It has both been a while since I went to the cinema and reviewed a movie. So, I will start with the flick that I just caught today at the recently refurbished TGV in Sunway Pyramid. (Have you checked out the new wing in Sunway Pyramid? It is recommended)

The movie of choice was the Last Legion because the trailer seems promising and Aishwarya Rai was in the movie as well.

The Movie Poster

Set in Roman times, it tells the tale of evacuating a young Caesar to Britannia for refuge after the empire was attacked by a strong force of the Barbarian King. All allies of the Roman Empire has turn down their support to the young and they are left to defend themselves against a raging army of barbarian. Aishwarya Rai stars as Mira, a middle east warrior that assigned to help out. Don’t let the story board or spoiler as the movie failed to bring the novel to life.

Aishwarya Rai as Mira

The whole movie seems amateurish and it wasn’t the best acting ever displayed. A quick search on reviews of the movie revealed that my take is consistent with industry critics. The fighting scenes were poorly choreographed and the angles used to film the scenes were bad. I am never too picky about movies which indicate that this is filmed in an intolerable level.

As a summary, it is thumbs and toes down. Give this movie a miss and download it (legally of course ) instead and keep it for those sleepless nights. You can thank me later for this piece of advise.

The website itself is as disappointing as the movie. Only an image file with a link to the trailer. Check it out for yourself.

Well, let us hope that if there is ever going to be a sequel to the movie (the ending seem to indicate such) for it to improve greatly.

That’s all for now. Bye all.

I went to the The Curve on the day my car was stolen. What better movie to watch to escape reality than Too Fast To Furious. Well, ironic isn’t it? To watch a movie about cars when my own car was stolen. I can’t moan and stay sad all day, now can I. To be honest, I wanted to check out the new Cathay Cineplex as well.

I really enjoyed the movie very much and am crazy about the theme song when the lead character drove into the multi storey parking lot. I manage to track down a video which plays that song from Teriyaki Boyz and feature clips from the movie. I hope you enjoy it.

I had various feedback on the movie with some saying it is the worse of the franchise. To my taste, it is the best Fast and Furious movie and am proud it is directed by an Asian guy. Some complained that the movie was all about cars. Duh! What do you expect? An epic battle scene from lord of the rights as the climax? Well, I stand by my statement as it being the best in the 3 movies.

That’s all folks…

Benny Ong XXX

This is yet another review from my archive I wrote back in 2004. I think it is worth sharing.

Movie Title: Alien VS Predator
Running Time: 1 Hour 27 Minutes
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Genre: Action/Adventure/Fantasy/Fiction/Thriller/Horror

I was back home in Malaysia and had the privilege to watch this movie in a brand new cinema. My mates invited me for a reunion and what better things to do than meet up for lunch and then head on for a movie. The movie of choice was Alien Versus Predator(AVP). I was skeptical after watching a similar disappointing movie called Freddie VS Jason. Since most of friends voted to watch and majority wins, I had to watch it. Personally, I would have preferred to watch Garfield instead.

Arm myself with a box of popcorn and a large Pepsi, I reluctantly lead the way into the cinema to find it surprisingly crowded. Is this movie that famous? Well, fans of Alien and Predator wouldn’t want to miss this showdown.

Before, I proceed on writing my review, I remembered watching the trailer not too long ago. It said that “No Matter Who Wins, We All Lose�. Which was something interesting and to think about. Aliens and Predators have been pictured as worse enemies of mankind in the movie world and how are we going to manage them this time around?

This time around, the cast of the movies are virtually unknown. I have never heard of any of the actors. Here are the cast and credits:

Starring: Sanaa Lathan, Lance Henriksen, Raoul Bova, Ewen Bremner, Colin Salmon , Tommy Flanagan, Agathe de la Boulaye, Carsten Norgaard, Joseph Rye, Sam Troughton & Tom Woodruff Jr.
Director: Paul W.S. Anderson
Producer: Walter Halsey Davis, Gordon Carroll & John Davis
Screenwriter: Paul W.S. Anderson & Shane Salerno
Cinematographer: David Johnson
Executive Producer: Wyck Godfrey & Thomas M. Hammel
Music: Harald Kloser

The movie starts with a satellite belonging to a big corporation suddenly detects something emitting heat buried underground from an Island in Antarctica while looking for crude oil. A graphical scan reveals that it was in the shape of a pyramid and would be one of the greatest archeology find in centuries.

The pyramid seems to be influence by three civilizations and by two major ones which are the Egyptians and the Aztecs. The boss of the company decided to gather the best brains from around the world to assist him in this amazing discovery before anyone else gets there.

After managing to gather a team of experts, they head on to the site and it was located on an abandoned Whale hunting warehouse. It was rumored that the people previously working there suddenly disappeared and was never seen again. They further found an existing hole dug and lead straight into the pyramid. They had already brought equipments to dig the hold which is now useless. (Aww….what a waste of time and effort) They were indeed curious and couldn’t figure out who have done it and what equipment had been used since the pyramid was thousands of feet below.

Without hesitation, the team went in and found themselves in the pyramid where another room led to another. Some fellow members were left in the Sacrifice Chamber to document the findings while the others further explore the pyramids by going deeper and deeper.

The secret of the pyramid is actually a breeding ground for Aliens like how we breed chickens. Thousand of years ago, people were used by the Predators as the feed for the Aliens. Humans in return worship the predators as god. Images of this story were painted all over the walls of the pyramid.

Being unaware that the aliens have started breeding, the humans innocently ventured deeper into the pyramid. Meanwhile, the predators were on their way to battle the Aliens. It is a ritual by these warriors to battle the Aliens for glory. They would then use the acidic blood of the killed alien to mark their forehead and armour. Now, the humans are in big trouble where they are stuck in the middle of the battle. They couldn’t go anywhere because the Predators are coming in while the Aliens are coming out. How are they going to survive? Well, I am not going to spoil the movie for you.

