Tony Stark is the owner of Stark Industries - a technology company manufacturing weapons. Fun loving, flirtatious and not bothered by anything other then work and play. With his good looks, wealth, a right hand man (Obadiah Stane) to assist him in his company, a good friend (Jim Rhodes), a competent assistant (Pepper Potts) to help and plan his everyday life, Tony is practically at the top of the world with nothing to worry about. But all these are about to change when he is captured during his visit to Afghanistan. His captor is the terrorist group known as The Order of the Ten Rings and their motive is to force Tony to build them the missile he demonstrated earlier on. Tony is reluctant but agrees as he has a plan in mind. With the help of another captive (Yinsen), they use the materials provided by the terrorists to create a powerful armored suit. During their escape, Yinsen sacrifice himself and Tony managed to run away. After what he has seen and experienced, Tony realize what he has been doing in the past is not helping the world but destroying it. He decides to close down his company and devote all his time to work on an improved version of the suit. One day, he finds out that Obadiah is in fact a traitor who has been selling their weapons to the terrorists and he is also the one who ordered for the capturing and killing of Tony. On the other hand, Obadiah finds out about the suit that Tony created. Using underhand methods, Obadiah makes a bigger and more powerful suit to kill Tony and after that, make a profit from selling this new technology. Tony, Pepper and Jim has to work hand in hand to save themselves and the world from destruction.

I normally don't appreciate movie about Marvel heroes very much but when I watched Ironman, I went "wow..." Unlike other Marvel heroes, Ironman is more realistic. He is not a product of mutation but a rather normal man who gains power through the help of technology. And talking about technology, I was truly amazed by the futuristic gadgets showcased in the movie. I supposed they are all made up and the artificial intelligence is too intelligent to be true but the ideas are great and who knows, all of them might be realized in future. Robert Downey Jr. fits the role perfectly and it's hard not to be charmed by him. The moments of him with his personal AL is really funny and to tell the truth, I kind of look forward to these scenes.

I give Ironman 8.5 upon 10.

Labels: Movie Reviews

Your ultimate aim is to save Haven City from bugs. And your main weapon is a flyswatter. Sounds childish? Perhaps, but this game is really entertaining. There's plenty of things for you to do in Daxter, which involoves puzzle solving, fights, collection of items, riding, jumping+flying around and mini games. As you progress, you get an insecticide sprayer that will have two upgrades later on. This sprayer can also be used to hover in the air to bring you up to areas which you cannot reach by jumping.

Very colorful and pretty surroundings. It might take awhile for you to complete 100% of the game. For my case, I did not try the minigames so i can't really comment on them. But from what I know, to unlock the minigames, you need to collect certain amount of orbs. And if you complete the challenge, you get certain upgrades like your health meter. If I have any issue about this game, it would be the controls.

I give Daxter 7.8 upon 10.

Labels: Game Reviews

In Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix, your main task is to find students to form the Dumbledore's Army. Along the way, you will get side missions to complete so as to proceed in the game and gain popularity among the students. Sounds simple? Well, the tasks are not exactly difficult or challenging but they are very frustrating as you need to run round and round Hogwarts so many times, you get sick of it.

Your wand is your only weapon but the fights are nothing worth looking forward to. All the fights, even the final one with Voldemort is unbelievably simple. Unlike the previous HP games which only requires you to use a single or simple combination of buttons to cast a spell, in The Order Of The Phoenix, you need to remember the different buttons to press in order to cast the correct spell and it takes a bit of time to learn, coordinate and remember.

Ron and Hermione are most of the time beside you, helping you with your tasks. Always blocking your way and nagging you on your missions, sometimes I feel that they are more of a nuisance.

Talking about nuisance, the glitches frustrates me the most. Some of the ones I encountered:
I entered a room and for no reason, the screen went blank and I need to restart my game.
There is a mission that requires me to locate Zachary Smith in the library who will ask me to find the monster book for him. In order to enter the library, you need to gain enough popularity to do so. There are 2 methods to gain popularity. First is to remove the daily prophets dispersed around the school and the second method is to help the students complete certain tasks. What you should do is to NOT remove the daily prophets first. Instead, complete the students' tasks and when you have gained enough popularity to enter the library, you will automatically be prompted. And when that happens, you can then find Zachary Smith in the library. If you have done otherwise (gain enough popularity by removing the daily prophets), you will not find Zachary Smith and if you can't find him, there is no way you can complete this game.

