Cine Review

The Da Vinci Code

Distributors : Columbia Pictures
Genres : Adventure Adaptation
Directed by : Ron Howard
Starring : Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou, Ian McKellen, Alfred Molina, Jürgen Prochnow, Paul Bettany, Jean Reno, and Etienne Chicot.


Based on the international best-selling novel, this sensational movie starring Academy Award® winner Tom Hanks and French actress Audrey Tautou is more than just a thriller. Regardless of great controversy due to its religious issue, The Da Vinci Code succeeded as a blockbuster that made millions of dollars after it had been showing worldwide on 19 May 2006.

When American religious symbology expert Dr. Robert Landon (Hanks) is in Paris, the investigative agency of the France government, led by Captain Bezu Fache (Reno), summons him to the Louvre. He soon discovered that a curator at the museum with whom he had been scheduled to meet was murdered. Langdon is assisted by a French cryptographer and government agent named Sophie Neveu (Tautou) to search clues that were purposely left by the curator. In the process of searching, they are astonished after discovering a chain of cryptic codes and puzzles behind the famous masterpieces of Leonardo Da Vinci. Langdon’s problems get worse when the investigative agency suspect him of the murder. And situation gets more intense for him when he feels he is actually connected to the process of unravelling a huge mystery that has been concealed for centuries. Using their talents, Langdon and Sophie have to decipher the labyrinth of codes and puzzles while they try to run away from Fache’s lawmen, wander Paris looking for more clues, and eventually fly to England.

Deep In a Discussion about Twilight

The cover book of Twilight.

Source: http://blog.ugo.com/images/uploads/twilight_book_cover.jpg

1. Is the fact that Edward can’t read Bella’s thoughts more important than it seems? Do you think it will it serve a larger purpose?

Actually, I’ve been curious to know why Edward can’t read Bella’s thoughts since I read what he said to her, “It was unquestionably a complication that I couldn’t simply read your thoughts to know what reaction was to me.” As we know, Edward is very sensible to the thoughts of anyone around him, even vampires’. That’s one of the strengths which he brought. He could even see James’ mind – a vampire from a different group who really wanted to hunt Bella. There is nothing but a larger reason behind this fact.

2. Bella faints at the smell of blood. If she were to become a vampire, how might this serve a hindrance? How might it be an asset?

Well, it might serve a good purpose like she would probably be the nicest vampire who didn’t suck blood from the living. In this way, she could be a role model for other vampires (kidding). But she could possibly suffer from blood hydration and that would certainly make it difficult for her to survive.

3. Is Edward selfishly putting Bella in danger, or is Bella being too stubborn for her own good? Is it a little bit of both? What are the threatening factors facing Bella and are there ways to avoid them?

I don’t think Edward is selfishly putting Bella’s life at risk, but her stubbornness and reckless behaviour have put them all in danger. Therefore, Bella would probably be facing death. It’s an either-or death – either Edward’s or Bella’s. There’d be no ways to avoid it unless they stopped seeing each other.

4. Temptation is a major theme in Twilight – more accurately, resisting one’s temptations. Discuss the subplot of Carlisle’s job as a doctor in relation to this major theme. How well does he handle temptation? What do you feel would be the most difficult part for him in his role? Why does he remain working as a doctor when the Cullens don’t seem to need his income?

Carlisle couldn’t find a companion like him – he was very lonely. When he was working in a hospital in Chicago, he was thinking of creating one. At first, he was actually loath to transform Edward into a vampire, but there was no hope for Edward because he was dying when the influenza epidemic hit. Well, I think these are Carlisle’s temptations – to build a new family and to protect them from death and to make them immortal. And I think he handles these temptations quite well.

Although he is immune to human blood, the most difficult part for him as a doctor must be to resist this natural food source. Nevertheless, he keeps doing the work in order to help humans who need medical treatments from him. He is a good vampire, isn’t he?

5. The Cullens live, act, and care for one another as a family. How much of their ability to do so is dependant on Carlisle’s rule that they live in a manner that contradicts their nature – hunting animals instead of humans? Do you think that they would be able to maintain their bond if they weren’t all committed to his plan?

