Yes, I've Conformed.

[ this is post #110. Which means the next post will be the 111th, which means... it'll be my ORD post. *jumps for joy* 7 more days to my pink ic!! ]

It sucks not updating my posts for so long because I was trying to reserve post no.111 for 11th Nov. So get ready for a long post!

But anyway, yes, I've conformed. I've got Facebook.
That was my first status update when I set-up my account last Monday. "Wilson Ng is conforming with Facebook." And yup, that's my "staring into space" (as quoted by Gladys Heng) display pic. I've since changed it. (see widget on sidebar)

Besides the reason that I want to conform (I mean, who doesn't have Facebook nowadays? I get this a lot before), I've learnt that it's a hassle-free way to keep in contact with people you've forgotten (oops). And it's heartening to know that they still remember you!

But OMG. There's TWO Bala Murugans. And to think that he accepted all our photo tags! LOL. Bernard, I think you should ask him about it. Stop stealing friends. Hahaha.
~

Yay, I can FINALLY review movies again! Don't worry, there's only two this time.

Firstly, Tropic Thunder.

Hilarious, No-Holds-Barred Satire
Star-Power:



Is this really what the critics are calling the 'Best Comedy of the Year'? This may very well be. Out of the slew of different comedies that came out this year (the risque Forgetting Sarah Marshall, the spy-spoof and very funny Get Smart, the physical comedy The House Bunny, just to name a few) this movie certainly steals the thunder, pardon the pun.

Firstly, get ready for this, we have mega-stars acting as mega-stars, in a Hollywood movie making a Hollywood movie. Confused yet? Don't be. Simply put, Stiller, Black and Downey Jr are making fun of the very industry that feeds them.

But Hell, did they do it brilliantly.

Suffice to say, they're spoofing the absurd decadence of those impossibly-paid Hollywood mega-actors these days, and throwing in a few blockbusters-worth of spectacular explosions and out-of-this-world movie sets. The effect is very often rewarding, and of course, very funny.

FINAL SAY: Watch out for Tom Cruise's scene-stealing cameo. You won't believe it.
~

Up next, High School Musical 3: Senior Year.

High School Naivete
Star-Power:



Is it really the end of the road for Zac Efron and Co.? Yes for the present cast, but No for the franchaise. Rumours have it that HSM4 is in the works, and it will feature the new actors being introduced in Part 3 - the annoying 'Rocket Man' and the equally annoying British lass who plays Sharpay's assistant.

But let's get back to this movie. I have to declare something first: I like musicals. I count last year's Hairspray and Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge! as two of my favourites. So, for HSM3, a teenage (a word no longer associated with me) musical, I nearly gave it a 3.5-star (don't gasp).

If you saw the movie, I think you will somewhat agree with me. Firstly, the talent of the cast is undeniable. They can sing and dance and still look so fabulous. And their so freakin' young! Secondly, some of the musical numbers (particularly the one where they prepare for prom) nearly worths a weekday ticket price.

But the problem I have? The actors seem too big for their roles. Which I feel is the same problem that will plague the final three Harry Potter movies. And also, there's so little drama!

FINAL SAY: Just too much innocence, that's all. But if you sit-back and enjoy it as a musical, chances are, you'll like it.
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And.... here's my new phone!
I think I can sell this picture to Nokia as catalogue picture for this phone. Haha, ok jk.

Ok, I know. You have the same question. Why did I get a NON-camera phone even though I'm going to ORD in like 7days?
Ans: Because I already have a good-enough digicam and this phone is affordable AND it's really quite a good phone.

There you go. I really like my phone =)
~

Okay, just fyi, I'm already preparing my 111th post. Watch out for that next Tuesday (11/11/2008).

Take care, peeps!

Across 3 Languages

Hey peeps, I'm here to present 3 fantastics songs that I've recently acquired and they're arguably in my 3 fave languages.

1) English
2) Mandarin aka 华语
3) Japanese aka 日本語 / にほんご / Nihongo

Firstly, I've recently caught the movie Across The Universe (which i'll review later). It's a 1960's love-story woven altogether by Beatles' songs. And this is one of the most moving and powerful moments in the film.

Let It Be


~

Secondly, it's 林宥嘉 and 刘力扬's duet, 传说. It's an okay song but I've grown to really appreciate 林宥嘉. He's a fantastic singer. Can't wait for his album.

传说


~

Lastly, it's Mongol 800's Chiisana Koi No Uta from the series Proposal Daisakusen. Muahaha, finally found this song on imeem. This rocks!! Here's the vid + lyrics.