The things I like most about the movie are the Animatronics of the Alien and Predators. They look so realistic. There was a battle scene that I believe was the best highlight of the movie. Check out the moves of the predator fighting the alien. It looks like a game from PS 2. Make a bet with your friend who is going to win before this movie to make it more interesting.

Go and watch the movie just for the sake of the graphics and special effects. Forget the horrible story line. If there is another movie on and you are not a big fan of Creatures from other planets fighting on earth, give this a skip.

My idea of a next VS movie will be Garfield VS Scooby Doo. No joke.

Further Information:

AVP Official Site
http://www.avp-movie.com

Yahoo Movies Site For AVP
http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hv&cf=info&id=1808496111

I hope this helps!

XXX Benny Ong

She might already have her second album out but this is one of the review I just dug out from my archive. Enjoy reading.

Introduction:

Mention Ashlee Simpson and you might be unfamiliar with her. Well, she is the younger sister of the platinum recording artist Jessica Simpson. Yup, the girl from MTV’s reality show Newlyweds. Well, Ashlee Simpson has follow the footsteps of her sister and started a reality show of her own produced by her father for MTV called the Ashlee Simpson Show. Well, I am unsure whether it is being aired here but it is in the US. However, Ashlee has had a successful acting career in some US TV series before deciding to go into music.

Her album debut at No 1 in 2004 on the billboard charts, thanks to her successful reality TV series along with getting massive airplay of her video on MTV. This shows how influential MTV is. Well, MTV can’t be given credit for all her success, besides having great looks, she has talent and a great debut single and not to mention a great album to follow.

The great thing about this album is that you may follow the making of it if you follow the series. It shows the work that goes into starting a career in music from the vocal training to getting a recording contract and the promotions and photo shoots involved.

One may assume that Ashlee Simpson has the same exact image with her sister, well, this is different. She has her own style and qualities. To be honest, I prefer her than Jessica but Jessica is better looking though. Well, Ashlee portrays a stronger character and tries very hard to not to be compared to her sister. The difference can be seen in her songs and the genre she has chosen. Her songs are more rock than pop in comparison with her sister.

The Album:

Autobiography was chosen as the title of her debut album because according to Ashlee it is an autobiography of her life. This has some significance because she co-wrote most of the songs in the album and has given it a little bit of personal touch into it by inserting her life experiences into it.

The album cover features a picture of Ashlee with a blue and greenish background which I believe is a blackboard with some scribble of chalk writings on it. If you watch the series, you may see the photo shoot session and the time she chooses the picture for her album cover. The thing I like best about the cover is the eyes of Ashlee which are so blue.

The album has 14 tracks and a total running time of 52 minutes and released by Polydor on August 30 2004.

Track List and Track By Track Review:

1. Autobiography
This is a great starter track for the album. This song is talking about her ex claiming that he does not know her like he think he does and tells him that she has prepared to move on as she won’t be single for long. It has a strong beat and Ashlee is practically raising her voice throughout the song. It rates 4 out of 5.

2. Pieces Of Me
This is what I call the Ashlee Anthem. If you do not know who Ashlee is, this song should remind you who she is. It is her debut single and was quite popular at the time of release. It has a great video accompanying it too. It rates a 5 out of 5 for bringing Ashlee into the scene and showcasing her amazing vocal talents.

3. Shadow
This is Ashlee’s second single in the US and a more personal track. It talks about her family splitting up at a young age and she was always over shadowed by her sister’s success. It has an amazing video as well with Ashlee dressing up as two persons living two separate lives. One of the highlights of the video is the scene when Ashlee smashes the mirror with her fist. This song rates a 4 out of 5 for not being as good as the debut single.

4. La La
This is officially her third single in the US and second release in the UK. It starts with heavy electronic drum sound and continues with a nice beat and you can easily sing or hum to it. It makes you want to get up and jump. This is totally unlike any other Ashlee tracks and is my personal favorite. Ashlee is screaming throughout the song. It has a cool video too of teenagers hanging around and doing stuff. It rates a well deserving 5 out of 5.

5. Love Makes The World Go Round
Finally, a much softer song after the previous hard tempo tracks. It takes a slow start but resumes to heavy background music like other Ashlee tracks. It talks about love and how we learn from it. It rates a 3 out of 5.

6. Better Off
This track starts of with a guitar solo and follows with vocal from Ashlee. It has a strong chorus. She talks about her relationship and how she is improving herself everyday. It rates 4 out of 5.

7. Love Me for Me
This is an average track that unfortunately does not showcase much vocal talents and is practically just raising voices. It rates 3 out of 5.

8. Surrender
A very electronically influence track. It is becoming a generic song from Ashlee with similar beats but it has a nice chorus. It rates a 2 out of 5.

9. Unreachable
This is a song that maintains a similar tone throughout the song without excessive loud chorus. It is not one of the best track though. It rates 2 out of 5.

10. Nothing New
This song has certain parts that remind me of Alisha’s Attic if you remember them but with much trademark of Ashlee Simpson interesting vocal. It seems that she should have added more types of different tracks that will showcase different vocal capability that I am sure Ashlee has. It rates a disappointing 1 out of 5.

11. Giving It All Away
Funny thing that this track sounds like Avril Lavigne. Maybe it was written for her in mind but was given to Ashlee instead? Who knows. It is finally about time Ashlee record something different in the album. I was almost getting bored of the similar generic music Ashlee was producing. This song is much low tempo than the rest. You can hear more of her voice than both having the same level of volume. It rates 3 out of 5 for being different than the rest tracks.

