See subtitles.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Monday, July 21, 2008
The Dark Knight
Choices, choices.
That just about sums the movie up. The choices that we have to make. Suppose we had a choice between two people - one of them lives and the other dies. TDK takes this scenario and plays it over and over again.
In Batman Forever, our protagonist had to make that "choice". Ah, but we knew that no one was going to die anyway, except maybe the bad guys. The Dark Knight, however, is much darker. A few people will die. It's supposed to be a "dark" movie after all.
This dark movie as it so happens is the best superhero/comic book movie ever made (Spiderman 2, in my opinion, follows very closely behind). But let's hope - for the sake of entertainment -it gets overtaken eventually. Most of the drama comes from the suspense and as such suspense here constitutes this movie's "drama". Maggie Gyllenhaal, for example, may have more acting chops than her predecessor but even so, she is woefully underutilized.
And ah yes, The Joker. Ledger certainly makes this his memorable role (not that there will be anymore more memorable ones). An Oscar? Well, the Academy seems to like people who create a whole new character. Think Whitaker with Idi Amin and, more recently, Day-Lewis with Daniel Planview. We'll see.
As it so happens this movie is nowhere near as flashy as Spiderman or Superman. Yes, we have the clumsy punching and the usual car crashes, but everyone here are ordinary humans after all - and the whole movie bangs on that fact again and again. That is, indeed, a breath of fresh air. Heroes become villains and there is not always a happy ending.
(Spoiler ahead along with morality discussion; highlight with mouse to view)
We are then left with the impression, at the end, that Harvey Dent a.k.a. Two Face needs to be the light for the people of Gotham no matter if he killed a few people in his rage.
Batman makes the choice of being the fall guy for someone who did wrong in order that people would not become disillusioned. Here then is the irony. Most would say that Batman did the right thing, in covering up someone's guilt for the greater good. But if choices define us (the previous movie's tagline) then, well, our Dark Knight has chosen to defend evil. So what does that make him? Perhaps that is what the writers may be hinting at, or perhaps they missed that.
Either way, in the end, no one is spotless.
That just about sums the movie up. The choices that we have to make. Suppose we had a choice between two people - one of them lives and the other dies. TDK takes this scenario and plays it over and over again.
In Batman Forever, our protagonist had to make that "choice". Ah, but we knew that no one was going to die anyway, except maybe the bad guys. The Dark Knight, however, is much darker. A few people will die. It's supposed to be a "dark" movie after all.
This dark movie as it so happens is the best superhero/comic book movie ever made (Spiderman 2, in my opinion, follows very closely behind). But let's hope - for the sake of entertainment -it gets overtaken eventually. Most of the drama comes from the suspense and as such suspense here constitutes this movie's "drama". Maggie Gyllenhaal, for example, may have more acting chops than her predecessor but even so, she is woefully underutilized.
And ah yes, The Joker. Ledger certainly makes this his memorable role (not that there will be anymore more memorable ones). An Oscar? Well, the Academy seems to like people who create a whole new character. Think Whitaker with Idi Amin and, more recently, Day-Lewis with Daniel Planview. We'll see.
As it so happens this movie is nowhere near as flashy as Spiderman or Superman. Yes, we have the clumsy punching and the usual car crashes, but everyone here are ordinary humans after all - and the whole movie bangs on that fact again and again. That is, indeed, a breath of fresh air. Heroes become villains and there is not always a happy ending.
(Spoiler ahead along with morality discussion; highlight with mouse to view)
We are then left with the impression, at the end, that Harvey Dent a.k.a. Two Face needs to be the light for the people of Gotham no matter if he killed a few people in his rage.
Batman makes the choice of being the fall guy for someone who did wrong in order that people would not become disillusioned. Here then is the irony. Most would say that Batman did the right thing, in covering up someone's guilt for the greater good. But if choices define us (the previous movie's tagline) then, well, our Dark Knight has chosen to defend evil. So what does that make him? Perhaps that is what the writers may be hinting at, or perhaps they missed that.
Either way, in the end, no one is spotless.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Wow.
I got my payment for the volunteer work I did. How very nice. Honestly, I never expected them to pay volunteers, hehe. But it's really nice, however.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
A quick review...
Interesting title, a time worn premise and a good story decently executed. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time as a standalone feature length anime may not be as good as its better peers (such as the recent Paprika) but is still a noteworthy effort. Released quite some time ago, but only now getting more publicised.
