Embed Instagram Post Code Generator

Friday, April 13, 2007

Defending Fanfiction. Was It Worth It?

JUSTIN:
More than a year ago, I posted an entry called 'In Defense of Fanfiction'. Earlier on the day it was written, Swifty sent me a link to an article by fantasy writer Robin Hobb - someone I knew of but had never read, my interest in American fantasy-genre fiction being comparatively low. The Hobb essay, which attacked fanfiction and its writers on principle, seemed distinctly petty, childish, and reactionary - in need of a good thrashing, in other words. Although I didn't hold any particular interest in fanfiction at the time, neither reading nor writing it, the Hobb essay seemed to be opposed to not only fanfiction but, more broadly, creativity in general. So without even really thinking I tore through a rebuttal, easily demolishing the numerous straw-men and outright fallacies Hobb had put forth. I posted it and then proceeded to think nothing more of it: seeing as it was written in less than fifteen minutes and our readership at the time was probably less than a hundred people, I expected it to be quickly forgotten.

Thursday, April 12, 2007

'TMNT' made me remember the days when I dressed up as a Ninja Turtle

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles


Back when I was 8, there was this costume performance event in my primary school where participants are supposed to dress up in costumes of their choices and perform for the Standard 6 students during their Graduation Ceremony. The numerous preliminary rounds leading up to that event remain my most vivid memories of my primary school days.

I remembered a girl dressed up as a pop star. (she had some pretty mad dancing moves)

I remembered some performing a Malay dance.

Then some performing an Indian dance (naturally, it was a huge hit).

And then, a few girls dressed in kimono, performing some traditional Japanese dance.

There was also a Korean dance, but I might have mixed it up with the Japanese dance.

And then, there was me, who dressed up as a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.

My Short Film, Girl Disconnected, Screening At KL Jam Asia Tonight!

Production Photo 20- Maya Feeling The WindYes, after being screened at FILMMAKERS ANONYMOUS 2 (videoblog here, watch me babble non-stop about my film, includes snippets of the film itself) on February and MALAYSIAN SHORTS on March (videoblog here, watch me babble less about my film, and watch famed Msian filmmaker Amir Muhammad presenting the films), my short film, GIRL DISCONNECTED, is going to be screened at KL JAM ASIA this month (... er, wow), which, I believe, is a special REPEAT SCREENING of FILMMAKERS ANONYMOUS 2. (FILMMAKER ANONYMOUS and CINEJAM are sister events/ close allies/ best friends etc.) tonight (12th of April), at 9:30pm.

This MALAY MAIL article features screenshots of GIRL DISCONNECTED.

It's unlikely for me to attend the actual screening since I'm having dinner with some family friends (where I will seize the opportunity to convince this friend of mine to be the main guy in my upcoming short film), but I'll see whether I can make it to the Q & A session after the screenings.

(of course, even with my absence, enthusiastic viewers eager to know the secrets behind the romanticism and poetry of my last short film can always leave their questions here)

I will now copy and paste the line-up from CINEJAM's site:

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

The poisoned and mortal wound of the civilised world



Manic Street Preachers knew it.

"You're obliged to pretend respect for people and institutions you think absurd. You live attached in a cowardly fashion to moral and social conventions you despise, condemn, and know lack all foundation. It is that permanent contradiction between your ideas and desires and all the dead formalities and vain pretences of your civilization, which makes you sad, troubled and unbalanced. In that intolerable conflict you lose all joy of life and all feeling of personality, because at every moment they suppress and restrain and check the free play of your powers. That's the poisoned and mortal wound of the civilised world."
- Octave Mirbeau

Friday, March 30, 2007

Defending THE DEPARTED makes me a mindless Hollywood drone?

**Warning: This post contains spoilers for THE DEPARTED and INFERNAL AFFAIRS**

My recent involvement in a new production, coupled with my month-long addiction to Final Fantasy 12 made me too busy to actually post much here. I know some occasional film reviews and a once-in-a-blue-moon videoblog entry, peppered with one or two of Justin's 'too bored to blog' posts in the past month hadn't really make this blog that interesting. So I intend to write something I've been feeling rather strongly about in the past week.

The kind of hate THE DEPARTED had generated from hardcore INFERNAL AFFAIRS fans since its victory at last month's Academy Awards had started to irk me. But then, their reactions towards THE DEPARTED ever since Brad Pitt bought the remake rights years ago hadn't been exactly exemplary. And I've always believed that everyone's been waiting for a chance to rip the movie apart, to nitpick at the smallest things, to throw rationality and objectivity in the wind and condemn those ignorant gwailos for defiling our much-beloved yellow culture.

Monday, March 26, 2007

VIDEO: Malaysian Shorts (March 2007 Edition)



Just as I've mentioned here, my short film, Girl Disconnected, was one of the 10 short films screened at this year's first edition of MALAYSIAN SHORTS, held in HELP Institute. Once again, I was the only person representing the film. Unsurprising, considering that I'm the only one of the three Malaysians involved in the production who is still in the country. (Assistant director Yun Chin had gone back to Perth to finish her studies), the other, my actress, Grace the Rabbit Fairy, had seemingly disappeared in the past few weeks. Couldn't reach her via email, blog comments and Friendster messages. Worrying.)

All short films shown there were of high quality, and they were pretty different from one another. Don't really feel like reviewing them one by one, since I feel somewhat... wrong to review other films in a screening which my short film is part of.

Thursday, March 22, 2007

Yasmin Ahmad's heartwarming and wonderfully-acted 'Mukhsin'

Mukhsin poster


Saw yesterday with Kannan Thiagarajan (director of the telemovie I'm working on as assistant director... to make things simpler, he's my current boss) and award-winning filmmaker Woo Ming Jin. Sorry, I just need to name drop :D MUKHSIN is the latest movie of Malaysian filmmaker Yasmin Ahmad's semi-autobiographical series that feature the character Orked. Basically, what she's doing now is rather similar to what Francois Truffaut did back then with the Antoine Doinel character. However, while Antoine Doinel was played only by the actor Jean-Pierre Léaud, from a child in 400 BLOWS to an adult on the verge of middle age in LOVE ON THE RUN, Orked, who was played by Sharifah Amani in the first two films, is played by Sharifah Aryana (Sharifah Amani's younger sister) this time. And this movie is about young 10-year-old Orked's prepubescent first romance during her school holidays with Mukhsin, a boy two years older than her.

(Quick recap to the uninitiated:

Took an assistant director job for a television movie

This blog has slowed down considerably since those days when I could put up at least an entry or two a day. I don't even have the time to put up any vlog entries lately, the last one being a video of me playing the piano during my birthday.

There are numerous things I should be doing here, like finally putting the videos of my Indian vacation together (editing is actually a really time-consuming process, since I'm too much of a perfectionist to put unedited footages online for your viewing), reviewing the last two films I saw, Half Nelson and Mukhsin, and most of all, my time in Malaysian Shorts during monday night, when Girl Disconnected was screened.

The fact is, I've taken an assistant director job more than two weeks ago for a television movie meant for NTV7's Festival slot (basically, it's a program where local independent filmmakers are paid to make their projects to be aired on TV). The screenwriter and director of this telemovie is Kannan Thiagarajan (HEYA!!!!). I'm keeping the plot of the movie under wraps. All I can let you know is that it's a slow-burning thriller that takes place at the idyllic beaches of Port Dickson.

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

'Dreamgirls', Jennifer Hudson's performance (singing and acting) had people cheering in the theater

Dreamgirls poster


Second of the three movies I saw in Singapore.

Wanted to see DREAMGIRLS for a long time due to its pre-Oscar hype, and the furore over its lack of Best Picture nomination, and then Jennifer Hudson's victory (was also intrigued by Eddie Murphy's much-lauded dramatic performance).

