We Bought a Zoo

Released Year: 2011
Directed by Cameron Crowe

Casted by:
Matt Damon as Benjamin Mee
Scarlett Johansson as Kelly Foster
Colin Ford as Dylan Mee
Maggie Elizabeth Jones as Rosie Mee
Elle Fanning as Lily
Thomas Haden Church as Duncan Mee
Desi Lydic as Shea
Patrick Fugit as Robin Jones
Story:

Benjamin loss his job and bring along his son Dylan & daughter Rosie move to a new house, which is also a zoo that they have bought. At the zoo, they met Kelly and others who take care of the zoo. In the same time, Dylan meet the beautiful Lily who is the niece of Kelly.

Benjamin is having problem dealing with Dylan who hates staying in the zoo and having no friends at here except Lily. Benjamin also have financial trouble to maintain the zoo's expenses while having argument with Kelly who care a lot about the zoo. Having a conversation with Kelly outside the house about Dylan, Dylan overheard and have a big fight with Benjamin. But a sick tiger "Spot" has bring them together. With the huge money left over by Benjamin's dead wife. After getting the license of the zoo done, they open their zoo on 7th July and make a lot of promotion about it.

But raining season came and all of them were worry nobody will come to visit the zoo. On 7th July, a sunny morning greet them. The Mee was happy but nobody came for the opening. Dylan doubt about the absent and ran along the path while the other follow. They saw some big tree fell along the road which block the visitors. They help out the visitors to cross and finally the zoo is full of people.

L² Scored: 7.5/10

L² Comment:

This is a very nice film to watch in cinema based on a true story. Though the storyline is a bit different from the true story but it is still nice. What a brave family to buy a zoo :) But Matt Damon look so old in this movie :( Where's the sunny good looking guy been? And Scarlett Johansson, omg~ she look so ugly in this movie!!!

Mission: Impossible 4 Ghost Protocol

Released Year: 2011
Directed by Brad Bird

Casted by:
Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt
Jeremy Renner as William Brandt
Paula Patton as Jane Carter
Simon Pegg as Benji Dunn
Story:

On assignment in Budapest to intercept a courier working for a person of interest code-named "Cobalt", IMF agent Trevor Hanaway is killed by an assassin named Sabine Moreau. Hanaway's team leader, Jane Carter, and newly promoted field agent Benji Dunn extract Ethan Hunt and Hunt's source Bogdan from a Moscow prison. Hunt is recruited to lead Carter and Dunn to infiltrate the secret Moscow Kremlin archives and locate files identifying Cobalt. Partway through the mission, someone broadcasts across the IMF frequency, alerting the Russians to Hunt's team. Although Hunt, Dunn, and Carter escape, a bomb destroys the Kremlin, and Russian agent Sidirov accuses Hunt of masterminding the attack.

The IMF extracts Hunt from Moscow. The Russians have called the attack an undeclared act of war, and the US president activates "Ghost Protocol", a black operation contingency that disavows the entire IMF. Hunt and team are to take the blame for the attack, but they will be allowed to escape from government custody so that they may operate to track down Cobalt. Before Hunt can escape, the IMF's secretary is killed by Russian security forces led by Sidirov, leaving Hunt and intelligence analyst William Brandt to find their own way out. The team identifies Cobalt as Kurt Hendricks, a Swedish-born Russian nuclear strategist who believes the weak must die for the strong to survive, so he plans to start a nuclear war to initiate the next stage of human evolution. Hendricks bombed the Kremlin and acquired a Russian nuclear launch-control device, and now needs its codes from the Budapest courier in order to launch a nuclear missile at America.

The exchange between Moreau and Hendricks's right-hand man, Wistrom, is due to take place at the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. There, Hunt's team-members separately convince Moreau and Wistrom that they have made the exchange with one another. However, Moreau identifies Brandt as an agent. While Hunt chases Wistrom—only to realize that Wistrom is actually Hendricks in disguise, escaping with the codes—Carter detains Moreau. Moreau attempts to kill the inexperienced Dunn, and Carter throws her out a window to her death. Brandt accuses Carter of compromising the mission for revenge against Moreau, but Hunt accuses Brandt of keeping secrets from them, as he has displayed fighting skills atypical of an analyst. While Hunt seeks more information from Bogdan, Brandt admits he was assigned as security detail to Hunt and his wife Julia while on assignment. Julia was killed by a Serbian hit squad, prompting Ethan to pursue and kill them before he was caught by the Russians and sent to prison.

Bogdan and his arms-dealer cousin inform Hunt that Hendricks will be in Mumbai. Hendricks facilitated the sale of a defunct Soviet military satellite to Indian telecommunications entrepreneur Brij Nath, which could be used to transmit the order to fire a missile. While Brandt and Dunn infiltrate the server room to take the satellite offline, Carter gets Nath to reveal the satellite override code. But Hendricks has anticipated Hunt's plan and takes Nath's servers offline before sending a signal from a television broadcasting tower to a Russian nuclear submarine in the Pacific. The submarine fires on San Francisco. Hunt pursues Hendricks and the launch device while the other team-members attempt to bring the broadcast station back online. Hunt and Hendricks fight over the launch-control device before Hendricks jumps to his death with it to ensure the launch. Dunn kills Wistrom, allowing Brandt to restore power to the station and enabling Hunt to deactivate the missile. He is confronted by Sidorov, who sees Hunt has stopped the missile, proving the IMF is innocent in the Kremlin bombing.

The team reconvenes weeks later. Hunt issues them new assignments. Brandt refuses to accept the mission, but Hunt reveals that Julia's death was staged, as he knew he could not protect her and used her death as a pretext to infiltrate a Russian prison and get close to Bogdan, an IMF source on Hendricks. Relieved of his guilt, Brandt accepts his mission while Hunt watches Julia from afar. They share a smile before he goes off on his next mission.

L² Scored: 9.5/10

L² Comment:

Oh gosh, love this blockbuster a lot!!! Though Tommy boy is old but he still look stunning. of course Jeremy Renner is a super hottie too~ The storyline is cool and nice, love the scene where Cruise climb out of the tallest tower in Dubai. So gancheong, i almost shout when i watch that scene...

Paula Patton is new for me, she's a bit old but she's quite hot. Love her fighting scene and how she kick off the model-actress out of the window + the way she cruise with the indian guy in mumbai :)

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 :)

Husk

Released Year: 2011
Directed by Brett Simmons

Casted by:
Devon Graye as Scott
Wes Chatham as Brian
C.J. Thomason as Chris
Tammin Sursok as Natalie
Ben Easter as Johnny
Josh Skipworth as Corey Comstock
Nick Toussaint as Alex Comstock
Story:

The film follows five friends (Natalie, Scott, Brian, Johnny & Chris) on a weekend holiday who become stranded in a secluded farmland after wild crows attack their SUV. The friends soon realize that the cornfields are inhabited by reanimated, vicious human scarecrows who produce their offspring by killing anyone they get a hold of and force their undead victims to join their ranks.

The scarecrow attacked related to the Comstock Brothers. Alex was envy of his own brother Corey who is the apple of the father's heart. Alex then capture Corey, slashed him to death and put him in the cornfield as a scarecrow. Come back with grudge, Johnny was first to attacked after the teenager's car crash nearby. Natalie then was attacked follow by Brian when he wanted to save Natalie. Each time, the teenager will sit in front of the sewing machine and sew their mask after being attacked.

Scott & Chris decided to vanish the scarecrow by burning off the whole cornfield. But both of them were attacked, Chris sacrifice himself to allow Scott to run away. But due to his injury, Scott did not run far and collapsed. Scarecrow get on and kill those who came to save Scott.

L² Scored: 6/10

L² Comment:

This is not bad overall, but the storyline seems a bit "expectable". As usual, this kind of movie is not in our country's big screen so i have to get the DVD just to watch it. The only thing i dont understand is, why they have to make their own mask everytime when they go out to kill? lol~ i'm just being grumpy... old man :(

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan 雪花秘扇

Released Year: 2011
Directed by 王穎 Wayne Wang

Casted by:
李冰冰 Li Bingbing as 妮娜/百合 Nina/Lily
全智贤 Gianna Jun as 苏菲亚/雪花 Sophia/Snow Flower
邬君梅 Vivian Wu as Aunt
Hugh Jackman as Arthur
Archie Kao as Sebastian
姜武 Wu Jiang as Butcher
Russell Wong as Bank CEO
Story:

In the 19th century in China, two girls named Snow Flower and Lily are bonded together for eternity. They are paired as laotong by a matchmaker who is also responsible for arranging their marriages. They are isolated by their families and communicate by writing in a secret language, Nu shu.

