Wednesday, May 8, 2013 Rabbit Hole Posted by juphelia at 08:58

I watched the local production of "Rabbit Hole" last night, starring Adrian Pang, produced by his production company Pangdemonium!. Adrian Pang is one of the few really talented artistes here. It is our country's good fortune that he decided to come back and contribute to the arts sector here. Having said that, the entire cast is talented, and played out the roles well.

One good thing about the cast is that they all speak good English. I do not mean local-accented English, but really fluent English, with proper pronunciation. There are only five characters - the main leads Howie and Becka, Izzy, Becka and Izzy's mother and Jason the teenager.

In the play, Howie and Becka are still recovering from the loss of their son, who died in a car accident. Jason was driving and he swerved in order to avoid hitting Howie's dog, but unfortunately hit their son instead. Becka's mum was trying her best to help her get over her grief, but Becka was not being receptive. Izzy, Becka's younger sister, seemed to be the airhead, but she was also grieving in her own way.

Later on it transpired that Howie was the one that was grieving more, just that he did not show it. Becka put up a great show on being so emotional and it was no secret she was so upset over her son's death, yet at the end she was the one who was able to come to terms with it. Whereas Howie, seeming strong and clear-headed on the surface, was actually subconsciously trying to block out his grief, and told his wife to get over the situation. 

Yet it was Howie who crumbled when Becka wanted to sell the house, gave the dog away, accidentally taped over the family tape, and kept their son's things. He felt it a betrayal on the part of Becka and that she was trying to forget their son altogether. It was also Becka who first came to terms with Jason, who killed their son, and was even nice and civil with him, whereas Howie, although he claimed he did not blame Jason, almost came to blows with him when Jason dropped in for a visit.

The whole play is light-hearted, yet intense drama at the same time. It made one wants to laugh and cry. I really applaud the production team that despite the theme of the drama being so solemn, they were still able to inject humour in such a way that it was funny, yet not corny, and still able to fit into the entire solemn theme.

I will not even venture to mention the actors and actresses, who really played their roles to perfection. It made me feel for them, their family closeness, how they stood by each other despite the difficult time, despite their differing personalities. 

I like the ending part, where Becka finally called her friend whom she had not heard from ever since her son's death, and whom she felt could be more caring and sensitive to her. Howie was surprised, but at the same time, that showed the couple is indeed moving on, slowly, but surely. 

The ending sentences sum it all up :

Becka : So what do we do now?

Howie : We will survive, somehow.

Yes, they will all survive somehow, because that is what a marriage and family is! Being there together to go through ups and downs together, moving on and carving a better future.

This is an excellent production from beginning to end. Really worth watching!

Monday, April 22, 2013 501 Amazing Facts About Malaysia Posted by juphelia at 14:57

I bought this book through a recommendation by fellow blogger Julie. I enquired to the author Venkat Hari through his blog, and got this book specially flown in from Malaysia!

The book really lists down 501 trivia stuff about Malaysia. It is divided into sections, consisting of ancient facts, modern facts, prehistoric facts, geography facts, climate facts, names of places, food and education to name a few.

 

Some of the interesting bit of trivia includes tigers liking durians, the world's tallest flagpole in Kuala Lumpur, which Chinese in which state speaks Cantonese, Hokkien or Foochow, which sultan was elected twice, when to use Datuk and Da'to, which state has the oldest sultanate, and that which rainforest has been undisturbed ever since the ice age.

 

In short, this is a good and interesting book that helps improve your general knowledge about the country. Even for those who are not Malaysians, this is also an interesting book to help you know the country, especially for those who like to travel around.

 

If you are interested in getting this book, do contact Venkat Hari at his website. He is really a nice guy who is willing to send you the book at a minimal price.

Sunday, March 31, 2013 Midnight's Children Posted by juphelia at 16:52

I do not normally watch Indian shows, even those in English, but those I have watched are pretty good, like Slumdog Millionaire, and Life of Pi. So when I saw that Midnight's Children is showing, and knowing this is a story by the controversial Salman Rushdie, I decided to watch the movie. My verdict? It is one of the best movies I have ever seen!

The main character is named Saleem Sinai. He was born on the stroke of midnight on the day of India's independence on 15 August 1947, ie the day the British left India completely. Due to this, as he was growing up, he discovered he had special powers, which was to bring together all the children born on the same day as him, between midnight and one in the morning, in the same room. These children are then dubbed "Midnight Children".

All these "midnight children" have special powers of their own, but Saleem's power is the strongest because he is the only one able to bring all of them together. Since he was born on the stroke of midnight, his powers would be the best. Those born nearer to midnight would have stronger powers than those born further away from midnight.

Unknown to Saleem, he was actually switched at birth, with a musician's son Shiva, also born at the stroke of midnight. The musician's wife was raped by a British guy, hence Saleem was fairer with sharper features than the other Indian kids. The nurse who switched the two babies wanted to fulfil her lover's legacy of the rich being poor and the poor being rich. Saleem's parents are rich Indian Muslims, and the musician poor, so the poor boy was raised as a rich boy and the rich boy was raised poor.

This changes the course of the two boys' lives. Saleem grew up with all the riches, and the apple of his father's eye, but after an accident where it was discovered his blood type did not match either of his parents, his father resented him and he was sent away to Pakistan to live with his aunt and uncle, who was the general of the Pakistan's army. This happened during the split of India and Pakistan, where the Muslims in India went to Pakistan to fight for their own rights.

Years later, Saleem's parents also went over to Pakistan and he was fetched home to stay with them. His father never gave him the affection he used to receive, and when the nursemaid (who was the one who switched the babies) revealed the truth, she was thrown out of the family. His parents decided to accept him anyway, and they never looked for their own child too.

After that, East and West Pakistan got involved in a civil war, with East Pakistan emerging the winner with the help of the Indian army, becoming Bangladesh. Saleem was drafted into the Pakistani army after his family died in a bombing, but he was found lost and wandering in East Pakistan, now known as Bangladesh.

During the victory parade, he saw that Shiva, the poor boy who resented his poor life and hated the rich, was now second in command of the Indian army. He also met up with Pavati, the girl who told him about the midnight children in the first place. Her power is doing magic. She hid him in her invisibility basket and brought him back to India.

That was when he realised that the fates do intertwine. He was born to a poor family, switched at birth and brought up in a rich family, but yet now he was reduced to living in the slums. Whereas the boy who was born on the same day and same time as him, was originally born of a rich family, brought up as a poor family, yet now a big hero and having all the power he could dispose of.

Later on during Indira Gandhi's administration, she ordered that all the midnight children be disposed of, or made sterile so they would not breed, as she was led to believe that these midnight children who have since grown up would be the downfall of India. She and her son Sanjay also started clearing up the slum areas by bulldozing all the slum areas of India.

The movie ended with Saleem looking forward towards the future of a new India, and a newly born country who would rise up against all the politics and discrimination of the distinction of society.

I am not that familiar with Salman Rushdie's books, as I have only read one, but after watching Midnight's Children, I really want to read this book, as well as the other books that Salman Rushdie wrote. If the movie is this good, just imagine how much better the book will be! This is a movie that I will highly recommend watching!

Monday, January 14, 2013 Golden Globes 2013 Posted by juphelia at 11:07

Now that the Golden Globes is over, I am not that happy with the results. How did Argo win Best Picture (Drama), because there are definitely much better shows! I was very happy that Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway and Les Miserables won for Best Actor (Musical / Comedy), Best Supporting Actress (Musical / Comedy) and Best Picture (Musical / Comedy), as I have been rooting for them all the way!

Ben Affleck's Best Director win came as a surprise though, in light of the stiff competition he was facing, but still, he did not do that bad a job with Argo. Unfortunately, he was not nominated for the Oscars. Neither was Kathryn Bigelow (Zero Dark Thirty), Tom Hooper (Les Miserables) and the one who did Cloud Atlas.

Perhaps this time round the competition is between Ang Lee and Steven Spielberg? Does that mean Life of Pi would win Best Picture? Or Lincoln? The French show Armour is not a bad contender too. However, I would think Lincoln (although I have not seen it) is a better Best Picture as compared to Life of Pi, but of course, I would still prefer Les Miserables to win!

Friday, January 4, 2013 Les Miserables ... Posted by juphelia at 09:43

I just came back from watching Les Miserables for the second time. And my verdict? It is an excellent show, by far the best movie of the year! I may be biased because I love the musical, but I find this movie version just as good, or even better, than the musical, except for a couple of actors who cannot really sing.

When I knew some years back that a movie of Les Miserables was in the works, and it would be starring Hugh Jackman, one of my favourite actors and my own version of sexiest man alive, I knew it would definitely be a musical. I have always loved to hear Hugh Jackman singing, and after Anne Hathaway proved she could sing too, I knew instantly this movie would be a hit.

And I am not wrong! It is a fantastic show from beginning to end! The songs, the emotions, the acting, all were perfect from beginning to end! Hugh Jackman as the prisoner 24601 aka Jean Valjean who atoned for his sins by being good, who met Fantine, took pity on her and promised to look after her daughter as his own, and later his own conflict when his adopted daughter Cosette fell in love with the student revolutionary Marius, and how he ensured Marius' life would be saved by bringing him to safety in the sewers, and his going away before Marius and Cosette's wedding so Cosette would never find out his true self.

But later on he prepared to die and joined Fantine upon his death. Marius took Cosette to see him before he died and beseeched him to come live with them as Marius was so grateful for him saving his life and giving him Cosette, but he refused and still chose to die.

Anne Hathaway as Fantine gave one of the most haunting and emotional performances of her career, with the unforgettable song "I Dreamed A Dream" sung to perfection. I am really rooting for these two to win Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress respectively! Although I am not sure what other competition is out there, but so far as I can see, Les Miserables is a hot favourite to set to win Best Picture, and I really hope it does, as the rest of the movies I have watched this year is not of the same calibre as this.

Let's keep my fingers crossed and see if these two will really win!

Sunday, December 30, 2012 Amour ... Posted by juphelia at 21:44

Today I watched two movies, "Won't Back Down" and "Amour". Amour is a French show, literally translated to "Love". It is a story of an elderly couple who have been married fifty years. They only have each other to fall back on since their only daughter is living overseas with her family, and only drops by to visit them once in a while.

When the wife suffered a stroke which left her paralysed, the husband took care of her, carrying her into her wheelchair, bringing her to the bathroom, bathing her, washing her, doing all the household chores. When she could no longer function normally and started wetting the bed, he engaged a nurse to take care of his wife, but the nurse was not gentle and he fired her for bullying a defenseless patient.

The whole show is on how he took care of his wife, even when his own health was failing and he could hardly walk properly anymore. The wife became totally bed-ridden and delusional, and she even lost sense of her own speech and was rambling on all the time. The husband did everything he could to comfort her whenever she went into any of her fits, by massaging her, telling her stories and giving her back her memories.

One day, he could take it no longer. After comforting her and calming her down, he took a pillow to smother her and she died. He then dressed her up and mourned her. Shortly after that, he died in his sleep too.

This is a really touching show beacuse it shows true love and commitment between a married couple. How often do people forget that a marriage last forever, and it is really for better for worse, in sickness and in death, in good health and bad, for richer and poorer, till death do them part? Chances are most people will run away at the first sign of trouble.

This movie reminds me of someone I know, who married his wife despite knowing she is sick, and after so many years and in and out of hospitals, he is still there by her side, taking care of her, loving her, comforting her, being with her. And it is still on-going as his wife still needs treatment, and he is still by her side, taking care of her. They have no children of their own because of her condition, but he accepts it and accepts her wholeheartedly. Whenever I hear of this, it really brings tears to my eyes, to see a man so committed and good, beacuse this is indeed love.

Thursday, November 1, 2012 Skyfall! Posted by juphelia at 22:09

I went to watch the new James Bond today. I have been quite a James Bond fan ever since my mum introduced me to the first show I watched - Goldfinger, when it was having a rerun. That was when I was very young and I did not understood what I was watching. It was only when I became a teenager and went to watch Goldeneye on my own that I finally understood the hype about James Bond.

