Movie Marathon

Finally! After more than 1 month of movie fasting, i watched 2 movies today. Went to Beach Rd in the afternoon to look for large backpack with Terence for the Cambodia trip. I got a $65 Outgear backpack which can accommodate up to 80 litres. My first slurge after the exams during which i hardly spent anything other than money on some food.

Met up with Edwin after that to watch Casino Royale at Cineleisure. Casino Royale is definitely the best James Bond movie i've ever watched. The action scenes are exhilarating, adrenalin-pumpin' and incredibly intense. Daniel Craig rocks as the new 007 as he chases the bad guys like he is using every ounce of his muscle, fights the bad guys until the blood gets splattered all over, almost got killed and was even tortured. Definitely a refreshing change to revitalise the age old movie francise. Eva Green also provides more than just eye candy with her perky, witty and intelligent personality, a league above the rest of the recent bond girls. This new James Bond is being humanised as we get to see his tough side, his suave side, his vulnerable side, his romantic side and his egoistic side. Martin Campbell has done a great job in character development and they serve to compensate for the exaggerated plots and schemes. As always, Bond's dedication to his tasks is unwaivering and he gets the job done with flying colours.
****

Derrick and Clarence joined us after that for dinner and we watched another movie, Flags Of Our Fathers, afterward. The show is about the battle of Iwo Jima, a Japanese island which the US tried to take over during World War 2, and the lives of 3 soldiers who were sent home to promote the victory of the war & to raise war funds after a famous picture of the soldiers raising the American flag on the island was published in all major newspapers. The opening battle scenes are realistic with grey hues, majestic yet chaotic amid the gunfires and artillery bombing. The movie intercuts back and forth to display the stark contrast between what the soldiers will be experiencing if they were not recalled back home from the war. The psychological impact lasts throughout their lives and they continue to ponder what happened to some of their friends who disappeared during the battle. Forgeting is not an option as the blood they see, the decapitated bodies they encounter, the friends they lost and the people they killed will never ever be erased from their memories. A incredible tribute to honour the lives of the soldiers lost for the glory of the nation. Not a great war movie but it is definitely an emotional one.
***1/2

Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima