No movie review just random babbling….

Oh wow…I just realized I havent logged in so long. Its been absolutely insane as I was trying to get work done before I left for vacation. Yes! Vacation was fabulous. We went to Miami Beach and Sanibel Island. It was absolutely gorgeous. The weather every day was sunny 85-90 degrees. I got so tanned. I loved it!!!

Well, I first went to North Carolina to visit an old college friend. That was for a few days. Then I headed to Miami Beach to visit my old ex-manager, whom I absolutely adore because he’s hilarious! Afterwards, I just hung out in Miami for a bit and then headed to the Gulf of Mexico at Sanibel Island. I had such a relaxing and fun time. Its so beautiful in Miami. I certainly didnt feel like I was in Florida. Everyone down there spoke Spanish. I felt like I was touring Latin America.

The best part was that we stayed at the Westin the first few days. I love Westin Hotels.

Here is a view of the pool area:

Then we headed to Sanibel Island where you can find thousands of seashells:

Here is me at the fabulous beach. Ok I have to admit I didnt go into the water.

Considering BP is still cleaning up the Gulf, Im still a bit paranoid about that.  

Yeah dont laugh, I know its the same pose. I dont know why I just always take pics the same way. 

                          

Here are some of the animals I got to hang out with at the beach. Clearly they were not afraid of me. 

And of course there was my favorite drink – Cilantro Lemonade. I couldnt get enough of this drink. It was sooooo freaking delicious!!!

Alrighty….just wanted to give yalls a brief update of why I havent written in so long. Its been such a crazy time. ok i promise no more random babblings. I will try my best to stick to movie reviews. But I couldnt help it….I loved hangin in Miami. Now I know why the Kardashians are down there.

ok good night and good luck. no thumbs up today.

Prequel to Wizard of Oz….

 Oz the Great and Powerful …. IS SOOOOO NOT great and powerful. Well its Disney …what do you expect? I have to admit the graphics, CGI, colors, cinematography was really good (except for the constant camera panning in and out…argh…that gave me a total headache). The movie featured James Franco as the Wizard, Mila Kunis as Theodora (later to be wicked witch of the west in the Wizard of Oz), Michelle Williams as Glinda (later to be wicked witch of the north), & Rachel Weisz as Evanora (later to be wicked witch of the east). I have to admit that as much as I thought the script was really weak for Oz, it did give a lot of insight to the 1939 Wizard of Oz film. For example, when Theodora cried and her tears burned her face. Now that was great a link to why the Wicked Witch of the West was afraid of water. Wizard of Oz never explained that. Lets just say all my questions I had about Wizard of Oz when I was a little girl was answered after watching this film. Although the storyline of Oz wasnt the best, as least now I feel satisfied to the Wizard of Oz. It all makes sense now. I think the best scene of this film was when Mila Kunis transformed into the Wicked Witch of the West. If you get nothing out of this movie, at least that is one scene that is worth your dollars.

As for the acting of this movie, I guess for the script that the actors had to work with, they did the best they could to make this film bearable.

Whoops…did I forget to tell you what this movie is about? Ok …so for those of you who are too young to have seen the 1939 Wizard of Oz, this movie is basically a prequel to that movie. James Franco plays this Wizard in a circus in Kansas City but he’s really a con-man who uses magic to trick people’s money and trick some innocent hearts. Franco one day gets chased down by a jealous boyfriend and he finds himself jumping into a hot air balloon. Before you know it, he’s getting whisked into the sky and blown toward a huge tornado. Once in the heart of the tornado, Franco is face with death but luckily he is thrown into the land of Oz. The land of Oz is under oppression as Evanora has killed her father, the King of Emerald City, and has enslaved the people of Oz to do as she says. Meanwhile, her younger sister Theodora is still under the impression that Evanora is doing what is best for Oz. Theodora is young and naive. And then there is the other sister, Glinda, who knows the truth of Evanora and her wicked ways. But according to some legend, the people of Oz would be saved by a Wizard from the Wicked Witch. Long story short, Franco is thought of as the Wizard when he lands on Oz, he breaks Theodora’s heart, joins forces with Glinda, and at the end there is a weak battle between good vs evil. Of course, since this is a Disney film, the movie ends with everyone living happily ever after. THE END!

