The Avengers: Movie Review

The Avengers is the culmination of all the recent Marvel Studio movies starting with the hit Ironman, to Hulk, Thor and Captain America. Everyone to everyone expects this movie to be great, knock-your-socks-off entertainment, and in almost every way, it delivers.

With the screenplay completely written by Josh Whedon, most famously known as the creator of Buffy the Vampire slayer, the Avengers boasts a great combination of well-timed good suited humour and the larger than life CGI spectacle to balance this blockbuster flick. I never thought I’d be wowed by anymore CGI fabrications of late but after this movie I was wrong. The flying aircraft carrier and the alien mothership which slithers through air, cutting through beams and bricks of skyscrapers is simply amazing.


Joss Whedon has only directed 2 movies: Cabin in the Woods and Firefly series finalizer, Serenity. But he had written an X-men comic book series: Astonishing X-Men. So when given a storyline almost predetermined by the Marvel Studios, Joss Whedon, a small fan base cult director, (much like Sam Raimi, Bryan Singer, Christopher Nolan) basically rewrote it all.


One thing his humour does is that it brings a sense of not taking the superhero theme too seriously. (This humour is called Whedonism, something Buffy fans would slurp up.) The Avengers team is undeniably weird and fictionally lopsided; a green monster, robotic suited billionaire, a demi-god of Norse mythology, and a couple of highly skilled human superheroes?

Come on, only humour can make it all seem normal. And I can see it now; this phrase will last a lifetime: Captain America: Big man in a suit of armor, take that away, and what are you? Tony Stark: Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist. And watch out for the new catchphrase: “Puny God”

On that same subject, we always wonder how each of them would stack up against each other. Hulk vs demigod? Ironman vs demigod? Cap A vs ironman? Ironman vs flying aircraft carrier? I don’t wish to divulge any spoilers, but we get the answers. I was like: Really?

From the posters, I thought that adding the archer guy (Hawkeye) and sexy Russian spy lady (Black Widow) to the already crowded superhero line-up is a huge mistake. But I was wrong. The Black Widow added that much needed feminine touch, and Hawkeye was made relevant by plot circumstances early on. But yet these two humans are aware of their place among the more powerful superheroes. Don’t play with the big boys or else…


In fact every main character was given his/her chance to shine and be meaningful. This is a masterful stroke of the playwright (Joss Whedon). Nevertheless, I do see that Ironman, the crowd favourite, is given the best lines and the most bravado scenes. Although Captain America is supposed to be the de facto group leader, Ironman seems to get more limelight. Makes sense; Ironman 1 & 2 made more money than Hulk, Thor and Captain America put together.


This IS (along with Battleship) the movie of this summer. Not to be missed. It’s not Ironman 3 or Thor 2, or Captain America 2. This is Avengers 1. My score is 9/10.

This article is a good read: wired.com

Battleship: Movie Review

I’m going to start out by saying: This is the best loudest action extravaganza popcorn flick in the past 5 years. It’s the kind where it gets you on your feet (figuratively speaking), cheering on the heroes, air punching the bad guys (again figuratively), unrealistic or silly as the plot may be. It gives that impression of worldwide impending doom like Armageddon, Independence Day and Transformers 1 (forget 2 or 3). Actually, it’s better than Transformers 1 if you compare the two Hasbro branded movies.


Now the differences; comedy wise, Battleship’s comic relief scenes are a whole lot more extreme, and admittedly a little out of place. The opening scene starts like this.

Alex Hopper (Taylor Kitsch), an unemployed and deadbeat twenty something year old guy celebrates his birthday in a bar with his brother, Stone Hopper (Alexander Skarsgård). Stone insists that his brother turns his life around and maybe join him in the Navy, when a hot Samantha (Brooklyn Decker) walks in the bar and takes Alex’s breath away. An argument arises with the bartender who refuses to serve chicken burrito to a famished Samantha. Alex offers to solve her problem in 5 minutes or less. He races to the nearby convenience store, only to find that the shopkeeper had just closed shop. But it’s just right there, the chicken burrito.

