A new year, a new focus. It’s still going to be about movies & music – but less on rants. Negativity is so not happening anymore.

Coming up – movie reviews on Avatar and Sherlock Holmes; plus some reviews of some of the latest albums I’ve picked up (yes, I’ve moved away from pirated CDs and bought some REAL albums now!) – from Lady Gaga, Foo Fighters, Kris Allen & Adam Lambert.

Had to be the longest 1 minute of my life.

Hope she recovers, am praying for her speedy recovery to any Gods listening right now.

More in the news:

www.thestar.com.my

www.nst.com.my

Updated: Yasmin Ahmad passed away on the 25th July, 2009. Rest in Peace, dear Yasmin. We lost an icon that day.

‘House’: The Truth Behind the Shocking Surprise

I’m not sure about you, but it’s going to be pretty hard not to think of him as the pot-smoking Kumar for a really.. really.. loooonnnnngggg  time.

Dude, the Smoke-less Bong! - Image Source linked from : http://www.chud.com

So it’s a little refreshing to walk out of the hall chuckling and chortling over the last 2 hours of unexpected fun. As I did today, when I bought my 6 ringgit ticket to watch ‘Get Smart’.

I didn’t read a single review about this movie, I didn’t watch a single trailer; and I didn’t even bother to find out what it was about. All I knew was that it was a toss-up between ‘Wanted‘ (this is a sure winner for the scissor-happy Censorship board), and ‘The Incredible Hulk‘.

Since I’ve had it with ugly green creatures ruining my movie experience, I decided, stupid or not, I’d rather spend my time with the 40 yr old virgin. Mind you, I thought this was going to turn out to be another ‘Johnny English’ or some random-spy-movies-in-the-past-year-which-was-so-bad-I-can’t-remember-the-names. I’m glad I was proven wrong.

Since I’m too lazy to write an actual full length review on the show, let’s sum it up here :

Synopsis: Maxwell Smart (Steve Carrell) is an agent (more of an analyst, really) at the super secret government agency called CONTROL. He yearns to be out in the field, fighting off CONTROL’s enemy, KAOS, as an undercover agent. Will he get that chance, to be one of the ‘guys’? When he is partnered with Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway) in order to infiltrate KAOS’s sinister plans in a surprising twist of events, he goes all out to prove that he is more than just the average joe. (revealing more will spoil the fun for you)

Anne Hathaway: Gorgeous. God, I love seeing this girl’s face! Oh, surprisingly, she’d not half bad as a spy agent. Though I kept thinking of her as the sweet nerd from ‘Princess Diaries‘.

Steve Carrell: This man is forever stuck in ‘The Office‘ role. He’s only good for his deadpan act. I say he’s a passing fad, but for now, he’s struck our funny bones for a bit.

The Rock: Oh, I know we’re supposed to call him Dwayne Johnson or something now, but think about it, why waste our breath with an extra syllable? He doesn’t do much here, pretty wooden at times which is sad because I find that he has a fairly meaty acting chop somewhere; but the character he was given here was just kinda stereotyped.

I give props to James Caan, who acts as the President. They don’t say which President he is, but y’all know only one pronounces nuclear as ‘noo-ku-ler’.

Overall: I haven’t laughed this hard since ‘Hot Fuzz‘ and ‘Police Academy‘. Oh, my sides.

I know it’s probably not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. But hey, some people hate veggies too; but it’s still good for you.

Oh, did I mention Mel Brooks as the consultant for the film? That’s what made it even more cool!

(pic from www.firstshowing.net)

Bye Bye Blackbird – I remember this one; back when I first had to learn how to write down notes in the dark. One of my more ‘poetic and dramatic’ writing style. I’d still love to watch the movie again.

Cicakman – I think I shot myself in the foot, toe and heel all at the same time with this one. Goes to show that it’s possible to get carried away with the atmosphere of the tards who love these kind of shows. Bloody regrettable review. Oh, yeah, and the director’s a bloody snob.

Curse of the Golden Flower – Still agree with this one. The only thing I remember from the show was the incest story and the amount of cleavage.

Music & Lyrics – Hrmm.. I do sound like an anti-romantic-comedy-religious-fanatic. But then again the movie didn’t impress me, and lacked the kind of cohesion and flow that “Devil Wears Prada” did. So I guess it’s a thumbs down still.

Mukhsin – I still love this show. I’ve never watched Yasmin’s other films, but this one won me over as a fan completely.

Tenacious D: The Pick of Destiny – I’m bloody biased here. I love Tenacious D. So there.

Spiderman 3 – I watched Spiderman 3 on DVD the other day. Still sucked IMHO.

28 Weeks Later – Enjoyed this one to bits. Including the gore and all. Next up I hope Monster Island gets turned into a movie.

Hot Fuzz – By the power of Grayskull, I watched this one 5 times!

Enter Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg), Britain’s best policeman – sorry, police officer (as corrected by Angel himself in order to ensure the term isn’t sexist); whose arrests are 400% higher than any other officers, has 9 commendations for outstanding police work and has been stabbed at least 3 times. In fact, Angel is so good that he has made his team and his superiors look like pansies – resulting in him being transferred to the most ‘ulu’ of places in the British countryside, where there’s nary even a mobile phone signal. There’s a good side to all this, though. They’ve promoted him to Sergeant in Sandford, Gloucester – which is ‘the safest village in the country’, according to his new boss, Inspector Frank Butterman (Jim Broadbent).

