Freedom Writers

A lot of people drew similarity between Dangerous Minds and Freedom Writers because of the lives portrayed between gangsta' students and their white heroic teacher. But hell, they are wrong.

Although both are true stores but both teachers (heroines) took different approach in reaching out to the students. I'm not saying which one is better than which but since I'm writing about Freedom Writers, and I'll focus on its lessons and make my $ paid for the movie worthwhile.

What I know after watching the movie, my movie partner - the cooking pot and I actually ran to the bookshop and grabbed The Freedom Writers Diary straightaway. Yep. We both have our own copies even though we stayed under one roof. To us, it's that good. They have definitely reached us. And guess what, I've finished the Diary in 1 day. :-). now I got those panda eyes -.- ... bleh. But it's worth it.

Synopsis

Erin Gruwell (Ms. G) was a new teacher in Woodrow Wilson High School who didn't expect to have gangster's members in her class 203. To be exact there are 3 tribes ... the Latinos, the Asians and the African American. Some even brought guns inside the classroom. Amazing. -.- She has planned her lesson before hand but all those didn't work out that well. In fact her lesson plan was folded into an airplane and flew back to her.

Constant fighting and demeaning about the other tribes were the daily attraction in her class but the turning point was when one of the student (African American) was mocked by the entire class over a hand-drawn image of him having a big lips. He didn't retaliate (surprisingly) he just sat there and felt really sad.

Ms G managed to get the drawing and actually put it in the book and she shared about she saw a similar drawing in the museum before. It's when the Nazis were trying to demean the Jewish and created very ugly portrayals of the Jewish and in the end killed millions in Holocaust. When asked whether any of the students know what Holocaust is ... none of them know except the one and only white boy in the class. She knew then that she has to totally changed her curriculum and made history came to life through the lives of the students.

What went from there was Ms G constant effort and sacrifices in bringing the students what the school system couldn't provide, such as opportunity for field trip and even books. When Ms G suggested to let them read The Diary of Anne Frank to the department head, she was quickly shunned down by comments like ... the students didn't deserve it, they'll tear the book anyway, the books are too difficult for them since they even have reading disabilities. Ms G didn't give up. She took up 2 more part-time jobs (selling bra + concierge for Marriott) in order to buy new books for the students. It did make a difference. When the student had those new books on their hands ... they felt noticed, acknowledged and most importantly cared. Since then, books have been their best friends, especially those who were written by teens and survived the ordeal like Zlata Filipović (who survived Bosnian war and being called Anne Frank of Sarajevo) and even progressed to books by Shakespeare like Romeo and Juliet which the stupid gang fights the student can relate and also found it really stupid.

When you think that the journey ended for the students who finally made reading is their number one hobby, you were wrong. They (with Ms G efforts of course) took one step further and actually inviting people such as Zlata herself and Miep Gies (the lady who hid Anne Frank and preserved Anne Frank's diary for publishing) to come to the school and talked to them. Those moments were just priceless.

D.D.'s A-HA Moments

Actually the turning point of the students was not only while reading, it's actually by writing - and hence they are called the Freedom Writers. Ms G gave each one of them a notebook. She asked them to write an entry every day, be it only one paragraph or one sentence, they have to make a commitment to write everyday. If they wanted it to be read by Ms G, they were allowed to put it in a locked shelf where only Ms G had access. To her surprise, majority put it there. And that's when Ms G knew all their stories, hardships, shame, feelings, families, drugs, killings, etc. And the act of writing itself has freed the students from the tyranny of being caged inside their own tragedy. Once they let out ... things have never been the same again.

And to my surprise, the diary does exist. They compiled it ... and it has become a book and it's on my hand. Inside I can find the entries from various souls, who have voices to be heard and I just want to tell that ... hey, I'm from Singapore and I heard ya.

Another touching moments to me and to the students was when Ms G brought them to the Museum of Tolerance. As Wikipidea puts it, The Museum of Tolerance is a multimedia museum in Los Angeles, California, with an associated museum in New York City, designed to examine racism and prejudice in the United States and the world with a strong focus on the history of the Holocaust. When they entered the Holocaust section, each of them will get a card of about a kid that's related to Holocaust. By the end of the trip, they can scan it to a computer and find out whether the kid they got is alive or dead. If they are dead, they can find out how they are dead. You can even print out the results. (So cool ....) Even though I'm not there to take the card personally, I can just feel how horrifying when you got a 5 yr old girl's photo and by the end of the trip you realized, the girl was put to death in the gas chamber. it's horrifying. Though you may not know the kid but you could just feel a wave of sadness swayed through your heart.

Guess my entire lesson from this movie is the word - Tolerance. Ms G has definitely taken the class to a bigger plane where the students of different races are finally come to terms and helping each other. What amazed me is that in my own small little life ... in the same races that I am ... I still see people can't tolerate each other due to even more stupid reasons. I'm ashamed as I may be part of that too. Do I really need the "near-the-bullet-shot" experience that what I think matters now actually will not matters in years to come? Do I really need to experience how it is like to live thinking that you may just die tomorrow due to some gang fights and stray bullets and then I'll realize that what I have right now is actually one of the best experience on earth?

Tell me about it.

Hall of Fame


The Freedom Writers - Image source www.gruwellproject.org


Zlata Filipović - Image source http://shreveport.blogspot.com


Miss Erin Gruwell - Image source www.freedomwritersfoundation.org

Miep Gies - Image source www.miepgies.dk


Hillary Swank and Erin Gruwell - Image source www.washingtonpost.com

Videos

Trailer


Be Heard: Erin Gruwell on Her First Year of Teaching


Be Heard: Erin on Bonding with Her Students


Be Heard: Erin on the Freedom Writers' Journals


Be Heard: Erin on Her Students' Perspective

The Pursuit of Happyness

Put yourself in this man's shoes:

• No money
• No education
• No house
• No wife (Wife chose to leave)

So, what did he have?

• A son a.k.a "a will to survive"
  
• A life a.k.a "a vehicle to survive"
  
• A golden attitude a.k.a "the ultimate weapon towards any hardships in life"

How will your life turn out to be?

Super Short Synopsis

This is inspired by a true story of Chris Gardner, acted well by Will Smith and introducing his own son, Jaden Smith. 99.9% of the story is about his struggle and what he's doing about it.

What he'll do to get money (nothing illegal and harmful, BTW). And where he'll stay when there's no money to paid for an accommodation. To name a few .... public toilet, public train, public buses, etc. It's truly jaw dropping to see such scene and be grateful over the roof we have over our head.

D.D.'s A-HA Moments

He came to a job interview totally under dressed. With body full of paints. (He was painting his house the day before and caught in jail because he couldn't pay for his fine). So, with whatever he had on his body, he braced himself up to the interview.

One of the panel of interviewer asked him,"If I hire someone who doesn't have his shirt on, what will you say?"

Chris said,"I believe he must have had a great pants, Sir."

He's hired.

What's there to learn there?
Think out of the box. Focus on the bright side. And just be yourself. Don't try to be smart alec because most of the time your guts has the right answer all along.

Videos

Well, I have more than just trailer to share this time. I have the video interview with the real Chris Gardner. So, enjoy. :-)

Trailer


Video Interview
Part 1


Part 2


D.D.'s Rating
9/10

Related Items

DVD




Autobigraphy


There's a promise that Chris Gardner has made to himself that he has decided to put it at the cover of his book (as seen above) and it says,"I hold one thing dearer than all else, my commitment to my son." Why did he make such commitment? Because he had an abusive father and grew up in a way that he didn't really know who his father is.

Music

Just Follow Law

HA HA HA HA HA ....
I've not had a good laugh in the most "down-to-earth" way for quite sometime and Just Follow Law did it!

