G'day mate!

Glorious Perth!

It’s been a while since I last updated this blog. I could come up with dozens of different excuses, but as they say in my marketing books, honesty is sometimes far better. (Not that marketing is very honest to begin with, for example it defines itself as “building better customer relationships to the betterment of both seller and customer” rather than simply, “brainwashing”)

So, the honest truth: I’ve been lazy. I must apologize. You see, I’ve been having the time of my life in the most wonderful city of Perth, Australia, and as a result, have experienced a bit of writer’s block.

And make no doubt; Perth really is a wonderful place. From the cleanliness of the air and parks, to the beautiful architecture and environment, to the friendly people, it’s quite a joy to be here. It’s really impressive how the Australians conduct themselves, from keeping the city clean to being punctual for little things such as bus schedules. Besides that, everywhere you go, friendly cashiers and shop attendees greet you with a “G’day” or “Hello, how are you?” Their niceness is also probably the reason for the rapid decrease in my wallet’s weight at the shops.

People who turned up for the Symphony, Swan bells in the background

There are many attractions too, such as the Perth Zoo, in which any Kung Fu Panda fan will be running here and there to spot the animals featured in the movie, and the Swan Bell Tower, which stand tall like a strange alien structure of red and green. If that’s not enough, the Australians will “create” their own attractions, such as the fascinating Western Australia Symphony Orchestra performance, which was held in an open air field. The (free) concert was attended by a staggeringly large audience. You really have to admire the fun-loving and sporting spirit of the Australian people!

I call these weird things "facehugger plants". Google it.

My family and I were also invited to picnics and lunches by some Australians and they were all very nice and friendly people. They know how to make conversation very well, but perhaps a little too well because at times we just felt a little lost while talking to them. Still they were patient and not at all proud. We went around visiting the country’s little towns and dams and had a great time. Notice from my photos just how docile and domestic Australian animals are. We joked that it’s probably because the birds and critters don’t get hunted down for food unlike back home!

More cute, tame birds

Well, it’s been great, and I predict it’ll still continue to be great. To all my SAM friends who are flying next year, I envy you because you’ll have a fantastic experience!

After a walk in Kings Park

Tame and docile ducks

War memorials at the park

The picnic

Perth Zoo crocodile. This bloke's huge!

Horton hears a who?

Dental Terror

It was freaky. Upon entering the dentist's office, I saw in my mind fleeting images of pain and torment, with a few scenes from the Dentist horror movies thrown in. Nevertheless, I sat calmly as the dentist injected painkiller into my gum nerves. It didn't help when he said in an almost bored voice, "Now I have to tell you the risks involved..."

Supposedly there was a risk of getting a serious wound that would last for 6 months. Ouch.

The next few minutes were painless, but strange. I closed my eyes, and while the painkillers nullified the pain, I could still experience some pressure. So it really feels awkward as you can feel the scissors snipping away at your gum while death-drills grind your teeth down. I didn't even know it when the dentist began stitching my gums back.

Now, for the long week ahead where I'll be experiencing some pain and the inability to enjoy food (Darn it!). Friday's the day I get rid of the stitches, and it can't come sooner!

P.S. This was a wisdom tooth removal operation

This is called...farming!

I haven’t done this before, but I’ll advise you this time to please be wary of spoilers in this review. Plain put, every bit of this film oozes with charm and I’d hate to be the one to spoil the experience. You have been warned.


How does Pixar do these things? While film studios all around clank out cliché after cliché, Pixar seldom resorts to sequels, instead relying on simple novelty ideas which they turn into epic, entertaining movies. Who knew that toys, fish, cars, bugs and rats could make such wonderful characters? Still, their latest innovation might be their best yet, having resulted in a film that has cute robots, which, despite their lack of dialog, project a story with such endearing heart and soul. It’s a film dealing with dark, depressing and very real issues, but has enough optimism to make it fun.


And let there be no doubt, these robots are adorable. Wall-E, the main character, is the last remaining robot on Earth who goes through a daily schedule of compacting and cleaning up scrap and trash left over by humans. In fact, the Earth is so filthy that humans have evacuated on a giant spaceship leaving (literally) skyscrapers of garbage. Wall-e has been faithfully at his job for years, and the boredom and loneliness have helped him develop humanlike qualities and feelings. When another robot named Eve is deployed on Earth to search for signs of life, Wall-E falls in love and follows her across the galaxy on an adventure. The big bulk of the adventure takes place on the aforementioned giant spaceship, where Wall-E’s surprising humanity forever changes the lives of its inhabitants.


