Movie: Iron Man 3 Refrained Movie Review & More

Image from IMDb

There is little that interests me these days as I actually cannot afford the time to do anything other than writing my PhD proposal. The one thing that did raise my eyebrow was the Iron Man 3 movie.

Movie-goers in Hong Kong are very lucky to have the chance to start watching this movie from 25th April, even earlier than the US, let alone the opportunity to come close with the Iron Man armours at the Iron Man 3 Hot Toys exhibition. I actually went back with my Canon 7D and took some nice photos the other day. I just had to, it was an event I just could not miss.

Image from Locky's English Playground

I was also lucky to have bought the tickets early and had already watched this third episode last Sunday. At first, I wanted to talk about the details of the movie, but because many others have not watched it yet, I have to resort to talking about what we all can see from the official trailer.

I must say I am most impressed by the character Mandarin, for that he has really acted out the evilness of this character. Ben Kingsley did an excellent job and without him, the entire movie would have completely lost directions.

Are these the good guys or the bad guys?
Image from the official trailer

Another question that had been in my mind before I watched the movie was where all the other Iron Man armours come from, and whether they are once again evil replicas like those in Iron Man 1 and 2, turns out all armours are Tony's production this time, as seen in the shot below.

Can you see the other iron man armours below the ground?
Image from the official trailer

I am also impressed by the fact that in every Iron Man movie, there is always an antagonist who can easily destroy or damage his armour. It is saddening, to see what is supposed to be beautifully engineered, super tough gold-titanium alloy suit to be severely damaged by the bad guys every single time, but if the armour never breaks, how can anyone do any harm to the mighty Iron Man. In this movie, not only will we see the damage of one suit, but a few dozens of suits. Viewers like me who treasure the Iron Man suits as beauties will definitely feel tonnes of pity.

One more sad news is this movie is expected to be the last of the Iron Man movie series. Although we are expecting to see Tony in his suit once again in The Avengers 2 or maybe as cameo in other Marvel heroes' movie, like there is one other familiar hero appearing in Iron Man 3 at the end of the movie, everyone who likes Robert Downey Jr. in this role will definitely miss him. Unlike other super heroes, their characters are not as charmingly intelligent and narcissistic. The contradicting imperfection and greatness of Tony Stark create the grip that hold onto the audience so tightly that they want to keep coming for more. I dare say as long as Robert Downey Jr. is in this role, even Iron Man 4, 5, 6 will continue to be mega-blockbusters.

Image from IMDb

Maybe both Thor and Captain America's second movie are coming, and some might also be anticipating, but we all know too well that they will never be comparable with Iron Man. Let's hope that the franchise and the production company will rethink about putting an end at the Iron Man trilogy and make a few more movie of brilliance for the viewers to enjoy.


Last but not least, here are some tips for you,

Image from IMDb

1. watch out for a glimpse of Sherlock Holmes' like Tony Stark in Iron Man 3, 
2. notice where JARVIS exists in the Iron Man movie,
3. remember not to leave until the lights are back on.

Vocabulary:
refrain -- (vb) [I] formal to avoid doing or stop yourself from doing something:
raise (a few) eyebrow -- to cause surprise or shock:
resort to sth -- phrasal verb to do something that you do not want to do because you cannot find any other way of achieving something:
antagonist -- (n)][C] formal a person who is strongly opposed to something or someone:
sadden -- (vb)[T] to make someone sad:
cameo -- (n)[C] (plural cameos) a small but noticeable part in a film or play, performed by a famous actor:
narcissistic -- (adj)  having too much admiration for themselves
blockbuster -- (n) [C] informal a book or film that is very successful:
trilogy -- (n)[C] a series of three books, plays, etc. written about the same situation or characters, forming a continuous story


Resources:
Event: Iron Man 3 Hot Toys "Suit Up At Hysan Place" @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.hk/2013/04/event-iron-man-3-hot-toys-suit-up-at.html

