WALL-E, the New Superhero

In the spirit of going ‘green’, the release of WALL-E is a perfect timing. It’s a G-rated movie so anyone could see and enjoy, and we sure did. The four of us went to see it Friday night, and we liked it very much. WALL-E maybe a cute movie, but it has a big message. For little ones, like my 5 1/2 year old son, the word ‘recycle’ is still hard to grasp, not to mention the concept of it. But by watching WALL-E, he understood that if you don’t take a good care of Earth and is making too much garbage, it’d ended up like the Earth in the movie (the setting for the year is 2700, with waste and garbage were shown piling up).

WALL-E (Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class) is shown as a male robot (go figure) and is the last and only robot left on Earth. Other than doing his routine, cleaning garbage and compacting them into small cubes, WALL-E has an artsy talent. He’d arrange then pile these waste cubes into skyscrapers. He also likes to collect kinck-knacks, which he’d store in a little lunch bag. “My favorite part was when he found the bra and put the bra on his eyes like it was a sunglasses,” said my son. At the end of the day, WALL-E took the treasure ‘home’ (which is a bigger WALL-E truck) and store them away on a rotating shelves, organized in categories.

It took around 20 minutes into the movie until the first conversation took place. While some might complain it was too long and boring, we didn’t think so. It was a cute introduction to WALL-E and his routine. Cleverly written and extremely believable. It’s hard to believe that this movie was made in a computer.

Then EVE (Extra-terrestrial Vegetation Evaluator) came along. It was amazing to see how WALL-E and EVE could stir your emotion. I wasn’t only laughing (when WALL-E got into the mothership in order to follow EVE), but worrying (when WALL-E got hurt) and also sniffling (when WALL-E was waiting for EVE to come back to live after EVE found the plant). I think this is the first movie that could my son’s attention for a long time. The kids even forgot to ask for popcorn and candy! We were just so taken by this movie.

Not wanting to spoil the movie even more (just keep in mind like in all superhero movies, WALL-E will be triumphant too), I just want to say that WALL-E rocks! No wonder it’s doing great as the number one top box office. If you happen to watch this movie with little ones, I bet they’d go home mimicking the way WALL-E sounds.

Picking On Megawati

Despite the fact that I do like this movie, I’m rather disappointed with the writers. The trio -Amy Sedaris, Paul Dinello, and Stephen Colbert- created a male character who is the protagonist’s friend. A male. They named him Megawatti Sacarnaputri. Now, for people who are not familiar with Indonesia nor read the current events, that’s probably not a big deal. So, what is the deal? First of all, the name is mispelled. It should be Megawati Sukarnoputri. If you’re going to pick on somebody, do it correctly. I mean, come on… she was a former president of Indonesia, the world heard of her so if you Google it, you’ll be able to get the right spelling.

Second of all, what’s up with the mix gender? Evidently, lack of research [again]. Dinello admitted here: “We were trying to pick on someone that we hadn’t before that we didn’t know much about,” he says. “And then it occurred to us that the only thing we knew about Indonesia was — well we know a couple things — peppercorns and Megawatti Sacarnaputri was the president at one time. We realized later that she’s a female, not a male. So now I feel bad. Other than Henry Kissinger’s involvement in the early ’70s, you don’t hear much about Indonesia anymore. But now it’s in the news all the time with earthquakes and giant waves. Now we feel bad. We should have picked Sweden.”

Well at least they are sorry.

Like I said, I did enjoy watching ‘Strangers with Candy’. Some said that it’s a little over the top and too weird. Hey… I’m all about weirdos. I’m not trying to be a sensitive and touchy Indonesian who feels offended by the mishap on Indonesia in this movie. I just thought it’s funny how the writers didn’t think of doing a research before using a former president’s identity. I mean, it doesn’t have to be an intensive research. Just Google it and you shall find.

Zombies are Cool

What is up with Britain and their fondness of zombies? I don’t usually like movies about zombies. I love scarry movies, but zombie-related is not very high on my list of likings. I prefer mystery horror like The Ring, The Others, The Exorcism of Emily Rose and the like. Until I watched Shaun of the Dead couple of weeks ago. Scary stuff with some funny heavily British-accented dialogues. I got hooked. Then last night, I watched  28 Weeks Later, a British post-apocalyptic science fiction horror movie. Both movies are about the undead. Live corpses. Zombies. The flesh-eater. Filled with exploding body, decapitation, blood vomiting, infection; everything a gore movie is all about. Hey… it’s not bad. Zombies could make a cool horror movie.

While Shaun of the Dead is a combo of horror and comedy, 28 Weeks Later is purely a horror movie with no touch of comedy at all. You are guarranteed to SOL (scream out loud) and jump in your seat every now and then. This is the sequel of 28 Days Later that was made in 2002, adopted from a graphic novel entitled 28 Days Later: The Aftermath written by Steve Niles.

I am actually surprised to see how good 28 Weeks Later is. I’ve never seen the first one before (28 Days Later), but having no problem at all understanding this sequel. What makes me ponder is: how did the filmmakers get the footage of empty London’s street? No cars or pedestrian in sight, how smart. It could be computer effects, but I remember reading somewhere in the Net that they were shooting for the scene where Tammy and Andy were wandering around empty street of the fictional District 1 area on a very early morning.

My favorite quote from this movie:

Scarlet: “It all makes sense. They are executing code red. Step 1: kill the infected. Step 2: containment. If containment cannot be done, then Step 3: extermination.” 

Who’s Behind Those Funny Voices?

