NUOVO CINEMA PARADISO (NCP)

That was a very good movie. As i once said, "Ini barulah boleh dipanggil filem". Thanks to my fellow kodoks and especially Christina (afdlin's wife) for sort of organizing this small gathering to get us watch this great movie. Though it's an Italian film but the english subtitles really helps.

The mood, the plots, the emotions, the shots... man, i tell you, makes you wonder why the hell cant we produce or make such film here? The NCP's story is simple. It's about a boy called TOTO (not sports toto lah...) who loves film very much, left his hometown (i cant remember its name), never looked back until his so called "friend" Alfredo's funeral ceremony. Alfredo is the one who influenced his life while his father is at war (and he died eventually). In fact, Alfredo is the one who forced Toto to leave his hometown and search for glory (chewah). Alfredo's words to Toto: "I dont want you to talk about people, let the people talk about you". That's some deep shit man. Toto turned-up to be a successful man in showbiz but the thing is, he can never leave his memory or things he grew up with no matter how long he left.

Go watch this movie.

STRAINED LEGS

I'm a BIG FAN of Afdlin Shauki.
Last night I went to watch his showcase BAIK PUNYA CILOK. Dude i tell you guys... gila-happening-kodok-magnificent-ultraman taro punye show! Ambik kau. It so happenned that i have to stand from 1030pm - 0200am to watch the casts perform. Memang lenguh... tipu kalau tak lenguh. But to me its worth it. Seeing you fat idol perform right in front of your very own eyes, plus his friends from planet of the apes (esp. AC Mizal... damn he's like an ape! hahaha...) was fun! but the bottom line is, i really really really enjoyed last night's showcase. It's been a while since i can last remember having such good time laughing like last night. Acidiz is my favourite band ever since afdlin's BILA LARUT MALAM aired. Damn they were awesome! Super-duper-mighty-trooperly superb! Solid sound. I just love them play. Aji, Pacai, Fendi, Acis... you guys rock!

I was home at 0300am and feeling realy tired. It's funny how i could still wake up early this morning and head for work. Huh.

Sometimes, it came into my thinking that maybe it's true that idolizing someone (good ones) could make us a better person or least give us the good feelings to ourselves. Yeah, i learned this from a counseling course. But seriously, i think this theory has its truth. For example, like what happenned to me last night till... this very moment. I'm still wide awake because i enjoyed afdlin's show last night. It really makes me feel good and not to add, proud.

Whatever it is, i'm looking forward for afdlin's next show or maybe next kodok's gathering. I'll try my best to give my support for him.

p/s: BAIK PUNYA CILOK will be in cinema on 22 December 2005! Go get 'em tiger!

SOMEHOW OR RATHER PISSED

The blaming culture. Darn it happens everywhere, to anyone i suppose... and especially at our workplace. What's with these people ah? What? You're so good ah? So invincible ah? So untouchable ah? So-so etc-etc ah? Crap. Rules are rules. Right is right. Wrong is wrong. Be it people. I'm sick of this. It's killing my brain cells already. Why cant we just take the responsibility as it is. Kalau tak berani, dok umah korek idung aa...

Yeah, yeah... that's office politics. What? Really want to play politics ah? Go to Pasir Mas la nowadays... they are having one currently. Cut the shit. To me, those who simply blames people are those who instantly want to cover their pile of guilt. Simply pointing fingers here and there. What? You are so righteous ah? So great ah? Never make mistakes? Dewa ka? Malaikat ka?

Airhead bimbos are pangsai too. Never turn-up for several days and suddenly shouting at people, pointing fingers at others only to relaize in the end that it was thy fault. No apologies follow-up some more. Man, that sucks.

Respect is gained. It's neither privileged nor inherited.
Pardon my foul language.

BREATHE IN

Last night i played futsal with my colleagues at Cheras. Damn it was fun. After a long break since ramadhan and hari raya, i still managed to not got "pancit". I guess, my enthusiasm for futsal is the very the highest one. Plus, with some help from my vitamin B supplement i take daily. It was a 1.5 hour game (play-play) and i never leave the court.

Oleh itu tuan-tuan dan puan-puan, ambillah pil vitamin EXECUTIVE B daripada BLACKMORE'S. Ia memang besar, busuk dan tak sedap tapi berkesan untuk memberi tenaga yang berpanjangan. (hey blackmore's, bayar la promo aku nih...)

Anyway, it's fun to be back sweating the hell out of my body. I love this game.

SOME WORDS OF WISDOM

These are from my very own puny little mind...

• Sometimes, it's not that we can not listen but we dont want to listen.
• Life is our biggest school. The environment, the happennings and the people around is our teachers.
• Mistakes are just lessons we learn from.
• Don't just hang on to something, learn to fly!
• Being slow achiever is better than achieving nothing at all.
• Act stupid but dont be stupid.
• Give your best before leaving it to faith.
• Success doesnt ensure happiness but happiness ensures success.
• Knowledge is useless if you dont use it.
• We were never born stupid or something like it. We are just in the process of learning.
• Life never seems to be fair to us. Ever ask that when something good happens to us?
• Love at first sight? Bullshit! Why does it always have to be with a handsome guy or a beautiful lady?
• Check ourselves before checking on others.
• The definition of staying alive differs to many. The best would be, to live your life to the fullest.
• Self-esteem aint just there for nothing. Look up for it and it will do wonders to your life.
• Biar bodoh tapi nak belajar, daripada pandai yang tak makan di ajar.

Sekian, terima kasih.

