Movie Review 39: 14 Blades

Title: 14 Blades

Director: Daniel Lee

Running time: 1 hour 54 minutes

Genre: Action

Even though this movie came out during CNY, it can't really be considered as a CNY movie since it has nothing to do with CNY and it is a pretty dark movie which is a total opposite to the spirit of CNY. Anyhow, after reading numerous movie reviews on the four main movies that came during CNY, I decided 14 Blades as it is the only one that has the least number of unfavourable review.

The movie was set in the Ming Dynasty and the story revolves around the Royal Guards of the emperor, which sort of act like the secret police/assassins. The leader of the Royal Guards, named Green Dragon (Donnie Yen) was ordered to kill an official and retrieve an important box. During the assassination attempt, Green Dragon found out what was in the box and with that knowledge, he had to rethink his loyalties and was soon the target for the rest of the Royal Guards and a super powerful woman assassin, Tuo Tuo (Kate Tsui).

I did not regret my decision in watching 14 Blades as my first CNY movie. While it is quite disconcerting to see the lip movements not matching the voice (some actors spoke Mandarin only and had their voice dubbed), it turned out to be quite a good movie.

Of course, with Donnie Yen, there'll be lots of action sequences. Though Tuo Tuo's martial arts are really, really very fake (the person who make the CG should go for more training :P), I enjoyed Kate Tsui and Donnie Yen's showoff. Also, Wu Jun, acting as the Judge of Sands is quite convincing as a robber with principles. This is the second time I watched him on the silver screen and I think it is much better than the "Butterfly Lovers" movie, though I think he tried too hard on being a badass and it made him to be a little stiff in some scenes.

However, this movie could have been much, much better. First off, the dialogues did not flow smoothly. Sometimes the characters would say something unrelated all of a sudden and it is really noticeable. And then there's this leading actress, Zhao Wei as Qiao Hua. I can see no reason at all why she would fall head over heels in love with Green Dragon... it just doesn't make any sense at all... it's like she love Green Dragon only because he can fight very well... and that is really shallow.

Anyhow, though this is not a movie suitable for children, I believe it to be entertaining enough to be watched in cinema.

Observation: This movie shows how stupid people are in the olden days as it portrays the power of the imperial seal which would enable anyone, including one with an army obviously trying to conquer the country to pass through as long as the enemy have the imperial seal :P

Bottomline: Acceptable quality for a movie that came out during CNY.

Bamboo Ranking: 3.7 / 4.0

The Good Side of the Bank?

I never thought I would say this, but I was pleasantly surprise in an encounter with my credit card bank... Direct Access. I received a phone call that day and I was thinking that it was another telemarketer from some insurance company saying that I'm the lucky few to be picked to get this really good policy.

 I was tempted to say I was busy and never to call me ever again :P. But the good side of me managed to get a rein of my temper. This girl was actually from the Direct Access credit card center (not the "I got your info from the bank but actually work for insurance company") and she said that she noticed I have several credit cards with them and she was asking if I would like to cancel some of my credit cards!!!

I was stunned for a moment. I mean, these people are usually asking why I want to cancel the credit card... instead, she asked if I would like to cancel my credit card! Of course, it might be some hoax/fraud run by some really terrible people who want to siphon info of my credit card from me. But the questions she asked me while are confidential, should not be enough to do any permanent damage since they did not ask for password or access number... so I gave her the info she needed to "verify my status".

And the next day, my credit card was gone from the online bank account! This incident really showed me that there is goodness even in the devil's heart :P

Super Terrible Services at Kam Ling

On the fourth day of CNY, I decided to give Kam Ling restaurant another try despite my really terrible experience a week ago. I wasn't really expecting top notch service and food since it's CNY and everyone is fine with eating terrible food, with cut throat price and dismal services.

One thing to take note of is that Kam Ling is willing to serve normal dishes during the CNY, unlike Jia Restaurant who demanded all its customers to select only the set lunch/dinner. However, the first hiccup of the day was the one writing down our orders said that we would have to wait for an hour for the dish to be served!

Resisting my urge to just walk away there and then, we continued our orders. The next thing was when our jug of tea was empty, we hailed down one of the Indian servers to refill our jug... and that was the last we heard of our jug. Throughout the whole meal, we were unable to locate our jug of tea and no one gave us any new jug of tea despite my numerous complaints.

And looking at the end of the restaurant, a group of servers would huddle together doing God knows what despite some tables do not have tea or utensils (chopsticks/bowls/plate) prepared.

Celery with camel meat...

Mini version of "bak choy"

Pork ribs...

I just had to take the photo of this bowl of rice. Notice anything wrong with it? I was annoyed by the grotesque looking shape of the rice. It was evident that the rice was slapped into the bowl with no regards to it's presentations... yes, I know, I know, I'm a perfectionist :P

Well, despite my complaints about the terrible service, the food this time was acceptable and the price was actually quite low (during CNY season)... the celery with camel meat was RM16, pork ribs was RM15 and "bak choy" was just RM6! However, the "yee sang" was sold at RM35 for half size! That is daylight robbery... Jia Restaurant was selling at RM25 and even the cafe we had our reunion lunch is selling "yee sang" at only RM28 for half size!

