“NO STRINGS ATTACHED” Movie Review. SEX BUDDIES first, LIFELONG SWEETHEARTS follows.

“NO STRINGS ATTACHED” PRESS PREVIEW

So you are aghast at the subject of premarital sex?

Then skip this movie.

Because “NO STRINGS ATTACHED” is happily dedicated to frolicking “fuck buddies”.

It’s a joyous celebration of the promiscuous sex.

Tell your mum and watch her blush and frown.

The advertising slogan has already warned us that “FRIENDSHIP HAS ITS BENEFITS.”

The benefits are all relating to SEX.

This bold, romantic film takes a swipe at premarital coitus, proclaiming that casual sex is fine among bosom buddies.

If you are one “no-commitment” freak and swear by the condom, why not?

You have nothing to lose and SEX should then be no big deal.

‘Tis the digital age, modern times, where sex is here to stay.

The juicy plot:

ADAM (ASHTON KUTCHER) encountered EMMA (NATALIE PORTMAN) when they were adolescents at a summer camp. Reacquainted years later, they developed a new-found friendship.

ADAM, an assistant on a Glee-style TV series and the son of a 1980s sitcom star (KEVIN KLINE) is a good natured type of dandy smitten with EMMA, who is currently a doctor and by her own admission, allergic to serious relationships.

They end up as “sex buddies” swearing off any commitment. No courtship, no jealousies, both free to date anybody they fancy along the way.

Or is it really so?

Sex is a soulmate union uniting the body, soul and spirit.

Sex is performed naked and when this act is prolonged, heart palpitations and emotions are bound to develop during the intimacy.

Slowly, but surely.

As in this case, the inevitable happens and throws the whole arrangement into disarray.

The two fall head over heels in love.

And the trouble-go-round starts.

ADAM has always been attracted to EMMA and when he finally utters the “three-little-words”, she bolts for dear life.

In the acting department, PORTMAN has the right blend of brittle and charm.

KUTCHER on the other hand acts like a dejected pup whose breeziness does not disguise his vulnerability. He’s for real – because he does have feelings and he refuses to hide it when they take control.

Both are eye candies, sharing a sizzling hot chemistry onscreen.

The movie is filled with indelibly cute moments and fun dialogue that is hilariously raunchy.

PORTMAN displays her versatility in this romantic comedy. KUTCHER uses his physicality to generate laughs.

“NO STRINGS ATTACHED” takes you on a sexual romp, out from the bedroom onto the giant screen.

Directed by IVAN REITMAN, it’s a sweet treat for the modern mind.

“127 HOURS” Movie Review. If YOU get TRAPPED in the CHASM of your OWN doing NEVER say DIE.

“127 HOURS” PRESS PREVIEW

There’s this CHINESE adage that preaches, “In LIFE, when you hit rock bottom, all you need to do is to fight your way UP.”

Yeah, right.

That is, provided you DON’T EVER SAY DIE.

“DIE” is one improbable word. It exclaims “defeat”.

Here’s an inspiring true-life parable about an aloof, crazy guy who loves sports and adventure as he sets out on a journey to the rockies, on his mountain bike.

The wide expanse of freedom and nature greet him.

He just needs to be away from civilization for a while. He is leaving no words. Nope, he’s not calling his mother either.

Our hero discovers that he is a human being capable of a superhuman feat of endurance when he is thrown into a death-defying situation.

That is, when he finds that he is ambling inches away from this thing called “death”.

He is an avid mountain climber ARON RALSTON, who made headlines in 2003 when he became trapped in the Blue John Canyon in Utah, his arm pinned by a heavy boulder.

After five days alone, all hopes dashed and strength seeping away, RALSTON elected to amputate his trapped arm with a pen knife in the hope he could run for help, before losing too much blood.

Sitting in your armchair, would you ever understand what’s it is like to be alone and fearful, trapped within the harrowing depths of despair?

“127 Hours” directed by DANNY BOYLE is not a morale booster summoning your inner strength, nor it is a horrific tale – but one about a common man,in his throes of despair mustering his courage to re-examine the circumstances that led to his predicament.

Does this not strike a familiar chord in us that we are all guilty of the same trait?

When thrown into the deepest of depths, a regretful RALSTON has all the time in his hands to re-run the journey of his life at the back of his mind …. his dreams, parental love, a dwindling relationship and his cockiness.

It’s a compulsory playback where you are forced to re-assess what you have achieved so far, and what you’d have missed if you had perished in a mishap.

We gather a stark morale here that demonstrates to us never to take our lives for granted when we are still breathing.

Because in life, not everyone has a second chance.

Writer SHARNAE GREEN writes:

“I cry in courage.

It’s the only way to release pain using bravery and strength.

My courage despises my weaknesses.

Courage causes my muscles to tense up in my thighs

and pump my legs to push in front of each other,

causing motion and strength to walk.

Courage is power, strength, dedication and this smile that hides my pain.”

“127 HOURS” is a bravura piece of film-making that captures the resilience of the human spirit. It is taut, gripping, a movie you’ll never forget with a mesmerizing performance by JAMES FRANCO as ARON RALSTON.

Metaphorically speaking, in LIFE, when you are mentally trapped in the abyss of your own thinking, never self-destruct, never say die. Never ever.

When you fall, pick yourself up.

Pep up your courage, because in life, everyone’s too busy fending for himself.

Please don’t dream of conquering Mount Everest, nor scale any highest mountain after this.

“127 HOURS” is a visual tour-de-force.

British Director-of-Photography ANTHONY DOD MANTLE does a splendid job in conveying poetic justice when he has his camera closes on the bewilderment on actor JAMES FRANCO’s face when he first learns that he’s trapped by his own folly.

Then as the camera pans across the sprawling expanse of lonely mountains, we hear his resounding cries of anguish, first rising to a crescendo then slowly fading away, when the camera draws back – as if the shot is taken from a helicopter.

It’s this real.

“127 HOURS” inadvertently admonishes us to think, every time – before we take any calculated risk.

Avoid being a smart Alec and to steer away from this thing called DANGER.

Because being a community hero sometimes may not justify any rewards at the end of the day.

Sigh.

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR 2011. See, the RABBITS are bouncing MERRILY in ushering abundant CHEERS.

What does this Chinese New Year has in store for us?

You may have long stepped out of the shoes of a gawky kid,

but even as a professional adult,

there’s always something new to look forward to, each Chinese New Year.

You may live miles apart from your parents and siblings ….

But the once-a-year reunion dinners will bring everyone with tales to share, to the table.

To feast upon the spread of foods laid before you,

but MOSTLY to celebrate FAMILINESS.

Foods spell “abundance” to the Chinese and families connote joy.

We’ll laugh, rejoice and learn from the failure and success stories.

It’s great having this feeling that the family will always believe in you and root for you,

irrespective of sunshine or rain, the family will make you feel “protected”.

Families are just into you, like a part of you and you can’t exist without them

Do you get this warm, tingling feeling?

This is what every kid say:

“The time has come for us to celebrate the Lunar New Year
in a very special way,

Because the Chinese all over the World will unite -

with fireworks and paper dragons

colored red and gold.

We are ushering in a brand New Year ….

by chasing away the old.”

KUNG HEI FAT CHOI to all my online friends in this New Year of the RABBIT!

The CHINESE Year of the RABBIT scampers in. REFRESH your LIFE in 2011.

LIFE is not easy.

Right?

LIFE IS A MELODY?

I wish.

LIFE cannot be perfect,

and certainly cannot be one sweet song you can sing all the time.

Yeah, we’re bound to hit jerky grounds, now and then.

This thing called LIFE …..

There’ll be the jolly good times, the emotional bad times, the really sad times and the wondrous happy times, reflecting on the emotional highs and lows and everything in between.

And as troublesome human beings we will escalate up and down like yo-yos, (where’s the safety net?)

and forced to roller-coast round treacherous bends (help!) with this fiery element labeled “doldrums”.

Maybe we’ll arrive at a safe sanctuary,

But that’s only if we “will” ourselves to do so.

Maybe not, if we are relentlessly stubborn.

Clearly, our fate in our own hands.

Every situation is made worse if we just sit and worry,.

Worry will never resolve anything.

Worry never prevents anything.

Worry never heals anything.

Worry serves only one purpose.

It makes matters worse.

DALE CARNEGIE said before:

“Do you remember the things you were worrying about a year ago?

How did they work out?

Didn’t you waste a lot of fruitless energy on account of most of them?

Didn’t most of them turn out all right after all?”

ERIC BUTTERWORTH – American legend and spiritual icon in the Unity Movements - sums it best when he says:

“Don’t GO through life, GROW through life.”

I wish I can adopt these disciplines.

It’s one thing to read and get inspired during that one split second,

Because everything, repeat, everything is easier said than done.

Trust me.

Again I think.

Therefore I am.

REFRESH your LIFE in 2011.

You EITHER make it. Or you crush it.

This is the first day of the CHINESE Year of the RABBIT.

Here’s an original song with beautiful, thoughtful lyrics.

Check this out.

Remember, every day can be a great day, if you will it to be!

“I LOVE HONG KONG” 2011《我愛香港 開心萬歲》Movie Review. All KINDS of EVERYTHING remind ME of CASH $$$.

“I LOVE HONG KONG” 2011《我愛香港 開心萬歲》

PRESS PREVIEW.

I'd definitely liken THIS movie to a fun gadget you called the party popper.

You tug at the attached string …. and the entire contents zoom upwards.

Next, you witness an assortment of colorful confetti flakes as they “explode” in mid air, sprinkling into a wonderment of rainbow colors.

Glorious sight to behold, yah.

It’s this metaphor, where an arresting cast ensemble of a myriad of Hong Kong TVB stars come together to rejoice in the Lunar New Year blitz, announcing the advent of a new spring, inviting you to patronize the film.

The TVB artistes are the colorful ”confetti” flakes, lending credence to an otherwise slow-moving plot.

HOPE IS IN THE AIR?

I wonder.

The YEAR of the RABBIT is already scampering around, “knocking” at your door, hoping to be let in.

This Hong Kong feel-good comedic spoof is dedicated to family, neighbor and buddy love, telling us that where there’s love – then there’s always hope.

Hopefully after viewing “I LOVE HONG KONG” we'll earn more cash in the coming new year.

This is the theme of “I LOVE HONG KONG”, viva l’amore.

Let’s get back to the film.

Kind of a let-down, I think.

More fluff than buff, I contend.

Why is the director CHUNG SHU KAI not ensuring a flow of consistency in this movie?

Editing is choppy and the goofy acting clearly lacks conviction.

Plus, there’s hardly any room for character development of the leads.

This feature reeks of a rushed project. Every artiste is elbowing in and dashing out, as soon as you see them, they are gone the very next second.

When you have a big station like TVB as the financier, and they naturally use their own legion of television stars.

And most of them get only a teeny fraction of screen time for the Chinese New Year’s offering, appearing as “rabbits” and then scampering away.

Independent actors TONY LEUNG KA-FAI, SANDRA NG and ANITA YUEN are roped in to “beef up” the TVB cast.

The story?

TONY and SANDRA play a married couple with a few teenage kids, notably AARIF LEE.

Used to be rich, they now are back to being poor when the family man’s business hits a bad patch.

They move in with his father in a crowded housing estate, and reminisce about the past, where ERIC TSANG the scoundrel absconded with some charity funds years back.

After more than a decade, ERIC TSANG returns and the confusion-go-round starts.

“I LOVE HONG KONG” is not everybody’s cup of tea.

You either love it or you don’t.

Just as SINGAPORE has her own brand of comedies, so has MALAYSIA.

This is a HONG KONG offering of a CHINESE NEW YEAR slapstick.

The Hongkongers must love this kind of stuff, otherwise it wouldn’t be made in the first place.

Reality is big-time in HONG KONG.

No money, no talk, eh.

I love HONG KONG, but I love CASH better.

Now, this is happening in EVERY metropolitan city.

I won’t beg to differ on this one.