Mashed Thoughts

On Sunday I went to EAT! Vancouver for the first time. EAT! Vancouver Food + Cooking Festival is an annual food convention where celebrity chefs, popular local restaurants, food and beverage manufacturers, wineries, retailers and many others from the culinary world gather for three days of food heaven! I went with an empty stomach and left at the end of the day stuffed full of delicious food and bag laden with samples. There were many displays and vendors giving away samples - Yoghurt, beef jerky, Clamato, McDonald's iced coffee, candied salmon, humus just to name a few.

Rob Feenie of Cactus Club Cafe was also there presenting on the main stage. I stayed to watch him for a little while but my hunger got the better of me and we purchased some tickets to trade in for food. There was so much to see and taste! EBO Restaurant and Milestones were there. I thought EBO's presentation of their food was the nicest! There was also a junior chef competition. USA won gold, Canada took silver and Chile placed third.

Just looking back at the pictures makes my mouth water! I can't wait go again next year!

After the Green Lantern event at Metro I headed down to the annual Rio Tinto Alcan Dragon Boat Festival at False Creek. The weather was beautiful and water's edge was packed with people watching the races. The vendors are located at the Olympic Village this year due to construction on the other side of Science World. The races are exciting to watch but since I don't know anyone participating in them watching one was enough for me. Hahah. I was more interested in the cute dogs there as you can see by my photos.

The Dragon Boat Festival is still on tomorrow. Make sure you line up to get your picture taken on a boat; you can get a small Rio Tinto Alcan foldable water bottle afterwards. Sad to say that there is no cooking show or tin foil giveaways this year.

Phew what a long day! And tomorrow I'll be going to EAT Vancouver! There's always lots to do in Vancouver!

I popped in to take a look at the Join the Corps event at Metropolis Comics & Toys today. The store was hosting a Green Lantern party and had a lots of contests going on. I didn't stay for the entire duration of the event but I met some enthusiastic Green Lantern fans and also met the people behind @WB_Vancouver on Twitter. Very cool! The Warner Brother reps will be Play On ( the Street Hockey event happening at Metrotown Kingsway parking lot) again tomorrow at 2:30pm. If you find them you can get some cool Green Lantern swag like rings, t-shirts and bags.

Also on Monday, Vancouverites will have a chance to Join the Corps! There will be a "Green Lantern" symbol projected somewhere in the downtown core at 9pm. The specific location is unknown but each day, Warner Brothers is releasing a clue to lead you to that secret location! The first 17 people to find the location will receive advance screening passes to see the movie on Wednesday! Other prizes will be available as well. But if you are a Canucks fan and there is a Game 7 which one would you go to? Hmm Tough call. Remember that Monday night is also game day so there'll be a lot of people downtown! So make sure you are on your feet!

Here are the clues:

Pre clue #1: During the Olympics the streets near this building were closed for the celebrations of superheroes clad in red and white.
Pre clue #2: Everyday it overlooks the most artistic building in Vancouver.
CLUE #3: One of its neighbors is a vault for priceless works of art.
CLUE #4: If shopping is your superpower, you can utilize it at this building.
CLUE #5: Masked with secrecy this building has no windows.
CLUE #6: One of its neighbors has never lost to its archenemy: high clothing prices.
CLUE #7: If villains needed money to fund their evil plans they would target its neighbour recognized by its green logo.
CLUE #8: The son of Rob meets his Gran at this ville.

Green Lantern is in theatres next week, Friday, June 17th, 2011.

A sci-fi thriller written and directed by J. J. Abrams, Super 8 follows Joe Lamb (Joel Courtney) and his friends (Riley Griffiths, Joel Courtney, Elle Fanning) who are making a movie using a super 8 mm film camera for a contest in a small Ohio town in the summer of 1979. While filming at train station at night, the group barely escapes a catastrophic train crash. Strange occurrences start to happen around the town shortly after and as Joe and his friends dig deeper, they discover that accident may not be an accident after all and some thing has escaped from the wreckage. Things get stranger still when the military arrives to execute a coverup and a hunt for the creature.

Super 8 has a great story that is mainly centered around its characters. The acting is superb and completely natural. As for action though, besides the train wreck in the beginning, the middle of the movie goes at a relatively slow pace. We are only shown glimpses of that is causing the strange disappearances of people and metallic devices. However, this is super successful in building up uneasy and chilling atmosphere during that time - there were a few times where I jumped. The action doesn't pick up until the ending. Being that Super 8 was produced by Steven Spielberg, it is not a surprise that the ending is slightly reminiscent of E.T. Compared to the rest of the film, the ending seemed too happy happy to me. A lot of set up was done throughout the movie to give the viewer an emotional happy ending. It is nice that this film is so focused on the relationships between characters. It's not bad but it seemed just slightly over the top at the end. Still, besides the awesome dynamic of the characters, the movie is amazingly choreographed and train crash is spectacular and there are lot of explosions towards the end. Highly recommend watching it in theatres.