Monday, March 19, 2007

Ranking each segment of Paris Je t'Aime (Paris, I Love You)

Tom Tywker's segment in Paris Je T'aime


Paris Je t'Aime is an omnibus film where 18 (originally 20) directors from around the world were asked to make short films that serve as a love letter to Paris, the City of Lights and Romance.

Over the past few months, my friend, the lovely Krystle Chow of theCicak had told me repeatedly about how awesome this film is. I could only sigh in resignation, valiantly trying to shake away the overwhelming feeling of envy I had for her. After all, she saw the film in a film festival, the film was only traveling in international festival circuits, and then shown in limited screens (just arthouse theaters). It seemed highly unlikely that I would get the DVD of this film over here in Malaysia. (if I were still in Perth, there might be a slight chance that this would be available at the Murdoch University library someday, unfortunately, I'm not in Perth anymore)

Yet it was actually screening in Singapore! So, knowing that this was a once-in-a-lifetime chance, I immediately bought the ticket and dashed into the cinema (thank you, Orchard Cineleisure!), I could barely contain my excitement.

Of course, that wasn't all. Two days later, returning from Singapore, I managed to get myself a copy of the DVD when I was in Johor. I was shocked (I don't expect many casual Malaysian DVD buyers would give a damn about the film... although to be fair, not many are aware of its existence).

Anyway, I highly recommend this film. Being an anthology film, it's obviously pretty uneven, some not that amazing, but some are pretty mind-blowing, it's like sitting through a short film festival, kinda brings back memories of Sony Tropfest. Ahhh...

Anyway, I'll rank the segments based on my own preferences. (Put up some of the segments that were uploaded on Youtube by some people, go watch it before it's taken down)

Saturday, March 17, 2007

Girl Disconnected Screening At Malaysian Shorts, March 2007 Edition.

Wiler (played by Justin) Reaching For Maya (Sarah Corbyn)

I'm back from Singapore!

My short film, Girl Disconnected had been chosen for screening at the March 2007 edition of Malaysian Shorts!

DATE: 19th of March, 2007
TIME: 8pm
VENUE: HELP INSTITUTE AUDITORIUM, Pusat Bandar Damansara

ADMISSION IS FREE!


I'll be there for the Q & A session, although if I really get the chance to speak, I'll try not to babble as much as I did during last month's Filmmakers' Anonymous 2 (I was, ah, both excited and nervous at the same time then, being its Malaysian premiere and all, you see).

For the whole line-up of that night, I'll copy and paste directly from Amir Muhammad's message I got from the Malaysian Cinema mailing list.

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Utterly Bored with Everything - Resigning from Blogging?

I apologize for the relative lack of updates recently. I think the interview with Quentin S. Crisp contained all of my thoughts on everything; consequently I've been content to leave it at that. And, moving to Japan has taken up most of my time.

'Bridge To Terabithia' is misunderstood (thanks to its misleading marketing campaign)

The misleading Bridge To Terabithia poster


I am awed by the marketing tactics used for Bridge To Terabithia.

The trailer (which didn't really impressed me that much, frankly) made this seem as if it's a fluffy adventure fantasy film where two kids went into some fantastical magical world, encountering all kinds of wonders, getting into battles to save this land. And then, lots of emphasis about this film being from the producers of Narnia.

To my horror, this film is FAR from what it is advertised to be.

The Pursuit of Happyness

Poster of The Pursuit of Happyness


When the credits of The Pursuit of Happyness started rolling, everyone in the cinema begun applauding.

Sunday, March 11, 2007

NTV7 The Breakfast Show is good for health

In order to thank me for that Playboy bunny I sent him for his birthday, Swifty has allowed me to publicize my TV appearance on his blog!

Well, this is my first TV appearance so I suppose you can watch it just to see me embarass myself. But hey, at least I embarassed myself on national TV!=.

-_- That just sounds so wrong.

Date: Monday, March 12
Time: I'll arrive in the studio at 8.30am, so it will probably start at 9am or later.
Channel : NTV7
Duration: 10 minutes
Venue: Television
Dress code: Pyjamas, or nothing at all (hey, you don't call it Breakfast Show for nothing)

And Swifty, please, please, please help me record this. I know asking a movie director to record an insignificant TV appearance is a little too much, but then I'll just send you another Playboy bunny to repay you back lor okay? Or maybe one of those people watching the TV naked...

Saturday, March 10, 2007

300 is a film of sheer manliness

300 poster


Just came back from seeing 300, which is based on Frank Miller's graphic novel that I haven't read.

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

VIDEO: Happy Birthday To Me! Swifty Plays The Piano

On 6th of March, 1984. I was born.

Happy birthday to me. I love you all.

Decided to film myself playing the piano (yes, I used to play the piano) just because I wanted to do something I've never done before during my birthday.

Prefer the J-dorama version of Ima, Ai ni Yukimasu いま会いにゆきます over the film version



I've recently fallen in love with Mimura.

And I think it had to do with the Japanese dorama, Ima Ai ni Yukimasu.

Saturday, March 03, 2007

Screenshots of my short film, Girl Disconnected, on The Malay Mail!

On today's Malay Mail:

ROCKY BALBOA could be my favourite Rocky sequel (behind ROCKY 4)

Rocky Balboa punches Mason Dixon


Rocky Balboa, believe it or not, was a major childhood hero of mine, him, along with Spider-man, Raphael of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (the one turtle who seemed to rebel against everything the other three seemed to believe blindly in), and maybe er... Son Gohan of Dragon Ball Z (a person constantly living in his father's shadow). Even as a child, I related more to the underdogs, the rebels, or the social outcasts, and in some ways, these childhood heroes, with profound influence upon me as a child, shaped me into becoming what I am now.

Whoa.

Friday, March 02, 2007

Thoughts on Oscars 2007

Right, I'm a couple of days late, sorry about the lack of updates. I've been busy playing Final Fantasy 12 like a possessed madman, weeping like a Taiwanesehousewife while watching the dorama version of Ima ai ni yukimasu and falling asleep on the sofa trying to reignite my artistic fire, thus I hadn't had the time to post that much, hence asking my sister to post a few more of her kiddie pictures as distraction.

One reason why I didn't come up with my Oscar predictions this year is, well, I didn't manage to watch most of the nominated films, and even though I know whom the hot favourites were, I felt that it would be pointless if my predictions were same as everyone else's. No chance for me to predict some based on my own gut feelings (although for a while, I started thinking that maybe Little Miss Sunshine would actually take it all, instead of my earlier pick, The Departed based on its momentum).

Sunday, February 25, 2007

Visiting Filmmakers Anonymous 2, Central Market Annexe

So yes, just as I've mentioned here, I went to Filmmakers Anonymous 2 at the Central Market Annexe last night for the Malaysian premiere of my latest short film, Girl Disconnected.

It was an interesting experience watching my film again on a big screen. It was first screened at Murdoch Uni in Perth last December, but unlike the rushed version shown then, the Girl Disconnected I submitted for last night was pretty much the definitive version that I'm satisfied with (I did some re-editing at the last third of the film, slightly increasing its running time, changed some music during my trip in India earlier this month, and had been working non-stop on it in the few nights leading up to the Filmmakers Anonymous 2 gathering... hence the lack of updates on the blog lately)

Of course, one of the worst things about being a perfectionist is that some of the teeny weeny flaws would bother me greatly. During a ballerina scene towards the end of the film, I almost gasped in horror when I noticed I made an embarrassing editing goof where I didn't manage to cut off a split second of unwanted footage. For a while, I got really scared that other people at the screening would notice my mistake too.

