fantastic mr jr

found myself into some kind of movie watching patterns again. my i-cal is filled with appointments and task, but i am finding time for more important things in life like movies.

the first of two movies that i i find myself watching was fantastic. fantastic mr fox to be exact. it's a fun lightly humored, stop motion/3d animation feature. i feel it is much like kung fu panda with jack black as you can really get the comic style of the actor contributing their voice to the title character, in this instance, george clooney.



the second movie is an adaptation of sir arthor conan doyle's famous detective novel, sherlock holmes. the movie has really strong star appeal with robert downey jr and jude law with downey jr such a wonderful method actor. the style of how sherlock's deduction is presented is also a treat.

umbrella academy

just finished reading umbrella academy written by gerrard way - yes, of my chemical romance (yick!) - and art by gabriel ba .

i know its kind of expected to feel like this, but i think it's the best comic i've read, ever. it has delightful characters, the silly stuff, fantastic artwork and also depth with family issues all wrapped in a nicely paced story.

the characters takes me back to when i was younger where imagination seems to make them up out of clouds.

i'm putting books aside for now in place of comics.

the force unleashed

keeping with the comic theme, i've read star wars: the force unleashed.

it begins withdarth vader sending his apprentice starkiller out for a series of task like fighting a jedi master and forming an alliance with the rebellion to wrest power from the emperor. the main plot is the politics in the dark side with betrayals. even though this equates into fluctuation in the story it still have the inevitable feel about how the story would end.

the narrative come off a bit too strong in introducing a character or situation rather than let the story come together on its own. also, starkiller's character wasn't develop enough that i would want to root for him to win like i had with maul in resurrection.

a minor detail that might be contentious but i'll say it anyway, why name the character starkiller? the name seems awkward for the romantic part of the story involving pilot, captain juno and seems to have irony in it with starkiller in a duel with darth vader.

the artwork is endearing, i love the sketchy lines and the strong contrast with shading. the out of this world details from lush moons to urban stars is really something for the imagination.



got a bicycle deck of cards. definitely of a different grade from the now worn out kampung cards that we used to play with. it shuffles smoothly and the color's way brighter. they also make clay chips. oh-sweet-temptation.

resurrection

nice to be alone for a change. feels like i have a slight fever what with the changing weather and all.

as it is, i am in my room, resting and just finished reading star wars resurrection. it was quite a comic seeing two of the villainest villain in the series darth vader and darth maul go one on one with one another. the story is simple: vader was tricked to go to this moon, he sense there were a lot of darkness in the mood, then appear dark side heretics and darth maul resurrected having been killed by obi wan before this.

the heretics wants maul to replace darth vader to serve the emperor because they say he isn't pure and was a jedi. then the two darths takes on each other.

i won't say too much but the trash talking is excellent and the fight scene with the volcanic background is out of this galaxy. and of course maul trademark double light sabers!

it's nice to be lost in something.

errands

at the office. the internet at home had been down a few days now.

it's been raining for weeks now. i really should take advantage of it to read but i had a few things that needed to clear up this month. i will devote my weekend.

among the errands that i did this month was signing up for a postpaid mobile phone account. it's to help me track how much i actually spend on phone and the rates are also cheaper as well than using postpaid. its a series of things i did to control my budget for 2010.

and then comes examples of how i would blow it, as i just ordered an iphone 3gs.

weekend trip

back from a weekend new years trip.

got myself a grey single breasted suit, plus other work clothes. i like the suit, light and nice fit although i will need to alter the arm length a bit.

i did get some books as well. three books. what your teacher didn't tell you by farish noor, the quran translated by m.a.s abdel haleem and graphic design theory: readings from the field edited by helen armstrong.



*****

whilst on the trip, without distractions like my laptop, i lie on my hotel bed and finished off gigolo by amanda anstill. it is a fun book but neither poignant nor surprising to win any literary prize.

a novel that centers around the profession of a gigolo, it regrettably didn't take a look at cutting through the stereotypes. the drama that it tries to conjure, where one moment the protagonist jets across the atlantic to see a client and the next him, as a jazz musician who is in love with the regular girl working at a cafe, is also at its best, predictable. having said that, amanda still nonetheless manage to hold me -the reader - with the fast paced prose of the novel.

*****

i watched a couple of movies whilst i was away. 500 days of summer, sabrina (1950s) and breakfast at tiffany's. in that order. i actually had something in my eyes, at the end of 500 days of summer. coincidental or fate :)

back to the new year. the end of a year and the promise of the next. i haven't actually thought of a resolution this time. i guess,

1. read and make more time for it
2. don't get bogged down by work, they're expandable ;)
3. cook more, they always cool me down

if it's not too late. happy new year!

gender role

did some grocery shopping today. i got myself some salmon fillet that i seared and rest on top of fettucine in quatro fromage inspired sauce - a 3/4 cheeses take on the classic. the results on the plate was a neatly seasoned fillet cooked just enough that it melts in the mouth.

the pasta was nice, simple and understated, the balance between the two really surprised me.

after dinner, i watched the first couple of episodes of mad men. a series set in a fictional advertising agency in the 60s. my first respond watching it is one of amazement. i am not a tv series person, the last one i followed was sex and the city, and mad men certainly had its own distinct drama and style going for it.

they had tried to make it as authentic with the smoking, drinking, racism and depiction of the gender role in a male dominated environment.

"advertising is a very small world as it is, if you malign a reputation of a women on her first day, you make it even smaller.

keep it up, and even if u do get my job, you will not run this place. you'll die in the corner office, a mid level executive, with little bit of hair whom women will go home without a pity. you wanna know why? cos' no one will like you".

i love don draper.

*****

stretching, breathing and meditating

i did yoga today.

its like another tick on the list of things i didn't plan to do but end up doing for this year that includes hash run, paintball, signing up for gym and even long distance cycling.

i am very home-ish with reading, and cooking being my 'thing' so it's nice to do all more athletic thing for a change. i feel like i'm a lot more balanced.

the yoga class was fun, and would definitely do it again. stretching breathing and meditating on a mat thats like a very tiny little island.