Melancholia

The story is about how two sisters coped with the stress of getting married and the impending crash of a giant planet named "Melancholia" towards earth.

Liked the pretty cinematography in the prologue, the interesting special effects and the great acting by the two actresses!

Internet Movie Database Link

Jurong Green CC Cup 2012 (Day Two)

Game 6: vs Sundram Pillai
Sundram is an ex-colleague of Bee Tiang. Was leading quite comfortably when I opened up for my opponent for him to put HEALERS(91) down the triple word lane. I still managed to win by a small margin but now I realised that having a good rack leave becomes less important as the game progresses.

New words learnt:
My Bingos: ScENTED(82) Opp Bingos: HEALERS(91)
My Phoneys: TEP* Opp Phoneys: VOA*, UNcARES*
My High Moves: YEX(39) Opp High Moves: QUIMS(52), ZA(31)
W 381-375, +6. 3W 3L (Accum spread -116).

Game 7: vs Steven Surya
Steven Surya is a student from Indonesia. I played with him three times during the 2011 Causeway Cup and lost twice. Lost to him again as we each had two bingos but he scored very well with his power tiles. Missed STORMIER down the triple score lane with an EIMORST rack and an existing R on the board.

New words learnt: -
My Bingos: BENDERS(82), MOISTER(76) Opp Bingos: LATINAS(76), NEATENS(80)
My Phoneys: Opp Phoneys: -
My High Moves: QIS(39) Opp High Moves: FIX(54), JOW(38), PING(34), WILE(33), LEAZE(77)
L 385-538, -153. 3W 4L (Accum spread -269).

Game 8: vs Low Bee Tiang
Thought I would have an easy game with Bee Tiang but it was not to be. He had a bingo early in the game and I phonied at a crucial point of the game to give him a second bingo for him to seal the game.

New words learnt:
My Bingos: - Opp Bingos: WRESTED(101), UNVEILS(76)
My Phoneys: YADI* Opp Phoneys: cLARIOUS*
My High Moves: EF(30), WHIPS(34), DETAIL(32), DAB(36), PI(30), CIVE(36) Opp High Moves: REX(31), SQUIZ(56)
L 389-438, -49. 3W 5L (Accum spread -318).

Game 9: vs Mary Morgan
Mary Morgan was a friendly old lady from Ireland. We had one bingo each and I got away with DES* while both LUB* and PELK* were taken off the board. It was a close game and I just pipped her for a win

New words learnt: -
My Bingos: ANEROID(73) Opp Bingos: NETTLES(74)
My Phoneys: DES*, LUB* Opp Phoneys: PELK*
My High Moves: WE(31), OYS(30) Opp High Moves: GAZE(34), PRONG(35), JOT(31), HOX(31)
W 381-371, +10. 4W 5L (Accum spread -308).

Game 10: vs Neo Wei Sheng
Wei Sheng is Jeremy's school mate from Raffles Institution. Had close to zero chance of meeting Jeremy now at this King of the Hill stage as he is on top of the leader board while I was close to the bottom. Our scores were pretty close until he bingoed with TaNGELo(77) using two blanks and scored well with REX(40) two moves later for him to seal the game.

New words learnt:
My Bingos: - Opp Bingos: TaNGELo(77)
My Phoneys: - Opp Phoneys: -
My High Moves: MIRTH(39), UNDID(34), AHIS(38), ECAD(31) Opp High Moves: ZIP(37), REX(40)
L 315-409, -94. 4W 6L (Accum spread -412).

Game 11: vs Harryadi
Harryadi was the third Indonesian player that I played. Hendy Yohanes was the only Indonesian player that I didn't play with . We had one bingo each but he scored well late in the game with AMNESIA(30) across the triple word score lane to maintain a 20 point lead to win.

New words learnt: -
My Bingos: PERVeRT(76) Opp Bingos: rOARIEST(74)
My Phoneys: Opp Phoneys: NOP*
My High Moves: KEN(30), PLOY(33), AMNESIA(30) Opp High Moves: ZORI(36)
L 350-374, -24. 4W 7L (Accum spread -436).

Game 12: vs Kok Eugene
Was very lucky in this game as I had both blanks, all the power tiles and three S to win easily.

New words learnt:
My Bingos: STuDIES(64), MEANINg(65) Opp Bingos:
My Phoneys: - Opp Phoneys: -
My High Moves: COGENT(40), ZINS(44), OAF(30) Opp High Moves: WITE(33)
W 488-257, +231. 5W 7L (Accum spread -205).

Finished with 5 wins and 7 losses. Was a little bit disappointed as I had expected to win at least half the games but it was an interesting experience to play with so many new faces at a local competition!

Jurong Green CC Cup 2012 (Day One)

This is my first time visiting Jurong Green CC after its renovation and it looked brand new! At least five overseas players were participating in division B: four from Indonesia and one from Ireland. Went for lunch with the Indonesian players before coming back for the first game.

Game 1: vs Gabriel
Gabriel is an NTU Scrabble player. I challenged three times unsuccessfully while he challenged off my TOYA*. I have mixed it up with HOYA and TOYO. We had one bingo each but he was able to score much better than me most of the time to win.

New words learnt: TOWY, ALOW, ECOS
My Bingos: NAILERS(61) Opp Bingos: RIOTING(79)
My Phoneys: TOYA*, GRIMS*(39) Opp Phoneys: -
My High Moves: GRIMS*(39), JOHN(30), VIRL(30), KI(41) Opp High Moves: ALOW(44), FEMS(50), TEX(31), EQUID(30), ROJI(36)
L 352-453, -101. 0W 1L (Accum spread -101).

Game 2: vs Reynaldo
Reynaldo was another Scrabble player from NTU. Had better luck this time round. I had two bingos against my opponent's one and was able to score better most of the time to win.

New words learnt: -
My Bingos: DARLINGS(61), PANIERS(66) Opp Bingos: GLUEING(81)
My Phoneys: - Opp Phoneys: TAJS*
My High Moves: BOWER(38), FY(32) Opp High Moves: VIBE(39)
W 436-329, +107. 1W 1L (Accum spread +6).

Game 3: vs Shahrul
Shahrul was working in Singapore Polytechnic. I was trashed by him as he had four bingos versus one from me.

New words learnt: RESOLING
My Bingos: CREATIN(76) Opp Bingos: BASInET(75), TRIAGES(69), PLAINEST(64), RESOLING(75)
My Phoneys: - Opp Phoneys: -
My High Moves: JAR(30), ZETA(33) Opp High Moves: MAFIA(35), YEA(34), TUX(32)
L 382-475, -93. 1W 2L (Accum spread -87).

Game 4: vs Eugene Kok
Eugene was the third NTU Scrabble player that I played. I had very good tiles to bingo three times to win but he scored well with the KQXZ tiles to stay not far behind.

New words learnt: STIRK
My Bingos: PREVENT(80), CENTERED(63), SODAINE(66) Opp Bingos: -
My Phoneys: - Opp Phoneys: STRINK*
My High Moves: DOC(30) Opp High Moves: ZITS(39), QIN(32), DEX(33), SKIRT(36)
W 464-343, +121. 2W 2L (Accum spread +34).

Game 5: vs Albert Martono
Albert was the first Indonesian player that I played. He had very good tiles but I also gave many points to him as I took some risks to open up the board for myself. Think I may have given him the high game of the day.

New words learnt: POINDER
My Bingos: UNITERS(66), CLINGERS(72) Opp Bingos: GUINEAS(79), INeArTH(87), POINDER(100)
My Phoneys: - Opp Phoneys: rT*
My High Moves: OB(31) Opp High Moves: FOX(38), ITA(47), YEVE(36)
L 367-523, -156. 2W 3L (Accum spread -122).

Finished day 1 with 2 wins and 3 losses.

Village People Radio Show

The story is about the lives of ex-Malayan Communist Party members who ended up staying in Thailand.

Liked how the image relates to the narration like the ant procession, the chained monkey and the play about the abandoned baby!

Internet Movie Database Link

DSTA Inter-PC Scrabble

This is the first time DSTA is organising an inter-PC Scrabble competition and six people from various PCs took part: Chew Chuah, myself, Hung Peng, Seow Kie, Yew Hang and Peng Kee. We played a total of 3 games in straight King-of-the-Hill format.

Game 1 vs Seow Kie
I had ALIENED(76) and scored well with MAKE(40), ZAG(38), TRAYS(32) and JILT(36) while her UNCITE* was taken off the board. My TRAYS(32) was formed by front hooking the S to an existing CAP but she did not challenge SCAP* and I win easily by 434 to 225.

Game 2 vs Chew Chuah
I have not played Chew Chuah for a long time already and I knew he was a formidable opponent! He had WRONGED(81) and IONISED(67) while I had SHERIAT(96). I phonied with RAKIEST* and ETICS* which were taken off the board and I lost by 363 to 447. Missed the two anagrams for AEIKRST!

Game 3 vs Yew Hang
I had LATTICE(79) and he had TOURING(74). I also scored well with KAM(30), YIP(30), LOW(36), TUX(30) and DEATH(63) to win by 434 to 309. We had one phoney each and they were both challenged off. I had UNAILED* while he had ZOE*. Missed the two anagrams for ADEILNU!

In the end, Chew Chuah won first position with 3 wins. I won second position by having a slightly better spread than Hung Peng who won third position. It was fun but a little bit distracting to be the organiser at the same time. Would probably consider hiring an external tournament director the next time round.

A Separation

The story is about how an Iranian couple's decision to separate affected their lives. The father had to employ a maid and an incident led to a legal dispute between the two families.

Liked the interesting plot and how the director slowly revealed what actually happened from different perspectives!

Internet Movie Database Link

The Naked Island

The story is about how a poor Japanese family lived on a small island despite the difficult environmental conditions.

Liked the director's deliberate attempt to take away the dialogue and let the family's action speak for itself!

Internet Movie Database Link

Mother Joan of the Angels

The story is about how a priest helped to exorcise a possessed nun in a convent.

Great acting by the actress who acted as Mother Joan! I also liked the nice choral music! Felt that the nun's uniform in "Black Narcissus" looked prettier though.

Internet Movie Database Link

The Thin Red Line

The story is about how a group of American soldiers felt when they went to fight in a small Pacific Island with the Japanese during Second Word War.

Liked the nice philosophical voice over narration and the interesting flashbacks!

Internet Movie Database Link

Hugo

The story is about how a young boy whose father died came to live in the train station and came to know an eccentric old man who is a toy shop owner.

Liked the nice black and white old movie clips shown and the nice cinematography!

Internet Movie Database Link

The Dream of a Ridiculous Man

This animation is based on a short story of the same title by Dostoevsky. A man's attempted suicide was interrupted by a young girl in the street and he had a dream about utopia when he went home to sleep.

Liked the beautiful painting style and the interesting plot that painted a vision for the future of mankind!

Internet Movie Database Link

Happy Thank You More Please

The story is about how six young adults living in New York juggle love, friendship and the responsibilities of adulthood.

Liked the nice folk music soundtrack!

Internet Movie Database Link

Happy End

The story is about how a man was given the death sentence for killing his wife and lover told in reverse chronological order.

Liked the interesting concept but the special effects of eating, talking and walking in reverse got tiresome after a while.

Internet Movie Database Link

Ways of the Sea

The story is about people who illegally travelled from the Phillipines to Sabah by boat to look for work.

Liked the docu-drama approach and the nice song in the film! Great acting by the little girl!

