Category: My Opinion

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Comedy Movie Reviews

What Do The Stick People Think Of Funny People?

So the movie review squad watched Funny People

Of the few Judd Apatow films I have watched, I like “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” the most.  Simply because I can relate to it, not!  OK, there are certain aspects I can relate and that film is really funny.  I have “Knocked Up” recorded and it is stuck at my to-watch queue.  I think “Funny People” is pretty funny with a somewhat deeper meaning of our minds heal slower than our bodies as well as a behind-the-scene on how jokes are crafted.  Some jokes I find a bit too crude (how come there has to be so many sexual references?).  Some you would probably relate better if you watch lots of TV and entertainment.

TK fell asleep, Cynthia found the film entertaining, and I – as usual – laughed out loud.  Judd Apatow seems to prefer working with a similar set of actors and actresses eh?  Oh, I find the nerdy comedian actress Aubrey Plaza really hot!  Don’t know why.

Categories
Book Reviews Non-Fiction

Your Next Move by Michael Watkins – A Good Resource For Your Major Career Transitions

A new book by Michael Watkins
I have read Michael Watkins’s “The First 90 Days” quite a number of years ago.  Arguably one of the must-have books for the corporate executives.  In fact, the initial reception was so successful that the author has released a similar book targeting at the public sector.

6 years have passed since the author talked about critical success strategies for new leaders at all levels, what you should do and tackle on the first 90 days in your new role.  Like many I suppose (half a million English copies sold and translated to 26 languages), I have a high anticipation for “Your Next Move”.  Perhaps because I have gone through a few major career transitions in the past, or perhaps I may be anticipating a new move (don’t we all?), “Your Next Move” is an engaging read.  I find myself constantly reflecting on my past transitions as well as reflecting upon what some of my colleagues – my bosses included – have done right or wrong when they first stepped onto their new roles.

While it may take a C-level to fully benefit “Your Next Move” (i.e. CEO, COO, CFO, and etc.), executives in any form of leadership capacity should find the first 5 chapters (out of eight) useful.  Namely, the followings:

  • A promotion up the career ladder.
  • A promotion amongst your peers and now, you are the boss. 
  • A move from the position of authority to the position of influence.
  • Joining a new organization with a new corporate culture.
  • Relocating to a new geographic location and faced with a new culture.

Unless you have freshly graduated from school, you should have experienced at least one of the above transitions.  The author uses real life examples to kick start each chapter (masked by fictitious names of course) and present the unique challenges faced.  Guidelines to overcome the challenges are then presented in concise points that come with graphs, tables, and supported tools.  The materials are practical, down to earth.  One tip off my head is for those who are posted overseas to put family matters as the first priority and perhaps to start a blog to continue having family and friends’ support (!).  It is evident that they are a result of years of dialogue between the author and the leaders.  In several occasions, the author brings in different analogies to illustrate his points.  Such as the organizational resistance to change as compares to the immune system of our human body (that has its merit for being resistance to potentially bad changes).  Or to apply engineer’s thermodynamics concept to an organization environment.

The last three chapters are more for those who are in the position to turnaround an organization in trouble and to realign an organization in dire need for change.  To accomplish that, the author introduces the STARS model – start-up, turnaround, accelerated growth, realignment, and sustaining success.  And for those who are in the field of human resource or organizational excellence, there is also a concluding chapter on the design of “companywide transition-acceleration systems”.  A list of what company can do to help new leaders in transition.

As a final note, “Your Next Move” covers a wide range of topics on career transition that also includes organization politics, which I find valuable as it is not a topic that can be easily dealt with.  Useful tools aside, it is certainly a good set of checklists and tips (or guidelines) based on the lessons learned of many.  Some of which I wish I had a chance to read during my past career transitions.

Hardcover: 256 pages
Suggested Retail Price: S$43.50 (US$26.95)
Publisher: Harvard Business School Press (October 6, 2009)
ISBN-10: 1422147630
ISBN-13: 978-1422147634

You may wish to get this book from Amazon.com.