Honestly, I wish the film had spent more time on Theodora and her transformation. It was that character that I thought really brought life to the screen. Theodora is this innocent girl who fell in love and the man she loved didnt love her.  Its a true story of all the girls in the world who first fall in love and later have their hearts broken. Once a woman’s heart is broken, she is never the same again. When the heart is broken, she will make choices in order to mend that broken heart and make herself feel better. Yet those choices makes it worse and that leads her into something wicked. It truly shows how fragile a woman’s heart is and how we need to be careful and really shield our heart from wickedness. It also tells a story to men that they need to be careful with the responsibility of when a woman gives her heart to you. In the end, Franco realizes what he did, that the once beautiful and innocent Theodora has been transform into something so wicked. That he led her to be like that and whenever he sees her wickedness, he is forever reminded of his regret and guilt. Woman guard your hearts and be wise about whom you give your heart to. Men be responsible and careful with these hearts given to you, they are precious and beautiful. Men these hearts were given to you as a special gift because the women who gave you their hearts thought you were righteous enough to hold their hearts. Dont let the story of the Wizard and Theodora continue, lets make a promise to  be the men and women that we ought to be. Amen to that!

This Asian American Fob gives this movie 3 thumbs up – mainly because of the pretty cinematography.

Natural Born Lovers…

 A Chinese/Hong Kong movie made with Julian Cheung (Cheung Chi-Lam) and Annie Liu. I have to admit this movie was really stupid. But stupid enough for me to write this review. So does that make me stupid? I guess so. Well, I rather think I’m just stupid for love. This movie really had no substance except depicting two people who fall madly in love. Somehow they had this strong connection once they met each other and that was it. So why am I writing this? Because as stupid as this movie was, it did show something very true about relationships. When you are in a relationship, you simply go crazy. You are not yourself. You can be an exceptional person whether at work, towards your friends, and even towards your family. But when it comes to the one you fall in love with, there is just no explanation as to why you do the things you do. I guess that’s just called Love! And so for this week’s special Valentines, I present to you “Natural Born Lovers”(scroll to the bottom of the link for the trailer).

In the beginning of the movie, Julian and Annie meet as Annie and her boyfriend is breaking. Julian witnesses the break-up and it peaks his curiosity. Of course, he walks away from the horrible break-up scene to go about his usual life. Of course, Julian begins to have these coincidental encounters to Annie. Soon enough, the chemistry begins and before you know it, these two lovers are in love. But of course, like all relationships, problems arise. Annie becomes possessive and crazy. She wants to know everything and everywhere Julian does and goes. Julian begins to feel suffocated and harassed. But he also cant seem to get enough of Annie. He likes the feeling of being missed and needed. The feeling that he’s important to someone. But Annie’s madness doesnt stop and soon, Julian has no choice but to break it off. Annie is unable to accept this reality. She is too in love with Julian that even after the break-up she continues to stalk him. Of course Im not going to tell you the ending and what happens. You will have to watch it for yourself.