Super 8 is coming out in theatres and IMAX on Friday June 10, 2011.

Want to win tickets to see Super 8? IMAX is hosting a facebook contest here. Good luck!

Entering 'MINT' at super8secret.com will also give you a chance to RVSP for an advanced screening in select cities in Canada and the US.

We were at the Party on the Plaza at Rogers Arena before the game started and boy was it packed! Today was also the Vancouver Canucks mascot, Fin's tenth birthday! Look how long his playoff beard is getting! Hahaha! There was cake and a lot of celebrating. I even got a photo with him! His birthday wishes include: 1. A big win tonight 2. A big win on Monday night 3. A big win on Wednesday night. Looks like one of those has already come true! Again downtown Vancouver exploded into celebration when Burrows (<3) scored that OT goal, 11 seconds in. People on Granville Street were packed like sardines and still more people from other live sites were pouring in. The atmosphere was so energetic, everyone was smiling and cheering, complete strangers were giving each other high-fives. This is way bigger than Olympic Gold. There absolutely is no comparison. We've waited 17 years for this and tonight we are 2 games closer to the Cup. Go Canucks!

A couple years after the first movie, Po (Jack Black) is living his dream as the Dragon Warrior, protecting the Valley of Peace with the Furious Five - Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Monkey (Jackie Chan), Viper (Lucy Liu) and Crane (David Cross). The peace is shattered when Lord Shen (Gary Oldman), an ambitious white peacock determined conquer all of China, sends his army of wolves to stripe all the villages of metal to create weapons capable of stopping Kung Fu. When Po does battle with the wolves, a symbol on their armor triggers repressed memories of his real parents to surface which cause him to have an identity crisis and conflicted feelings which distract him fighting. However, with the fate of China resting in Po and Furious Five's hands - err paws - Po will have to reach inner peace quickly in order to defeat Lord Shen and his massive army before it is too late.

What can I say but this movie is all awesomeness! The movie brings back familiar characters as well as introduces new ones - Lord Shen, the wolves, a goat soothsayer and Kung Fu masters Storming Ox and Croc. Po is still the same excited, clumsy panda but a lot more confident in his abilities in Kung Fu. You wouldn't think a peacock would be very scary as a villain but the animation team combined with Gary Oldman's distinctive voice created a character that exudes evilness. Lord Shen's feathers are used as his weapon as well. He is the best evil peacock ever!

The movie is even better than the first one. The story is a little bit darker but it is still funny and heartwarming as ever. Po is so cute as a baby! There is a lot more Kung Fu fighting in this installment as well as some amazing explosions. The only thing I wish is that the Furious Five had more dialogue. We watched the movie in 3-D and I can say that this is a movie that is worth watching in 3-D; the effects are great and there are many throughout the movie. Highly recommended, adults and children alike will enjoy this one amazing sequel. Skadoosh!

Kung Fu Panda 2 is currently in theatres everywhere.

Mmmmm I had a delicious dinner at the Cactus Club tonight. I really like the tuna tataki but K wanted calamri instead. Still good though. Next time it'll be the tuna! For the main I tried their Halibut entrée and K had the pesto chicken quesadilla. The Halibut looked so pretty and it tasted delicious! And of course we shared an apple galette for dessert. It's a must for a visit to cactus club!

Based on a true story, the First Grader is about Kimani N'gan'ga Maruge (Oliver Litondo), a 84 year-old Kenyan man and former Mau Mau freedom fighter, who decides to join first graders in school when the government announces it will provide free primary education to all citizens. His motive being to be able to read, for himself, a letter from the government of unknown contents. Even when turned away several times, Maruge never gives up and eventually the head teacher, Jane Obinchu (Naomie Harris), allows him in the class. However, this stirs up quite a bit of controversy as room in the schools are already limited. Maruge and Jane face the ugliness of politicians, journalists, angry villagers and thugs as they threaten to get in the way of Maruge right to learn.

Besides the heartwarming main story, the movie is full of Kenyan history. Throughout the movie, we are greeted with flashbacks about Maruge's tragic past when he was spent years in prison and endured endless torture when he was captured while fighting a war for independence against the British colonial occupants in the 1950s. It is a much more serious movie than I imagined. There was much violence in Kenya's past that affected many. The film is very enjoyable though and the characters are very likable. The actors were amazing! Though brilliant filming and editing, and many closeup shots, the director has managed to capture all the emotion that Litondo poured out through his eyes and posture. The audience really feels intimately for all that Maruge has gone through. Harris similarly warms up the screen with her portrayal of her character and provides a much needed contrast to the negativity of the other characters. Maruge's story is an inspiration and teaches a lesson to all that you are never too old to learn.