SENGAL

Icah had went back to London last night. Man, can you imagine how fast that was? I mean, it's like we just fetch her from KLIA yesterday... and she's gone again. However, she will be back home for good somewhere in July next year... and mom won't be lonely anymore.

Yeah, yeah, that's her beside me. Cute eh? Look at his brother la... (macam kodok). Our trip last night was like... sengal sikit. Sedih pun ade jugak... Abah was in a bad mood... about what? nobody knows... he is usually like that and we all (my family) are used to it...

Check this out... I will be watching AFDLIN'S WHY YOU STILL FAT tonite... jangan marah... ngehngehngeh... Of course with my fiance Shidah. Actually this will be our first "proper" date ever since we were engaged last few weeks. My work just cant get enough of me. Even now I'm at my office taking a break from an urgent preparation for this coming monday. Damn... takpe, yang penting aku akan duduk atas lantai depan stage untuk tengok idola gemok aku perform, hahahahaha...

Oopss, time to work.

Oi PEOPLE! BANGUN!

Yeah, I know I'm not qualified to talk about film but who cares? It's my blog, sukati akulah! and I'm saying it out loud.

I love watching movies, seriously. But sadly, it's hard to find me watching Malay movies. Why? I dont find it's worth watching Malay movies since most screened malay movies are crap. Mengarut, ntah apa apa... sakit la hati bayar tiket rm10. But, not all malay movies are not worth watching... I normally take a look at the director/producer first before hitting the movie or the least, read its previews.

It's funny why we argue on SEPET's success in FFM when this film was chosen as the best film at international level. Again, are we (FFM) better than the international level ah? Or, are all the films competing in the international level not good? That's why SEPET can win? Bull... As the malays always say, cermin la dulu muka tu... Hey, even I can tell which film is good and which is not without any formal education in film making. Basically, I know what is a good shot, good plot, good script, good actor and so on. Dont underestimate us as only being "movie-goers". There are movie-goers out there who really digs good film rather than just doing it to fill their passtime.

I always ask myself and even my friends about this film category thing like U, 18SX, 18PL created not long time ago... what's that? Does this category serves its purpose? Or are we just following what other countries are doing? Bull... To my stupid understanding, when we have these categories, that means we are expecting good film = filmmakers will have more freedom and creativity = censorship will loosen a bit since we can categorize the audience... Of course lah kan? But it didnt happened that way... All films are categorize under U (Umum). And for other films (imported movies) there seem to be no control of audience watching the rated movies. Budak skolah pun boleh tengok 18PL / 18SX ape? So, do we really need these categories? Haha what a bogus.

Open up. Our root problem is we never want to open-up our tiny little mind. Everybody knows that consumer is the most powerful entity in business. Never underestimate the power of consumerism. What does this has to do with film? Dude, if we want our child to grow healthy and brainy, we give them good milk. Otherwise, just give them junk food. Film makers should be good milk and not junk food. This industry can improve if everybody provide good milk. Think about it. Got milk? Dont blame the consumer for watching crap movies if that's the only malay film screened at our cinemas.

Some say its the censorship board, some say its the director, some say its the producer and some say its the actor/actress that affected our quality of movies in Malaysia. I'm proud to be a malaysian, so proud. And I believe we have an interesting culture since we're a multiracial country. This is among the thing that we should show the world. V(iolence) H(orror) S(ex) is just a guidance in film production but that doesn't mean we can't make films about it. This can be shown in so many aspects such as sound effect, lighting, expressions, shots and even camera tricks. In other words, these scenes if it really need to be on the screen, can be manipulated to make it real. Be creative! It's easy for me say kan, but then, no pain no gain man.

This is my summary.
Film people: Please produce good quality movies
People: Please start watching good movies, give your support
Authorities: You should know better on how to improve our film industry
Medias: Get real. Be professional.
Kodoks: Watch all Afdlin Shauki's movies

MY HARI RAYA

My family's Hari Raya photoshoot.

What an interesting Raya I had this year. Joyful. Maybe my little sister's presence has boost our mood up this year. After all, my family ain't that big. Just the 5 of us. Well, as usual our main dish is either Lontong or Soto for pagi raya and I told my mum "...tiap2 tahun ini je menu kita kan? tak lontong, soto... last2 sontong je lah... kehkehkeh..." and I suggested Nasi Beriyani next year. Anyway, my mum's lontong and soto is the bestest I've ever tasted.

A few days before raya was a bit like hell to me. The Indons we paid to paint the house were like "pangsai". Messy. I have to go buy the paint twice. Mula2 kata ok, cukup... pastu tak cukup. Kenapa tak cakap dari tadi setannn... Luckily I was fasting, otherwise, I sure have smoked 2 cigs at once... hehehe. When they are done, the cleaning was also one hell of a task. Move the furnitures, unroll the carpets (yg besar dan berat oiii..), clean the porch etc etc. Penat tu... Then I have to find some ice-cream for the annual takbir malam raya from house-to-house event. This is our second consecutive year serving our guests with ice-cream. Interesting and easy... hehehe...

On the Hari Raya itself, we usually sit together after sembahyang raya to have our breakfast... pergh... boleh makan siang siot... then, the mintak maaf session, followed by some photography session... the only different activity was visiting my cousin at HKL's ICU ward. Man, my aunt is one strong woman. She had been there since her son was admitted to ER. She only went home for bath. I was so touched when I saw packages of kuih raya, kurma and a bottle of mineral water placed on the floor right by the vending machine. Her hari raya was like... meaningless.

Oh well, that's all I can bearly describe about my Hari Raya this year. I just read afdlin's blog on film censorship and interested in it. That will be my upcoming issue, insyaallah.