Movie Review

"JUNO"

Presenting an indie smash-hit that has movie-goers giving it a fantastic review and cracking up with laughter, along the way. Juno is named after a Roman Goddess who had to deal with teenage pregnancy while attending high-school crosses boundaries into adoption and brings into perspective, the importance of family support. Jammed packed with great dialogue and quirky teenage angst, I took to the characters with extreme ease and loved every minute of it. Directed by Canadian Jason Reitman who made another indie hit "No Smoking Please" and written by Diablo Cody, a former stripper who incidentally won the 80th Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.

Ellen Page stars as 16-year-old Juno MacGuff, an independent teenager confronting an unplanned pregnancy after an impromptu sex tryst on a chair with best friend, Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera). After taking three pregnancy tests at a local convenience store, Juno finally concedes and accepts that she is nine weeks pregnant. She had opted for an abortion but a last-minute change of heart paved the way for adoption. With help from her best friend, Leah (Olivia Thirlby) Juno searched a local thrifty newspaper called the "Pennysaver" for an adoptive couple. The scene where Juno broke the news of her pregnancy to her father, Mac (J. K. Simmons) and step-mum (Alison Janney) was hilarious and surprisingly, took to the news rather well. Juno went on to meet the couple, Mark and Vanessa Loring (Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner) in their manicured expensive home and finalizes the 'close' adoption arrangements, quite literally on-the-spot.

Juno strikes up an instant friendship with Mark when she notices a Gibson guitar in his room and they started jamming. Soon, she finds herself going over the Mark's place more often, who shares similar tastes in music, film and pop culture. However, Mark slowly discovers that he is not ready to be a father and still longs to be in a rock band but has set aside his dreams for a conservative life with Vanessa. Although Mark works as a commercial composer, he feels like an outcast in his own home, not given room to exercise his dream. Cracks are showing in the beautiful portrait of the lovely couple shown in the classified ads. All this while, Juno wrestles with the new emotions she feels for her baby's father, Paulie who also has feelings for Juno but plays it cool. Juno maintains an outwardly indifferent attitude to Paulie but confronts him when she learns that Paulie had asked another girl to the prom, only to be reminded that it is at her request they remain distant and points out she was the one who suggested his prom date in the first place. Another scene worth mentioning is when Juno's step-mum berates the ultrasound technician to stick to "What she knows" after passing an insensitive remark on Juno's pregnancy at such a young age. It felt great to see how she defended her step-daughter from snide remarks and let those who judge a person without knowing them, a taste of their own medicine. Not long before her baby is due, Juno is once again visiting Mark who confesses that he is leaving Vanessa and moving out. Vanessa arrives home and an argument ensues between her and Mark about whether or not it is "bad timing" for them to proceed with the adoption. As she watches their marriage fall apart, Juno leaves and cries on the side of the road not before coming to a decision. Returning to the Lorings' home, she leaves a handwritten note for Vanessa. After a heartfelt discussion with her father, Juno came to the realization that she loved Paulie all this while and revealed her true feelings to him. Later at a track meet, Paulie notices Juno is not in the stands and rushes to the hospital to be with her. At the hospital, he comforts Juno by holding her tight in bed and they both agree not to see the baby. Vanessa arrives at the hospital alone and joyfully claims the newborn boy as a now-single adoptive mother. Juno's note to Vanessa is finally revealed, in place of a portrait of her and Mark, reads "Vanessa: If you're still in, I'm still in. - Juno." The film ends with Juno and Paulie playing guitar and singing to one another. Watch out for the group of runners, appearing in timely scenes of the movie.

A huge thumbs up for a cleverly crafted movie with plenty of heart and a catchy soundtrack to boot. Five stars out of Five for sure and worth watching a second time.

Movie Review

"Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street"

Tim Burton is the perfect director to put his 'dark' spin onto a film adaptation of Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler's musical of the same name. His 2007 vision of the black comedy, part horror/ musical film stars the usual suspects of Johnny Depp as the demon barber and Helena Bonham Carter (wife of Burton) who was pregnant at time of filming as Mrs. Lovett with a strong cast made up of notable Englishmen. As a musical, the tunes here aren't as melodic as films like 'The Sound of Music' or 'The Phantom of the Opera' but but it still gets the message across, somehow. Singing may not seem natural when it comes to murder most fowl but there are scenes where singing can be somewhat irritating and repetitive. Having said that, Helena's singing syncopation of "Worst Pies in London" while making pies was a treat to watch and listen. All the actors featured can hold a tune quite well and did an incredible job, especially Depp. The film won awards for Best Motion Picture (Comedy or Musical) and Best Actor (Comedy or Musical) at the 65th Golden Globe Awards as well as nominations for Best Actor, Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design at the 80th Academy Awards.

The story tells of Benjamin Barker (Johnny Depp), a barber who is falsely accused and sentenced to a life of hard labor in Australia by the lustful Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman), who has his lecherous eyes on his beautiful wife, Lucy (Laura Michelle Kelly). Not knowing what happened to his family, Barker returns 15 years later under the alias of Sweeney Todd, set about to find the truth and seek revenge on Turpin. After bidding farewell to his sailor friend, Anthony (Jamie Campbell Bower) Todd returns to his old flat above his former landlady, Mrs Lovett's pie shop on Fleet Street where he learnt the dreaded outcome after his arrest. Turpin had forced himself on his wife and that she poisoned herself to death out of humiliation. The Judge also took captive of Barker's daughter Johanna as his ward, caged like a bird in his manor. The news devasted Todd and he vows revenge on Judge Turpin but not before singing "My Friends" to the razor knives/ blades hidden by Mrs Lovett.

Anthony wanders the streets of London in search of Hyde park when he stumbles upon the now-teenage Johanna and instantly falls for her. His attraction provokes a jealous Turpin to squash any thoughts of romance by instructing his henchman, Beadle Bamford (Timothy Spall) to hand Anthony a good beating. Over at the Street Market, an eager Todd challenges Italian master street barber Adolfo Pirelli (Sasha Baron Cohen of 'Borat' fame) to a speed shaving contest where he trounces his rival easily. Todd then uses the opportunity to invite Bamford to his shop for a complimentary shave and spread the word of his skills to his master. When Pirelli shows up at Todd's shop to reveal his true identity as Barker's former young Irish apprentice and blackmails Todd to half his earnings, an enraged Todd swiftly murders him to ensure the secret remains silent. When Mrs. Lovett learnt about it, she made a pact with Todd to grind up Pirelli's body into meat for her pies. Todd agrees, and then installs machinery in his barbers' chair to dump the bodies of his victims through a trap door to Lovett's basement bakehouse and thus, began his downward spiral of innocent killings. Bussiness flourished and more bodies are needed to fuel the appetites of unsuspecting customers.

Fearing he might lose Johanna, Judge Turpin expresses his desire to marry her but is spurned by the young ward. Bamford encourages Turpin to visit Todd for a shave to enhance his appearance. When Todd is about to kill Turpin and exact his revenge, Anthony bursts into Todd's shop and accidentaly blurted out Johanna's plans to flee with him. An enraged Turpin hides Johanna in an insane asylum until she agrees to marry him. More killings went on before Anthony returns to reveal that he has found Johanna, Todd immediately instructs Anthony to disguise himself as a wigmaker's apprentice and free Johanna out of the asylum. He then writes a letter to Turpin informing him of Anthony's plans to free Johanna so as to lure the evil Judge and sends Toby to deliver it. When Toby returns, he voices his mistrust of Todd to Mrs. Lovett and recognized the money pouch of his old Italian tough-master in her possession. Mrs. Lovett, knowing the game is up, cuddles Toby and lures him into the bakehouse and locking him inside. As Lovett warns Todd of Toby's suspicions, they are surprised by the visit of Beadle Bamford to investigate "strange smells" coming from the bakehouse. While Todd lures Bamford into his barber shop, Toby finds a human toe in one of the pies. He then discovers stacks of human corpses and flees into the sewers avoiding Todd and Mrs. Lovett.

Meanwhile, Anthony and Johanna return to Todd's barber shop, where he tells her to wait for him. Disguised in men's clothing, Johanna quickly scrambles into the chest in the corner of the room as the beggar woman enters, looking for Beadle Bamford. Soon after, Todd returns to the shop and is surprised by the beggar woman, who appears to recognize Todd. Hearing Turpin is about to enter, Sweeney in a state of panic, slits the beggar woman's throat and drops her body down the chute. Turpin enters the room seconds later and accepts Todd's offer of a shave. Looming with his sharp razor over Turpin, Todd reveals his true identity and stabs him before slitting his throat. Todd then discovers Johanna hiding in the trunk and not recognising her, prepares to kill her but was interrupted by Mrs. Lovett's screams. He races to the bakehouse to find Judge Turpin still alive but he soon dies. As Mrs. Lovett opens the oven door to dispose of Turpin, the light from the burning coals shone on the face of the beggar woman. Todd moves closer and recognizes her as his wife, Lucy who was made to believe was 'dead'. Mrs Lovett reveals that Lucy survived her suicide attempt but the poison drove her mad. She tries to persuade Todd that she lied because of her love for him. Todd calms her down and bizarrely, begins to dance with her, saying that he loves her too and that "Life is for the Alive". Suddenly, he thrusts her through the open oven door and watches her burn to death. Todd then returns to Lucy and holds her dead body. Toby emerges from the sewer, picks up Todd's discarded razor and slits Todd's throat in a final act of vengeance.

The movie has it engaging moments as it builds up for the finale and adds a twist at the end but the throat-slashings with blood spurting and some cases, flowing out severed necks may not be everyone's cup of tea. You will either love or hate it, thankfully its more love than hate for me. Three razors out of Five.

Movie Review

"National Treasure 2 - The Book of Secrets"

The first family of Treasure hunters are back and this time, Mum (Helen Mirren) joins in the fun in this much-awaited squeal. Benjamin Gates (played by Nicolas Cage) opens "The Book Of Secrets" with new information about John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of President Abe Lincoln and how the 18 pages from Booth's diary became missing at a lecture when Mitch Wilkinson (Ed Harris) revealed that he holds one of the missing pages from his forefather which implicates Thomas Gates, Benjamin's great-grandfather in the assassination of Lincoln. Suggesting that Ben's great-grandfather could be Lincoln's murderer came as a shock to Ben and his father Patrick (Jon Voight) when they had always thought of their ancestor as a national hero during the Civil War. This jump starts Ben and his dad to risk their reputation and lives on a quest to clear their family name on the Gates' history. Rounding up the same team made up of tech-guru cum struggling author, Riley Poole (Justin Batha) and his estranged wife Abigail (Diane Kruger - HOT!), the treasure hunters have to solve the mystery behind the missing diary pages.

A wild goose chase from Paris to Buckingham Palace and The White House to obtain vital clues from the twin resolute desks. Even resorting to kidnapping the President of the United States did not deter Ben from finding out the truth while tracking down a page from the fabled Book Of Secrets! Along the way, we see how Ben deals with his rocky relationship with Abigail and Riley's failure with skirt-chasing. The action scenes of car chase through the gritty streets of London is nothing new for Hollywood and I was hoping for a more inventive and intense outcome but was let downed by the run-of-the-mill chaos. After all the twists and turns, the 'clues' point to a mystical "City of Gold" at Mount Rushmore and finding it will clear the family name. However, the finale was tame and predictable, much to my disappointment. There were also provisions made for a third movie, something to do with page 47 in the Book of Secrets.

This second ride is not as refreshing as the first movie but it still managed to dish out an exhilarating adventure for everyone of all ages! More characters may mean more fun but this is a case of "too many chefs, spoiled the broth". There were lesser clues and even lesser action but redeems itself with well-timed humour. Three stars out of Five.

Movie Review

Movie Review: "Lust, Caution"

Of all the hype surrounding the explicit sex scenes between Asia’s cinema icon Tony Leung Chiu Wai and newcomer Tang Wei in Ang Lee's new film “Lust, Caution”, it was Lee's trademark story-telling that made the strongest statement in this movie. If you are watching plainly for the sexual content on the big screens, you will be very disappointed as Singapore’s version (NC16) is the same as mainland China (148 mins) which has 9 mins left on the cutting floor to accommodate China’s audiences who incidentally, do not have a film ratings standard. Ang Lee made the cuts himself to maintain a certain flow of the movie while removing fundamental seduction, foreplay and torrid sex leading to the final orgasm that we are allowed to see as they gazed upon each other. “Lust, Caution” is an espionage thriller set in WWII-era Shanghai circa 1942, adapted from a short story by Eileen Chang. The plot centres around the assassination attempt on Mr Yee, a powerful political figure and an intelligence chief of a Japanese-backed Chinese government. Wang Jiazhi is a young student who is the bait and gets involved in a dangerous game of emotional intimacy with Mr Yee. Veteran Joan Chen plays the dutiful wife, Mrs Yee where she is seen most of the time interacting in scenes confined to the mahjong's table. **Backtrack to 1938 with China at war, many Chinese students including Wang escaped turmoil back in their homeland to further their education in a safe haven - Hong Kong University but the thought of fighting the war in a limited capacity were not far away from their young impressionable minds. This is where first year student Wang Jiazhi is roped in by a fellow student activist Kuang Yumin (Wang Leehom) to join his stage-play aimed at raising funds and show their resistance and unity against the Japanese. Success of the play soon lead to a real-life mission to kill a much hated traitor residing in HK aka Mr Yee who is collaborating with the Japanese occupiers and responsible for the torture and death of hundreds of patriots. The team of 6 students headed by Kuang hatched a plan to infiltrate the home of Mr Yee via his mahjong-playing wife (Joan Chen) so that they can target Mr Yee for assassination. Wang is thrown into playing the role of her a lifetime as Mrs Mai, wife a small time businessman who is in the import and export business. Unknown to Wang, the group has made plans to thrust her into becoming Yee’s mistress in a bid to win his trust and the scene where Wang loses her virginity to a fellow student showed her absolute resolve and commitment to the mission. Nevertheless, they fell short in Hong Kong although Jiazhi manages to lure Yee to her fellow conspirators but the ever guarded Yee did not bite. The mission is left in limbo when Mrs Yee called to announce their plans to move to Shanghai in short notice. ***Fast-forward to Shanghai in the year 1941, Wang Jiazhi is now a poor student living with her aunt and studying Japanese to dull herself. Kuang reappears into her life with news that Mr Yee is in Shanghai and tries to persuade Wang into reprising her role of Mrs Mai. Introduced to Kuang’s superior, a senior member of a secret Chinese Agency, Wang throw caution to the wind and reaffirms her commitment to get the job done. This time the plan is clear, Wang is to seduce Mr Yee again and set him up for termination. When the mission is accomplished, they will reunite Wang with his father in England. Mr Yee is delighted to see Mrs Mai again but his cautious nature gave way to lust as he finally getting his hands on Wang, literally. The stages of sex entangled the level of trust Yee is willing to go and as their rendezvous continued, the deeper she falls for him. At one stage, Kuang realizes the predicament Wang is in, even beg their handlers to speed things up and complete the mission quickly. The conflict between duty and love comes to a head when the final moment of Yee’s assassination draws near. Will she go with her head or heart? ****Drawing a fine balance between Lust and Caution is the theme of the movie but when love gets into the mix, it becomes a double-edged sword. When you are in love with someone who has to carry out a dangerous mission, how do you balance feelings of Love and Caution? Personally, I was smitten by the beauty and innocence of Tang Wei. When it came to delivering her lines in fluent Cantonese and Shanghai dialect, it was well-executed and believable. Her wonderful rendition of a classic mandarin love song was another highlight in this art-house film. The incredible performance by Tang Wei was top-notch throughout and I could feel every emotion of love and angst in her which is surely worth a Golden Horse Nomination. We now know why Ang Lee cast her in the role of Wang Jiazhi ahead of other big names. Tony Leung never lets us down with his masterful interpretation of Mr Yee who is equally tragic in his yearn for true love and trust. Wang Leehom is a tad disappointing in his role as Kuang Yumin who is stiff and 'deadpan' at times but this will be a great learning experience for him to improve on his limited acting skills. “Lust, Caution” can be heavy at times when we see the lives of people put through hell in times of War. One last thing, the cinematography was beautifully executed especially the scenes of populated streets in Shanghai were spectacular. The many pieces of cheongsams worn by Tang Wei also gets a notable mention as they show off her curves to seduce Yee and ME!

