Double CNY movie treat

Last Thursday, i had a chance to watch not one but two movies in a day at a place called Sunway Carnival Mall at Penang with my relatives there.

We went there in 2MPVs and a normal car with a total of 14 people, 12 adults and two kids.

Upon arrival at the cinema (GSC), it was packed with people buying tickets.

Luckily for us, my cousin booked 15 tickets online for two movies, (RM9 each)the extra one was supposed to be for my cousin who FFK-ed.

Anyays, the first movie we watched started at about 1pm which is the 72 Tenants of Prosperity in which the tittle itself is a tribute to The House of 72 Tenants.

The first impression was this movie screams big budget with so many Hong Kong stars around especially those from TVB.


The story revolves around the tenants of a HK street and centres around the rivalry between two mobile phone shop owners who are played by Eric Tsang and Jacky Cheung who tried to win the love of Eric Tsang's wife played by Anita Yuen.



There was also a backstory which pays tribute to the House of 72 Tenants in which the late Lydia Sum Tin Ha's character is played by her daughter while there were younger versions of Eric Tsang, Jacky Cheung and Anita Yuen's characters played by Justin Lo, Raymond Lam Fung and Chen Fala respectively.


Bosco Wong, Linda Chung and Wong Cho Lam got some worthwhile screen time as the sons and daughter of the two rivals.

Michael Jackson tribute by Bosco Wong.

Some songs are sung in the movie with one tribute to Sam Hui who was a famous canto-pop singer in the 70s and I heard that his son is also in the movie.

There are a lot of cameo appearances and a short mention of Death Note and Full Metal Alchemist.

(The full cast can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/72_Tenants_of_Prosperity)

Lots of laughs all the way and the number of famous cast will keep you alert to spot them.



Basically this a feel good movie and there isn't really any complicated storyline but really wortwhile.

I give it a 4 out of 5 rating for funny jokes all the way day but the so called main villain,played by Kate Tsui, did not have enough screen time.


The second movie which was All Well Ends Well 2010 started at about 4pm with a one hour break for some food and rest.



This movie is also made for CNY especially and although it does not have as many stars as the previous movie, it still promises delivers funny jokes.

The story is about the people of Fa Tien country and centres around the events that happen when their princess returns from studying at Central China for 10 years.



The princess is played by Angelababy and she is escorted by a general played by Ronald Cheng who in the midst of sending her home got separated when they were attacked by robbers on an island.

An identity crisis occurs when a girl they saved was thought to be a princess and sent to the palace.

Meanwhile, the princess lost her memory and was found by the father of the girl they saved.

The king of the country who is played by Louise Khoo Tin Lok and an old maid (refers to someone who can't get married) played by Ng Kwan Yu provides most of the laughs with witty dialogue and funny actions.

The climax of the movie was reached when the king organises a competition to find a suitor for the fake princess (which sounds vaguely familiar) which was participated by the general, the real princess (?!) and the lover of the fake princess.



This movie starts out a bit boring in the beginning but gets better along the way and still entertaining event withe the small number of famous cast.

I give it a 3.5 out of 5 which may sound a bit harsh but this movie is a bit cliched and reuses some old ideas a bit too much but still nevertheless a great movie to watch.

Oh yeah. Before I forget, there was a scene from Ip Man that was shown in both movies.

In the first movie it was potryed by Linda Chung while in the second one it was by Louise Khoo.



And finally, I wish you guys a Happy Chinese New Year!

(a bit late but CNY is celebrated for 15 days) XD

Woohoo! movie review

Woohoo!
A strange movie tittle but it has a meaning behind it.

It is a word play on the word 'tiger dance' or 'five tigers' which are similiar in sound when spoken in Mandarin which is known as the first Malaysian made for CNY movie with an all Malaysian cast.

Anyways, I got to watch this movie on Wednesday night at Brem Mall.
It costs only RM6 per ticket. (11.20pm show)

The story centre upon a small village in Kuantan where they have a ritual 'tiger dance' every 60 years in the year of the tiger and can only be performed by those born in the year of the tiger.

At first I thought what was so special about it until I notice that what we have every year was actually the 'lion dance'.LOLZ


Originally, I was kinda skeptical about this movie because:
1)made in Malaysia
2)trailers seem to have no meaning
3)made by Astro
but in the end I was proven wrong.

