The Review of Monsters vs Aliens

A reasonably brief intro:
Monsters vs Aliens is a 3D animated film that represents DreamWorks Animation’s latest effort in their on-going battle with Disney’s Pixar animation studios. And as the title suggests, the film is, from an Insectosaurus’ point of view, about Monsters versus an Alien who is bent on invading Earth. If you don’t already know, you’ll find out what an Insectosaurus is when you watch the show.

The story revolves around Susan Murphy (Reese Witherspoon), who gets hit by a meteorite on her wedding day to her weatherman husband-to-be, Derek Dietl (Paul Rudd). She absorbs a substance called Quantonium from the meteorite that causes her to grow into a giant. Unfortunately for her, her rapid growth happened inside the church she was to have her wedding in. (We’re quite puzzled as to how her undergarments seemed to enlarge and fit her now giant frame).

The military then arrives, led by General W.R Monger (Kiefer Sutherland), abducts her, calls her “Ginormica” and imprisons her with 4 other captured monsters;
Dr. Cockroach the mad scientist cockroach (Hugh Laurie),
Missing Link the fish-ape monster (Will Arnett),
B.O.B the brainless gelatinous blob (Seth Rogen),
and Insectosaurus the incredibly huge grub.

Galaxhar the octopus-like alien (Rainn Wilson), fueled by his greed for quantonium, traces the substance to Earth and decides to invade Earth to get it.

The dimwitted and obnoxious U.S President Hathaway (Stephen Colbert), after recognizing the threat, takes General W.R Monger’s advice to use the monsters to fight Galaxhar… Setting up a Monsters + Humans vs Aliens scenario of comedic proportions.

What we liked…
The characters in the show, especially B.O.B, effectively gave the film its unique sense of humour, whiles all 4 of the monsters’ personalities were so starkly contrasting that they shared good chemistry.

Adding to that, President Hathaway, although slightly slapstick in his jokes, still served up a handful of laugh-till-you-tear moments and there is not a single character in the show that didn’t have a sense of humour!

The voice talents behind the film did a really good job in bringing each character to life and the animators should be given a pat on the back as well. Their creations just begged to be turned into soft toys and placed in Toy Store shelves, which is sure to happen in time.

Some of the jokes took a stab at US politics that would have made an impact on the more mature audience. (Not sure if the younger crowd would get it though)

Although we didn’t watch it in 3D, there has been feedback that made us regret not doing so because the quality of animation even in non-3D was really good.

What we didn’t like too much…
Nothing much really…
The film was made for one thing only, which was to make us laugh, and it did that job quite well although it did lack the same sort of character depth like Toy Story or The Incredibles.

Some of the funny moments, were slightly too slapstick and made it seem as if the writers were trying a bit too hard with the jokes.

So…
Considering that this is in fact a cartoon, or in modern terms, an animation, there really isn’t much to be critical about. As mentioned earlier, it did what it was supposed to do quite well and it lived up to its title.

Our rating.
7.5 / 10

Planning a Wonderful Wedding on a Realistic Budget by Sara L. Ambarian

Contrary to what they say in the magazines and on-line now, you don't have to spend a fortune to have a wonderful, memorable wedding. The most important part of making a wedding memorable is focusing on and prioritizing what you want to achieve. Fortunately, that same focus will help you save money as well!

You can look at all the planning guidelines and timelines in magazines and on websites for ideas of things you might do, but don't get boxed in by them. Real weddings come together in a much different way than magazines and many experts suggest.

You and your fiancé need to sit down and really talk and think about what you want MOST for the wedding. A certain location, a large guest list, great photography, a really fancy gown and accessories. Start making notes of what you really want and what you can live without. Compare your ideas, and compromise when necessary, to come up with a wedding you'll both love.

When you have an idea of what's most important to you, you can start finding out what those things will cost. Call around, ask around, make notes, add things up. Then when you have an idea of what you'll do, start with the most important priorities FIRST, so you make sure you can afford them. Then you can compromise on, or even omit, some of the less important things as your budget gets stretched.

