TVB DRAMA SERIES - WAR OF IN-LAWS II
The War Of In-Laws is back with its 2nd instalment. The 1st instalment was a smash hit in 2006. BOSCO WONG and MYOLIE WU were the much-adored on-screen couple plus the monster in-law LIZA WANG, they're back in this 2nd instalment where it is modern era, with a little tinge of Ugly Betty & Devil Wears Prada elements.
MOOVIE REVIEW - CLOVERFIELD (English)
Category - Action, Adventure, Science-Fiction / Starring Michael Stahl-David, Lizzy Caplan, T.J. Miller, Mike Vogel
OK, let me firstly say here, for those who go nauseous easily, DO NOT go watch this movie!! Cinemas are putting warning signs at the entrances, cautioning people about the movie possibly making viewers dizzy. And to me even if you do not feel dizzy in the cinema, you will not enjoy being in that state throughout the movie. The story is told from the point of view of the main characters' video camera, similar approach adopted in Blairwitch Project. So be prepared for a lot of swinging from left-to-right angles and shaky, sudden movements in the scenes.
Synopsis, few New Yorkers throw a going-away party for their friend one night and their fun-time was disrupted when a monster attacks upon the city. The film is a document of their attempt to survive the most surreal, horrifying event of their lives.
The suspense does build up initially when you see their party gets disrupted, seeing all New Yorkers go desperate not knowing what hit their city. But after you get passed that and also the fact that the story is more surreal supposedly coming from a video camera, you realize basically that is all the movie has to offer (besides a dizzy head LOL). So the 2nd half of the movie I felt slightly bored and was eager to see the ending. After all, everyone was getting uncomfortable feeling nauseous at that point! But I have to say the acting was not too bad.
Rating: C-
To watch the trailer CLICK HERE
SNEAK PEAK - JANET JACKSON'S FORTHCOMING ALBUM
Guess what people, dear old Janet is about to make a come-back with her 10th studio album Discipline, scheduled to be released on the 26 Jan 2008. Hmm...not a very flattering picture of Janet on the cover isn't it! However I would say she looks OK in her new music video for her 1st single Feedback. Song wise, not bad, catchy tune, sounding a little bit like BRITNEY SPEARS' Gimme More. Video wise, Janet's still got her moves and style. Jackson has been working with producers such as Rodney Jerkins (who produced the lead single with producer D'Mile), Polow da Don, Pharell, Jazze Pha and Johnta Austin. The album was executive produced by Island Def Jam chairman L.A. Reid and Janet herself. I do hope this album will finally give her a real comeback, as I've lost hope with her from her latest few albums :-( We shall just have to wait & see...
ANUGERAH JUARA LAGU KE-22
Anugerah Juara Lagu for 2007 was held last Sunday 27 Jan 2008. Results were pretty good to me. New Local band ESTRANGED won the overall award for their song Itu Kamu. To me it was a good song, and it's refreshing for local bands to be able to self-compose & perform this genre of songs, and not have us relying on only bands from Indonesia for that. Kudos!
Another worth mentioning award was Best Vocals (Vokal Terbaik), taken by JACLYN VICTOR and LAH RUFFEDGE. Their rendition of Ceritera Cinta was superb. Thanks to LAH's injecting of a more R&B and interesting vocal arrangements, the song was better than the original version. Well-deserved win.
One major disappointment for me that night was MAWI winning the Best Performance category (Persembahan Terbaik), what a let-down. His performance for Angan & Sedar was pale & old-fahion, not to mention inserting a cheap gimmick of magic tricks in between (OMG). Then again this category of 50% based on public voting via SMS, what to do! I'm not an anti-MAWI, but that definitely was not an award-winning performance. A more deserving artist to win this award was DATO SITI NURHALIZA, who gave her best with DESTINASI CINTA. Although it wasn't that strong a song to be contending that night, she proved herself again to be the more consistent and seasoned artist on stage with her interesting performance for the Pop/Rock category, with exciting choreography and a grand opening during the beginning of the song.
FAISAL TAHIR's absense (disqualified after his 'shirt-off' act) wasn't felt too much, as one of his songs Kasih Tercipta was performed well by BOB AF. Very good vocals, better than FAISAL himself when performing live.
ARTIST - LEONA LEWIS : NOT BAD FOR A NEW ARTIST
LEONA LEWIS is the winner of the talent show The X Factor (3rd series), released her debut album Spirit in Nov 2007. Just got her album, and I have to say, quite impressive. Good vocals (a blend of CHRISTINA AGUILERA & MARIAH CAREY), apparently she's able to reach the 'whistle register', however wasn't used in the songs in Spirit. Her 2nd single BLEEDING LOVE was a huge hit, and I loved it! Fresh & bold, the song gave her a 2nd number 1 single in the UK charts.
Rating : B+
To visit her official website CLICK HERE
To listen to songs from her album CLICK HERE
MOOVIE REVIEW - EASTERN PROMISES (English)
Category - Drama, Thriller, Gangster / Starring Viggo Mortensen, Naomi Watts, Vincent Cassel, Armin Mueller-Stahl
The theme of this movie is being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Naomi Watts is a midwife who meets a strange teenager who dies after giving birth to a baby, leaving the baby homeless, and a mysterious diary written in Russian. Passionate to help the baby trace her lineage and family, Naomi finds herself in danger when she is caught in the middle of a notorious organized crime family of Eastern European origin.
I liked this movie, particularly because it was a well-plotted drama, rather than a overly-boasted-testosterone concept which many of the gangster movies will tend to have. Viggo Mortensen stole the limelight throughout this movie, loved his acting. He is proving himself to be a good actor with his recent movies lately, besides just being the much-loved heroic Aragorn in Lord Of The Rings. And for those ladies who like him, there's quite a bit of daring nudity of Viggo in this movie ;-)
Rating : B
To watch trailer CLICK HERE
MOOVIE REVIEW - MAD MONEY (English)
Category - Comedy, Drama / Starring Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah, Katie Holmes
This is a relaxing movie to watch, simple (for those who prefer to switch off their brains in cinemas), yet with some excitement and laughter. As usual I am a Diane Keaton fan, she delivers her character well in being the master-mind in plotting the scheme to steal money off the US federal bank. 3 ordinary women, with ordinary troubles in life, all needed the cash, and all had one thing in common, they worked in different jobs in the bank which allows them to team up and get away with millions of dollars tax-free (and pretty easy)! Katie Holmes is funny in dis movie, acting in a slightly different role dis time, as the free spirited bimbo living with her even-more-bimbo boyfriend in a caravan. Not to be missed if you're a fan of these 3 actresses
Rating : B-
To watch trailer CLICK HERE