Friday, 22 February 2013

Snow White and the Huntsman Critics movie review

 

 Snow White and the Huntsman is a new take on the classic fairy tale which features an expanded role for the Huntsman. In the fairy tale, he is ordered to take Snow White into the woods and kill her, but instead lets her go. In the new take, the Huntsman is not a love interest but acts more as a mentor, teaching Snow White to fight and survive
Well I havent watched the movie yet. So let me tell you what critics think....

NY Mag:
“It’s also strongly influenced by a lot of smart, feminist thinking about why Snow White has so much staying power—and why the story is better when it’s the heroine who slays the monstrous matriarch. [...] Kristen Stewart is not an obvious choice for Snow White, given her habitual expression of discomfort while striking conventional feminine poses—both in movies and on red carpets. That’s why, of course, she’s right for this Snow White, imprisoned in a tower during puberty and with no regard for her looks: She has integrity, inner beauty.”

Time Out NY:
“A too-bustling prologue shows how Queen Ravenna (Charlize Theron, camping it up) usurped power, poisoned the land and imprisoned her stepdaughter rival, Snow White (Kristen Stewart, a delight). But then the film finds surer footing and proceeds with a deliberateness rare in a big-budget franchise starter; you can sense the hand of coscreenwriter Hossein Amini (Drive) in the story’s always involving, slow-build structure.”

WhatCulture:
“Snow White, is of course, innocence at its most pure and literally beautiful, but what really impresses is the transformation of the source text from one which seems anachronistic in light of feminism – waiting for a man to save the day – into one of proactive escape from one’s oppressors. The seemingly delicate fairytale figurehead is repositioned as a gusty leader of men [...] with Stewart’s intensity making up for her waifish, presumably inoffensive frame. Spelled out in less expository terms than a fairytale intended for easy digestion by children, the story takes on a new form, which adults as well as tweens will appreciate. [...] More The Dark Knight than Twilight, this is one fairytale update that packs an impressive punch and a deft, human touch.”

Today Online:
“It is Theron’s crazed performance as the wicked Queen Ravenna with her psychologically fractured past and evil present that spellbinds and scene-steals. She may be playing an over-the-top psycho but no one can say she isn’t committed to the role. The Oscar-winner’s performance is enhanced by the juxtaposition of the inherent darkness and her obvious beauty, along with the wonderful costuming and impressive CGI effects.”

EntertainmentWise:
“This is certainly a grittier take on the legend, but director Rupert Sanders (making his feature debut) makes sure to mix in enough ‘Lord of The Rings’ type fantasy to make this an interesting prospect, including magical stags and enchanted forests. The story is interesting enough to sustain you over a two hour running time, and little touches like the very impressive techniques employed to portray veteran actors such as Ray Winstone and Bob Hoskins as dwarves make it look a lot different to what one expects.”

Taylor Swift And Ed Sheeran To Work Together On Her Next Album?

 

 New BFFs Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran have been tweeting each other for a while now and it's now been revealed that the pair have in fact been busy working together on Taylor's next album.

The singer-songwriting pair have locked themselves away in a LA studio for the past few weeks and apparently couldn't wait to tell their army of Twitter fans about their upcoming 'masterpiece'...

Taylor took to Twitter recently to say: “Eating cheeseburgers, scribbling on guitars, writing songs with @edsheeran. :)"

Ed then replied: "In and out burger, defacing guitars and writing music with @taylorswift13 :)"

However, the pair have remained pretty quiet about the whole thing for the past couple of weeks - until a source spoke to The Sun about the upcoming collaboration...

"Ed and Taylor have been in the studio in LA a lot over the past few weeks working on new material"

"She's into her British music and became a massive fan of Ed before asking to work with him recently. There is a mutual affection between the pair."

It's not been revealed just how many songs that Ed will contribute to on the album - whether it's going to be one or several...but a co-writing credit is definitely expected to appear on Taylor's fourth studio album in the very near future.

The source continued: "It's still to be officially decided how the material will be released but just a single credit on her album will be worth big money."

"Taylor's country sound is massive around the world."

Well, if the pair's previous solo success is anything to go by - this is going to be one of a hit! Entertainmentwise have been in touch with Ed's press - however, nothing has been released just yet, but you'll be the first to know as soon as find out any further info!

Miley Cyrus’ Tattoo Timeline: What’s the Meaning Behind Her Ink? (PHOTOS)

 

 Last week, the 19-year-old “Party in the USA” singer stepped out and showed off some brand new ink on her forearm, which consisted of Roman numerals VIIXCI (7 and 91). While the jury is still out on what her new tat means, Celebuzz decided to break down the meaning behind her other various tattoos. If you remember, Miley got her first tattoo at the age of 17, which reads “Just breathe” on her rib cage.

Any guesses as to why she went with that particular message?

