Went to watch the film as Ezann Lee is acting in it! There are three subplots in the film and they share a common theme: a longing for our loved ones. "Meant To Be" is about a lonely old provision shopkeeper. "Finding Love" is about a middle aged security guard who secretly admires someone working in the same building as he does. "So In Love" is about how the relationship between two teenage girls changes over time.
BWM is inspired by an extra-ordinary woman, Theresa Chan, who is both blind and deaf but still manages to lead an independent life. She is also the glue that joins the three stories together. Her story reminds me of The Land of Silence and Darkness which I saw not long ago.
I like the nice piano soundtrack and the minimal use of dialogue to convey the message! Ezann Lee and the security guard acted very well! Samantha looks quite pretty too! Some minus points are too many close-ups and information overload in the subtitles. Highly recommended!
Internet Movie Database Link
Review with nice movie stills!
Saturday, September 24, 2005
Sunday, September 18, 2005
The Three Colors Trilogy
The Three Colors Trilogy is a series of films by Polish director Krzysztof Kieslowski based on the three colors of the French flag: blue, white and red. The colors represent liberty, equality and fraternity respectively. "Blue" is about a young woman re-discovering herself, "White" is about a an ex-husband seeking revenge on his wife and "Red" is about a beautiful model's encounter with a stranger.
The nice DVD boxset that I bought at HMV comes with lots of special features! The cover looks very pretty too! I just started to watch the special features in "Blue" and there are many interviews with the lead actress Juliette Binoche, film critics and the director's friends.
Saw "Blue" a few years ago at Alliance Francaise and I was impressed by the visual effects with the use of colors, the in-depth character development and the small little details that link the three films together. The interviews gave me a better insight into how the different film techniques are used to tell the story more effectively! The DVD is rated M18 though, so you can't watch it if you are under 18.
Blue: Internet Movie Database Link
White: Internet Movie Database Link
Red: Internet Movie Database Link
The nice DVD boxset that I bought at HMV comes with lots of special features! The cover looks very pretty too! I just started to watch the special features in "Blue" and there are many interviews with the lead actress Juliette Binoche, film critics and the director's friends.
Saw "Blue" a few years ago at Alliance Francaise and I was impressed by the visual effects with the use of colors, the in-depth character development and the small little details that link the three films together. The interviews gave me a better insight into how the different film techniques are used to tell the story more effectively! The DVD is rated M18 though, so you can't watch it if you are under 18.
Blue: Internet Movie Database Link
White: Internet Movie Database Link
Red: Internet Movie Database Link
Saturday, September 10, 2005
The Bow
Saw this at the Korean film festival in Orchard Cineleisure. The story is about a 60 year old man and a 16 year old girl living on a boat together. The old man is waiting for the girl to reach 17 years old to marry her. Meanwhile, outsiders would pay to come on board to fish and stay a few days. The relationship between the girl and the old man changes when a college guy gets on board the ship.
This is a quiet film where the two lead characters hardly speak at all but the expressions on their faces say a lot about what they feel. I think it is interesting how the bow is used both as a weapon and a musical instrument! The same bow is used by the old man to shoot at people who harass the girl, as well as to play music when he is bored. The way the old man helps his customers tell their fortune is also very innovative!
The director Kim Ki Duk has taken ideas from his previous films and put it in this one. The setting is similar to The Isle where people fish on a quite lake, the same actress acted in Samaritan Girl, the quiet couple reminds me of 3 Iron and scenes where people peep through the window reminds me of Bad Guy. I think KKD has toned his film down quite a bit in terms of sex and violence since his early days. TI and BG had a R21 rating, SG was M18, 3I and TB both has an NC16 rating.
The ending is very well done and I like the surprise twist at the end where the arrow fell from the sky and something happened!
Internet Movie Database Link
Korean Film Review
This is a quiet film where the two lead characters hardly speak at all but the expressions on their faces say a lot about what they feel. I think it is interesting how the bow is used both as a weapon and a musical instrument! The same bow is used by the old man to shoot at people who harass the girl, as well as to play music when he is bored. The way the old man helps his customers tell their fortune is also very innovative!
The director Kim Ki Duk has taken ideas from his previous films and put it in this one. The setting is similar to The Isle where people fish on a quite lake, the same actress acted in Samaritan Girl, the quiet couple reminds me of 3 Iron and scenes where people peep through the window reminds me of Bad Guy. I think KKD has toned his film down quite a bit in terms of sex and violence since his early days. TI and BG had a R21 rating, SG was M18, 3I and TB both has an NC16 rating.
The ending is very well done and I like the surprise twist at the end where the arrow fell from the sky and something happened!
Internet Movie Database Link
Korean Film Review
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
March of the Penguins
An interesting French documentary about the Emperor Penguins living in the polar regions. Not sure whether is it North or South pole though. I guess it is the North pole as I didn't see any polar bears around.
