72 Tenants Of Prosperity

Synopsis: In the 1970s, Hong Kong's rapacious landlords try to evict 72 tenants but sworn brothers Ha Kung (Eric Tsang) and Shek Kin (Jacky Cheung) helped the group of 72 defeat the landlord and landlady and coincidentally rescue Siu To Hung (Anita Yuen) from a planned forced marriage. When both sworn brothers fall for Siu To Hung and propose to her, she flips a coin and Ha wins her hand in marriage. The sworn brothers become sworn enemies and Shek's hatred fuels intense rivalry against Ha in business dealings. They continue to clash in 2010 and are in competition in the busiest street in the city, which is still home to the 72 tenants. [Source: Yahoo! Singapore Movies]

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If only Singapore Media Authority allow the show to release in Cantonese and avoid the dubbing over in Chinese, I could have enjoyed the movie more. It was pretty distracting at first when the Chinese subtitles did not match the voices that was said in the movie, but nevertheless, I get used to it after a while. This movie shows a good combination of the events that had happened in Hong Kong and the director did a good job poking fun at it, making references to 叶问, the acid throwing incident and even 雪狼湖! A good movie to start your day with a smile.

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Rate: 7/10

Little Big Soldier

Synopsis: A foot soldier and a general from rival states become the only survivors of a war. As they are both pursued by the general's brother who would kill anyone for the throne, the foot soldier considers betraying the general for the ticket home. [Source: Yahoo! Singapore Movies]

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Jacky must be getting old. There is a significant lower amount of real time fighting and daredevil stuns on scene compared to his earlier movies. Set in the warring states of China, the film is pretty restrictive as it serves to just developing the character of the general and foot soldier as they find their way home. It was amusing to see the 2 leads trying to outsmart each other for the whole duration in the show. Nevertheless, this is an average movie to catch if you have the time.

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Rate: 6.5/10

True Legend

Synopsis: So Chan (Vincent Chiu) was a wealthy man obsessed with kung-fu who fell from grace after he and his family became the victims of conspiracies. Eventually, he rises from his compromised state as a beggar and transforms himself into a martial arts master, patriot and folk hero, honoured as the "King of Beggars". [Source: Yahoo! Singapore Movies]

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Truth be told, I came with huge expectations for this movie, but in the end, I went away with a tint of disappointment. Vincent, acting as So Chan, was quite ok in the movie with his fighting stances and moves, but with the introduction of Jay Chou acting as Vincent imagination (god of fights), the scene can get a bit off. Maybe Jay was attempting to change his image, but, I find that he is still not the kind made for kung fu fighting. An average movie, watch it if you have time to spare.
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Rate: 6/10

NINE

Synopsis: Famous film director Guido Contini struggles to find harmony in his professional and personal lives, as he engages in dramatic relationships with his wife, his mistress, his muse, his agent, and his mother. [Source: Yahoo! Singapore Movies] .
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After going through the whole 119 mins, I am really confused by the director as the movie scenes fly around the nine women who has touched this downhill Guido. For the musical part, the movie was quite ok, but for the storyline, it was a total flop. The director certainly can do better portraying the strain relationship of Guido and his wife and his "under carpet" relationship with his mistress. The link between the musicals was weak. Compared with other musicals I have seen before, the quality of this movie was miles off.
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Rate: 5/10

Sapporo Ramen Bishamon

Still recovering from the bout of flu and cough, I can only stick with food that are light in nature for now. That means fried and heaty stuffs are out. How am I going to go through this year CNY? No ba gua, no chocolate, no niu yu... Oh man...
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Coming back, I managed to find another eatery that serves good Ramen. Ajisen is out, their ramen are horrible. Let me introduce the Special Miso Ramen from Sapporo Ramen Bishamon! On their menu, they gave it 3 chef recommendations and it indeed lives it up to the expectation. Starting from basic, their base soup is already very tasty. Piled it on with a huge slab of pork and fresh corn, you really can't ask for more. There is one thing in this dish that really surprise me. Have you ever seen a hard boiled egg with runny egg white and egg york? I really don't know how they did it but I saw it today for the first time in my life. Quite a good experience overall.

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Rate: 8/10

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*Surprise!!!!!* =) "....You’ll be the prince and I’ll be the princess...." =)

14 Blades

Synopsis: During the Ming Dynasty, the Emperor of China possessed one weapon greater than all others, the Imperial Guards, an elite force of assassins recruited from street orphans. Trained in clandestine combat from childhood, the Imperial Guards were masters of the 14 Blades, eight being for torture, five for killing and the last blade reserved for suicide when a mission failed. Above the law, with a license to kill, the Imperial Guards devoted their lives to the service of the Emperor alone. When the Imperial Court is taken over by evil eunuch Jia, the best of the Imperial Guards, Qinglong (Yen) and Xuanwu, are assigned to steal a list identifying those still loyal to the Emperor. However unbeknownst to Qinglong, the Imperial Guards have fallen under the control of Jia, and during the mission Qinglong is betrayed by Xuanwu. Now as the most wanted man in the land, Qinglong must seek out and rally the loyalists to rise against Jia and restore the Emperor to power. [Source: Yahoo! Singapore Movies]
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The overall movie can be considered to be average, if not for the wrong choice of casts: Qi Yuwu as the villain, and 吴尊 as the 沙漠判官. Seriously, Qi is too void of expression and he doesn't come anywhere close to be the ruthless villain character in the movie. For 吴尊, besides acting cool, he totally cannot act! The way that he speaks is also totally comical in the movie. I almost die out laughing every time he speaks with his slang, and believe me, it is a torture. One more point, I wonder if the producer can come out with a more creative name besides 脱脱？I know its her special skills, but then, put her skill as her name?? Out....
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Rate: 4/10

(endless) Work

This is already the second weekend burnt, (no choice) as I have to do my job supervising the contractor with regards to their health and safety as they go about retrofitting the required facility. As of now, I am still in office!! Looking at their progress, looks like 9.30pm is the earliest I can called it a night.....