The Muppets

Released Year: 2011
Directed by James Bobin

Casted by:
Jason Segel as Gary
Amy Adams as Mary
Chris Cooper as Tex Richman
Rashida Jones as Veronica

Voiced by:
Peter Linz as Walter
Steve Whitmire as Kermit the Frog, Link Hogthrob,
The Muppet Newsman, Rizzo the Rat, Beaker and Statler
Eric Jacobson as Miss Piggy, Animal,
Fozzie Bear, Sam the Eagle and Marvin Suggs
Dave Goelz as Gonzo, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew,
Zoot, Beauregard, Kermoot the Frog and Waldorf
Story:

Walter, portrayed primarily by a muppet, lives with his brother Gary, a human, in Smalltown. The two became Muppet fans when they watched The Muppet Show in their youths. As adults, Walter and Gary continue to live together in Smalltown. Gary plans a vacation to Los Angeles with his girlfriend Mary to celebrate their tenth anniversary, and he invites Walter along so he can tour the Muppet Theater. Gary is pleased to spend time with both Mary and Walter, though Mary feels that Gary's devotion to Walter detracts from their relationship.

In Los Angeles, the three visit the Muppet Theater to find it derelict. During the tour, Walter sneaks into Kermit the Frog's office and discovers Statler and Waldorf selling the theater to Tex Richman, an oil magnate, and his cohorts Bobo the Bear and Uncle Deadly. Waldorf explains that if The Muppets can raise $10 million they can repurchase the theater. Once Statler and Waldorf leave, Walter learns of Richman's true intentions: to destroy the Muppet Theater and drill for oil underneath.

Walter recounts the conversation to Gary and Mary and appeals to Kermit at his mansion. Kermit is distressed to learn the news, and realizes he must organize a show to raise the money, which the Muppets have not done in years. Walter convinces him to try, and they set off to reunite the group. Fozzie Bear is performing with the Moopets, a group of uncouth Muppet impersonators, in Reno, Nevada, and Kermit persuades him to leave Reno. Meanwhile, Gonzo has become a plumbing magnate. Despite his initial objection, Gonzo decides to perform, destroying his business and joining them. Animal is in a celebrity anger-management clinic; he rejoins them, but his sponsor, Jack Black, warns him to avoid drums. In a montage, the other primary Muppets are located and rejoin. In Paris, the group finds Miss Piggy working as Vogue Paris's editor for "plus-sized" fashion. Unable to convince Miss Piggy to return, the group replaces her with her Moopet counterpart Miss Poogy.

The Muppets pitch their telethon idea to several TV networks, but are turned down. Due to a popular show's sudden cancellation, Veronica eventually gives the Muppets a two-hour opening in her network's schedule on the condition that they find a celebrity guest. The Muppets repair the theater, but their rehearsal fails and Kermit cannot find a celebrity guest. Miss Piggy returns and forces Miss Poogy out. Kermit persuades Walter to perform and find his talent, while Mary goes sight-seeing alone.

Realizing there is not yet a guest host, Kermit entreats Richman to return their studio, but he refuses and reveals he will give their rights to the Moopets. Miss Piggy organizes the Muppets to kidnap Jack Black as a celebrity guest. Mary returns to Smalltown after Gary forgets their anniversary dinner. Gary and Walter each want each other's help with their problems and they have a falling out. Gary realizes he must improve his relationship with Mary, while Walter realizes he was meant to be a Muppet. Gary reconciles with Mary, while the telethon succeeds with celebrity support and Black as host. Richman cuts the power to the theater, but Gary and Mary rush back and repair the wiring. Uncle Deadly turns on Richman and stops him from destroying the transmitter antenna.

With the telethon running short, Walter finds his talent, performing a whistling act to the audience's acclaim. When calls are stopped by Richman, a glitch is discovered when it is revealed the Muppets only got $99,999.99. Kermit states that they tried and will start over, together as a family. The Muppets, Walter, Gary, and Mary walk out of the theater and discover a vast gathering of fans. With Gary's encouragement, Walter greets the crowd with the Muppets. Gary proposes to Mary, and Richman gives the Muppet Theatre back to the Muppets after suffering a head injury from Gonzo's bowling ball.