Carlisle is a father figure – the Cullens are very dependant on him. He must have exerted a great deal of efforts trying to instil aversion to human blood in his family. And it, of course, is not easy for them. Speaking of his plan, I’m not really clear about what he intends to do – but I don’t think they would be able to maintain their bond unless they were all committed to his plan.

6. Edward saves Bella on more than one occasion. Discuss the different instances and how Bella reacts before she knows what he is and after. Also discuss how Edward reacts after each instance both before and after she learns he is a vampire.

Before she knows what Edward is, she is very inquisitive to know who Edward and his family are and why he becomes such a cold person to everyone, chiefly to her. And after she knows he is a vampire, she becomes increasingly reckless and irrevocably in love with him. Unlike Bella, Edward always becomes protective toward her life and tries to alarm her of danger and bad consequences that might be invited by their forbidden relationship even though he falls head over heels in love with her too. Beforehand, Edward is also curious to know how he can’t decipher Bella’s thoughts and thirsted for her blood.

7. Alice explains to Bella the theory of how vampires have come to exist. She mentions that most have some memories of the transition and their life prior to it. How does what we learn from James about Alice’s past explain her lack of memory?

Like what Bella said to Edward after she’d heard Alice’s mysterious past from James, “She was always in the dark, that’s why she didn’t remember.” Unless I’m mistaken, Edward stole her from the asylum where he worked when James was to prey on her. James said, “She didn’t even seem to notice the pain, poor little creature. She’d been stuck in that black hole of a cell for so long. A hundred years earlier and she would have been burned at the stake for her vision.” Accordingly, I guess Alice might have been mentally ill for so long that she suffered from memory loss before Edward and Carlisle changed her into a strong new vampire, so there was no chance James would try to hunt her again.

8. Once Edward has tasted Bella’s blood, do you think it will make it harder to resist Bella – specifically her blood? Will the fact that he is able to control himself make Bella want to be changed into a vampire? Do you think that it is fair of her to ask that of him? Do you think it is fair of him to refuse?

Hopefully, this is not about addiction we are talking about, right? Like Bella addiction or Bella’s blood addiction (hehehe). But I think what will make it harder for him to resist her is his very strong affection toward her. Of course, he will find it very hard to resist her blood – like a shark can’t resist any blood. And I’m not sure that he will always be able to control himself – remember a time when he kissed her? He almost lost his control. Just suppose he made her lip bleed when making out, what would happen? We would never know.

That is Bella who wants to be changed into a vampire because she doesn’t want to get old when Edward is forever young – also, he doesn’t wanna be a toy boy (kidding). Well, I think the changing of Bella into a vampire is not a fair decision at all. It is unfair of her to ask that of him because her parents still love her and it is unfair of him to accept because she still has a family.

9. Jacob Black tells Bella a story about his tribe and the “cold ones.” He doesn’t believe any of it but says his father clearly dislikes the Cullens. If Jacob’s father believes the Cullens are dangerous, why doesn’t he warn Bella or Jacob? Is he hiding a secret of his own?

Yeah, I still remember reading what Jacob told Bella that the cold ones were blood drinkers who were very dangerous, even if they’d claimed that they hunted animals instead of humans. And he also said the Cullens were the same ones. There must a hidden reason behind the fact that his father doesn’t warn Bella or Jacob on his own, seeing that he is also a tribal elder.

10. Stephenie Meyer has noted that each of the novels in the Twilight Saga pays homage to other literary classics. For Twilight, she has said Pride and Prejudice was the key inspiration. Pride and Prejudice is often described as a “romantic comedy.” What parts of Twilight are romantic? What parts are comic? Describe the similarities between Elizabeth Bennet and Bella Swan, Fitzwilliam Darcy and Edward Cullen. What role would Bella’s friends play in a “remake” of Jane Austen’s classic story?

Well, I’m not sure that Twilight can also be described as a “romantic comedy”, as I’ve never read Pride and Prejudice before. But, I would say that Twilight is supposed to be a love story with bits of suspense that is different from other romantic teen flicks. I find it very romantic when Bella said she wanted to give up her life in exchange for living with Edward forever. I just said, “Wow!” But I don’t have any idea which parts of Twilight are comic because I don’t find this story funny at all. And seeing that I don’t know anything about Pride and Prejudice, I can’t voice my opinion of the similarities.

