Last Saturday, I got a chance to watch Sherlock Holmes at the cinemas!

By golly, I waited for this for a month, given that it was shown elsewhere last 2009, but only got to watch it this 2010! Jeez, what a loser. One part being that from the third week of December 2009 until the second week of January 2010, only local [ie Filipino] movies were being shown from a film festival. Ugh.

Anyway, the plotline is quite simple [and here's me without giving any spoilers]: Holmes was called in to a case wherein he was chasing after Lord Blackwood, stopping a crime involving magic & human sacrifice. He catches Blackwood, he was tried and hanged. But wait! Blackwood rose from the dead! And Holmes was called again to capture Blackwood and find out how he did his death-defying act.

Simple enough, eh?

I wouldn't give away any other parts of the movie because I came in the cinema with absolutely nothing! No spoilers, nothing, and I guess that's what made me enjoy and appreciate the movie more. Although the movie is not based on any of A. Conan Doyle's novel, the story gave it enough justice, staying loyal to the methods of Holmes on how he apprehended the perpetrator, and the steps the perps went through as they were doing their deeds as was described in the novels and short stories. Holmes mastery of disguise was also clearly shown in the movie. Look closer at some of the characters and you'll realize that it's Holmes, playing another part!

Robert Downey Jr as Holmes was awesome. Hands down. No wonder he was nominated [or won?] several awards from his portrayal of Holmes. Jude Law was also great as Watson! I loved their bromance and banter on the screen! Absolutely entertaining!

Loooooved the costumes and setting as well! Costumes were typical of the 19th century. Setting-wise, several London landmarks that we now know and love today were featured! St. Paul's Cathedral, Big Ben & the Houses of Parliament, and Tower Bridge. I loved that they showed the Tower Bridge when it was still under construction at the time. It was the perfect backdrop! One thing that caught my eye as well: Eros at Piccadilly Circus!! It's an amazing contrast to the Piccadilly of now, where there's neon signs in one area! Wheeee!! Okay. I am biased. I loooooove London hence plus points for the movie to be set there! =) The Thames also has a major part in the movie! Watch out for that!

One complaint though: in the movie, Holmes has a tendency to talk very, very quickly! It's quite hard to catch on what he's saying, as his words may sometimes be fuddled with Downey's fake British accent. Then again, that's my only complaint!

The ending is open-ended in such a way that there might be a sequel in the works! Wheeeee!!!! I hope there will be one! I'll keep on googling it! 

I'll give this movie a 4.5/5!! Very worth your money!! Go watch it!

Harry Potter is back on his second year at Hogwarts! This time, with even more adventures and lessons along the way! This year, strange happenings have been going on at Hogwarts, which all points strangely to the legend of the Chamber of Secrets! Will Harry ever survive the monster hidden within the depths of the chamber?

Thoughts:
My first book for 2010!! What a good read it has been! I didn't imagine I'd finish it this quickly. Anyway, I initially re-read this book as part of the Harry Potter book challenge on at GalleySmith, which I'm doing badly on as I need to finish all 7 books by July 2010. Here's hoping that I get to finish this!

Anyway, back to the review of the second book. It's faster-paced compared to the first book, and this time, the characters are more defined and I get to learn more spells and "wizard terms" so to speak. I got to know some new characters as well, including the mandatory new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. I'm learning all about magical enchantments and othe rmagical creatures!

This book definitely did not lack in trying to explain what had happened to Ginny and Tom Riddle. Although the book did not necessarily build Ginny's character at all, it helped build more stronger relationships and character backgrounds for Ron, Harry and Hermione. This book also provides a stepping stone to the other Harry Potter books, which I spent time trying to figure out and remembering who played a part in what on the latter parts of the books.

Quite a quick read, so definitely good to start my new year, it's definitely a boost to the stats! It's also written in such a way that anyone could understand it: young adults, and adults alike! I like!

Overall, I'll give it a 4/5 rating! I know most of you guys have either already read the books or seen the movie so go watch or read them again :) Harry definitely is part of our pop culture now and is here to stay!

The Young Victoria is a British movie that chronicles the early life of Victoria as she ascended to the throne of England. It shows how she was very protected as a child, not being able to interact with any other children, would need to hold someone's hand as she was walking down the stairs, and had to share a bedroom with her mother. The movie also chronicles how Victoria and Albert had met, and how their love story had blossomed.

This movie was such a blast for me to watch! I love all things England, so was thrilled when I saw that it was showing on a limited engagement at the local cinemas. For starters, I don't really know much about Albert & Victoria, much less gone to most of the famous landmarks that were left in their honor in London, so I came to watch this movie with an open book, willing to learn and understand more about them. Now, that's a disadvantage to me because I don't know which parts are historically correct and which parts were just exaggerated for the cinematography.

The setting, costumes, and actors were very brilliant. The Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace scenes were believable, as were the period costumes at the time. The actors also showed the youth of both Prince Albert and Queen Victoria, as I tihnk most of us only know them as part of history now, and don't give them much thought. Emily Blunt as Queen Victoria? Absolutely AMAZING! Rupert Friend as Prince Albert? HOT! And very, very, very believable! Their chemistry on screen was sizzling! And in some scenes, they managed to make me cry. And bawl. Like a baby. Yes. It's that good.

