Sitting Elephants

Date Night

2010-04-15T00:50:00.000-07:00

Thought I'd do with a slight change in presentation...

It's Complicated

2010-02-24T02:27:00.001-08:00

Those who know me best are certain I'd fall in love with Nancy Meyer's little love comedy plainly due to Goddess Streep. I did- the first 20 minutes of it. I am big on Alec Baldwin too but I think this had too much of him. Meryl Streep embraces her age and maturity with grace and elegance- Nancy Meyer had better written a deserving script but she didn't so. I struggled a bit to see "mature" people being intimate. It doesn't help that Alec Baldwin looks like one of 'em Alaskan Bears Sarah Pailin would hunt down. Still, Streep's character made the picture witty and alive. I am however not at all keen on the actors who played the children. John Krasinski, Lake Bell? Come one! This isn't Over my Dead Body or License to Wed. Hell no. Casting ain't all that great but I did like the bits with the Holy Trio. Steve Martin did a good job though I would have loved to see him more in the movie. He never fails to be funny. Alec I guess had a bit of practice with 30 rock along with Tina Fey so he wasn't too bad. Maybe it isn't much of Meryl's cup of tea but if she could do Death becomes Her and She-Devil then I ought to see her in more of these.

Avatar

2010-02-24T00:56:00.000-08:00

This was a movie I think I'll sit in for once in a lifetime- thank you. First, I had a few problems with my 3-D goggles, then I had to watch the entire movie in like 10 hours. It took forever to what seemed like a typical invasive-human race genre. Cameron had 15 years to work on this movie, so I would really expect more plot wise. We've had several of these in the past lets say 10 years; Independence Day (aliens invading though), Mission to Mars, Red Planet, Planet of Apes, The day the Earth stood still and I can go on forever. But with Cameron, since he's all up on the technological front of things, he waited more than a decade after the billions he made with the Terminator movies and lets not forget Titanic to edge out his competition. He made G.I Joe look like a cheap 70's cartoon. I'm not even going to begin on his virtual cameras, simulcam...I just think it was super cool Spielberg and Jackson had a try at it. It's amzing what you can create with a gazillion dollars and what gazillions more you get out of it. James Cameron proves to be a very good businessman, he gets what the present audience wants, just as he did with the morphing T-1000 played by Robert Patrick in Terminator 2 in the early 90's. Now Avatar is begininnng it's own cult. I'd recommend this movie to any budding motion-capture enthusiast. It's worth guzzling down a few cokes on and some popcorn.

I'M BACK!

2009-12-28T03:41:00.000-08:00

Finally, after having abandoned my page for so long, I have decided to make a quick stop. I will be posting up reviews very, very soon and hopefully it'll keep on coming. With my relentless commitment to my studies as I approach my final year of my undergraduate studies, I must say I had to give up reviewing for a while. Although my schedule isn't getting any looser, I think I might be able to still get by one or two movies occasionally and write about it. So lets hope I can start the ball rolling again, shall we?

Rachel Getting Married

2009-02-21T23:52:00.000-08:00

Finally....the movie I have been waiting around for has made the wait all worthwhile. Anne Hathaway has graduated from being a teen princess to Gay man's wife to Miranda Priestly's assistant to actual gifted, talented STAR. She has blossomed into a flower of a million colourful petals. Nothing less than GREAT could be said of her performance. The rest of the cast were just as amazing; Debra Winger, Rosemary DeWitt and Bill Irwin are just to name a few. It's a pity it didn't quite have a big theatrical release here in Malaysia. I love the handheld camera angle director/producer Johnathan Demme created. It feels fresh, making it appear as though it's some sort of mockumentary. Dramentary would be nice. The film had great a wedding as the title role and racial mix turned out to be a good idea. Hathaway and DeWitt made a good sister-sister pair and you should wait till you see some action between Winger and Hathaway. She really did earn her Academy Award nomination. Too bad she was in a league too ahead of her.

Beautifully encapsulating.

2009-02-08T04:57:00.001-08:00

A passing of life.

2009-02-07T08:21:00.000-08:00

Just this once, it's not going to be anything about movies. I've taken the liberty in this post to convey my deepest condolences to a person I know dearly who has just lost her father. I know it's not easy to loose a parent but I'm not going to go on saying that I understand how it feels because I don't. In times like these, you pray and hope Dear God allows for all the strength and willpower you need to deal with such a terrible loss. With so much still ahead for you and your family, you just think that you shouldn't have deserved this from Him. You challenge to question why but it's all beyond your authority. You find yourself helpless and insignificant before His every doing. It's a humbling feeling so overwhelming you learn time and time again. Indeed, you must however, though how small at times you may feel, you will always find the means to accept His say if you dig in deep enough. Enough to believe that He knows best, better than you will ever imagine for what gracious and rewarding returns He never fails to deliver.

