R. I. P. Loga of Alleycats

Loganathan Arumugam, vocalist of the legendary Malaysian band, ALLEYCATS, has passed away this morning at the age of 54. He was diagnosed with lung cancer.

SHREK THE THIRD

There was one brief scene in Shrek The Third (I'll just call it Shrek 3 here, it's easier for me) that moved me a little. It's when a one-eyed villainous minion who is in the midst of tying Shrek up reveals that it's Bring Your Child To Work day, and calls out his shy little young daughter (also one-eyed) for a loving hug.

"How did a monster like me deserve someone like her?" The villainous one-eyed minion asks as his daughter laughs in his arms, bringing shame to the fatherhood-shunning Shrek.

Is this why we can't do film noirs in Malaysia?

Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall in The Big Sleep, a classic film noir

This is something I heard from an industry insider few days ago:

Ever wonder why we haven't seen that many (or any?) Malaysian films featuring private detectives, femme fatales, or anything that's like a film noir*?

[French Film Festival Malaysia 2007] Hors De Prix (Priceless)

Hors De Prix is the second film I saw from the GSC French Film Festival, after the heart-wrenching La Mome (La Vie en Rose). I've always wanted to catch this film since reading Sebastian's rave review on his blog last month, besides, it's already not much of a secret that I'm a sucker for romantic comedies anyway. So, after getting Sebastian's confirmation that it's a good date movie (as long as the female companion does not feel insecure and tiny about the fact that the pretty Audrey Tautou's boobs are always threatening to pop out from the fashionable dresses she's wearing in the film), I invited a lovely lady friend to see the movie with me.

R. I. P. Izumi Sakai (Zard)

Updated (September 2, 2012): Zard is a pop group. And Izumi Sakai was its lead vocalist and leader. I always referred to her as Zard because to me, she WAS Zard. But I decide to revise this blog post so that I can try to separate the Sakai the person, from the group.

I was pretty shocked when I read about singer-songwriter Izumi Sakai's death on today's newspapers.

[French Film Festival Malaysia 2007] La Mome' (or La Vie en Rose)

Just came back from seeing LA MOME (LA VIE EN ROSE is the US title) with my dad at the French Film Festival in GSC 1-Utama.

(I'll refer this film as LA MOME in this entry.)

In Defense Of Film Critics...?

"Filmmakers need an audience, that's for certain. but do filmmakers need film critics? hmmm... i wonder. One thing for sure, filmmakers have absolutely no use for self-proclaimed film experts or film pontificators."

The above quote is a post by filmmaker Yasmin Ahmad (Sepet, Gubra, Mukhsin) two days ago at the Malaysian Cinema mailing list, during a discussion (it's ironic that the whole thing was sparked by a short film of a new member I introduced the mailing list to) two days ago. Which started to make me... think.

A NIGHTMARISH Acting Audition... Method Acting is bad?

Alfred Hitchcock hates method acting

I'm currently helping out with a short film.

(There are also other job offers I'm still pondering, my Sin Chew Daily interview seems to have its benefits :D)

The director and I had an audition yesterday trying to find the right actors and actresses for the four primary roles of his film, and we were meant to meet up with two actresses and an actor.

(For the sake of protecting everyone's identities, I'm not going to divulge real names)

It was a nightmare.

Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World’s End

Just came back from the My.fm-organized preview of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (I'll refer it as POTC3 in this review) with my dad.

Rum of Heartsdales. Hot!

"I ride boys like a motorcycle."
-Rum

There's an interview about her and her sister here.

Blue Gate Crossing 藍色大門, Beautiful Taiwanese Film!

"Maybe someday, a year later, or maybe three, if you start liking boys, you must tell me. Don't laugh, I'm serious."