WDCC: "A Loving Embrace"

"The tearful cries of the awkward little duckling have been answered by a graceful mother swan.
The beautiful creature encircles the baby bird with her comforting wings- and for the first time, the "ugly" duckling knows that he is not ugly at all."(Thats from the WDCC Catalogue)..Siiiiigh!
lol
This is brand new first release from new "Silly Symphony Series", and is from the Oscar winning Silly Symphony short called "The Ugly Duckling".
I love the reeds and how the grey strokes of paint on the swan creates a very "2D" effect, much like the original art that inspired this piece.

A Rosy Picture...Or Two?

Blatant Rip Off? Inspired? Homage?Nothing really like it??
Whatever be the case... i may be biased but i think the Original Beauty And The Beast poster from 2001 is far more elegant, with the silhouettes being more subtle ,giving dominance to the rose , a very important prop/symbol by itself in context of the film.

Beauty & The Beast :IMAX SpecialEditionin (2001 ReRelease Poster)

I Know Who Killed Me (2007)

In Theatres: "POTC3: At World's End" (Review)

I could very well copy paste my review from last year for POTC 2 and it would quite apply to this one too(and that would not be a bad thing).
People have been going on about how long and complicated and confusing it is...though i can see why they would say that, it dont stop me form endorsing this film.
This one is deffinately darker and has some cool swashbuckling Sp FX as usual. I thought the escape from Davy Jones' Locker and the Maelstrom battle was quite creative and cool.

Now days when all franchises are being milked to death with one sequel after another,i think its not a bad when the worst critisizm for this 3rd installment in this very "Original" franchise is that it has way TOO many ideas which havnt been devloped to their best possibities.
Honestly am sick of seeing bad super hero movies and the sorts.They rely on the built in fan base for a big opening and special effects with no real idea/story at the core.Summer movies dont have to be like that.
SO u can understand my preference for a film with too many(though not fully capitalised on) ideas over the former.

The probelm (i feel)with the last 2 Pirate films seems to be that they were rushed.Rushed to meet release dates and much of the story evolved on the fly.
Though this Trilogy is now over, if there r to be more POTC movies, i hope the writers get the time to hammer out some really well thought out scripts.These 2 writers seem capable and creative enough in my opinion.
SO far they have created a coolworld with very interesting and fresh mythology /characters, & i coudl really see future POTC movies being really terrific adventure movies if done the right way!
In a nut shell,after investing in 2 Pirate movies, the concluding part was a promise well kept.I was entertained and was very satisfied with the resolution.
And yes..do stick around till the end of the End Credits, for a short scene which works as a very nice book-end to the very first scene of the very first POTC.Its really amazing how that 2 min shot alone, kinda makes it clear who the whole trilogy was about.
Perfect end to this 3 part story.

Lisa Gerrard, Live In Toronto

Last weekend was a dream come true.I have wanted to see Lisa from the day i heard her for the first time.
She is not a very commercial/popular artist, so for those unaware...Lisa Gerrard used to be one half of a groundbreaking husband-wife band called "Dead Can Dance"(DCD).
After they split up, Lisa has continued having a great solo career with collabrative albums and doing scores for films (Gladiator with Hans Zimmer being the most popular).
I dont think i can compare her music or her voice to anything or any other artist that i am aware of.
Seeing her live was as fullfilliing, mezmerising and jaw dropping as i would have hoped(And having 2nd row seats wasnt too shabby either).
DCD used instruments and sounds from around the world spanning various ages and time periods with elaborate orchestartions.
Lisa predominantly used and continues to sing in gibberish,using her spectacular goose bump inducing voice as an instrument.
I know i am really plugging her here, but i think i owe it to her, She just makes me soooo happy!
So go discover her music, she has a new album out called "The Silver Tree" and also "The Best Of Lisa Gerrard", the former also has a few pieces from the DCD era.

Here are a couple of songs that she performed at the concert...the first is "Now We Are Free" ,which she wrote for Gladiator- and "Sanvean",one of my fav pieces by her.

