SQ Movie Marathon (The Return)

It's like 9pm when we left Singapore. I never got to learn how to sleep properly on the plane, so it's another movie marathon session for me.

Batman Begins
Think of this as the prequel, where we get to see Batman in his formative years, how his father moulded him, why he's obsessed with bats, his ninja training at the Himalayan highlands by the League of Shadows, how his underground headquarters came about, where he gets all his cool toys and gadgets, and his first awkward steps as a crimefighter. The action scenes are nothing spectacular, but DC fans (most of them at least) will be happy with how Christopher Nolan (Memento, Insomnia, etc.) handled the movie.

Initial D (a.k.a. Tau man chi D)
Heard of Intial D the manga series before, but not the movie. I wanted to see how an anime series about outrageous car chases will translate on screen. More that than, I wanted to see what's all the fuss about Jay Chou, Taiwan's Prince of Pop. All throughout the movie, his hair is messed up and he looks sleepy. And I go, hey, I can do that. That's probably because he spends his nights delivering tofu in his father's white Toyota AE86. He was so good at downhill drifting that he beat one of the best street racers without even thinking about it. Next thing you know, there's a bunch of professional and amateur racers lining up to beat him. All you need to know is that Takumi wins all his races. Throw in a bumbling sidekick as comic relief, and a double-crossing girlfriend for dramatic moments to complete the movie. Passable car-chase scenes, bad story/character development.

She's on Duty (a.k.a. Jam-bok-geun-moo)
There were a few good Korean films on the outbound flight. They changed the movie line-up, since it's the start of a new month, so I'm stuck with this one. I'm almost convinced this is going to be a bad one, even before it started. The thing with Korean comedies is that they start to look and sound similar after you've seen a couple. Anyway, this movie is about a spoiled lady cop who goes undercover as a high-school student. Her mission is to befriend a criminal's daughter in order to find his whereabouts. The fight scenes are quite good, but like I said, it's the same wire-fu in My Wife Is a Gangster, so don't expect too much.

Last Day in Singapore

Bag-packing. Borders-browsing. Newspapers and magazines at the Orchard Library. Espresso and carrot cake at Dome Park Mall. Tour of Changi Airport.

The airport is a destination in itself. Grab a free copy of Financial Times or Changi Express. Take a break at the indoor garden and koi pond. Take a seat and watch the latest sports channels or even a free movie showing. There's a few Samsung-sponsored terminals offering free Internet access. I joined a carpet survey for Changi Airport and walked away with a handphone pouch. There's also an Airbus A380 raffle contest. Who knows? I could be coming back to Singapore for free. Oh, and the best way to use up excess coins? Donate them. If you're into philately and not philanthrophy, buy some specialty stamps at the airport post office.