Blindness

Watched Blindness with Stephen on Sat.

A blindness epidemic strikes an unnamed city, forcing the government to put many citizens in quarantine, including Ruffalo's doctor. Unable to conceive of life without him, Moore's character feigns blindness and joins him in the grimy high-security institution where visually impaired citizens are kept. Their attempt to survive in the rotting facility, which quickly falls into disrepair and chaos, forms the backbone of Meirelles's movie. Synopsis extracted from RT.

Julianne Moore gives a commendable performance as the only person who can see in the quarantine facility, although the story contains several gaping loopholes. The premise of the story is not about the virus, but rather about the innate nature of human beings struggling to survive in tumultuous conditions. This different approach brings a bit of contradiction to my expectations of it being a show like '28 Days/Weeks Later'.

The movie is visceral, with hygiene conditions in the worst form unimaginable, and also depicting inhumane acts that are loathsome and evil. Even from the sure hand of Fernando Meirelles, the movie does not engage emotionally and it feels a little pompous and detached.

***

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End of Assignments, Projects and Presentations

Today marks the end of my projects, presentations and assignments for this semester (other than FYP).

I have been working almost everyday for the past 3 weeks and i will declare a break this weekend.

4011 is finally over and i think my group did better than what i had expected for the final presentation. A huge load is off everyone's back now that 4011 is over. Phew...

18 more days to exams!

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Car Incident

This morning, i was going to school as usual and started the engine. Jerk, jerk and died. 2nd try, jerk, jerk and died. 3rd try, jerk and died.

All of a sudden, my extremely helpful Caucasian neighbour knocked on my car window and asked me whether my battery is flat. I said i'm not sure and he asked me whether i know how to push start the engine. "No idea" was my reply. I got out of my car to let him handle the vehicle and he got it starting in a jiffy. Also because in front of my house is a slope and pushing the car was not really necessary. Nonetheless, i am very grateful for this kind act as i had never spoken to the neighbour who had moved in only a few months ago.

After school ended in the evening, i had wished that the battery would not have played tantrums again and it died on me the 2nd time round.

Thankfully, Dz, Aaron and Qy were there when i could not start the engine. I thought that i would be able to push start the engine with their help. I was totally wrong. I knew nothing of the procedure and i kept turning the ignition key when the car was being pushed. After their energies were depleted, i then realized that the gear need to be engaged when the car had gained enough speed.

We then went to a nearby petrol station to get some battery water but after inquiry from the petrol kiosk staff, we found out that my engine's battery water cannot be refilled and the whole battery needs to be replaced by a new one.

After an hour of waiting for the car mechanic, my car came back to life. Hopefully this incident would not repeat itself too soon. Thanks to all the helpful people around me. Really appreciate your kind help.

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Jim's 24th Bday

Met up with my jc friends for a cycling + bbq session at East Coast Park. We spent the earlier half of the day cycling and chanced upon a sandcastle display at the beach.

Doesn't look like East Coast right?

The sandcastle crew at the miniature castle

More sandcastles

and us

Children and parents building some sandcastles

View from Bedok Jetty

Bicycle and me

Dusk

Edwin's portable tent/camp

BBQing

Food

Eating

Cake session

Happy bday Jim!

Group photo

We had a great time chatting and thanks a lot to Edwin for organising everything.

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Thinking about grad trip

Got sick of studying and decided to research on traveling for a short while. Stumbled across some incredibly stunning Greece photos. I love the colours and the architecture. Super awesome!

Santorini

Sunset at Santorini

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Burn After Reading

I do wish that i can burn up my textbooks/notes after reading them.

Watched Burn After Reading with Derrick just now. I guess a breather from the tons of academic work won't hurt too much.

The movie is about an ex-government agent who got implicated in a blackmail due to a misplaced disc of confidential information. The information is leaked to 2 gym employees and they expect monetary rewards from the return of the disc. Things get blown out of proportion next and no one will be able to expect what happens next.

This dramedy spoofs the modern day human being, money loving, adore of cosmetic surgery, and increasing incidence in the fallout of marriages. The cast does a great job of portraying the people with limited intelligence, especially the explosive John Malkovich, the dumb Brad Pitt, and the desperate Frances McDormand.

The Coen Brothers has done a good job with the clever script and it engages the audience through its storytelling, not fully with its comedic elements though. It works brilliantly as a drama but to expect consistent laughs is a reach. Still, its commendable script and well rounded performances bring entertainment with relevance to the human psyche.

***1/2

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Busy like crazy

Busy, busy and busy.

The assignments and projects are taking up so much of my time.

The next 2 weeks will be crazy with many reports and presentations due.

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The Chaser

Watched The Chaser on Friday with Stephen.

The Chaser is about a psychotic serial killer who targets prostitutes and snuffs them with a hammer and chisel. A pimp, Jung-ho, who is fed up with his missing women decides to track down the killer, mistaking him as someone who sold his women.

The Chaser does not mince its portrayal of the vicious murders and they are bloodcurdling and depict the worst form of cruelty possible. The leads in the movie give a commendable performance as well. The killer is chillingly inhumane and reveal no emotions in his crimes. Jung-ho is charismatic as the brash chaser who braves through the setbacks and persists in his hunt for the serial killer.

Immense guilt is faced by Jung-ho who indirectly causes Mi-jin to be in her predicament. The film does not follow the normal conventions of a movie and it may disappoint some viewers. However, the direction and pacing is superb while the story is constantly engaging. Disturbing, grim and dark, this film is a tragedy of epic proportions.

****

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