Life Has Move On

Looking back, I realized I have started writing way before when blogging was considered hip and huge by today's standard. I started writing, not wanting even to have an audience in mind, to read what I write back then. It was merely my passion for writing, for documenting all my thoughts in life, and how I see it. 

How life has evolved and changed. These days, I blogged about films on our wherestorymatters blog here. I started blogging about lifestyle, fashion and beauty and all things I love at LUMINNEJ here, since last year. It has been great. 

But mymomentswithin will always be that very first blog I started with, harbouring all the love and personal thoughts I have for life, and beyond. I will definitely miss this personal space I have created for myself. Perhaps I will come back here, once in a while, to pen my racing thoughts that will always occupy my thinking brain! If you were one of the few audiences that had been following my journey here, I sincerely apologize for not writing for such a long time, I feel as though I have let go of our grip, but forgive me for I never knew that I had friends here in the first place... I felt like I have led a secret life all these while, revealing myself here, yet not completely share every ounce of me. like the amazing film that I love so much, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.

Hope life has been treating you well. Take good care, whoever you may be and wherever you may be out there. My love is to you, always, though I may not have felt your obvious presence.

See you at my other new spaces! 

Cold War

Cold War (2012)

Directed by Sunny Luk and Longman Leung, starring Aaron Kwok, Tony Leung Ka-fai, Charlie Yeung, Aarif Rahman Lee, Gordan Lam, Chin Kar-lok, Terence Yin, Eddie Peng, Andy Lau.

A slick Hong Kong flick, one of the best I have seen this year, Cold War oozes a sense of intensity, right from the beginning, till the very end. The intensity is not just the action and story, but as well as performances by all the actors. I was utterly impressed by these first time directors. Their ability to control their actors (such top notch ones like Tony Leung Ka-fai) is amazing. The surprise for me, personally is the suppressed performance by Aaron Kwok here. I have never really thought that Aaron was a great actor until this film. I guess as one ages, one tends to be more subtle in your approach, but I believe it has a lot to do with the directors and how they wanted to approach the film. The plot twist is to say the least, exciting, but definitely worth following how the story unfolds. You would naturally feel for the characters, especially the character of Aaron, Sean K.F. Lau, has to go through to shoulder such great responsibility for the Hong Kong Police Force. One of the best scenes, amongst many others, for me is the scene when Tony Leung's character, M.B. Lee, Deputy Commissioner of Police was being interrogated by Billy (played interestingly by Aarif Lee) in the interrogation room. Tony's performance was immaculately powerful and precise. Awesome acting there. it is intriguing to see how the power struggle between the characters gradually being revealed. Well, the film has great combination of psychological thrills, action, anchored down with human emotions and turmoil, and how greed and power struggle can change everything in this modern capitalistic world. A great watch indeed. 

We Are The Night

Directed by Dennis Gansel, starring Karoline Herfurth, Nina Hoss, Max Riemelt and Jennifer Ulrich.

Am not really a big fan of horror movies, but this one caught my attention. Sitting at the comfort of our living room, it is, bearable then, watching a horror vampire sci-fi flick on TV. Sleek, fluid, stylized, action, this film feels far more real than the Twilight saga, as it is quite rooted down to the female lead's journey and struggle trying to comes to terms with her transformation from a human to an immortal, cleverly played by the multi-faceted Karoline Herfurth. Her looks varied and changed as the story progresses. Women in this film are extremely strong, hunting and kissing-a** along the way. As the story is based in Berlin, Germany, it brought back quite some memories watching it. (We were in Berlin for the Berlinale Talent Campus). The locales look familiar and refreshing, rather than watching the usual Hollywood flick. Overall, it was an entertaining piece, grounded with characters development, rooted on certain emotional angles between characters. Definitely a fun movie to watch with a bunch of friends.  

