Friday, May 30, 2008

Two Summer Movies

Prince Caspian and Indiana Jones. Both let me down. Or maybe its me who should be letting down some standards, heh. Still, if you're riding on a big budget (Caspian was made for somewhere around $200 million, Indiana for $185 million) one ought to expect something...big.

Still, they were decent enough movies, but I suppose if we were to follow last year's example, it wasn't really that good either (even though the budgets for the last year's trio of trilogy-completers were much much bigger).

But enough talk about finances.

The Second Installment of The Chronicles of Narnia was, on comparison, surprisingly more exciting than Indy. Or maybe it was just more eye candy, and Jones was more story oriented. And I guess that's the problem with Caspian- it's too thin a story. Come to Narnia, meet people, fight, fight, fight and go back. I found The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe much more entertaining for the simple reason that it had many more layers to it. But perhaps, as some noted, it's the source material. Still, Prince Caspian isn't all that bad and wouldn't bore the little ones as much as, say, Indiana Jones. I'm waiting for the Voyage of the Dawn Treader now, and then we'll have people start pointing out how it's so similar to Pirates of the Caribbean, heh.

As for Indiana Jones...there's not much I can say. I enjoyed the three movies (although I can barely remember The Last Crusade) but then again, they're not all that great. It's simple, kooky fun at best and I suppose this installment delivers. Still, for a movie so many years in the making, the final product is a bit of a let down. But then again, expectations tend to rise above what a movie has to offer, ultimately.

Still, good try from Spielberg and Lucas.

And now I wait for the next summer wave: Hulk, Hancock, Hellboy and...The Dark Knight. ALL of them Superhero movies. Let's hope at least half of them (especially the latter) deliver.

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Yay! It's holiday!

Gosh, there are just too many things for me to do. Books, movies, games, etc. Yes, they may be the usual stuff, but the possibilities are endless. Haven't watched the summer tentpoles of Prince Caspian and Indiana Jones yet (something I will have to do ASAP).

Oh yes, and maybe along the way, I could do some writing. =)

[Rec]

Rec doesn't quite end up as yet-another-horror-movie (as those seemingly endless supply of Asian movies do). Instead it borrows clearly from Blair Witch, but lacks the subtle psychological tension/horror and opts instead to adopt a Cloverfield-esque intensity in many of its scenes. And it works. Did I mention it's also in Spanish?

Hollywood is also rushing out an English remake ("Quarantine") due to be released in a few months time. I find this amusing, as Rec was just only premiered a few months back. As I noted in in my review of "The Orphanage", even if the remake were to copy it shot-for-shot (and judging from the trailer, that seems to be the case), the press will inevitably chide it as being inferior and such.

This is not to say that Rec is anywhere close to ground-breaking. It borrows heavily, so much so that it can even be considered a "prequel" to 28 Days Later. The ending is cliched, and somewhat ridiculous, but it underscores the point that this is a film that is anything but original. But originality is not a prerequisite to good entertainment, after all.

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

The Hall of the People: Observations/Thoughts

I remember one question we were asked in our Kajian Tempatan exams. It was something like "Apakah bangunan yang melambangkan demokrasi negara kita?" (What building is the symbol of our country's democracy?)

Without much thought, I wrote: Bangunan UMNO. It wasn't actually a Freudian slip, but rather, that was because it was the big "political" building I always passed by and stared at. The answer was of course "Parlimen Negara" and I hadn't though of that for the simple reason that I only looked at that odd building from a distance, and was simply told that "that is the parliament".

TV cameras make people fat, and they also make small rooms look big. My first thought when I entered the Dewan Rakyat: "Eh, that's small!" Yes, in the TV you look at this huge room with nicely arranged tables in a horseshoe formation. And so reality wasn't so glamorous after all.

But ah, it was worth the experience (Parliament for the observer is an experience after all). We were lucky enough to catch a "fight" but I suppose that happens regularly. Still, we had to wade through the dull and dreary bits (Agricultural subsidies) to get to the nice, drama-drama stuff. I notice that MPs tend to drum/bang the tables whenever they are in agreement. Maybe the comparisons to animals are...er, nevermind.

