Movie Time with Family

We figured out a pretty good way to spend family time on a weekend and at the same time immersed ourselves in movies we like with the people we love!

And so, off we went to the City Link Mall - DC watched Ip Man 3 with his dad, while I watched The Good Dinosaur with my kiddos! :)

It was a pity the kiddos still could not appreciate movies yet - A kept asking where his daddy and grandpa were, subsequently to the toilet and B was afraid of the dinosaurs and sound effects... but, they did have a big deal of fun after the show! I took them on a free trolley car ride and then we went to have some fun activities at the stations set up in City Link Mall, thanks to 2 Samaritans who handed us free passes that they didn't need (passes come with spending at the mall)!

Ip Man 3

CAST
Donnie Yen, Max Zhang Jin, Lynn Hung, Patrick Tam, Bryan Leung, Karena Ng, Kent Cheng, Louis Cheng, Danny Chan, Babyjohn Choi, Mike Tyson

DIRECTOR
Wilson Yip

GENRE
Action/ Drama

RELEASE
24-12-2015

RUNNING TIME
105 minutes

SYNOPSIS
Ip Man (Donnie Yen) takes on disciple, Bruce Lee, and engage in frequent sparring sessions to hone his skill after seeing great potential. Meanwhile, a well-known property developer-cum-street fighter played by American boxer Mike Tyson, challenges Ip Man in an incredible showdown of Wing Chun kung fu versus heavyweight boxing. In a never-seen-before union of Ip Man, Bruce Lee (revived by computer graphics) and Mike Tyson, the past and the present unite as a tribute to two of China’s greatest fighters.

The Good Dinosaur
CAST
Jeffrey Wright, Frances McDormand, Maleah Nipay-Padilla

DIRECTOR
Peter Sohn

GENRE
Animation

RELEASE
26-11-2015

RUNNING TIME
101 minutes

SYNOPSIS
"The Good Dinosaur" asks the question: What if the asteroid that forever changed life on Earth missed the planet completely and giant dinosaurs never became extinct? Pixar Animation Studios takes you on an epic journey into the world of dinosaurs where an Apatosaurus named Arlo makes an unlikely human friend. While traveling through a harsh and mysterious landscape, Arlo learns the power of confronting his fears and discovers what he is truly capable of.








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The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2

CAST
Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jeffrey Wright, Sam Claflin, Jena Malone

DIRECTOR
Francis Lawrence

GENRE
Action/ Adventure

RELEASE
19-11-2015

RUNNING TIME
136 minutes

SYNOPSIS
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 brings the franchise to its powerful final chapter, in which Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) realizes the stakes are no longer just for survival—they are for the future.










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Just realized that we have been watching every prior episodes of The Hunger Games at home! This has to be one of the very few films that DC rented that had succeeded in holding my attention to follow through the full duration without dozing off! :P

The rating was bad, probably because there weren't any action on the conquest of the Capitol but I thought the show was quite enjoyable and the ending was complete and acceptable.

Star Wars The Force Awakens

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

CAST:
John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Lupita Nyong’o, Gwendoline Christie, Domhnall Gleeson, Max von Sydow, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, Kenny Baker

DIRECTOR:
J.J. Abrams

GENRE:
Action/ Adventure

RELEASE:
17-12-2015

RUNNING TIME:
136 minutes


SYNOPSIS:
Star Wars: The Force Awakens is directed by J.J. Abrams from a screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan & Abrams, and features a cast including actors John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong’o, Gwendoline Christie, Crystal Clarke, Pip Andersen, Domhnall Gleeson, and Max von Sydow. They will join the original stars of the saga, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Kenny Baker. The film is being produced by Kathleen Kennedy, J.J. Abrams, and Bryan Burk, and John Williams returns as the composer. Star Wars: The Force Awakens is Episode VII in the Star Wars Saga.

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The sequel created such a buzz with the stomptroopers from the Galatic Empire appearing in the airport and shopping malls before its opening! Of course we wouldn't want to miss it out!

I rather enjoyed the show and loved BB-8, the newly introduced droid! It's a shame though, that the hope for a happy ending and a reunion of the disjointed family was dashed after Han Solo was killed by his own son...


