Escapism into the Wild

The Wild Option

One of the current movie making the round at the local circuit is Wild.

It is a depressive movie chronicling the downward spiral of a woman named Cheryl Strayed who almost tipped over due to the death of her mother and the dissolution of her marriage.

To overcome her grief, and with an absolute lack of hiking experience,  she took on a heavy backpack and chose the tortuous Pacific Crest Train ( longest and toughest) as her challenge to overcome the pains of  her plight.

Challenging Depression

Though Witherspoon showed her many sides of what it is to grief, the movie somehow did not hit the high notes.

Characters were not well developed and the story hardly build up to a crescendo especially with its too many flashbacks.

You  can give this movie a miss.

The Big Eye Genre

The Big Eye Wonders

I must say this movie, " Big Eyes" have its share of interest though there are critics that will tell you that without Christoph Waltz and Amy Adams in it, it will be another run-of-the-mill B Grader.

The plot-line is simplistic-a divorced single parent, Margaret (Amy Adams) sought a new life for herself and her daughter, painting portraits  of waifs with saucer-shape eyes. A trickster, Walter Keane (Christoph Waltz) saw her talent and married her to tap on her talents but with a twist. He wanted every painting to bear his name instead of hers. As he basked in his new found fame thanks to his marketing skill, his ego got the better of him and he estranged himself to Amy and her daughter.

When Margaret started her painting business in Hawaii after leaving him, Walter tracked her down and a court case ensued.

Margaret in her studio

Who won should be no mystery.

Watchable fare based on a true story that spans the period 1950's through 1960's.

Chilly Nights with the Nightcrawler

Chilly Nights with Lou

If there is one recent movie that may give you the creeps, it is Nightcrawler.

A movie depicting the lives of free-lance stringers who prowl the nights and compete to scoop on tragic news from violent accidents to murders to sell to  tv stations and the low-down dynamics of their operations is well-documented here.

Jake Gyllenhaal as the chilly-looking Lou that will do anything to succeed in his new found trade and his desperate quest by bargaining to move ahead to the top of the heap is the premise of this exciting dark movie.

By the way, Rene Russo still look voluptuous at her age. Believe me.

Quite a worthy movie to watch.

Boyhood-Living Through It!

Mason- A Brilliant Portrayal 

As the Academy Awards ceremony looms closer, I have spent time watching some good movies lately.

Top on the list was Boyhood.

It was a cinematic feat-a first of its own kind where a movie was made chronicling a twelve-year period  of a boy from his young years until he reached college-going age. The producer and director Richard Linklater must be credited for their sustaining effort of more than a decade, to bring this classic movie to the silver screen.

The quality that the movie brought through both Mason (Ellar Coltrane) and  Samantha (Lorelie Linklater) as they literally grew before your eyes throughout this period is truly profound and beyond all comparison. It's a great feeling to experience their growth from childhood to pre-adulthood.

As for acting, Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette were brilliant.

Arquette  Linklater,Coltrane and Hawke

Patricia Arquette may seem like the underdog for The Best Actress  nomination this year if the hot favourite Julianne Moore finally gets the coveted Oscar for her dramatic role in Still Alice this time around

Still, Boyhood is a joy to watch especially through the eyes of the parents as they undergo the phases of happiness,depression,separation and divorce through the years and the effects they have on these 2 children.

Great movie. Watch it.

In Memoriam of Alex

Always in our Prayers

Though, it is less than 20 days late for a 7-year memorium, I think it is still appropriate to write a blog entry in memory of my dear departed friend, the late Mr Alex Ooi Eng Chor.

He was a good friend of mine and had often invited us to his home where he will personally cook Penang food for us. Talk about a servant attitude, that was he!

He left us on 15 December 2008 when he was just 58 years old.

I will always cherish him in my prayers.

All Except Mr Salary

This cartoon speaks more than the ringgits in your wallet!

That's the problem when inflation is not only imported but home-grown as well by the government!

Pity us, poor salaried workers!

MOSTE'S Year-end Dinner 2014

The Venue

This was to be the last dinner we had for 2014 after the cancellation of the earlier scheduled dinner in October.

The venue this time was the Golden Dragon City Seafood Restaurant in Paramount Garden.

A Variety of Food

A total of 13 ex-officers came for the function. They are as follows:

Low Chee Choy
Aloysius Goh
Daniel Chew
Dato' Dr Yap
Goh Siok Eng
Ong Chui Khoon
Dato Himmat Singh
Lee Heng Keng
Lily Hor
Cindy Tan
Jenny Tan
Heng
Kam Teik Beng

We were most privileged to have Himmat and Aloysius with us this time around.

Food was sumptuous and we had a roaring good time.

Choice Suckling Pig Gems

We will meet again in 2015 after the Chinese New Year.