Bonding with Family & Univ Studio peeks

Finally had some quiet time to blog again.

My family came over end of April to early May, and this time even the kids tagged along! I already expected a mini-circus kind of thing going on everyday. Luckily, it all ended smooth and well.

I find it amusing to have my 7yr old nephew asking me about the aquarium. The house I newly moved in has an aquarium, unfortunately fishes died a few days after we moved in (oops talk about improper care/negligence :p). My nephew clearly told me this in a serious tone 'yi-yi, next time dont overfeed the fishes, take care of them and they will grow biiig, then you buy vitamins and then you can sell them...' I was surprised he knew so many things. Then he added 'You can check my fishes in Fishville'. :p This is a winner!

The highlights of the trip would be Universal Studios. It's also my first time there. I seem to have this funny fancy feeling about going to theme parks and carnivals. It gives me a sense of security and simple happiness. The warmth of family I guess (I didnt have a lot of such carnival memories in Manila when i was younger) Anyway, the best rides would be Rapids adventure, Shrek 4D, Revenge of the Mummy (just go google to see what they are).

Other places that we visited are the usual Sentosa, Esplanade/Merlion Park, Orchard shopping, gadget shopping in Funan, zoos. Foodtripping is, of course, a must, a priority. :)

As it was Mother's day then, I have been wanting to give my mom a surprise long back, the OSIM back massager. I know she will scrimp over the price of anything so I better let her try it before buying it. The moment she tried it on in the mall, I can see the glitter in her eyes. That's it, sold. And now back in Manila, she seems to be enjoying it almost every night. :) Hmm this is an unpaid advertisement but I do welcome people to keep hitting this post to increase my Google adsense points. :p

http://www.osim.com/

And also, look at what she got for me. Gifts are not about price tags all the time. The best. :D

Side note:
This is probably the first time I have to send my family back to airport. (earlier ones either I joined them in the flight back, or we parted some other place). I think I have become quite immuned about 'me leaving' (over the years I have been flying to and fro anyway), I didnt know sending someone off in the airport is rather saddening. Add to it my nephew asked me something I wouldnt expect to hear from a kid. I was waving at them as they crossed the immigration, smiling as they waved back. Till I got to mrt, I seemed not able to hold back. There goes depression for one or two days thereafter.

Song for the Day

Featuring the latest LSS of the week:

It's been playing in my ipod over and over again. Yes I bought one last month, just to experience the wifi-enabled city of SG, where everyone feels it and I still don't. I am barbaric.

I'm hooked with the melody. Even if you don't understand the lyrics, listening to it gives u somewhat a surge of emotions. (Disregard the video, I personally think the song is much more meaningful than the video content)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmQJcIw7fAA

灰色的彩虹

我從秋天等到 安靜的落葉
還不夠時間 倒帶想念
就像電影情節 最後完結篇
褪色的畫面 沒有笑臉

我的記憶搖晃著昨天 我還有感覺
一抬頭什麼都看不見 雨後的無言

紅橙黃綠我都找不到的晴天
從此 我們兩個世界
在灰色季節漸漸忘記你的一切
過幾年 我在原點

彩虹出現 而我再也找不到
美麗的蝴蝶 偏偏飛不上天
對你的想念 再也寄不到
你世界 地址是再見

P.S. If you manage to understand the lyrics then this somehow describes how I feel before taking the chapter tomorrow. I'm living to my name of 'nature girl', the lyrics mostly pertain to nature elements. I'm going to be hooked on this for some time I think. It's a hook that I throw myself into...

P.P.S. The hardest word to say.. it's not Sorry, not I Love/Hate You. It is Goodbye.

Heal

In this world, seems like everyone just have so many hang-ups in their own lives.

...I'm guilty to have my own share, once in a while.

I was listening to radio the other day and heard this song ranked as #1 in the weekly hit chart. Melody is nice and the voice is very 'clean'. I immediately searched in web and to my surprise, the singer is... handicapped. He is blind.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvk7EZdpHJM

The video is about a lady grieving over her failed relationship. And as she narrates and seeks comfort from the singer, she's also describing to him what colors are there in this world. The dialogue goes:

Lady: (after consolation)
The ocean is blue.. The sky is white.. The tree is green.. The flower is red. I'll paint love with color.. My smile is a spectrum of colors.

Singer:
My ocean is pitch-black. Sky is black. Tree is also black. Flower is still black. However, it seems like only love is white in color.

The mandarin verses of course are much more meaningful (I just made a literal plain translation). I felt moved by the song and the video. The singer happens to be a main guest performer in the previous National Day Parade. I admire his determination to inspire people with his talent as a composer and performer.

Maybe as long we have eyes to see, have feet to walk, or just being able to breathe, is there really a burden too drowning to let us down. Something to lighten us up.

CNY Perks

CNY (Chinese New Year) is the only 2-consecutive-days holiday in SG. Finally had a long weekend break to relax. I didnt join any out-of-town trips. Feels guilty to splurge in recession times. Anyhow, it has been a well-spent 4 long days. Several firsts.

