Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Real Steel, Dolphin Tale & The Help

3 more amazing movies, people. thanks for dropping by.

this time i watched ‘real steel’, a touching story about a father and son, and their boxing robot with incredible will power. also the heart-warming friendship between a boy and a dolphin without a tail in ‘dolphin tale’, inspired by a true story. and finally, a moving drama about african-american maids in the 60’s, and the challenges and harships they face each day in their jobs.

 

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i never thought a robot could stir my emotions like a human character can. i mean, sure – ‘transformer’ was a fantastic movie but those metal guys were already famous before the movie. and even so, the 2nd and 3rd transformer movies were just crap if you ask me. there was no heart in it. now this – ‘real steel’ you have got to see.

the father, an ex-boxing champion. the son was the one he abandoned, and now that his mother had just died, he reluctantly got to take care of the boy. the world is set in the future – where boxing has changed – instead of humans, robots are made to fight in the boxing ring. together, the father and son joined forces to lead their humble robot to victory, in the boxing ring, and into the hearts of the people. their old robot revealed astounding will power, and both of them discovered a strong bond of family.

hugh jackman as the father is as hot and hunky as ever. you can see the transition from a i-don’t-give-a-damn guy to a believable father figure. as a boxer character, you get to see some sexy muscular arms action especially at the end. *pengsan* hihi. the boy who played the son is just so adorable, that you KNOW he’s gonna be as handsome as his on-screen dad when he grows up! hihi. watch out for the dancing scene!

but at the end of the day, the robot named atom steals the show. no spoken words, his eyes just flickering blue lights, his movement clunky and he’s just metal – but he has displayed more hearts and fighting spirit just like any living characters.

his fighting scenes are one of the best scenes – full of angst, hope and struggle – you would feel like watching any other human fight that has rocky I or IV, or watching russel crows’ cinderella man in action – you want atom to win just as much. you cringe when he gets beaten, you get tensed when the clock is ticking, your gut twisted in a knot when he fell down after a strong punch. just like watching a real match with real people.

and when he triumphs, you will cheer even louder. a highly recommended movie. it has heart, it has action. a metal robot with human fighting spirit.

 

 

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dolphins are amazing. they’re said to be the 2nd most intelligent creature on earth – after humans. i’ve always been in awe of their charm as they ‘perform’ delightfully in water with balls and hoops; and captured our hearts in turn. ‘dolphin tale’ is the story of one such animal.

inspired by a true story, this movie is about a quiet lonely boy sawyer who first found an injured dolphin stuck in crab net. her tail was badly affected and had to be cut off. she was taken to the ‘clearwater marine hospital’ where she was named ‘winter’, and taken good care off. here on began the endearing relationship between sawyer and winter, as he comforted her back to health, helped her swim despite her disability, and best of all – helped her get a new tail, and a new lease of life.

the real-life dolphin with the prosthetic tail named winter (who also acted as the ‘winter’ in this movie!) still lives happily and continues to receive visitors at clearwater marine aquarium in florida.

the characters in this movie is lovable, especially sawyer. his dreamy eyes really shows how connected he is with winter. dr. clay (the person who runs the maritime hosp) played by one of my fav crooners harry connick jr is also endearing, and i love that they don’t waste the movie on the likely romance between him and sawyer’s single mom, played by the lovely ashley judd who seemed to have gained weight, but looked just as gorgeous in this movie.

watching ‘dolphin tale’ you will laugh, you will cry, you will clap your hands, and you will cheer. a tale of hope, a tale of survival, of a tale of friendship between man and animal, a tale of overcoming adversity and never giving up. a heart-warming family movie, with a positive message, with a feel-good ending. highly recommended.

“i am seeing something that a mother, a teacher dreams of seeing : a turned-on kid. he is so engaged, and it’s not with a game-boy. it’s with something that is alive, and beautiful and real.” ~ sawyer’s mother played by the lovely ashley judd when talking to sawyer’s teacher about him staying off school to help take care of winter.

 

 

this music video features clips from the movie ‘dolphin tale’, with the background song ‘safe’ by westlife which is played at the end of the movie. i havent’t really heard westlife in a long time (not a fan) but this song with wonderful lyrics really touched me. rasa nak nangis je!

enjoy!

 

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the-help-movie-poster-2011-1020701030

 

nominated for best movie, best actress and even won for best supporting actress – this movie has it all – an interesting storyline, great cast, and an engaging script.

a story about an author in the 1960’s ‘skeeter’ who decided to interview the african-american maids aka ‘the help’, and writes their point of view on their white employers, how they were treated and their trials and challenges against racism and prejudices.

the two main african-american maid characters aibileen and minny played their role fantastically well; aibileen the reserved, quiet maid, while minny is the loud-mouth funny one. together, they helped skeeter write her controversial book, after several mistreatment from their white employers. skeeter is played by the beautiful emma stone, who played her spunky, determined, out-spoken and different from other girls her age who are all ‘happily’ married.

the script is what i enjoyed most – sometimes touching, at times funny and most of the time, will make me think. highly recommended movie, especially if you grow up with a maid in your house, or if you are employing a maid right now taking care of your home, prepare your food and bring up your own kids, while her kids are taken care off by others!

 

 

if a writer went and interview the indonesian maids in malaysia, what do you think they have to say about us malaysians as employers?

 

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been trying to write a review ‘ombak rindu’, that popular malaysian movie among acik-acik and akak-akak. it’s coming. watch this space!

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