FILIAL PIETY. Don’t be Cruel.

FILIAL PIETY. Don’t be Cruel.

These words “DON’T BE CRUEL” are glaring at you now, peeps.

I am appalled by a recent spate of news pertaining an elderly CHINESE 
couple who are currently surviving at wit’s end.

Their two ungrateful sons, both in their 30′s threw them away, like dirty linen, for whatever reasons.

Guess they don’t need their parents anymore.

An extremely cruel thing, shirking duties specially when sick parents are in the throes of their twilight years.

Heaven forbid.

What price FILIAL PIETY?

We should at all times, respect, obey and care for our aging parents.

Without our mums and dads, where would all of us be today? Blood is thicker
 than water.

When we were young and growing, we did rely on our parents for guidance, money, emotional support, etcetera.

THIS ROLE SHOULD BE REVERSED once we have attained adult status and when our parents are getting on in years.

No one stays young and beautiful forever, man.

Do bad things, you will get your just deserts when it’s your turn to be old.

No one can escape old age.

And there’s such a thing called “karma”. Don’t you know?

“DARK SKIES” Movie Review. An Otherwise Peace Loving Family Provoked by nasty Aliens.

“DARK SKIES” Movie Review. An Otherwise Peace Loving Family Provoked by nasty Aliens.

“DARK SKIES” PRESS PREVIEW

Another scream-out-loud production from those “Paranormal Activity” people?

You’d have thought they had long run out of steam, but hold it, I was pleasantly surprised.

“DARK SKIES” is an American sci-fic horror feature packed with enough fertile imagination and consummate techniques.

It’s been brought here to titillate your craving for demonic films.

The spine-chilling plot focuses on the throes of a married couple who unearths nasty hauntings within  the sanctuary of their home.

And in doing so, they frantically endeavor every means to protect their young sons from the alien invasion.

As husband and wife Daniel and Lacey Barret hopelessly witness an on-going series of inexplicable events involving their family, their safe and peaceful home becomes a shackle.

It is soon obvious that they are being targeted by an unimaginably terrifying and deadly force.

Daniel and Lacey decide to take matters in their own hands to solve the mystery and fight back, tooth and nail.

“DARK SKIES” is written and directed  by Scott Stewart.

 Keri Russell and Josh Hamilton, Dakota Goyo and Kadan Rockett star.

This move may not be your regular tour de force, but some scenes will challenge your adrenaline rush and are mind blowing.

The action is slick, fast paced and gritty, leading to one tense build-up.

Go watch it if you dig suspenseful psychological thrillers.

PAIN. RIGHT THROUGH YOUR HEART.

PAIN. RIGHT THROUGH YOUR HEART.

HAVE YOU FELT A STAB OF REAL PAIN RECENTLY?
DID YOU BLEED?

Life can never be complete without its share of bruises and pains, as this old buddy pointed out to me last night.

He lamented that he’s always been a much misunderstood person.

A loner by choice, he’s growing progressively lonely unwillingly, without any amount of good friends in sight.

His business world has literally collapsed, his venture bombed, as he was let down by his ex partners who had taken flight, leaving him for greener pastures.
Reality jolts.

It is sad that in this business world you’ve to take care of your welfare first.

Loneliness is a bitter pill that can stab you through your heart.

Even your shadow leaves you when you are shrouded in darkness.

Every man adorns a “protection” mask, a facade to conceal his true self, as he goes about doing his daily tasks.

LIFE IS REAL, NOT REEL.

And that goes all the way, chum.

The RHYTHM and HARMONY of INNER PEACE.

As a WRITER, I am constantly struggling to justify that one divine word:
PEACE.

Not an issue of religion or creed, it is the PEACE that dwells within our inner mind and soul.

Without PEACE, can there ever be lasting happiness?

There’s a BUDDHIST saying that rings loud and clear:

“BETTER than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings PEACE.”

Are you at peace with yourself today, dear friends?

"LINCOLN" Movie Review. “LINCOLN” Movie Review. Dizzy Insights into an Iconic American President.

“LINCOLN ” PRESS PREVIEW

What our history teacher taught us and what our researches showed:

ABRAHAM LINCOLN was the 16th President of the United States serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865.

 He was the first president to die of assassination.

He was shot in the back of his head by John Wilkes Booth, an actor and Confederate spy from Maryland.

Lincoln’s assassination took place at Ford’s Theater in Washington, where he had been watching “Our American Cousin” on April 14, 1865, which was Good Friday.

He was shot once, at point blank range, at approximately 10:15 PM.