L² Scored: 8.5/10

L² Comment:

The original series started in 1955, on & off there are various other series & movies about the muppets on air. This is a very good movie, i love it so much, especially Miss Piggy, she's so diva~ The muppets totally steal the spot light of Seagel & Adams. But having Whoopi & Emily Blunt in the movie as cameo is a total surprise :)

King Kong 2005

Released Year: 2005
Directed by Peter Jackson

Casted by:
Naomi Watts as Ann Darrow
Jack Black as Carl Denham
Adrien Brody as Jack Driscoll
Colin Hanks as Preston
Thomas Kretschmann as Captain Englehorn
Story:

In 1933, New York City vaudeville actress, Ann Darrow is hired by troubled filmmaker Carl Denham to star in his new movie with popular actor Bruce Baxter. Ann agrees when she learns her favorite playwright Jack Driscoll is the screenwriter. As the SS Venture sails to mysterious Skull Island, Ann and Driscoll fall in love. A warrant is out for Denham's arrest and Captain Englehorn begins having second thoughts about the trip. Despite his attempt to turn around, the ship is lost in fog and crashes into rocks encircling the island.

Denham and the crew explore the island and are attacked by its natives, who later kidnap Ann to sacrifice her to their god "Kong". Kong, a giant ape, takes Ann to his lair in the island's interior. As the filmmakers and the ship's crew search the island for Ann, they battle numerous dinosaurs, giant invertebrates, and other deadly and exotic dangers. Although the rescuers suffer many casualties, Denham wants to both rescue Ann and capture Kong as a way to save his job.

In Kong's lair, Ann is frightened of the ape at first but realizes that he is gentle and curious about her. She entertains Kong with juggling and dancing from the theater; they watch the sunset together; and she attempts to communicate with him using sign language. Driscoll interrupts Ann's befriending of the ape, and the ship's crew traps Kong as he chases them. Although Ann opposes Denham's plan, the ape is subdued with chloroform for the trip to New York, and Denham promises the crew that Kong will make them all rich.

Denham presents Kong — the Eighth Wonder of the World on Broadway, starring Baxter and an imprisoned Kong. Ann refuses to participate in the show, which sensationally recreates Kong's capture. Kong becomes enraged when he sees that the lead actress is not Ann, then breaks his chains after camera flashes anger him further. As the audience flees, Kong destroys the theater and wreaks havoc in Times Square before Driscoll lures Kong away. The ape and Ann reunite momentarily in Central Park, but they are interrupted by the military.

Kong climbs the Empire State Building with Ann in his grasp. Observing the dawn, Kong repeats the sign for "beautiful" that she used in his lair, causing Ann to realize his intelligence. Before she can attempt further communication, they are attacked. Kong battles the Army's Curtiss Helldivers on the summit of the observation spire. He is hit by several bursts of gunfire, and gazes at a distraught Ann before falling to his death. As Driscoll comforts Ann, hundreds of people run to Kong's body. A man tells Denham that the airplanes killed him, but he replies, "It wasn't the airplanes. It was Beauty killed the Beast."

L² Scored: 9/10

L² Comment:

I never failed to watch this kind of epic film in the cinema. It was nice and exciting to watch it in the cinema with all those good sound systems and environment. Rewatching this film is a bit dragging for me actually, a film with 187 minutes, lol~ 3 hours~ gosh !!!

A remake of the same movie film 1933 (please dont confuse it with the 1976 version), Peter Jackson has managed to drag this film to another 1 more hour which is a bit boring at the beginning of the film.

