Month: October 2008

Categories
Horror Movie Reviews

[●REC]- A Spanish Horror Film for the Halloween (My Head Still Aches)

For once, I am so glad that none of my female friends can make it for this Spanish horror movie (to my best knowledge, none of my guy friends can take horror films).  Hence, I just need to deal with my own nausea and headache for this extreme horror slash thriller slash shaky camera type of movie.  And I thought I can take this genre well.

Only watch this if pass the following criteria (this part of the review remind me of an old review).

  • You don’t faint when you see blood.
  • You don’t faint when you see a lot of blood.
  • You (think you) can take extreme shaky camera effect mostly throughout the film.
  • You (think you) can take sustained suspense / horror throughout the film.
  • You find most of the horror films are like comedies (I do indeed) and want something different, a challenge perhaps.

“[●REC]” is only a 80 minutes movie, thank God for that.  If it was any longer I would have puked.  My head was aching bad and when Cynthia met me outside, she was surprised at how cold my hands were.  There were a few couples who left the theatre just when the action started.  This is extreme stuff I am telling you.

Ponder upon this.  You watch a comedy expecting a good laugh, yes?  You watch a Korean drama expecting to cry, yes?  And what do you expect when you watch a horror anyway?  Without giving away spoilers (as always), “[●REC]” is a story told entirely from the perspective of a cameraman of a local TV station and an anchor – a lovely young girl by the way.  This couple follows the firemen for an episode of “While You Were Asleep” and something went really wrong in an apartment they visits.

If there is one word to describe “[●REC]”, that would be realism.  “[●REC]” dwarfs the rest of the horror films I have seen.  And I couldn’t help but to have flashback to some of the computer games I have played such as Doom III and Bioshock.  With that level of intensity, I am pretty sure that I would wake up screaming in the middle of the night (sorry Cynthia!).

I read that there is a sequel in the making.  And strange to say, I look forward to watching that.  Happy Halloween!

Categories
Diary

My 4th Book Review at McGraw-Hill Education

Thank you McGraw-Hill for posting my book review on “Crucibles of Leadership” to your website, unaltered.  Ever since April this year, it has been an exciting and rewarding journey.  Though I have been writing reviews of all sorts for years, writing for a much wider audience adds a whole new level of experience.  And to my readers, thanks for all the comments and support.  I am still holding onto two titles by McGraw-Hill and I aim to get the reviews out before the end of the year.  Stay tuned!

 

 

Meanwhile, please check out other book reviews listed at their Business & General Reference section.

Categories
I See I Write

Brüttal: Lingerie

Readers of my site rejoice!  Mention my name and you will get a 10% discount on a single bill for these beautiful, trendy, and colorful brutally chic n sexy lingerie.  Check out these photos I took.  The *ahem* crotchless lingerie is my favorite.  The French maid costume is also my favorite.  And there is this bunny costume, that naughty red devil costume, and a lovely variety of brutally chic n sexy lingerie that I don’t even know where to start.  Gosh, I love them all, from the bottom of my heart.

I am so proud of my old friend Adeline Choo’s new lingerie shop in Bangsar Village II (1st floor).  Malaysian readers of my site can easily pop by Brüttal and if you are shy mentioning my name, you could just say, “Erm … I heard your shop from that Singaporean blogger …”  And you will get your 10% discount.  As for my Singaporean readers, Bangsar is very near to Kuala Lumpur and I have included a direction on how to get there in the end of this entry.  Bangsar is like our Boat Quay in Singapore, a lovely place to dine at after your long day of shopping.  Don’t miss Bangsar.

Coming soon: World’s first coverage on Brüttal Wish List (for weddings, birthdays, and more) here in WilfridWong.com – where good things are meant to be shared!

I have been actively in touch with Adeline ever since her lingerie shop opened this April (and she gave us some of her lingerie that without making Cynthia blush, I love every single piece!).  And she has been inviting me over for an exclusive blogger coverage.  OK, that business trip may be harsh but I am happy to take time off and pay Brüttal a visit.  When I reached Bangsar Village II, I was impressed by the classy shopping mall that wasn’t there when I was working in Malaysia 10 years ago.  Finding Adeline’s shop was easy (1st floor) and I was even more impressed by how spacious and comfortable the shop is (and it comes with a huge changing room too!).  I literally ransacked the entire shop and gosh, I love the collection.  As I was holding up some of those enticing brutally chic n sexy lingerie, I casually asked Adeline who would wear those costumes.  She giggled and told me that a lot of ladies buy the costumes for their friends’ bachelorette nite party.  Oh wow!

