The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3

Managed to secure some movie tickets, courtesy of CinemaOnline :) and watched the preview screening at CineLeisure Damansara. Unlike the Angels and Demons preview, there weren't any Rela people with metal detectors making sure we didn't bring any handphones, cameras or the like. Maybe coz Pelham's already screening in other parts of the world. So no hiding cameras inside shoes drama this time :p

Anyway, to the movie. It was an enjoyable 1 hr + flick, and it satisfied my requisites for a good cinema watch. The ending felt a bit rushed, have to admit. I haven't read the book so I don't know if it's following it closely, haven't seen the first movie version either. The Washington -Travolta (W-T) combination was great to watch, Travolta clearly enjoys playing a bad guy, even if he did overdo it at times. Washington was solid as always.

The talking bits were intense enough, and the action was well-paced. The conflict between Washington and his boss could've been played out better though, and a bit more could be fleshed out for Washington's back story. There were some really humorous lines in the movie, but there were also a couple of one-liners that fell flat. 

(Picture shows Travolta trying to look inconspicuous and clearly failing, judging from the stares he's getting :P)

I'm a bit disappointed with the handling of the hostages themselves though. I thought the director could've fleshed them out a bit more, make them into people that the audience will care about, make the audience hope that they live. As it is, they're mere backdrops for the W-T interaction. Even Travolta's accomplices don't get any real characterisation.
                           
All in all, I liked it. It doesn't have an amazing plot by any means, when it comes down to it, it's a hostage movie, but it's enjoyable nonetheless.

My only question, which I'm sure to find an answer to when I google it later is, did Washington actually put on the kilos to star in this movie?

Test at Lords!

The Ashes is on full blast and once again, my viewing of the event is limited to live text updates on Cricinfo.com. My cricket tv time will come soon though, patience is key.

The 2^nd Test at Lords is certainly living up to The Ashes reputation as intense contest. After a frustrating draw (for Aussie supporters anyway), the Lords instalment is helping to pile on the drama. As it moves on into the final day, Australia are still on the ropes, but hell if they haven’t made a decent fight out of it.

Have to admit though, I’ve been underestimating Haddin’s batting, which may have been due in part to myself being a huge fan of his predecessor’s batting, Mr Adam Gilchrist. So far though, he has proven me wrong in this tour, to my delight. My only worry now is that at first glance he doesn’t seem to do very well if he’s batting with the tail, with his performance so far, Australia might want to consider moving him up the order. Haddin’s keeping however, was distinctly AWFUL, and will surely come into question.

Australia’s bowling definitely needs to improve though. Something needs to be done with Johnson especially, his form lurches between average to ridiculously poor. Not sure if his off-field issues are encumbering him, but someone definitely needs to sit down with him and thrash out his concerns. If Australia’s squad was unchanged in the 2^nd Test due to the fact that Australia were so close to winning the 1^st, then for the 3^rd Test the Aussies must seriously consider doing something different with their bowling lineup, given their inability to take wickets fast enough.

Cardiff was Australia’s to win, and their bowlers (or Ricky Ponting’s choices) blew it. Lords is now England’s to win. It is in their power. Let’s see what happens.

For my part I’m hoping England blow it of course!

My lady joins the Party!

Winning her first magazine gift pack, from Cosmo! Items won include a Sid Plush Toy, a cap, nifty drink container and 2 movie tickets, which can actually be used for any movie, not just Ice Age.

It’s a good sign of things to come! Here’s to a Dynamic Duo lethal combination!

Singapore Trip!

I’ll be heading over to Singapore for work this Sunday (up till Thursday) , and while I’m excited about the work I’ll be doing, I’m not that excited about Singapore itself.

It’s all about cost, I suppose. Things are just too expensive in Singapore for me. I’ve been going to Singapore 3 yrs in a row previously to attend a WWE Raw Deal tournament (card game), and when it stopped hosting, I stopped going. Never really did anything significant there except the tournament itself! 

Maybe I could hook up with some friends there during the evenings, I have a few contacts there. Not sure how much time I’ll have though, I might very well be doing follow-ups till late.

At least the hotel I’m staying at looks spiffy enough :)

I’m also thinking of taking my camera there. Not just for fun but for work as well. I really do need to get on with downloading pics into the blog and Facebook! It’s coming to 5 months now!

Big bucks in the Entertainment Industry

There’s money in Entertainment alright!

Clearly I’m in the wrong industry. There’s so much money to be had in entertainment it’s flooding up the world. From actors, singers to footballers(yes, that’s entertainment too, anyone whom people turn on the watch), there is an avalanche of money to be made!

Sorry, the reason for my lamenting revolves around the transfer sums and wages of Ronaldo and Kaka. It’s mindboggling to say the least. And these people get sponsored all the time, their extreme visibility/popularity guarantees that there’ll be a long line of corporations waiting to sponsor all kinds of stuff ranging from watches and shoes to cameras and telephones. This means of course, that these stars end up with more money to spend, why fork out any dough when there are companies happy to give you this stuff in return for you using their product. And I’m not exactly paying attention to what watch Michael Owen is using am I?

So how do I get in there? Well, you can get in by two main ways, I believe. One is looks.

Okay, moving on.

The other is talent.

But what talents do I have?

As it turns out, lots!

More next time, but suffice to say I need to work on making the most out of those talents if I want to start raking in the big bucks!

And now for the Cricket!

The WorldT20 Tourney has experienced more twists and turns then I expected. We are currently towards the end of the Super 8s phase, and after the events of last night I feel it’s about time we take a look at some of the happenings.

India:

Surprise surprise, the defending champions have been bundled out, thanks to a weakness towards short balls, exploited by first West Indies, then England. Popular theory points to the Captain as the person at fault. I’m inclined to agree, and the fact that two teams exploited the same weakness shows a failure by management to not identify this problem early on. To me, Sehwag’s absence cannot be used as an excuse, as India has enough talent to compensate, as showcased in the recent IPL. The constant shuffling of the batting order, the captain’s baffling decision-making such as the failure to utilise his part-time bowlers enough, and failure to deal with the weakness towards the short ball all contributed to their team’s demise.

Ireland:

They are out of the tournament, but I expect their departure today to be given the due respect it deserves. Kudos to Ireland, and looking forward to seeing more of them in the future.
For all their lack of real talent, they have more than made up for it, showing the drive, motivation and hunger that has been sorely lacking in some of the top sides here, like this next one.

Australia:

Case in point. Adam Gilchrist needs to come over and teach them a thing or two about T20. Clearly the upcoming Ashes is a distraction, but to enter into a tournament with such a high reputation and play the way they did reeked of overconfidence and a failure to adapt.

Pakistan:

It certainly pissed me off when Younis Khan said what he did after losing the first match against Ireland, but, on hindsight, it seems to have been a tactic that has caused other teams to underestimate them. Pakistan are clicking well at the moment, their bowling has been amazing, but their batting remains a concern. Abdur Razzak’s return seems to have helped, but they’re gonna have to have a lot more batting practice in the nets if they plan on making the finals.

England:

Suddenly The Ashes doesn’t look a distraction as it is to the Aussies, yet they still look terribly fragile. At the moment they seem to be the least talented bunch in the Super 8s after the Irish, but they will make it to the semis if they beat West Indies. Not bad after the Dutch howler.

The rest of ‘em:

South Africa has been clinical, Sri Lanka, New Zealand and West Indies are performing more or less as I expected.

 All in all, it’s been a fun tournament, my main regret is not being able to watch the matches, hopefully I can catch the finals. My predictions for the semis other than SA who’ve qualified, are Pak, NZ and WI.

In closing, here's the Cricinfo recap as to what each team needs to do to make it to the final four:

Cricinfo recap

Enjoy the matches!

Weight Loss Program

Weight Loss Programme starts today!

It’s time to put the foot down (on myself). I have not controlled my food intake for far too long. Ever since my big day, I’ve slacked off till I’ve gained about 7 kgs, all of which I lost in the effort towards my big day.

Yesterday I found out my ideal weight again. So… now, the ultimate target is to lose 25 kgs. It’s gonna take a while, but it needs to start somewhere.

Here’s what I’m going to do.

Records

Each day: I’ll be recording down each meal I have. I’ll be using my calendar to keep track. Will also record weight before bed. EVERY day.

Rules:

Diet

Eat in moderation.

No food after 9pm, except water, unless it can't be helped (like stuck in traffic)

Rice is restricted to twice a week.

Red Meat once a week.

Flavoured drinks twice a week. No carbonated drinks, even 100 Plus.

No WHITE BREAD.

Chocolate (bar quantity) once a week.

Drink lots of water.

Move whenever the opportunity arises.

Exercise

Start using stairs. Every morning at work, on the elevator push 2 floors lower, then walk up.

Thursday: Futsal

Weekend: Walk over to Giant and back for bread.

Exceptions:

For work client relations. If possible, work it into the schedule.

Public Functions/Events, but don't overdo it. Again, try to work it into the schedule.

No other exceptions, even with relatives.

Target:

Two kilos per week.

Rewards:

For successful adherence to diet program:

Every 2 weeks: Book!

Every 1 month: Tuesday trip to Swensons (Earthquake)

Save money.

Self-satisfaction.

Will refine the rules as and when situations arise or ideas develop. Also have to re-read that small motivation book I have to get some tips.

Good luck to me!

Fly FM Britney contest

Start:

May 19, '09 10:00p

Won Britney CD

WIP #1

Arthur Hew browsed through the file with speed and precision. It was hard to figure out his feelings, his wrinkled face appeared emotionless. He flipped, and flipped, his eyes seemingly scanning every page, yet giving nothing away.

Then suddenly in one impossibly smooth motion, he picked up the file and threw, no, flung it at me.

Naturally and instinctively, I ducked.

The file crashed into the glass wall behind me with a thud, which I suppose I should be thankful for. A shatter, unlikely as it could’ve been, would probably have led to even more abuse.

