Ice Age 4: Continental Drift

Scrat's nutty pursuit of the cursed acorn, which he's been after since the dawn of time, has world-changing consequences - a continental cataclysm that triggers the greatest adventure of all for Manny, Diego and Sid. In the wake of these upheavals, Sid reunites with his cantankerous Granny, and the herd encounters a ragtag menagerie of seafaring pirates determined to stop them from returning home.

  

Review: 

If you are looking for any surprises or unpredictability, don’t bother watching. This movie is for children and those who love the Ice Age series. And I quite liked it, despite the storyline being not as strong and detailed as the first 2 movies. I think the plot went thin after the 3rd installation, but I am not complaining. There is the ever adorable and relentless squirrel Scrat (or whatever his name is) to provide mindless entertainment.

 

Ice Age 4: Continental Drift revolves around our usual charming characters, Manny the Mammoth (Ray Romano), saber-toothed Diego (Denis Leary), and sloth Sid (John Leguizamo) and how they try to ind their way home after they get separated from the herd and float away on a slab of ice; stuck in the middle of the ocean unable to find a way back home.

 

Somewhere in the storyline, Manny's daughter, Peaches, has grown up and is no longer that cute baby mammoth who thinks the world of her father. She's growing up and trying to find her identity, trying to fit in with the rest of the kids her species. Before getting separated, Manny and Peaches were quarreling about her lying to him. So Manny is determined to find his way back home and make up with his daughter, while Peaches thinks it is her fault her father got lost at sea and feels guilty.

 

While still stuck somewhere at sea, our protagonists come across villain Captain Gutt (Peter Dinklage) who is a fearsome Ape and his crew of warriors, consisting of a crazed and hyper rabbit, a dopey seal, and another saber-tooth, who is female, who gets into a rivalry and then a (potential?) romance for Diego. 

 

Captain Gutt wants them to join his crew, but Manny has other plans so Captain Gutt plans to throw them into the sea since they are of no use to him if they don't want to join him. However, instead of successfully throwing them off board, Captain Gutt and crew get thrown off while Manny and gang attempt to steal the iceberg ship for their voyage back home. The troupe of chipmunks who helped Manny and gang to steal Captain Gutt’s iced ship in a very smart and funny manner.

 

Overall, Ice Age 4: Continental Drift will tickle your funny bones and leave a smile on your face, as long as your expectations are not too high and you enjoy simple and heartwarming storylines. And Sid's grandmother was a really interesting character, she is not as looney as she might seem to be.

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Snow White and the Huntsman

In the epic action-adventure Snow White and the Huntsman, Kristen Stewart (Twilight) plays the only person in the land fairer than the evil queen (Oscar(r) winner Charlize Theron) out to destroy her. But what the wicked ruler never imagined is that the young woman threatening her reign has been training in the art of war with a huntsman (Chris Hemsworth, Thor) dispatched to kill her. Sam Claflin (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides) joins the cast as the prince long enchanted by Snow White's beauty and power. The breathtaking new vision of the legendary tale is from Joe Roth, the producer of Alice in Wonderland, producer Sam Mercer (The Sixth Sense) and acclaimed commercial director and state-of-the-art visualist Rupert Sanders.

Review

Ok so this remake or adaption re-imagines the classic Brothers Grimm fairy tale in a Medieval setting with the beginning we are familiar with: a queen who pricks her fingers on the thorns of roses during winter and three drops of blood end up on the white snow, so she wishes for a daughter who is just as fair.

Not long after her wish, the queen gives birth to that daughter and her health takes a turn for the worse. Soon the queen succumbs to her illness and passes away. The king is distraught and sinks into depression. But his grief is put aside when his kingdom is under attack from a mysterious dark army. 

During one of the conquests, the king's army manages to destroy the dark army and save a beautiful woman who was held captive. This woman is the antagonist, the soon to be evil queen that is actually a man-hating sorceress name Ravenna (Charlize Theron). The king forgets about his grief when he sees the beautiful Ravenna. In fact he is so besotted with her that he makes her his queen.

Unfortunately for him, being the man-hating sorceress that she is, Ravenna kills him on their wedding night. Ravenna's dark army soon takes over the castle and Ravenna assumes sovereign over the kingdom and her dark magic plunges the entire kingdom into despair and horror, all the while keeping Snow White captive.