The First Grader is currently playing in select theaters.

The wolfpack is back! Set several years later after the first movie, we find out that Stu (Ed Helms) is getting married (the Vegas marriage didn't work out) to a sweet girl named Lauren. Not wanting to risk another incident like that last time, Stu tries to play it safe, forgoing the bachelor party and refusing to invite Alan (Zach Galifianakis). After some convincing from Phil (Bradley Cooper)and Doug (Justin Bartha), Stu finally relents and invites Alan and gang travels together to exotic Thailand for the wedding. The couple of nights before the wedding, the guys and Stu's fiancee convinces him to have just one drink at a bonfire on the beach with the guys and Teddy (Mason Lee), the bride's genius, cello-playing, younger brother. You just KNOW something awful will happen...and it does! Phil, Alan and Stu wake up to find themselves in a strange motel somewhere in Bangkok with a monkey and Teddy missing except for one of his fingers...With the wedding coming up fast, the three will have to take to the gritty streets of Bangkok to dodge drug dealers, canvas strip clubs and monasteries to find Teddy and get back in time for the wedding!

This movie is even more out there than the first one. The story has pretty much the same elements from the first movie - loss of memory, someone is missing, gangsters want money in exchange for their friend, that sort of thing but they top it by adding a lot of shock factor. It is hilarious! Plenty of laughs throughout the movie and the characters are as funny as always. These characters have amazing chemistry. Ken Jeong reprises his role as the crazy criminal Mr. Chow but I was most impressed by the monkey's acting! You'll love every moment Crystal the Monkey is on scene. And wow when they rated it R, they weren't kidding. There are many MANY instances of male genitalia on screen. A lot of jokes revolved around them too. Highly recommended if you want to relive the first movie and are in for some mindlessly fun humour.

The Hangover Part II is in theatres today Thursday, May 26, 2011!

I went hiking with my friends today on the North Shore. It was a very nice and sunny day and the view at the park was spectacular. It was quite fun and I worked up a sweat climbing up and down the trails. I'm slightly sunburnt now though. Ow. I lugged my camera through it all. There are a lot of interesting things growing in the park. At the lighthouse there is actually an area where they labeled all the native plants of the park. Pretty neat!

Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) is back and this time he is after the fabled Fountain of Youth but he's not alone in this regard. Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), who is now working for the English monarch, is on a race to beat the Spanish to the fountain while the fearsome Blackbeard (Ian McShane) and his first mate, Angelica (Penélope Cruz), a woman pirate from Jack's past, are also wanting to use the waters of the fountain to prevent an unfortunate prophecy from coming true. Jack finds himself forced onto Blackbeard's ship, Queen Anne's Revenge. After a failed attempt at mutiny and finding out that his ship, the Black Pearl, is being held captive by Blackbeard, he becomes an semi-unwilling guide to the crew, sailing through mermaid infested waters to the islands that house the Fountain of Youth. With each party wanting Jack to show them the way and each having only a part of the necessary components for the fountain to work, Jack will have to use all his wits to outsmart and outplay his enemies in order to get out of this mess alive and get back his ship.

Even after three installments, On Stranger Tides proves that Pirates is still popular. Pirate fans are sure to enjoy this latest Jack Sparrow adventure as the movie is much better than the second and third movies. Jack Sparrow's outrageous craziness has been dialed down to more manageable doses in this one. The screening was in 3D but like most 3D movies, there isn't enough effects that warrants paying more for it. Just stick to the regular version of the movie - you'll enjoy it more without having to worry about the stupid glasses. There are a lot of unanswered questions (some I can't get into without avoiding spoilers) - one of being what is that "X" on Jack's face?! I thought the movie would go into detail about it but it wasn't even mentioned! Overall the story was exciting and interesting and the acting was good. Jack Sparrow can never disappoint. I enjoyed watching the old characters as well as the new ones. Loved the relationship between the missionary Philip and Syrena, the mermaid. What can I say? I'm a Little Mermaid fan. Action, adventure, danger, sword-fighting, explosions, romance, mermaids, a few zombies and voodoo - these are a few things you can expect from the movie. Also remember to stay until the end of the credits!

Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides sails into theatres and IMAX this Friday, May 20, 2011.

