Yowazzup: A Directory of Happening Things

Nim’s Island is an adventure-fantasy film based on the book of the same name by Wendy Orr. Directed by Jennifer Flackett and Mark Levin, the movie stars Abigail Breslin, Jodie Foster and Gerard Butler.

SPOILER WARNING: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Jodie Foster and Abigail Breslin in "Nim’s Island"

Nim Rusoe (Abigail Breslin) is an 11-year-old girl who loves to imagine based on her favorite fictional character, Alex Rover (Gerard Butler). Her father, Jack Rusoe (also played by Butler) is a popular scientist and writer live together with her daughter (and her daughter’s animal friends) in an isolated island. The secret location of the island is revealed to nobody except their provisions suppliers.

When Nim’s father goes missing on the island on his trip to find "Nim’s Protozoa", Nim becomes desperate and email Alex Rover to come save her father, didn’t realize that Alex Rover on the book, who is a brave, daring male adventurer is different from the real Alex Rover a.k.a. Alexandra Rover (Jodie Foster) — a conservative woman who has never been out of apartment for months.

Guided by an imaginative character, Alex Rover, Alexandra brave herself by flying to Borneo, taking helicopter and stealing boat to reach the remote island based on the email communication they had just to save the little girl, Nim.

Meanwhile, Jack is stranded in the middle of an ocean with a sinking boat, thanks to Galileo (Nim’s friend), Jack manages to salvage his tools and fix his boat in order to return to the island. When he finally manages to return home, so happen, Alexandra is right there as though as she’s waiting for Jack Rusoe. The movie ends with the three of them together live happily ever after and U2’s Beautiful Day is played over the credits.

Overall, it is quite a decent movie with exaggeration which sometimes is too good to be true. After all, Nim’s Island is a fantasy film, so it is alright.

My ratings: 6 out of 10.

Popularity: 2% [?]

The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep is a 2007 fantasy film based on an adaption of Dick King-Smith’s children’s novel The Water Horse. The film which is directed by Jay Russell has grossed $94,236,489 worldwide as of March 22, 2008.

SPOILER WARNING: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Alex Etel and Priyanka Xi in the movie "The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep"

The movie begins with a male tourist (Nathan Christopher Haase) looking a picture of "Water Horse" in awe. When the female tourist (Megan Katherine) says it could be real, the young man argues and an old man interrupts with his own tale of the Water Horse.

Back in the 1940’s in Scotland, a young boy named Angus MacMorrow (Alex Etel) lives in a large house with his mother and sister and a maid, and later also another handyman. Angus thinks his father is still alive and waits for him. He discovers a big mysterious egg and cares for what hatches of it: a ‘water horse’ he calls Crusoe that grows so rapidly becoming the fabled Loch Ness Monster.

Young Angus keeps the creature a secret, but later he tells his sister and the male servant. Lewis Mowbray (Ben Chaplin) who works as a handyman for MacMorrow’s tells Angus that Crusoe belongs to a species which can asexually reproduce through parthenogenesis, and always die after laying an egg.

Despite without any knowledge and permission from Mrs. MacMorrow, a group of soldiers involved in the defense against possible attacking or hiding German U-boats is stationed in and near the house. The creature is sometimes attacked by the dog of the soldiers. It grows fast and is brought to the lake.

It is still friends with Angus, and lets him ride it underwater, coming to the surface from time to time for breathing. However, it suffers from shells shot into the lake for practice, and attacks the soldiers. Angus falls into the Loch and Crusoe saves him. At first it cannot leave the lake due to an anti-submarine net intended to catch possible German U-boats entering the lake, but later it succeeds. Angus finally accepts the creature’s departure, and also that his father died.

After the story was told eventually the story-teller reveals himself to be Angus MacMorrow. It then shows another boy manages to find a new egg from the shore while his mother is calling his name.

My ratings: 7 out of 10.

Popularity: 2% [?]

The Spiderwick Chronicles is a 2008 fantasy film adaptation of Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi’s bestselling series.

SPOILER WARNING: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Freddie Highmore and Sarah Bolger play Jared/Simon Grace and Mallory Grace respectively in The Spiderwick Chronicles

The film starts with a man named Arthur Spiderwick (David Strathairn) who somewhat seems hasty in writing a book filled with weird stuff. It seems like something is pursuing him that makes him hurriedly seals the book to keep it safe. Then the film goes back to the present, 80 years later where Mrs. Helen Grace (Mary-Louise Parker) and her family has arrived to their new house. Mrs. Helen Grace wants a new start for her family, her daughter Mallory (Sarah Bolger) and her twin sons, Simon and Jared (both played by Freddie Highmore). They move into the Spiderwick Estate which is given to them by their elderly great-aunt Lucinda, Arthur Spiderwick’s daughter.

Jared does not like moving to the new house. Since he has often being perceived as the naughty one, every now and then when something unpleasant happens, he tends to be blamed.

Jared finds a monogrammed key behind a wall after Mallory accidentally uncovers a dumbwaiter system. He later discovers Arthur Spiderwick’s studyroom and he finds a chest which he opens with the monogrammed key and finds Spiderwick’s Field Guide written by Arthur Spiderwick. Despite the attached note which warns him not to read, he does it anyway. The moment he opens the book, a strong signal is somewhat felt by the entire estate, which sends a signal to Mulgarath, a shape-shifting ogre who wants the book so he can kill all the faeries and mankind to take over the world.

Later, Jared meets a brownie named Thimbletack, who explains that magical creatures are normally invisible but can reveal themselves at will. He tells Jared about a protective circle that Arthur Spiderwick placed around the house and gives him a stone with a hole which allows him to see faeries. Simon, mistaken for Jared, is kidnapped by Mulgarath’s goblins, while Jared meets Hogsqueal, a hobgoblin who gives Jared the ability to see all faeries without the aid of the stone. Simon is released by the goblins with the condition that he must steal the book from Jared. Upon his return, Jared and Simon fight over whether they should give the book to Mulgarath without realizing that the goblins are running towards them. Although they manage to fend off the goblins, Simon’s leg is badly injured by the goblins. Mallory, meanwhile is wandering outside the circle and does not heed the warning of his brothers until the goblins attack her. Jared throws the stone with a hole so she can see the goblins and when does, she finally believes what Jared has said earlier.

Thinking their great-aunt Lucinda (Joan Plowright) can be their only hope, Jared and Mallory escapes to an underground tunnel while Simon distracts the monsters. Lucinda is in the nuthouse for telling Arthur Spiderwick is kidnapped by faeries, which is somewhat the truth. In fact, Arthur Spiderwick was “rescued” by Sylphs, a type of faerie when the goblins attacked. Lucinda tells them they must find her father to have him destroy the book. Suddenly, Mulgarath’s goblins attack them from the windows and manage to steal several pages from the book before they are driven off.

The siblings use the book to summon Arthur Spiderwick’s pet, a griffin, which takes them to the realms of the Sylphs. There, Arthur Spiderwick is still alive and has not aged since the day he was “rescued”. Spiderwick tells Jared that the only person who can save the world is Jared himself since he has the knowledge of the book. Spiderwick distracts the faeries to enable Jared and Mallory to escape from the land of the Sylphs.

On their return, Hogsqueal warns them that one of the stolen pages will allow Mulgurath to destroy the protective circle when the moon is full. Mrs. Grace, initially does not want to believe what their children tell her since she knows the children is probably under some kind of pressure after they move. Somehow, when Thimbletack appears and when Jared gives the stone of hole to see enable her to see the attacking goblins, she believes her children without doubt. The family arms themselves with steel knives and tomato sauce. When they are forced into the kitchen, they place all of their tomato sauce and salt into the oven and hide before detonating it, killing all of the goblins.

Then Mr. Grace enters the house and tells Jared that he came to apologize; however, Jared discovers that he is an imposter and stabs him in the stomach. He turns out to be Mulgarath in disguise. Jared escapes with the book through the dumbwaiter while Mulgarath transforms into a python and gives pursuit. On the roof, Mulgarath turns back into his ogre form and almost captures Jared when Jared throws the book onto the lawn; as Mulgarath transforms into a raven to catch it, he is snatched and eaten by Hogsqueal.

The Graces family bring Lucinda back to the house; and the Sylphs appear, bringing Arthur. However, since he cannot remain, because his age would return to him all at once and kill him, Lucinda asks to be taken with him, and so the Sylphs transform her back into her six-year-old self and spirit the two away.

Overall, the movie is somewhat short of expectation. But, it’s a good movie for the whole family.

My ratings: 7 out of 10.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Sci Fi & Fantasy Festival 2006 was held in Cineleisure Damansara from December 15 - 17, 2006. It claimed to be the first-ever Sci-Fi and Fantasy event to be held in Malaysia. Some of the highlights include a cosplay competition and Eragon showcase featuring Eragon games and related merchandize. Other than that, there were Comics Zone, a place showcasing comics, manga and cartoons of local talents. There were also a cyber game arena with Eragon Official Game Launch and Demo, Warhammer: 40k: Dawn of War - Dark Crusade Tournament and Water Margin Online Game Showcase. I managed to catch a glimpse of the main highlight of the carnival, which include movie character appearance like Elektra, Jason from Hell, Freddie Nightmare, Stormtrooper, Predator and so on.

Some models displaying the latest PDA’s and clothing line

Movie Props Making Workshop by Movia Mania, Singapore

Some girls from SMK Bandar Utama dancing

Elektra from the movie Elektra

Some models displaying the latest PDA’s and clothing line and make-ups from Fling and Elianto

Stormtrooper from Star Wars

Freddie The Nightmare

Predator

Jason From Hell

Predator, Jason From Hell, Chicken Little and Elektra

Eragon (sitting first from left), Freddie, Jason, Stormtrooper, Predator, Chicken Little, Elektra and Batman (hiding, LoL!)

Eragon (sitting first from left), Freddie, Jason, Stormtrooper, Predator, Chicken Little, Elektra and Batman (now, he’s standing on the left!)

Eragon (sitting first from left), Freddie, Jason, Stormtrooper, Predator, Chicken Little, Elektra and Batman (this Batman has a low profile, no pun intended. LoL!)

Chicken Little and Elektra. Chicken Little is quite horny. He even shook his butt . Damn pervert!

The entire gang

Chicken Little’s moving away

Elektra

Popularity: 16% [?]