Month: October 2007

Categories
Travel Blog

4D3N Jakarta – Of Prada Bedcover, Kain Tapis, and Sari Pan Pacific

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I opened the window of the living room after I returned from Jakarta and saw grey and white. I really should have participated in the voting of the condo’s new external wall color. But that is another story.

“Why do you visit Jakarta?” asked Cynthia. “I want to see you,” I answered almost immediately. “Do you want to do shopping? What do you want to buy? Some Polo shirts perhaps?” she cocked her head on one side and asked. “Nah, I just want to see you,” I replied.

Cynthia was surprised that I have agreed to visit her over the weekend in Jakarta because I have always prefered to stay in Singapore even when she is on business trip overseas. I have even shocked a good friend of mine and he thought that I have acted too impromptu and out of character. Occasional displacement of the routine is a good thing – somehow reinforced by one of the two books I have finished reading during my stay in Jakarta. Books by Paulo Coelho are my life stories. Look out for the book reviews coming your way.

Sari Pan Pacific is a nice hotel especially the suit we were staying. The unique batik bedcover, “Prada Cloth”, is completely handmade and decorated with gold thread for the nobles of Indonesia (1st two pictures from left). The room is full of decorations such as the “Kain Tapis”, yet another handmade item decorated with gold thread from Sumatra for the commemoration of the Royal traditions (last picture). The lounge area located on 18th floor where part of it reminded me of a small greenhouse is my favorite (3rd from left). Breakfast is served at the lounge and from 6pm to 8pm, there is free flow of drinks and food. I thought I came to Jakarta to detox. I ended up drinking lots of free beer.

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Traffic in Jakarta is a wonder. Nowhere on Earth have I seen cars move with such a close proximity. But yet, drivers do know when to fill in the gaps and when to give way. The pedestrians flow across the traffic direction with motorcyclists zigzag in all directions. Yet, on the highway when the road is wet, cars maintain a safe distance from one another. Passengers get in and out of public buses while the vehicles are in motion. Bus lanes are created with raised kerb as a solution to a subway system as there is none in Jakarta. What a contrast to Singapore.

On our way to the hotel, in front of us was a Toyota. The made was “Alphard”. At first, it read “Alpha-Hard” to me and I turned to Cynthia and commented, “What a cool model name!”. Then I realized that it pronounced as “I’ll Fart” instead. Oh well. I took back my words. I’m sure that won’t sell in Singapore.

Ancol, a resort area that Cynthia and I both have not visited before (see pictures above). It is a waterfront resort and I suppose we have not visited all that Ancol has to offer. Especially the Sea World that is supposed to be larger than Singapore’s Underwater World. However, without a driver, we strolled along the waterfront instead. There is a little bridge that takes us out to a cafe in the middle of the sea. Kind of reminded us of the St. Kilda beach in Melbourne, Australia. Of course there is no comparison but still, the resemblance is there.

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There are new malls in Jakarta and when I visited some, the similarity of the Singaporean brands – retail shops and restaurants – is just amazing. More so than 10 years ago. There was an art gallery display in one of the mall and I could not help but to admire some of the photographs taken in Indonesia (picture on the left).

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I think the Indonesian food in Singapore is nowhere, I mean not even near, to what Indonesia offers. It is to do with the spices, the ingredients, the chickens that are bred in Indonesia, the skill, and everything else.

A short and enjoyable trip. Time for reflection and time to read. Even a moment away from the routine is worth the hassle.

Categories
Diary

The Singapore Sun Festival + 4D3N @ Jakarta!

At the zebra crossing right in front of me, I saw a brand new red Ferrari. At that moment, I wish I was holding an envelope of S$2,000,000 instead of IDR 2,000,000. 6,240 times off the mark.

Fortunately, there are moments in life that can’t be bought: like standing in front of a piece of fine art admiring the beauty within. I chanced upon a pamphlet of Singapore’s arts events guide and inside this guide, I highlighted all the free events and determined to check out at least an event or two. Yesterday I visited the Arts House and I was mesmerised by the works of the photographer J. Henry Fair – the Industrial Scars series (first two pictures on the left as sample). The photographs are beautiful but the underlying content is not. Toxic waste and foul environmental abominations, it was certainly an eye opener for me.

Today, I visited the NAFA Galleries for the Art Space Germany series (last two pictures from the right as sample). The oil paintings are intense! And there is one weird tilted white-ish multi-disc sculpture in the middle of the room that caught my attention. If only I can comprehend what the artist is trying to say.

The highlight of the festival for me is the Conservatory Lunchtime Concert at the Asian Civilisations Museum. 23 talented NUS first year music students performed the first movement of 6 of Haydn’s quartets (I did observe that one of the students has played two sets). What is most amazing was the presence of the director to explain the music through introductory speech and narration while the quartets were played. I certainly did not know that Haydn was once a teacher of Beethoven and has played (and learned) with Mozart. I miss those days when I played the school band and the Hong Kong Youth Orchestra. It is a surreal feeling to perform in public with your band-mates.

Speaking of the IDR 2,000,000 in my envelope, just less than 24 hours ago, I have decided to visit Cynthia at Jakarta – especially after hearing all the wonderful praises of the hotel she is staying. Besides, since she has enough mileage to get me a free return Singapore Airline ticket, why not?! I do miss visiting Jakarta as a tourist. 1997 was the year I had a 9 months project in Jakarta. I was dating Cynthia’s roommate back then. And I remember tossing hamsters in the air and to one another- Cynthia and I. Does that make her my … ex-mistress?

Anyway, stay tuned for more blog entries from the land of … almost everyone is a millionaire (okay, that is an exaggeration as there are many who live below the poverty level in Indonesia).

Categories
Drama Foreign Movie Reviews

Pleasure Factory – Geylang Unleashed?

Let me be upfront and tell you what “Pleasure Factory” is not. It is not a documentary film about Geylang. Far from it as I think some of the facts are flawed given my limited knowledge of what Geylang is like. It is not a romantic erotica either. Face it, the working girls are not necessarily the prettiest things on earth and definitely not the paying customers. And it is definitely not a movie to watch with your date. You will have better luck with … I don’t know … “Basic Instinct”?

And let me also be upfront about the audience reaction during the screening of the movie. When the gay scene was shown, one old man left the theatre and never came back. Before the show has ended, the couple beside me left the theatre and never came back. When the show has ended, there was a mad rush to the exit. My take is, not many people actually appreciate the film.

“Pleasure Factory” does have its charm. It was selected for the Un Certain Regard competition at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival. The Thai director does come with certain credential and the movie has got actors and actresses from outside Singapore such as Taiwan and Thailand. According to the filmmaker, this movie is inspired by true story and real life characters. “Pleasure Factory” has little dialogues. And it is a mixture of three different stories: a virgin army boy and his prostitute, an old prostitute and her daughter with her client, and a red dressed prostitute with her client in fast car and someone who plays guitar. There are parts that I think it is a bit slow. And I feel that some of the editing can be improved as the time dimension seems a bit off to me as an audience.

What I particularly like about this movie is that some of the scenes are just so memorable. The bedroom scene of the army boy and the prostitute is probably the highlight of the movie. The emotional scene between an old prostitute and her daughter at the hawker center is my next favorite scene. And I love the ending scene as it is so symbolic – the fish tank, the girl on the bed, and the wallet.

Having said all that, I think majority of the movie is a bit too slow and I wish it has gone the direction of either a documentary or a romantic erotica. However, it has certainly achieved what the director has set out for: a film to have a vivid sense of realism and honesty.

Is it a film for everybody? I think not. Only for those who has the patience to watch an art movie as well as having an open mind.

PS. One question I have: Is Er Xu, the prostitute in the movie, a prostitute in real life? That interview she had surely seemed like a casting selection process.

Official Site: Pleasure Factory.

Categories
Diary

How SingTel Solved My Problem Was Beyond My Comprehension, But …

Or rather, how SingTel solved their own problem was beyond my comprehension. But before I reveal the heavily-hypothesized-probably-a-waste-of-your time theory of how the situation was resolved, here is something new I learned about the SingTel helpdesk.

Recap and some new information …

Tuesday 8am – Internet connection was down. Perhaps they were doing some voodoo magic in upgrading my connection speed?
Tuesday 11pm – Phone line was dead too! Called the broadband technical support – the only number I have.
Tuesday 11.30pm – An incident was logged at Internet Services department and routed to Telephone Services department.

Wednesday 11.15am – No one from SingTel called. This time I have decided to call the Telephone Services (TS) directly to report my faulty phone line.

