Review: Australia

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie. Oy, oy, oy!!

It's been a while since my university days in Perth, Australia, so listening to the slang in Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman's latest movie, 'Australia', brought back some nostalgic memories. A word of advice before you go off to watch 'Australia'; it is really long, about 2 and a half hours. If you are the type who, like me, is unable to tolerate noisy and fidgety movie audience, it's better if you watch it in GSC's Gold Class.

Now, I must warn you that those with strong racial feelings and heavily connected to Australia (such as an Australian, an Aboriginal or a Torres Strait Islander) are not recommended to watch this film. Like most historical movies, there are some scenes and dialogues that certain people might find sensitive or offensive. Example: For Malaysians, when we did the Tunku musical (a theater show of our first prime minister), the scene with the racial fights between the Chinese and Malays as well as the raping of our women brought back many unhappy memories to those who had lived through that tumultuous time. In 'Australia', be prepared for racism, indications of rape, some nature of magic and war scenes. If you can handle all these then by all means, watch it. You will definitely enjoy it. And no, it's not one of those serious historical drama. I thought it was, too, when I first saw the trailer. How wrong I was.

The movie starts off with a brief history of the 'stolen generation' and you'll hear the voice of a half-Aboriginal half-white child, Nullah (played by Brandon  Walters), narrating the story. Although it begins on a serious note, 10 minutes later, you'll start laughing at Nicole Kidman's character, an English aristocrat by the name of Lady Sarah Ashley, as she meet up with the rough cattle driver, Drover (Hugh Jackman). From the start, you can see the chemistry between Lady Ashley and Drover, not unlike the couple you often read in romance novels. You'll get caught up with their relationship throughout the movie as their emotions move from despising each other to mutual respect to finally, love.

You simply must keep an eye on Nullah, the boy who often refers to himself as 'creamy', one who is not black or white but somewhere in between. Although the attention is focused on Lady Ashley and Drover (perhaps because of the actors representing the characters), I believe that the true star of the movie is this young boy. His story is one that will make you feel sympathy, fear and love for him, and at the end of the movie, you'll understand why Lady Ashley tries so hard to keep him as her own child. By the way, being raised by his Aboriginal grandfather, King George, Nullah has learned the traits and customs of his ancestors, and you'll see him perform certain rituals and songs of the Aborigines. He has a lovely singing voice. :) He also has an interesting use of words, with sentences that will make you laugh such as, "We gotta get those fat cheeky bulls into that big bloody metal ship!" I don't remember whether the Aboriginals I met in Australia talked like that. :D

As with every film, there's always a villain, and the problem with 'Australia' is I keep getting the villain (Neil Fletcher, played by David Wenham) mixed up with the helpful army soldier, Captain Dutton (Ben Mendelsohn). The face expression that they make is quite similar, especially with the squinty eyes and the downward frown. But don't worry, you'll find many reasons to truly depise the cunning Neil Fletcher as he goes out of his way to make Lady Ashley's life miserable in the land down under, since he was deprived of taking over the ranch her late husband left when he was murdered.

I love 'Australia' immensely, not just because of the tremendously convincing acting, but how well everything (the plot, the historical events) merged together. Though long, every scene effortlessly flows into the next, and time becomes irrelevant as you get caught up in the story, the history, the romance, and the action. It is truly one movie to watch before you end the year of 2008.

As usual (I love doing this), check out the goofs from 'Australia' after you come back from the film. Though the film is directed by Baz Luhrmann, even the best of the best make mistakes. :D

Review: The Day The Earth Stood Still

As I sit here, fingers at the ready on my keyboard, I suddenly realized that I have no idea how to start reviewing Keanu Reeves's latest film, 'The Day The Earth Stood Still'. I've been staring at the computer screen for almost 10 minutes and it only came to my attention now that this is one of those rare times when I simply can't find the words to begin an entry. Does this mean the movie has no effect on me whatsoever?

A remake of the 1951 film of the same name, the movie is about an alien that came to save Earth from the humans, who are seen as a destructive factor to the blue planet. Apparently, Earth is one of very few planets in the entire solar system that can support life, and Klaatu (the alien played by Keanu Reeves) has been assigned to activate the move to save all life beings on the planet.....except the human race.

When I first saw Keanu Reeves in the trailer of 'The Day The Earth Stood Still' (hence forth will be referred to as TDTESS), I had the impression that I was watching him play Constantine all over again. It's kinda hard to differentiate his characters when his facial expression is almost always the same in every movie, and especially when the feel of TDTESS is similar to Constantine (guardian of hell vs bringer of end of the world). But to give him credit, he did bring the alien character, Klaatu, to life, but only for the first part of the movie. After that, he simply wasn't memorable enough. I did, however, like the part when he verbally put the President's secretary in her place. :D

That reminds me, it seems that in the movie world, whenever an alien comes to Earth, they always seem to land in America. Why is that?

Throughout the movie, you'll start to wonder whether TDTESS is trying to show America in a bad light. Just because Klaatu and his giant sphere and robotic anti-violence friend landed in Central Park, the US government refused to let any foreign scientist or other nations from having any contact with the alien, and the President's secretary wasn't open to the idea of letting him speak to the the gathering of world leaders, indicating in her own way that the US speaks for the entire world. Then comes the violence from the US soldiers. It was bad enough that some jumpy soldier decided to open fire on Klaatu when all he wanted was to communicate with Dr. Helen Benson (Jennifer Connelly), but to use firepower of tanks and fighter jets on the big-ass robot? Not very smart. No wonder Klaatu's people think humans are scum, 'coz in just a short phase, we've shown just how selfish and violent we are, not just to each other, but to other beings. Some welcome wagon we are. :P

As for Will Smith's son, I didn't realize that Jaden Smith was acting as Dr. Helen Benson's step-son at the time, but I remembered thinking how annoying the character was.

