After a yum yum dim sum lunch at Dynasty, my family and I ventured next door to the Grand Century mall, basically a big holding place full of Vietnamese stores. If you've been to the Little Saigon mall down in SoCal in Westminster, you'll know what I mean. Sadly, its only non-asian store, a sporting goods shop, closed down and turned into an arcade for the little kiddies. Though there's probably 40-50 stores in the place, like any group of asian stores, each store can fit into one of 4 categories.

1. Self-image enhancement: Jewelry stores and clothing stores. Always a must. What? 7 jewelry stores within 5 steps of each other?? That's competition at its best!
2. Posessions for a particular age: Cell phones for the fobby asians who want to look cool in their Civics, CDs for the adults complete with way too big speakers in front of the store playing the music, and cheap imported toys for the kids.
3. Restaurants: If you know me, I have no problem with food. But again, there's too many in one area. Not only is there a food court, there's also Dynasty like I mentioned, a sushi restaurant, a grill opening up (the sign says: GRAND OPENING ...soon), two other Vietnamese restaurants on the other side of the mall and a Tung Kee right next door.
4. Health care/herb stores: Either they're selling $50 pills or you're walking into a store with a strange herb smell.

Sure, there are exceptions. There was a place selling cookware. Another sold plants. The weirdest was a simple table out front selling green waffles. My family's still stumped on that one. As I left, I saw another asian center opening up. Its name? King Egg Roll Plaza. What a name.

Austin Powers in Goldmember
Austin Powers is back with the third movie in the series and as the movie plainly shows, he certainly has his mojo back. In this installment, Austin's father doesn't show up for his knighting and we soon find out he's been taken by Goldmember for reasons unknown. Back in 1975, Austin finds Goldmember, his dad, and Foxxy Cleopatra played by Beyonce Knowles of Destiny's Child fame. They all travel back to the present where we eventually find out Goldmember is working with Dr. Evil to end the world by tractoring in an asteroid. As in the last two movies, Austin saves the world through unseen twists and turns and certainly in style.

Why Michael Caine is even in this movie is still a mystery. Not only does his character have little to do, it could also easily be written out for it would have made a speedier movie. But the thing worth noting is the freshness factor. The second movie was plagued by retreads of the same jokes of the first one, still the best of the series. Though old jokes can still be seen (the duet between Dr. Evil and Mini-Me, "Scotty-don't"), those jokes were still funny and were kept to a minimum. The movie in a movie with various star cameos was pure genius. If only the fourth installment had that cast... Speaking of the cast, no word on what happened to Heather Graham or Dr. Evil henchman Will Ferrell. But all in all, a worthy installment suitable for many viewings. 3 stars

Before I post a review on the great Austin Powers movie, did any Berkeleyans happen to read the review in the Daily Cal today? You didn't? Maybe it was because half of it was blabbering about something about comedy franchises, mainly in telelvision, since he never mentions another movie, which Austin Powers is. Nobody needs to read the fact that you watched a lot of television as a little boy and just happened to continue that lifestyle to college. That's what the Internet is for.

This link on the Yahoo! web page intrigued me today. NY Man Sues, Claiming Fast Food Ruined His Health

Now, I'm no nutritionist but can one really make this claim? If people like this guy are as dumb as the things he says out of his mouth, maybe he can. Consider these gems:

"I didn't find out how bad it was until 1999," he said.

"They said '100 percent beef.' I thought that meant it was good for you," the 272-pound Barber said. "I thought the food was OK."

And, "Those people in the advertisements don't really tell you what's in the food," he said. "It's all fat, fat and more fat. Now I'm obese."


On a lighter note, I happened to find out of a show where Master P and his son Lil Romeo shack up with some Southern white people before a concert. For some odd reason, this was a hilarious idea. Funniest of all, it ended with the whole family attending the concert, being the only white people there. Kudos to MTV. More odd-based celebrity live-ins should be made.