Super Short Synopsis

"Civil servant mentality" is what this movie is trying to portray. People who are just so afraid to break the rules that they follow everything law by law. Word by word. In the most hillarious way possible, this movie has really showed us that our fear and laziness in thinking out of the box will jeopardize ourselves in the long run. If you could understand "Hok Kien" that will be a plus point in enjoying the show. But even the subtitle is hillarious :-) (Yep ... I was multi-tasking. Listening and reading at the same time. Can't help it though I understand the language completely).

D.D.'s A-HA Moments

Whatever the main characters experienced towards the path of getting approval from government bodies, I too have been there and done that. You'll be so amazed that one can go from one to the next one and then go back to the same point.

My take from this show is not about breaking the rules or not. But about focusing on the solutions and not the problems. Rules are guidelines but do they solve problems at time in need? If no, what can we do?

There's this part in the show when the security guard did not allow firemen to park their truck on the "VIP" spot just because his supervisor has asked him to guard that spot with his life and not to let anyone except the "VIP" to occupy the spot. He followed the rule word-by-word and even wheel clamped the fire engine truck!

MAN!

Oh ya ... another thing. Age shouldn't be a barrier to learning and designing your life. There's an senior citizen in the show that has even created a blog after attending her computer course. You can check it out at www.laozhabor.blogspot.com. Though I don't really think it's her that writes it but the idea still kick-ass.

Trailer





D.D.'s Rating
8.8/10
(Chinese love number 8 :p I love 8 ... I'll give it 2 8s)

The Fountain

Thank you Isabelle for accompanying me (with me treating) in watching this super confusing show .... :p ....

Super Short Synopsis

Tommy (Hugh Jackman) and Izzy (Rachel Weisz) were playing parts in 3 different world and era. It's a story about love, death, life, spirituality and .... honestly I was confused after the movie -.- So many repetitions of the same scene (lots of time) ...... Please forgive me if I really don't have much to say about this show until ....

D.D.'s A-HA Moments
My "moments" were not gathered while and after I watched the show ... but I finally grasped the meaning of it after I've read some beautiful posts in the IMDB forum.

It made you think about how human views death as such a scary act ... and that death is the end of life but to the Mayan, "Death is the Road to Awe". Very profound indeed.

Although each lifetimes the main character is trying so hard to escape and prevent the death of his loved one but each time he failed ... and the only time where he finally understood everything is he let go of the concept of death. He accepted his own death and his loved ones ... and realized through deaths ... bigger creations are in the making and that it'll awe you when you realized death is a beautiful thing.

Trailer



D.D.'s Rating
5/10 for the movie ... it made me confused totally and kept adjusting my posture ... (means I was bored)

9/10 for its profoundness after reading explanation from the forum :p .... (I'll still see good stuffs no matter what ... humf humf) :p

Desu nôto (Death Note)

I know I'm a bit too late in watching this show but it's still worth every second of it.

Super Short Synopsis

What if you have a "Death Note" that whose name written on it will be dead. Will you do good? Will you be appreciated? Will things get worse? Find out in Death Note. The intelligent strategies between black and white were just amazing.

D.D.'s A-HA Moments

The Death God or Shinigami portrayed in this show is really one of my favorite character. Though his look is quite scary at first but after you got to know him ... you'll realize he's a nice heart too :p ... And he's healthy ... eats only apple. Cute. What do I get from here is that at times we tend to put the blame so much on the devils that we forget may be we humans are the real devil in this world and create so much sufferings and turmoil. Anyway ... just my own A-Ha. Not here to debate with any religions or beliefs. Life is too short for debating such stuff.

Video

Can you believe it that you can watch the whole video online? You better believe it ...



D.D.'s Rating
9/10
Clever clever clever ....