From my position on the floor, I could see Arthur’s elderly PA, Aniza, giving me a sympathetic look. I cast her a sheepish grin as I picked up the remnants of the file.  I avoided eye contact with Arthur, heck, I avoided looking at him at all. I imagined his gaze burning through my back.

“Bloody hell, next time you come clear a file, put some blood in it, and bring that miserable excuse of a manager along!”

Yeah, sure, I thought, so long as JD Chan doesn’t look into his 1001 book of excuses to avoid seeing you.

Gathering all my stuff, I made my exit. I had just gotten to my desk when I realised someone was following me. I whirled around, stabbing pen in hand, expecting to find Arthur, who may have decided to blood me ahead of schedule.

But it was Aniza. “You left this,” she said in such a soft voice it made me wonder (not for the first time) how she didn’t break into a million shards everytime her boss yelled. In her outstretched hand was part of my file label, ‘Ibrahim, Hew and Associates’. What a sordid way of reminding me of who I worked for.

 “Gee thanks,” I muttered. It was going to be a long day...

More Cricket!!

Note: This should've been posted last week, but somehow slipped through my to-do list. (I usually draft my post out elsewhere before sending it to my blog)

World T20 Cricket is upon us, and begins this weekend!

 Should be fun I may not be able to watch it I’m following the tournament really closely. Hopefully the next time it comes around I’ll be able to enjoy it on my own Astro :)

 Anyway, it’ll be interesting to see how Australia stacks up against the rest of the world. Their T20 track record so far has not lived up to the reputation of their Tests and one-dayers, but the warmups have been promising. OZ don’t have the living metronome that is Glenn McGrath anymore, but Mitchell Johnson is doing a pretty good imitation.

Aside from Aus, I’m also hoping that the Bangladeshis do well. I think this is the format that is most suitable for their style, and they need to step up. Their warmups have been wide of the mark though, they need to step up quickly. Eliminating their suicidal running between the wickets would be a good start.

I’m also in 3 Cricket Leagues for the tournament, Sportal, Fsports and Cricketweb. At the moment I’m paying more attention to Fsports simply because the initial setup is extremely important due to the limited transfer policy.

Wishing everyone involved good luck, and hope I do well in the fantasy leagues!

Terminator: Salvation

Spoiler alert!

The latest entry into the series is pretty much everything you'd expect from a Terminator movie. grand special effects, members of the Connor family, the California governor, the ingredients are all there. They even manage to squeeze pseudo time-travel, in this case, Marcus' character, albeit less muckier, as it's to the future.

But I digress...

It could've been so much better. I don't understand why they continue to recycle and repackage the human-looking robot idea, or in this case, the robot thinks he's human. It's a war movie, introduce some new concepts for crying out loud. Aliens wasn't a blockbuster because it followed the style of its predecessor, it succeeded because it changed!

There're also some holes in the plot. The most glaring one is of course, the machines holding Kyle prisoner after they identified him. For what? I thought he was no 2 in the hitlist. Why leave him alive? And don't give me that crap about how they want to lure Connor in so they keep him hostage. They don't need to keep him alive, just fool them (incl. Marcus) that he's still alive. Heck, if Kyle dies, if it's as Connor claims, don't the Machines win the war anyway, as Connor will not have existed? Bah....

So all in all, it's an okay watch, and it's a cinema movie. Just don't expect anything new.

Another Start!

It’s been quite a while since I’ve been here, and a lot of things have happened. I just need one real excuse for not being here for ages, and I suppose the best one is simply the fact that I got married!

Reason enough? Ha ha…

Anyway, I’m back, for the umpteenth time, and I’ve got that writer’s itch. Not to say that I haven’t done any writing whatsoever, just that most of it has been on S11, my football fantasy forum, but it hasn’t been restricted to football either. There’s discussions on books, movies, cricket and lots of other stuff that isn’t football-related.

And now the itch has a come at a time when there isn’t any football. And that brings us to here. There’s stuff I’ve got in my head, stuff that  needs to get out. Like previous posts, I won’t be restricting my subject matter.

I still don’t see myself talking about my official work though.

That being said, there’re a few things I’m looking at focusing more on:

1) Dream log – Looking back at my blogs I've done a few entries. Let's see if I can get more in.

2) Movie and book commentaries – Maybe not everytime I read or watch, but’s it’s nice to see my opinions documented. It also brings me to my next item:

3) Story ideas – Thanks in part to Facebook, I recently rediscovered past pleasures… Bjork, RPGs, boardgames, old book favourites, and ultimately, storytelling desires. So I’m hoping to explore this again.

To get a bit organised with this, I’ll be using the ‘tags’ option a lot more now. I also don’t see myself changing the blog look anytime soon either. Even though it’s mostly a template look, I’m pretty comfortable with it.

Here’s to another start!

ERA

Start:	May 11, '09 10:00a
Location:	Cineleisure

Won 4 tickets to watch Angels & Demons.

Called mixfm

Start:

May 6, '09 3:00p

Called for Australia trip contest. Lost but got consolation prize (Petrol voucher). Unfortunately this rules me out of other contests under mix for a month.