[Long post alert]
For some confounded reason, everytime I am bursting with things I want to post, I'm always supposed to be doing other supposedly more important things, like readings and assignments.
And when I finally finish all top priority things, I forget most of what I started out wanting to post.
So in a bold move, I have decided to leave all my extremely urgent and important work (due tomorrow!) and post before more stuff evaporates from the recesses of my brain.
2 weeks into my final year and I'm already behind on my readings. Not that I'm trying to keep up or anything, but just making such a statement already makes things look so bad. media law readings are sheer madness. I feel like I'm killing trees just printing the stuff out, but there isn't much of a choice because it's wayyyy too lengthy to read off the screen and I really don't see the need to increase my myopia.
Not quite looking forward to the first 203 tutorial tomorrow (yes, 203 is a second-year subject and I am taking it only now not out of choice.) For one thing, I haven't read the required newspapers to be able to comment on articles and all. Probably will grab the paper from last Saturday and skim through it quickly over a coffee before the class tomorrow.
The happening Fong Seng prata outing was postponed due to the Lian's sudden OT at work, so oh well, nothing to look forward to after a 3.5hr media law lecture. Interestingly, the class was really quite intriguing, and I didn't even feel the urge to yawn or anything. Now, if only acing the exam would be just as easy.
FYP's moving along slowly but surely, but I guess it's really not much of a choice, since we want to send out the grant application by the end of the week. Coming up with bios for the project is terribly difficult, which only serves to remind me of my extreme lack of experience in my chosen field. Uh oh. One good thing though, after a in-depth recce of Marcus' room, we have concluded that it is suitable for group meetings and so-called slumber parties (aka the whole group concuss in his room after overnight non-stop editing. Sleeping bags not provided.)
Had a short chat with Fungster during the 45-minute break during 401, which is pretty generous, if you ask me, except I really wouldn't mind having only 15 minutes, and ending class half an hour earlier.
Oops I digress. Yes, I had a short chat with her and we talked about China, her good ol' hometown, touring Yunnan, a certain schoolmate's new girlfriend, the sad truth about FYP, and even intellectual incest (this really isn't as bad as it looks/sounds here).
And I realized how much I missed being in Atlanta. Albeit only a 6-month stint, so much happened over there and there were only 3 of us there to really talk. We shared so much there that coming back here and meeting up so much less made me feel like I left a part of my life and emotional development back there. It's made me stronger, but I wish it could be around all the time. Instead, back here, my apathy has reached startling levels, with age, experience, and even more so, the conclusion of my 6-month working stint.
But enough about depressing things already, I dragged myself to watch Hard Candy at PS, braving a bad bout of gastric flu, nausea, and HALF THE POPULATION OF ALL SINGAPOREAN STUDENTS ON HALF-DAY HOLIDAY DUE TO NATIONAL DAY. Good LORD! If only I had remembered earlier that kids would be dressed in red and white, all happy and patriotic after singing about their Island Home, waving cute little flags in time. Now, this wouldn't be so bad if they had gone home and STAYED home after that.
But nooooo, they had to be so happening and watch movies at PS! Because of the crazy queue at the ticket counters, which is almost as visually astounding as the 179 queue at Boon Lay (except made up of prepubescent kids instead of jaded college kids), I bought my ticket to Hard Candy only 25 minutes after the supposed starting time of the show.
Calculating backwards, I knew that PS aired 20 minutes of commercials, so I would only be missing about 5-10 minutes of the show. And my extremely logical and quick-witted mind decided that if I really liked the show, I would probably get the DVD to check out the front bit and to watch the show again. And if I hated it, the first 5-10 minutes wouldn't matter at all, so it was a win-win situation (yay! haven't had one of these in a while now.)
Here's my take on the film (spoilers within):
(Disclaimer: I've only hazy memories of the film now, that's what school does to you. So I probably need to watch it again to get a better feel of it.)
Hard Candy isn't really as gruesome as I had half-expected it to be, based on movie reviews, IMDB, and friend's comments. But then again, I'm not really the squeamish kind (I think?), at least not in movies, so the benchmark is kind of skewed anyway.
For a 103 minute (according to IMDB) film, it's got a tremendous pull to it, considering how it's really only about 2 characters, and is almost entirely inside one house. In every shot, you see either Ellen Page, Patrick Wilson, or both of them. It's a tricky film to make, and for being able to pull it off, I think a large part of the credit has to go to Page and Wilson.
It's really quite a psychological thriller thing and really plays with your mind so much. We never do see all the stuff in Jeff's hidden safe (it's just Hayley's reaction), and we're not quite sure whether Jeff died in the end or not.
And (spoiler alert) I didn't realize that Jeff was never castrated. No, seriously! I thought the binder clip was really to stem the flow of blood, and I never did hear the supposed line where he claims he's 'all here', according to posts on IMDB. And the tape from the VCR? I thought the label was there to mock him and his loss, as opposed to what many suggest on IMDB - that it's really a surgical procedures tape that she played for him to make him think it was happening to him. Hmm.
The castration part I admit, I probably didn't listen hard enough, but the part where he confesses on the roof? I blame it on the silly theater usher who chose this crucial plot development point in the movie to come in and check the ID of some kid sitting 5 rows in front of me. Sheesh. I'm gonna have to watch this show again, probably on my computer so I can hear better.
One thing I did note about the film was it's sometimes awkward shots. Makes me wonder whether indie film directors deliberately use odd shots that deviate from the usual rules of framing, e.g. subject is half in frame and the other half is empty, or not moving the camera to follow the subject, thus leaving the frame empty for a second or two.
If it's become a indie-film prerequisite to have against-the-Hollywood-rules style, then it's sort of becoming a anti-Hollywood thing. Is it just me, or is it slowly losing its freedom-of-expression and freedom-to-do-anything thing? Gah. Maybe I'm just watching too many mega blockbusters these days.
More updates on HC when I finally get a copy of it. For now it's back to R E A D I N G S...
For some confounded reason, everytime I am bursting with things I want to post, I'm always supposed to be doing other supposedly more important things, like readings and assignments.
And when I finally finish all top priority things, I forget most of what I started out wanting to post.
So in a bold move, I have decided to leave all my extremely urgent and important work (due tomorrow!) and post before more stuff evaporates from the recesses of my brain.
2 weeks into my final year and I'm already behind on my readings. Not that I'm trying to keep up or anything, but just making such a statement already makes things look so bad. media law readings are sheer madness. I feel like I'm killing trees just printing the stuff out, but there isn't much of a choice because it's wayyyy too lengthy to read off the screen and I really don't see the need to increase my myopia.
Not quite looking forward to the first 203 tutorial tomorrow (yes, 203 is a second-year subject and I am taking it only now not out of choice.) For one thing, I haven't read the required newspapers to be able to comment on articles and all. Probably will grab the paper from last Saturday and skim through it quickly over a coffee before the class tomorrow.
The happening Fong Seng prata outing was postponed due to the Lian's sudden OT at work, so oh well, nothing to look forward to after a 3.5hr media law lecture. Interestingly, the class was really quite intriguing, and I didn't even feel the urge to yawn or anything. Now, if only acing the exam would be just as easy.
FYP's moving along slowly but surely, but I guess it's really not much of a choice, since we want to send out the grant application by the end of the week. Coming up with bios for the project is terribly difficult, which only serves to remind me of my extreme lack of experience in my chosen field. Uh oh. One good thing though, after a in-depth recce of Marcus' room, we have concluded that it is suitable for group meetings and so-called slumber parties (aka the whole group concuss in his room after overnight non-stop editing. Sleeping bags not provided.)
Had a short chat with Fungster during the 45-minute break during 401, which is pretty generous, if you ask me, except I really wouldn't mind having only 15 minutes, and ending class half an hour earlier.
Oops I digress. Yes, I had a short chat with her and we talked about China, her good ol' hometown, touring Yunnan, a certain schoolmate's new girlfriend, the sad truth about FYP, and even intellectual incest (this really isn't as bad as it looks/sounds here).
And I realized how much I missed being in Atlanta. Albeit only a 6-month stint, so much happened over there and there were only 3 of us there to really talk. We shared so much there that coming back here and meeting up so much less made me feel like I left a part of my life and emotional development back there. It's made me stronger, but I wish it could be around all the time. Instead, back here, my apathy has reached startling levels, with age, experience, and even more so, the conclusion of my 6-month working stint.
But enough about depressing things already, I dragged myself to watch Hard Candy at PS, braving a bad bout of gastric flu, nausea, and HALF THE POPULATION OF ALL SINGAPOREAN STUDENTS ON HALF-DAY HOLIDAY DUE TO NATIONAL DAY. Good LORD! If only I had remembered earlier that kids would be dressed in red and white, all happy and patriotic after singing about their Island Home, waving cute little flags in time. Now, this wouldn't be so bad if they had gone home and STAYED home after that.
But nooooo, they had to be so happening and watch movies at PS! Because of the crazy queue at the ticket counters, which is almost as visually astounding as the 179 queue at Boon Lay (except made up of prepubescent kids instead of jaded college kids), I bought my ticket to Hard Candy only 25 minutes after the supposed starting time of the show.
Calculating backwards, I knew that PS aired 20 minutes of commercials, so I would only be missing about 5-10 minutes of the show. And my extremely logical and quick-witted mind decided that if I really liked the show, I would probably get the DVD to check out the front bit and to watch the show again. And if I hated it, the first 5-10 minutes wouldn't matter at all, so it was a win-win situation (yay! haven't had one of these in a while now.)
Here's my take on the film (spoilers within):
(Disclaimer: I've only hazy memories of the film now, that's what school does to you. So I probably need to watch it again to get a better feel of it.)
Hard Candy isn't really as gruesome as I had half-expected it to be, based on movie reviews, IMDB, and friend's comments. But then again, I'm not really the squeamish kind (I think?), at least not in movies, so the benchmark is kind of skewed anyway.
For a 103 minute (according to IMDB) film, it's got a tremendous pull to it, considering how it's really only about 2 characters, and is almost entirely inside one house. In every shot, you see either Ellen Page, Patrick Wilson, or both of them. It's a tricky film to make, and for being able to pull it off, I think a large part of the credit has to go to Page and Wilson.
It's really quite a psychological thriller thing and really plays with your mind so much. We never do see all the stuff in Jeff's hidden safe (it's just Hayley's reaction), and we're not quite sure whether Jeff died in the end or not.
And (spoiler alert) I didn't realize that Jeff was never castrated. No, seriously! I thought the binder clip was really to stem the flow of blood, and I never did hear the supposed line where he claims he's 'all here', according to posts on IMDB. And the tape from the VCR? I thought the label was there to mock him and his loss, as opposed to what many suggest on IMDB - that it's really a surgical procedures tape that she played for him to make him think it was happening to him. Hmm.
The castration part I admit, I probably didn't listen hard enough, but the part where he confesses on the roof? I blame it on the silly theater usher who chose this crucial plot development point in the movie to come in and check the ID of some kid sitting 5 rows in front of me. Sheesh. I'm gonna have to watch this show again, probably on my computer so I can hear better.
One thing I did note about the film was it's sometimes awkward shots. Makes me wonder whether indie film directors deliberately use odd shots that deviate from the usual rules of framing, e.g. subject is half in frame and the other half is empty, or not moving the camera to follow the subject, thus leaving the frame empty for a second or two.
If it's become a indie-film prerequisite to have against-the-Hollywood-rules style, then it's sort of becoming a anti-Hollywood thing. Is it just me, or is it slowly losing its freedom-of-expression and freedom-to-do-anything thing? Gah. Maybe I'm just watching too many mega blockbusters these days.
More updates on HC when I finally get a copy of it. For now it's back to R E A D I N G S...
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