the entry about a spiritual movie outing

how do you ascertain stardom? does it involve appearing in a cheesy advertisement with bad special effects and rehashed kung-fu choreography about one's unpremeditated voyage to the beijing olympics? or does it involve appearing in yet another tacky advertisement about being in a restaurant drinking soup so salty that it just makes you want to kick some waiter's ass? what do these two have in common? for starters, both commercials are commissioned by visa. secondly, the protagonists in these commercials, albeit being superstars, speak very, very bad enguish.

anyways, i digress. let's get back on track. i should be in a celebratory mood. after all, it is not oft that i get to see a friend of mine cast as the main vehicle of a movie. a local movie, that is. titled the spirit compendium, the story is loosely based on the seventh lunar month and the haunting events that occur during this ghostly period. the movie also tries to impart the knowledge of i-ching, a study of divinations, to the viewers. it also teaches the lesson of what happens if you do not lift the toilet seat up after using it.

save for the latter, the movie is an abstract blur, in my opinion. the saving grace was benjamin ng, said friend and colleague and now actor. although he had difficulty grasping the inflections of the mandarin language, his acting was quite believable and it was great fun watching a friend on the big screen. because the film had a moderate budget, the production team had to rely on more draconian methods and the special effects reminded us what computer generated imagery (cgi) was like in the early 90s. however, if you were to peel away the superficial layers of cgi that current blockbuster films always rely on, at the heart of it all, you will find that this is a film that is humble and sincere.

if you're looking for something refreshing and unique, look no further. the spirit compendium is screening at sinema. check out their website for details.

in other related news, here's the whole gin gang attending the premier of the movie at the cathay.

me with the power of three

ben, the star of the night looking all glamour puss-like.

the coupling effect (clockwise from top left): ben & val, john & ruz, pierre & daryl, ben & nat, ruz & duncan.

after all that is said and done, a little inebriation would be in order for the festive moment. the guys and i adjourned to the next best place to be: winebar @ zouk.

shots of appletini to soak in our stardom regalia.

more chimps for the zoo to feed

ever camera ready, duncan (siu mong an) demonstrates this trait skillfully.

ex-acjc mates having a little reunion.

congratulations, ben! hope you had a blast that night! >.<

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