The reason why Ravenna has kept Snow White (Kristen Stewart) alive, is when the vanity-feeding magic mirror tells her that can either bring her to her end or enable her to be immortal (she has to eat Snow White's heart). She chooses the latter option.

Snow White and the Huntsman is all about how Snow White escapes from her prison and encounters the widowed drunkard of Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth), who is hired to retrieve Snow White when she escapes into the dark forest. But the Huntsman soon is on Snow White and together they encounter a tribe a women who disfigured themselves to stay out of Ravenna's jealous glaze, the darwfs, and a chidhood friend of Snow White who has become an excellent archer and has feelings for Snow White.

Despite the potential for any romantic drama, all of the understated romantic drama is ultimately wasted and there is no conclusion (even in the ending). The storyline was ok and the acting was good. Charlize Theron totally stole the show, it should have been called Ravenna and Snow White or something like that. She give more depth into the character of the evil queen, and showed that Ravenna was not naturally evil or jealous, but she became so because of her circumstances and some twisted values instilled in her by her mother to save her life. It kind of makes one feel sorry Ravenna and hope that she found her peace towards the end. Perhaps while knowing that Snow White was the key to either her destruction or immortality, she hoped to be immortal but she was also tired of the life she has lived (it is implied she is really really old) and being under the control of her dark powers. In some way, she could have been hoping to find someone to put an end to it for her.

It wasn't that the show was bad, but it had so much more potential.

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Selina Jen returns to showbiz

Selina Jen reunited with her bandmates from S.H.E. on the stage of the Golden Melody Awards for the first time in 19 months after she was injured in a horrific on-set fire incident. The trio's performance was the highlight of the show, which drew a record number of viewers. Selina was so overwhelmed by her emotions that she broke down after performing.

Richard Chang, Selina's husband, had stood by Selina throughout her ordeal. The lovebirds recently struck a couple endorsement deal.

When asked about her child-bearing plans, Selina expressed, "I'll leave it up to fate, but ideally, I hope to recover fully, go for my honeymoon and vacation in Europe before having children."

She further shared that she is currently working hard to lose weight and is in the process of choosing songs for her album, adding that she would like to meet her fans soon.

XinMSN

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2NE1’s New Single Tops Charts

2NE1 released their new single “I Love You,” on July 5, marking the group’s comeback to the music scene. The song immediately topped various music charts in Korea including Daum Music, Bugs, Melon and Mnet.

On iTunes, “I Love You” entered the Top 10 Electronic Songs chart in 12 countries. It zoomed to No. 1 in Canada, Finland and Sweden. The single is No. 2 in the US, No. 5 in the United Kingdom, No. 4 in Australia, No. 10 in Austria, No. 6 in Italy, No. 3 in The Netherlands, No. 4 in New Zealand, No. 2 in Norway and No. 3 in Spain.

In a blog post, SPIN magazine praised “I Love You,” describing it as a “perfect summation of pop’s present and future.” SPIN’s Christopher Weingarten described 2NE1 as “K-pop heroes.”

“We love them. Well yesterday they dropped their most recent single 'I Love You' and it's a stone doozy, a perfect summation of pop's present and future: those Guetta-style soccer-riot synths glowing and pulsing, ghostly background vocals creating smoke around the neon, and a stuttering Ke$ha-gone-‘Stay Fly’ rap in English,” the post said.

Last December, SPIN magazine chose 2NE1’s second mini-album as one of the “20 Best Pop Albums of 2011.” 2NE1’s “Ugly” and “I Am the Best” were also included in SPIN’s “21 Greatest K-Pop Songs of All Time” last June.

The K-pop group will also release English and Japanese versions of “I Love You” for their international fans, according to Korean media. 2NE1 are preparing for their “New Evolution: 2NE1 Global Tour,” which will kick off on July 28 and 29 at the Olympics Gymnastics Hall in Seoul.

The world tour will then go to the US with concerts on August 17 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey and on August 24 at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live in Los Angeles. The Japan concert will be held on Sept. 1 and 2 at the Osaka Castle Hall in Osaka; Sept. 7 and 8 at Gaishi Hall in Nagoya; and on Sept. 11 and 12 at Yokohama Arena in Yokohama.

Source

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Nicky Wu's drama extras rumoured to have been brutally murdered

Heng Dian World Studios in China is a hotspot for the production of period dramas, with Nicky Wu currently working on Legend of the White-Haired Maiden at the location. In recent days, shocking rumours about alleged murders near the vicinity have surfaced.

