[Movie Review] A Million Ways to Die in the West

Hi Huneybees,

American dud - Seth MacFarlane is back with a new comedy. He directs, produces, co-writes and plays the role of the cowardly sheep farmer Albert in A Million Ways to Die in the West. Starring alongside him is Charlize Theron, Amanda Seyfried, Liam Neeson, Neil Patrick Harris, Giovanni Ribisi and Sarah Silverman.

MacFarlane reunites many of the filmmakers behind Universal and MRC's hit film Ted including Scott Stuber (Bluegrass Films) and Jason Clark who produce, and Wellesley Wild and Alec Sulkin who co-wrote the script.

Green Lantern - Ryan Reynolds together with Jamie Foxx, Christopher Lloyd and Mila Kunis makes special appearances in the movie, so you have to keep your eyes (and ears) wide to catch them!

The film opens with triumphant music and sweeping vistas of Monument Valley that remind us of the scope of the Wild West: The stone high pinnacles were then with an ongoing gunfight as Albert (Seth MacFarlane) backs out of it, his fickle girlfriend (Amanda Seyfried) leaves him for another richer man (Neil Patrick Harris). When a mysterious and beautiful woman (Charlize Theron) rides into town, she helps him find his courage and they begin to fall in love. But when her husband (Liam Neeson), a notorious outlaw, arrives seeking revenge, the farmer must put his newfound courage to the test. 

This being his second movie after TED was a letdown for me. Being the creator of famous animated series - Family Guy, American Dad, Futurama and The Cleveland Show, you would be expecting tons of humour, ROFL moments, but sad to say, the funniest moment were mainly displayed in the trailer already.

Too much have been focused on sex and religious hypocrisy (one of the characters is a prostitute who refuses to have sex with her fiancé before they get married, fearing the judgment of the Almighty), actually alot of the humour gags ardeactually coming from this couple, it would have been fun to see Amanda Seyfried or Charlize Theron breaking apart from their pretty faces and inject more humour into their character.

In fact, some of the funny bits were old gags, that we kinda know what the next punchline would be or even just simple changes to those that were already used in the animations. The movies was a little messy as Seth might have bitten off more than he can chew. Overall, this was a good effort, but this does not surpass his first movie TED. 

I would give the movie 2.5 out of 5 stars.

“A Million Ways to Die in the West” is now showing in cinemas islandwide.

Don’t forget to stay tuned to my blog / like my blog’s Facebook page / follow me @huney_84 on Twitter & Instagram  for the latest updates!

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Watch The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Kick Ass This Labour Day!

Hi Huneybees,

Spidey's here to save the day!

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 will be in cinemas this Labour Day and I was fortunate to have the privilege to catch it tonight, right before everyone else did! I couldn't stop replaying the movie in my head and I knew I would definitely be "swooping" by the cinema for a second round!

It was as though they were playing their usual dating selves in real life.
So much love ~

This second installment was a more solemn one compared to the previous prequel. More emotions were revealed as each character represented one each. For Spider-Man/Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) and Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone), it was the love that tore them apart, loving each other, whilst having a promise to keep. Peter Parker felt so lost, as he was reminded of his dead parents and a soon-to-be lost love, when Gwen revealed that she would be going away.

The super-charged villian Electro (Jamie Foxx), represented the desire for attention, to be wanted and needed, when he thought the world was turning against him, even his idol - Spider-man was not supporting him, he turned this desperaton into ager and wanted to literally turn the city lights out.

As for the introduction of an old friend, Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan) who later turned into Green Goblin, he was filled with desperation as his dying father revealed to him the ugly side of their family genetics, which he would die at a young age.

The revelation of perhaps a cure, saw him doing a silly step, of not only unleashing Electro into the city, but also himself, turned out to be worse than just an ill patient. It reflects the choice one makes, due to fear, desperation and anger, one might choose the wrong path and turn against the world.

That is also why the makeup for the characters were not too cartoon-y,  like painting the Green Goblin green and giving him a witch nose. I liked how they made Harry looked as though he was plagued by a disease, the greenish tone was coming from within and not changing too much of his human form.

Electro on the other hand reminded me way too much of Dr. Freeze, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger in Batman & Robin (1997), he could be a little more burnt or pale, but hey, it could be just me, who have been watching way too much of the America TV game show - Face Off.

Some might see this emotion play a little too draggy, a little too boring, but for me, it was nice to be able to be see things from the superhero's POV as he reveals his emotions, heroes are humans too, they still need the support of family and love.

Everyone were raving about Jami Foxx's acting in the movie and though I did like how he played Max Dillion as the dorky, unseen engineer, someone else caught my eye...

Dane DeHaan, had that bad vibe, that might have won over James Franco's character . With his glass-ball light blue eyes and his young Leonardo DiCaprio vibe, he got me going "OoOoo" as the other girls were drooling over the "brown doe-eyed" Andrew Garfield.

Big Spidey fans might know what the ending might be like, but for those who don't, you might be in for a tear jerking moment! I can't wait for the 3rd episode as towards the end of the movie, you would be seeing another villian - Rhino (Paul Giamatti) as this might be the groundwork for the introduction of the Sinister Six!

 

So, be sure to catch The Amazing Spider-Man 2 in cinemas this 1 MAY 2014 in 3D and IMAX® 3D!

Don’t forget to stay tuned to my blog / like my blog’s Facebook page / follow me @huney_84 on Twitter & Instagram  for the latest updates!