The following is a compilation of ideas sent to various brides who were looking to keep their expenses and/or weddings small, but memorable.

General Budget/Cash Flow Issues

- Careful timing can reduce reception costs. Do you have a time set for the wedding? If you don't want to spend a lot on refreshments, plan the wedding and reception at a time other than mealtime.

Usually, for instance, it's tough to have a morning wedding early enough to avoid feeding the guests lunch. Even a very short ceremony and reception that starts at 10 am is going to run into "lunchtime" (and some guests may expect brunch, since many morning weddings offer that.)

In the afternoon, you could plan the wedding to start, say, 1:30 or 2 pm, and figure you can have people on their way before 5 if there are no real activities except socializing and limited light refreshments.

In the evening, you can work it the same way, if you wish. Any ceremony after about 6:30 pm (or certainly 7) would be "after dinner" (in most regions), so you could plan to only serve dessert rather than a buffet or meal.

- Make some things for the wedding yourself. Doing-it-yourself is not always as much cheaper as it used to be, but it still saves you labor charges, if you have creative talents and energy. It is encouraged that couples and families to make garters or bridesmaids dresses, arrange flowers, cook the reception food, whatever they are good at. It's cheaper, and it's often more meaningful to have had a hand in the preparations personally. Also, many family and friends really ENJOY helping out with wedding prep. Don't be afraid to ask! : )

- Consider marrying on Friday evening. This is NOT the most convenient arrangement, because people have to get out of work early, etc. It can also be difficult for any out-of-town guests you might have, because it may force them to take an additional day off work to arrive in time for all the festivities. But you can sometimes get discounts on sites and services. If you are *really* tight in the budget, this could be an option worth researching.

- One other Very Important thing to remember when money is tight. Most of your bills will come due right before the wedding. Usually you pay 1/2 up-front for services, and then the last couple weeks before the wedding, everyone wants their other half paid. BE PREPARED FOR THIS! Try to look ahead so you will have the cash flow you need when all those payments go out at once. If you can, save extra Right Away while you are in the early planning stages, because you will need it later.

- Also, plan your budget Smaller than you think you could really afford. If your wedding expenses come within that figure, that will be great. But if one or two things turn out to be more expensive than you expected, you won't be right at the absolute limit of your funds. It will give you peace of mind.

Location/Guest List

- Keep your guest list small. The more people, the bigger the location, the more food, the more invitations, etc.

- Have the wedding and reception in the same place. It's trendy to have them separate locations, but frankly, as a guest, I really dislike the practice (all that extra driving and parking). And from the couple's standpoint, it's much cheaper to do it all in one place. It's also more convenient and relaxing for everyone involved.

- Consider an less-traditional location. In most areas, many attractive locations are willing to have weddings. Not just the churches, hotels and country clubs where most weddings take place. Some non-traditional locations will cost you more, but others may cost Considerably less. So do some research, and make some calls. Likely locations include, parks (local, state and national), bed-and-breakfasts, country inns, restaurants, public gardens, historic homes or monuments, museums, galleries, and private homes of friends or family.

When considering the suitability of any location, be sure to find out not just about the price to rent the location, but also about parking, seating, restrooms, food preparation and/or storage, dressing areas, security, electrical hook-ups, restrictions or regulations (on alcohol, attire, photography or videography, decorations, etc.) Anything not provided or conveniently available may cost you more to rent or provide on your own.

Attire

- The two best ways to save money on attire are to dress very casually, or to sew your own (or have a friend or relative sew your) gown and/or bridesmaids' gowns. But even casual gowns can be quite costly in the current market, unless you are able to take advantage of sales or other discounts.

Home-sewn gowns are less popular now than they were in the 70's and 80's. However, since the current styles and fabrics are actually fairly easy to sew, it seems a shame that more brides and their families do not make use of this option, especially for bridesmaids and flowergirls.

Obviously, good general sewing skills and a dependable sewing machine are necessary, as well as a reasonable "eye" for fitting. But if you consider that a bride recently commented that she was happy to find a flowergirl dress for only 2 times lesser than usual (other similar gowns were as much as RM450), it seems clear that sewing should be an option budget-conscious brides at least consider.

