[Music] Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen)-- Damned By Love

Hello everyone, today I'm going to introduce one of my fav songs "Hallelujah". Though the title seems pretty religious, it has nothing to do within religion. Well, we can even say it's anti-religious, I'll talk about it later after I introduce the lyrics.  

Lyrics:

I've heard there was a secret chord

That David played, and it pleased the Lord

But you don't really care for music, do you?

It goes like this

The fourth, the fifth

The minor fall, the major lift

The baffled king composing Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Your faith was strong but you needed proof

You saw her bathing on the roof

Her beauty in the moonlight overthrew you

She tied you to a kitchen chair

She broke your throne, and she cut your hair

And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Baby I have been here before

I know this room, I've walked this floor

I used to live alone before I knew you.

I've seen your flag on the marble arch

Love is not a victory march

It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

There was a time when you let me know

What's really going on below

But now you never show it to me, do you?

And remember when I moved in you

The holy dove was moving too

And every breath we drew was Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Maybe there’s a God above

But all I’ve ever learned from love

Was how to shoot at someone who outdrew you

It’s not a cry you can hear at night

It’s not somebody who has seen the light

It’s a cold and it’s a broken Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

The term Hallelujah means "praise the Lord"; nonetheless, the lyrics tells stories about those who became sinners because of love. The lyrics refers to King David and Samson, both the two got dizzy-headed for woman and betrayed God. They'd lost almost everything in the end, still, the lyrics says Hallelujah, praise the Lord. Perhaps, just perhaps, it's because love is always one of the best gifts from God, no matter what it takes.

I guess some of you guys have found that this song sounds pretty familiar, yep, it appeared several times in the animation Shrek. I myself also heard this song for the first time when watching Shrek 1, I was attracted immediately, despite the fact that I was just a 7-year-old brat and couldn't even understand a single word of the lyrics. However, the tune was so heart-breakingly beautiful and sad, it just kept lingering in my head again and again.

The following is my favorite version, performed by Alexandra Burke, I think it's the most powerful and strong interpretation of this song.

I got literally teary-eyed when watching her performance, she was so emotional but still having a perfect control of her voice. I think what made her so extraordinary was because most of the covers simply copy the original, and none of the singers put so much enthusiasm and soul into it, Alexandra really did an incredibly fantastic job.

Thank you for visiting my blog and see you next time! If you like the song I introduce today, I'm really looking forward to your comments and support~

[Movie] The Polar Express-- The Power of Believing

Merry Christmas!!! Since the holiday's coming, let me introduce you guys my favorite Christmas movie-- The Polar Express.Suppose most of you've already seen this movie, however, since it's from the year 2004, I'd better write the main plot for you to recall.

The little boy who was the leading role of the movie, was on the verge of not believing in Santa Claus. However, on Christmas Eve, a miracle happened-- a magic train called "The Polar Express" stopped right outside his home and he was invited aboard. The train was full of kids, heading directly to the North Pole.

The conductor of the train.

The boy made friends with a brave girl, a "know-it-all" boy (he was REALLY annoying...) and a lonely boy on the train, together they had a thrilling adventure, including facing a blizzard on the top of the train, saving the uncontrolled train from crashing into a glacier, and getting lost in the maze-like town of the elves. After all these fantastic experiences, the doubted boy began to "believe".

The friends the boy met.

At the end of the story, the boy and the kids eventually met Santa Claus, and he started to understand the true meaning of believe, as the conductor of the train said: "Sometimes seeing is believing, but sometimes the most real things in the world are the things we can't see."

 In the very end, the boy got "the first gift of Christmas" from Santa-- a bell on Santa's sleigh which could only be heard by those who truly believed. As time elapsed, all of the boy's friends and his little sister couldn't hear the bell ring anymore; nonetheless, the bell always worked for him no matter how long the time had passed.

All right, the above is the introduction of the plot. Now, surely I must mention the music of the movie. The Polar Express featured a few of impressive original songs and a combination of classic Christmas songs, the following are my recommendations, you can also find the full soundtrack on You Tube.

My favorite is "When Christmas Comes To Town", I was deeply moved when I first heard that song, the melody was touching, the scene was beautiful, and the lyrics spoke of the true meaning of Christmas. The last two songs were medley of some original songs and classic songs, hope you can enjoy them.

Have you ever wondered that why this movie seemed so real despite that it was an animation? The magic behind it was the technique of motion capture. The actors wore loads of sensors on their face and body to capture their every single movement, then the engineers and anime artists transferred them into images. 

The huge hit Avatar also applied this technique, though this was a big breakthrough at the time when The polar express was filmed. Another interesting fact is that the actor Tom Hanks played SIX roles himself, including the leading role (the little boy), the conductor, Santa Claus, the hobo, the boy's father and the narrator. The following videos are some behind-the-scene clips.

A detailed explanation of the techniques used in the film (I failed to post the video directly):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w22BQpyoydk

It's really amazing to see how they brought the astonishing scenes to life, and how Tom Hanks talked to himself(?). Okay, just kidding, it's definitely a challenging task to act six characters at the same time, and Mr. Hanks was indeed an outstanding actor to do such an excellent job.

The first time I watched this movie, I was immediately fascinated. As you can see, EVERY SINGLE SCENE was breathtakingly beautiful, the plot was interesting and imaginative, and the most important of all (for me) is those attractive pieces of music.

Now I've grown up and watched the movie once more, I found that this is not only a Christmas movie about interesting adventures of the kids, but also told us how to view the world. When we're not a child anymore, we started to have lots of pressure from the others and ourselves. We tend to get depressed easily, and stop believing in joy and happiness. 

We forgot how excited we once were just by seeing those presents under the Christmas tree or in the stockings, by hearing the cheerful songs on the streets, or getting together with family and friends. I found my eyes filled with tears when Santa said to the boy: "Just remember, the true spirit of Christmas lies in your heart." Then I realize, just appreciate every moment of life, we can always find joy and happiness in our own heart.

Merry Christmas!!!!

[Sherlock] Characters Analysis-- The Original Novel, Movie and TV Series

     Since the famous detective was created, the story of Sherlock Holmes has been adapted into stage plays, movies and TV series. Countless actors had played the role of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson, result in many different interpretations, which makes it interesting to compare them. 

     Today, I'm going to focus on the original story by Sir. Arthur Conan Doyle, the recent movie version and BBC's Sherlock, so if you are a fan of any one of the above, please feel free to give corrections or suggestions!

Sherlock Holmes

     The original model of Sherlock Holmes was Mr. Doyle's own teacher, who was also a doctor himself. He could judge the background of his patients just by observing them, hence, he liked to use this little trick to make surprises. What he didn't know was, Conan Doyle would use the skill to develop a detective character, and even created the basic method of crime investigation.

The Movie Version (played by Robert Downey, Jr.)

     Alright, hush now girls, please don't scream... I know he's hot, but that's not the point!! XD

     First, I have to admit that I only watched A Game of Shadows and a little bit of the first episode... So please tell me if I get anything wrong.

     The movie version kept the Victorian age as background (I LOVE 19th century, just think of those coaches, kerosene lamps, torches and the famous fog of London!!!!!), however, they've created a whole new story and the personality of Holmes. Though he was still good at martial arts and violin, the movie version of Holmes had a better body shape, and he used his violin for special purposes...XDDD 

     Robert's version of Holmes was weirder than the original, but I think he had a sense of humor which made him more humanlike. (Dunno why though, but I think Mr. Robert Downey successfully made the role a genius who was also hilarious at the same time, I really like his stunning performance!)

BBC's TV Series (Played by Benedict Cumberbatch)

     I think you already know the biggest difference between the movie version and TV series, that the background of Sherlock was the modern age, which made the TV series one of a kind. It's no wonder to see Sherlock use modern technology like computer, mobile phone or microscope, so they made another adaption-- making Sherlock a "high function sociopath". 

     Sherlock was even lack of emotions than the original, almost everyone around him thought he was a lunatic. Benedict successfully gave the role a dark and cold feeling, plus his super fast speed of speaking, it was easy to let the audience feel that he is Sherlock Holmes despite the differences to the original story.

      However, what made Sherlock so attractive was his childishness, I think. Sherlock often talked like a kid when he wasn't in the "deduction mode", he was easy to get hurt and angry because of something not important at all. Sherlock even had lots of quarrels with his brother just because he thought Mycroft was irritating... It's really interesting to see a genius do such funny behaviors. XD

 Interesting Fact 

     Since Benedict has an eye disorder called heterochromia iridum, which means his two eyes have different colors, you can find that fact if you take a closer look at Sherlock's eyes.

     Notice it? His right eye (on our left) is blue, and his left eye appears to be green. However, the colors are too light, his eyes seems gray or silver (when there's light) at normal distance, so it's hard to figure out the truth if you don't know about it already.

Dr. John H. Watson

     Conan Doyle once said that himself was more like Watson, not Holmes, which means the character Watson was more likely a "normal guy". Watson seemed stupid sometimes, but that was in comparison with Holmes... On the other hand, Watson was brave, loyal and compassionate, which were actually ideal characteristics that are hard to be seen on "normal people" like you and me. In fact, I think Watson is another truly role model just like Holmes.

