"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.
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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.
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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.
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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!

Movie Magic

I guess most of you all have received the invite.

Erm.. is my theme really very challenging? Just wear something that represents the movies okay already. One small accessory also can. Don't have to dress like Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie. But if you think you can pull it off, go ahead. =P

So far, 45 people are turning up, and a few others pending. Really quite excited 'bout it. But now there's one small hiccup. The bigger function room is holding an AGM on the exact same day. Although it starts at 2pm, don't really know when it will end. Hope it'll end just in time for the party!

Might be roping in someone to be an emcee. But must confirm first. Get ready for a movie-themed night! (=

And, on that topic, caught X-Men Origins: Wolverine over the weekend.

I give the movie:





It's a great movie to look at, no doubt. What it lacks in character development, it compensates with cool action sequences that befits a summer blockbuster. But that said, Wolverine is just a solid back-story about how the super-strong mutant got his tough body and memory lapse of the past. All the characters which appear on the poster are memorable only for the brief moments they appear on-screen, and none of them were given the space to be as memorable as the titular hero.

FINAL SAY: While thousands of fan-boys worldwide are still crying foul over the underused and miscast fan-favourite Gambit, this movie is still popcorn-worthy.
~

And decided to introduce some songs:

1) The Show by Lenka - although it's last year's song, but this gem is still quite a discovery for me recently. Light and not migraine-inducing like most of the music today.

2) Not Fair by Lily Allen - I still can't figure out the lyrics! Weird. But the rhythm is still sticky and groovy.

3) I Told You So by Carrie Underwood ft Randy Travis - fell in love with this song after their debut performance on American Idol. Beautiful melody; a heartfelt, simple love song.

4) Touch My Hand by David Archuleta - also caught my attention when he performed on the recent Idol stage, this is a departure from his usual pop ballads. Something slightly different, and different in a good way.

5) Crazier by Taylor Swift - this talented lass just keeps gettin' better! She didn't win a recent Best Country Album for nothing. This melancholic song is one of her best to date.

Okay, need to start really drafting out a plan for the 21st.

Take care, peeps!

Watch Out

For fans of comic books, i'm sure you've heard of the latest superhero movie in town. But have you heard about how it's such a massive disappointment?

(Mc***** I hope that gives you a heads up as to what my review is going to turn out to be like. Just fyi, I've formed the opinion of this movie on Friday night, right after it ended.)

Anyway, yeah, it doesn't take an idiot to guess that the movie I'm talking about is the stupendously-anticipated (for most guys, including me) "mother of all superhero movies" - Watchmen. And it also doesn't take a fool to guess that I didn't really like it.

I give the movie:






Besides faulting it for being too long (even though huge chunks of the comic book were edited for film), this just brings me to the point that rings oh so true - Watchmen is unfilmable.

Those were actually the exact words that came out the mouth of the classic comic book's revered writer, Alan Moore. Some things, I feel, should be left in its original source material. And Watchmen should be one of them.

Translating a story of emotionally-distraught masked vigilantes onto live-action on screen is a trying task. Even though the competent cast does their best to portray the conflicting emotions of the characters caught in 70's America in a pending nuclear war with Russia, the gaudiness of it all being displayed in real-life is almost too much to stomach.

While the trailer did seem cool (actually, it was with the help of music), witnessing in full-length the slightly-pudgy Nite Owl land on the ground, cape flailing and all, was too cheesy to be taken seriously. And talking about Nite Owl, his rendesvouz with Silk Spectre came across as laughable, instead of steamy.

There are just too many complains that I have for this film, which in the first place, should be left in its brilliant form as a graphic novel. While last year's loose movie adaptation of another classic, Wanted, was very well-received, the film Watchmen had exactly duplicated its source material, which basically made us question, What's the point?
~

Bleah, what a let-down. Maybe it's because the original graphic novel was simply too good (and deep), any other version of it would seem like a tarnish to its highly-respected reputation.

[ Included after reading Mc*****'s review ] - for a different take on Watchmen the movie, please visit here.
~

Went to visit Syad to pay our respects at the Muslim cemetry today with some of the 2002 corneteers - namely Jiemin, Shi min, Hazuan, Yusri and Adrian. It's really heartbreaking and painfully ironic that it takes such a sad and unfortunate event like this for us to come together for a cornets gathering.

