Earlier today...erm, I mean yesterday, went for lunch with my parents. We were deciding on which club to eat when we did away with them and went to House of Sundanese @ Great World City. Food was good of course. Then went to That CD Shop. I love their outlets. Their decor has this sassy, new age look to it and they play really nice world music on their system. My mum had a comfortable sit on their soft, black leather couch while my dad and I browsed through their relatively extensive collection. My dad of course made his way to the classical section while I perused the alternative rock and jazz shelves. I was looking for a particular cd which I didn't manage to get on my previous trip to HMV. Couldn't spot it so I got help from the guy there who showed me where the Bossa Nova 2-CD set was. I grabbed it and handed it to my dad who joined me at the jazz section. We looked around some more and he ended up buying a few(working man) and I, just one(imporvished student). Ok fine, so he paid for mine as well. =p Bossa Nova is great. It's like a compilation of soothing Brazillian jazz.

Been a good weekend. Met with with Jo and Ady on Sat. I haven't hung out with them in ages. We met at the Cafe Cartel near my place and caught up over auntie amy's chewy chocolate cake and potato wedges. hehe. I find that Ady's doing good and Jo's having a blast at La Salle so far. Way to go, Jo! Will be meeting up with them again very soon for Ady's coming 21st. *winks at Ady*

Ok folks some movie stuff now. This is news for those who're interested:
Wolfgang Petersen, who's to direct the Superman vs Batman flick, has recently chosen(supposedly) who he wants to be his man of steel and the caped crusader. Sources have said that Jude Law will be Clark Kent and Collin Farrell(latest seen in Minority Report as Detective Danny Witwer) will be none other than Bruce Wayne. The news broke out after eons of speculation by movie buffs. So imagine, all hell broke lose when word got out. Think these actors can cut it?

2nd childhood, the return...
It all began with disillusionment and disappointment with the the way of the world as it is on the threshold of adulthood. Followed by the incessant need to watch more cartoons on the disney channel...ok, fine and the cartoon network as well. The signs were subtle at first but they grew more and more evident with each passing day. A few days ago, I've been preoccupied with comic books. I've ignored all the signs but now finally, in the last 2 days having hunted up and down orchard road for 20th anniversary Care Bear beanies and buying a 14 inch Stich plush from a toy store in Far East, I cannot pretend any longer...yes, folks, I'm sad to announce to you all that I'm suffering from.... QUARTER LIFE CRISIS!! I will deny no longer! I shall embrace my predicament! Adulthood expectations be damned! I shall now immerse myself in all the wondrous childhood fantasy society has made me surpress in the face of advancing age. I will not conform! You hear me?? Let us all, my friends, go forth! Go forth and buy more toys!!!

Hehe, ok...you guys don't have to worry anymore. I think the crazy moment has pretty much passed. But yes, indeed, I am getting a little plush toy crazed lately. I've been hunting for Care Bear beanies close to a week now but haven't been buying much cuz the places I've gone to are selling 'em at crazy prices! Jia got me a Fun Shine last Wed which is a priority since it was the one I had(and lost) as a toddler. I really wanna get Friend Bear, Wish Bear and Love-A-Lot Bear but waiting for stores to bring in the new shipment. And I guess I'm waiting for more reasonable prices too. Can you believe individuals are selling some of them off at 34.90 each??? For the relatively small beanie??? That's robbing in broad daylight, man! Anywayz, I bought a 14 inch Stitch(from 2002 Disney movie Lilo and Stich) plush toy too at 49.90...broke liao. But hey, it's too cute!!!

Here's the Stitch plush I got today! It's so cute! I love it!

View Lilo and Stitch Trailer

And here's the whole series of 20th anniversary Care Bears!

Man, I love these little guys!!!! *big stupid grin*

what movie symbolism are you? find out!

Matrix eh...I was hoping my symbolism would be magnolia...damn! oh well. hehe.

Reliving An Old Habit.

Met up with my two besties Jia and Eileen yesterday for lunch. Jia just got back from Aus and gave me stuff she got for me while she was there. I'm now the new proud owner of a genuine kangaroo scrotum pouch(nyuk) and a really cool book on sci-fi film critique by philosopher, Stephen Mulhall. Got a few goodies like potato chips and chewing gum too. Thanks loads for the awesome gift, Jia!

