3rd prize!!!

What a f*ckin' surprise, my group won the 3rd prize for the recyclable housing design competition. The event was held by the Singapore Institute of Architects (SIA) with collaboration with Habitat for Humanity. Well, we never expected that the jury would put a such high remark in our design. We were just doing in for fun and our portfolios, but to win a 3rd prize, oh man, it's a big surprise. I mean, when I looked at the terms and regulations, the winner should have been e-mailed by October 5, which is a month ago, and we didn't received any single news. But then, on October 15, suddenly I got the jackpot when I check my mailbox. Whoa, I was stunned for a while, and I had to re-read the whole letter just to make sure that I read it correctly. But back then, I wasn't notified which prize we've won, where it just stated that the winner will be announced during the networking party dinner, held at the Loof, Odeon Tower on October 20.

Well, so much for a dinner I guess. We came down there, and 'this dinner' was eventually just a cocktail party, and I was damn starving that time. Nevertheless, my stomach began to tremble when the announcement was made, and 3rd prize came up. Consequently, we also got the S$2100 cheque to be divided among us. Not bad huh, with just S$50 investment, we got two grand in return. The party was great also, since I got the chance to hangout with my friends, and met new ones.

We had so much fun in the design process, and we're really happy for the result. And this is not the last one for sure, can't wait to take part in another bigger competition. But, let's cherish this moment for a while. Cheers !!!

It's official. I'm in love with Summer!

TOM: "I love her smile. I love her hair. I love her knees. I love how she licks her lips before she talks. I love her heart-shaped birthmark on her neck. I love it when she sleeps."

It's just sweet, and so true. I know not many guys would like to admit those things outspoken. But, in many cases, these are mostly what guys feel like when they are crazy in love (it's an "absolutely true" for my case). (500) DAYS OF SUMMER gives us something fresh about romantic comedy. Instead a linear story with gimmicks and predictable plot, this movie tries to tell us what happens with Tom and Summer within this 500 days period of love story. It goes forward and backward, and some recording of their childhood memories for the opening title. Nevertheless, we can always expect some different moods between each scenes, where in one period you get the happy moments, then it continues with sad and depressing time, and so on. In short, I've never seen a romantic comedy to be filmed ala Pulp Fiction style.

The story begins on the 488th day, if I'm not mistaken, where it shows Tom and Summer are sitting on the bench, holding hands, and with a big diamond ring in Summer's finger. Then, the scene changed to the day (i forgot which one) where Tom broke with her, and in his miserable moments. Afterwards, we're back at day 1, which is the day when Tom met Summer for the first time, and how the elevator scene opened the door for Tom's feeling that he got a crush for the girl (thanks for the Smiths). It looks silly, but I know the feeling when someone has a similar taste or hobbies, it's like opening a new channel for communications and conversations, especially in the case where a guy meets a new cute chick. Because afterwards, you can even ask for her number, or even ask her for a date for no sweat, since now you have something in common. Well, that's what happened with Tom and Summer, whereas they were getting closer and began their romantic relationship (it started with a kiss in the photocopy room). However, as it occurs in many relationships, one of them is not looking for something serious, well on the other hand, although he didn't admit it, he felt like he's dating with his soul mate, the one, the goddess, the future partner of his life. It's not naive, perhaps he's too sentimental, but it happens a lot. Then we can easily follow their stories and love journey, accompanied by nice soundtracks, right until the day 500 it self, where in the end of the day, you'll get the one of the 'slap you in the face' or 'makes you scream WHATTTTT instantly' ending. Or at least, you'll open your mouth.

Yes, it's one of the best kind of its genre for the past few years, and I can even say this one is better than we have for the whole year, right above The Proposal, He's Not Just That Into You, The Ugly Truth, and many other movie. The chemistry between Tom (Joseph Gordon Levitt) and the adorable Summer (Zooey Deschanel) is so unforced, and perfectly blended, especially in their happy moments. Levitt's performance is just natural, with lots of emotional condition which he has to deal with. In one scene we can see him outrageously happy (a blue cartoon bird was also included), and right on the next scene, I believe we just saw a perfect suicidal face. What makes things more interesting, he studied architecture (right on !!!!), but worked in a greeting card company. Nevertheless, he's a guy who still have that hopes and dreams to become an architect one day. When you look at his room, take notice of the chalk board behind the bed, you'll see a really good touch of interior design.

