Dark Knight Rises: 6 Min Preview

"Bane! Bane! Matalo! Matalo!" I didn't include a video of the IMAX Dark Knight Rises 6 min preview in this post. There are a lot of doubts for the next Chris Nolan Batman movie. People don't seem to like the look of Catwoman and Bane. Some don't like the choice of Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle (Catwoman). Personally, I love the fact that I get to see more of Anne Hathaway and I think she'll be great as Catwoman. I'd always seen Catwoman as strong, flirtatious and dark. I think it wasn't until recently that she was portrayed as more of a seductress. Even if Anne Hathaway can't pull off that sex appeal, she has enough classic beauty in her to fit that old time "cat burglar" look. She kind of reminds me of Audrey Hepburn and matches up with the Adam Hughes art style. I think that's what Chris Nolan is going for. I think she's going to surprise a lot of people. Remember our discontent with Heath Ledger being the Joker before the Dark Knight preview reel was shown? Bane! Bane! Digame? Digame? The 6 min Dark Knight Rises preview focused on Bane (no Catwoman in it). When I saw pictures of Bane, I thought he looked pretty dumb. That was when my doubts for the Dark Knight Rises crept in. It wasn't because of the suspicion that Catwoman lacked cat ears but, it was because of Bane's face mask and outfit. Watching Bane in action blew those doubts away. I am very glad but... This is a pretty big BUT... I could hardly understand what Bane was saying even with the crisp sound system at the IMAX. Tom Hardy has an accent for Bane. I couldn't tell if it's English or if it's Bane's true South American accent. The mask muddled it pretty bad. I hope that will be fixed before the official release of the movie. Alright, the 6 min preview. It was awesome! Before you go on reading, there are slight spoilers ahead but, it's not going to reveal much. I didn't understand much of what was going on during the preview. I'm not sure who the characters are yet with the exception of Bane and some guy named Dr. Pavel. The preview starts with Little Finger of Game of Thrones looking for Bane. He captures 3 of Bane's henchman with bags over their heads, takes them on a plane ride and threatened to throw them off the plane if they don't tell him how to find Bane. It turns out that one of the henchman is Bane. Little Finger and Bane has some dialogue while a cargo plane eclipses the smaller plane and latches on with some cables. A team from the cargo plane zip lines out onto Little Finger's plane, shoots and kills Little Finger's guards or, were they Dr. Pavel's guards? Then the cargo plane team proceeds to take apart Little Finger's plane. This looked amazing. My jaw dropped. Did Chris Nolan film this with a stunt team or was it CGi? The Dark Knight Rises poster is right, this is "Epic." Little Finger's plane is turned vertically, the tail section is cut off and a body bag is lowered. There was a blood transfusion? The preview ends with Bane kidnapping Dr. Pavel while the cables from the cargo plane is cut and Little Finger's plane crashes to the ground. Wow! That was a fast 6 min! After the prologue, there was a sizzler reel of  Dark Knight Rises. Here are the few things I remember from that reel. Catwoman in a mask (or was that just goggles) with cat ears. A hovercraft bat tumbler!!! A tank heading towards a court house. Bane and Batman facing off outside the court house. Once the preview ended it got the audience super excited. Everyone cheered and clapped. I have to admit, I was way more excited with The Dark Knight preview reel back in 2007 but, still... I CAN'T WAIT! In the mean time, I'd attached links for the Dark Knight Rises teaser and The Dark Knight preview reel that was attached to the IMAX viewing of I AM Legend back in December 17, 2007. I don't want to include the shaky bootleg prologue of Dark Knight Rises. It's at the IMAX now and attached to a really good movie that I highly recommend, Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (better than I AM Legend). If your IMAX doesn't have the 6 min preview, there are ways to get it online. The Dark Knight Rises - Official Teaser Trailer VISO Trailers Remember back then? Before The Dark Knight came out we were doubtful? That was before Chris Nolan was more established as a director. Now, with the accomplishments of The Dark Knight and Inception, I'd say, "in Nolan we trust." The Dark Knight IMAX Prologue (embed is disabled) ChaosEntRETURNS

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

A couple of weeks ago, over Thanksgiving weekend, my friends and I had a serious discussion on who would win in a fight: Ethan Hunt or Jason Bourne? There were biases on both sides of the argument for each actor: Tom Cruise vs. Matt Damon. The favor was leaning towards Jason Bourne because not only is he a human weapon, he also doesn't need a team or any sort of back up. I tried  to come at it in different directions and thought about that one scene during the Mission Impossible 2 trailer where Tom Cruise is holding himself up on the side of a mountain with his arms spread out in a wingspan. That takes strength! And to be in that predicament, he must have been crazy. Then again, my argument was invalid, it proves nothing and MI2 is best forgotten. It was a mess of a movie. MI2 almost prevented other Mission Impossible movies to be made. It took 6 years for the right creative team to get together and produce a quality movie in Mission: Impossible 3. J.J. Abrams of Alias and Lost has a high appreciation for updating older TV shows/ideas. Abrams was in the director's chair for the 3rd Mission: Impossible while Tom Cruise not only starred but was also among a long list of producers. It was nice to see that Tom Cruise still has passion for the Mission: Impossible movies. The series started off great with the first movie but the second movie... let's just say it never happened. Tom Cruise comes back for Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol as Ethan Hunt and once again he is among the list of producers. Oh right, who would win in a fight between Ethan Hunt and Jason Bourne? Before watching the 4th Mission: Impossible, my money was on Jason Bourne but, I'm not so sure anymore. Ethan Hunt kicks ass and gets his ass kicked, blown up, hit by a car (or was it cars?), drives a car head first into the ground, hits his head more than once, falls and falls and falls but, he keeps on getting back up for more. He is the blunt intuitive weapon while the rest of the IMF team are the brains, eyes, ears and stealth. Dark Knight Rises preview post Before I talk more about Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, I want to make a small confession: I went to the IMAX not for Ghost Protocol but for the Dark Knight Rises 6 min preview. Jordan's Furniture in Framingham, MA was one of the few IMAX theaters in the U.S. to have the preview and I am extremely glad about that. Now, I am even more excited for Dark Knight Rises. When it comes out in July, I'll be fighting the crowd at the IMAX again for a good seat. I wish the IMAX theaters were more spacious with better seating arrangements. I'll talk about the preview in a separate post. Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol jumps right into the middle of the action once it starts and never truly lets up. Even for some of the potential slow moments that might break the pacing of the movie, like I.D. verification, is also packed with action. Ethan Hunt and and Agent Brandt (Jeremy Renner) runs along side a train trying to get a retina scan in order to get into a secret IMF box car. Doesn't that sound ridiculous?! I wonder how it looked on paper? Brad Bird made it work. So far, Brad Bird had only directed animation and the list is not that long. But once you see the list of movies he'd directed you can see why Ghost Protocol is so good: The Iron Giant The Incredibles Ratatouille Not a long list but definitely a heavy list. Here's a bit of trivia for the 80's kids. Do you remember a Steven Spielberg produced TV show in the late 80's called Amazing Stories? Brad Bird directed the only animated episode on that show, Family Dog. Along with Tom Cruise, Simon Pegg reprises his role as Benji. Because of the promotion to Field Agent, Benji has a lot more to do in this installment and he's very entertaining to watch. Which proves once again that more Simon Pegg is a good thing. The other IMF agents introduced in Ghost Protocol are Jane (Paula Patton), Brandt (Jeremy Renner) and Hanaway (Josh Holloway). They face off against a couple of established actors outside of Hollywood. You will know them in the movie as: Hendricks (Michael Nyqvist), Sidorov (Vladimir Mashkov), Brij Nath (Anil Kapoor) and Sabine Moreau (Lea Seydoux). Even though the movie revolves around Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt, each of the actors listed above were able to bring gravity to their roles. This is a testament of their acting abilities, charisma and Brad Bird's direction. Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocols has a few twists and turns but it is not tough to follow. The story is actually pretty simple unlike the excellent first Mission: Impossible. The trailer actually gives away the entire plot. This is another movie that proves a good story doesn't necessarily need to be complicated. With that said, I'm not dismissing the first movie, it's just a different type of story with different necessities. The entire movie is engaging. Brad Bird does a masterful job building up the action and setting the tone for danger. The action in Ghost Protocol was carefully staged with very few quick cuts. I was able to follow the insane action sequences. Even the less action packed espionage scenes kept me on the edge of my seat. During the slower character development scenes, I found myself wanting to know more about what each player in the movie had to contribute. Not one scene was wasted. There were a couple of cool and humorous references to the original TV show as well. I highly recommend Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol. Go to the IMAX for it if possible. I'm so glad that my brother and Batman persuaded me to go to the IMAX for this one. Parts of the movie was shot with an IMAX camera. The scene where Ethan Hunt was climbing (no stunt double) on the outside of the Burj Khalifa tower in Dubai was breath taking. Then there were the on location scenery shots of Prague, Moscow, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Vancouver... they felt like it was lifted from an Omni Theater movie at the Museum of Science in Boston. Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to fight the crowds this holiday season at the IMAX and, follow the disavowed IMF team in Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol. Mission Impossible 4 - Ghost Protocol - Official Trailer 2 VISO Trailers RATING: 4/5

