Illusion of Words

Christmas/Birthday

See, the bad thing about having a birthday so close to Christmas is that you usually get one present from your parents (”Do we really have to give you a separate present?”). But of course, it isn’t all about presents.

It’s about family and love and giving, so the world says.

They reinforce that belief and at the same time, encourage people to buy more (”Giving is better than receiving”). They show ‘holiday’ movies all over the tv. About somebody finding the ‘true meaning of Christmas’, yadda yadda. Which in their case is being generous and being with family. But of course, we know it’s about Christ, and the omnipotent God coming in the form of a human baby.

It’s crazy. Absolutely insane. But it’s the greatest love ever.

Still, there’s the family and home part of Christmas. To Westerners, Christmas is the family reunion time. I watched Judy Garland’s 1939 Wizard of Oz on tv. Silly, perhaps, looking at the funny costumes that definitely belong to that ancient, long-gone age. But it remains a classic till now. I think the reason lies in the lines. I would say nearly every line is quotable. The silly-ish songs are fantastic - lyrics-wise.

Dorothy (in the Wizard of Oz) closed her eyes, clicked her heels thrice, and meditated on the fact that “there’s no place like home”. And she appears in Kansas. If only it were that simple. You didn’t have to spend days in planes and airports just to get home. And not to mention the cost of it all.

In the end, though, having a place to stay with family (even if not immediate) and friends, is a gift from God. And not to forget that greatest gift - Jesus himself.

= On a lighter (less confusing, I suppose) note, I’ve been watching too many movies recently. That comes with having a lot of free time and cable tv. I’ve never been a movie person, and even now I don’t watch more than one movie a day, if I can help it. And I’m really picky about the things I watched. I tried watching “Sleepless in Seattle”. Okay, so that was just to see a certain actor (not Tom Hanks). But when that actor didn’t appear for a long time again, and the movie was getting boring, I googled the movie’s script, discovered that there was still one scene with that actor, and waited till that scene was over, and switched off the tv without second thought. Phew. I did not see what was so brilliant about the movie. It was tiring. Definitely not my type of movie.

Although I suppose my watching the entire movie of “Fallen Angel” was crazier. It was a boring movie, but then there was Gary Sinise (from CSI:NY). So I suffered through it. It wasn’t that bad, since I was surprised by a few revelations in the plot. Although the ending was totally predictable. But like I said, it had a few good turns in the plot.

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Yet More Movies

I think I’m nearing the end of this movie marathon thing. After all, school begins tomorrow.

After yesterday’s politics and mysteries, today’s theme was apparently romance. Hardly my type, but one’s got to broaden one’s horizon.

It Happened One Night

Cute romantic comedy, another movie directed by Frank Capra, starring Clark Gable. It’s about a rich, spoilt girl who runs away from home and on the way to New York, meets a reporter. So they travel together and of course, fall in love. And along the way, there are many hilarious incidents, from the famous hitchhiking scene to the fighting couple act. Great movie, all in all. Although I wished I was watching with someone, because it’s kind of dull having to watch it on your own.

The Notebook

I can’t believe I actually watched this thing. Anyway (MAJOR spoilers ahead, don’t read if you’re going to watch the movie, because I’m giving away the ending), the movie was slightly redeemed by the whole old people thing. As in the old Allie had Alzheimer’s (that reminded me of ‘Away From Her’, which is just two posts below this), and old Noah still loved her. And read the Notebook, which was the story of their romance, to her to make her remember (There! I’ve spilled everything now! You don’t have to watch the movie anymore). Other than that, it would have been yet another ‘girl-falls-in-love-with-guy-but-break-up-and-meets-another-guy-and-gets-engaged-except-meets-first-guy-so-dumps-poor-fiance’. Well, yeah, so most of the movie was like that, actually, and I don’t know why I always feel sorry for the second person who is bound to get dumped. Maybe that’s why I quite liked Tuck Everlasting (more major spoilers ahead), because the girl didn’t wait for her first love and got married anyway. One thing: Noah actually had a beard when the scene shown in the poster occurred in the movie. Just a little nitpicking.

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More Movies

I must be too bored or something. Never have I watched so many movies in a few days - I’ve never been one to watch movies. But then, when you’re bored, there’s nothing much you can do about it, except watch a movie.

