harry potter & the half-blood prince

went to watch the newest harry potter movie this morning with the people i grew up watching all harry potter films with. :) it's really hard to believe how quickly time has passed since the first movie, as cliche as it may sound. but it's nice to know that we still laugh and groan over the same things and take turns to tell chongkz to quit embarrassing us with her sound effects. seriously, woman. shhhhh!

wokay about the movie. considering i am a big fan (though i'd say 'big' is an understatement, but we'll leave it as that), i may be a bit biased when giving a review but i'll try my best to be as honest as possible.

(spoilers ahead)

ok let me see. what i didn't like:

• lupin, tonks, mr & mrs weasley only in ONE scene (the burrow attack scene- which wasn't even in the book actually)! would've loved to see more of them. i always found their parts interesting. but also they could've done without that scene and replaced it with another important one straight from the book.
• was very upset to see luna instead of tonks rescuing harry in the train.
• all that teenage romance shit was uncanny. funny some parts, not funny others. and i never liked ginny anyway. she was annoying in the book and even more in the movie. but really, the teenage romance shit should've been replaced by the one between lupin & tonks. :P
• ok i will shut up about lupin & tonks.
• could've included more of tom riddle's memories in the movie. there were quite a few in the book and i remember being so absorbed into reading about his life. then again they couldn't have possibly captured every single thing mentioned in the book, but would've loved to see more.
• i read about them omitting dumbledore's funeral prior to the movie, but it didn't affect me that much until i actually watched it. i thought his death was so abrupt (actually it was quite like that in the book too wasn't it?) that they should've done justice to his character by at least showing the funeral scene.

the good stuff:

• heavier and darker, with more action and better effects than the first 5.
• i thought the beginning was really nice with the death eaters' attack on diagon alley and the millennium bridge. it's like the movie series stepped up a notch as it started off with a bang. found that somewhat refreshing.
• i didn't like michael gambon when he initially filled richard harris's shoes as dumbledore, but i thought he acted really well in this movie. especially the part at the lake when they were trying to retrieve the horcrux.
• horace slughorn was exactly how i imagined him to be!
• ron was quite funny. i liked the quidditch scenes.
• draco's character was played very intensely by tom felton. he very yeung sui/face got problem now (he used to be so cute!!!) but i thought he did a great job.
• i really liked the whole astronomy tower scene (the death of dumbledore and the takeover of hogwarts), as sad as it was. it was so dark and gloomy, totally in line with that part of the book. i was so upset when dumbledore died. i mean i knew it was coming, but seeing it being played out on screen was even sadder than reading about it.
• the movie provides good anticipation for the final installment, split into 2 parts! yay! 2 more potter movies. :)

basically i did enjoy the movie. duh. haha. i always enjoy potter movies even after watching over and over again. i don't think it's particularly my favourite of the potter movies. somehow i prefer the first 3. cuter. haha.

can't wait for the wizarding world of harry potter to be unveiled! HEY EDWINAAAA...orlando, florida in 2010 okayyy? PROMISE??? :D :D :D :D :D

Happy Birthday Edwina Goh!

hello!!

i think Isla Fisher is very cute and i can finally understand why she's with borat.

i also think Confessions of a Shopaholic was entertaining but not up to expectations, but i suppose that's the case with most book adaptations eh.

i hated the fact that rebecca bloomwood is american in the movie and not british like she should be. i mean it's the british humour and slangs that made the books funny. this movie just came out looking like they were trying too hard.

ooo hugh dancy! i was initially very eeyer when i heard he was going to act as luke brandon because to me he was just the sissy drunkard who died in Evening. but then i thought he suited the role well! :)

i loved the clothes and shoes and bags in the movie!

rebecca bloomwood really should've been british, damn it.

harry potter & the half-blood prince trailer ON THE BIG SCREEN, at last! gave me goosebumps although i've watched it on youtube for like a million times.

oh and i finally watched australia. it was good, except that nicole kidman really butchered the english accent. uncanny.

a big birthday shoutout to my dear Edwina who turns 21 today! miss you much!

