The feature writing class, and why I do look like a 4th year undergrad student

I've been blogging for like 4 years now. My first blog was a mixed blog of Bahasa and English, and was on blogspirit .com. But after abandoned it for quite a while, err like 5 months, the domain was taken by a new user. Then friendster came along, equipped with a Blog for its users. So for a couple of years I filled up my friendster blog with my daily log in Bahasa and English.
After moving to Singapore, becoming a SAHM - stay at home Mom with many stories and experiences of motherhood, I decided to give my blogging a twist. I made a new blog in Blogger, , added some ads to it, made it 100% in English, and updated it whenever I am off duty from mummy hood.
Then I became so drawn into, and realized that I actually have a 'thing' for writing. So when I noticed an ads of a writing class, I said, why not?

So starting early April until last week of May, I'm officially student of a Feature Writing class. The experience of coming back to study in a classroom with other students was very entertaining. As well as the course material itself. I had to research, worked on some specific kind of writing, read some columns for comparison... I even wrote down and print out my homework even when I know it was not for submission. Talking about stuff I wouldn't normally do in my previous study, ha ha!

The course was taught by a somewhat famous local writer and poet named Felix Cheong. He was nice and even gave us an opportunity to tail him off an interview.

A funny story actually happened on that occassion. Felix introduced me as his intern and one of his students so the interviewee and some PR persons on the interview assumed I was a final year student from NUS or NTU (he taught in one of the Unis). Therefore, when Felix told them that I was actually from his "adult" class and that I was a mother of a -then- 8 months old baby, everyone's jaw just just dropped! Some of them even apologized to me for the false assumption. But I was OK and laugh it all off. I mean, why would I be angry if people thought that I look younger that I really am? Which also means, that those Younger Looking Balm freebies from Clarins really do works! :p

Taken, Wolverine, The International: The review

April and May is actually the best time to go to the cinema. Because good 'not-made-for summer-blockbuster' movies usually come out at this time of the year. Typical of this kind of movie is an action or drama movie from big or semi-big studio, with somewhat well known actors. Taken and The International fall into this category. Wolverine however, fits into a 'pre-summer blockbuster' movie. Basically, it's a supposedly blockbuster movie, but isn't competitive enough to be released in the summer.

Anyway and anyhow, here's my review:

Taken

Storyline, OK. Actors : somewhat OK, Liam Neeson is the only famous actor in this film. The dialogue was in English and French, some also in Croatian and even Arabic. The story is about an ex CIA agent who searched for his kidnapped daughter in France, allegedly a victim of human trafficking. I vowed to sleep while watching this film - hubby tricked me into watching this one- because I generally don't like the idea of the movie, but in the end, the film had moved me. Not only that I was fully awake by the end of the film, my heart was pumping blood, hard. An OK background story, but nice Plot and twist. Good formula of action and drama.

Wolverine:

Talk about Franchise. The fourth installment of the X-Men Genre, X-Men has proved itself as a very powerful franchise. Meaning we know already what to watch and and what to expect from the movie, and yet, still willing to spend 10 bucks + booking fee to watch it at the cinema. The title of the film actually already explains like 50% of the story : it's the storytelling of the origins of wolverine, prior to joining X-Men. So we'll see wolverine in his usual charm, running around chasing bad guys half naked with claws coming out from his fists. Blah.

Storyline: predictable. Actors and acting: quite OK. Dialogue: cornish. But CGI, entertainment factor and all : Perfect.

The International

I really don't know where to start. Well, the story is about an Interpol officer joining forces with a New York Assistant District Attorney to bring down a powerful yet corrupt Financial Institution. Supposedly good, right? It's a conspiracy theory kind of movie, except that, it is lack of conspiracy and too much violence instead.

Confession of an economic hit man as background story : check. Die another day - James Bond attitude : check. A bad and open ending: check.

Even the big name of Naomi Watts and Clive Owen can not save this film from doom.

Advice: Watch Taken and Wolverine (or the latter, you can buy the DVD instead), avoid The International, AT ALL COST.