Internet Movie Database Link

In Two Minds

The story is based on a folk tale about how a new bride spent a few years with a ghost that took the form of her husband while he was away on business and what happened after he returned.

Liked the colorful cinematography, the innovative use of static shots and the beautiful music! The plot was interesting too!

Internet Movie Database Link

Sunflower

The story is about the relationship between a father and his son over a period of thirty years from the late sixties to the late nineties in China.

Nice paintings at the art exhibition and liked how the father and son reconciled towards the end! Thought the director could have condensed the plot a little bit more though.

Internet Movie Database Link

City Lights

The story is about a tramp's relationships with a blind girl and a rich man.

Liked the interesting plot and the nice ending!

Internet Movie Database Link

Sita Sings the Blues

The story is based on an Indian epic, the Ramayana, that described the ups and downs in the relationship between prince Rama and his wife Sita after they were banished to the forest.

Liked how the director weaved her own story into the film and used different ways to tell the same story! It was refreshing to learn the plot through the discussion among the three narrators! The songs were appropriate and nice too!

Internet Movie Database Link

My Magic

The story is about the relationship between an alcoholic father who used to be a magician and his son who was cared for mainly by his grandmother.

Liked the quiet scenes such as the one where the train passed by in the background. Didn't really like the magic shows which were too extreme in my opinion.

Internet Movie Database Link

Thirst for Love

The story is about how a young widow became her father-in-law's lover but secretly had a desire for the apathetic gardener.

Liked the interesting psychological study into the different characters! Great acting by the lead actress!

Internet Movie Database Link

Margin Call

The story is about how a group of traders discovered the real risk of mortgage based securities in 2008 and the boss of the company decided to sell everything off the next day.

Great acting by Kevin Spacey and Jeremy Irons! Hoped they could explain a little bit more on some of the financial terms though.

Internet Movie Database Link

Black Sun

The story is about how a jazz loving Japanese encountered an injured black American soldier who was wanted for murder and carried a machine gun.

Liked how the friendship grew between the Japanese and the American despite their difficulty to communicate with each other!

Internet Movie Database Link

I Hate But Love

The story is about the love-hate relationship between a well known DJ and his manager cum lover.

Liked the nice little journey across Japan on the old jeep! Both the DJ's girlfriend and the jeep owner looked quite pretty!

Internet Movie Database Link

The Warped Ones

The story is about how a jazz loving delinquent took revenge on a young reporter who had tipped him off to get him in jail by raping his girlfriend. She became pregnant and had to take drastic steps to make things "normal" again.

Liked the fast pace action and the interesting twists to the plot!

Internet Movie Database Link

The Artist

The story is about how a popular silent film actor coped when silent films gradually became obsolete with the invention of talkies.

Liked the performance of the dog very much! Didn't quite understand Valentin's reluctance to move into talkies though and felt the later part of the film dragged a little.

Internet Movie Database Link

Beam

The story is about a small boy who made friends with an unknown neighbour by shining a beam of light at each other for several nights.

Liked the intimate portrayal of the family! Great acting by the little boy!

Internet Movie Database Link

Mee Pok Man

The story is about a mee pok stall owner's obsession with a prostitute who frequented his stall.

Liked how different people used different language to communicate in the film and the voice over narration from the diary! A little bit too creepy for my taste towards the end though.

Internet Movie Database Link

Intimidation

The story is about how a man's senior position in a bank was threatened when someone who knew about his illegal loans confronted him.

Liked the interesting human psychology games played in the film and the detailed examination on how the bank worked internally!

Internet Movie Database Link

Passing Fancy

The story is about how a blue-collared worker helped a young retrenched woman to find a job and how his infatuation with her affected his relationship with his colleague and his son.

Great acting by the father and the son!

Internet Movie Database Link

Carmen

The story is about how the director of a Spanish dance company searched for a lead dancer for his new dance production "Carmen" and how his life slowly began to resemble its plot.

Liked the beautiful dance sequences! The actress who played Carmen looked quite pretty too!

Internet Movie Database Link

Gorsch The Cellist

The story is about how a cellist in the orchestra improved his skills with the help of several animals living in his neighborhood.

Liked the nice music and the interesting plot! The cat, the cuckoo bird, the badger and the mouse all looked very cute!

Internet Movie Database Link

A Christmas Tale

The story is about a Christmas family reunion. The mother is having cancer and needs a bone marrow donor from her descendants, the eldest daughter is not on good terms with the middle son and the cousin is still in love with the youngest son's wife.

Found it hard to follow the plot initially as it rambled on in different directions but everything tied together very nicely in the end!

Internet Movie Database Link

Lunch On The Grass

The story is about how a young woman fell in love with a scientist who just discovered the power of artificial insemination and was advocating it in the late fifties.

Liked the intellectual debate on the use of artificial insemination and the comedic elements of the film!

Internet Movie Database Link

A Day In The Country

The story is about what how a French family from the city spent one day in the country for their holiday.

Liked the nice scenery in the countryside and the actress looked quite pretty! The ending was a little bit sad as the protagonists thought back about the happier moments in their lives.

Internet Movie Database Link

Causeway Cup 2011 (Day 5)

Round 40 vs Moses(Nigeria)
My third time playing Moses. Won with my INERTIA(69) against his EGOTISE(74) and SENTRIES(58). He almost had a third bingo GUANINE if one of the A on his rack was an I.

Round 41 vs Hanne Marks(Australia)
A rematch with Hanne. Missed an opening bingo with LOGOUTS when I decided to play OUTLOGS* instead as I remembered INBOXES* was no good in a previous game. Lost as she scored with MALTING(77) against my PLEASED(77) and RETAINS(62).

Round 42 vs Nidhi Singhvi(India)
A rematch with Nidhi. Won as I had FRAGILE(72) against her RESHINE(86). My STAN* and her DURATES* and FOXT* were challenged off.

Round 43 vs Steven Surya(Indonesia)
A rematch with Steven. Won as I had CREASED(76), RODENTS(87) and RUMbLED(89) against his ACCURATE(74), VENDERS(74) and TELAMON(77). He made two mistakes that gave me the win. First, he did not challenge off my DIPH* when I played HOI back hooking the H for 28 points. Then, he opened up the board with TIT, emptied the bag and allowed me to bingo out with RUMbLED(89).

Round 44 vs Martin Waterworth(Australia)
My third time playing Martin. Lost as he had WIRIEST(71) and OVERHAND(45) while I had TORNADE(73) and TRADING(73). Should have blocked the TWS lane with BAPU instead of leaving it open for him to score with WAXES for 45 points back hooking the S to BAP.

Round 45 vs Steven Surya(Indonesia)
My third time playing Steven. Both of us were out of top ten contention so it was more like a friendly match now. Lost as he had LUNGERS(79) and was able to score well in the end game while I and AUNTIES(72).

Won 25 out of 45 games in the end and was placed 24th position out of 84 players. Thought it was not too bad considering some of the mistakes that I made. Will miss participating in the Causeway Challenge as this is the last one being held.

Causeway Cup 2011 (Day 4)

Round 30 vs Adele Tan(Malaysia)
Had a rematch with Adele and lost as she bingoed with NONAGES(71) while I had no bingos.

Round 31 vs Marcus Loke(Malaysia)
Had a rematch with Marcus and lost as he bingoed with GRUNTER(74) and CENTRIES(85) while I had no bingos.

Round 32 vs Sunny Wright(Australia)
Won easily against this elderly lady from Australia as I had TOADIES(67) and FINERIES(62) against her SPOILER(62).

Round 33 vs Caroline Scowcroft(Australia)
Won easily against this lady from Australia as I had OUTSIDE(72) and FITNESS(77) while she had no bingos.

