LIFT your HANDS and EMBRACE this TROUBLED WORLD.

Staying alive can be one exasperating merry-go-round.

You bet.

Mankind’s struggle for the greater power and supreme religion will never cease.

We’ll journey through this life’s eternal regime over and over again.

MONEY is never ENOUGH?

It seems so.

Money brings harmony and that is latent security in the right dosage.

We’ll unhesitatingly sacrifice health in order to make more money.

But WHY fight a brutal WAR?

Mass destruction just for Power and Pomp?

Is this sheer Madness?

Just look at the ravages and you tell me.

“CHRONICLE” PRESS PREVIEW

Chill, man.

Somewhere along the line, you learn that it’s choice really – not chance, that shapes a man’s destiny.

You play with fire, you get burnt.

That’s anybody’s comeuppance for toying with bad vibes.

Here’s the premise of the movie CHRONICLE.

It is about three spunky high school lads who uncovers a startling discovery that they can attain supernatural power.

Each uses it for his own singular purpose and each receives a different form of payback.

CHRONICLE follows the trend of the Blair Witch Project, the Paranormal Activity franchise and Cloverfield.

 These are “found-footage” movies, shot on hand held cameras to achieve those quirky, shaky shots for realism.  You see, the methodology of “hand held camera capture” renders the finished accomplishment more amazing.

First-time director JOSH TRANK gives his feature film a breath of fresh air and his visual treatment takes us through an intriguing story based on an absorbing screenplay by MAX LANDIS.

It has a bit of everything: drama, horror, suspense and fantasy all rolled into one big nail-biting entertainment.

Let’s delve into the main plot without much ado:

Troubled teenager Andrew (DANE DEHANN) leads a lonesome, unhappy existence.

His mum is dying of cancer and he detests his abusive alcoholic father.

He demonstrates what human frailty is all about.

His closest friend is his cousin Matt (ALEX RUSSELL) who understands, yet is not entirely proud to be seen with him.

Andrew’s pastime is to record everything in his life with a clunky video camera.

 At a rave party one night, Andrew, Matt and their classmate Steve (MICHAEL B. JORDAN) stumble upon a crater that leads down to an alien artifact.

Inexplicable things start to erupt before their eyes of which we do not get to see because Andrew’s camera cuts out. We are later shown that each of them has developed telekinetic powers.

Boys will be boys, and the three chums use their newfound abilities to pull off pranks just to impress their schoolmates.

 Andrew can easily assemble a Lego space station just by focusing on his mindset.

At the supermarket, they shock spectators by reeling a shopping cart skirting down the aisle.

In the parking lot, they brain-valet a car from one parking space to another much to the ire of the exasperated car owner.

At the school’s talent show, the low-esteemed Andrew now becomes a rage when he performs mind-bending card tricks.

Let’s leave the best for last – the boys are able to will themselves to fly, way above the skyscrapers and clouds. In one incident they are foolishly laughing when they are almost killed by a passing jet.

Everything’s done in the spirit of fun, until they start to play with fire by levitating a truck into a lake.

From then on, the thrills become more pronounced, spinning out of control.

And death-defying.

“CHRONICLE”  is an excellent thriller with a cool, slick dressing.

The story is intense and the plot has its fair share of twists and turns that keeps you guessing all the way.

The thrills go above and beyond to shock you into submission.

To sum it all up, it is a thoroughly enjoyable film with a great unknown cast, a great director, stupendous effects and a profound scrīpt.

Watch it if you can.

“WAR  HORSE” PRESS PREVIEW

It had been some good years since I started to follow STEVEN SPIELBERG’s body of work.

I can often wax lyrical over some of his remarkable epics, notably ET, JAWS, SCHINDLER’s LIST, INDIANA JONES, etc.

These films are steeped in emotional and cinematographic content and the “lump-in-the-throat” scenes will surely tug at your heart strings.

Such is WAR HORSE, his newest offering.

It’s not a Hollywood star-studded feature.

It’s SPIELBERG’s first British collaboration with a coterie of UK performers who have done him proud.

Without any gore and a little show of violence, the tale meanders slowly in the first quarter, then speeds up, riding us through an amazing virtual tsunami depicting the harshness of war.

 STEVEN SPIELBERG is at the helm of this movie, and he simply can’t go wrong.

It may not be the most arresting like his earlier films, but nevertheless is a watchable one.

The focus is on the enduring relationship between a teenage boy and his horse and of the terrible war that sunders them.

Fate brings them together, chance separates them and eventually, fate reconnects them again.

Parting is such sweet sorrow, but let’s see what fate has in store.

Isn’t it true that if anything is destined to be ours, it eventually will?

“WAR HORSE” demonstrates that a divine friendship can exist between man and his animal.

It is set against a lush picturesque rural England, in tandem with Europe during the throes of the First World War.

We witness  a young stallion named Joey and his teenage master called Albert, who tames and trains him.

When they are  separated by unforeseen circumstances, the film follows the extraordinary journey of the horse as he gallops proudly through the war, affecting the lives of everyone he encounters–British cavalry, German soldiers, a French farmer and his granddaughter–before the story arrives at its tearful climax.

The WAR HORSE is a moving masterpiece in its storytelling, the splendid acting and stunning cinematography.

Notwithstanding a searing musical score.

