The Dark Knight no more?

So, if you remember from my previous post, I was rambling on and on about how AWESOME The Dark Knight was. I guess there's nothing much left to say. Therefore, The Dark Knight posts will be kept to a bare minimum or almost near Zero.

Because moving forward, I'm going to talk about the AWESOMENESS which is The Dark Knight Rises!!!!!

Yeah, this final installment of the planned 3-movie "trilogy" (is this the right term used?) is scheduled for a 2012 release.

So this is what we know so far in terms of cast:

Returning:
- Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman
- Michael Caine as Alfred Pennyworth
- Gary Oldman as Commisioner James Gordon
- Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox

New:
- Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle/Catwoman (although reports have mentioned "Anne Hathaway has been vast as Selina Kyle" not confirmed Catwoman will be on-screen, or does it? We shall see)
- Tom Hardy as Bane
- Joseph Gordon Levitt as Alberto Falcone

I think there was also talk of Talia al-Ghul being in the movie but I can't recall it off the top of my head now.

Following where" TDK" left off, Batman is now wanted man, as they wanted to protect the reputation of Harvey Dent before he turned into Two-Face caused by The Joker's manipulations. Both Harvey/Two-Face and Rachel Dawes are dead and Joker most probably locked up in prison/Arkham Asylum. There was no mention of what happened to Arkham after "Batman Begins".

The Wayne Manor should have been fully rebuilt with the Batcave, since it was burned down in "Batman Begins". The Tumbler @ Batmobile was destroyed by rocket launcher in "TDK" so Batman will probably get a new ride (and rumors mentions it would be the Batwing/aircraft).

Then of course, most probably a new suit as well.

So, what's there not to be excited about? Can't wait and I'm counting down the days, actually doing it a month at a time.

Other updates, caught "World Invasion: Battle LA" over the weekend starting Aaron Eckhart (Harvey Dent/Two-Face from "TDK") as Staff Sargeant Nentz from the USMC (US Marine Corp) whose team battles aliens (extra terrestrial).

The movie was enjoyable but I might have been expecting more. The alien designs were not very memorable and too mechanical (as they found that the alien weapons were surgically attached). They are nothing compared to the likes of aliens from movies like the "Aliens" or "Predator" series.

Also, the UFOs are a little too Transformer-ish, if there's such a word.

A warning if you plan to watch it - if you can't stand shaky cameras (like "The Blair Witch Project"), then this is not the movie for you.

Overall, a GOOD (but not GREAT) movie. I would give this a 3/5 star rating.

It's not about the money. It's about sending a message.....

Jag invited me and the team to his 21st birthday bash held on 4th October 2008. He told us that he rented a hall and invited about 250 guests.

In my 29 years, I've never attended such parties before and I didn't know what to expect. In fact, I didn't know this was an "in" thing. I previously saw some photos of someone else's 21st Birthday Bash with multi-tier cake etc.

I guess it was considered an honour to be invited, so I arranged to go after "work" with some of my colleagues.

Now, as I mentioned, this was the first time I was attending someone's 21st Birthday Bash that was as extravagant and opulent as this.

The entrance to the hall


The "kollum" at the entrance

The invitation said it was starting after 7:31 pm (yes, it said that specifically). I left the office at 8:00 pm and when we arrived at the hall, we were informed by the father that he would make his appearance at 8:45 pm.

What followed was like something from a Chinese Wedding. He appeared at the entrance of the hall and there was some kind of music blaring and people will popping streamers etc. He was wearing a coat, then proceeded to wear his sunglasses and then strolled down the red carpet to the stage.

Birthday Boy posing on stage

They had hired a DJ who played music and it was all Tamil/Hindi and I didn't understand a word of it. The DJ was also the emcee for the day, and was speaking Tamil.

I think I was the only Chinese in the whole hall!

The birthday boy called his family on to the stage to cut the birthday cake and take some photos, then next came the relatives.

Friends & Family

And what happened next was kinda bizarre (to me anyway). Each one of the family member's would feed him a small piece of cake, and he would feed them in return. This went on with every one of his family members (parents and sisters) and then continued with the relatives! As I mentioned, this was the first time I've been to something like this so it happens I suppose.

Then it was announced that dinner was served. It was buffet-styled Indian food. Mutton curry, fried chicken etc.

All in all, the Birthday Boy told me they spent about RM 11,000 for the entire bash. How much did I spend my 21st Birthday..... I can't remember.

Decided to head down to Sunway Pyramid today. I haven't been there since construction started on the new wing. I guess it has been at least 1 - 2 years since I've been there.

They have a new parking bay indicators with sensors that turn red when there's a car in the bay.

I think its a great system and will reduce the number of times where we think we see an empty bay, only to speed there and find that there's a Kancil or Kelisa parked.

Pyramid has some kind of concierge service where we were looking at the directory when a lady called Cynthia came up to us to assist us. We wanted to have Fish & Co. and was informed that it has now been taken over by Manhattan Fish Market. I asked her why, and she informed that Fish & Co. wasn't doing very well and were closing down stores.

NOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooo!!!!! Fish & Co. (IMHO) is so much better than Manhattan Fish Market. Fish & Co. had a lemon butter sauce on their Fish & Chips which tastes so much better than Manhattan's garlic butter sauce.

I noticed there was a Wendy's and decided to try it out. I remember an outlet in Sungai Wang ages ago, then it closed down.

The burger was pretty damn big. I ordered the 3/4 Pounder Triple Wendy's Burger and I don't think I'll be ordering this anymore, maybe the Double Burger is sufficient.

But I think the best thing was the Baked Potato with Cheese & Cheese and the M&M's Frosty, which is supposedly like a milkshake/Flurry.

We bought our tickets for "Eagle Eye" before we proceeded to look for something to eat.

The movie wasn't anything to shout about, it sure wasn't "The Dark Knight" :p

I just checked reviews and it didn't score very well. I guess the next movie to look out for this year would be "Quantum Of Solace" due to be released on 6th November 2008.

Teaser Poster

Final (???) Poster

Stop and stare, you start wonder why you're here not there.....

On 1st September 2008, this was what I posted:

It looks like a 6-day working week will be the norm if I want to get my stuff finished. I found extra hours ie. going early, leaving late isn't really as productive. We'll see what happens as I start the 6:00 pm - 3:00 am shift today.

And now, here we are, 5th October 2008. What a crazy month it has been. In addition to packing in 14 hour days, I worked Saturday's as well.

So much has been happening, it isn't funny and I didn't have time to blog.

I'm behind on my regular TV fix. The series that I need to catch up on:

a) Supernatural - Season 3
b) Prison Break - Season 3
c) The Batman - Season 5
d) Heroes - First 3 episodes of Season 3
e) Knight Rider 2008 - Episode 1

There were things that happened at work and I was gobsmacked! The changes came like a tsunami, we didn't see it coming. And there was no time to recover when the next bit of news came.

I've been given an offer - something which might work out for the better. And I've given my response. Now to see what and when it happens.

I lost my Credit Card at TGIF's last weekend. I passed it to the waiter got the slip back but failed to notice that they didn't give the card back. I managed to block the card before further transactions were made.

I sent an email via the website as well as to the email address printed on the receipt and I didn't get a response until 2 days later. The GM said that they were busy due to the Hari Raya holidays. He/she apologized and promised me some vouchers. Let's see what happens.

Because of the Hari Raya holidays as well, my card will be sent to me, but delayed of course.

I decided to give Carl's Jr. another go a couple of weeks back. And this confirms it, I was conned the first time around:

This is what Chilli Cheese Fries are supposed to look like!

They forgot my cheese the first time I ordered my Chilli Cheese Fries. The combo of a Double Western Burger, Chilli Cheese Fries and a medium drink was abit too much for me to stomach. Or was it?

Maybe I should go for a 2nd round to see if its really too much. I guess the Chilli Cheese Fries is best shared but no one else at home consumes beef so.....

In between all that's been happening, I was at the launch party of the official Malaysian SONY Playstation 3 release. I want one too!

Because I was rushing to catch the bus to work, I couldn't take more photos. There were some Cosplay girls, competitions and the queue to be the first 3 in line started 2 days before! It was even out in The Star newspaper.

The bus stop


The launch party "area"

I'd love to have a SONY Playstation 3 too. Maybe when "The Dark Knight" Blu-Ray is released later this year.

2-Disc Blu-Ray Limited Edition!

In the meantime, more info about the official Malaysian SONY Playstation 3 here.

The new Honda Civic is due out later this year. I've seen some photos online, pretty nice. A lot better than the old/current design.

Honda City with Modulo Bodykit


Side profile similar to Big Brother, the current-gen Honda Civic

I've also did some changes to my Hot Toys Joker. Smudged the makeup a little bit more, resulting in a look that's less "panda-eyed":

Before

1st Attempt


2nd Attempt

And finally, "The Dark Knight" figure is out! Some stores have already received their shipment. I should be getting mine within the next few weeks if Rey gets his shipment in.

Hot Toys The Dark Knight suit and Batman Begins suit

It's gorgeous. But some people complain that its still too bulky and Christian Bale in suit was slim in the movie.

Some guy actually modified the body by removing excess plastic and came up with the results below. Beautifully done.

Not only that, She Predator Machiko is expected to arrive this month as well:

Can you say OUCH 2 times, really, really loudly?

Do you wanna know.....how I got these scars? Hmm?

I was beginning to feel the effects of the extra hours and days I put in at work. Working straight since 25th August - 6th September 2008 was no joke. During my shift on Saturday, I felt the effects of a flu coming. I don't think I could've pushed myself any further. I needed my rest.

I was supposed to take Sunday off, to recuperate but there was much to do.

• Collect the Hot Toys Joker
• Get new power adapter for the DELL notebook
• Bank in cheque (Income tax returns. YEAH!)

I replaced someone and worked a normal shift on Saturday, and got today off, so it was kinda like a regular weekend.

