Ends 2010 and starts 2011 with a pint of Tiger Beer and half a pint of Strongbow at Sid's Pub, Bangsar South with David. :)
Movie: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003)
The power of seven become a league of one.The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003) is an action-adventure superhero movie adapted from the comic book series of the same name. Set in the late 19th century and in an alternate Victorian Age world, this movie features an assortment of fictional literary characters from the works of famous English writers such as Jules Verne, Bram Stoker, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Oscar Wilde, Edgar Allan Poe, Mark Twain, and some others.
Synopsis: Renowned adventurer Allan Quatermain (Sean Connery) heads up a "league" of extraordinary people with superpowers to battle the technological terror of a villain known as "The Fantom", finally revealed as Professor James Moriarty (Richard Roxburgh), the nemesis of Sherlock Holmes.
This "League" comprises Indian pirate/seafarer Captain Nemo (Naseeruddin Shah), chemist/vampiress Mina Harker (Peta Wilson), an invisible man by the name of Rodney Skinner (Tony Curran), American Secret Service Agent Tom Sawyer (Shane West), the evil and ageless Dorian Gray (Stuart Townsend), and the infamous Dr Jekyll/Mr. Hyde (Jason Flemyng).
If you're well-read and familiar with the Victorian age characters, then you'll find this movie very, very interesting, especially if you're able to identify them. In my opinion, the idea of assembling legendary personalities from literary fiction as a team/league to combat villains is really ingenious and extraordinary. In fact, this movie reminds me of Watchmen (2009), another similar movie but darker and gloomier in nature.
All in all, this is an enjoyable and entertaining movie. Highly recommended if you haven't watch it. :)
Project 365 - Photo #364
Thursday, December 30, 2010
"Her Fearful Symmetry" by Audrey Niffenegger, the author of "The Time Traveler's Wife".
Synopsis:
Julia and Valentina Poole are normal American teenagers - normal, at least, for identical 'mirror' twins who have no interest in college or jobs or possibly anything outside their cosy suburban home. But everything changes when they receive notice that an aunt whom they didn't know existed had died and left them her flat in an apartment block overlooking Highgate Cemetery in London.
They feel that at last their own lives can begin... but have no idea that they've been summoned into a tangle of fraying lives, from the obsessive-compulsive crossword setter who lives above them to their aunt's mysterious and elusive lover who lives below them, and even to their aunt herself, who never got over her estrangement from the twin's mother - who can't even seem to quite leave her flat...
With Highgate Cemetery itself a character and echoes of Henry James and Charles Dickens, Her Fearful Symmetry is a delicious and deadly twenty-first-century ghost story about Niffinegger's familiar themes of love, loss and identity. It is certain to cement her standing as one of the most singular and remarkable novelists of our time.
What I've Done in 2010 & What I'll Do in 2011
Photo sourceIn 2010: Love Found Us
About A Special Someone
13 Points You Wanna Know About Me
In 2011: Continue what we've begun and going on strong. :)
Photo sourceIn 2010: Mini Travelogue
- January: Sepang International Circuit
- February: Pantai Cherating
- April: Malacca
- May: Kuala Terengganu & Pulau Kapas
- September: Holiday in Malacca with David's family & relatives
- October: Sungkai Hot Springs & attended two friends' wedding dinners in Malacca
- December: Christmas in Seremban with David's family & relatives
In 2011: Holidaying in Terengganu (again ^_^V), East Malaysia, Singapore, and Vietnam with David. :)
Photo sourceIn 2010: Fandom Random
Major: Our Star Wars Astromech Droid Collection
Minor: Beary Fishy from Dooodolls
In 2011: Buy more astromech droids to grow our collection. Nothing much on Beary Fishy though.
Photo sourceIn 2010: Photojournalist Wannabe
My Journey of "A Photo A Day" for 365 Days in 2010 here or here.
I would say, Project 365 is a successful self-enhancement "program" that lets me discover how far I can stretch myself to persevere. The chronicle of interesting happenings in my daily life for 365 days is created by immortalizing memorable moments on photos. Then, by adding captions to these photos, what I have is a digital diary.
