Centrelink...is gay...

Mmm, i hate using that term in a negative way, and I'm trying to stop, but it best describes how I feel about them at the moment...

I do have to be thankful in a way, I am on Newstart, so I do receive payment from them, that I couldn't survive without. But the whole jumping through hoops stuff (come on, everyone who receives payment from them knows, what I'm talking about), can't be any more annoying...

First of all, they sent me out to SUNBURY for a group interview with a recruitment agency. Granted, I am partly to blame for that. See the lady on the phone told me the nearest place was Newmarket. That place was booked, so she told me the next closest was Sunbury. Now, naive little old me had no idea where the hell that was. But oh trust me, I know now. For those that don't know, it's basically whoop-whoop. Pretty much in the country. How she figured that to be the SECOND closest place to my house, I've no idea.

What's worse, I was walking in my neighbourhood they other day (Brunswick), and I walk past a affliate recruitment agency. I mean "What the fuck?!"

Now, to get my payment approved, I had to come into a Centrelink office for an interview. The trick with that was, that I had to come on the day, and book in for an interview later the same day. Which meant that if I wanted an interview, I had to get there at exactly when it opened. 8am. Yes, I know it's not THAT early. But if you know me, trust me, it's early.

So I get there and there's already about 20 people lined up outside the office. I'm like, "MotherFucker!" lol. Excuse my language. The doors open and it's like a freakin' stampede. It's like "Fuck the line, first come first serve". lol. Okay, I exaggerate, but it adds dramatic effect, no?

I managed to finally get to the counter at about 8.20. I then was booked into an interview...at 2.45pm! "For fuck's sake" ...is all that went through my mind at that point. I had four freakin' hours to kill now, AND it made me cancel a rendezvous with a dear friend (sorry again, Suzi =S).

Ah well, it's a bit of bitching that had to be done. Now I pocket $400 a fortnight, as long as I "look for work". Man...I really need to get a job...lol. =P

I.

Movie Review: Night at the Museum

Night at the Museum (2006)
Dir: Shawn Levy
Stars: Ben Stiller, Carla Gugino, Owen Wilson, et al.
Plot: A down-trodden father, struggling to make anything with his life, takes a job as a night watchman at the museum in New York city. The interview was non-existent, the training rushed, yet he was pretty much given the job without hesitation. Suddenly on his first night, things in the museum start coming to life! As he struggles to come to grips with the amazing occurance, there is something else going on in this fun-filled museum...

rating: 3.5 out of 5

It's has one of those plots, that could work like a gem if played right, or be thrown into the dungeon of B-grade movies if played wrong. I'm happy to report, that it's the former in this case. It's a lot better than one might expect it to be, and it's a hella fun to be had by all.

The plot plays out very slowly, it does take sometime to get to the juicy part (ie. the fun in the museum). You almost wish they would get to the fun straight away. But once the fun begins, it's just fantastic. With all the big name stars along side, Stiller plays his role perfectly. He probably is the perfect person to play this angry, down-trodden guy. He has taken that next step and is now playing a father.

From Owen Wilson, Steve Coogan, Ricky Garvis, Robin Williams, great comedic talents, to Dick Van Dyke and Micky Rooney, to legends in film. There is plenty of laughs to be had and it's great film that can be enjoyed with the whole family.

"Boy, why are you slapping that monkey?"

Movie Review: Open Season

Open Season (2006)

Dirs: Roger Allers & Jill Culton

Stars: (voices of) Martin Lawrence, Ashton Kutcher, Debra Messing, et al.

Plot: Boog is a bear that grew up in the human world. He performs some shows with the local ranger and lives a happy life. Then, along comes Elliott who turns his life upside down and get him landed in the wild where he'd have to actually act like a 'bear' for once. With the hunting season set to begin, and one particularly nasty hunter on their tails (no puns intended)...It's going to be survival of the fittest...bring it on!

rating: 3 out of 5.

Along comes the holiday period and hear comes another animation, family pleaser. From those that brought us 'Monsters, Inc.' (incedently my favourite animation), no less. So it should be good right? Funny enough to keep the kids entertained and smart enough to keep the accompanying adults interested. It certainly has the voice talents to do it. And at times the animation looks fantastic. But is does it have the overall package? Well, yes it does. But you won't find anything more.

Unfortunately, as funny as this gets at certain points, it has equally very dull moments. And the dull moments do drag on just that bit long enough to lose your interest, but it does wrap it up nicely. It also has a very formulatic narrative. The oh-so-familiar "home or new friends" scenerio (most recently seen in 'Over the Hedge') is played out here again. Having said all that, it does have it's moments, and at times it is very funny and somewhat touching. The voice actors are fantastic, especially Ashton Kutcher, who plays the role of the annoying Elliot...er, annoyingly well.

Not original enough to leave an impression, but certainly enjoyable enough to keep you entertained.

"Rabbit fight!!!!!!"

Time ticks away...

THE most precious commodity we have is 'time'...I've never felt that to be the truth ever more so than now. As my 'year of change' approaches, it seems like it's approaching so fast, so quickly. What seemed like ages away, is only a mere three weeks or so. It's crazy how time flies. Each day passes, some productive, some lazy as ever, but no doubt ticking away. So many things to do, so little time. Such a big change to be experienced so little time to prepare.

