Variety Reviews - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 - Film Reviews - New U.S. Release - Review by Justin Chang

Variety Reviews - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 - Film Reviews - New U.S. Release - Review by Justin Chang

Pride and Prejudice

Pride, a high sense of one's personal status, leading to judgements of personality or character.


Prejudice, an assumption made without knowing or understanding a person just by looking at their looks, their words, or their clothing.


These two things, combined or not, are dangerous things. It can ruin a person's life at the wrong time at the wrong place. Especially prejudice. When you don't know a person, but deem yourself a fair judge of character, disaster strikes. it is not always the cover that represents the book. yes, somtimes, you read further, maybe even the first chapter, but will it be enough to understand how well the author knows his/her stuff, or how well the person can deliver their ideas, or even how beautiful his/her language is?


the same goes for us pitiful humans. these feelings, judgements, if you would, can cause a person's reputation to nosedive in a spiral, and along with it, ruin his life. many people pride themselves over their so-called ability to judge a person by just looking at a few aspects, maybe their clothing, their words, their actions. but a person is flawed, and that is what makes us human. we make mistakes, we make the wrong decisions. sometimes, we do the wrong things at the wrong time with the wrong actions and words and somehow, we don't realise we're wrong.


or maybe we're just not wrong.


sometimes, it's all a matter of perspective. sometimes you look at it from the right side, sometimes the left. but how in Merlin's name can you be so sure that the other person is looking from the same side as you? how can you be so sure? it is simply not our place to judge a persom by these things. we may mean something, but words are flexible. you can twist it all around and voila, it means something completely different! prejudice simply means that. you look at the person at the wrong place at the wrong time, saying things you have a completely different perspective on, you make a conclusion.


now how does that sound?


this world was never fair---a two-year-old can tell you that. it's not fair that we have to judge people in an instinct for self-preservation. it's not fair that we don't have the opportunity to know everyone on earth so that we can truly know that person's character. But it's the worst when you CHOOSE to judge people for no reason at all apart from the pleasure, or if you would, the sense of superiority. Humans are like that. they all have a green-eyed monster on their backs. they would rather be better than one person rather than be below them. they'd jump at the chance of wiping soot on one's reputation if it means that'll make themselves better. that's human nature. and it's not fair either, when that person, innocent or not, falls prey to these sick twisted games they play.


so stop judging me. i don't care if you're just 17, or 27, i am a person. i am flawed. i am still learning. i can't be perfect. this is me, and this is who i am. i will not say i'm never wrong, sometimes i am. but i would appreciate it of you would just try to look at it in my shoes.


i am not superman, and even if i try my best, i won't be one. i am not the perfect student, and i will never will be. i have flaws~~ i can't study everyday, and i simply cannot sit still and study. and i am not god, nor will i claim to be. i sometimes do wrong things, as humans often do, and sometimes i hurt people without realising.


i'm tired. i'm tired of having to be so cautious, of having to live up to others' expectations. sometimes, i just want to throw it all behind and just be myself. no worries, no watch-before-you-jumps, no chains of obligations, no more constant vigilance. But these are the very things i cannot free myself of, nor can anyone on earth. these are the things that, sadly, makes us more human than ever. we don't have a choice, if we don't want a sad pathetic ending. i know all these. i know life is hard, and there's many things we don't like that we have to face. So, i will endeavour to survive, i would try. but seriously, i can do without these sick assumptions people make.


and right here right now, i'm taking a stand. i'm taking a stand against those who wishes me dead. i'm taking a stand against those who try to ruin me. i have done no wrongs, nor have i conmmited any crimes. I will take my stand, tall and unwavering. I will not apologize, nor would i stand idly aside and watch as i burn under your relentless assumptions. I will not seek revenge either, not in the way you have destroyed me. i will take my stand and wait, waiting for the horrible end you deserve which will be handed out by the justice i know. I will take my stand, in death or sickness alike, and i will take it strong and tall.


you will not have the satisfaction of seeing fear in my eyes, nor would anger appear, for there's only pity i feel for your pathetic soul.


assumptions is a rather gentle word, don't you think so? too soft, too gentle compared to the disaster they wrought. well, i cannot think of a better way to conclude, so i'll just sign off with a simple but true : c'est la vie.

trials

SPM trials are gonna start right after the september hols...what am i gonna do?????

