Erratically for a Stephen King chiller, this one is a waste of time. 1408 is an embarrassment to the tales of spook by the master of horror, taking the novella from King’s EVERYTHING’S EVENTUAL collection of short stories and slamming it into the wall in an illogical, fabricated mess. We understand King’s a prodigy of surreal imaginations (as though he grew up as a kid who had gazillions of childhood nightmares that he lived until now writing all of it), but it’s the transformation of the material into a film which was a bit overblown in certain ‘horror-film’ levels. It’s not scary; it offers minor frights, less chill, and a nonsense type, eyebrow-raising tale of a paranormal writer experiencing his most frightening night of his life in the Dolphin Hotel, Room 1408, while we watch him go mad by himself as we nearly dose half to death. Oh, eyebrow still on the rise.


It seemed the Swedish director Mikael Hafsrom had liberated himself to do some touches on 1408, focusing on the central, must be the pivotal as well, character, the paranormal researcher/writer Mike Enslin, whose writing career about ghosts and haunted hotels had gone completely downhill that even his book signing event was nearly deserted, that even the bloke in the bookstore didn’t recognise him at all. The tale zooms so much on Mike, as the film tries to encapsulate the whole atmosphere in one room and this one man who’s grappling for his sanity, battling dementia and dissolution in the haunted room, while he faces unseen enemies and his haunted past as well. Sounds familiar? 1408 is nowhere near to the greatness of THE SHINING by Stanley Kubrick, also a masterpiece of Stephen King (probably one of the most frightening films I’ve ever seen), and Dolphin Hotel is miles away from the disturbance the Overlook Hotel could offer. 1408 is another hotel story from Stephen King, but we just can’t ignore the fact that he’s trying to revive THE SHINING’s creepiness.


Of the actors today in our midst, I have great respect to John Cusack. This man has proved himself in so many genres already and gave his passion to act, may it be comedy, drama, light indie, suspense, and now horror. A bit thankful really he didn’t go berserk like some bloke out there jumping on Oprah’s couch – but his role in 1408 is actually a good one, acting chops a bit sharpened; but unfortunately, a performance overshadowed a mostly flawed film of mediocrity. Same with Samuel Jackson as the hotel manager, in which almost all his films do gather some respect (except for SNAKES ON A PLANE); his effort is plainly wasted.


There were so much gratuitous effects at the middle that you could think they could cut the film in half but still severely suffers the ineptitude of the story. They didn’t even bother to expound more of the backstory of the murders in the room. It’s just all Mike Enslin alone, daring his own self to get out of the room alive after a night, while the frustration of the death of his daughter comes back to him like pestering knives.


All I know now is that I wouldn’t go near 1408; I wouldn’t even bother to imagine it. Sometimes disappointment comes in a heavy stroke that ignoring a thing would be the best way possible. If they settled on for more sense, and less tacky fake frights, this could have been a better film. But what’s done is done.




RATING: D

Three things came to me unexpectedly after putting down this book: first, I never expected that the writer of CHOCOLAT could produce a deeply atmospheric and suspenseful novel as this; second, the clever twist at the end took me by surprise that I almost grappled my wits close together; and third, I loved this book.


GENTLEMEN & PLAYERS is terrific, unput-downable, irresistible, and will keep you at the edge of your seat till the final page. I had never read a suspense/thriller novel for quite some time now (deeply immersed in fantasy), and when I first flipped this one, I knew I was in for a hell of a ride.


Joanne Harris tells this tale about St. Oswald’s Grammar School for Boys, an elite institution that trained students with magnetic gravitas for generations; rules were strict, conduct was severe, and the grounds were intimidating for the outsiders. Roy Straitley, a sixty-something Classics teacher, notices a different breeze blowing his way this new term, as five new teachers were hired to continue the tradition of excellence. It was still the start of the year and mysterious things already started befalling within the school premises, but they were too small to notice like the lost pen, lost mugs, and lesson plan gone astray. Until small things became great; scandals emerging, boys’ reputation being incriminated, faculty suspended, and the missing of a student named Knight. All of these threatened the very foundation of St. Oswald’s which remain sturdy and unflappable for ages. Little does the school know that there’s an adversary secretly moving inside its corridors, waiting for the pieces to fall, pawns to move, before making the final masterstroke that will ruin the school to its very core.