- Headpieces and some accessories are very inexpensive to make, as well. Good instructions are available in books and with patterns. If you are creative at all, you might look into this option. Mark-ups on headpieces, especially, are VERY high in most bridal boutiques, so this can net you a big savings from retail.

- If you will buy your gown "off-the-rack", big discount bridal stores and on-line resources can offer lower prices but consider what you may, or may not, get from these sources in the way of quality, personal service, dependability, selection, alterations, etc. Some are excellent; others are not. Working with a company or resource you have personal references for is the best, whenever possible.

- If you will hire a dressmaker to save money, remember that the talents and prices and quality provided will vary considerably. You might be fortunate to have a very inexpensive, but fabulously talented dressmaker available to you. On the other hand, to get the best deal from a more expensive dressmaker or designer, you might decide to simplify your fabric and detailing choices to include only what's MOST important to you. The other advantage of having a gown made is that, at least you will not have to worry about alterations costs on top of the purchase price.

- Menswear costs can be reduced by having the men wear suits they own, for example, rather than renting matching formalwear.

Decorations/Flowers

- If you will use fresh flowers, try to choose varieties which will be in-season at the time of your wedding date. Skip extra arrangements on the altars, reception tables, etc. If you must decorate these areas, consider using inexpensive live plants (home centers, discount stores, large nurseries, and even grocery stores sometimes have great prices on potted plants.) Be sure, however, that any plants or flowers used near food are not toxic.

- Keep the bouquets small. Let the bouquets do double-duty for decoration, by laying them out on your tables at the reception. Consider eliminating corsages and boutonnieres for anyone besides your own and your fiancé's parents.

- Consider arranging silk or dried flowers yourself. The price of professionally-arranged silk or dried bouquets is often about the same as fresh flower prices. However, if you use careful shopping, creative filler options, a bit of patience, and some ingenuity, you can often save money by arranging silk or dried flowers yourself. If you haven't worked with floral arranging before, start with the boutonnieres. They are easy to handle and help you get familiar with the general techniques and products you will use on the larger arrangements.

- Not all locations need extra decorations. It is not necessary to totally transform your ceremony or reception location in order to have a beautiful and memorable wedding. If your budget is tight, do the minimum you are comfortable with.

- If you really need some color and interest in a really boring reception location (a common problem), I have seen really pretty, classy effects achieved with really simple, inexpensive party materials, like balloons, streamers (especially metallic or pearlized), honeycomb wedding bells, inexpensive fabrics, candles, confetti and glitter.

If you choose to use materials like these, choose your colors carefully so they are not too harsh, and look for ways to combine materials and add small decorative details (silk flowers, ribbons, floating beads, etc.) to create a more complex, customized look.

Refreshments

- Your choice of refreshments is very important to how much the reception will cost.

Generally, the least expensive reception is a cake and punch reception. Cake is really the minimum food you should serve. You can cut cake costs, if necessary, by having a very small decorative and/or stacked cake, and supplementing the servings with additional sheet cake in the same flavor. Punch is an easy and inexpensive beverage, and it can be very fun to make.

A cake and punch reception usually also includes coffee and perhaps tea, individual sodas instead of punch if you prefer (but that costs more), and sometimes champagne or other alcohol (but that's a pricey item, too.) There has also recently been a trend toward offering other desserts besides cake, so you could have a "dessert and punch" reception for a little more than a standard cake and punch affair.

A pot-luck is next most expensive, because it should be assumed that you and your family will contribute several dishes. In some social circles, this works out very well, and makes for a very fun and tasty reception. There is a lot of variety in the food (something for everyone, usually) and even if some guests are not able/willing to bring something, there's usually plenty. This sort of arrangement works well for family- or church-oriented weddings, where guests feel that bringing a dish is a way to help the couple celebrate. In other circles, guests may consider this in poor taste, feeling that the bride's (and perhaps groom's family) should be treating the guests to a meal. You would have to check around with family and friends to see how they would feel about this idea.