The Movie Version (played by Jude Law)

     Er...no more screams, thanks a lot. XD

     Dr. Watson from the movie took a much more important place, he wasn't just an assistant anymore, sometimes, it was not Holmes but Watson who used his intelligence to solve the crisis. Being an army doctor, Watson were expert both as a doctor and a fighter, he saved good people's lives and knocked over bad guys at the same time, which was sometimes more useful than Holmes (?). 

BBC's TV Series (played by Martin Freeman)

     First of all, the biggest deciding fact between John and the original Watson was that John got a bad temper, though he mostly lost control because of Sherlock. John had a very strong sense of justice, it was also him who taught Sherlock the moral principles. In addition, John save Sherlock's lives countless times, since Sherlock was in fact poor at combat...John had to act the role as nanny and body guard to Sherlock. LOL

 Interesting Fact

     If you're a fan of The Lord of the Rings, than I suppose you've already seen the recent hit: The Hobbit movie. Have you noticed someone very familiar? Yes, Martin Freeman played the title role Bilbo Baggins, Frodo's uncle, the previous owner of the ring. 

Professor James Moriarty

     

     The criminal who's famous for his cleverness, cruel nature, and  the title "the one who killed Sherlock Holmes". Holmes once said his the most brilliant and dangerous criminal at his time, hence, Conan Doyle arranged him to be the killer of Sherlock Holmes, that the two plunged into the Reichenbach Falls together to their death (somehow sounds sweet to me... Okay I was wrong, forgive me. XD) Though Mr. Doyle had to make Holmes alive again under the great pressure of a bunch of outrageous fans. :p

The Movie Version (played by Jared Harris)

      Well, to be honest, Moriarty was the most disappointing role in the movie to me. He showed no sign of intelligence, only brutality, since he took people's lives without care. However, that makes no difference to a normal convict, which totally ruined the reputation of "the most dangerous criminal of the world". Besides, sometimes he just seemed like a sad, lonely old man...="=

BBC's TV Series (played by Andrew Scott)

I LOVE this scene!!!!! (It's in S2E3 The Reichenbach Fall)

     Um, I have to tell myself not to scream this time... Focus!!!

    Andrew's version of James "Jim" Moriarty was one of the best things I've seen on TV, he made the role the funniest, coolest villain ever. Unlike other bad guys on TV, Jim didn't spit out meaningless threatens like "You'll die even without knowing how", but always talking in a happy, singing tone, for instance, "Every fairy tale needs a good old fashion villain~" (singing) If you just listen to him speaking, you would probably think he's just a playful guy; nonetheless, he emitted heavy pressure to the air which made people breathless and gave them a very clear message: this man was actually unbelievably smart and dangerous. This, in my opinion, is the right interpretation of the role Moriarty.

Interesting Fact

     Andrew himself was just as special as his role, unlike other actors usually research and prepare a lot for their upcoming roles, Andrew confessed that 'I didn't do any research, I just went for it. People always ask "Have you read this, have you read that?" and I say, no but I have read the scene seventy-seven times!' Perhaps that was why Andrew was so extraordinary, since he wasn't affected by any actor who played this role before.

Mycroft Holmes

The Movie Version (played by Stephen Fry)

BBC's TV Series (played by Mark Gatiss)

     Sherlock Holmes' only family-- Mycroft Holmes, his big brother who was 7 years older than him. The novel had once mentioned that Mycroft was smarter than Sherlock, though he was too lazy to do "leg works", he always stayed in club and would rather be a "nobody" comparing to his brother. The movie version didn't change his personality much in spite of the brand new plot, however, BBC's version made Mycroft the head of British secret service, he had become a man with both power and wealth, the only weakness of him was...his own little brother... 

     Mycroft appeared to care too much about Sherlock, he would show up at any time in Sherlock's flat, than they would certainly  have a absolutely pointless quarrel (Sherlock seemed to loathe his brother as how Mycroft cared about him). In fact, Mycroft even did SURVEILLANCE to his own brother!!! That's truly "BIG BROTHER's always watching over you!" (Mark had once post this on his Twitter as a joke. XD) By the way, Mark Gatiss is one of the editors of BBC Sherlock.

Well, for the next two characters, I guess I can't write the introductions anymore or this blog would be too long...

Inspector Lestrade

The Movie Version (played by Eddie Marsan)

BBC's TV Series (played by Rupert Graves)

Irene Adler

The Movie Version (played by Rachel McAdams)

BBC's TV Series (played by Lara Pulver)

      Well, this is the end of my introduction of BBC Sherlock; nevertheless, I'm considering of keeping this blog, there are also many movies, comics, novels and musicals I long to share!!! Hope to see you next time!!!