Must-See Movies of 2012

I only go to the movie theater once or twice a year. I think tickets are too expensive, I'm not that excited about many movies, and I prefer DVDs with subtitles (usually borrowed from the library). So it has to be a movie I really want to see and experience on the big screen, like The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, or Star Wars. This year, there are five such films.

Avengers - May 4
I'm a DC Comics gal, but I gotta admit, Marvel totally kicks DC's cinematic ass when it comes to production/release, like 3:1! -_- In recent years, DC has Nolan's Batman (awesome), the Superman reboot (awful), Jonah Hex (didn't bother watching), and Green Lantern (okay), while Marvel did the X-Men (pretty good, especially First Class, but they're my fav Marvel heroes so i didn't like many changes), Spider-Man (good, I guess, but I prefer Blue Beetle ;), Iron Man (very good), Fantastic Four (good b/c Ioan Gruffudd), Hulk (didn't watch), Ghost Rider (ditto), Thor (very good), and Captain America (very good). I'm mostly ambivalent about Marvel, but they've had good stuff the past couple years, and it'll be cool to get the chance to see Marvel's major superhero team on film because we'll never get a Justice League movie!!.


The Dark Knight Rises - July 20
Aaaahhhhh~~!! I am SO excited for the conclusion to Nolan's Batman trilogy! I'm currently struggling with whether or not I should read spoilers. Not illegally leaked spoilers, but just the viral marketing and tidbit information purposefully released in interviews and stuff. I want to be prepared and psyched, but I also want to go in "unspoiled" and ride the excitement, confusion, and thought-provoking social, political, and moral dilemmas that I expect Nolan has in-store.
[minor spoilers: basic character bio +rumors] So far I like Tom Hardy's Bane (tho I'm worried about his supposedly hard to understand speaking), I'm unimpressed with Anne Hathaway as Catwoman (not sexy enough, sorry; don't like her long brown hair w/ the 60s-ish mask and cat ears, b/c Selina Kyle should have short black hair and cat-eye goggles; cat-suit looks good tho), and of course, I'm intrigued by Marion Cotillard as Wayne exec Miranda Tate (Talia??) and Joseph Gordon-Levitt's John Blake, GCPD (rumors abound! could he be Robin/Nightwing/new!Batman? or a dirty cop or... just a cop? XD he'd be a great Nightwing w/ his dark hair, lean build, and gymnastic ability).


Looper - September 28
I like sci-fi that explores human nature in "what-if" scenarios. This sci-fi action time travel movie looks promising, especially since it promises to delve into the philosphical/ethical questions of meeting and possibly killing your past/future self, in addition to the cool action sequences. It'll be interesting to see JGL transform into a younger Bruce Willis hitman through three hours of make-up and BW-inspired performance. I really liked writer/director Rian Johnson's Brick and the way he stayed true to a genre (detective) but also breathed new life to it (set in heightened reality high school), so I look forward to his spin on sci-fi.


The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - December 14
My mom and sisters and I are all big Lord of the Rings (films) fans, so we definitely can't wait for this one. I never finished reading The Hobbit because it wasn't as interesting to me as LOTR, but it's the same team of filmmakers, so I know it's going to be fantastic. It'll be great to return to Middle Earth (I cried so hard at the end of Return of the King ^^;). And I hate 3D, but I'm actually considering watching it in 3D; that's how much I trust Peter Jackson. Bonus: It stars Martin Freeman (Sherlock's modern Watson) as Bilbo and Benedict Cumberbatch (modern Sherlock) as Smaug the dragon via motion-capture+voice!


Les Miserables - December 14
Finally, after 25 years, the film adaptation of one of the best musicals ever! Les Miz is a favorite in my family (it's my mom's all-time fav, but it's my second, only to Phantom). I've been watching the 10th Anniversary Concert, and I keep imagining how they'll show this and that and what they'll cut and how it'll sound with Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne, Helena Bonham Carter, Sacha Baron Cohen, etc. So looking forward to it. I might just watch both Hobbit and Les Miz the day they come out.
(No movie trailer yet, so here's one with clips from the stage show, just to give an idea of how beautiful, dramatic, and epic this could be on film.)



