Bersih 3.0 Rally Possible Unpopular Opinion

Okay, look. I don't get why DBKL won't let the Bersih guys do their sit-in rally at Dataran Merdeka. Look at it this way. If you guys give them a proper place to do what they planned to do, then no one would be sitting around in the streets and clogging up the traffic. Then we can go about with our weekend activities. Even the Minister of Home Affairs said Bersih are of no threat to national security (and no traction, but that's not the point), so what is there to be afraid of? Yes, I get it that huge gatherings without proper authorization are illegal, but let me get to that.

I don't suppose people have forgotten the chaos that erupted last year, what with the police throwing smoke grenades into hospitals and launching tear gas into people's faces. I don't really know much about Bersih, but based on what I've read on Wikipedia about the Bersih 2.0 rally last year, it seems as though the people in Bersih are trying to resolve things with the Government as peacefully as possible. They asked for the streets, no. They asked for the stadium instead of the streets, which sounds pretty reasonable to me, NO. COME ON, and then you throw a tantrum when they take it to the public streets. Plus, it's not as if they were going all 21 Guns in the rally, they were just doing a peaceful protest march. But noooo, someone just had to get the police force and FRU involved.

This year, things may be a lot worse, no matter how much the riot squad are prepared to kamikaze their asses into it. The General Elections are approaching, and no doubt, the Bersih guys are going to want to make a huge ass impact this time around. Not that it's going to be difficult, the world is an open field, thanks to the power of the Internet (and Google's public DNS, WikiLeaks etc.). We have gotten to the point where the people with access to Internet hardly rely on print media anymore when it comes to political issues and have taken to the Internet to find out what the fuck is really going on. But seriously, as prone to exaggeration as some Internet articles may be, people would rather believe the Malaysian Insider than read The Star nowadays. Has anyone seen the 50 Cent (RM 1.50) thing? HILARIOUS.

Anyway. In simple terms, all I'm saying is this: Let the Bersih guys have a proper venue for their rally. I should think the people from Bersih would not be as stupid as to jeopardize the entire thing by starting a riot. If it's a peaceful sit-in protest, then let it be that way. Say what you have to say and don't incite anything that goes with the notion of violence. Let the rakyat judge for themselves who to listen to, and the Government should also listen to what the people has to say for once. You guys have gathered enough negative publicity from foreign media, don't make it worse. No, the whole "Don't give a shit about what others think, just be yourself" phrase does not apply here. You're not a 15-year-old teenage girl.

On a more personal note, why does Bersih always choose the *nicest* dates for their rallies...?! Last year, they did it on my birthday. Total buzzkill. This year, they do it the day before Avenged Sevenfold are slated to perform. COME ON. You JERKS.

War Horse

"Young Albert enlists to serve in World War I after his beloved horse is sold to the cavalry. Albert's hopeful journey takes him out of England and across Europe as the war rages on." -IMDb

Official movie poster (yes, it's a great Christmas movie, well done)

After about more than a year's worth of whining about "WHEN THE HECK IS THE MOVIE COMING TO MALAYSIA?", I finally watched War Horse. Even though the entire movie is centered on that ruddy horse, Joey, it still messed with my head and feelings for so many reasons...ugh, war movies. Remember Braveheart? FREEDOOOOOOOM....!...of tears. 

Jeremy Irvine plays Albert, Joey's human-half in life and is actually pretty good at it. Taking into account that the movie was based on a children's book, think of the love and unbreakable bond shared by Albert and Joey as would that between a child and his beloved pet. It's sweet yet impassioned in all the right ways. I think I just used a wrong word. 'Impassioned'. I hope you're not thinking of Daniel Radcliffe riding a horse naked right now. 

Bromance with a difference: Jeremy Irvine as Albert (L) and Joey. 

So is this movie worth watching? Yes, for entertainment, historical and moral values. Speaking from a mainstream viewer's point of view, well...let's just say the only love story here is the one between the boy and his horse. But there are loads of bombs and gunshots though. I may have lost interest at one point (same case as when I watched Inglorious Basterds but that's a story for another time), but I'm glad I kept watching. War movies reminded me of how much devastation can be brought to every single person. If watching it on-screen looks bad enough, imagine being there when shit actually went down. "The war takes everything from everyone." Politicians, take note.

