Know Your Ships?

How many of you know these ships and from where?! :)

Decision: Star Trek or Alien?

I saw these two t-shirts. I love them both but am torn between which one to get! 

Both appeal to the geek in me. One is in my size, Small and the other is Large. Needed help to decide and sent help request via Facebook... 
Friends and relatives chipped in with the decision-making. Now I know who are Star Trek fans and who are Alien fans lol. 
In the end, I went with Star Trek because it probably won't freak people out and it is in my size lol. :D

New Movies

There are a number of movies coming soon that I am interested in watching. 
Ghost in the Shell, Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Alien: Covenant, Wonder Woman, The Mummy...
Now the issue is how and where to find time to watch them?!

Stranger Things

I have been hearing good reviews about this new TV series of sci-fi & supernatural genre, Stranger Things.
Should I watch it? But where to find the time...

Seeing Stars

I am seeing stars with Interstellar which is a sci-fiction adventure movie! Lol :) For the geek in me, it is a pretty awesome movie and all seems really believable and possible! :) Wormhole, black hole, space travel, time (fourth dimension), gravity (fifth dimension), ... Can be pretty mind-boggling with all the science/ physics talk but really entertaining as well. If you are a sci-fi fan, you shouldn't miss Interstellar! 

Interstellar official trailer 3 (uploaded by Inerstellar Movie)

Star Trek vs Star Wars

And Star Trek won! Lol. 
Having grown up with both Star Wars and Star Trek in my life, I couldn't decide which one I like more or which one is more me lol. So I took the Blogthings quiz "Are you Star Wars or Star Trek?" to help me decide.

You Are Star Trek

When it comes to fandom, you are big on realism, technology, and science. You want to be able to believe what's happening. Stories with a strong ethical element are compelling to you. You like to think about what's right and wrong. You appreciate the down to earth approach Star Trek takes to sci-fi. It's both relatable and relevant. You could totally see yourself in the Star Trek universe. You'd be the first to enroll at Starfleet Academy.

Are You Star Wars or Star Trek?

So which one do you think you are - Star Wars or Star Trek? :)

MIB3

Juliane and I went to watch Men In Black 3 yesterday morning. Marieann was supposed to come with us but she changed her mind and was too lazy to get out lol.

We got out of the apartment at 9.50am, managed to get the bus at 9.55am and arrived at Shaw Lido at 10.05am. We had 5 minutes to get the tickets for the 10.10am show! Thank goodness! Lol.

MIB3 has not lost its humour even after two episodes, especially with the pairing of Will Smith and Josh Brolin. Brolin's protray of a younger Agent K is absolutely brilliant and funny, and truly captures the essence of Jones' Agent K. Another character, Griffin (played by Michael Stuhlbarg), an alien psychic who gives a running commentary on the futures that he sees, is funny in his own endearing way.Although there are some loopholes, it is still a good movie to watch. It is funny, action-packed and emotional towards the end of the movie which was a surprise.

The Avengers 2012

WARNING: Contains spoilers for The Avengers. DO NOT READ if you haven't watched The Avengers and intend to do so. 

As promised, I brought my girls to watch The Avengers after Marieann's exams. It was a reward for the hard work put in by Marieann for her exams. We had an early lunch at 11am before watching the 11:50am show at Lido. We decided to just go for the digital version rather than the 3D version. Armed with sweet popcorn and a drink, we watched a wonderfully exciting 143 minutes of The Avengers! Jess Whedon is a genius! I have always loved the shows that he directed such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003), Angel (1999-2004), and Serenity (2005). Jess Whedon's brand of humour is definitely evident throughout the movie! :) 

