“New York, I Love You” is a American romantic comedy-drama anthology consisting eleven short film and directed by different director in 2009.The short films all relate in some way to the subject of love, and are set among the five boroughs of New York City. The film is a sequel of sorts to the 2006 film "Paris, je t'aime", which had the same structure, and is the second film in the Cities of Love franchise, created and produced by Emmanuel Benbihy.

I like the movie a lot because you can make some nice discoveries among the stories. The shooting of the stories are no more than two days and editing just one week, connected by transitions shot by one more director. The results are, well, formulaic, hobbled by weak dialogue and absent any sense of texture. It's not one of those films where all the separate characters come together at the end in a miraculous coincidence, although a few people do turn up, still as themselves, in one another's segments. Besides, the strong cast is really the key point of this movie. Natalie Portman, Orlando Bloom, Shia LeBeouf, Bradley Cooper, Maggie Q, Shu Qi, Carlos Acosta and other world famous actor or actress really made the movie became classic.

Not all the stories in the film are good but some of them are very good. One of the story I like the most is the story about the old female opera singer and the handicapped hotel bellboy. A retired opera singer (Julie Christie) checks into a hotel, planning to commit suicide. She is befriended by a melancholy Russian bellboy (Shia LaBeouf). He interrupts her as she is planning to jump, and when he goes to close the window, falls to his death. The hotel manager (John Hurt) looks out the balcony where the body should be and tells her there is nothing there. She asks him to close the window. In my point of view, she comes back to the hotel in New York that she used to stay as she miss the time when she was here. She is no longer famous now and lonely, she is regrets of something.

Another story that I like the most is the story between the old painter (Uğur Yücel) and the Chinese girl who works as a herbal shop assistant (Shu Qi). The old painter keeps painting the portrait of the young shop girl. He eventually asks her if she would sit for him, but she says no. Later that day she sneaks out from her job to go see him, but he has died. As she leaves his apartment, she finds one of the paintings he did of her and takes it home. I can learn from the story that everything in New York city changes so fast, every little decision could change your life. As the girl, if she agrees to let the painter paints her portrait, it could be a chance to make her famous and change her life. In the other hand, the painter may get famous if he can done the portrait of the girl before he died. But the most important point is that the girl still face it with her smile at the end of the story.

The story about the old couple is also one of my favourite part of the movie. Abe (Eli Wallach) and Mitzie (Cloris Leachman) celebrate their 63rd wedding anniversary, taking a walk to Coney Island at a slower pace than the city around them. This story is very funny, the dialogue between the old couple and their acting. On their 63rd wedding anniversary, they decide to talk a walk to the place that I believe it is the place they first met. They bickering along the journey to the place, but at the end, "the kiss" shows the love.

I like "New York, I Love You" a lot and I think it is the best movie for me among the movies I watched in this class. I would like the watch it again and also the “Paris, je t’aime”.

BRAVE movie review

Movie poster of BRAVE

Brave is an animation film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures in 2012, directed by Andrews and Chapman. It is a great and meaningful movie, but there is one thing I want to denounce the princess is that, she is too irritable and she can’t say “it’s not my fault” after she accidentally turned her mother into a bear.

The princess Merida

Plot of "Brave" is about the princess, Merida.

Different than most of the others animation films, the story of “Brave” is no longer not talking about the prince and princess. “Brave” tried to tell the audiences about woman’s right, life value and mother love and I think these made the Queen Elinor became the greatest character in the film.

Merida’s mistake turned her mother, Queen Elinor into a bear. The queen was danger, she might not turning back to a human, she can’t talk forever maybe, but she never blame on her daughter, princess Merida. She shows us the greatest of mother love.

Although she turned into a bear, huge body size, boorish, but all these can’t stop her from protecting Merida as a mother, this is the most meaningful part for me. 

I really glad that "Brave" is not about the happiness life of prince and princess. Merida shows us the attitude and right of woman nowadays. Her behavior and attitude affected the portrayal of traditional woman, she shows us the “Brave” of being herself. At the end of the movie, she influenced her mother, the Queen Elinor as well. Merida doesn’t dream that her prince will come; she doesn’t have to because it’s clear that, within the logic of the movie, the alternative is comically unthinkable. It’s no great surprise that she wins the struggle to determine her fate. But hers is a contingent freedom won with smiles, acquiescence and a literal needle and thread with which she neatly sews up the story, repairing a world where girls and women know exactly where they stand.

Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa Review

Poster for the movie looks prefessional and good design.

This movie released in Malaysia as "Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa". It is an adventure feature film set against the backdrop of ancient Malay, Roman and Chinese civilizations. It tells the tale of the journey of Merong Mahawangsa escorting a Roman prince to wed a beautiful Chinese princess during the 2nd century.

Cast:

Stephen Rahman Hughes, Deborah Henry, Umie Aida, Mano Maniam, Gavin Stenhouse, Nell Ng

Although I don't think it is a nice movie but I still like it because not much opportunity for Malaysian to watch Malaysia history on the big screen and we will be excited and surprise when have the opportunity. Besides, the visual effects and scenes setting inside the movie are quite good for local movie. Those awesome battle scenes also made the movie better and the audiences will pay more attention to the movie.

I don't think the history in the movie is right. I don't even know that Rome and China had a diplomatic relationship and not really sure who is Merong Mahawangsa. This is the only part that I don't like for the movie.

Also the story was a bit too rush. They never explain what the relationship between Embok and Merong, then all of the sudden, the narrator (the Sultan) came out and said that Embok was pregnant with Merong's baby. They never explain why Prince Marcus Caprenius still alive? How the the Chinese Admiral Liu Yun found Prince Marcus Caprenius and Merong? The movie should explain the stories more clearly.

What is wrong with speaking proper English? Why is there so many broken English in this movie? You see, games like God of War depicted ancient Greece, but with characters speaking proper English, and I didn't see any problem with it, so I really don't understand why should the actor use broken English instead of proper English.

Merong Mahawangsa, Stephen Rahman Hughes acts as this guy in the movie. He is my favourite character in the movie. He is a hero in the movie, everyone likes hero. The movie has describe Merong in very good way. Buff body, brilliant, brave and good looking. Claiming to be a descendant from Alexander the Great, but he doesn't look that much descended from King Alexander doesn't he? Can't say much about him though. In the end he did become a king. I'm not sure what the original "Hikayat" says but Stephen here portrayed his character well in this movie.