Categories
Book Reviews Non-Fiction

The Case For God By Karen Armstrong – What Religion Really Means?

A new book from Karen Armstrong

Karen Armstrong is right.  Any book about God is not going to be an easy read.  At least she put it upfront via one of her readers’ feedback.  Compare “The Case For God” to her shorter books I have read “Islam” and “The Bible”, this book is an intense read for two reasons.  One, the variety of topics.  Not only is she well versed in the three monotheism, but also the ancient religions too.  Theology aside, Karen Armstrong ventures deep into philosophy and science supported by historical events that spans a vast timeline of 30,000 BCE to the present.  Two, “The Case For God” requires the readers to think deep into the unfamiliar grounds (unless you are of the author’s caliber) as the author builds up the case that only becomes clear at the second half of the very last chapter: Death of God?

We live in a perplexing time, according to the author.  For the first time in history, many of us (especially in the West I suppose) do not want anything to do with God.  New atheists insist that all the modern world’s problems are entirely due to religion.  At the same time, religious fundamentalists also develop an exaggerated view of their enemy as the epitome of evil.  As for the faithfully devoted, do we have the right concept of what religion really means?  The good news is, as observed by the author, we are currently experiencing a religious revival.  But the question remains: Where shall we go from here?  In what form?

On that end, Karen Armstrong aims to bring something new to the table, in this perplexing time of ours.  Her aim of this book is not to give an exhaustive account of religion in any given period – her other books have taken care of that I believe – but to highlight the trend of the apophatic (of the belief that God can only be known to us as what He is not, i.e. God is unknowable).  This trend speaks highly of our current religion perplexity.

To understand this trend, Karen Armstrong brings us back to the caves of 30,000 BCE where religion was first practiced.  Back in the old days, religion is an attempt to construct meaning in the face of relentless pain and injustice of life.  For our ancestors, to experience religion is like to experience ekstasis (a Greek word ecstasy, literally ‘stepping out’, to go beyond the self and to transcend normal experience).  It is to step out of the prism of ego and experience the divine.  In the beginning, no one knows what God is, set aside God’s existence (more correctly, in the beginning, there was no concept of one God).  When Buddha’s disciple asked was there a God, had the world created in time or had it always existed, Buddha’s reply was: What difference would it make to discover that a god had created the world?  Pain, hatred, grief and sorrow would still exist.  And in the beginning, the two aspects of the religion – logos (reason) and mythos (myth) – coexists.  Mythos is an important aspect as a living religion needs to be practiced upon, via rituals and the various forms of meditation.

Pre-modern religion according to the author has three principles that are of importance to our trend.  First, the nature of the ultimate reality (later called God).  Second, religious discourse was not intended to be understood literally.  And third, the truth of religion are accessible only when you are prepared to get rid of the selfishness, greed and self-preoccupation that, perhaps inevitably, are engrained in our thoughts and behaviour but are also the source of so much of our pain.  Besides exploring in detail of Aryan’s Brahman as an illustration to pre-modern religion, the author also highlighted that religion as defined by the great sages of India, China, and the Middle East was not a notional activity but a practical one.

With the story of Eden came the concept of one God, of which Judaism – and later Christianity and Islam – was born.  As we progressed, we entered the age of reasoning.  Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and other fellow philosophers all played an important part in shaping our religious trend.  To Socrates, an unexamined life is not worth living.  According to Plato’s The Laws, there are three articles of faith: that gods existed, that they care for human beings, and that they could not be influenced by sacrifice and worship.  And to Aristotle, the life according to reason is best and pleasantest since reason, more than anything else, is man.

Towards the end of 1500 CE, the influx of the new knowledge – of religion and philosophy – sparkled an intellectual renaissance.  We created faith (it was purely a matter of commitment and practical living), doctrines, and we elevated theology to a state of arid theoretic.  What happened to the old mystical theology that had been accessible all the faithful?  As we were reasoning with the unknown, without the discipline of the apophatic, we were in danger of becoming idolatrous.  And with that, Karen Armstrong has ended part one – The Unknown God – and moved onto the era of The Modern God starting 1500 CE.

