Good morning all!

Well it is a pretty good morning isn't it... after the splendid results of Anugerah Juara Lagu 24. Walaopon aku tau ada yang mesti merungut... sebab their favourites didn't win.

Boo to you then.. sebab I think the jury did a splendid job.

For those of you who missed the results - nih dia.

Juara Lagu : Pergi (Aizat/Pete Teo/Amran Omar)
(RM35,000 and trophy)

Runner-up : Dan Sebenarnya (Yuna/Yuna/Yuna)
(RM15,000 and trophy)

Third place : Bencinta (Faizal Tahir/Audi Mok/Faizal Tahir)
(RM12,000 and trophy)

Best Vocal Performance : Black (Aku Rindu Sayang Kamu)
(RM10,000 and trophy)

Best Performance : Aizat (Kau Aku)
(RM10,000 and trophy)

So my prediction of Pergi memang betul.. as was my prediction of Bencinta in the top three pon being in second. My wildcard possibility of being in top three in Dan Sebenarnya made it beating Kau Aku, tapi prediction aku for Best Performance in Stacy was wrong when Aizat won for Kau Aku - which I mentioned masa dry run (check a couple of entries ago) that it had the possibility of a win after watching preparations.

As for Best Vocal - Black was nowhere in my list. That much I have to admit. So that was the only one aku tersasar gila babas punya.

Now before anything.. layan pic ni jap.

Nampak tak apa apa yang pelik?

Ni time masa Aizat tengah perform Kau Aku. Nampak tak benda putih wrapped in white.. erm... kalao iut watermark aku atas the second 'B'. Scary!

Tapi aku rasa ni antara penari terbang Faizal sebab pastuh dia perform Bencinta. Tapi erm.. yang ni cam dibalut kain putih. Argh!!! Horror! Mungkinkah... JANGAN TEGUR!

Apapon... kan aku da kata opening MELETOP! Aku menjerit cam orang gila. Siti and Lan... FANTASTIC! Best opening EVER in an awards show to date and it will be VERY DIFFICULT to top this collaboration.

Apapon... for those yang nak bitch about the results. Aku hanya leh explain the best I can for those yang tak paham jury choices.

By the way, sebelom apa-apa mai aku explain sapa jury and what they did.

Syed Ahmad Faisal Al-Attas atau lebih dikenali sebagai Pacai dan Hazami yang bertanggungjawab score for composition manakala Dr Wan Zawawi dan Fatimah Abu Bakar on lyrics, sementara Datuk Siti Nurhaliza, Zainal Abidin and Media Prima Television Networks group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Farid Ridzuan yang score for performances along with the other judges to make up for the 30% of the score untuk dicampurkan pada previous pre-judging by the assigned judges. Paham?

Ok... Pergi... berkali aku explain why this choice of my Juara Lagu - and the eventual winner was the best composition.

Memang lagu lain sedap - tapi Pergi ni lain. Lagu nih simple, but again like I always maintained, is COMPLEX in all its simplicity. From structure of the composition, to the simple but lyrics yang mendalam, Pergi memang kelainan. Plus on top of that, walaopon lagu ni senang dan ramai mampu nyanyi - but only someone like Aizat yang dapat menyelam ke dalam jiwa, and pull out those emotions could bring out the emotions of the song to make it an even more superb masterpiece!

And plus the AWESOME arrangement, with Linda doing the Indian style vocalization... dia start je aku da nitis airmata. It would take a heart of stone not to melt when you hear Pergi... especially this version.

Thank you Aizat for the experience... and for delivering the emotions. I'm sure... many are proud, and some would have been proud if they had been able to hear it...

Bencinta? I've always liked Bencinta. It's not run of the mill rock. And ramai biased sebab tak minat Faizal Tahir mostly kalao kata tak suka Bencinta, or perhaps not a fan of his style. But this is a song composition contest, and Bencinta is a unique and rather experimental piece of mainstream rock-flavoured pop.

And I sort of like the tribute to Michael Jackson. It was inspired by, and not an Adam Lambert meets Michael Jackson doused with Mad Max affair like Bengang became with horrible conceptualization.