Truth be told, the movie started off well. The script was good with bits and pieces of comedy here and there as well as sharp words that strike at the human core, such as Klaatu saying, "If the Earth dies, you die. If the human race dies, the Earth survives." There was adequate action scenes what with the fighter jets flying through New York's skyscrapers and the steel(?) locusts wrecking havoc in their path. However, the ending was just.....anti-climatic. You get the feeling that the movie never really ended and you sit there in the cinema, still expecting more even though the end credits are already rolling. But you have to admit, the movie makes you think, especially the constantly repeated sentence of humans only changing when they reach the precipice, the turning-point.

Do we really? Will we finally change our ways when we see that the Earth can no longer tolerate our inconsiderateness, our selfishness? Will we be like Klaatu's people who only changed when they saw their sun dying? Will we then finally stop taking and start giving? Maybe we will, maybe we won't.

So, I personally think that TDTESS is good for passing the time and maybe for making your brain work a little, but as a blockbuster, it may not match up to most people's expectations. But if you are going to watch it, keep an eye out for these goofs at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0970416/goofs that IMDB found throughout the movie. I hope you'll at least have a good time in the cinema. :D

Junk or Treasure?

"AHHH-CHOOO!!!"

The loud sneeze traveled into the living room where my mom sat on the floor, riffling through bags of clothes, papers and old tubes of lotions.

"You better wear a mask," she called out to me. "You've been sneezing non-stop."

I sniffled and promptly let out another unfeminine blast for the umpteenth time. I was in the study/store room of the house, which was almost choked full of dust and 'stuff' (my polite word for junk) that we don't even know what's in it anymore. A few days ago, I had this brilliant idea of finally cleaning out the room of its 'indigestion'. Today, with my head throbbing, my nose sniffling and my throat sore from inhaling all the dust, I'm not so sure that I'm as smart as I think I am. :P

My mom, bless her heart, is an active charity-giver. She loves helping out her selected orphanage and frequently donates used clothes, toys and neccessities to the home. Unfortunately, whatever she collects from other people (boxes and bags of old items) are brought into the house, which are then disposed of into the study room, which is why the word 'store' has been added to the room's name.

And so, I kidnapped my young cousin to help me sort out the stuff, setting aside whatever my mom's orphanage will not use, such as revealing clothes, into one pile and throwing whatever that is truly 'a gone case' (torn clothes, broken toys) into a transparent bag for the garbage-collectors. The thing is some of the stuff we were sorting out were actually our own toys, knick-knacks and clothes way back from our younger days.

As I pulled out some soft toys, I saw a toy guitar which my mom had bought for me and I held on to it for a while. I was thinking, "Oh, my mom bought this for me. I should keep it." In the next instance though, I was shaking my head vigorously and told myself, "No, no, no! No holding on to sentimental value."

You see, this is where my mom and I differ. My mom is the type who would hold on to something for so long because it reminds her of the past, and I'm not talking about a family heirloom or an item that signifies a specific memorable time. I'm talking about old magazines from the 80s, old empty lotion tubes, clothes that don't even fit her anymore, those kind of stuff. My mom is a person who loves to say "Keep that. We can use it for (insert reason here)." No matter what it is, be it baggy clothes or old telephones, she'll always think that it can be used when people come over, when we have a gathering, or incase of emergency.

My young cousin was facing the same ordeal as she slowly looked through her old Barbie dolls and cooking set. Though she was tempted several times, she repeated my sentence 'No sentimental value' and in the end, only took one small Pooh bear back with her.

I noticed that whenever most people spring clean their house, it's always a battle to get rid of stuff. They are emotionally tied to their teddy bears which gave such comfort to them, to their high school textbooks that offered so much knowledge, even to their numerous coffee cups stained with the brown liquid. Because of what it represents, the owner finds it hard to let go. I was once just like that, but I learned from my aunt that you have to be ruthless when it comes to cleaning.

For clothes, any item that you haven't worn in 6 months should be given away. For books, any title that you find even the least bit uninteresting should be recycled. The rule to cleaning is actually pretty simple; anything you don't use, chuck it aside. It's best to have someone who is firm with you when you clean because that someone will be asking, "Do you really need that?" and "Don't you think it will be beneficial to someone else?" It will hurt to part with your stuff at first, but the feeling after the cleaning is of pure relief. It feels like a weight is off your shoulder. It feels like you can breathe in deeper. In the most basic sense of it all, it feels so much more spacious. :D

So, when you're doing your spring cleaning, remember two simple rules; (1) Be ruthless, and (2) Throw/give away anything you haven't used in a long while. Once you have hypnotized your brain into thinking that way, you most likely won't have any problems differentiating junk and treasure. :)

Reunion: Speed (J-Pop Group)

I could only stare dumbfounded at the screen as I read the news. I simply couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe that (1) it has actually happened, and (2) that I didn't know about it. How could I not know that one of my favourite J-Pop groups, Speed, has returned to the music industry?

Ok, let me just give a brief intro to those who don't know who I'm talking about.

Speed is an all-girl Japanese singing group, which consists of 2 lead singers, Imai  Eriko and Shimabukuro Hiroko, and 2 back-up singers/dancers, Uehara Takako and Arakaki Hitoe. The girls debuted back in 1996 after attending Okinawa Actors School, singing J-pop, J-hip hop, R&B and  dance music, and is one of the biggest selling female group in Japan. After putting out 3 albums  (plus 3 compilation albums) with 11 singles, Speed disbanded in 2000.

However, in 2001, the girls grouped for a short reunion, holding a one night outdoor concert for an earthquake charity where they sang a new song, One More Dream. They held another concert in 2003, this time for the charity 'Save the Children' to raise money for poor children around Asia. Throughout their two reunions, the group came out with 3 singles, 1 album and 2 live concert albums.