2010 is the year I met David. So, Project 365 for 2010 is meaningful to me. It's really lovely. :)
In 2011: Continue with Project 365 for 2011. Will need to decide which platform to use.
In 2010: WUQkie BabyMy purple Proton Saga for at least 6 years.
In 2011: Get WUQkie tinted perhaps?
Photo sourceIn 2010: Career GrooveI'm still working with the same company.
In 2011: Grow my portfolio & skill sets. Digital/Online marketing sounds cool.
Photo sourceIn 2010: Me & My Online Space
I've gotten my blog's own domain and created a Facebook page for my blog: facebook.com/joycescapade
Here's the list of the rest of my online stuff:
Very active: Twitter | Facebook | Foursquare | Posterous
Active: Tumblr | Twitpic | LinkedIn | The Joyce Rachel Lee Daily
In 2011: Start an online blogshop. Business module is still in discussion with him.
Photo sourceIn 2010: Writing for Brands
1. What's Windows 7 Malaysia?
2. Windows 7 Malaysia | Blogs & Ultimate Re-Tweet Contest
3. Windows 7 Malaysia Movement :: Get Engaged via Contests
4. Windows 7 Merdeka Day Themes by Reggie Lee
5. Windows 7, Malaysia & Me Design Contest for Students
6. Experiencing Windows 7's desktop shuffling
7. Exploring Windows® Internet Explorer 9 Beta
8. Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 -- Compatible, Familiar, Professional
9. Save Social Energy (1) -- A Self Analysis
10. Save Social Energy (2) -- Windows Live Movie Maker 2011
11. Save Social Energy (3) -- Windows Live Messenger 2011
12. Save Social Energy (4) -- Microsoft Windows Live Survey
13. Windows Phone 7 -- The Phone That Saves Us
14. Our Savior -- The Windows Phone 7 -- HTC 7 Mozart & HTC HD7
15. Word It and Win a HTC Touch Diamond2 Contest
16. Windows Phone 7: Make It Mine Contest
17. Help Save Social Energy & Score An LG Optimus Contest
18. Be WOW-ed! by the New KOTEX® LUXE*
19. Discover Your WOW Personality
In 2011: Since the nature of my blog is not niche, I'll just write niche articles/reviews if I receive request to do so.
Photo source1n 2010: Bookaholic
I've picked up reading again. Here's the list of books that I've read. My favorite bookstores are BookXcess and Bookalicious.
In 2011: Continue to buy and read more books. Ah... and buy new bookshelves.
Photo sourceIn 2010: Movie Manic
Here's the whole list: My 2010 Movie List.
In 2011: Continue to watch more movies. What else? :P
Archive:
- 2009: Bye 2009! Hello 2010!
- 2008: 2009 Goals / Resolutions!
- 2007: Thank You Lord for 2007
Movie: The Last Exorcism (2010)
Believe In Him.The Last Exorcism (2010) is a low-budget mockumentary horror movie.
Synopsis: Reverend Cotton Marcus (Patrick Fabian) is a Christian preacher who has been performing exorcisms on "possessed" individuals since young.
However, after reading about an autistic child who died during an exorcism, he gives up the practice of exorcism, even to the point of attributing physical healing to science, and not to faith in Jesus Christ.
He agrees to take part in the making of a documentary to expose the practice of exorcism as a fraud. Working with the crew, Iris (Iris Bahr) and cameraman Dave (Adam Grimes), they visit Louis Sweetzer (Louis Herthum), a farmer who claims that his daughter, Nell (Ashley Bell) is possessed and seeks the reverend's help to perform exorcism.
There are quite a number of pretty good mockumentary movies shot with "shaky" cameras, i.e. The Blair Witch Project, Cloverfield, Paranormal Activity, REC, District 9, and The Fourth Kind. So, if you're okay with watching jerky and slightly blurry scenes, you'll find this movie interesting to watch.
Now, about the storyline. This is not your usual exorcism movie, if you are thinking about Exorcist. The focus of The Last Exorcism is neither the demon that terrorizes the afflicted person nor hyped-up horror. It's a documentary-style movie that makes you think you're watching real daily life events. So, don't expect overwhelmingly scary scenes that capitalizes on sound or CGI effects because there are none. However, this movie does have a few unexpected scary moments that are good enough to maintain the disturbing aura towards the end of the movie.