FIFA world cup

i can hardly believe it...i'm suddenly in the football fever...i know, it's weird, but whatever.

my internet wil be cut off for a few weeks, i know, disappointing. but, when i'm finally back online, i will gladly post all the photos of all the hunks in the game.

and of SPAIN!!!! th 2010 FIFA WC winner!!!! i'm so proud of them!!! i love the team, or should i say, the guys in the team? i have to admit, i love Iker Casillas!!!! he is the ultimate goalkeeper of spain who saved soooo many goals, winning himself the golden glove award!!!! and he's the captain too!!!!

it's such a joy seeing them holdin the cup after almost 60 years later. but it also reminds me, SPM is drawing near and i'lll have to wait for another freakig FOUR years before i can see em again in action!!! shame...

till next time! i promise i'll write more!!!

Eclipse--screw or score?

eclipse--the time where the sun or the moon is covered from view. normally viewed as a sign of misfortune, or a time of incredible catastrophe, it is considered one of the rarest yet, most wanted to be seen phenomenon on earth.

as is the thrid book--eclipse, of the twilight saga.

the eclipse book is considered by many, the best book in the whole saga, some even think it's better than breaking dawn and twilight. it is, as proven, the book that shields the others from view. the one that eclipses the rest. for me, well, let's say, i'm more into breaking dawn, even the husband and wife thingy freaks me out a lil... eclipse has it all--romance, suspense, action, thrills, just name it. so, i sincerely hope the crew won't screw it all up. here's the trailer ( official) and tell me wat you guys think! screw? or score?


isabella swan, i promise i'll love you , forever

17, Again

6th of june, and there fore, 17, again. i know. i've never been seventeen before, but then again, maybe i have.

fuh.. it's been a hard year, what with SPM looming and all the temptations. i have to admit it's been more than once that the thought of just giving it all up crossed my mind. i mean, there are those times when all you can see are the hard oppressing things that push down on you, pushing and pushing you until you have no choice but to jump off the cliff. i admit, there are many times that i've hoped, as bad as i am, that something will happen and stop all this mess.

but, as we--me, family, friends--look back at all those things we once did together, maybe it wasn't that bad. take for example, yesterday's farewell. it was amazing. i couldn't thank the guys who organised it enough. it may seem simple or whatever, but we had great fun, no, immense fun. they took such effort to convince me to go, and to think that i'd almost missed out on this memory...

it will be a memory that'll i'll cherish. it'll be something that will pull my attention away from all those things that seem to make life so hard. it'll be one of those things you can look back to, and think, life's so beautiful. it'll be one of those things that'll live on forever, ever and ever.

i may seem to be exaggerating, but doesn't everything else in life? that's what makes it... life.

my sunway trip will follow below:
i reached school at about 6.30, one of the earliest there. it had been raining the day before, and i have to admit--i din really looked forward to it. i mean, it's a trip, and i'd been on thousands of trips. how would it be different from all of the others?

how wrong was i.

we reached sunway at around 9, 10 o'clock. after buying tickets and slabbing a ton of sunblock, we went in and divided into our personal little groups, me, wen yun, wei xin and her sister, and yee ming. we went for the amusement rides first, bumping into all the little ones--meaning the form threes and a couple o form ones. it was quite a warm up. i would go to the details, but as usual, too lazy to write. type.

anyway, after going on all the rides, including the pirate ship that went 360 degrees and leave us there, blood rushing to our heads withe the form threes, the roller coaster that dein really have all the stunts like the others but made our heart lurch all the same, and a ton more, we went on the longest suspension bridge in idk where to reach the water park.

they weren't bluffing when they say longest.

anyway, at the water park, we went first, totally dry, to the rides section, the ones with the long long slides, which, btw, made our butt wet. it wasn't terribly exciting, but it made me wet. then being total freaks, we went to the pool and right there, i taught my friends to swim. yes. to swim. went to sunway to learn to swim. ironic, isn't it? but it was fun, and satisfying. you know, there's this kind of weird feeling that you get when you've just made a total hydrophobic girl to learn to swim? even tho it's not really, real swimming? and there wasn't one. there was three.