Some hosting families opt to prepare the food themselves. It gives them control over the cost and menu, but eliminates the potluck concept of asking others to bring something. If you have a lot of guests, you could also ask for help from the bridal party members and your closest family and friends.

Cold food works the best for this because you can buy and prepare it ahead. If you have family or friends willing to help, it's not too taxing to have them each make a double or triple recipe of one dish like potato or crab salad, or a platter of cold cuts, or a tray of rolls. Warehouse and food service stores like Price Club and Smart and Final have made this even easier, providing good prices for large quantities, and (at Smart and Final and other restaurant suppliers), low cost serving dishes and utensils as well. I have found that big plastic punch bowls are excellent for serving salads and other large dishes attractively and economically.

Of Catered options, prices would range from purchasing trays at a supermarket or other deli, to having a restaurant or caterer provide trays or a simple buffet, to having a formal sit-down dinner cooked by the kitchen at the reception site or a private caterer, to really elaborate, multi-course banquets.

Entertainment

- Providing entertainment or activities costs extra, generally. If you want to keep the reception low-key, skip or at least limit music and dancing (this will also save you from having to rent a dance floor). If you have access to a small sound system, at the location or through a friend, you can supply your own background music through CDs or cassettes.

You may or may not need a microphone at all, depending on what you choose to include in the way of toasts and announcements. If you keep it really informal, just a chance to chat with guests, you can get away with almost no extra equipment or related preparation. This will also tend to keep the reception short, since guests won't be staying late to dance and party.

Professionals

- Hiring professionals, of course, accounts for a great chunk of many wedding budgets. As a professional myself, and speaking for the many fine wedding professionals this is often money very well spent. However, people have married without the help of professional dressmakers, florists, caterers, photographers, videographers, musicians, and event planners for hundreds of years. And some couples still do.

If your budget is really tight, pick your professionals with care. Personally, photography is the most important professional priority (see article); and many couples have felt the same. For you, it might be a particular florist or caterer. But remember you do not have to hire every professional suggested in the bridal magazines, or by people you know. You can choose to spend the money you have on what matters most to you.

- Consultants, coordinators and event planners are currently touted by most magazines, and many bridal advisors, as an *essential* element of modern wedding planning. They site money savings, higher quality wedding "results", planning-stress reduction, and more. It is important to point out, however, that many, if not most, weddings are planned without the help of this type of professional. And most of them are beautiful, happy, fun and memorable.

There are situations where a bridal consultant, coordinator or event planner is very helpful-- and still another few situations where one might be essential. But if you are planning a relatively average wedding, and you are concerned with keeping costs down, this is a professional I believe you can safely skip no matter what the magazines say.

Good advice and information about wedding planning is available from many free or inexpensive sources-- friends and family, your local library, the internet, and many of the wedding professionals with whom you will be working. Don't sell any of these resources short!

And don't let anyone intimidate you by making wedding planning seem more complicated than it is. A lot of the people who emphasize the stresses, costs, and frustrations of planning are either selling something, or they have been heavily influenced by those who are.

LOTS of couples plan wonderful weddings without suffering tremendous stress, without going into years of debt, without having horrible fights with their future spouses-- and without losing sight of the reason they are doing all of this in the first place. You can, too! Best wishes to you!!

Il Tempio @ Ampang, Kuala Lumpur

There are "Dining Enthusiasts" and then there are "Eating Enthusiasts"... What's the difference you ask?

Well eating is an activity of consuming something edible to satisfy one's hunger, whiles providing a pleasurable sensation to our sense of taste. (Duh..)
Dining on the other hand, involves not only our sense of taste, but also our sense of sound, sight and smell. Basically… dining is an experience.

KL is blessed with an anthology of dining outlets, from fine to casual, coming in all shapes and cuisines, Frangipani, Avanti, Carcossa, and La Fitte being some of the finest names around. However, most if not all of these dining outlets are Urban in every sense. As fantastic or exclusive as they may be, you always know that you're in the city. However, there is one restaurant that breaks that norm.