Forks Over Knives is a documentary-type film, distributed by D Films Corporation, that follows along similar lines as in Super-Size Me and Food Inc. except with much more scientific evidence to back up its theories. The film promotes a wholistic plant-based diet (they don't like to be called Vegan) claiming that this diet will help halt, reverse or even cure many of the diseases that afflict a growing number of North Americans today such as hypertension and diabetes. Several scientists and doctors, especially Dr. T. Colin Campbell and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, did independent studies and produced scientific evidence that it is the North American meat-centric processed foods diet and specifically the animal proteins that is the major cause of disease and cancer. Plant proteins on the other hand can reverse the damage done to the human body by the comsumption of animal proteins. The film covers the effects of fast food, high fructose corn syrup, the real cause of osteoporosis and interviews many people that have been brought back from the brink of death by adhearing to this diet.

The film is a feel good movie in a way and offers a lot of hope to people currently afflicted by disease nowadays. The whole premise that food can be used as medicine instead of pills, injections or open-heart surgery (hence the title) is a very appealing message to many people. It is not a new concept but one that is a hard sell in a society where the recommended foods we consume is controlled by the agricultural companies. Dr. Esselstyn's son, Rip Esselstyn, who was also in the movie, was at the screening and he did a Q&A afterwards. He is living proof that a fireman can eat only veggies and still be strong and fit.

The message in the film is very clear - eat natural and eat plants or run the risk of being disease prone can be a tad extreme - and there is no mention to how our sedatary lifestyle also contributes to our overall health. However, I agree that changing our diet is not very hard and it is better to eat less meat and more veggies than to go under the knife. The film was extremely well laid like a well written essay and very informative. There are a few laughs put in it as well. After seeing this movie, I probably won't stop completely eating meat (I didn't eat much to begin with) but will definitely look into more alternatives to animal protein.

Forks Over Knives is in select theatres on Friday, May 20, 2011.

Universal Pictures presents a hilarious comedy about the dynamic between bridesmaids which centres around Annie (Kristen Wiig), a sad single who's childhood best friend, Lillian (Maya Rudolph), is getting married before her. Annie's mediocre life perks up somewhat when she is asked to be the maid of honour. She meets the other bridesmaids (Melissa McCarthy, Wendi McLendon-Covey and Ellie Kemper) for the first time at Lillian's engagement party and takes an instant dislike to Helen (Rose Byrne), Lillian's other close friend who also wanted the job as maid of honor. The two start competing for Lillian's favour which often ends disastrously for Annie. Her friendship with Lillian is strained as her life spirals out of control dragging down her job as maid of honour with it. When Annie hits rock bottom, she'll have one chance to prove to Lillian and her bridesmaids she is capable of being her best friend and rebuild her life in the process.

Bridesmaids is about friendship, jealous and romance presented in a super funny way. It has many emotional and tender moments and will leave the audience feeling satisfied after leaving the theatre. All the relationships are beautifully played out - Kristen Wiig nailed her part as the broke, self-pitying friend driven by jealousy. All the bridesmaids have their own quirks and have very colourful personalities. Megan played by Melissa McCarthy, may be the oddest of the bunch. She is so eccentric but McCarthy manages to play the character with a straight face. Word of caution: if you want to be able to eat a sandwich again don't stay for the credits! Bridesmaids is a highly recommend watch especially for women but I'm taking a guess that men will also find the movie hilarious. If you want a guaranteed laugh, this is the movie to watch.

Bridesmaids is in theatres this Friday, May 13th, 2011.

Have you seen this? Kermit the Frog was at the black carpet premiere of the Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides interviewing the cast and other guests. I love Kermit. He's so funny! Pirates will be release in theatres next week on May 20th. Kermit was also there to plug his new movie: The Muppets which will be coming out in November.

I was so lucky to win a pair of tickets to Game 5 of the Vancouver Canucks vs Nashville Predators playoff game today, courtesy of The Cactus Club Cafe! Please follow them on Facebook and on Twitter! They are awesome! They were pretty sweet seats too - row 12, centre ice, right behind the players bench! I had a great time there. The crowd was just so intense and electric. We stood up and flung our towels for everything! It's so different from a regular season game.The green men were there too and they found a way to get away with the NHL ban on doing handstands by using a cardboard cutout! Hahahah! They are hilarious! Too bad the Canucks couldn't finish the Preds off today due to some unlucky/accidental goals. Kesler was awesome as usual, scoring 2 of our 3 goals! I took a lot of photos of him because he is what the fans want! Don't get me wrong, I still love Burrows...it's just he has some competition now. Hehehe. Go Canucks! Looking forward to Game 6!