Now, when we're talking about Zooey Deschanel, you can't just ignore that big blue wonderful eyes.It's just so irresistible, it will make you want to stare her in the eyes, and you can't just keep smiling. In the first half of the movie, her appearances was just so refreshing, and it made us curious all the time to see what she would do or say next. She's a mysterious type, but cool, eager to try new experiences, but a bit of self-centered. While on the second part of the film, you can still love her, or even hate her, depends on you point of view. Well, most girls must have their own bitchy moments once in a while, right? Or even once in a 'month'.

One recipe which I think is important to support the whole romantic comedy story is the soundtrack. Remember 10 Things I Hate About You, Vicky Christina Barcelona, Juno, or High Fidelity? All of them have nice and perfectly on the spot songs which eventually enhance the mood. For this movie, I like the opening song "Us", by Regina Spektor, with the dual scene of Tom and Summer's childhood video. Or the IKEA scenes with Feist's "Mushaboom", and the ear catching tunes from Hall & Oates' "You Make My Dreams" when Tom was dancing around the park. And of course, let's not forget the song that started this all, The Smiths' "Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want".

(500) Days of Summer is not only cool and fresh, but it also tops my expectation of what this genre should be like. Can't wait for the continuation of the story, but somehow it's like a bad idea. Nevertheless, I'm perfectly enjoying this one. It's worthed to watch it twice though, and you can enjoy watching Zooey's blue eyes for the entire time.

My Ratings : 9/10

Notes: The opening narration, "This is a story of boy meets girl. But you should know up front, this is not a love story." ==> this one just grab your sudden attention, doesn't it?

You may have seen a meteor shower, but I bet you've never seen a shower "meatier" than this !

Unexpectedly funny and a perfect family movie to watch. Apart from it's gonna make you sick toward junk foods, A CLOUD WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS has just served us a delicious 90 minutes enjoyable movie. All the people behind this managed to get the job well done, which is cooking the right ingredients for an animation movie for all ages. You put a simple story with memorable leading character, added with family issues, good animation, funny jokes, and provide it with a row of good voice actors (Bill Hader, Anna Farris, James Caan, Bruce Campbell, and even Mr. T was there!).

Whenever we hear the word 'Animation', the first name usually comes up in our head is either Disney or Pixar (which both are inseparable at this time). Well, for the past decade, Pixar has not just only raised the bar for the animation standard (both story and visual), but all of their films work well. Therefore, when the first time I heard about this strange movie title, created by 'nobody', hell yeah, I was really skeptical. Man, the title is so ugly, and by looking at the trailer, animation looked kinda dull, and lastly, it's not Pixar, not even Dreamworks. But, we know that in the end, I have to eat my own words, and it tastes as bad as the junk food (okay, bad correlation there).

The story is about an idealist scientist, Flink Lockwood (Hader), who has spent most of his life to invent something, whether it's useful or just plain rubbish. Flink lives in somewhere in the middle of the ocean, where Tuna is the main commodity, or even the biggest brand in the neighborhood. Therefore, he's working hard to finish up his last invention, a machine who can create foods from water (just don't think it through, it's a movie, guys !!!). And then Sam Sparks (Farris) came along as a 'rejected' reporter from New York city who has to cover an annual occasion in Flink's neighborhood. Flink's machine was bust out, ruined the whole ocassion, and it flew over to the sky. And just when everybody thought Flink is just the scapegoat, suddenly the machine worked well, and sky just can't start to pour rain of foods. However, nothing's good comes out from something's too much, isn't it?

For most of the time, I was entertained. The jokes were on spot, and rarely they went over the top. And of course, for your enjoyment, just don't put everything into logic. (hey, it's an animated movie, you can do whatever you want in it). The key character is no other than Hader himself. After a good string of performances on SNL, I guess he deserves to get a chance in the big screen. In the end, he did a pretty good job, to make us both love and hate him altogether. Farris as always, loveable and cute, while Caan made a perfect cast for the role of Flink's Father. Other notable cast as Bruce Campbell and Mr.T has enough screen time to add the entertainment value overall.

What I love is that as the opening title said by itself, the movie was created by a lot of people. Well, not bad for a bunch of young moviemakers to create something like this (better than Monster vs. Aliens, I supposed !!!). It's a great movie to be enjoyed by your friends and family, cause it is just plain FUN.

My Ratings : 8/10

Ponyo on the Cliff

I can't think of any other blog title than the movie title itself. For me, Ponyo is another example of Miyazaki's masterpiece of animation and story telling. I believe this Ponyo can be a perfect movie to attract younger generation to follow the Ghibli Studios legacy. I bet those kids will rent Totoro, Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, and many others. I have watched both the Japanese and the English dubbed version, and both provide the same quality, although I always feel the originality by watching the Japanese dub version. Nevertheless, with the row of magnificent voice actors from Liam Neeson, Tina Fey, Matt Damon, and Cate Blanchett, the English version is as good as the original one.

The story is inspired on Hans Christian Anderson's The Little Mermaid, with some Ghibli's injections, where a mermaid, Ponyo who is really eager to go to the surface of the sea, and live along with the humans. Therefore, her desire to be one of them is becoming irresistible, although this life path is strongly forbidden by her father. On the other hand, we have Sosuke's family where his mother works in an elderly house and his father most of the time is on the sea working. The story then evolves when Sosuke found Ponyo, and they're becoming friends, where in the end, Ponyo's choice to become human may brings consequences not just for her self, but also affecting Sosuke's family and the city where they live in.

We're living in the era where 'animation' constantly upgraded into the higher level, where it involves high-tech rendering mechanism. Even for future releases, I believe every animation movie will be 3-D ready. What is amazing from Miyazaki and his group of talents from Ghibli Studio, is that he is able to maintain the old fashioned 2D animation, with hand drawing techniques. Old school, but the story telling has never disappointed us. I believe no other animator (apart from Pixar) who has maintained these good work of art and widely acceptable for the worldwide audiences, not just in Japan only. Ponyo is a sweet loving movie, with a very nice family value and lessons of love. It's not over melodramatic, nor too melancholic, the whole thing is just well balanced. But nevertheless, the Miyazaki's vision and imagination is just beyond words.

If you're a first timer watching a Ghibli movie, I suggest you go out and rent the previous ones, they are as good or even better than Ponyo. For all the fans, it's a celebration and proper appreciation of another piece of art by Miyazaki. I keep my fingers crossed that someday Ghibli and Pixar can work together, and won an Oscar for Best Picture. Who knows???

My Ratings : 8.5/10

TV series, new seasons ... Part 2

Let's continue then with a much 'funnier' topic. For now, I only watch 'How I Met Your Mother', '30 Rock', and 'The Office' for my comedy series selection. By the time I wrote this, '30 Rock' hasn't started yet, since they premiere date is on October 15 (it's next week, yippie!!!). I'm interested to watch 'The Big Bang Theory' or maybe 'Curb Your Enthusiasm', but I just don't think I have that luxury of time to watch all of these things.

How I Met Your Mother (Season 5)

I guess this is the best comedy series after the 'Friends' ended their finale. It's a perfect cast where everyone has their own character (or stupidity, silliness, outrageously dumb, or simply funny to watch). Finally, Barney has a relationship, but with Robin? Wow, who might knows what will happen. Ted becomes a lecturer in the architecture school, with Marshall and Lily...eh...hmm...become Marshall and Lily. It's a perfect antidote to cure your gloomy day.

The Office US (Season 6)

The only ultimate main reason I'm still watching this series has to be Jim and Pam, and perhaps Michael Scott a little bit. They're just a cute and adorable couple. If you follow their relationship story since the beginning, you'll what I'm talking about (in guy's words --> Pam (Jenna Fischer) is hot! ). Well, finally, they tie the knot, into the wedding!!! But still, to see Dwight Schrute to be screwed up is just hilarious. And finally, I hope Andy will have a proper girlfriend on this series, poor that guy.

Oh well, that's all of them, I' m sure I'm gonna write something up when '30 Rock' starts. But till the, sayonara for now. It's weekend time!!!

TV series, new seasons ... Part 1

Last September was the month where most of the new seasons of TV best series premiered. Some of them are the veterans (CSI Las Vegas has just entered their 10th season, and there are some nice sophomores (Lie To Me and Mentalist). Let's see, how many of them which I follow week by week, shall we?

CSI Las Vegas (10th Season)

What a perfect episode to start with. The 1st episode opening blew me away, and I saw Sara Sidle made a return. Can't believe I spent almost the last decade to follow this series. Until now, I still believe this is the best among all other CSIs, and too bad we lost Grissom in the last season, which I think is one of the best and memorable main character in the TV series. But, eventually, his replacement, Laurence Fishburne is good enough to make the story keeps interesting.

The Mentalist (2nd Season)

This series is like a getaway car from all those boring crime series. Well, in my opinion, Patrick Jane gave us something new by using his amazing skill of analyzing the situation and connecting the dots on solving crimes. Although, as my friend told me, in some cases, it's like a guessing and point finger game. It's really amusing to see Patrick and his CBI friends (my favorite guy is the Chinese one) try to catch bad guys every week, and you surely can't miss Patrick's strange and sometimes confusing way to pick a suspect. Similar premise to Lie to Me in that the main character uses his exceptional observational skills to detect when people are lying, The Mentalist has the added bonus of an intriguing motivation for the lead character (i.e. catching Red John).Damn good!

Lie To Me (2nd Season)

When my friend told me that the Mentalist is like "so bullshit", he recommended me to watch this series instead. And he was damn right, this one uses scientific approach (but still, it's a guessing game). It is very entertaining to see an a lie expert on catching bad guys lying. Carl Lightman and his crew are people who you don't want to mess with, especially on hiding things. And just like Patrick Jane, Carl is just a one damn good main character.

Dexter (4th Season)

Entering this season, it always makes me curious, how a serial-killer is able to raise a kid and maintaining a healthy relationship with his family. I think this is one of the best product of the TV series for the past few years. There's no 'good guys' here, and you have yourself a serial-killer cop who has his own codes to settle things down. A psychopath but only targeting bad people, a protagonist inside a antagonist character. Whoa, that is sick, but that's why I like it a lot.

CSI New York (6th Season)

The difference between this and the Las Vegas one, I believe is on the emotional elements. In some cases, I think the NY crew has more interpersonal issues, and most of the time, it shaped the whole story, e.g. having babies, haunted by the past, or dark secrets. But other difference is that this the 'brighter CSI', since most of the time we always see the day scenes, which makes it less darker than the LV. But among all the CSI head, I always see Mac Taylor is the strongest and the perfect leader. Nevertheless, he can deal the problems either on lab or on the field nicely. The low point of this series is that sometimes the handling of the cases are just beyond my imagination (I just don't believe NYPD has those super high-tech equipments, but this also goes to the LV). But, we'll see how things are going for this season.

Other new series which I'm interested to follow are FLASH FORWARD, SONS OF ANARCHY, and CASTLE, since I heard so many good reviews on those. That's all for now, I'll continue with the comedy series for the next part.

You should have come, buddy!!!

Sounds weird for a blog title, but I've been telling me those words for the past week. So, what's the case? Well, I didn't attend my best friend's wedding. As simple as that, but truthfully, it matters in the end. A week before her marriage, my buddy asked me whether I can make it or not, and I told him I couldn't make it, plain and straight answer. Then, a question that blew me away..."But, she's your best friend, rite?"...and on that instant, I was speechless. Eventually, I didn't make it to the wedding, and told her that I was terribly sorry I couldn't come and wish her the best.

Since then, I started to roll out the memory for the past few years. Well, she's the first friend I made back in college. We went through a lot, ups and downs, and we were even in the same final year project group. Whenever we had a normal conversation, it was just like cats and dogs, or in other words, we were never agreed on anything. Nevertheless, she was a good listener whenever I need some ears to talk to, and she helped me through one tough time (my break-up). Yes, I remember when I pissed her off so badly that I almost can't forgive my self. But things have changed since then. Eventually, she's a good friend indeed.

Oh well, what can I say? I'm happy for her now, hope she is blessed with her new family, and can't wait to see when the junior comes out! And I miss all those nonsense fightings. In the end, it's the small things which we cherish from old buddies.

Now, let's see, who's next in line for the wedding, I should book the ticket plane !!!

PS:She used purple for her wedding theme, no surprise there, huh?