We absolutely loved The Avengers! After the movie, the girls and I talked about the various scenes that we loved or found funny. There were plenty! The scene where Black Widow had a phone call while being "interrogated" by Russian general, the scene where Thor unwittingly gave Ironman 400% of energy, the scene where Thor defended his brother, Loki and then changed his mind to say Loki was adopted, the scene where the Black Widow got information out of Loki without him realising, the scene where Loki pointed his spear(?) against Tony Stark's chest and nothing happened, the scene where the police questioned Capt America's authority to give orders, the scene where the Hulk threw Loki around like a ragdoll, the scene where Capt America told the Hulk to smash, the scene where the Hulk roared and woke Ironman up, just to name a few lol. :P 

We managed to see the first post credit scene where the villain, Thanos for The Avengers 2 was revealed. Unfortunately I did not see the 2nd post credit scene even though I stayed till the end of the movie. Apparently, that scene is hilarious. The digital version doesn't have the 2nd post credit scene. Wonder if the 2D and the 3D versions have it. Maybe I should watch The Avengers again in 2D and 3D! I really don't mind haha. :P 

The Avengers is a great movie, full of action and adventure as well as humour. It doesn't matter if you are not a Marvel comic fan. The Avengers is entertainment for everyone.

Marvel's The Avengers Trailer (uploaded by MARVEL)

Marvel's The Avengers Trailer 2 (uploaded by MARVEL)

John Carter

We spoke to my nephews via Skype much earlier than usual today. Reason being my brother is taking them to the movies. They are going to watch "John Carter". Hey, that is one movie I am interested in watching. Boys, remember to tell 姑妈 if "John Carter" is good, ok? Maybe I will bring your cousins to watch it too. :)

(uploaded by DisneyMovieTrailers)

Tron: Legacy

Goodness, another trip down memory lane lol. Tron!!

The original Tron (1982) was, at least for me, considered darn radical, high-tech and futuristic. :P The new Tron: Legacy is still just as radical, high-tech and futuristic!! :) Lol. It didn't just bring back some of the original cast like Jeff Bridges and Bruce Boxleitner, I was really tickled to see the movie also incorporated things from the first movie! :) Never mind if there are loopholes in the storyline, the special effects, sound effects and music score are absolutely awesome and brilliant. Tron: Legacy definitely provides a perfect escape from our world. :)

Tron (1982) posted by FrankSchenk6


Tron: Legacy official trailer #2 posted by DisneyMovieTrailers.


Tron: Legacy official trailer #3 posted by DisneyMovieTrailers.

Trilogy? No, It's Quadrilogy

I really enjoy the movie, Resident Evil (2002) and its sequels, RE: Apocalypse (2004) and RE: Extinction (2007). I just love watching horror movies lol. :P Thinking that Resident Evil has probably reached its limits in churning out sequels, I bought the Resident Evil trilogy (blu-ray) box set and brought it back to Singapore from Denver, USA this May. :)

I was most happy with my RE box set until I saw a trailer recently. It is Resident Evil: Afterlife! Yippee, a 4th RE to scare me silly haha. But a major ARGH too. I already bought the RE trilogy box set. :( Being somewhat OC, I will now have to buy the RE quadrilogy box set when it is released as I want to keep it as set.

PS. I am so going to watch Resident Evil: Afterlife when it opens in Singapore on 9 September 2010. :)

District 9

I had some time off today and decided to watch a movie. Settled on District 9. It looked interesting enough from the advert and it is only showing in a few cinemas which meant I could also avoid the crowd.

District 9 turns out to be one of the best movies I have seen so far. It is a thought-provoking movie. It makes you ponder long after the movie has finished screening. District 9 is a sci-fi movie filmed as a mock documentary by first-time filmmaker, Neill Blomkamp and with first-time actor, Sharlto Copley casted as the lead role, a goofy government officer. It is almost like Cloverfield, another sci-fi movie as seen from a videocam but District 9 is tons better!! As the movie advances, it makes you ponder long and deep about issues such as rights as a group, rights as an individual, segregation, supremacy, what is humanity. There is also the exploration of emotions. Before you dismiss it as one of those boring thinking movies, there is action too and pretty cool. :) District 9 is definitely engaging both in terms of the drama as well as the action. Oh, but if you can't stand blood and gore, District 9 might not be so suitable for you. If you enjoyed movies like Cloverfield and The Blair Witch Project, you will definitely find District 9 your cup of tea.

