Source Code revolves around Captain Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) who wakes up in another man's body aboard a commuter train heading toward Chicago. As he tries to make sense of things, the train blows up and he awakes inside of a strange capsule. With a video screen as his only way of communicating to the outside world, he discovers that he is inside a machine called the Source Code and is part of a mission to stop the bomber from detonating another bomb within the city of Chicago. Source Code enables Colter Stevens to relive the last 8 minutes of a train passenger's life again and again, each time allowing him to gather more clues to the uncover identity of the bomber. Things get more complicated when he finds himself falling in love with one of the passengers and is determined to try and save her.

A sense of urgency is instilled in the audience right from the start with the tense and ominous music playing throughout the beginning of the movie. Source Code is an awesome movie that is reminiscent to Ground Hog Day but with better looking people and a more exciting and intelligent plot. You start paying more attention to the passengers to see if you can't figure out the identity of the bomber before Stevens. Gyllenhaal plays Stevens with such passion and emotion; it was a very captivating performance that made you feel a lot for his character. It was very fun to watch him go through what he goes through in those eight minutes of eternity. Just when you think it ends, it starts up again and this happens several times in the movie. It could have ended at any one of those points and you'd still think it's a good ending but it just keeps pushing and pushing so that just when you think you have it all figured out, you don't and leaves you with the thought that the movie may have gone on a little bit too long. The way the director, Duncan Jones, has done it, it's not too bad, it just leaves you more to think about. Source Code is a highly recommended sci-fi action-thriller that will leave you craving for more.

Souce Code comes out in theatres on Friday, April 1st. Don't miss it!

Hall Pass is a funny movie but it also contains a lot of crude and vulgar jokes involving bodily fluids and genitalia which is also displayed in full force. The plot was ho-hum and I didn't like the side story of their wives. It seemed too rushed to be resolved properly. If you are looking for a few laughs, Hall Pass will deliver but it may also end up making you uncomfortable. If watching Rick and Fred's miserable attempts at picking up women is your kind of thing by all means go for it. If you don't have time then just watch the trailer. It basically contains almost everything in the movie minus the vulgarity.

Hall Pass is in theatres now but won't be for long!

After UBC LipDub was complete and I'd eaten my fill of pizza, I headed downtown to check out the Futureshop Nintendo 3DS launch. It was midnight launch but I didn't plan to stick around for that long. I tried the device and was pretty impressed with the 3D effect! Playing for long periods of time may make you dizzy though but thankfully Nintendo put in a slider that lets you turn off the 3D effect.

The 3DS retails at $249.99 and comes in two colours - Aqua Blue and Cosmo Black. Personally I love the Aqua Blue colour. It has 3D camera and a built in motion and gyro sensor so the device can detect motion and tilt. Be careful when around other people, you don't want to whack them in the head by accident when you are playing!

The funny thing is that I ran into some friends also trying out the system! We always seem to run into each other at these types of events. Hahaha.

LipDuuuuub? Lip Dub Who Ha Ha! That was the chant echoing on the campus of UBC on Saturday where the first ever UBC lipdub was being filmed. I was one of the thousand of people who signed up to participate. The songs that we were dubbing to was a mashup of Raise Your Glass by P!nk and Celebrity Status by Marianas Trench.

Sign in started at noon and while we waited for more people to join, we had to learn a dance for the flash mob portion of the dub. The LipDub crew managed to secure a helicopter to film the mob from above! We were given blue ponchos and filmed at the back of the Anthropology Museum. Unfortunately the ponchos made everyone very hot (and not in a good way) because we kept having to run in and jump again and again for several takes!

After the flash mob portion was done, my group went to the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre to set up. The part we were responsible for was to throw all sorts of junk down from the upper floors of the library while singing of course. You don't know how hard that is! There was a lot of confusion on when we where suppose to chuck our balloons, tissue paper, beach balls and army men. I hope they don't use the last take because that one was the most disorganized.

There were horses, dogs, bouncy houses, a trampoline, cars, a Transit bus and Josh Ramsay from Marianas Trench involved in the lipdub shoot! I even got a photo of Josh as he passed through Irving Library. It wasn't a very good one since I was on the 3rd floor looking down. I didn't see everything because we weren't allowed to leave our zone and a lot of the day was just waiting around but that's the film industry for you I guess. So a lot of what the video will look like is a mystery to me.

