"Slappin da bass, man!"

Woohoo! What a rolicking two weeks after my job contract ended :X

Watched 3 movies. All were average, or above-average. Shall start-off with Pearlyn's KTV birthday celebration. (Photos courtesy of Pearlyn's HP)

Us singing 听妈妈的话 by Jay Chou.

Happy birthday, Pearlyn! My jacket is not your present! Lol.

Cheryl's contribution. Would you care to clarify what on earth is this!? HAHA.
~

Okay, the first movie review for this post. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.
I give the movie:





Although the above poster rocks, the movie didn't really rock as much as I expected.

Not really a continuation of the first movie, T2 did bring back Megatron, though, but he's more of a sub-character to give way for the bigger, meaner, The Fallen. The titular villain is trying to eradicate the last of the Primes (you know, Optimus Prime) so that he can activate this gigantic machine hidden somewhere on Earth to destroy our Sun to harness some energy power source for the survival of their Decepticons race.

Of course, without our Sun, you know what will happen, and it is up to our hero, Sam (Shia Lebeouf) and his hot girlfriend (Megan Fox, who appears solely to add sex appeal to the picture) to locate the said machine before The Fallen does.

Amidst all these plots, there's the usual cheesy robot humour and metallic action to appease fanboys. Clocking in at two and a half hour (one hour too-long for me), the effects displayed in this movie are what's worth watching. The animators must have a hard-time morphing the robots from sleek cars to lean-mean fighting machines, and for the price of your ticket, the fighting scenes and some of the set pieces are well-worth.

FINAL SAY: Enough robotic action to please the fans, but letdown by bad pacing and plot. But, that's the whole point of some blockbusters anyway.
~


Everybody's 21st! (GYPS)

Yep, I forgot whose idea was it, but it sure is fun having a Primary School get-together to celebrate everybody's 21st birthday!

Kick-started it at SMU's Settlers' Cafe with Liangwei, wenj, val and van, with Shawn 客船-ing for awhile.
(Photos courtesy of Liang Wei and Vanessa)

Me explaining the rules of the 'Hanging Monkey' game.

Careful! Don't let the monkeys fall down!

Vanessa attempting an unglam shot of me again...

...and succeeded.

And our damn-powerful Jenga playing skills... let the pictures speak for themselves...
Relax, girl, it's only the start of the game!

The crazy tower is beginning to show...

I don't think praying helps much...

*Stunned*

"Are you kidding me??"

Attempting the final stunt..

Nearly...

...there.

Playing this iPhone game on wenj's phone. He had to put his hands below in case his precious phone drops :X

Then it was off to my house for steamboat!

Looks absolutely delicioussss...

Don't worry, I washed my hands!

开动了!

Then it was time for Guitar Heroes World Tour!

"Slappin' da bass, man!" You'll know why I keep saying this later.

You can imagine how disastrous it was for some first-timers..

"Ah si wa wu jit ba ban..."

Then it was cake-cutting time. Bringin' out the delicious durian cake from Jalan Kayu!!
I can almost smell the durian now..

Happy birthday to US! =)
~

And here's the next movie review, for I Love You, Man.
I give the movie:





As far as good comedies go, there's actually a new sub-genre for this category, and it's called a bro-mance flick. This movie twicks one of Hollywood's most bankable romantic formulas and I'm glad to say, it absolutely worked.

Peter (the fantastic Paul Rudd) has just proposed to his girlfriend. And during wedding preparations, his fiancee discovers that Peter doesn't have a good man-buddy to accompany him at the aisle. You see, Peter is more of a 'girlfriends' kinda guy - he is perfectly straight - but has failed to secure strong male friendships in the past. After a series of disastrous man-dates (awkward but stupendously hilarious), in comes Sydney (Jason Segel is a hoot), the complete character-opposite of Peter, who shows potential of becoming Peter's best-bud for his wedding task.

I Love You, Man works well with this weird but amusing setting of the anxiety of trying to find a male-buddy even though Peter is decidedly approaching middle-aged. And witnessing the bonding of the awkward and confused Peter with the brash and loud attitude of Sydney through rock jamming sessions is so endearingly funny, these two characters' electrifying chemistry alone carry the show.

Of course, kudos to a bevy of funny supporting casts. And here's presenting to you one of the funniest scenes from the movie, where Peter is trying to get his fiancee to be interested in a rock song he digs. Peter mutters the already-classic line of "Slappin' da bass, man!" with absolute hilarity:



FINAL SAY: Filled with laugh-out-loud situations and side-splitting one-liners, this is where Hollywood comedies should be heading to. Seeing that I watched it with a female friend and she totally enjoyed it, this movie is evidently for both genders.
~


And the final movie review is probably apt, since the world is still reeling from the shock of MJ's passing.

But firstly, take a look at this MJ report by AP and try to spot Yee Wen with her Singaporean friends being interviewed outside the Mann's Chinese Theatre in LA. Cool stuff!! :D (at time: 1:00 onwards in the background)



Here's the review of Departures.
I give the movie:





There you go, my second 5-star review of the year besides The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. If you realise by now, I kinda give high ratings to those movies that talk about life and in this instance, death, in particular.

Departures (winner of this year's Oscar for Best Foreign Film) is about a failed cellist who moves back to his hometown with his wife in rural Japan, and taking up a job as an encoffinment (aka nokan) in a company that specialises in cleansing, donning-on make-up and dressing-up the deceased for their final 'journey'.

As morbid and sometimes frightening as it might sound, this profession is part of Japan's rich cultural heritage. Seeing the character painstakingly go through each and every minute detail in dressing up the corpse, and the care and respect taken to dress-up each deceased beautifully is painful but at the same time, heartbreakingly poetic to watch.

Each family has its own story to tell. And the film portrays each funeral in its most honest happiness, or for some, misery, leaving the audience in laughter and simultaneously in tears. When the story finally comes to a wrap with a heart-aching plot surrounding the main character, the audience is already swept up by the meticulously-crafted and moving storyline, only to be touched once again by this masterpiece of a film.

FINAL SAY: Funny and a profoundly moving film at the same time - this tale is an ode to family life, and how each of us copes with the inevitable situation of death. Laugh and cry along with it. Then, contemplate. Highly-recommended.
~

Communication Studies Orientation Camp next week. So fast!

Take care, peeps!

Are You Sure They're Rated PG!?

Yea, I've finally managed to catch the movie I've been dying to watch. Although halfway through I felt a tinge of regret, I was glad I sat through this brilliant, funny and scary-like-hell movie.

Yep, I was intrigued, then frightened, then fell in love with Drag Me To Hell.

I give the movie:





Talk about extremes. Drag Me To Hell was touted as scary and funny, but I didn't expect it to be that scary and that funny. But oh well, who's complaining? Perhaps just some of us cowering in our seats during the movie. But that's the whole fun of it, isn't it? You get to have a near-heart attack, and then you get treated to some medicine called laughter.

Some of you might be surprise that Sam Raimi (the genius that brought us those genre-defining Spiderman movies) directed this. But what's more surprising is that Sam Raimi started off doing these genre-defining horror/comedy films (The Evil Dead Trilogy), which were what made him famous in the first place.

Drag kick-started with an unsuccessful but shocking exorcism from the past, which laid the path for what was to come. In the present, our female protagonist's rejection of an old gypsy's appeal for an extension of her housing loan unleashed a curse upon herself. She is given 3 days - after which she would be dragged to hell for her misdeed.

Would an animal sacrifice appease the demon? Would an exorcism work? Can she get away from all the torment? Well, let's just say, Hell has no mercy. And the audience, as well, are in the mercy of this visionary director, who piles up the scares and gore (along with the laughs) with a well-crafted and suspenseful score.

And when I said this movie is not for the weak-of-heart, I do mean it. Don't be deceived by the PG rating (as of my next movie review below, but more on that later). Guys are bound to be pushed to the edge of their seats, notwithstanding the fact that we're trying to cover our eyes with our hands.

Although we do wish to escape from the theatre, the story is so intriguing everyone sits through it, all the way to the Hell-raising finale.

FINAL SAY: Utterly satisfying and wonderfully crafted spook/laugh flick. Not for the faint-hearted, though. But still, highly recommended.
~


And next, the mind-numbingly painful Land of the Lost.
I give the movie:





The movie ad in The Straits Times reads: "Not for those without a sense of humour." If having a sense of humour means being incoherent, tasteless, and a bit retarded, then Land of the Lost is the movie for you!

Anyway, not being too mean, but this film is NOT a fun family film. Families who bring along their kids expecting something like last year's exciting Journey to the Centre of the Earth will be totally thrown off track, and till the end of this mess of a show, they still won't know what hit them.

An egoistic scientist (Will Farrell) manages to travel into a parallel dimention whereby the past collides with the future, which gives you a mixture of dinosaurs and ice cream parlours all rolled into one scene. And then there're those ugly, unfunny lizard-men. And a pervertic ape man who becomes the group's best friend. Don't get it? The movie doesn't care. Just watch it for slapstick after slapstick of crass humour.

How this movie was packaged to look like a family film but instead is laden with head-scratching sexual-references and managed to pass off with a PG rating is beyond my guess.

FINAL SAY: Intentionally tacky and unapologetically unserious, do not say you've not been warned, kids.
~

Okay, so those were the two movies I watched in one day. One great, and the other one an utter waste of time and money.

Next post shall be mom's birthday and Yeewen's 21st.

Take care, peeps!

L for Lazy

Yeah, I guess the word 'lazy' sums up the reason why my previous post was almost a month ago. Lazy + busy actually. Besides trying to do 'catch-up' during the weekends with friends, the weekdays saw my ear being plastered to the headset, receiving calls from customers all over Singapore (yes, still in Call Centre). To those that've been asking, yep, my contract officially ends on 23rd June. Hoorah.

Oh my, I didn't even finish my Japan post =X

But let's try something new here, shall we. Since 99% of the people out there have Facebook, please view my Japan photos there, since there's space for comments as well, which doubles up as a blogpost.

So that settles the Japan post :P And I'm sure you know, I just had my 21st birthday party. It was a success in more ways than one =) Really, really thank all who came and all who made that possible. You know who you people are. And since that's something so special, I shall feature some photos here!

But firstly, for those who still 'miss' those photos of woebegone times which I displayed on my slideshow, here are some key ones.. Get ready for the embarrassment all over again.

My grandma and me.

On my 5th birthday with my cousins. From L to R: Eugene, looking cheeky; Ming ming, smiling w/o showing her teeth; Roxane, feeling so excited (but it's not her birthday); Me, staring at my cake; Elicia, totally enthusiastic.

My birthday with my primary school friends. I'm so putting this on Facebook.

That is just the tip of the iceberg. I'll probably post all the old photos on Facebook soon. Liang Wei, I know you want them. Please wait patiently..

Okay, are you ready? Here's my 21st Birthday aka Movie Magic aka Not a lot of people bothered to dress in-theme aka One of the best moments of my life =)

Getting ready..

Some of my friends thought he was my emcee. He's my ever-spontaneous uncle Vincent! And yea that's me, adhering to my theme :p

This is just so wrong.

My coolio primary school friends. See if you recognise any of these peeps (besides me) from the birthday photo above.

Cool shot of friends and the function room. Weee, my self-taken photo of Botanic Gardens is in the background!

The 'new men' plus regular Sgt Kang.

Me, Jing Wei (one of two people who're BP+NJ friend), and Lady Shrek aka Rayna.

Army buds! Hmm, is Colin looking for some chio-bu? Or is it Lim Pin's gf? :X

Maybank staffers - people who I see five days a week (unless they take mc, or I take mc). Cheryl has the tendency to close her eyes. You'll see.

JC mates. Live long and prosper.

My classy emcee, Audrey Hedburn aka Min Si!

And here we are, watching the slideshow...



Movie Magic Quiz time!

The contestants thinking hard...


After a draw between Vanessa and Kang, (both scored 14/20), the tie-breaker was this: "Which movie did this quote come from: The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return." Kang immediately blurted out the answer even before I could countdown: "Moulin Rouge!" Sorry, Vanessa, I really thought you'd win hahaha.

And here's the winner =)

And thanks all for participating! Everyone's a winner =)


And the cake-cutting commences..

Woohoo! Oscar cake =)) Nice, hor? Didn't have time to admire it that day. Didn't even have time to eat much that day :X

Yep, I'm 21..

My family plus my beloved grandmother. Should've taken a proper shot. Well, at least mama and my bro was looking at the camera ;)

Making a simple wish..


Family photo! Thanks to a good photographer who managed to coax such a natural and candid laugh on everyone's faces =D

GYPSies!

Secondary school group, looking studious and normal at first..

Then...
The first push... then...

Complete and utter mayhem! Don't worry, no cakes were harmed in this photography.

JC Group. And this one tried to make me little red riding hood..

24SA R&S!

Hmm.. this is too boring..

"MAYBANK!!" Now that's more like it!

Cousins! aka mahjong kah-kees.

My professional cake-cutter. Haha =D Requires skill okay.. shall employ you for future cake-cutting projects...

NJ Band!

The important women in my family.

Cool effect..