District 9 is about a race of aliens who became stranded on Earth, and most refreshingly, in South Africa. The humans designated a district (thus, the name of the movie, District 9) for the aliens to live in but they are kept segregated from the humans. A series of events followed when the aliens were being moved from their slums in District 9 to a new district... Enjoy the trailer.

District 9 - Theatrical Trailer | Movies & TV | SPIKE.com

Star Trek 2009

It is a day off for me today so I decided to catch Star Trek 2009 on the big screen. :)

I am considered a Trekkie, I suppose haha. :P I have watched every episode of Star Trek: The Original Series and its spin-offs such as Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Voyager, and Star Trek: Enterprise. The only spin-off I have missed is Deep Space Nine. I have watched all the Star Trek movies starting from Star Trek: The Motion Picture, The Wrath of Khan, The Search for Spock, The Voyage Home, The Final Frontier, The Undiscovered Country, First Contact, Insurrection, and Nemesis. For me, the most memorable movie with the original cast is The Wrath of Khan and the most memorable movie with The Next Generation cast is First Contact. :)

I came out of the cinema all SMILES. Star Trek 2009 went beyond my expectations. I am amazed how the new cast managed to "look" like the original cast in terms of mannerism, their essence and looks too: Spock, Dr "Bones" McCoy, Kirk, Uhuru, Sulu, ... I am really happy that Leonard Nimoy, the original Spock reprised his role as the elder Spock in the movie. It was just amazing to see the younger (and new) Spock along side the elder (and original) Spock. They look uncannily alike! The action sequences were really great and kept me off my seat. :) I can't wait to see the next Star Trek movie and "to boldly go where no man has gone before" with this new Star Trek cast. :P I think with this new Star Trek movie, there will be a new generation of Trekkies. :) Here's to Trekkies, "Live Long and Prosper". :)

Here is the trailer for Star Trek 2009.

Star Trek - Theatrical Trailer 2 Movies & TV SPIKE.com

Here are my favourite pieces from the Star Trek 2009 OST










PS.
I specifically looked for this when I was at the Hollywood Walk of Fame, USA. :)

Marieann's 1st Movie Magic Experience

The girls' father's car went for servicing today. He wouldn't want to go out without a car so I thought I would bring the girls out myself. However, Juliane decided that she wanted to stay home. So I took Marieann out with me. We detoured to the post office first to post some letters. Just as we were crossing over to Tanglin Mall, it started to drizzle. We were lucky to get into a cab before it poured! :)

We went straight to the cinema to get tickets when we arrived at Great World City. She wanted to watch "Journey to the Centre of the Earth". Since we had an hour before the 12:05pm movie, we went to have lunch first at Mckkies. Marieann chose it, lol. I managed to look into a few shops before adjourning to the cinema. Thank goodness, the cinema was only 1/3 full. But it was mainly families with children watching the movie, lol.

It is Marieann's 1st movie experience. She was really thrilled to be seated in a dark cinema and watching the movie on a huge screen. She couldn't stop smiling. :) She really enjoyed watching the movie. I am also proud of her because she remained quiet and only asked me questions after the movie ended. I am really glad that I got to share with Marieann what movie magic is all about. :) I hope to bring her to watch more movies and of course, Juliane too. :)

"Journey to the Centre of the Earth" has action, adventure, fantasy and sci-fi all rolled into one movie. But the movie never intended to make itself out to be a serious movie which is its saving grace. It is just as it is, a good fun movie. It has plenty of light hearted fun and movie-goers are all in on the joke that the movie can be a little silly but hey, who is actually keeping tabs (a pun from the movie :P)? Not me, except for the laughs it brought me. There is no need to think with "Journey to the Centre of the Earth", just sit back, laugh and enjoy the movie. :)

