How my GenX senses reacted towards Star Wars : The Last Jedi : No right or Wrong, it just me

The long awaited sequels of the Star Wars SAGA , Last Jedi hit the cinema in December 2018. To be exact, i went to the first show  , which was on the 13th December 2017. I booked online ticket for the four of us, my wife, kids and myself. The show started around 10.45pm. My wife who is not really a Star Wars fan regretted in committing to join us watching the movie. I expected she would be sleeping throughout the movie, but for this one, she was kind of awake and watched it until the end. My two kids enjoyed the movie pretty much. For them, Last Jedi is the better Star Wars movie compared to those Lucas Films era. So, this is exactly the point. Gen X: Gen Y : Gen Z Star Wars audience.

Disneyism in Star Wars : First of all , yes , one had to agree that business and stakeholder management is the priority in making movies. Disney paid for it , they could do whatever they wanted. Secondly, I am a Lucas Film Star Wars fan, I also have the right to share how I see things and how it should have been according to my preferences. Being a Generation X , the expectation for a Star Wars movie is surely different than those Gen Y and Z. But after watching the Force Awakens, and knowing the fact that Disney had bought over the franchise from Lucas film, i definitely readjusted my expectations towards this movie. Instead of putting 10/10 Stars of hope , i just limit it between 5 to 6, the most, and hopefully can go to 7 or 8, is a fairly bonus. The introduction of the movie was quite impressive with the X-Wings action of Poe Dameron & BB8 attacking the imperial battleships. It had kicked started the movie so well. It still feels like Star Wars.  And the scene of the resistance fleets trying to bomb the Imperials Fleet was a little bit like Star Trek style, but still ok to me. Anyhow , again , the commercial element of putting an Asian face (or to be exact , Chinese character) in the movie is obviously a marketing strategy to captivate the Chinese market. This is the same modus operandi in most of Hollywood movies nowadays, and Star Wars had no exemption on this. You could see the same applies during the Rogue One. Forget about Rogue One. (I left the theater hall after 30 mins of Rogue One).

Rey and Luke light-saber handing over scene. Again , it was a mere stereotype of Disney movie scene. The way the scene being explained was pretty awkward. Everything seems unnatural and not so Jedi like. It's like watching a Disney movie or Harry Potter type of plots. Those who tried to relate Empire Strikes Back scene where Luke met Yoda, may have problems to digest this. Luke whom was a hero which fans awaited so much to see , turned out to be some kind of half retarded character, if i were to relate, the closest would be the Johnny English Reborn scene, where Rowan Atkinson was recuperating at the Buddhist Temple. Of course, not exactly to that, but yes it did pass through my mind. There were unnecessary scene of Luke doing self survival like big fish catching, milking the Dinosaur alike creature. All these were definitely the  Disney signatures to woo the young generations and to have extra characters for commercial purposes. Well fine, business is business, but it could have been done better. In the sense that, it could be more Star Wars than ordinary Disney movie.

Rey Jedi Training Scene : The becoming a Jedi training scenes were also being cut short and simplified as being a Jedi just a simply straight forward. The stones elevation scene is not something new. True fans expected more than that. In fact, it was not a surprise as those were the official Teasers scene all over the internet.

Luke Skywalker Character change : Luke, on the other hand , is about the same age of Old Ben in the New Hope. The wise man character of Old Ben is contradict with Luke in this movie. Old Ben was portrayed as cool, funny and wise , in every move he made. The Old Ben character was so strongly developed in the old Star Wars movie. On contrary, Luke was illustrated as a lost person, easily vulnerable type and full of fear. The fear factor itself is already contradicting with the Jedi Knight concept. That is so confusing to the Law of the Jedi. Everyone who is a true Star Wars fan clearly understood this rule.

Chewbacca &; the new Creature  Porgs Scene : Well, this is obviously unnecessary character in Star Wars tradition. Unlike the Ewoks in Return of the Jedi which helped the Rebel to fight the Storm Troopers, these Porgs are just characters to catch certain viewers attention, so that it could become merchandise items.


Kylo - Rey Telepathic scene :  Well, this is something unexpected but yet not something extraordinary. Fans are definitely waiting for this kind of scene where some love elements between the male and female character. If that was the goal of these scene, well Disney had succeeded in meeting the fans expectation. But, it was still unclear in the beginning why Kylo-Rey had these kind of experience, until Supreme Snoke made it clear that he was the one planned for that to bring Rey to him.

Leia flying in space scene : This is another unexpected stupidity scene from Star Wars.  I don't feel like commenting much on this, but it has turned the climax of Leia's death into a cheap scene of Harry Potter alike.

Poe Dameron &; Admiral Amilyn Scene : This is another character whom I think politically involved into the movie. I am not sure what, but my sense tells me that. Some one who looks like Celine Dion with a weird fashion , not so good in acting and has very little impact. This person must have a good connection with Disney. I care not to further study but it has to be true somehow.

Supreme Leader Snoke, Rey &; Kylo Scene : This is almost a good idea but turned out to be sour as the Character (Snoke) was not holistically explained. I don't know this guy. Who is he ? In order for you to feel the drama, one has to understand clearly the role. Anyhow, if we relate to the Emperor during Empire Strikes Back , the character was clearer to the audience who this emperor is in the movie. At least we know that the emperor was the mastermind behind the Death Star and boss to Darth Vader. And we got to know more during the Return of the Jedi. On the other hand, Snoke was introduced in Force Awaken (sorry i didn't follow the comic or Expanded Universe) , assuming majority are like me, Snoke was introduced as a big hologram creature (i thought he was actually big), and Snoke was like being somebody so powerful that Kylo Ren had to bow him and has no say. In the Last Jedi, somehow Snoke becoming someone talkative and appears in real life. Something disconnect in the movie plots. The death of Snoke was unexpected , but the death through light saber , without even a fight , was really a trick to end the character and to justify the death. In Return of the Jedi, Attacks of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, we have seen great action where Palpatine fought Yoda , Master Windu , and minimally using the Sith Power to grill Luke Skywalker, but unlike Snoke, he was beaten without given a chance to fight. What a waste of character. Or is it about budget Rian Johnson , the director of this movie ? To a Gen X like me , he fails miserably to characterize Snoke as a memorable villain.  

 Kylo-Rey partnering fighting the Imperial Guards Scene : This is unexpected and supposed to be the best scene in this movie, at least in the fighting scene category. The fighting scene in Phantom Menance, Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith were far more superior than any of the fighting scenes in the Last Jedi. Even a first timer Star Wars fan could agree on this point. The key selling point of fighting scene in any Star Wars movie is the light saber fight. Light saber fights differentiate Star Wars from any other movie. So, given this as a fact , it has to be the most important part of the movie with all kind of special effects and techniques. Anyhow, the fight scene with the Imperial Guards were just like Pirate of the Caribbean alike kind of fights, just adding some special weapons that we have not seen before, but yet not surprising. To be fair  , I still like to watch that scene because of Rey. Rey is not yet a Jedi, so we don't expect much from her. But Kylo Ren, being the top villain in his movie, fought like a novice. He has always been that way since Force Awakens and even the final scene with Luke. Why Rian Johnson ?? I just couldn't digest this. 

Finn & Rose  Tico Scene with DJ : This is another wasted scene which could be eliminated in this movie. It was so insignificant to the story line and I believe it was added just to add more Disney flavors to the movie. Obviously it was just a marketing strategy to promote some kind of inter-racial collaboration into the movie. The scene of the mixed horse creature called Fathiers is so Disney alike, you could hardly feel being in a Star Wars movie during those moments.

Luke &; Yoda Scene : I only watched this movie once, i couldn't say much about this scene as I could hardly remember what it was all about in details. First of all, Yoda look younger than the Yoda in Return of the Jedi. Secondly, the hologram was like a video game kind of thing. It was just not what I expected a conversion between the legend and the Master. Luke was like a helpless person not knowing what needed to be done.

Salt-Red Battlefield Scene : I think this scene is about bringing a beautiful scene into a Star Wars Saga, just like those in Attack of the Clones where Anakin & Princess Amidala first fell in love. Not a big rejection from me , but deep inside, i expect more than just a scene.

