After waiting for what seemed like forever when it has only been less than a year, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 finally came out last night and of course I caught the midnight showing. After another epic two hours, my childhood was officially over.
Quite a few details were changed, including some of my favorite parts from the book, so I wasn't entirely pleased with that. But that's just the picky fangirl in me speaking and the changes didn't affect the quality of the movie, which turned out to be pretty good overall, so I'd say it was $15 well-spent. (We decided to forgo 5+ hours of waiting in line and paid a little more for tickets with assigned seating. A wise decision, I think.) The pacing was good and, staying consistent with the book, there was plenty of action at every turn. I can't say any more without getting into spoilers, so just go watch it if you haven't already!
I also found out that the glasses for the 3D version were fashioned after Harry's round frames. Ahh, I should've swiped a pair!
Showing posts with label movies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label movies. Show all posts
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
birds of a feather
I actually went to see Black Swan last Friday, and it was pretty difficult getting tickets since it was only being shown at two theaters in all of LA but we persevered and got decent assigned seating at The Landmark. If you didn't know, the film's a psychological thriller about a possibly bisexual ballerina. I wasn't sure what to expect going into this movie, but I was intrigued enough by the concept to put in my $13.
The movie explores the pressures of competition within a professional dance company, accented by seduction and sexual curiosity while throwing a dysfunctional mother-daughter relationship into the mix. Some of the special effects were on the cheesy side but mostly the film was kind of disturbing. I especially liked the doppelganger motif...I shall say no more in case you plan on seeing it for yourself. Or read Wikipedia like I did, though it doesn't offer a detailed synopsis.
At the behest of yours truly, we hopped over to Yogurtland afterward for a late night sugar fix even though it was cooold outside. (There's no wrong time for frozen yogurt.) So we found out that Yogurtland is doing this 12 Days of Yuletide Yumminess promotion and unfortunately for me, they're not featuring the tiramisu flavor until the 9th. Booooo. They also ran out of my favorite original tart flavor so I had to settle for the cranberry tart instead. To make up for the substitution, I piled on so much mochi and chocolate-everything that my topping-yogurt ratio ended up quite disproportionate. Who didn't see that coming from a mile away?
December is either going to be really crazy or really boring. Not sure which one I'd pick if given the choice.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
hallows & horcruxes
I gave Responsibility the finger last Thursday and went to catch the midnight show of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 at Universal CityWalk. It was EPIC. Almost every scene was done just the way I envisioned it when I read through the book. I've been so excited about it ever since the trailer was released and those 2.5 hours gave me everything I had hoped for. The settings were right out of the book, the cinematography was excellent and the acting was very well done. It's kind of strange to say this because I never saw him in this light before, but Daniel Radcliffe was looking pretty attractive in this movie. Must've been the ever-present 5 o'clock shadow. I gueeess the accent helped too. Can't wait to see the final installment!
Since I had long known it would be released on a weeknight, it occurred to me that choosing to watch this movie meant I'd be very tired at work the next day. And it crossed my mind to say no, but the reckless part of me felt it would be too awesome to pass up--I absolutely had to make an exception for Harry Potter. It did get me thinking though...now that my job is such a large part of my day, the responsible thing to do would be to give up the things that might negatively impact my work performance. But that's pretty much asking me to give up my fun. Moderation, you say? What's that?
What would be most ideal is not having to sleep so much. I'd get so much more out of my days if I didn't have to spend a third of them unconscious.
Since I had long known it would be released on a weeknight, it occurred to me that choosing to watch this movie meant I'd be very tired at work the next day. And it crossed my mind to say no, but the reckless part of me felt it would be too awesome to pass up--I absolutely had to make an exception for Harry Potter. It did get me thinking though...now that my job is such a large part of my day, the responsible thing to do would be to give up the things that might negatively impact my work performance. But that's pretty much asking me to give up my fun. Moderation, you say? What's that?
What would be most ideal is not having to sleep so much. I'd get so much more out of my days if I didn't have to spend a third of them unconscious.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
no regrets, just love
I still get a little misty-eyed every time I think about J's impending departure, but I'm mildly comforted by the fact that it isn't likely to happen until November. He came up to visit me for a day and a half and as always, we pigged out like there was no tomorrow and talked much more than usual about nothing at all.
After indulging in Daikokuya for dinner on Saturday night, we went on a double date with Elise and Greg to see Easy A. Feeling guilty that I was dragging him into something that might've been too much of a chick flick, I paid for J's ticket. It was a fun and mindless movie, with a balanced mix of humor and drama. The whole making-a-statement-by-wearing-lingerie-in-public idea was impressed upon me, and now I'm tempted to emulate it simply because I'm actually pretty conservative in real life. Call it irony. Oftentimes I wonder how people perceive me. I already know I'm kind of judged for my interests. I guess they'd be surprised to know I've been keeping a blog too.
