I was not impressed with her first best collection. But this one … for S$24 … it comes with 1 CD, 1 DVD of her video, and 1 DVD of her live concert. Not only that, it comes with a Board of Film Censors, Singapore sticker of M18. M18 my friend. That means Mature 18! Must buy! So I did.
Just went through her video DVD. She is hot. No other words to describe.
Looks like these days I have plenty of free time. Cynthia and I did not plan to watch “Failure to Launch” and we bought the tickets out of spontaneousness. Have you ever watched a show that you enjoy while you are inside the cinema and totally have no recollection on plots or actings or whatsoever when you left the cinema? Ya, this is the kind of show.
“Crash” is an Oscar winning film and though Cynthia and my friend found the show so-so, I enjoyed it thoroughly. “Crash” painted the many facets of racial discrimination and delivered a plot that has many resolutions within the sub-stories while leaving many open-ended. To me, this movie is a rare gem.
“V for Vendetta” is a commercial film based on a short comic series. Cynthia, my friend, and I enjoyed it a lot. The script shines the most. The idea though conceptualized many years ago is still valid looking at the current affair of terrorism and the “authority”. Natalie Portman’s acting is good. And I especially like Hugo Weaving’s acting as V (Agent Smith from the Matrix, remember him?).
What “Ice Age 2” lacks of are an engaging plot and character development. The only thing that saved the movie from no star to perhaps 1 star is the small animal that is crazy over nuts.
Cynthia wanted to watch “Brokeback Mountain” and thanks to my friend from the office, I have borrowed the DVD that saved me from taking her to the cinema (and dragging my movie buddy along as well). To be fair, the movie is more than a gay cowboy show. But I can understand why many men may find it disgusting to see two men kissing and screwing each other on the screen (sorry, can’t use the word “love making”). Nevertheless, it is an Oscar winning film (I think) and if you can look beyond the intimacy between two men, it does have storyline on how these two men having their own normal love life – marriage and kids – and yet find time to spend with each other over 20 years. It is a love story that is nicely filmed. Too bad, I can’t relate to that.
“Tristan and Isolde” is an epic love story set in the Medieval Age when the Roman Empire just collapsed and Europe has fallen into the Dark Age. Tristan was from England and Isolde was from Ireland. I am more intrigued by the story itself rather than the acting and filming. Acting-wise, it is substandard. Filming-wise, well, I have seen much better ones like King Arthur and Troy. Sophia Myles played Isolde and she is just so adorable in the movie.
I am a huge fan of Milan Kundera, a Franco-Czech novelist. His recent novels “Slowness” and “Identity” left me wanting for more. This short novel Ignorance was published in 2002 and it was only recently I have managed to read it. While “Slowness” took us for a tour of a parallel stories that happened simultaneously in the past and at present in the same physical space and “Identity” allowed us to witness a love story whereby one person started to lose her identity, “Ignorance” reminded us how unreliable memories are and two persons though shared the same experience may not have the same memory. In “Ignorance”, Milan Kundera describes “Nostalgia” in the most details fashion sharing with us what nostalgia really means through the origin of languages, through great work by writers in the past, through his personal point of view, and through the very story he told.
“Ignorance” is not an easy read. It is a book worth reading time and time again.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.