Linda, God speed and May He bless you and your family indefinitely.

Al-Fatihah for Allahyarham Zainal Bin Hj. Romli.

Yes Man

2009-02-04T22:13:00.000-08:00

Ahh...yes, man...hmm...plus a girl = A stale comedy that is confused with being romantic. I gotta give it to ya Jim you really had me in stitches- not! Popcorn at the movies could have never seemed more appealing- it was all I was interested in. I mean, seriously, those wacky faces, the getting tangled up in tape, the funny walk and slapstick gone overboard are just not what people want to see anymore, well for me especially. And to think that the producers got hold of Zoey Deschanel (nice name though) who's probably half Jim's age, on and off-screen, to be paired to him is perhaps another reason why not to see this movie. Jim's moving on into his 50's and those "I used to be a loser and after a heck of a breakthrough here's the love of my life and what do ya know, I ain't no loser no more! " comic relief come romance genres are not what you want to associate with someone who's passed half a century. He'd be better off playing Hoffman's character in Meet the Fockers or something like that. They played a very diffrent ball game and more often than not it just does not work. If this was something along the line of The Mask or Ace Ventura than certainly without a doubt it might have got me going...or not. Comedies are treasured collections for nachos or popcorn and beer nights and you want to still be able to watch it 10, 15 years down the line with the same kind of wit anticipation without being put off by sick jokes.

And the Oscar goes to...

2009-01-29T04:28:00.000-08:00

Although this might deviate slightly from a movie review, I'm just too excited to have let it passed. I am talking about the upcoming Academy Awards this February and boy do we have a competition this year! With the likes of Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway and Kate Winslet competing for the prized best actress award, we can definitely hope for a bang this time around. Their male counterparts aren't too far off the mark either with Sean Penn for his supposedly incredible performance in Milk (I will have the review of it when I get to see it...someday) and the surprising comeback of Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler directed by Darren Aronofsky, a superb filmaker in his own right whose other films include The Fountain and Requeim For a Dream, also nominated for best picture once. I am too overly estatic about Slumdog Millionaire because it sure is making all the buzz this year, especially after winning at The Golden Globes. It's been a year of filmaking frenzy, 2008. All the harder to take a pick!

So whose night will it be?

Eagle Eye

2009-01-29T03:43:00.000-08:00

It's come in a little late but this movie is really worth watching. Though I wouldn't exactly put it amongst the best pictures of the year '08, it certainly had its thrills. One would appreciate perhaps, the efforts of D. J. Caruso (the director) trying his best to make the plot look as if its much to offer than what already is. The plot is set so hastily to make this happen, i.e. with the extended car chases and even more so the heavily perspiring chases on foot (Le Beouf must have had tones of vaseline tubs to go through with all that sticky sweat running down his face). For Le Beouf in particular, Eagle Eye was just a slight variation from his performance in Transformers where machines got the better of humans, only this time the machine had Julianne Moore's voice and his gal pal is no longer the young and hot Megan Fox. Coming back to the thrills I mentioned earlier, it lies in all the very futuristic but believable theories of how we're all being watched and that 1 in 5 of our phone calls are being tapped. This movie however, would give the FBI, CIA and NSA a run for their money with all of that made up crap, but it was entertaining to say the least, both for me and hopefully for you too.

Update

2009-01-29T03:37:00.000-08:00

Wow...I know it's been too long since my last review and pardon me so but I've been caught up with a lot of work lately. Yes, it's taken me nearly 5 months to finally end this hiatus. Right...
There will be something very soon....I promise!

Hiatus

2008-08-31T05:27:00.000-07:00

Our next movie review might possibly come in a bit late. Just a little movie-watching hold up. But still, to our readers, keep on the look out! There are quite a few good movies to choose from at the moment so get on the go already and start booking those tickets. Till next time...

