Oscars 2012

The OSCARS race is on and the results will be out on the 26th February. Normally during this time of the year, I will be busy watching all the Oscars nominated films. This year however, I have only watched a few. Namely, The Artist, The Help and The Descendants. Most of the nominated films this year are still not released in Singapore yet. Kinda killed the fun. Still waiting for The Iron Lady, Moneyball, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Albert Nobbs and Hugo. Here are my predictions:

Actor in a Leading Role

• Demián Bichir in "A Better Life"
• George Clooney in "The Descendants"
• Jean Dujardin in "The Artist"
• Gary Oldman in "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"
• Brad Pitt in "Moneyball"

Having only watched two of the five nominated performances, I really hope George Clooney will not win. His performance in The Descendants is so mediocre, I am still wondering why he has been winning awards everywhere. Anyway, he will probably win but I hope someone else will upstage him. Jean Dujardin is the dark horse but I don't think he acted fantastically well for his role. I think Leonardo Dicaprio was robbed of his Oscars once again. Personally, I think he acted really well for J. Edgar. 

Actor in a Supporting Role

• Kenneth Branagh in "My Week with Marilyn"
• Jonah Hill in "Moneyball"
• Nick Nolte in "Warrior"
• Christopher Plummer in "Beginners"
• Max von Sydow in "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close"

Cant really say who had the performance here because I didn't watch any of the movies. But the frontrunner now is Christopher Plummer and the dark horse is Kenneth Branagh.

Actress in a Leading Role

• Glenn Close in "Albert Nobbs"
• Viola Davis in "The Help"
• Rooney Mara in "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"
• Meryl Streep in "The Iron Lady"
• Michelle Williams in "My Week with Marilyn"

Oh Best Actress....my favorite actress Meryl Streep is nominated once again! She is finally going to pick up another Oscars after sooo many years. Although I love her to win, I am secretly rooting for Viola Davis. Having watched her performance in The Help, I really thought this could be her year..if not for Meryl Streep.

Actress in a Supporting Role

• Bérénice Bejo in "The Artist"
• Jessica Chastain in "The Help"
• Melissa McCarthy in "Bridesmaids"
• Janet McTeer in "Albert Nobbs"
• Octavia Spencer in "The Help"

Octavia Spencer stunning performance in The Help will in her the Oscars. Enough said.

Animated Feature Film

• "A Cat in Paris" Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli
• "Chico & Rita" Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal
• "Kung Fu Panda 2" Jennifer Yuh Nelson
• "Puss in Boots" Chris Miller
• "Rango" Gore Verbinski

For the first time since this category was created, Pixar did not get a nomination. Then again, Cars 2 wasn't really that great. Cars was already the weakest film in Pixar's amazing record of outstanding films. Now with Cars 2, they have two. With Pixar out of the race, this year best animated film can be any of the five films. I think Kung Fu Panda 2 might win. Rango is the dark horse.

Visual Effects

• "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" 
  Tim Burke, David Vickery, Greg Butler and John Richardson
• "Hugo" Rob Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossmann and Alex Henning
• "Real Steel" 
  Erik Nash, John Rosengrant, Dan Taylor and Swen Gillberg
• "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White and Daniel Barrett
• "Transformers: Dark of the Moon"
  Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Matthew Butler and John Frazier

Harry Potter has an amazing 10 years and this might be Oscars reward for Harry. Its too bad, Harry Potter did not get a best picture nomination, as expected. So this prize will be a consolation for the team. Personally I hope Rise of the Planet of the Apes will win for bringing such lifelike and moving performance out of CGI apes.

Directing

• "The Artist" Michel Hazanavicius
• "The Descendants" Alexander Payne
• "Hugo" Martin Scorsese
• "Midnight in Paris" Woody Allen
• "The Tree of Life" Terrence Malick

The front runner of this race is The Artist, having picked up the Best Directing award from the Director's Guild. 