Once he was shot, he was carried from the theater to a boarding house across the street from the theater.

He remained in a comatose state for over 8 hours. Many doctors offered to help, and some examined the President, but there was ultimately nothing to be done, as the bullet was lodged deep in the President’s brain. He died at approximately 7:22 AM the following morning, April 15, 1865.

He was revered as one of the most compelling  icons in the history of the American political figureheads.

In the film, you’d never get to see the actual assassination scene.

It can never be shown as it had never been filmed.

What’s real and what’s reel is anybody’s guess.

 ”LINCOLN” the movie belongs to STEVEN SPIELBERG and he ensures that his treatment is discreetly controlled and competently executed.

During the period of his illustrious career as America’s most beloved President, LINCOLN had brought the US to greater heights.

Right smack in the midst of the American Civil War, he relentlessly confronted the issues of the constitutional and the military.

He abolished slavery and paved the way for economic and financial modernizations.

The movie only recalls a specific time in his leadership and a momentous time in history.

LINCOLN eventually succeeded in abolishing slavery through democratic means – the passing of The 13th Amendment of the United States.

Naturally, a strong man is often surrounded by his toady enemies.

This movie showcases the plight of a great politician who had refused to be pinned down by apparent obstacles during his rule.

He was human too, and like everybody else, life could be lonely at the top, specially at times when his actions were misunderstood by family and friends, yet he had the resilience and fortitude to plod on.

 DANIEL DAY-LEWIS shines in the role of ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

He fits snugly into his role adopting a soft-spoken persona bordering on wit to bring alive a battle-hardened crusader fighting his war against slavery.

The film has 10 nominations at Britain’s equivalent of the Oscars, including best picture and best actor for DANIEL DAY-LEWIS – though no directing nomination for SPIELBERG. There are 12 Academy Award nominations to reckon with, as well.

 ”LINCOLN” as a biopic is steep in American history and SPIELBERG assumes that the global audience will lap up the subject.

Nobody can doubt that it has the trappings of an epic with an admirable scrīpt and excellent performances by the ensemble cast. It is clearly a movie that will harness more attention in the West with its heavy dramatization and virtually no action.

Stretching 2 hours and 29 minutes long in preaching the political “gospel” – moving from two principal locations: battle field to court house may prove a trifle sedative for the audience.

One of the press members fell into a brief slumber for want of mental fatigue.

Honestly.

“VALENTINE’S DAY”. Reaching for the Sky.

“VALENTINE’S DAY”. Reaching for the Sky.

YOU ARE MY VALENTINE, ARE YOU NOT?

TODAY is VALENTINE’s DAY.
So it is all about LOVE, LOVE, LOVE.
Let’s go a bit further with this love-struck saying:

“You must love yourself before you love another.
By accepting yourself and fully being what you are,
your simple presence can make others happy.”

Oh, YEAH !

Now, please spare a moment here and listen to this very soulful and beautiful song "YOU ARE MY SUNSHINE" sung by ELIZABETH MITCHELL.

This song touches my heart, from the first musical strain right to the last tempo.

YEAR OF THE SNAKE 2013. Bountiful Blessings, Everyone!

Saturday, February 9, 2013

YEAR OF THE SNAKE 2013. Bountiful Blessings, Everyone!

Hi, hello, we are the CHARMING SNAKES.

We are here to herald in a beautiful, bountiful SNAKE YEAR 2013.

Happy, happy.

Our favorite model ANDREW NGO hails from VIETNAM and is decked in auspicious RED for this special occasion.

ANDREW is a jolly nice guy from a beautiful country. He has an endearing personality and is worthy of our respect.

ANDREW NGO is beaming with radiance.

It gonna be a Great Year ahead, he assures us.

A TOUCH OF ZEN

DOUBLE HAPPINESS, BOUNTIFUL BLESSINGS

SNAKE YEAR officially starts this SUNDAY 10th February, 2013.

It is a relief.

After a dismal past 12 months observing a gloomy global landscape of economic doldrums and awful weather disasters sail by, I am pretty much looking forward to a change of tides.

I am going to work hard, smile more, play safe, stay healthy and observe survival rules.

I’d like to pledge this BUDDHIST saying:

“When walking, as we step one foot forward,

We lift the other foot up.

In the same way, we should let go of YESTERDAY …

and focus on TODAY.”

HAPPY SNAKE YEAR 2013, fellas.

Right.

You might also like:

“JOURNEY TO THE WEST: CONQUERING THE DEMONS” (西游.降魔篇) Movie Review. Charming, Entertaining and Beautifully Crafted.

