Before Sunrise, Before Sunset.

"If there's any kind of magic in this world, 

it must be in the attempt of understanding someone, 

sharing something" - Before Sunrise. 

Tonight I finally watched these 2 movies that are long overdue. Before Sunrise was released back in 1995 and Before Sunset came out 9 years after, in 2004. The third and final instalment to complete this wonder of a story will be out soon, chronologically and aptly titled Before Midnight. And so I thought I better catch up with the first 2 really quick. 

It's been said that those who saw the first and liked it, were fascinated with the second and I can easily understand why. 

"Maybe it's a sense of entitlement. 

You know like whenever you feel like you deserve that new pair of shoes, you know. 

I mean it's okay to want things as long as you don't get pissed off if you don't get them. 

Life's hard, it's supposed to be. 

If we don't suffer we wouldn't learn a thing"- Before Sunset.

Before Sunrise introduced us to Jesse Wallace and Celine, two strangers who met on a train and ended up walking about in Vienna, chatting, connecting, sharing stories till the morning. And with so much chemistry between them. In the end, they parted, in a way they earlier agreed to be the most logical, that is not to exchange contacts. As they bid each other goodbye, they agreed to meet again at the same train station in 6 months time. 

I was hooked.

"Memories are a wonderful thing if you don't have to deal with the past"

 - Before Sunset.

Before Sunset pulled me in instantly from the very beginning. Jesse, having written a book based on his and Celine's night together, have gotten it published and has been touring cities to promote his book and is now on his last stop, Paris. 

As he gave his closing, his eyes met Celine's, who was standing at a distance, away from the small crowd. 

My heart jumped.

"If you don't believe in any kind of magic or mystery, you're basically as good as dead"

 - Before Sunset.

We then learned that one of them did turn up 6 months after their last night together while the other, due to a circumstance, couldn't, and therefore did not. But the discovery quickly gave way to other conversations and there was no trace of those 10 years between them, except for curiosity towards each other's life. 

"I see in them (people) little details so specific to each of them, 

that move me and that I miss and, will always miss. 

You can never replace anyone because everyone is made of such beautiful and specific details" 

- Before Sunset.

The story then grew intimate, intense and engaging, with doses of reality that at times proved pleasant while at other instances, unwelcomed, to say the least. The final scene, to me, was a delight, in a heart-breaking way. Celine playing guitar, singing one of her compositions that was written about Jesse. And then dancing to Nina Simone's, with Jesse, sitting there, watching, smiling. A smile that concealed much emotion.

I wept.

"What is love, right, if it's not respect, trust, admiration, and I've felt all those things" 

- Before Sunset.

ADELE 21 - Sophomore album by Adele

1. Rolling In The Deep
2. Rumour Has It
3. Turning Tables
4. Don’t You Remember
5. Set Fire To The Rain
6. He Won’t Go
7. Take It All
8. I’ll Be Waiting
9. One and Only
10. Love Song
11. Someone Like You

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I went to Rock Corner at Bangsar Village, my favorite music store yesterday and saw Adele's new album on the shelves. I took a listen and minutes after, I was at the cashier paying for it. It is now in my laptop and in my car, with most of the songs going on repeat. I've loved listening to her since I saw her Chasing Pavement video on a flight to Sydney a few years back. Strong, effortless-seeming vocal and refreshing tunes make ADELE 21 a highly-enjoyable album!

Here are some of my favorites -

Track 6 - He Won't Go - Great intro and a killer chorus!

Track 1 - Rolling In The Deep - Intro with an attitude!

Track 10 - Love Song - Her rendition of this classic tune seem simple, yet heart-felt!

Track 11 - Someone Like You - Heart-broken, and moving on with hope at its mellow best!

I enjoy all songs on this album except for Rumour Has It, on which I fail to identify with the tune, amidst all the noise.

Oh well, 10 out of 11 ain't so bad! :P

Summary of 2009 movies - Quarter 3

In 2010, I posted lists of movies I saw the year before, broken into quarters. Here is the third installment; movies I watched between July - September 2009. The list for quarters 1 and 2 are at my other blog: safuanghazali.blogspot.com

1. Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs - This was the first of the trilogy presented in 3D. It was okay overall, with some big laughs.

2. Obsessed - With Ali Larter and Beyonce heading the cast, I expected it to be good, but was sorely disappointed. There weren't much strong scenes or lines, just strong glances between characters. Haha!

3. Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince - I always leave the cinema wishing for more action scenes in HP movies and this was no exception. Especially so when I heard that there's actually a big fight scene in Hogwarts right after Dumbledore's murder. I don't understand why they would leave such a part out. Sigh..

4. The Taking of Pelham 123 - I'm a big fan of John Travolta and Denzel Washington, so I didn't think twice about watching this movie. It's script heavy and is a psychological treat, but with a somewhat strange ending - the villain fell too easily, so it was kind of a letdown. But like I said, interesting script!

Just 4 movies?? Hmm......it was a really slow 3 months.

Finding Beauty - ESCALA

*This is not a music video by ESCALA. This was a great little portrait into Vincent Van Gogh's life as portrayed on Doctor Who*

I didn't follow Britain's Got Talents, so I didn't even know who ESCALA was when I picked up their album at a record store back in 2009. I took an immediate liking to their tunes (most probably due to my penchant for violins music). This is my favorite track from the album, though it is of high quality music, overall.

The flow of the melody, to me, projects a heart's longing of something, someone; a feel, an emotion, perhaps even something that's found, and then lost. I find this video matching to the feel I get from this lovely, mellow and overall a tad sad melody.

One of the most enjoyable sadness one can experience. If that even makes sense.