"Contest" by Matthew Reilly

Despite it being Reilly's first book, I only read "Contest" recently. After reading it, I am most glad that Reilly decided to stick with his style of writing. :)

Contest has a simple storyline. It is about a contest. Yes, exactly as the title said. :) But it is a contest of a different sort that involves, hmmm, other life forms in the most unlikely place ever, the New York Public Library. :) Our main character has been chosen to represent Earth in the contest against his will, with his daughter in tow. In his usual style, or rather, the beginning of his current style, there is a lot of action and excitement. There are also his trademark themes of friendship, loyalty and family. :) I shan't say any more. Read the book. It is easy to start but hard to put down until you have finished with it. :)

Enjoy reading. :)

I am a X-Phile!

And I am proud to be one, lol. It is okay if you think I am a geek, haha. Well, I have never been an ordinary girl, who is into sci-fi, fighter planes, astronomy, supernatural, comics, horror, wicca, ... :)

I am thrilled that The X-Files: I want to Believe is out tomorrow! I remembered being really upset and depressed when The X-Files series ended in 2002. Watching The X-Files was my staple diet then. I saw the very first episode of The X-Files on tv when I was studying in Australia in 1993 and with that one episode, I was hooked! I would decline dates and gatherings just so I could stay home to watch The X-Files, lol. I still think it is one of the best TV series of all times. I have yet to find one that comes even close to The X-Files, ok, maybe Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV series) would be closest to it. BtVS is one of my favourites too, lol. I am a X-Phile, not just because I chased after every single episode, I also collected The X-Files comics, lol. :P That was my level of devotion to the series. :)

Here is a preview of The X-Files: I want to Believe (teaser + trailer). I can't wait to watch it on the big screen. Just me, my popcorn and my X-Files. :)

A Tale of Two Movies - Cloverfield and The Mist

Before I went off to Australia in late March, I saw two movies almost back to back - Cloverfield and The Mist. Both movies are of the same genres - horror, sci-fi and thriller all rolled into one. I couldn't really decide which one I like better...

Cloverfield is a movie about a monster attacking Manhattan all seen through the camcorder. It is like The Blair Witch Project. Everything is shaky (as seen through the camcorder) and you are thrown into the whole experience the characters were faced with and thus, getting involved in the movie itself. You realised that you only know as much as the characters do. You don't know what is going to happen next or who is going to die next. You are kept at the edge of your seat. Throughout the movie, you can't really see the monster but yet the terror is present... That's what I liked about the movie, the suspense created. By the end of the movie, there isn't really an ending. I was left guessing if the survivors survived... that is part of the charm of Cloverfield.

The Mist is a much more straight forward movie. You are thrown into the story pretty quickly with a freaky storm knocking out power and the characters heading into the town's grocery store where it all happened - the mist. The characters realised that there are strange ceatures in the mist and deadly too. The town folks soon found themselves having to fight against what is out there - the creatures and to fight against what is within - human fear and irrationality. In between the fighting against the creatures, the differences in handling stress which resulted in the raw display of emotions and chaos seemed to me, far worse than the creatures outside the store. The ending is a tragic twist. I like The Mist, not just because there are deadly creatures, but also for the emotions depicted in the movie. The Mist is an emotional piece of movie for a horror movie.

Cloverfield and The Mist are both movies that left me thinking. Cloverfield made me think about why it happened and how would it end for the survivors. The Mist made me think about human emotions and the vulnerability/ strength of humans in the face of fear.

Fear is a major element in both movies. But I think in The Mist, fear has a much deeper purpose than that of scaring us silly. The fear in The Mist showed us how easy it is to destroy the structure of society. The fear in The Mist showed us that it can make us do things which we could or would never do in normal circumstances. That leaves alot to think about, for me at least, it does. Hey, maybe I do like one of the movies better...