12. Undiscovered
This track is similar to the previous track with much low tempo than the rest. It finally showcases more of her voice but unfortunately it is not her best track. It might have been a perfect track to close the album as it is the last track in the original US release. It rates a 1 out of 5.

13. Harder Everyday (bonus track)
Another value-added song that has a good chorus. It is not included in the original US release. It is a nice track and rates 4 out of 5.

14. Sorry (UK bonus track)
A UK bonus track that is seriously not in the US released album and a cool track to close the album with. It rates an average 3 out of 5.

Conclusions:

Ashlee definitely has a bright future ahead of her in the entertainment world. Although the music world is overcrowded with rising teenage stars, she has her own image that is different from others and the best of it, she have received much praise from the critics. They assume that Ashlee will be a generic product from the Simpson family copying exactly what sister Jessica has done but it turns out otherwise. Well, the album is a definitely must have if you have followed the TV series or a big fan of pop/rock music by teenage stars. It is well worth your money with great arrangement of songs that do carry a meaning unlike most pop tracks that just have good beats. If you are not into the pop music scene, give this a miss.

Further Information:

You may wish to visit http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0002QCBR2/qid=1104951462/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl/202-6677267-2908646 for further details on this album.

Similar Artists:

If you like the sounds of Ashlee Simpsons, you should listen to Avril Lavigne, Hillary Duff, Jojo, Mandy Moore or Lindsay Lohan.

The Price?

The CD should cost about ₤9.99.

Where To Buy?

Well, the CD should be available in most music stores like Virgin Megastores and HMV. Enjoy additional 10% discount from stores if you have a student card. HMV gives 10% off all items including sales items with a valid NUS card. Virgin Megastores requires you to show a Virgin Student card that may be obtained free of charge from any Virgin Megastore by showing a valid student identity.

You can enjoy massive savings by buying it online too on Amazon or ebay. Some sites that may have the CDs are as follow:

1. Amazon.co.uk
2. Ebay.co.uk
3. VirginMega.co.uk
4. HMV.co.uk

I got mine from winning a competition. So, I can’t tell you the exact price or location I got it.

I hope this helps. I look forward in hearing constructive feedback on my reviews or any questions. Feel free to leave them on my guestbook or comments and I will get back to you as soon as possible.

Have A Nice Day!

XXX bennyong

This is another review of mine from the archive. I hope you enjoy reading it.

First of all, thank you for your interest in reading my review.

Artist Name: Girls Aloud

Album Title: Sound Of The Underground

Genre: Pop

Release Date: 2003

Track Listings:

1. Sound Of The Underground
2. No Good Advice [Clean Version]
3. Some Kind Of Miracle
4. All I Need (All I Don’t)
5. Life Got Cold
6. Mars Attack
7. Stop
8. Girls Allowed
9. Forever & A Night
10. Love/Hate
11. Boogie Down Love
12. Don’t Want You Back
13. White Lies
14. Love Bomb (UK Bonus Tracks)
15. Everything You Ever Wanted (UK Bonus Tracks)

Total Running Time: 53:50 Minutes

Official Website: http://www.girlsaloud.com

Mention Girls Aloud to me, I say the new Spice Girls. Well, come to think about it, I would call any new 5 member girl group Spice Girl wannabes.

The band Girls Aloud consists of 5 similar looking girls. I do not know the history of the girls but believe that they were formed from one of the reality TV talent shows or something like that. The members of Girls Aloud do not stand out with personal identity like what the Spice Girls were with Ginger, Posh, Sporty, Scary and Baby. However, they do manage to sell records.

I am reviewing the UK limited edition release version of the album. So, certain tracks might not apply to the original release.

The CD cover features five of the girl in matching modern silver outfits with microphones on stands in front of them. The back cover has a picture of the five earlier mentioned microphones without the girls as the background and has text of the track listings. The booklet has individual pictures of the girls but unfortunately, no lyrics. I hate it when there are no lyrics. It feels like that I have been ripped off somehow but with the internet these days, it is easy to find the lyrics. I have listed the websites below. There are also two separate inserts in the CD, one is for the Girls Aloud Fan club membership form and the other one is instructions on how to purchase Girls Aloud Ringtones. The ring tones are quite pricey with the monophonic tones being ₤1.50 each and polyphonic being ₤3.00 plus the cost of a text message. If you really fancy them and would like to have them on your mobile, visit their website.

Another amazing feature of the CD is the enhanced feature. I am always impress by new things. Pop the CD in your CD-Rom drive and the program called Revoice Studio will automatically launched. This will allow you to sing along Karaoke Style with the Girls. The program also records you singing and plays it back with the video covering their voices. So, you and your mates can make your own Girls Aloud Video. Amazing, ain’t it! (Attention: I do not use the program, I am just impress with it, I wished that Linkin Park would have done something similar with their CD)

Here is my review of each track of the album.

1. Sound Of The Underground (Running Time: 3:41)
My mate first introduced me to this song and to be honest, I quite like it very much due to its catchy tune and electronic drum and guitar sounds. The song title was also something different. If I am not wrong, the song was release for Christmas 2002 and was a hit. The album is named after this track. If you have the chance, surf to their website to watch the video. They won a Disney Award with this song. This track rates 10/10 for bringing them into the Music World.

2. No Good Advice [Clean Version] (Running Time: 3:48)
This is the song that you can sing along with the Revoice Studio program. The track is about the parents giving No Good Advice expressing that they are old enough to make their own decision. Here is the lyrics snippet “Daddy Told Me Look Into The Future, Sit in Your Computer and Be A Good Girl�. There is also a cool video accompanying this song. The video features the girls in the same outfit as what they were wearing for this album cover. Although there are similarity beats to the first single, Sound of the Underground, this track rates 10/10.

3. Some Kind of Miracle (Running Time: 3:09)
A little bit more showcase of vocal talent than the previous electronic sounds. It is an easy sing a long song. It is less noise than other songs and it still has the Girls Aloud trademark in it. This track rates a 8/10.

4. All I Need (All I Don’t) (Running Time: 3:39)
This is just an average track from the girls. The tune is ok and the background music tends to compete with the girls singing. You will need to struggle a little bit to clearly hear what the girls are mumbling about. It rates a 6/10.

5. Life Got Cold (Running Time: 3:55)
This is one of their hits and happens to be another single from the girls. I like the beginning where a guitar is being use giving a little bit of acoustic feel to it. It is a more sentimental side of the girls. It should be an easy listening track but the trademark of Girls Aloud’s electronic song makes it a little bit loud for a soft track. However, it is a good song and rates a 9/10.

6. Mars Attack (Running Time: 3:24)
No, this is not the soundtrack to the Movie with the same title. This song is another electrically generated track which is a little bit more upbeat than the previous tracks. The loud electronic sound is balanced well with the vocals and you can easily dance to this track. It rates a 10/10.

7. Stop (Running Time: 3:37)
This is not a cover version of the Spice Girl’s single that did not make it to # 1. Instead it happens to be an announcement track by the girls to the society where Girls Aloud will always be on top. This song is very catchy and should be added to your play list if you have one. It should have been released as a single. This song rates a 9/10.

8. Girls Allowed (Running Time: 3:24)
A very interesting title but no so interesting track. It has the background music like many DJ use to remix their track. Don’t get me wrong, it is still a nice song to listen to and blends well with other track arrangements on the album. It rates a well deserve 8/10.

9. Forever & A Night (Running Time: 3:14)
Another soft song from girls aloud and a much softer one than Life Got Cold. This song is expressing the love of a girl to a guy of her dreams. A love song that all girls should dedicate to their loved ones. I would fall in love with a girl if she was singing this song to me. This song rates 10/10.

10. Love/Hate (Running Time: 4:38)
This song is not as good as other tracks. I am starting to get sick of the generic electric sound of Girls Aloud. I do think that this is a good song but shouldn’t have used that much electronic sound as the background music. It rates a 5/5.

11. Boogie Down Love (Running Time: 4:05)
This is possibly one of the worst tracks in the CD. I am really getting sick of the generic sound that Girls Aloud has been repeating in almost every track. It might work well for certain tracks but the girls should have decided to add more variety to the album. It rates a 4/5.

12. Don’t Want You Back (Running Time: 3:20)
This song is another softer track that features less of the electric sound. It features more vocal talents and should be placed a little bit earlier in the track arrangements. It arrived in the perfect time as I was about to get really sick and go see the music doctor about the Generic Electric sound from the girls. It rates 8/10 for saving me from overdose of electronic sounds.

13. White Lies (Running Time: 4:02)
The final track if you own the non UK limited edition version. It is also a soft track from the girls. Remember when I mention soft in this review, it is soft in the Girls Aloud definition where it is not like 2 Become 1 from Spice Girls. It has more beats. It rates 7/10.

14. Love Bomb (UK Bonus Tracks) (Running Time: 2:55)
Bonus Track number 1 that is a fun track from the girls with virtually no singing. It is all only rhyming. However, it is a good tune and fun to listen to. You will have fun and is good song to play to kids. It rates 8/10.

15. Everything You Ever Wanted (UK Bonus Tracks) (Running Time: 2:55)
The final track which happens to be the 2nd Bonus Track is a good song but it doesn’t standout like Sound Of The Underground or Life Got Cold does. The good thing about this song, is that it warms you down from the excessive Girls Aloud song that is a great finale to a good debut album from a Girl band. It rates 7/10.

I bought the CD from HMV at Trocadero for an amazing low price of £2.99 during one of the sales. Well, it was worth every penny. Do make sure that you get your hands on the Limited Edition version as it costs the same as the regular one but has more value to it with two extra tracks and software. If you already have the earlier release, don’t waste on buying this one. It is just two more tracks extra and the software.

If you do not listen to Pop music and have never liked the Spice Girls, avoid this CD. It will spoil your CD collection. But if you are in denial that you were not a previous Spice Girls fan, give this CD a try.

Purchase This CD:
Well, the CD is available in all good music stores like HMV, Virgin Megastores and Tower Records and can also be purchase online from the following websites.
- http://www.amazon.co.uk
- http://www.virginmegastores.co.uk
- http://www.hmv.co.uk

Get it 2nd hand from
-http://www.amazon.co.uk (marketplace)
-http://www.ebay.co.uk

Try to get the CDs during sale period like Summer Sale or Christmas Sales. You will definitely grab a bargain. If you are a student, use your NUS card to get 10% off non sale items at HMV or use your virginstudent.com card to get 10% off at Virgin Megastores. NUS cards can be obtained at your University’s Student Union and the Virginstudent.com Card can be obtained at Virgin Megastores for free.

Other useful music related websites:

Lyrics Search
-http://www.lyricsearch.com – Lyrics Directory

Watch Music Videos
-http://www.launch.co.uk – Yahoo’s UK Music Directory (dotmusic.com)
-http://www.findvideos.com – Video Link Directory
-http://www.mtv.co.uk – MTV UK Official Website

I hope this helps. Well, feel free to leave me a message on my guestbook or comment on my review. I look forward to receive constructive feedback on all my reviews. If you post a question, I will try my best to reply it.

Have A Nice Day!

Thanks.

Benny Ong

This is one of my many reviews I have posted over the years on various websites. I hope you will enjoy reading it.

