The Sorcerer's Apprentice

Irritating… Completely irritating. Dave was irritatingly nerdy. Nicholas Cage was irritatingly predictable, the storyline was irritatingly cliché.

The movie failed to make the unbelievable, believable. I was intrigued when Dave asked, “Was it magic or was it science?” and Nicholas Cage answered, “Yes and yes.” I was looking for a scientific explanation of magic, but none was adequately given.

All the magic shown had been seen before except for one. A mirror to trap someone inside another dimension. Well, okay. It’s also an old trick. But it is always interesting to see the other side of the mirror especially when you are car chasing!

A nice movie to watch together with family or if you simply believe in magic.

Tekken

Summary:

Tekken is an adaptation of the popular Japanese video game.

In the future, the world was ruled by corporations. These corporations were known as The Iron Fists. The most powerful of all is Tekken.

Once a year, a tournament is held called The Iron Fist Tournament which gathered the most skillful fighters representing each corporation.

An orphan, Jin, entered the tournament after his mother was killed by an army of Tekken. His purpose was to seek revenge. After the preliminary round where he was victorious, he was brought to the tournament and was dubbed as The People’s Choice since he came from the outskirts of the main city.

In the tournament, he finally found out that he was one of the two heirs of Tekken. The other was his father.

His father perceived Jin as a threat and as such he did everything possible to end Jin’s life. In the final encounter, Jin managed to beat up his father but not to the extent of killing him. He left the tournament as a champion and was later known as The People’s Champ.

Comment:

The People’s Champ? That’s so WWE! However, how lame it is, the show represent a strong message that is tyranny would lead to rebellion. People who are dissatisfied about something will one day rise up and fight to overthrow the tyrant.

When I first saw the trailer, the first thing came into my mind was that the movie is lame and will be another disaster like Street Fighter. How disappointed I was that my perception was not accurate to say the least. Jon Foo put a good fight as Jin Kazama while characters were alive and managed to interact with each other well. If only Hwoarang was there. His fight against Jin Kazama will make me salivate. Perhaps, there is a sequel to this movie.

Biasalah...

Apabila diri mulai selesa membuat kejahatan, bersedialah untuk menerima seksaan yang berat dari Tuhan. Beberapa hari yang lalu, Singapura dilanda banjir kilat. Dahulu, banjir bukanlah suatu perkara yang biasa berlaku di sini. Singapura mempunyai sistem perparitan yang boleh mengatasi masalah sebegitu sehingga seorang menteri meluahkan keyakinan bahawa kejadian sebegitu tidak akan berulang lagi sehingga 20 tahun akan datang.

17 Julai 2010... hujan lebat bermula sewal 4.40 pagi. Hari yang cukup malas untuk bekerja. Bantal dan tilam yang empuk memujuk dan menggoda supaya jangan meninggalkan mereka. Saya tidak boleh berbuat demikian. Ada tanggungjawab yang perlu dilunaskan.

6.30 pagi... hujan masih lagi lebat. Saya mengeluarkan payung 7-11 berwarna merah untuk melindungi diri dari kesejukan air hujan yang menyengat. Seperti biasa saya mengambil bas yang sama untuk ke tempat kerja. Saya tidak mengesyaki apa-apa melainkan berpandangan bahawa hari ini adalah hari yang teramat malas untuk bekerja.

Jam 8 pagi... Hujan masih belum reda. Saya mendapat tahu bahawa beberapa kawasan di Singapura ditenggelami air separas lutut. Di sebahagian tempat, sehingga meneggelamkan kereta. Saya benar-benar terkejut. Sangka saya hanya K.L sahaja yang terdedah kepada bencana sebegini. Banjir kilat selama 30 minit itu bejaya menimbulkan huru-hara dan panik ke seluruh negara. Tiba-tiba saya teringatkan satu dialog Ahmad Nisfu di dalam filem Seniman Bujang Lapok, "Sekali jentik, bersepai semua tulang!"

Saya tertawa sendiri. Ini baru satu 'cubitan' kecil. Cubit-cubit sayang... Ada kuasa di atas sana yang mahu memberi peringatan. Sayanngnya, bila hilang lebam cubitan itu, manusia kembali lupa.

