Scrabble Nationals 2008 (Day One)

This year's Nationals is once again held at Toa Payoh West CC. I went earlier in the hope of catching the masters players in action and saw Jiang Pern doing a post game analysis with his opponent as he just narrowly lost by 1 point. Had lunch and played a friendly game with Ruby before division B officially started.

Game 1: vs Winston Gwee
Our scores were neck in neck until the last few moves. I got away with STERILED* when I back hooked ZED to an existing STERILE on the board. Think I had mixed it up with STERILISED. Anyway, I made a silly mistake on my last move. I played GIN for 19 points, forgetting that Winston also had an "A" on his rack and he managed to bingo out with ERASION to win!

New words learnt: AWNER
My Bingos: TRIPLET(79) Opp Bingos: STERILE(73), ERASION(76)
My Phoneys: STERILED* Opp Phoneys: JUTED*
My High Moves: PRY(32), ZED(42), AWNER(43) Opp High Moves: BOX(61), TAJ(30), QI(31), WOK(39)
L 406-474, -68. 0W 1L (Accum spread -68).

Game 2: vs Lester Phong
He pulled ahead after his ROSEATE bingo. Mistakenly thought that HOE had no front hook but Lester promptly put EAGLES down the triple lane on his turn. I managed to narrow the gap with JET(36) and XI(38) but lost the game effectively after he scored heavily with DWEEBS(40) down the triple lane. For my last move, I could have saved 15 spread points if I had played CWM instead of BEAGLES.

New words learnt: ROSEATE, INTIL, DWEEBS
My Bingos: - Opp Bingos: ROSEATE(72)
My Phoneys: DICY* Opp Phoneys: -
My High Moves: ZAS(38), JET(36), XI(38) Opp High Moves: NOMAD(30), QI(33), DWEEBS(40)
L 302-378, -76. 0W 2L (Accum spread -144).

Game 3: vs zzBye
Played a friendly game with Lester's girlfriend during my bye. She was lucky with several bingos like CATFISH and TRAIPSED. Tried PERTInG* when I had a ?EGIPRT rack but was challenged off!

W 150-100, +50. 1W 2L (Accum spread -94).

Game 4: vs Ganapathy
Mistakenly thought that RAINING(79) had no front hook when I was deciding how to back hook the "N" of my bingo to an existing PROVE on the board. In fact, there were four possible front hooks! Ganapathy scored very well despite having no bingo but I maanged to pull ahead with my second bingo TOILETS(70) when he opened up with CENTS(15).

New words learnt: GRAINING, FANNY
My Bingos: RAINING(79), TOILETS(70) Opp Bingos: -
My Phoneys: GOF* Opp Phoneys: NES*, JUDE*, JUDES*
My High Moves: - Opp High Moves: PIE(37), AGON(33), BREWS(48), FANNY(53)
W 427-380, +47. 2W 2L (Accum spread -47).

Finished day 1 with 2 wins and 2 losses.

Help Me Eros

The story revolves around the lives of an unemployed person, his counsellor and a group of betel nut sellers.

Liked the surreal scenes of the cosplay sequence and the acrobatic sex sequence! Most of the other scenes were a little bit boring though.

Internet Movie Database Link

Chocolate

The story is about how an autistic girl fought her way to retrieve money from people who owed her mother money. Her mother was the lover of a Thai gangster but fell in love with a Japanese man.

Thought the autistic girl had a cool pose when she was a baby! Pretty impressed by her ball catching skill when she became bigger too! Nice martial arts action! My favorite move would be the one where she bent backwards to slide under a table while avoiding a flying cart!

Internet Movie Database Link

5th Singapore Short Cuts

Saw five shorts at this first free screening at National Museum:

Lorong 27 by Kenny Tan
- Interesting story about an exchange student's adventure during his stay at his host's place at Geylang Lorong 27!

Pontianak by Raihan Harun
- Quite a scary story about a mother who died from child birth and who wanted to take her living daughter away too!

Lim Poh Huat by Lee Wong
- Interesting story about an ordinary guy who works as a security guard full time as an extra part time!

Embryo by Loo Zihan
- An abstract piece which I had no idea what it was about!

Zo Gang + Zo Hee by Jacen Tan
- Two very humorous pieces! A little bit sick of the main protagonist in the end as he was always complaining but I learnt a lot about the problems faced by film makers! The girl at the substation looked quite cute!

Pierrot le Fou

The story is about a married man leaving his wife and kids to go on a journey with his babysitter.

Liked the interesting dialogue between the couple and how the different settings and genres were used! The couple would be on a beautiful island at one moment and then driving around in the city at the next moment. The genre would switch from romance, action, crime and even to a musical! All of them were nicely gelled together!

Internet Movie Database Link

Beyond the Clouds

This consists of four short stories on the relationship between man and woman. They are linked by a narrator who is a director walking around Italy looking for inspiration.

Liked the first and the last short story! Thought that the narration was a little bit too wordy though! The last short story reminded me a bit of "Beyond Sunrise" made in the same year. Both had a couple talking to each other about small little things while walking around in the city.

Internet Movie Database Link

Blowup

The story is about a few days in the life of a British photographer living in London during the sixties. The title refers to a darkroom technique of enlarging the details of a photograph to see them more clearly.

Was expecting an action packed movie with lots of explosions when I saw the title of the movie but this film had none of those. Nevertheless, I liked the psychological study on the lead actor and the innovative ending that summarised the overall theme of the film very well!

Internet Movie Database Link

Antonio Gaudi

This is a documentary on the architecture of a Spanish architect called Antonio Gaudi.

Liked how the buildings incorporated elements of nature like trees and sea shells into the design! They looked very nice!

Internet Movie Database Link

Red Desert

The story is about the psychological trauma that resulted after a woman got into a car accident.

Liked the strange soundtrack that sounded like music from outerspace. It reminded me of "Solaris"! I was also reminded of "Woman In the Dunes" made in the same year while watching the film. The dialogue was pretty interesting with lots of nice catch phrases! Great acting by Monica Vitti who played the neurotic housewife very well!

Internet Movie Database Link

I-San Special

The story is about a bus trip from Bangkok to a small town in NorthEast Thailand. The passengers behaved normally off the bus but became actors of a radio drama when they boarded the bus.

The radio drama worked pretty well despite having the plain bus interior as backdrop! It was also interesting to see how the real life of the passengers mirrored the one acted out in the radio drama!

Internet Movie Database Link

The Vanquished

The film consists of three short stories. Each story is about youths that commit crime out of boredom during post war Europe.

Liked the opening scene that explained the objective of the film very clearly through the narration and newspaper cuttings! All the three stories were interesting in their own ways! The girl in the "Rome" episode looked the prettiest in my opinion!

Internet Movie Database Link

China

This is a documentary about China during the middle of the Cultural Revolution in 1972. It is divided into three parts and describes Beijing, Henan, Suzhou, Nanjing and Shanghai.

Liked the narration that explained Chinese culture through activities such as acupuncture, taiji, acrobat and culinary delights as well as the depiction of ordinary folks at home, at play and in school! Especially liked the song and dance performance by the nursery school kids!

Internet Movie Database Link

Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!

The story is about the adventure of three female strippers driving across the desert.

Wonder how many movies have three or more exclamation marks in its title? Liked the exciting comic book type action and the funny dialogue in the film! The characters were interesting too!

Internet Movie Database Link

Olympia

This is a documentary on the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

Liked the opening scenes for both parts of the film! Each of them showcased the beauty of the human body in a different way! The individual events were interesting to watch too! The tension among the competitors and the enthusiasm among the supporters were well depicted!

Part 1 Internet Movie Database Link
Part 2 Internet Movie Database Link

The Last Mistress

The story is about a playboy who decides to bid farewell to his last mistress and get married. He recounts his past love story to his prospective grandmother a few days before his marriage.

Liked the interesting psychological study on the relationship between men and women! The new wife played by Roxane Mesquida looked quite pretty and she looked very nice in the green coat!

Internet Movie Database Link

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

The story is about how Prince Caspian returned to power after being forced into exile by his evil uncle with the help of four teenagers and a group of creatures who lived in the land of Narnia.

Some parts of the film reminded me a little bit of "Lord of the Rings". Liked Susan who looked quite pretty and Lucy who looked very cute! Susan looked very smart when she was shooting arrows at her enemies!

Internet Movie Database Link

Come Drink With Me

The story is about the battle between a female government agent called the Golden Swallow and a group of bandits who kidnapped her brother.

Saw this movie at the National Museum "Under the Banyan Tree" screening which was a free-of-charge outdoor screening at night. Liked the nicely choreographed martial arts moves! The Golden Swallow looked quite cool and the musical pieces were interesting! I thought "A Touch of Zen" by the same director was slightly better though.

Internet Movie Database Link

Chariots of Fire

The story is about how a group of friends trained hard to represent England in the 1924 Olympic Games athletics event.

The soundtrack was quite famous and I often heard it during my secondary school days. I also got interested after watching clips of it from one episode of the "Fuwa" TV series about the adventures of the Beijing Olympics mascot. Liked how it focused more on the human relationship rather than on the training technique alone!

Internet Movie Database Link

2008 Singapore Open Scrabble Championship

Took a ride from Winston to Anchorvale CC and was surprised to be greeted by a bunch of friendly students! They helped with the registration process and passed us our goodie bag as well as our personalised sticker.

Pre-tournament Practice: vs Victor Gwee
Had a practice game with Victor before the start of the tournament and was thrashed by him who outbingoed me three to one. :( Managed to find DOVeTAIL from ADILOTV?, can you find the other valid anagram?[1]

New words learnt: CONNERS(78)
My Bingos: DOVeTAIL(72) Opp Bingos: CONNERS(78), STRIpED(98), LAIRISE(63)
My Phoneys: NEX* Opp Phoneys: -
My High Moves: ZOL(32), DEAF(36), KEX(33), QAT(30) Opp High Moves: HALVE(30), JOR(38), WAIS(47), THREE(36), WANT(35)
L 323-511, -188.

Game 1: vs Ismail
Didn't have a good track record with Ismail, so wasn't feeling too confident. Had an ADIONRU rack at one turn with a floating T on the board and was deciding whether OUTDRAIN* or DRAINOUT* looked more valid. Decided that both might be wrong and played off OU in the end. Can you find the valid anagram that I missed?[2] I also got away with a phoney VARIEST* with an AEIRSTV rack, can you find the 3 valid anagrams?[3]

New words learnt: -
My Bingos: VARIEST*(77) Opp Bingos: URINAtED(68), SOLvENT(63)
My Phoneys: VARIEST*(77) Opp Phoneys: -
My High Moves: BEZ(34), JIG(31), HAND(36) Opp High Moves: PAW(33), FAINTER(42), HIVE(37)
L 330-436, -106. 0W 1L (Accum spread -106).

Game 2: vs Winston
Pulled away after scoring two bingos, but allowed Winston to narrow the gap towards the end when he bingoed with two blanks on his rack. Bingoed with REPRISE with a EEIPRRS rack. Can you find the other 3 valid anagrams of which one is a common word?[4]

New words learnt: -
My Bingos: REPRISE(76), DEADENS(75) Opp Bingos: KNEeLEd(75)
My Phoneys: - Opp Phoneys: RIO*
My High Moves: QIS(36), MY(32), TAX(54) Opp High Moves: FEZ(30), HONE(38)
W 410-353, +57. 1W 1L (Accum spread -49).

Packet lunch was provided after the end of the second game. Had fried rice with vegetables, fried chicken drumstick and fishball which were not too bad! Was already looking forward to the tea break to be held at the end of the tournament!

Game 3: vs Bye
Had a bye after lunch and wanted to tour around the CC but realised that there was really nothing much to see as construction work was still ongoing.

W 100-50, +50. 2W 1L (Accum spread +1).

Game 4: vs Ang Chew Chuah
Both of us changed tiles several times but my rack remained terrible until I managed to close the gap by bingoing with INVITER(100) down the triple score lane front hooking the V to an existing ENDINGS on the board.

New words learnt: -
My Bingos: INVITER(100) Opp Bingos: SeASONS(82), ENDINGS(73)
My Phoneys: MIU*, MIN* Opp Phoneys: -
My High Moves: JUS(32) Opp High Moves: ZA(31), BAND(33)
L 352-432, -80. 2W 2L (Accum spread -79).

Game 5: vs Chen Huang Zhi
Was feeling confident as I had a very good record against Huang Zhi. He missed a chance to score big when he played the Z on a double word score cell to form Z?, REZ and ER? but announced the blank to be O instead of A. I promptly challenged off ERo* once he confirmed the end of his turn!

New words learnt: LICH
My Bingos: MOOdIER(76), SEALING(74) Opp Bingos: -
My Phoneys: - Opp Phoneys: ERO*
My High Moves: QAID(34), TAJ(30), FOP(32) Opp High Moves: XI(34), SeZ(36)
W 526-266, +260. 3W 2L (Accum spread +181).

Game 6: vs Ismail
In 4th position with the last KOTH round to be played. Had a good chance to come in top three if I won this game but my hope was dashed when he bingoed twice towards the end of the game to win by almost 150 points.

New words learnt: ZOIST
My Bingos: - Opp Bingos: ASTOUND(67), OTARINE(70)
My Phoneys: - Opp Phoneys: -
My High Moves: HIVES(37), AFT(31) Opp High Moves: ZOIST(71), JANE(38)
L 290-431, -141. 3W 3L (Accum spread +40).

Post-tournament leisure game: vs Ang Chew Chuah
Played a leisure game with Chew Chuah while waiting for the prize presentation ceremony. Thought I could avenge myself but was thrashed by him again. Learnt two interesting words: OOSPERM and SPOOR from this game though.

New words learnt: OOSPERM, SPOOR
My Bingos: - Opp Bingos: SADDeNS(79), OOSPERM(91)
My Phoneys: LURVINGS* Opp Phoneys: -
My High Moves: MOG(36), QIS(30) Opp High Moves: LUNGY(33), CHUNK(30)
L 286-420, -134

Had teabreak after the prize presentation and it was delicious! Especially liked the chocolate cake and the nice hot tea! Came in 5th out of 9 players in the end. Hope to do better during the upcoming Nationals in July!

Answers: Highlight to see clearly

[1]VIOLATED
[2]DURATION
[3]TAIVERS, VASTIER, VERITAS
[4]PERRIES, PRISERE, RESPIRE

Red Psalm

The story is about a group of Hungarian peasants revolting against the authorities during the late 19th century.

The movie was full of symbolism and pretty hard to understand. Liked the nice songs and the neat mass choreography though!

Internet Movie Database Link

Kidz in the Hood

The story is about an African girl asking a tattooed Swedish rock band guitarist to be her foster parent after her grandfather passed away.

Interesting musical that combines rock and hip hop! Thought the African girl's classmate cum neighbour was a little bit too smart alecky for her own good though.

Internet Movie Database Link

The Ear

The story is about a couple returning home from a party and finding it bugged with listening devices. The wife refers to them as "The Ear" which gives rise to the movie title. The director shot the movie in Czechoslovakia after the Russian invasion in 1970 and it was banned for many years.

Liked the nice black and white cinematography as well as the pychological drama on the couple's relationship! Thought it was more direct and intense than "The Lives of Others"!

Internet Movie Database Link

W.R.: Mysteries of the Organism

The film starts off as a documentary on a famous psychotherapist called Wilhelm Reich. It then digresses to discuss about the relationship between national ideology and personal love through a fictional story on two Yugoslavian girls.

Interesting to see how the different ideas seemed to talk about the same thing when combined together! Liked the nice Russian choral music and the studious look of the female lead when she wore her spectacles!

Internet Movie Database Link

Speed Racer

The story is adapted from a comic book and describes the dark side of professional car racing through the Racer family.

The car tracks are beautifully constructed just like a roller coaster and the special gadgets equipped in the cars are very interesting! Also liked how the family helped each other during a period of crisis!

Internet Movie Database Link

Kes

The story is about the school life of a young English boy from a single-parent family and how he trained a falcon to be his pet.

Nice story and great acting by the little boy! Learnt a bit more about the education system in Britain during the late 60s.

Internet Movie Database Link

In the Realm of the Senses

This is based on a true story about an obsessive love affair between a man and his servant, Sada, in pre-war Japan.

The theme of obsession was very well illustrated in the film! Liked how focused the couple were in experimenting and indulging in their sensual pleasures! The dream sequences by Sada were pretty interesting too!

Internet Movie Database Link

Iron Man

The story is about how a rich technopreneur, Tony Stark, in the defense industry decided to stop manufacturing weapons and go into the human-robotics interface field. It is adapted from a Marvel comics of the same title.

Gwyneth Paltrow, who acted as Tony Stark's personal assistant, wore many pretty dresses in this show! Liked the systematic way by which Tony Stark tested and improved his prototype as well as his working relationship with his personal home robot!

