Mechanically Frozen

As mentioned, my boys had been keen on watching Frozen for the last couple of months. Since it opened last week, they had been harping on about it. And with Idlan going for his bersunat on Wednesday, we had to do it sooner rather than later.

So, off we went on a late night show last Sunday evening.

It was a 3D show. Armed with the oversized goggle-glasses, we took out seats and was immediately stunned by the opening short-video to warm us up before the main event. And might as well.

I left the theatre with mixed feelings after the show was done. Yes, I didn't hold my attention enough that I actually dozed off for quite a bit. The story were both mechanical and predictable. It stuck to the tried and tested Disney animated fantasy of yesteryears to the T. As a result, it got boring pretty quickly.

Pretty princesses. Checked. Charming sidekicks. Checked. Plucky tunes. Checked. Lived happily ever after at the end. Checked. But unfortunately, it was no Little Mermaid. No Ariel. No Sebastian. No "Under the Sea". Great effort, but failed to fulfil the high expectation that Disney themselves created.

I would still recommend it to young families as the trip would no doubt still be enjoyable. The animation was nothing short of spectacular, but in the end, they were all just eye candy. And the 3D effect was A-MA-ZING!

Verdict from my boys? Idlan was amazed at the 3D but for Irfan, not so. They would still get the DVD later when it comes out though.

Wreck-it Ralph

It was a lot better than we expected. We thought Rise of the Guardians was good. Wreck-it Ralph trumped it. Big time. My boys were laughing their guts out, and with plenty of cameo of characters they knew over the years, it was understandable.

Funny and fast-paced. With enough twist and sappy moments, even I was kept awake.

The story revolved around the protagonist, Ralph, a villain in an arcade video game which after a while, got fed up and decided to be the good guy for a change. It didn't go according to plan and he ended up bonding with a misfit in another video game when tried to win a car race. Ralph ended up being a father figure to the racer until the end, where another twist was revealed.

I left the theatre feeling good. The boys had been talking about the characters they saw during the movie. The one which stuck to my mind was from a video game I played in the 80s called Tapper. I used to play this with my sister on the old IBM PC, in glorious VGA graphic. How four colours used to look so good .....

A highly recommended movie for the whole family. A nice day out at the cinema guaranteed.