Iron Man 3 Official Trailer #2 (2013) - Robert Downey Jr. Movie HD @ YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEIVPiTuYkQ

The Avengers 2 @ IMDb
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2395427/?ref_=sr_2

Thor: The Dark World  @ IMDb
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1981115/?ref_=tt_rec_tt

Captain America: The Winter Soldier  @ IMDb
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1843866/?ref_=tt_rec_tt

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/refrain_1?q=refrain
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/raise-a-few-eyebrows?q=raise+%28a+few%29+eyebrows
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/resort-to-sth
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/antagonist?q=antagonist
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/sadden?q=saddening
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/cameo_1?q=cameo
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/narcissist?q=narcissistic+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/blockbuster?q=blockbuster+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/trilogy?q=trilogy+

Event: Iron Man 3 Hot Toys "Suit Up At Hysan Place"

Mk 8 at the entrance
Image from Locky's English Playground

Some say I am a fan of Iron Man, I'm not. I'm just a fan of Robert Downey Jr.. Then again, Iron Man is probably the only super hero movie I like. Superman, Spiderman, Thor, Hulk, Captain America, Batman, all failed to attract me, but the constantly changing and upgrading of suits, suits me! At the end of the day, I am a person who likes to upgrade myself as well as the software and hardware I own.

Those who likes Iron Man can now go to Hysan Place at Causeway Bay to see both toy-size and 1:1 Iron Man suits till May 12.

Talking about Iron Man suits, when I first saw the costume done by Adam Savage of Mythbusters, I thought it was an incredible job done.

But when I saw this one below, I could immediately tell the difference.

Mk I
Image from Locky's English Playground

But the one Adam made was a costume and he could actually wear it, but this one is for display, so they are not exactly the same.

Mk 2
Image from Locky's English Playground

Mk 2, hm... did it even show up in the movie? Oh yes, it did, but just a small part, when he was flying around in his own house.

Mk 3
Image from Locky's English Playground

And the trailer reminds me that Mk 2 is essentially the same as Mk 3 without the paint.

Mk 4
Image from Locky's English Playground

Mk 5
Image from Locky's English Playground

Mk 6
Image from Locky's English Playground

Mk 4, 5 and 6 appeared in the Iron Man 2. That I never realised.

Mk 7
Image from Locky's English Playground

And of course, Mk 7 was in The Avengers.

All exhibits are hand-made collectible figurines done by local Hong Kong figure-loving company Hot Toys. Despite the company name, these are really more than toys. 

Mk 2
Image from Locky's English Playground

That's because, all these exhibits have movable parts and the suits are made from hundreds of separate pieces assembled together, so while we are taking photos, we can also pay special attentions to the details.

Tony in Mk 4 in Iron Man 2 movie
Image from Locky's English Playground

Mk XLII
Image from Locky's English Playground

The joints are flexible.

Tony testing Mk 2 in Iron Man movie
Image from Locky's English Playground

And Tony Stark definitely looks very Robert Downey Jr.-like.

Tony in damaged Mk XLII
Image from Locky's English Playground

Ironman, Captain America and Thor concept
Image from Locky's English Playground

There are also some concept figures on higher floor, so don't miss them because we are too distracted by the large ones on the ground floor.

Some kind of concept figure
Image from Locky's English Playground

There isn't much to learn about English here, but it is definitely a great event to warm your cameras up. I will return with my Canon 7D next time, after I have recovered from my flu.

Image from Locky's English Playground

Check out the Photosphere picture I took also!
https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/106778983332901434418/albums/5868798258346676977/5868798261682920578


Resources:
Hot Toys Official Page
http://www.hottoys.com.hk/news.php?newsID=66

Inside Adam Savage's Cave: Iron Man Mark I @ YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hYBDDZjgiw

New Iron Man Trailer #2 FEB 28th 2008! @ YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Hx6TEqrzHU

Iron Man 2 Trailer 2 (OFFICIAL)  @ YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNQowwwwYa0

The Avengers Mark 7 VII Suit Up HD @ YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APl78T9FjJo

https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/106778983332901434418/albums/5868798258346676977/5868798261682920578

Photography: Dragonball Z Kamekameha Photography (PS version)!!!

