Yes Man

Would you say yes to everything that presents itself to you in life? Or do you lead your life saying no to everything? Say yes to life and start living your life now!

The power of self-affirmation, releasing and programming. Carl Allen is a no man. He said no to everything in his life. He is as stuck as the stick in the mud. He says no to his best friends' invitations, he says no to this neighbour, he says no to his work, he says no to promotion, he says no to his boss... in fact he says no to himself. He prefers very much to wallow in his own pain, within the comfort zone of his own home, watching rented DVDs without any one around him. If given a choice, he would rather have the world abandon him.

Thing starts to change after he meet an old friend while having his lunch one afternoon. This friend introduces the YES workshop to Allen and encourages him to make a change to his life. His sub-consciousness starts to work through him. One evening, he attends the new age YES workshop. After that evening, he starts to say yes to everything and every opportunity that presents itself. A little trial of saying yes begins to open the door to opportunities and change for Carl. Life slowly unravels itself. From offering a ride to the homeless, to getting to know his new love interest Allison, he starts to enjoy his life and loves the experience of living.

The reality is (of course!) he goes a little too much and too far by saying yes to everything, to the extend of finding it hard to say no. Its like the universe punishes him for saying no. Every story has a key message. In Yes Man, the message is... Do things in moderation. You can't say yes to everything and you can't say no to everything. You choose the middle, in that grey area of Maybe, and not to forget, you must add a dash of common sense too!

I have to admit that Yes Man is a rather powerful movie in a new age way. I highly recommend this movie for the value it offers. The only thing that irks me is that Jim Carrey is unable to break away from his face contortion and silly antics which makes him a famous comedian. It stereotypes him, making it hard to appreciate him as a serious actor. To find in this lovely movie, the tiny signature Jim Carrey expression and behaviours is a little discerning. Perhaps it might be way too serious if he does do away with all this signature actions. Either way, Yes Man is a movie worth watching.

Rating: 4 out of 5 fairy clouds. You can have good fun watching Yes Man even if you do not understand the power of new age healing. It is still a decent movie with good storyline.

Another Crazy Christmas

The start of my Christmas celebration begins with a musical to some great local talents of Singapore, Another Crazy Christmas. This Christmas caroling is performed by Selena Tan, Emma Young, Pamela Oei, Hossan Leong, Robin Goh, Neo Swee Lin, Lim Kay Siu, Sebastian Tan, John Lee, Petrina Kow and Vocaluptious.

I enjoyed the performance by Hossan Leong. It is the best out of all the singings and cajolings by the group. The jokes about the Singapore Flyer and Singaporeans' creativity with their dance movements are simply hilarious. Even Sebastian's Hokkien version of Jingle Bell is far more entertaining than the others. I do miss the Dim Sum Dollies. I wonder if they will come back to create another season.

Overall, I am mildly disappointed. This current musical is rather commercial and it has lost its little charm. Last year's performance was cozy, heartwarming and full of love. It was oozing with that fuzzy feeling of warmth near the hearth on a cold winter night. I failed to feel the same leaving the theatre this evening. I wonder where the magic has gone to? Or could it be that there is a lack of chemistry amongst the group?

Twilight

Let me give you a hint to this movie. Boy meets girl. Girl meets boy. Boy falls for girl. Girl falls for boy. That's pretty much sum up the story. And to make it more interesting, add a dash of vampire mystery and a pinch of predatory thrill.

The movie focuses around Isabella Swan (Bella) who has moved to a new high school in Washington after her mother remarries and moves to stay with her new husband. She makes new friends and finds Edward Cullen to be intriguing.

Edward feels an uncontrollable attraction towards Bella and is very protective of her. Over time they falls in love with each other. How will that end? Will she become a vampire and rejoice in their eternal love for each other? We have no idea.

I'm not a big fan of adolescent romance movie, which Twilight is all about. For those die hard romance fans who adore love and romance, this is the movie to watch. Personally for me, its more yucky (!) than ooh and ahh.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 fairy clouds. This movie is not my cup of tea.

Bolt

Bolt is the latest animation released by Disney. The story tells of a white German Shepherd who knows nothing of the real world except the made believe world which he has been living in for 5 years. Sounds familiar? Of course it is! Remember The Truman Show? Well, this time round it has been tamed and repacked into a supersize tiny white waggy-tail ferocious little puppy eye doggie!

