Huat Ah! Huat Ah! Huat! 2 hours long of coffee ad

I have high regards for Aniu for his virgin work, Ice Kacang Puppy Love, which to me, is one of the finest movie made locally. He still made decent movies in Wedding Diary but will he survive the onslaught of the many many CNY movies this year?



Huat Ah! Huat Ah! Huat! will definitely sound familiar to local radio listeners as Aniu sang the jingle for Ah Huat white coffee which can be bought in any local departmental store. The story is very very simple and predictable. Ah Huat is a village boy with autism whom was abandoned by his mother since young. He was taken care by his grandfather. He has the ability of "tornado hand" which basically is just spinning his hand very fast. Due to chance, he manage to work in a local coffee stall and manage to meet another Ah Huat ( the old man behind the Ah Huat white coffee franchise) who trained him in the art of coffee making. Thus, his rise from a nobody to a successful barrister and worked in KL. Throw in some rich and famous lifestyle, and finally his downfall and a finale whereby he battle the bad guy after re-discovering himself, and you have a familiar CNY movie.


The story really is so 80's and 90's. It is the typical story of someone with extraordinary power, lost in fame and finally rediscovering himself. The execution of the whole film appeared very forced. Even the jokes relied on name-playing and slapstick. It came off rather bland and not funny at all. The only CG which involves Aniu's tornado hand really look fake and looks like they ran out of money to pay the computer fella. Most of the actors and actress is average, but Aniu could not save the day. He did look innocent enough for the role, but the poor script did not do him any justice. The only decent character is Joyce Cheng, who played Aniu's love interest, whom is not as irritating as other characters. However, she had limited role in the whole story. The most irritating character is Sup Kambing, the little Chindian kid who keep on saying "ayoyo". The poor kid tried to look cute but everytime he try to imitate Indian head movement, he just got to my nerve. There are some songs here and there, but did not interest me at all.


Overall, it is a poorly executed movie. More still, this is the show I watched after The Journey which I hold to high regards. However, my friends gave an average review on this movie...his secret? Go into the cinema with no expectation at all. After all, he said, this is a Chinese New Year movie.

ratings: 2 poink!
comments: as my friend said, I should just drop my expectation before watching this movie.

The Journey 一路有你 : excellent journey for Chinese New Year and the whole year ahead~!

I had sort of gave up on Astro movies, especially the Chinese New Year movies. Not that I do not like the few ones churned out lately, but it did not surpassed the first two, and the fact they paid more attention to the promotion than the movie itself did not excite  me at all. They forgotten that our forte is making a local movie where the local people can relate too but instead tried to imitate the Hongkies' style of CNY movie. However, hearing that Director Chiu had returned to make his third movie with Astro, it did brought along a glimmer of hope.


The Journey 一路有你 , largely helm by relatively unknown tells about a conservatively old man from Cameron Highlands, whose daughter is marrying a Caucasian. Although he firstly objected to the marriage, but finally gave in with the condition that the new son-in-law accompanies him to deliver wedding invitations to 11 of his former primary school friends. Thus, without giving too much spoiler, began the journey of self discovery, of discovering the love of family ties, the courage to let go, the power of holding on to dreams, the value of friendship, and finally the story of acceptance. A very touching tale indeed.



Although the whole cast is relatively unknowns, but the heavy burden falls on Australian Ben Andrew Pfeiffer. Being the ackward son in law, he played his part to perfection. Listening to his song in the end, after watching the whole show made more sense than listening it in the local radio. His portrayal as someone who is forced to accept culture other than his own, and his effort to please the stubborn old father made us love him more and more. Frankie Lee, being an amateur in silver screen, played his part well. Although his face seems gloomy all the time, there are a few quiet but poignant moment is portrayed well. I had to mention that the moment where he waited for the daughter to return home and celebrate her birthday. The quiet portrayal of disappointment when the daughter was late, and he had to throw away the dinner was simply heart braking. Joanne Yew had limited role though as the daughter, and her emotion is limited as well. Many of the actor and actress appeared not to be too natural on screen but that did not deter anyone to enjoy the movie.


The script is simple but effective. The CG which only involve a certain home-made balloon is not important. The cinematography is simply awesome. It made me want to visit Cameron Highlands again. Everything comes together to give a very touching tale. There are many light hearted moments sprinkled here and there, but mind you, this is not meant to be a funny movie. Therefore it may not appealed to children, nor young teenagers. Those who are little bit older like me, or those from bit rural area and traditional background will appreciate more.

It may sound corny and old school on paper, but it works well! I came out from the cinema feeling that the higher ticket price for CNY is still worth it. If you were not planning to watch a lot of CNY movies, or even maybe only decide to watch one, then this had to be it.

ratings: 4 poink!
comments: there are still room for improvement, and still not a perfect movie. But did it work? Yes it did worked flawlessly. I felt so touch that I drove home for dinner the next day after watching the show. And do not forget to bring extra tissue for the show.