To those of you who are unaware or have forgotten who they are, well, here is a quick recap. This was a 5 girl band which took the world by storm with the release of their first single Wannabe in 1996. It was an immediate hit and became no 1 in lots of countries. A no 1 album was soon to follow with further releases of hit singles such as 2 Become 1, Say you’ll Be There, Mama and Who Do You Think You Are?. I hope it is enough to recall your memory.

Back to the CD review. The single Goodbye was shortly released after the departure of one of the Fab 5 which was Geri Halliwell or better known as Ginger Spice by the fans. Many thought that this single was wishing Goodbye to the fans as it was rumored that the girls will break up. However, the girls said this single was a tribute to Geri and the band was actually saying Goodbye to her and wishing her well on her future undertakings.

There are many versions of this CD released throughout the world and with different features. Some has videos, different cover and includes 4 free plain postcards. There are two CDs release in the UK. CD 1 being the regular single and CD 2 being the Limited Edition.

Release Details:

Format: 2 CD Singles & 1 Cassette
Date: 14 December 1998
Label: Virgin

The Cover
There was two CDs that are released here for this single. CD 1 (See Attached Picture Below) has the picture of the 4 girls up to their shoulders with a white background. CD 2 features an artwork of a fan as the cover. It shows the 4 girls at the back of the car waving with snow falling down.

Listen To Samples
This samples are provided by Amazon and are working when this review is being posted. I am sorry if they are no longer working. You will need Real Player to pay the sample track. Visit http://www.real.com to download the free version. Each sample track lasts about 30 seconds. If you have problems streaming the tracks, visit http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/subst/help/real-audio.html/202-5666377-2340651 for audio help.

CD 1 (Includes 4 Free Non Christmas Related Postcards)

Track 1 – Goodbye (Radio Edit)
This is the original version of the song that is being played on the airwaves. It does have a deep meaning and is the perfect track to play on a farewell party. It rates 5/5.
Audio Sample:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/clipserve/B00000I2NN001001/202-5666377-2340651

Track 2 – Christmas Wrapping
A fun Christmas track that really gets you in the Christmas mood. It rates 5/5 and plus, Christmas is just a month++ away!
Audio Sample:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/clipserve/B00000I2NN001002/202-5666377-2340651

Track 3 – Goodbye (Orchestral Mix)
A classier version than track 1. More instrumental background music. It rates 3/5.
Audio Sample:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/clipserve/B00000I2NN001003/202-5666377-2340651

CD 2

Track 1 – Goodbye (Mixes)
Not much of a remix than the Radio Edit version. It rates 1/5 for lack of creativity and is clearly a rip off.
Audio Sample:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/clipserve/B00000I2NO001001/202-5666377-2340651

Track 2 – We Are Family (Live)
A cover song that is recorded live from their concert which to me is not worthy to be released with a limited edition single. It rates 1/5 for ripping off fans.
Audio Sample:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/clipserve/B00000I2NO001002/202-5666377-2340651

Track 3 – Christmas Wrapping
This track has been released in CD 1 and should not be in CD 2 unless it is the title track. It rates 1/5 for yet again ripping off fans.
Audio Sample:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/clipserve/B00000I2NN001002/202-5666377-2340651

Track 4 – Sister’s Are Doin It For Themselves (Live)
Another cover track from the girls recorded live from their concert. To me, as I have mentioned earlier, a rip off. They should have included a proper version one if they want to call this a limited edition release. It rates 1/5 for customer rip off.
Audio Sample:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/clipserve/B00000I2NO001004/202-5666377-2340651

The Lyrics
I have decided to include the lyrics of the song in this review. You will be able to read or even sing it if you like. I believe that this will reveal the in depth meaning of the track. This lyric is courtesy of http://www.lyricsdomain.com/19/spice_girls/goodbye.html.

No no no no, no no no no, no no no no

Listen little child there will come a day
when you will be able, able to say, nevermind the pain,
all the aggrevation, you know there’s a better way
for you and me to be
Look for the rainbow in every storm,
Fly like an angel heaven sent to me
Goodbye my friend,
(I know your going searching although I can still feel ya here)
It’s not the end,
(You gotta keep it strong before the pains turn into fears)
So glad we made it, time will never change it no no no
no no no no
Just a little love,
Big imagination,
Never let no one take it away,
Went into the world
(into the world)
What a revelation,
She found there’s a better way for you and me to be
Look for the rainbow in every storm,
Find out for certain
love is gonna be there for you,
You’ll always be someone’s baby
Goodbye my friend,
(I know your going searching although I can still feel ya here)
It’s not the end,
(You gotta keep it strong before the pain turns into fears)
So glad we made it, time will never change it no no no
No no no no
You know its time to say goodbye
No no no no
The times when we would play about,
The way we used to scream and shout,
We never dreamt you’d go your own sweet way
Look for the rainbow in every storm,
Find out for certain love is gonna be there for you,
You’ll always be someone’s baby
Goodbye my friend,
(I know your going searching although I can still feel ya here)
It’s not the end,
(You gotta keep it strong before the pain turns into fears)
So glad we made it, time will never never ever change it
No no no no
You know it’s time to say goodbye
No no no no
And don’t forget you can rely
No no no no
You know it’s to say goodbye,
And don’t forget on me you can rely
No no no no
I will help you help you on your way
No no no no
I will help you everyday
No no no no

[Repeat to fade]

The Video

Like many singles, this song has a video to it. It starts with the girls arriving in a limousine to a mansion where everything in it is frozen (even the residents, however, the girls still manage to be at Body Temperature). Each girl will be singing out their parts of the songs in separate rooms. If you pay attention, you will get to see that Mel B was pregnant while shooting the video. The video rates 4 out of 5 for its artistic value and creative idea.

