Cries and Whimpers

I got really really tired of location scouting. It's just so fucking hot the last couple days, and it's no fun to go running up and down streets in this kind of weather. Shophouse stairwells are also pure evil. They're completely boxed in, with no ventilation whatsoever, so what you get, essentially, is a tall cuboid-shaped oven. I climb up stairs, stand at a door, and knock. That's the limit of my physical activity in them, and sweat's pouring down my arms and face.

So I spent a good portion of the last two days at the Swedish Film Festival instead, and it was a good time. Not only was the air-conditioning almost unbearably cold, the movies were good too.

I don't have time nor energy to write about each of them now, so here's just a brief list of what I saw:

Songs From the Second Floor
Persona
Cries and Whispers
Evil
My Life as a Dog

On my way to the voiceover session on Saturday, a middle-aged guy hit my car from behind at a red light. I'd just lit a cigarette and taken a couple of drags. The light turned green and I was about to move off when he just slammed right into my back bumper. I got out and the first thing he said, sighing, was, "What happened?"



As if acting innocent would absolve him of any guilt or responsibility! I tell you, these old fogeys, all that's important to them is face - they just cannot admit that they fucked up in front of anyone from a younger generation.

Of course, I think he might've been a little intimidated. Me with my cigarette and cool hair and sleeveless top and all. I'd like to think I looked at least a little badass.

Whatever. It was clear as day who was in the right. So he's paying for everything.

I, on the other hand, did the typical Singaporean thing: I went and bought 4D and Toto with the license plate numbers. I don't think I've bet so much on the lotteries before. Hopefully I get some money. Heh.

So it was my dad's birthday and we went to lunch at the East Coast Road branch of Margarita's - the Mexican place I went to over a month back. I "surreptitiously" passed my credit card to the waitress while on the way to the bathroom, but apparently I wasn't surreptitious enough, for according to my brother, my dad did the whole silly "I'll pay for it" bullshit and tried to swop his card for mine. What is it with older relatives? That's so annoying. Anyhow, my brother fixed it by the time I came back out.

The food was excellent, like before. Good to know the branch is equally good. Clumsy fingers on the part of the waitress though, but smashing plates on the ground is always a good way to liven up a dreary afternoon.

Lunch meant I had to skip the first show in the film festival, but it's OK. I guess I can always try to hunt it down on DVD. It's called The Invisible, and is about a boy who finds that he is a ghost. High-concept piece, but whether it's good or not depends a great deal on the execution. I'll find out. Eventually. Oh, and hey, big surprise: Hollywood apparently wants to remake it.

While waiting for Cries and Whispers to start, I had time to hunt down an attache case for my dad. This'll stop him from lugging all his files and papers to work in disgusting plastic bags. Ugh. It looks like he goes marketing every single day. What a heinous blight on the eyes. Again, I'm glad taste and style are not heritable.



I got a pretty good deal - a Japanese designer one with 50% off (it being part of an older line) and an additional 10% off for it being the last piece. Great gift at a great price, what could be better?

Right now, my brother is enjoying an Oscar Movie Marathon at Cineleisure Orchard, courtesy of a pair of tickets I won. Lucky bastard.