Love In Each Day

"The echo of your laughter, the lingering of your words, the intimacy of your thoughts, as if embracing each space across those time we shared together, so vivid yet distant, so familiar yet almost like a stranger, each time we meet, on that ONE DAY. Are you a friend who speaks the truth that cuts right deep into my psychic or are you my love who fills up all my senses whenever you are around me, and make me all nervous and jittery. Your whispers into my ears, your voice at the end of the line, they fade away more and more, as the years go by. Do we still share the same innocent moments when we first met, or have we fallen into the entrapment of boring conversations to fill the gap of formality? Have my love for you faded away, so very gradually as each moment passes me by? I could not bear that very thought, yet I am helplessly hopeless in bringing you closer, bringing you back to me. But I have never dreamt that there would come a day I dread seeing you, I could not believe that I could even say such words, "I love you, I just don't like you anymore!" How could that be possible? We went our separate ways, we even fell in love with different people in our lives. But are you happy? Am I truly happy in your absence. I tried, I tried very hard to forget you, but your image haunts me, your shadow chases me down memory lane, like a persistent stalker and hunts me down, fiercely. How am I to resist? How could I let go of so much that we seem to have and share. Life is our ally, but time is our enemy. When I thought I could finally be with you, after all these years, life comes and takes me away from you, forever, on that very split second. Goodbye my love. Love me for the brief moments we were finally united, but more so, love me for those times I spent loving you, away from you for each of those time were my most difficult, not being able to be with you! I have loved you and I will always love you..."

If I were Em (played by the talented Anne Hathaway), this would be the letter I would write to Dexter (played by Jim Sturgess). A hypnotic, haunting and painfully beautiful piece of work. I love the film for its simplicity and realistic portrayal of two people's lives and buried love for one another. Lone Scherfig's style of storytelling is sensitive yet straight forward - sugar-coating yet direct, poetic yet honest. You are pulled into the course of their development in life and relationships. You have come to believe and vested in their progress and love for one another, through the years, though unspoken, yet solid and true. Only time can heal and only life can tell such great love story. I am impressed. One of the most memorable love story I have seen this year! Great acting and performance by the both of them. 

The Fairy Tale Lives On

I went into the film without much anticipation or expectation, just curious how will one of the age-old and beloved fairy tales of all time be re-told to look and feel fresh and updated on big screen. To my surprise, it is pretty entertaining to a certain degree. It is a period piece in its setting in terms of story and characters, but contemporary in its delivery, art direction, graphics, animation and presentation. I have to say the two most interesting characters in the film, for me at least, are the huntsman role played by Chris Hemsworth and the evil queen, played by Oscar winning actress Charlize Theron. Of course, Kristen Steward is commendable as a fierce-fighting snow white who leads the revolution and revenge over her evil stepmother, who has a little background story of who she is, why she is so the way she is. Pretty interesting layering of background stories of characters in the film. One would have thought that snow white's true love would be her childhood love interest, William, the young duke (played by Sam Claflin) but turns out otherwise. With a pure heart, she manages to defy all odds and triumphs over the queen. For more details, please check out their official website at Snow White and the Huntsman Official Site

Love That Man

Directed by Tom Ford, starring Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Matthew Goode and Nicholas Hoult. Music by Abel Korzeniowski

When you love that much, you forget who you truly are, yet that intensity of love remains ingrained in your heart, like a piece of that written note left in the drawer of your memory, waiting to be rediscovered one day. When you love that much, the sheer absence of that special someone in your life no longer holds the significance of how you feel in their absence, but more of how well and how much you could remember of that person, your recollection of the person's once existence in your life. Anguish, pain, loneliness, suffocation, happiness, blissfulness, contentment, all feelings that you are entitled to, should be right in front of you, when you contemplate suicide. You can no longer bear such pain of emptiness. I could feel how Colin Firth's character is feeling, through the vivid portrayal of him playing a man who has lost the love of his life, in the film. Can the brief encounter and appearance of another person in your life make any difference? It can and it won't at the same time. It can alter your perception towards how much you have missed your special someone (Nicholas's role as Kenny makes Colin changes his intention of ending his own life), it won't simply because you intend to keep those memories of yours private anyway (yet Colin will always love his lover, played by the charmingly handsome Matthew Goode). It is amazingly intoxicating to see how Tom Ford, in his first debut as a director, manages to capture such minute details of emotions in a man and how this man (Colin Firth) then inches his day, hours, minutes, seconds, towards his own death (intentionally or otherwise). Tragic ending indeed. Julianne's performance has always been that top notch. Completely mesmerized by the way the story was told, by the way it was shot, by how the music sounded, and how sensitive Tom Ford is in peeling the layers away to reveal true human emotions, at times buried so deep within that it is screaming on top of one's lung to break free. Brilliant casts, beautiful visuals and haunting music. Stylishly done!

