossed with the floating logs – entering a club with changing coloured floors

Nov 6 – shopping mall full of people – went upstairs to a casino – went down and the mall was dark and empty – walked further and end up at an airport

Nov 11 – in a ‘Counter Strike’ map (CS assault) – parking lot – swamp – residential area

What was amazing is that these locations morphed in a seamless way that you don’t even realize it.

Here’s an example of one of my recorded dream that seemed to combine all of the major aspects that I’ve mentioned so far (Real life basis, Dream within Dream & Morphing location) plus a surprising twist at the end that I will get to later:

May 29

It started with me and my friends on a road trip around New York. We didn’t have any maps so we followed our guts (real life basis: we recently did a road trip). We eventually end up at a shopping mall that was about to close. The girls rushed around and shop a lot while I only bought one shirt.

I woke up and I wrote down what I dreamt about (‘Dream within a dream’).  I was suddenly at McDonald’s, writing in my dream journal (‘Morphing location’). I was surrounded by my friends who wanted to see what I wrote but I refused to show it them.  A guy walked past with three dogs. The three dogs started fighting with a cat and another dog. One of the three dogs was a bulldog who starts spitting his saliva all over the place. A lot of the saliva washed over my burger and I got furious at the dog!

It was suddenly night-time and McDonald’s was no longer located in town but beside a dirt road in the middle of nowhere. My friends and I followed the dirt road and found ourselves at a quiet abandoned resort. We came upon a swimming pool. I recognized the place and told my friend that this was a place where we had a New Year party. She didn’t recall that party.

Now this is where things got interesting. The reason why she didn’t recall that party was because she wasn’t there….actually, NO ONE WAS THERE! IT DIDN’T EVEN HAPPEN….at least in real life. I was actually referring to another dream!!

Memory of other dreams/de javu

I’ve visited the resort many times in my dreams. Of course in another dream, it was full of people and joy (certainly not abandoned). There are many places that I’ve visited many times (creating a sense of de ja vu within a dream) and the most notable one was the fountain room. I’ve talked about this place in my blog few years ago and you can click here to read it. One possible explanation for why I seemed to recognized places that I’ve dreamed  before is because these places, just like a lot of things in dreams, have their real life counterparts. I admit that the ‘Fountain’ that I usually come across in my dreams is just a supersized exaggerated version of a fountain at Glorietta shopping mall in The Philippines. Yet, it doesn’t explain one particular dream: My friend and I found a secret passage at our Elementary school that leads us to a magical place with dancing fountains. Years later, I dreamt about returning to that place and actively seeking the very same secret passage (and successfully found it too!).

***

And that was my weird account on dreams and I’m not sure if other people share similar experiences. But what I do know is that there is an upcoming movie that I’m REALLY excited to see!! From the director of The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan…

…directs an international cast in an original sci-fi actioner that travels around the globe and into the intimate and infinite world of dreams. Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a skilled thief, the absolute best in the dangerous art of extraction, stealing valuable secrets from deep within the subconscious during the dream state, when the mind is at its most vulnerable. Cobb’s rare ability has made him a coveted player in this treacherous new world of corporate espionage, but it has also made him an international fugitive and cost him everything he has ever loved. Now Cobb is being offered a chance at redemption. One last job could give him his life back but only if he can accomplish the impossible—inception. Instead of the perfect heist, Cobb and his team of specialists have to pull off the reverse: their task is not to steal an idea but to plant one. If they succeed, it could be the perfect crime. But no amount of careful planning or expertise can prepare the team for the dangerous enemy that seems to predict their every move. An enemy that only Cobb could have seen coming. This summer, your mind is the scene of the crime.

Things I noticed:

- a mention about creating a dreamworld not based from your memory. I find that almost impossible (“You gotta draw from something right” said Ellen Paige’s character)
- A mention on ‘Dream within a dream’
- A ‘Kick’ – sense of falling that snaps the person out of his dreams. ‘Falling’ in a dream tend to wake you up.

Inception – July 16 2010

**

Well I’m off to bed now! Let’s see what’s in store for me tonight!

***

UPDATE 24/06/2010

My dream the night after I posted this entry. Enjoy

- Made my way to an old run down hospital located somewhere at a backalley of futuristic industrial Blade Runner-esque city

- Met a Chinese doctor and nurse. I needed an special medical treatment to prevent myself from being infected with a new disease.

- The treatment involved making a minor incision on my shoulder. Then they heat up this small but thick disc shape object – place that on the area of my shoulder that has been cut – the object sticks to my skin and eventually gets absorb

- the doctor even introduced to me another procedure where several of these heated disc shaped object gets put on people’s head to increase their memories

- went out of the hospital – Walked through the rainy and dark city – had to pass through a chocolate cake factory – managed to steal one too – arrived at a toy shop but it was closed – I was disappointed but a security guard lady came to me and told me that I will get a discount on my next visit

- I was watching TV and it was showing a documentary on ghosts. The show depicted a scene where a guy was sleeping and his laptop automatically switched on – showed some scary but blurry images – the images seems to be showing a particular room

- next thing I know, I was no longer watching the TV show BUT was part of it! I was part of a team who are experts on the paranormal. My speciality was that I study the connection between ghosts and electrical energy (thus explaining how the guy’s laptop got messed up) – we arrived at an abandoned hospital and there is a dark room – some entered the room (a cop and a scientist) – we suddenly hear a scream and two fingers flung out of the room and hit one of the cameraman!! The cop and the scientist got out of the room – the scientist were screaming and showing his bloody hands (missing fingers!) – the rest of us were closing the door and try hard to prevent whatever is inside the room from getting out – THEN a head pops out of the door – A PALE FACE WITH WHITE BLANK EYES!!! – EVERYONE SCREAMED! – I shouted MOTHERFUCKER!

- I woke up.

***

Read my other writings on my dreams:

Here’s one where I outlined several instances where I visit the same place in my dreams again and again.
http://trylobyte.wordpress.com/2007/11/29/i-have-a-dream/

My dreams the night after I watched ‘Inception’
http://trylobyte.tumblr.com/post/827995205/dreaming-the-inception

A more recent posts on my dreams plus with references to the movie, Inception
http://trylobyte.wordpress.com/2010/07/31/a-half-remembered-dream/

Captain America – Chris Evans (Fantastic Four, Sunshine)

Solo movie – The First Avenger: Captain America (July 22, 2011)

Captain America was the alter ego of Steve Rogers, a sickly young man who was enhanced to the peak of human perfection by an experimental serum in order to aid the United States war effort. Captain America wears a costume that bears an American flag motif, and is armed with an indestructible shield that can be thrown as a weapon.

Iron Man – Robert Downey Jr.

Solo movies – Iron Man (2008), Iron Man 2 (May 7, 2010)

Tony Stark is an industrialist playboy and genius engineer who suffers a severe heart injury during a kidnapping in which his captors attempt to force him to build a massively destructive weapon. He instead creates a powered suit of armor to save his life and escape captivity. He later decides to use the suit to protect the world as Iron Man. Through his multinational corporation, Stark Industries, Tony created military weapons and his own metal suit is laden with technological devices that enable him to fight crime.

Thor – Chris Hemsworth (Star Trek)

Solo movie – Thor (May 6, 2011)

Thor’s father Odin decides his son needs to be taught humility and consequently places Thor (without memories of godhood) into the body and memories of an existing, partially disabled human medical student, Donald Blake. After becoming a doctor and on holiday in Norway, Blake witnesses the arrival of an alien scouting party. Blake flees into a cave, and after discovering Thor’s disguised hammer Mjolnir, and striking it against a rock, transforms into the Thunder God. Defeating the aliens, Thor shares a double life with his alter ego: treating the ill in a private practice with nurse – and eventual love – Jane Foster and defending humanity from evil.

The Hulk – Edward Norton (Fight Club)

Solo movie – Incredible Hulk (2008)

The Hulk is the emotional and impulsive alter ego of the withdrawn and reserved physicist Dr. Bruce Banner. The Hulk appears shortly after Banner is accidentally exposed to the blast of a test detonation of a gamma bomb he invented. Subsequently, Banner will involuntarily transform into the Hulk, depicted as a giant, raging, humanoid monster, leading to extreme complications in Banner’s life.