Luke tried to murder Ben Solo scene : The scene could be better if there was a light saber battle between them, at least few strikes. But it was made simplified until it looks like a Bollywood movie. Seriously, what on earth was the director thinking to make that kind of scene ? The idea was good, but the simplification of the scene had ruined it completely. Luke face was turned out to be like an evil old man , totally contradicting with any seen Jedi before in the previous movies.

Finn &; Captain Phasma: A wasted scene I wish not to comment much. In short , an easy way out to end the Captain Phasma character.  I don't really understand the character of Captain Phasma in this movie. So I would rather not talking much about it. Skip Skip....

 Luke &; Kylo Final scene : Well, this is supposed to be the recovery of all recovery after all the major screwed up in the entire movie. When Luke appeared in front of the Battle Ship , wearing a full Jedi Robe and a light saber , I told myself that, " Ok, this is it...I am willing to forgive all the garbage seen earlier as long as the fight is a truly Jedi-Sith kind of fight". It has to be the best as this is Star Wars 8 , produced in year 2017. The technology must be the best, the idea must be the best....all must work perfectly.  When Kylo Ren gave orders to fire whatever they have , well , that was a great moment to see but, of course you know, it couldn't have ended Luke life that way. So , point no 1, it was not a surprise or wow factor. Than , the gay look alike thug , General Hux had a quarrel with Kylo Ren, it looks so classic copy paste of war movies or it reminds me of Mel Gibson movies. Or whatever. General Hux character has no impact to the entire movie, but similar to the previous Star Wars movie, these groups of Generals were also like a Milk Man faces. So, it doesn't really matter.
When Kylo Step out of the Ship (or whatever they call it ...) , my expectation was almost meeting the goal. The fight movement was almost perfect until finally it was just a Luke Hologram. And there was no light saber clashes at all. No crunchy electricity sound of a light saber friction. What a frustrated scene again. Of all the Star Wars hero, Luke light saber scenes were the least dramatic. And I was hoping, before he died , at least , have one unforgettable scene for the Gen X to remember Luke as the best Jedi ever. But that hope faded away. Thanks to the brilliant producer and director.

Rey the Last Jedi Scene: What should I comment on this scene when the expected scene was not as what I expected ? One thing for sure , this movie is not for the Gen X to feel good , or to bring back all those good memories of the great heroes of the 80's. It is just a movie that was trying to position itself into the current demand of the young generations, making some money and trying to say things like, hey ..Star Wars is still alive. But for a Gen X like me , particularly , Star Wars has died peacefully, and Mark Hamill or Harrison Ford  , I am with you, as frustrated as you are , the different was , you got the payment but I don't.







  

Once upon a Smule

It has almost been a year plus since I last did blogging. It took a lot of discipline to consistently do this activity. Well, as what been described above, I want to write something about my past 1 year experience with an Internet apps called "Smule'.

Smule is an apps that enable people to sing their favorite songs globally via the internet. I have been dreaming of singing or even writing my own song and share it with friends, this app does what I was hoping all these years.

Well, it started when I was browsing Facebook in late 2016 when I saw a friend of mine made a duet song with his brother. I clicked on the link and i could hear him singing the song pretty clear with the original minus one. I started to explore the apps via Playstore, and there you go, within minutes , I could sing my favorite song. To be exact , the free version only allows you to sing with others or you join other people song. In Smulers terms , they called it as OC or Open Call. You can only make your own OC if you pay the fees to enable you to become a VIP Member. Well, for the love of music , I made the payment for a month trial version. After a month, i renewed it as a year.

The madness began as I started to learn that most (if not all) of my favorite songs are available online. The beauty of this apps is that, the members can also contribute song to smule songs book by making a minus one songs and add the lyrics into it. I don't think I have the free time to spend on being the song composers but perhaps I might explore that one day. I believe it is a bit tedious to arrange the song and do all the editing work. For now, I just want to sing and not song editing.

My first song on Smule was  "Don't Cry" by Guns N Roses. Well, i didn't plan for it but it just pop-up in my mind for me to search for a song to sing. I joined the OC of a lady from Philippines I could recall it precisely. After i paid the VIP Fees for few bucks, I started to Open Call my own recording and then something interesting happened. People start to sing (or join me) with me and follow me. First week i got like 10 to 20 followers. Now i have nearly 500. To me , i don't really go for havibg too many followers. Quality and the people in it are more important to me. Another addictive feature on Smule is that, you can put a comment after singing a song and other people can also reply to your comment vice versa. It's something like Facebook comments. There is also a like button with a love shape symbol and this serve as an indicator on how many people like your collaboration or your OC.