Two female mainland Chinese extras who were having dinner with the crew were reportedly on their way home when they mysteriously disappeared. They were raped and dismembered, with their body parts being scattered in various areas. The extras also allegedly had their breasts cut off.

Nicky was approached for confirmation of the matter but denied all rumours. "I don't know about it and have never heard of it." A representative from his management also responded on their micro-blog with "The rumour of the rape cum murder of female actresses are untrue."

His female cast members Christine Ng and Katy Kung also refuted the claims, sharing "I've never heard of it, but it sounds scary. Actually, whenever I film overseas. I'll be extra careful. I'll get a male colleague to accompany me when I go out - he can protect me and carry my bags!"

Actress Leung Ka Ki was the only exception as she admitted knowing about the rumours and added "(my) colleagues have warned me against wearing shorts out."
Security personnel also denied any knowledge of the rumours, with a lone driver sharing "Stop asking (about the matter) - if you do, you'll get into trouble."

In response to the rumours, the producers have announced "Everything is fine, filming is going well. (These are) unfounded rumours."

XinMSN

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Fahrenheit on the verge of disbandment

Will he, or will he not?

It is rumoured that Fahrenheit member Jiro Wang will not be renewing his contract following its impending expiry with current management Comic International Productions, raising fears that the departure of another member will lead to the permanent disbandment of the idol group.

The boyband debuted in 2005 as a quartet, including Jiro, Calvin Chen, Aaron Yan and ex-member Wu Chun. Following Wu Chun's departure in June last year, Comic announced that Fahrenheit would continue as a trio and that they would release an album this year.

Following that announcement, Jiro, Calvin and Aaron embarked on individual activities, with Aaron releasing a solo EP, Jiro jumping to the big screen and Calvin focusing on hosting variety programs, delaying the group album indefinitely.

In recent days, Jiro was reported to be unwilling to renew his contract with Comic after his solo album release later this year. The possibility of him signing with another company has put Fahrenheit's situation as a group in perilous waters.

When asked to comment, he neither confirmed nor refuted the rumours, choosing to answer ambiguously, "I've been busy filming and recording my album. I'm currently still deliberating (my future plans) but cooperation is possible as long as everyone is reasonable."


XinMSN

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2NE1's management agency apologizes for group's use of live animals in show

SEOUL: Korean girl group 2NE1's management agency, YG Entertainment, has apologized for using live animals in the quartet's stage performance, during a recent episode of a Korean music programme, reported Korean media on Monday.

2NE1's CL had performed the group's new song "I Love You" with a parrot perched on her shoulder, and a flock of swans were placed at the corner of the stage, during 2NE1's performance which was broadcasted on Sunday.

The quartet's performance had sparked outrage among some animal lovers who felt it was wrong to use live animals as props.  In response to their criticism, YG Entertainment said, "We had enlisted the help of animal trainers and experts, and had put together 2NE1's stage performance after consulting them. We had put in a lot of effort to create a good performance, but if it had brought discomfort to some viewers, we sincerely apologize."

CNA

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The Flowerboy Ramyun Shop Episode 7

Flower Boy Ramyun Shop > Episode 7
 

Eun Bi thought that Chi Soo wanted revenge. Unaware of his intention, she uses a pot and asked him to hit her with it if he will feel better after that and leave her alone. Upset with her gesture, Chi Soo turned and left. Unexpectedly, he stop at the door, turned around and asked whether Eun Bi is doing part time job here. Kang Hyuk replied, “of course, she is my wife.” Pleased with the answer, he told Kang Hyuk that he will do the part time job to the astonishment of the rest of the people.

Eun Bi chased Chi Soo to his car and ask him why he wanted to work here. He said that this is a practice of management for him. EunBi ask him to find somewhere else to practice. However, Chi Soo refused; instead he took out the contract and reminded her that they are co-worker now. He winked at her and left, leaving her alone on the street yelling at the sky and asked, “Why me!” Ironically, Kang Hyuk said to the other two, “ is’nt my wife great?” Haha. They gave an awkward smile instead.