After lunch and lengthy chats about our vacations, Jia and Eileen accompanied me on my quest to relive an old, secondary school habit. Buying and reading comic books... =p It turned out to be a walk down memory lane of sorts. We went to a store at bras basah that I used to frequent as an adolescent and man, was I overwhelmed by the stacks of comic books with displays of action figures and posters that virtually cover the walls. While I was hungrily scouring the racks of my favourite, the X-Men, Jia chanced upon a box of newly released 20th anniversary Care Bears soft toys and they're so cute! We miss 'em since Care Bears was like the thing during our collective childhoods being '81 babies, the 3 of us. Jia bought Bedtime Bear(very adorable) and I spent my dough for the day on 3 X-Men comic books. Then we went to town to visit a small toy store at Wheelock Place(where Eileen bought her tiny poohs) to check if they've got a stock of new Care Bears too. They got the same ones as the comic book store and they told us new stock/characters will be coming in over the near future. So Jia left her number and she'll keep me informed cuz I'm quite determined to get some of 'em to make up for the ones I lost years back. It really isn't as dramatic as it may have sounded. =p Anywayz, went home after that to read X-Men and I'm still pondering about how and why comics still poke at my interests. This isn't exactly the first time I had wanted to know what's up with my fave mutants an since I've quit collecting like 5 years ago, I still go back once in a while to look 'em up. I guess old habits just die hard. =p

Speaking of which, X-Men made it in vogue again to make movies out of comic books after Schumacher hacked the Batman franchise with its fourth horrific installment. Being a fan of the X-Men books, I had mixed feelings toward the movie. I like the way Bryan Singer approached the whole matter about prejudice against mutants and the question of humanity but didn't like how his treatment of the characters. Anywayz, I'm starting to rant. Here's a list of movies that's on the Hollywood comic band wagon and will be coming to our town soon(for some anyway). Any of your favourites as a kid?

Road to Perdition

Absolutely have to, haveta, haveta, haveta watch this one. I ran a short description of this movie on one of my previous entries and have been watching its production progress. By a talented director(Sam Mendes) and a stellar cast (Tom Hanks, Jude Law, Paul Newman, Jennifer Jason Leigh), it's set to be one period piece with punch. Official Website

X2(X-Men 2)
Yeah, yeah I'm a sucker for this one. I just hope Singer does a better job handling the plot and characters. The cast returns together with some new characters. View Trailer

The Hulk

I'm not much of a Bruce Banner fan but maestro Ang Lee helmed this project and assembled a pretty impressive cast to join him with the likes of Eric Bana(Chopper), the beautiful and amazing Jennifer Connelly and Nick Nolte. Looks quite interesting. View Trailer

Daredevil
The comic didn't actually compell me to check it out but it's got a considerable fan following. I'm not much of a Ben Affleck(who's starring in this btw) fan either. The trailer only treaded lukewarm waters but I am quite curious about how Jennifer Garner(Alias) will turn out in this film. Michael Clarke Duncan and Joe Pantoliano(Memento) also stars. View Trailer

Hellboy
In the midst of production right now with a relatively unknown lead Ron Perlman. Directed by Guillermo Del Toro of the mui, mui excellent The Devil's Backbone. About a group of Nazis who dabbled in the occult and tried to raise a force of destruction during the world war in 1944 but were stopped by a group of Allies. A red skinned, horned child was indeed conjured and he grew up not into the evil entity he was meant to be but rather a champion of good. Looks like a potential if done right yah?

Spider-Man 2
The dream team of Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire are confirmed on a return. Recently Kirsten Dunst signs on. The villains for the film are planned to be Dr. Octopus(rumour has it Sam Neil will play the part) and the Lizard.

Batman:Year One
This is still in script stage. It has quite an interesting premise with the film exploring how Bruce Wayne started out as the caped crusader and how Commissioner James Gordon began his career as lieutenant in the poice force. But what got me into a frenzy about this project is that Darren Aronofsky is writing and slated to direct! Aronofsky!! The genius behind Requiem For A Dream and indie legend, Pi.