Chiisana Koi No Uta


~

Here's my review of Across The Universe.

I give the film:



This independent movie-musical was highly-anticapted by Beatles fans all over the world. For the first time ever, arguably the world's greatest band is finally getting a tribute on film. However, the movie opened to mixed reviews, and I can understand why.

Basically, the story is woven together conveniently for the sake of the songs, and the pacing is bad and jarring, the characters utterly forgettable in the first half of the movie.

However, the turning point is definitely Let It Be (see first video above). The arrangement of I Want to Hold Your Hand (sang by an ernest Asian girl) also deserves mention.

FINAL SAY: Average script and not-very-stellar Beatles tribute masked in sometimes over-the-top musical moments. But not without its gems.
~

Argh got guard duty tomorrow on Labour Day!

Take care, peeps!

Da Streetz

Yo people wassup!? Ok, shall not be stupid =P

Step Up 2: The Streets was simply da bomb man!

After driving on monday, I chiiiooonnggeedd back home then chiiiooonnggeedd out (I bathed and changed and was on the road in 15mins flat) to meet Eugene, Mingming, Elicia and Roxane @ Orchard for dinner before the movie.

Ate at NYDC. Talked crap for a bit then proceeded to the cinema.

Well, it wasn't really a gala premiere. It was more like a private function =X

Okay, you can't really see the faces from here. But we're already in the (old and chui) cinema.
That's Shan Wee and Rosalyn (from the Shan & Ros show, 4-8pm, 987fm).

So, the movie starts. And boy, was it a blast!
I give the movie:



Really a solid, well-filmed flick made by people passionate about hip-hop dancing, or just dancing, for that matter. The dance sequences here (especially the last one in the rain) is well-worth the price of the ticket.

Go watch it, man. It also boasts a killa soundtrack. Waaayy better than the first movie.

P.S. The montage above is cool right? Totally in line with the mood of the film =P

Reached home then slept only at 12+. Shagggeedd.


~
Watched Meet the Spartans online the other day. I've learnt my lesson after Epic Movie. So, luckily I didn't spend $ on this show.

I give the movie:




I was right. It sucked BIG time. Watch MadTV on YouTube for the same spoofs. They're way better and funnier.

~
Okay, got HSP test tomorrow. Shall read a bit before sleeping. Still, damn tired.

Take care, peeps!

Jam-Packed

It does seem to be a jam-packed week after CNY. Unit was busy preparing for COC, which left me chao-tah now. Watched two great, great movies (Sweeney Todd and Juno), which I'm gonna review later.

Our battery went to BSM's house on wednesday. He was banker when we played BlackJack. Damn sian, he won our money =X

But things relatively slowed down on Thursday. Valentine's Day. =T

Friday night chiong-ed down to Bishan in a cab to Kenneth's house. Only wenjie and I turned up for the GYPSies. Oh well. Learned how to play with "飞" as a joker in mahjong with Ken's aunties and his mum's colleagues. Quite fun.

Saturday: The $50 that kept my Saturday free was well-spent (shhh). Met Elicia, Eugene, Roxane, Mingming and Nori (hope I got this right) for a movie at PS (again!!).


Film: Juno
Rated: NC16
I give it WoooooW (4.5/5)

Gist:
Girl is knocked-up by teenage guy. Decides to put the baby up for adoption. She goes through a journey of love - lost, and found.
Plus:
Good, funny script. Wonderfully acted and the story is original and touching. Ellen Page deserves her Best Actress (Oscar) nomination as the titular Juno.
Flaws:
Nothing much, really. Accept that a few characters (i.e., Jennifer Garner as a woman who despearately yearns for a child) are quite sketchy and distant.
Last Say:
Sweet and hilarious at the same time. A true feel-good dramedy.


After the movie we went to play boardgames at Mind Cafe (Prinsep branch).


Elicia and Roxane concentrating hard on hooking the monkies =P

We played the monkeys game, Taboo (i didnt get zero this time!), some card game like Heart Attack which involves pieces of bones, shoot the duck, and another game that requires players to mimic hand actions on a card. Had a lot of fun =) Shall go back again some time, hehe.


Since one of my cousins watched it, and one of my friends watched it, I thought there would be no one ("no one, no one, no one....." sorry, random alicia keys song) to accompany me to watch, so I watched Sweeney Todd online the other day =X In the end zhiwen wanted to watch too. Oh well. Here's my review:


Film: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Rated: M18
I give it WooooW (4.0/5)

Final Say:
Tim Burton has created yet another macabre, gothic but oh-so-delicious film. Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham-Carter's odd-ball musical numbers are a delight to watch. In my opinion, the ending was too predictable for my liking, though.