Ratings: 4 out of 5! Watch for Tang Wei’s beauty in the role that will propel her into stardom.

Movie Review

Movie Review – Ratatouille

Ratatouille (Rat/a/Too/ee) is a vegetable stew that originated from Nice, France. The key ingredients are tomatoes, with garlic, onions, zucchini, eggplant and basil, all marinated lightly in olive oil. It is served as a meal on its own or as a filling for crepes or an omelette.

I must get this off my chest - Ratatouille is the best CGI animation movie involving a rodent. No disrespect to “An American Tail” and “Stuart Little” but I was charmed by Remy, the little chef. The setting is Paris, France where miles of sewer tunnels ran underneath a cosmopolitan city, a city of great culinary history and fine gourmet restaurants. However, the underground sewers gave birth to a huge rat population and this is where we have a rat that harbors a dream of becoming a Chef one day. Academy Award winning director Brad Bird [who brought you “The Incredibles”] of Pixar animation studios takes us on a culinary journey through the eyes and ears of a rat who finds his way into the famous Chef Auguste Gusteau’s French restaurant led by the ghost of the late chef when Remy got separated from the colony while on the run. I loved the scenes where we see Remy’s point-of-view manoeuvring through the maze of pipes, cracks and sewers. The great chef was famous for his motto of “Anyone can cook” but little does he knows a RAT would become a master chef. The opening was great, I was drawn immediately to Remy (voiced by Patton Oswalt), a suburban rat who enjoys gourmet food. His sense of taste are refined and impeccable, a connoisseur of food and its ingredients that made it so appealing. A nose for freshness resulted in a refusal to eat garbage but eventually, forced by his father to use Remy's gift as a "poison detector". A hidden desire to become a chef like his hero, Gusteau comes in the form of Linguini (Lou Romano), a newly hired garbage boy cum kitchen cleaner at a Gusteau’s Paris restaurant. He forms an unusual partnership with the Remy, working together in funny circumstances, hiding under Linguini's chef's hat. Soon, Remy started to create dishes of culinary delight by manipulating Linguini, like pulling strings on a puppet. His culinary adventure is lived through Linguini and as word of mouth spreads, Gusteau's Restaurant is the talk of Paris again. Skinner, the Head Chef is jealous of Linguini’s newfound fame tried his best to discredit him but was ousted from the restaurant when the truth surfaced, Linguini is Gusteau’s son. Linguini not only gets ownership of the restaurant and in the process, wins the heart of the only female chef Colette (Janeane Garofalo). Skinner vows revenge and rats to the health department on the rodent infestation at Gusteau’s.
The real test comes when France’s most feared food critic Anton Ego (Peter O'Toole) decided to revisit Gusteau's having earlier given the restaurant a death sentence [review] that caused the death of a broken hearted Chef. When Linguini comes clean on the secret of his success and reveal the origins of his remarkable talent, the entire kitchen and waiting staff walked out on him. Faced with a disaster, Remy took over the reins of the kitchen with the help of his rat colony and dished out his version of the Ratatouille [vegetable stew] to the absolute surprise and utter delight of Ego. The scenes in the kitchen were extensively researched by the team of animators who spend time at “The French Laundry” [The French-based Michelin Guide bestowed “Three Stars” to The French Laundry] helmed by famous Executive Chef, Thomas Keller who served as a consultant for the movie. Everything you see in the movie mimics a professional kitchen/ restaurant setup, down to the recipes, ingredients and terms used are real, to its very last detail. The animators got all the cutting, chopping, knife work, ingredient preparation, cooking sequence, various cooking stations and kitchen equipments as close to reality as possible, making the action in "Ratatouille" truly exceptional.
There are times that even I, forgot that Remy is a rat! The seemingly conflict is between rats and humans, but in fact, members of each species get to learn a little about the other, in terms of racism and tolerance. To quote from Anton Ego: "Not everyone can be a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere." "Ratatouille" is very entertaining from start to finish and heart-warming in the closing moments, suitable for both the young and the old. A totally delightful meal, five out of five!
Extra: The various titles used in a professional kitchen of a French restaurant.

Executive Chef - In charge of everything related to the kitchen, including menu creation, staff management and business aspects. While the position requires extensive cooking experience and often involves actively cooking, it is not necessarily very hands-on. They can also be referred to as the "chef" or even "head chef".
Chef de Cuisine - This is a synonym for the title executive chef. This is the traditional French phrase where the title chef comes from and is more common in European or American kitchens with a classical French brigade system. In some establishments this title is used to designate a chef who is the head chef at one location of an operation that has multiple locations where the corporate chef has the title executive chef.
Sous Chef - The direct assistant of the executive chef and is second in command. He or she may be responsible for scheduling, filling in for the executive chef when he is off-duty. He or she also will fill in or assist the chef de partie (or line cooks) when needed. Smaller operations may not have a sous chef, while larger operations may have multiple.
Expediter or Announcer (Aboyeur) - The expediter takes the orders from the dining room and relays them to the stations in the kitchen. This person also often puts the finishing touches on the dish before it goes to the dining room. In some operations this task may be done by either the executive chef or the sous chef.
Chef de Partie - A chef de partie, also known as a "station chef" or "line cook", is in charge of a particular area of production. In large kitchens, each station chef might have several cooks and/or assistants. In most kitchens however, the station chef is the only worker in that department. Line cooks are often divided into a hierarchy of their own, starting with "First Cook", then "Second Cook", and so on as needed.
Station Chef titles which are part of the brigade system includes -
1. Sauté Chef (Saucier) - Responsible for all sautéed items and their sauce. This is usually the highest position of all the stations.
2. Fish Chef (Poissonier) - Prepares fish dishes and often does all fish butchering as well as appropriate sauce. This station may be combined with the saucier position.
3. Roast Chef (Rotisseur) - Prepares roasted and braised meats and their appropriate sauce.
4. Grill Chef (Grillardin) - Prepares all grilled foods, this position may be combined with the rotisseur.
5. Fry Chef (Friturier) - Prepares all fried items, position may be combined with the rotisseur position.
6. Vegetable Chef (Entremetier) - Prepares hot appetizers and often prepares the soups, vegetables, pastas and starches. In a full brigade system a potager would prepare soups and a legumier would prepare vegetables.
7. Roundsman (Tournant) - Also referred to as a swing cook, fills in as needed on station in kitchen.
8. Cold-Foods Chef (Garde Manger) - May also be referred to as the pantry chef, they are responsible for preparing cold foods, including salads, cold appetizers, pâtés and other charcuterie items.
9. Butcher (Boucher) - Butchers meats, poultry and sometimes fish. May also be responsible for breading meats and fish.
10. Pastry Chef (Pâtissier) - Prepare baked goods, pastries and desserts. The pastry chef often supervises a separate team in their own kitchen or separate shop in larger operations. Some kitchens may have an executive pastry chef.

[Source of Extra: Wikipedia.org]

Movie Review

Movie Review – “Hairspray” The Movie

The movie is based on the Tony award-winning Broadway musical, Hairspray (1988) by John Waters who incidentally, cameos as a flasher at the start of the movie. An all-star ensemble cast starring John Travolta as Edna Turnblad, Queen Latifah as Motormouth Maybelle, Michelle Pfeiffer as Velma Von Tussle, Christopher Walken as Wilbur Turnblad, Zac Efron as Link Larkin, Brittany Snow as Amber Van Tussle, Amanda Bynes as Penny Pingleton, James Marsden as Corny Collins, Elijah Kelly as Seaweed and introducing newcomer Nikki Blonsky as Tracy Turnblad.
The tunes are catchy, singing is pitchy, dancing is groovy, wardrobes are flashy and hair is all BIG with plenty of hairspray. The year was 1962 and TV is still black and white as with racial segregation. Tracy Turnblad is a young high school girl who idolizes Link Larkin on Baltimore daytime TV trendiest dance party known as “The Corny Collins Show”. When a ‘regular’ spot opens up in the show, Tracy sets her mind on auditioning for the dream role with an added opportunity to meet the man of her dreams. However, her protective mother Edna is afraid that Tracy might be ridiculed for her plus-size and get emotionally hurt in the process. She is consciences of her own weight problem and lacks confidence to face the public, thereby confining herself in the compound of their home. On the other hand, cheery Dad, Wilbur urges their daughter to go for it and think BIG to be big! Armed with her straight-laced sidekick, Penny Pingleton, Tracy went for the audition with high hopes, only to be chided for being fat and ugly by the Von Tussles. However, this is not the last we see of Tracy Turnblad.
A misunderstanding instigated by Amber Von Tussle landed Tracy in detention but discovers a whole new world of Negro dancing. She immediately forges a new wave of friendship with Seaweed and gang. Dancing has no racial barriers and it was the bridge to understanding each other cultures and moves. Soon, she wins them over with her slick dancing ability and racial openness. Spurred on by seaweed and Link, Tracy wowed the masses at the High School Dance and catches the eye of Corny Collins himself. As they say, the rest is history and Tracy made it onto the show but not without much dismay from WYZT station manager, Velma Von Tussle. Tracy’s sudden popularity is a massive threat to Amber from retaining the title of “Miss Teenage Hairspray” for the fourth year running and being the schemer that she is, nothing is beyond Velma to make sure Amber gets all the votes needed to be crowned once again. The racial divide widens when “Negro Day”, headlined by Motormouth Maybelle and her equally-talented black dancers is canned by the station in favour of Velma’s WHITE direction. Tracy’s insistence to integrate both worlds, Black + White result in a protest march and another half-truth caused her to go into hiding as a fugitive of the law. In between all this madness, Seaweed’s chance meeting with Penny started a chain of events and the two teens eventually fell in love, further thickening the racial tensions. The final gauntlet is thrown and the day of voting for “Miss Teenage Hairspray” has finally arrived. Our heroine will gatecrash the party and make her presence felt. Also checkout Edna’s dance steps as well, she can certainly shake that Ass! Go watch the movie adaptation and get a kick out of the musical melodies, funny script, dance choreography, superb acting and a history lesson. Four stars out of Five!

Movie Review

Movie Review - "The Simpsons"