Enough of words.  Check out the pictures above.  Just how much would these lovely brutally chic n sexy lingerie cost?  OK, I confess that I have a tough time memorizing what is what so I asked Adeline what would the damage be like if Cynthia was here.  Affordable she said!  Uh-huh I don’t buy that!  Adeline then said: RM18 to RM159.90.  That works out to be S$7.50 to S$66.60.  And with that 10% discount, you do the maths.  Time to bring along Cynthia in my next visit to Malaysia.

How to Get There

If you visit Kuala Lumpur, most likely you will stay in town.  Bangsar is just a 15-30 minutes drive from KL or Petaling Jaya.  If you take a taxi, simply tell the driver to drop you at the McDonald’s.  Once you align, on your left is the main street and on your right is where the restaurants and shops are at.  Turn right and you will see a long street with shops on the right and 2 long streets on the left.  Do check out both streets for there are a wide variety of restaurants and pubs.  At the end of either street is the mall Bangsar Village II.  Brüttal is on the 1st floor – 2 levels up from ground level.

Of course, you could do what I did, just ask around.  Malaysians are the friendly bunch.

External Website: Brüttal.us (tel: +603 2287 7172)

Categories
Comedy Movie Reviews

Tropic Thunder – An Oscar Nominated Most Expensive True Fake Movie Ever Made?

For the time being, just ignore the title.  It’ll make sense after you’ve watched the movie.

You know what it is like not having it for a long time – whatever it is – and all of a sudden, all the listed movies look so must-watch.  Cynthia needed to do facial so I thought I could either vegetate at home or vegetate at a mall.  I chose to vegetate at a mall and we headed to the theatre thereafter.

In most cases, when it comes to comedy movies, we leave our brain outside the theatre, have a good laugh inside, and the plot stays with us for as long as the film is rolling.  While “Tropic Thunder” may not be consistently funny throughout the movie and there are parts that may go down better to some than others, it is probably (to me) the comedy movie that is so over-the-top, deeper than skin deep, and contains some quality acting moments that you would probably still talk about long after you leave your seat.

Every actor is playing a role that he is absolutely good at, the production is so over-the-top for this genre of film that is rarely seen, and the script is so silly but yet so great that you just have no idea which way it is going.  And to pull this absolutely silly plot off without making the audience feels that silly is kind of an art to me.  Go slightly deeper than pure hilarious, I think the team of talented actors are making fun out of Hollywood itself.  There are plenty of references to other Hollywood movies and actors within the movie.

I have a hard time deciding which actor is my favorite.  Director, co-producer, co-writer, and actor Ben Stiller retains his niche role of being simple and ignorant (I hesitate to use to word stupid).  While his acting does not disappoint, I am amazed by his role as a director and co-writer.  Most people will sing praises to the acting of Robert Downey, Jr.  It took Cynthia and I a few good moments to reconcile the image of a typical Downey and this African-American character who looks like one and talks like one.  I am not a big fan of Jack Black but I guess he has added a new dimension to this comedy.  Matthew McConaughey’s role is brief (by the way, he replaces Owen Wilson whom you probably think that Owen should be in this movie – like I do) but I think it is a good balance to how chaotic and how absurd the rest of the actors play their roles.

My favorite part of the show has to go to Tom Cruise who plays a surprise guest appearance (he was not on the movie promotion).  Three scenes he played and I love them all.  If you intend to catch “Tropic Thunder”, don’t be late.  The 4 fake trailers serve as a great opening to the movie.  And if you are one of the odd balls like me who enjoy staying at the theatre till the very end of the show (read: end credits), you will have your last laugh at the rolling scripts: The actors shot the whole movie in Hawaii, on the fabulously lush island of Kauai.  This is so typical of Hollywood that the filmmakers are poking fun at here – shooting a (realistic) war film not on the ground where the war took place.

Categories
Linguistic My Hobbies

We Leveled Up At Las LiLas School – Now Onto Spanish Class Round 2

Tres cosas importantes en la vida – which means 3 important things in life – to the Spanish are salud (health), dinero (money), and amor (love).  After our Spanish teacher Anna translated what salud means, I asked in all ignorance, “What about heaven?  ¿Cómo se dice “heaven” en español?  (How to say heaven in Spanish?)”  The entire class was silence and then bursted into laughter.  It was happy kind of laughter.  I soon joined them after realizing that salud means health, not hell.  Oh well.  I probably speak Spanish with a Singapore accent while Anna speaks English with a Spanish accent.  How come I was the only one who didn’t get it.