This tale of redemption and revenge is terrific. Harris, with her ability to write dark comedy, intense atmosphere, suspenseful passages and inimitable voice, is no wonder an engaging storyteller, rooting her experience as a former Grammar School for Boys teacher. It seemed as though she definitely knew her acquaintance with the bureaucracy of grammar schools, resulting in a believable narrative power. She also put a knuckle-knawingly tense climax that will keep you rooted to your spot and finally, when the adversary is revealed, a flashback will shoot into your head like rockets.


What made GENTLEMEN & PLAYERS uncommon is that the story is told by three narrators; one, the aging but composed Straitley; second, the obsessive new teacher that lurks within the pages, in an almost diabolical way; and last, the 14-year old flashback of a child whose hatred of St. Oswald’s will reverberate in the future, innocence lost and childhood days disturbed. Joanne Harris pulls this style brilliantly and made it work properly, shifting from present to past.


This is one of the best psychological thrillers I have ever read in my entire 19-year old life, so pardon me for being prejudiced but I definitely did not regret I knew Joanne Harris earlier than I expected. It’s a proof, her straightforward, no-nonsense, cutting-edge writing style breaks the ice, and I can’t wait to open another book from her. GENTLEMEN & PLAYERS is a mystery/crime/thriller classic.



RATING: A

With good intention, comes good outcome. This dishy, delightful new serving from Pixar Animations, with unbeatable efforts from THE INCREDIBLES writer/director Brad Bird, revives the recent lowbrow ingredients of animated films that plagues cinema nowadays, and offered us a winning tale of this rat named Remy who chased his dreams despite being chased by thrown knives and stomping feet. RATATOUILLE is as rich as your sumptuous dinner; as tingly as your appetizer, as savoury as your main course, and definitely delectable as your afters of trifles. And when it’s done, it’s worth saying “bon appétit!” after all.


Nothing comes indeed better than an animation with a heart. After the age of TOY STORY, MONSTERS INC, FINDING NEMO and THE INCREDIBLES – we knew Pixar’s era has come, and that the frolics and flouncing of Walt Disney 2D fairy tales are done. Stunning, inventive, motion-capture animation histrionics had changed the monotony, and tales were told to inspire children, and surprisingly, the adults as well. Here in RATATIOUILLE, the underdog formula is applied, and in this case – an under-rat – who grows up in a distant French town with a peculiarly talented nose and taste amid the population of rats who thrives on garbage. He found it difficult to follow his dreams, of course, he’s a rat (points to racial issues and discrimination), but was continually inspired by the idyllic Parisian chef Gusteau that “anyone can cook”. In cooking and food, Paris was the place to be and he discovers he needs a human in order to perform in his top skill. On the other side of the story, Linguini, a gormless chef-wannabe enters the restaurant with no talent at all and nearly destroyed the shop’s reputation by screwing up a soup. In a funny sequence, Remy comes in rescue to restore the soup and made it even much better that the whole public fell in love with it.This is a fun film to watch, the spectacle never bores. The animation is a speculating wonder and breathtaking bedazzlement. The action sequences were wonderfully orchestrated, and the rats seemed more like rats, and the likes of Cinderella-ish rats were already part of history. Every movement of hair, every leap of Remy in the wind, and every platter served, deserved some worthy Oscar attention in the Animated Film category.


Most of all, the visual wouldn’t work if the voice performances are dull. Kudos to the talented voice cast for lending a creative dynamo of voices. Patton Oswalt as the rat Remy is brilliant, so with Jeneane Garofalo as the lady chef Colette, whose voice was almost unrecognisable beneath the thick French-accented English. Ian Holm as the always-angry Skinner was equally talented. But it’s Peter O’Toole’s Anton Ego that gives the film a surprising impact; a portrait of hard-knocking food critic, whose reviews could threaten the lives of chefs and the existence of restaurants, steeled by age and ironed by complexity, but softened by one mere dish that transports him back to his childhood days when best dishes are served on the table by care and love.


Maybe this was why RATAOUILLE made sense. It’s almost flawless in its storytelling (how much more for its technical aspects), touching the humour side, albeit giving us a rather ridiculous story of a rat wanting to be a chef and cooking up one of the most delicious dish in Paris (however who says ‘not ridiculous’ to the story of a father clownfish looking for his lost son in the ocean, or monsters appearing in closets scaring children, or toys moving about behind people’s backs?). It’s in the core of this tale that made this film unexpectedly moving with characters that flows with three-dimensionality. Maybe it’s the story of a small entity daring to dream in a much bigger and more intimidating world; being criticised, discriminated, yanked on the hook, but still persevered to do something he ever dreamed of doing.


