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Personally speaking, it would be more aptly named ‘Star Wars: Clone Wars Chronicles – the Outer Rim War’ or something like that. After all, this is just a small part of the Clone Wars in the Star Wars Universe. My opinion is that if the animation has been named in this way then it paves the way for more to be made in the future, if this one is successful. In short, the Clone Wars animation series could have been the ‘expansion pack’ in the Star Wars movie franchise. Anyway, I didn’t read the reviews about it though some of the other bloggers who have seen it left their comments on Plurk, and some are not too flattering. So, by the time I get to watch it on Tuesday (free tickets – courtesy of xinyun mei), I had already lowered my expectations and because of that it was some what within expectations. I even found it quite funny – especially the baby Hutt, Anakin’s Padawan Ashoka, and some of the droids in the Confederation’s droid army. |
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Storyline wise, I would say it’s actually quite weak. Usually I would consider a story to be good when you have wheels within wheels. Take for e.g. Vantage Point. In the case of this animation, there was only one main plot in the storyline and that is to deny the other side an alliance with the Hutts. I won’t dwell much on how either side seeks to attain their goals, but suffice to say it was pretty straight forward. There were no surprises nor shocks to be expected. I wouldn’t say you should give this a miss, since I am personally a Star Wars ‘fanboi’ , but I think it is no loss if you just watch it on a VCD or DVD when it gets released. |
Author: Grievous
[Game] 古惑仔 Kuwakchai.com
Introduced recently to yet another addictive text-based browser MMORPG called 古惑仔 (古惑仔 or kuwakchai is the Cantonese equivalent of samseng [三牲仔], gangster or mafia). I find it even more addictive than Tribal Wars and it reminds me of MUD (Multi-User Dungeon).
The game is based in the towns of Malaysia so you will see many Bahasa Melayu terms like Merempit, Pudu Jail, Jahat, Lu Punya Kerja, Skolah and Pasar Malam in the game, along with some Cantonese terms like Mahchai [马仔, meaning: Henchmen].
This can be a good game for students, or those who are working. The reason being that it will take time for certain stats like Energy, Will, and Brave to regenerate, and it usually can take up to an hour while in at most 5 minutes, your commands would exhausted much of your stats. This simply means for the rest of the hour you will be waiting for your stats to regenerate. For e.g. Your energy level regenerates at about 8% every 5 minutes so you can return to work while you leave the browser idling at a corner.
However, since the each of the stats has a different regeneration rate, it means you can come back in every few minutes to try and do those things utilising a different stat, provided another player hasn’t come around to give you a beating to land you in the hospital. And thus this is what makes the game addictive so please remember not to let it impact your performance at work or divert your attention from your studies!
So, what is the game all about? Basically you do as what the mafia would do. You start small, doing the Jahat (naughty) stuff like bully kids, sell pirated DVD and stuff, to the big time stuff like killing a model and such. You can also do some ‘Biaomei’ * (prostitutes) trafficking to gain crime experience and dexterity as well, or go around beating or mugging the other players – provided your attributes are better than theirs – or join a gang or even form your own. And of course you must train yourself to have better attributes (strength, agility, guard, labor and IQ) using your points, which is hard to come by, or your energy level.
Do remember these attributes are a factor in calculating whether you succeed in a particular task so do not neglect any one attribute too much, but concentrate on strength and guard, which both puts other players in hospital or prevent yourself from ending up in it. If this sounds too confusing for you, do not worry, the admins of the game are friendly so you can email them. If not, you can always click on the section called ‘Announcements’ to look up what each attribute / stat does for you in the game and how to go about obtaining them.
Currently, 5 – 6 of my blogger friends have joined me in the fun. However, I must remind you that I am in no way responsible if you are lacking in discipline. You and you alone are responsible for your own performance at work or your grades in study. So, if you know you succumb to addiction easily or if you don’t have any discipline, my personal advice is not to play the game. I am reminded that I have heard of how some under-graduates destroyed themselves for their over-indulgence in MUD.
For the rest who would venture to try, I’ll leave you to experience and enjoy the game on your own.
For those who are interested in joining please put this under your referrer code: http://kuwakchai.com?REF=2654.