My dad flies out of Australia on Christmas Day for a week trip to Japan. In that time, I need to clean out my room, my house and also at the same time tie up all loose ends and pack my own bags for Japan. As though, I'm only headed to Japan for a month (16 Jan to 16 Feb), once I return, nothing will be the same. I would first and fore most return alone. My mum and sis are staying in Japan, at least for a year, perhaps longer, perhaps shorter. I will also be returning to the small confines of 'the upstairs' of my dad's restaurant.

It might not seem like much, but for a person who pretty much relies on order and the consistency in things, this is a big change. And hence, I need to change. Become more independent and rely on myself a lot more...It sounds so strange just having to say that to myself.

Speaking of change, as the massive cleaning begins so photos from the past have popped up. Below is a picture from my last trip to Japan in 2002...

I'm with my cousins, Ikue (the chick), who's two years older than me and already married (2005) and Keita (the dude), who's a year younger, though he thinks we're the same age. We were at a dinner party for our grandfathers 77th birthday. It's a big deal in Japan.

To end this post, time does indeed fly...below is a photo of yours truly and a friend, I think in about 1992...

More archival photos on my flickr...

I.

Moview Review: The Descent

The Descent (2005)

Dir: Neil Marshall

Stars: Shauna Macdonald, Natalie Jackson Mendoza, Alex Reid, et al.

Plot: After Sarah (Macdonald) tragically loses her family in a car accident, her extreme-sports friends try to cheer her up by doing what they usually do and that's go for that next adreniline rush. This time they decide to explore a cave that goes seemingly endlessly. After the intial excitement settles and the cave behind them collapse, it becomes a task of survival. Not only from the harsh conditions down below, but from, something or someone that seems to be down here with them...

rating: 3 out of 5.

I don't know why...but I was looking forward to this one. It's not anything groundbreaking, or anything like that, but the it seemed really intense and frightening. Perhaps, for that reason, the movie was a little bit of a let down. It wasn't bad. In fact it was far from that. It's just that it could have been a lot better. Then again, I maybe expecting too much for this type of movie.

The pretty much unknown cast works to perfection, because none of them stand out like they would be the 'hero'. They are flawed characters, and they go in depth enough to let you know, how they may react in the situation, thus making the movie more believeable. At least until the last third of the movie. The survival instincts seem to kick in and one of the characters turns 'medival' on their ass. lol.

But the film is well made, it is in fact very tense and have you grabbing a hold of the person next to you, or at least on the edge of your seat. It is almost suffocating to see the characters squeezing their way deeper and deeper into the cave. It's a horror movie by nature, but an intense thriller at heart...

Things that made me smile...

The weather was so wonderful today (okay, maybe a little too hot for my liking, but still good), I thought I'd post about a few things that have made me smile in the past few days.

kids...
Some can be so blardy annoying and some oh, so cute.

A family of four recently came to dad's restaurant, two kids, about 8 and 4, I'd imagine. They both had comic books with them. The older one, obviously just learned to read and was heavily concentrating on each word. His younger sister, obviously could not. She was also intently reading the comic. But when I glanced over to their table she had the book upside down. =) I guess it didn't matter to her, it was more of emulating her older brother, kinda thing...

tram driver...
these damn tram rides can be a bore...

Recently whilst on my regular no.19 tram, the tram driver decided to take on the role of tour guide/comedian as well. It wouldn't have been such a pleasent suprise (in fact, could have gotten real annoying), had it not been for the fact that he's tour guide-ness didn't begin until we hit the city. What brought a smile to everyone's face was the fact that the driver kept, switching loud speakers from internal to external and speaking to basically everyone. At one point, a taxi cut him off and he switched to the out side speaks yelled something, which made everyone giggle. It was rude mind you, as there were kids on board. You gotta love people, who love their jobs...=)

ice cream...
here's a tip, to get value for money, go to Brunetti's...

It wasn't exactly 'hot', but it wasn't cold, it was hella windy though. Anyway, I just felt like an ice-cream. I was at Brunetti's with Pete, and figured I'd try the Ice-cream. $4.50 for medium cup. Up to 3 flavours. Okay, so it wasn't exactly cheap. But figured meh. If ever there was a definition of value for money, this was it. I got the three flavours and it bare fit into the cup. It was MASSIVE. It was like having the cup filled with another scoop, about the size of an apple, on top of that. It was worth ever penny (fine...cent) I tell you. Pity it was so windy though...=)

friends...
okay, this wasn't exactly a particular moment, but it's great to see, talk to, chat to, or get SMS/calls from friends. I got alot of love this week from a lot of friends and it's awesome. If you're reading this, you know who you are. =) My life would be sooooooooo different without you guys. =)

I.

Movie Review: Casino Royale

Casino Royale (2006)

Dir: Martin Campbell

Stars: Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Judi Dench, et al...

