Hectic Day

Woke up early this morning to get Angela Chang's campus concert tickets but it was sold out 1 h 30 mins before the actual ticket distribution! Sad lor! Thought that i will confirm get tickets coz Terence was already queuing and i would be able to cut queue. However, they gave queue numbers to the first 200 people 10 mins before i arrived and i did not get a queue number. Next time i will be more kiasu for sure.

Watched Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon during my elective today. Had watched it previously in the theatres and it once again reinterated Lee Ang's supreme directorial skills after watching Brokeback Mountain not too long ago. Noted several similarities between CTHD and Brokeback Mountain. The locations of the shoot are places which few people frequent or are exotic, eg. the desert, mountainous areas, 18th century buildings, etc. The music is often soft and soothing, Brokeback Mountain has gentle guitar music while CTHD has world famous Yo Yo Ma playing the cello and composer Tan Dun with his soft oriental music. The stories often involve death of different characters and his characters are often oppressed by the patriarchal society. Ennis and Jack are oppressed by the homophobic society while Shu Lien and Li Mu Bai are restrained from marriage due to previous relationship engagements. The movements of the characters are also fluid and elegant; Ennis and Jack riding horses against the scenic landscape, Li Mu Bai, Jen and Shu Lien flying above bamboo forest and buildings.

Too bad Brokeback Mountain was robbed of Oscar Best Picture by Crash. BM should definitely have won and there is no doubt about it in my opinion. I guess the main reason for its loss is due to its controversial theme and homophobic judges. Is love just between heterosexual couples? Definitely not and the film exemplifies this fact.

Went to watch Capote at cineleisure with Clarence after our lessons. Capote is a biopic on Truman Capote, the author of the famous non-fiction book, In Cold Blood. He starts his research on a murder case that investigates the psyche of the murderers. Capote gets acquainted with the murderers and discovers a human side in them. He also gets involved in their sentencing and helps them to employ lawyers to fight their case.

Based on a true story, this movie is centred around Truman Capote, well-acted by Oscar winner Phillip Seymour Hoffman. The story is often uninvolving and we always get to see Capote talking to the criminals, talking to his friends and thinking about lots of stuff. The movie progresses dreadfully slowly and it is tedious in its pace. Although the cast is dedicated in each of the roles, we do not empathise much with the plight of Capote as the quirky, effeminate and emotional writer. A borefest for me indeed.

Went for a run round NTU at night and had supper at a 24 hours hawker centre after that.