Happy Ramadhan 1430!

A quick post. Just wanna say Happy Ramadhan to all Muslims all around the world, and happy fasting.

'Selamat berpuasa' everyone!

District 9 ~ review

Before I start this review, I want readers to forgive me for a post I made about this movie a month back. Obviously I wrote that post before the movie was out so there are quite a lot of errors regarding the story. I won't delete it though because there's also a trailer for the movie, so feel free to check it out.

Okay, back to business. From what I've read from the forums on the web, this movie had received mixed comments from viewers. Some love it, others hate it. But the critics sure are loving this flick as most of them gave the movie positive reviews. My review below contains a little bit of spoilers so please skip if you haven't watch the movie.

As you can see from the trailer, the film is shown in documentary-style format. There are several people interviewed regarding the arrival of the aliens and their impacts to surrounding society. The commentators not only giving the backstory for the main plot but also telling us the story as the film moves along. For me, this is quite a fresh approach in narrating a story for a movie, making it a little bit different compared to the handheld cam format such as in Blair Witch Project and Cloverfield, or the documentary-style format that's only limited for certain scenes such as the plane crash scene in the movie Knowing.

A little back story for the movie. 20 years prior to the events in the movie, an alien spaceship arrived on Earth. Well, not execatly 'on' but 'floating' on the sky of Johannesburg, South Africa. Humans went on the ship to investigate as it just hovered in the sky with no sign to make contact. On the ship, they found a large group of malnutrished non-humans and helped them settled on Earth. Eventually, the government camps they were set in (called District 9) were turned into slums and a private military-based company called Multinational United (MNU) was contracted to watch a close eye on the non-humans.



The movie follows the journey of Wikus van der Merwe (Sharlto Copley) as he was selected by his company (MNU) to head on an operation to move the non-humans, nearly 2 million of them, to a new camp called District 10. As he goes around the slum collecting signatures from the non-humans and asking them to evict their house, he come upon a device containing some kind of black liquid that accidentally sprayed on his face. From that moment on, he slowly falls ill and starts to take form of the non-humans. As he now has the hybrid DNA of the human and non-human, he is highly pursue by MNU as he is the key in unlocking the secret of the non-human weapons technology. Only non-humans are able to use the weapons (that had been confiscated by MNU of course) as they somehow can only be operated by those with non-humans DNA.

Refuse to be a lab rat, Wikus escape from MNU and seek refuge in District 9. He then makes a deal with one of the non-human; he will help the non-human and his little son escape to the mother ship and the non-human will help him change back to the human form. And the battle between the two-man team and MNU begins....




I really love this movie for it's approach in storytelling (as I mention before, the documentary-style) and also for the engaging story itself. I really LOVE the story a lot. It's thought-provoking and also quite touching nearing the end. I also like to mention that there are quite a lot of gory scenes involving exploded bodies (definitely not recommended for minors) which I think can be reduced. I'm also impressed with the acting, especially Sharlto Copley as Wikus. I can hardly believe the geeky Wikus that I've seen in the beginning of the movie can end up like...what he end up to be in the end. He's very good for a first-timer (he never acted in a movie before). The special effects were awesome too; the giant floating ship, the believable non-humans and the exploding bodies (yuck!).

In terms of plot, I think the writer should give more info as there are quite a few things that I don't understand about the story. Although the plotholes are quite understandable because there were quite many things that the humans in the movie do not know about the non-humans, but I would really appreciate if they could give some assumptions by the commentators on certain things.

Overall, it's a really good movie with an engaging story, it's fantastic! You can click here to learn more about the movie on Wikipedia.

God of War ~ A tormented warrior

I believe this game needs no introduction. But for those of you who don't know, God of War is a third-person action-adventure game with a story based on the Greek mythology for the PlayStation 2 console. It was released in 2005 and had been praised by the gaming critics and fans alike.