Movie: Miss Potter

I've no idea why I had the urge to watch Miss Potter alone. So I did and it's been great. :-)



Super Short Synopsis

Why is the title called Miss Potter and not Beatrix Potter (her full name)? There's a reason behind it. In that era, when women above 30s are still single, when they were being called "Miss", it's actually pretty sarcastic remark Beatrix Potter? She's actually a famous author a quite a lot of children books especially The Tale of Peter Rabbit and many many more which I'll be sharing later.

This movie is about her career, her love life, her passion and most importantly her purpose in life and how she's lived her life without knowing what to do next and yet still go through it with open minds all the time. Though she's brought up in a very well-to-do family, but her perseverance to beat the odds and follow her own path was very strong and in the it bedazzled not only people around her but the world through her paintings and story telling skills. You should watch more to find out how. :-)

D.D.'s A-HA Moments

1. Miss Potter started and ended the movie with the following quote,"There's something quite delicious about writing the first words of a story." Why? Because the way she lived her life was always in the moment and most importantly, living it in her own imaginative ways. Though there were so many tough times too, she still held on to her passion and imaginations no matter how ridiculous they may seem. And in the end, she has created something greater than her parents could have ever imagined for a girl who only knew how to draw animals.
2. She could stay with her parents and be pampered till the day she died but she chose to take control of her own life, moved to a countryside, bought her own farm house with no maids around and be totally independent be it emotionally, mentally and financially. How? By drawing and telling stories. Something she has done best since she was a little girl.
   
3. With the money she earned from royalties, she finally found a purpose that's greater than life itself. She regularly bid for farmland and preserved it from greedy developers who wanted to steal away those source of inspirations through breath taking views of the nature. For more than 8 years, she had acquired around 4000 acres of farmland and preserved them from nature's vultures.
4. Even though things didn't go as her wishes, she didn't blame anyone for it. Not even those that we, as viewers, think should be blamed. She took the full responsibility, dusted off herself and moved on. Amazing attitude.
   
5. When you believe in yourself so much, the universe will send someone who believes in you as much as you do. And together you'll discover a journey that you'll never imagine even though it may seem absurd at first.
   
6. Lastly, doing something you love and good at, can never fail you. Guess almost all great stories have this lesson. :)
   

Trailer



Beatrix Potter's Creations




and many oh many more .... feel free to check out her complete collection at www.amazon.com. They sell it cheaper in amazon than Kinokuniya, Singapre. Trust me, I've checked! -.- ... Tempted to buy the whole collection ... huu ... huuu ....

D.D.'s Ratings
8.88 / 10 Diamonds (it doesn't need to be stars all the time, right? :p)

Blood Diamond

This is the movie that I've heard lots about, read lots about and know lots about and I've kinda "sworn" not to watch as the usual comment that I have, "Aiyah ... I know what's all about already."

That statement is true though. I've heard about it from Oprah's interview with Leonardo DiCaprio & Djimon Hounsou. Then, a friend of mine has also told me about the story from the beginning till the end complete with its gory details (thinking that I will not going to watch it). And hence, I really know about the movie ... or at least the story about it.

But it's not by chance why I ended up watching this movie. I was supposed to watch "The King" with my friend - The Cooking Pot, my awesome student and her friend. As I was buying the ticket, the sales person told me that it's R21 (only people 21 yrs old and above are allowed to watch) ... then I was shocked. As my students are only ... 18. Hence we finally decided to watch Blood Diamond.

How's my experience with it?
Simply put, it's an eye opener and I don't regret watching a single bit of it even though I know all about the story line and details. Yeah, it's that good. And most importantly the movie carries an important message that needs to be heard by most diamond consumers in the world.

Super Short Synopsis
If you've seen the trailer or even heard about it. It's a journey of 2 men with 2 different objectives but both are related with the pink diamond. Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio) a smuggler who needs the diamond to pay his debts and of course to make much much more money. Solomon Vandy (Djimon Hounsou), a fisherman who's in desperate mode to find his family. Both are working together by looking for the big diamond that Solomon hid during his slavery in the diamond mine.



