What if?

Photo from What If Facebook Page

1. Daniel Radcliffe needs a better American accent. I like his acting. He reminds me of Keanu Reeves, so if there's any plan to reboot the Matrix (reboot, Matrix, get it?), Daniel is the one. I believe he improved a lot over the years since taking on the role of that famous wizard Harry Potter. I hope he will appear in more movies (American or British). But for Hollywood, he needs a better American accent.
2. His role in this movie is actually a Londoner, but I just want to state #1.
3. How in the world is their city showing "Princess Bride" in a movie house in 2013? I've read the book in the past and I've seen the movie on my laptop, but if I was in their city, I'd also go see it in a movie house and also alone if nobody wants to go with me.
4. I'm a sucker for movies where characters write each other in complete sentences using email (You've Got Mail). It's the next best thing to using a pen to write something on paper, putting it in an envelope and posting it in a post office. And, to top it off, it's also the next best thing to tearing an envelope, unfolding a piece of paper, and reading a note from your friend written on paper using a pen.
5. I don't think #4 will ever happen again, so it's just me reminiscing.
6. That scene in the rain with the umbrella. Huzzah!
7. Zoe Kazan plays Chantry who is an animator with bangs and looked good in glasses. I know another actress who'd look good as an animator with bangs wearing eyeglasses: Zooey Deschanel.
8. Zoe and Zooey are probably not pronounced the same way. But I'm just guessing.
9. Good night, Chantry.
10. Option 5.
11. Dublin (in Ireland, just in case there's another Dublin) looked nice. Roads were made of cobblestones. I like the idea of me walking on something like that one day. In 2015 if I have my way.
12. I know that scene! I've seen both-looking-for-each-other-at-opposite-place countless times in the past. Corny, yes. I still like it.
13. That airport scene near the end, what was that all about? Why wasn't it edited out? Some crazy writing there.
14. 18 months later is not needed. The movie could have ended "earlier".
15. Daniel and Zoe could be the next Tom and Meg. But if this was "You've Got Mail", they need a "Sleepless in Seattle". 
16. They should "Sleepless in Seattle".

(Grade: B+)

Creativity, Inc. and other books

I was surprised to learn that I read less in 2014 than I thought I had. I assumed I was still a voracious reader like in the past. Sadly, a quick look at the year that's about to end and it's not the case.

The following were the books I finished reading this year (not in chronological order):

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
Everlost by Neal Shusterman
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
Palace of Stone by Shannon Hale
Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull

My library contains a few others, but I won't list them here because I have not yet read them completely. At the moment, I'm listening to the audio book Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence. I listen to only small bits at a time, so there's a good chance I won't finish it by the strike of midnight on the last day of the year.

Of the six books I read in 2014, my favorite is Creativiy, Inc. by Ed Catmull, the only non-fiction book I read this year. I always liked Pixar because they consistently produced films that I and, judging by their box office performance, millions other people like. The first Toy Story (also their first feature length release) and Finding Nemo remain my favorites among their movies. I believe in Pixar, the brand, so much that I decided years ago that I'll watch every film they produce at least once in theater. Creativity, Inc. is a fascinating read for a fan like me. I got to see an overview of how things are run inside the studio, a bit of how they produce their movies, and a bit of their history as well (from Lucasfilm, to the time Steve Jobs bought them, to the time they merged with Disney). I recommend this book to all fans of Pixar. It's a worthwhile read.

Here's hoping I read more books in 2015.

Paddington

Sometimes while walking you get lost and stroll into a park unplanned and your day got a lot better. That’s not what happened to me in the circumstances upon which I got to see the Paddington movie. But the feeling is similar.

There are only two movies that I planned to watch this month. This was not one of them. I didn't even know that this movie existed even though Hugh Bonneville (I regularly watch Downton Abbey) was in it. But then I have a friend who loves her salads and the salad place had a promo where you add 2 bucks to get a cup of coffee and a movie voucher. She’s into salads and coffee, not so much into movies, so I got the voucher (I paid for the $2, of course). And with $2, I was ready to watch any movie. I chose this one.

Paddington is sort of an origin story of a popular plush toy of the 1950's that I learned was based on children’s books of the same decade. The story started in Darkest Peru where an English explorer was commissioned to find a specimen of odd stuff in his expedition. He found a couple of rather civilized bears and was awed that instead of capturing them, he took care of them and in return the bears cared for him. Fast forward to many years later, there was an earthquake and a tragedy in Darkest Peru. A young bear was sent to London to have a new home and a better life. Except that London was not as the explorer described. It was not warm and welcoming. It was cold and cold. Will the bear find a home in London?

I love just about everything about this movie. The phase at which the story moved forward was brisk. The colors were vibrant. The animated Paddington was endearing. The score hit the right notes at the right time: jolly, sad, quirky at all the right places. There were things happening in the background that while not important to move the story forward made it a visual treat. The cast gave inspired performances, especially Hugh Bonneville’s “Mr. Brown”. His comic timing, especially with the dry British humor, was impeccable.

If you need (or perhaps just want?) to lift your spirits up this Christmas, go and see this movie. Watch it with your family, or with friends, or even alone. This is going to be a future Christmas classic.

Looking back on 2014

Inspired by my old year-end list of 2005 where, among others, I listed Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince as my favorite book of that year (I can't believe it's been 9 years!), I thought I'd do another list this year for posterity's sake and for a nostalgic read 9 years from now.

Television

For the first time in years, my free time was not mostly spent in watching TV shows. At the start of the US fall season, I only followed four tv shows: Downton Abbey, Gotham, The Big Bang Theory, and The Amazing Race (now in its 25th season!). As of this writing, Downton Abbey has ended it's 5th season, and I lost interest in Gotham (not enough Batman) and Big Bang Theory (no longer funny like the first few seasons). I'm down with one remaining show, The Amazing Race, which in itself will end its 25th season this Friday. Between the two, Amazing Race and Downton Abbey, I don't really want to (and don't need to) choose a favorite. Both are clearly my favorites seeing that they're the only two shows that I watched in its entirety. Side note to TV: I also watched season 6 of Master Chef Australia. I like the Australian edition of Master Chef better than the US one: less politics, no trash talks, simply mentoring and cooking competition.

Movies

In the big screen arena, I also saw only a few movies in cinemas this year compared to last year thanks in large part to my big move to a "small" city. I loved How To Train Your Dragon 2 (as good as the first one). I also loved Big Hero 6 (Pixar-level Disney movie). Lastly, I loved Paddington, an origin movie of sorts for that famous plush toy from the storybooks of the 1950's. The movie was great. The plot progressed briskly with both light and emotionally charged moments, especially the notion of being lost and then being found. Side note to Paddington: LOST: 2 main stars left Downton Abbey 2 years ago to pursue movie careers forcing the writer to kill off their characters in the TV series. The movies they pursued were not memorable. FOUND: Hugh Bonneville (who plays the Earl), on the other hand, did not leave Downton, but found time to be in this good movie. The take away here, I believe, is don't leave Downton.

Books

I'll write about my favorite book (or books) this year  some other time. I'm writing this in my coffee break at work so I don't have much time. Au revoir, for now.