James Traficant has been kicked out of Congress. The fiery-mouthed representative who has skunk hair trimmed with a weed whacker, claims Janet Reno is a traitor, and always ends his speeches with the Star Trek words "Beam me up" was voted out 420-1 by his peers. Now, talk about this all you want but the one person who voted with him was Gary Condit. Go figure.

Watching the terrible arranged-date show Meet My Folks, I also find it weird that the whole show makes light of the parents' house, complete with a big sign above the door with their last name, only to see during the credits that it's not even their house.

Reign of Fire
Can you stand the Reign? I certainly couldn't. Apparently, twenty years from now, dragons will take over the world as humans' efforts to eradicate them destroy their own home. The rest of the movie is devoted to some English people evading the dragons' efforts to destroy their home and a crazy American's quest for the one male dragon left to fertilize all these eggs the female dragons have. In these types of movies, you'll score a lot of points by getting to know the villains. The most famous example of this was Godzilla. In all of his Japanese movies, sure he lay destruction on the poor people below, but he seemed to have a heart and we cared for him. When Hollywood got a hold of the movie, he was just a killing machine in New York. You never really get to know these dragons. You see them for a second, do their fiery work, and leave. It could have been something more but the filmmakers chose to emphasize on the plight of the poor humans, whose stories aren't very interesting to begin with. The only thing interesting was the cool skydiving sequence in an effort to capture a dragon. But that, like the concept of the movie, crashed and burned. 1.5 stars

Chris Webber should really stick to trying to get his lowly Kings an NBA championship instead of playing golf. You see, if you don't know about scoring in golf, shooting even means you're really good. +5 is a good score. Anything in double digits means you're a novice at best. Webber recently played in the Celebrity Golf Championship in Lake Tahoe. He shot +50 over par. Over 3 rounds, he shot 191 strokes over par. You see, folks, that is pathetic. On the bright side, he got $1,100 for his troubles.

Yesterday started innocently enough. Breakfast was being made, the newspaper was being read, the British Open was being shown on TV, and I was speaking in a passive voice. Then the doorbell rang. It was my friends Hai and Al. They mentioned something earlier in the week about tennis in the morning, so I agreed to join them. Little did I know the morning meant 9:00. So I hurriedly got ready and joined them in the big waiting game. My friend Steve came first, all the way from the east. Okay, it's Tracy, CA, but still a long ways away. Then a group of girls arrived, their friends not mine. I'm still not sure of who was who. Then, we hiked up the big hill to Valley Christian, a spoiled, I mean, private high school, to the tennis courts. First, you must understand I haven't played tennis since at least junior high, a long time ago. Predictably, tennis balls were flying over the fence and going every which way. By the end, though everyone seemed to have a little fun, the girls were tired and the guys were hungry. And we still had to walk back.

Later in the day, we went to the nearby Oakridge Mall, currently being ripped to shreds by new construction, highlighted by a new 20 screen theatre. It's certainly welcome by me, who doesn't want to smell that 10 year old popcorn at Capitol or want to travel 20 minutes to the nearest new theatres. Looking inside, you couldn't tell construction was going on. It was business as usual.

By the end, I was beat, which effectively canceled plans for the night. Heck, I'm still a little sore this morning. Through my fatigue, I did manage to find out Tiger Woods was out of the running at the British Open after shooting an 81. Damn, I really wanted to see him struggle too.

K-19: The Widowmaker
This is an awful movie saved by the suspenseful antics of Harrison Ford and Liam Neeson. Liam Neeson plays the captain of the K-19, a big Russian submarine them Americans don't know about. The crew is really close, with Neeson acting as its father. But soon, after construction slowdowns, inferior parts, and unsuccessful tests, it's decided that a new captain is needed. In comes Harrison Ford to save the day. Neeson would serve as the Executive Officer. Next, the champagne bottle doesn't break and the doctor dies before the test voyage begins. The crew unofficially names it the Widowmaker. Ford leads them near the Arctic Circle where after the successful launch of their missile, the nuclear reactor starts acting up. So, it's up to Ford and Neeson to control a bubbling reactor and a bubbling crew.