The next few seconds features in-store CCTV footage. He peels through the ceiling and insulation making a hole which he falls out from. Then he grabs the burrito, heats it in the microwave and plans an escape through the same way he came in. He slips off a ladder but he eventually exits the store to the sound of police sirens. Alex runs towards Sam, but multiple police tasers brings him down. But not for long, Alex digs deep for strength, he gets up and tosses the chicken burrito to Sam, delivers his promise, just before a final taser shot blacks him out amid bewildered looks.


Fast forward to the future, Alex Hopper joins the navy and reaches lieutenant rank and takes part in a Pan Pacific military exercise around Hawaiian waters. The Japanese fleet took part, and yes, even the Royal Malaysian Navy. Out of nowhere, aliens attack. Damn, I hate it when that happens. They surround Hawaii in a force field, splitting the US fleet in two, Stone being in one of the few ships inside the force field. The battle with the aliens ensues.


Aliens are treated, in this movie, purely as the ultimate mysterious enemy. They are given no characterisation whatsoever, nor do we really know what they’re up to, but all we know is that they are technologically advanced in comparison. Battleship’s aliens look like simians with braided beards and chameleon limbs, all donning mechanized armour. Oh man, at least it’s more memorable than that disappointing alien from Super 8.


There are a couple of things that were cleverly done. Director Peter Berg included real US Navy veterans who are currently museum employees into the movie. They were aptly given a major role in the plot as well, a move deliberately aimed at drumming up American pride.

In another stroke of genius, Peter Berg also coaxed a real life Iraq War veteran, a double above-the-knee amputee to play himself in the movie. I recognised him from an issue of National Geographic featuring bionics and so did Peter. Gregory Gadson, the amputee, is part of an advanced bionics program and is fitted with a pair of powered prosthetic legs that enable him to walk with just a cane. Surprisingly Gregory can act and they gave him a role as big as Rihanna’s, whose cinematic appearance is a career first. For me, there’s no question about who the bigger star of the two is.


Battleship was meant to be campy and cheesy from the start without the need for a story with considerable depth. So movie theme is a bigger factor. I think it’s long overdue that a militaristic fantasy movie takes the fore, because blockbusters in recent years have been predominantly centred on comic book superheroes. Transformers did feature the military, but there’s always that pesky kid that keeps meddling about.

There is a minus point however; mysterious aliens from outer space that aren’t serious are in danger of becoming a passing fad as movie goers grow jaded with similar themes. Hollywood needs to keep aliens out of the movie sets, at least for a little while.


That being said, I loved it. 9/10.

The Wanted's First 4 Hits

The Wanted's success in the largest music market, the USA, is in its infancy. Their debut single in the USA is Glad You Came. But let's not forget their first four equally great hits:

Mirror Mirror: Movie Review

One of two Snow White movies in 2012, this one aims for a family oriented fare. And that usually means kid centric. But frankly, I’m a little confused as to what it really wants to be. Overall, I’d say it’s a comedy, with kiddie trimmings, but is a revolutionary fantasy take on the Snow White fable. There is certainly a large amount of kiddie humour which I don’t think gels with the other aspects of the movie.

A parody? Maybe, but they distorted the storyline to the point that it is mildly engaging. And when the credits were rolling, we were even treated to a Bollywood dance and song number courtesy of the director. Heck I give up.

Snow White started out as a fragile flower, but slowly turns into a feisty fox. That’s expected, no movie in this day and age can portray leading women in a constant submissive role. The biggest changes seen are with the seven dwarves and prince charming. The dwarves are now bandits with names like Grimm, Butcher, Wolf, Napoleon, Half Pint, Grub, Chuckles with personalities to match. It’s different yet the same with Disney’s Snow White.

