28 September 2005

Favourite Cult Film - Vol. 1

Pertama sekali, biar aku jelaskan satu perkara - The Boondock Saints is a cult film. According to wikipedia.com, a cult film is a movie that attracts a small but devoted group of fans, usually failing to achieve considerable success outside that group. Bila sesuatu filem dikategorikan sebagai sebuah filem cult, bermakna tidak semua orang akan menyukainya. FIlem cult biasanya mempunyai kumpulan peminatnya sendiri yang akan menyukai filem tersebut kerana pelbagai sebab, dan The Boondock Saints merupakan salah satu filem cult kegemaran aku.

Pertama kali aku tengok filem ni ialah pada tahun 2000, setahun selepas ianya dikeluarkan. Waktu tu aku masih dalam kekaguman selepas menonton Tarantino's Pulp Fiction dan sering mencari filem-filem independent yang hebat untuk ditontoni. Aku beli VCD The Boondock Saints kerana tertarik dengan poster filemnya yang cool (..peranan poster filem penting sebenarnya). Aku dan kawan-kawan aku begitu teruja sekali selepas menonton VCD The Boondock Saints tapi sayangnya VCD tersebut hilang kerana terlalu kerap dipinjam. Setelah beberapa tahun mencari filem ini akhirnya dengan kuasa internet percuma di pejabat aku, aku dapat menonton semula kehebatan filem The Boondock Saints.

The Boondock Saints mengisahkan tentang 2 adik beradik Irish Catholic, Connor McManus (Sean Patrick Flannery) dan Murphy McManus (Norman Reedus) yang tinggal di Boston. Semasa menyambut St Patrick's Day di sebuah pub yang dimiliki oleh seorang lelaki tua yang mempunyai Tourette's Syndrome, mereka didatangi oleh beberapa orang ahli kongsi gelap Russia yang memeras ugut. Setelah tercetusnya pergaduhan dan pembunuhan, adik beradik McManus bagaikan telah mendapat satu mimpi (..they think they were blessed by god) yang mereka harus menjalankan tanggungjawab untuk menjadi vigilante and go around from day to day 'cleaning up the streets' of evil men, low life's, scum bags, and mobsters. Willem Dafoe berlakon sebagai agen FBI Paul Smecker (..who is also happens to be gay) dan David Della Rocco berlakon sebagai teman baik adik beradik McManus ini yang menyertai mereka dalam menjalankan kerja-kerja 'pembersihan'.

Filem ini hanya ditayangkan di 5 buah pawagam when it was released. It was badly received by the public mainly because filem ini dikeluarkan semasa berlakunya tragedi Columbine High School shooting di US. Bad timing for a vigilante movie. Ada juga rumours yang mengatakan pengarah filem ini, Troy Duffy bertelagah dengan adik beradik Weinstein di studio Miramax. Disebabkan itu Miramax enggan untuk release filem ini secara worldwide. Filem ini akhirnya menjadi sebuah filem 'straight to video' tetapi menjadi salah satu filem yang top dan dari situ mula mencapai status cult.

Apa yang aku suka tentang filem ini adalah originality. Kebanyakan pengkritik professional membenci filem ini kerana mereka menganggap Troy Duffy cuba untuk menjadi Quentin Tarantino. Mungkin juga kerana cerita hidup mereka sama (..small-time indie director get picked up by a major studio to direct a 'cool' movie). Tetapi bagi aku Troy Duffy walaupun tidak sehebat Tarantino tetapi ada sentuhan tersendiri. Filem ini tidaklah begitu sempurna kalau dilihat dengan teliti tapi sebagai sebuah filem low-budget ia mempunyai aksi dan jalan cerita yang menarik. Sememangnya filem ini padat dengan tema ketuhanan Katolik tetapi bukan itu yang menarik perhatian aku. Aku tertarik dengan persoalan tentang morality in this film. Is killing for good, good? Are people allowed to take justice in their own hand? The McManus brothers percaya kepada 'Veritas' dan 'Aequitas' which is Latin for Truth and Justice (..perkataan tersebut ditatu pada tangan mereka), tetapi perlukah mereka mencari truth dan justice tersebut tanpa kawalan undang-undang? Pada end credits film ini terdapat satu mock 'interview' dengan orang ramai yang memberi pendapat tentang perlakuan adik beradik McManus yang digelar Saints ini. Are they saints or sinners? Mock interview ini merupakan salah satu scene kegemaran aku dalam filem ini. Dari scene tersebut (..yang nampak real) aku dapat lihat yang Troy Duffy cuba untuk memaparkan pelbagai reaksi manusia yang tipikal dalam mengadili sesuatu morality issue. What I also love about this movie is that it employs a messed up time frame system, which jumps from day to day always leaving you guessing, but comes together in the end. Walaupun time cut scene ini sudah biasa digunakan dalam filem (..kadang-kadang overused) tetapi it is being used to fantastic effect in this film. It brings the story extra layers and meanings it would not have had otherwise. Dari segi lakonan walaupun at times a little bit over the top (especially Dafoe) tetapi masih believable. Watak kegemaran aku bukanlah salah seorang dari adaik beradik McManus tetapi David Della Rocco, the reluctant vigilante yang memang clumsy dan kelakar. Walaupun dalam filem ini the level of violence and profanity memang tinggi (..there's a famous line in the movie when Rocco spits out about a dozen F word in a row!) tapi aku rasa ada lagi filem yg lebih ganas.

The Boondock Saints is a really funny film, packed with a constant level of amused anger. It is a real surprise for such a small budget movie but with a witty and intelligent script and perfectly done performances, it is kind of hard to believe that so many people overlooked this movie. If you're looking for an Oscar type movie with megastars, expensive budget and explosive action sequences, I suggest you look somewhere else. If you're looking for an entertaining one and a half hour movie, The Boondock Saints is highly recommended.

27 September 2005

Night Watch (List Countdown : 1 Down 29 To Go)






''Just after we've lived through LORD OF THE RINGS and we can't even imagine another movie spellbinding us, along comes Timur Bekmambetov's fantasy masterpiece. Like Ridley Scott, Timur is an astonishing visionary and NIGHT WATCH is an epic of extraordinary power. If you have only one movie to watch this year, this should be it." -Quentin Tarantino

"NIGHT WATCH: for those lovers of goth kinetic, be safe in the knowledge that NIGHT WATCH is on its way and the bar has been truly raised. Full, (and full is the word to describe the first half especially) of extraordinary and delicious filmmaking, NIGHT WATCH is the biggest grossing movie ever in its homeland Russia. It will have Tarkovsky spinning uncontrollably in his grave - or was he cremated? No matter. He will know, as viewers of NIGHT WATCH now do, that we mere humans are surrounded by angels of light and dark in constant battle around us. You will have to wait until October but then you will see the greatest use of a frying pan (and a very hot one at that) in modern cinema." -Danny Boyle

Those 2 testimonials above from 2 of the greatest directors of our time should be enough reason for me to watch Night Watch (Nochnoy Dozor) , a sci-fi fantasy thriller from first time director, Timur Bekmambetov.

