District 9

District 9 was intense from start to finish. I do not understand why it's only showing at Cathay but you have to fucking watch it. Now. Do not wait. No such thing as downloading, streaming or waiting for the DVD.

It is the best movie I've watched all year.

I was on the edge of my seat (and my friend's) all the way and my heart just went out to whichever character was being bullied which was different at any one time. It's the reality of nature if you would have it. Sometimes there is no justice and the strongest survives. But still because we believe in humanity we believe in doing the right thing.

Which makes those scenes even harder to swallow. Money and power hungry people. Fear of the unknown. Rejection. Discrimination. Intrusion.

The one scene that really hit me was the guy trying to chop off his own arm after it turned alien. It was amazing physicalisation of a very common internal struggle.

Have you ever hated a part of yourself so much that your self-worth depended on its removal?

Stellar

Shinjuku Incident 4/5

Great stuff, but I watched it too long ago to give proper comments other than I liked how it was set against a solid setting and explores issues of immigration. I was really pissed at how all the characters and plots converged into a mass killing orgy. Lame.

Revolutionary Road 5/5

Awesome acting, awesome lighting, awesome sound. That would probably mean that Sam Mendes is brilliant. I enjoyed how the mise-en-scene was so deliberate and at times probably excessively so but only because there was something to be said. Frank goes out to work and everyone around him seems to be dressed like him, walk like him... The themes of industrialisation and identity were so well-portrayed. He is later seen at the staircase standing still while everyone rushes home, kind of like mindless ants.

My favourite fight scenes are the ones at the car and the one at the climax, where Frank smashes a chair. The lighting was so emotionally-charged with long shadows and silhouettes. It was really awesome to watch.

And the morning after the big fight started off with three shots of the various rooms in the house, with no action at all. The startling neatness and cleanliness and abscence of scars of from the previous day's battle was as intense as the overwhelming silence it was matched by.

Needless to say, Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio's performances in the movie looked as if they were giving a masterclass on acting. Give them a place, conflicting characters and a disagreement and you get fireworks in your face. I was in slack-jawed with awe. It's amazing how a movie about the monotony of life could become so interesting in the hands of these two. Epic.

And John was fucking scary. He was a refreshing character alright, but scary.

I like how it ended. I like that there was closure, just that it was done without excessive explanation. Just showing and letting the audience interpret it in whatever way they want to.

The Sniper 4/5

Initially I watched it because I was a fervent fan of Edison Chen but the movie made me a fan of Dante Lam instead! I enjoyed how the story unfolded, although there were useless moments as many other reviewers have mentioned, such as the one scene lame-ass appearance of OJ's dad and girlfriend. But unlike them, I thought this movie was really good. The story is packed with twists and turns, pushing the story onward relentlessly. There are many dangling causes that are so subtle that I was in shock when the effects were revealed later.

SPOILER ALERT.

When Lincoln returned from jail and returned to his house, it was completely dark. Suddenly the lights were turned on, even though the switches were beside him. One would assume that it is his wife who turned it on but I was puzzled because it didn't make any sense to me. Why didn't she meet him outside the jail if she was pining her return? In a much later scene and with good use of the Kuleshov effect (although I saw it coming because I had seen something similar before), Hartman breaks into his house and the audience is led to thinking that Lincoln is in there. However Lincoln is at his hideout with Bowie Lam's character. He starts talking to his wife, whom Bowie reveals had died. At this point we are seeing two seperate scenes - the police and Lincoln's warehouse. It then goes into the flashback mode. And Lincoln realises his wife has died, loses it and starts seeing even more "ghosts", opens fire at them and accidentally kills Bowie.

The revelations and events unfolded so fast and furiously that me and Ruiqi totally brain-spoil. We were working hard enjoying the film and trying to rip its mysteries apart with our analytical skills and we managed to guess a few of it but the film outsmarted us in the end. We were both hanging on for dear life at the final shootout. Awesome stuff.

Comedy, Comedy, Comedy

Paul Blart: Mall Cop 1/5

A complete waste of money. Lacking in originality. Lacking in plot. Sorely lacking. Everything. Predictable. Dumb. Humourless humour.

Confessions Of A Shopaholic 3/5

Despite powerful advertising muscles being flexed, a weak movie is a weak movie. It started out good but ended weakly, with all the plots getting wrapped up haphazardly. It is like porn for shopaholics - the appeal is that shallow.

17 Again 4/5

The moment I saw Matthew Perry I thought the movie was going to be awesome. The man doesn't need to try to be funny, to be funny. I'm this close to renting the entire seasons of Friends without him reminding me that I have yet to watch any.

The star of course is Zac Efron and he was hilarious. Aside from that I really appreciated the effort in making the characters complex and how everything was brought tightly together, instead of being left to chance. The parodies of Star Wars and Lord of the Rings were epic. Despite being a tad predictable at parts, I laughed harder and louder during this movie than I did the previous 2.

A great way to start the holidays.

The Reader

The Reader was a hell of a movie to kick off my cinematic adventures for 2009. A riveting storyline combined with masterful performances by Ralph Fiennes, Kate Winslet and David Kross made this movie a thoroughly thrilling experience and well-worth it's $39 ticket price ($22 cab, $7 night rider, $10 ticket).

It's got universal themes like truth and love, but more importantly literacy and morality. Various questions popped into my mind throughout the movie. It made me think of the things I took for granted like peace and the ability to read. I really applaud Kross for his bravery as well as Winslet's incredible screen presence.

The one thing that I really appreciated the most was their honesty in their portrayal of the characters. They made it look easy, obviously because of how much effort they've put into bringing them to life. The performances were stellar. Every frame on them portrayed mixed, layered emotions. The script was successful in its economical dialogue and also because of how much was being shown when there wasn't any talking.

My favourite moments and they were quite a few but for the sake of fairness I'll name one from each of the leads - Kross when he was displaying faith, honesty and innocence one feels with first love, Winslet's eyes spoks volumes when her character decided with great determination to learn how to read and Fiennes devotion to creating the tapes in reminiscence of the past.

I held my breath at various parts of the movie, covered my face in others and yet in other scenes, heard a couple of sobs in the cinema. I could relate to how they felt and their decisions to the situations that I, they, faced, which made me think of my own.

A small bit of trivia - Sydney Pollack was a producer of the movie and he passed away last year, before the completion of the movie. Incidentally he directed Tootsie in 1982, a film which I'm studying now for one of my film modules. The man's done great work. I think I'll look up the other stuff he's made and watch them some time.

Rating: 5/5

Famous Five

The OGLs (Pamy, Lyon, Vanessa, Jac and I) hung out at Lyon's place last week for a movie marathon. I have never seen 5 movies in a row before and it was really thrilling. I guess the mood was just right and the company was really great.



Lyon's cosy room!

Well we were in the company of quite a few film greats. That ought to count for something.

First movie featured grand dame Meryl Streep alongside a former 007 actor and an actress who was famous for telling the weather with her boobs in 2004's Mean Girls. It was great the first time I watched it at GV Gold, but the second time was quite... dreary. Thank goodness for Julie Walters and Christine Baranski. They were hilarious.

Next up, we travelled a decade back in time with an animated feature film based on a Chinese legend. I've never watched it in its entirety before. It started off very well but I got a little bored at the very end. The best part was 98 degrees singing at the end. My favourite boyband after N'sync.

Another musical took centrestage. I find it ridiculous that I hadn't seen this masterpiece in the cinemas! The film was the first musical film to win the Best Picture since Oliver! in 1968 and on top of that, nabbed 5 other Oscars. I haven't seen Renee Zellwegger shine brighter in any movie in recent years. The massive scale of production was a feast for the eyes and ears and its use of unique cinematography really had my attention for every second of the movie.

The fourth movie came and by that time I was running out of stamina. However a sharp change of genre after the rather heavy musical film adaptation to a romantic comedy released one year later in 2003 and a cosier setting of Lyon's room got me going. Despite being largely panned by critics, I think Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey (whose Failure to Launch failed to launch) worked rather well on screen and the script was decent enough! Not the best, but certainly not the worst.

After dinner, we travelled across the Atlantic for a movie that was about Christmas. In fact I think it's so awesome that it should be seen every Christmas! Okay, so I'm exaggerating but I've seen bits and pieces on TV for the past 5 years that I was so irritated I decided to rent it for the our movie marathon. It has a huge cast and as difficult as it was for all of them to pull their weight, Emma Thompson was particularly good, while Bill Nighy was particularly funny. Kiera Knightley and Hugh Grant's characters were a bit fluffy... but all the small details in the movie worked out to become New York Times called, "a romantic comedy swollen to the length of an Oscar-trawling epic — nearly two and a quarter hours of cheekiness, diffidence and high-tone smirking". Awesome.



MIA: Mamma Mia

Good Chillax

Tonnes of good food at Chomp Chomp plus a movie marathon with awesome friends = the life!

Okay so I fell asleep during the third one. We shall not get any more French movies. I think Priceless and Amelie are just lucky hits. Bangkok Love Story was awesome though, I became totally awake! And the first one.. Grace is Gone or something like that, was not bad, but it kind of reminded me of the movie where the family goes on a road trip in a yellow bus and bringing a corpse with them. Oh well.

