Welcome to Dongmakgol

Welcome to Dongmakgol was South Korea's 2005 representative for the Oscar's Best Foreign Film at the 2006 Oscars. It also became the fourth top-grossing film of all time in Korea. However, I barely knew anything about it when I first popped it into my DVD player a couple of nights ago, remembering only vaguely a raving review from Lovehkfilm.com. All I've wanted was some quick laughs, and from the quirky-looking film poster (I thought the girl was riding on a mecha), this seemed to be one. I was pleasantly surprised when the film ended up delivering much more than just laughter, it's actually pretty good.

I'll Call You 得閒飲茶

It's unfortunate that I couldn't write my review for this Hong Kong film much earlier because by the time you are reading this, its theatrical run in Malaysia has most likely ended. And this unheralded romantic comedy will most likely languish within the pits of obscurity, not getting the kind of attention it deserved. No choice, two of my aunties were here, along with my tiny cousins. So hadn't had the time to write anything in the past few days.

This romantic comedy, I'll Call You, is part of Andy Lau's Focus: First Cuts project, launched last year aimed at producing six features films shot on high definition. The First Cuts project involves filmmakers from China, Hong Kong, Malaysia (whose representative is Ho Yuhang, whom I met last year, along with fellow filmmakers James Lee and Tan Chui Mui, whose Chinese blog is here, at a seminar organized by local Chinese paper Sin Chew Jit Poh), Singapore and Taiwan. I'll Call You is Hong Kong's representative, and it's written and directed by Lam Tze Chung. If I'm not wrong, this is his directorial debut. If you are not familiar with his name, well, he's the fat guy in Shaolin Soccer (the one who levitates) and Kungfu Hustle (Stephen Chow's sidekick). Long before he was spotted by Stephen Chow, Lam Tze Chung was hired by Hong Kong's TVB to be their screenwriter at the tender age of 18!

Superman Returns

The flood of positive reviews that surfaced on the Internet few weeks before the release of Superman Returns (along with its killer trailers) heightened my already lofty expectations for the film. I mean, let's face it, with praises from Ain't It Cool News, Variety, Hollywood Reporter and many other well-known sources, how bad can this film be?

Video: Catholic High School's 50th Anniversary Carnival

Catholic High School was my high school. It just had a carnival on the 1st of July to celebrate its 50th anniversary. My little sister, who studies there, had volunteered to aid the Counseling Club in tending their food stall. Hence my family and I had to go there to lend us our moral support.

Video: Kyoko's Birthday Party

Kyoko is yet another friend of mine from Japan (you should notice by now that I have an endless amount of Japanese chick friends) that I got to know this year, and this is yet another birthday party video I shot. Her birthday party was held on the 3rd of June, and if you've actually bothered watching any of my party videos, you might notice that I tend to make each of them look as different from another as possible.

Video: Gathering At Ming Tien, Malaysia's Most Beautiful Food Court!

Well, once again, I am here, as a good citizen, and Malaysia's premiere vlogger, to promote the beauty of my country via videos. I did that with my tribute to the greatest shopping mall of my country, and I will now shed light to Ming Tien, a wondrous food court that's opened for 24 hours a day, where all kinds of food await for your exploration. An ultimate hangout place, a place where huge screens are placed around for people to watch football games, fortune tellers, merchants and many others have their stalls set up to ply their trade.

RV starring Robin Williams

Long before the days of Jim Carrey, Adam Sandler and the Frat Pack, Robin Williams was Hollywood's reigning king of comedy in Hollywood. Alternating between comedic and dramatic roles, he achieved what his successors Carrey and Sandler have yet to achieved, winning an Oscar (although many times, I felt that Carrey was robbed of a nomination for his fantastic turns in Truman Show and Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind, but that's another story) for his supporting performance in Good Will Hunting.

Since then, to me, things went downhill, he appeared in one dud (either critical or commercial) after another. Manipulative sentimental schmaltz hoping to reinforce his status as a good dramatic actor, yet the lackluster quality of these films destroyed his credibility. Jakob The Liar? Patch Adams? Death To Smoochy?

But just when I thought he was about to hit rock bottom with his desperate attempts to appear in Oscar-baits, he proved that he could be much more versatile than most have given him credit for as that villain in Insomnia and that psycho in One Hour Photo. After these two critically acclaimed performances, I wanted to see Robin Williams as a bad guy more. (kinda like how I want to see Jim Carrey in serious roles than comedic ones)

Video: Goodbye Ying Zee, The Sister I Never Had.

Today's video is shot more than a year ago (19th of June, 2005), at Fremantle. Ying Zee is a friend of mine who went to Perth with me for our studies at Murdoch University. Two years my senior, she immediately became a surrogate elder sister to me. After all, I'm the eldest in my family, she's the youngest in the family, so we kinda undertook the roles we never had the chance to take under different circumstances. She was fantastic. Cooking for me, or bringing back the food she had gotten from work (she worked as a waitress in a Chinese restaurant nearby) so that I won't starve to death (I suck at cooking), the person who would listen patiently to me when I was whining and bitching about the injustices of life, we would study together in the library before our final exams, and often, during weekend mornings, we would have breakfast either at Perth city, or Fremantle.

Life in Perth changed drastically after she returned to Malaysia. In my crazy and twisted ways, I sorta missed her.

This video is about her doing her last minute shopping at the Fremantle Markets, she was accompanied by Chin Voon, also a dear friend of ours who graduated during the end of last year. (note: Ying Zee's the taller one)

CARS is not a Pixar masterpiece, but still good

Cars is about Lightning McQueen, a vain and cocky racecar who got stranded in Radiator Springs while he was on his way to a major race. Hanging out with the eccentric residents of Radiator, he discovers the true meaning of family and friendship. The film is a journey of self-discovery (not just for Lightning, but for other characters too), and also a love letter to the kind of lifestyle long forgotten in the contemporary world.

Video: Visiting Relatives During Chinese New Year

As Malaysia's premiere vlogger, I'm making it a necessity for me to post as many videos as possible. While I don't really like sharing my personal life with my writings, I don't mind using my videos to do so, after all, these vlog entries are meant for me to prevent my editing (and camera) skills from becoming too rusty. I think it's good for my international readers to see what my life is like through my camera lens, and for the local readers, well, things I've shot are most probably familiar to many of you.

Video: My Japanese Friend, Maiko, Makes Oyako Don

When I returned to Malaysia (from Perth) last November, my friend, Maiko, came along with me as she was to tour around Malaysia and Singapore before returning to Japan.

So yeah, here are some photos she took during her stay here. (note: I've posted these photos before)