The plot holes are as wide as a hull breach. People just keep switching back and forth (alliances, languages, etc.) like they just don't care. The accents are awful. You can't tell who's American and who's Russian. Ford seems to play a mean captain and then suddenly becomes a nice one later on. I thought it was hilarious how he kept testing the crew over and over again. Neeson seems itching to take control of the ship but never makes a move, shown later on to be loyal to his captain. The boat, seen as inept in the first third of the movie, suddenly becomes an indestructible machine in its second act before it falls apart again. There are other things but it might spoil the movie so I won't divulge in the details. But even with its shortfalls, K-19 is very suspenseful and is helped along greatly by its two main characters, who carry the movie until its Private Ryan-type ending. 2.5 stars

When did Speed become a classic American movie? If its sequel joins it, I'm outta here.

Is there a Fight Club in Berkeley? Everywhere I turn, there's a guy with a messed up face. As long as they don't try to beat me up randomly, they'll be fine.

Watching those Emmy nominations this morning, it was good to see Tom O'Neil wasn't there. If you don't know him, he's an idiot who calls himself an awards expert. Think about it. How many people in their right mind would call themselves an awards expert? Well, Tom O'Neil of course. Heck, I can be an awards expert the same way I can be a movie critic.

4 nominations for Letterman's show.

Finally, Sports Night is coming out on DVD in November.

Green Dragon
Many years ago, my father got into the video store business. To get in, he bought one of a chain of video stores called US Home Video. Those of you who live in San Jose can pass by the remains, right past the Capitol Auto Row, now a "Leonardo's Photography." Anyway, he bought it from Sam Bui, who had two sons. Both of these sons, not surprisingly, got into the movie business. Their last movie was Three Seasons, where three different stories meshed into one discovery of the country of Vietnam. This time, they've made Green Dragon, a story about the Vietnamese refugees who came to Camp Pendleton near the end of the war. Another personal connection arises as my grandparents were just two of the 130,000 staying at the camp waiting for a sponsor. My parents would stay up north in Fort Ord in Monterey.

Like Three Seasons, this meshes a bunch of stories to try to tell what went on in this newly created community. One man has a nephew and niece to look after when he loses hope that their parents would make it to the camp. The same nephew befriends a cook through Mighty Mouse. (Forest Whitaker plays the cook. He really likes the Asian movies, doesn't he?) A concubine tries to live with the life she now leads. Patrick Swayze tries to keep the camp under control even after Saigon falls and the threats of Communism reaches his camp.

Overall, the mesh seems to work well. At times, it does seem a little preachy and the dialogue we hear comes off as a bit simple, but most Asian-American movies seem to be plagued with that. Besides, when was the last time you saw Patrick Swayze in a movie? I think it's amazing he can play something other than a dancer or a dead guy and pretty well at that. 3 stars

It's playing only in selected cities, so pray that your city has been selected. Locally, it's playing at the shoebox theatre Camera One in San Jose and the half-a-shoebox UA Berkeley.

Road to Perdition
Sam Mendes, the director, has only directed one other movie, the Oscar winner American Beauty. While well done, it wasn't remarkable. It simply dealt with the problems a middle-class family had in a seemingly calm setting of suburbia. In the same way, Road to Perdition is well done, but it too isn't remarkable.

Tom Hanks plays a hitman, Michael Sullivan, who works for Paul Newman's Tom Rooney. Hanks' son, Michael Jr., secretly tags along one rainy night and witnesses what his father does for a living. Soon, it's decided that leaving them out there is too much of a risk, forcing Rooney to take out a hit on the elder Sullivan. As a result, the two Michaels go around the country eluding the people after them, Jude Law in particular, and cutting off the gangsters' money supply.