No Regrets

执迷不悔 Sometimes as we look back, we see a cascade of rain streaming down a pain of glass, blurring the world we left behind. Even though we came from "back there," we can never recall the exact details as it's always in motion. Memories are malleable liquid dreams. But, once we focus a bit closer, we can see our own reflection looking back at us. It could be sharp or it could be askew. On this particular night, my mirrored-self seem to be washing down the cafe window along with the icy December rain but, my apparition never truly breaks, it's only an abstraction. What does my reflection see? Does it see an older self... substantiation full of regrets? Which side of the pain is ethereal? Which one is misconstrued? It's tough to live with no regrets. Faye Wong (王菲) knows. She tells us in her song No Regrets (执迷不悔) which was released in 1993 on the album with the same name. No Regrets (执迷不悔), the Mandarin version with lyrics written by Faye, is the 2nd track on the A side of the album while, the Cantonese is the last song, the 10th song of the album on the B side. I'm not sure which version I like better. Although, I am a bit partial to the Cantonese version. This is the first Faye Wong album I bought. I love it so much that I ended up double dipping for the CD version about a year later. Back in 1993 Faye Wong was known as Shirley Wong (王靖雯). She changed her name later that year (around late '93 and early '94) and officially become Faye Wong (王菲). With the name change she brought an alternative sound to CantoPop which a lot of people were not ready for but, it was quickly accepted. Faye Wong can be credited for changing the perception of music in Hong Kong. If Faye Wong's name seems familiar to you, you might know her from Wong Kar Wai's (王家衛) movie, Chungking Express (重慶森林). She played the eccentric girl working at the snack bar. Faye Wong won the Stockholm Film Festival award for Best Actress in that role. Hong Kong in the 90's bred a lot of acting and music talents. I believe Wong Kar Wai as a director can be credited for bringing out the best performances from actors. Especially from inexperienced actors at the time, like Faye Wong or Jacky Cheung (張學友). As for singing... It feels like I'm not giving enough credit to Faye when I say that she has talent. She is truly incredible. Her cover of the Cranberries' Dreams, Dream Person (夢中人) is better then the original. The highs and lows in the song that she hits, with such smoothness... There's no way I can do her justice by talking about her. You just go to listen for yourself. Actually, you might have listened to Faye Wong's singing before. If you ever played Final Fantasy 8 or know anyone who has, you might have heard Eyes On Me. Nobuo Uematsu (植松 伸夫), the composer for the music of most of the Final Fantasy games collaborated with Faye Wong in 1999 to record the very first video game song with vocals. Again, I'm talking too much here. Check out both versions of No Regrets (执迷不悔) on the bottom. I'm pretty sure that you will not regret it. 王菲 - 執迷不悔 (國語版, Mandarin) mindmtv 王菲 - 执迷不悔 (粵語版, Cantonese) 1991pengguangyi

執迷不悔 (國語版, Mandarin) 作曲: 袁惟仁   編曲: 唐奕聰   填詞: 王菲 這一次我執著面對　任性地沉醉　我并不在乎 這是錯還是對　就算是深陷　我不顧一切 就算是執迷　我也執迷不悔 別說我應該放棄　應該睜開眼　我用我的心 去看去感覺　你并不是我　又怎么能了解 就算是執迷 (就)讓我執迷不悔 * 我不是你們想的如此完美 我承認有時也會辨不清真偽 并非我不愿意走出迷堆　只是這一次 這次是自己(而)不是誰 # 要我用誰的心去體會　真真切切地感受周圍 就算痛苦　就算是淚　也是屬于我的傷悲 我還能用誰的心去體會　真真切切地感受周圍 就算疲倦　就算是累　也只能執迷(而)不悔

執迷不悔 (粵語版, Cantonese) 作曲: 袁惟仁   編曲: 唐奕聰   填詞: 陳少琪 這次我重頭面對　過去和以後 人如何自欺　再不管這對否 人如何不捨　也放開所有 縱墮入深溝　完全不想悔疚 我決意沉迷下去　放眼迎以後 人尋求自尊　你心中感覺否 人如何長久　卻了解不夠 縱獨自飛走　完全不想悔疚 身邊的聲音祝福我的一切　我已聽厭你說我那樣美麗 若付在舊日子不再可貴　我說我這次　要痛快有我的依歸 今天且忍心一聲再會　不須傷心風中依偎 勉強與你　到底終會　在熱烈後變飛灰 今天且忍心笑笑乾杯　可知一天我會蕩回 你縱會說已早改變　獨自夢下去都不悔

Which House Are You?