Suave but comical Prince Alcott aka Prince Charming in Snow White is given a much bigger role throughout the movie. The evil stepmother Queen is none other than Julia Roberts, whose evil is a cross between the devil in Devil wears Prada and the mother in Monster-in-Law. It is fresh departure from the iconic evil villainess role. Julia Roberts also plays the Queen’s reflection in the mystical mirror; it is an entity of its own. This character however seems so underacted and bland.

At the end of the day, you ask yourself, is it worth watching? The chaotic storyline in particular is slightly above average, it doesn’t incite feelings of wonderment or exuberance as a movie of this genre could have. Maybe go if you have kids that need entertaining. 4/10.

How to Survive a Panic Attack

I’ve had frequent panic attacks or anxiety attacks in my life, and it wasn’t until the last one in 2008 that sent me to the emergency ward that I actually knew that I’ve been having them. All this time I thought I was having a heart attack or a mini stroke or whatever. But it was an unexpected Godsend, because the ER doctor diagnosed me with having the hyperventilation syndrome – a common cause of panic attacks. And despite the embarrassment, panic attacks are 100% survivable, although it may feel like a near death encounter.

People’s reaction to it is terrible to say the least. Some people think you’re socially weird, you get shunned, and some just don’t care. And for something that seems out of your control. Well, it’s time to control it. I’ve learnt how to prevent my hyperventilation induced attacks, but after 27 years I’ve had more than a few episodes. I am sharing six of them below.

One of my earliest panic attacks I could remember was when I was in my baby crib. I must have been 2 or 3, but it’s traumatic enough for me to remember it. I woke up in the middle of the night, my unnerving nightmare dragged into the waking. My perception of reality became distorted. Objects I looked at became large in my mind, and the next, and the next. It made my heart beat fast and hard.  The only thing my parents could do is watch me uneasily sit upright in my crib, anxious for no apparent reason.

Another nightly attack happened many years later. This time the whirring sound of the ceiling fan messed with my dreams. I was actually trying to count the revolutions of the fan. Being a human counter made my heart palpitate, and in my mind I was stuck in a weird obsession with counting up to the millions. That took some time to calm down.

Another attack came when I was at a school assembly when a performance took place. Then it came to a comedic act of some kind, and caught up in it, I was laughing my ass off, with a price. I became short of breath, and dizzy, unable to recover at all. I was carried off to the sick bay by my surrounding classmates. I followed up this episode with a visit to the hospital, gave me an ECG test, I have an irregular heartbeat but was that the cause? Even did an echocardiogram, do I have mitral valve prolapse? Inconclusive.

By then I could identify the common symptoms that characterize a typical attack, heart palpitations, constricted chest which leads me to unknowingly hyperventilate, tingles and numbness in my fingers and toes (and eventually arms and legs whole) and dizziness which can almost lead to fainting. Sometimes I may have mental obsession on some issue and a distorted sense of reality, but not always.

One night, during a mamak stall dinner with friends (which I don’t really like) , I was drinking the teh tarik and chatting. Soon I slid into another attack, this time I heeded some advice about putting my legs between my legs to get more blood into my brain. But it didn’t work. Another embarrassing episode in front of friends, no wonder they don’t call me. This time I went to hospital again, I got an electroencephalogram (EEG) test. This is the test where they glue electrodes to your scalp and measure your brainwaves; they can really tell if your eyes are open, you know. But this test said I was perfectly normal.

The reaction to this next incident was just plain insensitive. I was in Form 4 and I had a terrible case stage fright when my English teacher made me read out a story essay I had written to the whole class, my judgemental class. I got the numbness and tingles fast. “Oooh he’s numb now.”  Soon the chest constrictions came. My teacher had the nerve to make fun of my condition. I went back to my seat, while someone else read my story. My stage fright led me to a partial panic attack and loads of embarrassment. But over the years, I learnt how to control my stage fright, so no worries.

