Let It Go

This blog post's title is a reference to the award-winning-song-it's-destined-to-be from Disney's Frozen, as well as a subtle reminder for myself to let go of last year's Oscar snub for Rise of the Guardians. No, I have not gotten over it yet. *cries*
But another awards season is rolling around, and it's time to pay attention to a new set of animated feature films. Sigh.
Also, I've noticed that my readership has expanded somewhat since commenting on articles on Rookie, so if you got to this blog from there, HI! And please let me know what you like or don't like about my blog via the comments.

I watched Frozen on Thursday with my dad and we were both blown away by how great it was. It started off with a musical number and had some pretty good plot twists though being me I spotted them a mile away. The music was amazing, particularly the score by Christophe Beck. I expected Olaf the talking snowman to be annoying (you can blame/thank Shrek's Donkey for that) but he was funny and we rolled around in our seats laughing. I didn't really appreciate the trolls and I was disappointed by the lack of a big company number as a finale. But all in all, really beautiful animation, even though I like the ice animation in Rise of the Guardians better. (Because I'm BIASED, remember?) Also, Elsa seems like the Disney version of Jack Frost. The music deserves nominations in Best Score and Best Song, with at least one win for Best Song. The voice acting was top notch, and the singing even better. Also, brownie points for being the first female to direct a full-length Disney animated feature film as well the sole writer of the entire screenplay. You go, Jennifer Lee. This is easily the best animated film of the year.

As a reward for reading the review, here's the video for "Let It Go", just in case you haven't seen it yet. And even if you have, watch it again because Idina Menzel. (Defying gravity, anyone?) Best viewed in full screen and in 1080p HD.

As a side note, I think the only reason why I pay so much attention to the animation category is because that's pretty much the only Academy award category in which I have watched all the nominated films.

Here are some of the awards and the nominees so far. Yes, I was incredibly biased in choosing which awards to display.

Annie Awards: Best Animated Feature

• A Letter to Momo (GKIDS - Japanese)
• Despicable Me 2 (Illumination/Universal)
• Ernest & Celestine (GKIDS - French)
• Frozen (Disney)
• Monsters University (Pixar)
• The Croods (DreamWorks)
• The Wind Rises (Studio Ghibli)

Golden Globe Awards: Best Animated Feature Film

• The Croods
• Despicable Me 2
• Frozen, also nominated for Best Song
• (The Wind Rises was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film)

Satellite Awards: Best Animated or Mixed Media Film

• Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (Sony)
• The Croods
• Epic (Blue Sky/20th Century Fox)
• Ernest & Celestine
• Frozen
• Monsters University
• Turbo (DreamWorks)
• The Wind Rises

P.S. I just realised Rise of the Guardians won the Satellite Award last year, this makes me happy.

I am in total agreement with the statement that this has actually been a pretty weak year for animation, most of the releases were sequels. (Pixar, I'm looking at you.) Especially in comparison to last year, where the best animated feature race was actually a proper race with many strong contenders. This year, it looks like Frozen's gonna take home the award without any competition. But anyway, this is an Oscar noms prediction, not an Oscar win prediction. So here, assuming that there will be five.

Locks:

1. Frozen (Disney)
2. Monsters University (Pixar)
   Just because they're Disney and Pixar, but this round, Disney definitely deserves it.
3. The Croods (DreamWorks)
   I seriously doubt they'll snub Jeffrey Katzenberg two years in a row.

Possibility: The Wind Rises (Studio Ghibli)
I actually doubt this, I just don't want the others to have a place on the list.

Leaving:

• Epic (Blue Sky/20th Century Fox)
• Despicable Me 2 (Illumination/Universal)
• Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (Sony)

And possibly Walking with Dinosaurs and the two GKIDS films (A Letter to Momo, Ernest & Celestine) to pick up the scraps. I have a feeling that there might only be three nominations this year.

Whoa, this article actually took a lot longer to write than I thought it would.

References:
Whoa, check it out! I'm learning how to cite other sources!
~ Indiewire: For Oscar nom predictions.
~ SFGate: For further reading.
~ Various Wikipedia articles

UPDATE (17th January 2014):
I WAS WRONG. Pixar is losing its mojo, but Frozen will still win.

