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bye faithful readers!
here's a little competition: how many chin ups will i be capable of on saturday? stay tuned. hazard guesses on the tagboard.
here's a clue: i did 6 two weeks ago.
i'll think of a prize for the winner. =]
Wednesday, July 23, 2003
Tuesday, July 22, 2003
Monday, July 21, 2003
i just watched alex&emma. here's my post-review, albeit an extremely biased one:
Alex&Emma by Aaron Wong
What do you expect from a romantic comedy? Romance, laughs, and a happy ending.
Alex & Emma delivers on all counts. But only just.
Romantic comedies are common - too common. Thankfully, the movie has a few important ingredients that spice up an otherwise unfulfilling story.
I'll skip the synopsis; you can read that here.
Ingredients:
1 gorgeous actress
Kate Hudson carried her last movie (How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days), and she repeats her performance here. Her flooziness (some say it's hereditary) makes her so castable in ths genre, and has underlined her reputation as one of the more bankable stars today.
Showcasing her versatility, she plays 5 different women, 4 of which appear in Alex's novel. Ylva and Anna were particularly endearing. Ylva, the Swede, was played to stereotypical perfection. And since stereotypes are so funny to the non-stereotyped, Ylva was roaringly good fun.
Anna, on the other hand, is closer to what Emma is, and somewhat a stereotype herself. Her pure unadulterated soul was what Alex saw in Emma. Alex's hero in his book must choose between French seductress Paulina and the down-to-earth Anna.
![Aaron: I know who I would choose! =]](http://us.ent4.yimg.com/movies.yahoo.com/images/hv/photo/movie_pix/warner_brothers/alex_and_emma/_group_photos/kate_hudson13.jpg)
As Margaret McGurk of the Cincinnati Enquirer tartly put it, "Alex & Emma is a slight romantic comedy that scores its major points solely on the strength of its charismatic leading lady."
Why do you think I watched it? =]
A liberal sprinkling of stereotypes
Hudson is strikingly beautiful throughout the movie, even as her outfits and hairdos were constantly changing. Sterotypes alone are only that funny, but when played by someone as talented as the adorable Miss Hudson, it inadvertently made me smile.
2 stories, finely blended
The book's characters develop, and life begins to imitate art as two love stories unfold. The constant transition between fact and fiction is surprisingly fresh, partly due to Emma's frequent feedback. From The One About the Ample Bosom to The One About The introduction of Multinational Stereotypes Every Two Pages, Emma's input is refreshing, challenging Alex's cliched writing. Gradually, Alex and Emma appreciate each other's opinions, and respect each other.
Now to be critical:
The movie is cliched, like Alex's book sans Emma, but is worth watching for a few reasons. Well, one.
I watched this movie for Kate Hudson, and she has vindicated my decision.
Alex&Emma by Aaron Wong
What do you expect from a romantic comedy? Romance, laughs, and a happy ending.
Alex & Emma delivers on all counts. But only just.
Romantic comedies are common - too common. Thankfully, the movie has a few important ingredients that spice up an otherwise unfulfilling story.
I'll skip the synopsis; you can read that here.
Ingredients:
1 gorgeous actress
Kate Hudson carried her last movie (How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days), and she repeats her performance here. Her flooziness (some say it's hereditary) makes her so castable in ths genre, and has underlined her reputation as one of the more bankable stars today.
Showcasing her versatility, she plays 5 different women, 4 of which appear in Alex's novel. Ylva and Anna were particularly endearing. Ylva, the Swede, was played to stereotypical perfection. And since stereotypes are so funny to the non-stereotyped, Ylva was roaringly good fun.
Anna, on the other hand, is closer to what Emma is, and somewhat a stereotype herself. Her pure unadulterated soul was what Alex saw in Emma. Alex's hero in his book must choose between French seductress Paulina and the down-to-earth Anna.
As Margaret McGurk of the Cincinnati Enquirer tartly put it, "Alex & Emma is a slight romantic comedy that scores its major points solely on the strength of its charismatic leading lady."
Why do you think I watched it? =]
A liberal sprinkling of stereotypes
Hudson is strikingly beautiful throughout the movie, even as her outfits and hairdos were constantly changing. Sterotypes alone are only that funny, but when played by someone as talented as the adorable Miss Hudson, it inadvertently made me smile.
2 stories, finely blended
The book's characters develop, and life begins to imitate art as two love stories unfold. The constant transition between fact and fiction is surprisingly fresh, partly due to Emma's frequent feedback. From The One About the Ample Bosom to The One About The introduction of Multinational Stereotypes Every Two Pages, Emma's input is refreshing, challenging Alex's cliched writing. Gradually, Alex and Emma appreciate each other's opinions, and respect each other.
Now to be critical:
The movie is cliched, like Alex's book sans Emma, but is worth watching for a few reasons. Well, one.
I watched this movie for Kate Hudson, and she has vindicated my decision.
Thursday, July 17, 2003
Julius Caesar was addressing the crowd in the Coliseum.
"Friends, Romans and Countrymen, lend me your ears. Tomorrow I take our glorious army to conquer Northern Europe and I shall start with France. We shall kill many 50,000 Gauls and return victorious."
The crowd are up on their feet "Hail mighty Caesar!"
Brutus turns to his mate and says "That's bollocks! The liar!"
Six months later, Caesar comes back having conqured France and addresses the crowd in the Coliseum. "Friends, Romans and
Countrymen, I have returned from our campaign in France and as I promised, we killed 50,000 Gauls."
"Hail mighty Caesar!" yells the crowd.
"What a load of rubbish" says Brutus. "I'm gonna check this out."
Brutus sets off for France and three weeks later he comes back to Rome. Caesar is addressing the public in the Coliseum again.
" Friends, Romans and Countrymen, tomorrow we set off for Britain and we are going to sort those pasty-white lily-livered wimps out."
The crowd are up on their feet. "Hail mighty Caesar!" they cry.
Brutus jumps up and shouts, "Caesar, you are a liar. You told us that you had killed 50,000 Gauls in France but I've been there, I asked around, you only killed 25,000!"
The crowd are stunned and all sit down in silence.
Caesar gets wearily to his feet, looks slowly round the Coliseum, sighs and says to Brutus:
"Yes, noble friend. But everyone knows away Gauls count double in Europe."
"Friends, Romans and Countrymen, lend me your ears. Tomorrow I take our glorious army to conquer Northern Europe and I shall start with France. We shall kill many 50,000 Gauls and return victorious."
The crowd are up on their feet "Hail mighty Caesar!"
Brutus turns to his mate and says "That's bollocks! The liar!"
Six months later, Caesar comes back having conqured France and addresses the crowd in the Coliseum. "Friends, Romans and
Countrymen, I have returned from our campaign in France and as I promised, we killed 50,000 Gauls."
"Hail mighty Caesar!" yells the crowd.
"What a load of rubbish" says Brutus. "I'm gonna check this out."
Brutus sets off for France and three weeks later he comes back to Rome. Caesar is addressing the public in the Coliseum again.
" Friends, Romans and Countrymen, tomorrow we set off for Britain and we are going to sort those pasty-white lily-livered wimps out."
The crowd are up on their feet. "Hail mighty Caesar!" they cry.
Brutus jumps up and shouts, "Caesar, you are a liar. You told us that you had killed 50,000 Gauls in France but I've been there, I asked around, you only killed 25,000!"
The crowd are stunned and all sit down in silence.
Caesar gets wearily to his feet, looks slowly round the Coliseum, sighs and says to Brutus:
"Yes, noble friend. But everyone knows away Gauls count double in Europe."
Wednesday, July 16, 2003
Monday, July 14, 2003
Friday, July 11, 2003
i found this cool blog.
32-year-old American housewife with three kids named Deb.
she writes with so much honesty, i was immersed in such a beautiful commentary of everyday American life. that's what i think anyway.
she's really funny AND she has the excellent habit of linking stuff to archices and onto the WWW, so Singaporeans and other diverse groups know what she's talking about. =]
32-year-old American housewife with three kids named Deb.
she writes with so much honesty, i was immersed in such a beautiful commentary of everyday American life. that's what i think anyway.
she's really funny AND she has the excellent habit of linking stuff to archices and onto the WWW, so Singaporeans and other diverse groups know what she's talking about. =]
Thursday, July 10, 2003
Sunday, July 06, 2003
i OFFICIALLY graduated on independence day.
it was a glitchless affair at best, but it was great to see everyone's faces again, to take photos even though you're probably gonna see none of them. if anyone has shots of me in the camera, mail my home addy or aaronwong@journalist.com can? thanks.
all in all it was great to see the people who mean so much to me, even though it was such a rush for me.
i miss you guys...
it was a glitchless affair at best, but it was great to see everyone's faces again, to take photos even though you're probably gonna see none of them. if anyone has shots of me in the camera, mail my home addy or aaronwong@journalist.com can? thanks.
all in all it was great to see the people who mean so much to me, even though it was such a rush for me.
i miss you guys...
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