Superman vs. Batman
This one is still in development and has thousands of movie geeks in hype override. Script ideas have been bouncing around for a while now but no concrete details yet. But it has been said both the cities of Gotham and Metropolis will be in the film. Wolfgang Petersen(A Perfect Storm) will direct.

And this next film is not based on a comic book but is an indie that has some animated sequences to highlight the imagination of its lead characters. The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys is a coming of age drama about a group of friends(Kieran Culkin, Emile Hirsch) from a catholic school who were caught producing an obsene comic book. They then plan a huge prank to outdo their previous one hoping their deeds will go down in their town history. Jodie Foster(SisterAssumpta), Vincent D'Onforio(Father Casey) and Jena Malone(Margie Flynn) in the cast.

Official Website

I've been dropping dough like crumbs lately. On Tues, watched 2 more movies Dueces Wild and Minority Report. Hung out with my dad yesterday and watched Minority a second time since he wants to catch it as well. I've been looking forward to Dueces Wild for a while now and sadly, I was sorely disappointed. I had hoped it to be an Outsiders for the millenium. But the characters are just too prototypical and the shots/sequences too cliched for my liking. Ugh. Luckily I didn't put too much faith in Minority because I ended up liking the movie a lot. Fortunately the various genres of the film are quite seamlessly put together, science-fiction/drama/mystery and action. The plot is relatively well developed and there's that signature Spielberg resolution. My dad was a little confused about some of the details though we straightened that out after the movie. ;p I especially like the approach to the conflict between predestination and free will which gave rise to some religious overtones in the movie. The question of perfection and its struggle with limitations and flaws is also explored together with the exploration of the cold, hard truth behind a facade of goodness. All in all, I'm happy with the latest Spielberg product and it convinces me that the big guy still has what it takes to make great films and not to mention, it manages to keep me an interested, avid fan. So finally approaching broke and tired of going out, I trust I'll stay home today and watch dvds. Caught Cider House Rules this morning and it's really good. Not sure what I'll dig out of the dvd cupboard later. My friday's pretty relaxing. How's everyone's?

It's good to be home eventhough I'm missing Brisbane already. =p hehe. Had a day's break yesterday after the long flight home on Saturday and I guess I'm pretty much ready to settle into my regular Singapore schedule, i.e watching movies and wasting my time. heh. It's only been a little over a week that I've gone and I noticed a couple of changes. Macdonalds introducing the chicken big mac? And Eileen just told me today that they're having a MacSpaghetti or something. And KFC revamped its whole menu?? Suddenly, I feel I'm not in Kansas anymore. Yeah I know Singapore isn't Kansas. I was just quoting that famous line from The Wizard Of Oz, y'know the part when Dorothy was blown to the land of Oz and...well..nevermind. All that happened while I was gone...wow. Luckily I didn't come back to Eileen with tatoos and a nose ring. =p

I had an amazing trip to Aus btw. The people over there are very friendly and the weather's great. You hardly sweat over there and the air's breezy, light and cool. The environment's pretty good too. A lot of greens and I mainly travelled around the suburbs and the rural areas since my hotel was quite out into the country. Though quite occassionally we drove out to the city, surfer's paradise and the goldcoast. I didn't manage to catch Minority Report there as planned which was a shame but I did manage to watch MIB 2 at a cinema in harbour town and caught The Rookie on the in-flight movie.