The story centres upon the 'five tigers' who are Ah Beng, Ah Huat, Ah Rain, Alan and Bobby.

Ah Beng is a jobless guy who is looking for a job and a friend to Ah Rain and Ah Huat.


Ah Beng

Ah Rain is a guy who owns a photo studio where Ah Beng becomes a customer after being taunted by his neighbours about how they can afford going overseas by using asking his parents to fake it.
Ah Rain

After being found out by his neighbours and Ah Rain shop gets locked because he didn't pay the rental, Ah Beng found an ad for recruitment which does not require any experience, RM10k per month and must be born in the year of the tiger.

Along the way, Ah Beng Motorbike breaks down but luckily they meet Ah Huat.
Ah Huat who is a salted fish Char Kueh Tiow seller and a 'yes man' drives them to Kuantan even though his original destination is towards Penang, to learn how to make Hokkien mee from his mum.
Bobby

Upon arriving to Kuantan, the three of them gets hired by Ah Lian along with Bobby who is a kung fu enthusiast from JB and Alan who is a the village chief's son to train for the 'tiger dance' with lots of jokes and gags included.

After a month was up, Ah Beng and Ah Rain found out that there was no pay and tried to leave the village but changes their mind after receiving the kindness of the villagers.

I could continue but I spoiled the movie far to much for those who wants to enjoy it.

The movie uses Cantonese and Mandarin as the main languages with some English,Hokkien and Malay in some shots.

I would say it is quite confusing for some but it captures the essence of Malaysia without any forced accents as it is their natural way of speaking.

The plot is actually quite linear but the humour is quite good and most of it can be understood without actually understanding most of the languages.

Overall, this is a good movie and I give it a 4 out of 5 for decent acting,many actors, good humour and captures the essece of Malaysian life.
(foreigners may give only 3 out of 5 because of the language)

I would recommend everyone to support this movie because it is worth your money.

For more info on the movie visit:
www.woohoo.my
which is the official site in Chinese.

Bodyguards and assassins at GSC

On Sunday, I went to watch Bodyguards and Assassins with my sis and parents at GSC, Tropicana City Mall. Originally planned for the 9.20pm show, but changed to 11.55pm as the seats are way up front.

As we bought the tickets at 8.40pm, we realized we got way too much time before the movie. Even after having dinner at Esquire Kitchen, we had at least an hour left to go. Thankfully, the arcade was open and we spent our time there until the movie screening.

Finally, after 20 minutes of ads, the movie started with Jacky Cheung’s character talking about democracy and the future of China. He died within 5 minutes of the movie…..

If you read the synopsis for this movie before, then you would know that this movie is based on the real event that happened in 1906 in Hong Kong where Dr. Sun Yat Sen came to have a meeting with the 13 leaders to launch a rebellion against the Qing dynasty.

You would think that Sun Yat Sen is going to be the main character in this movie but it is wrong to think so. The main emphasis of this is the sacrifices made by those who want revolution and change the corrupt government so that there are equal rights for all the citizens of China.


The movie is spoken mainly in Cantonese and Mandarin and frankly speaking, this is one of those movies where they flesh out the main characters before the action starts. (Something rarely seen in Hong Kong movies).

The first hour of the show is used to build up the back story of the revolutionist, about their hardships on trying to make it happen with the Qing government, trying to kill off all of them who will help Sun Yat Sen.
As there are way too many characters to speak off, I will just make short descriptions instead.

Donnie Yen plays a HK police in the movie who is also a gambler. He helps the Qing government to spy Tony Leung Ka Fai who is one of the revolutionist which causes the death of Simon Yam who was a general and his former army men. Donnie Yen’ character makes up for it later by helping to fend off the assassins during the second half of the movie and you would not be disappointed for the action he provides.
Leon Lai plays the beggar who was once a rich guy who fell in love for his father’s wife. Not much to say about him until the second part where he kills off most of the assassins with his metal fan.
Nicholas Tse plays the character of Ah Se who works for his master, Mr Liu. His character is memorable as he is very helpful throughout the show and builds up the human aspect of the show.

There are more characters I don’t remember their names.
Anyways, the assassins in the movie are pretty skilled using crossbows, hooks and other concealable weapons to kill off the good guys.

The scenes where the characters die off makes you feel sad inside as I became attached to them during the first half. Especially, Ah Se who dies a day before his planned wedding.

Anyways, Bodyguards and Assassins is a much watch and I give it a 4 out of 5. There were some characters that they killed off too soon IMHO but still the action during the last hour makes up for it.

Christmas with Avatar

As we all know the movie Avatar has started screening in Malaysia a few days ago and has been the hype recently.

Well, who wouldn’t when the trailer itself is stunning in respect?

So, yesterday which was Christmas, I went to watch Avatar at 9pm with my parents and sister at Big Cinemas in Brem Mall, Kepong and it was awesome. For those who don’t know, here is the synopsis:

(major spoiler ahead)

“In the future, Jake, a paraplegic war veteran, is brought to another planet, Pandora, which is inhabited by the Na'vi, a humanoid race with their own language and culture. Those from Earth find themselves at odds with each other and the local culture”. Written by Giorgio_C

“When his brother is killed in battle, paraplegic Marine Jake Sully decides to take his place in a mission on the distant world of Pandora. There he learns of greedy corporate figurehead Parker Selfridge's intentions of driving off the native humanoid "Na'vi" in order to mine for the precious material scattered throughout their rich woodland. In exchange for the spinal surgery that will fix his legs, Jake gathers intel for the cooperating military unit spearheaded by gung-ho Colonel Quaritch, while simultaneously attempting to infiltrate the Na'vi people with the use of an "avatar" identity. While Jake begins to bond with the native tribe and quickly falls in love with the beautiful alien Neytiri, the restless Colonel moves forward with his ruthless extermination tactics, forcing the soldier to take a stand - and fight back in an epic battle for the fate of Pandora.” Written by The Massie Twins

Obtained from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0499549/plotsummary

The world of Pandora set in the movie is a hostile, yet beautiful environment filled with greenery (the background was filmed in Hawaii) and basically immerses you into visual awe and wonder on how much detail they put into every scene. This is most apparent at the night scenes where the whole jungle just lights up.

The Na’vi are very tall when compared to humans in the movie (at least 7 to 10 feet?) and have carbon fiber in their bones which makes them very tough and strong hunters.

The storyline was fine for this kind of movie (as the CGs are breathtaking) and it was compared to how the first American settlers fought the Red Indians where guns were used against arrows and spears.

There are a lot of hostile creatures living in Pandora and the main character, Jake Sully learnt to respect the living creatures in the jungle through the eyes of the Na’vi people via his ‘Avatar’.

The part I really like about was when Jake got the Toruk Bacto after the Na’vi village was destroyed and asked the other Na’vi clans which serve as the ground and sky attack units.

The ending fight scene was epic nonetheless against the beautiful backdrop.

Since I can’t really elaborate more on words, you have to see it for yourself and make your own evaluation.

I would give this movie a 4.5 out of 5, the 0.5 gone is because they omitted a few parts which is forgivable given the amount of screentime.

I’m a Sherlock Holmes in the Making

Yay!
Another contest from Nuffnang.
Hopefully I win this one.

This time this is about a movie premier of Sherlock Holmes.

The movie is going to be released on 24th December but lucky Nuffies get to watch it two days earlier.Woohoo!

Here is the official link for the premiere by Nuffnang.

The task here is to hunt for this (pic below) in two blogs.

Fortunately, I had help from a friend and found them:

The first one:
Second:
Anyways. Wish me luck!

And thanks Nuffnang if you give me the tickets.

Catch the talented directors of the 15Malaysian Film showcase in Korea

While we can’t provide you the air tickets and accommodations to Korea, P1 Malaysia and ruumzNation are now providing you a travelogue of 15 of our very talented directors for the P1 Malaysian Filmmaker Showcase, 15Malaysia, at the Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF). If you didn't already know, the 15 films were so successful that they made it into PIFF, one of largest annual industry event in Asia - now don’t you think they deserve a pat in the back?

“ruumz is a social media platform which showcases and enables Malaysian content developers to reach, interact and engage with audiences directly, in ways that wasn’t possible before the availability of high-quality & consistent broadband connections. 15MY is our showcase project on what the Malaysian creative community and ruumz can do, and the response has been absolutely amazing” -- James Chong, the Chief Executive of ruumz.

Hit the jump for more pictures or visit http://www.ruumz.com/15Malaysia to experience the journey.

Taken from:
http://www.lowyat.net/v2/latest/travel-to-korea-and-catch-the-very-talented-directors-of-the-15malaysian-film-sho-2.html