My biggest surprise in the movie was that Queen Victoria proved to be quite a looker when she was younger! I googled her paintings when she was younger and she wasn't the grieving, rotund widow that is usually portrayed of her. And Prince Albert! Oh my gosh. He was a stunner!! Look through Wikipedia and you'll see how he was when he was younger!

Go and watch this movie, if its showing in your area! I think its in limited engagement only but it's definitely a must-see

It's nearly the New Year and since I'm spending much more time online and blogging, I might as well post on a goal or where my blog would be headed for this 2010.

Currently, I blog mostly about books, theatre, travel and concerts. It will still remain the same for 2010, although more focus will be given on books: it's the cheapest and most accessible form of entertainment for me!

There will still be the weekly memes: I will be participating on In My Mailbox posts as well as Waiting On Wednesday/On My Wishlist as well.

Reviews will be posted whenever I've finished a new book. I cannot entirely say what specific day I'll post a book review but it will happen. With my current schedule, I normally finish an average of two to four books per month, much faster than my early 2009 figures.



Books reviewed would be composed of:
80% old releases;
20% new releases [books released within 2008-2010]

The reason why there are more old releases being reviewed is because those are the normal type of books I normally get. Most of my books are acquired through bookmooch, book swaps or the used bookstore. I know that if I don't buy a book new, the publisher and the author would not get royalties from the book but I can't always buy a new book now, considering I now have other obligations where most of the paycheck goes to.


However, there are certain times in a year when the local bookstore here hosts a 20% off sale and when that time comes, I shall go around buying new books that are on my wishlist!
That's where the 20% new releases come from.

I also set-up my own Amazon A-store so if a particular book suits your fancy then feel free to buy from my Amazon store :) 

I hope most of you understand where I'm coming from. Here's hoping for a more fruitful 2010 to everyone! :)

In the first installment of Ann Brashares novel of the Travelling Pants, four girls: Tibby, Lena, Bridget and Carmen, find a pair of pants that miraculously fit all of them. They believe that this magical pair of pants is enough to bring their friendship together even though they spend their first summer apart, and the pants were capable of bringing good luck and new experiences to these four friends.

This young adult book has got me interested in it when I first saw the movie. It was a story of growing up, and realizing that everything is changing around you and you just have to cope up with it. The story is told in a third person point of view and alternates between what's heppening to the four characters as they deal with problems and their new experiences. There's also quotations that separate a new chapter from each other, quite a good presentation to ensure that the readers would find something inspirational as well.

The book is a quick read, and as I have the mass market paperback version, the font size is quite big, with some large spacings between the sentences as well. I love Brashares poignant writing and the various real-life scenarios that each character has to go to. It makes the characters more real and can definitely influence younger adults as they read the book into making the right choices, stepping up to challenges, and being more mature.

Although there were obviously parts that got me bored and irritated [if you guys intend to read the book, you be the judge], and there are also some parts where it was obviously dragging a bit and you find yourself saying "Ugh. When will this annoying bit end?" This book is surely something you'll want to read over the summer or recommend teens as they go through real life.

I recommend this for:
Young adults or even adults who are facing tough times in their life [read Tibby's point of view with Bailey]
Someone who just wants a quick read
Someone who wants to read something about friendship.

Rating: 3.5/5

Copy: Mass Market Paperback.
Source: Bought from a used bookstore.

For those of you who read my blog before or know me personally, it is no secret that I LOVE boybands. One of my top two favourite bands is Take That! [I said top two because they're tied with Boyzone!]

Anyhow, since the DVD is not currently available in my country here in the far east, I downloaded a copy of this before I get a physical copy. [although I've no idea when I'll get my physical copy of this]

Let me just rate it outright: it deserves a 10 out of 5. Yes. It's that good! It's double than what I had expected!

Let me warn you first..... the below contains SPOILERS!

The theatrical quality of their show brought me to tears in the first part, the circus performers, the wonderful costumes of all the performers [and the boys], the elephant during "The Garden" [my favourite part so far], the rain effects during "Back For Good", the fireworks at the end, the band performing their songs whilst playing instruments during "Up All Night", "Wooden Boat", "How Did It Come to This", the guys in unicycles, painting their faces like mimes during "What Is Love", them singing my second favourite song "Said It All" [although a bit disappointed they didn't sing my ultimate fave TT song, "Reach Out". Another favourite part? "Hello!" Cute cute cute song! And also for "Hold Up A Light"


If you're a fan of the band [like me!], you must definitely get a copy of this DVD!! I was soooo gutted I wasn't able to see them live during this performance [and well, EVER], but with this DVD as well as the previous ones [Beautiful World Live and the Ultimate Tour], I'm able to catch a glimpse of how the band treats their shows. Go buy it and then watch it! :)

Okay, I'm sounding like a complete fangirl in here but I am a fangirl! Lol.

Buy the DVD and CD here: