The City Never Sleeps

In the previous 24 hours beginning Wed evening, i watch 3 movies within 24 hours. As a movie fanatic, i must say, it is no fun to catch 3 movies within 24 hours, cos it is mind exhausting and physically tiring to do so, even though the seats are really comfortable. Hey, a battle between what's showing on the big screen and the comfortable couch that can makes you fall asleep is going on in the movie theatres, especially where you can smell the air of a newly built cineplex.

Movie 1: Election 2
Time: Wed, 7.25pm
Venue: Jubilee, Ang Mo Kio Central.

Director Johnnie To continues the saga of Ho Sing, a secret society that has the history of 300 years, where the seniors are electing a new chairman to run the society for 2 years. Louis Koo and Simon Yam are the contenders for the election, and Yam has the desire to run for another 2 years again. (If you have watched the prequel, you get what i mean when he killed Tony Leung Kar Fai with a piece of rock.) Koo, being his favourite assistant cum the biggest threat, falls out after both of them have a conflict of interest in the trial. To be the chairman, the killing begins.

I leave you guys to see what happens in the end. But seriously speaking, Koo did 2 things that irks me, and makes the movie an unforgettable classic. You get what i mean when i tell you this:

Sin 1: To save his skin, he killed his bestfriend, who is an undercover for the police. (Note: Koo himself is a police undercover too.) The handsome hunky looking bespectacle dude, unfortunately, was tied up and kept into a sack, and thrown into the middle of the sea. My god, what a waste of cute looking guys.
Sin 2: Koo killed Yam's assistant, chopped and make mincemeat out of him. He chopped the body (where the audience could see the parts coming off from the body), placed it into the mincemeat machine and viola, here comes the freshly made mincemeat. Eventually, the mincemeat enter the doggie's stomach for dinner. Aunties and ah sohs oohs and aahs and aiyohs throughout the scene.

Mabey the ah sohs should think twice before bringing their kids to queue up for free tickets to an adult movie in future.

Movie 2: The Sentinel
Time: Thurs, 11am
Venue: HP Hall, The Cathay

Just in case why it is named HP Hall, The Cathay Hall 2 is sponsored by Hewlett-Packard, your well known PC cum Printer coy. The aging Michael Douglas had an affair with Kim Basinger, who plays the 1st Lady of US in this action thriller, about Douglas, who works for the secret service for 25 years, was framed for a conspiracy of assisnating the US President.

Director Clark Johnson ( who brought you S.W.A.T ) fails to bring in any new surprises into the thriller. Douglas, after seeing him playing as a US President in The American President (1995) and Detective Nick Curran in Basic Instinct (1992), he rotate his role as police officer, business man and yada yada yada...
Now, he plays an agent in the secret service. Not much chemistry with co-actor Kiefer Sutherland, who plays an FBI agent who investigates the conspiracy.

It was so so to see 2 uncles solving the riddle to find the mastermind, but interesting to see Douglas and Basinger having an affair, despite their old age in the movie industry.

Movie 3: 16 Blocks
Time: Thurs, 1.05pm
Venue: Hall 4, The Cathay

Richard Donner of Lethal Weapon fame casts the aging Bruce Willis (he is aging, gone were the days he chased after the crooks in Die Hard.), Mos Def and aging David Morse (made the history in Taiwan for being the 1st American actor to be nominated in Taiwan Golden Horse Award for the supernatural thriller Double Vision with Tony Leung Kar Fai and Rene Liu.) in the thriller, where Willis has to bring Mos Def, a witness to police corruption, to the court by 10am. They left the prison at 8.10am, and all hell breaks loose from Chinatown in NYC where Willis gets himself some boose and locked the talktative Mos Def into the car. The crooked cops wants to kill Mos Def, and when Willis killed the killer who attemp to silent Mos Def, the duo has to run across 16 streets to get to the court before 10am.

Coompared to The Sentinel, 16 Blocks gives a harsher and more real look of the crooked cops in America. Slightly more violent and more gripping sequences than Sentinel. Filmed in the real time (where the story has to be told from a certain time to the deadline, no few hours later, no a night later, no 1 week later, no nothing.) and in the busy street of NYC, 16 Blocks is definitely digestable. However, Mos Def seems to take the limelight of Bruce Willis, where he have no problem throwing out 10 sentences in a chaotic hour. Willis, on the other hand, does not have much dialogue in it, except that he develops a beer belly specially for 16 Blocks.

Indeed, it kills a lot of my time so as to make life easier, but at the same time, i am making up my loss for NS right now. After seeing what will be playing in the theatres during my 2 weeks o confinment, these 3 are definitely much more better than what will be making into its way to the theatres.

And here is the score card:

Election 2: 7/10
Sentinel:6/10
16 Blocks: 7/10

Just what does the country of Kimchi aka South Korea had an impact to Singapore?

Everyone goes gaga after Lee Young Aae when she arrives in S'pore. (even though she looks like Bridgette Lin Chin Hsia in her younger days.)

Travel package to MBC Studio (the studio where the Korean drama Dae Jeum Geum aka Jewel In The Palace was filmed) are selling like hotcakes.

