Fashionista's Movie Review: Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa

I have been anticipating this movie. Nope, not because it's a Malay movie. Some people are so against Malay movies and some are so for it. For me, it depends on what type of movie it is. And in this case, the first time I heard about the movie was when I googled Kukubesi. And you must be wondering what on earth is Kukubesi (or literally translated to nails of steel or something to that effect).

A few weeks back (somewhat in February) I had the opportunity of attending a photography talk that focuses on editing and one of the more notable photoeditors in Malaysia is a man who goes by the name Kukubesi. He designs and edits some of KRU production movies and album covers and among them is the one for Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa.

This is the movie poster for this movie's international release.

This movie largely revolves around the history of Merong Mahawangsa (by the way, Hikayat means Tales in English so Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa means The Tales of Merong Mahawangsa) who was discovered by Marcus (the prince of Rome) who was stranded in Goa. His ship and crew perished in the high seas on the way to his wedding to the Princess of China. Merong was accidentally discovered in the midst of fighting a huge Indian man (the Indian's sister wanted to run away with Merong and the man challenged him to a duel) and it was when Merong defeated the Indian that Marcus was so impressed with his skills that he employed Merong to bring him to Langkasuka (or Kedah as it is known today) to meet his future bride. And so that is how the story goes.

I would have to confess that I am really impressed with the movie. Although it is an epic movie, I certainly did not expect the movie to be alike to Lord of the Rings. And nor the movie is similar to LOTR. However, I do like the strong storyline. I loved the fact that KRU blended the movie with computer generated images (CGI) and a lot of effects to help blend the journey and the story being played out. I do like the story behind the two waging villages, Geruda and Langkasuka, and also how it all started and the villains in the movie (Kemawas and Taji) are spectacular in their performance.

However, I do admit that there are a lot of rooms for improvement in this movie. Firstly, I do think that they could have done better with the wigs for Kesum. Seriously, that huge pile of white hair looks too fake, especially on the head of Datuk Rahim Razali. And fight scenes needs further coordination. Some of the actors looked as if they were just playing around during the fight scenes and this one scene with Jehan Miskin was overkill.

Other than that, I'd say I am really proud of the accomplishments that KRU have done and hope that this is another milestone in the Malaysian movie industry. Bravo KRU! Keep up the good work and soon we will be as good as LOTR and Pirates of the Caribbean (I truly hope so).

See y'all at the movies!


xoxo Fashionista in Action xoxo

Wedding Cake: The Yummylicious Scrumptious Cake!

It looks scrumptious right? Emm.. Yummy!

I did tell y'all that I was ordering a cake for my cousin's wedding, right? I really wanted the cake to be special, y'know, something to remind her of her special day.

Bride's mom enjoying her slice =)

So I ordered a two-tiered cake from Taka. I initially wanted a two-tiered cake that did not have pillars. Pillars and wedding cakes are so cliche so I wanted a two-tiered cake that is able to sit atop of each other and look nice and coordinated. However, as we had to carry the cake from the bakery to the bride's home (where the wedding reception is supposed to be) and clumsy folks that we are, we decided to adhere to Taka's advice and get a normal two-tiered cake.

What I love about this cake is the red detailing on the bottom layer of the cake. I do love the way the red swirls stands out from the white background. It's only covered in cream, mind you. Wanted to go for fondant cakes but as Kak Anor from MyCupcakes is on maternity leave, I'll have to resort to cream covered wedding cakes from Taka.

Initially Taka provided me with the wedding dolls (the plastic kind that they normally put atop of the cake) but I think I like this version better. Its eatable too!

Selamat Pengantin Baru to my cousin, Zaty Yusrina and her beloved, Zack. =)

The cake is a simple chocolate sponge cake covered and layered with cream and it was absolutely delish. By the way, the cake was gone in like 15 seconds!


xoxo Fashionista in Action xoxo

How strong are you?

Me and my fiance got our bones checked when we went to the mall last weekend. Apparently there was an Anlene free bone check-up and being concerned that citizens that we are (he's in his thirties and my big 3-0 will be coming soon) we decided to check it out.

We had to fill in some forms (you know, asking nasty stuff like our milk drinking habits and such), I never knew these Anlene people to be such nosies but despite that , we happily complied to answering, yes, we do drink milk and yes, it's anlene and some more non-sensical questions.

Then we had to sit on a chair then put our feet in a thingamajig and then he (the Anlene guy) sprayed something cold (I'm guessing disinfectant) onto my feet. Or may it's something to prevent smelly feet leaving their unwanted odour on the machine (you never know, right?).

Oops, that's my feet there.

Raden lookin' cheerful. Little did he know that he's gonna get a shocker!

So after the checkup, the Anlene team filled in our forms and told us whether our bones are healthy or not. And I got 2.8 while Raden got a -0.3. So, yeay! me and boo! Raden. Mine was off the charts (in a positive way) while Raden's (although slightly on the negative side) is still considered healthy. (Psst: he thinks the machine's faulty, by the way).

So this is my marks. Ain't my bones just peachy?

I've always thought my bones are kinda frail. You know, with my improper diet (I do snack on the occasional Pringles or Mr Potato once in a while and the amount of greens that I eat are just plain pathetic).

Then we were given some free samples of Anlene (I think this is to appease Raden from his shock of knowing that his bones are not as strong as he thought). Well, anyways, I'm sticking to my calcium from now on. I certainly don't want to grow into some old geezer with a bad back *yikes*.


Cheerio peeps! Lets make a promise to take care of our body better, shall we?




xoxo Fashionista in Action xoxo

Inspired

I'm sorry, I'm in a vulnerable state, I'd say. I feel like pouring my heart out but then again, caution has always taught me to be careful with what I say. So instead, I chose to seek inspiration.

