The day I watched Avatar - or another movie you MUST watch

If you really had to watch any movies in the cinema this year, here are my MUST WATCH recommendations.

Forget the crap that people tell you are the best for whatever reasons. You WILL enjoy these movies for very different reasons each.Because I said so... (matilah perasan). Ok.. not really. But you will LOVE these movies for reasons stated below.

The first is obviously, the still playing Zombieland. Whether you love horror, or comedy, you'll love Zombieland.

Popcorn movie, with a so-so plot, but amazing one-liners, a crazy cameo, and astounding comic timing, Zombieland is definitely one of the must watch movies of the year. Sayangnya aku gi panggung kat sini tengok, tak ramai layan. What a waste. I know friends who didn't want to watch Zombieland, and did - say they were lucky they caught it anyway or they would have missed something big.

It's the sort of movie you come out - having been entertained, and totally oblivious to the fact you just paid more for the snacks, than the tickets. Won't review it further as I've written loads on it.

Then tonight, I watched the second MUST WATCH movie of 2009. The much talked about Avatar.

Like how some must feel towards Zombieland, I had my own prejudices against Avatar. After all, the hype seemed a little too much that it would be hard to justify that the movie would actually be good enough.

Closest example would be the silly kiddy movie Twilight : New Goon or new loon or or something like that... stupidest movie ever made for 14 year-olds (boys or girls) who just want to see semi nude men but have no access to porn.

To make sure I had the complete experience to judge Avatar, I watched it in 3D. Despite having to sit in the second row from the screen as the halls were packed, I did it anyway... knowing I would judge it more harshly for the uncomfortable 'pleasure' of having my head tilted 45 degrees for some two hours.

And so how did I feel about it?

This beats the crap out of Titanic - and there isn't even an annoying theme song that will last two decades!

While people talk about the special effects and technology involved, that took James Cameron some 14 years to make this movie as he had to wait for technology to catch up to his vision for it, I saw it it for very different qualities.

Yes, the CGI was good. It wasn't abusively used like in Transformers or Spiderman movies which ends up making the offerings look like very expensive Saturday morning cartoons. In fact, sebab keadaan camtuh lah aku biasanya elak movie with tons of CGI...

And to be amazed by Avatar wasn't easy as it had something like 80% CGI.

In fact, I didn't notice all the technological advancements, because it was made to look so organic that I could have sworn for most parts, James Cameron must have managed to make it look like CGI instead for boasting points.

The settings were amazingly details, as was the whole world created. The characters were all so - well.. real! In fact, with hype that the movie may be up for nine Oscars or so, I hope Neytiri gets a nod for Best Actress (ok... so she's not a real person... but still... it was that good).

The emotions were as finely delivered and communicated - if not better, than any real living, breathing person.

The script itself was simple. Think good versus evil. Think good winning. Think rich greedy corporation capitalising off the downtrodden. Think David versus Goliath. Think Terminator series minus the T1000s or whatever version you watched.

But here's where it gets interesting.

While I love Zombieland for being 'brainless' and just being one of those movies o have a good time with, Avatar can not only do that - but also strike home a message or two.

The whole story begins with Jake Sully, a paraplegic ex-Marine hired to replace his twin brother's place in an experimental project in which human minds are transferred into bodies created from a hybrid of human and alien DNA (or avatars).

The brainchild of tough-talking scientist (Sigourney Weaver!), the project was devised to smooth talk the alien race of the Na’vi, on planet Pandora, into giving up their land which sits on a mass plot of a valuable mineral Unobtainium.

While unprepared, Jake manages to forge a tie with the Na'vi and eventually falls for his mentor in Neytiri - possible the hottest alien ever created.

Things get hostile when force is used for the company pushes acquisition of the land to mine the mineral and Jake has to take side.

Not so subtle - but if you just take a little time to think about it, I think somewhere there is James Cameron's jibe at something.