Snow Flower was from the rich family while Lily is from the poor, due to their laotong bonding, Lily manage to marry into a rich family while his husband precious her small foot a lot (at oldern time, woman are known to be precious if they have small foot). But poor Snow Flower marry to a butcher when her family gone poor in a year later. Lily's mother in law restrict Lily to communicate with Snow Flower until the mother in law passed away. Lily visit Snow Flower in her village but they met a strike, they hide at a far off place but Snow Flower's son was froze to dead, the butcher get angry and slap Snow Flower. Lily ask Snow Flower to leave the butcher but was rejected. Snow Flower feel that she has been a burden to her sister.

Cousin of Lily & Snow Flower get marry, both of them went back to Hunan. Snow Flower brought a lot of friends with her and cause Lily thought their sister bonding broke. Few years later, Snow Flower's daughter came and beg Lily to visit Snow Flower as she was seriously ill and miss Lily. Lily went and hug Snow Flower while she passed away.

Meanwhile, in the present day Shanghai, their descendants Sophia and Nina struggle with the intimacy of their own childhood friendship. As teenagers, Sophia and Nina were introduced to the idea of laotong, and they signed a traditional laotong contract. Then, they must understand the story of the ancestral connection, hidden from them in the folds of the antique white silk fan, or lose one another.

In 1997, Nina was Sophia Chinese Tutor and they love Faye Wong's music a lot. But Sophia's stepmother restrict them to be friend. Though Nina and Sophia can't meet each other at Sophia's house but they love to hang out together with Nina's aunt. They even use the traditional laotong way to bond their sisterhood. But Sophia's father investment make the family broke and he passed away. Sophia's stepmother said that she will send Sophia back to Korea if she failed her final exam. Nina took the exam while Sophia flee from the exam hall. Out of idea, Nina wrote Sophia's name on the paper but was found out. Nina was restricted to took exam for 3 years. But three years of hardwork, Nina finally got a good result and get a good work in a bank, and even get the handsome Sebastian as her boyfriend.

Nina and Sebastian was offer to work in New York; Sophia met an Aussie guy name Arthur. But Sophia is actually using Arthur to comfort Nina so that she can move to New York with Sebastian. But an accident of Sophia has cause her in coma, Nina left Sebastian and stay back in Shanghai. Nina found out Sophia has been living poorly by herself and plan to write a novel of the laotong story, and Arthur has been a trick in this. Nina lie beside Sophia in the hospital and Sophia finally wake up from her coma.

L² Scored: 10/10

L² Comment:

OMG~ this is so fine. I was shock when i finished this international screen yesterday night. It really took my breath away, so i score it a 10/10 :)

Storyline was great, though a mix of the 2 generations, but the laotong(sisterhood) of these 2 woman is shown well and kinda touching. I really feel Li Bing Bing's acting has gone into the next level and she look so pretty as well. Vivian Wu and Hugh Jackman has actually brighten up this whole film, i really miss Vivian's film :( And the way Jackman sang the chinese song is so funny~

Iron Man 2

Released Year: 2010
Directed by Jon Favreau

Casted by:
Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark / Iron Man
Gwyneth Paltrow as Virginia "Pepper" Potts
Don Cheadle as Lt. Colonel James "Rhodey" Rhodes
Scarlett Johansson as Natalie Rushman / Natasha Romanoff
Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer
Mickey Rourke as Ivan Vanko
Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury
Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan
Story:

Russian television shows Stark Industries CEO Tony Stark revealing his identity as Iron Man to the world. Ivan Vanko, whose father, Anton Vanko, has just died, sees this and begins building a similar weapon.

Six months later, Stark has used his Iron Man armor to help maintain world peace. He re-institutes the Stark Expo in Flushing Meadows to continue his father Howard's legacy. Senator Stern demands that Stark turn over the Iron Man technology to the government. Stark refuses, claiming that foreign nations and business competitors are decades away from successfully recreating his achievements, and that the armor is in fact his own property.