Must-See on DVD
Rurouni Kenshin (if it's shown in US theaters, then I am so there! EEE! ^_^x), Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, War Horse, Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows, Justice League: Doom (animated), Hunger Games, Mirror Mirror, Superman vs. The Elite (animated), Sherlock Season 2 (BBC series), Brave, Amazing Spider-Man, Ruby Sparks, Perks of Being A Wallflower, Premium Rush, Lincoln

SS3 reunion & JM's birthday

Just when I think I'm getting "cured" of kpop, our boySS do something that drags me right back, reminding me how lovable, handsome, talented, and simply wonderful they are. ♥

Seeing the Trio joking and singing together again made me laugh and cry at the same time. They look so happy and adorkable, just the same as they were 7 years ago (except hotter now). It's cute how HJB becomes Baby again, YS is shy and cute, and KJ is now more confident and leading. ^^



Wahh~ I love these guys! >3< God, how I miss SS501. T_T Someday...

And yes, I am disappointed that JM went to a fashion show instead of the B2M CEO's wedding a.k.a. DSP Family reunion. =( But it's his birthday, and he gets to choose how he spends it. I just hope it's not because there's been a falling out between any of the members. (I kinda suspect KHJ and JM since they've had zero interaction since the break. But the rest seem fine, just busy.)

But it's hard to be upset with JM when I'm still drooling over his glorious walk down the runway for the Dominic's Way fashion show. omggggg JM how are you so SEXY GORGEOUS HOT CHARISMATIC AWESOME?



Holy Dark Angel! JM literally looks like a living anime character! A tall, lean, beautiful man with unnatural colored hair, uselessly ornate, fashionably ragged, rock-goth clothing and accessories, and sexily smouldering expression that hints at a tortured soul. XD

(Quick, someone cast him in a paranormal/fantasy romance drama NOW!)

(This is just begging to be made into a romantic melodrama movie poster.)

*swooooooon*

Happy 25th Birthday, Jung Min! You're my angel, my heaven, and I love you forever. ♥

Edit to add

Link from JM's Japanese site to romeomidnight.com shows:

A teaser image for his upcoming Japanese album?? Ahh~ this is exciting!



New Favorite Things

Inception - I've watched it five times in a couple of weeks, and I still wanna watch it again. Imaginative, mindblowing, cool, fascinating, smart, EPIC, even funny and touching. I'm addicted to this movie. I even started reading fanfiction, which I only do for fandoms I'm really into. XD Also, I love the soundtrack by Hans Zimmer. It makes anything EPIC. My favorite track is the EPICally emotional "Time":


Christopher Nolan - When I first watched Batman Begins, I was kinda disappointed by some of the character and casting choices (Christian Bale as a less dashing Bruce Wayne who becomes a less intelligent Batman at 30(!). Katie Holmes as a young ADA love interest involved with her boss? Liam Neeson as a white(!) Ra's al Ghul?? And I still can't unsee Michael Caine when he plays Alfred. Morgan Freeman and Gary Oldman were perfect though!) But after watching it again, without critical Bat-fan goggles, I can appreciate it as a very good superhero/action film. And of course The Dark Knight was outstanding all-around (great casting, especially the brilliant Heath Ledger), and I loved it (except Bale's Bat-Bear voice). I cannot wait for The Dark Knight Rises this summer!
Now Inception's awesomeness inspired me to watch Nolan's other films. I just watched Memento (about a man with short-term memory loss and a vendetta, told backwards) and The Prestige (story of two magicians' life-long feud and the secrets of illusion, plus David Bowie). Both had excellent writing, directing, style, and acting. The story concepts were interesting, intricate, involving, and impressive.
I don't know much about film direction, but I really admire Nolan's visionary storytelling abilities, always unique, just the right balance between confusing and clear, enough to intrigue and enough to understand, filled with ideas and spectacle but also a solid emotional throughline that makes the story worth caring about, ending in a mostly satisfying way that leaves you wanting more, or at least a re-watch (or two) to get it all. Nolan, with his writer brother and producer wife, makes movies that are as deep and cerebral as an indie film and as entertaining and thrilling as a Hollywood blockbuster. It's a combination of fiber and sugar; it's a BRAN DOUGHNUT.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt - Yup, I fell for the suave, badass, kiss-stealing ninja Point Man. I remember watching him in 3rd Rock from the Sun and having a TV crush on Tommy Solomon. lol. He was such a cute and funny young comic actor. I also loved 10 Things I Hate About You, one of the best teen flicks and modern Shakespeare adaptations. But looking at his later work, JGL has become a very accomplished dramatic actor as well (see Mysterious Skin, Brick, and The Lookout). No matter how weird, unlikable, or silly his character is, he manages to instill some real humanity and charm into it.
I guess that's why most of JGL's acclaim was for his dramedy roles, especially in the totally charming (500) Days of Summer (the whimsical but emotionally real rom-com that puts a twist on the rom-com genre and its portrayal of love) and the great based-on-a-true-story 50/50 (the cancer comedy that's both hilarious and touching with its honesty). (Hm. Why do so many of his works have numbers in the title..?)
He's a talented, diverse, and dedicated actor. Not to mention he can sing, dance, compose, play guitar and piano, speak French, do gymnastics, write, direct, and run an online production company for global artistic collaboration, hitRECord. He looks like a cross between Heath Ledger and Keanu Reeves, and he's funny, charming, and just seems like a cool guy. Wow, I'm sorry for all the fangirling over my newest celebrity crush. ^^;; But here's my favorite part of 500DoS: Tom singing karaoke! ♥