Steamboat Mania

My steamboat fanatic friend invited me for a food trip. Good timing, steamboat (or hotpot) is actually a tradition here during CNY. I only got to appreciate steamboat recently, aside from my craving for food, it also somehow symbolizes the warmth of a family. Guess what, I was eyeing for this 2-in-1 electronic hotpot and teppanyaki cooker that started to flood the malls during CNY season. Nice, I wanna bring one home (if SM doesnt sell such). The reply that I got from my sister, 'you wont be able to 'timpla' it as good as outside, we only go for steamboat like twice or thrice a year, let's eat outside na lng, sayang sa space'. Boo and the excitement dies. I wanna have one, (well, actual using it is another issue hehe). Motherly instincts?! Nyak :p


New thing

I mentioned I wanna learn something new. I dragged my friend to teach me but still didnt learn quite well. If I learn, then I'll blog about it. If I don't, forget it. Aja aja fighting (borrowing from Fullhouse's). I need some pats on the back. Wish me luck, despite the pasa.

Birthday party, the Indian way at Riverwalk Tandoori

My Indian ofcmate invited me for her daughter's birthday party, a buffet dinner in an Indian resto called Riverwalk Tandoori. Apparently, I was the 'odd man out' in the crowd, the
only non-Indian guest, needless to say the only one not wearing an Indian traditional costume. I enjoyed the food: tandoori chicken, the yoghurty tofu steak, and naan topped my favorites that night. It's fun experiencing a total different culture.

CNY Movie

Usually there will be chinese comedy movies specially featured during CNY season. Last year I was wanting so much to watch one (so desperate because it stars Jay Chou :p). I wanted to watch that exact first showing night. It's actually not easy to drag people to watch such movies. I invited someone and it turned out she wanted to watch it 2 days after and invited some more friends. I cant wait, and I also dont want to sound rude and kj. There are these very RARE circumstances that I dont want to compromise. I watched by myself that night, then watched it again for a 2nd time with others. Waste of time, money and effort. Since then I realized if I REALLY want to do something, I'll do it now (if not now, then when?!) It doesnt KILL.

So this year I chose to watch 'Wedding Game', a locally shot movie by the most famous loveteam, real-life soon-to-be-wed artista couple in SG. Fun, light movie. The theme song is heart-warming, I am having severe LSS of that song till now, nice lyrics. Watch this video to have a feel of it, funny proposal, oops dont expect famous, good-looking singers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiFiBZ4J5XU

Segue: I was watching a last full show on CNY, alone, and I chose a romantic theme. People in the queue were either lovers or family. I dont think any normal unattached lady would be doing so, this is a killer :p. Anyway, while waiting for it to start, this somehow caught my attention. I was just drawn to the charms. Oh well, perks of having a mall/moviehouse near your house, like a 15min walking distance, humming this LSS song all the way, yeah I miss Manila.




CNY Steak Dinner at Vines

It's Ghost town here btw, most of the shops were closed. I had a memorable dinner at Vines with some friends. It was my first time to this resto. Homey ambience, and delicious food - yummy ribs, steak & gelato. The catch, it's very affordable! Probably the best place for tasty ribs. A must-try.





Yusheng

Finally my first time to participate in Yusheng, the most popular CNY tradition. Fun!

From wiki:

Today, this dish is served as an appetizer to raise 'good luck' for the new year and is usually eaten on Renri, the seventh day of the Chinese New Year. In a celebration known as "lo hei", families and friends gather around the table and, on cue, proceed to toss the shredded ingredients into the air with chopsticks while saying Jíxiáng Huà, (auspicious wishes) out loud to mark the start of a prosperous new year and it's customary that the higher you toss, the greater your fortunes! Typical ingredients include: fresh salmon, white radish, carrot, red pepper, ginger, lime tree leaves, Chinese parsley, chopped peanuts, toasted sesame seeds, Chinese shrimp crackers (or fried dried shrimp), five spice powder. The dressing is made primarily from plum sauce

Fullhouse Marathon

Fullhouse is one of the few Korean series megahit that I failed to watch. Now I know why was there a Rain mania, he's not handsome but I would consider cute. Songhyegyo is still as pretty as an angel, my previous idol. Good chemistry. The bear song is hilarious. Funny that YJ always force her to cook and clean the house all the time that he can get a chance. I think I wouldnt mind being a 'rice cooker' if it's living with YJ under the same roof. :p

My Fortune Cookie

Your smile brings fortune to people who see it. Keep smiling. - I got this message in my fortune cookie. It doesnt tell anything about my fortune :p. Okay I'd smile if it brings fortune to you, it's also a compliment for me. :)

Pinoy Movies

Whenever I go home, I always manage to buy a few local movies DVD. Strange, OFWs tend to like watching local movies. Homesick!

A Very Special Love
The first time I heard abt it, I didnt like it. Dont get me wrong, I watch Filipino movies. It's just that the title seems too jologs hehe, too superlative. Love to be described as special, add to it a 'very'. Not descriptive enough of the theme, and what makes it so 'very special'? Not catchy, it's like one of the me-toos, forgettables. Then a friend recommended that to me, and told me 'surprisingly the movie has some depth'. I checked the net and saw that it was the highest-selling box-office hit of 2008, surpassing 'One More Chance'. Okay that it's, it has stirred up my curiousity, I bought a dvd.


