Finally maanged to give Kerri a distinct look. Here she is in her "favourite" jeans. And yes, be afraid.Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Comic Relief #154
Finally maanged to give Kerri a distinct look. Here she is in her "favourite" jeans. And yes, be afraid.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Comic Relief #151
My first attempt at a video version of everyone's favourite true-life stick figure web-comic. A disclaimer, though: She didn't FORCE me to make the diabetically sweet video (thanks, Jeremy). It was done out of love!
Sunday, February 15, 2009
An Indian Summer
Yesterday was Valentine's, or rather, overpriced roses day. What occupied the bulk of the planning for Khadi and I this year was the debate on which movie to watch: The Wrestler or Sulmdog Millionaire. Checking the movie listings, though, quickly disqualified Micky Rourke's flick, much to my chagrin. I then made my way to the theate, fully expecting to be less than thrilled, considering The Wrestler got a staggering score of 98% on Rotten Tomatoes.
The film started out well, with Khadi squealing excitedly that Anil Kapoor was on screen, and that she knew him. Of course, I assumed she meant she knew of him rather than that she knew him personally, but one can never be sure with the ladies. Dev Patel also made an early appearance, and indeed, he's the star. The star.
Slumdog Millionaire, as any generic movie rater will tell you, revolves around a guy (Jamal) who is accused of cheating his way to the final question of India's version of Millionaire (hence half of the clever title). Him being a mere "slumdog" (the other half, yay!) attracts suspicion, and almost the whole movie is then a recap of his life in the bowels (literally!) of India, battling gangs, disease, crime, and falling off trains.
Most places will have the phrase "critically acclaimed" somewhere in the vicinity of the desciption of this film, directed by Danny Boyle. I would have to say that that tag is a deserved one. The cinematography, while not as stunning as, say, 300, is done very very well. Stories which jump through events happening throughout different periods in time can often leave the audience going "Eh?" but this one leaves you with "Oooh" and then some.
There's very little that is anything but enjoyable about the film, really. It's a gritty, immersive and engaging account of life in India, though I've never actually been there, so all I can say is that the illusion of realism is very much present, and if you told me that it was a true story, I would find it very hard to disagree or doubt it. The plot is unique, even if the ending was predictable down to the specifics had you paid attention to the dialogue like I tend to do, much to Khadi's annoyance.
The acting is top-class almost throughout, especially the kids. I can't really do justice to the performance here, except to say that you can laugh and cry and cringe at nearly every corner, every plot twist. The three main characters display more depth than you'd expect in a movie about a gameshow, and Jamal's older brother Salim is especially awesome in this regard.
To those who will eventually end up catching this film - and that should be nearly everyone - remember to stay to the credits, and your appetite for the traditional sterotypical Bollywood film will be sated.
Overall, 4.8/5
The film started out well, with Khadi squealing excitedly that Anil Kapoor was on screen, and that she knew him. Of course, I assumed she meant she knew of him rather than that she knew him personally, but one can never be sure with the ladies. Dev Patel also made an early appearance, and indeed, he's the star. The star.
Slumdog Millionaire, as any generic movie rater will tell you, revolves around a guy (Jamal) who is accused of cheating his way to the final question of India's version of Millionaire (hence half of the clever title). Him being a mere "slumdog" (the other half, yay!) attracts suspicion, and almost the whole movie is then a recap of his life in the bowels (literally!) of India, battling gangs, disease, crime, and falling off trains.
Most places will have the phrase "critically acclaimed" somewhere in the vicinity of the desciption of this film, directed by Danny Boyle. I would have to say that that tag is a deserved one. The cinematography, while not as stunning as, say, 300, is done very very well. Stories which jump through events happening throughout different periods in time can often leave the audience going "Eh?" but this one leaves you with "Oooh" and then some.
There's very little that is anything but enjoyable about the film, really. It's a gritty, immersive and engaging account of life in India, though I've never actually been there, so all I can say is that the illusion of realism is very much present, and if you told me that it was a true story, I would find it very hard to disagree or doubt it. The plot is unique, even if the ending was predictable down to the specifics had you paid attention to the dialogue like I tend to do, much to Khadi's annoyance.
The acting is top-class almost throughout, especially the kids. I can't really do justice to the performance here, except to say that you can laugh and cry and cringe at nearly every corner, every plot twist. The three main characters display more depth than you'd expect in a movie about a gameshow, and Jamal's older brother Salim is especially awesome in this regard.
To those who will eventually end up catching this film - and that should be nearly everyone - remember to stay to the credits, and your appetite for the traditional sterotypical Bollywood film will be sated.
Overall, 4.8/5
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Sunday, February 01, 2009
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Comic Relief #142
Travers and Kania at their best. It almost seems as if lewd jokes come with all the fruit she buys.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Net Gains
I can still remember the sound of the 14.4 dial-up, back when a poorly-timed phone-call could spell distaster for an agonisingly incomplete and thoroughly illegal intellectual property infringement via our friends at Napster. Those were the days. The times of ICQ and mIRC, where the term "you tube" might only refer to an article of female clothing and "google" was a typo for swimming apparel. Nowadays people think Alta Vista is Microsoft's next big flop.
I myself have had many thoroughly memorable experiences with this "new media" as some term it. Some good, and some bad. One such experience got me an "A" in secondary school as I recounted it to a faceless invigilator who was smitten by my romantic wiles, but that is another tale for another time. To be honest, I'm not exactly sure what to write on this week; I'm facing some sort of mental blank, possibly brought upon by seven-hour-long MMORPG sessions and doing my best ninja impersonation to steer clear of certain people. The Internet does that to you, I guess. It gives you a second life, some say (sometimes literally). I would take another look at that statement, actually. To many, the internet doesn't offer a second life as much as it seems to become a person's life. To many, the term "real life" isn't so different from the persona or avatar or image or profile or character or toon or username or callsign or moniker that he or she (and even that can be a mystery unsolved) goes by on any given game, forum, chatroom, messageboard, newsgroup or network.
A few weeks ago someone I know but had never spoken to beyond "Hey, nice Man Utd jersey, is it an imitation?" came up to me and introduced me to someone else (who I actually had spoken to before), bringing her attention to some webcomics I had come up with over the past year or so. For a fleeting moment, I envisioned myself as the next A-list celebrity, though I have since not seen them or the expected horde of adoring fans clamoring for my autograph.
What is the internet? An outlet for personal opinion? A tool for fame and infamy? A facilitator for social networking? A matchmaker? A new, interactive form of entertainment? An addiction? An answer to boredom? A cause for academic mediocrity? A realm of smut and smugness? A source of information and illumination? Perhaps it is all these.
I myself have had many thoroughly memorable experiences with this "new media" as some term it. Some good, and some bad. One such experience got me an "A" in secondary school as I recounted it to a faceless invigilator who was smitten by my romantic wiles, but that is another tale for another time. To be honest, I'm not exactly sure what to write on this week; I'm facing some sort of mental blank, possibly brought upon by seven-hour-long MMORPG sessions and doing my best ninja impersonation to steer clear of certain people. The Internet does that to you, I guess. It gives you a second life, some say (sometimes literally). I would take another look at that statement, actually. To many, the internet doesn't offer a second life as much as it seems to become a person's life. To many, the term "real life" isn't so different from the persona or avatar or image or profile or character or toon or username or callsign or moniker that he or she (and even that can be a mystery unsolved) goes by on any given game, forum, chatroom, messageboard, newsgroup or network.
A few weeks ago someone I know but had never spoken to beyond "Hey, nice Man Utd jersey, is it an imitation?" came up to me and introduced me to someone else (who I actually had spoken to before), bringing her attention to some webcomics I had come up with over the past year or so. For a fleeting moment, I envisioned myself as the next A-list celebrity, though I have since not seen them or the expected horde of adoring fans clamoring for my autograph.
What is the internet? An outlet for personal opinion? A tool for fame and infamy? A facilitator for social networking? A matchmaker? A new, interactive form of entertainment? An addiction? An answer to boredom? A cause for academic mediocrity? A realm of smut and smugness? A source of information and illumination? Perhaps it is all these.
Monday, December 01, 2008
Quarantine
Do you like scary movies?
Been a while since I caught a decent film, I thought. I skipped 007, didn't get to catch Blindness, sat through the ordeal that was Max Payne, and even Madagascar 2 was somewhat of a disappointment.
Then I decided to catch Quarantine, with the girlfriend, on Saturday.
Ooooooooh damn. If you've never seen someone get hit full in the face repeatedly with a television camera, now's the time to do it. Here's my breakdown of it, for those of you contemplating getting some practice in holding your breath.
Firstly, I'll say this. If you are one of the few people I know who liked Cloverfield, you deserve a high-five, and will also bask in the knowledge that there is a high chance that you'll like this one too. The style of cinematography aside, there is a big "Oh-shit-what's-happening" feel to it, and I would actually say that this one doesn't have a single thing at all wrong with the plot.
And my regular minions will know how picky I am about things like plot-holes.
A simple, but not stupid story, told at a good pace and punctuated with sudden, heart-stopping scenes of carnage and suspense. I like.