Conclusions

This single debut at no 11 in the Billboard Charts, the highest since the girls top charting days with their debut album, Spice.

The single was perhaps the best release before their last album ironically entitled “Forever� which wasn’t a reality for the girls. They all have released their own albums with Melanie C ranking the most successful out sales from the band.

Just stick to CD 1 and skip the so called limited edition one which to me is a clear rip off of the fans. Give this single a miss if you are not a big Pop music fan.

If you would like to get your hands on this single, try visiting auction sites like ebay.co.uk or ebid.co.uk. You can also try the Marketplace at Amazon.co.uk which do list used CDs for sale. You will always manage to grab a deal for used CDs. People do sell them out for as low 1pence + postage = less than 50p per CD single.

Well, I hope this review has helped and brought you some good memories of the 90’s pop music scene.

Take care and Have a Nice Day!

I look forward in receiving your feedback and comments on my reviews. If you have any questions, leave them on my guestbook and I will reply it as soon as possible.

Benny Ong

Here is yet another review from my archive I wrote back in 2004. I will be posting selected reviews from my contribution to numerous sites over the past years on my blog. Happy reading.

Welcome to the first of hopefully many HP printer reviews that I am going to write. Let me introduce myself and how I got to get familiar with so much of HPs printer. I worked for HP on a part time basis and have the opportunity to mess around with tons of their products and the reviews that I will be writting will be totally from what I feel and not trying to promote the company for no apparent reason. I am not being paid any commissions ok! Well, since that is out of the way, let me get a kick start.

Since the end of 2003, HP has been trying to promote its range of digital photography products and its photosmart range was launched. It is a set of specially made for digital photography products which ranges from the digital camera, photo printers, scanners and all in ones.

“What HP Says”

The HP photosmart 245 compact photo printer is designed for families who own a digital camera and are looking to take advantage of the fastes and most convenient way of viewing, printing and sharing photos.

“What Benny Says”

HP photosmart 245 printer is a dedicated independent 10×15 photo printer. You do not need to connect it to a PC to do prints. Since it is small, it is portable and fits into ones luggage without taking much space. I can picture it in my bag somewhere comfortably between my clothes.

One of the best features of the printer is that it has a 4.6 cm colour displays. This allows you to preview the pictures before printing them. A minimal level of editing can also be done like adjusting the brightness and zooming in. You can have the option to print 1,2 or 4 pictures on one standard 10×15 photo paper. You can also set it to make multiple copies. An index page can also be done of all the pictures in the memory card.

After removing it from the box, you can plug it in directly and all the instructions will appear on the display for you to slot in the cartridge and select your preffered language. It is a piece of cake to set it up. There are no big manuals to read.

The printer also takes all the media cards (Sony Memory Stick, Multimedia Card, Secure Digital Card & others) that are available in the market. The card reader is in front of the printer. You can see multiple slots for the different cards available.This clearly means that no matter what digital camera you have, you can still use this printer just by removing the media card and slotting it into the printer. It is an added bonus if you have a HP digital camera as it can connect to printer directly via a cable and do the printing directly.

The downside to the printer is that it does not do anything bigger than the standard photo size. If you are looking for a portable printer to print your documents too or larger photo prints, I suggest you go for the HP Photosmart 7260 and above range.

Technical Specifications:
- HP photopret III Precision Technology
- Up to 4800 x 1200 optimised dpi
- Colour photo 10 x 15cm 140 sec
- Borderless printing on 10 x 15 cm photo papers with tab ( 10 x 16.5 cm)
- 1.8″ Colour Display
- Photo Sizes: 10 x 15cm, collage (4 or 2 per sheet),index
- Photo Editing: Brightness, Colour, Zoom, Crop Image, Library of Frames
- Zoom and crop up to 5x
- Upload and cancel buttons
- USB for PC, Mac and direct print enabled HP Cameras.

Compatability:
-Windows: Windows 98 and above
-Macintosh: MAc OS v9.1 and above

Retail Price: £199-£250

Available at Comets, PCWorld, WHSmiths and other high street stores. I have seen a few being auctioned off at a very low price on ebay.co.uk.

Use cartridges: No. 57 and No. 59

My Conclusions
If you are into digital photography and is required to do lots of printing while travelling, this is the perfect printer for you. If you have the comfort of a home office to do your prints, then give this printer a miss and go for the Photosmart 7260 or higher range which allows you to do printing of up to A4 size.

Additional Information:
There is a website for all sales professionals to get information about their products which are www.hp.co.uk/infolab

I hope this helps.

Have A Nice Day!

xxx Benny Ong

This was a review I wrote about Penang when I was studying in London back in March 2004. The information will still be relevant for most. Enjoy….!

Where Is Penang?
Oh…Penang! My sweet Penang. It has been about six months now since I left home. For those who are unaware about Penang, it is one of the 13 states in Malaysia. It is located in the north of Peninsular Malaysia between Perak and Kedah, two other states. Penang consists of one part Island and the other part Mainland connected by a 13.5KM long bridge that used to be the longest bridge in Asia 10 years ago.

The History
Penang was founded by Sir Francis Light. Sir Francis Light was also the person who founded Adelaide in Australia. He fooled the Sultan of Kedah, where Penang used to belong to in promising to provide Military aid against Thailand. He never kept his promise and further acquired the small part of the mainland opposite the island as security reasons to prevent attacks from the Sultan of Kedah. Penang later became one of the main ports for trading because of its convenient location between China and India routes. It also act as an Army base for the British.