Whether it's a political statement on the occupation of Iraq, or the bitchy bitterness of America's past with Vietnam, or even a swipe at their past with the indigenous population of native Americans... we'll never know.

But stories like Avatar are broad enough for many interpretations. Simple message of greed and how that spurs the justification that might means right more often than not ends up in apocalyptic mass destruction is something anyone can relate to.

Personally for me, I kept thinking of the endless logging of rich fat cats in East Malaysia and the plight of the Penans (no I'm not thinking of the blue skinned, semi nude, riding on genetically superior pterodactyls).

But that's just me...

And let's not forget the whole politically correct approach to being one with Mother Nature and how we should love and respect the earth and all. The Na'vi represent an ideal that is unattainable, but again, ideal - for a materialistic, consumer driven world.

Yeah... so... no matter what you go for in a movie, Avatar is a freaking must watch. I don't know how it looks in 2D, but catching it in 3D was amazing. Unlike most 3D offerings, I didn't have things flying at me or anything. It was used tastefully to enhance the experience. In reverse, instead of the movie popping out at me, it sucked me into this whole other world!

In fact - half hour into it, I forgot I was watching in 3D, but still felt so enveloped in the film that when they Na'vi were gearing up to fight back, I wanted to scream along. In fact... I did... embarrassing!

And yes, like Titanic, there were moments I pretended I got something in my eyes.

So watch it. Even if you have to sit in the second row like me. Even if there is some stupid kid yelping on his handphone befor I kick the back of his seat in Kelantanese dialect halfway through the movie. Even if there is a huge Chinese guy three seats away is snoring up a storm. Even if the stupid couple behind gives a running commentary in Arabic. And even if someone's feet smell in the cinema. Even if you watch the midnight screening and have to wait in an empty mall for almost two hours staring at walls in an un-air condition space.

It's all worth it. Despite some friends saying it was Star Trek meets Smurfs with Mystique from X-Men in the lead.

And the last movie worth catching for, in 2009?

Forget the reviews of some who call it boring. I've watched it three times. And no, it isn't a popcorn movie like Zombieland. Or a visual extravaganza like Avatar.

But it is THE BEST local movie for 2009. For many reasons that other movies lack. The soul.

Arwah Yasmin told me this after I watched the offline edit of Muallah for the first time about two years ago when I came out of the Leo Burnett theatherette in tears when I admitted I loved the movie - but I said she was swinging back in to non-commercial mode of making movies.

"But did you enjoy it?"

I said I did.

"Did you understand it?"

I told her I probably wasn't the right person to answer that, as I probably am not able to read between the lines and all. But I did get something from it - so many lessons in relation to me, my beliefs and my understanding of my faith.

She just smiled and said, "Then that's all that matters."

We often look for movies with answers.

But the best movies, encourage us to think, to question - and search for answers on our own. And for that very reason, watch Avatar and Zombieland. And if you feel numbed by having to think so much, then go for Zombieland.

Unless you want to be dumbed down by movies with no passion. Then go for anything else.

Muallaf as expected will not get good reviews - simply because many reviewers in all their intelligence will not acknowledge something they don't understand, and the late Yasmin still has lots of haters when it comes to her work.

Other than that, Zombieland is still showing, Avatar is still packed, and Muallaf opens on Christmas eve.

Watch them. Definitely worth your money.

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Why of why...

If you can believe it, because it takes a little stretch of the imagination (no really!!!)... Muallaf might not be shown in th cinemas.

Why? Because from what I've seen, chances are, it just won't.

Tak adalah adengan yang sensitif, atau lucah, atau menghina ataupun mencemar budaya tempatan. Tak ada provokasi, tak ada persoalan, tak ada adengan yang menyakitkan hati (kecuali yang berfikiran sempit).

Cuma... Muallaf invites us into a realistic world where it is possible to have an open mind, to discuss different views on religion, the various things we all go through, but somehow never talk about, the very things that make us feel what we do about the whole instritution religion has become, no matter what faith you embrace.

