GIVING SUPPORT TO "MECHAMATO"

The boy's name was Amato and he met MechaBot, the robot. Amato became the master of MechaBot, and together they worked to fight the evil. Amato was actually the father of Boi Boi Boy - another character in Malaysian animation series and movies.

Superb computer graphic and Malaysians should be proud of its animation movie. The movie could entertain both the children and adults and this is the kind of movie you should go and watch.

There were less than 20 people in the movie theatre at AEON Bandar Dato' Onn.

The last movie we watched was "Mat Kilau" but we already knew the next movies to watch. 

BACK TO THE CINEMA AFTER MORE THAN TWO YEARS

8TH JULY 2022 ~ After more than two long years, I was back to the cinema. This time to watch a record-breaking Malay movie "Mat Kilau" at GSC theater in KSL Mall. Guess it was good to be back.

To my relief, there were not many people and the theater hall was not full. People went crazy last week, I supposed, trying to get in the queue to be the early ones to watch this movie, especially during the weekends.

So how did I find the movie? Everything was overdone, in my opinion. The fighting scenes, the sound effects, the camera techniques as well as the script and surprisingly, the level of violence. However, the quality of the film was far better than the rest of the usual, boring Malay movies and this movie should set a benchmark for our local filmmaking. Definitely a must see for people who like martial arts, Silat in particular - because the fighting just never ends.

WHAT DID I WATCH ON NETFLIX: "WHITE TIGER"

Being clever but poor has made Balram wants to climb the social ladder and he successfully secures the job of the driver to Ashok, the son to a rich man. The first intention is to be the loyal servant to his master, but his grandmother states: "The city has corrupted your soul." Isn't money is the root of all evil. According to Balram, "but for the poor, there are only two ways to get to the top: crime or politics." He chose the latter and murdered his master in cold blood. He did get what he wanted but was it the right thing to do?

An Indian movie which portrays the oppression of the poor, and the society where the rich wants to become richer, while the poor will have to do the extraordinary to be rich.

One serious movie that makes me feel thankful for the life that I have.

WHAT DID I WATCH ON NETFLIX: "TRIBHANGA - TEDHI MEDHI CRAZY"

 The story of three women of different generations:

[1] Nayan, the mother of Anu. A renowned writer who is hated by her mother-in-law she is staying with. [Mother-in-law who is portrayed as an evil and wicked person is not something new]. Until one day she runs away, taking Anu and her younger brother along, living the life as a single mother with another complicated plot.

[2] Anu, the victim of a broken marriage and is sexually abused by her stepfather. She hated her mother and was not talking to her. She had a relationship with a Russian man, is pregnant with Masha. Unfortunately the man is also abusive and Anu lives her scandalous life as an actress/dancer.

[3] Masha, living the life which is the consequence of the sins of the mother and grandmother.

A very interesting story as everyone is telling her own story of the life she has to live in order to compete an autobiography of Nayan. Another Hindi movie which does not contain unnecessary dancing and singing scenes but should get you thinking - who is to be blamed for everything that happens.

And Kajol is the main lead of this movie, which makes it worth watching.

Someone is already recommending another Hindi movie for me to watch on Netflix.

WHAT DID I WATCH ON NETFLIX: "IS LOVE ENOUGH? SIR"

If you are widowed when you are 19 in a traditional Indian village, your life is practically over. That is the fate that befalls on Ratna who decides to move to Mumbai and becomes a domestic helper [READ: maid] to a rich architect, Ashwin. Ratna also has a dream to be a fashion designer and with her master's consent, she takes up part time tailoring classes. To cut the story short, Ashwin falls for his own maid but Ratna is confused and hesitant as she knows this is something unacceptable and will never end happily. She goes out of the apartment to Ashwin's dismay and that leads to the ending of the movie - which I will not tell. Living in two different worlds, will love be enough?

What I like about this movie is that it has no singing and dancing and running around the park and tumbling down the hill. The actress does not have to be sexy or beautiful with heavy make up or do lip sync to songs not hers. Everything is just so naturally done and I am thinking I am watching scenes taken from real life.

I am hoping for a sequel but definitely with more complications and conflicts - at the same time still praying for a happy ending for both the hero and heroine.

OF COFFEE, A MOVIE AND GRILLED CHICKEN

It was not easy to get back to work after all the fun time I had had during my short break. Then an ex-student contacted me for an outing and that should be the acclimatization session I needed.

So we went to Paradigm Mall for coffee and cakes at Secret Recipe while waiting for the movie to start and it was concluded with grilled chicken at Kenny Roger's, all in Paradigm Mall.

As for the movie "Maleficent: Mistress of Evil", it was worth the watch. Even though I did not know what had happened at the beginning as I did not watch the first movie, I could understand the story line real well. It was the usual good vs. evil kind of thing but the whole screening was indeed entertaining.

Thanks Mr. Hamzah Hamdan [SMK Taman Universiti's SPM batch 2006] for the invite and glad we still could make it even though it was a last minute plan.