During one shooting, his owner Penny is captured by the green-eye Dr Calico. The episode ended with Penny being taken away and a crew member returned Bolt to his trailer. Being anxious to save Penny, little Bolt escapes from his trailer and somehow lands into a box by accident and is shipped to New York.

At New York, he meets with Mittens and Rhino. Together the trio starts on the adventurous trip to Hollywood, California. Along the way, Bolt learns of the truth about his life and fake superhero skills which he holds dear to this heart. Reality can be harsh, but this did not stop Bolt from going back to his beloved human.

As with all Disney cartoons (which I will always repeat), it will always be a happy ending to uphold the wholesome family entertainment for the family. Despite of the clinches and predictable storyline, Bolt is still an super entertaining movie.

There are two scenes which I love dearly. One is Bolt learning to act cute so as to "beg" for food and next is the Rhino the hamster. I adore the out-of-character Rhino which is evil in the purest sense. He is simply cute as a button and you just want to pinch the hell out of this furball!

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 fairy clouds. A great entertainment for the family during this festive month. I have as much fun watching Kung Fu Panda as Bolt, with the exception that Bolt is filled with children's humour.

Paprika

Paprika is a spicy girl of your dream. In fact, she is literally the girl IN your dream!

Dr Chiba and her assistant, Dr Tokita have found a way to enter into your dreams in this animation science fiction flick. Using the DC Mini, Dr Chiba transformed into Paprika and provides treatments to her patients through dream therapy. Inspiration gives birth to new technology which becomes a source of power.

As fate has it, three DC Mini prototype has been stolen. All dreams are slowly trickling into a big illusion and crossing the boundary between dream and reality. Will Paprika solve the mystery and save the day?

The animation is an eye opener to the possibility of technological intervention. You will be dazzled by the power of subconscious mind and deprived dreams. It does make one wonder if everything at hand is truly a case of child's play, ie a child trapped inside the body of an adult. It is a pretty amazing and mind blowing animation for me as I did not set any expectation of what I might find in this Japanese creation.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 fairy clouds. An impressive movie which is truly out of the world. A must-watch for Japaneses animation and sci-fi fans!

Kabluey

Kabluey is a movie about self-realisation and discovery. It can be sometimes hard to understand love without first going through some hardships and loving oneself.

The movie starts with Leslie, a depressive mother of two extremely hard-to-handle boys, whose husband is away at war. She is desperate to get back to work and can't afford to get a babysitter. Out of desperation, she asked her brother-in-law, Salman for help.

Salman is a socially inept person who is having a hard time getting accepted by everyone including his family. As Salmon becomes the babysitter for Leslie, he soon learns about loving and accepting himself as he discovers and understands about love and pain of people around him.

The movie has a rather geeky kind of humour which is kind of refreshing like a young school girl. It is kind of subtle yet touching in many ways. It is definitely an interesting movie to watch. Of course, more can be done to improve the storyline and add more depth. Yet simplicity can still achieve the same objective. And Kabluey is a simple movie.

Rating: 4 out of 5 fairy clouds.

Little Miss Sunshine

Oh little Miss Sunshine! The sweet and almost nostalgic film revolves around a dysfunctional American family. The family road trip to California started as the youngest member of the family becomes eligible for the Little Miss Sunshine pageant.

Sheryl is an overworked mother of a teenage son and young daughter. Her husband Richard is an unsuccessful motivation speaker and life coach. Their son Dwayne has been on a 9-month vow of silence till he achieve his goal to be a pilot. The youngest Olive, is actively pursuing her beauty queen dream. Olive is closed to her grandfather who has been kicked out of retirement home due to his heroin addict.

The story begins with Sheryl picking up her suicidal brother who has recently lost this love, career and a chance to be a recognised scholar of French literature. Under the doctor's instruction, Sheryl is taking care of him to make sure he is ok. During dinner, the family receives a call that young Olive has obtained a chance to participate in Little Miss Sunshine pageant which takes place in 2 days time.

On a haste, the whole family takes on a road trip to Redondo Beach Hotel, California. It is an unforgettable road trip for the family in the bright yellow Volkswagen minibus. Each of them learns to come to term with reality while learning to understand and respect each other.

There is a lot of tolerant in a typical American family. This makes me wonder if such unconditional love be a cruelty instead. The adventure and unexpected twists have been a good entertainment for me. It is a decent film for a lazy afternoon.

Rating: 4 out of 5 fairy clouds. It is worth watching, not to mention that I bought the 2nd hand DVD at only just $6. Pretty worthwhile and enjoyable movie!