Ashley Bell gives an impressive performance as the demon-possessed girl, Nell. Her facial expressions range from sweet and innocent in some scenes to blank and hostile in other scenes. Her ability to contort her body without the need of special effects is beyond words. Here's an article: Can Ashley Bell snag an Oscar nomination for 'The Last Exorcism?'
Overall, if you appreciate mockumentary horror movies, you should watch this movie.
Project 365 - Photo #363
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Instant mushroom soup with Jacob's Hi-Cal crackers for dinner.
My 2010 Movie List
Archive: My 2009 Movie List
Here's my 2010 Movie List - watched, blogged, rated.
Disclaimer: I'm not a movie critic, I'm just an average movie maniac & cinema-goer. The lists below are based purely and solely on my own opinion. :)
Rating:
1 (Not Recommended At All)
2 (Poor Yet Watchable)
3 (Okay)
4 (Recommended)
5 (Highly Recommended)
Rating = 1
- Ju-on: White Ghost & Black Ghost (2010)
- Legion (2010)
- Womb Ghosts (2010)
- The Amityville Horror (2005)
- Devil's Diary (2007)
- Secret Sunday aka 9 Temples: Death Ghost (2010)
- Illusion Apartment (异度公寓) (2010)
- After.Life (2009)
- Death Happen (6:66 Tai Mai Dai Tai) (2009)
- Let Me In (2010)
Rating = 2
- Haunted Universities (2009)
- True Legend (蘇乞兒) (2010)
- The Collector (2009)
- Mirror Mask (2005)
- Solomon Kane (2010)
- The Stepfather (2009)
- Planet 51 (2009)
- Jack and the Beanstalk (2010)
- Chloe (2009) Marmaduke (2010)
- The Exorcist III (1990)
- Haunted Room: Who Are You (2010)
- Tekken (2010)
- Piranha (2010)
- Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore (2010)
- The Tomb (2009)
- King of Fighters (2010)
- Blood Ties (还魂) (2009)
- Mirrors 2 (2010)
- Skyline (2010)
Rating = 3
- The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2010)
- Vengeance (復仇) (2009)
- Case 39 (2010)
- Far Cry (2008)
- Jurassic Park (1993)
- The Butterfly Effect 2 (2006)
- Whiteout (2009)
- Clash of the Titans (2010)
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008)
- Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010)
- Pokemon - Lucario & the Mystery of Mew
- Fanboys (2009)
- *batteries not included (1987)
- The Losers (2010)
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010)
- A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)
- The Bounty Hunter (2010)
- The Crazies (2010)
- The Karate Kid (2010)
- Knight and Day (2010)
- Gothika (2003)
- The Legend is Born: Ip Man (叶问前传) (2010)
- House on Haunted Hill (1999)
- Wanted (2008)
- The Red Baron (2008)
- Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010)
- The Last Airbender (2010)
- Shanghai (2010)
- The Recruit (2003)
- Collateral (2004)
- Fire of Conscience (火龙) (2010)
- The Expandables (2010)
- Kaiji: The Ultimate Gambler (2009)
- 28 Days Later (2002)
- Devil (2010)
- Antitrust (2001)
- Adele: Rise of the Mummy (2010)
- Æon Flux (2005)
- Splice (2009)
- Fair Game (2010)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)
- Shaun of the Dead (2004)
- Gulliver's Travels (2010)
Rating = 4
- Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant (2009)
- 14 Blades (錦衣衛) (2010)
- Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009)
- Daybreakers (2010)
- The Book of Eli (2010)
- The Lovely Bones (2010)
- Alice in Wonderland (2010)
- From Paris with Love (2010)
- Edge of Darkness (2010)
- Shutter Island (2010)
- Ip Man 2 (2010)
- The Descent (2005)
- The Descent Part 2 (2009)
- Iron Man 2 (2010)
- The Wolfman (2010)
- Coraline (2009)
- Unthinkable (2010)
- Star Wars: Episodes IV, V, VI
- Toy Story 3 (2010)
- Predators (2010)
- Defiance (2008)
- Flyboys (2006)
- Salt (2010)
- Repo Men (2010)
- The Sorcerer's Apprentice (2010)
- The Stool Pigeon (线人) (2010)
- Zombieland (2009)
- Shelter (2010)
- Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004)
- Resident Evil: Extinction (2007)
- Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen (精武風雲：陳真) (2010)
- The Experiment (2010)
- Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame (狄仁杰之通天帝国) (2010)
- Reign of Assassins (剑雨) (2010)
- The Island (2005)
- RED (2010)
- The Social Network (2010)
- Despicable Me (2010)
- Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole (2010)
- Tron: Legacy (2010)
- The Last Exorcism
- The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003)
Rating = 5
- Braveheart (1995)
- Inglourious Basterds (2009)
- Kick-Ass (2010)
- The A-Team (2010)
- Inception (2010)
- Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006)
Project 365 - Photo #362
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Gingerbread man is my sister's favorite Christmas dessert. :)
Movie: Gulliver's Travels (2010)
Black is the New BigGulliver's Travels (2010) is a comedy adventure movie set in the modern world although the storyline is based on the 18th-century novel of the same name.
