A Serious Man

Yep, want to be serious about what to do in life next time. Probably this is the first time I'm saying this (although it can be quite obvious) but it would really be cool if I can become a professional movie critic =) But hor, can make money or not? I don't know. But it's one of those passionate things in life that sometimes one just feel like fulfilling. Do you have one of those?

Can you guess what themed day is this? Neither can I, just from looking at it. It's actually Budget Day! Everyone's outfit (top and bottom) is less than S$20. Cool, right? But not obvious enough.
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Great last day of CNY! Lamerz should be honoured: you guys are the first bunch of friends I've driven around =) Driving them home at 3:30am from pj's house is really an experience~ More to come!

My house first...

...then into the car. Boo Boo: I was panicking, unable to remove the key from the keyhole (this has never happened before!).

Guess what? Because I set the gear at 'neutral', and not at 'park', when we were in the car park -.- That's me calling my dad =X

PJ's house at 3am. Latest last 拜年 ever. But the greatest =D
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I'm sure most of you probably already know: I'm the official movie writer for SGClub online portal!



I reviewed a movie (Summer Wars) but the content is renewed very fast, so the review is no longer there. See below for my copy-and-paste!

And of course there's that Oscar post about whether Avatar should sweep the Oscars, the one where Kim Heng and Kang gleefully flamed. Thanks arh, but some of what you said makes sense, but not the fact that I should join the SAF, Kang LOL.

The Oscar post would not be up for long (March issue is coming up!), but don't worry, you'll see my more personal chat about the Oscar nominees below.


THE MOVIE REVIEWS:

Summer Wars (anime) for SGClub.
Writer: Wilson Ng
Summer Wars (PG)
Rating: 4.0/5
Directed by: Mamoru Hosoda
Starring: Ryunosuke Kamiki, Nanami Sakuraba
Opens February 25, 2010
Distributed by Encore Films

With a fantastical fusion of a traditional Japanese setting and a large virtual world, Summer Wars grabs the viewer from the get-go and pleases the senses all through to the end.

Kenji (Ryunosuke Kamiki) is an awkward and geeky seventeen year old who takes up a request from his high-school crush – Natsuki (Nanami Sakuraba) – to accompany her back home to rural Japan and act as her boyfriend to please her 90-year-old grandmother.

He is immediately amused by the quirky mix of characters of her large family. Meanwhile, he receives a mysterious text message containing a string of numbers, and he solves them, mistaking it for a mathematical equation. Apparently, solving that equation allowed a hacker to breach the security of an online city, OZ, and the traffic and healthcare system in Japan plunged into chaos, as millions of users are interconnected via that cyber world.

Director Mamoru Hosoda (of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time) stroke a brilliant balance between the thrilling technical aspects of OZ and the nuance of characterization in Natsuki’s huge but adorable clan.

From the terrifying creation of the Love Machine – the malicious A.I. terrorizing OZ – right down to the quiet blooming of morning glories in the Japanese countryside, Wars is a treat to watch.

One of the film’s central themes of humanity being controlled and restricted by the worldwide web is carefully realised, and this thread blends well with the theme of family love.

Do bring along your Kleenex, as a story arc concerning the grandmother and an adopted child will surely move even the hardest of hearts.

Summer Wars has the potential to appeal to both otaku and mainstream audience, just like what Spirited Away did for the genre of anime. With a harmony of strangely lovable characters and a storyline that hits at the heart of the present society, this film is a sure recommendation.
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Click ON THE POSTER for my movie review of A Serious Man for The Nanyang Chronicle. I gave the Oscar-nominated film 3.5/5, despite me admitting to the editor that for the film's bizarreness, this has got to be the most difficult movie review I've ever written :X

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That's all for this post. Watch out for the next one for my Oscars Race 2010 =)