Dawn of a new year

As I am writing now, the minutes are ticking away, I am sure, by the time I upload this onto my blog, it will be a brand new year. Looking back, it has been a year of mix emotions and adventures. Berlinale, my first time to a European country, Ryan's first year of kindergarden, Aidan's spending more time with me at home, Patrick's new working environment, a finished but not-yet-off-the-ground feature film script called EVER, which I completed after Berlinale Talent Campus, the financial ups and downs of a small family, the plunge into a whole new territory of work for me, and loads of other seemingly trivial yet important moments of year 2005.

Looking forward to a somewhat different year. A year to make a mark, a year to further realize what I have always been looking for, a year of serenity for my whole family. I could hear the fireworks from here, now, at this instance. Screams of cheerful and excited souls. All the best! This is it! Happy New Year!

King Kong

The love of an ape?

Since the civilization of humankind, love exists from the very beginning of time. It is primate, it is raw and it is as direct as it can get. At first, it was between opposite sex, now it has evolved through times. It comes in many forms but they all bowl down to the same basic chemistry - a rush to the head, a shock to your senses, a wake-up to your physicality, that is, if it is the first time you experience love. Could an ape feel that as well? I really don't know, but I am sure it does, to a certain degree, or else, why science came a long way to prove that men evolve from these species in the first place?

I could hardly remember any old king kong films that I have seen back then, but I think Peter Jackson did quite a remarkable job in bringing this completely CG character to live, and he basically breathes emotions to the character, a character that one can feel for. Of course, Noami Watts has a lot to do with it. I have always loved Andrien Brody, no doubt about his acting ability. Ultimately, it is a fun film to watch.

X'mas mood

Merry Christmas...

It's this time of the year again. Though we have no snow here, but I could see that the mood to celebrate this somehow magical season is pretty high. People are out busy shopping, eating, taking photos...well, that include us. We were at MidValley yesterday, had a family dinner and went walking around. It was packed with people and we managed to catch a show at the centre court. My dream? To have a chance to celebrate a real WHITE christmas with a REAL beautifully decorated christmas tree with my beloved little family of four, somewhere out there, far far way...

Aeon Flux

Aeon Flux - 2005
Directed by Karyn Kusama
Starring Charlize Theron, Marton Csokas

The things I loved about the film:

The characters
I have always thought that Charlize is an intelligent actor and chooses her roles carefully. Charlize is agile, graceful (due to her 12-year ballet experiences) and uniquely beautiful in her own ways. All these qualities embodied Aeon, this futuristic character which was originally created by Peter Chung for the MTV animated series. I have not seen that but only saw the version in Anamatrix, which I have to say Aeon looks extremely sexy and alluring as an animated character.

Marton Csokas's portrayal of Bregna's leader, Trevor Goodchild, to me, exudes an unexplainable sense of charisma, confidence, a blend of evil with a touch of tenderness and goodness in him, especially towards Aeon. The chemistry between them speaks for itself and comes through in the film.

The Style and look of the film
I particularly loved the look of the film which Kusama was trying to project of a world that is 2415, 400 years ahead of our time. Thumbs up to the production designer, Andrew McAlpine for a job well done. I feel they managed to maintain a grounded sense of futuristic atmosphere throughout the film, without being too bombastic or carried away by futuristic gadgets/ technology or CGI effects that usually accompany sci-fi movies these days. This new world feels familiar yet it does not loose its sense of forwardness and advancement.

The Architecture and structural look
I was amazed by the locations they shot the film in. Patrick reminded me this point and no wonder it looks familiar to us. It was shot in Berlin and Potsdam, Germany. It brings back a little memory in me while watching the film. I absolutely adore the Bauhaus (through research) architectural style of buildings in the film - very geometrical, clean and modernistic. It perfectly mirrors Bregna, the "perfect" world which is completely sheltered from the rest of the outside world.

The Costumes
No doubt about it, the costume designer Beatrix Aruna Pasztor has created wonders with the costumes for the entire casts. It is extremely pleasing to the eyes.

The philosophy of life
It is far better to live a complete and meaningful life only ONCE than to live many lives full of lies and deceits and last but the not least? of course, it has to be

The ACTION
I guess I won?t need to say much but for you to watch it, and it better be on a big screen to experience the film in totality!

Letter Back Home - 6

This was written last week but didn't have time to post:-

Second trip up north - different mindset

It has been almost a week I have been back here. This time around, it feels a little different. Maybe I have come to accept what faith has to offer and what I should be doing for the time being, for us as a family. At times, dreams and reality are at the opposite end of one another and each one can only wave at each other from a distance but never uttered a single word, as if it feels like two lovers torn apart by a certain degree of distance in between them, unspoken yet so real that it hurts. I am as if like what Ryan always says about himself, "Mama, I changed brain already, not the same like last time. I become silly?" that is most often his explanation whenever I scolded him for his misbehaviors or mischief. Kids these days with their millions reasoning to getaway with spanking, is really remarkable.

The naïve notion of a white lie
Like a drop of clear crystal water
Dripping ever so slowly
Into the cup of innocence
It blends
It creates tiny
Almost unnoticeable
Ripple
But the cup of water morphs
Into wave of blue hues
It causes the saucer underneath it
To quiver and shake
Involuntarily
Things have changed
Indeed it has
For it has a new name
A new face lift
The cup of adolescent
Full of manipulations
Intriguing ideas
To break free from the
Status quo
To be creative
To be inventive
To be ultimately
Who we really are
Oneself

Perhaps Love Premiere

Perhaps Love. I rarely go to the cinema to watch a Hong Kong film, but this is an exception for it is a musical and love story. Besides, it is by the same director of Comrades, Almost A Love Story, which I did enjoyed few years back. I will be watching this highly anticipated film tomorrow night. Pretty excited about this. Let's see if it is worth the time and trouble that I had to go though just to get to this premiere.