Zynamic Gala

I need my McDreamy

Date : Saturday, December 01, 2007
Time : 8:00 PM

Went to the beach at Campoinhas.
The soothing seawaves and and the cooling seabreeze hv the magic of bringing all the stress away.
Wat a captivating scene but it only makes me miss u more.
I know how much u love the sea yet I couldnt bring the calming seaview neither the smell of the ocean back..
I can only whisper in my heart and hope the seagulls can bring across my blessing to you who is a thousand miles away.

=( Enchanted is out in SG.

Wont be able to get back in time to catch it. I need to get my dose of McDreamy!!

Oh boi.. need u remind me of that melt-me-in-my-shoe Patrick Dempsey's smile??

Okie.. i shall juz bear with it for the moment and catch him more on my Laptop.

Bye.. ppl. Time for Grey's Anatomy Season Four.

Oh ya.. before i forget, its finally December. Xmas is just round the corner. Imma in the mood to get a silky lil' dress, and dance the xmas nite away wif a special someone. Will the wish comes true?

Labels: BlockBuster, Brazil, Days of My Life, Jingle Bell, Sacred Dungeon

posted by the little red devil at 8:00 PM

| Close-Up Evidence | 2 Witnesses

Apocalypto

Date : Saturday, February 10, 2007
Time : 1:14 PM

Was doing some spring cleaning on my pc, found the movie Apocalypto lying in a corner of my messy drive. Totally forgot i had downloaded this movie weeks ago. [well.. in fact I haven't watched a movie (in a cinema I mean) in eons, all the recent flicks were downloaded online, my bad.. my bad..]

Set aside my disappointment with Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ, I personally enjoy this latest movie of his, in fact even more than the Leonardo Di Caprio vehicled Blood Diamond. The story is about an epic adventure of a young hunter-Jaguar Paw, which sets in the waning years of ancient Mayan civilization. With most events happened in the forest, which I initially thought it would be kinda boring, well surprisingly, it didn't. Turns out , it is outrageously entertaining and stunningly kinetic. (talk abt all the half-naked torsos!!) A full 139 mins of adrenaline rush.. for those who hvn watch it, WARNING AHEAD: faint heart pls beware of the bloody violence and gore(thou i find the brutal volence is needed and justified, hostory of ancient civilisation is always cruel), its definitely not a movie for the squeamish.

Despite all the criticisms of the movie's historical, cultural and scientifical inaccuracies, (as for me, i dun really care becoz everyone knows movies are fictions), one might be able to enjoy the show more by focusing on the frantic jungle chase. Its kinda inspiring watching the young hunter, Jaguar Paw running for his life; also how Seven, Jaguar's wife survive in the

deep pit cave. Thou involving a few freakish act of nature, its nonetheless interesting to see how these simple, in-tune-with-the-earth native man & woman overcome their fears and exert their bravery and wisdom to the max.

The scene of the captives' gradual entry into the great and chaotic Maya City is brilliantly pictured. The plague that took away many lives, the slave market where the women are sold off and finally, the human sacrifice on the staggering central plaza, where the first thing seen is a freshly detached human head being bounced down the long steps of a towering pyramid toward a frenzied crowd below. It all tag with the central line shown at beginning of the show: "A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself from within." It is not always the conquerors from foreign lands who have caused the fall of a civilization/country. Most of the time, the civilization itself served as a precursor to its fall through its actions towards fellowmen and environment. Cant help but to ponder, are we doing justice to our planet and our fellowmen staying in the same globe? Is the rising global warming, increasing cases of disease a warning sign for US-the mighty civilised human??

The other astonishing factor is the cast. A huge bonus should be given to the casting director who tracks down all the roles from the main cast to the small fry. Notwithstanding the fantastic costumes, makeup, tatoo and hair designs, the greatest impression is made by the performers' faces, which are both superbly photogenic and exotic, yet paralyzingly bizarre and hard-to-forget.

In short, this is definitely an intense-packed movie which is ferocious and wild. Worth watching especially for those who go after action and thrill. Last but not least, i guess Mel Gibson should really spend more time behind the stage than creating headlines in front of the camera.