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Pasta - kid's favourite

They like it. Packed lots of minced beef for A. Throw in mushrooms and bell peppers. I guess that should make for a good dinner :)

Packing on the veggies

I Salad for lunch and a bit of dinner.

Lettuce, cherry tomatoes, grapes, apples, olives, eggs, goat's cheese and Italian dressing.

Not too bad. Just need to cut back on the dressing next time.

Who are you?

I've been keeping up with the Korean dramas lately after I'm done with the reality varieties. Just something trivial... I realized that apart from the romance element which was found commonly in K-dramas, these dramas I watched recently could be broadly categorized under another theme - "Who Are You" (secret identities) even though they were of different genre!

Here goes the list (all very watchable!):

1. Yong Pal
Who are you, Kim Tae Hyun? A doctor or a quack (Yong Pal)?

2. School 2015
Who are you, Ko Eun Byeol? The popular student or victim of bullying (Lee Eun Bi)?

3. Oh My Ghostess
Who are you, Na Bong Sun? The assistant chef or the ghost (Shin Soon Ae)?

4. Hyde, Jekyll, Me
Who are you, Koo Seo Jin? The strict or the sweet (Robin)?

5. She Was Pretty
Who are you, Kim Hye Jin? The ugly but familiar or the pretty (Min Ha Ri)?

6. Kill Me Heal Me
Who are you, Cha Do Hyun? The gentleman, the bomb-maker uncle (Perry Park), the dangerous and cool (Shin Se Gi), the suicidal teenage boy (Ahn Yo Seob), the idol-chasing teenage girl (Ahn Yo Na), the little girl with bear (Na Na), or the mysterious Mr X (Father of Na Na)?

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A on a Hunt

I took A to library this evening (B was having her lesson and DC was doing his grocery shopping).

While I was searching for books to borrow, A came to me and asked me to help him find "15".

"15? What 15?"
"Shelf 15!"
"Oh book shelf No. 15!"
"Yes! Help me find!"

He couldn't find the library book shelf number "15" and pleaded me to look for it with him.

And so, A and I went on a hunt for the number "15" in the library.

Strangely, even I could not find it... There were 1, 2, 3...14 and there were 16, 17, ...22 but there was no 15!

After a few rounds of walking, we sought the librarian's help to locate the "missing" shelf.

"Ask and you shall be granted" That's what I told him, hehe...

Alas! The librarian couldn't find it too! But, she had her means...she went to the lift lobby, checked the directory and managed to lead us to the mystery shelf. :)

"找到了!" A exclaimed excitedly.

That ended our mini hunting game at the library... So it was a magazine rack!

Here's A and his 15:)

I love that ramen

Addicted to ramen recently. Right here in Suntec. The outlet is Keisuke Tokyo. They have tonkotsu (pork broth), shoyu, miso tonkotsu and anchovies soup. You can select whether to have less oil, less flavour for the soup and soft, normal or hard for the noodles.

I went for less oil, less flavour and normal for noodles. I find it just right. Full of flavour without getting too greasy. The noodles is so QQ, I think I basically just slurp it all up!

You only need order a bowl with single slice of pork. The 3-piece one is too full, even for big appetite me. 

Satisfying, fantastic. $14 including taxes. Shiok!

Spectre

SPECTRE

CAST
Daniel Craig, Christoph Waltz

DIRECTOR
Sam Mendes

LANGUAGE
English

RATING
PG13 - Some Violence

RUNTIME
148 mins

OPENING
05 Nov 2015

GENRE
Action Adventure

SYNOPSIS

A cryptic message from Bond’s past sends him on a trail to uncover a sinister organisation. While M battles political forces to keep the secret service alive, Bond peels back the layers of deceit to reveal the terrible truth behind SPECTRE.












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As usual, I wanted to go to all the places that James Bond had visited in the movie!

Love the way they start the movie (is there really a day of the dead in Mexico?) and love the theme song they played at the beginning.

Hmm... they made it seem like the last movie installment, wonder if it was really the case?


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TKD Grading

A had his TKD grading and we witnessed the whole process.

The purpose of us enrolling him to the sport was to build discipline in him and to tone him up.

