Worth Fighting For

What makes a song beautiful is not always the quality of the voice but the distance that voice has had to travel. - Unfinished Song, 2012

Have you watched Unfinished Song (formerly known as Song For Marion)? The film's may be too old for me, but I love it. It's partly inspired by Young@Heart and starring Vanessa Redgrave (Marion), Terrence Stamp (Arthur) and Gemma Arterton (Elizabeth). 

Arthur's a bad-tempered person who sees no value in his wife's participation in elderly choir directed by Elizabeth. As soon as you see Marion sitting on a wheelchair, head covered, you know she's suffering from cancer which is declared terminal by her doctor. And so it happens. She faints during rehearsal, is taken to hospital and is told by doctor to go home and have as much chips and ice cream as she wants since she only has weeks to live. But Marion only wants one thing: to go back to the choir and sing. Despite Arthur's grumpy protestations, as he's being overprotective and really wants to spend as much time with her as possible, Marion returns to rehearsals as the choir prepares to participate in the auditions for a national choral competition. She performs one final song during the audition, True Colors by Cindy Lauper, which is about her relationship to Arthur. And honestly, tears streaming down my face while watching her singing that song. So Marion dies. Right after Marion's death, he decides to shut his only son, whom he has never gotten along, out of his life, even though that means he won't be able to see his cute granddaughter, no matter how fond Arthur is of her. I guess that's what happen when you lose someone you really love, you just want to be alone. Arthur comes to grips with his wife's death and of course, eventually finding the courage to join the choir and sing. At the competition, Arthur sings his heart out with a song that equally expresses his feelings for Marion, Goodnight My Angel by Billy Joel. And it makes me cry once again.

All in all, Unfinished Song is a heartwarming music drama with some beautifully bittersweet musical moments that bring tears of joy and sorrow. It's these moments that really bring the film to life, anchoring and capturing the essence of these complex beings. 

There's something about old couples that makes me realize someone can love you forever. I saw a couple the other day when I was walking down the street. They're old, wrinkled. Watching the way they were with each other, made it seem like they were young. The woman's laughing so hard she had to stop in the middle of the sidewalk to catch her breath. And the man's holding her hand, so sweet, as though whatever enormous life that exists behind them is brand new and fresh when they're together, a blank slate. They held hands the entire time. Then I remembered the time when my late grandparents were still alive, they really loved each other. When my grandfather passed away, my grandmother kept talking about him every single day. Like, "if your grandfather were here..." Well, she passed away last year. May they both rest in peace.

I wish that me and my future husband will always love each other even we become old and grumpy. InsyaAllah. :)

Well, music has a way of getting to the heart. So here's the scene of Arthur singing Goodnight My Angel:

Goodnight, my angel

Time to close your eyes

And save these questions for another day

I think I know what you've been asking me

I think you know what I've been trying to say

I promised I would never leave you

And you should always know

Wherever you may go

No matter where you are

I never will be far away

Goodnight, my angel

Now it's time to sleep

And still so many things I want to say

Remember all the songs you sang for me

When we went sailing on an emerald bay

And like a boat out on the ocean

I'm rocking you to sleep

The water's dark

And deep inside this ancient heart

You'll always be a part of me

Goodnight, my angel

Now it's time to dream

And dream how wonderful your life will be

Someday your child may cry

And if you sing this lullaby

Then in your heart

There will always be a part of me

Someday we'll all be gone

But lullabies go on and on

They never die

That's how you and I

Will be

Girl Power

I must say I'm totally digging this new female empowerment vibe Disney's putting off in its movies lately. With Frozen, and now Maleficent, we see women saving themselves, women helping other women, women in power and women at the center of the story. I went to watch Maleficent with my man last weekend. I really wanted to watch it because Sleeping Beauty's one of my favorite story books when I was little, the time when I hated Maleficent. This time, it's the best story of Sleeping Beauty, and guess what, it's not about a woman going nuts and cursing a girl because she's jealous. She goes nuts and curses a girl because she herself was screwed over royally by a selfish man. And this time, it's not about Sleeping Beauty. It's about Maleficent. And I don't hate her anymore. 

