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?

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.

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. 

Milk



My rating: 4 / 5

Plot outline: Harvey Milk was just an ordinary guy but he had a secret kept hidden from his family and friends: he was gay. On his impending 40th birthday, he found his lover and together they moved to San Francisco. From there, Milk started his political campaign and garnered much support from not only the gay community but also the minorities. He was the first openly gay politician.

( Vote Milk! )
Underworld: Rise of The Lycans



My rating: 3.5 / 5

Plot outline: For years the vampires have enslaved the Lycans, forcing them to do their bidding. When Lucien, the first Lycan who has control over his mind after transformation is born, Victor - an elder of the vampire clans - used him to create a new breed of Lycans. His daughter, Sonja falls in love with Lucien and together they plan to elope as Victor sought to kill Lucien. Their relationship is soon discovered and Victor steps in to foil the rebellion.

( We should always watch movies with women in tight leather! )

Red Cliff 2



My rating: 3 / 5

Plot outline: Story continues on from Red Cliff part one. Cao Cao readies his armies for an all out attack on Red Cliff while the allies sought to increase their supplies and men. With the impending attack from Cao Cao, the allies countered his manipulations through the use of their land advantage.

( Cao Cao is not supposed to be a lecherous old man! )

Seven Pounds

My rating: 3.5 / 5

Plot outline: A man finds redemption by donating his organs away to the people he finds worthy enough to make a difference.

( I hate jellyfish! )

My rating: 2.5 / 5

Plot outline: A young cop was rendered "immortal" through a series of experiments and he returned to become The Spirit. A detective-cum-super hero to his city. He dwells into the bowels of the city in order to find out what his nemesis, The Octopus is plotting.

( Boobilicious Babes! )

Ip Man



My rating: 4 / 5

Plot outline: Based on a real biography, Yip Mun is a master of the Wing Chun martial arts - a technique he created and mastered himself. This tale brings us through his life in China, from when he was a young layabout to his tribulations during the Japanese occupation in China and his escape to Hong Kong.

( 世上没有怕老婆的男人，只有尊敬老婆的男人。 )

Australia



My rating: 3 / 5

Plot outline: An English woman decides to go Australia to check up on his husband's activities there. Unfortuntely, he was dead when she arrived and she eventually took over the management of the ranch. It was a race with a ruthless competitor in order to gain a contract with the military. Through this, a bond develops between her and a young aboriginal boy and she has to learn how to let him go.

( Walkabout! )

Twilight

Some interesting ways to pronounce Twilight: twee-light, twig-light, twix, toi-let
Some interesting ways to remember New Moon: New SUN!!
Some interesting ways to ask for Breaking Dawn: breaking down!

Yes, there are actually people who makes such mistakes.



My rating: 1 / 5

Plot outline: Based on the novels by Stephanie Meyer, a girl called Bella moves into a new home and meets some surprising pale vampires. And with all cliche teenage romance, the so-called hottest dude in the town HAD to fall in love with an introverted self-absorbed girl. Oh I forget, there's another blood thirsty vampire who is obssessed about her and tries to kill her.

( Why I hate Twilight. )

Madagascar Escape to Africa



My rating: 3.5 / 5

Plot Outline: The story continues directly after the first movie where the gang leaves the island and makes their way home and incidentally plane crash into Africa. There, Alex reunites with his family and with the help of his friends, they solve the issue of drought, bringing peace back into the safari.

( My review. )

Zack and Miri Make a Porno



My Rating: 3 / 5

Plot outline: Zack and Miri are a pair of childhood friends who decide to start a porno video in order to pay off their debts and bills.

( If Star Whores works and it will, we are set up for sequels galore. The Empire Strikes Ass.  )

The Day The Earth Stood Still



My rating: 2.5 / 5

Plot outline: An alien visitor and his giant robot visit Earth and it is up to the alien whether humanity deserves a chance at existence.

( If the Earth dies, you die. If the human race dies, the Earth survives. )

In my line of work, I learn new words almost every other day.

High School Musical 3 Senior Year



My rating: 3 / 5

Plot Outline: The crew returns for their last year in high school. Amidst exam stress, arranging the final year musical for school, basketball games, the kids are also realizing that they need to choose their path to adulthood. Parents' expectations and peer pressure are the least of their worries when they realize that they will all be separated by their choices.

( Onto the review )

Quantum of Solace



My rating: 4 / 5

Plot Outline: Continuing moments from Casino Royale, Bond goes on a relentless path to dig out the unknown but powerful organization who had made his lover betray him. Along this road to vengeance, the British and American governments uncover a plot from the an environmentalist who is also from the mysterious organization that is scheming to reap profits from the poor citizens of a neglected country  by taking control of one of the most precious natural resources.

( Onto the review )

Body of Lies



My rating: 4 / 5

Plot Outline: Based on a novel of the same name by David Ignatius, about a CIA operative who goes to Jordan to track down one of the most deadly terrorist group and its leader. The three main players, Roger Ferris the CIA operative (played by Leonardo DiCaprio), his boss Langley (Russell Crowe) and the Chief of Jordanian Intelligence (Mark Strong) have to work together in order to bring down the terrorist's leader but as trust amongst the men is non-existent, the political games and covert operations only served to Ferris's detriment.

