In LIFE you MUST be WILLING to make SACRIFICES in order to SUCCEED.

You can picture me as this eager birdie flitting around a select of tempting flowers for my daily fill of nectar.



I only have to pick one.


LIFE is really about choices.


You choose your friends.


Of course you can get to choose the wrong ones, sometimes.



We make mistakes.  We learn from them.


You select what you anticipate to be the ideal team to share your work projects.


Yet the obvious choice can become a wrong one, and you are left drained and frustrated.


There comes a time when you have to stand alone.

You must feel confident within yourself to follow your own dreams.

You must be willing to make sacrifices.

You must be capable of changing and rearranging your priorities, so that your final goal can be achieved.

Sometimes, familiarity and comfort need to be challenged.

There will be times when you must take a few extra chances and create your own realities.

Be strong to at least try to make your life better.

Be confident that you won't settle for a compromise just to get by.

Appreciate yourself by allowing yourself the opportunities to grow, develop, and find your true sense of purpose in this life.

Don't stand in someone else's shadow when it's your sunlight that should lead the way.


Like I have said before many times, in life I have fallen ever so often.


I trusted the wrong people, they used me for their ends, for the wrong reasons, to build their brands.


Like a fool, I'd pick myself up. I smile. I plod on.


LIFE GOES ON, I DARE SAY.


WHAT ABOUT YOU?

MY FRIEND. He has DEPARTED. Bless his Roaming Soul.

He left.

He Passed on.

Suddenly.

Without the slightest of a murmur.

Not even a tearful goodbye.

I was late and shaken.

With disbelief.

He’s gone forever to another world where wondrous happiness will greet him.

Or so, I hope.

My friend ….

I am telling you.

It’s right HERE, (cross my heart)

The PAIN that was searing at my heart for a long while,

If only words can paint a thousand pictures,

Then I can describe how the wind howled a thousand banshees ….

How the rain darted in mad torrents …..

Splashing furiously across my paned window,

Making puddles of aimless designs on the glass.

I gaped, closed my eyes and questioned:

Are these my feelings of grief at this very moment?

Can I set myself free from the irksome past?

The past with those awful memories that are often lurking in the back of my mind,

I wanna free myself from this guilt of acknowledgement ….

To say a prayer for your roaming soul.

You are now in another dimension ….

You should learn from this day onwards

to embrace living as fully as you can in your realm,

You are now free to be YOURSELF,

And to soar even higher than you’d ever have imagined.

If only you had realized then that:

Life is oft too short

To ponder and worry,

But when you finally understood,

It was your time to leave!

Yeah, he is my friend.

My friend has departed.

This is an ODE to him.

Because he greatly matters.

He’s my DAD.

He passed on in the late 90s.

Bless his wandering soul.

Amen.

“FINAL DESTINATION 5″ MOVIE REVIEW. Let sweet DEATH claim you LOVERLY.

“FINAL DESTINATION 5 ” PRESS PREVIEW

“FINAL DESTINATION 5″ delves deep into the uncanny subject of imminent death and dying, and whatever that lurks in between the dark, sinister vacuum to fulfill this curse.

It pays definitive homage to what you’d call the human’s sixth sense, bad vibes, queasy feelings and premonitions.

It cajoles you to act fast, whenever you have a premonitory feeling that something’s not right is gonna happen, you should pay heed to your inner calling.

In doing so, you may well save your own life with this obeyance.

The theme of “death comes loverly” has never been more profoundly explored as in this 5th version of the successful franchise.

Plenty of gory deaths are splattered across the giant screen in the stupendous splendor of the 3D for the second time in the franchise, designed for your visual pleasure.

If you subscribe to the category of the uninhibited fan with a thirsty macho-sadistic streak, this film dangles as a death therapy, a game of death to “bump off”  or to shoot down your enemies within the dark recesses of your mind, which you will never be able to have this guilty pleasure in real life.

Everyone loves a good scare.

And, as they watch the hapless victims on reel being butchered one by one, they derive a pleasurable surge of adrenaline. Strange, but very true.

“FINAL DESTINATION 5″ director is Steven Quale.

Nicholas D’Agosto stars as Sam, a hot-blooded dude whose sixth sense leads him to “see” a fiery vision of a gigantic suspension bridge collapsing during a corporate outing. He manages to secure seven of his colleagues – including ex-girlfriend Molly (Emma Bell), best friend Peter (Miles Fisher) and annoying boss Dennis (David Koechner) – to flee from their bus. Well, the bridge does actually collapse, killing most everyone.

