Apologies for the lag and the occasional looking like a walrus in pain.
Saturday, 14 August 2010
In Which You are Allowed to Laugh All You Want
While I continue to procrastinate on what I was really working on, here's a little something you can laugh at for a bit.
Thursday, 5 August 2010
Toy Story 3: the Equation
Spoiler alert: if you have not seen Toy Story 3 and do not enjoy spoilers (unlike me), please do not read this post.
So I watched Toy Story 3 again (this time in Melbourne with my mother). And I cried. Again. Granted, I wasn't bawling like the first time, but a few of those sneaky little guys made their way out of their ducts. Anywho, this is what I think about it in a nutshell:
Toy Story 3 = good old Toy Story humour and values + Prisonbreak + Animal Farm + a tiny little bit of 2012.
Yes, really.
Now, to crack the nutshell. No one, especially not a long time fan, could have asked for a better introduction to the movie: a swashbuckling scene in which Mr and Mrs Potatohead, with the help of their adopted alien children, were robbing an orphan-filled train, only to be stopped by Woody and his round-up (where The Prospector has been fortunately substituted by Buzz Lightyear). All the main toys ended up being involved and the whole 'Death by Monkeys' idea was just ingenious.
I will now describe how the movie relates to each variable in the equation above (aside from the first, as that is present all throughout).
Animal Farm: Sunnyside Daycare is portrayed as a utopia in the beginning, only it's anything but, as it's ruled under an authoritarian government, spearheaded by Lotso Huggin' Bear. Even brainwashing is used (although, this is a little more 1984) on Buzz to enforce the will of the governing.
Prisonbreak: Needless to say, the toys' had to follow some very elaborate measures to escape from Sunnyside. My favourite, I must say, was Mr Potatohead's crucial role in proceedings (although El Buzzo came a very, very close second). The scene in which his body parts come crawling together seemed fit to be in any horror movie. And only robots wouldn't laugh at the sight of Mr Tortillahead sidestepping. Seriously.
2012: I'm referring to the scene in which the toys just accept their end. The melting chamber looked a little like lava, which I'm sure was in 2012 at one stage or another (I have seen it, I just couldn't remember specifically when lava played a part).
But really, without the doubt the best part of the movie was the ending, with Andy handing over the toys to Bonnie. The way the 'one last playtime' was introduced was very subtle and, more importantly, very realistic. It's easy to just lose yourself in your childhood when the circumstances are right. In the end, everybody was happy, and yet it was not cheesy in the least. How the writers managed to do that, we shall never know.
(special thanks to Feathers for giving me the extra incentive to finish this after two long weeks of procrastination!)
So I watched Toy Story 3 again (this time in Melbourne with my mother). And I cried. Again. Granted, I wasn't bawling like the first time, but a few of those sneaky little guys made their way out of their ducts. Anywho, this is what I think about it in a nutshell:
Toy Story 3 = good old Toy Story humour and values + Prisonbreak + Animal Farm + a tiny little bit of 2012.
Yes, really.
Now, to crack the nutshell. No one, especially not a long time fan, could have asked for a better introduction to the movie: a swashbuckling scene in which Mr and Mrs Potatohead, with the help of their adopted alien children, were robbing an orphan-filled train, only to be stopped by Woody and his round-up (where The Prospector has been fortunately substituted by Buzz Lightyear). All the main toys ended up being involved and the whole 'Death by Monkeys' idea was just ingenious.
I will now describe how the movie relates to each variable in the equation above (aside from the first, as that is present all throughout).
Animal Farm: Sunnyside Daycare is portrayed as a utopia in the beginning, only it's anything but, as it's ruled under an authoritarian government, spearheaded by Lotso Huggin' Bear. Even brainwashing is used (although, this is a little more 1984) on Buzz to enforce the will of the governing.
Prisonbreak: Needless to say, the toys' had to follow some very elaborate measures to escape from Sunnyside. My favourite, I must say, was Mr Potatohead's crucial role in proceedings (although El Buzzo came a very, very close second). The scene in which his body parts come crawling together seemed fit to be in any horror movie. And only robots wouldn't laugh at the sight of Mr Tortillahead sidestepping. Seriously.
2012: I'm referring to the scene in which the toys just accept their end. The melting chamber looked a little like lava, which I'm sure was in 2012 at one stage or another (I have seen it, I just couldn't remember specifically when lava played a part).
But really, without the doubt the best part of the movie was the ending, with Andy handing over the toys to Bonnie. The way the 'one last playtime' was introduced was very subtle and, more importantly, very realistic. It's easy to just lose yourself in your childhood when the circumstances are right. In the end, everybody was happy, and yet it was not cheesy in the least. How the writers managed to do that, we shall never know.
(special thanks to Feathers for giving me the extra incentive to finish this after two long weeks of procrastination!)
Monday, 2 August 2010
The Monthiversarry
Time is a funny thing (yes, I know that Sky wrote an entire essay on this matter a while ago, but this is my bit). One minute, I was saying, "I've been here for a week and a half" and the next, it turned into, "I came here a month ago".
Dude.
What?
That's right, this marks the first full month I have been in Melbourne. Time certainly flies, whether you're having fun or not. Not that I haven't been enjoying this, of course.
School's starting to seem like normal school (as opposed to the maze I found myself in for the first while I was there), and I'm even starting to hang out with people! Yes, this is a surprise, because I've been really really quiet so far. Good news is, the people my (sorta) friends hang out with are totally random and hyper and very very funny, so I feel right at home.
Until next time.
Dude.
What?
That's right, this marks the first full month I have been in Melbourne. Time certainly flies, whether you're having fun or not. Not that I haven't been enjoying this, of course.
School's starting to seem like normal school (as opposed to the maze I found myself in for the first while I was there), and I'm even starting to hang out with people! Yes, this is a surprise, because I've been really really quiet so far. Good news is, the people my (sorta) friends hang out with are totally random and hyper and very very funny, so I feel right at home.
Until next time.
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