Never let me go

I was supposed to go for an overseas holiday, but I cancelled it because my dad fell sick. He's now in Singapore, and today my mom and I accompanied him to the hospital. Will have to go back tomorrow for more scans.

Anyway in the waiting room I had nothing to do but stare at the flat-screen TV in front of us, which unfortunately was showing a Chuck Norris movie. The dialogue was sheer gold, going something along the line of "I'll make you cry with my fist", complete with plenty of optical death-rays and a good punch in the head as physical punctuation.

I went to borrow some books at the library after that so I don't have to endure another Chuck Norris the next day. Good thing I did that because I managed to find quite a few catches at the Bedok Library. It has fast become my favourite library, after Orchard Library was torn down and replaced by a bank branch and a spa centre (like rubbing cow dung on my face). I found Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go and Remains of the Day, and Zadie Smith's On Beauty. I've also been watching a few movies at theatres, on DVD and on online streaming websites (mysoju, youku).

Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go (2005)

Keywords: Love/friendship, medical/ethical issues, part science fiction (not that much of a science fiction, really, because of recent scientific developments).

Kathy, Tommy and Ruth are three best friends at Hailsham who discover that there is more to their school, with words like "donors", "carers" and "complete" lurking under the surface of their everyday life.

Life is Beautiful (1997)

Starring and directed by Roberto Benigni

Keywords: Love, comedy, Italian fascism, Jews.

With his creativity and flair for story-telling, Guido Orifice tries to convince his young son that their capture and subsequent deportation to a Nazi concentration camp are nothing but a game, with a huge tank as first prize.

Cape No.7 (2008)

Directed by Wei Te-Sheng, starring Van Fan, Tanaka Chie, Shino Lin

Keywords: Broken dreams, love/friendship, music.

Cape No. 7 is an address in Taiwan that cannot be found anymore. A Japanese teacher writes seven love letters to his student, which only reach her about 60 years later by serendipity. Meanwhile, Aga is a disillusioned singer/guitarist who goes back to his hometown after failing to achieve success in Taipei.

10 Promises to My Dog (2008)

Keywords: Loyalty, family, really cute dogs running around.

After Akari's mom dies, her golden retriever, Socks, becomes her constant companion, especially while her surgeon father is busy working. Akari's mom has let Akari keep Socks on the condition that she make 10 promises to Socks. I was such a mess when I watched this. I was practically wiping my tears with my left hand and my snots with my right hand.

My Little Chef (2002)

Starring Hiroshi Abe, Akiko Yada and Aya Ueto

Keywords: Cooking, drama

Seri Kamosawa, who has inherited his late father's cooking skills, comes to Tokyo to work in a famous French restaurant, Etoile, but discovers that the restaurant's main chef and manager have both left. Seri then becomes the main chef at a new restaurant set up by the previous manager, Petit Etoile, and tries to create special menus for diners based on their past, dreams and personalities. Meanwhile Seri tries to find her mother who has abandoned her when she was little.