What a RIO-t!

I desperately needed a break to clear my mind, and nothing works better than spending a few hours losing yourself in a movie plot, coupled together with the awesome sound effects which you can only get in the cinemas.

Rio might look and sound like any other animated film at first, but after watching it, I must admit that it really blew my mind away. Firstly, it highlighted the extinction of the avian species, and second, the sights and sounds of the Brazilian street carnivale make me want to book myself on a flight to Rio de Janeiro on the spur of the moment.

The main highlight of the movie is Blu (Jesse Eisenberg), a (obviously) blue macaw, who happened to be the last male of his species, and was somehow caught from the Brazilian forests and sent to Minnesota in the US. He was rescued by a little girl named Linda, and they formed a tight bond over the years.

Túlio, a professor, came looking for Blu to mate with the last female of the blue macaw species to save them from being extinct. Linda and Blu debated long about going to Rio, and finally agrees to give it a go.

Being displaced from their everyday surroundings, Linda and Blu found it difficult to blend in, but with the (kind) help of Professor Túlio, they felt even more at unease. He insisted that Blu was to be groomed, but he ended looking ridiculously silly that I could not help but laugh out loud. Blu was obviously nervous meeting a girl, and he tries to make himself comfortable by singing, but he’s horrible at it. Meanwhile, Jewel (Anne Hathaway), the female macaw, is intent on escaping from captivity. She’s used to the wild, while Blu is a ‘domesticated’ pet macaw.

Blu falls for her, but the shelter is then raided by smugglers, who are let in by the head smuggler's cockatoo, Nigel, who was posing as a sickly bird. Blu and Jewel are captured and chained together. Nigel introduces himself to them through song, explaining that he used to be a performing bird on a TV show and is now being ignored.

After he departs, Blu and Jewel manage to escape. As they flee, Nigel chases them through the slums of Rio, and after losing Nigel, Blu and Jewel get lost in the nearby jungle. The next day they meet a family of toucans. The father, Rafael, offers to take them to see his friend Luiz, who could remove the chain. Rafael also tries to teach Blu to fly, telling him that he just needs to "feel the rhythm" of his heart. After Blu tries (hilariously) and fails to fly, the group head into town, where they meet Pedro (will.i.am) and his canary friend Nico (Jamie Foxx).

Marmosets, a group of monkeys are ‘little’ thieves in Rio, working as a gang to steal jewelry and electronic devices from tourists. Cute but mischievous, they offer great humorous moments in the movie as they communicate with each other through SMSes!

Linda and Túlio try and find Blu, assisted by the repentant Fernando, zooming down the streets of Rio on a motorcycle which he had traded for with Túlio’s jeep. Pedro and Nico take Blu and Jewel to a bird's samba club, where Blu starts to dance, culminating in a beautiful duet with Jewel. They are then attacked by the marmosets, but their bird friends fend them off long enough for Blu and company to escape.

Fernando leads Linda and Túlio to the smugglers hideout, where they learn the criminals plan to use carnivale as a cover to regain Blu and Jewel and escape with their stolen birds.

Blu and Jewel finally meet Luiz the bulldog, a supposed chainsaw professional, who attempts to saw through the chain, but unintentionally uses his drool to lubricate Blu and Jewel's feet enough for them to slip through. Jewel is overjoyed at being able to fly again, but Blu isn't, knowing they will have to part ways. Unfortunately, Jewel is then captured by Nigel. When Pedro and Nico inform Blu of Jewel's capture, he decides to mount a rescue, using Luiz as a steed to follow Nigel.

Linda and Tulio make their way into Carnivale by posing as dancers, but Blu is captured by Nigel as well as Rafael, Nico, and Pedro. Linda and Tulio follow the smugglers, but are too late to stop them from taking off in their plane. During the flight, Blu manages to break out of his cage, and they all fly away except for Jewel, who knows Blu is afraid to because he still can't fly. Nigel then appears, holding down Blu and smashing a cage onto Jewel's wing, injuring her. Blu manages to blast Nigel out of the plane by attaching a fire extinguisher to his leg and is accidentally hit by the plane propeller.