Tips

• Don't be shocked when you encountered the gruesome facts of civil war, child soldiers and the blood diamond itself. It's necessary and you can't miss any bit of it no matter how horrific it may seem. Because you may be having one of them on your body.
• Appreciate the great talent from Leonardo DiCaprio. His accent is so convincing that at one moment I really forgot that he's Leo the Romeo. Haha.
  

My Take

• Being aware of what people can do just to attain material wealth even though it may cause other people blood and even civil war.
• Child soldier is cruelty. No wonder there's reason why we need to be children first before we become adults.
  
• Sometimes the people you are accused of something are not really the main culprits. One very powerful scene that meant a lot to me from this movie was when Maddy Bowen (Jennifer Connelly) spite Leonardo for being a smuggler and whether he feels anything for the cause of so many people's life in his quest of wealth. But he said, the real people to be blamed are people who consume the blood diamonds. People who dream about fairy tale wedding and to have that piece of rock on their fingers. People who saved a year of that salary just to make their dreams come true. So profound.

Trailer


Related Link

See how this 17 year old girl lost her both hands to rebels shootings at Sierra Leone and more information on Conflict Diamonds.

Perfume: The Story of A Murderer

I've been in a movie marathon this weekend. Caught 3 movies in total:

1. Blood Diamond
   
2. Babel
3. Perfume: The Story of A Murderer
   

I'll be sharing all in this blog but for now I'd like to start with Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, because ... it's the last one that I watched :p.

Super Short Synopsis
Based on the best-selling novel, Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Suskind, about a man, Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, whose olfactory (smelling) sense is the strongest of all and his quest in preserving those smell that captivated him, forever.



Tips for those who hasn't watched the movie:

• Be there with open mind. I can't stress how important and crucial this is. There are some stuffs that most people who just can't accept especially morally. Take it you are watching a piece of art and sometimes, art just doesn't know boundary. If you think you can't take it, don't watch. It's pointless to bitch and be so unhappy about a show after you've paid money for it
• As this is a movie about scent and smell, it's definitely to capture its essence and experience through our visual and auditory elements. But try to feel which ever way you can. Be creative and most importantly, be imaginative. Including those which looked super gross ... it's an interesting experience if you just let it be
  
• There are few creepy scenes. Though it's not a horror show but it still gives you the creeps. It's fun though haha ... Better than lousy horror movies for sure. :p ...
  

(WARNING: Spoilers may be lurking but not to the extent it'll spoil your enjoyment if you choose to watch the show)

The Super Short Flow
The first scene, Jean- Baptiste Grenouille, was announced to be sentenced in front of the public by destroying all his limbs on the cross. What happened after that, was his journey towards his goal in creating the ultimate perfume and the continuation from the gruesome announcement.

My Take
I haven't read the novel before but it's so acclaimed that the novel is really good. So I took a look at the last chapter of it yesterday. :p .... And the words are so profound and captivating. But the movie has done it a justice (at least for the last chapter) though there are a few sentences that I think should have been included in. But oh well ... you can go to any book store and read about the last page. As it sums up about the moral of the story.

So what do I learn from this movie:

• Even though you have that invincible power that may allow you to control the world, it all will fall apart when you don't have the ability to love and to be loved
• Self identity is another important message this movie trying to tell. You've to know who you are in whichever way you are defining it and not based on others' definitions. Because when you are not, when even a dog can't sniff the essence of you, you are just another lost soul.
  

Beautiful Quotes
I may not have captured it correctly, but it says something along the line of ...
"The soul of every being, lies in its sense."

Trailer:



Related Link
If you are interested in how the perfumes are being made, I've found a website that went back to Grasse (where the movie took place) and followed the footsteps of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille.

What If You Had a Universal Remote Control … That Controlled Your Universe?