The Happiness Truck was driving all around the Vancouver downtown area today and stopping periodically to give a little happiness to those who pressed the button (And who doesn't want to press a button that is labeled 'Push'?). These Kids Wear Crowns were also playing live in Robson Square and Coca-Cola gave out free bottles of coke to those who attended. Despite the rain and hail, there was a pretty good turnout. Wish I could have stayed longer but I found out that I had won a contest for Canucks tickets that very night and I had to pick them up at Cactus Club! Open happiness!

In France 1977, Suzanne Pujol (Catherine Deneuve) is the stay-at-home trophy wife of a rich man Robert Pujol (Fabrice Luchini) who runs the family umbrella factory with a tyrannical iron fist. When the workers, who are fed up their poor working conditions strike, he tries to deal with them with force only to be taken hostage. Suzanne enlists the help of former lover and communist mayor Maurice Babin (Gérard Dépardieu) and negotiates a truce. The stress causes Robert to hospitalized and with her husband indisposed, Suzanne is forced to manage the factory herself. To the surprise of everyone, she proves that she is a very capable woman and gets the factory up and running with better work conditions and even improving sales with the help of her artistic son and disbelieving daughter. However, the situation gets complicated when Robert comes back wanting to take over the factory again but now that Suzanne has been in control for several months, she realizes she is no longer content to live her life as a just a trophy wife!

Potiche, meaning trophy wife, is a French movie with English subtitles dealing with the subject of the women emancipation movement in the late 1970s. I really enjoyed the film! It was very funny and light even with such a serious topic. A lot of the jokes were about how the characters were so flippant about adultery though. The film even started with a pair of rabbits humping each other! Deneuve's character was so likable and she gave a great performance as the submissive trophy wife who left the shelf to pursue her independence. All the other actors did an amazing job as well. Funny and entertaining, this film is sure to delight audiences.

There's a giant box of cereal in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery and today it was opened and we found out that 2012 Honda Civic was the prize inside! I think it's super cool advertisement strategy. Nothing gets attention better than super sized 20 foot tall cereal box that's for sure! It will still be there tomorrow so if you are interested in seeing it, the cereal box is on the Georgia Street side of the art gallery. You can't miss it.

The days leading to prom is an exciting experience for a highschooler's life while for others, it is extremely stressful. For Nova Prescott (Aimee Teegarden), it is both. As class president and organizer for the graduating class' prom night, she has worked overtime to plan the perfect evening only to have her dream go up in flames when a fire destroys all the decorations only three weeks before the big night. With all her friends now busy with their schoolwork, the principal assigns school rebel, Jesse Richter (Thomas McDonell), to help her rebuilt from scratch. At first the two despised each other and found every opportunity to clash heads but as the weeks pass, they eventually come to understand each other. Meanwhile, other classmates are desperately trying to find prom dates, dealing with betrayal and change. Friendships and close relationships will be tested before all converging on that one special night.

This film is told in the typical Disney-style with the good guys getting the girl and the bad guys getting burned and everyone except the bad guy gets a happy ending. How realistic is it though? The movie makes it seem that prom is the most important night of your life and everyone, with the exception of a few, seem too excited about it. However, the film does teach some important lessons: don't judge a book by its cover and stop waiting for life to happen, make the change yourself! Prom is a nice light movie that pre-teens and teens will enjoy, no matter how unrealistic the story seems.

Prom opens in theatres tomorrow, Friday April 29, 2011.

Like cars? Money? Badass women? A blatant disregard for public and private property? The newest addition to the Fast and the Furious series from Universal Pictures has it all. The film continues where the fourth movie left off with former cop Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker) and Mia Toretto (Jordana Brewster) making a daring assault on a bus that is transporting Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) to prison. The three manage to escape and make their way to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The group get into hot situation when a car heist from a moving train goes awry when their Brazilian partners betrays them, leaving three DEA agents who were guarding the cars dead. As a result, the group find themselves hunted on two fronts by federal agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) and a corrupt businessman Hernan Reyes (Joaquim de Almeida), to whom the cars belongs. Now Dom and the gang must pull one last impossible job and steal 100 million dollars from Reyes, in a bold attempt to gain their freedom once and for all.

This latest Fast and Furious installment mixes it up by adding an Oceans Eleven type of mission to list of car heists. Planning to breaking into an impenetrable fortress with a team of experts? You have to admit there are similarities. Each character was given a "life before this" so that they had the expertise handy to put the heist off. Convenient. There weren't many races except for one in police cars but there are high speed car chases and the last one is particularly exciting! That scene alone must have cost millions considering all the damage done to everything. I really enjoyed the movie; the plot was fast-paced and visually amazing with exciting over-the-top action sequences and of course the good guys win in the end. Plus now you will know who will win in a fist fight between the Dwayne Johnson and Vin Diesel! LOL

Make sure you sit through the credits because a familiar face will turn up afterwards. Fans can look forward to a sixth installment coming in the future...

