ENDER'S GAME

"Ender's Game" is just the first of a series of science fiction books by the author Orson Scott Card. Starring Harrison Ford, Ben Kingsley, Asa Butterfield, Hailee Steinfeld and others, it is a story set in a future time where the gaming kids were tested, handpicked for their potential and trained by the Military to fight and defend Earth against an alien insect race which attacked Earth once before.

Ender was the brightest among a group of computer kids and through his wits, courage and strategies, led his team of precocious kids like him to exterminate the alien bugs and destroyed their planet through computer games training, but not before he realized the truth that the final test wasn't a computer simulated programme after all and that they were playing in real time and killed every single living bug on their planet. Horrified by his own deed, he felt betrayed by the Military for lying to him and responsible for the death of an entire bug species which he tried to understand and communicate with in an attempt to prevent a war. With deep remorse, he discovered that the aliens were not out to launch another attack against Earth but were making preparations to defend themselves against the impending attack by the humans.

Anyway, with his connection with the Queen bug, he also found out that the remaining Queen on Earth was trying to communicate with him through his dreams before the final attack. His conscious bugged him, pun unintended, and he went on to find a remaining bug egg, that was to be the future Queen, on Earth and eventually set off to search for a planet that would allow the egg to hatch to continue the bug species lineage.

It was an entertaining movie and was actually quite strange to find the young pre-teenage skinny and scrawny Asa took control and commanded a team of cadets and soldiers to do his bidding in the battle against the bugs. Anyway, the acting by the entire cast was quite credible and I look forward to more future installments of the series. 

SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN

Today's weather - sunny

This movie was made for a mature audience compared to the recent one "Mirror Mirror" starring Julia Roberts and gave a different take on the same fairy tale. It was darker and more entertaining, by my standards.


This newer version stars Charlize Theron as Queen Ravenna, Kristen Stewart as Snow White, Chris Hemsworth as Eric the widowed Huntsman and Sam Claflin as Prince William. The movie drew flak in the US for getting normal height actors to portray the seven dwarfs and used CGI effects to superimpose their heads onto real life dwarf actors.


I know I am biased but I absolutely adore Charlize in her role as the cold, icy and evil queen who was driven to desperation by the circumstances surrounding her life. She was as excellent and splendid as I expected her to be and her name Ravenna was supposedly chosen to draw a parallel between her and the crows that gave her form. On the other hand, I felt Kristen was miscast as the pure, innocent and yet strong-minded Snow White. She definitely looked older than her character and at times, I thought she channeled Bella from the "Twilight" movie series with the same limited sad and longing expression. I think some other actress would have been more suitable than her to play Snow White. There was no breakthrough for Chris though and he was in his usual form. At certain angles, his entire face and facial hair reminded me of a half-man and half-ape. I would definitely suggest that he plays the role of an ape or ape-man in movies such as "Planet of the Apes". Sam played second fiddle as the Prince who surprisingly, wasn't the one who revived Snow White from death. In fact, unbeknownst to all, Eric was the one who broke the spell when he kissed Snow White on her death bed. From the Huntsman who was sent to hunt her down and kill her, he ended up protecting her until the very end.


The mystical dark forest and the sanctuary, where fairies live, were interesting and provided a stark contrast between the two. The latter was beautiful and was every bit like an enchanted forest with magical creatures and plants. Like the characters Snow White, Eric and the seven dwarfs, I was completely immersed in the fairy land until the magical white stag was suddenly shot by an arrow from the pursuing army and burst the bubble.


Finally, the ending showed Snow White being crowned as the Queen and with her were all her loyal subjects including Prince William, but she appeared distracted and looked around until her gaze fell on Eric. Only then did she finally relax and manage a smile. From this, it was evident that even Snow White could not resist Thor, I mean the widowed Huntsman. It is poignant because despite her power, she would not be able to get together with Eric given their different social status. The movie ended on that note, presumably to give viewers the room to decide for themselves how they want it to end. 

MIRROR MIRROR

Today's weather - sunny

Of late, Hollywood have been making movies based on well known fairy tales. Last year, I watched "Red Riding Hood" which was nothing like the fairy tale.


This year, there are 2 movies on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The first to hit our screens, stars the pretty woman Julia Roberts as the evil queen, Phil Collins' daughter Lily Collins as Snow White, Armie Hammer as the Prince and Nathan Lane as the queen's servant.


This movie definitely appeals mainly to kids and possibly adults with its humorous theme. In comparison, the other upcoming Snow White movie starring Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth and Charlize Theron is most definitely darker and made more for the adult audience.


Lily Collins is sweet but I found myself constantly distracted by her bushy eyebrows. Armie Hammer seemed more like a decorative piece in the movie by just looking pretty, I mean handsome. The best thing about this slow-paced and predictable movie comes from Julia Roberts. I have not seen her movies for a while and she was still radiant as ever. Her acting and delivery of the role were so natural as if she was born to do so. To me, this movie should be about the evil queen and not Snow White. Another thing worth mentioning is the elaborate and vibrant costumes won by the main cast of actors or rather actresses.

ART

The moment I laid my eyes on this art piece at a venue in Queen Street, I am reminded of the Cissus trellis at the Singapore Botanic Gardens, which I posted before. Did the artist get his/her inspiration from it, I wonder?