SPIELBERG’s unflinching sentimental approach will worm its way into the heart of the young, the old and in particular, the animal lovers.

Go get mesmerized, but best bring along a hankie.

The reign of the RABBIT is drawing to an end.

It’s going to be a forgotten chapter.

You see it as a tiny, furry, harmless animal, but hey – don’t they ever tell you that never to judge any book by its cover?

Just look back over the past months and count the series of havoc.

On a happy note, it’s pure relief that the unpredictable RABBIT is bidding a fast retreat to make way for the majestic Dragon.

And it’s about time.

2011 had not been such a bumper year as the whole world is awaiting healing from the reeling.

Dipping economies, natural disasters and global poverty have seen different parallels, and are still unresolved issues.

‘Tis been a year where we should also be wary about making foreign connections.

Old wine has been proven better. And safer.

(Part 1 of 3)

“THE VIRAL FACTOR”《逆戰》MOVIE

PRESS PREVIEW 

Shot on a whopping budget of USD 17 million, “THE VIRAL FACTOR” has to be one stupendous production.

 It does not fail.

No expenses are spared in terms of foreign exotic locales as the story kicks off in Jordan, meanders temporarily to China, ultimately breaking at the Malaysian shores where the principal tale unfolds – leading to one adrenaline pumping meltdown.

With this multicultural potpourri, what we witness will be an awe-inspiring feast for the eyes and the ears.

Stay braced.

Hong Kong renowned action director DANTE LAM helms the colossal project with Asian A-listers:   JAY CHOU and NICHOLAS TSE.

The two actors star as an unlikely pair of siblings on opposite sides of the law. It’s an implosive human drama albeit emotive crime story, laced with unforgettable gritty characters. So hang on for the ride of your life.

Crafted as an electrifying action thriller with nerve-racking tension, DANTE LAM promises you value-for-money.

This Hong Kong film director is as good as his words.

JAY CHOU plays Jon, a dedicated International Disease Commission (IDC) operative who is responsible for leading this dangerous mission: he is escorting a scientist from Jordan to the Netherlands to develop an antidote for the dangerous viral factor – a biological weapon derived from mutating the small pox virus that poses a threat to the world.

Naturally there’s to be a “mole” within the Organisation, and  he is in the form of traitorous colleague Sean (ANDY ON) who eventually abducts the scientist after a violent shoot-out leaving a bullet lodged in Jon’s brain which needs to be extracted if he were to live.

His fiancee cum fellow agent Rita, however, is brutally slain.

Jon is given a few more months of his life, unless he gets the bullet dislodged, and he chooses to spend the remaining months with his mother.

Jon’s mother discloses a two-decade old family secret: that she had dumped Jon’s gambling father and an elder brother when he was barely a kid. They are both, currently residing in Kuala Lumpur.

She implores Jon to get them back.

Two estranged brothers.

One is a law enforcer, the other’s a hardened ruthless criminal.

NICHOLAS TSE is Yang – an embittered hard-core criminal who leads a life dancing the hide-and-seek game witih the law. He is a single dad and lives a seedy existence with his young daughter and a crippled gambling father who had since lost the use of one leg to shield him from harm’s way.

Life for him is bleak as he soon finds himself embroiled within a corrupt world that threatens to engulf him. His life is in peril when he strips the facade concealing the stark motive of his triad boss who hires him to kill a female scientist.

The pace is set as terse, tense and edgy.

 Now, throw in a deadly virus concoction that’s looming to destroy mankind if ever it’s unleashed in this world.

That’s the premise of the story, so it’s a relentless race against time to recover an antidote.

Everything in place, we’ve got the essential ingredients of Hong Kong Director DANTE LAM’s latest mind-blowing and explosively violent offering “THE VIRAL FACTOR” shot in the Middle East, China and Malaysia.

(Part 2 of 3)

What’s in Store when you watch this PULSE-POUNDING ACTION THRILLER:

-   ACTION is King, the cat-and-mouse chases are fast and furious.

You’ll cling to the edge of your seat as you watch ferocious pursuits among the police, the baddie and the underworld triads as they tear down the alley ways, the crowded streets, in the LRT foyer, in the train, aboard a freighter, in the helicopter, go on counting and there’ll be more.

-   Be bedazzled

by the fiery blasts from genuine military weaponry and army tanks in Jordan and in Kuala Lumpur you will be amazed by vehicles hurtling down from roof tops, cars crashing into monsoon drains and busy shopping centers. And of course, the never-ending explosions.

-   Tear jerking scenes are secondary and emotions are kept to a minimum, as with all DANTE LAM’s actioners.

-   NICHOLAS TSE shines in his role as a lawless hoodlum.

At film’s end, when he fires at his opponents, watch his steely expressions.  You witness a gamut of rage, pain, angst and frustration all rolled into one menacing, glazed stare.

An award-winning moment?

Perhaps.

Only time will tell.

(Part 3 of 3)

THE PRESS CONFERENCE

“Akimbo?  This ONE’S for the CAMERA!”

“BEST WISHES for the YEAR of the DRAGON!”

Here’s HOPING that “THE VIRAL FACTOR” will reap healthy BOX-OFFICE RETURNS around the world!

 ”My PLAN to DIRECT a new film is in the pipeline.

It will be a lovey-dovey story, surely.

And this LUNAR NEW YEAR, I am aiming to spend time with my family and loved ones.”