In modern time, we see a constant conflict between science and religion that it ought not to be.  The two are not supposed to be merged.  According to Augustine’s principle of accommodation, a scriptural text should be reinterpreted if it clashed with science.  Early science was rooted in faith.  Scientists often linked their discoveries to the divinity.  Kepler mentioned that the study of geometry was the study of God, and by studying the mathematical laws that inform all natural phenomena, we communicate with the divine mind.  Similarly, Galileo, Isaac Newton, and many others during that period of time. 

16th century sees the acceleration of Secularisation due to three crucial and formative movements: the Renaissance, the Reformation, and the Scientific Revolution.  And in the mist of all the conflicts of that time, philosopher Descartes attempted to find a truth on which everybody could agree – Catholics, Protestants, Muslims, deists, and ‘atheists’ – so that all people of goodwill could live together in peace.  His most famous phase, I believe, is cogito ergo sum – ‘ I think therefore I am’ – making the experience of doubt the foundation of certainty.

Back then (probably even now), science, and not religion, was the path to the truth.  We examined things of the smallest scale through the microscopes to the things of the largest scale through the telescopes and we could not find God.  Religions in reaction to the attack by science have become more and more rigid.  We have moved into the age of Atheism led by the ideas and discoveries by Karl Max, Charles Darwin, and Sigmund Freud.  God did not exist (Max), God had certainly not created the world exactly as we knew it (Darwin), and God was indeed dead (Freud).

To make things worst, advance in military strength led us to the world wars.  Holocaust survivor and Nobel Price winner Elie Wiesel believed that God died in Auschwitz after witnessing the slow death of a child hanged by a Gestapo in front of all the prisoners.  Where is God in our modern world?

The last chapter of the book “Death of God?” is perhaps the climax of the entire book.  In that chapter, Karen Armstrong highlighted the flaws of the new atheism and pledged for an open dialogue between the theologists and the new atheists.  She also highlighted the origin of fundamentalism, with Islam as the last of the three monotheism to develop a fundamentalist strain.  In this challenging time of ours, not all hopes are lost.  We have advanced science to such a state whereby we know there is always an unknown and whatever we have proved today may not be correct in the future.  We too should stress the importance of the apophatic.  God is unknowable and religion is to be practiced upon, for that ekstasis.  I in especially enjoy reading the epilogue and the following paragraph has much impact on me, a good example of mytho.

One day a Brahmin priest came across the Buddha sitting in a contemplation under a tree and was astonished by his serenity, stillness and self-discipline.  The impression of immense strength channelled creatively into an extraordinary peace reminded him of a great tusker elephant.  ‘Are you a god, sir?’ the priest asked.  ‘Are you an angel … or a spirit?’  No, the Buddha replied.  He explained that he had simply revealed a new potential in human nature.  It was possible to living this world of conflict and pain at peace and in harmony with one’s fellow creatures.  There was no point in merely believing it; you would only discover its truth if you practised his method, systematically cutting off egotism at the root.  You would then live at he peak of your capacity, activate parts of the psyche that normally lie dormant, and become fully enlightened human beings.  ‘Remember me,’ the Buddha told the curious priest, ‘as one who is awake.’

Afterthought: “The Case For God” is certainly no easy read for me.  It took me a long time to read, re-read, make notes, and to get to the bottom of what some of the words mean for this is not a familiar topic of mine.  This book mostly focuses on the theology, science, and the philosophy of the West.  I don’t think it really matters which religion you are from (I am a Catholic).  We live in an extremely connected world today.  And hence, this trend affects you and I, no matter how far apart we physically are.

Categories
Animation Movie Reviews

9, Is No Corpse Bride For Sure

9

I had high expectation for the animation film “9” that bears the logo of Tim Burton.  Later on, I read that Tim Burton only produces the film while the director and writer is Shane Acker.  “9” is a decent animation.  Just that I love “Corpse Bride” so much better.  The quality of the image animation is top notch, no doubt.  I gasped at the details and the motions of those dolls bouncing and walking.   As far as the story goes, 9 dolls are brought to life, caught in the war between mankind and the machine, and incredible as it may sound, even as the entire human race was brought to extinction by those machines, the dolls seem to have a decent chance against the aggressors.  Unlike “Corpse Bride”, which idea is built upon well known yet abstract concept of the ghosts and the living beings, underworld and the living world, “9” merges science and fantasy that leaves me more questions than answers.  I mean, what is the purpose of these dolls’ existence?  What is the purpose of the entire story?

Tim Burton was impressed by Shane Acker’s student project titled “9” created in 2005.  You could easily find it in YouTube.  I must say, it looks very impressive as a student project.  What a dream comes true for Shane Acker to adapt this short clip into a full movie shown on big screen.  A promising artist for sure and I look forward to watching his next production.

PS. For those who have watched “9”, I swear I have spotted a key hanging on the neck of “6” and thought that key has a connection to the lock box that “9” has found.  Apparently, there isn’t such a connection.  And I wonder what is that key for besides being a piece of decoration.

Categories
Drama Foreign Movie Reviews

Inglourious Basterds – Can A Film End The War?

Inglourious Bastards

The script of “Inglourious Basterds” took Quentin Tarantino more than a decade to complete.  It shows.  Of his films I have watched, I am much intrigued by the quality of the story development of “Inglourious Besterds”.  It watched like reading a masterpiece story.  Divided into 5 chapters, the Nazi hunts the Jews, the American ‘commandos’ infiltrate the Nazi occupied Parisian territory, and the Jews’ uprising against the Nazi – a spaghetti like storyline told in a humorous, dramatic, and at times gruesome manner.  So, will the Jew or the American or even the German end the World War II?  The ending could be more than what you would expect.

Quentin Tarantino’s signature is all over “Inglourious Basterds”.  The music, the treatment to the scene down to the frame by frame level, and the orchestration of a team of talented European actors and actresses whom some of them are in their own rights a director and a producer.  Some metaphors are cleverly repeated cross the chapters.  Such as the interrogation and negotiation.  Some metaphors are linked to well known stories of the past.  I can understand how some may cringed at the scene of the gruesome execution.  However, I think “Inglourious Basterds” is a lot milder compares to some of Quentin Tarantino’s previous works.  In fact, it is so refined that some scenes are just beautiful to watch, however tragic they may be.

I read that Quentin Tarantino took some time to find the ending to this ‘best writing he has ever done’.  I am unsure if it is the perfect ending to the script, or I in fact like the ending.  Perhaps, I just didn’t want the film to end.  Quentin Tarantino is so talented.  He is a legend no less.

Categories
Book Reviews Fiction

Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella – Similar Formula, But Connecting In A Different Dimension

Yes, it is the new Sophie Kinsella book - Twenties Girl

Personally, I don’t think there is anything wrong per se for a dude like me to read books like “Twenties Girl”, though many friends often get a little shock when they learn that I am a fan of Sophie Kinsella.  Her books are fun read.  And I have read them all.  The only complain I have … erm … if I could put it that way, would be the book cover.  I mean, yes these are chick-lits.  But must the covers look so, girlie?  One time, I was carrying a complete stack of the Shopaholic series to the Times Bookstore counter, and there were people l-o-o-k-i-n-g.  Or at least that was how I imagined so.  The moment “Twenties Girl” was out, I was hitting our National Library’s website everyday trying to be amongst the first to place a reservation.  Bad news was, I was at queue number seventy-something.  Good news was, our library in Singapore has stocked up sixty over “Twenties Girl” in anticipation of the demand.  Well done NLB!