So here's how the story of Sleeping Beauty should sound like now:

Once upon a time, there were 2 kingdoms, the human kingdom and this magical kingdom next door with fairies and creatures and happiness. They didn't mess with each other and all's well. But then there's a boy, Stefan, who came into the magical kingdom and started stealing stuff. Maleficent, just a girl but still the a leader among the fairies, met Stefan. Instead of killing him (which they don't do in the joyous place), she walked him out of the kingdom and told him not to come back. Of course he didn't listen to her, and of course she's touched by the gesture he made by throwing his iron ring away when she told him it burned her. So he came back. And they became friends. Then more than friends. Then he kissed her with so-called true love's kiss. 

So of course it wasn't true love's kiss. It never is, now is it? The point is, this bastard left after that and Maleficent's sad, but still didn't let that stop her from becoming the most powerful fairy in the land. Stefan, who's a poor peasant boy, grew up to be some lackey man to the king. When the greedy king came to try to take over Maleficent's magical lands, she kicked his ass so hard he's sent home to die. The king vowed that anybody who kills Maleficent will take over the throne. So Stefan reconnected with her, drugged her and instead of killing her as she slept, he cut off her wings and took away a vital part of who she was. While she still had powers, the happiness was gone. She's in physical and emotional pain. This joyous kingdom turned dark. Maleficent's jubilant spirit turned vengeful.

Stefan became king and had a baby girl named Aurora. Maleficent cursed the baby girl as revenge, saying she'll fall into a deep sleep from which she can only be awoken by true love’s kiss. King Stefan hid the baby away in the woods to be raised by 3 fairies where she's constantly watched by Maleficent. Long story short, the sweet princess thought Maleficent was her fairy godmother and she started spending time with her. Maleficent grew to love Aurora and ended up saving her from the curse when she kissed the sleeping beauty on the cheek. Aurora ended up saving Maleficent by releasing her wings that her father held in captivity to be reunited with the fairy, leading Maleficent to her former greatness. The 2 kingdoms were peacefully united from then on and they lived happily ever after.

Oh I love Angelina Jolie. She's perfect to play such an amazing role as Maleficent. She's a wonderful role model to women. She's smart, beautiful, talented, she plays strong characters, she's a humanitarian, she seems like an amazing mother. 

And this is what I learned from this tale:

Being happy and in awe of the world around you will not only make everything better, it could help you overcome the evil forces in your life.

Forge unlikely alliances. Sometimes those are the most rewarding ones.

True love does exist, just not in the way you envisioned.

Taking down a powerful one isn't easy. Actually, it's pretty much impossible.

Support other women. Love other women. Don't be disrespectful to your sister, mother, girlfriend, female colleagues, fiancee, wife. Be genuine and pleasant with those women who do have ill will toward you (or who you think might have ill will toward you) because you never know, those are the ones who might end up being important to you.

 An act of true love doesn't always come from a man.

Life's gonna take things that make you who you are away from you, but don't get bitter and vengeful, open your heart and you'll be able to reclaim those things. 

So that's it. I think every girl should see this movie.

A Spoonful of Sentiment

It's tough for a non-movie review blog to write a movie review. But I love movies and I'll take any good excuse I can to actually get out of the house and get immersed in a film. And Saving Mr Banks saved me. 

Here's a quick synopsis for those who haven't heard of the film: 

Walt Disney spent years pursuing the rights to create a movie based on the book, Mary Poppins by P. L. Travers. He's persistent in wanting to make the movie not only because he loved the story but because he wanted to fulfill a promise he made to his daughters. Mrs. Travers reluctantly agreed to work with Disney's team on the film but refused to sign away the rights during pre-production. Long story short, she eventually signed away the rights and the film's made. 