What makes this different from regular documentaries is the use of songs and first person narration to tell the story. This allows us to feel closer to the penguins rather than cold facts and figures. Didn't realise that the penguins have to travel so much during their life! They look like elegant businessmen in suits when they walk, cool surf boarders when they slide on their stomachs and great athletes when they swim and leap out of the water! The scenery looks quite pretty too!
Internet Movie Database Link
What makes this different from regular documentaries is the use of songs and first person narration to tell the story. This allows us to feel closer to the penguins rather than cold facts and figures. Didn't realise that the penguins have to travel so much during their life! They look like elegant businessmen in suits when they walk, cool surf boarders when they slide on their stomachs and great athletes when they swim and leap out of the water! The scenery looks quite pretty too!
Internet Movie Database Link
Saturday, September 03, 2005
Dude, Where's My Car?
Chanced upon this little gem when I was channel surfing. The story is about what happened when two friends, Jesse and Chester, woke up and found that their car was missing. They soon discover that this is not a simple case of car theft and that they are involved in something very much bigger.
Jesse and Chester have many strange encounters as they try to recover their car. I like the interesting people that they meet and the funny gags that play on words! The film reminds me of The Discrete Charm of the Bourgeoisie when they show how sadistic the officer at the car pound is and the several dream sequences by one of the main leads. The way they repeat their dialogue also reminds me of how Kevin Bacon lamented to his psychologist in The Woodsman that their conversation is like a merry-go-round.
The finale is very well done! I am very impressed by how the two friends use both their wits and brawn to handle a super-emergency situation! The large scale special effects is visually stunning too!
Internet Movie Database Link
Jesse and Chester have many strange encounters as they try to recover their car. I like the interesting people that they meet and the funny gags that play on words! The film reminds me of The Discrete Charm of the Bourgeoisie when they show how sadistic the officer at the car pound is and the several dream sequences by one of the main leads. The way they repeat their dialogue also reminds me of how Kevin Bacon lamented to his psychologist in The Woodsman that their conversation is like a merry-go-round.
The finale is very well done! I am very impressed by how the two friends use both their wits and brawn to handle a super-emergency situation! The large scale special effects is visually stunning too!
Internet Movie Database Link
Friday, September 02, 2005
The Woodsman
The film is about how an ex-offender adjusts back to society despite constant temptation to return back to his evil ways and prejudice from other co-workers.
Kevin Bacon plays the lead character in TW. We see him working quietly by himself in the lumber yard, having therapy with his psychologist and watching the activities at the school across his home. A female co-worker and a police sergeant would sometimes visit him to see how he is doing.
Great acting by Kevin Bacon! His facial expression allows the audience feel his struggles to lead a "normal" life. It reminds me of his performance in "Hollow Man" where he acted as a man who turned invisible in an experiment and was tempted to do things that he would normally not do.
The conversations with the psychologist and the police sergeant are quite interesting too! Also liked the touching scene with Kevin Bacon sitting on the bench in the park talking to someone towards the end of the film!
Afternote: Check out http://www.yellowribbon.org.sg/ that describes events that aim to help ex-offenders. I saw the ads when I was taking the bus home.
Internet Movie Database Link
Kevin Bacon plays the lead character in TW. We see him working quietly by himself in the lumber yard, having therapy with his psychologist and watching the activities at the school across his home. A female co-worker and a police sergeant would sometimes visit him to see how he is doing.
Great acting by Kevin Bacon! His facial expression allows the audience feel his struggles to lead a "normal" life. It reminds me of his performance in "Hollow Man" where he acted as a man who turned invisible in an experiment and was tempted to do things that he would normally not do.
The conversations with the psychologist and the police sergeant are quite interesting too! Also liked the touching scene with Kevin Bacon sitting on the bench in the park talking to someone towards the end of the film!
Afternote: Check out http://www.yellowribbon.org.sg/ that describes events that aim to help ex-offenders. I saw the ads when I was taking the bus home.
Internet Movie Database Link
Sunday, August 28, 2005
Art Museum By The Zoo
Missed a large part of the show as I thought Central was showing it another day when I saw the stills of "The Way Home" in the newspaper. In actual fact, the two Korean films were showing on the same 9pm time slot: the former on Central and the latter on Channel U. Incidentally, I was browsing http://us.imdb.com and found that both films are by the same director!
AMBTZ looked quite interesting from the few scenes that I saw! The male and female leads collaborated to write a story that talks about how a girl working at the art museum met a vet at the zoo. Didn't quite catch the details as I was watching "The Apprentice" at the same time but the leads do have the right chemistry together! The female lead, Shim Eun-Ha also acted in "Christmas In August" that is another film that I enjoyed.
Art Museum By the Zoo: IMDB Link
Art Museum By The Zoo: Korean Film Review
Christmas In August: IMDB Link
Christmas In August: Korean Film Review
AMBTZ looked quite interesting from the few scenes that I saw! The male and female leads collaborated to write a story that talks about how a girl working at the art museum met a vet at the zoo. Didn't quite catch the details as I was watching "The Apprentice" at the same time but the leads do have the right chemistry together! The female lead, Shim Eun-Ha also acted in "Christmas In August" that is another film that I enjoyed.