Here's the trailers for Cloverfield and The Mist respectively.

Cloverfield - Theatrical Trailer

The Mist - Trailer 2

Resident Evil: Extinction (2007)

I have been very behind in my movie and book reviews, sorry, :P . Will slowly try to update my reviews, lol. :)

I saw Resident Evil: Extinction a month ago but didn't put up the review immediately because I would have been hacked to death by friends who have not seen it!

This movie is the 3rd installment of the Resident Evil series. The deadly virus developed by Umbrella Corporation has infected most of the world's population turning them into the walking undead. Meanwhile, the heroine, Alice has taken to roaming the Earth to avoid detection by Umbrella Corp which viewed Alice as its weapon and wanted to recapture her. In the last movie, we saw a glimpse of Alice's new ESP powers. In this one, her ESP powers has grown substantially (sorry, can't say what she could do :P). Using her new powers, she saved a convoy which was looking for survivors, supplies and for a place uninfected by the virus. At the same time, Alice's nemesis Dr Isaacs created a serum from the blood of Alice's clones which was supposed to be a cure but instead it created a new kind of super zombies. Unfortunate for him, he was bitten by his new zombie creation when he tried to ambush Alice and the convoy in order to recapture Alice. Dr Isaacs, upon injecting himself with the serum, was turned into a super mutant zombie. But remember who is the heroine, lol. The movie ends with the possibility of a 4th installment... =)

This movie was fast paced and didn't waste time and there were also moments of suspense which caused me to jump out of my seat! My heart was really racing and pounding away. In this movie, Alice changed her ammo, instead of guns like she used in the other RE movies, she was using a pair of kukri knives as her main choice of weapons. The fighting/ action sequences were fantastic =) Yes, slashing, hacking, cutting, blood and gore!! Lol. :P I really enjoyed the movie.

Below is the trailer for Resident Evil: Extinction. But keep away from the kids as it is rated R for violence.

Resident Evil: Extinction - Red Band Trailer

Survivors of the Raccoon City catastrophe travel across the Nevada desert, hoping to make it to Alaska. Alice joins the caravan and their fight against the evil Umbrella Corp.

New TV Series: Nightmares and Dreamscapes

Was trying to decide if I should watch House showing on AXN or the premier of Nightmares and Dreamscapes on 5. Both were showing at 10pm. Nightmares and Dreamscapes won because House has repeats and I can watch today's House episode another day. Hahaha.

I just saw the first episode of Nightmares and Dreamscapes. It is an eight episode miniseries based on various short stories by Stephen King, mostly from his Nightmares and Dreamscapes short stories collection.

Today's premier episode, Battleground was about a hitman who murdered the CEO of a toy company, had to contend with toy soldiers which were revenging the CEO's death. It was really fun to see the toy soldiers waged war on the hitman. It was like watching Bands of Brothers but in miniature toy forms and fighting against one hitman instead of the Nazis.

It is really interesting to watch this episode, especially the toy soldiers! It sure brings back good old memories. I remembered playing with such tiny green toy soldiers too during my childhood! Yes, I did have an unusual childhood, lol. I never did play with girlie toys/dolls but only with Lego, Playmobil, Eagle spaceship from Space 1999, Star Wars X-Wing fighters, etc. LOL.

Nightmares and Dreamscapes, so far, is good, lol. I really like it. It is my kind of show - horror and science fiction. For those of you who are into Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits, this new series won't disappoint you. I wasn't disappointed, lol. But then again, I have pretty strange tastes in tv series, movies, interests for a girl. Hahaha.

Watch Nightmares and Dreamscapes if you can, every Monday night at 10pm on Channel 5.