During the grading, we saw how he moved his feet and body according to his master's orders, and broke the board with his bare hand with one strike, much to our surprise. I say, we pretty much achieved our aim! :) Undeniably, the credit went to the Master as few could move A like he did!

At the end of the session, he was presented with a yellow belt and we took a family picture together.

Look at how happy A was and how B posed for the picture...

It was a memorable occasion! Mummy's really proud of you, A! :)


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In the Eyes of A

 

I took this picture of A this morning on the way to the doctor's. (He was having cough on every other day for quite a while during this Haze period.)

What a handsome boy he looked in his mummy's eyes...

And strangely, in this same picture, you can see how he saw his Mummy and Daddy, in his eyes!

What can you see in the eyes of A?

I saw Mummy the photo-taking fanatic who always try to capture his every moment in life and Daddy the back-facing driver of his life! :)

After this picture, he requested for more pictures to be taken - of his new shoes, his hands and of his "Mercedes" driving wheels! Cool boy he was, in his sunglasses!

 

New Blog Header

It's been such long time since the change of the last blog header! We've been terribly busy in the past year that we overlooked the entry of the blog!

The new blog header features a picture we took during the SG50 National Day, that's why we're all in red! At a place that the family love...Gardens By The Bay. :)

Also updated the sidebar:
- Removed the twitter updates since we seldom tweet now
- Removed the community logo since it never served the desired purpose it was set out for
- Re-arranged the widgets to move the popular posts and my precious up
- Re-activated the ads (in progress)

Hi, my Name is Elsa Anna

"My Name is R. Elsa Anna C.!"

"Mummy, can you help me tie Elsa (or Anna) hair?"

"I want a long Elsa dress, Mummy!"

"Can I have a Elsa birthday party, Mummy?"

Rapunzel and Beauty were of the past and now comes Elsa! My 3yo girl was so in love with the characters of the popular movie Frozen that she now owned quite a number of its merchandise! Bag, long gown, crown, yellow blouse, doll, lego set...

To add to her collection, my sis brought her a new dress, a pink blouse and a white skirt with sparkles from Bossini. We got it on Fri and she wore them right away on the next opportunity on Sun!

Here's my Elsa shopping for more "Elsa" clothes on Sun at H&M:

I was quite fascinated by the vast collection the store got, they even had the jackets and boots for the winter! There, we bought her a new gown, a skirt, a leggings and a pack of Frozen socks... There were also the cute little shoes, blouses, PJs that the girly me also adored, I'll probably pay the store another visit to grab them all for her, hehe...

Today, she added to her collection an Elsa necklace which the nanny's daughter bought for her. Needless to say, she's thrilled over it!

[Updated on 23 Oct 2015] Another pink Frozen blouse from nanny! She wore it to her ballet lesson!

The Martian

The Martian

CAST:
Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Jeff Daniels, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Pena, Kate Mara, Sean Bean, Sebastian Stan, Mackenzie Davis

DIRECTOR:
Ridley Scott

LANGUAGE:
English

RATING
PG13 - Some coarse language and disturbing scenes

RUNTIME
142 mins

GENRE:
Action/ Adventure

OPENING
01 Oct 2015

RUNTIME:
142 minutes

SYNOPSIS:
During a manned mission to Mars, Astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meager supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive. Millions of miles away, NASA and a team of international scientists work tirelessly to bring “the Martian” home, while his crewmates concurrently plot a daring, if not impossible rescue mission. As these stories of incredible bravery unfold, the world comes together to root for Watney’s safe return. Based on a best-selling novel, and helmed by master director Ridley Scott, THE MARTIAN features a star studded cast that includes Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Kate Mara, Michael Peña, Jeff Daniels, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Donald Glover.

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Marvelous movie! Though DC thought it was a little slow the film, I was thoroughly enjoying it throughout!

I might have long given up hope and waited for my death if I were the one stuck on a remote planet such long distance away from home with all communications cut off!