Synopsis: Lemuel Gulliver (Jack Black) has a crush on Darcy Silverman (Amanda Peet), a travel editor with the New York Tribune and sets out for the Bermuda Triangle to prove himself as a journalist and to win Darcy's heart.
During the journey, Gulliver's boat is caught in a magical waterspout and he finds himself on the the island of Lilliput, inhabited by little people called the Lilliputians. He soon befriends and gains the trust of Lilliputians, even guiding Horatio (Jason Segel) to woo Princess Mary (Emily Blunt), the woman of his dreams.
However, not everyone welcomes and likes Gulliver, especially General Edward (Chris O'Dowd) who downright resents Gulliver and wants him to leave Lilliput.
Well, nothing much to shout about this movie except for the numerous appearances of Star Wars, Titanic, and Avatar elements; and of course, the delightful special effects. Jack Black is being his usual comical self with funny liners and that's just about it. Some of the conversations between Gulliver and the little people are entertaining and hilarious; you will laugh along with them. So, if you do want some good laughs, you will enjoy watching this movie. :)
Project 365 - Photo #361
Monday, December 27, 2010
The astromech droid family has started its reign in glory. At the moment, we've 30 astromech droids as of December 2010. ;)
More photos on my Facebook album or follow this tag on my blog: Compilation: Droid Trails
Weekend Movie 2: Shaun of the Dead (2004)
A romantic comedy. With zombies.Shaun of the Dead (2004) is a British romantic comedy, also a zombie flick. Remember Zombieland (2009)? Both movies are surprisingly entertaining and funny albeit having zombies as their main plot.
Well, who says zombie movies must be entirely action-packed and fueled with suspense, blood, and gore? In fact I like zom-coms (zombie comedies) more than hardcore zombie thrillers, which are quite stressful to watch. :P
Ok, let's read the synopsis for Shaun of the Dead.
Shaun (Simon Pegg), a department store salesman is having problems with his life. He has a hard time at work; his best buddy, Ed (Nick Frost) is a good-for-nothing slob; his girlfriend, Liz (Kate Ashfield) breaks up with him and he wants to get her back; and his stepfather, Philip (Bill Nighy) is always on his back, reminding him to be a good son to his mother, Barbara (Penelope Wilton).
Then, there's another problem. Just when he has made up his mind to sort out his life, hordes of flesh-eating zombies are feasting on the living! So Shaun comes out with a plan to save himself, Ed, Liz, his mom, and his step-dad. All he has to do is survive... and most importantly, to win Liz back.
This movie starts off with sitcom-like scenes. Then, it drags on with a lot of human melodramas between Shaun and Liz, Shaun and Ed, Shaun and Ed and their housemate Pete, Shaun and his stepfather, Shaun and his mother... You get what I mean? Then, after 40 minutes or so, the storyline begins to evolve. Monotonous scenes are gradually replaced with "retarded" and funny scenes of how they try to ward off the zombies in order to survive the apocalypse.
All in all, Shaun of the Dead is a heart-warming zom-com that focuses a whole lot on interactions with individuals that matter the most to you. I think it succeeds in setting itself apart from the rest of the zombie flicks out there. If Zombieland wins, the reason would be because it's filmed five years later than Shaun of the Dead. :)
Weekend Movie 1: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)
The Chamber of Secrets has opened...Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) is the second movie of the Harry Potter series.
Synopsis from IMDb: Forced to spend his summer holidays with his muggle relations, Harry Potter gets a real shock when he gets a surprise visitor - Dobby the house-elf, who warns Harry Potter against returning to Hogwarts, for terrible things are going to happen. Harry decides to ignore Dobby's warning and continues with his pre-arranged schedule.
But, at Hogwarts, strange and terrible things are indeed happening. Harry is suddenly hearing mysterious voices from inside the walls, muggle-born students are being attacked, and a message scrawled on the wall in blood puts everyone on his/her guard - "The Chamber Of Secrets Has Been Opened. Enemies Of The Heir, Beware".
I haven't watched any of the Harry Potter movies. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is the first movie that gives me the foretaste of what a Harry Potter movie is about. Overall, I don't quite understand the storyline because first, my knowledge about everything related to Harry Potter is limited and second, I'm not used to British accent.
In the end, I'm still not interested to start reading the Harry Potter novels or to watch the rest of the Harry Potter movies. :)
Project 365 - Photo #359
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Quick bite @ espresSoup, Berjaya Times Square
Currently, espresSoup - the first Soup Kiosk in Malaysia, are located at four main venues in Klang Valley, i.e. Berjaya Times Square (Level 2), Plaza Low Yat (Lower Ground), Prima Avenue Cyberjaya, and The Gardens Mall (Lower Ground).
David and I opted to share a portion of Classic Minestrone served in Farmer Bread. There's a simple instruction leaflet on the table - "How to Savor the Soup and Bread?" You don't merely drink the soup on its own. You need to cut the bread into chunks, let the soup flow, and let the bread chunks soak in the soup. Quite an interesting concept!
Lo and behold! Bread chunks soak in warm and delicious soup when an "exit" is created on one side of the Farmer Bread.Soup selection includes Chunky Mushroom, Creamy Pumpkin, Clam Chowder, Sweet Corn, and Classic Minestrone.
Their ala carte dishes include soup, pasta, salad, bites, and coffee. Check out their two combos as well:
Combo A = any soup + (salad/bites)
Combo B = any soup in bread + (salad/bites)
Pre-Christmas walk-walk
Christmas decor at One Utama Shopping Center (Old Wing) is delightfully European. The decor at New Wing with similar elements is grander and more elaborate. This spectacular theme and setting make us feel as if those old European classic childhood tales do come true.
This is a humongous Christmas tree at Level 1, Berjaya Times Square.
Berjaya Times Square calls their theme, A Cosmic Christmas.
Aha! This is us, smiling at one of the huge golden ball hanging on the humongous Christmas tree.Other Christmasy posts. :)
Project 365 - Photo #357
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Us, smiling at the giant golden ball found on a huge Christmas tree at Berjaya Times Square. ^_^
Project 365 - Photo #356
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
"Season of Secrets" by Sally Nicholls, the award-winning author of "Ways to Live Forever".
Synopsis:
On a wild and stormy night Molly runs away from her grandparents' house. Her dad has sent her to live there until he Sorts Things Out at home. In the howling darkness, Molly sees a desperate figure running for his life from a terrifying midnight hunt. He has come to help her. But why? And who is he?
"Season of Secrets" weaves the tale of a heartbroken child and an age-old legend into a haunting story of love, healing and strange magic.
I Heart Borneo
I heart Borneo is a community-driven initiative to promote unity between East and West Malaysia and to bring people from both sides closer together. This site is created with the intention to help people share content on all the reasons to love Borneo.
Let's show the love across the ocean, tell the world why we love Borneo with the #iheartborneo hashtag, and bring the Borneo and West Malaysian web communities closer together.
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How it all works?
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Share & Show The Love
How? You can do so on Facebook, Twitter, blog. More info on this link.
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Let's give our support together so that this initiative will gain the best momentum ever! All the best to everyone!
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