Movie Review : The Mistress of Spices

Language : English
Runtime : 91 mins
Genre : Drama
Outline:
Tilo runs a spice store and has a magical gift. She gives her customers spices to help them get what they want from life. In order for the magic to work, she must never leave the store, never touch another human and only love the spices. But when a handsome American enters the store, Tilo's own desires are stirred for the first time. As she begins to defy the rules, the magic starts to misbehave and Tilo must decide. Will she choose the forbidden love of an American or devotion to her spices and her desires?
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Plot:
Tilo, has a gift. She has the ability to see a person's past and future. Words of her special powers flows and she soon became a very high profile person in her village when she was a very young girl. She started receiving many devotees and bad people wanted to kidnap her to give them riches. One day, when words came there is a group of bandits coming to capture her, Tilo's parents were killed for protecting her. Tilo was being thrown into the sea and she was being rescued by a group of young girls her age at an island.

There was a wise old lady staying on the island with the group of girls whom they address as "First Mother". First Mother teaches survival skills to these girls - Spices. However, there are 3 rules they have to observe. They must fufil the desires of others never themselves, they must never touch another human's flesh and they must never leave the spices. When they have pass their tests the girls were set free to the lands they want to go to fulfil their duties as spice mistreses.

Tilo went to San Francisco where she opened her own spice stores serving not only people of her tradition but also people who believe in her. Tilo has the ability to communicate with the spices to tell her what all these people need. One day, she was very attracted to an American named Doug and her desires seeps in and she was being distracted. Her power to communicate was not working and it has caused some grief to the people who has faith in her.

First Mother came to her. Told her she has broken too many rules and that she has to go back to her world and never to leave the spices. Tilo made a vow to the spices to let her just have 1 wish. To fulfil her desire of spending time with Doug and then she will devote her life to the spices. After spending time with Doug and fulfilling her desire, she came back to her spice shop, set her shop and her body on fire to prove her sincerity and her devotion.

An earthquake occurred and she did not burn. Doug came to her rescue and she was being saved. She asked Doug to restore her spice shop for she is wanting to fulfil her duty. She lived happily with Doug and her spices then.

A rather interesting fairy tale to share on a person's belief leading to staunch faith in things that she is able to focus and meditate on spices so much that she has the ability to feel and connect in aid of people. A very good tale on faith.

Rating : 7 out of 10

Book Review : The Boy Next Door by Meg Cabot

This is my first attempt with this author. The template or the orientation of this book is very easy to read. It is like reading emails. I recalled when I first got acquainted with a book with this osrt of format was a book called "Rosie Dune" by Cecilia Ahern when I was in Beijing a year back, same format, email style of writing therefore it is so easy to read.

From the back of the book :
Who is.....The Boy Next Door?
(Melissa Fuller desperately needs to know!)
Is he really Max Friedlander, notoriously wild, famously self-centered fashion photographer-nephew of poor old comatose Mrs.Friedlander? (But he seems so nice!)

Has he come to relieve Mel of the burden of having to walk (or be walked by) Mrs. F's monster Great Dane, Paco - so manybe she can start getting to work on time and maybe keep her job at the New York Journal?

He's not really trying to find out who assaulted his "aunt" in her own home and why, is he? All by himself? Isn't that a bit dangerous?

And how can one man be this gorgeous, funny, charming, fearless, sexy and mysterious? (And why the heck does he want Mel to call him "John"?)

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Melissa Fuller, a gossip columnist in New York Journal. Her best friend NardineWilcock is a food critic in the same paper she works in. Nardine Wilcock is soon to be married to a chef and Melissa, bride-of-honor.

The story opens with Melissa just finishing a relationship with a senior journalist Aaron Spender. One morning, while going to work, her neighbour, an 80 years old lady was being knocked unconscious and being an animal lover, Melissa had to inherit the duty of walking the 3 pets Mrs. Friedlander has which is a Great Dane and 2 cats.

After much discussion with her best friend Nardine, she decided to look for Mrs. Friendlander's next-of-kin, her nephew Max. However, modelizer Max, a fashion photographer managed to get a hot date with a top Victoria Secret supermodel, decided to get a high-school pal John Trent to take his place (to live at his aunt Mrs. Friendlander's place) to walk the dog, feed the cats while he rendezvous his way to Key West with Vivica the supermodel. John Trent is a journalist with the Chronicles who is deadly rival with New York Journal downt he street.

It was a coincidence that Melissa found John and John found her to be soulmates and they started to date and eventually they grow fond of each other. However, John never had the opportunity to tell the truth to Melissa his real identity.

One day, an email came from Max's email account written by Vivica to reveal the real identity that the "Max" who is living next door to be a fake. Having her trust bridged, Melissa was not able to accept and forgive John who was already planning on revealing his identity and ask for her hand in Vermont where they both agreed to take a short holiday with compliments from John's brother Jason.

Fnally, after an email written by Stacy Trent (Jason's wife) with extracts of emails written by John sharing his life with his sister-in-law about this fabulous girl living next door, Melissa finally believed his sincerity earnesty in wanting to marry her that she finally forgave him and managd to find out the real murderer who concked Mrs. Friedlanders.

A very fast read because the story is written in email style. Very comical as well and I managed to get some attention while reading it in the subway from commuters who think I am crazy for I kept laughing.

I will give this book an 8 out of 10 points.

Movie Review : Failure To Launch

Year : 2006
Genre : Romance Comedy
Language : English

Outline:
A thirtysomething man who still lives with his parents falls in love with the woman of his dreams and begins to suspect she has been hired by his parents as a way to get him out of the house.

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Being a fervent supporter of romance comedy, naturally this will not escape my eyes. In fact, if you would do to google the reviews of this movie, it does not get pass the notch of a "C" grade movie. However, in my eyes there is never a bad or a good movie. Clearly based on perception. In this movie, we do learn a few things here and there about life as a general rule. No lies, no deception to people for it will get back to us.

Paula (Sarah Jessica Parker) has a rather unusual career. Her job is to get sons to shift out of their parents' house with a given deadline. However, till she met Tripp (Matthew McConaughey) when things starts to turn around.

Tripp's parents engaged Paula to rid their son off their house. Tripp is clearly very financial sufficient as a shipping agent however he just enjoys the comfort of his parents around mothering and fathering him. Whenever he wants to break off with his girlfriends, he would bring his dates home to break off with them for in the Western culture it is highly abnormal for adults especially working adults to still be staying with their parents and leeching off them which is a clear sign to women the man is a mummy's boy and not capable of commitment.

Paula eventually fell in love with Tripp. One unlucky day, while she was seeing a client in a cafe, she accidentally met a friend of Tripp's and the truth was finally revealed to Tripp on her intention to get him to move out from his parents' house but she has never been serious with him.

Conclusion:
As such we could see honesty at every level in relationships be it wil your love ones or family is therefore so important for it may backfire on us when we least expects it.

Movie Review : Il Mare (Korean)

Year : 2000
Genre : Drama
Language : Korean

Seong-hyun, an aspiring architect, moves into a beach-house designed by his estranged father, which he names Il Mare ("the sea" in Italian). One day he receives a letter from Eun-joo, a voice actress, addressed to the person who will move into "Il Mare" after her. Since he is the first and only person to live in the house, Seong-hyun takes it for a joke or a wrong delivery. However, as they keep corresponding with one another, they realize that Eun-joo is actually living in late 1999, two years into Seong-hyun's future. Initially bewildered and amused by the situation, they are gradually attracted to one another, and start thinking about meeting "in real time." However, they are about to discover a lot of things can happen to one's life in two years.
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A very moving movie. Hollywood made a movie this year based on this Korean number named "The Lakehouse" starring Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves. I give this movie a 7 out of 10.
Seong-hyun had a very intimate relationship with Eun-joo via letters delivered through the mailbox in front of the house by the sea. They share their inner most thoughts and they began to know each other in a very intimate ways in terms of emotions. Eun-joo revealed about the breakup she had with her ex boyfriend and Seong-hyun revealed about the death of his father and the relationship he had with his father with Eun-joo.

Day by day their relationship grew as they get to know each other in their own special ways; through letters just like penpals and they became each other's secret affairs for nobody would understand and actually believe their relationship with 2 year's distance. One day, to save Eun-joo for being hurt by her ex-boyfriend, Seong-hyun decided to go and meet her at the cafe where she is having her last date with her ex-boyfriend; to breakup with her. Out of distraction, he was killed by a car instantly while his eyes was searching for her to warn her not to be hurt by her ex boyfriend.

Living in the future, Eun-joo, knew that he would be killed dashed immediately to the mailbox and wrote a letter in tears to ask him to wait for her and not to go look for her so that he will not die. Eventually, he did listen to her words and the lovers finally got together.

Movie Review : Samsara (Tibetan)

Movie : Samsara
Genre : Drama
Year :2001
Language : Tibetan
Duration : 135 Minutes
Starring : Shawn Ku, Christy Chung, Neelessha Bavora, Sherab Sangey, Jamayang Jinpa, Kelsang Tashi

From the back of the movie:
What is more important: satisfying one thousand desires or conquering just one?

A spiritual love story set in the majestic of Ladakh, in the Himalayas, Samsara is a quest, one man’s struggle to find spiritual enlightenment. Samsara is the world; both inside the monastery and outside it. It is a story of a lama, Tashi, who leaves the monastery to become a farmer, to live a worldly life and his wife, Pema, who possesses the qualities of a sage, while living in the world.

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The abbot and his disciples brought along a small little lama with them to fetch Tashi who went into a 3 years retreat. When he was back, he was being given recognition for the completion of his effort.

One night, while Tashi was asleep, his room-mate, a fellow lama heard sounds from his bed and went to check on him. He found Tashi having wet dreams. Thought came to his mind as he thought of Tashi just coming out of his retreat. Has he already given up his craving for lust?

Soon enough, Tasi was being invited to attend a harvest party in the village. While staying over the night at one of the villager’s hut, Tashi saw Pema and his sexual lust was being aroused. In the middle of the night, Pemma came to his room and gave comfort to him. However, the thought cling on and Tashi soon found himself constantly thinking of her. One day, he decided to disrobe to pursue this lust of his. He took on a job in Pema’s household as a worker in the fields, married Pema and started a lovely family.

A son was born and it brought constant happiness into Tashi’s life. Thoughts of lust surface one day when Pema was out and went to the city to do trading. Tashi had an affair with one of their workers, a young Indian casual worker. Pema learnt about this but forgave Tashi. Tashi thought it over and decided to leave Pema and his son and put on his robe to be a monk again. Pemma followed him but Tashi was hesitant. At last, he asked for Pema to take him back but Pema is not willing for he has not learnt about his eliminating his desires or understood it and she was sure it will resurface again.

This is a wonderful story for us to recap on our precepts and cravings. Is it really important to really understand our cravings and slowly eliminating them?

The Banquet Chinese movie

The Banquet



Ok, this movie is about zhang ziyi and the crown prince. The king was killed by his brother. He took over the crown and the empress (zhang ziyi). And the crown prince was sad that his dad took away his beloved. His uncle sent men to kill him. Then he was warned in advance but hide from the troops. The crown prince men was killed almost all of them. They were all singing and practising the song. The swordplay was fine, alot of hatred between zhang and the crown prince bride-to-be. The prince went back to the kindom and the uncle keep trying means to kill him..until three of them died...the empress also died...but it doesnt show who killed her..hmm another show with a mysterious ending.

Korean Movie: Shark's bait.

Upcoming movie: Shark's bait

I think this movie is worth to watch. It is similar to nemo. About a fish who lost his parents when a big trawler comes along and get his parents...and he is off on a journey to find his parents..with the help of his aunt. The pinkish fish is his gf.

http://www.hancinema.net/korean_movie_Shark_Bait.php