 

Then my brothers bought all the sets of James Bond shows, and we started watching in chronological order. Since then, I have never missed a single James Bond show. Even though I disagreed that Daniel Craig was cast as James Bond as I thought there should be a better looking actor playing him, the shows are still pretty good however.

 

So this "Skyfall" is no exception. It is one of the best James Bond shows ever, because not only does it ties in everything back to the beginning, it also plays homage to the fact that the show or series is already fifty years old. It does not have as much action as the previous James Bond, but the storyline is great and the actors are great. Most importanatly, it shows James Bond being vulnerable, being emotional, and that he cares deeply about things, and not just a plain womaniser and action hero.

 

It also shows his boss, M, being vulnerable and emotional, and how the choices M made affect terrorism and the world around them. Although I did not condone what M did, but I understood from her point of view why she had to do what she did. In most cases, the decisions she made may not be right, but it was the only thing to be done at that moment in time. So the show showed her conflict between doing what is right and what needed to be done, to the extent that she betrayed people around her.

 

And that was what tied in to this whole show. Betrayal, decisions, choices. It was all well made, and well done. And it was a refreshing move to tie in everything back to the beginning, a new start, a new series.

 

Hence this is one of the best James Bond shows ever. Daniel Craig, despite his looks, did a great job as the double O agent. I look forward to seeing him in more James Bond shows to come, before he gets too old!

Tuesday, October 16, 2012 The Words Posted by juphelia at 10:59

I went to watch "The Words" last week, and it is one of the best shows I have seen in recent years. This show reminds me of "Atonement", as the theme is similar. Both shows focus on a writer, who use words to tell the truth, and atone for what they have done.

"The Words" is actually a story within a story. The opening scene is on a writer talking about his new book. In his new book, he told of a young struggling writer who wanted to get something published. Unfortunately, a few years and two manuscripts later, his works were still rejected for publication, even though the publishers all said he wrote well and the story was good, but just not marketable.

One day, he came across a briefcase with a manuscript written by someone. He was so haunted by the story of a young soldier in the second world war dedicating the story to his wife and recently-deceased baby daughter, that he wanted the words to flow out of himself. So he went to retype the manuscript on his own typewriter. When his wife came across that story on his typewriter, she was so moved that she urged him to get the manuscript published. Unwilling to disappoint his wife and knowing this would be his big break, he did not reveal that he was not the original writer.

His book became a sensation and overnight best-seller. Due to the popularity of this new book, his previous manuscripts were also published. That book allowed him to win the New Letters Of The Year award. The next day after receiving an award, he came across an old man who was revealed to be the original writer of the story.

The writer was so crest-fallen and guilty that he confessed of his plagiarism to his wife. He then went on to confess to his publisher, who told him things like that do happen and he just had to ride on his new-found success, as if not because of this book, he would never be a published writer. Hence, he had to live with his guilt, especially after finding out the other manuscripts he wrote were not of the same standard as the first that was published.

So the new writer went to find the old man and wanted to give him his proceeds of the royalties. The old man refused and said it was enough to see his words in print, and that he did not tell him the truth to gain anything, but just to let him know the background of the story. Shortly after, the old man passed away, and the new writer did not have the chance to atone for what he did.

Back to the opening scene. It is now revealed that the writer talking about the book is none other that the young writer himself, but now middle-aged and with several best-sellers to his name. He decided to write this book to tell the truth and to atone for what he did. Of course, people thought it was all fiction. It was implied that he and his wife never did recover from the deception and their marriage fell apart, and even though he became rich and successful, he never got over the guilt of publishing someone else's work in the first place.

Just like "Atonement". The writer in the show never got over her guilt of what she did to her sister and the man she loved. Unfortunately, she never did manage to make amends, as both died during the second world war and never had the chance to get back together. She became a famous writer, and in the end she published her final book entitled "Atonement", hoping to alleviate her guilt towards what she did.