Now you get it?  By now you should.  You knew that I have enrolled the first Spanish lesson this July and since then, my journey has not been that smooth sailing.  If I was to redesign the Spanish curriculum for the English speaking people, I would list out a whole set of vocabulary that is common between Spanish and English (the word ‘curriculum’ is a good example).  And I would also create a list of words that are similar between the two languages.  Such as importantes versus important, vacaciones versus vacations, salario versus salary, familia versus family.  Imagine, all of a sudden, Spanish is not such a foreign language anymore.  Imagine, the level of confidence that I would have, that any English speaking person would have, after seeing that entire list of similarity.

Though I have missed the first class of this new season (because of that trip, you know which trip I am talking about), I am as determined as ever to do well and pass the examination with the rest of the class.  I love my class, I really do.  I don’t want to be left behind as the rest of the class continues to the next level.  These are fun people, people with interesting careers, and most importantly, people whom I look forward to meet every week.

This new season I am doing something different.  I think one way to learn a new language is to try it without thinking too hard about it.  Once again … ¿En la vida solo hay tres cosas importantes amor, salud y dinero?

Si, el mismo orden (yes, in that same order).

Categories
Drama Foreign Movie Reviews

Tokyo! Which of the 3 Segments You Like the Most (or Dislike the Least)?

I planned this outing with my Movie Review Squad even before I left for my trip 2 weeks ago.  This time I picked the title.  I have a soft spot for the picture house genre, especially one with a promise of a story interlaced with multiple plots.  And coincidentally, we watched yet another Japanese film.  Cynthia and TK both enjoy the previous one and I was OK with it.  As for “Tokyo!”, while I adore the three filmmakers’ vision and originality towards this three-set story, Cynthia didn’t like it finding some parts of the film offensive; TK fell asleep half of the time.  OK, we missed the intended show schedule because we were terribly late (something to do with road block caused by a marathon event, German food, and just us being late most of the time – all led to a ticket refund) so naturally we were all quite sleepy.  Good for TK, he felt refreshed after the show.

All three stories exhibit at least two common elements: a storyline set in Tokyo and an original idea that may be foreign to the majority of the audience.  French director Michel Gondry opens the movie with the first set “Interior Design (インテリア・デザイン)” – a story of a Japanese couple’s struggle in pursuing their film making dream in Tokyo.  There are lots of engaging dialogues between the characters, story development in different directions, and towards the end, this first segment of “Tokyo!” turns into a metaphor – a visionary one.  I suspect “Interior Design (インテリア・デザイン)” is the most accessible of all because of a fair bit of drama and humor involved.

The second segment “Merde (メルド)” is directed by another French director Leos Carax.  The French word merde simply means shit in English.  A story of a mad man who emerges from the sewage system and terrorizes Tokyo.  Perhaps the most intense of the three, I awe at the quality and the difficulty of acting involved.  Personally, I think “Merde (メルド)” casts a fresh perspective on a well-known modern day terrorist figure.  This segment is also the most unacceptable segment amongst the rest of the Movie Review Squad.  Though it was at times painful to watch, I admire this segment the most.

“Shaking Tokyo (シェイキング東京)” is the last segment directed by the Korean director Bong Joon-ho, it delivers a story between a Hikikomori (people who cut off physical human interaction with the rest of the society) of 10 years and a pizza delivery girl.  There is not much dialogues, more like monologues (for obvious reason), and the primary channel of communication to the audience is in the form of facial expression and body language.  And hence, the pace is much slower than the other two.

I don’t think these non-Japanese directors have restrained their artistic expression at all.  Some may find “Tokyo!” tilts towards the realm of self-indulgence.  Yes, “Tokyo!” is a different kind of movie.  There is a fine line between being original and intolerably bizarre.  I am an odd ball; I am leaning towards liking this one.

PS. Your very last chance to win that 60″ plasma TV!

Categories
Other People's Lives

A Guide for You to Win A 60″ Plasma TV This Very Sunday (And You Can Thank Me Later)

I am in a dilemma but I simply love to share.  Though I have been blogging about and talking about this too-good-to-be-true contest (seriously do the maths and if you are a Singapore resident, chances to win this is pretty high), none of my friend seems to to be as excited as I do.  Maybe secretly they do.  I have even done a field visit and yes, it does exist, in very good shape. 

Though I am a big fan of Singaporean blogger EastCoastLife (and have met her in person), this entire contest is kind of complicated coming from someone who has read every post of hers.  But fear not.  Here is your guide to win that 60″ full HD plasma TV.  That’s right.  This baby can be yours.  I’ve spent hours to hunt for all the links.  But if you prefer to play the treasure hunt yourself, feel free to skip step 1.  As always, if you don’t want this TV, you can win it and pass it to me.  Thank you.

Step 1

Read the following blog entries and write down the answers to the questions.  If you are touched by my kindness, please email me with your answers and we can compare notes.  A win-win as some of the questions are kind of … tricky to me.

  1. Which knife is a must-have in a kitchen?
  2. What is the main cause of cervical cancer? (warning: gross pictures!)
  3. How long is the underground tunnel of KPE?
  4. On which date was all Chinese males gathered, screened and later faced the machine-gun firing squad?
  5. Who is the winner of 2008 Formula One SingTel Singapore Grand Prix?
  6. Which organisation launched Hi2P?
  7. Where is Underwater World Singapore located?
  8. Besides the 60″ HD Plasma TV, which other product did LG sent me?
  9. LG’s Home Theater Systems was tuned by which world renowned high end audio expert?
  10. What does LG stand for?

Step 2

You will need to send a snail mail to her.  Follow her instruction here.

Step 3

If you do win and wish to keep it, please invite me over.  I will bring along my DVD collection of Ayumi Hamasaki.  Best of luck!

Categories
I See I Write

A Fun Read: I Picture Myself as a Surfer Part 2 – Raining Questions That Tickle

Seems that every time I watch F1, I am in Malaysia.  I really hope to be in Singapore for the season finale in 2 weeks’ time.

My apology to have confused you on that surfer entry.  Let’s get down to some of the questions that tickle and skip 90% of the questions I was bombarded by the International crowd on the global initiative last week that will bore you to sleep.

 Some questions are pretty easy to answer.

  • Where do you come from?  Love this question, certainly the easiest of all.
  • Where are the tourist attractions in Malaysia?  Well, the KL city, the highlands, the casinos, the beach resorts, how much time do you have?

But being a consultant at heart, I get a headache going into specifics.

  • Where to buy cheap electronic goods?  Mid Valley nearby came into my mind.
  • Where to buy … ?  Mid Valley.
  • Where to … ?  Mid Valley.

Some are like comments about our currently location that I can’t quite answer directly without embarrassing my bosses who chose it.

  • We could get ourselves killed crossing these roads!  Erm … just be careful?  Look left, and right, and then left again?
  • Why did we choose Malaysia?  Yes, why?  I’d love to have this workshop in Singapore.  And I bet many do.

In this International setting, there bounds to be some who are pro-environment.

  • (Shaking head) We are wasting a lot of papers filling up these forms.  I wish the world is perfect but it isn’t.  I wish there are better ways than paper-based approach but there aren’t.
  • (Shaking head) We are wasting a lot of water.  Looking at those half drank water bottles going into the bin, I can certainly comprehend.  But I can’t force people to finish drinking their water, can I?  I am not a nanny for this crowd.  Or am I expected to be one?

Leading the workshop doesn’t mean that I am the fixer for all-good-problems.  Here are some questions that keep coming back to me.

  • I can’t log onto my desktop computer.  Erm … OK.  Medic?
  • I can’t read my emails.  Medic?
  • I’ve lost my emails.  Do you know how important they are to me?  Seriously, they are just one’s and zero’s.  Technically they are.  Life moves on.  Another electronic mailbox bites the dust.
  • The air conditioner is too noisy.  Shall I call the aircon man?
  • The air conditioner is too cold?  It is centrally controlled.  Nothing much I can do.  Sorry!
  • I may get sick!  Shall I get you a blanket?
  • Can you print this for me?  The printer is just down the hall but sure, that’s my job.  And what happens to that being green initiative?

And when I told y’all that I am a coffee boy at work, no one believes.

  • Can the project cater lunch for us here inside this building instead of us going out?  Sure, there are only 50 sandwiches in total.  I can do that.  So, how many of you want Turkey Breast?  What?  No pickle and onion?
  • Where is our lunch?  Good question.  It should be here any minute.  Besides, I gave my entire wallet to two admin staff (who are not trained in buying takeaways) and where are they?!
  • Where is our lunch (half an hour later)?  I am sure the sandwiches are on the way.
  • Where is our lunch (one hour later)?  Time to hide behind the cubicle somewhere.  Were we in Singapore, this wouldn’t have happened.
  • The sandwiches didn’t go too well, could we have … ?  Oh dear, is it not?  Certainly tasted OK to me.  I must be hungry.  Maybe I shall be the cook.  My cooking skill is pretty decent.  Cynthia can vouch for me. 
  • I know that we have 2 tea breaks and now 1 catered lunch, how about coffee and tea first thing in the morning?  Yes, how about that?

OK.  Some questions may have taken out of context just for entertainment’s sake.  But I guess by now you have a vague idea on what my job last week was like.  These questions are really not that bad compare to 90% of the other questions.  Last week was big ocean wave number one.  Now, onto the second wave.

And I still picture myself as a surfer.

PS. I do love the audience on the record – every one of them!

Categories
Songwriting

Lyrics of (There Were) Many Ways To Get To You

Let’s recap on what I’ve set out to do in my personal time during this rather long overseas business trip.  Catch up with old friends, checked.  Become a male model for a female lingerie shop … OK, that wasn’t planned but I did promise my friend that I will blog about it.  Gosh, what was I thinking?!

Finish reading a non-fiction book, checked.  Write a music review, checked too.  Wieke and I didn’t manage to practice on our 5-song set but I did manage to write a song, which is good.  I have been staring at my unopened guitar case for the entire week wondering if it was a mistake to bring my guitar with me.  I mean, I am not on holiday, am I?  My second song written for this year and though it is way below my one song per month target, I am happy that I still can write a song as and when I put my heart and soul onto it.

I can’t say too much on how I was inspired to write “(There Were) Many Ways To Get To You”.  All I can say is that it is inspired by a real life story shared by one friend of mine.  As we were staring out into the darkness in the city of Petaling Jaya, a song was born.  This brief hiatus in songwriting has injected fresh variation into the way I craft a piece of music.  A little bit of seeing how Wieke musically rearranges my songs, a little bit of hearing the comments from my old friend (and now my new vocal coach!) Jason Seet, a little bit of paying attention on how others do unplugged, all seem to converge into a pool of new ideas ready to be tapped onto.  And here are the lyrics for the first cut of this new song of mine.  My 157th song if my count is correct.  And yes, it is as always dark, and depressing.  Sorry!

(There Were) Many Ways To Get To You

There were many ways to get to you
Many days right next to you
Now these doors they disappear
Now that I can see so clear

That I can’t fly, cannot hide
From this demon deep inside
You disappear from my life

These words you left behind
Black and white here they are
Since the day you said goodbye

There were times when I held onto you
Times I could not comprehend
Now that I still hold onto
All that you have left behind

I stare into darkness
Looking at the headlights
The pulse keeps on moving
I surrender to it all

The light forms an image
A face I once knew
The dance of the signals
I’m lost in my thought

(after chorus)

There were many ways to get to you
I wish I am by your side 

© Wilfrid Wong 2008 All Rights Reserved

Categories
Book Reviews Non-Fiction

The Digital Photography Book (Vol 1) by Scott Kelby – A Must Have for DSLR Beginners (Like Me)

If you do drop by my site from time to time, you would realize that one of my passions in life is to attempt to take pictures and share.  I would love to upgrade my point-and-shoot camera but DSLR cameras intimate me big time.  It seems so complex, so hard to use.  Instead of parting a few good grand to invest in one blindly, I need to within reasonable doubt convince myself that I can indeed use one of those (expensive) beasts.

Months ago when I left the counter with the book “Canon EOS40D Guide to Digital Photography” by David D. Busch, the shopkeeper congratulated me for my (non-existing) new camera.  I turned back and explained to him that I don’t have a 40D.  I told him that I wanted to see if I can indeed handle a DSLR, any DSLR.  He was surprised.  If you were me being clueless about DSLR, you would have done the same, right?

That 40D book reads like a manual and lacks of beautiful pictures to inspire.  So I picked up “The Digital Photography Book (Vol. 1)” by Scott Kelby from a local bookstore lately and am much impressed by the readability and the accessibility of such a technical topic.  The book does exactly what it promises: the step-by-step secrets for how too make your photos look like the pros’.  The author provides practical and straightforward tips from general photography techniques and accessories to shooting of a wide range of subjects (flowers, weddings, landscapes, sports, people, and travel and city life).  Each topic occupies one page with an inspiring image that takes up half a page.  The text is never boring, full of humors.  The instructions are easy to follow (and remember) and there is no lengthy explanation on the technical justification.

Literally no prior knowledge on digital photography is required, “The Digital Photography Book” is an excellent starting point for the beginners.  This book is by and large camera brand agnostic (though it does make reference to Nikon and Canon cameras from time to time) and do not expect it to give you advise on which lens or camera to purchase.  I guess it is a separate topic on its own.

In as much as I enjoy reading the book, I love the acknowledgements section the most.  In fact, I read that section a couple of times.  Someone who seems so genuinely in love with his wife and his family demands my attention and respect.  Scott Kelby comes with a long list of credentials.  I am looking forward to putting the tips and techniques into action, one day.

Related link: The Digital Photography Book (Vol 2) by Scott Kelby – A Good Companion to the First Volume