I am sick. Sigh. I think it's my 1.5yr old baby nephew's fault. He had some stomach virus thingy a couple of days ago and now my family members are getting it one after the other. It's kinda horrible. Stomach cramps and waterfall diarrhoea. I think u get the 'picture'.
Hope to get over it by the end of the weekend. :(
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Just Follow Law
I was kinda surprised when I saw the reasonably long queue for tickets at Eng Wah Suntec. Thought that the public holiday was over but I guess many people must have taken an extra day off or be still in the CNY mood.
Anyway, against my instincts, I decided to catch Just Follow Law. Actually, the other shows I wanted to watch, like Letters from Iwo Jima and Dreamgirls were only on preview and showing at odd times, so I decided to give JFL a chance. I was also pretty bored after being cooped up at home for the last few days.
One thing I must say is Jack Neo does an excellent job with showing us glimpses of real Singapore life. As others have mentioned about his movie, there is a strong heartland voice to them. He catches hold of some excellent nuances like the 'CC'&'BCC' culture in office emails. It's so, so, so, so true! His interpretation of what the two stand for are also hilarious. Another excellent snide comment he made was right at the end when Bamboo goes to apply for a new job. Not many people laughed at the reference coz I think they didn't get it. Listen out for it and see how daring Jack Neo is.
BUT.. and this is a ultra big 'BUT'... this movie just feels like a long school sketch. You know, the kind you watch for some school concert. There are funny scenes here and there but the movie just feels disconnected. I didn't really like the 'body-switch' storyline. Personally, I thought it was handled in a silly way and the resolution at the end was equally unsatisfying. Fann Wong and Gurmit Singh are the leads and I thought it was a totally imbalanced performance. Fann Wong actually did a pretty decent job. Maybe it wasn't too tough to try acting like a guy but she did a good job out of it. Gurmit on the other hand was quite lousy. His idea of a girl is some sobs and this constant putting his hair behind his ear action. Maybe he was trying not to make it camp. But seriously, with a movie like this, how can you not take it OTT? On a related note, I really think TCS should give Gurmit a break, not only for him but for us as well! How can it be that he is our ONLY sell-able 'star'.
JFL does give a good laugh. Anyone who goes for a Jack Neo show would probably not be expecting Academy-award-winning material. This isn't his best, but it's one of his usual.
Anyway, against my instincts, I decided to catch Just Follow Law. Actually, the other shows I wanted to watch, like Letters from Iwo Jima and Dreamgirls were only on preview and showing at odd times, so I decided to give JFL a chance. I was also pretty bored after being cooped up at home for the last few days.
One thing I must say is Jack Neo does an excellent job with showing us glimpses of real Singapore life. As others have mentioned about his movie, there is a strong heartland voice to them. He catches hold of some excellent nuances like the 'CC'&'BCC' culture in office emails. It's so, so, so, so true! His interpretation of what the two stand for are also hilarious. Another excellent snide comment he made was right at the end when Bamboo goes to apply for a new job. Not many people laughed at the reference coz I think they didn't get it. Listen out for it and see how daring Jack Neo is.
BUT.. and this is a ultra big 'BUT'... this movie just feels like a long school sketch. You know, the kind you watch for some school concert. There are funny scenes here and there but the movie just feels disconnected. I didn't really like the 'body-switch' storyline. Personally, I thought it was handled in a silly way and the resolution at the end was equally unsatisfying. Fann Wong and Gurmit Singh are the leads and I thought it was a totally imbalanced performance. Fann Wong actually did a pretty decent job. Maybe it wasn't too tough to try acting like a guy but she did a good job out of it. Gurmit on the other hand was quite lousy. His idea of a girl is some sobs and this constant putting his hair behind his ear action. Maybe he was trying not to make it camp. But seriously, with a movie like this, how can you not take it OTT? On a related note, I really think TCS should give Gurmit a break, not only for him but for us as well! How can it be that he is our ONLY sell-able 'star'.
JFL does give a good laugh. Anyone who goes for a Jack Neo show would probably not be expecting Academy-award-winning material. This isn't his best, but it's one of his usual.
Dancing Ducky
Saw this toy at Toys R Us for only $6.90. Couldn't help myself. Too silly and reasonably cheap. Just press it's wing and it does a silly dance... I counted, altogether, there were about 6 different songs! Worth the money isn't it!
WARNING: Music is fairly irritating!
WARNING: Music is fairly irritating!
Monday, February 19, 2007
Level 70 at last!
Level 70!
Here's my flying mount which allows me to fly everywhere in Outlands. It's an Ebon Gryphon, chose it over a white and a brown one. Thought black is nicer.
You've gotta admit that Blizzard has created some very beautiful worlds. This pic was taken in Nagrand, like a fantasy-african like world.
Guess the question now is, what next? Well, I'm supposed to start playing more dungeons in order to upgrade my equipment. I'm a tank, which means I have to get better shields and armour so that I can absorb enemy attacks while the others whack the hell-outta-dem from afar. Dungeons can get very boring coz they usually take an hour to two to complete AND you sometimes need to go through them a few times before you get the weapon/armour that you want. Very time consuming. Who knows, I might lose interest in WoW again. Heh.
Gong Xi Gong Xi!
Gong Xi Fa Cai to everyone! May your ang pow takings over the next few days give you plenty of money to watch movies and buy stuff!
This is usually the most boring public holiday of the year for me. CNY is the only time when every single darn shop is closed. The only places open are cinemas (which will probably be filled with bored Singaporeans) and fast food places. I didn't know about it but I found out from my brother today that even the roti prata shops try to cash in on the CNY break. Apparently, they refused to sell my brother a prata kosong, saying there were no more, and he had to buy the more expensive egg prata instead! I mean, come on lar, how come there can be dough for egg prata and no dough for prata kosong!? Aren't they the same dough?
I'm kinda glad that my family doesn't really do much visiting. When my grandma was alive, the relatives all came to my house so I didn't need to leave the comforts of home. When she passed away, we kinda just meet up with the other main relatives at an annual lunch. So, I can pretty much vegetate at home (and of course play some WoW!).
TV programmes are sucky as usual. There wasn't much to watch on cable either. I have thus resorted to re-watching Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. I so miss good sci-fi on tv. Currently, there's only Battlestar Galactica (which is pretty good). Other shoes like Heroes are good too, but aren't really sci-fi. Guess I'll have to depend on my DVDs until the new Star Trek and Star Wars TV series hit the small screen.
This is usually the most boring public holiday of the year for me. CNY is the only time when every single darn shop is closed. The only places open are cinemas (which will probably be filled with bored Singaporeans) and fast food places. I didn't know about it but I found out from my brother today that even the roti prata shops try to cash in on the CNY break. Apparently, they refused to sell my brother a prata kosong, saying there were no more, and he had to buy the more expensive egg prata instead! I mean, come on lar, how come there can be dough for egg prata and no dough for prata kosong!? Aren't they the same dough?
I'm kinda glad that my family doesn't really do much visiting. When my grandma was alive, the relatives all came to my house so I didn't need to leave the comforts of home. When she passed away, we kinda just meet up with the other main relatives at an annual lunch. So, I can pretty much vegetate at home (and of course play some WoW!).
TV programmes are sucky as usual. There wasn't much to watch on cable either. I have thus resorted to re-watching Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. I so miss good sci-fi on tv. Currently, there's only Battlestar Galactica (which is pretty good). Other shoes like Heroes are good too, but aren't really sci-fi. Guess I'll have to depend on my DVDs until the new Star Trek and Star Wars TV series hit the small screen.
Saturday, February 17, 2007
I've WON!!! TYVM!
I'VE WON THE MOVIE BLOG COMPETITION!!!!
THANK YOU to everyone who voted for me! I literally couldn't have done it without you!
THANK YOU to everyone who voted for me! I literally couldn't have done it without you!
I've not received the VIP card yet but it's super-shiok to think that I'm gonna have free movies for the next 6 months. It means there's no damage for me to even go for the super crappy/boring movies. I could even pop into a cinema for a nap if I'm out shopping and get tired! lolz. Can't wait to get the card. Thanks again to all voters!
Epic Movie
It shows how desperate I am when I was actually looking forward to catching this movie. The trailers were reasonably funny (I loved the Harry Potter reference) but I knew this will probably be a waste of time.
Well, it's pretty true. Firstly, the movie is only about 70 minutes long. With most movies, even cartoons, lasting about 90mins, this movie was 20 minutes too short. So, you get less time for the same ticket price. But you see, I guess they had to keep it to 70 minutes coz the movie was just too painful to watch to make it 90mins long.
The directors seem to be very caught up with hip-hop dancing and think that anytime someone breaks out dancing is a funny scene. The effects were poorly done. There's this scene with someone spelling stuff in the snow while peeing. The sad thing is, we actually see a nozzle shooting yellow liquid in the scene. Then there's this fight scene with a lion guy played by some has-been old actor. The directors couldn't even be bothered to try and hide the fact that someone else was doing the fight scenes! At least is old Hong Kong movies they use some wig to hide the face and we don't see the different people. Here, you see this young chinese guy doing the fight scenes and then suddenly this old lion guy shows up in the next scene! Not funny.
I think the scenes they showed in the trailer were probably the funniest. Do yourself a favour and don't waste your money. Go have a Burger King meal instead.
Thankfully, the movie wasn't a total waste of money. I got to watch two pretty good trailers before the movie - The Fantastic Four (with the new Silver Surfer) and Sunshine (new movie about saving a dying sun). So that means I paid $7.50 for about 5mins of trailers. Seems expensive, but that's better than spending $7.50 for 70mins of crap.
Well, it's pretty true. Firstly, the movie is only about 70 minutes long. With most movies, even cartoons, lasting about 90mins, this movie was 20 minutes too short. So, you get less time for the same ticket price. But you see, I guess they had to keep it to 70 minutes coz the movie was just too painful to watch to make it 90mins long.
The directors seem to be very caught up with hip-hop dancing and think that anytime someone breaks out dancing is a funny scene. The effects were poorly done. There's this scene with someone spelling stuff in the snow while peeing. The sad thing is, we actually see a nozzle shooting yellow liquid in the scene. Then there's this fight scene with a lion guy played by some has-been old actor. The directors couldn't even be bothered to try and hide the fact that someone else was doing the fight scenes! At least is old Hong Kong movies they use some wig to hide the face and we don't see the different people. Here, you see this young chinese guy doing the fight scenes and then suddenly this old lion guy shows up in the next scene! Not funny.
I think the scenes they showed in the trailer were probably the funniest. Do yourself a favour and don't waste your money. Go have a Burger King meal instead.
Thankfully, the movie wasn't a total waste of money. I got to watch two pretty good trailers before the movie - The Fantastic Four (with the new Silver Surfer) and Sunshine (new movie about saving a dying sun). So that means I paid $7.50 for about 5mins of trailers. Seems expensive, but that's better than spending $7.50 for 70mins of crap.
Ghost Rider
I didn't expect much from this movie. The trailer was so-so and I guess, like most of you, Ghost Rider isn't the most recognizable/popular Marvel Comics character. So, since my expectations weren't that high, I wasn't really too disappointed by the movie.
Story? Nothing new. We have Ghost Rider fighting against three other elemental demons, Earth, Wind and Water, and their boss, Blackheart (oooooh.. so original) the son of the devil. Ghost Rider is obviously Fire. The sad thing is how there really isn't a fight. Other than their pseudo-cool earthy, windy, watery effects, the demons don't really do much and Ghost Rider downs them pretty easily. And Blackheart? Heh, I admit I didn't really know why he was after the 'contract' and he wasn't that menancing other than occasionally showing us his bad teeth (which he apparently inherited from his dear daddy).
Effect? The usual. Decent stuff, nothing jaw-dropping. Don't really remember any 'Wow!' scenes.
Actors? Sigh, this one is a little bit of a disaster. It stars Nicholas Cage who is about 43 years old this year, trying to act like someone in his mid to late twenties. It was painful. While he does try to give some emotional depth and twist to the character, you keep thinking that this guy is just trying too hard to act young. I didn't find it believable. In fact, I preferred it everytime he changed to the Ghost Rider coz his face was replaced by the flaming skull. Funny thing is, they started off with a different actor who acted as the younger version of Nicholas Cage's character. Personally, I thought they should have just kept to that guy and not use Nicholas Cage at all. Thank goodness Nicholas Cage didn't get to play Superman.
Being the typical effects-laden-superhero movie, I guess it'll probably do pretty decently in Singapore. But honestly, it's not that bad and not that good a movie. Pretty forgettable.
Story? Nothing new. We have Ghost Rider fighting against three other elemental demons, Earth, Wind and Water, and their boss, Blackheart (oooooh.. so original) the son of the devil. Ghost Rider is obviously Fire. The sad thing is how there really isn't a fight. Other than their pseudo-cool earthy, windy, watery effects, the demons don't really do much and Ghost Rider downs them pretty easily. And Blackheart? Heh, I admit I didn't really know why he was after the 'contract' and he wasn't that menancing other than occasionally showing us his bad teeth (which he apparently inherited from his dear daddy).
Effect? The usual. Decent stuff, nothing jaw-dropping. Don't really remember any 'Wow!' scenes.
Actors? Sigh, this one is a little bit of a disaster. It stars Nicholas Cage who is about 43 years old this year, trying to act like someone in his mid to late twenties. It was painful. While he does try to give some emotional depth and twist to the character, you keep thinking that this guy is just trying too hard to act young. I didn't find it believable. In fact, I preferred it everytime he changed to the Ghost Rider coz his face was replaced by the flaming skull. Funny thing is, they started off with a different actor who acted as the younger version of Nicholas Cage's character. Personally, I thought they should have just kept to that guy and not use Nicholas Cage at all. Thank goodness Nicholas Cage didn't get to play Superman.
Being the typical effects-laden-superhero movie, I guess it'll probably do pretty decently in Singapore. But honestly, it's not that bad and not that good a movie. Pretty forgettable.
Protege
I wasn't really looking forward to watching this movie, especially since it had the name 'Raintree Pictures' attached to it. Yeah, I know I'm just stereotyping them, but I guess it's true what they say, that it's hardest to be accepted by your own people. I didn't catch their last movie 'The Last Dance' but to be honest, the trailer wasn't very exciting in the first place.
PROTEGE stars Andy Lau as a drug trafficker and Daniel Wu as his protege/apprentice. The twist (just like in Infernal Affairs) is that Daniel Wu is actually an undercover cop. Acting wise, well, it doesn't disappoint, but it won't win any awards. The story is fairly interesting. It kinda emulates Leonardo DiCaprio's Blood Diamonds. Blood Diamonds exposes the reality of how these diamonds are actually mined in Africa. Protege brings us behind the scenes on how drugs are trafficked, how they affect the addicts and how they are produced. Andy Lau even brings us on a tour of the poppy fields in Thailand on the backs of elephants! I liked how Daniel Wu falls in love with a girl who is actually a drug addict so he has to come face to face with the effects of the drugs which he is trafficking.
Best line of the show? There's this scene with Andy Lau and the drug lord and he takes out a United Nations report on international drug trafficking and thanks the UN for doing the market survey for them! Hilarious!
On the whole, I have to admit I thought the movie was quite OK. Give it a try.
And oh yes, this is a Raintree Picture production anyway, so look out for how our little island of Singapore is included in the movie!
PROTEGE stars Andy Lau as a drug trafficker and Daniel Wu as his protege/apprentice. The twist (just like in Infernal Affairs) is that Daniel Wu is actually an undercover cop. Acting wise, well, it doesn't disappoint, but it won't win any awards. The story is fairly interesting. It kinda emulates Leonardo DiCaprio's Blood Diamonds. Blood Diamonds exposes the reality of how these diamonds are actually mined in Africa. Protege brings us behind the scenes on how drugs are trafficked, how they affect the addicts and how they are produced. Andy Lau even brings us on a tour of the poppy fields in Thailand on the backs of elephants! I liked how Daniel Wu falls in love with a girl who is actually a drug addict so he has to come face to face with the effects of the drugs which he is trafficking.
Best line of the show? There's this scene with Andy Lau and the drug lord and he takes out a United Nations report on international drug trafficking and thanks the UN for doing the market survey for them! Hilarious!
On the whole, I have to admit I thought the movie was quite OK. Give it a try.
And oh yes, this is a Raintree Picture production anyway, so look out for how our little island of Singapore is included in the movie!
Friday, February 16, 2007
A BIG sorry to those of you who have been visiting my blog but not getting any updates. Let me admit it. I've been WOW-ing.
Since I've started with the expansion set, The Burning Crusade, it's been burning up many many of my hours. WOW and having no full-time job is a terrible combination. I remember reading an article earlier about how someone took 2-weeks of leave immediately after the launch of the game so that he could play the game FULL-TIME!
Before TBC, I had stopped WOWing for about 3 months. I was kinda getting bored just going to the instances (kinda like special dungeons with small groups) again and again and again just so I can try to get better gear for my character. With TBC, there were a whole new set of quests which I could do on my own and with small groups. So, it kinda brought back the interest in the game. And the gear is also generally better. So, after weeks of playing, I've gone from a level 60 warrior to a level 69! Heh... just one more level to go to hit 70!
I must admit that reaching level 69 is a very shiok feeling. I have this deep urge to go around to look for the lower level horde characters and just gank (that's WOW-speak for totally, unfairly destroy!!) them. Yeah, I think it's just the bully mentality in all of us. I've not done it yet... but I think I might just find one day to go around ruining some low-level characters' game. heh.
Not many movies to watch actually, so I've only caught like two movies over the last two weeks. Will talk about them tomorrow. Promise.
Since I've started with the expansion set, The Burning Crusade, it's been burning up many many of my hours. WOW and having no full-time job is a terrible combination. I remember reading an article earlier about how someone took 2-weeks of leave immediately after the launch of the game so that he could play the game FULL-TIME!
Before TBC, I had stopped WOWing for about 3 months. I was kinda getting bored just going to the instances (kinda like special dungeons with small groups) again and again and again just so I can try to get better gear for my character. With TBC, there were a whole new set of quests which I could do on my own and with small groups. So, it kinda brought back the interest in the game. And the gear is also generally better. So, after weeks of playing, I've gone from a level 60 warrior to a level 69! Heh... just one more level to go to hit 70!
I must admit that reaching level 69 is a very shiok feeling. I have this deep urge to go around to look for the lower level horde characters and just gank (that's WOW-speak for totally, unfairly destroy!!) them. Yeah, I think it's just the bully mentality in all of us. I've not done it yet... but I think I might just find one day to go around ruining some low-level characters' game. heh.
Not many movies to watch actually, so I've only caught like two movies over the last two weeks. Will talk about them tomorrow. Promise.
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