From all the turmoil of what has been happening around me, I am reminded to reflect on how hard it must be on Daphne Iking, her divorce being aired out in the local newspapers and in the Net. It must be daunting to know that everyone knows all the sordid details of your private life and yet you still have to maintain calm and composure and still have to face the crowd (she is an emcee and a public figure after all) and her work demands that she puts herself in the public eye. So, knowing to the fact that her troubles are way bigger than mine and mine are not troubles at all, it's just coping with the loss of someone dear so this is what I've found on her blog:

When You Feel

by Caramel Bliss

When you feel you're alone in a bad world.
When all you once had is gone.
Remember that life has taught us.
That the darkest night precedes the dawn.

When you feel you are out of hope.
Remember that God is there.
Keep your faith strong.
Soon, he will answer your prayers.

When you feel you have no friend left.
And only enemies are near.
Worry not, my love.
For I'll always be here for you, dear.

Fear not, you are safe in my arms.
You will always find a home in my heart.
And i shall forever be your loyal one.
'Till death do us part.

*My heart is ever at your service. ~William Shakespeare

The page link is [here].

And if you're interested, Daphne blogs at: http://daphneiking.blogspot.com/. Happy reading peeps!

Cheerio!

xoxo Fashionista in Action xoxo

Midnight waking hours

I can't sleep. I feel like I might have been affected more than I'd like to admit by Jimmy's death. To that I've tried to escape in my work, by watching movies, by doing all I can not to think about it.

But the fact is, I still do think about it. Think about the fact how such a young, energetic, bubbly, funny guy is finally gone. No, I am not close to Jimmy. My fiance is. And through his stories of their younger days, I feel like I know him, only too well. It's no wonder that, in my fiance's loss, it became my loss too.

Best buddies they are. This photo was taken in 2001 during their university days =p

Last night I woke up at 2.30 am. Immediately when I woke up, my thoughts drifted to Jimmy. I hope he's well, wherever he is. My mum says that the departed is able to observe us within seven days of his death. I wonder what Jimmy thinks when he's looking at us? I wonder if he's in pain or is he in a better place? There are so many things that I wonder of, and so many questions, all left unanswered. Of course I say my prayers to him. I hope that the little prayers that I send is able to help him in any small way. But then again, I continue to wonder, does my prayer even help?

And so last night, I cried. It's not easy to admit and I am certainly no crybaby. But I cried over the lost of a life, a friend and over the fact that his daughter will never know her father, his mother will never get to see him again, his father will never get to hear his voice, his brother will never joke with him again, his friends (who misses him so terribly) will never get the chance to pick up the phone and catch up with him again.

How fleeting life is. How small and insignificant we are. One life lost and the world didn't even know it. And the same thing occurs for everybody. Ain't that sad?

Innalillah. Allah loves him more. Of that I am sure.

Rest in Peace

It is only when you receive news of a friend's passing that you began to question your own mortality. You can't live forever, you know. Even Superman gets old. So why should we be any different?

Last night, the weather was absolutely horrible. It was literally raining cats and dogs. Visibility: extremely poor. I was driving to a cafe somewhat 10 minutes away from my house and I couldn't see the roads properly. Even the car in front of me looked like all gooey and gray (the effect of extreme downpour on unclean windshield mirrors, an extremely in-your-face warning for those who dare to brave the roads in Kuching). Even then, a fleeting thought crossed my mind, this is the perfect weather for road accidents. Thus cautioning me to drive more slowly and carefully on the roads.

Later that night, I was calling my fiance on the way home and to my surprise, he was actually getting ready to go the hospital. A friend called in to say that his bestfriend had been killed in a road accident, just a couple of hours before. The fleeting thought came back to my mind, the thought that this night, the heavy downpour, was the perfect condition for road accidents. Little did I know that even then, my thought really did materialize into something true. Our mutual friend, killed in a road accident. The car that he was driving skidded then swerved to hit a lorry which was parked by the roadside. It costed him his life, but luckily his two-year-old daughter (who was in the passenger seat) survived. I really could not imagine the whole situation. I was in shock. My fiance, well, he was in a state of disbelieve, shock, and incredibly sad at the thought that his best friend, whom he has known since he was 13, is gone forever.

I guess that is the will of God and Allah loves him more. We wish that you are in a better place, and don't forget to wait for us in front of the gates of heaven. For those of you who know him, please send words of prayer to our friend, Jimmy Rakesh. Al-Fatihah.

Malay Engagement: Majlis Bertekul

I finally had time to transfer my photos on my Bertekul ceremony on the 25th of February 2011, from Nikki, so here they are:

Hair and Makeup by my own sister-in-law. She manages her own saloon by the way, Abiey Saloon at Tabuan Jaya.

Initially wanted to pair off my outfit with this veil.

But I ended up with this instead.

What do you think?

Me and my BFF and aunties =)

Thanks Abiey for the great 'do. I absolutely loved it!

I guess now you know the underlying reason for my recent wedding-related posts, right? Me, the anti-social hermit wannabe, is getting hitched! And I vow to share the ups and downs (so far its been mostly downs since I discovered how horribly overpriced the wedding industry is) and let's hope to a wonderful wedding *amin*.

Cheerio!

xoxo Fashionista in Action xoxo

p/s: For those who are looking for hair and makeup for events, Abiey is able to do both hair and makeup at a super cheap price so head on to Abiey Saloon or call 0168706242 next to JnJ Cafeteria if you're interested ya =)