Upcoming movies that I'll be watching:

The Dark Knight

I hope they explore more on the beginnings of joker. But it looks cool enough!

Meet The Spartans

There are so many people who said this movie sucked (in the US). But the Britney "goo goo gah gah" part is freakin' hilarious. Let's see if this is as bad as Epic Movie (i suspect)


~
Ok, it's 0230 already. It's book-in day =X

Take care, peeps!

Hairspray Gold and my AHM Pride

(To address Fungi: If you shag, I'm shag times a gazillion times =P And for YW, I did say the twist was good lor ... haha ... and I bought a silver-gun-chain from jiamin; I got support friend oso lor.. lol)

How exciting could a weekend have been?!

This entry is gonna be long. First, there's my HAIRSPRAY review and there's of course ... that 21KM run.

On saturday I met wenjie at orchard cine for KBox ... after straining our vocal chords for 3Hrs, we decided that we just decided that we had to watch Hairspray, so yup, we bought the tickets for the 3:15PM show, since we both must book-in that night. Before the movie started went over to *scape to support jiamin and friends at their LIME flea market stall. Happy with what I got =)

Anyway, here's my exciting review of HaIrSpRaY!

I give the movie W o o o o o W (5.0/5)

HAIRSPRAY has got to be one of the best pictures of the year!! This is what a good movie should be made of. It is very feel-good entertainment; and the song-and-dance numbers are so good I found myself wanting to clap after every single one =P

HAIRSPRAY kicks off with an instant sing-a-long: Good Morning Baltimore by a very promising Nicky Blonsky. Her earnestness and sometimes fiestiness are the reasons why the movie is so fun to watch.

HAIRSPRAY succeeds best when the beats start and the fantastic actors do their stuff. You just have to see it for yourself to believe the amount of professionalism thrown into the film.

Talking about the actors, they are the heart and soul of this unbelievable musical. The Straits Times, Life! called Amanda Bynes (see below) a "comic revelation". I wouldn't go soo far as to say that, but she did a pretty decent job playing Nicky's ditsy little best friend.

The person I think that rightfully deserves the "comic revelation" title is none other than John Travolta (see below)! Holy mama ... his tour-de-force 'drag-queen' role as Mrs Turnblad is so bloody hilarious and gross at the same time, I wouldn't be surprised if he was nominated for an Oscar Best Actor next year. Heck, he could win Oscar Best Actress and he/she would still deserve it =P

There is no need to comment about the rest of the actors. Queen Latifah is powerful as usual; Christopher Walken is surprisingly funny; Zac Efron provided the right amount of charm; and Michelle Pfeiffer puts her acting chops to perfect use as a villanious TV station manager.

She Rocks.



















He / She Rocks.

LAST SAY:

Go watch it and have a great, great time. 'Cause you can't stop the beat!


And now, onto the topic of the Army Half Marathon 2007. Woohoo!

My legs are in such pain now I can't even bother to describe. But I guess ... it was all worth it? You bet it was, man.

Here's the LowDown:

Woke up at 0245 this morning. Brushed-up. Boarded bus to NDP Floating Platform.

Waited until 0545 before the run officially started from Sheares Bridge.

Paced with Sgt Kwok and Sgt Kang initially.

Then Sgt Kang had to shit. Last saw him at Lau Par Sat.

Then Sgt Kwok fell behind. It was me on my own.

Ran pass Chinatown then entered expressway ECP.

Upslope was crazy. It was still dark. There are thousands of people.

Saw my SISPEC commanders along the way: Sgt Lawrence and Sgt Tan Chow Li.

It was at the 8km point that I entered East Coast Park.

Daybreak. Sunrise was nice. But my fatigue wasn't.

The entire ECP run was 7km. It was tiring like ****.

At 15km, finally broke free of ECP.

The next 6km was a blur of waterpoints with 100Plus and bananas and rockbands.

Ran pass Mountbatter Rd and then pass the Indoor Stadium.

The last 1km was torturous.

Then it was over.

I couldn't feel my legs.


Was I proud of myself? Yes.
Because it was certainly no easy feat.

Never ran with so much endurance before. Guess I fnally did something in the Army that I can be proud of.

Presenting to you guys my Finisher Medal, hee.



That's my number tag in the background. 2871. Can go buy 4D =P
Shall keep it safe. =)
Take care, peeps!