Today I feel like applauding these 5 actors/comedians for making five cartoon characters came to ‘life’ and full of personality and becomes my top 5 for so many years:

 1. Sacha Baron Cohen >> the voice of King Julien XIII, the ring-tailed lemur in the movie Madagascar. Through Cohen’s voice, Julien became my favorite cartoon character through out these couple of years. Self-proclaimed King of the Madagascar lemurs, Julien loves to sing, dance, and be the center of attention. He is slightly deranged and overly impressed by his modest intellect. Julien speaks with a South Asian (Indian/Pakistani) or ‘Desi’ accent, which may reflect the fact that there is a large population of people of South Asian origin in Madagascar -which Cohen did superbly.

Favorite quotes from Julien:

• “Shh! We are hiding! Everyone be quiet. Including me. Shh! Who’s making that noise?! [sheepishly] Oh, it’s me again.”
• All we have to do is wait until they are deep in their sleep. [long silence] HOW LONG IS THIS GOING TO TAKE?!
• [waving goodbye to Alex, Marty, Gloria and Melman] See you later, crocodile! Maurice, my arm is tired. Wave it for me. Faster, you naughty little monkey.

2. Keith Ferguson >> the voice of Blooregard Q. Kazoo aka Bloo, the imaginary friend in the Cartoon Network’s show Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friend. You won’t believe how 34 year old Keith could sound so much like a nagging toddler as Bloo. Sure Bloo who is shaped as a blue, door-shaped blob is charming, but he’s got a bit of an ego; to call him self-absorbed would be an understatement. An instigator and mischief-maker, Bloo is always ready to drag on his best friend, Mac, and and the rest of the Foster’s gang on some ludicrous, ill-fatedand potentially criminal adventure. But no matter the brand of mayhem Bloo unleashes on the house, he’s always forgiven. He’s just too fun to be around.

Favorite quotes from Bloo:

• (When Mac won’t give him any of his Coco trading cards) Aw, come oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooon!
• (Addressing hundreds of Bloo clones) “I am Bloo, and you are my minions! Alone, you are all just knockoffs of a really cool guy, but together, we are stronger than any army! (Clones cheer) I think you know what we must do. (Clones stare at Bloo) That is right! We must all sing the theme song from the Ice charades in 100 part harmony!!!”
• (In response to Mac describing himself as Rex Carsalot and his hi-tech racecar) “ARRGH! AND I RIDE SHOTGUN!”

 3. Daran Norris >> the voice of Cosmo (Fairly Oddparents), one of two of Timmy Turner’s fairy godparents. Wanda, the other fairy, is his wife and appear to be [a lot] smarter than him. Cosmo often comes off as oblivious to others’ feelings and safety, and he often undermines his wife Wanda’s attempts to protect Timmy from his own naïve and potentially dangerous wishes. She loves Cosmo, even though he is an airhead (literally; in one episode Wanda states Cosmo’s empty head is great for storage of various items, such as tissues and a picnic lunch, and when Timmy tries to read Cosmo’s thoughts he only hears elevator music).

Favorite quotes from Cosmo:

• (when he, Wanda, and Timmy are inside Timmy’s head) “Are you sure this isn’t my mind? It seems pretty empty in here…”
• “It [Super Toilet] took the plunger… THE WHOLE PLUNGER!” “Aah! So much clogging!” (curls into fetal position and sucks his thumb)
• Let’s get something straight! I’m not bright! Big words confuse me! I have the attention span of a rodent, and Wanda loves me anyway. THAT SHOULD BE ENOUGH FOR YOU!

 4. John Leguizamo >> the voice of Sid the ground sloth (Ice Age the movie). Sid is the talkative type, but suffers from a lateral lisp, which makes his “S’s” and “C’s” rather “wet” or “spitty.” When we first meet Sid, he has been abandoned by his family and friends, who have left him behind for their migration south. He ultimately befriends Manny the wooly mammoth and Diego the sabre-toothed tiger. Ultimately they accept him as a member of their “herd.” In the sequel (Ice Age the Meltdown), Sid is less funny. I like the girly-shriek when Sid hid behind Manny to avoid the angry rhinos.

Favorite quotes from Sid:

Sid: (the baby’s been crying for hours) I bet he’s hungry.

Manfred: How about some milk?

Sid: Ooh, I’d love some!

Diego: Not you, the baby!

Sid: Well, I ain’t exactly lactating right now, pal!

Diego: You’re a little low on the food chain to be mouthin’ off, aren’t ya…?!

Manfred: ENOUGH!

 5. Doug Lawrence >> the voice of Sheldon J. Plankton (SpongeBob SquarePants) which described as “1% evil, 99% hot gas” and is Mr. Krabs’ tiny little green oval-shaped one-eyed business rival. Plankton is a science wiz, and even knows how to induce thermonuclear fusion. His primary catch prase is “I went to college!!!”, which he usually says while flying back towards the Chum Bucket after one of his schemes to steal the Krabby Patty secret formula has been thwarted. Plankton lives at the Chum Bucket with Karen, his dear computer “WIFE” (Wired Integrated Female Electroencephalograph), who irritates him to no end. Plankton speaks in a deep, melodramatic voice, and enjoys pursuing various forms of villainy, such as Krabby Patty theft and trying to possess sponges by getting inside their brains.

Favorite quotes from Plankton:

• “All hail Plankton!”
• “Felicitations, malefactors! I am endeavoring to misappropriate the formulary for the preparation of affordable comestibles! WHO WILL JOIN ME?!?” (“Plankton’s Army”)
• “I see you…ZAP!”