My take: John Lloyd's acting has improved a lot, he looks so natural and convincing in his role. I like how his eyes 'act', very expressive. (For me, sya ang nagdala ng movie) It talks about how Miggy, being a son of mistress of a wealthy family, wants to revive his publishing business to prove himself. The arrogant and insensitive guy meets Laida the simple girl who has a crush on him, and slowly transforms him into a real human with emotions and concern for others. No offense but Sarah doesnt look corporate enough, something is wrong with her hair. (the poster I downloaded looks much better). Nevertheless, the jolly personality of Laida fits her well. I like the sundance concept :)

I like the dialogues below:
'What you just saw is a failure... Pangalan ko lng paghihirapan ko pa.'
'Khit bali-baliktarin mo ako ngyon, wala na akong maibibigay... Mapapagod ka lng sa kaaasa, mapapagod ka lng sa kahihintay', says Miggy.
'Khit kelan ndi ko naramdamang nakakapagod kang mahalin... ngyon lng', says Laida.

And I was told there will be a part2 coming up this Feb to be titled 'You Changed My Life'. This title is much much better and interesting. I'll have to get a copy. :)

However, I think I'm still more used to Lloydie-Bea tandem. One More Chance mega-known dialogues:
'She had me at my worst, you had me at my best, but you just broke my heart'
'Pwede bang ako na lng, ako na lng ulit'. hehehe


For The First Time
My take: I would consider it more 'modern' than the traditional Filipino movie, not the typical conservative youth. Setting in Santorini, Greece is a good idea. KC flaunts her cleavage well with the deep-V neckline blouses hehe. Good chemistry between KC and Richard. KC's version of 'For The First Time' is very warming, singing probably runs in their genes. After watching it, I've been having LSS the whole night and days after.

Red Cliff & Lin Chi Ling

Few weeks ago, I got to watch Red Cliff 2. With a budget of US$80 million, Red Cliff is the most expensive Asian-financed film to date. It has a strong cast with Tony Leung and Takeshi Kaneshiro and some big China actors. Lin Chi Ling (Xiao Qiao) also debuted in this movie. Overall, I find the movie to be quite good, well-executed fight scenes and well-written storyline. Not as boring or dragging as I would expect from an epic movie. There were some negative reviews in the net because they twisted some parts of the history of China (well I'm not really a history die-hard fanatic so I didnt notice)

My eyes couldnt seem to detach from Xiao Qiao whenever she appears. She looks simple and yet there's a layer of elegance and appeal, just beyond words.

Some more interesting facts about her fr wiki: She's dubbed as Taiwan's #1 Beauty and voted to have the sexiest legs. Top supermodel, stands almost 5'9". A double degree holder from University of Toronto - truly beauty and brains. Rumored to have dated Jerry Yan of F4. She was born in 1974...

1974?! my goodness that makes her 34! And she looks so pleasantly adorable and sexy. Defines 'aging gracefully' at its best.

And the latest news is that she'll be Jay's leading lady in an upcoming movie. Another must-see movie. (imitating SG's accent: die die must watch this film :p) What a lovely pair on screen. Interesting.

Truly the prettiest face on earth (for Chinese). Idol!

No Signboard

Here are the signature dishes of No Signboard in Vivo City offered in set menu last Christmas. This is one of my best food photography collections so far. :)


Mixed Platter



Shark's Fin Soup



Cereal Prawn



Chilli Crab



E-Fu Noodles



Almond Jelly


The food is superb! But the price is really too high. The shark's fin soup itself costs 28sgd for each individual small bowl! Warm water is not free and is charged at 1.5sgd per glass. Appetizers (nuts), towels all are charged. A bunch of small things just adds up significantly. The crabs and the prawns I think are also more expensive than the Geylang branch. If you are not particular with ambience, Geylang branch offers the same food at a slightly lower price.

Movie Review: Unfaithful

Given that I was in a down mood on my flight back to SG, I still did try to enjoy SQ's (Sing Air) perks. I asked for white wine to complement my meal. Of all the movies being shown onboard, I laid eyes on an old movie, the sensational movie by Richard Gere and Diane Lane's Unfaithful. :p



I remembered probably way back college times, this movie was a major hit. So much people kept talking about it, mostly about how 'erotic' the movie is, but somehow I failed to watch it.

Yeah it did live up to the all the attention. Diane's acting was superb, no wonder she had so many nominations and she's really super sexy. She and the French guy were so hot! I was initially wondering why would a Richard Gere's wife engage in extra-marital affairs (hey it's Gere!), then my doubts disappeared when this French guy's face and macho body surfaced the screen hehe. I really felt pity for Gere and I didnt expect him to end up in such horrible act, poor thing.

Chinovela Marathon

Some of the chinovela series from TW that I watched the past few months:

Romantic Princess

Adopted by middle classed parents, Xiao Mai has always had a dream to be an heiress. Suddenly it was discovered that Xiao Mai's biological grandfather is the head of a prestigous aristocratic family and after many years of searching, he finally finds his long lost granddaughter. As she starts her life as an heiress, everyday is filled with excitement, and there she meets Jin, the supposedly succesor for the aristocrat clan.
-> Review: visually appealing, the setting, wardrobe and all goodlooking artists. All I can say is that Wuchun is amazingly gorgeous. Unnecessary kissing scenes, the theme actually doesnt need any kissing scenes for Wuchun (or was I just scrutinizing biasedly haha) I finally got to see him in person when he promoted his movie 'Butterfly Lovers', which I find the storyline to be disappointing. It's supposedly a remake of the most famous chinese tragic love story 'The Lovers', and yet it failed to move me, nor even was I convinced that they are in love.