The best part for me will be the time when King Kong fought with 2 dinos to save Naomi from getting eat up~ The giant insects are not bad too, and of coz yummy Adrien Brody is the main reason i rewatch this film~ :)

Kungfu Panda 2: The Kaboom of Doom

Released Year: 2011
Directed by Jennifer Yuh Nelson

Casted by:
Jack Black as Po
Angelina Jolie as Master Tigress
Gary Oldman as Lord Shen
杨紫琼 Michelle Yeoh as Soothsayer
Dustin Hoffman as Master Shifu
成龙 Jackie Chan as Master Monkey
Seth Rogen as Master Mantis
Lucy Liu as Master Viper
David Cross as Master Crane
James Hong as Mr. Ping
Story:

Long ago, Lord Shen, heir of the peacock clan that ruled Gongmen City in China, sought to harness the power of fireworks as a weapon with which to rule the entire country. When he learned from the court's goat soothsayer that "a warrior of black and white" would one day defeat him, Shen assumed she was referring to the giant pandas and had them exterminated to avert the prophecy. Shen's parents were horrified at this atrocity and exiled Shen, who swore revenge.

Thirty years later, Po is living his dream as the Dragon Warrior, protecting the Valley of Peace alongside his friends and fellow kung fu masters, the Furious Five, but is told by Master Shifu that he has yet to achieve inner peace. While fighting off a pack of wolf bandits who have been stealing refined metal for Lord Shen, Po is distracted by a symbol on the head wolf's armor, which causes Po to have a flashback of his mother and allows the wolves to escape. Po asks his goose father, Mr. Ping, where he came from, but all Ping can tell him is that he found Po as an infant in a vegetable crate and adopted him.

Afterward, Shifu receives word that Master Thundering Rhino, leader of the kung fu council protecting Gongmen City, has been killed by Lord Shen with his newly developed weapon, a cannon, which threatens to destroy kung fu tradition. Po and the Five go to stop him, reaching Gongmen City to find it under the control of Shen's forces. The heroes find two imprisoned council members, Masters Storming Ox and Croc , and ask their help to liberate the city, but both masters cite their helplessness against Shen's weapon and refuse to escape. Po and the Five are then discovered by the wolf leader, who they chase to prevent him from alerting Shen, only to be captured.

Upon being brought before Shen in his tower, Po and the Five free themselves and destroy Shen's cannon. However, Crane burns his wing and Po is again distracted by a flashback upon seeing the same symbol as before on Shen's plumage, allowing Shen to escape and destroy the tower with an arsenal of cannons. After escaping, Tigress confronts Po over his distraction. Po explains that he remembers Shen's presence on the night he was separated from his parents, and wants to question Shen about his past. Though empathetic, Tigress orders him to stay behind for his own safety. Po regardless breaks into Shen's cannon factory to confront Shen, inadvertently foiling the Five's attempts to destroy the factory. Shen claims that Po's parents abandoned him before he blasts Po out of the factory and captures the Five.

Po is rescued by Shen's soothsayer, who has been exiled by Shen to the ruined village where Po was born. Guided by the soothsayer to embrace his past, Po remembers that his parents had endangered themselves to save him from Shen's forces, his mother hiding him in a crate before she was subdued. Attaining inner peace, Po returns to Gongmen City to save the captive Five from being executed by Shen at the city harbor. During the ensuing battle (in which Shifu participates after having persuaded Ox and Croc to do the same), Po uses his inner peace to gauge Shen's cannon fire and redirect it against Shen's armada. He then urges Shen to let go of his own past, but Shen refuses and attacks Po until Shen inadvertently slashes the ropes holding up his last cannon, which falls and crushes him to death. Victorious, Po returns to the Valley of Peace and reunites with Mr. Ping, declaring him to be his father. At the same time, Po's biological father is shown to be alive in a hidden village inhabited by surviving pandas, sensing that his son is also alive.

L² Scored: 7/10

L² Comment:

Love the 1st movie, the 2nd one... hmm~ ok la... not as good as the first one. Watch this movie with Bubu and enjoy laughing together. The whole movie is more pack than the first one and it reveals the background of the panda and how he was adopted by the geese.

A great movie which you should watch in the big screen :)

Kungfu Panda

Released Year: 2008
Directed by John Wayne Stevenson
& Mark Osborne

Vocal by:
Jack Black as Po
Dustin Hoffman as Master Shifu
Angelina Jolie as Tigress
Ian McShane as Tai Lung
Jackie Chan as Monkey
Lucy Liu as Viper
Seth Rogen as Mantis
David Cross as Crane
Randall Duk Kim as Master Oogway
Story:

The story is set in the Valley of Peace, a fictional land in ancient China inhabited by anthropomorphic animals. Po, a young, clumsy, overweight panda, is a kung fu fanatic who idolizes the Furious Five – Tigress, Monkey, Mantis, Viper, and Crane – a quintet of kung fu masters trained by Master Shifu to protect the valley. Because he works in his goose father Ping's noodle restaurant, Po is unable to achieve his dream of becoming a kung fu master himself.