Biaomei: 表妹 (cousin) in Mandarin. Because the word 表 and 婊 (prostitute) is pronounced similarly, it generally means an illegal immigrant you tried to pass off as your cousin while you pimp them.
Movies Watched Recently…
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The Dark Knight The sequel to Batman Begins with Christian Bale reprising his role as Batman. There’s no Katie Holmes this time round to play Rachel Dawes but that’s pretty irrelevant. While some say this is better than the prequel, and most of the praises were given to the now deceased Heath Ledger who plays the Joker in this movie, I still liked the prequel better. Without a doubt, Heath Ledger did very well in his role, and he was very much different from the other joker. This is one Joker I find way too sinister and evil. He isn’t funny at all and frankly, I can’t even say if he’s even joking at all. If you ask me what is the gist of the story, then it would be Joker’s ‘bet’ with Batman that good or morality is an easy thing to say and do when one’s life or loved one is not threatened. i.e. it is not difficult to even turn a good man, even the best among us, to become a bad one if the ‘right switch is flicked’. In a way Joker’s view is right. I can’t explain that in detail here, as that would become spoilers even though I believe most people have already watched it. But still, it’s best for you to watch it on your own to get your own feel and understanding of this movie. |
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Personally speaking, I preferred the prequel with the dark and Gothic look to Gotham City. The Gotham in this movie no longer have that feel. Above which, the movie was really too long and almost 3/4 way through I could feel the level rising in the bladder. Even so, this is the best movie I have watched for the month of July / August. And if there’s one movie you shouldn’t miss, this has to be it. Addendum 25.08.08: I was clearing my hard disk today and I suddenly come across a screen shot of something a while back when someone said “It is impossible to understand the minds of certain people because that would be like trying to understand the mind of the Joker in Batman.” It would have been true on the surface, but on deeper thoughts, the above statement shows just how shallow the mind of such a person. There was only one thing in the mind of the Joker, and that is to prove that everyone can break their own principles. i.e. even the best among the good can be turned to do evil. This was at the end of the movie in the conversation between Batman and the Police Commissioner. Apparently someone has left in brains in the freezer when he was watching the movie. |
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The Mummy III My personal opinion after watching this movie? Make this the last. The joke one of my friend made about it was, in the next Mummy movie they will be fighting mummies of the legendary Wind [聂风] and Cloud [步惊云] from the HK Kungfu comics. And there are a few things I didn’t like. First, Rachel Weisz is no longer reprising her role as Evelyn O’Connell. Second, Brendan Fraser looks are still too youthful to play the role of a father. And third, I think Michelle Yeoh’s Mandarin still sucks as bad as it was in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. To round it up, to imagine Qin Shihuang – the first Emperor of China – as a mummy is really pushing the limit of my tolerance. But in the book, it was some other fictional character known as Er shihuangdi, though I am quite sure Qin Shihuang and his unification of China inspired this character. The story begins with how the Dragon Emperor (Jet Li) turned into a Mummy after being cursed by the sorceress Zi Yuan (Michelle Yeoh). It then fast forward 2000 odd years to show Alex O’Connell – son of Richard O’Connell (Brendan Fraser) – discovering the resting place and how General Yang (Anthony Wong) and his cronies ‘resurrected’ the Emperor or free him from the curse. Then of course, it goes on to the usual attempts to kill / destroy the Mummy. |
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I won’t dwell too much on the storyline. But suffice to say this movie is completely uninspiring, especially the part where you see an army fighting with iron age weapons with mid-20th Century soldiers. Simply put, I completely regretted watching it. I should have saved that $7.50 and convert it into another HK$35 to buy food for my stomach in Hong Kong. |
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Journey to the Centre of the Earth The movie was a little too short for my taste and appears to be rushing through the parts. As to what the story is about is summarized by these few words – a simple investigation turning into a major adventure. Trevor Anderson (Brendan Fraser) is head of the Center of Volcanic Activity in a university. His brother Max went missing 10 years ago leaving behind a widow and his nephew Sean. Max’ widow decided to leave Sean with Trevor for 10 days as she leaves for Canada to prepare for their eventual migration and Sean made Trevor take him along to Iceland to investigate seismic sensor readings that matches those during Max’ disappearance. When they arrived in Iceland they hired guide Hannah (Anita Briem) to take them up the volcano where the sensor is. The rest is ‘history’. |
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Though another Brendan Fraser movie, at the very least this one was much more interesting than Mummy 3, though at one point of time I was wondering if I wasn’t watching Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. The eye candy, Anita Briem, was better than Mummy 3 of course. There’s also quite a bit of computer animation put into this movie in the form of dinosaurs, prehistoric piranhas, relatives of the Loch Ness monster etc, and not just mummies, and more mummies. However, you are not missing much if you don’t watch it but if you absolutely ‘heart’ Brendan Fraser than I would suggest getting the cheap VCD version when it is released. |
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Movie: 钱不够用 2 & 十二莲花
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钱不够用 2 这是一部写实电影。梁智强以一贯的手法，轻描淡写的将新加坡人的一些不满和牢骚 – 如人民对 ERP、物价不断上涨和建赌场的看法 – 都给表达出来。但我要问，梁导演反映出来后除了得到了我们会心一笑，又对我们新加坡人又有些什么好处呢？政策从来就没有因为我们反映了而改变，通常还不是新加坡人自己咬紧牙关挨过去？ 不过可以肯定的是，电影里描绘的杨家三兄弟所遭遇的，却也是典型新加坡人面对的一些问题 – 如对年迈家长和孩子在物质上给予的肯定不会少，但是在关怀与爱护方面却肯定做的不够。我不禁要问，电影的主题是表达新加坡人对金钱和物质生活追求的荒谬呢，还是要给新加坡人理解一下 ‘树欲静而风不止，子欲养而亲不在’ 的真正意义，让我们更加明白孝道的定义？又或许要我们除了物质生活外，要更注重家庭和亲属？就是说，不管一个人在金钱上如何贫穷，总不会比一个事业和家庭都失去的人更孤独、更可悲。 不管如何，这是一部把普通的人的喜、怒、哀、乐完全都表现出来的电影。我不想讲太多电影里的情节，但这些情节虽然没让我悲从中来，但却令我热泪盈眶。因为实在是我们生活中可以感受的到的。它娱乐和教育性两方面都很高的，但结尾却有点不切实际。为何如此说呢？因为戏里杨家的三兄弟的不屈不挠虽然值得我们学习，但是实际上能像他们跌得那么惨却又能从新再来的人又有几个？ 总的来说，我个人虽然不是很喜欢梁导演，但仍然觉得这是部值得一看的电影。有空就去看吧，不过如果不太懂福建话的人就比较难理解里面的对白了。 |
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十二莲花 我看电影通常都不会以艺术的角度来观赏，因为我缺乏艺术细胞。所以如果你问我， ‘十二莲花’ 和 ‘881’ 比较，我会比较喜欢哪一部，那么我比较喜欢 ‘881’ 多一点。原因很简单，虽然两部电影都以歌台为背景，但是 ‘881’ 就比较没有那么抽象和脱离现实。简单的说，虽然两部电影拍摄的手法都非常的 ‘波里活’ (Bollywood)，但是 ‘881’ 的娱乐性却是比较高的。 戏里主人翁 – 刘莲花 – 的悲哀命运让人心酸，可能甚至于掉泪。这也令我想起 ‘881’ 的结尾也是令人伤心的。我必须要问，是否导演陈子谦的人生中，个人遭遇了很多天意弄人的事？如果还有下一部以歌台为背景的电影，结局可否可以快乐一点？要不然王欣这个演员可能就会永久被定型，只能演那些楚楚可怜，命运坎坷的女子了。这样会否限制了一个演员的发挥空间呢？ 而且，没有多少部电影能让我不断的看手表和盼望它的结束。因为有些情节我真的觉得和现实完全脱节，令我觉得我必须调整，不以看现实剧的的心态、沉住气的继续看下去。 弹的说完，说些赞的。这部电影并不是完全一无是处。刘玲玲演技是不错的，在这部电影里可以说是发挥的淋漓精致。而且戚玉武演的两个角色都演得不错。他是演什么就不必多说了，免得破坏还没看的人的兴致。 我个人的建议是，没必要在电影院看。最好是等 VCD / DVD 上市了才买回家看吧。和 ‘钱不够用 2’ 一样，不太懂福建话的人就比较难理解里面的对白了。 |
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Bashing Foreign Talents
The in-thing these days, seems to be the bashing of foreign talents. From Amit Nagpal’s letter to the forum on getting a flat direct from the HDB to Li Jiawei dragging the Singapore flag on the ground in the Olympics Opening Ceremony. Are you ‘in’?
Frankly, I might have an opinion about foreign talents in this nation, and I have probably blogged a few times about them too – mostly on whether some of them are really talented or my disbelief that those jobs cannot be filled by Singaporeans. Otherwise, my unhappiness is with foreigners whose CVs look impressive but can’t work for nuts, or those who thinks they should be treated like kings as if we owed them a living. I am quite sure some of you would agree with me here as you have run into them at work, or read about foreign athletes quitting on us after we spent a lot of money nurturing them. And these are the black sheep – the fallen talents – which have given them all a bad name.
Over time, I have tried to look this objectively. Foreigners take up many jobs in our economy. For e.g. the hard labor workforce, i.e. the people who are doing jobs that most Singaporeans wouldn’t do (or possibly can’t do at all) even if that means they have to beg on the streets. These are the people who have the lowest chance of even getting a PR. Consider the ‘environmental engineers’ (road sweepers and cleaners by another name), the China or Bangladeshi worker you see digging the holes at road works and building our new flats / condominiums, the China person at your local coffee shops taking your order or making yor fishball noodles etc. When some of these people go, just which of us – except maybe some of our old folks who are above retirement age – would even consider filling some of these jobs?
Some wouldn’t consider these people as real talents, but from a different perspective, their hard skills is actually a talent. Some of us probably don’t know how to mix cement for nuts, or dig a hole better than some of them. Simply put, I would say we should at least appreciate their contribution to the comfort we enjoy, though we might not like their presence because we dislike their behavior and manners. But remember, it is not entirely their fault for not being better mannered or more educated. They didn’t really have a choice when it comes to their land of birth.
As to Li Jiawei’s ‘dragging of the flag’ during the ceremony, I have looked at the video on Youtube. Yes, a part of the flag was on the ground and a lot of us think of the fact that the flag should not touch the ground because of our National Service background. But does she know these things? Was she even told of it when we screamed about how she dragged our flag on the ground of China – the land of her birth?
Now, consider this: in a few more years, Jiawei would have been lived in Singapore longer than she has been in China. Now, some of us may have ancestors who has lived in China longer than they are in Singapore. I am a 2nd or 3rd Generation Singaporean, depending on maternal or paternal lineage.My maternal grandfather came from Guangzhou to Singapore before the Japanese invasion. My paternal great-grandfather came from Hong Kong probably in the early 1900s. What difference are they from Li Jiawei? Li Jiawei, as a child, left her home to come here. She has persevered unlike some of those who gave up and really went home. So give her a break already!
I admit I am no lover of Foreign Talents. However, I disliked some of them because some of them did not live up to what they claimed they are. Some of us have definitely worked with those who clearly have no clue what they are doing in spite of what they claimed they know. I am also unhappy with the Foreign Sports Talent Scheme or whatever because I felt the money rewarded to them for their performance can be better used for other social needs. I might not be right about some of these things, but at least I don’t just dislike all of them for no better reasons.
Anyway, I also disliked some of them because they think Singapore owed them as if they are doing us a favor while our country gave them the opportunity which maybe available in their home country, but probably with fewer perks. Granted they can take their skills elsewhere with a better offer, but that’s nothing to boast about since even the ‘environmental engineer’ cleaning my rubbish bin everyday would probably work for another contractor or in another country if he is capable of leaving here to go there. Just like I would say to Singaporeans who always complain about Singapore – leave! I would say the same to these FTs unless you really have an exceptional talent that no one else could replace. In other words, if Stephen Hawkins comes to Singapore and lecture at NUS or NTU, and then he chose to leave, then this country has indeed lose a rare talent. But if you are just say… a currency trader, then come on… where you came from there’s probably someone else who is even better for a lesser price tag.
Simply put, my fellow Singaporeans, let us be clear what we are unhappy with, and not just go all out and whack FTs with even the lamest excuses we can think of. It brings shame upon all of us and make us no better than xenophobic skinheads we read about in other countries.