6: Going The Distance

A movie about a couple in a long-distance relationship starring Justin Long and Drew Barrymore.



Initially, one of my good friends, J, recommended this movie to me. I was skeptical, and I kept delaying it, but he kept insisting that I watch it with my boyf. Finally, I did.

What can I say? This movie relates to everything me and the boyf were/are going through.
At first it's funny, quite lighthearted when they are just starting out.
But when it's time for commitment, things get heavier.
Just like us.

Before I headed to the UK, things were all fun, and happy, and light. When I got to UK, things became strained, no thanks to other people who try to get between us and break us apart. Some people will blame the distance, some people will blame each other, but at the end of the day, it is up to ourselves to know whether this is what we want.

Trust, commitment, loyalty, what do these words actually mean?

Can it still be considered to be a relationship when you only see that person every 6 months?

Needless to say this movie definitely left both me and my boyf quiet, thinking if all this waiting is going to be worth it in the end. Of course we love each other. Of course we want to be with each other. But can we go through what we went through again? It's a tough question. And we have been through a lot. Not many people know what we went through exactly of course. All they see is that we're alright. I'm not afraid to say that we do go through disagreements, sometimes it does get serious, but the thought of being together at the end of it all eliminates all fear, anger and tears.

I delayed watching this movie, but I think that if we had watched this earlier in our relationship, it wouldn't have left such a big impact on our thoughts.

This movie made me value my relationship with my boyf even more, not many long distance lovers are lucky like us - like me. We're trying, and hopefully one day we'll get to stop and we'll get through the distance, only to find each other again. Then again, whoever said that a relationship is easy? Even couples who live with each other have problems. You can never stop trying in a relationship. It sounds tedious, but really, it's actually lovely when you finally get to have that quiet, content feeling of just having the person you love and want right beside you.

All in all, the movie is definitely a good watch, I'd recommend it to all of you out there who are unfortunate enough to be having to deal with long distance relationships.

Loves x

5. : Ghost Town

Another comedy, presented by Ricky Gervais, Bill Campbell and Greg Kinnear.



I've actually seen this movie a few times, because it was being shown on HBO.

Ricky Gervais plays Pincus, a dentist who could see spirits after an unfortunate incident in the hospital.

To cut it short, he is a bitter, selfish loner who had been heartbroken by a former love, and he refuses to help the spirits who were in need of his help.

In my opinion it was not as funny as I'd expected from Ricky Gervais.
I didn't like his character, I thought he was annoying, although it might be funny when he acted like an ass but to me it's just not that funny, it's sad.

I don't really know what else to say without spoiling the movie, except that although I've watched this movie a few times, it was simply because it was on TV, and I didn't watch it til the end when it was shown on TV. So this time around I paid attention and I would say that this movie is not one of the best comedies that I have seen. There are some scenes in which it drags a bit, and a funny scene at first would end with me thinking "Get on with it!" so that's a bit anti-climax.

Ovarall, the movie's alright. It is quite funny, but nothing close to getting tears in my eyes...

Loves x

4. : Get Him To The Greek

A comedy featuring Russell Brand, Sean Combs and Jonah Hill. AND CAMEO OF TOM FELTON :D ♥



Obviously I did not know of the cameo until I've watched the movie but it made the movie 10 times more exciting! (Yeah you figured me out, I'm a huge fan of Tom Felton)

So. What did I think about this movie. Absurdly disgustingly sick... but absolutely hilarious!!!

It made me tear at one point, from laughing too hard.

At first, I didn't think it was that funny... it was just a normal comedy, but then there was one scene that made me laugh non-stop for like 2 whole minutes!

It's about this guy, Aaron Green, who works for a recording company that's suffering from the recession. He had an idea on how to revive it, involving a faded rock star, Aldous Snow, performing a last show for his greatest fans. Aaron being one of them, clearly. Mission: he had to fetch Aldous from UK and bring him to Los Angeles where he would be performing in The Greek.

Aaron is somewhat of a do-gooder looking forward to save his career, as well as for the opportunity of meeting and spending time with his favourite rock star.

But little by little he starts to lose control of the situation.
I won't say much, but disastrous situations seem to be his best friend, all on the account of Aldous, and he had to realize that there are more important things in life than just keeping a job.

It is for mature audiences only in my opinion, there is nudity, vulgar language, and a lot of sexual references - but these kinds of comedies are not unfamiliar to the world of film, so it's rated 15 by the... erm, whoever rates films... Censorship Board or something like that.

It's a fun watch, though I wouldn't want to watch it again. What's more fun is, throughout the movie you get to play "Guess Who?" on the cameos featured in the film :)

Loves x

3. : 9

On the same night, the boyf and I decided to watch another movie. This time an animated one, produced by Tim Burton and featuring voices of Elijah Wood, Jennifer Connelly and Crispin Glover. (Of course, I didn't know that they did they voices until the credits scrolled up!)



I was a tad skeptical about this movie; I don't know why but I'm always skeptical about animated films. I know the amount of hard work that's been put in the graphics is tremendous, but I just can't help thinking, "Ah, this is just gonna be another family/kids/love cartoon, funny and entertaining, a little touching at the end, same plot almost every time."

Let's face it. Even at the top of my head, I can name several of my favourite animated films and they all feature comedy or love, suitable for kids and adults alike. (Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Monster's Inc., Shrek, Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs, Monsters vs. Aliens, The Incredibles, Up, Wall-E... the list goes on and on.)

But of course, when one sees the name Tim Burton, one is inclined to believe that the film will feature a darker side to it, (Nightmare Before Christmas, Corpse Bride) the same way one would be inclined to think of gore when the name Quentin Tarantino is mentioned. But I've always found them to be unrealistic and more... supernatural.

9 is different. Of course, it features ragdolls that can speak and move, but it focuses on a solid ground that has nothing to do with ghosts or fantasy.

The storyline is somewhat predictable, but the characters are not actually predictable. It's different from other animation in the sense that you actually need to put some thought in how they would solve their problems in the end.

It actually reminded me of RPGs that I used to play, a particular one in fact, which featured a playable character called Mojo, a human-sized living voodoo doll.



From left to right, that's Sergio, Kid, Mojo and some random character... or is it Leena?

It also reminded me of the game Devil May Cry, some scenes especially.

Okay enough of computer games (I kinda miss playing those games tbh). Back to talking about the film.

After watching this movie, I felt really fulfilled. There is no other word that can describe it. I have watched a lot of movies in my lifetime (I'm only 21 btw but I could easily have watched 150 movies during my lifetime. Probably more.) and some movies have left me feeling unsatisfied, as it's not how I imagined it to be. But 9 is so much better than how I imagined it to be. It's set in a post-apocalyptic setting, and usually I'm not really a fan of this genre (like Terminator:Salvation, War of the Worlds, The Book of Eli, etc) but it's really enjoyable to watch, surprisingly.

All in all, I think it's a good family movie, I really really enjoyed it, and won't hesitate to watch it again. :)

Oh and one more cool thing: it was released on the 9th of September 2009 :D

Loves x

2. : The Black Balloon

Okay so I've been obsessing on models for quite a while now, and one of my favourites is Gemma Ward. Her first stint in acting (according to IMDB.com) was in Pink Pyjamas. 7 years later, she acted as one of the mains in The Black Balloon.



The story is mainly about this guy, Thomas, who has an autistic brother named Charlie.

To be honest, I thought it would be a boring movie but it actually turned out to be quite a good one!
Somehow, at the back of my mind, the movie in which Leonardo DiCaprio did not get enough credit for (What's Eating Gilbert Grape?), kept flashing in my mind though I have not watched that movie in aaaaages!
But I guess the theme is similar?

Moving on, I find The Black Balloon to be quite fast-paced, and conflict after conflict kept coming so that the viewers have no time to react to the first one before being ambushed with another.

I can't really say much without spoiling the movie, but acting wise I think Thomas was quite good for an unknown actor (unless you watch the TV Series Home and Away religiously, which also features Charlie). But I gotta take my hat off for Charlie... It must be difficult to act like an autistic person, that has ADHD to boot. The way you walk, the movement of your limbs, it's all different and it is so believable that it's just astounding to watch.

As for Gemma Ward, the reason I wanted to watch this movie in the first place, she plays Jackie, a sweet girl that accepts the fate of Charlie and falls in love with Thomas. She did quite well, except for some scenes in which she could be seen just standing and not doing anything. Well, except for, maybe, looking upset.

All in all, it was a good watch, I don't recommend you watching it with your kids who are under 18 but it really presents family values and the importance of accepting and loving your family even if you hate the living daylights out of them.
I admire the family in the movie, how they fend for each other when the going gets tough...

I think that's about all I can say about this movie.
It did make me think about how lucky I am to be born normal and to have siblings or family members who are normal.
I can't imagine how hard it must be for families taking care of special kids, the amount of patience, time... gosh it's mind blowing.

It was definitely worth my time :)

Loves x

1. : Hi :)

Hi.

This is my 7354265443287568th attempt in blogging.

Usually it lasts for a few months, even up to 2 to 3 years; my longest was 5 years.
But lately I've lost the mood in blogging,
found it pretty pointless and the idea of people sticking their noses in my thoughts, my emotions and my life... does not appeal to me as much as it did last time.

So what actually resurrected my desire to blog?
Well. To cut it short, I am involved in a LDR.
Nope, that's not a grammar error, because LDR means Long-Distance Relationship, for you grammar nazis out there that might comment of my usage of 'a' instead of 'an'. (Btw, I am one too, - sometimes - hence the feeling that I need to defend myself here? lol)

Yes, and being in a LDR means that the boyf and I can't go out on real dates.
:(
So, no coffee, no dinner, no walks in the park, no cuddling, no holding hands, no looking at each other's eyes while laughing and the list goes on.
To some, of course, the physical activities is not necessary.
But, to me, it's kind of important. Just the physical presence, the chance to be breathing next to each other, that's priceless.

I seem to be deviating from the main topic here.
The point is, when you're in a LDR, it could get stale quick unless you find something interesting to do together while interacting via Skype, Windows Live Messenger, Oovoo, etc. And with the 7-hour time difference, there's not much to be done.

So one fine day, the boyf came up with a brilliant idea.
Why not watch movies, together?
Even though we're not next to each other, at least we're doing something fun, together.

Thus this is why I've decided to create this blog!
To put down my opinion on movies I've watched with the boyf! :)
Like a review, done by a nobody, instead of a real film critic!

(To be honest I think we've watched about 20 movies before I had this desire, so, if I can remember the movies, I'll post it up, but if not... Oh well.)

Okay so here goes!
I hope you find my opinions helpful if you're thinking about a movie but ain't sure on watching it just yet :)

Fuh, that was a lengthy introduction.
Shows you how women talk/think a lot.

Loves x