Jewel, now flightless, is pushed out of the plane by a falling cage, and Blu jumps out after her. Jewel is surprised and touched that Blu went after her, and as they fall, she kisses him. Blu is then overcome by the rhythm of his heart, holds out his wings, and flies, saving himself and Jewel.

A happy ending, but it is definitely one that teaches that good triumphs over evil in the end, and also that hard work and perseverance pays back. A movie that is suitable for all ages, and is recommended for those intending to visit Brazil as it sets you in the mood for Carnivale and samba!

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The Thorn Birds: A Heartwrenching Tale

My current K-drama addiction on KBS World happens to be The Thorn Birds, a heart-wrenching story filled with many tear-jerking moments. (Please do keep those tissues in hand whenever you watch the drama!)

Although the cast is not made up of familiar faces, their performance nevertheless is better than some actors and actresses that I’ve seen. Han Hye Jin plays Seo Jung Eun while Kim Min Jung is Han Yug Yeong, who were best friends during middle school but grew apart from a small understanding. When Yug Yeong transfers to another school, they lost touch, only to bump into each other again when Jung Eun auditions to be an actress at the place where her old friend works as an assistant director.

The plot is pretty complicated, as Jung Eun likes a boy, Lee Yeong Jo (Joo Sang Wook) during middle school, who happens to be a child who was born out of wedlock to a wealthy family, yet has lost both parents and was brought up by his grandfather. Jung Eun on the other hand, is an orphan who lives in an orphanage nearby. A chance encounter brought them closer yet they were separated when he was sent to study abroad.

Meanwhile, Yug Yeong found out that her parents weren’t her real parents at all, and her mother is a famous actress who did not want to accept her as her daughter.

After ten years had passed, the three meet again in Yeong Jo’s grandfather’s production company, Heaju Pictures. Little did they know that their fates would be the hands of each other as they did not recognise each other.

While Yug Yeong and Jung Eun reunite albeit a little grudgingly on the former’s part, she also schemes to capture the attention of Yeong Jo, who is the president’s grandson. When Jung Eun learns that Yeong Jo is the boy that she liked from years ago, she turned to Yug Yeong who threatened her not to reveal their relationship in return for a contract as an actress.

When Yeong Jo found out that Jung Eun is the girl that he was looking for a long time, Yug Yeong leaked an old video which she filmed of Jung Eun talking to her ‘mother’ on the internet, ruining the movie which all three were working on since the lead actress involved was said to the mother of the little girl in the video.

And as it could not be suspenseful enough, Yug Yeong happens to be pregnant with Yeong Jo’s baby. A whole new scenario starts when Jung Eun finds out that she was being blamed for the video leak aside from her man being snatched by her best friend. However heartbroken she felt, she soldiers on and took all the blame, even resigning from her blossoming career for the sake of her pregnant friend.

But Yug Yeong turns down Yeong Jo’s proposal upon learning a shocking truth about what his father and grandfather did to her mother, and eventually gave birth to the baby alone.

The most outrageous thing is when she registered her baby’s birth, she used Jung Eun’s identity, and also intended to give the baby up for adoption. What more could happen after this?

Stay tuned to KBS World on ASTRO’s Channel 391 every Wednesday and Thursday at 9 p.m. to find out more about the twisted fates of these three friends.

The author recommends SG Wanna Be's contribution to The Thorn Bird's OST. Do give it a listen!

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SG Wanna Be 7 Part 2

SG Wanna Be, a Korean male group specializing in ballads is named after Simon and Garfunkel, a famous American duo who were the guys behind the hit song Bridge Over Troubled Water.

The trio are Kim Yong Jun, Kim Jin Ho and Lee Seok Hoon, who are extremely popular in Korea although they do not have as many promotions and appearances compared to other idol groups.

I only recently started listening to their songs, and I must say that the threesome are truly gifted with amazing voices that harmonize perfectly with each other.

Their latest album SG Wanna Be 7 Part 2 has a lot of great songs to offer, and proves to be as good as their previous works.

The first track, loosely translated as Song Of My Confession To You, has a great opening, thanks to a strings orchestra. Basically a feel-good and uplifting song, it conveys the feeling of a person confessing his love for his lover.