The game begins with our protagonist, the legendary warrior (or should I say villain) Kratos standing on the edge of a cliff with a solemn face. After a moment, he let himself fall in an attempt to commit suicide. Just before he hit the bottom, we are taken back in time, 3 weeks prior to the event to be more specific, to discover the truth about Kratos and his journey that leads to his attempted suicide.

To know Kratos's life journey, we are taken from one epic place to the next; from the Aegean Sea to the burning city of Athens, from the Desert of Lost Souls to the Temple of Pandora, and believe it or not, we even visit the Underworld; all in the name to defeat Ares, the God of War, who is causing chaos in Athens.

God of War is one of the game I've seen on Playstation 2 with such amazing graphics, and I'm not just talking about the full motion videos (FMVs), the graphics were stunning even during gameplay. And it does help in bringing the charm to the game as it was set in epic settings with an epic story. Yes, I know I keep repeating the word 'epic' but I can't help it; everything in God of War is epic. Even the music was hauntingly suitable for the tale.

Personally, I really love God of War for it's beautiful and breathtaking settings. The environments look majestic, and of course it suited the story about a warrior who are in service for the Greek gods. I would be amazed everytime I enter a new place. Some of my favourite places in the game are; the Aegean Sea in the beginning of the game, the challenge of Poseidon with all its water streams, and the challenge of Hades with all its scary burning fire. You will face both the challenges in the Temple of Pandora together with another one which is the challenge of Atlas. Athens also looks stunningly beautiful although some of the buildings are either in ruins or on fire.

As many of you would guess, God of War contains a lot of violence. Blood spraying, limbs flying, that's just a part of a day's work for Kratos. And there's nudity too primarily involving topless females. So I would not really recommend this game for minors.

As a conclusion, this amazing game should be in every house of those who love video games. To learn more, you can visit Game Trailers for the review of the game or just click here to go to the official site.

Living with non-humans

District 9 is an upcoming film produced by Peter Jackson (The Lord of the Rings trilogy) and directed by Neill Blomkamp. I was kinda impressed with the trailer because it doesn't look like a movie trailer, more like a documentary. The film is actually based on a short film called Alive in Joburg directed by Neill Blomkamp, Sharlto Copley, Simon Hansen and Shanon Worley.

In the film, human had finally made contact with aliens who happened to come to Earth, not to attack Earth or save Earth or even humanity, but for shelter. They were actually last survivors from their planet. The aliens were confined in a specific area called District 9 and were forced to work. Tension arise when one of the member of MNU (Multi-National United), a private company who oversee them (I assume), was contracted with a virus that changed his DNA. He was then hunted for his DNA could be the key to unlock the highly-advanced alien weaponry.

The trailer looks promising although nothing could be guaranteed until we see the final product. The film will be released in US on 14 August 2009. Here's the trailer courtesy of IGN. To learn more about the aliens, District 9, or to report on non-human activities, please visit the official site.

Utada Hikaru ~ Could this be the One?

I finally got myself a copy of Utada's new english album, This Is The One. I'm a huge fan of her music so buying this album is definitely a must. But what about other people who are not her fans but curious about her style of music? Should they/you buy it? Here's a brief track-by-track review for you to make the choice;

1. Come Back to Me

- This is definitely one of the best song in this album and to make it the 1st single is a brilliant choice. Very melodic and easy on the ears. I think this song could attract both fans and non-fans alike. A good start for the album.

2. Me Muero

- According to Utada, Me Muero is her favourite track from this album and she would listen to this even though she usually would not listen to her own songs. I felt weird that Utada found this to be her favourite because for me there are many other nicer songs than this. Maybe it's personally related to her? I don't know. Anyway, the song tells about depression (or so I guess) and I think lyrically, it's quite interesting.

3. Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence - FYI

- I love this song, and it's a possible future single. It was made on a sample of an old Japanese song written by Ryuichi Sakamoto. I'm not sure what instruments did they used to make the music but I definitely fall in love with the sound. Two thumbs up!

4. Apple and Cinnamon

- My personal favourite track. I really think this song should be released as a single, it would be a waste if she/they didn't. It's also a sad song especially at the ending bit. I think a lot of people can relate to the story of the song.