Today we made the trip out to West Covina to have delicious Malaysian food at a restaurant we used to frequent in college called Penang. Absolute favorite dishes are the mi goreng (definitely not the same as the instant noodles I mentioned before) and kacang pendek, which are string beans covered in a funky-smelling but mouthwatering fish paste. Sooo good.
Now we're going to switch gears. My spotting lately has done nothing to assuage my fears of premature parenthood, especially because I've never ever spotted in my entire history of periods. If I'm stressed out, I just skip entirely. So I insisted that we make a run to Target and find out once and for all whether there's a bun in the oven. Clutching a box of tests as discreetly as possible while waiting in line, I avoided all unnecessary eye contact until I got to the cashier, who glanced at my purchase and then at me before she smiled sympathetically. How embarrassing! I finished the transaction and ducked into the restroom where I settled into a stall to read the directions and get the whole thing over with. I have to say, those tests are pretty darn fancy for how quickly they get discarded...
Sadly enough, it turns out that my developing roll is more likely due to overindulgence in palatable pleasures than sexual ones. And so, as one anxiety is relieved, another is born in its stead.
After indulging in Daikokuya for dinner on Saturday night, we went on a double date with Elise and Greg to see Easy A. Feeling guilty that I was dragging him into something that might've been too much of a chick flick, I paid for J's ticket. It was a fun and mindless movie, with a balanced mix of humor and drama. The whole making-a-statement-by-wearing-lingerie-in-public idea was impressed upon me, and now I'm tempted to emulate it simply because I'm actually pretty conservative in real life. Call it irony. Oftentimes I wonder how people perceive me. I already know I'm kind of judged for my interests. I guess they'd be surprised to know I've been keeping a blog too.
Today we made the trip out to West Covina to have delicious Malaysian food at a restaurant we used to frequent in college called Penang. Absolute favorite dishes are the mi goreng (definitely not the same as the instant noodles I mentioned before) and kacang pendek, which are string beans covered in a funky-smelling but mouthwatering fish paste. Sooo good.
Now we're going to switch gears. My spotting lately has done nothing to assuage my fears of premature parenthood, especially because I've never ever spotted in my entire history of periods. If I'm stressed out, I just skip entirely. So I insisted that we make a run to Target and find out once and for all whether there's a bun in the oven. Clutching a box of tests as discreetly as possible while waiting in line, I avoided all unnecessary eye contact until I got to the cashier, who glanced at my purchase and then at me before she smiled sympathetically. How embarrassing! I finished the transaction and ducked into the restroom where I settled into a stall to read the directions and get the whole thing over with. I have to say, those tests are pretty darn fancy for how quickly they get discarded...
Sadly enough, it turns out that my developing roll is more likely due to overindulgence in palatable pleasures than sexual ones. And so, as one anxiety is relieved, another is born in its stead.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
black swan
In first grade, I used to always check out this one book from the library for reading time...Of Swans, Sugarplums, and Satin Slippers: Ballet Stories for Children by Violette Verdy. I only have vague memories of what the stories were about, but I know most if not all of them had some romantic element to them and the book had the prettiest illustrations (at least, I thought so at the time). I had long forgotten about that book until I was poking around on YouTube and came across this trailer for Black Swan:
The ballet is Swan Lake and now that I've given myself a refresher on the plot, it's actually pretty tragic. I'm very intrigued by this movie, especially because I adore Natalie Portman, but I'm also curious about where the story will go. J made fun of me when I mentioned it to him, as he couldn't believe that "psychological thriller" and "lesbian ballerinas" could ever be thrown together into a serious film. Then I showed him the trailer and he conceded that it didn't look as bad as the concept sounded. That's probably more a reflection of my ineptitude at describing things than the movie itself, but I digress. I'll probably end up Wiki'ing the synopsis after the release since I don't have a life anymore.
The ballet is Swan Lake and now that I've given myself a refresher on the plot, it's actually pretty tragic. I'm very intrigued by this movie, especially because I adore Natalie Portman, but I'm also curious about where the story will go. J made fun of me when I mentioned it to him, as he couldn't believe that "psychological thriller" and "lesbian ballerinas" could ever be thrown together into a serious film. Then I showed him the trailer and he conceded that it didn't look as bad as the concept sounded. That's probably more a reflection of my ineptitude at describing things than the movie itself, but I digress. I'll probably end up Wiki'ing the synopsis after the release since I don't have a life anymore.
