How about applying to Monsters University School of Liberal Arts & Monstrosities?

Forget the NUS-Yale Liberal Arts College, let's apply to the Monsters University School of Liberal Arts & Monstrosities instead. Or if that doesn't catch your fancy, how about the acclaimed School of Scaring?

As a university student, I'd say that this recruitment video gives both my school and Hogwarts a run for their money. And as a marketing campaign, this video along with the official Monsters University Website are a postive creative genius!

That's how realistic (as it gets) the MU website is.

There's even some doctoral research on whether two heads are better than one.

The HD movie stills released by Disney Pixar really does bring back memories of those good times in University eh?

As a prequel to Monsters Inc, Monsters University showcases how Mike and Sulley became best friends.

I'm sure Pixar wouldn't miss out on a chance to capitalise on the endless designs of monsters in on a college campus. Expect a colourful and vibrant treat in Monsters University.

Love how the Monsters' Inc series brings back the nostalgia of childhood and school for its audience (":

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Trailer: Warm Bodies & Exclusive first 4 minutes

I am a self-proclaimed fan of all things zombies and apocalyptic. I've devoured numerous episodes of The Walking Dead (pardon the imagery), eagerly bought premiere tickets to Resident Evil movies despite the bad reviews, sat through Zombieland and am eagerly awaiting all the zombie/apocalyptic films to be released in 2013. I am such a sucker for triumph of the human spirit against zombies. 

But I absolutely draw the line at "Warm Bodies."  

The basic synopsis is as such: R, a teenage zombie in a post-apocalyptic world, devours a guy's brains and subsequently falls in love with the guy's girlfriend, Julie. The two develop a special relationship and goes through supposedly funny and romantic events together subsequently. 

My verdict as of now? NAUSEATING. Think Twilight, minus the attractive vampires, plus disgusting rotting zombies. An absolute freaking NO. I feel nauseated watching the trailer. I don't care if he starts to think or act like a human; zombies are walking, rotting corpses which smell and eat living beings, or in this case, themselves. Can you ever kiss or hug a rotting human-like zombie? If it were me, I'd never be able to let go of the eternal fear of him biting me. See trailer below for a taste of Warm Bodies (sorry, couldn't resist another pun).

Warm Bodies Official Trailer

Don't take my word for it though. 

According to Wiki:

The Guardian called it, "Ruefully humorous, knowingly cinematic in scope." The Seattle Times said, "Absurd as its premise could be called, "Warm Bodies" works on lots of levels," and called it "Gruesome yet poetic."

Watch the first four minutes to judge for yourself. And while you're watching it, imagine hugging this particular lovable zombie to sleep at night. 

First 4 minutes of the film

Verdict as of now? 

GIVE ME BACK MY MINDLESS HUMAN-EATING ZOMBIES.

To be released 14 March 2013.

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REVIEW: CZ12 – The Curtain Falls, Jackie

To complete the Parisian journey, following the last review on Les Miserables set in Paris in the 1800s, today’s movie review is on CZ12 set in modern day Paris (mostly). Just kidding, it was an unintended coincidence.

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CZ12 is a reawakening of Jackie Chan's wildly popular action series Armor of God (1986 and 1991). In this, JC goes in search of the 12 bronze heads of the Chinese Zodiac and embarks on various adventures along the way.

A classic Jackie Chan film, CZ12 was held together with Jackie’s trademark slapstick humour and action sequences as the main draws of the show. Even though there were numerous hotties such as Korean heartthrob Kwon Sang Woo and French actress Laura Weissbecker (who plays an amusingly bimbotic Duchess), they were limited by their native languages and served merely as unexciting eye-candy for the audience. Still, an enthralling and energetic girl-on-girl fight between Bonnie (JC’s teammate played by Zhang Lan Xin) and Katie (Vulture’s teammate played by Caitlin Dechelle) made for a treat towards the end of the movie.

Save the first sequence in which he rollerblades down a hill in a “Buggy Rollin Suit”, invented by French daredevil and designer Jean Yves “Rollerman” Blondeau, and the final action sequence where he braves a live volcano dive, the rest of the action sequences gave off a been-there-done-that vibe. During these scenes, I found myself awed by how a 58-year old man could still perform those acrobats as JC did, but other times, I worried if he would get up from a particular fall. The behind-the-scenes following the movie served as a reminder that Jackie was but mere human close to retirement.