This morn I watched Bend It Like Beckham on my own. Kinda like some quality time with the person I love the most, i.e ME. haha. Seriously, I do enjoy watching films by myself on a regular basis. I guess sometimes we all need the personal space as much as we love and appreciate the great company of family and friends. I'm very sure other people do other things on their own. An internet friend had once told me that's kinda sad and it made me look like I had no friends. *shrug* I didn't care much for his opinions because he's sorely mistaken. After the movie, I met up with my bestie Eileen! My grrl!! haha. We had lunch and watched Y Tu Mama Tambien which was a pretty hilarious movie. It had great reception in the US as well as Mexico, its country of origins, albeit a more controversial one also. Very raunchy stuff(but these days it shouldn't be as shocking). It takes quite a light hearted look into teenage sexuality and mature sexual liberation. But ultimately it's about the search for truth and understanding one's place in life and existence. Although the two male lead characters annoy me sometimes with their obssession to want to lay and get laid. Oh well. I like Bend It Like Beckham too. I especially related with the Jess, the Indian brit who loves and just wants to play football to the dismay of her traditional parents. Man, do I know what it's like to have over-protective and quite overbearing parents who sometimes make it so difficult to live your life the way you choose it to be. But the film shows that with mutual understanding from both parties, a lot of compromise and responsibility, things can work out quite nicely for everyone. It's really funny too. I love Indian/Pakistani/Brit humour having watched East is East and the comedy series Goodness Gracious Me on the telly. So if you like English movies with a bit of Asian spice, def go catch Bend It Like Beckham. And stay back for a while during the credits, they got some really hilarious footage.

*rap music*
Guess who's back...
Back again...

=D
You were thinking of someone else? ;)
Will update VERY soon...

All my bags are packed, i'm ready to go
I'm standing here outside your door
I hate to wake you up to say goodbye

But the dawn is breaking, it's early morn
The taxi's waiting, he's blowin' his horn
Already i'm so lonesome i could die

So kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that you'll wait for me
Hold me like you'll never let me go

'Cause i'm leaving on a jet plane
I don't know when i'll be back again
Oh, babe, i hate to go

Ok, ok i'll stop singing. You guys have suffered enough! =D Just thought the song is appropriate for this occassion. My luggage is pakced! Well...mostly. And yes I'm ready to fly off to my destination of leisure! The flight's at 1020pm tonight and I'll arrive 7:40am the next morn. Will be back on the 13th which is a Saturday so I won't be updating for a few days. Till then I'll leave you guys with my top ten list of movies I absolutely have to watch this year or else I'll go on a rampage and tear the place down! hehehe
Not in chronological order:
1) Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood- based on a bestselling novel of the same title, it's a dramedy about a playwright Siddalee Walker who has a strained relationship with her mother after telling about her unhappy childhood to a magazine during an interview. Her mother's friends make up a secret society known as the Ya-Ya sisterhood who kidnap her from her apartment in New York and bring her over to Louisiana where they try patch things up between the 2 estranged women.

2) Men In Black 2- what can I say? I'm a sucker for sequels.

3) Gangs of New York- the very delayed Martin Scorcese(was supposed to be released in 2000) movie with dramatic shouting arguments with Miramax bigwig and executive producer, Harvey Weinstein over the length of the original film(which streched to about 4 hours). About the conflict between the anglo-saxon natives and the italian immigrants on the streets of young America of the 1840s-60s. Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis, Cameron Diaz and Jim Broadbent(2002 best supporting actor oscar winner for Iris) stars. Need I say more?

4) The Road To Perdition- this is one movie which I've been observing quite closely since pre-production and it's been looking good eversince so I've got quite a bit of faith and hype in this one. Based on a comic book, it stars Tom Hanks as an assassin named Michael Sullivan and also known as the angel of death. Set in the 1920s, the movie explores the bonds of loyalty and family when Sullivan's son chances upon what his father really does for a living. Also starring heavyweights Jude Law, Paul Newman and Jennifer Jason Leigh.

5) Full Frontal- the latest indie from director, Steven Soderbergh. It is rumoured to be a sequel to one of his first independent ventures back in the 90s, Sex, Lies and Videotape. And the premise is so unique noone has really been able to explain it. So it's def something interesting to look out for.Cast includes Julia Roberts, Nicky Katt, Blair Underwood, David Hyde Pierce and David Duchovny.

6) Signs- the newest M. Night Shyamalan thriller about crop circles and the mystery behind them which a family in Philidelphia is about to the discover. Stars Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix.

7) Once Upon A Time In Mexico- Robert Rodriquez directs his latest take on El Mariachi(Antonio Bandares). A drug lord uprises against the Mexican government. Cast also includes Salma Hayek and Johnny Depp.

8) Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets- Ok, ok I admit it! I'm a Potter head ok!!!

9) Solaris- sci-fi directed by Steven Soderbergh about a space station orbiting an oceanic planet called Solaris. After a mysterious death of the commander of an expedition to the planet, a psychologist observe strange things happening as well. George Clooney heads the cast.