Yay, movie reviews!

{31st October 2013}
How many eons has it been since I actually posted my opinions on this blog?
For me, Marvel fever is in.
And yeah, I kinda watched Thor: The Dark World on its premiere date.
The only time I've ever done that was for The Hunger Games.
Um, I guess the reason why I was so excited for this film was because of *cough* reasons.
This will not be a spoiler-free review.

Thor: The Dark World
So, where to begin. I didn't really know what to expect I suppose, but I was really hoping that it would be good. A lot of reviews went along the lines of Alan Taylor was a poor replacement for Kenneth Branagh, and that not even Tom Hiddleston (damn you) could save the film, and since his screentime was limited, there was even less hope (as though the only enjoyable thing about a movie with Thor in it is Loki, really now). I STRONGLY DISAGREE. I actually found this sequel to be better than the first movie. It was funnier, darker, and more unpredictable. The first film was a bundle of fluff, Asgard in The Dark World is a shinier/PG-13 version of Westeros. I'm pretty sure I saw more than one Game of Thrones reference in the film. Yes, the banter between Thor and Loki was amusing and definitely a highlight but the other parts of the movie weren't exactly what I would call boring. (To be honest, I like Thor here more than in the first film and in The Avengers, because in the first film he was arrogant and in the Avengers, redundant.) True, Lady Sif, The Warriors Three and even Loki could and should have gotten more screen time. Especially, Lady Sif who is my favourite Marvel heroine after Black Widow (strong and gorgeous!). I was really looking forward to the Jane Foster vs. Lady Sif love triangle catfight. Admittedly, it won't be much of a fight unless Jane bores Sif to death with dubious facts about quantum physics or whatever. The villain also wasn't given much to do, but the fight scene between him and Thor was still epic without resorting to destruction that levels whole cities like in Man of Steel. The only real question I have is why Thor needed a shirtless scene. Necessary? I think not. TRIGGER WARNING: Look out for the twists. Or don't bother, you'll never see them coming. Click here for the Tumblog.




But you know, it'd be pretty boring to just have one review. After all, the title is "Yay, movie reviews!" (plural).
So here are a few other films I've watched recently that I think you should check out. *grin*
(Note: I did not watch all of these movies at one go. Just so you know.)

Nothing beats watching a movie for the first time, especially when you're in a cinema.

Rise of the Guardians

Oz the Great and Powerful

10 Things I Hate About You
My favourite romantic comedy of all time. I first watched this when Alice came over and there was nothing to watch so we went online to check out what YouTube had to offer. Eventually, we stumbled upon this and we decided to watch it. NO REGRETS. I relate to Cat (played by Julia Stiles) SO MUCH, and Heath Ledger was in it as well. I laughed, I cried, and I discovered a bit more about myself and thought quite a bit of my future and what I wanted to do. This film didn't change my life, but it made me more optimistic about vague things such as the future and a certain four letter word. Go watch it, here.

Hairspray
The only time a film adaptation was better than the original Broadway musical. Hats off to Adam Shankman, the dancing beast. I first watched this a few years ago and I absolutely loved it, downloaded the songs, sang and danced along. After joining our local production, my love for it grew. I also had the chance to watch the live musical this year, and after watching that, I have an even deeper appreciation for the film. Because the original, dare I say it, was kinda bad. Sure, there was that one song that they didn't have in the film because Adam Shankman didn't want to use split screen but STILL. The characters are all abnoxious, unlike in the film and the singing and dancing... *cringe* Oh well, the film version had a better director/choreographer and cast. Seriously, John Travolta is the definition of is SWAG. How many male actors can dress up sassily in drag, sing and do a totally weird dance that no one else could possibly pull off and still be absolutely classy? NONE. Unless you're John Travolta. And James Marsden, really. Who knew Cyclops and Corny Collins were one and the same? Mind = Blown.