Hanks gives a quality performance as usual. He really shows his range here as both good guy and bad guy. He's a devoted family man who seems to have a heart until you see him shoot people in cold blood. His scene with Jude Law in the diner is really good. The action moves along at a slow, calculating pace, making it seem longer than the two hours which really pass, to let you take in each scene because each one plays a vital role in the maturation of Michael Jr. or the plans of Michael Sr. It's quite a sight to see even if it left me a little bored and tired. 3 stars

Men In Black II
Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones are at it again, this time to send off the Light of Zartha to its home before it blows up and some evil chick gets her hands on it. Agent J needs some help and calls upon the agent who took care of this job 25 years ago, Agent K, played by Jones. Wait. Wasn't Jones' memory erased in the last movie? Well, yes. But, the MIB has the only machine that erases the eraser marks. But the villain, played here by the bra-and-panties-dressed Lara Flynn Boyle of Practice fame, takes over MIB headquarters. But, aha, there's another machine and they go use it. But wait, it doesn't help. He doesn't remember anything about the Light. Instead, he's left himself clues. Why not find another machine to undo this? Don't ask. But eventually, the movie centers on Rosario Dawson, who looks different in every movie she does. She is the key to unlocking this whole mess.

Unfortunately, this movie is a mess too. Sure, it's an entertaining mess, but still a mess. It's got a few laughs and I like Jones' presence in the film to fill the same role as Smith did in the first film, but it doesn't last long enough. Add to that, a hurried ending in a very short 80 minute film and you feel like you're craving more.

On a side note, what happened to that Fandango guy? They've replaced that entertaining commercial (Look out! Rah!) with some guy cutting in lines and closing an elevator on a couple only to find the movie sold out while the couple get in. Still, nothing beats the rhythmic clapping of the old opening for a Century movie. 2 stars

Whoever made those Build-a-Bear shops is just a genius. Every mall I go to, people are carrying around those boxes of bears. It's not enough that people buy them from the Vermont Teddy Bear Co. or win a really huge one at a carnival. No, you can make him yourself, dress him yourself, and give him a name! And it's all legal on paper. He is as legal as your own son or daughter. Just don't be claiming any tax exemptions or anything like that. Here's an idea! Do it at home! You'd probably have more fun than in the machine-created corporate driven store over there in Valley Fair or wherever. Plus, it's probably cheaper.

Okay, fine, the cotton stuffing contraption is kinda innovative. You wouldn't believe the number of times I had to stuff Sylvester the cat with cotton balls.

Now, in the same way I expect a bus to run every 10 minutes, I expect rap videos on BET. After all, it is Black Entertainment Television. Then why is there an N'Sync video as the #1 video in their countdown? If people want to listen to this, that's what MTV is for, at least when they even play videos.

Let me just rant a minute about the bus system here in Berkeley. If you know me, you'll know I'll be the first to defend the buses. It's a great time-saver for the carless types who don't want to walk, like me, and the homeless types who need to sleep one hour at a time. Plus, we can say to others we have our own driver while mumbling under our breath that he or she drives 60 people at a time on hard plastic seats with no seatbelts.

On a cool day like today, I wouldn't have minded some time outside, especially after the boiler room conditions we've had for a couple of days. But after a probably dismal performance on today's midterm, all I wanted to do was go home. I got out at 4:35 and waited for the bus. All types of buses passed by me while I was waiting. 52L...64...40L...64...7...64...7, etc. By 5:00 and hearing the chimes, I thought maybe I should just walk. But no! I've waited this long already. By 5:05, my math teacher passes me and asks, didn't you leave a half hour ago? Of course, he takes the 64 so his bus is already there. 5:15. The faint image of a bus appears. It's a 51! Then another. Then another. Then another. Like ants headed toward food, 4 buses, one full and three empty, were lined up and waiting. Finally, at 5:35, I'm home. One hour to go less than a half mile. Maybe I should walk more.