“JOURNEY TO THE WEST: CONQUERING THE DEMONS (西游·降魔篇)”

PRESS PREVIEW.

Madcap film director STEPHEN CHOW roars back into action as he writes, produces and co-helms his latest brilliant masterpiece “JOURNEY TO THE WEST”.

The timing is set as a CHINESE NEW YEAR 2013 grand release in major ASIAN CITIES, with an ensemble cast that includes Shu Qi, Bo Huang, Zhang Wen, Show Luo and Chrissie Chow.

This production is a celebration of art, combining a stirring potpourri of martial arts, CGI monsters, quirky romance and slapstick.

 STEPHEN CHOW’s “Journey to the West” is both imaginative and affecting.

It is actually a prequel of a classic fictionalized folk lore bearing the same name, focusing on the misadventures of a Buddhist monk as he embarks on a perilous pilgrimage from China to India.

The monk travelled to the “Western Regions” during the Tang Dynasty to obtain sacred texts (sutras).

The bodhisattva Avalokitesvara (Guanyin), on instruction from the Buddha, bestows this task to the monk and his assembly of three protectors in the form of disciples – namely Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing – together with a dragon prince who acts as Xuanzang’s steed, a white horse.

These four characters have agreed to help Xuanzang as atonement for their past sins.

STEPHEN CHOW is well known for his “mo lei tau” (nonsensical) brand of comedic sensibilities. You either like this or you don’t.

 In this film, he also displays an uncanny ability to juggle between comedy and tragedy. This is his directorial treatment on a well-worn tale as die-hard followers can attest to it.

Sparing the overkill of shoot, plot, locations and other technicalities, it’s kudos to the Director of Photography CHOI SUNG-PAI, Production Designer BRUCE YU and the merry team of competent actors who all rendered a splendid job.

“JOURNEY TO THE WEST” is one film you’d love to hate.

Or hate to love, paradoxically. One man’s meat is another’s poison.

If you go with an accepting mind to be entertained, then this is it.

Should you attend with a neuro-surgical mind with intent to dissect, then there are plenty of plot holes to crow about.

Whichever school of thought you are preaching from, always tread with logic.

Making a film is tedious whilst sitting in the theater harboring a literary cutting mind is another.

I enjoyed this film though I am hardly a fan of STEPHEN CHOW and his “mo lei tau” nonsense.

“JOURNEY” is charming, entertaining and beautifully crafted.

And commercially this film is destined to hit bull-eye in terms of box office takings, which would be the ultimate goal of any distributor.

Drumroll for dollars and cents, so make no bones about this.

Amen.

“BULLET TO THE HEAD” Movie Review. The RETURN of the VINTAGE HEROES.

“BULLET TO THE HEAD” PRESS PREVIEW

The fragrance of this season is very probably, a sniff at nostalgia, with vintage ACTION DADDY-O’s making their comebacks.

 We just had ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER fighting fast and ferocious in “THE LAST STAND”.

Now, move over, ARNOLD.

 Tagging behind is SYLVESTER STALLONE who will not be second best.

He is now blasting  the giant screen with a fistful of bullets in “BULLET TO THE HEAD” to herald his majestic presence.

 STALLONE plays JAMES BONOMO, a craggy underworld hitman on a vengeance trek to avenge the murder of his partner.

 Dour faced American Asian actor SUNG KANG takes on the role of a straight-edged law officer TAYLOR KWON, who’s in town to uncover the killing of his ex-aide and acts as if the whole world is at his disposal.

 The two guys without the faintest display of chemistry, meet, argue and finally collaborate as an unlikely team who will stop at nothing to tear apart the vile network of criminals (crooked cops) that obstructs their path.

 “BULLET TO THE HEAD” is a STALLONE film crafted for him, with some funny liners and pulse pounding actions. Excuse me.

 Stallone may be aesthetically complex but his compelling on-screen presence will draw you in.

From the tagline “REVENGE NEVER GETS OLD”, we know this film is not going to be big on originality.

In this formulaic buddy-movie “BULLET TO THE HEAD”, 66-year-old Sylvester Stallone plays up his old-school credentials, but we can observe that he is no longer young and springy. His drawl gets a tad slower and his moves stiffer.

It does not matter.

This movie exists solely to prove that the 66-year-old hunk can still kick ass. If not, the clever post production enhancements can make him look as if he can.

Watch him as he fights tooth-and-nail with his fists as with guns and knives, and, in the finale, axes.

Three cheers, STALLONE.

This one is definitely for fans and baby boomers.

You might also like: