Review: Kung Fu Panda

The first time I heard that Jack Black is working on a kiddie movie, I laughed. And after watching that kiddie movie, I was still laughing. Not at it, but with it. And that movie was called ‘The School of Rock’. This movie totally shifted my perception of Jack Black from a narrow and tenacious comedian to a broader and multi-faceted one. And a more talented comedian with his tenacious reputation intact too, as in the case of ‘The School of Rock’, Jack Black did not lower himself to childish whims like Vin Diesel in ‘The Pacifier’, but he successfully turned the table and made the kid actors raise their energy levels to match his level of intensity. And it worked like a charm, and in my opinion ‘The School of Rock’ remains as of one of the greatest comedies ever to be produced in the modern era.

But then came ‘Kung Fu Panda’, and my immediate reaction? I think Jack Black has gone too blardy far. Jack Black as a cuddly panda learning the arts of kung-fu? Let’s not even start with the choice of a panda, I mean I think for Jack Black, a bear would have fitted him better. But I guess that’s another story (or cartoon), but the premise of someone (or some animal) learning kung-fu has been done to death, how could another attempt at this repetitive tale be anything fresh and innovative once again?

I was wrong. I will never doubt Jack Black ever again. I honestly have to say that after watching this hilariously zippy tale with a massive smile on my face, I will believe in Jack Black in whatever he does. Forever. ‘The School of Rock’ pulled the rug on me, and now ‘Kung Fu Panda’ did it again.

I will not go into details of the story, as I might spoil the enjoyment, but the premise of it is rather simple. It’s the evergreen tale of finding self-belief and overcoming the stigma of being over-sized. But what was amazing was definitely the way this over-common and rather predictable story was brought to life again in a way that was massively enjoyable.

The highly amusing banter between the characters, especially Jack Black (playing the role of Po the Panda) and Dustin Hoffman (Shifu, the…raccoon?) makes it a joy to watch. The chemistry between all the characters are done to near perfection, with the main characters delivering line after line of laughter intertwined with moments of total comical inspiration. My particular favorite is the training sessions between Shifu and Po. When Shifu realizes that Po does his best Kung Fu when he is being offered food as a reward, Shifu takes this to his advantage and trains him in the arts of Kung Fu in this approach. The outcome is comedic brilliance tainted with a bit of controversy in the best Jack Black way. I mean, think about it: I’m not sure how parents are going to feel about this idea of food as reward for good behavior….

“Throw out the rubbish son!!”

“Yes daddy!”

“OK! Good boy!” (throws a bag of chips to his kid)

*munch munch munch* ~~~Blurrpp~~~

As with so many animation movies currently being shoved into our attention every year, one would think that the animation style of ‘King Fu Panda’ would be no different from the rest. One can be wrong. In ‘Kung Fu Panda’, the kinetic energy can be felt so vibrantly as you watch it on screen. The fight sequences are alive with tenacious vigor that is akin to Jack Black’s style, and that truly gave this movie its life-force. The characters are comically created, with one look and anyone laugh at it (such as Shifu’s facial hair. The thickness of it and the way it curves around his face just cracks me up!). The set details, the costume design and the fighting styles of the main characters are all meticulously constructed, and it’s a joy to see them unfold on the big screen.

Being a kung-fu movie, I don’t think that anyone will need to be a kung-fu fan to enjoy this movie. Of course some soft of knowledge in old kung fu movies do help, as certain jokes in ‘Kung Fu Panda’ pokes hilarious fun at stereotypical aspects of kung-fu movies. And don’t be afraid to watch this movie filled with kids (as I know watching movies with kids can be a drag). Because believe me, if the movie is engaging and enjoyable, kids will simply sit back and enjoy it with little disturbances. And ‘Kung Fu Panda’ is this kind of movie. You will eventually howl with laughter at this movie, and long with the kids.

Definitely a zappy comedic cartoon that provides the kicks that is not to be missed.

Jack Black, I hail to your brilliance. *Kisses at his feet* ~Muaks muaks muaks~

Verdict: 8.5/10

Reviewed by: Raymond Choy

Riding the Wave of Petrol Price Increases

Labuan actually experienced a jam!!! And it’s on a non-holiday too!!! Shock!!! Horror!!! Terror!!! Why? Simply because the dwellers of Labuan Island were scrambling their cars to the petrol kiosks for re-fills. A rise of 0.78 cents or 40 % from RM 1.92 a liter for petrol is a MASSIVE increase (especially when the previous price hikes were only at the maximum of 30 cents). Well, I can’t say it was a surprise as around the world petrol prices were shooting up faster than New Year’s fireworks, and Malaysian petrol prices were kept at the region of RM 1.92 a liter for most of the time due to the infamous petrol subsidies. But as the government kept crying like a baby that they can’t take it no more with the subsidies (the Treasury claims that it had cost the government RM 45 billion alone this year), the price hike was bound to happen. It was only a matter of when, and by how much.

But things could get a lot worse. The word from our Government is that they intend to bring fuel prices in-line with global market cost. Now you consider that the market price of crude oil is sky-rocketing daily to new levels of the stratosphere, a RM 0.78 cent increase is merely a tiny ripple on a global perspective. Crudely-speaking (pardon the pun), things could get A LOT worse. Remember that not too long ago that the Government were saying an increase would be in August this year? Well, it's not August yet and already an increase had occurred. My point being, in August, there could well be another increase if their alignment in global market cost of petrol is true. In the long-run, we could well be seeing another increase to RM 3 per liter of petrol...

The Government’s defense to the increase is obviously the global skyrocketing of oil prices, which is at most out of their control. But they also keep saying that prices of petrol are the cheapest in the Asian region. Indeed this is true. But, have the people realized that in most Asian countries, they do not need to pay toll for their use of highways? We Malaysian pay through our noses just to commute to our workstations on time, but realistically speaking, do we have any choice? Let’s not even start on our public transportation woes, or even our rapidly diminishing options of toll-free roads that is silently eradicated on the pretense of development. My point is, I’m not honestly against the petrol price hike, but at least provide us with some notion of an option not to utilize petrol. Car-pool? You and I know how badly that fared, and how inconvenient it was. Hybrid cars? A good and environmentally-friendly option, but the petrol price increase would effectively place it on the high-demand list, hence causing its price to increase wouldn’t it? Again, back to square one. The only feasible alternative I see is public transportation, but a massive overhaul is needed if it is truly to become a viable option to the mass public. We are light-years away from the efficiency and convenience of our Asian counter-parts like Singapore and Hong Kong. So in the meantime, what options do we have but to bite the bullet hard and ride the tidal wave of consequences from the petrol price hike. We got no choice, our balls are in their hands.

Yes, there will be consequences from this petrol price hike. As you might have guessed, once petrol increases, so does everything else. According to the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Shahrir Abdul Samad, national inflation rate will likely to hit 5 % from the after-shocks of this price increase. A brief search on the net showed that national inflation was only at 3 % (April 2008), which was a 15-month high. Forecasts for the year before the price hike announcement was only at 2.5 %, hence we could see a doubling effect on all initial price increases (i.e. a RM 0.10 cents increase before price hike could now be RM 0.20 cents).

We were riding on a wave of new rejuvenation for this country, such as the rally of the stock market early this year. But now, the engines of reinvigoration would probably stall and the momentum of growth will slow further. The Central Bank has cut our economic growth forecast from around 5 to 5.5 % this year from an initial 6.5 to 7 % forecast. Couple this with our recent political turn-around that will take its time to settle-in, we could yet be experiencing minimal growth for this year. So dear Malaysians, it’s high time to put on your saving caps because it’s going to rain HARD.

Interesting times indeed for us Malaysians, but more interestingly will be how well our Prime Minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi will face these challenges considering he is already at chest-deep in political turmoil and fighting for his survival. Even with their recent announcement of offering yearly cash rebates of up to RM 625 for owners of cars that is up to 2,000 cc in capacity that could just be seen as mere sweeteners, but the overall cause and effect for all Malaysians involved in this recent petrol price hike may just be too bitter to bare.

Review: Indiana Jones & The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

I never believed for one minute that I would see another Indiana Jones movie in my lifetime. Ever. I was a mere kid when the so-called last installment of ‘Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade’ burst into life on the cinema screen (and I was still in Ipoh, my hometown, when I saw it). I was amazed, bewildered, astonished, basically went kid-crazy over the adventures of Dr. Jones and his equally charismatic associates through-out the trilogy. Re-runs of all the Indy movies was a common staple during my childhood cinematic diet, along with other movies like ‘Star Wars’, ‘Back to the Future’ and ‘Robocop’. Yes, ‘Robocop’. Don’t argue with me. Anyway, I grew up on these movies and no matter how cheesy these movies may be to some other viewers, I love them for what they are and I would never ever hate them for whatever reason – they are my icons, and they are still icons to me now.

So when Steven Spielberg and gang announced that they are making Indy 4, I was of course thrilled. But my euphoria of excitement soon waned as leaks after leaks of its storyline streamed out from the internet, from the initial Frank Darabont draft to the now-utilized David Koepp draft burst my elevation bubble with a big pop. Photos of the movie taken illegally soon followed from the net stream, further squeezing out whatever excitement that is still left. Then the trailer was not as spectacular or as enchanting as I had imagined (it looked and felt more like another Nicholas Cage movie called National whats-its-name).

So why were all those unnecessary leaks and bad trailers affecting me so badly? Simply because movies like ‘E.T.’, ‘Back to the Future’ & ‘Jurassic Park’ for example worked so well with audiences, and with me in particular, is because of the simple fact that no one knew anything about it, no one knew what it was when it first came out – no one knew the T-Rex in ‘Jurassic Park’ was so jaw-droppingly terrifying and realistic that when the T-Rex initiated its first stomping attack on those helpless humans, the temperature in the cinema rose by 10 degrees. And I clearly remember seeing audiences going to the washroom with such regularity, it is an obvious sign that the movie had affected them, shocked their system and had genuinely elevated them to a higher state of euphoria.

And I revere the experience of seeing these movies for themselves, and not because of the massive hype some movies generate whereby everyone starts to jump onto the hype-wagon to watch a movie just for the sake of watching it. No, classics do not come in such marketable packages. Remember ‘Jurassic Park’ had minimal footage or photos of its dinosaurs on TV before it came out (Steven Spielberg kept the dinos very secretly under wraps) and had no internet clips such as the recent ‘Cloverfield’ propaganda-like marketing push. There was no other place to find out about it but only inside the darkened hall of a movie theater, and enjoy the movie the way the Director meant it to be enjoyed. It was just me and the cinema screen, with my imagination in between….

So I guess now, living in an age where hype and publicity are all too common, those days of pure cinematic enjoyment was over. And when my time had come to see Indy 4, my expectations were never the same as before and only at the level of ‘just another summer pop-corn movie’….
…and almost 3 hours later, there was a minimal shift in my paradigm: it’s an Indiana Jones movie. And I actually liked it.

I guess the surprise-factor and the purity of the cinema-going experience that I was talking about is still evident: I was shocked to see that they got it as right as they did. And the best of all, I was shocked to see Harrison Ford showed up. The REAL Harrison Ford I mean, the Han Solo-Harrison Ford, the Rick Deckard-Harrison Ford, and of course, the Indiana Jones-Harrison Ford. The pale shadow of Harrison Ford from ‘The Devil’s Own’, ‘Six Days Seven Nights’ and ‘Hollywood Homicide’ flops was far away, and what a relief it was. Indeed, Harrison Ford may be older and showed a bit of ‘grand-pa’ vibe at certain parts of the movie, but the critical matter is that you can see that Harrison Ford CARED for his character and was INSPIRED to perform to his best. And it is evident that his show of character provided the spread of virtuoso vibe to his co-stars to do just the same, charming and charismatic performance that captivated audiences in the previous installments.

Cate Blanchett pulled it off with a character that is one of the riskiest parts to play as the mind-reading Russian communist-cum-dominatrix with a twist ala ‘The Incredibles’s bad version of Edna Mode. The overhyped Shia LeBeouf was played with much chemistry and good-bonding between him and Harrison Ford, which was a relief to watch (although I find him too tame and with too limited a role). Ray Winstone delivered a performance that simply oozes all qualities that is required to personify a character that lacks all code of ethics, and Karen Allen, ah Karen Allen, she reprised her role as Marion and brought along with all that potent chemistry and magnetism with Harrison Ford from the first movie and to see that on screen again was simply electrifying. With her blinding smile shining at just the right moments in the movie, she would have easily stolen the show if Indy really had let her…if only.

As for the main man himself, Mr. Steven Spielberg, yes he has been making ghastly movies recently that do not fit his portfolio of greatness as his recent movies such as ‘The Terminal’, ‘War of the Worlds’ and ‘Munich’ were just passable in my book. Nowadays he do not even come close to the altar of greatness he had built with movies like ‘Jaws’, ‘Schdilier’s List’ & of course the original ‘Indiana Jones’. With Indy 4, I still think he has lived past his glory days and has yet to return to his former prominence. However, I must be fair that Indy 4 was crafted with clear hints of a few masterstrokes that are hallmarks of his movies, such as the way he builds on the excitement with every action sequence, piling on the obstacles and dangers as the action sequence unfolds. With Spielberg, all the action always seems to be a cacophony of craziness and pandemonia, but they are perfectly structured and are well planned out.

But the one thing that upset me most was how mild mannered this movie is considering how dark and gory the first movie, ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ was (remember the heart-tearing-from-chest scene at the end?). In Indy 4, things stay bloodless and brutality kept to a minimum, with feather-light tones reminiscent of the 3rd installment, ‘The Last Crusade’ instead of the other two darker chapters. If I have to segregate them, Indy 4 will sit very nicely just alongside ‘The Last Crusade’, but a few distances away from ‘The Temple of Doom’ but far away from ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’…

Cinematography wise, Janusz Kaminski does a fair job at keeping the distinctive look and feel of Doug Slocombe’s masterful camera work in the previous Indy movies. But a blemish to it all is the CGI. CGI exist in the Indy world only as a supporting factor, not as the central feature in the landscapes of Indiana Jones’ world. So when I saw so many CGI effects in this movie, it all felt a bit fake, unreal and unbelievable that the person on screen was indeed Indiana Jones. There was so much fake lighting, sugar-coated explosions and digital surroundings, it felt all too un-Indy-like. I’m not saying the CGI is of poor quality in this movie, no, far from it. They are the best that can be offered in the industry today, but somehow it did not fit in. It was like having Tom Cruise to play Indiana Jones. All the hallmarks of the Indy universe were shifted from their place, and now replaced (although partially, not completely) by digital wonders instead of practical marvels. Remember Indy’s perils of running while trying to climb onto a propeller plane to escape the attack by numerous baddies in the first movie? You can see and feel the danger in Indy’s eyes, but in Indy 4 it was all too surreal and all too well-staged, with CGI to the rescue. I was entertained, no doubts about it, but I rarely felt the same sense of real danger that was so evident and common-place in the previous installments. A lot of scenes were a patch-up job; another instance is when some scenes were too rough for even CGI to save, the distinctive Indy music score came into play at just the right moments to ignite moments of pure audio nostalgia, and whatever flaws were skipped and hastily moved along to the next scene. Call it strokes of directive genius or moments of plain shabbiness, it did not bode well for me and it’s a blemish that I will not easily forgive and will never forget.

All in all, I’m just glad that they did not screw it up as much as I had anticipated, which was a massive relief. Indy 4 has its issues and it will not be listed as a classic in my book, nor will it sit nicely side-by-side with true classics like ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ or ‘The Temple of Doom’. It did contain some moments of pure cinematic pleasure, fun and excitement. But for all its worth, this latest (I will never say last again. Ever. Hollywood has taught me that), Indy 4 is still a milestone in movie-dom that should be enjoyed not as a classic, but enjoyed as a celebration of everything is that fun, exiting, and over-the-top qualities that Hollywood reveres today.

Verdict: 8/10

Reviewed by: Raymond Choy

A Nice Mid-Air Greeting....

On board the flight back to Labuan, the routine hum-drum of passengers finding remaining available seats, air stewards giving their routine customary preaching on how to use the life safety jacket and crying children fill the air of what is now a common monthly practice for me, which is sitting in an 'AiriAsia' plane jetsetting across the oh-so-glamorous route of KL to Labuan.

Before taking-off, I’m already counting the mili-seconds to my (hopefully) safe landing in Labuan until a nice surprise paid me a welcoming visit to what was fast becoming a very routine and mundane air journey. As I was flipping through the on-board magazine called ‘Travel 3-Sixty’, I was greeted by a very familiar face with a mesmerizing smile and attached to it was her unmistakably distinctive black-rimmed glasses: it was Majidah Hashim, my secondary school mate and regular friend that lives near my area of residence!!! That a look!!! :


The article was about Burma, and I knew about her travels to that part of the world a few months ago (even before I went off to Labuan) and I know she is always contributing to travel magazines but it is just a very nice surprise to actually bump into one of her articles!! With nice photos (as usual) and with very informative compositions about her Burmese voyage, it was a very good read and it definitely had placed Burma into my psyche as a destination that I would visit at least some time during my living days. That said, may your contributions to world travel be more widely noticed as it was absolutely effective in fueling one’s urge to spread their wings and fly to worlds beyond one’s own.

I had a sudden thought to actually take the magazine home with me but a nice little note at the bottom right hand side of the magazine made me do otherwise:


Crap. I placed the magazine disappointedly back into my front seat pocket. Oh well, at least my disappointment was for a good cause, at least Majidah’s words and pictures can be read more widely now since this one copy is still in circulation among the flying and reading public of 'AirAsia'…Way to go Maj!!!

Second Homecoming: Part Three

Day 4 - Sunday

Thank God I was able to squeeze in this trip into my KL break. I was so looking forward to this trip coz I haven’t been to ‘Melaka’ for ages. I think it was 10 years ago since I stepped into ‘Jonker Street’. It finally happened and I had such a blast with that bunch of 7. Thank you all for organizing the trip!!! We went with 2 cars and of course, being the gentleman that I am (ahem) I drove SL's poor 'MyVi' all the way back and forth. Not only that, we drove around inside Melaka looking for yummy yummys and places to chill (it’s so cool that Melaka has so many chill-out spots!). Anyway, we went through the usual tourist route, i.e. ‘chicken ball rice’, shopping and chillin’ in ‘Jonker Street’, buying those biscuits, ‘A’Formosa’ sight-seeing, cooling down in ‘Mahkota Parade’ and had ‘Satay Celup’ for dinner. I guess I need to say a big THANK YOU to all (you know who) for organizing the trip and I had such a blast!!! Because pictures speak louder than words, here are some random pics I took out from my camera that day:

Day 5 - Monday

The day to leave KL had finally arrived and overall, I loved it. I seriously loved it. I still didn’t get to do many things (like going to ‘Maison’ for Derek’s b-day party. Sorry dude), but I had total enjoyment and relaxation way beyond my expectations. So, again, thank you all for spending time with me and thank you for all these great memories!!!

But before I boarded my car to KLIA (the flight was 6pm so there was still time for more!!!) Me and SL went to ‘Sunway Pyramid’ for lunch and I finally tried ‘Wendy’s’. With all the hype of ‘not cutting corners’ and people saying its better than McD’s (really?) I just had to see it for myself. I ordered the ½ pound beef burger and after much thinking and discussion with SL, yes I think it is better than McD. Why? Coz we are just simply bored with McD haha. A ½ pounder beef burger has 3 levels of beef goodness, and eating it with French fries and Coke, you will feel so full you will not want to any food for the entire day. My ranking among all the burger fast foods outlets are:

1.) Burger King
2.) Wendy’s
3.) McDonald’s
4.) Carl’s Junior
5.) KFC Burgers

Definitely worth a visit and money!!!

Time for my flight and left for the airport around 4:30pm (scary eh? My flight is at 6pm) and knowing that when I arrive in Labuan almost 9pm, I had to ‘tapau’ something for dinner to eat: it was ‘JCo Donuts’. All 6 pieces of them as dinner. YUMMY!! Anyway, until next time friends and family!!! Love u guys and gals loads!!! See you all in my 3rd return to KL soon!!!