Remember, Cedric Diggory was a Hufflepuff. HOGWARTS: Which House Are You? TheSecondCityNetwork

Sonic Trololo

Hello Youtubes! Who knew Trololo would work with Green Hill Zone... I'm at a lost for words. Except... Trolololololo! Here are my two favorite "Mr. Trololo" videos: Green Khil Zone kwarkman85 Trolling Saruman PistolShrimps

Melissa Is Still Magical

"Expelliarmus!" "CUP!" Melissa Joan Hart or... rather, Sabrina rediscovers her magical powers after reuniting with Salem... Sabrina & Salem: Together Again

This Winter Is Not That Cold

這個冬天不太冷 Winter is coming! And Jacky doesn't think it'll be that cold. It's because you live in Hong Kong Jacky! Along with a goofy demeanor, Jacky Cheung (張學友) has got the goofiest speaking voice I'd ever heard. Surprisingly, he's one of the most talented vocalists not only in Hong Kong but in the world. Out of the Four Heavenly Kings (四大天王) of 90's CantoPop Jacky is my favorite. He has a wide vocal range which allows him to sing in what seems to be inhumanly possible keys. With this gift, Jacky didn't just settle for pop songs, he delved into different genre of music like the blues (which he did a lot of) and opera. He also did some acting and he has talent in that practice as well. You might remember him in The Swordsman (笑傲江湖) acting along side Sam Hui (許冠傑). He won a Golden Horse Award (金馬獎) for best supporting actor in that role. This was Jacky's second award in acting. His first win was a Golden Elephant Award (金像獎, equivalent of the Oscars) for best supporting actor in Wong Kar Wai's (王家衛) As Tears Go By (旺角卡門). This is pretty impressive since Jacky's main focus was singing. In his career as a vocalist, he'd won tons of music awards. So much that I can't remember most of them. Thanks to wikipedia I don't have to: Jacky Cheung's IFPI Awards (partial list) Jacky Cheung's album This Winter Is Not That Cold (這個冬天不太冷), named after the third track on the album, was released in December of 1994. I remember that winter in Boston being snowy and cold. I guess Jacky meant it metaphorically because the song is about being with someone you love. I guess that works. This Winter Is Not That Cold (這個冬天不太冷) was the first song that Jacky had written lyrics for. It's also written with the beginning of the raving trend in mind and to his credit, the song doesn't suck. As anyone who goes to raves or, as we like to call it here, clubbing, we know that the majority of dance music posses horrible lyrics. I heard a kickass version of This Winter Is Not That Cold (這個冬天不太冷) live at Symphony Hall in Boston when Jacky Cheung did his world tour in 1995. No other remix of the song can compare to that one live performance. I found a version on youtube that kind of comes close but, not really. The embed is down below, right under the embed of the original version of This Winter Is Not That Cold (這個冬天不太冷). 这个冬天不太冷/张学友 qwe76543 張學友 這個冬天不太冷 情緣十載'95友學友臺灣演唱會 臺北 antwcc 作曲：學友    填詞：陳少琪    編曲：楊振龍/王雙駿 從來的冷冬　迷濛也是凍 素素世界太灰太沉 令我夜裡沒有一個夢 碰上你我竟不經意不受控 愛上你氣溫也突然為我驟暖 風也未流動＊ 我與你像幻像　長長夜未冷 燈點點放肆閃得更加燦爛 而全城繁星空中千色煙花透射瀰漫＃ 我與你夢著夢　長長夜未冷 相擁中暖暖身體變得怠慢 永遠也懶放開臂彎 濃濃這冷冬　嚴寒卻未凍 猶如春天不歸來沒有夏季愈愛愈嚴重 紅紅這冷冬　霓虹裡亂碰 看到處處太多笑容 令我共你視野都震動 我與你夢著夢　長長夜未冷 只擔心痛快息間變得有限 劇烈地　熱烈地 熱熱地共你告別平淡 我與你夢著夢　長長夜未冷 只擔心痛快息間變得有限 劇烈地　熱烈地