Better In Time

I've just read a review and now I know why some actors don't read reviews because... well, no matter how nice the reviewer is in person, people don't read reviews that don't tell them anything, in all truth and blatant honesty. Well it does suck but all I can do is tell myself stuff like.. you know, the standard stuff. I'm diving into another project today anyway, it's the only way to keep my mind off it. And as a senior once said, the only way to get better is to keep going at it.

In other news photos of Yu Lian's 21st Birthday are up and can be seen here and here.

I went out with Ravioli yesterday to catch The Dark Knight.



We chilled out and B&J's, went to the arcade and had dinner at the food court. I'm really looking forward to our second outing on Thursday. Hopefully that'll be more action-packed. Photos here.

Jason.

Why. So. Serious.

I Don't Wanna Hear, I Don't Wanna Know

I'm appalled.

It seems that after one and a half years, nothing much has changed.

The utter lack of efficiency makes me want to tear my hair out. The worst thing is that I can only complain because there is nothing I can do about it.

Endure.

KNNCCHEEBYE!

Oh, but Sex was fucking fantastic though, and that more than made up for the day.

Food Fair

I need to stop taking the good weather for granted. I was so surprised that it rained this morning when we've been having sunny skies for almost every day for the past 7 days or so. I almost died walking to the train station in my frictionless slippers.

Liqi and I made our way to the Singapore Expo, where it was really happening, with at least 3 fairs making their presence felt. There was, the most famous of them all, the Singapore Food Fair.



I love the variety of food that we tried. We ate everything from the chicken rice to the awesome otak from Defu! We also sank our teeth into a cheese chicken wing, 10 different types of fried seafood stuff from Dodo (all for $3) and the grass jelly from Mr Bean!



We also got the opportunity to sample countless other stuff. Tomorrow's the last day so get yourself down there while it's still open. It's bound to be super crowded at night though so for those having holidays, it'll be good to get there at 11AM!



On the way we met Zhen De and also... the man we specially came to see was working his charms with the girls from 8-80 years old, my roomie, Daniel! He sure looked like he was enjoying his work despite the long hours and the endless crowd. I think it isn't much of a problem for him - his patience and earnesty certainly worked to his advantage. The chocolates he's selling are really tasty too. Liqi and I bought 2 boxes!

After that we dropped by the Popular Fair. It was like book heaven. I was tempted to grab a couple of books on photography as well as assessment books for my tuition kids - they need it anyway! I don't believe in having a totally study-free holiday after all the shit I've been through the past 13 years (6P+4S+2JC+1Uni) to get where I am!

Well, other than this holiday that is! Wooohooo!

Liqi and I grabbed 80 over dollars worth of stuff before forcing ourselves out of that place. If I could, I would go there and get some more but due to time and monetary constraints, we just had to get out of there!

Ooh, and there's a Robinson's 150th Anniversary Sale going on there too. I'm hoping to go back there before it all ends. It's horrible though, the fact that the Singapore Expo is so damn far away from everywhere else!



I'm still wondering why the Expo MRT station is so beautiful, considering people only visit the place... when they need to!



And this is all the stuff I bought from the Popular Fair! It's unbelievable! Any other ordinary day and this shit would've cost about 80 dollars, but I got it all for a mere $25! Woohoo!

Yeah, it really says something about my warped taste in music. Movie-wise... I haven't caught those two yet, but I'm a bit of a sucker for romantic-comedies lately. They are romantic-comedies... aren't they?

Step Up 2

I know it got crap reviews and everything but it was a helluva ride for me. I loved every second of it. I love music and dance. When both powers combined and I get a movie to watch... it's hard for me to say anything bad when these two elements are just so wickedly showcased! The dancing was sick, everything was amazing... I recognised some of the songs. There were some that I didn't but I heard a whisper of "Missy Elliot" and that short preview of the track sent shivers up and down my body. SERIOUSLYYYYY. Haha... Can't wait for her album to be out. It was crazy. The plot isn't that bad - I've seen much worse! It's another "chase your dreams" kind of movie but I think it has spurned me to take some action in pursuing what I want. I think people who think they've seen it all are just cynical!

I just wanna dance!

Damn...

When I saw it I was like "NOFORREALAREYOUKIDDINGME". To the TNP reporter who thinks Britney's rehearsing dance moves for the filming of upcoming video Break The Ice, please get your facts straight. I could've wrote that article.

P.S I Love You

It was brilliant. The poster's terrible though. It looks terribly cheesy and cliche. Someone should get it changed. But I think positive word of mouth will save the film from the movie's lousy poster. Could there be any poster more unoriginal?

Directed by the same man who gave us Freedom Writers (one of my favourite movies last year), Richard LaGravenese, P.S I Love You is a fast-paced, hilarious romantic drama that moved and tickled me to tears. I've read that some critics thought Hilary Swank looked out of place in a romantic comedy or something to that effect, but I thought she was really good! Same goes for Gerard Butler. The transformation from Spartan to charming Irishman couldn't have been more disarming.

How much do they pay Lisa Kudrow to appear in this movie? Because they really should be giving her double! She was bloody hilarious and gave a movie a punch and a kick to life, even when it wasn't needed. I don't really watch Friends but am aware of her awesomeness! She should really have skipped on the botox though! Other small-screen actors that played a supporting role include James Masters (Spike from Buffy) and the really amazing Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Danny Duquette from Grey's Anatomy). I was always pissed with his character on Grey's because he stole Izzie from Alex (cue loud collective BOO) and thought he looked like a rat. But he too managed to shake away his previous roles and step into one of a suave Irish pub singer convincingly. I thought that was brilliant considering I've always thought he was ratty...

The story is out of this world. It completely blew my mind. I don't know if it'll appeal to others but... It's well constructed. There's nothing that's expected of this film. It's not just like any other throw-away romantic comedy. It's better. I shan't spoil it by giving away what goes on in the movie, but it's basically about death and letters.

And watch out for the opening argument scene. If I wrote a dialogue like that for my playwriting class, I think I'll get A+ without attending any more lessons!

Denise Hennessey: [Denise is admiring Ted as he walks by] Ooohhh, he's delicious isn't he? I'd serve coffee on that ass.
John McCarthy: Do you have to be so vulgar about men? Like they're pieces of meat?
Denise Hennessey: I'm sorry, John. I forgot you're sensitive about your flat ass.
John McCarthy: You know, Denise, that's why you're not married. Women act like men. Then they complain men don't want them.
Denise Hennessey: Oh, is that why? 'Cause I thought it was something different. I thought that it was 'cause I deserved the best and he's out there. He's just with all the wrong women. And let me be clear. After CENTURIES of men looking at my tits instead of my eyes and pinching my ass instead of shaking my hand, I now have the *DIVINE* right to stare at a man's BACKSIDE with vulgar, cheap appreciation if I want to!

Rambo 4

My laptop is officially dead. Peroid. I'll only be able to update via my brother's laptop, that is, if he'd let me! The CNY celebrations are just a couple of days away! I'll be sending the lappy for servicing tomorrow and hopefully no extra costs will be incurred.



I went to Causeway Point to watch Rambo 4 with GF and Ivan yesterday. It was a really short movie. It's really not the type of movie that I would watch. In fact I haven't caught any Rambo movies before this one. With regards to the three things that would probably freak censors out, violence is the thing that freaks me out the most.

Rambo 4 doesn't fail to deliver almost endless scenes of violence. Expect blood spilling, leaking, splurting and flowing all over the place. I was studying all the things that make up a good picture (I just couldn't help it after the 206 lesson), noticing the details that were put in or left out and things like framing and where the character was placed in the picture. All the techniques used weren't exactly groundbreaking but they were effective in telling the story. The plot was rather predictable. You just know some of the characters can't die. Rambo is certainly one of those who has the immunity idol steadfast in his hands.

Some of the violence was acceptable. At other times, the pounding music and flashing images leading up to the great explosion were just so cliche yet effective in drumming up the adrenaline that I looked away from the screen and wished for the bloody bomb to go off already.

Dog sniffs trail. Cut to Rambo running through forest. Dog gets closer to bomb. Cuts to Rambo running through forest. Soldier gets frustrated and gets closer to the bomb. Cuts to Rambo running through forest. Soldier inches towards bomb. Cuts to Rambo running through forest.

And during this time there seemed to be no end to the music's crescendo.

Is it really necessary!?

It was entertaining and the pacing was tight overall so I guess it is worth a watch. Stallone looks really old though.

Other things that went through my mind was the fact that violence is indeed going on everywhere in the world. Some people have no choice but to defend their right to live. Others step in to help because they feel that they have something to give. Still others go on their daily lives in oblivion, earning big bucks through technology or fashion, completely detached from the reality of such bloodbaths.

Ooh and all that running in forests really got me thinking: will I survive fighting against people who are soldiers for a living despite having gone through 2 years of military training?

I think not.

Live for nothing. Or die for something.

Sports Freak

I've had an absolutely insane week so far and I'm loving almost every second of it. On Monday I went to watch Pan Wei Bo's mini-concert (which didn't allow photography DAMMIT) with Hall Queen. Haha... his dancing was good. I was thoroughly entertained by his prescence (radiating shuai-qi in every direction) and his showmanship. However he only sang 4 songs, and one encore, which was the duet with Angela Zhang, Kuai Le Chong Bai. Of course Angela didn't appear - it was only a recording. He was pitch-perfect but someone one suspects that is not all that is needed to be a good singer. He was pleasant and funny on stage and really enthusiastic about playing Charades. However the showcase really showcased how he's being marketed more as an idol than as a singer. I was much more moved by Zhang Zhen Yue's appearance in NTU a couple of months ago, despite not being a fan. With Wilber, I could almost rap along word for word to his first single Bi Hu Man Bu (Crawling Gecko or something!), but he sort of lost me somewhere along the way in his career and seeing him live didn't change that. He had a hugging session after that though... but JY and I didn't stay to watch it!

Instead we rushed to JP to catch Hero, which was bloody good. I think I'll give it a 4/5. You don't have to watch the TV series to be entertained and it's no wonder it's the biggest blockbuster of the year in Japan. I thought the storyline was tight and the pacing was rather good. It's nice to see some cinematography that isn't so typical of Hollywood films. Refreshing to say the least. Also the highly talented and comical cast brought the film to a whole new level. Definitely one of the best movies I've seen outside Hollywood this year.

I've never been good at sports, but I do enjoy them tremedously.

So I had water polo on Tuesday morning and that almost drowned me. I'm just not that good in water I suppose but I'll still go for training, as long as I'm not allowed to be a liability during the match! It was cool, as my roomie put it, to be in the water, throwing balls and getting a tan. Although we didn't really turn dark after that!

Headed back to hall for a couple of hours of rest before going off to Hall 2 to attend training for my school's volleyball team. I enjoyed myself warming up and mixing around with people from CS. Haha... I'm more of a hall person so I do value the opportunity. After that I went to NIE court for more volleyball with my hall, and that was really another level. I was really knocked out by the end of the training. The match was thrilling. I can't believe I managed to serve balls properly during practice yet missed TWICE during the match itself. It's retarded. Blargh.

I was aching all over and feeling a sense of satisfaction after the long day. Although I'm looking forward to more training, I don't think I'll be able to after staring at my bank balance. Time to take on my jobs. =(

Anyway, I've just received photos from Dan-the-man (or in Sandars' terms "big Daniel") of our Sentosa trip yesterday. As you might recall it was pouring buckets (whoever uses the expression "cats and dogs" should really be sent back to kindergarten) but we had a hell of a time all the same. More on that tomorrow or something!

Enjoy the freaking hols people!

Play

I'm having a lot of fun recently. I guess getting a new job and a new schedule was really what I needed shake my life up a little bit. Having enough money to satisfy my needs helps too. I watched three movies last week (okay, Pirates twice) and played badminton with my colleagues on Friday. That was really cool because I haven't played such a great game in a long time. It's probably because Cindy and I are roughly the same standard and we didn't take it too seriously!

After teaching 5 students today, I'm freaking tired. I can't wait to slam into my bed and indulge in dreamless sleep. There never seems to be enough time to sleep. Hmm, I won't be home early for the rest of the week due to shopping, tuition and badminton! Ooh, and I'm going to Malaysia on Friday to get my hair cut!

As with everyone else, I'm freaking out about my uni life. I've no idea what to expect, and that should be frightening. However, I'm really looking forward to it. After being aimless for so long, to return to studies and a school life is really what I'm anticipating. It'd probably be one of the finest years of my life and I want to do everything right, to have something cool to look back on!

It's nerve-wrecking. I need to talk to someone to get me calm! Haha...

Ooh, and I've lost my abs, which don't seem to want to come back despite me doubling my efforts to exercise. Damn.

I watched Shrek 3 yesterday and it was pretty good. I used to hate Shrek so I avoided the movie like plague, but I had a chance to watch the third installment with Max, Terence and Daniel. One of the best parts has got to be hearing Justin voice Artie. The part where he was whining and crying to Merlin was hilarious. It's hard to imagine that's his voice. Max drove the point home by singing Sexyback when that scene was on! What contrast! Haha... The worst thing about the whole thing was that most of the audience was either too old or too young to have watched Snow White and Cinderella to remember it as clearly as our generation. The four of us were the only people breaking into laughter at various points in the movie. The rest of the audience were so silent in their cluelessness I could almost hear their hands scratching their heads! Anyway, I guess I've got to do some catching up and watch the other two Shrek movies!

Samuel popped by work yesterday to visit his old colleagues and to remind me that I owe him a treat for getting me the job. I'll become as broke as I started if that happens!

Priceless

I feel that Priceless is one of those movies which doesn't deserve to be pidgeonholed one category. It's curently being marketed as a romantic-comedy, but it's so much more than that. It really got me thinking about so many aspects of life, and it's bloody refreshing in terms of content and cinematography. Audrey has grown so much since Amelie, and you've really got to watch that movie to understand why.