Sehari selepas kejadian, saya terdengar perbualan berikut.

"Apa yang awak buat di Phuket?" Tanya L.

"Enjoy... Tiap-tiap malam minum," jawab F.

"X.O..whiskey?" Tanya L lagi.

"X.O.. tapi rasanya kurang sedaplah..." F memberi komen. Kemudian menambah, "Orang Thailand suka minum beer."

"Memang pun," sampuk S. "Beer di sana murah. Lebih murah daripada minuman biasa."

Dan mereka pun terus larut di dalam perbualan berkisar tentang air kencing syaitan itu. Saya boleh faham kalau yang berbicara itu bukan dari kalangan Muslim. Tapi, di antara tiga orang yang berbual itu, dua daripadanya adalah Muslim dan mereka pula yang melebih-lebih bila bercakap seolah-olah minum itu adalah perkara biasa.

Apa nak jadi? Apa nak jadi? Takkan nak tunggu tsunami dan bah jadi perkara biasa di pulau yang sekangkang kera ini pula?

Inception

Summary:

Inception is about what happen when you mess with someone’s mind. A group of people steal somebody’s idea by extracting it from a chosen target. Their attempt backfired because the target knew that they were trying to extract his idea.

As a result, this group of people ended up working for the target. They set up a new target, only this time their goal is not to extract idea from the new target’s mind. It is to put in a new idea into it which is called ‘Inception’.

They set up a team which consist of an architect (The one who design the dream), an impostor, a sedative expert, and the leader himself with his loyal deputy.

The plan was good but the main problem lay with the leader himself. In his sub-conscious mind was a dark secret which he was unable to get rid off; his deceased wife. He was accused of causing the death of his wife (which he didn’t do) and had to leave his children behind in order not to get caught. That idea was so strong that it may have consumed his subconscious mind. Since they were together inside a dream, their subconscious minds were co-related and as such would affect others.

They finally manage to instill the new idea inside the target after almost get themselves trapped in the dream. As to return his favor, the charge against the leader was lifted and he was able to see his children again.

Comment:

When I saw the name Christopher Nolan, the images of surreal cinematography unseen before in silver screen popped up in my mind. Remember The Dark Knight?

At the beginning, he managed to make us wonder a lot of things? We started to question which one is real and which one is just a dream. In the end, those questions were beautifully answered with another big question.

How could you not curse him when the spinner keep on spinning at the end of the story and when the spinner started to wobble a bit, the story ended? So, was it real or was it a dream?

Bravo, Chris! You’ve managed to create a movie that is not just entertaining but also mind blowing. The Matrix, your throne is already taken away…

Theodore Boone

Title: Theodore Boone
Author: John Grisham
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Year: 2010

Summary:

A 13 year old boy, Theodore Boone is the only child of a lawyer couple, Woods & Elsa. As such, Theo knows a lot about the law, its system and the people in his locality. His advice was sought by his friends and some of the adults known to him.

One day, a murder happened. Theo was attracted to the case. However, he knew too much. He knew a witness who could implicate the accused. The problem was, the witness was scared to appear in court because he was an illegal immigrant.

Since the stakes were high, Theo thought that it would be wise for him to let the adults help him. With the assistance of his parents and his uncle, they manage to find a way to make sure justice is served.

Finally, the court decided on a mistrial which means that a new trial will be held in the near future. Should Theo fail to bring up about the new witness on time, the accused might be acquitted and no trial on him can be held again on the same ground. The case will remain unsolved and justice will never be served.

Comment:

One of my favourite authors is back with his latest works. However, do not expect your adrenaline pumping by reading this novel.

This book is targeted to a younger reader. The story is short with little twist and turns. It was a very easy reading. I found it is very cute when Theo was described to fall in love with someone who is far older than him.

It is a good try by the author. Maybe it won’t hit like other teen-flick novels with surreal characters like vampires, werewolves or wizards. However, it is good to see that someone can kick in some reality into the borderless imaginations of youngsters. This is real!

Viva Espana!