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Switching The Lights Off With Spider-Man, Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone And Jamie Foxx

Hi Huneybees,

Last week, my Spidey senses were tingling as I approached The Float @ Marina Bay. I was there for Earth Hour 2014 and this year I got to Lights Out with my fellow Singaporeans right in the heart of Singapore.

This year's campaign - 'Use Your Power' urges people to be a superhero for the planet by pledging to take action and commit to one or more of these 4 simple acts" via http://earthhour.wwf.sg:

• Turn air-conditioning up by one degree
• Switch to LED lighting
• Use fewer plastic bags
• Take shorter showers

Excitement grew tensed as the night turns dark, as the Earth Hour approaches... Coz a special superhero made a special appearance. It was none other than Spider-Man himself as Earth Hour's global Super Hero ambassador.

With him, he brought the cast, director and producer of the upcoming highly anticipated motion picture - The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Everyone were screaming as Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone and Jamie Foxx walked onto the stage.

They shared about their joy being part of Earth Hour and Andrew got everyone tickled pink as he repeated "Steady Lah" 3 times. He's just so adorable, ain't he?!

At the mention of the Energy Dance Floor, everyone on stage started to dance to the groove and Jamie Foxx brought his daughter and her friend down the other end of the stage to dance right in front of us! He was such a doting dad on his princess, holding her hand and dancing with her...

As the hour drew near, Spider-Man and Mr Panda, pressed on the button to start the countdown to Earth Hour, we stood there counting down, as we watched the participating nearby buildings (Marina Bay Sands, Esplanade, One Raffles Place, Republic Plaza and United Overseas Bank Plaza) swtich off their lights for the hour.

The session ended with the Spider-Man crew on the candle light platform for a photo opportunity and even though they had left, the whole celebration still went on with performances and the audience dancing through the night...

But Saving The Earth doesn't just end there. With Earth Hour 2014, the Eath Hour Blue is launched. It is the first crowdfunding and crowdsourcing platform for the planet, with an aspiration to shift the paradigm of how people raise funds, get support and mobilise others to change the world through the platform for environmental and social projects.

Singapore's very own crowdfunding project "Stop The Killing!" aims to stop animal trafficking in Southeast Asia, targets to raise USD20,000 that will go into the following activities:

• Strengthening wildlife patrols
  By better equipping wildlife rangers, offering them protection and the security of accident and emergency cover, creating a solid defense against poachers on the frontline of species conservation.
  
• Exposing and suppressing the trade
  By focusing on Singapore that we are targeting our efforts on one of Asia's major wildlife crime trafficking points. Your funds will support operations to monitor the illegal sale of animal parts and expose those responsible to the law, in particular to the crackdown on the illegal sale of saige antelope horn.
  
• Reducing consumer demand
  Crowdfunding can help us educate and change opinion through the mobilisation of awareness campaigns.

More informations can be obtained from www.wwf.sg

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[Movie Review] Django Unchained

Hi Huneybees,

Quentin Tarantino picked up the "Best Original Screenplay" for his film "Django Unchained" at this year's Academy Awards. And when I was invited to catch the movie, I was a happy queen bee on the receiving end of the honey pot!

Not only is this a reputable movie, it is A QUENTIN TARANTINO MOVIE! The man behind "Kill Bill", "Pulp Fiction", is back with a movie on the brutal revenge western, set among the slave platations of pre-civil war America with the leads - Jamie Foxx and Christoph Waltz.

The movie is partly based on the 1960s cult Django westerns starring Franco Nero (who cameo-ed in this movie) and partly on the notorious 1975 exploitation picture Mandingo.

Two years before the start of the Civil War, the unlikely partnership of German bounty hunter Dr King Schultz (Christoph Waltz) and Django (Jamie Foxx) – the slave he recently freed – set about making money tracking and killing outlaws. But Django also has plans to rescue his wife Broomhilda (Kerry Washington) from ­charismatic but cruel Mississippi plantation owner Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio) with the help of Stephen (Samuel L. Jackson), the malevolent house slave who is the real brains behind the plantation.

 

Like any Tarantino movie, violence is rampant throughout the movie, but this time I must say, it's a physical and verbal affair. Racism is much seen in the movie and the N-word is drawled and snarled perhaps hundreds of times. It is seen here again how his lead character turns from an underdog to a hero forced under circumstances and very much relate back to his previous movies.

Alot of the audiences were ranting about the violence and gruesome acts but I was in fact watching for the story (there was some moments my eyes welled up for Django) and to be honest, focusing on understanding what the actors were saying behind that heavy Southern accent.

How adorable Jamie Foxx look here! Everyone laughed when he appeared in this...

Foxx, DiCaprio, Waltz and Washington being the amazing actors they are in the movie are utterly upstaged by Samuel L Jackson.

As Stephen - Candie's household attendant, Jackson plays an Uncle Tom figure utterly loyal to the white master, with a deathly stare, a disturbing Parkinson's tremor and a habit of dropping the N-bomb even though he is part of them. He stands as Django's final stage to victory and his character was simply so loathsome that I seriously wanted to kick him in the balls!

I give the movie 3.5 out of 5 popcorns.

Django Unchained is recently nominated for 2013 MTV Movie Awards for "Movie of the Year", "Best Male Performance", "Best On-Screen Duo", "Best Fight", "Best Kiss", "Best WTF Moment" and "Best Villain".

Be sure to catch it in the cinemas!

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