The Great Magician

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Famous actors, catchy tagline, got nothing better to do, OK...lets see this movie...without first knowing what kind of movie it is, and so with no expectations other than to be entertained.

Starring Lau Ching Wan, Tony Leung Chiu Wai and Zhao Xun, with the theme set around old China of perhaps in the 18th century weaved with a speck of magic and optical illusion, The Great Magician seems to be promising a great story....but, after watching it, for me it's just a light fantasy movie good for releasing stress. So, it's a fantasy movie, don't take it seriously.

Chang Hsien (Tony Leung) is a scholar turned magician (or conjurer) who comes back to China after being abroad for so many years, training in the arts of magic. He returns to set free his old mentor and his mentor's daughter, Yin (Zhou Xun) who is supposedly to be his wife if he didn't go abroad. However both are in the clutches of an 'evil' warlord, General Lei (Lau Ching Wan). The mentor is a prisoner in Lei's castle while Yin has become Lei's 7th wife. Chang Hsien accommodates a run down theater house and turn it into a new and attractive magic show place with his team, while setting the baits to get the general, which scheme is also involving Japanese spies who's all bent to get the general too.

'Evil' warlord as he is, General Lei is also such a sensitive and kindhearted guy when he is around children and especially when he is around Yin, who he tries so much to capture her heart and make her fall for him (but unsuccessful to this day). So much for 'evil' right? Still cares for a woman's feelings. However, Yin, having no love for the general she is forced to marry but stand it anyway for the sake of finding her father's fate and his whereabouts, she managed to somehow 'control' the general from touching her. The general seems to care for her the most while managing his other six wives.

However, General Lei might not be all evil as most of the 'evil' works are done by his right hand man, who is actually the one who holds the mentor in captivity. His motives, other than politically-motivated, also involves finding the scripture of 7 magical wonders. We will find out soon who is the real Japanese spy in question, and who's actually the one who wants to topple General Lei so much. 

For, Chang Hsien, General Lei and Yin, the relationship of these three characters somewhat changes from the earlier part to the end of the movie, when things didn't go exactly as planned and when each character gets to know each other more. And the ending? Darn! This movie is all about fun and good laughs. So don't expect to be awed so much. However, it's still enjoyable with good acting and great CGI. Fun!

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

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Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows...hmmm, what can I say about this movie. I am familiar with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's beloved detective, having read quite a number of his Sherlock Holmes stories and enjoy them so much. I haven't seen the first Sherlock Holmes movie in 2009, being a little doubtful about whether it's a direct adaptation from the books or non-related at all (I'm talking about the ones Guy Ritchie directed, played by Robert Downey Jr.). However, I've come to terms with it, so direct adaptation or not, I'll watch it anyway.

True, the characters, the settings, the base of the story has its grounds on the actual series of books but the storyline itself is stand-alone and independent from the previous movie or any of Sherlock Holmes' stories. It's action-packed, smart and funny (on Holmes' eccentricity). In this one, Holmes and Watson face Prof. Moriarty, an evil professor in his attempt to take monetary advantages through the instigation of a world war.

For me, I like the cinematography and The Matrix-like slow-mo (forgive my lack of movie-technical knowledge) in certain parts of the movie. One of the slow-mo scene enhances the portrayal of Holmes' sensitive observation and another scene that I enjoyed was when Holmes and Moriarty is fighting on a balcony, referring their every moves to chess game and then Holmes make a mental analysis on how the fight would end up by considering his disadvantages (due to his injury) and his adversary's strength. I think it's brilliant.

Although Guy Ritchie's version of Holmes in his movie is a man of action and perhaps, adorably crazy compared to the cool, reserved, action-is-saved-for-the-last literature personality, the movie is endearing to watch, and so, I wish to see the previous movie as well. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows? Enjoyed.    

Note: This review lacks so much of worthy description due to the fact (from my point of view) that Sherlock Holmes has a very deep and complex character and personality and this movie version of him is somewhat straddling between his well-known traits and the foreign nature. Please feel free to read this other review, as I totally agree with the writer and he wrote it so well. Enjoy.

the green connection

Venue: The Green Connection, KM2 off Jalan Tuaran, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

Date of visit: 16 January 2012.

While surfing the internet for attractive places to go and spend some free time while doing my errands in KK, I came across some information about this place, The Green Connection. Located not far from the main city center of KK (10-15 minutes drive), it is, as I understand, a conservation and educational center about rain forest and its inhabitants, particularly marine life in Sabah. Visitors can enjoy the aquariums and tanks filled with unique marine life designed to imitate the real condition down there so the visitors can see them as they would be in their original home.

And so, with curiosity, I went there by taxi (from the city center, it would take around RM10-15). If by bus, take the bus heading to Tuaran and get off at Km2 off Jalan Tuaran, near the Wisma Wanita building. Then walk a little further in (8-10 minutes) to reach the place. The entrance fee is RM15 for adult MyKad holders. You can search the internet for more information about the rates and the place itself.

now i know the difference between a turtle, tortoise and terrapin

life in the green connection

Reaching there, I felt a little bit dismayed by the condition of the place. Supposedly this place is quite new as I understand it was opened in 2010. However, it looked a little bit unkempt and not well managed. The water inside the aquarium was so dark green that I couldn't see the fishes inside well unless they swam close to the visitor's side of the aquarium (or is it meant to be like that to represent the real condition under the Borneo rivers?). However, I tried to search for past reviews about this place in other blogs and when I compared their photos with what I had seen, I was assured that the past condition of the tanks were much better than what I had seen during my visit. Some of the enclosures were also empty without any animals inside. Some tanks are in renovation or upgrading phase, so keep your fingers crossed for something interesting to come up later, I hope.

the tank water behind is as dark as the night

information boards

There are nice information boards about rain forest and animal conservation which I considered very informative and educational. However, there are not enough information being put near some aquariums and it left me still uninformed about the marine life that are inside there.

However, there's still something good and enjoyable there. I enjoyed my experience holding a 4-year-old female python. It was my first time, the python is a tame one and perhaps being handled by the staff there everyday.

me and ms. python

I also enjoyed the open tanks of starfish and 'belangkas' (horseshoe crab). I could feel and touched the starfish and 'belangkas' while the staff there briefed me a little bit of information about them. It is said that the horseshoe crab is perhaps one of the animal with the least evolution process since the dinosaur era.

the first time i saw inside a horseshoe crab

the activity room

The highlight of the visit was probably the feeding show at about 11.30am. There's a massive tank with fishes, turtles, stingrays, sharks and the current attraction, the guitar shark (ikan jerung pari, as the locals call it). It is said that there were stories about the shark that was evolving to become a stingray but it wasn't complete so there are still features of both the shark and the stingray in one body.

the guitar shark

So, in the show, a diver dived in the tank to feed all marine life inside there. It's interesting to see everybody swam around the diver, rushing and scrambling for food. And the diver affectionately patted them after feeding them. The center is currently running a campaign to reduce the demand for shark's fin for consumption. There's a big banner about it there and the staff there briefed about it as well.

feeding show twice per day

And so that wraps up my post about The Green Connection. This place is supposed to be a very cool educational center, however it really need to be revived and add more crowd-pulling attractions. With novel objectives, this center should be the place to educate the people mainly the younger generation about the importance of protecting our rain forest and the life flourishing in it.

stick notes on the board of life...

all of my past postings, i've been in places where i am in the same place with my boss. but the current post i am in, my boss is more than 500 km away from me. i cannot see him on my whim, i cannot see if he's occupied or away or if he's in a good mood or not. i can only call or e-mail. perhaps there's only a few opportunities when we can meet, and that's the chance to have an eye to eye talk. it's a good thing to see your superior once in a while, provided you have a good superior with ample leadership qualities. sometimes you need motivation to keep on doing your work, and from him you can get that motivation. sometimes you need advice, and from him you can get the advice. and i like it better, to have a private conversation.

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earlier in a person's life, age is a benchmark for achievements. the first 5 years in your life is perhaps the period where your parents keep tabs on you the most, as when you could start focus with your eyes, respond to sound and gestures, roll on your tummy, crawl, sit, walk, run and talk. the next 5 years your parents then expect you to grasp the basic learning abilities of read, spell and count. and after that, they will bother you with academic achievements, right up until your early adulthood and when and where you will land on your first career. and then you go on towards your personal achievements.

perhaps you've achieved everything you want to achieve. perhaps you've also left out something undone. perhaps you're not successful in a certain thing.

then the age stops being your mark for achievements. it becomes the gauge of your preparations towards The End.

sunset at tg. aru...

Tanjung Aru...about 15 minutes away from the city center of Kota Kinabalu, Sabah...might not be a white sandy beach, but it sure is popular. I spent the time watching the sun sets here, at this beach today (15th January). Arrived around 5.30pm and there's lots of people, at the main 'lepaking' area where there are bars, stalls and restaurants, and also along the beach, for the whole stretch that I could see with my eyes.

mari, mari kak....jagung, jagung manis!

At the stalls you can find many sellers with their sweet corns, peanuts, pickled fruits, sugar cane drinks and lots of other tidbits.

part of the park near the beach

Nearby the beach, there's a park with playgrounds, gazebos and many people picnicking there when I walked through the park.

a mini show by sabah ukulele group

As I walked along the nicely paved 'anjung', I came across a group of youth, probably college students, performing several easy going songs, with their ukuleles. It seems that they are members of the Sabah Ukulele Group, and they belted out current, popular songs (I knew the songs are popular and current but unfortunately I didn't remember any of the title.. :) ), there were bikers hanging around, a group of young bboys practicing their dance moves, and lots of people walking around and hanging out.

That's on the pavement only, on the beach itself, there's a lot more to see....well, the people of course, other than the beach.

Off with the socks and shoes, walking barefoot on the soft sand, feeling the rush of the waves caressing my feet, enjoying the sound of the waves and the softness of the evening breeze. The vast sky is of blue and white with streaks of bright yellow turning orange and red as the sun sets. I enjoyed not just the walk and the view, but also the other visitors.

Visitors, locals or foreign tourists, doing all that you normally do on the beach. Sand-bathing, snapping photos with that popular 'flying' or 'jumping' pose, jogging, playing beach ball, wedding photo sessions or just enjoy the ocean waters. Families, couples, naked ...er..children, and gays...(well, a pair of guys walking while talking sweetly and holding each others hands, fingers crossing...very unmistakable i think), a group of senior citizens and a lone ranger like me, all part of the growing number of visitors as the evening said hello.

There's a large area for eating with many food stalls offering delicious and tantalizing food, perhaps seafood is what you should be looking forward the most. I didn't stay for dinner, but I had it packed, just a simple seafood fried rice, but a marvelous one. I finished it all although I wasn't really hungry.

Pantai Tanjung Aru is surely popular and nice to spend time here for relaxing, chillaxing or lepaking...whatever you want to do.

To Cut A Long Story Short by Jeffrey Archer

Alhamdulillah....last year I managed to write 15 book reviews, although I've enjoyed more than 15 books. Anyway, at least I can say that I've read not less than 15 books on 2011, right? Still, it's such a small number. So, one of my 2012 wishes is to read and review a minimum of 24 books, that means an average of 2 books per month, and write about it here, InsyaAllah. Let's say that this blog also serves as my report card, savvy?

So, the numero uno book for this year is a collection of short stories written by Jeffrey Archer. This is the second short stories compilation from Mr. Archer that I've read. The first one is in here. 

Title : To Cut A Long Story Short

Author : Jeffrey Archer

Publisher : Harper Collins, 2001 (Paperback Edition)

Pages : 419

Genre : Short story

Bought at : Book Xcess, Amcorp Mall, PJ

Price : ..opps, forgot...but definitely not more than RM20

There are 14 original selected short stories in this edition, 9 of it are based on true incidents and 1 is a translation from an Arabic story (somehow I think I've read this one before but dunno when and where...). I enjoyed all of them but my best choice would be ..... er....almost all! Haha. Well, the ones that I fully enjoy reading are as follows....

The Endgame, an honourable mission brilliantly executed by a rich man and his lawyer to know which of his family member deserves a good place in his will; Chalk and Cheese, the tale of 2 brothers who each have a different start in life and end theirs in the opposite ways; Both Sides Against The Middle, about a cunning con man making use of the land and law to get away from being caught but finally lost; and finally The Grass Is Always Greener, an interesting chain of stories about one's perspective about the others and how they always think that the other person is luckier than him and so on and on.

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There's also the story that moved me such as A Change of Heart, about a white South African who's into apartheid but has a change of heart after an accident; the story that made me cry hate to gold digger men in Too Many Coincidences; terrorized and chuckled at the same time with Something for Nothing; and lauded a diplomat's daring effort to provide for the people by using all resources he could find in Other Blighter's Efforts.

An interesting collection, this one. A truly enjoyable one. Smart and brilliantly written, catching the reader's interest all the time by the wonderful story-telling, regardless of the theme whether it's a court drama, crime story, love affair, family drama etc. and etc. Love it!

adapter hidup

i have a powerful adapter.

it is me.

i AM the adapter.

well, don't we all? we are the live adapter, the most efficient one, no need to be SIRIM certified. coz we're  already certified by The Creator when we were born.

life is full of changes. life is mobile. life is a network of a gazillion things. and in life, there's us.

kita sentiasa menyesuaikan diri dalam persekitaran kita yang selalu berubah. biar lambat atau cepat, kita tetap akan menyesuaikan diri. kita mungkin akan blur blur dulu (seperti saya), atau mengambil masa yang agak lama untuk rasa selesa (seperti saya), namun kita tidak mengalami masalah besar. sesetengah orang dikurniakan personaliti yang cukup indah, meriah dan mesra. orang-orang seperti ini boleh ngam dalam sedetik cuma, bukan sedetik lebih. sesetengah orang seperti saya mengambil masa untuk mencari titik penyesuaian itu.

i have been at ease with my personal life here. i have acquired the freedom i've been wishing before. however, i'm still finding peace with my working life. i am slacking in many places. i am enduring a 180° of change, with little idea of innovation when all i could think of is survival. talking about work is like trying to put a value to my self-worth.

adaptability? no problem.
development? need to work it out.

love need no rhyme...

I don't need a Gucci or Prada handbag,

just one or two that can be multipurpose.

I don't need a mountain of shoes,

just enough pairs for all occasions.

I don't need a wardrobe full of clothes,

just enough that fits my personality.

I don't need so many jewelries,

just a wedding ring, full of meaning.

I don't need a big mansion,

just as long as it can keep our family safe.

I don't need expensive furniture,

just nice and sweet, not forgetting durable.

I don't need a big box of cosmetics,

just enough to make me look pretty to you.

I don't need a luxurious car,

just as long as it can safely take me from A to B.

I don't need a charming prince, a powerful ruler, a famous actor or a soccer player,

as long as I have you, who fill my heart with happiness.

I don't need anymore wishes,

other than that one wish....to be with you, forever.

I don't need to hear a lot of promises,

other than 'I love you' and 'Will you be mine?'

the dreamer©2012