One day, Shifu's mentor, the elderly tortoise Master Oogway, has a vision that Shifu's former student and foster son, the evil snow leopard Tai Lung, will escape from prison and return to the Valley of Peace to take revenge for being denied the Dragon Scroll, which is said to hold the secret to limitless power. Shifu holds a kung fu tournament for the Furious Five so that Oogway may identify the legendary Dragon Warrior, the one kung fu master worthy of receiving the Dragon Scroll and capable of defeating Tai Lung. Forced to take a noodle cart to the tournament, Po arrives after the doors to the tournament arena close and is unable to enter. Desperate to see the Dragon Warrior be chosen, Po straps himself to a set of fireworks and rockets into the sky. Po crashes into the middle of the arena at the moment when Oogway is to point out the Dragon Warrior, and to the surprise of everyone present, Oogway chooses Po, seemingly by accident.

Unwilling to believe that a big fat panda could be the Dragon Warrior, Shifu attempts to get rid of Po by berating and ridiculing him into quitting his training with the Furious Five, who similarly despise and mock Po for his lack of skill in kung fu. After receiving helpful advice from Oogway, however, Po endures his grueling training and slowly begins to endear himself to the Five with his tenacity, culinary skill, and good humor. Meanwhile, Zeng is sent to Chorh-Gom Prison to have Commander Vachir double the amount of guards to prevent Tai Lung's escape. When one of Zeng's feathers falls into his cell, Tai Lung uses it to escape from prison (as foreseen by Oogway). After taking down Commander Vachir and the guards, Tai Lung spares Zeng so that he can carry a message to Shifu. Oogway makes Shifu promise to train Po before disappearing. Still unable to grasp the basics of kung fu and confessing a crippling self-loathing, Po despairs that he has no chance of defeating Tai Lung. Shifu, however, discovers that Po is capable of impressive physical feats when motivated by food. Using food as positive reinforcement, Shifu successfully trains Po to incorporate these feats into a makeshift yet effective kung fu style.

Meanwhile, the Furious Five set out to stop Tai Lung themselves only to be overwhelmed and defeated. Shifu decides Po is ready to receive the Dragon Scroll, but the scroll reveals nothing but a blank, reflective surface. In despair, Shifu orders Po and the Five to evacuate the valley while he delays Tai Lung as long as possible in a fight to the death. The dejected Po finds his father who, in an attempt to console him, reveals that the long-withheld secret ingredient to his famous "secret ingredient soup" is nothing, explaining that things become special if people believe them to be. Realizing that this concept is the point of the Dragon Scroll, Po returns to the Jade Palace to confront Tai Lung, who has reached the Palace and nearly killed Shifu. Po proves to be a formidable challenge for Tai Lung as he tries to protect the Dragon Scroll. Though the Dragon Scroll eventually falls into Tai Lung's grasp, he is unable to understand or accept its symbolic meaning, and Po ultimately defeats him using the secret Wuxi Finger Hold. Po is praised by the Valley of Peace and earns the respect of the Furious Five, who fully acknowledge him as a true kung fu master. Shifu, exhausted but alive after his fight with Tai Lung, is finally at peace with himself now that peace has returned to the valley.

At the end of the credits, Po and Shifu are eating together under the Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom, just as a new sprout is seen growing from the seed Shifu planted earlier before Oogway's disappearance.

L² Scored: 9/10

L² Comment:

Bravo bravo to Dreamwork production for trying very hard to get into the China animation market which i believe is a success :) This animation use China's precious animal - Panda as the main character is a wise choice, especially with Jack Black as the vocal. Beside this, they also used up a lot of Asian artist to features on the sounds characters such as Jackie Chan, Lucy Liu, Randall Duk Kim & James Hong.