Mr Smith Goes To Washington

Brilliant, brilliant film by Frank Capra, whom you’ll remember as the director of the Christmas tear-jerker “It’s a Wonderful Life”. Jefferson Smith, portrayed by yet again the fantastic James Stewart, is a young man full of wonderful ideas who gets to the Senate when the governor picks him. His state is run by a Taylor, who is just evil. So of course, Mr Smith faces quite a few problems when he realizes that all the Lincoln speech/Constitution stuff are not real in the Senate. But of course, he stands up against it - great great scene. A typical good vs evil thing, but not at all boring. Fantastic movie, especially when you’ve got a supporting actor like Claude Rains, whom you might remember from Casablanca (the police guy), and Hitchcock’s Notorious. I must say, I didn’t recognize him from the two movies, but nevertheless, throughout the whole movie I felt that Claude Rains was simply awesome as the conflicted Senator Paine. Just terrific.

Rebecca (another Hitchcock film!)

I felt it didn’t quite live up to other Hitchcock stuff. However, it still is pretty good. A girl marries a widower, whose dead wife is called Rebecca, who even in death still seems to have a hold on the entire house. Scary for the second wife, who was quite insecure. And a great performance in the character of the maid Mrs Danvers, who is just absolutely spooky.

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Thanksgiving and Two Movies

Pecan Pie!

Pumpkin Pie!

Two indispensable items on Thanksgiving meals. They don’t look as appetizing as they should - blame the camera and/or my photographing skills.

Anyway, I was exceptionally productive (if could be said so), watching 2 movies which I saw from the previews on the dvd of the movie Bella.

Away From Her

A sad story about an old couple, the wife getting Alzheimer’s and all the complications afterwards. So you can tell it’s a pretty heartbreaking movie, although surprisingly not as sad as I’d thought it would be. Of course, the wife forgets the husband, especially after she moves into the nursing home. And of course, it’s just all so sad. Great performances from both leads, especially Julie Christie as the lady with Alzheimer’s. She had an Oscar nomination for that role, not to mention a Golden Globe Award.

Akeelah and the Bee

I don’t usually like to watch this sort of ‘uplifting’ and ‘inspiring’ movie, since they all tend to be quite cliched. There’s always the loser person who has great potential and a person to inspire him/her, and there’s always the person’s mother or somebody who’s totally against their being better and stuff like that. But I thought, since this is a spelling bee and not yet another football movie, it should be pretty good.
As it turns out, it is pretty good. While it did have some of the usual elements of a competition film, and a too-perfect ending, I thought it was done very well. It is about Akeelah, from southern Los Angeles, where people were basically not good in their studies, but Akeelah was exceptional in spelling. So she has a mentor, and makes a friend or two along the way, and heads for the national spelling bee.
I thought it was really funny - Akeelah’s main competitor, who was Chinese. And of course, he had a Chinese dad who was totally, “You have to win this.” Very stereotype-y. After all, aren’t all Asian parents crazy about their kids being the best and studying hard (*sarcasm*)? I laughed out loud at the scenes of the strict father and the poor Chinese kid.
Oh, and icing on the cake - there was Angela Bassett, if you’d remember from Alias (season 5, Director Chase, yay!). And Laurence Fishburne, whom you might remember from the Matrix, and who is going to take over William Petersen’s (Gil Grissom) role in CSI:LV (boohoo. oh, and I just found that out. I always wondered who Fishburne was from reading CSI spoilers, and now I know). He (Fishburne) is a great actor, but honestly, who can ever replace dear ol’ Grissom?

Overall, I’ll recommend ‘Away From Her’ if you feel like watching an old couple’s love story (kind of). However, I must warn you not to see the trailer first, because really, the trailer shows pretty much all the best scenes of the movie and detracts from the overall enjoyment (sadness, whatever) of watching the movie. Or if you’re in a mood for inspiring stuff, watch ‘Akeelah and the Bee’ and perhaps learn how to spell some of those crazy words which I don’t understand how 12-year-olds could ever want to learn or know. I mean, who ever uses those kind of words?

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Bella

Thanksgiving today. Spent nearly the entire day with a family who was kind enough to invite me. Felt kind of weird, being the only outsider, but I felt quite at home sometimes.

So we watched the movie “Bella”. Apparently it won the 2006 Toronto Film Festival. I will say that it is done very well, shot very beautifully. The story, while not tear-jerking (for me at least), is quite interesting.

It’s about a girl and a guy, and one day changes their lives. The movie kind of reminded me of “Once”. Anyhow, I can’t say anything without giving away too much. All the same, I felt that the story was not as good as it could have been - not that I could have made it any better, but to me, it was just a tad bit lacking, especially for the girl.

Still, it is a movie above average, far better than the junk that comes out weekly. Just for the sheer technical beauty, it’s worth watching. And not to mention the few life lessons (literally) within the movie - very positive ones.

A side note: The DVD, of course, came with a bunch of previews in the beginning. There were about 5 movie previews, and with each preview that came out, I was like, “I have to watch this.” They all looked very exquisite except for the sports swimming one (which I suppose is yet another losers-become-winners type of movie). There was ‘Away From Her’, a story about Alzheimer’s, ‘Akeelah and the Bee’, a story of a girl in spelling bee competitions, and ‘The Girl with a Pearl Earring’, a story about the story behind Vermeer’s famous painting. They all looked pretty good.

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Fall Break

All the hype about fall break is kind of baffling. After all, it’s only two days, plus a weekend. I don’t quite understand. But everyone asks, “What are your plans for fall break?” It was the question of the day for quite some time. But now that I’m in the middle of fall break, I have just realized how utterly unproductive it can be.

For one thing, I find myself stuck in my room for two entire days. I don’t really mind not going out, but it’s just that … well, it’s not really ‘living’, is it. At least I did two productive things - watching two movies that have been on my to do list for quite a while.

1. Silence of the Lambs: That was pretty spooky, but a brilliant movie nonetheless. The climax was bone-chilling. The actors were great. Hannibal Lecter is just a very compelling character. I wonder if he’d eat me for dinner - I’ll have to be not moronic and not some authority figure. Yes, the whole thing about serial killers is not exactly something to watch at night, especially when part of it takes place in Memphis, Tennessee, but still, a classic to be watched.

2. Schindler’s List: I’ve been wanting to watch for ever so long. And one word describes it: Intense. All the violence, the graphic scenes (if you watch it, you know what I mean). There is so much to be said behind it. Oskar Schindler was no saint, but he chose to do what was right. In case you don’t know what I’m talking about, Schindler hired Jews to work in his factory, essentially saving their lives. There are many great scenes throughout the movie, any of which that are infinitely sad, but it was the last scenes that brought tears to my eyes. It was kind of dramatic, but still… I couldn’t help tearing up. Liam Neeson (oh, so that was him! I’d never seen him in action before) as Schindler was just wonderful. And Ben Kingsley - yeah, the first time too seeing him in action.. I’d heard about these two actors before, but for some reason, never watched a movie with them in it. Wonder why.

Now I think I’d better get some homework done. Schindler’s List was just really awesome though, I must say again. Esp. the red-coat girl part. I didn’t get it at first, but then rewatching the burning scene, I realized that it was the turning point in Schindler’s mind. I think. Anyway, no more spoilers. Definitely not a movie for children though. I feel I have dirtied my mind somewhat watching it… but then it’s just too good to be missed..

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Thoughts on CSI

With fall season comes all the TV shows. For all the tv addicts, it’s a relief to finally get out of the summer reruns. Now I’m not a tv addict, but I do watch some shows, mainly CSI, though I don’t really have to watch it.

I just finished the season 9 premiere of CSI:LV. 9 seasons is a very long time, which is why most of the characters are going out. We saw Warrick’s death, and even more of Grissom revealed through that death. I mean, you’d never imagine the aloof, taciturn guy of the beginning to be actually so moved and actually crying (kind of) during his speech at Warrick’s funeral. I’m sure CSI die-hards are weeping out there. It’s kind of sad that everyone has to eventually leave/die, including Grissom himself later this season, which will no doubt have some fans jumping the boat. But I guess 9 seasons is a little too much. If I were a CSI actor, I would get out too. You know, all the rest of your life you’re just gonna be that person from CSI. Which isn’t very nice - or it could be nice. Anyway, whatever.

CSI:Miami is just as usual, fast-paced and packed full of action. One would think that Miami was really that exciting (scary) with explosions and shootouts regularly. Of course, the fact that Horatio lives in Miami probably accounts for all the crimes happening. (btw, some of the people that are dangerous to befriend are Jessica Fletcher of ‘Murder, She Wrote’ and Conan, from the lame Japanese cartoon ‘Detective Conan’. Someone is bound to die wherever they go.)

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Joyeux Noel (Merry Christmas)

I think it’s one of the better movies I’ve seen lately. In fact, so good that I’m blogging at 11:15 pm, after watching it. A couple of friends had rented the movie and invited me over to watch on a laptop, which is not a very wonderful thing to watch on - the very poor speakers. Which will leave room for imagining how wonderful it would be on a huge tv screen.

The movie actually isn’t English, as can be seen from the title. It’s a mix of French, German, and Scottish English. The story is about the 1914 Christmas truce, where the enemies ceased fire for Christmas and actually talked with each other. It is a true story (I love true stories!). And the movie is made really well. While some parts are lacking - the story line of the singers, which I felt was not dealt with as well as it could’ve been (and did they really have to put that well-deserved R-rated part in?), in whole it is an awesome movie. To see these soldiers, sick of fighting, and realizing that in fact, the enemy is just as they are… it is amazing. Taking place in a white, snow-covered land, the visuals of the movie are stunning too.

Of course, the movie is dramatized and probably took quite a bit of artistic license, but then well, it’s a wonderful movie. What more can I say about it? Just cut out that R-rated part (btw, this is actually a PG-13 movie that originally got a R rating, but the MPAA changed it when a critic complained..), then it’ll be even more big-group-watching-friendly.

Check out the historical background (yeah, my favorite thing to do after watching a movie based on historical facts). Oh and by the way, they had a truce because it was war time, specifically World War I, in case you haven’t realized. Sorry for underestimating you, if that’s the case…

Wikipedia
Site #1
Site #2

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TV/Medal Count Thoughts

I’ve never had such fun watching old shows. There was the closing ceremony on one channel, but I actually opted to watch ‘Murder, She Wrote’, an old TV show. You see, with limited options in Malaysia, classics are not readily available. It was the first time I watched the show, and while the acting wasn’t all that great, the plot is good. Although a consecutive 3 episodes made me kind of tired.

Then there’s the Food Channel. When there’s nothing else to watch, food is always a good option. I have watched all sorts of cooking programs, and beginning to tire of it.

Tonight there will be two Alfred Hitchcock movies on air. Two which I haven’t watched. So looks like I’d be sleeping late - again.

Olympics is finally over. It means no more late nights waiting for some exciting event, while languishing on the couch trying to stay awake for the boring events. There’s the disappointment, and joy of the athletes. I won’t ever be standing on a podium, with a gold medal around my neck, in most likelihood, but how many will ever do that?

By the way, I suppose most people have noticed the medal counts in America and in China are done differently. In USA, they do it by total count of medals. In China/Malaysia/etc, it’s done by number of gold medals. In the beginning it would seem to be just a nationality kind of thing - you know, the respective countries would then be top. But then, USA has always done it that way, and I can’t help thinking, maybe it’s better after all. Back in Malaysia, with the medal count put according to golds, silvers and bronzes are nothing. But then when the medal count is according to total number of medals, suddenly, silvers and bronzes mean a lot too. Silver and bronze, while less than gold, still means something for the country. And I begin to feel my perspective changing. Asians always want to be the best, I guess. Second and third place is almost like failure. But the truth is, 2nd and 3rd is better than almost all of the world. And can that be failure?

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The Sound of Music

Let me start with, in my opinion, the most popular ‘old’ movie in Malaysia - or at least Sibu. Most of the folks I know have watched it, and most of them own the dvd or cd. I’m not sure why, since say ‘Casablanca’ or ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ evokes blank stares, but the Sound of Music, made in 1965, is so popular.

Everyone likes it. I got to admit, after watching it at least once a year since I was but a small child, I love it too. It’s got the very ingredients to make a good family movie - humor, love story, cute kids, gorgeous songs (and singing), and of course, Julie Andrews and the dashing Christopher Plummer (in those days, of course).

It’s supposed to be based on a true story. At least the von Trapp family was real. However, being a musical and a movie, a lot of details don’t follow the original story. I don’t really mind that though - how many movies have you seen that are truly historically correct?

If you’re from Sibu, you probably have watched it before. If not, I’ll give a quick summary: Maria is a nun-in-training, but she’s far too ‘wild’. So the Reverend Mother sends her off to be the governess of 7 kids belonging to Captain von Trapp. Those kids were ‘impossible’, but Maria soon gains their affections with her singing and whatnot. Anyway, eventually the captain falls for her and Maria vice versa (saw that coming, didn’t you?). But the Nazis are in Austria, and the captain must make a choice whether or not to take up his new position in the German army. Of course, you know the answer. Hint: the captain is a real Austrian patriot.

So, the bottom line is, the more I watch it, the more I like it. And really, Christopher Plummer as the captain is too good-looking! Timeless family classic and unforgettable songs.

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