Fast Five is in theatres and IMAX this Friday, April 29, 2011. Go see it!

Textuality is about how texting has changed the way we handle our relationships. The film starts with a flashback history of a guy named Breslin (Jason Lewis). A series of short clips and pictures shows how a disastrous breakup his fiancee lead to his current situation - juggling a roster lackluster relationships with three different women which he manages through BBM and Skype. His outlook on life changes when he accidentally hits Simone (Carly Pope) with his car. Unbeknownst to Breslin, Simone also has a roster of three men while an affair with a married man who is promising to leave his wife for her. Both try to get out of their multiple relationships and try to get together with each other. Things take a turn for the worst when all the women in Breslin's life, including Simone, find out about his other relationships, one of which turns out to be Simone's art teacher!

The movie was ok. Funny at times but I couldn't relate to the characters very much. At least it was a happy ending. The film puts an emphasis on the one-to-one relationships instead of the texting and online relationships that is all too prevalent in today's society. And rightly so! I am guilty of living my life online as well. Hahaha. We were the only ones in the theatre yesterday night...but to be fair there was a tense Canucks game going on.

Thank you @VIAGiveaways for the tickets!

Textuality is in theatres now.

I was searching around for portal stuff last night and came across this awesome Portal hoodie made by ThinkGeek! I WANT IT. Too bad it's $59.99! I can't justify spending as much as the game for it. I'll just drool over these pictures. On the other hand, Valve's online store is selling the Test Candidate T-shirt for only $17.99 as well as other Portal 2 mechandise. I still like the hoodie better.

Now I'm also obsessed with the new Portal2 credits song "Want You Gone"! Don't watch if you don't like spoilers!

Unfortunately I have to work this long weekend so it's actually a short weekend. T_T But it's such a nice day I couldn't resist going outside and looking at the flowers. So pretty! Those yellow ones are the Dasystemon Tarda Tulips not the white ones I was talking about last time. Magnolia flowers are blooming!

See the full gallery on Posterous

As you might already know I'm currently obsessed with the song "Still Alive" from the game Portal. It's playing repeat while I'm working and at home. In fact I'm listening to it now! Here it is for those who don't know what I'm talking about:

Now I found out a couple of days ago that Portal 2 was coming out! It was released yesterday! Hurray! More GlaDOS! As I haven't played the original Portal yet, I just purchased The Orange Box which has the original in it. I can't wait to play it. Maybe this will motivate me to set up my XBox finally.

Filmed in the vast and beautiful Masai Mara reserve in Kenya, Disney's African Cats follows two mothers, a lion and a cheetah, as they struggle to raise their cubs in an unforgiving world full of dangers. The film focuses on a lioness Layla and her cub Mara as well as Sita, a mother cheetah, who is raising five newborn cubs. Samuel L. Jackson narrates this touching story of the ups and downs of life in the savanna as the mothers and their offspring experience courage, love, loss and dangers that threaten their very existence.

This is the third feature film by Disneynature, which previously brought us Earth and Oceans; it is a nature documentary but tells it as sweet story about the power of a mother's love. The film offers stunning cinematic and sweeping panoramic shots as well as close shots that let you experience the life in the lions' pride and the cheetah family up close and personal. Breathtaking is short of describing the beautiful and majestic kings of the savanna. An awesome soundtrack accompanies the film which enhances the deep emotions that the dramatic story will trigger. The script is works but gets cheesy at times; it targets children who will no doubt appreciate the simplicity of the narration and the lesson it teaches: there is nothing more powerful than a mother's love.

African Cats opens in theatres on Earth Day, this Friday April 22, 2011. You can also help save the Savanna by pledging to see the film. For every ticket purchased during opening week, Disneynature will make a donation to the African Wildlife Foundation. Make your pledge here!

I took the family out to see Cavalia yesterday and I really enjoyed it!. Currently located at the Olympic Village, Cavalia is an extravagant show that explores the relationship between humans and horses. It features acrobats, dancers, riders, 49 horses as well as musicians and a vocalist. It is hard to pick a favourite moment in the show but if I had to choose, the segment that I loved the most is where two girls fly over riders on two beautiful white horses. The flying acrobat is suppose to embody the spirit of the horse and they did it very successfully; they are so graceful. I also enjoyed the roman riding and fast paced segment where the riders do tricks while riding galloping horses. Awesome.

Cavalia has extended their stay in Vancouver to May 1st so there's still time to go! It doesn't matter if you are a horse lover or not, you will really enjoy it and be amazed at how connected these beautiful animals are with their trainers.

I had the amazing opportunity to go see Video Games Live at the Vancouver Centre of Performing Arts tonight courtesy of Futureshop. VGL is an awesome concert performed by a live orchestra and choir and featuring music from popular video games. Every night is different as they have many songs to chose from a vast collection of games. Tonight they started off with mashup of old classic games including Pong, Space Invaders, Frogger, Duck Hunt, Street Fighter II and Tetris then moved to more modern games including songs from Final Fantasy, Halo: Reach, Castlevania, Silent Hill 2, Super Mario, Legend of Zelda, God of War, World of Warcraft, Uncharted 2, Chronos Trigger and a bunch of others.

Performances featured Tommy Tallarico, the creator of VGL, who was playing guitar, flutist and vocalist Laura Intravia and piano soloist Martin Leung. Intravia's first appearance on stage involved opera version of Tetris! Who ever thought Tetris could sound so opera-like! "Flute Link" also made an appearance with Intravia playing a solo from Legend of Zelda dressed as Link with Ciela on her shoulder that she arranged herself! It was very amusing to watch as Ciela had her own "flute" and kept interrupting Intravia and the whole piece was basically a flute playing war between them. Martin Leung played the theme from Super Mario Brothers and blindfolded at that! His fingers just fly across the keys; it is very mesmerizing to watch. I am really amazed at all the talented people that performed tonight. In fact both Intravia and Leung were recruited because Tallarico saw them playing on Youtube! I guess it is a breeding ground for stars! It's also the conductor, Emmanuel Fratianni's first time in Canada. If you look at the photos I took you will see that his conductor stand is actually a joystick!

Throughout the performance they also gave away prizes. There was also a contest which involved two audience members playing Frogger while the orchestra played the sound reacting to what was happening on screen. A Guitar Hero contest was also held prior to the concert and the top scorer was invited on stage to play "Emotion" by Aerosmith on Guitar Hero while Tommy Tallarico played real guitar. He only needed to get 125,000 points in Hard to win a prize but he choose to play it on EXPERT and hardly missed any notes! The audience went wild cheering him on. He took home the prize of a Kinect for XBox360 courtesy of Futureshop! Some lucky person walked away with a PS3 AND PSP courtesy of Sony from a random draw! I'm so jealous!

After the show, they held a meet and greet with Tallarico, Intravia, Leung, Fratianni and Chris Mair (?) and I got to meet them and get their autographs. Unfortunately Flute Link accidentally smudged her signature. ='(

Anyways I had an awesome time and will definitely go again next year! My favourite part must have been when they sang "Still Alive" (from Portal). (Oh my gosh! I found it on iTunes!) The lyrics are so funny and the images that accompanied the song in the background were hilarious! I wish I had taken a clip it. Here's one I found on Youtube:

Video Games Live is only in Vancouver for one more night, April 14th, so get your tickets now! And in honour of the Canucks win tonight they released the discount code: CANUCKS for 50% off any balcony seat ticket! Don't miss this opportunity to see them! Any one who enjoys music should go see Video Games Live, gamers and non-gamers alike!

More flowers this week! Small tulips, more daffoldils and some other flowers I don't remember the names of. And my Magnolia is starting to show it's colours!

I really want to buy a macro lens so that I can take super up close photos of my flowers!

I won some passes to this movie showing this week and went to go see it this morning. There weren't many people in the theatre; those who came were mostly parents with their young kids. I think more people went to the theatre to watch some kind of opera show instead of this showing. However this is to be expected of these types of movies.

Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure is an upcoming direct to DVD movie spin-off from High School Musical starring Ashley Tisdale. The film follows Sharpay Evans, a spoiled rich heiress, after she has graduated high school and looking to get her big break on Broadway. After seeing Sharpay performing a song and dance number at her country club with her dog Boi, Jerry Taylor, a famous producer, was impressed and told her that he was looking to cast a Broadway musical in New York City. Her father lets her go on one condition: either she makes it in one month or she has to come back home and work for her parents. At first Sharpay thinks that she has her rise to stardom all planned out but when she arrives in New York she gets kicked out of her penthouse and discovers that Jerry was only interested in casting her dog for the part in the show! Forced to take the help of the son of a family friend, Peyton, she moves into a studio apartment and plans to use her dog as a stepping stone to get to her fame. Sharpay goes head to head with a very competitive Roger Elliston who also wants his dog, Countess, to star in the show. Desperate, Sharpay becomes assistant to her idol and star of the show, Amber Lee Adams only to discover she is not the kind of person Sharpay thinks she is. With time running out and her spirit broken, Sharpay will have to act like the star she is again to get to make her dreams come true.