A very meaningful cartoon and i hope the part 2 will be as good as the part 1~

Gulliver's Travels

Released Year: 2010
Directed by Rob Letterman

Casted by:
Jack Black as Lemuel Gulliver
Emily Blunt as Princess Mary
Jason Segel as Horatio
Amanda Peet as Darcy Silver
Chris O'Dowd as Edward
Story:

Lemuel Gulliver is presented as the boss of a newcomer named Dan, but Dan gets promoted and is now Gulliver's new boss. Deeply depressed at his dead-end job in the mail room, Gulliver decides to talk to journalist Darcy Silverman. He convinces her he could write a report about his (false) extensive world "travels" saying his dream is to become a writer. After suffering writer's block, he plagiarises a report from other publications on the Internet. The next day, Darcy, impressed by his writing, presents Gulliver with a new task – to travel to the Bermuda Triangle and write an article confirming that the legend of ships mysteriously disappearing in the area being caused by extraterrestrials is not true.

Upon arrival in Bermuda, Gulliver rents a boat and travels into the triangle. He's caught in a freak storm and the boat is overwhelmed by a waterspout. He washes up unconscious, on the shore of Lilliput, where he is immediately confirmed as a "beast" by the town's microscopic population. He is captured and imprisoned in a cave, citizens claiming him to be dangerous, because of his huge size. Here, he meets another prisoner named Horatio who was jailed by General Edward because he fancies Princess Mary of Lilliput, whereas Edward wants her for himself. After the island across from Lilliput enacts an invasion, Gulliver manages to break free of the plough-machine he is forced to work and then rescues the princess from being kidnapped and her father, King Benjamin from a fire.

Gulliver is declared a hero by Lilliput's citizens, and Gulliver makes up a deal of lies saying he is the President of the United States and a living legend in his homeland. Edward, however, becomes enraged due to the luxurious accommodations he receives, even being presented as an honorary general of Lilliput. When the townspeople find Gulliver's boat and his things, Gulliver gets angry voice mail messages from Darcy, angrily saying she has to take his place and travel to Bermuda now, and also found out about his plagiarism and she no longer wishes to be friends with him. The next day, chaos ensues as the population across from Lilliput enact an attack on the city when Edward shuts down the defenses surrounding Lilliput, as an act of revenge for Gulliver treatment. Gulliver defeats the neighboring population again, invulnerable to the cannonballs being fired at him (although he receives numerous welts on his stomach).

Edward abandons the Lilliputian army, joining the enemy forces instead. Using a powerful and gigantic robot from one of Gulliver's sci-fi magazines that they secretly built, Edward makes Gulliver surrender after he is beaten and embarrassed by Edward's robot, he is banished to the island across from Lilliput, admittedly saying to his onlookers that he is "just the guy from the mail-room" and nothing more. Meanwhile, on the shores of Brobdingnag ("the island where we dare not go"), he is captured by Glumdaclitch and forced to become her doll. Darcy is then imprisoned by the Lilliputians when she is lost in the Bermuda Triangle in the same manner as Gulliver. Horatio reveals to Gulliver that she is imprisoned. Gulliver narrowly escapes with him, using a parachute from Glumdaclitch's dollhouse that he took from a dead air force aviator.

Once again accepting a duel from Edward, Gulliver ultimately defeats him with the assistance of Horatio, who disables the machine's electrocuting weapon. Horatio is hailed a hero and gets King Benjamin's permission to court the princess. Edward, reaching the point of insanity, threatens to kill the princess, but the princess, finally having enough of Edward, beats him up in frustration. Gulliver then helps to make peace between the rival island nations by reciting Edwin Starr's "War" and he, along with Darcy, return to New York on their repaired boat. It's revealed they later became a couple and successful fiction writers in New York, writing about their experiences on Lilliput.

L² Scored: 6/10

L² Comment:

Black never fail to make me laugh all the time. But this movie is a bit different than the original novel of Jonathan Swift in 18th Century; still the movie can sure make a good laugh out of u :)

Love Emily Blunt, she looks so much better with long hair. Sexy and elegant~