Mulan
My favourite Disney movie OF ALL TIME. When I was a kid, I would just watch this on repeat every single day. Seriously, watch, rewind tape, watch again, rewind and repeat. (Those were the days of the VCR.) Maybe it's because she was the only Asian (and more importantly, Chinese) Disney princess, but I'd like to think it was more than that. She was the first Disney princess who was actually the hero of her own story, who didn't need a Prince Charming or a knight general in shining armour to come save her. She saved herself and brought honour to us all. (I'm sorry, I had to.) At first she was confused and unsure about herself, but later she decided: you know what? SCREW SOCIETY AND ITS EXPECTATIONS OF ME. And just generally kicked butt. The part where she finally climbs up the pole, something everyone else couldn't do, gives me the shivers and tears, and cheers for her. And just simply inspires me to be stronger and to keep trying no matter what. Bonus: According to my dad, when I was little, my leg would fly up the same moment Mulan & Co. did their epic flying kick thingy at the end of "I'll Make a Man Out of You".

Mean Girls
I've been dying to watch this for like, ever after seeing an infinite number of GIF sets on Tumblr. So at last, I went to one of those non-questionable movie watching sites that are probably illegal, to watch it. Pre-loony LiLo, what more do you need. And to be honest, she had a really bright future. Sad! But go watch it anyway, this show was created by Tina Fey and has one of those infinitely quotable scripts.

Pitch Perfect
I JUST WANT IT OUT THERE THAT JESSE SWANSON IS THE CUTEST EVER and if for some ungodly reason, you want to win my affections, just do what he does. A mash up of Mean Girls and GLEE and 10 Things I Hate About You, a.k.a. PERFECTION IN MOVIE FORM. The first thing I watched online illegally, besides whatever's already on YouTube.

Pan's Labyrinth
I have often heard people describe this as the best film ever, even by my dad. So I just had to watch it, right? (Again one of those nothing else to watch on television stories, also applies to the film below.) My dad just popped in the DVD and we watched it. And after watching it, well. I don't know what to think. It's like a fairy tale for adults, telling us that the world isn't sunshine and rainbows and magic, and in the end, the world stamps out all that is good. Which is true, but incredibly harsh to play out on screen. The music is hauntingly beautiful and I'll be downloading it later. I don't recommend watching it if you're one of those people who just think life is all good. Life isn't like that, and I think this film can only be truly appreciated by those who know and accept that.

Changeling
What turns out to be a simple story about a mother trying to find her son escalates into something much more. Worth watching for an Oscar-worthy performance by Angelina Jolie and all the issues of the 20's displayed here. Feminism, and such. But a lot of motherly love, as well. You might not cry, but you will want to. Just watch it, we need more reminders that there's no place like home besides The Wizard of Oz.

And why don't we just throw in a couple of recent TV show reviews as well.

Avatar: The Legend Of Korra
This will mainly be about Book 2, since it's currently showing on Nickelodeon. UM, I'm actually a little disappointed even though I relate even more to Korra than I did in Book 1 (this matters, because my Halloween costume last year was Korra and obviously I have reasons for choosing her), the plot is a little weird I guess? Unpredictable is good, but messy, isn't. The "Beginnings" episodes were pretty epic but everything else... DO SOMETHING, BRYKE.

Game of Thrones
Before we begin, I would like to paste a huge NSFW sticker on this. WARNING: This show is rated R or something so yeah, that should tell you about some of its contents. Again, Tumblr affected me into watching this. My dad thinks it's boring but I think the TV shows he likes are boring so whatever. But then again, HBO Asia kinda censors out all violence, nudity and profanity, so... You're not left with much. The real entertainment is in the dialogue. I can't say I like all the characters, but there's enough here to question what is good and what is evil, and whether sometimes they are one and the same.

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Firstly, #CoulsonLives. Tumblr didn't have much to do about this. By the time it started airing here, I had completely evolved into a Marvel fangirl. SO THERE. I haven't been able to form any coherent thoughts on it because you can't judge an entire TV series based on a pilot episode, so here's my liveblog and summary, i.e. how I feel about it so far.

I hope you liked this post. It might be a while before I post anything new. But you can click here for more mini film reviews. Till next time. xoxo (I don't know why I did that.)