I remember vividly the day I collected the book from the library.  We had a Spanish examination in the afternoon.  During our late lunch celebration with some of the classmates, I have received an email on my N97 (the text message reminder came much later, while we were watching a movie at night).  Yes, the book was ready for collection.  Hooray!  The library was just opposite to where we had our lunch.  When I reached the counter, it was empty.  I secretly let out a sigh of relief.  But you know what life is like.  Just when you think everything is going OK, I saw a queue starting to form, as the librarian was trying to locate the book.  With a crisp clear, relatively loud voice given the fact that we were inside a library, she showed me the book cover and asked, “Is this the book you are looking for?”.  I swear I saw the queue of library visitors looked at me, then the book, then at me again.  Gosh!

The legendary Shopaholic series aside, I enjoy reading Sophie Kinsella’s standalone novels a lot.  Like “The Undomestic Goddess”, “Can You Keep A Secret”, and “Remember Me?”.  As for “Twenties Girl”, it is still a fun read.  I laughed-out-loud while reading the book in Starbucks, and at home.  The formula is similar: lots of dramas, centered to a girl.  And the lack of character development for the male species is still prevalence.  Maybe this is how girls see the world; maybe such is the genre of chick-lit.  What is different though is that the center character, Lara, is not as flawed as the rest of Sophie Kinsella’s heroines.  Also, the concept of the constant interaction with Lara’s great aunt’s ghost adds a new dimension to the story development.  “Twenties Girl” touches at the emotional level too.  It is less so on the triumph at the personal level, but rather a shift in a focus onto the linkage and importance of the family heritage.  It is also less as a predictable happy ending, but one that leaves a melancholy kind of after taste.

Certainly an entertaining book to read.  Could the storyline be tighter and tidier?  Perhaps.  But if you are already a fan, what are you waiting for?

Categories
Drama Foreign Movie Reviews Romance

Coco Before Chanel – Those Deep Black Eyes That Say More Than Words

Audrey Tautou's New Film Coco

I knew I shouldn’t trust The Straits Times’s review, especially one written by Ong Sor Fern.  She is still writing reviews for our local paper, after all these years.  Amazing (in a not so good way).  I haven’t read her review prior to watching the movie.  Cynthia did and has decided to give “Coco Before Chanel (Coco Avant Chanel)” a skip.  One of my long time reader whom I have met once to help him choosing a Nikon camera contacted me if we wished to go for a Audrey Tautou movie outing.  I warned him of The Straits Times’s review.  He said he does not trust what some of the reviews say.  Neither does my buddy Mr. TK.

So, three men headed to Plaza Singapura and watched “Coco Before Chanel”.  It was a man’s day out.  We shared dessert, popcorn, and drinks, soaked in a shopping mall that was so full smoking hot girls in sexy outfits.  Some I would marginally classify as lingerie.  But I am not complaining.

Neither do I complain about Audrey Tautou’s new film “Coco Before Chanel”.  I was holding my breath throughout the movie, to watch patiently on how the story unfolds for such a French iconic figure.  I have deep admiration to the key person behind the Chanel empire.  The pioneer and epitome of French fashion for women.  I have lived in Paris and to those who have experienced what living in this city of romance is like, you would agree with me that French fashion is very much living and breathing amongst the French.

“Coco Before Chanel” tells a story of the young Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel, her struggle and determination for money and fame, her love affairs, and from the development of her fashion philosophy to what appears as the initial launch of her fashion line-up – the initial years of Gabrielle Chanel so as to speak.  I appreciate the artistic freedom poured into this particular segment of Chanel’s life that is perhaps less documented compares to her later years.

Audrey Tautou is a great actress and Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel is a demanding role for her.  In the film, she needs to stand out as a woman ahead of her time, think differently from how the men and women of her time perceived fashion to be.  With her character’s background as an orphan, there is a certain emphasis on the theme of getting abandoned – as a child, as a sibling, and as a lover – that gives her an unique sense of solitude but yet, not too much on being vulnerable.  To be Chanel, she needs to put on a convincing act as a tailor, to handle clothes and accessories.  There is a wide spectrum of emotion for her to act.  That hunger for success, that determination, that pragmatism towards a love relationship, the constant distaste of female fashion of her time, the mood swing, and the joy and pain of love.  Audrey Tautou handles them well.  Those deep black eyes, that say it all.

