Neil Gaiman’s classic finally reaches the big screen after months of anticipation. Charlie Cox pulls off an acceptable portrayal of the bumbling Tristan, while viewers can expect no less from Michelle Pfeiffer. Claire Danes carries a believable English countryside accent, and delivers her lines with a generous serving of sass thanks to her character’s biting wit. The humanity and vulnerability of her performance is what draws Gaimanites and moviegoers to see this movie and love her despite her being Claire Danes. Seriously, was she ever YOUR first choice in the lead role? Nevertheless, she convinces and endears largely because of her beautiful baby blues. Robert de Niro’s Captain Shakespeare managed to make this reviewer laugh, however there seems to be a lack of oomph to his interpretation. Maybe it’s the lack of screen time, too. But a de Niro is a de Niro is a de Niro. ‘Nuff said.

Best seen with someone special (it’s a yikeedoodle flick) or even the idea of someone special, Stardust suits hopeless romantics and the hopeless alike. Anybody for round two?

All I have to do now is get my hands on Take That's Rule the World MP3. Goosebumps, baby. Goosebumps.

I liked this new-age zombie flick so much I had to take notes while watching it (I did so online. Student budget, remember?).

Although 28 Weeks Later doesn't have any Cillian Murphy, the amazing cast and the engaging musical score bring this zombie film back to life. From the use of the camera to the great acting, the film reflects the human thirst for control and fear of anything out of the ordinary. It also shows an evil side to the never ending quest for human survival. The zombies are faster, the machinery to combat them are meaner, and the humans, well, still as frail as ever.

I still heart London. And any film that sets The Big Smoke ablaze certainly gets my engine going.

Enjoyed every minute of this flick. I've got the empty pack of Malteser's to prove it. This review's short and sweet, unlike the movie--which is quite long and complicated if you're trying to look for a summer no-brainer. But hey, I was entertained and that's enough reason to spend a good four quid twenty (GBP 4.20) and almost four hours at the cinema.

I did expect that this particular movie would cram a lot of plotlines into its length, but I have to admit this lot is a bit too much. Reminds me of how the first POTC was constructed (I still haven't weaned myself fully of that movie). One sequence briefly follows another, and the dialogue couldn't be more fitting as I'm currently living in the Land of the Bland. There was one particular scene in the movie where Elizabeth Swann says "This is madness." I just turned to my friend and whispered, "This is SPARTAAAA!" A good goosebump moment indeed. Keith Richards, although his appearance was only for several minutes, brings a little more light to the allure that is Jack Sparrow. I love me my Cap'n Jack.

I have to say, though, that everything in this movie is eye candy to me. From the fantastic camera angles, the locations, the costumes (I adore those in charge of the production design, really), and the actors. Verbinski (although I'm not a fan of how he re-did the American version of The Ring) has outdone himself with this particular installment of the POTC franchise. He and Bruckheimer sought to bring action and adventure to their audiences, and succeeded.

I have to admit that I believe there will be a 4th POTC within the next two or three years, mainly because Captain Jack Sparrow still isn't with his beloved Black Pearl. We'll just have to wait and see, though.

Lemme just say that it sucks being in a first-world country yet still end up watching a highly-anticipated movie after most everyone I know has seen it. No worries, though. I couldn't have picked a better time to see it anyway.

I haven't been that exposed to Frank Miller's graphic novels unlike some of my friends who are fanatics. I haven't even seen Sin City. Sacrilege, I know, but I haven't seen it still.

The movie, 300, served its purpose. It was consistent in being intensely entertaining. There were certain parts in the movie that were too tiring to look at. But when you have more than a handful of ripped and well fit, middle-aged white boys on screen, a girl shouldn't really complain.

I particularly love how Queen Gorgo's character was written up. Finally, a woman with a gorgeous face and balls to boot. I admire the character's determination, dedication and passion for her king and country. I swear, if I weren't straight, she'd be on the top of my to-do list (tee-hee). Gerard Butler's Leonidas, I think, was a product of his environment. I both loved and loathe his hubris that bordered on arrogance. This movie was about Leonidas and not really about the Battle of Thermopylae, so anybody expecting something really epic should back up a bit.

For some reason, though, the movie seemed a bit methodical in its story-telling. Don't get me wrong, it was a good story to begin with, but my Greek flatmate still refuses to go see it because of the inaccuracies of the plot. Hey, this is entertainment, you don't always have to be correct. Or do you? I do maintain, though, that the plot could have been better developed and the pace made a tid bit steadier.

But hey, the film did do its job. It did it very well.

He's from what was part of the USSR, thinks women are second-rate, hates Jews, and gets his balls warmed up with a hairdryer. And he's coming to America.

This mockumentary is one hella social experiment. And I loved almost every minute of the flick. He pokes fun at America, himself and YOU.

