The Sound of Thunder Was A Dud
ARRRGGGHH. I just spent ONE HOUR typing this post, and then my stupid server went and conked out on me, and now I've got to type the whole blasted thing over again. Grr. Don't blame me for possible vitriol. My fingers hurt.
Anyway, it was Cheeky's birthday yesterday, so a bunch of classmates decided to go for a movie and dinner (in that order). That bunch included me, which at first surprised the others because I have somehow acquired a reputation for being a Super Geek. You know, the type of person who sees skipping classes as a hanging-and-quartering crime.
But I tagged along anyway. Besides, I didn't mind an excuse, however lame, to skip Applied Math class. Squinting has never been good for the eyes.
We got to the cinema and bought tickets to A Sound Of Thunder. (I would have preferred Sky High, but Little Bear has already watched that and we didn't want to risk snores or spoliers cropping up.) We bought popcorn and Coke and went and watched the movie. It was horrible.
First of all, I've read the book the movie is based on, a long time ago, and even then I knew the premise was unstable and quite possibly undefendable. Obviously nobody bothered to get the script cleaned up, because it remained exactly the same.
Secondly, the movie absorbs like neraka. The humour lasts exactly three seconds and as many lines of dialogue. The plot's twists and turns amount to exactly one. The suspense is nonexistent. And the Biology is so bad, a thid-grader wouldn't believe it. Obviously nobody in the movie team took Biology or they'd know that primates and reptiles couldn't possibly interbreed viably. And even if they could, nothing that comes from reptiles is going to go on a killing frenzy in the middle of the night. And quite simply, most primates turned up at around the same time in the eras. If you have baboon-lizard combos, you're going to have chimpanzees and gorillas somewhere out there too. But baboons and lizards! Finding Nemo meets Anaconda! Batman takes on a whole new meaning! You tell me. Better yet, don't.
And the movie has so many loose ends that practically nothing else keeps it together. There's no history, no character development, nothing, nada. Bugs appear for thirty seconds and aparently the entire population gets wiped out in one little explosion, never to be seen again. Or mutant bats that swoop out of nowhere, apparently targeting only the humans because...? No reason apart from that they're the heroes.
It was a total waste of my seven bucks. At least the popcorn was worth it! (My regular-sized box lasted from 4.20 pm until 6.15 pm when I got bored of it and threw it away.)
After the lights came on, we all went out and began abusing the movie along with all other bad movies ever made (War of the Worlds topped the list). And then, after we had vented enough heat to power the entire world for thirty-two point six nine years, we set the birthday plot into motion. Serene took Cheeky off on a wild goose chase after nothing, Pick Lint and Thunder Flower went to Jiggered Fripperies to get a cake, and Nick OS wandered into a nearby shop for a gift. I went in and was attracted to a set of dominoes and a pack of XXL playing cards (no, Pig, NOT XXX!!) but Nick thought Cheeky would better appreciate a glass set of chess. Purely for that touch of sophistication, of course (claimed the label).
I don't think Cheeky knows how to play Western chess, so it's a bit wasted, but what the heaven, it was his birthday and he was bound by tradition to pretend to love whatever he got.
When Serene and Cheeky got back, Thunder Flower and Pick Lint were still off, so we distracted him by suggesting exorbitant restaurants for him to treat us to. He always began muttering about washing dishes and going bankrupt when we started it.
It's the fasting month now for Muslims, so when we started looking for dinner it was after 7 and the Muslims had overrun every dining area in sight except the expensive ones. Cheeky got very worried until everybody decided to pay their own way.
We went up and down the place, looking for a place to sit (10 people is a bit much for any place to accommodate) but the only places available were in Patty Queen--and Psycho hates the place. Don't ask me why.
So Nick OS finally put us on a waiting list at a really posh-looking old place, and we proceeded to wait until they let us in to eat.
I ordered a Chicken Chop because it was cheap and because it promised to be filling. I have a gut
intuition about food sometimes.
When it arrived, it was certainly filling; the chicken sprawled across three-quarters of the plate (and that was plenty large too, let me tell you) and pretty much rendered the fries and carrots invisible. (The carrots were great. Baby carrots, half-boiled so that they're meltingly soft outside and crunchy raw inside....) I managed to finish it only with a great deal of help from the ice water. It took me quite a while to get it all down! And in fact, Serene only finished her order way after everybody else had finished their dessert, Pick Lint gave half her food away to Cheeky and Little Bear, and Nick OS never finished his portion at all.
The cake was great, and even better was watching Cheeky pull out the longest candle with his teeth after it all (at the behest of Serene). And then when he pulled out the star decoration and wanted to swallow that, we quickly stopped him. Although as soon as we told him it was an eraser, he spit it up himself.
So that's the birthday celebration. It cost me about RM 30, but was worth every cent except for the movie. Blast that. But I wouldn't mind doing it again after the exams. I've got one tomorrow! ...oh, and I only got back to the hostel at 9.43 pm last night. My room mate arched an eyebrow but said nothing, and left me to recharge myself.
I always turn statuesque after going out anywhere, kind of as if being with people drains me and simply sitting alone recharges. It's odd but then... it's me.
I wonder when the next birthday is.
Anyway, it was Cheeky's birthday yesterday, so a bunch of classmates decided to go for a movie and dinner (in that order). That bunch included me, which at first surprised the others because I have somehow acquired a reputation for being a Super Geek. You know, the type of person who sees skipping classes as a hanging-and-quartering crime.
But I tagged along anyway. Besides, I didn't mind an excuse, however lame, to skip Applied Math class. Squinting has never been good for the eyes.
We got to the cinema and bought tickets to A Sound Of Thunder. (I would have preferred Sky High, but Little Bear has already watched that and we didn't want to risk snores or spoliers cropping up.) We bought popcorn and Coke and went and watched the movie. It was horrible.
First of all, I've read the book the movie is based on, a long time ago, and even then I knew the premise was unstable and quite possibly undefendable. Obviously nobody bothered to get the script cleaned up, because it remained exactly the same.
Secondly, the movie absorbs like neraka. The humour lasts exactly three seconds and as many lines of dialogue. The plot's twists and turns amount to exactly one. The suspense is nonexistent. And the Biology is so bad, a thid-grader wouldn't believe it. Obviously nobody in the movie team took Biology or they'd know that primates and reptiles couldn't possibly interbreed viably. And even if they could, nothing that comes from reptiles is going to go on a killing frenzy in the middle of the night. And quite simply, most primates turned up at around the same time in the eras. If you have baboon-lizard combos, you're going to have chimpanzees and gorillas somewhere out there too. But baboons and lizards! Finding Nemo meets Anaconda! Batman takes on a whole new meaning! You tell me. Better yet, don't.
And the movie has so many loose ends that practically nothing else keeps it together. There's no history, no character development, nothing, nada. Bugs appear for thirty seconds and aparently the entire population gets wiped out in one little explosion, never to be seen again. Or mutant bats that swoop out of nowhere, apparently targeting only the humans because...? No reason apart from that they're the heroes.
It was a total waste of my seven bucks. At least the popcorn was worth it! (My regular-sized box lasted from 4.20 pm until 6.15 pm when I got bored of it and threw it away.)
After the lights came on, we all went out and began abusing the movie along with all other bad movies ever made (War of the Worlds topped the list). And then, after we had vented enough heat to power the entire world for thirty-two point six nine years, we set the birthday plot into motion. Serene took Cheeky off on a wild goose chase after nothing, Pick Lint and Thunder Flower went to Jiggered Fripperies to get a cake, and Nick OS wandered into a nearby shop for a gift. I went in and was attracted to a set of dominoes and a pack of XXL playing cards (no, Pig, NOT XXX!!) but Nick thought Cheeky would better appreciate a glass set of chess. Purely for that touch of sophistication, of course (claimed the label).
I don't think Cheeky knows how to play Western chess, so it's a bit wasted, but what the heaven, it was his birthday and he was bound by tradition to pretend to love whatever he got.
When Serene and Cheeky got back, Thunder Flower and Pick Lint were still off, so we distracted him by suggesting exorbitant restaurants for him to treat us to. He always began muttering about washing dishes and going bankrupt when we started it.
It's the fasting month now for Muslims, so when we started looking for dinner it was after 7 and the Muslims had overrun every dining area in sight except the expensive ones. Cheeky got very worried until everybody decided to pay their own way.
We went up and down the place, looking for a place to sit (10 people is a bit much for any place to accommodate) but the only places available were in Patty Queen--and Psycho hates the place. Don't ask me why.
So Nick OS finally put us on a waiting list at a really posh-looking old place, and we proceeded to wait until they let us in to eat.
I ordered a Chicken Chop because it was cheap and because it promised to be filling. I have a gut
intuition about food sometimes.
When it arrived, it was certainly filling; the chicken sprawled across three-quarters of the plate (and that was plenty large too, let me tell you) and pretty much rendered the fries and carrots invisible. (The carrots were great. Baby carrots, half-boiled so that they're meltingly soft outside and crunchy raw inside....) I managed to finish it only with a great deal of help from the ice water. It took me quite a while to get it all down! And in fact, Serene only finished her order way after everybody else had finished their dessert, Pick Lint gave half her food away to Cheeky and Little Bear, and Nick OS never finished his portion at all.
The cake was great, and even better was watching Cheeky pull out the longest candle with his teeth after it all (at the behest of Serene). And then when he pulled out the star decoration and wanted to swallow that, we quickly stopped him. Although as soon as we told him it was an eraser, he spit it up himself.
So that's the birthday celebration. It cost me about RM 30, but was worth every cent except for the movie. Blast that. But I wouldn't mind doing it again after the exams. I've got one tomorrow! ...oh, and I only got back to the hostel at 9.43 pm last night. My room mate arched an eyebrow but said nothing, and left me to recharge myself.
I always turn statuesque after going out anywhere, kind of as if being with people drains me and simply sitting alone recharges. It's odd but then... it's me.
I wonder when the next birthday is.
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