Stand By Me

(Jerry O'Conell, River Pheonix, Wil Wheaton and Corey Feldman)

Hari ni, finally managed to catch Stand By Me on tv. Will Wheaton sangat comel :)

When the night has come

And the land is dark

And the moon is the only light we'll see
No I won't be afraid, no I won't be afraid
Just as long as you stand, stand by me


And darlin', darlin', stand by me, oh now now stand by me
Stand by me, stand by me


If the sky that we look upon
Should tumble and fall
And the mountains should crumble to the sea
I won't cry, I won't cry, no I won't shed a tear
Just as long as you stand, stand by me


And darlin', darlin', stand by me, oh stand by me
Stand by me, stand by me, stand by me-e, yeah


Whenever you're in trouble won't you stand by me, oh now now stand by me
Oh stand by me, stand by me, stand by me


Darlin', darlin', stand by me-e, stand by me
Oh stand by me, stand by me, stand by me

Il est très beau! beau!

The guy who did not say a word won the Best Actor. Jean Dujardin!
Need I say more? *swoon fest*

.... ok enough!

Although we’ve come to the end of the road...

Who did not get teary eyed during the final installment of Harry Potter's and the Deathly Hollows? Ok most probably a lot of people, but not me. Of course we have read the final book long before the final wave goodbye from Harry, Ron and Hermoine at platform 9 3/4, but still... I can't help feeling sad? Hmm what's the word for it? Sayu? Touched, perhaps. Just look at how much they have grown up.

I managed to sneak in a visit to platform 9 3/4 at King Cross while in London. Actually this is not the original wall in the movie, just a mock up. Heheh tak kisah nak jugak posing. Hoping that it will take us a step closer to Hogwarts.



Also, while visiting Oxford, the tour guide pointed out the 'thunder bolt' mark on the pavements around the town. It was rumored that the author got the idea from here, to put the famous mark on the forehead of the boy who survived the dark lord. Cool eh?



Hoo boy.. I have to say it's one of the best pop culture ever! 7 books that changed our lives. I bought my first book at a mall in Kuching and I bought my last one at Tesco (yes Tesco) at 7am in the morning. This was after the war of who gets to get the book first. Frenzy madness! I think one of my friend finished the whole book in one night.

My favourite book? I love those with simpler tones. I hate it when the storyline gets too twisted and Harry got too serious. The first book really opened a new world to me. Just as Enid Blyton had trigger the inner detective in me with Famous Five, JK Rowling had enchanted me with the Magical World. The brilliance of it is simply mind blowing! I want to say I love the one with the Tri-Wizard Tournament, but the ending was very dark and sad. Well... not that sad if we think that the bloke who was killed at the end of the movie went to become a major hearthrob in a another franchise.

Favorite Character? It has to be Ron and Hermoine. I'm actually bored with Harry's character. Hehehehe. Pun begitu, if you read the book and watch the movie, I have to say hands down, the casting of each and every character is perfect to the tee. Anyway, I think these two, Ron and Hermoine is adorable together. (Least to say about Harry and Ron's sister whom I don't care that I don't recall her name now :P)

Favorite Spell? I lobes the Confundus spell. It makes people confuse! I could use this whenever I'm a tough spot. Another close favorite is Accio. It's the spell that could summond or bring things to you. Very useful to fetch a glass of water while watching tv or for finding the missing remote. Read more spells here

Favorite Professor? Hmmm.... Maybe Lupin because he's class seems to be the most useful. And I thought McCounagall is pretty cool as well.

Favorite Supporting Character? Who did not love the twins? I kinda like Luna Lovegood as well. Somehow she's less anonnying than the others.

Favorite Villan? Can I say Nagini, the snake because it freaks me out the most? Hehehe nah.. I think I will give this one to the accentric Bellatrix Lestrange. Even her name sounds exotic.

Favorite 'transformed' character? Hello, Mr Neville Longbottom. Kudos for standing up to the enemy and destroying the last hocrux. But come on... check out the pictures below. Enough said.

As for you three, thank you for the great adventure! You will be missed

Presenting Mr Darcy

The many wonderful characters of Colin Firth

My Fav - Jamie, in Love Actually

The Importance of Being Ernest

The jealous husband in English Patient

Mark Darcy - Barrister

But that's not the first time he plays a Mr Darcy. He was in Pride and Prejudice.

The beautifully made, Single Man. Nominated for an Oscar in 2010.

Not the only time he played a gay guy. Harry Bright in Mamma Mia.

And, to date, the most compelling character of all - King George VI in The King's Speech. An outstanding performance worthy of an award. All the very best for the Oscar

* Everyone should see The King's Speech. It gives a little insight of the history of the royal family. Fascinating!*

This Never Happened Before

So far the holidays have been great. I planned to laze around the house and watch all the movies that I have been 'collecting' in Doha. I have had several marathons finishing Glee, How I Met Your Mother (3 season over a weekend!), and an assortments of old (uncensored Sweetest Thing.. hahahha!) and a handfull new movies. I would recommend you to watch Single Man if you could get your hands on the DVD. Vair, vair chic despite the sad and ironic storyline.

And.. I watch Lake House again last night. Best gila cerita ni. So best that I will ignore how merepek it is that there's a magic mailbox that allow people to exchange letters across time. I will also ignore how kayu Mr Reeves in this movie. It got me thinking, there's so many romantic (comedy or tragic) love stories out there, which one is really my favorite? My favorite being the ones that I would recommend people to watch it (or force them to watch with me :P heheh).

Well, there's the Tom and Meg's collection, the Sandra's collection, the Julia's collection, Hugh Grant's and bla bla bla. I googled and see what's out there. Of course there's Titanic (cringed 100x, though I went to see it 3 times! 3 times! what the heck was I thinking). Jerry 'You had me at hello' Macguire (boleh la). Legends of the Fall (yes, this is crazy tragic.. tapi tah kenapa aku mcm hangin dgn Tristan dlm movie ni). Harry Met Sally (boleh la.. but not a big fan though). When a Man Loves a Woman (sakit jiwa sial tgk cerita ni). And of course, there's the endless list of classic that I have never watched: Love Story, Breakfast at Tiffany's etc etc.

So here's my personal favorite, in no particular order. Lazed the weekend away :)

1. The Notebook - Gila babi sedih, babi pun tak sedih macam ni. Sampai sekarang aku tak berani nak tengok lagi sebab takut ternangis sampai demam, kena MC... (hmm maybe it's not a bad idea :))



2. Love Actually - it has everything (granted that it was written by Richard Curtis who wrote Four Weddings and a Funeral & Notting Hill :)). I lobes it so much that I have a book that contain all the lines, scenes and photos from the movie. My favorite would hands down be Jamie and Aurelia.

3.Priceless (Hors de prix) - I've said it and I will say it again. Cerita ni best. Tres bein as the French say it. Fullstop. ( I think I have blogged about this before tapi tah bila)



4. Little Manhattan - If you didn't go awwww after watching this, watch it again.

5. The Lake House - as I mentioned before, though the storyline is merepek.. it was rather sweet and touching. And I love it even more... because it has this great song by Paul Mccartney.

This Never Happened Before - Paul Mccartney

i'm very sure
this never happened to me before
i met you and now i'm sure
this never happened before

now i see
this is the way it's supposed to be
i met you and now i see
this is the way it should be

this is the way it should be for lovers
they shouldn't go it alone
it's not so good when you're on your own

so come to me
now we can be what we wanna be
i love you and now i see
this is the way it should be

this is the way it should be

this is the way it should be for lovers
they shouldn't go it alone
it's not so good when you're on your own

i'm very sure
this never happened to me before
i met you and now i'm sure
this never happened before (this never happened before)
this never happened before (this never happened)
this never happened before (this never happened before)

Seriously?

Seriously? .... Seriously?

This is not about Grey's Anatomy. What's with the series anyway? I lost count many people have been dating George.. Or is George still in the show. Or has Cristina been out with George.. now that they should totally explore. Don't even start with Meredith. I think she should be with the plastic surgeon. Brain surgeon too goody good shoes. Blerghhh.

Anyway, this is not about them. This is about my recent (well.. maybe a few weeks back) encountered with a rather rare species of some kind of human being. The term rare might imply that this person is delightful and interesting, but no. It's the total opposite. Seriously, I did not think that I would ever meet such person. Lucky me!

I was at the movies. Watching Inception. We got free tickets I think. I have heard so much about the movie, and was looking forward to what the evening will bring. Besides, a big fan of Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Ellen Page.

We arrived late and the movie hall was already dark. We got a seat on Row B on the right side. There were four seats, we sat near the wall next to a couple. The boyfriend sat next to me, while the girl sat on the outside. The movie started... and soon I was engrossed. I was really concentrating hard. The movie had so many twist and turn and what not... you really need to focus to understand. Interesting with capital I. And helllooo...the British dude named Eames.. had me hanging on every accented word that comes out from his mouth.

I started to realize that something was not right, when Ellen Page appeared. I swear I heard someone gush! And it's not a guy! And by the way the girl in my row kept on turning to the back row, I deduce as much that she's friends with the whole gang on the back row. And.. OMG, suddenly it hits me. They like worship this actress and must think that Juno is the best movie ever.. and I bet.. I bet.. they all are wearing sneakers... and wish that they know how to play guitar.. know about all about the indie bands and whatever. Basically... they want to grow up to be her. Hey, I'm cool with that. I do agree that she's a talented person... but seriously, do it own your own time, in own your home.

Anyway.. the gushing did not throw me off balance as much. I was still into the movie, crunching the numbers and processing all the bits and pieces of info. Then we hit the first dramatic scene in the movie... Only then I realized, something is reallyyyy wrong. I think the scene in the movie was something to do with structures vibrating and shaking..... it was so real.. that I realized...eh, my seat is shaking as well. What gives?

It was shaking violently.. as if a monkey was jumping up and down the seats. It woke my sister from her slumber. And we looked at each other puzzled. I stole a glance to my left.. ya rabbi... memang there's a monkey jumping up and down on the seat. Would you believe that the girl in row... was so dramtically 'scared' of what's going to happen next, I think she was actually perching on the arm rest between the seats, hiding her face in her boyfriend's shoulder. "Oh no... I can't watch.. I can't watch.." Turn right... Oh noo.. noo... Turn left. Hug me. Hold me. Damn right the jantan will hold you. At the end of the night, seriously, the dude really had some action going. Bro, don't tell me.. while you were holding her.. you did not slip a grope or two.

It gets better. Now Leo on the screen gets all mushy and teary. Nice. Agitated monkey now turns on the waterwork.... silently sobbing and blowing her nose. Silent my ass. I can hear you damn it. Out come ..awww 'you poor thing' hug from the boyfriend, only to be pushed away by crying drama queen... Dude, the girl is concentrating. Please.

I lost count how many times I rolled my eyes heavenwards.

My sister who's now fully awake, start to curse in low tone. Hoping that the agitated, sobbing drama queen monkey would just cut it out.

Would monkey cooperate?

Of course not.

Here comes the 'make it or break it' scene.... Thank you mr director that you have to make it a super slow mo scene. So slow mo.. that the monkey becomes agitated again. Ohh I can't look.. Is it over?. Is it over? ... I think in the end she might have ended in her boyfriend's lap. I dare not look, because I'm afraid that I might bitch slap her. The scene was so intense.. everyone was on the edge of their seats.. I could hear the backrow totally holding their breath... the monkey squeezing the boyfriends scrawny hands....Then, I started to giggle. Hahahahha. I purposely suppressed my gigle so hard into the seat that now.. it's shaking. I said to my sister... I swear.. I swear.. one of these idiots are so going to stand up and give a standing ovation after this movie. Now my sister join in the laughing fit as well. To the other patrons.. we apologies from the bottom of our heart, but this is revenge!

Ahhhh.... now it's all over. All is ok. Leo is hero. Whatever. Then the movie cuts into the last scene.... and poooff..screen went blank. It's a clifthanger. Instead of a standing ovation, I was welcomed with.. OHH my goddd... how could they do that. Oh no.... moan moan moan.

I have not had such bad experience at the movie as I had that night. And sadly it was at one of the great movies. Bugger!

I wanted to hang around and see if there's any extra scene after the credit rolled out... but I can't stand another minute listening to the Juno cheerios dissecting the last scene.. and having what they thought of intellectual conversation. Do you remember when you were in Uni and all movies needs to be discussed over, right after watching it. Which part you like... which part you hate....Yes, Cringe factor!

Bila dah tua ni.. all you want to do is kencing and go home after movies. Who cares who did what and who did not do what.

Parents to agitated monkey, please prevent your daughther from watching movies... not until she learned that it's not cute to pretend to be an emotional wreck in public and it's bloody selfish to do so.. because it's disturbing others.

As they did not budge from their seats, I just said to them in my sarcasm tone, "Tak nak balik ke?" They got up from their seats, and let us thru. I really supressed the urge to tell the girl, "Dik don't get your seluar dalam twisted over this movie. Leo is one happy millionaire, while you worry over him. You want dissapointment? Wait till you start working and get your year end scorecard. This is not scary. Scary is doing your tax return"

Sighhh... the blissful ignorance of youth... but why do you have to sit next to me?

Seriously?

Flashback of a Fool

One fine day, while channel surfing I stumbled upon this movie. I thot, the movie is pretty lame since it has James Bond in it. But with nothing better on, I just continued watching, mindlessly. Halfway thru, I was riveted. Damn! Best siut cerita ni. How come I never heard of it before? Was it in the cinemas back in 2008? I wonder if there was a soundtrack produced.

Read more of it here

So, why do I think it deserves a Bukak Baju Award (from me :)), and why you should watch it if you haven't:

1. Daniel Craig played Joe Scot, seems very human in this movie. No blank expression like James Bond.
2. The guy playing Joe Scot as a teenager SGT JAMBU. He's name is Harry Eden. He was Artful Dodger in Oliver Twist.
3. It has everything a British ChickLit brings - tragedy, love, betrayal, innocent teenage love, simple life...
4. There was this mind blowing scene (literally).. I mean how can one survived after what had happen.
4. After the last scene, aku nangis satu baldi! I lobes the last scene.
5. And also, because of this GREAT SONG by Bryan Ferry/ Roxy Music in this scene, which practically ties the story together:



If There's Something

(Ferry)
If there is something that I might find
Look around corners
Try to find peace of mind I say
Where would you go if you were me
Try to keep a straight course not easy
Somebody special looking at me
A certain reaction we find
What should it try to be I mean
If there are many
Meaning the same
Be specific just a game

I would do anything for you
I would climb mountains
I would swim all the oceans blue
I would walk a thousand miles
Reveal my secrets
More than enough for me to share
I would put roses round our door
Sit in the garden
Growing potatoes by the score

Shake your hair girl with your ponytail
Takes me right back (when you were young)
Throw your precious gifts into the air
Watch them fall down (when you were young)
Lift up your feet and put them on the ground
You used to walk upon (when you were young)
Lift up your feet and put them on the ground
The hills were higher (when we were young)
Lift up your feet and put them on the ground
The trees were taller (when you were young)
Lift up your feet and put them on the ground
The grass was greener (when you were young)
Lift up your feet and put them on the ground
You used to walk upon (when you were young)

C. Thomas Howell

also known as Tommy Howell or Christopher Thomas Howell.

Tetiba, this month there was a few of his movies playing on Astro. I actually saw Soul Man twice. Cerita memang zaman 80s yang bodoh, tapi cuci mata punya pasal, layan la jugak. It's about a white guy - C.Thomas Howell, impersonating a black guy in order to get scholarship to go to Harvard. His skin turned black due to too much tan lotion. Apakah?


Then, I also saw a movie called Tank. Nama aje dah mencemar duli aku menengoknya. It's about this army dude who rescued his son - C. Thomas Howell in an army tank (percayalah!) from a sort of illegal concentration camp run by the town's sherrifs. Talk about plot mcm haram. Tapi akak layan jugak uols.

So siapa ke C.Thomas Howell ni? Hahahah. He's like the hearthrob of the 80s. Ala Zach Effron la. Ya rabbi minat gila babi, babi pub tak minat macam ni. There was this magazine back in the days that would feature stories and posters about him. Tak ingat what's the magazine called. But my sis would ask me to buy the back dated ones which cost RM3 for 4 back dated issues. Dah la beli kat pasar je. Maju jugak pasar Batu Pahat tu.

That's where I remember reading about Tommy Howell would like a mature image and do not want to be called Tommy anymore. Hence, the name C. Thomas Howell. Hahahah. But then, I might be able to get my hands on his posters, but never get to watch his movies. Ye la zaman tu mana la ada cable. I saw Back To The Futures like 3 years after it's released kot. Check out how comel he was.


In fact sampai sekarang, I have not watch the biggest movie that C. Thomas Howell starred in:

Yes, he was in The OUTSIDERS! and yes, I have not seen it. Kesian ke tidak. This I suppose were like THE movie to be watched. Agaknya DVD haram ada tak cerita ni? Ke I've bought it tapi tak ingat letak mana. I do have the book as well. Pun tah letak mana. Check out the cast. From left Emilio Esteves, Ralph Macchio, C.Thomas Howell, Tom Cruise, and on the top row from the right, (omg is that...) Rob Lowe, Matt Dillon and Patrick Swayze. Read more about the movie here

Hehehheheh... so I wonder what he looks like now. Alamak...mcm borderline penagih dadah! How come Tom Cruise still looks the same? Pakai susuk ke apa.

2009, the movies so far...

It's already March. Kehidupan masih sama, masih malas macam biasa. Finally I'm a wee bit inspired to blog. There's nothing good on TV anyway. So I have been watching quite a number of movies already. Here's my two cents

1. VALKYRIE, staring Tom Cruise.

One word to describe it: COMPELLING!
What's it about: About a plot to kill Hitler lead by Colonel Stauffenberg (played by Tom Cruise) using Operation Valkyrie. This opeartion was approved by Hitler, basically to mobilize his reserve army to take control of the civil affair should anything happen to Germany. Read more here
Favourite quote: By Stauffenberg to Olbritch " Look them in the eye. They "ll remember you".
Must Watch? Yes! But not if you are bordering depressed. Walking out you will feel depressed. Rasa macam tak nak makan lepas tu. Having said that, Tom Cruise looked yummy as ever and he really outdid himself in this role. Kudos!

2. MARLEY AND ME, staring Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston

One word to describe it: BORING (to the point of suicide!)
What's it about: About normal life story: love, fights, dreams, work, babies... from the day they got married till they got 3 kids. And right in the middle of it all is this unruly dog that they should have put down in the first 5 minutes of the movie, called Marley.
Favorite quote: None, really.
Must Watch? Only if someone put a gun to your head.

3. BURN AFTER READING, staring George Clooney, Tilda Swinton, Brad Pitt, John Malkovich, and many others...

One word to describe it: IDIOTIC.
What's it about: Basically the Coen brothers are making fun of the CIA. The movie started of when 2 fitness trainer try to blackmail an ex CIA agent over what they thought was some classified CIA data. The movie just got more twisted over the minutes.
Favorites quotes: 1) "Did you get the Cheeses? You did not get the cheeses? Now I have to drive out and get the cheeses!" - Tilda Swinton
2) "Tell Dr Cox, I have the new keys" (then he went and broke down the door with an ax! while wearing his boxers and bathrobe!!) - John Malkovich
Mush Watch? Hell yeah. You'll have buckets of laughter over it.

4. SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, staring Dev Patel and Frieda Pinto.

One word to describe it: OUTSTANDING!
What's it about: This boy who's from the slum, with no proper education, managed to win in Who Wants to Be a millionaire, raising questions how he did it. While in police custody he recalls all his life events that teaches him all the answers to the questions in the game. Brilliant scripts!
Favorite quote:"Computer jee, lock kar diya jaye" - Anil Kapoor
Must Watch? Definitely. Only then you will believe why the movie deserves all the Oscars that it won. Though the hype was over Dev Patel and Freida Pinto, I still think that the real talent lies with the young actors. Especially the young Jamal - Ayush Mahesh Khedekar (the one on the right). Pure talent. Hats off to everyone in this movie!

I LOBES IT!

ABP was boring. Everybody's outfit was hedious. Jokes were not funny. Thank god it finish early. No, I do not lobes it.

What i labsolutely lobes is that today, I found that the Georgia Nickolson and the Ace gang will be on the silver screens! I saw the poster right after I saw Awake (which by the way was great! everyone should watch it). The first book - "Angus, thongs and full-frontal snogging" is already in production and I saw the trailer on youtube.com. Can't wait for this one. More info read here

Oh yes, it's totally teenage angst meet Bridget Jones meet Adrian Mole. Sue me!