Coco (Yao Xing Tong), an annoyingly self-righteous student in Paris, constantly reminded the audience and fellow characters about how relics should be returned to their original country. While a Jackie Chan movie is hardly the platform to expect an in-depth discussion this complex issue, it was slightly frustrating to listen to the actors as they extolled the importance of returning pilfered relics to their home countries.

Don’t go into the theatres expecting anything but Jackie’s slapstick humor and classic sequences. This shouldn’t be a problem for the die-hard fans, even as the rest of the audience witness the curtain falling in, what Jackie himself expects to be, his "last major action film.”

Watchable on days when you feel like you need a happy ending or a break from reality.

This film is 123 minutes long.

*All pictures credit to their respective owners.

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REVIEW: Christmas Eve @ Shaw Premiere at Nex

Merry Christmas everyone! (:

Somehow, Christmas eve always seems alot more special than Christmas day itself. That's true at least for me. Maybe it's because of the gifts we are anticipating or that it just seems like a day in which something special could possibly happen. It seems like only yesterday that I was at Disneyland in Florida watching the fireworks go off in the shape of Mickey Mouse! ^^ MAGICAL... But that's a story for another time.

This year, the boy and I decided to pamper ourselves with a night at 

Shaw Premiere @ NEX for the Les Miserables sneak preview 

which I've been waiting so eagerly for ever since I heard Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman were going to be singing in it. The Les Mis review will come a little later to do justice to this film (:

Starting from the dedicated queue (or non-queue) to collect the shiny silver Premiere tickets, the service at Shaw Premiere was impeccable!

SHINY SHINY TICKETS

I really loved how there was a special entrance into the theatres through a lounge, and the butler service that came along with it. Throw in the fresh, clean blankets and the leather reclining chairs in the theatre, and all I can say is that it was an experience fit for a Queen. Only issue was that the ground staff at the first level didn't seem to know how to answer my questions for Shaw Premiere. We made it up to the Premiere lounge anyway, where my issues could be resolved, thankfully, and I started feeling like a Queen.

Specifically, I chose the Sparkling Christmas Set because I reasoned that the Premiere tickets were going to cost close to $30 per person and all decent restaurant fare would be overpriced on Christmas Eve anyway.

From Shaw online

We started with a glass of white wine and some salmon appetizers! Reclining on my leather seat and munching made the usual pre-screening advertisements so enjoyable I momentarily forgot which movie I was watching. 

Sorry, super bad lighting!

After which, we got them to serve our main course, a dish of turkey (or chicken?) with mushy beans and sweet potato. That was a little too much like baby food for our liking :\

Towards the end of the movie, a dessert of Christmas pudding and Oreo ice-cream came. We both hated the Christmas pudding (no fault of Shaw's; it's a personal taste) and would have much preferred the entire dish to be Oreo ice-cream. However, even as I was groping in the dark, I could make out the careful plating of the dessert with garnishing of fresh fruit and a thoughtful little Merry X'mas sign on it! 

Besides the food, what I really enjoyed about this Premiere experience was the free flow of warm water! ^^ It sounds like such a minor issue now, but most of us have probably experienced being freezing cold in the middle of the movie; a warm beverage feels absolutely heavenly at that point when we are most vulnerable.

Oh and also, there was a gift which came with this mystery set... which they almost forgot to give us.

Mary Chia Voucher & Bose Projector Alarm Clock

So all in all, the Shaw Premiere experience was wonderful because of the impeccable service, blankets, comfy chairs and privacy (the seats are in pairs). On hindsight, however, the Sparkling Christmas Set was not really value for the price I paid. The bf and I would have liked a choice of appetisers/mains/desserts because not everybody has the same palette and there wasn't alot of information on the food served. Also, it wouldn't hurt to have a free flow of wine as well, as one glass seemed really sad. We might have been better off ordering the ala-carte dishes which seemed pretty affordable. That said, there are other promotions which seem really value-for-money such as the weekday brunch set, so we look forward to returning or trying out similar experiences at other cinemas.

Rating:

Service: 4.5/5

Food:  3/5

Value-for-money (Christmas Set): 2/5

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