After that was finished, we headed toward the UBC Swimming Centre for the last shoot of the day. It was a underwater shoot which had scuba divers, divers and other random people in the pool. I don't get what the sign they hung up is suppose to mean though. Does anybody recognize it?

Shooting wrapped up at 7pm. Finally after a LONG day, the LipDub crew treated us all to much needed pizza and drinks. I had a lot of fun and I can't wait to see the finished product. The official premiere will be on April 8th!

Check out the UBC LipDub website here.

I found the movie very funny. There were many jokes that played on the culture clash and greatly enjoyed watching it. Aqib brilliantly played Sajid, the brooding teenager who eventually opens up to some of the lessons this trip has taught him. The side story about Sajid's brother Maneer and how Sajid tries to help him in finding a wife was hilarious! Overall this is a feelgood coming-of-age movie with comedy, romance, tenderness, that I very much enjoyed.

West is West is playing in select theatres now.

A young girl who has lost her family is institutionalized by her evil stepfather and set to be lomotomized in five days time. To cope with her desperate situation, she imagines a whole alternate reality where she is in control of her destiny.  The girl known as Baby Doll (Emily Browning) enlists the help of four other inmates - Sweet Pea (Abbie Cornish), Rocket (Jena Malone), Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens) and Amber (Jamie Chung) - to help her plan an escape from the hospital. The lines of reality and fantasy blur as the she and the girls gather the five items that they need to escape their prison.

Even though the movie screening was at 10pm, there was still quite a number of people who showed up. Even some of the costume designers were at the screening! I have to say WOW! It was a very interesting movie and it exceeded my expectations. It was way better than Watch Man which was also directed by Zach Snyder. The film was really surreal and had everything from evil Samurai warriors, Nazi zombies, dragons to robots. I LOVED the dragon. The special effects are stunning in this film. Everything was fast paced and you really get the sense of the desperation present in these girls. I think it will make a great video game with all the action! In Baby Doll's imagination, the mental hospital is a brothel and the costumes are very cool. All the racy dances the girls had to perform were cleverly overlapped by the missions that Baby Doll imagined them going on. The story could have been a little stronger; there are some minor loose ends that leave you unsatisfied and asking questions but overall I liked the film and was very impressed by the visuals.

Remember to stick around during the credits. According to the costume designers, that song and dance number costed a pretty million to make. Oh and get ready for the twist in the ending because you never see it coming.



If you want to see more of the costumes featured in Sucker Punch, and you are in Vancouver tonight, there is a Sucker Punch Ball being hosted at the Rio Theatre at 10pm followed by a midnight screening of the film. Tickets are $18 in advance and $20 on the night-of the event at Rio Theatre. Should be a fun evening!

Sucker Punch opens in theatres Friday, March 25, 2011.

I went to Metrotown today because I heard on the Beat 94.3 that they were giving away two BlackBerrys. Little did I know that there was actually a Elise Estrada Concert going on! The mall was so crowded; on every level there were people looking down onto the stage. I managed to squeeze in between two people on the third floor. Good thing I had brought my camera along!

Times Telecom was the sponsor who flew Elise down from LA. The Beat and Times Telecom held draws and played games for the BlackBerrys. The first girl managed to score cash, accessories AND a BlackBerry Torch! The second guy wasn't so lucky but he did manage to take home at least 40 dollars in cash. There was also a contest for a $10,000 shopping spree with Elise in LA! I wasn't so lucky but it was a nice concert and I recognized a few songs of hers from the radio. I like the song "Your Love is Like Poison" the most.

Virgin Radio is currently hosting a contest called "Pop Shop and Drop" where the winner will be flown to see a concert, given $5000 cash to spend and then spend the rest the trip in another location. Last week was to go Pop with Rihanna in London, Shop in Paris and Drop in Barcelona, Spain. I had given up on calling because I never seem to be able to get through but on Friday, on the last chance at 5:00pm when I heard the cue to call I thought what the hey, I'll give it a try. The first time I tried it didn't work but I decided to try again and miraculously I GOT THROUGH! It kept ringing and ringing and finally I heard a sort of automated voice which said "If you are calling to enter Pop Shop & Drop please press 1". So I did. Then the voice said "If you like Rihanna, please yell yes". I paused because I was still in the office at work...So I quietly said yes. But the voice repeated her instructions! So I said yes a little louder and by this time I was heading towards the door. Again the voice repeated the instructions. Now I was getting annoyed at what I thought was the phone so I loudly said yes!. (My co-workers probably think I'm crazy because this isn't the first time I've repeated a word several times loudly into my phone. >_<) This time I hear Tara Jean laughing and then Kiah laughing and saying that Tara Jean sounded very automated.

Hahah I never got through before so I didn't know what to expect. I played right into Tara Jean's hands! But then I was really nervous and didn't know what to say so I sounded so stupid - very monotone and not very excited. Doh! I got my chance on the radio and I blew it! I'm going to have to try again next week hahahha. I really can't believe I got through! I'm on the stand by list for the contest! I'll know next Friday morning if I won or not. I have my fingers crossed! Wish me luck!

Eeee! I can't believe I talked to Tara Jean! And Kiah. So happy.

Paul follows two British comic book geeks, Graeme Willy (Simon Pegg) and Clive Gollings (Nick Frost), who are visiting the US to attend Comic-Con, a large comic book and popular arts convention. Being huge sci-fi fans, they planned a road trip to go to see all the famous UFO sites across the America. While outside Area 51, they accidentally meet Paul (Seth Rogen), an alien on the run who was held captive there by the government for the last 60 years. When the government decides that Paul had outlived his usefulness, Paul launched an escape. Being a matter of life and death, Graeme and Clive take the rude, wise-cracking little alien aboard their rented RV. Now they are being chased by government agents and also the fanatic father of Ruth (Kisten Wiig), a young woman whom the two had to kidnap to prevent her from telling the authorities about Paul. Graeme and Clive are in for the road trip of their life as they take Paul to rendezvous with his mother ship.

On the one hand, this movie is funny and entertaining to watch. Pegg, Frost and Rogen are an amazing trio who gives the audience a lot of laughs and Wiig delivers all her lines in a spectacularly funny way. There are also many popular sci-fi references littered throughout the movie. Sci-fi and movie buffs will get a kick out of those.

On the other hand, this R-rated movie is full of swearing (I lost count of the number of times the word f*ck was used), lowbrow humour and attacks on Christianity. I cringed at all the sexual parts that were mentioned just for fun in this movie but the other people at the screening seemed love it. There is a scene where there is a small debate on God and evolution. Christians may not like it, it was very controversial and there are other jokes made at the expense of Christians. But if you can keep an open mind, as many will, the scenes are rather funny.

Overall I liked the story, it was hilarious, the animation is very realistic and I suppose that for being R-rated it is rather tame...Just don't bring your parents to see it.

Paul opens in theatres Friday, March 18, 2011.

Down on luck attorney Mike Flaherty (Paul Giamatti) is on the verge of losing his practice because of money problems. Without thinking Mike convinces a judge to let him be the guardian of Leo, one of his clients, who is declared legally incapacitated to obtain an extra $1500 monthly paycheck. However, instead of letting Leo stay at home where he told the judge he would be, Mike drops him off at a care home. Unfortunately things don't always go to plan especially when people are involved. Leo's grandson Kyle (Alex Shaffer) suddenly drops in Mike's life when he runs away from his addict mother and her abusive boyfriend. Mike discovers that Kyle is a great wrestler and Mike puts him on the sorry high school team that he coaches. All is going well -  Mike is getting the extra money he needs and his team is finally winning matches when Kyle's mother, fresh out of rehab, threatens to take it all away by exposing his deception to everyone.

Win Win is a feel-good movie about second chances, doing the right thing and the unexpected relationships that pop up in life because of one's choices. I liked Shaffer's performance as the often stoic Kyle and Amy Ryan who played Mike's wife Jackie Flaherty was at times hilarious. The director shows that sometimes not a word needs to be said in order to convey messages and feelings. You will feel for the characters and begin cheering them on, however flawed they may be. It was funny, heartwarming and the characters are interesting and relatable. This film is a winner for sure.

Win Win opens in theatres on Friday, March 18th, 2011.