You started to make friends with those you don't even know. This is of course , got Pros and Cons. There are good people in here and there are also not so good people. Good people are those who truly love to sing and respect the boundary. Not so good people, which is less than 1% are those whom like to create problem by using vulgar words in the comment section. But there is a solution to that, either you un-follow that person or you may block the person.

Pros and Cons of this apps to a person (based on my own experience) :

Pros :

1. It gives a cheap solution for Karaoke lovers , you don't have to spend money paying the karaoke
    business operator , you just need to pay like less than RM3 per month to enjoy the music.
2. Low cost because you don't gave to buy expensive gadget , you just need your smart-phone and an
   earphone with build-in microphone. Well, since I am crazy about singing, I have spent an
   additional  money on a better microphone, microphone holder and a high quality earphone. It
   really made a different as the sound quality is much clearer with hi fidelity.
3. It saves money as you don't need to drive out of your house to find an entertainment.
4. You make some new friends who share the same passion as you.
5. It gives you sense of satisfaction after a long hours of working.
6. Music is scientifically proven to relax your mind and reduce your stress level.


Cons :

1. You may sometime spend hours of time singing (Waste of time). You may not even realize that
    you have spent the whole day , just singing and singing. Well, it happens to me though. This is
    the  most challenging issue.
2. Your singing sound may annoy your family members and the neighbors of course.
3. The function  of personal messaging may cause unnecessary issues if people misuse it like start
    asking for personal information , contact numbers or even up to start some kind of personal
    relationship. By far , this is the most critical challenge. A person needs to have a high discipline in
    order not to involve with all these problems. Smule is a place to sing, and not for making romantic
    relationship. Keep that in mind , and strictly follow that. Do the right thing, and you can never go
    wrong.
4. People can easily get misunderstood by the comments that you put after each song , if you are not 
    careful enough with the words or emoticon. This will cause unnecessary clashes between the
    people, pretty similar like any other social media.

In summary, there are Pros and Cons of the technology around you. It all depends on you how you actually deal with it. But for different ages , it may vary on their level of involvement and time spend on these stuffs. As a family man with wife and kids, well , I have to manage this anyhow as not to cause unnecessary issues. But my wife is so kind enough knowing that singing and music are part of my DNAs even before this apps exist. I even told her that I wanted to change to other hobbies , like doing the 4X4, outdoor stuffs , but she insisted that I stick with Smule singing, the longest hobby that she had observed in me. In fact, she is more comfortable to see me staying at home, singing.

The social group : Like any other social media , Smule also allows you to have your own social group. I have been invited to join many social group , but I stick to one. My group is called #KLMJ_SKRU. Well, it was coined by two friends who love the same music genre as I am. KLMJ means "Kenangan Lama Mengusik Jiwa" or " Old memories that Teases your Soul" , meaning those old days songs you used to hear when you were kids, teenage or during your romantic years. sKRU means Smulers KRU. KRU is a local band known to sing rap and romantic songs. Most of our members love KRU and we join singing as a duet or even as a group. Combining these two theme, we formed up a coalition as KLMJ_SKRU. This social group is quite significant to me. It is like I am part of the big happy family. We chat and sing together. But again, there is always a limit to everything. Since the group involves males and females, we have to respect each other and watch out for the boundary conditions. We can be friends , we can share stories and even other hobbies , at the same time we have to understand the social rules and the limits of being a person. As long as we respect those guidelines, i  believe having a social group is manageable. I don't take it for granted. These people are like my own family , i do care for them, and hope that everyone can be friends forever.

Knock…knock…it's Luke Skywalker or Johnny English in Jedi Temple ??