Labels: BlockBuster

posted by the little red devil at 1:14 PM

| Close-Up Evidence | 17 Witnesses

Regina Spektor

Date : Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Time : 3:08 PM

Seems like the song playing background is quite well received by you readers.
Been getting emails n msgs, enquired abt the song n the singer. Mike who like the song so much even downloaded the whole album. =)
In order not to retype for every mail, i think i might as well post a 'simple and to-the point' intro. Okie okie.. without much ado, may i present Regina Spektor and the song 'Fidelity'.

(Shake it up)
I never loved nobody fully
Always one foot on the ground
And by protecting my heart truly
I got lost in the sounds
I hear in my mind
All these voices
I hear in my mind all these words
I hear in my mind all this music

And it breaks my heart
And it breaks my heart
And it breaks my heart
It breaks my heart

And suppose I never met you
Suppose we never fell in love
Suppose I never ever let you kiss me so sweet and so soft
Suppose I never ever saw you
Suppose we never ever called
Suppose I kept on singing love songs just to break my own fall
Just to break my fall
Just to break my fall
Break my fall
Break my fall

All my friends say that of course its gonna get better
Gonna get better
Better better better better
Better better better

I never love nobody fully
Always one foot on the ground
And by protecting by heart truly
I got lost
In the sounds
I hear in my mind
All these voices
I hear in my mind all these words
I hear in my mind
All this music
And it breaks my heart
It breaks my heart

I hear in my mind all of these voices
I hear in my mind all of these words
I hear in my mind all of this music

Breaks my
Heart
Breaks my heart

Regina Spektor is a Mosco-born American singer/songwriter/pianist. She gained much media attention in 2006 when her video for "Fidelity" was viewed over 200,000 times in two days on YouTube. Thats also how i came across her songs. (For ur info, this song was played recently in Grey's Anatomy Season 3 Ep 12-Six days Part II. Oh.. talking abt Greys' Anatomy, i m so freakin' in love with Sandra Oh.) More info, pls google urself =P.

IF u like Anti-folk,(dun ask me wat the hell is anti-folk, i hv no clue either, Wiki said so) OR u like Regina Spektor, do check out her latest album Begin to Hope. Not all songs are good thou. Click the link to her official website, where u can tune in online to some of her songs.

My current fav: Hotel Song

Labels: BlockBuster, Current Fav

posted by the little red devil at 3:08 PM

| Close-Up Evidence | 4 Witnesses

A Saturday when the Dark Lord rules..

Date : Monday, January 29, 2007
Time : 7:55 AM

When u find urself wake up at the wrong side of bed, its betta to get back to lala land n sleep the day away. Trust me, i learnt it the hard way after I did an extremely wrong decision on Sat morning.

Woke up with a goggy head, struggling my way to the bathroom. Something just didnt feel right, i bet it must had written in the stars. Couldnt care less, I took my dirty laundry to the shop n went for breakfast as usual. Saw this lil gal walking her nice sturdy beagle along the street, gorgeous mum followed at the back. Mr Beagle refused to move n the lil' gal had to drag the poor dog along. Mum was busy talking on the phone and din really pay attention to the gal n the beagle. Turned out that poor Mr Beagle need to pass his motion, and apparently his masters did not see it coming. Mum kena the top prize but she din notice it either. Worse, she kicked the poo poo as she moved n the poo poo did a nice 360' somersault in the air b4 it dropped on my shoe!!

I was cursing and swearing inside but there isnt much i can do except running back to my apartment's carpark for a quick wash up. Okie.. now i m angry n starved.. but the worse had yet to come. I finally got back to the backery shop where i use to have breakfast at, just in time to witness a fat guy wif big belly bought the last ham n cheese croissant n shamelessly start eating in front of me. ARRGGGG!!!! That is my crispy Ham n Cheese croissant!!

Fine, i ended up settled with 4 piece of Pao de queijo and a cup of hot chocolate which is not so hot at all. Got home grouchy enuff to find the whole apartment had no electricity supply due to some stupid technical problem!!

Gosh.. i decided to call it a day b4 declaring it The DARKEST DAY of my 20++ life!! So believe me, bad hair day is REALLY bad!! Not only bad but BLACK!!

===============================================

Caught The illusionist on Sunday. I prefer 'the other magician movie'-The Prestige thou. Edward Norton is still as cool but the female actor Jessica Biel screw up big time. She seriously cant act, at least not well. Nevertheless, the show is kinda intriguing and i think it worth 3.5 star out of 5.