Sherlock - (No, not the Robert Downey, Jr. movies, although they're pretty fun.) I'm talking about the BBC mini-series of 90-minute TV movies, which modernizes Sherlock Holmes, bringing his genius intellect and detective skills (and bizarre personality) into today's world of technology and crime. I love this series because despite being adaptations of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's work, it's very fresh and cleverly twisty. It's fast-paced, smart, funny, quirky, intense, and cinematic, like a bromantic dramedy "CSI: London". ;P It stars Benedict Cumberbatch, one of my favorite British actors, and Martin Freeman, and they have great chemistry together as the contemporary Holmes and Watson. Here's the scene from the first episode showing their first meeting:

I WANT THIS

Gah, my unreasonable love for cuteness and novelty strikes again!
I want this set of plushie JUSTICE LEAGUE TOTS so bad! XD

They'd be perfect for my random collection of smiley face and geeky comic book superhero memorabilia.
Must resist buying 10 Sonic kids' meals. =| Okay, maybe just for Wonder Woman. And Martian Manhunter. And maybe Flash. Oh, but Clark Kent is so adorable...

Update: I caved and bought a couple of "Wacky Pack" meals. Unfortunately, they didn't have Wonder Woman, the one I really wanted. =P But I got Martian Manhunter and a cute Supergirl. ^_^

X-mas 2011 - Prez-day 2012

Christmas presents, new DVDs, good movies, sad soaps.
(personal entry, skippable)

Hormonally Satisfying Food and Film

Nothing like romantic movies and junk food to improve the mood!
(skippable personal entry)

Meeting Gene Yang

Tonight I went to ACLib HQ to watch a presentation by award-winning graphic novelist Gene Luen Yang. I've been a fan of his since reading his National Book Award nominated American Born Chinese. I also enjoyed The Eternal Smile and Level Up and was pleased when he was chosen to write the Avatar: The Last Airbender "Book 4" comic book series The Promise.  So I was very excited to learn that he would fly all the way from California to be a guest speaker at the local library.

It was an interesting and entertaining hour-long presentation about "How to Make Comics", starting with the definition of the comics medium, going through the whole process of creating a graphic novel, from idea to script to sketches to line art to completed pages, and finishing off with how to think and "direct" like a cartoonist. Gene Yang is a very good lecturer (he's a high school teacher), friendly, smart, and funny.

There was quite an eclectic mix of people in attendance. Besides Chinese Americans who related to his work, there were little kids who liked to draw or were fans of Avatar, teens who read comics, a bunch of art school students, and even senior citizen literary enthusiasts. ^^ I'm really glad I went, but I regret not buying one of his books for him to sign now. =/ Also, I was disappointed that he said Avatar: The Legend of Korra would be out sometime near the end of the year. (Boo. I'd hoped it would be out earlier.)

Anyway, I had a great time. If anyone is reading this, I highly recommend American Born Chinese as a perfect example of graphic novel storytelling, using words and pictures in a way that books, paintings, or films can't.