It was mostly civilized stuff, actually. Most of the time the MPs are well behaved. I saw Jeff Ooi typing away at his laptop, Charles Santiago Manickavasingam (Santiago doesn't sit there!!!) busy shouting "duduk!" to any BN MPs trying to speak when the Opposition was speaking, good ol' Lim Kit Siang staring rather closely at his notebook screen and ah, Khairy Jamaluddin sitting demurely in his corner. Couldn't spot any other BN notables (besides the infamous Bung Mokhtar). The BN section was surprisingly empty. I wonder why. Not sure how BN MPs typically act, but they don't seem fazed much by Mahathir's resignation.

The drama came when Tourism Minister Azalina Othman was asked a question about the five Pakatan Rakyat states and how their tourism programs were cancelled. Then the Opposition MPs started hentam-ing her for "lying" (when she replied they were going on as scheduled). It was curious (and of course entertaining) to watch it. (Malaysiakini report here.)

So we homeschoolers got a glimpse of the inner workings of our nations "democracy". We came, we saw, we went and for me, I was left both enlightened and puzzled. Enlightened by seeing for myself what they actually talked about in Parliament, puzzled by the fact that some questions were somewhat pointless (Stewardess' skirts? Come on.) and while others were obviously asked in the name of transparency, one can't helped but wonder whether our MPs were doing their bit for the rakyat or only forwarding their own political agendas.

But ah, for all we know, the both will always go hand in hand and will always be inseparable.

Monday, May 19, 2008

Gameplan.

This should get interesting. Let's see what happens. Perhaps nothing will. But after March 8, it's quite clear anything can happen.

Friday, May 16, 2008

Lovely.

Once again, It's That Time Again®.

In the space of the next few days, I must

  • Complete my Human Resource assignment.
  • Read up, research and prepare for my Human Resource examination.
  • Read up, research and prepare for my Human Resource presentation.
  • Find the most rhetorically incisive arguments for our JPS Mock Trial.
Suffice to say, I've only started on the first and last. *Sigh*

Thursday, May 15, 2008

The need for holiness.

Holiness is as much an objective state of being as that of a feeling. I take comfort in that fact, because I've never felt holy. If I did, then I have long forgotten that feeling.

One need not feel holy, but it is arguable that one should at least be reckoned holy.

And how does one do that? I venture that holiness (or its twin, righteousness) is impossible to achieve. If it were, then being "holy" is not what it's held up to be. When I say that, I take a rather dull view of human standards and morality. But why not?

So why should we all be considered holy?

Because I suspect that in the end, nothing less than that will mark us out as good human beings.

No wonder we loathe high standards.


Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Music, music, hmm...

Had a listen to Coldplay's Violet Hill. Sounds different. Or perhaps something else. For the first line or two Martin sounds like Dylan. Vocally, of course. Then we are treated to a somewhat dissonant tune. Coldplay's music has been generally nice. They are a nice band.

Arcade Fire - which incidentally, is one of the bands who influenced Martin's style, is recording a movie soundtrack. For a horror movie. Now this is interesting.


Monday, May 12, 2008

Insert Poetic Title Here...

Think Iris Murdoch's The Sea, The Sea or Kelman's How late it was, how late (both Booker Prize winners, incidentally). Yes, such titles are poetic. Repetition can be poetic. But repetition can be boring too.

Breaking grammatical and punctuational laws can make your work look poetic. Think Cormac McCarthy. Either that, or make you look like a pretentious guy or a Kindergarten kid just learning how to write. Of course, there's a time and place for everything. Don't expect to get high marks for your English essay if you're gonna write like McCarthy or like Peter Carey's The True History of the Kelly Gang (which, excluding some sections, happens to be completely devoid of commas).

Which, incidentally, the latter won the Booker Prize, too.

Moral of the story: Experiment. Don't let every story be churned out like an English essay for an MPH Young Writer's competitions.

I haven't written a much, unfortunately. I've been doing more reading than writing. Eventually, I'll have to balance the sheets. We'll see.

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Yay!

Hollywood is starting to take video game adaptations seriously. Not that they have all been good. But this is no Uwe Boll movie, after all. It's a big screen version of Bioshock! (Probably one of the best "cinematical" games ever made)

Most fans have been skeptical; I'm not. Perhaps you can't quite capture the spirit of it (video games and movies involve you somewhat differently) but if the story is compelling, why not?

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Sigh.

I am weary.

Too many things.

I need to laugh out loud, again.