Sneak-preview photo on Locky's English Playground Facebook last week
Image from Locky's English Playground

After I have uploaded this photo onto the Facebook last week, I have got 353 photo views, that is almost like 10 times the usual views I get for any blog post updates on my Facebook (since I usually gets around 35 views, sad!), thus proving "a picture speaks more than 1000 words" and "a picture gets more than 10 times the views". And so as planned, I will let you know what that picture is...

What do you know? It's me
Image from Locky's English Playground

It's me, of course, with a Son Goku's Kamekameha pose Photoshopped into an image of fireball explosion. It all began as a fun photography honeymoon photography activity when my wife and I both got bored and decided to fight each other while taking pictures. 

One of the many honeymoon photos
Image from Locky's English Playground

I did all those Bruce Li's flying kicks and she did the sidestep dodges. When I got exhausted, I decided to take a photo of me doing a Kamekameha pose, then that photo was kept in the computer hard drive, until last week...

Image from bubblews

Ever since the trailer release of the latest Dragonball Z -- Battle of Gods movie 2013, fans have gone wild and flooded the internet with their very own Kamekameha photos.

Image from neversaymedia

Image from izismile

First the school girls of Japan goes creative ...

Image from a.xx.fbcdn

then it spread to the western world. By now Kamekameha Photography should be an official photography move after levitation and planking. 

It would be fun to try something exactly the same, especially if you have a group of silly friends and Dragonball fans around, it could make a whole-day activity during an outing, but like you have seen my honeymoon photo above, it wouldn't be too spectacular if there are only two people, so instead, I went to combine Kamekameha photography with my Photoshop skills.

Image from Locky's English Playground

Step 1:

Since Kamekameha かめかめ波, literally meaning "Turtle Turtle Wave", I will need to create waves or Ki-blast (in computer game term). I can make my own using Photoshop but for the simplicity of this, you can capture a photo from a Dragonball game like I did above, or download a photo from the internet first.

Image from Locky's English Playground

Step 2: 

Take many photos of the "victim" in painful postures, try to look as agonized as possible. As for the Kamekameha performer, just perform the Kamekameha and take a couple of shots, it won't go too wrong.

Image from Locky's English Playground

Step 3:
Cut and shrink the same of the men to fit the size of the characters in the image, remove the original cartoon characters with Spot Healing Brush Tool with Content Aware, use layers so you can fine tune the Opacity and Set the blending mode for the layers. Don't forget to add the shadows back to the image and...

WA-LA!!! You have your Kamekameha photo to share with your friends! It doesn't take long if you are good with Photoshop.

Give it a go and have fun!

Vocabulary:
dodge -- (n)[C] [I or T] avoid being hit by something by moving quickly to one side:
levitation photography -- (n) A person photographed while bouncing may appear to be levitating

Levitation Photography
Image from yowayowa

planking -- (n) an activity consisting of lying face down —sometimes in an unusual or incongruous location. Both hands must touch the sides of the body.

Planking
Image from washingtonpost

agonized -- (adj) (UK usually agonised)  showing or feeling extreme physical or mental pain:


Resources:

Levitation Photography @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levitation_(paranormal)#Levitation_in_photographies

Planking @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planking

Kamekameha @ Dragonball Encyclopedia
http://www.dragonballencyclopedia.com/qdb/Kamekameha

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/dodge_1
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/agonized?q=agonized

Culture: Cultures You Shouldn't Miss Out

Felix Baumgartner jumped from 128,100 ft
Image from guim.co.uk

There are definitely a lot going on these days, some extremely exciting, some you might not even notice, hence the title of this post.