The next day, there was some renovation going on in the shop. Eun Bi served some beverages for the workers. To her surprise, he told her that this is a very tough job as he seemed to do all the things by himself without any help. Eun Bi looked around and saw Ba Wool trying to hit a nail into a fence with a hammer, but it seems that he could not get it right. Then she saw hyun woo trying to paint the wall but he does not know where to start. The most hilarious part is Kang Hyuk sleeping under the table. Just then Chi Soo came into the shop, well dressed and holding a chair and a cup of coffee. He just sat in the middle and commented everyone for their hard work.

The renovation work was done and everyone stood outside the shop. They were happy and satisfied that the shop will be open soon. At the supermarket, Eun Bi keeps pestering Kang Hyuk to cancel Chi Soo appointment. At the same time, Ba Wool came along and keeps whining to Kang Hyuk that he does not want to share a room with Hyun Woo. Both of them started to act like a kid and became whiny with Kang Hyuk.

Ba Wool came into the room baring his upper body and he was surprised to see Hyun Woo doing some facial. He was curious why Chi Soo came to work, instead of giving a straight answer, Hyun Woo placed a blanket on Ba wool worried that he is cold. But Ba Wool was disgusted with his gesture. On the other hand, Mr Cha was worried about Chi Soo and was puzzled that he took up the part time job. However, Chi Soo avoided his questioning. At the same time, we discovered that Eun Bi father shop was the one that they plan to acquire.

The next day, the team was all ready to open the ramyun shop for business. The customers, mostly ladies were attracted to the handsome men in the shop so the business was blooming. Eun Bi and her friends were discussing why Chi Soo came here to work. They came to a conclusion that he is here for revenge. They started to imagine the scenario in their head.

Back at the ramyun shop, people are queuing up for the pickled radish and we find that Chi Soo was serving the pickled radish. His friends who came to visit were surprise to find Chi Soo working there. News spread fast about Chi Soo working at the ramyun shop. The newspaper had labeled him as the ‘Radish Man’. Hyun Woo asked Chi Woo to tell Eun Bi directly that he is here because of her. Just then, a group of men in black came and Hyun Woo ran away. Chi Soo found out that Hyun Woo father had incurred a huge sum of debts and they are the debt collectors. To ensure the safety of everyone, Chi Soo asked Mr Cha men to install a surveillance camera at the entrance and gave instruction to hit a group of men dressed in black when they come by.

Ba Wool friends dressed formally in black came to visit him at the ramyun shop and they met So Yi along the way. On the other hand, Kang Hyuk cooked a delicious bowl of curry ramyun for Ba Wool. He asked Chi Soo if he want a bowl too, he rejected. Instead he ate a pickled radish and fantasies about Eun Bi.

Busy kneading the dough, Eun Bi hair was all messed up. A pair of hands reaches for her hair from behind. This pair of hands belonged to Kang Hyuk. He gently tied her hair and commented that she is the sexiest when she uses strength. At the same time, he let her sample the broth he had just invented and his intention to place it in the menu. After he left, Eun Bi continued to knead the dough. Her hair is all over the place again and this time round a pair of hands reaches for her hair and she instinctively thought that it was Kang Hyuk. To her surprise, it was Chi Soo, Just then, Ba Wool rushed in and stop Chi Soo from being so close to Eun Bi. He accused Chi Soo for planning to take revenge on them.

Ba Wool friends on the way to the ramyun shop, because So Yi hurts her legs they were helping her. Chi Soo men thought that they were bad people and beat them up. This led to a misunderstanding between them. Desperate to clear the misunderstanding and put an end to all these, he took out the credit card and ask Hyun Woo to clear his debt to the dismay of others. He was asked to leave the ramyun shop. Upset with the event, he turned and leave the place. Coincidently, Eun Bi ex-boyfriend came in and Chi Soo remembered that they met previously in school. When asked if they are together, Chi Soo almost said that everything is over. But before he finish his sentence, Eun Bi immediately grabbed Chi Soo arm and called him ‘honey’ and Chi Soo called her, ‘my pretty baby.” Everyone was shocked at the sudden change of event.

Everybody wants to find out what actually happen. Chi Soo play coy and direct the question to Eun Bi to everyone disappointment. Eun Bi asked Chi Soo to the rooftop and asked him to act as his ‘honey’. Pretending that Eun Bi had placed him in a difficult position, Chi Soo agreed to help with a condition and that is he can see her whenever he wants.