The Simpsons have finally done it! Breaking into the big screens where 3D effects are a norm by way of a modest 2D showcase takes balls and that is how I liked it, as with all Simpson’s fans out there. It has been 18 years in the making, amassing over 400 episodes in the process [Trivia – an episode took 9 months to make while the movie took 18 months to complete], you would have thought creators Matt Groening and James L. Brooks must have been there and done that. But they come good when it matters, putting up a worthy movie debut which has all the elements of the good, bad and really ugly. I only caught onto the Simpsons bandwagon in their latter years but manage to catch all the earlier stuff from season one onwards till season 7. So suffice to say, I had a few years of Simpsons under my belt.
If you had NOT seen any Simpson’s earlier episode on TV, it would be advisable that you get hold of their DVDs and get acquainted with the eccentric family along with the quirky citizens of Springfield before watching the movie. The characters here are very diverse with associations to social groups we live with as well as spoofs too long to list in this entry. As long it is something worth poking fun of, rest assured that the Simpsons will pick it up and put their own spin on it. A brief bio - Homer J. Simpson is the head honcho cum craze-maniac of the family kept together by Marge Bouvier, a housewife of immense forgiveness and patience. The little ones are Bart Simpson, a mischievous brat and occasional evil genius. Lisa Simpson, the brain of the family who speaks her mind all the time and is the voice of reason. Last but no least, we have Maggie Simpson, the baby girl who has the artistic expression of a mime. There’s also the dog called Santa’s little helper but like we care.
The animation fest begins with a cartoon within THE cartoon of Itchy and Scratchy’s trip to the moon [guess who gets killed in the end?], thereafter, Homer branded all movie goers ‘suckers’ for paying to see a cartoon available on TV but nonetheless, we happily acknowledge that fact with a good laugh for which the Simpsons will certainly provide. Grandpa Simpson aka Abraham/ Abe has a premonition from the Heavens of an impending disaster befalling on Springfield after he was jolted from a dozing slumber during church, conducted by resident pastor, reverend Lovejoy. The gibberish from the elder statesman mimics the speaking of tongues, horrified the church goers who tried in vain to decipher his words. Homer’s response to Marge’s worried words of “Do something!” was classic, flipping through the Holy Bible and letting out “This book has no answers!” is a good start to this laugh-a-minute animation. The next piece of unraveling comes in the form of Bart’s weenie [a first for the Simpsons] as he skates downtown to Krusty’s after a round of ‘Dare’ with Homer. Handcuffed naked to a lamppost, Bart’s hopes of reprieve were dashed in his face when Homer faints ignorance and puts the blame on our little troublemaker, clutching on what’s left of his dignity and modesty. The yearning love of a father does come in the shape of neighbor Ned Flanders who offered Bart a pair of shorts and a shoulder to lean on.
Environmentalist Lisa Simpson’s door to door preaching on saving Springfield from toxic waste dumping had fallen on deaf ear’s but it lead to chance meeting with Colin, a fellow environment advocate from Ireland. Puppy love turns our level-headed girl into a shy, sappy teeny bop, melting at his every word. Homer brings home a pig after Krusty the clown forsakes it after a commercial shoot. Strangely, brain deficient Homer bonded better with the pig than Bart, showering it with love and attention. I am still laughing at Homer’s rendition of Spiderman’s theme song “Spider-pig, spider-pig, does whatever spider-pig does” while holding the pig upside-down to walk on the ceiling. When Lisa finally knocked some sense into the town-folks and got the Mayor to stop dumping waste into the river, Homer’s sugar rush to nab free donuts undo her work and send his pig’s waste silo into the river, turning it into a mutating toxic concoction, alerting the attention of the EPA [Environmental Protection agency] headed by Russ Cargill who went with a radical ‘DOME’ solution to contain the problem and hold Springfield captive.
When the news broke on the perpetrator who was responsible for their state of imprisonment, it sets off a lynch mob against the Simpson family, in particularly, Homer. They escape public slaying but before they can settle down to a fresh start in Alaska, Marge and her charges decides to return to Springfield to save the town from certain annihilation. Homer realizes in time to act upon his epiphany to rescue the people of Springfield through his crazy methods. Of course, it ends on a right note with Homey saving the day, wins Marge back, reconcile with his boy wonder and ride into the sunset. My words have dried up and I leave you with the best ratings to date, a full 5 D’uhs out of 5!

Movie Review

Movie Review - "Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix"

Where do I begin? First of all, I was utterly disappointed that the fifth Harry Potter movie is helmed by a rookie movie director, David Yates whose works thus far has been in British Television, mainly for BBC. Only award to date was an Emmy for Best Direction in a Made for Television Movie for 'The Girl in the Café' (2006). To be entrusted with a movie of epic proportions on his MOVIE directorial debut must have been a great leap of faith by the film producers and JK Rowling for that matter. More bad news, Yates has been confirmed to film the sixth film 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince' slated to start filming in September 2007. While the director succeed in telling the story but he left out the WOW factor present in every Potter films. Usually I give my movie ratings at the end of the review but this time it's a stinker with 2.5 wands out of 5!

My second displeasure is about the screenplay - The screenwriter this time round is Michael Goldenberg who replaced Steve Kloves, writer of the first four Harry Potter films. Therefore, it does seem a little disjointed for us to see the vision of another screenwriter at this crucial part of the movie franchise. But there is much reprieve as Kloves will return for movie No. 6 - Phew! Let me get another two more things out of the way. Thirdly, 'Order of the Phoenix' refers to a secret society formed by Dumbledore who uses their magical forces to combat Lord Voldemort. Fourth and most disappointing! The much anticipated kissing scene of Harry and Cho was downright SLOPPY and CRINGING! The scene should make it to the this year's MTV nomination for 'Best Kiss' but for all the wrong reasons though. My only surpise is Evanna Lynch, whose potrayal of the quirky Luna Lovegood is absolutely marvellous! Alright now, let us focus on the movie plot - Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley returns for their fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Heavily influenced by the propaganda of 'The Daily Prophet', the mass wizard community has shunned Harry and Albus Dumbledore's claims that Lord Voldemort has return after a 14 year hiatus. Unknown to the rest, the dark lord has regained his body and been restored to full power! A blatant ignorance of the facts by Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge led to appointment of a new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Dolores Umbridge who begins to take reins of Hogwarts through the support of the Ministry. In defiance to Umbridge's inadequate, textbook lessons which is devoid of actual magic, Harry founded "Dumbledore's Army" (DA), an underground organization made of 27 schoolmates that Harry teaches magic to defend themselves in case a battle with Voldemort ever happens. At the same time, Harry starts having telepathic dreams about what Voldemort is doing and saves Ron's dad, after seeing him being attacked in the Department of Mysteries by Nagini, Voldemort's pet snake. To prevent Harry from being driven to madness, Dumbledore immediately instructs Harry to take Occlumency lessons with Professor Snape in order to fight the Dark Lord's mind penetrations should Voldemort learns about the connection between Harry and himself. During one of their underground meetings, Neville reveals to Harry that his parents were tortured into insanity by Bellatrix Lestrange, a prisoner who had recently escaped from Azkaban. Harry assures Neville that they will make his parents proud and avenge their deaths. Umbridge soon uncovers the secret organization after finding out from Cho who was forced to take Veritaserum, a truth potion. To throw Umbrigde off their track, Harry and Hermione lure her into the Forbidden Forest, where she is taken away by a centaur herd after insulting them with assistance from Hagrid's giant half-brother, Grawp. The vision of Sirius Black being tortured by Lord Voldemort in the bowels of the Department of Mysteries prompts Harry to launch an immediate rescue. Harry and his friends then flies to the Ministry of Magic on Thestral entering the Department of Mysteries in the fabled Hall of Prophecy, where his friends discover a small glowing ball with Harry's name on it. When Harry retrieves it, it recites a prophecy concerning him and Voldemort, a ploy set by Lucius Malfoy to reveal the destiny of Voldemort and Harry. A fierce battle ensued between DA and Voldemort's Death Eaters (DE), their spells cause the shelves of prophecies to collapse resulting Harry and the others to run through the door and falling into the Death Chamber. The DE capture Harry's friends and Lucius Malfoy appears, threatening to kill them if Harry doesn't hand over the prophecy. Sirius and the rest of the Order arrived in the nick of time to foil Lucius's plans and unwittingly, smashed the prophecy into smithereens. Harry tags-team with Sirius to duel Malfoy and his DE but in the end, Bellatrix Lestrange's sudden appearance to cast the Avada Kedavra, a killing curse upon Sirius. He smiles at Harry before falling into the archway and disappearing. Harry pursues Sirius's muderer to the Atrium of the Ministry stunning her with the Cruciatus Curse. Harry then hears a voice telling him to kill her, it was Voldemort who swiftly appears and disarms him. Just before Voldemort was about to kill Harry, Dumbledore comes to his resue and a climatic duel erupts between the two while Bellatrix escapes. The battle ends in a draw while Harry falls to the ground. Lord Voldemort attempts to possess him failed after an agonising internal battle. Voldemort is ultimately forced from Harry's body and mind, prompting him to state that Harry "will lose everything" due to the profound amount of love that resides within him. Fudge arrives just seconds before Voldemort vanishes, shocked at who he had just witnessed. The Ministry is forced to acknowledge its error and vindicate Dumbledore and Harry! Finally, Harry revealed to Dumbledore the contents of the prophecy which Voldemort wanted so badly.....