Very Belated Potter Mania

i know it has taken me 10 years to finally admit that i am a Harry Potter-obsessed freak - NOT the Harry Potter character itself, of course, because, let's face it, he's as annoying as he can get (i totally agree with his being on the 100 Worst Britons list, although i must say it's retarded considering he's fictional). what i simply love is the whole series and the magical world within.

why the sudden declaration, you ask. after all, it's been 2 years since the final book came into stores and since the 5th movie was released so there is obviously no Harry Potter mania out in the open at the moment.

truth is, out of boredom, i recently decided to dig out all my 7 Potter books and read them again, AND watched all 5 movies once again, all in the span of 1 week.

funny enough, the final book actually made a larger impact on my emotions than when i first read it. i was pissed at Rowling for killing most of my favourite characters off. i remember complaining like mad to my fellow Harry Potter fan Lee Zhi Min (i'm sorry, Zhi, i don't know if you're now embarrassed to admit this but you are a Potter fan through and through whether you like it or not), but i laid it to rest after 1 or 2 days. this time around it is different. i feel REALLY REALLY REALLY insanely ANGRY! and mind you it's been a week! i just don't know how to describe it. it's like i forged some sort of a connection (like Harry Potter & Voldemort. huhu.) with the characters that when they died, parts of me died too! (it's ridiculous, i know, to a point that i think i am crazy. tell me people, don't you think i'm crazy?)

i love Lupin & Tonks. they are my favourites. their roles aren't as big as some of the main ones, i admit, but they are characters whose stories could be built vastly upon. unfortunately Rowling didn't see it that way. instead she preferred writing about Harry Potter and his irritating whinings and crazy temper. and the worst part was, she didn't even do Lupin & Tonks justice by describing how they died. just one stupid line where Harry saw their bodies lying next to each other.

and why the heck did she have to kill Fred Weasley.

and Dobby. DOBBY!

AND HEDWIG.

she's crazy, that woman. ya i know i'm crazy too but she's worse.

oh you know who else is crazy. David Yates (director of Harry Potter movies #5, #6 and #7 [which is split into 2, did you know? bet you didn't. because you're not crazy like me to keep up with the latest Potter news]) and his writers. ya they're all crazy because apparently Lupin & Tonks only appear very minimally in the Half-Blood Prince, and the actress who plays Tonks isn't even sure if she'll be in the Deathly Hallows! see? crazy. how is that possible, not having their story in the movies.

now, if you'll excuse me, i am going to continue finding solace in reading fan fiction stories in which neither Lupin nor Tonks (and sometimes Sirius - haiyo i love Sirius too) dies. so far i've printed over 500 pages of fan fiction, Times New Roman size 9 (which is the minimum font size comfortably visible by my perfect 20/20 eyesight).

goodbye all.

p.s.: don't worry, i'm volunteering at the palliative care center next week, so it's unlikely that i completely lose my mind with potter.

p.p.s.: Mich, Ben, Merv, hope you guys arrived safely in Dundee!

p.p.p.s.: i cannot resist this - but i was the first to get my hands on the Goblet of Fire & Order of the Phoenix in ipoh. neh neh neh neh neh.

Ketenangan Dunia Dalam Kesengsaraan

i just came back from watching the biggest movie of the year. it's called... Ketenangan Dunia Dalam Kesengsaraan.

hold your breath!

sweeleen watching malay movie!

you wish.

Ketenangan Dunia Dalam Kesengsaraan apparently translates to Quantum of Solace.

hahaha nuts!

lousy nonsensical title translation aside, i really enjoyed the movie! i used to really dislike daniel craig but i think he is now my favourite james bond. yes yes his face really cannot make it lah and the pouts which he never fails to do still annoy the shit out of me. but there's just something about him that makes him the ideal james bond - his physique, his style, his mannerisms, maybe.

this whole movie was jam-packed with action, and that kept me on the edge of my seat from the beginning till the end. i like the fact that the 007 movies evolve with time, though it seems as though the later films have become more far-fetched in terms of being REAL (hello he fall from dunno how many floors also like nothing wan), but what's the fun in watching a movie if you were to question every single detail, right?

as for bond girl olga whateverhernameis... i hated her in max payne (ultimately slutty & annoying) and HAAAAAAAAATED her at the beginning of quantum. but later on her role sort of grew on me. she's sophisticated and is really beautiful! acting skills so-so only, though... then again we never really expect much from bond girls besides their looks, do we.

nice show nice show, and i say this even after i paid RM20 for it! we weren't crazy enough to join the queue at GSC midvalley so we watched it at The Gardens' Signature GSC Premiere Class instead. super comfy seats, ample leg space, good distance from the screen and no queue: worth my every cent. oh and i was surprised to see many of the twin seats being occupied by fathers and their pre-teen sons, enjoying the movie together over popcorn and a jumbo drink. too cute!

Because I'm Not Going To Be This Relaxed For A Long Long Time.

I am not done with my Ipoh series yet! Just taking a break from being a virtual tour guide and from all the free advertising I've been doing. =P

And yes yes... 3 entries in a day. Bravo me. I have quite a lot to blog about but I won't be online from Wednesday onwards till I get back to KL for reasons I shall not disclose. And I'm sure by the time I get my hands on the internet again I will be too lazy to blog so here I am while the blogging drive is still within me. Plus I think I write better when I'm at home in Ipoh anyway.

I feel so accomplished. So many things done in the last 3 weeks! Didn't feel like I was a medical student at all. But heck all this hype will die down when Sem 5 commences so I should do everything I want to do until it does. Because... it's Sem 5. Last sem in IMU. End of Phase 1. And then we're off for clinicals. Can't screw up. CAN'T SCREW UP. (God please let me pass please please please please please.)

More movies watched since 2 weeks ago!

- Batman. I can go on and on about how great it was but... I'll spare you. =)

- Red Cliff Part 1. Quite good, but forgettable. Have to watch Part 2. Chinese war movies are good most of the time.

- Journey To The Center of The Earth in 3D. If you've watched the 2D version of this I'd like to know how you sat through the movie without pulling all your hair out please.

- Hellboy II. That's 9 bucks I'll never see again. Terrible story, bad acting, cheesy lines from the beginning till the end and I mean TO THE LAST WORD. The only consolation was the creatures. I mean it's sad because I actually liked Hellboy I! If you can't do a better sequel, DON'T DO IT. Oh but but but... did you know the actor who played Prince Nuada actually looks like this in person?


Goodness gracious me.
If I had known this before hand I would have refrained myself from being exceptionally annoyed by his character the entire time.

- Hard Candy. Disturbing. Rather dull. They could've inserted some flashbacks about how the characters came about, then it wouldn't have been so dry. I liked the artistic effects that came along with it and I agree that Ellen Page played the role very well but I think I've had enough of her for now. 3 counts of Juno (yes I've watched Juno 3 times) and 1 count of Hard Candy. That's a whole lot of Ellen Page. Boring boring.

- Frida. An academy award-winning foreign movie and a true story about a Mexican painter named Frida Kahlo (portrayed by Salma Hayek) who lived a colourful life as she stayed positive while enduring many of life's challenges. Very very nice. Could do without the many... MANY... many sex scenes though. =l

6 movies in a week. Not bad. And I've been hooked onto That 70's Show seasons 2 & 3. Hehe. Laugh non-stop. Anybody with seasons 1, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 pleeeeeeeease be kind and pinjam thank you in advance!

Other notable events:

- Went to the AIDS exhibition at DUMC. It was brilliant. I appreciated all the effort and hard work put into the set-up. A superb way to educate people on how serious AIDS is. You'd think medical students are well-versed with the disease. Well we are, medically, but to put ourselves into the victims' shoes... totally changed our perspective towards it. More about our experience at the exhibition on Joon Heng's blog.

- Finished Selectives on Patient Safety. Exam was easy-peesy. If only all our other med school exams were like that. Hahaha. See I told you Dr Ranjit is the best.