What matters most is that this is what we call animation with depth. Sophistication. Beauty. RATATOUILLE may not be as great as FINDING NEMO, but it’s surely one of Pixar’s greats and one of this year’s best films.


“Anyone can cook, but the only the fearless can become great.”




RATING: A

[Spoilers beware, only intended for those who have read the book. Or if you haven’t read it yet, be doomed.]


There will always be a time for things to end.


In the case of the universally phenomenal Harry Potter series, the ending means turning the last page of the final chapter and coming to full realisation that there will never be another Potter book to wait again.


Nevertheless, finally – the end; HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS is that one kind of a conclusion that severely grips you, oftentimes making you rush throughout the pages but all the same wanting you to savour every word of it. I must admit, satisfaction and devastation comes in full blow after flipping the last page of the Epilogue “NINETEEN YEARS LATER”, that the battle has been fought and won, that the good finally conquered the evil, and peace overrules war. As what J. K. Rowling had constantly campaigned metaphorically in her books of magic that death is not the solution out of struggle and that real victory means sacrifice and acceptance of fate. Of course, there will always be the message about the magic of friendship, family and most of all; the power of love – that even in the battle, these weapons had never been defeated yet. DEATHLY HALLOWS is probably the most compelling Potter book, with a powerful message built in a stunning narrative that leaves you bedazzled and Imperiused all the way.


The Potter Era went fast like a speeding broomstick, although it lasted for nearly a decade, its occupation in the literary world felt fleeting but yet momentous. With PHILOSOPHER’S STONE, the world was introduced to Harry’s universe with Rowling’s wit and charm across the pages, child-like but thrillingly clever; then came CHAMBER OF SECRETS, which have shown the author’s capability in weaving a complex story for young minds as Harry’s true identity comes into question. PRISONER OF AZKABAN, by then, was my favourite book at the time, capturing a contemporary classic status with themes of murder, mystery, humour and dark fantasy. AZKABAN would have be, in my opinion, the real introduction to the dark path that lays ahead for Harry and Hogwarts. GOBLET OF FIRE, a very fine doorstopper of an adventure book that showcases the Triwizard Tournament, probably the most exciting contest ever written on novel yet, and bringing back the arch-nemesis that we had all been waiting for to return. ORDER OF THE PHOENIX, no doubt the most complicated and darkest Potter book by then, was criticised as the weakest (and massively thickest) but never disappointed the Potterites. As for my opinion, PHOENIX would have to be the most complex and most emotional of the lot, letting Harry face the cold, bitter truth of death for the first time (Sirius Black’s demise was definitely a hard blow). Then entered HALF-BLOOD PRINCE, a psychotically and psychologically captivating book that studies Voldemort’s past and Harry’s stand in the task he’s about to face, with Dumbledore in his final important bow.


So the story had been woven, questions started to arise and the world was left craving for most crucial part of all – the finale. Everyone asked, probably even the most insignificant-looking, indifferent bloke that you’ve thought would never open a book in his entire life would have thrown the question: “Will Harry die?” DEATHLY HALLOWS proves that it should not be a question about Harry’s death, but instead about Harry’s survival and that “Will he live up to the expectation as The Boy Who Lived?”


But before deciding about Harry’s fate, J. K. Rowling lets us plunge into the dizzying depths and the almost impossible enormity of Harry’s task in destroying the three remaining Horcruxes. As Dumbledore had left Harry the most crucial job of all, and letting him understand Voldemort’s nature and background in order to destroy him, Harry realises that what Dumbledore had left him wasn’t enough to help him in his path. Voldemort’s Death Eaters were gaining strength and that they had already totally controlled the Ministry of Magic with the “Magic Is Might” totem and symbolism of anarchy, infiltrating the very vein that’s running the magical world. Harry remains the hope of the wizarding community, but as the more people wanted to protect him, the more people who try to flee as well and save their own skin. But Harry got it all planned, and he didn’t need any help from any member of the Order of the Phoenix, and has Ron and Hermione by his side. When you think the trio’s friendship had already been tested before, think twice because what the HALLOWS brings is much worse that what we could have imagined for these three young magicians. Rowling spent so much emphasis in the three’s relationship as they wander around trying to figure out how to find the Horcruxes and how to destroy them, as this journey also nearly destroyed their bond. There was more time spent in camping out in different places, letting their selves to figure out that the task was becoming more seemingly impossible every minute.