One of the most pleasant surprises was seeing my old friend, Kai Wen, who really managed to make it to the screening, and Danu, a friend of mine I met at Murdoch Uni whom I haven't met for a year since her graduation.

Danu and I at Filmmakers Anonymous 2
Danu and I


Kai Wen And I At Filmmakers Anonymous 2
Kai Wen and I


I looked... stoned.

But anyway, here are some brief thoughts about the films screened last night.

Saturday, February 24, 2007

An Interview With Quentin S. Crisp

Quentin S Crisp


I've talked about Quentin S. Crisp before - he's one of my favorite living writers. His 'demented fiction' is unrivalled for its poetic quality and general, um, dementedness, and I suspect it won't be long before he has a major mainstream breakthrough - not that there's anything particularly 'mainstream' about him, but his stories and novels are certainly of world-class quality. Anyway, I sat down with him recently to discuss his writing, his favorite films, pop music, the meaning of Mishima's death, the real reason why most people study Japanese, and other relevant topics. Suffice it to say that this is probably the most important thing I have yet posted to this site, and it certainly touches on more or less everything Swifty and I have put up here at some point. It is thus mandatory reading. Apart from that, it's probably the last substantial thing I'll post for a while, time constraints being what they are. Read on and learn more...

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Malaysian Premiere of my short film, 'Girl Disconnected' this Friday

Reminder to anyone living near Kuala Lumpur: My latest short film, Girl Disconnected, will have its Malaysian premiere this Friday (23rd of February) at Filmmakers Anonymous 2. Screening (which is FREE!) will begin at 8:30pm, the venue is Central Market Annexe. Central Market Annexe is located behind Central Market, near the Pasar Seni LRT station.

The version shown on that very day is the newly edited version of the film different from the one that was screened in Perth last December. (I fixed it while I was traveling at India)

Make sure you arrive early because Girl Disconnected is going to be the FIRST FILM screened at the event.

Hope to see you there! (there will be a Q & A session after the screening)

Here's a teaser of the short film I put together last year, uploaded by my cinematographer, Brian.


Preview of the ballerina scene in Girl Disconnected


You can also check out some screenshots and production photos of Girl Disconnected on my Flick account.

I've also written and posted a video of Filmmakers Anonymous 1 here early last month.

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

VERTICAL DISTANCE - A Romantic Comedy By Edmund Yeo

It's Valentine's Day, what better time than this to officially launch my romantic comedy short, Vertical Distance?

Vertical Distance is the first of the two short films I made last year (the other being the often-mentioned Girl Disconnected). Shot in Perth sometime in May last year, with music by Arshi Tope and the popular Malaysian Jazz duo, Rhapsody.

Interestingly, a friend of mine, Crystal Yong aka finkl, the current finalist of Singapore's My DreamD8 II show on MTV, was involved in this production, she and I had cameo roles during the 1:40 minute mark. (all crew members of the film had cameo roles :D)


Vertical Distance



Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Watch these music videos during Valentine's Day

Last year, I posted three lists of recommended films to watch on Valentine's Day, one for Hong Kong films, one for other Asian films (Korean, Japanese, etc.), and one for Hollywood films. Until now, I wouldn't really update these posts since they are so bloody awesome (all right, maybe I'll add Before Sunrise and Before Sunset on the list of recommended Hollywood films, but other than that, nope), so yeah, they are a must-read for the hopeless romantics out there.

This year, I'll do something different by compiling a list of nice music videos to watch on Valentine's Day, with your loved one, or by yourself if you like to wade in self-pity by indulging in your loneliness.

The list is compiled with the help of some friends.

Derek Yee's Protégé 门徒

Protege, starring Andy Lau, Daniel Wu and Louis Koo

When I first looked at the poster of Protege, I had expected yet another stylish cop crime thriller in the vein of those Infernal Affairs films or perhaps something like director Derek Yee's previous foray in the genre back in 2004, the fabulous One Nite In Mongkok that roped him a Best Director award at the Hong Kong Awards. And based on the summary I read about the film, Andy Lau playing a big-team drug dealer, Daniel Wu being his apprentice (or protege) who is actually an undercover cop, I thought if this isn't a cop thriller, maybe it'll be like Johnnie To's Election movies, or maybe it might be more like this little-seen 2001 Daniel Wu film, Cop On A Mission, where an undercover cop who infiltrated a triad group gradually becomes a true scum.

Sunday, February 11, 2007

THE HOLIDAY

The Holiday poster


And then, there's another kind of love: the cruelest kind. The one that almost kills its victims. Its called unrequited love. Of that I am an expert. Most love stories are about people who fall in love with each other. But what about the rest of us? What about our stories, those of us who fall in love alone? We are the victims of the one sided affair. We are the cursed of the loved ones. We are the unloved ones, the walking wounded. The handicapped without the advantage of a great parking space! Yes, you are looking at one such individual. And I have willingly loved that man for over three miserable years! The absolute worst years of my life! The worst Christmas', the worst Birthday's, New Years Eve's brought in by tears and valium. These years that I have been in love have been the darkest days of my life. All because I've been cursed by being in love with a man who does not and will not love me back. Oh god, just the sight of him! Heart pounding! Throat thickening! Absolutely can't swallow! All the usual symptoms.


I sighed during the opening voiceover of The Holiday (delivered by Iris, played by Kate Winslet). It just hit a little too close to home. Such uneasiness was intensified when I became increasingly conscious of the fact that most people sitting around me in the cinema came in pairs. Such is the pain of being a closet sucker for romantic comedies (the only justification I can come up with is that, well, I'm a Piscean), while watching these fluffy feel-good films in the cinema, I am sometimes unintentionally reminded of my own misery, which, of course, adds more to the saddening poetry of my situation.

Thursday, February 08, 2007

Unfair treatment of a certain guest blogger who shall remain anonymous

Swifty has a photo on this blog. (Well, okay, it’s his blog so it’s fair.)

Justin has a photo on this blog. (Well, okay, he is a permanent guest blogger so it’s fair too.)

Swifty-chan has a photo (PHOTOS!) on this blog. (Well, okay, it’s fair because she is a guest blogger related to Swifty and has very cute cheeks.)

Spongebob Squarepants has a photo on this blog. (What do you mean he is not a guest blogger?)

Has anybody thought of *MY* feelings? Oh no, let Justin get the last piece of pie (Justin: You said you were on a diet and food made you cry!), let Swifty see Dalai Lama (Swifty: You were thousand of miles away. How could…how can…what the…?!?!), let Swifty-chan get the big teddy bears (Swifty-chan: Put the sponge down, May Zhee, put the sponge down), what do *I* get?

HAH?

A small little May Zhee under every sedulous post I make.

Well I don’t care anymore!



No Swifty, Justin or Swifty-chan was hurt in the production of this blog post. However the same cannot be said for Spongebob Squarepants.

---

Bye people! Swifty said he’ll be back on Feb 9 so my duty as a guest blogger is done. If you miss me, you know where to find me.

Monday, February 05, 2007

Quentin S. Crisp - Rule Dementia!



Quentin S. Crisp is a British writer who ostensibly produces horror or 'weird' fiction, but I don't really care about either of those genres or whether Crisp conforms to them. The reason his writing interests me is because of the personality and worldview underlying it, and the way the language of his fiction conveys them. Crisp has described his own writing as 'demented fiction', but I approached it the same I would any novel, not particularly worrying about the genre.