- Endocrine-Repro-Renal summative results out. Seriously I think IMU has made it such that I be stuck with that grade for the rest of my time here. Anyway I'm not complaining. Hehe. I'm just thankful.

- Girly teatime + eyebrow threading time + sushi time with dear Eli in Bangsar. Hadn't seen her since April. It was good. OH and I received my super belated birthday present from her! Always nice to get a gift =P. It's a customized key-chain with our faces on it. Very special. I like!



We should do this more often!

Oh and randomly, current favourite album is Coldplay's Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends (man why can't they just pick a shorter title), of which my favourite song is VIOLET HILL! And Cemeteries of London! And 42! And Death & All His Friends! No but Violet Hill is the. best. BEST! Go get the original album. Totally worth the buy. Initially I didn't quite like what I heard but the songs just grew on me and I am now hooked onto them.

Christian Bale Is My Batman

Hello hello! Sorry for the lack of updates. Been... erm... busy. Hahaha.

This is going to be short because I just want to say that THE DARK KNIGHT was the best ever.

All hail Christian Bale.

All hail Heath Ledger. He deserves a post-humous Oscar. I thought he executed the Joker role superbly.

Whatever that's said about Batman being the weakest (physically) among all the DC Superheroes (still I refuse to believe that Wonder Woman is stronger than him), he is still my favourite. I mean sure he's physically weak... cos he's only human after all, but he has all the cool gadgets! I don't like his bat-ears though.

I love all Batman movies and they just keep getting better. Chris Nolan said he doesn't make a sequel if it can't top the previous one. I just can't imagine how great the next movie will be.

Anyway. Pei Shern is here in Ipoh for the weekend! We've been eating eating eating cos Ipoh is dull. I am embarrassed. Oh well.

Update more soon =)

My Short-Lived Freedom

I'm enjoying life VERY MUCH right now. Selectives are shit boring but there were a few good lectures on Patient Safety which I actually paid full attention to. They managed to bring in Dr Chong Su Lin, CEO of Sunway Medical Centre to give a lecture... and I must say, she was pretty cool. Her charisma, her use of the English language, her knowledge... impressive! I took the liberty to google her (as I do with everyone/everything in this world - I know... I have little life, but not as bad as Michelle & Ho Wai MUAHA) and found that she obtained her MBBS and an MBA from London. MBBS and MBA. Unusual combination. Interesting.

Also enjoyed listening to Prof Victor Lim & Yadav as usual. The rest... aiyo. I was just stoning lah. Oh and did I mention Dr Ranjit is THE BEST? I'm so glad he's in charge of our option. He gives us choices for everything while still conforming to the rules. We are scheduled to go to Hospital Seremban either tomorrow or Friday to observe certain things about patient safety. So naturally we have to be divided into 2 groups - one that would go tomorrow and another on Friday. I was sure he would divide us according to the name list (coz that would be the easiest way) and I would've been pissed because I would be separated from TR, Pei & Ho Wai thanks to my stupid name. But he was cool enough to let us choose, as long as there is a maximum of 22 people per day. So yeah. We're going to Seremban tomorrow. Not that I'm excited but at least it's something DIFFERENT from our boring classes.

Then there's the group presentations on case studies next week. He let us choose our partners to work with! And we were allocated 2 days for presentations but he said we can do it in one. Supposed to start at 8 but he gave us a half an hour extra to sleep in coz we would all turn up at 8:30 anyway. And our presentations must only be done on 3 Powerpoint slides in which the first slide will be the case study question. LOL. He's cool and understanding. Such a good person!

So what have I been doing since I have so much free time?

Watched more movies!

The Red Violin, which I really liked this time around. I think I was too young the first time I watched it.

Watched Persepolis twice. It's an animated film about the autobiography of an Iranian named Marjane Satrapi who saw through the Iranian revolution while growing up. Great movie. Loved the graphics and plot and everything about it.

Pei made me watch The Last of the Mohicans, though she spoilt some parts imitating their conversations since she knows almost the whole movie by heart (including the orchestral soundtrack OKAY). Freak.