Comments
The scene where Kang Hyuk and Chi Soo tied hair for Eun Bi was so sweet and gentle. I can see that when Kang Hyuk help to tied Eun Bi hair, she felt secure, just like a fatherly figure. I believe not only to Eun Bi, he is like an elder brother to the rest of them. On the other hand, Eun Bi was so tense and nervous whenever Chi Soo is around, it is as through Chi Soo had been sending electrical wave to Eun Bi and she could not resist him.

I sort of pity Chi Soo in this episode. He had a good intentions but the methods he uses is always wrong. But we cannot blame him as he is a rich man at the first place, furthermore, he was so well protected by his father. It is not his fault that he thought everything can settle through money. He is just a clueless and childish boy who is confused with his feelings. However, I believe he will grow up and be more mature in the coming episodes.

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Endless Love CTs

Details

• Title: 愛∞無限 / Ai ∞ Wu Xian
• English title: Endless Love
• Genre: Romance
• Episodes: 15
• Broadcast network: CTS
• Broadcast period: 2010-Aug-22 to 2010-Nov-28
• Air time: Sunday 22:00 - 23:30
• Opening theme song:Wo Men Dou Pa Tong (我們都怕痛) by Wilber Pan
• Ending theme song: Cai Hong Yu (彩虹雨) by Huang Yu Xun 黃宇矄

Synopsis

Liang Jing Hao and Song Rui En fell in love despite their social difference. Soon, they were engaged to be married. However, their happy union was shattered when he discovered that her philanthropic father was the driver who killed his mother in a hit and run years ago and the cause of his father's suicide on their wedding day. The devastated Jing Hao chose to disappear rather than exposing the crime committed by Run En's father. When he resurfaced years later Rui En had to choose either moving on with her life as he did with his or fighting for his forgiveness and saving their love.

(Synopsis and details from: Dramawiki)

Drama Review

What a disappointment, this drama was promising at the beginning. The storyline and its plots sound interesting, but halfway through the show, there are many loopholes and questions left unanswered.

Such as what happen to Rui En father, will he be jailed for his crime? How does Rui En Dad know that Jing Hao is the victim family? I refer to the car accident which killed Jing Hao Mum when he was young. There is no indication that he knows and he even plans abduction on Jing Hao father on his daughter wedding day. Furthermore, Who in a right frame of mind would do that on their daughter wedding? Last but not least, what make Xin Jie change her mind about marrying Jing Hao?

About the main casts performance:

Wilber Pan is about the only person I can recognize in this drama. After his pervious drama with Raine Yang, he had improved a lot and he deserved to be rewarded for his effort. Basically, he is alright in this drama and his acting is moderate although he may look stiffed in his acting at times and having the same expressions over and over again. But he tried his best to get into the role of Liang Jing Hao and he does it well despite his limited expressions and he does the crying scene pretty well too. The collaboration between Sandrine Pinna and Wilber Pan helps to add some points for his acting.

Initially, I was amazed that the leading actress and the supporting actress are newbies. I went online to google about his actress and find out that she actually act in movies in Taiwan and she even won the best actress award in Taipei Flim Festival.
 

Honestly, I had never seen her in any drama before, at least not playing any major role in a drama. I must admit that I was skeptical of this pairing (Wilber pan and Sandrine Pinna). Although I don’t like Rainnie Yang and Wilber Pan pairing, they still appear to be a cute and adorable couple. I am not sure about this pairing though. However, I still gave this drama a chance.

The first few episode was not very natural especially Sandrine Pinna expression. However, she gradually improved and showed her potential towards the middle and at the later part of the drama. Despite that, she ought to be encouraged as this is her first leading role in an idol drama. She is natural and creative in her acting, unlike some actresses who can only show the same expressions angry, sad or happy.

Final Verdict

I will give 3.5 stars out of 5 for this drama. The only thing I enjoyed the most is the chemistry between Sandrine Pinna and Wilber Pan. The acting of all the cast were moderately good too.

Last but not least, I think this drama should be called – the torture of Song Rui En. Because she was hurt and ‘betrayed’ by her close ones – her father and Jing Hao. Many times, the scene was shoot in the hospital which was boring.

Anyway, I am glad that the ending is nice, however, I feel that the director should add another series about continuation of Jing Hao and Rui En life after marriage. I think that will be sweet because the script writer makes her character so pitiful and gave her so much heartache.

Despite the poor viewerships and the negative comments on Wilber Pan acting skills, i still recommend this drama because of the amazing chemistry between the main leads. Just don't expect too much since this is an idol drama

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