Thanks to Eyeris who managed to source a pair of extra tickets for Iron Man last night, I got to watch this show before the official release this weekend. Before you ask, the movie is awesome and totally kick ass, you have to watch it when it comes out this weekend. Now lets proceed to a bit of a “review” that might or might not contain spoilers, read at your own risk.

Tony Stark’s first armour

For those who didn’t grow up with American comics (ie: me, I was reading Chinese version of Doraemon and Lau Fu Tze), Iron Man has his super power not via genetic mutation nor being born on some other planet. Instead, somewhat like Bruce Wayne in Batman, Tony Stark is an industrialist who archive superpower-hood via his engineering brilliance. If you haven’t figured it out, he built the freaking armour that allows him to fly, shoot people, carry heavy loads, etc etc.

2nd version in the making

The story doesn’t stray very far from the typical superhero movies, with the introduction of the main character as an ordinary person to the transformation that makes him a superhero to the final fight with the super villain. The difference is, of course, Robert Downy Jr. fits the profile of Tony Stark perfectly, and Gwyneth Paltrow played a brilliant role in being Pepper Potts.

awesome or not?

Then there’s the absolutely awesome CG that blends it perfectly while bringing the awe factor not any less than Transformers. You’ll love the movie, watch it!

the enemy, iron monger

Tags:  comics,  Gwyneth Paltrow,  iron,  iron man,  ironman,  movie,  preview,  review,  Robert Downy Jr.,  show

Posted by KY | 24 Comments »

So we went to the latest play by fthe Oral Stage - fiftynineminutes which was held in a nice little location (the dram project) on the ground floor of the flat that also houses the famous 6 to 10 Grill and Nasi Lemak kopitiam-restaurant. We did have a nice meal there after the show, but lets not digress…

Pictures are described from top left, clockwise.

the location, the booklets, interlude lady, best foot forward

There were 7 shows altogether, packed into a 59 minute play with the interludes played by a maid who was terribly funny in a way. I thought that was a clever way to set up the props. The shows were Best Food Forward, Mother Tongue, Fruitcake, Showers of Flowers, Track, The World’s Smelliest Durian, and The Ground Floor.

mother tongue, fruitcake, showers of flowers x 2

Of the seven shows, there were some impressive individual performances (Lam Wai Yee & Johann Lim), some interesting moments, some artistic expressions, and even some disturbing topics. Overall, my, and judging from the reception by the crowd, most everyone’s favorite show was the world’s smelliest durian. I almost got a stomach cramp laughing.

However, I felt that a few of the plays were a little too cryptic and slightly overly artistic for my liking, though you might very well find it otherwise. The Mother Tongue with Lam Wai Yee was a great individual performance, but I thought it was lacking a little on the ending and overall message of the story, a missed opportunity. This is in contrast with the similar monologue at Rojak by Emily.

track, the world’s smelliest durian, the ground floor, closing

As a whole, though, fiftynineminutes was a pretty decent show. I can honestly say that I enjoyed myself. Though there is some areas for improvement, the Oral Stage deserves much credit for pulling this off. For only 10 ringgit and free parking, this is definately something worth going.

For tickets and the how-to in getting to the place, read my pimp post on fiftynineminutes.

Tags:  art,  fiftynineminutes,  play,  show,  the-oral-stage,  theatre

Posted by KY | 5 Comments »