It's refreshing because in romantic comedies, the girl is usually dorky in a cute kind of way and Irene is anything but that. She's as sexed up as hell and flashes her boobs a couple of times in the movie. Then of course there are the techniques of story-telling. While Hollywood is more obsessed with being brash and in-your-face, this French film plays coy and drops hints instead. A perfect example would be the scene of Irene having a few miniature umbrellas, trophies collected from the cocktails that she downed, stuck in her curly, brown hair. Brilliant.

I haven't laughed this much in a long time. It shows that good acting actually transcends language barriers. It's proven in the part where they stare at each other and try to speak using their eyes. There was the I'm-sexy look. Also featured was the distant-because-I-am-lost-in-you look that really got the audience transfixed.

What is a bonus, but probably a double-edged sword as it's causing me to type this entry instead of sleeping, is that the film explores so many themes. There's lying, which almost never turns out well because the truth can sometimes emerge at the most awkward moments. There's materialism. Why do we invest money and time looking for and trying to acquire the trendiest clothes or the most attention-grabbing watch when at the end of the day, none of those matters? There's also betrayal, and how you can never expect your feelings towards someone to be completely mutual because there's always one person who feels more strongly, be it with regards to friendship or love. Everyone can fall for a smooth-talker, or someone with lots of charm, but how many people can like you despite the flaws you have?

Oh yeah, I'm trying to find answers to the questions that have seemed to resurface despite the fact that I'd very much like to tie them to an anvil and drop them into the Pacific Ocean. I want to know what direction my life is headed , and knowing that I'm in control of most of it makes me want to take responsibiliy of how it turns out. Yes, I'm reflecting.

Because, to quote a current fav song, what's the use of having a life if you don't know the way it should be lived?

Notes On A Scandal

This is a terribly scandalous movie.



The scandal actually starts off with art teacher Sheba Hart (Cate Blanchett) getting involved with a sexual relationship with her student, Steven Connolly (Andrew Simpson). However, the bigger scandal is actually the schemes of Barbara Covett (Judi Dench). She notes them down in her little diary, and pastes golden stars in it as the schemes bear fruit. After another failed "friendship", she begins to plot to become Sheba's friend. She helps her keep the secret of her scandal from her family and the school, and becomes the only person left to give her support when the cat was let out of the bag.

We all love a scandal or two, but this one will have you chewing your nails off in the scene where Sheba discovers Barbara's diary. The intensity is so mind-blowing, it gave me a headache! It was much more thrilling than your average Hollywood action sequence. Watching Cate Blanchett in this is much more rewarding than that in Babel, where her portrayal throughout the movie was more or less that of a wounded woman facing death. In this, she experiences love with a minor, destructive friendship with a fellow colleague, nostalgia of her past life, frustration of bringing up a kid with Down's Syndrome and pain of betraying her husband.



If you thought Judi Dench's presence in Casino Royale was minimal but effective, be prepared to be arrested by her acting in this one. It's as if she leads a double life - a firm, experienced school teacher and that of a desperate, obsessive lesbian woman who's afraid of dying alone. She's so threatening I was trembling in my pants when she demanded that Sheba accompany her to her cat's death or she'd dish out some revenge.

Overall the movie's exploration of some very human themes push it a notch above your average Hollywood flick.

Lonelines, and the desperation that comes along with it, is something we can all relate to.

Movies Galore

I've been having an insane week. Clearing ORD leave is really fun.

Last Thursday, Ryan and I went to Vivocity. The place was huge. Okay, so maybe not everyone would agree that the shopping is comparable to other places, but I'll give it more time since not all the shops are open. The amazing thing about the place has got to be its unique architecture. The fact that the layout contains more curves than straight lines gives the feeling that it's wild and revolutionary. Shopping with Ryan was a lot of fun. We did get lost due to unfamiliarity and walked past so places about 5 times! Ooh, and the freaking arcade doesn't have DDR. I want to lodge a complain! We watched The Prestige there, and that movie deserves an entry of its own. I'll write about it when I get the chance.

On Sunday, I went to stayover at Jie Yu's house. We bought steak and he cooked it! It tasted quite good. I think I now know that I'll have mine medium rare, so it isn't that tough. After that we spent a couple hours going through his clothes (a hundred pieces at least) to sieve out what he still wanted and what he didn't. It was almost like going through stuff at a fashion boutique. He passed me a bunch of shirts (and I'll do the same when he comes over) so that we'd both have a greater variety of things to wear. Ingenious. The next morning we went swimming at Serangoon Gardens, and talked about our times in JC.