Both shows are good in their own ways. "The Words" may sound complicated, but it is actually a very simple movie and quick to understand. And that is why it makes the show so good because it is such a simple, albeit fantastic storyline. Nothing complicated, no extra characters. Just a simple plot and great acting. And that is why it is one of the best shows I have watched in recent years.

Saturday, February 26, 2011 Borders To Close? Posted by juphelia at 12:36

There is an article today about Borders, the giant bookstore chain, going bankrupt. I am not sure if they will pull out the store here, because if they do, it is a disaster indeed as I will no longer find any good books around anymore.

Borders is the first bookstore and cafe concept to open here, back in the mid-1990s. In those days, it was hard to find really good books around. Most of the time, I end up going to the library, or to local bookstores where there is not much variety, or else I will buy my books overseas from Harris when I went to Australia.

Then the Japanese bookstore Kinokuniya came. Even though it has a wide range of books, but most of the time, it is filled with, erh, Japanese books. So when Borders opened its doors, I started hanging out there all the time. The variety is humongous - from reference books to fiction to non-fiction to cookbooks. Many of my university textbooks were bought in Borders.

I remember those days when I was still a poor student, I would go to Borders, pick out a book I like, then hide in a corner and started reading. I never got caught because I always finished the book within a couple of hours, then returned it back to the shelf. The book looks as good as new because I always handle it with care. I absolutely hate anyone reading a book or flipping through the covers and returning it with the covers tattered and folded. The least one can do is to learn how to take care of a book properly!

Now with the internet age, I no longer step into Borders that often. I would always order online. I guess due to this, the bookstore itself is not making any profits because most people prefer to order books online now, or worse, download e-books or just read everything off the internet.

A few months back, I wrote a post on how electronic media can never be compared to print media. I still concur to this. No matter how much you read off smartphones, or the internet or iPads or Kindle, it is never the same having a physical book in your hands. Yes, I know electronic versions do not cost money, I know it is saving the trees, but there are other ways to save money and there are other ways to save the trees. Improving your knowledge and language is worth every penny.

It is just like downloading movies instead of going to the cinema. Or downloading songs instead of listening to a CD or iPod. Call me old-fashioned or out with the times, but I much prefer seeing the big screen in the movies as compared to the small screen on my computer or laptop. I much prefer listening to the CDs on my clock radio-CD player instead of downloading songs and listening off my computer or laptop. And if I go travelling, I can always burn all the songs from my CDs into my iPod Shuffle.

I really hope Borders will not pull its store from the local shore. There is only one Borders store here, and if that goes, it will be a disaster! No longer will I be able to relieve my younger days and enjoy hanging out there anymore!

Sunday, February 20, 2011 A Read-A-Thon Posted by juphelia at 12:34

All of a sudden, I am having a reading marathon. I used to have these "read-a-thons" back in my school days when there was nothing much to do, since my parents did not allow me to go out nor watch any television, so when I was bored, I started reading. And a good thing it is, because I always feel nowadays many people do not read enough.

In any case, in recent years, my reading has decreased drastically. One reason is work. You spend all hours working and really have no time to do anything else. Another reason is social life. When I start going out with friends, having fun, then later started being involved in religious work and then started dating, one really does not have that much time for one's own leisures anymore.

I used to average twenty-five books a month, then later on ten books a month, and now, it seems to be a good thing if I can even finish one book a month. That is how much I have deteriorated. So this year, I made a resolution to myself to go through at least two books a month, and slowly increase along the way.

For the past two weeks, I have finished three books. Not a bad feat! I started reading again on public transport, while I was on the bus or the train. I started reading when I was out with my boyfriend, when we were waiting for the bus or train or just waiting for the food to come. By doing this, I realise I can get through a book much quicker.

Now my love for reading has increased. I have always been passionate about books and the beauty of the words in a page, but I have never imagined ever giving it lesser priority than anything else in my life. I totally regret doing that, because reading is really a pleasure beyond any description.

I will never let my love of the books slide again! I plan to go through at least two books a month and more if possible!