Of The Spiderwick Chronicles, Shopping, And Wedding Dinner

“I have nothing to wear,” I screamed in desperation.  “How about that blue shirt of yours?” Cynthia suggested.  No way I was going to wear that for a wedding dinner because I have already worn that on another one.  OK, don’t panic.  Simply hit the Orchard road and pick something.  The dinner was at 7.30pm.  I have just woken up from a nap because I had to get out of my bed at 4am to send my mom to the airport.  And while I was in Orchard, why not catch a movie?  My movie partner in crime TK tried to convince me to go for the 5.30pm show, I could go to the wedding dinner directly, and he would take care of Cynthia’s dinner and send her home.  Sounded like a good plan except … I needed to return home and iron the shirt that I was going to buy right before the wedding dinner (story continues after the movie review).  So Cynthia and I went for the 3.30pm show instead.

We have no expectation for “The Spiderwick Chronicles”.  I booked it because TK suggested it.  Based on a series of children’s books written by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black, the movie adopted 4 (out of 5) books from the chronicles.  Like I always say, good stories usually make good movies.  “The Spiderwick Chronicles” is quite a neat piece of work with clever plots and enough wonders to captivate.  We were so worried that it would turn out to be that children’s fantasy movie starring a nerdy boy wizard with a pair of out-of-fashion spectacles (yuck!).  It’s not.  And it does have some frightening scenes too.  More for mature kids I guess.

Some critics don’t like the film’s over reliance on special effect.  I think, until the day when magic does exist in this world and we could actually film it, special effect is the way to go.  I thought they have done a pretty good job on that (perhaps I am bias because I did study computer graphics).  The acting to me is average (compares to Bridge To Terabithia).  The storyline is not as complex – and perhaps less violence – than Pan’s Labyrinth.  “The Spiderwick Chronicles” does seem like a mix of “Jumanji”, “Panic Room”, and “King Kong” to me.  I swear, that griffin riding scene reminded me of the online game “World of Warcraft”.  My character rides that thing day in day out!

A movie that probably won’t wow you but has enough entertainment value to captivate you in this land of faeries, troll, and goblins.

Now, back to my crisis.  There aren’t that many men’s shops in Orchard as compares to the ladies and I have this path of ‘destruction’ starting from the Esprit near Cineleisure (which has been relocated), to Takashimaya, tunnel to Wisma, and ends at Topshop.  I wish I had more time for shopping!  In the end, I picked a simple, casual, and tight fit (erm … not that tight) white shirt and a skinny tie from Topshop.  We thought it would be fun to try something different and …

… OK, I think I have overdone that a bit for a wedding party.  But hey!  Who cares?!  And it is good to see so many familiar faces at my ex-colleague (now buddy of course) Anderson’s wedding dinner.  Almost like a mini reunion.  Surreal to say the least.  You see, my ex-workplace has such a high turnover rate that seeing each familiar face reminds me of a particular juncture in that shit hole of my career.  Some memories are fond, some are less so.

Anyway, it is a good party and good to catch up with some good friends whom I haven’t seen for a while.  The next wedding (from the same ex-workplace) is … a few weeks down the road.  And I think I am the MC … *gasp*!