Will plan a gathering in May (since my batch most of the people are May babies).

Meanwhile, take care, peeps.

Life is (one hell of) a Rollercoaster

Oh my gosh, erm, like where do I even start!?

It's been, what, more than a month? What atrocity, man!

Okay, get ready for one long post of pictures, little anecdotes, and every other thing in between to fill this one month void.

But anyway, for those who knew what happened in my family, maybe you could understand why, for this period of time, I just didn't feel like updating at all.

Okay, at the risk of sounding emo (which I'm trying to abstain from), let's just say my job is another huge reason why the first thing I reach home, I think about collapsing on my bed (let alone logging onto the internet and writing about more stressful stuff, and be reminded of them in the process).

To lighten things up first, let me indulge in a few moments of stress-release.

(Content removed by author)
~

The next thing some of you probably know from the picture.

Well, I guess now since the situation has stabilised, I guess I should write about this harrowing and unfortunate event that happened in my family, particularly, to my dad.

It was the week before Chinese New Year. It was another tiring day at work and I just entered the MRT with my colleagues, preparing to go home. It was then that I read this SMS from my mom: "Daddy attack by bees in Malaysia. He now at the eye specialist."

I remembered feeling shocked, and exclaiming, prompting both my colleagues' concern as well. I called my mom immediately - it was also then that she explained to me something which the initial shock didn't make me realise: why was my dad at an eye specialist?

She said that my dad was at the golfing green that morning when he was attacked by the bees. I then recalled that my dad had drove across the causeway together with my neighbour for a golfing trip. But the worst had yet to come. The next thing she mentioned - something so out of this world that it made my stomach churn - my father was stung in the eye by a bee during the attack, and the sting was still embedded in his pupil.

The only expression I could muster at that time was a loud "HUH?". That has got to be one of the most outrageous things I've ever heard. At that moment, I knew it was not a matter to be taken lightly, and my both colleagues could tell from the expression on my face.

The bad news didn't stop. Apart from being badly stung on the body, my dad also sustained multiple scrapes on his limps from running and falling while escaping the bees. His brand new Nokia phone was damaged after he jumped into the pond, but the most serious issue was that the doctors in Malaysia couldn't remove the sting so my dad insisted on coming back to Singapore (wise move, right?). My neighbour, who also suffered from bee stings, drove my dad all the way back, both of them vomitting and suffering from fever throughout the journey.

Dumbfounded, all I could ask at that time was his condition. She kept saying it was "serious" in a very hushed tone, but insisted I should go home first, because my younger brother wasn't aware yet. Feeling flustered and extremely uneasy after hanging up, I finally SMS-ed my mom to suggest one last time if I need to go down. It was her reply that made up my mind: "Doctor said too deep can't remove it. Now we at mount elizabeth A&E dept."

I had to rush down.

He went into day surgery, one hour, and he was out. He couldn't even remember anything about the operation because of the local anesthesia given. Thankfully, the sting was removed. But for two days, my dad couldn't open his affected because it was too swollen.

After being hospitalised for 3 nights, he was finally discharged; but because of the damaged cornea, it will be a long route to recovery. Full-recovery is not certain yet - it's still too early to tell.


But what my uncle said was right: “平安就好” (it's a blessing he is safe)

I really want to thank my relatives who visited - their immediate concern was touching and it did provide the necessary support for mainly me and my mom to tide through the unfortunate event.

And of course, the well wishes and regards from my colleagues and friends. Thanks for the understanding, people! I really appreciate it =)
~

Okay, emo incident aside. I think it's time for the tsunami of pictures and events that I've missed out on updating. Really sorry if I've forgotten any. There are just too many. Here we go!

In absolute random order (basically, what I can remember, I hantum first):

1) Zhiwei and Peijun's Birthday Celebrations!

Celebrating your birthday at Fish & Co means standing on chairs, doing embarrassing things, and letting the whole restaurant know about it.

This joke, I predict, will go on for quite some time.

Fungi, if you see clearly, you're in the picture too!
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2) Fungi's 21st!
Memoirs of a Geisha... er.. not really, hor? And the raising of the pink cloth at the back 小龙女-style is just because we don't know how to tie that ribbon.

If you must know, our nonya is holding a basket of bananas. Oh my, I can't stop laughing.

