The Other Side of Christian Bale

Ooo, the Fighter was so good!

After watching The Green Hornet and No Strings Attached, I vowed to myself that I will never ever spend money on stupid movies again. Seriously. Well, okay I'll cut some slack on No Strings Attached (that Ashton Kutcher line at the end sort of made it not-so-bad in my books), but The Green Hornet ... seriously? That movie was complete rubbish. I've been watching really terrible movies lately (the Fockers? URGH), and so yes, I've sworn to myself (not that it'll do any good, now that Hollywood movies are not being distributed here anymore; revolt people, REVOLT!). Anywho, after those last two terrible movies, I went to watch The Fighter. Thus, I've made good on my vow. That movie was excellent!

I don't know exactly when I started being a Christian Bale fan; it could have just been from the Batman movies (on a side note, how excited are we for the new Batman movie with Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tom Hardy and Marion Cotillard?), and he just continues to blow me away, especially with The Fighter now under his belt. Amy Adams impressed me very much too in this movie; such a turn around from her character in Enchanted. The storyline was compelling, not really anything new, but with this wonderful cast and their amazing acting chops, this movie really became something special. If you have not seen it, go see it now like stat. Especially now that we are soon to be deprived of Hollywood movies.

Let Me In

Err, no. You may not come in.

My first movie of 2011 is noneother than Let Me In, the remake of 2008's Sweedish film - similarly titled - Let the Right One In (what's with Hollywood and their Sweedish film remakes?). The movies are based on a book also titled Let the Right One in by John Adjvide Lindqvist (for the life of me, I can't figure out how to pronounce that name). Was it good? Why yes, yes it was.

I'm not sure if many people here - my friends in particular - will enjoy this movie as much as I did. They may be expecting some sort of action-packed vampire thriller filled with gore and blood. And even though Let Me In does showcase some gore, it really is not what you'd expect from these type of stories. This movie is a movie about friendship. That is all. It's poignant and hauntingly beautiful. It really leaves you thinking. And that is what great movies are made up of.

I must point out that Abby moves like Splice when she goes for the kill. Why am I pointing this out? Because it's freaky as hell. Splice is the freakiest sh*t I've ever laid my eyes on. But anyway, do watch Let Me In but please do so with the right frame of mind. It's not a movie filled with cheap action scenes, over-the-top dialogues or irrational twits and turns.

This movie is close to perfection.

Bytheby, please tune in to 105.8, the best slow hits station tomorrow at 1 - 4. I'll be on air. For those not in Indonesia, you can stream it on www.litefmjakarta.com.

Love you all.

Beastly

Still lookin mighty fine Mr. Pettyfer!

I believe I have not posted anything really Beastly related in this blog of mine, and well, I think that's blasphemy. I have not read the book - written by Alex Flinn - but I have seen the movie trailer and yes, it is epic looking. I don't think I'll be picking up the book; a modern-take on one of my favourite fairytales, Beauty and the Beast. I like my YA books to be very, fantasy-like, which I think Beastly sort of is, but not as much as my usual munches like; I Am Number Four, Wondrous Strange, Wicked Lovely and so forth. However, without a doubt, I'll definitely be watching the movie. After looking at these posters, how can anyone refrain?

Beautiful, isn't it? Which one do you like better? I reckon they're both amazing! Beasted up as he is, Alex Pettyfer still manages to look super, duper irresistable. And Vanessa Hudgens looks gorgeous on both posters. I really can't wait for this movie, set to be released next year (Damn Charlie St. Cloud!). I'm not sure which one I'm more looking forward to; Beastly or I Am Number Four. If I'm not mistaken, they'll be released within a month of each other; something about Alex Pettyfer being introduced to the U.S market. Anyhow, I can't wait! I'm sure, if you're anything like me, you can't too. ;)

xx

The Outsiders

Stay gold, Ponyboy.

A few days ago, my sister and I decided to watch The Outsiders starring Matt Dillon, Rob Lowe, Tom Cruise and the late Patrick Swayze (and others). It's based on a novel of the same name written by S.E. Hinton. I remember back when I was in year 7, my brother had to read the novel. But he couldn't be bothered so he asked me to read it instead, and I was to tell him the key points. And so I read it, and I remember loving it. Although up until I watched the movie, I couldn't really recall what had happened in the book; only that there were greasers and socs. The movie helped freshen my memory, but most of the stuff in the movie were like, new to me. So yes, I had completely forgotten the events of the book. Haha. Oh, I loved the movie as well!

