I can’t look at the URL printed on this bag and not think of the “salt and battery” (assault and battery) couples costume concept, which relies on the two meanings of “battery”. It’s kind of a tasteless pun, despite the salt!
Junior Page book sale at Novena Square atrium
I just recently bought ten books at an atrium sale, but that didn’t stop me from browsing the Junior Page atrium sale and buying these six.
- The King Arthur Trilogy by Rosemary Sutcliff
- How We Learn by Benedict Carey
- Screenwise by Devorah Heitner
- Head in the Cloud by William Poundstone
- Born Reading by Jason Boog
- Peak by Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool
The cashier asked me how long it was going to take me to read them, as if either I had a superpower or was biting off more than I could chew. I think most of the people shopping the sale were only buying one, two, or three books at a time. Tough to make back the rental fees at that rate, I would think.
And yet in Square 2, the shopping mall next door, there was ANOTHER atrium book sale running at the same time.
Pacific Rim: Uprising (2018)
The things people are saying about this sequel sound like the kinds of things they could safely say without ever bothering to watch the movie: it’s just a loud, boring mess because it doesn’t have the benefit of Guillermo del Toro’s creativity like the first one, which wasn’t even all that popular. Fine. Even the kindest reviews say the sequel is only an echo of the 2013 original.
What I think is NOT fair to say (and a review at Roger Ebert agrees with me) is that Uprising is as bad as Michael Bay’s Transformers movies. I only watched the first one. That, now that was loud and boring. And crass! I am not a Transformers fan, but I am still mad at Michael Bay for somehow being able to mess up a movie about sentient cars, because that is such a cool concept. (I’ll stick with Herbie, thanks.)
https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/pacific-rim-uprising/id1358451634
See below for a shorter-than-usual plot summary with SPOILERS in the form of a beat sheet in the style described in Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat.
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)
Welp, I’ve checked another Robin Hood adaptation off the list.
I can only recommend it if you are trying to watch every movie the esteemed Alan Rickman has ever been in, or if you, like me, are interested in tales of the popular folkloric hero Robin Hood regardless of how well they’re told. (In this case, not very.)
https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/robin-hood-prince-of-thieves/id560715672
Parts of this version reminded me of the much happier and tamer 2006 Robin Hood television series.
The Wikipedia list of film and television adaptations includes quite a few more versions, including a new movie scheduled for this year.
Jumanji (1995)
Jumanji is based on a creepy-looking picture book by Chris Van Allsburg that’s also called Jumanji.
It’s an expensive, high-tech movie, but the plot (perhaps unsurprisingly) ends where it starts (in the past), and all the accumulated damage is reversed.
I have trouble believing the giant crocodile was ever convincing, and the effects team admits to basing the monkeys on no monkey in particular, but the plants were pretty cool, and the stampede was amazing.
The running gag with the car was hilarious, and it was fun to see Robin Williams act the part of the man-child from the jungle. He’s awfully good at being silly and yet serious, as he is in Hook (which I liked better).
Not out of Hate by Ma Ma Lay (thoughts on postcolonial literature)
I posted some background information and opinions on Not Out of Hate in a post about the book on Asian Books Blog.
This post explains why I chose this Burmese novel to feature in my Backlist books column, even though I didn’t start out with the intent to study Southeast Asian postcolonial literature.
Continue reading Not out of Hate by Ma Ma Lay (thoughts on postcolonial literature)
Tomb Raider (2018)
The rebooted Tomb Raider, like its bizarre 2001 predecessor, is an archaeological action-adventure movie based on a video game starring a feisty, attractive young woman named Lara Croft.
There is much that you’d expect: a mysterious ancient text, an exotic locale, booby traps, and of course a plunge off a cliff into a river that flows towards the inevitable waterfall. However, although the waterfall itself is no surprise, the scene where Lara barely escapes going over the edge of it has to be seen to be believed. It isn’t quite like any other.
It’s not just the details that are different; the backstory is new, too. In the 2001 movie, Lara is rich and lives in the family mansion like some kind of female Bruce Wayne. In the 2018 movie, she’s a penniless hipster who refuses to take possession of her inheritance because it would mean giving up hope that her missing father will return.
I enjoyed it. The consensus seems to be that although the leading actress (Alicia Vikander) did a great job, Tomb Raider was disappointing. Sadly, this origin story was obviously intended to make way for a sequel—one that may never materialize.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/tomb-raider-2018/id1348879664
Tomb Raider Reviews
- Roger Ebert says it was better than expected, and doesn’t feel like it’s copying from a game.
- Variety calls it a “rare thing, a propulsive blockbuster with a bit of heart” and “escapism that breathes”.
- The Guardian‘s Peter Bradshaw was bored.
Times book sale at the Centrepoint atrium
I do not need more books, but I love looking through the random collection of not-quite-current titles whenever I see an atrium sale. The serendipity of it is what appeals. I can’t not buy discounted books on topics I find interesting!
I bought:
- How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell
- The Eighty-Minute MBA by Richard Reeves and John Knell
- Simplicity by Edward de Bono
- Neurotribes by Steve Silberman
- A Field Guide to Lies and Statistics by Daniel Levitin
- Happiness by Design by Paul Dolan
- Malaysa Singapore: Fifty Years of Contentions 1965 – 2015 by Kadir Mohamad
- Passage of Time: Singapore Bookstore Stories 1881 – 2016 by Chou Sing Chu Foundation
- 101 Books to Read Before You Grow Up by Bianca Schulze
- The Movie Book by DK
Slightly awkward but perfectly serviceable English on this clothes rack box
I have doubts about the “uniqueness” of the “workmanship” of the clothes rack, but the assembly instructions are quite respectable. See below for details.
Continue reading Slightly awkward but perfectly serviceable English on this clothes rack box
A Wrinkle in Time (2018)
This ambitious film adaptation of a ground-breaking children’s sci-fi novel was faithful to the book in fits and spurts, and in some ways it was better. Still, I agree with the box-office receipts on this one: not a winner.
I’m biased towards the book because I read it growing up and remember it vividly. Since screenplays can’t accommodate as many details as even the shortest of novels, liking this movie was going to be difficult in any case. That being said, the movie has some real flaws, about which, more below.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/a-wrinkle-in-time-2018/id1353642886
See below for some comparisons with the book and a list of reviews as well as a plot summary with SPOILERS in the form of a beat sheet in the style described in Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat.
