Ang Lee's Masterpeice

Lovely wuxia movie

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is super-fare.

It is the quintessential classic Ang Lee's direction of the wuxia genre.

The Swordsman Extraordinaire

Set against the background of the loss of a precious sword, a hunt for a killer, a failed attempt to achieve Wudang kungfu supremacy, there lies the more hidden message-the love value system of the times. A classic clash of love value of faithfulness  confronted Michelle Yeoh's persona Shu Lien as she and Mu Bai  refrained from being involved in physical love. Even the touch of their hands in a scene was so significant of their sacrifice. For Ren, played by Zhi Yi, she chose love over the choice of her parents for a life partner.

The kung fu fights scenes were truly surreal especially Mu Bai clash with Ren atop a bamboo branch.

Unrequited love

Beautiful movie, lovely music and fine acting.

Danger

Great story telling.

Enjoyed every minute of it.

Happenstance Happens!

To Meet Again

Yes, it all started when I wanted to have lunch in the late evening after teaching.

My visit to Ting's Cafe was absolutely opportunistic. It was just curiosity that I went to look at the menu and spotted ox-tail soup. On further inquiry with this fair lady, I was told that it is their house specialty. As there was none left that day,I scooted off and told her that I will come another day. I did have my ox-tail soup subsequently.

And that was the genesis of the journey to discover long lost friends.

One day, my friend  CK suggested that we meet for dinner.

I asked him what is the occasion?

None, he replied just a gathering for the sake of it.

The Twain Shall Meet!

So, I told him about Ting's Cafe.

A small coterie of friends met and we had vodka and our meals at the restaurant. Food was good.

So, I posted some pictures of  Ting's Cafe on our dinner get together on a blog.

Meanwhile another long lost friend YP was scouring the internet trying to look for Mrs CK.

She found her under the LifelineUSM75 blog.

She put in a comment on the blog to trace Mrs CK. There was no response.

So she scanned the photos and went over to Ting's Cafe.

What did she find? She found that the fair lady running Ting's Cafe was her old class-mate, H.

That was how she found Mrs CK and then me as well.

What a great loop it took to find  long lost friends.

Happenstance? Serendipity?

Yes,Rev It Up, Francis!!!

Going places

I think this is what is called effort.

Though there is yet to be volume, pushing it up to RM1.88 this morning is an indicator of good effort.

Hope the Treasury buy-ins will push prices at least pass the RM2.00 mark.

"I will be fair!"

Please go on with the Treasury buys as you need to give in kind  i.e. YTL Corp shares to YTL Power if you want to take it private. Right?

YTL ended with no gains.

Francis, what happened?

The Cinematic Magic of King Hu

The Maestro

I always enjoyed King Hu's artistry flair be it in acting or directing.

Two movies that I truly enjoyed was Come Drink With Me and Dragon Inn.

Masterpiece Wuxia Movie

Dragon Inn fascinates even after 46 years.

This is the mother of all wuxia films.

Choreographed swordsplay

The only other film that generated such vibes was the One-Armed Swordsman.

This is the work of the master director King Hu after the memorable Come Drink With Me.

Lovely damsel

I think this film is well-paced and created characters that are bigger than life.

The villain, eunuch Tsao Shao-chin is classic as the deadly nemesis of the hero and heroine played by

Tsao the Eunuch

Shih Chun and Polly Shang Kuan Lin Fong. The chemistry between Polly and Shih Chun can be 

detected throughout the movie.

Great casting.

As for the story, it is as usual, the good versus the bad where the martial artists saves the children of an 

executed general from being killed by rogue eunuchs and their marauding henchmen.

Always fresh, Dragon Inn is a delight to revisit.

YTL Corp-Not Enough, Francis!

Don't ruin His Great name

Treasury buy-ins did the trick and made YTL Corp to spring to life today after being in the dumps for the last few days.

Do something substantive, okay?

No Francis, not enough!

At the RM1.82 and RM1.83, this does not cut at all for those who just exchanged their bonds with you.

Symbol of Success

The price you offered for your paper was RM1.80 and now even at this price after paying for overheads,they lose big time.

Do make amends with the treasury buy. Only 17,000,000 shares done?  Don't joke-lah...

Keep on buying at least until RM2.00. And double on the volume!!!

Move it, Francis

Then you can say you have made your dad proud. Otherwise. Tsk! Tsk!

At the current price, even I do not know how to hide my face after suggesting that YTL Corp is a great buy for such a pretty long time.

Do something substantive with that horde of billions you have.

Be generous!

Maid is a Rare Commodity

No longer available

The ubiquitous maid seen about two decades ago is fast becoming a rarity in Malaysia.

It is not really an issue of wages per se but more of availability.

No More at your beck and call

Not only are they asking for more money but the alleged mistreatment that has been taking place in Malaysia has been a factor why the Indonesian government is reluctant to send them over here.

Almost double to triple

Today there are more jobs in Indonesia and they pay well too.

Again compared to Malaysia, Indonesian maids get paid better in Singapore , Hong Kong and in the Middle-east.

So, Malaysians must now bite the bullet and pay for local part-time help and forget of having that  luxury of a live-in maid at their beck and call.

Cat Burglar in Paris

See Paris under the Moonlight

The French animated movie, Academy award nominee, "Cat in Paris" has a double entendre. 

They are playing with the word. "cat".

One you really have a cat named Dino who catches lizards for her owner, the girl who doesn't speak since the death of her daddy and the other, a real cat burglar called Nico who scaled the roof-tops of Gay Paree to steal from the rich and wealthy.

As you have it, the girl, Zoe is the daughter of a police inspector of Paris who husband was killed by Castro, a villain after art pieces.

The usual cat and mouse and finally you have the sweet ending when Nico marries into Zoe's family.

For Dino, life goes on...... the true cat of Paris.

Watchable fare with French audio and English sub titles.