I listened to the voice from the machine, “Press 1 for telephone related problem. Press 2 for broadband related problem …” I stared at the keypad for a moment pondering which number I shall press when my phone and my broadband were both not working. I randomly chose one. Knowing how SingTel works from yesterday’s experience …

Me: Good morning. My name is Wilfrid. My home number is 6xxx-xxxx, my Internet ID is xxxxxxxx, and my mobile number is 9xxx-xxxx. I would like to follow up an incident I have reported yesterday.
TS: Sorry sir, there is no record of such incident here.
Me: Oh, I contacted the Internet Services department yesterday and they said they would get someone from your side to call me this morning. Can you send someone over to help?
TS: I am afraid I can’t do this within a week.
Me: ONE WEEK?! What do you mean? (Okay, I think I must have terrified the poor lady – unintentionally I swear.)
TS: I can escalate for you back to the broadband side but I cannot log a report for you unless it is open for a week.
Me: Oh, that’s what you meant. So, currently the broadband side owns my issue and your side has to wait for the instruction from them.
TS: That’s correct.
Me: If my problem is not fixed within a week, you can then log the report for me and take action from there.
TS: That’s right.
Me: And meanwhile, you route my request back to the broadband side and I will have to wait for one of you to call?
TS: Correct!

I surely hoped that my phone line would not be dead for a week.

Wednesday 11.30am – I was not going to play the waiting game. I was going to call the Internet Service (IS) department directly.

Me: Good morning. My name is … (same old introduction yada yada yada)
IS: Sorry sir, there is no such report being raised.
Me: But I called this exact number yesterday!
IS: I can log down your problem now and get someone to call you for your faulty phone line.
Me: (Oh my God!) …
IS: I can log this as an urgent matter for you.

I swear I heard the exact same response the day before.

Me: How long will I need to wait for someone to call me?
IS: We will get back to you as soon as possible.
Me: Like how long? One hour? One day? I really need to know.
IS: As soon as possible sir. And I will call you for an update.
Me: OK. When shall I expect your call for an update?
IS: As soon as I have an update for you sir.
Me: When will that be? Shall I call you instead?
IS: I will call you sir … as soon as possible.

It turns out that he didn’t call me at all. Anyway …

Wednesday 12:15pm – A rather fearsome lady called my mobile number.

SingTel: Hello, is this Wilfrid on the line?
Me: (I could not hide my excitement) Yes! Are you from SingTel?
SingTel: Yes. Has anyone called you yet?

Huh? Don’t you have something like a call report?

Me: No. You are the first.
SingTel: Okay, what’s your problem? It says urgent.

I gave her a high level recount of the recent flow of events.

Me: When can you send someone to help me? This afternoon?
SingTel: It’s already noon and it is not possible.
Me: But I reported this problem yesterday (sulking).
SingTel: My log says 12:05pm and I call you as soon as I can. I can give you a morning slot on Thursday, tomorrow.
Me: Can it be sooner? It is really urgent!
SingTel: It is already very tight tomorrow. The next available slot is on Friday.

Seriously, shall I be grateful that I am not given a Friday slot instead? Perhaps I shall be grateful that they call.

Thursday 11am - A technician arrived at my doorstep. I felt like giving him a hug. Half of what he said I don’t understand. Somehow SingTel has outsourced the technical support (perhaps that explains the less than friendly call yesterday?) and the technician told me that what I have is a common problem. Someone from SingTel has done some configuration at their end (in my case, upgrade of broadband speed) and forgot to do something at my end. He went outside my apartment, opened one of the doors (I now know that I have 3 little locked doors outside for water, electricity, and telephone line respectively), and showed me the circuit. I did not know that my apartment can accommodate up to 6 telephone lines (labeled as A to F)! What he did was to move my phone line from A slot to B slot and then he headed to the main circuit that is in another tower to verify. Somehow, the entire condo’s phone lines converge to one single tower. Interesting.

Well, I am glad that my problem is fixed. When I left home this afternoon, I listened to the dial tone over the speaker phone as though it was the best music I have heard this week. Now, I must think of how to write a complain letter and seek for compensation … if I bother to that is.

Categories
Diary

Boo To SingTel!

It all started with an upgrade of an Internet broadband plan (from a long overdue re-contract) that renders my residential phone dead and my Internet connection down for more than a day and counting. But that is not all. I am surprised that such a mammoth national organization with a turnover of S$13.15 billion (US$8.41 billion) and net profit after tax of S$3.78 billion (US$2.42 billion) does not even have a decent customer relationship management tool in place. 10 years ago, in order to inform them that they have misspelled my name as “Wilfrio”, I have to call the telephone services department for my residential line, the mobile services department for my two wireless phone numbers, and International calling services department for my two International Calling Cards. And today, there is little difference. You will see why.