The 'fashionably-late' Lamerz who came in Black-and-white aka 无间道 aka Sex & The City!?


And here're the prizes for Best Dressed!

Uncle Vincent aka Huo Yuan Jia-cum-dragonball-cum-Tom Cruise Top Gun (the glasses)

My cousins, Ryan & Russell aka Pirates from Pirates of the Caribbean

The most talked-about character that night - Tess Moh aka Mrs Spock! You go, girl!

And anyway, on that topic, I might as well include my review of Star Trek (2009) the movie here =P

I give the movie:





I know what many people think - What the hell is Star Trek? Isn't that the old, nerdy and geeky show from the past that is the uncool version of Star Wars? Don't worry, that's what I thought initially as well.

But what made me change my mind? The trailer. It looks exciting and awesome (not like some Hollywood big-budget movies where they just keep blowing things up and call that a blockbuster). And, let me tell you, what I saw was exactly what I got.

Directed by the steady hands of JJ Abrams (TV's Lost), the remake of this cult-franchise is visually-stunning and exhilarating from start-to-finish. Boasting a strong cast and a gripping storyline as well, I dare say, it has everything the recent 3 Star Wars movie lack.

Watching the movie gave me the excitement of watching a classic space movie, but given today's heart-stopping graphic effects. I must say, this is perhaps the best of 2009's summer action releases (maybe until Transformers 2 come out).

FINAL SAY: This is the better star of the two mega-space franchises. And the tagline says it right - The Future Begins. This is the beginning of the resurrection of a classic - hopefully just like the Batman movies.


Okay, back to the best-dressed photos =p

Me and Lady Shrek aka Rayna! Btw, that's her daddy's shirt! Cooll..

Your movie characters line-up from L-R: Mrs Spock, Mrs Shrek, Casual Superman, Pirate 1, Pirate 2, Huo Yuan Jia-cum-Tom Cruise in Top Gun.

Thanks for helping out, peeps!

The full Maybank crew (besides Pearlyn). See I told you Cheryl had the tendency to close her eyes.

Me and my great, great photographer, Hannah. All photos courtesy of her. For those who've seen the scrapbook compiled by her and the rest of the photos on Facebook, you'd know how professional she is. Quick ask her to photograph your events now!
~

Yep, those were the highlights. Really wanna thank everyone again for the presents. Feel really blessed. And can the group that gave me the lava lamp please tell me. 'Cos I still can't figure out who gave me that :X
~

Okay, there were many random outings here and there which obviously I didn't report it here. But one outing did stand out, which was Wenjie's Anderson Sec alumni band concert. Photos courtesy of Vanessa, whose camera officially detects unglam shots of me. (Following photos courtesy of Vanessa)

Here's a run-down of the unglam pics..

Unglam #1: Seriously unintentional and seriously the most unglam photo I have besides the one on Szern's blog :XX

Unglam #2: Not as funny as the previous one but still as stupid.

Unglam #3 - Reminscent of their shot of me on the 21st birthday.

Being the spokesperson of Vitasoy.

Loyal employee of Maybank? I really like Maybank Tower's lighting. They rock.
~

Okay, here's the last movie review for this post: Terminator Salvation.

I give the movie:





When you can keep predicting what's going to come next, you know you're not watching a good movie. Besides having a terrible plot, the movie effects all seem bloated and worst, recycled from the director's previous movie: Charlie's Angels. The man, McG, seems to have brought his brand of absurdity over to this serious franchise; this cannot be compared to the mind-blowing yet realistic action in The Dark Knight.

FINAL SAY: Pity Christian Bale for acting in this. But if you're in for purely the action, this Terminator does deliver.
~


The next two movies I feel like watching is Man On Wire, the harrowing documentary of a man tight-rope crossing between New York's Twin Towers in the 1970's, and Drag Me to Hell, Spiderman's Sam Raimi's ode to old-school horror.

And of course, Transfomers: Revenge of the Fallen. Hope it's a hell lot better than the first.

And here're two upcoming movies that I'm really quite excited about. Here are the posters:

The first ever animation to be the opening film for the prestigious Cannes Film Festival, a Disney/Pixar film won't disappoint, and you know it. HD TRAILER AVAILABLE HERE.

And the next movie that young adults are probably excited in (probably the more sadistic crowd):
Final Destination 4 aka The Final Destination. But will it really be the end? Tagline reads "Rest in Pieces." HD TRAILER AVAILABLE HERE.

Alright, shall end here.

Take care, peeps!