Nominated for 5 Golden Globe Awards, The Descendants directed by Alexander Payne is a heartwarming yet humourous portrayal of how a man and his family come to terms with death, betrayal and change. Filmed in the balmy island paradises of Hawaii, it covers the gamut of emotions and feelings from love, humour, bitterness, reconciliation to starck sorrow.

Playing the lead role Matt King with much sensitivity and screen presence is acclaimed actor George Clooney. In the movie, the overworked lawyer has to come to grips with his party and booze loving wife's coma following a boating incident while taking over the caring of their two spunky and rather defiant daughters - 17 year old Alex and 10 year old Scottie.

Things would have been sorrowfully straightforward for Matt King if not for the painful revelation by his pot headed daughter Alex that his wife cheated on him. A trail of investigations led him to Brian Speer, a realtor, whose wife julie and family he meets. This led to a series of confrontations which led to a major switch in his decision on the handling of a huge family legacy that impacted the whole state.

Peppered occasionally with coarse language, The Descendants is a magical alchemy of gritty and grimy reality mixed with dashes of humour and awkwarkness as a family comes to terms with what's happening around them.

Clooney's masterful portrayal can be seen in his wonderfully subtle yet telling facial expressions.  One can feel his pain as a man torn by his emotions.  This is complicated by the need to now balance the role of household caretaker over and above that of a successful career lawyer.

A common theme in the movie is that of dilemmas - that age old question of "should I or should I not?" As the supposed victim, Matt had a right to vengeance yet his love for his unfaithful wife leads him to  many difficult scenarios.  His daughters

Sensitively portraying Matt's two daughters, Shailene Woodley (Alexandra King) and Amara Miller (Scottie King) provide great screen chemistry to Clooney's brooding paternal role, playing their roles with much aplomb. Shailene in particular steals the show with her candour and verve, a mixed bag of goodness and badness rolled into a foul mouthed adolescent package.

Other than the leads, sidekicks like Sid (Nick Krause), a rather warm hearted but douche baggy teenaged guy, sweet and homely Julie Speer (Speer's wife played by Judy Greer), Brian Speer (Matthew Lillard) and Matt's feisty father in law Scott Thorson (Robert Forster) help to add colour to the drama. I particularly liked a scene at night between Matt and Sid which illustrated how guy talk can sometimes be a good thing when candidly done.

Overall, The Descendants is a great family drama definitely worth watching. Check out its movie trailer below and go catch it soon!

Special thanks to Omy.sg for the preview tickets! 

 

Thanks to an invitation from the Singapore Art Museum (SAM), I had the chance to enjoy a doublebill feature of "Chimera" (the collectors show) at SAM itself and "future proof" (the singapore show) at 8Q SAM.

Images from Chimera

The former feature selected works from private collectors with big Asian artists like Takashi Murakami, Yayoi Kusuma, Lee Yong Baek, and more, while the latter shines the spotlight on upcoming young artists in Singapore such as Dawn Ng, Donna Ong, :phunk studio and Keiichi Tanaami, and Chun Kaifeng.

Images from future proof

If you've got the time, go catch these visual treats and challenge yourself to think differently while expanding your imagination.  Embark on a flight of fancy and see beyond the oridinary today!

I am overjoyed to hear that NTUC Fairprice and Carrefour has pledged to stop selling shark's fin. This followed the fine example of Cold Storage in reducing the consumption of this cruel delicacy. It's a great start and My wish is for other players to follow the fine examples of these market leaders.

Reading this article in the Straits Times today, I also learnt that there are other endangered piscine and prawn species which we should avoid eating. These include the wild caught blue fin tuna, polka dot grouper and tiger prawns fished from Thailand and Indonesia.

As we approach the festive feasting season this Chinese New Year, I am also making a conscious decision to eat less meat and have as many vegetarian meals as I can help it. This would not only reduce the pain and suffering of other sentient beings on Earth, but will also reduce greenhouse gases and improve my health and well being.

Let us mark the Year of the Dragon with respect and dignity for wildlife and ultimately, all life on Earth - including our own.