Labels: BlockBuster, Days of My Life

posted by the little red devil at 7:55 AM

| Close-Up Evidence | 5 Witnesses

Confession of Pain 伤城

Date : Thursday, January 25, 2007
Time : 11:00 PM

I know this show has been out in the cinema for like.. months ago?? and its officially declared as last yr production as 2007 has since arrived. ( so outdated i know, but I'm in Brazil, okie?!) I have not been able to catch the so called "Hong Kong Cinema savior" for year 2006. So.. since i got home earlier than usual, i decided to sit down n thrilled myself with a Cops Drama.

Given the Infernal Affairs-sized expectations, I have to confess despite my huge likings on Tony Leung Chiu Wai and Takeshi Kaneshiro, i still find the movie somewhat disappointing.

With such an insanely heavy pedigree production crew(Andrew Lau, Alan Mak and Felix Chong), the storyline is unbelievable predictable. Tony Leung as the bad guy in disguise, and Takeshi as the desperate PI. There is an heavy efforts in acting by both the leads and advertly point to the lack of chemistry between them. The supporting characters had so little to do, Xu Jinglei as Tony Leung's wife, had fairly else to do except to love her husband, and to show pain when she found out the truth. Shu Qi was largely wasted in her role as a beer maid and Chapman To, an Andrew Lau and Alan Mak film regular, finds himself as a fellow cop in yet another role for comedic effect, in trying to lighten up moods whenever Tony Leung and Takeshi begin to wallow.

Ever since Infernal Affair, I seriously lost my interst in HK films production. Unless u have absolutely nothing to do (like me), i suggest you can skip this.

Labels: BlockBuster

posted by the little red devil at 11:00 PM

| Close-Up Evidence | 3 Witnesses

Blood Diamond

Date : Friday, January 19, 2007
Time : 8:35 AM

The sun is out finally. The magic of Vitamin D sysnthesis, making me feel energetic.

Thou this post might seem outdated, but true enuff, I only managed to find time for "Blood Diamond" last nite. One of the better movie i had watched for the past months. I m not a Big Fan of Leonardo Dicaprio, but i would say he did a gd job this time round. His skillful South African accent and the way he conveyed his warped upbringing and poignant love/hate relationship with his home continent. Seems like DiCaprio is making an earnest bid to change from pretty boy to tough guy with his dual roles as the hard edged undercover cop in The Departed (Hollywood version of HK's Infernal Affairs) and the mercenary with shifting morals here in Blood Diamond. Only regrets, I personally feel that equal weight should be given to the two male characters. It will be more convincing if an effort was made to portray the situ from the perspective of Solomon Vandy (casted by Djimon Hounsou), the African Black. Hounsou is a tough actor and i think he should be given more to work with.

Another scene that left an impact is how the rebel army kid

napped the innocent kids and trained them into killing-machine. Watching the innocent kids being brainwashed to bloodshedder, seeing the skinny kids held tightly on the machine gun they could barely carried, its just too heavy to bear the gut-wrenching facts. War is cruel and ugly enuff.. even more undesirable involving children in armed combat. Today, as many as 300,000 child soldiers are engaged in military fighting in approximately 30 countries on every continent except Antarctica and Australia. In addition to Afghanistan, for example, child soldiers are serving in armies in Angola, Uganda, Pakistan, Burma, Sierra Leone, Colombia and Chechnya. Not even little girls are exempt from this conscription. Often they find themselves forced into sexual slavery or used as human minesweepers. Children are being used as soldiers; there are countries increasingly coercing children soldiers into military action, raising moral dilemmas that can be matters of life and death for the opposing troops. The consequences? These people are digging their own path to death. They are putting the future of their countries in stake.

After watching the show, I wonder how many diamonds in the market are 'conflict diamond'?
I read an article about Ernest Blom, the president of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses, saying that conflict diamonds are now all but 'an historical fact.' I do not know the reality, but does consumer really care? Apparently, not many people are concerned that their coveted “bling-bling” status symbol might be a 'blood diamond'. I myself being a vainpot too lookforward to Tiffany and Cartier Engagement D-Ring, but if this diamond is the cause of so many innocent lifes, i would rather forsake the carats.
So.. in order to own a stone without involving human misery, i did the following research:

How can you help to STOP BLOOD DIAMOND?

