The 84th Academy Awards (aka Oscars) nominations are out, and I’m very happy that Transformers: Dark of the Moon (my fav movie of the year! – Review here) managed to get THREE nominations! That makes the entire Transformers Trilogy an Oscar nominated trilogy, and that my friends, is a FACT.

Transformers (2007): Best Sound, Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Editing

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009): Best Sound

Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011): Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing

]]> http://iamipodman.wordpress.com/2012/01/25/transformers-1-2-3-oscar-nominated-films/feed/ 12 Ipodman transformers3darkofthemoon-rosie-optimusprime transformers-megan_fox-bumblebee http://iamipodman.wordpress.com/2012/01/23/kung-fu-panda-2-movie-review/ http://iamipodman.wordpress.com/2012/01/23/kung-fu-panda-2-movie-review/#comments Mon, 23 Jan 2012 14:32:11 +0000 Ipodman http://iamipodman.wordpress.com/?p=5441 ]]>

Kung Fu Panda 2 has a relatively high score on Rotten Tomatoes, but I fail to see why this movie is considered “good” by the majority. I loved the first Panda film, which had a genuinely touching and inspirational story. This sequel has a plot that’s so thin and so dull, I wondered if I was watching the correct movie.

Panda 1 made me laugh-out-loud countless times, but I didn’t even chuckle once during Panda 2. This sub-par script could have definitely been tightened up a whole lot more, and perhaps paid more attention to the intriguing relationship between Po and Tigress (voiced by Jack Black and Angelina Jolie respectively), which might as well be the only interesting thing in this film.

Yeah, I don’t even think Gary Oldman’s Lord Shen is as impressive as some critics believe. Unlike the menacing villain of Panda 1, this new peacock baddie is nothing to be afraid of. In fact, I didn’t feel as if Panda 2 contained any sort of danger for our protagonists, especially since Po aka The Dragon Warrior is practically invincible now. Sure, the film’s climatic scene has a few surprises, but it’s not enough to cover up the film’s major flaws.

I suspect that Panda 2 is actually meant to be a Dead Man’s Chest or Deathly Hallows Part 1 – just something to grab more cash and make you excited about the next installment (which in turn will make even more cash!). Would I want to watch Panda 3? Sure, why not, I’ll even bring the kids.

]]> http://iamipodman.wordpress.com/2012/01/21/marvel-universe-wolverine-kitty-pryde/feed/ 8 Ipodman QP QP QP QP http://iamipodman.wordpress.com/2012/01/19/t-ara-lovey-dovey-in-tokyo/ http://iamipodman.wordpress.com/2012/01/19/t-ara-lovey-dovey-in-tokyo/#comments Thu, 19 Jan 2012 12:08:10 +0000 Ipodman http://iamipodman.wordpress.com/?p=5429 ]]>

… if they are really friends!

T-ara’s music video Lovey Dovey in Tokyo has our seven ladies hanging out, having fun, and making cute expressions at the camera. Seems like a happy trip to Japan, but I wonder if they are really friends, or if this is all just an act!

I had a similar thought when I watched SNSD(Girls’ Generation)’s Echo MV, which is something in the same vein as Lovey Dovey in Tokyo. When these gals are randomly picked up from their singing schools, dancing schools, modelling agencies or wherever they are from and thrown into the same girl group, what guarantee do you have that they can all get along?

To be fair, I’m sure that the formation of these K-pop acts are far more intricate than what I just described, but it does make you wonder… friends? Or just an act? o.O

I don’t know how many zombie fans are out there, or rather how many zombie + T-ara fans are out there, but I found the whole zombie concept of Lovey Dovey Zombie to be totally redundant. Yeah, this music video would have turned out far better if they had just removed the entire zombie nonsense. The costumes and makeup on our seven gals isn’t even as elaborate as it could be, and the result doesn’t look good anyway.

But hey, the dancing is awesome! There’s lots of dancing footage to marvel at here, interlaced with quick shots of individual members. The closeups of Qri look very cool, SoYeon steps up to the frontline for quite a bit, and HwaYoung gets a small portion of the song to herself. It’s nice to see the limelight being shone outside the JiYeon-EunJung-HyoMin trinity for once, but fans of those three need not be sad because their favourites are still pretty prominent.

This music video is bogged down by the poorly executed zombie concept, but Lovey Dovey Zombie has plenty of energy and flair to cover it’s misdirection. Lovey Dovey Zombie gets a thumbs up from me!

So much for thinking that boy bands are going down the drain, because I LIKE these two music videos! Wow!

Teen Top and MBLAQ are two Korean boy bands that dance very well, and that’s what makes these two music videos (Going Crazy & It’s War) work. If you were to listen to these two songs on their own, they would sound like any other K-pop track out there, and you would probably forget them as soon as they’re over. However, once you add in the dance, that’s when things get real.

MBLAQ has a little more edginess to their performance, but Teen Top’s piece seems to flow better. If I were to choose a winner, then the glorious orchestra surprise at the end of It’s War seals the victory for MBLAQ. But who cares what I think, the girls are going crazy (see what I did there) over these Korean boy bands, and it’s not hard to see why.

Both Teen Top’s Going Crazy and MBLAQ’s It’s War get very enthusiastic thumbs ups (3 stars) from me.

Cowboys & Aliens is prove that Hollywood is getting more and more interested in turning comic book /graphic novel properties into feature films. This graphic novel in particular (which I have read, but didn’t like all that much) is not exactly critical acclaimed or extremely popular, but I guess the gimmicky title is enough to get people’s attention.

Jake (Daniel Craig) wakes up in the middle of nowhere and doesn’t remember what happened to him or even who he is. There is a metal bracelet attached to his arm which he will later discover to be an Iron-Man-esque energy cannon. With that and his insane fist fighting skills, Jake will go on an adventure that will involve wrapping a towel around a naked Olivia Wilde.

Harrison Ford plays the other main protagonist but he doesn’t really have much to do. Other members of the cast whom I like includes Paul Dano (doing his usual thing) and Sam Rockwell (also doing his usual thing). There is a young boy in the film who looks very familiar and I was trying very hard to figure out who he is. It was only during the climax of the film when I realised that he’s Noah Ringer, who previously starred in The Last Airbender. (We’ll leave the Airbender-bashing to another day…)

The story of Cowboys & Aliens is pretty interesting, and the main mystery is revealed in flashbacks. The earlier portion of the film is quite boring and dull, but it builds up nicely to the more action packed later half of the film. I like the look of the aliens in Cowboys & Aliens, mainly because they look like something out of Halo. In fact, when I was watching Cowboys & Aliens, I kept thinking of how cool the aliens of Halo would look in live action.

This is a case where my low expectations helped me to enjoy the product more. Cowboys & Aliens takes substantially long to get its groove on, but once you get to the end, you will be glad that you stayed.

NS Yoon Ji (aka NS Yoon-G / NS윤지) heats up the dance floor in the music video of The Reason I Became A Witch. This girl has more than enough flair to keep you at the edge of your seat, and she can certainly dance up a storm. This dance routine is very well choreographed, including a power-packed dance solo. The song itself has a catchy tune, and NS Yoon Ji’s cute singing voice will melt your heart.

Where this music video stumbles is in its overall visual direction. The various different outfits all look very tasteful, but once you have too many costume changes, set changes and random shots of a naked man, the look and feel of this piece becomes a little too cluttered. Nevertheless, this is one spunky and high-energy performance that will help NS Yoon Ji gain a whole bunch of newly converted fans.

Click images to ENLARGE!