And now, they have reunited again!!! And I didn't know!!! Oh, what a lousy fan I am. I only noticed that they came out with a maxi single, Ashita no Sora (Ashita No Sora CD and  Ashita No Sora CD+DVD versions), when I was browsing Amazon.com for their Save the Children concert DVD, which I still can't find in Malaysia. The maxi single has 3 songs, Ashita no Sora (translated Sky of Tomorrow), Something New and White Love?STEADY?Body&Soul 2008, and also includes the instrumental version of each song. The DVD has the music video of Ashita no Sora as well as an Off Shot video. While I'm all delighted and excited, what I'm truly feeling is sadness.....sadness because nobody seems to be selling the maxi single in Malaysia, and it came out way back in November 2008!!! :(

I can't believe it's been more than a decade since I first heard of them. I mean, they don't look like they've even aged much.

Speed - Starting Over album

Speed - Ashita no Sora maxi single

They have matured in other ways though. After disbanding, Arakaki Hitoe (the oldest of the 4, born April 7 1981) has gone to New York's art school and is an accomplished artist with her graffiti-style paintings, having published an art book called Vibe Art, holding private art exhibitions and having her work featured on American hip hop album covers. Uehara Takako (second oldest, born January 14 1983), however, still stayed in the music industry, releasing 2 albums (First Wing in 2000 and Pupa in 2003), but extended her skills into acting in TV dramas and movies.

Imai Eriko (born September 22, 1983) also stayed in the music industry, at first as Eriko with Crunch, then as solo artist Imai Eriko and finally as elly. Like Takako, Eriko was also busy dabbling in acting but not busy enough to get married in 2004, giving birth to her son, Raimu. Sadly, Eriko divorced from her husband, 175R vocalist Shogo, in 2007. The youngest of the group, Shimabukuro Hiroko (born April 7 1984) remained one of the most popular member after Speed's disband, having released 2 albums as a solo artist and 1 English jazz album as Coco d'Or with altogether 14 singles under her belt. She is, perhaps, the only one to totally focus on a music career.

I'm still upset that I can't find Speed's new maxi single. My last resort had been to download from the Internet (which I have) and to watch their video on YouTube (which I have) but it's still not enough!!! Sigh, looks like I have to resort to ordering from Amazon.com again. :( If you like J-pop music, you really should give Speed a try (not the drug, the Japanese group). In my honest opinion, they are one of the top female groups in Japan, even better than MAX, and I'm HAPPY that they're back, hopefully to stay for a long time. :)

Meet Sean Yap

No, this is not the sequel to 'Meet Joe Black' or a Malaysian version of it. This is an introduction to someone I truly respect and admire, someone who overcame hurdles and rocky roads to chase after a dream that many have said to be impossible and nonprofitable.

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="192" caption="Sean Yap"][/caption]

Confident, forever optimistic and incredibly daring, Sean Yap realized, one day, that life was too short to waste and decided to pursue his dream of becoming an actor.....and has never looked back since. Dragging himself out from the rat race a few years ago, he took some time out for his dream and took acting classes. There he learned the basic skills that every budding actor needs in order to penetrate the tough, and often fickle, industry.

Now, we have heard and seen many people who often say that they want to pursue a certain dream but in the end, they often do not, mainly because of discouragement from others and because of lack of motivation and inspiration. Many also like to claim that they are too old to achieve their dream, but Sean does not let age, inexperience nor discouraging words deter him from his acting. If achieving your dream was easy, then it wouldn't be so special, would it?

It wasn't that simple to enter the acting world but making friends during his classes helped him to meet other people in the industry, and soon he landed a role in the first short film I have seen him in; Unsecured Loan.

Sean Yap played the lead character, Brian, who borrowed money from the triads. Because of his close relationship with the head of the triads, Brian thought he would be given special treatment.....he was wrong.

It was a flurry of activity after his acting debut and Sean continued going to one audition after another, getting offer after offer, and continuously traveled to Singapore where most of the shoots and auditions were held. Below are some of the films he has acted in; playing an undercover policeman in The Investigators, a mortician in Meet Charles Young, a man with amnesia in Crash, and a serial killer in Emperor, the prequel to Unsecured Loan.

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="242" caption="The Investigators"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="198" caption="Meet Charles Young"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="209" caption="Crash"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="206" caption="Emperor"][/caption]

Also, watch out for his performances as a widower in Mary-Jane, a psychic in Anything Whatever TVC - 'Ah Gong & Prof DD', an antagonist in Mnemonic, John Doe in Battery, and a commanding officer in the virtual world film Imaginator. All the films in bold red are still in post-production.

Aside from short films, he also dabbled in stage plays such as a singing extra in Tunku the Musical and as a sexually abused brother in The Two Brothers. Not all his roles were lead or big enough to take note of. Sometimes one has to be humble and take less than desirable roles in order to gain more experience and knowledge (hence the saying, 'There are no small roles, only small actors'). Sean had a small gig as an illegal car park attendant in the television program, 3R, and as a 'colleague' and 'doorman' in the corporate video, Singapore Foreign Affairs. He also managed to land some TV roles, playing the bartender Bobby in episode 7 of NTV7's Frontpage, a lawyer in episode 8, 9 and 10 in AstroRia's Lima as well as an abusive father in Singapore Success Stories: Mary Chai.

It just goes to show that anyone, regardless of age and ability, can achieve their dream. They only have to take that first step to start the journey and then keep on going and gain the momentum needed until finally reaching the pinnacle. The dream can still continue on even after that, but only if you want to.

For Sean, although there were times when he lost his inspiration, he still pushed himself to go on because he knows he can do it, because there are still lots of opportunities. He is still going strong. :)

Monsters-in-Law?

"I don't think I want to get married."

I looked up from my book and stared at my cousin, my eyebrows slightly raised. It was a surprise coming from her. I have always thought that marriage was a big issue for her.

"Ok," I started slowly, putting my book down on the bed. "Why this all of a sudden?"

"I don't know. I feel like there's too many problems. I mean, not only are there all the issues with the wedding itself but there's also the insecurities after marriage. Who knows if my husband will stay loyal  to me. And what about the in-laws? What if they pretend to like me but after we get married, they'll start treating me badly?"

There it was, I thought to myself. The dreaded word when one talks about marriage; in-laws.