Another thing I don't like about this game is how stiff the characters are. They move like zombies and when Harry is holding his wand, he moves sideways like a crab...He can't jump and you will find his movement very unnatural. The image is rather jerky also.

The camera angle irritates me too. One moment when you are pushing the analog stick to your right, the charcter is moving in that direction but the next moment, the charcter could be moving in the opposite direction.

Of course, this game has it's good points. The campus is huge, grand and magnificent. It is so huge that in order to know where you are going, you need to use the marauder's map. The music is not bad also.

I give Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix 5.3 upon 10.

Labels: Game Reviews

10 years after escaping from the authorities, Hannibal Lecter has resided in Italy. One of his victim, the only survivor - Mason Verger is determine to hunt him down and seek revenge. When his plans to locate and capture Lecter fail, he decides to use a bait that Lecter cannot resist - Clarice Starling.

The best part about this movie is the cast. Good chemistry between Anthony Hopkins and Julianne Moore but the one who left the deepest impression on me got to be Gary Oldman (as Mason Verger). Perhaps it because of his appearance in the movie but it's no doubt he is a good actor. Not much suspense as everything proceeds as expected. Anthony Hopkins acted his role so well that now when you see him, the first person you think of is Hannibal Lecter. They are inseparable and so far, one of the most memorable character in film history. This movie shows you the soft side of Lecter, and the complicated relationship between him and Starling.

I give Hannibal 6.5 upon 10 (I would probably give lousier rating if not for Sir Anthony Hopkins).

Labels: Movie Reviews

Lara Croft, an archaeologist discovers an orb that serves as a map which points out the location of the Pandora's Box. The box, if opened, will result in devastating effect that may destroy the world. A scientist Johnathan Reiss is after the box as well, but for the wrong reason. After snatching the orb from Lara, he wants to make a fortune out of it. Lara is given the task to nail him down and get back the orb.

Tomb Raider is my favourite game but the movie is nothing near. They try to put everything in this movie but in the end, nothing is done right. The only thing they got right is to choose Angelina Jolie as the lead. She fits the character perfectly, she has the strong, sexy and smart look that Lara Croft should have. A few Hong Kong actors were casted in this movie, the most familiar to Asians should be Simon Yam, although he only appeared for awhile.

I give Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life 5.8 upon 10.

Labels: Movie Reviews

This movie starts off with Paul Edgecomb narrating his extraordinary story to Elaine Connelly, a senior living in the same nursing home as him. Paul was a prison warden on death row during his fourties. In 1935, a new convict by the name of John Coffey was sent in for murder of 2 girls. John's appearance was very threatening, standing at eight feet tall, he certainly seemed like he was capable of committing such a crime. But John's character and appearance did not match. He was a timid man who was afraid of darkness and cried easily. But the most shocking secret about John was only uncovered when he healed Paul and brought Mr. Jingles (a mice kept by another inmate as a pet) back to life with his bare hands! But his gift to them wasn't a blessing, but a curse.

I watched this movie several years ago and it left a deep impression on me. Now that I watch it again, I am truly impressed by everything about it. Very creative and touching story. After watching, you will most probably view death in a different way. Michael Clarke Duncan's performance as John Coffey was brilliant, so much so that he outshone Tom Hanks. Certain scenes like the execution of Eduard Delacroix and the ending whereby Paul attended the funeral of his friend Elaine will haunt your mind for some time. Overall, this is a great movie, one of the best taken from Stephen King's novel apart from The Shining.

I give The Green Mile 8.3 upon 10.

Labels: Movie Reviews

Tyler Gage and his 2 best friends(Mac & Skinny Carter) break into the Maryland School of Arts and vandalise the place. Tyler is caught and sentenced to 200 hours of community service in the school. While serving his sentence, he got to know Nora Clark. When Nora's dance partner is injured, she needs to look for another partner. When she is about to give up, Tyler offers to help. After several sessions of rehearsal, they become close to each other and eventually started dating. During this period of time, many things happen and Tyler decides to change his previous aloof attitude and to pursue his dream.