But when I was watching this movie, I felt so empathetic to Annie. She wasnt crazy, she was in love. That is exactly what people in love do. You want to be with that person every waking minute of your life. You live and breathe just to be with him. You cant stop these feelings. You are so afraid to lose him that you dont even know that you are suffocating his personal space. Its because each of us struggle to really know how to love a person. What does it mean to love someone? It so hard to know what is right or wrong when it comes to love. You just know that everything you do and say is to please him and make him happy. But what you dont realize is that everything you do is JUST about him. You begin to lose your sense of self. All the logic goes out the window. There’s a part that is really true of couples. Julian is walking into a restaurant to meet Annie. When he goes into the restaurant he sees Annie but her image is always blurry. He cant seem to see her clearly. As Julian opens the restaurant door to approach Annie, the whole room goes blurry except Julian is in clear focus. All Annie sees is Julian, nothing else in the restaurant exists. When a man falls in love, he will never see clearly who he’s in love with. She will always be a blurry mystery. When a woman is in love, the man is her total focus and all else is blurry. Ah so true! Love – its all so intense but absolutely amazing to feel! You cant live without it. Its what makes us feel vibrant and alive – Falling in Love! So for this Valentine, go watch Natural Born Lovers and share your madness with the one you love!

This Asian American Fob gives this movie 3 thumbs up:

Detropia

Detropia – A documentary by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady. Im not sure where to start with this entry. Maybe being sick for 3 weeks straight has something to do with having unclear thoughts. If you havent received your flu shot, I highly recommend it. And please, dont cough on people. Do the right thing and stay at home with your germs. Lets just say, when I finally went to visit the doctor, he was ready to pronounce me dead. Instead, I made it out alive with a diagnosis of a lung infection, a stomach infection and an ear infection.  Thank God for anti-biotics. I love my drugs!

Ok, enough about me. So Detropia…what is it about? Well, you guessed it – Detroit. No, it is not about the Detroit Lions trying to get to the Super Bowl. This documentary was about economic development. Part of me didnt want to judge the people of Detroit but part of me couldnt help it. Though the film did a great job in depicting the plights of Detroit’s economy and the loss of car manufacturing jobs to overseas developing countries, I couldnt help but wonder, didnt they see this coming? Seriously, its all about economics. The classic case of putting all your eggs in one basket. The first thing I learned as a finance major in college is diversify, diversify, diversify. It’s true. You never want to put all your money in one stock. So, why did Detroit put all their resources into the auto industry? Having worked in the economic development realm for about 5 years now (2.5 yrs in my early twenties and 2.5 years now), Ive come to learn that  in order for a true urban city to survive economic downturns, you need small businesses. When I mean small businesses, its businesses that have no more than 10-20 employees and makes less than $1.0 million/year. That’s truly a small business. Not that big box stores isnt good either. But a city cannot survive on only big box stores that employs 2000-3000 people. Because once those large businesses leave, then that creates a large percentage of loss jobs. A city cannot sustain such losses at one single time. However, if one small business shuts down, only 20 jobs are lost. Not that painful compared to 2000 jobs. By creating more small businesses what you are essentially doing is diversifying your city’s industry and spreading the labor pool to have all different kinds of skillsets.

Detropia shows exactly why Detroit went from a flourishing city to now a dead city. A city that has less than 730,000 people, shutting down their public schools, bull-dozing 100’s of empty houses and a city completely in debt and nearly bankrupt. Or is it already bankrupt? This documentary displays those people who depended on the auto industry and when that industry left, so did their livelihood. Although they reminisce of the past when they made good money and lived a middle income lifestyle, they know times have changed. Yet, they are stuck and they dont know what to do about it. There is no leadership to bring this past into the future. This film was actually very depressing and scary. Because what if that was me? It makes me wonder if this could ever happen to me. What if one day society no longer sees me as valuable human capital? That my skills are outdated and I no longer can compete in the labor pool. Then what will I do to survive? As I approach my 40’s, it terrifies me to know that one day I will no longer be useful to society. Isnt that the case now? You see these Directors of large companies get laid-off at 50 years old and you expect them to get back into the labor pool and compete with all these young people who you can hire at 1/3 of the cost. I know, these older Directors have more experience. But still, does that guarantee that companies’ want them? After watching Detropia, I realized that to be part of the labor pool you have to be constantly learning and upgrading yourself. You cant stand still and think your skills will last forever. That’s what happen to the people in Detroit. They only knew the auto industry. They didnt know anything else outside of the auto industry. Now they are considered obsolete labor. What will they do  for new opportunity?