I loved all of the Greasers; Ponyboy, Dallas, Two-Bit, Darrel, Sodapop... Johnny, not so much, but he almost made me cry when he wrote to Ponyboy, telling him to stay gold! Ah, it broke my heart. Sure, the movie didn't contain much; it seemed very quick and before you know it, it's over. But I loved the simplicity and the naivete of it. It wasn't as deep as it could have been, but the poem really got me. And Ponyboy read Gone With the Wind to Johnny! If that didn't have me sold, I don't know what would. For those who have seen the movie, don't you think that Cherry Valance (played Diana Lane) had looked identical to Mandy Moore? It was like watching A Walk to Remember!

Give it a go guys. You might just like it. :)

YA Couple Alert!

Alex Pettyfer is Number 4!

Now this news just hit me out of the blue. I have been wanting to read I Am Number 4 by James Frey. A Young Adult book of course, I've really been munching them lately. I came across the book sometime ago on Goodreads, read the reviews, was interested but have never really researched it (because there are currently so many books in my to-be-read pile!). You can imagine how shocked I was to find out today that book is already being made into a movie. And that Alex Pettyfer is playing the role of Number 4! And that he's dating his co-star Dianna Agron! 3 incredible news slapping me on the face!

Alex Pettyfer. Alex, alex, alex. He is like the guy for YA books. I'm not kidding. Surf youtube and you'll know what I mean. He also has Beastly coming up, another YA book I have yet to read. Lots of people had used him for Jace Wayland from The Mortal Instruments series (I went with Mitch Hewer), and lots of people are currently using him for Peeta Mellark from The Hunger Games series. I haven't used him for anything, but I totally get his appeal. To me, he has become synonymous with YA books. And well, he definitely has/is, what with Beastly and I Am Number 4 and all.

I love the fact that's dating Dianna Agron because I love her. The pictures of them together that I've seen are very, very cute. I am excited for this movie, for Beastly, and for them. I really hope I can find I Am Number 4 in Kinokuniya tomorrow. Please, please be there!

Alex Pettyfer, you're totally on my radar now.

[Disclaimer: Foh shizzle the pics ain't mine!]

Really, Iron Man 2?

A total flop in Rachel's eyes.

Ah. How to say this? I hated Iron Man 2. It was slow, not funny, and lacked action. While I agree that movies shouldn't depend on action and effects alone, I really felt that Iron Man 2 lacked these, amongst many other things. The first Iron Man movie was by far, the superior one. And was I the only one who thought that Black Widow was going to be a villain? Well the fact that she was not was quite a revelation.

The only thing I liked (and even this, not so much), was the promise for The Avengers. And that is only because my man, Edward Norton (you know, Hulk?), will be in it (he better be!). The Captain America shield was cute, but I guess, that's about it. I'm not really a comic book junkie so I don't know my mythos well, so apparently, there were many references in the movie that I didn't notice. Seriously, this movie was a let down. Not long into the movie, I was already thinking about something else. My interest was lost. Not even Robert Downey Jr. could save it for me. And he's quite delicious too.

CC BOX OFFICE: Where the Wild Things Are & Whip It!

Woman, Whip It!

Ever since I've seen the trailer for Where the Wild Things Are, I have been excited. My sister was too, and she only gets excited for great movies. To top it all off, it reminded her of our childhood in Australia; back in grade 1 or 2, one of her teachers had read her the book, and it was an awesome book. So, suffice to say, we were both very excited. And then a few nights ago, we watched it.. and man, what a complete downer.

I don't get it. I just don't get it. My sister and I had guesses throughout the movie as to what the movie was about, and yeah, we came close, but I still don't get it. It was boring, hardly even cutesy. And what's up with the girl wild things? They were horrifying! It's really hard for me to believe that this was a movie for children, because my gosh, I swear no kid will like it. So yeah, fail.

Now on the other hand, we have Whip It which I watched last night. And I loved it, I loved it, I loved it!

Ellen Page was very likeable in this movie. I liked her so much better here than when she was playing Juno. The story was simple, yes, but I loved the execution. It was very fun and made me laugh numerous times. I daresay, I even enjoyed this better than I did Sherlock Holmes (which was, for me, mediocre). The cinema was almost empty though, because this movie is so under the radar here in Indonesia. But this is me putting Whip It in your radar people. Go watch it. It's really good.

CC BOX OFFICE: An Education

I suppose you think I'm a ruined woman

I have seen An Education on many of people's top 2009 lists and ever since I've seen the trailer, I've been dying to watch it. And a few days ago, I did just that, with my little sister. And we both totally loved it. Two thumbs up for An Education!

This movie is just the kind of picture I like. It made me laugh, made me think ... it really is something. Not only is the story compelling, it is also set in a pre-The Beatles London, after the war... and the scenery, the clothes, the music, they are all so very lovely. Acclaimed writer, Nick Hornby, wrote the screenplay for the movie and now I'm interested to purchase several of his books. If An Education is any indication of how his stories are, I am sure that I will love his them. For those of you interested, after the click, check out the movie trailer.

AFTER THE CLICK ....