Semalam, akhirnya, selepas the third invitation, aku finally gi tengok the offline version of Muallaf. Thank you kak Yasmin. the most beautiful woman I know. Beautiful... some might smirk when I say that as they have many words for this woman but that. But she is beautiful, sebab dia tak pernah dengki, benci atau menghina orang lain. No matter what this gutsy lady has been through, she amazes me this time.Like her films, she doesn't bother preaching, but she does invite you to be more open to the idea of forgiveness.

Anyway, semalam gi ngan Sarol, who met up at my office. We headed for the screening venue which was at kak Min's office kat area Jalan Raja Chulan.We were told to be there about 8.15pm, which we reached on time. Took us another ten minutes to get into parking, and go up, delay in which because I forgot what floor the place was on.

Naik je, nampak ramai da berkumpul. There were bloggers, friends from the media and some friends of Yasmin herself, which brough it to about less than 20 people. 'Abang Jason pun ada... heh... Nani....Brian couldn't make it though.

We grabbed a bite, sebab tak sempat dinner, before the movie started.

Make it.. before the experience started.

And what an experience. Aku tanak cita panjang sebab nothing I could say could do justice to the film. It is really Yasmin's best film.

Hope you guys get to see it too... so keep those fingers crossed and pray that some old dud at the Censorship Board lets it through with minimal brutality.

Speechless, dunno what to write lagik pasal Muallaf. It's just beautiful... like you Yasmin for being honest, from the heart and just all too simple in it's message of love and God and religion.
"We're all searching for God... in our oen different way."

By the way, this is probably the LEAST commercial of Yasmin's films. I'm hoping people won't call it an art movie, or say it's too hard to understand or enjoy because it makes you think... because that's as good as calling yourself stupid. Everyone can think... that's what separates you from beasts. So perhaps it's a more insightful movie... but doesn't mean it's not accessible and understandable.

PS - BTTB hope you enjoyed it too. Have a feeling you did, kan?

Note : Correction on the last entry. It should read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows... not Hollows. Heh..so excited wrong word in my mind lak. My bad! Thanks Din for pointing that out. And erm... casualy list, add one more name there in the shapeshifter, and the injury was inflicted upon the other twin, not the one who died (oops... did I give away too much?)

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Muallaf

Suka tak baju yang Nani pakai? Actress ok...leh? Make no mistakes gituh who she is in this film.
Apapon, of course, today is the day yang ramai tunggu tunggu. Iaitu Sharifah Amani Syed Zainal Rashid akan botakkan kepala untuk wataknya dalam filem Muallaf arahan.

Started the morning early. Merasalah kul 6.15 pagi da gerak, but Federal Highway jam gila and one and a half hours later, aku still stuck in traffic. Keji kan? Bayar tol cam tuk bazirkan duit je.
Anyway, after some unnecessary drama, set out to Ipoh on my own. Thank goodness for long distance drives.

Dalam stress ke apa, hitting the highway is so relaxing. Just two hours after I set out (including setengah jam singgah kat hentian Tapah tuk breakfast) aku sampai kat Ipoh dengan selamat.
Buzzed kak Mina few times tapi dia tak angkat, so didn't really know where to go.

Finally SMSed her sebab biasalah orang sibuk takut tak terlayan, and she shortly SMSed me back asking me to join the crew kat Majestic Hotel, kat railway Ipoh. Memandangkan aku da lama tak ke Ipoh, blur sikit ler pasal which way to head.

So main gamble je ler whatever I recall nak carik lokasi krew Muallaf set up camp. Found it within minutes, tak susah pun.
Called and found out meka semua tengah sibuk brunch, akibat memasing tak larat sebab shoot malam sebelom lanjut sasmpai 6.30 pagi!!!

Damn! And I thought aku sorang je akan zombie sebab tak cukup tidur.

Had a nice time chatting with the gang, before we headed back to the hotel. Mmm... last time aku mai sini, bertahun dahulu, the padang in front hotel tuh masih ada those hedges yang dipotong ala maze, dan masih ada gerai gerai yang niaga tepi jalan beside it.