Maliq & D'essentials - Sampai Kapan (feat. Camelia)

menantikanmu dalam jiwaku
sabar ku menunggu, berharap sendiri
aku mencoba merindukan bayangmu
karna hanyalah bayanganmu yg ada

hangat mentari dan terangnya rembulan
mengiringi hari-hariku yg tetap tanpa kehadiranmu
indahnya pelangi yg terbit kala sinar matamu
menebus relung hatiku

pantaskah diriku ini mengharapkan
suatu yg lebih dari hanya sekedar
perhatian dari dirimu
yg kau anggap biasa saja

atau mustikah ku simpan dalam diri
lalu kuendapkan rasa ini terus
oh yeah yeah selama-lamanya

* diriku cinta dirimu
dan hanya itulah satu
yg aku tak jujur kepadamu
ku ingin engkau mengerti

mungkinkah engkau sadari
cinta yg ada di hati ku
tanpa sepatah kata ku ucapkan kepadamu

oh sayang, dapatkah aku memanggilmu, sayang
sampai kapan aku pun tak sanggup tuk pastikan
ku dapat memendam seluruh rasa ini

dengarlah jeritan hatiku untukmu oooh
dengar ku ingin engkau mengerti
apa yg di hatiku sanubariku
kita kan berdua selamanya, yeah

repeat *

ada engkau rasakan
mengapa tak engkau nyatakan
ku akui ku rasakan
suatu saat kan ku katakan

sampai kapan ku bertahan
tuk menantikan kepastian
yakinlah sayang
cinta kita kan menjadi kenyataan

ku ingin engkau mengerti
ku ingin engkau sadari
ku ingin engkau mengerti
ku ingin engkau sadari
ku ingin engkau mengerti

ku ingin engkau sadari
ku ingin engkau mengerti, oooo

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In August 2009, I had a chance to visit Jakarta for work. That was when I first heard of Maliq and D'essentials. I first bought their 3rd album titled Mata Hati Telinga (outstanding album, but more on that on other posts). Having loved the album instantly, I went looking for more of their collections and found their 1st album titled The First Maliq and D'essentials (re-packaged), inside which I found this engaging, heartfelt melody of unspoken love. The tune smoothly-fluid, the words beautifully-simple, it catches the essence of emotions and tells a tale of love felt, but with lack of courage to be spoken of. It becomes that one thing you fail to be truly honest about, perhaps out of fear of unrequited love.

May you fall in love with it the way I did. And I still am...

Scott Pilgrim vs The World

I finally got around to see this movie after a long wait. The dvd has been sitting on the TV stand for more than 2 weeks.

I like it a lot! Highly entertaining, funny and with cool action bits! Of course, the audience need to know before hand that it's adapted from a graphic novel series or they might find it awkward otherwise, what with the effect wordings and everything. That and the superpower thingy.

I've been a fan of Mary Elizabeth Winstead for a while now, but am also growing fond of Michael Cera. His monotones seems perfect for Scott. Not that I know what Scott in the graphic novel is like. Hehe..

Highly recommended! Unless you only like a movie that stays on logic and real history and stuff. But you have no idea what you're missing!

Favorite scenes and lines from the movie:

"She changed her hair"

"So? It looks nice blue"

"Yeah, I know, but she did it without even making a big deal of it or anything. She's fickle. Impulsive. Spontaneous. God what am I gonna do"

"I can't believe you were worried about me gaying the place up"

"This is actually a really good garlic bread"

"Garlic bread is my favorite food. I can honestly eat it for every meal. Or just eat it all the time without even stopping"

"You'd get fat"

"No, why would I get fat?"

"Bread makes you fat"

"Bread makes you fat?!!"

Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Trader

I’ve been wanting to watch a movie at the Star Cineplex in Bintulu ever since I found out that it’s Malaysia’s oldest Cineplex. Cool fact #1! I figured that with all these latest developments in the movie world, it would be interesting to go back to how it was before. Granted, Cineplexes aren’t exactly the first generation of cinemas, but they’re almost extinct now. I was also told that there is a display of an old movie projector outside the cinema hall. Cool fact #2!

Luck was on my side because Narnia was screening on that day (the only movie on the list which I haven’t seen). I arrived at the cinema at 6:30pm to get a ticket for the 7pm show. When I asked for a ticket, the reply I got was “sorry, no one has asked for the show yet. It will only screen if there’s a minimum of 4 tickets purchased”. Wha???!! So I was supposed to come back in little while to see if there are others who want to see the 7pm show. Fine. So I walked around City Point a little bit and found some DVD shops. Yay! But I couldn’t get over the fact that I might end up not watching the movie. In the end, I made the decision that I was gonna watch the movie, even if it means I’ll have to buy 4 tickets (how’s that for determination!).

I went back to the box office at 6:45pm and was given an unfavorable reply. Fifteen minutes later, I returned, with food and beverages in hand, hopeful. And yes! There have been others! Yay! I paid RM5, went straight in and realized there were 4 others in there; 2 couples, both tucked in the far left and right corner in the back. Interesting. I sat right in the middle (it was free seating, surprise, surprise!).

The screen reminded me of the old Rex cinema back in my hometown, only smaller. I found that the lines and anomalies on the screen didn’t spoil the visual, it somehow blended in into the movie scenes, making it somewhat realistically acceptable. Thank god it was Narnia and not Tron. Hehe..

2 waffles and a numbed butt after, the movie ended. I quite like Voyage of the Dawn Trader. As a friend of mine mentioned, it doesn’t feature any grand battle or action scenes, but I felt there were enough to keep it interesting. Not that my butt would agree. I must say I love the dragon bit and the Eustace character. It’s a refreshing addition to the usual cast members, and much better than Harry Potter’s cousin, whatshisname. So my only complaint is the cinema seat. It needs changing. Even more than the screen.

My favorite line in the movie: "We have nothing, if not belief" - Reepichep.