**(I must appologise and warn about these clips.They have a very VERY annoying sound of me breathing at times. It seems the best view was near my eyes, and my nose happens to be in the same region and what can i say, seeing her perform 10 feet from u, it aint easy to breath normally.But its worth it, if u have slightly higher tolerance threshold)**

In Theatres: "Shrek The Third" (Review)

Was not the biggest fan of the original Shrek,but it kinda grew on me over the years.Though i did think Shrek 2 was quite good. I dunno what i was xpecting from Shrek 3, but after hearing only bad things online and 43% freshness rating on RottenTomatoes, maybe i reduced my expectations.
So when i went to see it, i was pleasantly surprised.I found myself being quite entertained, and i did laugh more than just a couple of times.The designs were as ugly as Shrek stuff usually is, but had some very nice animation moments , like the Frog King dying sequence!
Am not sure if this movie "needed" to be made.Cuase Shrek 2 advanced the plot considerably from Shrek 1 but am not sure if 3 acheives the same in terms of Character deevlopment, their arcs etc etc.
All said and done, it was a fun 90min(or whatver its running time)
and it did not create any strong reactions in me (postive or negative) to write anymore about it.

And :Shrek 2 is still the best Shrek movie for me
:"Meet The Robinsons", Best Animated Movie of 2007...so far
: Of the 3 major 3-quels of the summer (Spidey3,Shrek3,Pirates3), Shrek 3 is in the lead...so far

WDCC: "Delicate Dance Of Winter"

Finally , after months of searching, i got me one of these.
This is a numbered edition of ONLY 500 pieces , and hence ,is long gone and was tough to get my hand on.

Its by Kent Melton, and features the Frost Faries from The Nutcracker Suite of the 1940 Fanatsia.
The Frost Faries playfully are turning a lake into ice as a fallen autumn leaf begins to freeze over with icy goodness!

It simple but yet elegant in its delicacy and fetaures over 190 Swarovski Crystals.
Its a part of the grouping of the 3 pieces done in this series. This,"Delicate Dance Of Winter", "Celebration Of Spring", and a 3rd "Touch Of An Autumn Fairy", which i dont have...yet!
;-)

Loreena Mckennit LiveAt Massey Hall

have always been a fan of her melodies and her choice of instruments and their orchestration, but nothing could prepare me for the amazingly rich concert that she put on. No less than 9 members to the band , and some real cool instruments from around the globe, including some that i did not even know existed, like Kanoun, Uillean Pipes, Bodhran,Oud etc etc..it was just too cool.
She covered most of her big numbers and from her new album An Ancient Muse. If u havnt, u must try her out, wont regret it.
Here are a couple of my fav tracks, though these both r more instrumental based.
Marco Polo and Santiago.

In Theatres: "Spider Man 3" (Review)

I guess it must be summer! Its been a while since i had my intelligence insulted by a film.
With glaring plot wholes, boring, underdevloped characters SM3 really tests ur patience for the looooongest 2 1/2 hrs at the movies.
Specialy when the movie was being advertised as this explorations of this cool darker side of SM/Peter , inner conflict and all..and all u get is a shockingly ridiculous cheezzzy ,camp thing...u cant help but feel dissapointed.
Have nothing against cheezy, but if u gonna do it, do it well...like Moulin Rouge...its cheezy as hell but its a masterpiece!
Even the SpecialFx and stuff..nothing havnt seen before, a couple of scenes stood out, but other than that, way too many fast cuts with wrapped in an overload of sound effects,which leads me to think that even the director did not knwo what was happening in those shots.

Charcters seem so unmotivated, come and go , cry and do whatver they have to. It took 2 .5 hrs for the sand man charcter to say "i really did not want this" and he then just blows away!
after 2.5 hrs in hell, is that the climax/resolution i get??? come on!!
i dont even wanna talk about "Venom".. pretty dumb!
The film was struggling to find its style and the dumbest screenplay did not help.
I guess if Spidey 1 & 2 weren't good, i would not have been so disspointed with this movie.
A terrible waste of talent , time and money.

WDCC: "Spinning A Spellbinding Story"

This is one HUGE piece! Its 12 inches high and 10 inches wide! (surely the heaviest piece i have seen or own).
This is the 4th piece in my collection by one my fav. sculptors, Dusty Horner, the same guy who did "Trust In Me" and "You So Totally Rock,Squirt!".
The 3 mesmerized mermaids on the(amazingly well sculpted) rock in the middle of the Mermaid Lagoon are focussed on Pan and his yarns. The way the characters are posed , ur eyes are immediately drawn to Pan and his hand pointing out at into the open space and kinda makes the world at large a part of the sculpture. Which i think is very apt, considering the moment captured here is about Peter and his adventures and stories out there, in lands and with people the mermaids from the Lagoon will never really experience themselves, but only through his stories.
Perfect!
:-)