Category: My Opinion

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Book Reviews Fiction

Requiem of Ling Sing (A Deadly Secret) by Jin Jong

I have read novels from Jin Jong since young. His great work has helped to shape my character and every time when I reread his works in various time of my life, different emotions resonance from within me. His work is complex and I have yet to find any novel in any language that can be as engaging as his work. Sad to say, he has only written 12 stories (36 books in total) and has decided to retire from writing Wuxia (translate: martial arts heroes) novels on the year when I was born (1972). Click here for Yin Yong’s fan site.
I don’t recall I have read this particular story by Jin Jong. I must have given it a pass because it is just a story with one book (usually each story comes with four volumes). Today is Good Friday and I have finished the book in one day. Throughout my reading, I was trying to pinpoint the success ingredients of Jin Jong’s work. Perhaps it is due to the fact that his work was used to be published in the newspaper daily and with limited space, you really have to make each daily dosage as engaging as possible by delivering one small plot as well as enticing the readers with another.

As I reached the end of the book, I realized that the success ingredients are more than that. The highest level of art form is when the characters inside the book have come alive. Be it as you love them to death or hate them to death, you laugh and wipe with them.

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Fantasy & Sci-fi Movie Reviews

District 13 – Go and Watch it!

I asked my friend TK to surprise me with a movie selection and so he did. Watched “District 13” on the newly opened Cathay Picture House. I love it. Cynthia loves it. I am sure TK loves it too. An action film by Luc Besson with a unque concept of a no man’s land (District 13) set in Paris 2010. Go watch it.

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Book Reviews Fiction

Undomestic Goddess – A Good Read

Some people call it “chick-lit” (literature for chicks) but I do find it a very good read. Something I can sort of relate to (life of a professional) and had a good laugh from page to page. After I finished reading it, Cynthia took over, finished in one of two days, then passed it to her mother. I enjoyed it so much that I visited a bookstore and grab all her Shopaholic series. Trust me, it was not easy to carry 5 chick-lits to the counter. Author’s name is Sophie Kinsella. Hope you will like it too.

Related Entries: Remember Me By Sophie Kinsella – A Calculated Risk That May Or May Not Work For Some, Can You Keep A Secret?, and On Sophie Kinsella’s Shopaholic & Baby

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Drama Movie Reviews

French Movie – Anthony Zimmer

Verdict: 8/10
Pros: Engaging scenes with a tightness that hold your attention from beginning till the end. Good acting from the lead actor and actress. And of course, Sophie Marceaus – the sexiest French on earth.
Cons: You probably may watch it again once or twice but not as many times as some of the other French foreign films.

It all started with the authorities’ desire to hunt down a business criminal William Zimmer whom has disappeared but has one weakness – Chiara (played by the beautiful French actress Sophie Marceau). From then on, it was a constant spinning of the story how Francois fell in love with Chiara in a random encounter only to find that he was manipulated and now hunt by hitmen and authorities. And of course the big question: Where is William Zimmer.

I must say that the scenes are well crafted that not one scene is in excess. The storyline is somewhat predictable but what is amazing is how the movie is being delivered despite it’s predictability. French films usually include quite a number of artistically made sex scenes but this one has none. Looking back, having those scenes in the movie will probably spoil the character development.

This is one movie that I will definitely get a DVD version when it releases.

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Animation Movie Reviews

Wallace and Gromit

Kicked start my new year movie journey with TK and watched Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. Probably because I went in with a high expectation (my wife said because we went in with an empty stomach), the show was good but not as good as I thought. The artwork is beautiful. However, the storyline is a bit simplistic and most of the time you are listening to Wallace talking to his dog Gromit that communicates only by facial expression. Also, a number of key incidents of the show is a bit illogical.

Another main reason is that I kept on comparing this movie with Corpse Bride.

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Book Reviews Non-Fiction

A Prison Diary – A Must Read

Verdict: 9/10
Pros: Written in such a compassion that makes you smile and wipe with the author. Wonderful insights in other aspects of life and they are as real as they can be.
Cons: Can’t think of much except that if you are not into memoires kind of writing, you may not enjoy it. Even so, it is worth a try as the book is indeed a page turner. Another reason why this book could be a put off is that it contains more than a million words (as quoted by the author).

I have picked up a signed copy from a bookstore inside Singapore airport and the image shown is the exact signature of Jeffery Archer. It turned out that I have enjoyed this book tremendously. A rare gem I would say.

This entire work is divided into three volumns. The first of all is Belmarsh: Hell. It was written when Archer was first sentenced for four years due to perjury and Belmarsh was where he ended up: jailed together with drug dealers and murderers. Inside Belmarsh as he unveiled the politics inside the prison community, how your life could be made better by mixing with the right people, stories from the lifers, and stories that are so wierd that are even better than novels. Archer also revealed the flaw of the so-called rehabitation system.

When he finally moved to a less restrictive prison (quite a fair bit of interesting plots), that was when he penned the second volume – Wayland: Purgatory. His zest of inquisition never ended. He interviewed the prisoners as well as the prison officers and all gave a deep insight into the prison system as the serious drug problem that UK faced. Not to forget to mention the stories that make you laugh as you read along.