anyway, after that, we went back to the amusement thingy for the water rides. now, that's what i call thrill rides. there was these big big slides where we came down in a big float and then there was these thing we got on that took us in a sort of river, not river. rapids. we met up with danielle, ruining and cheng siew then and together we went for a few rides, including niagara falls where you fall from a great heght in a ride, straigh into water like you see on tv. there weren't kiddng when they say you will get wet. we went from almost dry to dripping wet. daniell din follow, as she was, you know, that time of the month. but we went from several dry rides as well together, you know, like the buffalo coaster, the really dizzying shoes ride... and so much more...

then we visited the wildlife park after showering, and went for dinner. there were some pretty cool animals ike the wallaby and the cassowori... is that how it's spelt?? i dk...

we went for dinner then, having our fun smashing crabs and dumping things into the steamboat and stuffing ourselves full with all those foods. can't say i'm not satiated. course, that's when the real fun started. to you guys who are reading this, it may not sound like it, but you werent there. we took pictures, takin up weird poses and took pictures of our leaving friend--christine who's going back to brunei. all of those who's on duty on friday, took a sort-of family pic. then we started to do all sorts of crazy things like singing and doing funny faces.

going on the bus, we were even crazier. they wathced IP man 2, but being the movie freak, i wanted to get the real experience, so i skip it and join the gang in playing all sorts of game. we played rock, paper scissors which included slapping each others hands, sang funny songs using chipmunky voices, took photos of different ( and really weird--as in psycho) pics which includes using our ffeet, our hands, fingers and all those stuff. one turned out to be real weird, coz it looked like a part of the male's anatomy. it was real, sincere fun. i know understnad what a friends gathering is really like, and suddenly, i dun feel so left out. we were all the same, enjoying the same things, and feeling the same joy.

i reached home at bout ten, after having the whole bus singing a birthday song for me (which i can't believer they remembered!).. make that three birthday song. one malaysia. i was like, ohmigod. they're saying my name. almost drawn to tears right there and then. it was amazing.

and even tho my legs hurt like hell for walking from 9/10 o'clock to almost 5.30p.m, i feel contented. i feel that, another chapter had been written and sadly, ended in my life, but i could always turn back and look. and yes, i am in total bliss, for again, another year had passed, and i'm now, officially 17, with loads of memories to share, and loads of memories yet to be created.

gimme a P, gimme a J, gimme a Hey, that's Great!

i just finished watching Percy jackson, and guess what? i think it's the best movie ever converted from a book.

i absolutely love the book. but the movie? whew, it's a whole new level of love! i mean, there's a lotta editing in the whole movie and everything isn't what it's supposed to be as it is in the book. but, i love the director, his ideas of changing the way the book portrays everyting. well, there's also the fact that the leading actor was cute. not to mention kinda sweet.

anyway, i dun wanna spoil the whole movie by giving you guys too much (which is actually an excuse for my laziness-- pretty obvious) , so i'm just gonna say what i loked most in the movie.

1. i simply love poseidon and the gods. poseidon looks so handsome. in the book he's like a tourist in hawaii, but in the movie... now, that's another brilliant story.

2. i didn't really liked the starting scene, but guess it gives the viewers a lil suspense.

3. I LOVE LOGAN LERMAN. which is actually, understatement of the year. just because he looks so cute. (i know. accept me as i am.)

4. i love Hermes' shoes.

5. i love the way the director gave percy powers. it made him look so ... heroic. he can just put his hand out, concentrate and have total control over waters. and make em into waves and stuff. i'm a sucker for heroes. i have a soft spot in my heart for em. but then again, who doesn't?

6. i didn't really liked the conversation btwn percy and his dad. i mean, it wasn't touching enough, but hey, the book didn't really go for the tears, you know? it was okay, but i'd hoped better.

