Movie 2 - Outlander

14 January 2009 - Outlander

Firstly, the 'Back to the Future' really does not click with me. A futuristic space craft crashing into ancient Norway. Seems odd to me.

Secondly, the monster creature seems too modern to survive in the Vikings era. Let alone multiply.

The only scene I thought worthwhile watching is where they try to trap the monster into a huge pit and burned it alive. Their plan seems workable, but no. The burning doesn't work. Instead what kill the monster was dropping several hundred meters from the cliff to the sea.

Rating: 2/5

Movie 1 - Yes Man

7 January 2009 - Yes Man

I have always been a Yes Man at work. Though I am not the big boss, but I do have many people below me and the word that I dread most to hear from them is NO. I believe most, if not all, bosses will share that sentiment. Therefore I am always a Yes Man.

Carl Allen, the character play by Jim Carrey, does not seem to believe in it, both at work and at play. He's the NO man. But he soon found that YES meant better things. And he YES, even when he does not meant them. He found out the consequences of that the bitter way. But all is not loss when he realized it soon enough.

Jim Carrey is funny. Not over the top funny, well, most of the time, but humorous. But the character I liked most is that of Norman, or Norm, Carl Allen's boss. He provides the slapstick comedy, which used to be Jim Carrey's best.

My rating: 3/5

Mamma Mia!

4 January 2009 - After watching the movie version, I have wanted to watch the stage version. When it was announced that the musical will come ashore, I was trying to get the ticket. But due to 'unforeseen circumstances', I missed out. Then they announced that it will be extended for another 3 days. This time, I made no mistake and went to get the ticket the following day after the announcement. With WK's Enrich Card, we got a 10% discount for the ticket. Priced at RM303, we pay RM273. This is supposed to be the final show of their tour here in Malaysia before moving to Sweden.


The seat is on the second floor. And it is only 5 rows behind the VIP seats. And this guy was just right in-front of me.

(Picture taken from the The Star Online)

It was my first time in Istana Budaya. The only other musical theater that I have visited is the one Vienna (cant remember the name though). Istana Budaya has big entrance hall, the stairs leading to the second floor make it looks a bit grand. But that's it. All others are nothing compared to the one in Vienna. But probably I should not compare.



But I got to compare this - the movie and stage version of this hit musical Mamma Mia!.

Thanks to the publicity, I had big expectations (if not huge) of the stage version. I always had the impression that huge hit musicals like this would need a huge stage to support its huge props. But I was all wrong. There are only two fake bricked walls, which they turned back and front umpteen time and at different angles to suit the scene. And of course, some chairs, tables and beds. And that's it.

Singing and Acting - Surprisingly, the voice and acting skills of some the key performers are not really what I expect from a hit musical. While I can excuse the acting, but at least the voice should be great. Save for the lead roles of Donna and Sophie, the rest struggled through a solo performance. I am not a music expert or critic, but those are not exactly great singing to me, as far as my ears are concerned.

However, nothing could beat listening to a live rendition of ABBA hits. Watching these performers live and humming live together with them are probably the only reasons rendered worthwhile forking out 300-bucks from the pocket.

Will I catch another hit musical? Yes.

And You are Welcome!!

Christmas Charity Hunt

29 December 2008 - Christmas Charity Hunt

The last hunt of the year. I started driving from Ipoh at 6.30am to reach KL at 8.30 for the hunt. My car was parked at Jaya33 and the guys just drove 'from the back' at the church to Jaya to fetch me.

To me, this is one of the easier hunt. Our team has started hunting for some years now. I am in the third year, the rest maybe a year or two more. But lately we have not been that regular. To put us in the novice category seems a little 'fresh' for us as we are not that new to treasure hunting. Putting us in the regular with Master level questions, we would have surrendered after the first 3 questions. So this is a case neither here nor there. But what the heck, this is Christmas and time for joy. So we go the novice category and have some fun.

The first 2 questions was a roadblocked for us. After circulating 3 rounds along the sector, we still could not find the answer and decided to leave and come back later, since the finishing control is just nearby. This prove to be a good decision.

At the end, we finished at fifth, dropping 3 route questions and 1 treasure. The treasure where we should have been correct. But somehow, 1 liter seems to equal 'less than 1000ml' then. We got two hampers and we donated one back for charity. I posted some comments in the HRU's blog pertaining to some of the question. Take a look and see.

Anyway, that is it for 2008. Have some wonderful hunts especially during the second half of the year. To all that I have partnered for hunt this year: Wee Kiat, Fong, Angie, Joyce, Jessica, Anthony, Wai Chee and another guy for the Sun Hunt (which forgot his name) - Thanks for a good hunt year. New Year resolution - more hunts.