Being in Cinema back in 1977 -1978 , i was only like 3 to 4 years old. I do not how to explain but I do remember watching Star Wars. It must be in either Cathay or Kapitol Cinema, back in my home town Sg Petani. I was with my siblings. Being the youngest and 6 years apart from my elder brother, I must be on one of my sister's  lap when I watched the first Star Wars movie. I didnt know then that the impact of watching that movie at the age of 4 had so much influence in my life. Not that I wanted to become a Jedi , but I do wish if I have to kind Jedi power. Especially in today's world to curb the crime rate or even to rally for the world peace.  Not to join the rebellious or now they call it the Resistance, but more towards having those Jedi Force and the lightsaber. Perhaps if I were to open a new political party , the Jedi Force could at least keep me out of jail for now.

Since I was a kid, I always wanted to have the lightsaber of my own. Not the toy lightsaber, but the real lightsaber. I wish that one day the technology can turn that into reality. Well, I am not dreaming of having it now, as I am 42 years old. But what the heck, if it really exist, why not. What the heck on earth I would be doing with a lightsaber? First of all, it would be cool to carry one with you whenever you go. Imagine, entering a  seven eleven with a Jedi costume and a lightsaber. It would also be handy when you have a Police Roadblock , where police normally would use a light baton or lightsaber look-alike as a tool to control the traffic. If I were to be booked, I just need to show them my lightsaber. Knowing that I am a Jedi, the police will surely let me pass without any hassles. Else, I will apply the Jedi mind trick on them. Sounds like a criminal ? Actually , I would love to help the police to curb for the  crimes. Especially those Mat Rempit or even those Big Bikers ! I just hate those who like to show off on public roads. I can use my lightsaber to ripp the bikes. Use my Jedi power to smash them apart. 

Apart from using it for violence or mass destruction , I can use the lightsaber for good, like cooking instant noodles, i can boil the water within seconds, BBQ , light-up charcoals and many more. So, who said the lightsaber is bad or practically harmful. 

Ok, enough of those pathetatic and sick imaginations,  the main reason I sit in front of this PC and do blogging, (actually this was written at the end of  2015) .  I had just watched Star Wars 7 : The Force Awakens. And I really got emotionally disturbed after watching it. After series of series non stop Star Wars movies on Astro Disney Channel and even TV3, I just coudnt help it to re-peatedly watch those nostalgic movies, over and over again. My kids didnt seem to follow me. They watched those movies with me but to them were just like watching a Disney channel, no Jedi , no Obi Wan spirits and definitely no Luke Skywalker thrills. Knowing me , a big fan of Star War, my wife had to sacrifice her routine Korean Dramas.  A Malay speaking Korean dramas, a stereotype good looking ladies and baby face heroes. All using Samsung Galaxy , driving Hyundai and eating Kimchee. All about fighthings to be in power to rule the empire of Soy Sauce Factories !!! 

Enough of the Korean drama !! I took my kids to the Cinema as early as 4pm to get the 9.30pm. I just hate long queue , and front row sits. Before we enter the cinema, I told my kids to go to the restroom and settle whatever nature calls upfront. So there we go, 9.20pm, as we entered the Cinema , it feels like the old days. Popcorns , Biscuits and Sodas. I purchased a stupid Star Wars T-Shirt for RM29.90. Free size but finally I gave it to my son as I really dont like the rubber materials that made up the Storm Troopers. Knowing that this movie is different from the other Pre-quels, because they brought back the main characters like Princess Leia, Hans Solo and Luke Skywalker, I sat in the cinema with a high expectation of having the memories of those heroic figures to be the main characters. I waited patiently as the movie rolled. The introduction of the Star Wars signature Opening Crawl, I was so happy to see Luke Skywalker name mentioned. So , this is about Luke Skywalker and not about Chewbacca. My son Mat Adam started to nag and wanted to go to restroom again. Oh dear , go with your sister, I am watching the movie. With the introduction of Storm Troopers that were about to make an attack, the movies really brought a high hope that Luke Skywalker would appear in the  next 5 mins to 15 mins.

But no, the story started off in a village with Poe Dameron , the new character talking to a one old guy that resembles the Old Ben. In that intro conversation, Luke Skywalker name was mentioned again.  I was getting excited. It's about a digital map to find Luke Skywalker. I got really really excited , I have not seen my childhood heroes in action for more than 20 years. But again, Luke was nowhere to be found, only sounds of blaster guns and a weird looking gay Darth Vader alike. What the FISH !! okay, I calm myself down , Luke will surely appear in the next 10 minutes. I have waited since the last few months of crazy publicity and teasers on youtube , of course I could wait for another 10 mins. The BB-8 is no longer a surprise. Same scene as was in 1976 as Princess Leia was giving a secret hologram recorder to R2D2. Hey, this is 2015 , JJ Abrams still use the same shit ! Come on ! People have been waiting for years to see the come back and you gave the same trick of a droid taking a thumb drive and escape ! What the OCTOPUS !!!

