tAyAnGaN kOmUnItI bLoG, BuLi BaLiK
TgV, OnE uTaMa
Last week, a special preview of Buli Balik was held at TGV One Utama.. thanks to Joe Klubbkidd for providing me with the info, and of course thanks to Sultan Muzaffar for organizing such event.. and not to forget, the biggest thanks to bapak segala kodok, Afdlin Shauki for the generousity and giving the opportunity for us bloggers, blog readers and langau2 blog (bak kata SM) to watch this movie ahead of the general release.. i went there with my officemate, Ewea (together we escaped office.. haha!) and Lan (who is now a blogger himself!).. there we met some other friends, Kak Suzie, Nana Chubby, Adek Brunei, my long-time-no-see friend who is also my senior in high school - Judd (yep, we also share the same nick), Kak Farah (my lecturer in varsity, who has now become one of my crazy & happening friend!), Joe Lee & Juan Danza (need i introduce these famous top bloggers..??!!), and also my new found friends, Mukeh (also a reknowned blogger) and Dewi.. thnx for introducing us Joe.. So there we were with another 80+ viewers watching Buli Balik with much anticipation.. and as expected, at the end of the move, i can proudly say that this movie is in the class of it's own.. letaknya adalah pada kelasnya yang tersendiri.. memang enjoy.. tapi enjoy bukan dgn sekadar hiburan semata2, and ketawa bukan dgn lawak2 slapstik yang tak mengembangkan minda.. tapi mesej, nilai2 positif walaupun diterapkan dgn nilai2 humour dan unsur2 pengajaran yang senang diterima menjadikan filem ini sememangnya filem yg bagus.. betul kata Afdlin, filem ini memang bagus.. and he's not just making that up..
Those that turned up.. credits to SM for this pic..
About this film, the theme is simple.. amat mudah.. rentetan drp filem Buli, filem ini menceritakan tentang Nordin (Afdlin Shauki) yg dulunya sering dibuli di zaman sekolah and even setelah bekerja, kini mendapat peluang untuk balas dendam atau buli balik Roy (played extremely well by Hans Isaac) - hence the title, org yg bertanggungjawab merosakkan hidupnya, menjatuhkan maruahnya, merendahkan self-esteemnya & yg sewaktu dgnnya.. so bertitik-tolak dari situ bermulalah satu episod dlm hidup Nordin & Roy serta rakan2 terdekat (dan bukan rakan) mereka sperti Dr Ika (Nasha), Rudy (AC Mizal), Shaff (Ako Mustafa), Dr. Selina (Umie Aida), Farah (Syanie), Tan Sri Michaelsoft (Patrick Teoh), which revolves around friendship, revenge, love, trust etc.. and along the way, terjawap pelbagai persoalan berhubung dengan bagaimana Roy menjadi seorang pembuli, zaman kanak-kanaknya, hubungan Nordin dgn Dr Ika and how Rudy interferes into their lives and caused all the chaotics in the movie.. segala ketegangan yang tercetus akhirnya membawa kepada satu ending yang tragis and very unexpected.. so when you watch this movie, expect the unexpected..
Da' Man... the many faces of Afdlin Shauki..!
Unlike Buli, this film has a darker feel into it.. i would say kinda like a drama-comedy.. and the ending, nothing to laugh but instead, i may warn that you may need to prepare some tissue.. yep, it's a sad ending.. a very rare ending for a Malay movie which normally ends with - and they lived happily ever after.. but i guess that phrase is no longer appropriate in today's era.. we have great film makers (Afdlin, Shuhaimi Baba, Yasmin Ahmad, Osman Ali, Ho Yuhang just to name a few) who appears to be brave in their creation by not sticking to the old klise storyline - cinta terhalang, menempoh pelbagai halangan, and at the good prevails and they finally lived happily ever after.. so u people out there, this movie is certainly not to be missed.. in this film, for the first time i'm very impressed with Hans Isaac's acting skills.. hats off bro! Nasha, seems to be more natural, lebih bersahaja and i like that.. AC & Sharifah Shahira - naturally funny.. but as a whole, the ensemble is pretty impressive..!!! tambah lagi dgn kehadiran cameos like Ramlah Ram, Aziz M. Osman, Harith Iskandar, Shahira.. memang menggamatkan suasana.. as a whole, although there were minor hiccups in this film, and few glitches here and there which left rooms for improvements, but Afdlin and his movies are definitley going the right way that a comedy film should be going.. (not like the most of Malaysian comedies).. so flock to the cinemas u people..!! support our local (BUT quality) films...!!!!!
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Alrite, nuff bout Buli Balik.. now we're on to the international movie scene.. last Saturday, i went to watch Memoirs of a Geisha which to me, i seriously think is the most anticipated movie of the year.. simply becoz 1st) it is helmed by one of most remarkable director, Rob Marshall who gave us Chicago, 2nd) it features an incredible line ups, i mean INCREDIBLE actors and actressess in the likes of Zhang Zi Yi, Gong Li, Michelle Yeoh and Ken Watanabe and 3rd) it was adapted from Arthur Golden's controversial 1997 best-seller..
I watched the movie with much anticipation.. and u know what, not a single second i was bored.. i came out of the cinema with mixed feeling.. overwhelmed with the beautiful movie and remarkable story telling.. i love the move pretty damn much..!! the characters are beautiful, the acting are beautiful, the story is beautiful, the cinematography & visuals are exceptionally beautiful, the kimonos are beatuful (need i mention that..?? haha..!!) simply put, seriously i think the movie is very beautiful.. and i really mean that...
The story revovles around a Japanese girl, Chiyo (Zi Yi) sold into slavery to an Osaka okiya — a geisha house.. along the way, she runs afoul of spiteful, volatile queen bee geisha, Hatsumomo (Gong Li) who is jealous of her but not really explained why.. probably, deep inside she sense that this girl have potential of becoming a graceful geisha and putting her out of the lime light.. with her chronic disobedience and Hatsumomo's plans, Chiyo often enrages Mother - the okiyo owner.. but just as Chiyo seems doomed to spend her life as Mother's servant, fate offers a glimmer of hope when a kind stranger, The Chairman (Ken Watanabe), spots her crying and gave her a cherry ice, money and some advice.. 
Since then, she has set high hopes of becoming a geisha and one day to meet again the kind stranger, The Chairman.. and years later she did become the most famous geisha in the name of Sayuri with the help of Mameha (Michelle Yeoh), but not without gruelling fights, turbulence, jealousy and backstabs along the way.. so did Sayuri manage to get the man of her dream..? will the World War II be an obstacle to rekindle her love..? well, that is for you to find out.. as many great epic love stories of literature and cinema transpire around or during war, for example Gone with the Wind, Casablanca and The English Patient, Memoirs of a Geisha falls into this category.. At its heart, this is a romance that transpires against the background of an ever-changing Japan during the 1930s.. so, if u like epic romance, then i pretty much recommend this movie to all u people out there.. i don't know how u'll feel about this movie, but to me it's one of the most amazing movie of this era..!!