Art Museum By the Zoo: IMDB Link
Art Museum By The Zoo: Korean Film Review
Christmas In August: IMDB Link
Christmas In August: Korean Film Review
Monday, August 22, 2005
Man with a Movie Camera
A 1929 silent film documentary made by Russian director Dziga Vertov. The story is about a man who carries the movie camera around and films scenes from many interesting places such as coal mines, factories, railway stations, salons, a lady's house and the city. I like the soundtrack that fit nicely to the story and the special effects!
The editing is very well done to acheive the special effects! We see the director standing on top of the camera in one scene and appearing within a cup in another. The use of freeze frame shows the facial expression of selected individuals, slow motion shows atheletes in action and fast motion shows the trams, horses and people rushing about in the town!
I especially like the scene where they show the operator frantically connecting the lines from one node to another node! I feel that the trams, horses and people move a bit too slow even though it is already in fast motion. Guess I am too used to the speed of automobiles racing on the highway to appreciate it.
Internet Movie Database Link
The editing is very well done to acheive the special effects! We see the director standing on top of the camera in one scene and appearing within a cup in another. The use of freeze frame shows the facial expression of selected individuals, slow motion shows atheletes in action and fast motion shows the trams, horses and people rushing about in the town!
I especially like the scene where they show the operator frantically connecting the lines from one node to another node! I feel that the trams, horses and people move a bit too slow even though it is already in fast motion. Guess I am too used to the speed of automobiles racing on the highway to appreciate it.
Internet Movie Database Link
The Land of Silence and Darkness
This 1971 documentary by German director, Werner Herzog, is about the lives of people who are both blind and deaf. The story is told through a middle aged woman who became blind and deaf during her teens. She actively organises outings for people who have similar disabilities.
Interesting to learn how they communicate through braille drawn on the hand and fingers of the receiver! The film shows a couple of their adventures: flying on a plane, touching the cactus (ouch!), feeding the elephant and carrying a monkey. We learn that these people can lead a normal life despite their disabilities.
The film also shows the plight of the minority who are abandoned at homes and how difficult it is to teach children who are born deaf and blind. I realised how fortunate we are. It also made me empathise better with Kelvin Tan, the visually challenged contestant of project Superstar.
Internet Movie Database Link
Interesting to learn how they communicate through braille drawn on the hand and fingers of the receiver! The film shows a couple of their adventures: flying on a plane, touching the cactus (ouch!), feeding the elephant and carrying a monkey. We learn that these people can lead a normal life despite their disabilities.
The film also shows the plight of the minority who are abandoned at homes and how difficult it is to teach children who are born deaf and blind. I realised how fortunate we are. It also made me empathise better with Kelvin Tan, the visually challenged contestant of project Superstar.
Internet Movie Database Link
Saturday, August 20, 2005
The Discrete Charm of the Bourgeoisie
An interesting film about a group of friends trying to have a meal together but some strange incident (both real and imaginary) would always occur to prevent it from happening. It is a political satire about people with great wealth and high social standing. The film won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Picture in 1972.
The director, Luis Bunuel, is very good at filming dream sequences! I think he is influenced by his friend, Salvador Dali, who is a surrealist painter. My favorite parts of the film are those where the characters recall a dream that they had before. One soldier dreamt about an unforgettable incident during his childhood and another dreamt about his old acquaintances. Both are very well done!
The rest of the film does not really have a main storyline but still manages to capture the attention of the audience as many strange things happen. There is even a lesson on how to prepare a martini! The scene where the ambassador shot at something on the ground through the window and the one where a girl wore the hat of a certain famous person came across as the most memorable for me.
Internet Movie Database Link
The director, Luis Bunuel, is very good at filming dream sequences! I think he is influenced by his friend, Salvador Dali, who is a surrealist painter. My favorite parts of the film are those where the characters recall a dream that they had before. One soldier dreamt about an unforgettable incident during his childhood and another dreamt about his old acquaintances. Both are very well done!
The rest of the film does not really have a main storyline but still manages to capture the attention of the audience as many strange things happen. There is even a lesson on how to prepare a martini! The scene where the ambassador shot at something on the ground through the window and the one where a girl wore the hat of a certain famous person came across as the most memorable for me.
Internet Movie Database Link
Saturday, August 13, 2005
Scrabylon / Word Wars
Bought these two Scrabble documentaries during the National Day holiday and they are pretty interesting!
Scrabylon is about the 2001 World Scrabble Championship at Las Vegas. It explains a little bit about the history of Scrabble and why some of the players like the game so much. It is a straight forward documentary that shows the rational aspect of the game like learning the wordlist, having a good situation awareness of the board and calmly analysing the game after it has ended.
Word Wars on the other hand revolves its story around four players and how they prepare for the US Scrabble Nationals in San Diego. It reveals the emotional aspect of the game like the effect of Scrabble on the player's personal life, the carmaraderie among the players and the player's facial expression during the game itself. I especially like the the short and sharp video clip on the rules of Scrabble and the use of computer animation to virtually re-arrange the tiles on the screen itself! Had fun trying to guess the word before the time is up!
Watching the tiles fly around on the screen reminds me of a game in "Discovery Kids" on the Discovery channel where they show a zoomed-in view of a particular thing while giving many hints on what that is, one at a time. A time slider bar is shown at the side and it slowly slides from a score of fifty to zero. The objective is to guess what that particular thing is as quickly as possible. I always had fun playing that game too!
Picked up the following interesting anagram combinations from Word Wars. See if you can guess what they are without using LexPert!!
RIGHT + LANE = ?
LAS + VEGAS = ?
SAN + DIEGO = ?
Learnt the following words from Word Wars:
WADI (n) a dry riverbed
ALIENOR (n) one who transfers property
JERRID (n) a blunt javelin
CLABBERS (n) a complex variation of Scrabble
TENTER (v) to stretch on a frame
GENTIAN (n) a flowering plant
DATELINE (n) the origin of a news story
NONLIFE (n) the absence of life
ESTUARY (n) an inlet to a river
BEDSORE (n) a sore caused by a prolonged stay in bed
OBLIQUE (adj) slanted
AZURE (n) a blue color
DOURINE (n) a disease of horses
VODUN (n) religion of the west indies
EGESTING (v) discharging from the body
VARNA (n) a Hindu social class
EXORDIA (n, pl) beginnings
SYLVITE (n) an ore of potassium
DJIN (n) a genie
RETSINA (n) a Greek liqueur
REVELRY (n) noisy merrymaking
ARENOSE (adj) sandy
QUAI (n) a wharf
FRUGAL (adj) thrifty
TWA (n) two
OUTBOXED (vb) surpassed in boxing
INARABLE (adj) unsuitable for farming
INDOLE (n) a chemical compound
Scrabylon: IMDB Link
Word Wars: IMDB Link
Scrabylon is about the 2001 World Scrabble Championship at Las Vegas. It explains a little bit about the history of Scrabble and why some of the players like the game so much. It is a straight forward documentary that shows the rational aspect of the game like learning the wordlist, having a good situation awareness of the board and calmly analysing the game after it has ended.
Word Wars on the other hand revolves its story around four players and how they prepare for the US Scrabble Nationals in San Diego. It reveals the emotional aspect of the game like the effect of Scrabble on the player's personal life, the carmaraderie among the players and the player's facial expression during the game itself. I especially like the the short and sharp video clip on the rules of Scrabble and the use of computer animation to virtually re-arrange the tiles on the screen itself! Had fun trying to guess the word before the time is up!
Watching the tiles fly around on the screen reminds me of a game in "Discovery Kids" on the Discovery channel where they show a zoomed-in view of a particular thing while giving many hints on what that is, one at a time. A time slider bar is shown at the side and it slowly slides from a score of fifty to zero. The objective is to guess what that particular thing is as quickly as possible. I always had fun playing that game too!
Picked up the following interesting anagram combinations from Word Wars. See if you can guess what they are without using LexPert!!
RIGHT + LANE = ?
LAS + VEGAS = ?
SAN + DIEGO = ?
Learnt the following words from Word Wars:
WADI (n) a dry riverbed
ALIENOR (n) one who transfers property
JERRID (n) a blunt javelin
CLABBERS (n) a complex variation of Scrabble
TENTER (v) to stretch on a frame
GENTIAN (n) a flowering plant
DATELINE (n) the origin of a news story
NONLIFE (n) the absence of life
ESTUARY (n) an inlet to a river
BEDSORE (n) a sore caused by a prolonged stay in bed
OBLIQUE (adj) slanted
AZURE (n) a blue color
DOURINE (n) a disease of horses
VODUN (n) religion of the west indies
EGESTING (v) discharging from the body
VARNA (n) a Hindu social class
EXORDIA (n, pl) beginnings
SYLVITE (n) an ore of potassium
DJIN (n) a genie
RETSINA (n) a Greek liqueur
REVELRY (n) noisy merrymaking
ARENOSE (adj) sandy
QUAI (n) a wharf
FRUGAL (adj) thrifty
TWA (n) two
OUTBOXED (vb) surpassed in boxing
INARABLE (adj) unsuitable for farming
INDOLE (n) a chemical compound
Scrabylon: IMDB Link
Word Wars: IMDB Link
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
The Wayward Cloud
The film reminds me of a Guinness record breaking attempt shown on TV. The objective is to smash as many watermelons as possible with your forehead in one minute and the record now stands at 16!
The story is about how people live after the city is hit by drought. To quench their thirst, they buy mineral waters and water melons. The lead actor, Lee Kang Sheng and actress, Chen Hsiang Chi stay in the same apartment and they start seeing each other when the actress recognizes the actor as a former acquaintance.
There is not much dialogue except for several interesting musical numbers interspersed throughout the film. I like the sound of the clogs on the ground when the lead actress walk about and her brilliant acting performance as a lonely girl searching for someone to care for her!
Internet Movie Database Link
The story is about how people live after the city is hit by drought. To quench their thirst, they buy mineral waters and water melons. The lead actor, Lee Kang Sheng and actress, Chen Hsiang Chi stay in the same apartment and they start seeing each other when the actress recognizes the actor as a former acquaintance.
There is not much dialogue except for several interesting musical numbers interspersed throughout the film. I like the sound of the clogs on the ground when the lead actress walk about and her brilliant acting performance as a lonely girl searching for someone to care for her!
Internet Movie Database Link
Saturday, July 30, 2005
Born Into Brothels
Saw this Oscar winning documentary during the Indigo film festival at the Singapore History Museum. The story is about a group of children living in the red light district of
Kolkatta. This is narrated by Zana, a photographer who gave them lessons on photography and one camera each to practice.
The children shot many nice photographs! I could tell how enthusiastic they are about this new found hobby! The film focusses on one children at a time to understand their background and why they are passionate about photography. The format of the film reminds me a little bit of "Spellbound" that is about a group of children preparing for the National Spelling Bee competition. The living environment in India is very poor as shown in the photographs and it help me understand why Indians work so hard in their studies and do so well in the Spelling Bee competitions.
BIB also explain how Zana help the children to get into a boarding school. There are lots of paper work to be done, much like what one episode of "The Amazing Race" described!
More details about the film can be found at http://kids-with-cameras.org
P.S. Just realised that two of the children have names that are valid Scrabble words (SOWPODS) while another two can be anagrammed to be one. See if you can guess who they are without the help of LexPert!
The children's names are: Avijit, Gour, Kochi, Manik, Puja, Shanti, Suchitra and Tapasi
Internet Movie Database Link
Kolkatta. This is narrated by Zana, a photographer who gave them lessons on photography and one camera each to practice.
The children shot many nice photographs! I could tell how enthusiastic they are about this new found hobby! The film focusses on one children at a time to understand their background and why they are passionate about photography. The format of the film reminds me a little bit of "Spellbound" that is about a group of children preparing for the National Spelling Bee competition. The living environment in India is very poor as shown in the photographs and it help me understand why Indians work so hard in their studies and do so well in the Spelling Bee competitions.
BIB also explain how Zana help the children to get into a boarding school. There are lots of paper work to be done, much like what one episode of "The Amazing Race" described!
More details about the film can be found at http://kids-with-cameras.org
P.S. Just realised that two of the children have names that are valid Scrabble words (SOWPODS) while another two can be anagrammed to be one. See if you can guess who they are without the help of LexPert!
The children's names are: Avijit, Gour, Kochi, Manik, Puja, Shanti, Suchitra and Tapasi
Internet Movie Database Link
Sunday, July 24, 2005
Singapore Scrabble National Championship 2005 (Day Two)
Game 5: Peter Tay Yap Tong
I was leading with a RATLINe (66) bingo until Peter bingoed with SEASING (92) by front hooking to my CRY. Then I had EINSUV? that I could back hook to M. Didn’t manage to think of the two common anagrams and was hoping to form a word with UN?IVES. I went through all the alphabets in my head and was deciding between D, G, H, L or W for the blank. In the end, I chose UNhIVES (72) and it happened to be good when challenged! Peter replied with WINER* O1 to form MUR* but I thought it was valid and did not challenge it.
Final score: 385 to 412. 1-4, -61 cumulative spread.
Game 6: Teo Teow Koon
Both of us had one bingo each. I had ENTERED (65) while Teow Koon had SNoRING (85). Won by getting away with IFFS* and scoring well with the Q, X and Z.
Final score: 442 to 329. 2-4, +52 cumulative spread,
Game 7: Aaron Lee Kin
After I bingoed with EtESiAN (85), we began an exchange of challenges. I challenged his STUNGED*, GLITE*, WER*, SCADE* and MER*. He challenged my VOR and RAXES. I missed his HAX* for 47 points though.
Final score: 378 to 310. 3-4, +120 cumulative spread,
Game 8: Peter Yu
Peter bingoed with NAILERS (83) and could have two more if he knew the right anagram. He put down NATTIES* instead of SATINET and BUILtER* instead of BUILdER. Managed to capitalize on the Z with ZEINS for 87 points but still lost in the end.
Final score: 345 to 430. 3-5, +35 cumulative spread,
Game 9: Tan Yao Zhong
I made a very silly mistake when my opponent put down DEAlTING* (lower case L to represent the blank). Not only did I fail to challenge it, I also mistook the total score that my opponent announced to be the word score. Instead of 72 points, I recorded that turn as 98 points! Gave away 26 points for no reason at all! Yao Zhong could have another bingo with AEIFNST but he chose to back hook to an existing NE with NAIFEST to form NEN* which was challenged off.
Final score: 387 to 297. 4-5, +125 cumulative spread,
Game 10: Valliammah Thambiayah
I bingoed with TOASTER (66) and OTARInE (75) while Valliammah bingoed with SPELLING (86). She scored high with the Q and Z, while I scored high with the J. Our score was dead even at some point in time. I think she got impatient and tried to score high with SHINTED* but it was challenged off. I learnt a new word from her later when she back hooked FUND with SHINE to form FUNDI.
Final score: 445 to 404. 5-5, +166 cumulative spread,
Game 11: Serene Ngu
Serene bingoed on her very first turn with UNOILED (75). I tried TORRIED* in the middle of the game but it was challenged off. The board was quite closed and I had a bingo on my rack at one point in time but had no place to play it. In the end, I got thrashed by Serene for almost 180 points.
Final score: 258 to 424. 5-6, +0 cumulative spread,
Game 12: S. Shanthikumar
Challenged off BEGINING* at the start but Shanthikumar got another bingo with INSpIRE (73) through my CRY. I played badly in the end game when I allowed my opponent to score high with his C, V and X left on his rack and lost by over 100 points.
Final score: 294 to 397. 5-7, -103 cumulative spread.
In the end, I won 5 games and got 13th position out of 18 for the individual event. I also took part in the team event representing DSTA together with my team mates, Jiang Pern and Chew Chuah. We managed to get 3rd position with Jiang Pern winning the division A and Chew Chuah also getting 13th position in division C.
I was happy to have the chance to play against masters players like Peter Tay Yap Tong, Serene Ngu and M. Ganapathy. It is a pity that I didn’t have the chance to engage in a battle of wits against up-and-coming players like Kian Boon, Zi Peng, Victor and Marcus. Hopefully, I could play with them in the future!
I was leading with a RATLINe (66) bingo until Peter bingoed with SEASING (92) by front hooking to my CRY. Then I had EINSUV? that I could back hook to M. Didn’t manage to think of the two common anagrams and was hoping to form a word with UN?IVES. I went through all the alphabets in my head and was deciding between D, G, H, L or W for the blank. In the end, I chose UNhIVES (72) and it happened to be good when challenged! Peter replied with WINER* O1 to form MUR* but I thought it was valid and did not challenge it.
Final score: 385 to 412. 1-4, -61 cumulative spread.
Game 6: Teo Teow Koon
Both of us had one bingo each. I had ENTERED (65) while Teow Koon had SNoRING (85). Won by getting away with IFFS* and scoring well with the Q, X and Z.
Final score: 442 to 329. 2-4, +52 cumulative spread,
Game 7: Aaron Lee Kin
After I bingoed with EtESiAN (85), we began an exchange of challenges. I challenged his STUNGED*, GLITE*, WER*, SCADE* and MER*. He challenged my VOR and RAXES. I missed his HAX* for 47 points though.
Final score: 378 to 310. 3-4, +120 cumulative spread,
Game 8: Peter Yu
Peter bingoed with NAILERS (83) and could have two more if he knew the right anagram. He put down NATTIES* instead of SATINET and BUILtER* instead of BUILdER. Managed to capitalize on the Z with ZEINS for 87 points but still lost in the end.
Final score: 345 to 430. 3-5, +35 cumulative spread,
Game 9: Tan Yao Zhong
I made a very silly mistake when my opponent put down DEAlTING* (lower case L to represent the blank). Not only did I fail to challenge it, I also mistook the total score that my opponent announced to be the word score. Instead of 72 points, I recorded that turn as 98 points! Gave away 26 points for no reason at all! Yao Zhong could have another bingo with AEIFNST but he chose to back hook to an existing NE with NAIFEST to form NEN* which was challenged off.
Final score: 387 to 297. 4-5, +125 cumulative spread,
Game 10: Valliammah Thambiayah
I bingoed with TOASTER (66) and OTARInE (75) while Valliammah bingoed with SPELLING (86). She scored high with the Q and Z, while I scored high with the J. Our score was dead even at some point in time. I think she got impatient and tried to score high with SHINTED* but it was challenged off. I learnt a new word from her later when she back hooked FUND with SHINE to form FUNDI.
Final score: 445 to 404. 5-5, +166 cumulative spread,
Game 11: Serene Ngu
Serene bingoed on her very first turn with UNOILED (75). I tried TORRIED* in the middle of the game but it was challenged off. The board was quite closed and I had a bingo on my rack at one point in time but had no place to play it. In the end, I got thrashed by Serene for almost 180 points.
Final score: 258 to 424. 5-6, +0 cumulative spread,
Game 12: S. Shanthikumar
Challenged off BEGINING* at the start but Shanthikumar got another bingo with INSpIRE (73) through my CRY. I played badly in the end game when I allowed my opponent to score high with his C, V and X left on his rack and lost by over 100 points.
