Thor 3D Movie review

Just last week, I watched a movie entitled Thor 3D. Here is a short synopsis of the movie:

Thor, a powerful but arrogant warrior, is sent down to Earth as punishment for reigniting a reckless war. But after a dangerous villain from his world sends the darkest forces of Asgard to invade Earth, the hammer-wielding Thor will learn what it takes to be a true hero in order to save mankind.

(taken from http://www.nowrunning.com/movie/8995/english/thor-3d/preview.htm)

What did I like about the movie?

First, let me talk about the successful setting of the movie. The movie started by showing the audience many large, golden buildings, with large golden palaces. One can almost immediately envision this setting as the future of Earth, where the gods live, and peace and tranquillity rules the land. Later, we are transferred to another world where we see ice all around, where shadows lurked everywhere. It was both an eerie and dull place, and this lets the audience feel the evil that is resonating from the world. Finally, we are taken to a scene we are more familiar with, which is Mexico. It was portrayed as a busy city where work and life carries on as usual, giving audience the feel of a typical day at work. These contrasting settings really had much detail and it actually gives the audience a hint of what was going to happen. For example, at the icy world, the eerie setting actually hints the audience that something bad was going to happen. As I see this change in the vivid description of the various settings, it makes me want to know more about what was going to happen, making my interest in the show all the more intense which, I will say, was really true for me. Therefore I would say the plus point of this movie was that it achieved the aim of describing the settings.

Besides that, I would say that the characterisation of the main characters were well done. The movie uses their actions and words to show, not tell, the distinctly different personalities of the different characters. For example, the movie showed Thor shouting "But now I am king!", showing the ferocity and defiance of Thor to his father.

Finally, I would have to say the futuristic feeling of the movie in overall was a contributing factor to the movie's success. These futuristic feelings were shown both in words and in the appearances of the people or buildings. For example, words like "Realm", "Catalyst" and "Way gate" were used, and pictures like the laser like beam when the space shuttle shot through the space were shown. As an audience, one really likes the idea of futuristic things in a futuristic world, and in my opinion, this movie has tapped on my, and the general audience's like of futuristic implications to make the movie even more interesting.

In conclusion, I would say I enjoyed the movie especially due to the above three reasons which made it stand out from ordinary movies. Of course, it is no different from any other movies in terms of an interesting beginning, rising action, climax and resolution.

General Elections 2011 -- A dismay to PAP

Why did the PAP get such a poor polling percent this year?

Today, let me analyse the reasons that led to the downfall of PAP in terms of the General elections 2011. Here are some statistics to show the number of votes attained as an overall percentage:

Year 2001 : 75.3%
Year 2011 : 60.1%

It can be seen that there has been a large dip in the number of votes the PAP has received this year, and this should be, in my opinion, a wakeup call to the government to self examine themselves.

What went wrong?

Negligence

First and foremost, the PAP has been closed towards the people’s views on issues, making themselves oblivious to what the people of Singapore were going through.

For example, it was reported in the Straits Times that Khaw Boon Wah, minister of health for Singapore, paid only $8 for a treatment for his heart surgery due to the many subsidies he received. With this, he claimed how great Medisave and Medishield were. However, what he was oblivious to was that, the people of Singapore paid by the thousands for a heart surgery. How did the minister get such a cheap price? People were complaining .This made people very angry as the minister does not even know that the policy he mentioned only worked for a small group of people. He was unaware about the reality being that medical care was really expensive and not enough has been done to help the citizens.

Admits mistakes at the eleventh hour

Why did the government not realise or admit the mistakes that resulted to challenges Singapore faced today? Just before the elections, it can be heard all over the radios, televisions, that the prime ministers apologise for the rising cost of living etc. Also, why was there this "Talk with the Prime Minister" show to allow communication between the government and citizens only one month before the election?

Before this, no mention of these problems were ever made. Why was this the case? The PAP claims to be a responsible, honest party, but I think by doing this, they violated their values that people cherished. In my opinion, the government could have identified these problems, and implement solutions way before the elections. This is also a problem of negligence. The government did not even know that such problems exist.


Weak candidates

Another crucial factor was the candidates the government sent in. A large number of candidates which will form the Parliament were mostly newcomers and had little or no experience on politics. What I feel was the worst thing the government did was: to put candidates just to feel up empty seats or to take over from the senior politicians.

The most controversial figure would be Tin Pei Ling. The way she presents herself says it all. Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong even admitted later that "Tin Pei Ling was a factor of weakness". This shows that the PAP did not vet through their candidates properly before sending them for the elections. A sign of arrogance, this was also not accepted by the public.

What is the takeaway I got from this general elections?

From this General elections, I learnt that I should not take what I have for granted. Whatever we have, we must treasure. Let me give an analogy. People do not live forever, one will grow old someday and eventually pass away from the face of the Earth. In this limited time that person is with us, if we do not tell the person what we want to tell, we might never get a second chance. The same thing applies for the General elections. If the government does not look after its citizens before the next election, the government might lose its place, and there might never be a second chance to reclaim it once the trust from the citizens is lost.