Ok enough depressing notes. This documentary wasnt the best Ive seen. I felt it didnt go deeper into the issues about the politics in Detroit and the corruption. It only touched the surface of the problems Detroit currently faces. I would like to have seen more interviews of different people to give a better perspective of what is really happening. For example, I know that Quicken Loans is based in Detroit. The owner of Quicken Loans, Dan Gilbert, is a strong believer in rebuilding the city. He refuses to move his company elsewhere. I would love to hear about what he’s doing in Detroit and what kind of impact he is making or is he making things worse. Or even about the Skillman Foundation that only makes grants to mainly schools in Detroit. The documentary fails to bring in other stakeholders of the Detroit community to make a more impactful outlook of Detroit. I just felt this documentary was very one-sided and subjective only to the point of views of the directors. Of course, isnt that true of all documentaries…do we remember that dude named Michael Moore?

This Asian American Fob gives this film only 3 thumbs up:

Les Miserables

Though I saw Les Mis on Broadway back in the 90’s, I completely forgot the entire story and the scores of wonderful music. How could that be? Maybe I was just too young then to fully understand the emotions behind each song sang. I had not lived life yet. I was still naive and full of dreams. I believed in a life better. I guess 10 years later, those dreams are just shattered and Ive become a hardened person. Today, when I went to watch Les Mis in the theaters, I couldnt stop crying. If you were to pay attention to each word sang, you couldnt help but empathize. I think its because I lived enough life now to understand this misery and to be wretched. Particularly when Anne Hathaway sang “I dreamed a dreamed”, I began sobbing. Just be prepared to walk in there with a box of tissue. All I heard in the audience was sniffling and tissue crackling. Of course, Hathaway did a wonderful job as Fantine. Her acting is getting better in each production and I have to admit, I was surprised at how wonderful she sang that song. But for this song, I have to say, I miss Lea Salonga’s voice. For some reason, it was now that I fully felt the emotions of that song. This movie reminded me of my innocence and how I once was so naive. I believed in true love and all these dreams. Hugh Jackman did a fantastic job in displaying the wretched soul of Jean Valjean. Life throws us these loops and we become hardened and angry. Yet, Jean Valjean is touched by the grace of God and his heart is softened. In the end, his words, “..to love another person is to see the face of God”, my heart kick into high gear and that’s when a stream of tears just came falling. My heart has been hardened by life in general, but I am reminded that love truly is the greatest gift. There is nothing more amazing than to love another person and sacrifice everything for them. It is when you fall in love, that you see all your sins and imperfections. There is this overwhelming sadness and pain that goes with this love, yet its the most joyful moment of your life and you cant imagine losing it.

The entire movie was superb. The only fatal flaw was Russell Crowe. I just didnt see how he could be in a musical. His voice was stagnant and lacked any emotion. He was not convincing at all when it came to his singing abilities. The one surprising factor was this actor that has been a hidden gem in hollywood, Eddie Redmayne. His baritone voice brought such power to his character, Marius.  He had an amazing control over his voice and the stretch of each word sang. I absolutely loved his performance. Watch out for this actor. After Les Mis, Im pretty certain we will see more of him. All in all, this movie is a must see if you feel like you need a good kick in the face and be reminded about what life is really all about.

The movie is definitely long, but its because there is so much character development in this musical. Not a single moment is felt wasted in this movie. Each scene was needed to lead you to the full story. What is more amazing is the emotion that you feel in each scene. Each actor, with the exception of Mr. Crowe, was able to draw you into their life and feel what they feel. The pain, anger, excitement, despair, innocence and shame. Once you walk into this movie, your heart will feel a range of everything. The best movies are the ones that you dont want to end and you just want to stay for more. Les Mis 2012 does exactly that for this Asian American Fob. Here I end with the “People’s Song”. Sorry it isnt from the movie, but I really like this concert version since it was performed live.