MOVIE REVIEW - "JOKER"

"Joker" told the story of the protagonist's bitter past, what had happened to him much earlier - about his sick mother and his sad childhood. There was no fighting like what you always see in a superhero movie but there were very graphic and violent scenes, hence the movie is rated 18. And Batman did not make his appearance at all on the screen.

"Joker" is a heavy drama and could be in the genre of psycho thriller. I believe we already have a nominee for the best actor for the upcoming Academy Award.

Thanks Mr. Musleh for the time and company at GSC Paradigm Mall. We should do this next time when you come home for your semester break.

early dinner at Kenny Roger's

Then there was this short reunion with two ex-students of SMK Taman Universiti who are siblings, Mr. David Leong and and Mr. Leong Jing Chen.

MOVIE REVIEW - "AVENGERS: ENDGAME"

4th MAY 2019 ~ After all the Marvel superheroes movies before this, then one had no choice but to watch the concluding episode to all its prequels. Everybody got excited so I just had to jump on the bandwagon. Basically "Avengers" Endgame" was about the few superheroes who still remained after the previous "Infinity War" with Thanos. This time they had to time travel, get all the stones back and turn back the clock and SURPRISE!, everybody got back alive.

MBO KSL, the biggest poster we could find

In the end, a few heroes that I could recognize died like "Ironman" and "Black Widow" and "Captain America" was back to his original age and became very old. I just don't understand why people got really sad with the ending of the movie. I am sure there will be more Marvel films coming back soon to the cinema. However one thing I learned from Thor is: it is alright to grow old and ugly.

MOVIE REVIEW - "SHAZAM"

Why "Shazam" is a must-watch superhero movie? Definitely because of its element of humour throughout. At the same time, the plot is more logical than other superhero movies involving deities and demi-gods.

The protagonist is a 15-year old boy who is searching for his mother when he is intentionally left at a fun fair when he is small. He is then chosen by a wizard to inherit the magic power to defeat the evil people and monsters.

Fortunately, I managed to catch the movie and I must say it was worth the time and effort to go watch this. I had to sleep late as the film ended after 12 midnight and it was a school day the next morning. The good thing was that was no queue getting the ticket at all just by walking in.

Hoping for a sequel to the first one. It better be good as we always find the sequel is frequently not as good as the first one.

MOVIE REVIEW - "UPIN & IPIN: KERIS SIAMANG TUNGGAL"

The last Malay movies I watched at the cinema were "Hantu Mak Limah" and "PASKAL". The main reason I went to watch "Upin & Ipin" was of the good review posted by people on the Internet. Upin, Ipin and friends ventured on a journey to the past and met with other characters of the Malay folk tales like Nujum Pak Belalang, Raja Bersiong, Si Tanggang's mother, Mat Jenin, Bawang Putih and Bawang Merah, and many more. They had this kris (a small traditional dagger) with magical power and with the weapon, they saved the kingdom.

It was surprisingly entertaining and of a high standard of animation. I particularly loved the original soundtrack, which for once NOT another sad love song. Not only children, but adults would love the movie too. I will never look at Upin and Ipin the same again after this.You need to support the local film industry - if the movie is good, that is.

Hurry up, people - it is time to unleash the child in you. And here is the music video of the song for you to enjoy.

MOVIE REVIEW - "WONDER PARK"

26th MARCH 2019 ~ The decision to watch a movie was impromptu, right after the "cendol" session. We went to TGV Tebrau City and there was not much of choice. It was either "Upin dan Ipin" or "Wonder Park" so we opted for the latter.

The animation told the story of a 6 year old girl who should be a science whiz and could easily construct things on her own. She was so full of imagination and one of which was this "Wonder Park" where animals were the operators to make sure people had a good time. Then, at one time, the girl's mother got real sick and had to be sent away for treatment. Consequently, the girl was sad and she stopped imagining things and the park stopped functioning.

I personally feel the movie had such a heavy theme despite the fact that an animation should be more entertaining rather than make people think too much. It was more like a drama for adults rather than a show for small kids. But then, children could easily be entertained with talking animals on screen but I was grateful I did not doze off during the show.

MOVIE REVIEW - "CAPTAIN MARVEL"

This was a female superhero who was once a jet fighter but then was abducted by an alien (who looked the same like a human being). She became very strong as she absorbed the power (something like that) and she was known as Ver instead of her original name, Carol. She had this flashback of the past at the back of her head as she was made not to remember what had really happened to her. She was actually tricked, believing she had to fight another good alien species. Was it the Krulls? When she went back to planet Earth and successfully retrieved her life's past history, she realized she had to help the Krulls so there were a lot of fighting scenes but she of course was the strongest with the mightiest power. She was the protagonist so of course she had to win. And then there was this ginger cat which was an alien feline that could eat and swallow bad people and huge objects.

You can see Captain Marvel again in the next Avengers series in April.