( Onto the review )

I really have other stuff to write but those take a longer time to think and write out. LOL So, I'm going to write easy things first.

• I told planetvenus and angelic_mel about this virtual reality online game that allows one to create a character and basically live another life in it. This documentary actually narrates two real life examples where the players got too involved and jeopardized their personal lives as well as family. I found the name of the game! Second Life has ruined yet another couple.
• If you think movies don't add value to the society in anyways except entertainment, you're sorely wrong. New movie blockbuster, Australia starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackson has more than just pretty faces and entertaining value.
• New movie called Milk is out (scheduled this year, I hope in Singapore), starring Sean Penn and er... other very well known actors! I haven't heard of this guy Harvey Milk until I saw the news on the movie. The movie is based on a real person, Harvey Milk who was one of the pioneers of pushing gay rights politically. Should be interesting.
• Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince's official movie trailer is out!

It looks better than... the last three movies. Very dark, I like. And it seems to be following the book more closely this time round. I really do hope Alan Rickman has lost some weight in this installment as we're probably going to see more of him this time round. Yippee!

My Rating: 3.5 / 5

Plot Outline: The movie is about actors acting as actors acting in a movie. Talk about fragmented narrative. Ben Stiller is the action hero, Jack Black is the comedian and Robert Downey Jr. is the award-winning actor. Each character plays a unique individual in this movie, adding lots of spice and color. Due to their annoying diva antics, the director decides to dump them in a real forest for a realistic shooting of the unit.

( I will suck you right now if you let me go. )

Have you ever gotten back to a movie you once watched as a child and learned that you still love it no matter how many times you'd already re-watched it on TV? I can't list down all of them because there're just too many for me. But one of these movies is definitely Galaxy Quest. I'm pretty sure many of us have seen this but whether or not we remember the title is another case.

I found out a couple of years back that Galaxy Quest is called Galaxy Quest. I'd been wondering all these years what it was called until they had a rerun on TV. And yes, I watched it again just yesterday and I still LOLed at all the funny bits. Truly, that's how a good movie should be like. Memorable, funny even after the nth time you watched it, a stellar cast with their unique characters, a creative story line and out of the world script.


There's Tim Allen (aka The Santa Claus), Sigourney Weaver (best known as Ellen Ripley in Alien), Alan Rickman (this guy has too many iconic roles... Severus Snape in Harry Potter, Judge Turpin in Sweeney Todd, Sheriff in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves), Tony Shelhoub (Monk), and Justin Long (I remember him from Jeepers Creepers but if you haven't watched that, his recent movie Accepted should strike a cord). That's Galaxy Quest for you.

What's your favorite old time comedy movie?

Once, I watched a B grade movie called Black Sheep. It was about mutated sheep becoming violently cannibalistic. They even acquired a taste for human meat.

The following design from Comme des Garcons reminded me of the deceptively demented sheeps. Although it does vaguely resemble cotton candy as well. But I haven't seen any movies with cotton candy monsters, Ghost Busters not included.


Comme des Garcons Spring 2009 Ready to Wear

My Rating: 4 / 5

Plot Outline: Wesley is an ordinary guy in a desk bound job. Suffering from constant anxiety attacks, he resolved his problems by popping pills. That aside, his personal life is messed up - his girlfriend is sleeping with his best friend. One day, he was approached by The Fraternity. They trained him into the ultimate weapon in the hopes of killing his father's murderer.

The Incredible Hulk



My Rating: 3.5 / 5

Plot Outline: Bruce Banner who had been changed radically from gamma ray poisoning is on the run from the government. He trains himself mentally and physically in the attempt to control his temper that would lead to his transformation into Hulk. During the chase, Blonsky agrees to be subjected to the government's experiment and becomes The Abomination. Banner, in order to take down The Abomination, tries to control the Hulk and fights for the people.


Get Smart



My Rating: 3 / 5

Plot Outline: A secret service agent goes onto field work for the first time. Together with his gorgeous partner, they attempt to save the world by uncovering a nuclear bomb and discovering the mastermind.


You Don't Mess With Zohan



My Rating: 3 / 5

Plot Outline: Zohan is an Israeli anti-terrorist fighter who goes to LA in order to fulfill his dream of becoming a hair stylist.

Sex and The City



My Rating: 3.5 / 5

Plot Outline: The four women are back with a vengence in their new movie. Better than a half hour episode, Sex and the City depicts Carrie's impending marriage with Mr. Big and all its problems that come with it.


Kung Fu Panda



My Rating: 3.5 / 5

Plot Outline: Po, a lazy panda has been picked to fulfill a prophecy in which he is the Dragon Warrior and defeats Tai Long.


This has got to be my longest reviews ever!

My Rating: 3.5 / 5

Plot Outline: Sequel to The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, the saga continues when the four siblings gets transported back into Narnia. This time, Narnia is in peril from their enemies. Prince Caspian, on the run from his evil uncle who is plotting to usurp the throne, gets help from the Narnians to overthrow the king.