Red Riding Hood is loosely based on the fairytale Little Red Riding Hood. The story centers on Valerie (Amanda Seyfried) who lives in the village of Daggerhorn, which is under an uneasy peace with a werewolf that prowls the surrounding forest. Beautiful Valarie is also in a little predicament. She loves her childhood sweetheart Peter, a poor woodcutter, but her parents have betrothed her to Henry, a wealthy blacksmith. Unwilling to be parted from each other, they plan to run away together when the villagers discover that the werewolf, which had previously been satisfied with monthly animal sacrifices, has taken the life of her older sister. Hungry for revenge, the villagers take the matter into their own hands while the village priest call upon Father Solomon, a famed werewolf hunter. As the blood moon rises, which is the only time a new werewolf can be created, the attacks on the village become more frequent. During one of those attacks, Valarie discovers that she shares a deep connection with the werewolf and it may even be someone she loves...

This is another movie in a string of retellings of well-known fairy tales. Little Red Riding Hood is certainly not little in this interpretation but except for a romp in the hay the movie remains safely PG. It has themes of fantasy, horror and love all jumbled together. I would say it is more a thriller than a love story though it is obvious it has Twilight influences (not surprising since it has the same director). Broody and angsty teenagers who both want the girl...Familiar to anyone? The story also is very similar to M. Night Shyamalan's The Village in setting and premise - isolated village with an unknown beast prowling the surrounding woods.

The whole story is one big guessing game. Who is the wolf? By process of elimination you MIGHT be able to guess who the wolf is but it isn't easy. Suspects disappear and reappear to keep the viewer guessing and errie music is played to intensify the moments of uncertainty. Some parts of the movie reminded me of the Blair Witch Project with the shaky hand held camera movement. Some of the story was predictable and some of it was over the top, with the excessive and unnecessary killings and torture. But if you like a good mystery with some love in thrown in the mix you'll like Red Riding Hood. Twilight fans will love the ending. Especially if you are Team Jacob. 

Red Riding Hood opens in theatres Friday March 11th, 2011.

Want more Red Riding Hood? Here's a post that nicely reminds me of the story and has beautiful wolf pictures: http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/little-red-riding-hoods-demise

It was such a beautiful day today! Finally I have a some time to venture out into the garden today to look at the flowers. Everything in the garden is growing even in the chilly weather. I can't wait until the rest the flowers bloom! I'm especially looking forward to the Magnolia blooms. n_n

Happy Friday everyone! Woo, I'm looking so forward to this weekend! Lots of events happening.

Is anyone a fan of These Kids Wear Crowns? They will be performing live and signing autographs at the HMV store at Metrotown, Burnaby, BC tomorrow at 3pm! I really like their song Jump Start. It's a really catchy song that makes you want to get up and jump and dance!

I'm not going to be able to attend though since I have plans to go to the BC Home and Garden Show! If you buy tickets online and enter the code: WESTCOAST the tickets are only $10 vs $15 at the door. I have tickets already courtesy of Botanus. The co-owners will also be speaking at the show.

In the morning I'm going to go to VanDusen Garden to buy some compost. Spring time is here (though it still feels like Winter) so it'll soon be time to work on the garden! The bulbs I planted last year are already sprouting! I'm so excited to see how they will look like. VanDusen also has a bird walk tour going on tomorrow and it'll be the last one before the prices of admission go up in the summer. I sort of want to attend but might not have time since I'm meeting friends for the BC Home and Garden show. Might be too long of a day anyways.

So excited!

Beastly is the modern retelling of the classic fairytale Beauty and the Beast set in New York City. Kyle Kingson (Alex Pettyfer of I Am Number Four) is a handsome but arrogant high school student who cares only about himself and his looks. That cocky attitude however won him the title of President of an environmental club even though he doesn't care at all about the environment. When goth classmate Kendra (Mary Kate Olsen) protests against him, Kyle gets revenge by making fun of her looks and humiliating her in front of everyone at a party. In retaliation, Kendra casts a spell that transforms Kyle into a disfigured freak with tattoos and scars all over his body that mirrors the ugliness in his heart. She gives him one year to get someone to fall in love with him and say "I love you" or be forever trapped in that form. Kyle turns to his father for help only to be banished to Brooklyn with nobody but except his housekeeper and a blind tutor to keep him company. Desperate for normality, he attends the school Halloween party only to find out that everyone who said they liked him actually hated him, even his old girlfriend. He bumps into Lindy (Vanessa Hudgens), a classmate who he had felt a connection with prior to his transformation, at the party and begins stalking following her. When Kyle saves Lindy and her father from drug dealers, he makes a deal with Lindy's father to help him protect her from the vengeful dealers by making her move into his home in Brooklyn. After a rocky start, the two forge an unlikely relationship and slowly Kyle starts to change but will it be enough to break the spell?

