The Golden Compass

Based on a book; the Northern Lights, by Philip Pullman, the movie came to life bringing along the string of magical creatures ranging from witches,talking animals in the form of daemons,polar bears involved in an interesting twist of mystical events.

Don't blame me for complaining as I do really like magic and fantasy worlds, BUT aren't we overdose on this genre for this year and the previous?
I mean, I don't mind great adapations nor wizardry but excessive feed can eventually drown you of that interest or enthusiasm since you will be expecting the same storyline of magical characters to appear and some sort of power struggle and prophecies and ultimate battle (where eventually good will triumph over evil OR, just a cliffhanger ending which signals a sequel in the making:p)

Philip Pullman's novel was also a trilogy which was also in the same genre of magical world and his tale was spun on our human world and another parallel world beside us where human beings and their souls are separated and can walk next to them in the form of daemons. This world is governed by the Magisterium; some sort of government for the magical world.

The protagonist of the story was a little girl about the age of 10; Lyra Belacqua,played by Dakota Blue Richards.

Mischievous,free-spirited and strong-willed, Lyra was placed in a school by her uncle, the grave and no-nonsense Lord Asriel who wanted her to be groomed to be a fine young lady in the future.



Played by the new Bond, Daniel Craig, this character is not much of a favourite by the Magisterium who plans to bring him down through death to prevent him from obtaining the mysterious Dust and connecting their world to the human world.

He was a strict and ambitious man, who made the profound discovery of Dust and announces his wish to embark on his journey to the North to do his research which was frowned upon by the Magisterium but was finally approved with the strong support of Lyra's college.

Lyra dreams of going to the North although was forbidden by her uncle that she fell into the embrace of her new acquaintance at the college; Mrs Marisa Coulter (Nicole Kidman) who seemed to be fond of her and invited her along on her trip to the North; with the college's approval.


And thus, begins an exciting journey as the story slowly uncovers the adventures of this fearless girl in overcoming and dealing with trust, deceit, betrayal and loyalty along the way.

Without revealing too much (spoiler), you can refer to my Movie Bugz for the full story


Overall, the cinematography of the movie was not too bad; and the movie started off on a slow note and builds up to its climax.
The characters were developed to reality; particularly Lyra. However, I must say her acting skills were still mediocre as Daniel Craig's.
The only ones worth watching in this movie were the two ladies; Nicole Kidman and Eva Green who were modest and as usual, stunning in their ways.

I should say this is a rather interesting watch as well if you are into the genre; but do not hope for a kid with magical powers like Harry Potter, Lyra is more realistic as she is just any normal schoolgirl except that she was destined (as usual) to be the only key to read the Golden Compass which answers the question posted by the key holder and reveals in its own way that only the prophesized will know how to read it.

Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix

I watched this movie version of the 5th installment of the Potter series in GSC over the weekend.
My review or rating of this movie?
Okay, it was way below expectation......no thumbs up from me this time....

I know Order of Phoenix and also the Half-Blood Prince were not exactly action-packed installments and no promise of major exciting wizard chase and drama but still, this movie adaptation of the book fell short of the book's story.
I was greeted by the grown and hunky Daniel Radcliffe brooding at the meadows in the opening scene and then his rising temper over his cousin Dudley's intentional clowning around and the looming of the dark clouds which successfully spurned the running of both cousins towards the dark tunnel where they were greeted by......something sinister.....

Okay, no major spoilers...I don't think everyone has watched it yet...
But suffice to say, I was watching from start to end and I didn't find any element that really gave me a "Wow" factor....in fact, I was even disappointed in the poor editing of the movie where the transition was not smooth.
In fact, pace was slow (same as in the book) but it felt even more elongated in the movie (it's supposed to be the adverse effect, right?)

