Invictus

 

INVICTUS (2009)
Starring Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon

I've been watching some movies I stored up in my externals, and I came across this film which I never thought that I'd like it. You see, I have this habit where I'll google a bit for film plots before watching the film itself. I just don't feel like wasting time on watching something I don't like. 

The film is about an inspiring true story of how Nelson Mandela, President of South Africa united the country with the help of Francois Pienaar, caption of Springboks, the national rugby team. Being the first black president, Mandela faced challenges where racial division between the white and black South Africans exists. Mandela believed that Springboks' victory in the World Cup can unite the country.

I do not have the ability and confidence to write a good synopsis for the film, so I found a link to share. Click here (Full Synopsis) if you are interested in the full synopsis. By the way it contains spoilers. =P

I would like to share a few parts of the film which I like best. =)

FIRSTLY, the short Victorian poem which inspired Mandela in the prison -- "Invictus".

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

My favourite lines are the last two. We are responsible for our own life. We take the responsibility for everything we have done, resulting in everything we face. We work hard and strive to reach our ultimate target, not giving up to hardships on the way. 

SECONDLY, the scenes where the citizens, both white and black South Africans, cheered for Springboks. Initially, the blacks cheer against the team as the mostly-white Springboks represents apartheid. 

It teared me up when I saw the citizens supporting the team throughout the final match. Springboks was having a hard time but Francois motivated them. The South Africans cheered for them, showing great support. Their cheers and sighs, I felt them. I felt like I was being pulled into that scenario, feeling the tension of the atmosphere. When Springboks won, it was so touching to see the citizens celebrate in unity.

THIRDLY, this film has awesome soundtracks! Below is the playlist I found on YouTube:

INVICTUS OST (Playlist)

I find this film very inspiring, as in not giving up in life. I am also happy to see that there are leaders out there who are really trying their best in uniting the country. I have friends from different races and religions, and we respect each other, enjoying life together though they are not my very very close friends. I appreciate the chances where I get to learn more from them, and we enjoy the learning process together. I know racial discrimination still exists in our country. Sometimes I just wish that I can see exact effort that bears fruit.

Seeing my students getting along with each other happily regardless of their skin colour and beliefs, the same question pops out every now and then:

Why can't we, the adults be like them?

To end this post, these two are my favourites from the playlist. =3

"COLORBLIND" by Overtone

"WORLD IN UNION '95" by Overtone with Yollandi Nortjie

Blogging Makes Me Feel Better

Ever since I fell sick, I didn't have the mood to blog. After I recovered, I got busy because Dear came to Penang with his sister. I've went to his house and met his sister a couple of times, but this is the first time she came to stay over at my place. We never had such a packed schedule before. We went out for trips and walks every single day. 

I guess that explains why I haven't been blogging for that whole week.

After they left, I started to get busy with Christmas presents preparations. Went out to shop for the materials I need and it didn't seem to be as easy as I thought. Anyway I got them done. =)

It's Christmas Eve, and I don't know why I'm feeling emo all of a sudden. Maybe it's because everybody in the family is feeling tired, and we don't know what to do suddenly. I loafed on Facebook and I'm losing my interest in Farmville 2. I don't know why but something must be wrong with lappy's efficiency. It'll go hang whenever I play FV2. Sometimes even when I'm downloading songs too. I get so fed up that I resorted to my korean dramas. I wanted to share some photos I took with Dear during our trips but the emo mood from nowhere killed everything. 

Speaking of that, ever since "Protect the Boss", I only managed to finish three Korean drama series. You can see the list of dramas that I haven't watched at "My Wanna Watch List". It's just on the right column of the blog page, scroll rightttt down and you'll see it. 

Lately I have only finished watching these.

  

HEARTSTRING / 你为我着迷

I like dramas and movies with some music genre. It just makes me look forward to every plot and song on the way. Heartstring's main characteristics are uni students who play different musical instruments - the guy plays the guitar while the girl plays a traditional instrument. The best part of the series that I like is the performance where they combined both modern and traditional instruments. The OST are very nice and recommended too. =D

MY GIRLFRIEND IS A GUMIHO / 我的女友是九尾狐

Gumiho is the name for the nine-tailed fox in the Korean language. Just like what the title mentioned, the main female character is a nine-tailed fox. I find this series pretty joyful as the fox made many silly mistakes without even knowing what was wrong. Cliched like every happily-every-after stories, they got together despite the fact that the girl is not a human. I didn't really cry throughout watching this series. Well ALMOST la. I thought it would be the first Korean drama that I won't cry while watching. The last episode proved me wrong. (>_____>)

FULL HOUSE / 浪漫满屋

THIS IS ONE OLD DRAMA SERIES. I never watched it till now!! It's so old that the characters in the series are still using Samsung flip-overs! XD The story is cute, sweet, romantic and happy! Of course there are some parts that makes you cry. (Korean dramas are meant to make you go teary.) There is this kids song in the series that became pretty famous back in those years. I even hum it when I'm doing house chores. ==

-- 《浪漫满屋》三只熊 / "Fullhouse" Three Bears --

Just in case you've never heard of it.

There's even a version of Rain singing this song. =D
I laughed so much! Especially at the American version hahaha!

-- Sung Hye Kyo and Rain singing 3 Bears --

This is the best video with subtitles that I can find. ><

Thanks to the cute song I feel so much better. =3 Sorry I'm not very good at writing synopsis so I only scribbled some personal opinions. As you can see I've only watched a few series during this sem break, I doubt I can accomplish my goal within the last week of my sem break now. -headdesk-

So erm.. MERRY CHRISTMAS! Hope everyone is enjoying your Christmas Eve tonight!

Jack Frost made me clean my desktop hahaha! ♥

P/S: I watched "Rise of the Guardians" with Dear and his sister. I FELL IN LOVE WITH HIM ALMOST IMMEDIATELY. 

How To Train Your Dragon

Bored from revision so I thought I might take a break to recommend an animation movie. Most people call them cartoons. Sigh.

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON

I like dragons !!! XD I have this movie in lappy all the while but it took me quite a while before I watch it. Thought of sharing it suddenly. And it seems like this is the first movie (okay some might prefer to call it cartoon) I share here. XDDD

Basically the story is about a young boy, Hiccup who wants to become a dragon slayer (Viking) badly to gain his father and his tribe's acceptance. However no one seems to believe in his abilities. He's kinda smart but like what happen to most main characters, things never turn out smoothly for him. One day he shot down a Night Fury, an unseen dragon which the tribe refers to as a deadly threat. No one believed him of course. Instead of killing it, Hiccup befriended it and managed to tame it. Toothless, he named it. The young guy became the first dragon rider in the history. The tribe lost trust in him when they found out that Hiccup doesn't have the slightest intention to kill a dragon, despite being the heir to his father, the Viking chief. The climax of the story revolves around the tribe's attack to the dragon's nest, where they found the most frightening (and biggest) dragon they've never heard before. Well everyone almost got killed till Hiccup flew to save everyone. The fight between the humongous dragon and Hiccup (of course with Toothless) was fascinating, although Hiccup ended up losing his left foot in the final explosion. His father apologized and expressed his gratitude to Toothless for saving his son. As cliched as it can be, everyone lived happily ever after with the dragons. =)

My synopsis is not that detailed enough. I suck at writing summaries. Yet if anyone of you wants to watch something just for an entertainment, I suggest you can try it. XD

LOOK AT BABY TOOTHLESS !!

SO ADORABLE !! <3

( P/S: Baby toothless is just a fanart. >< )