This is not to suggest Crisp's work isn't often horrific, though, because it is. Mainstream fiction, such as the numerous tedious novels dealing either directly or tangentially with 9/11, admits existential horror and aimlessness only through a kind of trapdoor designed to regulate their impact: things may look bad for a time, but there is always faith, hope, love, the human spirit, conventional middle-class values, etc. to be salvaged at the end. This kind of 'salvaging' goes back as far as something like Conrad, whose Heart of Darkness presented a vision of mindless, insectile oppression but still came down on the side of England and protected innocence. The legacy of this approach can be seen in most current prize-winning novels.

But in Quentin S. Crisp's fiction, much like that of Pierre Guyotat and H.P. Lovecraft, the meaninglessness of the universe is neither a conclusion to be reached nor a straw-man to be attacked; instead it forms the basic kernel of the narrative on which everything else rests. In short, he doesn't discover that the universe is blind and amoral, he begins from there. Through hard experience, his protagonists have come to expect little; they are often nervous, introverted, and subtly wounded. They're frequently nostalgic for a half-remembered past or childhood idyll, but are deeply suspicious and ambivalent about 'normal' human interaction - friendships are often tenuous, romantic and sexual contact is more an ordeal than a pleasure, and family members remain as elusive as the past they seem to represent. If all this sounds too bleak, though, Crisp also displays a sense of humor, although a sense of absurdity would perhaps be a better term for it. The stories in his third book Rule Dementia!, like 'Jellyfish Joe' and 'The Haunted Bicycle', are replete with off-kilter, surreal humor that isn't easy to separate from the more serious content (if such a separation is possible at all).

Crisp's prose style is dense, eloquent, and occasionally florid. He doesn't write the kind of disposable, conversational instant-messager prose style now commonplace; neither does he limit himself to suggestive understatement. There is little dialogue and much reflection; often several pages go by without anyone speaking. This creates a tense, dreamlike atmosphere of consumptive prose: finishing one of these stories (most of them quite long, verging on novellas) feels as much like surfacing from a black pool as it does turning pages. And the stories are often subtly complex in structure, with several containing 'nested' narratives (a literal message-in-a-bottle in 'The Waiting'; journal entries and pamphlets in 'The Tao of Petite Beige'; old letters in 'The Haunted Bicycle'), author introductions, and italic preludes. These devices are less metafiction than they are an evocation of old-style epistolary conceits and formats, present in the earliest of novels and long a staple of horror fiction.

'Jellyfish Joe' opens the collection with the aforementioned humor, concerning a makeshift religion predicated on string vests, bowler hats, and jellyfish. This story is quite different from the rest in the collection, and hints at an almost Monty Python-esque sensibility simmering beneath the surface of Crisp's dark worldview. The eponymous Joe is a kind of fake mystic or charlatan, but his insights into the nature of being and nothingness are conceivably as valid as a more 'serious' religious figure's would be - an insight any Zen fans will be liable to appreciate. This story seems the closest out of any in the collection to suggesting that the absurdity of the universe can be a source of joy and freedom as well as horror. Although I don't know if Crisp has read them or not, this story seems vaguely influenced by Discordianism and R.A. Wilson, or at least sympathetic to them (that's a good thing).

With 'The Haunted Bicycle', Rule Dementia! hits an early peak. This novella is impossible to describe succinctly, due in part to its experimental structure - a kind of picaresque loosely accreting detail - but it most fully demonstrates the range of possibility in Crisp's writing. It begins with an autobiographical introduction, in which Crisp reserves "the right to tell bare-faced lies at any point in this story, in this disclaimer and in life generally, especially to those I owe money." What follows is an account of the narrator's time with his friend Les, as their private jokes about earwigs, mackerel, and ginger-haired women assume the proportions of an absurdist conspiracy. As the narrative progresses in increments, it seems to mirror the process of creating fiction itself, in that random elements and conversations inspire previously unthought-of connections, until a kind of associative mania threatens to contaminate everything. Repeated motifs form their own internal logic and consistency, dreams and reality become indistinguishable, until the whole thing takes on an alternately frightening and laughable urgency, between which Crisp inserts some of his best character development. The conspiracy and the haunted bicycle itself are MacGuffins; the real weight of the story is the incidental scenes of the narrator and Les watching television, drinking tea, and exploring the countryside, two unemployed friends making the best of their time:

Watching Lassie is like going into a coma, falling under a spell of utter and perfect tedium. So we were slack-jawed, occasionally dunking our digestives, until there came the inevitable point in the water torture that passed for a script where Lassie barked at a group of human co-stars and one of them said, 'I think she's trying to tell us something. I think she wants us to follow her.'


Although the gender of the characters is obviously different, 'The Haunted Bicycle' almost reminds me of the film Heavenly Creatures in its depiction of two friends experiencing or giving rise to a private imaginative universe.

The next story, 'Zugzwang', contains shades of Lovecraft's 'The Music of Erich Zann', but soon veers off in its own direction. Proceeding from the fairly conventional setup of a meeting in a bar, the story soon assumes an oppressive atmosphere of suspicion and terror, as the cello-playing, paranoid and possibly schizophrenic protagonist hears secret, inhuman voices emanating from his girlfriend and mother. The atmosphere of hopelessness is difficult to describe, but conveys an almost primal disgust and terror at existence.

'The Tao of Petite Beige' is another highlight, possibly the best story in the collection. This is a classic-style 'weird tale' with a strong narrative and great descriptions. Crisp's prose can occasionally be over-indulgent or excessively, wanderingly introspective, but here it stays on track. It concerns Paul, an English expatriate in Taiwan, who becomes ensnared in both his own dreams and a cult of the goddess Guan Yin. This story is so good it almost feels timeless, easily capable of standing up to the works of Blackwood, Machen, Lovecraft, or Poe. You can almost imagine it being made into a Ringu-style (or The Wicker Man - the original, of course) horror movie as well, and believe it or not, I intend that as a compliment. The pacing is tight, there's plenty of compelling description, and the ending is both fatalistic and completely appropriate. Its themes are varied and interrelated: the danger of depending on fantasy relationships, the perils of exoticizing cultures, the subterranean persistence of folk religions (a very Machen/Blackwood-esque theme), the conflicts of asceticism vs indulgence, etc. Crisp makes the most of the dreamlike imagery, as well as throwing in references to Bettie Page, Thelema, pop art, and more. There's tons of great writing:

And if there is so much power in an obscure phrase such as that, what about a common and time-honoured word like 'girl'? The hard 'g' dangles its legs out of the skirts of the word. The 'ir' in the middle is full of fuzz and bubbles. Then comes the clean, virginal 'l' at the end.


'The Waiting' is another horror story, one that perhaps borrows a motif from some of Thomas Ligotti's 'corporate horror' - it's set in a bank, for one thing. It'd also seem to be the most openly Lovecraftian thing here, what with names like 'Yxthahl' and 'Pnath', but Crisp makes it all his own. The protagonist discovers that his murderous supervisor is capable of leaving the universe at will and travelling to a kind of arcane external universe. As the narrative progresses, the protagonist finds himself able to rely on less and less, to the extent where the past itself, entire individuals and memories are deleted from 'Outside'. The sense of dislocation and hopelessness becomes truly suffocating, mirroring the protagonist's frequent trips into the outer-world of featureless black corridors which seem to extend forever. This story feels like wading through a nightmare, with a sense of palpable suffocation through the worldview it presents: there exists the prospect of hermetic advancement, a kind of parallel to climbing the corporate ladder, but there is no reward or God at the top, just endless, amoral level-building: the metaverse as first-person shooter.

The last story, 'Unimaginable Joys', focuses on a lament for a vanished world of the mind. Difficult to say much about this one without giving it away, but it contains lots of evocative prose and a great ending.