WUXIA

Directed by Peter Chan, starring Donnie Yen, Tang Wei and Takeshi Kaneshiro

Nudged by my hubby to go watch WUXIA, I went into the theatre without any prior notion of what this kung-fu film is all about, except knowing the director, Donnie Yen, Tang Wei and Takeshi. They made up of some of my favourite people in the film industry, hence I gave it a go. My my I was in for a ride. It was such a different kind of kung-fu film that it made me think hard and fast. Hard was the fact that it reveals itself not like your typical Chinese martial art film as it was very investigative, almost detective-like, similar toCSI crime solving film. Thinking fast was the fact that the action sequences came really fast and swift when watching Donnie Yen fight. I was impressed. I love how this martial art film disguised itself smartly by heavily concentrating on the character(s) development and storytelling. I have not seen Donnie Yen played his character in such a understated manner and tone. It almost seem out of this world. Takeshi takes on a very complex role, investigating this case related to Donnie Yen, but at the same time, he pulls himself out from those re-anacted scenes to look at how each fight scene unfolds, a 3rd person point of view, which makes his character the more engaging and interesting. Tang Wei's performance has always been subtle yet powerful. The film explores the notion of one's judgement and decision to leave the past behind, and change for the better. But can you do so when the past seems to be catching up with you? I love the simplicity of the film, yet, I adore the many levels and layers that it presented and how it was told. I am sure many kung-fu fans may find this hard to digest as it is not your typical fight film (actions all the way). It has a heart, and a soul, and most definitely, smart. Definitely one of my favourite kung-fu films this year!

A Date With Destiny

Lined up and wired, you are predestined to walk this path, or are you? Some of us believe in the notion of a bigger force seemingly guiding us along our walk of life, almost everything that have happened, going to happen have already been set, yet, there also seems to be certain areas of our lives we feel we are in control of, or are we? I belong to those who believe in both, the bigger picture and the smaller puzzles which needed to be assembled by ONESELF in order to enjoy the beauty of the whole. I may not know what's in stored for me just yet, but making a change in life can bring about a different set of results (at least, that was what my hubby told me when we decided to move, it did change our lives). I love the whole notion of the film - The Adjustment Bureau, taking on a subject matter that is so delicate and heavy, yet the director is approaching it in such a grounded and realistic manner that it made me wanting for more. One will definitely be absorbed by the incidents that are revealing themselves as we follow these two amazing characters played by Matt Damon and Emily Blunt along their quest of "changing their fate and destiny". By the way, great chemistry there I must say. It makes an engrossing love story. Which woman would not fall for a man who takes the bus every single day for the next three years hoping to meet you again?? Gosh! I would melt:) I simply love the sense of realness in the film. It successfully marries dramatic storytelling and a brilliant love element in one nicely presented film. Definitely one of my favourite philosophically inclined love stories this year, so far. I think my life is being adjusted as I write:)

Tangled I See The Light

Such a beautiful song xoxo

Bruce Lee My Brother

Amazing opening long take of the house where Bruce Lee used to grow up with the family, it almost already sets the tone and mood for the entire film to follow, and grabbed me right in my seat. One of my favourite scenes came right in the beginning, a black and white hallway shot of Tony Leung Kar Fai waiting patiently for the delivery of Bruce Lee in the hospital. The swirling smoke in the air, the anticipation, oh, it was a marvellous cinematic moment! Unmistakably stylish yet strong sense of storytelling which made this film a surprising one for me. I never thought that another Bruce Lee film could be that good, after all the many films that were made of this legendary figure. Thanks to Pat, who urged me to go watch the film, it pays great details to the art direction, the character developments of the family members in the story, as well the music score itself. I was definitely impressed and thoroughly enjoyed myself. I believe this was one of the best Hong Kong films I have seen last year...of course, this would not have been possible if not for the great performance by Aarif Lee, playing Bruce. Christy Chung is pretty good as well as the mother who needs to at times, hold up the entire family during the absence of the husband. Tony leung worked the father role refreshingly well too. Definitely a must watch!

Your Friend Forever

"I am all alone, the world out there is a cruel place, no one can ever understand how I truly feel deep down inside..."

I was at such a place, long long time ago, while growing up in a small town at the East coast of Malaysia, at a place that is so deep and dark that I could almost feel like I can never exist another second on this earth. As if everything else in this world spells disaster and ultimate sadness. Most of all, hopeless. That pain, that feeling of alienation and loneliness is deafening, and heart-breaking...I can almost feel how he feels. Owen is our character in this movie, LET ME IN, who is trapped within his own world of cocoon. To make matters worst, he is constantly being bullied by some boys at school. Then comes Abby, a skinny little long-haired girl whom he befriends but later turns out to be a vampire, who somehow protects him from all harms, at all cost. A strange sort of friendship develops, so special that neither of them could comprehend, or want anyone to know. For me, it was really really sad. The only friend whom Owen has turns out to be non human after all! Of course, secrets are meant to be discovered, especially one that is so vividly BLOODY. One can almost smell it coming...but as we strip away all the eeriness, violence and blood (I almost fainted), yes, it was creepily EERRRIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEE for me, my heart was weighed down with so much pain and sadness that it affected me few days after watching it. I was completely drained, emotionally. Such a heavy film...though I love the film tremendously, I am not too sure I could ever sit through it all over again...ever again for I could not bear to be brought back into those days of teenage angst. By the way, excellent acting by both the leads, amazing chemistry there.

Eat Pray Love and Think of Cloud

It was one of those days that I have to spend it on watching a film in the cinema. I have heard of quite some not-that-great comments about EAT PRAY LOVE the movie but would still wanted to check it out myself. Having no prior notion of what it is all about, I mean the book (cause I have not read it), so I went in with not much expectation, except for Julia Roberts' acting as she has always been one of my favourite female actors. The film moves along quite expectantly. Although I believe most audience would fall in love with the Italy part of the film (me included), I somehow found that her India's journey was the most "uneventful" but surprisingly most significant and made an impact on me, especially the scene of the revelation of her friend. Bali was a standard lovely segment to admire. All in all, the film did speak to me, somehow, in an oddly personal and silent kind of level, yet, as a film, it seemed to remain a tag draggy and uneven in terms of story flow. I felt at some points, pretty close to Julia's character, yet, at other times, I only drifted along and felt detached. It does make me feel as though life is like a huge puzzle, you can only pick up and rearrange your pieces as you go along, yet, without realizing, we are already having our destiny made along the way. Life is not just like a box of chocolate, it is also like a puzzle! Charlie St. Cloud on the other hand is not great but quite a light romantic mysterious kind of feel-good movie that made my other afternoon a more vibrant one. I love the underlying subject matter of guilt and brotherly love that was attached to Zac's character. It has a sense of refreshing idea, feels like the scent that comes with the breezy wind of the ocean - dreamy and obviously real. I hope to catch up with more great films to come.

Valentine's Day

A string of well known actors come together to give us an insight into the many facets of love - falling in love, falling out of love, even in between love. I must admit I was sold to go give this movie a try because of that - Julia Roberts, Jessica Alba, Jennifer Garner, Jessica Biel, Anne Hathaway, Patrick Dempsey, Ashton Kutcher, Bradley Cooper, Jamie Foxx, and many others (even THE Taylor Swift and Taylor Lautner??). It was a small heartwarming piece of movie, human connections, emotions and what not. It is probably a good movie to catch while celebrating Valentine's Day. Nothing fancy, no more and no less. An enjoyable piece after all.

AVATAR I See You

It was fate that brought us to the sneak peek of AVATAR, even way before it was released, thanks to a dear distributor friend of ours at 20th Century Fox. I think it was some time last year. Leaving Patrick and myself all drooling and still in shock over what we had just seen on the big screen (it was such a short trailer but a damn AMAZING ONE!), we had to wait patiently for the release of the full length version as it was not until early this year that we got a taste of the REAL deal! Such cruelty but fortunately a good one as we ended up watching the film three times and still could not get enough of it. Now, we are patiently waiting for the more extensive version of AVATAR in blu-ray. The imaginative world of AVATAR is definitely one to behold and the acute attention to details in the film obviously reflects the high standards and demands of the director himself, James Cameron. For instance, not until the third watching that only I discovered the Na'vi tribe has only four fingers! The box-office smash hits aside, this epic science fiction motion picture truly embodies the perfect marriage of great storytelling and impeccable 3-D animation technology (substance and style), it keeps you entertained right up till the end and still wonders how on earth he manages to pull this off with such magical touch and wonders of a world called Pandora, is beyond my understanding. Absolutely a visionary director, this film is definitely one of my most favourite films this year and what a fantastic way to begin a brand new year!

A Cup and A High Heel

Loving life, loving the intensity of work just hitting me, right at my naked face and splitting brain. At times, can be VERY VERY overwhelming, but makes you feel alive, at least. Work define me? Perhaps. Who would not be in this new millennium, being a

modern woman? Reminds me of my favourite song - If I Were A Boy by Beyonce featuring R Kelly...Ooouuhh! We can never understand one another, simply because we are from different planets, not??! It's crazy, almost making me insane with all these work, yet work will not be work if you really love what you do. Now, the image from the hit TV series, GLEE pop up. Now I know why it is so popular for it is REALLY good! It speaks to your heart the moment they open their mouths to sing. It's about HOPES and DREAMS, it's about BEING yourSELF, it's about believing in yourself, searching for that innate talent and feelings, and most of all, to discover WHO you really ARE in this world! The songs are fabulous! Music IS the fuel of life, always and will be, for me.

Defeated Queen

My distant memories of Taiwanese dramas has always been the image of Ching Han and Ling Ching Xia back in those days when TV series rule most of my growing up life, apart from my obsession of taping each music video that played on TV every now and then on VHS and compiling them to watch after. Taiwainese dramas then never were that significant but yet seem needed back then, like those addictive Hong Kong series. Chance brought me to this recent Taiwanese drama called Defeated Queen. I watched with little expectation as most modern Taiwanese dramas seem to be obsessed with using teenage stars who do not seem to appeal to me. Surprisingly, this series shows a certain maturity in terms of handling relationship issues between its characters and it seems more honest in portraying how they are being dealt with. I enjoyed watching it ultimately. It did not seem overly draggy like most Korean dramas, though it started off being to overly contrived in its comedic approach, for me, but it picked up as the story progresses. I guess who wouldn't like to watch something which gives you hope, especially in love, even though this love is one that is 8 years apart, but tells you that anything is possible in life after all.

Love Is Possible

Hello Schoolgirl (2008)

Directed by Ryu Jeong-ha

Starring Yoo Ji-tae, Lee Yeon-hee, Chae Jung-an and Kang-in

Heart warming visuals that almost feel right at home, familiar settings, interesting characters, fascinating pairing of individuals, but most of all, a non-chalant way of revealing the story and the subtlety of the love between these couples which make the film unbelievably easy to watch. It felt like sitting by the window in a lazy Sunday afternoon reading your favourite book, listening to music in your ears, over a cup of warm milo, bathing in the tenderness of the sun, while tasting every bit of the pages that fill the air with a sense of light comedy and grounded sense of dreamy reality, it is that soothingly refreshing. I love how the issue of age differences are being dealth with, yet in such great softness of it all that it feels relaxing all together. If ever there is a song to go with the feeling of watching this film, it would be the voices of Colbie Caillat, against the gushing of the wind, by the serenity of the blue slightly wavy blanket of ocean. Sandals kicked back, it is truly a rewarding experience.

Antique Bakery

Antique Bakery (Korean, 2008)
Directed by Min Gyu Dong
Starring Joo Ji Hun, Kim Jae Wok, Yoo Ah In, Choi Ji Ho and Andy Gillet
Adapted from a Japanese Manga by Fumi Yoshinaga

Without any expectation, watching Antique Bakery is like baking a cake for the very first time for me, it is full of anticipation, wonders, imagination and most of all, intrigued and impatient to see the final outcome of it all. A film full of unexpected humour and magical delights, like an icing on a cake, yet it is moist full of heavy layering of textured fillings. It is glazed with eye-candy art direction and unique cinematography, yet the director approaches the subject matter in such great seriousness, with sprinkles of lightness of dusted chocolate powder that it oozes realness in every bite. A mixture of suspense, thriller, romance, comedy and drama in one film that is hard to let go. Four men, a bakery shop, what sort of stories can be told here, you may wonder? Plentiful. Nonetheless, to make a perfect cake, everything has to come together in the most precise manner, the exact amount of ingredients, the freshness of it, the amount, the proportions, the temperature, and so much more. Baking a cake is as therapeutic as watching an interestingly told film like this one. The result, a mouth watering and satisfying bite till the last piece. My cake turned out to be more than I could have imagined - the softness of love between men and the fullness of the simplicity of how love could be presented.

Reading Between The Lines

Words make up stories, lines convey meanings, and the voice behind these elements evoke human emotions that may seem unfamiliar yet deep rooted within our psychic, addictive love, a kind of love that is forbidden, powerful yet render the lovers powerless to resist, too seductive to the point of long painful guilt that lingers on for a life time. A young growing boy with enormous sexual fantasy and curiosity, a woman who yearns for affection and attention, the words between those lines leaping right out of those pages bring them closer and closer together each time they meet in secrecy, explode into endless physical pleasures, along the way spells disaster in the making almost immediately. How could that have lasted? Wishful thinking, yet it somehow did. Those recordings, his voice over and over again, repeatedly recorded for her, her undying desire to communicate, to learn new words, in reading and writing, making it even harder for her to face the harsh bite of reality when they finally met after so many years of separation. She is believable, he is adorable, but grows up to be a man who does not even have the courage to face their love, shameful almost to admit their affair, not only until the very end, but that was not even enough for her. It was too late. Where has all the love gone? Or was there any in the first place? A clever film disguised within an awkward "love story" to bring forth a glimpse of a chapter of the unspeakable history. Crushed it may seem for her, I was devastated by the truth of things, the harsh truth about the matters of the HEART...we are but facade, hiding behind the different masks that we created along our life time, all the while, at times, not even revealing our true feelings to the ones whom we love most or loved us most. We have come to accept for unconsciously, we have become one with the seemingly true self we allow ourselves to believe...undeniably tragic.

Proposal Daisakusen (Operation Love)

Starting a new lunar year with lots of love is part of my plan. Writing involves a little planning in the mind as well, though inspirations come in the spur of the moment, at times, through thoughts swirling in the brain, most of the time, it is the picture that I come across that sparks the interest to scribble. Believing that writing should most of the time derives from emotional weight, falling into a long absence is quite common for me these days. I love the beautiful images of Proposal Daisakusen, especially the movie version. Most of all, it is the music and the natural acting and chemistry between all the friends that create the lasting impression. To me, the love that is almost there, yet unspoken of, is the most engaging and interesting one. Should loving a person remain silent for such a long time? Have we not had the courage to at least reveal our feelings to the one whom we truly love? I guess love is quite a completely strange language all together. Many a times, it leaves you speechless, breathless, motionless and totally incomprehensible. Yet, we love the idea of falling in love, being in love, disappointed by love but always intrigued by LOVE. Let the new year begin with a tinge of love, for all and most importantly, for your own SELF-:) Happy Niu Year!