I come from a family where, unfortunately, the in-laws are not exactly the nicest of people. Yes, yes, I'm sure that there are many people who married into perfectly nice and warm-loving families. I know some of my friends and family did, but if you knew the horror stories we have  seen and heard, you'll know why in-laws are often referred to as 'monsters-in-law'.

Anyway, just to summarize a little bit about my family's in-laws (just so you know that _I_ know what I'm talking about), here's the synopsis. The siblings of the in-laws were all nice and friendly in front of our faces but once our backs are turned, the slander and bad-mouthing start. Partly because of their interference and story-telling, my parents are now separated. May their black souls be condemned to hell for all eternity.

So, back to my post. Sometimes I think, in my humble opinion, the family that we are marrying into expects too much from the new-comer, be it man or woman. It is a little daunting to be setting such a high level on someone who's not from the family and who's only starting to learn the family's ways. It's somewhat like expecting a newly graduated business student to write a business plan that is guaranteed to bring in a billion dollars. It's one small step at a time, just like how babies start out.

There is another reason that may be the cause of rifts between the in-laws and the newcomer; jealousy. I've seen, in my own family, how just a little bit of attention can cause a person to turn into an evil green-eyed monster. Just because the parents-in-law like the newcomer's cooking more or decided to give a present to the newcomer, the original sons and daughters, and sometimes even the other son and daughter-in-law, feel threatened. "Who does this person think he/she is, coming into the family and thinking he/she should get such attention?" It's irrational, it's immature, but yes, face the facts, it does happen.

I'm not trying to paint a bleak picture of marriage nor am I trying to discourage people from getting married but sometimes it is the in-laws who start the crumbling of the marriage. Like my mother often said, 'When you marry, you're not just marrying the girl/guy. You're marrying their family, and their problems, as well'.

There are nice in-laws, like my sister-in-law's family who are very close to each other and the newcomers, but it is your duty to figure out (1) if you want to marry into the family, whether they like you or not, and (2) if you can tolerate the family if they don't like you. For example, one of my ex-boyfriend's mom took him aside one day and asked him if he really wanted to marry someone with my kind of family background. What she said was, "Children usually follow their parents. If the parents are divorced or from a divorced family, most likely the children will repeat history in their own marriage." Do I really want to have a judgmental mother-in-law who branded me without even knowing me indepth?

Not everyone is lucky enough to get in-laws that are warm and welcoming. Those who do, are indeed very lucky. :) Even luckier are those who have a spouse that believes in them, who stands up for them when confronted with the in-laws. My friend's mom is lucky to have a husband who believes nothing his siblings tried to inform him of his wife, which were all exaggerated stories, slander and half-truths. He stood up for her because he knows her for who she is. After all, it is he who married her, who sees her everyday, who goes to bed with her every night, who talks to her about every little thing, who is taken care of by her, who went through tough and good times with her.

Pray that all goes well for you before and after marriage and pray that you will at least get along with your in-laws. If not, then try your best to stick through it all with patience and determined understanding. I hope all goes well. :)

Neither A Borrower Nor Lender Be

Take the above quote from Shakespeare’s Hamlet to heart. Please. Even if you don’t read anything I’ve written so far, please just take this one advice from me.

Allow me to tell you a story.

Once upon a time, a young man named Fairus Saidon saw a girl in his new workplace at one of Malaysia’s telecommunication companies. He decided to get to know the girl and later made her his girlfriend. It all started well, the new couple seemed happy together. Then…he started asking her for money.

A few amount at a time, he asked for money to help with a business idea he had concocted, or so he claimed. He himself had no money as he was unemployed, having left the telecommunication company later on in the relationship, so the person he turned to continuously was his girlfriend. The girl loved him and so of course, she loaned him whatever amount he needed. After all, which girl wouldn’t want to help out her future husband, who had proposed to her in the first few months of the relationship?

And so hundreds of Ringgit turned into thousands and the amount would have kept increasing if Fairus Saidon hadn’t decided to leave the relationship when his girlfriend was having personal problems, leaving her high and dry while making a play for another girl.

One year plus has come and gone since then and he has yet to pay the amount he owed even though he had promised time and time again, only to deflect them all with excuses after excuses. “I have no money” and “I don’t have a job” are the most frequently used excuses and when those doesn’t work, he always turned to his anger and harsh words to scare off his ex-girlfriend from asking for, what is rightfully, her money.

The morale of the story? Never lend money and never borrow money unless you sincerely believe you will see the money again and unless you can pay off your loan. I have heard many stories of men and women alike who borrow or ask for money and were never seen again. These people are called parasites, they feed off your kindness and generosity but are never around when you are in trouble.

It’s a problem when you lend people money when you yourself are actually in need of that money. Never use your friendship or your trust in people as a collateral in money-lending, it costs nothing and often brings nothing in return.

It is true that money can break relationships. I myself have lost a friend because of money. I have heard of brothers and sisters fighting over their mother’s inheritance as she lay dying on her bed. I have read of partnerships crumbling to dust in a debate over company shares. I have seen perfectly logical and mature adults refusing to talk to each other for years all because of a sale of a piece of land.

So please, just take this quote to heart even if you don’t listen or read anything else. It will help you gain some peace of mind in this tumultuous world of life.

Internet Deprivation

As I'm typing this post, it's raining heavily outside. The sky has turned white with all the gathering rain clouds and occasionally, I can see a leaf being whipped around by the strong wind. In the background, the singing of Paramore's 'Decode' from my laptop speakers mingles with the vague sound of thunder. Most people would be curled up in a cozy corner with a mug of coffee or hot chocolate and enjoying the hypnotic rhythm of rainfall. Me, I'm taking this moment to sit down and wonder...why isn't my Internet connection stable?

Ever since this morning, my Internet has been screwing with me. When I awoke to discover that my laptop is disconnected from my network, I puzzled over this phenomenon. Shrugging, I simply restarted my router and my Mac's AirPort. To my glee, I watched as the connection went through and opened up my Facebook as I always do in the morning. Suddenly, from the top right corner, an error message popped up to inform me that I have been disconnected. And so I restarted my router and AirPort again. And again, and again, until finally I left the bloody things and went out for lunch.