But you knew that. Because most of us grew up with Mary Poppins as part of our childhood. We know the film, we know the songs, and we all loved Mary Poppins. Saving Mr. Banks doesn’t just take you behind the scenes as to how Walt Disney and P. L. Travers eventually struck a chord. This movie takes you into the childhood of Mrs. Travers and deep into her head where we really understand why this fictional character, Mary Poppins, is such an important and protected part of her life.

Let me state what I think is obvious. If you haven't ever seen Mary Poppins, you've got some homework to do. You need to watch it and then go see it. If you don't, you'll miss a lot of the subtle humor and inside jokes. And you'll be able to follow the story line but you won't really get it. If you've seen Mary Poppins and didn't love it, this movie might not be for you. And finally, if you've seen Mary Poppins but it's been so many years that you can't really remember if you liked it or not, go see this movie. You've probably forgotten that you loved it as a kid and this film will remind you. (Side note: This is NOT a movie to take your kids to. They'll simply be bored. It's an adult movie. Enjoy a night out.)

Well, I really loved it. It's because it was a movie that stayed with me. When I see a good movie, it usually has to sit with me for a day before I can really coherently come up with what I thought of it. That's a good sign because it means it got the wheels turning in my head. The next day, I was singing the songs from the film and just replaying some of the scenes in my mind and mostly just marveling over the amazing cast. Emma Thompson as P. L. Travers, a middle-aged Australian born English writer of children's books. She wasn't pleasant and yet we're sympathetic and amused. And I love love Emma for facing the big screen with that awful 1960s hair. Oh she deserves Oscars. Tom Hanks as Walt Disney, the American icon who has never been portrayed on screen before. So Tom Hanks as Walt Disney? OF COURSE!

The biggest thrill for me in this film was feeling like I got a glimpse into the life of Walt Disney; who he was, what he was like to work with, and how he fought for what he believed in. In a beautiful but entirely fictional scene, Disney tells Travers about his own difficult childhood:

I love my life - it's a miracle.  And I loved my daddy, boy, I loved him. But, there isn't a day goes by where I don't think of that little boy in the snow and old Elias with his fist and strap, and I'm just so tired - I'm tired of remembering it that way. Aren't you tired Mrs. Travers? We all have our tales but don't you want to find a way to finish the story? Let it all go and have a life that isn't dictated by a past?

Although Travers has created a magical world of imagination, it represents gritty reality to her. Mary Poppins shows the children hard truths, and fiction that reveals painful truths is important. But Disney sees another role for fiction, that we can use fiction to write the endings that we wish our stories had, and thus heal our griefs. I like Disney's idea.

There are many reasons why people love romance as a genre, and there are many reasons why I love it. One of my favorite things about romance is the promise that things will be okay. In real life, even though my life's one of great happiness, I worry all the time, about everything from asteroids (collisions!) to turtles (endangered!). Above all I worry about people who are suffering who I can't save, and I grieve for people who I've lost. So you can imagine my tearful response when, at the premiere of Mary Poppins, when Travers weeps because Mr. Banks has been fired, Disney leans over to her and whispers, "It's all right, Mrs. Travers. It's alright. Mr. Banks is going to be all right. I promise."

First of all, in terms of the movie itself, it's a powerful moment, because P.L. Travers' father, the model for Mr. Banks, wasn't alright. Not even her own Mary Poppins, a seemingly invincible aunt, could save him. And although in real life Travers was never happy with the film, this scene in Saving Mr. Banks is cathartic for the character and for the audience. From the standpoint of someone like me who likes romance, this moment was touching and affirming. We all know that things in life can be hard. Even happy endings have tough parts. But when you pick up a romance book, it says, "It's alright, I promise."  And that's not trite or delusional. It's powerful and healing and freeing. It's a way of nurturing hope and it gives us something good to imagine and to aspire to.