By the way, GSC will be screening it at 1U in a few weeks time.
Interesting title, a time worn premise and a good story decently executed. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time as a standalone feature length anime may not be as good as its better peers (such as the recent Paprika) but is still a noteworthy effort. Released quite some time ago, but only now getting more publicised.
By the way, GSC will be screening it at 1U in a few weeks time.
Movie Notes
The Day The Earth Stood Still! I have not seen the old one, but the general rule of remaking a decent cult movie is that the new version will always be unfavourably compared to the original. The "don't fix it if it ain't broke" rule applies, strictly so. There are two Oscar winners here, so presumably this film has a good enough script. Then again, there's such a thing as making a quick buck, too.
Anyway, looks like Keanu Reeves is getting back into character again. The guy from Speed is no more, I suppose. It's Mr. Wooden now.
Anyway, looks like Keanu Reeves is getting back into character again. The guy from Speed is no more, I suppose. It's Mr. Wooden now.
Oh yes, and I'm sure the biggest movie this month will be Batman No. 6 a.k.a. The Dark Knight. Can't wait, haha! Oh, and take a look at this old trailer (notice the lack of dialogue and sound effects) which shows a lot more than the later ones. And yes, we get to see Two Face.
Friday, July 4, 2008
No End In Sight
This is a somewhat generic opinion piece I wrote. It's light, fluffy and well, something I would not normally write. But hey, this blog needs filler. Enjoy.
_____________________________________________
There’s everything else and then there’s Sodomy Reloaded. It does begin to make one think that history is a cycle. For the less interested – and the cynical – the whole saga is nothing more than a tremendous waste of time called politicking. For those who love a juicy story (like me), we just can’t wait to see what’s the next twist in the plot. Like a Bollywood movie, said a certain prominent politician. Curious.
But really, shouldn’t we be focusing on managing the country (and maintaining our hard disks) and maybe preparing for the coming recession as well? Then again, a little drama won’t hurt. We are humans, after all: humans who casts more votes for their Idol than for their country.
News will be news and then it will be forgotten. Maybe, one day, these events (if it turns out to be as explosive as we are all secretly hoping it to be) will end up in our history books. As someone noted, history classes won’t be boring for quite some time after this.
Meanwhile – in other news – people are still feeling the pain of expensive (yet cheap) petrol and at the same time, can do little but maybe find ways to save – or earn more – money. Ubah gaya hidup? For some, okay, maybe only Kopi O at the mamak instead of Starbucks from now on. But others (like a single mother I know) can’t even afford to pay their electric bills (which are, whaddya know, getting more expensive too!). They certainly will be saying “Ubah Apa?!”
Subsidies can never last forever, however, and yet one must say that it is unfair to pull support for someone who has nothing else to lean on. Singaporeans, for example, don’t organize mass rallies about their amazing fuel price but that’s because they earn in dollars instead of ringgit. And of course, they have a public transportation system that, for many, renders cars redundant.
But while Klang Valley has a passable PT system (tell that, though, to all those driving their cars to work on Monday morning), people in many other cities still rely on, eh, old taxis and minibuses.
Granted, we Malaysians are not a specially sad case – people are feeling the pinch all over the world (yes, even in Europe, utopia for many). Our dear government should not forget that we are a developing nation. As such, there are going to be rich creeps and poor sods. The latter are arguably in more abundance here.
Sometimes it just doesn’t help when we compare ourselves to others and point out we are better in this or that way. Great, but how about benchmarking ourselves to, say, Canada? Let’s see how we do then. Use that as a reference to start improving and innovating. Twin Towers and SMART tunnels are all fine and dandy, but a more idealistic person might suggest that, perhaps, this country should first prove that it deserves “first world” infrastructure.
I’m talking about improving the quality of living actively. Doing such need not necessarily mean we quit it with the Second Bridges, but how about diverting some resources to microcredit ventures, for instance?
I personally find microcredit financing to be sorely lacking or perhaps poorly promoted. Nobody likes begging; most want to start a business. The Government – yes, even corporations – know what to do. Most of us know a certain Mohammad Yunus. Well, just do it then.
Let me end with a short comment about politics. I tend to say very little about these areas despite my enthusiasm for the subject because, like Survivor or Fear Factor, it is much more fun to watch than to participate.
