Saturday, March 20, 2010

Edge of Darkness

0


As always, I find it difficult to find time to blog about my daily doings. Same goes with this post. I actually have watched this movie last week, but only today I find the time to write about it.

Btw, I have also decided that I am going to just combine my movie blog (which never have materialised in the first place) in here. I have a feeling that I wont be able to blog about ALL of the movies I watch but we'll see.

Anyway last week we catched Edge of Darkness, just the night before Rizal left for Korea. Starred by Mel Gibson, it is about a father who lost his daughter right infront of his eyes.

The movie starts by showing flashbacks of a lil girl playing by the beach. She is Emma, the daughter of Tom Craven (Mel Gibson) who is a senior detective with the police force. Then it snapped back to the present and showed young Emma coming home to dad - taking a short break from work. It goes on showing some father daughter moments. I think the mum has passed away.

It doesnt take long before the movie sees some action. Emma looks sick, throwing up at the dinner table so both of them were scrambling to go to the clinic. The moment they opened the door, a car came by really fast, shouted Craven and shot Emma.

See, I knew from the trailers that Emma's death was to do with something she did. So it was no surprise for me that Tom found out that Emma's death was not because of him (contrary to the police force's theory where Tom was the target and they mistakenly hit Emma instead)

Anyway, as it turned out, Emma was killed because she knew and saw something she wasnt supposed to at the place where she works - a nuclear facility.

I wont spoil it for you and tell you the whole storyline ; basically this movie is about how a father investigates and trying to find out the truth behind her daughter's murder. Whats satisfying about this movie is that all the bad guys got killed, and more so, killed by the disstressed father himself.

Overall I would rate it 8 over 10. Though we know what is the storyline, the movie manage to keep us guessing (of the reason WHY she was killed). Mel Gibson as always is an excellent actor. There were some adrenaline moments, sad and of course funny moments too.
The Verdict: Highly recommended. * Sideline gossips: I wonder why it wasnt making headlines though. Could it be because Mel Gibson's blatant dislikes of Jews? in fact this movie was funded by BBC and some UK based company. Word has it that he was shunned by those big producers in the US becuase of the controversy over his anti-semites outburst... hmm...

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Grill chicken + mihun soup

0

Still on my quest to loose my flabby stomach... so here's whats smokin' on the stove tonight


Grill Chicken marinated with Teriyaki Sauce, boiled potato and veggie as sides. Eaten with Mayo and BBQ sauce. The cauliflower and brocolli would have been nicer if I steamed it, but since I am already boiling water for the potato, masuk je la suma sekali. Malas nak buat banyak kerja + me so hungry already.


Rizals dinner..


He doesnt want Teriyaki chicken... so makan mihun soup je la... Instant one modified with a bit of veggie and eggs, garnished with bawang goreng.. hehehe

Princess dearest..

0



This afternoon I went to pick up Princess, whom for a few days now on will truly be living up to its name. It would be sitting prettily doin nuttin at home, while Im gonna be waking up early every morning, rush like a mad person and try to catch the TP bus at 745AM!! (if Rizal is not around la, like whole of next week huhuhu)

What I feared the most now have occured, and just like our other cars, Princess's gearbox decided to give up on me. I have a feeling that it had something to do with the heavy flood I braved-thru last week. Which was silly of me. But there is no point fretting about it now :(

Before that there was never really problem with the gearbox and I had religiously changed the ATF whenever it is due.

Princess was at GeotAuto for the past few days so that the experts can diagnose its problem. Geot Auto had confirmed that it is indeed the gearbox problem - more specifically clutch slip. Whatever that means. They say a new gearbox would cost around 20k+. Obviously that is out of question. Next best thing offered by Geot is a used one - costs at 7k, with one month warranty. Frankly I am not comfortable with that. When Rizal had his done, it was with 6 months warranty. Even then the problem came back soon after. So one month definitely too little time.

My brother had also made some calls, and he told me there is this place who can overhaul the gearbox instead. There are two options, Option 1 - to use OEM which costs around 3k+ and Option 2 - to use Peugeot Originals which will costs around 4.5k. If I go for overhauling, I will need to leave the car for at least one week and will get 6 months warranty. Which sounds more promising, and cheaper too.