If you notice, today is July 11th. You know, 7/11. And 7-Eleven is celebrating it's 75th birthday. Congrats to them. The world is a better place with its Big Gulps and Slurpees.

A strange but accurate description of The Wizard of Oz, found reading the various newsgroups:

"Transported to a surreal landscape, a young girl kills the first woman she meets and then teams up with three complete stangers to kill again."

What's wrong with David Kelley? He's messed up The Practice with his trademark "surprise" endings. (Like last Sunday, when the priest actually has the hots for the male defendant instead of being an innocent witness or the fact that Lindsay was found guilty of murder in the season finale.) Ally McBeal is dead. And watching Boston Public last night, he has a strange affection for mentioning 9/11 in every one of his episodes. Whether it's in a eulogy, an argument between teachers and the administration, a school report, whatever, he finds a way. I wouldn't be surprised if he wrote a song about it and made that teacher singing group sing it.

I also noticed they brought back that milk commercial about Aaron Burr, one of the funniest commercials there has ever been.

So who shot Alexander Hamilton in that famous duel?

Now I'm back from a hectic 5-day trip to the Southland. It was long and hot but overall enjoyable. We start Wednesday when a bloody-eyed me is awakened by the sounds of rustling outside my door. It's my family who are getting ready to leave. I complain it's 7 AM but they want to leave early. Joy, it's 6 hours in the car with them. Might as well get it over with. Yes, we leave at 10 but who's keeping track? As expected, I sleep again, only to wake up at our destination at 4 pm, Playa del Rey. It's a small and quiet community, save for the massive Los Angeles International Airport right next door. After a few illegal turns by my dad, I see my aunt waiting for us at her apartment and home for the next few days. We promptly leave for dinner in Santa Monica where we come upon The Lighthouse, a cheaper version of Todai. It's an okay place if you like that kind of stuff (stuff meaning sushi). After a stroll through the energetic Third Street Promenade, I'm beat and I'm down within the hour.

The next day is filled with the reason I'm here, a wedding. My cousin, Lo, is getting married to a guy named Lam. I haven't seen Lo or her two sisters in five or six years when they came up here to visit. Suffice it to say, we were complete strangers when we met. But my sister and I got along with the young one, heading off to be a Gaucho in Santa Barbara in the coming year. I know SoCal people are all different but the people I met at this ceremony either smoked, were drunk, or, in the case of some of my relatives my age, a bunch of fobby thugs. Luckily, the people I talked to were neither of the three, though some drunk a little. At last after two hours of waiting at the house in Glendale, I finally got a glimpse of the couple. They seemed pretty enough. After getting to know them a little better, it's obvious that the two don't seem right for each other. Don't get me wrong. I hope things are happy for them. But the groom seems quiet and has some really thick Drew Carey-type glasses. The bride is more outgoing and always speaks her mind. One friend shouted that she'll probably get married 3 or 4 more times until she's really happy. She didn't seem to disagree. After the ceremony, they were separated as the groom hung out with his family and the bride with her friends. It seemed like they didn't speak again until they met up for pictures a hour later. According to my parents, Lo was engaged to a Mexican guy but her parents didn't approve. As a result, this same Mexican guy introduced her to Lam and the rest is now history.

Length of time would be the mantra of the day because after the two-hour wait before, hourlong Vietnamese ceremony, the hourlong lunch, and the two-hour waiting period, it was time for the Buddhist ceremony. This wouldn't be the funnest of times since this could also last an hour with all of us standing up. Luckily I made it through and was rewarded with some good cream puffs only to wait another hour for the ride back. After spending dinner at the house, it was time to go back to my aunt's house. We called her up and she suggested taking a different route home since some madman started shooting up LAX and as a result closed all the roads. But since it was 9, I thought it would be okay. On the way home, remembering it was 4th of July, saw all the fireworks, both big and homemade. Driving down the 110 is really the way to go to see all of them.