Monday, August 16, 2010
ten hours
Today was a long day that began at 6 in the morning and I only had four hours of sleep from the night before to carry me through, but it was well worth it. Oddly enough, the weather's starting to warm up again. I guess we should be preparing for another heat wave. Oh, joy...
I met up with J and we breakfasted at the Broken Yolk Cafe in Pacific Beach. The place wasn't very busy so our food came fairly quickly. I had Betty's Southern Biscuits and Gravy which was much more than I could handle since I had a snack on the way down but it was still delicious. He finished his Huevos Rancheros and proceeded to pick at my plate afterward. He also kept joking about how much of a lesbian I was because I kept saying how cute our waitress was.
We headed to the nearest AMC to catch Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. AMC is the only theater I know of that gives an early bird special, where tickets for shows before noon are only $6. So our tickets together cost about as much as one regular ticket. I love great deals! The movie itself was very quirky and painfully awkward at first, but once it got going the whole thing was very amusing. And according to J, the fight scenes were pretty well done. I recommend this if you want two hours of fun and mindless entertainment.
The day wouldn't have been complete if it didn't include some time on the silky sand of a San Diego beach. J knocked out but I stayed awake to tell him to flip over periodically so that he wouldn't burn. Then I couldn't help myself and fell asleep at the sacrifice of my left pinky, which came out of the trip mildly burned. Not sure why it was only that finger.
Beautiful blue sky and fluffy white clouds
Gorgeous sunset at day's end
I met up with J and we breakfasted at the Broken Yolk Cafe in Pacific Beach. The place wasn't very busy so our food came fairly quickly. I had Betty's Southern Biscuits and Gravy which was much more than I could handle since I had a snack on the way down but it was still delicious. He finished his Huevos Rancheros and proceeded to pick at my plate afterward. He also kept joking about how much of a lesbian I was because I kept saying how cute our waitress was.
We headed to the nearest AMC to catch Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. AMC is the only theater I know of that gives an early bird special, where tickets for shows before noon are only $6. So our tickets together cost about as much as one regular ticket. I love great deals! The movie itself was very quirky and painfully awkward at first, but once it got going the whole thing was very amusing. And according to J, the fight scenes were pretty well done. I recommend this if you want two hours of fun and mindless entertainment.
The day wouldn't have been complete if it didn't include some time on the silky sand of a San Diego beach. J knocked out but I stayed awake to tell him to flip over periodically so that he wouldn't burn. Then I couldn't help myself and fell asleep at the sacrifice of my left pinky, which came out of the trip mildly burned. Not sure why it was only that finger.
Beautiful blue sky and fluffy white clouds
Gorgeous sunset at day's end
Thursday, August 12, 2010
beach bum
I had an amazing time with the girls yesterday. We went to the beach to soak up some sunshine and took a look at the nearby shops before heading back to Elise's place. We ended up ordering pizza for dinner and watching Rent. Even though I've seen it twice already, I had to try really hard not to cry. I think that's just the effect that musicals have on me...even though I've only seen one other one. Unless Disney movies count, which they should.
Mission Beach in San Diego, May 2010
Huntington Beach, July 2008
Mission Beach in San Diego, May 2010
Huntington Beach, July 2008
A guy walked in on me while I was peeing in the public restroom. Luckily I was already pulling my pants up when it happened. He said he was sorry, but he didn't sound very genuine about it.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
crashing
Yesterday was absolutely amazing for two reasons:
Inception
After we left the theater, I kept telling J, "My mind is blown." The movie kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time, though it really wasn't as confusing as people made it seem. I feel like the term is becoming interchangeable with "making you think a little even after the movie's over." That's not to say I didn't miss out on a few details myself, but that's the kind of richness that made watching it a satisfying 2.5 hours of my life. I definitely wouldn't mind seeing it again. Probably not in theaters though, since a ticket goes for about the price of a kidney these days.
Day[9]'s SC2 Launch Party
Twelve hours of board games, console games, SC1 LAN, live-casting, and being surrounded by enthusiastic SC fans. The voice actors for Jim Raynor and Tychus Findlay were there too, which was an exciting surprise. Even better when we introduced ourselves and stepped up to take a picture with them, and Jim Raynor's actor jokingly said, "If only I had met you before Kerrigan." XD We got to say hello to Sean, meet QXC, and play some matches in the LAN room. Unfortunately, J and I only stayed for nine hours (what else would we have done with that time?) before my poor, overstimulated brain started giving out on me.
Spending fun-filled weekends with J gives me such a high. But now that he's back in SD, I can't help feeling a little empty. It's more than just about missing him though. Now that he's gone, I have no choice but to return to reality, and honestly reality's been on the boring side lately. He's kind of like my drug. I think moving in together would solve this, but I have a few hurdles to jump before that can happen. Like finding work in SoCal.