Suspension of Disbelief

{Note: This is the opinion of a teenager who's attempting to be less biased in her blog posts. Agree or disagree, comment below and tell me why. Also, there will be no GIFs this time.}

Sometimes, I wonder if certain people are qualified to judge a competition. Do these people really know everything there is to know? In fact, do they know anything at all? If so, what makes their opinion matter more than everyone else's? For example, what is Nicki Minaj, a rapper with limited singing ability, doing as a judge on a singing competition? She's not a producer like Randy Jackson or Simon Cowell who can offer them a recording deal. What can the contestants, as singers, hope to gain from her besides unrelated performing advice?
Anyway, I digress.

I think I should keep the real reason why I'm writing this article confidential. Just know that there are some many things that I'm not happy about.

This is regarding the theatre, and those who supposedly "judge" it. I will be referencing a drama that I co-wrote with some members of my school drama team, called "The Box of Heart".

At Short+Sweet, I learnt that the principle of theatre is the suspension of disbelief, and that the theatre is a shared act of imagination between those watching and those doing, the audience and the actors respectively. While writing a script for a play, I had to think in stage, I had to think about what makes it a play and not a movie, and why it had to be performed on stage, not in front of a camera. Also, the character had to want something and do something to get it.
In The Box of Heart, a toy ballerina and toy soldier (no, it's not the Nutcracker) desire to become human. The ballerina because she wanted to dance in front of a real audience, the soldier because he wanted to help protect his country. They set off on a journey to find the Pandaro* Box, which contained a heart. Along the way, they began to feel different emotions and learnt what makes a human, human. So characters who want and do, check!

On stage, you have to speak loudly and clearly with perfect pronunciation. Or else the audience will not understand what you're saying, lose their focus, get distracted, and ignore you completely. Check! My actresses worked hard and their pronunciation was a vast improvement compared to previous years and to be frank, they had the best pronunciation that day.

But the big question remains: What makes a play, a play?

One of the given guidelines was "minimise use of props". Check! We only focused on the essentials and forgoed forwent did without the background scenery. In fact, we had the least props. After all, if we act as though we were in a dark forest, and we act it right, can't we trust the audience to be smart enough to figure it out we are? After all, we also have sound effects going on in the background. Unlike other schools, who besides even more props and sound effects, had backgrounds. One even had a projector with a screen!
We often forget that the audience is smarter than we think. I think we have forgotten that we don't need backgrounds, effects, scenery and sometimes a single prop to create a good play. After all, it's not like we're putting on a full-scale production on Broadway. Sometimes, even Broadway shows have no or little use for props. I know that most of the time, certain props are essential. For example in a cafe, you might need tables, chairs. But do you really need to have the counter, the kitchen and the windows too? No!
To be something or somewhere, we don't need proof that we are.

Do we really need to show the audience the sky to let them know we are flying? No, all we need is to ask them to suspend their disbelief and let their imagination take flight. All we need is the belief that we are more than what can be seen. All we need is to believe.

So now, I ask you, whether or not you are the writer/director/producer, the actor, the judge, or the audience, to suspend your disbelief and just believe in the magic that unfolds before your very eyes. For that, is the stage, that is the theatre.


*Pandaro: We were thinking of a name to call the box. Eventually, we gave up and someone just typed in "Pandora". (We were writing the script on the laptop.) Well, she made an error and it showed up on the screen as "Pandaro". Hence, the Pandaro Box was born.

Oscar Noms Critique - Best Animated Feature

*WARNING: This is gonna be a long one.*

Firstly...

"Hi."

Secondly, I have a question for you. Do you have the same opinions as me? No?

If you do, great!

On the 10th of January 2013, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the nominations for the 85th Academy Awards. As a teenager, I have only watched one of the films nominated for Best Picture, but on the other hand, I have seen all the films nominated for Best Animated Feature (and some animated films which weren't). Partly because you don't really need to think too much while watching an animated film, and partly because animation is my favourite movie genre.

As I have mentioned before in a previous post, I've watched both Pixar's Brave and Dreamworks' Rise Of The Guardians, and found Brave to be Pixar's most boring movie ever and Rise Of The Guardians to be the most beautiful film ever.

So the main topic for this post is: Why wasn't Rise Of The Guardians nominated for an Oscar? And why isn't it winning the awards that it has been nominated for?

