“ENTER the the majestic DRAGON” in 2012. Any DREAM will DO.

The reign of the RABBIT is drawing to an end.

It's going to be a forgotten chapter.

You see it as a tiny, furry, harmless animal, but hey – don’t they ever tell you that never to judge any book by its cover?

Just look back over the past months and count the series of havoc.

On a happy note, it's pure relief that the unpredictable RABBIT is bidding a fast retreat to make way for the majestic Dragon.

And it’s about time.

2011 had not been such a bumper year as the whole world is awaiting healing from the reeling.

Dipping economies, natural disasters and global poverty have seen different parallels, and are still unresolved issues.

‘Tis been a year where we should also be wary about making foreign connections.

Old wine has been proven better. And safer.

And did we read somewhere that we should all be celebrating endings, bitter or sweet.

Endings herald new beginnings.

Smart guru CARL BARD has the last word:

 ”Though no one can go back to make a decemt new start, anyone can start now and make a brand new ending.”

Lamenting over lost opportunities?

Don’t!

 Yeah, when one door closes, surely another door opens.

But indecisiveness may take too long over that closed door that we do not see the new ones which are open for us.

LIFE IS LIKE THIS.

We will always win some, then we lose some.

Essentially, the quality of our choices will determine the quality of our lives.

Right.

Here’s a vintage MTV which was produced one decade ago by Singapore Mediacorp.

Time has flown.

It’s great stuff.

Relish.

The following is a divine song that embraces the “little moments”.

It’s exhilaratingly breezy and will strike an emotional chord in you.

Let’s usher in the YEAR of the DRAGON with this feel-good hit of the past.

Yeah, any dream will do.

“THE VIRAL FACTOR” (逆戰) Movie Review. Two Estranged BROTHERS. One lethal VIRAL factor. Witness the explosive MELTDOWN.

(Part 1 of 3)

“THE VIRAL FACTOR”《逆戰》MOVIE

PRESS PREVIEW 

Shot on a whopping budget of USD 17 million, “THE VIRAL FACTOR” has to be one stupendous production.

 It does not fail.

No expenses are spared in terms of foreign exotic locales as the story kicks off in Jordan, meanders temporarily to China, ultimately breaking at the Malaysian shores where the principal tale unfolds – leading to one adrenaline pumping meltdown.

With this multicultural potpourri, what we witness will be an awe-inspiring feast for the eyes and the ears.

Stay braced.

Hong Kong renowned action director DANTE LAM helms the colossal project with Asian A-listers:   JAY CHOU and NICHOLAS TSE.

The two actors star as an unlikely pair of siblings on opposite sides of the law. It’s an implosive human drama albeit emotive crime story, laced with unforgettable gritty characters. So hang on for the ride of your life.

Crafted as an electrifying action thriller with nerve-racking tension, DANTE LAM promises you value-for-money.

This Hong Kong film director is as good as his words.

JAY CHOU plays Jon, a dedicated International Disease Commission (IDC) operative who is responsible for leading this dangerous mission: he is escorting a scientist from Jordan to the Netherlands to develop an antidote for the dangerous viral factor – a biological weapon derived from mutating the small pox virus that poses a threat to the world.

Naturally there’s to be a “mole” within the Organisation, and  he is in the form of traitorous colleague Sean (ANDY ON) who eventually abducts the scientist after a violent shoot-out leaving a bullet lodged in Jon’s brain which needs to be extracted if he were to live.

His fiancee cum fellow agent Rita, however, is brutally slain.

Jon is given a few more months of his life, unless he gets the bullet dislodged, and he chooses to spend the remaining months with his mother.

Jon’s mother discloses a two-decade old family secret: that she had dumped Jon’s gambling father and an elder brother when he was barely a kid. They are both, currently residing in Kuala Lumpur.

She implores Jon to get them back.

Two estranged brothers.

One is a law enforcer, the other’s a hardened ruthless criminal.

NICHOLAS TSE is Yang – an embittered hard-core criminal who leads a life dancing the hide-and-seek game witih the law. He is a single dad and lives a seedy existence with his young daughter and a crippled gambling father who had since lost the use of one leg to shield him from harm’s way.

Life for him is bleak as he soon finds himself embroiled within a corrupt world that threatens to engulf him. His life is in peril when he strips the facade concealing the stark motive of his triad boss who hires him to kill a female scientist.

The pace is set as terse, tense and edgy.

 Now, throw in a deadly virus concoction that’s looming to destroy mankind if ever it’s unleashed in this world.

That’s the premise of the story, so it’s a relentless race against time to recover an antidote.

Everything in place, we’ve got the essential ingredients of Hong Kong Director DANTE LAM’s latest mind-blowing and explosively violent offering “THE VIRAL FACTOR” shot in the Middle East, China and Malaysia.

(Part 2 of 3)

What’s in Store when you watch this PULSE-POUNDING ACTION THRILLER:

-   ACTION is King, the cat-and-mouse chases are fast and furious.

You’ll cling to the edge of your seat as you watch ferocious pursuits among the police, the baddie and the underworld triads as they tear down the alley ways, the crowded streets, in the LRT foyer, in the train, aboard a freighter, in the helicopter, go on counting and there’ll be more.

-   Be bedazzled

by the fiery blasts from genuine military weaponry and army tanks in Jordan and in Kuala Lumpur you will be amazed by vehicles hurtling down from roof tops, cars crashing into monsoon drains and busy shopping centers. And of course, the never-ending explosions.

-   Tear jerking scenes are secondary and emotions are kept to a minimum, as with all DANTE LAM’s actioners.

-   NICHOLAS TSE shines in his role as a lawless hoodlum.

At film’s end, when he fires at his opponents, watch his steely expressions.  You witness a gamut of rage, pain, angst and frustration all rolled into one menacing, glazed stare.

An award-winning moment?

Perhaps.

 Only time will tell.

(Part 3 of 3)

THE PRESS CONFERENCE

“Akimbo?  This ONE’S for the CAMERA!”

“BEST WISHES for the YEAR of the DRAGON!”

Here’s HOPING that “THE VIRAL FACTOR” will reap healthy BOX-OFFICE RETURNS around the world!

 ”My PLAN to DIRECT a new film is in the pipeline.

It will be a lovey-dovey story, surely.

And this LUNAR NEW YEAR, I am aiming to spend time with my family and loved ones.”

This NEW YEAR 2012. A new BEGINNING. It can be a wonderful LIFE!

SMILE and the whole world SMILES with YOU.

The DIARY of LEARNINGS.

GOODBYE 2011.

We are sad to see you go amid the awesome fireworks …..

Should old acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind?

HELLO 2012!

Radiant showers of colorful hues light up the darken skies.

Let’s pray for an upsurge in the GLOBAL ECONOMY and WORLD PEACE.

‘Tis going to be a SPLENDID YEAR!

Animal LOVE, whatever.

Sweet, divine LOVE. Aha …..

(BLAH) Here’s LOOKING at YOU, folks!

Yeah, finally, a brand new year 2012 has arrived at our doorstep.

New beginnings, new episodes, new adventures.

I am revisiting two of my old articles to extract the essences.

Come what may, irrespective of happiness, grief, joy or sorrow – never let go of this element called positivism.

We’ve sailed through many a stormy weather and we’re likely to hit the rut again.

Life and whatever it may bring is a journey of sorts, providing lessons along the way that we can learn, testing our confidences.

What about you?

In retrospective, you’ll look back in wonderment at yester year’s mistakes and wish that, if you had been wise enough, you’d never have made them.

12 new months are beckoning us round the corner as we push forward for glorious expectations.

Nothing comes from nothing, we will learn.

So we’ve to honestly promise ourselves to focus on planning and working hard.

Wistful dreaming will lead us nowhere.

No, it never could.

I write, therefore I am.

Without your unwavering support, I wouldn’t have headed this far.

It has been a long journey of learnings.

My profuse thanks to all of you, for the encouragements and well wishes.

TODAY our trudge begins with the first leaf.

In the following twelve months, there are a lot more paths to explore.

COME, let’s take a stroll down memory lane.

It’s gonna be one happy trek.

Writer CAROL PEARSON believes that ordinary people can lead extraordinary lives when she says:

“Heroes take journeys,

confront dragons,

and discover the treasure of their true selves.”

Do you?

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012, CHUM.

May the force be with you – always!