Cast-wise, I'm quite happy with the one chosen to play the lead female. She isn't hot. Not at all. Which makes Quarantine that much more realistic than Cloverfield, with whoever it is I can't remember acting as that somewhat hot girl. Which made the unsteady camera even more annoying. For Quarantine, the only hot girl I could see was seated beside me. There's Maya though.
The only real complain I have about it is actually the people around me. Nothing on-screen can be construed to be less than good, let alone bad. Two rows to the front, a bunch of German teenagers were making more noise than Hitler at a World War rally, and behind me was a Chinese couple, blabbering incessantly about what was happening to the characters and the dogs.
As Khadi said, "Aren't there Chinese subtitles already? If you can't understand this show don't watch it lah."
Again, Quarantine is hardly rocket science.
There's no soundtrack of note, to so complaints about the music, and the special effects are actually very... wow. As I mentioned earlier, if you've never seen someone's head pummeled to an oozing pulp with a camera, now is the time to do it. The shots of bodies hurtling through the air would also leave you with a sense of awe as you start to comprehend the effects of gravity on a zombified human being.
Don't get me wrong, though. This is not a "zombie" flick. But then it would be, if you consider I am Legend to be a zombie movie. I won't say anything else about that, but some other movies that have attempted to portray a microbial antagonist should pay close attention to this one.
Finally, the end of the film is actually predictable, but that makes it all the more enjoyable. It's realistic, and not something that leaves you with a feeling of "how did that happen". If that has spoilt it for you, fear not, because if you know of the movie, you've probably already seen the end. But don't let that stop you.
After the first ten minutes of light humor, be ready to quake and shiver on the edge of your seat until that final night-vision scene. It isn't the go-home-and-be-scared-to-look-under-your-blanket kind of scary like Ju-On, but be ready for nearly two hours of apprehension.
4.5/5
Been a while since I caught a decent film, I thought. I skipped 007, didn't get to catch Blindness, sat through the ordeal that was Max Payne, and even Madagascar 2 was somewhat of a disappointment.
Then I decided to catch Quarantine, with the girlfriend, on Saturday.
Ooooooooh damn. If you've never seen someone get hit full in the face repeatedly with a television camera, now's the time to do it. Here's my breakdown of it, for those of you contemplating getting some practice in holding your breath.
Firstly, I'll say this. If you are one of the few people I know who liked Cloverfield, you deserve a high-five, and will also bask in the knowledge that there is a high chance that you'll like this one too. The style of cinematography aside, there is a big "Oh-shit-what's-happening" feel to it, and I would actually say that this one doesn't have a single thing at all wrong with the plot.
And my regular minions will know how picky I am about things like plot-holes.
A simple, but not stupid story, told at a good pace and punctuated with sudden, heart-stopping scenes of carnage and suspense. I like.
Cast-wise, I'm quite happy with the one chosen to play the lead female. She isn't hot. Not at all. Which makes Quarantine that much more realistic than Cloverfield, with whoever it is I can't remember acting as that somewhat hot girl. Which made the unsteady camera even more annoying. For Quarantine, the only hot girl I could see was seated beside me. There's Maya though.
The only real complain I have about it is actually the people around me. Nothing on-screen can be construed to be less than good, let alone bad. Two rows to the front, a bunch of German teenagers were making more noise than Hitler at a World War rally, and behind me was a Chinese couple, blabbering incessantly about what was happening to the characters and the dogs.
As Khadi said, "Aren't there Chinese subtitles already? If you can't understand this show don't watch it lah."
Again, Quarantine is hardly rocket science.
There's no soundtrack of note, to so complaints about the music, and the special effects are actually very... wow. As I mentioned earlier, if you've never seen someone's head pummeled to an oozing pulp with a camera, now is the time to do it. The shots of bodies hurtling through the air would also leave you with a sense of awe as you start to comprehend the effects of gravity on a zombified human being.
Don't get me wrong, though. This is not a "zombie" flick. But then it would be, if you consider I am Legend to be a zombie movie. I won't say anything else about that, but some other movies that have attempted to portray a microbial antagonist should pay close attention to this one.
Finally, the end of the film is actually predictable, but that makes it all the more enjoyable. It's realistic, and not something that leaves you with a feeling of "how did that happen". If that has spoilt it for you, fear not, because if you know of the movie, you've probably already seen the end. But don't let that stop you.
After the first ten minutes of light humor, be ready to quake and shiver on the edge of your seat until that final night-vision scene. It isn't the go-home-and-be-scared-to-look-under-your-blanket kind of scary like Ju-On, but be ready for nearly two hours of apprehension.
4.5/5
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
