Nonetheless, this recess week has been a nice respite from the grinding cycle of readings, tutorials, and writing up lecture notes for every topic of every module every week. I got some fun stuff in, to recharge my mental energy and get me ready to deal with the second half of the semester.
Here are some highlights.
Johnny English Strikes Again
In my humble opinion, the Johnny English film franchise is the best thing to happen in the realm of action comedy. Having greatly enjoyed the first two movies in the series, I almost fainted in delight when trailers for a third appeared early this year.
The movie had an aggressive marketing campaign behind it. Advertisements bombarded me on television, social media, and out-of-home. It certainly worked on me, as I coughed up some of my meagre pocket money on Thursday to take myself and my parents to watch the film.
We went to Shaw Cinemas at Punggol Waterway Point. Shaw is the most affordable cinema chain in Singapore with a regular adult ticket for weekday afternoons priced at $8.50, a dollar lower than the competition. It also offers unbeatable deals for students at $6.50 for a weekday afternoon screening, and seniors at $4.00 for the same. I bought one of each of the three types of ticket so I paid $19 in total.
Cost aside, Shaw is also very friendly to disabled patrons. Their website lists detailed instructions on accessibility arrangements to the various cinema halls, taking the guesswork out of trying to decide where to go to catch a movie as someone in a wheelchair. As disabled patrons are usually accompanied by caregivers, the cinema also provides a short row of three special seats right at the back of the hall next to the slot for the wheelchair, so that the caregivers are guaranteed to sit next to their charge. This special row of seats is usually blocked off and nobody can book them, and the counter staff at the box office will only open them up for booking when a disabled cinemagoer turns up with caregivers.
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| Screenshot of the Shaw Cinemas Waterway Point page. The blue box contains information specifically for disabled patrons. |
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| When the blue box is clicked, it expands to reveal the information inside. |
Let's give a round of applause to Shaw Cinemas.
Moving on, the film itself was a delight to watch and justified every single cent I spent on it, and then some. Though it may be chockfull of slapstick gags, sharp wit, wry British humour, and the evergreen rubbery facial expressions of Rowan Atkinson, the movie's plot unmistakably offers us a serious warning about the direction the world is currently heading in. With our ever-increasing reliance on digital services being controlled by an ever-shrinking pool of giant technology companies like Facebook and Google, we should be asking: "Are we really still in control of our own lives? Or are even our governments at the mercy of these companies now?"
Personally, I particularly identified with the theme of a "dinosaur", the secret agent Johnny English who is trained in old-school spycraft, being confounded by the new world, where the spies use smartphones in place of pistols and have to sign Health and Safety indemnity forms every time they use a new gadget. The Johnny English franchise explored this theme somewhat in the second film, Johnny English Reborn, but the focus then was more on how the world has become so commercialised and politically correct that the spy agency English works for got rebranded to Toshiba MI7 with the tagline "Spying for you".
I'm quite a relic myself. Sure, I use a smartphone and have Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts. But I get bored of these relatively quickly and would much rather spend my leisure time in front of the television or, when my wallet is fat enough, inside a cinema. The trend of people shunning the cinemas for Netflix escapes my comprehension. The experience of a movie that you get in the cinema, with the giant screen, booming sound system, and frigid air conditioning, is something you'll never be able to replicate at home.
Back to the movie. I also liked the abundance of Received Pronunciation accents among the characters. How refreshing to hear a movie in English that isn't filled with the American accent! The movie had several nods to pre-2000 culture too, including the songs Rasputin by Boney M and Venus by Bananarama, and the comedy television series 'Allo 'Allo! by the British Broadcasting Corporation.
It's definitely a silly movie meant for one-and-a-half hours of mindless entertainment, so if you're the type who gets frustrated by a scene of a medieval suit of armour being able to stop bullets from a modern gun, don't watch. But that's not to say it's a simplistic movie that kids will be able to appreciate either. Many of the jokes require you to take note of something that someone says early on in the movie and relate it to something that happens towards the end. You must also be sharp enough to understand the humour in lines like: "Get me a vodka and tonic, no tonic, no ice."
Panna Cotta
Saizeriya is extremely underrated. Their food is excellent, their portions are massive, their menu is comprehensive, and their prices are low.
Being a fan of Italian food, namely pasta, I've understandably come to love this casual dining restaurant chain. I recently discovered the joy of the dessert item panna cotta, which Saizeriya sells for $4.90. Made of cream thickened into a pudding-like consistency with gelatin, the version sold here is specially flown in from Italy so you can be sure that you're getting the authentic dish!
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| Panna cotta with caramel sauce from Saizeriya at City Square Mall. |
Suitably rested, I'm now ready for the next two months until the next break in December!
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