Would you want it?

Oh come on, don’t be shy. Take it. IT’S FREE!

Well, for those of you who’ve watched “Click” starring talented comedian, Adam Sandler, you’ll definitely understand what I’m going to share below. For those who don’t, I beg you to watch. BEG …. *down on my feet*. Please don’t miss sucha great movie. Yeah, I know Adam Sandler’s shows tend to be crappy but trust me it always has meaning behind it and this time it is showcased brilliantly. So, please watch. If you still don’t like it … hmmm … I’ll see if I can get a Universal Remote Control, and I’ll record your life instead. (Joking la ….)

I’ve watched this show 2 weeks ago. I remembered I’m begging my friends to watch with me but last minute, almost no one could make it. I seriously determined to watch it myself till one of my friend came to the rescue. :D …. *Thank you very much for that*

I’ve heard lots of good review from people who’ve watched it. Most of them said,”It is very meaningful.” But I’ve also read bad reviews from magazine and newspaper, saying it’s another slapsticks comedy with no substance. BLA BLA BLA.

Guess what, the moment I saw the preview even before anybody has watched the show, I know I’m in for a good ride. When “The One Up There” kinda theme is involved, normally the show can’t go too wrong. Though it’s stupid, it’ll still try to convey a message that’s more profound than eyes can normally grasp. (OK OK, let me be humble. I just like stupid show. I even like Spongebob Squarepants! Oooppps…..)

(Image courtesy of www.theepochtimes.com)

So, I began my journey with Adam who’s an architect who thought life will be better when he got his promotion. He neglected his family and put all his heart into his work, thinking when my work has stabilized, I’ll have more time for my family. (How many of you can relate to that? I sure can.) The Almighty heard his cries when his works were so overwhelming and gave him a Universal Remote Control that could make him go back to the past, fast forward the unpleasant part of his life, stop the time, and can even turn on TV, fan, etc. What a bargain.

I’ll not reveal too much what happens in the movie as I understand some of you will choose to watch it and experience it yourself. But what I’d like to draw out from the movies for those who plan not to watch it is that, Life is not just passing by and getting to the final destination. But it’s every moment and every second of it that really count. Yeah, some of the moments are not pleasant … (may be I’m being too nice to use the word “pleasant”) let me re-write … some of the moments are just CRAP. It can be painful, humiliating, disappointing, terrifying, killing … you name it. But, living it and giving it 400% of what you’ve got by even just experiencing it and brace it, will make you grow 800% more. Cry to the maximum. Fail to the maximum. Enjoy to the maximum too. When everything has passed, then you look back or look down or look from wherever you want, you can proudly tell yourself,” I’ve given my very best and I lived with no regrets” (Eh! I suddenly sound like William Hung (the Fallen American Idol who sang “She Bangs”. Look what happened when he too has given his best. Think he made more $$ than some of the top 20 idols.)

Life is indeed beautiful, with or without its make-up on. J Live it awakened!

“He's always chasing the pot of gold, but when he gets there, at the end of the day, it's just corn flakes.- Morty” (Quote from “Click”)

D.D.'s Introduction

Hello

My name is D.D. (or that's how I'd like to be called :-)). I'm a simple girl who lives in the simple universe and decided to reside (currently) at Singapore (a FINE city).

I love watching movies A LOT. I used to say to myself that movies are my LIFE. I could watch 8 movies in one weekend last time ... but now 3 movies per one weekend is quite a happy record to myself.

I always find that every movies has a significant lesson for us to learn, be it the good, the bad, the beautiful, the ugly ... no matter how lousy or badly rated the movie is, one can still discover a gem out of it.

Hence I'm creating this blog to share about movies that I've watched and the gems I've picked up along the way.

Hope you'll enjoy my sharing and learning.

I hope you will enjoy my sharing and findings.

Have a great life, everyone.

Sincerely

D.D.