"Either must die by the hand of the other, for neither can live while the other survives."

8 Days Letter of the Week

“Bite Me”
For every occasion albeit a celebration or unlucky in love, there is the perfect food to go along with it and your issue #878 personifies it on a National level. There are foot trails longer than the Great Wall of China when it comes to queuing up for cuisine in this food-crazy Island. Led by our 'Queen of bottomless stomach' Fiona Xie could be the most underestimated food hunter with a nose for tasty morsels. 8 Days have single-handedly put these 42 food establishments on the map of Singapore dining, pairing the moment to the food like a Sommelier would match the wine to the main course.
Food Hunter

Published on 8 Days Issue No.879 dated August 23, 2007

“Zoe-Pursuit”

With the most recognizable face in Singapore, I have been pursuing news about Zoe for years but no one came close to the thrill your magazine provided on issue 874. Watching her every move and gesture has me intrigued from head to toe. Holding out my magnifying glasses to scan details of her gesticulations, the clothes and accessories she had on while scribbling notes onto my scrapbook, next to the pictures you took from afar. Kudos to Zoe for being such a good sport for participating in this ‘Cat & Mouse’ paparazzi game bordering on the lines of stalking and adulation. The Xclusive interview with Brayden ushers in the birth of another new starlet. Welcome to the world of Show-Biz, Brayden!
Celebrity Bandwagon

Published on 8 Days Issue No.875 dated July 26, 2007

“Potter-Guide”
JK Rowling has finally begun preparing him up for a grand stand finish to our wizardry battle with Hermione and Ron in tow. My powers have almost fully recovered and my destiny with Potter will be revealed in the Order of the Phoenix. My return has been speculated and whispered in secrecy but it’s time to come forth and behold my dark powers! Your interview has given me more insight to the weakness of my sworn enemy and this issue will be in my back pocket as a reference guide when we are ready to duel!

Lord Moldy-mort

Published on 8 Days Issue No.874 dated July 19, 2007

"What's the BIG deal?"
"Honey, they have shrunk 8 Days!" perked my wife in her shrieking voice. "What?" I answered shakily from slumber. As my eyes come into focus, three beauties emerge in a tiny package of infotainment in the palm of my hand. Can it be true or is it my imagination that 8 Days had re-invented itself into bite size portions with the same wholesome goodness? Somehow, getting smaller has never been bigger in new perspectives and substance. The story on DOND briefcase girls have opened new looks to beauty and brawn. Coming to terms with earning $250,000 and how well it can feed you does makes sense of life in a nutshell. One thing for sure, it can buy me a few dozens of lifetime subscription to 8 Days. It’s a DEAL!
Deep Sleep
Published on 8 Days Issue No. 869 dated June 14, 2007

Movie Review

Movie Review - "Transformers"

“Autobots! Transform and roll out!” are words that will warm every heart of adults growing up in the 1980’s when “Transformers – More Than Meets the Eye”, the cult animated TV series was a mainstay in the entertainment diet of children, teenagers and reluctant parents who are constantly begged to buy that robot in the window. Personally, I was one of those who planted themselves in front of the television, hooked on these transforming ‘talking robots’ every week. The cartoon soon out-grown its TV success and eventually, was released into theatres as an animated movie in 1986. Every kid in the neighbourhood would kill to own a transformers toy [Gen:1] first launched by Hasbro (1984) in his grasp. Once word spreads that you are one of those lucky few who has a prized transformers in possession will soon be the envy of every kid on the block, all trying hard to be your friend just to have a chance to lay their hands on an innocent looking automobile that changes into an Autobot or Decepticon. Owning Optimus Prime, Megatron, Bumblebee, Jazz and Starscream will propel you to superstar status in the children social circle. Every kid will linger around your home looking ever so longingly at their favourite transformers which effectively is two toys in one package. Besides having the coveted toy, you must learn to say the lines as the character would and mimic various sound effects of transforming, laser beams and so on. Soundwave has the coolest but toughest voice to impersonate and it was just too much fun to pass it up. Fellow transformers toy owners will get together to role-play and simulate battle situations carried out over playgrounds, shopping centres, nurseries, homes and even in the bathroom.

Michael Bay’s version of the long-awaited animated series adaptation into a movie is heavily updated to reflect present times. Bumblebee receives an extreme makeover from a VW Beetle into a Chevrolet Camaro while Megatron transforms into an alien jet instead of a hand cannon. Soundwave is badly missed in the movie adaptation but a diminutive stick-like robot replaces the reconnaissance master of the original series wrecking havoc on Air Force One. After much pressure from fans worldwide, Michael Bay relented and cave in to their cries to have Peter Cullen return as the original voice of Optimus Prime [he does the voiceover for Ironhide as well]. Putting a familiar voice did well to satisfy the cravings of fans but the CGI graphics blew me away.

The movie opens with a lone rogue helicopter entering US military airspace in Qatar but despite repeated warnings landed calmly in its air base only to transform into a robotic killer aka “Bloodhound” destroying everything in its path, jamming all communications and stealing top-secret computer files. The pentagon goes into overdrive with the Secretary of Defence, John Keller (Jon Voight) seeking help from anyone who can make sense of the data transmitted from Qatar during the attack. Mystery hangs in the air and we were introduced to Sam Witwicky (Shia LeBeouf – pronounced as Shy-Yah La-Bove) telling his class about the exploits of his explorer grandpa in between hawking items for sale in eBay and negotiating with his teacher in giving him an ‘A-’. Little does he know that his grandpa’s glasses hold the key to the survival of Earth. Bumblebee has been sent to earth camouflaged as a beat-up Camaro and brokered his way into being Sam’s first car for US$4,000. Being the guardian of Sam, bumblebee played fairy godmother and charmed his schoolmate, the sexy Mikaela (Megan Fox) into letting him drive her home. As the story unravels, Sam is taken on a wild ride with Mikaela in tow as the Autobots reveals their true identity, the discovery made by his grandpa and its mission to retrieve the energy cube called the “All-Spark” which gives life to machines before it falls into the hands of the Decepticons, led by the evil Megatron who will use it to destroy earth. There is much awe and humour to the Autobots when they follow Sam home to pick up his grandpa’s glasses. To add to the madness is Agent Simmons (John Turturro) of a top secret government agency called Section 7 to complicate things further and arrest the entire Witwicky household along with bumblebee who was captured when Optimus Prime and his Autobots tried to rescue Sam. As more twist and turns come into the fold, Megatron is released from his cryogenic state and the final battle is awesome to behold. The battle scene is worth the ticket alone as Shia protects the energy cube with his life alongside Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Jazz, Ironhide, and Ratchet. Those who aren’t familiar with the transformers will have a hard time following who are the Autobots and Decepticons in the street battle scenes involving the military. And of course, the good guys always win in the end but there are provisions made for more sequels to come as we see Starscream [F-22] escape earth and Optimus Prime sending out a signal to remaining Autobots stranded in space to come forth to earth. Great movie magic – 4 energy cubes out of 5!