The palladium core in the arc reactor that keeps Stark alive and powers the armor is slowly poisoning him, and he has failed to find a substitute. Growing increasingly despondent and reckless due to his impending death, and choosing not to tell anyone about his condition, Stark appoints his personal assistant Pepper Potts CEO of Stark Industries, and replaces her with Stark employee Natalie Rushman.

Vanko attacks Stark while racing at the Circuit de Monaco, using an arc reactor of his own powering whip-like energy weapons. Stark defeats Vanko with the aid of his portable briefcase armor. He learns that Vanko is the son of his father's old partner, Anton Vanko. Anton collaborated with Howard on the first arc reactor, but was deported to his native Soviet Union following his attempts to profit from the technology and died in poverty, explaining Vanko's desire for revenge on the Stark family. Rival defense contractor Justin Hammer fakes Vanko's death and recruits him to perfect a line of armored combat suits to upstage Stark. At what he believes is his last birthday party Stark gets drunk while using the Iron Man armor, forcing his friend, Air Force Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes, to intervene. Rhodes dons Stark's Mark II armor and after battling him, delivers the armor to the military. Nick Fury, director of S.H.I.E.L.D., approaches Stark, revealing Rushman as undercover agent Natasha Romanoff and that Howard Stark was a S.H.I.E.L.D. founder that Fury knew personally. Fury gives him some of his father's old material; a hidden message in the diorama of the 1974 Stark Expo proves to be a diagram of the structure of a new element. With the aid of his computer J.A.R.V.I.S., Stark synthesizes it. Vanko reveals to Stark that he is still alive and seeking revenge so Stark uses the untested element, removing his dependency on the palladium.

At the Expo, Hammer unveils Vanko's armored drones, led by Rhodes in a heavily weaponized version of the Mark II armor. Stark arrives in his new armor to warn Rhodes, but Vanko seizes control of both the drones and Rhodes' armor and attacks Iron Man. Hammer is arrested while Stark's bodyguard Happy Hogan and Romanoff attempt to capture Vanko. He escapes, but Romanoff returns control of the Mark II armor to Rhodes.

After defeating his drones Stark and Rhodes confront Vanko himself, now in a new, very powerful suit of armor. Neither can match Vanko, but Vanko is ultimately defeated when they fire repulsor rays at each other, causing a large explosion. With his suit too damaged to continue the fight Vanko ignites his suit and his drones' self-destruct mechanisms, apparently killing himself in the process. Stark saves Potts from the exploding drones' remains. Potts quits as CEO, but she and Stark kiss.

At a debriefing, while news footage of the Hulk's rampage plays, Fury informs Stark that while Iron Man is a suitable candidate for the "Avengers Initiative", he himself is not. Stark agrees to be a consultant if Senator Stern presents himself and Rhodes with medals for bravery. In a post-credits scene, S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Coulson reports the discovery of a large hammer at the bottom of a crater in a New Mexico desert.

L² Scored: 7/10

L² Comment:

I'm not really an Iron Man's fans, did not watch the first movie. However, since my friend lend me the DVD, i might as well watch it coz Paltrow is inside it :) The whole movie is not bad, the way Downey acted in those arrogant way is quite good.

Heard that Johansson is getting her own movie from this character, Black Widow. Hopefully its good~ Let's pray for her ;)

Cinderella

Released Year: 1950
Directed by Clyde Geronimi,
Hamilton Luske & Wilfred Jackson

Voiced by:
Ilene Woods as Cinderella
Eleanor Audley as Lady Tremaine
Jimmy MacDonald as Jaq, Gus, and Bruno
Luis Van Rooten as Grand Duke and the King
Lucille Bliss as Anastasia Tremaine
Rhoda Williams as Drizella Tremaine
Verna Felton as Fairy Godmother
William Phipps (Mike Douglas, singing) as Prince Charming
Betty Lou Gerson as Narrator
Story:

Cinderella is the much-loved only child of a widowed aristocrat. After deciding that his beloved daughter needs a mother's care, Cinderella's father marries a proud and haughty woman named Lady Tremaine. She too has been married before, and has two daughters from her first marriage, Anastasia and Drizella. Plain and socially awkward, these stepsisters are bitterly envious of the beautiful and charming Cinderella.