Asian American Fob gives this movie 5 thumbs up, eventho I hated Russell Crowe’s performance.

Whose that girl? ….It’s Jess!!!

Recently Ive been obsessed with the new show called, New Girl,featuring Zooey Deschanel.

I literally spent one day watching the entire Season 1 just so I can watch Season 2 with some logic. Not that you need much logic to follow what is going on between these 4 roommates. The show revolves around Zooey Deschanel’s character, Jessica Day aka Jess. Ok, so I love her character just because of her name. Not that my name is Jessica (actually its Jessie – so pretty close). But, I love it when people call me Jess. Which then leads me to today’s review of 500 Days of Summer. I remember watching 500 Days of Summer when it first came out in 2009. Yeah that was awhile back.  Zooey Deschanel plays Summer and Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays Tom. Its a flashback of Tom’s memories about his relationship with Summer. From the first day they met till they meet again a year after their break-up and Summer is married to some other dude. That’s the 500 days of Summer. That’s 1.36 years. That’s a lot of time spent on a person who doesnt love you and ends up marrying someone else. I admit, I do that too. You cant help it. You constantly wonder and playback every scene. Each scene you wish you could have done something different. Because just maybe, with a tad bit of hope, that if you had just done something slightly different you and that person will still be together today. But I think that was the whole point of the movie. Tom basically relives every dating scene he has with Summer. Finally, when he sees Summer again and knows that she is married, he wonders. Why not me? Great quotes from the movie:

Summer: You weren’t wrong, Tom. You were just wrong about me

Then Tom goes on to question her about what made her get married, because he always thought she didnt want to get married.

Summer: I just….just woke up one day and I knew.

Tom: Knew what?

Summer: What I was never sure of with you. 

Ah!!! Talk about a heart-wretching moment. I could feel Tom’s tears forced to be held back from breaking free. Because the reality of broken relationships is that you think you had control over it and that’s why you replay each moment thinking you could have changed something to have a different outcome. But the truth is that no matter what you do, the outcome would have been the same. Because both of you just werent right for each other.  If doubt ever creeps into someone’s mind, the relationship is ultimately over. Doubt trumps everything. That’s what causes all those fears and anxieties about whether this person is right for you. Summer always had doubts from the beginning, but Tom just ignored the signs of it. In the end though, we realize that these broken relationships were actually for the better. Because it makes us learn more about ourselves. It changes us to be better. It makes us more aware that whatever we do, never let doubt creep into a relationship. That’s the ultimate love and romance killer!  

This movie moves at a fairly slow pace, but the dialogue is great and I really love the intense moments of seeing what a person goes through after a break-up. Gosh, I can totally relate to that. Who doesnt replay every damn moment. There’s hoping & wishing  that this was just all a dream and when you wake up you will be lying next to that person again. But then you wake up and see its just you.

Asian American Fob gives this movie 4 thumbs up. Good Night and good luck!

Oh and just in case I dont get back to you before Dec 25 and Jan 1. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Hope you will find that special someone waiting for you under the mistletoe!

Je t’aime Paris

Sorry that it took me this long to write a new review.  Ive been slightly distracted lately – its called traveling through Europe. Yes, which brings me to today’s review on “Midnight in Paris“.  After a month since returning from visiting London, Paris and Rome, I had to re-watch this movie again. I’m trying to reminisce the days I was in Paris. I completely fell in love with Paris. Now I totally understand why Midnight in Paris was an awesome movie!!! I get it now. You have to had been to Paris to really really appreciate this movie. Gosh, I love Woody Allen. He captures his cities so well. There is no other city that compares to Paris and can use the name “City of Lights”.  Paris was exactly where I needed to be after a bad break-up. Yup, right before my trip to Europe, I had this awful break-up and the only saving grace was this trip of mine. No need to feel sorry for me, Ive done that to myself already. There is nothing to pity because I completely deserved it. It is what is expected when you date a douchebag. So I have only myself to blame for my stupid choice in men.