Plus, it's also really, really inspiring, It's like one of those Chicken Soup books that make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, it's just a story about a horse's journey through World War I and how he found his way back home. A story of courage, of love, of an unbreakable friendship. Whether or not Albert survived the war, you'd have to see for yourself. Oh, wait, I'm supposed to talk about the acting in a movie review, yes? There are a lot of people involved in this movie, man, and they did a really good job. But the horses, ultimately, stole the show. That's some serious equine acting there and I can't for the life of me imagine why they weren't given a special Oscar. Seriously, what were you guys doing at the Academy?

Officer of the British Cavalry, from L-R:
Benedict Cumberbatch rockin' a 'stache, Patrick Kennedy
and Loki. Okay, no, Tom Hiddleston. And horses.

I vaguely remember learning in Film Studies class that Steven Spielberg optimizes the mise-en-scene technique in film-making, which in my terms means pretty things on screen all the time. Or whatever. I think it's supposed to refer to the way things are positioned and placed in each scene so that they correlate ...or something like that. What I'm trying to say is, War Horse is really pretty. I especially love the cavalry charge, the way the entire sequence was executed was just so...painfully and dramatically beautiful. Benedict Cumberbatch's incessant hollers of "BE BRAVE!" is a nice touch though.

I hope that's helpful enough. Damn, I really suck at doing movie reviews. That sounded more like a retarded commentary than anything discernible. So let me leave you with a nice picture of the sexy men of War Horse.

The men of War Horse, clockwise from top-left: Robert Emms, Toby Kebbell, Matt Milne, Patrick Kennedy, Tom Hiddleston, Steven Speilberg, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jeremy Irvine, David Kross 

The Syndicate, a new British TV series

"5 poor workers in a supermarket in Leeds whose lives turn upside down after they jointly win the lottery." - Sourced from IMDb

Ah. Winning the lottery. It's the ultimate dream, isn't it? Millions of dollars waiting to be spent, to be lavished with...heck, I could even bathe in all that cash money. All the mansions and fast cars and clothes and shit that I could buy, right at my fingertips. Not just reachable, instantly available. Everything that I have ever wanted and craved for.  

The Syndicate is a new British drama TV series starring Timothy Spall (Peter Pettigrew in the Harry Potter films), Lorraine Bruce, Matthew Lewis (the frog-turned-prince Neville Longbottom from the Harry Potter films), Joanna Page and Matthew McNulty (Seth from yet another brilliant British TV series Misfits). 

The cast of The Syndicate (From L-R: Lorraine Bruce, Matthew Lewis,
Timothy Spall, Joanna Page & Matthew McNulty)

Drama is the right way to describe the pilot of the series (it was aired on the 27th of March 2012 in the UK). We are introduced to each character and a brief background detail so we know exactly where their lives stand before they'd won the lottery. This is one of the things I really like about British TV series, characters' backgrounds and personalities do not go over-the-top like some US ones do. With the British, things really do look 'real' and you don't just believe, you KNOW there are people like how they are portrayed as by the actors. I may be biased because I have always preferred British actors' training to the Americans' 'method' acting, but that's just my own (unpopular) opinion.  

The asthmatic Stuart (L) and Jamie (R).

In the first episode, the staff of the local Right U supermarket are faced with an uncertain future when the store is bought out by a larger corporation and threatened with closure. Desperate for cash and faced with the prospect of losing his young family if he doesn't get cash fast, assistant manager Stuart Bradley (brilliantly played by Matthew McNulty) and his younger brother Jamie (Matthew Lewis) decides to take matters into their own hands, resulting in unforeseen consequences for the store's manager, Bob (Timothy Spall). 

And baby makes four.

Fate doesn't seem to understand that it's a rhetorical question when you ask, "Can things get any worse?" Fate really loves a challenge. So what does It do? Fate (and destiny) dumps 18 million pounds onto their laps. Now, to answer the ultimate question: Is the money going to be the answer to all their problems, or is life about to get a whole lot more complicated?" 

The lottery syndicate
From L-R: Stuart, Leanne (Joanna Page), Denise (Lorraine Bruce) and Jamie.

It's a little too intense for me but I'm actually looking forward to future episodes. I am especially excited about the next episode, [SPOILER ALERT] when the overweight Denise's husband leaves her and she screams, "I CAN CHANGE!" and then goes off for plastic surgery. Stuart and Jamie are also in some serious shit for taking matters into their own hands, coz the cop sure is one hell of a Sherlock. [SPOILER END] Also, why is Leanne so apprehensive about the media coverage? 

We'll find out very soon in the next few episodes, I hope.