What's wrong with comfort and efficiency?

Mike: Well nothing, except no one wants to fuck it.

Now, let's see how good is the other Gerard Butler movie, THE UGLY TRUTH? Well, surprisingly good and entertaining. Well, it still has some cheesy elements (but hey, without them, this kind of genre is like eating pizza without cheese). Katherine Heigl somehow always easily connects herself with this kind of character (remember Knocked Up and 27 Dresses?). Well, in other words, it is highly possible that we'll see her again in other future romantic comedy movies (although the next project, KILLER, collaborating with Ashton Kuthcer may provide some surprises). She's hot, somehow dumb, a control freak producer, but I felt she's too good to be a girl who hasn't been dating for about a year (yessss, including the sex). I mean even before she transforms, it's almost impossible for guys to ignore her in the first place. She plays a TV show producer, Abby, who feels that she lacks of dating, and eager to find a hot hunk to accompany her. The only problem is, she's to naive and idealistic to find the perfect guy. In short, she just won't find a boyfriend with her current attitude.

Now, on the other hand, Mr. Butler gives us something really new, which makes us laugh. When I read he took a major role in this movie, I was totally skeptic, I mean, Gerard Butler, the King Leonidas himself. I thought he learns his lesson from P.S. I Love You or Nim's Island that he should avoid comedy or drama. But this time, I think it works, especially with his American accent. He's funny, outspoken, talkative but without being annoying, and being a cool charismatic guy without that over the top confidence. Now, Butler's character is a hardcore TV personality, Mike Chadway, who spills the beans about the ugly truth on what makes men and women tick. Abby's boss decides to hire Mike to have his own segment, THE UGLY TRUTH, into her morning show, which eventually attracts viewers and increase the ratings. Abby was totally despise Mike in anyway, but eventually, he made a deal with her, that he will transform Abby in order to gain interest from her neighbor, who apparently, is a hot single surgeon. And in return, he can have his job at the show.

But, it doesn't take a genius to see where this story ends, does it?

Actually, I was planning to watch Tim Burton's "9", but since the ticket was out already, and I felt like I have to give my girlfriend a break from watching 'my kind of movie', then I decide, oh well, once in a while, let's watch cheesy movie. Well, it turns out to be entertaining. Funny as it is, and hot as Heigl can be, I felt that some of the cast are underused, such as Mike's sister and her son, which I thought can be much more fruitful if they were given more portion, especially towards the end. The underwear vibrator scene was hilarious, and the ugly truth itself was damn right to the bottom. So, guys, bring your partners to watch this, I'm sure you'll learn something from it...

My Rating : 7.5/10

This is not something you can control!

Last week, I managed to watch both GAMER and THE UGLY TRUTH, which happens to have Gerard Butler. On one side, GAMER is a typical action movie with some gore and it was combined with some sci-fi as the backdrop storyline. While on the other hand, THE UGLY TRUTH is a comedy romantic genre which I thought was surprisingly good! It's kinda awkward to see Butler playing in this kind of movie, but he did well in the end. So, let's get goin' with the first one.

GAMER, in short, tells a story where the advanced technology in the future is capable to bring the online gaming into the new level, where real people actually control real people. The genius, and also psychopath behind this idea is Ken Castle, (Michael "Dexter" C. Hall), who creates 2 worlds, SOCIETY and SLAYERS. For the first world, just imagine you're playing THE SIMS with actual people being controlled under your command. And for the second one, well, basically, it's COUNTER-STRIKE with using real people get shot and blown into pieces. In Society, people are getting paid to be controlled, where as in Slayers, the death-row inmates are lining up to be brutally 'played' by teenagers. The rule for the second world is simple, those who managed to survive 30 rounds, get their freedom. Meet Kable (Butler), the Slayer superstar who somehow managed to play 27 rounds, just 3 more for his freedom and to reunite with his family. Along the way, there's a hacker named Humanz (Ludacris), whose mission is to put this virtual world into an end, because he thinks that Castle apparently has different agenda. Humanz's plan is to get Kable's cooperation to help him with his plan.

I guess, Gerard Butler is the new one-man action actor, since his killing spree in this movie can be equally compared with Stallone's RAMBO. He didn't have that many lines, and what he did was just shooting and bashing heads. Nevertheless, Kable's character was written all over him. Too bad Michael C. Hall didn't get too much screen time, since I believe he's that good to be psychopath! Amber Valetta is refreshing enough on every scenes, especially with tight latex and her stupid body language of being controlled, it was just hilarious. Ludacris, well, basically he talked too much, John Leguizamo and Kyra Sedwick were just passing through. Oh yeah, last but not least, I have no idea why on earth Milo Vagina or whatever his name (the guy from HEROES) wanted to play a such idiotic character as a super lusted guy wearing Bumblebee color latex clothes. Gosh!!!

So, actually GAMER is not that bad, just an okay movie, easily forgettable along the time. The concept is not new, it's like a combination of the MATRIX in a much more easier to decipher, and RAMBO, and similar with THE CONDEMNED. The action scenes are cruel enough, and quite gory, and you'll see limbs flying everywhere. But overall, the story pace is relatively fast, and through out the movie, most of the time you'll be entertained by lots of actions and fighting not forget body parts. I felt that this movie was trying to condemn commercialization of violence, but along the way, they commercialized that violence itself, funny huh? Although, it gave us message the danger of the virtual world and its advertising for escaping reality where you can become anyone you want, especially for youths and teenagers.

My Ratings : 7/10

What's the best way to go about disarming one of these things?

And Sergeant William James answers, "The way you don't die, Sir!". That's the instant reply from an US Army bomb squad stationed in Iraq, who has only 1 job to do, disarming bombs. In this movie, "The Hurt Locker", it tells a story about a group of three bomb squad, who risk their life everyday in the field to clear the roads from bombs planted by the extremists and local militants. When I watched "Speed", "Blown Away", or even "McGyver" series, disarming bombs looks kinda cool, and you can potentially become a hero afterwards. But, after watching this thing, suddenly disarming bomb should be one of the least job you would take.

Just imagine, you are wearing the heavy anti bomb suit, walking toward the bomb, in the middle on an Iraqi town, don't know that someone near can trigger the bomb, or someone will shoot your head. Bottom line, anything could happen, and suddenly, the only thing that left is just your bloody helmet. That's the intensity and the indescribable risk of becoming the bomb squad, especially within the hostile territory. Just as I quote from the IMDB wesbite, they are forced to play a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse in the chaos of war, in a city where everyone is a potential enemy and every object could be a deadly bomb.

This is one of the Hollywood best flick, or I can even mention, 'fresh' and 'original' production of the year (actually it was released last year, mostly in film festivals, but it was not-widely released couple of months ago). Too bad the studio didn't release it widely enough on more screens to get it acknowledged. But nevertheless, the movie which is surprisingly directed by a WOMAN (Kathryn Bigelow), still gained respectable reviews from both critics and viewers. The story is good, the casts are great (notably the unknowns Jeremy Renner and Anthony Mackie), the action pace is just perfect where it managed to build the tension and the suspense scenes bit by bit. Well, you just don't know when the bomb will explode, do you?

The opening scene where it shows the slow-mo of the explosion was staggering, and even a realistic one. Means, NOBODY, not even James Bond, can sustain the injuries made by the bomb, even within the 100 m radius. The sniper scene is also great, and the suicide bomber in the end is intense. Other than the action scenes, the drama and the characterization of these 3 bomb squad members tells us a different story. One guy (James) can't stand to live 'normal', he always needs the adrenaline rush and the excitement and the suspense of disarming bomb. One guy (Sanborn) tries to be a good leader, but he can't stand of the fact that he may lose his life in the battle field for stupid reason. And the last guy (Eldrige), well, he's a naive soldier, not a coward, but this thing is just too much for him to take, where losing someone you know is part of the game. While the three members face their own internal issues, they have to be aware of any person at the bomb sites, some of who may be bombers themselves.

Too bad people seems unaware that this kind of movie exists, and sadly, it won't earn so much money compared with, let's say, Michael Bay's TF2 : Revenge of the Fallen (I repeat it once again...failure, and completely idiotic). Perhaps with this one as an example, and also District-9, it can set a new standard how to make GOOD MOVIE, without monstrous budget, and low profile casts, and last but not least, a good script!

My Rating : 8.5 / 10