Now that I've returned, I thought, "Surely by now, the Internet is stable" and clicked on my connection. Yes, I can finally go online!!! Buuuuuuuut...no. Nope, once again, my connection has thrown me out of cyberspace on my butt. It seems to get this sick joy of seeing me happy and letting me open a few pages before kicking me out and watching my face fall in misery. Damn you, unstable connection. So now, I'm simply typing into my ScribeFire and refusing to open any Firefox page until I see that the connection remains online, or I'm going to slam the router into the ground.

Yeah, you might think, "Oh, my God. This girl can't live without the Internet." Hey, I resent that. I once went a whole week without Internet...'coz I was stuck in a place with absolutely no modem or computer whatsoever.

Sigh, maybe I should pick up one of my dusty books and settle down to read until Streamyx deems me worthy again to enter cyberspace. :P

Review: Body of Lies

My hand flew to my mouth in shock when the bomb exploded, my mind still fresh with the face of a sweet elderly Chinese woman holding bright yellow flowers as she posed for her husband's camera at the famous tourist market. Tears slowly trailed down my cheeks as I stared in silent anguish at the destruction the bomb caused, her smiling face still floating around in my mind mixed with repeated thoughts of "She's never going to smile again. She's dead."

That is what I will remember. If anyone at any time asks me how Leonardo diCaprio's movie, Body of Lies, was, that is the first scene that will pop into my head.

At a length of slightly over 2 hours, Body of Lies is great for those who want something more intellectual and different from the fluff that are shown most of the time in the cinema. It has violence, foul language and acts of betrayal and conspiracy mixed in with the rage of war. By the time you reach the end of the movie, you won't know who to trust anymore and you will see the world and everyone around you in a whole  new paranoid light. It is definitely not for the faint-hearted, especially during some of the torture scenes. I actually had my eyes closed when Leonardo's character got his fingers bashed.

Although it seems like every other spy-war movie, you'll definitely see a major difference just from one character in particular. Hani, played by Mark Strong, is a very powerful man who will do whatever it takes to get what he wants. But he does not soil his hands with torture and blood, no, he uses better, somewhat kinder methods to get information. Partnering with Leo's character, Roger Ferris, Hani only had one very simple rule; never lie to him. You can say that he is a benevolent man armed not with guns and grenades but with a strong belief in trust and a hard grip on integrity.

However, like every single spy-war movie I've seen, there must always be a girl. Take Spy Game starring Brad Pitt and Robert Redford for example. I thought the plot was good but getting into trouble in the middle of a U.S. and China trade agreement because of a girl? Does that really happen in real life? The same thing goes for Body of Lies; the heroine was supposedly kidnapped and the hero goes off and drops everything to save her. I didn't see him go to that much extra lengths to save the guy he framed in order to arrest the real master mind.

The movie started off great, suspense and action in all the right dosage...until you reach the hour and 20-minute mark. That's when you'll start glancing at your watch and wonder, "How long more?" This restlessness will continue for another 20 minutes until finally, the climax of the movie starts.

Body of Lies is worth a watch but only for those who can follow the politics of war and understand certain Muslim references. For those who have watched it, have you seen the goofs at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0758774/goofs? I love to take note of irregularities in movies and IMDB (Internet Movie DataBase) is one of the best websites to spot mistakes that the movie directors made. :D

Toilet Humour

Have you heard of stories or have a personal experience of being locked in a toilet? Well, just to cheer myself up (and all of you out there), I thought I'd share some 'toilet humour'.

One day when the cousins had an outing at Midvalley Megamall, the eldest girl needed to go to the loo. Since it was a public holiday, the rest of us knew that there was going to be a very long queue so we told her we would wait for her at the nearby shops. After nearly 10 minutes have passed, we all went to see what was the hold-up. Surely the queue couldn't be that bad.

As we stood outside the entrance, one of us went to check the line but when we couldn't find her anywhere, we thought she must still be in the loo or has gone out to find us. Just as I was about to dial her number, her name popped up on my caller screen.

"Where are you? Still in the toilet?" I asked.

"You have to come help me. I'm stuck," my eldest cousin replied, slightly panicked.

"Stuck? What do you mean stuck? Stuck where?"

"I'm stuck in the toilet."

"How can you be stuck there?"

"I can't get the door to open. I've been trying and trying. Pushing, pulling, it won't open," her voice rising slightly through the speaker.

Laughing, I told the girls what was happening and all four of us went helter-skelter into the washroom. We called her name to find which stall she was in and she stuck her foot out from under the very first stall. The women queuing for the toilet just watched the impromptu entertainment show as we tugged and pushed the door. It was true, it wouldn't open. We asked her to try the lock again but she said she had turned it all the way and it still wouldn't open.

Just as we thought we needed to get hold of the maintanence people, I saw that the outside lock had a groove that would just fit a Malaysian 10 cent coin. Vaguely remembering a scene from somewhere, I dug out a coin from my jean pocket and fitted it into the lock and turned.

Lo and behold, the toilet door opened.

When she saw us, she fiercely hugged the closest cousin to her and instead of coming out, she dragged the cousin into the stall to prove that the lock was indeed faulty. Apparently, even though the latch was turned all the way, after years of wear and tear, a small piece of it managed to get stuck in the lock, creating (cue eerie music) 'the toilet stall that can never be opened from the inside'.

And so we left, laughing and teasing her as we went on with our shopping, and later in the day, we returned to the same washroom as another cousin needed to answer the call of nature. There, we discovered that yet another poor soul has gotten herself stuck in the toilet and her friend had to call the cleaning lady, who was there at the time, to open the door. She used the exact same coin trick I had earlier. The thing is instead of locking the stall to prevent further use (and further imprisonment), the cleaning lady just left it as it is. I pity the woman who would be the foul demonic stall's next victim. I'll pity her even more if she was all alone and it was near the mall's closing time with no one around to notice her predicament. :D

Bolt-ed by 3D

As I sat in the slightly darkened cinema, I stared at the piece of black equipment in my hand. Still pondering, I saw that the shiny lenses had smudges on them and proceeded to wipe them clean with the corner of my shirt. I finally decided to put it on…and immediately felt uncomfortable. No matter how far I pushed it up, adjusted it or held it up with my hand, I could not for the life of me feel at ease. The thing that was the bane of my existence for an hour and a half was a plastic eye-wear known as the 3D glasses.

