Made In U.S.A.

The story is about a female reporter investigating about her boyfriend's death.

Didn't really like this as it was very hard to follow without having any background knowledge on the obscure political and literary references that the director was making. The songs sang by the Japanese girl and the French girl were very nice though!

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When Hainan Meets Teochew

The story is about how two neighbors, Hainan and Teochew, met and fell in love with each other. Hainan is a manly woman who used to share her flat with her ex-girlfriend. Teochew is a man who wished that he was a woman and whose dead brother would appear from nowhere to give him advice.

The relationship among the characters was too complex for me to comprehend but I liked the scene where Hainan was teaching her siblings how to pronounce the Hainan dialect properly! Her younger sister looked quite cute!

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Invasion

The story is about how a small group of resistance fighters plotted against a totalitarian state.

Liked the interesting sound effects that incorporated tango music and the grand invasion sequence with many lorries, planes and ships!

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Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives

The story is about the past lives of a middle aged man with a kidney problem. His son transformed to a giant ape and his dead wife came back as a ghost to take care of him. His sister-in-law and two other friends were also featured in the film.

Liked the interesting catfish episode and the nice leisurely walks through the countryside!

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A Brand New Life

The story is about a little girl who was left by her father in an orphanage during the mid seventies as he hoped that she would have a better life.

Liked the scene where the father cycled with the little girl at his back! Great acting by the little girl but I enjoyed "Treeless Mountain" slightly more than this.

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The Zero Years

The story is about the friendship among four women under very harsh conditions.

Liked the black and white sequence of the four children climbing out of the drain as well as the depiction of the banal day to day events in the house! Great acting by the actresses!

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Rembrandt

This is a biography of Rembrandt who was a famous Dutch painter in the 17th century.

Liked the interesting anecdotes shared by the painter! Would have liked the film to showcase more of his paintings though.

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The Shop on Main Street

The story is about what happened after a Czech peasant took over an old Jewish woman's shop during the second World War.

Liked the nice little story! Great acting by the lead actor and actress!

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The Magician

The story is about the battle of wits between a magician and a skeptical medical adviser who believed that science could explain everything.

Quite surprised to learn that Bergman made comedies too! Liked the humor, the flirting maids and the suspense towards the end!

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The Suspended Vocation

The story is about a priest who had doubts about the purpose of his job seen from two perspectives.

Didn't really like this film as it was too abstract. The special effects of splicing two films together was pretty well executed in my opinion though.

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If You Are The One

The story is about how a middle aged man found a soul mate after sending out a advertisement to search for a potential wife.

Liked the witty dialogue and the beautiful scenery!

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Lancelot of the Lake

The story is about the knights in King Arthur's round table of which Lancelot was the most capable. The queen was fond of him, some knights were loyal to him but others were jealous of him.

Liked the scenes with Lancelot and the queen together as well as the exciting jousting competition sequence! Would love to catch "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" next that was inspired by this film!

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The Devil's Trap

The story is about how a miller who was well versed in science had a conflict with a priest in a small Czech town.

Liked the nice black and white cinematography and the beautiful scenery!

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Travelling with Yoshimaru Naru

This is a documentary about a Japanese artist called Yoshimaru Naru. The film followed him to his exhibitions in many countries.

Liked the enthusiasm of the little Korean girl fan at the meet-the-artist session! It was also interesting to hear and see how the artist worked!

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A Story Written With Water

The story is about how a son's relationship with his mother affected him even after his marriage. The mother brought his son up single handedly after the father died but had an affair with a rich man whose daughter ended up marrying the son.

Liked the use of flashbacks and the depiction of the complex mother-son relationship in the film! Thought one of the dream sequences that featured the women in the son's life dressed as nurses was quite interesting!

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Black Narcissus

The story is about the difficulties faced by a group of nuns when they tried to set up a school and dispensary high up in the Indian mountains. The place was given to them by a general. The film title refers to a scent on the general's son's handkerchief.

Liked the beautiful cinematography and the nice costumes of the nuns! Thought it was interesting to see how the environment affected people's behavior! Great acting by all the cast!

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Causeway Cup 2010 (Day 5)

Round 40 vs Arvinran Rajendran(Malaysia)
Lost as I had RAINERS*(64) while he had TORNADO(71) and BEZANTS(98). He said he purposely let off my RAINERS* phoney as he could score well with PRIEF(61) down the TWS lane.