The background: Night Watch is the first installment of a trilogy based on Sergei Lukyanenko's best selling sci-fi novels which also includes Day Watch and Dusk Watch. The movie made massive business in Russia, surpassing Spiderman 2 in box-office returns.

The story : It's kinda' hard to explain but here's what filmcritic.com has to say - In the world, there are humans and there are Others - who can pass as humans but are in effect a grab-bag of seers, wizards, shape-shifters, and vampires "as varied as the stars in the sky." The Others are divided up (easily enough) into those that serve the Dark and those serving the Light. A long time ago, they fought each other to a standstill in a massive battle, and so established a truce whereby they could co-exist with each other, only they each had to basically leave the humans alone. To ensure that each side is living up to its end, they each patrol the human sphere, Dark Others on the Day Watch and Light Others on the Night Watch.

The disconcerting start to what we can already tell is going to be a pretty big showdown between good and evil is the appearance of Anton Gorodetsky (Konstantin Khabensky), who's despondent over his ex-girlfriend being with another man, standing at the door of a woman he thinks to be a witch doctor of some sort but turns out to be a Dark Other trying to influence him to do evil. At the moment of her apprehension by the Night Watch, Anton discovers he is an Other himself. And so cut to Moscow, 2004, with a hollow-eyed Anton on duty with the Night Watch, using his limited abilities of foresight to help find a kid who is being hunted by a couple of Dark Other vampires. Events snowball in a mazelike fashion and soon it looks like the kid might have something to do with a prophecy about an Other who will come and tip the balance between Dark and Light, smashing the truce and returning the tribes to constant warfare.

The Verdict: Brilliant. It's like nothing that I have ever seen. For me, the greatest thing about watching a movie is when you witness something that is ground-breaking. Remember the first time when you watched The Matrix? Or Lord of The Rings? I had that same feeling while watching this Russian gem. Russian movies for me..( I had seen a few) has always been this slow moving, dialogue-driven, moody drama so seeing Night Watch is a breath of fresh air. The pace was fast thanks to the razor sharp editing that reminded me of David Fincher with a little bit of Darren Aronofsky's Requeim for A Dream. Visually, the movie is stunning. Without the benefit of a big budget special effects house, it still manages to create a highly stylized atmosphere with some great special effects. There is one magnificent scene that I really admire that follows a bolt from a flying aircraft right into a cup of coffee (..curious?). It's an eye-candy complete with blood, gore, flying-kicks, nifty moves and a cool soundtrack with a dose of punk attitude. Now that's cool, if you ask me.

One of the most enjoyable aspect of the film is the way it grounds its parallel fantasy universe in the everyday life of post-Communist Moscow. The Night Watch has its HQ in the run-down offices of the city's lighting utility company; vampires and ordinary humans alike live in scuzzy city centre tenements or suburban high-rise blocks; the Night Watch patrol drives around in a battered armoured truck which, though jet-propelled, still has to deal with the Moscow traffic. You have to see this truck move, man. A definite rival to Hollywood's Fast And The Furious.

There's even a hint of political sub text playing beneath the storyline satirizing the leaders of the world that seperate the world between 'good' and 'evil'.
Most of the Dark Others all look like mobs or hooligans. On the other hand, the Light Others look like they haven't slept for days in an out-of-date attire, with alcohol problems (these vampires drink both vodka and blood). The Light Others clearly represent the working class generation while the Dark Others represent the organized crime that has rule our way of life in certain part of the world.

I have only 2 complaints - some questions in this movie are left unanswered. I guess it's a good thing considering that this is the first part of a trilogy. It definitely makes me want to see more. And the second complaint is Nescafe's very annoying marketing strategy. Yes, Nescafe. Watch the movie and you'll understand why.

Final Say: Is this movie overhyped? Does it live up to it's expectations? When a movie is so overhyped it can never live up to ones expectations and this certainly is no new Lord of the Rings or The Matrix if you'd ask me. Making remarks like that makes people watching a movie expecting a life-altering experience and leaving most of those people behind rather disillusioned after seeing the movie. Knowing all these facts before seeing a movie like this will make you watch without expecting too much which will prevent you from being disappointed afterwards unless the movie in question can be summarized as one big disappointment. Luckily Night Watch never came across as disappointing or anything like that. Night Watch is a cinematic feast. Quoting Tarantino again, 'an epic of extraordinary power'. Pheww..!

... demam? layan movie aaa..

Sibuk betul aku sekarang ni sampai tak sempat nak update blog. Dekat ofis memang susah nak cari masa nak menulis. Biasanya aku menulis di rumah tapi sejak dah start belajar ni, balik umah pun kul 11/12 malam, assignment lagi.. memang takda masa aku. Kerja sambil belajar ni memang perlukan pengorbanan. Sampai satu tahap kau akan rasa bosan gila disebabkan terlalu banyak benda yang kau kena pikir. Kau rasa macam nak berenti aja belajar. Nak give up. Dah fed up. Tapi itu semua tu dugaan bagi aku.. Sabar Edd. Lagi 2 semester lagi.. Sabar.!

Hari Jumaat ari tu aku balik dari ofis pukul 1 pagi (..don't ask why). Biasa kalau aku balik lewat aku datang kerja naik keta tapi hari tu aku naik moto sebab benci nak mengadap jem kat jalan Loke Yew yang tah bila nak siap. Balik naik moto pagi-pagi memang sejuk. Pastu plak ada hujan renyai-renyai. Memang resepi bagus untuk menguji sistem ketahanan badan aku. Untuk pengetahuan semua, aku ni memang alah dengan hujan. Kalau kena hujan paling kurang pun aku mesti flu. Sampai umah hari tu aku rasa badan aku semacam. Aaah..! Dah sah aku demam ni. So hujung minggu ari tu, berbungkus la aku. Siap pakai stokin macam orang baru lepas beranak. Semalam hari Isnin aku MC. Pagi tadi sampai ofis bos aku terus tanya, '..ko kena hujan ke?'. Kat ofis ni semua orang dah tahu masalah antibodi dalam badan aku ni. Sampai dah jadik bahan diaorang.. Bos aku pun mula la start ceramah Amway dia kat aku, '..ko ni kena makan vitamin aku ni. Bila harijadi ko? Aku nak hadiahkan ko set vitamin Amway aku.. Makan la vitamin. Asyik demam aja ko ni.. ' hehehehe. The usual.