Round 34 vs Moses Oguwa(Nigeria)
Had a rematch with Moses and won with my SIERRAN(71) and RELINED(77). Would not have been able to play RELINED if he did not open up with RECT* for me to front hook with an E.

Round 35 vs Nicky Huitson(UK)
Lost to this lady from UK as she scored with DOATING(80) and MARINAS(66) against my STEERER(70) and RAVINES(84). Thought I could out with AULE* but it was challenged off.

Round 36 vs Carolyn Watt(Australia)
Won this lady from Australia as I scored with MILEAGE(72) against her ROSETTE(73). I think she gave the game away as she tried to bingo three times with phoneys, PANICED*, CONEISH* and COCHINE* and they were challenged off.

Round 37 vs Steven Surya(Indonesia)
Lost to this young man from Indonesia as he scored with BETTING(75) and MUTINGS*(76) against my RETINAE(69). Should have challenged both MUTINGS* and DES* when he played the bingo back hooking the S to an existing DE. I challenged off his FUADS* and KOURAN* though.

Round 38 vs Rex D'Souza(India)
Lost to this middle aged man from India as he had OARIEST(63) and ENTRIES(68) against my SNORTIER(67) and LEGATORS(60). Missed a turn when my TREASION* was challenged off as I thought that it was good.

Round 39 vs Martin Waterworth(Australia)
Had a rematch with Martin and won as I scored with DIALERS(66) against his POUNCES(67).

Causeway Cup 2011 (Day 3)

Round 20 vs Nidhi Singhvi(India)
Won this young lady from India with my SHAFTED(91), NAILERS(79) and SOAPIER(69) against her ERASIONS(64) and ENTERED(62).

Round 21 vs Betty Eriksen(New Zealand)
Won this lady from New Zealand with my DETOURS(69) and BANDITS(68). Saw the bingo with a AEGILOS rack towards the end but I thought it was unplayable as I kept thinking there was only the A front-hook to an existing REW on the board.

Round 22 vs Colleen Walker(Australia)
Won this lady from Australia with my ETAERIOS(74) and ERINITE(73) against her SCOUTER(87) and SLANTED(72).

Round 23 vs Pasit Teeka(Thailand)
Lost to this small boy from Thailand as he scored well with DILATES(72) and QUITE(78) while I had nothing.

Round 24 vs Marcus Loke(Malaysia)
This must be my worst game ever in this competition. Lost to this intensely competitive teenager from Malaysia as he scored with CORNEAL(75), COMPRISE(92) and METTLED(76). I had a EENOSTV rack towards the end and tried LOVENEST* with a floating L on the board but unfortunately it was challenged off.

Round 25 vs Maureen See(Australia)
Lost to this lady from Australia as she scored with SPIRULA(77), ANODISE(73) and CARTAGE(91) against my STAINED(73). I could have opened with a bingo if I have played REFLUENT instead of FLUENTER* which was challenged off.

Round 26 vs Zeenath Ariff(Malaysia)
Won this lady from Malaysia as I scored with TEDIEST(93) and REGARDED(72) against her SINUATE(68). I also scored well with DIFF(40) and challenged off her BINED*.

Round 27 vs Jean Noonan(Australia)
Had a bye for this game to win 175 to 100.

Round 28 vs Adele Tan(Malaysia)
Lost to the president of the Malaysian Scrabble Association as she scored with LINAGES(66) against my PROBERS(78). My REGATED* was also challenged off.

Round 29 vs Jessie Lim(Singapore)
I was trailing behind this Singaporean Masters player until I finally found a bingo with SINUATES(66) and scored well with XI(52) using her UNCI on the board to win.

Causeway Cup 2011 (Day 2)

Round 10 vs Asad Raza Merchant(Pakistan)
Managed to win this young boy from Pakistan by scoring consistently against his two bingos ATEBrIN(72) and STRIVEN(73).

Round 11 vs Hanne Marks(Australia)
Lost to this elderly lady from Australia who played TREAGUES(73) against my VECTORED(83). Each of us phonied once. I played TEP* while she played ARGUTES*.