Round 41 vs Philip Iboro(Nigeria)
I had VINTAGES(76) while he had ARCSINE(72) and bARITES(78). Could have won if I bingoed instead of phoneying with REFiLER*. I also made a terrible mistake by choosing not to bingo with INQUIRE as I saw that the Q was just next to the TWS cell but played QUA instead for 32 points. Thought I would most likely have another bingo later but it didn't turn out that way.

Round 42 vs Arul Inthirarajah(Singapore)
I had ANEROID(70) while he had TORMINA(72), GOITRES(91) and OUTREAD(69). Could have pulled even with ZESTS with over 70 points but played ZESTI instead as I mixed it up with XYSTI. Lost in the end.

Round 43 vs Anocha Saengsiri(Thailand)
Was pleasantly surprised to have the chance to play with Anocha! I had SEERING*(67) while she had STAMPED(93). The board was pretty closed but she won in the end.

Round 44 vs Catherine Tong(Singapore)
Won as I had one bingo GAMIEST(82) while she had none. Made a mistake as I phoneyed with RETINGE* instead of playing the bingo.

Round 45 vs Anocha Saengsiri(Thailand)
Won as I had two bingos ANNEXES(87) and RETILES(82) while she had DIAGNOSE(62). Thought it was a very good find as it was her last rack and she played it through the I on the board.

Final day results: won 2 games out of 6 and had 7 bingos while my opponents had 9 bingos in total. Missed bingos were from AEINRRS, ?EEFLRR, EEGINRS and EEGINRT racks where phoneys were played instead.

Won 23 out of 45 games in the end and was placed 41st position out of 84 players. Not too bad as I thought I would be struggling at the bottom. Would most likely be back the following year!

Causeway Cup 2010 (Day 4)

Round 30 vs Mahani Mohd(Malaysia)
My opponent had LEASING(67) but I could have won if not for a terrible end game play. Could have finished with GIRO but missed the spot and my opponent outed first instead.

Round 31 vs Kay Anderson(Australia)
I had DANNIES(87) and she had TURNINGS(68). Won as I scored with JIVED(32) and KAMI(28) towards the end while she phoneyed successively with EBO* and WIE*.

Round 32 vs Brian Jones(Australia)
I had NEGATES(66) and OUTRATE(64) while he had HONKERS(73). Got away with VINCE* as my opponent said he could score well with EVINCE. Won by a little bit in the end.

Round 33 vs Saraswathi Ramm(India)
I had UNTAPED(80) and HEARTIES(85) while she had TAILORS(71). Won as I got away with DEVI* by forming HIND(44) back hooking the I to DEV while she phoneyed with MOLTIES*. She could also have formed an eight letter bingo with an existing T on the board with her rack but didn't see it.

Round 34 vs Wimal Fernando(Philippines)
I had SOUNDED(76) while he had RETRAIN(69). I also scored well with ZEBRA(83) but phoneyed next with OSH* later. Won as he made a big mistake when he played DAF* instead of FAD when I opened up with WANDS towards the end.

Round 35 vs Olga Visser(Australia)
Lost badly as I had no reply to my opponent's ECHOING(78), BONIEST(72) and LATENTS(83). Tried to play PARTIER by back hooking to BAC and DAME simultaneously to form BACA* and DAMER* but it was challenged off. I also tried later to play TORRIDS* unsuccessfully.

Round 36 vs Kashi Ross(Australia)
Won easily as I had three bingos BEARING(77), RETAILS(79) and ABALONE(69) while my opponent had none.

Round 37 vs Lee Pao Hsien(Malaysia)
I had PLUCKIER(85) while he had HANDERS(79). Won as I had all the big tiles, SAZ(37), JOIN(54), EX(38) and QI(31).

Round 38 vs Irwin Goh(Malaysia)
I had DEALERS(91) while he had LAIRISE(67). Won as I had all the big tiles, HEX(31), ZACK(72), JANN(67) and QUAD(47).

Round 39 vs Betty Eriksen(New Zealand)
I had ENTRIES(76) while she had AUNTIES(69). Won as I scored well with POTTED(57) and WEEDS(44) but phoneyed with INCISER*.

Fourth day results: won 8 games out of 10 and had 12 bingos while my opponents had 11 bingos in total. Missed bingo were from EILMOST, EILMOSTT, DIORRST and CEIINRS racks where phoneys were played instead.

Causeway Cup 2010 (Day 3)

Round 20 vs Catherine Tong(Singapore)
Won easily with two bingos SINGLES(69) and AERATES(79) to none from my opponent.