On the first night in the village, Angel begins to clean up the town by taking on those who dare resist the law – underage drinkers, Harry Potter look-alikes wearing traffic cones and drunk drivers. However, he finds out that his style of police work is too much for the current constables, who prefer to sit around eating chocolate cake, drink beer at the pub at 11 am and make fun of his serious nature. Angel even finds himself stuck with the bumbling Danny Butterman (Nick Frost), who aspires to do all the ‘cool things’ he has seen cops do in movies. The most ‘villainous’ man he’s met so far, is the local supermarket owner, Simon Skinner (Timothy Dalton), whose ‘slashing’ prices are a ‘killer’.

However, when a series of ‘accidents’ occur in the quiet village, Angel suspects foul play – yet no one seems to believe him, with the exception of Danny. Putting his reputation and his career on the line, Angel begins his own investigation – and finding out in the end that there is more here than meets the eye.

Simon Pegg is delightfully serious and stern-looking in the film, portraying his character with conviction as a police officer with a no-nonsense attitude as he tries to enforce the law in the quiet, laid-back village. As for Nick Frost, his portrayal of the bumbling police officer who follows Pegg’s character everywhere like a pet dog – all eager and bright-eyed – gives us a lovable character that you can’t hate.

And what better way to portray the ‘villain’ than Timothy Dalton? Dalton may not have been the best Bond ever (the jury is still out on this one), but oozes a villainous arrogance, combined with the famous charm in his portrayal of Simon Skinner.

There are also other notable cameos in the film, which will trigger a sense of familiarity – and there’s a general feeling of fun in the air as you watch them tackle their role. Even the famous Peter Jackson and Cate Blanchett have cameos – but they’re in such disguise that you’ll miss them.

Director Edgar Wright seems to take delight in mixing and matching various cinematography styles, made famous in films like “The Matrix”, “Bad Boys II”, and TV shows such as “NYPD Blue” and “CSI”. Throughout the film, you’ll find yourself recognizing several camerawork techniques that may give you goose bumps – for a relatively new director, Wright has perfected these styles and created his own blend.

The beauty about this film is that it doesn’t try to follow the usual cop story formula we’ve become tired and accustomed to in Hollywood films – except when poking gentle fun at it. The comical moments aren’t blatantly put out on the screen for you to see, nor are they crudely executed. Rather, you’ll find yourself snickering more often than not, and being stunned by the inconceivable jokes that slip through the seams. With lines like “By the power of Greyskull” and scenes that would make you chortle the next time you watch another cop movie, what could go wrong? Nothing, in this case!

Throwing out the unexpected and giving homage to films like “Goodfellas” and “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly”; the wrap up of the case isn’t quite what it seems. Director Edgar Wright decides to hurl you along into another 30 minutes of pure action which will leave you chortling at the blatant scene-for-scene mimic of “Taxi Driver”, “Bad Boys II”, “Lethal Weapon” and even “Matrix Revolutions”.

Having never watched “Shaun of the Dead”, I can’t compare the much-talked about sleeper hit with the latest offering from the same creators. However, with the stroke of genius that is “Hot Fuzz” – I think I’ll start ordering my copy of “Shaun of the Dead” right now – after catching the “Fuzz” the second time round.

The Drowmage rates this as :

Here’s a more direct link to another site: Interesting Argument About Global Warming

In the article, the author wrote :

“This poll of 1,000 Americans aged 13 to 18 from a variety of socio-economic backgrounds found that 73% believed they would earn “plenty of money” when they were adults. In fact, the teenage boys expected to make an average $174,000 annually. Teenage girls expected to earn $114,200.“

That led me to thinking; what if we were to apply the same survey to the same number of Malaysian kids, from different backgrounds of the same age group? I have a feeling that we’ll find nearly the same numbers, or maybe more.

From viewing the jobs offered on job sites like Jobstreet.com or Jobsdb.com, it’s safe to assume that the basic salary offered ranges from MYR1200 – MYR1800 (USD333 – USD500) for nice, safe, desk jobs.  Perfectly alright – for a third world country.

However, it’s not alright for a country that runs an inflation rate that’s catching up to first world countries.

What do you think? Are you earning the dream pay you thought of when you were 16 years old?

When I spoke to the Sharifah sisters early this year, they pointed out to me the next star of the family. Here’s a pic of her, Sharifah Aleysha, on the right, with her sister Sharifah Amani:

Sharifah Amani & Sharifah Aleysha

And because I’m such a lazy person today, I’m going to do some cut-and-paste from Yasmin’s blog for the synopsis of ‘Muallaf’ :

“20-year old Rohani and her 14-year old sister Rohana are two Malay girls on the run from their wealthy, abusive father. Finding refuge in a smaller town, their secret little world collides with that of Robert Ng, a 30-year old Catholic school teacher. The young man finds himself irresistibly drawn towards the sisters, and the extraordinary courage with which they face adversity, in a relationship that inevitably forces Robert to confront a haunting memory of his own troubled childhood. In this story of lost souls who find comfort in each other, friendship opens the window to forgiveness and a reconciliation with the past. ” - Source

Sounds like a fascinating tale, and one that only Yasmin could pull off. Here’s to hoping it tops ‘Mukhsin‘ when it comes out. (The Drowmage lifts another glass of water – no alcohol, mind you)