P.S. - The soundtrack of Transformers is kicking with bands like Linkin Park, Smashing Pumpkins, Disturbed, The Goo Goo Dolls and many more.

Movie Review

OCEAN’S
13

Cast – The usual suspects +’plus’ Al Pacino and Ellen Barkin –‘minus’ Julia Roberts and Catherine Zeta Jones

This third and final caper is about unspoken code amongst gentlemen, brotherhood and revenge as Danny Ocean summons all 13 bandits to break “The Bank”. Reuben Tishkoff (Elliott Gould) goes into partnership with the wily old fox, Willy Bank (Al Pacino) to build a new hotel casino called “The Bank” on the Las Vegas strip but got stiffed up badly despite having shaked on “Sinatra’s Hand”. Not only did Ruben lose his end of the deal, the double-crossing proved too much as he slips into a semi-conscious state induced by heart attack. David Soderbergh left out the leading ladies from Ocean’s 11 & 12 solely to focus on the plot but would they add more glamour to the proceedings, a definite YES! Ellen Barkin plays Abigail Sponder, the eagle eyes and bat ears of Willy Bank running the Hotel Casino floor with ruthless efficiency. While this movie is a worthy end to the Ocean’s trilogy, ‘11’ still gets my vote as the best one yet, with ‘13’ in close second and ‘12’ a very distant third. There is no gimmicky editing, what you’ll see is what you’ll get, unlike its predecessor’s mysterious “How did they do it?” hanging in the air till the final reveal at the end. For a fitting final reunion, they brought back characters like Frenchman Francois ‘Sticky Fingers’ Toulour (Vincent Cassel), technical genius Roman Nagel (Eddie Izzard) and Bellagio's owner Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia) to very good effect. The plan was simple - To infiltrate “The Bank” and make it pay “BIG” on opening night. They have to take control of its casino operations be it manipulating dices, rigging jackpot & card shuffling machines, controlling the roulette table and even introducing their own rigged casino game into the fold. The lengths they will go in the name of revenge extends to digging a tunnel under hotel casino to manufacture a man-made earthquake [cue exit strategy]. The movie’s non-linear structure comes in quick flash backs of past to present while montage footage of multi-views incorporating scenes happening at the same time can be a little bit too busy for us to digest. As the plan sets in motion, hiccups happened along the way and Terry Benedict comes in the picture as an unexpected financier who has a vested interest in breaking “The Bank” but wants them to steal the five-diamonds awards as part of the deal. Another interesting sub-plot involves misdirecting the ‘real’ five-diamonds reviewer (David Paymer) into having the worst experience of his life but he is well compensated at the end courtesy of Rusty (Brad Pitt).
Con-artist Linus Caldwell (Matt Damon) grew up under the tutelage of Danny and Rusty as he puts up another fine performance as Lenny Pepperidge (with a huge prosthetic nose), the personal assistant of “Mr Yen” (High Roller) who seduces Sponder into giving him access to the diamonds. The Malloy brothers of Virgil and Turk are the same troublemakers who rally Mexicans in an uprising for better pay and working conditions while posing as factory workers to rig the casino’s dices but they can’t seem to stay out of unrest. The entire gang is fabulous to watch and when they are in their “Character”, it is hard not to be intrigued and strangely, be fascinated with the world of thieves. See it for one last heist, 3.5 diamonds out of 5.

8 Days Letter of the Week Winner

"Pirated Talk"

Arrr, Shiver me timbers! Ahoy 8 Days! Blimey, I have waited for this issue #865 featuring my former first mate, Rick Heinrichs [movie's production designer] keeping things ship-shaped and the beautiful wench, Keira Knightley while reading it from the crow’s nest [high lookout platform on a pirate ship]. Begod, isn’t she amazing to standout from all the men and live the pirate life. Avast there, all pirates around the world unite! Chow Yun-Fat will do well to bring Davy Jones into the waters of Singapore - a-pirating we go! Go bring me one noggin of rum now, won't you matey! Fair Winds.

Captain Hooky

Published on 8 Days issue 866 dated May, 24

Movie Review

Movie Review - "Spiderman 3"

Cast - Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Topher Grace, Thomas Haden Church

Ladies and gentlemen, meet spidey the soap opera star! See laughter, fears, joy, spats, tears, hate, love torn between girlfriend, friendship and duty! What has happened here? Tears from our superhero? What the F^&@*! Sam Raimi who helm the entire Spiderman franchise so far, has delve deep into the story as the main focus of this third instalment of the web-slinger. He left no stone unturned, looking to end all the loose ends since the first movie including how Ben Parker died and the story behind our reluctant killer, Flint Marko played by Thomas Haden Church. Also, the movie explores Peter and his alter-ego, Spiderman going through the pains of love, job, fame and pardon me, his dark side. Throw in an alien symbiote that attaches itself to Parker/ Spidey, feeding off the rage within as he seeks out the real killer of uncle Ben with revenge on his mind. The adventure begins harmlessly as Peter decides to propose to Mary Jane and seeks advice from Aunt May on how to pop the question. Meanwhile, Parker's best mate Harry transforms into the new goblin out to avenge his father's demise. After a battle in the skyline of New York, Harry lost some of his memories and was in suspended state of joy till a rude awakening jolts him back into action.

New characters like Eddie Brock, a hotshot photographer out to usurp Peter's job as the Daily Bugle's designated Spidey photo-taker. Another cutie in the form of Bryce Dallas Howard as Gwen Stacy, a fashion model which Spiderman saves from a crane accident. Saving the daughter of the city's Police Captain has turned our friendly neighbourhood Spiderman into an icon, honored and adulated by the city's faithful with the key to the city. Such irony is as Parker is finding fame, MJ lost her job when she was let go from the broadway production after a poor review seal her fate. She seeks solace from Harry when Peter was too engrossed is being Mr. Popular. All this while, Flint Marko has been unwittingly moleculed into the Sandman after falling into a experimental facility while on the run from the law. The undying love for his daughter who has a life-threatening disease which requires expensive medical treatment turn him into crime, out of desperation.

Then came the darker side of Spiderman when the alien symbiote takes over our friendly slinger and he ain't mister nice guy no more. See the suave, bad-ass Peter works his mo-jo on the women and becomes a real new yorker for a change! Watch out for cameos by creator Stan Lee, Ted Raimi and Bruce Campbell of the cult Evil Dead series by who else but Sam Raimi. Bruce's five minutes as the Maitre'D of the restaurant where Parker is proposing is very funny and a nice anecdote to an otherwise draggy soap opera-ish moment. I am leaving out the other villian, Venom for you to check out on the big screens or when the DVD is out at the stores!

Two spiders out of five.

Product Review

INTERACTIVE GAMING RIGHT IN YOUR OWN HOME

We have all played video games growing up and the closest we ever get to a workout is probably finger cramps and violent arm movements because the monster is coming to get you. Arcade games like the dance revolution started a new trend of interactive gaming, giving rise to guitar, drum and full blown dance machines requiring arm, leg and hand-eye coordination.