I find the love relationship between Chanel and the more matured French playboy and millionaire Étienne Balsan (acted by Benoît Poelvoorde) playful, with witty and lively dialogues.  I find the love relationship between Chanel and the charming England businessman Arthur Capel (acted by Alessandro Nivola) intense, and heart wrenching.  I especially enjoy watching the pieces of fashion created by Chanel as the story develops.  Certainly not some works of fashion we can relate today.  Nevertheless, it is the philosophy behind the fashion that we should be focusing onto.

To me, “Coco Before Chanel” is one of the most memorable works by Audrey Tautou.  It is still an art movie and you have got to have the patience to appreciate the art within.  One couple near us appeared in constant torture by the slowness of the movie resorted to twisting and turning on their seats, talking to each other, and playing with their wireless phones.  I felt sorry for them.  One scene towards the end, Audrey Tautou was looking at her models attentively, and those eyes of seriousness then changed into longing with a tint of emptiness.  And the emptiness expanded answered by the flashbacks in her head.  As soon as she returned to reality looking at what she has achieved, there was a sign of peace and contentment.  Did she dedicate her success to someone she loved (I think so)?  At last, she looked into the audience (us) and smiled.  The image turned timeless.  All the above scenes are communicated without words.  Just expression from her eyes, the music and the change in scenes, in one fluid motion.  To some, that may be boring.  But to me, that is hauntingly beautiful.

Personally, I have this wish that as Audrey Tauto grows older, she will revisit the life of Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel again and act out the later stage of Chanel’s life.  That would be something really to look forward to.

PS-1. As a little gossip to those who have watched the film.  In case if you have not read, Audrey Tauto has started dating Benoît Poelvoorde whom she met from the set.

PS-2. I have been to the French coastal city Deauville as mentioned in the film.  Although I was alone at that time, I enjoyed visiting Deauville immensely.  It was beautiful.  Still is, I reckon.

Categories
Book Reviews Fiction

World of Warcraft: Arthas, Rise of the Lich King by Christie Golden – A Book Review & More

ARTHAS !!

“Our party has defeated the waves of undeads, in the city of Stratholme.  Aiding Prince Arthas Menethil for his goal to defeat the powerful demon Mal’Ganis, we entered the town hall, greeted by groups of dragons in human form.  We hacked our way deep into Stratholme, blood and sweat and fallen bodies of the undeads, and of the dragons.  Colors of magic engulfed our party, of offense to our enemies, and of healing to us.

Then the unthinkable happened.  One of the dragons took its eyes off our warrior and attacked our undead warlock, with full force.  Didn’t stand a chance, our companion fell.  Dead.  Maybe our undead priest tried too desperately to reverse the inevitable of our party’s first death, our orc warrior did not get the healing in time, and he too fell onto the ground, dead.

Without our warrior, it looked as though our mission was doomed.  Our blood elf warlock metamorphosed into his demon form, attempted to hold off the dragons for as long as he could, but did not last long.  And soon, our healer was dead too.  I snapped into action, with heightened reflex.  I was a blood elf rogue, carrying a poisonous mace on my right hand and a dagger on my left.  My party in ghost spirit watching, as I fought side by side with Arthas.  Just me, and him.  Don’t let Arthas die, they all screamed.  I was in killing spree, ditching out as much damage as possible.  At the very crucial moment, we won.  Arthas continued moving forward as I quickly rested and bandaged myself.  We only had time to resurrect three of us, hardly had time to get prepared, and the big demon Chrono-Lord Epoch spawned out of nowhere, charging towards us.  A voice ascended from hell and said: Prince Arthas Menethil, on this day, a powerful darkness has taken hold of your soul.  The death you are destined to visit upon others will this day be your own.” – My personal journal of one of our visits to the heroic dungeon Culling of Stratholme.