Sorry szern I took this photo. I knew what you said about it on your blog, but it's the most complete one =p
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3) Vivien's 21st!
It's the Geek with his Bimbos.. 超级 unglam 的 lor..

My table. Tess you're right.. I am a lucky guy =P

My 'lucky draw' prize. It reads: My friend was in Nepal and all she brought me back was this lousy T-shirt. Yea, she really went Nepal. And yea, all she brought me back was this lousy T-shirt.

05S10 band members rock!
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4) Serkun's 21st!

This photo seriously needs some touch up.

'Peace' is the word of the day.

Told you it'll be a joke. Redefines the meaning of 无所不在..
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5) CNY 09!
花开富贵！

Steamboat rocks!

We should've never opened that box =x

And so it begins...

Our dear banker Keifer looking confident...

My dad sneaking a peek at my cards..

And the night's best Pokerface goes to... Szetho! Pro-kia.. taught us how to do the 'chip combining' move.. Which I think Bernard (Szetho's left) is trying out.. Haha..

(Thanks Bernard for the photos!)


Oh my gosh, it's been so long since I've reviewed a movie! Well, managed to catch 2 movies during CNY period. Sad to say, this has got to be one of the most dismal offering of CNY movies in recent years.

Only one blockbuster, in my opinion, was worth the watch. I even caught a chick-flick on the first day of CNY, which explains how bad the situation was.

Similar movie posters - similarly boycotted. Why? The Wedding Game, although was #1 at the box office, is incidentally one of the most unnecessary local movies ever. Love Matters, well, it's a Jack Neo movie. 'Nuff said.


Movie 1) Red Cliff 2
I give the movie:






(Yep, that's my new movie-rating. That stands for 3.5/5)

As thrilling and as clever as the war strategies go, it was all quite a feeling of been-there-done-that this time around. Besides the battle scenes being long-drawn, useless plotlines such as Zhao Wei and a simple-minded soldier's relationship, and Lin Chi-Ling's idiotic way of distracting the enemy (I can't believe he fell for that) all marred the movie from closing off the 2-part epic nicely.

Last Say: Watch it only if you've watched part one.


Movie 2) Bride Wars
I give the movie:






Not exactly the best that chick-flick queen (Kate Hudson) and chick-flick princess (Anne Hatthaway) have to offer. Hatthaway, by the way, is nominated for an Oscar best actress for another movie about getting married (Rachel Getting Married), but she is not getting married in that movie.

Ok, lame puns aside, I did enjoy myself in this movie (c'mon, those two actresses are gorgeous) but yeah, it can't be taken seriously.

Last Say: Watch it only if the other movies available are The Wedding Game and Love Matters, which, incidentally, is what happened to me! Still, it did have its funny moments =)

And of course, what's CNY without a visit and mahjong with Lamerz? Aside to szern, I hope you have stopped your sounds-ang-moh-but-not-ang-moh english accent =p

Ming Ming's 21st!
Sorry, no pictures. But yea, made me think.. how should I celebrate my 21st birthday this year?? Hmmm...
~

6) Slumdog Millionaire!

Met up with Bernard, Colin, Bobo and Junming to catch that Oscar nominated film @ PS. If only it wasn't for Junming's blunder (he mistook the third row from the front as the third row from the back) I believe I would've enjoyed the movie slightly better. (But of course, if we sat behind, we wouldn't be able to enjoy that extra 'sensory' experience - wink, inside joke)

That said, the movie is the first great film I've watched of 2009 =)
I give the movie:






This movie is truly an energetic triumph - from is brilliant pulsating score, to its breathtaking and colourful visuals of the slums of India - if Oscar was based on audience's votes, this film will surely win Best Picture (hey, it just might, after sweeping the Golden Globes and SAG awards).

Fundamentally a love story, the thrilling plot also revolves around the boy's historic win on India's version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire?. Did he cheat? Is he a genius? How did he get to know all the answers?

Let this fascinating movie enchant you and you'll find the answers (and perhaps, love) along the way.

Last Say: I want to watch The Curious Case of Benjamin Button to see which is better. But currently, this movie is my million-dollar bet for Best Picture (figure of speech, people).

~
Okay, I guess that's it? Obviously not. But I can't possibly remember so many things.

Anyway, will start to blog more frequently now.

Work is not getting easier. Bleah. Just thank goodness I'm learning things along the way.

Take care, peeps!