Fuck Brains, Bring the Brawn...
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Friday, 13 June 08 - 04:53 PM (GMT +08:00) By Khairil Mokhzani Bahar in Geek-o-rama |
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In all honesty I wasn't sure what to expect from a new Hulk movie. The Ang Lee movie had an incredibly emotional story which felt a bit too long and a cool comic book panel editing style which felt quite out of place. And when the Hulk did pop up... nyahhh. I didn't hate the movie, I just didn't enjoy it as much as the other superhero movies that were coming out, and there was that overriding feeling that the filmmakers were probably thinking "this is all a bit silly, isn't it?" and trying to give it more meaning.
The meaning of the Hulk is all in the simple premise of the character. The way he's conceived is tragic enough. Dr. Bruce Banner, a mild mannered scientist, fucked up one of his experiments and you shouldn't make him angry. You won't like him when he's angry.
That was the classic tag line from the TV show, a reference point which the last Hulk movie seemed to ignore but had everything that we loved about the character - we felt for him, that theme tune made us want to bawl our eyes out at his misfortune. The dude really had the short end of the stick, moving from one town to another, all the time hoping for a cure so that he can just be another average Joe. We felt for the dude, we wanted him to get just a glimmer of hope and happiness...
...but at the same time, we wanted him to Hulk out. We wanted Banner to blow his fuse because it was something we could all relate to as well - being pushed too fucking far and desperately wanting to just let loose, without having to think of the consequences. The Hulk is that release in all of us, just a 1000 times more powerful.
And green.
That's the main problem with making a Hulk movie, isn't it? The green. Believing in a 12 foot not-so-jolly green giant. Whilst the CGI has advanced, it's still not 100% satisfactory, not in the same way it felt to watch Transformers and go "holy shit, it's Optimus Prime!" (even with the bitchin' flames).
As I watched the movie, there was first that sense of "okay..." with the first appearance of the Hulk. A kind of "he's better, but still..." feeling about the CGI. The main problem is that the Hulk is so human-like, and to believe that a humanoid being is 12 feet tall and green is a pretty tough sell unless it really looks like one. The other problem is that we all have an image of the Hulk in our heads from the TV show, and unlike other comic book adaptations at the time, we could believe the Hulk. Lou Ferrigno (here in a cameo) brought the character to life, even with the dodgy wig. We accepted him and believed him. We had never seen Optimus Prime in real life, so it gives the CGI guys a bit more room. We've seen the Hulk for quite a while, and it's not just believability that's the issue, it's breaking the mold.
But unlike the first Hulk movie, we see him for a good part of the movie and after a while he grows on you and you accept his appearance, the same way we accepted Lou Ferrigno (at least, for the duration of the movie). When Abomination pops up, though, it felt a bit more believable, which I think is because of the whole issue of believability - we've never seen Abomination, so when we're introduced a new CG character it's easier to accept. Of course, by this point we've seen a good chunk of Hulk footage to accept him too, smashing through all and sundry.
And boy, does Hulk smash.
Unlike the first movie, this one doesn't play out the drama too well. I love Edward Norton as an actor, as well as Tim Roth, but the story felt like filler, hitting the right points, pushing the story forward, but it wasn't anything spectacular compared to the brilliant scripting of sequel superhero movies like Spiderman 2 and X-Men 2. But when the Hulk pops up and starts kicking ass, he kicks ass. Most of the trademark moves of the comics are all here, and you see just how powerful a hulking green giant can be. And when he locks arms with Abomination, it's like watching Godzilla vs. Ultraman or something, a real clash of the titans crash boom bang destruction sequence that will have you cheering.
Directed by Louis Leterrier, I felt the same way about this movie as I did with the Transporter movies - I wasn't really interested in the story as much as I was amazed by the action sequences. Crazy, unique and mind-blowing action sequences from the mind of an insane Frenchman.
I wonder what Godard would say?
Next post: Dorothy can have the Tin Man, Iron Man's hitting up the Playboy bunnies...
Siapa 'Mereka'?
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Tuesday, 03 June 08 - 02:53 AM (GMT +08:00) By Khairil Mokhzani Bahar in Filmmaking Frolics |
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Right now I could be in England. I really could. And, godammit, I could've done with some time away to relax (though I'd probably just end up shooting extra footage for London Calling instead). The offer was there, but I didn't. Why? Work comes first. In particular, a pitch at one of the major studios here in KL for television ideas.
Knowing I was giving up a trip back to the other motherland, and desperate to get something sold so that I can afford cake, fine beverage and DVDs, I spent most of the past few weeks making sure my presentation was the canine's testicles, but was still stumped - I've got telemovie ideas a-plenty, but it would be great to produce a TV series, something insanely cool and fun for me and my peeps to shoot and fill our pockets with much moolah and pixie dust.
There were quite a few types of TV shows I've wanted to do, but each time I think of one the budgetary and social constraints kill the idea where it stands. I've always wanted to do a sci-fi series, or something paranormal, but could we come up with the effects? Or an action-packed series: could we pull it off?
At six in the morning on one particular day, I came up with an idea. I loved it, and what's more, I knew that with the combined footage that myself and the boys had, I could feasibly cut a trailer which would help sell the story...
...which I'm not going to tell you. Yet. Nor am I uploading the trailer. Yet. I would love to, but there are a number of reasons why I won't yet. The first being the fear of someone stealing the idea, the second being that none of the actors in the trailer know about it. Sure, there is a disclaimer in the trailer because I have no idea whether I can get the actors and actresses or not, but I wouldn't want some confusion to suddenly come up on the net about how so-and-so's in some TV series and the person doesn't even know about it and then gets on my case. Thirdly, a lot of the footage was taken from TV episodes myself and the guys did so I don't know what the copyright issue is with that.
Fourthly, I don't want to jinx it.
Hopefully, this trailer will be uploaded here, but not today. What I can show you, though, is the concept poster I did...
I think one of you who reads this recognizes one of the pics in the poster because the person in question passed it to me because it is that person. Heheh...
But yeah. More on this as it develops... or gets developed. Or doesn't.
I am incapable of giving a shit.
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Tuesday, 03 June 08 - 01:32 AM (GMT +08:00) By Khairil Mokhzani Bahar in Brain Stew |
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Actually, no. Scratch that. I am incapable of taking a shit. As in shitting. Taking a dump. Pinching a loaf. Excreting feces.
I think you catch the drift.
I enjoy shitting. Shitting is fun, but unfortunately today nothing will pop up. This whole day my stomach has been growling like a lion in heat, threatening to release, but nothing comes out, and it sucks.
Thought you'd like to know.
The Doctor is in...
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Saturday, 31 May 08 - 02:31 AM (GMT +08:00) By Khairil Mokhzani Bahar in Brain Stew |
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When I first picked up season 1 of the revamped Doctor Who with Christopher Eccleston I was pleasantly surprised and thrilled - the new Doctor was a true 21st century revamp in every good way possible and Billie Piper was a revelation, but the true star of the show was definitely the creator and its writers.
Every story made me want to hone my writing more and more as I watched with envy at how good people like Russell T Davis and Stephen Moffat at crafting such intelligent, thrilling, funny and downright enjoyable shows within the 'confines' of a children's TV slot - the two-parter set during the blitz in WWII was a kicker, with the freaky "Are you my mummy?" kid in the gas mask and 51-st century man Captain Jack.
Then, by the end of the season, the Doctor regenerated into a relatively unknown actor at the time by the name of David Tennant, who's now more synonymous with the role than ever. More of a charmer than Eccleston's Doctor and able to blurt out incredibly huge speeches at high speeds and still make sense, David Tennant's been the Doctor for three seasons now.
The second season blew me away by not dropping in quality at all, just getting better and better, but the third season felt... a bit different. There was nothing wrong with Martha Jones, in fact she was a great companion to the Doctor, and I though John Simm as the Master was a stroke of genius, but... I dunno. I thought the episode with the angel statues that can only move when you're not looking was a work of genius, but there was still something missing in the season overall.
Perhaps I just missed Rose Tyler. Did Billie Piper make that big an impact on television for me? Perhaps I should stay away from that show where she's an escort (although deep down the thought of Rose Tyler getting nasty does put a sly grin on my face).
The last two Christmas specials also left me a bit wanting after the first Christmas special that introduced David Tennant. Kylie looked... incredibly old for some reason, and though Catherine Tate was a nice change, I was very glad she didn't hop onto the Tardis at the end, so when I heard she was going to be the new companion for season four I was a bit worried.
Then I watched it. And all I can say is WOW.
Russell T Davis and his team have really excelled themselves this time. Whilst the earlier seasons had a few big episodes where none of the stops are pulled in terms of effects and then keeping things smaller for the other episodes, every episode in this season so far feels big (spoiler alert):
Episode one - full CGI characters and a big ass 'Close Encounters'-style UFO... and Rose is back! Briefly and teasingly, though.
Episode two - Pompeii and CGI molten rock people.
Episode three - on another frickin' planet.
Episode four - seems small, present day, planet earth, (good) rubber alien suits...
Episode five - ...but it's a two parter and shit goes off the hook with UNIT kicking ass and spacecrafts in abundance!
And even though I've put the spoiler alert, for those who still haven't seen it and dig the Doctor, I'm not gonna say anything because I thought this was the coolest surprise yet, up there with "holy shit, Rose Tyler's back!"
Tate, though a bit on the annoying side as Donna in the Christmas special, is pretty cool in the series, acting as a proper foil to the Doctor and definitely not a love interest. They're chums, pals, traveling companions, mates... which gave one of the funnier gags in the show:
DOCTOR: Look, I only want a mate.
DONNA: You're not mating with me, sunshine!
Though my favorite gag in the entire series (so far) was in episode five, referencing season one, where the Doctor's been told to put on a gas mask by UNIT and after they show off their modified weapons the Doctor simply turns to the commanding officer and asks, "Are you my mummy?" Hehehe...
...95% of you people reading this think I'm a complete and utter fucking geek right now, don't you? Well, you can suck my sonic screwdriver.
Let me give you my card...
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Wednesday, 28 May 08 - 09:36 PM (GMT +08:00) By Khairil Mokhzani Bahar in Brain Stew |
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For quite a while, whenever I've gone for meetings and things, I've never had a namecard. My usual excuse is that I've run out, but the truth is much simpler.
I never bothered to get one done.
I've been putting it off for too damn long, so I've finally gone and gotten one done up for printing.
And if you think I was going to leave my number and e-mail there you've got another thing coming.
God, I love that logo.
Indy...? Jonesy...!
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Wednesday, 28 May 08 - 05:58 PM (GMT +08:00) By Khairil Mokhzani Bahar in Geek-o-rama |
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Ah, we meet again, Dr. Jones...
Like most people of my era, Dr. Jones is an institution, much like Star Wars. We grew up with it, we were dazzled by it, we wanted to be Harrison Ford, just in the same way we wanted to be Han Solo and later on Dr. Richard Kimble.
What? No one wanted to be Ford in the Fugitive? I'd rather be Kimble than Jack Ryan.
Either way, I grew up on Indy. The score alone brings up a whole swell of emotions and memories of a much more innocent time, a time when I wore one of my dad's hats that vaguely resembled a fedora and made my own bullwhip out of a shit load of rubber bands linked together and practice whipping the clothes stand in an attempt to wrap it around, Indy-style. Indiana Jones was the type of hero that made you think that being a hero was possible, because the dude often got three shades of shit kicked out of him. He wasn't as acrobatic and agile and strong as other so-called heroes. He felt a bit more... real. Real, yet fantastic at the same time. I'm sure a lot of people out there felt the same way and, as much as they may not want to admit, definitely got a kick out of the thought of another Indy movie, regardless of any doubts about age.
The night before I was going to see it, Col. Kurtz buzzed me...
"Hey, I saw Indy 4 tonight."
"Yeah, how was it?"
"Answer me this: how would you put the Indiana Jones movies in order, from favorite to least favorite?"
"Well, I love all of them, but I'd put Last Crusade at the top and Doom at the bottom. I loved Doom as a kid but nowadays I totally get a kick out of Sean Connery being his dad."
"Ok. Well, this Indiana Jones movie makes Temple of Doom look like the Godfather."
He then proceeded to tell me just how shit he thought the movie was, with choice quotes such as,
"This movie made Shia LeBeouf's acting in Transformers look like Marlon Brando."
"National Treasure 2 was better than this shit."
"Ray Winstone sounds like an American trying to put on a British accent."
"John Hurt is Dumbledore on crack."
Regardless, I went and watched it last night, and yes, I totally understand where old Kurtz was coming from, but at the same time...
...that shit was fun.
Don't get me wrong: it definitely won't replace any of the slots of anyones 'top 3 Indy movies' list, but it's still fun. Silly, mindless fun, and I enjoyed it. There's fisticuffs and snakes and weird artifacts and a bullwhip and Marion Ravenwood and military bad guys and jet setting adventures. And fuck it, Shia was fun too. And the rest of the cast. It was a fun adventure movie, full stop.
Though there are two comments of Kurtz's that did ring true...
The lighting - what... the... fuck...? There's some strange ass cinematography going on in this movie. There are some scenes where I was actually thinking "my God, I've never seen a movie so wrongly lit in my life."
The CGI - what... the... holy... fuck...? Spielberg's CGI is usually better than anything ILM comes up with for other directors, but this one just looked... supremely fake. Badly matted and composited with that blurry finish which cheaper production companies usually use to hide the errors.
And that's where the biggest gripe about the movie comes in, the main difference between this one and the previous movies - the overdose and over-reliance of CGI. One of the most consistent memories of the Indiana Jones movies was that feeling that Indy's in real trouble because those were real people riding horses and jumping on tanks and holding on to a truck with a piece of rope. I know that Doom and Crusade had some CGI but ever so slightly to enhance the whole thing. In this one, the major race set piece through the jungle was totally CGI, which kinda made it feel lesser compared to the other ones.
And it's not like stuntmen haven't been able to pull off the insane ideas the filmmakers had for Indy - in Last Crusade Indy takes on a tank on a horse. A fucking horse!
Perhaps what's going to alienate people the most is the setting - Indiana Jones was so much the product of a 40's environment that some people may not be able to follow him into the fifties, where it's no longer religious artifacts but sci-fi tinged spookiness and ruskies.
All I can say is go in without expecting any of the past movies, and you should have a decent time. Sure, Indy looks old as fuck now, but he's still Indy, and he can still throw a hook harder than any of you other cats.
Peace, daddy-o.
Cross the Tees...
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Sunday, 25 May 08 - 09:01 AM (GMT +08:00) By Khairil Mokhzani Bahar in Geek-o-rama |
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Those who know me know that I am quite the t-shirt type of guy. I enjoy a good t-shirt, and unlike the less discerning t-shirt wearer, I do prefer a t-shirt which is cut nicely and doesn't start shrinking upwards after one wash.
Most of all, I like a good design. One of my favorite t-shirts that I own at the moment is my 'Heroes' t-shirt, pictured right, which I got at HMV last year. Whilst all the other 'Heroes' t-shirts had either pics of the cast or artwork from Isaac Mendez's loft, this one was the kicker - nice and subtle and supremely cool.
But cool t-shirts here are few and far between. Most resort to logos, CD cover art, movie posters, pics of celebrities, whatever. Though there are some fun t-shirts out there, it's such a hassle to find and, more often than not, they shrink upwards after one wash.
Or perhaps I'm just not washing them properly.
I've been thinking of coming up with my own t-shirt designs for myself for some time now, and thought I'd go on-line to check out what other cool designs are out there for inspiration...
...and now I feel like I could never beat the coolness of the t-shirts I found so why bother.
T-shirts like the ones found at BustedTees.com with some cute chicks posing in them. It originally had a bunch of guys pics, then I realized there were girls pics modeling the same t-shirt and thought to myself, "yum". Interestingly, they use regular pretty people as opposed to insanely gorgeous models to pose their t-shirts, which to me actually makes them more appealing:
I swear, I can't think of another Oscar winning movie that's become so cult so quickly (and if you haven't seen 'There Will Be Blood', you won't get the tee). What's surprising is how many people have made designs out of this slogan. 'Chasing the Frog' (who's tees are further down this post) has a whole bunch of designs for this slogan which you can check out by clicking here.
A nice little dig at the evil that is MySpace.
If you can't read it, it says "Prose before hos", featuring the original Big-Willie-style.
Ok. Absolutely had to put the male pic of this t-shirt here for one reason: anyone else find the model's smile whilst posing for a t-shirt like this just inappropriate? He looks like he's modeling for Abercrombie but he's got Freud thinking about yo mama on his chest.
And finally, for all those with those oh-so-cool 'Vote for Pedro' t-shirts...
You know it's true.
Then there's RoadKill t-shirts, which has a whole bunch of amusing slogans but this one just takes the cake for me:
ChasingTheFrog has some pretty interesting movie related t-shirts:
But when it comes to movie related t-shirts, nothing beats LastExitToNowhere, which is incredibly cool in that it references things in movies, not the movies themselves. For example, instead of a Robocop t-shirt, you get:
...an OCP t-shirt! Where OCP stands for Omni Consumer Products, which was the megacorporation that created Robocop and controlled the city. But you already knew that, unless of course you are unlike me in that you have a life.
Other choice faves from the site include:
Can you figure out all the movies these t-shirts are based on? Can ye? Can ye?
I want all these tees, dammit.
What I'm Watching Now:
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Saturday, 24 May 08 - 09:42 PM (GMT +08:00) By Khairil Mokhzani Bahar in Brain Stew |
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Silly fun TV with a talking car. Noice. Wonder whether a TV series will follow?
Public Exposure
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Saturday, 24 May 08 - 04:45 AM (GMT +08:00) By Khairil Mokhzani Bahar in Brain Stew |
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The other day I found a poetry book I wrote between the years 1996 and 1997.
Yes. I used to write poetry. If I was 16 in this century I would probably be a fringe-haired, black-shirt-and-red-tie-wearing, Taking-Back-Sunday-listening emo boy.
Just like you.
Previously, I had found my diaries during that period as well, which further proves the whole closet emo boy theory. As I read through these books I smiled, reminscing on all the good and the perceived-to-be-bad at the time, remembering exactly how I used to think and feel at the time, and it made me wonder what made me write it in the first place. Spilling thoughts and feelings and emotions into simplified sentences that seemed poetic at the time but, in retrospect, were not as good as I thought they were.
I remember how I'd show only certain people, people I would trust, these poetry books. The diary was reserved for whoever was my girlfriend at the time as the thing was pretty much filled with the incredibly emo heartbreaks of the previous girlfriend.
I wondered about all this because I notice that a lot of people who blog write just like how I used to write my diary and poetry books, regardless of age. They pour their heart and soul into them, however misguided, just like how I used to write in my diary when I was a lonely zit-faced, speccy, greasy haired teenager.
And, apart from the age, the main difference is the diaries I wrote were private, and blogs are public.
It made me wonder whether I would write a blog like I used to write my diary - completely unabashed, emo-as-fuck and full of all the perceived pain and suffering that goes on in my mind and heart - and as soon as I thought about it, I knew the answer.
I can't.
I wrote my diary and poems as a form of release. I wasn't a big sports guy, I didn't play any instruments yet and I didn't have many friends. A diary was the most logical option. Looking back, I realized that it was the act of writing my diary and crappy poetry every day that helped build up my writing skills in the first place, which was why I ended up writing a blog to begin with at 20six - to keep writing.
But writing for an audience, even a possible audience (which, from my stats on this site, isn't that many) is much different from writing for yourself, in my opinion. Most of my films, you may notice, are quite autobiographical, but that doesn't mean that they can't entertain which, to me, is the first purpose of any art form - to make a connection with the audience and garner a reaction, any reaction, just as long as it hits some kind of emotion. Even 'Meet the Spartans' garners some form of reaction from its audience (though whilst some may laugh I cower in the corner with my hands over my head wondering what the fuck has happened to the world of comedy).
I've used blogging for many things - whether it's to release tension, amuse, create, share or simply pimp out whatever it is I'm doing to the six or seven people that read it. It's one of the wonders of the internet, the potential to share information unfiltered at a minimal or even non-existent cost. Ever since I discovered it I've loved what the internet can offer, even though with a quick google of my name you can find some of the embarrasments of my past in the form of this website. Even then, I'm not going to hide it - I was a young guy who didn't realize his writing style made him sound like a jackass yet. Now that I realize I sound like a jackass I can at least twist it in such a way as to make it a bit amusing or entertaining, which I hope my blog writing does.
I've been... laying low for the past week or so, partially because of the net and knowing a little bit more about what some people may think about my world wide web presence and who may be reading it. It's made me wonder about what I really think about this communications tool, and how I should use it. Whether or not I should care about what people think of me, based on what's available on-line with my name on it.
I don't think I should care what people think. I do believe that if you care too much about what people think of you and try to keep up appearances in their eyes you may tend to lose sight over what you think about yourself and find yourself one day looking in the mirror and seeing someone that looks and talks and walks how everyone else wanted them too.
What I know I do care about is whether or not I hurt people's feelings with anything I write here, or offend anyone, and I'm sure I have at some point. For all those whose feelings I've hurt and all those I've offended, I am sincerely sorry, and would never mean to hurt any of you.
But I'm still gonna keep writing. Still gonna keep Facebooking and MySpaceing and Friendstering and YouTubeing and Flickring.
Why? Because there's no better way to procrastinate from work than spending time on the net claiming your researching.
...
...Flickring. Sounds dirty.
New Life, New Logo
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Saturday, 24 May 08 - 04:04 AM (GMT +08:00) By Khairil Mokhzani Bahar in Filmmaking Frolics |
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Designed by the wonderfully talented Helenasia, who's more than willing to take on offers for logo design. Go on, give her a go...
...at designing something for you, you dirty minded sods. This'll be the logo for what will be my new company. I hope... you liiiike.
Ok. Borat references are getting pretty dull now.
... More items are available in my News Archive