Full admiration for the Astronaut to have survived this and the author that came up with this novel! :)

Lor mee for breakfast

Lor mee with fresh garlic and vinegar. Not bad. Missing the ngoh giant though. Only medium bowl up for $4. $5 for big. Crowd seemed to have moved to this stall - 新美香卤面 at Old Airport Rd Hawker Center. Gravy slightly salty near the end. Not as satisfying to slurp every single bit. Think I will go back to the previous stall I had - 香记卤面. 

Coffee for 90c. A rarity nowadays the price.

Attack on Titans 2

Not as griping as the Part 1. Probably because we already had seen Eren transformed in Part 1 and the surprise is gone. The anime is still worth watching as it can cover more ground. In film, you had to adapt and that cut away some of the original essence.

Sicario

Watched this today. Fantastic movie. The Delta force seemed highly realistic ... sound effects were great too. Don't watch it at home. It'll be a waste. Looking forward to more of Emily Blunt after "The Edge of Tomorrow" and this didn't disappoint.

Splurge on a lunch

Need a breather ... Gunther's came to my mind. I decided to splurge this time, just on myself. So I'm going to choose something not on the menu ... these ...

I had the Iwagaki oyster raw. It had a very creamy texture and it's BIG! With caviar sprinkled on top. $145++

Next is the must have cold angel hair pasta with ostrecia caviar. Never once disappointed. $40++

Moving on to the main, whole Maine lobster, de-shelled. Cooked with rice and tomato sauce. Lobster meat was a bit chewy in the body. Claws were the best. Sauce is just right, slightly sweet. $85++

By this time I was very full. It's a bit too much for one person so I didn't finish the rice. 

Finished with strong coffee. Milk and no sugar. Bitter but just the way I like their coffee.

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Attack On Titans

Attack On Titans

CAST
Miura Haruma, Hasegawa Hiroki

DIRECTOR
Shinji Higuchi

LANGUAGE
Japanese

RATING
M18 - Violence and gore

RUNTIME
97 mins

OPENING
13 Aug 2015

GENRE
Action/ Adventure

SYNOPSIS
The story centers around Eren Yeager and his friends Mikasa and Armin. 100 years ago, mankind was almost wiped out by giant humanoid creatures called Titans who devour humans. To defend themselves against the Titans, the surviving few forged massive walls and since then all of humanity has been enclosed within these walls. Peace and refuge was hard fought but it came at the expense of freedom. Generations of human kind thereafter never had a chance to venture beyond those giant walls and the existence of Titans gradually became mere myth. Without any knowledge of the world beyond those walls, teenager Eren and his friends Mikasa and Armin have lived peacefully until one day, the walls were destroyed by a colossal giant. Countless giants followed, breaking through the walls and destroying everything in their path. Vowing revenge and to reclaim their homeland from the Titans, Eren and Armin join the Survey Corps to fight the Titans.

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We're both fans of this anime, so of course we'll find time for this no matter what! DC said this was one of his best movies this year. We will be eagerly waiting for the next installment to be shown, either anime or movie! :)

Marvel's Ant-Man

MARVEL'S ANT-MAN

CAST
Evangeline Lilly, Paul Rudd

DIRECTOR
Peyton Reed

LANGUAGE
English

RATING
PG - Some violence

GENRE
Sci-Fi

RUNTIME
117 mins

OPENING
16 Jul 2015

SYNOPSIS
The next evolution of the Marvel Cinematic Universe brings a founding member of The Avengers to the big screen for the first time with Marvel Studios. Armed with the astonishing ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength, master thief Scott Lang must embrace his inner-hero and help his mentor, Dr. Hank Pym, protect the secret behind his spectacular Ant-Man suit from a new generation of towering threats. Against seemingly insurmountable obstacles, Pym and Lang must plan and pull off a heist that will save the world.

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DC and I took time again to watch this together...

I've never heard of any ant-man, probably DC did since he was an avid reader of comics. An amazing and entertaining movie this was!


P.S. Watch out for the mid-credit scene and post-credit scene (yup, 2 scenes). I'll be back for the sequel! :)

A's birthday celebration

We had a good and relaxing lunch at Ellenborough Market Cafe, Merchant Court Hotel. Food was good and of course, the durian pengkat had many people rushing for it.

A was on his best behaviour and enjoying the attention, food and occasion.