Anyhow, Midnight in Paris is about Owen Wilson’s literary fantasies and his romantic notion that life in Paris in the 1920’s was the best of times. The movie goes onto portray various expatriate writers/painters living in Paris in the ’20s – Hemingway, Stein, Fitzgerald, Dali, just to name a few. Woody Allen again does a fantastic job in using his script to paint us a picture of a city that is full of history. Every scene in the movie draws you into a feeling that you once felt when you walked through Paris. Nearly 80% of the movie is filmed at night, which then captures the essence of the romantic lights that stream through the city. The entire movie is filmed with this beige/brown/yellow color which is the color that is reflected in Paris’ night lamps that are situated at every corner. Again, you can only appreciate this film if you have been to Paris.

Like all Woody Allen films, his main character is always a reflection of Woody Allen’s true neurotic personality. I do give credit to Owen Wilson who tries to complete that neurosis, however, I honestly think there could have been a better actor for this part. As for Rachel Mcdams, I give her enormous thumbs up for being a complete spoiled rich brat that only has her own interest in mind. She fit the part perfectly! Even the movement of her body says, “I’m a stuck-up bitch!”

If you are like me, and want to walk through memory lane of your times in Paris, then this movie is it! This Asian American fob found that even though you dont have  love, you can still feel the presence of love whether it be strolling along the streets of Paris, walking through the Musee D’orsay experiencing Lautrec’s bohemian paintings, or just sitting at a cafe in Saint Germain and smelling the sweet air of luxury. No matter where you are in Paris, the city permeates love. Its Midnight in Paris that leads you to that wonderful feeling of hope.

This Asian American fob gives this movie 4 thumbs up. It would have been 5 if it werent for Owen Wilson.

Steve Jobs: The Lost Interview

I think I have watched every Youtube clip on Steve Jobs and read his biography by Walter Isaacson. Yes, I admit, Im a fan of his. Growing up in the 80’s and 90’s, I remember the revolution of the personal computing age. The first time I saw a Macintosh and the use of a mouse was historical. I was so young but I understood the magic. How did this little box make such beautiful scripts? It was thanks to this man, Steve Jobs, who change the way we saw computing. At first I thought it was just a fancier typewriter, but no, it was greater than that. It was a new way of living.

Anyhow, like most days, I try to find inspirational movies to uplift my spirit. Yes, I do have a downtrodden spirit. It comes with the nature of my work in community development.  As I searched, I came across this documentary that I never knew existed of Steve Jobs. The interview is 1 hour 15 mins. It’s a solo interview of him right before he returned to Apple in 1996.  He still had that long hippie stylist hair and had this childish young face. The interview was amazing. Listening to him give the history of his work and vision was so inspiring. He was only 12 when he discovered his passion. He was a curious child and had no idea what failure meant. He just wanted to learn and understand and so went forth in search of how things worked. He was not afraid to approach people and learn. How many of us have lost that child-like curiosity? It was that curiosity then led him to start Apple by the time he was 21. When he was 25 years old, he was already worth $200 million. He dedicated his life to one passion.

If you were always curious about how this man became the iconic figure of the 21st century, then this is a must see documentary. But I warn you, you have to love the technology. You have to have felt that awe inspiring feeling when you first laid eyes on a personal computer. You have to be curious about how a PC works and the programs that makes it possible for you to do what you do.  I remember when I was 10 years old, my parents got my brother and I an IBM PC. The first thing we did was take apart the CPU. We opened that box and saw the intricacies of hardware. How each wire led to another to create this amazing machine! I learned what a motherboard was and how to connect memory to the motherboard. I loved it. Of course back then, it was very costly to get these parts and make changes to your CPU. Does anyone remember how much it cost in 1990 for a  64 KB memory chip or what we called RAM? Ah, memories!