Plot: It's the birth of James Bond. Having just met the requirements for promotion into the MI6 and the elite '00' status, his reckless ways get him kicked of the current operation. But that wouldn't stop James Bond from continuing on and everyone knows it. He is eventually entered into a high stakes poker game to prevent a global terrorist from winning back in the Millions of dollars at stake.

rating: 4 out of 5.

For all you doubters and sceptics out there, you have nothing to fear. The blond-haired, blue-eyed, James Bond is here to stay and frankly, I'm glad he's here. Like with any other Bond films, you can't really compare one Bond from the other because they are all different. Ask any one person, and they'll tell you their favourite is a different Bond. So seeing Daniel Craig as Bond, is only a state of mind, if you don't like it.

The best part about this movie is that it bring back the 'old-school' Bond elements. None of the bullshit Pierce Brosnan era, high tech stuff, just the down and dirty, tough, grind it out Bond. He relies heavily on his body as the weapon other than using nifty gadgets. Which is something that got lost among Bond's transition from the original Ian Fleming character. This being the first official Bond story, it has all the elements necessary. The opening animation included. Though it could do with the better theme music and more use of the classic 'Bond' music.

This movie is absolute fun to be had by all. Even if you don't know who James Bond is, or never liked the Bond series in recent times. This will bring you back to the basics, the 'real' Bond, and enjoy the action, humour, and exictement, because it doesn't miss a beat, from the first massive chase seen. It's like...WOW!

"The name's Bond...James Bond."

Floored by an uppercut...

Okies, it was about time I talked about it so here it is...

So, graduation is happening this Wednesday, but unfortunately I will not be taking part in the festivities. Why? Because I failed ONE subject...=( First time that's happened...like, ever! Please, please hold your applause. =P

To compound the problem, I only failed by two marks (I got a 48). People are telling me to contest it, and I agree that I'm sure I could pick up two marks somewhere, but the thing is I didn't hand in an essay for this subject (Ethical Issues in Accountancy...what ethical issues? Exactly! =P) and so it doesn't exactly give me great 'pull'. So I've sent a few emails, but I've resigned to the fact that I'm going back to uni for one more semester...

The other thing is, it wasn't the subject that I thought I was going to fail. lol. Ironic eh? I passed my supposed 'danger' subject...but barely. I got 49.56 for AFA (Advanced Financial Accounting), which was rounded-up to 50, a pass! I got the result for this subject one day before the rest, so I was absolutely over the moon and was certain I was going to graduate, but alas...

Now, I'm looking at the positive sides of this. I have more opportunity to save some money and to figure out what I wanna do with myself (though, I'm sure that will take longer than half a year). AIESEC is still a viable option for me. I still want to be on the MC, and this could be the opportunity for myself to prepare properly for it. I just hope that my passion and motivations don't wane.

It was kinda weird feeling going to RMIT to return my graduation outfit...stupid RMIT gives them to you before you actually know if you've graduated or not...lol. I should of worn it and taken photos or something. lol. I did put on the mortarboard. I looked so daggy...hehe.

Anyways, so it all means you'll catch me at uni, in Melbourne...at least for the first half of 2007.

signing off...'I'

Moview Review: The Wrong Man

The Wrong Man (2006)
(Original title: Lucky Number Slevin)
Dir: Paul McGuigan
Stars: Josh Hartnett, Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, Ben Kingsley, Lucy Liu, et al.
Plot: The life of Slevin, just went from bad to worse. Having just landed in New York city, and being immediately mugged and nose broken, he gets involved in a bad case of mistaken identity, with two major crime bosses wanting his 'presence'. What's worse, the most infamous assassin is in town, but for what purpose? As he tries to clear himself, it soon becomes apparent, that all is not what it seems...

rating: 4 out of 5

One of those gems, those unassuming movies, that you either see or you don't. I'm so glad I caught it before it went off the air, so to speak. Regardless of the terrible original title, this movie is absolutely fantastic. With an all-star cast like this, it has such a low-budget independent feel to it. The movie combines seriousness (with some harsh violence) and a humour about it, that makes the movie totally work and a joy to watch.

The affore mentioned all-star cast is just incredible. Josh Hartnett, a very charismatic and totally underrated actor (he deserves much more than the 'heart throb' tag). Bruce Willis, (Sir) Ben Kingsley, Morgan Freeman, veterans in their field playing their roles to a T. Lucy Liu and Stanely Tucci, round out the cast, whom also do a fantastic job. Even the bit plays bring a certain charm to the movie, making it so complete.

It's not a typical film, in that nothing happens as you might expect it to. Something you see, which doesn't quite make sense, but revealing itself later on like chocolate bar with special treat inside. The director handles the task well, and brings some innovation to the screen while paying respects to some previous works.

It's a must see movie. So GO! =P

It's the return of the...

WHO-rah!

Flights booked and confirmed.

Can't hardly wait...the return is imminent...

16th January to 16 February...excited doesn't start to describe it...

Speaking of things Japanese...check out this clip from youtube. Some people might have seen it, but if you haven't it's absolute gold. Basically, it's a Japanese comedy show, and the participants are involved in a punishment game. The rules are simple, don't laugh, or get your arse beaten by a kendo stick. lol. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4Z185dZD_4