Mymuvee's Weblog

CJ7

cheezqha — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 05:06:13 +0000

CJ7 (traditional Chinese: 長江七號; simplified Chinese: 长江七号; pinyin: Cháng Jiāng qī hào; Cantonese Yale: Cheung gong chat hou) is a 2008 Hong Kong science fiction/comedy film co-written, co-produced and directed by Stephen Chow, who also stars in the film. It was released on January 31, 2008 in Hong Kong. It was also released on March 14, 2008 in the United States.

In August 2007 the film was given the title CJ7, a play on China’s successful Shenzhou manned space missions – Shenzhou 5 and Shenzhou 6. It was previously been known by a series of working titles – Alien, Yangtze River VII, Long River 7 and most notably, A Hope. It was filmed in Ningbo, in the Zhejiang province.

Chow Ti (Stephen Chow ) is a poor laborer working at construction sites. He lives in a semi-demolished house with his son, Dicky (Xu Jiao ). Chow is eager to save money to send his son to private school , to ensure that their life will be better and brighter in the future than it is now. However, Dicky is often bullied by other children and his teacher (mainly due to his lowly stature), and he usually finds comfort with a young tutor, Ms. Yuen.

One day, while at a department store watching television, Dicky begs his father to buy him a popular robotic toy called CJ1. Chow cannot afford it, and the situation ends badly after Chow spanks the stubborn Dicky in front of other customers. Once again, Dicky finds comfort in Ms. Yuen, who is passing. That night, Chow visits the junkyard where he often picks up home appliances and clothes for Dicky. He finds a strange green orb and takes it home, telling Dicky that it is a new toy, better than the robot they saw earlier. Dicky is hesitant at first, but agrees to keep it. The following evening, the orb transforms into a cuddly alien creature that befriends Dicky. After playing, Dicky names the alien "CJ7", and then falls asleep. He dreams that the alien will help him gain popularity and good grades at school. Buoyed by his dream, Dicky takes CJ7 to school the following morning, but he receives a zero on his exam and is humiliated during physical education . Frustrated, Dicky tries to dispose of the CJ7, but realizes his mistake and later reconciles with it. The next day, because of his alien pet, Dicky begins to make new friends at school. However, as his grades have been declining, Chow takes CJ7 away, stating his son will never pass school if there are distractions. The father and son fall out and, predictably, Dicky sticks close to Ms. Yuen, who promises she will look after him. This cheers Chow up somewhat, who fears he might lose his son’s love.

Later, while Chow is working on a skyscraper, the heavy pipe he is shackled to falls, pulling him along with it. He later dies at a hospital, and Ms. Yuen takes Dicky home, explaining what has happened. The boy then shoves his tutor out of the house; through his tears he tells himself that his father would never leave him alone.

At the hospital, CJ7, using its otherworldly powers, revives Chow and transports him home. The next morning, Dicky, in tears of happiness, promises his father he will never give up at school or in life. The cost of CJ7′s rescue is high, as his own life fades away through the exhaustion. While Dicky waits and waits for his pet to resurrect, he receives a message (presumably from CJ7): continue with your schoolwork. Following the advice, things return to normal, with Chow attempting to flirt with Ms. Yuen (with little success), and Dicky playing with his new school friends. One calm afternoon, Dicky’s wildest dream greets him when a UFO zooms by, dropping hundreds of healthy CJ7s in the process.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CJ7

Spider-Man

cheezqha — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 04:45:16 +0000

Spider-Man is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15 (Aug. 1962), and was created by scripter-editor Stan Lee and artist-plotter Steve Ditko.

When Spider-Man first appeared in the early 1960s, teenagers in superhero comic books were usually relegated to the role of sidekick to the series’ main character. The Spider-Man series broke ground by featuring Peter Parker, a teenage high school student to whose “self-obsessions with rejection, inadequacy, and loneliness” young readers could relate.[1] Unlike previous teen heroes such as Bucky and Robin, Spider-Man did not benefit from adult mentors like Captain America and Batman and had to learn for himself that “with great power comes great responsibility”. He has since gone on to become one of the most popular, enduring and commercially successful superheroes worldwide, and is Marvel’s most famous character.[citation needed]

Marvel has featured Spider-Man in several comic book series, the first titled The Amazing Spider-Man. Over the years, the Peter Parker character has developed from shy high school student to troubled college student to a married teacher and a member of the superhero team the New Avengers. In the comics, Spider-Man is often referred to as “Spidey”, “web-slinger”, “wall-crawler” or “web-head”.

Spider-Man has appeared in various media, including several animated and live-action television series, syndicated newspaper comic strips and a successful series of films starring actor Tobey Maguire as the character.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider-Man

The Fast The Furious

cheezqha — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 09:31:24 +0000

2 Fast 2 Furious (Commonly known as 2F2F, and known as Wild Speed X2 in Japan) is a 2003 film that is the second installment of The Fast and the Furious film series, following 2001′s The Fast and the Furious. It stars Paul Walker, Tyrese Gibson, Eva Mendes, Devon Aoki and Chris ‘Ludacris’ Bridges; and was directed by John Singleton. The soundtrack was composed by David Arnold.

Paul Walker returns as former cop Brian O’Connor who teams up with his ex-con pal Roman Pearce (Tyrese). The duo transport a shipment of dirty money for shady Miami-based import-export dealer Carter Verone (Cole Hauser), while working with undercover agent Monica Fuentes (Mendes) to bring Verone down.

The total production budget of the film was approximately US$76 million, with estimated marketing costs of US$40 million. The total running time is 101 minutes, with an MPAA rating of PG-13.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2_Fast_2_Furious

Hannibal Rising

cheezqha — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 08:54:33 +0000

Hannibal Rising is a 2007 thriller film, the fifth film to feature Dr. Hannibal Lecter. It is a prequel to Manhunter, The Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal, and Red Dragon in the Hannibal Lecter series. The film is an adaptation of Thomas Harris’ 2006 novel of the same name and tells the story of Lecter’s evolution into the infamous serial killer of the previous films and books.

The film is directed by Peter Webber from a screenplay by Harris. It was filmed in Barrandov Studios in Prague. It is produced by the Dino De Laurentiis Company and was released on February 9, 2007. Theatrical distribution in the United States was handled by The Weinstein Company and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The DVD was released on May 29, 2007 in Unrated Widescreen and R-rated Full-Screen editions.

Lecter is eight years old when at the beginning of the novel ( 1941 ), living in Lecter Castle in Lithuania , when Operation Barbarossa , Adolf Hitler ‘s invasion of the Soviet Union turns the Baltic region into a part of the bloodiest front line of World War II . Lecter, his sister Mischa and his parents escape to the family’s hunting lodge in the woods to elude the advancing German troops. After three years, the Nazis are finally driven out of the countries now occupied by the Soviet Union. During their retreat, however, they destroy a Soviet tank that had stopped at the Lecter family’s lodge looking for water. The explosion kills everyone but Lecter and Mischa. They survive in the cottage until six former Lithuanian militiamen, led by a Nazi collaborator named Vladis Grutas , storm and loot it. Finding no other food, they kill and cannibalize a young boy they have captured and held, chained, in the barn, and then Lecter’s young sister Mischa to the despair and agony of young Hannibal who has to watch her being dragged, screaming his name, suspended in the air by her arms. Lecter is beaten with a log as he hears an axe end the life of Mischa. He blacks out and is later found wandering and mute by a Soviet tank crew that takes him back to Lecter Castle, which is now a Soviet orphanage.

Lecter is removed from the orphanage by his uncle, a noted painter, and he goes to live with him in France. The happiness of their lives together is cut short with his uncle’s sudden death. Most of the estate is taken for death duties .

Lecter goes to live in reduced circumstances with his aunt and they develop a special relationship. While in France, Lecter flourishes as a medical student. He commits his first murder as a teenager, killing a local butcher who insulted his aunt. He is suspected of the butcher’s murder by Inspector Popil, a French detective who also lost his family to the war. Thanks in part to his aunt’s intervention, however, Lecter escapes responsibility for the crime.

Lecter divides his time between medical school in France and hunting those who killed and cannibalized his sister. One by one, he crosses paths with Grutas’ men, killing them all in the most inventively gruesome ways possible. Eventually, Popil arrests Lecter, but Lecter is freed when popular support for his dispatch of war criminals combines with a lack of hard evidence. The novel ends with Lecter going to America to begin his residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Hannibalrisingposter.jpg

Zathura

cheezqha — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 09:43:16 +0000

Zathura: A Space Adventure is a film directed by Jon Favreau, based on an illustrated book by Chris Van Allsburg, author of Jumanji. It starred Jonah Bobo as Danny and Josh Hutcherson as Walter. Tim Robbins also had a small role as the divorced father of Walter and Danny. The film also gave a sister to the boys, introduced a derelict astronaut to the plot, and multiplied the number of the Zorgons and Zorgon ships. This movie is considered as the first of a series, being a prequel to Jumanji despite being released ten years afterwards.The film was released on November 11, 2005 by Columbia Pictures.

The studio hyped the release of Zathura in an attempt to generate word of mouth, with tie-ins including an episode of The Apprentice showcasing its family appeal, and received positive buzz from critics. The film currently garners a 76% "Certified Fresh" approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and was considered a box office bomb because to its $13,427,872 opening weekend gross, ranking #2 for the weekend. However, it lost 62% of its audience the next weekend, due to the significant opening of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. It ended up grossing just $29,258,869, less than half of its $65 million budget. The international box office total was $35,062,632, for a total of $64,321,501 worldwide. Ironically, the plot’s similarities with Jumanji proved to be its undoing, with one observer referring to it as "Jumanji in space without Robin Williams".

Coolio’s score to the film proved to be an unexpected success in Eastern Europe after the film’s main theme was used on an HSBC commercial.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zathura:_A_Space_Adventure

Titanic

cheezqha — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 09:20:31 +0000

Titanic is a 1997 disaster film directed, written, co-produced and co-edited by James Cameron about the sinking of the RMS Titanic. It features Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack Dawson, and Kate Winslet as Rose DeWitt Bukater, two members of different social classes who fall in love aboard the ill-fated 1912 maiden voyage of the ship. The main characters and the central love story are fictional, but some supporting characters (such as members of the ship’s crew) are based on real historical figures. Gloria Stuart plays the elderly Rose, who narrates the film in a modern day framing device.

Production of the film began in 1995, when Cameron shot footage of the real wreck of the RMS Titanic. He envisioned the love story as a means to engage the audience with the real-life tragedy. Shooting took place at the Akademik Mstislav Keldysh for the modern scenes, and a reconstruction of the ship was built at Playas de Rosarito, Baja California. Cameron also used scale models and computer-generated imagery to recreate the sinking of the ship. Titanic became at the time the most expensive film ever made, costing approximately US$200 million with funding from Paramount Pictures and 20th Century Fox.

Originally slated to be released on July 2, 1997, post-production delays pushed back the film’s release date to December 19, 1997. After word broke out that Titanic’s release date was pushed back, the press believed that Titanic would fail and cause the downfall of Fox and Paramount. Despite low expectations, the film was both a major critical and commercial success, winning eleven Academy Awards including Best Picture and becoming the highest-grossing film of all time, with a total worldwide gross of approximately $1.8 billion (it is the sixth-highest grossing in North America once adjusted for inflation).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanic_5-disc_Deluxe_Limited_Edition#Home_Video

Superhero Movie

cheezqha — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 09:05:44 +0000

Superhero Movie is a 2008 comedy film written and directed by Craig Mazin and produced by David Zucker and Robert K. Weiss. Superhero Movie starred Drake Bell, Sarah Paxton, Christopher McDonald, and Leslie Nielsen. It was originally titled Superhero!.

Superhero Movie is a spoof of the superhero film genre, mainly the first Spider-Man. The film follows in the footsteps of the Scary Movie series of comedies, with which the film’s poster shares a resemblance. It was also inspired by, and contains homages to, some of Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker’s earlier spoof films such as Airplane! and The Naked Gun.

Production began in September 2007 in New York. It was released on March 28, 2008 in the United States, and the UK release was June 6, 2008, and received 9 million dollars on its opening weekend and was number three in the box office. The film was rated PG-13 by the MPAA for crude and sexual content, comic violence, drug references, and language.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superhero_movie

The Lord of the Ring

cheezqha — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 08:18:38 +0000

The Lord of the Rings is an epic high fantasy novel written by the English philologist J. R. R. Tolkien . The story began as a sequel to Tolkien’s earlier, less complex children’s fantasy novel The Hobbit (1937), but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in stages between 1937 and 1949, much of it during World War II. Although intended as a single-volume work, it was originally published in three volumes in 1954 and 1955, due to post-war paper shortages, and it is in this three-volume form that it is popularly known. It has since been reprinted numerous times and translated into many different languages,becoming one of the most popular and influential works in 20th-century literature

The title of the book refers to the story’s main antagonist, the Dark Lord Sauron , who had in an earlier age created the One Ring that rules the other Rings of Power , as the ultimate weapon in his campaign to conquer and rule all of Middle-earth . From quiet beginnings in the Shire , a hobbit land not unlike the English countryside, the story ranges across Middle-earth following the course of the War of the Ring through the eyes of its characters, most notably the hobbits, Frodo Baggins , Samwise Gamgee (Sam), Meriadoc Brandybuck (Merry) and Peregrin Took (Pippin). The lands of Middle-earth are populated by Men (humans) and other humanoid races ( Hobbits , Elves , Dwarves , and Orcs ), as well as many other creatures, both real and fantastic ( Ents , Wargs , Balrogs , Trolls , etc.).