Getting There
If you happened to drop by in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, Penang is just an hour away by Plane or 3-4hours drive or by coach. Cheap air tickets can be bought through Air Asia (http://www.airasia.com) that could range from as low as GBP2.00-GBP20.00. Travel by coach costs roughly the same. Avoid travelling by train that could take up to 10 hours due to the amount of station it stops at along the way. Malaysia Airlines fly to Penang directly from Heathrow twice a week.

Places To Stay
Penang have various 3-5 star hotels located in Batu Ferringhi such as Shangri-la, Novotel, Crown Jewel and Holiday Inn. There are also budget hostels that costs less than GBP5 a night.

Places To Visit
While in Penang, you must visit the beaches (quite dirty now), Kek Lok Si (a Pagoda), The Snake Temple, Penang Hill, Khoo Kongsi and Komtar. You can also choose to walk in Georgetown which have different types of shops with collonial architecture selling almost anything. If you like the outdoors, you can hike to Muka Head or Pantai Aceh which is the small forest reserve in Penang. Other famous hiking spots include Air Itam Dam, Bukit Jambul Hill, Penang Hill and Youth Park.

*NEW*
A new spa and resort have just been opened in Pulau Jerejak which is a small island beside Penang. You can see the island while from the Penang Bridge or on the East side on the island. It should be worth a visit since all the facilities are brand new.

The Culture
Penang boasts one of the most diverse culture. It consists of Chinese, Malay, Indian and others. Most of us can speak and understand English. So, it becomes a tourist friendly destination.

The Food
Indulge yourself to the various types of Hawker Food while in Penang. The food are virtually available everywhere. Famous dish include Char Kuey Tiao (Fried Flat Rice Noodles), Poh piah (Spring Rolls), Asam Laksa (Spicy Dish) and the list just goes on and on. The most famous location to have this is in Gurney Drive.

The Celebrations
We celebrate most of the events like Chinese New Year, Deepavali and Aidilfitri. Special occasions also include Thaipusam which is an Indian celebration with rituals and Kew Ong Yeah (Nine Emperor’s Son), a Chinese Celebration that requires the people to fast on Vegetarion for 9 days. This are the major celebrations that you can experience in Penang. Every year there is also the Bon Odori held by the Japanese community with a massive fireworks display in the night.

Your Shopping Needs
You can do your shopping in Island Plaza, Prangin Mall, Super Komtar, Megamall Pinang, Gurney Plaza, One Stop Midlands Park and Bukit Jambul Complex. There are other small shopping centres mostly nearby to the hotels you are staying.

Famous Happenings
It has also been the spot of the filming of Anna And The King staring Chow Yun-Fatt, Bai Ling and Jodie Foster. Read about the movie at this site http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?id=1800020267&d=hv&cf=info

Additional stuff.
If have to make any calls from the UK to Malaysia for your hotel booking, other arrangements or for people to contact you while on holiday. Use Just Dial, to make your calls at national rate. Check http://www.justdial.tk for more info. It really works.

More Info:
You can visit the Malaysian Tourism centre in Trafalgar Square to get more information or any other enquiries regarding places to visit in Malaysia. Here are some websites that might be useful if you are travelling to Penang.

http://www.mas.com.my

http://www.allmalaysia.info

http://www.airasia.com

Greetings everyone, this is just another review on mine that was selected as review of the month on several sites and read by thousands. It is about Fireworks MX although Fireworks 8 is out now. Enjoy…..

Fireworks MX is Macromedia’s image editing package. If you are unfamiliar with Macromedia, they happen to be a software developer company like Microsoft but however majors more in content editing packages. Some of their other major products include Flash, Freehand and Dreamweaver.

Macromedia Fireworks MX 2004 is the latest version of Fireworks designing program. It has improved tremendously with amazing add-ons and new user friendly features from Fireworks 4 but has not much difference with the MX version.

Macromedia says:
“Fireworks MX 2004 lets users import files from all major graphics formats and manipulate both vector and bitmap images to quickly create graphics and interactivity. Images can be easily exported to Dreamweaver, Flash and third-party applications.�

I have been using Fireworks for my image editing for years now and have always upgraded it when the new packages arrive and MX is the best so far.

I prefer Fireworks Image Editing to Corel Draw or Adobe Photoshop because of its simplicity and user friendly layout. It is great software for designing web graphics like background, banners, animated gifs and icons. I personally used them for all my web designing needs, the graphic site that is.

Creating animated .gifs with Fireworks could have never been easier. One may choose the amount of frames and loops per second and preview it before exporting it as an animated file. Although many programs do offer you similar functions but I find this one the easiest.

Fireworks is able to open Photoshop (.psd) files and edit them and besides that has a great integration with other Macromedia packages like Flash, Freehand, Dreamweaver and Director. You may import and export files with other packages running simultaneously. For example, an image that is being created in Fireworks can be exported to Flash and further editing can be carried on the image in Flash.

At times, I can be very lazy while designing a site and do it all in fireworks and save it as an html page. Fireworks will automatically turn it into a single HTML page that features a huge image file of what I have created earlier as the website. This is a quick way to get away with designing a site in minutes but it is not a good practice. The site that has just been created is just a huge image with the dimensions that fit a screen. This is not user friendly to some visually impaired person and can take quite a while to load under dial up internet connections. However, Fireworks do allow you to add HTML codes and Javascripts before exporting it as a HTML document.

What’s New?

Well, there are a list of new features in this version but I will only cover a few main features.

1. Start Page
This is a new window that will open every time you start Fireworks. It gives you the option to access the program immediately or use the available tutorials to learn about the software. If you do not like the start page, just change the setting to not see it when you start the program.

2. Auto Shapes
This is one brilliant new addition of other shapes to the program. Users can now create primitive shape that will correspond smartly to the mouse movement instructions in transforming. My favorite shape is the spiral and other shapes like Square, Circle, Donut and star are available.