My good friend wanted to watch that new Disney animation, Bolt, yesterday and decided to try the 3D show instead of the regular cinema session. Before we went into the cinema hall, I asked whether I could wear the 3D glasses since I’m already wearing spectacles. My friend assured me that it was possible and that he saw his friend do it once before. Well, based on my new-found experience, yeah, you definitely can wear the 3D glasses over your regular glasses, sure, no problem at all. BUT…be prepared for what could possibly be one of _the_ most uncomfortable cinema experience ever.

My glasses is one of those thick frame kind so when I wore the 3D glasses, it ended up perched right on the tip of my nose. If I so much as giggle, the shiny rainbow lenses will drop off onto my lap. So throughout the entire movie, I had to hold it up with my hand, which got tiring after a while.

I wonder why they don’t provide better 3D glasses. Don’t they have those that can fit over our regular spectacles? Bigger and rounded ones, sort of like goggles? I mean, surely, the cinema management realizes that some movie-goers wear glasses. Shouldn’t they at least provide better quality 3D glasses for the price we pay?

I know what some of you are thinking, “Why don’t you wear contact lenses? Wouldn’t that be easier for you?” Well, certainly for those who do wear contact lenses, it wouldn’t matter, but have you seen 10-year-olds with spectacles going to the movies? They’re too young to wear contacts and of course, the parents would like them to enjoy a 3D cartoon at least once in their young life. So either the cinema should re-think their current 3D glasses or the company that makes 3D glasses should come up with those that can fit over regular eyewear.

This reminds me of the time when my ex-boyfriend wanted to go on a 3D ride at Genting Highland’s amusement park. The glasses we were given then were far worse than the ones from the cinema. These 3D glasses weren’t glasses at all; they were the cheap paper lenses type that you normally find in children’s book. Needless to say, I didn’t enjoy the ride one single bit ‘coz…I couldn’t see anything as I had to remove my spectacles to wear the blasted thing.

By the way, though Bolt was great as a movie (you really should read the goofs I found from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0397892/goofs), seeing it in 3D wasn’t much different from the regular viewing. It had action, yes, but none that would make you squeal or scream or duck your head thinking that a piece of vehicle was coming for your face. But for movies such as Journey To The Center Of The Earth,  ahhhhh, the 3D glasses would make you pee in your pants!! I watched it in its original form and the scenes drove me crazy with its realism and non-stop creatures and objects flying towards me, what more if I had watched the 3D version.

So, yeah, to summarize, watch Bolt (good acting and plot), don’t go for Bolt 3D (not much difference unless you really want to watch it) and wear contacts if you do watch Bolt 3D (or be prepared for major discomfort).

Get A Clue

I know nowadays people have less time for fun and games because of work and commitments, or they rather relax with their Playstation, X-Box and Wii(correct spelling?) in front of the TV . I used to be like that too, unless my younger cousin re-introduced me to… board games. Yes, board games. Yep, you guessed it, way back to Snakes ‘n’ Ladders and dices.

One board game in particular has always been my favourite and playing it with my cousins brought back such nostalgic memories of murder, motive and mayhem. The game is (cue the drum roll) Cluedo.

Originally published by the company Waddingtons in 1949 (it’s now published by Hasbro), Cluedo is a crime-mystery board game where the players have to find out after many rounds of accusations (1) Who is the killer, (2) Where was the murder committed, and (3) What weapon did the killer use. If anyone remembers a 1985 movie called Clue, yes, the movie was based on the board game. It’s a good movie, watch it if you have the time. Apparently, there were also television shows based on the game but I’ve never heard or seen one before. You can check http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cluedo for more info if you’re interested.

Anyway, back to the game. Back when I first played it, it was simple and fun. There are 6 characters; Colonel Mustard, Miss Scarlet, Mr Green, Mrs Peacock, Professor Plum and Mrs White. One of them killed a rich man, Mr Boddy (North America version) or Dr Black (UK version), and the players have to find out the suspect, weapon and room. Each player is allocated the same amount of cards which consist of the characters, the rooms and the weapons of the game. A random card from each of the characters, rooms and weapons are put in an envelope. This envelope holds the answer to the 3 questions above.

All you have to do is run your chosen character around the board, which is actually a floor plan of a mansion with different rooms such as Dining Room and Kitchen spaced across the board. As you enter any room, you are allowed to make an accusation, ‘I think Colonel Mustard killed Dr Black in the Study with a gun.’ The rest of the players will try to disprove your accusation by showing you a card of either the accused, the crime scene and the weapon. If nobody can prove you wrong, then you are allowed to look at the cards in the envelope. If you are right, you win. If not, you’re out of the game and the remaining players will continue on to solve the murder.

The 2008 version, which is the one I’m playing at the moment, has greatly evolved from the one I used to have. Cluedo still has the same lovable characters and if I’m not mistaken, there are more rooms in the newer version, but the way the game is played has changed. Now there is a stack of cards called the Intrigue cards that you can select throughout the game if you roll a ‘?’ or land on a box with a ‘?’. Stuck among the Intrigue cards are 8 time bombs. The person who pulled out the 8th time bomb card is automatically out of the game as he/she has been killed by the killer. The rest of the Intrigue cards are advantage cards such as ‘Take another turn” or ‘Add 6 to your dice roll’ or ‘You are allowed to see one random card from a player you have shown a card to’. There are also character cards, which have one individual power for each character. However, you can only use the power once in the entire game.

There may be other differences that I can’t think of right now but even though it has changed so much, I still find it a joy to play. At least, it gives my brain a work-out. The only problem I have is that Cluedo must be played by more than 2 people. The thing is only my younger cousin and I have time to play it and no one else wants to join in. Sob, sob, we’re so sad. Do you hear me, cousins, family and friends? Come join us in the crime world (hint hint).

Sigh, I wonder if there’s an online version that I can play. Hmm, something to search for. But seriously, try this game out at least once. If you enjoy watching CSI or love to watch the Crime Investigation channel, you'll definitely enjoy Cluedo.

Sisterly Love

Sometimes I wonder…

How deep is a sister’s love for her younger/older sister?

I don’t have a sister of my own, only a brother, so I wouldn’t really know how it feels like to have an older or younger sister. I tend to look at my cousins and my friends for some input on sister-relationship and, well, I don’t know if it’s the limited girls I know who have sisters or if all sisters are this way, but what I find is that sisters fight ALOT. And that the emotion involved between them is usually JEALOUSY.

Is it the difference in ages that spurs the many cat-fights? Is it the vying for attention from the parents?

I know not ALL sisters fight. I mean, take my mother and her three sisters. They don’t really fight, they just argue because of the difference in opinions and views, and they don’t go spreading rumours or talk about each other behind their backs. But some of the sisters I know do that, even though they’re blood-related and in the same family.

Take my good friend for instance. Her elder sister hates her. Truly, I’m not exaggerating. The rumours and untruths she told her mom about my friend created such a rift between them that her mom has disowned her, without even bothering to listen to my friend’s side of the story. What kind of sister is this? And apparently this is fueled by the sister’s paranoid feeling that the father loves my friend more. What’s the connection there? “Our dad loves you more so I’m going to take our mom away from you”?

Another pair of sisters I know are always fighting. The eldest has been picking fights non-stop with the youngest. Nothing the youngest sister say or do is right. I find it kinda weird if you can even berate your sister for using your towel. I mean, it’s a towel. Wash it and it’s clean all over again, and it’s not like you don’t have more than one towel.

The reason why I’m talking about sisters is because my father has a second wife, who gave birth to a girl. The girl, or perhaps I should say my step-sister, is about 11 years younger than me. Though we don’t hang out, we don’t talk and we hardly see each other, she seems to hate my guts.

Society always has this misconception that step-family hates each other. I don’t hate my step-sister (I hate my step-mother but that’s an entirely different thing), but maybe she hates me, I don’t know. My reaction to her is simply indifference. I accept the fact that she’s my father’s daughter and she’s considered a step-sister, but that is all. Other than that, I don’t know how to act with her (partly ‘coz she’s in that teenage angst period of her life, which is damn scary). Another part, which I’m not sure how true it is, could be perhaps of the stories her mother tells her of me and perhaps a mild jealousy of me since I am the first daughter from the first family.

Truth be told, though my dad wants us to mingle as a real family and take care of each other when he’s gone, I’m not sure if that can ever happen. The tension and the wariness is too strong between the two family of siblings. I wonder at how some step-families can get along with each other. I think that takes tremendous courage and open-mindedness. With my step-sister, I think we both still can’t get over the fact that each other exists so perhaps it’s best that we remain apart and aloof for the meantime. Time will tell if we ever get to relate with each other like some sisters or whether we’ll end up fighting and slandering each other like those sisters. Before that, I’ll just keep observing the sisters that I know so I can learn more about this weird relationship called ’sisterly love’. :)

Deja Vu (Bukit Antarabangsa)

To those who were old enough to remember, it was deja vu when news of the landslide in Bukit Antarabangsa spread out.

In the morning of December 6, 2008, (Saturday) at approximately 4 a.m., a landslide occurred in Bukit Antarabangsa, killing four people at the time of this post.

This landslide was about 1.5km from where one block of the Highland Towers condominium collapsed in 1993, which killed 48 people. I remember the incident as one of Malaysia's worst and tearful episodes.

This landslide brought up bad and sad memories of those we lost back in 1993 and we are thankful that the death rate is low this time around. But you must start to question, how long more are we going to keep facing landslides that destroys human lives and homes?

Finger-pointing blame has already started with the people pointing to the government who in turn points to those who are in charge of approving and testing hillside residential projects. Placing the blame is all good and well to make people feel better but it's not going to make things any better.

At this moment in time, The Star newspaper has reported that many who have been advised to evacuate their homes in areas of Bukit Antarabangsa have refused to move. Let's just home that those who remain won't face another landslide.

Spreading Your Wings

There comes a time in life when you feel the need to untie yourself from your mother's apron strings and spread your wings out to fly to freedom. Well, there are also those who don't ever feel the need but we're not getting into that.

Anyway, for the past one week, I have looked through countless property and room-for-rent websites as well as property magazines and classified ads just to get a feel of the rental rates and the rooms available. I can tell you right now I never knew it was so hard to do that. Anyone who has gone through the same experience as me would know just how much time it takes to sort through all the places, picking a few that struck your fancy, comparing prices and neighbourhoods, calculating the distance between your new home and work, and many, many, MANY other decisions.

The thing is, it all sounds exciting when you're thinking about moving out. But when you get further down the line, _after_ passing the thinking part and into the actual searching part, you'll find that it's a pretty serious decision. "Do you have enough money for rent" is the foremost question. You have to start planning your expenses to make sure there's enough for rent, food, utilities, petrol and any other necessities. For those who are not serious (or not desperate enough to live on their own), the thought of all that money, planning and organizing will put them off the idea of leaving home.

When you finally do make the decision on getting your own pad, there's the issue of getting the one that you want. Honestly, most real estate agents out there are only interested in one thing; their commission. There have been many stories, and I've experienced it once, of real estate agents who put up pictures of an apartment or house but when you make an appointment to view it, it turns out that the place is nothing at all like the images. And when you ask them, the answer is either, "Oh, that one got rented/sold so I thought I'll show you something else" or "Oh, sorry, I accidentally put up the wrong pictures." Be prepared to be plenty disappointed with many places and many agents as you go along on your quest for the perfect living place.

But seriously, finally getting your own place is definitely worth all the trouble you have to go through, even though you may have started out with a naive mind and a romantic idea of having a place of your own to do what you want and to decorate how you want.