10) The Lord of The Rings: The Two Towers- how can anyone not want to watch this???? Whole cast returns.

Ok, I'm cheating a little...I'll sneak in a little bit more than 10. Hehe.

11) Confessions of a Dangerous Mind- Chuck Barris is a gameshow host by day and a CIA agent in secret. George Clooney's directorial debut. With Julia Roberts, Drew Barrymore, Mat Damon, Rutger Hauer and Fred Savage heading the cast.

12) Treasure Planet- Disney's end of the year animated feature which has a futuristic and very unique take on the Robert Louis Stevenson classic, Treasure Island. You guys gotta check out the trailer, very awesome stuff.

13) Catch Me If You Can- based on a true story about a young con-artist who makes it to the FBI's top ten most wanted list by impersonating dozens of people and cashing 6 million dollars in fraud in 26 countries. Stars Tom Hanks, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Garner and Christopher Walken. Directed by Steven Spielberg.

14) Red Dragon- The prequel to The Silence of The Lambs. Anthony Hopkins, Edward Norton, Ralph Fiennes, Emily Watson, Harvey Keitel and the great but underrated Philip Seymour Hoffman make up the amazing cast.

15) Dagon- basically an indie thriller based on H.P Lovecraft's short story, Dagon. Looks really interesting.

List is subject to change. Hehe. =p The summer may be half over but the movies don't stop coming. And this is just my Americano list. I just checked the papers and Dueces Wild is opening while I'm gone!!! Why? Oh, why do the good stuff arrive when I'm due to leave??? It's a one big conspiracy... I should probably go and finish packing, yes?
Take care guys! Catch something good this weekend!!!

I am obidiently in the midst of packing now. It'll be about 2 days time when I board a plane and fly off to visit my sister and her family in Brisbane. Jia will be meeting Deena in Aus as well come Sunday. Hope we'll all have a great time there and I'm so going to miss home, friends and yes, blogging...well maybe. =p haha. Yeah yeah i'll definitely miss everything to do with home, except for maybe the intense humidity. heh. This trip'll offset my movie watching habit a bit. I had tried to watch Bend It Like Beckham earlier today but alas it was not to be. I accompanied my mum to buy a new polo luggage. Guess I'll be missing the opening days of Minority Report and Y Tu Mama Tambien. Sobs! Oh well, till I return then...

PS: I had wanted to get tickets on Air Buaya but it was packed to the cockpit so I just gotta settle for SIA. Shucks!!! =p hehe.

Went shopping with my mum for a while earlier today. Bought myself a pair of thermal underpants, so when it's night over at Brisbane, I won't freeze my ass off. =p My mum was in a shopping mood today as compared to me who has lost her drive. sigh. I think the mango sale has scarred me...for a while. Anyway, I'm saving up my shopping fuel for the Brisbane trip. My sis tells me there's like a mega sale over there and the clothes are really nice. I hope so, I need a bit of change from the stuff I usually get here. Went to Marks & Spenser's to get more pasta cooking sauce. I'll be making some linguini with vienese in tomato herb sauce. Yumz. Hai, should be on a diet before I go for my vacation... Got some assortment of other stuff too. Spent quite a bit. Hee.

Caught Insomnia with my dad yesterday morning. Very good stuff. I wouldn't expect any less from director Christopher Nolan. I prefer Memento though cuz I felt that was more than just a good movie, it was revolutionary film making as well as story telling. But as far as more conventional films go, Insomnia is pretty amazing. It's psychological and suspenseful. And the protagonist Will Dormer(Pacino) is characteristically the kind of personality Nolan likes to work with. The failed hero who tries to do right but becomes his own enemy in the end. Robin Williams succeeds as the mentally unstable mastermind. He dons the psycho persona in his other Sundance Film Festival movie, One Hour Photo. And he was rather psychotic in his previous dark comedy, Death to Smoochy(I'm still waiting patiently for this one). Hilary Swank gave a competent performance though I felt her character was more of a side-kick and a catalyst to move the plot forward than anything else. All in all, one of the better movies to spend the $$ on.