First off, Austrian Red Bull jumper Felix Baumgartner jumped from the stratosphere at a world record height of 39,045 metres (128,100 ft) or just over 39 kilometres (24 mi) and landed on Earth's soil again safely. He took this risk-taking culture to a height never before!! It was absolutely breath-taking even watching the video clips, madness!!!

This jump really made his own jump from Taipei 101 look super easy!

Some people are asking why there is still gravity at stratosphere, well of course there is!!! Although less than a person is at sea level, Felix still experienced gravity at that height. Think about it, how can there be tides if the moon's gravity isn't affecting the movement of the ocean? There is still gravity even in outer space!! Not hard to see if you still remember this formula from secondary school,

Image from Wikipedia

Image from FOX

Second, America's favourite family The Simpsons is back on TV in the US for another season, but it was not always liked by everyone.

TheFW has an article titled 10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About ‘The Simpsons’, Fox television wanted to kill The Simpsons family in the early days, luckily, that never happened and now we can still watch this yellowish family today.

Image from Scott Olson, Getty Image

Former First Lady Barbara Bush didn't like the family that much back in 1990 and told People Magazine that The Simpsons "was the dumbest thing I had ever seen". What happened after that?

Image from FOX

The FW reports,

Soon after the interview hit the stands, the White House received a personalized letter from Marge Simpson addressed to the First Lady. Marge admitted her family wasn't perfect but she told Mrs. Bush that she still tried to instill humility in her children and “believed in my heart that we have a great deal in common. Each of us [is] living our lives to serve an exceptional man.” The letter so moved Mrs. Bush that she wrote a response apologizing for her remarks and complementing Marge for “setting a good example for the rest of the country.”

This 24-season Simpson's culture isn't any cartoon can compare!

Then as I was reading off some news from Google News, I ran into a really interesting website which talks about the things that people often missed out when they watched movies, and that website if ZergNet,

Image from ZergNet

It has many intriguing topics such as

1. 10 Superheroes Who Really Don't Need Their Own Movie, 
2. Top 10 Most Paused Movie Moments, 
3. The 10 Biggest Movie Mistakes, 
4. The 19 Best Movies That You Didn't See in 2011, 
5. The 10 Most Gruesome Deaths In Film, etc.

Everything you really can't miss reading! If you want to get some topics for chats, this attractive website is the place to spend time on. Highly recommended!

Finally, in football gaming culture, there is Football Manager 2013 which will be on the 2nd November!! I have been waiting this since FM 2011 because I didn't play 2012, this upcoming version is definitely something I won't miss. Football lovers who want to taste the feeling of management, buying and selling football players, this is a game you can't live without!

That's all for today!

Vocabulary:
first off / first of all -- before anything else
stratosphere -- (n) [S] the layer of gases surrounding the Earth at a height of between 15 and 50 kilometres, which is not affected by the weather and in which the temperature increases with height
breathtaking -- (adj) extremely exciting, beautiful or surprising
madness -- (n) [U] the state of being mentally ill, or unable to behave in a reasonable way, also means awesome
instill -- (vb) (-ll-) UK (US instill) to put a feeling, idea or principle gradually into someone's mind, so that it has a strong influence on the way they think or behave
humility -- (n) [U] the quality of not being proud because you are conscious of your bad qualities



Resources:

Red Bull Stratos 120000 ft/36km jump Felix Baumgartner HD @ YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAeB4K8yDT0

Felix Baumgartner Unlikely To Cash In On Red Bull Space Jump
http://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2012/10/15/felix-baumgartner-unlikely-to-cash-in-on-red-bull-space-jump/

Felix Baumgartner BASE jump from world's tallest building, Taipei 101 Tower, Taipei, Taiwan @ YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWojBhx4ooc