爸爸去哪儿

Recently I don't have the energy and time to watch long dramas... I switched to the more entertaining variety shows instead e.g Running Man, 我是歌手， 一路上有你， 爸爸去哪儿. ..

Really love this TV programme 爸爸去哪儿!

It features how the groups of 5 celebrity daddies and their child(ren) overcome a series of challenges in 3D2N trips to 6-7 different states of china. At the end of each tasks, both parents and children grew their bonds and understanding towards one another. I think I could not be able to survive some of the harsh conditions e.g. staying in rural village without water supply, cooking with limited ingredients, etc. I'm better off at home or on my staycations. :P

I always bug DC to watch it, so he could learn from the other daddies and also see for himself how different daddies have their similar challenges with their child. I also showed some of the episodes to A and B to teach them to share and not to fight. 

I've completed Season 1 and Season 2. Season 3 is showing this month (next week!), can't wait!

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Terminator Genisys

TERMINATOR GENISYS

CAST: Emilia Clarke, Arnold Schwarzenegger
DIRECTOR: Alan Taylor
LANGUAGE: English
RATING: PG13 - Violence and brief coarse language
RUNTIME: 126 mins
OPENING: 25 Jun 2015
GENRE: Sci-Fi

SYNOPSIS:
When John Connor (Jason Clarke), leader of the human resistance, sends Sgt. Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) back to 1984 to protect Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke) and safeguard the future, an unexpected turn of events creates a fractured timeline. Now, Sgt. Reese finds himself in a new and unfamiliar version of the past, where he is faced with unlikely allies, including the Guardian (Arnold Schwarzenegger), dangerous new enemies, and an unexpected new mission: To reset the future…














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DC and I enjoyed this movie, even though it garnered generally negative ratings from the international critics. I guess the locals, like us still like it, as seen from the 4/5 popcorns given by the GV Movie Club member's reviews.

What's there to expect from this movie? With Arnold Schwarzenegger and his famous line "I'll be back", it'll be enough, isn't it? Not quite, in this Terminator 5, also look out for Lee Byung-hun (DC's favorite Korean actor) who acted as T-1000, Emilia Clarke (She was Daenerys Targaryen, the mother of dragons in the Game of Thrones) as Sarah Connor.

And yes, there was a post credit scene, do wait for it...

San Andreas

SAN ANDREAS

CAST: Dwayne Johnson, Carla Gugino, Alexandra Daddario, Ioan Gruffudd, Archie Panjabi, Hugo Johnstone-Burt, Art Parkinson, Paul Giamatti
DIRECTOR: Brad Peyton
GENRE: Action Drama
OPENING: 28-05-2015
RUNNING TIME: 115 minutes

SYNOPSIS:
After the infamous San Andreas Fault finally gives, triggering a magnitude 9 earthquake in California, a search and rescue helicopter pilot (Dwayne Johnson) and his estranged wife make their way together from Los Angeles to San Francisco to save their only daughter. But their treacherous journey north is only the beginning, and when they think the worst may be over… it’s just getting started.


















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DC and me watched this separately at cinema during our free time...

Another daddy-rescuing-daughter movie after the Taken series... almighty father and quick thinking daughter was the key to the search and rescue mission. There was action in the sky, on the grounds and waters. The good ending is worth the watch, although the acting could be better, esp the mother's.

After the movie, I couldn't help but to feel for the victims who went through the recent Sabah quake!

Jurassic World

JURASSIC WORLD

CAST: Judy Greer, Chris Pratt Pratt
DIRECTOR: Colin Trevorrow
LANGUAGE: English
RATING: PG13 - Some violence
RUNTIME: 125 mins
OPENING: 11 Jun 2015
GENRE: Action Adventure

SYNOPSIS
Steven Spielberg returns to executive produce the long-awaited next installment of his groundbreaking Jurassic Park series, Jurassic World. Colin Trevorrow directs the epic action-adventure from a screenplay he wrote with Derek Connolly. Frank Marshall and Patrick Crowley join the team as producers.



















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Beautiful theme park, great thrilling scenes. DC thinks it's one of the best movies this year!

I was amused by how the zookeepers and parents are imitating this scene (below) LOL!: