"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!

I'm Just That Into Curiousity

Curious, indeed.

Once in a while, a movie so unforgettable graces our screens that long after the credits roll, your world is still filled with thoughts and images of it..

Remember the brilliant Forrest Gump?

Now, in this decade, people will remember The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.


I give the film:






From the poster above (and I guess from the media), you would have heard of this Brad Pitt movie whereby he ages backwards. Yes, which means he is born an old man (the first poster on top) and slowly progresses in life and finally dies an infant.

Before you dismiss this as yet another weird kind of Hollywood movie, let me tell you that this story is as close you'll get as watching the entire life story of someone being played on screen.

Together with Benjamin you'll laugh, cry, and revel in whatever the world has to offer an innocent, old man as he grows into a wise, young man, however weird that sentence might sound.

And you can only hope that you'll live half the life of his.

Besides being deeply moving and beautifully nostalgic, the movie boasts great cinematography and sweeping storytelling.

At the core of this film is a love story between the growing old Cate Blanchett (looking stunning as always) and the growing young Brad Pitt (his boyish features but mature stature making him pitch-perfect for this role).


We follow the ups and downs of their love and eventually, the film's most magical moment happens, together with the film's classic line: "We're meeting in the middle... we finally caught up with each other.."

It hits you. They're at the prime of their lives, and the audience, like the characters, don't want that perfect moment to end.

But of course, as Benjamin reminds us throughout the course of the film, "Nothing lasts."

That's life for you.

But the one fine thing that endears, though, is the fact that we leave the theatre deeply touched by the life of this extraordinary individual, and we're left to ponder about the lives of our own.
~

Eh, not bad at all. I feel like that above article I've written can be featured in a newspaper! =p

But anyway, yea, you can tell I really like the movie. Even though I predicted that Slumdog Millionaire will win the Oscars (it really did!), I would think that Curious Case was the better film. It is more nuanced and defeinitely deserves to be revisited more than once. Although Slumdog is the clear audience favourite, it was Curious Case that left me in awe.

By the way, for people who didn't know, I reviewed Slumdog Millionaire two posts ago.

Moving onto the next much talked-about movie, He's Just Not That Into You.

I give the film:






Although I'm not that into this movie, I was interested 'cos of dear Jennifer Aniston! Who, I must say, is starting to look her age (40).. =x

And of course, the stellar cast which includes Scarlett Johansson, Justin Long, Jennifer Connely, Ben Affleck, and the tragically under-used Drew Barrymore (but doesn't matter, she's probably more busy as executive producer for the film).

It is definitely interesting to watch the ensemble explore the perks and quirks of modern relationships, albeit sometimes presented in a rather cliched way.

Two notes to add, though:
1) Despite having little attention throughout the movie, Drew Barrymore scored the funniest scene, which, incidentally, can be seen in the trailer.
2) Scarlett Johansson has got to stop acting the same husband-snatching, seductive, veluptuous (this one is not her fault) and aspiring-artiste role! Her character here is the exact replica of Vicky Cristina Barcelona's.

Aside from those two gribes that I have, it's a funny and sweet movie all in all =)
~

Been driving here and there when I get the chance, but still under Dad's guidance of course. *Turning must slow down.* *In the carpark must drive slower.* *When making U-turns cannot act like I'm in The Fast and the Furious.*

Sorry, was talking to myself.

Oh man, it seems like I've got myself another mini-trumpet gig. Remember my 15secs of fame on Channel 8 last year? Can go see my archive posts. This time if all goes well, you'll just hear me on TV.

Update on the status soon.

Take care, peeps!

Celebrate with 苏智成 & 陈天文

Can you imagine army guys, 20 years of age, going "Waaalll Eee"? What's worse, they try to do it with a robotic sound.

That's the effect the latest Disney/Pixar film has on people of all ages. Caught this masterpiece of a film during my nights-out with my army buddies, and yeah man, it was good.
I give the film:



We know Disney/Pixar can never go wrong. Toy Story, Monsters Inc, Finding Nemo, Ratatouille... just to name a few modern classics.

And to add to that list, now there's Wall-E.

Astounding animation aside, Wall-E carries an important message for us humans living on Earth. The media and the entertainment industry have cooked up many 'save-the-environment' campaigns recently that it's getting sick. (e.g. The Live Earth concert that wasted more resources than it aims to save; Leonardo DiCaprio's Eleventh Hour half-baked documentary; and M. Night Shyamalan's retarded movie The Happening)

But all it needs is one beautiful animation to make us all sit up and take notice.

FINAL SAY: Charming. Romantic. Adorable. Relevant.
~

Celebrated my Grandma's birthday at my uncle's newly-opened Teochew Kitchen restaurant @ Changi Village. Even celebraties like 苏智成 & 陈天文 were there.


~

Wow, there are seriously a lot of people's birthdays in September.

Yay, celebrating mid-autumn festival next week together with dad's birthday. Looking forward to another day of good food.

Take care, peeps!

"Why So Serious?"

..you might ask. Well, then, "let's put a smile on that face." :]

By now you should know which movie I've quoted from. But more on that later.

Seriously (pardon the pun), this weekend have been a treat for the senses, I must say. I've watched two solid movies (both blockbusters), and I must tell you, they both come with my seal of approval.
~

Friday met up with a long-time-no-see friend (we've not seen each other for, like, 2 years?). Intro-ed her to desserts @ MOF, which is now officially my favourite dessert place. And to prove to you that it's my favourite:



Yup, that's right, I've signed up for a MOF membership, which instantly gives me 10% off the bill and a further 20% off selected dessert items! Wow.


Anyway, we caught the movie:
赤壁 (上) aka Red Cliff (part 1)



I give the film:



This has got to be one of the most important movies of our time. For us Chinese, this is a chance to see the Biggest Battle of Ancient China being flashed out as a historical epic, under the guidance of mega-director John Woo, plus a powerful cast which includes Tony Leung and Takeshi Kaneshiro.

This majestic film is complete with pulse-racing action and sweeping cinematography which - I dare say - rival that of Lord of the Rings.

On a side-note, the media has been siting 林志玲 as a "花瓶" (decorative flower vase) in the movie. In her defense, she's a very beautiful 花瓶; and she is the exact embodiment of 小乔 - demure, soft-spoken and most importantly, very pretty. Heck, I think her casting is perfect.

FINAL SAY: With all the grandeur of the film and set, you might ask what is holding me back in giving it 5stars? Well, I'm reserving it for the final battle of red cliff itself (赤壁之战), which will be shown at the end of the year. All I can say is, it'll be good. I just know.
~

And now...

THE DARK KNIGHT


I give the film:



One word: "WHOA!"

This is officially the best movie in 2008 so far. The story, the mind-blowing sets (literally), the actors, the kan-cheong-ness, Heath Ledger's acting...... it's all just excellent, I tell you.

I can't even begin to say how amazing is (the late) Heath Ledger's turn as the Joker. Everytime he comes on screen you're drawn to him. You're scared of him. But you think he's funny. Then you think he's freaky. Then funny. Then scary. Yes, you're under the spell of a talented actor.. that's how schizophrenically-good he is.

Everything about this movie is big, BIG, BIG. A Singaporean guy plays a major villain in the movie. Edison Chen makes a blink-and-you'll-miss cameo as.. er, some extra assistant. And I must say, the director filmed the Hong Kong skyscrapers so majestically you won't believe it's hk =x

The story is as heart-wrenching as it is spectacular. And that is only the tip of the iceberg. I've said enough.

FINAL SAY: You'll be blown-off your seat. Believe the hype. Go watch it. Please.
~

Baoyuan, her gf (hannah) and yoketeng came over for mahjong on sunday. Weilong can't make it 'cos he overslept after duty. Nvm, dude, after I come back from Malaysia. Haha.

And, wth, hannah was sooo lucky!

Look at what she 自摸-ed:


SHI SAN YAO!!!!! (I don't know how to write in chinese!!)

Just looking at that gives me the chills...

Random photo of a random shirt and berms I bought over the weekend:

I hope you all don't find out where I bought this from 'cos I don't want to be caught wearing the same thing as you. Thanks.
~

Okay, notice:
I'm leaving for Redang (East Malaysia) from Saturday (26jul) to Tuesday (28jul) with Lamerz, Inc!

(Plus guard duty waiting for me on the 30th when I return. Argh!!!)

Take care, peeps!