It’s already expected of a Pixar film to have cute antics, stunning visuals, great music (with nice nods to oldies music), and of course, strong characters, and Pixar hasn’t failed. However, what really makes this film remarkable and outstanding is the underlying message. It was simply stunning when the spaceship’s inhabitants were revealed to be obese humans who, due to the comforts of technology, now travel in hoverchairs and have no need for walking. As a matter of fact, they have lost the ability to walk and every aspect of their lives, including entertainment, hygiene, communication and food (burger-flavored liquids?) can be done from the comfort of their hoverchairs.


While funny, it is a frightening look at what humanity might evolve into. The movie jolted me awake to the importance of appreciating one’s life and abilities. A scene showing the ship’s captain delighting in learning about simple pleasures such as dancing and farming really shows how beautiful life really is if we remove all the technological fog engulfing us. I was never one for environmental awareness but even I could appreciate the strong ecological message. One need only marvel at the bold panoramas of skyscrapers made of cube-shaped trash collected by Wall-E over the years to understand that our Earth is in serious danger unless we do something about it.


Yet, many critics have accused Wall-E of being hypocritical. A massive corporation such as Disney, who promotes consumerism (Wall-E’s so cute, buy the toys!), is trying to push forward an ecological message. Who are they to tell us what to do? Well, I for one, don’t agree with them. Just because it is a bad teacher who teaches moral values doesn’t mean that the moral values taught are any less relevant. Love the product, not the maker. Likewise, I love Wall-E, for its strong message, great characters and wonderful visuals even though I see the validity of the criticism directed at the producer.

There’s no doubt in my mind, Wall-E is the best animated film I’ve seen this year. In fact, it’s one of the best animated movies I’ve ever seen from Pixar and that’s saying a lot considering the studio produced marvels such as Ratatouille, Toy Story, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles and Monsters Inc. I heartily recommend this movie.



Images are copyrighted by Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation Studios

"The wait is over"

Fantastic. Never a big fan of Star Trek, this has nevertheless gotten my attention. Will be looking to catch previous movies just to get a feel for this new, epic movie.

Hopefully, it'll be good because we (or rather I) need another space epic after Star Wars.

For quality junkies like me, go to Apple's Official Website to download high-resolution Quicktime versions of the trailer. I highly recommend doing so to enjoy the awesome detail.

"Do not want!"

So the backstroke begins?

Being Malaysian, we all have come across pirated DVD movies with weirdly translated subtitles. Here's an example of how pirates can unintentionally be so ridiculously funny with movies, such as the following Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. These photos were stolen taken from the blog, winterson.com.

"Master, may the Force be with you". The Force is now the "wish power"

Yes! Very big! Eww...

Wha-? The "Presbyterian Church" is supposed to be the Jedi Council...don't ask me!

A big what? I wonder...


Okay, Kenobi, you've confessed it.



It is as I predicted!


@@"

"NOOOOO!" is funny enough, now we get "Do not want!"

Really fantastic, the beauty of it all. For the rest of the screenshots, go to winterson.com to see the rest. Beware of the occasional expletive, but considering we all have bought encountered pirated DVDs, these words should come as nothing shocking.

New facelift!

Ok I couldn't find a movie quote this time. However I am proud to have finally redesigned some aspects of my blog. Fine, it was just a banner upgrade, but I'm still happy with it nevertheless.

This banner design parodies American comics of the 60s to the 70s. Pick up any copy of Amazing Spider-man or Batman and you'll see some similarities. And yes, my face strikes out like a grinning fool it is. Don't ask me why, it was just a spur of the moment thing.

Also, what exactly is the Comics Code Authority? The Comic Codes Authority was a regulatory (read: viciously dictatorial) body that censored comics back then. They were the ones that caused Batman to become the questionably flamboyant character he was in the sixties. (You know, BAM! POW! BIFF! Holy gee willickers, Batman!) Thank goodness Chris Nolan brought him back with the new Batman movies.