Corner with Love

Xin Lei (Barbie Xu), a girl from a wealthy family, and Qin Lang (Alan Luo), a guy who came to Shanghai to pursue his dream of becoming an artist, meet by accident at a corner when her car and his bike crash into each other. They meet again when Xin Lei goes to the restaurant that Qin Lang works at. They truly get to know each other when Xin Lei asks him to teach her how to make oyster pancakes. Then, Xin Lei's parents' company goes bankrupt. Without telling her, Xin Lei's parents go into hiding, leaving only a plane ticket and a key to their house in Taiwan. To make matters worse, Xin Lei's fiance breaks the engagement, due to his parents' wishes. The only two people she has now are Qin Lang and her best friend Xi Xian. Qin Lang then tells her that he is leaving for Taiwan, so they bade farewell. When Xin Lei arrives in Taiwan, she finds out that Qin Lang's family has been living in the house for years! After much controversy, Qin Lang's grandmother finally lets her stay. Thus begins a magical love story.

-> Review: Watching the series made me crave for oyster pancake (o-a-chian)! Barbie is stunning and she exactly looks like a princess and acts like one. (did I hear that our hair is similar lol) Alan is charming and portrays his role very well, a guy who obviously loves the girl so much but lacks the confidence to admit because they live in two totally different worlds. Barbie's decision choosing Alan over her rich fiance is applaudable. The essence of love, following one's heart despite practicality and social pressure, is just that. Though sometimes easier said than done, but people like that do exist so never underestimate the power of love.



Fated to Love You

A really unfashionable working class girl Chen Xin Yi has the desire to tie down her handsome boyfriend to be with her. Due to certain reasons, her boyfriend gets her to go on a love cruise and she started to ponder on how to lose her virginity and tie down her boyfriend. Xin Yi ended up taking cold medicine which made her drowsy and went into Ji Cun Xi's room. Cun Xi is the sole male heir to his family's company and has been in love with his girlfriend, Anna, for a long time. He planned to propose to Anna on the boat but she didn't turn up on the cruise. An island owner added drugs into Cun Xi's drink and Cun Xi became disorientated and returned to his own room. Xin Yi and Cun Xi end up having a one night stand. Xin Yi later finds out that she's pregnant and Cun Xi's grandmother forces them to get married. Will a couple forced to marry for the sake of their unborn child find love with each other?

- Review: My o my, after like 5 years, I finally found a series that made me stay late till 4am 5am watching because I can't control myself. I was just simply HOOKED. I like the martyr Xin Yi, willing to bear a child and leave and always giving out wholeheartedly and selflessly. After their separation, she became strong, learned how to dress up and became confident, sweet revenge comes knocking. I like how Cun Xi would be torn and guilty (karma :p), childish and yet sweet, and that the more he denies, the more his feelings are assured. The whole story has a lot of funny elements that just keeps you giggling and wondering what happens next. And everything seems to be a destiny, it's not a coincidence, they are just simply meant to be. I fell in love with Cun Xi! :p Oh btw, this is by far the highest record-breaking viewership drama of 10.+, beating Meteor Garden and other famous series aired on TV.

The first 12 episodes is a 4 THUMBS UP for me (including my feet :p) Storyline is very fast. Then they switched to Shanghai but still okay. I seriously think there's no need to drag the ending by putting unecessary conflicts like they get kidnapped and the lead guy goes blind, the funny element is going overboard. Good acting and musical score. Still, a recommended one from me.

Movie Marathon

Marathon session with the DVDs (pirated) I brought from Manila :p

Kung Fu Panda

- After everyone has watched and all the positive comments that I heard, I finally took the time to sit down and conquer. And yes, this movie does live up to all the good words. Entertaining and insightful, appeals to the emotions and touches the heart. I like the way Po will gulp down food, the siopao. There's no secret, agree.

Enchanted

- Another movie that lives up to the hype. Not as plain as I would expect from a disney-comes-to-life theme. The most powerful thing in the world is a true love's kiss. Her curtain outfits are adorable.

When Love Begins

- Anne plays well, very convincing in her role. Her personality is a commonplace, you'll find a handful in the real world - No commitments, no obligations, no limitations. The movie has scenes shot in Bora. Makes me wanna have a Bora vacation, I miss the beach!

My Best Friend's Girl

I felt the need to unwind and watch something funny. So here goes an attempt for a no-brainer chick flick.

Kate Hudson, Dane Cook and Jason Biggs star in this movie 'My Best Friend's Girl'. Synopsis from net:
Smart, beautiful and headstrong, Alexis is Dustin's dream girl. However, love-struck Dustin comes on so strong that Alexis retreats. Desperate to get her back, Dustin turns to his best friend, Tank, the rebound specialist who is hired by freshly dumped guys to take their ex-es out on the worst date of their lives - an experience so horrible it sends them running gratefully back to their beaus.



Dane no doubt is a complete asshole! Watch it for some laughs. Expect some profane language and scenes. Nice seeing Kate (How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days) and Jason Biggs (American Pie) who are 'legendary' figures with these famous movies in my hs/college times.