Besides that, I had not ruled out other options too. I had also called the place where Rizal had his gearbox done, and make an appointment to take Princess there this sat. Maybe they'd have differnet opinions on whats wrong and can suggest best method to fix since they are like the gearbox specialist.

The last option I have is to just let go Princess in that condition and get a new car. but... . dun think I am quite ready for it.

All this while Princess is just running okay, and never really gave me any problem. Weathered all sorts road conditions , highways ... hilly ways... city driving, u name it Princess never fails me. So, I am now in dilemma. Should I keep, or should I give up. My heart says keep it, on top of that I havent found any other car that I fancy except of course the new 308. Or the Audi TT. Hmmm...

Saturday, March 06, 2010

Dinner ... is served!

0



Tonights dinner is Steak with lots and lotsa veggie (tu kira banyak la tu for my standard ;) )

It was quite easy to make - sebab main ikut sukati je. Btw the chef for tonight is Mr Rizal, I am only doing the background stuff cam preparing the veggie.

Basically all you need is what you see there. Of course you could tailor it to your liking, depending on what is in your fridge.

For tonights meal, we decided to just grill the meat. Since I am not exactly the chief cook, I cant exactly explain how to prepare and grill it. Just go buy the cut meat from Tesco, I opted for Topside while Rizal's was Outside (raw one tau, not those pre-marinated ones). The verdict, topside is definitely better if you like your meat tender. Rizal's meat was slightly chewy and not to my liking. Of course, if available, grab the Tenderloin or Sirloin, which is the nicest part for steak. Tapi kalau takde, amik je la Topside like I did.

For the veggies - I just steamed it. Plain. Then once cooked, add a bit of butter so that its not too dry and to give a bit of flavor. I sprinkled a bit black pepper too. Again, like I said, ikut sukati je lah, however you like to have yours.

I would have liked it even more if we had mash potatos, but I am glad I didnt make that too cos it was too much already.

The only thing that I wish I had was my favorite at Tony Roma's - the Blue Ridge Smokies sauce. I wish they sell it commercially here in KL. Ada tau kat Amazon, maybe I should order it huh.

Okaylah. Perut dah kenyang, time to watch movie and s.l.e.e.p....

Everybody's Fine (movie)

0


Last night we watched the movie Everybody's Fine starring by Robert De Niro.

Its been a long time since a movie would tug my heart, and this movie did.

It was a beautiful story about how a father trying to rekindle family ties with his drifting children. It had started on Robert De Niro mowing the gardens, taking out the garden tables and chairs, buying the very best of everything from meat to wine to even BBQ pit.

All is set. Then, one after one calls came in from the kids saying that they couldnt make it.

Parent being parent, he decided if the kids cant come to him, he would go to them.

This is where it started to be heart-wrenching. Against his Doctor's order, he went ahead anyway to take the long trip to New York to see his son David. Waited and waited at the doorstep of the apartment, but not a sight of David.
Eventually, he left after leaving a note under David's door.

He then went on to his daughter's. She is a successful advertiser. He arrived but no sooner she is already making excuses for him not to stay. And there of course he observed the heaty moments between his grandson and his son inlaw.

It went on like that with his next stop, all his kids making excuses of not be able to accomodate his stay, and at the same time he discovers all the picture perfect life they painted to him were actually not true.

As a subplot, David is actually arrested for drugs in Mexico, hence why he is nowhere to be seen when De Niro went to his New York apartment; while all his children were like avoiding him cos they do know what to say to him, was also afraid to let slip of David's arrest and was so afraid that they would let him down.

This movie was so beautifully played, as always De Niro is an excellent actor, the movie really potrayed a parent's feeling. Needless to say I was moved to tears at some parts while watching it. Rasa kesian and rindu to Mama and ayah, and at the same time rasa so guilty for not able to be there more often for them. I was silently praying in my heart for Allah to make me a filial daughter, and to make me be one that would always make them happy and feel cared and loved for. Insyaallah

The sad father