The family lives in happiness for several years, until the death of Cinderella's father. After that, Lady Tremaine's true nature is revealed, and she and her spiteful daughters take over the estate, and begin to abuse and mistreat Cinderella, envious of her beauty. She is forced into becoming a scullery maid and made to wait upon her jealous stepsisters and even their sadistic cat, Lucifer. As Cinderella blossoms into a beautiful young woman who is kind despite her hardships, she befriends the animals living in the barn and many of the mice and birds who live in and around the chateau.

At the royal palace, the King is distressed that his son does not intend to marry. The King is determined to see grandchildren, so he and the Duke organize a ball for Prince Charming in an effort to enable his son to fall in love and marry, with every eligible maiden in the kingdom requested to attend.

When the invitation to the ball arrives, Cinderella asks her stepmother if she can attend. Her stepmother promises her that she may attend to the ball, as long as she finishes her work and can find a suitable gown in time. To consume her time, her stepmother sets Cinderella with a mountain of chores. Her mouse friends Jaq and Gus use Cinderella's stepsister's discarded sash and beads to fix an old gown that belonged to Cinderella's mother. When Cinderella wears her dress just before departing, Lady Tremaine sarcastically complements Cinderella's gown, subtly pointing out Drizella's beads and Anastasia's sash. The angered stepsisters catch on to their mother's implications and tear the gown to shreds before she stops them, leaving Cinderella to run to the back of the garden in tears while her stepfamily leaves for the royal ball without her.

Cinderella's Fairy Godmother appears to her in the garden. She bestows upon Cinderella a beautiful blue dress with glass slippers, and transforms a pumpkin and various animals into a carriage with horses, a coachman and a footman. Cinderella departs for the ball after the godmother warns her that the spell will break at the stroke of midnight, meaning that her dress and everything else will change back to the way they were.

At the ball, the Prince rejects every girl, until he sees Cinderella, with whom he is immediately captivated by. The two dance alone throughout the castle grounds until the clock starts to chime midnight. Cinderella flees to her coach and away from the castle, accidentally dropping one of her glass slippers. After the Duke tells the King of the disaster, they plan to find Cinderella with the slipper they recovered during her exit.

The next morning, a royal proclamation is issued, stating the Grand Duke will visit every house in the kingdom to find the girl who fits the glass slipper, so that she can be married to the Prince. When this news reaches Cinderella's household, her stepmother and stepsisters begin hurriedly preparing for the Grand Duke's arrival. Cinderella, overhearing, begins dreamily humming the song from the palace ball the previous night. Upon realizing that Cinderella is the girl who danced with the Prince, Lady Tremaine follows Cinderella up to her attic bedroom and locks her inside.

When the Grand Duke arrives, the mice steal the key to Cinderella's room from Lady Tremaine's pocket and laboriously drag the key up the stairs to her room. They are ambushed by Lucifer, but are then rescued by Bruno, Cinderella's bloodhound, who scares Lucifer out of the house. As the Duke prepares to leave after the stepsisters unsuccessfully try on the slipper, Cinderella appears and requests to try it on. Knowing that the slipper will fit and that Cinderella will marry the Prince, her stepmother trips the footman over while he is carrying the slipper, causing it to drop and shatter into hundreds of pieces. The Duke laments over the broken slipper, but Cinderella then reveals she has kept the other glass slipper, much to her stepmother's horror. Delighted at this indisputable proof of the maiden's identity, the Duke slides the slipper onto her foot, which fits perfectly.

At the wedding, Cinderella and the Prince descend the church's staircase, surrounded by confetti tossed by the King, the Grand Duke and the mice, now in uniform apparently as part of the Royal Guard. The film ends on a scene of the two newly-weds kissing.