Final score: 294 to 397. 5-7, -103 cumulative spread.
In the end, I won 5 games and got 13th position out of 18 for the individual event. I also took part in the team event representing DSTA together with my team mates, Jiang Pern and Chew Chuah. We managed to get 3rd position with Jiang Pern winning the division A and Chew Chuah also getting 13th position in division C.
I was happy to have the chance to play against masters players like Peter Tay Yap Tong, Serene Ngu and M. Ganapathy. It is a pity that I didn’t have the chance to engage in a battle of wits against up-and-coming players like Kian Boon, Zi Peng, Victor and Marcus. Hopefully, I could play with them in the future!
Saturday, July 23, 2005
Singapore Scrabble National Championship 2005 (Day One)
The Singapore Scrabble National Championship 2005 was held at SAFRA Toa Payoh from 23rd to 24th July. It was my first time taking part and I was quite excited to be able to play in division B!
I came quite early and saw two end games of division A. Jiang Pern finished with a PORKIEST bingo and Tony Sim finished with a KAISERIN bingo. Learnt two more new words! I also saw the poster girl featured on the front page of our newsletter, Sarah Law, who is also playing in division A! Maybe I could ask her to autograph for me the next time we meet.
Soon after coming back from lunch with Kian Boon, Li Wei and Zi Peng at Toa Payoh Central, the division B competition started.
Game 1: Aloysius Conzaga
I bingoed with STEAMEr (74) and scored high with the X and with the triple word score cells. My favorite moves are: a front hook to RIPE with CUZ and a back hook to ANTS with COY down the triple-word-score line. Aloysius tried to bingo with UNFARTs* towards the end but it was challenged off. Had a very good start for my opening game!
Final score: 434 to 258. 1-0, +176 cumulative spread,
Game 2: Valliammah Thambiayah
Valliammah bingoed with DESiGNS (73) and scored high with the K and the X. The last time I played with her, she scored very well with the power tiles as well! Hmm, I must position my words such that she cannot score so high the next time we meet.
Final score: 320 to 385. 1-1, +111 cumulative spread,
Game 3: Lim Li Wei
Li Wei bingoed with PRETeND (70) and DOSAGES (77). I scored well with the J and the Z but still lost out in the end.
Final score: 326 to 386. 1-2, +51 cumulative spread,
Game 4: M. Ganapathy
Ganapathy bingoed with OUTLOVE (72) and sPORTIER (70). I had a chance to bingo with AILTSS? on my rack and ZING N2, QI 3M, TIN 4L on the board but couldn’t find the corresponding anagrams.
Final score: 318 to 403. 1-3, -34 cumulative spread,
End of Day One: Had only two blanks out of eight and was out-bingoed five to one. Hope I would be luckier the next day. One complaint about the competition is that no drinks were provided! I was especially thirsty in the afternoon but could only go to the toilet to quench my thirst. Where did our registration fee go to?
I came quite early and saw two end games of division A. Jiang Pern finished with a PORKIEST bingo and Tony Sim finished with a KAISERIN bingo. Learnt two more new words! I also saw the poster girl featured on the front page of our newsletter, Sarah Law, who is also playing in division A! Maybe I could ask her to autograph for me the next time we meet.
Soon after coming back from lunch with Kian Boon, Li Wei and Zi Peng at Toa Payoh Central, the division B competition started.
Game 1: Aloysius Conzaga
I bingoed with STEAMEr (74) and scored high with the X and with the triple word score cells. My favorite moves are: a front hook to RIPE with CUZ and a back hook to ANTS with COY down the triple-word-score line. Aloysius tried to bingo with UNFARTs* towards the end but it was challenged off. Had a very good start for my opening game!
Final score: 434 to 258. 1-0, +176 cumulative spread,
Game 2: Valliammah Thambiayah
Valliammah bingoed with DESiGNS (73) and scored high with the K and the X. The last time I played with her, she scored very well with the power tiles as well! Hmm, I must position my words such that she cannot score so high the next time we meet.
Final score: 320 to 385. 1-1, +111 cumulative spread,
Game 3: Lim Li Wei
Li Wei bingoed with PRETeND (70) and DOSAGES (77). I scored well with the J and the Z but still lost out in the end.
Final score: 326 to 386. 1-2, +51 cumulative spread,
Game 4: M. Ganapathy
Ganapathy bingoed with OUTLOVE (72) and sPORTIER (70). I had a chance to bingo with AILTSS? on my rack and ZING N2, QI 3M, TIN 4L on the board but couldn’t find the corresponding anagrams.
Final score: 318 to 403. 1-3, -34 cumulative spread,
End of Day One: Had only two blanks out of eight and was out-bingoed five to one. Hope I would be luckier the next day. One complaint about the competition is that no drinks were provided! I was especially thirsty in the afternoon but could only go to the toilet to quench my thirst. Where did our registration fee go to?