T H E    E N D

MOVIE REVIEW - "ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL"

I went to watch "Alita: Battle Angel" at Paradigm Mall as there was not much choice but it turned out to be a good show.

This is a movie adapted from a graphic novel of a cyborg girl who could fight very well. She was different as she had the sense of touch, had feelings and even produced tears. Then to make the story line more dramatic, the cyborg girl fell in love with a human being who was then almost killed and had to be turned into a cyborg too.I won't disclose the ending of this high-tech love story. Go and watch this movie now. Great animation and CGI effects - everything looked so real. There were many fighting scenes and at times were a bit too violent for young viewers in my opinion.

I managed to watch two movies during the one-week CNY school break so I think my holiday was quite alright.

MOVIE REVIEW - "HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: THE HIDDEN WORLD"

I did not watch the first two prequels of this movie but the plot was easy to predict. The dragon that was brought up and trained by the main character in the earlier two films had to be released so that it could get back to the place where it belonged. The end.

If you love animation or a die-hard fan of "How to Train Your Dragon", then you better go and watch this as there is no more sequel, as what I have read on the internet.

MOVIE REVIEW - "AQUAMAN"

I was having this meeting outside school so I decided to see whether there was any movie I could watch on my way back home at AEON Bukit Indah - and I was there just at the right time. Finally, I got to see "Aquaman" on the big screen and that should be a wise decision I made.

"Aquaman" was the son of the Queen of Atlantis but his father was just an ordinary human being. Nevertheless, he was still born a superhero and his mission was to save the world: both in the water and on the land as well.

It was a very entertaining movie and the action started right from the beginning - I did not have the chance to doze off. There will of course be a sequel to this movie but you have to wait perhaps for another 3 or 4 years.

MOVIE REVIEW - "RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET"

Why did I watch "Ralph Breaks the Internet" in the first place?
1. I had TGV Cinema membership points to redeem before they expire in December.

2. I had a lot of time to kill before visiting someone in a hospital nearby.

3. That was the movie which was shown at the right time.

How was it? It was an informative and educational show - with detailed explanations how the Internet works. It talks about e-bay, web search engine, advertisement, trending, advertisement and marketing, video, getting likes to gain money, gaming, spamming, virus and security - everything that is related to the IT world. In a way, it was too educational until it was not entertaining anymore, to me at least.

I just realized I watched the first movie entitled "Wreck-It Ralph" back in 2013. No wonder he looked so familiar. ☺

MOVIE REVIEW - "FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE CRIMES OF THE GRINDERWALD"

I remembered watching the first movie of "Fantastic Beasts" but I just could not make head or tail what the story was about. People said this should be the earlier era before "Harry Potter", and unfortunately I only enjoyed the first two movies of "Harry Potter" series. The other sequels were too dark and complicated for me to understand. So if you are a Harry Potter fans, and love magic and wizardry, monsters and elves, this should the movie you would not want to miss.

TGV Tebrau City

I must confess I slept during the early part of the show. Everything seemed to be too dark and slow, and the air conditioner was quite cold.

MOVIE REVIEW - "BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY"

This was the movie I had wanted to watch very badly, and today I finally went and it was worth the time and money. If you love watching good acting and good music, then you MUST go and watch this movie. It was like watching the real legendary Freddie Mercury and Queen's live concert. It was so good I am thinking of going to watch again. I am hoping this film will win many Oscars at the Academy Award.

This should be one BIG movie but then the cinema hall was quite empty, in contrary to those superhero movies. I could not even find a grand movie poster to pose with outside the cinema at TGV Bukit Indah. So sad....

I am glad Mr. Nazafee who accompanied me to the show enjoyed himself tremendously even though he is from a  generation of a different era.

I will need to find someone to write angklung music note for Bohemian Rhapsody.

MOVIE REVIEW: "PASKAL"

5th OCTOBER 2018 ~ PASKAL was the second Malay movie watched this year, after "Hantu Mak Limah". It had received very positive reviews from moviegoers so I went too so as to satisfy my curiosity.

As it was a movie about the military, there were many shooting scenes. One thing, they all looked real and the high quality of this film should set this movie apart from the other cheap Malay movies.

When was the last time I watched a good Malay movie which instilled the value of patriotism among the citizens? I could only remember "Bukit Kepong". It was our second movie of the day actually but it was all worth the time and effort going from Tebrau City to MBO KSL City to catch this.

MOVIE REVIEW: "VENOM'

5th OCTOBER 2018 ~ We went to watch "Venom" when the seats for a Malay movie we wanted to watch at TGV Cinema in Tebrau City were all sold out. We met a new superhero in town and surprisingly, he was good.

"Venom" was actually an alien from outer space who got into the body of the protagonist of the movie and collaborated to help save the world. Contrary to the Malay culture, when someone got extraordinary strong, he must be possessed by the devil or genie. However, the Venom would simply gobble up bad people when he got real hungry.

I don't mind watching the sequel of the film which I believe will be out in two or three years.