Avenue Q (Atlantis Theatrical)

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Bad Idea Bears! Just could not get enough of the thought of a cute Care Bear ripoff advising someone to hang himself, and then releasing a sigh of disappointment when not obliged. It is so deranged that is hilarious. And of course, Trekkie the Monster! Let us all get rich and invest in porn! HAHAHAHA!

It gets a little bit confusing at first. This is not your typical puppet show where only the upper half of them are exposed. Here, the puppeteers are also visible onstage. The good thing about it is that they are also in character; there is some fusion going on between puppet and puppeteer. As for the dual roles the transition from one character to another is smoothly done, so it is easy to distinguish one from the other.

Alice in Wonderland

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Story-wise, the book does not make a lot of sense. What makes the book stand out is the very clever wordplay, some of which are also used in the movie. But you cannot make a movie from play of words alone, so how can it be made interesting? Do it in 3D. Drown the moviegoer with CGI. It actually works. This movie is one hell of a visual feast, better seen in 3D or you miss out on half the fun. The Wonderland in the movie gives justice and perhaps, even outdoes the Wonderland in the book. Sorry, biased judgment from a member of a very techie generation.

One does not need to read the book prior to watching the movie but it would not hurt to do so. The book is really very short anyway. They veer away from the original but not that much. The main story arc stays the same with a few subplots tweaked, probably an attempt on coherence. No need for it though, its being surreal should suffice. To quote Alice, It is a all a dream, after all. The weirder, the better.

Up in the Air

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This is a movie about firing people. It deals with a sensitive and very real event given a comic twist, which in turn makes it tolerable to watch. In real life, this is no laughing matter but the film is effectively used as a medium to demonstrate this reality of life without being too brutal. In effect, it gives some sort of hopeful perspective, looking on to the positive aspect of getting sacked.

The first scenes are strategically placed to set the mood for the audience to relate well to Clooney's character. The film starts with aerial views of different land patches, clouds, bodies of water, etc, as seen from the window of a plane. After all the opening credits have rolled, a runway is shown with a plane landing, which is a very good transition from introduction to the story itself, which starts with a quick overview of Clooney's job. All throughout the film, the setting is introduced via aerial views of the cities and their names in large font.