Rey sent me a message to inform me that my Hot Toys Joker finally arrived on Wednesday afternoon. I told him I could only pick it up during the weekends. Most of the places had it the same time when they got their shipment of Batman. But, in the end, its the item in hand that matters.

The original plan was to stop by Shiok Toys to collect the Joker, then stop at the bank to deposit a cheque, then pick Weng and head down to Midvalley to check out the DELL store. However, I got delayed so I headed straight to Midvalley with Weng after collecting the Joker.

I spent abit more time than I intended to at Shiok Toys and I ended up placing a pre-order for the Hot Toys Hot Angels: She-Predator Machiko. I'm guessing this is going to sell out. And besides, its a unique piece.

VERY NICE

I hope I can afford all this shit! With everything spaced out to come out at intervals of a few months in between I "should" be fine. I just hope this doesn't come out the same time as the Hot Toys TDK Suit Batman.

A few months ago, I got a refurbished DELL power adapter for the laptop from Lowyat. The shop was owned by some Middle Eastern dude who had the whole family working at the store as well. I asked to test the first unit he brought me, and there was some weird shit going on with the mouse cursor after I plugged in the power adapter.

The cursor (using the keypad) was just flying all over the place. I've never seen such a thing, and neither had the owner. The 2nd unit (which I took) seemed fine, but it started acting up when I got home. It only works normally when I tried plugging in a USB mouse!

After that incident, I decided I was better off with an original DELL power adapter. Sure, it cost me RM 150 but it worked like a charm. No flying cursor, no issues. Hope this one lasts longer! I guess we just need to take proper care of it and everything should be fine.

We ended up at the Gardens parking and it was my first time there. It's just like any other mall I suppose. Stopped by at the LEGO shop and just had a quick browse through.

They had the LEGO Tumbler (for RM 350) but I thought since I'm getting the Hot Toys version, I don't need a LEGO Tumbler :p

Didn't stay at Gardens for long and we headed over to Midvalley as Weng had another appointment at 7:30 pm. By the time we arrived at Gardens, it was already after 3:00 pm. Without wasting any time, we headed straight to the IT corner and located the DELL shop.

Tested my adapter - it was good to go. Paid for it and I was told they would email me the receipt! Found that weird, but I did get it via email in the end.

Decided to walk around abit, went to Toys R Us, Jusco, checked out the LCD TVs on display there and at the SONY roadshow etc.

Stopped at Comics Mart after that and found "Batman: Dark Victory"! I've been trying to get that via "other means" but it was unsuccessful. Weng offered to pay RM 50 of it as my birthday present while I top up the balance. Thanks Weng!

Birthday present from Weng

It's been a long time since I last bought comics. But this is the sequel to the comic, "Batman: Long Halloween" in which some scenes from "The Dark Knight" is based on. I've read through the first chapter, and there are lines of dialogue in "Dark Victory" that seem to be in parts of "The Dark Knight" too.

There's a loyalty program at Comics Mart where they give you stamps on a card. One stamp for every RM 25 spent. When the card is full, its RM 35 off the next purchase. And they sell comics, t-shirts, board games, collectibles etc. Sounds interesting but I better watch it!

After that, we headed to MPH bookstore. And after months of looking, I finally found it.

Hard to believe but I have had trouble finding this book recently. I bought "The Da Vinci Code" when it got all that hype when it was released 1 or 2 years back. And that was the last book that I bought!

I've heard that "Angels And Demons" is a better story - the movie starring Tom Hanks (back as Robert Langdon) is in the works and I thought the novels will be reprinted in time with the movie's release, I thought I'd wait it out. Since there were 3 copies in good condition, I decided to grab one. I read "The Da Vinci Code" before watching the movie, and the movie was incomplete because so much had to be left out. I'm expecting the same for "Angels And Demons". We'll see.

So, dropped Weng back after that, headed to deposit my cheque, had dinner then came home.

Then, it was time to open up my new toy.

The front of the outer sleeve


The back of the outer sleeve


The front of the box


The back of the box


The contents

I've been reading forums where people were "repainting" the head because it didn't look like Heath Ledger. The makeup around the eyes were very subtle, hell, the black was hardly there!

Fresh out of the box

I thought I'd try a repaint myself. But I'm not a painter. So I thought "why don't I try something else". I found a M.A.C eyeliner pencil at work the other day. Someone must've dropped it but I kept it. At least now, I have a use for it!

Initially, I was thinking of crayons or oil pastels. But those might be permanent, I think makeup can be removed with water..... or makeup remover if needed.

For Attempt # 1, I coloured the black around the eyes but was told it looked "too cartoony" and "looks like a panda".....

Attempt # 1 - was told it looked too cartoony, looks like a panda


Attempt # 2 - Smeared up the black around the eyes abit giving it a more "messy" look

Yes, its the first time I'm deliberately "damaging" my toy, and a RM 450 toy at that! But I think it looks better now! What do you think? =)

Here's some other shots with Hot Toys Batman (before I modified the paint for the 2nd time):

You wanna know, how I got these scars? Hmm.....?


You ..... complete me!


An unstoppable force and an immovable object