Moving to an open prison prompted him to write the third volume – North Sea Camp – Heaven. By then he was so expert in the prison system and worked hard to gain his enchanced state that provided him with privilages. Here was when he revealed the sad reality that many prisoners who have been model prisoners and been locked up in many years – simply cannot survive in the real world. The so-called stupid things they do just to get them back to jail again because they feel safe inside the four walls.

There is a final twist to this book but I am not going to reveal here. I am really glad that Archer – a politician as well as a writter – continued to write given the circumstances. This book is a must-read.

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Fantasy & Sci-fi Movie Reviews

King Kong

Verdict: 8/10
Cons: Lack of novelty, remind you of other movies
Pros: Wonderful character development

I have not watched the original King Kong movie and so to me, this was an entirely new experience. The director surely took his time in developing the characters and hence the 186 minutes show. Although there are scenes after scenes that reminded me of other movies and I do end up with a few questions in my head, it is overall a pleasant experience. Quite a number of girls sobbed towards the end so bring lots of tissue papers for you and your partners.

Warning: Spoilers inside.

I can’t help but to keep thinking of Jurassic Park when I saw the prehistoric reptiles chasing scene. It was quite entertaining to watch (the girls next to me were laughing and giggling throughout) but lack of the feel of real danger. When the group encountered super sized insects, that particular scene reminded me of Spaceship Troopers and Aliens. Now, question #1, how could a boy who didn’t know how to use a machine gun rescued a man being attacked by a number of insects by … firing into the man? The accuracy was amazing considering how close the insects were.

Personally I am confused with the relationship development with Ann Darrow (played by Naomi Watts) and Jack Driscoll (played by Adrien Brody) and with King Kong as the third party. There are lots of screen time between Ann and King Kong (hence the name of the show I guess) but there isn’t much a love story between Ann and Jack. Considering how Jack risked his life in finding Ann and how Ann without a second thought to jump back from King Kong’s embrace to Jack when Jack appeared.

I must say Ann looked stunning great even after all the falling through the grassland, diving into puddle of muds and her endurance was amazing running bare feet through the jungle, suffered numerous falls, as well as the roller coaster experience while held by King Kong. That reminds me, I find the computer simulation a bit odd when King Kong swinging Ann up and down before eating her up as a human sacrifice. It was as though King Kong was in some sort of ecstasy. Very unnatural to me.

And how did they manage to move the subdued King Kong from the Island to the ship that was anchored offshore with half of the men dead by this island adventure? Oh well …

Like I said, I have not watched the original King Kong. I would prefer to see a more intelligent plot of how Ann saved King Kong from her world (versus King Kong saved Ann in the island) rather than an aimless heading to the top of the tower fighting fighter planes. Don’t get me wrong, the sunrise scene was beautiful. But it is just rather painful to see the rather long ending. This is the same King Kong who singlehandedly killed three Godzillas simultaneously. I couldn’t help but screaming “do something!” in my head when I saw the defeat sinking in.

Perhaps that’s why it is so successful.

Looking back, I may not be remembering all the Jurassic Park scenes or Aliens scenes but each of the private moments between Ann and King Kong do burn deep in my heart.

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Blu-ray / DVD Review

Some Kind Of Monster

When my friend JT whom has lost faith in the modern day Metallica bought the latest Metallica album after watching watching this documentary DVD, I knew for sure it is a must-watch. Metallica is one of the biggest heavy metal band today and whether you like this kind of music or not, you will be amazed by what goes on behind the music scene – the struggles and all. I definitely recommend this DVD to fans and non-fans alike.

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Foreign Movie Reviews

A Very Long Engagement – A Show Worth Watching

Yet another film played by the famous French actress Audrey Tautou. I have heard mixed reviews on this very long show (134 minutes). Although reviewers from Singapore’s newspaper gave this show a 4-star, who take their opinions seriously anyway?

A show about a girl, Mathilde, who went into great length in investigating her fiance Manech’s whereabouts. Manech has gone missing during a World War I episode. In doing so, she has uncovered the stories of couple of others that intertwined with Manech’s. Is this a romantic show? I guess it is more than a mystery genre to me. Did I enjoy it? Personally, very much so. And by the way, Jodie Foster was playing in the show speaking French. Came as a surprise to me.

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For the Geeks Game Reviews

I’m Going To Be So Miss Dark Age Of Camelot (DAoC)

I can’t remember when I have started playing Dark Age of Camelot (DAoC) – one of the online games – but I felt as though it has been a while. Did I start right after my mother and sister left Singapore in mid January? I can’t remember no more.

Tomorrow hopefully I shall receive my copy of World of Warcraft (WoW). That will end my journey with DAoC. It is kind of sad because I have built my friend list there and I have built a character that is more than half way to the highest level. It reminds me of my university days when I have to leave the mudding game because I was no long having a valid user account.

It has been hard to leave DAoC for certain. ML has been more than a good mentor to me. He is going to retain his account in DAoC and we shall move onto WoW. Let’s hope that WoW is as good, if not better, than DAoC.

And I shall open up a new category under My ThoughtI just for WoW. Stay tuned.