Glory

It's a painful win but finally Spain was hailed as the new Kings of The World for the first time ever. Thanks to a powerful shot by Iniesta, Spain clinched the win after 116 minutes of play. Paul was right again.

Misery

This glory could only mean misery to the other side. So close but yet so far. The Netherland's misery was obvious in the expression of their faces. Some were crying, some could only wonder when their wounds will heal. Why oh why Paul was right again?

A Shining Star

Kudos for the Spaniards. I could only wait for the Spanish team jersey with a star embroided on it to be put inside my jersey wardrobe. Paul oh Paul... you were right again.

The eight tentacles

All emotions aside, I gave a thought of Paul. His predictions were right. Eight out of eight since he came into the scene of World Cup. Because of the accuracy of his predictions, many start to believe that Paul can see the future. How ridiculous a human can be?

Paul was not an astrologer nor he was a football analyst. He is an octopus! An octopus!

Ridiculous

I was amazed at how people manage to ridicule themselves by giving too much attention to an octopus. Seems that they had forgotten their ability which made them better than other creatures. The intellect. Moreover, they had put themselves in a position more inferior than an octopus. A protection order for Paul? Come on... an octopus is below us in the chain of food!

Answer

There is only one answer to this ridiculessness. Gambling. Paul's prediction is very much related to this activity. Let's face it. Gambling is beneficial in a sense. It is also damaging in a sense. But, the damage is more than its benefit. People gamble, may win. May lose. But the addiction craves greed. Such craving is unstoppable. People just want to have more. One thing leads to another. Mounting debts started to choke them. Ah Long became their immediate answer. Those with family started to destroy the institution. When all solutions were exhausted, so as their mind. Final way to get over it; take away their own lives.

Paul oh Paul... look at what you have done? Is this the future you foresee?

Predators

Meaningless

“A meaningless story,” commented my uncle who had watched the movie earlier. I asked for his opinion before making the decision to watch the movie or not. After getting his opinion, I decided not.

The decision

However, I overturned my decision eventually. It was my second off-day. Routinely, on that day, it is movie plus swimming day for me. I had 2 choices of movie to watch; the other one is Twilight: Eclipse. Since I thought that the latter was too teen-flick for a grown up (old) person like me, I chose the former.

Within expectation

As expected, the movie was packed with blood, killings and all the gore scenes which were not suitable for all audience (It was rated NC 16). The storyline was predictable. Why was it always left with no more than 2 persons alive in the end? Why not all?

The idea

However, that issue aside, it was always interesting to see how a movie/story was created to provide an ideal world for mankind to live. It was always interesting how human instinct would react in desperate moments. People would do anything to save themselves including sacrificing other’s life. That’s what happened throughout the movie. But despite that ugly side, it also shows the ideal side whereby some of the characters were willing to sacrifice themselves in order to save others. In fact, most of the characters were willing to do such noble thing leaving the predators and one serial killer as the bad guys. Come on, would we really sacrifice ourselves for others, especially for those who we barely know in order to save our backside?

The reality

In reality, with exceptions of few, human are selfish. How many unborn child were killed just to hide the fact that we love sex but we don’t want to carry the burden to take care the upcoming result of it? How many people complaining about the tax they pay when they perceive that the government doesn’t really deliver what they want (not what they need)? How many people had a fierce fight in court over the right of custody over children just to prove that ‘I was right and you were wrong’ without thinking the devastating damage done to the children psychology as a result of a divorce? Human are as ugly as predators because of their selfishness.

Suggestion

This movie suggested what kind of human we should be. Don’t be selfish. Be selfless. Do not unleash the predator inside. A simple idea but difficult to execute.

In the end, I beg to differ my initial stand about the movie. It is not meaningless after all.

Despicable Me

Nothing too special about the movie safe for the characters that were created to be cute and able to make people laugh with their appearances and acts. The yellow minions were funny. However, that adorableness still fail to prevent me from falling asleep at certain point of the show. It's not the show though, it's just my tired body after a sleepless night. Just lucky that I did not fall asleep until the end of it. It would be a waste of my dollars then.

The storyline was a cliché; a super-villain who would do anything just to prove that he was a better villain. He came up with a plan but thing didn’t go as he wanted as three little girls came into his life and changed his life forever. From a super-bad he became a super-dad. A good movie for father’s day anyway.

Knight and Day

Storyline:

Non-stop action. Unreal. A movie suitable for those who don’t like to think too much or those had enough of thinking. A straightforward movie. The storyline is predictable.

The actors:

Cameron Diaz looks old. Not a kick-ass babe like she did in Charlie’s Angels. However, Tom Cruise is old too. So, this is a movie of the veterans. Still worth watching it though.

Toy Story 3

Summary:

Times went by. People grew up. So as, Andy, the owner of Woody, Buzz & the gang. He was going to college. As such, he needed to leave something behind.

Woody & the gang had accepted the fact that Andy had grown up. Their attempt to make Andy play them ended up in a failure. So, they decided to move on also. Except for Woody, who believed that they should be there for Andy when Andy moved out.

Led by Buzz, they headed to a child day care gentre. They thought they had found a better place. However, that place was actually ruled by a manipulative strawberry smell teddy bear. Buzz & the rest of the gang was put inside a room and played by small kids who simply smashed & crushed them upside down.

Meanwhile, Woody accidentally ended up in a small girl’s house who took care of her toys. He met up with new toys and even played the small girl which reminisced his moments with Andy.

One of his new friends however mentioned about the brutality of the child care. This concerned Woody who decided to save his friends.

Another adventure took off. He even had to meet face to face with Buzz who had been ‘brainwashed’ by the evil teddy bear.

In the end, all of them were saved and they decided to return to Andy’s house. Just before Andy left, Woody left a message to bring them all to a new owner. It was the girl whom Woody accidentally met earlier.

Andy had a moment to play with the toys again together with the little girl. The toys were passed over to the little girl and they had a new owner who would take care of them like Andy did.

Comment:

This movie made me remember the times when I was a little kid with a lot of toys. Those lifeless toys became alive and I could become any toys I wanted. The imaginations were borderless. Those moments aside, I could hardly find this movie disappointing. Throughout the show, I was able to join the laughter. It’s not just entertaining. It’s soothing and reminiscing.

The Beautiful Game Is Dead?

I was wearing the blue & white stripes jersey. Since there was no live telecast on mainstream television channel, I had opted to watch the game at my favourite place, the nearby coffeshop. Joined by my uncles and cousins and other customers, we cheered for our favourite teams. It was Argentina vs Germany.

It was a dissapointing night for Argentina. I felt almost embarassed walking out of the coffeeshop wearing my no. 10 jersey. Cheers roaring everytime a goal was scored. I felt very disgusted to watch. So, when it was already 3-0, I took out my PSP and engaged into the virtual world instead. Reality hurts.

There were smiles all over the faces of Germany fans. To be truthful, I didn't really think that Argentina could overcome Germany. Not this time. The defence were very vulnerable. Messi was underperformed. Maradona was simply insane. However, these had become the reasons for me to support Argentina. They added colours to the beautiful game.

At the end of the game, I walked away feeling dejected with the loss. I envied those smiles and cheers of the Germany fans.

On my way back home, I met up with one of the fans. He was wearing a polo t-shirt bearing a Germany emblem. He looked at me. I didn't look back. Instead, I looked somewhere else. The guy expressed his happiness about the win. I kept queit. I let my uncle do the talking. My despise kept on growing inside my heart.

Then, came the part that hurt the most. That guy said, "I bet for Germany."

Ok, fair enough. That explained the annoying grins on his face.

"I also bet for Holland."

Wow! Maybe you also bet for Uruguay? How lucky you are? Those words almost burst out of my mouth.

Then, I wonder. Those cheers I heard, was it merely because of the beautiful game? Or was it because of money piling up inside their pocket everytime a goal was scored? Does anyone really cheer for the sake of the game?

Betting, be it legal or illegal, is killing the beautiful game. People won't cheer because of the game. People cheer because of money. How could you possibly ensure that the players and the officials are not sold out? One thing is sold out for sure. The betting tickets...

As World Cup 2010 makes its way towards the end, I can see the beautiful game moving towards its demise...