So apa aku buat dok umah 3 hari straight? Tengok movie aaa apa lagi..Tengok bola buat sakit hati (..MU kalah dowh! Don't even get me started). Kebosanan duduk umah aku pun layan la movie2 yang aku blum sempat tengok lagi. Semalam actually time petang tu aku rasa badan aku dah ok sket. Dah mula rasa berpeluh. Berkat Air Badak cap Kaki Tiga agaknya. Hehehe. Aku pun pikir kalau aku dok layan demam ni memang jadik lemah badan aku. So apa lagik... tengok wayang la..! Hehehe.. kalau dah gila movies tu, time demam pun sanggup. So aku ajak my significant other gi layan citer Flightplan kat GSC Cheras Leisure Mall.





Flightplan menceritakan tentang Kyle Pratt (Jodie Foster) yang kehilangan anaknya Julia Pratt dalam kapal terbang terbesar di dunia (..memang besar gila) yang dalam perjalanan dari Berlin ke New York. The problem is, tak ada seoarang pun dari 400 orang penumpang termasuk cabin crew yang nampak anak dia naik kapal terbang tu. There's no departure record, no boarding pass, no nothing. Kyle yang kebetulan baru kematian suaminya ni pun terpikir kemungkinan jugak dia ni dah hilang akal. Tapi dia juga yakin yang anak dia ada bersama dia masa dia naik kapal terbang tu. So where the hell is she?? How can a little girl dissapear from an airplane at 37,000 feet?

Flightplan is a good old fashioned thriller. Tarikan utama untuk aku menonton filem ini selain daripada a very promising stroyline is of course Jodie Foster. Her last big film was three years ago (Panic Room which oddly has some similarities to Flightplan) so setiap kali dia berlakon filem baru dah jadi macam event yang orang tunggu-tunggu. Dan lakonan Jodie Foster memang tidak menghampakan. Dia adalah anchor filem ni. Lakonan dia yang mantap membuatkan watak yang dibawanya believable. Terbukti kehebatannya sebagai seorang pelakon. The supporting casts which include among other Sean Bean and Peter Sarsgaard (..two of the most underrated actor along with Jeff Bridges and David Strathairn) also gives fine performances. Cuma aku tak puas hati Erika Christensen (..remember her in Traffic?) cuma appear dalam beberapa scene aja dalam filem ni. Tapi aku rasa there's a reason the director cast a well-known face for her role. But despite fine performances all around, Flightplan bagi aku macam tak cukup 'ummph'.

It started off well. Perjalanan ceritanya pada mula mengingatkan aku kepada stail filem Hitchcock, a psychological thriller with a surreal edge. The story was build at a very nice pace just like any good thriller movie should. Tapi sayangnya 45 minit terakhir filem ni, aku rasa macam tengok filem action-dalam-kapalterbang typical macam Wesley Snipes dalam Passenger 57. It was fun to watch but somehow I was let down by the whole cat and mouse chasing scene because I feel this movie should deliver more than just that. When you have an 'action' movie at least the ending should have been spectacular. Tapi sayangnya, ending dia pun tidak mendatangkan apa-apa respons daripada aku dan penonton malam tu. I was questioning myself '..that's it?'. And I remember I kept telling my girlfriend ' ..lum abih lagi ni..' and hoping there was a suprising twist at the end of the movie. As a result, aku keluar panggung dengan rasa tak puas. Kenapa huh..? Acting bagus, story menarik and Flightplan does have it's thrilling moments. Kemungkinan juga selepas tengok cerita 'Red Eye' bebaru ni, filem atas kapal terbang ni jadi redundant bagi aku. Ataupun sebab Jodie Foster, despite her great intense performance, dah jadi stereotaip dengan watak yang lebih kurang sama macam dalam Panic Room membuatkan aku rasa bosan? Atau mungkin juga aku mengharap lebih dari yang sepatutnya..?

but then again, that's just me.. :)




20 September 2005

Aku nak jugak buat ni --->The Movie Meme

Mama Zack cakap 'kalau rajin buat la kat blog korang..' So, aku rajin.

Total number of films I own on DVD/VCD

Mengikut kiraan database software MovieCollector yang aku pakai ni, ada 170 DVD kesemuanya. Tapi still ada dalam 20 lagi yang aku belum update. VCD pulak ada dekat 300+. Video ada dalam 50 keping. So, total dia.. issh, kira sendiri la. Mak aku selalu advise aku untuk jual collection cd aku ni kat pasar malam. But that was before she bought a VCD player (the VHS player exploded!) and started her own VCD collection of Hindi movies and songs. Hehehe... Now she knows why.


The last film I bought

Bought as in beli dekat kedai ke? Kalau beli ,maybe Crash kot. Tapi kalau free (..all u need is a free 2mb internet line..hehe) probably the 2nd season of The L Word. Mmg layan abis..! Oh ya, Night Watch yang aku belum sempat tengok.


The last film I watched

Kalau wayang The Land Of The Dead. Kalau DVD Man of The House (..it sucks) yang aku beli disebabkan oleh Tommy Lee Jones. Apsal Tommy Lee Jones punya movie choices sekarang ni mengarut huh..?


5 films that mean a lot to me (in no particular order)

Grease (..my favourite film of all time)
Kakashi (..my first official date movie)
Ju-On (..buat aku takut gila. Buat semua org yg aku kenal takut gila lepas aku pinjamkan VCD)

A Better Tomorrow (..a cult fav among my family members)
Any P. Ramlee comedies (..reminds me of home)


5 films I don't mind watching over and over.

Hard-Boiled (..best shootout movie of all time, period)
JFK (..very intriguing)
The Usual Suspects (..gives me goosebumps everytime I see it)
Chow Sing Chi's comedies (..comic genius!)
Tarantino's movies (..visionary filmaking at its best)


Who would you cast to play yourself in the movie version of your life?

If there is a movie about my life I'm sure that it will be dull. Hmm..saper huh? it will probably be an unknown Asian actor. Or maybe a young Bill Murray ..directed by Darren Aronofsky. Or David Fincher. Or Rahim Razali. Hehe.

Tag 5 people and have them put this in their journal/ blog
sesaper jelah..

16 September 2005

..enough is enough.


Front page story from The Malay Mail today..


BLOG-BUSTER
! Blogger to pull plug on culprit

Kuala Lumpur, Sept 16: A blogger, angered by a seditious message on his weblog, intends to lodge a police report today against the sender. Peter Tan, who owns petertan.com/blog, said he will provide the Internet protocol (IP) address of the sender, nicknamed 'good man' to the police.

Tan, who started his blog two years ago, said the abusive message containing racial slurs was posted at 7.16pm last Sunday. Tan, 39, from Penang, said he was puzzled when he saw the message, days after it was posted, as he was away attending a seminar for the disabled between Sept 10 and 14.

"As I had no access to the Net during the seminar, I could not screen the messages coming into the blog," said Tan, a paraplegic. Tan admitted that he had received several malicious messages on the blog last month but had deleted them. "I'm keeping this one (message) for the authorities. This has gone too far and I want the person who did it to be held accountable." He said if this is allowed to go unchecked, it will give a negative impression of bloggers. "Several bloggers also received such messages. We would just delete them." He said although the message was sent anonymously, bloggers should be responsible. "Although my blog stresses the freedom of expression, each sender must be responsible for what they write."