This movie was fun movie with a light plot filled with glitz and glamour. Sharpay is absolutely clueless and there were many funny moments revolving around this fact. It was kind of hard to feel sympathetic toward Sharpay since she is so rich and had everything handed to her on a golden platter all her life. There were a few musical numbers, which were catchy and in the lines of High School Musical. Justin Bieber song, Baby was even included in the movie, though it was played during the side love story between the dogs, Boi and Countess. Kids will definitely enjoy this movie.

Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure comes out on DVD and Blu-ray combo pack on April 19, 2011.

The official UBC LipDub is now live on Youtube! Watch and share! Pacific Blue Cross is donating a penny for every view to Make a Wish Foundation!

I had a lot of fun participating in this but my screen time is limited to 2 seconds. Hahaha. You can see me starting at frame 2:14.

There is also an official launch party tonight at Robson Square starting at 8pm which will include live bands from 30:Live Entertainment Group. Marianas Trench is rumored to be at the party as well. Come out and join us! Winning! LOL

Hanna (Saoirse Ronan) is a girl who lives in the wintery forests of Finland with her father, Erik Heller (Eric Bana), an ex-CIA agent, who trained her to be a perfect soldier - strong, quick, fearless and deadly with or without firearms. All her training is to prepare her for one sole mission: kill Marisa Wiegler (Cate Blanchett), a ruthless intelligence operative, who will stop at nothing until Hanna and Erik are dead. A flip of switch calls Wiegler to them; however, unbeknownst to Hanna, she kills an imposter posing as Wiegler. As Hanna journeys across Europe to meet up with Erik, and with Wiegler and her operatives closing in, she uncovers secrets about her existence that lead her to question her own humanity which no amount of training could ever prepare her for.

Hanna is an intense movie with a lot of action but also has its tender moments. I was, however, slightly disappointed at what I thought would be a twist ending but instead the movie ended very predictably.
Cate Blanchett was brilliant as usual but her southern accent atrocious and tended to phase in and out. Her character needed more work as Wiegler was very one-dimensional; she wanted nothing more than the deaths of Hanna and Erik but you never really find out why. You get bits and pieces of the puzzle through flashbacks but never a clear motive. I find it hard to believe that it was only because of her job that drove Wiegler so hard to exterminate Erik and Hanna; she must have some personal grudge or secret that causes that kind of desperate dedication.

Saoirse Ronan also did a wonderful job as Hanna. She is so wonderfully innocent with a childlike fascination to everything. There are only a few moments in the movie that Hanna could be a child she is and these should be cherished as the pace picks up again very quickly. The score, by The Chemical Brothers, however funky, seemed to beautifully fit the movie. It reflects both Hanna's innocence and her deadly abilities. Nothing seems to be able to stop Hanna and Ronan does an amazing job with all the fight sequences - they were all believable and real.

Overall Hanna is a very enjoyable, interesting and beautifully shot movie but could have used much more character development and clearer motives. It is a good movie but could have been amazing. Still, I would recommend seeing it in theatres.

Hanna opens in theatres tomorrow, Friday April 8th, 2011.

Always living in the shadow of his quest-loving older brother Fabious (James Franco), lazy Prince Thadeous (Danny McBride) settled to just smoke weed and getting in trouble with the women of the neighbouring dwarven kingdom. But when evil wizard Leezar (Justin Theroux) kidnaps Fabious' bride, Belladonna on their wedding day, his father gives him a choice - either aid Fabious on his quest to rescue his bride or be banished from the kingdom. As the brothers venture out to prevent an ancient prophecy from being fulfilled, they face betrayal from their own knights, danger and adventure which brings them to join forces with the fearless warrior Isabel (Natalie Portman), who has secret agenda of her own. When the traitorous knights return and imprison Fabious, Thadeous must step up become the hero in order to save his brother and the kingdom and win the heart of Isabel.

Your Highness is a stupidly funny movie set in medieval times. Everything is exaggerated to poke fun of damsels and knights and what they do. There is a lot of swearing and the shock of a medieval character swearing was funny the first time we hear but it just gets old after the hundredth time it is uttered. There is very little character development and almost all the jokes are made up of lowbrow humor, gay jokes and vulgar shock factors. Still it will make you laugh (or at least chuckle) and the action and special effects are not bad. You can tell the actors loved making this movie and all did a fantastic job in delivering their lines.

Your Highness is in theatres tomorrow, Friday, April 8th, 2011.

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