Additional Information:
Well, these questions were excerpted from Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. I'm also tagging those of you who have read this book. Share what you've got from the first book of the Twilight series.

I've been tagged

I have been tagged by Fadil at edgeofuniverse. The rules are to post the 4th picture from the 4th folder on your computer where you store your pictures, explain the picture, then tag 4 of your friends to share their pictures, too. Don't forget to let them know they've been tagged by leaving them a comment on their own blog.

Now I'm tagging:
1. Rubee at a Little Bit of This & That
2. Joash at blank Page
3. Monica at Love the Loly Life
4. Vira at Mesmerizing Ecstasy

Well, this is the 4th picture in the 4th folder of my gallery that reminds me of my school days. As can be seen, it is the picture of the time of my 16th birthday (unless I’m mistaken). I took it with my clique, called Girls By The Way, several of my younger cousins and my friend while we were celebrating my birthday in Pizza Hut. I used to treat my close friends to lunch there every time I celebrated my birthday. It was also a place where we started a clique. I miss those moments greatly. Now, everything is no longer the same.

C'est Moi!

Source: http://www.soysaucecarnival.com/haiku_images/soy_sauce_francais.png

On pourrait se présenter, moi c’est Geeta. Je suis indonésienne, je viens de Balikpapan, j’habite en Indonésie. Néanmoins je suis arrivée à Kuala Lumpur il y a un an. Je suis arrivée en Malaisie pour étudier. Je fais des études de communication au collège. Je suis née le 22 avril 1989. J’ai 19 ans.

Je n’ai pas de frères ou de sœurs ; je suis une enfant unique. Mon papa s’appelle Harris. Il travaille pour une entreprise de pétrole. Ma maman s’appelle Sumarni. Elle est une femme au foyer.

Je mesure 1,71 m – je suis grande. Je pèse 56 kilos – je suis maigre. J’ai les cheveux noirs ; j’ai les cheveux ondulés. J’ai les yeux marron foncé. Je porte des lunettes.

J’aime lire et écouter la musique. J’adore la musique pop et le punk rock. Moi, je préfère Avril Lavigne – elle est belle. J’adore les films. Je vais souvent au cinéma avec mes amies. J’aime regarder Friends aussi.

Je fais du sport – j’aime nager à la piscine et jouer au badminton. Je sais faire du pilates aussi – je vais souvent à la gym. Je parle indonésien. Je parle très bien anglais. Et j’ai fait de français pendant 4 ans, mais je ne parle toujours pas couramment le français parce que c’est plus difficile qu’anglais.

Quelles choses préfère-je ? Je préfère la cuisine italienne. J’aime les croissants et les fruits de mer. J’adore le café au lait et le chocolat. Pour petit-déjeuner, je prends toujours du café au lait et du pain grillé avant d’aller au collège. J’aime le vin rouge aussi – mais je bois un tout petit peu de vin. J’aime faire des photos. J’aime la mode – j’adore les robes.

Quelles choses déteste-je ? Je n’aime pas du tout les cigarettes. Je n’aime pas les animaux. Je déteste le lait.

Pour conclure, je suis sympa. Je suis travailleuse. Et j’adore ma vie bien que j’ai eue le cœur brisé il y a un an à cause de la rupture (MERDE !)

New Year's Eve

In the last evening of the year 2008, people at home planned to celebrate the dawn of the year 2009 by making a barbecue in front of garage. Only a few people were invited because we planned to make such a very small barbecue where they could eat food and go home (giggling). Several of the people who stay in my rental house came to join us. My uncle together with his wife and only daughter also came to help us prepare some food. We (girls) filled kitchen with our noise while we were busy marinating meat before cooking it on a grill. Mom and my young aunt were busy marinating pieces of chicken and fish and making chilli sauce, also known as sambal, while the other girls and I were piercing meat balls, pieces of beef sausages and a red pepper and a green pepper with wooden skewers. Sounded delicious, huh?

Dad and my cousin were busy burning charcoals – trying to light the grill. Thankfully, the rain didn’t mess up our plans for the barbecue that time. I still remember grilling meat outdoors with Mom, my young aunt and my cousins in my old house on a new year’s eve. It was cloudy and cold. We knew it was going to rain. Still, we kept trying to light the grill. The charcoals were damp, so it took so much time until the grill was ready to use. All of a sudden, it was raining heavily while we were still grilling the meat. Forcedly, we had to bring them into the house. We’d had no idea what to do with the half-cooked meat before we decided to join in grilling it with our neighbours who were also having a barbecue. Bloody-hell! It was pretty funny though. The rain did really mess up the barbecue.

My uncle, my cousins and I then lighted small fireworks, which my uncle had bought, after all of us had finished eating. I took several of the photos. It was very enjoyable to be among the people and relatives. I had a real laugh with them. At around 10 o’clock, we tidied the place up after two of the girls left – it was left in a terrible mess after the barbecue. Thereafter, we were sitting at terrace, waiting for the soon-coming year while Dad and my uncle were enjoying their beers. Unlike last year, there were only a few people coming to join us this year because other family members were celebrating in their own places. However, we seemed to enjoy ourselves.

One more thing – well, I haven’t made any New Year’s resolution yet, but I wish I would find someone who knows what these three words ‘I Love You’ mean, and he really means it. I know the year 2007 is the most unforgettable year for me – a time when I eventually met my first boyfriend. At first, I never thought it would be a fling. Last year, I struggled to get over my hurt feelings after I’d known he had been dating someone in his country by the time he became my boyfriend. It was painful, you know. It was easy for him to move on – not for me. Now, I am moving on, trying to bring focus to my study. My academic grades have slightly descended since two semesters ago and it was such a disaster for my parents – especially for me. Sigh. Well, I think I will concentrate on my study a lot more than other things. If I didn’t find anyone yet this year, I would keep waiting until I find the one. Go, Gege! Go, Gege!



BBQ indulgence of meat lovers!


Fireworks sparks to the year 2009.


Fireworks of the New Year.

Home Sweet Home

My little office - where I've spent a lot of time at home.

On n’est nulle part si bien que chez soi, when translated in English, means “Home sweet home, there’s no place like home.”

I have been staying at home in Balikpapan, in Indonesia, for over than a month. To be frank, I thought coming home would probably be as awful as last year when the moment of the break with my ex-boyfriend hit me so hard that I couldn’t enjoy my four-month semester break instead of going through hell and crying over my failed very-short-term relationship. Dang it!

Nonetheless, it is great to see Mom and Dad and my family again. This is a happy home – full of love. When I arrived back one month ago, I saw everything in here look the same as always. Only a few changes were made when I was not here. Well, not only did my cousin whom I consider as my own brother leave nearly four months ago, but the person who used to take good care of our house also left – he is currently responsible for another house where we rent rooms. The change – I felt a bit lonely after they’d gone.

Since I arrived, I have done only a little stuff. Actually I’d desperately wanted to get home by the time I came back from Kuala Lumpur. I’d already stuffed my mind with a lot of ideas. But it’s just stuff – if you know what I mean (grinning). I’ve been busy learning French recently to improve my language proficiency. As you know, I’ve enjoyed mastering languages, from English and my native Bahasa Indonesia to French since I was in school – which may become handy when I have job. Yet, I have to fight against my own laziness. Seriously! I bend over backwards trying to assure myself that I can’t rest on my laurels. Pas de problème, je vais me débrouiller – no problem, I’ll manage it.

Another leisure activity I’ve been doing since I came back is reading novels. I had bought the first novel of the Twilight saga, Twilight, before I went back to Indonesia. I couldn’t grab time to read the novel when I was still in Malaysia, so I decided to read it as soon as I got home. I finished reading the book a couple of days ago – I settled down for a long read (giggling). It’s about a pair of star-crossed lovers whose forbidden relationship changes Bella Swan’s life like hell after dating Edward Cullen who is secretly a vampire. According to the author, Stephanie Meyer, it’s a love story with bite. H’m, so mysterious, huh? And I can’t wait to read the other series, including New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn. A lot of people think that Twilight could possibly surpass the success of Harry Potter as an earlier phenomenal saga. I’m sure that most of you have already known that Twilight becomes a motion picture now. I haven’t watched it though, but I will. It’s a must-watch movie because Robert Pattinson, the young British actor who starred as Cedric in Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire, plays Edward in Twilight. Don’t you think it’s cool?! Every girl loves Cedric. And I’m quite sure that every girl (like me) can’t wait to watch Twilight just because of Edward’s charms. Hehehe, you bet!

Well, not only does reading novels interest me while I enjoy my three-month semester break, but watching Friends on Star World also becomes my day-to-day leisure activity. Nevertheless, compared with last-year semester break, I don’t seem to be a couch potato this year. It seems rare for me to spend much time watching idiot box – if you know what I mean. But I can wait for the serial until it starts at 8 o’clock from Monday to Friday (grinning).

I’ve gotta enjoy this semester break before classes start - that it means absolute hell for me. Sigh. Life can be a bore if you spend the whole semester get all assignments finished on time while bloody worrying about the whens and hows of the things. I felt like I was in a rut when I had to stay up the whole night doing all of the assignments. Even worse, lack of sleep made it hard for me to concentrate. It sure felt like hell, you know. Sigh.

A Bangkok Fire on New Year's Eve

A fire at one of Bangkok's top nightclubs, the Santika nightclub, broke out last night and killed 58 people celebrating the New Year (Reuters, 2008).


Firefighters rescue people from the gruesome fire accident in Bangkok.
Source: CNN

Other 100 people were injured, including local people and foreigners. It was believed that the fire was caused by fireworks used as part of a performance. In contrast, the fireworks produced sparks that caused a large destructive fire.

It seemed that the end of 2008 left Thai people and the victims in tears. Wish this accident would never happen again.

Hello everyone...sorry for the lack of updates

Dear everyone,

Hohoho sorry for the late updates. I know this blog was nearly dead---I found it difficult to connect to the Internet. There's no Internet access at home and the Internet service provided mostly by Internet houses here sucks. For God's sake...if it carried on like this, I wouldn't be able to live in Balikpapan anymore. LOL, of course, I am kidding.

I've been staying in Balikpapan, Indonesia, for two weeks. I grab as much time as I can, lazing around while reading books, watching movies and eating. I have eaten a lot like a pig and I rarely work out. I will certainly have gained a lot of weight by the time I come back. DANG IT.
I DON'T WANNA BE FAT.
I HAVE TO START EXERCISING.
Well, Mom cooks everyday for me. Delicious meals. And everyone started thinking that I never ate while I was in KL, because of my bloody skinny body. Bwahahahaha. Nonetheless, I've got some compliments too.

Keyh, I cannot write much today, coz Dad just called me, say he would pick me up in a while. Oh, crap...what a crap when there's no access to the Internet at home.


Cheerio,


G

Good Day Gone Bad

Hmmm...today was such a good day for me. I usually hated rain, but today the rain helped me out to talk with a man on whom I have a crush. I was certainly rained by happiness today. Hahahaha....

Two days ago, I might have been sad because I was wondering how hard it is to find a guy who can take my ex-boyfriend's place. Frankly, I am lonely-hearts (hello...I am not a person who can live without love). Ok, ok, shut the hell up, Gege...

Well, this lucky man (lol) works in the gym. I have known him since a couple months ago. But, thankfully, it wasn't love-at-the-very-first-sight. I met him because I would invite my ex-roommate to join a free Body Balance class in the gym. That was why I had to see him to inform him of the intention. Hence, every time we met each other, he always smiled at me and said hi. Beforehand, I'd never talked to him, even worse I used to ignore him and was busy checking out some hot guys in the gym (hihihi). Until I realised that he was such a nice guy; he always said hi and yeah, smiled at me.

A few days ago, as usual, I went to the gym for toning up my body; hahaha I dunno why I always picture myself having rippling muscles like Madonna while I know it's bloody impossible. Ok, after having worked out for two 2 hours and having a shower, I went to a juice bar having a cup of Nescafé. Even though, they didn't provide Coffee-mate anymore, two spoons of creamer still made my coffee taste good. I was reading a newspaper and listening to music when I suddenly heard somebody say, "Excuse me, miss." I didn't realise who just called me was The Man (hahaha what a good name, The Man). He was smiling at me and I smiled back. I turned my headset off and replied, "Yeah, what's up?" He pointed to some girls who were sitting around him---they are his family---then introduced them to me. I was a bit clumsy at the time, but I was trying to control myself. OoHhh Mi Gawd what the hell is happening to me? I was nervous, but tried to look calm and cool as hard as I could. I could feel a thousand butterflies filled in my stomach (wakakakak). However, I was staying calm while talking to his mom. I was also talking to his younger sister who is pregnant right now. She is an alumna of Taylor's college. She also studied Mass Communication. Wah, what a coincidence, I think.