However, I still think that Kam Ling had better train their servers so as not to embarrass Kampar to outsiders. The level of service there was really unimaginably terrible.

The Jia Restaurant, despite it's highly priced dishes during the CNY season, is able to give top notch level of service and their serving speed has markedly improved since last year. I hope that Kam Ling will receive lots of complaints this year as Jia restaurant did last year so that Kam Ling can improve itself in the future. If they continue to provide this level of service, people would go to their restaurant only because there are no place at other restaurants and not because the customers want to!

CNY 2010 5Sc1 Gathering

Well, the year 2010 is officially the most unsuccessful gathering since its inception in 2000. Most are either married or not free or overseas. However, it is strange to note that while I managed to get only 5 people to say yes to a gathering in a restaurant, when we decided to hold a small scale gathering in a cafe, the amount increased and later, when we continue the gathering at my house, it actually reached the magical number 10!

So, what went wrong? Is it that the others think it is a waste of money to eat at restaurants? Or our gathering lunch menu's price is too steep?

Anyhow, here are some pictures taken on that day... to lazy to do detailed introductions...

The 11am gang in the cafe...

The 12 noon gang in the cafe...

The gathering at my house... this picture did not show the whole gang lah :P...

Siew Ling mixing the "yee sang" with the looks of a profession... I just got the info from my parents that in the olden days (don't know how old), the mixing of "yee sang" is done by professionals with monthly salary over RM4k! Now, it's just some Indo or Indian mixing them :P... cut cost?

The "yee sang" ready to be mixed...

Our lunch... the prosperity pizza from Pizza Hut... the cheese at the sides are quite nice, but I don't think that the prawns are really mixing well with the pizza...

After lunch, we basically just laze around in the living room blasting with a/c... it wasn't really that cool since my mum forgot to put on the door curtain... but it still beats the sweltering heat outside...

Summary of 2010 gathering:-

1. People don't like to eat in restaurants (too expensive??)

2. People like to decide to come to gathering in the last minute

3. People don't read e-mails and all invitations to gathering must be done through phone

4. Married people don't go to gatherings the girls would be at their husband's house and the guys will be at their wife's house

Ling Siew's Wedding (night)

My aunt made the declaration that the wedding dinner shall start on time... and she actually made it! Right at 7.30pm, which is the time stated in the invitation card, the bride and groom started their marching in procession! How I wish all wedding dinners are like that. But I guess my aunt has all the advantages. My cousin's house is in the housing estate next to the Grand Kampar Hotel (which is where the dinner is at) and the bride's family is staying right in the Grand Kampar Hotel... so, there is no reason for it to be late due to waiting for VIPs!

My mum has been really enthusiastic about this dinner. Mainly because she's meeting up with lots and lots of relatives on her side. She never really like my father's side family and vice versa :P Anyway, I am unsure how accurate her info is, since aunties' gossips are never reliable, but I was told that my aunt actually invited another chef from KL to prepare the wedding dinner... which is actually believable since my previous experience with Kampar Grand Hotel was not particularly enthusiastic. And here are the dishes... I think the guest chef only cook a few dishes lah...

Five Combination Platter... I'm glad this dish is not the one I tasted last time... this time, the dishes are of higher quality albeit still not really up to my standards :P

Oh yeah, this is the bride and groom's table... never seen such a big table!

The deco are quite lovely... the ceiling was filled with multicoloured helium filled balloons... the downside is that the balloons tend to get sucked into the air vents causing the atmosphere to be rather stuffy.

Ballerinas...

This is supposed to be the star dish of the night cause the guest chef is famous for making shark fin's soup!

This is the share of shark fins I got! So little but it's all just ingredients without the starch soup... but honestly I can't see/taste what the fuss is all about...

Steamed Pomfret fish.... quite nice, but it's just an ordinary dish...

The emcees for the night... as usual, the woman's voice overpowers that of the man... :P but their singing are quite nice without those ear jarring noise...

Drinking... aren't they afraid that they are drinking the soap bubbles? :P

The guess who's hand is your wife's game... sadly, my cousin failed miserably at this...

Sigh... how many times do I have to shout and complain that this herbal dish is more suitable by using duck instead of chicken!

Normal prawns...

Mushroom and broccoli...

Sticky rice...

Longan and kaya pau...

My nephew Shauun... the couples were not the happiest person that night :P

Basically, the food was so-so only loh... better than previous food served in the same hotel, but it's nothing to shout about. The only thing worth mentioning is the decoration. I think that it really is quite nice and it made a lot of children happy that night... all of them were clamoring for the balloons when the dinner ended... and since they were not tall enough, their parents have to take them up to get the balloons... it was really a sight to see!