Sacha Baron Cohen's current persona is a walking, breathing, ball-grabbing Republican mother's nightmare. Borat will chase buses so he could get on and hitch hike with a group of male college punks just to expose what's so great about American culture. He just wreaks havoc wherever he goes. His mission? It was, at first, to help educate people from Kazakhstan on how to become "better citizens" by patterning their behaviour after that of Americans. When he sees Pamela Anderson's Baywatch character, CJ Parker, things drastically change. But I do declare, he does get her "in the sack"... okay, okay, enough spoilers...

Borat is closely parallel to Boy Abunda's magic mirror/ "mahiwagang salamin". The character exposes what Americans fear and, to some extent, despise the most about other cultures and themselves. And what could be scarier and more offensive than that? God forbid that Borat comes into your home and washes his face with water from the toilet bowl, or chases you down the street because he's happy to be in your country.

At various parts of the film, I asked myself, "How the f*&% does he get away with all this?" Because true enough, he does. Perhaps the people who were featured in the film didn't read the fine print in their release agreements during production, which would have given them whack about what to expect from Borat. Blame cultural relativism (among other -isms) and the fact that people love to stroke each other's egos by patronizing the notion of "the other." Then again, maybe there is something in all of us that will allow people with the same mannerisms, values and principles as Borat to get away with what we think are "uncivilized acts."

What I most loved about Baron Cohen's Borat was the fact that the character was consistent throughout the film (and promotional television appearances). And I adore the fact Borat is actually everything Baron Cohen himself should be afraid of, particularly because he is Jewish, educated and from a developed country. He could very well be poking fun at his own fears, you'll never know.

The movie tests tolerance for other cultures, particularly those we are ignorant of. In this day and age, people (myself included) actually still believed that there are people who carry around live chickens in their bags and allow their cows to lounge in the living room of their one-flat house. I mean, parts of our collective consciousness still believes we're much better off than the other half of the world. And that is worth laughing your ass off for 3.50 pounds sterling.

People ought be filmed in the cinema while watching this movie, to further drive the point. When the film starts out, people start laughing and poking fun at how dumbass Borat gets to kiss his sister, who's a high-ranking prostitute in Kazakhstan. But as the film progresses, I got to see some really disgusted looks on people's faces (and on mine). But that chapter of the experiment is yet another movie, which will undoubtedly give Baron Cohen a hard time since this movie made him world-famous.

High Five!

Two weeks into having Blacksheep (the nickname I gave my camera) and I've been nothing but a shutterbug.

It's been in the "essentials" list along with my wallet, mobile phone and card case. What can I say, but it brings out the camwhore in me. Slimmer than a deck of cards with the jacks and queens taken out, this extremely pocketable camera sports an all-glass Schneider Kreuznach 36-108mm (equiv.) 3x optical zoom lens with aspheric elements, a huge 2.5-inch LCD screen, VGA movie mode and 17 (!) scene modes. All this in a stylish package that is extremely user-friendly and versatile and could prove to be a strong competitor for other compact manufacturers. Did I mention it has 17 pre-set camera modes (i.e., Snow, Beach, Panning)? I'm really impressed at the Flower (which is meant for close-up pictures of flowers, no joke) and Candle Light (which replaces the usual iffy Night Mode).

A tiny viewfinder is placed to the extreme left of the camera. Its arguably odd location could prove to be quite convenient actually. Its location, on the extreme left of the camera about a centimetre down from the top, means that your nose won't touch the LCD screen, when using it. Although the camera can be customised in many ways, the only control over exposure you have is by selecting the usual flash modes or applying exposure compensation in certain lighting conditions. Although the 17 scene modes provide a wealth of optimum settings for a wide variety of image situations all other decisions are made for you by the camera. The only other manual exposure setting is in night shots, where it is possible to manually select a slow shutter speed between 0.5 and 8 secs, but then again ISO is locked at Auto.

Though I'm a bit turned off with Blacksheep's flash, the camera's 2.5" LCD screen (with a good resolution of 230.000 pixels) and user-friendly interface makes it a good buy. It even comes with its own 256 MB SD card and an EasyShare dock. Blacksheep may not be the best darndest camera around, but it makes me happy.

Blacksheep's successor, the Kodak V570, is the one with two lenses to cater to both portrait and panoramic shots. But seriously, who needs two lenses?

*thanks to www.dcviews.com for the tech details on Blacksheep*

after eight years of gracing the boobtube, Charmed finally closed on local cable television last night.

although I am quite disappointed at how the series ended, i'm glad it did. you can only have too much of a good thing. i've been a fan ever since Shannen Doherty was on--and apparently that didn't work. Characters weren't as well developed as they would seem at first glance. All they want to do is be good witches, good partners to their husbands/boyfriends, and save the world. I love how Piper's character grew over the years from being the neutral and dowdy middle child to being the sometimes-irrational but extremely motivated eldest sister.

oh how empty my Tuesday nights will be from now on.
and the fact that 7th Heaven will be returning while shows like Charmed are saying bye-bye just kick me hard in the arse...