During the documentary, Steve Jobs was asked “what’s important to you in the development of a product?’. SJ sat there for a good 2 mins really silent and thinking. His answer is that “… between a great idea and a great product there is a tremendous amount of craftsmanship into evolving that idea into that great product….. It is that process that is the magic.” Oh how true SJ! I love that line – “It is the process that is the magic!” He continues to give this metaphor of a rock tumbler machine. You would get these ordinary street rocks and put them in a rock tumbler with some water and powered grit and just let the motor run overnight as that machine tumbles those rocks. When you come back the next day, you will see those ordinary rocks become polished beautiful stones. It is the occasional friction against each other and some noise that has polished these rocks. SJ is talking about teamwork. When you bring people together and they come up against each other, they are getting polished. They are refining each other and the idea and the end result is this beautiful product. What a genius! What good is teamwork if you are not challenging each other to greater heights. That is so true of any human relationship. We are all rocks tumbling together and polishing each other. But it takes a little friction, noise, and coming together to refine each other.

The documentary ends with SJ speaking of transmitting our culture, spirit and feeling into the product so that the end user feels something. They feel the spirit of the passion and inspiration of the creator. They are in love with the product.

I get it. When I think about what I love, I see that my creator made it. I feel God’s presence in it. I feel His spirit in it.

Oh the passion!!! SJ you are a genius!

Asian American Fob gives this documentary 5 thumbs up.

Butter….who doesnt love Butter…I meant the movie!

Butter starring Jennifer Garner, Yara Shahidi, Ty Burrell, Olivia Wilde, Alicia Silverstone, Rob Corddry and Hugh Jackman. Who woulda thunk a movie about Butter would be this good??? Ok so everyone loves eating butter. But this movie had the sweet and savory taste of it. Hands down to Jennifer Garner who played a tight-ass republican bitch living in Iowa. She plays your typical suburban white woman who makes all the stereotypes you can imagine about minorities and poor people. I really believed in her character. Then you have Ty Burrell who plays her dick-less husband who is can only satisfy himself by going to a stripper, played by Olivia Wilde. Ms. Wilde did a great job playing her stripper/prostitute role, but sadly there is only a 5 min scene of her porno. I think the movie would have done better if they kept her only for that scene. I guess you needed her for the dark humor. But honestly, I think they kept Ms. Wilde around just to have this lesbian scene so we can keep our male audience happy that they paid $13 to come see this movie that they really didnt want to see rather it was to make their so-called girlfriend happy.

The movie is centered around the Iowa State Butter Sculpting Competition where Jennifer Gardner feels entitled to win through the efforts of her husband. But this year, the judges suggest her husband to retire from competing since he’s been winning for the last 15 years. Jennifer goes bozonkers and decides to enter the competition herself. There is some serious entitlement issues here. Of course, that is how the movie monologue opens. Jennifer opens us to this monologue in the beginning of the movie displaying what all republicans are campaigning – we are proud Americans, who work hard, and did it by our own efforts. blah blah blah! But on the contrary, Jennifer who gives this monologue displays the opposite attitude and feels that she is entitled to the world and that everyone should do as she says. Then you have this little 10 year old black little girl named Destiny, played by Yara Shahidi, who is a foster child and is bounced around from one foster home to another. She is part of our system of entitlement benefits as she has to live in foster homes or stay at child service agencies when these foster homes goes shit-bricks. But her attitude is far from entitled. She humbly accepts her situation and just hopes one day to see her mom again.  Long story short in the Butter Sculpting competition Yara goes up against Jennifer.

I really like this movie because if you pay attention to the sarcastic humor you realize that the director, Jim Field Smith, is really trying to say:  this world is not based on your efforts or my efforts. You cant keep counting and ticking off who did what to make this country a better place. Each of us are woven into this society and affect each other in some shape or form. We are not separate entities because we are simply human beings that make an impact on everyone. No one is entitled to anything more than their next door neighbor. We are all equal and have the same rights. How ironic that this movie is coming out just before election day?