The blog, petertan.com/blog covers Tan's life, disability issues and religious matters. He said he will not be able to stop such messages but will constantly check and clear his blog of racist messages. In the first case of its kind in Singapore, two men were charged in a district court on Sept 12 with making racist comments on the Internet. They faced charges under the Sedition Act, which has been in place since 1948. Though the Act was amended in 1972 and 1985, this is the first time it has ever been used against individuals. Offences under the Act carry a maximum jail term of three years and a S$5,000 (RM12,000) fine.



.. i guess it's about time. FYI the racial comment was directed at Muslims and Islams religion. What Peter Tan has done deserves my respect. People SHOULD be responsible for all those comments that they put on our blogs. If they have enough courage to say it, they should have the balls to admit it. PEACE.

Romero's Back...

Semalam aku kebosanan, so aku ajak my partner in cryme gi tengok wayang. After all itu aja yg mmg selalu kitaorang buat when we go out. Dah minat kan.. The place, as usual was MBO Cinema in Ampang Galaxy. For those of u who never heard of MBO cinema, read the CinemaOnline forum review here. Click at the forum section and once you're there, Just type in MBO in the search box on the right side of your screen. Bagi aku, MBO Cinema is great because it's only 5 minutes from my house, the parking is free and is located in front of the cinema, not too much crowd and most importantly the sound and the picture quality was good enough for me. Maybe you should try and go there for a new cinematic experience and tell me your verdict. At least ada sikit saingan sihat untuk TGV and GSC.



We chose to watch Land of The Dead (LoTD) directed by George A. Romero. Romero is basically the inventor of this zombie horror genre. He's the master pioneer of zombie movies. Filem ni sebenarnya ditunggu-tunggu oleh Romero's fanatic selama lebih kurang 20 tahun semenjak filem terakhirnya dalam Dead Trilogy pada tahun 1985, Day of the Dead. Romero start buat citer zombie dalam Dead Trilogy ni dengan filem Night of The Living Dead (1968) yang memang klasik gila, dan dua lagi filem iaitu Dawn of The Dead (1978) dan Day of The Dead (1985). Basically, the premise of the story is that the dead have come back to life and start to eat living people. Zombies (atau dalam filem LoTD ni.. dipanggil stenchers) ni biasanya bergerak perlahan dan sesiapa yang kena gigit akan turut bertukar menjadi zombies dalam masa lebih kurang sejam selepas digigit.

Dalam LoTD, zombies ni dah memenuhi muka bumi kita. Manusia yang kaya raya tinggal di suatu tempat yang dipanggil Fiddler's Green yang merupakan sebuah bangunan hebat serba lengkap dan mereka dijanjikan kehidupan sempurna bebas daripada ancaman hantu zombies. Mereka yang tak mampu tinggal di Fiddler's Green pulak hidup seperti pelarian di sisi bandar tapi masih dalam kawalan ketat tentera lengkap dengan pagar eletrik canggih. Sebenarnya manusia dalam filem LoTD ni sudah terperangkap di dalam sangkar yang dibina oleh mereka sendiri. Ini terbukti apabila Romero sendiri menunjukkan imej burung kenari di dalam sangkar apabila ia bercerita tentang keindahan masyarakat baru Fiddler's Green. Masyarakat baru ini dibina Kaufman (lakonan Dennis Hopper). He chooses who lives in the Fiddler's Green and he even runs the slums that surround it, where street corner activists preach anti-Kaufman sentiment and possible uprisings against the wealthy tenants on the inside. Kaufmann mempunyai sebuah pasukan scavengers yang diketuai oleh Riley (Simon Baker) with his second in command, Cholo (John Leguizamo). Tugas utama team scavengers ni adalah untuk mencari makanan, ubatan, dan barang barang mewah seperti arak dan cigars kepada mereka yang tinggal di Fiddler's Green. Plot utama cerita LoTD ialah apabila salah seorang ahli team scavengers ni memberontak kerana sudah muak dengan dictatorship Kaufman lalu mencuri senjata tercanggih pasukannya. Pemberontakan itu mengundang ancaman pada manusia kerana zombie dalam filem ni pun sudah muak menunggu 'makanan' datang ke tempatnya lalu decide untuk pergi ke seberang untuk mencari 'makanan'... iaitu manusia! Biasanya dalam filem Romero, zombies yang berkeliaran ni memang bodoh dan lembab dan kadang-kadang kelakar disebabkan oleh kebodohannya itu. Tapi dalam LoTD ni, Romero lakukan sedikit pembaharuan dengan menjadikan leader tak rasmi geng zombies ni, seorang pam attendant kedai minyak berkulit hitam, sebagai seorang zombie yang boleh berfikir. This is quite an interesting twist in this movie dan menjawab persoalan aku beberapa tahun lepas bila aku terfikir 'Macamana kalau hantu zombie ni jadi pandai..?'.

Secara keseluruhan, filem ni memang tipikal filem Romero. Tema dan satira politikal dan sosial masih menjadi asas kepada jalan cerita filem ini. Kita dapat lihat pandangan Romero mengenai masyarakat Amerika kelas atasan apabila timbul sesuatu bencana di negara mereka. Mereka akan mencipta satu kehidupan baru yang langsung tidak menghiraukan masalah dunia by locking themselves in and maintaining the life of comfort they only know. Bagi aku filem ni mempunyai jalan cerita yang menarik dan pelakon-pelakon yang mantap especially Simon Baker dan John Leguizamo. Tapi sebagai seorang yang bukan peminat fanatik filem zombies, aku tidaklah begitu terkejut dan teruja dengan adegan-adegan seram yang ditonjolkan di dalam filem ini. Aku merasakan yang adegan-adegan kejutan di dalam filem ini seperti sudah boleh dijangka. Mungkin jugak aku tak terkejut disebabkan oleh 'suntingan semula' LPF. Aku pun kadang-kadang pelik dengan LPF ni punya teknik suntingan. Tapi yang menarik pasal filem LoTD ni, aksi-aksi cannibalism, makan orang ditonjolkan in graphic details. (..itu LPF tak potong plak..?). Make-up dan costume yang dipakai oleh zombies pun boleh diberi pujian sebab memang nampak real. Filem ni tak ada effect CGI yang hebat tetapi sudah cukup untuk membuatkan kita puas menonton.

Land Of The Dead. Kembalinya George A. Romero ke layar perak. Mungkin impak comeback Romero tidak seperti yang diharapkan. Tetapi kehadirannya amat dirasai. Sebuah filem yang tidak hebat tetapi enjoyable.