5 Korean drama series playing on Ch U every week, without fail.

Korean drama series always remained on the Top 10 Best Selling Drama Series Charts in your home video store.

At least 2 Korean movies make it to theatres every month. And yes, silly romantic comedy, dumb and ridiculous horror and not forgetting the cheap and good X-rated for the ah peks.

Jang Don Gun, Bae Yong Jun, Lee Young Ae, Soo Yi Jin, Kwan Sang Woo...worshipped like gods and goddess among every teens, working adults and ah sohs.

Theatres are always packed whenever a Korean film reaches our shores (be it Park Chan Woo, the sick and psychotic man behind the Revenge Trilogy or Kim Ki Duk, the man behind tonnes of arthouse porn, crowds are seen without fail at Cineleisure Orchard or Golden or Yangtze. And it is something for everyone, be it older teens or ah peks with one leg in their coffin. But no kids will be entertained. =P)

The Chinese abandoned their cheongsam over traditional Korean hanbok during CNY, and girls make themselves look like clones of Jeum Geum who travelled to Singapore through Time Machine (or even worst, they fell into jars of sauces by Lady Choi and the sauces took them to modern Singapore. =P)

More Chinese sign up for Korean classes to learn Korean, and how happy those language school operators are.

But we do not see more Korean restaurants mushrooming around us. Instead, it invaded the food courts in your friendly neighbourhood shopping mall.

We do not see Kimchis snapping up on our shelves in the supermart. People opt for the convenient stuff: Kimchi noodles instead.

Me, as a hardcore resistant to Korean culture, has somehow, fall into their trap and absord Korean culture somehow.

I eat Kimchi noodles (good for you if you have a flu, cos you will sweat a lot and you will feel shiok after eating Kimchi mee. But no Kimchi please. I almost spit up the Kimchi sample right in front of a Korean lady who was down for Korean food fare at Ngee Ann City 2 years back.) and Korean BBQ (and that only limits to Seoul Garden. Now i am craving for it...)

I watched Dae Jeum Geum in Mandarin (sorry but trying to listen to Lee Young Aae's sweet voice is a mission impossible in my house, unless you are watching the DVD.)

I watch Korean films, but i only opt for the best. (I watch Park Chan Woo's Chinjeolhan Geumjassi aka Sympathy for Lady Vengence, which also stars Lee as the heroine seeking for revenge on a crime she shouldered for her lover. Kim Ki Duk? How i wish i could watch his Nabbeun Namja, aka Bad Guy. It's sick and pervertic for my liking.)

Two days ago, accompained my mum to The Cathay for a real crappy Korean comedy: Jakeob-ui jeongshik aka The Art of Seduction. Son Ye Jing and Sung Yik Guk plays a seductress and seducer who seduce one another with real dumb and silly ending. 2 hours of my time wasted...

And it comes with a price: my 1/2 hr episode of Ever Wondered About Food????

Early last month, a 18 year old JC schoolboy throw himself down from a HDB block across Bedok Post Office. He suffers multiple injuries and died in the hospital 2 hours later, after his last struggle with the pain.

The reason that drove him to his suicide: he find his penis too small.

Source: The Straits Times, 19th Apr 2006.

My jaws almost dropped after reading the news. It makes me wonder: does a size of a dick matters? And does a small dick has an ability to drive one to end his life? My goodness. This is one of the most hilarious, ridiculous and weird reason that drives one to suicide.

But as we go deeper, we might find that the size of the penis is not the main cause of the suicide. Depression is more likely to be the reason that drove him to suicide. Think: a O Level top scorer who make it to a top JC here with excellent results and a colourful results for his non-acdamic achievement (and over here, he was a captain in his school rugby team.) who has a nice loving family and a caring girlfriend. He may not be able to cope the pressure for his preparation of A Levels, which carrys the expectation of the school, or mabey, the society as well.

Yet, he throw himself down just because he finds his penis small (even though it is considered normal for an Asian. He is a Chinese, fyi.), where he finds it pretty abnormal.

Now, who's the mastermind for the boy's suicide? Is it school pressure or his pressure of little manhood? If school pressure is the reason, i understand. Not many people can shoulder too much pressure at a go. It not only leads to the breakdown if the pressure drowns the person, but also kills the person. But if little manhood drives him to suicide...then,

I find it rather ridiculous. As a man myself, i know it is every men's dream to have a perfect thing to please their other half (be it gf, wife, mistress or boyfriend.), so do I. But, that shouldn't make one feel so depressed that he do not get what he expected. Hey man, does it matters whether you carrys a S size or a XXL? I don't think your girlfriend comes to you just because she wants pleasure physically. More rather, she wants care in emotion, where someone can hear what she wants to say, a shoulder for her to cry on, a other half to share her happiness. She do not come to you for the tools, but more rather, for her happiness!

God, just what on earth are the youths are thinking today...

Pulled Lawrence to join me for the special preview of Atom Egoyan's Where The Truth Lies at GV Plaza last nite. We agreed to meet each other at 6.30pm, and amazingly, he was there at 6.15pm, while i was still in the train. We were early, but the person in charge was late. Terribly late. I got my tix at 6.45pm, and the same scenario on the recent visit to the special preview of Mrs Henderson Presents makes a repeat telecast on the screening of Where The Truth Lies.