From the day onwards, I was always thinking about him. I tried to remove him from my mind as I wondered how if he already had a girlfriend, or even sadder he was married. I dunno why the thought suddenly popped into my head and bloody twisted my melon. A couple days later, I heard that he is really close to a girl working in the gym and they always go out together. Haihzz....I was, of course, very disappointed. I thought of stopping putting myself in this confusing circumstance, and forgetting him and what had just happened. Frankly, I am not typical of girls who can struggle for love although there is only empty hope. I am such a I-Give-Up-Easily girl---I mean in the situation like this.

However...God might probably listened to my prayer, hihihi. Today, on my way home, I saw him smoking at the entrance. It was raining heavily outside. Oh gosh, I have to wait for a couple of minutes until it stops raining, I think. I was approaching him and said, "What are you doing outside? It's raining." He turned around and smiled at me. Then he replied, "I'm smoking. Do you smoke?" Hahaha, he was having on me. Of course, I don't smoke man. Well, then we started having a conversation. I was probably nervous at the first time, but we seemed to enjoy our conversation. Hence, I know a lot about him. And you know what...he also likes music. He can play guitar. And he likes GREENDAY. Holy-crap! He is Mr. Right. OMG. OMG. I looked obviously excited when he said he liked music and he could play guitar. I was clumsy at that time, and suddenly these damn words popped out from my mouth, "I like guys who can play musical instruments, especially guitar." Omg, what the fuck did I say??? How could I be bloody stupid at that time? I wished I hadn't looked too excited at the time. But did I obviously seem to really like him? Sigh.

I couldn't stop smiling thereafter. Although the weather today sucked; you know what, my sandals spoiled because of running in the rain. Shit. Means I should spend more money to buy a new pair next month. But, it's ok...yet still today was such a good day for me. And another coincidence, he also studied Mass Communication (Broadcasting) in LimKokWing University. LOL, OooooooohHhhhh Mi Gawd.

Semester Break = Assignment Break Free

It's been nearly two weeks; no college = no assignments.

Alright, I am not going back this semester break; I'll be staying instead. Yup, working part-time as well. Hmm, I wonder this semester break would be different from last semester break when coming home was awful. I thought it would be fun 'coz I could have gone out town like Yogyakarta, visit my bestfriends who study there; but the fact was, I was on the town, lazing around while watching my favourite channel, MTV, all day long or going to shopping malls, spending a lot of money on clothes, shoes and caramel cappuccino as though I'd had mo-ney to burn man... Ooo Mi Gawd.

Well, this semester break, I will be staying in Kuala Lumpur by the time most of my friends are going back or spending a vacation by going somewhere. Me...hmmm I will be very busy working part-time in a restaurant located in Subang Parade Shopping Mall, The Manhattan Fish Market. It is supposedly going to be fun; also, I could possibly experience myself with working life. Hmmm, I know that I can only spend Dad's money and I've never felt how hard earning money is. Subsequently, I might probably have more respect for money. 'Coz to be frank, I am a spendthrift, man...hihihi.

But hmmm, one thing I didn't have in mind at all was uniform. I didn't know that part-timers are required to wear uniform too, haihz. On the first day, I have to wear a white t-shirt, a pair of black pants, and a pair of black shoes. Bloody-hell. Okay, I wouldn't mind buying black pants, but shoes? I, of course, will find it difficult to find my size (as you know my size is not very Asian, 12 man...) with cheap price. I actually have a pair of black shoes, Green Apple, but they are in Indonesia. I bloody left them yo! In fact, Mom already told me to bring them with me before going to KL, but I didn't listen to her. In contrast, I said my suitcases were already full of clothes and another shit, so there was not much space for the damn shoes. Well, yeah, now I am feeling sorry about what I said. What I need to do now is to think how to get a pair of black shoes with cheap price as I may use it for the time being. Haihzzz. OOO MI GAWD. I hate the situation right now---I haven't earned anything but will have spent an amount of money for pants and shoes. Sigh.