Il Tempio is a name unfamiliar to many, and basically means "The Temple" in the Italian language.And as the name suggests, it is a restaurant serving fine Italian cuisine as well... but it's as much a restaurant, as it is a work of art.

A dining experience with Il Tempio starts with the sense of sight and sound. As its tranquil setting hidden amidst lush greenery is backed by the soundtrack of nature and a very appropriate chill CD.Its unique monastery inspired architecture, soft intimate lighting, accents of flowing water, and numerous pieces of art including Buddha statues create an intimate, Zen like ambience.Its isolation from the city is a welcome atmosphere and really does deceive your sense of location. Because how can a place like this, be in KL?

Words will never do justice to just how visually enticing Il Tempio is, regardless of how many descriptive adjectives we use. Furthermore, it provides a sense of exclusivity like very few other restaurants do because of it’s “hidden away” nature.

The pictures speak for themselves.

After taking in the sights and sounds, Il Tempio's selection of fine Italian Cuisine tops off the dining experience by pampering your taste buds. The menu features a wide range of common dishes, albeit with a slight twist and a fancy name courtesy of Chef Daniele Sarno of Tuscany.

An interesting addition found in a few choices in the menu are almonds! Not something you'd normally see during dinner, but it's just one of the many touches ingeniously used by Chef Daniele.

Our orders were a Breaded Chicken Breast, stuffed with Mushrooms and cheese, accompanied by a few almond flakes.

Also, a Grilled Lamb Loin, served with a slice of grilled eggplant/aubergine and a unique mix of grilled tomatoes and something else of which we can't really recall.

In truth, although the dishes were uniquely prepared and reflected Il Tempio's attention to detail in its presentation, we'd rate the overall taste as being "quite good" compared to "extraordinary". However, that “shortcoming” is quickly and easily ignored.

Being a fine dining restaurant, it’s quite correct to assume that most of us would not consider dining here everyday for lunch and dinner, instead we’d see it as a luxury, once in a while kind of thing. Of course there are the lucky few who earn enough to make themselves regulars. But with that in mind, and with all things considered, Il Tempio’s pricing really is affordable. A simple meal for 1 would only set you back around RM80, but of course depending on how flamboyant you’re feeling on the night. There’s also a 3-4 course individual set menu at around RM160 per person, accompanied with a glass of wine. And if you’re a wine lover or are just in the mood for a glass of wine, Il Tempio boasts a rather comprehensive wine list.

As positive as this review sounds, I doubt it would do justice to just how memorable an evening with Il Tempio would actually be. If you do take our advice and decide to pay them a visit, be sure to make a reservation, as their seating is rather limited.

Here’s their URL for starters : http://www.tamarindrestaurants.com/

The Review of Terminator Salvation

A brief intro:
Terminator Salvation is the fourth film in the Terminator series and is written by John Brancato and Michael Ferris, whiles McG occupies the directors’ seat. The main cast consists of and revolves heavily around the very talented Christian Bale as future Resistance leader John Connor, and breakthrough actor Sam Worthington as cyborg Marcus Wright. The protagonist from the original Terminator, Kyle Reese, makes a return and is played by rising starlet, Anton Yelchin.

The movie basically focuses on the war between “The Resistance” and Skynet which takes place in the year 2018, how John Connor lives up to being the “Leader of the Resistance” as prophesized in previous terminator installments, and Marcus Wright’s pivotal role in the whole Humans vs Robots idea.

What we liked…
The films 2 main stars, Christian Bale and Sam Worthington share the limelight exquisitely.

Once again, Christian Bale stakes his claims as one of today’s leading “New Old Heroes”, adding to his portrayal of the Dark Knight in the Batman film franchise resurrection. Other more famous members of the cast include, Helena Bonham Carter (Sweeney Todd) as Dr. Serena Kogan, and Michael Ironside (Top Gun, Starship Troopers) as General Ashdown, whom along with the rest of the cast, put in commendable performances of their individual characters.

