Iron Man 3

Synopsis: Marvel’s “Iron Man 3” pits brash-but-brilliant industrialist Tony Stark/Iron Man against an enemy whose reach knows no bounds. When Stark finds his personal world destroyed at his enemy's hands, he embarks on a harrowing quest to find those responsible. This journey, at every turn, will test his mettle. With his back against the wall, Stark is left to survive by his own devices, relying on his ingenuity and instincts to protect those closest to him. As he fights his way back, Stark discovers the answer to the question that has secretly haunted him: does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man? [Source: Cathay Cineplexes]

 

Iron Man is just so cool! This season is based on events after the avengers, with Iron Man wondering just how far can he goes before he breaks. Instead of the usual out of the world fights using his latest invention, this time, he is forced to survive on his own from unseen enemies based on his instinct and capability. A good change of focus from the usual iron man series, which was good. Iron Man 3 was supposed to be the last installment planned by the developers, but based on his huge popularity, apparently this is not going to happen. Look out for the hint after the credits to confirm this. This is a definitely must watch show for the month! If possible, watch this in IMAX!

 

Rate: 8/10

SH 5205 - Incident Management

This is an open book exam, which means that the question answers are not found in lecture notes. What the lecturer expects is that student must apply the theory to the scenario given. 4 questions of 25 marks each. Tough questions that need a little bit of thinking to answer to the point with reference to the case study given. I manage to answer all questions, but I really have no gauge on how well I have fared. It seems that I have hit most of the point, but miss out on some other details. I think I won't do really well for this, but unlikely I will fail this module.

 

Expectation: B- (Actual: B)

A break of 1 week

Just finished the final presentation for the module for this semester. 2 more exams to go before this semester is over. I just can't wait to get it over and done with!

Olympus Has Fallen

Synopsis: When the White House (Secret Service Code: "Olympus") is captured by a terrorist mastermind and the President is kidnapped, disgraced former Presidential guard Mike Banning finds himself trapped within the building. As our national security team scrambles to respond, they are forced to rely on Banning's inside knowledge to help retake the White House, save the President, and avert an even bigger disaster. [Source: Cathay Cineplexes]

 

It has been a long time since Hollywood comes out a military action film that's decent. Combining intense action, close combats and never ending suspense into one, this film is worth all your money to spend 120mins with. I must say it is quite ridiculous at the start to let an unidentified airplane to be so near the white house and its 2x response fighter jets got shot down without much of a fight. But the after action of retaking the white house and fighting mind games with the terrorist is a joy to watch. In summary, this movie is a strong recommend.

 

Rate: 8/10

Assignments Crunch Week

After this semester, I shall always remember these toxic chemicals in the environment: PCDD/Fs, DL-PCBs, PBDE-49, PBDE-99, PBDE-209.

Most amazingly of all, they are all man-made, bio-accumulative in the seafood we eat, get stuck in the lipids of our body, and ultimately, causing us to malfunction, if present in a high enough concentration. The side effects of technology advancement and industrialization....

Hunter x Hunter: Phantom Rouge

Synopsis: The story revolves around Kurapika who became a Hunter to take vengeance on the Class-S crime group Phantom Troupe who massacred his clan for their unique eyes. The eyes of the Kurta clan turn scarlet in times of anger or emotional agitation and are considered the most beautiful treasures in the world. Kurapika continues to pursue the Phantom Troupe but an unknown party has stolen his "scarlet eyes". With the help of Gon, Killua and Leorio, Kurapika' s life was saved. However, the Phantom Troupe shows up before them and blocks their way. The true identity of the one with the No.4 spider tattoo is about to be unveiled. [Source: Cathay Cineplexes]

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This can be considered a side episode from the main storyline, focusing on the phantom spider No 4 that Hisoka replaces. It is quite refreshing to watch all the characters again, battling enemies with their special moves. One advice, if you have not watched the anime before or know about its storyline, please stay away from this movie. If you have completed the anime until the point it ended, please enjoy the show!

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Rate: 7/10

The Grand Master

Synopsis:

It starts as the story of Ip Man.
He was born and raised in Foshan. From the time of his youth he took part in contest after contest of skill in and around the Gold Pavilion. Then, one day, Master Gong arrived from the Northeast to hold a retirement ceremony at the Gold Pavilion.
One retires, one steps forward.
But who is entitled to be called a grandmaster? Ip Man? Master Gong?s daughter, Gong Er? The self-described 'rascal' of the Northeast? Or is it Master Gong, who took the Northern martial arts to the South?
Some are looking to recover what belongs to them. Others want to achieve enlightenment. Then there are those who are only ever able to start fires and light lamps, and those who observe the currents of a chaotic and war-torn world from the sidelines.
Kungfu, a horizontal and a vertical, falling, rising, charging forward, carrying on.
An era, rising and falling, scattering, regrouping, counter-attacking, advancing.
It starts in Foshan. Its heart is in Dongbei. Its feet are on the ground in Hong Kong.
This can no longer just the story of Ip Man.
It is the path of the grandmaster: Being. Knowing. Doing. [Source: Golden Village]

 

This is not exactly the type of movie that I am looking forward to. With Wong Kar Wai as the director, this movie turns out to be more of story telling and plot reflection rather than the fast and furious martial arts fight. It gets pretty confusing at times as the movie jumps around in different time zone. The movie can get boring at times, and on a side note, I really wonder why is the character "Razor" in the movie? He didn't seem to have any link with Ip-man, or is it a plot to make up the movie film time to 125 mins? My recommendation: Avoid this movie if you can.