Always ask for certificate. Consumers should ask retailers the following four questions when purchasing diamonds:
1. Do you know where your diamonds come from?
2. May I see a copy of your company's policy on conflict diamonds?
3. Can you show me a written guarantee from your diamond suppliers stating that your diamonds are conflict free?
4. How can I be sure that none of your jewelry contains conflict diamonds?

As consumers, we have the power to change that by demanding details about the diamonds we buy. Demanding proof that a diamond is conflict-free sends a powerful message to the world that we will not support an industry or nation that helps fund terror groups.

Change won't happen overnight, but it will happen if we are persistent.

Labels: BlockBuster, two cents thot

posted by the little red devil at 8:35 AM

| Close-Up Evidence | 3 Witnesses

1 Litre of Tears １リットルの涙

Date : Friday, January 05, 2007
Time : 1:55 PM

Cozzie marathon Jap dorama slumber party with Haagen-Daz ice-cream n pigging out. Finished watching Jap Drama Series 'Ichi Rittoru no Namida' aka 1 Litre of Tears' last nite together wif Ms PP. Not a new show, prob a yr ago. I always find out the good stuff when it becomes far less accessible. But at least i find out abt it =P, thanks in no small part to wonderful INTERNET. My strong recommendation: dun ever watch it the nite b4 an important meeting/date unless u dun mind a pair of puffy eyes.

For those who hvn watched, A lil' intro of this dorama. Based on a true story, '1 Litre of Tears' is about the life story of Kitou Aya-a girl who was diagnosed with an incurable disease called 'Spinocerebellar Degeneration Disease' at a young age of 15. A disease which caused her to lose her balance, coordination and speech, and eventually bed-ridden with almost no ability to do anything. However, Aya gradually learnt to accept the cruelty of life and fought it with dignity together with the suppport of her families, frens n bfs. While struggling and fighting with her disease, she wrote her deepest thoughts in diary form till the last day she could hold a pen. Her diary “1 Litre of Tears” was published after her death, because of its inspiring and courageous message:“Just being alive is such a lovely and wonderful thing.” So far, over 18,000,000 copies of her diary have been sold.

I still remember vividly how we used to stay up late in the hostel during uni days watching Jap doramas. As heart wrenching and tear-jerking as most Japanese dorama is, this dorama however kinda set me in an inspirational mood. To tell the truth, i had not been feeling this way for years. So many questions ponder in my lil' head.. Will my family bond strong enuff to deal wif sth like dis? Will I ever/ Have I already met someone like Asou-kun who will stay by my side despite all illness? Will I be determined enuff to take care of my loved ones no matter what horrible things strike on him/her? Will my friends despise on me if I ever contracted a weird disease? Will I be wise n courageous enuff to come face to face with all odds in life? I reckon I gained some insights from the drama. However, how long can I retain the courage? Or m I just soak in the emotions until maybe a week, a month later b4 I jump out of it?

I do not hv answers to all my questions.. but one thing for sure: I will keep on reminding myself not to take things for granted. I used to appreciate simple things in life but along the course I no longer luf as heartily and i no longer cry as contentedly.. Through all this year of tripping and stumbling, i wonder have i grow wiser or have i lost myself? Regrets not, I only have one life. So here I go: My resolutions of 2007 - to be a better person, to self-reflect more, to love wholeheartedly, to be more forgivings and less demanding. Another better 5 yrs?

Labels: BlockBuster, two cents thot

posted by the little red devil at 1:55 PM

| Close-Up Evidence | 0 Witnesses

Marley & Me

Date : Friday, October 20, 2006
Time : 10:11 AM

I always know i have a low treshold of holding my tears when it comes to pets, frenship and kinship. But nvr do i expected the tears started, for me on page 224 when Marley moved "from middle age into retirement". I had been having so much amusement reading about Marleys antics and quirks up and i guess i had grown in luv wif this dog despite his crumsiness and hyperactiveness. The way he climbs up the stairs daily to join the Grogans despite his failing hips twisted my heart.