P.S. This movie seems to have extremely bad reviews in the net. :p

Sex and the City

Just finished watching the pre-screening of SATC the movie last May28. What's it about - how men can screw up BIG time :p, and how women find strength in each other. You'll see a lot more of the glamorous Carrie with her branded apparel, the naive and funny Charlotte, the working mom Miranda, and surprisingly a very tamed Samantha. Will Carrie be Mrs Big - find out for yourself.

My take - entertaining, fun. some parts maybe dragging, predictable plot (or probably I was expecting something grander for a movie?). Overall still good. Who cares, feels good to see the 'four' back in the big screen. Truly friendship never runs out of style.

P.S. SATC probably is the only English series that I managed to watch religiously. Brings back the good old school days, the Sat HBO nights. :)

The Overall Marketing Experience in NUS Ext

The discussion was lively, the professor's good and doesnt seem to run out of witty arguments. One thing I like best is the invocation of a lot of real-life case studies, like Google overtaking Coke as the number 1 brand, De Beers making a strong impression on their diamonds, Sony being a mass favorite for electronics, as so forth. I'm not really into theories in terms of studying marketing concepts.

My professor would always say it's all about 'branding and positioning', how do you want your product/service to be perceived, to be the top recall, and ultimately the choice of buying and consumption. AIDA - Create Awareness, Interest, Desire and (take) Action to close the deal. Below are excerpts taken from his article about AIDA, a good read.

A little known secret as well, Donald’s biggest marketing challenge was marketing himself to his wife. Having known her since she was 13 must have been a mean feat to suddenly market an image of potential husband material.

“Actually, it was more like how she marketed herself to me. I was captivated by her. She is definitely the better marketer because she applied the A.I.D.A. approach. She first created the AWARENESS to let me know she existed in Sunday School, made me INTERESTED to find out more about her, created the DESIRE to make me do things that I never thought I would and got me to take ACTION by going down on my knees to propose to her.”

We had several classroom exercises, out of those three were quite remarkable..

One was to think of a company that has strategic business units (SBUs). The example given was Procter and Gamble, like they have Pantene shampoo, Pringles chips, Gilette, soaps, diapers, etc etc. What a familiar example ;p. So what was my example.. none other than HP, they have desktop, laptops, IT outsourcing services, printers, PDAs, etc.. need I say more? I should know all these! Hmm two companies quite close to my heart. :)

The other was to think of a brand that was able to stand out from the competition. My example was Olympus, they have created a big impression for their underwater camera which has become a must-have item for divers and water sports lovers.

Lastly, we were asked to think of a product that is still existing nowadays despite the evolution of technology. This is pertaining to typewriters that has come to obsolency after the PC age, the walkmans that have been replaced by MP3 players. And my brilliant case.. the electric fan. :p No matter how advanced technology has evolved with the onset of split-type airconditioning units, each household will still have an electric fan. No special argument. It's just too useful not to have one and too hard to replace.

Fun fun. My creative juices are flowing. Seems like I've been hitting the right note. And they were surprised to know that I dont have any Marketing work experience. :)

There was a time when the topic was about packaging and distribution. The professor was talking about the economies of different countries. In Singapore, everything is in bulk, you have to buy tissues by the dozens. While in other countries like Philippines, India, we have sachet concepts. When talking about distribution, he suddenly asked, anyone of you familiar with Philippines? Philippines is a huge group of islands that designing distribution channels to penetrate the whole country is quite a challenge. 'so how many islands does Phil have? any guess? I feel like I have to raise my hand (I'd be too hypocrite if I pretend not to know). And I answered '7107 islands'.. At the back of my mind, I was really tempted to say 'high tide or low tide' ala Charlene Gonzales in Ms Universe pageant. hahaha just cant get it out of my head. After that people were all surprised to know that I am from Philippines because I dont look like one. Some started asking me stuff in Philippines. Whew suddenly I became a tourism spokesperson. :p

And oh I also realize it's really hard raising a kid. It hurts the pocket when you yourself are paying for tuition fees!

Sidenote: Short but I did try to enjoy every moment of it. My classmates were of normal level, not the geeks that I initially expected. Mostly female and shortage of male (no prospect hehe). There's one good-looking though, who humorously told me 'if i were you, i'd think of a way to shift out of IT and practice IE (my degree) as IE is a good paying job in SG'. Hehe too bad it's too late for me to look back and shift careers.. and oh too bad, he's married. haha of course I wont be mentioning anything here that would incriminate me. :p

P.S. I just got my class card last week. I got a B!

P.P.s I was hoping it was an A! haha :p

Iron Man and What Planet Are You From

Here goes again my review of some movies/koreanovela I watched recently

Iron Man

Iron man is cool. First time I see Robert Downey Jr in a superhero kind of movie. The only thing I remembered about him is that he starred in Only You, a romance-comedy movie frequently aired in HBO, which happens to be my HS bestfriend's favorite. She always urges me to watch it, it's about a girl searching for her destiny, a man named Damon Bradley as shown in the game of ouija board. Unfortunately I never got to watch it in totality. Going back to Iron man, Robert plays a a sort of crossover villain-superhero figure, a playboy but still cares for his personal assistant Pepper, makes him running like crazy to save her when he knew she's in the hands of the enemy.

Pepper is cool too! I never did like Gwyneth Paltrow, she gives me a droopy uninteresting impression. I like her role here in Iron Man, I wanna be Pepper. :) Overall, basta ndi ako nakatulog is considered good movie. :p


What Planet Are You From?

Finally a koreanovela that meets my standards again. :)

It's about a director with his pretty and rich gf of which her family is against the relationship. The gf died in a morbid car accident, the guy proposing to her with a ring while driving, then suddenly got hit by a truck. The guy was devastated. 3 years after he went to a province and met a probinsyana girl who looks exactly like her dead gf. They become close and laging nagkukulitan. The probinsyana was soo funny with her braided hair and losyang clothes, like galing sa bundok, so many mischiefs. One day it turned out that this probinsyana is the long lost younger sister of the dead gf. She was claimed back by the rich family. Obviously the conflict revolves around the fact that they can't be together. Good ending, as finally they got the approval of the family.

It was a good laugh trip. The kulitans are just so natural and kilig! :p Chemistry is good. The female lead is ultra pretty and tisay. I've watched the male lead several times (starred in Love Story in Harvard too), and I'm starting to love him hehe. He's just simply an epitome of an ideal boyfriend in this series, sweet and understanding, and giving in to the probinsya's requests).

Hmm not much dragging moments, though I'd say the first half is more fun. I'd give a 4.5 stars (out of 5).

My 4-5 stars list would include:
Winter Sonata - gorgeous male lead. :p Amnesia theme.
Autumn Love Story - morbid love story with female lead dying of cancer. Sort of brother-sister relationship who cant be together.
Stairway to Heaven - fast pacing. couple in childhood who cross paths again. most morbid ending so far of all I've watched.
Princess Hours - laugh trip. poor girl turned princess. funny with her crude manners yet won the heart of the real prince.
Love Story in Harvard - a lawyer and a doctor, striving for success
My Name is Kim Sam Soom - old maid patisserie who fell for her young boss
Lovers in Paris - rich guy falling for his part-time cleaner in Paris

Tree in Heaven and Reviews of what's NOT hot

Last Dec, an officemate lent me a korean series titled 'Tree in Heaven'. It's not really something I was wanting to watch.

I actually am quite choosy with themes. I don't like wasting time. Whenever someone offers to lend me a series or a book, I would have some pressure hehe. I wont be able to fake it returning the items and tell them it's great when I havent even touched them. So PLEASE dont lend me anything unless:
1) I have expressed obvious interest
2) if you think it's something HIGHLY RECOMMENDED and you are confident that you can change my mind.

Hahaha. Enough of the introduction.

Anyway, I didnt have much expectations on TIH. Except that the leads are familiar faces, they are the young version of Stairways to Heaven leads in the first episode. It was a short 12-episode series which I was able to finish during the CNY holiday. And finishing it in a little 4-day period means it is quite GOOD. Good that it was able to sustain my interest. I would rate it a 75 out of a 100% satisfaction.

It was again a typical tear-jerker theme. A bit of copycat details from Endless Love 1 (they cant fall in love because they are stepbrothers and stepsisters) and also Stairway to Heaven (the morbid donation of body organs - i definitely hate this... so extremes!). Overall, acting is quite good. Boy, I dont know how Korean stars manage to cry with so many tears like that coming from a dripping faucet. The last episode got me crying hard again (it's been some time since I watch something that made me cry) A depressing story.

I will try to recount the COMMON or MUST-HAVE elements of a typical koreanovela:
1) the story should start from childhood
2) there is a bike scene.
3) a drastic tragedy - someone has to die of terminal disease eg cancer
4) the hug from behind. (my sisters fondly call it the Tentacles hug)
5) the leads are good in crying
6) amnesia, someone has forgotten the past
7) a token of love - most of the time it's a necklace and it's given during their childhood days
8) a very nice setting to complement the story, green fields or snowy places
9) a touching OST, the songs that can break your heart
10) usually good-looking cast. But more often, I think they have much more pretty girls, the guys arent good-looking but they usually are the type na 'magaling magdala kahit hindi gwapo' :)

***Pitstop***
I posted few months ago the korean series 'War of Money'. I don't recommend it, a lousy ending.

Anyway maybe my 'taste' is not reliable hihi. There are 2 movies which everyone fuzzes about how good it is yet I dont find them good.

The first is The Notebook. Ewan ko, hindi talaga ako naiyak at all. A lot of people claims that it is the most touching romantic spectacular love story. BUT I find the theme COMMON in Asian movies or soaps.

The second is Kung Fu Hustle. I've watched a lot of Stephen Chow's movies, and for me this is not his BEST work so far. The ending was too simple, like he suddenly learnt kungfu because the nerves of his body complied with the kungfu stream. (Ren Tu Er Mai) This is too much common for chinese kungfu themes (or perhaps mataas ang standards ko because I've watched a lot of those already). Still kungfu is not Stephen's best subject, I wonder why he chose it. For me, his comedy antics and punchlinese delivery are far better in God of Cookery or Shaolin Soccer.