"First, look around you."
She does as instructed.
"Yes?"
"What's missing?"
"I don't know. Nothing that I noticed."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"You think this is enough for your needs?"
"This cafe?"
"Well, not just this cafe - the world."
"Well, yes, isn't it enough?"
"No. No, it's not enough. It's not even a start. It's nothing."


You owe it to yourself to go here and buy Rule Dementia!, because you've probably wasted a lot of time reading generic or average books, and this is not one of them. I'll say it again: these stories being 'horror' is the least interesting thing about them. This is not mainstream genre fiction's simplistic good v.s. evil, vampires and werewolves horror, neither is it the sloppily written, gore-filled other end of the spectrum. Crisp's writing is more about atmosphere, mindset, and emotion than it is about monsters or plot mechanics. Quentin S. Crisp will undoubtedly become huge before long, so check him out before that happens.

Incidentally, I'm essentially retiring from book reviews here - I'll probably keep up with the music updates, but I just don't have the time anymore to go into depth about written works. This is because I will soon be returning to Japan for a year or so, to study and teach. Traditional sights like temples and shrines will be ignored. Video games, anime, and idol music will also be ignored. The only thing that will not be ignored is gyaru.

Friday, February 02, 2007

I Just Saw The Dalai Lama At Bodh Gaya!!!!!!

Hello from Bodh Gaya, the place where Gautama Buddha attained enlightenment!

Been here for three nights, will be staying for another night before heading off tomorrow.

And guess what? I saw the Dalai Lama!

Okay, more like, I caught a glimpse of him.

He was in a car, waving to everyone, and the car sped past us.

Couldn't really get a clear video of him.

I do have a video of the car he was in though. Will upload it sometime.

Yay.

Thursday, February 01, 2007

The power of Swifty's blog is in my hands

I can either use this clout for things like pornography and rankling but I choose not to. For I must not put Swifty’s life in jeopardy. Not until I kill him with my own two hands for stuffing me into a suitcase.

This is an e-mail I received from Yvonne Foong. (Swifty can kill me later for advertising without his knowledge)

Tuesday, January 30, 2007

May Zhee's Review

Swifty’s blog is all about reviews right? So indubitably, I, the honorable guest blogger, have to do my part in reviewing something too. Let’s see…what should I review? Music? Books? Movies? Me?

I know! Today, I shall review…

Saturday, January 27, 2007

Hello! This is May Zhee guest-blogging from Swifty’s suitcase in India!

It’s implausibly cramped in here but I want to pretend like I’m thin and petite hence I will not grumble at all about my squashed face. Betcha didn’t know May Zhee could type with her breasts!

Okay too much info.

Anyway, one of the good things that come out of being callously treated like a tomato all the way to India is…I get to broadcast to you what Swifty has inside his suitcase, which I am deigning to do in munificent amounts. *cue evil Powerpuff Girls music*

Hey, dude, no one asked you to stuff the hot girl in a suitcase!

Question is, are you ready for it? Can you handle the truth? Are you up for it? Can you take it? Will you still want to know what’s inside if I keep doing this?

Ahem.

Swifty keeps skeletons in his suitcase. *horror* And all this while you thought skeletons lived in closets. *horror, consternation, trepidation, nausea (you, not me)*

Funny thing though, all the skeletons seem to be holding laptops, just like me, and getting their faces squashed by another skeleton’s boney butt, just like me.

Wait a second…

!!!

Holy God I am allergic to skeletons! Get me out of here!!!
Oh, just so you know who is guest-blogging for Swifty, here is a photo of me…



What?

Hello from Bangalore, India. Introducing Guestblogger Lim May Zhee!

Heya, I'm posting this from an Internet cafe at Bangalore, India. I was at this Tibetan Colony few hours away from the city during the past few weeks, hence the lack of Internet access. I took lots of wonderful photos and videos, which I hope I can upload tomorrow.

I won't actually return to Malaysia until the 8th of February, Justin's incapable of posting that much (seemingly), not wanting to keep my loyal Swiftyholics waiting, I have enlisted the help of a guestblogger, give a warm welcome to the sensational, the phenomenal, Malaysian literary rising star, 15-year-old (16 this year) novelist Lim May Zhee! (I've spoken about her, and posted a video of her here)

On the other hand, my sister will also be handling some guestblogging duties.

Yes... my blog has now officially been taken over by teenage girls.

Sunday, January 21, 2007

The World Sinks Except Japan 日本以外全部沉没 is insane (and cheap)



Minori Kawasaki's The World Sinks Except Japan 日本以外全部沉没 is the parody of last year's Japanese blockbuster, Japan Sinks! 日本沉没 (aka The Sinking of Japan), which I recently reviewed. Definitely more lo-fi and audacious than the latter, watching The World Sinks Except Japan reinforced my opinion that there's no one crazier than the Japanese!

Saturday, January 20, 2007

BACKDANCERS! made me wish hiro of SPEED would do more films

Backdancers!
(From left to right: Sonim, hiro, Aya Hirayama, Saeko)

I watched Backdancers! during my flight back from Shanghai, it was the first film I chose from the in-flight entertainment after finding out that it starred Hiroko Shimabukuro, now known by most only as hiro, member of the now disbanded Japanese girl group, SPEED. She who was once an object of my foolish teenage infatuation, the inspiration of my many creative works, my first attempt in video editing, my first attempt in screenwriting, my first attempt in fanfiction. Ah, the foolish whims of an ignorant teenage boy, unsure back then what his true dreams were, only to slowly get into writing and filmmaking, things he fantasized as a child, all because of her.

Friday, January 19, 2007

Inarritu's BABEL

Babel poster


(Back from Shanghai! Finishing up a review that took me three nights to complete!)

Babel had just won the Best Drama award at the Golden Globes last night. Howsy noted my lack of Golden Globes prediction this year, to the few who cared, I make my predictions, but on a message board instead of this blog, because I am insecure, and I feel rotten when my lifelong personal interest in film awards shows is greeted with indifference and disinterest. So yes, my predictions were, as usual, pretty good, getting 9 out of 12 categories correct (I was wrong about Best Drama, Best Screenplay and Best Foreign Language Film).

So, I immediately went to watch Babel upon learning of its victory, because my ego does not permit me to NOT see an Oscar frontrunner when the Oscar nominees are about to be announced. I am so insecure that I can only derive pleasure from telling people things like 'hah! i've seen all five of the Oscar Best Picture nominees! and you haven't neener neener!' Of course, the 99% of the people I know generally do NOT care about the five Oscar Best Picture nominees, so in the end, I just continue feeling as insecure and miserable as before.

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Crystal Kay - Call Me Miss

Crystal Kay

One of the advantages of getting heavily into J-Pop is that, almost unconsciously, I've started to appreciate and enjoy musical genres I once scorned. When I was a teenager, anything remotely pop or commercial was anathema to me, and R&B was the worst of the worst. R&B was irritating screaming melismatic female voices, moronic beats, grating lyrics. R&B was something listened to by people I held in contempt. If you said your favorite music was R&B, I probably wouldn't like much else about you, either, and if you had of given me Crystal Kay's 2006 second albumCall Me Miss as recently as five years ago, I probably would have spat in your face.

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

VIDEOS: Old Jazz Band At Peace Hotel, Shanghai... The Oldest Jazz Band In The World?

I went to the Peace Hotel two nights ago to watch the Old Jazz Band, which, according to Peace Hotel's webpage, is one of the most famous jazz bands in Shanghai. They have also performed for (from the webpage) former USA president Mr. Carter and Mr.Reagan,the French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin,the Australian Prime Minister Paul Kyten, the Hollend Prime Minister Viam Kirk. And the presidents from Italy, Portugal, Israel, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico.

I myself saw a photo they took with Bill and Hillary Clinton hanging on the walls.