Tuesday, which was yesterday, was spent with Wee Lee. We talked a lot about jobs and stuff, before having lunch at The Banquet at Causeway Point. We wanted to watch The Departed but it has finished its run already, and he chose DOA instead. I know that the movie's been given a lot of flak, but I loved it. Seriously. Okay, my credibility has just taken a dip. It's true that it's lacking in storyline, but the great fight scenes, flow and pacing of the movie made up for it. And Holly Valance... *orgasms* She deserves an entry on her own too.

Today... where do I begin. I'm going to watch The Exiled with Mak later, but earlier this morning, we had an endurance run followed by a route march! My muscles are currently in excruciating pain. We met at 9PM at the void deck of my house and ran all the way to Sembawang Park, which took us 50 minutes. That was crazy. I was out of steam 2/3 of the way and did a slow jog. It was amazing to have reached the place on foot. But what really killed the both of us was walking back. We stopped at this country club and went in on the pretence of using the loo when all we wanted was the icecold refreshment from the water cooler! The terrain was a tad unforgiving and we tried to take a shortcut but it wasn't short! We had a "fast march" for more than an hour before making it to my place to have a bit of water. I must admit that giving up did cross my mind but we had no money whatsoever on us, so there was no other way back!

Damn, I've got to meet him in 10 for lunch!

*zooms*

Cathay

Yesterday Mak and I went to town. I was dressed terribly because I thought we were going to Causeway Point, but it was a mistake on my part. I didn't read the SMS carefully enough because I was distracted! Anyway, we decided to go to town in the end because I'm thoroughly tired of visiting Causeway Point. We had lunch (that omelette noodle thing) at PS before walking down to the Cathay.



We were greated with all these comics which had the theme of shopping. I took photos of a couple more of them, but I don't think it'll be a great idea to flood my blog with them! These are just two, which I found rather entertaining. The place has been opened for quite some time, yet it's my first visit there! We went to buy tickets You, Me and Dupree before walking around.



We went into Addidas, and I liked the layout of this shop - spacious and tonnes of variety. Anyway, Mak bought me a shirt from there. It was kind of weird because unlike the time when I secretly bought him an Addidas shirt at Bugis while we were shopping, I was present and he just gave me a shirt to try. He saw it on me. When I came out, the guy asked if I wanted to buy the shirt, and I was kind of stunned. There was awkward silence. Then Mak came and said, "Yeah, I'll have that!" Haha... It's a great birthday present (other than the fact that I know the price) and I really appreciated it.



We went to visit this place which had a lot of historical stuff on cinemas. There were old cameras, projectors, films and cinema seats from the past eras of Cathay cinemas. It was pretty cool to go in there and take a look around. The decoration was lavish, and there are some pretty interesting things to see.



The background was some humungous poster thing which kind of make us look like we were on the scene of King Kong or something. Yeah, and that blue shirt was the thing I bought from Addidas in March which he said was a little short at the sleeves! Hey, he's got long arms!

Anyway, we went to Starbucks for coffee after that, and I didn't know he didn't want whipped cream, and I ended up having twice my serving of whipped cream! Gosh... I really need to go for a run one of these days. Time passed quickly as we were chatting and soon enough it was 1715 and we went to catch the movie, with popcorn and drinks in hand.



It's not a fantastic comedy, but it's way better than the trash that Jim Carrey has come up with recently. There's a strong emphasis on relationships, be it friendship, love or with your father-on-law. I think it's the play on human emotions that makes this interesting. The jokes are predictable, and it didn't get me laughing out loud like John Tucker did.



However there're a few memorable moments, like in the above, you can see the reaction of the couple when Dupree popped in while they were making out! Carl's covering his hardon with the pillow while Molly fell off the bed in shock. It was rather hilarious. It's kind of fun to imagine you and your best friend facing such a scenario, probably out of circumstance. The pacing and storyline wasn't tight enough, and it was exaggerated at times, but still heartwarming and good to watch. If you've got plenty of time (and cash), you might want to catch this.

Tokyo Drift

Alright. I was dying to get out of the house so luckily, Mak and I went to Causeway Point to catch a movie. We've wanted to watch it ever since the trailer showed on our cinemas, probably a couple of months ago. We were highly anticipating it, but those who've watched it said that it was sucky. However, we're sticking to our bets that the movie will turn out watchable.

We went to Jacks' Place to eat. I've been haunting people to go eat there with me since May. However, either I'm too broke to go there, or we never go at the right time. It's quite affordable during lunch, with the cheapest main course going at 7.90. We'd probably spend much less if we just ate that and not ordered drinks! However, there's this Dorey Fillet set that was going for $10.90, and after plusing things here and there, it amounted to almost $14 per person.