Over her dead body

2008-08-27T21:26:00.000-07:00

A complete malfunction! It’s like waiting to finally uncork an aged bottle of red wine only to find vinegar. Actually, vinegar’s good but this has just plunged down the ph line. I absolutely did not see this as Eva’s big break or for any of the cast. Such a horrible way to catch a glimpse of the silver screen. And Paul Rudd has really, really not lived up to his worth nor has the supposedly promising Lake Bell- talk about making a name for yourself. A word of advice: stick to your court room dramas, Bell. If Boston Legal had this coming before she’d probably never had this career path to begin with. Well, I hope I’d never be seeing a Rudd and Longoria pairing ever again cause boy, are they so not meant for each other. If you’re thinking of having 10 coffee or beer breaks for every 5 minutes of movie seeing, then you sure are on the right track for this disaster. Just come back in guys should you feel the need to desperately feast your eyes on Eva.

The nanny diaries

2008-08-27T20:24:00.000-07:00

Good plot, but at certain points seemed too bleak- maybe too stereotypical of the stereotypes. The opening credits was a good effort and probably one of the highlights of the movie. Absolutely adored the kid, Greyer, reminds me of Liam Aiken in Stepmom. Although I’m not such a huge fan of Scarlett, I think she managed to pull it off this time, strongly portraying a character of low self-esteem with a clear uncertain (in the beginning) future regarding her career path ahead of her. Her conflict within herself with which at the same time trying to cope with her mother’s expectations really emerged right up to the end. I would certainly recommend this to anyone looking for a laidback entertaining session with friends.

The love guru

2008-08-26T04:02:00.001-07:00

Funny is probably the last word you’d say about this movie. It was far from anything to be laughing about from start to finish. Mike Myers had got to be desperate, in need of an outing to have settled with this piece of writing. It’s his worst ever and everything about his character and all the other characters is reduced to sex- just too graphic to be a mainstream comedy. It was more like soft porn with jokes included I’d tell you. And…I will never look at J.T the same way ever again- jaw dropping, to the floor (literally!!) The build up to the love guru was seriously a little bit over the top to have anticipated this work of sh**. Not to mention (but I will anyways) the reception it got from some of those in the Hindu community, and I can certainly tell you it ain`t nothing about world peace.

Rambo 4

2008-08-26T04:01:00.001-07:00

Sick brutality and violence thrown into a picture. I’m not surprised why this could be the last installment of the franchise. The opening scene sees peoples’ throats being slaughtered and blood and brains splattered. And out of all the Rambo movies, this might be Stallones’s worst part yet. His character was rather flat to be honest and I didn’t somehow get to see his significance apart from the required saving the other Americans. It might be a slight twist from reality though what the producers think of Burma’s (or now Myanmar) guerilla crisis. Trust me; they aren’t as cruel as depicted in this movie. Rambo 4 ought to be better off having something more to do with the recent flood in Myanmar-now there’s a picture the world can relate to.

21

2008-08-26T03:59:00.000-07:00

Jim Sturgess is the man! He certainly has proven his worth in this one. And what a pairing with Kate Bosworth! (good casting!). The movie has seriously made me consider taking up my past hood math again. The creators really did make counting cards seem amazingly easy to get your way through those gambling tables but of course in this story you’re only limited to playing blackjack. It was a thoroughly enjoyable movie, in fact I’m really not sure if enjoyable is the word I’m looking for. It definitely is a step up beyond that.

Wanted

2008-08-26T03:04:00.000-07:00

Evidently surreal. In every sense of the word. Purely an entertaining prospect, one you’d expect from someone named Timur Bekmambatov who proved his worth through the vampire franchise Nochnoy Dozor and Devnoy Dozor, all things murky and eerie (Wanted has got some of that wanting your way). It’s got the same kind of assassinate-like feel and atmosphere to the also recent Hitman, kill, kill, die, die! And speaking of dying, the whole healing bath, yeah, a wee bit cliché for me! It’s just so minority report, the 6^th day looking or something back in those times. Still something to appreciate is McAvoy for pulling it off again, this time the accent (praises!!).Although, I wouldn’t totally agree with his pairing to Angela Jolie, hence their characters’ little intimacy (I think). And not to forget Freeman, an intimidating quell as usual. Keep in mind this was based on a comic series and it probably should be comically hyped!

A Word of Hello.

2008-07-21T12:07:00.000-07:00

Sitting Elephants is a fully independent, non-affiliated movies review site and is currently being established through the aid of blogger.com (registered trademark). The author of the items posted on this blog space wishes to deliver her thoughts and opinions of her most recent watched motion pictures. There is no copyright infringement intended to any existing movies review site and our objectives are purely appreciative to the qualities we find present in the films we might encounter as this blog space continues running. At Sitting Elephants, we will try our very best to give you (readers) a reliable and collective source of insight and analysis to assist you in choosing the best of what the market has to offer. Our rating is ranged from a score of 1-5, 5 being the best. So just wait for our first entry!