A mysterious stranger (Tony Todd) suddenly appears with a grim warning that Death cannot be cheated.

Quite right, as in the days that follow, the surviving eight soon start to succumb to a series of inexplicable freak accidents, in the same manner which they died in Sam’s dream.

The film’s special effects are excellent, in particular, during the heart-stomping minutes of one scene where we witness in dire shock, the entire giant bridge being completely torn apart, taking everything (people, vehicles and falling debris), plunging mercilessly into the fathomless, raging sea below.

These are poignant moments rendered dramatically authentic in 3D.

Final Destination 5 is a hugely enjoyable, impressively directed thriller.

The advertising headline from the publicity poster shouts “DEATH HAS NEVER BEEN CLOSER.”

Yeah, right.

Step into the nightmare.

It gonna be a gruesome scary ride.

TREASURE HUNT (2011) 無價之寶 HONG KONG MOVIE REVIEW. It's Much Ado about Everything.

TREASURE HUNT 2011 無價之寶

PRESS PREVIEW

Just try indulging in a poker game with Hong Kong film director WONG JING and you will soon realize he’s one smartie who knows how to field his cards right.

This renowned kingpin of screwball comedies understands what the masses want. And he surely delivers the goods.

This time around, he is offering yet another mindless farce to appease his regular slapstick fan’s palate.

You’d call this summer earnings to add to his coffers.

Now, kindly stay braced for a madly scripted TREASURE HUNT, an absurd buffoonery that stars CECILIA CHEUNG in a pallid comeback role.

Money works wonders, no doubt.

CECILIA proudly packages her young son LUCAS TSE (son of NICHOLAS TSE) who’s obviously, apart from having a whale of time swarming us with his kiddish antics, is beginning to see lucrative returns at a tender age.

This child star, who’s au naturel in front of the camera, is groomed to be a future star in the making, thanks to his luminous parents. You just watch him glow with absolute radiance.

Cool.

CECILIA CHEUNG takes on the role of a successful television commercial director who’s very much happily married with an active 3- year old son.

As the story opens, she has been offered lucrative terms to direct a TVC on a remote island with an obnoxious gas bag played by RONALD CHENG as a great Kung Fu master. RONALD provides the main gags in the movie.

CECILIA arrives on the island with her actors and crew and finds that they clash with unexpected, albeit unwelcome company – that of a notorious bunch of villians who harbor a deadly agenda – to recover an old sunken ship laden with mystical treasures and woe betide anyone who gets in their way.

Thereafter the heroes, anti-heroes and baddies battle it out in a dangerous cat-and-mouse race to outdo one another, and stay out of harm’s way.

Filled with spoofs, one-liners,  insipid jokes and non-stop escapades that run amok, the plot is the least of director WONG JING’s concerns.

The action is wild and wacky and the gags will never cease to cause the intellectual mind to squirm.

Will CECILIA and company be able to survive this dangerous encounter?

Go watch the movie for:

Cheeky kids. Apart from LUCAS TSE, there’s also this  capricious little boy, a sweet girl and a greedy little fatty.  They liven up the film with their age-of-innocence acting and soulful characteristics. They practically steal the thunder from the adult players.

In the acting department, expect nothing new from the actors as the script is far from fetching.

There are raw touches of an old ENID BLYTON (British writer of children’s stories) tale called ISLAND OF ADVENTURE.

This is one of director WONG JING’s more watchable  movies, and it has a fair share of emotive moments, milked by the young stars.

Other than that, this is a film that entertains on a boring Summer evening and as soon as you leave the cinema, you’d probably forget what the feature is all about.

Blame it on the plot that has much to do about nothing.

Or maybe, something.

You tell me, folks.

SHOW ME SUNSHINE DAYS. DON'T LET THE SUN GO DOWN ON ME.

ELTON JOHN bellows in his hit song "Don't let the sun go down on me" with a two-verse reminder to combat negativism. 

That is, if you can picture what he says:

"I can't light no more of your darkness
All my pictures seem to fade to black and white
I'm growing tired and time stands still before me
Frozen here on the ladder of my life

Too late to save myself from falling
I took a chance and changed your way of life
But you misread my meaning when I met you
Closed the door and left me blinded by the light."

Yeah, love can sometimes be blind.

Love can be so bleak.

Spare me the darkness,

Show me sunshine days.

Just don't ever let the sun go down on me.

Not ever.

DOGS ARE OUR BEST FRIENDS. WOULD YOU EVER CONSIDER A CAT?

Psychological thorns may sap your confidence,
Unworthy friends may maim your soul,
Humanity may have appeared to desert you, 
Love may rudely depart by the back door,
The world may seem hopeless and desolate, 
But you will never, ever be friendless, chum.
If you have man's best friend, your dog by your side.
Now, would you ever consider a cat as part of this family?

“THE FORTUNE BUDDIES” 勁抽褔祿壽 Hong Kong Movie Review. Three SILLY BILLIES playing GODS of FORTUNE.

HONG KONG MOVIE 勁抽褔祿壽 “THE FORTUNE BUDDIES” PRESS PREVIEW.

Bored?

Don’t be.

Here’s another of the regular Hong Konger’s “staple diet” comedy to tickle you pink.

It may not be your ideal cup of tea though, unless you dig mindless slapsticks.

But then, just like the “child” embedded in all of us, if you care to remember the famous MARY POPPINS character who sings the 60s classic verse “In very job that must be done, there’s an element of fun and a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down in a most delightful way.”

It’s like saying the occasional farce can expedite wonders for a stressed out soul.

Cool.

So get set for the made-for-chuckles FORTUNE BUDDIES, the latest Hong Kong laugh-out-loud offering, nevertheless a smirk therapy, albeit a welcome destressor.

It originated from a once popular Hong Kong TVB wisecracking-and-dance variety show called LIZA AND THE THREE GODS known largely for the male cross dressing gags.

On a serious note, we are not talking about demi-gods here.

These three “gods” are the not-so-young and definitely far from being labeled pretty boys, and they are the effervescent Wong Cho Lam, Louis Yuen Siu Cheung and Johnson Lee Si Jit. They lead the story.

The package comes with the ever squeaky Eric Tsang and a host of well-worn faces from TVB in silly cameos.

Minus the grand dame Liza Wang who has been unceremoniously written out of the script as she is a dispensable “no go”.

It’s obvious that the retro queen Liza’s hey days are long over even if she still adamant about “keeping up with the times”. Maybe one should tell her to bask in past glories and leave fond memories as they are.

Hopefully this movie may usher in a generous sprinkle of cheer to brighten up anybody’s sometimes stereo-typed working life.

In Hong Kong, apartments for the average Hong Konger are smaller than small and “cooping in the nest” can be liken to life in a pressure cooker.

The citizens need a quick fix other than going to the doctor, and crazy entertainment like “THE FORTUNE BUDDIES” where the actors “belittle” and poke fun at all and sundry, including themselves can be a welcome respite.

You visit the cinema to have a hearty laugh, never mind the plot.

So in gallop this comely slapstick featuring three foul-mouthed, conniving, exploitative silly buddies who take absolute delight in looking for trouble. Expect loads of bawdy nonsense and remember to switch off your “disbelief” mode at escapades that make no sense. Especially when you have three nutty comedians from TVB spewing mindless cracks and vulgarities to get the ball rolling.

Hop on in!

FORTUNE BUDDIES does not offer you a logical plot line. Chiefly it hollers about three bosom buddies who are “sworn” brothers who will stick to one another through thick and thin. It starts with Lam Lok (Wong Cho Lam) who intends to marry his childhood sweetheart. His materialistic future father-in-law demands that he pays a down payment of five hundred thousand dollars for a flat as a form of sincerity.

The three chums rally together to work in all kinds of menial jobs (property agent, part-time actor, security guard, driver) to raise the money. They even attempt at cross dressing stints, busk in Mongkok’s infamous Sai Yeung Choi Street and wrestle in the open donning ridiculous masks and attire.

That is, until a foreigner who is actually a professional wrestler from the World Wrestling Entertainment pitches a challenge and this is where the story speeds up and escalates towards a crescendic climax.

It’s all well that ends well, finally.

If you had thoroughly enjoyed producer Eric Tsang’s Lunar New Year’s blockbuster “I Love Hong Kong”, then this one’s for you.

NOW, JUST SEND IN THE CLOWNS.

“WE ARE NOT YOUR REGULAR PRETTY BOY TYPE. BUT TRUST US, WE ARE A LOT BETTER. WE ARE CHARISMATIC DANDIES.”

“HERE’S LOOKING AT YOU, DUDES!”

“WE ARE THE FORTUNE BUDDIES AND HERE’S A TOAST FROM EACH AND EVERYONE OF US.”

“FOR ALL OUR HARD WORK, THE FORTUNE BUDDIES WILL SURELY BE A ROARING BOX-OFFICE SUCCESS!”