When watching this movie, just focus on the dancing, forget about seeing good acting or storyline. I like the way they infuse modern and classical dance together. The music isn't too bad, makes you wanna shake your hips. If you like this kind of movie, I will recommend You Got Served as well for it's dancing.

I give Step Up 5.5 upon 10.

Labels: Movie Reviews

Despite the bad things that have been happening to me recently, there are too, things that make me happy. Firstly, it's Belle's birthday. She's 8 years old! These 8 years had not been easy but I know that God has been giving us lots of blessings and more to come. Now, to take a walk down memory lane...

Darling's 1st BD - Held at my Auntie's house, and that durian cake cost me a bomb. It was big and customized (I think) plus I was a student back then so it was considered expensive to me.


I do not have her 2nd & 3rd BD photos:( And I don't even remember how we spent it!

4th BD - We spent it at Raffles Place. I bought the cake (Tiramisu) from BreadTalk and by the time we opened up the box, it had melted quite badly. But Belle was still very happy and excited. One thing about her that I'm really proud of is the fact that she isn't spoilt like kids nowadays.




5th BD - My sis and niece (Melissa) were in Singapore then so we decided to celebrate Belle's 5th BD at my sis's place. She even invited another kid over to share the happy moment with Belle. Look at Belle being surrounded by presents and a beautiful cake sponsored by my sis.


6th BD - Also held at my sis's place. Always taking the effort to source for nice cake and present for Belle, I walked around several estates to get this cute looking BD cake. Ended up the children were more interested in the decorations than the cake itself.






7th BD - At Thomas's place. Cake from Angie The Choice, very nice!




8th BD - Although my throat still didn't feel well, we decided to plan something different for Belle this year. We went to the KTV. The cake is from Awfully Chocolate, not bad but wasn't as good as what I thought it would be. The present I got for her wasn't very nice. But Belle really touched my heart by saying that it doesn't matter what she gets, so long as she can celebrate with us, she is contended, awww...isn't she sweet...




I didn't add in Thomas's photo cos he asked me not to. Talking about Thomas, it brings me to the 2nd thing I am happy about. After 1 and a half month, I finally get to see him everyday:)
Dear, here's a song dedicated to you:

Labels: Family Affairs

This song (especially the chorus) really explains how I feel now. Well, maybe not entirely. Mine is more related to work, not relationship.

Labels: Work Affairs

Michelle Maxwell, a former secret service agent, tries to kill herself by picking up a fight in a bar. Her partner, Sean King, is determined to cure her depression so he admitted her into a mental hospital. In order to pay for the bill, Sean takes up an extremely dangerous job. Initially, all he needs to do is to investigate the death of a scientist Monk Turing. When someone attempts to kill him, he realize that the whole thing is a conspiracy and he will do anything to find out the truth.

This is yet another novel about the conspiracy of CIA. Everyone loves to read about conspiracies, incluing me. This is the second David Baldacci book I read and its much better then the first (The Collectors). Better flow of story although the plot is quite old fashion.

I give Simple Genius 7.5 upon 10.

Labels: Book Reviews

Robert Thorn receive news from Father Spiletto that his baby died upon birth and that his wife Katherine will never be able to conceive again. He accepts the Father's suggestion to swoop his baby with another newborn child (Damien) whose mother died while giving birth. All these are done without Katherine's knowledge. A few years later, Robert is promoted to ambassador of London. Everything seems to be going smoothly until Damien's nanny commits suicide. They hire a new nanny (Mrs Baylock) and that is when things start to happen. A priest attempts to tell Robert about Damien's true identity but is later found dead. A photographer shows Robert his findings on what is going on and he too, died. When Katherine eventually died also, Robert is determine to end everything.

The way this movie is filmed is VERY similar to Final Destination. The story is mainly about Armageddon and the plot is quite good. From what I found out, this is a remake of the 1976 movie. Somehow, the movie fails to creep me. I don't know why but it's just not eerie enough. The kid who starred as Damien is not bad, he reminds me of the little boy in The Shining. The other casts are just so so.

I give The Omen 6.5 upon 10.

Labels: Movie Reviews

It's been donkey years since I last blogged. Ok, maybe it wasn't that long, just one and a half week ago. I wasn't in the mood, I'm sure most bloggers go through this kind of period before...no mood, no blog.

My work sucks, my health sucks, my family sucks, everything is going downhill. Everyday I wake up feeling tired of life. Of course I don't mean I have suicidal thoughts, it's just that no matter how much I rest, I still end up feeling tired. Maybe it's due to my poor health or perhaps it could be because I'm unhappy.

Actually I am quite angry with myself for being such a weakling. Everyone faces problems everyday. Instead of facing them bravely, I ended being a cry baby. Instead of staying positive, I ended up blaming my luck and everything else. I know I shouldn't punish myself for the wrongdoings committed by others. But sometimes, things are easier said then done. I can preach but to act, that's a different thing.

It's a difficult period but not the worst in my life. I'm confident things will get better. When? I don't know but it will get better. I'm glad I still have Thomas although he's away till end of the month but he's one of the reason I am still hanging on.

Win, if you happen to be reading this...just wanna tell you that I know things are not turning out right for you too. Stay positive. Think of the problems you encountered and how you resolved them. This time, it will be the same. If you could solve your previous problems, you CAN get out of the mess you are in now.

Labels: Miscellaneous

In Chain Of Olympus, you actually get to see early chapters of Kratos's life, of how he came to serve Ares and how he was being betrayed by this Greek god of war which leads to him being separated from his family. Kratos is as usual, very violent, and has no mercy for his enemies. But despite his ruthlessness, you will symphatise and grow to love this anti-hero.

There are 4 difficulties to choose from - Mortal (Easy), Hero (Normal), Spartan (Hard) and God (Very Hard). The God mode is indeed VERY hard, suffering 1 blow from the monsters could mean instant death. I would say the moves and weapons are pretty much similar to other GOW games. And like previous series, you need to battle through many areas and solve a bit of puzzles every now and then to advance to the next level. 1 sex mini game is incorporated in the initial part of the game, you don't get to see much but it's still something which makes the game complete - god, heroes, violence and sex made up the Greek legend. Some of the things you find in your way (e.g. pots, wood, stone...) can be broken to get red orbs. Other then that, chests are dispersed around for you to gain red orbs(for upgrade purpose), green orbs (for replenishing health) and blue orbs (for replenishing magic). There is 1 particular magic which I find very useful - the efreet which I would recommend you use on top of the other magic as it is very powerful. Upon completion of the game, you can try the 5 challenges, which prove to be very challenging.

The God Of War series has always been highly anticipated and Chain Of Olympus certainly didn't let me down. The visuals are stunning and I am totally in love of the way Kratos finishes off his enemies:) Too bad the game is rather short and the puzzles are easy to solve.

I give God of War: Chains of Olympus 8.5 upon 10.

Labels: Game Reviews

Helen Grace, a divorced woman, has to raise 3 children (Jared, Simon and Mallory) alone. Facing financial difficulties, they move into the Spiderwick Estate - a house Helen inherits from her aunt Lucinda Spiderwick. Strange things start to happen and Jared decides to investigate. Soon, the siblings uncover a world full of magical creatures. They eventually find out that the estate and their lives are in danger and its up to the Grace family to protect the secrets within.

This movie reminds me of Bridge To Terabithia but I prefer The Spiderwick Chronicles. A fun movie with interesting characters, although I wish that there are more magical characters. Actually my expectation of The Spiderwick Chronicles is rather high, the result however, doesn't quite match my expectation. The only things I like is the rather nice visual and humour.

I give The Spiderwick Chronicles 6.8 upon 10.

Labels: Movie Reviews

FBI agents, Kevin & Marcus Copeland fail in their assignment terribly and they were given one final chance to prove their worth. Their next assignment is to protect Brittany and Tiffany Wilson from a kidnapping plot. While sending the ladies to the hotel, they got into a minor car accident. The Wilson sisters refuse to leave their hotel rooms as they obtain scars in the accident. So as not to get into trouble again, the Copeland brothers disguise themselves as Brittany and Tiffany.

Brainless movie. This is how the Copeland brothers look like after dressing up:

How could anyone NOT see through their disguise?!?!
The story makes no sense at all.
Funny? Sometimes.
Disgusting? All the time.

I give White Chicks 3 upon 10.

Labels: Movie Reviews