If I Can Love Again, the second track, is a song that gives you the feeling of someone who is reflecting on his past, and looks towards his future of loving someone again.

My favourite track of the album, Just, which also happens to be the title track, is a song that you must give a listen to. The song is about the pain of losing one's love. The emotion-filled song will definitely keep you hitting the replay button over and over again like I did. The feeling of pain and the loss of a lover flows through every part of this song, and even the English translation of the song is beautiful. Here's a link to the music video of Just.

Even If Love Leaves is another emotional song that makes you feel the pain of losing a loved one just by listening to it.

The fifth track, I'll Send You, is a song that gives the feeling of someone that is reluctant to leave a lover, but had no choice but to let her go.

Road of Passion is another uplifting song, and the harmony of the trio's voices on this track is simply amazing.

I am really in awe that SG Wanna Be could convey their emotions so well through their songs, even for someone like me who doesn't understand Korean, yet I can roughly decipher the message that they are trying to say through their song. I really hope that they'll continue to make wonderful ballads for many more years to come, and somehow I can't wait for their next album already!

PS: For the English translation of Just, click on the title of the song above in bold. Credits go to iheartmuzik2.wordpress.com and theblackcat1236.wordpress.com

The author absolutely loves SG Wanna Be's Sunflower and would like to recommend everyone to give it a listen!

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Tangled: A Twisted Hairy Tale

Tangled may be Disney’s latest take on one of the many well-known fairy tales, but it turns out to be a really wicked and twisted tale that got many laughs out from me. Based on the story of Rapunzel, the long-haired beauty that was kept locked in a tower, many elements have been added to spice up the storyline which would have otherwise been too predictable and boring.

To start it off, the old lady that stole Rapunzel from her parents, locked her in a tower, did it for the sake of keeping her youth. Just by singing to a magical flower that grows near a waterfall, she used to be able to maintain her youth. All was lost when soldiers sought and brought the magical flower to cure the queen who was sick and heavily pregnant.

She discovers that the magical power of the flower was preserved in the hair of the newborn princess, and she kidnapped the child to fulfil her selfish greed. Bringing up the child as her own, she never lets Rapunzel out of the tower, and she herself is the only contact Rapunzel has with the outside world. She teaches Rapunzel to sing the song and while brushing her long golden hair, the old lady becomes young again (how we wish that we could all do that).

But Rapunzel has a dream, a dream to be able to go out and see the millions of lanterns that was released every year on her birthday. Unbeknownst to her, the lanterns were released by her parents, the king and queen, as well as their subjects, in the hope that their lost princess would someday come back to the kingdom. Her so-called ‘mother’ objects her wish, and Rapunzel accepts her decision meekly.

Well, here fun starts as Rapunzel is cooped up in the tower, accompanied by her super-intelligent chameleon (that makes me want to go out and get one for myself), doodling on the super-high walls and doing house chores, reading, and combing and combing, and combing more of her super-long golden hair till it practically glows.

Meanwhile, Flynn Rider is a thief that goes around with two sidekicks, and they break into the castle to steal the lost princess’ crown. Posters with their faces mushroomed all over the town, putting them on the most wanted list. Many hilarious moments involving the posters left me laughing away.

While escaping the royal guards and one of the extremely aggressive guard horses, Maximus, Flynn came to Rapunzel’s tower and climbs up. Rapunzel was more than ready, hitting him with none other than a frying pan! She knocks him out and makes a deal with him that if he takes her to see the lanterns, she would return the crown that was in his satchel.

Left with no choice, Flynn agrees and chaos ensues as Rapunzel never ever steps out from the tower in her entire life. She easily get overwhelmed by anything she sees, and Flynn gets frustrated.

Rapunzel learns about the evils of the outside world on her first trip out of her tower and she matures into a beautiful woman. Well, I better keep the ending up in wraps as to not spoil the storyline for those out there who have yet to see the movie. All I have to say is it's a definitely must-see movie!

The author has always been a fan of Disney movies since a young child. The old VCR player broke down it was too overworked playing the tapes everyday!

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Avril Lavigne's Latest Album: Goodbye Lullaby

The princess of punk-pop is now all grown up and is a wife and doting mother to her young son. Putting all her angst-filled melodies behind her, she has now come up with a more matured sound.