Another takeaway from this General elections would be the result of complacency. In my opinion, the root of all the problems the PAP faced this year was complacency. There are many examples to show how the PAP were complacent, such as not being receptive to ideas, poorly organised new team of candidates and refusal to admit mistakes right from the beginning. Let us not follow the emperor in ancient China, where the doors were closed to the outside world. Complacency will result to a downfall.

Conclusion

Nonetheless, PAP has managed to retain its government to a large extent. Let this be a second chance to prove to the citizens of Singapore that the PAP has what it takes to govern Singapore in the next elections, and make the people of Singapore have no doubts next time when casting their votes.

Should the Parents Maintanence Act be abolished?

Parent Maintenance Act definition:

The Act provides for Singapore residents aged 60 years old and above, who are unable to subsist on their own, to claim maintenance from their children who are capable of supporting him but are not doing so. Parents can sue their children for maintenance, in the form of monthly allowances or a lump-sum payment. The Act also establishes the Tribunal for the Maintenance of Parents to decide on applications made under the Act.

Should not be abolished because...

I agree with the bill because I feel that while the number of abandoned parents was small, it is a social safeguard against rise in the aging population and against a possible trend of young Singaporeans with the mindset that individuals should be allowed to do as they pleased.

Should be abolished because...

I disagree with the Bill because it would substitute moral obligation with legal duty of a child, and this might lead to widened relationship gaps between the children and parents. Filial Piety cannot be imposed upon children by law, and some parents refuse to use this bill as they do not want to bring their children to court. I also felt that in Asian values, children are committed to taking care of their parents and there was no necessity for legislation.

From the perspective of the child, home prices are rising, and medical costs as well as the general cost of living going up all the time, and many are already struggling to cope with this. Home price index are expected to increase by 8% for 2011 alone, and Singapore's cost of living is already the 11th highest in Asia. The burden of these cost already fall on the children, and this bill should be abolished as it is the government who should be supporting the needy elderly.

Furthermore, the elderly have worked hard towards building the Singapore we have today. Instead of shirking its responsibility towards the elderly and resorting to the law to get their children to toe the line, the Government should share a large part of the burden for elderly care. This is because the elderly have paid taxes all their lives and they have done their part in raising the next generation. Moreover, Singapore is one of the richest countries in the world. According to CIA World Factbook measured by GDP per capita, Singapore ranks 6th in the world, with a GDP of $48,900. The government has the resources to take care of the elderly, and it is only right that our Government help take care of them in old age through well-thought out subsidies and welfare programmes as the elderly did contribute to Singapore's welfare.

In my opinion, instead of trying to find ways to tackle the root of the poor treatment of the elderly, the Government chooses to further add to the strain of the problem for the child, therefore I feel that the government should abolish this act, as the children should not be the one supporting their parents.

Conclusion

I would not say that I take a very strong stand on this matter, but I would like to say they are tend to side the abolishment of the act. In my opinion, the parents maintenance act is unnesscerily due to the many cons and loopholes to this policy. Therefore, if I were asked to say my opinion, I would say take it away.

How do I view different sorts of newspaper articles?

How has learning about newsworthiness and types of news articles (straight news articles and feature articles in different sections of the newspaper) affected the way you read newspapers?

Disclaimer : The articles used below are just for examples, and nothing else. Please do not read this post if you are offended by the articles.

What is a straight news article?

A straight news article is usually found in broadsheet newspapers. It is news that has much less scandal and gossip, and usually has much less sensational headlines. They are serious in tone, and the articles are objective, strictly for the reader to know more about what is happening in the world. They tends to have less pictures but longer and better written articles, with dense information packed in a single article.

What is a featured article?

A featured article is usually found in tabloid newspapers. Tabloids usually deal with news that include sleaze, corruption, sex scandals and other things that their traditionally working and new middle class readership apparently enjoyed. A Featured article is written with the main aim to entertain, and to a certain extent, inform the reader. It does contain some elements of the short story but it is written with a lead to get the reader's attention and then uses conversational tone to present the reader with information to evoke an emotional response. These type of articles normally contains more pictures and sentences are less dense with less information.

(See more in my previous post at http://nichtey.blogspot.com/2011/03/blog-prompt-newspapers.html)

How has this knowledge of the two sections affect the way I read newspaper?



(Above) Article posted in the new paper












Just recently, an article was published pertaining to the issue of "Only ACS(I) Boys are worth Dating". To me, this a quite a good example of a featured article.

Before I had the prior knowledge of what constitutes a featured article, or any other article for that matter, I would believe it for word for word. However, ever since I have been given the knowledge of what a featured article aims to do, and how it gets its information from, together with blowing it up with a sensational tone, I have became more discreet and filtered out information which I feel is inappropriate. I no longer believe the article whole heartedly, and usually if I want to confirm a fact, I would check back with other sources, including the straights news article, which is more serious in tone. For articles which I find is untrue, or overly blown up, I would just scan through the text with a pinch of salt.




(Above) Article in the Straits Times
















Not too long ago, an article was published in The Straits Times that Lim Hwee Hua will not contest next election. I find this a good straight news article.

Since young, I have always noticed much statistics in this type of articles that are used to back up their claim. For example, they usually consider the whole event from more than one person's perspective. Now that I know that these types of newspaper articles have the aim of providing accurate information to readers, I will start taking most things that is mentioned in strait news articles to be true. I can be assured of this because this is what a strait news article suppose to present : relevant facts and figures. Nonetheless, if I read any suspicious articles, I can still check back with other more reliable sources.

The Maycomb Tribune

This week, my teacher asked me to do a straight news article. I have written two regarding To Kill A Mockingbird on Bob Ewell's attack and Mrs Dubose Demise. I have linked the published work here, for your reading pleasure. Enjoy~

http://www.scribd.com/doc/54270406/The-Maycomb-Tribune

http://www.scribd.com/doc/54324765/The-Maycomb-Tribune-Article-Mrs-Dubose

Task 2: Diary entry

Imagine you are a character living through one of the 20th century Wars. You can be either a civilian or a soldier. (Consider the age, gender, social class, occupation etc of the character.) Write a diary entry from the perspective of this person. 

A day in the life of the lost war

Dear Diary,

World War 2 had erupted for some time now, and since then our country has been suffering consecutive defeats. Yesterday, France  surrendered.

Now, these arrogant German soldiers are pillaging and ransacking our homes like it is nobody's business. Life is tough, danger is abundant, and I just had a narrow shave yesterday......

It was morning. I was at home, preparing a meal for my family in our newly bought flat. The announcement of France's defeat blasted through the radios. Victorious songs in the name of Hitler was played relentlessly.

This was just like a nightmare come true. Could France really have lost to Germany? Weren't we promised that France would crush the pathetic German army?

 Just then, a truck cluttered noisily to my flat and screeched to a halt. Fear engulfed me, what could they possibly want? An eerie silence descended onto the once lively and cheerful flat. All I could here were shouts and commands from the commanders in their gibberish language. German soldiers started alighting from the truck, and in no time, the whole flat was crawling with these pesky insects.     

"Seize them! " shouted one of the commanders.

Finally, I understood something they said, but this was just more bad news. Just then, a blood piercing scream broke the silence in the room.

They were in the flat beside us. Rampant knocking on our door soon followed.  Having no choice, I opened it.

Books, cupboards, shelves and drawers were not spared. Not a stone was left unturned. Worst of all, they had taken my priceless, antique music score which I had treasured so much. Before they left, my mother and I were not spared. We were taken away from our homes.

We were separated, and I was taken to this warehouse, filled with rusty oil barrels, cobwebs and termite infested wooden tables. They tied me to a chair blindfolded me, then asked me to wait. Death seemed inevitable and all I could do was pray for the best.

Time seemed to move so slowly. A minute seemed like eternity. Flashbacks of what I did in the past seemed to whiz pass my brain. I remembered the time when I first picked up my instrument. I remembered the first time I had met her. I remembered the smiles on her when she sat through my first concert. Memories of happiness and joy soon seemed to drift me further and further from this world. A crash suddenly brought me back to the world.

Just then, the smell of buttered escargots drifted to me. Could this be a dream? Escargots is my most favourite food. I opened my mouth, and took a huge bite, but ended up biting my own tongue. Darn, that fragrance was unbearable. How long have I been tied here already?

The dream before the nightmare, I told myself. Footsteps clicked.

My blindfold was taken off. I looked up and to my amazement, a German soldier was actually smiling at me. "Release him!" he ordered.

I found out that it was actually my old friend at the national university. Relief seemed to set itself upon me. I was saved.

It was already night. I chatted with him as him settled a plate of escargots on the table. I told him about the abduction of my mother, but soon found out that she was now safely at home. This was really a blessing in disguise!

It's getting late, that's all for today.

Regards,

Nicholas

Online Lesson (Term 2, Week 5): A personal response to War

Story behind the picture:


A few moments ago, we were ambushed, and my commander was hurt. "Quick," I cried, "bring him to safety, let us run for our lives." I looked up and saw a bullet skim pass my face. Behind us, a solid wooden kind of barricade stood. When we were safely behind the line of fire, I could finally look at my commander's wound 


Task 1:


Select one of the photos / images and write a descriptive paragraph on it. Engage your 5 senses -- this means you should describe not only what is seen, but what is heard, smelt, tasted and felt. Use literary devices (sound, imagery, diction) to bring the scene to life.


The powerful legs that carried him through battle lay stretched before him, his shrieks of pain filled my ears. I looked at him, sorrow and grief engulfing me. Although we survived, a bullet had ripped through his spinal cord, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. In the distance, bullets cracked, and impending doom was certain to us. The stench of rotting flesh and dried blood soon overwhelmed us. The world was at its end. The seas had dried, the sun has faded, and the night was approaching. We had no medical treatment nor equipment, we had no way of getting out of this predicament.