Skang the whole area da cleared da. The whole crew wss having their makan, so lepak je ngan meka kat medan selera yang belakang masjid, terletak across the road from the hotel.

After about almost an hour or so, we traipsed back to the hotel. And that's where I saw Nani, all psyched up for the day that she was about to lose her hair.

Merasalah bouncy je dia semacam. Adik dia si Aleysha moody sikit, cause like me, she's not really a morning person (except in my case, I've learned to fake it like I am).

Sebenarnya, sebelom Nani botak, masa sebelom bermula shooting, dia da pon get rid of rambut panjang dia yang sampai paras pinggang tuh. She now sports a clse crop ala Mia Farrow yang tomboyish sikit.

For some reason it reminds me of Sofea Jane dalam filem Cinta Kita or something like that a long time ago where she had to act as a tomboy.

Still, Nani looked extremely cute in her new hairdo. Ni mesti kalao botak cantik, vogue abih nih.
She was calm and could joke with us and all, so it was nice to see dia tak stress langsung pasal the big event today.

After the crew got everything together, kami pun convoy ler ke lokasi tuk shooting babak babak terakhir for the film. Since tak familiar ngan Ipoh sangat dan takut sesat, ikut crew vehicles semua pasang hazard light jalan together.

Despite my fears of getting lost, kita jalan pun not even five minutes driving distance from the actual location je.


The location? Rumah TNB yang dekat je ngan area Istana Kinta. Rumah tuh ala banglo yang jadik quarters tuk pegawai TNB, tapi da dua tahun kosong da.

Beaufitul place, with the colonial architechture semi intact. Cuma sana sini renovation mengazabkan rumah tuh. But bahagian dalam, for most parts tetap maintain the original feel of the house, which was just plain creepy. Not really la... it was ok, except for the bathroom upstairs.

Basalah kalao rumah lama ni.

We huddled in a reserved area in the sprawling grounds of the house as the crew set up the whole scene yang nak shoot. Siap masukkan perabot pelbagai.

Memang kagum lihat their attention to detail for the shoot. Very professional lot.

Aku penah ke set penggambaran filem berapa kali da, but there was something different about this one. Everyone had a part in it, and everyone else helped someone else, bukan main lepas tangan je.

Nani and Leysha joined us, as did Brian yang jugak co-star for the movie, as well as Yasmin herself.

Patutnya Nani dibotakkan tengahari, but because of a delay and they needed to shoot some other scenes, lambat ler sikit.

And this is where the scene yang Nani nampakkan dia botak. Aku tanak give away anything, but adengan ni, dia pas semayang ngan Leysha, and dia remove telekung and Leysha pull away the covering to reveal Nani botak.

Amik ko

Aku hanya mampu membayangkan je apa reaksi penonton nanti sebab sampai production crew menitis air mata, dan kami yang kat sana pun emotionally moved walaopon lom tau apa cita sepenohnya.

Their acting was awesome, and I think part of that was because it all came from the heart. As kak Yasmin says, it's so pure, the whole scene.

Apapon, 'gimik' Nani botak ni is not the main feature (I don't know if it's actually even considered on) tapi pas full explanation jalan cita dia, aku terdiam gak.

I think this is indeed going to be Yasmin's biggest movie to date... we'll have to wait and see la.Tu dia...you saw it here first....Nani berkepala botak. For real ok.

Contrary to popular belief, tiada adengan Nani dalam proses botakkan pala.

The scene just shows her already bald. Why?

That you have to wait until the movie comes out sebab takkan aku nak cita pepandai lak.

I love this picture for some reason.

Nani dipeluk Leysha while posing with Yasmin outside the house where the last scenes were shot earlier today.

Nani's bald head was pretty much the focus of everyone and every single camera was just clicking away.
Thanks Nani for your patience (and your fantastic poses!)

You rock gurl! And I think you're all the more beautiful with the new look. Kalao pompuan lain terpaksa harapkan rambut tuk cantikkan meka, even without your crowning glory, you still look gorgeous as ever!

There are a few more pictures below, so don't bitch about why gambar ni kecik dan tak nampak apa apa ok. Sabar sikit dan scroll ke bawah lagik sambil baca.

Oh by the way, as usual, kalao nak amik any of these pics and paste them anywhere, feel free to do so ON CONDITION, you credit my blog and also provide a link here.

Fair is fair. Please kalao boleh do not direct link as it disappears on our side too if I remove them. So you can actually right click and just save it. But I suppose if you're butt lazy...

Oh jap...lupa nak wish good luck pada kawan, si Shazwan (leh tak link kan blog - matilah aku kena carut!!!) dari Kosmo! yang last day ari ni.

Pas ari ni banyak la korang nampak dia kalao korang pasang Astro Awani. Merasalah feeling star in frnt of camera lak pulark pasni.

Hah...tengok tuh, Syazwan pun one of the many yang amik pics sana sini (private collection ke for blog?)

Memang kelam kabut dan kecoh sikit cause everyone was celebrating for the end of the shoot, and you could feel the joy of their hard work reaching the stage of completion (for now...lom agik editing and post production pelbagai kan)

Speaking of celebration, since hanya wish kat phone, dan tak kat sini, a happy belated to Nani yang celebrate her 21st birthday last Sunday kat set ketika penggambaran Muallaf!!!

Cam tak caya dia umo baru 21 kalao sembang ngan dia, walaupon kicik je orangnya cam dak 12 tahun lak.

Apapon, thanks to everyone at MHz Films yang make us feel so at home, welcoming us on the set and all, walaupon meka kelam kabut everyone was such a joy to be with.

Thanks again Yasmin to you and your lovely family for the hospitality extended to us throughout the whole day. It was indeed a learning experience for me.

Ok...enough of that.

I know everyone just wants to see pics and not read anything as it'll be rambling until I actually get to it.

Again, please not that if you want to use these pics elsewhere silakan je. JANJI korang kreditkan aku and provide a link to my blog. Keji kalao tak sebab aku susah susah amik pic, upload pelbagai, at least kredit ek kalao nak amik (kena cakap berulang kali sebab ada yang tak paham bahasa) On with the pics..

Celebration! It's over...do we get paid now?


The lovely people behind Muallaf.


Sisterly love! Nani and Aleysha.


GI Jane?


So that concludes our presentation (iya iya je statement).
I hope Nani will keep the look for a while walaopon ada yang nak dia pakai cap la...bandanna la ke haper sebab I think not many women look this good kalao botak.

She has excellent features which totally stand out more now that she's done away with her hair.

Plus, she's got this long neck, which (walaopon pendek la) cam model lak aku tengok dia.

Enjoy this moment while you can Nani, sebab ko bukan akan repeat this look sangat after this (if at all).Apapon... I think you look beautiful and I can't wait to see Muallaf.

To kak Min, jangan lupa ok for the offline screening. Tak sabar aku nak tengok hasilnya.

Aduh...letih...ngantuk abih sebab sempat curi tidur sana sini je after the whole day there mandi panas, mandi peluh..kena gigit nyamuk dan sebagainya. Nak call it a day... tapi seb baik esok takyah masuk office. Still.. rasa nak rajinkan diri and masuk send more stuff before I take time off.

Feel like taking in a movie.

So anyways...hope you guys liked the pics, dan jangan lupa pasni kang kuar panggung (kalao takde la pihak nak bising sensitif tuh ni sebelom nonton cam kes Gubra dulu ads bangang mana kata promote underage sex - keji!) korang gi nonton ek.

Keep supporting REAL films of REAL quality. And be a believer that orang Malaysia pon mampu create this hasil seni yang memang leh dibanggakan. And not just by outsiders, but by our own for the celebration of our own culture.

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