***

The Avengers is scheduled to be released on May 4, 2012

You might be interested in my other post about the DC superheroes franchise

- 5 Sci Fi films
- 1 animated film
- Feature length movie debut by 2 directors
- 1 superhero film
- 4 films adapted from an established franchise
- 3 films that are considered to be frontrunners in the Oscars
- No biographical film
- No New Moon

without further ado here’s my top 10 of 2009 list:

10. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

From the director of Bad Boys, The Rock, Armageddon, Pearl Harbor
Watched it: Once

The good: Giant Robots fighting, Explosions, mass destruction, pumped up action, Megan Fox

The bad: dog humping, mini robot humping leg, annoying twin robots, giant robot balls, Megan Fox

9. GI Joe: Rise of the Cobra

From the director of Jungle Book, The Mummy, Van Helsing
Watched it: Once

When I was a kid I used to make my own imaginary movies with my toys. I would usually think of various cool action scenes first and then figure out how they connect later. If any of those childhood fantasy movies were to actually be realized in the big screen it would look something like the GI Joe movie. I wasn’t a fan of GI Joe, I didn’t grow up with it so I didn’t have any GI Joe toys (more of a transformers fan) but the whole ‘feel’ of this movie with cool characters (doing cool things) fighting bad guys (that are really bad) on various locations (from air, land, sea, the arctic, the streets and the desert) is a little boy’s dream movie. Oh and GI JOE > Transformers. GI JOE had better pacing, less stupid humour, cooler characters and I also like how each character played a role while in transformers it was basically ‘optimus, bumblebee and those twins..while the rest of the bots just shoot and didn’t had much lines.

8. Hangover

From the director of Old School, Starsky & Hutch, School for Scoundrels
Watched it: Once

This is like ‘Dude where’s my car?’…but much better. Main reason? Those three guys in the picture.The premise is simple: Four guys went to Vegas before one of them gets married. They woke up the next day without any memory of the night before and their groom-to-be friend is missing. They set out to find their friend and get some answers on what happened that night. Along the way they met a baby, Mike Tyson, a tiger, a stripper and a gay asian mob leader among others. Again, the thing that makes this film much more hilarious are the main characters.You have the sarcastic school teacher, a weak and more conservative dentist controlled by his girlfriend and the weird socially awkward bearded guy….pair them up and throw them into various stupid situation and you get a really funny movie. They even saved the best joke in the end of the movie.

7. Watchmen

From the director of Dawn of the Dead (2004), 300
Watched it: Twice

This movie will forever be cursed by people who judge it against the source material. The graphic novel is a masterpiece with deeply layered plot and characters. Those depths were lost in the movie adaptation BUT for a task that many believed to be impossible, Zack Snyder didn’t do a bad job so I gave this movie an A for effort. After the movie ended, I find myself thinking if there were anything they missed from the movie. Aside from the black freighter story and some scenes (put back in the extended cut), I was actually satisfied that they managed to keep the core story and did it well especially with the casting of the characters like Rorschach, Nite Owl and Manhattan. They changed the ending too but the intention or the outcome of the ending was still the same.

6. Inglourious Basterds

From the director of Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill
Watched it: Once

I wanted more out of this movie. More of the Basterds, more of Col. Landa the Jew Hunter, more of that British spy, more of Til Schweiger, more of Shoshanna, more of that black guy from the cinema, more of everything! And this is a two and half hour movie with very little action scenes. Don’t get me wrong I love almost every minute of the movie but I don’t mind if it goes a bit longer particularly on the Basterds side of the story. Don’t be fooled by the trailers and promos, this is a Tarantino film therefore more talking, less action. In a Tarantino film the dialogue is usually much more interesting than the action but when the action kicks in, it happens in a shocking brutal way. My favourite scene is the one in the bar where the British undercover spy and two other German born basterds met with the Double agent German actress only to be interrupted by a Nazi SS official. The meandering dialogue, the slow rising tension and then the bloody aftermath that came out of nowhere!

5. 500 Days of Summer

From the director of various music videos
Watched it: Once

Let’s look at two ‘hypothetical’ scenarios:

Scenario A

A lone single guy is watching this movie in a lazy Sunday afternoon all alone. He feels sorry for the guy and can even relate to him in certain points. After the movie, he thinks back about the girls in his past and tries to think about what went wrong. He then starts thinking about what would be different if he stuck with the girl and in the end thinks that he wouldn’t be where he now and happily stands now. Sometimes good things come out of bad things.

Scenario B

A couple who are just beginning to hook up and unsure about where they are heading with their relationship are watching this movie in a lazy Sunday afternoon and perhaps this the first movie they watch together. After the movie, they’ll probably think about who was wrong, the guy or the girl? What went wrong? Issues such as labeling and definitions would creep into their minds (What are they? couple? friends with benefits? Where is this heading to? going too fast or too slow?).

Every romantic film or chick flick does this to some extent but this one is much more apparent. No, it doesn’t have a bad ending…in a way. It’s an honest movie about relationship…a really good honest one since ‘When Harry Met Sally’. The tag line summarises the movie quite well: ‘It is not a love story, it is a story about love’. I don’t consider it to be a ‘chick flick’..I like to call it a ‘guy chick flick’ but it appeals to everyone. One of the writers gave the screenplay to his ex girlfriend (inspiration of the character Summer) and she said that she actually relates more to Tom, the broken hearted protagonist…so yeah go figure.

If you don’t fall into the two ‘hypothetical’ scenarios above then I suggest a third scenario:

Scenario C

It’s a lazy Sunday afternoon, a guy wanted to watch a new trailer of a movie but accidently stumbled upon the trailer for 500 days of Summer. It has a nice music, a montage of various scenes that looks happy and sad, Zooey Deschanel, crazy surreal scenes such as a guy dancing at the park with an animated bird, the kid from 3rd rock from the sun, movie have a nice feel to it and Zooey Deschanel. He got excited and anxiously waited to watch the movie (meanwhile, good reviews kept pouring in) and he wasn’t disappointed when he finally saw it.

4. UP

From the director of Monsters, Inc.
Watched it: Once

Pixar has done it again. Pixar does not make kids movies…they make movies for everyone. This one takes it literally by teaming up a grumpy old man and a young fat asian kid on a wild adventure.  This movie has a floating house, a talking dog, a weird funny giant exotic bird and a very funny physical combat between two old men. It is ultimately a feel good movie despite the characters having to deal with their respective tragedies (Carl’s wife passed away while Russell’s parents are divorced).

Finding Nemo and Wall E are still two of my favourite Pixar films but Up definitely has THE best scene/intro!

3. Star Trek

From the director of Mission Impossible III
Watched it: Twice

Not a big fan of Star Trek. I find it ‘nerdier’ than Star Wars and I never fully watched any of the Star Trek movies (among the list of  my ‘watched some parts of’ Star Trek movies: The Motion Picture, Wrath of Khan, Final Frontier, Generations, Nemesis). The only Star Trek movie that I sat through the whole thing was ‘Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home’ aka The One With Saving The Whale. An alien wants to destroy earth and the only way to communicate with it is through an extinct animal called Whales. So our heroes time travel to the past (the present – 20th century – 1986) and get some whales. I liked that movie because it removed all the ‘Scifi-stratrek-alien-politics-klingon-mythology-universe’ stuff and deal with a simple present day environmental issue like saving the whales. The characters get to shine as each of them are thrown into a time period unfamiliar to them. It’s a pretty damn funny movie too.

Which brings us to this new movie. It aims to introduce Star Trek to a new and wider audience while not pissing off the old fans too. They succeeded by:

a) setting the movie in a separate alternate timeline created when the bad guy time travel and messed things up and

b) appealing to the non-Star Trek fans by taking the best bit about old Star Trek – the characters.

Going back to ‘Star Trek: Saving the whale edition’ movie that I mentioned above, the highlight of that movie was the interaction between the characters particularly the relation between Kirk and Spock (and the doctor too). JJ Abrams understood that and he made this awesomely entertaining movie. A friend of mine said to me that she never liked Star Trek but now she is a fan (finds Spock hot too). If you’re like her and want to get a taste of the old Star Trek then I recommend ‘Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (& saves whales)’.