The food was fantastic. It's a pity that I didn't have my camera with me. It was worth every cent. In fact, I enjoyed it a little more than other posh restaurants that I went to. I like the place. And the potato soup was great too. However while waiting for the main course to arrive, time crept up on us we had only 15 minutes to the start of the movie when we could finally get our hands on it! There was an insane rush to gobble up everything on the plate (while I still tried to take my time to enjoy the food afterall, it's expensive!) before paying the bill and rushing to the toilet, and finally taking our seats in the cinema!


I enjoyed the show a lot. The cast was very good. However, the only familiar face to me was Bow Wow, formerly known as Lil' Bow Wow. He's a rapper whom I've not heard any song from, but am familiar with. The fact-paced action on the screen was matched by a stellar soundtrack. It brought out the inner gangsta in me, and made me realise that I do like that kind of music. When it's being played at the right time that is. I find it just a little pussified that some people can't handle all the rapping and heavy bass. I'm not a huge fan, but I don't run away from it!


It's a pop movie. The kind of movie that means everything when you're watching it at the moment, but isn't exactly going to change your life. I love the scenes of Japan, and all the cool cars. The storyline manages to capture a bit of cultural exchange between the east and the west, as well as inject meaning to the term Gaijin. It means outsider and is usually meant as a rather degradatory term for Westerners. However its usage is explored in a broader sense - do you know who you really are and what you want from life?

If you don't you'd probably remain a stranger, an outsider to yourself.

In addition to having a bit of Zen-like moments, it is all action accented by excellent sound effects of screeching tyres and the thundering revving of engines. It's really my kind of movie in a way - pretty pictures (of the hills, Tokyo, night life) combined with good music. The lead character is played by Lucas Black, while the lead actress of the show is Nathalie Kelley.


This is the obligatory hot actors/actress picture. There isn't one that'd do her justice. I like her look, and she reminds me of Kristin Kreuk who plays Lana Lang in Smallville. The other Asian actors who deserve a shoutout are Sung Kang, Brian Tee and Leonardo Nam, pushing the envelope and doing Asians proud in this Hollywood film.

After the movie, we were temporarily deaf because of how loud it was.

Shopped around at Music Junction, World of Sports (I'm considering getting weights) and the Pasar Malam before paying for my bills on S.A.M. (which resulted in a queue because of how inexperienced I was with the machine) before heading home.

Booking in lo!

Fantastic 4

Went out with Zhenhui, first 3 months AJ classmate. We met quite early in the morning, at about 1010AM. Okay, I was late for 10 minutes, but we still managed to get the tickets to the 1030AM movie and I grabbed a Pepsi and hotdog bun before heading into the cinema to catch...

Fantastic 4!



You can tell from the title already. Right. I would like to first announce that I absolutely LOVED the movie. I've read reviews on it, and it seems that the critics aren't impressed and the people around me who have watched it weren't impressed either. However, it was kind of like a dream come true for Fantastic 4 to be turned into a movie that is truly entertaining, with just the right dose of action, emotion and humour. It's a great movie, really.



Of course, in terms of eye candy there was Jessica Alba and Chris Evans, both who did a great job in sustaining the pace of the movie as well as bring across the finer points of their characters. Chris did a good portrayal of the Human Torch. Cocky, childish and full of fun, this guy gets into the most exciting and spontaneous of situations, from snow boarding to stunts while riding a bike. As for Jessica Alba, she did a fantastic job of acting as the girlfriend torn between Doom and Mr Fantastic, as well as the naggy older sibling to Johnny Storm. Did I mention that she looked amazing in her underwear? Oops.

It's a fast paced movie with the story unvealing its secrets continiously as it climaxes with the final battle between the Fantastic 4 and Dr Doom. Dr Doom is played by Julian McMahon (acts in Nip/Tuck, a bloody fab late night TV show), who was also outstanding in his performance as the evil Von Doom. I felt a great sense of satisfaction after the movie was over. It contained all the elements of a great comic-movie. I give it 4/5!

After that Zhenhui and I walked to HMV and we had a lot of fun chatting and catching up. I was torn between buying Edison Chen, Lin You Wei and Rain's CD. It felt so horrible because I just felt that I had to buy something! Anyway, we went to Cineleisure and I bought a CD from Sembawang Music. And it wasn't any of the above mentioned! We had our lunch at Long John Silvers and I'd really like to complain about the portion of chicken that I received, but I'm sure it wouldn't have made a bloody difference. When I first ate LJS in secondary school, the size of chicken was 2.5 times the size it is now.

We waited quite awhile for the rain to stop while walking around Cine. There isn't much to see there really. We've already set a date to meet (with Shuming as well) next Sunday and we'd be going to KLunch! Yay! I can't wait to go sing again. Yes, I'll be singing tomorrow too but still...

To round off this entry about the very fantastic Fantastic 4, here's a pic of Chris Evans and Jessica Alba. WARNING - drool-inducing for both guys and girls.