12 September 2005

My Own Fall Movie Preview Vol. 1

Dekat Hollywood ada 2 musim filem yang penting. Summer Movies (May-Ogos) selalunya terdiri dari filem-filem blockbuster yang studio kat sana rasa yakin boleh kutip ratusan juta dollar. And then there's Fall Movies (Sept-Dec) yang ada jugak filem-filem blockbuster tapi at the same time studio akan release filem-filem yang ada harapan untuk dapat pencalonan Oscar. List aku ni terdiri dari filem-filem yang AKU teringin sangat nak tengok dan tak semestinya dari Hollywood semata-mata. Aku compilekan daripada majalah-majalah dan artikel-artikel yang aku baca dari Internet. So here it goes. Movies that I would like to see this year in no particular order, and the reason I wanted to see it:

  1. Four Brothers - Mark Wahlberg, Tyrese and Andre 3000 as brothers? I definitely want to see that. The fact that Jon Singleton is directing also interest me.

  2. Cinderella Man - It's Russel Crowe. Every review I read is saying that this movie is a serious Oscar contender.

  3. The Myth - Jackie Chan leads a multi-national casts from China, Hong Kong, India and Korea.

  4. Bittersweet Life - A Korean movie that has been compared to Pulp Fiction. I have to see that.

  5. Oliver Twist - Roman Polanski doing a remake of Charles Dickens's classic? Sound very interesting.

  6. Corpse Bride - Tim Burton at his very best doing a stop motion animation masterpiece once again.

  7. Night Watch - The Russian version of The Matrix meets The Lord Of The Rings. It's the first installment of a trilogy based on Sergei Lukyanenko's best selling sci-fi novels which also includes Day Watch and Dusk Watch. Who doesn't love trilogies?

  8. Saw 2 - The sequel to a very creepy movie I saw last year. The film-maker promise that it would be creepier...

  9. History of Violence - Viggo Mortensen stars in a David Cronenberg film. David Cronenberg movies are always 'interesting'..

  10. Elizabethtown - Cameron Crowe directing. Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst stars. Sound good enough to me.

  11. The Legend Of Zorro - Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta Jones is back. This time with a son in tow.

  12. Good Night, And, Good Luck - George Clooney directing a true story about Edward R. Murrow.

  13. Jarhead - I read the story. Now I want to see the movie. Plus Sam Mendes is directing.

  14. Walk the Line - Joaquin Phoenix starring as music legend Johnny Cash. I smell Oscar here..

  15. The White Countess - Only because that this is the final movie collaboration between James Ivory and Ismail Merchant.

  16. The Brothers Grimm - It's Terry Gilliam, the master behind quirky classic such as Brazil, Time Bandits and The Fisher King. It stars Matt Damon and Heath Ledger. It's a story about the writers of fairy tales classic such as Little Red Riding Hood and Hensel and Gretel. 3 big reasons to watch.

  17. The New World - I love Terrence Malick's movies. This movie also revolves around princess Pocahontas. Colin Farrell and Christian Bale stars.

  18. King Kong - I know everbody wants to see this movie.

  19. V for Vendetta - I saw the trailer in the cinema and it looks pretty freakin' awesome. Natalie Portman shaves her head for this movie. The Matrix creator, the Wachowski brothers produced it.

  20. Get Rich Or Die Tryin' - Rapper 50 Cent follows Eminem footsteps and stars in a semi autobiographical movie. Hope that it's another '8 Mile'.

  21. The Fountain - Darren Aronofsky is a film making genius. Go and see his other movies (Pi and Requiem For A Dream) and you would want to see this. Plus it's a movie about time traveling and stars Hugh Jackman. That's a sure shot for me.

  22. The Chronicles of Narnia - The brighter and more romantic version of The Lord of The Rings also with a New Zealand director. I'm very curious to see how this turns out.

  23. All The Kings Men - Sean Penn, Jude Law, Kate Winslet, James Gandolfini, Mark Rufallo and Anthony Hopkins. Expect powerhouse performances. Probably Oscars.

  24. Brokeback Mountain - Ang Lee is one of my favourite director. He's very prolific. He has tackles many genres of films (romantic comedies, 70's drama, civil war epic, costume drama, martial arts, comic blockbuster) and this time it's a western. About gay cowboys. Hmm.. Curiosity kills the cat.

  25. Match Point - Woody Allen always shoots in Manhattan, New York . This time he shoots in London. And it stars Scarlett Johansson who I think is a very talented and beautiful actress.

  26. Aeon Flux - Charlize Theron. Catsuits... nuff said.

  27. Into The Blue - Jessica Alba. Swimsuits... nuff said.

  28. Memoirs Of A Geisha - I heard so much about this movie and I want to know what the fuss is all about. It stars who's who in asian cinema such as Zhang Ziyi, Michelle Yeoh and Gong Li.

  29. Untitled Steven's Spielberg Project - It's about the Palestinian attack on Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics. Nobody knows anything about this movie except that it stars Eric Bana.

  30. Sympathy for Lady Vengeance - It's the concluding installment of the Park Chan-Wook's revenge trilogy that includes Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and OldBoy. Revenge movies are always a treat to watch.


So that's my list. How about yours?


Besok aku kursus kat INTAN. Sampai Jumaat. Macam takleh nak online jek..Aduh! :(

11 September 2005

.. the magic of reading and massages

It's not a very great day in my football calendar because Man Utd drew 1-1 with Man City in the great Manchester Derby. Sepatutnya Man Utd boleh menang game ni tapi aku rasa macam ada kurang something. Maybe the fact yang Sir Alex rehatkan Roy Keane kot. I have to admit every time Keane doesn't play, aku akan jadi risau sket. He's the anchor of the team, the link between the attacking midfielders, strikers and the defenders. Tapi malam ni it's not all bad. Boro did manage to beat Arsenal 2-1.. Hehehe. Aku dah cakap, kalau takde Henry memang Arsenal ni susah nak menang… 2 defeats now for Gunners and it looks very good for me..

I barely had a good sleep last night. I had this awful, stinging pain in the right, lower side of my back. Aku dah sapu Yoko-yoko tapi still rasa sakit. Aku rasa macam tak boleh bergerak pagi tadi. Rasa macam semua pergerakan aku akan membuatkan aku kata 'Aduh!'. Aku rasa ni semua berpunca daripada ketidakselesaan aku masa naik van Unser balik daripada T'ganu ari tu. Maybe belakang badan aku memerlukan sentuhan magic Pak Haji Bidin? I can hear u asking me 'Sapa Pak Haji Bidin?'. I'll elaborate on him later.

Despite my back ache, I manage to gather myself up and went to Borders, Berjaya Times Square with my girlfriend. She was a little bit concern about my back. Tapi aku fikir kalau aku dok terbaring kat umah pun sakit belakang aku tak hilang jugak. Lagipun aku dah lama plan nak gi Borders with her. Bukannya nak beli buku, tapi baca buku. We really love this idea of spending one whole day together doing nothing but reading. And Borders seems like a very good place to start. It has all the latest books, its very spacious and comfortable, huge collection of reading materials and they provide really nice chairs for people like us to read. U can even bring the books that u want to read to Starbucks that is located inside the Borders premises. So now you can have free reading while sipping on your Rhumba Frapuccino. Now that's a good marketing strategy if you ask me.