Just my two cents. :)

Music and Lyrics

Finally got to watch Music and Lyrics. (I bought a pirated DVD during my last vacation :p)

Theme is simple. Hugh Grant is a 'laos' singer-composer who needs to complete a piece for a famous teen diva, then he met Drew Barrymore who is a born lyricist. The whole story just revolves around how they finish the song, and of course, 'nadevelop' sila in the process.

The one catchy dialogue. I cant remember the exact lines but the thought is something like this. Music is physical, the attraction, or 'sex'. Lyrics is the personality, the soul. The two has to blend together. Hmm nice comparison. :)

There's something about Hugh. I can always sense a sincere hue in his portrayals. Like his previous films 'Notting Hill' and 'Love Actually'. He did it again hehe. Same with Drew. They both have the charisma. And oh, I like their song. :)

Overall, a good movie though not spectacular, but still worth your time. Ending says they got married. Come to think of it, what a nice couple. One writes the lyrics, the other writes the scores --- perfect teamwork ... the essence of what marriage is. Nood na, feel good movie. :)

Just Dunk It!

The movie I've been waiting to watch this Feb, so desperately. :)

Kung Fu Dunk, stars Jay Zhou and a whole bunch of familiar HK stars. As the title implies, it talks about basketball with a fun pinch of kungfu (Jay Zhou's a student of kungfu school). A sharp shooter, rebound player, and so many cool and funny dunk scenes. Personally, I would say Kung Fu Dunk is a bit similar to Shaolin Soccer.

There are some OA, exaggerated scenes that somehow lose the 'connect' with the overall elements.. Well it's a typical HongKee CNY-featured film. So please stop criticizing hehe.

Gee I just realize slam dunking is overwhelming. :)

Recommended Song (Chinese)

For the past few weeks, I've been having LSS with this Chinese song. I like both the melody and the lyrics. It is a very sad song. I usually find Chinese songs to be more substantial as they can squeeze in some stories into the lyrics, whereas English songs are much more shallow (that's just my opinion).

Though I dont think I have been to such heart-breaking experiences, somehow I feel I can relate to such behavior.. (hehe can't help it, I'm trapped on a rainy day, feeling blue just today, blame it on the weather) :p

街角的祝福 - 戴佩妮
多少个秋多少个冬
我几乎快要被治愈好
但还是会只因为一个重覆的话题
就无心自扰

也曾想过
若真遇见我们应该如何是好
我想我还是会站在某一个街角
不让你看到

只因为我不想打扰
只因为怕你解释不了
只因为现在你的眼睛里
她比我还重要

我只好假装我看不到
看不到你和她在对街拥抱
你的快乐我可以感受得到
这样的见面方式对谁都好

我只好假装我听不到
听不到别人口中的她好不好
再不想问也不想被通知到
反正你的世界我管不了

若不想问若不想被通知到
就把祝福留在街角



My best attempt to translate the lyrics. (The Mandarin words are much more meaningful/expressive, the converted English version might sound a bit bland/corny) :)

Happiness in the Corners
I cant remember how many autumns, how many winters
I thought I was already almost cured
But because of a single recurrence of a familiar topic
Unknowingly, I just got myself burdened again

I have also thought about it
If we do meet again, how should we be?
I believe I will still just stand at one corner
And not let you see me

Because I don't want to disturb
Because I'm lost for words to explain
Because in your eyes, I can see
That to you, she's more important than me

I can only pretend I didn't see
Didn't see you across the streets, hugging her
The happiness you have now, I can somehow feel it
This way of meeting would be the best for both of us

I can only pretend I didn't hear
Didn't hear other people's comments of how good she is
I don't want to ask, I also don't want to be notified
Since your world is something I can never get in

coda:
If I really don't want to ask, if I really don't want to be notified
then probably I just have to leave this happiness in the corners.

P.S. To be more accurate, the 'happiness' word here refers to well wishes, or congratulations/good luck. (But I just couldnt put it as 'Well Wishes in the Corners' as it sounds more confusing) Sometimes there is no direct translation for certain words. Anyway, bottomline is the girl just wanted to wish the guy to be happy, silently in one corner. :)

P.P.S. Just to add, the singer of this song is Penny Dai - known for singing Meteor Garden's Closing Song 'Ni Yao De Ai'.

I'll Be Seeing Him Again :)

Good vibes for a headstart. :) 101st entry. :)

(Oct 29) I learned that Jay Chow will be having a concert in SG here . I couldnt believe with my own eyes because it's something I've always wanted. My heart leaped with joy. However, the first 2 weeks (Oct 23-Nov4) for booking is opened only for OCBC credit card holders. I couldnt get in even if I have all the cash in the world. I dont have a 'powerful' weapon (~OCBC credit card). The ticket booth folks told me there are no consecutive seats anymore. Then on Nov 2 I read that because all seats are almost taken, one more concert date has been added, making it Jan18-19. I thought this could raise my chance of getting a ticket, but still when I double checked, it's again almost fully-booked on both days, by the OCBC credit card holders. Damn I really dont know who has an OCBC Credit card, I've tried asking around. God knows, how badly I want to get the tickets. Public sales start Nov5, the waiting period spells agony.

On Nov 3, I couldnt stay put so I tried my luck again on the ticket booth folks. They told me the same thing, they couldnt sell without an OCBC bank code. I ask them to check seats if there are any left, they said, as of that moment, yes, but they couldnt guarantee on Monday. What the heck. Who thought of this crap of limiting the selling of tickets to such.

So finally Nov 5 public sales starts, I gave some excuse to be late in the office. I queued in the ticketing booth 30minutes before opening time of 10am. Finally the wait is over, there is one slot left for a consecutive 2-seater, good thing I was early. I have a new friend who is a jay chow fanatic as well, daughther of my mom's kumare. My, I was feeling mayaman, I booked the 3rd most expensive category. This also means katipiran in the coming weeks. Finally, I can breathe now. :)

Additional:
For those who find Jay Chow unfamiliar. He debuted in a Hollywood movie 'Curse of the Golden Flower', starring Chow Yun Fat and Gong Li, directed by Zhang Zi Mou. It was shown in moviehouses sometime late Dec 2006. I just finished watching this movie this week, from a DVD i brought from Manila. My take:

--Jay Chow looks so-so, it could and should have been better! In short, mukha cyang ewan dun hehe.

--Story is pathetic! Too psycho. A king (Chow Yun Fat) wanted to poison his queen (Gong Li) by forcing her to drink medicine everyday. They have 3 sons. The youngest killed the eldest because the eldest has a love affair with the queen (not the same parents of course). The psycho king later killed the youngest by beating him to death for killing his favorite son. The second son (Jay Chow), together with the queen (his biological mom), revolted against the kingdom but lost the battle. The king will spare him under one condition, that he should take care of feeding his mother with the poisoned medicine daily. Thus, this son just draws a sword to kill himself. That's it. Everyone's dead except for the king and queen. Bitin. What a weird story!

--Setting and fight scenes are okay. Costumes are nice especially the chrysanthemum effect, except that it's quite strange to see all the women in 'extremely squeezed' costumes. :)
Open google and search under images using the title of the movie. Or you may try this link below:
http://www.indielondon.co.uk/gallery/curse-of-the-golden-flower-gallery

Lust, Caution & Blood Brothers Review

The 2 most recent movies I watched are both 'Hollywood' Chinese movies. I have a thing for these types of movies, probably I feel that I have to patronize my own hehe. As long as story line is good and cast is popular, I would watch them.


Lust, Caution (Oct 19)
This is a very controversial movie, directed by Brokeback's Ang Lee, stars Tony Leung (an award winning HK actor) and Tang Wei (a new actress in China in the likes of Zangziyi). Set in a Japanese-occupied Shanghai, the movie revolves around the espionage plot of patriot students for the assasination of Mr Yee, a Japanese collaborator played by Tony Leung. Tang Wei acts as the seductive bait. The movie actually got a lot of media attention because of the much talked-about 'erotic love scenes'. This doesnt apply for SG though because the version shown here is the more 'conservative' version, they cut 20+minutes of the whole movie for all the love scenes, tagging it at NC16 instead of NC21 rating (NC16 means suitable for audience of age 16 years and below). Tony is again good as expected. Lee Hom's role is the typical guy I would love to hate, the good-for-nothing, confused and pahamak type. Tang Wei also delivered a fresh performance as a newcomer, she clearly manifested her internal conflicts of hatred and love at the same time for Mr Yee despite that she was 'binababoy'. It's a very deep movie, and the ending is a very DEPRESSING one. Just when everything was set for assasination, Tang Wei's heart softened when Tony gave her a diamond ring as a sign of his true feelings and trust, she was struggling and finally whispered 'run for your life' to save the life of her ultimate love-hate enemy. As an audience, it's really hard to say whether what she did was right, but you'd really emphatize with her all throughout the story. The innate emotional weakness of women, the harshness of war, a well-crafted classic. I do hope people really get to appreciate an art film in the true sense!


Brothers (Nov 4)
This is a 'reunion movie', an all-star cast of the famous HK movie in the 80's, The Five Tigers (Wu Hu Chiang). Stars Andy Lao, Miu Kiu-Wai, Felix Wong Yat-Wah, Ken Tong Chun-Yip, sans Tony Leung (too bad), plus their newcomer Eason Chan Yik-Shun. The typical HK 'cop-chases-triad' movie that makes your heart skips beat, wondering who is the traitor, who will be killed, who is the good guy, who deserves to die. (well as expected, gangster movie equals violence, and normally almost all will die in the end :p).

The story revolves around the two brothers Miu and Eason. They were separated by their triad father because of a prophecy that they would kill each other, Miu tending the business and Eason working abroad. One day the father was assasinated by co-triad, Eason went back. Several actions by Miu led to the suspicion that he is planning to kill his own brother. Cop Andy is hot about chasing these two because of the illegal triad dealings. The other two tigers do not have so much weight in the roles they portrayed. Ken is the main antagonist, his face depicts evil. Felix is the loyal protector cum bodyguard of the two brothers. In the end, it turned out Miu was just preparing Eason to be tough enough to be his successor, he is dying. Watch the movie to get the feeling. This is not a waste of money, as EVERY actor here is of veteran level.

I found this amusing review in the net. Seems like the reviewer is very much distracted by Andy's endorsement of CYMA watch in the movie.:p (By the way, Andy is also the producer of this movie)
http://lovehkfilm.com/reviews_2/brothers.htm