Now because the reception wouldn't occur until Saturday, my parents decided that we should all go to Las Vegas on Friday and after a 4-hour drive, we were there. The place has certainly changed little since being there 3 years ago at the Bellagio. This time we stayed at the Monte Carlo, it's a small place contrary to what it looks like outside. Afterwards was a walk through the new Aladdin hotel, complete with a Great Mall-type carousel mall inside. That night, we got to see the magic of Lance Burton. It's a pretty entertaining show. It seems more adult than the audience it wants to cater to but the magic doesn't seem to live up to the hype.

And just like that, the Las Vegas portion was over since it was Saturday and we needed to head to Malibu for the reception. It's in a beach club there equipped to handle about 200 people even though about 300 showed up. The couple seem to be much happier this time, though I heard there was a big fight just a few hours earlier. Good food. Had a big lobster claw. It was a buffet-style dinner so we all had to line up. Remember when I said the club handled 200? Well, the caterer only brought food for 200, so good thing I ran to the line. After the entertainment (the bride shows her version of a J. Lo video, her sister shows a Behind-the-music-type show on the couple, and dancing), that basically brought an end to the trip. The next day, we headed home. Why is it people were only driving 60 on Interstate 5? What's wrong with these people?

I won't be posting for a few days because I will be off to SoCal for a family trip for my cousin's wedding. Considering the many relatives I have down there and the fact that we haven't been there in almost 4 years, I can expect to visit many cities down there, all the while calling out freeways with the word "the" before each of them. (Cause we all know we need to take THE 5 and then THE 405 and then THE...etc.) and lamenting the need for more jewelry stores and pho restaurants in the Vietnamese strip malls. Quo vadimus, you ask? Well, I count 10 cities planned: Bakersfield, Playa Del Rey, Glendale, Westminster, Chino, Los Angeles, San Diego, Thousand Oaks, Malibu, and Las Vegas. So see you on the flip side next week.

Make comments in the meantime. Sorry if it's down. It's been buggin' all day.

Scooby Doo
I'll give props to the costume designer. Other than that, this movie is boring. Wastes the talents of everyone there, though some didn't have much to begin with. 1 star

Bad Company
Chris Rock and Anthony Hopkins star in this action comedy that isn't as bad as the title suggests. But don't get me wrong, it's not good either. Rock plays Jake Hayes, a ticket dealer thrust into the CIA after his agent twin brother is killed. Hopkins is forced to prepare him in a matter of days to finish the current job. What results is a decent story. What's wrong is the people playing the roles. Rock plays it as a funnyman when he needs to be more serious. Hopkins plays it straight-faced when he needs to be a little looser. While it is a decent story, some parts of it could have been excised or worked on a bit more, like the involvement of Jake's girlfriend Julie in the movie, but when the main selling point of the movie is Chris Rock and Anthony Hopkins, who cares about the story? 2 stars

About a Boy
Hugh Grant stars in another one of these single guy finds true love movies that has filled up his career. Frankly, it's getting a bit tiring. But this gives us at least a little twist before its pre-determined ending. His name is Will, a very old bachelor at 38 who goes around dating and dumping. Currently, he's picking up women at a single parents group. His life is full of nothing, living off the royalties of his father's Christmas song. While he's walking with a single mother, he befriends her neighbor's son, Marcus. Marcus dearly loves his mother who is going through some rough times, culminating with an attempted suicide. During his mother's recovery, Marcus and Will become close friends. Soon, both realize they're growing up and becoming separated from the life they loved which results in their separation and it takes time for them to comprehend their lives aren't complete without the other.

Fundamentally, it's a film of growing up for both Marcus, in the actual growing up sense, and Will, growing up in society. The film strikes a good balance in comedy and drama, a good change for its directors, the Weitz brothers, best known for the gross-out American Pie movies. Toni Collette, Marcus' mother, also has a good role, as does Rachel Weisz, though she isn't seen too much in the film. 2.5 stars