So it came as no surprise that SSD aka “Shinsedai” from Japan has revolutionized home video gaming with a new product named XaviXPORT system and a compliment of games in sports, fitness, education and music. I won a XaviXPORT system and XaviXTennis which comes with a game cartridge and 2 wireless tennis rackets from a local magazine, 8Days “Best Letter Win” contest sponsored by DG Lifestyle @Vivocity. The graphics are tackled in a minimalist approach, a throwback to the Family Com, Nintendo and Sega days. But the interactive side of the system is very addictive once you got the hang of it. The heart of the system is the revolutionary XaviX processor and the multi-channel infrared, optical and radio frequency sensors to provide realistic game play. XaviX application ranges from Baseball, Golf, Bowling, Boxing and so much more.

Getting started was a piece of cake, connect AC adaptor power to unit plus an AV connection to a television set on the video input via color-coded RCA cables and you are all set to go. Insert a game cartridge, in this case, XaviXTennis into the system and press POWER. The wireless tennis rackets comes with adjustable wrist straps, just in case you loose grip on the rackets in a fit of fury or panic and hurt someone or something in the process. Playing tennis right in the comfort of your own home is something remarkable; you do not have to dress up for it, care about weather, keep up with tennis court bookings or who you are playing with. Back to the game, XaviXTennis uses infrared sensor technology to detect the speed and timing with which you swing the racket. Therefore it is possible to hit shots like forehand, backhand, volley, top-spin lob, smash and even run forward for net play like serve & volley. You can also serve up aces at speeds of 200km/h with instant replays on borderline decisions. Start with the training mode and get your angles and coordination down pat before going into exhibition matches and thereafter, tournaments. Trust me when it feels like the real thing, I even did what the pros do and fidget with the tennis racket strings (made of plastic) when my shots are not getting in there. The more adventurous can step up a notch and challenge a fellow mate to a game of tennis in versus mode. Expect lots of grunting like Monica Seles or Venus Williams and ecstatic fist-pumping when scoring a point. Deuce anyone?

For more information, please visit http://www.xavix.com

Movie Review

Movie Review - "Wild Hogs"

Cast - John Travolta as Woody, Tim Allen as Doug, Martin Lawrence as Bobby and William H. Macy as Dudley

Put four biker friends who are facing mid-life crisis in a road trip to nowhere and you'll get the madcap adventure of the 'Wild Hogs'. Our foursome are dentist Doug Madsen, a wild college kid turned family man who is finding it hard to indulge in life when his cholesterol level is hanging by a thread. Deal-maker Woody Stevens, who lost his business, divorced by his swimsuit model wife and a recent bankrupt. Next we have Bobby, a hen-pecked husband taking a year off work as a plumber to write a book and finally, DUDley played by William H. Macy to comedic perfection as a clumsy computer programmer who has problems attracting the opposite sex.

To usher a wind of change, Woody suggested a bike trip to break their mundane daily routine by injecting some unknowns into their lives. The rest of the wild hogs went along after some soul-tripping. The trip started harmlessly with a cries of brotherhood and freedom, smashing their cellphones to cut their ties to the real world, not to mention the missus. Here onwards, there is nothing but the wild hogs and the open road! This is where the funnies come out to play when a marshmallow accident set fire to their tent, rendering our mates to 'spoon' on an inflated mattress. Mistaken by a highway patrolman as having a Gay's night out in the woods, they met again in a park caught swimming naked to roaring laughs. Soon, they were back on the road and took a pit-stop at a real biker bar, filled with Hell-Angels called the "Del Fuego's" led by meanie Jack, played by Ray Liotta. Our city slickers are no match for the real biker gang and got hustled into losing Dudley's Harley. Facing a premature end to their journey, Woody decides to act by stealing back Dudley's ride. Little did he knew that his act of cutting the fuel lines of the gang's bikes will indirectly cause the bar to explode in a ball of fire, and this incident had the rival gang fuelled with anger. Determined to seek revenge, Ray ordered a search of every town in sight till they are found. Marisa Tomei made a brief appearance as Maggie, an owner of a small town diner in Mandrid where the wild hogs are spending the night when they ran out of gas. She plays Dudley's love interest and did our geek get the girl? When the Del Fuegos eventually caught up to them, Woody finally spill the beans on what he really did at the bar to get Dudley's bike and they had to face up to reality of getting mangled. With their backs against the wall, they stood up against the 50 bad ass bikers with gusto and integrity which rally the small town into standing up for their own against the tormentors. "Wild Hogs" is a true comedy, sending a simple message to cherish every wonderful moment and to be yourself. Stay tuned for the ending credits for there is a finale by the Extreme Makeover - Home Edition hosted by Tyler on resurrecting the Del Fuego's bar. See tough, mean-looking man cry and getting all golly when their dream bar is revealed, Super funny!

There are bellies full of laughs in this trip of self-discovery and I recommend you to watch it for a good time! Ratings: 3 out of 5. Keep your eyes peeled for many cameos in the movie, most notably are the Tetuls from American Chopper and a custom bike by Orange County Choppers.

Movie Review

Movie Review - '200 Pounds Beauty'
미녀는 괴로워 (Mi-nyeo-neun Goi-ro-wa)

Cast - Kim Ah-Joong (김아중) and Joo Jin-mo (주진모)

'200 Pounds Beauty' is a sleeper hit from Korea, surpassing its predecessor 'My Boss, My Teacher' as the most successful Korean comedy of all time earning 6.23 million admissions. It is a romantic comedy about an overweight but talented singer named Kang, Hanna who is the lip-sync voice of K-pop singing sensation, Ami. While Ami struts her stuff on stage, our heroine is always in the background, hidden from view and singing her heart out. Her secret admiration for music producer Sang-Jun is her only hope for love. Aware of Hanna's affections for Sang-Jun, Ami seize the chance to humiliate her during the latter's birthday party and broke her heart. After turning her back on a suicide attempt, Hanna blackmails her sex line client, a plastic surgeon into performing the full-body alteration. The next part of the movie is just hilarious as she grapples the attention of being beautiful while unable to shake off her sub-conscious pounds. The scenes where she followed Sang-Jun to a car dealership and ended up buying a car in the process after being complimented on her looks were funny. Subsequent episode of our new Hanna rear-ending a taxi but getting out of it simply of her good looks were rip-roaring and ridiculous. Soon, Hanna work her way into the record label as Jenny, an American-Korean singer who floored Sang-Jun with her vocals, winning a record contract in the process. The rest of the movie centres around of their working relationship, blossoming romance and Jenny finding her true self while Ami probes into the disappearance of Hanna. This movie surprises me in being very entertaining and having a fresh feeling about it despite an age old storyline.

The finale where Jenny confesses her past and true feelings on her maiden concert really tugs the heartstrings at a high rate of gushing tears. What truly amazes me is that actress Kim Ah-Joong who plays Hanna/Jenny actually sang the theme songs featured in the movie. Every time she bit her lips and look at you with those big teary eyes simply melts the popcorn in my mouth.

Ratings: 4 out 5 - Just for Kim Ah-Joong alone......