Ok, the X Wings looks real , a credit for this movie. But who the CAT is this Poe Dameron. Just look like somebody from a sit-com. OK , as long as I can see Luke Skywalker in action , I forgive you Poe. So Kylo Ren. Something that is no longer a surprise , looks like Darth Vader. Again , JJ Abrams took a cheap idea again !! How much you got paid to recycle the idea !! ok, I forgive you, it is not just you, Lucas must also said "Hey…we must re-invent Darth Vader for the Gen Y"..He must be Gay Looking , not so good in acting, having a deep voice but doesnt sound intelligent …just like the Gen Y wants him to be. And the Gen Z like my kids may not really bother how he looks like. So, obviously, the abandoned Gen X like me is not the target market of this movie after all. So the new lightsaber is supposed to be the killer Toy. But it doesnt look like a tradional lightsaber , more like a Power Blaze Zippo or the one that they use in Manhattan Fish Market to Turbo Boost the Fish. And out of nowhere , the storm troopers used the flame thrower to burn the village. Flame Thrower ????? what an ANT HOLES !! Star Wars using flame thrower ??? This is like 80s movie ,  Exterminator . Ok I forgive my RM10 ticket, as long as Luke Skywalker appear, i don't mind even if they use an Angry Bird Catapult. But the long awaited hero is no where to be found in the first 10 minutes. I started to feel nausea and started eating those Popcorns and Famous Amous. So, Kylo Ren has super force. Of course, it is expected , he is the villain. But it looks to me just like a Play Station Character, of course he will be one, but in the movie, just like another video-game animated movie. But of couse, who would have thought a Jedi or Sith could stop or pause the Blaster Laser, which looks like a Photoshop gone wrong lighting. So Kylo Ren, why are you wearing those mask ? Having problem with breathing or he is so health concious.  He sounds just like a WWF Wrestler who is confused  !! No Darth Vader breathing effect . Grand  SON OF a Beast !! Ok…come on….not everything is bad about him. I kind of like the idea of the Cross Guard light saber , it can be used to light up cigarrettes or burn-carving your names on rocks. Most importantly it can be used for welding. But the one that bother me the most is would it posssibiliy burn your own hand as you swing the lightsaber. That's perhaps why Kylo wears protective gloves. This is not a movie review, just a a frustation as Luke Skywalker is not appearing after 15 mins of the movie.

ok, forget about Luke, his face was not even on the poster. I thought it was a gimmick. Maybe he is the most highest paid actor in the world that putting his picture would cost so much for Lucasfilm. The next character in this movie is the gorgeous Rey , the British accent character , Daisy Ridley. An expected character of coming out of nowhere just to create a character. Since she is good looking and full with stamina, I forgive her and forget about Luke for a while. But then , this another character , Finn , a black male really bother me ever since the premier. Another Denzel Washington in a fiction movie. They could have find someone that looks much better like Will Smith or I dont mind if he looks like Michael Jackson or Eddie Murphy. But this double agent storm trooper  character is so unacceptable. Storm Troopers are like cheap soldiers easily got wacked even by Princess Leia, R2D2 or Chewie. But this guy without any Jedi training could somehow handle a lightsaber that nearly got Kylo Ren into trouble. Imagine, a storm trooper can do that.  So they make this movie a better mixed or diverse, they need to create a black man , like Lando Calrisian. I dont have issues with Lando , but this Finn guy really a spoiler to me. This is not about race but the character himself. This is Star Wars. A so expensive and awaited movie of the year, how can they let this happened. Is this guy related to Barrack Obama or what ????  Put aside the good looking , but the quality of the act is just average. How did they make the cast for this character. We have serious issue over here !! ohh man…..JJ , you can even put Mike Tyson as the Betrayed Storm Trooper, he wouldnt bite anyone's ear. I am sorry JJ, maybe I am too old for all this. From the eye of the Gen Y, maybe this guy is cool. But who cares !! I am Gen X , the one that grew up with Star Wars. I felt betrayed even the ticket is just RM10/=.  

Ok, back to the beautiful young Jedi to be , Rey, the Scavenger Hunter. She is tought , slick , intelligent and independence. That's how I look at her character. Sexy ?? well , perhaps because of her independence and focus. I have no issue with her character. Something out of the box from JJ Abrams. Her role in this movie is the only new role that i feel fit the new era of Star Wars. Never had the idea that she has the Jedi Power. So , this is unexpected and this is what a movie should be. At least, an expensive and long awaited movie. But then it would be better if she posses certain weapon at the beginnnig of the movie like constructing some kind of new weapon that has some laser element in it. Perhaps not a light saber but maybe a knife saber that she found during the scavengering. A lots if Jedi were killed, dont tell me that it is illogical for someone to find their light sabers or parts of it. If I were JJ Abrams, I would have instill this surprise element in this movie at the very beginning. Rey could have constructed her own weapon using the main element of the lightsaber, some sort of crystal that release energy. That's what the Jedi myth was all about. Constructing a lightsaber would be too much for a scavenger but a small knife with lightaber element might be okay. or perhaps the light-spears. There I go again, pretending to be JJ Abrams. Go FISH!!! But at least this would make the Gen X happy. We used to live in those light saber years. So light sabers to us are like worms to the fishing hook. They hook each other. Aren't that supposed to be the goal of this movie.   George Lucas, you should have hired me, I could have made you more Lucas than any other Lucas !!

Hans Solo , on the other hand…also not appearing as what I had expected him to be, but at least his appearance was way more significant than Master Luke,  thought he ended up his character by being light-stabbed by his own son. I couldnt recall any memorable punch line , phrases or jokes that came out of him from the Force Awakens. Or perhaps it is just me who no longer had the ability to comprehend the message brought by JJ in this movie. Yes , I have to admit than I am getting old and outdated amongst these days Gen Ys and Zs movies . Chewie looks younger than ever. I had expected a touching moment from Chewie during Hans Solo's death. But it was just another typical Wookie sound.

The last scene between Rey and Luke Skywalker seems to me like a discovery channel. Yes, the scenery was great, for a discovery channel. It would be much better if Bear Grylls was the one climbing that hill and passing the light saber to Luke. At least Bear could teach Luke how to drink his own urine and survive with the Bear Grylls ultimate knife rather than light saber. Anyhow, being a Star Wars fan, I had to admit that the best scene was during Rey's vision as she touched the light saber. Ok, let's wait for the next movie, I hope all the expectations would at least come close to the reality. Probably, I have to think like Gen Ys if I were not to be disappointed. What if Dato Vida joint venture with George Lucas and JJ Abrams ? That would be a brand new Star Wars. I believe Chewie will become pink and Finn would become white. Carrie Fisher would be casted out and replaced with Princess Vida Organa Pamoga !!! Peace Yo bro & sista !!! May the Force be with Ya !!!

        

Abah Memory Lane

30th July - mamatuk called me up saying that Abahwan vomitted few times. I was on my way back from work. My brother, Am & his eldest son, Amir , came to our parent house as I needed help to carry abahwan to the Clinic. Abahwan was pretty weak. He hardly could move by himself. We had to use the wheel chair and placed him at the back seat of the car. Upon reaching to the clinic, doctor checked him up and gave an injection. Doctor said he should be fine as he the temperature was normal.

31st July - I took half-day leave to take Mamatuk to Chiropractor. Amir accompanied abah during our absence. Abah seemed to have vomitted again when we got back around 6.30 pm. Around 8pm, Mamatok called me again saying that Abah was having difficulties to breath. We took him to Pantai Hospital. Around 11pm, my brother told me that they had to transfer Abah to General Hospital as there were no rooms available for ICU case. I went straight to the hospital & Abah was warded at the yellow zone unit, under observation.

1st August - I went to visit Abah and fed him Vitagen. He drank the whole bottle. He refused any food but I suggested fruits, he kind of agreed to have fruits. Unfortunately the cafeteria only sell watermelon. So went out to get some fresh fruits, passed it to Amir. At noon, Amir told that Abah had been transferred to Red Zone. A more intensive care unit. No one allowed to see him. My brother spoke to the doctor about a procedure call "Intubation" to increase abah oxygen in the lung. It was described that Abah was having Pneumonia or some kind of lung infection. I asked one of my doctor friend, he mentioned that it might due to his kidney problem. Abah was at Stage 4 Kidney Failure. He had been survived with medications for the last 5 years. Late in the afternoon, abah had to be transferred to CCU, anotther stage of intensive care unit. It was like a clean-room. The doctor explained to me that if the condition did not improve, they had to perform the intubation procedure. I asked permission to see Abah. and spoke to him. Every time I see him, i only told him one thing, "everything is ok and Abah will be out by tomorrow". Just to calm him down. I was optimistic as he had survived many procedures before. I asked abah whether he needs his watch. He nodded and said something. I couldnt really understand as he was wearing oxygen mask. I told him that I have to leave the room as visiting hour was over.

At 10.30 pm, my wife, kids and me went again to the hospital to deliver the adult diapers. The security did not allow my wife to enter as it was not visiting hours. I saw abah sleeping peacefully. I decided not to interupt his sleep. He was looking fine.

2nd of August - At 4.45am, my brother called me up as the hospital contacted him. Abah condition had deteriorated. His oxygen level was dropping. I woke up my wife and kids, getting ready to go to the hospital. 15 minutes later, i received another call from my brother that Abah had passed away.


Innalillahiwainna ilahirojiun. Al-Fatihah.

Those few simple things within the passage of time

Bear Grylls, lu tunggu gua datang !

Kuali set ni beli dah lama, masih tak rasmi lagi. Barang-barang lain pun sama. Sekarang dah tak sama macam dulu, mau camping kasi Up Jadi…banyak pulak consideration yang perlu difikirkan terutamanya faktor keselamatan.

Masa dekat Kulim dulu ada geng masuk hutan, tapi bila pindah SP geng masuk sungai pulak, jadi aktiviti survival cooking ni kurang sikitlah.  Tapi macam mana pun kena bagi jadi juga. Sejak dua menjak ni panas terik, macam tak sesuai nak camping sebab confirm demam punya. Baru naik basikal 15 minit tengah panas pun dah selesema.

Adam Upgrade Engine Turbo !

Hari itu dalam sejarah, tanggal 12 Disember , Sabtu jam 10.45 pagi, Adam telah selamat menjalankan upacara berkhatan di Poliklinik Dr Azhar & Rakan-Rakan. Dr Saidin yang mengambil tanggungjawab itu.

Aku pun rasa macam baru saja berkhatan, masih ingat 1985 di Klinik Dr Aishah & Dr Fisol, Bakar Arang.

Mula-mula masa memikirkan kena bawa Adam pergi Klinik agak suspen juga, tapi aku dah study awal-awal petua-petua sebelum dan selepas berkhatan. Dalam internet bloggers banyak yang share pasal benda ni. Tapi berterima kasih kepada wife aku yang voluntarily took over tugas-tugas khas selepas berkhatan. Sapu ubat, bagi mandi , bagi makan, semua dia. Aku sibuk update Facebook , youtube , main Drum & Tennis. Sibuk wooo…

Semasa dalam so called "Mini Operation Theatre" , aku bawa Galaxy Note, buka Youtube bagi Adam tengok video kereta Remote Control dan UFO. Sebagai ubat kebas dan ubat pelali untuk Adam. Aku pun tumpang sekaki tengok youtube untuk mengalih pandangan daripada Live Operation. Walaupun sekarang dah advance pakai elektrik cutter, aku malas nak tengok sebab mamat sebelum aku pengsan tengok anak dia bersunat. Tak pasal-pasal Dr kena handle si bapa yang pengsan tu.

Sepanjang minggu tu aku juga sibuk carikan "ubat bius"  kat Adam yang aku janjikan masa dalam Operation Theatre, kereta Remote dan Lego Made in China. Dekat dua minggu juga Adam jalan macam Michael Jackson. Bila dah okay, Adam pergi memancing ikan di Segantang Garam.