There's been a bit of a buzz about a certain movie lately - The Hurt Locker.

With the gaining trend of low budget movies with unknown cast gaining the box office hits in the industry (remember District 9, anyone?), I'm pretty sure The Hurt Locker is going to be yet another hit. It's been quite a while since I've seen the next big deal coming along.

Frankly speaking, I'm getting blockbuster fatigue. Blockbuster as in movies that were expected to do well, with big shot director, big ass actors and big budgets. Somehow, these movies seem a little lackluster next to the more interesting low key films. I remember Terminator Salvation, Wolverine Origins and G.I. Joe being really hyped up, an overkill really and then it just... did not meet my expectations. Nor, the fans really. The only ones who actually appreciated these sub-standard movies have been mainly the people who are, not fans of the franchise.

Like District 9, The Hurt Locker did not depend on mainstream marketing, rather, the critics are the ones who really brought it out for the masses. There were interviews, reviews in multiple magazines and the movie blogs are just blazing about this new film about an elite bomb squad in Iraq. For someone who does not watch movies of the war genre, The Hurt Locker is looking to be real promising.


Title: The Hurt Locker
Genre: War/ Action
Starring: Unknowns! Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie and Brian Geraghty.
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Anticipation: I'm watching it this week, what do you say?
Release date: Tomorrow!

I really glad that relatively unknown actors are cast in this movie. It's about time we see more new blood. And if you think Kathryn Bigelow sounds familiar, well, she's the director of Point Break, one of the all time favourites.

I finally did it.

When my phone died on me today, I was damn "du lan" and on a rash impulse, decided to head over to IMM after my distributor warehouse sale to get that Nokia 6700 classic that I had been eyeing. I was expecting to pay at least $200 as my contract ends on May 2010. Instead, when I requested the sales trainee to see if the renewal fee could be waived, my wish came true. Whoots! In all I only paid $98 after trading in the damnable LG Viewty.

So far, I am liking it. I have to hop over to IMM again though because I hadn't brought the phone accessories along, but no matter, I am still feeling the joy.

On another note, I went to a distributor warehouse sale today at some Jurong East industrial area... Man, I've never seen so many books at one place, not the same title in multiples at least. And it was 50% off! XD

In the end, despite there being so many potential books that I liked, I only listed four books. One for my niece, one for my sister and two for myself. Turns out that one of the two was already out of stock so I only had one book for myself... Sigh. Perhaps in the future, it will be prudent to list down the books I want before the sale? At least then I won't have to wander for five hours in a dusty warehouse.

I thought I would be bored today, but I got busy instead. Muahahaha.

Sometimes I wish I was just a little more assertive.

A little smarter.

A little more show off.

Then perhaps, I wouldn't be in a situation where someone can call me complacent.

Dude. Seriously. How many time do I have to ignore your smses and calls, give excuses not to go out for a movie with you in order for you to realize that I am simply NOT INTERESTED?!

I wonder if it's a guy's ego that makes them chase an unattainable lady to provide them that extra boost of self-confidence or if a guy is really that slow or insensitive not to get the message that I think I am being very obvious about.

I DON'T LIKE YOU. AND I WILL NEVER LIKE YOU, THAT WAY.

Period.

I know I've been harping about getting a new phone since forever but I never did cause the ones I liked were either too expensive or too high tech. So, I never thought I'll say this but I'm going to downgrade to a lower phone model, not necessarily old  but something with the bare minimal features.

Essential features:

• Standard i.e. sms, call, alarms, notes/ memos etc.
• Camera
• Bluetooth
• 3G
• Nice, sleek looks (I'm finally falling back to my roots!)

And I never thought I'll say this either, but I think I am finally switching to... NOKIA! Because the mobile and service providers in Singapore is too small. Let me state the reasons why I'm not buying other brands.

Sony Ericsson. Really short life span. You're lucky if you can get your phone to work for more than a year.

Samsung and LG. Lumping these two because they're both Korean brands. First, not user friendly, second, time lag between commands and screen are really huge. Lastly, value depreciates too fast. If you're like me, who sells your used hand phones, the value for your phone will not beat Sony or Nokia, despite it being "more advanced".

iPhone. Only Singtel users wtf. And I don't think I will use the applications that often either.

HTC/ Other PDA phones. I firmly believe that pda and blackberry phones are meant for uber businessmen or salesmen who really need to check their emails on the MRT or bus.

Siemens. Has disappear off the face of the Earth.

I've only used one Nokia model since the whole mobile phone industry perked up and though it didn't give me problems despite it being a super old model, I loathed Nokias because of its commonality. I also think stubborn people who stuck by Nokias have an inability to adapt. Really. Ask any Nokia user to use a Sony or LG that they become irrefutably frustrated on how hard it is to navigate.

Nevertheless, I've short listed two models.





Nokia 6600i Slide





Nokia 6700 Classic

The features and functions are rather similar so it boils down to the price. Hopefully, I will be able to hunt it down this Friday.

Now that I've decided to finally rejoined the Nokia gang, I really wish the Japanese will start exporting their phones here. They have so many interesting, high tech and cheap phones available that I'm half tempted to purchase one in Japan to use in Singapore.

I've finally applied my VISA to Australia! I almost didn't cause I didn't know we had to apply for a VISA. My blur partner in crime had always gone through travel agents before and never bothered with VISAs. This is his first time going via... booking online.

It was very fortunate that a fellow colleague of mine is going to Perth this weekend and she suddenly (out of the blue) told me that she hadn't applied for VISA. In a panic, we both quickly googled "visa australia". Wahahaha.

I really can't wait for a break. I suspect that I'm going to be uber stressed before the holiday though, due to work. Talking about work, I watched The September Issue yesterday and the Vogue crew took five months to publish Vogue's September issue. I guess we are really inefficient? Cause I counted and we are taking... more than three months for a twenty-eight pages catalogue. Of course, if I hadn't other duties to tend to it would have been a whole lot easier. The documentary is delightful. Definitely worth a watch.

On a different issue, I've been extremely disillusioned by "marriage". Sure, I've considered the fact that I may never get to that stage of my life but I've heard... stuff about it that makes me even more reluctant to go there.

I was talking to Friend X regarding Friend R's (good thing about having mutually exclusive friends is that you can talk about one to another safely...) relationship. Friend X mentioned something to me that stuck, "many people don't marry who they want to in life, I was one of the lucky few who did." And then he went on to tell me of this guy who married his current wife because she was... the next best option. His previous girlfriend had dumped him.

Out of curiosity, I went around asking people (or asking people who knew other people) if they married who they wanted to marry and the answers were alarming. Friend X was the only guy I knew who married the person he wanted to marry. The others were married for other reasons like, "next best option" or "she/ he was really good to me" or "he's husband material" or yada yada, you get what I mean. Which makes me come to a point where I thought wtf is the point of getting married if the other person isn't who you really want to spend the rest of your life with?!

On the other hand, I may not have covered all bases and my statistics are screwed up but being the pessimistic person that I am, I really do think that marriage isn't all that's cracked up to be, unless you're talking about legalities and protection.

I am surrounded by three sorts of people (pardon me if I offend):
(1) People who are attached and considering marriage ;
(2) People who are actively searching for a mate (and eventually marriage I suppose) ;
(3) People who either don't think much of marriage/ haven't considered anything like marriage/ just don't want to get married.

Which begs the question of why we girls want to get married... Is it because of family and societal pressure? Afraid of being the only one left on the shelf? A want of kids (pukes)? Good factors for consideration but I really believe that that isn't the way to go. I haven't found the perfect answer and probably will never find it, but perhaps when I do find the person whom I want to settle down with, I'll let you in on the secret that has baffled me my entire life.

I'm mourning Patrick Swayze's death.

Got a shock this morning when my big boss came up to me and said, "Your Patrick Swayze has died.".

o.O My first reaction was, "Oh no! My books are not in yet!" followed by some disappointment. I mean, sure pancreatic cancer is one of the worst types of cancer and I expected him to off it soon, but not THAT soon, if you get my drift.

In any case, we have lost one of the sexist men alive. He was my epitome of male sexual masculinity.

He had sang and danced alongside John Travolta in Grease and later on brought into the limelight through Dirty Dancing. It was a B grade movie, had a really cheap budget and was expected to show only two weekends in the cinema before going straight to video. It became an overnight sleeper hit and had the highest international sales for its video. Not bad for a movie with a super cheap budget.



And after Dirty Dancing, he shot to stardom starring alongside Whoopi Goldberg and Demi Moore in Ghost. Whoopi won an award for her role in the movie and the poignant clay scene was the most copied romance scene in history (before the stupid Titanic one). Ironically, it is also perhaps the only chick romance flick I will ever love.



Lets not forget Point Break. The other movie that Keanu Reeves is famous for, asides from Speed, and it was the movie that catapulted Swayze as the Sexist Men in 1991. Wow wee. The surfing scenes are the best! And the classic scene when Reeves' character realize he can't shoot at Swayze is probably the first slash potential scene I ever saw... I think...



I am now thinking of catching The Beast. The last TV series that Swayze did before he was too ill to act anymore. I really wonder though how they are going to continue the series. Perhaps, it will just end there?

I had a new hair cut today. Went to this salon in Liang Court that houseki recommended. Wanted to get a hair style like Kate Beckinsale in Underworld and Whiteout, but in the end I just told her to trim and colour.

Turns out that it looks a little like the hair style I wanted but I don't think I will be able to maintain it for long, considering it needs copious hair drying and blowing efforts... And the hairdresser gave me a dark hair colour because apparently I am fair and look nicer in dark colours. Hn...

Sigh, I wish I had a professional to do my hair every morning!

And oh, I love Kate Beckinsale.

The Singapore Toys Games and Comic Convention 2009 was interesting and yet a cause of some pain (in terms of work). I was fortunate to be able to go on the opening night via invitation, however, the follow up is quite a pain in the ass. There were more toys related stalls this year, and less comics and games.

Nevertheless, for  those who didn't go to the TGCC, here are some photos for you to see. Not that there's much of anything... Unless you're a merchandise junkie, the convention was rather dull.



( Photos of TGCC 2009 )

Oh, this is going to be one of a kind you know. The REAL DEAL.

If you like the movie, The Devil Wears Prada, you'll definitely like this documentary. After all, Meryl Streep's character in the film is based on Anna Wintour, editor of American Vogue. I wonder when this will premiere in Singapore?!


And just for kicks, Anna Wintour's appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman.

I meant this to be updated a really long time ago.

Anyways, here's a picture of Cookie caught red handed while she was masturbating on my sister's bolster. Wahahahahaha~!



Now that we've gotten this away. For those who haven't seen the photos uploaded on my facebook, click on the link for the photos I took during the Singapore versus Liverpool team play offs.

( At Kallang Stadium! )
Seriously, I don't think I would go to another soccer match. I tried... Maybe if it's Liverpool versus MU or something. But definitely not against home team. I do believe that the Singapore national team has vastly improved from the last time I saw them on TV but the competition is just too good.

What's the next big thing I'm anticipating? Asides from Pixar's Up and G.I. Joe The Rise of Cobra that opens this week, next week seems promising with the opening of District 9. I won't be introducing Up and G.I. Joe to you guys because I believe there has been sufficient marketing... And District 9 is proving to be really interesting.


Movie: District 9
Genre: Science Fiction
Anticipation: Definite must watch
Release date: 14th August 2009

Bottom line of the movie is that aliens arrived at our planet 28 years ago after having been forced to leave their own planet. District 9 is basically a slum that has been set aside for the aliens to reside in. Despite that, intolerance and er... neilasparophobia (phobia of aliens) are at an all time high.

Although alien biotechnology has been researched, no humans have been able to utilize their weapons as it require their special DNA make up. One man was exposed to their biotechnology and some how has gotten a bit of the alien DNA inside him, thus making him one of the most sought after humans by the government. Refusing to be a guinea pig, he eludes capture and heads his way over to the only place that is safe for him now - District 9.

Judging from the trailer, it seems rather similar to Cloverfield, where a handheld camera is used to shoot the scenes. More than that though, was the feel of the movie actually being a documentary due to the social commentary. Somehow, I don't think that will feature heavily in the movie, perhaps at the start when the audience are introduced to the idea of extraterrestrials living in South Africa... I see a great potential of blood-pumping action and explosions.

In all, I really do think this movie is one-of-a-kind. There are many alien movies out there, but the aliens are either too friendly (E.T.), want to take over the world (Mars Attack), destroy humanity (War of the Worlds), procreate (Species) or just plain hungry for human meat (Aliens). LOL This is the first time that there is a movie about aliens seeking refuge on Earth and actually suffering in a residential area that looks like somehting out of Slumdog Millionaire.

The marketing tactics are pretty awesome too. I heard of how road signs and posters with slogans like "For Humans Only" were put up everywhere in the States. Certainly it gained much attention from the public. It also reminds me of a time when signs like "For White People Only" were common.

Oh, I wonder if the movie will do well locally. It sure doesn't seem like the type of movie that appeals to the mass, does iit?

My sister found these gems. LOL

Lost and Pirates of the Caribbean Parody




Lost and Harry Potter Parody


Lost and Lord of The Rings Parody


Lost and Twilight Parody

Omg, it's been ages since I last posted on movies look out...

Anyways, you guys may have heard this already but this week's absolutely to watch is Public Enemies! I have to apologize. I seriously thought Public Enemies was out this week. Turns out I've to wait another 2 weeks! Braudy hell!


Movie: Public Enemies
Genre: Crime/ Thriller
Starring: Johnny Depp, Christian Bale and Marion Cotillard
Director: Michael Mann
Anticipation: Start booking your tickets!
Release date: 9th July 2009 23rd July 2009

Of course, anything with Johnny Depp is good. Har har har. I am so glad that he's decided to go back to his pretty looking self. Christian Bale's performance seems to outshine Terminator Salvation too. I'm hearing some really good reviews about this movie.

Film is based on true events. Critics have been buzzing about how the facts in the movie are more or less accurate so I'm kinda gob smacked. Usually, movies tend to exaggerate actual historical events to give it that oomph factor. So yes, Johnny Depp's character - John Dilinger - is actually a real person.

The movie is set during The Depression era, when people were desperate and there was an overflowing sense of gloom and despair. Out of this period however, John Dilinger emerges as a notorious bank robber. His charisma and slick looks gave him much popularity with the public but the banks and cops however, hated him. It was speculated that Dilinger was largely responsible for the formation of the FBI.  

I think the only thing holding me back on this is Michael Mann who directed some good but not so good movies. By that I mean these movies were good but not mass audience friendly. Like The Last of the Mohicans, Collateral, and lately, Miami Vice.

Oh Thursday, I can't wait.

Seriously. I mean seriously.

I can't believe someone actually made a movie like this. Lol. It's just too bizarre for words.

Pouring today when I met barefootlawyer for a dinner and a session of manicure and pedicure at CityVibe.

At Ramen Ten

dev_androgyny: Remind me to take my umbrella hor.
barefootlawyer: It's in quite an obvious place...

Paying the bill for the meal, a waitress walks up to us handing us our umbrella. We break up in peals of laughter.

dev_androgyny: And you said it was in an obvious place! Damn you! (LOL)

At Nail Palace

dev_androgyny inserts umbrella between the seats.

dev_androgyny: Remind me to take my umbrella hor.
barefootlawyer: It's right between our seats. I don't think we will forget it this time.

After mani and pedicure, about to take the escalator down. The girl from the Nail Palace rushed out to pass us... MY UMBRELLA.

dev_androgyny: Argh! This is the second time already!
barefootlawyer: And I said it was right between our seats~

We break up in peals of laughter. Apparently, we are not umbrella carrying people. Wahahaha.

In case you haven't heard, The Strain is a collaboration between Chuck Hogan, known for writing thrillers and Guillermo del Toro. And if you haven't heard of GDT, you ought to shoot yourself. He is like the god of horror in the movie industry. For the benefit of those who don't know why they should know him, I shall list some of the movies that I think you should watch. My personal recommendation list, you can say:

• Mimic
• The Devil's Backbone
• Blade II
• Hellboy
• Pan's Labyrinth
• Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Upcoming films: The Hobbit (2011) and The Hobbit 2 (2012). GDT does more producing than directing though and The Orphanage is just one of them.

Back to the topic, The Strain was an idea that was conceived by GDT. It was actually meant to be shot into a television series and there's still a chance of that happening. GDT sent a few pages of what he had written to Chuck Hogan who immediately latched onto the project.