 

Rate: 3/10 

Thailand Day 4 - River Taxi and Platinum Mall

07 Jan, 1100 - Last day of our Thailand trip. We slept late and woke up to have breakfast in Pair's house. After breakfast, we took a river taxi with Pair's mom down to Platinum Mall. It was an interesting and amazing experience that people can get to places via the series of river canals built over the years.

River Taxi

Platinum Mall

After the shopping trip at the mall, we proceed to the airport via the sky-train. It was a rather smooth ride and we arrived at the airport within 30 mins! With that, it marks the end of our 4 days journey in Bangkok. Congrats to Eve and Ong again and wish you two a blissful marriage!

Thailand Day 3 - Ko Kret Island

06 Jan, 1115 - Ko Kret (locally known as เกาะเกร็ด) is a small island located in Chao Phraya River in the province of Nonthaburi, and is some 2 km long and 1 km wide, 20 km north of Bangkok. Thank you Ong & Eve for sparing the time to bring us there. We enjoy the cycling trip round the island! =)

Stall selling fried vegges before boarding the boat to the island

Stopping by a local desert stall, which was retrofitted from the original timber house

Traditional pottery making

Beautiful Sunset by the river side

Roast Chicken for dinner! Yummy!

Thailand Day 2 - Ong & Eve Wedding

05 Jan, 1100 - So happy for both Ong & Eve that they are now finally husband and wife! This is the highlight and the main reason for our travel to Bangkok this year. We managed to meet up with some of our Cedar Point Thai friends and had a great day chatting with one another.

Catholic Wedding

Exchange of ring

Cedar Pointers!

The church where the wedding ceremony was held

Thai custom for the newly wed

The party begins at Pier 92

Complete with a river side view of Chao Phraya River

Ong & Eve - the newly weds

Cedar Pointers again

Evening view of the river

Thailand Day 1 - Bang Pa In Palace

04 Jan, 1200 - Board an early flight out of Singapore and touch down at Bangkok around 8am to attend a friend's wedding on Saturday. It has been such a wonderful journey to meet all the Thai friends from Cedar Point where it all began in 2009. Pair has graciously hosted us for this short trip and has planned to show us around Bangkok, starting with the Bang Pa In Palace in the adjacent province.

European Style palace build around the 1800s, which is unique in Thailand

A mixture of Europe and Thai Culture

Reflection in water

Chinese Style Palace which I think was influence by the close trade with the Qing Dynasty

Les Miserables

Synopsis: Ex-prisoner Jean Valjean is hunted for decades by the ruthless policeman Javert after he breaks parole. When Valjean agrees to care for factory worker Fantine's young daughter, Cosette, their lives change forever. [Source: Yahoo! Movies]

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Finally, the musical moves to the screen! Having seen the Broadway in NY, overall I think the movie is decent. The music is definitely not as nice, but the singing was relatively good. Screen play wise, it provides a better understanding of the story than the musical. This is definitely a must watch show for the holidays!
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Rate: 7/10

How I wish to go back to NY to relive the experience again...

CZ12

Synopsis: Also known as "Armour Of God III: Chinese Zodiac", "Chinese Zodiac" is a Hong Kong action film produced, written, directed by and starring martial arts veteran Jackie Chan. The movie is a sequel to "Armour Of God" and "Armour Of God II: Operation Condor", where Chan stars as a Chinese hero named Asian Hawk, who is not unlike Indiana Jones. This time, he has to bring back the bronze head statues of the 12 Chinese zodiac animals, which were sacked by the French and British armies from the imperial Summer Palace in Beijing in 1860. [Source: Yahoo! Singapore Movies]

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The movie was not as spectacular as what I expect. Most of the movie featured the old Jackie Chan style, running and jumping all over the place doing those seemingly impossible moves. One point that was interesting was the fight while free falling in mid air. That was really something new that he have not done before. Other than that, all is pretty normal and expected of a Jackie Chan movie.

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Rate: 6/10

Australia Day 6 part 2 - Fireworks at Darling Harbor

27 Oct, 1800 - With little time to spare, we decided to make full use of our pass bought on the first day and do sightseeing on a boat.

Enjoying the sunset at Manly Wharf

Luna Park in the night

Sydney Harbor Bridge with its lighting

As the time creep towards 8pm, we make our way down to darling harbor to wait for the last event of the day - Darling Weekend Fireworks

We had an enjoyable day indeed.

Australia Day 6 part 1 - Circular Quay & The Rocks

27 Oct, 0800 - Woke up early in the morning to visit the Rocks and to eat its famous pancake for breakfast. However, as we have forgotten where the restaurant is located, we have to resort to searching the shops around the area based on our memory from 3 years ago.

Managed to snap this beautiful picture from circular quay showing the Sydney Harbor Bridge in the background

A tree in full bloom

The iconic soldier on the Rock

And the restaurant "Pancakes on the Rock" selling its famous pancake. Luckily, we managed to find it and have a fulfilling breakfast =)

The weekend market out in full force. (Available only on Sat and Sun)

The Sydney Opera House

Sydney Opera House from a slightly different angle (Taken on a boat)

The Sydney skyline

The Luna Park, which we did not have a chance to visit

The Sydney Harbor Bridge

Live band performing in a cafe along the Opera House