Lovely and Enchanting

If you are a fan of Neil Gaiman’s writings and Dave Mckean’s art you will be delighted to hear that MirrorMask is a spawn of their imagination brought to life by the Jim Henson Company.

MirrorMask is the story of Helena (Stephanie Leonidas), who works for the family circus, and wishes, quite ironically, that she could ran away and join real life. But such is not to be the case , as she finds herself on a strange journey into the Dark lands, a fantastic landscape filled with giants, Monkeybirds and dangerous sphinxes, Helena searches the MirrorMask, an object of enormous power that is her only hope of escaping the Dark lands , waking the Queen of light and returning home.

MirrorMask is a gorgeous effects driven fantasy flick that remains charming from start to finish. The look of the film is the first thing that takes you: it’s pure McKean, gorgeous and lush and surreal and vivid as a dream, perfectly capturing the feel of the Sandman.

Then you notice the writing. It’s a rare film that successfully translates the ineffable oomph of a prose writer’s style to the big screen. Gaiman’s work is quirky, understated, funny and smart. In Mirrormask, it translates brilliantly to the screen. The dialog crackles. It’s laugh-out-loud funny. It’s spooky. It’s weird and perfectly complimentary to McKean’s illustration style.

I haven’t seen a film as lovely as this since Brazil. I haven’t seen a film as enchanting since Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away. Simply brilliant stuff. Well folks, MirrorMask is not a movie everyone will like but if your curiosity gets the better of you, I do recommend atleast a rental. It’s not everyday you get to see a movie like this. Besides if you are a Neil Gaiman fan like me, it’s a must see.

On a lighter note, everytime I look at the main protagonist (Stephanie Leonidas) she seems to resemblance my close friend. I know it sounds bizarre. But maybe it’s just me. But they both are of the same size (puny), have the same short hairstyle, look identical, and have the same mannerisms. Spooky right?

Deutscher Fussball-Bund

The only team I will be supporting in this year’s World Cup. Infact it’s the only national team I have ever supported.

My New German Cap

Let’s just say I simply cashed in on some favours.

P.S. Sorry Mitch, I can’t help it. I simply love taking pictures of things I bought.

Simple and Nice.

Hi folks, here’s a picture of my new bookrack my dad, brother and I installed. It’s basically a DIY thing, and it only cost us a good SGD$100. All the materials were purchased at our local DIY shop. Although I did post a render of the bookrack I wanted to build, I found that it was too impractical and had to settle for something less daedal.

But hey, I always been a fan of simplicity and infact the great thing about my new bookrack is I can change the height of the shelves with relative ease. Something I couldn’t have done with the rack I wanted to build. It’s also easy on the eyes.

Btw, those books you see on the shelves are all mine. It’s only half my collection. To house the other, I am planning to build a similar rack sometime next month. God, I love doing DIY stuff.