To help you start, here are some questions you need to answer as you pick out your place:-
a) Landed property or apartment?
b) Buy or rent?
c) Are the quoted prices more than what you think the place is worth?
d) Do you have enough money to last you through your first year of living alone?
e) Is the neighbourhood to your liking i.e. cheap, quiet, close to work, close to convenience stores?
f) Can you stand to live with the current neighbours or roommates?
g) If you're living with roommates, are there adequate privacy for you?
h) Are there any security i.e. home guards, nearby police station?
i) Are there any convenient parking spaces for your vehicle?
j) Is the chosen area properly maintained i.e. smooth roads, cleanliness?
k) Is the chosen area easy to access i.e. limited traffic jams, confusing roads?

All these questions and more may sound daunting but think them through properly and everything will work out. Always, always, ask for advice from those who have bought or rented their own place and ask them for their honest opinion of your choice. But remember that the final decision is yours and yours alone so make sure that you are happy 'coz you're the one who'll be living there. :) Have fun.

Twilight Mania

Ok, I will admit that I, along with the thousands and millions across the world, have gone and watched Twilight, the movie based on the bestselling novel of the same name, Twilight (The Twilight Saga, Book 1), by Stephenie Meyer. Now, the reason why I'm shyly admitting this fact is because Twilight is actually categorized under teen fiction, just like Harry Potter, but also just like Harry Potter, the book was so great that it transcended all ages.

Don't take this the wrong way but I am never a fan of something that is hugely popular. Let's take Titanic for instance. Everyone I know have watched it, whether in the cinema or DVD or HBO. Me, I still haven't sat down and watch the movie in full. Those who know that have exclaimed in disbelief and proceeded to describe to me in full detail why I must watch it.

Another example is Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code. Though at one point in time, I was selling the book and recommending it to my customers, I never felt any inclination to read it. I did watch the movie though but only 'coz Tom Hanks was acting in it. Now I can't wait for the continuation, Angels and Demons. :D

Last but definitely not least, is the Harry Potter mania. Mind you, I didn't start off as a Harry Potter fan. I was in Australia when the first movie came out and I was wondering why people of all ages were buying this red book with such a childish picture on it (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the first book of the series). It was only when my Malaysian friend dragged me to the cinema and insisted on paying my movie ticket did I finally understand the magic (pun intended) of Harry Potter.

But I'm getting away from my topic. So why is Twilight so successful? For the life of me, I don't understand.

Let's look at the movie since I haven't read the book. It was a good selection on the actors and actresses alike. Acting was good. The plot was good too. My only dislike of the movie is the fact that the evil vampire, James, died too easily. For a vampire who is considered to be deadly dangerous and a ruthless hunter, he's sure easy to catch and dispose off.

Another flaw is when Edward (the hero) ran up the hill with Bella (the heroine) when he decided to show her how he looks like in sunlight. No, he didn't burn or melt or scream in agony, he just...twinkles. In all the vampire books I've read, I've never came across a glittering vampire. No bling bling required for this bloodsucker. But the glitter wasn't the flaw I meant. It was the way Edward ran up the hill. It was so fake. I mean, yeah, you can't expect Robert Pattison, the actor who played Edward, to be able to run like a panther up a tree-covered hill but please, his legs weren't even moving in a true running form. Note to editor, please make his running more believable in the next movie. Yes, it is confirmed that the second installation to the Twilight saga, New Moon (The Twilight Saga, Book 2), will be coming out.

Some people may have realized that overseas, especially in America, the marketing for Twilight was on full-blast. Trailers, posters, t-shirts, the works. But in Malaysia, there was only a trickle of what America experienced. The first poster for the movie was seen at One Utama's TGV, which only came up a few days before its opening on November 27, 2008 while GSC only put up the poster the day itself. It was frustrating to the fans in Malaysia who weren't even sure if the movie was going to be shown here. Then came the confusion of the viewer rating, which was PL-18 at first, causing woes, moans and outbursts from the younger fans, and was abruptly changed to PG-13 a day before the movie. Tsk, tsk, tsk, such incompetence from the Malaysian censorship board and cinema management.

The thing I don't fully understand is, out of all the vampire books in the world, why is Twilight garnering the most attention, the movie deal, the millions of world currencies? I admit that after reading about Stephenie Meyer, she does deserve this fame and popularity, but still why aren't the rest of the vampire novelists getting this kind of attention?

Back in my teen life (which was light years ago), I was fixated by L.J. Smith, who also wrote teen fiction in which the heroes are almost always vampires. Her Night World series was one that my cousin and I couldn't get enough of, and apparently after researching the net, there are others like me who loved the series as well. And like Stephenie Meyer, who developed many different characters complete with their history, L.J. Smith also has numerous characters, all of who had their own personal story written in their own personal book.

Altogether, there are currently nine books in the Night World series with the last book still unpublished since the 90s. Seeing the attention Stephenie Meyer is getting must have woken up the publisher of L.J. Smith as her Night World series have been compiled into 3 books and were republished this year as Night World No. 1: Secret Vampire; Daughters of Darkness; Spellbinder (Night World), Night World No. 2: Dark Angel; The Chosen; Soulmate (Night World) and Night World No. 3: Huntress, Black Dawn, Witchlight (Night World). I have to admit that I prefer the old book covers as you can really see the true image of the characters from each book. The final book was supposed to be out in fall 2008 but as usual, it has been delayed yet again. This has been the story over and over again since the last book was printed out. It makes one wonder whether L.J. Smith has gotten bored with the characters or whether she's having a very long writer's block.

Well, seeing that I have to endure more patience for the final volume of Night World and after listening to the raves and reviews of Twilight from my cousins, I may just head to the nearest bookstore and pick out the first book, just to see what all the fuss is about. And if I ever get converted to a Twilight fan...well, then it must be a great read. :D

By the way, the main song for the movie is awesome; Decode by Paramore. I like it so much that I even made a poster for the lyrics. Give it a listen. >D