Now the top two movies in this list can be interchangeable because I believe people will see these two as seminal movies.

2. District 9

From the director of few short films
Watched it: Once

A relatively low budget but highly original sci-fi film. It is a movie that is hard to shoe horned into any category. It’s a mockumentary yet it’s not. It’s a handheld camera movie yet it’s not like Cloverfield or anything. It’s an action movie yet it’s not entirely that type. Social commentary? yes it does have one and presented in a not so subtle way (in case you don’t know, it reflects South Africa’s Apartheid period). It is a mixture of genres and definitely a must watch. If you excuse me, let me rip off a quote from a reviewer in Aintitcool.com:

Avatar pushed the limits of technology and showed the world that giving a bonafide genius 12 years and every toy in the toychest to play with that you can make more money than God. DISTRICT 9 showed that if you give a young genius $30 million dollars and leave him the fuck alone under the tutelage of a master like Peter Jackson, that you will make money hand over fist while garnering endless praise forging a classic that will be rewatched and discussed for generations.

Nuff said!

District 9 could be the best film of 2009 however….

1. Avatar

From the director of Aliens, Terminator 2, Abyss, True Lies, Titanic
Watched it: Once

…..for this list, size DOES matter. AVATAR is the long awaited return of James Cameron. He’s been working on this movie for almost 10 years and it took him that long because he was developing a new technology that would revolutionize cinema viewing, worked with a professor to create a new language and with the help from expert, created a biosphere of an alien planet. It wasn’t just about making a movie, it was about creating a whole new world. Getting people back to the theatres and have them experience raw movie magic that people probably had back in the 70s with Star Wars. The storyline and the dialogue isn’t oscar worthy but James Cameron is aiming for fun immersive movie going experience. His movies are about spectacles and taking the audience for a ride but managed to keep things grounded (unlike Transformers 2…number 10 on the list LOL a lil bit of circularity..).

The movie was meant to be seen in IMAX3D so I didn’t want watch it on anywhere less. What I notice was that the movie didn’t have any of those typical 3d movie gimmick moments eg. a character reaching his hands towards the audience. Instead, the movie played it straight for most part which is kinda good because it doesn’t make us feel too conscious and go “wow! it’s in 3D!!” which kinda distracts you a bit.

—

Answers:

- 5 Sci Fi films = Avatar, District 9, Star Trek, GI Joe, Transformers
- 1 animated film = Up
- Feature length movie debut by 2 directors = District 9, 500 Days of Summer
- 1 superhero film = Watchmen
- 4 films adapted from an established franchise = Star Trek, Watchmen, GI Joe, Transformers
- 3 films that are considered to be frontrunners in the Oscars = Avatar, Up, Inglourious Basterds

It wasn’t me – Shaggy

Thong Song – Sisqo

7 days – Craig David

Beautiful Day – U2

Rollin -Limp Bizkit

It’s my life – Bon Jovi

Hero – Enrique Iglesias

there are more…

Ride with Me – Nelly

Crawling – Linkin Park

What’s goin on

dilemma – Nelly ft Kelly Rowland

lose yourself – Eminem

Cry me a river – Justin Timberlake

Thousand miles – Vanessa Carlton

Sk8er boi – Avril Lavigne

in da club – 50 Cent

Hey ya – Outkast

Where is the Love – Black Eyed Peas

Bring me to life – Evanescence

Let me love you – Mario

My boo – Usher

This love – Maroon 5

If i aint got you – Alicia Keys

Gold digger – Kanye West

You’re beautiful – James Blunt

Lonely – Akon

We belong together – Mariah Carey

September ends – Green Day

My love – Justin Timberlake

Irreplaceable – Beyonce

Hips dont lie – Shakira

Promiscuous – Nelly Furtado

So sick – Ne Yo

Umbrella – Rihanna

Crank that – Soulja Boy

The Way I are – Timberland

This ain’t a scene, It’s an Arms Race – Fallout Boys

I kissed a girl – Katy Perry

Viva La Vida – Coldplay

Dance Wiv me – Dizzee Rascal

Poker face – Lady Gaga