Then we are introduced to the Deathly Hallows, three relics that gives the bearer the protection against Death itself, namely the unbeatable Elder Wand, the Resurrection Stone that recalls the spirits back in its earthly form, and the Cloak of Invisibility, impenetrable from any form of magic. Rowling discusses these three with wit as she puts Hermione in the polar opposite, incriminating that it’s all rubbish and not existing. Brilliantly put, Rowling reveals that the Deathly Hallows are actually existing and laid hidden within Dumbledore’s premises. This made Harry confused to whether he’s after destroying the Horcruxes or finding the Hallows.
Unlike the previous Potter books, DEATHLY HALLOWS moves in an extraordinary speed, almost breathless, fast-paced and undeniably unpredictable compared to the almost routinary predecessors where tension builds up and explodes in a majestic climax at the end. In HALLOWS, it’s like in every fourth chapter it’s always climax, and every death of character puts so much heavy feeling in our senses. There’s so much emotion in this book, few examples are the Dursley scene where Dudley shows compassion to Harry, Dobby’s death, Harry’s quiet but nerve-breaking acceptance of his cruel fate, the trio’s falling out of each other, and the Battle of Hogwarts that left me wringing out of sheer thrill, anguish, and other sensations I couldn’t really explain or understand anymore. With the finale read and done over with, plot threads pulled out satisfyingly in conclusion, especially Severus Snape’s poignant vindication (probably Harry calling him “the bravest man I have ever met” moved a bit from my seat), his real story comes alive out of an amazing fashion that it takes seven books to justify the importance of his character. Now, we shall never call people “coward”, unless we know they’re really dead cowards. Dumbledore’s revelation as well as very flawed man was a chilling truth, that even the most idealistic person could have done things out of foolishness. Rowling closes her grand job (historical, as well) by giving us a fair battle of Voldemort and Harry. Some might hate this part, but in my opinion, it tantamount the real essence of the book as Harry digs out the very flaw in Voldemort’s plans, by means of blood and protection. And one cruel fact as well: I had never realised that as soon as Voldemort used Harry’s blood to revive himself, it was the start of his own downfall. Then it all comes down to one thing: as Harry’s mother died for him, Voldemort uses Harry’s blood unconsciously without realising that the same blood that a mother had died for was running in his veins, the very last precipice and trace of love that Lily Potter had given to her own son.


I think the most powerful moment in DEATHLY HALLOWS was when Harry faced the cold truth of his own existence, that’s he’s indeed the final and seventh Horcrux and that he has to die. In a dark, lyrical writing, Rowling intensifies Harry’s character more as he tries to remain composed despite of his unnatural fear of death. He gives in to his fate and walked the line to fulfil the final thing that could only defeat something anarchic and leftist in this world, and that is sacrifice.


HALLOWS is no doubt a glorious conclusion to this brilliant series. It closes all the books in one mighty revelation that twists and turns, generating the impact of story in a breathtaking climax. It’s even darker the previous books combined and Harry’s evolution from boy to man was cleverly put. As soon as revelations were revealed, you could have never thought that Rowling was as clever as this, evidently planning it all the way through.


Like closing the last page of the book, fans will burden a heavy heart, as the journey was a rough one, our beloved characters admits to a final bow. The battlefield was littered with many losses, but couldn’t ignore the fact that it’s one loss we have to face. The Harry Potter series is over.
It’s like having a really good friend and companion for nearly a stretch of a decade, through all the years of laughter, humour, adventure, friendship, dark mystery and battling the evils of the world – and the time to part ways is here and the crossroad is already at our door. It’s always hard to say goodbye.


Although the queue in bookstores might be temporarily over, midnight parties are done, the wait for sequels in through... yet we know, the Harry Potter series will remain with us and I will make sure they will be on my shelf, ready to be read by the next generation, by my children and grandchildren in the future, letting them discover what magic can do in their lives.



RATING: A+