PC364 Bomb in KL 17/6/07

Thu: movie Ciplak
There was a FYI filmakers show, but I decided it was too far so I watched the local movie Ciplak.

I thought Peter's music sounded good in the film indeed it was one of the most professional stuff. Although it's always refreshing to see some local made instead of Hollywood stuff, it had the same major failings as Hollywood films ie they always fill the movie with lots of action and hope you don't notice that the story doesn't fit together and isn't finished usually cos film-makers are not good story writers.

It was disappointing that it has the same old lies about sex just like Hollywood movies do, that every protagonist finds a beautiful girlfriend .. And then he can't leave a house cos another teenager wants to fuck him. ... That's reality not ! it's particularly immoral in that he's a grown man and his girlfriend is 15. Though it was good that at least one female role was positive - the pragmatic female singer.

I thought there were some great characters in the film : the stuck up girl, playgirl, jealous brother, "I think I am so cool" dude. Given more time it could be a great movie. The action though didn't seem to flow, I think the idea of the main character explaining everything to camera was boring and slowed the film down. Like, if you got rid of the explanations and just let the scenes explain the story the film could have really flowed well. All the people in my house were bored after 10 minutes and walked out. And that filmakers trick of showing people for whole minutes just smoking and not speaking really pisses me off.

How did they get Peter to play that character a rich eccentric, know everything, homosexual pervert ? It's not a very positive character is it ? It seems to be a negative stereotype of foreigners .. Wheras the playgirl, and jealous brother one sees all the time suely there aren’t many foreigners like your character... Are there ? To me it wasn't believable at all, maybe cos I know Peter is a good person so seeing him as a bad person isn't plausible. It also re-inforces a bad stereotype of homosexuals in that they are sexual predators who grab straight guys crotches .. Really this is not acceptable. But I kind of expect Malayians to be immature and homophobic.

It was interesting to see how the pirate industry operates in Malaysia though I think it shows only have the story. I think that Malaysians feel that it's fairly innocent, but surely when you cross the boundary into illegality it gets wrapped up with all the other ganster stuff. That the business inevitably ends up in the hands of gangsters cos they have the experience in bribing police not to close their shops, the coercion into to handing over the mastertapes cos "you wouldn't want your child involved on an accident". In the UK the line is piracy cross-subsidizes drug exploitation and sex-slave trafficking. I've never bought a pirate DVD, but then I have never bought one in a shop either.

The technicality of the film was excellent and if they have good writing they could make some great films in future.

Fri : bomb
Couldn't think of anything to do so went upto Times Sq, and Bukit Bintang ..waste of time, walking back past Puduraya lots of police. Buried on page 8 of the paper was a story that a bomb had gone off .. Why would anyone plant a bomb ?

Sat : Gigs and rain
School open day - not amazing Had a go on the climbing wall knackered. Alternative gig at Central Markets and Astro gig in the Square with another gig in front of DBKL, but heavy rain.

Sun Taming of the Shrew by Zefferelli

It's quite a watchable , light, easy to understand film. Richard Burton plays the P part quite well as a boistrous drunk who thinks intelligently. Elizabeth Taylor seems expert at pulling facial expressions. They kept mostly to the original text.

2 Gentleman want to marry Bianca, but her father won't permit it until her older sister Kate. Trouble is Kate is very disagreeable so no one will marry her. Until P turns up, who says he will marry any rich woman. He woos her by being sarcastic back. Having met her match she seems to change of attitude she's agrees to the marriage. He grinds her down by giving her a taste of her own medicine, but even stronger. At the wedding and afterward he is completely aggressive and unreasonable. This extremity shocks her and after she begs him to stop treating people so badly she realises she can't go on being so aggressive. Maybe she realises being aggressive doesn't bring you the things you want , indeed eventually she seems to be completely compliant to P, though maybe she is just going along with things to get the things she wants like nice clothes. This change in personality is proved at the end when she comes as soon as her husband calls her and rials the other brides for being lax.

Message seems to be to get along in life, you have to go along with people even when you disagree with them. You can win by flattery more than aggressiveness I am not sure I agree with this as it means being lying and manipulative. and it was only last week in King Lear that Shakespeare said flattery was bad. You don't need to be abrasive, but I preferred her when she was being herself angry, but honest not conniving and placid : calling the sun the moon etc .

Met up with other CS people at Ken's house for Satay and homemade icecream.

Then Astro Concert very tacky very Malay.

I see the movie the corporation is on at CIJ a check reveals 165 minutes of leftwing tabloid Michael Moore journalism in which they attempt to "monster" corporations, but fail to realise that state control is hardly ideal ... like they don't address the bigger problems communism brings e.g. North Korea

Tues
new badscience page dcscience.net

Wed Open Mic@ the Attic

so many beautiful women .. Pity about the yak yak yak and the terrible acoustics

My KL links page

My KL Events page

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