Ling Siew's wedding (morning)

This post is a little bit overdue as this event happened over three weeks ago. Anyhow, this time, it's about my cousin's wedding and I think this is the first time I have to go with the groom to get the bride... something that I did not look forward to :P. However, my cousin has a lot of other "brothers"... so it won't really affect me :P.

The groom having his breakfast...

My nephew Shaunn exercising after the breakfast in the gym room...

Groom ready to storm the bastille...

The groom's "brothers"...

The initial price demanded by the bridesmaid was extreme... but they would cross out one digit for every task that was completed successfully...

First one is to write "I Love (bride's name) forever" in Chinese and the guys can write one stroke for each sit-up... not as easy as it looks...

Then, the guys have to make a human sedan for the groom to sit on...

To hang up the words he had written... First task completed...

Then, it a test of knowledge as the guys were presented with papers containing incomplete Chinese idioms... and the guys were supposed to complete them... no challenge there... Second task completed...

The third task is a multiple choice quiz where the groom has to guess which eye/lips/face/fingers/toes belong to the bride...

Finally, they have to extract the key to the room from a huge block of ice...

And after the "big" ang pow, the two lovebirds are together...

Is the groom crying for help? :P

Can't resist taking the picture of my other nephew, Aiden who is Shaunn's little brother... so cute... and fat :P

Tea ceremony...

After a busy morning, my aunt, sister, cousin sister and baby nephew take a quick nap in my living room before continuing the dinner at night! My other cousin John, still have the energy to do his office work!

Mei Yee's Wedding

It was a Friday wedding dinner... one of the first that I have. The Witch's wedding dinner was held at Kampar... my hometown, in a restaurant called Kam Ling. Kam Ling has a long standing history of being the most famous restaurant in Kampar (relatively :P) And due to the business we Kamparians give to Kam Ling, they build another three storey building as an extension to the existing restaurant. And the wedding dinner was held there...

My first step into this new building proves that it is... well, new... a pungent smell of newly coated paint attacked me. The wedding was held at the second floor and I had to take a lift the size of a "lif bomba" to reach there. Being new, the air-conditioning was blasting at full force and many of my friends were noting that it was extremely cold... luckily, the food that we were served were hot... or at least, they were supposed to be...

Table setting...

Stage setting...

Shiny ceiling lights...

Eight Happiness Dish... finally, the first dish was served after 45 minutes from the one stated in the invitation card... and unfortunately, it didn't give a very good impression. Except for the fried yam, everything else is average and some are even below average... most notably the prawns which were definitely not fresh...

The second dish (Shark Fin's Soup) was at least piping hot, but it tasted funny... also, it was served only after almost 30 minutes from the first dish...

Pomfret fish... this might actually be the best dish of the night...

Mushrooms, broccoli, etc...

Chicken... the dish itself was quite okay, but the dish was supposed to be eaten with the salt that came together with the dish... and the salt was terrible... it was too salty without any hint of other spices which it is supposed to have...

Prawns... again, although better than the prawns served in the first dish, it was not exactly what I would call fresh...

Sticky rice...

Pandan filled fried buns and longan dessert... the pandan filled fried buns were quite nice but the longan dessert is really terrible... this dessert is supposed to be very sweet... however, it acutally tasted bitter to me!

The duet by the bride and groom... they both were giving their best... however, their supposedly stunning performance was marred by the terrible acoustics of the wedding hall... sure, the louspeaker was loud enough, but the only word that I can hear clearly when the couples sang was the word "love". Other than that, the rest I heard were some alien language from an alien planet...

The cheering ceremony...

The three gals...

The four gals...

Gals... again

Mr. Hamdan looking all professional...

While I supposed I should not be writing such a demoralising post on the wedding dinner of one of my friends... I just could not hold myself back. I was bragging to all my (non-Kamparian) friends about the great food that Kampar serves and how our restaurants' food are several classes above all the five star hotels... and it turned out that the food served in Kam Ling can be ranked as the bottom three of all the food served in wedding dinners that I have ever attended.

I am extremely ashamed about this and I would not know how to answer my friends when they reveal me as a lying idiot. Besides the food, the services in Kam Ling was terrible and all the performances were watered down to downright hideous due to the clashing sound waves throughout the hall. People were just clapping to give face instead of clapping from the heart.

I have made my declaration to my friends that I would not attend their wedding dinners if they held it in Kam Ling in the future! Kam Ling has became too cocky due to our loyal support and they actually dared to serve me with a second (third rate even) rate food. The only redeeming point was that I was able to catch up with some friends which I have not seen for a very long time... and get first hand news on some coming weddings that I'm supposed to attend (which hopefully I'm invited)... so I need to save my annual leaves now...

Anyhow, to the loving couple... I wish them a lifelong of happiness and as I have always said... it is more important to have a happy marriage than a perfect wedding :P