Dan Sebenarnya, so may argue is the best sebab lyrical content dia. I don't doubt it is good, and deservedly among the winners, tapi I think it's not strong to go against Pergi, but again, layak to be in the best three.

Best Performance may not be expected - but neither did I. But Aizat did well with Kau Aku. Walaopon ramai bawak tiga empat kampung, and kids especially, Kau Aku worked well with it. There was a certain element of genuine honesty with the performance and I guess that's why the jury awarded it that. Admit it.. you felt like dancing with the kids too. A little Laskar Pelangi flavoured.

Best Vocal Performance. Well... ok.. I expected Misha technically, though she wasn't perfect. Or Stacy for her ability to hold her own despite the moves. But Black, according to Fauzi Marzuki, which I have to agree with, did something impressive from the lowest note to the highest, showing off his range, especially when he started outside the stadium. That I have to give credit to Black walaupon aku mencik lagu dia.

So anyway.. congrats to the winners. No matter what anyone says... you guys deserve the wins. And kengkawan kat TV3 especially to Gbam and Su and Co. - congratulations for the best show ever in AJL history. Walaopon camera angle kekadang gila... dan tak sheshuai!!! Still a lot of Astro productions can learn a lot from you.

And now a couple of very random pics that don't fit in anywhere else in this entry.

Audi Mok - the BEST producer and composer and booger collector in the business!

Doa tuk bersyukur...

So that's it... I think Anugerah Juara Lagu 24 has been the best ever. What do you guys think?

PS - Tak paham sebilangan kecil yang otak sempit tak puas hati speku bagai hanya kerana bukan pilihan cliche yang menang. Rata rata kemenangan Pergi disambut baik penggiat seni - and fans of music, so this loud minority nak bising sebab something cliche tak menang. Sodih perangai. Educate yourself, bitches.

Read More

Puking Versace

Went to Rootz just now at the rooftop of Lot 10 for the Anugerah Juara Lagu press conference. It was jammed going into KL something really bad. But yang kelakar nya, got to the city je, it was ok.

Apparently everyone stayed away from the Golden Triangle area sebab of all the announcements mentioning the road closures there because of the the marching band championships or other... which was majorly delayed. But while they were supposed to close the roads at 6pm on, the rain caused them to push the start time, I guess, so the roads were empty.

Which was good for me. Got there at 8pm sharp.



Never been into Rootz before, and I must say the decor was...well... different.





At the entrance was a whole bunch of angled mirrors and changing LEDs that went from white to red. Would have thought of it as a techno club if I hadn't gone in. Once inside, it was pseudo luxury.

It looked like someone threw up Versace prints and nothing went well with anything else. It was nice in a weird sort of way. Really weird...

On to the opening and it was time for the main event. The draw to see sapa akan perform dulu and in what order and all.

Ni turutan persembahan malam Anugerah Juara Lagu nanti.



Tak sempat amik semua orang nya pics sebab keja nya pasal nak interview bagai. But this is the pics aku sempat.







Just some very basic info. Faizal Ismail, Ally Iskandar and Cheryl Samsd will host the night, dan selain Juara Lagu dan naib juara, the prizes up for grabs will be Persembahan Terbaik dan Persembahan Vokal Terbaik.

The theme is 'Music Unfolds' and the stage is very origami inspired. Literal translation.

This is how the stage is going to look like.




Lepak kejap ngan kengkawan after it was over. Ni sempat cam whore ngan Michelle. Da lama menggila ngan dia.



Pas abih, gi Hartamas Square melantak ngan kengkawan. Si Aishah dan Aril ada, so join borak. Tak lak aku amik pic. Nanti nanti je la... ni letih. Nak tidur dulu. Esok full day.

Read More

Festival Filem Malaysia 21

I remember last year.. tak silap aku.. aku tak gi Festival Filem Malaysia. But I remember complaining after a few minutes of trying to watch, and then falling asleep masa depan TV. Amik ko. Or was that the year before. Erm.. susah nak ingat sebab every year pun camtuh.

So it was with a little bit of apprehension that I went to Putrajaya Convention Centre (PICC), Putrajaya for the show tonight.
Horror gak kalao teruk kan...

Masuk dalam Dewan Plenari tuh, meletup! Besao ok dewan tuh. I was impressed with the venue. Nevermind I thought the stage was ciput in comparison.

There was this lingering smell of smoke from the pyros which just hung in the hall. Matilah kalao aku asma da tercekik da. The whole night the smell was there. Matilah kalao yang pakai cantik-cantik tuh berliter perfume pakai pun tetap bau azab tuh lebih kuat. Sapa yang BO tuh suka la sebab leh salahkan the pyros for the stink.

And then the show started.

Erm... aku general statement jer la ek. Most of the shows sucked. The opening was amateurish and kelam kabut even though the idea was there, but execution memang out.

Banyak sangat performance, which somehow takes away from the whole event, that special spotlight on the films contesting. And most of them were unjustified for their slot.

So instead of meraung kesakitan, which I did in the hall - I'll just point out my faves.

Datuk Siti Nurhaliza for one was amazing as usual. Thank goodness for Bob saving the duet with Sahri, walaupun aku impressed sebab Sahri da banyak improve vocal kalao compared to before.

For nostalgia's sake, I like Zahid's Istana Menanti. I loved it and hated it for the same reason. Sebab lagu tu penah jadi lagu tugasan dia masa... tak silap aku minggu kedua, konsert Akademi Fantasia musim kedua.
I loved it cause he did a nice rendition of it, but hated it cause the choice of songs malam tuh, banyak yang over exposed tunes which kita da berkali kali tengok da. Tak perlu ok recycle lagu. Macam la kita ni tak cukup lagu.

Mmm... Riz did pretty ok too for a newcomer, but banyak rungutan gak aku dengar pasal orang kata anugerah malam ni seolah olah konsert Akademi Fantasia lak. And I have to agree. Established performers were far and few. Oh well...

Oh and don't ask me about Stacy's performance or wardrobe sebab aku takleh jawab. No I do not know kalao muzik ke performer patut disalahkan sebab aku takde masa rehearsal. And no, I don't know who picked that outfit for her.

Anyway.. most performers for the night were mediocre.

Which was perhaps the reason, Misha too stood out.

Presenters, hampir semua yang ada patut kena tampar lima kali across the face sebab delivery of their script flat gila - and hosts in Bob Lokman (why is he still there?) and Linda Onn (dengar cita dia ganti Sarimah last minute) were way below par. I mean honestly, thanks to all these people, FFM 21 could have been the miracle cure for any insomniac.

Results lak macam p*nt*t sikit sebab aku rasa ada yang mengarut. Malas nak komen mana satu, but let's just say for Best Actor, Best Screenplay and Best Cinematography were the few categories aku rasa juri either tertidur and main pangkah nama pemenang, or they were simply too weirded out to judge better performances and efforts.

Too bad Faz tak menang, but I didn't pin high hopes, sebab her character in Kayangan was not as strong as her acting. And I did have a feeling Maya Karin would come out tops.

Nasha too obviously tak menang, but she won the best look for the night for sure. Fine detailed work on her dress which was tasteful, yet colourful and elegant while being simpler than most of the outfits that a lot of artists wore malam tadi yang da macam sarkas da.

Merasalah ramai yang pakai samaada cam tak cukup kain, ataupun cam ada sale kat Kamdar jerk, draping merapu sapu lantai. Ada sorang pelakon ni pakai this fugly yellow ball gown. Pastu nak ke tempat duduk dia, kena naik tangga, she carried it so high we could see more than what we wanted to see. Yuck! Puke!

Apart from Nasha's baju, I loved Faz's outfit too. I should, since I followed her to pick it out. The brown contemporary take of the kebaya paired with the kain was Farah Khan @ Aseana.

Sambil ramai berlumba mendedah, she was more appropriately dressed for an awards show, sopan and elegant.

Best moments were far and few - but I remember the only tinge of excitement I felt was when Ruminah Sidek menang - TWICE! I love that woman! She put a smile to my face everytime. And yang pentingnya - orang kampung aku! Matilah aku... tetap bangga ngan orang Klang ok!

Plus points for the night was that Zul Huzaimy menang! Hurrah for abang Zul. He really is one of the more talented actors, and aku memang happy la dia menang.

Also glad Osman Ali picked up Cerita Asal Terbaik untuk Anak Halal.

Also congratulations to abang Mamat Khalid and the cast and crew of Kala Malam Bulan Mengambang for their five trophies that they took home.

By the end of the night - I was left wondering why I didn't just stay home to watch it on TV. That way I could have changed channels or switched it off kalao rasa nak tido. Perhaps that's why that bau ala sulfur meets carbon monoxide smokey thingie was for - to make sure none of us fell asleep. Matilah konsep smelling salts.

I didn't take many pics sebab malas sebenarnya since most of the time aku mingle the music community, and have little opportunity nak campor ngan komuniti film and TV. But here are the few I took.

Nabila looking classic


Zahid pun red and black


Yazer was pretty good too onstage


Riz (as promised to karmila and reds) and Stacy


Fazura and Diana.. not sure who their friend is


Abang Mamat and abang Zul


My favourite local actor - Zul Huzaimy


Perhaps the best part for the night was a talk I had. Can't say much. But kalao ada rezeki, aku mungkin akan berlakon ujung tahun ni for something. Keeping my fingers crossed because it is a role I really want and know I can carry.

Tak minat sangat berlakon - but kalao ada watak besh aku nak juga usaha so I can challenge myself more. Already selama ni aku dok belah mengkritik and evaluate. Bukan senang to create something - and aku nak push myself to keep trying something I haven't done before. Jadik ke tak lain cita. Janji aku cuba, and aku belajar from the proses.

I mean it's pretty pointless to go through life without learning anything kan?

Yawn... really tired. Nak retreat tuk tido da. Joined the makan makan jap, but then headed home to sleep. Skipped the private post party kengkawan kat Heritage Row (thanks for the invite guys.. sorry rasa da kertu tak larat lak).

Here's the full list of winners for Festival Filem Malaysia 21.

Filem Terbaik
Kala Malam Bulan Mengambang (Tayangan Unggul Sdn Bhd)

Pengarah Filem Terbaik
Mamat Khalid (Kala Malam Bulan Mengambang)

Pelakon Lelaki Terbaik
Rosyam Nor (Kala Malam Bulan Mengambang)

Pelakon Wanita Terbaik
Maya Karin (Anak Halal)

Lakon Layar Terbaik
Hans Isaac (Cuci)

Cerita Asal Terbaik
Osman Ali (Anak Halal)

Sinematografi Terbaik
Raja Mukhriz Raja Kamarudin (Evolusi KL Drift)

Penyunting Terbaik
Nik Haslinda Nik Hussain / Kamarudin Abu (1957 Hati Malaya)

Skor Muzik Asal Terbaik
Sharon Paul (1957 Hati Malaya)

Filem Animasi Terbaik
World War (University of Hertfordshire)

Filem Dokumentari Terbaik
Making The Cut (Reel Network Sdn Bhd)

Filem Pendek Terbaik
Tiffin (Chor Ai Lene)

Filem Digital Terbaik
Jarum Halus

Pelakon Pembantu Lelaki Terbaik
Zul Huzaimy (Wayang)

Pelakon Pembantu Wanita Terbaik
Ruminah Sidek (Pensil)

Penataan Seni Terbaik
Nazrul Ashraff (Kala Malam Bulan Mengambang)

Penataan Bunyi Terbaik
Add Audio (Susuk)

Pelakon Kanak-Kanak Terbaik
Erynne Erynna (Congkak)

Pengarah Harapan Terbaik
Hans Isaac (Cuci)

Pelakon Harapan Lelaki
Kamaruzaman Taib (1957 Hati Malaya)

Pelakon Harapan Wanita:
Lisa Surihani - I'm Not Single

Lagu Tema Asal Terbaik
Hati (1957 Hati Malaya)

Pereka Kostum / Busana Terbaik
Nasirah Ramlan (Kala Malam Bulan Mengambang)

Poster Terbaik
Susuk

Anugerah Khas Juri
1957 Hati Malaya
Pensil
Wayang
Evolusi KL Drift

Anugerah Khas Box Office
Duyung (RM4.679 juta)

Anugerah Khas Veteran (Wanita)
Ruminah Sidek

Anugerah Khas Veteran (Lelaki)
Wahid Satay

Anugerah Khas (Di Belakang Tabir)
M. Shahdan

Read More