28 December 2014

THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES

The last of "The Hobbit" series, this movie directed by Peter Jackson stars Martin Freeman as Bilbo the Hobbit, Ian McKellen as Gandalf the Grey, Richard Armitage as King Thorin Oakenshield, Luke Evans as Bard the Bowman, Cate Blanchett as Galadriel the royal elf, Christopher Lee as Saruman the White, Orlando Bloom as Legolas Greenleaf, Evangeline Lilly as Tauriel, Dean O' Gorman as Fili, Aidan Turner as Kili and many others.

It took off where it ended last December with Smaug the dragon which was awoken from his slumber and wreaked havoc on Laketown. Bard, who eventually killed Smaug with the black arrow, led the survivors to the Lonely Mountain, as news of the death of Smaug spread to the rest of Middle Earth. Meanwhile at Dol Guldur, an imprisoned Gandalf was rescued by Galadriel, which brought on a brief battle between Sauron aided by his Ringwraiths and Galadriel, Elrond and Saruman. A corrupted Galadriel managed to cast Sauron and the Ringwraiths from the fortress before collapsing.

Back at Erebor, tension mounted among Thorin and his dwarves as he was afflicted by Smaug's dragon sickness to find the Arkenstone. He ended up distrusting Bilbo and his dwarves and refused Bard's negotiation for peace. A battle was ensuing between Thorin and his dwarves, Thranduil and his army of Elves and Bard and the townsfolk before two other armies comprising Thorin's cousin Dain who led another dwarf army and Azog the defiler and his Orc army all converged together to fight the titular battle. The dwarf brothers Fili and Kili were unfortunately killed by Azog's son and Orc chieftain Bolg during battle. Legolas slayed Bolg to rescue a grieving Tauriel who had a relationship with Kili just as Azog and Thorin killed each other, but not before Thorin mended his relationship with Bilbo before his death.

Peace was restored after the Orc army was defeated and Bilbo, still in possession of the ring, left the dwarves to return home and Legolas took Thranduil's advice and departed in search of the Dunedain Ranger. The movie ended with a 111 years old Bilbo sixty years later, who was reminiscing his past adventures in his abode, receiving a visit from his old friend Gandalf. That marked the start of the other movie series "The Lord of the Rings" that preceded "The Hobbit".

I read that some audiences were disappointed with this movie but I wasn't. I did find it kind of entertaining, I must admit.
Smaug destroying Laketown

the menacing Smaug

Galadriel after rescuing Gandalf

Gandalf and Bard the Bowman

Bard face-to-face with the Elven army

the ensuing battle of the dwarfs, elves and Laketown's folks

Kili
the dwarf contingent

Bilbo and Thorin
Legolas and Tauriel

Azog, leader of the Orcs

26 December 2014

SECRET LIFE OF PLANTS

the uncommon Phlogacanthus
The Secret Life of Trees has always been one of my favourite gardens of the World of Plants. Here are just some of the interesting plants such as the Phlogacanthus turgidus, Spathoglottis cultivars and two varieties of Mussaenda erythrophylla.

close-up of the flowers

Spathoglottis cultivar



the red bract Mussaenda




the more common white flowers

the yellow star-shaped flowers


the red sepals

CHRISTMAS WONDERLAND

The Christmas Festival Market came to an end on 21 Dec 14. Fortunately, I managed to take these photos on 15 Dec 14 before the onset of rain.

For almost every night, the Supertree Grove came to life not just because of the OCBC Rhapsody but also because of the Festival Market of the Christmas Wonderland.

I also managed to take some time-lapsed photos, which I thought were quite interesting.
the resolution of the iphone is not good for night long distance photos

the very popular Spalliera

the inside of Culina




the Supertree Grove was lit up for the occasion

the crowd was overwhelming







the Casa Armonica







a pink Cryptanthus bivittatus



Crescentia alata





a half lit Copernicia




the Mussaenda erythrophylla looked good even under the night lights






Coleus



the GB booth


the interesting murals on the Spiegeltent






the spiegeltent from afar

items in Isetan

panoramic view of the Spalliera


a Hosta cultivar in the Flower Dome


a fake looking but real Dahlia cultivar






a driftwood goose



the arch at the Arrival Space




the arch at the Dragonfly Bridge

view from the Dragonfly Bridge