My last and hopefully final bout with panic attacks happened during a team dinner with colleagues. I ate a bit more than usual, and was bloated by the end of dinner. Then it came with all the usual symptoms, but this time in front of all my colleagues. I was crying out things like “Is my heart still beating?” “I feel faint” while lying flat in the car park. My boss and a couple of colleagues drove me to a clinic which then sent me to the hospital. They gave me a drip, and recovered slowly after. You see, we were supposed to have a teleconference with people on the other side of the world. And they had to cancel because of me. And when the doctor said I had a panic attack, mercilessly, my colleagues laughed their heads off. I was the joke for the whole year after that. 

But that visit to the emergency ward was a blessing in disguise. Their treatment for panic attacks involves breathing out of a paper or plastic bag. When a panic attack takes place, in my case, there is apparently excessive oxygen in my blood and low CO2 as I was hyperventilating. To counter that, breathing out of paper bag lowers the amount of oxygen taken in, and would relieve the symptoms. But using a paper bag is terribly embarrassing in public. So the best way, when you feel the onset of a panic attack, is to BREATHE SLOWLY AND Deeply and FOCUS on SOMETHING TANGIBLE, hold it even, in case the giddiness is too much. But emphasize on the slow breathing, your heart may be racing but you must breathe slowly.

Now the only panic attacks I fear are the ones that come in my sleep, because those, I cannot control. Make sure that it is not caused by asthma, or heart problems first. Check with your doctor first. Panic attacks tainted my childhood and my social life with many unwanted and unnecessary traumatic episodes. So I sincerely hope that my advice can help you end your struggles with panic attacks once and for all.

KTM Komuter Problems

Keretapi Tanah Melayu, KTM is the national railway company in Peninsular Malaysia. They inherited the railroad built by the British which consisted of single metre gauge tracks. One branch serves the West Coast and another serves the East coast. Only now, in the 21st century are these lines being upgraded to double track, and only the West Coast line, where the greatest economic impact will be felt.

As you may have guessed, the railways in Malaysia have long been neglected by the government. In the mid 1990s KTM introduced a new intraurban service using existing double electrified track in and around the Klang Valley known as KTM Komuter. The KTM rail corridor covers some very strategic areas in the valley, but over the years, bad maintenance and government neglect let commuters down reducing the service to an unviable public transport mode.



View KTM Komuter in a larger map



I think that unless a major overhaul and new tracks are laid, the KTM Komuter will still disappoint the commuters no matter how many 6-car trains they get. These are my reasons.

1. Too many services utilize the same double tracks. KTM Komuter, Intercity and freight services all share the same line. With the government planning to increase the traffic on all 3 services, the tracks sure are getting crowded. Thus unlike dedicated lines like the LRT or MRT, KTM Komuter will just never carry the same volumes as other intraurban rail.
2. With the recent track extensions, KTM Komuter now services Tg. Malim in Selangor’s northern border, Port Klang, Batu Caves and Senawang in Negeri Sembilan. That all amounts to about 200 kilometres of track. I’d say KTM is over extending itself; you need lots of trains to ply a route. And the problem is most of your traffic is in the centre of your line, KL in this case, and the outer fringes of the line get very little.
3. A bottleneck in KL. The two Komuter lines itself share around 6km of line and 4 stations the heart of Kuala Lumpur. The ETP plans to have a freight diversion line in Subang but it doesn’t seem enough. A complete bypass of the Klang Valley is better from South Selangor to Rawang.
4. Too many stations. The legacy railroad has a lot of stations that resemble shacks by the side of the road and receive practically no traffic. KTM has got to rationalise the number of stations and maybe build some in popular or upcoming areas.
5. KTM tracks occupy land with the lowest elevation in some areas and are prone to flooding. When it floods the services come to a standstill.
6. Legacy management team. The management team with their old style mentality has to manage the whole train system of Malaysia, and cannot afford to concentrate on Klang Valley. Should Syarikat Prasarana Negara Berhad (SPNB) take over Komuter?

They’ve got to rethink KTM and if or how it can be turned into an efficient people mover system in the core urban areas. After all, waiting in the wings are integration plans between LRT, MRTand Komuter lines. Why bother integrating if the Komuter service cannot handle the traffic?