7. there's actually no seven for percy. i just suddenly thought of LEGION, and absolutely love the angel Michael. he's like strong, and he knows what he wants and he isn't afraid to do anything--which includes defying god. there's this thing he said about god that i like--if you were His father, would you give him what he asked for, or what he needed. AAHHH!!! and when he dies and then reappear as an angel, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!! and the way he's portrayed with his silhouette against the sunlight!!!!!! i know. he's an angel and stuff, but, hey, a girl can dream.

prom and romance

i guess alll of us can say that you simply cannot separate romance from prom. or prom from romance. or...whatever. you know what i mean. but, don't get the wrong idea. i decided not to go, simply becaause, tiff is goin to be working her butt off, and the others, well, just say i would be quite alone the whole night.

so, back to the main topic. when i decided not to goto my mum's school's prom, which, in fact, is also the first prom i know of ever held in malacca--i know, sad, ain't it?--i stayed at home and watched an incredibly irish and romantic romance film (now come on, if it wasn't romantic,, i wouldn't have called it a romance, would i?) it's called LEAP YEAR, starring a very sweet but annoyingly petty Amy Adams, and a very Irish, good looking guy who pronounced idiot as "ee-di-ought" , called Matthew Goode. it was incredibly sweet and romantic and in fact it made us (at least me) wonder whether we would make the wrong choice as the leading lady did. i mean, we all live under the illusions we make and sometimes, we wouldn't even know that it was, in fact, an illusion.

so, for the summary, i can tell you this simjple thing-- Anna (amy adams) was a successful lady who had this boyfriend, jeremy, who had been with her since like four years. so, when after four years, jeremy hadn't propose to her, she decided to take things into her own hands. you see, there was a tradition, Irish tradition that allowed girls to propose to guys on the 29th of february. so, she flew to ireland to join jeremy who was having a cardiology conference there to propose to him. however, things happen and she ended up in a small irish town--dingle, with absolutely no bus, taxi nor train. and of course, she met bar owner, Declan (matthew goode) and eventually they ended up on a journey together because declan needed the money. many things happen, including toasting the car, stepping into cow poo, and also, of course, a kiss. in the end, anna realized that she had everything she wanted, but nothing she needed. She wanted jeremy, but he wasn't what she needed. so, she flew 3000 miles back to ireland, and well, kinda proposed to declan, which ended with declan getting down on one knee and giving her the family ring.

i know this probably doesn't sound a romantic as i should be, but, i'm just saying, if you get the chance , go see it! it's a close-to-perfect replacement for a lost prom, but, well, worth it. i would really have been a stranger there. even though after looking at the pictures and regretting my absence, i still think i made the right choice. sounds complicated, eh? well, that's the very definition of a girl. at least the definition of me.

i'm thinking...

English is so much better. i mean, when i want to vent my feelings, i can't possibly rack my brain to find some chinese words that don't come as quickly as english words tat can express myself perfectly, can i? i mean, when i start to think, all those feelings--happy, angry, frustrated--they all desappear, leaving me blank and eventually, nothing to write.

anyway, i'm just writing to say that i've found another great book! by little black dress, it doesn't have the usual things we all expect, but it's absolutely fantastic. very different from singletini, and incredibly british, with words like sort of, i suppose, would you care for a crust and all that! and of course, not forgetting an incredibly handsome, rich aristocracy who seems to have perfect manners and isn a bit like the arrogant mr. darcy everyone expects him to be (well, at least i did, sort of, just thought he might be the darcy kind.).

it's just another cinderella story with a cute little kid inside, plus a common girl and that irresisitable guy. very british writing, i felt as if i'm hearing their words in that accent and had me smiling all the way. i have to say this though, i'd never thought it might be good. i guess what they said was right--you never try, you'll never know.

i was reluctant to read it at first, after reading the summary. you see, the guy--the Earl of Arden, Edward, was married before, but the wife died. i don't usually read books about guys with wifes already, i mean, they sound so OLD. but, something came over me and told me i must read it, so i did. i was hooked from the very first page. it was nice, coz the wife was actually a , in short, a bitch and the whole marriage was just a sham. a lie. so i guess that's okay.

after all, who wouldn't fancy a rich handsome guy and a cinderella? a girl can dream, and it makes her happy.

不要吓倒。。。

我还是我啦。i'm still who i am. still the elizabeth-who-is-named-after-a-car-and-a-dog. just another ultimate plan to improve my chinese. so. there. just not to let u guys get a shock.