L² Scored: 9.5/10

L² Comment:

This used to be my most favorite cartoon from Disney when i was small, because the rats can talk!!! Lol~ Rewatching the whole film, the storyline is ok, the rats still talk (yeah)... The whole movie is focus on cinderella only. The Americano girl who is vanity and always dream of getting a rich guy :P

I mean, come on, when they produce this cartoon, it was 1950. Not all the American is wealthy (even though now), which blondie doesn't wanna marry a rich guy and get fuck in the nice palace? If Cinderella can marry the king instead of the prince, i think she'll go for it :)

And fyi, the prince in this film doesn't have a lot of lines, so does the fairy godmother who look fat and silly~

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 臥虎藏龍

Released Year: 2000
Directed by 李安 Ang Lee

Casted by:
周潤發 Chow Yun Fatt as 李慕白 Bai
楊紫瓊 Michelle Yeoh as 俞秀蓮 Lien
章子怡 ZiYi Zhang as 玉嬌龍 Long
張震 Chang Zheng as 羅小虎 Hu
鄭佩佩 Pei Pei Cheng as 碧眼狐狸 Jade Fox
Story:

The film is set in the Qing Dynasty during the 43rd year (1779) of the reign of the Qianlong Emperor. Li Mu Bai is an accomplished Wudang swordsman. Long ago, his master was murdered by Jade Fox, a woman who sought to learn Wudang skills but was rejected due to her gender. Mu Bai is also a good friend of Yu Shu Lien, a female warrior. Mu Bai and Shu Lien have developed feelings for each other, but have never acknowledged or acted on them. Mu Bai, intending to give up his warrior life, asks Shu Lien to transport his sword, also referred to as the Green Destiny, to the city of Beijing, as a gift for their friend, Sir Te. At Sir Te's estate, Shu Lien meets Jen, the daughter of Governor Yu, a visiting Manchu aristocrat. Jen, destined for an arranged marriage and yearning for adventure, seems envious of Shu Lien's warrior lifestyle.

One evening, a masked thief sneaks into Sir Te's estate and steals the sword. Mu Bai and Shu Lien, with the assistance of Sir Te's servant Master Bo, trace the theft to Governor Yu's compound and learn that Jade Fox has been posing as Jen's governess for many years. Bo makes the acquaintance of Inspector Tsai, a police investigator from the provinces, and his daughter, May, who have come to Beijing in pursuit of Jade Fox. While the three are eating lunch, Jade Fox fires a dart with a written message attached to it, challenging them to a showdown that night. Following a protracted battle, the group is on the verge of defeat when Mu Bai arrives and outmaneuvers Jade Fox. Before Mu Bai can kill Jade Fox, the masked thief reappears and partners with Jade Fox to fight. Jade Fox resumes the fight and kills Tsai before fleeing with the thief (who is revealed to be Jade Fox's protegée, Jen). After seeing Jen fight Mu Bai, Jade Fox realizes Jen had been secretly studying the Wudang manual and has surpassed her in skill. After finding out that Tsai was a police officer, a guilt-ridden Jen returns the Green Destiny to Sir Te's estate but is intercepted by Mu Bai. Mu Bai easily defeats her and asks her to become his pupil. Jen angrily rebukes his offer and flees. When she returns home, Jen confronts Jade Fox and banishes her from the Governor's compound.

That night, a desert bandit named Lo breaks into Jen's bedroom and asks her to leave with him. A flashback reveals that in the past, when Governor Yu and his family were traveling in the western deserts, Lo and his bandits had raided Jen's caravan; Lo took an heirloom comb from Jen and she pursued him to get it back, but succumbed to exhaustion in the desert. Lo took her to his cave hideout, where after an escape attempt and Lo's kind hospitality, the two fall in love. Lo eventually convinced Jen to return to her family, though not before telling her a legend of a man who jumped off a cliff to make his wishes come true. Because the man's heart was pure, he did not die. Lo came to Beijing to persuade Jen not to go through with her arranged marriage. However, when Jen refuses to leave with him, he returns the stolen comb and leaves.