Internet Movie Database Link

Andrei Rublev

The story is about the life of a Russian painter called Andrei Rublev during the early 1400s.

Learnt a bit about Russian history from the film and the interesting people that Andrei Rublev met! Liked the nice cinematography that showcased the beautiful Russian landscape and the grace of the horses!

Internet Movie Database Link

Two or Three Things I Know About Her

The story is about life in Paris during the late sixties seen through the eyes of a housewife.

The "concrete jungle" aspect of Paris is shown quite nicely! The narration is a little bit soft as if the narrator is trying to whisper some secret to the audience but the ideas presented are quite interesting!

Internet Movie Database Link

Manufactured Landscapes

This is a documentary about the works of a Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky. He likes to film gigantic man-made structures such as factories, quarries, harbors, dams and industrial waste.

Liked the part on the life of the factory workers! Pretty amazed by the skills of one of the workers! She assembled an electronic gadget very quickly and seemingly without any effort at all!

Internet Movie Database Link

Sex is Zero 2

This is a comedy about college student life in Korea that describes the students' attitudes towards sexuality. It is also a sequel to "Sex is Zero" which is widely considered to be the Korean version of "American Pie". The first movie concentrated on how the lead actor who was in the martial arts club tried ways and means to get acquainted with the girls in the aerobics club. This time round, he is shown to have a top swimmer as a girlfriend at the very start.

The ridiculous tricks that college students played on each other were just as funny and gross as in the original movie but there was less emphasis on the aesthetics of sexuality this time round. Guess what makes a difference in this sequel is the depiction of the relationship between the lead actor and his girlfriend. The ups and downs in the relationship made me feel happy and sad accordingly and I thought some scenes were particularly touching!

Wikipedia

The Travelling Players

The story describes the history of Greece from 1939 to 1952 through a group of theatre actors who travels to different towns to showcase their performance.

Liked the songs and dances in the film! The announcements in the streets and the three narrators did a good job providing the background knowledge on the rest of the film! The unhurried pace, long shots and circular camera movements also gave a sense of the gradual flow of history.

Internet Movie Database Link

Slingshot

The story is about how the poor in the Philippines had to beg, borrow or steal to survive and how religion and politics influenced their lives.

The opening scene of the police raid was nicely executed! I gained a better understanding of how the poor people in the Philippines operated but didn't like how the film was fragmented with no main storyline.

Flower in the Pocket

The story is about how two Malaysian brothers with a workaholic father spent their time in school, outside school and at home. They didn't have a mother and the title refers to a Malaysian tradition of putting a flower in the pocket during Mother's Day.

Liked how the film showed the Malaysian way of life through the eyes of the two brothers! The director seemed to be quietly observing how things would turn out and adding a little bit of humour in certain scenes.

Internet Movie Database Link

Little Girl of Hanoi

The story is about the encounters of a little girl after her home got bombed by the Americans towards the end of 1972. Filmed in 1973, the scenes of destruction were all shot on location and they were very realistic.

The little girl looked quite cute! Liked how the director contrasted her peaceful life before the war with how everything fell apart when the bombing started! I also liked how it inspired patriotism in its people!

Mrs Nam

The story is about how a war veteran spent her free time looking for the bodies of her fellow comrades which were hastily buried in different places and giving them a proper burial.

Wasn't able to understand the film fully as it was not subtitled but I liked the documentaries interspersed with it as well as how they showed Mrs Nam at work digging up bones and cleaning them up properly!

Path of Justice

The story is about the long term effects of a chemical weapon called "Agent Orange" which was used during the Vietnam War and how the victims were taking legal actions to get compensation from the United States.

Interesting to see this film double billed with "The Enemy Within" that had a similar theme! I thought the effects of "Agent Orange" was even worse than that land mines as they were passed on to the next generation. Most victims were also mentally challenged and could not be interviewed personally.

The Enemy Within

This is a documentary about how land mine survivors fend for themselves in Cambodia. Their problems do not end after getting an artificial limb but also include learning a skill and finding a job.

Liked the interesting characters interviewed by the director! They included a bike mechanic who continued to work despite losing both legs, a couple who married after losing their limbs through land mines and three girls who were learning to repair radios and televisions.

Landmine Survivors
International Campaign to Ban Landmines

Mrs To Hau

The story is about how a Vietnamese woman overcame many personal tragedies and helped the nation fight against the French imperialists.

Liked the close ups on the characters, the interesting storyline and the fluid camera movement! I think it lived up to its reputation as "one of two masterpieces in early Vietnamese cinema" very well!

Boomtown Beijing

The story is about how the upcoming 2008 Olympics affected people living in Beijing, focusing on three characters: a disabled athlete trying for the paralympics, a small boy aspiring to be a torch bearer and an old man getting his community to learn a new olympic ribbon routine that he invented.

Nice documentary which was informative and had very interesting characters! Liked the quirky old man the best! Was happy to have the opportunity to listen to the Q&A session conducted by the director after the show!

A Thousand Years of Good Prayers

The story is about a father visiting his daughter in America. It is based on a short story with the same title.

Liked how the director, Wayne Wang, showed how difficult it was for the father to communicate with his own daughter and yet how easy it was for him to talk to an Iranian woman in the park despite the need to use gestures! Also liked the shot of father and daughter sitting on the same bench! Reminded me of Ozu which happened to be Wayne's favorite director.

Internet Movie Database Link

If You Were Me: Anima VIsion 2

This is a collection of six Korean short animation with a common theme on human rights. "The Third Wish" is about a visually challenged girl who was given three wishes. "Peeling" is about a father persuading his son to circumcise like the rest of his friends. "Baby" is about a working pregnant woman trying to make arrangements for her unborn child. "Shine Shine Shining" is about migrants in society. "Merry Golasmas" is about how a group of people got discriminated when they applied for the job of Santa Claus. "Lies" is about the plight of one homosexual who is forced into marriage.

Liked "Shine Shine Shining" the best as the story was very well told with a clear message! The characters were quite cute too! This would be followed by "The Third Wish", "Baby" and "Peeling". Didn't really like "Merry Golasmas" and "Lies".

Philippine Science

The film describes the student life in the Philippine Science High School in Philippines that takes in the top Science students in the country. The director was an alumni since 1986.

Liked the stories on student life which were based on real life experiences! Learnt a bit about Philippines history too! Thought the director gave a very nice tribute to his former school!

Internet Movie Database Link

Paper Cannot Wrap Up the Embers

This is a documentary about women who are forced to become prostitutes due to their economic circumstances in Cambodia.

A little bit boring at times as there was not much organisation in the subject matter and the audience was left to be immersed in the prostitute's living environment, somewhat similar to the reality TV format.

Internet Movie Database Link

The Princess of Nebraska

The film is adapted from a short story and it is about what happened when a young Chinese woman came to the United States. She was pregnant and stayed at her boyfriend's gay lover's place. She also explored the city and got to know a new friend at a karaoke bar.

Liked the realistic close up shots provided by the handheld camera! Story is interesting and the lead actress Ling Li acted very well! Nice ending too!

Internet Movie Database Link

Weekend

The story is about a couple on a journey to visit their parents during the weekend. Many strange encounters happpened along the way.

Thought it would be a relaxing film to watch based on the title but it was far more complex and chaotic than I imagined! I made the same mistake once before when I borrowed "Rite of Spring" from the library to listen to. Interesting to see how the director indirectly criticised the bourgeois way of life through the couple's actions and his innovative style!

Internet Movie Database Link

Beyond the Call

The story is about three middle-aged ex-military guys helping out in humanitarian work all over the world.

The three characters were quite interesting especially the guy who was a fan of Napolean and had a train with rail tracks in his back yard! These people had lots of experience driving a hard bargain and did not hesitate to provide help with money out of their own pockets! From the number of countries that they had visited, I realised that the world was a less peaceful place that I had imagined and that humanitarian work was required in many places. Thumbs up to these brave men who deserved our respect!

Internet Movie Database Link

Along the Way

This Indian short filme is about a young woman who received help from a stranger when she was looking after her son in the hospital.

Didn't quite understand what was going on in this film but I thought the actress looked more Chinese than Indian. There were some moments of suspense when she tried to identify the stranger from the black leather shoes that he wore.

The Deserter

This short film is about a young American couple who escaped to Toronto, Canada in order to avoid going to the war in Iraq. They joined an organisation based in Canada that welcomeed deserters from United States since the Vietnam War.

Learnt about the effects of war through the interviews with soldiers who have participated in the Iraq War! It was also interesting to follow the couple's journey as they travel across United States to reach the other end of the border!

Becoming Jane

This is an autobiography of Jane Austen who is a famous English writer in the 19th century. She specialises in writing family dramas on marriages of eligible young ladies and many of her works have been adapted to film.

I still remembered catching sight of five pretty young ladies on a particular show many years ago when I was in secondary school. Found out that it was "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen from my sister and I searched for the electronic text years later during my university days. Bought the paperback version eventually as I got tired of reading it on the computer screen and it became one of my favorite novels with her humor and insight into human behavior!

Liked the nice ballroom dancing sequences and the beautiful countryside scenery! It was also interesting to see how Jane Austen lived as a writer and to know what were the real life events that inspired her!

Internet Movie Database Link

The Silence

The story is about how a family of three spent two days in a strange country at the hotel on the way home. The family consists of a mother, her son and her sister. This is the last part of Bergman's religious chamber trilogy

Liked the eccentric old caretaker and how the director highlighted the sensual side of the mother and the intellectual side of her sister! It was also interesting to see how people could still communicate with each other despite not sharing the same language.

Internet Movie Database Link

The Magic Flute

The film is based on the opera of the same title written by Mozart. The story is about how a soldier, Tamino and his friend Papageno ventured into the kingdom of Sarastro to save Pamina who is the Queen of the Night's daughter. They were given a magic flute and a mini-xylophone to help their quest.

Liked the nice songs and the many pretty actresses! A little big draggy at times but the overall plot was interesting! Interested to catch Bergman's adaptation now!

Internet Movie Database Link

Secret Sunshine

The story is about what happened after a young widow, Shin Ae, moved from Seoul to Miryang that means "secret sunshine" when written in Chinese.

Great acting by the lead actress, Jeon Do-yeon! The small town life was well described and it was interesting to see how the plot evolved as Shin Ae went through different phases of her life! Also liked the nice quiet moments and the intense psychological study on her character!

Internet Movie Database Link

Winter Light

The story is about how a small town pastor came to have doubts on his own faith one day during winter time. This is the second part of Bergman's religious chamber trilogy

Liked the beautiful scenery, the lean storyline, the nice close ups on the characters and the interesting dialogue! Especially liked the letter reading scene as well as the conversation between the hunched back employee and the pastor towards the end!

Internet Movie Database Link

Rule #1

The story is about how a policeman found himself transferred into a special "ghost busters" department and how he spent his time there.

Pretty scary at times! Quite sad to see so many young lives ruined by the vicious ghost! Liked the well executed twist at the end! Thought it was influenced by both "Sixth Sense" and "Infernal Affairs".

Internet Movie Database Link

Through a Glass Darkly

Just started on the first part of Bergman's religious chamber trilogy boxset. The story is about how a family spends their time together on an island. The father is a writer who cares more about his work than his family and the daughter has just been diagnosed with mental illness. They are accompanied by the son and the son-in-law.

Liked the nice black and white cinematography! The theme of the movie was meaningful too! It talked about the void that was often felt in the human heart and how each family member coped with it. Everyone acted very well, especially the daughter! The film won the 1962 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

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Female

This movie consists of five shorts with a common theme on examining various aspects of the female sensibility. These include a young female student's love for her teacher, an unlikely female trio's money problems, a fantasy about a male co-worker, a young boy's infatuation with the mother of his classmate and an old man's lover's relationship with his subordinate.

Went to catch the movie after reading about the review on Zaobao. Agreed with the critic that the last short was the most incomprehensible of them all! Thought the third short on the fantasy about a male co-worker was the most fun to watch! The dance sequences interspersed among the shorts were nicely choreographed too!

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Stranger than Paradise

Tbe story is about how Willie, his friend Eddie and his cousin Eva spent their time in three different locations in the United States: New York, Cleveland and Florida.

I knew that the director was a fan of Ozu, so I was not surprised with the numerous static long takes. Liked his unique sense of humour, the eccentric Aunt Lotte with the heavy Hungarian accent and the beautiful Eva! The outdoor scenery looked nice too!

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Persepolis

The story is about the life of a girl who grew up in difficult conditions in Iran. She spent her teenage years in Europe, came back home for a few years and decided to leave home the second time for France.

Nice black and white cinematography! Liked the quick pace and fluid cuts that brought the audience through the modern history of Iran! The family members of the little girl and her encounters were interesting too!

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CJ 7

The story is about what happens after a father brings back a mysterious object from outerspace home for his daughter.

The daughter and her friends are the main stars of the show while director Stephen Chow who plays the father takes a back seat and plays the supporting role. Liked the cockcroach stamping competition between the father and daughter, the fantasy sequences dreamt up by the daughter and the pretty costume worn by Ms Yuen!

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Ten

The film captures ten different conversations between a female driver in Iran and her passengers which include her son, her sister and other strangers.

Pretty innnovative camera angle that enabled the audience to just see one person at a time in the car! The conversations were pretty interesting too but I thought the son was a real brat!

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Thin Blue Line

This is a documentary about the events that led to the murder of a policeman and how an innocent man was sentenced to life imprisonment as a result.

Interesting how the director interviewed so many people to give different perspectives on what actually happened! Pretty scary to think how eye witnesses could be bought and how people can ignore hard evidence and just choose what they want to believe in!

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Crisis

The story is about what happens when a young girl staying in a small town moved to the city with her mother whom she has not met for 18 years.

Interesting to see the contrast between life in the small town and in the city! The former is peaceful and people are very helpful towards each other while the latter is bustling with activities but people care only about themselves. Especially liked the surprising twist in the end that caused the young girl to move back home to the small town!

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Torment

Just bought the Early Bergman Eclipse series and Bergman's religious chamber trilogy boxset from Criterion. Probably won't try to watch them all at one go as some of the titles sound a little bit depressing. This film belongs to the "Early Bergman" Eclipse series which consists of "Torment", "Crisis", "Port of Call", "Thirst" and "To Joy".

The story is about how a young man coped with his hectic school life with a sadistic Latin teacher and how he became friends with a female shop assistant.

Liked how the film demonstrated how words can be used effectively to torment people psychologically! Could also identify with the frustrations of the young student! Prefer "To Joy" slightly better to this though.

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Radio On

The story is about a young man's road trip from London to Bristol to investigate his brother's death. The radio is sometimes turned on and we hear how different types of music is played in different context.

Liked the nice black and white feel of the film! Thought the music and the landscape reflected how England looked like in the 80s pretty well! Reminds me a little bit of "Singapore Gaga" which is also a musical journey minus the road trip part.

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Tuya's Marriage

The story is about what happened when Tuya discovered she could no longer look after her paralysed husband after she hurt her back. She filed for a divorce and searched for a new husband who would look after the two of them.

Nice scenery in Inner Mongolia and Tuya looked quite smart riding the Camel! Also liked the complex psychological relationship among Tuya, her husband and her suitors!

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To Joy

The story describes the ups and downs of a musician couple who were both violinists in an orchestra. The title refers to Schiller's poem "Ode to Joy" which is used as the lyrics in the choral section of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9.

Liked the many lovely classical pieces in the film and the emotional rollercoaster ride with the couple! The sequences with the conductor commmenting on how the couple get along with each other were nicely done too!

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Ivan's Childhood

The story is about how the 12 year old Ivan helped the Russian Army in doing reconnaisance work during the Second World War. His family had been killed by the Germans and he often dreamed about the idyllic pre-war days.

Liked the nice dream sequences which contrasted with the grim reality of war! The soldiers also showed great carmaraderie in their last mission!

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Breath

The story is about how a married woman fell in love with a death-row convict while watching the news on TV one day and how this affected her family life.

Not much of dialogue as the death-row convict hurt his throat during an attempted suicide. His fellow inmates do not talk much too. Liked how the married woman brought colorful wallpaper to simulate the four seasons in the visiting room and the nice songs that she sung! Interesting psychological study on how people might behave under certain conditions!

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Masculin Feminin

The film is a sociological study of youth in France in the 60s. The alternative title to this film is "The Children of Marx and Coca-Cola".

Got interested in the film after reading Pauline Kael's review. Liked how the director showed how the young French people at that time reacted in different scenarios! Especially liked how the main protagonist tried to ask Madeleine out for a date, how his friend tried to learn more about Madeleine's friend and the interview with "Miss 19"! The teeny bopper songs featured in the film were quite nice too!