A family friend of Miley’s suffers from cystic fibrosis, and dedicated her first tattoo to them.

Miley then followed up with some smaller tats, including an anchor on her pinky and “love” on her inner ear, but then got one of her largest ones to date — a dream catcher on the right hand side of her rib cage.

Tuesday, 19 February 2013

Aishiteruze Baby anime review


English: Love You Baby
Synonyms: Aishiteru ze Baby
Type: TV
Episodes: 26
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: Apr 3, 2004 to Oct 9, 2004
Producers: TMS Entertainment, Animax, Toei Video, Sunny Side Up
Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance, Shoujo
Duration: 25 min. per episode
Rating: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older

I'll first do recommendation for those who are too busy to read all of a review. I recommend this anime for everyone who wants to watch something touching. Not really a romance, its more of a slice of life anime that should be able to find itself on everybody's list. Its an anime without grand events or drastic plot turns, its just goodness that keeps on going.


Kippei, an highschool goofy kid who spends most time slacking out and flirting with girls suddenly is entrusted with a 5 year old kid to take care of. This setup evolves into an incredibly heart warming story to cherish and rejoice, dealing with everyday problems of raising a child and struggling with his own carelessness and ineptitude Kippey becomes attached to yuzuyu quickly and tries his best to make her happy. Dealing with a child everyday brings many worries and consumes most of his time but also makes him grow into a mature responsible person. 


The innocence of a child and how they perceive the daily events creates an amazing charisma towards this relation, dramatic scenes further enhances the feelings creating an intricate empathy towards the situation and drawing the viewer into it. Further along theres a touch of romance that fits perfectly as a symbiotic situation to the main plot. The main female characters (yuzuyu and Kokoro) are just overflowing with cuteness, their sad hearts makes you want to comfort them understanding perfectly how kippey matures for the sake of them.


Another strong suit of Aishiteruze Baby, the three main characters involved are all characters that you can root for and most importantly beleivable. There are many anime's that try to oversell certain characteristics of characters, sometimes almost to the point of overkill but there is nothing like that in Aishiteruze. The characters were just great! I don't want to spoil anything for anybody but I just wanted to add that Kokoro is, I think, the only main female character that I haven't found annoying in some aspect. Her character plays her personality very well and everything is fitting. Definently not some simple female character with some haunted past or one dimensional issue that in a big turn of events get solved and falls head over heels for the main male character


Technically the characters have a particular drawing style in which the drawings and animation are watchable but not on par with the latest animes. I enjoyed personally some still shots on key moments that portrays how a sweet memory is engraved into the mind in my opinion.

Like the animation, the in anime sound track is very simple. I hardly noticed it while watching it. Music is used very liberally but enhances certain scenes. The voice actresses/actors? for Yuzuyu and Kokoro were perfect in my opinion and made the anime that much better. Titled Sunny Side Up is one of the best opening songs I have heard. I never, ever, fast fowarded past it and listening to it gave me feelings akin to the opening song of Fruits Baskets. 


I really, really enjoyed this anime. Its a type of anime that you can just watch at anytime and in any mood. It should cheer you up! Its a pity that more people haven't watched this anime so hopefully this review can change that.

Opening titles:




L DK manga review


Synonyms: L♥DK, L DK, L.DK
Type: Manga
Volumes: Unknown
Chapters: Unknown
Status: Publishing
Published: Mar 2009 to ?
Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance, School, Shoujo
Authors: Watanabe, Ayu (Story & Art)
Serialization: Bessatsu Friend

LDK is an abbreviation frequently used in the world of Japanese real estate to describe apartments. It stands for Living, Dining and Kitchen area, and is preceded by the number of rooms. If you're fond of complicated relationships and is patient, then you will like this kind of manga. There are lots of teasing parts that can make you excited. Its typical romance? yes, but it has a hot guy who's hard to understand but sweet, nice girl who doesn't cry all the time, good art, great romance scenes, everything a shoujo reader needs.


Shuusei Kugayama is the "prince" of his high school, but he always turns down confessions—including one from Aoi Nishimori's best friend. Although she initially hates him for this, when Shuusei moves in next door to Aoi, who lives alone, she starts thinking that he might not be such a bad guy after all...


Yes, we've encountered this many times before, girl and the prince of the school living together but there's sexual tension almost immediately and the guy has a wicked sense of humor and the girl is cute, plus new characters are introduced often who are fun and have their bad points in their own way.The story continues as their feelings for each other change. I found it addictive to read and completed all 30 chapters in a flash. 


As for the characters, they are not shallow and each one has some unique story. Shuusei is a bit hard to understand but I'm hoping future chapters reveal something about his past. Aoi is not a typical cry baby so I'm happy about that too. She's a little indecisive but  no body's perfect.