March 8 (already as history a date as May 16) witnessed a massing swing away from BN. Not too massive, mind you – the ruling coalition still has a powerful majority (by Western standards). While the opposition (may I call them the Left?) celebrated the beginning of a revolution, I merely saw on that day a Malaysia more divided than ever with the popular vote being split almost 50-50.
This might be good or bad. I’m not entirely satisfied with BN or, to be more accurate, UMNO’s policies and ideology, but I sure do respect the other half of Malaysia who disagrees with me (rigged polls notwithstanding).
Which is why trying to topple the Government so soon after the elections is (I think) not a good idea. I’m sure PKR-DAP-PAS have the patience to wait four more years. Then we shall see whether March 8 was an anomaly or the beginning of something new. If the Opposition has enough confidence in the credibility of our electoral system to participate in it, then let us then see the score settled democratically.
Only then will we see whether March 8 was an anomaly or a start of something new. Until then, everyone should calm down. Or, as they say, relaks lah.
But really, shouldn’t we be focusing on managing the country (and maintaining our hard disks) and maybe preparing for the coming recession as well? Then again, a little drama won’t hurt. We are humans, after all: humans who casts more votes for their Idol than for their country.
News will be news and then it will be forgotten. Maybe, one day, these events (if it turns out to be as explosive as we are all secretly hoping it to be) will end up in our history books. As someone noted, history classes won’t be boring for quite some time after this.
Meanwhile – in other news – people are still feeling the pain of expensive (yet cheap) petrol and at the same time, can do little but maybe find ways to save – or earn more – money. Ubah gaya hidup? For some, okay, maybe only Kopi O at the mamak instead of Starbucks from now on. But others (like a single mother I know) can’t even afford to pay their electric bills (which are, whaddya know, getting more expensive too!). They certainly will be saying “Ubah Apa?!”
Subsidies can never last forever, however, and yet one must say that it is unfair to pull support for someone who has nothing else to lean on. Singaporeans, for example, don’t organize mass rallies about their amazing fuel price but that’s because they earn in dollars instead of ringgit. And of course, they have a public transportation system that, for many, renders cars redundant.
But while Klang Valley has a passable PT system (tell that, though, to all those driving their cars to work on Monday morning), people in many other cities still rely on, eh, old taxis and minibuses.
Granted, we Malaysians are not a specially sad case – people are feeling the pinch all over the world (yes, even in Europe, utopia for many). Our dear government should not forget that we are a developing nation. As such, there are going to be rich creeps and poor sods. The latter are arguably in more abundance here.
Sometimes it just doesn’t help when we compare ourselves to others and point out we are better in this or that way. Great, but how about benchmarking ourselves to, say, Canada? Let’s see how we do then. Use that as a reference to start improving and innovating. Twin Towers and SMART tunnels are all fine and dandy, but a more idealistic person might suggest that, perhaps, this country should first prove that it deserves “first world” infrastructure.
I’m talking about improving the quality of living actively. Doing such need not necessarily mean we quit it with the Second Bridges, but how about diverting some resources to microcredit ventures, for instance?
I personally find microcredit financing to be sorely lacking or perhaps poorly promoted. Nobody likes begging; most want to start a business. The Government – yes, even corporations – know what to do. Most of us know a certain Mohammad Yunus. Well, just do it then.
Let me end with a short comment about politics. I tend to say very little about these areas despite my enthusiasm for the subject because, like Survivor or Fear Factor, it is much more fun to watch than to participate.
March 8 (already as history a date as May 16) witnessed a massing swing away from BN. Not too massive, mind you – the ruling coalition still has a powerful majority (by Western standards). While the opposition (may I call them the Left?) celebrated the beginning of a revolution, I merely saw on that day a Malaysia more divided than ever with the popular vote being split almost 50-50.
This might be good or bad. I’m not entirely satisfied with BN or, to be more accurate, UMNO’s policies and ideology, but I sure do respect the other half of Malaysia who disagrees with me (rigged polls notwithstanding).
Which is why trying to topple the Government so soon after the elections is (I think) not a good idea. I’m sure PKR-DAP-PAS have the patience to wait four more years. Then we shall see whether March 8 was an anomaly or the beginning of something new. If the Opposition has enough confidence in the credibility of our electoral system to participate in it, then let us then see the score settled democratically.
Only then will we see whether March 8 was an anomaly or a start of something new. Until then, everyone should calm down. Or, as they say, relaks lah.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
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