Anyway, I would like to take this opportunity say thank you to loyal readers, if there are any, for visiting my blog. Hope to see you again!

"There are no accidents."

They call me a “banana”. A banana is one whose skin is supposedly yellow on the outside but is white on the inside, much like a real banana. This derogatory term means that while I am Chinese (yellow), I often exhibit characteristics of a Caucasian (white). Case in point: I don’t speak Chinese, I prefer Western comics and entertainment and until recently, I didn’t even know how to write my Chinese name.

Despite being a so-called banana, I am still proud of my Chinese heritage and enjoy entertainment based on Chinese culture, despite my inability to understand the dialog or speech in those entertainments. Therefore, I love watching kung-fu and while I try my best not to come across as a stereotypical kung-fu fan wannabe (seen in movies such as Karate Kid and the Forbidden Kingdom), I have to admit that martial arts gets me extremely excited. So what could be more exciting than an animated feature featuring kung-fu characters?

Kung Fu Panda tells of a lovable, fat panda named Po (Jack Black), who was, due to a series of unpredictable events, chosen as the legendary Dragon Warrior. But unlike the fabulous Furious Five, whose martial arts skills are renown throughout China, Po is just a normal, physically unfit (he can’t even climb stairs) noodle seller. The situation is all the more exasperating for Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) who has to train him because the powerful Tai Lung (Ian McShane), a villainous leopard, has escaped from prison. Tai Lung seeks the Dragon Scroll, a scroll that grants its reader limitless power, which was denied him. Po and Master Shifu will thus have to overcome impossible odds to face this threat.


I was impressed by how respectful this movie was to Chinese culture. Instead of simply parodying it, it is clear that the creators showed great care in researching various aspects of Chinese culture, from the costumes to the architecture to the varying kung-fu styles. This resulted in another beautiful movie, with charming scenery, colorful characters and intense battles.

Speaking of the battles, I thought it was a fantastic decision to use animal characters as the kung-fu masters. While it seemed like a gimmick in most animated movies, this movie utilized them in a way that showed us something we’ve never seen before. Sure, we may have seen Jackie Chan (who has a voice role, as Master Monkey) perform monkey kung-fu, but have you actually seen an actual monkey performing it? Which movie features a snake taking on a leopard in a heated battle? What about a tiny red panda taking on the same leopard? The closest parallel I’ve seen in any movie was in Star Wars where the diminutive Master Yoda took on much bigger foes and that was awesome, much like this movie was.

Also, the animation was breathtaking; the characters spar and attack each other with quick and graceful moves. Thanks to the beautiful choreography, the battles had great momentum and style. One could almost feel the rush of the wind as Tai Lung dashes up a vertical slope while battling hundreds of soldiers. Two scenes in particular, blew my mind. The first was when Tai Lung escaped from prison, leaping and dashing across wide chasms and knocking aside soldiers as if they were mere dolls. His punches and kicks could be felt when they landed on the poor soldiers’ cheeks with loud, convincing cracks. The second scene was when the Furious Five, consisting of varied animals such as a mantis and a crane, attacked Tai Lung at a wide suspension bridge that was literally high above the clouds.


From what I have said, you can clearly see that I do like Tai Lung, and Ian McShane did a good job portraying a heartless, ruthless and occasionally sarcastic villain. I guess that's because he's British, and the British make such wonderful villains. Actor Jack Black also did a great job as Po the Panda and so did Dustin Hoffman as Master Shifu. Yet, I do wonder whether the star-studded cast was really necessary. Rival animator Pixar’s movies mostly used unknown actors and yet every single one of their performances was noteworthy. But here, I couldn’t really see the significant difference in hiring Jackie Chan, Angelina Jolie or Lucy Liu over other professional voice actors. For example, I didn’t even realize that Jolie was playing the Tigress until the credits rolled out on the screen.

Nevertheless, Kung Fu Panda is by no means a bad movie. It’s fantastic and surprising because I never expected such quality from Dreamworks. This has been a great year with at least two English kung-fu movies (The other being the Forbidden Kingdom). Kung Fu Panda definitely has my nomination for best animated movie of the year, and until I watch Wall-E, it certainly gets my vote.


Images are copyrighted by Dreamworks Animation