Round 21 vs Irwin Goh Hong Jin(Malaysia)
Both of us had two bingos each. I had INQUIRE(95) and GRAINED(82) while he had ISATINE(71) and TAILORS(67). Scored more consistently to win in the end.

Round 22 vs Ruby Sim(Singapore)
I had GENDERS(67) while she had THORNING(85). She also scored very well with EQUALS(61) and TAXIS(44) to win.

Round 23 vs Adrian Tay(Malaysia)
I had pUTTIES(76) and he had SPENDER(85). He tried unsuccessfully with FREERIDE* while I scored well with MINKS(62). He was a bit upset when I blocked his bingo rack with a low scoring LOUT(4) play and challenged it even though he was almost certain it was good. Won in the end.

Round 24 vs Kashi Ross(Australia)
I had UNRINSED(77) while she had UNGRADED(75) and SENORITA(63). I also tried unsuccessfully with REMISER* and MOATY*. Didn't realise that REMISIER* was no good too. Lost in the end.

Round 25 vs Philip Iboro(Nigeria)
I had INGOTED(85) and DEVIATE(78) while he had GOADERS(69). Had a narrow win as he also scored well with QUARK(56).

Round 26 vs Yeoh Eiu Jyn(Malaysia)
Both of us had two bingos each. I had DADDIES(68) and LONELIER(70) while he had SHOEING(85) and SOOTIEST(66). Lost as he also scored very well with ZEE(50).

Round 27 vs Philip Iboro(Nigeria)
Lost as I had no reply to his SNORTERS(64) and SEZ(45).

Round 28 vs Yeoh Eiu Jyn(Malaysia)
I had two bingos TENTERS(78) and GOALIES(70) but he had RANTINGS(60) and scored well with EXIST(57) and JIN(35). Lost as I tried unsuccessfully with FARTIER* and TARRIF*.

Round 29 vs Ruby Sim(Singapore)
I had GOATIER(67) while she had nETTIES(86). Lost even though she phoneyed with MAAL*.

Third day results: won 4 games out of 10 and had 14 bingos while my opponents had 12 bingos in total. Missed bingo was from EEIMRRS racks where a phoney was played instead.

Causeway Cup 2010 (Day 2)

Round 11 vs Yeoh Eiu Jyn(Malaysia)
Phoneyed with DELITES* and both of us had one bingo each. He had UNHIrED(66) while I had BORINGS(106). Think I could have played better in my end game as he managed to clear both his Cs and a K with quite a high score to win by a small margin.

Round 12 vs Olga Visser(Australia)
Won easily with two bingos: FEASTED(71) and COINED(61) to none from my opponent. Made a mistake with a CLAWY* phoney though.

Round 13 vs Vijayaraj Mahendra(Malaysia)
Won easily with two bingos REISSUE(77) and BASTION(81) to one bingo UNDERLAY(69) from my opponent.

Round 14 vs Arul Inthirarajah(Singapore)
I had INSIDER(62) while he had RAFFISH(98). I also tried unsuccessfully with CEASIER*. Lost but was looking forward to playing a cute girl, Anocha, from Thailand in our group!

Round 15 vs Valliammah Thambiayah(Singapore)
My previous opponent, Arul, said I could not get any unluckier. A regroup into groups of four has been made. Instead of playing with Anocha, I had a rematch with Valli instead and she won this time round! I had VENTURED(63) and VEX(51) while she had SAILORS(64) and DOZERS(51).

Round 16 vs Catherine Tong(Singapore)
Won with two bingos UNHIRED(77) and FELINES(71) to my opponent's SMOKING(67).

Round 17 vs Roy Malonzo(Philippines)
Won with WEEDIER(86) and ZEIN(66) to my opponent's MOTHERS(72).

Round 18 vs Maureen See(Australia)
Lost with ELATION(70) to my opponent's CAULKED(86) and FORESAIL(77).

Round 19 vs Nutt Treepoonsuk(Thailand)
This game was filled with phoneys. He phoneyed twice with COVERNS* and STRONGS* while I phoneyed with DERBING*. Wanted to try INBREEDS next as he changed but thought it looked too strange to be good. I even put down the tiles but took it back and played HERB instead to touch the TWS cell. He won easily with SHORTEN(79) and ANEROIDS(80) and told me after the game that he knew that INBREEDS was good. Should have gone with my instincts!

Second day results: won 4 games out of 10 and had 11 bingos while my opponents had 10 bingos in total. Missed bingos were from DEEILST AND BDEGINR racks where phoneys were played instead.