February 17, 2008

Blockbuster Update

I know cobwebs are gathering around my blog so here I am to sweep them away, with a "blockbuster" update no less.

CNY was great, not because of the ang pows, but the company and all the goodies! 04S7A 团拜 especially, and the mj session at zebra's house. Lady luck has finally shown her true colours - her presence is so ephemeral and unpredictable, but that's probably the beauty of it. If only I could get hold of a bottle of Felix Felicis!

My router has been giving me problems but I've gotten a new one and my internet connection speed has finally picked up! Yeah. So all along it wasn't SH's fault. I just haven't been realising the potential of my bandwidth.

I'm starting to build rapport with some of my clients, but a number of them are will be leaving soon so it's kinda sad. The job isn't hectic but definitely can be stressful, with 20+ expectant faces staring at you and holding on to your every word. I enjoy the experience though when I'm with some of the clients, but the rest of them just bore me to tears. It's not entirely their fault though, just the way human dynamics works - sometimes there's just no sparks. Chemistry is the word! =) (pun intended)

Blockbuster 1
I am hooked on "Heroes"! Or technically, was hooked. Hayden Panettiere (Claire) is so chio~! I was rushing through season one but the ending was so anticlimactic. And the first episode of season two didn't look that promising either. Well now that most of the mystery has come to light, the impetus to watch has been diminished. Which might explain why ratings in the US for season two dropped. And the WGA writers' strike (which has now been resolved) didn't help.

Blockbuster 2
I've only watched CJ7 so far, and it's rather mediocre. Definitely not comparable to Kung Fu Hustle and Shaolin Soccer. Only a few parts were truly hilarious, and it isn't that much of a tear jerker either. The entire effort just feels half-baked, the characterisation weak, and the plot surprisingly hollow, even by Stephen Chow's standards. The movie lasted less than 90min but it failed to sustain my interest with its recycled jokes and so-so CGI effects. I still miss the 无理头 周星驰.

Variety has a pretty good review (better than all the local reviews combined) which nicely sums it up: "Heavy on CGI slapstick and light on meaningful emotional content, "CJ7" is a spotty first foray into family-friendly entertainment by Hong Kong multihyphenate Stephen Chow. "E.T."-inspired comic fantasy about a poor boy adopting a cute alien catches the eye but not fully the heart with its undernourished father-son dynamics, critter hijinks and smattering of social commentary."

So that's all for this very random update.

P.S. From now on, I'll only blog if there's something I really want to share so I'll probably switch to fortnightly updates.