3. Send As E-mail
You may immediately with a click of a button send your creations as an attachment in your favorite e-mail program.

4. Save in Original Format
Besides being able to read a wide range of files, Fireworks now allow you to save it into its own original format after editing.

Quick Tip: Exporting an Image

Use the Export Wizard function that will chose the best format that you image should be saved as by asking you a series of question. It will end up opening a preview window of the saved image if you are unhappy with the result, you can switch through other formats and see the results in real time. This is a great tool as it even shows the time the image will take to load on screen from a website.

Ease of Use

Depending on your proficiency dealing with image editing packages, you may find it hard at the beginning dealing with Fireworks but the more practice you have on it, you will get use to its interface and settings. I have been using lots of image editing software and Fireworks has almost the same layout as any image editing suite with the main toolbar on the left and the frames/layers tool on the right. Among all the other packages like Photoshop or CorelDraw, I find Fireworks the easiest to use and the best for creating images for the web.
System requirements
Before installing Fireworks, make sure your computer is equipped with the following hardware and software.
- Microsoft Windows
• 300MHz Intel Pentium II Processor
• Windows 98 SE, ME, 2000, or XP
• 64 MB of available RAM (128 MB recommended) plus 80 MB of available disk space
• 800 x 600 pixel resolution, 256-color display or better
• Adobe Type Manager Version 4 or later for use with Type 1 fonts
• CD-ROM drive
- Macintosh
• Power Macintosh G3 Processor, running OS X version 10.1.5 or later, or 10.2.6 or later
• 64 MB of available RAM (128 MB recommended) plus 80 MB of available disk space
• 800 x 600 pixel resolution, 256-color display or better
• CD-ROM drive
Installation

Depending on your computer, the installation of fireworks can be fairly quick. Just run the installation file and follow the on screen instruction.

Help Files

Fireworks come with a well compiled help file Click on the help or F1 key and a searchable library window will pop up and you will be able to put in keywords on the topic that you are facing problems with. Listings of answers will appear and you can click on the corresponding files to find the solutions.

First Time Users & Available Tutorials

Don’t worry, learning Fireworks is very easy and plus support is not far away. Instead of just the help file, there is a link to Macromedia online tutorials. You must be online to access these tutorials. It is very easy and even comes with diagrams. Fireworks also have a huge online community in the form of forums, user groups and websites that will be able to help you with learning the software.

There are also books available that may help you as well. Just do a search for them on Amazon or go to your computer section of your local bookstore and dummy guides for it should be available.

I have just created a quick tutorial for you to mess around with Fireworks MX which is as follow:

Creating Wallpapers with Fireworks MX by Benny Ong

A) Depending with the resolution of your screen or the wallpaper you wish to create, set the new image size in pixels to either with the background color of your choice.

i) 800 width x 600 height
ii) 1024 width x 768 height

B) Right click on the image and chose magnification followed by 50%. This will shrink your image to half the original size so that it will be viewable without the need of scrolling around. It makes your designing job much easier.

C) Either do your own designing by adding text or geometric shapes available from the left menu bar or straight away import images like photographs into it. Mess around it and place it in random order or how you wish to view it on your desktop.

D) When you are done, export the image as .gif if it contains lots of text or as .jpg if the image contains lots of pictures. You may chose to preview them in either format before saving them.

E) You are done! You have created a wallpaper and just click “Set as Desktop Background� if you are on Windows XP on the image to make it your wallpaper.

*********************************************************************

Buying Options

Fireworks can be bought as an individual package or bundled together with Flash, Dreamweaver and Freehand in the Macromedia Studio Package. I would advise you to go ahead with the Macromedia Studio package if you are a professional webmaster or does a lot of web editing and interactive web designing. If you want a fairly high end graphics editing tool, then you should just go ahead with getting Fireworks MX by itself. This is because the other bundled software will be of less use.

Where to Buy?

The best way to obtain a copy of the software is online. You may choose to download it straight from the website or get it in the form of a CD. There are many online software vendors that are currently selling this package for different prices. It is also obtainable as an off the shelf product from leading computer stores such as PC world.

WARNING: Online Software Buyers Beware!

If you see a listing on an auction site or cheap software selling site, do check for its authenticity. There happen to be many pirated software or cracked versions circulating around. If it is from an auction, do ask clearly for the details from the seller before bidding. If it is a website that you are buying it from, do check for its reputation and guarantees offered.

Registration/Activation

Depending the package or license your bought software is, you may require filling in an optional quick online registration form. The information is just kept as a record by Macromedia. I did not register my software and it works just as fine.

Try It First!

Well, don’t just take my words for it! Download the 30 days trial version first at Macromedia.com and test it. Once installed, you will be able to use the full version software for 30 days and it will automatically expire if you do not upgrade it. You can easily upgrade it by just registering and paying for it online.

30 Days Money Back Guarantee

I just realized that Macromedia offers a 30 Day Money Back Guarantee for this software if it is purchased online from them. So, if you are unhappy with the program within 30 days, they will refund you the money you have paid in full. Please refer to the website for more details.

My Conclusions

This is the best image editing program made for webmasters. It is an all in one suite for webmasters to create, edit and optimize images for the web. The toolbars are easy to use and one can learn it quickly unlike programs such as Photoshop and Coreldraw that are much more complicated.

Useful Links

Macromedia Official Site: http://www.macromedia.com
Macromedia Online Tutorials: http://www.macromedia.com/go/learning_fireworks
Fireworks Page: http://www.macromedia.com/software/fireworks

I look forward in receiving constructive feedback and comments. If you have any other questions, please feel free to leave them in my guestbook and I will get back to you a.s.a.p.

I hope this helps.

Have A Nice Day!

Benny Ong