Art is also good. You don't mix characters because they are not too similar physically and the details are not less. They don't wear the same clothes or the same hair styles all the time so i found it lively to read. Overall, the manga balanced the comedy and romance very well. I highly recommend reading this manga

Stardust wink manga review


Type: Manga
Volumes: 10
Chapters: 49
Status: Finished
Published: Dec 29, 2008 to Dec 28, 2012
Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance, School, Shoujo, Harem
Authors: Haruta, Nana (Story & Art)
Serialization: Ribon Magazine

Intriguing manga. Who does she ends up with! To tell you the truth. A love triangle between childhood friends. I stopped after chapter 17(that was more than 1 or 2 weeks ago), because I thought it was boring. I thought that way because I craved for more romance. But I picked it up again now.. I find it intriguing now. Doesnt appeal to all of the audience but yeah girls will like it. Our normal shoujo.


Anna Koshiro has been friends with two handsome guys, Sou and Hinata, since childhood. She has a crush on Enamoto, a first-year high-schooler, but she has difficulty finding a boyfriend as everyone always wonders about the relationship between Anna and Sou and Hinata.
One day, she goes to Sou's house and finds out that Sou has a girlfriend. She is not jealous, but she feels like she has lost him. On the other hand, Sou's girlfriend is upset about how Anna comes into Sou's room so freely and asks Sou not to let Anna into his room again. However, Sou disagrees and ends their relationship. Anna decides to overcome the odds and confesses to her crush. Enamoto accepts, but upon finding out that Anna has a boyfriend, Sou gets upset.


On their first date, Anna finds herself in her room with Enamoto. She tells him about something that happened in the past: She once had a chipmunk named Coco, and when it died, Sou and Hinata brought her another chipmunk and telling her it was Coco. Her mother had told her to treasure Coco as the two of them had used their own money to buy Anna another chipmunk.
Enamoto then shocks Anna by asking which one of them she likes. After she replies that the one she likes is him, Enamoto tries to kiss her but Anna gets scared. She wants to call for Hinata and Sou but she can't. They both suddenly appear after Anna kicks Enamoto away. Of course, she cannot continue dating him after what happened.


Although she can't get what Enamoto asked out of her head, Anna is sure that the she will never be anything more than friends with Hinata and Sou. But what will happen when Sou confesses his love to Anna and asks her to go out with him? 


The progress is slow. The confusion state of Koshiro Anna is so long. It'll be hard for you to figure out or guess to whom she'll end up with.I want her to end up with Sou~ It's really hard to surpass their dilemma. Each one of them(3) tries to balance friendship and love. But, that makes this manga a good manga.  The art is Cute! Cool! BUT, I had a problem with some characters. I interchanged them because they looked so a like, except for their fringe line's direction. 





Escape from planet earth movie review


“Escape From Planet Earth” is a kind of parallel universe to “Planet 51,” the 2009 animated comedy centering on an astronaut marooned on an alien world and his struggle to get home. The plot of the new movie is nearly identical to that of the earlier film, except everything is flipped. Here, the astronaut is a blue-skinned E.T. named Scorch Supernova (voice of Brendan Fraser) who has been captured by the U.S. military. After crash-landing in Area 51, Scorch is captured by the U.S. military, which throws him into a holding facility, along with every other little green man (and woman) who has ever had the misfortune to run out of dilithium crystals in the Nevada desert.

Like “Planet 51,” it’s a cute premise. But the movie doesn’t aim any higher than cute. Its phasers aren’t set on “stun” but on “something to occupy the kids while Mom and Dad pick up a few things at the mall.”

As such, it’s a success, if a less than rousing one.

The highlights include “Star Trek’s” William Shatner, who lends his distinctive voice to General Shanker, the bad guy in charge of the base where Scorch is being held. Sofia Vergara also stands out as Scorch’s sexy alien love interest, Gabby Babblebrock. But it’s Ricky Gervais who really shines, as the voice of a talking mainframe computer on Scorch’s home planet, Baab (pronounced “Bob”). Even toned down for a PG audience, Gervais’s trademark snark lends “Escape” a lot of its low-key charm.

The rest of the voice cast is merely serviceable, with Sarah Jessica Parker, Rob Corddry, Jessica Alba, George Lopez, Jane Lynch, Craig Robinson, Steve Zahn and Chris Parnell failing to make much of an impression in their roles as miscellaneous aliens and humans.

Part of the problem is that the characters are somewhat generic. That’s a weird thing, considering that many of them are visually out of this world. Lopez’s Thurman, for instance, is a slime-covered creature with three eyes. The cold look of the computer animation renders him more bloodlessly than is necessary, even for a character that resembles a giant banana slug.


Just like its hero and his grounded starship, “Escape From Planet Earth” is, for much of the film, a decidedly earthbound adventure.

(89 minutes, at area theaters) is rated PG for mild rude humor and action.

Trailer: