9th Singapore Open (First Day)

This is my first time playing Scrabble in Teck Ghee CC. Didn't have much trouble locating it as I have a street directory with the bus stop information in my bag.

Saw many familiar faces as I reached there: Marcus, JoBeth, Valli and Peter Tay to name a few. Haven't seen Peter Tay for a long while since the last time I played him in the Millenium Cup, so was quite happy to be able to play with him again. Found out that I was playing with him for my first game after the organisers did the pairings.

Game 1: vs Peter Tay
Learnt many new words from Peter Tay. Spent a long time deciding whether to put FIBRE or FIBER across a TWS line and was still shuffling the tiles around after I put down the word until I decided that FIBRE looks more right. Catherine who was observing the game at the side told me that both words were valid after I pressed the clock. Lost as Peter bingoed with INTAKES(91) and made many high scoring moves.



New words learnt: OURANG, HIST, FISTY
My Bingos: - Opp Bingos: INTAKES(91)
My Phoneys: - Opp Phoneys: -
My High Moves: FIBRE(33), XIS(35) Opp High Moves: HART(36), JADE(37), FISTY(40), MZEE(48)
L 296-450, -154. 0W 1L (Accum spread -154).

Game 2: vs Chua Zhong Jie
My favorite move in this game would be FLORA N9, back hooking the "O" to ROT. Was unsure of ROTO, so was glad that it turned out to be good when challenged! Felt great when I was able to score very well with JILT 15L across the TWS line back hooking the "L" to FLORA on my next turn! Was still able to keep the lead and win when my opponent bingoed late in the game with WEARIES(67). (Short quiz: There is a valid anagram for MANKIES*. Can you guess what that is?)



New words learnt: -
My Bingos: - Opp Bingos: WEARIES(67)
My Phoneys: - Opp Phoneys: MANKIES*, VAWN*, NANE*
My High Moves: FLORA(41), JILT(66), SHEET(34), WIRY(38), AH(31) Opp High Moves: MAD(33), EX(31), QUA(41)
L 393-343, +50. 1W 1L (Accum spread -104).

Game 3: vs Victor Gwee
Was totally out of luck in this game! Had the "J" and the "Z", but Victor had both blanks, all four "S" and the "K", "Q" and "X". Made a very silly mistake when Victor put down HaX* M3 next to an existing CLAW L3 and PAN K5. I challenged it off but made no attempt to block it as I thought HeX would be safe as Le* would not be good. Victor promptly put HoX on his next move to score! He won with many high scoring moves and two bingos: TANNERS(66) and SENATES(89).



New words learnt: CHIV
My Bingos: - Opp Bingos: TANNERS(66), SENATES(89)
My Phoneys: - Opp Phoneys: HAX*, COSTY*
My High Moves: VANE(33), WITE(32), ATE(34) Opp High Moves: PEEKS(61), HOX(45), DIV(35), QUA(35)
L 311-502, -191. 1W 2L (Accum spread -295).

Game 4: vs Ong Wen Hong
Fell behind when my opponent put down ENZYME(44) for his first move but caught up as I made two bingos PRINTERS(74) and TINIEST(71). My opponent replied with DRAINED(76) and with all the remaining "O"s on his rack, he did a pretty good setup with JUT N1. I attempted to block with UG 2N but realised later that he could also have the "G" and the "U" on his rack to form a 3-letter J word. Luckily he didn't see that word and I got away with a comfortable win!



New words learnt: -
My Bingos: PRINTERS(74), TINIEST(71) Opp Bingos: DRAINED(76)
My Phoneys: - Opp Phoneys: -
My High Moves: ABLY(32) Opp High Moves: ENZYME(44)
W 410-302, +108. 2W 2L (Accum spread -187).

Game 5: vs Winston Gwee
I started very well with QUAIR(48) but Winston was able to catch up when he bingoed with STRAINS(74). He could have overtook me if he had not wasted a few moves playing phoneys that were challenged off. A nail biting finish and I was just able to edge him out for a win! Probably worth analysing the end game to see if there were more optimal scoring moves.



New words learnt: -
My Bingos: - Opp Bingos: STRAINS(74)
My Phoneys: - Opp Phoneys: IKE*, TREP*, AF*
My High Moves: QUAIR(48), EX(36) Opp High Moves: RAJ(39), ZOO(34), WHO(30)
L 398-382, +16. 3W 2L (Accum spread -171).

Ended the first day pretty well with 3 wins out of 5 although my spread is terrible. Hope to do better the next day!

Just a small quiz on players in the Scrabble scene:
Guess which player has the favorite phrase: "I am one hundred percent sure!".

I hear him say that so often that I could subconciously hear him shouting out that phrase whenever I think about Scrabble. If you have no idea who he is, just ask any active intermediate player and they'll know straight away!

The Da Vinci Code

The story is about Tom Hanks and Audrey Tautou stumbling upon an encoded dark secret and going on a treasure hunt to solve it. Tom Hanks is a renowned author on interpreting symbols while Audrey Tautou is a cryptology expert from the police whose grandfather was murdered.

The puzzles are interesting but it is almost impossible for the audience to solve without any background knowledge so didn't have the opportunity to try to beat the characters in solving them. A lot of screen time is devoted to explain this background knowledge and resulted in too much information overload. Not as exciting as "National Treasure" in terms of the clue solving or "M:I:III" in terms of action sequences. Nice indoor scenery of the churches and the museum though!

Internet Movie Database Link

Mission: Impossible III

The story is about the adventures of a group of special agents working in the IMF, the Impossible Mission Force. Ethan Hunt, played by Tom Cruise, is a veteran planning to retire and have a peaceful life with his girlfriend but decides to take part in a mission when he is asked to.

Great action and very nice teamwork displayed! Especially liked the sequence in the Vatican where the plan is superbly executed! Also like the nice scenery shots in Shanghai.

Internet Movie Database Link

Bewitching Attraction

The story is about the life of a group of professors in a small college. One of the female professors, Eun Suk, played by Moon So Ri, has a dark secret with a new professor played by Ji Jin Hee who just joined them.

Moon So Ri looked prettier in Nine Lives of Korean Cinema which is a documentary about Korean cinema shown during this year's SIFF! She looked like Cora Miao in this film. Was expecting a mindless sex comedy, so was surprised by the long dialogues among the professors and how cold the sex scenes felt. I would give a rating of two out of five stars for its erotic index.

Understood the film better when I realised that the original Korean title is "The Discreet Charm of a Female Professor" from Variety's Review, similar to Bunuel's The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeosie. Just like TDCB, there are lots of black humour, flashbacks and scenes that doesn't make sense at all!

Internet Movie Database Link

The Child

The story is about the life of a teenage couple, Sonia and Bruno, who are very poor. Sonia just got a baby and Bruno lies and steals to survive.

Sonia's leopard spot dress and black boots combination looks quite nice!

Felt that Bruno is not as evil as I originally imagined. Although he steals and lies, he still cares very much for his girlfriend and his little buddy. Interesting to see him busy pushing the pram around, crossing the busy highway and bargaining deals with people. Was very surprised at the lack of face to face interaction during some of the transactions!

Incidentally, the girlfriend in "Crime and Punishment" is also called Sonia. The director may be paying tribute to this novel with this film.

Internet Movie Database Link

Election 2

The story is about the events leading to the election of a new Triad chief in Hong Kong. The current Triad chief's godson, Jimmy, had wanted to do business in China and not take part in the election, but he found that he could enjoy special privileges if he became the Triad chief and changed his mind.

Interesting to see the power struggle between Lok, the current Triad chief, and Jimmy. They talked to influential people to garner support, eliminated people in their way and used money and violence to get things done. Very ruthless people who would do anything to get elected! Nice ending that showed that winning the election is not everything and there are consequences attached to it!

Internet Movie Database Link

Noriko's Dinner Table

The story is about what happens to a Japanese family when one of the daughters, Noriko, ran away from home to Tokyo and got involved in a "family rental" business headed by her online friend, Kumiko.

Noriko felt disconnected with her family and wanted to go to different places and see new things. When she reached Tokyo, she sells her service to lonely people by pretending to be their family members. The film questions what it means to be a family by comparing the real family before Noriko ran away and the virtual families with Noriko as a member.

The situation in the family is seen from several perspectives: Noriko, her younger sister Yuka and the father. In each perspective, a different voice is used to narrate what happened to them. Yuka had the nicest voice in my opinion! She quickly understood why her elder sister left but her father was clueless for a long time. I felt very sad for the father when he desperately tried to find out the reason for her daughters' disapperance.

I think the use of flashbacks, dream sequences and telling the story in multiple perspectives very much enhanced the experience of watching this film. Very nice ending! Tension is built up to keep the audience guessing what would happen next but when the tension ends, a very good closure is provided.

Highly recommended!

Internet Movie Database Link

In Search of a Road

This is a docudrama about the past 100 years of history in Sri Lanka with a big focus on the railway line.

Not too used to watching docudramas as I find it strange to see bits of drama interspersed with the documentary. Didn't quite follow the story of the drama, so I didn't feel much for the characters. For the documentary part, the narrator spoke in a very monotonous tone and I fell asleep at some parts partly because of the heavy lunch that I took. The ending is quite nicely done though.

Chinese Restaurants: Beyond Frontiers

The story is about the life of overseas Chinese who survive by running Chinese restaurants. Two families are interviewed from India and one from Brazil.

Interesting to see how the families blend in to the local community and yet maintain their Chinese culture. They train local people to help in the kitchen and serve food but their homes are decorated in a very Chinese style. The families in India also talk about hard times during the Sino-India conflict in 1962 when the foreigners are sent to live in camps.

Internet Movie Database Link

A Short Film About Indio Nacional

This is a black and white silent movie about life in Phillipines during the 1890s. Events that happened during that era were shown in a very indirect manner.

Liked the nice music but the pacing is very slow! Preceding the silent segment, there is a very long take on someone trying to sleep but could not. Quite ironic as I was trying very hard not to sleep when watching this part.

Magdalena The Unholy Saint

The story is about the transformation of a girl called Magdalena after experiencing several major incidents in her life.

Very nice storyline! Was touched by how the characters managed to cope in a crisis situation! Great acting by the actress who played Magdalena!

The Sentinel

An inside look at how the president of United States is kept safe by a group of security professionals and what happened when they found a security breach!

Had fun guessing who is the one that caused the security breach! Shortlisted to a few possibilities but all of them were wrong! Pity that Kim Basinger and Eva Longoria didn't have a bigger role as they were just like "flower vases".

Internet Movie Database Link

It's Only Talk

The story is about the life of a woman in her mid thirties who is suffering from manic depression since the death of her parents. She lives off her savings, spends her time taking pictures on her digital camera to post on her blog, goes out with friends and visits the bath house once in a while.

Liked how well the director captures the emotions of the characters as they interact with each other! I think the different men that the woman goes out with represents her different needs. They include a pervert, a university friend who is a budding politician, a cousin and a fellow manic depression sufferer who is a yakuza. The bath house is a good quiet place for her to relax when she feels tense.

KAFA Animations

A series of animation by the Korean Academy of Fine Arts:

The Woman with Busy Hands
Gas City
Who are You?
Swimming Days
The Wall
Soul's Milk Spring Outing
Mackerel

Liked "Who are You?" the best! It involves a papa bear, a mama bear and a baby bear. The papa bear has deserted his family but he felt lonely and decides to visit them one day. Baby bear refuses to acknowledge her dad unless he can answer some simple personal questions about her. He fails to answer any of them and is kept out of the door. Liked the bears who are cutely drawn and the interesting questions asked by the baby bear!

If You Were Me 2

This is a series of shorts produced for the National Human Rights Commision of Korea.

Seaside Flower is about the life of a child with Down's Syndrome. She studies in a normal school where she gets teased once in a while and she has fun telling ghost stories at home. Liked the realistic account of her day which shows that she is as normal as any other kid!

Hey Man is about what happens when a group of friends gather for a drink and one of them starts to criticise people around him: foreign workers, the unemployed, high school grads and homosexuals. His friends left him one by one and he himself felt ostracised for being so successful in life! Liked the clever setup and the interesting dialogue!

A Boy with the Knapsack is about the unfair treatment of North Koreans living in South Korea. A North Korean girl works at a Karaoke bar and her boss short changed her pay. She asked a North Korean guy who is a great motorbike rider for help. They stole almost 50 cans of coke from the bar, put them in a knapsack and rode off together! Liked the depiction of the friendship between the guy and the girl!

Someone Grateful is about the relationship between an interrogator and his case who is a student activist. Chief Kim had given up trying to extract information from his case through torture and ended up confiding his troubles to him as he is supposed to hand him over to his colleague. Liked how the two guys bonded during the last few hours!

Jongno Winter is about how employers cheated Chinese Koreans working in South Korea of their pay and that many of them froze to death and died of unnatural causes each year. Liked the documentary like story telling that recounted how one particular Chinese Korean froze to death and the events that led to it!

Dictator's Cut / Nine Lives of Korean Cinema

DC is about the history of film making in North Korea while NLKC is about the history of film making in South Korea.

North Korea is a closed society and its leader has a lot of say on what is shown in films. They encourage people to be nationalistic and is very pro-military. South Korea had very strict censorship too at one time but things changed after Seoul held the Olympics in 1988. The artistic freedom given to the filmmakers coupled with the screen quota system that forces cinemas to screen a certain number of Korean films per year has led to the huge commercial success of Korean films today.

Liked the large number of film clips shown in the two documentaries and the interviews with the directors, actors and actresses! Some of the directors featured like Im Kwon Taek, Kim Ki Duk and Hong Sang Soo are my favorite directors and I gained a better understanding towards their films when they explained their rationale of doing certain things.

Gone To a Good Home / Operation Babylift

Decided last minute to catch the 7pm screening at the National Museum as I thought I may not be able to make it on time. This is my first screening at the National Museum which has been newly renovated.

GTGH is about how unmarried mothers were forced to give up their babies for adoption from the 50s to 70s in Australia and the impact on these people many years down the road.

Liked the interviews where many personal stories were told and the re-enactment of what happened almost forty years ago!

OB is about how abandoned babies and children were airlifted from Vietnam to the Western countries for adoption during the Vietnam War.

The theme is somewhat similar to GTGH but the situation is slightly different as it is during an emergency where lives could be lost when nothing is done. Liked the interviews with the Vietnamese children who had grown up now and the news clips of that era which was incorporated in the film.

Perpetual Motion

The story is about how four friends spent their Lunar New Year together. They are successful middle aged women and each of them has been closely connected to the host's husband at one time.

Has always been fascinated by the beauty of the Chinese language in describing intimacy and it is reflected in this show. Liked the stories recounted by the women as they reflected back on their youth! The Lunar New Year special shown on TV is interesting too!

Internet Movie Database Link

Manderlay

This is the second part of a trilogy directed by Danish director, Lars Von Trier. The first part was "Dogville" starring Nicole Kidman which was shown here commercially about a year ago. The story is about how a gangster's daughter discovered that there were slaves in a town called Manderlay and tried to use her powers to liberate them.

Very interesting study into human nature as the film shows how people of different characters react to different situations! Liked the narration, the music and the minimalist style for the set! Many things are just drawn and labelled on the ground and there are no roofs or doors for the buildings! This allows the audience to have full view of what all the chracters are doing at the same time and be less distracted by unnecessary details.

Internet Movie Database Link

Tale of the Three Jewels

Interesting tale about the life of a Palestinian boy living in the Gaza Strip. The place that he lives in is not peaceful and fully armed soldiers can be seen everywhere. Despite all this, he lives a happy life and became friends with a Gypsy girl who asked him to search for three jewels that were lost from her Grandmother's necklace.

Liked the enthusiasm showed by the boy in the things that he does and how well fantasy and reality are blended together! Was pleasantly surprised by the ending that had a nice religious and philosophical touch to it.

Internet Movie Database Link

The Glamorous Life Of Sachiko Hanai

The story is about how the life of a woman called Sachiko Hanai has changed after being hit by a bullet in the head. She becomes super-smart and gets involved with something that affects the whole world.

There is quite a bit of deadpan humour in this film! It even features president George Bush as a man in a mask! Animation and puppet figures are used effectively to depict how absurdly powerful the US forces have become and how they like to show off their strength to other countries. Many scenes are also exaggerated to look unrealistic to highlight how chaotic the world has become.

After being shot by the bullet, Sachiko is unable to synchronise her actions with her feelings. I think it signifies the apathy that young people have with this world and the grave consequences that could follow. People can also look inside her bullet-hole head to see the ideal world that they like to live in.

Sachiko was a call-girl who play-acted as a home tutor before the bullet incident happened. After the incident, she became very knowledgeable and was much more qualified in her role. There are many sex scenes in the film which seem redundant but they are important to show how boring life has become and the men are looking towards Sachiko as a figure of authority and someone whom they can cuddle with, like a baby in a mother's arms.

The ending is very interesting with Sachiko swallowing up the world, perhaps in a dream sequence. I interpret it to mean that she has become mother nature herself and the cycle of life and death has finally completed.

Internet Movie Database Link

I Did Not Kill Gandhi

The story is about how a family cope when their father, a retired professor, shows symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease and suffers from a childhood trauma. He was accused of murdering Gandhi, who is the Father of India.

Was touched by the sacrifices made by the daughter to look after her father. She broke up with her finace, quit her job and hunted for the best doctors. Great acting by the actor who played the father! There is also nice documentary footage of Gandhi towards the end!

We Feed the World

This is a documentary on how the agriculture industry and food industry is affected by globalisation.

There are many unusual practices:
1. Truck loads of bread are being thrown away although they are just a few days old.
2. Maize is grown to be burnt as fuel.
3. Large areas of rainforests in Brazil are being cleared to plant soya that is used for chicken feed in European countries.

From the interviews of poor starving people, one can tell how bad conditions are by looking at their dog which is really very skinny! There is also quite a lengthy footage on how chickens are factory farmed.

Very surprised that the little chickens are transported along the factory line like commodities! I also felt sad when one of the workers described how they are slaughtered. The chickens are hung upside down, dipped in water to be electric-shocked and had their throats slit by a sharp rotating blade.

Internet Movie Database Link

If You Were Me: Anima Vision

Six animated films are made for the Human Rights Commission of Korea and each film has a different director and deals with different issues.

Day Dream is about discrimination against handicapped children. It shows a father and a handicapped daughter having an afternoon nap and the day dreams that they are having. Very nicely drawn with a water color painting feel and the stories are well narrated!

Animal Farm is about accepting diversity and not ostracising the odd-one-out. It shows a goat trying very hard to join a flock of sheep in the things that they do but is prevented by the chief sheep. Quite cute to see how the goat comes up with very innovative ideas!

At Her House is about the stresses faced by women doing the housework and looking after the child. It depicts how the wife gets drowned in all the chores that she has to do while the husband just relaxes and watches TV. Liked how the emotional states of the couple are depicted figuratively!

The Flesh and Bone is about discrimination against ugly people. It describes how an ugly family came about through the genes inherited from their great grandfather generation. Very interesting narration on the family history!

Bicycle Trip is about discrimination against illegal immigrants as employers exploit them because of their status. A driverless bicycle rides through the streets and flashbacks are shown at the locations that it stops. Very effective use of flashbacks!

Be A Human Being is about discrimination against people with low academic qualifications. A bunch of animals attend cram school with a human as a teacher and they are told that they can only become human beings when they complete university. The main character is a gorilla who liked collecting insects and discovers one day that he could transform to a human being when he pursues his interest in the forest! There is a twist in the end which I won't reveal here but I felt that it is very touching!

SIFF Opening Film

Caught this year's Singapore International Film Festival (SIFF) opening film at Lido. This year's opening film is a Malaysian short film "My Beautiful Rambutan Tree in Tanjung Rambutan" and a Lebanese film "Kiss Me Not On The Eyes".

MBRTTR is about sibling love/rivalry and describes how a rambutan tree came to grow in a family's garden under very unusual circumstances. Liked how the director builds up tension in the film through the little things that the brothers and sisters do!

KMNOTE is about how a young woman prepared for a dance competition and studied poetry at the same time. It is also about her journey in finding herself in the process. My favorite scenes are those with the dancing coach teaching Dunia how to dance! Very nice dancing movements where she sways her body like a sinusoidal curve on an oscilloscope! Also liked the pulsating drum beats that accompanied the dance!

Speaking Up

Saw this on the first day of the Singapore International Film Festival (SIFF) fringe held at the Goethe Institute. The organisers had prepared a mini-buffet feast for the audience before the show started with bread, cheese, fruits and drinks as it was the opening day! Very nice of them!

The film consists of interviews of ordinary people from all walks of life on various topics that affected Hong Kong. It also showed major events like the '97 Hong Kong handing over, newspaper reports on the Tiananmen incident, people staging rallies in the streets etc.

It is interesting to hear the candid responses from these people and how their answers differed due to their different backgrounds! Gained a better understanding of Hong Kong through this film.

A Summer Tale

Saw this at the "swedenmade film 2006" organised by Singapore Film Society. Decided to watch this as it was recommended by movie critic, Dr Wong Lung Hsiung, on channel 8 the day before.

The story is about how two orphans spent their summer holidays with a local undertaker, Mr Johansson. He was quite strict with them at first but the orphans soon became friends with each other and had many interesting encounters with the village people.

Liked the simple story and the life affirming lessons taught by the children!

Internet Movie Database Link

Three Times

Watched this at the newly furbished Picturehouse. Only the ticket sales and cinemas are open on the 5th and 6th floor. The rest of the shops are not ready for business yet.

There are three short stories in TT and they have different themes and set in different eras: "A Time of Love" in 1966, "A Time of Freedom" in 1911 and "A Time of Youth" in 2005.

ATOL is about an NS guy's search for a billiard ball assistant whom he had a game before. ATOF is about the life of a prostitute and it describes the incidents that lead to the fall of Taiwan to Japan through her client. ATOY is about a complicated love triangle in the Taipei city.

Liked the '60s music in ATOL and the nice costume worn by the billiard ball assistants! The opera music in ATOF was interesting and the theme was expressed pretty well through both the loss of freedom of a country and that of a person! Didn't really like ATOY as I thought the music sounded terrible and there was nothing special about the plain citylife scenery.

Internet Movie Database Link

Lim Boon Heng Cup (Day Two)

Game 6: vs Rosalind
An easy game as Rosalind had not been playing for a while and was quite rusty. Had to clarify the rules for her as she didn't seem to be familiar with them. She actually requested to play in the recreational division but was refused because of her ratings attained in 1999! Also heard that Kok Onn's request to play in the intermediate division was refused as he only started playing competitively after the LBH cup cut-off date. Guess the ratings system has its limitation to eliminate both under-qualified and over-qualified players in a particular division.



New words learnt: -
My Bingos: - Opp Bingos: -
My Phoneys: - Opp Phoneys: IL*(ch)
My High Moves: AWAY(35), YEH(33), BRAVeD(34) CLEAN(30) Opp High Moves: -
W 423-291, +132. 3W 3L (Accum spread +76).

Game 7: vs JoBeth Pan
Was thrashed by JoBeth a few years ago at the NTU open. Had a bingo rack with AEILNRS and played NAILERS back hooking the R to an existing EME but EMER* was challenged off. Could have bingoed by front hooking to an existing TIC on the board! My opponent bingoed three times with tURRETED(62), REALTIES(82), SNORTER(73) and I lost badly!



New words learnt: ETIC, EBON(ch)
My Bingos: - Opp Bingos: tURRETED(62), REALTIES(ch)(82), SNORTER(ch)(73)
My Phoneys: EMER*(ch), LOM*(ch) Opp Phoneys: -
My High Moves: PAS(33), RACIER(36), EX(42), VOLTI(30) Opp High Moves: TIC(36)
L 346-481, -135. 3W 4L (Accum spread -59).

Game 8: vs Peter Yu
My phoney SLINT* was let off as both of us thought it was good. Peter tried to hook an S and I tried to hook a Y and both were challenged off. Later, Peter bingoed twice with SOlDiER(78) and AGONIES(67) and won easily!



New words learnt: -
My Bingos: - Opp Bingos: SOlDiER(78), AGONIES(67)
My Phoneys: SLINT*, EMED*(ch) Opp Phoneys: SLINTS*(ch)
My High Moves: ZO(35) Opp High Moves: XU(39), MED(31)
L 281-449, -168. 3W 5L (Accum spread -227).

Game 9: vs Lim Shi Min
Had a bye as my opponent did not turn up.

W 150-100, +50. 4W 5L (Accum spread -177).

Game 10: vs Sebastien Lim
Start of the King-of-the-Hill round and my second time meeting Sebastien. Both of us had one bingo each. I had TRAiNEE(66) and he had REALISE(68). Was quite confused over what the blank in TRAiNEE represented and played a silly phoney of HiI* which was challenged off. Also made a mistake of not blocking the back hook of MOC next to the TWS cell and allowed my opponent to score with SKEW(57). Just managed to win by 4 points in the end!



New words learnt: -
My Bingos: TRAiNEE(66) Opp Bingos: REALISE(68)
My Phoneys: HiI*(ch) Opp Phoneys: TAPINGS*(ch), MOCA*(ch)
My High Moves: TAJ(39), QIS(39), TAX(45) Opp High Moves: HAW(31), ZEA(32), SKEW(57)
W 373-369, +4. 5W 5L (Accum spread -173).

Game 11: vs Catherine
My second time meeting Catherine and thought I had a chance to revenge myself. Couldn't beat her in the end as she bingoed with sTrINGS(72) and scored well while not opening up the board.



New words learnt: -
My Bingos: - Opp Bingos: sTrINGS(72)
My Phoneys: - Opp Phoneys: -
My High Moves: VISA(38) Opp High Moves: CRONY(41), QI(32)
W 332-375, -43. 5W 6L (Accum spread -216).

Game 12: vs Peter Yu
My second time meeting Peter and my luck was better this time. Bingoed once with EGOtISE(80) and scored well with the J and the Q. My QUA(38) exposed the TWS cell though and allowed my opponent to score even better with FEINT(48)! Maybe should have played QAT(29) at a safer spot. Was distracted by Rosalind talking to Peter in the middle of the game but was too shy to tell her off as Peter himself didn't complain. Missed a playable bingo with a AILNST? rack at the end but played reasonably well to win.



New words learnt: HOWS(ch), TIPT(ch)
My Bingos: EGOtISE(80) Opp Bingos: -
My Phoneys: - Opp Phoneys: -
My High Moves: JEATS(56), FEW(32), QUA(38) Opp High Moves: NICER(30), FEINT(48)
W 390-348, +42. 6W 6L (Accum spread -174).

Came in 11th position out of 16 players. Not quite an above average intermediate player yet but I hope to do better the next time to at least make it to the top half of the field!

Lim Boon Heng Cup (Day One)

Game 1: vs Lim Seng Bock
My first time playing with Seng Bock and I learnt that he was preparing for the upcoming ISBG games. Hmm, someone to look out for when our company takes part in it! Was leading late in the game until my opponent bingoed with PATerNAL(68) using two blanks! Had lots of consonants left and he finished first to add 8 points to his final score to overtake me.



New words learnt: EHING(ch), BOFF(ch), TRIZONE
My Bingos: - Opp Bingos: PATerNAL(68)
My Phoneys: - Opp Phoneys: AES*(ch)
My High Moves: FIXES(36), KAF(38), PALING(43), MEATY(57) Opp High Moves: QUITS(35), CIG(37), EHING(43), ZERO(48)
L 373-380, -7. 0W 1L (Accum spread -7).

Game 2: Sebastien Lim
Sebastian is Seng Bock's colleague. Was trailing far behind when he bingoed three times in alternate turns: bIPLANE(86), BOILERS(76) and DESTINED(78)! Caught up a little bit when I bingoed with FeNITAR(78) but it was too late!



New words learnt: VIVO, bIPLANE(ch)
My Bingos: FeNITAR(78) Opp Bingos: bIPLANE(ch)(86), BOILERS(76), DESTINED(78)
My Phoneys: - Opp Phoneys: LOXY*(ch), QUOIR*(ch)
My High Moves: LOX(33), JOT(35), ZEL(32) Opp High Moves: -
L 380-455, -75. 0W 2L (Accum spread -82).

Game 3: Arul
Played with Arul before at the last LBH cup and I think he must be the most well equipped player in the tournament, with his own board, tiles and clock! He even had extra clocks in his bag that he wanted to sell! Managed to make many high score moves including a bingo with READIER(80) back hooking to an existing DEN. Arul bingoed late in the game with eTAERIO(67) but it was too late. Had ABGNOOS for my rack at one time and saw the bingo in it but didn't put it down as I was not sure of it.



New words learnt: DENE(ch), GABOONS
My Bingos: READIER(80) Opp Bingos: eTAERIO(67)
My Phoneys: JIT*(ch) Opp Phoneys: ENLEARN*(ch), ADIM*(ch)
My High Moves: THY(33), JILTS(38), FRAY(33), ZO(31) Opp High Moves: -
W 412-284, +128. 1W 2L (Accum spread +46).

Game 4: Aloysius
Played with Aloysius before at the last Nationals. A bingoless game but I managed to make many high scoring moves while not opening up for my opponent!



New words learnt: -
My Bingos: - Opp Bingos: -
My Phoneys: ALOT*(ch), WEF*(ch) Opp Phoneys: REL*(ch
My High Moves: ZEAS(43), MY(34), VINAS(36), GHI(33), PRY(38) Opp High Moves: JIVED(35), PEDS(32)
W 338-284, +54. 2W 2L (Accum spread +100).

Game 5: Catherine Tong
Played with Catherine before at the NTU open a few years ago. Bingoed first with ASTRIDE(65) and Catherine bingoed later with sINGLES(78). Had AENPSTU on my rack at one turn but missed the two possible anagrams and put UNTAPES* instead that was challenged off! After that, I made many low scoring moves that did not help to open up the board and lost badly in the end.



New words learnt: PESAUNT
My Bingos: ASTRIDE(65) Opp Bingos: sINGLES(78)
My Phoneys: HANED*(ch), UNTAPES*(ch), PLEG*(ch), YIS*(ch), ASTRIDES*(ch) Opp Phoneys: -
My High Moves: AIDE(38), JOhN(45) Opp High Moves: OXO(43), CREEK(31)
L 266-422, -156. 2W 3L (Accum spread -56).

Mad Hot Ballroom

This is a documentary about school children in New York taking a ten week ballroom dancing course and preparing for an inter-school competition in the process.

Liked the interviews with the school children and the teachers! The children were very natural in front of the camera while the teachers explained their expectations of them. The kids look so grown up as they danced beautifully and yet they behave like normal children outside class! I also had fun learning about their plans for the future when they grow up.

Internet Movie Database Link

Interesting Talk on TV

Accidentally stumbled on this interesting talk when I was channel surfing. Pheonix TV has a weekly programme where an expert would give a talk on a particular topic to university students with a question and answer session after that.

The topic this week is on 中医的传统与出路 which would roughly translate to the historical value of Tradition Chinese Medicine and its future development. The speaker talked about the different mental models of Western Medicine and Chinese Medicine. Western Medicine breaks the human body into small sub-components so as to pin point the problem and destroy the virus/bacteria that causes the problem. Chinese Medicine treats the human body as a whole system and concentrates on strengthening the body so that the natural defences kick in.

It is also interesting to hear about the speaker's experience during the SARS epidemic and his views on the impending Avian Flu epidemic!

Article Link

War and Peace

The story, based on Tolstoy's novel of the same title, describes what happened during the war when Napoleon tried to conquer Russia around 1812.

Didn't think I could finish watching such a long film at 208 min but Audrey Hepburn acting in it kept me going. She looked very pretty and she wore beautiful dresses and had elegant posture! Was quite confused over the relationship of some minor characters but I still managed to understand the main storyline. It was also interesting to see the war tactics of the Russian and French army towards the end!

Internet Movie Database Link

Sympathy For Lady Vengeance

The story is about a beautiful lady, Geum-ja seeking revenge on a man who betrayed her. This is the last part of the revenge trilogy made by the director Park Chan Wook. The film was shown commercially last year, but I missed it because I was having training overseas.

Interesting to note that I happened to watch SFLV on "International Women's Day" as this film is mainly about women. It describes the sisterly friendship made in jail, the dependence of women on men and the love of a mother towards her daughter. Liked the use of flashback that weaved the story together, the voice-over narration that explained the plot and the many different looks of Geum-ja!

Internet Movie Database Link

Brokeback Mountain

The story is about how two cowboys became very good friends when they were working together at Brokeback Mountain. After finishing the work, they went separate ways but still kept in contact once in a while for many years.

Nice guitar soundtrack and beautiful scenery! I also liked watching the animals such as the bear, the elk, the sheep, the horse and the dog! The bear looked extremely ferocious in one scene! It is also interesting to see how the cowboys battle the elements but still manage to have a great time together. They share a dark secret though.

Liked how the film described what happened to each of the cowboys when they went separate ways. Great acting by Michelle Williams especially when she discovered the dark secret of her husband and when she confronted him about it! Liked the well executed ending too!

Scrabble Poll

Would like to conduct a poll on what you would do in the above situation.

Your tile is ENOPST?, where would you place your tile?

A) POTS H1 for 36 points with a very good leave of EN?. Quite possible to get a potential bingo on the next turn
B) POSTmEN 5D for 73 points. A safe choice that does not open up the board for your opponent and scores well.
C) NEPOTISm 2H for 74 points to open up two TWS cells. One person gets one TWS cell each. It is also possible for someone score a nine-timer and the person could be yourself.
D) Other choices, please explain

Jurong Green CC Mini

Game 1: vs Peter Yu
I first bingoed with DEsTAIN(86) but Peter replied with CHINE(47) down the TWS. Our score was quite close a few turns later until I had an EEIRSZ? rack. It was a bingo-prone rack but there was no place to put it except for a CRIT on board that looked like it had potential for a front hook. I tried SEIZuRE and RESIZEs in consecutive turns to front hook the last letter to CRIT but both were challenged off. By then, Peter had decided to close off the board and I played badly after that. I went over time by 2 minutes and had many low scoring moves.



New words learnt: CRIT, CHINE, LANT,
My Bingos: DEsTAIN(ch)(86) Opp Bingos: -
My Phoneys: ECRIT*(ch), SCRIT*(ch) Opp Phoneys: -
My High Moves: - Opp High Moves: CHINE(ch)(47)
L 298-359, -61. 0W 1L (Accum spread -61).

Game 2: Marcus
After Marcus bingoed with EARLIER(78), I got one blank each for the next two turn. I bingoed with INHALeD(74) then got ENOPST? for my next turn. Spent a long time thinking of a 7-letter bingo but couldn't think of any. Finally, I saw an 8-letter one through a floating I on the board to form NEPOTISm(74).



New words learnt: -
My Bingos: INHALeD(74), NEPOTISm(74) Opp Bingos: EARLIER(78)
My Phoneys: RUP*(ch) Opp Phoneys: -
My High Moves: JIB(35), FEZ(39), VINO(33) Opp High Moves: GEY(ch)34, CUM(31), SHA(36)
W 435-377, +58. 1W 1L (Accum spread -3).

Game 3: Kum Zi Peng
Bingoed twice with BRUISES(75) and DANGERS(71) but lost the lead when I challenged PIOY and PIOYE in succession and ZP bingoed with TOADIEs(78). Managed to overtake him with a RUG set up to score with QAID(34) and BINGS(45) down the TWS line in succession. I lost in the end though as I went over time by 3 minutes and challenged his second last word, HILLO, which was good!



New words learnt: PIOY, PIOYE, ENVOI, HILLO, HILLOA
My Bingos: BRUISES(75), DANGERS(71) Opp Bingos: TOADIEs(78)
My Phoneys: - Opp Phoneys: -
My High Moves: QAID(34), BINGS(45) Opp High Moves: WOK(31), MUTED(30), PIOY(ch)(31), ECU/PIOYE(ch)(30), FEZ(37)
L 374-378, -4. 1W 2L (Accum spread -9).

Game 4: Serene Ngu
Got to a bad start when I phoneyed with DOV* while trying to score with the V on the TWL cell. Managed to catch up when Serene phoneyed with CATLINES* which was challenged off and I bingoed with TINTERS(79). I scored very well with the Q with QUAT(52) and was lucky enough to get both blanks late in the game to further capitalise on the Q with the TWS cell.



New words learnt: GIRO, GIRON
My Bingos: TINTERS(79) Opp Bingos: -
My Phoneys: DOV*(ch) Opp Phoneys: CATLINES*(ch)
My High Moves: WRITES(40), QUAT(52), QUeLl(36) Opp High Moves: PEAS(40), ZILA(31), XI(38), LEANS/GIRON(ch)(32)
W 427-356, +71. 2W 2L (Accum spread +62).

Game 5: Victor Chua
I bingoed with RAVINES(67) and Victor bingoed with TRIPLES(71) shortly after that. The board was quite close after that and I was frustrated with having no place to play my tiles. I played many phoneys that were challenged off while Victor managed to score consistently to maintain his lead. Must learn how to play well in a closed board in the future!

New words learnt: -
My Bingos: RAVINES(67) Opp Bingos: TRIPLES(71)
My Phoneys: FATA*(ch), DEIN*(ch), NEG*(ch) Opp Phoneys: GIL*(ch)
My High Moves: - Opp High Moves: HAZILY(38), JETE(38)
L 335-390, -55. 2W 3L (Accum spread +7).

Game 6: Chia Guo Cong
I won Guo Cong during the last Millenium Cup and was feeling confident although I knew that my opponent had very good word knowledge. We made many high scoring moves consecutively at one time! I bingoed first with CREVISE*(80), then he bingoed with RAINDATE(68) that exposed two TWS cells. I scored with DJIN(47) with one of them, Guo Cong scored with QUIM(69) with the other one, then I scored again with ZEX(52)! I bingoed a few turns later with fACTION(77). For my last turn, I had a comfortable lead and I didn't check what tiles my opponent was holding although I was diligently tracking it. In the end, he managed to bingo out with SLAINTE(69) and snatch an extra 16 points from my EHITU? rack to beat me by one point!



New words learnt: RAINDATE
My Bingos: CREVISE*(80), fACTION(77) Opp Bingos: RAINDATE(ch)(68), SLAINTE(69)
My Phoneys: CREVISE* Opp Phoneys: -
My High Moves: DJIN(47), ZEX(52) Opp High Moves: QUIM(69)
L 415-416, -1. 2W 4L (Accum spread +6).

Game 7: Ang Chew Chuah
Started very well with QUEEN(48) and bingoed with BRIDGES(80). I also made many high scoring moves including VARS(38), front hooking "A" to BRIDGES to capitalise on the TWS cell. Should have played AVA for that move as I had an excess of "A"s but I wasn't sure of it. I knew that AVO and AWA were good but was always confused whether AVA and AWO* were valid. Ran out of good tiles near the end and Chew Chuah slowly closed the gap with GoODIES(67), VOX(35) and ZOO(41).



New words learnt: -
My Bingos: BRIDGES(80) Opp Bingos: GoODIES(67)
My Phoneys: - Opp Phoneys: -
My High Moves: QUEEN(48), WHERE(32), QUOIF(34), VARS(38), HARMeD(41), YEAT(34) Opp High Moves: TAK(32), VOX(35), ZOO(41)
W 413-382, +31. 3W 4L (Accum spread +37).

Game 8: Chia Guo Cong
Was quite surprised to play Guo Cong again for the "King-of-the-Hill" round as I was expecting to play against either Peter or Marcus. Once again, he demonstrated his excellent word knowledge as he played VINIC, ENDIRON and BENNY in succession which I challenged the first two unsuccessfully. Managed to pull ahead as I bingoed with TOGGLER(76) and INERTIa(70). I also capitalised on the TWL cell with AH(32) that also served as a set up for SKIT(41) across the TWS cell. Guo Cong could have scored more for his last turn with ROOs back hooking QI with the "s" but he didn't as he was unsure of the word.



New words learnt: VINIC(ch), ENDIRON(ch), BENNY
My Bingos: TOGGLER(76), INERTIa(70) Opp Bingos: -
My Phoneys: - Opp Phoneys: -
My High Moves: DEX(41), AH(32), SKIT(41) Opp High Moves: VINIC(ch)(33), ENDIRON(ch)(37), BENNY(38), JEWEL(32), NAZI(34)
W 420-340, +80. 4W 4L (Accum spread +117).

Had fun playing in the mini but was frustrated with the many silly mistakes that I made. Looking forward to the upcoming Lim Boon Heng cup! Hopefully, I would have learnt not to repeat the same mistakes by then!

Mansfield Park

This is yet another film adaptation of Jane Austen's novel. The story is about how a poor girl, Fanny Price, was sent to live in her rich relative's house and what happened when she grew up. She kept in contact with her old home by writing letters to her sister. Among her rich relatives, Edmund shares the same interest as her and is her good buddy.

The plot is interesting and I was very impressed by what a good judge of character Fanny was! Liked the way the contents of the letters were presented to the audience in a story-telling style. Fanny and her sister both looked quite pretty!

Internet Movie Database Link

Emma

This is a film adaptation of Jane Austen's novel of the same title about a young single girl who likes to play matchmaker to her friends. Heard that the film "Clueless" is based on the same novel but have not had the chance to watch it yet.

Gwyneth Paltrow plays the title role and I thought she was very meddlesome at first. She had advised her friend, Harriet Smith, to turn down a marriage proposal from a fine young man as he was only a poor farmer! Mr Knightley was a very good friend of hers as he gave her advice when she most needed them.

Emma was trying to match make Harriet Smith for the most part of the film and there were many handsome guys, each with different characters, to choose from. Besides handsome guys, there were also many pretty girls in the film. These include Emma's ex-governess, Mrs Weston, and her friend, Jane Fairfax.

Internet Movie Database Link

The Constant Gardener

The story is about a diplomat trying to find out the circumstances behind a dark secret. He and his wife were working in Africa where big pharmaceutical companies were helping the Africans test for AIDS and TB.

The flashbacks were used quite effectively to show how the couple met. Great performances by Ralphe Fiennes and Rachel Weisz who played the diplomat couple! The scenery also looked pretty nice in UK and Africa. Was a bit confused over how the dark secret unravelled at first but slowly understood what happened in the end.

Internet Movie Database Link

Fearless

The story is about the life of a famous Chinese martial arts expert in China. He fought in matches for fame at first, went through a low period in his life and finally realised the importance of improving himself instead of beating others as well as unity is strength.

Certain parts of the film may not be historically accurate, but the message that violence is not the best solution is brought across positively. The martial arts sequence is nicely choreographed and the village life scenes are pretty interesting too! Also liked the sportsmanship of both contestants in the last battle!

Internet Movie Database Link

Best of British Animation Awards Vol.5

The final collection of British Animation consists of the following films:

The Girl and The Horse | Rebecca Manley | 2003
Taps | Matthew Gravelle | 2003
How Mermaids Breed | Joan Ashworth | 2002
Survey | Joe King | 2002
Gifted | Emily Mantell | 2002
Extn. 21 | Lizzie Oxby | 2002
Takuskanskan | Selina Cobley | 2003
Tennents: Body Armour | Darren Walsh | 2002
NSPCC: Cartoon | Frank Budgen & Russell Brooke | 2002
Terrence Higgins Trust: Cavern Club | Manu Roig | 2002
Butterfly | Glenn Marshall | 2002
Killing Time at Home | Neil Coslett | 2003
Little Things | Daniel Greaves | 2003
Dad's Dead | Chris Shepherd | 2002
To Have And To Hold | Emily Mantell | 2003
Fish Never Sleep | Gaelle Denis | 2002
How To Cope With Death | Ignacio Ferreras | 2002

"How Mermaids Breed" is pretty interesting and educational. "Killing Time at Home" is a sad story about how old toys get chucked away when people got tired of them. "To Have And To Hold" is an interesting mix of short stories a few days before a meteorite hits the earth. "How To Cope With Death" features "Matrix-like" action sequences of a grandmother!

Best of British Animation Awards Vol.4

Missed Vol 2 and 3 the previous day.

The collection consists of the following films:

BAA 2002 Title sequence | The Charactershop | 2002
Novelty | Leigh Hodginkson | 2001
Metalstasis | Matthew Hood | 2001
The Lucky Dip | Emily Skinner | 2001
Intolerance | Phil Mulloy | 2000
Rockin' & Rollin' | Richard Jack & Daniel Greaves | 2001
Daddy | Stephen Cavalier | 2001
Home Road Movies | Robert Bradbrook| 2000
Plain Pleasures | Sarah Cox | 2001
Q. Music.com | Sam Morris | 2000
Tennents: Pintlings | Darren Walsh | 2001
Aero: Kiosk | Alyson Hamilton | 2001
Hot Spot | Mark Brierley | 2000
Father and Daughter | Michael Dudok de Wit | 2000
Mr Grimby's Video Diary | Neil Jack | 2001

Saw "Father and Daughter" at other screenings before and I think it is quite nice! The animation has an impressionistic feel to it with pretty girls riding on the bicycle and nice background music. Also liked the director's previous work: "The Monk and The Fish" that had a similar style.

Besides "FAD", I also liked "Metalstasis", "Intolerance" and "Daddy". "Metalstasis" is about a robot who is sick because there were rats in his body, "Intolerance" is an anthropology study about aliens from the planet Zog and "Daddy" was about how Dad kept the whole family together over the years through vacations on his trusty old car.

Atame!

Was deciding whether to stay for the next two screenings of British Animation at Singapore History Museum as Arts House was also having free screenings of Spanish films at the same time. Decided to walk over there and found that they were screening Atame! by Almodovar.

Atame! is an unusual love story between a kidnapper and his victim. Ricky was just released from a mental hospital and the first thing he did was to look up Marina, an actress whom he met a year ago during a one night stand. He kidnapped her to make her slowly fall in love with him so that he could lead a normal life with a job, a wife and kids.

What's interesting is the process by which the couple turn from enemy to friends. The lines were also quite funny. Antonio Banderas acted as Ricky and he looked very young in this film! The actress who played Marina also looked quite pretty!

Internet Movie Database Link

Best of British Animation Awards Vol.1

This collection of British Animation is screened free of charge at the Singapore History Museum. There were five different screenings over two days and this was the first of them.

The following films in vol 1:

Scat, The Stringalong Cat | Ian Sachs | 1995
Butcher's Hook | Simon Pummell |1995
The Wooden Leg | Darren Doherty & Nick Smith | 1994
Many Happy Returns | Marjut Rimminen | 1997
The Wrong Brothers | Steven Weston | 1995
Jumping Joan | Petra Freeman | 1994
Reputations: Title sequence | Philip Hunt & John Kennedy | 1994
BBC2: Campaign Idents | 1995
Ah Pook is Here | Philip Hunt | 1994
Feeling My Way | Jonathan Hodgson | 1997
Smarties: Smartipants | Luis Cook | 1995
Hilary | Anthony Hodgson | 1994
Martell: Legend | Pat Gavin | 1995
Terrence Higgins Trust: Knobs In Space | Luis Cook & Dave Alex Riddett | 1995
Mr Jessop | Brian Wood | 1996
Triangle | Erica Russell | 1994
Sticky Business | Ed Taylor | 1997
(Extract) A Close Shave | Nick Park | 1995

Saw "The Wrong Brothers" and "Triangle" before at other screenings and they were quite nice. "The Wrong Brothers" is about two brother's attempt at building a flying machine while "Triangle" is a visual treat about the aesthetics of dance movement and music. Also liked "Hilary" which is a fairy tale told by a father to his child on a strange planet.

Match Point

The story is about a tennis coach's (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers) climb up the social ladder and how luck plays a big part in people's life. He married a rich student's sister and had an affair with his brother-in-law's ex-fiancee (Scarlett Johansson) that threatened to get him into trouble.

Great acting by the tennis coach! The plot is very well written and it makes the audience wonder what he would do next and how things would turn out in the end! Scarlett Johansson looks quite pretty too! There is some interesting dialogue but the bad thing is that there is no Chinese subtitles and you need to stay focused to catch what is being said.

Internet Movie Database Link

Broken Flowers

The story is about a single middle aged man, Don, going on a journey to visit his old girlfriends. His girlfriend just left him and he received a mysterious letter saying that he has a nineteen year old son who may be looking for him. His friend, Winston, who is a self professed amateur detective persuaded Don to go on this journey to find out who is the mother.

Don is a very bored guy who watches TV and listens to music all day. During this journey, he visited four of his old girlfriends: Laura, Dora, Carmen and Penny. It is interesting to see how the different characters are living their lives after twenty years, which is a bit like a class reunion.

Besides the part about meeting up, I also liked how the director shows him sitting on the plane full of strangers or finding his way on his rented car. The journey itself is fun! The dream sequences by Don about what happened in the day looked quite cool! The ending is pretty interesting too! Hmm, reminds me a bit of "Lost In Translation".

Internet Movie Database Link

Millenium Cup Scrabble Stats

I had set myself several goals prior to this competition:
1) Win 50% of my games
Failed. I won 6 games out of 15 excluding the bye, equivalent to 40% of the games.

2) Come in top half of the competition
Failed. I came in 9th out of 11 players. Need to win at least 3 more games to be 5th.

3) Score more bingos than phoneys
Yeah! Met this goal!

Here are the statistics:

Bingos = 16
RETAINER(62) GLISTEN(67) OUTLEARN(68) RATIONED(68) REAGENT(68) TAURINE(69) MOSAICS(74) CANTERS(75) MORALES(76) TAINTED(76) GRACIEST* (86) MALTERS*(90) VAINEST(90) EQUATES(91) EQUATOR(91) DEFECATE(98)

Unchallenged Phoneys = 5
FELDS* GEEL* GRACIEST* MALTERS* YROW*

Challenged Phoneys = 9
COITER* KES* MAB* MIU* NAZAL* PINTIER* POE* QUITER* THOR*

Bingo to Phoney ratio = 16:14 = 1.14 > 1.0

Millenium Cup (Day Two)

Game 7: vs Victor Chua
Wanted to put LET front hooking the T to OHO early in the game but chickened out as I was only half sure. Later in the game, Victor was able to use that spot to bingo CRINGES, front hooking with the S. Lost as my opponent made two bingos and many other high score moves. I also missed his phoney on his last move.



New words learnt: TEGUA
My Bingos: EQUATOR(91) Opp Bingos: SALINES(75), CRINGES(77)
My Phoneys: - Opp Phoneys: SID*
My High Moves: DI(31), YOU(37) Opp High Moves: ZHO(30), HA(40), REVOTE(30), FONT(36), MEM(31)
L 391-481, -90. 2W 5L (Accum spread -390).

Game 8: vs Bee Tiang
Might have seen THINGIER in SA News on the way here but have forgotten about it and gave 5 extra points to my opponent.



New words learnt: -
My Bingos: RETAINER(62) Opp Bingos: PHIALLED(97), THINGIER(85)
My Phoneys: - Opp Phoneys: OVET*
My High Moves: SIZED(55), FLUX(48) Opp High Moves: JOE(32), -
L 402-421, -19. 2W 6L (Accum spread -409).

Game 9: vs Ismail
Thought I scored quite well with YETIS(47) 14K but Ismail did better with QUA(48) 13M! The end game was quite squeezed with little place to put any tiles but my opponent was still able to find spots for his Z and V on his rack.



New words learnt: HALITES
My Bingos: MORALES(76) Opp Bingos: TRAINEE(66), HALITES(97)
My Phoneys: POE* Opp Phoneys: ODEAN*, LATTIES*
My High Moves: YETIS(47) Opp High Moves: BAD(33), QUA(48), EX(30)
L 376-425, -49. 2W 7L (Accum spread -458).

Game 10: vs Chew Chuah
Lost as my opponent made many high scoring moves!



New words learnt: NIEF, MOIT
My Bingos: - Opp Bingos: NOTATES(72)
My Phoneys: PINTIER*, COITER* Opp Phoneys: LAGGIEST*, FLOB*
My High Moves: QIS(34), FAH(30) Opp High Moves: ZAG(40), WAY(30), EXERT(60), BE(32)
L 347-450, -103. 2W 8L (Accum spread -559).

Game 11: Bye

W 50-0, +50. 3W 8L (Accum spread -511).

Game 12: vs Bee Tiang
Managed to catch quite a few phoneys but failed to challenge WOR* on my opponent's second last move! Might have won if I had done so!



New words learnt: -
My Bingos: REAGENT(68) Opp Bingos: RATTLES(69)
My Phoneys: MIU* Opp Phoneys: FRATTLES*, ADOLF*, OSS*, WOR*
My High Moves: YEP(33), HAS(31) Opp High Moves: CLONE(33), HEN(32), FLAB(35), YEX(30), LUZ(39)
L 371-395, -24. 3W 9L (Accum spread -535).

Game 13: vs Bee Tiang
Got away with MALTERS* and would have lost if my opponent had challenged.



New words learnt: -
My Bingos: MALTERS*(90), VAINEST(90) Opp Bingos: JASMINE(109)
My Phoneys: - Opp Phoneys: -
My High Moves: XI(37) Opp High Moves: BO(33), FRIZ(32)
W 409-395, +14. 4W 9L (Accum spread -521).

Game 14: vs Bee Tiang
Was able to bingo and made a few high score moves. My opponent had bad tiles and couldn't score well.



New words learnt: -
My Bingos: RATIONED(68) Opp Bingos: -
My Phoneys: - Opp Phoneys: -
My High Moves: BULK(30), TUX(36), LEZ(42) Opp High Moves: -
W 378-321, +57. 5W 9L (Accum spread -464).

Game 15: vs Bee Tiang
My opponent bingoed on his very first move with WHARFED(89) and I had to play catch up from then on. Luckily, my tiles were good and I overtook him with quite a few high scoring moves.



New words learnt: MING
My Bingos: - Opp Bingos: WHARFED(89)
My Phoneys: - Opp Phoneys: -
My High Moves: RIZ(32), PUNNED(34), VORS(31), KIP(32) Opp High Moves: -
W 392-331, +61. 6W 9L (Accum spread -403).

Game 16: vs Bee Tiang
Won by having two bingos that offseted my opponent's high score moves!



New words learnt: -
My Bingos: GLISTEN(67), CANTERS(75) Opp Bingos: -
My Phoneys: - Opp Phoneys: NIG*
My High Moves: HARDIER(30) Opp High Moves: ZEA(33), BOIL(32), FOAL(32)
W 431-287, +144. 7W 9L (Accum spread -259).

Millenium Cup (Day One)

I joined the Millenium Cup this year as I wanted to complete all the major Scrabble competitions in Singapore. I took part in the NTU Open, the Singapore Open, the Lim Boon Heng Cup in 2004 and the Singapore Nationals in 2005. This year's Millenium Cup is held at the Teck Ghee "Zone B" RC and it was my first time going there.

A total of 21 players took part with the top ten in division A while the rest in division B. I was placed in division B and the format was round robin and five rounds of King of the Hill.

Game 1: vs Lim Li Wei
Li Wei pulled ahead after he scored his second bingo. I had ACI?RST shortly after but had no place to put it. Saw a bingo line in the middle with a "G" at H8 and "EE" at 9I, so I tried GRACIeST* (86). Li Wei didn't challenge even though he knew it was a phoney as it allowed him to play DONSIEST(85) 15A.



New words learnt: MARITAGE, SALARIAT, DONSIEST
My Bingos: TAURINE(69), GRACIEST* (86) Opp Bingos: MARITAGE (79) SALARIAT (75) DONSIEST (85)
My Phoneys: KES*, MAB* Opp Phoneys: -
My High Moves: TAXI(36), HES(34), CLINK(40), QUA(32) Opp High Moves: GYVED(30), JOT(39), VEND(36), OH(32), ZAP(41)
L 409-531, -122. 1 Loss (Accum spread -122).


Game 2: Peter Tay
Our scores are very close until I put down JIN N2 hooking to XI M3. I knew that all the "O"s and "D"s have been used up, so I thought the TWS cell would be safe. Realised that I missed out another possibility when I drew the last blank from the bag after my turn. Was able to score with FAdE(40) and pull ahead to win!



New words learnt: OREIDE, STAW
My Bingos: - Opp Bingos: -
My Phoneys: GEEL*, NAZAL* Opp Phoneys: QUEPO*
My High Moves: QUEP(34), SECOND(38), ZIN(36), JIN(32), FADE(40) Opp High Moves: YO(30)
W 371-331, +40. 1W 1L (Accum spread -82). (Mistake in toucanet. I was left with a single-score letter tile when Peter finished and I forgot to add that to his score).


Game 3: Valli
The board was very closed after the first 3 moves of BOXED, META and WAT all stacked nicely one above each other. I changed tiles several times with no idea what to do next as both of us were unwilling to open up. Scored quite high with a phoney YROW* later which I thought I have seen on my 3 letter hook list. My eye sight must be getting worse as I now realised that it was VROW on the list. Hmm, maybe I shouldn't have saved paper by printing four pages on one sheet of paper.



New words learnt: GAZOON, ROIL, CURIA
My Bingos: - Opp Bingos: -
My Phoneys: YROW* Opp Phoneys: ARDL*
My High Moves: YROW*(53), KILLS(44), QUADS(33) Opp High Moves: BOXED(36), WAT(42), JOCO(33), CURIA(32), SQUID(34)
L 333-374, -41. 1W 2L (Accum spread -123).

Game 4: Chia Guo Cong
We had an exciting game with lots of high scoring plays and finished the game in just 11 turns! I had very good tiles and was able to bingo easily with simple words. Had AENOSRTU at one time and I was trying very hard to fit what I thought was a potential bingo, UNROASTED*, through an existing D in O8. Was very puzzled why it did not fit until I realised that I had overdrawn and the S was taken away from me. Luckily, it was still my turn and I was able to bingo with OUTLEARN through an existing L on the board.

Guo Cong had only 2 bingos but he scored very high with non-bingo words! It was unlucky that he drew the X on his last move and I was able to bingo out with DEFECATE(98) down the triple score line.



New words learnt: DOLLING, SLADANGS, LEERIER, KITH
My Bingos: MOSAICS(74), OUTLEARN(68), EQUATES(91), DEFECATE(98) Opp Bingos: SLADANGS(70), LEERIER(75)
My Phoneys: - Opp Phoneys: REELIER*
My High Moves: YOU(38), VEIN(40) Opp High Moves: YEH(44), JUDOS(63), FRITZ(74), KITH(54), WAB(33)
W 541-456, +85. 2W 2L (Accum spread -38).

Game 5: Shanthikumar
Was trailing behind after Shanthikumar scored his bingo. Thought I could have caught up if I hadn't tried to hook R to an existing QUITE on the board and got no points for that turn. He let go my phoney FELDS(35) on the last turn as it allowed him to bingo out with REJOINED(117) which is the high word of the day.



New words learnt: REJOINED
My Bingos: - Opp Bingos: CHANTER(91), REJOINED(117)
My Phoneys: QUITER*, FELDS* Phoneys: LAK*
My High Moves: QUAIS(38), FELDS(35) Opp High Moves: WYN(30)
L 308-438, -130. 2W 3L (Accum spread -168). (Mistake in toucanet. I was left with FAV and 18 points were added to his score of 420.)

Game 6: Zi Peng
Had no chance of catching up as Zi Peng scored two bingos early in the game. Bingoed with TAINTED(76) but it was immediately followed by Zi Peng's GALORES(74). Lost badly in the end.



New words learnt: ADRY, STRAWEN, FAINE
My Bingos: TAINTED(76) Opp Bingos: REVENGES(65), STRAWEN(94), GALORES(74)
My Phoneys: THOR* Phoneys: -
My High Moves: WIRED(36), AD(30), GJUS(36) Opp High Moves: HOY(32), AX(31)
L 359-491, -132. 2W 4L (Accum spread -300).

Le Grand Voyage

LGV is about the journey of a son and father on a pilgrimage from France to Mecca by car. Along the way, they met many interesting people and had their fair share of adventure together.

One of my favorite reality show is "The Amazing Race" that features eleven teams of couples racing around the world for the prize of one million dollars. This film is something like it except that only one team is featured and the objective is to reach Mecca.

Just like TAR, there are also detours and roadblocks along the way. They detoured from the highway to go on the small roads and some incidents caused them considerable delay. Liked the beautiful scenery and the nice verses quoted by the father to his son!

Internet Movie Database Link

The World

The story is about the lives of people working in a theme park in Beijing. The theme park has many miniature building models of famous monuments around the world.

The park looks beautiful and performances with dancers dressed in the national costumes of various countries are interesting! The personal life of these dancers are not so glamorous though. Their workplace is crammed and they don't have a chance to actually travel around the world.

Liked the depiction of the friendship between Xiao Tao and a Russian dancer. They managed to become friends despite not sharing the same language. Also liked the short animation clips shown in between scenes!

Internet Movie Database Link

Singapore Shorts DVD Compilation

Bought this compilation of 9 award winning short films by Singapore directors on New year's day.

"3 Feet Apart" is a funny animation about the love story between a boy born with a handphone in his head and a girl born with speakers in her ears! They have to stay 3 feet apart otherwise a loud noise would be emitted from the speaker.

"Birthday", "Locust", "Mother" and "While You Sleep" are the more abstract pieces that focuses more on the emotions of the characters rather than the storyline. "Birthday" was a bit boring at times. Liked how "Locust" and "Mother" flash images while a narrator tells the story in the background. I also liked the black and white cinematography in "While You Sleep" and its minimalist style.

The rest of the films are: "Autograph Book", "The Secret Heaven", "The Call Home" and "Moving House". "Autograph Book" is interesting as they have people act out what they wrote in their friend's autograph book! "The Secret Heaven" had a cute little girl as the protagonist. "The Call Home" shows quite realistically the life of a foreign worker living in Singapore. "Moving House" is a touching documentary about a family moving their ancestors's remains to the crematorium as legislated by the government. The director of MH is very good at capturing people's emotions and I felt how sad the family were at losing their old traditions.

DVD Info

Blood and Bones

The story is about the life of a Korean, Kim Shun Pei, who emigrated to Japan in the early 1920s and started a family there. He is a very violent man and often hits his family members and workers for no reason at all.

The reason for Kim's violence is not explained but we see how his family members and workers are affected by him through many interesting anecdotes described by the film. The actor who plays Kim, Kitano Takeshi, is perfect for this role with his cool poker face look!

The cinematography is nice with breath-taking scenery and I learnt some basic lessons in 20th century history from the film. It showed soldiers going to war during the Second World War, the rising popularity of communism and the split of the Korean Peninsula resulting in Koreans going back from Japan to North Korea.

Internet Movie Database Link

A Hen In The Wind

The story is about a young mother waiting for her husband to come back from war. Her son fell seriously sick one day and she is forced to prostitute herself one night to earn the money for the medical bills. Her husband eventually came back and learnt the truth but he had a hard time accepting it.

The film has some interesting shots of huge half completed buildings that shows Japan in the state of rebuilding itself. The huge buildings contrast with the people who walk beside them. Great acting by the actress, Tanaka Kinuyo, who played the distraught wife! There is also a bit of unravelling of a mystery as the husband seeks to find out the truth on his own. The finale scene is powerfully shot and it symbolised the difficult times that Japan is going through.

Internet Movie Database Link

Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit

The story is about how Wallace and his loyal dog, Gromit, solve the mystery of a beast who roams the gardens of the people and threatens the success of an upcoming giant vegetable growing contest.

Wallace and Gromit has been a team for several films already. Wallace is an inventor while Gromit is his great assistant. Gromit does not have a mouth like "Hello Kitty" but it is very skilful at many tasks! It drives the car, cooks meals, is good at making things and does detective work! I liked the interesting storyline and the exciting chases that are well choreographed! The bunny looks funny too!

Internet Movie Database Link

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

The story is about the adventures of four siblings in a strange land called Narnia where the Lion and the Witch lived. A magical wardrobe is the connection from the real world to Narnia.

The youngest daughter, Lucy Pevensie, looks very cute! She is also very friendly and helpful, that makes her more likable than her other siblings: Edmund, Susan and Peter. The special effects are very well done as the creatures look believable even though I know that real animals can't move their mouths when they speak. The Lion looks magnificent and has great charima when it talks, yet when Lucy brushes her hand across her mane, it looks friendly like a furry and huggable giant soft toy.

I like the plot as it describes the struggle between good and evil plus the value of keeping promises. The final battle scene is well choreographed! I am quite amazed at the prowess of the evil Witch and impressed by how the four siblings helped each other towards the end of the film!

Internet Movie Database Link

Pride & Prejudice

The story is about five sisters from the Bennett family whose lives are turned upside down when a wealthy young man, Mr. Bingley, and his best friend, Mr. Darcy, arrive in their neighborhood.

The film is an adaptation from Jane Austen's novel and it is one of my favorite book partly because of the character of Elizabeth Bennett. She is an intelligent young woman who cares very much for her sisters! The story is very well written with detailed description of English family life, an exciting plot and interesting, witty conversations.

Liked how the camera pans around to show what everybody is doing with the soundtrack in the background! The soundtrack is very nice and I was pleasantly surprised by how the director managed to put some comical touches to the film!

One bad thing about reading the novel before watching the film is that one tends to compare the two during the film and be distracted. Generally, I think it is quite a good adaptation although the book did a better job in explaining what each of the characters were thinking and why one character fell in love with another.

Among the sisters, I think Rosamund Pike who plays Jane Bennett looks the prettiest followed by Kiera Knightly who plays Elizabeth Bennett and Jena Malone who plays Lydia Bennett. Didn't quite catch a good look at Mary Bennett, Kitty Bennett or Caroline Bingley.

Internet Movie Database Link

Crazed Fruit

I bought the DVD as I was attracted by the nice cover! The story is about what happens when two brothers fall in love with the same woman. The setting is in post WWII Japan and it depicts how the youth idle their time away by engaging in water sports, going to clubs and fooling around.

The film describes how life was like during that period, especially on the attitudes of Japanese youth. A good film to watch before CF would be Fighting Elegy that talks about the attitudes of youth during pre WWII Japan. Liked the complex relationship among the characters that is very well portrayed! The psychological tension builds up to a climax towards the end of the film!

Internet Movie Database Link

Mirror Mask

Watched the movie at a premiere jointly organised by Singapore Film Society and British Council. The story is about what happened when the mother of a circus family fell ill. The daughter, Helen, was brought to a strange land one night where everybody wears masks and she had to find the Mirror Mask and figure out her way home.

There are several films with a similar storyline about the adventures of a little girl in a strange land, examples would include "Wizard of Oz" and "Spirited Away". MM loses out to WOO in terms of the costume worn by the lead character and to SA in terms of the strange creatures encountered in the land but its artwork is pretty unique as it has a graphic novel feel to it.

Internet Movie Database Link

Jurong Green CC Scrabble Mini

I joined the Jurong Green CC mini to have a taste of Scrabble again as I have stopped playing for a long while. I was quite lucky to be the last person to be placed in div B and to have a round robbin competition, so I had a chance to play with intermediate players like Zi Peng, Marcus and Victor.

Game 1: vs Ang Chew Chuah
Chew Chuah is my colleague and he came especially early to play a game before the actual tournament started! Bingoed with GoALPOST(66) through an existing S at O8. but could have done better with GALiPOTS(80) O1. Also missed another bingo AUSTERER(77) through an existing R at A8 but played a phoney UREATES* instead. Was leading quite comfortably by about 50 points until Chew Chuah scored well with RIOTERS(90) as bingo and QIS(39). Lost by 7 points in the end.



New words learnt: FIFE, FANE
My Bingoes: GoALPOST(66) (Ana: GALiPOTS) Opp Bingoes: RIOTERS(90)
My Phoneys: UREATES* (Ana: AUSTERE) Opp Phoneys: -
My High Moves: KOR(30), ROAD(39), DAWNS(41) Opp High Moves: XI(34), WREN(30), FIFE(33), QIS(39)
L 391-398, -7. 1 Loss (Accum spread -7).

Game 2: vs Kevin Lim Tze Peng
My first time playing with Kevin who was a student at Raffles Instution and he led most of the way. Almost caught up when I bingoed with LININGS(75) but still lost in the end by 26 points. There is a mistake for the scores on toucanet as I wrote the 7 like a 2 on my score sheet.



New words learnt: MAGI, EINE, UNWIRED
My Bingoes: LININGS(75) Opp Bingoes: -
My Phoneys: ENROUTE* Opp Phoneys: AZOS*
My High Moves: URINE(45), PELT(35), CUPS(40) Opp High Moves: HOX(35), JAY(39), UNWIRED(43), ZOS(52)
L 377-398, -26. 2 Loss (Accum spread -33).

Game 3: vs Sharifah
My first time playing with Sharifah who was a pleasant Malay girl. Bingoed with DECLINE(77) but played badly overall as I allowed my opponent to score highly with the X, J and Z. Lost by 39 points in the end.

New words learnt: AGON, RILL
My Bingoes: DECLINE(77) Opp Bingoes: -
My Phoneys: TEI* Opp Phoneys: OPER*, TAJS*
My High Moves: - Opp High Moves: XI(52), TAJ(34), DOZE(41), EVET(32)
L 349-388. -39. 3 Loss (Accum spread -72).

Game 4: vs Victor Chua
My first time playing with Victor who was a student. Trailed from the very start when my opponent pulled away with RIOTERS(72). We had an exciting finish as both of us bingoed on our last turns. Victor bingoed with LINIEST(80) 6A and I had EEHIRS? on my rack. Could have gotten a nine-timer with my tiles, but I went over time for just over 1 minute to come up with RELISHEd(83). Lost by 54 points with the 20 points time penalty.



New words learnt: CHISELER, HIRSELED
My Bingoes: RELISHEd(83) Opp Bingoes: RIOTERS(72), LINIEST(80)
My Phoneys: REY* Opp Phoneys: -
My High Moves: EQUAL(45) Opp High Moves: TREZ(46)
L 353-407. -54. 4 Loss (Accum spread -126).

Game 5: vs Peter Tay
My second time playing with Peter Tay who was a Masters player. Managed to score well whenever he tried to open up. Was leading with REASONS(66) until he also bingoed with SITTERS(69). Lost by 28 points in the end.



New words learnt: JEELY
My Bingoes: REASONS(66) Opp Bingoes: SITTERs(69)
My Phoneys: NIN* Opp Phoneys: -
My High Moves: TORID(31), DOUBT(32) Opp High Moves: JEELY(51)
L 336-364. -28. 5 Loss (Accum spread -154).

Game 6: vs Marcus Goh Kim Leng
My first time playing with Marcus who was a seasoned intermediate player. Didn't have a chance as he got both blanks early in the game and bingoed with THiEVES(84) and FATTIES(96). Managed to bingo with ELATION(65) near the end but it was too late. Lost by 135 points.

New words learnt: CION
My Bingoes: ELATION(65) Opp Bingoes: THiEVEs(84), FATTIES(96)
My Phoneys: PEINT*, ALM* Opp Phoneys: AWARNER*
My High Moves: NIXY(48), ZIGS(42) Opp High Moves: PAT(32), RAW(40), QUEER(33)
L 326-461. -135. 6 Loss (Accum spread -289).

Game 7: vs Kum Zi Peng
I played Zi Peng several times before on ISC but this was my first time playing with him in an actual competition. Was leading most of the way when I bingoed with LINGERS(74) but Zi Peng pulled away with DETAINS(76) as bingo. Lost by 56 points in the end.

New words learnt: FEME
My Bingoes: LINGERS(74) Opp Bingoes: DETAINS(76)
My Phoneys: TAL* Opp Phoneys: -
My High Moves: JAR(35), WAX(46) Opp High Moves: MEOW(40), FEZ(43), FEME(32), VINS(32)
L 348-404. -56. 7 Loss (Accum spread -345).

Game 8: vs Peter Yu
Learnt many new words from Peter Yu whom I played once before. I bingoed with OTARINE(79) and he bingoed with URBANITE(65). In the end, I lost by 33 points.



New words learnt: ANOW, WAID, LOAM
My Bingoes: OTARINE(79) Opp Bingoes: URBANITE(65)
My Phoneys: GUEL* Opp Phoneys: -
My High Moves: BYE(31), ZEE(32) Opp High Moves: KEEN(39), ANOW(30)
L 348-381. -33. 8 Loss (Accum spread -378).

Game 9: vs Gwee Choon Siong
My first time playing with Choon Siong who brought his son along to play too! Learnt later that I edged his son out from the div B competition. Had a very very close game! Our scores were neck-in-neck and none of us had a bingo. I managed to pull ahead when he phoneyed with BEA* and caught him with a C in the end to win by 3 points.



New words learnt: -
My Bingoes: - Opp Bingoes: -
My Phoneys: - Opp Phoneys: BEA*
My High Moves: JUS(36), HIVE(30), COX(33), BOW(35) Opp High Moves: FAZE(36), GRADE(33), LIMP(31), RHO(31), METES(34)
W 356-353. +3. 1 Win 8 Loss (Accum spread -375).

Had a fun afternoon playing Scrabble, although now I know I definitely need to brush up on my 3s! Came in last but I will aim to do better next time!

The Edukators

The story is about a group of activists, Jule, her boyfriend Peter and Peter's friend Jan, who break into the homes of the rich, re-arrange their furnitures and leave them a warning note in order to change the world.

Great acting by the leads as the film explains the complex relationship among the three activists! The discussions on why the world need to change is interesting! Nice ending too!

Internet Movie Database Link

Fighting Elegy

A 1966 Japanese film by Suzuki Seijun about school life in Japan before the Second World War. The male lead, Kiroku, boards with a Catholic family and he falls in love with the daughter, Michiko. To control his raging hormonal urges, he joins a club that teaches him how to fight and rebel against existing rules.

Quite cute to see Kiroku trying very hard not to be tempted by lustful thoughts! Michiko looks very pretty and she plays the piano very well! She has some resemblance to Selena from the pop group S.H.E. From the film, I also get a basic understanding on the background to how Japan's rising militarism started.

Internet Movie Database Link

Reconstruction

An interesting love story that revolves around four characters: Aimee, her husband August, Alex and his girlfriend Simone! Alex and Aimee got to know each other when they met at the train station.

The director broke the story into fragments and pieced them up together in an unusual way! Several versions of the same scene were shot and it presents many possibilities of what actually happened to the viewer. The actress who played Aimee looked stunning! The cinematography is very well done and the city of Copenhagan looked very beautiful in this film!

Internet Movie Database Link

Sophie Scholl

The setting is during the Second World War when Germany was facing great losses in battle and a resistance group against the Nazi regime called the "White Rose" was established. The story is about how three of the "White Rose" members, Sophie Scholl, her brother Hans Scholl and a friend Christoph Probst were caught and integorrated by the Gestapo.

Great acting by the actress who played Sophie! She displayed wits and courage during the interrogation and never losing her cool! Liked the brilliant arguments presented between her and the investigator when he tried to "correct" her thinking! One thing that I learnt is that although the integorrator or the judge tend to shout very loudly, the truth always speaks louder than that.

Internet Movie Database Link
More info on the White Rose

Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul

An interesting documentary about the music that is played in Istanbul, the capital of Turkey. Many different styles of music are featured, including rock, hip-hop, and pop, but all of them have a Turkish feel to it.

Very nice music! Liked how the camera focused on the musician's expression when they play the music or when they sing the song! The interviews with the musician's were interesting and insightful too! I also liked the advertisements in the film that were quite funny!

Internet Movie Database Link

A Scene at the Sea

The story is about how a cleaner, Shigeru, picked up surf boarding as a competitive sport and how his girlfriend, Takako, supported his passion for the sport. Both Shigeru and Takako are deaf and dumb, but they are able to communicate with each other and fit in with the crowd.

A nice quiet film by director Kitano Takeshi with a great soundtrack! The small little things that the couple do together and their facial expressions help us feel for the characters although they don't talk at all. I also liked the well executed ending!

Internet Movie Database Link

Singapore Shorts Showcase

Saw this after the Singapore Students Shorts Showcase and it comprised of the following:

Crocodile Journals
Last Drop
Flutter
Elephant: Ok
The Habit

I think the difference between the professionals and the students is that the message is brought out more clearly through a strong storyline and the sound track is better too!

Felt quite sad for the crocodile in "Crocodile Journals" who tried so hard to fit in with the rest. "Last Drop" reminds me of a German animation that I saw a few years back about a person finding himself in worlds made of different materials. "Flutter" had nice Indian music as background. Liked the storyline in "Elephant: Ok" and the message that it brought across. Didn't really like "The Habit" as I thought it was a bit gross.

Singpapore Students Shorts Showcase

Saw this during the Animation Nation 2005 at the Singapore History Museum and it comprised of the following films:

The Art of War
The Battle of Bukit Chandu
Evolution
Konnimo: Our Phantom Skies
Kung Food
The Other Side
Red/Blue
Restricted Roads
Team Innovation
Vincent

Liked "The Art of War", "The Battle of Bukit Chandu", "Kung Food" and "The Other Side" the best!

"The Art of War": The way the pac-man like soldiers slowly fall backwards when hit was quite cute!

"The Battle of Bukit Chandu": Most professionally done with a good story line and well choreographed action!

"Kung Food": Liked the matrix-like kung fu action and how the apple perspires out of fear!

"The Other Side": Interesting idea that the "person" on the other side of the mirror actually has to try very hard to imitate every action that one does! Pretty funny too!

Ah Sou

The story is about what happens when a triad chief, Gent, gets killed and his adopted child, Phoebe, takes over as the head.

Liked the use of animation to show the flashbacks of the adopted child! The story is not too interesting. I thought I could learn how Phoebe managed the team that comprised of her foster father's pals: Buddy, Whacko and Chance, but the film didn't show any of that! :( One plus point for the film is that Karena Lam acted quite well as Nova, a female triad chief who was an enemy of Gent.

Internet Movie Database Link

Valiant

Valiant is an animation film about how pigeons served the army during the Second World War by helping to deliver messages.

The story is quite good and the action in the air is well choreographed! I have seldom heard English accent in an animation but this is one of the few.

Internet Movie Database Link

The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D

Caught the last half hour of this film as I was channel surfing. The story is about the adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl who are creatures in a boy's dream that suddenly turned true.

The adventures are quite interesting as we see how shark boy and lava girl co-operate to defeat the bad guys despite being very different. Sharkboy is a hybrid of a boy and a shark and he can only live in water. Lavagirl produces so much heat that she destroys everything that she touches but she cannot stay long in water.

Lavagirl has the most radiant smile I have ever seen and the ice princess looks quite cute too! I also like the jokes told by the weird guy in giant goggles who is supposedly the boy's physics teacher in real life.

Internet Movie Database Link

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Watched this Tim Burton film next as I missed the public screening in Singapore. The story is adapted from a novel by Roald Dahl and it is about Charlie visiting a gigantic Chocolate Factory together with four other lucky children who won tickets to do so.

Liked the adventures in the factory itself, the flashbacks to the factory owner's childhood days and how Charlie's house slant to one side! Didn't like the small little creatures who look horrific and the musical numbers that they performed though.

Internet Movie Database Link

Marathon

Saw this Korean film on an SQ flight back to Singapore. The story is about how much an autistic guy, Cho Won, likes running and how he trained to complete the Marathon. It also shows his relationship with his family, his coach and the general public.

Great performance by the actor who played Cho Won! He plays the autistic guy very convincingly! Was expecting to learn how a proper training program would be like but there is not much of it. The coach just said that pacing was important and to start slow and run fast when it rains. Not very helpful advice I would think.

Liked the depiction of how different the mother and the coach treated Cho Won! The former over-protects him to such extent that he is like an invalid while the latter treats him just like a buddy. Guess it is hard to strike a balance as an autistic does have special needs but still needs to learn to be independent like any other ordinary person.

Internet Movie Database Link
Korean Film Review