Be a Woodlander. Be Italian.

Yep, I've officially moved. I've been a Bishan-er. An Yishun-er. Then a Choa Chu Kang-er. Yishun-er again.

And now I'm a Woodland-er.

It's byebye The Shaughnessy (so many great, great memories - you guys know who you are) and...

...hello Woodlands Drive 50. Unpacking and renovation still in progress. Will be chio after all is done. Then, house-warming, people! =D
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Back in school, we attempted an Atas Day.
Hmm, probably not our best Themed Day so far.

My (name) twin and I. Can you guess which polo tee is USD25 and which is RM25? =P
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Besides learning to be a Woodlander, Rob Marshall taught us Parverts how to be Italian. Was he successful? Incidentally, it's our first outing to Orchard. Strange, huh? But we see each other everyday anyways ;)

Here's my review of the all-glitter-no-heart, Nine.
I give the movie:





With a criminal waste of the talents involved and a combination of muddled direction, you come to wonder whether Nine is a story about the fate of its very own director, Rob Marshall.

SYNOPSIS:
Experiencing writer's block is famed director Guido Contini (a competently distraught Daniel Day-Lewis) who is desperately trying to churn out a script for his next movie, Italia, after two flops in a row. The press is hot on his heels, driving him into panic anxiety.

Then there are the bevy of ladies who his life revolves around.

There is the fiesty mistress (Penelope Cruz, similarly crazy from previous Oscar-winning role in Vicky Cristina Barcelona, thus gaining another Oscar nom this time), long-suffering wife (a brilliantly anguished Marion Cotillard), bubbly journalist (Kate Hudson, a role sticking out like a sore thumb), gorgeous muse (Nicole Kidman, wasted as an elegant vase), heavy-weight prostitute (an interesting but extremely underwritten role for Fergie), goodwill confidant (Dame Judi Dench, trying her very best) and the stately mother (a stately Sophia Loren), all mostly flat characters (save for Cotillard) who propel the maestro towards his seemingly ever-elusive movie-making.

PRAISES:
Marion Cotillard's heart-wrenching performance stands alone. Her transformation from a suffering wife to her scene where she finally gives up on Contini fully showcases her Best Actress prowess (which she won for La Vie En Rose).

Only at Fergie's sand-kicking rousing number Be Italian did the movie show signs of picking up musically. Otherwise...

FLAWS:
...we can only wish if the other songs were half as spectacular. Rottentomatoes.com's collective review puts it right. Nine was "curiously distant", especially on the emotional tone.

FINAL SAY:
Star-power doesn't make a good movie. Which is a gigantic pity. Probably only pretty to look at.
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Once my reviews for A Single Man and Japanese Anime Summer Wars are officially published (The Nanyang Chronicle and SGClub website respectively) then I'll post it here =)
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Here are some CNY '2010 pictures!
Yep, on 初二 we had lobster sashimi, salmon sashimi and abalone yu-sheng! Shiok-uh.

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That's all folks. Need to settle down in new house. And probably concentrate more on school work.

Take care, people!