Last evening, I tried plugging into the Internet and … panic! I still could not do so. Granted, the sales person told me that during the upgrade of Internet speed (I was inspired to do so after testing my Internet connection at Tigerfish’s webbie), my connection may be down for a couple of hours. But that was close to 24 hours! Times like this when you really need some emergency numbers to call but without being able to visit the SingTel website, how am I to call them for help? I did a search in my neighborhood to see if there are some kind souls out there leaving their Internet connections unencrypted and there were none! Couple of years ago, most people didn’t care about encrypting their wireless connections. What happens to the good old days when people leave their main doors unlocked?! What happens when someone like me who just want to … borrow some sugar while you are not at home?!

Fortunately, I still have the text message from the sales person and inside, there is a number to call for broadband technical assistance. Did you know that there are more than 20 numbers customers can call for various SingTel services? Some observe normal office hours, some are free, and some are with per minute charge. The technical assistance number, as I recall, is open till midnight. So I placed a call to SingTel at 11.30pm.

As usual, even with a diversity of 20 different numbers to call, the machine asked me to make several menu selections as well as to punch in my residential home number.

Finally, a friendly operator …

SingTel: Good evening, this is ABC speaking. How may I help you?
Me: Good evening, I have a problem.
SingTel: (eagerly waiting)
Me: My Internet connection is dead.
SingTel: May I have your residential number, please?

Didn’t I just punch in?! Not time for a quarrel so I told her my number.

Me: And my residential line is dead too. I have upgraded my plan recently and was told that the connection will be down for a couple of hours. Nothing seems to work for many hours. Can you help me with this?
SingTel: I can certainly help! Did you upgrade your plan today?
Me: No, I did it last week.
SingTel: Can I have your Internet ID please?

Duh … it’s not in their systems somewhere?

SingTel: Please hold for a moment.

I was falling asleep.

SingTel: Have you relocated to a new address?
Me: Like moving house?
SingTel: Yes.
Me: It’s a re-contract of broadband plan. My address is the same; my numbers are the same …
SingTel: Hold on please.

Duh! Relocation? Where did she get that from?

SingTel: Sorry to keep you waiting. I will need to ask one of the residential line managers to call you tomorrow.
Me: Oh no! That means I will have no phone line or Internet connection for until don’t know when? (In retrospect, men say the dumbest things in situations like this by merely stating the obvious not unlike You are leaving me? You don’t love me anymore?)
SingTel: I am afraid not.
Me: (sulking)
SingTel: Can I have your mobile number please?

Huh, didn’t my number show on the call ID panel? And it was not as though she did not have my complete profile in front of her computer screens.

Or did she?

Back to my comment on SingTel that may not even have a decent customer relationship management tool. I bet the technical assistant did not know that I have been a loyal SingTel customer for 12 years since the days of the pagers.

Duh!

As of now, nothing is working, still.

Categories
Action & Thriller Movie Reviews

I Watched “The Brave One” Because Of Jodie Foster

As I watched how Jodie Foster’s character Erica transformed from a radio show host into someone who sought justice with gun and bullets, I couldn’t help but to feel a strong sense of deja vu having flashbacks from the movie “The Accused (1988)” that won her the Best Actress Oscar and Golden Globe Award. The main different is, in “The Accused”, her character – a rape victim – sought justice in a lawful way.

And that is why I admire Jodie Foster so much – the ability to take on such a wide genre and yet, there is much depth in her acting. “The Brave One” though I must say is dark and at times depressing. The blood and gore due to violence and murder is enough to justify the Singapore’s NC-16 rating. The topic is disturbing as the movie attempts to explore the fear and violence in America and how some people turn to owning guns and ultimately using them. Watching how Jodie Foster’s character dealt with trauma of a thug attack leaving her critically wounded and her fiance dead was enough to draw me deep into this pool of sadness. And watching how her character sought justice outside the law made me wished that she did the otherwise. This shows how engaging Jodie Foster’s acting is, at least to me.

From the storyline point of view, I must confess that part of it seems a bit far fetched and it is by and large predictable. That aside, I think it is a complex movie to film – both in terms of character development as well as how the scenes are composed. It is one hell of a disturbing and dark movie to watch. Be warned. On our way home after the movie, Cynthia turned to ask me why I was so quiet. For one, I just couldn’t get the character Erica out of my mind. Still can’t.