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Woman on the Beach

The story is about the relationship between men and women. A film director, his friend and the girlfriend of his friend went to the beach to get inspiration for a script. During their stay there, the director got to know another girl .

Not much of a storyline as the interesting bits are mostly in the dialogue that explained the thought process of each character. Liked the interview questions posed by the director to the second girl and the scene where the director drew diagrams on his notebook to elaborate lessons in life to the first girl!

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National Treasure: Book of Secrets

The story is about how a young man travels all around the world with his buddy and girlfriend in search of clues to help clear his family name. New evidence has emerged that suggested his ancestors was involved in president Lincoln's assassination.

Liked the amazing clue deciphering abilities of Nicolas Cage! It was also interesting to visit the many places of interests around the world! A fun movie!

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Citizen Dog

The story is about how a young man left his village to work in Bangkok and found a girl that he liked.

The movie is a bit more convoluted than what my synopsis suggests as it has many minor characters and includes several fantasy sequences. Liked the songs in the film! Didn't really like the storyline as it rambles along many different topics without any fixed objective.

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The Heartbreak Kid

The story is about a guy getting married and how he fell in love with another girl during their honeymoon trip to Mexico.

Liked the directors' previous works such as "There is Something About Mary" and "Shallow Hal" better as I thought their storylines were better. Didn't like the guy who tells lies and happily engage in an affair! I was also shocked by the two scenes shown during the credit rolls. They were pretty tasteless in my opinion!

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Killer of Sheep

The story is about life in the LA black district during the early 70s. There was a major racial riot several years earlier at the same location in the mid 60s and the effects of destruction can still be seen.

Liked the nice songs played throughout the film and how natural the children at play and the adults at work are being captured!

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The Golden Compass

The story is about the adventures of a little girl who has a special device called the golden compass in her possession. The golden compass uncovers the truth for its owner. She travels towards the north with a group of gypsies and an armoured polar bear to save her friend.

Pretty impressed by how the little girl is able to talk her way out of very tricky situations! The final battle scene is a little bit messy as the opposing sides are not easily differentiated.

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The Prisoners' Song

The story is about political prisoners imprisoned in Taiwan during the "White Terror" period in the early fifties.

Liked the nice song sung at the very beginning! Pretty informative as we find out more about what these people go through from the interviews!

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The Leopard

This is an epic about the slow decline of a family with royal background in Sicily during the 1860s. Wars erupted and the nephew of the head of the family married a rich mayor's daughter.

Liked the nice dresses worn by the women and the interesting dances performed at the ball towards the end!

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Nanking

This is a documentary about what happened in Nanking during the Japanese invasion seventy years ago. It consists of interviews with the survivors, news clips and readings from the journals of a group of foreigners helping out in China at that time.

Liked the interviews and the news clips but didn't feel much for the journal readings as they were acted out by people who were not involved in the actual incidents. This film reminds me a little bit of "Feet Unbound" which is a local film about women soldiers involved in the Long March. Liked "Feet Unbound" better as it feels more real without the journal readings and with its reflection on both the present and the past.

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Bakumatsu Taiyoden

The story is about life within a brothel in the last days of the Shogunate. The protagonist is a poor guy who manages to make ends meet by being street smart.

A little boring in the beginning as the prostitutes are just shown to be rushing from one room to the next. Liked the scenes where they demonstrated how street smart the guy is! He helped a prostitute get out of a difficult situation and tricked a bag of money out of the brothel owner.

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Madame Bovary

The story is based on a French novel by Gustave Flaubert about a woman who married a doctor and was dissatisfied with her life.

Have read the English translated novel before and was impressed by the detailed description of each character's psychology! The movie is not as detailed but most of the ideas got through with the help of the narrator and the interesting dialogue! Liked the nice costumes worn by the lead actress and the beautiful countryside!

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Pixar Story

This is a documentary about Pixar that is an animation production house that gave us "Toy Story", "A Bug's Life", "Monsters Inc", "Finding Nemo", "The Incredibles" and other blockbuster animation films.

Liked the interviews and the clips that showed us how far the animation media has gone! Learnt the early impact of computers on how animators did their work and the fun working environment in Pixar!

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5cm per second

This is a collection of three short stories about how people drift further apart as time goes by.

Liked the nice piano soundtrack in the background and the MTV towards the end! The melody of the song in the MTV was a little bit repetitive though. Also liked the storyline and how realistic everything looked!

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International Shorts Programme 3

This is one of the many international shorts programme featured at the Animation Nation 2007.

Liked the funny "The First day father let his daughter drive", the black humour in "Lapsus", the philosophical "An Artistic Presentation of Metaphysical Butterfly Effect" and the imaginative "Premium Reincarnation"!

Didn't really like these:
-White
-Backyard Shadow
-Complex
-The Chamber
-The White Wolf
-My Life at 40
-Dream Tapir
-White Snake

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International Shorts Programme 2

This is one of the many international shorts programme featured at the Animation Nation 2007.

Liked the imaginative "Walking in the rainy Day", the innovative "White Line Syndrome" and the interesting love story in "The Danish Poet"! "Shipwrecked", "Puppet" and "Shut Eye Hotel" were not bad! "Ark", "Eels", "Flutter" and "Madame Tutli-Putli" were pretty abstract and didn't really know what was going on.

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Freedom Project

The story is about how people lived underground on the moon after climate changes made Earth inhospitable. One group of racers decided to break the rules and tried to travel back to Earth secretly.

Liked the fast pace action and the exciting storyline! As the movie is sponsored by Nissin, the protagonists are always eating Nissin cup noodles! Had a good laugh whenever I saw those product placements!

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Khan Kluay

The story is about the adventures of an elephant named Khan Kluay when he travelled across the country in search for his father.