I love reading. It has always been my hobby. It runs in the family I guess. Aku masih ingat arwah ayah aku setiap pagi akan keluar beli 7 jenis suratkhabar for the whole family to read. So after breakfast u could see every member of my family gathering around the living room doing a newspaper reading marathon. Walaupun sekarang dia dah takde, tapi that tradition still goes on everytime semua abang dan kakak aku balik kampung. The whole family loves to read. My dad had this huge collection of political books. My sister with her romantic books. My brother with his automotive books. And I had quite an impressive collection of Enid Blyton and Hardy Boys books when I was young. Bila aku meningkat remaja, I start to collect entertainment magazine. Mostly film and music magazines. And I bought quite a lot of those action mystery novels. That habit continue on until today. But sekarang ni aku tak banyak masa. Masa aku dipenuhi dengan kerja dan belajar separuh masa. Susah nak cari a quite time for me to sit down and read. That's why the trip to Borders is important. In some part, it's like going home.

At Borders I pick up some novels to read while my girlfriend is at the Computer Section trying to scout reading materials for her office library. At one time, I was drawn to the Music Section and then found myself hook to a very detail book about the grunge and alternative music scene in Seattle during the 90's. The 90's rock was the music I grew up listening to (hence the name of my blog) so you could imagine my interest in the topic. About 2.00 pm we were getting a little bit hungry, so we went to Laksa Shack for lunch. Laksa Shack by the way has this amazing Curry and Asam Laksa so I recommend everybody to try it. After lunch we went back to Borders and continued reading. My girlfriend pick up the infamous 'The Vagina Monologues' to read (although she's a little embarrassed to held up the book while reading because people could only see the 'V' word at first glance.. hehehe). I pick up some amazing art books and some technical books on digital camera. By 6.30pm we were ready to leave and I bought some magazines. As I was leaving I saw a book at the bargains section entitled 'Edgar Allan Poe : Writings and Poems Collection'. And the price was only RM29.90.! Damn.! Maybe I'll buy it next month. My girlfriend and I decided that we should come to Borders again as often as we can. Kalau tak boleh every week pun, 2 kali sebulan pun orait gak kan. Tapi aku terpikir jugak bila girlfriend aku tanya, ramai ke orang beli buku kat Borders ni ? It seems to her that everybody is reading not buying. Aku pun tak tahu. Tapi yang aku tahu kalau nak datang next time kena cari parking yang murah sikit la.. Parking kat Times Square mahal siot! Any suggestions for cheaper parking fees around Times Square during weekends? Anybody..?

Now on the subject of Pak Haji Bidin AKA Pak Din. My officemates suggested to me to go and see him. Dia ni tukang urut yang quite famous around Serdang area. Diaorang dah pernah gi jumpa Pak Din ni and they were waxing lyrical about his ability to massage with only one finger. Yes ONE finger. Satu jari sahaja. So I was keen to find out what the fuss is all about. Last 2 weeks aku ikut bebudak ofis aku gi jumpa dia. It was around lunch hour and it was a 25 minutes ride to Serdang. Sampai aja kat sana Pak Din baru aja habis urut sorang laki ni. And he relax a little bit while telling us stories about his trip to Shanghai. Aku rasa Pak Din ni banyak jugak kumpul duit dari mengurut ni sampai mampu pergi bercuti ke China, walaupun upah dia tak spesifik. Ikhlas katanya.

Lepas 2 orang kawan aku habis mengurut tiba pulak giliran aku. Aku pun salin pakai kain pelikat yang disediakan oleh Pak Din. Aku bagitahu dia yang kaki aku ni bila bersila kejap, cepat sangat rasa kebas. So dia pun pegang sikit kat betis aku. Pastu dia cakap 'Ni dah teruk ni?'. Aikk? Pegang sket dah tahu? Magic. Dan lepas tu tak ku sangka-sangka mulalah detik-detik 'seksaan' aku. Dia letakkan jari hantu tangan kanan dia kat sisi lutut aku. Farrkkk...!!! Aku menjerit kesakitan. 'Adoii..!!' Jari hantu dia tu macam pisau Rambo yang menikam lutut aku. Sakit dia Tuhan aja yang tahu. What made it worst is the fact that Pak Din was laughing and kept telling me things like : Aku pegang aja ni.., Aku lalu aja ni.., Aku letak satu jari aja ni.., and the worst one : Aku main gitar aja ni..!, sambil dia 'main gitar' dengan urat-urat kat kaki aku. I was screaming like a girl for 15 minutes and at one point i even told him 'Rileks dulu Pak Din..!' but he just looked at me and laugh. It doesn't help that I could hear and see officemates aku tengah ketawa macam tengok sitcom Senario. Sial..! Tapi apa yang aku dapat pastikan ialah memang betul Pak Din ni urut pakai satu jari. Dan jari dia tu macam ada pisau lipat seposen terselit. Sebab bila dia lalukan jari dia tu atas kaki aku, memang aku boleh dengar (and of course rasa..) urat2 aku ni meletup-letup. Dia bagitahu aku yang urat aku banyak dah tersumbat. Darah susah nak mengalir. Banyak angin. Dan dia mintak aku datang lagi kalau nak totally OK. Itu yang aku tengah pikir ni. Perlukah aku gi jumpa dia lagi hari Isnin ni? Kalau belakang aku still sakit by Monday, I think I might as well go. Tapi aku teringat jugak betapa 'seksa'nya aku bila dia urut kaki aku hari tu. You have to feel it to believe me. It was awfully painful! Bukan main-main lagi. Tapi kaki aku pun dah kurang kebas sekarang.. So I guess you have to endure the pain in order to feel better huh? Shit.

09 September 2005

.. the European wave is coming again.!

.. dah kul 8 lebih and i'm still at the office. Last 2 days my office had this network problem and I couldn't acess to the internet macam biasa. Line lembab and kejap ada kejap takde. So semalam aku ada kelas AI kat UKM KL. Kelas dia buat dalam lab so aku pun apa lagi.. lepas geram online la. Aku tengok dalam blog aku ramai jugak yang tinggal komen. Otai2 bloggers pun dah melawat blog buruk aku ni.. That's very positive. I promise there will be more interesting topic to talk about. Thanks 4 the support.!

It's that time of the year again ladies and gentlemen. CHAMPIONS LEAGUE is coming again..!! Minggu depan dah start. Ini antara yearly event yang memang aku suka sejak dari dulu lagi. It's the battle of the champions. Europe's best competing with each other. Ini adalah masa untuk sesebuah pasukan tu untuk membuktikan samada dia tu jaguh kampung ataupun power nak mampus..!! Here's the list of the groups and this season contenders :

Group A
Bayern Munich
Juventus
FC Brugge
Rapid Vienna

Group B
Arsenal
Ajax
Sparta Prague
FC Thun

Group C
Barcelona
Panathinaikos
Werder Bremen
Udinese

Group D
Man Utd
Villareal
Lille
Benfica

Group E
AC Milan
PSV Eindhoven
Schalke
Fenerbache

Group F
Real Madrid
Lyon
Olympiakos
Rosenbourg

Group G
Liverpool
Chelsea
Anderlecht
Real Betis

Group H
Inter Milan
FC Porto
Rangers
Artmedia


Dalam group A aku rasa memang obvious Bayern dan Juventus akan top the group. Juventus ngan Bayern ni memang maintain form dia dalam UEFA Champions League (UCL) . Susah la untuk Brugge ngan Rapid Vienna nak cantas.

Group B ada team rival aku yang aku paling tak suka iaitu Arsenal. So aku harap mmg la dia tak lepas. Ditambah pulak dengan rekod buruk Arsenal dalam UCL. Tapi tengok group dia, cuma Ajax aja yang boleh bagi saingan sengit kan..? Tolong la FC Thun..! Buat kejutan sket..

Group C ada team yang aku rasa main bola paling stylish sekali iaitu Barcelona. Maybe Werder Bremen dan Barcelona akan top the group tapi aku tengok Udinese punya form pun boleh tahan gak..

My team is in Group D. Man Utd will definitely top the group this year. And aku tak sabar nak tengok MU lawan Villareal di Old Trafford. Bukan apa, aku nak tengok Diego Forlan main semula kat Old Trafford. Kalau dia score dan terbukti yang dia memang power, memang sah la dia hebat dan better main di Spanish League. Tapi kalau dia main cam sial, memang sah dia ada badi kat Old Trafford.. :)

Group E ada team yang aku rasa macam confirm akan masuk final UCL lagi tahun ni iaitu AC Milan. Dia dah ada Gillardino pastu dia beli Vieri. Jangan lupa yang dia still ada Shevchenko. And Pippo Inzaghi. Defend dia tak yah citer la.. Memang yang terbaik di Eropah. Mmg power gila team ni. Tapi jangan lupa yang dia akan main di negara badi dia iaitu Turki bila lawan Fenerbache nanti. Maybe peluang untuk PSV Eindhoven to top the group.

Real Madrid. Group F ni memang dia punya. The Galacticos really has it this year. Aku kagum gila dengan Robinho. Budak ni memang bakal jadi bintang besar dunia. Semalam baru confirm yang dia beli Sergio Ramos. So good news untuk defend dia yang tak berapa nak ok sangat. Julio Baptista pun ada.. hmmm. Tapi kekadang terlalu banyak star dalam satu team pun tak menjanjikan kemenangan yang total. If they mess up, Lyon will definitely take advantage.

Group yang paling orang suka nak cakap and suka nak tengok is Group G. Dalam tu ada the UCL trophy holders iaitu Liverpool dan jugak team yang makin lama makin poyo iaitu Chelsea. Aku punya instinct kuat mengatakan yang Anderlecht dan Real Betis akan buat kejutan dalam group ni. Sebab diaorang 'dark horse' so pressure tak kuat. I really hope they will top the group.

Group H is a three way competition. It takes a miracle for a club like Artmedia to win. Inter Milan macam biasa akan bergantung kepada atas super-power strikernya, Adriano. Baru start musim baru bola sepak tahun ni, mamat ni dah buat 2 hattrick..!! Memang dia akan jadi top scorer lagi tahun ni. Ditambah pulak dengan kehadiran 2 kuda tua yang masih boleh pakai, Figo and Solari, aku rasa Inter Milan akan top the group. Porto is a one hit wonder dan aku rasa bolasepak dia membosankan. Aku suka tengok Rangers main and I really fancy them to follow Inter to progress to the next round.

Biasa musim UCL ni, aku ngan bebudak ofis aku ni akan compete dalam UCL Fantasy Football. Tapi aku website dia (sini) still tak bukak lagi. Takkan takde kot tahun ni? Ala.. bosan aaa. Takkan kitaorang nak compete EPL Fantasy Football aja. UCL Fantasy Football mencabar sket sebab ramai sangat star dan ia akan membuatkan players pening kepala every week untuk memilih pemain dalam team dia..

Man Utd for Champions League! Come On U Reds..!!

06 September 2005

.. Joni's Promise.

.. hari yang memenatkan di ofis. Kalau aku keluar outstation balik aja mesti banyak aja benda yang aku kena buat. Kerja terkumpul, mmg la banyak. Setakat ni dalam checklist aku ada 8 benda yang belum settle. Fuhh.. lepak jap aa. Tulis blog lagi best.. hehe.

Semalam aku ngan girlfriend aku gi register kat UKMBangi. Nasib baik takde problem. The last time aku deal dengan diaorang mmg kerek nak mampus diaorang ni. Mentang-mentang la aku bayar yuran lambat. Muka pun macam menyampah aja tengok aku datang. FYI, untuk student part-time, kami diletakkan di bawah PKP. Diaorang ni kekadang ok kekadang tak ok. Tak kisahlah..Yang penting aku dah register. Cuma aku blank mana nak cekau RM3000 lebih nak bayar yuran semester ni.. Hutang ngan member aku pun lum bayar lagi.. isshh..! Mahu gadai barang jugak aku nanti..

Lepas register tu aku pegi Kota Damansara gi hantar keropok leko yang aku beli kat T'ganu dekat kakak aku. Dah alang2 pegi Damansara, aku ngan girlfriend aku pun decide nak gi usha GSC yang baru bukak kat One Utama. Stylo gak la panggung wayang dia... Nampak macam banyak lagi space yang dia belum buat apa-apa. Aku rasa layout dia lagi cantik dari TGV yang ada kat OU tu.. Seat dia pun selesa. Memang orang cakap bau kedai lagi aaa..



Janji Joni. That's the film we decided to watch. And a very good decision I must say. It's better than 2 of the Indon film I saw this year, Tentang Dia and Ungu Violet. Film ni actually adalah sebuah filem tentang filem. Apparently, a typical Indonesian film would have six reels of films. These six reels are shared by a few cinemas within the vicinity and it is up to the delivery guy to make sure that the next reel is delivered before one reel finishes. The delivery guy is played by Nicholas Saputra (impressively.. he even played drums in one scene!) . So macamana kalau film reels delivery guy ni cannot make it on time? Itulah premis citer ni...

Aku actually rasa filem ni adalah road movie tapi dalam jangkamasa sehari (..perasan tak Malaysia tak ada road movie lagi selepas 'Dari Jemapoh ke Manchestee? Naper aa..? Kena tunggu Baik Punya Cilok ni.). Kita dapat tengok macam-macam benda yang terjadi dalam masa sehari and the people that he met in the process of delivering the film reels. Aku rasa kat Malaysia ni takde profession penghantar filem ni. Sebab panggung kita tak la banyak sangat macam kat Indonesia sampai nak kena share.

Banyak interesting thing pasal filem ni yang aku suka sangat. There is one particular scene that I really like where Joni explain to the audience about the 8 (or 7) behaviors of moviegoers. Memang kelakar gila, and ada kebenaran dia. And the cameo part by none other than Barry Prima..! Kalau sapa yang tahu, Barry Prima ni memang hero action film gred B Indonesia yang paling top. Kira macam Van Damme Indon la. Selalunya film dia ada action pastu banyak sex scene. Tapi kali ni dia berlakon sebagai driver teksi. It's so damn funny. U have to see it. Soundtrack filem ni pun gempak gila..! Semua dari punk rock band underground Indonesia (..such as Zeke & The Popo, The Adams, Media Distorsi and many more) dan memang kena sangat dengan manic pace movie Janji Joni ni. Tapi yang aku paling suka is the message of the movie. Janji Joni depicts just how films connect people regardless of distance, race or gender. Sebagai contoh, two strangers can become friends (or enemies) after discussing a film. A movie can even influence a person to have a career change after watching it. The movie opens with Joni telling the audience yang hampir kebanyakan orang yang kita jumpa sepanjang jalan kita setiap hari either are thinking about a movie or daydreaming to be in a movie. Aku rasa that statement explains it all.

Movies, film, motion pictures... It has an effect on our lives whether you realized it or not.

..but then again, that's just me. :)

05 September 2005

na.. na.. na.. na.. ganu kite..!

.. sakit badan siot. Semalam dlm kul 9.30 mlm camtu aku baru sampai KL dari Terengganu. Naik Toyota Unser, 6 orang.. so aku telah terpilih untuk menduduki seat yang paling belakang. Sepanjang perjalanan tu lutut aku dah dekat sama paras ngan kepala aku. Tepi aku ada sepuluh beg keropok ikan dan jugak beg-beg yang lain. Kerusi tu pulak keras semacam. Dan dekat Lebuhraya Pantai Timur tu pulak jalan dia boleh kalahkan roller coaster kat Genting. Memang tak selesa langsung.! Dah la tak boleh melunjur kaki, badan bau ikan, jalan pulak tak rata, nak tidur pun tak boleh.. hari ni plak kena kerja! Aduh.. lambat 15 minit aku masuk ofis hari ni. Lantak aaa...

Tahun ni aku boleh dikatakan banyak jugak la pegi outstation. Last month aku baru aja balik dari Sarawak, awal bulan ni dah ke Terengganu. Sepatutnya next week aku kena pegi Kangar tapi aku tolak sebab ada kelas. Semua ni dalam rangka promosi satu savings scheme yang diendorsed oleh kerajaan. Will tell u more about that later..

Hari first (khamis) hari tu aku dekat Kemaman. Kitaorang tinggal kat Awana Kijal. Perghh..! Memang cantik tempat ni.. Tapi sayang aku pergi tu atas sebab official so mmg tak sempat nak buat apa pun. Aku pulak takde digital camera, (bila kita nak beli ni bee?) so the only souvenir that I got from awana kijal is the shampoo and shower cap. Kira boleh la tunjuk bukti yang aku dah pegi.. hehehe. Tapi satu benda yang tak best masa aku stay kat situ is the fact that aku kena duduk sebilik ngan bos besar aku! Aduh, terbantut segala pergerakan aku dalam bilik hotel tu.. Nak isap rokok pun tak bleh. Nak berak pun segan..! Aku sanggup turun gi berak kat lobby sebab bleh isap rokok sekali.. hehe. Aku pun tak tahu kenapa dia kena duduk sebilik ngan aku sebab kalau ikutkan rate dia lepas untuk satu bilik sorang. Maybe bilik dah penuh kot..

The next day is the big event, aku terjaga kul 8 selepas aku dengar bos aku kt sebelah cakap '..subuh dah terlepas ekk tadi..'. Alamak! Terkantoi..! Aku kunci jam aku tapi maybe sbb letih and syok tidur dalam aircond aku tak sedar langsung.. Alarm kat handphone aku pun dah ada orang tutup. Hehe. Segan siot! Pas turun breakfast kat bawah, bos aku tu sekali lagi mengeluarkan kenyataan yang menikam aku straight at the heart, '..semalam kuat betul you berdengkur. Letih kot.' Adoii..! Not to mention that he blurt out this statement in front of everybody...! And he just told everyone that he couldn't sleep last night. So everyone was like sneering at me. Aku hanya mampu tersengih macam orang gila.

The event was like crazy man...! Ramai gila babas orang yang datang..! Sepanjang roadshow aku, kat kemaman ni yang paling ramai orang datang. Dah macam ada gig underground except no pogo and body surfing. Havoc! Aku sebagai orang IT, in charge of technical part of the event. So my concern is the P.A. systems, the audio level of the event, the projection of the multimedia presentation, the lighting, the wires and the cables and some other technical stuff. Alhamdulillah semuanya berjalan lancar except masa multimedia presentation tu mula, ada budak2 tadika keluar in front of the screen dressed as tigers and lions..! What the farrkk! Rupanya cikgu dia dah tersalah bagi cue. Sepatutnya budak2 tadika ni keluar lepas the presentation. Nasib baik aku sempat halau budak-budak tu ke belakang..

The next day aku bertolak ke Kuala Terengganu pulak sebab ada event kat sana. Tinggal kat Primula pulak. Tapi kali ni bos aku duduk bilik sorang. Fuhh..! Lega gilos..! Sampai aja di Primula aku tengok bos aku ni lain macam aje muka dia. It turns out yang dia kena food poisoning. So aku bertugas jadi runner AKA jururawat lelaki AKA Gaylord Focker bagi bos aku ni plak. Pegi beli ubat, beli makan, bawak gi klinik.. Fuhh! Nasib baik la bos aku ni tak kutuk aku lebih-lebih semalam. Kalau tak memang aku tinggal je.. hehe.

.. So that's my terengganu story. Hari ni aku nak half day sebab aku kena pegi Bangi untuk register semester baru. FYI, aku amik part-time degree kat UKM KL. So lepas ni sibuk sket la aku sebab kelas aku boleh dikatakan everyday.. Sepatutnya semalam aku register tapi disebabkan aku outstation so kena la pegi register hari ni. Semalam masa kat T'ganu girlfriend aku call bagitahu result.
Grafik : B, alkhwarizmi : C-, Keusahawanan : B+, Public Speaking : A. CGPA : 2.88.

Kira ok la dengan usaha yang aku dah buat. Tapi aku memang confident aku akan dapat A dalam Public Speaking tu sbb aku rasa aku dah pukul habis masa bagi speech in front of the class hari tu.. Kalau tak dapt A mmg tak puas hati aku...

.. malasnya aku nak pegi Bangi. Aduh! Terpaksa jugak la.. Kalau tak, tak register aku semester ni..