Many friends ask: How can you play an online game for more than four years?  It is hard to explain.  In fact, I have given up explaining long time ago.  The analogy as such: Regularly, you and your friend arrive at a court, spend an hour or two to play a game bounded by a certain set of rules.  And in every other days, you do something else, other than basketball.  How can you play basketball or football for years?  Same type of courts, some set of rules, and at times, same group of friends.  The answer could be as simple as what has been illustrated in the first three paragraphs of this entry.  It is not the rules of the game that makes a game special.  It is those memorable moments you take part to create within a game that makes you want to do it again, and again.  I did not write the above story.  It was a journal of one of our venture into a dungeon (in heroic mode) with five online players.  Some days, we blast through the dungeon.  Some days, the same reward is much hard earned.

Of all the many game aspects, I respect the role-playing gamers the most.  Not only do they act in character while playing the online game, they write too.  Check out the role-playing forum if you have time, for an eye-opening experience.  These people are skilled writers, brilliant storytellers.  Of the thousands of fan-based lore writers, some have made it to publish books that are endorsed by the brand World of Warcraft.  No easy feat indeed.  At the back of “Arthas: Rise of the Lich King” for instance, there is a long section of “Further Reading” listing the relevant publications out there.  There is as though an unwritten rule that all the storytellers have to create stories that not only gel with the overall lore laid down by Blizzard (the creator of the Warcraft franchise), but also gel with what have been published in the past.

This book – written by Christie Golden – accounts for the story of Prince Arthas Menethil from young, his romance with Lady Jaina Proudmoore, the trial he faced, and into the dark power he turned his back away from his alliance and has become the Lich King.  It is a familiar story for those who have been soaked in the lore of Warcraft for years.  Familiar names, familiar places, even some of the dialogues – a faithful account of events.  This book is timely as “Rise of the Lich King” is our current game expansion.  For those who may be new to the lore (like Cynthia and to some extend, I, as for some reasons, I have not started on the Warcraft III Expansion pack), “Arthas” is a good book to read.  Christie Golden has portrayed Arthas’s transformation well, a character whom I have developed feelings towards.

In a way, I agree with some of the readers that the later part of the book may appear to be too much of a rush (containing too many events) in contrary to the initial part that focuses more onto the character development.  Maybe an expanded section to account for the epic battles would be welcome by many.  Cynthia has read it and calls it a children book (what happens to all the killing and the implied sex?!).  As for me, for days, I was locked inside this world of Arthas, even as I was on the plane returning from my previous holiday location.

Categories
Fantasy & Sci-fi Movie Reviews

District 9 – Got Me Thinking

You are not welcome here (lol!)

In Singapore, District 9 is a prime location.  In Johannesburg, it is an asylum for the aliens.  For the aliens?!  I swear I had no idea what “District 9” is about.  I thought it has something to do with “District 13”.  I thought it was a reference to non-citizen, like some countries do.  At the end of the movie, I wanted more hoping that there is a sequel.  Maybe “District 10”.  Cynthia on my left and TK on my right both collapsed onto their seats wanting to puke.  Normally, they are amongst the first who get onto their feet wanting to leave the theatre the moment the show ends.  The shaky camera effect certainly has made their stomachs and knees go weak.  I am an avid gamer and I handle visual motion sickness well.  Poor Cynthia and TK.  If you can’t handle “The Tony Blair Witch Project” kind of effect – although I thought “District 9” is pretty mild compares to that – pick a seat somewhere as far away from the big screen as possible.  It helps.
The idea behind “District 9” is original.  And it got me thinking on our humanity.  No one knows exactly why an alien mothership hovers on top of Johannesburg and stops right there.  Politicians, academics, civilians, and media are brought in to cover this strange event.  Not long later, the military has found a way to cut into the ship and is greeted by more than a million malnutrition and leaderless aliens on board.  Human then has decided to bring the aliens out from the ship and reside them directly underneath.  “District 9” is then formed.  The story continues with how the two interact and co-exist.
“District 9” triggers many thoughts in me.  Not sure why, I associated the beginning of the show with how Israel was re-established in the Middle East.  But of course, later on I read that the film is inspired by a “whites only” District 6 in Cape Town in the year of 1966.  That makes perfect sense.  Also, while I shall be disgusted by the insect-like aliens, I was in fact disgusted by the flaws of the humans.  How we act selfishly out of greed and self-interest.  Aliens, on the other hand, are portrayed as noble advanced beings.
I enjoy watching how the characters – aliens and humans – emotionally react to the situations.  I enjoy watching so much realism and details go into the filming of this movie.  Some parts are pure hilarious (like those posters and signage on “no aliens are allowed”).  The ending does seem open to me.  So I hope there is a “District 10” in the near time horizon.