Nice storyline that is based on historical facts! Liked the songs and how the director infused the film with Thai culture!

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Anna and Anna

The story is about what happens when two identical looking women both named Anna but living in different parts of the world finally meet.

First part of the film reminds me a bit of "Double Life Of Veronique". Rest of the film is pretty slow paced and nothing exciting really happens. Won't really recommend unless you like to watch emotionally unstable men breakdown on the big screen.

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Turning Gate

The story describes what happens when a self centered actor meets two women separately on a trip. His behaviour echos that of an ancient story that revolves around a particular turning gate in Korea.

The self centered actor is one of the most unlikable characters that I have seen! Felt exasperated that he simply does not care about the people around him and thinks only about himself! Liked the two female leads who are pretty in their own ways and the quieter scenes that had minimal dialogue but explained a lot about the two relationships!

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Doraemon: Nobita's Dinosaur

The story is based on a popular Japanese comic that features an earless robotic cat called Doraemon who lives with a boy called Nobita. Nobita and his friends went back in time to bring a small dinosaur home with the help of Doraemon's gadgets and they had a bit of adventure while doing that.

Liked the strong bond between Nobita and the dinosaur as well as the exciting adventure!

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A Touch of Zen

The story is about how a poor scholar's life changed after he discovered that a beautiful woman has become his new neighbor. She is a mysterious figure who is skilled in martial arts and has a complicated relationship with a powerful eunuch and a group of monks.

Enjoyed the movie pretty much! Some parts were really funny and the martial arts sequence superbly choreographed!

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Lust, Caution

The story is about the life of a group of resistance fighters in China during World War II focusing on the relationship between a female resistance fighter, Ms Wang Jiazhi and a traitor, Mr Yi, who is working for the Japanese.

Great acting by the main actress and felt that the title is really appropriate! "Lust" describes the attraction between Ms Wang and Mr Yi while "Caution" comes from how Ms Wang has to keep herself on her toes when she infiltrated into the enemy's camp. The sex scenes were nicely choreographed and pretty effective to show how Mr Yi's attitude towards Ms Wang evolves over time! Learnt a bit of history from the film.

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Madonnas

The story is about how a young woman tries to take over the caring of her children from her mother after a stint in jail.

Interesting family drama that shows how the young woman struggles with her relationship with her mother, her new found father, her boyfriend and her children! Pretty good acting by the main actress!

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Emma's Bliss

The story is about how a guy who is terminally ill, stole company's fund and accidentally crashed into a girl's pig farm. The girl looked after the guy and they fell in love after a while.

Liked the nice little pig farm and the interesting stories told by the girl to the guy! It is funny and sad at the same time!

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Still Life

The story is about two pair of couples looking for each other in China's Sanxia region where plans for building a gigantic dam is underway.

Nice scenery and I liked how the camera panned around to show the expressions of the people sitting in the boat! Thought it is interesting that the director divided the film into chapters titled "Cigarette", "Wine", "Tea" and "Candy" that are basic ingredients in people's lives.

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Pleasure Factory

The story is about life in Geylang focusing more on the red-light district part of it. It consists of three segments: a young man's first sexual encounter, a middle aged working lady initiating her daughter into the trade and a young working lady finding diversion with a tatooed singer.

Thought one of the actor looked like Gurmit Singh and one of the actresses looked quite cute with her bunny teeth! There was not much of a plot though and halfway through the movie, I realised that the audience is supposed to soak in the atmosphere that the film is trying to create. Liked the face-to-face interviews of the actual residents that were conducted and I wished that there were more of those!

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Love is a Crazy Thing

The story is about how a mother of two struggles to make a living with many debts to clear. She becomes a call girl by chance and slowly gets adjusted to her new way of life.

The film reminds me of "Streets of Shame" by Mizoguchi and "When a Woman Ascends the Stairs" by Naruse. The former is about the life of prostitutes while the latter focuses on the life of a head bar hostess. These two films are made around fifty years ago but the problems highlighted are still relevant today. Great acting by the lead actress! Liked the use of the entirely black screen to prepare the audience on what to expect next towards the end of the film!

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koreanfilm.org review

The Battle of Algiers

The story is about how Algeria achieved independence through terrorist attacks against the French government in the city of Casbah. The police made life difficult for the inhabitants and destroyed every member of the FLN that was behind the attacks in 1957 but the fall of the FLN has made such an impression on the people of Algeria that they took action a few years later to gain independence in 1962.

Got interested in this film as it is in the top 10 list here. Liked the documentary style and how the Algerians fought for their freedom! Read that the US counter intelligence group studied the film in detail to understand how not to make the same mistake as the French in their fight against terrorists and to lose the overall battle in the end.

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Resident Evil: Extinction

The story is about how the whole world is affected by a strange virus that turned people into man eating zombies and how Alice, who is a powerful zombie hunter hiding from an evil scientist for many years, decide to join a group of volunteers to fight against him in the end.

Nice zombie killing moves by Milla Jovovich! She looked pretty cool with guns strapped around her legs too! Think the director assumed that the audience would have watched the previous two episodes and did not explain the relationship between Alice and the scientist as well as between Alice and the volunteer group very clearly. Guess I'll have to find out more about the background history from the internet.

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The Sun Also Rises

The film is about the life of several characters during the last year of the Cultural Revolution. It is broken up into four segments. Each segment gives the point of view of one character and the audience has to figure out how they are interconnected. The last segment is a flashback to explain how everything began.

Just saw "The Day a Pig Fell into the Well" two days ago, so thought the style was pretty similar! Liked the nice countryside scenery, the interesting crazy antics of a particular person, the second segment's opening sequence with the female cooks lined up neatly and the flashback in the last segment!

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