Categories
Drama Movie Reviews

Moliere – French Comedy or French Tragedy? You Decide

The Movie Review Squad is giving “The Brave One” another miss because this time round, TK could not make it. We picked “Moliere” instead because Cynthia suddenly has this craving for a high dosage of picture house type of art movie – in French.

I was prepared to fall asleep over watching the life story of a French playwright and actor who, by the way, is considered as one of the greatest masters of comedy in the Western literature on screen. Seriously, do we need another “Shakespeare In Love”? And I was wrong. “Moliere” is entertaining from the beginning to end filled with witty well crafted scripts, superb acting, beautiful costume, and a playful soundtrack to go along with the drama. The story “Moliere” itself is fictional inspired by some of Moliere’s (his real name is Jean-Baptiste Poquelin) significant works as well as real people that existed around him during 1600s. If you subscript to the concept that an artist’s work is inspired by his or her real life events, you may buy the idea that from the artist’s work, one may be able to reconstruct what has inspired him or her in the first place.

The movie “Moliere” is segmented in two parts – Moliere’s triumphant return to Paris after touring the countryside for 13 years and what happened to him 13 years ago. It is the latter that takes up much of the entire movie’s length. A good portion of the movie is comedy. I could not stop myself from bursting into laughter scene after scene. Despite the fact that “Moliere” entertains the audience through comedy, the underlying mood of the movie – in my opinion and true to Moliere’s own preference – is a tragedy. It is so well crafted that it makes you laugh and cry at the same time. (Cynthia did shed some tears over the movie.)

Out of all the wonderful actors and actresses of “Moliere”, I wish to single out Romain Duris as my favorite actor in the movie – quite possibly my favorite French actor of all time. The first movie I noticed Romain Duris is “Peut-etre” (1999) when I was working in Paris. A classic sci-fi movie by the way that has a bizarre story of a man at the year 2000 party emerged into the future from an attic meeting his future family members and his future-self. Since then, I enjoy watching “L’Auberge Espagnole” (2002) – English title as “The Spanish Apartment” – and the sequel “Russian Dolls” (2005) when he played against my all time favorite French actress Audrey Tautou. In “Moliere”, Romain Duris’s acting is convincing.

Not to be missed if you are into French movies or art movies in general. “Moliere” is not one of those over exaggerated romantic comedy nor one that is full of dramatic twist and turn. You have to appreciate the beauty of the scripts and the amount of acting poured in in order to enjoy this.

Categories
Diary

I Swear I Did Dream About Something Like This … Colleen Exposed

I swear couple of years ago I did dream about living where Miss Singapore World 2006 lives right now – a glass hut in the middle of Raffle Place. It may sound too far fetched but there are enough real life friends visiting my site who can vouch for my … sanity – I mean integrity. I have had dreams that became a reality, somewhat. I am still having dreams about what the future looks like (the buildings and the trains) repeatedly. In that particular dream, I was living in this glass hut and as far as I can remember, there was some sort of riots in the end. I really should continue my Fragments of My Dreams blog category. Who knows one day I may make reference to it and say … see, I did dream about the exact same thing, somewhat.

When I first saw the hut being setup, I was wondering what it was. Then the words spread. It is actually a marketing effort by the new classified site ST701.com. And the campaign is called “Colleen Exposed”. I personally admire this wonderful idea given the fact that its direct competitor MediaCorp’s online classified site Mocca.com has gained much ground. The idea is for Colleen, winner of Miss Singapore World 2006, to live inside a glass hut that “exposes” her living room and bedroom (not bathroom of course!). And she stays inside the hut for 7 days relying on ST701.com for her day-to-day needs. When I took the photo at 6-ish in the evening, she was having a pole dancing lesson from one of the instructors advertised in ST701.com. The instructor was great. Colleen was … so so.

Colleen does have a rather plain blog in that online site. However I must say, the marketing campaign has much impact. I wonder what the marketing budget is like.

Categories
Music Reviews Pop Rock & Alternative

What Happens When “The Donnas” Bitchin’? Girl Band Doesn’t Get Better Than This

From my limited music exposure, I would say that it is a novelty to see an all-female English rock band out there playing all the instruments of the songs they compose. I often think that female voice is a natural choice for hard rock music because of the higher pitch that floats above the guitar and drum tracks. Guys often have to scream through their lungs to attain the same effect.