So why am I introducing this book? Although I admit I am somewhat bias, GDT is one of my favorite directors/ producers around, The Strain is one of the few books that has me actually gripping the edges of my seat while reading it. Metaphorically speaking, of course. I don't think I've been so entrapped since Bram Stoker's Dracula and Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire. Personally, I have given up hope for this genre, due to the faux pas that is Twilight and all the other embarrassing vampire novels that grew in popularity because of it. The Strain is nothing like that. Instead the vampire evolution seems to take a u-turn. No more lovey dovey Robert Pattinson vampires!


The story starts out with a plane landing at the airport, with the entire interior in darkness. Suspecting a terrorist attack, the cops came in to determine the situation. They soon realize that all the passengers in the plane were dead and believed that it was due to some virus. At first, the bodies and three survivors were quarantined but due to politics and hysteria, the survivors were allowed to go home. It was that night when the bodies start to reanimate and turn into zombie like vampires. The vampires had parasitic worms that feed on blood in their bodies and infect the others through feeding with their stingers.

Veering away from the traditional fangs, GDT's vampires had stingers. During the infection, the bodies increase their metabolism rate and start changing their anatomy to adapt to the parasitic worms. Instead of having a digestive tract, the vampires' anatomy is more like that of an insect. The stingers are formed during this period where the jaw can become unhinged much like how a snake can unhinge its jaw. In addition, the new fledglings were zombie like dumb, but after seven days should they survive, they will gain intelligence and learn and adapt, becoming thinking creatures with the ability to make decisions. Sounds interesting, no?


I suppose if you're like me and prefer your vampires to be really blood thirsty, The Strain will be a great book for your reading list. This is however, just the first book in a trilogy. The sequel will be out next June and the last book in the series will be out in June 2011. 

Steve McCurry is having his first solo exhibition in Singapore! Being a photography bimbo, I'm definitely going to the exhibition. I wonder if they'll allow us to take photos of the photos? LOL

In case you don't know who Steve McCurry is, he's the guy who took this famous photo featured on the National Geographic.
Are you interested yet? Right, who wants to join me?

I must be leaking some really friendly pheromones this evening. Perhaps, ones waving signs that says, "Oh come and have weird social interactions with me, stranger!". Because that's exactly how I feel after having two older men approach me.

Don't get me wrong, I don't mean that way.

I was on the bus minding my own business and when I flicked out my ipod to watch True Blood, this middle-aged (?) looking dude who was sitting beside me flashed his mobile at me...

'Can you let me watch your ipod?'

Or something to that effect. The result was rather bizarre because I sort of gave a surprised-snort-laugh response and tilted my ipod towards him so that he can watch it too. I was a little worried because I thought he would ask me if he can share earphones as well because there's no way in hell I'll do that, sanitary reasons and all. But fortunately, he didn't so he watched in silence...

After he saw Sookie, he flashed his mobile at me again:

'So cute'

I gave another unglam snort-laugh.

We spent the entire bus journey bonding over the silent but not silent episode of True Blood on ipod. Thank god, there weren't any nude scenes. That would have been mighty awkward.

AND then we got off at the same bus stop. I accidentally on purpose walked very slowly so I don't have to meet him at the void deck/ lift and whatever.

I still met another over-friendly ah-pei at the lifts. Ok, he's much older than the ah pei age. Maybe ah gong? Anyways, he spoke to me way before I actually noticed him talking to me because I had the Transformers soundtrack blasting in my ears. By the time I realized it, we were in the lift together and he asked me if I just got off work... You know sometimes there're just some random people talking to you as though they know you? Well, I had that vague "what the hell, do I know him" feeling. Sure, we're essentially neighbours, but in SIngapore, that doesn't count for much.

So we bonded for a minute while the lift elevated itself agonizingly slowly to the sixth floor.

Seriously, can anyone say "weirded out"? Totally.

Wahahaha. I've been neglecting LJ~! Wtf. It seems like you really DO stop aimless ranting when you're more or less (1) contented with what you have or (2) too effing fed up with life in general and just give up.

My colleague sent me this spoof a few weeks ago, yep yep, I only got around to watching them today. These vids are simply hilarious. I'm sharing the joy dudes, sharing the joy.

For those who haven't seen the original version of Total Eclipse of the Heart, here's the original.


Here's the spoof!

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