He get himself some butter flavoured styrafoam(aka popcorn, cos GV's popcorn taste like styrafoam. Yes, none but styrafoam. Jade cineplex's caramel popcorn taste much more better and affordable than GV's styrafoam) and asked me: 'Want to eat styrafoam?'

The naked truth bares itself at 7.15pm. In the end, it left us with dazed and confusion, and some disappointment.

Kevin Bacon looks really great on his role of Lanny in the 1950's, wheras he looks really ugly 15 years later. Colin Firth looks so so, and Alison Lohman looks...not bad. Wonderful figure, lovely hairstyle, her soft and white skin looks tempting...Bacon has a nice looking ass, which pairs up well with Lohman's figure.

Well the whole movie revolves sex, sex and more sex. Lohman has been there and done that with Bacon and Firth. She gets herself high on drugs and boose, which ends up Firth blackmails her for having lesbo sex with one of the girls they met. She counter blackmails him that she will write down what he did to her in the book she is working on. If you do not know what the heck it is all about, Egoyan is trying to tell us a story (which was based on Robert Holmes novel of the same title) of Vince and Lanny, a duo who were well known for their witty and hilarious performances in the 50's. A girl shows up dead in the suite they stayed in, which leads to the breakup of the duo. Thus, it remains a mystery for the entertainment industry, on why they want to breakup. 15 years later, Karen, a author, was assigned to write an autobiography of the duo, where she must reveal the truth of the breakup. She had an affair with both, which in the end leads to the ending she would never expected.

On the telly, Vince and Lanny makes a fantastic duo. Beneath the TV screen, both lives beyond working partners. They gained sexual pleasures from women, but at the same time, they also falls in love with each other. One juciy bit about the story: Vince wanted to have sex with Lanny, and Lanny replies with:'I like you, i love you, but i will never fuck you!'

Woo...

What kind of relationship do they harbour for one another?

How (not) exciting to know that they liked each other, while they have sex with the opposite gender.

Lawrence and me goes for a meal of satay and nasi goreng ayam at Youth Park after the show. I told him i am hungry, cos i do not want to fill my tummy with styrafoams for dinner. The show was a bit boring, which makes me realised that i am feeling hungry throughout the show.

Yeah, thanks GV, for your inconsistence of showing the films. Would you mind please start the show early next time? I knew my cries of appeal would never make it to the customer service department of GV, cos they are so...

And that explains why i do not want to fork out $9.50 for a movie at GV, unless it is free of charge, or exclusively at GV, and no where else.

My oh my. After months of waiting, i am following Elias's footsteps:

i've received my enlistment letter, the letter that i long awaited.

Me will be enlisted on 9th June. So ladies n gentlemen, 9th Jun is the day i will begin a new life!

At least i know, i get to know 3 things in advance before i receive my green letter:

1) Golden Theatre has increased their price of tix to $8 for Thurs and Fri. Wkend + P.H at $9. (Gasp! $9 for a porn flick in an old theatre? they must be kidding...)

2) That not all French films are exactly my cup of tea (Watched Why (Not) Brazil, a French arthouse at Golden, and the movie is simply confusing. Before i could check out whether Etienne Daho performed the songs featured in the film, the film projectionist closed the curtain while image is still reflect on the screen. The image goes off after that. No end credits were played.

3) Seen the poster of:

at Golden Theatre, announcing to the ah peks that it will reach the shores here in 2 weeks time. Amazingly, before Why (Not) Brazil was played, the trailer of Where The Truth Lies runs to the audience first.

And that was the 1st time in my life i saw a English movie trailer comes with Mandarin subtitle. You may call me a sua koo, but i've seen Hollywood productions with Mandarin/Malay subtitle in M'sia. S'pore? Nah, you don't really get to see an English film with Chinese sbtitle.

Kevin Bacon, Colin Firth, Alison Lohman and Egyptian director Atom Egoyan is revealing the lies beneath the truth 2 weeks later, and hope that Lawrence could make it. Hey Lawrence, if you see this blog, trust me: Kevin Bacon will not fail you.

And to Lawrence, Jess and Yaoda: loved the presents. Thanks!

Last sunday, i've received my membership to Club 21. No no no. It is not that Club 21 where you get discounts for the chain of banded clothes or the chain that owns brands such as CK...
Nah.

I'm 21 liao.

21: The official age to fight in the war (though i'm not enlisted yet. But i wish to get in ASAP.)
The official age to watch R21 films (and i refer to both arty fare such as Brokeback Mountain and racy film, such as Alapaap, the crappy Pinas porn watched on Sun at Yangtze.)
The official age to vote for your new government and the party whom you wish to run in your constitute.

And so i had:

This lovely Rocky Road cake waiting for me.

And i had:

Lawrence, Jess and Yaoming to have that piece of cake with me.

Now, i realised that i am no longer that young, but somewhere far far away, Paul said that i still look young.

Oh thanks Paul for your comment of me still looking young.

21 21 21...Welcome to Club 21. Now, i am applying for my membership to Club 22. ;)