TV series

When taking a break from my writing, my mind started to wonder, as usual. Today, it wondered to all the TV series that I have watched or am still watching. I realised I watched only certain genre of TV series too, like the books I read. What I think of the series (not in chronological order):
(Do I like them? Of course, otherwise I won't be watching, right?! lol)

Sci-fi:
Space 1999 - saw it when I was really young so only remembered the "Eagle" spacecraft. There was a re-run recently on tv, so managed to fill in the many, many gaps of my 1st sci-fi tv series from my childhood. I think this series sparked my interest about space and astronomy.
Battlestar Galactica (original) - Starbuck, Apollo, Athena, Cassiopeia,... names from Greek mythology. An interest of mine so I was hooked on the series too, besides it being sci-fi. Have the DVD set. Ok, Starbuck is not part of the Greek myth but I had a crush on him. Hey, I was very young then, ok?! Hahaha.
Battlestar Galactica (new) - already a big fan of BG. Love the darker and more serious themes.
V - lizard aliens posing as humans. "Humankind's last stand".
Star Trek (original) - I saw the series as re-run when I was studying in Oz. "To boldly go where no man has gone before".
Star Trek: The Next Generation - actually found Borg quite cool. Hahaha.
Star Trek: Voyager - again the Borg, Seven of Nine is so cool.
Star Trek: Enterprise - really refreshing, I thought it has so much room to develop, compared to the other Star Trek series.
Babylon 5 - about a space station (No. 5 actually) stationed in neutral space, it is a sanctuary, a military post for Earth, as well as a home to aliens and humans. I tried to follow all 5 seasons but I might have missed episodes here and there.
The X-Files - really COOL. "The truth is out there". I have got the X-Files comics too.
Stargate SG-1 - the combination of sci-fi and Egyptian mythologies.
The Twilight Zone - no need for introduction, this one, it's sci-fi, horror, everything.
The Outer Limits - kind of like The Twilight Zone, just more sci-fi.
Roswell - what better place than Area 51 for teenage alien/ human hybrids to land ...
Dark Angel - hmm...barcode on humans, the way to go for us in the future??
Taken - a story about 3 families, spanning over a few decades and three/ four generations, intertwining with aliens...
Farscape - a bit like Lost in Space, except this is just one man who is lost.
The 4400 - has paranormal abilities/ 'superpower' elements, time-space issues...
Smallville - the teen years of Superman minus the cape and red undies. Thank goodness. Hahaha.
Heroes - like reading comics and there is hope for us to have superpowers. Hahaha.

Action/ fantasy:
Hercules: The Legendary Journeys - ok, for the hunk, no I mean for the Greek mythologies! Hahaha.
Xena: Warrior Princess - again for the Greek mythologies and great to see women kick butts. :)

Action/ supernatural
Buffy: The Vampire Slayer - lean, mean fighting machine. Hahaha. I have the DVDs for Seasons 1 to 7. For 3 seasons, I have to lug home from UK cos they are banned in Singapore.
Angel - a spin-off from BtVS. I also have the DVDs for Seasons 1 to 5. Again have to lug 2 seasons home from UK for the same reason as BtVS.
Charmed - "The Power of Three". Who doesn't want to be a witch and have magical powers? For good, of course. Hahaha.
The Hex - kind of like BtVS but the Brit version with the ghosts and demons.
Ghost Whisperer - she talks to dead people and helps both the dead and living to have emotional closure and to move on. Can be very heart warming, "sob sob" kind at times...
Supernatural - ghosts, demons, vampires, urban legends and folk lore, ...

Crime/ drama:
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation - love the forensic autopsies, the unravelling of the crimes.
CSI: Miami - same as above.
CSI: New York - same as above.
Numbers - never knew numbers can be so cool. Hahaha.

Drama
JAG - for the aircrafts, like F14 =) and the courtroom drama.
NCIS - Naval Criminal Investigative Services, a bit like CSI except they are with US Navy and Marine Corps. A spin-off of JAG.
House - love the Dr for his brand of humour and his unconventional thinking.
Lost - where the hell are they?!

Hmm...now I know why my mother always said I watch far too much tv. But hey, if I still have time for books, it is not too much tv then. Hahaha.