5. Taking My Money Back

- Influence of R&B can be heard from this track. She even sound like Destiny's Child in it. The arrangement is quite simple and bring in less impact than the other tracks. But it's still a nice song.

6. This One (Crying Like a Child)

- This is quite a powerful song. It really shows the strength of her vocal and the sadness in it makes the song even greater. I can almost sense the desperation when I listen to this track. I also found the lyrics to be quite interesting. It's like she's singing in a point of view of a fan to one of her favourite artist; in fact she sounds like an obsessed fan. But I'm not sure whether my interpretation is true though. That's why I love this song; it's sad, it's mysterious, and it kept me guessing.

7. Automatic Part II

- I found this song to be fun and enjoyable. I can also dance to this song. The beats are addictive and I can't help myself but to move my body.

8. Dirty Desire

- As the name suggest, this is a dirty song...lyrically. Well, at least for a couple of lines. I don't really mind because there are plenty of sexual related songs out there and Dirty Desire just a mild version of them. Also, this song sound like it was taken from a Britney album. Definitely has a mainstream sound to it.

9. Poppin'

- This is my least favoutite track from the album. I don't think this song suit in this great album. I hate the talking parts and the pointless lyrics make it even worse. I don't mean to be cruel but I really, really think this song should be sung by somebody else other than the great and talented Utada. But it is quite bearable after a couple of spins.

10. On and On

- This track is suitable for clubs. Fun, amusing and danceable. I love it! I think this song is written especially to those clubbers.


In general, it's another great effort from Utada. Although most of the tracks are more mainstream compared to her previous songs, but you can still sense the 'Utada flavor' in it. You can listen to the samples of the songs together with brief explanation from Utada about each track in her official site.

Now I can't stop playing the disc in my car on my way back home from work. It's addictive. Thank you Utada for such a great album!

The return of 2D animation from Disney

This is what I've been wanting for such a long time. A new 2D animation from Disney! The Princess and the Frog would be the return of Disney's 2D animation feature film since Home on the Range in 2004. It is directed by John Musker and Ron Clements, the people who brought to life the classic Disney films such as Aladdin and The Little Mermaid.

The Princess and the Frog is about a prince who had been turned into a frog by a voodoo magician. To break the spell, the prince asked a princess to kiss him. The kiss didn't break the spell, and the princess is turned into a frog instead! So in order to turned themselves back to human, they must find a good voodoo magician to help them, and along the way, they will meet new friends and have a journey of a lifetime.

I really wish this movie will be as good as the good-old-classic animated movies from Disney. I have really high hopes for this movie so hopefully it will not disappoint.

To watch the trailer, you can go to the official site by clicking here.

Got myself Upside Down with pop music

I'm bored. I need some pop music. Pure pop music. It's kinda hard to find some real good pop music nowadays. Sigh.

Source: A-TEENS.COM

Do you guys ever heard of a teen pop group called A* Teens from Sweden? I hope you did coz they were really popular back in the early 2000's. They were definitely huge in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and several other Asian countries, and of course Europe. I also found out from Wiki that they were huge in Mexico and US (!) which surprises me coz I thought they never did promoted themselves in the US. They also had an album called Pop 'til You Drop! released exclusively in the US. No wonder I couldn't find the album in my country.

Some of their big hits are Floorfiller, the Elvis Presley's cover Can't Help Falling In Love (soundtrack for Lilo and Stitch), Halfway Around the World and Upside Down. They first started as a group dedicated to sing only ABBA songs with their debut album contains all the cover songs from ABBA. Then they started making their own image with a pop album, Teen Spirit. Later they released Pop 'til You Drop exclusively for US market, and New Arrival, their fourth album internationally.

Here's the video to their massive hit Upside Down from the album Teen Spirit. This song was in my head all day long when I was a teenager. I totally love it! One of the best pop song ever! Hope you guys would love it too. Enjoy!