Still Dream

(Note: No spoilers ahead.)
So, I watched Dreamworks Animation's Rise Of The Guardians today. I must say after watching the amazing trailer, I had REALLY high hopes for this film. I also had really high hopes for Pixar's Brave (one of my Oscar nomination favourites) which turned out to be a big disappointment.

To be honest, I was afraid that Rise Of The Guardians would be a letdown, and I was really hoping that this movie would get a Best Animated Feature Academy Award (that's the Oscars, BTW) nomination.

Well, after watching it, I must change that statement, I'm not hoping for an Oscar nomination for this movie. I am hoping for an Oscar WIN.

Yup, this movie was that amazing.

The beautiful storyline, the stellar voice cast, the goosebump-inducing music by the awesome Alexandre Desplat, the animation itself, everything was beautiful. (Also, the jokes were funny without being too American.) Though I must admit, some parts made me think of Peter Pan (both Disney animation and live action films). The Sandman, yetis, Easter eggs (and bunny), tiny elves, and baby tooth fairies were so adorable! And Jack Frost is the awesomest-cutest male animated character EVER. (Oh yeah, and no kissing!)

This is also the first movie that made me cry. But I wasn't crying because I felt sad. No, I was crying because I was happy. Yup, this film made me shed tears of pure joy. It made me believe once again in all the things I had forgotten, magic, imagination, wonder and hope. This is the most beautiful film I have ever seen, animated or live-action. Thank you, Dreamworks, for this amazing experience.

Watch it if you haven't yet!

Lastly, I shall end with my Best Animated Feature Oscar nomination predictions.

One website predicted Pixar's Brave (The Big Disappointment), Disney's Wreck-It-Ralph (Ew, No), Tim Burton's Frankenweenie (haven't watched it yet so I can't say anything about it), The Painting (never heard of it, so ditto), and ParaNorman (No way! Did anyone even watch this movie? Maybe I'm just being biased because I was annoyed with the trailer being used as a YouTube advertisement).
As possible spoilers, they listed Rise Of The Guardians (as you know, I disagree with this, see above), Hotel Transylvania (oh Gawd, no), Studio Ghibli's From Up on Poppy Hill (comment below), and The Lorax (no comment). I totally agree with their list of longer shots though.

So, here are my predictions:
1. Dreamworks Animation's Rise Of The Guardians (nuff said, literally)
2. Disney/Pixar's Brave (although I was disappointed, the only Pixar movie that wasn't nominated since this category's inception in 2001 was 2011's Cars 2, and I'm really not surprised)
3. Tim Burton's Frankenweenie (I'm being biased because it's Tim Burton)
4. The Lorax (it was a really cute movie, and compared to the other contenders, this is a better choice because it had a good environmental theme going on) if this doesn't get nominated, then probably Wreck-It-Ralph, cause people will be biased towards Disney.
5. Studio Ghibli's From Up On Poppy Hill (Being even more biased, but this was a really beautiful story. Unfortunately, unlike all the other films, it doesn't have a fantasy thing going on so some people may not appreciate it.)

One last thing, I BELIEVE!

Ok, I'm done. *satisfied grin*

(Note: No pics because I'm typing this on my iPod.)

Additional notes on Rise Of The Guardians (17th December 2012):
Ok, I do not appreciate the reviews given by the critics. THIS MOVIE WAS NOT MEANT TO BE SCRUTINISED TO PIECES BY ADULTS. It was meant to be enjoyed by children and to let them believe in things like imagination and magic which have been lost in this modern age of ours. SO STOP LOOKING AT IT LIKE AN ADULT, AND JUST TRY TO REDISCOVER THE CHILD IN YOU.
In other news, the movie has just won the Best Animated award at the Hollywood Film Festival, Audience Favourite Children's Film at the Mill Valley Film Festival, and Best Animated/Mixed Media Satellite Award.
Pending nominations:
1. Critic's Choice Awards for Best Animated Feature, other nominees: Brave (No), Frankenweenie, Madagascar 3 (NO.), ParaNorman (No.), and Wreck-It-Ralph (No.).
2. Annie Awards for ... a lot. The Annie Awards are solely dedicated to animation, so that explains it. Anyway, 8 nominations. Huzzah! But the nomination list for the main award, Best Animated Feature, is pretty crowded. Other nominees: Brave, Frankenweenie, Hotel Transylvania, ParaNorman, The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! (Aardman production), The Rabbi's Cat (It's French), and Wreck-It-Ralph. I think you should know how I feel about this by now.
3. Golden Globe Awards for Best Animated Feature Film, other nominees: Brave, Frankenweenie (Yet to have an opinion), Hotel Transylvania (Surely not), Wreck-It-Ralph (I'm beginning to see a pattern here...).
Random thought, I have never been this supportive of a Dreamworks movie before, except maybe How To Train Your Dragon. I was pretty biased towards Disney/Pixar.
Kay, I'm done.

