Skill vs. Will

What a satisfying Sunday. Finally, my anticipation of Rocky Balboa has come to a head - as I managed to procure tickets for the show @KLCC(11am). Of course, I dragged my buddy, Bob with me. The first - and possibly the only one of the series - that I'm able to watch on the big screen. As a rabid fan of the series, I'm giving this movie a hearty thumbs-up...though I'm sure not everyone agrees with me. That's ok, as some may enjoyed other movies such as Ghost Rider (which I ended up disliking). Hey, if you liked it, then it's worth it.

Spent a while at Kinokuniya, the whole time I was fighting the urge to use my credit card to buy some mags & books. Ahh...the temptation...

After sampling Burger King's breakfast offerings, we head to the cinema. The cinema room was...almost empty - in fact there were less than 10 people. The rest of the crowd must've been watching Norbit or possibly Ghost Rider. Well, less people getting in the way of my enjoyment, then.

As for the movie: there were some nods to the past movies here and there. The movie began with a somber tone (after Dixon's fight clip)...and builds up slowly for the first half. It is rather sad watching Rocko revisit all the old landmarks of his past...it's like he was giving the audience a tour guide to the Rocky world. He was accompanied (rather unwillingly) by - who else - Paulie. Paulie is still Paulie - he got most of the funnier lines in the movie, though.

Some people may complain about the illogical premise of the movie...but I thought they pulled it off okay. Rocky, a man of 50-plus years of age, pitted against the current world champ (Dixon) in an exhibition bout. This bout was set after a sports channel staged a 'virtual computer fight' between Rocko and Dixon, of which the former apparently won. People were getting curious from the result - plus Dixon is not seen as a legit champ, accused of facing less-than-stellar contenders all the time.

The training montage & the fight itself were rather brief (compared with past editions) but well-done regardless. Did he won? You'll have to see it for yourself. A surprise cameo by someone, who taunted Dixon before the bell rings, adds to the spice.

All in all, I was wholly satisfied. It was a great closure to the series, I believe. I'll buy the dvd when it comes out. Or watch it again in the cinemas.

The Fuel

What drives you? (damn, sounds like a car/petrol ad). People are motivated by various things. As far back as I can recall, I had always been driven by anger & bitterness. Cornered and battered by stress every passing day, I dragged myself thru any task, with a sullen look on my face. Not exactly something positive to say here, but it's been that way 80% of the time for me.

80%?

There had been times, when other forces were my main source of motivation. Back in the day (around...'98 or so) during a sparring session, I was matched up with the toughest guy in our class (he's a nice guy outside training, though) so needless to say there was some trembling sensation on the knees of yours truly. No one wants to spar with him, so I got picked because I was the biggest(or fattest, to be precise). The guy dabbled in Muay Thai before, so he was well-conditioned.

To my horror, he warmed-up by kicking a metal post with his shin! I felt sorry for the metal post. Thus, I walked towards the gelanggang (ring), feeling like I'd been handed the death sentence.

The only thing I could do: calm myself. I closed my eyes, breathing deeply when suddenly...clear as day, I saw her face. And boy, that was my best sparring session, ever. Somehow, my mind was so alert, my footwork was faster & smoother...and my strikes are much sharper & heavier.

Did I win? Well...actually I was being so overzealous I kicked the guy in the mouth and he can't continue, so in official terms, I lost by DQ (Disqualification). Not exactly a fairy-tale finish there. And despite his busted lip, my sparring partner was cool about the whole thing...noting that I fought much better than usual. And we went on to spar a few more times after that, all ended in draws. Or maybe some DQs in between, hehe.

I guess, on that particular day, I fought with someone in mind. Someone I loved...though the end to this particular tale is told elsewhere already. But, by God...I felt so good that day.

Now, all of it...the training, even that loved one...all of them are in the past that I could no longer revisit. I miss them so. Nevertheless, I still seek a new path...with a new 'fuel' on the horizon, hopefully.

The twilight shall be broken. Not with a vengeance, but with a smile.

Malas punya update.

CNY holidays passed by, without much sparks. Except for my recent attempts for 'the road back' and the recent viewing of Ghost Rider, ain't much happening in my world.

Ghost Rider. Man, right after I walked out the cinema...I felt so...blank. Thumbs in the middle for this flick, and I'm being super-generous here. They screwed up the origin a bit, cheap CGs abound (GR himself looked alright) and the bad guys are pathetic bunch of losers who jobbed in the most unspectacular way possible. Mephisto's appearance was sparse(only appeared for 10 minutes or so), and Caretaker is a past Ghost Rider? WTF? I expected the whole tone of the movie to be darker, alas it is not so. The lovely Eva Mendes (with her too-fitting clothes) almost saved the movie. Almost.