After the wedding, Jen runs away and steals the Green Destiny again. Mu Bai, Shu Lien, and Lo are ordered to find and retrieve Jen. Jen visits Shu Lien at one of her dojos, who tells her that Lo is waiting for her at Wudang Mountain. After an angry dispute, the two women engage in a duel. Wielding the Green Destiny, Jen gains the upper hand by destroying every weapon that Shu Lien uses. However, Shu Lien finally uses a broken two-handed straight sword, jian, to her advantage, surprising Jen by managing to press its broken but still sharp edge to her throat. However, rather than acknowledging her defeat and handing over the Green Destiny, Jen injures Shu Lien when she lowers her broken weapon. Mu Bai arrives and pursues Jen into a bamboo forest. A duel ensues where Mu Bai overcomes a challenge Jen sets before him (to determine whether she will be his pupil), regaining possession of the Green Destiny. But when Mu Bai succeeds and Jen continues to refuse, Mu Bai realizes that she is without honor, thus unworthy of becoming his pupil despite her skills and throws the sword over a waterfall. In pursuit, Jen dives into an adjoining river to retrieve the sword, and is then rescued by Fox. Fox puts Jen into a drugged sleep and places her in a cavern in which later Mu Bai, Shu Lien and Bo discover her. Fox suddenly reappears and attacks the others with poisoned darts. Mu Bai blocks the needles with his sword and avenges his master's death by mortally wounding Fox, only to realize that one of the darts managed to hit him in the neck. Fox dies, confessing that her goal had been to kill Jen, because she was furious that Jen hid the secrets of Wudang from her.

As Jen runs off to prepare the antidote for the poisoned dart, Mu Bai prepares to die. With his last breaths, he finally confesses his love for Shu Lien, and dies in her arms as Jen returns too late to save him. The Green Destiny is returned to Sir Te. Jen later goes to Wudang Mountain and spends one last night with Lo. The next morning, Lo finds Jen standing on a balcony overlooking the edge of the mountain. In an echo of the legend that they spoke about in the desert, she asks him to make a wish. He complies, wishing for them to be together, back in the desert. Jen then flies over the side of the mountain and into the clouds.

L² Scored: 9/10

L² Comment:

Multiple awards winner, believe to be the best Asian & proudest film in year 2000. Every Asian see this as a great thing and open a lot of opportunity for Asian to get into Hollywood, this also make us proud and intro our Asian's martial arts to the whole world (after Bruce Lee's success).

The whole film is quite good and the style of fighting is exciting at that period, especially the running on wall thingy. This also bring Ang Lee, Chow Yun Fatt & Ziyi Zhang some fame in Hollywood (Michelle Yeoh already got her when she was in 007 few years back).

A big bravo to them, Ang Lee still continue to produce a lot of good film after this. Hope to see more from him soon :)

The Sword Stained with Royal Blood 新碧血劍

Released Year: 1993
Directed by 张海靖 Hai-Jing Zhang

Casted by:
元彪 Yuan Biao as 袁承志 Zhi
张敏 Sharla Cheung as 阿九 Jiu
李修贤 Danny Lee as 夏雪宜 Xue
袁咏仪 Anita Yuen as 何铁手 Tie
吴孟达 Man Tat Ng as 归辛树 Mr Gui
李美凤 Elizabeth Lee as 温仪 Yi
徐锦江 Elvis Tsui as 温堡主 Wen
叶全真 Quan Zheng Yi as 夏青青 Qing
马海伦 Helen Ma as 归二娘 Mrs Gui　　 　
Story:

Jiu is the naughty princess who came to the martial's world being guided by Mr Gui, her master. But Mr Gui has to take care of the mental disorder Mrs Gui, therefore he has not take good care of Jiu. Jiu then met Zhi who treated her as a thieve. Zhi brought Jiu along to the Wen's house for a martial competition between Xue and the Wen's family.

Along the journey, they met Xue who is a good hearted warrior and also Tie who is the leader of the "5 poisonous society". Tie hide her real identity and follow them on the journey after she knows that Zhi accidentally suck all the poison blood of the precious snake of Tie. When they reach the Wen's place, Jiu saw that Xue is actually meeting up Yi, who is the Wen's wife.

During the fight, all the Wen's family request Wen to kill Yi but he rejected. Wen get injured and become insane. Zhi also met his beloved Qing. Later on they discover Wen fake himself and Xue together with Yi was killed. In the end, Zhi defeated Wen.

L² Scored: 3/10

L² Comment:

Sorry to say that, this should be the worst kam yung movie ever!!! The storyline has been twisted so much from the original and yet the movie is not even nice. Though Sharla carry much more comedy side in this film, but i think its sucks.

Yuck, too much Sharla Cheung's movie make me wanna puke now :(