The Indigo Waves

I watched a new Studio Ghibli movie today, it's called From Up On Poppy Hill. I love Studio Ghibli's animations, they are just as good as Disney's Pixar's animations. And the music is just so beautiful. My favourite Studio Ghibli movies are Howl's Moving Castle (my new URL is a reference to this movie), The Castle In The Sky, Spirited Away, and this one. :)

It's about this girl called Umi, her mother's away and her father died in the Korean War. (This movie is set in 1963, the year before the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.) Every morning, she hoists these flags which signal "Safe Voyage", and though she doesn't know it, a guy called Shun, who passes by in his father's tug, always answers her. (Shun is from her school, so I suppose you can guess where this is going?)

Things get complicated when it appears that they might share the same father. (Of course they actually don't, but they don't find out until the end of the movie.)

Obviously, there is more to the story. But I'm not going to tell you. . . Yet. ;)

What I like about Studio Ghibli movies are: They can exhibit true love without having to have any love scenes (e.g. kissing). Somehow, it really makes the love between the characters real and pure. Which in my opinion, somehow makes them better than Disney. (No offense! I love Disney too!)

Shun's poem for her, which was published in their school newspaper. :)

How they first met:

Shun was asked by the student council president to jump off the roof of their clubhouse. (I still don't understand why.) The president is a pretty cool guy, unfortunately, he's not featured in this GIF.

Thankfully, the student council president made the boys remove the cover for a pool at the bottom before he told Shun to jump, so out of sheer dumb luck, Shun ended up in the pool.

Sweet scene from the movie. :)

Umi finds out that Shun helps out at the school newspaper, she agrees to help out too after the student council president offers to give her his usually-accurate forecasts for their next exam. (I know, how can you possibly refuse?!) She also learns that there are plans to demolish the clubhouse and she suggests that they clean it up to restore it to its former glory.

Because he's an awesomely smart genius and I like him, here's a GIF of Shiro standing on the roof and ordering everyone about like a boss. Say hi.

My favourite scenes from the movie. :

Shun catches Umi as they board the boat to find out the truth about Shun's father. :')

All in all, I thought this movie was simply...

Ditto.

The philosophy club guy read my mind. :)

Safe and Sound

Yesterday, I was worried.
I wanted to watch The Hunger Games so badly.
I was worrying throughout the entire day about it.
Then, when I stepped into my car, my dad told me:
"Rachel, Auntie Hui Yi is picking you up at 6 to watch The Hunger Games with Wen Yi and Alice."
My response: "THANK YOU, GOD."
Yeah, I actually said that in the car.
I ended up going to Wen Yi's at 5.30.
We had dinner at 6.20 with Alice.
Then we went to the cinema in Jusco at 7.
We bought the snacks at 7.15.
We waited...
7.30PM
SCREAM!! *rushing into Cinema 4*
Throughout the trailers we were like: "Gawd, this is so intense. SOMEONE HOLD ME."
Finally, it started.
It was awesome.
All the actors were spot on.
Jennifer Lawrence was amazing.
One look at her, and you knew what she was thinking, how she felt.
Amandla was so funny and cute.
Josh was adorable. ;) (For those of you who are going to watch it soon, please note. HE IS MINE.)
I laughed at Rue.
I cried when she died.
I couldn't believe Seneca Crane was sentenced to death.
President Snow and his rose garden gave me the creeps.
Haymitch and Cinna were too close and caring to Katniss to be comfortable.
And the director decided to ruin the romantic moments between Katniss and Peeta by showing Gale's jealous expression. Which was funny, but totally ruined the moment.
All in all. Very amazing.