My copy of SC2 is currently in Santa Fe Springs, CA! Hurry up and get here already!
Inception
After we left the theater, I kept telling J, "My mind is blown." The movie kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time, though it really wasn't as confusing as people made it seem. I feel like the term is becoming interchangeable with "making you think a little even after the movie's over." That's not to say I didn't miss out on a few details myself, but that's the kind of richness that made watching it a satisfying 2.5 hours of my life. I definitely wouldn't mind seeing it again. Probably not in theaters though, since a ticket goes for about the price of a kidney these days.
Day[9]'s SC2 Launch Party
Twelve hours of board games, console games, SC1 LAN, live-casting, and being surrounded by enthusiastic SC fans. The voice actors for Jim Raynor and Tychus Findlay were there too, which was an exciting surprise. Even better when we introduced ourselves and stepped up to take a picture with them, and Jim Raynor's actor jokingly said, "If only I had met you before Kerrigan." XD We got to say hello to Sean, meet QXC, and play some matches in the LAN room. Unfortunately, J and I only stayed for nine hours (what else would we have done with that time?) before my poor, overstimulated brain started giving out on me.
*****
Spending fun-filled weekends with J gives me such a high. But now that he's back in SD, I can't help feeling a little empty. It's more than just about missing him though. Now that he's gone, I have no choice but to return to reality, and honestly reality's been on the boring side lately. He's kind of like my drug. I think moving in together would solve this, but I have a few hurdles to jump before that can happen. Like finding work in SoCal.
My copy of SC2 is currently in Santa Fe Springs, CA! Hurry up and get here already!
Friday, July 16, 2010
summer movie-going
Movies are always a nice little distraction, and once in a while it seems worth it to actually pay for one. As I said before, Eclipse was not one of those movies but sometimes it's more about the experience of going with friends :P Anyway, some movies I've been wanting to see and others that it would've been nice to see...
Predators (or Predator 3)
Back to the jungle, where the whole franchise started. And unlike the AVP spin-offs, this is actually rated R. lol If you're going to have two alien races fight each other to the death, how can you keep it at PG-13?
This came out last Friday and I still haven't seen it. Unfortunately, my attempts to solicit a viewing partner over fb were futile, so I may just have to resort to other...more unlawful methods. Is there nobody I know who can appreciate ridiculous sci-fi horror? Laaame.
Inception
Directed by Christopher Nolan, the same guy who did The Dark Knight. I wouldn't be surprised if I have trouble finding someone to see this with too. But maybe J can hold off on it until he comes to visit me, and then we can go together. Or maybe I just need to make new friends. That seems to be a better long-term solution.
Toy Story 3
More for nostalgia than anything else, this one's on my list. I heard it was really sad, which was to be expected, but I haven't read anything about it and it's been ages since I last watched the first one (I don't think I ever saw the second one, come to think of it...) I'm sure I'll catch this one eventually when a friend's dad *mysteriously* acquires a copy.
Despicable Me
I'm not sure what to say about this one. It seems very cute, but I don't normally go to the theater for just cute. This would've been more for the experience of going with friends. All of them wanted to watch this together, but I wasn't able to go because of a conflict. Meh, I'll catch it eventually. Apparently it even overtook Eclipse at the box office last weekend. lol Now there's something I didn't think was possible.
Predators (or Predator 3)
Back to the jungle, where the whole franchise started. And unlike the AVP spin-offs, this is actually rated R. lol If you're going to have two alien races fight each other to the death, how can you keep it at PG-13?
This came out last Friday and I still haven't seen it. Unfortunately, my attempts to solicit a viewing partner over fb were futile, so I may just have to resort to other...more unlawful methods. Is there nobody I know who can appreciate ridiculous sci-fi horror? Laaame.
Inception
Directed by Christopher Nolan, the same guy who did The Dark Knight. I wouldn't be surprised if I have trouble finding someone to see this with too. But maybe J can hold off on it until he comes to visit me, and then we can go together. Or maybe I just need to make new friends. That seems to be a better long-term solution.
Toy Story 3
More for nostalgia than anything else, this one's on my list. I heard it was really sad, which was to be expected, but I haven't read anything about it and it's been ages since I last watched the first one (I don't think I ever saw the second one, come to think of it...) I'm sure I'll catch this one eventually when a friend's dad *mysteriously* acquires a copy.
Despicable Me
I'm not sure what to say about this one. It seems very cute, but I don't normally go to the theater for just cute. This would've been more for the experience of going with friends. All of them wanted to watch this together, but I wasn't able to go because of a conflict. Meh, I'll catch it eventually. Apparently it even overtook Eclipse at the box office last weekend. lol Now there's something I didn't think was possible.
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