Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Rising Above

Today I met a 'kakak' who only buys tudung Ariani & has Korean stones embedded into them (like I care??) and she apparently earns tonnes of money doing online forex transactions... it was a chance meeting since she happened to visit a mutual friend when I was at the latter's house...

It's amazing how much value people put on immaterial things & how certain people feel better by putting others down... and I didn't know her from Adam! These tudungs will become worn eventually & the Korean stones may lose their shine, but a good deed & a pure heart beats all the blings in the world.

I survived the encounter with my confidence intact, despite the rather mean & unwarranted statements that she directed to me... so what if I don't have any Ariani tudungs with Swarowski crystals or Korean stones? It doesn't make me any less of a person- my worth extends beyond all these petty things. I have met Tan Sris & Datuks who are so humble & unassuming, you wouldn't believe it! These are the role models I look upon as they carry themselves respectably & with purpose, regardless of the price of the clothes they have on their backs.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Avatar

Hubby and I watched Avatar yesterday. It was our date, sans kids, and it was a choice between "Avatar", "Sherlock Holmes" or "The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus". Since Avatar was the first launched of the 3, we decided to watch it & perhaps watch the other 2 at another time. I didn't enjoy "Titanic" much so I watched Avatar with caution. It helped that Sigourney Weaver is in it.

Having watched the trailer, I was also a tad sceptical since a plot involving 'environmental issues' vs 'development' (supported by the army, no less) tends to be one that is corny & re-hashed. The 'techniness' of the avatar may end up overwhelming (or boring), the 'blue'ness of the natives might be distracting and/or the environmental issues preached condescending. I was quite pleased to be proved wrong. The techie stuff (avatar creation, operation & the corresponding machines) blended well with the 'big picture' of the teams' outwardly conflicting missions at Pandora; the blue aliens made the film- a race that is one with their natural existence and finally, the message on environmental issues, if any, underlies the greater purpose of the Na'vi's self-preservation & to drive away the 'sky people'. The CGI worked beautifully and the scenes on Pandora were simply spectacular. The love interest was also played down & I especially liked the fact that in the end the female warrior was the rescuer ;-)

My personal rule of thumb is if the first few minutes of the movie is engaging then it's likely to be a good one. The first few minutes of "Avatar" did pique my interest, as it challenged me to link the pieces as the narrator struggled to grasp the reality of the situation that's happening to him.

James Cameron clearly has put in a lot of thought into the geography of Pandora and the story/lineage of the Na'vi. The views were simply breathtaking, I wished Pandora was real! The actors delivered and there was fluidity in the acting, with the exception of Giovani Ribisi (no offence because I loved him in "Saving Private Ryan"). He was not able to hold his own in the presence of Sigourney Weaver and Sam Worthington. Ney'tiri was pulled off rather well by Zoe Saldana (Uhura in 'Star Trek') as the reluctant teacher- she has a lot of sides to her too, the warrior, the daughter, the future leader.. all in one..

Long story short, for me it was a great movie to start off the new year. Would recommend it to friends & I may just watch it a second time in 3D.