Along with Tolkien’s other works, The Lord of the Rings has been subjected to extensive analysis of its themes and origins. Although a major work in itself, the story was only the last movement of a larger work Tolkien had worked on since 1917, that he described as a mythopoeia . Influences on this earlier work, and on the story of The Lord of the Rings , include philology , mythology, religion and the author’s distaste for the effects of industrialization , as well as earlier fantasy works and Tolkien’s experiences in World War I . The Lord of the Rings in its turn is considered to have had a great effect on modern fantasy; the impact of Tolkien’s works is such that the use of the words "Tolkienian" and "Tolkienesque" has been recorded in the Oxford English Dictionary .

The enduring popularity of The Lord of the Rings has led to numerous references in popular culture, the founding of many societies by fans of Tolkien’s works ,and the publication of many books about Tolkien and his works. The Lord of the Rings has inspired, and continues to inspire, artwork, music, films and television, video games , and subsequent literature. Adaptations of The Lord of the Rings have been made for radio, theatre, and film.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings

Death Race

cheezqha — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 08:30:55 +0000

Death Race is an action film written and directed by Paul W. S. Anderson. The film is a remake of the 1975 film Death Race 2000, based on Ib Melchior’s short story "The Racer", and stars Jason Statham in the lead role. The remake had been in development since 2002, though production was delayed by disapproval of early screenplays then placed in turnaround following a dispute between Paramount Pictures and the producer duo Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner. Death Race was acquired by Universal Studios, and Anderson re-joined the project to write and direct. Filming began in Montreal in August 2007, and the completed project was released on August 22, 2008.

The film has received generally poor reviews from critics. It currently holds a 40% "Rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and a rating of 41 out of 100 on Metacritic.

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film half a star (out of four), calling it "an assault on all the senses, including common."Keith Phipps of The Onion’s A.V. Club said the film is "ideal for those who want to watch a bunch of cars blow each other up, without having to think about it all that much."Robert Koehler of Variety called Death Race "as hard as metal and just as dumb" and criticized it for removing the humor of Death Race 2000.[14] Marc Savlov of the Austin Chronicle called Death Race "one of the most boring drags of all time."[15]

Peter Hartlaub of the San Francisco Chronicle called the film "an ill-advised and severely wussified remake."Elizabeth Weitzman of the New York Daily News gave the film one and a half stars (out of four), calling it "junk" and saying that "the chases are pretty cool, but there’s absolutely nothing else to see."A positive review came from Nathan Lee of The New York Times, who said that "the movie is legitimately greasy, authentically nasty, with a good old-fashioned sense of laying waste to everything in sight." James Berardinelli of ReelViews awarded Death Race a score of two and a half stars (out of four), saying that it’s "weak when it comes to things like plot, character, and acting, but it’s very good at provoking visceral reactions."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_Race

Harry Potter

cheezqha — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 08:25:59 +0000

This article is about the fantasy series. For the character himself, see Harry Potter (character) . For related topics, see List of Harry Potter related topics . For other uses, see Harry Potter (disambiguation) .

Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling . The books chronicle the adventures of the eponymous adolescent wizard Harry Potter , together with Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger , his friends from the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry . The central story arc concerns Harry’s struggle against the evil wizard Lord Voldemort , who killed Harry’s parents in his quest to conquer the wizarding world and subjugate non-magical ( muggle ) people to his rule. Several successful derivative films, video games and other themed merchandise have been based upon the series.

Since the 1997 release of the first novel Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone , which was retitled Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in the United States, the books have gained immense popularity, critical acclaim and commercial success worldwide.As of June 2008, the book series has sold more than 400 million copies and has been translated into 65 languages,and the last four books have consecutively set records as the fastest-selling books in history.

English-language versions of the books are published by Bloomsbury in the United Kingdom, Scholastic Press in the United States, Allen & Unwin in Australia, and Raincoast Books in Canada. Thus far, the first five books have been made into a series of motion pictures by Warner Bros. The sixth, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince , is scheduled for release on 17 July 2009. The series also originated much tie-in merchandise, making the Harry Potter brand worth £ 7 billion ( US$ 15 billion).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter