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Journey 2: The Mysterious Island – 2012 Movie

Diana — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 04:33:45 +0000

Sean Anderson is caught by police escaping from a satellite research center where he was attempting to access a signal broadcast that was too faint to pick up outside of the facility. Escorted home by his stepfather, Hank Parsons, he eventually reveals that the mysterious broadcast he was attempting to access was a set of indistinguishable words that he is trying to decode. Hank, in an attempt to bond with his stepson, solves the code which eventually reveals the co-ordinates for the Mysterious Island, which were hidden in three novels- Treasure Island, Gulliver’s Travels and Verne’s Mysterious Island. Sean believes that his long lost grandfather was the one behind the transmission, and that he has discovered the island. Sean and Hank immediately set out for the island of Palau. Both Hank and his wife, Liz, don’t believe anything that Sean is convinced of, such as the fact that the Mysterious Island could exist and that his grandfather discovered it, but after Hank considers that this trip could help bring him closer to his usual anti-social step son, the couple decide it would be ideal. Once arriving at Palau, they board a private helicopter run by Gabato and his daughter Kailani, whom Sean immediately develops a crush on. The four travel to the co-ordinates until their helicopter is hit by a freak storm, causing them to crash on the island. Eventually they manage to make their way inland where they finally meet Sean’s grandfather. He leads them back to his hut where they spend the night. Once it is determined that a radio signal for a distress call can only be sent once a fortnight, it is decided that the group will stay put until then.

The next day the five travel to the lost city of Atlantis, buried far back in the jungles. There Hank finds evidence to believe that the island is slowly sinking. It is revealed through Sean’s grandfather that the island sinks underwater once every 140 years or so due to shifting tectonic plates, and that they still have years before the next cycle begins. Hank’s recent discovery however shows that Sean’s grandfather’s calculations are wrong and that the island will sink in a few days. From there the group set out to Captain Nemo’s tomb, which contains his journal holding the whereabouts of the legendary submarine, The Nautilus, their only hope of escaping on time. Once the journal is uncovered, they set out towards Nautilus, encountering various obstacles in their path. Sean’s foot is dislocated after a dog fight involving a giant bird, and the group is slowed down. The next morning it is discovered that Gabato has left the group to return to a previously passed volcano of gold, which he believes is his and Kailani’s only hope of living a decent life. Kailani and Sean’s grandfather set out to find him while Hank and Sean continue to look for the Nautilus.

Once at the submarine’s entrance, the two are disheartened to find that the rising sea level has buried the cave underwater and that they must dive to where it is located. Using a simple breathing device, they manage to reach the submarine and open the entrance hatch, narrowly avoiding a nasty encounter with a giant electric eel.

Kailani and Sean’s grandfather eventually find Gabato and convince him to return to the submarine. Once there, they are distraught to discover that Hank and Sean are nowhere in sight. Unbeknownst to them, the pair are attempting to start the submarine, although the batteries are long exhausted. Hank devises a plan to use the eel to conduct enough electricity to kick start the Nautilus, and equipping a basic diving suit, exits the sub to confront the eel and throw a harpoon at it.

Once the submarine starts, they quickly travel to the surface and retrieve the other three. Six months later, Gabato is head of a successful tourism movement on Palau, and has enough money to send Kailani to the United States where she is dating Sean and attending college. At Sean’s birthday, his grandfather gives him a copy of From the Earth to the Moon, and proposes another journey ( to the moon), as a family. The film ends with Sean, Kailani and his family reading the book together, and a view of the moon.

Alvin and the Chipmunks 3: Chipwrecked Trailer

Diana — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 08:53:46 +0000

The Chipmunks and The Chipettes (three female counterparts to the Chipmunks) go on a cruise trip with the Chipmunks’ owner/manager/father figure, Dave Seville (Jason Lee). During the cruise, the ‘Munks and ‘Ettes turn the ship into their personal playground, causing trouble and running amuck as they will. Eventually, their chaotic behavior gets them ship wrecked on a desert island, everyone getting lost in the process. As Dave sets out to look for the lost chipmunk trios, the six find a new castaway on the island who turns out to be more than a match for the trios.

Pimp My Cube Contest

Diana — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 02:15:34 +0000

This post brought to you by Contest Factory. All opinions are 100% mine.

I am entering Pimp My Cube Contest

I am entering a contest for Pimp my Cube which is my work space in a home office. See the mess around with loads of stuffs stacked on top of one another giving an eye-sore to the work place. But I have no choice. These are all much needed thing, and I don’t have enough storage space to put them away in a proper place away from my workstation. You can see the wires dangling around the laptop, my iPad 2 placed on top of the multi-functional printer since I am currently charging it – the battery is low at the moment.

And stacks of bags of stuffs to be put away for more walking space, but they are now under the table containing my fax machine. Used papers strewn all over the table and they will be collected as recycled paper to sell for some profit. But for the moment, I placed them there as it is more convenient.

Behind my workstation are bags and plastic bags of things like CDs, files, empty recycled bags, papers, office stationaries, etc. I think I really need a makeover with a new cube and proper cubicle to place all my office stuffs neatly on my workspace so that I can retrieve them without much effort. Help me!

The Muppets – 2011 Movie

Diana — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 07:31:08 +0000

Walter, portrayed primarily by a muppet, lives with his brother Gary (Jason Segel), a human, in Smalltown. The two became Muppet fans when they watched The Muppet Show in their youths. As adults, Walter and Gary continue to live together in Smalltown. Gary plans a vacation to Los Angeles with his girlfriend Mary (Amy Adams) to celebrate their tenth anniversary, and he invites Walter along so he can tour the Muppet Theater. Gary is pleased to spend time with both Mary and Walter, though Mary feels that Gary’s devotion to Walter detracts from their relationship.

In Los Angeles, the three visit the Muppet Theater to find it derelict. During the tour, Walter sneaks into Kermit the Frog’s office and discovers Statler and Waldorf selling the theater to Tex Richman (Chris Cooper), an oil magnate, and his cohorts Bobo the Bear and Uncle Deadly. Waldorf explains that if The Muppets can raise $10 million they can repurchase the theater. Once Statler and Waldorf leave, Walter learns of Richman’s true intentions: to destroy the Muppet Theater and drill for oil underneath.

Walter recounts the conversation to Gary and Mary and appeals to Kermit at his mansion. Kermit is distressed to learn the news, and realizes he must organize a show to raise the money, which the Muppets have not done in years. Walter convinces him to try, and they set off to reunite the group. Fozzie Bear is performing with the Moopets, a group of uncouth Muppet impersonators, in Reno, Nevada, and Kermit persuades him to leave Reno. Gonzo has become a plumbing magnate. Despite his initial objection, Gonzo decides to perform, destroying his business and joining them. Animal is in a celebrity anger-management clinic; he rejoins them, but his sponsor, Jack Black, warns him to avoid drums. During a montage, the other primary Muppets are located and rejoin. In Paris, the group finds Miss Piggy working as Vogue Paris’’s editor for “plus-sized” fashion. Unable to convince Miss Piggy to return, the group replaces her with her Moopet counterpart Miss Poogy.

The Muppets pitch their telethon idea to several TV networks, but are turned down. Due to a popular show’s sudden cancellation, Veronica Martin (Rashida Jones) eventually gives the Muppets a 2-hour opening in her network’s schedule on the condition that they find a celebrity guest. The Muppets repair the theater, but their rehearsal fails and Kermit cannot find a celebrity guest. Miss Piggy returns and forces Miss Poogy out. Kermit persuades Walter to perform and find his talent, while Mary goes sight-seeing alone.

Realizing there is not yet a guest host, Kermit entreats Richman to return their studio, but Richman refuses. Richman reveals that the Muppets will also lose their rights to the Muppet name; it will be given to the Moopets. Miss Piggy organizes the Muppets to kidnap Jack Black, who serves as a celebrity guest. Mary returns to Smalltown after Gary forgets their anniversary dinner. Gary and Walter each want each other’s help with their problems and they have a falling out. Gary realizes he must improve his relationship with Mary, while Walter realizes he was meant to be a Muppet. Gary returns to Mary, while the telethon succeeds with celebrity support and Black as host. Richman cuts the power to the theater, but Gary and Mary rush back and repair the wiring. Uncle Deadly turns on Richman and stops him from destroying the transmitter antenna.

Out of acts, Walter finds his talent, performing a whistling act to the audience’s acclaim. When calls are stopped by Richman, a glitch is discovered when it is revealed the Muppets only garnered $99,999.99. Kermit states that they tried and will start over, together as a family. The Muppets, Walter, Gary, and Mary walk out of the theater and discover a vast gathering of fans. With Gary’s encouragement, Walter greets the crowd with the Muppets. Gary proposes to Mary, while Richman returns the theater and the Muppet name to the Muppets after Gonzo’s failed “head-bowling” act from the telethon gives Tex a head injury.

Arthur Christmas in 3D

Diana — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 09:35:02 +0000

The story of Arthur Christmas revolves around the current Santa Claus, his wife, his two sons Arthur and Steve, and their grandfather, Grand-Santa. Set on Christmas Eve night, the film opens with a set of elves sitting behind their computers in the command center of Santa’s gigantic, ultra-high-tech sleigh titled the S-1. While Santa and the elves deliver presents to children using fancy advanced equipment and military precision, Santa’s oldest son Steve manages the operation at mission control, alongside his obsequious assistant Peter. However, his clumsy younger brother Arthur, who is assigned to handling childrens’ letters in the mail department, inadvertently disrupts operations when he enters mission control to place some correspondence and a present falls out of the system as a result.

With the seventieth annual delivery mission under his official command completed, Santa, being far past his prime and whose role in field operations now is largely symbolic, returns to give a congratulatory speech to the elves. Much to Steve’s frustration, who has long anticipated succeeding his father, Santa announces he intends to continue for the foreseeable future.

During their family Christmas dinner, Arthur’s suggestion for the family to play a board game degenerates into a petty quarrel with Santa and Steve arguing about their right to be Santa while Grand-Santa, who is bored by retirement, resentfully criticizes his successors’ modernization of their calling. Distraught, the various family members leave the dinner table, though Arthur stops Steve with a small gesture to reassure him that he will be a great Santa Claus. However, Steve rejects Arthur’s overture, while at the same time their father shares his doubts with his wife about his self-identity if he retires.

Meanwhile, an elf named Bryony finds a wrapped bicycle that has not yet been delivered. She alerts Steve and his elf-assistant to the problem. Overhearing, Arthur is alarmed to recognize the present as a gift for a little girl named Gwen who had written Santa about her wish. Arthur alerts his father Santa who doesn’t know how to handle the situation. Steve argues that one missed present out of the billions of deliveries that night is a minimal error and since sunrise is in two hours with the high-tech sled needing an overhaul, correcting that oversight will have to wait a few days.

The distraught Arthur is stopped by his grandfather, who proposes delivering the gift with his old wooden sleigh named Evie and the great-grandchildren of his old reindeer which were called Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, John, Banbi, “You with the white ear”, “And You, and you”. Together, Grand-Santa, Arthur, the reindeer and Bryony, who had stowed away, embark on a journey to deliver the present. They get lost and land in danger including being mistaken for aliens, thus causing an international military incident and losing reindeer in the various mishaps. Through the group’s struggles, Arthur is profoundly disillusioned to learn that Granda-Santa is doing this merely to satisfy his ego, that Steve refuses to help them out of a petty resentment of perceiving that Arthur is threatening his succession and that his own father has gone to bed, apparently content to neglect his duty to that girl.

Finally, while stranded in Cuba after losing the sleigh, Arthur gets an renewal of purpose that the girl needs him and the field team manages to regain control of the sleigh. Meanwhile, the elf staff is collectively alarmed at learning of this neglected delivery and Santa’s befuddled excuses sends them into a panic that their organization’s ideals have been violated, threatening their whole existence. In response, Mr. and Mrs. Claus, and belatedly Steve, take the high-tech sleigh to deliver the present. Unfortunately, they are seriously delayed by a basic mistake of Santa’s with the craft’s navigation system which causes an embarrassing incident that reveals Steve’s lack of empathy and compassion with his poor handling of the mistaken child. Humiliated at the misunderstanding, Steve loses his temper at his father’s aged incompetence.

After much difficulty, and with Mrs. Claus’ and Bryony’s help, all the male Clauses arrive at Gwen’s house before she awakens, only to have all but Arthur quarrel about who finally places the gift. Noticing that only Arthur truly cares about the girl’s feelings in the Christmas spirit in this situation, the elder Clauses realize that he is the sole true worthy successor. As a result, Santa gives Arthur the honor and Steve forfeits his birthright to his brother.

With the crisis resolved, Santa goes into a happy retirement with Mrs. Claus. Meanwhile, Grand-Santa’s desire for some traditionalism is satisfied with the compromise of the high-tech sleigh being pulled by a 5000-reindeer team led by the original eight reindeer, all of whom managed to return home after that difficult run. As for their sons, Steve finds he is content being valued as COO with Bryony as Vice President of Packing while Arthur happily guides the enterprise in the proper spirit as the new Santa and S-1 renamed “EVIE” with Christmas ornaments and is pulled by five thousand reindeer.

Puss in Boots 3D

Diana — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 04:09:48 +0000

Sometime before Puss (Antonio Banderas) meets Shrek and Donkey in Shrek 2, he arrives at a town while escaping a bounty hunter. There he learns that the outlaw couple Jack (Billy Bob Thornton) and Jill (Amy Sedaris) have the magic beans he’s been looking for most of his life, beans that can lead him to a giant’s castle holding valuable golden goose eggs. When Puss tries to steal them from the outlaws’ room, a masked cat (Salma Hayek) interrupts. Both fail and escape, and Puss follows the cat back to Cat Cantina, a club, where they have a dance-off and a sword fight, ending when Puss hits the masked cat in the head with a guitar. He learns that the masked cat was Kitty Softpaws. She is allied with Humpty Alexander Dumpty (Zach Galifianakis), a talking egg and Puss’ long-estranged childhood friend from the orphanage where he was raised. Overcoming Puss’ feelings of betrayal for a youthful misadventure when Humpty tricked Puss into helping commit a crime, they convince him to join them in finding the beans and retrieving the golden eggs.

The trio steals the beans from Jack and Jill and elude the angry outlaws in a canyon chase. As Humpty leads his compatriots to the spot where they must plant the beans, Puss and Kitty’s relationship begins to grow from rivalry into friendship. The trio ride the fast-growing beanstalk into the clouds where, Humpty explains, they’ll find castle of the late giant. Now, he continues, a fearsome monster called the Terror guards the Golden Goose. When they realize the golden eggs are too heavy to carry, they steal the Goose — which is just a gosling — and escape the castle and the Terror. While celebrating their victory, the group is ambushed by Jack and Jill, who knock Puss unconscious.

When Puss wakes up, he tracks Jack and Jill back to his old hometown, where he learns that the entire heist was a plot by Humpty to lure him home to be captured, as revenge for abandoning him to the authorities when Humpty’s youthful heist went bad. Jack, Jill, and even Kitty were involved in the con. After pleas from his adoptive mother, the head of the orphanage, Puss turns himself in to the guards while Humpty donates many golden eggs to the town and becomes a hero.

While in prison, Puss meets the original Jack from the “Jack and the Beanstalk” story who warns him that the Terror is in fact the Golden Goose’s mother, and it will stop at nothing to get its child back. A repentant Kitty helps Puss break out of prison. Puss convinces Humpty to help him fight off the Terror, saying he knows Humpty is a good person at heart, and he will be forgiven if he helps save the town. The Terror arrives, revealing itself to be a giant goose. Using the Golden Goose as bait, Puss and Humpty lure the Terror out of the town, but Humpty and the Goose are knocked off a bridge with Puss holding on to them. Humpty knows Puss cannot hold both of them, and he lets go, sacrificing himself to save the Goose and the town. Humpty’s shell cracks open to reveal that he was a golden egg on the inside. The Terror then takes the Goose and Humpty away back to the giant’s castle.

Puss is forced to flee because he is still an outlaw, but his efforts to save the town make him a hero among the townspeople. Puss and Kitty escape the guards once more, and Kitty says she will see him again soon, showing that she has taken his boots. In the epilogue, Jack and Jill are recovering from their injuries after being crushed by the Terror, Humpty is shown once again in his regular egg form as he rides the Terror into the clouds, and Puss and Kitty head back to dance at Kitty’s hideout, the Glitter Box, where they finally kiss.

Happy Feet 2 – 3D Movie

Diana — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 03:04:12 +0000

Mumble (Elijah Wood) and Gloria’s (Alecia Moore (P!nk) son Erik (Ava Acres) is reluctant to try dancing as most of the penguins in Emperor-land do. Erik’s first attempt at dancing embarrasses and outcasts him from the rest of the penguins. After Ramon’s (Robin Williams) misguided advice that Emperor-Land isn’t fit for outcast penguins like themselves, Erik and his two friends Boadicia (Meibh Campbell) and Atticus (Lil P-Nut) follow Ramon back to Adélie-Land. Upon returning, Ramon learns that Adélie-Land has been ruled by a God-like penguin named The Might Sven (Hank Azaria). Sven is the last of his kind who survived death by his ability to fly. Erik instantly becomes enamored with Sven, who takes a liking to him as well as there are “many great heroes named Erik” back in Svenland. Sven and Lovelace (Robin Williams) tell the story of The Mighty Sven, who was rescued by a Russian vessel and rehabilitated alongside Lovelace. One night Sven discovers the “aliens” that saved them cooking and eating chicken meat. He flees the boat with Lovelace in tow. The two wind up on the shore of Antartica, where Sven performs his first miracle by revealing moss to the local penguins. Ramon accuses Sven of being a fraud and a false idol, until Sven uses his power of “Svending” to help Ramon find a mate. Ramon instantly falls in love with Carmen (Sofía Vergara), another Adélie penguin who shows no interest in him. Mumble follows the chicks’ footprints to Adélie land and orders them to return to Emperor-Land. The chicks refuse, especially Erik, who has adopted Sven as a hero. Sven encourages Erik to believe in himself, because “Sven believes in you”, before sending Erik back to Emperor-land with Mumble.

Meanwhile, the story shifts to two krill in the midst of a swarm. Will (Brad Pitt) is an adventurous and existentialist krill determined to discover what lies beyond the krill swarm. His friend Bill (Matt Damon) reluctantly follows him to ensure his safety. Once separated from the swarm, Will and Bill realize that krill are at the bottom of the food chain, created to be eaten. Inspired, Will ventures out to evolve and “move up the food chain”, eating a real creature instead of being eaten.

On the way back from Adélie-Land, Mumble tells Erik that he is unique to the world and that he will someday find his calling. Erik, still inspired by Sven’s words of wisdom, quickly dismisses Mumble’s advice. While trying to cross a perilous ice bridge, the penguins encounter Bryan the Beach Master (Richard Carter) and his two young sons, who refuse to let the penguins pass. Suddenly the ice gives away and Bryan is trapped in a deep crevice below the ice. Mumble sets out to free Bryan by antagonizing a sleeping leopard seal until it chases him down. In actuality, it is the work of Bill and Will “moving up the food chain” and trying to eat a creature with a face that awakens the seal. During the fight, Mumble manages to use the leopard seal to shatter the wall of ice between Bryan and the sea, saving his life. Seeking acceptance from Erik, Mumble is disheartened to learn Erik attributed the feat of courage to Svending, Sven’s motivational process of achieving what one wants by willing it to happen. Bryan returns to the Elephant Seal beach, but not before thanking Mumble and promising to return the favor to him at any time.

When the penguins returns to Emperor-Land they are shocked to discover a large iceberg has struck their home, trapping the entire Emperor Penguin population below large walls of ice. Boadicia ventures out to Adélie Land to recruit the help of Ramon, the Amigos and all the Adélie penguins to bring fish to the doomed Emperor penguins. In the meantime Mumble, Erik and Atticus deliver meager supplies of fish to the trapped penguins. Erik, still convinced penguins can fly through Svending, attempts to deliver a fish to Gloria by flying and nearly tossing himself over the edge of the ice-berg. Mumble scolds Erik for his beliefs, claiming that no penguin can fly and that none of the Emperor Penguins will be able to escape. Once Erik realizes Emperor-Land is destined to die, he begins to break down. Gloria sends Mumble off to hunt for fish, calming Erik and the rest of the hysterical Emperor-Land through song (Bridge of Light). In the process, Bill becomes inspired to create another swarm of krill but Will refuses, preferring to adhere to his new predator lifestyle.

The next morning, a large flock of Skua attack the trapped Emperor-Land. Noah the Elder (Hugo Weaving) encourages the penguins to stand up to the birds (Anthony LaPaglia, Michael Cornacchia) through perseverance and unity. When all hope seems lost, Boadica returns with the entire Adélie-Land, led by Sven, to aid the trapped Emperor Penguins. Sven orchestrates a cooperative effort to feed the trapped Emperor Penguins through hunting and bringing back a flow of fish from the sea.

During this period Will becomes increasingly agitated with Bill’s behavior and ventures out alone, into the Adélie feeding swarm, to join “fellow predators”. In the process he is whisked away attached to a fish carried by Sven and down into the trapped Emperor-Land.

Suddenly the Adélie penguins recognize the same Russian vessel that saved Sven and Lovelace. Sven, terrified for his life, flees and hides from the humans. Lovelace, meanwhile, swims to the top of an iceberg and dances to attract the ship’s attention. He successfully leads the humans back to Emperor-Land, where they begin carving a path up the side of the iceberg to freedom. Halfway through the effort a large storm rolls in, forcing the penguins to huddle up and the humans to flee. The next morning Sven returns, reporting that the ocean has frozen over significantly and there is no chance of the humans returning or the Adélie Penguins transporting food over such a distance. Tensions arise as the Emperor Penguins become frantic at the lack of food and attempt to launch themselves into the air and “fly” out of the crevice. Erik urges Sven to teach the penguins how to fly, but he reveals his true nature. Sven is a not a penguin at all, but a Puffin– and puffins can fly. He admits that after the loss of Svenland he was lonely and grew to love the penguins who accepted him as a family. Dejected, Sven flies off. Mumble, after watching snow fall into a crevice between chunks of iceberg, begins to tap-dance on the ice and lead the Adélie penguins in a dance to force snow between the ice and weaken it. The plan works well until several chunks break loose, sending a large portion of the Adélies into the doomed crevice. In attempting to save Erik from plummeting over the edge, Mumble injures his foot and is unable to dance and lead the Adélies. Ramon realizes Carmen is trapped below and, risking his own life, jumps off the iceberg to be with her. As he professes his love to her, she immediately falls in love with him.

Sven becomes aware of the dancing and proves himself to be a worthy dancer despite public outcry against him. He leads the remaining Adélies in dance (Dragostea din tei) while Erik and Mumble venture off to the Elephant Seal beach.

Meanwhile Will, weary from the dangers he experienced as a predator on the surface, ventures back into the sea to find Bill, but not before experiencing the penguin’s dancing. He is suddenly forced down a crack in the ice and into the sea beneath Emperor-Land. He reunites with Bill and his swarm, who tell him he has the purpose of changing the world and evolving the swarm. Once Bill told the swarm of their position on the food chain and their lives as pure herbivores, they followed him to the safety of the inaccessible ice below Emperor-Land.

Mumble and Erik arrive at Elephant Seal Beach where Bryan is in the middle of a fight of dominance between another large male. Mumble pleads with the elephant seals to help free the Emperor Penguins. Bryan, initially hesitant to return a favor at such a pivotal time of the year, becomes aggressive and threatens Mumble off the beach. Erik, unnerved by the lack of honor and respect from Bryan, discovers his true ability- a strong operatic voice. He sings an impromptu opera commemorating Mumble as his hero for his acts of bravery and chides Bryan for his lack of compassion and gratitude towards him. At the end he runs up and hugs Mumble, accepting him as his inspiration. Touched by Erik’s song, the elephant seals travel to Emperor-Land to free the penguins (Rawhide). The penguins and the seals begin slamming the ice on beat, joined by the krill below the ice, to the tune of “Under Pressure”. Finally the iceberg crumbles enough for the Emperor Penguins to climb out of the crevice and reunite with their families.

The Adventures of Tintin – 2011 Movie

Diana — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 09:32:29 +0000

Tintin, a young journalist, and his dog Snowy, are browsing in an outdoor market in a European town. Tintin buys a model of a three-masted sailing ship, the Unicorn, for a good price, but is then immediately accosted by the sinister Ivan Ivanovitch Sakharine, and the mysterious figure of Barnaby, who both try to buy the model from Tintin, without success. Tintin takes the ship home, but it is broken during a fight between Snowy and a neighbour’s cat. As it breaks, a parchment scroll slips out of the ship’s mast. Snowy spots it but is unable to alert Tintin. Meanwhile, incompetent detectives Thomson and Thompson are on the trail of a pickpocket, Aristides Silk. Tintin visits Sakharine in Marlinspike Hall, where he learns that there are at least two model ships.

Later, Tintin is shot at, then abducted by accomplices of Sakharine, and imprisoned on the SS Karaboudjan. On board, Tintin escapes and meets the ship’s nominal captain, Haddock. Haddock has been supplied with whisky by first mate Allan, who is working for Sakharine, and the captain is permanently drunk, and doesn’t know what’s happening on board his ship. Tintin and Haddock (and Snowy) eventually escape from the Karaboudjan in a lifeboat. Sakharine sends a seaplane to find them, but Tintin is able to capture the plane, and fly towards the (fictitious) Moroccan port of Bagghar, but they crash in the desert.

Dehydrated in the heat, and suffering from a sudden lack of alcohol, Haddock hallucinates, and starts to remember stories about his ancestor, Sir Francis Haddock(e), who was captain of the Unicorn during the 17th century. Sir Francis’ treasure-laden ship was attacked by a pirate ship, led by the masked Red Rackham, and, after a fierce battle and eventual surrender, Sir Francis chose to sink the Unicorn, and most of the treasure, rather than allow it to fall into Rackham’s hands. It transpires that there were three models of the Unicorn, each containing a scroll. Together, the scrolls will reveal the location of the sunken Unicorn, and its treasure.

In Bagghar, Tintin and the Captain find out that the third model ship is in the possession of the wealthy Omar Ben Salaad, but it is encased in a bullet-proof glass display case. Sakharine’s plan is to stage a concert involving famous diva Bianca Castafiore, the “Milanese nightingale”, whose penetrating singing voice will be able to shatter the glass case, allowing Sakharine’s trained hawk to fly down and steal the third scroll. After a chase down to the harbour, pursued by Tintin and Haddock, Sakharine finally escapes with all three scrolls. Tintin chases him back to Europe and arranges a police reception for him on the dockside. Haddock and Sakharine, who is revealed to be the descendant of Red Rackham, replay their ancestors’ swashbuckling sword fight, using dockside cranes, and Haddock is eventually victorious.

With the three scrolls in their possession, Tintin and Haddock find that the indicated location is Marlinspike Hall, and that the hall had been built originally by Sir Francis Haddock. There, in the cellar, they find some of the treasure, a clue to the location of the sunken Unicorn, and, perhaps, the excuse for another adventure.

Real Steel – 2011 Movie

Diana — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 09:18:22 +0000

In 2020, humans have been replaced by robots in boxing. Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman) is a former boxer who owns such a robot, Ambush, competing in unsanctioned matches and in exhibitions with it. At a rural fair, Ambush is destroyed by Black Thunder, a bull belonging to promoter Ricky (Kevin Durand). Having made a bet that Ambush would win, Charlie now owes Ricky $20,000, which he doesn’t pay before leaving.

Charlie is informed his ex-girlfriend has died, and that he must attend a hearing to decide the fate of his preteen son Max (Dakota Goyo). Max’s aunt Debra (Hope Davis) and uncle Marvin (James Rebhorn) want full custody, which Charlie gives them in exchange for $100,000, $50,000 of it in advance, on the condition that Charlie take care of Max for three months while the couple are away on a second honeymoon.

Charlie and Max meet with Charlie’s childhood friend Bailey Tallet (Evangeline Lilly), who runs the boxing gym of her deceased father, Charlie’s old coach. There, Charlie buys a secondhand World Robot Boxing league (WRB) robot, the once-famous Noisy Boy, and arranges for it to fight the illegal circuit’s champion, Midas, at a venue belonging to his friend Finn (Anthony Mackie). Partly due to his inexperience with Noisy Boy’s combinations and partly due to his overconfidence, Charlie ends up losing control of Noisy Boy and Midas destroys it.

Charlie breaks into a junkyard with Max to steal scraps that he can use to put a new robot together. There, Max falls over a ledge, where he is saved from doom after being snagged by a lodged and buried robot arm. After Charlie pulls him back up, Max uncovers the entire robot, called Atom. On Max’s insistence, Charlie takes it back to Bailey’s gym, where they discover Atom is an obsolete Generation-2 sparring bot built in 2014. Atom has been designed to sustain massive damage, but is unable to deal much damage itself. Partly due to Max’s insistence and partly due to Charlie needing money, the duo takes Atom to fight an unsanctioned outdoor match against a robot called Metro, and Atom wins, earning back some of Charlie’s money.

Max later upgrades it to take vocal commands using spare parts from Noisy Boy and Ambush and successfully convinces Charlie to train the robot. Atom’s string of subsequent wins and high-speed maneuvers, which were rarely seen from a robot, attracts the attention of a promoter from WRB, who offers Atom a professional fight against a robot called Twin Cities. Charlie accepts, and Atom wins again, thanks to Charlie’s knowledge of boxing, which allows him to locate a design flaw in Twin Cities. Taking advantage of Atom’s subsequent novelty attention, Max challenges WRB champion Zeus, designed by arrogant genius Tak Mashido (Karl Yune) and sponsored by rich Russian Farra Lemcova (Olga Fonda), who first tries to buy the upstart Atom.

As Max and Charlie leave after the Twin Cities fight, Ricky and his men attack them, and steal their winnings. Feeling guilty, Charlie returns Max to his aunt and uncle, feeling Max will be safer with them, but Bailey convinces him that he can be a better father. Debra allows Charlie to take Max out for one last night, to the Zeus-Atom match. Zeus severely damages Atom while also getting injured, a first for Zeus. Ricky, who had bet Finn $100,000 that Atom would not last the first round, tries to slip away, but is cornered by Finn and his colleagues. In the last round of the five-round match, Atom’s vocal receptors are damaged, and Atom must fight in shadow-boxing mode, copying Charlie’s moves from the aisle. Zeus, now controlled manually by a furious Mashido, expends energy on trashing the defensive Atom, running low on power and turning sluggish as a result. Atom then begins to pummel Zeus, even knocking the seemingly invincible champion down once, but not winning before the round ends. The judges declare Zeus the winner on points, but that robot’s reputation is tarnished, and Atom has become famous as the “People’s Champion”.

Johnny English Reborn

Diana — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 06:39:39 +0000

Johnny English Reborn is an upcoming British action comedy film parodying the James Bond secret agent genre. The film is the sequel to Johnny English (2003), and is written by and starring Rowan Atkinson reprising his role as the title character and directed by Oliver Parker.

Plot

English attempts to stop a group of international assassins before they eliminate a world leader and cause global chaos. In the years since MI-7′s top spy vanished off the grid, he has been honing his unique skills in a remote region of Asia. But when his agency superiors learn of an attempt against the Chinese premier’s life, they must hunt down the highly unorthodox agent. Now that the world needs him once again, Johnny English is back in action. With one shot at redemption, he must employ the latest in hi-tech gadgets to unravel a web of conspiracy that runs throughout the KGB, CIA and even MI-7. With mere days until a heads of state conference, one man must use every trick in his playbook to protect the world.