Watched the Italian film Life Is Beautiful. Very good movie. Beautiful indeed, but very sad. =(

Hmm I've yet to watch the latest movies in the cinema. Kung Fu Panda (I'm not big on Disney/Pixar films nowadays coz most of them are lame and always disappoint - but since most people said it's good then I'll watch), Hancock (??? Don't know if I should watch...), uh... somemore what. Whatever la. Oh I can't wait for Batman.

OH and I can play the guitar now. Self taught. =) My brother surprisingly allowed me to take his guitar back to KL. How kind. Now I know that beneath his perpetually emo self he is essentially nice.

I can play Dishwalla's Angels or Devils, Howie Day's Collide (the simpler version), Death Cab for Cutie's I'll Follow You Into The Dark, Muse's Unintended, Hillsongs... all the retardedly easy songs la! Haha. Basically any song with the chords C, G, D, E, B, F, Am, Dm, Em. Which are a LOT of songs, actually. Currently in the midst of learning up some Pete Murray songs. I still struggle to play certain chords like Fm and most of the flats and suspensions and blah. You'd think someone like me can easily stretch her long fingers across the frets but apparently I can't. =/

What sparked my sudden interest to learn up the guitar, you ask? Let's just say I was INSPIRED by Merv, Chong Bing and Pei at The Maple the other day. Hahaha. And Pei repeatedly told me "FASTER TAKE YOUR GUITAR BACK! IT'S SO EASY YOU'LL LAUGH!" and laugh I did. It's easy to learn but definitely not easy to master it. Not that I'm planning to. Just play for fun only. At least I can play some music since I don't have my piano here. =(

The Other Boleyn Girl

Summative has ended and selectives are here. Too much free time in my hands. I'm doing Community Medicine which was my first choice - don't ask why. I enjoyed it on the first day. Dr Ranjit is the best lah. Really. He is. Initially I didn't regret opting for Comm Med because our topic is Patient Safety, so we would learn about how to avoid making errors as doctors and putting our careers in jeopardy - basically things we can apply in the working environment in the near future. It was good. On the first day. It is now the 4th day and I just finished 2 hours of draggy classes, both on Behavioural Sciences! WTF. I hate Selectives now. Ffff. OK la I hate the classes but love all the free time I'm wasting away! Haven't had this much time to spare in a looooooooooooong time!

Anyway. I want to tell you guys about this movie, The Other Boleyn Girl. I didn't get a chance to watch it in the cinema when it first premiered, but thank goodness I remembered it and bought the DVD instead.

I really enjoyed it.

Melodramatic, intriguing, (almost) in line with English history... this movie is about the Boleyn sisters (Anne, played by Natalie Portman and Mary, played by Scarlett Johansson) who fight for the affection of King Henry VIII (Eric Bana) when he is disgruntled with his wife, Queen Catherine's inability of bearing a male heir. The King at first sets his sights on Anne but later lusts after Mary, who, initially unwilling to become the King's mistress, comes to fall for him.

The whole movie depicts jealousy, betrayal, cunning, ambition - basically 16th Century bitchiness (LOL) in the setting of the King's court. What I liked about it is that it was more of a drama than a historical piece, because if it was merely based on history it would have been very dry. Then I read up a bit on English history and found that most parts of the movie did in fact take place, so it didn't run that far away from the truth.

One of the interesting things I got from this movie is that it had something to do with my post below on the rhyme Mary Mary Quite Contrary! Mary Tudor (NOT Mary Boleyn, don't get confused. Somehow these English people in the olden days had limited names. It's quite sad.)'s father is King Henry VIII. She is the only child born by Queen Catherine, so she inherited the throne from her father. You will see little Mary for a teeny-weeny bit in the movie somewhere in the beginning. Anne Boleyn (who became Queen) gave birth to Elizabeth, who later became the famous Queen Elizabeth I, and was successor to Bloody Mary's throne. Interesting isn't it. I love English history.

SO... go watch go watch! Stars Jim Sturgess as well, for those who fell in love with him after Across The Universe *rolls eyes*. But I forewarn you that he only plays a minor role and you MAY cry in the end. =P