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Fantastic Four
I have been watching many comic book adapted films lately, from Batman Begins, Initial D to Sin City. FF is yet another one. The story is about how four people gained special powers after being exposed to cosmic radiation and how they used it to help people and fight bad guys.
Reed Richards is Mr Fantastic. He can stretch any part of his body like rubber. Sue Storm who is Reed's ex-girl friend is Invisible Girl. She can become invisible or create a force field around her. Johnny Storm who is Sue's brother is Human Torch. He can fly and set himself to flames. Ben Grimm who is Reed's friend is The Thing. He is very strong and tough like rock but has very fat fingers.
The special effects are pretty well done and it is interesting to see how the four friends/sibling interact with each other and how they complement each other in time of crisis! The film also has witty dialogue and is quite educational. The scene at the bridge with The Thing spotting somebody he knew is very well done and it made me feel very sad for him.
Recommended!
Internet Movie Database Link
Reed Richards is Mr Fantastic. He can stretch any part of his body like rubber. Sue Storm who is Reed's ex-girl friend is Invisible Girl. She can become invisible or create a force field around her. Johnny Storm who is Sue's brother is Human Torch. He can fly and set himself to flames. Ben Grimm who is Reed's friend is The Thing. He is very strong and tough like rock but has very fat fingers.
The special effects are pretty well done and it is interesting to see how the four friends/sibling interact with each other and how they complement each other in time of crisis! The film also has witty dialogue and is quite educational. The scene at the bridge with The Thing spotting somebody he knew is very well done and it made me feel very sad for him.
Recommended!
Internet Movie Database Link
Saturday, July 16, 2005
Sin City
SC is a comic book adaption about a city that is full of corruption. The bad guys are in power and ordinary citizens have to find ways to protect their self interest.
What an exciting film! I like the black and white cinematography, the action scenes and the narration that tells us what the characters are thinking about! I am also very impressed with Miho's fighting skills! Although I am happy to see so many beautiful actresses in the film, the film also has many really ugly looking villains that make me lose my appetite. One example is Elijah Woods who looks really creepy!
Highly recommended!
Internet Movie Database Link
What an exciting film! I like the black and white cinematography, the action scenes and the narration that tells us what the characters are thinking about! I am also very impressed with Miho's fighting skills! Although I am happy to see so many beautiful actresses in the film, the film also has many really ugly looking villains that make me lose my appetite. One example is Elijah Woods who looks really creepy!
Highly recommended!
Internet Movie Database Link
Sunday, July 10, 2005
Three Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales
Saw the following films at the Singapore History Museum for free!
The Tinderbox
Hans The Clodhopper
The Snow Queen
Liked the plasticine animation in TT and HTC! The story is nicely told too although I am surprised by the violence depicted in TT. TSQ is interesting too and beautifully drawn!
The Tinderbox
Hans The Clodhopper
The Snow Queen
Liked the plasticine animation in TT and HTC! The story is nicely told too although I am surprised by the violence depicted in TT. TSQ is interesting too and beautifully drawn!
Saturday, July 09, 2005
Resurrection of the Little Match Girl
The Korean film ROTLMG by Jang Sun Woo was shown in Singapore during the Hans Christian Anderson Film Festival and I love it! It is a remake of the story of the "Little Match Girl" with a science fiction / video game twist. The Little Match Girl is a computer character and to win the game, a player has to ensure that she freezes to death and die thinking about him / her.
I like the beginning that summarised the original story with a nice song in the background! The video game analogy is cool! There are lots of exciting gun fights, car chases, amazing martial arts stunt and special effects! I also like the intense training that the male lead has to go through to hone his concentration and the cute looking weapon that he uses in the end.
The actress who play the LMG is very versatile! She looks convincing both as the depressed little match girl and the resourceful expert fighter!
Highly recommended!
Internet Moview Database Link
Korean Film Review
I like the beginning that summarised the original story with a nice song in the background! The video game analogy is cool! There are lots of exciting gun fights, car chases, amazing martial arts stunt and special effects! I also like the intense training that the male lead has to go through to hone his concentration and the cute looking weapon that he uses in the end.
The actress who play the LMG is very versatile! She looks convincing both as the depressed little match girl and the resourceful expert fighter!
Highly recommended!
Internet Moview Database Link
Korean Film Review
Green Chair
GC is about the relationship of a couple that has been condemned by society. The girl is a divorcee in the thirties and the guy is a minor in high school. The film describes what happens to them when the girl gets arrested and sentenced to 100 hours of community service.
I like how GC shows the everyday life of the couple and how their age difference does not affect them loving each other at all! The couple continues to find ways to express their love to each other despite other people's views! It is also very interesting to hear the views of their friends towards them at the end of the film.
Internet Movie Database Link
Korean Film Review
I like how GC shows the everyday life of the couple and how their age difference does not affect them loving each other at all! The couple continues to find ways to express their love to each other despite other people's views! It is also very interesting to hear the views of their friends towards them at the end of the film.
Internet Movie Database Link
Korean Film Review
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)