On the movie front, I am looking forward to Rocky Balboa this week. Come hell or high water, I will see this one in the cinema.

My quest for 'The Road Back' continues. Still about a couple of weeks from my minimum target, though I managed to discover some new stuff. Gotta come up with some snazzy names for those new moves, ha ha.

There you have it, a rather lazy update. Happy Chinese New Year to you all. Dammit, didn't get any Ang Pows this year.

Ungu - Tercipta Untukku

Untuk hari yang terindah, hari ini. Walau tak tercapai, walau jauh dari pandangan...cinta tetap di raikan. Semoga terhibur, dan berbahagia bersama dengan yang tersayang.

To the once and future nemesis.

The respect is no longer there...for some time. Your company is no longer welcomed, even. Like a parasite, still bogging down on my resources. Delusions of grandeur clouds your judgment, while you succumbed to dreams. Big ones, boastfully every single time. And predictably you fell to your demons once more...and as I learned, betrayed the trust of the ones who would there for you even at your most wretched, pathetic state.

You betrayed me too. When I saved you, you were the victim...that it was a ploy against you from all humanity. Pointing your finger at the whole world but yourself. You can do no wrong. Oh no. Alas, all of that was a ruse, one I foolishly believed at the time. Being a parasite that you are, continuing to scavenge others came most naturally to you. And without fail, I led myself to belief in your lies again and again.

I have to admit, there were flashes of brilliance. Between us, you were always the better one. I was content to be shadowed...after all, my admiration and respect for you then was boundless and genuine. I was burning in your light. That light of old, which seem to forsake you now, would return once in a while...but never sustained.

Many times, there'll be people leading you to paths of salvation. Yet, you dismissed them, wanted to seek your 'greatness' with your own hands.

"I felt something hold me down, keeping me away from my deserved Destiny." Says you, most often.

And know this: when the dust clears, then you'll see how blind you were. For all this while, the thing that held you back, was your own hands.

Created for me.

Pondering on the thoughts of yesteryear...seeing her smiling face in a distant memory. Stunned in the realization that the most beautiful love was within my embrace.

So many thoughts went unspoken.
The words I can't bring myself to deliver.
To you, most of all.

My greatest wish: that she'd be there beside me always...every passing day, every step of the way convinced me that she's truly the one. For no one else.

And when time will eventually come calling...
I wanted you to know:
I was always yours. One who'd cherish you, till life's end.

IMAX, boxing & books.

Finally, I had the opportunity to sample the IMAX experience in Berjaya Times Square yesterday (1st February 2007). While the movie itself is fairly stereotypical (Open Season in this instance) the whole '3D-ness' makes it all worthwhile. No, none of that crappy, duo-toned, migraine-inducing so-called 3D glasses to be found. Such misery should only be wished upon your most hated foes.

The cinema people did hand out a pair of goggles...a neutral-colored one (thank god), huge enough to cover almost half of my face. Kind of like Rocket Man-era Elton John. On top of my existing glasses, it was an impossible task for me to scratch an itch on the bridge of my nose. 'Transformers' and 'Ghost rider' trailers were shown prior to the movie...I had zero hopes for the former, and slight interest for the latter. While the idea of Nicolas Cage being Ghost Rider is quite...strange to me, Peter Fonda as Mephisto & Sam Elliot as Caretaker just looks SO right. This movie won't likely be doing SpiderMan-level grosses, but I suspect it won't be a turkey either.

While on the topics of movies, I can't wait to see Rocky Balboa. Finally, a Rocky movie to be watched on the big screen. The teasers I saw last year gave me goosebumps, and reviews had been favorable. Between Rocky, Hajime No Ippo (boxing anime) and EA Fight Night Round 3 (XBox 360 boxing game) I become a boxing nut again after a very long period of not caring about the sport. Actually, I loved any fighting sports be it martial arts, boxing, MMA, Wrestling...you name it. My attention just shifted to one or the other over the years.

Before the movie, I stopped by Borders to peruse some potential book purchases. I ended up buying 'The Hardest Game' (a book depicting historic events in boxing), 'Essential Dr. Strange - Vol. One' and a submission wrestling/MMA book. While mentally calculating how much I had to pay for the credit card bills now, I made myself look stupid by forgetting my purchased books at the counter. Had some Italian for lunch - fettucine carbonara & patate el forno. Or whatever the heck those was, not sure I spelled those correctly. Tasted ok lah.

Head home after the movie, played some DOA4(Dead or Alive 4) in the late evening. This game turns out to be ok...it's no Tekken, but it's quite a decent fighting game. So ends my 1st February adventure.