“BEAUTY AND THE BEAST” Press Preview in 3D

It’s great to be in love, right?

Love stories should always have blissful fairy tale endings.

We miff, sniff and smile whenever we cheer the hero and his lady as they are locked in a heart-wrenching embrace at the closure of a feature film.

Yeah, the whole world would always welcome lovers.

Notwithstanding happily-ever-after endings.

“BEAUTY AND THE BEAST” was a commercial and critical 1991 hit nominated then for a Best Picture Oscar, and remains one of the most memorable love animation film ever produced.

It is now re-set to grace the giant screen again, in the splendor of the magnificent 3D realm, without losing any of the original magic.

For the baby boomer, it is a must-trudge down memory lane.

For the family and the young lovers, this is wholesome entertainment showcasing on how love, in the right dosage, can melt hearts and change anybody’s perspective about life.

The film focuses on an arrogant prince who has been transformed into a Beast.

He imprisons a young beautiful woman named Belle in his castle.

To restore himself as a prince again, the Beast must fall in love with Belle and win her affection in return.

Or he will remain a Beast forever.

Sharing all the brilliance is a heart-stomping soundtrack with showstopping musical production numbers.

The simple story, the cutesy characters and the lovely songs will blow you all the way to the moon.

You will relish in the timeless pleasures of traditional Disney storytelling.

Step right in this second time around, in 3D and be mesmerized by the characters “floating” towards you whilst you are transported into the magical world of Disney’s.

BEHOLD, vintage wine mellows well.

LIFT your HANDS and EMBRACE this TROUBLED WORLD.

Staying alive can be one exasperating merry-go-round.

You bet.

Mankind’s struggle for the greater power and supreme religion will never cease.

We’ll journey through this life’s eternal regime over and over again.

MONEY is never ENOUGH?

It seems so.

Money brings harmony and that is latent security in the right dosage.

We’ll unhesitatingly sacrifice health in order to make more money.

But WHY fight a brutal WAR?

Mass destruction just for Power and Pomp?

Is this sheer Madness?

Just look at the ravages and you tell me.

“CHRONICLE” PRESS PREVIEW

Chill, man.

Somewhere along the line, you learn that it’s choice really – not chance, that shapes a man’s destiny.

You play with fire, you get burnt.

That’s anybody’s comeuppance for toying with bad vibes.

Here’s the premise of the movie CHRONICLE.

It is about three spunky high school lads who uncovers a startling discovery that they can attain supernatural power.

Each uses it for his own singular purpose and each receives a different form of payback.

CHRONICLE follows the trend of the Blair Witch Project, the Paranormal Activity franchise and Cloverfield.

 These are “found-footage” movies, shot on hand held cameras to achieve those quirky, shaky shots for realism.  You see, the methodology of “hand held camera capture” renders the finished accomplishment more amazing.

First-time director JOSH TRANK gives his feature film a breath of fresh air and his visual treatment takes us through an intriguing story based on an absorbing screenplay by MAX LANDIS.

It has a bit of everything: drama, horror, suspense and fantasy all rolled into one big nail-biting entertainment.

Let’s delve into the main plot without much ado:

Troubled teenager Andrew (DANE DEHANN) leads a lonesome, unhappy existence.

His mum is dying of cancer and he detests his abusive alcoholic father.

He demonstrates what human frailty is all about.

His closest friend is his cousin Matt (ALEX RUSSELL) who understands, yet is not entirely proud to be seen with him.

Andrew’s pastime is to record everything in his life with a clunky video camera.

 At a rave party one night, Andrew, Matt and their classmate Steve (MICHAEL B. JORDAN) stumble upon a crater that leads down to an alien artifact.

Inexplicable things start to erupt before their eyes of which we do not get to see because Andrew’s camera cuts out. We are later shown that each of them has developed telekinetic powers.

Boys will be boys, and the three chums use their newfound abilities to pull off pranks just to impress their schoolmates.

 Andrew can easily assemble a Lego space station just by focusing on his mindset.

At the supermarket, they shock spectators by reeling a shopping cart skirting down the aisle.

In the parking lot, they brain-valet a car from one parking space to another much to the ire of the exasperated car owner.

At the school’s talent show, the low-esteemed Andrew now becomes a rage when he performs mind-bending card tricks.

Let’s leave the best for last – the boys are able to will themselves to fly, way above the skyscrapers and clouds. In one incident they are foolishly laughing when they are almost killed by a passing jet.

Everything’s done in the spirit of fun, until they start to play with fire by levitating a truck into a lake.

From then on, the thrills become more pronounced, spinning out of control.

And death-defying.

“CHRONICLE”  is an excellent thriller with a cool, slick dressing.

The story is intense and the plot has its fair share of twists and turns that keeps you guessing all the way.

The thrills go above and beyond to shock you into submission.

To sum it all up, it is a thoroughly enjoyable film with a great unknown cast, a great director, stupendous effects and a profound scrīpt.

Watch it if you can.

“WAR  HORSE” PRESS PREVIEW

It had been some good years since I started to follow STEVEN SPIELBERG’s body of work.

I can often wax lyrical over some of his remarkable epics, notably ET, JAWS, SCHINDLER’s LIST, INDIANA JONES, etc.

These films are steeped in emotional and cinematographic content and the “lump-in-the-throat” scenes will surely tug at your heart strings.

Such is WAR HORSE, his newest offering.

It’s not a Hollywood star-studded feature.

It’s SPIELBERG’s first British collaboration with a coterie of UK performers who have done him proud.

Without any gore and a little show of violence, the tale meanders slowly in the first quarter, then speeds up, riding us through an amazing virtual tsunami depicting the harshness of war.

 STEVEN SPIELBERG is at the helm of this movie, and he simply can’t go wrong.

It may not be the most arresting like his earlier films, but nevertheless is a watchable one.

The focus is on the enduring relationship between a teenage boy and his horse and of the terrible war that sunders them.

Fate brings them together, chance separates them and eventually, fate reconnects them again.

Parting is such sweet sorrow, but let’s see what fate has in store.

Isn’t it true that if anything is destined to be ours, it eventually will?

“WAR HORSE” demonstrates that a divine friendship can exist between man and his animal.

It is set against a lush picturesque rural England, in tandem with Europe during the throes of the First World War.

We witness  a young stallion named Joey and his teenage master called Albert, who tames and trains him.

When they are  separated by unforeseen circumstances, the film follows the extraordinary journey of the horse as he gallops proudly through the war, affecting the lives of everyone he encounters–British cavalry, German soldiers, a French farmer and his granddaughter–before the story arrives at its tearful climax.

The WAR HORSE is a moving masterpiece in its storytelling, the splendid acting and stunning cinematography.

Notwithstanding a searing musical score.

SPIELBERG’s unflinching sentimental approach will worm its way into the heart of the young, the old and in particular, the animal lovers.

Go get mesmerized, but best bring along a hankie.

The reign of the RABBIT is drawing to an end.

It’s going to be a forgotten chapter.

You see it as a tiny, furry, harmless animal, but hey – don’t they ever tell you that never to judge any book by its cover?

Just look back over the past months and count the series of havoc.

On a happy note, it’s pure relief that the unpredictable RABBIT is bidding a fast retreat to make way for the majestic Dragon.

And it’s about time.

2011 had not been such a bumper year as the whole world is awaiting healing from the reeling.

Dipping economies, natural disasters and global poverty have seen different parallels, and are still unresolved issues.

‘Tis been a year where we should also be wary about making foreign connections.

Old wine has been proven better. And safer.