Sunday, January 14, 2007

JAPAN SINKS 日本沉没

Japan Sinks


Also known as The Sinking of Japan, Japan Sinks 日本沉没, the most expensive Japanese movie ever (I heard), is Japan's answer to Korean and Hollywood movies that usually appeal to international audiences. It is a soulless, propagandistic blockbuster that sang praises of Japanese culture (and the country), displaying the sheer Samurai-like courage of Japanese people and their subtle and ridiculously honourable approaches in romance for the not-too-intelligent audiences. The opening credits were played over various famous landscapes and sceneries of Japan, all my years of watching Japanese films and never have I ever seen that many Japanese landmarks crammed in one film, let alone one montage.

Saturday, January 13, 2007

VIDEO: Yue Fei's Tomb | Lingyin Temple | Six Harmonies Pagoda


Video of my second day in Hangzhou, China


Part 1 of my adventures in China is here.

What you'll see in this video:

Friday, January 12, 2007

VIDEO: Arriving at Hangzhou


Edmund Yeo in China 2007 (part 1)


Well, I'm currently in Shanghai, turned out that I wasn't able to get Internet access at my hotel in Hangzhou, thus the lack of updates.

But as I've promised, I'll be posting up videos of my vacation in China so I can share the wonders I've witnessed with everyone else.

Anyway, here are what you'll see in the video.

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Koda Kumi - Black Cherry


I have my problems with Koda Kumi. Apart from her lacking a certain...how to put this tactfully, star quality (i.e. if she wasn't famous already...) and relying on an obvious gimmick (feigned sluttiness), I've come around to much of her music, even if it struck me as undistinguished at first. The production is often good, befitting an Avex artist; and KK is talented, even if the hooks sometimes take a while to sink in. She tried out for Morning Musume and was rejected, yet that actually reflects well on her: no one in H!P can really sing like her; their voices need to be massed together to achieve any real resonance or tone. But KK is more than capable of carrying a track, and her voice is distinctive.

Sunday, January 07, 2007

Judy and Mary



Listened to their entire discography over the course of like six hours. Think I just found my new favorite band. Can't be bothered to write an in-depth entry. Just...wow. As much 'ink jizz' as a site like Pitchfork expends over a band like Deerhoof, you wonder what they'd make of JAM or (the previously discussed on this site) Ego Wrappin'. I mean, 'Judy is a Tank Girl'? Just brilliant...
Get Warp or The Power Source if you want to hear Japanese music completely overstepping national bounds and stacking up against anything on a world stage.

Thursday, January 04, 2007

Craig Reviews Junichi Tanizaki's Naomi



On my recommendation, Craig of Your Opinion Doesn't Count has just read and provided a three-part review of Tanizaki's Naomi, analogizing the novel to the idol world. His interpretation is highly original and provocative, and there's definitely some kind of graduate-paper potential in there somewhere about idol-continuity in Japanese culture over the course of the twentieth century. Was Tanizaki a proto-wota?

NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM

Night at the Museum poster


Night At The Museum is the last film I saw on 2006, not a spectacular way to end the year (it's not on my top 10 favourite 2006 films list), but not exactly a bad way (it's not on my top 10 disappointing 2006 films list) either. It's just what it is, popcorn entertainment meant for an entire family.

Sunday, December 31, 2006

VIDEO: Filmmakers Anonymous, Indiescene Cafe.


Filmmakers Anonymous, at Indiescene Cafe (29th of December 2006)


Since my return from Perth more than three weeks ago, I've been stuck in limbo, like a Wong Kar Wai character perpetually stuck in a stagnant state of existence whilst the rest of the world blurs by like the flitting of a hummingbird's wings. While taking my (absolutely needed) rest after months of working on my last short film, Girl Disconnected, my filmmaking endeavours were put on hold, just so I can figure out what the local filmmaking scene is like. In Perth, I got to know how things work, how to contact actors, composers, production houses, etc. Over here, I feel like a helpless foreigner.

Top 10 Most Disappointing Films of 2006

While I'm waiting for Youtube to process my latest video (of the Filmmakers Anonymous held in Indiescene Cafe two nights ago), I'll put up a top ten list of films that left me disappointed this year despite its hype. Yes, note that this not a top ten WORST films, just top ten DISAPPOINTING ones, basically films that I heard so many good things about, expected so much from, only to end up disappointed in the end. So films that I expected not to enjoy, and ended up having my suspicions confirmed (The Da Vinci Code, Eragon, Lady In The Water etc.) are excluded from the list.

Let me begin, oh, and it's all in alphabetical order, it's too painful to relive which one was more disappointing than the other:

Friday, December 29, 2006

VIDEO: Comic Fiesta 2006... my little sister is a cosplayer!


Swifty's Sis in Comic Fiesta 2006


The Comic Fiesta is a fan-based convention in Malaysia that is meant to promote anime, comics and gaming (ACG) by allowing fans to interact amongst each other and introducing them to other aspects of ACG fandom, like fanart, doujinshi, that kind of thing. I had the privilege to serve as their committee member and as an emcee during the 2003 event, prior to my resignation. Certain circumstances forced me to leave the Comic Fiesta message boards last year, but I have nothing but gratitude and love for them.

And despite my departure, my sister remains an ardent supporter of Comic Fiesta, and actually went to cosplay (dress up as an anime/comic/video game character) in their latest event on December 17 with a couple of her friends, Jing Ling and Michelle (I'm putting their names here because them, along with my sis, were the ones who shot the video, NOT ME). However, seeing the great time they had there, I might as well help them edit a short video of what they had shot just so their memories of that day can forever be preserved.

My sister is the one in orange (in case you STILL don't know that by now). The song I used is from Kahimi Karie, whom I wrote about earlier this year.

Have fun watching.

Tuesday, December 26, 2006

VIDEO: Family Vacation in Shanghai 2005


Family vacation in Shanghai 2005


This video is shot during my vacation with my family in Shanghai more than a year ago (sometime during early December 2005, but I can't remember what was the exact date). I'm actually going to Shanghai again early next January, so I was suddenly compelled to finish editing this video today. I actually had an older version which I did two months ago using the editing suites in my university, prior to editing my last short film, Girl Disconnected. But the older version was more than 8 minutes long, and it bored my sister to death, so I assumed that uploading that would do the same to my dear loyal readers, hence, the re-edit. The resolution of the video should be higher than most of the other videos I've posted here (since the video transfer was done using the comps in uni, not my own laptop... I didn't get myself a Firewire cable until two days ago... unbelievable)

Monday, December 25, 2006

Junichiro Tanizaki - Seven Japanese Tales



"Here, the exploration...leads into a tangle of relationships as bizarre and unhealthy as those of Tanizaki's earlier novel, The Key,"
-from the introduction by translator Howard Hibbett

"Unhealthy" is an apt word to describe the fictional world of Jun'ichiro Tanizaki. Although now accepted as a pillar of modern Japanese literature largely on the basis of his re-translation of Genji and the sprawling novel The Makioka Sisters, Tanizaki's early work was better known for its aesthetic obsessions and outre subject matter - a typical Tanizaki story would concern something like stealing a girl's used handkerchief and licking it, or the joys of prostitution in China (John Updike memorably called him 'the most masculine writer of the 20th century'). Compared to Mishima, who dealt with characters at least as fucked up, Tanizaki's protagonists are far less self-conscious, less guilty or conflicted - where a Mishima character would analyze their neuroses in a dense psychological monologue, a Tanizaki protagonist is usually enjoying himself too much to be at all reflective.

Zhang Yimou's CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER is a movie about a dysfunctional family

Curse of the Golden Flower poster


If you intend to watch Curse of the Golden Flower (满城尽带黄金甲), the latest film by Zhang Yimou, don't expect this to be a martial arts film. There's no high-flying wire-fu that you've seen in Zhang Yimou's previous fares like Hero or House of Flying Daggers (both films more well-received in the West than the East, I personally liked the former, but really dislike the latter). Adapted from a 1934 play, 'Thunderstorm' by Cao Yu, Curse of the Golden Flower is more period drama (with a little bit of fighting, and a really large-scaled, spectacular-looking battle scene in the end) set during the 10th century about the most dysfunctional Royal Family ever.

Friday, December 22, 2006

CONFESSION OF PAIN

Tony Leung and Takeshi Kaneshiro in Confession of Pain


Three Chinese films opened in Malaysia yesterday to compete (sorta) for the Christmas week. The local Chinese film, Love Conquers All, directed by Tan Chui Mui (my review here), Curse of the Golden Flower (directed by Zhang Yimou, starring superstars Chow Yun Fat, Gong Li and Jay Chou) and finally, Confession of Pain (directed by Infernal Affairs duo Alan Mak and Andrew Lau, starring Tony Leung, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Shu Qi and the world's most famous Chinese blogger, Xu Jing Lei). Golden Flower is most likely going to be the top film this Christmas due to its massive promotional campaign, however, if you were going to choose between Love Conquers All and Confession of Pain, I suggest you go see the former since it's better for you to contribute to the local indie film industry than to suffer the colossal disappointment I had last night.

HAPPY FEET

The tap dancing Mumble in Happy Feet


What a beautiful film!

Thursday, December 21, 2006

Ayumi Hamasaki - Secret



For me, the height of Ayumi Hamasaki's career was the 2002/2003 Rainbow / I Am... era. On those two albums, Ayu and Max Matsuura forged an original and intensely modern sound, one that combined the futuristic gloss and production of electronic dance music with the grind and guitar base of hard rock, all leavened with strong pop flourishes that somehow sounded more ambitious than any of Ayu's previous material (which had been good, to be honest, if a bit sugary and conventional). Appellations like 'dancy metal-pop' or 'club-core with solos' sound ridiculous, but accurately describe the albums' innovative fusions. And they were albums, too, with transitions and spaced-out interludes to bridge the more disparate songs. Because of the unified production, a straight up club track like 'Connected' could segue easily into the driving rock of 'Evolution', and the whole thing felt seamless. For a while, Ayumi Hamasaki really did feel like the most modern pop star in the world, one who could get mentioned in grasping Time magazine supplements and still make you want to put her singles on your playlist.

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

VIDEO: Weekend In Ipoh 2: Unlocking My Mother's Past


My father, my cousin and I went on a road trip to uncover my mother's past


This is the second and last video of my weekend in Ipoh (first one is here, my mother's hometown. Shot on the 10th of December. Shot mostly when I was in my cousin, Hing Yip's car, as we all went for a brief tour through the city, trying to find the schools my mom had attended during her teenage days. (my mom was at my grandmother's place back then, and we were desperate for some fresh air)

Unlike most of my previous videos, you'll actually get to see a few glimpses of me... doing random stuff and making weird expressions.

To overseas readers, well, now you get to see another part of Malaysia you've rarely seen before, and have I mentioned that Ipoh is also film star Michelle Yeoh's hometown?

The music I used is 'Doot' from, once again, Adrianna Krikl.

Tell me what you think after you've watched it.

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

LOVE CONQUERS ALL by Tan Chui Mui

I woke up from my beauty nap yesterday and saw messages on MSN from Suanie asking whether I would like to attend the preview of Love Conquers All, the feature-length debut of Malaysian female director Tan Chui Mui, whom I had the pleasure of meeting last year when she was at a seminar with director James Lee and my dad in the Sin Chew Jit Poh (the country's leading Chinese newspaper) discussion about the Malaysian indie filmmaking scene.

Monday, December 18, 2006

Yasunari Kawabata - The Master of Go


Yasunari Kawabata is a writer I admire immensely. Although perhaps slightly limited in his range of themes and stories, he has a truly world-class sense of technical perfection and stylistic beauty, and the best of his novels and stories (Snow Country and Beauty and Sadness are my favorites, with the excellent Palm of the Hand Stories perhaps being his masterwork) are so satisfying and haunting as to make him unquestionably deserving of his Nobel Prize. Someone (can't remember the source) compared reading a Kurt Vonnegut book to eating an ice cream cone, and if that's true, then a Kawabata book is more like a high-quality Italian gelato - cold, perhaps, but exquisite, and best when served in small portions. At one point I pretty much blindly accepted him as a god; and while after much consideration I've decided Mishima at least equals him, he's still up there for me as one of the masters.

ERAGON

Eragon poster


I had no high hopes for Eragon. All I've hoped for was some campy, silly fun where the filmmakers would choose not to be too faithful to its source material, after all, the source material, the first book of a fantasy trilogy published when author Christopher Paolini was 19 (back in 2003), isn't Lord of the Rings nor Narnia, just a work of a fantasy fan that happened to appeal to many other fantasy fans due to the popular, conventional fantasy elements he had used in his book. In my opinion, it's much better for a filmmaker to not view a source material with so much reverence that he would end up not being able to take the necessary creative liberties that could optimize the quality of the film, we know what might have worked on paper wouldn't have worked onscreen.

Saturday, December 16, 2006

VIDEO: KL's Writer's Circle: Meeting 15-Year-Old Novelist Lim May Zhee And Bibliobibuli Sharon Bakar.


Video of Swifty at KL's Writer's Circle, Meeting Author Lim May Zhee and Sharon Bakar


I attended the KL's Writer's Circle today that was held at the MPH bookshop in 1-Utama shopping mall. I learnt about this event from the blog of Lim May Zhee, a 15-year-old girl who self-published her novel, Vanity Bee this year and made some news. However, as I was still in Perth back then, I was entirely unaware of her until I recently detected a link to this blog from this entry of hers after I came back, where I was credited for inspiring her to make this wacky little webcomic. So, that was how I found out about her, who apparently, is becoming a rising star in both the literary scene and the blogosphere since dear old Kenny Sia himself had mentioned her in one of his magazine columns, calling her, I paraphrase 'Malaysia's answer to (Singapore blog queen) Xiaxue (it's all right, Dawn, you're still my queen), but without broccoli for brains'.

Friday, December 15, 2006

VIDEO: Weekend In Ipoh Part 1: Day And Night In Ipoh


Weekend In Ipoh Part 1: Day And Night In Ipoh


I'm going to be doing a 2-part video of my stay in Ipoh last weekend. (from the 9th to the 11th of December, I posted my entry about the badminton craze in my country during this period)

Ipoh is a city in Malaysia that's the capital of the state of Perak, just a 2-3 hours away from Kuala Lumpur (it really depends on how fast you drive :D). It's the hometown of my mom, and also international movie star Michelle Yeoh (of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, and Memoirs of a Geisha fame). YES, to the uninitiated, Michelle Yeoh is MALAYSIAN, she's not from Hong Kong, nor China, nor Taiwan.

Justin Reviews 'Sukeban Deka: Kôdo nêmu = Asamiya Saki'

Thursday, December 14, 2006

[Lavazza Italian Film Festival 2006] Arrivederci amore, ciao' and 'Mio miglior nemico, Il (My Best Enemy)'

The Italian Film Festival 2006 was held during my last two weeks in Perth at the Luna theaters (a chain of theaters in Perth that specializes in arthouse fare, or local Aussie films). I've long made my decision to catch some of the movies they were showing since attending the same festival the year before. After all, it's not really that easy to see an Italian film anywhere.

Last year, I had the pleasure of watching Manuale D'Amore (Manual Of Love), a wondrous romantic comedy I loved so much that I rated it alongside Fellini's 8 1/2 as one of the greatest Italian films I've ever seen! Unfortunately, during the same festival, I also saw the indescribably agonizing Cantando Dietroi i Paraventi (Singing Behind Screens)... a film that scarred me until this very day, you can check out my really brief and not entirely comprehensible reviews of both films here.

Anyway, like last year, I saw two films in this year's Festival.

D.B. Weiss - Lucky Wander Boy



I picked up Lucky Wander Boy (Swifty: Official website of the book here) on a recent trip, mainly on the strength of its premise but without any real expectations, since the book is about, among other things, video games. A 'gaming novel' is not a prospect that would seem especially earmarked for greatness, and so D.B. Weiss's debut came as a welcome surprise: while perhaps not great in any real sense, this is certainly a very good book*, with more-than-capable prose and much trenchant humor.

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Video: Goodbye Perth, Hello Malaysia.


Goodbye Perth, Hello Malaysia - Video of Swifty's last day in Perth


I've mentioned before that I was stuck with limited Internet access back in Perth. Basically, I was using the Internet system in my university as I was staying in the student village, and I had to pay for my internet fees based on the bandwidth I was using, for example, 10MB will cost around 50 cents, thus making it impossible for me to actually upload or download any videos and music, hell I even had to disable the images in my browser just so that I don't have to spend that much a day for my surfing. Yeah, It was THAT bad.

Anyway, I've whipped together another video to share with you all today (I'll be doing that pretty regularly from now on since, well, I am the very first Malaysian listed at the Vlog Community, I'm definitely going to make up for the lack of videoblogging I've done in the past few months I was in Perth.

But anyway, this video of mine is shot during my very last day in Perth (5th of December, 2006), just a short and simple video of my dad and I driving to the Perth International Airport, and this video is my farewell to Perth, my home for the past two and a half years. Less of the flashy stuff I usually had on my videos, more focus on the introspective mood and the atmosphere I had back then.

The program I used to edit this is the Adobe Premiere Pro 2 (I also use it to edit my last two short films), unfortunately, without the facilities I had in university, the quality of the video capture's pretty bad (it's fuzzier and lower definition compared to what I would get if I were using those editing studios in uni).

Music I use for this is 'Away' by Adrianna Krikl, whose other work I had used for the opening of my last short film, Girl Disconnected.

It's a pretty personal video.


Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Video: Cousin Wee Suan's Wedding Tea Ceremony




There's an ulcer in my mouth, so I'm not really in the mood to write another lengthy entry, thus I'm merely posting a video for your enjoyment.

Sunday, December 10, 2006

The State of Malaysian Badminton + Squash Legend Nicol David

Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong winning the semis


Badminton is one of the most popular sports in Malaysia, its popularity mostly contributed by the fact that the wife of Former Malaysian Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir's a hardcore badminton fan. I, like most Malaysians, would root for the the national badminton players during major sporting events, like the Olympics, the World Championships, the various tournaments, or Thomas Cup (the Badminton equivalent of the World Cup?). As a child, I used to watch in excitement as our own players advance deep into the tournaments, rooting for their victory.

Friday, December 08, 2006

What I'll Miss About Perth (3): Friday Nights

Perth at night


One of the biggest annoyances in Perth is the fact that shops are closed before 6pm, while many restaurants would close by 9:30pm, the only thing that seemed to open for 24 hours is McDonald's. Basically, the city of Perth itself feels entirely lifeless once the sun has already set. Can be pretty annoying when one needs to do some emergency shopping, takes a bus to the city, only to realize that most shops are closed.

Thursday, December 07, 2006

Sifow's Blog and Me

UPDATED (April 27, 2014): It's been 8 years since this blog post was written by Justin. Since then, Sifow had announced her indefinite hiatus in 2008. I'm not sure whether she still sings, but as of April 2014, after her hiatus, she moved to this new(er) blog, where she still updates quite often.



Sifow is hot
I've written about my future girlfriend's music before, now to take a look at something equally influential, equally interesting, something everyone reading this should be well-familiar with: blogging.

CASINO ROYALE is one heck of a James Bond film

Daniel Craig as James Bond in Casino Royale


All right, I said in my previous entry I'm going to write something heavy, but I'm still not ready for that, so I'll just churn out another film review for a film I saw last night (first movie I saw in Malaysia since my return two nights ago!).

'The Illusionist' vs 'The Prestige'

The Illusionist poster


The Prestige poster


My next entry will be rather heavy, so I'm just going to warm up by writing about two movies I've seen recently, The Illusionist and The Prestige, that happen to 'look' fairly similar, both are about 19th century magicians. To me, these two films brought back memories of those years when there were competing volcano films (the crappy Dante's Peak vs that Volcano film starring Tommy Lee Jones, which was kinda bad, but in my opinion, not as bad as the former), and asteroid films (Armageddon vs Deep Impact), or 3D cartoons about insects (Antz vs A Bug's Life, both really good flicks). But obviously, both are really different films.

Friday, December 01, 2006

What I'll Miss About Perth (2): Public Transport

I find it rather apt that what I have suffered during my last few days in Perth would be pretty much what I have suffered throughout my whole stay here in the past two and a half years.

Sunday, November 26, 2006

What I'll Miss About Perth (1): His Flatmates

I'm currently chillin' in my friend, Amir's house after moving out from the Murdoch University Student Village, Flat 90, a place I've called home for the past 2 and a half years. And in less than two weeks, I will be leaving Perth for good.

The bitter and cynical part of me wanted to say 'GOOD RIDDANCE, I DON'T HAVE TO DEAL WITH AN OPPRESSIVE ENVIRONMENT WITH LIMITED INTERNET CONNECTION AND RUN INTO ANNOYING DUMBASSES WHO HAPPEN TO LIVE IN THE VILLAGE TOO!'. However, that's the only thing I won't miss about the place.

Everything else about it is almost great. Here's a quick list of everything I loved about staying in the Student Village.

Friday, November 24, 2006

Blogging is depressing

Tifa Cosplayer 5


Justin says:
Blogging feels so hopeless
Swifty says:
Yeap


More 'Girl Disconnected' Production Photos From The Corridor Scene!

Based on the test viewings thus far (test viewings amongst my teachers, fellow film students etc.) The 'Corridor Scene' from my latest short film, Girl Disconnected, is one of the most well-received scenes of the film. Some called it the turning point of the film, where it just elevated to another level of filmmaking (compared to the first half of the film). Another friend of mine just shook his head and smiled, saying that it was certainly 'trippy'.

Thursday, November 23, 2006

Bye Bye, Robert Altman.

Robert Altman with his Lifetime Achievement Award at the Oscars


Legendary film director Robert Altman is not someone most casual Malaysian film fans would have heard of, his films, many lauded as classics, are unseen by most. Therefore, his death two days ago wasn't much of a news for most. On the other hand, many film blogs that I read everyday are writing their own eloquent tribute to him, they are the people whose lives were touched by Altman's films.

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Conversation on 'Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan'

Poster of Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan


Swifty says:
Borat left me slightly underwhelmed.

Yukio Mishima - The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea



I can't be bothered to review this in any real depth, so I'll just excerpt parts of it and laugh at them. Much like the previous review, you're pretty much aboard the train at this point or you're not. Despite overseas acclaim (it was even made into an English movie starring Kris Kristofferson...what the fuck?), this novel, about a doomed romance between a sailor and a widow offset by evil kids, probably isn't one of Mishima's major works. It feels almost like a novella or really long short story, something that could have gone in one of the collections Acts of Worship or Death in Midsummer (discussed here)