What gave the movie its extra “cool” factor was a really well timed usage of Arnold Schwarzeneggar’s trademark “I’ll be back” phrase, but this time used by John Connor. It was brief, but gave the film that much more identity. Also, an appearance of a special someone towards the end capped the visual impact of the film off pretty well!

The action sequences are thrilling with loads of explosions and mass destruction, the new array of robots released by Skynet look menacing, and even the terminators themselves have a new sense of realism about them in their movement. As an action flick, Terminator Salvation ticks all the right boxes.

What we didn’t like too much…
Unfortunately, the storyline was rather shallow, rescued only by the performances of the movies cast and the really good action sequences. Although it does stay true to resuming the Terminator storyline, it just lacked sufficient depth for viewers to connect to.

So…
Definitely worth the ticket fees! Unless you have a really good home theatre system, you won’t be able to fully feel the action sequences, which really is perhaps the only major reason to watch the film.

Our rating.
7/10

Soak Your Skin in The Body Shop Skin Care Products

We so happened to be at the right place at the right time as The Body Shop is currently having MASSIVE SALE up to 70% store wide, except for some selected range of products.

The Body Shop is one of the best places where females and males get to indulge in their awesome skin care products and The Body Shop is serious about making our world a better place by ensuring that all of their products are environmentally friendly, all the way down to their receipt which is made out of recycled paper.

Obviously, we did not exit from the shop empty handed. Taking full advantage of the situation, we bought a bottle of shower gel, a bottle of body lotion and a stick of lip balm.

The Body Shop's Pink Grapefruit Shower Gel at RM24.50 after a 30% discount off RM35

The Body Shop has been buying organic honey from their Community Trade partner, North Western Bee Products, in Zambia since 1991. It’s one of the few honeys sold on the world market that is harvested from wild bees. The beekeepers provide living spaces for the wild bees by building cylindrical hives from tree bark, which are hung high in the trees. This traditional method allows the 6,000 beekeepers to grow their trade using natural materials that are freely available in their local environment. And don’t worry about the bees; a strong colony produces two or three times more honey than it needs.

We Love...the smell of this shower above all the other shower gels they had to offer. The first time we ever bought this was when this product was on sale as well, so we gave it a try. After that, there was no turning back. The Organic Honey which is one of the main ingredients, moisturizes and helps condition the skin. This is the best shower gel we would recommend if you were to go on a holiday because even if the weather is cold or hot, this baby will give your skin everything it needs.

The Body Shop's Japanese Cherry Blossom Puree Body Lotion at RM49.50 after a 10% discount off RM55.

The exotic and delicate cherry blossom flower has a beautiful, light, pretty floral fragrance. The deliciously decadent yet romantic fragrance used across this range has top notes of Fuji apple, Chinese magnolia and osmanthus flower, mingling with middle notes of star jasmine, Japanese cherry blossom and Japanese persimmon, and base notes of sandalwood, hinoki wood and fruity musk, combining to create the perfect floral fusion to delight the senses. Japanese Cherry Blossom products also include a rich assortment of natural Community Trade ingredients, which means that not only will you get the very best benefits for your skin, a community will benefit in the process.

We Love..the way it feels so soft on our skin, as the smell of cherry blossom literally lightens our mood and leaves our body with a refreshing scent. Besides smelling good, as mentioned above, this product by The Body Shop has all the raw ingredients from nature at its best and this gives our skin the vitamins it needs, especially during this time of the year when our weather is hot and dry.

The Body Shop's Cocoa Butter Lip Care Stick at RM17.10 after a 10% discount off RM19.

Experiencing dehydrated lips? This was recommended by one of the promoters at The Body Shop as a cure for cracked and dry lips. The ingredient of Cocoa Butter is an excellent moisturizer that melts at body temperature, leaving the skin feeling soft and silky smooth. True to what the promoter described it to be, it is a handy mini stick that offers extra-intensive melt-on moisture for the lips, thanks to its innovative concentrated format. Melts and glides over skin as you apply, leaving it feeling soft, smooth and supple.