In Singapore, District 9 is a prime location.  In Johannesburg, it is an asylum for the aliens.  For the aliens?!  I swear I had no idea what “District 9” is about.  I thought it has something to do with “District 13”.  I thought it was a reference to non-citizen, like some countries do.  At the end of the movie, I wanted more hoping that there is a sequel.  Maybe “District 10”.  Cynthia on my left and TK on my right both collapsed onto their seats wanting to puke.  Normally, they are amongst the first who get onto their feet wanting to leave the theatre the moment the show ends.  The shaky camera effect certainly has made their stomachs and knees go weak.  I am an avid gamer and I handle visual motion sickness well.  Poor Cynthia and TK.  If you can’t handle “The Tony Blair Witch Project” kind of effect – although I thought “District 9” is pretty mild compares to that – pick a seat somewhere as far away from the big screen as possible.  It helps.

The idea behind “District 9” is original.  And it got me thinking on our humanity.  No one knows exactly why an alien mothership hovers on top of Johannesburg and stops right there.  Politicians, academics, civilians, and media are brought in to cover this strange event.  Not long later, the military has found a way to cut into the ship and is greeted by more than a million malnutrition and leaderless aliens on board.  Human then has decided to bring the aliens out from the ship and reside them directly underneath (wouldn’t all the aliens or “prawns” be killed if the mothership was to fall one day?).  “District 9” is then formed.  The story continues with how the two interact and co-exist.

“District 9” triggers many thoughts in me.  Not sure why, I associated the beginning of the show with how Israel was re-established in the Middle East.  But of course, later on I read that the film is inspired by a “whites only” District 6 in Cape Town in the year of 1966.  That makes perfect sense.  Also, while I shall be disgusted by the insect-like aliens, I was in fact disgusted by the flaws of the humans.  How we act selfishly out of greed and self-interest.  Aliens, on the other hand, are portrayed as noble advanced beings (OK, more like the main alien characters and not all).

I enjoy watching how the characters – aliens and humans – emotionally react to the situations.  I enjoy watching so much realism and details go into the filming of this movie.  Some parts are pure hilarious (like those posters and signage on “no aliens are allowed”).  The ending does seem open to me.  So I hope there is a “District 10” in the near time horizon.

Categories
Comedy Movie Reviews

The Hangover, For Laughing Out Loud!

Super funny movie!

For the past few years, National Day has often involved music of some forms with my band.  This year, the Movie Review Squad met up and watched a comedy instead.  “Hangover” is quite possibly one of the more bizarre comedies I have watched.  Good news is, the strange plot does make sense as this ‘detective’ story unfolds.

“Hangover” begins with one of the groomsmen calling the bride on his cell phone and tells her that they have screwed up, as the groom is missing.  The story then rewinds to the beginning of the bachelor party at Las Vegas.  Something happens to the group and the groomsmen wake up to a badly damaged hotel suite, a tiger in the bathroom, a baby in the wardrobe, and a missing groom.  No one seems to remember what has happened the night before and they attempt to put together the missing puzzles by following clues that uncover more bizarre stories.

I remember all three of us laughed non-stop from beginning to the end of the show.  Crude jokes, no doubt, but they did it with class.  There is a plan for the sequel and I can almost imagine whose wedding will be next.  Maybe once again, the same gang will wake up from a party without any recollection of the previous evening.  We shall see.

On a side note, how Heather Graham has aged!  Nevertheless, I still think she is really charming.  She seems to be having roles like stripper, prostitutes, porn star, and etc.  I wonder why.