Anyway, whether I recommend it or not, it's not my verdict as "One man's meat is another Man's poison".
But I have to give to a few amusing parts by the Weasley twins....haha:)

OOooooo....and thanks to GSC for the Harry Potter file folder as a freebie....liked it:) Wonder should I show to my housemate...haha:p

Harry Potter and the Deadly Hollows

My Singaporean housemate; didn't go back this weekend; which was a good thing for me actually; at least there's companion in the house.
Anyway, the other housemate also came home...so it's happy 3-4(including housemate's bf) crowd in the house!:D

Okay back to my housemate; the reason she didn't go back was due to Harry Potter...not the movie but the book:p
She got hold of the book; not in Singapore but in Malaysia (cheaper over here) and she wanted to finish it. She read until 3 or sometimes 5am in the morning over the week; I think about 3-4 days where she was late to office..(I was home on MC, remember...)
So, this weekend, she decided to catch up on her sleep...hahaha....

And I don't think she's the only one...I bet tons out there are doing the same...
Man.....this is really causing all those dark circles and black eyes effects, huh.....haha, and this again spurned the next title of "Deadly hollows"....the hollowy eyes of reading too much and losing those beauty sleep you should get....haha....

And I still haven't read the book!!! AAAAArrrrrggghhhhhhh......
calm calm.....no rush for the book.....:)

Harry Potter and the Price War

I read with interest a blogger's post on The Star blog which was titled, "Harry Potter and the Battle of the Bookstores" and couldn't help chuckling to myself on the catchy title.
To me, this can be a potential sequel title!
Hehe...I know I am a little cuckoo here...but hey, we have the whole list of titles of Rowling's book in a series which hit off with the main character's name and xxx.....
So, this is good!

Back to the price war among the bookstores and the two leading hypermarkets, it was actually not just the talk of the town but also a joke and a display of immature behavior.
It was a major blow to the enthusiasm and the excitement of the loyal readers who have been waiting for more than a year for this final instalment of the highly-acclaimed book series by the world famous writer (Now), JK Rowling.
I understand the slap that all those leading bookstores such as MPH, Popular, Borders had when an unexpected competitor comes up and slashed off the prices of this highly wanted book by almost 50% of their listed price.
And to make matters worse; not just 1 but 2 of the competitors of the same genre decide to do this and they are not even in the same line of industry; ain't that just a pain?
In retortion, these bookstores ganged up and decided to retract all their books on the shelves; after mass publicity on their events and the launch of their books, etc.
It was really a major decision which left all the readers disappointed after the elevated joy in anticipation of obtaining their favourite and most wanted book BUT also in missing all the fun and excitement of the events organized.

I am not going into factual analysis of the situation, since everyone has done so already through the media and how those bookstores should review their prices that the competitors can slash by almost 50%.
However, recent report in the news has revealed that those prices were indeed a loss to them but still, the hypermarkets will not retract.
And the fight goes on....
Anyway, pleased to know that it has finally subsided, with the bookstores taking a step back and restoring the books on the shelves for sale at even discounted prices of 20%!
Good move, and thank you!

Wonder whether it helps to know that in UK, the book is retailed at only 5 pounds....hmmmm...
Should it now be the battle of the Readers/consumers?
Too bad this is the last book; else, I am sure the titles alone can overflow the storylines:)

Speaking of which, anyone read the book yet?
I saw one of my friend's MSN status that many died but not the 3 main (Harry, Ron, Hermione)...now, that's what I call a major spoiler!!
*But I can't help seeing that status, right?...Bummer....

Harry Potter!

Yups, it is OUT there now...Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix! The fifth installation of the widely acclaimed creation by J.K Rowling:D
It's finally out in the cinemas....
I knew it was coming out but I was still surprised when I saw it in the newspapers the other day...and I was in Gurney Plaza on Saturday still! Aiks!
Blur me...I really lost track of everything....man.....

But anyway, it's still too pricey and too crowded to watch it at this time.....just like Transformers...most of my guy friends told me they are planning to watch it by the 3rd week it's released; pay less and don't have to make your way through the crowd.
Haha.....interesting!

At the same time, this weekend will mark the release of the final book of the famous Harry Potter series; the 7th book and the grand finale.
Titled Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, this book will tell of the fate dealing with the famous boy with the lightning shape engraved on his forehead with his fateful counterpart Lord Voldemort.

Ooooo.....but I don't know whether I will get to read it yet.....but they are all out now...
It is the time of the year when the Harry Potter fever is back!!