The Promises We Made

10 Promises to My Dog


A heartwarming tale of bonds and family with so much innocence In a season where films of action, violence and horror dominate the box-office, it’s quite refreshing to see a movie go right back to basics. ’10 Promises to My Dog’ (Inu to Watashi no Jyu no Yakusoku) focuses on something so simple, and perhaps taken for granted, which is the relationship we have with our pets. Despite covering something featured all-too-often, this film isn’t a run-of-the-mill ‘man and his dog’ movie.

The tale begins with 14-year-old Saito Akari (Fukuda Mayuko) longing for a dog for companionship, partially because her doctor father is not able to spend enough time with her. One day she finds a cute little puppy in the family lawn (later revealed to have been planned by her mum). She names her ‘Socks’ after the white markings on her paws, and they both develop a strong bond together. Akari is later taught of the ’10 Promises of Dog Ownership’ by her dying mother. These are actually more like promises between her and Socks. These can easily be related to, as they serve as a reminder that keeping a pet comes with certain responsibilities. The story then revolves around the 10 years Akari spends with Socks.

As Akari grows up, her social life changes around her, and she slowly forgets the promises she made. The older Akari (Tanaka Rena) is preoccupied with work, she gets interested in men and spends more time with friends. Things can get really sad at various moments of the movie, and many pet owners can relate to events that unfold. Even if you aren’t a pet owner and just love animals, you can’t help but relate with all the hardship and things that threaten to break the family apart. The star of the show, Socks is herself a beautiful animal. Starting off as a ridiculously cute puppy, she grows up into a gorgeous golden retriever that is loved by everyone who knows her. She’s also a surprisingly good actress, giving expressions and body language that will touch your heart.

Tanaka Rena and Fukuda Mayuko deserve special mention for their roles of Akari’s different stages in life. Other than the fact that they manage to look very sweet and similar to one another, they also portray great acting and match Socks so well through their character. It’s not hard to imagine yourself in Akari’s shoes. The character of Saito (Toyokawa Etsushi), Akari’s dad is also a lovable character that sees interesting development. He starts out as a workaholic father that has no time for the family and fears dogs, and later quits his job after his wife passes away. Trading his surgical knives for kitchen ones, he works hard from home, keeping the family together through tough times and also develops a bond with the very dog he feared before.

10 Promises to My Dog is a moving tale and is a pleasant surprise for those seeking something different that doesn’t involve bloodshed. There’s no Hollywood storyline involving a dog saving the world, and it’s not even really an adventure. Instead, there is emphasis on events in life that bond companions and sacrifices made in the name of family. It might not be a groundbreaking tale, but it is definitely a touching one that transcends ages, and it shows that one can still make a movie with so much innocence.

5 Stars (Out of 5)

New and New

New Intern ColleaguesWe received 2 new intern students recently, they're real nice people. One of them, Jason, knows my mum's friend and it's such a small world to be working together. The other, Jessie (hehe now there are 2 Jessies) is all cute and sweet and she can get really hyper (like yours truly) so it's really fun having her around. The thing about interns is that they only work for 2 months and before you know it you'll be sad that they're leaving. Oh well, I'm gonna enjoy it while it lasts...

New Rubber
Finally got the 155's tyres changed~ A belated birthday present from my mum, the new rubbers finally replace the ones which were purchased with my 1st pay! Although after being a long-time Falken loyalist, I switched to the Yokohama A-Drive due to the high price of the current Falken Azenis ST115 replacement, the FK-452. Well, since Yokohamas are competitors with Yokohama, I guess it shouldn't be too bad. Although it isn't as pretty as the Azenis, the A-Drive supposedly gives better comfort and ride. And true enough, upon driving on the new rubber, the 1st thing noticeable was the smoother ride. It was so cool... all this time the car shuddered under rough roads, but now it feels a lil better. Perhaps it's because the Azenis was a sports tyre, but could also be caused by them being old.