We need stories that reveal the hardships we've faced historically and that we continue to face today. We need to be able to clearly see our past and our present. But we also need hope and optimism. If all stories end in doom, then we start to feel doomed. What I hadn't thought of before Saving Mr. Banks is that in writing happy endings we can also rewrite our own stories. What Disney's saying to Travers is that we can use fiction not only to reveal our reality but to shape it. There are a lot of things going on in this movie but for me, that aspect's the most interesting, and that aspect's why I think some of you would enjoy the film so much. That, and the fact that Emma Thompson plays the smartest, and bitchiest, smart bitch of all time! Oh please just give her that Oscars!

For the record, there are some interesting controversies surrounding the film. See, in the movie, Emma Thompson weeps with joy because she loves the film version of Mary Poppins so very much and the magic of Disney has healed her emotional wounds. But actually, in real life, P.L. Travers wept at the premier because she hated it. She liked the money, and she got a heap of it, but she still hated the movie. Lol.

I am Iron Man

I'm not a lifetime comic book fan. Thanks to Ifo for introducing me to Marvel superheroes, and now I'm an avid fan of them. Iron Man 3 is such a great film. This isn't Shakespearean Thor, or honourable Captain America. But they're all hot! This is wise-cracking Iron Man, with his unpredictability being his greatest weapon.

The story line this time shows Tony Stark’s world being torn apart by the Mandarin and after a near death experience he starts an odyssey of rebuilding and retribution. By now I think it’s undeniable that no one could play the role of Tony Stark quite like Robert Downey Jr. does as once again he delivers an exquisite performance which is funny, smart and quite spectacular and hot. And the additions of both Ben Kingsley and Guy Pearce leave the biggest mark which makes the movie even more awesome. 

So do I need to review more about Iron Man 3? I'm sure you already know how epic this movie is. It's not that I'm lazy to write but it isn't so easy to exaggerate things..you know, it's like you were experiencing the greatest moment ever and there are no words can describe to people how great it was. So I'm just gonna tell you my favorite jaw-dropping, awesome scenes from Iron Man 3.

The moment when......

....Tony said, "I have to protect the one thing that I can't live without. That's you," to Pepper. Oh, that moment! Okay, this doesn't count.

....Tony called his suit to rescued Pepper when their house got bombed. I'm more worried about the house and the expensive cars.

....Tony's teaming up with a cute, precocious boy named Harley, which gives Tony his Dora the Explorer watch.

....the Mandarin's caught red-handed and he turns out to be a fake villain, he's just a drunk British old man names Trevor. I love the twist there. Ifo told me that according to comic, the Mandarin has some magics as his power, but now it's twisted and I love it.

....Iron Man saves 13 people who fall out of the plane, without Tony being in the suit!

....Killian draws out fire from his mouth like a dragon. He's an excellent villain.

....all Tony's armors come in action all at once. They're all awesome! Even cooler than Transformers.

....the infuriated Pepper gets up from fire and kicks ass!

Sorry for the spoilers. :p 

It Feels Like a Memory

*spoiler alert*

I heard some negative reviews about Oblivion previously, but that didn't stop me from watching it. It's Tom Cruise (he's old, but still a hot stuff) for heaven's sake and hey, it's such a great film. Despite its puzzling story, the problems it runs into along the way are overpowered by beauty and emotional aspirations. 

It's 2077 and earth is a garbage dump, thanks to alien invasion 60 years ago. While the majority of human race had to abandon the earth and take refuge on a moon of Saturn, the only creatures remaining are hiding bands of Scavengers. Monitoring the land are white, round drones, floating cue balls from afar, but menacing killers up close. Occasionally, they need services from Jack Harper, which reminds me of Wall-E. He'll be flying out to repair the drones while Vika guides his movements from the sky. 

"Another day in paradise," - oblivious Vika

Jack and Vika are living together in the floating airborne and their memories have been erased, including the bad memories from the invasion. They're responsible to clean up the remaining forces from the invasion as well as protecting the earth by taking care of drones. They take orders from Sally who promises to let them join the rest of humanity on Titan. Towards the end of the mission, a spaceship carrying sleeping capsules containing human beings crashes on earth. Jack gets to save Julia, a women he often sees in his dreams. 

Many secrets are revealed when Jack and Julia caught by Scavengers, that happen to be human beings. They told Jack all truths and it turns out that Julia is his wife. Apparently, 60 years ago, Jack navigated his NASA ship to investigate Tet (space station where Sally's based), together with Vika as the co-pilot and Julia hibernated in capsule. While being attacked by an alien ship, Jack released the shuttle carrying sleeping capsules to save Julia and others before his spacecraft was caught. The shuttle remained in orbit around the earth for 60 years until drawn in by homing beacon. Jack and Vika were kidnapped, cloned, sent to earth by the Tet and obliviously worked for Sally. Whereas the drones are actually programmed to kill humans, not aliens, because there are no aliens on the earth. 

What happens next? Go and watch it! I really love this movie. Every single shot is meticulously crafted and composed, especially the desolate ruins on earth. The futuristic stuffs featured in Oblivion are also amazing, such Jack's house, bubbleship, motorbike, computerized table, and everything. Not to forget the unique story line. There's a bit of elements from Wall-E, Inception and Vanilla Sky, and maybe others too. Go watch! ^^

a house in the clouds

"I know you, but we've never met. I'm with you and I don't know your name. I know I'm dreaming, but it feels like more than that. It feels like a memory. How can that be?"
- Jack Harper

Won't Lose Each Other

Hey hey, it's been a long time! In the past several days, I sat down and got nothing. I didn't feel any blogging vibes coming to me. So I didn't. Instead I closed the dashboard page and faced my life head on. But now, I have it back and my fingers are buzzing. 2 months to go til I finish my degree and and there will be the time when possibilities are blooming and options are endless. How exciting, huh?

Oh very much so. For me, it's terrifying somehow. Knowing that worrying doesn't change an ounce of the intended outcome or fate, doesn't change the fact that I'll still worry. About every detail. Every unknown. Every little thing there is to worry about; being 23, finishing degree, still hanging in the middle of thesis, juggling between assignments and tests, thinking of looking for career opportunities soon, budgeting and saving...

"Worrying won't change anything"

You could smash that fact into my thick skull all day long and I'd still wake up at least once a week itching and sweating from stresses that mulled their way into my brain even at the off-hours. But this is nothing new. It has been the dragon I've been trying to slay my whole life. Now I'm just gonna try and keep this dragon at bay each day. 

In the meantime, I'm gonna spend some times on the wonderful, worry-free things. Like, today, I had a movie date with Ifo. We watched The Host (..amazing story in book, but a bit off in film, I prefer reading the book instead. It's still a great story though, one of the most unusual love triangles. Go watch it.), ate at Secret Recipe and chilled out at KK's seaside. It's nice to finally see the world and get away from books, papers and apparatus. Huhu. Till next post (I hope so..).

from The Host

P.S: I'll try to blogwalk after this.

I'll See You in Another Life

Vanilla Sky was released 12 years ago and I watched it today for the 1st time. How lame is that? I mean, how could I missed watching a brilliant film that starred by Tom Cruise? Never mind, I've watched it anyway. Most reviewers said that Vanilla Sky was the most baffling and confusing movie ever. Poor them. Lol.

The story's about David (Tom), who has just about everything including a publishing empire and a sex partner named Julie (Cameron Diaz). At one party, David met Sofia (Penelope Cruz) and they spend the night together. When Julie finds out, she offers David a lift and drives off a bridge to kill themselves. However, Julie's the only one who dies while David survives..with a horribly disfigured face. And that's when the strange things started. 

I still love him even with this face.

For a man that traffics on his looks, damaged face is the end of the world. David seeks every avenue of plastic surgery and facial reconstruction he can find, and while doing so, he starts to lose his grip on sanity. 

He sees Julie everywhere, he has a great time with Sofia but suddenly she turns into Julie, he imagines the BOD's scheming to kick him out of the company, and he finds himself charged with a murder - but none of those things are real. He's been living in his own lucid dream right after Sofia left him on his drunken night. He killed himself with overdosed drug, but he's not really dead. Truth is, he signed a contract with Life Extension before, a place where people are frozen until a cure for their illness is available. So David's suspended, preserved and placed in a lucid dream state for 150 years. When he realize that it's all a dream, he says goodbye to Sofia and decides to come back into reality by leaping off a building. The end. It's sad because in real life, Sofia doesn't exist anymore.

"..I'll see you in another life.." ~ I tear up at this..

Yes, it's confusing but I'm amazed and totally drawn into it. While it looks like there's a lot of options - David is either crazy, dreaming, dead, or the victim of conspiracy - this film really makes you believe them all simultaneously. And I love it, I love this kind of film, how it challenges my mind and at the same time gives me new perspective on something, such as life. I really love Vanilla Sky as much as I love Inception. 

And by the way, these are the beautiful quotes I caught from Vanilla Sky:

Every passing minute is another chance to turn it all around.

You can do whatever you want with your life, but one day you’ll know what love truly is. It’s the sour and the sweet. And I know sour, which allows me to appreciate the sweet.

Most of us live our whole lives without any real adventure to call our own. What is any life without the pursuit of a dream?

Dear Bilbo Baggins

I must say that The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was such an epic story! It told a story of Bilbo Baggins and his greatest adventures 60 years ago. The quest was recruited by Gandalf to help the Dwarfs reclaiming their kingdom from a dragon. They dealt with so many challenges during their journey like encountering Trolls, Orcs, Goblins, Giant Stone and Gollum. 

The riddle game between Bilbo and Gollum stood out as the best part in the film. I laughed so hard I almost fell off my seat. :p Gollum's one of the freakiest creatures I've ever seen, with his intense facial expression and creepy voice. Gosh, recalling the scene could still make me laugh. LOL! Andy Serkis did a very good job. 

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

And of course, Bilbo was my favorite character. Martin Freeman's portrayal of Bilbo was pitch perfect, right down to the small hand movements and facial gestures, capturing the self doubt, humor, and mannerisms of dear Bilbo. I love Bilbo as he's not only clever, but also ethical, even with his opponent. His performance was one of truly special elements (aside from the brilliant, haunting musical theme and beautiful scene) that make the film feel fresh. And there's the ring. The ring that would lead to far more gruesome adventure. I thought if only Bilbo didn't take the ring and returned it to Gollum instead, things would be different. Well, that's how LOTR started anyway. 

I'm really looking forward to watch the next sequels! ^^

Perfect Piece of Forever

Twilight Breaking Dawn part 2 was the best one among all series.

Picking up from part 1, Bella awakened as a vampire. I loved her hair, her make up, oh she's so beautiful. I loved this version of Bella, rather than the clumsy, lip-biting, sulky, stuttering one. Now she's not only beautiful, she's also a strong vampire that's more than capable of taking care of herself.

The fight between Cullens and Volturi was an uphill battle. And when Carlisle got his head cut off, I was like, what the hell! I was going to kill the director. Same thing when it happened to Jasper. I wanted to scream "Carlisle! Jasper!" in the cinema. :p And I almost cried when Seth died. But then there's a surprising twist, I felt such a fool when it just turned out to be Alice's vision. It made me like, phew!

So the whole point of them gathering all the witnesses was to make the Volturi  pause so that they could explain and avoid war and death. But the way they did it as a vision was brilliant and the fight scene was actually pretty awesome, even though I almost screamed there. Alice was amazing. If I were a vampire, I wanna be like her. ^^

The flashback scene of Bella and Edward with the background song by Christina Perri featuring Steve Kazee touched my heart and it was so lovely. I was actually thinking to use the song as my wedding theme. Heeeeee.. :p

Well, it's an epic ending of Twilight. ^_^