The Simpson @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Simpsons

10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About ‘The Simpsons’ @ thefw
http://thefw.com/things-you-didnt-know-about-the-simpsons/?utm_source=zergnet.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=zergnet_29176

10 Superheroes Who Really Don't Need Their Own Movie @ ZergNet
http://www.zergnet.com/news/29894/10-superheroes-who-really-dont-need-their-own-movie

Football Manager 2013 Release Date Announced @ IGN
http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/09/28/football-manager-2013-release-date-announced

The tractor beam pull of the new Football Manager 2013
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/blog/_/name/bootroom/id/32?cc=4716

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/american-english/first-of-all?q=first+off
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/the-stratosphere?q=stratosphere+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/breathtaking?q=breathtaking
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/madness_2
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/instil?q=instill+#instil__3
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/humility?q=humility+

Comics: Online English Manga (free) 2

Image from Simpson Crazy

I know that many people do not like reading comic books, or manga (in Japanese), but why is it not good? Actually, I support all kinds of learning methods, as long as it works well for you. Some people like learning from movies, others like songs, I like learning from researches, why can't you learn from reading comic books?

In fact, many kids in the English speaking countries read comic books to learn vocabulary and expressions, as well as higher level communications such as sarcasm and jokes, they learn to read between the lines and not just from the "word surface".

But if you are learning English from comic books, suppose that you are a teenager or a kidult, make sure you inform your parents what the story is about and let them scan through to check if there is any dirty contents. If everything is clean, I don't see why they won't let you. But as parents, you still need to constantly monitor them.

I have always advocated that the best way to learn is to start from something you like, and then develop from there. In the past, I have suggested a website for those who are interested in comics, but that was just a single comic, this time, I have found another website which provides a lot of free online comics and here it is:
8 Manga.com.

Please do not think that comics are purely sold in Japan or in Hong Kong. Many of the famous ones are translated into English, Italian and Spanish and sold worldwide, Dragonball is one very good example that has gone from comics to games, to anime and then to Hollywood movie.

Image from my.opera.com

Guess you will get bored if I keep talking about older comics. Here are two newer and very successful examples:

Fullmetal Alchemist

Image from Bokutachi No Blog

Fullmetal Alchemist is sold in Australia and New Zealand.

Detective Conan

Image from In.com

Detective Conan / Case Closed is sold in Canada, US and UK

I remember that I have a few younger students (one of which is Dicky) who loves spending time on comics. I hope you will like this website I recommended.


Vocabulary:
sarcasm -- (n) [U] the use of remarks which clearly mean the opposite of what they say, and which are made in order to hurt someone's feelings or to criticize something in a humorous way
kidult -- (n) [C] an adult who likes doing or buying things that are intended for children


Resources:
http://lockyep.blogspot.com/2009/03/comics-online-english-manga-free.html
http://www.8manga.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragonball
http://lockyep.blogspot.com/2009/03/technology-google-earth-50.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fullmetal_Alchemist
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detective_Conan
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/sarcasm
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/kidult

Comics: Online English Manga (free)

Hi guys! This time I have found something really special to share. It is a comic (or Manga from Japanese) that is FREE to read online!!!! And it is in English!!! For those of you who are sick or scared to read books, here is something that might make a difference.

It is called Mega Tokyo, details can be found in the following website:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mega_tokyo

Image source from http://unhealthyobsession.com/

And the comic can be found here,
http://www.megatokyo.com/archive.php#1192

Personally, I haven't read more than 2 pages of the comic, so I don't really know if it is good for learning English or not, but quoting from Wikipedia,

"Megatokyo originally emphasized humor, with continuity of the story a subsidiary concern. Over time, it focused more on developing a complex plot and the personalities of its characters...Megatokyo has received praise from such sources as The New York Times"

I guess it is a decent comic to read and it shouldn't have anything sexual or too violent inside. It's FREE anyway! Worth a try!

Let me know if it is any good!

Enjoy!!!