A Falken Azenis ST115 when it was new in 2005:



A worn-out Falken Azenis ST115 in 2008:



A new Yokohama A-Drive:



Also got the 155 its 1st polish since getting its new coat of paint. Persuaded the car wash dude to extend the Raya promotional price of RM60 (compared to the usual RM80). The results were really good, with it looking ridiculously shiny at noon. Even Joseph said the police would saman, saying it "menghalang penglihatan".

Some pics of the polished ride, with new A-Drives...







That's all for now,

PEACE and God Bless,
Aris Tee

Being Positive

Been looking at things positively of late. Well, numerous things haven't been goin well during the last couple of months, there were a few setbacks but I'm not about to let them bring me down. I'm gonna be upbeat bout everything now, I'm gonna work even harder for my goals and I'm hoping for the best. Things seem to appear better, you get joy from the simplest of things and, the bad don't affect you as much as they used to and even people feel happier. Let's just hope I can keep this up~

PEACE and God Bless,
Aris Tee

Raging Bond

007’s back, and this time he wants revenge…

How far would you go to avenge the death of the one you love? That is possibly the question hovering James Bond’s mind as he seeks retribution in Quantum of Solace, the 22nd instalment of the highly successful franchise. Broken and betrayed by lover Vesper Lynd in Casino Royale, Bond will stop at nothing to seek answers.

Once again played by Daniel Craig and taking place roughly an hour after the previous adventure, the movie opens up on a high note, with a breathtaking, fast-paced car chase down the Alps between Bond’s Aston Martin DBS and two Alfa Romeo 159s. This was however followed by an opening theme song that was rather forgettable by Bond standards, lacking that certain catchiness that made them iconic.

This time Agent 007 is out to get corrupt businessman and rogue environmentalist Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric) who attempts to control the entire water supply of Bolivia for his own gain. Looking all goggle-eyed, Greene does seem rather funny at times.

Teaming up with Bond is the beautiful Camille (Olga Kurylenko), who’s out to get a corrupt Bolivian dictator who raped and burned her family. Bond doesn’t go to bed with her, instead it’s the similarity between the two that connects them together and differentiates Camille from the typical Bond girl.

Making her little mark in the movie as well is Agent Fields (Gemma Arterton), an MI6 consulate in Bolivia. Do keep an eye as there is a scene which mimics the one in Goldfinger. Judi Dench returns with a wonderful performance as M, who seems to be watching over 007 almost maternally, and Bond even confirms it in a line during the movie.

Like most Bond flicks, the adventure takes us to more exotic locations, and a nice touch was the way each location were spelled out with fancy typefaces that match the features of the country. The movie is action-packed from start to end, with Bond chasing baddies on rooftops, through sea, air, and pretty much every angle you could think of. It is almost as if the movie makers had a serious case of envy over the Bourne trilogy and tried to make Bond a furious killing machine.

Gone is the suaveness of 007, replaced by a man with inconsolable rage which sees him kill almost every lead to the case, leaving most clues at a dead end, something a good detective should never do (and makes M furious of course!).

He is also after the notorious Mr.White, who is responsible for Vesper’s death. The mess of emotions running in his mind is perhaps the reason why Bond is so vicious this time around and not a man of many words. It’s almost as if the essence of Bond is lacking, along with his humour.

Craig is excellent as Bond, but the amount of action leaves him lesser room to showcase his acting skills. Agent 007 didn’t even get to introduce himself as “Bond, James Bond” this time around.

Quantum of Solace is by no means a disappointment. It only appears so because Casino Royale was perhaps one of the best-made Bond movies of late. Action dominates over storyline this time around, and with a shorter running time of below two hours, it’s more like a sequel that seeks answers rather than a whole new Bond adventure. The number of thrills in this movie is something not to be missed by action-lovers. Just make sure you catch Casino Royale first in order to enjoy it fully.

3 out of 5 Stars