This is a definite must see movie. If not for its underlying political agenda, at least go watch for Yara Shahidi’s absolute child cuteness and those awesome Butter sculptures.

Good night and good luck!

Asian American Fob gives Butter – 4 Thumbs up. Now… Lets whip up some of that Butter  — Yeehawww!

Dark Knight Rises – Spoiler Alert

Is it me or does Christian Bale‘s voice get raspier at each new Batman movie that follows? I was barely able to understand what each character was saying due to the overload of IMAX theater surround sound, the heavy artillery gun shootings in the movie, extreme dramatic music and the freakish masks on every actor’s face. I could have watched this movie in Farsi and it would mean the same to me. Ok, Farsi is Persian – an Iranian Language. If you didnt know what Farsi was. By the way, I ended up watching this movie twice to really understand what the characters were actually saying. Conclusion: Christopher Nolan did another great job at creating a extreme evil antagonist with this conflicting morality.  Every character in this movie had this flowing theme, that we are human and none of us are perfect. We strive to be good but due to circumstances and survival we make choices that lead to negative consequences. Mr. Nolan tries to plug in some socio-economic justice issues about income disparity but ultimately cant really complete that task. The end just became an extreme case of Occupy Wall 3.0. A quote by catwoman aka Anne Hathaway would say in the movie, “There’s a storm coming, Mr. Wayne. You and your friends better batten down the hatches, because when it hits, you’re all gonna wonder how you ever thought you could live so large and leave so little for the rest of us.” Basically, this line is giving us Mr. Nolan’s ultimate message. Unfortunately, his evil character Bane, played by Tom Hardy, doesn’t really show concern for “the people”. There really isn’t any social morality to Bane for  his distaste of Gotham City. Rather, in the end we find it was all for a woman. Now isnt that a typical reason for anything a man does? It’s to impress a woman.

I have to admit the new Batman gadgets really was awesome to watch. It got hotter when Catwoman sat on the Bat-motorcycle aka Batpod.  Check it out! I wanna look that cool!

I love that the Batpod was able to switch it up and make all these flipping turns. Even if I didn’t understand anything the actors were saying, at least I got to enjoy the latest technology. Honestly, I think what made this movie for me was Anna Hathaway. Truthfully, I dont really enjoy watching Hathaway’s movies. But I have to admit, she plays a really freaking hot and spicy Catwoman. The fact that she can stretch her legs as high upto a 5′ 10″ man’s face wearing 4-inch heels is AWESOME!  Hathaway plays Catwoman perfectly. She has this internal conflict between doing good and doing what’s necessary to survive. Isnt that the truth in all of us?  I guess I really like Catwoman because I identified with her. Basically, Catwoman betrays Batman 2x in the movie. She is willing to do anything for self preservation and to erase to her past. Yeah, dont we all want to do that.

Then you have Christian Bale playing Batman. He’s plays the same role as usual. This sad, morbid, and dark person who cant face the world because of his hopelessness towards mankind. This character is played out too much and its getting old. Sometimes, I just want to see a happy Batman.  Yeah, it wouldnt hurt to have Christian Bale break a smile. This Batman is sadistic and has no fear of death. We later find Christian Bale in some hellhole trying to break free by climbing out of this hellhole. The only way he does it is by learning to fear death again. I dont understand much of Batman’s character. Maybe because I never experienced such hopelessness. But for all you hopeless people out there, dont lose hope, because Batman didnt.

The rest of the actors you can figure out. I dont want to spoil the ending for you, but beware of all the different characters in the movie because the real villian isnt Bane. Oh and as for Joseph Gordon-Levitt, I really liked his wannabe Irish/Bostonian accent.  Between Gordon-Levitt’s accent and the NYC skyline, I wasnt sure if Gotham City was suppose to be New York City or Boston.

For a summer blockbuster, I guess this is as good as it gets now a days. This Asian American Fob is giving Dark Knight Rises: 4 thumbs up. That’s only because Hathaway kicked-ass!