And because it is a novelty to see girl rockers, I am usually less critical on the technicality but rather amazed at the fact that they make it in the International scene. My favourite girl rockers? In the following categories …

  • My favourite Girl Rock Vocalist – Courtney Love of Hole because of her character. Hole is such a great band. Too bad it is disbanded on 2002 after 3 years of music career leaving us 3 great albums and the feeling of wanting more.
  • My favourite Girl Rock Guitarist – Not just any guitarist but one that can play the guitar solo. From the pure raw energy and wild perspective, the winner goes to Brody Armstrong of The Distillers. When The Distillers first emerged from the rock scene back in 2000, it was compared to Hole. Again, too bad it is disbanded and Brody formed Spinnerette in 2007. I am eager to find out what comes out of the new line up. Meanwhile, from the all-rounded perspective of a balance of rhythm and melodic guitar leads, Allison Robertson of The Donnas has a special place in my heart. It’s a tie I guess.
  • My favourite Girl Rock Bassist – I have been thinking really hard who are the distinguished female bassists in the International scene. There just ain’t many. Somehow the image of Ginger Sling stuck onto my mind after seeing her performed in Live Earth concert as the new bassist of The Smashing Pumpkins.
  • My favourite Girl Rock Drummer – That has to be Meg White of The White Stripes. Some doubts her ability to play drum. But think about this, The White Stripes can’t be that famous without Meg White, right?
  • My favourite Girl Band – I first started listening to The Donnas back in 2004 with their album “Gold Medal”. All the members of the band are born in the year of 1979 and they have been best friends playing music together since the eighth grade. That explains the chemistry of the band.

After leaving their major record label Atlantic Records and formed their own, The Donnas has managed to release an album that the fans have been waiting for. The entire album has this arena old school rock vibe that works wonder. There is no one single slow song and all aim to make you want to get out of your seat and dance. The melody is infectious and the music is tight and interestingly varied. I think Brett Anderson sings better in this album compares to the previous one – more emotion involved and more loosen up. Torry Castellano’s drum track is relentlessly energized, though not as fast pace as other rock bands. There are moments when Maya Ford’s bass line shines. However I must say, it is rather subdued in “Bitchin'”, same goes to the guitar solo that I would have expected from Allison Robertson. In this album, Allison Robertson’s emphasis I think is more onto the ambient of the overall sound (as she is the only guitarist in the band). And from that angle, the guitar riffs are memorable. Check out the video below for “Don’t Wait Up For Me”.

Categories
Fantasy & Sci-fi Movie Reviews

Resident Evil: Extinction – Expect The Worst Seems To Work For Me

I am almost sure that by the time Lora reads this post, she will raise her fists high in the air and protest that it is yet another writeup on a zombie movie, which she sort of did after reading Planet Terror. One fine day, knowing that Cynthia is out of town, TK messaged me: Feeling bored today? The truth is, life is never boring when Cynthia is out of town …

… not!

Just kidding! Anyway, we ran through the choices we have and to anticipate what we will watch when Cynthia is back in town, TK picked “Resident Evil”. Or rather, given the limited choices, I picked “Resident Evil”.

The general review of “Resident Evil” is not that fantastic (in the region of 4 out of 10). Moreover, one colleague of mine who has watched it the day before declared that “Resident Evil” is not worth watching. Since my job is to help you decide if you may or may not wish to watch this movie, here is my take in point form.

You may wish to check out “Resident Evil” if you satisfy one or more of the following criteria.

  1. You are in love with Milla Jovovich
  2. You have enjoyed the previous episodes of Resident Evil
  3. You love zombies, lots of zombies
  4. You love to see girls kicking ass
  5. You love to see girls kicking zombie ass
  6. … with guns and blades
  7. You are a computer gaming geek
  8. … who especially love the genre of first person shooter
  9. You enjoy watching sci-fi horror movie
  10. You have no better movie to watch
  11. And last but not the least, you are in love with Milla Jovovich

Since all of the above points except 3, 5 and 6 (I am a normal dude after all) are valid for me, I naturally enjoy watching “Resident Evil”. One thing to highlight is the awesome sound effect. TK and I jumped off our seats in numerous occasions.

Damn zombies …

From an avid gamer perspective, I think the movie producer has done a great job in creating a movie out of a computer game concept. I can almost picture myself watching all the cut scenes of a game. If you judge “Resident Evil” in a traditional way, I can imagine the split rating. However, if you judge this movie from a gaming perspective – the same way you would judge a comic book adaptation – “Resident Evil” is a pretty good watch. I am a big fan of Milla Jovovich, love her since “The Fifth Element” (1997). Perhaps that’s one of the major reasons why I enjoy the movie. For you, perhaps zombies are the last thing on earth you wish to see on a big screen?