I was impressed with Beastly. Except for some cheesy dialogue it was pretty good. The interpretation of the story was believable in modern times and the make-up and costume design were amazing. I loved Kendra's outfit and shoes! The jokes were funny and kept the story from getting too serious. That said, Vanessa Hudgens acting could have been a little better. She was a bit stiff at times and I found it hard to believe her feelings toward Kyle.

It was almost a full house at the screening. Mostly young girls and women and the guys they brought along. So if you are into love stories like Twilight (but with better acting), you will enjoy Beastly. Go see it! Even if it is only just to see Alex Pettyfer's beautifully sculpted body again...You know what I mean...

Beastly opens in theatres Friday, March 4, 2011.

Rango is about a pet chameleon (voiced by Johnny Depp) who lives in the safety of his terrarium where he acts as a director and lead actor of stories of his own creation but he longs to figure out who he is. Due to a fateful accident, he that is suddenly thrust into adventure and a quest to find his true self. He journeys across the desert to the Old Western town of Dirt that is currently in the grips of a severe drought. In order to fit in and realizing that he can be like the hero of his stories, he convince the towns-animals that he is the fearsome Rango. By an act of pure accident, he manages to solidify his claim and is made sheriff to protect the town's remaining water supply, which is running dangerously low. However when the supply is stolen, it is up to Rango and his newly found friends to bring it back. Instead they discover that there is a sinister explanation behind the water's disappearance and that appearances can be deceiving. Rango is then faced with a choice to be the nobody he thinks he is or the hero the town needs him to be.

I got nothing from the trailer, I went to the movie not expecting very much but I was pleasantly surprised! The movie is funny, witty and extremely entertaining. It will definitely appeal to the older crowd as well as older kids. There are some parts that may scare younger children such as the parts with the villain Rattlesnake Jake. It also may be a bit violent and dark for the younger audience and there are certain references and jokes that only the older audience will get.

Rango is beautifully animated - all the textures of the animals and environment were very realistic. The score by Hans Zimmer set the tone of the movie very well and Rango was also directed by Gore Verbinski, the same person who directed Pirates of the Caribbean! A lot of the music reminds of that same adventurous tones that Pirates had. This is a movie that shouldn't be missed.

Rango is in theatres Friday, March 4th 2011. I recommend you go see it!

I went to the Canucks Superskills at Rogers Arena on Sunday. This annual event supports the Canucks of Kids Fund and has the Vancouver Canucks competing against each other in several skill categories:

• Three-on-three game
• Fastest Skater Contest
• Accuracy Shooting Challenge
• Puck Control Relay
• Hardest Shot
• Power Play
• Breakaway Relay

I took so many photos it was hard to choose only a few good ones. Before the competition started, the mascots were at center ice playing musical chairs. Hahah so funny! Fin won that one! Then the players came out. They were divided into blue team and green team. I thought the blue team had the advantage from the start, I mean they had Salo, Burrows and Mason Raymond. Here were the final results:

• Three-on-three game - Green Team with Cory Schneider
• Fastest Skater Contest - Mason Raymond
  
• Accuracy Shooting Challenge -  Burrows
  
• Puck Control Relay - Tie (Henrik and Daniel Sedin were identical! LOL)
  
• Hardest Shot - Sami Salo
• Power Play -  Blue Team
• Breakaway Relay -  GreenTeam

Blue Team wins!

I had so much fun! This was the first time I've been to the Superskills; it's usually a sold out event because it's not as expensive as a regular hockey game and it is family friendly. The Canucks themselves brought their wives and children along. The children are so cute!

There were prize giveaways too! Several gift certificates worth $100, Canucks merchandise and two PS3s were given out courtesy of the Canucks and Rogers Arena. I got a Team Photo card and a BC Hydro Shower Coach. You won't believe how useful the Shower Coach it is! It makes me a lot more conscience of how long my showers are...but I digress....

It was very refreshing to see the players in an non-game setting and having fun. Ryan Kesler in the Breakaway Relay threw his glove at Cory Schneider in order to distract him from the puck! You can't do that in a real game! Hahah! The Canucks Superskills was a very fun event. I may go again next year!