I cant help but to think of Zico when he gets old. He is still a young pup to me and he will always be (Zico just had his official 2 yr old bday celeb on 5th of Oct). I hate to think he will go thru the aging stage eventually. Nevertheless, mortality finiteness is unavoidable so it applies to everyone of us and every smart doggy out there. Our beloved companion will leave us one day, and i m not sure if i could handle it till it happen to me. The best is to treat Zico better and shower him with more love. Wat a shame to say this when i am here in Brazil, leaving him wif Mom n Dad. I knoe Mom has been taking great care of him, but i know Zico is missing me as much as I have been thinking of him.

Yet finish the book but i know i will hv a hard time going through Marley's retirement. I guess I would better read it at home or else i shall scare the hell out of Pauline & the rest.

Labels: BlockBuster, Zico

posted by the little red devil at 10:11 AM

| Close-Up Evidence | 2 Witnesses

Corinne Bailey Rae

Time : 8:38 AM

Woke up in the midst of my dream after much disruption of the alarm clock. stretched for a better position, trying to steal a few more winks in bed.

On the speaker and let the music filled my small apartment, the morning ritual has to be.

The latest hits on my Ipod of Jack Johnson had been replaced by Corrine Bailey Rae light and sultry voice in her good old fashioned soul music.

The first time i ever heard any songs of this gal was when I listened to the radio in CK's car and "Put Your Records On" came on. Woovy was the first impression. A few days later, "Like a Star" came showering like the most beautiful music i ever heard.. And since then, i was completely subdued, by her voice.. by her songs.. by the rhythm.. by the lyrics. Almost all her tracks touches me and brings me into her world. This gal simply has the power to get me into the mood of swaying a slow dance.

Mashi thinks "Till it happpenend to You" sounds sad, hmm.. I listen to it carefully.. and i reckon there is a little. Or perhaps, it deps also on your mood at that time, Happi listening, folks.

Labels: BlockBuster

posted by the little red devil at 8:38 AM

| Close-Up Evidence | 0 Witnesses

Pancho Nicky

Date : Thursday, October 19, 2006
Time : 10:23 PM

I had just finished watching the best episode of CSI season 5 -Grave Danger 1 & 2 (occurs in ep 24 & 25 finale). Nick was kidnapped and buried alived in a transparent coffin attacked by fire ants. Grissom and the rest of the team were to find him and rescued before he died from suffocation or the attack of the fire ants.

The live feed of Nick was the most emotionally charged. Cant stop the adrenalin rush. I dont usually admired George Eads in his Nick Stoke character, but this ep sure brings out the wiser side of Nick. I was even more in love with Grissom when he cool-ly said to Conrad ( who nastily split his team in the prev season) : " I want my teams back". A man wif brain is the man with wand.

In short, the finale rocked!! A real successful stunt to end the season.

Labels: BlockBuster

posted by the little red devil at 10:23 PM

| Close-Up Evidence | 0 Witnesses

Take the Lead

Date : Monday, April 17, 2006
Time : 9:18 PM

Caught a show after work yesterday.
A show that i have been looking fwd to ever since catching a glance @ the trailer in the cinema.Typical type of inspiring show that nvr fails to hoax me forking out the money from my pocket willingly.
And all i would say is, this time, it really worth the money & time!

The storyline is revolving around Pierre Dulaine, a true story that happened in Mahattan. He is a former professional ballroom dancer who owns a dancing studio. After witnessing a vandalism that took place during the night on the street, he decided to help these kids through his own means.

Pierre, (in this show casted by Antanio Banderas, which i think he did a marvellous job, playing his part as a gentle, Spanish/French Mix), volunteers his time to teach ballroom dancing to this group of New York inner city highschool kids.
Initially forced to participate as a form of detention, the kids reject Mr. Dulaine's efforts until his unwavering commitment and dedication finally inspires them to embrace the program, infusing it with their own unique hip-hop style while subconsciously learning valuable life lessons about pride, respect, self-esteem and honor.

I love the ending part where everyone, regardless of their social status, their races, and their education level, all immersed in the joyous spirit and dance themselves off in the grand ballroom. It paints a thousand words- Music and dance are without borders!!

Labels: BlockBuster

posted by the little red devil at 9:18 PM

| Close-Up Evidence | 0 Witnesses