Round 12 vs Hema Abeyasinghe(Malaysia)
My luckiest game in this tournament was against this young lady from Malaysia. I had five bingos INEARTH(77), REALISE(79), ATONERS(78), LEOTArD(90) and WHEELED(81) while she had GLOSSIER(82). I missed her PAG* phoney while she challenged off my AlLOTED*.

Round 13 vs Anocha Sirithongchai(Thailand)
Played against this pretty Thai girl last year and I remembered we had a really close match. It was a really close match this time round too. I had RAINIEST(77) while she had DoUBTER(94) and TENSION(67). Eked out a win because I managed to out first and because she phonied twice with ReDEBUT* and TONNIES*.

Round 14 vs Sunny Wright(Australia)
Won this elderly lady from Australia with my PAsTRIES(80). I also got away with PRUNY*(20).

Round 15 vs Jenny Coetzee(Australia)
Won this elderly lady from Australia with my ANISOLE(76) and RELATES(68) against her DISHIER(84).

Round 16 vs Hamza Sheik(Pakistan)
Won this young boy from Pakistan with my INBOXES*(106) and JUTE(43) against his RAILERS(72). His URA* phoney was also challenged off.

Round 17 vs Lim Sha Lyn(Malaysia)
Lost to this young lady from Malaysia as she bingoed twice with EARLOBE(72) and SEATING(75). Her RUDY* was challenged off though.

Round 18 vs Moses Oguwa(Nigeria)
Played with Moses the second time and lost as he scored consistently while I bingoed twice with CAJOLED(73) and REMAINED(62). My UVE* phoney was also challenged off.

Round 19 vs Syed Taha ul Huda(Pakistan)
Won this young boy from Pakistan with my DUELERS(70), ENTASIA(68) and TRIBALS(101) against his INQUeRE(93). He should probably have played ENQUIRy instead of INQUeRE as INQUeRE was just next to the TWS lane which enabled me to score well with TRIBALS back hooking the S.

Causeway Cup 2011 (Day 1)

This is the tenth and last Causeway Cup. The Open section had the same number of players like last year but the format has changed to king of the hill with no repeats.

Round 1 vs Aubrey Millet(India)
My first opponent was a middle aged man who was a professor from India. Missed a chance to move ahead when my SENATERS* played with a AEENRTS rack and a floating S in the bottom center to hit the TWS cell was challenged off. Later, he scored well with MAVINS for 50 points and we had one bingo each. He had REAPING(78) and I had ORIENTS(73). Lost by more than 100 points in the end.

Round 2 vs Tashwindran(Malaysia)
Tashwindran was a small boy who was a beginner. Won easily as I challenged off two of my opponent's phoneys and played two bingos, NEGATION(71) and ATRESIA(68).

Round 3 vs Moses Owugah(Nigeria)
My third opponent was an young man from Nigeria. Lost by slightly more than 50 points as I had REGAINED(59) while he had STONING(67) and SLENDER(70).

Round 4 vs Martin Waterworth(Australia)
Martin was a bespectacled man with a beard whom I played a few months ago at a Scrabble event in Singapore. I had ETESIAN(71) and LATRINES(59) while he had UPFOLDS(85) and AdVIsED(74). Got away with UNCAN* and scored well with ZEA(32) but he also scored with EXIT(33) and JEAT(38) to lose by about 100 points.

Round 5 vs Gary Pollard(Australia)
Gary was a casually dressed Australian and had a beard similar to the one from Nigel. Lost by over 100 points as my opponent had KEEPERS(72), OVERAGE(92) and MEANIES(65) while I only had VANTAGE(82).

Round 6 vs Mary Morgan(Ireland)
My first female opponent was an elderly lady from Ireland. I had RULIEST(72) and scored well with QUINS(66) to take the game.

Round 7 vs Umair Khalidi(Pakistan)
Umair was a young boy from Pakistan. Won easily with my ENDEARS(71) and ENGRAVED(67) against his RELISTS(66).

Round 8 vs Tsholofelo Modise(South Africa)
My second female opponent was a girl from South Africa. Had SEERING(81) and ATELIeR(74) to win pretty easily. Should probably have played IRATELy instead of ATELIeR as she was able to score well with SHE(30) subsequently with the H on the triple letter cell.

Round 9 vs Maureen See(Australia)
My third female opponent was a woman from Australia whom I played before at last year's Causeway Challenge. Lost as I did not have any bingos while she had DANCIER(76).

You are the Apple of My Eye

The story is based on a autobiographical novel written by Taiwanese author, Giddens Ko, about his youthful days spent with a group of friends and a pretty girl in class.

Liked the interesting plot and the actress who played Shen Jiayi! Not sure if the male nudity scenes were really necessary and felt the film dragged a little bit towards the end though.

Internet Movie Database Link

Best of Stuggart Animation Festival - International

Liked "The Cow Who Wanted To Be a Hamburger", "Changeling" and "Monstre Sacre" the best for their interesting storyline!

"Tatamp" was a nice musical animation experiment. "The Lost Thing", "Nullarbor", "The Boy Who Wanted To Be a Lion", "The Box" and "Preferably Blue" were also not bad. Didn't really like "The External World" as it was too pessimistic.

Best of Stuttgart Animation Festival - Baden Watenburgh

Liked the "Princess' Painting", "Tom & Die Ameisen" and "The Visit" the best as they were pretty straightforward and easy to understand.

"On the Way Back Home" was imaginative and "Loom" was beautifully drawn! The rest of the films "Sunday 2", "Ravenboy", "Es Geht Um Alles", "Halbschatten", "Orpheus' Pony", "Kopfsache" and "Meinungsmeer" were too abstract in my opinion.

Among the trailers, I liked the last one with the tatoo characters the best!

Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva

The story is about how Professor Layton solved a mystery that stemmed from an ancient legend together with his assistants.

Liked the interesting puzzles that the team had to solve! Great action sequences too!

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The Straits of Love and Hate

The story is an adaptation of Tolstoy's novel, "Resurrection". A girl's life is ruined by a rich guy but he only realised his mistake years later and wanted to make amends.

Liked how the director managed to distil the essence of the long novel by discarding the legal, political and religious aspects! The scene where the guy first begged for forgiveness in his room was particularly well crafted in my opinion!

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Amour Legende

The story is about a couple from Taiwan travelling around a foreign island with Spanish speaking inhabitants. The guy has forgotten about the past and relies on his partner to guide him along.

Liked the interesting flashbacks but was confused about many other parts of the film!

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Bedevilled

The story is about the reunion of two childhood friends when one of them took a long break from work and returned back from Seoul to her home town on an island.

Watched "Io Island" by Kim Ki Young prior to this, so I was prepared for the strange behaviour of the people living on the island! Liked how the director let the audience slowly piece together what happened in the past themselves.

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Hahaha

The story is about two friends chatting about their encounters in the city.

Liked the interesting plot and how everything came together so nicely! The various girlfriends looked quite pretty too!

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My Perestroika

This is a documentary about a handful of middle-aged Russians explaining the impact of Perestroika on their lives.

Liked the old black and white footages of the children! Thought the girls looked quite cute with the gigantic ribbons on their head! The songs were nice too!

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Images of Singapore from French Television 1964-1973

This consisted of several French short documentaries on Singapore shortly after becoming part of Malaysia.

Liked the footages of old Chinatown and depiction of what people liked to do during that era such as watching Chinese Opera in the streets! Didn't know even small children were interested in it back then!

Fear and Trembling

The story is about the working life of a Belgian woman in a Japanese company.

Liked how humor was used to introduce us to Japan's working culture that is highly hierarchical! The reference to "Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence" was interesting too!

Internet Movie Database Link