Best Picture

• "The Artist" Thomas Langmann, Producer
• "The Descendants" Jim Burke, Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, Producers
• "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" Scott Rudin, Producer
• "The Help" Brunson Green, Chris Columbus and Michael Barnathan, Producers
• "Hugo" Graham King and Martin Scorsese, Producers
• "Midnight in Paris" Letty Aronson and Stephen Tenenbaum, Producers
• "Moneyball" Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz and Brad Pitt, Producers
• "The Tree of Life" Sarah Green, Bill Pohlad, Dede Gardner and Grant Hill, Producers
• "War Horse" Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, Producers

Finally the best picture award. This year, instead of 10 nominees, we have 9. I hope The Help will win even though the chances are slim. The award will most probably go to The Artist or The Descendents which I think are totally undeserving.

Last year, I watched 7 of the 10 nominated films for best picture so it was kinda exciting awaiting the results. This year I only watched 3 of the 9 nominated films so there wasn't as much anticipation.

王菲巡唱2011

After 7 years, I am finally going to watch Faye Wong concert again! I thought the one in 2004 will be the last but thankfully, she ran out of money and decided to give singing another shot. Damn the tickets are expensive! And I am a sucker! I bought the 280 bucks tickets. And thats the fourth most expensive tics...or should I say the third cheapest tics. I hope she doesnt disappoint! 29 October 2011... 4 more months to go!

Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Went to watch Transformers over the weekend..the 3D one somemore but it wasnt as good as the trailer promised. Well, its Michael Bay not James Cameron..so I guess its not surprising that the movie is just 2 and a half hr of mindless action and explosion. The timeline has been drawn and redrawn since Revenge of the Fallen until everything just doesnt make sense anymore. What is the deal with the giant octopus thingy that reminds me of the Sentinels in the Matrix. Just upsized version. Why isit called Soundwave? Is it part of Soundwave? Why is Soundwave so powerful? Why is Megatron screen time so short and easily killed by Optimus Prime at the end? So many questions popped up when I was watching the movie and to be honest, I didnt really care until the end. One thing I hate is the cheap and lame humor, whats with the thing about Sam's mum? Its not funny at all and its a waste of time. Sam is bloody irritating in this movie, screaming like a spoilt brat, or should i say a girl, at every instance. Sometimes I wish the robots just step on him. Its amazing he survived all the mayhem without a scratch. Even more amazing is Carly beautiful white shirt which remained so white without a stain after going through the battlefield. Overall, I think its another disappointment, after the totally unnecessary Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

Transformers

Transformers: Dark of the Moon is out. Whenever that happens, it means I will inevitably burn a hole in my pocket. I cant resist collecting some of the key characters and with each release of the movie, I have collected a total of 10 characters!! Optimus Prime, Megatron, The Fallen, Bumblebee, Ironhide, Soundwave, Starscream, Sentinel Prime, Ravage and the Devastator (not seen on this pic cos its too big!!). I hope there will be no more transformers four cos I need to buy a new shelves to house more of them if there is one. Also because the third movie kinda sucked.

Most anticipated movies of 2011

2010 is coming to an end and the line up of movies in 2011 seems quite interesting.

The first is The Green Hornet starring Jay Chou. Haha..he is not the greatest actor and everyone knows his english is cmi..but its his first hollywood film..so kinda curious to find out how its like.

Smurfs!! My childhood cartoon is coming to life in 3D. Enuff said.
Personally Cars was one of my least favorite Pixar films. Not sure why they decided to make a sequel. Anyway its Pixar, so it cant be that bad.

Another movie that went back on its word. The Pirates trilogy thats supposed to have ended with At World's End is back. At least Johnny Depp is back as Captain Jack Sparrow. Pity Orlando Bloom and Kiera Knightly is not back with him. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides...May 20th.

Transformers 2 sucks..Hopefully, the third one will redeem itself. Megan Fox is gone. Somehow the title doesnt make much sense..Dark of the Moon?

Last but not least..The final..the real end to the Harry Potter series...The Deathly Hallows Part 2. Havent catch part 1 yet..but I think it looks promising.

Avatar special edition

After months of waiting, the Avatar extended collector's edition will finally be in stores! Whee! Even though its the extended edition, its still quite lacking in special features!! I think they are saving it for the ultimate 3D edition. Damn.

One of my favorite movies in 2010 - Inception. Its DVD will be out in december too. Just in time for the holiday season.

India and Doha Trip

Went for two business trips in the months of September and October. First was mumbai and then Doha. Coming from the clean and green Singapore, India was quite a culture shock for me. The living conditions, the slums..its really like what was depicted in Slumdog millionaire. I saw kids running around the streets naked. One was poop-ing on the pavement as my car drove by. Heaps of rubbish beside where these people live. Traffic condition was terrible. It takes more than good driving skills to maneuver around in Mumbai.

Then there is Doha. A rich and fast developing country. There is construction going on everywhere. People here are rich. Some filthy rich.

Qatar bid for World Cup 2022. Results of the bid will be out in a few weeks time. Good luck!

The restaurants at the Souq Waqif. A hundred over years old market restored to its former glory. Now it is a tourist hotspot.

Souq Waqif

Las Vegas and Macau has the Venetian and Doha has the Villaggio.

Encountered some heavy fog on my way to the site. I heard Doha has its fair share of sandstorms and its alot worse than this.

The Doha city center skyline. There are lots of skyscrapers with very innovative designs. Personally I think this is something Singapore lacks.

Another cafe at the Souq Waqif

I like their residential buildings. Buidlings made from earth. Kinda cool.

Starscream

Thank you Juztin and Paul for giving me this new addition to my Transformer collection. Starscream! Now I think I shall get Megatron and a few more autobots when the transformers third series comes out. Heehee

My own Subaru Impreza

I know I have said it before..I dont need a car. Its much cheaper taking a taxi. A car is a huge liability. In the end, I have to eat my own words because I got myself one last month. I got it on my birthday..it just happened, I didnt plan for it. I guess its a 30th birthday present for myself. Its a second hand car. The main reason I bought it? I guess the price was very reasonable. Maybe I was getting tired of waiting for the ever so crowded trains and buses. I was tired of inconsiderate commuters. Tired of hearing "train is coming..train is coming...train is COMMMINGG!!! " So now to hell with all that. I get to move around in my own car and add to the carbon footprint. lol.

Back again

Its been so long since I last posted something here. I think the blog is kinda dead already. Its been such a busy time for me the past few months. So busy that I lost abit of weight. I just weighed myself. 55kg. Damn. I need to eat more. Need to go back to the gym. Need to find a purpose in life.

Singapore Youth Olympics Opening Ceremony

As a Singaporean, I should be very proud that Singapore is hosting the inaugural Youth Olympic Games. But somehow, like most singaporeans, I am not really interested (according to a poll by CNA). Maybe because its not just us, the world seems to be turning a blind eye on the games too. I was looking at Yahoo.com and Yahoo.com.sg, there was no mention of the opening ceremony that happened yesterday. This is a far cry from the attention and praises the media had on the Beijing Olympic games 2 years ago. Was it a failure in our publicity effort? Maybe. Maybe its the lack of a certain thing that we can marvel at and call it a symbol of the olympic games. The Beijing games have the Bird Nest and the Water Cube..we have nothing. We dont even have a proper stadium for the opening ceremony. Its the first day of the games, so its still hard to say if the attention will grow over the next few days. But seriously, Yahoo Singapore dont even have a page dedicated to the olympic games...how sad is that!

The opening ceremony last nights has some high and low points. There were no spectacularly choreographed stunts or performances. Perhaps its unfair to compare it to the Beijing Games but pole dancing for the olympic games? Seriously? There were some cringe-worthy moments like when they welcome the athletes with "客人来看爸爸，爸爸不在家.." ..what were they thinking? and I know the wonder girls are hot and korean culture is the IN thing now but glorifying "Nobody , nobody but chu..." in the opening ceremony? And the familiar children day song "Sama Sama..." and "There are five stars arising..out on the stormy sea"..I thought I was watching some children's day celebration or the retelecast of last week National Day Parade. Then the flag bearers nearly screwed the ceremony up when many of them look lost after they appeared on the stage. Some turned left when they supposed to go right while some just stood right at the center only to realised that they are not supposed to be there. This is not supposed to happen, considering its just a simple matter of communication. Just follow the damn person holding the card in front of you! How difficult is that? The flagbearers cannot be blamed as they genuinely looked lost. The organiser should be blamed for not briefing them properly on what they were supposed to do.

Anyway, it was not all bad. There were some great moments during the ceremony. The fireworks display was amazing. The best I have seen since the opening of the Esplanade theater. The water stage called the reflecting pool is kinda cool as well.

The Olympic rings formed on the reflecting pool is really beautiful.

They really brought out the big guns for the fireworks display.

This is a really beautiful picture with MBS as the backdrop.

Its the moment that everyone , at least those who cared, was waiting for.. the olympic flag raised on singapore soil for the very first time. Tan Howe Liang, our first olympic medalist is one of the flag bearer. I was hoping he will be the final torch bearer.

I liked the idea of the pheonix delivering the olympic flame.

And the final torch bearer goes to...Darren Choy..who? That was my first reaction when I heard his name. A quick google search revealed he is the world champion for sailing. His parents must be really proud of him being able to light the olympic flame.

The olympic flame blazing above Darren Choy. The tornado effect is a nice touch. The light house design is rather cool too.

So relieved

I passed my examination. Yeah! At least I did not go USA for nothing. So relieved.

Day 8: Last day in New York

I decided the last day shall be the day I spent touring New York leisurely. But it turned out to be rather crazy. I practically walked the entire stretch of manhattan from 103th street to brooklyn bridge.

I started the morning back where I started a week ago on a saturday morning - Central Park. This time, I went to the east side to explore areas which I didnt see the last time.

Its weird to find an obelisk in the middle of Central Park. This obelisk was erected in Egypt and then removed to Alexandria by the Roman. It was presented to the city of New York in 1881 by Egypt.

The Ramble at Central Park.
At the center of the park is the Bethesda Fountain.

The wollman rink reopened by Donald Trump. Its an ice skating rink during winter and a amusement park during summer.

The Apple store just at the border of Central Park. It was packed with people queuing up to get their ipad and iphone 4.

A few streets down is the Abercrombie and Fitch Store. As usual they have their models standing in front of the store to attract customers.

The Washington Square Arch.

Everyone having fun at the fountain. The heat was unbearable that day. I think it was at least 36 degrees.

My second visit to the Brooklyn Bridge.

My final stop was at Ground Zero. I was there in 2007 and it was a construction site. 3 years later, its still a construction site. I wonder when it will finally be completed.

Day 7: Shopping Time!!

The 2nd last day of my trip was where I spent the most money. Woodbury common outlet stores. They have so many branded stuff at really cheap prices. I went crazy over there. I think I never bought so much stuff at one go.

Final tally : SGD 580. Two belts, one watch, two polo tshirt, one t shirt, one shorts, one pair of shoes, one pair of underwear, one shirt.

Day 6: Boston

The final day of the tour started with an early morning tour of Harvard. I guess this would be my only time stepping on the premise of Harvard..haha. Wish I was smart enough to actually study here.

After Harvard was the equally famous MIT college.

All the parents were so excited about the two colleges. For me, I guess its too late.
The one hour ferry ride around Boston was more interesting. You get to see the entire bay area of Boston.

Boston City Center.

Our last stop was the very old Quincy Market.

Its a market place where you find all sorts of food.

But the most famous in Boston is lobster and clam chowder and thats exactly what I had for lunch.

After lunch, my tour officially ended. The bus took me back to New York City where it all began.

Back to New York.