Her latest album, Goodbye Lullaby, sounds like a dedication to her son, whom would be past the lullabies stage by now. Avril Lavigne still retains guitar strumming sounds throughout her songs on her latest release, which used to be synonymous with her music.

Her first released single off the album is What The Hell, and is currently receiving heavy rotation on Malaysian radio airwaves as well as doing pretty well on the charts. The song is reminiscent of her last album's hit song, Best Damn Thing as the beat and feel are somewhat similar.

There is a good mix of fast, mid-tempo and slow tracks in this album consisting 13 songs. The faster tracks are Push, Smile, and Stop Standing Here, while Wish You Were Here, I Love You, Everybody Hurts, Not Enough, 4 Real, Darlin, and Remember When are the mid-tempo tracks.

The slower and mellower tracks are Black Star and Goodbye. The former is a minute and a half song, but the piano accompaniment in the background complements her voice, and is definitely my favourite track off the album.

Altogether Avril Lavigne's latest album comes across as similar to her previous work, but there are still some standout pieces in there. I hope to see more from her in the future, probably experimenting with a mellower sound as her voice comes through better then.

The author was a huge fan of Avril Lavigne when the first album Let Go captivated her attention with its lyrically-meaningful songs.

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IU's REAL+ Mini Album

Taking off from where she left off from her previous album REAL, IU has released an extended version, a mini album titled REAL+ with three tracks. And as expected, she never fails to deliver a great piece of work.

The first track off the album, titled The Story Only I Didn't Know, is a slow number and has a melancholic feel towards it. It's subtle start sounds like a musical box and IU's soft voice sets the mood for the entire song.

The music video for the track had created a buzz over the net as there are conflicting opinions over the meaning behind the video. Nevertheless, she did a great job over the song as well as music video. Do check it out the music video for IU's The Story Only I Didn't Know.

Cruel Fairy Tale, the second track from the album, starts off like a song for a movie soundtrack, complete with an orchestra background. Come to think of it, the title is really befitting of the song. This song has a very dark feeling surrounding it, but the thumping beat in the background somehow blends in with IU's sweet voice.

I can't fathom the reason why there were electronic static sounds towards the second half of the song, and somehow I really love the part where she sings "Nothing lasts forever / Nothing really matters". This song gives me the feel of Shakespeare's A Midsummer's Night Dream somehow, and is my favourite song off the album.

The third track is The Story Only I Didn't Know featuring pianist Kim Gwang Min. As the song is accompanied by the sounds of the piano, her great voice shines more on this track.

There are parts where I couldn't help but listen in awe as she has a great control over her voice and yet she's only eighteen! I am looking forward to her next album already!

The author was fascinated to know that there were five hidden fairy tales in the lyrics of Cruel Fairy Tale. Rapunzel, Hansel & Gretel, Cinderella and Little Mermaid have been identified by fans. Can you figure out the fifth one?

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Dream High: An Idol Feast For Your K-Drama Addiction

Usually I would prefer watching historical or family-based Korean dramas, but this time round I was anticipating the premiere of Dream High, a drama based on an art school for student who are groomed to be idols.

Since the hype surrounding the idol cast for the drama made it to the headlines of many K-pop related websites way before the drama was slated to air on Korea's KBS network, I like many other K-drama fans have been following the progress of the drama all the way through since filming started.

Dream High had proved that it was a drama not to be missed, albeit a slow start in the first episode. The main characters in this drama are portrayed by Miss A's Suzy, T-ara's Eunjung, 2PM's Taecyeon and Wooyung, and IU, with many other cameos by idols such as SS501's Hyunjoong, 2PM's Nichkhun and JYP's JOO. Well, that pretty much spelled idol-overload already. Not forgetting Bae Yong Joon and Park Jin Young acting as headmaster and English teacher respectively!

Hyemi, Suzy's character, is a rich man's daughter who is forced to give up her dreams of joining Juilliard when her family goes bankrupt. She instead finds herself having to audition to enroll in Kirin Art School to pay back her father's debts. She fails her audition but somehow her best friend, Baekhui (Eunjung's character) passes the audition. They left the place on a bad note by ending their friendship.

Hyemi was given a conditional offer to be a student in Kirin and she soon finds herself between two guys (Taecyeon and Kim Soohyun) vying for her heart, as well as being the target of the entire student body's wrath, no doubt initiated by her ex-bestie, now a rival and arch-enemy.

There is also another couple to look out for, IU and Wooyung's characters, Pilsuk and Jason. Their budding romance is a definite laugh inducer as Pilsuk is the chubbiest girl in school while Jason is an exchange student from the United States.

There are many scenes where the idol cast sing their heart out and I couldn't stop watching in awe at their good singing chops as well as their acting skills. They really could sing with all their heart!

The biggest question in Dream High is who will Hyemi choose in the end? And will Pilsuk and Jason end up together? Tune in to KBS World on ASTRO Channel 391 at 9pm every Monday and Tuesday to catch all the drama between the students!

The author would like to recommend the OST of Dream High as it features the idol cast of the drama. Suzy's Winter Child and IU's Someday are her two favourites off the soundtrack.

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JYJ Music Essay: Their Rooms

After a Japanese and English album comes JYJ’s latest album in their native Korean. There are no barriers to their creativity here as they definitely capitalized on their fluency and comfortability with the language.

Hence, the 6 songs on JYJ Music Essay: Their Rooms is something that all fans have been waiting for as they wrote, composed and produced all the tracks on the album. Coming straight from their hearts, this album is definitely worth a listen to.

The first track is Mission, written and composed by Junsu, and it has a grand opening featuring a strings orchestra and sounds like a movie soundtrack. It has a great beat and catchy chorus, as well as Yoochun rapping. If you excuse the not-so-cool English skills of Junsu and the use of an expletive in the rap, then this is probably a track that proves that they still can retain and improve their sound from their Dong Bang Shin Ki (DBSK) days.

A mellow track written and composed by Jaejoong, Nine was written using basic chords that he learned from Yoochun when he first learned to play the piano. According to Jaejoong, upon the addition of Yoochun, it’s been nine years that the five members of DBSK came together as a group. Therefore, the song also symbolises the five DBSK members in an indirect way.

Pierrot, the third track, starts off slow, picking up a catchy beat just before the first refrain. In this song, Jaejoong describes the experience of working under their previous company, and he doesn’t want to be used as a tool to entertain others in order to generate more money anymore. A pierrot is a pantomime character which is a sad clown, often seen as the fool and the butt of pranks, hence the unique title of the song.

Fallen Leaves is another slow number which showcases the powerful vocals of each member. Written and composed by Junsu, it is a beautiful song with a beautiful melody, as well as beautiful lyrics (although I am just reading the English translations). One thing for sure, this song is definitely one of my favourites off the album.

Next on the list is I.D.S. which stands for Ideal Scenario, yet another track written and composed by Jaejoong. The mid-tempo track has a techno feel towards it, as well as some elements of auto-tune to the voices of the three members. (In this track with Junsu singing in English you have to listen carefully or you might misunderstand the opening lyrics!)

The only song fully written and composed by Yoochun for this album is A Song Without A Name Part 1. The song has a simple yet great melody and features lots of piano sounds, traits that shows the identity of the composer. Most of the time Yoochun raps, while Junsu and Jaejoong joins in to sing at intervals. Of all the tracks, Yoochun’s piece is the most expressional one, as he poured out all his feelings into the lyrics of the song. It captures his ups and downs in the journey of being a member of a popular boy band. All in all, any listener would understand the struggles he had gone through by listening to the song.

A pretty great album indeed from JYJ and my recommendation is to buy JYJ’s Music Essay as it is a unique release. The album also comes together with a diary of the three members’ photos and essays about their daily lives and stories, which are a must-have for every fan!

PS: I have included links for the English translations of each song's lyrics, just click on the bolded song name to read. Credits go to the sites that I have linked to. Enjoy!

The author first listened to JYJ’s The Beginning and came to know of their struggles of performing in their own country due to their lawsuit with their ex-company. The members showcased determination in succeeding without any promotions and advertisement for their albums, and their hard work had paid back well as their album has already topped several charts so far.

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